Chapter 8: Friendship is Magic Part 1: Arrival of Darkness
It had only been a few days since the princess had come to Sweet Apple Acres and everyone was busy with getting preparations ready for the Summer Sun Celebration that is to take place in Ponyville tomorrow as it is one of the biggest events to take place. Spyro was in his room as he finished all his tasks quickly as usual so he had free time and decided to use it to do a little research on the history behind the celebration. What he found was that the princess had to banish her own sister to the moon when her jealousy for her sister caused her to fall to darkness as do to ponies being up and bustling, doing their daily tasks when the princess raised the sun, but when her sister, Luna, would raise the moon, everyone would go to sleep, missing out on the beautiful night. This caused her to become enraged and to become a darker version of herself that would bring forth the eternal night, Nightmare Moon.
He turned the page on the book he was reading and looked at the image on it, feeling something strange on the page. On it was a picture of the Mare in the Moon, but as he looked at the image, he saw four of the stars in it move behind the moon and the image of the mare disappeared, pulling him into the book and returning to the same place where his platform was, but this one was different. As he descended, he saw that the platform was entirely blue and dark blue with an image of Princess Luna, a dark blue Alicorn with her mane waving with what looked like twinkling stars in it and her cutie mark a black splotch with a moon in the center of it, her eyes closed and smiling, positioned to be relaxing on her back with the moon in the background and an image of Celestia in the moon itself.
As he examined the platform, he felt something behind him and turned around quickly to see what it was, getting ready for a fight, but instead of an enemy saw a door with a lock on it with a large keyhole in the center of the door. He walked over to the door for a better look and at the design of the door to reveal it had two large moons and stars all over it with a dark blue background. Before he could try and open it, the door disappeared and left him in a blank void on an elevated surface, alone in the darkness.
"A heart, calling for help." Came a female voice, the same as when he first was getting his power. "Jealousy and rage. A light remains. Unlock the door, find the light, banish the darkness. Restore the light within the night."
Spyro wanted detail on what she meant by her riddle, but felt a tug and was pulled out of the dream, going through the air and hurtling through the darkness until he woke up, back in his room, looking at the book. Before he could figure out what his dream was about, he felt something tingle on his chest and looked down, finding the Chaos emeralds and Master Emerald glowing and shooting a light out of his chest, only for a parchment to appear with Princess Celestia's royal seal on it. He took it with his magic and opened it up to read what was on it.
Dear Spyro,
I do apologize about the surprise message, but I needed your help now. How I sent you this message, I was able to memorize the power within the jewels in your chest as when I tried to examine the Keyblade, I couldn't get a good read on its magic as it made it disappear and return to you before I could memorize it. I have to say though, your jewels seem to hold a lot of power in them that I have never seen before.
Regardless, the first task I have for you is important. As you might have heard, tomorrow I raise the sun for the Summer Sun celebration, but I fear something terrible might happen. So I am sending my star student, Twilight Sparkle and her assistant, Spike, to over see preparations. I believe she along with five others might be the key to saving my sister. Please, keep them safe as Equestria's future rests upon them.
Princess Celestia
Spyro looked up from the letter and out the window to see Ponyville and then to Canterlot where the princess resides, thinking back to what he read and about how Celestia had to banish her own sister because she was going to make the night eternal. He felt his own heart ache as, even though he didn't have siblings, he still felt sorry for Celestia as she had to make a difficult decision as ruler of her people for their protection. Without waiting, Spyro got out of the bed and grabbed his bag and jacket, running out of the room and out of the house to begin his task.
"Hey Spyro." Applejack called out, stopping him. "Ya'll sure ya don't wanna join the family reunion? It'd be a great way to introduce ya to the family."
"Sorry AJ, I can't." Spyro responded. "I'm not an Apple."
"Ah horse feathers." She said. "Ya'll helped us out a lot when ya got here, that makes ya an Apple in my books. But if ya change yer mind, ya'll know where to find us."
Spyro nodded and ran towards Ponyville to meet with this Twilight Sparkle and upon arrival, he looked around the town, asking everyone he ran into if they met someone name Twilight, but to no avail. But as he was about to leave and look around outside of town,but he then felt something nearby, feelings of annoyance and urgency.
"Spike, I don't have time to make friends." A female voice said. "I just want to get this over with and get to the library."
"That must be her." Spyro said to himself
He ran around the corner to where the voice came from and saw a carriage from Canterlot and a lavender colored unicorn mare with a dark purple mane and tail and a pink strip on both and a six pointed star on her flank. Next to her was a baby purple dragon with a green underbelly, spikes, eyes, and green fins carrying a parchment with a quill.
"So, who are we supposed to meet again?" The unicorn asked as the carriage left.
"According to the princess's instructions, we're supposed to meet somepony named Spyro." The baby dragon replied. "Says here he's wearing a purple coat with black and white gems on it. And that he sticks out from the rest of the ponies here."
"Well, it seems he isn't here." The lavender mare said. "Might as well take care of everything here in-"
"Excuse me, are you Twilight Sparkle?" Spyro asked, coming towards them.
"Yes I-" She paused a moment when she and her assistant, Spike, saw him, both their jaws dropping when he walked towards them. "-...am...?"
"Welcome to Ponyville then Ms. Sparkle." Spyro said. "The names Spyro and I'll be-"
But his sentence was interrupted when Twilight used her magic and pulled him closer to her, practically falling to the ground as she let go, causing him to hit his head. After regaining his bearings, he felt someone pull one of his wings hard and yelped in pain as he felt something pop.
"This is impossible!" Twilight exclaimed, letting go of his wing and then yanking his horns, pulling his head back and popping his neck. "The union of a dragon and a pony to have an offspring of both species is just unheard of! This defies all logic between our species!"
"Hey, mind letting go of me please?" Spyro asked. "This is really starting to hurt you know."
"Oh, sorry." She said, letting go of his horns, giving Spyro a chance to get up. "Just, never saw a hybrid before, let alone a pony/dragon hybrid. This is just so unexpected."
"Hey, you're not the first to be surprised." Spyro said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nor are you going to be the last. Anyway, I'm here to guide you through Ponyville to make sure that preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration are going as they should, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct." Twilight replied. "And I'd like to get this done as soon as possible so I can get to the library."
Without another word, she walked past Spyro and headed towards the edge of town. He could sense that she was frustration and anger as she seemed to be distancing herself from everyone, even from her assistant, who ran up to her to catch up.
'"Come on Twilight, the princess said you need to make some friends." Spike said. "At least try to since we're in a new town."
"I don't have time for that Spike. We have other pressing matters." Twilight said. "I need to get this done so I can find everything on Nightmare Moon and making friends is just pointless."
"Pointless?" Spyro replied, flying up to them, dropping in front to stop them and making Twilight yelp in surprise bumping into him. "Without friends, you might as well just not exist all together. Plus, I think the princess is right, making friends is good for you."
As soon as he said it, Pinkie Pie walked up and stopped in front of the group.
"Come on." Spyro pleaded. "At least give it a try?"
Twilight signed in annoyance, wanting to get it over with so she wouldn't be pestered by the two of them. "Uh... hello?" But as soon as she said that, Pinkie leapt up and gasped, then sped off as a blur of pink down the road and out of sight. Although Spyro was use to her by now after meeting up with her a few times with her having her episode of random bits and nonsense, that was a reaction was basically normal for everyone here. "Well, that was definitely something."
"Oh pay that no mind. It's just Pinkie being Pinkie" Spyro said, suddenly feeling something in his jacket he didn't remember being there before, so he pulled it out and saw it was an invitation, chuckling as he knows who the party is for. "Well, looks like someone already made a new friend today."
"Let's just get this over with already." Twilight said, annoyed by how her time was wasted. "I want to get to the library as soon as possible and not be distracted by crazy ponies."
"Alright then." Spyro said, disappointed that she thought making friends wasn't important. "What's first on the agenda?"
"First thing to check on is food." Spike replied, looking at the list he has. "The food is being prepared by the Apple family of Sweet Apple Acre."
"Oh really? I actually work for them on the orchard. Right this way." Spyro then lead them down the road to the orchard as it came into view. "You are going to love their cooking twilight. Some of the best apple foods you could have, it'll make your taste buds dance like they're in a dance club." As they reached the white picket fence, they spotted Applejack running towards a tree and bucking it hard, making all the apples fall from the tree and into the buckets below them. "Ah, there's one of them now. Hey Applejack, how's it going?"
The farm mare looked over and waved to Spyro, walking towards them. "Back so soon Spyro? Did ya change your mind about joining in the family reunion?"
"Not really." Spyro replied, disappointing Applejack. "I was just giving a couple of new comers a tour of Ponyville. They're from Canterlot and want to check on the food for the Summer Sun Celebration." He then stepped back and allowed Twilight to greet Applejack so they can get acquainted.
"Good afternoon." She said. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. And as -"
She didn't get to finish as Applejack just reached and grabbed her hoof, shaking it up and down very fast and hard.
"Well howdy do there Twilight! A pleasure to make yer acquaintance. Mah name is Applejack." As soon as she let go, Twilight couldn't stop shaking her hoof and her body, so Spyro grabbed both to help her stop. "Ya'll are just in time for some of the best home cooking your taste buds could ever try." She then ran to a triangle hanging on a post near the barn, ringing it quickly. "SOUP"S ON EVERYPONY!"
A moment later, Spyro sense something from behind them and looked, only to see a controlled stampede of earth ponies running at them. he quickly jumped up and flew above the crowd, but Twilight and Spike got caught in it and were seated at the table. Before Twilight could utter a word, Applejack stuffed a sample of their cooking in her mouth, silencing her, while she introduced her family one by one. Each one was named after a different food that has apple in it and each placed a dish on the table, each one looking more and more delicious as Spyro's mouth watered, longing to devour it all for himself, but needed to restrain himself.
As Applejack was finishing up introductions, she introduced her blood relatives, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith, who was sleeping in a nearby rocking chair. Spyro set down next to Twilight and Applejack as she wrapped her foreleg around her guest.
"Geez AJ. You got a bigger family than Pongo." Spyro said, whistling at the sheer number of family members.
"Who the heck is Pongo?" Applejack asked, but was interrupted when Twilight swallowed the food in her mouth so she could talk.
"Well, looks like food is taken care of." Twilight said. "We should be on our way Spyro."
"Ya'll aren't gonna stay for brunch?" Apple Bloom asked, giving puppy dog eyes.
Spyro was never hit by those kind of eyes as he was always happy to play with Apple Bloom, but when she did that, he felt something strike his heart as it was the most adorable thing he ever saw. However, it didn't seem to affect Twilight. "Sorry, but we have a lot of stuff that needs to be done before the end of the day."
Spyro's eyes immediately widen in shock at how Twilight could be rude enough to refuse.
"You gotta be kidding me." Spyro said, picking up Apple Bloom and holding her at the chest. "How can you turn down some of the best food you could ever have and this adorable little face? This is the first time I've ever seen her use it and it made my heart explode. You just gotta stay, please?"
Spyro then mimicked Apple Blooms puppy eyes, trying to get Twilight to agree. She just glared at the stallion as he was acting like a little colt for a teen mane even stranger than Pinkie did when they first met. She looked around and saw everyone's eyes were on her and that her own guide wasn't willing to leave until they ate. With a sign of defeat, she gave in.
"...Fine. We'll stay." Twilight said, making everyone, including Spike cheer as he beelined it for the food.
While Twilight was being given a large amount of food, Spyro set Apple Bloom down, messing up her mane to show her what a good job she did. But as she ran to join the rest, Spyro felt something nearby in the orchards and looked to see what it was, but saw nothing. Before he could do anything, Applejack called him over, telling him to dig in while there was still some food left, to which, he dove right in. After a while, Spyro, Twilight, and Spike returned into town, both the guys satisfied with the food, but Twilight groaned as her stomachs was inflated to the point it was gonna burst and they could hear it gurgle as it digested food.
"Man, that was excellent grub." Spike said. "You were right Spyro, that was amazing."
"Glad to hear that. How about you Twilight, did you think it was good?" He turned his head to look at Twilight, but she only leered at him for pressuring her into staying and eating a feast that could easily feed an army, groaning as she growled at him. "Ok then. What's next?"
"Uh..." Spike then opened his scroll and looked at the list to see what was next. "The sky's are to be perfectly clear. Not a single cloud should be around. According to this parchment, a pegasus called Rainbow Dash should be handling that."
Both of the ponies looked into the air, but there were clouds all over the sky.
"Well, looks like miss Rainbow Dash is shirking off her responsibility." Twilight said, grinning. "The princess won't be happy to hear about this."
A second later, Spyro felt through the Force that Rainbow Dash was about to crash into Twilight and without a moment hesitation, he pushed Twilight out of the way and took the full blunt of the hit, both going into a nearby mud puddle.
"Messed that one up." Rainbow Dash said, picking herself up and rubbing her head.
"Geez Rainbow, I'm starting to think you like to try and crash into me." Spyro said, cracking his back, making both of the mares wince.
"So, you're Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.
"The one and only." She said. "And who are you?"
"This is Twilight Sparkle." Spyro replied. "She came all the way from Canterlot to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration."
"And I must say I am repulsed by your lack of progress." Twilight said. "You were given an assignment to keep the sky clear for the celebration and you failed to do that. Lazy, reckless, and unreliable."
As she talked about Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash got a rain cloud and helped to clean Spyro off, ignoring her rambles. After he was cleaned up, he heated his body up and evaporated the water off of him, making him dry within seconds.
"Actually, Rainbow Dash is extremely fast." Spyro said. "She can clear the sky in less than thirty seconds if she wanted."
"Thirty Seconds!?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Try ten seconds there pal as I am that fast."
"That's physically impossible." Twilight said, relying on her logic of regular Pegasi speed. "It's physically impossible for any one Pegasi to do this on their own. It just can't be done."
"Hey, I can do it all, ten seconds flat." Rainbow Dash said.
"Prove it!" Twilight said, grinning that she was about to prove her wrong.
Shocked that Twilight dared her, Rainbow Dash immediately took off, kicking every cloud in the sky one by one, showing to Twilight, whose jaw dropped at how fast Rainbow Dash was. They all watched as she took care of nearly every single cloud, but wanted to show off and did a flip, vaporizing the final cloud while landing in front of Twilight.
"See, what'd I tell ya?" Rainbow Dash boasted. "Ten. Seconds. Flat."
Spyro looked over to Twilight to see what her nest reaction would be, but she was frozen in place, jaw opened in stunned silence. Spyro poked her cheek to see if she would react, but she was just glued to the spot, staring into the sky.
"Hey guys, I think we broke her." Spyro said. "Speaking of, what in the world were you doing that almost put me in the hospital?"
"Oh, I was practicing a move to show to the Wonderbolts." Rainbow Dash answered. "I want to show them what I got when they come to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration."
"The what?" Spyro asked, shocking Rainbow Dash as she put her face against his.
"THE Wonderbolts!" She exclaimed loudly. "They are the fastest stunt fliers in all of Equestria. They travel everywhere, performing all sorts of amazing moves and spectacular shows for everypony in Equestria. Have you been living under a rock or something?!"
Spyro knew he was nailed for not knowing about the Wonderbolts and that she was gonna be giving him a whole bunch of grief if he didn't;t say something soon.
"Hey, I just moved into Equastria nearly a week ago." Spyro argued. "My old home was never very trusting of outsiders and we didn't pay any attention to everything else outside of the walls. So, sorry for my lack of knowledge on the Wonderbolts Rainbow."
She leered at him as, even if his old home was closed off, they would have at least heard about the Wonderbolts, but she then thought to herself that he was a hybrid and there was a chance his family didn't let him go out much. Deciding to let it slide, she removed her face from his and flew up.
"Well, you and I are gonna be making some time so you can see their performance." She said excitedly. "You are gonna love watching their performances."
"Looking forward to it." Spyro said, relieved that he managed to get away with it. "Catch ya later then RD."
"See ya." Rainbow Dash replied, speeding off in a rainbow blur. He then turned back to Twilight, who was still frozen in place and waved his hoof in front of her face to see if he could get her attention, but had no such luck.
"Well, this is a conundrum." Spyro said. "How are we gonna get her to the Town Hall?"
A moment later, she snapped out of her state of shock and looked to either side, trying to find out what had happened, only to be approached by Spyro.
"Hey there Ms. Sparkle." Spyro said. "You ok there?"
"Yes. Yes I am." She replied, standing up, trying to regain her composure. He shook his head, sensing that she was not ok, but a second later, he felt something and it wasn't Rainbow Dashes crash landing as this feeling was more familiar to him "You coming Spyro?"
He snapped out of his thoughts after Spike shouted to him, immediately running to his guests side. As he did however, Twilight took a look at him to see what was wrong with him, but she saw a serious look on his face, which during the last few hours she's known him, seemed odd as to when he wad the goofy, awkward self he originally was. A moment later, they arrived at Town Hall where the festivities would take place, entering to see the entire hall was decorated and in the center was Rarity, who was finishing up some decorating. Spyro and Twilight looked around to see how the decorations looked, but Spike instead was staring at the young fashionista, instantly falling in love at first sight.
"Well, decorations look to be suitable for the celebration." Twilight said.
"Yeah. Rarity did a wonderful job." Spyro said, both not noticing Spike was drooling over Rarity. "Plus she's an excellent fashionista. You should see some of the dresses and suits she makes. Makes some of the garments all the business and high class ponies wear look like they still them from a scarecrow."
Twilight chuckled at the bad joke he made, instantly blushing as Spyro looked at her. Rarity then turned around and saw Spyro, walking towards the group and up to Spyro with a smile.
"Spyro darling, good to see you." She said, ignoring Spike as he watched her. "I was hoping for a second opinion on the how the decorations look as I want an unbiased party to tell me how it looks."
She and Spyro walked away from Twilight and Spike, walking to the center of the room so that he can look over the decorations. He looked and found there to be plenty of ribbons and silk along the walkway and on the platform the princess will use when addressing everyone in the town. he saw that there was golden silk streamers that went around the room, but all went to a single point, in the middle of the platforms rail guard.
"Well?" Rarity asked.
"Looks amazing." Spyro replied, making Rarity smile. "But it seems you're having your fabric converging into a single point along the rail guard. Maybe put a purple and gold lining ribbon there and it will make it stand out a bit more."
As he said it, inspiration hit Rarity as she reaching into the nearby box of ribbons and pulled out a large purple ribbon with gold outlining on it, tied it up into a perfect bow and stuck it where all the silk lines converge. When she did that, her smile widened and she hugged Spyro.
"Spyro, you are an absolute fashion genius!" She said. "Thank you so much."
"No problem." Spyro said, turning his head to look at Spike and Twilight. "Hey Spike, I think we can cross decorations off the list."
But he didn't respond as he was too fixated on Rarity, ignoring everything around him and every word everyone said, only focused on the beautiful unicorn in front of him.
"Oh for crying out loud." Spyro said. "Looks like Cupid's arrow strikes again. We just lost Spike."
"Spyro, what is this talk about a list?" Rarity asked, looking to Twilight. "And who are they?"
"Oh, sorry for not introducing our guests." Spyro responded. "Rarity, this is Spike and Twilight Sparkle. They came all the way from Canterlot to overlook-"
But he didn't get to finish as Rarity flung him up and into the box of ribbons, crashing into a set of crates full of party streamers and other party supplies, while she got into Twilights personal space.
"Canterlot!" She exclaimed with glee. "You live in Canterlot?"
"Uh...yes?" Twilight responded, inching away from the over excited unicorn.
"Oh, I am so envious of you right now! The sophistication! The glamour! The livelihood! It has been my childhood dream to go to Canterlot and be amongst the elite, the glamorous, the wealthy." Rarity then brought Twilight into a bear hung, causing her to yelp in surprise as Rarity hugged her. "Oh you and I are gonna be the best of friends. You must tell me all about Canterlot. Leave nothing out."
Spyro got up and out of the crates and boxes, covered in ribbons, party decorations and even in game pieces and boards. He looked to where Rarity ran, only to see a very uncomfortable Twilight trying to break free from Rarity's hug and to escape her hundreds to thousands of questions about Canterlot, doing everything she can to make it so, but having no luck. He shook off everything that was on him and leapt into the air, calling his Keyblade and pointing it at Rarity.
"Stop!" Spyro shouted. Both mares looked up to see who shouted, but it was Twilight who saw an outline of a clock appear above Rarity and stopped, freezing Rarity. Twilight didn't understand what was going on, but suddenly felt Rarity's grip loosen and she slipped under her forelegs, getting free. She then examined the frozen mare, poking her muzzle, but getting no response, surprised by it as though she was frozen in time. "Quick, before the spell wears off!"
Twilight turned to see Spyro run past them, but she and Spike were levitated into the air, making Twilight yelp in shock, and be set onto Spyro's back as they ran out of Town Hall and to the outskirts of town, far away from the nosy fashionista. Once he believed they were far enough away, he lowered his body, allowing an embarrassed and surprised twilight down and Spike, who seemed to be disappointed to not say good bye to the mare she liked.
"Sorry about that Miss Sparkle." Spyro said. "But I saw you were in distress and decided to intervene. I hope I haven't done anything to make you uncomfortable."
"I-i-it's fine!" Twilight said, storming off and away from Spyro, leaving him alone with Spike.
"Not the most social butterfly is she?" Spyro asked.
"Actually... you aren't that far off." Spike responded, both walking in the direction Twilight stormed off to. "You see, she has lived a majority of her life in seclusion. Focusing all her time on studying, practicing some magic, even giving me the occasional lecture or scolding for making a mistake. She just doesn't have any friends in her life as she doesn't seem to allow anypony to get close to her. She basically just lives her life all alone."
Spyro suddenly stopped, frozen to where he was after hearing what Spike had just said as it reminded him of himself a long time ago. Back when he was in middle all the way until he got into high school, he would distance himself from everyone, not socialize all that much, study, do hit best to be the best, and even secluding himself in his room or at home where he wouldn't be bothered by anything else. Making himself a social outcast and wanting nothing but to be left alone. Spike didn't notice that Spyro was no longer next to him until he looked up, not finding their guide walking with him. He turned around to see where he was and saw him just standing a few feet away, looking off into space like there was something there.
"Spike, Spyro, where are you?" Twilight shouted. "We need to finish our task and get to the library."
Spike looked to where Twilights voice came from and then returned his attention to Spyro, seeing him walk towards him and then past him. He got onto his back and rode him along the way to Twilight, but he looked at Spyro, wondering why he stopped in the middle of the road after talking about Twilight. After a minute, they could see Twilight waiting for them and walked with her once they caught up, but along the way to the last thing to check, Twilight looked at Spyro, curious about what he said about a spell.
"So, what were you saying about a spell?" Twilight asked, catching Spyro by surprise. "You said something about a spell wearing off. What were you talking about?"
"Oh, uh..." Spyro hesitated as he didn't want to divulge much about his magic, but knew he needed to explain or else risk making an enemy rather than a friend. "What I meant was my stop spell. It freezes time around a target for a short period, allowing for a quick retreat or to strike multiple times before they can move again."
"You can use magic!?" Twilight exclaimed, excited to hear this.
"Of course." Spyro said, his horns lighting up as his magical aura surrounded them, picking up several small rocks nearby, but when he did, Twilights jaw dropped as she saw the spectacle, amazed that he could use magic. "Though anyone with magic can pick up small objects without any issue, it took me a couple of years to learn some advanced magics."
"Really, like what!?" Twilight asked, excited to finally have someone who, to her, is normal.
"Easy there girl, all in good time." Spyro replied, dropping the small rock. "So Spike, what's next on the list?"
"One moment." Spike said, looking at the parchment. "The last thing on the list is music. And according to this, a Pegasi named Fluttershy is in charge of that."
"Oh, Fluttershy." Spyro said. "You might wanna let me do the talking on this one. She's a very timid pony and doesn't do well around strangers."
"Oh please, I can talk to her." Twilight said. "Besides, no pony is that shy."
Spyro shook his head as they walked as he knew her conversation was only going to end in Fluttershy just whimpering and crying. As they approached where Fluttershy was at, they heard some birds chirping and singing, making both ponies and the baby dragon pop their head out from behind a bush to see Fluttershy orchestrate them as everytime she pointed her hoof, some of the birds sung in absolute harmony. Listening to the birds singing in harmony was a work of art to him as he loved the outdoors and loved nature. A second later though, Twilight walked out from behind the bush and walked over to Fluttershy, leaving the two boys alone.
"So, what happened back there?" Spike asked, making Spyro look at him. "You kind of stopped on our way to catch up with Twilight. Was something wrong?"
"Oh, no it's nothing." Spyro replied, looking back to Twilight trying to talk to the timid pony. "It's just, how you described your time with Twilight, how she never had any friends and spent all her time with books, never socializing, it kind of reminded me of myself when I was younger before coming to Ponyville."
Spike looked down in disbelief, hearing that the friendliest pony he met so far was like Twilight before they met. A moment later, Twilight came back to them, looking frustrated and grumbled to herself.
"Well, that was a waste of time." Twilight said. "I couldn't even talk to her as she was so shy."
"I told you she was very timid." Spyro responded. "That's why I volunteered to talk to her first as she's use to me."
"Alright smarty pony." Twilight responded, annoyed that her guide was bragging about being able to hold a conversation with the timid Pegasi. "Why don't you go and talk to her then."
Spyro nodded and walked past Twilight, walking towards Fluttershy and she reorganized the choir. She then looked towards Spyro and turned to face him.
"Oh, S-Spyro, hello." She said, nervously.
"Hey Fluttershy." Spyro said calmly. "How's the choir going?"
"Oh, it's going well." She responded with a smile. "I believe they are ready for the princess and the celebration tomorrow morning."
"Glad to hear that." Spyro responded. "Also, did you meet somepony with a dark purple mane with a pink strip, who introduced herself as Twilight Sparkle?"
"Oh yes, I did." She responded. "She seems nice, but I kind of got nervous and froze. I feel bad about that."
"It's alright Fluttershy." Spyro said. "Just remember the breathing exercises I taught you. When you meet someone new and you get nervous, take a few deep breaths and calm your nerves. That way, you won't be as nervous."
"I-I'll try." She responded, watching as Spyro left. As Spyro turned and left to rejoin, she then caught a glimpse of of Spike and her whole demeanor changed. "A baby dragon!"
Spyro turned around to look at Fluttershy, but was knocked away as she charged past him and into a nearby tree, spinning around so fast everything blurred together until he stopped spinning and hung in the trees branch by his stomach. He opened his eyes and everything to him was spinning around, so he blinked a few times to try and focus until everything was normal again.
"What is this, beat up a hybrid day?" Spyro asked, hoping off the tree branch and next to Twilight.
"I never got to see a a baby dragon before." Fluttershy continued. "He's so cute."
"Well, now you have." Spike said.
"And he can talk!" Fluttershy gasped. "What's your name?"
"I'm Spike." He responded.
"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy." Fluttershy responded. "I want to know everything about you. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?"
"Why certainly." Spike responded, much to Twilights dismay as he hope onto her back.
Spyro could tell without the Force that Twilight was not happy about him talking to her about everything he has experienced. As they walked, Spike continued to talk about his own life and his time with Twilight, which some of the details about her when she was a filly and about some embarrassing things she did as a filly. twilight however, was getting fed up with Spike and him talking about her and with everything taking up too much of her time. As the sun started to set, they arrived at the library, which was a large oak tree that had been hallowed out to make space for some of the books in it, called the Golden oak Library, which made twilight happy as she was ready to get away from everything.
"Finally! We've arrived." Twilight exclaimed, interrupting Spike from his story. "It was nice meeting you both, but I must get Spike to bed. He is after all a baby dragon."
"But I'm not tired." Spike replied, but as soon as he did, Twilight used her aura, though it was barely visible to them to push Spike off her back.
"Aw. The wittle baby dragon fell down. Too sweepy to stay up." She then grabbed Spike with her aura and pull him onto the library, slamming the door behind her, leaving Fluttershy and Spyro alone outside.
"Wow, talk about rude." Spyro said. Fluttershy nodded her head, agreeing with him as they heard a whistle to their right. Looking that way, they saw Pinkie becoming them over to them through an open window. The two of them ran up and hopped in, getting ready to throw Twilight a party they knew she'd enjoy.
"Rude much?" Spike asked Twilight.
"Sorry Spike, but I needed to do that to get away from these crazy ponies." Twilight said. "They have impeded my studies for too long and I need to find a way to defeat Nightmare Moon before she returns."
Spyro's ears immediately perked up when he heard her talking about Nightmare Moon, realizing they actually have a common goal.
"And there is something strange about that hybrid, Spyro." She continued. "His magic is completely different from what I studied and he is acting like a foal when he should act his age. Ugh, where's the light switch? It's so dark I hear, I can't see a thing."
"Here, let me light a candle for you." Spyro said, lighting a nearby candle stick up, passing it to Twilight. "Here you go."
"Oh thanks Spyro." Twilight said, using her magic to take the candlestick, but turned to face him with a horrified look when she realized who gave her the light. "Spyro!?"
"SURPRISE!" Everyone said, turning on the light and making Twilight jump in shock, but then grumble to herself, rubbing her head as she felt an aneurism come on.
"Are ya surprised Twilight!? You were totally surprised right? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie said, hoping up and down, following the annoyed unicorn to the buffet table, pouring herself a drink as she listened to Pinkie's rambling. "I mean, you have to be surprised as you hoped in the air, probably happy to be given a welcome party! I knew you were new to Ponyville as I have never seen you before and I thought to myself to throw a party for you! This way you can make lots and lots of friends as you have already made some! I know our first encounter was silly as I gasped and ran away, but it was because I wanted to throw you a super duper fun party. More fun means more friends. And Spyro's party was really fun and he made a massive fireball from his hooves the moment we surprised him and scared the living daylights out of him!"
Twilight's head swiftly turned around to look at Spyro in surprise, hearing that he can make fireballs out of thin air, making her suspicions on him go from him being a simple annoying pony to something far worse. But when she did look at him, he was partying and having fun, not the kind of pony that would be making fireballs.
"Come on Pinkie, that's enough." Spyro said, approaching the buffet. "You caught me by surprise. it was instinct telling me to defend myself. If I hadn't looked down before finishing that spell, the party would have gotten heated real quick."
Everyone laughed at the joke as he was right about that, but didn't laugh as she had enough of everyone there and wanted to be left alone. When she put the bottle down, Spyro saw that it had an image of a chili pepper on it and was labeled 'Hot Sauce."
"Twilight wait, don't drink-" he was too late as Twilight took a few sips of the scorching concoction, her eyes immediately watering, turning to face everyone, her face was tomato red and she jumped in the air, steam coming out of her ears and ran to the nearest water faucet to cool her mouth down. "Pinkie, why'd you put hot sauce next to the drinks?"
"Because it's good." She replied, applying a large amount of the hot liquid onto the cupcake and eating it, grossing everyone out. As the party went on for hours on end, Twilight secluded herself into her room, putting her head underneath her pillow so as to drown out the noise from down stairs, grumbling and very angry with all the ponies in town for disturbing her. She heard a know at the door and Spike came walking in with a party hat on his head, smiling as he was having a blast.
"Come on Twilight, you're missing out on all the fun." Spike said. "Don't you wanna make some friends?"
"No!" She shouted. "Everypony in this town is crazy! Even that Spyro pony! There is something very wrong with him."
"I don't know about that." Spike said. "He seems friendly enough."
"Maybe, but he is no better than a foal." Twilight snapped. "He's immature, doesn't take anything seriously, and who knows what else. All I want to do is study up on Nightmare Moon as she will return."
"Then let's do it together." Spyro said, walking in with a bunch of books on his back, surprising Twilight. "These books are all I could find about Nightmare Moon. Figured it's best to study with a friend than to do it alone."
"Thanks, but I don't need your help." She said, taking the books and rushing back to her bed.
"Mind giving us some space Spike?" Spyro asked. Spike nodded his head and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. "I overheard what you said about you needing to find a way to stop Nightmare Moon."
"And how does that concern you?" Twilight asked, looking through the books.
"Because I want to help you." Spyro replied, hoping up on the bed with her. "I could sense how anxious you were all day and knew that something was going on. Please, let me help you."
"I don't even know you." Twilight said. "And you don't know me. So why should you help me at all?"
Spyro shook his head, not believing how stubborn she was being in accepting some help from someone volunteering their help. He then looked out the window and up to the moon, noticing the mare in the moon, finding it to be watching him as if wanting to know every move he was making.
"Because I was a bit like you once." Spyro replied, catching her off guard. "Always studying, practicing, doing my assignments, never making any time to make friends at all. I, too, secluded myself from everyone around me and only socialized with my family. I wanted nothing more than to be left alone. But I then learned that there was something far more important and valuable than all the books and magic in the world. Something you can always acquire, but never lose."
He then turned to look at twilight, who was listening to every word he said, wanting to know what it was he learned that was more valuable than books or the magic and knowledge in them.
"Friends." Spyro said, confusing Twilight. "Your friends are always there for you. The heart will always reach out to other ponies, no matter what. Connections can be made, laughs can be exchanged, and, no matter how much you try to push others away. In the end, having friends by your side, they will always have your back, no matter what."
Twilight was entranced by what he was saying, clinging onto every word he said as if what he was saying was more important than anything else. She didn't even feel him reach his hoof out and take hers, holding it as he talked to prove a point about what he was saying. But when she did notice that he was holding her hoof, she didn't try to take it away as something in her heart was telling her that he could be trusted and to her, having him hold her hoof somehow made her feel more comfortable around him. Her face turned a bright shade of red as her heart fluttered with excitement when she saw them hold hooves, but shook out of it a moment later to regain her composure.
"So tell me, why are you worried about Nightmare Moon?" Spyro asked.
She paused for a moment and looked down to their hooves, still connected as she felt the warmth come from it and from the smile he was giving her, her heart still fluttering as if they were meant to be together. She took in a deep breath and looked out the window, looking to the night sky, deciding to trust her new companion.
"I found an old book in the library the other day." Twilight said. "It held the legend of Nightmare Moon and a prophecy that after a thousand years, the stars would align and aid her in her escape from her prison on the moon. A prison princess Celestia had sent her to a thousand years ago. And the time is fast approaching for her to escape and to take her revenge on Princess Celestia and to take over all of Equestria."
She then returned her gaze to Spyro, noting how calm he was with what he was hearing and how serious he looked despite how he was acting all day today with those puppy dog eyes and how calm and serine he has been. She wanted to say more, but was interrupted when the door into her room was opened as Spike walked in.
"Hey you two, come on." Spike said. "The princess is about to raise the sun."
He then saw the two of the holding hooves while on the bed and a mischievous grin formed on his face.
"Or would you two like some alone time?" Spike asked, taking pleasure in Twilights embarrassed reaction.
"Spike!" Twilight yelled, inadvertently tossing Spyro out the window with her magic as he screamed like Goofy when he fells down. She immediately looked out the window, checking to make sure he was ok and saw him get back up, cracking his back again, making her wince. "Sorry Spyro! Didn't mean to do that."
"It's fine." He replied. "Been getting beat up all day, why not add getting thrown out a window to that list of way I can get hurt today."
After Twilight got out of the house, both she and Spyro, along with Spike, walked together to the town hall, but about half way there, Spyro felt a disturbance in the Force and looked around, catching eye of a Shadow that ran by in the opposite direction. Without thinking, he whistled and Rainbow Dash appeared next to him.
"You called?" Rainbow Dash asked, surprising Twilight at how easily he called for her. He then whispered something in her, to which she nodded her head, and saluted, flying off into the sky.
"What did you whisper to her?" Twilight asked.
"I asked her to look around the town for me." Spyro said. "I thought I saw something that might ruin the celebration."
"Wait really?!" She said, panicking. "We need to inform the guard! There is somepony that's-"
Spyro put his hoof to her muzzle, silencing her before she could get worked up, even through she may have a right to be worked up if there was a Heartless attack.
"Relax. That's why I asked Rainbow Dash to look around." Spyro said, calming the panicking pony down. "She'll let me know if something is off or if she found something that doesn't belong. Trust me."
They continued walking towards the town hall to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, but as they approached, Rainbow Dash came back and whispered in his ear, letting him know she couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and that there wasn't a single Heartless in the area. Thinking he was seeing things, Spyro nodded his head and the three ponies with their little dragon friend walked together as they entered the town hall. Once inside, everybody in the entire village was chatting away, eagerly awaiting for the princess to arrive. Twilight and Spyro immediately shot to the front so they can see the princess when she arrives and a second later, a tan Earth pony mare with a silver mane and glasses, wearing a tie walked onto the stage and tapped on the microphone, who is known as Mayor Mare, getting everyone's attention.
"Mares and gentlecolts, fillies and colts of all ages." She said. "It is my greatest honor and privilege to welcome you all to the raising of the Summer Sun."
Everyone instantly cheers, stopping their hooves on the ground, making everything shake. Spyro also joined in, but looked at Twilight as she was looking out one of the windows near the rafter and in a second, four stars flew behind the moon and the image of the mare disappeared, shocking Spyro.
"And now, without further ado I'd like to introduce the princess of the day herself." Mayor Mare said as the stars went behind the moon. "Please put your hooves together as I present to you, the one, the only, Princess Celestia!"
As she said it, Fluttershy started to orchestrate the birds to sound like trumpets announcing the arrival of royalty as the curtains to the top balcony were pulled back, but instead of the princess, there was no one there, making everyone gasp.
"The princess, she's gone!" Rarity said, causing a panic among the town folk. A moment later, a dark blue mist swirled at the roof and bolts of lightning flashed as the dark mist flew from the roof and onto the balcony, revealing an alicorn with a black coat and dark blue armor on with her mane waving like princesses, but hers has the night sky in it as stars twinkled in it.
"My subjects," the alicorn said, her voice sounding intimidating to all who were within her line of sight. "It has been a long time since I have seen you precious, sun-loving, and fearful faces. For a thousand years I have been banished to that infernal moon by your precious princess of the day. And now, I have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine."
Spyro could feel the darkness within her heart, sensing a near endless well of evil pouring out from it, believing there to not be any light left in it. Then, for a second, he caught a glimmer of light within the alicorn eye and a tear run down her muzzle, filled with sorrow and despair. But at the same time, when following the tear, he felt a spark of light within the alicorn heart, though faint, it was there and it was hanging on, but just barely.
"Have none of you seen the signs?" She asked the terrified ponies. "Have all of you forgotten who I am? Who I was? Have all of you been ignorant to the signs of my return?"
"I've seen them." Twilight said, stepping up. "I have seen the signs and I know you as the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!"
As soon as she said her name, everyone in the town hall gasped and started talking about Nightmare Moon, some not believing it to be her, others panicking, wondering what to do. All Spyro knew was that he was in for a tough fight, but Nightmare Moon just chuckled, amused that someone remembered her.
"Impressive." She said. "I commend your knowledge. But tell me, what is it that I am here to do?"
Twilight stuttered as she knew the answer, but couldn't bring it out as it was too horrifying for her to say. Nightmare moon then raised her wings and the swirling vortex started to project lightning again darkness instantly filled the room as the remaining candles went out.
"The night, shall last, FOREVER!" She then laughed maniacally as the vortex got worse, projecting darkness into the room and causing everyone in the room to scream in panic and fear as they realized that they were doomed.