Harmony and Courage: Running Parallel

by SSJRandomMaster

Chapter 2: The Lavender Shut-In

Chapter 2: The Lavender Shut-In
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It wasn't the most humdrum thing Azure had ever done, and indeed he knew the monotony that would come of it, but given that whatever happened tommorrow, he'd still need to live on. As it turned out, Ponyville had a repair shop, usually home repairs, but it also had been known to build a few constructs here and there. Of course, usually he worked from morning to evening, but tommorrow was the Summer Sun Festival. Since Ponyville was hosting the official festivities this time around, he only had to work until about noon. Plus, he'd have the following day off.

It was something Azure was grateful for, given that he had to mentally prepare himself for one of two things: either the long-prophesized return of Nightmare Moon, or yet another year of disappointment. If this year failed, Mr. Courage would consider the fact that the whole thing was just a ponytale much more seriously. After all, the last three years failed to yield any real results.

His workday had just finished. The company he was working for had just finished a brief job of sprucing up the town hall, where the festival would commence that night. Since the job did not require very much heavy lifting, Azure was left with more basic repair, deciding to forgo his magic, feeling his physical body could use a last-minute workout before he did any sort of meditation. He manually pounded nails into place, since such things are possible without magic, for the most part. Nopony seemed to know why, despite a lack of fingers, various ponies could hold things still with their hooves, and thus took it for granted.

It was a good thing he didn't have to hang around the town hall. Rarity had arrived about thirty minutes before he left, and she had been getting a little impatient on setting up the room decorations. That said, she did seem legitimately surprised that he was part of the team working there. When he considered how surprised Applejack was when he got the job, however, he realized that he shouldn't have been surprised that Rarity was.

Most unicorns didn't train their bodies as much as they did their magic control. With Virid and Blitz helping him along, however, his body was a bit stronger than the average unicorn. Just meant he didn't know that many spells compared to some unicorns out there. He could probably count how many he knew just by the spikes in his mane on one side, and even then he'd be lucky to reach seven.

He didn't count on making contact with those mares, but now that he did, he wasn't sure if he could avoid them forever. Azure began mumbling to himself, passively floating his hard hat above his head with the levitation spell.

"...still, can I really take it easy?" He ignored the sounds of hooves colliding with the ground nearby as he continued thinking, unknowing he was doing it aloud. His brain unwillingly took a trip down memory lane.

"C'mon son, this 'Nightmare Moon' manure again?"This was his father, on the second year he'd been incorrect. "You've gotta accept facts and stop chasing after ponytales."

"Everypony has hobbies Azie, but chasing after that sort of stuff borders on insane..." His mother's voice, on the first year he'd truly noticed something off about the moon. Admittedly, he didn't always follow Mare in the Moon to an "M", but on that year, he finally noticed the weird, ominous shadow in it. "There's other use for that martial arts besides chasing down that ponytale..."

"There's a strange shadow in the moon," his statements came under his breath. He wasn't yet aware of it, but his teeth were starting to show as his lips peeled back. "I can't be dreaming about that...I've seen it myself many, many times..."

"I can't help but feel 'Courage' was a misnomer, Az..." Virid's voice now came to him. "Really, sometimes I feel like you should have been named 'Cyan Paranoia'..."

"Darn it...am I the only one that sees that shadow, the stars appearing...misplaced, somehow...?" Azure questioned to himself again, his frustration suddenly starting to peak.

"Azure, really, even I'm starting to think you're being driven a little...crazy...by this..." Crimson Blitz now came to him. "I understand full well why anypony would want to know the spells that you know, and the martial arts we do, but seriously, it's just a ponytale. There are real dangers out there..."

Azure halted, his mane obscuring most of his eyes from view. Without caring if anypony overheard him or not, he issued a frustrated yell.

"Am I the only one that has a feeling that there's truth to the old ponytale?!"

Just as he finished yelling his sentiments to the skies above, the cyan colt felt his ears twitch. He stood straight up, almost dropping his hard hat in the concentration lapse. He set the object back on his head, quickly. His ears remained rigid, pricked straight up.

No doubt about it, he heard something off about his statement, and it wasn't the fact several colts or mares could have overheard it. He looked slowly to his left and right, and found that nopony seemed to notice or care that he'd just unloaded his suspisicons on the world.

Rather, it was something far more...interesting.

Strange...did I hear myself echo...? Azure thought to himself. With an internal shrug, Azure continued to trot along, mentally scolding himself for letting himself snap like that. He hadn't gone off like that before in the past. Was it something in the air in Ponyville that caused that outburst? Whatever the case, Azure Courage knew one thing.

There was something in the moon, and there was something about the space rock that demanded attention. Whether or not his attention alone would do much of anything, the colt did not know. But he knew that this year was "do or die" on the myth. If it showed, then he'd do what he could against the emerged evil. If it didn't, then he'd probably hang up the superhero cape.

But somehow, Azure knew that if it came to that, he couldn't leave Ponyville. For some reason, something was anchoring him to this city. Was it the friendly inhabitants within? Or was it those five quirky mares he'd met on his first day? The unicorn colt did not consider himself a player by any means-he only saw them as friends, and relatively distant ones at that.

Realizing he was getting sidetracked, Azure Courage picked up the pace. He needed to get some meditation in, to try and relax his mind.

Whatever would come of this day, would come, and he was going to be prepared for it, with the same courageous spirit that had earned him the band he wore proudly on his foreleg...
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It wasn't something that he'd seen most unicorns doing when trying to use their magic properly, and indeed, he didn't think anypony did this to begin with, but Azure had always had a soft spot for meditation. Usually, he would sit straight up on his rump and close his eyes. As his mind drifted into that familiar spot in semi-consciousness, his horn began lightly glowing the cyan color it usually took on when he used magic.

The cyan colt remained isolated on top of his bed, in this tranced-out state. Seconds, minutes, hours started blurring together without his knowledge. Before long, Azure had meditated clear into early evening. He might have kept this up for a few more minutes had it not been for something hyperactive and pink interrupting him...

"Azie, wake up!"

Startled, Azure fell over on his side, the light glow around his horn fading away very quickly. The thing with meditating unicorns is: if you startle them out of it, they tend to develop slight to moderate headaches. Thankfully, having Virid as a cousin somewhat offset this side-effect. His head still hurt, though.

"P-Pinkie...?!" He grunted, more out of shock. "How'd you even get in here...?"

"That's easy, silly, I used the door!"

"But...I swear I locked it..." Azure Courage tried desperately to remember if he had made sure to lock it. He had. So then how...?

"I used a spare key!"

...So is breaking into ponies' houses another one of her favorite hobbies...I could have sworn there wasn't one-- The cyan colt would have continued the train of thought a little further, but the pink earth pony wasn't having him be silent.

"Azie, there's a new pony in town, and I'm gathering up everypony I can to be at her welcome party at the library!" Pinkie confirmed, and began rattling off exactly how she met this pony. Of course, Azure stopped paying attention after "library".

Wait, hold on, isn't that the "abandoned" library? Is this new pony some kinda librarian? And does Pinkie make it a habit of breaking into every new pony's house to set this kind of stuff up? And...and...why the heck am I still thinking about this!?

"C'mon, Azie!" Pinkie finally said. "I want you to be there to welcome her!" Those happy, hopeful cyan eyes burned into his brown eyes.

"I-I-" Azure, for some reason, had been entirely resolute on not going, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to say it. "I don't know...I mean--"

"Besides," The pink pony continued on as though the light blue colt hadn't said a thing. "you can't spend the Summer Sun Celebration cooped on in here on your own! That's no fun at all!"

Where is this--

Abruptly, a pink hoof, by whatever force that allowed such an act, seized him by his own, and without much in the way of warning, the strawberry-colored free spirit was, by whatever force that allowed her to do so, dragging him along in a somewhat awkward hobbled gallop.

"H-hey...!" The colt was so lost for words at his situation that he couldn't think of any real viable counters.

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" Pinkie said.

From my experience, usually when a pony tells me something's gonna be fun, I get hurt somehow... The cyan colt internally considered, disregarding the fact he was being dragged by an earth pony to a party he wasn't too enthused about attending, but given Pinkie wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, he'd decided he wouldn't fight it.

"Pinkie, Pinkie, okay, I'll come..." Azure Courage finally said in response to being dragged. Under his breath, he added, "Since I'm not being given a say in the matter..."

"Yaaaaaaayyyy!!!" Pinkie responded, immediately releasing her iron grip on his hoof. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you!"

Uh-huh. I'm sure she will...
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Azure Courage was suddenly unsure about the whole prospect of going to this party. He'd been hiding from view in the dark for the better part of what felt like hours watching the sun.

"Pinkie, are you sure she even lives here?" the cyan colt asked of the party pony in a whisper.

"Yeeessss..." whispered the party pony in response.

"It's been a long time since I started hiding..."

"It's only been forty-five minutes, Az!" A familiar voice said in the darkness, also in a hushed voice.

"Dash, what are you--"

"Same reason you're here...welcoming the new arrival, again!"

Yet Pinkie probably didn't have to drag you...wait, have they all seen this new pony?

"Um, she's right outside..." A soft feminine voice intervened. The cyan colt felt his ear twitch.

What the--Fluttershy? Before the colt could board this train of thought, however, the door opened. The other ponies quickly made sure they were out of sight as the orange light briefly flooded the darkened library. Then, total darkness once more flooded the library. Azure held his breath, waiting for when the lights snapped on, just as they had for him.

"Huh, rude much?" asked a male, young-sounding voice.

"Sorry, Spike," said a feminine voice addressing the male voice, "But I have to convince the Princess that-"

"Azie, I'm gonna move for the lights now," Pinkie whispered, cutting off Azure's eavesdropping with her muzzle pretty much inside his ear. "Get ready..."

It took all of the cyan colt's constitution to not say a word, but merely nod somewhat. Somehow, Pinkie understood the unseen gesture and began slinking in the dark.

"--a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?"

Just then, light flooded the library, and Azure, if only to not appear odd by comparison to the majority, joined in the other ponies in greeting the new pony...or ponies, whichever.

"SURPRISE!"

Streamers and balloons suddenly rained down from the ceiling. Azure would have pointed out that he didn't see either one at his welcome party, but given the higher ceiling in the library, decided against it as quickly as it appeared. He merely looked around the room, to see if he could spot other ponies he knew. Obviously, Pinkie was here, seeing as how she threw this whole thing. He could hear Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and a quick check around the room confirmed they were in fact present. Off to his left, he could spot Rarity, who seemed happy. A gray pegasus pony suddenly bumped into him on the right.

"Sorry!" she quickly said, her voice sounding somewhat happy all the same. However, this wasn't like Pinkie's voice. This feminine voice was a bit less on the "I-just-ate-twenty-pounds-of-sugar" side.

"My fault, I was spacing...out?" He took a look at the blond-maned pony, and blinked.

The cyan colt didn't know how to put it into words, but there was something off about the pony's lemon yellow eyes...they seemed to be consistently crossed. Realizing he was starting to stare while he processed the pony's image, he realized he was looking at the local mailmare...what'd they call her, Ditzy Doo? Derpy Hooves? Azure Courage couldn't make up his mind either.

"Just tryin' to see if there's anypony else I know here is all," Azure quickly said, to try and break the silence before the cross-eyed pony could take his silence the wrong way. With a small sigh, he looked, and realized, to his surprise, that even Applejack had attended.

Wait, isn't she supposed to be in the middle of a reunion? How the heck'd she slip away? This was certainly even stranger than his first day in Ponyville, and from the sounds of this new pony, she sure didn't like other ponies. Azure would like to think he didn't think of others as a burden, but he was pretty sure on a subconscious level, he did. Is the new arrival really that much of a big deal? I understand she's come during a holiday and all, but still...

"Excuse me, darling," Azure's ears stiffened. He knew full well who was addressing him. A quick check on his left confirmed Rarity. "I'm sure you might be interested to know that the new mare in town is from Canterlot, like yourself."

Now that was actually somewhat interesting to know. But then again, he wasn't really interested in coming at all. He had expected a quiet evening of meditation, but Pinkie seemed oddly resolute on dragging him here, and he saw no point in fighting a useless battle.

"Huh, is that right?" Azure answered, in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone.

"Oh dear, Pinkie appears to be saving me the trouble..."

Azure looked back ahead. Pinkie was yapping away about the party planning, just as she'd done to him. Obviously, the mare she was talking to was the new pony everypony was talking about. Well, by "everypony", he meant the five mares that he unexpectedly met on his first day. She was purple in color, her mane and tail straight down with her bangs curling around her horn. Her similarly-colored eyes seemed to communicate absolute disinterest in what Pinkie Pie was telling her. Trailing along about five steps behind her was a creature Azure never thought he'd see up close in his lifetime.

It was a dragon, short in stature and bipedal, so obviously it was very young. Like its...owner, assumed the colt, he too was a shade of purple, and had a light green underbelly, as well as dark green "spikes" on his head. He had green eyes that showed interest in what Pinkie was saying. What could Azure say? He didn't expect this.

Nor did he expect to turn to his left to see Rarity no longer there, walking off to mingle with the other partygoers or whatever she was off to do.

Saving you the trouble of...what, exactly? Azure asked in his mind. He was about to yell out after her this question, but unsurprisingly, Pinkie interrupted his mental processes for the fourth time that day.

"Hey, Azure," This was probably the first time Pinkie had ever referred to him by the full part of his first name rather than the shortened name that just so happened to remind him of his mother's pet name. "This is the new pony I was telling you about! C'mon," Within moments, Pinkie was at his flank, and from the look that Twilight gave him, he could tell that she was both confused and annoyed at what exactly just happened. "Say hi to her!"

Wait, ...this can't be going where I think it's going, is it? Azure thought, starting to piece together precisely what Rarity said. The cyan colt would have loved to have done nothing more than get out of there then and there, but just like before when the others introduced themselves, there was something he couldn't place anchoring him in the spot. What it was, the cyan colt didn't care to know, but nonetheless, if this mare wanted to avoid making friends, then by all means he shouldn't even begin to consider troubling her.

Yet, he did anyway. Well, that, and Pinkie shoving him slightly forward helped.

"I'm..." he started, unsure on how to proceed. With a sigh, he forced himself to speak. "I'm Azure Courage. I moved down here from Canterlot last week."

He did notice that the mare's ears flicked up. Did he successfully gain her attention better than Pinkie and the others? Whatever the case, the purple mare didn't respond straight away, so the colt had to keep things going. Part of him wanted to ask what she was studying about, but he quickly dismissed it - he was about as studious as a sloth when it came to academic stuff, and anything she was liable to say was more than likely going to fly straight over his head. Like Rainbow Dash did about four days ago...

"Well, it was a matter of noise pollution really," Azure continued. And her ears went back to normal...okay, good sign, I think.

"Yeah, Canterlot can be noisy sometimes, but, well, I'm here on royal business..." the purple mare said. "I was sent by the princess to check on the preparations for the festival."

Now Azure's ears pricked up. Princess? As in, Princess Celestia...?

"You know...the Princess...?" If ever there was a time since coming to Ponyville that Azure was legitimately surprised...well, this would be the twelfth time. However, in terms of former Canterlot citizens, this would be the first he'd been surprised in a long while.

"I'm her most trusted student..." The purple mare blinked, and now looked as though she'd forgotten something. However, there was no mistaking she still looked annoyed about this whole thing. Not that Azure could blame her. "Oh, I forgot...I'm Twilight Sparkle."

...Simple name. Then again, I'm practically wearing both parts of my name... "Azure" from my coat, "Courage" based on the band on my foreleg... Azure nodded. ...Okay, we're introduced, now wha--?

With a sigh, the purple mare turned towards the punch table, leaving her small dragon looking a little confused at what just happened. He then looked up to Azure, and his eyes flashed somewhat in recollection.

"Wait...aren't you...?" he asked.

"Spike, c'mon," said Twilight. "Might as well enjoy it..." There was no mistaking how annoyed she was with it now, especially with that last part.

Nothing really happened after that for a few minutes. Azure had to stop and consider what had just happened anyway.

This mare is even worse than I was! She wants nothing at all to do with anypony! Then again, I guess that's Canterlot for you... he thought, shifting around in place as though slightly discomforted with what happened. But still, that dragon, think she said his name was "Spike", seemed to recognize me from somewhere... He blinked, and suddenly he felt enlightened. Wait, don't tell me he heard me screaming ear--

The sight of a lavender unicorn mare jumping an impossible height while bursting into flame at the same time snapped Azure from his thoughts. He looked up, and followed her with his eyes as she bolted from the room, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Aww, she's so happy she's crying..." Pinkie said, moving towards where Twilight left. In this instant, he realized what had caused Twilight's sudden need to run for cover. The pink earth pony was now holding up an open bottle of hot sauce. Approximately five seconds later, Pinkie did something else that Azure would find himself questioning: she took said condiment, grabbed a cupcake, and put the condiment on the confection, and ate that.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one that thought it was weird. Among some other ponies that were casting looks her way were the pegasi, the unicorn, and the other earth pony he'd met on day one.

"What?" she asked, looking from gawking pony to gawking pony. "It's good..."

...Sweet Celestia, she is weird... thought the cyan colt to himself. Anyway... Then, Azure crossed his eyes and smashed his hoof to his face in frustration. Ah, darn it, forgot what I was thinking about! Mentally sighing, the unicorn quickly turned his attention to the ongoing party. I wonder...is the guest of honor going to have a change of heart, like I did about this whole party thing?

Heck, I didn't come here expecting to find friends, yet...well, even though I keep them at a distance, I guess I can consider them friends, given that at least two of them are consistently bugging me - Rainbow to check out her moves when I can, Pinkie for things like this; I'm convinced Rarity is flirting with me half the time; Fluttershy, she does seem somewhat happy to see me on the rare occasions we meet; Applejack...well, given she asked about my job of choice, I guess that counts for something.

The colt turned back to where Twilight had left. Now that I think about it, it's sort of odd we met the exact same ponies one week apart...what's going on? I felt the same anchoring tug I felt when speaking with the others...I know I'm no player, but still, it's odd that these six mares would have this effect on me.

With a sigh, Azure realized he was still worrying about things like that. He'd figure that stuff out after tomorrow morning's turnout...if there was a morning to speak of.
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Azure Courage kept telling himself not to worry about Twilight Sparkle, that the new pony would eventually realize that fun was waiting for her just downstairs. However, as the sunset gradually faded into night, the cyan colt's hope turned to doubt. What was she doing up there? Napping? Ponies generally didn't go to bed on this particular night. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set.

Okay, Twilight, what are you up to up there? the unicorn growled to himself mentally. That's it. If the others aren't going to try and talk her down, I will. This is ridiculous! Yeah, I didn't want to be here either, but you don't see me complaining...much...about how Pinkie basically forced me to be here!

The colt's hooves moved slowly as he began following where he saw Twilight dash off to after the hot sauce incident. As he began to gain ground, abruptly, he felt a hoof poking into his shoulder from above. He turned, and looked up.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Rainbow asked, grinning. "The party's back here!"

"I'm aware of that," responded Azure, turning back to where he was trying to go. "But apparently, somepony isn't. And she needs a little reminder. Guess it's gonna be me."

"Oh, I see," Azure then felt a nudge against his side, and saw Dash grinning mischieviously when he turned to look. "Have fun..."

The cyan colt did not understand what the light blue mare was getting at straight away, but opted not to respond, recognizing the look she was giving him all too well. It was probably something reflecting her insensitive nature, anyway, and he did not want to give her the fuel she so obviously desired. Whatever she was hinting at, Azure did not want to know, but if it had anything to do with the birds and/or the bees, Rainbow Dash was lucky she was female.

With that, Azure quickly trotted away from the party. The noise was still very loud, even at the distance he was starting to make as he went up the stairs. As he ascended, he noticed with some concern that Twilight's baby dragon was descending the same stairs with a lampshade over his head.

The colt decided he did not want to know as he reached the top of the stairs, and started to analyze the situation as he quietly walked down the hall, belly close to touching the ground.

"Good thing Virid and Blitz taught me this one..." he mumbled to himself, essentially crawling down the hall. "Even walking slow gives off way too much noise."

As he shuffled his way along in this manner, on his right, he finally noticed a door left ajar on his right. After taking a moment to adjust the band on his foreleg so it was back to where it was before, Azure quietly trotted up to the door, forgoing his crawling position for the moment, seeing as how Twilight was moving away from him, looking out her window.

"'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night'," he just barely made out. Azure barely withheld a strangled gasp from escaping his throat. Did he just hear her correctly? "I hope the princess was right... I hope it really is just an old ponytale..."

"Wait, so..." The mare's ears immediately flicked up, and she turned to see Azure, who did not falter in the least. "I'm not the only one tracking that?"

Twilight blinked, no doubt trying to verify if she heard him correctly. "Wait...what?"

"You just mentioned Nightmare Moon, didn't you?" Azure suddenly felt very stupid, now that he recalled that specific detail about how many years there were. The last three years really were a waste! "How the so-called Mare in the Moon is supposed to return this year?"

"That's right, but...I thought that I was the only one that...saw it coming..." Twilight said. "When did you first start?"

Darn it... "Uh...three years ago?"

"Well, I never really gave it any significant thought until recently... It seemed too odd for there to be a shadow in the face of the moon that just so happened to look like a pony..." Twilight responded. "Still...three years, and you say you're from Canterlot? How did you..."

"Only my family really knew what I thought of the 'old ponytale'." To Azure, he suddenly felt like a weight was lifted from his back. He finally had confirmation, at least, he believed he did, given that the Princess's star pupil also believed that there was truth to the Mare in the Moon. "You know, it's funny, really. They all thought I was insane to think it, yet they still gave me this..." He motioned to the band he wore. "as a parting gift before I got here."

"P-Princess Celestia," Twilight was completely taken aback by this, and from the look on her face, the unicorn colt had a pretty strong indication she was shocked at the information all the same. No, not the band part, the part about Nightmare Moon. "I tried to tell her something bad was about to happen, namely, the return of Nightmare Moon. She dismissed my concerns, and then sent me here."

"So then...earlier, right before the surprise party started...you were mentioning studying further."

"Oh, you heard that?" the purple mare asked sheepishly.

"I'm surprised the rest of the ponies here didn't..." Azure's ear twitched in response to a sound from outside the door, that sounded more like a strangled gasp, masculine in voice, than anything. Ignoring it, he willfully continued, "Whatever the case, what exactly are you looking for?"

"I want evidence to prove my case to the princess...or at least, that was my plan, but then everypony and their grandmother--and I mean that literally considering what happened at Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight grabbed at her stomach, as though becoming ill from the memory. "tried to make friends."

"You know, it sounds crazy, but one week ago, I went through something eerily similar to what you probably went through." Now that he thought about it, it seemed odd that this pony and him would have met the exact same five mares. Only difference is, he wasn't really in a hurry to get away from them as much as he was wanting to relax.

"You can't be serious..." Twilight's eyes widened.

"I met Fluttershy, and her pet bunny first. Lives up to her name, I should say. Rarity was next...wanted me to check those decorations, especially after I told her where I was from." Amused by Twilight's reaction to this, the colt kept right on going, wanting to see if her center of gravity would shift to her hanging lower jaw and bowl her over. Speaking of which... "Let's see, next I met Rainbow Dash, who just about bowled me over, but I think she was just messing around. Then afterward, I wound up in the orchard, met Applejack. Finally, I get home after a long day of meandering around the new town aimlessly, and find Pinkie Pie and a party waiting for me. Along with almost all of the above. Applejack was still preparing for that reunion she mentioned."

The purple mare remained thoroughly stunned by what the colt had just revealed. She could do nothing but stare for a few seconds, in utter disbelief.

"I-I...wow..." She finally gathered her composure. "It's strange that we met the same ponies...were you sent by Princess Celestia too?"

"What? No...I'm not connected to her in any way. I came down here of my own free will..." Azure said. "Should be almost time for the sun to rise. Think we'd better get to the festival."

"Wha--has that much time passed already?" Twilight looked visibly distraught.

"Even if I hadn't come up here, time would have still slipped from you, in all likelihood." The cyan unicorn shook his head slightly. "Anyway, it's a bit late to be doing research now. We'd better get to the festival, and whatever happens, happens."

With a sigh, and a look of annoyed resignation on her face, the purple mare relented. "Let's go..."

"Besides which," Azure said as Twilight passed him. "If it's gonna happen today, we'd better be there to see what comes of it..."

And so, the two unicorns followed the throng of other ponies trotting or flying their way to the festival. If any single one of them had a keen eye and/or chanced to look up, they might have been able to notice the stars drawing ever so closer to the moon, and the ominous shadow that decorated its face taking on a darker and even more ominous look.
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The turnout for the arrival of the solar princess was no less than spectacular. It was also not less than expected, Azure noted as he surveyed the room. This still wasn't everypony in Ponyville, however, indicating to the colt that indeed, not all of the population had managed to make it through the night. At the very least, he would be able to watch the sun rise.

As the minutes to sunrise passed, Pinkie was mingling with anypony that'd lend her even half an ear, telling them about how excited she was, and asking if they too were excited, before bouncing around to the next pony.

He looked around. Spike and Twilight were on his right, relatively close by. Fluttershy was over at a tree, preparing the birds. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking about something relatively close by, and Rarity was making a couple of last-minute adjustments to the decorations.

"Hey, isn't this exciting?" Pinkie was now in the spot directly between him and Twilight. "Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited..."

At this point, Azure instinctively began tuning out Pinkie Pie's rambling. He could probably count off times he'd seen the pink earth pony excited about something, and listening to her ramble on about how excited she was at this moment was something that the cyan colt decided he could have done without. He eyed the balcony, where Rarity stood off to the left, looking satisified with her handiwork.

Fanfare filled the ears of the ponies present, and all heads turned toward the aforementioned balcony. A tan-furred mare with a white mane and tail stepped up. She also wore glasses. It was Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. At least, that was her name as Azure was told, but most of the townsponies referred to her as "Ms. Mayor", so her real name could have been anything.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!"

The sounds of cheering overwhelmed Azure for a split-second, even though he joined in somewhat, trying to blend in as he'd done for the past few years. As the mayor began her speech on the event, Azure continued to watch the sky, namely, the moon.

It was something he did for the last few years, ever since he'd started tracking the progress on the old ponytale. He wanted to see if the shadow changed. The first thing he noticed was that something wasn't quite normal. The mayor continued to speak, now going on about how Princess Celestia gave the ponies "the sun and the moon each and every day", but Azure no longer focused. The stars immediately surrounding the moon were lined up a little too good. It was certainly a strange event, but the cyan colt withheld a surprised gasp when the shadow in the moon altered physically.

Songbirds filled Azure's ears, and for a moment, his concentration lapsed. He blinked once, twice, to restore it, then he realized something had changed about the moon.

The shadow was gone from the moon's face.
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Twilight looked around at the hall, completely convinced something bad was about to happen. Azure was right next to her, his eyes firmly locked upon the moon. The eye that she could see was twitching, obviously anticipating something bad. Apparently, the ponies in the room were confused as well. Rarity went back behind the curtain, obviously to check if something was wrong. The gathered ponies were murmuring amongst themselves. Apprehension was choking the atmosphere of what should have been a bright celebration, and the purple mare gave a sigh.

"This can't be good..."

"Understatement of the year..." Azure finally whispered, sounding as though he couldn't believe what was unfolding before his eyes. "The moon, Twilight..."

She finally looked up toward the moon, just as Azure had been. Before she could process the fact that the moon's face was as blank as an unused notebook, the mayor spoke up again.

"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!"

I'm sure I can think of a good one... the purple mare thought to herself. Azure was still watching, waiting for something to happen, completely quiet. He looked beyond serious now, and his brown eyes were now scanning the entire hall for any signs of disturbance.

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie said, causing Twilight to turn to her, "I love guessing games! Is she hiding?"

Rarity, at this point, burst forth from the curtain, looking confused and afraid.

"She's gone!" she announced. Everypony gasped at once.

"Oh, she's good..." retorted the hyperactive earth pony. It was then, Azure finally made any real noise, a short snort of surprise. Right there, on the balcony, a dark blue fog was starting to gather. Pinkie yelped in surprise, seeing the dense fog. It was at this point, the worst fears of Twilight came to life.

The mist formed, and in a short flash of light, a new figure had taken the place where Princess Celestia was supposed to stand. There was no mistaking it: the black-as-night fur, the sky blue, flowing mane, the teal colored eyes, the blue helmet, necklace, and other royal decorum...the fact she had wings and a horn; the moon cutie mark...

It was clear who the newcomer was now.

"Oh no...Nightmare Moon!" Twilight whispered to herself. Spike, who had just a few minutes ago dismissed her concerns and told her to lighten up, immediately passed out from the excitement. Azure, on the other hand, still kept his look of utter concentration as he stared daggers up toward the balcony.

"Oh, my beloved subjects," the mare that was formerly in the moon began, a look of malignant pleasure on her face as she looked upon the confused denizens of Ponyville. "It's been so long since I've seen your precious, sun-loving faces..."

"What did you do with our Princess?!" Twilight quickly turned away from the malignant alicorn to catch Rainbow Dash just about to rush up to the alicorn. However, Applejack reacted quickly, clamping her jaws down on Rainbow's tail to prevent her from doing that. She said something trying to get Rainbow to stop trying, but whatever she said was garbled by the mouthful of tail hair, as well as Twilight's own anxiety. She turned to where Azure was standing, and realized with confusion that he wasn't there anymore.

"What," Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle, "am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games!" said Pinkie, bouncing up and down in a manner most inconsistent with a crisis, "Um, Hokey Smokes! How about...Queen Meanie?" The incorrect name would have made Twilight giggle a little were it not for the seriousness of the situation, "No! Black Snooty! Black Snoo--" Applejack had taken control of this situation too, shoving a cupcake into Pinkie's mouth with a hoof. Her further guesses were muffled by the confection.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" the black alicorn continued, sounding angry and insulted. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

Finally, Twilight found it in her to speak up.

"I did." she spoke up, loud and clear. All heads turned towards her, but the purple mare did not falter. "And I know who you are...you're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!"

The statement sent shockwaves throughout the room. Everypony gasped, while the addressed mare only chuckled.

"Well, well, well, somepony who remembers me..." Nightmare Moon continued, a look of triumph slowly starting to take form on her features. "Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to...to..." Twilight swallowed hard. She couldn't find it in her to pronounce the words. In this instant, she'd really wished the Ponyville residents weren't so welcoming. If only she'd had more time to study...! The dark pony merely chuckled. There was a small murmuring off to her right. Rainbow was hovering, but was insanely confused at what she was seeing. Applejack was equally confused.

"What's that city boy up to...?" Applejack whispered.

"Don't know..." Rainbow responded, also in a hushed voice. Nightmare Moon took no notice of this conversation. Thunder crackled, and Twilight realized there was a storm gathering around the villainess.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last!" The thunder rumbled, and clouds momentarily gathered, obscuring the night sky as an ominous storm brewed around the alicorn. "From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She became overwhelmed with laughter, taking her eyes off the crowd. Suddenly, Twilight realized she could hear something dimly against the chaos. Hooves rapidly hitting something...

"Not if I have a thing to say about it!"

The crowd of ponies gasped in utter shock, and Nightmare Moon snapped back to attention. Twilight's jaw hung agape and refused to budge for a few moments.

Azure, what are you doing?!

Sure enough, the cyan colt who had vanished had, by all accounts, managed to find a decent place to jump up off, and began rushing Nightmare Moon with a forehoof outstretched. The alicorn's eyes narrowed and she gained a smug smirk on her face.

A few moments later, Azure Courage was now suspended in the air, held in place by Nightmare Moon's magic. She couldn't see his facial expression, but from the way he shifted in the glow, Twilight could only guess he was rethinking his brilliant tactic. Nightmare Moon brought him down so that the two were face-to-face.

"Evidently, you do not have any idea what you're up against, contemptuous foal!" she yelled at him, giving him a strong toss into one of the walls of the town hall. Something-probably that strap Azure indicated earlier, flew off haphazardly into the crowd of ponies. The cyan colt slid to the floor from the height, and landed on his side, knocked for a loop at the very least.

What'd you expect to happen?! You tried attacking an alicorn, Azure...

Twilight couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed, but soon her instincts took over.

"Things are about to become worse..." she said, "a lot worse..."

Comments

[Tesla Moon]

Okay y are there no comments ? That was funny as saying Princess Celeste is burning cunt out loud in public!

[TheArchive]

I'm sorry, but that was just pathetically stupid. You're saying that the best idea he could come up with, after spending years more than Twilight thinking about possible plans and scenarios, was to just go full frontal attack? Not only that, but to be a complete idiot and actually shout a cliché line? What? That's just, there are no words for how badly this scene went.

Honestly, you might as well delete any prior mention of having him plan for NMMs return, because nothing here had anything to show for it. Period. He might as well have been just as confused as to who she was as the rest of them.