The Winking Sun
“Twilight? Would you wake up already”
The purple mare gave a loud yawn and stretched awake, looking all around the old Canterlot observatory she called home. Rubbing her eyes, the young unicorn looked to see the tiny purple dragon that coaxed her awake.
“Oh, g’morning, Spike.” She said to her kid brother, feeling a little groggy. “I had a wild dream last night, you wouldn’t believe.” Spike rolled his eyes and gave her a smirk.
“You stayed up late to get the new issue of Power Ponies, didn’t you?” he asked.
“No, well, yes actually, but that wasn’t it.” She stammered as she climbed from bed. “I dreamed it was really hot, and there was a gigantic lunar eclipse, and everything was like a desert- GAH!” she shielded her eyes as Spike drew the curtains open, the morning sun lighting up the wide rotunda, lighting the stacked piles of books back to the bookshelves lining most the walls.
“You mean like the Tale of the Two sisters?” Spike said in a slightly mocking tone as he began to place the books back in their proper shelves.
“That’s just it, Spike” Twilight said as she powered her horn and seized a hairbrush, stroking at her dark violet mane. “It was just like that old story.” Finishing with her smooth mane, Twilight stepped toward the gigantic window and seized her telescope, sliding a thick protective lens on the front and looking at the orange glow of the sun.
“What’s up, Twilight?” asked the baby dragon as he came to her said. Twilight said nothing as she adjusted the dials of the telescope. Taking a moment to look at the lens, she saw it was clean, and that her eyes did not fool her.
“There’s a little black spot on the sun today.” She said as she took another look through the scope, Spike tilting his head curiously at this statement. Turning to her desk, Twilight raced over and rummaged through the pile of textbooks, comic issues, fables, and graphic volumes, Spike taking a brief look through the telescope. The Power Ponies, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Organizing for Dummies, The Travels of the Mystic, Secret Spells and Incantations, but then she finally found it. A musty old leather-bound volume full of old fairytales and forgotten stories.
“Hey, we’re gonna be late for Moondancer’s birthday party, Twilight.” Spike bemoaned as he joined her, the young mare flipping through the faded pages. Finally, she found it. The Tale of the Two Sisters, Spike looking over her shoulder. “Hey, that’s that old bedtime story.” He said with a raised eyebrow. “You got this giant book just for that?”
“Spike, this book is full of the original Grimm tales.” She explained. “It’s not like all those kiddie stories we were told growing up. These ones are dark and brutal and creepy and-“
“I get it.” He said with a huff. “What’s the big deal?”
“My dream reminded me of this story.” She explained. “I just have to give it another look.” Looking through the texts, Twilight read the old story she almost knew by heart at this point, Spike peering over her shoulder.
“… and took on responsibility of both sun and moon,” she read aloud “and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since… Elements of Harmony…”
“I’ve heard of them before.” Spike pondered with his big sister. Turning to look at the shelves upon shelves of books, the two wondered where they should look.
“Let’s find that copy of Prophecies and Predictions, Spike.” She said, walking toward the P shelf. It did not take long for the duo to find the book neatly tucked into the shelf. Spike always had impeccable bookkeeping skills. Flipping through the folded and worn pages, Twilight and Spike looked unblinking at the indexes.
“Elements, Elements, E, E, E...” “Look there! Elements of Harmony, see: The Winking Sun? The old ponies’ tale?”
Twilight began flipping through pages again, feeling an odd chill rush over. “Winking… Winking…” she began to feel like this was becoming a more pressing matter by the minute. “Gotcha!” she exclaimed as she found the story in question “The Winking Sun, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned on the surface of the sun. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about a burning eternal day.” Stifling a tiny gasp, she looked up at Spike who looked perplexed with her. “Spike, remember what Moondancer said on the last report?”
“The one where she had to save you from a continuity error?” he asked, unable to suppress a smile.
“Yeah, that one.” She said with an embarrassed huff. “This year will be the one thousandth Festival of the Grand Eclipse.” Even the skeptical dragon got a slight chill at this. Maybe there was more to this than he gave her credit for.
“Hurry, Spike, take a note.” She said, the drake hopping to the desk and picking out his best quill and a roll of parchment. Inhaling, Twilight began to speak in a dignified tone…
“My dearest teacher,” she began “my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!”
“Hold on.” Spike sighed. “Precipice?” “Maybe threshold?” “Another big word.” “Uh, brink?”
“Better.” Spike sighed. “You use so many big words when it’s not school related-“
“Focus, please.” Twilight groaned, returning to her messaging tone. “For you see, the mythical Winking Sun, Daybreaker, she is about to return to Equestria, and bring with her an endless burning day! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Twi... light Spar... kle…” Spike said aloud as he scrawled a signature on the scroll “Got it!”
“Great!” Twilight smiled. “Send it.”
“Now?” Spike asked, Twilight nodding. “Uh, I dunno, Twilight,” he went on “Princess Luna's a little busy getting ready for the Grand Eclipse. And it is the day after tomorrow-“
“That's just it, Spike,” she interjected “the day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Grand Eclipse! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away, especially before we go to Moondancer’s birthday.” Spike narrowed his eyes.
“Good to see you have your priorities straight.” He sighed, breathing a small swirl of magic flames over the rolled and fastened scroll, sending it away in a magical burst of smoke to Princess Luna. “So, now can we go before we’re too late?” he asked. "The Princess probably won’t get back to us until- URP!” was all he said before coughing up another scroll, Twilight promptly unrolling it.
“It says…” she began excitedly aloud “We are trying to reach about your wagon’s extended warranty… junk mail.” She scowled, powering her horn and crumbling the letter, throwing it away as Spike belched up another scroll, unrolling it and giving it a read.
“Here we go, Twilight.” He announced, the mare racing to his side. Inhaling, he began to read out “My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely,” he narrated, Twilight’s face lighting up “but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books.” Immediately, Twilight’s jaw dropped and her ears drooped. Princess Luna didn’t believe her?
“Y’know, why don’t we just go meet up with Moondancer?” Spike suggested, sensing his big sister’s malaise at the response.
“Yeah, fine…” Twilight sighed as the two set off.
My dear Twilight, there is more to a pony’s life than studying. Therefore, I appoint you head of preparations of the Festival of the Grand Eclipse.
These words echoed through Twilight’s head as she strolled into the busy streets of Canterlot with Spike. The Princess had sent her a list of specifics to tend to, and she and Spike were going to keep to it.
“So, where do we start?” Spike asked. “Do we start with the list or do you want to hit up Pony Joe’s before we get to work?” Twilight shook her head.
“I started there first. Here you go, your favorite.” Twilight smiled, levitating a folded bag for him as he excitedly dug into it. “So, who’s first on our list?” she asked as a steam engine pulled in at the nearby train station.
“Mmph! Muff mmump muuh.” Spike garbled through a full mouth before gulping down his doughnut. “Inspect the music and stage.” Spike recited. “Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine are all on the events team, and they said they’ll be there yesterday.”
Making her way into the town square, Twilight saw the several platforms and stands being erected in around the giant mounted gold sigil at the center of Canterlot, ponies dressed in band uniforms and hauling various instruments to their assigned locations.
“Wow, look at them all.” Twilight gasped. True, she attended the Grand Eclipse nearly every year, but she never oversaw production, seeing how many musicians and technicians worked to make everything perfect, and even then, it looked like they were going the extra mile for the one thousandth celebration.
“Okay, woodwind over there, brass over there, and please don’t mix up the tuba and sousaphone players like last year.” Twilight and Spike turned to see a mare with a cream-colored coat nearby calling out to the assembled ponies. Moondancer was setting up the musical performers instead of them?
“Hey, Moondancer.” Twilight called hurrying to her side. “What are you doing here?” The mare turned to the approaching duo, peering at them through her taped glasses.
“Hi there. I’m just giving you a hand with the set up. It seemed like an awfully big workload,” she explained as she turned back to the many ponies taking to their spots “so I wrote to Princess Luna to see if I could take some of the workload.”
“That was awful nice of you.” Twilight smiled, but Spike raised a brow.
“Usually you keep to yourself during big events, Moondancer. Why the sudden change?” At this, Moondancer glanced at them nervously through the corner of her eye, her cheeks going slightly pink.
“To tell the truth,” she said slowly “this is a really big celebration this year… and you’ve had difficulty working with big projects in the past. I didn’t think you could pull it off on your own, Twilight, so I wanted to help you out.” Twilight opened her mouth to protest but reconsidered. She and Moondancer had been friends since magic kindergarten, and she knew her pretty well. Blunt as she was, Moondancer was right, this was a big celebration and Twilight didn’t even know if she was up to the task the day before.
“Well, thanks pal.” Twilight said, still feeling a little demoralized. “You want to meet at Donut Joe’s tonight? I’ll treat you for the help.”
“Only if you buy me coffee, too.” Moondancer said with a wink, Minuette waving to Twilight as she and Lemon Hearts assembled another music platform. Giving a wave with her hoof, Twilight started off once more with Spike
“Okay, Spike, what’s next?” she asked, making her way to the castle.
“Make sure the courtyard and halls are properly done for the night’s celebrations.” He read as she made her way through the alabaster archways and into the well-kept gardens of the palace. The vibrant green groves were always neatly trimmed and ready for the high society ponies to mingle the night away. Twilight could never get into the formal events, they always seemed so stuffy and uptight. Looking here and there, she saw no scant trimmings or leftover scraps from the gardening ponies. They always did such a good job of keeping the yards clean. Turning to the ascending steps, Twilight walked inside the grand hallways, seeing a few maids tidying up here and there. Sure enough, the carpets were spotless, the windows glistened translucent and there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found on the sills or the adorned walls. It would seem Moondancer took on the hardest task.
“Let’s split up and cover more ground while we check out everything.” She suggested, Spike hopping down from her back.
“You got it, Twilight.” He said with a nod. “Let’s meet back at the grand hall in an hour.” He added strolling off whistling to himself, his tune echoing throughout the quite halls. Giving him a wave goodbye, Twilight began to stroll through the halls, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe Princess Luna was right. Maybe the return of Daybreaker was just her mind playing tricks on her. Looking this way and that, Twilight felt a swell of pride and wonder at the gorgeous castle. It wasn’t often she got to come here, Princess Luna often visited her instead. Nevertheless, she felt this was a good thing, as the beautiful castle was a treat she’d rather experience occasionally than grow accustomed to seeing it too often.
Rounding a corner, Twilight watched as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky, Narrowing her eyes to see if there was still the obscurity she noticed the day before, but there was no way she could look on at its blinding glow for long. Giving her head a shake and blinking as her vision returned, Twilight set off once again through the hall.
“Excuse me, can you help me please?”
Turning, Twilight saw a little white unicorn filly in a black maid dress and white lacy apron, a frilled white headdress tied in her lilac mane.
“You’re awful young to be a maid here.” Twilight mused aloud, the filly blushing slightly. “What’s up?”
“I’m supposed to be at ballroom three, the Hall of the Stars.” The small pony explained, her vibrant green eyes looking nervously away. “I’m new here so I got lost from the other maids. Can you help me out?” Twilight nodded and motioned the filly to follow her, the two setting off.
“So, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” The mare introduced. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Sweetie Belle. I came here from Ponyville.” She explained.
“Ponyville… that’s an old village not far from here, right?” Twilight asked, remembering reading about it in history class. “I’ve never been there, what’s it like?”
“It’s a lot smaller than Canterlot.” Sweetie Belle explained. “There’s earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns all together there.”
“That’s pretty cool.” Twilight replied. “It’s mostly unicorns here in Canterlot. So, what are you doing all the way out here in Canterlot?”
“Well…” the filly apprehensively began “I just got my cutie mark.” She said, motion toward her flank. Twilight looked at it and saw a striped shield colored magenta, lilac, and purple, with a star and song note at the center. “My parents think I might be a performer of some kind, so they enrolled me in the Canterlot charm school… and I was assigned to be a maid for my preliminary class.” she said with a sigh.
“That sounds kinda cool.” Twilight replied. “So, what’s got you down?”
“Well, I’m just going to miss my sister and my friends back home.” The young pony explained. “Rarity, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo… I used to spend time with them all the time. We’re still writing to each other, but it’s just not the same, especially since my friends haven’t gotten their cutie marks yet.”
“You really wanted to be there to see it happen, huh?” Twilight asked, feeling sorry for the little maid. Sweetie Belle inhaled deeply as they rounded a corner.
“I just hope I can visit them back soon in case they get theirs, too. Rarity keeps saying she can’t wait to see me as a proper young mare when I come home.” At this, she smiled to herself. “I’m going to give it my all, for my big sister and my friends. I can’t let them down.”
“That’s the spirit.” Twilight smiled as they came to a grand ballroom. “Here we are, Hall of the Stars-“
“It’s about time you got here.” Both Twilight and Sweetie Belle jumped as an older, teal-colored mare dressed in a white maid dress trotted toward them. “Fancy Pants has booked this hall for his private party and it needs to be in order by tonight.”
“Yes, Madam Cinch.” Sweetie Belle said with a rigid bow, hurrying passed the head maid and getting right to work.
“Hello, Madam Cinch.” Twilight greeted. “Just helping that nice little filly find her way around the castle.” The head maid gave a snort and turned back to her work.
“Yes, yes, thank you, Twilight Sparkle, but we’re quite busy.” She said sharply, tending to the decorations. Twilight rolled her eyes and made her way to the grand hall. Madam Cinch was always strict and busy, so her abruptness didn’t bother her one bit. After strolling up and down a few flights of stairs, Twilight saw the tiny dragon assistant waiting for her at the massive hall that dominated the center of the castle.
“It’s about time.” Spike breathed. “What took you?”
“A new maid got lost and I helped her find her way.” Twilight explained. “She was still just a filly, I didn’t know they could work here that young.”
“Mind blower.” Spike added as they descended the steps to leave the palace. “Next up, we need to check in with the royal guard to see if everything is in order. Patrols, standing at post, all that stuff.”
“Okay, then let’s- OOF!”
Twilight tumbled to the street as an orange figure walked straight into her. Rubbing her head, Twilight looked up to see it was a stallion, looking here and there on the ground.
“Hey, are you okay?” she asked.
"Watch where you’re going, man!” Spike snapped.
“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He apologized, spotting a pair of round spectacles and putting them on, stroking his vibrant orange beard and fastening a forest green cloak around his neck. “Are you well?” he asked as he helped her back to her hooves.
“I’m okay.” Twilight replied. Spotting a book on the ground, she powered her horn and returned it to him. “What’s that you were reading?”
“Predictions and Prophecies.” He replied, dusting it off. “It’s a first edition I was able to find at the bazaar, I couldn’t pass it up.”
“Oooh, that must be super valuable!” Twilight marveled. “So, you’re in town for the festival?”
“Yup, just passing through. My name is Sunburst,” he said with a bow “just your average traveling scholar.” Lifting his head to look just a bit, he saw a scrape at Twilight’s knee. “Lemme fix that, it’s the least I could do.” Powering his horn, Sunburst lifted back his cloak and unfastened his saddlebag, pulling a few medical supplies out and cleaning Twilight’s wound, Spike watching the two with his eyes narrowed just slightly.
“Be careful with my sister.” Spike said defensively.
“Relax, Spike,” Twilight sighed “he knows what he’s doing. Sorry,” she said to Sunburst as he wrapped her knee with a bandage “Spike’s just really protective.”
“Well, it’s nice to have such a close friend.” The stallion mused as he snipped at the cloth and wrapped it snug. “Did he call you ‘sister’, by the way?”
“Oh, I hatched Spike from an egg when I was a little filly.” Twilight explained. “My mom and dad took him in and he became part of the family overnight.” Sunburst couldn’t suppress a smile at this story.
“That’s awful sweet.” He said with a slight giggle, seeing the young dragon blush. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll be off then. Nice to meet you, Twilight.” He said, wiping his brow as he started off into the town.
“He sure was nice.” Twilight smiled.
“He was a bit of a klutz, too.” Spike added, Twilight giggling at his bluntness.
“You be nice.” She said, giving him a nudge. “Let’s get something cold to drink and go meet with the captain of the guard.”
The sun hung high, everypony in town helping themselves to cool treats and icy drinks to fight the heat of the day. This summer season was shaping up to be a scorcher, Twilight though as she and Spike made their way to the guardhouse. Coming to the doors, Twilight was greeted by a tall stallion dressed in golden armor.
“Hello, lieutenant.” She said with a bow. “We’re here to meet with the captain of the royal guard.” Spike handed the stallion the scroll with Princess Luna’s orders.
“We have written permission from her royal highness to inspect the proceedings of the festival.” He said, the stallion silently powering his horn and unrolling the parchment, reading it without a word. Powering his horn, he returned it to the little dragon.
“The captain is indisposed at the moment,” the lieutenant finally said in a gruff voice. “We are working on a modified schedule on account of the festival and the guard have just changed post.”
“Wait, what?” Twilight gasped. “The guard changed early? Then that means-“
“You’re wide open!”
Twilight had just a second to leap out of the way of a sailing water balloon, but her hooves slid in the muddy puddle nearby and she fell to her bottom, splashing murky water everywhere. Scowling, Twilight turned to see a white stallion with a shiny blue mane approach chortling.
“Humor in uniform.” Spike chuckled, having leaped off of Twilight’s back and caught the balloon.
“Shining Armor, we don’t have time for jokes or pranks.” Twilight growled. “We’re on official orders of the princess right now.”
“There’s always time for a laugh or two, Twili.” The stallion smiled as he came to help her up.
“Lieutenant, please.” The guard on duty said with a look of disdain. “Remain professional.” Shining Armor only waved him off with a laugh.
“I’m off duty, so I’m in the clear- GAH!” was all he managed to say before Spike threw the water balloon for the white stallion.
“Wide open.” Spike sneered, Twilight fighting to keep a straight face.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you back, smart guy.” Shining Armor said mischievously as he wiped the dripping water off his shoulders. “Besides, it’s hot out and that felt nice and cool. So, you and Twili are handling the princess’s checklist today?”
“Orders from the top.” Spike nodded. “We’re on top of things today.”
“Good to hear.” The stallion replied, powering his horn and brushing mud off his still scowling sister. “It’s gonna be a real party tonight, and my shift just ended, so I’ll see you tonight, sis.” He said trotting off. Twilight shook her head and gave her mane a brush as she saw him disappear from sight.
Twilight left the steamy shower of her home, cleaned of the Shining Armor’s muddy prank, Princess Luna’s list completed. Drying herself with a fluffy towel, the pony made her way to the observatory window, Spike snoozing on his cot after such a busy day. Looking up at the sun, Twilight though it was odd that it hadn’t begun to set yet. After a moment more of pondering, she turned back to her room and decided it was best to get ready for the eclipse. Every year at sunset, Princess Luna would bring the moon between the Earth and the sun, casting a mesmerizing shadow over the land. It was always a spectacle to behold.
Brushing her mane smooth, she tied a pink ribbon behind her ear and looked herself over in the mirror. It looked pretty cute, she thought as she gave a twirl. Turning, she gave Spike a gentle shake, waking him from his nap. After minute or two, they were both ready and set off into town. Passing through the streets, she saw vendors, carts, displays and stands selling all manner of treats and goods. Pegasi and earth ponies visiting from other towns could be seen in the crowd of the usual unicorns that called Canterlot home. Everypony was out in full force despite the hot summer day. This really was shaping up to be quite the talk of Canterlot by the looks of this turnout.
Coming to the square, however, there seemed to be a bit of a fuss going on. Managing to force their way through the crowd, Twilight saw Shining Armor speaking to a rather flustered looking guard.
“What do you mean she can’t come out? It’s hot out here and the festival is starting to run late.”
“Princess Luna cannot come out yet, end of story!”
“What do you mean end of story? I’m a guard, too!”
“Shining Armor? What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she came to her brother’s side, the stallion turning to her.
“Twili? It’s the princess.” He explained. “She won’t begin the eclipse and it’s getting late, the sun isn’t beginning to set yet. Something is going on here.”
“Wait, the sun isn’t setting?” she breathed, looking to the sky to see the sun was still high in the center of the sky. It hit her almost instantly.
“We’re too late…” Twilight breathed as the nearby guard began to shake nervously’ “She’s disappeared, hasn’t she?” Twilight asked him. His eyes going wide and sweat beading along his forehead, he nodded silently.
“Princess Luna is nowhere to be found.” He stammered, Spike and Shining armor gasping in shock. Before anypony could react, there was a gigantic explosion in the center of the town square, everypony shrieking and cowering away. As the smoke cleared, they saw her. A gigantic alicorn with a pure white coat stood before them, her pitch-black eyes aglow like fire, her mane and tail swirling with flames and her body covered in amber colored armor. One look at the fearful spectators and she smiled a wicked grin full of sharp teeth.
“Ponies of Equestria, it’s truly great to be back.” She hissed in a creepily echoing voice.
“You there!” Shining armor snapped, powering his horn and pulling a sword close. “What have you done with Princess Luna?”
“What is it to you?” the burning alicorn taunted. “Surely she’s not the only one deserving of your admiration. Or has the land forgotten me?” she said tutting. No doubt, she was savoring the shock and awe of those around her.
“I know exactly who you are!” Twilight called out, trying her best to hide how fearful she was. “You’re Daybreaker, the pony confined to the surface of the sun!” The ponies nearby gasped in shock at this revelation. Daybreaker, however, only chuckled darkly.
“In any case, changes are to be made immediately. I’ve got work to do, so if you’ll excuse me-“
“I don’t think so!” Shining Armor called, clamping the sword in his jaw and standing at ready. “Just what are you planning?”
“She’s going to parch Equestria in an endless burning day!” Twilight breathed as the sun grew brighter and hotter.
“Smart little girl.” Daybreaker mused with a nod. “Those who don’t wish to die of thirst come find me at my home.” Before the guard could close in on her, she flapped her flaming wings, everypony shrieking and diving away as she shot into the sky like a fireball, cackling wickedly as she disappeared over the horizon. Twilight could feel her heart race with dread. This was only the beginning.
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this is good, keep it up!
All in due time.
This looks interesting! I'll be back in the morning to read this.
I have to say, this DOES look like a pretty entertaining contrast to the canon first couple of episodes. REALLY enjoyed the interactions between Twilight and Moondancer as well the first meetings with Sweetie Belle (and, yeah, doesn't surprise me that Cinch is that strict) and Sunburst. Interesting to see a universe where Twilight is the more laid-back out of her and Spike. And, yeah, Shining being a jokester off the job is an entertaining thought, as was Spike managing to get one on him. And that's a good alteration to Daybreaker's scheme to have the eternal day be a form of extortion.
I'm going to guess that Twilight is still going to be Magic, Moondancer is probably going to be Honesty, Sunburst is most likely Kindness and Shining Armor is almost certainly Laughter.
All in all, an enjoyable first (couple of) chapter(s) with some great exchanges and future chapter set-up.
10446275
Many thanks. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the next chapters.
Very good job!
10448636
Many thanks