Chapter 3: Laughter and Merriment
The Pegasus-drawn chariot soared across the skies of Equestria, just below the cover of clouds. While Twilight was despondent over both leaving Canterlot and failing her Mark of Mastery exam, the sensation of the brisk summer air blowing against her face had lifted her spirits a little. Besides reading, flying chariot rides were one of the few things in life she enjoyed.
She looked over the side of the chariot and watched as vast grasslands, acres of apple trees, and a winding river passed below. Glancing ahead then, she saw as the clouds parted and the quaint town of Ponyville came into view. A rather small-looking village to be holding an event as momentous as the Summer Sun Celebration, but it seemed nice.
Twilight let out a long sigh. There were so many things she’d rather be doing right now.
“Still bummed about leaving home for a couple days?” she heard Spike ask.
“I’m not a little filly, Spike,” Twilight replied. “I can handle being away from home for a short while. What I can’t handle is being forced to deal with what’s sure to be dozens of ponies jabbering away at me while I oversee the preparations.”
“Well…at least the princess arranged for you to stay in a library. That’s good, right?”
Twilight thought on it some before coming to an outlandish conclusion. “You know what? It is good! Because the princess knows I’m right! I’ll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon’s return!”
Spike felt the need to face-hoof (or face-claw, as the case may be). “You’re still on that?” he moaned. “You remember what the princess said. And what about making friends?”
“Spike, I am the personal student of Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, briefly bragging. “I’ll check on the preparations like she asked, but I have far more important things to do than make friends.”
The little dragon shook his head at the sentiment, but otherwise refrained from pestering Twilight about the matter further.
The chariot gradually lost altitude as it flew within the Ponyville town limits. A small number of pony pedestrians looked on as it arrived. The ride got a little bumpy as the chariot came to rest on the ground, but it was a smooth landing nonetheless. The two passengers hopped out of the chariot and thanked their royal guard chauffeurs before setting out.
“Come on,” said Twilight, beckoning her companion in the direction of the town hall. “First things first, we need to meet with the mayor. She’s expecting us.” She looked ahead toward the building in question when something in the corner of her eye turned her attentions westward. Something had just hidden itself from view. A Heartless perhaps? Twilight hadn’t known many species of Heartless to act stealthily. And she didn’t sense the telltale signs of darkness that Heartless radiated. In fact, in this place, Twilight felt hardly any darkness at all.
Spike noticed the sudden pause in her step. “What’s up?” he inquired.
“…Did you see that?”
“See what?”
“Hmm… Nothing, I guess.”
The two continued on toward the town hall…as a figure watched keenly from the shadows.
My Little Pony: The Key to Friendship
~ Chapter 3: Laughter and Merriment ~
“…Here you are: the official overseer’s checklist,” said the mayor of Ponyville as she handed a ribbon-bound scroll to Twilight.
Twilight picked the scroll up with her telekinesis and opened it up to look over the list. “Thank you, Mayor Mare,” Twilight said to the gray-maned authority figure.
Mayor Mare shook her head lightly. “Oh, no, thank you, Miss Sparkle. And let me be the first to say how thrilled and honored we all are that Princess Celestia’s chosen our little town to host the Celebration this year!”
“I’ll be sure to pass your regards on to the princess when I can,” she said with a soft chuckle, her eyes not straying from the parchment before her. “Hmm… ‘Decorations’… The Celebration’s being held in the hall pavilion, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“And the pavilion’s through…that door there, I’m guessing?”
“Why, yes.”
Twilight moved for the door in question. “Would you mind terribly if I took a look inside to see how the decorations are coming?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t recommend that. You see, the decorations are being handled by the local dressmaker and she’d explicitly asked there be no interruptions.”
Twilight twisted her muzzle a little at this. So much for checking something off the list early, she thought. Looking up, she glanced out the window to observe the sun. “Oh, well. It’s still pretty early. Guess I’ll just—” She did a double-take toward the window. Something in the corner was just staring at her, but was now gone. “What the…?”
Mayor Mare tilted her head in confusion at the purple unicorn’s behavior. “Is something wrong, Miss Sparkle?”
Twilight turned to face the mayor nervously. “Miss Mayor,” she started, “by any chance does Ponyville currently have a Heartless problem?”
“Heartless?” Mayor Mare echoed, tapping her chin with a hoof. “No, not to my knowledge. The Keyblade Guard’s been quite vigilant in keeping the peace. But, from what I hear, their most frequent appearances have been near Sweet Apple Acres.”
“I see… Thank you for your time. We’ll be going now. Come on, Spike.”
“Twilight?” Twilight’s movement for the front door came suddenly to Spike, and he ran to catch up. “W-Wait for me!”
The edgy unicorn pony started up the path leading to Sweet Apple Acres, her pace increased. Spike had just caught up with her when he called out. “Twilight, slow down! What’s the rush?”
“There’s something weird about this place, Spike. I can’t put my hoof on it, but something about it just feels…off.”
“You mean Mayor Mare? She seemed pretty nice to me.”
“I’m not talking about the mayor. Although if there is something going on, she might be in on it. I mean, ever since we first came into town, I’ve felt like we were being followed.”
“Sure you’re not just being paranoid?”
“I’m serious, Spike! The sooner we get through the checklist, the sooner I can—” Twilight’s sentence was cut short when something her eyes just barely registered sped by her backside. In response, she summoned the Academia and turned to face the mysterious entity. “Alright, enough is enough! Whoever or whatever’s following us, show yourself!”
Twilight’s demand was met with windswept silence.
Spike raised an eyebrow at her spectacle and remarked, “Princess Celestia was right. You do spend way too much time indoors.”
Realizing she had just made a spectacle of herself, Twilight bashfully put the Keyblade away. “Maybe. But it never hurts to be prepared—”
~Honk~!
As she turned back around to continue up the road, Twilight was stopped yet again when her nose came into contact with another pony’s nose, making a distinctive honking noise as it did so. Twilight found herself staring into the deep blue of another pony.
“Hi!”
“Aah!” With a startled shriek, Twilight stumbled rearward, tripping over her own hooves and falling onto her back. She looked up to see an Earth pony standing over her. She had a hot pink coat, a frizzy, bright raspberry mane that more closely resembled cotton candy, and the same deep blue eyes she was staring into seconds ago.
The pink pony continued with her introduction, despite nearly giving Twilight a heart attack. “I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”
Twilight’s mind had gone blank. The pony on top of her seemed to come out of nowhere. “Uhhh…” is all she managed to utter in her discomfort.
“…Well, come on. You do have a name, right?” The pink pony named Pinkie Pie suddenly gasped. “Unless you don’t have a name! Oh, that’d be just awful! Terrible! THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING! …Oh, wait. That’s not my line. Heh. Silly me!”
Twilight struggled to form a coherent thought as Pinkie blathered nonsensically. “W-What? No! I mean…of course I have a name! It’s Twilight Sparkle!”
“Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle! I’m Pinkie Pie! …Whoops! Already said that, didn’t I? Hee-hee! Um…is this your first day in Ponyville?”
The unicorn hesitated to answer. She nodded slowly.
“It is? Great! In that case…” Just then, Pinkie’s mood had done a complete 180, and she glares coldly into Twilight’s eyes, moving closer until they were just inches apart. “I’ve got just one more question for you, Miss Twilight Sparkle…”
Twilight swallowed the lump in her heart. “W-W-What is it?”
“…Do you like parties?” Pinkie 180’d again, and her smile was back in full force.
Once again, the purple-coated pony was caught off-guard. “What?!”
“Yeah, you’re right! What am I thinking? Of course you like parties! Everypony likes parties! Except for the Heartless. Every time I try to get ‘em to eat cake, they try to eat me instead! I wonder if I taste good.” Pinkie proceeded to lick her own hoof. “…Mm. Bubblegum.”
“Uhhh…”
Pinkie gasped again. “Oh, my gosh! What am I doing still standing around here for?! I have to put together your welcome party! It’ll be the most super-fun, super-fabulous, super-fantastic party you’ve ever had! Bye!” And in a big, pink blur, the hyperactive Pinkie Pie had vanished to parts unknown.
Twilight’s thought processes were an utter jumble. “…What just happened?”
…Deciding to forget her encounter with the perplexing pink pony ever happened, Twilight took Spike and moved on to the large apple farm at the end of the road: the aptly named Sweet Apple Acres. According to the checklist, the family that lived here was in charge of preparing the Celebration banquet. Spike licked his lips ravenously at the wealth of apples that graced every corner of his eye. Rather than chide his baser urges, Twilight concerned herself with finding someone to talk to about the catering.
But as far as she could tell, Sweet Apple Acres looked deserted.
“Where is everypony?” she spoke.
Just then… “Consarn it! They jus’ keep gettin’ back up! Ya holdin’ out okay, Big Mac?”
“Eeyup!”
“Alright! Hold ‘im steady now! Aaaaaaand… YAH!”
At that moment, a small, black mass had shot up into the air and clear over the barn. Twilight and Spike watched as the mass sailed through the air and landed with a muted splat, momentarily becoming as a puddle of black sludge before hopping back up to assume its normal equine shape.
Twilight recognized the organism in an instant. “Heartless!” she cried as she instinctively readied the Academia. The Nightfoal had acknowledged the two’s presence for all of three seconds before the Key bearer silenced it with a simple blast of Fire. “Come on, Spike!” Without another moment’s hesitation, she galloped toward the other side of the barn.
The west fields of Sweet Apple Acres were a small-scale warzone. Over a dozen Heartless were running about, causing the trees to rot from their influence. The only thing that stood between them and those succulent apples were a pair of ponies: a mare, slender yet fit, an orange coat with blond mane and tail, wearing a light brown Stetson hat; and a stallion, very well-built, a crimson coat with a mane and tail of light orange, wearing a brown yoke around his neck. The two raced up and down the field, chasing down the Heartless and striking at them with their hind legs. While some immediately vaporized into dust, others proved more resilient and persevered to cause the two ponies further torment.
The orange-coated pony threw her hat to the ground in exasperation. “Blasted varmints are tough as nails! We’ll lose this entire field at this rate!”
“Excuse me!”
The mare turned to face Twilight and Spike as they arrived. Normally, she’d have delighted in the company of new faces, but given the circumstances… “Oh. Howdy there, folks. If y’all are here ‘bout the caterin’, Ah’d be happy t’ talk about it, but…as ya can plainly see, Ah kinda got mah hooves full at th’ moment.”
Twilight watched on as the Heartless laid waste to the field of apple trees and the red stallion labored in vain to drive them away. She sympathized. She knew the threat that the Heartless posed. Though why they were targeting the apple orchard and not the two ponies themselves was beyond her. Nevertheless… “…Allow me,” said Twilight, stepping forward with Keyblade at the ready.
The Heartless in her vicinity appeared to pick up on her presence and aimed their attention toward her. They approached.
Ignoring their advance, Twilight focused all of her awareness on the blade in her magical grasp.
“Now what in Celestia’s name is that girl doin’?” asked the blond pony to Spike.
The widely grinning Spike crossed his arms. “You’ll see.”
Just as the mob of Heartless converged on Twilight, her eyes shot open. She pointed her blade skyward and called forth a brilliant pillar of blue-white light that incinerated the Heartless nearest to her into nothing. The pillar then split itself off into eight smaller poles of light that danced around Twilight like a carousel. With a simple swing of her weapon, Twilight sent the pillars flying outward, obliterating any and all Heartless that still remained in the area. The deed finally done, Twilight let out the breath she’d been holding, her legs wobbly from having cast such a high-level offensive spell.
“Nice one, ‘Twi’,” Spike commended. “What do you call that one again?”
“Faith,” the still shaky unicorn answered. “Only ever read about it – never tried it out before. Whew… I need to sit down…”
The mare with the orange coat knelt down to pick up her hat and set it atop her head, her mouth agape at Twilight’s show of magic. “Hoo-WEE! That was mighty impressive there, li’l missy! Don’t think Ah’ve ever seen a Keyblade pony do that before! Have you, Big Mac?”
“Nnnope,” replied the heavyset stallion as he approached.
The Academia vanished into Twilight’s cutie mark, and she walked up to address the two. “It was…nothing really.”
“‘Nothin’’?! Shoot, sure didn’t look like nothin’! Why, ya sent them beady-eyed Heartless varmints packin’ faster than jackrabbits with their tails on fire! Plumb saved our apple field too! …Well, what’s left of it anyways.”
“Why were the Heartless targeting your apple trees anyway? They’re drawn to darkness; I’ve never known them to do this before.”
“Ah don’t rightly know. Ya reckon they got a taste fer apples now too?”
“Heartless that like apples? That’s…odd.”
“Odder things have happened. …Oh, but where’re mah manners? Ah’m Applejack. This here’s mah brother Big McIntosh. And who do we have t’ thank fer savin’ our livelihood?”
“Oh, um… My name is Twilight Sparkle—” All of a sudden, Twilight felt Applejack take her hoof into hers, and she shook vigorously, catching Twilight by surprise.
“Pleasure makin’ yer acquaintance, Miss Twilight! We here at Sweet Apple Acres love makin’ new friends! And th’ way ya stepped up and saved our field like that, we’d be pleased as punch t’ call ya a good friend of ours! Right, Big Mac?”
“Eeyup,” answered Big McIntosh in what was likely his signature manner.
Applejack finally let go of Twilight’s hoof and addressed her properly. “So! What can Ah do ya fer?” the mare asked with a wink.
When the trembling from their hoofshake subsided, Twilight responded, “A-Ahem! Right! Well, I’m chief planning supervisor for the Summer Sun Celebration. You’re in charge of the food, yes?”
“Yes, indeedy! Would ya like to sample some of our vittles?”
“Boy, would we!” Spike interjected, jumping at the offer of free food.
“I suppose,” Twilight relented with a sigh, “as long as it doesn’t take too long…”
“Why don’t Ah introduce y’all t’ th’ family while we’re at it?” Applejack proposed as she moved toward a nearby dinner bell. “Should let ‘em know th’ coast is clear.” She took the metal beater into her mouth and struck at the inner sides of the triangle, filling the air with discordant sounds, before crying out,
“SOUP’S ON, EVERYPONY!”
A little filly poked her head out the barn door. Her coat was a pale shade of yellow, and her mane and tail shimmered a vibrant red. She wore a large pink bow that accentuated her cuteness. The filly quickly glanced left and right before turning to the barn interior. “It’s safe t’ come out now, y’all!” she said before hopping out into the open.
Right behind her came a herd of over twenty Earth ponies of assorted coat and mane colors, all of whom had been hiding in the barn from the Heartless. Twilight and Spike were very nearly trampled as they crowded around them and Applejack. Their sheer number had thrown the unicorn for a loop.
Applejack threw one foreleg over Twilight’s withers and the other over Spike’s shoulders as she introduced them. “Everypony,” she began, “this here’s Twilight and Spike. They’ll be joinin’ us fer brunch today. Let’s show ‘em some good ol’-fashioned Apple family hospitality, huh?”
The family of Earth ponies erupted into a chorus of cheers and laughs then, and started setting up the picnic table. Twilight tried to voice her objections, but to no avail; she was outnumbered. And no backup would come from her dragon assistant; he was too busy stuffing his cheeks with apple-themed treats. She resigned herself to her fate. With any luck, she wouldn’t be kept for longer than an hour if necessary.
A short while later (and having had more than her fill of pie), Twilight snuck away from the party to return to the west field. A good portion of the trees were rotted and would undoubtedly have to be uprooted. The mystery of the apple-loving Heartless was still fresh in Twilight’s mind. To her knowledge, there hadn’t been any documented cases of Heartless eating pony foods. Maybe there was something special about the way these apples were grown? Something in the soil perhaps? Twilight made a mental note to look into the matter more closely once the Summer Sun Celebration was over.
She walked over and rested a hoof on the trunk of one of the rotted trees. Just as she thought. Its heart was gone. As Twilight came to realize over the years, every living thing had a heart (at least in the metaphysical sense) that wills it, drives it. And this tree no longer had one. Only a shriveled husk remained.
“Can ya help it?” asked a young voice at Twilight’s side.
Twilight looked over and down to see the little bow-wearing filly from before standing beside her. “Oh. Hello. Um… Apple Bloom, was it?”
“Yup. So…can ya? Help the trees, that is?”
The unicorn looked back to the tree with a forlorn face. How can you help what’s already dead? “…I’m sorry, Apple Bloom,” she sighed to the filly, “but I can’t.”
“But Applejack said you’re one o’ them Keyblade ponies! Cain’t ya just wave it ‘round like a magic wand and fix ‘em up good as new?”
“It…doesn’t work like that.” Twilight hesitated. She hadn’t much experience speaking to foals.
Apple Bloom kicked lightly at the dirt, her tone becoming bitter. “Ah wish Ah had a Keyblade. Then Ah could help Applejack and Big Mac protect Sweet Apple Acres from the Heartless. But they always make me go an’ hide in th’ barn.”
“They’re just trying to protect you.”
“Ah know that, but… Ah’m not a little baby. Ah can take care o’ mahself.”
Twilight smiled warmly at the filly’s desire to protect her home and family. She saw in Apple Bloom a longing not unlike her own longing to learn all there was to learn. She found herself thinking back to her Keyblade-related studies and remembered reading about something called the ‘Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony’. Twilight briefly entertained the notion of choosing Apple Bloom as her successor, but quickly cast such notions aside; she didn’t think Applejack or Big McIntosh would take kindly to her intentionally exposing their youngest sibling to the Heartless more than she already had been.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try and cheer the young pony up.
She summoned the Academia. “Hey. You wanna see something cool?”
Apple Bloom picked her head up to see what Twilight was up to.
From the tip of the blade shot out several tiny sparks of light that hung in the air. As Twilight brandished the weapon about, the sparks flew about in Apple Bloom’s vicinity, dancing around her like fireflies and tickling her cheek as they came close. She giggled at the tingly sensation, and her bad mood had lifted.
Twilight decided that, for the next few minutes at least, she would amuse Apple Bloom with a private magic show. Her duty to Princess Celestia – the Summer Sun Celebration – could wait a few minutes longer.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, Applejack leaned against the barn and looked on at the two, content with simply watching. The smile on her little sister’s muzzle brought a smile to her own.
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(Joke) Alt. Title: Imperfect Fantasy XIII-2: Key Of Ponesome
...And hopefully, whoever made that awesome stain glass window.
I know Twilight is a strong mage, but don't you think having her know Faith this early is a little much?
1811302 Normally, you'd be right, but I established early on that Twilight's been a Keyblade wielder for several years now, and during that time she's been learning as much as she could about the Keyblade as fast as she could. Is it much of a stretch of the imagination to assume she has a few big spells under her belt? Granted, I don't plan to make her repertoire THAT extensive, but I do plan to get a little...imaginative.
1811453
Pretty sure Aqua's been a Keyblade wielder for several years too and you don't see her casting Deep Freeze at the start of the game.
Mid-level spells like Firaga and Triple Plasma would be more believable for Twilight. Twilight's power should be parallel to that of the show. Teleportation was a struggle for Twilight in the first season, but she can pull off multiple teleports in a row by the beginning of the third. There are plenty of mid-level commands that Twilight can use as she's not restricted like the games are. Just a suggestion. If you want to keep her overpowered, go ahead. But personally, I think it would be more impressive if Twilight got creative with mid-level spells than just pure power. And please, no Shotlocks.
1811512
Alright, you win. Decided to take what you said to heart. I kept Faith in, but I edited the scene a little to make it look like casting it took more out of Twilight than she thought it would. Also, no, no Shotlocks in the foreseeable future. I'm not following Birth by Sleep by the letter.
does acadamia look like oathkeeper? I am trying to think what her keyblade would look like. mine would be what ever reflected my personality or oblivion.
1812672
Thank goodness, Shotlock was easy mode. So glad I did a no Shotlock run. You don't have to do this, but Command Styles would be pretty cool to see. Not sure how you'd pull it off tho. By the way, Twilight has some physical commands right?
1812856 The Academia is modeled after the Spellbinder. Look for a link to a picture of it in Chapter 1.
1812960 She might. She's definitely not 100% magic-focused, if that's what you're asking. I don't want to get overly technical and bog the story down by throwing out command names like Strike Raid and Cure. (If you look again at Chapter 2, you'll see Shining Armor using Strike Raid and Twilight using Magnet). Avoiding the "Calling Your Attacks" trope. LOL
1813055
I knew Shining Armor threw a Strike Raid (prefer the 3D vers. myself), but I wasn't sure that Twilight was using Magnet. There you go, clever use of a low level spell.
Nobody's will be a *buy some apples* to add in the story...
-Kiryu
Pretty sure that's what most reactions upon meeting Pinkie are...
Hmm... aside from the variety of spells being used, what would her (if she does have) Limit Break (much like in 356/2 days) be?
Now if she really wanted to be overpowered she should be able to use Dual Roxas's Final Limit Break endlessly
I swear, that thing is near OP against a swath of Heartless
1817675 Glad you're enjoying it. The rest of the Mane Six can't wield Keyblades at the moment, and as I said in a previous comment, I plan to go in depth about the Elements' nature in a later chapter (don't want to give anything away just yet). Hope you can wait 'til then, because that's a chapter I really want to start on.
I loved this chapter! It was great!!
I really loved this chapter and the interactions Twilight had with the Apple family. Very different and heart warming. Plus, Pinkie was amusing to read.