> Harmony and Unity > by HuskToFawn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Mare in the Moon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” As the story ended, a purple unicorn with a dark indigo mane with streaks of purple and pink closed the book and used her magic to put the book back into her bag. “Hm, the Elements of Harmony, I feel like I’ve heard of them, but where?” The unicorn inquired to herself. “Twi!” An earth pony called out. She had a pinkish-orange coat with a dark purple-ish magenta mane with streaks of red, yellow and blue with rollerskates on. “Come on, we gotta get ready!” “Sunny, we don’t have anything to do today.” The unicorn, now known as Twilight, said. “Uh, yeah we do. Don’t you remember? I kept reminding you about it for the past 2 weeks!” The earth pony, now known as Sunny, said. The unicorn still had a face of confusion. “You know! The get together?” “Oh, uh, right, that reminds me, I’ve gotta get back to the library to uh, research for homework? ” Twilight feebly lied as she tried to walk away. “Twilight, it’s summer vacation, we don’t have homework.” Sunny deadpanned. “Um, would you believe me if I said Princess Celestia gave homework to me herself?” “Twilight, come on! You never come to these parties, even the Winter Wishday party your mom threw!” Sunny said. “Sunny, you know that I had assignments coming up! I had to do them, and the party just happened the be around that time!” Twilight argued. “You mean the diorama? Let’s face it Twilight, you make dioramas in one hour flat, and one about Starswirl the Bearded? You probably did it in thirty!” Sunny sighed. “If I help you with whatever you’re doing, then will you go to the party?” “Fine,” “Yay!” Sunny cheered. “So, what’re you doing anyway?” The two ponies walked up to the old private library that Celestia had given Twilight. She looked up at the peering tower over her, she felt like something was wrong but brushed it away and entered the library with Twilight. “Spike! Spi-i-ike!” Twilight called out, she turned back to Sunny. “How fast can you find books?” Once she said that, Sunny stepped back once. “Uh, Maybe he’s here somewhere?” Sunny nervously said before trotting around. “Spike! Spi-i-i-ike! Spike Sparkle, where are you!?” Sunny called out, before a light lavender with green, spiny plates that ran from head to tail stepped on the stairs from the second floor. “Hi, Sunny! Are we going to the party yet?” The dragon asked as he walked down the stairs. “Nope, you see, Twilight promised if I help her with... whatever she’s doing, she’ll come with us.” Sunny explained. “Really? All right!” Spike said as he set foot on the first floor. “What’cha need Twilight? Need help with a new spell? Potions? Books?” “Well, can you find that old book we got, what was it called again... Predictions and Prophecies, volume one, I presume?” Twilight said. Her horn lit up with magenta light as she grabbed books with her magic. Sunny, going to all the books classified as “P”, started grabbing books from that section in a hurry. “Potions and How to Brew Them, no. Parenting a Teen, nope. Princess Celestia’s Guide to Baking Pancakes of Each and Every Flavor Known to Ponykind: Recipe Books 1 - 26? Okay, 26 books is overkill. Starry Trotter and the Alicorn’s Crystal? This doesn’t even start with P!” Sunny said with an exasperated look on her face. “A History of Ponykind!? Arrgh!” “Found it!” Spike was running towards Twilight with a copy of Predictions and Prophecies. “Yes!” Twilight levitated the book from Spike’s claws and started flipping throughout the pages. “E, E, E, E... aha! Elements of Harmony, they are said to be incredibly powerful artifacts lost to ponykind, for more information, see “Mare in the Moon”, page 169.” She flips to page 169, and reads the entry above. “The Mare in the Moon, a myth from olden pony times.” She continued onto the next page. “The Mare in the Moon was a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, but she was defeated by the Elements of Harmony and was imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and will bring about nighttime eternal.” “Nothing like hearing a story you’ve heard since you were a foal, huh?” Sunny said. Twilight didn’t respond to that, looking like she was deep in thought. “Uh, Twi?” After that, Twilight returned to her senses with a gasp. “Spike, Sunny, do you know what this means!?” “Uhh, no?” Spike responded. “Take a note please,” Twilight said, giving Spike a quill-pen and a scroll. “Ahem, my dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!” “Hold on, uh, preci... preci...” “Uh, threshold?” “Threh... nope.” “Uh, brink?” “Okay, anything else you wanna put in your letter?” “Right. For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return to Equestria and bring with her eternal night. Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.” “Done,” Spike said, rolling up the scroll and wrapping it in a red ribbon. “Great! Send it, please. Then we can go to that party, just like I promised.” “Oh, now?” “Of course, now. What, do I wait until I hear a message that says: “Send your letter to me now - Princess Celestia.”.” Twilight said sarcastically. “Twi, Spike’s right. The Princess is busy, getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s like, the day after tomorrow.” Sunny said. “That’s just it! The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of of the Summer Sun Celebration! It’s imperative that the princess is told right away!” “Fine,” Spike encases the scroll in dragonfire, a second later the scroll is gone from Spike’s claws. “but I wouldn’t hold your breath.” Just after he said that, Spike burped up a scroll. “Huh, it’s like she had this on standby.” “Well? Read it!” Twilight said. Spike unfurled the letter, reading the first few words. “My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely.” “Mhm,” “But you simply must stop reading those dusty, old books!” As Spike read that last line, Twilight gasped. “I’m gonna take it we’re not gonna make it to that party any time soon.” > Preparations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “My dear Twilight: There is more to a young pony’s life than studying. So I’m sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year’s location, Maretime Town.” Spike read. He, Twilight, and Sunny were on a golden chariot towards Maretime Town. “And I have an even more essential task for you to complete—make some friends.” Spike read, he re-furled the scroll and put it... somewhere. “Come on, Twilight! Don’t be so down, we get to stay in my old lighthouse, and it has a library! Cheer up!” Sunny said. Hearing this, Twilight’s expression brightened up. “You’re right Sunny, I knowI’m right, we’ll check on the preperations as fast as we can, then I get to the library and find proof of Nightmare Moons return!” “Then when will you make friends like Princess Celestia said?” Sunny said, with a bit of worry in her face. “She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I’ll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends.” Twilight said. The chariot touches down on the ground and the three get off and thank the pegasus guards that carried them. “Twilight! Come on, we already missed the party! Please, please make some friends! Or at least just try to socialize!” Sunny pleaded. “I won’t stop until you do, just to let you know.” “Fi-i-i-ine!” Twilight gave in. She walked to a pink, earth pony with a magenta mane, she had three balloons for a cutie mark, two were blue while the other one was yellow and placed higher than the rest. “Uh, hello? I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this over here is-” Twilight said, before the pink pony MASSIVELY gasped and (somehow) suspended herself in mid-air before she dashed away. “Okay, how did she do that!? No pony can keep themselves suspended in mid-air! And certainly not an earth pony! Er, sorry Sunny.” “No offense taken,” Sunny assured. “Anyways, Spike, what’s first on the list?” Twilight, Sunny, and Spike were walking towards the entrance of “Sweet Apple Acres”, which was on the east of Maretime Town. “Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer’s Checklist. Number one, banquet preparations—Sweet Apple Acres.” Spike read. As he re-furled the scroll and put it back to wherever he got it from, the three saw a big, red barn and multiple ponies talking, cooking, playing, all of that. There were even yellow and red streamers and orange balloons set up. “Ooh, festive,” Sunny complimented. She walked up to an orange mare with light blonde hair with a cowboy hat on. She had three apples for her cutie mark and was holding a bucket of apples with her teeth, once she noticed Sunny, she hurriedly put down the bucket and turned to greet the three. “Well, howdy do! Ah’m Applejack, you three came at jus’ the right time! We ‘ere at Sweet Apple Acres do love makin’ new friends!” “Nice to meet you! I’m Sunny Starscout, and this is my friend, Twilight Sparkle!” Sunny introduced. “Me and Twilight are actually here to sample the food you’ll be serving! I heard that the food here is amazing!” “Aw shucks, thank ya’ kindly, it’s true though! The food ‘ere is one of the best in Maretime Town.” Applejack said. “I can’t wait to try some! Er, if that’s okay?” Sunny said. “Course’ it’s okay!” Applejack said. “Soup’s on everypony!” Twilight, Spike, and Sunny get swept up by the stampede of the Apple Family, a few seconds later, they were seated at a table, dazed by what just happened. “Now why don’t ah introduce y’all to the Apple Family?” Applejack said. “This here’s Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Delicious...” After a few minutes, Twilight started closing her eyes, Spike was downright sleeping (and drooling), and Sunny started to doze off. “...Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith!” When Applejack said the last name, the three snapped out of that trance. “Ahem, well, that was very... how do i put it... informative! It’s so nice to meet you! All... 128 of you...” Sunny said nervously. “Well, ah guess it’s time fer’ brunch, hope ya like apples.” Applejack said as she and the rest of the Apple family put food on top of the table, resulting in a gasp from Sunny, a gulp from Twilight, and a lick from Spike. The three started grabbing food from the pile. A few minutes later, the three were so full and they didn’t even make a dent in the pile. A few hours later, Sunny ate the last fritter and put her hoof over her mouth as she retched. “If ya liked that, then y’all will love the desert!” Applejack said, before noticing the three were absent from their spots. “I ate too much pie...” Twilight said after they stopped running. “I think I’ve had enough apples for a lifetime, maybe I’ll take my Apple Smoothie off the menu.” Sunny said. “Food, check! Next is the weather,” Spike said. “Huh, there’s supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds.” “Well, she’s not doing a very good job is she?” Twilight said, checking the sky to see all of the clouds still in place. Without any warning, a blue pony with a rainbow mane crashed into Twilight, she had a red, yellow, and blue striped lightning bolt from a cloud as a cutie mark. A white pegasus with electric pink mane and some turquoise streaks flew down shortly after the two ponies crashed. “Uh, Twilight, you okay?” Sunny asked. “Yo, Rainbow, that was quite a crash.” The pegasus said. “Yeah...” The blue pegasus, now known as Rainbow, said. She turned to look behind her to see Twilight lying on the mud. “Uh... ehehe, scuse’ me?” She flies off the mud and grabs a cloud, not even a few seconds after Twilight gets up Rainbow positions the cloud over her and lightly stomps on it, creating a drizzle that soaks Twilight head to tail. Then, Rainbow flies in a circle around Twilight and increasingly picks up the pace which makes all the mud that used to be on her disappear, but also leaving her mane frizzed up. “There ya’ go! My very own Rainblow-Dry!” Rainbow said. “Thank you, thank you, no need to thank me. You’re quite-” Rainbow gets a good look at Twilight for a few seconds before she falls on the floor, laughing. “Wow, that is...” Sunny tried to say before she stifled a laugh. “Well, that’s one way to dry up.” The white pegasus said. “Well, I’m guessing you’re Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said, looking up at the blue pegasus. “The one and only! Why? You’ve heard of me?” Rainbow asked. “I mean, I am awesome, so that wouldn’t be suprising.” “I heard you’re supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Twilight said. She sighed then put on a smile. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend Sunny. The princess sent us to check on the weather.” “Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a snap. I’ll do it in a jiffy,” Rainbow said in a nonchalant manner. “Just as soon as I’m done practicing with Zipp over here.” Stepping up, Sunny decided to say, “Practicing? What for? Nothing can be more important than this!” “Um, yeah there is! The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow said, grabbing a poster of them from a wall. “They’re gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow! And we’re gonna show them our stuff!” “Oh? The Wonderbolts?” “Yep.” “The most fastest flyers in all of Equestria?” “That’s them.” “Oh, puh-lease, why would they accept a pegasus that couldn’t even keep the sky clear for one, measly, little day.” Sunny smirked. “No way! I can clear the sky in 10 seconds flat!” Rainbow argued. “Really? Sounds to me plain ol’ boasting.” Sunny said. “Unless you could prove it? But you could never do it.” Hearing this, Rainbow flew closer to Sunny, narrowing her eyes. “It. Is. ON!” Rainbow then started clearing the skies, if Sunny had to guess she was clearing 20 clouds per second, to her surprise. After a few seconds, the whole sky was cleared. “What’d I say?” Rainbow said. She drops back to where she was and stretches her wings out. “Told ya I could do it. 10 seconds flat... probably, did anyone time it?” She looks over at Sunny, Spike, and Twilight, their jaws wide open. “You should see the look on your face! You’re a laugh, Sunny Starscout. I can’t wait to hang out some more! And you too, Twilight!” Those last sentences snapped the three out of it. “Wow... she’s amazing!” Spike said. “She really is,” Sunny said. She put a hoof on Twilight’s mane and stifled a laugh. Twilight gives a little groan before smiling. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.” “You’ve gotta do something about that hair though.” Spike said. > Design and Conquer > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Decorations.” Spike read as the three headed towards Town Hall. They entered inside to see streamers, balloons, tables, and three ponies. The first one was a light orchid unicorn with blue hair with a button on a heart with pins sticking out as a cutie mark; she was levitating a box labeled “Arts and Crafty Stuff”. The second one was a light orchid pegasus with purple hair with a crown below a music note as a cutie mark; she was decorating the higher parts of the interior of Town Square while recording it. The last one was a white unicorn with purple hair with three diamonds as a cutie mark; she was using her magic to make sure everything was in place. The light orchid pegasus flew back down to the floor with her phone in her hoof. “Well, that’s all I can show you my Pippsqueaks! But stay tuned! I’ll be livestreaming when Princess Celestia raises the sun later so all of you who can’t make it can watch with me!” The pegasus put her phone back in her feathers... before she took it out again and took photos. “Woah... beautiful...” Spike said, looking at the white unicorn. “Yes. The décor is coming along nicely. This oughta be quick. I’ll be at the library in no time. Beautiful, indeed.” Twilight said, silently admiring the décor inside of Town Hall. Sunny got a good look at the light orchid pegasus before something clicked in her mind. She rushed over to the pegasus with sparkling eyes. “Hi! Omigosh! It is such an honor to meet... the Pipp Petals!” Sunny said. “I follow you on every social media platform! ClipTrot, Ponygram, Feedbag! You’re like... mega famous!” “Aw, thanks! It’s always nice to meet a Pippsqueak!” Pipp said before realizing something, “Wait, how did you get in here? The mayor said no one without clearance could enter.” “Oh, right, I’m Sunny Starscout! And this is my friend Twilight. We’re here to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival. And by the looks of it, it’s coming along nicely!” “Oh, why thank you darling!” The white unicorn said. “Just needs a few more touches, then it will be perfect for the princess!” “Yep, just gotta find a place to put my glitter cannon...” The light orchid unicorn said. “Hi! I’m Izzy! It’s always nice to meet new friends!” “Nice to meet you, Izzy.” Sunny said. “This turned out to be a lot better than expected!” “Yes, I agree. We’ll be out of your mane in no time.” Once the white unicorn got a good look at Twilight, she suddenly gasped. “Oh my Celestia, darling! What ever happened to your coiffure!?” “Oh, my mane?” Twilight points to her mane. “Well, it’s a long story. Everything looks like it’s going well, so we’ll be going.” “No! You can’t go out there looking like Ms. Frizzle!” Pipp said. “Come with me!” Twilight, Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, Spike, and Rarity were now inside a boutique named- “Mane Boutique! Home to the best designs, mane styles, hooficures, and so much more!” Pipp lead Twilight to a chair and signaled her to sit on it. “Jazz! Rocky! We’ve got a code red!” Two ponies - an earth pony and a pegasus - came out with multiple styling equipment. “Oh, Celestia! That is bad.” Jazz said. “Not to worry, we can turn that mane better in an instant!” Rocky said. He grabbed the razor and some ‘hoof-polishes’. After seeing those... equipment *cough* the razor *cough* she had a sinking feeling in her throat. “I feel like this is about to go horribly.” “Oh, don’t worry about that! Rocky knows how to handle a razor, you won’t lose any body parts.” Pipp reassured. “Wasn’t there that one time where-” Izzy tried to speak before Pipp shushed her. “-where he made the news? I know right! Amazing!” “But didn’t he cut off a pony’s ear?” “Nope! W-what do you mean? Rocky never cut off a pony’s ear, wha-a-a-at?” Pipp said nervously. “Anyways!” The pegasus got to work on Twilight’s mane while Pipp turned on the loudspeakers. Pipp: 1, 2, 3, 4! Bring that tail right through the door! “It’s gonna take a while,” Pipp said. She turned to whisper something to Rocky but none of the ponies could make out what it means. While Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky got to work on Twilight, the others were talking amongst themselves. “So, did he really do that?” Sunny whispered to Izzy. Pipp: 5, 6, 7, 8! You’re not leaving here till’ you feel great! “Oh, yeah! He made national news!” Izzy said. “That was an exciting week!” Pipp: Shine bright, sparkle and glow! Flick that mane with a flow, like “woah!” “He accidentally cut one of 376 pony’s ears off,” Izzy said. “Mane Boutique was closed for like, a month because they couldn’t find a pony to replace him.” “Wait, didn’t the news classify Rocky as wanted?” “Oh, yeah! He was on the run for so long! He had to run from angry swarms of the victim ponies.” Pipp: Vibe, you’re on it! You’re a brand new pony so flaunt it! “So they all just forgave him that easily?” Sunny asked. “Nah! He had to undergo one month of community service! Fun week!” “Done and done!” Pipp turned the chair around for everyone to see Twilight’s new manestyle. Picture for Reference: “You never cease to amaze, darling.” The white unicorn said. “I am truly honored to be collaborating with you.” “Aww, thanks, Rarity!” Pipp thanked. “I’m honored too! Those designs of yours are amazing! You’re like, the best style icon! After me, of course.” While the two were talking, Zipp entered the building. “Pipp?” Zipp called out before she saw Twilight and Sunny. “Oh, it’s you two.” “Oh, you’re Rainbow’s friend, Zipp?” Sunny said. “Yeah.” Zipp said. “Anyways, have you seen Pipp?” “Why?” “Uh, sibling matters?” “Wait! You two... are sisters!?” Sunny gasped. “Oh my Celestia! Twilight, did you know!?” “Oh, Queen Haven visited Princess Celestia sometimes with Zipp.” “Don’t remind me about that. It was so boring!” Zipp grumbled. “Pipp won’t mind if I stay here for a moment, will she?” “Uh... maybe?” Sunny said. “Works for me,” Zipp said. “Also, you might wanna leave before Pipp dyes your manes new colors.” Just as she said that, Pipp came in with multiple ‘mane-dye’ boxes. “Soo, what would you feel about mint teal highlights? Ooh, or cherry red? Nope, pegasus pink would definitely suit you best!” Hearing this, Twilight suddenly dashed out the door with Sunny and Spike following close behind. “Wait up! It’s free! Get back here!” Pipp said as she chased them. After successfully getting Pipp off their trails, the three took a moment to rest. “Wasn’t she wonderful?” Spike asked. “I wouldn’t say wonderful...” Twilight grumbled. “No, not Pipp... Rarity.” Spike said. If you looked really close, you could almost see the hearts forming in his eyes. “Focus, cassanova.” Sunny said. She rolled her eyes before she stopped in confusion. “Wait, where are we?” “Oh, great. Now we’re lost!” Twilight huffed. “If it makes you feel better, let’s ask for help there.” Sunny pointed to a white and blue building with the words “Sherriff Station” engraved on the front. “Come on!” The three entered the building to see an orange-yellow earth pony with a teal mane spinning his phone on his hoof. “Sunny!” The earth pony said. “Hitch?” The two ponies came in for a hug before separating a short while after. “Sunny! It’s so great to see you! You didn’t say you would visit!” Hitch said. “Well, it was a last minute thing,” Sunny said. “Uh, hello? We have things to do Sunny!” Twilight said. “Oh! Hitch, this is Twilight Sparkle, she’s one of my friends from Canterlot!” Sunny introduced. “She might be a little grumpy right now but she’s a good friend!” “Nice to meet you, Twilight!” Hitch said, walking up to Sunny. “It’s nice to meet a friend of Sunny’s!” She sighed and put on a smile, “Nice to meet you, I don’t mean to act mean, but I’m on a schedule, and we really need to go.” “Oh, that’s fine! Me and Sunny can just catch up later, at the celebration.” “Yeah,” Sunny said. “Thanks,” Twilight said. “Spike! What’s next on the list?” The dragon came up to her and unfurled the scroll. “Food, check! Weather, check! Decorations, check! Last one is music.” “A dragon?! Shouldn’t you be in the Dragonlands?” Hitch asked. “Eh, not really.” Spike shrugged. “Twilight raised and hatched me from an egg, I feel more at home here to be honest.” “You look a lot like...” His sentence was interrupted when a teal dragon started walking down the stairs of the second floor of the station. “Hitch? Can we get lunch? Please!” The dragon pleaded. “Oh! Sunny, this is Sparky!” Hitch said. “Sparky, this is Sunny, Twilight, and Spike.” Upon seeing the dragon, Sparky’s eyes widened and sparkled and suddenly, he was down the stairs in an instant. “Another dragon!? It’s nice to meet you! Do you like games? What do you eat? And more importantly...” Sparky paused and went closer to Spike, “Do you have any food? I’m starving!” “Uh, I have an apple tart.” Spike said, bringing out the extra apple tart. “Gimme!” Sparky said and took the tart from his hands and ate it in a second. “Uh, please?” While the two dragons were talking, Twilight looked at Hitch with a loss of words. “I- you- how-” Twilight struggled to speak. “I think what Twilight’s trying to say is, how did you get Sparky?” Sunny asked. “Well, I found him as an egg and (once he hatched) raised him as my own.” Hitch said. “B-B-But how?! How could a dragon egg get to Maretime Town?!” Twilight said. Hitch shrugged. “I don’t really know, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Twilight looked at the sky and saw it was almost sundown. “Oh, uh, me and Sunny have to go now! Y’know, preparations?” Twilight nervously said. “Well, I’ll see you later Sunny!” Hitch said. “See you later!” Once Twilight exited the station, she started running with Sunny and Spike following close behind. “Twi! Why’re you running?! Those Apple pies still haven’t digested!” Sunny groaned. “Sorry, but it’s almost sundown! We gotta hurry!” > No Party Un-Partied! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sometime later, the three arrived at “Maretime Town Park” where they heard a fanfare being played... no, rehearsed. Because they could tell it was out of tune. “Where is that coming from?” Sunny inquired. “It sounds really good!... and really bad at the same time.” “It’s coming from there,” Spike said, pointing to a light yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and a light blue unicorn with some birds. “Oh, my. Um, please stop everyone.” The pegasus said, rather timidly. She flew up to a bird and got his attention. “Um, excuse me, sir? Your rhythm is just a teeny, tiny, bit off.” She backs up a little, “A-one, a-two, a-one, two, three.” This time, the fanfare was in tune, and it sounded quite nice. “Wow, that sounded better than last time!” The unicorn said. “Hello!” Sunny came up to them and greeted them, the birds flying off with the unexpected noise. Twilight and Spike followed close behind. “Oh, sorry about the birds. I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is Sunny, we’re checking on the preparations. And music is going well!” “Oh, uh, thanks! I-I’m Misty Brightdawn. I, um, it’s nice to meet you!” “Nice to meet you too, Misty!” Sunny smiled. A small muffle was heard from the pegasus. “What was that?” Twilight asked. The pegasus backed away a little. “I’m...” “Didn’t quite catch that.” The birds return to the tree while Twilight has a small smile. “Well, your birds are back. Keep up the good work!” Another small muffle was heard, this time it was even softer. Spike grabbed the checklist and checked the music off. “Well, that was easy, usually, something would’ve happened by now-” Twilight was saying before she got cut off by the pegasus, who accidentally knocked Twilight to the ground. “Another dragon!” “Oh, I jinxed it, didn’t I?” Twilight grumbled as Sunny helped her up. “Oh, I’ve never seen another dragon that isn’t Sparky! He’s so cute!” The pegasus said. “What’s his name? The only dragon I’ve ever seen is Sparky.” Misty asked. “I’m Spike!” The dragon said. “He can talk?! Well, Sparky can talk so that shouldn’t be too surprising.” Misty said. “Hi, Spike, I’m Fluttershy. Wow, another dragon! What do you want to talk about?” Fluttershy said. “Well, what do you wanna know?” “Absolutely everything!” Fluttershy said. Knowing it would take a while, Twilight used her magic to put Spike on her back and started walking to the lighthouse with Sunny. “Well, I started out as a cute little purple-and-green egg.” Spike started. “And that’s the story of my whole life- well, up until today. Do you want to hear about today?” The five were now next to the lighthouse, which looked like it hadn’t been touched in a long time. “Oh, yes please!” Fluttershy answered. Twilight turns around abruptly and faces Fluttershy and Misty. “I am so sorry,” Twilight said smiling nervously. “How did we get here so fast? This is where we’re staying in Maretime Town, and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep.” “I’m 10!” “Well, time to get going! Bye!” Twilight enters the lighthouse and uses her magic to bring Sunny inside. Inside the lighthouse, it was pitch black. “Twi, you didn’t have to be so mean,” Sunny said. “She was just curious.” “Sorry, but I need to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we’re running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time!” Sunny sighs. “Fine, the library is the door on the right. Wait, where’s the light? It’s pitch black in here.” Suddenly, the lights turn on and they turn around to see a crowd of ponies inside. “SUPRISE!” The three scream in shock as confetti rains down on them. The pink pony that Twilight first met bounced over to them. “Suprise! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party for you two!” She hopped around them when Sunny shook her head. “Were you surprised? Were you, were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?” “Yes! How did you even plan a party in one day!?” Sunny said. “Not to mention get all these ponies here!” “Oh, that’s easy! This was originally supposed to be a Summer Sun Celebration Party! But when you two arrived I turned it into a Summer Sun Celebration With New Friends Party!” Pinkie giggled. “You see, I saw you two when you first got here, remember? You were all “Hello!” and I was all-” She gasped before resuming talking. “Remember? You see, I never saw you two before, and if I never saw you two before, that means you’re new.” Twilight groans and starts walking to the refreshments table while Pinkie talks. “Cause’ I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Maretime Town!” Twilight pours a red bottle into a glass. “And if you’re new, it meant you two hadn’t met anyone yet, and if you two haven’t met anyone yet, you must not have any friends in Maretime Town, and if you don’t have any friends, then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad. And I had an idea, and that’s why I went-” She gasped again. “’I should make my Summer Sun Celebration Party into a big, ginormous, super-duper spectacular Summer Sun Celebration With New Friends Party!’” Applejack, Rainbow, Zipp, Pipp, Rarity, Izzy, Hitch, Fluttershy, Misty, and Sunny quickly gather around Twilight. “And now you have lots and lots of friends! 11 now including me!” Twilight starts to sip the drink before she tears up and her face turns red. She turns around. “Are ya all right, sugarcube?” Applejack asks. “I don’t think you should be that red,” Zipp said. She jumps up with steam coming out of her ears and zips inside the library. “Aww, she’s so happy she’s crying!” Pinkie said. “I don’t think that was tears of joy,” Sunny said. Spike picked up the bottle and read its label. “Hot sauce. 120% spicy.” Pinkie grabs the bottle and pours some on the cupcakes and swallows one whole; which leaves the others confused. Izzy uses her magic to levitate a cupcake with hot sauce on it and swallows it whole too. “Oh! That is good! Just the right amount of sweet and spicy!” “I know! Who could hate hot sauce!” Pinkie giggled. Inside the library, Twilight is reading multiple books before groaning and closing the book with her magic. “Ugh! I can’t find one, ONE logical connection!” Twilight groaned. The door of the library opened to reveal Spike and Sunny at the entrance, Spike having a lampshade on his head for reasons no pony knows. “Hey, Twilight! Pinkie’s staring Pin the Tail on the pony! Wanna play?” Spike asked. “No! All these ponies in this town are CRAZY! I’m trying to do something about the pony who’s gonna come and kill us all! And I can’t focus with all this noise! Also, it’s 3AM! And they’re still going!” “It’s the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they’ll miss the Princess raise the sun.” Spike said. “You should lighten up, Twilight. It’s a party! And it’s for you!” Spike exited the library while Sunny stayed. “Here I thought I’d have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony. But, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!” Twilight grumbled. “And when I do have time, I can’t even focus!” “Twi? You okay?” Sunny said, walking over to her. “No! No, I’m not!” Twilight snapped. She saw Sunny flinch, seeing this Twilight sighed. “Sorry, Sunny. It’s just...” Sunny sits down next to Twilight. “I have this feeling that something bad is gonna happen, I just know it’s about Nightmare Moon! But nopony seems to believe me, not even the Princess, my teacher.” “I mean, it is a little... farfetched. The Mare in the Moon is just a tale, a story made for fillies.” Sunny said. “Come on, we should get going. The event should start soon.” Sunny left the room. Twilight followed behind but not before muttering something. “I hope you're right Sunny.” She left the room, unaware that the mare formation on the moon disappeared. After splitting up with Twilight at Town Hall, Sunny met up with Hitch. “Eh, cooking’s not right for me, everything I make ends up burnt.” Hitch sighed. “Fluttershy helps with that, so I’m lucky.” “What?! Cooking is like, one of the best things in life! It’s kinda like potions, with the right recipe, it comes out great!” Sunny said. “Yeah, but if you have the wrong one, it comes out all... uh, burnt-y.” “You’re not good at making analogies, are you?” Sunny said. “Uh, it’s probably gonna start soon. We should go.” Hitch said before rushing off. Sunny sighed and followed behind him, once she got to Town Hall, she looked at the moon to see that the mare formation on it was gone. Seeing this she felt a sudden dread. No, it can’t be true... right? Inside, she found Twilight and hurried over to her. “Twi, something’s wrong, the” Suddenly, she got cut off by Pinkie Pie, who zipped over to them. “Hey! Hey! Are you excited? Because I am! This is so exciting, I’ve never been so excited! Well, except for the time I saw you for the first time in town, and when I went-” She gasped. “But I mean, what can top that?!” “Uh...” Sunny trailed off. The birds perform a small fanfare when the spotlight lands on Mayor Mare. “Fillies and gentlecolts! As Mayor of Maretime Town, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” Twilight looked up and saw that the mare formation on the moon was gone and looked worriedly at Sunny. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!” Twilight trotted over to Sunny. “Sunny! I’ve gotta tell you something.” “Did you notice? The moon?” Sunny asked. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon every day…the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria...” Backstage, a blue wisp surrounds Celestia, who doesn’t react at all. “Luna...” “...Princess Celestia!” The curtains open to find that Princess Celestia is not there, in her place is a scorch mark. Rarity, who was the one who opened the curtains, trots backstage before coming back and exclaiming, “She's gone!” “Oh, no,” Twilight muttered. “This can’t be good.” Ponies start to mutter amongst themselves while Mayor Mare speaks up. “Remain calm, everypony! There must be a reasonable explanation for this.” Blue smoke starts to appear where the scorch marks are. The smoke starts to spin around until it explodes! A blue armored alicorn with a black coat and blue smoke appears with a scornful expression. “Oh, my beloved subjects. Tis’ been so long since I’ve seen thine sun-loving faces.” The alicorn said. “What did you do to our Princess!?” Rainbow said she started into a flying charge, but Applejack stopped her by grabbing her tail in her teeth. “Am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?” The Alicorn said, dispelling the royal guards who tried to attack her. “Ooh, ooh! Uh, Blue Smokes! How about... Moony Star! No... Black Snooty! Black Snooty!” Pinkie said before Applejack shoved a cupcake in her mouth to prevent her from talking even more. “My turn! Hm, uh... oh! I know! Blue Princess Celestia!” Izzy said. Hitch covered her mouth with his hoof while the alicorn faced the two. “Thou dare mock me?!” The alicorn said. “No! She doesn’t know better, Princess... Alicorn!” Hitch said, nervously. “I know who you are!” Twilight said. Everypony turned to Twilight, the pony having determination on her face. “You’re Nightmare Moon!” “Well, some pony who remembers me. Then you must know why I’m here.” Nightmare Moon said. Hearing this, Twilight started losing her nerve and stuttered. “You’re here to... to...” “You’re here to bring eternal night!” Sunny spoke. “Hm, another one. Maybe I shall put you two in my court.” Nightmare Moon said. She then faced the ponies. “Remember this day, little ponies, tis’ thy last. From this moment forth, the night shall last forever!” “Twi, we need to go.” > Into the Everfree > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!” Mayor Mare said. The guards’ wings however, was bent in a way that probably needs medical attention. “Really? Thou thinks a couple of guards could stop me?” Nightmare Moon asked incredulously. “Thou must be kidding.” Nightmare Moon turns back into blue smoke and wisps away. Rainbow, seeing this, uses her hoof to get Applejack’s mouth of her tail and tries to chase the smoke, failing to do so however. “Night forever?” “No! This can’t be happening! Sun’s good for my coat or something!” Pipp whined. “Oh, yeah, and night is bad or whatever.” “...Yer kidding right?” Applejack asked, in disbelief. Twilight and Sunny sprinted outside of Town Hall. Rainbow, who saw them, started flying after them with Applejack, Zipp, Hitch, Izzy, Rarity, Pipp, Misty, Fluttershy, and Pinkie following the rainbow maned pegasus. “Wa-ait! Where are we going?” Pipp asked. Inside the light house, Sunny tucked Spike in bed while Twilight ran to the library. After making sure Spike was secure, she followed behind her. “Elements, elements, elements... E, E, E...” Twilight said, scanning the bookshelves before groaning. “How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?!” Twilight turned around, only to see Rainbow right there behind her with narrowed eyes. “And what just are these Elements of Harmony?” She asked in a suspicious tone. “And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy!?” “Rainbow, stop!” Zipp said, entering the conversation. “Look, if she was a spy, she wouldn’t want to stop her!” “Zipp’s right, Rainbow.” Applejack said. She turned to Twilight, the others looking at her too. “But she sure knows what’s goin’ on, don’t ya Twilight?” Twilight was about to speak, but paused. Should I really trust them? I don’t even know them! She turned to look at the group, seeing their concerned faces made her rethink. She sighed and gave in. “Back in Canterlot, the Princess assigned me to research on The Tale of the Two Sisters, once I cross-referenced that to The Mare in the Moon, I figured out that the Mare in the Moon is infact Nightmare Moon. The only things that can stop her are these mysterious powerful artifacts called the Elements of Harmony, but I don’t know where they are! Or what they do!” Pinkie, who wasn’t listening, took a book from the bookshelf. “Ooh! Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide! This looks cool!” Twilight uses her magic to tear the book from Pinkie’s hooves. “How did you find this?!” “Oh, it was under E~!” Pinkie said in a sing-song voice. “Ooh, this library is soo cozy! This is lots of cool vibes and stuff.” Pipp remarked. She then saw some cobwebs on the corners. “But, uh, it needs some cleaning.” “Pipp, focus.” Zipp said. “Oh, yeah. Uh, you were saying, Twilight?” Pipp asked. Twilight rolled her eyes as she used her magic to open the book and flip its pages. "There are twelve Elements of Harmony, but only eleven are known so far." Twilight read as she flipped to the next page. "Honesty, Selflessness, Kindness, Empathy, Laughter, Creativity, Generosity, Confidence, Loyalty, Courage, and Hope, the twelfth is a total mystery...” “Ooh, a mystery! Zipp could help with that.” Pipp said. “No way, Pipp! It’s fun and all but Mom would never allow it, though when would that stop me.” Zipp said. “Anyways, where are these Elements.” “It is said that the last known location of these Elements was in the now ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.” Twilight said. “Castle? There’s nothing like that here,” Hitch said. “Or anywhere else. Well, besides Canterlot.” “In 2022, Archeologist Pine Bone has found that the castle is now located in what is now...” The twelve are now standing infront of a forest on the outskirts of Maretime Town. “...the Everfree Forest.” “Ooh, spooky! It actually does make sense that old, powerful, ancient artifacts are in a creepy old forest!” Pipp said, ecstatic. “How in any world would it make sense?” Hitch asked. “Well, duh! It’s a classic plot line in movies!” Pipp said. “My personal favorite is Savannah Flint! Her movies are amazing!” “Yay! Let’s go!” Pinkie said, bouncing towards the entrance before Twilight stopped her with her magic and dragged her back to where she was. “Aww...” “Look, I appreciate the offer. But I’d rather do this on my own.” Twilight said. “No way, we can’t let you go there all alone.” Sunny said. “She’s right, Twilight. The Everfree Forest ain’t natural, we won’t let any friend of ours go inside alone.” Applejack said. “That’s right! I’m gonna stick to you like caramel on a candy apple!” Izzy said, moving closer to Twilight. Twilight laughed nervously at that statement. “Great...” The twelve ponies ventured in the forest, hearing the silence, Sunny decided to speak up. “Soo, none of you have been in here before?” “Heavens, no! Just look at it, it’s dreadful!” Rarity said. “Yeah, even if I like horror films, I’d never go in here.” Pipp shuddered. “It ain’t natural, Sunny.” Applejack said. The group arrives on a cliff edge. “Folks say it don’ work the same as Equestria.” “Huh? It’s just a forest, what could happen?” Sunny asked. Unbeknownst to the group, blue wisp entered the cracks of the cliff. “Nopony knows. You know why?” Rainbow said, creeping closer to Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Hitch, Pipp, and Misty. “Rainbow, quit it!” Applejack said. “’Cause everypony who’s ever come in has never.. come... OUT!” Just as she said that, the edge of the cliff crumbles and takes all the earth ponies and unicorns with it. Zipp, Pipp, Rainbow, and Fluttershy get airborne just in time. “Quick!” Rainbow said, diving in after them. Rainbow grabs Pinkie’s tail and carries her to safety. Fluttershy uses her teeth to grab Misty’s tail to slow the fall. Zipp grabs Hitch and Izzy’s tail with her teeth as well. And Pipp carries Rarity’s tail with her hooves followed by a- “My tail!” from Rarity. Applejack, however, uses her teeth to grab on an exposed grab. The farm mare saw Twilight and Sunny sliding down towards the edge and releases her hold on the branch to help them. “Hold on! Ah’m-a-comin’!” Reaching the edge, Applejack grabs Twilight and Sunny’s forelegs in time. “Applejack! What do we do?!” Sunny felt her grip on Applejack’s hoof loosening by the minute. “Where are the others?!” Applejack looked and saw that the pegasi in the group were still helping the non-pegasi get down safely. She felt her grip loosening when she saw the terrified looks on her friends faces. She knew she couldn’t hold them forever. “Let go.” When Applejack said this, Twilight and Sunny’s faces instantly became one of shock. “Hehe- what?” Sunny asked incredulously. “Ah said, let go.” Applejack said. “Are you crazy?!” Twilight said. “No, ah ain’t. Ah promise ya, y’all be safe.” Applejack assured... which did not help. “That’s not true!” Twilight said. “It’s a long drop! We’re not gonna make it!” Sunny said. “Now listen here. What ah’m sayin’ to ya is the honest truth. Let go, and ya’ll be safe.” Applejack said. For a split second, an orange hue shone across her eyes, which nopony noticed. Inside Twilight’s mind, she was battling a fight between her brain and her instinct. So was Sunny, but it looked like instinct was winning for her. The two release their grip, coincidentally at the same time, and start screaming as they fall. Until Rainbow and Fluttershy catch Twilight while Zipp and Pipp caught Sunny. “Phew,” Twilight said. “Oof, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.” Sunny said as Zipp and Pipp bring her to the ground. Unbeknownst to them, the blue smoke exits the cliff and heads on ahead. “All right, everypony. We’re in uncharted territory, I repeat, uncharted territory!” Hitch instructed. “We cannot, I repeat, cannot split up. The Everfree Forest is dense, it can be easy to get lost.” “Yes, yes, I wouldn’t be going anywhere near this... dirt.” Rarity said. “How much longer until we get there?” “Uh, you do remember we’re lost, right? There’s no time estimate.” Zipp said. “So, you’re saying, we could be stuck here for days?!” Rarity realized. “Yep,” “WHAT?! I cannot be stuck in here for days! Months?! Years?!” Rarity reacted. “It won’t get to that, right, Zipp?” Hitch said, slightly irritated. Zipp rolled her eyes when a thick mist suddenly started rolling in, which Hitch took notice of. “Everypony, stick together!” The group did so and started stepping closer together. “Twilight, do you, like, know any spells that could uh, blow the mist away?” “Princess Celestia taught me one, but it’s a high class spell. It’s going to take me a while.” Twilight said, her horn flaring up. The mist suddenly advanced much, much quicker, enveloping the group completely. Hitch, who’s eyes were closed, didn’t notice blue smoke slowly pulling him towards the forest. He opened his eyes to find he was in the forest... and Nightmare Moon was infront of them. Wait, what?! “Nightmare Moon!” Hitch said, cross. “What did you do to my friends?! If you’ve hurt them, I’m going to-” “Thou has nay reason to worry, thy’s friends are safe.” Nightmare Moon said. “Thou has come here to negotiate.” “Okay... I’ll bite.” Hitch cautiously said. “What are the terms?” “Thou could have wealth! Thou could be a puissant!” Nightmare Moon said. “Nope.” This stunned the moon alicorn. “What?” “I don’t really want riches, or whatever puissant means. I’m okay with the life I have.” Hitch replied. “And if being rich means being with those Canterlot elitists, then I’d say no. Sparky shouldn’t live in a place of racist jerks. So, no.” During a split-second, his eyes flashed green. Nightmare Moon growled and turned back into smoke and wisped away. Hitch, who was surprised, shook it off and started walking back to his friends. “Hitch! Hitch!” Sunny called. “No, no, no, no! Hitch!” “Maybe he’s just hiding? Like a game of hide and seek?” Izzy said, trying to light up the mood. “Izzy, please! This is serious! Hitch wouldn’t just run off like that!” Sunny said. “Sorry... I was just trying to lighten up the mood.” Izzy said, slightly hurt. Sunny took a deep breath before talking. “No, I’m sorry, Izzy. I’m just worried about Hitch.” Suddenly, Hitch came out of the forest, out of breath. “Hitch!” “What happened?! Why were you...?” Sunny asked. “Eh, Nightmare Moon tried to negotiate with me. Something about riches, puissants.” Hitch summarized. “What!? Why didn’t you accept?! You could be mega rich!” Pipp said, shocked. “Well, first of all, I’m happy with the life I have already. And second, Canterlot elitists are racist jerks. Sparkly shouldn’t live in a place like that.” “Huh, I did not expect you to be right on the money about Canterlot. Though, not everypony there is bad, just like... sixty percent of them.” Sunny said. “Let’s get going if we want to reach the castle by... well, night.” Hitch joked while everyone else groaned.