A/N: OK, so I originally was going to skip this but then I thought, "Nah, this episode is too hilarious for me to skip" so I'm putting in more work. Yay for me. Anyway…
Swarm of the Century
Golden Oak Library: Night's POV
Night was hoping for a relaxing day, but things took a turn when everypony found out that Celestia was coming to visit and Twilight was taking this with a perfectly normal reaction. "Hurry up Spike, this place isn't going to clean itself!" Twilight says, cleaning the library like a complete germaphobe. So yeah, perfectly normal.
"It also didn't mess itself up," Spike muttered loud enough so the ponies could hear.
"Princess Celestia will be here tomorrow," Twilight continued as if Spike never spoke.
"I thought this was just an unofficial casual visit," Spike pointed out.
"There's nothing casual about a visit from royalty" Twilight countered.
"So… what does that make me?" Night asked, slightly curious.
Twilight reddens in response. "Well, it's not like your really visiting. You're here all the time, so everypony is used to seeing you around," Twilight answers after she gets control of her blush and laughs nervously.
"So… this would probably go a lot faster if we all weren't getting under each other's hooves," Spike points out.
"Great idea, you stay here and clean while Night and I go check on how everything else is going," Twilight says as she gives a duster to Spike and pulls Night out of the house, much to Spike's displeasure.
"Maybe I should stay here and help Spike," Night said as Twilight continued to drag him along, but she didn't seem to hear him. "I really wish I could understand what was going on," Night thought to himself.
Twilight's POV
Twilight felt a little guilty by leaving Spike to clean the library, but she did want to see how everything else was going and maybe tell Night about how she felt. "But what if he doesn't like me the same way," a part of her mind thought, but she shook it away as the two neared the park. She looked around and was proud of the work that was done until she noticed that the banner read 'Welcome Princess Celest'. "What happened to the rest of her name?" Twilight asked the ponies who made it.
"We couldn't fit it all in," one of them explained.
"You can't have a banner that says 'Welcome Princess Celest'! Take it down and try again," Twilight ordered. "Night what do you—" Twilight turns around to find the alicorn gone. Her best guess was that he might be helping Spike. She shrugged before continuing to Sugar Cube Corner. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. How is the banquet coming?" Twilight asks the two owners.
"Well, it would be coming a little if… well," Mrs. Cake points to the deserts already made and Twilight sees that most of them had some kind of bite in them except one when Pinkie pops up and completely devours it in two seconds, save for the crown on it which landed on her head.
"Pinkie! What are you doing!?" Twilight asked her. "Those desserts are for the princess."
"I know," Pinkie answers. "That's why I'm tasting them. Somepony needs to make sure everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue. And I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess," Pinkie continues before trying to eat a recently finished cake when Fluttershy calls out.
"You won't believe— oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" Fluttershy asks.
"Oh no, come one in and make yourself at home," Pinkie answers as she swallows the cake she was trying to eat earlier in on gulp, causing Twilight to glare at the pink pony. "What's going on, Fluttershy?"
"You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree forest. Come on out little fella, it's okay." Fluttershy says and three small creatures about the size of a golf ball with four bug-like wings climb out of Fluttershy's mane. "Three little fellas?" Fluttershy says in confusion.
"They're amazing. What are they?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure. I'm also not sure where these other two came from," Fluttershy answered.
"I'll take one off your hooves," Twilight says as one of the creatures landed on her hoof. "I've never seen anything so… adorable." Twilight then blushes in embarrassment at what she said before continuing. "Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he doesn't annoy Night and me so much while we're studying."
"Pinkie, do you want one?" Fluttershy asked.
"Ugh, a parasprite, are you kidding?" Pinkie says.
"A para-whata?" Twilight asked confused.
"How could you not like them?" Fluttershy asks confused.
"Ugh, now I have to go find a trombone," Pinkie groans as she leaves.
"A what!?" Twilight responds.
"A trombone. You know, *trombone imitation*" Pinkie answers before hopping out the door.
"Typical Pinkie," Twilight says half-heartedly then heads off to Rarity's store where she sees Rainbow in some outfit that Rarity was working on but Rainbow looked very uncomfortable with it. "Wow! Rarity, these outfits are gorgeous," Twilight comments.
"Thank you. Nice to know somepony appreciates my talents," Rarity responds as Rainbow face-hoofs with both her front hooves and pulls her eyelids complaining when the creature made some noise in Twilight's mane.
"What's that sound?" Rainbow asked as three creatures popped out. "What are they?"
"The better question is, 'Where did they come from?' I only had one a minute ago," Twilight answers as both Rarity and Rainbow state they can take one.
Golden Oak Library: Night's POV
After escaping Twilight, Night made his way back and helped Spike finish cleaning, which Night had to admit that neither he nor Spike liked in any way, shape, or form. "Finally, that's finished. It only took us all day," Night commented.
"I know, and it doesn't help that Twilight reads 20 books at once and doesn't put them back," Spike points out.
"That's ironic considering she was complaining about how this place needed to be perfect," Night commented.
"That's actually pretty normal," Spike states as Twilight walks in.
"Wow! This place looks amazing!" Twilight admired. Night then sees the little pink creature in Twilight's mane.
"Uh, Twilight, there's a little something in your mane," Night tells her.
"Oh, you mean this little one. He'll be living with us for now on," Twilight tells the two when Zera swoops in from above and attempts to grab the creature in her talons. "Zera! What are you—" Twilight says as Zera makes another attack run. This time, the creature leaves Twilight's mane and tries to get away from the Thunder Bird.
"Zera, what's wrong?" Night asks. She doesn't acknowledge Night and continues her attacks, but the creature was a little too nimble for her despite the Thunder Bird closing in. Night then grabs Zera, who responds by a mass discharge of lightning, the majority of which was absorbed by Night, with the rest striking other areas without damaging anything. Zera then breaks free and finally manages to pin the creature under her talons so it can't escape when Twilight uses her magic to pull Zera off. "Zera, what's wrong?" Night asks again as Zera lets out a battle cry.
"Maybe Thunder Birds are the natural predator of this creature," Twilight hypothesizes. Night was leaning toward agreement, but something about the look in Zera's eyes didn't seem to support that. Instead of hunger, Zera's eyes seemed to have a look of anger and hatred. Night couldn't help but think that Zera had seen this creature before.
"I'll take Zera to my room and talk to her about this," Night told Twilight as he took Zera up and closed the door behind him. Zera looked at Night with what Night guessed was a mix between pleading and demanding. "Zera, what did that creature do that caused that kind of response?" Night asked. Zera responded by sending a bolt of lightning toward Night which linked their minds together. Night assumed that this was how Thunder Birds communicated with each other on a deeper level. It was because of this he found out Zera's real name, Zeramora. But she preferred Zera
"That thing is what my kind call the Great Destroyers, for your kind they are called parasprites. When those creatures show up, they will eat everything they can. When I was a hatchling, they entered our territory and began to eat the land that we called home" Zera explained.
"So they attacked you?" Night asked.
"Not directly. They ate the plants that shielded us from predators, and as a result, my flock was forced to leave, but many of us got separated when they swarmed the exit. My family made it, but I got separated from them and had to find my own way out," Zera finished.
"Well, the good news is that there's only one of them, we should be able to get it out of here easily," Night pointed out.
"As long as it doesn't eat, we should be fine," Zera pointed out.
"Twilight's probably asleep by now, we'll have to talk to her about this in the morning. And no, you're not dealing with this by yourself," Night told Zera. "Get some rest, we're going to have a tough time tomorrow trying to persuade Twilight why it needs to leave." Night then got into bed and Zera flew up to the perch. As he drifted asleep, Night thought that the parasprite shouldn't cause too much trouble if it came to a fight. After all, it's only one.
Morning
Night opened his door, ready to start talking when he saw the swarm of Parasprites all over the place. "What in Equestria happened!?" Night shouted.
"Well, the little guy got hungry late in the night, so I got some food for him," Spike explained.
"You feed that thing!? Are you insane!?" Night asked Spike.
"Why would feeding them be a bad thing?" Twilight asked as one of the Parasprites coughed out another one.
"That's why," Night explained as he pointed towards the replicating Parasprite. They then hear a crash from some of the books landing on the floor.
"Oh no, they're messing up all our hard work," Spike exclaimed as the Parasprites continued to cause damage around the area.
"The princess will be here in a few hours! We gotta round them up!" Twilight pointed out. Night nods and groups a few of the bugs, but there are just too many of them for anypony to make a dent in the swarm.
"Everypony grab on to something," Night says, getting an idea. He then opens a window and uses his powers to make a wind current that concentrates the parasprites in one place. He and Zera send a massive lightning strike at the parasprites. Night and Twilight quickly grab their bags and shove as many parasprites as they can into Twilights bag before taking them over to Fluttershy's. On the way, the two see Rarity with a bag of parasprites as well.
"It seems we're having the same problem," Rarity says seeing Twilight's bag full of parasprites.
"Ditto!" Rainbow calls out, being pursued by her own swarm. Night quickly repeats his method of rounding up the parasprites and puts them in his empty bag. "Thanks, Night," Rainbow responds.
"Fluttershy's likely suffering from the same problem as us, she could use our help," Twilight says and the ponies head toward Fluttershy's cottage. Before Twilight can knock on the door it bursts open and a small swarm of parasprites attempts to escape, but Night claps his wings to cause a burst of wind to throw the creatures back into the house. The group looks into the house to see a swarm three times the size of the swarm at the Library.
"We have to get these under control before things get any more out of hand," Night says as he sees Applejack with a cart full of apples. "Applejack! Get those apples away from here!" Night warns her.
"What do you mean by—" Applejack starts before a bunch of parasprites eat them all in a few seconds.
"Great now there's going to be more of them. Applejack, think you can help us round up these things?" Night asks.
"Sure thing. Night, get them out of Fluttershy's place, then help Rainbow and Fluttershy contain them from the air. Twilight, Rarity, you two wait over there. I'll drive them towards you," Applejack plans. Night immediately flies into the house and drives them outside before helping Rainbow and Fluttershy contain the swarm in a massive ball.
"Let's get them to the Everfree forest, there's not a lot of things for them to eat there," Night explains and the group starts herding them toward the forest. As the group got closer, Night noticed that Pinkie had pulled up beside Twilight.
"Twilight, we don't have much time," Pinkie says.
"You're telling me. The Princes will be here soon," Twilight explains.
"Exactly! Which is why you all need to stop what you're doing and help me find some maracas," Pinkie responds.
"I fail to see how maracas apply to the current situation," Night tells the pink pony.
"You're right! Getting a tuba has to be our number 1 goal. Follow me," Pinkie says. When nopony follows her, she back walks toward the group. "I said, 'Follow me'."
"Pinkie Pie, you are so random," Rainbow says.
"And you are all so stubborn," Pinkie complains before running off.
"Forget her everypony, focus. Head 'um up and move 'um out," Applejack commands and the ball of parasprites enters the forest, which disappears deeper inside.
"Alright!" Rainbow celebrates as she claps Night and Fluttershy.
"Nice work Applejack," Twilight says.
"Couldn't have done it without y'all," Applejack explains.
"Now let's head back and clean up the mess before the Princess arrives," Twilight said as the group decided to head to Fluttershy's home first since, from what Night saw, that place had the worst damage. Fluttershy then opens her door as a massive parasprite swarm burst out. "Where did all of these ones come from!?" Twilight asks surprised.
"Well, I may have kept just one. I couldn't help myself. They're just so cute," Fluttershy explains as the parasprite in question reveals itself. The group just glares at the gentile pegasus dumb idea.
"We don't have time to keep rounding up these things. What are we going to do?" Twilight asks.
"We call in the weather patrol. Care to give me a hoof Night?" Rainbow asks.
"Sure thing," Night responds as the two make a small tornado which starts to suck in the parasprites like a vacuum and it goes quite well when Night notices a pair of sambals in the tornado forcing him and Rainbow to spend more time dodging them than maintaining the tornado. "It's breaking up!" Night shouts as the tornado spits him out and he slams into the ground. As Night's vision clears up he notices the group heading toward Ponyville.
"Night! You have to help me!" Pinkie says from nowhere.
"Now is not the time Pinkie! Those parasprites are going to cause some major damage to Ponyville," Night says but Pinkie grabs his tail before he can fly away.
"Can you just listen to me for two seconds so I can explain this to you?!" Pinkie shouts. Night was stunned since Pinkie didn't shout often, at least in rage. So, Night decided to listen.
"I know how to get rid of those Parasprites. If you play music to them, they will follow it like moths to a flame," Pinkie explains.
"So that's why you were talking about all those instruments. It's meant for the parasprites," Night realizes. Pinkie nods, seemingly happy that somepony is listening. "What else do you need?" Pinkie quickly lists them off and the likely place to find them and the two split up to search the town. When Night arrived, things seemed worse. "What the actual frak just happened here?" Night asked confused. Something was causing them to ignore all the food and start eating everything else. Once Night collected the instruments he found Pinkie and helped her set up her contraption. "Are you sure this will work?" Night asked her.
"Yes! Well, 90% sure," Pinkie responded.
"Well, whatever you're going to do you better do it quick," Night stated as he pointed out Celestia's chariot needing toward Ponyville.
"Then let's do this," Pinkie said as she started to play all the instruments and head into town. Once Pinkie enters, the music seems to get to the Parasprites and they start to follow along with the rhythm. Night then sees the rest of his friends, who were watching the march of the Parasprites with confusion, and he heads over to them.
"I'll be honest, I have no idea why this is working," Night told them and the group followed the Parasprote conga line toward the Everfree forest.
"Look!" Twilight says as Celestia arrives. The group gets ahead of Pinkie to meet her as Celestia lands. Night hugs his sister while his friend bow in respect.
"It's good to see you all," Celestia says when a loud crash goes off as Pinkie and the parasprites head past. One of the guards then leans over to Night.
"Forgive the intrusion, Your Highness, but what is this?" he asks.
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Night responds. Celestia, meanwhile, is just stunned and confused about this whole thing.
"What is this?" she asks as a Parasprite lands on her wing. "These creatures are adorable!" Celestia exclaims as the parasprite gets back in line.
"Believe me when I say that those things don't make good pets," Night tells her. Celestia then explains that she had to head off to Fillydelphia, which had some kind of infestation. Night got a sneaking suspicion that somehow, the parasprites from earlier had made their way there.
"Before I go, would you care to give your latest lesson on the magic of friendship in person?" Celestia asks.
"My… report!?" Twilight says confused.
"Haven't you learned anything about friendship?" Celestia asked and Night got a feeling that she knew about what had just happened.
"Actually, I have," Twilight says. "I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop, and listen to your friend's opinions and perspectives. *cymbal crash* Even when they don't always seem to make sense," Twilight finishes.
"I'm so proud of you Twilight Sparkle, and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're learning so much from each other" Celestia says as he signals the guards to get moving and the chariot flies into the sky and heads east toward Fillydelphia. Pinkie's music abruptly stops as the last parasprite enters the forest.
"Hey! What happened to the Princess?" Pinkie asks.
"Emergency in Fillydelphia. Something about an infestation," Night explains.
"Oh no! Do they have parasprites too?" Pinkie says worriedly. "Well, have tuba, will travel," Pinkie says as she blows into the tuba.
"I think the Princess can handle it," Twilight says, stopping Pinkie.
"So you knew what those critters were all along Pinkie Pie?" Applejack asks.
"Well duh. Why do you think I was so frantic to get my hooves on all these instruments?" Pinkie asks rhetorically. "I tried to tell you."
"And we're sorry for not listening," Night apologizes and the rest of the group nods in agreement.
"And besides you saved my reputation with the princess," Twilight explained. "And more importantly, you saved Ponyville." The group then headed back into town where the place looked like a hurricane went through it.
"Well, somewhat," Night comments as Pinkie gave a womp, womp, womp, wooooooooooooohmp.
A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. And I do hope you consider following this series and as always have a pleasant [insert time of day here]