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 alicorn 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.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. Their people relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger alicorn 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 creature 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 all of humanity: 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."
Twilight Sparkle set the book down, humming to herself in thought… Those words sounded familiar. She wasn't sure why or how, she wasn't sure what this feeling stirring in her skull was, but it filled her heart quickly, with a desire to answer her questions. How did this tie into what she knew about..? Ah, but more importantly-
"Hmm… Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before… but where?"
…
Twilight tried to focus on nothing but her memory banks to search for an answer. Of course, whenever someone tries to do that, they end up focusing on literally everything else. Like the feeling of the book thumping around in her pack, or the suddenly rather loud sounds of her own footsteps or-
Or those people standing in her way. Um, she knew she'd hung out with them before- what were their names again? Well, it didn't really matter. She tried to politely walk around them (out of required courtesy more than anything else), until she realized they were talking to her.
"There you are, Twilight!" The pink-haired one clapped her hands together and smiled. "Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?" All three of them leaned a little closer than she would've liked.
"Oh, uh, sorry girls…" whatever their names were- "I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." She moreso muttered that last part as an in-the-moment excuse. Though, she probably wouldn't have wanted to come even if she wasn't so busy. It just… wasn't the sort of thing she did. She didn't even look as their expressions fell one by one, instead pushing past them while tightly gripping the straps of her backpack.
Lemonhearts sighed as she turned towards Twinkleshine and Minuette. "Does that girl do anything except study?"
"I think she's more interested in books than people…" Minuette replied. It was half a joke and half just bitter commentary. Not that Twilight would care either way if she could hear them. But she was already far away from them, rushing down the path and murmuring to herself. Some people tried to wave or say hello to her as she passed by, some cast her strange looks at her assumed crazy ramblings, but she paid mind to none of them.
She really should have paid attention to her stamina though, as by the time she reached the stairway to her lodgings, she was already out of breath. And by the time she kicked open the door, she was barely able to yell for her trusty assistant.
"Sp- hhh- S- Spike! Spiiike!" The girl swung her head around haphazardly, searching for her little dragon. Of course, he was in the one place she didn't look, which was splattered directly in front of her, on the ground.
"Spike?"
The dragon boy groaned and pushed himself off the floor. He was about to speak, but was interrupted before he could even open his mouth.
"There you are. Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies." As Spike stood up, she noticed a weird red box stuck on his tail. "What's that?"
Spike peeled the skewered present off his tail and tried to extract the toy from within. "Well… it was a gift for Moondancer…" The innards of the toy fell to the ground.
"Oh, Spike," Twilight sighed as she shuffled through her stack of books, "you know we don't have time for that sort of thing."
"But we're on a break!"
Twilight pointedly ignored him as she searched for her required book. She frantically muttered "no" under her breath, as each cover and title proved to be the incorrect one. Her frustration bubbled up; why couldn't she find it?
"Ugh, SPIKE!"
"I can't find it!"
Well if neither of them could find it, then that only left one option, because Spike and Twilight were always acutely and collectively aware of the location of every book in the library. Therefore…
"DISCORD! Where did you put Predictions and Prophecies?" shouted Twilight.
The dracanthropos tumbled down from the rafters like a limp noodle, curling up in a ball of flesh. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"Where'd you put it?" Spike reiterated.
Discord rolled his eyes and smiled, pulling the book out of his ear and gently handing it to Twilight. She would have complained about him coating it in salt, but she was a bit busy trying to figure out these magical ancient artifacts. She sped over to the podium, nearly slamming the book down, and magically flipped through the pages as fast as possible.
"Elements, elements, e, e, e… Aha! 'Elements of Harmony… see Maid in the Moon?"
Discord squinted suspiciously at the prospect of Twilight's interest in the elements, and snuck closer so he could read over her shoulder. Spike, meanwhile, piped up in response as he tried to put all the books back on the shelves. "Maiden Moon? But I thought that was just an old fairytale?"
"Maid in, not Maiden, Spike," Twilight responded as she searched for the 'M' section. "Ah, the Maid in the Moon, myth from olden times based on the strange patterns observed on the moon's surface. She was a powerful woman who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and sealed in the moon. Legend states that on the longest day of the thousandth year of her imprisonment, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal! D- do you two realize what this means?"
"No." "No- WOAH-"
Twilight caught Spike with her magic just as he was about to splatter against the ground like a dropped egg. As she picked up a piece of parchment and made her way over to him, Discord took the liberty of peeking at some of the art in the book depicting the legend. There were all varieties of interpretations of her from all regions and eras of Equestria, though most were painfully generic to him. Just your average moon goddess, though some were more demonic than others, which was at least something of note. Ehehe… aha.. Hm. One in particular looked rather similar to…
"Take a note please, to the Princess." Ugh, Discord couldn't wait to hear her likely extremely boring opinion on this supposed prophecy. He rolled his eyes before turning to watch Twilight pace about the room. At least her general freneticism was entertaining in these trying times.
"My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of magic and ancient history have led me to a horrible discovery, that we as a species are on the precipice of disaster!"
"Hold on! Preci… preci…"
"Okay, maybe that's a bit too tough…" she muttered. "Um. Try threshold."
"Thre…."
"Brink?"
Spike still stumbled through that word, but at least he could spell it.
"For you see! I have come to the conclusion that the mythical Maid in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, the ancient menace that one of your ancestors banished, and she is about to return to Equestria and bring about 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."
Discord's brain stumbled for a moment. He knew "your ancestor" really was just Celestia herself. Who was this Nightmare Moon person she banished? Well, she probably had something to do with Luna's apparent death.
Not that he could do anything about it, or cared to for that matter.
"Twi… light. Spar… kle! Got it!" Spike finished signing.
"Great! Send it!"
Spike faltered, and glanced out the window at the bustling people in the streets below. "Now..?"
Twilight waved her arms wildly. "Of course now!"
"Uh… I dunno Twilight. Princess Celestia's a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. And it's like, the day after tomorrow."
"Overmorrow," Discord interjected.
"That's just it, Spike! Overmorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. It's a festival of the solstice, which is the longest day of the year, exactly as the prophecy warned! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away."
"Impera… imper…"
Twilight groaned and screamed, "IMPORTANT!" almost sending Spike flying back from the force.
"Okay- okay!" The boy blew flames on the paper, sending its ash out the door and into the sky. "There, it's on its way… But I wouldn't hold your breath," he spoke in a sing-song manner.
"Oh yes, Spike," Discord snickered as a smirk spread across his face. "There's been absolutely zero precedent for thousand year old entities defeated by the Elements returning to the present. I'm sure Twilight's completely overthinking this." Spike gulped perhaps a little louder than necessary.
Twilight nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly! Additionally, the Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor, she's never once doubted me."
Approximately five seconds later, Spike vomited up a response letter. "See! I knew she would want to take immediate action!" The boy unrolled the scroll and began reading in a rather melodramatic manner.
"'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!'"
Everyone froze for a moment in shock. Then raucous laughter from Spike and Discord echoed throughout the room. Twilight sputtered in shock and reached for the scroll, shouting "Let me look!" Unfortunately, the rest of the scroll yielded similar words. It spoke of Twilight needing to get out and make friends, something that seemed extremely condescending and odd to her. At least it was giving her some royal business for the official festival location but… but this really wasn't what she'd expected at all! How could Celestia not take this seriously, when she seemed so worried for Discord's return? Surely this was just as, if not more troublesome? ETERNAL NIGHT! There was a chance they might all perish! Twilight huffed and dropped the scroll to the ground as the laughter slowly died off.
"AHAHAHA- aha- ahhh, now THAT'S more like it!" Discord wheezed out, dangling over the rail of the stairs. "It's been officially sanctioned by royalty! 'Twilight Sparkle has no life!' Oh, this is truly beautiful-"
Spike pushed himself to his feet, wiping away tears as Twilight angrily put books back on their shelves. "H- hey- it's not so bad right? I mean, you get to go on royal business and see the full festival in person this year? When was the last time you even saw her raise the sun like that?"
Twilight simply groaned and muttered, "Spike, can you start packing our things? I'm going to tell my family of our departure. Watch Discord while I'm gone."
"WHAT?! Why don't YOU just take him with you?"
Discord hummed to himself in amusement. On one hand, he felt a little bothered that they were trying to decide who to pawn him off on. On the other hand, it was really funny how they were trying to decide who to pawn him off on. Might as well stir the pot. "Oh, I don't think it should be any problem at all, having Spike 'keep an eye on me.'" And that immediately sent Spike into panic mode, desperately begging Twilight to not leave him alone with Discord.
"Well… I guess it couldn't hurt. They already know about him, they just haven't met him…" Twilight relented. And Spike had never felt more relieved to be stuck on packing duty.
It could have been a heartfelt goodbye if not for his presence. It's not even necessarily that he did anything malicious; it just generally added an ominous air to the conversation that didn't leave either Twilight or her parents room for strong sentiment. But it shouldn't matter much. Twilight only anticipated being gone for a few days (though she felt an impending sense of dread that it may be cut short by Nightmare Moon's return.) Regardless, no one had any reason to anticipate that she would be gone for a very long time, so there was no reason to drag out the goodbye. There was no reason for Twilight to seek out her older brother either. After all, as captain of the royal guard, he'd be present for her departure.
So it was fine for no one to say a proper goodbye. It was fine that she simply waved them off as she and her two companions were led into the sky by two pegasi guards.
Twilight breathed in the cold air of the stratosphere and tried to ignore the thoughts swirling in her mind, and the worries churning in her chest. It should be a quick ride to Ponyville anyway.
….
Discord wondered why so many places in Equestria were named after horses. Or why Equestria itself was named after horses. Maybe it was because horses were so rare? Perhaps they were viewed as sacred mythical creatures. Come to think of it, he couldn't quite remember the last time he saw a horse, or if he ever saw one in the first place. Of course, he knew what they looked like for the same reasons he knew what most things that didn't exist in their world looked like, but this was particularly odd (interesting, wonderful) to him. Now, if he couldn't remember ever actually seeing a horse in Equestria, that either meant he saw it before the Incident, or they were gone before he was ever created. Those could technically mean the same thing but shhhhh….
Horses. Horses horses horses. Why was it called Ponyville? He supposed he'd come across places named after animals in many other worlds. Why horses? Why were they so obsessed with horses that every place of residence in the country seemed to be related to it. He decided to come up with a silly theory that a super long time ago, the founders of this country were absolutely obsessed with horses to an almost cultish degree, because it seemed hilarious to him in its minor absurdity.
He decided to keep that theory until something else proved it wrong. Unless it was less interesting in which case he would keep that theory.
Spike read over the Princess' letter again, not exactly having the opportunity before. He decided to continue with the melodramatic voice, mostly because he knew it annoyed Twilight. And as much as he loved her like an older sister, he also loved her like an older sister. So, y'know.
"'My dear Twilight, there is more to a young woman's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's primary location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!"
"Ugh…" Twilight buried her head in her hands. "This is absurd…"
"I disagree, my dear business partner," Discord responded pointedly. "This is far from the most absurd thing that could have happened. All things considered, perhaps you should have seen this coming!"
"You say that as if YOU saw this coming! Don't act like you knew this would happen!"
"Aw, look on the bright side Twilight!" Spike reassured her. "The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?"
Twilight's body tightened and she sat up a bit straighter in her seat. "Yes. Yes it does. You know why?" She spun around to face the two. "Because I'm RIGHT. I'll check on the preparations as fast as I reasonably can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."
"Then… when will you make friends, like the Princess said?"
"She said to check on the preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends!"
Discord smirked. "Defying royal orders? My, you're such a rebel."
Twilight shot him a pointed glare, then braced herself for the landing. During their conversation, the flying carriage had arrived in one of the main streets of the village. The small town was located in a small valley, surrounded on one side by a thick forest, another by a large chunk of farmland, and on every other side by pleasant, if rather high plains. Twilight could at least feel some solace in the fact that she could see Canterlot and its mountain in the far distance. As she hopped out of the carriage and put on her backpack, she took in the more immediate surroundings.
The streets weren't even paved, simply being compacted dirt. There were even a large variety of plants growing right in the middle of the roads in some places. Compared to the pristine, cobbled and cement roads of her hometown in the capital, it seemed rather… antiquated. The houses themselves were similarly quaint, though there was the occasional modern building spackling the streets, sticking out staunchly from the thatched roofs and wooden, almost cottage-like homes. Thankfully (in her mind at least), the residents themselves matched the newer buildings rather than the houses.
Of course, all these clashing and untamed aspects that filled Twilight with unease were rather quite lovely to Discord. It was still far too civilized and pristine for his own tastes, but compared to the gilded halls of Canterlot, it may as well be paradise. He sucked in a breath, taking note of all the clashing, incongruous scents, listening to all the clammering sounds of people existing in their own minor versions of chaos. It could almost be described as invigorating. Like eating mashed potatoes after only eating crackers for a month straight. They're not necessarily "more flavorful" but it's at least a new texture.
Twilight shook herself out of her observation mode and turned to the two men who had flown her in. She nodded and murmured a thank you, to which they smiled back in acknowledgement before building up a running start to fly off again.
Well, now the three of them were alone in this village. Surrounded by people they didn't know and experiences that the two youngest didn't recognize.
"Well!" Discord clapped his hands together, a smile spreading across his face, "I don't know about you but I think this will be a fascinating experience for all of us. Or- ehehe- at least you two."
Twilight responded with silence, but Spike, ever the optimist, shook her arm and tried to cheer her up. "Hey, come on Twilight! M- maybe the people of Ponyville have interesting things to talk about! That sounds fun, right?"
The girl huffed a sigh. "Perhaps…"
"Oh, look! Here's one right now!"
The other two followed Spike's finger towards an earthen girl walking towards them. She was wearing an extremely poofy dress and had bright pink hair of a similar fluffiness. She stopped in front of the trio and gave them all a long hard look, smiling as she scanned them from top to bottom.
"Come on, Twilight, just try!"
"Um… hello?"
Upon hearing her voice, the girl's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped. She let out an overly dramatic gasp and shot straight into the air before bolting down the street in a frenzy, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. Discord nearly inhaled half of said cloud sucking in a breath to laugh. As he collapsed to the ground, Twilight snarked, "Well, that was interesting all right…"
Spike just sighed and shifted his backpack so he could more easily carry the rest of the luggage. "Let's just… move on."
….
"Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer Checklist: Number one, banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres."
The three walked through a wooden gateway, introducing them to the farmland. Off to one side was a gargantuan red barn, with an adjacent matching house. On the other side was a seemingly endless grove of apple trees, as far as the eye could see. Discord was extremely tempted to stretch his neck as far as needed to see the end, but before he had the opportunity-
"YEEEEEEEHAW!"
The trio's attention was pulled away by a rather tall and VERY muscular (even for an earthen) woman with blond hair and a large cowboy hat. She bolted past them, nearly knocking Spike off his feet from the sheer force of her speed, and slammed her fist into one of the ripest trees on the treeline. The apples fell off the branches perfectly, almost like magic, and the woman leaned against the tree in satisfaction.
Twilight sighed in resignation and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "Let's get this over with…"
More aspects about the woman became notable as they drew nearer, such as the way her tanned skin was speckled with freckles, the way her gloves were rough and worn from presumably years of hard labor, and the way she held a certain lax, approachable air about her. That air unfortunately didn't stop the words from catching in Twilight's throat.
"Um, good afternoon." It would be easier to read off the script, wouldn't it? "Ahem, my name is Twilight Sparkle-"
The woman snatched her hand and began shaking it harder than one would shake their drink to mix the powder. The physical contact made Twilight freeze up, even if there were gloves between them.
"Well howdy-doo Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance! I'm Applejack! We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends!"
"F- friends? Actually I-"
"So, what can I do you for?" Applejack released her grip and winked at the shorter woman, who felt her heart spike and blush creep across her face. Spike giggled and she tried to lower her face so as to not meet her eyes.
"Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?"
"We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?"
Twilight pointedly ignored the two boys behind her nodding their heads excitedly. "As long as it doesn't take too long…"
But that's all it took for Applejack to bolt off again, snatching a triangle beater off a nearby picnic table and ringing out the nearby rusted triangle. The cacophonous ringing was nearly drowned out by the woman's own voice shouting "SOUP'S ON EVERYBODY!" in a sing-songy manner.
Approximately two seconds later, the trio were trampled. Or at least, that's how it appeared at first glance. In fact, they were swept up by a mass of arms and shoved into a bench resting at another, much larger table in the center of the grove.
Applejack made a wide sweeping gesture at the crowd, which nearly mirrored the grove itself in its size. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?"
Twilight's heart dropped upon realizing what was about to happen. "Thanks, but I really need to hurry-"
Too late. Applejack began rattling off names of her family members, and, in sync, they each rushed forward to place a matching treat on the table. The plates began quickly piling up and overlapping each other, along with the clashing yet harmonious scents. Spike's mouth began overflowing with saliva and his eyes widened so much that they could have popped out of his skull.
The flow of treats began to slow, and Applejack took in one final breath to introduce her closest family. Pointing out her brother, little sister, and finally… "Granny Smith. Up'n'attem Granny Smith, we got guests!"
The old woman snorted awake and shuffled out of her rocking chair, grabbing her walker, and hobbling over to everyone else. "Wha..? Soup's on? I'm up, here I come, I'm comin'..."
"Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!"
Twilight, who had taken a hesitant bite from one of the more accessible meals, nearly choked on her food before spitting it out. "Ah- ahaha! OKAY well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way."
"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch..?" Twilight swung her head around, searching for the source of the voice, and as soon as her eyes rested on the little sister, Apple Bloom, her heart skipped a beat. Her puppy-dog eyes were enough to calm even the evilest creature out there. Of course, that meant Twilight only hesitated a little bit.
"Oh… I'm so sorry, but we have an awful lot to do…"
And a massive, resounding sigh filled the orchard. Twilight hesitated, slowly standing up and moving to grab Spike's arm. But as she noticed Discord's smile out of the corner of her eye, she felt a sense of dread. She didn't expect him to care much about the Apple family, but he might just do something to keep her here cuz he knew she didn't want to.
"Well, it sure is a shame indeed. I suppose you all shouldn't be too surprised. You really expect the prized student of the Princess to have time for your food? Surely, despite the hard work you put into it, you must know that it will never meet the proper tastes of Canterlot nobility? Try not to get too disappointed, it's nothing personal, ehehe!"
Twilight stiffened and shook her arms. "N- no! It's not like that at all- I just don't have- I mean- of course I can stay! I'LL TRY EVERYTHING!"
The cheering was perhaps the loudest thing she'd heard in her entire life.
….
It took nearly two hours to pry herself away from the crowd of Apples, but eventually, she managed to escape, though it was rather quite ungraceful. Twilight couldn't remember the last time she'd EATEN that much food, and while it was all good, it was perhaps TOO good. Each dish was packed to the brim with flavor, such that it hardly took more than five bites to become overwhelmed with emotion. And she had agreed to try… all of them. Additionally, she did not have the metabolism of either her younger dragon or the ancient chaos being, so she quickly became too full to move and had to take a solid half hour break. Those breaks were perhaps what ate up (ha) the most of her time.
But she escaped, and that was all that mattered. The more the trio walked, the easier it became to breathe and the less she could taste the staggering sensation of deliciousness on her tongue. She groaned, mumbling under her breath about how she ate waaaaaay too much pie. But as they neared the town center, Spike announced the next item on her list.
"Well, since food's all taken care of, the next thing up is the weather!"
Twilight stretched her head up, staring at the sky. It was spattered with clouds like someone had spilled milk; how was anyone supposed to appreciate the sunrise like this?
Spike hummed to himself. "There's supposed to be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds…"
"Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?"
Discord shot the two of them an oddly genuine look of disgust, muttering, "You Equestrians are obsessive…"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I mean, honestly, things always have to be just so with you creatures. You can't seem to fathom the idea that the weather doesn't have to follow what you want for the day."
"That's not true! It's just- for these important days, it's best if we get the ideal conditions! It's not like we try to make each day sunny and perfect!"
"Uh, Twilight-"
"Not now Spike, I'm proving a point."
"Hm, yes. But I don't think the weather ought to obey your perfect, pristine schedules just because it's convenient for one species out of thousands. You know, in most worlds, the clouds do whatever they want, whenever they want, and they don't let a bunch of stuffy humans push them around."
"Twilight, seriously-"
Twilight's face drained of color at the thought of such inconsistency and lack of planning. But before she could continue the argument, she felt something bash into her at mach speeds, sending her careening into a massive mud puddle.
"I was trying to tell you to watch out for her…"
Twilight rolled over, trying to get a good look at whatever rammed into her, and spotted a very short pegasus girl standing over her, equally covered in mud. Her hair was so varied in color that she had to wonder if it was dyed. The girl laughed awkwardly as she gave Twilight her hand.
"Uh, 'scuse me? Ehehehe-"
Twilight groaned, both in pain and irritation, as she was pulled to her feet. Ugh, the mud was seeping into her clothes and hair. If she didn't get this cleaned out soon… The girl's laughter grew louder and less restrained with each passing second, but she at least TRIED to hold it back as she offered to help.
Of course, said help involved dragging over a particularly full raincloud and dousing Twilight head to toe. She could feel every single layer clinging to her skin. Eugh…
The girl leaned over the edge of the cloud, balking at her handiwork. "Ahahaha! Ah- Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh- oh! How about this?" She flew off the cloud and began spinning around Twilight over and over. She flew so fast that the rainbow colors melded together into an extremely vibrant tornado, dragging the water out of her clothes and tangling her long hair together in a massive knot. The whiplash produced from the girl suddenly halting nearly sent Twilight spinning into the ground once more.
"My very own patented Rain-blow Dry! No no, don't thank me! You're QUITE welcome!"
Well, it had certainly worked, though it had also poofed Twilight's hair into a massive bird's nest and somehow twisted her clothes backwards. This time, the girl didn't even bother holding back her laughter, and she collapsed into a writhing ball of joy on the floor. Unsurprisingly, she was swiftly joined by the other two, and Twilight had about had it up to here with the people in this town.
"Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash."
That caught her attention, as she shot to her feet and posed dramatically. "THE one and only! Why, you heard of me?"
"I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear. Ugh…" Composure, composure, come on Twilight. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather for the festival."
"Oh." Rainbow Dash floated up lazily, leaning back on a cloud once she realized how uninteresting this conversation would probably be. "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."
"Practicing for what?"
"THE WONDERBOLTS! They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!" The girl backflipped to a lower cloud, landing on it with a satisfying poomf. Twilight, however, was not impressed.
"The Wonderbolts?"
"Yep!"
"The most talented flyers in ALL of Equestria?"
"That's them!"
"HA. Please. They'd never accept a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day!"
Rainbow Dash's eyebrow twitched, and she flipped over on her stomach to smirk at the unicorn. "Hey now, I could clear this sky in ten. Seconds. Flat."
Twilight's eyes narrowed and she put on an equally intense smirk to match the other. "Prove it." If nothing else, she was looking forward to seeing this arrogant idiot fail.
Rainbow dash sucked in a breath, closed her eyes, then immediately darted off the cloud she'd been laying on. She crashed through the clouds, tearing them apart with her wings, dissipating them into hundreds of thousands of invisible water droplets that were sent spraying everywhere. She pivoted like the sharp edge of a triangle, rocketing between each cloud like a ball in a pinball machine, and the onlookers couldn't help but wonder if she'd break her neck making turns like that at those speeds.
But before they really had the time to process it, Rainbow was already done. She eased herself onto the railing of a nearby bridge, huffing out a breath that wasn't nearly as exhausted as it should be, and smiled back at the trio. "What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging!"
Twilight's jaw hung open, her eyes bugged out. (Discord couldn't help but think about a fly heading straight into her mouth or open eyeball.) She hadn't actually been expecting the girl to go through with it, let alone pull it off! But- but at least she got her to do her job? Yeah, let's focus on that instead of the world record shattering occurrence that just happened. Her gaze lowered to the ground to avoid making eye contact with anyone.
Rainbow Dash's smile turned into something a little softer, and she chuckled warmly. "You should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle! I can't wait to hang out some more!" With that, she (unnecessarily) backflipped off the railing and flew away to who-knows-where.
Twilight cringed internally at that last sentence. Who was gonna tell her she was only staying for the festival? She shook her head, already trying to expel the past five minutes from her memory so she could move on to the next task. But as she tried to walk off, the other two just stood planted in place.
"She was amazing!" Spike murmured. Discord merely hummed in agreement as he idly lashed his tail. He seemed lost in thought.
"Oh please! She shouldn't have even NEEDED to do it in ten seconds flat if she'd already done her job! She may be skilled but she just seems undisciplined to me."
Spike giggled, his gaze clearly directed at Twilight's mussed up hair instead of her face. "I- I can't take you seriously like thahahahat-"
"UGH." She whirled around and stormed off.
"Wait! It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!"
….
Thankfully, the next step wasn't too far away at all. The town hall needed to be prettied up for the actual sun raising ceremony, and it just so happened to be right next to where they'd met Rainbow Dash.
"Alright!" Spike lowered his checklist. "Decorations! Beautiful…"
The inside of the town hall's vast meeting room was covered in ribbons strung about the rafters and dozens of banners, emblems, and flags hanging down from the ceiling and on the walls. The warm colors all meshed together to make a positively pleasant sensory experience.
"Yes, the decor is quite acceptable. This ought to be quick; I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed."
"Not the decor… her!"
Twilight and Discord followed Spike's gaze to a unicorn woman standing at the far end of the room, sorting through ribbons with her telekinesis. Her wavy purple hair swooped dramatically out for a set of bangs, while the rest was tied back in an elegant ponytail. Her clothes were equally as elegant and exotic seeming, resembling something more akin to the nobility of faraway lands that Twilight had read in her books than something from a small village in the middle of the country. Even though neither of them knew much about this sort of thing, they had to admit that she was attractive.
"No, no, no, oh! Goodness no!" None of the ribbons left in the box seemed to be to the woman's liking, and she seemed ever more agitated as the trio approached her.
She was rather tall. Twilight really could have mistaken her for a princess if she didn't know any better.
"H- how are my spines? Are they straight? Do I smell alright? Oh, I should've taken a bath before I came here- what if she-"
Before he could ramble any farther, Discord snapped up one of the ribbons, teleporting it over Spike's mouth. Twilight rolled her eyes and summoned her courage. Talking to this woman might be an ordeal fully unto itself.
"Good afternoon-"
"Just a moment please! I'm 'in the zone' as it were. Oh, yes!" She finally produced a lovely scarlet ribbon covered in gold accents from the box and tied it around the final remaining pillar. "Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help y- WOAHOHO!" The woman nearly jumped backwards upon making eye contact with the trio, her gaze flitting between different aspects of all three of them before finally resting upon Twilight's matted hair in shock. "Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!"
"Oh, you mean my hair? Well, it's a bit of a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations and then I'll be out of your hair!"
"Out of MY hair? What about YOUR hair?" With that, the woman snatched Twilight's wrist and dragged her out the town hall, using her telekinesis to pull the other two along for the ride. After all, they needed sprucing up almost as much as she did!
"Wait, where are we going?! Help!"
…..
It was difficult for Twilight Sparkle to describe what happened next because, even far into the future, everytime she looked back on these first moments with Rarity, all she could remember was a blur of color and pain.
Rarity took her time making sure Twilight's hair was as pristine as possible before she began sorting through her backlogged stock of clothes for something acceptable for this girl. She looked like she'd just walked out of a laundromat for self-help desk clerks, and that certainly wouldn't do. It was so very very tempting to get distracted working on the other two creatures this girl brought along, but she had to stay focused! She had decided to work on Twilight first, so that's what she was going to do!
It took nearly thirty minutes to find an acceptable outfit that looked good on her and fit her figure and matched her hair, but eventually, she found the perfect design! A lovely one piece that was practically coated in dozens upon dozens of genuine gemstones (that she'd found herself of course!) Upon seeing herself in the mirror, Twilight was so stunned that she forgot to run away as Rarity started tightening her corset.
"Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from!"
"I-ii've-beeeeen sent- from- Caa-nterlot- to-"
Rarity accidentally let go of the laces in surprise, sending the two unicorns flying away from each other.
"CANTERLOT?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there!"
Twilight gasped out a breath and tried to crawl for the door as Rarity was rambling on, but the woman rushed over to her, pulling her to her feet and crushing her in a hug. "I can't wait to hear all about it! We are going to be the best of friends, you and I!" Rarity fluttered her eyes open, suddenly realizing something. She stared at the large gem resting directly above Twilight's horn. "EMERALDS?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some amethysts!"
As Rarity rushed off into another room, Twilight snatched up her old clothes, frantically swapped into them, and burst out the door, grabbing Discord and Spike's wrists as they fled the building.
"Quick! Before she decides to dye my hair a new color!"
….
Spike sighed wistfully as he was dragged along the dirt path of the park, Discord's tail wrapped around his waist. "Wasn't she wonderful…?"
"Focus, Casanova. What's next on the list?"
Discord halted for a moment. "Wait, how do you know what Casanova is?"
"I- I uh…" She did not have a good answer for that. She hadn't even meant to say it really. But before she could stutter something out, Spike read off the next item.
"Music! It's the last one!"
"Thank goodness. I have had quite enough of-"
An almost ethereal sound suddenly rang out from nearby, off to the left. A little farther off, over a set of bushes… it sounded like birdsong, but more organized… more human. The trio slunk off towards the source of the noise, and finally spotted it while obscured in the bushes.
A very thin, lanky pegasus girl with long pink hair hovered just above the ground near a scrawny, spindly tree that housed over a dozen birds, all singing in perfect rhythm! Well, almost perfect. One of the bluejays was singing more on its own, rather than following the others. Upon realizing this, the girl floated towards it and murmured something in its ear. Internal ear? It nodded, seemingly understanding her, and she backed away, smiling down at it like a proud mother.
Okay, this was actually interesting. Could this girl speak to animals? Twilight narrowed her eyes and eased out of the bushes trying to get a closer look. To her surprise, Discord followed her, crawling across the ground like a lizard.
"Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-"
"Hello!"
The girl yelped and hit the ground instantly, while the birds all scattered off in surprise.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry," Twilight apologized rather robotically. "I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful. Almost perfect in fact."
Twilight watched the girl push herself to her feet shakily, and waited for a response. Because, you know, most people react to a compliment like that. Right? She felt Discord draw up behind her, and now they were both watching the girl.
Why was she making that face..? Why did she look so….. Horrified? Disgusted almost? Twilight noticed that her gaze was not on her but… she turned around.
Why was this girl looking at Discord with such intense abhorrence? Like he was some sort of abomination? Sure, he looked pretty weird, but it wasn't that bad, was it? Discord stared back at her with an expression that read like he was daring her to say something. Um- maybe she should-
Twilight stepped between the two, cutting off the girl's line of sight. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?"
The girl bent over, shrinking in on herself and subconsciously using her wings to protect herself. "Um…. I'm Fl…..t…y."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Um….. my name is….. tt…sh….."
"Didn't quite catch that."
This time, all that came out were squeaks. It had taken so long for this conversation to go anywhere that the birds had already long since returned from their startling.
"Well. Um. It looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work!" Another squeak was all the response she got. "Ooookay."
Twilight awkwardly shuffled back to the bushes to talk to Spike. The girl gave her a pleading look that she couldn't see, a look that asked that she not be left with the other creature. But before she could freak out too much, her jaw dropped as Spike crawled out of the bushes, still holding his checklist.
"A BABY DRAGON!" The girl shot into the air before whizzing over, nearly knocking Twilight to the ground in the process. She crouched down in front of Spike, her eyes as wide as plates and her mouth cracked open into an enormous smile. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before! He's sooooo cute!"
"Well, well, well!" Spike huffed proudly.
"Oh my, he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful. I- I just don't even know what to say!" Her wings flittered as her excitement grew, and it was incredibly lucky that she didn't see the two pairs of eyes boring into the back of her skull, otherwise the moment would have been considerably dampered. Still, Twilight huffed out a sigh of exasperation and grabbed Spike, jerking him over to her with her telekinesis.
"Well, in any case, we'd better be going. We've still got a lot left to do today!"
"W- wait! What's his name?"
"I'm Spike!"
"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy… Wow, a talking dragon!" At this point, Twilight and Discord were already walking away, their mood thoroughly soured, and dragging Spike along despite his attempts to dig his feet into the ground. And… Fluttershy was still following them. "What do dragons talk about?"
"Well, what do you wanna know?"
"Absolutely everything."
Sweet Celestia, this was going to be a long walk back to the house.
"Well… I started out as a cute little purple and green egg…"
…
"...and that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?"
"Oh, yes please!"
Twilight halted so fast that both Fluttershy and Spike rammed into her back. She whipped around, trying to hide her frustrated glare as best she could, but it just made her look kinda insane. After what felt like hours, they'd finally arrived at her temporary housing.
Discord tried his best to ignore the boiling annoyance and frustration in his stomach, instead opting to take a step back to take in the scenery. A treehouse. A tree… house. Huh. Maybe humans had a sense of humor after all. It was a library, wasn't it? Yeah, come on, try to focus on the good things. Today doesn't have to be that bad as long as you don't let it.
Twilight spoke up, her strained voice shaking him out of his thoughts. "I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville, and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep." She put on the best worried frown she could muster.
"Wait, no I do-" Twilight not-so-subtly swept his legs out from under him.
"Aww, wook at dat. He's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!"
"Oh, the poor thing!" Fluttershy scooped the boy up in her arms with a surprising amount of strength and flew inside the house. "We simply must get you to bed…"
"NO! I mean-" Twilight shoved Fluttershy back out the door, levitating Spike in the air. "Yes, yes, we'll get right on that. Well, goodnight!" And with that, she slammed the door in her face.
Spike scoffed, though Twilight couldn't see him shaking his head in disappointment due to the lack of lighting. "Rude much?"
"Honestly, I would have been ruder if I were her," Discord muttered.
"Huh?"
"That girl was a thoroughly unpleasant creature, much more so than the others we met. To think, she quite nearly ruined what had been a perfectly hilarious day!"
"What do you mean? She was so nice!"
Discord didn't reply, simply letting his gaze wander. He suddenly noticed something that the others couldn't see, and his body tightened up in anticipation. "Ehehe- forget I said anything."
Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, Spike. It doesn't matter how 'nice' everyone seems. My priority is finding enough evidence to convince the princess of Nightmare Moon's return, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone for a while so I can research without a bunch of crazy people trying to make friends with me constantly! Now where's the light?!"
As soon as she said that, a glow flooded the room, exposing dozens upon dozens of people surrounding the trio on every side. They nearly blew out their eardrums shouting-
"""SURPRISE!"""
The pink haired girl from earlier bounced up to them, getting nearly close enough to boop Twilight's nose with her own. "Surprise~!" She blew a party horn that seemingly appeared out of nowhere right into Twilight's face. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya, were ya? Huh huh huh?"
Twilight swung her head around, searching for her companions to back her up or somehow get her out of this interaction. But they were already lost in the crowd. Apparently. "Very surprised! …Libraries are supposed to be quiet…" she muttered.
"Well that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? How would you know we even cared if no one was excited! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all like "hello" and I was all *GASP*, yeah?"
Twilight was walking away at this point, but Pinkie was still trailing along, still talking. She headed for the drink table, hoping to the celestials that there was something alcoholic to numb the pain of everything that had happened today.
"Y'see I've never seen you before and if I've never seen you before that means you're new, cuz I know everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY in Ponyville."
Twilight absentmindedly grabbed a random bottle of liquid and started pouring it into a cup.
"And if you're new, that means you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends here, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, I hate loneliness! So then I had an idea, and that's why I gasped like that! I HAD to throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville!"
"Do you do this with every person you meet or just me," Twilight grumbled under her breath.
"Oh, everyone! We're such a small town, everyone knows everyone around here, but I know everyone the most! And look!" The four other girls Twilight had met before came rushing over, seemingly having recognized her, and they all smiled and waved as they crowded around her with Pinkie Pie. "See? Now you have lots and lots of friends!"
Something snapped inside of Twilight for a large variety of reasons. It could be the fact that literally nobody was listening to her about the impending threat of eternal night. It could be the way dozens of people just broke into her house, it could be the way all these lights and sounds and smells were completely overwhelming, the way these girls kept trying to be friends with her, the way Spike and Discord had already abandoned her to talk to these crazy people.
Mostly though, it was the incredibly painful sensation of drinking pure tabasco.
Steam poured out of every orifice of Twilight's face and tears streamed out her eyes as she rocketed up the stairs, slamming and locking the door behind her.
Pinkie Pie's face stuttered a bit before she composed herself. "Aw, she's so happy she's crying!"
Spike, having seen the whole situation, picked up the bottle Twilight had been chugging. "Hot sauce…" Pinkie tipped the bottle out of his hands and all over a nearby cupcake, hucking it into her mouth with a scary amount of precision.
"What? It's good!"
"It'd be better with a dash of soy sauce," Discord added as he was sent soaring over the group. Apparently someone had thrown him like a javelin while he was crowd surfing.
….
Twilight buried her face in her pillow, trying to drown out the sound of the bassy music. It had been hours, and the party hadn't even been toned down by a smidgen. In fact, one could argue it had only intensified. The frustration bubbling up in Twilight's chest had nearly caused her to cry once or twice. But she didn't because that would be stupid…
At least she had managed to find another copy of Predictions and Prophecies in the bedroom, which still had a sizable amount of books. She clutched it close to herself as she curled up on the bed, staring at the night sky shining just beyond the window.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Spike loudly slamming the door open. Flipping over to look at him revealed a lampshade on his head. Uuuuuughhhhhhh…
"Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie started a game of Dare Limbo and Discord's just put all the tables on the ceiling! Things are going BANANAS out here! Ya wanna join us?"
"NO! All the people in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!"
"N-"
"FOUR. IT IS FOUR IN THE MORNING. SPIKE."
"But… it's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. We can't go to bed now, or we'll miss the princess raising the sun!" A pause hung in the air as Spike gazed at his older sister before letting out a sigh of disappointment. "You don't have to join us I guess…. But you really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party…"
The door closed gently behind him, and Twilight flipped back over, mocking him under her breath. Her grip on the book tightened.
"Ugh. Here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony, but silly me! This entire visit has been a waste of my damn time…" Her face suddenly twisted up in worry as a ball of anxiety whirled around in her stomach. Looking at the night sky like this… it filled her with an intense dread. The idea that she might never see the sun again, and no one would even realize today was their last chance… She sat up and opened the book to the prophecy of Nightmare Moon once more.
"Legend states that on the longest day of the thousandth year of her imprisonment, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal… I hope the princess was right… I hope it really is just an old fairytale."
"C'mon Twilight!" she heard Spike shout from behind the door. "It's time to watch the sunrise!"
…..
Twilight, Spike, and Discord huddled onto a bench in about the center of the town hall. It was probably the best seats they were going to get, not that Discord was all too interested in getting a good look. This was just a boring, overblown excuse for the humans of Equestria to flaunt how amazing they were for the fact that one of them happened to be able to control the sun. As if he couldn't do that casually on his own and as if that wasn't literally the only thing that was unique about Celestia. As if she was some sort of special existence when she was just some traitorous, conniving, cruel, moronic-
"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, cuz I'm excited. I've never been so excited- well, except for the time I saw you walking into town and I went *GASP* but I mean really, who can top that?"
Discord felt the hatred drain out of him, if only for a moment. It was hard to be angry when this girl was around. At some point, she had plopped down next to the trio on the bench and started rambling to them. If someone pointed a gun (did those exist?) at his head and told him to pick a favorite human, so far she'd have to be it. She was the least insufferably boring. Far from it. Ah, speaking of which… the music of the songbirds rang out, drawing everyone's attention to the mayor on the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!"
To Discord's surprise, Twilight joined in the applause as enthusiastically as everyone else. He thought she'd been hating this whole experience? Although maybe her obsessive love of the princess overrode that.
"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!" The mayor took a few steps back, gesturing up towards a balcony Rarity was standing on. "And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very woman who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day! The good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…"
Discord wondered if he would explode on the spot. Although, with so many guards around, with Celestia likely just a room away, with his inability to adequately protect himself at the moment, perhaps he shouldn't do anything too rash. Yet.
"...PRINCESS CELESTIA!"
The curtains swung open as the music swelled and-
Nothing was there. No one was there.
Maybe it was the suddenness of everything, the way everyone and everything instantly halted the moment they realized something was wrong… but it really just forced the tension out of Discord, and he couldn't help himself anymore.
"AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Twilight frantically elbowed Discord in the ribs, trying to get him to shut up as everyone turned to stare at them, but he just couldn't help it! It only made him laugh harder and harder, tears building up in his eyes as the laughter grew more manic with each passing second. Twilight whipped her head around anxiously as she realized the guards were drawing closer and closer- Pinkie Pie shot both of them a worried look- No- no this wasn't supposed to-
A much louder noise echoed throughout the room. A low chuckle. It was so quick, so subtle, that one had to think they were imagining it, if only they couldn't feel it reverberating through their body. That noise brought silence through the whole room, though Discord was practically hyperventilating from all the laughter.
The mayor stuttered out a poor excuse for reassurance. "Remain calm, everyone. There must be a reasonable explanation!"
Pinkie's face jerked into a smile so fast that you could get whiplash watching her. "Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?"
Rarity returned from behind the curtain. "She's gone!"
"Ooh, she's good…" But the smile fell away in a flash as she suddenly screamed!
A dark blue haze of thick smoke flowed in from the windows, slamming them shut behind it through the power of the winds. It twisted and curled in on itself, sharpening and solidifying into something that resembled a human. But it couldn't be human… the unnaturally colored skin, those glowing, piercing teal eyes with slit pupils, the way it, no, she moved was unlike anything except-
Except Princess Celestia… and one other person…
Discord's heart dropped in his stomach, as he put the pieces together. The blood rushed into his ears, drowning out nearly everything else, and he could hardly hear Twilight's frightened utterance of her name. But that wasn't her name. That wasn't…
"Oh no… Nightmare Moon…"
Spike clung to Twilight, shaking horribly and clenching his eyes tight as possible. The unearthly, ethereal woman raked her gaze across the room, looking at them as if they were a gathering of ants. A smile slipped onto her face, and she bowed her head slightly as she began speaking.
That wasn't her voice. But it was.
"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces…."
"What did you do with our princess?!" Rainbow Dash shouted out from the back of the room. She would've bolted straight for the woman if she hadn't been held back by Applejack.
Instead of attacking her for speaking out of turn, or even getting angry… Nightmare Moon just laughed. Laughed like a mother about to tease her child. "Why, am I not royal enough for you?" But her voice then hardened. "Don't you know who I am?"
No one held an answer for her, though only one person in the room knew the truth. Unfortunately for him, Discord was too busy staring in awe at her. His jaw was almost lolling open, as if he was dead, and his limbs were twitching sporadically.
Nightmare Moon continued when no one spoke up. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" She spread her wings, floating in the air to loom above. Her smoke-like, incorporeal hair stretched out, teasing some of the nearby people. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?!"
Twilight swallowed her fear and stood on the bench. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her skin to ground herself, and thrust her finger towards the woman.
"I did. And I know who you are. You're the Maid in the Moon - NIGHTMARE MOON!"
Everyone around her gasped. Sure, people tangentially knew who she was, but she had been believed to be nothing more than a myth, a scary story to tell children to keep them inside at night!
"Well, well, well… Somebody who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."
"You're here to…. to…." The bravado left her as soon as she realized what she'd have to tell everyone. She felt Spike fall unconscious next to her, and she didn't dare look anyone in the face as Nightmare Moon said her next words.
"Mhmhmhm… Remember this day, little ones, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last FOREVER!"