Before the chapter begins, I first want to say how grateful I am for all the positive reception this story has received. It's a cliche but knowing people enjoy the story motivates me to keep writing. Anyway, it's time to introduce somepony I know some of you have been waiting for. I hope you enjoy.
—
Four days passed since Sora's first day in Equestria. He spent much his time working on the apple farm, helping Applejack and Big Mac out in the fields and doing whatever else he could. Whenever he was off duty, Sora would be mingling with the townsfolk. Today was a special day for the Apples as today was the Apple family reunion. Right now, Sora was helping Apple Bloom set up tables for the event.
"Are you sure ya don't wanna be in the reunion, Sora?" Apple Bloom asked him.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Sora answered. He was still a relative stranger to the Apple family. He had already talked to the family about his decision, "I don't want to get in the way of your reunion."
"O-okay then," Apple Bloom muttered, disappointed that Sora wouldn't be a part of the get-together. Since he arrived on the farm, Sora quickly became friends with little Apple Bloom. He would play with her whenever he had an opportunity, giving her piggy back rides and making games out of chores. Seeing Apple Bloom sad, Sora decided to cheer her up.
"Hey, it's not like I'm leaving for good or anything," Sora reassured, playfully messing with Apple Bloom's mane. The filly giggled in delight before slapping his hoof away.
"We sure are busy today," Apple Bloom commented, now in higher spirits, "With the reunion and the caterin' for the Summer Sun Celebration," Sora tilted his head.
"What's the Summer Sun Celebration?" He asked, earning him a wide eyed look from Apple Bloom.
"You've never heard of the Summer Sun Celebration?!" She exclaimed in bewilderment, but a frown from Sora reminded her of a rather important detail, "Oh, that's right, yer not from here. The Summer Sun Celebration is where we celebrate the longest day of the year. This year, the festival is being held here in Ponyville, where Princess Celestia will show up to raise the sun."
"That's pretty cool," Sora responded, then he was metaphorically hit with a load of bricks, "Wait, Princess Celestia? She'll be here?"
"Oh, ah guess you've heard of her," The yellow filly noted.
"Y-yeah," He replied, not really paying attention. He drifted his eyes elsewhere, trying to comprehend what he just learned. The story he read the other day must not have been that old if Celestia was still around.
Apple Bloom continued with her explanation of the event, "The Summer Sun Celebration is the anniversary of when Celestia beat a great evil a thousand years ago."
"Woah! What?!" Sora's pupils shrunk as small as they could possibly get, "She's over a thousand years old?!" Guess the legend was older than he thought, "That's nuts!"
"Ah know!" The yellow filly bounced excitedly, "Isn't that amazin'?" Sora didn't respond, but he was in complete agreement. It never crossed his mind that Celestia would be that old. Is she immortal?
"Hey," Apple Bloom brought Sora back to reality, "Are ya gonna help me with this table cloth or not," She motioned to a red and white plaid table cloth that had yet to be draped over a round table.
"Oh yeah, sorry."
—
Sora left soon after his conversation with Apple Bloom. Right now, he was gently flying through Ponyville, looking for something to occupy his time. He had been working on perfecting his flight skills after rescuing that unicorn filly the other day. The caramel pegasus thought back to what he learned about Celestia, that being she is over a millennium old.
"How old is Celestia anyway?" Sora pondered as a literal shadow was cast over him. Curious, he lifted his head to find two pegasi clad in golden armor pulling a chariot with two passengers. The first was a light purple unicorn mare with violet eyes, a simple dark blue mane and tail with streaks of violet and pink, and a cutie mark of a pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars. Next to her was a purple baby dragon with green eyes and spines. The unicorn looked to be in a bad mood as the dragon read to her writings from a scroll.
"I wonder who they are," Sora said. Well, it never hurt to meet new people.
"Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?" The dragon said, already in a conversation with the unicorn named Twilight. The two pegasi landed the chariot, Twilight and the dragon exited soon after.
"Yes, yes it does," Twilight responded to the question, holding her head up confidently with her eyes closed, "You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations so that—"
"Hey there!" Sora greeted out of the blue, startling Twilight out of her little speech, "Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as Twilight raised her eyebrow, "I'm Sora, what're your names?"
The dragon walked forward and offered his hand to shake, which Sora accepted without hesitation, "I'm Spike. Nice to meet you, Sora," Twilight seemed a bit more hesitant, but she relented.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle," She greeted, "Sorry, but we don't have time for idle chit-chat, we're very busy."
"Busy with what?" Sora inquired.
"We're here to quickly oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow," Twilight answered
"So your like the supervisor," Sora noted.
"Yes, and I wish to see to the preparations as quickly as possible so that I may conduct some important research," Twilight trotted forward, saying "thank you" to the pegasus soldiers who carried her and Spike to Ponyville.
"Can I help?" Sora offered, confusing Twilight. The purple unicorn looked at the smiling pegasus for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't think we need it," Twilight replied, earning her a look of disappointment from Spike.
"C'mon, Twilight, the Princess said to make some friends," The small drake pointed out, but the lavender mare didn't seem to pay his statement much mind. Sora's eyes widened in shock. Did Spike mean Princess Celestia? These two knew her?
"Spike, I don't need any ridiculous friend-making getting in the way of my studies. I've told you this before," Twilight's response surprised Sora immensely. Why wouldn't she want to make new friends?
"Spike's right," Sora interjected, flying up to Twilight, "You should at least try to make one friend," Twilight simply gave the caramel pegasus a deadpan stare. He then noticed Pinkie Pie trotting up towards the trio, "How about her? She should have some interesting things to say," Twilight looked at Sora skeptically, but both he and Spike were giving the purple unicorn expecting glances. She gave an annoyed sigh with a roll of her eyes.
"Fine," Twilight cleared her throat and approached the pink mare, "Hello?" Pinkie then gasped loudly, shot up into the air, and bolted away. Sora could only give a nervous smile as Twilight gazed at him with her blank stare, "Well, that was certainly interesting. Spike, what is first on our list?"
The baby dragon pulled out a quill and a roll of paper from—somewhere as he gave his reply, "First up is the catering, provided by Sweet Apple Acres."
Sora trotted in front of the unicorn and dragon, "Oh, I work there, I can lead you there if you want. Trust me, your going to love the dishes they'll make," Twilight felt unsure about this strange pegasus, but he claimed to know where their destination was.
"I suppose we could do with a guide," Twilight admitted with a sigh, "Very well, lead the way... Sora, was it?"
"Yeah. C'mon, this way," Sora trotted towards Sweet Apple Acres with Twilight and Spike not far behind.
"See, Twilight," Spike whispered to her, "You've already made a new friend."
"Spike, we've just met him," Twilight reasoned, just quiet enough so that Sora didn't hear her, "I will do what the Princess asks of me and oversee the preparations, but the fate of Equestria does not wrest with me making friends."
—
It wasn't long before the trio arrived at their destination. As the pegasus, unicorn and dragon trotted the path alongside the picket fence, Applejack came into view, galloping up to a tree with a "Yehaw!" before bucking off it's apples.
"Hey, Applejack!" Sora called, catching the farm mare's attention.
"Sora," She greeted with a smile on her face, "Did ya changed yer mind?"
"Not exactly," Sora admitted, leaping onto the other side of the fence, "I'm just showing them the farm is all," He motioned towards Twilight and Spike. The purple unicorn put on a polite face and approached the orange mare.
"Good Afternoon," Twilight graciously greeted, "I'm Twilight Sparkle—" She was taken out of her introduction when Applejack began to furiously shake the unicorn's hoof.
"Well howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, it's a pleasure makin' yer acquaintance," Applejack graciously greeted, "Any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine."
"Friend?" Twilight said with uncertainty, her voice reverberating from the farm mare's hoof shake, "Actually, I—" Applejack released her hold on Twilight's hoof, but the unicorn's fore-leg continued to bob up and down. It didn't stop shaking until Spike held it still.
"Now what can ah do for ya, Twilight?" Applejack asked.
"They're here to check on the preparations for the celebration tomorrow," Sora explained.
"That's correct, Twilight affirmed, "Sora was kind enough to bring us here. I understand that Sweet Apple Acres is catering the food for the festival.
"We sure as sugar are!" Applejack stated proudly, "Would ya like to sample some?" Twilight considered the offer. She was feeling a little peckish. Maybe a small snack wouldn't hurt.
"Well, as long as it doesn't take too long," The purple unicorn agreed with a smile. Applejack trotted off, presumably to collect some dishes for Twilight. That wasn't exactly the case, the orange mare was currently ring a triangle.
"Soup's on, everypony!" Applejack declared. Feeling the earth rumble beneath them, Twilight, Spike and Sora turned their heads to find a stampede of ponies charging towards them. They had no opportunity to flee, so they were carried forward to a nearby table. Applejack appeared next to them.
"Now, why don't ah introduce y'all to the Apple family?" She offered. Twilight now had second thoughts about staying.
"Thanks, but I really need to—" She was cut off when Applejack shoved an apple fritter in Twilight's mouth.
"This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." every family member Applejack named held a dish corresponding to their name. Applejack took in a deep breath before continuing, "Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom aaaaaaannnnnd—Granny Smith," The old mare was currently asleep in her rocking chair. Sora was amazed that she manage to sleep through all that commotion, "Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests."
Granny Smith woke from her nap, lethargically rising from her rocking chair to slowly approach Twilight, "Wha..? Soup's on? I'm up, here I come, ah'm comin'..." Sora wondered how all these family members arrived so quickly. He only left a little less than a half hour ago.
"Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!" Applejack proclaimed, wrapping a hoof around Twilight.
Spiting out the food that was shoved in her mouth, Twilight could only respond with a nervous chuckle, "Well, I can see that the food has been taken care of. We'll just see ourselves out."
"Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" Came the voice of Apple Bloom, looking up at Twilight with a filly's deadliest weapons, big teary eyes and a quivering lip.
"Sorry, but we really have to go," Twilight replied, much to the disappointment of the Apples. Sora was appalled Twilight could deny such a cute little creature.
"Come on Twilight," Sora lifted Apple Bloom to eye level with Twilight, "How can you say no to a face like this? At least stay for a little while longer," Twilight looked over the sad faces of the Apple family, then her attention drifted towards Apple Bloom once again. Those large puppy-dog eyes bore into her very soul. She leveled her gaze to Sora, who looked at her with a goofy smile.
"Ugh, fine," She relented with a frown. The Apples all cheered in joy. Now all the relatives were offering Twilight and Spike apple related delicacies. The little drake dug in without question but Twilight was feeling overwhelmed. Sora set Apple Bloom back on the ground and shared a smile with her. He then stood next to Applejack.
"That sure is alot of food," Sora noted to her.
"Sure is. Why do ya think we harvested so many apples yesterday?" The farm mare playfully inquired. Sora remembered he, Applejack and Big Mac harvested more apples than usual yesterday, but the caramel pegasus didn't think anything of it. Turns out they were for catering for an event Sora hadn't heard of, "Say, you sure ya don't wanna stay for the reunion? I don't think the others mind."
"Nah," Sora answered, "I think I'll stay with Twilight and Spike a bit more."
"Alright ten," Applejack replied, "But yer gonna be in the next reunion, ya hear," There was no animosity or forcefulness in her voice, just a sense of playful banter.
"Yes, ma'am!" Sora jokingly saluted.
—
"Man, that really good!" Spike said with a satisfied stomach. The trio made their way back into town after enjoying a delicious meal courtesy of the Apple family.
"I told you. The Apples make the best food," Sora trotted up in front. Twilight headed up the rear, experiencing a bad stomachache.
"Ugh... I ate too much pie..." She complained, mostly to herself.
"But it was good, right?" Sora tried to lighten the mood, but a fierce glare from Twilight convinced him to change the subject, "So, Spike, what's next?"
"Well, there's supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the skies for the ceremony," Spike explained, looking up at the sky for any sign of Rainbow, but there was no pony in sight up above.
"Huh, I didn't know Rainbow was on weather duty," Sora commented. Twilight took a peek at the sky, finding that the sky was still very much cloudy.
"Well, miss Rainbow Dash appears to be slacking off on her duties," As if fate was knocking on the door, a rainbow blur smacked Twilight away into a pile of mud, causing both Sora and Spike to cringe. Sora recalled how painful it was when Rainbow Dash crashed into him.
Rainbow Dash got up from her crash, realizing that she flew into somepony. Giving a sheepish smile, the cyan mare addressed Twilight, "Uh, 'scuse me?" Twilight groaned in pain as she righted herself, now covered in mud.
"Jeez, Rainbow!" Sora scolded, "Do you even watch where you're going? You could've seriously hurt someone."
"I just made a wrong turn is all," Rainbow Dash brushed it off. Twilight, for her part, was wiping away the mud all over her coat, "lemme get that for you," Rainbow took a random rain cloud and placed it above Twilight. Hoping on top of it, Rainbow accidentally poured an over abundant amount of water all over the annoyed unicorn.
"Oops, I guess I overdid it," The cyan mare said sheepishly, "Um, how about this? My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry!" Now Rainbow Dash quickly flew around Twilight, creating a miniature tornado that dried her off right away, "There ya go. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome," Rainbow Dash looked towards the purple unicorn. Twilight was dry, but the force of Rainbow's tornado caused her mane and tail to frizz in a comically poofy fashion. Rainbow tried not to laugh, but she caved in and fell on the floor in riotous laughter. Spike and Sora couldn't help but cackle themselves seeing such a ridiculous mane.
Twilight did her best to compose herself, being the center of all this laughter, "You're Rainbow Dash, I presume," The cyan pegasus ceased her chortling to address Twilight.
"The one and only," She introduced with a pose that said confidence, "Why, you heard of me?"
"I was told—" Twilight tried to talk to Rainbow Dash, but Spike and Sora's laughter was incredibly distracting. She shot a sideways glance at them and cleared her throat to get them to stop, "Are you two done?"
"Sorry," Sora apologized with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his head, "I couldn't help myself," Twilight sighed in exasperation, she was starting to regret letting Sora accompany her and Spike. He didn't seem to take things seriously.
Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow once again, "I was told you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear, a job which you have done very poorly," She said, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather."
"Yeah, yeah, no problem," Rainbow brushed off the purple unicorn's words, flying up to lay down on a cloud, "I'll do it soon enough. Just as soon as I'm done practicing."
"Practicing for what?" Twilight asked.
"The Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash answered with excitement evident in her tone of voice, pointing towards a poster with ponies in blue uniforms wearing flight googles, "They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff! Once they see my awesome moves, they'll ask me to join them in a heartbeat!"
Twilight had a hard time comprehending what she had just heard, "The Wonderbolts?" She snidely remarked.
"Yep!"
"The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?"
"That's them!"
"Pfft! Please," Twilight spoke her doubts, "The Wonderbolts would never allow some lazy pegasus who can't keep the sky clear to join their ranks," Rainbow looked Twilight in the eye, lazily.
"Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat," Rainbow stated matter of factly.
"Yeah right!" Twilight disregarded Rainbow's claim with a laugh.
"I think she could do it," Sora threw in his two cents. He'd seen Rainbow's moves before. Clearing the sky fast should be easy for her. Twilight looked at him skeptically, "She's really fast. I can barely follow her movements when she gets going."
"See, Sora's got faith. Clearing the sky will be a cinch," Rainbow bragged.
"Prove it," Twilight challenged, still unconvinced of Rainbow Dash's abilities. With a determined grin, Rainbow Dash bolted off her cloud and went to work destroying every cloud in Ponyville at supersonic speeds. The only visible proof of Rainbow Dash was the multi-colored blur zigzagging into every cloud. Each cloud the blur touched dissipated, and they were disappearing at a rapid rate. Sora and Spike were awestruck at the display while Twilight went slack jawed. Once the sky line of Ponyville was all but clear, Rainbow landed on a nearby bridge with backflip.
"Bam! What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging," Twilight didn't respond, she just continued to stare at the clear sky that was cloudy exactly ten seconds ago, "You should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more," Rainbow Dash bolted away, leaving the trio alone once more.
"See, told ya she could do it," Sora said.
"Yeah, no kidding," Spike affirmed, impressed with Rainbow's speed, "She's amazing," Twilight snapped out of her shock to find Sora and Spike chuckling at her frizzy mane again. With a huff, she stormed off in a random direction.
"Wait! It's kinda nice once you get used to it!" Sora tried to recompense as he and Spike followed after Twilight.
—
The next stop on Spike's list was town hall, where decorations for the ceremony were being set up. The entire space was looking magnificent with ribbons and flowers adorning the balconies.
"Beautiful..." Spike trailed off in a daze.
"It is beautiful," Sora agreed.
"Yes, it certainly is," Twilight agreed also, "The décor is coming along nicely. This will take no time at all."
"Not the décor, her..." Spike trailed off, pointing towards Rarity, who was busy decided which ribbon she should use to decorate a curtain.
"Oh, it's Rarity," Sora said, "Let me go talk to her," Sora flew over to the fashionista while Spike was hit was a case of 'love at first sight.'
"How are my spines?" The baby dragon hastily adjusted his appearance, "Are they straight?" Twilight looked at Spike with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey Rarity," Sora called for her. Rarity had her back to him.
"Sora! Just a moment! I'm 'in the zone', as it were," She finally found the perfect ribbon: glittery cheery red, "Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent," She turned her attention to the caramel pegasus after she tied the bow into place, "I was hoping I'd bump into you, Sora."
"Really? What for?" He questioned.
"Well, you see—" Rarity cut herself off when she saw Twilight and her frizzy mane. Screaming in horror, Rarity pushed Sora out of her way and galloped over to Twilight, "Sweet Celestia! Darling, whatever happened to your coiffure?!"
Coiffure? What in the world did that—"Oh, you mean my mane?" Twilight responded, Sora stood back up from Rarity's push and leered at the fashionista, "Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, then I'll be out of your hair."
"Out of my hair?" Rarity screeched, "What about your hair?! No, this will simply not do at all!" She declared. Rarity began pushing Twilight out of the building, much to the purple unicorn's displeasure.
"Hey what are you doing?" Twilight demanded.
"We're going to fix that disaster you call a mane!" Rarity over-dramatically declared.
"Spike? Sora?" Twilight called out, "Help!"
"You really do need to get your hair fixed," Sora responded truthfully, and Spike was stuck in a daze.
"What?!" Twilight yelled almost hysterically, getting pushed out the door.
"C'mon, Spike," Sora began following after Rarity and Twilight, but he noticed Spike wasn't following him. He looked at the purple drake to find him still in a lovestruck trance, "Hello?" Sora waved a hoof in front of Spike, but got no response. Sora decided to lob the drake on his back and carry him to where Rarity was taking Twilight.
The two unicorns made a trip to Carousel Boutique. Rarity did more than fix Twilight's mane, she also had Twilight try on a variety of different outfits to "help her find her beauty" as Rarity put it. Right now, Twilight was wearing a white corset adorned with emeralds. Sora and Spike were off to the side. Sora was really just waiting for Rarity to finish while Spike was admiring the marshmallow unicorn's beauty.
"Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from," Rarity pulled onto the straps on Twilight's outfit, which cut off the purple unicorn's breathing.
"I've... been sent... from Canterlot... to—" Rarity released her grip on Twilight's harness, catapulting the former halfway across the room.
"Canterlot?!" Rarity's eyes twinkled with excitement, "Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! It's been my life-long dream to live there! You must tell me all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I," Twilight looked unsure and nervous as Rarity placed her fore-leg on the purple pony's back. Rarity then took notice of Sora, who was doing his best not to laugh at Twilight's expense, "Oh Sora, apologies for earlier. I wanted to say I've been working on those new designs we discussed and I desperately want your input."
"Mine? Why ask my opinion?" Sora asked.
"These new pieces were inspired by your fabulous jacket," Rarity explained, "And I did promise you'd be the first to see them," Sora was interested in seeing what Rarity had devised for her new line.
"Alright then, where are they?" Sora answered with a question.
"Just over here," Rarity led Sora to a different room in the boutique. With the two ponies occupied with something else, Twilight decided to make her escape.
"Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!" Twilight grabbed hold of a love-struck Spike with her magic and galloped out the front door.
—
Sora wasn't sure where Twilight and Spike ran off to. After he saw the outfits in Rarity's new line, which were amazing in Sora's opinion, he decided to look for them. His search brought him over to the park where he met Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. He had no leads whatsoever. His attention was then drawn to a flock of birds that loudly dispersed from a single tree. Wanting to see what the commotion was about, Sora flew over to that very location and found Spike standing next to a bush.
"Hey, there you are," Sora greeted Spike, who responded with a smile, "Where's Twilight?"
"She's over there," spike pointed over to the purple pony who was conversing with...
"Fluttershy?" Sora said in bewilderment, "What's Twilight doing with Fluttershy?"
"Is that her name? Well, it turns out Fluttershy's in charge of the music for the ceremony," Spike explained.
Sora's eyes widened, "Seriously?" How and why was a reserved and shy mare like Fluttershy in charge of music? She likely must have stage fright.
"Yeah, she has this really awesome bird choir," Spike enthusiastically detailed. Sora nodded his head, it made sense for Fluttershy to make music with chirping birds, "Too bad you didn't get to hear the bird singing," Spike said, "It was amazing."
"I'm sure it was," Sora then remembered something he meant to ask earlier, but the numerous sidetracks distracted him, "Hey, Spike, I remember you mentioning the Princess earlier. Do you two know her?"
"Sure do," Spike replied, "Twilight's Princess Celestia's own personal magic student."
Sora couldn't believe his ears, "Really?!" He exclaimed in astonishment, "Wow, she must be really powerful."
"Sure is. Twilight is unbelievably gifted with magic," Spike affirmed. Sora was beside himself, all day he was in the company of a Princess' personal protégé.
Meanwhile with Twilight, she had tried to open up a conversation with Fluttershy, but the yellow mare's shyness around strangers got the better of her. She was barely able to speak her name when Twilight asked for it. Eventually, the unicorn awkwardly made her leave as Fluttershy hid herself behind her mane. Twilight made her way back to Spike, surprised to find Sora stand next to her assistant. She wasn't excited to see him, she was more disappointed than anything else.
"Oh, hey, it's you..." Twilight said to Sora with little enthusiasm, "What are you doing here?"
"I lost track of you guys at Rarity's," Sora explained, "So I came looking for you."
"Oh, that's nice," Twilight responded despondently, "At least I can talk to you," She added, referring to the mare hiding behind her mane named Fluttershy.
"You know, she'll open up if you start talking about animals," Sora remembered his first meeting with the reserved mare turning a different direction quickly after he began talking about the various animals he had met.
"Sure, whatever," Twilight didn't really seem to care, "On the bright side, I'm finally done with everything on the list. Now I can get to the library," She addressed Sora directly, "Thanks for your—help," she uttered that last word with hesitation, "but Spike and I can take it from here."
Looking through her mane, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of Spike. Almost immediately, her attitude changed to excited, "A baby dragon!" She rushed over to him, knocking over Twilight in the process, "I've never seen one up close before. He's so cute."
"Well, well, well..." Spike reveled in the attention as Twilight got up from the hard push she received.
"Oh my, he talks. I didn't even know dragons could talk," Fluttershy gushed, flying up in excitement, "This is so wonderful, I don't even know what to say!"
"Told you she likes animals," Sora reaffirmed to Twilight, who paid his statement no mind.
She hastily pulled Spike on her back with her magic, "Well, we should be going now," Twilight began trotting away, but Fluttershy followed at a steady pace with Sora right next to her.
"Wait, what's his name?" Asked enthusiastically, as enthusiastically as she could with her soft voice.
"I'm Spike."
"Hi, Spike, I'm Fluttershy," Twilight wore a grumpy expression as she knew she wouldn't be away from these silly pegasi, "Wow, a talking dragon. What do dragons talk about?"
"What do you wanna know?" Spike was more than happy to share information about himself, but Twilight would think differently.
"Everything," Fluttershy requested, stunning Twilight with fear. Now she was stuck with these two even longer.
"Yeah, Spike, how 'bout it?" Sora encouraged, further frustrating Twilight.
"Well... I strated out as a cute little purple and green egg..."
One incredibly long and detailed backstory later and Spike finished his tale.
"And that's the story of my whole entire life," He concluded. Twilight was twitching her eye in irritation, unbeknownst to Spike, Sora, or Fluttershy. The sun was starting to set.
"Hey, Look at that, we're at the library," Sora announced. Twilight jolted her head towards the Golden Oak's Library and smiled widely. Sanctuary at last.
"You know, I didn't tell you about today," Spike told Fluttershy," Wanna hear about—gah!" Twilight quickly turned around, cutting off Spike's conversation with Fluttershy and Sora.
"It's been great spending time with both of you," The unicorn said with a forced smile, "But it's getting late and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep."
"No I don't—" Spike voiced his protests, but Twilight lurched the small dragon off her back. Spike yelped in response and fell down hard on his bottom.
"Aww, wook at dat, he's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!" Twilight feigned worry as Spike scowled at her.
"Poor little guy," Sora bought into Twilight's facade, "We should tuck him into bed," Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
"Yes, yes, we'll get right on that," She hastily opened the door to the library and used her unicorn magic to pull in Spike with her "Well, g'night!" She slammed the door in Sora and Fluttershy's faces. Miraculously, a window from the upper floor of the library opened up, revealing a familiar pony.
"In here," she gently called over to Sora and Fluttershy. The two pegasi shared a glance with each other and smiled. They knew what this was about. Without another word, the two flew up to the window.
"Rude much?" Spike retorted with his arms crossed in the pitch black darkness that was the library.
"Sorry, Spike, but we're running out of time," Twilight responded, "I just need time to study without a bunch of crazy ponies getting in the way. Now, where's the lights?"
The lights did turn on at that moment, to reveal a party, "SURPRISE!" The hiding ponies declared. Twilight took a second to process what happened, then her face slumped in annoyance.
"Surprise!" A familiar pink mare appeared in front of the flustered unicorn, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie and this party is just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya?"
"Yes, I was," Twilight admitted deadpan, "Aren't libraries supposed to be quiet?"
"Yeah, but what kind of 'Welcome to Ponyville' party would this be if it were quiet? I mean duh. Bo-ring!" Twilight didn't want a party, she just wanted peace and quiet. She grumpily trotted away from Pinkie, who continued to speak, "Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I gasped really loudly, remember? See I didn't recognize you and if I didn't recognize you that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!"
Twilight groaned in annoyance, approaching the snack table, "And if you're new, that meant you didn't know anypony yet, and if you didn't know yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, so I needed to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party and I realized I would be throwing two 'Welcome to Ponyville' parties in one week and that made me super excited to throw you the most super-stupendous party ever and invite everypony in Ponyville!" Sora, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy joined up with Pinkie and Twilight, who wasn't paying attention to the pink mare's words and was instead absentmindedly pouring a a bottle of unknown liquid into a chalice and drinking from it, "See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!" Twilight suddenly stopped drinking and began shaking.
"Hey, Twilight, you okay?" The purple unicorn turned around, looking like she was in great pain. Her entire face was red and her eyes were leaking. Sora wasn't sure, but he could swear he saw smoke coming out of Twilight's ears. With flailing limbs, Twilight scrambled upstairs.
"Aww, she's so happy she's crying," Pinkie said, though the others didn't think that was the case based on Twilight's expression. Sora grabbed the bottle Twilight poured into the chalice.
"Hot sauce?" He read. Pinkie grabbed the bottle with her... hair? And poured some of the sauce on a cupcake. She then lobbed the cupcake in the air and ate it in a single bite. The other mares and Sora looked at Pinkie with trepidation as she chewed.
"What? It's good!" She said with her mouth full.
—
The party went on for many hours. It was well into the night and Twilight had isolated herself from most of it on the second floor, which had a fully functioning bedroom. The loud music from downstairs still managed to penetrate the walls of Twilight's haven. Her ears twitched when she heard the door open. Sora walked into the room to find a grumpy Twilight lying on a bed and holding a pillow over her head.
"Twilight, aren't you gonna join the party," Sora asked, earning him a growl from the purple unicorn.
"No!" She spat, lifting her head to look at Sora, "You and everypony else in this town are crazy! Do you even know what time it is?"
"Well, the Summer Sun Celebration is going to start pretty soon," Sora answered, "Why are you holed up in here? This party's for you after all."
"I never wanted this stupid party!" Twilight retorted in anger, "I just wanted to study!" Twilight turned her back to Sora and pulled the pillow on her head down even tighter, "Just leave me alone."
"Can't you just study another time?" Sora suggested, not out of any ill will, but the purple unicorn didn't take it very well.
Twilight's left eye twitched in annoyance. At that moment, Twilight released all of her pent up frustrations, "Rrrruuuuuuuuuggghhhhhhhh! Why?! Why can't I get a break?!" Sora flinched back as Twilight leapt off the bed and continued on with her rant, "Here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!"
"Elements of Harmony?" Sora recalled hearing about those when reading through Celestia and Luna's tale. The way that Twilight was acting gave Sora cause for concern. She seemed to believe that studying the Elements of Harmony was very important, "Twilight, what's going on? Is there something wrong?"
"Oh, you know, I just have reason to believe that an ancient evil will shroud Equestria in eternal night," Twilight chuckled sarcastically, "If only I wasn't bombarded with pointless distractions all day, then I might have learned how to stop it!"
Sora started to grow worried. Eternal night? That didn't sound good at all, "Twilight, if it's really that bad, let me help you," He offered, but the purple unicorn scowled in response.
"I don't want your help! You've been nothing but a nuisance all day!" Twilight spat. Her entire day had been one infuriating experience after another, and she was venting her anger onto this goofy pegasus, "You couldn't possibly stop any kind of evil because you're an enormous dolt who can't take anything seriously! If you really want to help me, then leave me alone and never talk to me again!" Sora was shocked from Twilight's angry response. Looking at her venomous scowl, the caramel pony knew talking to her wouldn't help matters. With a saddened expression, he obliged to her wishes and exited the room, making sure to close the door behind him.
Letting out a huff, Twilight calmed down and grew incredibly worried; the day was pretty much done and she hadn't made any progress on learning how to defeat this great evil. She trotted over to the window and gazed at the full moon, seeing an image of a unicorn's face on it's surface, "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night," Twilight recited, "I really hope the princess is right and it is just an old pony's tale."
As Sora rejoined the lively party on the first floor, he contemplated what Twilight had told him, "Even if you don't want my help, I won't let anything cover this world in darkness," He whispered.
—
It wasn't long until the opening ceremony of the Summer Sun Celebration was about to commence. Town hall was filled with ponies eagerly awaiting the arrival of Princess Celestia. Sora was more than interested to see the Princess for himself, but Twilight's words hung over him like a storm cloud. A great evil plunging the world in eternal night would make anyone nervous. Sora casted a glance towards Twilight, who had Spike sitting on her back. Both she and Sora met gazes when they entered the building. The purple unicorn scowled at him and trotted away from him. Sora wasn't mad at her, she was obviously frustrated. Looking at Twilight now, her face showed only one expression: worry. Sora couldn't help but feel nervous himself. If this great evil was real, it would spell disaster for all of Equestria. And then Pinkie Pie appeared next to Sora.
"Isn't this exciting?" She caught him off guard, "Are you excited, cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited—well, except for the time that I saw Twilight walking into town earlier and I gasped loudly like this," Pinkie imitated a deep gasp, "But I mean really, what can top that?"
Sora smiled at her mini-tangent. That helped lighten the mood, if only a little bit.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" A standing ovation followed, but neither Twilight nor Sora gave their applause, "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 our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."
Fluttershy gave her cue for her bird choir to start singing. Spike was right, Fluttershy's birds create such a beautiful melody.
"Princess Celestia!" Mayor Mare announced, motioning towards a balcony where Rarity was set to pull open the front curtains. The curtains opened to reveal—nothing. There was no one on the other side. Everypony gasped in shock and began talking amongst one another.
"Stay calm, everypony," The mayor tried to calm the panicking ponies, "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation."
"Maybe she's playing hide and seek!" Pinkie suggested. Sora looked at her with an expression that said 'seriously?'
"She's gone!" Rarity screeched, having made her way to the bottom floor. This news only caused more worry among the citizens of Ponyville.
"This can't be good..." Sora breathed. Just as he said that, the room grew more dark. Tendrils of dark energy swirled through the building, coalescing into single dark orb where Celestia was supposed to be.
From the orb of darkness emerged a different kind of pony from what Sora had seen thus far. She was exceedingly taller than any other pony Sora had seen. Her coat was pitch black, her eyes were green and serpentine, a splotch of dark blue was on her flank as well as a crescent moon cutie mark, and a transparent blue, starry mane and tail that seemed to flow from an unseen breeze. She also had the distinction of having both a horn and wings, which were far longer than what was average. This distinction made her an alicorn, a being with the strength of all three pony races. She wore a light blue armored helmet, a chest piece that had a moon decal on the front, and elegant shoes on all of her hooves. She opened her green serpentine eyes and curled her lips into a sinister grin.
"My dear subjects," She spoke in a booming voice, causing Spike to faint and fall off Twilight's back, "How long it has been so long since I have laid eyes on your precious, sun-loving faces," Twilight looked up at the moon through town hall's open ceiling, finding the image of the unicorn's face gone from the surface. The ponies present all displayed fear at the arrival of this dark being, except Rainbow Dash.
"What have you done with the princess?" She demanded, preparing to dive bomb the intruder; however, Applejack bit down on the cyan mare's tail to keep her in place.
"What's this? Has it been so long that you have all but forgotten me?" The dark mare taunted, "Did none of you see the signs?"
"I did!" Twilight spoke up, standing forward in defiance, "I know who you are! You're the Mare in the Moon—Nightmare Moon."
"She's the sister from the story," Sora whispered. He recalled that Celestia's sister was consumed by her own jealousy and was banished to the moon. This was the great evil Twilight spoke of? How could she have escaped her imprisonment?
"Well, at least one of you knows who I am," Nightmare Moon snickered in delight, looking at Twilight in a sinister manner, "Then you understand why I am here."
Twilight's courage suddenly evaporated under Nightmare Moon's gaze, "You're here to... to..." The lavender mare took a few steps back in fear. The dark mare reveled in the unicorn's trepidation.
"Remember this day, little ponies, for it will be your last. From this moment forth, the night shall last FOREVER!" She cackled loudly as thunder roared in the sky.
Sora steeled himself, this was going to be a tough battle.