Chapter 2 - An Odd Mystery, and the Anniversary

Twilight Sparkle went out the door by herself, but after she closed it behind her, she felt her front hoof bump on to something. Then, she looked down and saw a newspaper on the welcome mat. It was an issue from the Ponyville Express. Normally, she doesn't subscribe to the rather drab newspaper, but what was curious about it was on the front page; it was up-to-date from the Canterlot Observatory. She picked it up and read quietly aloud:

The Ponyville Express

Unknown Object Discovered? Experts Bewildered!

June 14, 1001 ANN

Five days ago, Dr. Stargazer, from the Canterlot Observatory, discovered a needle-shaped object found in near-Equestria orbit. However, how it appeared was even stranger. Dr. Stargazer described that toward the area it was found, there were only the stars. A few seconds later, however, she, in an interview taken yesterday, said to have seen "a strange pool of light come out of nowhere. When it disappeared, there it was [the needle]! It looked like it came out of a portal!" Armed with the latest in Equestrian technology, she took photographs of the object, using a camera embedded in her telescope itself, to prove to others that it existed. She took several more pictures to strengthen her credibility. Here are two of her photos, lain side-by-side for comparison (right).

Twilight looked at the two photos on the front page. They were black-and-white and grainy with pixels, with glowing stars against the black background. Circled at the bottom-right corner of each picture were different versions of the alleged object, which was colored white. Indeed, it was shaped like a needle, hich also had an artificial appearance. What intrigued Twilight even more was a faint impression of a light on its "rear end". Perhaps it was from a star hidden by the object, she thought at first. However, when she looked at the right, the object moved slightly "forward" toward the top-left corner, but the rear light was still there, as if it were part of the object. Each photo also sported the dates and times taken on the bottom-left; she saw they were taken five days before the article date just as it said; they were taken at roughly fifteen seconds apart. Twilight continued reading:

The next day, Stargazer sent the photos to a group of analysts, who concluded that the photos were either cleverly made fraud or a simple technological error. Stargazer and her crew denied this, insisting that technological errors do not move on their own in a slow fashion. Others simply could not identify the object or its nature, but it was definitely not a star or an asteroid (the latter would come close, but asteroid normally do not have such a bizarre shape). The day after, Stargazer looked in her telescope to find the object again, and it was still there, but at a different place in the sky. It appeared as if it were in orbit around the world, much like the Moon. When she looked one last time last night, the object was gone.

So far, research is still being conducted about what the object was and how and why it came.

"Hmm." Twilight closed the newspaper and put it in her hip sack, where she normally kept her books. Twilight felt delighted to see a new opportunity to give to the community. Then she decided to seize it and learn something, perhaps even more things to write about the Princess. So she went into the streets. As she was trekking, she tried to decide on how she could learn more about this object. But she had more strange feelings. First, there was the dream she had earlier, and then there was the mysterious object orbiting around this planet. Could this be just a coincidence, or could there be a-?

"Hi, there!"

Twilight yelped at the squeaky female voice and flash of pink as she trampled into a bush behind her! Annoyed by the sudden intrusion, she lifted her head to look who it was. It was Pinkie Pie.

"Oh, it was you." Twilight sighed scornfully. Pinkie Pie hopped as joyfully as ever toward her, and then gave her an inquisitive look.

"Hey, haven't you heard?" Pinkie asked.

"About what? I really don't have time for this!" Twilight was feeling rushed.

"You know, the celebration!"

"What kind? You hold many celebrations, Pinkie. What makes this one so special?"

"Why, it's the Anniversary, silly!"

"Anniversary?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. At first, she did not understand what Pinkie meant, but as she tried to figure it out, she noted that it was summer. Since an anniversary is like a birthday for a person or event, she traced back to the last summer. It was at that time she remembered something!

"Wait!" Twilight continued, "Are you talking about the... ?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie nodded.

Twilight gasped! "Is it the anniversary of the day we defeated Nightmare Moon?!"

Twilight remembered that just after she and her comrades used the Elements of Harmony to destroy the Nightmare Moon form of Princess Luna, she and her sister, Princess Celestia, united once again after 1000 years. According to legend, Princesses Celestia and Luna ruled Equestria much like today, representing day and night, respectively. However, as the resident ponies were awake during the day and "shunned" the night, Princess Luna grew bitter and transformed into Nightmare Moon, and attempted to create "night eternal". To stop this, Princess Celestia banished her in the moon, creating a dark profile of the corrupted princess. This print was later known as "the Mare on the Moon".

It had been almost one year since this happened, and now all of Equestria is celebrating the return of the old order, perhaps by when the Summer Sun Celebration should have been held.

"Then what are you doing here?" Twilight asked.

"I'm going to visit Applejack to collect flour and apples for the cake, lots and lots of them!" Pinkie Pie replied.

Twilight decided to seize this opportunity by helping her out. Besides, she had spent some time in the library for some time, so she asked, "May I join you?"

"Of course!" Pinkie Pie jumped for joy at the offer!

"Thanks, Pinkie."

"Okie-dokie!"

And so the two mares trotted along the road outside of town and took the path leading to Sweet Apple Acres.

After about a short hour of walking, they arrived Sweet Apple Acres, which was composed of a huge barn-like house with the apple orchards, as well as gardens of corn and carrots.

"But it's true, sis! I saw it!" A familiar, child-like female voice said. Twilight looked towards the source; it was Apple Bloom, who was confronting her older sister, Applejack. Apple Bloom went on, "I saw it with mah own eyes!"

"That's enough o' yer stories!" Applejack concluded, "Besides, we've got work to do, if we're gonna make this Anniversary happenin'!"

Apple Bloom groaned.

Twilight went over to Applejack to see what was going on. Pinkie Pie followed.

"Hey Applejack." Twilight greeted.

"Oh! Hey, Twi." Applejack responded as she turned, "I didn't see ya there!"

"What's all the fuss about?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, Apple Bloom here was tellin' me all o' them stories about some flying thing she saw."

"Oh, Twi!" Apple Bloom went to Twilight, "You are a smart girl, maybe you'll believe me!"

This is getting interesting, Twilight thought, First, there is this object in space, and now this "flying thing". There seems to be some connection, here.

"You know," Twilight spoke to Apple Bloom.

"No, nuh-uh!" Applejack objected, "I don't want to hear no more about it!"

"Oh, c'mon, Applejack. Just give your little sister a chance." Twilight responded.

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie said, "And we need all the apples we can get for the Anniversary! Mr. and Mrs. Cake are gonna make this huge, huge cake and we'll need a lot of apples and flour in order to make it!"

"Say what now?" Applejack quered as she turned to Pinkie. At first she did not understand as she was too caught up with her little sister's business. But when she figured out about the anniversary, Applejack blurted in realization, "Oh, right, that! Alrighty then!"

Applejack tilted her hat, "Let's get to it, then!"

Pinkie Pie cheered and jumped for joy as usual, and she and Applejack went over to the apple orchard. But Pinkie noticed that Twilight was not with her.

"Hey, Twilight!" She asked as she turned around, "Aren't you coming with? You said you were gonna help us!"

"Oh! I'm just gonna talk to Apple Bloom, Pinkie. I'll be with you in a minute."

"Pinkie Pie promise?" Pinkie crossed her hooves to prompt Twilight.

"Pinkie Pie promise," she hastily returned the gesture.

"Okie dokie!" Pinkie Pie leaped as she followed Applejack.

With the two girls out of the way, Twilight Sparkle turned to the filly with a smile. "Okay, Apple Bloom, what d'ya got?"

Apple Bloom began her story, "It was after Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and I were tryin' to get our cutie marks trying to help people rebuild that skyscraper! Ye know, the one that fell down a while ago with that Mare Do-Well? Well, we were trying to help fix it, and we did pretty well, too. But then, Scootaloo messed it all up and it fell down again! We were glad we survived! We were bummed out about not getting our cutie mark, especially after what happened. So, at night, I was on mah way home, when I heard this weird noise that was comin' from the orchard. It sounded like this: 'WO-woo WO-woo WO-woo WO-woo!' So I went there and I saw where it was comin' from! There was this shiny metal thing that was floating above the ground, and it was about as big as I am. I called out to it 'Hey! Mah name's Apple Bloom! What's your name?' But as I came closer, whoosh! It flew away! I swear that thing could challenge Rainbow Dash to a race, 'cause it was darn fast!"

Twilight noticed something peculiar in Apple Bloom's story. First, there was the dream, then the object from space, and now this "shiny metal thing" that Apple Bloom mentioned. The story itself sounded rather bizzare, too. Then she began to suspect something.

"What was it shaped like?" Twilight asked.

"I don' know, it was pretty dark, but it definitely looked like it has wings that were really stiff and pointy. And I can tell it was made o' metal."

Twilight pictured a bird made of metal, but it was nothing like the needle object mentioned in the paper. Maybe it was a hoax, perhaps a rare type of bird with razor-sharp wings. And the sound she described might be a sort of mating call. Many odd – and sometimes magical – creatures come from the Everfree Forest, and perhaps Apple Bloom came to face one on her way home.

"Maybe it was a type of rare bird you saw from the forest. You should be fascinated to have met one of-"

"It wasn't a bird!" Apple Bloom burst, "It didn't flap its wings and it didn't have any feet! It looked like one, but it wasn't!"

Twilight flinched from the outburst, and then raised an eyebrow, "You mean it just floated in place?"

"Yeah! And I didn't see any eyes, either."

So, a stiff-winged, eyeless, metal bird thing that floats in midair. Twilight thought, this sounds strange, wasn't she just making up stories? Children tend to have an underdeveloped ability to discriminate fact from imagination. But then again, she said to have seen it last night, and the needle object was reported to have disappeared at the same time. Is it just an amazing coincidence? But I'm gonna have to help Pinkie and the Apple family help out, so I'll have to make sense of this later.

"Well, this is very interesting, Apple Bloom." Twilight concluded, "What you've described was very strange, I'll have to look this over some time. But for now, let's focus on helping your sister. Okay?"

"Alright, Twi."

So Twilight and Apple Bloom cantered together to find the others and help pick the apples.

Three hours later, Twilight, Pinkie, and Applejack returned to Ponyville. Applejack pulled a good-sized cart of apples of many types. The other two mares trotted alongside her.

"Wee-hoo!" Applejack cheered! "That was sure darn fantastic! Who woulda known that cake would be so darn big."

"Yup," Twilight commented nervously, "The princess does like big things. He-heh."

"Yeah," Pinkie Pie replied, "That's why we need so many apples! It took me a while to knock down those trees! I mean, they keep falling out of the baskets and I had to put them all back in. And then Applejack taught me how the apples get bruised when they hit the ground if I'm not careful and…"

Twilight drifted her attention off Pinkie Pie's chatter when she heard a distinct jet-like whooshing sound in the distance. Her right ear perked up as it got rapidly louder and more intense. It must be the-!

"Look out!" Twilight gasped, and hastily used her magic to push the other two ponies out of the way, and then took cover!

Pinkie and Applejack yelped from getting tossed over by Twilight's magic, and Applejack's cart tumbled over, spilling the apples all over the road! The source of the sound slammed closer toward them, and then…

…it stopped.

Twilight crouched and covered her head with her hooves when the jet-sound stopped near her, which turned into an obnoxious and almost recognizable laughter. It was Rainbow Dash.

Twilight uncovered herself to turn around, and then saw her roll on the ground laughing.

"Oh, you should be more careful! You could spill something!" Rainbow Dash laughed.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie recovered to see the mess on the street, Rainbow Dash in the middle of it, and Twilight on the other side. The apple mess especially outraged Applejack.

"What in tarnation is the problem here?!" Applejack exclaimed, "And just look at all them apples!"

Twilight looked to discover a wide and pile of bruised and tumbled apples from the apple cart, which squished some of them into pulp when it was knocked over; nearly three hours of hard work have gone to waste.

"Oh no…" Twilight's eye's widened in horror.

"We've worked for three straight hours and now look at 'em! They've all been bruised, mushed, and filthy from the road! And now we'll have to do it all over again! What in tarnation were ya thinkin' Twi?!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie agreed, "Now we'll have to wait longer for that cake!"

Twilight was beginning to feel overwhelmed. "I'm sorry, girls! I-I just thought, I got-" Twilight stammered when Rainbow Dash interrupted "Pft! Relax! We've got all week. We'll just grab more some more apples and we'll be all set!"

"Are ye outta yer mind?" Applejack rebuked to Rainbow Dash, "Those apples don' just grow on a single day! We've been workin' fer hours to get as many apples as we could! But now they're all dirty!"

"Oh what are you whining about?" Rainbow Dash walked to one of the apples and grabbed it. She spat on it and rubbed it, "I'm sure we'll just clean them up and we'll be all set."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight intervened, "Those apples need to be perfect for the cake for the Anniversary! They're for Princess Celestia and Luna!"

"Oh... right," Rainbow Dash reacted with private embarrassment as she realized this. But then Twilight thought about how it was she who tossed over the ponies in reaction to Rainbow Dash, causing the cart to toss over and spill the apples.

"Actually, Rainbow, that was my fault." Twilight admitted, "I spilled the apples, I thought you were... um..."

"Aww, don't sweat it, Twi!" Rainbow Dash put her hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure you didn't mean it, right?"

"Yeah, you're right."

Then she thought about Rainbow Dash as she saw her in the clouds before.

"And I was wondering, Rainbow Dash," She added curiously, "just what were you doing up there?"

"Are you kidding?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "I was practicing for the holiday! The Princess asked me that I could use the Sonic Rainboom while the Wonderbolts are performing!"

"Oh, yeah. Then why did you rush over to us?"

"I saw you girls with that cart of apples, and thought I'd take a break and hang out."

"Well," Applejack entered, "Ain't ya gonna help out? Ya know, clean up this mess?"

"Well, I don't know." Rainbow Dash answered doubtfully, "I was kinda practicing right now, so maybe not now."

Twilight decided to make up for her mistake, now that Applejack brought it up.

So she announced, "I'll clean it, Applejack."

"Outstandin'!" Applejack cheered, "Now let's get to workin'!"

"What?" Pinkie Pie objected, "But we just finished!"

"We need to clean'em up." Applejack remarked, "We'll just pick up all the apples that're still intact, and then put'em back in that cart. We'll leave out all the ones that've been mushed, and when we get back, we'll take some time to get the bad ones out and the good ones in. Ya got that?"

"Okie-dokie!" Pinkie Pie hopped.

"Good! But first, let me upright that cart." Twilight used her magic to set the tumbled cart on its wheels, though the pulp from some of the apples still stuck on its ridges. She turned to Rainbow Dash.

"You can get back to your practice, Rainbow Dash. We'll take it from here."

"Well, alright." Rainbow Dash replied, "I'll catch you guys later."

So, Rainbow Dash zoomed back over toward the sky where she came. While they did spend three hard hours collecting all the apples back at the orchard, simply picking them up and rejecting the bad ones did not take as much work. Twilight was conscious of Ponyville's traditional restriction of magic, so she only used her magic to pick up one apple at a time than all at once. After about half an hour, the street was clear of the apples, and the mush put in a nearby trash bin. The three mares relieved themselves after finishing all that work.

"Now all the ponies can pass through." Twilight commented.

"True that," Applejack answered, then she turned to Pinkie Pie. "Now, whad'ya say we head to Sugar Cube Corner!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie cheered as usual, "Then we'll make that cake!"

When Twilight thought about how long she was gone from the library, it came to her that Spike was with his new baby phoenix, Peewee, who could be causing a great mess in there. It had been some four hours since she was away, which made her concerned about the integrity of her library.

"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie Pie asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"No," Twilight responded, "You girls go ahead. I'll head over to the library to check on Spike."

"Okie-dokie!"

"Well," Applejack said as she set up her cart, "In that case, I'll see ya around, Twi. Thanks fer helpin' out."

"It's no problem at all." Twilight returned modestly, and then added privately, maybe except for that bucking part.

When Twilight bid them farewell, Applejack and Pinkie Pie made their way to Sugar Cube Corner. With that said and done, she went on to return to the library.

As Twilight Sparkle was on her way to the library, an older female voice called out her name.

"Twilight!"

She turned to find that it was Mayor Mare coming towards her.

"Mayor Mare!" Twilight called when the Mayor stopped in front of her, panting a little.

"It is an honor to see you! Have you heard about the Anniversary of Reunion yet?" The Mayor asked.

"I... have," Twilight replied, "But is there more I need to know?"

"Well, I don't know how much you've heard about it, but it celebrates the Princesses' reunion since the last millennium. I'm sure you remember the Summer Sun Celebration last year, correct?"

"Yes." Twilight answered.

"Well, now that her sister is back, Princess Celestia replaced it with this Anniversary. She also declared that it be extended a full day and night, Celestia presented in the day, and Luna at night. That way, there will be no disputes. And perhaps you remember Nightmare Moon, right?"

"Of course, Mayor." Said Twilight.

"Well, it was because of the efforts of you and your friends that made this reunion, and thus the celebration, possible. Which means..."

The Mayor gave a wink.

"...You will be invited as our honored guests!"

"What?!" Twilight was a little intimidated by this. "You mean we're going to be presenting ourselves to everypony?

"Of course!" The mayor answered gleefully! "How would the anniversary be complete without you?"

"Whoa!" Twilight felt overwhelmed, what with the things they'd have to do. The mayor giggled and reassured, "Oh don't worry, Twilight. There's not gonna be a whole lot of work."

Twilight felt relieved, "Well this is rather nice of you, Mayor Mare. We'd be obliged to accept your offer."

"Excellent!" The mayor smiled, "I just thought I wanted to come and let you know. Now, how is the cake going? It's going to be for the Princesses, and perhaps for all Ponyville!"

"Umm..." Twilight felt nervous, knowing her clumsy incident with the apple spill, so she lied, "It's going great" as she gave a nervous smile, hoping the mayor will buy it.

"Good, I just wanted to ask. Now I must attend to my duties. I'll see you later, Twilight!" Mayor Mare went back the way she came. Twilight sighed in relief now that it was done and over.

"Okay," she started talking to herself, "Now it's over. We're just gonna head to the library and hopefully that phoenix doesn't burn it down."

So she hurriedly cantered her way there.