Chapter 1
"HHHHEEEELLLLOOO, everypony! Or rather, should I say 'everybody?'" Pinkie sudden materialized, standing in the middle of the crystal hallway found in Twilight's castle, bright blue eyes piercing straight through the screen, diving deep into your very soul. Then a massive grin split her face as she reached into her mane and pulled out an entire folding chair, plopping her fluffy flank into it, smiling at you all the while. "Goodness, Celestia we've been going at this for so very long now.
"Why, I remember when the fourth generation of My Little Pony had its debut, all that long time ago. And wow: we've come such a long way!" She said cheerily, pulling a pencil and a clipboard out of her mane, eyes briefly glancing down at the notes she began taking. "I sure am glad that Lauren Faust was there to adapt the series for you wonderful people out there, else I would never have made as many friends as I have!"
A sudden gasp escaped her lips. "You guys are all my friends, right? Right?!
"Anyways, back to the matter at hoof: My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic. As I've said before, Lauren Faust was one of the founding creators of the series, among many talented artists, developers and voice actors. While I know you are all familiar with this series, many of you may like to hear that she had also been a leading contributor in other famous television series such as the Powerpuff Girls (Through the lack of visuals, just imagine three babies wearing color-coded outfits flying outwards), and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (Imagine Slenderman, B.O.B. from Monsters Vs. Aliens, and a psychedelic chocobo from Final Fantasy). Her husband was the creator of both of those shows, so it is easy to see that a talent for quality shows runs in her entire family!" Pinkie jumped in her seat excitedly. "We are all very sad that she was unable to remain with the entire story, as nopony would have been able to guess where her vision of the series would have led us! However, we will not shun what lovely story we have been blessed with, as the current executives at Hasbro are leading us into *coughcough*unknown territory *coughcough*. We still love the show, even if it may have received unholy criticism by some, and worshipply praise by others.
"However, while we will all accept that the first season, indeed the series premiere, was among the best to be produced, did you know that there were a number of edits and rewrites to the story? I bet you didn't! With season 8 finally concluded, and season 9 on it's way to wrap up the series, we here in the pony world figured it would be nice to go back in time and grab some of the original scripts and act out what was supposed to happen! So, without further ado; here's the pilot episode to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Untold Stories)!"
Twilight's chariot landed in the small town of Ponyville, Spike faithfully at her side as she stepped onto the dirt path, eyeing her suddenly dirty hooves with slight distaste.
"Alright, Spike: what's the first item on the agenda that will ensure Princess Celestia receives the complete best this town has to offer?"
The purple dragon with green spines glanced down at the large list in his claws, eyes quickly scanning the top of the list to check the requirements for the festival. "Well, let's see here: the list says that food catering is going to be among the important things for everypony, so maybe we need to start on that, then head to wherever the weather ponies are stationed to clear the skies."
"Then off to the food catering we go!" Twilight beamed proudly, pointing a hoof in the direction of the heart of town, leaning forward to take a step. She paused one moment before she could commit to the step, an embarrassed smile touching her lips as she glanced down at her number 1 assistant. "Uh, Spike? Where exactly are we going to check the catering?"
"List says one 'Sweet Apple Acres,' so. . ." He paused to take note of their surroundings before jogging over to a bright pink earth pony with a curly, equally pinkish mane. The pink mare's bright blue eyes bulged as she saw Spike heading towards her, and she let out an absurdly loud gasp.
"Yup! That is TOTALLY something I remember doing: it was just so exciting to see new faces, well new back then, and with all the planning I was doing to make the best, super-awesome Summer Sun Celebration ever, my excitement was already on overload, and then I got new faces to greet and new ponies to meet and I was just soooo happy that that day was going to be the best. Day. Ever! So, yeah, I may have been holding back on the excitement, just a teensy, weensy little bit." Pinkie explained.
"OHMYGOODNESS!" Pinkie shouted, grabbing Spike in a death-grip and squealing into his ears with all her heart's content. "I love meeting new ponies!"
"Excuse me, miss? Miss?" Spike struggled to get air into his lungs, at his struggles managed to remind the mare to let him go, to which his body responded with great enthusiastic gulping of breathable air. Once he had calmed down, he glanced up at the mare, intending to ask her a question, but her splitting grin and visible shaking seemed to deter him. He settled for smiling kindly towards her while backing away, and once he had gotten some distance between them, Twilight teleported the pair a safe distance from the pink menace. They got directions from a sweet cream-colored earth pony with a striped blue and pink mane.
Outside of Ponyville, the pair came across a large fenced farm, with a large variety of crops growing just near the entrance, but endless expanses or apple trees extending in front of them. They followed the trail to the farmhouse just across the way, until they were greeted by a frantically running yellow-furred filly carrying baskets of apples. Her bright red mane flowing in wind while a giant bow tried to escape her head. Twilight paused to see what had gotten the filly all worked up, until she saw a large gathering of ponies all shuffling around in a large pile.
Twilight trotted over and helped the pack of earth ponies split up and separate, until an orange earth pony sporting a brown stetson hat and red bands holding in her straw-blond mane and tail approached her.
"Ah'm might sorry about that partner, we were just in a bit o' a pickle, what with all the panicking that we've been fightin' ta get ready fer the Celebration." The mare explained apologetically, wiping a hoof across her face as she smiled. Twilight immediately liked the mare, and waved off the apology.
"No worries. I'm just here to check up on the food, as I was told this was the place it would be coming from. You see, Princess Celestia asked us to check up on the festival, and to keep things according to schedule. Though, from the looks of things, it seems to me that you all are in a bit of a bind." She smiled, glancing over at the mass of ponies picking up the pile of food items now littering the ground.
"Ya couldn't have explained it any clearer, Ah'm afraid. We've just been plum-tuckered out with work, an' on top o' that: things ain't been easy with the usual farm work."
"Well, maybe I could be of some assistance?" Twilight offered, a smile on her face as the two mares glanced again at the ponies finally getting themselves into a somewhat organized mess. She looked back to see the orange mare considering the proposal.
"Ah'm gonna be honest with ya: Ah don't much like the idea of somepony doing our work for us," The tone spoken strongly reinforced the image to Twilight. "But ah'd be a fool to decline an offer when the entire country will want need something ta eat, so if ya'd kindly help us get together, maybe we'll have everythin' ready by the time the sun goes down."
The orange mare extended a hoof, which Twilight immediately shook, the feeling of worry she felt just moments before vanishing behind assurance that she could manage these ponies into a cohesive team and prepare the meal that would earn her the Princess' attention.
So, after some quick thinking and smart talking, Twilight had the entire Apple family following concise instructions to prepare the food, and then she was reminded that she had a few other things to take care of, made so by a nervous Spike.
Making their way back into town, Twilight was frequently told to look for a 'Rainbow Dash' for the weather control, but nopony seemed to really know where she was. At first, the idea of searching around town for the pegasus appealed to Twilight, as it gave her an opportunity to learn about the place, but after an hour of nothing, it started to grate on her nerves. Spike had taken to nervously rolling and unrolling the scroll in his claws to pass the time.
Giving up on trying to find the mare on her own, she began to ask directions from the locals, eventually taking her just outside of the city. The blue mare was napping on a cloud.
"Hey! Excuse me, are you Rainbow Dash?!" Twilight called out, using magic to amplify her voice to cross the distance between them, though it seemed to have little effect, as the pegasus was so deep into her nap that she didn't even shift in her sleep. Twilight pouted at the reaction, or lack-thereof, and was tempted to start pouting over the delays, but luckily Spike was there to do that for her. "Excuse me! Miss?!"
It took a few attempts, but eventually, the rainbow-maned mare finally stirred, rolling her sleepy head over the edge of the cloud, with bleary eyes squinting below. Eventually, the pegasus just kind of dropped out of the cloud, letting gravity do the work of lowering her to the ground, before snapping her wings open and landing with a soft thump on the grassy knoll beneath her favorite napping place.
"Hey, what's up?" She asked after releasing an exaggerated yawn and scratching her face with a hoof, her bright pink eyes not entirely focusing on anything.
"Are you by any chance Rainbow Dash, the weather manager and coordinator of the weather ponies here in Ponyville? Because Twilight and I were sent here by Princess Celestia herself to make sure that everything was going according to schedule for tonight." Spike answered before Twilight could even open her muzzle, much to the surprise of both mares here, though that came from the impatient tone the hatchling dragon was using. Twilight had always known Spike to be a little on the orderly side, always sticking to schedules and whatnot, but this was a level of strictness that he rarely ever showed, even under pressure from the assignments Princess Celestia assigned them. "We noticed a definite lapse in management over the local nimbus fragments appearing all over town, and if we are to achieve a proper Summer Sun Celebration, and for everypony to have the best experience, then the skies have, and I repeat, HAVE, to be clear for both overnight as well as dawn."
"Uhh. . . well, look; I can get these clouds done in like, ten seconds flat." Rainbow puffed her chest, gesturing towards the gently floating puffs of white mist that spotted the otherwise beautiful blue skies. "Besides, it's still only like noon, so I've got plenty of time before I need to worry about anything, so how about you two just run off and make sure everypony else has what they need: I've got this."
Rainbow had her mouth open to say something else, but a high pitch squealing from somewhere above them caught all their attention. The three stared up into the skies, trying to find the source of the terrified screaming, until a bright yellow blob appeared between the rays of bright sunlight. At first nothing took any semblance, but as the blob came closer, it took form into that of a flailing pony, along with several brown blobs that could have been birds, or maybe some other small animal.
"Fluttershy?" Rainbow gawked, although the confusion in her voice nearly drowned out any other emotion, something the others were also feeling.
The confusion soon morphed into panic as Rainbow realized the falling pony wasn't going to be able to stop the descent. The cyan mare sprung open her wings and leapt into the air, rapidly ascending to meet with the flailing Fluttershy before her and whatever else was attached to her hit the ground. The blue blur made a beeline to the yellow, slowing to minimize the damage of a sudden stop, and carefully grabbed onto the flailing pony.
The entire affair demonstrated flight skills that made Twilight envious for a brief moment, which was soon replaced by concern at the well-being of this Fluttershy, Rainbow gently set the shuddering buttery pegasus down, which intensified the confusion and concern that Twilight was feeling. Why would a pegasus be falling at such a dangerous velocity, in an uncontrolled spin like that?
Rainbow merely sat there next to the shivering pony, who was only able to latch onto the two average-sized eagles that must have been falling with her. Twilight waited for a few minutes, but the buttery pony just wouldn't stop shaking, nor did she seem like she was in any condition to do any talking.
"Look, guys. Sorry to have this chat cut short, but I've got to get Fluttershy back home, and then maybe I'll be able to find out what happened. Until then, you're just going to have to wait for the weather stuff."
"But-" Spike began.
"NO!" Rainbow rapidly shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no matter how important this festival is for you, friends are always going to be more important to me than any silly event. Fluttershy needs somepony to be there for her, but you'll all be fine if there are a few clouds here or there: it's not like we've got a storm coming in or anything."
Spike looked like he was going to argue back, but Twilight prevented it from getting that far by putting a hoof in front of him and shaking her head when he glanced her way. She flashed an apologetic smile towards the pair of pegasi. "I wish you two safe travels, then. And whatever happened up there, I hope it never happens again: it sure looked like a scary ordeal."
It seemed like the kind words had a small revival effect on the petrified mare, because her shivering slowed enough for her to cast what looked like the shadow of a grateful smile. Either way, Twilight felt like Rainbow Dash would get the weather cleared one way or another, but that Fluttershy sure did look like she needed help. She figured she could at least check up on the remaining activities and assets that had to get done. So she hauled Spike off so they could continue on with this very important day.
Just a friendly little bit of input from your total best favorite pony EEEVVVVVEEEERRRRR! Pinkie Pie! Like wow, who would have ever thought that Spike could have been the one that was all uptight and worried about schedules and timing? I know that it sure would have felt different knowing that Twilight was the one to go all bananas on us, but I know we would have loved them both just the same.
Twilight and Spike made their way back into the heart of Ponyville, as directed by Spike's list and the locals' directions towards their next destination: town hall.
As the pair made their way towards the large building at the heart of town, Twilight made sure to get a good look at the town's inhabitants. She found the diversity to be vastly interesting, as the ponies seemed to assimilate everything about pony society from the dawn of time. There were farms dotting the outskirts dominated by earth pony family, the clouds were ruled by pegasi in this interesting militaristic style, and the unicorns seemed to incorporate themselves in the luxurious sections of town.
Twilight smiled as she saw the large town hall, glad to finally be getting close to check on the decorations and to see the taste in style that this small, cozy town had to offer. It seemed that Spike, who was resting comfortably on her back, was merely glad to finally be checking off on yet another key part of the list.
She was trotting at a merry pace when a sudden gray blur rocketed down towards them. Luckily, Twilight caught sight of it before it slammed into her. She glanced down while a shaky gray pegasus with blond hair sat up, her eyes doing circles from the impact.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked as she helped the poor mare onto her hooves, just in time to have a shower of letters and envelopes rain down upon them. Twilight frowned at the falling messages, but that lasted until one package in particular landed on her mane, with a nasty splatting sound coming from within.
"Uhh, Twilight?" Spike asked, though it was difficult to make out over the sound of his snickering. "I think you got a little something in your mane."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The pegasus said, shaking her head clear and looking close to where Twilight was. While the unicorn tried to look into the pegasus' eyes, she found that she could only focus on one at a time, as they were a bit derpy to look at; with one staring into the sky and the other pointed at the ground. "I just don't know what went wrong."
"It's quite alright." Twilight waved it off, helping the mare fully onto her hooves and casting a levitation spell to get most of the mail back to her. "I believe this belongs to you?"
"Oh, thank you!" The gray mare chirped, grabbing a mouthful and simply shoving the letters into her saddlebags. Twilight smiled sympathetically towards the poor mare; she seemed happy, if a little bit of a klutz, but the happiness seemed so genuine and infectious.
Once she had all of the mail back to it's deliverer, she cast a quick spell to clean her mane, which had the unfortunate side effect of puffing her mane up into a mess. She sighed in disappointment, but perked back up when Spike nudged her neck. "You look great no matter how what you do with your mane, Twilight."
"Thanks , Spike."
Without any further interruptions, the two finally managed to get to the town hall, which was being decorated by a pretty white unicorn with a luxurious curled mane and tail. As the pair got closer, Spike seemed to stand tall on Twilight's back for a moment, before he suddenly fell off of hers.
The white mare heard the thump as Spike hit the ground, but she let out a gasp as she turned to see what happened. She galloped over, and Twilight was about to politely tell her that she didn't have to rush over to check on Spike, that he would be fine, when she stared deep into the lavender mare's eyes. Twilight winced inwardly at the panic in this unicorn's eyes, and her magic barely managed to drop Spike on his feet before the mare slid to a stop before her.
"Oh my stars, darling! What happened to your mane?!" The unicorn gasped, the items being held in her magic moments before dropping to the ground.
"What: this?" Twilight asked as she took a few strands in her hoof and peaked at how badly her mane was. "Oh, it's just a bit of a long story, not really all that important. We're just here to check on the decorations for the celebration, then we'll be out of your hare."
"Out of my hair? What about your hair?" The unicorn dramatically raised a hoof to her forehead as she leaned and swayed, suddenly dropping to the ground in a mock faint. "Come along darling, we simply must take care of that before anything else: and while I may not be the best mane stylist in Ponyville, I know what a mare needs in order to look her best. I promise you that by the time I'm through with you, you'll be a whole new beautiful mare."
As she was stating her intentions, she was using her magic to drag Twilight along by the hoof, with an awestruck Spike jogging after them.
They made their way through town, trotting along until they came across a large carousel-esque building with colorful tarps and beautiful designs all over it. Twilight's jaw dropped when she saw it; "You live here?"
"And I also happen to run my business out of this lovely place: I can be a bit messy sometimes in my room, but I make due." Rarity shrugged, opening the door and gesturing for them to head inside, to which Spike seemed to take an unusual liking to: as he nearly teleported striaght inside. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes before timidly following after him, taking care to admire the amazing dresses on display inside the large round room.
And a short hour later, Rarity had Twilight's mane done up all pretty, and Spike was dishing out compliments on the mare's hoof-work all the while, directed towards the fashionista herself. Not that Twilight would complain: she was a fan of how her mane was curled. She thought it made her look even prettier.
"Are you sure that this wasn't too much trouble, though? I'd hate to have put you too far behind on your other work." Twilight asked.
"Of course, darling. Anything to help those that need it: it's just something that Ponyville has really helped me see. Why wouldn't I want to help anypony who needed it, especially when they happen to be one of Princess Celestia's personal students? Don't worry about it, dear: I enjoy being able to help others, and I will not accept any form of apology from you: I needed a break from decorations as it was." Rarity answered with a wave of her hoof. "But, I suppose it is finally time to get back to work, so you can just go along your way, and I'll get this done. Have a wonderful day, Twilight!"
Twilight waved her away, knowing full well that Rarity was perfectly capable of finishing the job herself, having had a lengthy conversation about paying her for it. Rarity had made it crystal clear that the generous act of doing her mane was a gift, and not in need of repayment.
So, Twilight found herself dragging Spike away from the mare so they could continue, because she was starting to get a little tired from all the walking around town. "Where to next, Spike?"
"Uhh. . . you say something Twilight?" Spike asked in return, clearing his thoughts from the fashionista so he could have a conversation with the lavender mare.
"Yeah, Spike: what's next on the agenda? I'm getting a little tired, and it would be nice to go and check out the library Princess Celestia wanted us to stay in while we are here." Twilight answered, casting a quick glance at the named building.
Well, tree. Not building.
Spike hummed as he pulled up the list, eyes scanning quickly to find last item on the list: the musical accompany. "Says here we were supposed to talk with somepony about the birds that were going to be singing at the morning part. Oh. . . oh dear. . . Uh, Twilight?"
"Yes, Spike?"
"The list actually gives us the name of the pony we are supposed to go and meet about this: and it's Fluttershy." Twilight stopped mid-trot, mouth slightly open as she turned to look at Spike.
"Oh. Well, Rainbow Dash did say that she needed somepony to stay with her, so. . do you think we should go and check on her, and see if she was alright?" Twilight asked, inwardly hoping that the pegasus was alright, although she somewhat understood now why the mare had been in the air with the eagles. Maybe she was trying to recruit them for the singing, but she had heard eagles screech: it wasn't the quite of song that was good for special occasions.
At Spike's sympathetic nod, she got directions from a local, and began the slightly longer trek out of town to a cozy cottage next to a small stream. The entire location was stunningly beautiful, and Twilight immediately knew this was the ideal place to keep a bunch of animals, even as a family of otters climbed out of the stream and ran around the house.
They went up and knocked on the door. After a short delay, Rainbow Dash opened the door, surprise across her face at seeing both Twilight and Spike again. "Yeah?"
"Oh! Hi Rainbow Dash, Spike and I were wondering how Fluttershy was doing after that tumble she took, and if she is well enough, we were hoping to hear from her about how far she got with the birds for the festival." Twilight explained, and while the cyan pegasus appeared uneasy at having visitors, she turned to see Fluttershy fluttering about helping a small grove's worth of animals within her house. "Why are all these animals inside?"
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't know I was going to be having guests over, or else I would have prepared some food for you. Just let me run to the kitchen real quick!" Fluttershy gasped as she saw Twilight, but then her eyes drifted to Spike, who was standing slightly behind the unicorn, and an unbelievably high-pitched squeal escaped her lips as she burst forth and nearly knocked Twilight off of her hooves to get to the hatchling dragon. "Is that a baby dragon?! I've never seen a baby dragon before!"
"Sorry about Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash apologized as she helped Twilight straighten up. "She just loves animals, and anything to do with them. It seems like sometimes she takes too much care for the critters, and she forgets to take care of herself."
"Oh it shouldn't be a big deal." Twilight replied as she turned to see Spike being crushed by the over-affectionate buttery mare. "Fluttershy? My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike."
Fluttershy idly shook Twilight's hoof, but her attention was devoted entirely upon the dragon, and she bombarded him with questions. It took Rainbow Dash prying the mare off of Spike before she calmed down.
"I'm just so sorry everypony, but I've never seen a baby dragon before, and not many ponies get to see dragons as it is, and I just so love to meet new creatures." Fluttershy shuffled her hooves together as an embarrassed blush spread across her muzzle. "But I doubt you were here just to show me this wonderful little bundle of joy-"
"He's a bundle of something." Twilight muttered under her breath before smiling at Fluttershy. "I'm sure Spike would be willing to come by sometime to talk with you about what it's like being a dragon, wouldn't you Spike? But you are correct: we originally came here to check on you and to ask about the progress of the bird choir for the Summer Sun Celebration."
Fluttershy smiled thankfully, and nodded towards a bunch of birds all sitting on a windowsill. "OH thankyouthankyouthankyou! Spike and I will be the best of friends! I want to know everything about you, Spike. I think we've got some more practice to do, but we should be ready to go when the time comes. And thank you for checking on me, though I was perfectly fine, just a little shaken up when those two eagles got into an argument."
"Well, since you're doing better, Fluttershy: I'm going to head out and clear up the skies for tomorrow." Rainbow Dash declared as she flew to the door. "See you guys later!"
Twilight and Spike made quick time getting back to the library, though the sun was already at the horizon and light was fading fast. Twilight ushered them inside, though the main room was completely black. "Where's the light?"
"SURPRISE!" A chorus of ponies shouted as the lights suddenly flickered on.
Oh oh oh! I remember this part! This was that surprise party that I manage to throw together for Twilight, and they even kept the super totally awesome party invovlved. Huh, guess that was why they changed the story: to keep my party the same! Do you guys know how much work that was to get together? I spent the entire day planning it! Oh? Sorry guys, I guess I spoiled the surprise didn't I? Well, I mean, you all did kind of see it way back when you first watched the series, so I guess nothing was really spoiled at all! Anyways, I guess we might want to get to the interesting parts huh? You all know what I'm talking about: Night Mooooooooooooooooooooon.
Every pony in Ponyville gathered inside the town hall for the sunrise, Twilight and her friends were all gathered in the front rows, being the primary ones helping set it all up, while Fluttershy led her choir of birds for the introduction of Princess Celestia herself, with a spotlight falling upon the curtians.
The light fell upon Mayor Mare, who spoke with a loud, clear voice so that all could hear her: "Fillies and gentlecolts; as mayor of Ponyville, it is my pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebrations!"
Cheers from the crowd.
"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this; the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of land. The very pony who gives us the sun and moon each and every day. The good. The wise. The bringer of Harmony to all of Equestria: Princess Celestia!"
The bird choir rose up in volume, and the curtains of the platform above the Mayor were drawn back, as the spotlight rose up, ,the crowd gasped: Princess Celestia was missing!
Before the crowd could do much more than murmur dissent, shadows cloaked the platform, and from the mist-like darkness, a single figure rose, only known by a blackness darker than the void itself. The crowd watched in terror as a black and blue alicorn paraded into the light. Spike hopped off of Twilight's back, concern fighting for dominance over his voice as he muttered under his breath: "Nightmare Moon."
"Oh, my beloved subjects; it's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." The alicorn spoke with a sweet tone, though there was a bitterness underneath that hinted at something darker.
Rainbow Dash growled; "What did you do with our Princess?"
"What, am I not royal enough for you?" The alicorn chuckled, sneering down at the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Don't you know who I am? Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?"
Nightmare Moon teleported to Fluttershy and her bird choir, mist-blue mane enveloping many of smaller birds until they shrieked in terror. She then appeared in front of Rarity, stroking the mare's chin like one would a foal. "Did you not recall the legends? Did you not see the signs?"
Spike jumped in between the two, doing his best to protect his love interest the best he could. "I did! And I know who you are:you're the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon!"
The crowd didn't like that revelation.
"Well, well, well. Somepony who does remember me. Then you will also remember why I am here." Nightmare Moon chuckled, much to the fear of the gathered ponies. Spike started to tremble, but he made Twilight proud by holding his ground.
"You're here to. . . to. . ."
"Remember this day, little ponies. For it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last. . . forever! Ahahahahahahaha." Her mane swirled up to unnatural proportions and lightning crackled from the swirling vortex it was forming.
"Ahahahahahaha. Ahahahahahahaha.."