Adventures of the Equestrian Seas

Chapters

Chapter One - Enter the Equestrian Sea
Chapter Two - Twilight's Asylum Theory
Chapter Three - The Fractured Night
Chapter Four - Fables and Frustration

Chapter One - Enter the Equestrian Sea

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony.

Fearing that simply defeating her sister would not stop the evils of the world, the eldest sister endeavored to assure that her kingdom would be safe from all evils of old forever; to do this, she used the elements to seal her sister in time, and called forth a great deluge to flood her kingdom. Her subjects were teleported to the hills and mountains to live out their lives.

The eldest sister, saddened by the loss of her younger sister, sealed herself away, and vowed to control the passage of night and day herself; hidden from the world above, watching from the shadows, awaiting the day her sister was freed.

For the day Nightmare Moon returned would mark the beginning of the return of all the evils the sisters had fought so hard to defeat.

"Huh..."

The lavender unicorn looked down at the book before her, scratching her chin. "Elements of Harmony... where have I heard of that before...?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"There you are, Twilight!"

Twilight Sparkle stopped upon hearing her name. She had been trotting back towards home when she had heard it, and turning around, she saw the source of the voice; none other than Twinkle Shine. She smiled a bit at the pony. "Oh! Hi, sorry girls, I gotta catch up on some studying!"

Twinkle sighed, looking to her friends. "Does that pony do anything besides study...? It's like she's more interested in books than she is in friends!"

Twilight Sparkle continued to trot on, ignoring further comments. "I've heard of the Elements of Harmony before, I just know it..." She continued until she stopped to look out at the ocean.

It didn't often occur to her, in fact, she couldn't remember ever actually caring about it. But somehow, at this moment, it really did, and she could see it as plain as the nose on her face.

Twilight's home; Canterlot Island. It is said to be the biggest, most populated island in all of the Equestrian Sea, although she didn't know how true that was; after all, she had never left the island before. Indeed, much of the island seemed more like a mountain than a common land mass. A lot of the city was perched on the hillsides, although there was an artificial mass that was placed above the water; supported by several underwater beams, supports, trusses, and other architectural marvels. As such, it was a major hub for trade, and considered the capital of the Equestrian Sea (although most islands operated independantly, the remaining vestiges of the Equestrian Treatise kept them very closely knit together.)

She continued her trot into the city, staring at all the ponies as they went about their business. Today was a particularly busy day; the Summer Sun Celebration was drawing near. Legend foretells that on this day, one thousand years ago, was the day that Equestria sank thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the solar princess. Naturally, this time of year, a lot of ponies were looking to make their names, sell their wares, and so forth.

Twilight trotted towards her home; a modest little apartment, seemingly beneath her noble status, but it was a gift from her parents, and it accommodated everything she needed.

She opened the door, almost immediately noticing a loud 'whack!'

"Spike?"

"Owww..."

"Spike! I need my copy of Predictions and Prophecies! Wh... what's that?"

Spike groaned and looked to a broken box. "Well, it WAS a gift for Moondancer..."

"Spike, there's no time for that sort of thing! We've got to get to work!"

Spike stood up. "What? Work on what? Are you finally joining Shining Armor's naval crew? Do we get to go on sea adventures and fight pirates?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "No, Spike. Just find the book."

Spike went to work, checking the various bookshelves. Twilight's apartment was by no means small, but the telescopes, laboratory, workshop space, and study area seemed to threaten to consume much of it. Her bedroom was the only place not marred by various instruments, doodads, and books, really. He climbed a ladder and started looking around. "Aha! Found it!" A magenta glow wrapped around the book, pulling Spike from the ladder along with it, towards Twilight. The dragon dropped off and fell on his rump as the unicorn opened it and read.

"E... E... E... I know it's in here somewhere... Aha! Elements of Harmony! See: Mare on the Moon... huh..."

Spike quirked his brow. "Mare on the Moon? Isn't that some kind of old Pony's tale?"

Twilight flipped through the pages. "Mare on the Moon! Myth of old pony times, na na na na rule equestria hu hu huh huh imprisoned in moon... ah! Legend has it, on the longest day of the thousandth year since the deluge, the stars will aid in her escape. At which point, she will begin her quest to awaken the evils of old, and bring about night time eternal! Spike, do you know what this means!?"

Spike rubbed the back of his head. "Uh... more time to sleep?"

"Take a note, Spike! We have to contact the royal council!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... And let me get this straight... you want us to give you access to the navy to stop these..."

"Humans."

"HUMANS... from invading Canterlot?"

"Yes."

"... All for Lyra's movement to form an anti-human naval regiment?"

"...."

"All opposed?"

"Aye!"

"The Ayes have it. Thank you for your time, MIss Hearstrings."

Lyra waved her hooves in the air. "You're all making a big mistake! The humans are coming; I can feel it in my bones! They'll invade, and THEN you'll be sorry!" With that, Lyra was dragged out by two royal guards.

Blueblood sighed and put a hoof to his forehead. "Ugh... where do these ponies come from?"

Another council member, one Smarty Pants, held up his chart and read it over. "According to this... it says she came from the Apple Islands."

Blueblood balked. "Apple Islands? Isn't that the place we've decided to hold the Summer Sun Celebration this year? Is their home full of ponies who are this... crazy?"

Fancy Pants sighed. "Blueblood, I assure you, Miss Lyra is a unique case..." Of course, he didn't know if he believed this or not. Still, generalizations are bad. "This year's Summer Sun Celebration will mark the 1000th anniversary of this tradition. The Apple Islands are located particularly close to what the historical records suggest was the sight of the battle of the Regal Sisters.

Blueblood sighed. "Must we really stick to the tradition of hosting this thing near that place every 100 years? Why can't we have this year's Summer Sun Celebration on Filly Isle? It's much more sophisticated, and has a lot more... exotic sights..."

Fancy Pants rolled his eyes. "Blueblood, need I remind you that that was the location of LAST year's Summer Sun Celebration? It's rare we hold this event in the same place twice in a row, and that's usually reserved for special situations such as heroes or tragic events..."

"Boys, can we just finish this up?"

The council ponies looked to one Cadence, who was rubbing her forehead. "We've got one more meeting; it's an emergency meeting brought to us by none other than Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle!? Velvet's daughter!?" Shouted Blueblood. This earned him a glare of daggers from Cadence.

"Yes, THAT Twilight Sparkle. She claims to have an emergency that can't wait, about the fate of the island. She's very educated and graduated top of her class from the School for Gifted Unicorns, so I think it wise we give her a little time, wouldn't you agree?"

Fancy Pants nodded. "Indeed, Blueblood. If there's anypony who knows what she's talking about, it would be Twilight Sparkle, the well-educated daughter of the famous navigator, explorer, and writer, Twilight Velvet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"An evil pony from the moon is going to enslave us all!"

Blueblood looked towards Fancy Pants with a smirk on his face. Fancy Pants did not respond, although he was masking the strong desire to facehoof. Luckily, Cadence spoke up.

"Uhm... Twilight, can you please elaborate for us?"

Twilight's horn glowed and levitated various documents and notes from her saddlebag. "I've been doing research when I discovered that an old legend foretells the escape of Nightmare Moon from her lunar prison on the last day of the thousandth year, and that she'd bring about eternal night! Empirical evidence suggests that that would be this coming Summer Sun Celebration, and that her coming will herald the return of ancient evils, the rise of a lost kingdom! We have to act NOW!"

Blueblood was stifling a laugh. "M-Miss Sparkle... even if we were to consider doing this... what would you have us do? And please, tell me the 'humans' aren’t going to be involved in any way."

Twilight quirked a brow. "What? Humans? What is the Humans?" She shook her head. "Not important! It says we need the Elements of Harmony, so I think we should look for those! We need the navy, every ship ready for battle, ready to evacuate, ready for ANYTHING!"

Blueblood openly burst into a fit of laughter. All the other council members, save for Cadence, who was carefully looking over the notes, simply either stared at Twilight or, in the case of Fancy Pants, was glaring at Blueblood.

"M... Miss Sparkle... I.... I thank you for the laugh but... but the Elements of Harmony? Mare in the Moon? You realize these are all old legends, right? There are no 'Regal Sisters', and whatever there was of Ancient Equestria was lost when the ocean flooded the land!"

"B-But Councilpony Blueblood, I--"

"Alright, we'll call it to a vote. All for amassing a military effort to fight the Mare on the Moon, say Aye."

Nopony responded.

"All opposed?"

"Aye!"

"But--" Twilight tried to speak.

"All for amassing a search for the fabled 'Elements of Harmony?"

"But honorable Council members, I--"

"All opposed."

"Aye!"

"The ayes have it. Please, Miss Sparkle, leave before I laugh myself to death."

Twilight bit her lip, blushing furiously in humiliation and defeat, and turned, storming from the chambers.

"Well, I was surprised. I thought nothing could top Lyra's human invasion... we may need to tell Lady Velvet her daughter may need to be committed."

"Blueblood, there's no need for that kind of behavior..."

Cadence simply stared at the notes, looking up to the doors where Twilight had tread out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike sat on a chair in the lobby, sucking on a sapphire, savoring the taste. Gems were like candy to him; he couldn't get enough! He was just about to take the biggest, crunchiest bite out of it, when the door slammed open, and Twilight stepped out.

"Twilight? You're back! What did--"

Spike stopped, noticing Twilight sniffling and rubbing her eyes, letting out a choke.

"Oh... Twilight...."

"Th... they laughed at me Spike!" She said, sniffling again and trying to wipe tears from her eyes. "They laughed at me, told me I was wrong... they didn't even look over my notes! They... they... even Cadence just... sat there..."

Spike blinked. "Cadence? You mean your old foal sitter?"

"Did somepony mention me?"

The two turned about to see none other than Cadence standing behind them. The pink unicorn was very well-built; her frame one of beauty and grace, a mature mare who took perfect care of herself. She was the very image of beauty. "Twilight, I want to apologize for how cousin Blueblood acted towards you. It was unfair and very unbefitting a member of the Council."

Twilight choked and sniffed a bit. "... I... it's not your fault..." She really did want to say something else, to unleash her frustration on Cadence... but she couldn't. Her old babysitter didn't deserve that. It wasn't her fault Blueblood was a jerk. He always had been; the only reason he was on the council was, from what she had heard, a lot of bribing and blackmail.

"Twilight... I want to make this up to you..."

Twilight's ears perked up. "W... will you help me find the elements?"

Cadence grimaced some. "Well... I think you've been reading too many books Twilight. I think you need to see more of the world." Twilight hung her head and deflated. "B-but don't take it that bad! I meant that in a good way! I have a job for you!"

Twilight sighed. "I'm listening..."

Cadence smiled. "The committee’s original liaison for the Summer Sun Celebration recently... " Cadence grimaced once more. "... disappeared... out in sea... with rumors of being attacked by a giant octopus BUT THAT MEANS... that means that we need a new liaison! And I want you to do it!"

Twilight furrowed her brows. "Don't you need committee approval for that?"

Cadence grinned. "Leave that to me, Twilight. Blueblood owes me a favor, and I'm sure Fancy Pants will be on my side after that display."

Twilight sighed. "Fine... I'll do it if the vote passes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"All for making Twilight Sparkle the Summer Sun Celebration Liaison in the absence of the previous say Aye!"

"Aye!"

Blueblood didn't speak. He looked over to Cadence who glared daggers at him and mouthed a few threatening words.

'Do you want to let them know about what happened in the Filly Isles?'

"Aye!"

"The Ayes have it!"

TO BE CONTINUED...

Chapter Two - Twilight's Asylum Theory

"C'mon, Twilight! Cheer up! We get to help with the Summer Sun Celebration this year! This is a high honor! There's no reason for you to be so upset about this!"

Twilight groaned. "Spike, if this is a high honor, then why did they give the job to a pony they, not ten minutes ago, laughed out of the councilors' chambers? I'm fairly certain Cadence offered it up in pity... Besides.... I'm not just sad. I'm also getting *hurk* ..... sea sick..."

The boat waved back and forth on the ocean. It was your standard seafaring travel ship, with several passengers and supplies and similar odds and ends. Ponies ran about the deck doing their jobs, hoisting masses, swabbing poop decks, you know, typical boat stuff. But Twilight was content to hang her head overboard, waiting to throw up. "You know..." began Spike, "You might feel better if you go below deck and can't actually SEE the... well... sea!"

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Oh no, Spike. It's not the sea itself making me sick..." This was half true. Though, truth be told, Twilight did have a fear of being dragged into the deep blue by horrible creatures of unfathomable age, such as the supposed giant octopus that murdered her predecessor. "... It's the motion that makes me sick. If I go below deck, I'll feel it all the same, and then I'll just... just.... !!!"

Apparently, Twilight is a thought-triggered unicorn, as the mere thought of throwing up produced the effect. After a few seconds of purging her lunch, she coughed and moaned. "Spike... let it be known.... I hate the sea.... and I'm pretty sure it hates me..."

"LAND HO!"

Almost instantly, Twilight's sea sickness was forgotten. She perked right up and looked out at the sea. Sure enough, there was an island; the Apple Islands. They were a series of small islands surrounding a larger hub land; this was where the main living space, known as Ponyville, was located. It's a fairly knew settlement; it's been said that it was founded by a family of ponies who wanted to build their own farm and fame, the Apples (whom the islands were named after) who farmed apples (whom many ponies are often surprised to find is just the namesake for the island's founders!)

Twilight had intended to read up on the island while she was on the trip, but didn't wish to vomit all over any reading material she brought with her. She would have to do that later.

It wasn't long before the ship docked and ponies began to move back and forth. Twilight was quick to rush off the ship and onto the docks, kissing the closest thing to solid ground she had felt in hours. She yelped as she got a splinter; Spike, being such a good boy, was kind enough to pull it from her lip, eliciting another yelp from Twilight. "Right, well, I guess we should get this over with..." said Twilight, blushing at her silliness.

"Yeah, agreed." Said Spike as he pulled a checklist, seemingly from nowhere.

"Alright Spike, what is it Cadence wanted us to do?"

Spike hummed and looked over the list. "First, we're supposed to look into food, which is going to be covered by the Apple family this year. Then, we've gotta make sure the Weather Ponies are containing the weather. This place is dangerously close to the Everfree Waters, which are known to spawn the occasional wandering cloud, and small, rogue winds and waves. Then, we've got to check in on the musicians... uhh... then decorations!"

Twilight hummed. "Right. Where are the Apples?"

Spike hummed. "... Says here the east-most island."

Twilight balked. "What!? We've got to cross another body of water!?"

Spike nodded. "But it's a short trip. We'll only need a little rowboat or something for this one."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight threw up for the second time today.

Spike rolled his eyes, turning to face the pony who was rowing the row boat; a large, red stallion with an orange mane, wearing a yoke and having a wheat stalk hanging from his mouth. "Yer friend aint much a sea pony is she?"

"Nah", responded Spike, "We've never left our island before"

The stallion nodded silently.

Eventually, the small boat made dock. Twilight leapt off and began to kiss the planks, yelping as she, once again, got a splinter. Spike plucked it out for her. The stallion quirked a brow. "That happen often?"

Spike chuckled. "Well, today it does."

The stallion nodded. "Y'all feel free to come on up when ya can." Without another word, he began to trot on forward. Twilight groaned, deciding to take a moment to gain her bearings before continuing.

The island that was dubbed 'Sweet Apple Island’ was a strange sight. It must have been a deactivated volcano or something, because rock formations rose up to block almost the entirety of the island, save for the path towards the farm, which itself rose uncomfortably over the sea, with naught but fence posts separating any who walked that path from potential doom. Twilight decided to brave it, and started her pace.

Much to her surprise, the inside of the rock formation was filled with grassy land, with a few hill-like formations, and most of it was filled with apple trees!

"Well HOOOW-DEE!"

Twilight's hoof was yanked up from the dirt and shaken vigorously by an unknown assailant, her entire body being violently jolted around by her limp hoof. "Welcome t' Sweet Apple Acres! Mah brother tells me y'all're here ta inspect fer the Summer Sun Celebration, an' Ah gotta say we are mighty, MIGHTY pleased t' have ya here!"

Twilight groaned and seemed ready to hurl again. "She's a little sea sick from the trip from Canterlot... and from Ponyville..." said Spike, looking pleadingly at Applejack as if asking her to stop shaking his weak stomached friend about like a ragdoll.

The orange pony wearing the stetson smirked. "Sorry sugar cube, Ah guess Ah got a bit carried away there... uhh... tell ya what! We're havin' an' Apple Family reunion! Why don't y'all have a bite, on th' house?"

Twilight held her hoof up. "NO! N... no.... d-don't mention food... I.... I don't think I can take anymore throwing up today...."

Applejack shrugged. "Ah... uh... Ah see." She grinned. "Well, uhh, then y'all just rest assured! Th' Apple Family's got th' whole thing covered! We're prepared for the siesta, an' jus' ta prove it, mah family is gonna show y'all jus' what we got!"

Applejack proceeded to introduce family members, all named after various apple-based foods and goods. She had a lot of family (although she claims a few family members couldn't make it due to being pulled into the sea by a giant octopus), and eventually, the list ended with Granny Smith.

All the apple and apple-themed ponies...

Twilight threw up for the third time this day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight forcibly dragged herself off the small boat and fell limp over the dock. She gave the wooden plank a single kiss. Another splinter. She lamely said 'ow' and Spike trotted over, plucking it from her lip. "Twilight, if you keep this up, ponies are going to wonder why your lips are covered in small red sores. That's how rumors start."

Slowly, shakily, Twilight picked herself back up. "Spike.... p-please tell me we don't have to go to another island..."

Spike shook his head. "Not right away. Besides, I think once you spend a bit of time on land, you'll be able to pull off the shorter boat travels." He looked around. "Now we have to find the Weather company..."

"Weather company!?"

The two stopped to look at a strange pink pony. "Oh! They're at the middle of the island somewhere, this way they can be ready to attack rogue weather situations at any direction and--" Suddenly, the pink pony leapt in the air, gasping widely, before zipping off.

"Wh... what just happened...?" asked Twilight.

"I have no idea..." said Spike lamely.

Twilight, slowly regaining more of her composure, trotted forward with purpose.

"Say, Twilight, you haven’t said a thing about this whole 'Nightmare Moon' deal... it's not like you to simply up and forget something."

Twilight sighed. "I haven't forgotten, Spike. But between getting splinters, getting sick, and getting laughed at, I've had very little time to really think of it." She turned to him. "Which is why I want to get this done as soon as possible. The sooner we finish up all of this, the sooner I can get to researching the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia, and any other piece of lore surrounding the Mare of the Moon legend."

Twilight looked up at that moment to see a cloud drifting.

"Oh for the love of-- there's a rogue cloud here! It is *WAY* too close to the ground... Spike, how often does this island get destroyed by hurricanes?" Twilight is not a mean pony. She has just been having a bad day, and was a bit huffy by this point.

"Wha-huh?" Said a voice above the cloud before a cyan mare stuck her head over the ledge. Twilight couldn't help but notice she was wearing an eye patch. "What's this about hurricanes?"

Twilight quirked a brow. "... Are you Rainbow Dash? The Weather Captain?"

The pony huffed. "What if I am?"

Twilight sighed. "What are you doing sleeping on the job? I mean, there are clouds all over this place."

Rainbow sighed, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about it. I've got it under control."

Twilight sighed. "It doesn't look under control. It looks like you've just let the whole town fall to a cloudy mess! I mean, I didn't think Ponyville's weather captain would be such a slouch!"

"Slouch?" Said Rainbow, glaring down at the unicorn. "Slouch!? Lady, I'll have you know I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat!"

Twilight held up her hoof, ready to say 'prove it' but decided she had enough for today. "You know what? I'll just take your word for it. I've got bigger fish to fry.

That did it.

Rainbow disappeared from her perch; the takeoff alone blasting the cloud to pieces. She flew about, kicking and punching and plowing through clouds.

And she finished in record time, floating above Twilight with a smirk on her face.

"See? Ten. Seconds. Flat."

Twilight smirked. "Okay, that was impressive...."

Rainbow Dash grinned triumphantly.

"... Although it was roughly 10.5 seconds."

Rainbow furrowed her brow. "What are you, an abacus?"

Twilight beamed. "Oh! I have a bunch of math equipment and tools at home! I've even got machines that are powered by--"

Rainbow balked a bit. "Whoa whoa whoa, easy there egghead..."

Twilight shrugged. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to see somepony about decorations." With that, the purple pony waved off the rainbow maned mare and turned, trotting down the path. Now that she had spent some time away from water and re-attained her connection to land, Twilight was feeling a lot more comfortable than she had been the past few hours. Eventually, they climbed a hill to a small boutique.

Perched just near a cliff.

Overlooking the ocean.

Twilight... did not throw up. It's the motion, not the ocean, that makes her sick. She actually enjoyed the sight of the ocean. It was calming for her.

She trotted to the door and knocked. No response. Twilight waited a minute before knocking again. Once more, nothing. She knocked a bit harder, getting frustrated.

"Uh, Twi? Maybe she's... I dunno... setting up decorations?"

Twilight blinked a bit, then blushed. "Oh, uh, of course! Heheh..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"No no no, this is all wrong! The flags must be spaced evenly! Even an iota of difference will be noticed by anypony with an eye for detail.... wait! Just... a bit more to the.... perfect!"

Rarity grinned up at her work. The flags had been set all over the room - seven in all, evenly spaced, with two of each of the tribal flags from before Equestria's founding, and at the very end of the hall, a flag symbolic of the Equestrian Alliance; a rearing pony with a horn and wings. There were various banners and curtains decorating the hall, giving it an elegance, a grace - oddly enough, none of the curtains actually covered any windows.

"Excuse me, are you Rarity?"

The marshmallow unicorn did an about face to see who spoke to her; a lavender unicorn mare and a small purple dragon. "Why yes, yes I am! Why do you ask?"

Twilight smiled. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here as Liaison for the Summer Sun Celebration. I was wondering if you had the decoration sorted out?"

Rarity blinked. "What? I thought the Liaison was... what was his name? Oh yes, Live Bait! I was told to be expecting an Earth Pony named Live Bait... from what I remember, his cutie mark was supposed to be a target..."

Twilight pondered on that for a moment before shaking her head. "Yeah, uh, eaten by a giant octopus, really unfortunate, I'm his replacement."

Rarity 'ooooh'ed in false understanding. "Well, that is too bad... uhm... should we.... have a moment of silence during the festivities?"

Twilight shrugged. "Yeah, Cadence said it would be only proper. Oddly enough nopony seems too bothered by his loss, or that of the other twenty or so crew members lost. They seem more mortified at the loss of the boat."

Rarity shrugged. "Well, I suppose that's the kind of age we live in... anywho, as you can see, the preparations are made, and, dare I say, they are fabulous! I do believe the council will be quite pleased when they arrive!"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, it certainly does look impressive..." Truth be told, Twilight was more or less basking in the first sane pony she's had extended interaction with during her entire time here. Rarity smiled.

"So, you're from Canterlot? Oh, we must talk! You must tell me what it's like!"

So she wanted to know about Twilight's home. That's no biggie.

Suddenly, a pony fell from a ladder and slammed into a table, knocking a bucket of water that had been placed there by some incompetent oaf into the air. It spilled all over Twilight's head.

Who stared wide-eyed at Rarity, who returned the expression.

"Oh... my..... goodness! We have GOT to get you cleaned up!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight sat there while Rarity messed with her mane. She was just going to dry off. How did drying off turn into getting her mane styled? Suddenly, Rarity was putting a corset around her torso and stretching. "Wha-OOF!"

"Sorry dear, but I do believe you'll thank me! Unf... how does a unicorn get so pudgy..."

Twilight blushed. "I-I'm not pudgy! I'm average weight for a unicorn!"

Rarity giggled. "Of course you are dear! I was just thinking out loud, my apologies!"

Twilight looked over to Spike, having just realized he hadn't spoken the entire time. The small purple dragon stared wistfully. She sighed internally, knowing it was only a matter of time before the small dragon developed a crush on her.

Wait. He wasn't looking at her. Past her.

Okay, so he had a crush on Rarity. That was good, that meant things would not become awkward anytime soon. Although it admittedly did hurt her pride that he was developing a crush on this pony who, not five seconds ago, called her pudgy.

"Rarity... *oof*.... i-is this necessary? I'm p-pretty sure *hurk* that I'm fi--" Twilight's voice disappeared into silence.

"Oop! A bit too tight... I might need to take your measurements again..." Rarity seemed to pull a single lace and the corset loosened its iron grip on Twilight, who quickly removed the offending cloth and threw it aside.

"OH LOOK I HAVE TO CHECK ON THE MUSICIAN SEE YOU LATER RARITY!" Twilight magically yanked Spike, setting him on her back, and dashed away as fast as she could.

"Twilight, what was that about!?" Shouted Spike, awoken so rudely from his daydreaming. "Why did you just snatch me up like that!?"

"In case you hadn't noticed while you were fantasizing about that mare, Spike, she was in the middle of attempted murder!" Twilight whisper-yelled. She was having the worst day so far, and she was fairly certain it was only going to get worse from here.

Then, they heard singing. Wonderful, angelic singing, with a chorus of birds.

It was enthralling, and Twilight absolutely had to know where it was coming from. The odds were against it, but she was certain that this was their musician; this made sense, as the odds were also against every pony given a job for this thing being insane. Twilight had a suspicion the island might have been used as a dump for crazy ponies at some point; something worthy of future research.

Eventually, they reached the clearing, and there sat a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. She sang gently, while the birds followed. She smiled. "Okay, that was good, but uh, you? In the back? You think you could raise your pitch just a teeny bit more? You're kind of sticking out, and I know you want your moment in the spotlight, but--"

"Oh my goodness, that is beautiful!"

The suddenly appraisal was not well received by the birds, who fled, or the pegasus, who... fled, leaping into a nearby bush. Twilight stared in confusion at the scene that had just played before her. She wanted to just turn and walk away, but she had a job to do, and she was going to do it. She took a few calming breaths to try to expel her frustrations.

"I'm sorry for scaring you..." she said loud enough. "I was just impressed was all."

Slowly, a yellow nose poked from out of the bush. "There we go! Come on out, it's okay." Slowly, the pegasus crawled from the bushes on her belly, staring up cautiously at Twilight, moving closer, and eventually, close enough that she stood up, although she tried to remain hidden behind her mane.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle... and you are?"

"fmmmm.."

"Uhm... excuse me?"

"Fluttemmem..."

"... Fluttermeme?"

"Twilight, what is going on here?" said Spike, peaking from behind her head. Fluttershy gasped and zoomed in on the dragon.

"Oh my! A Baby Dragon! I can't believe this! He's even a land-dragon! I don't think a dragon has been known to live in Equestria in at least 500 years! What do you eat? How do you sleep? Do you shed?"

Twilight smirked at the suddenly open Pegasus, when she suddenly noticed something; a jagged scar running up along her right flank and side. The fur had covered it well enough that it wasn't ugly, but it was visible still, which made her wonder if it was disfigured beneath all that hair, or simply rendered it unable to grow back. She wondered what that was about, but would have to question that another time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually, Twilight got home and shut the door behind her, stopping the Pegasus she now knew to be Fluttershy, from continuing to prod Spike. "What!? Again!? Why is it everytime I have fun you cut me off?"

Twilight groaned. "Spike... I'm tired, I'm frustrated, and I've been putting off eating all day for fear of more sea trips. I want to just... start planning this whole Mare in the Moon deal without further interruption from the crazy ponies of this town."

"Fine, but tomorrow I want to mingle!"

"Mingle all you like Spike."

Twilight turned the light on.

"SURPRISE!"

"Oh for the love of Celestia..."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Chapter Three - The Fractured Night

"Ugh..."

"Twilight, you awake?"

"Thank you, Miss Scholarly... I couldn't have a better teacher of magical theory..."

"... What?"

Twilight opened her eyes. She jumped up. Where was she? She tried to gain her bearings by looking around; not her room, but a bedroom to be sure. Then, her memory began to catch up with her: she was in a library tree house in a town on an island full of crazy ponies. And said ponies were currently throwing a party downstairs. In a LIBRARY of all places. Twilight herself had come upstairs to go to sleep after a particularly harrowing event involving poorly placed hot sauce and the pony she knew now to be Pinkie Pie. Then, she remembered getting so angry she burst into flames, and storming upstairs with the prospect of sleep and a few choice swears on her mind.

"They're still here?"

"Yep. It's the night of the Summer Sun Celebration, so I assume they're either enjoying themselves or making attempts to keep awake until midnight."

Twilight groaned. She had spent all day moving about at least two islands and was no closer to knowing the riddle of the Mare on the Moon. All she knew was whatever was supposed to happen was supposed to happen tonight.

"Speaking of, we should get going! The ceremony should begin soon! I bet all of the council ponies will be there, including Cadence."

Twilight sat up. "Well, let's get this over with. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can gloat about how I was right when Nightmare Moon unleashes the Moonpocalypse on us." She hopped from bed and trotted down stairs to find other ponies were already filing out of her temporary residence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ponies were packed into the ball room, celebrating, talking, and having a generally good time. Twilight found the time to say hi to a few ponies here and there, but didn't want to break into further conversation. Just then, Twilight noticed a pink body moving among the ponies; none other than Cadence, who approached her with a smile. "Twilight Sparkle! Oh, it's lovely to see you!"

Twilight smiled, although it was only half mirthful. "Hi Cadence... nice to see you too. How've you been?"

Cadence giggled. "I've been well. The chariot ride over was a bit bumpy but--"

"Chariot ride?" said Twilight.

Cadence blinked. "Yes?"

"You rode a CHARIOT here? After sending me here on a boat? As well as my predecessor who, need I remind you, was likely eaten if not dragged to a horrible drowning death below the ocean."

Cadence leaned back. "Yeah? I figured if you were around more ponies it might be easier for you to make friends." Cadence regained a little standing ground, looking at Twilight with clear concern. "Twilight, I wanted you to make friends. That's a big part of the reason I asked you to do this."

"Make friends?"

"Yes" said Cadence, smiling a bit under the certainty Twilight understood.

There was a thick silence about the two ponies; the rest of the world seemed to fade away from reality as they stared each other down. "You sent me... to this island... to do all this work... to throw up more than I thought I could... after a deal of humiliation from the Council... just to make friends!?"

Twilight didn't intend to yell that last part. Suddenly, everypony was staring straight at the two.

"T-Twilight, you're causing a scene..."

"I don't care!" shouted Twilight. "You've... you sent me to... but... I don't... Why!? It wasn't good enough that you just sat idly by while I humiliated myself in front of council!? You didn't speak a word when I said anything about Nightmare Moon, but you had the ability to send me on this errand!? If you could do that, if you could send me on some sort of trip to make friends, why couldn't you have spoken up for me when I needed a friend!?"

Cadence stared at Twilight as if she were crazy. "Twilight... I just worry for you..."

Twilight didn't respond.

"You've been locking yourself in your home for years now. You rarely, if ever, interact with other ponies besides family members. Every year I watch you waste your life away, doing research and studying, and never having more interraction with ponies than you were forced to by that very same research."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Wasting my life!? With research!? Research is what advances society! It's what seperates us from the Timberwolves, and you would have me out... swapping gossip and... and... talking about colts!?"

"Yes." Said Cadence, matter-of-factly. "You've become antisocial, Twilight! You're a shut-in! It was understandable when you were studying in the Unicorn Academy Tower, but ever since your return to Canterlot, you've done nothing but sit inside and study! You may still be an Apprentice, but your mentor communicates solely by dragon-mail! And while everypony out there grows, you remain stunted by your own wit! You spend your life studying while it passes you by! Have you ever fallen in love? Have you ever had somepony to confide secrets to? You've been a shut-in, Twilight Sparkle, and you refuse to give it a greater purpose by yourself, and at this rate, I worry that if I don't interfere, you'll never do anything greater with your life than study!"

Twilight stared, wide-eyed at Cadence, her eyes glimmering with the preset of tears. Cadence's expression softened.

"... I wanted better for you... I worry for you, Twilight, and I don't want you to spend your entire life in books... I don't want you to grow old and alone, without ever having known the things that truly make life worth living..."

"Is that what you think of me?" Said Twilight simply. "That I'm a shut-in? That my life holds no purpose or meaning? That my research and my studies mean nothing? That I can't... that I can't make friends on my own?"

"Now Twilight, that's not what I-"

"No, it's exactly what you said."

Twilight, without another word, turned about and trotted off. Nearby, Spike looked towards Cadence and to where Twilight had fled. He gave Cadence an apologetic look before dashing off after Twilight Sparkle. Cadence looked around to all the ponies staring at her. She couldn't help but give a soft, yet firm expression and response.

"Please return to your festivities. I apologize for the drama..."

Everypony did as instructed, returning to the festivities at hoof, although the events of the night had certainly become the center of much conversation and gossip. Rarity sat nearby, a cup of punch in her magical aura, looking at where Twilight had disappeared. "Well... that was.... something..." She took a sip of her punch and looked back to her hooves. Twilight had seemed so level-headed before, so intelligent; what could possibly set her off like that? She sighed and turned her attention to a nearby window, looking out at the moon.

Something about it seemed... off... but she couldn't quite put a hoof on it. She stared at it for a while before shaking her head, deciding it was probably just her imagination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning Twilight!"

Twilight opened her eyes and groaned. Spike sighed. "Hey, I made you some breakfast. Hay bacon Strips and Waffles."

Twilight didn't respond.

"C'mon Twi... you've gotta eat breakfast..."

"No I don't, Spike... I don't even know if I can bring myself to leave this tree..."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Okay, so you made a bit of a foal of yourself in public. Twilight, I'm sure everypony's already forgotten about that..."

"No, Spike... the sun came up today... that means..." Twilight felt her gut tighten as she was about to say something that hurt her deeply. "... it means I was wrong about the Mare in the Moon..."

Spike quirked a brow. "What?"

Twilight rose above her covers, staring at him with tired eyes. "On the night of the Summer Sun Celebration, the Mare of the Moon, Nightmare Moon, was to return and herald eternal night. The sun came up... which means.... it's just a legend..." Twilight flopped onto her bed.

Spike grinned nervously. "But isn't that a good thing?"

Twilight groaned. "Yes, Spike! But... I made a fool of myself... in front of the Council... in front of Ponyville... in front of Cadence... for nothing... allf or nothing. I can't believe I was so stupid..."

Spike frowned, hopping up onto Twilight's bed and patting her leg. "It's okay, Twi... I mean... we're all wrong sometimes. I still don't like to sleep alone for fear the bogeymare will get me..."

Twilight huffed. "At least you acknowledge it's a myth... you're just scared for primal, childhood fears, which is not your fault... I fully, truly believed the legend... I really thought... that yesterday was the last rising of the sun..."

The entire room seemed to fall into a deep silence that threatened to consume everything. Spike found himself nervously twiddling his thumbs.

Then suddenly, Twilight chuckled.

Then giggled.

Then she broke into all out laughter.

Confused and more than a little scared, Spike laughed nervously with Twilight.

"Can you believe it?" she said. "I believed some... some STORY about a myth no less silly than the bogey mare or zombies, and I made myself look... so... STUPID over it! All the researching, all the studying, none of it backed up by plausible facts, and I fell for it!" She looked to Spike, laughing still. "Imagine! Me! Twilight Sparkle! Apprentice Unicorn arcanist, a cover pony for logic and reason, and I jumped head first into some sort of... superstitious mumbo jumbo!"

"Heheh... yeah... imagine..."

"And... and..." Twilight, still laughing, waved her hoof. "I made an idiot of myself in front of the most important ponies in Canterlot, including my foalhood sitter! I was literally laughed out of the city by Blueblood, who'll probably never let me live this down if I ever have to bring something to Council again!" Twilight's laughter finally subsided, and she wiped a tear from her eye. "Spike... for future references... remind me of this scenario if I ever begin to suspect crazy legends of being reality? I suspect that from now on I will make sure I have the evidence to back up my claims, but just in case..."

Spike nodded. "So... are you ready for breakfast?"

Twilight hopped from her bed. "Right... let's eat. I think I'll stick around here for a few days... not sure I can bring myself to go back and face Cadence in Canterlot... I'm barely up to walking outside that door to face the ponies who watched me explode last night."

Spike chuckled. "It's okay, Twilight... I'm sure everything'll be just fine..."

Twilight sighed a bit, looking out the window. She thought about the previous night, about her argument with Cadence, about everything really. 'Maybe I do spend too much time reading my books.' She stretched her legs a bit, eliciting a satisfying popping sound from a few key points, before getting ready to tackle the day ahead of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Keep on task, me hardies! The next supply ship to Canterlot can appear any moment!"

The sky was blue and beautiful this particular day, reflected in the vast sea beneath it. A massive ship drifted along the field of water, its hull showing signs of use and yet still being strong. Various ponies of all races, colors, and shapes toiled away, moving various pieces of equipment and weapons to places deemed necessary. Standing at the helm was the captain; a grey pegasus mare with a black mane, wearing a ragged blue coat and a large, black hat with a pony skull and cross bones on it.

"Raise anchor, ready the sails, I can feel it in me bones! Somethin's a-comin', an' I'm quite certain it be big!"

A lone earth pony colt wearing a striped shirt and a bandana on his head looked towards his friend, a unicorn in similar attire, although his own head was missing a bandana to make room for his horn as he levitated ropes about. "How does she always know these things? I've seen each of her predictions come true, but I never understood it!"

"She calls it her 'Seagrave Sense." said the Unicorn. "I don't get it either, but she always seems to know when something’s coming. When there's lots of gold, her tail twitches and her left hoof shakes. When there are weapons, her stomach tightens and her ears flop. When there's booze, she starts blinking a lot."

"What happened this time?" asked the curious colt.

"She doesn't know. It was the strangest sight; her body inflated, she belched, flatulated, said some sort of random swear (though that might have been in sheer shock of her reaction) spun around, then head butted the nearest crewmate. She says whatever it is, it's massive."

The colt nodded.

"Arrr! Ye be bickering, but I not be seein' ye do much shipwork! Stop bein' such scallywags lest ye walk the plank!"

The two quickly returned to their work, rigorously keeping at pace. Eventually, pleased, the captain turned about and trotted away.

"What if one of us was a pegasus?"

"She ties your wings together."

"Wow... that's brutal."

Seagrave observed all of his crew, hard at work and ready for plunder. It did her heart good to know that all of these ponies (and the donkey that cooked their meals) were ready and willing to do everything she demanded of them. There was something of a brotherhood among them; sure, they might cheat and lie to one another, but never would they downright betray a crewmate or their captain.

Not that she wouldn't kill each and every one of them if she had to, though.

It was an understanding among her crew; you were part of the brotherhood as long as you played your part, took only your fair share, and never, EVER do anything to displease the captain. If you did these things, well, you had a family who would die for you.

"Wait a minute..."

The Captain stopped as she noticed something. A gradual change in the surrounding waters... the wind grew still, as did the waves. The sky was suddenly less blue, with more clouds building about, and a strange, blue fog seemed to slowly settle in. Within minutes, much of their vision beyond the ship was obscured by the eldritch blue clouds, and the silence was more than enough to set Captain Seagrave on edge.

"... What manner of sorcery be this...?"

The crew stopped the tasks at hand and looked about, everypony suddenly on edge.

I need a vessel... and an army....

"Wh... who speaks!?"

Your presence is convenient....

"Come out, lest ye be executed!" Seagraves was not sure, but she was certain that the voice was coming from... all around? Maybe from inside her head?

But I am not hidden from you at all...

"Wha...?"

Behind you...

Seagraves turned around slowly, her eyes settling upon a sight that nearly took her breath away. A figure, taller than any pony she had ever seen before; wearing ragged, tattered robes that covered its entire form, the hood shaded out, blocking out any and all visual. From beneath it, strange blue energy seemed to burn from within the darkness in the shape of eyes. Blue clouds seemed to pool around the hooves of the being that stood upon them.

"Wh.... who.... be ye..."

The one, true queen.

Nightmare Moon.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Chapter Four - Fables and Frustration

Applejack sat at her Apple Stand, staring out at all the ponies milling about the Market Place. It was a slow day; slower than she'd like it, anyway. She had, admittedly, hoped that with all the food they had provided for the Summer Sun Celebration that their business would have gone up; of course, all good things in time. Hopefully, if nothing else, they might hear back from one of the Council ponies; business from one of them would certainly draw a lot of attention to the Apple Family.

Just then, she saw a familiar face; Twilight Sparkle, who trotted up to her stand. "Good mornin', sugarcube! What can Ah do fer ya?"

Twilight smiled. "I'll have one Apple Fritter, please?"

Applejack nodded and reached into the underside of the cart, pulling out a single fritter and handing it to Twilight. "Say, sugarcube, what was with all that yellin' between you n' Cadence last night?"

Twilight blushed. "You saw that, huh?"

Applejack smirked. "Well, Ah reckon most'a Ponyville n' the Apple Islands saw, or at least heard. Y'all weren’t bein' very quiet."

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "It's... complicated... and more than a little embarrassing..." The unicorn placed a hoof behind her head and rubbed it, clearly uncomfortable. "I'd really rather not talk about it."

Applejack nodded. "Ah understand, darlin'. If'n ya ever need t' talk, ya've always got an ear with me."

Twilight quirked a brow at the farm pony. "Huh? But... I barely know you."

Applejack let out a laugh. "Well, that maybe true, but Ah already feel like yer family! Y'all were fairly pleasant t' be around when ya came t' the farm - forgivin' yer penchant t' vomitin' - an' yer far more pleasant than Ah expected! No offense, but word on th' street is that most ponies from Canterlot can be a bit stuck up."

Twilight chuckled nervously, not really knowing how to respond to that. Still, she was sure Applejack meant well, so she decided to accept the compliment. "Thanks... well, I'd better be going. I've got some research to do."

"Oh, 'course!" said Applejack, "Ah won't hold ya up. If'n ya need me, y'all can usually find me here or back at th' farm!"

Twilight nodded and smiled, turning about and trotting off to her devices. She was going to be stuck in Ponyville for another two days; a fact she didn't entirely lament, if for the mere fact she was not sure she was ready to face the ocean again so soon, let alone Cadence. She grimaced at this thought; she would HAVE to meet her again, rather she wanted to or not.

"Hey, Twilight! Twilight!" Twilight's attention shifted to the sound of Spike's voice, the baby dragon rushing up to her, holding a scroll in his claws, and stopping just short of her, panting and heaving. "You.... got a letter..... from Professor Comet..."

Twilight took the scroll in her magical grasp and relieved it from Spike, unrolling and reading it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I've reviewed the notes you've sent me, and after a great deal of research I have found the data to be inconclusive. While many ancient tales mention the celestial princesses and their many foes, and even the sinking of Equestria, we have no surviving records to back up your claims. With the lack of eternal night, it might seem that your claims are groundless.

One thing I don't know if you knew is that the Everfree Waters are plagued by a chaotic nature; storms, whirlpools, small hurricanes... these sorts of things happen a lot there without any warning. More of late, however, the Apple Islands had been getting hit by more stray rain than they were used to. This does not alarm the residents; being so near the Everfree Waters, this is semi-expected. Nopony seems to have realized it's happening in greater frequency, or at least nopony who feels inclined to point it out.

Last night, one of our own spotted a strange storm somewhere in the direction of the islands; you may or may not have noticed it yourself. Between Canterlot and the Apple Islands, a blue fog settled over the sea, and vanished as fast as it appeared. We called in some favors to send a few pegasai to check it out, but they found nothing at all.

Furthermore, we have noticed that the shadow of the moon, often referred to as the 'mare in the moon' by tales, has been unusually absent. While some of my colleagues claim this is just a common lunar development, I find it odd because from what I understand (I had looked at it with my own two eyes), it had been present at some point before Midnight of the Summer Sun Celebration.

I wish you to continue go about your business, but keep an open eye, and an open mind. If anything out of the ordinary happens, especially in the vicinity of the Everfree Waters, I want you to inform me as soon as you are able.

Your mentor,

Professor Comet Tail

Twilight stared at the note, wide-eyed and more than a little confused. Was she right? Was she wrong? Is her mentor over thinking this just as much as she was? Is she over thinking it right now? She looked up to Spike, who stared at her questioningly.

"Well? What did he say?"

Twilight let her gaze fall back to the letter, reading it over once more.

"Spike, fetch every book in the library with details of the Elements of Harmony, the Mare in the Moon, and the Celestial Sisters. Research information, theories, and even foals' bedtime stories. If it contains any of those facts, I want it ready for me to take it apart and find facets of truth wherever I can."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pinkie bounced down the street with a box placed on her back that bounced with her. She was humming an upbeat tune, her optimism shining brightly as she made her way towards the tree-library - and her journey came to an abrupt end when she bumped into Rarity.

"Hm? Oh, hi Rarity!"

Rarity quirked a brow. "Oh, hello Pinkie Pie. What are you doing here?"

Pinkie giggle snorted. "Well what's it look like, silly? I saw Twilight get super duper upset last night, and she ran away crying and I thought 'Hey! Nopony as nice as Twilight should be so sad!' Then I thought 'I bet a few cupcakes might make her feel better!' But then I wasn't sure if she liked cupcakes, because the mailmare prefers muffins, and one time I gave her a cupcake by accident (silly me!) and she looked at me like I was crazy! Well, I think she was looking at me, she could have also been looking at the sad clown painting that Mrs. Cake hung on the wall! Mr. Cake told her it wasn't--"

"PINKIE."

Pinkie stopped. "Yeah?"

"To the point, dear?"

"Oh! Well, I wanted to cheer Twilight up, so I baked her three cupcakes and three muffins! Then I came here to give them to her, and bounced into you, so here we are!"

Rarity stared at Pinkie a few moments to process this.

"Why are YOU here?" said the Pink Pony, smiling brightly.

"Well, if you must know, I too saw the little... 'faux pas' as it were at the celebration, and I was going to invite Twilight Sparkle to the spa to relax her nerves."

Pinkie nodded her head, a rattle seemingly emanating from the confines of her skull. "That sounds great Rarity! Why, I'll bet she'll really appreciate-Oh! What's that!?" Pinkie pointed her hoof, accidentally jabbing Rarity in the face.

Rarity turned, rubbing her cheek, to see Fluttershy trotting towards them, she stopped just short of them, seeming to shy behind her mane. "Oh, uhm, did I interrupt something?"

Rarity shook her head. "Not that we're aware of. Were you here to cheer her up as well?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Well, uh, no, I mean, I'd be glad to help but, I'm here because last night all my critters got scared of something and ran, flew, and swam away... I was hoping to get some help calming them down. The fish should come back on their own, but the little birdies and ground animals may end up in other ponies' crops and food stores..."

Rarity hummed, tapping her hoof to her chin. "Well, Fluttershy, I'd be more than happy to help you relocate them when I have the free time... have you asked Rainbow Dash to help?"

Fluttershy nodded. "She looked extremely tired today... last night, all the weather ponies had an emergency to take care of some hurricanes and storms that seemed to pop out of nowhere, and then she had to go out a bit further... something about owing somepony a favor... she said there was fog there that disappeared really quickly."

Pinkie hummed now, tapping her own hoof to her own chin. Rarity gave a sideways glance to the pink mare and rolled her eyes. "You're really imitating me now?"

Pinkie giggled. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Watch!" Throwing her hooves around her face at speeds that nopony could follow, Pinkie's mane was reshaped into Rarity's own styling. "Oh dahling, this humidity is just DREADFUL! Why, if I don't get somewhere cool, or at the very least get a glass of water, I might just FAINT!"

Rarity blinked a few times. She wanted to be mad, she really did. Instead, she let out a little giggle, shaking her head. "P-Pinkie! That's so rude!"

Pinkie huffed. "Well, I never!" Then, almost in an instant, her mask broke and she burst into a fit of giggle-snorts, her mane poofing back to it's original shape.

Rarity sighed a bit, wiping a tear from her eye. Deciding not to delay any further, she brought a hoof to the door and knocked.

*Knock knock knock*

"Coming!"

The door slowly opened to reveal the little purple dragon, who looked up to Rarity, and immediately he slumped a bit, a big stupid grin on his face. "Oh, hehe, hi Rarity! How are you?"

Rarity smiled a bit to the little dragon. "Hello... Spike, was it? Yes, I was hoping to speak to Twilight Sparkle, if it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

Pinkie popped her head up. "I baked her some muffins n' cupcakes!"

Fluttershy leaned in. "Uhm, have you seen any squirrels? Bunnies? Chickens? Any little critters?"

Spike turned about. "TWI-AHH!"

Twilight, to his surprise, was already there. "Oh, uhh.. hello. Can I help you girls?"

Rarity grinned. "Well, darling, I just wanted you to know that I had heard of your little... situation last night, and wanted to take you to the spa! My treat!"

"I baked you goodies?"

"Any birds around here? Chipmunks?"

Twilight quirked a brow, her apparent confusion growing. "Uhh... I... huh?"

Just then, a loud crash diverted everypony's attention upward to the balcony, where Rainbow Dash pried herself from a prison of broken wood and glass (while remaining amazingly unscathed herself). "Hey, Twilight, the weather has been acting REALLY weird lately, and my team can't keep up. I was hoping you had a book or something on weather disasters or something, because none of us have ever seen weather like this, even from the Everfree waters!"

Twilight grimaced. "Girls, girls, give me a minute to gather my thoughts--"

"Howdy!"

Everypony turned to see Applejack approaching, a smile on the orange mare's face. Twilight sighed. "Let me guess... you either came here to give me an apple pie to make me feel better about what happened last night, or you were going to ask me about some sort of strange happening down at the apple farm?"

Applejack donned the expression one wore when asked what color the sky was. "Uhh... no, Ah was just gonna say hi... Ah figure y'all got yer life under control, n' things are just peachy at th' farm."

Twilight had to admit there was a mixed sense of relief and embarrassment, so she shrugged it off.

"Okay, first off... Pinkie, thank you for the baked goods..." Twilight forced a smile, and levitated them over to Spike, who took the box inside. "I'm really thankful and appreciative of the kindness... and Rarity? Um... I don't really have the time to go to a spa treatment today, and I really have no idea how much longer I'll be here... Fluttershy, I don't think I've seen any of your animal friends, and I can't really help you because I'm kind of busy, but if you want you can peruse the library for books that might help you find them... Rainbow, I know I've heard of winds creating hurricanes and such, but usually those are pretty static and weather pegasai can predict them quickly and evacuate... and Applejack... hi."

Twilight sighed again, feeling she had covered everything.

"But Twilight" started Rainbow Dash, "These aren’t STATIC hurricanes. Last night, there was a massive influx of waves, a few hurricanes that seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and it took entire teams of weather pegasai just to stop them; we have a few injured, and we're not certain where they came from."

Twilight grimaced. "You said they popped up out of nowhere, did you really have to add you had no idea where they came from? Isn't that sort of redundant?"

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight for a few seconds, before giving her a bit of a glare. "Did you just imply I'm mentally challenged?"

Twilight balked. "I said redundant! Not- look, Fluttershy, Rainbow, I really have no idea how to help you. Rarity, Pinkie, thanks again for your kindness, I wish I could do more. Applejack... keep on doing what you do. Girls, I have really important business to get to, and-"

Just then, there was a popping noise.

Followed by an explosion, and the distant sound of screams.

Everypony leaped a little (save for Pinkie Pie, who jumped several feet into the air, seemingly froze halfway up screaming, and fell back in Rainbow Dash's hooves, who unceremoniously dumped her onto the ground).

"Oh my word!" shouted Rarity. "That... that came from the other side of the town!"

"Hold onto your tails, I'm off!" shouted Rainbow Dash, who took off bolting.

"Hold up you uncouth cyclops! I'm coming too!" shouted Rarity, who took off treading after Rainbow.

"Hey, y'all ponies are crazy runnin' to th' loud noises!" Applejack stood there, looked around, groaned, and then took chase.

"Oh my goodness, I hope everypony's alright! Wait for me!" shouted Fluttershy, who flew off, though at a much more reserved pace than Rainbow.

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie Pie, who looked back. "What?" said the mare. "I'm crazy but I'm not that crazy."

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "You're not?"

Pinkie stared at her for a second. Then she gasped. "WAITAMINUTEOFCOURSEIAMWAITFORMEGIRLS!" With that, she bolted.

Twilight didn't want to follow. She really didn't. However, she was worried; after all, Cadence was probably still on the island, not to mention it would be bad publicity if a student of the Unicorn Academy and Liaison for Canterlot stayed behind while locals ran off into danger. With a sigh of acceptance, Twilight took off, following the nutty locals into danger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Capture every unicorn on the island, me harties! If it casts a spell, it goes in a cell!"

The pegasus mare in a pirate's coat, wearing a tricorn cap with a pony skull with crossbones shouted to several ponies as they rushed around the boat. "When we get to land, that's the first order of business, as per her majesty's orders! Don't kill anypony you don't have to; after all, a queen's rule means nothing if her subjects are dead!"

Cannons on the side of the ship cracked like thunder as they launched orbs at the island that crashed into homes and tore down whole buildings. Ponies ran screaming in a panic as the ship raised it's flag; a dark blue flag with a splashy black splotch, in the center of which was a depiction of a quarter moon.

As the ship docked, several ropes fell over the ledge, earth ponies and unicorns sliding down said ropes as Pegasai flew overboard and began to harass the locals. Ponies fled, panicked, and tried to hide, as the crew knocked aside and fought ponies, seeming to seek out particular targets.

"What in tarnation!?" shouted Applejack as the group arrived at sight. Rainbow Dash looked around. "Pirates!? Attacking the docks!? Where's the anti-pirate defenses!?"

Twilight looked out to sea and grimaced. "I assume you mean those?" She pointed her hoof, and Rainbow Dash looked to see three ships, with plumes of smoke drifting from them; their sails were torn and burned, far as she could tell, and one of them looked as though it might be in the process of sinking.

"None of those are the counsel ships... please tell me Cadence got off the island..." said Twilight under her breath.

"Unicorns!"

Everypony turned to see three pirates running towards them, swords raised. "Hand over the unicorns peacefully, an' nopony has t' get chopped up!"

Rarity immediately bit her lip; the only pony here she was actually on friendly terms with was Fluttershy. Surely she would--

"Yeah right, punk!" shouted Rainbow Dash, as she slammed one hoof into another. "Touch either of them and you'll have your peg-leg shoved where the sun don't shine!"

"What?" said the pirate, quirking his brow. The three looked at each other, making sure to examine one anothers' legs - none of which were pegged. In fact, as far as pirates go, they were unusually whole "But we don't have peg legs!"

Rainbow blinked and grimaced. "Wha-no, it's a figure of speech! It's just... you know, because a common pirate.... ugh, just back off or we'll kick your flanks!"

"No no no, we have to sort this out." said the Pirate. "Just cause we're pirates does not mean we got peg legs, parrots, scurvy, or other kinds of diseases! I mean, why do ponies think that of us!"

Rainbow blinked. "... Well, you go from port to port, what should ponies think."

"Hold on!" interrupted Applejack. "Are we REALLY havin' a debate of prejudice with PIRATES here?"

"Good point, AJ..." said Rainbow. "So, we fighting or you gonna turn tail and run. It's six-to-three, so I'd say we have numbers to our advantage!"

Suddenly, several more pirates joined the group, surrounding the six mares. "Uhhh..." Rainbow looked around. ".... four.... six.... uh...."

Twilight gave a deadpan expression. "Twenty three. There's twenty three pirates, Rainbow Dash."

"I knew that."

Fluttershy whimpered and backed as close to the middle of the six as she could. Rarity tried to look bold, but was clearly afraid. Twilight herself gulped, looking up at her horn and then back to the pirates. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, however, had their game faces on.

"We ready to rock!?" shouted Rainbow Dash.

"Let's get this hootenanny goin'!" shouted Applejack.

Immediately, the two ponies bolted forward, Rainbow tackling an earth pony, lifting him upward some, then letting him go, sailing into a building that had been blown apart and crashing into the debris. Applejack approached a small group, turned and bucked one that flew several feet backwards. As two more approached her, she threw a hoof in a punch, socking one of the assailants in the face, and then delivered a kick with one hind leg to knock the other behind her out.

Rarity shifted to see several ponies leap at her. Suddenly, her expression went from fearful to angry, and she stood up on her hind legs and delivered one swift, powerful slap with her hoof, striking all three of them. "How DARE you attack my home!" she shouted. The three ponies stared at her confused as she moved suddenly, leaping upward and spinning a hoof, knocking one aside, doing a back flip and striking a second one on the chin, throwing him backwards, and once she landed, she stared at the final one whose jaw dropped. The stallion then dropped his sword and fled.

"Whoa! I didn't know ya had it in ya, Rarity!" shouted Rainbow Dash, to which Rarity responded with a satisfied grin and a hint of a blush. Just then, Rarity gasped.

"Fluttershy, watch out!"

Rainbow turned to see Fluttershy being snuck upon by two pegasai and an earth pony. Rainbow Dash's eye burned with rage as she charged down and lifted the earth pony up, speeding upward into the air. The two pegasai, shocked, turned to see their companion gone, then looked up just in time for one of them to see him falling his way and land on top of him, both breaking his fall and rendering both of them unconscious (or at the very least too sore to continue fighting.) Fluttershy turned around to see the last one and screamed, catching his attention. He quickly leaped at her, to which Fluttershy held a hoof up in her defense and turned away, closing her eyes as tight as she could.

His face planted directly into her tender yellow hoof.

The timid mare opened an eye to see the pegasus stallion laying on the floor with a bloodied nose. "Oh! Oh my, I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean to--"

"Don't apologize!" shouted Rainbow Dash. "He was going to attack you, he got what he deserved!"

Fluttershy bit her lip and looked at the pirate. She leaned down and whispers between all three of them. "L-look, I-I-I don't agree with what you're d-doing, b-but I'm sure you d-d-didn't mean to be so mean, and that you b-became pirates just because you had no other choices... so I ffforgive you..."

Rainbow Dash stared at Fluttershy, slack jawed, who looked back up at her and responded with a nervous smile. Rainbow rolled her eye. "Fluttershy... sometimes I swear you're too kind for your own good..."

"Oh, I don't know about-"

"PARTY HARD!"

Everypony turned to see several of the pirate ponies on top of a pile. Suddenly, in a burst that launched them all back, Pinkie leapt into the air. "YEEEEEEAH!" She seemed to produce a party cannon from nowhere, and taking aim, began belting several of the pirates with compressed confetti, knocking them back. "You wanna play with the premier pink party pony of Ponyville, you gotta DANCE!" She lifted the cannon and literally tossed it, watching as it careened into several ponies. She then produced a mallet from her mane (how it fit there nopony would learn) and began to strike several ponies with it, giggling joyfully - the most unsettling part being that she seemed more like she was playing a game rather than she was actually fighting.

"Get the purple one!"

Twilight turned to see several more ponies approaching her. They all leaped at her, causing her to gasp. Squeezing her eyes shut, her horn glowed magenta, and suddenly, all of them froze mid-air. Twilight opened her eyes to see them floating helplessly before her, and grinned. "You know..." she began, "... I was trained at the Magic Academy of Unicorn Island... I lived there for several years, getting personal training from some of the best teachers in the Equestrian Sea... " She trotted towards the closest stallion and got her face really close to his, staring him directly in the eyes (though he was presently upside down.) "I can break each and every one of you with a thought."

The sound of one of the stallion sobbing made her smile.

"Fortunately, I don't do that!"

With that, she tossed each and every one of the pirates in separate directions, some of them colliding with buildings, one striking an already damaged cart, and few simply skidding and rolling across the ground.

Twilight turned to see everypony staring at her. ".... What?"

Rainbow's eye twitched. "Remind me never to tick you off, Twilight..."

Twilight blushed and nodded, then turned to the ship. Her expression shifted to one of confusion as the ship seemed to emit a strange, blue fog that began to cover the island. The clouds seemed to block out the sun, as if producing an artificial night.

And Twilight felt a deep coldness, a sense of dread and fear. She turned around to notice that the ponies she was helping were gone. "Applejack?" she shouted. "Rainbow Dash? Fluttershy? Rarity!? Pinkie!?"

Twilight stumbled around, trying to make heads or tails of what was going on, before bumping into something. She stopped and turned to behold a robed figure. She fell to her haunches, her mouth agape as a pair of turquoise orbs stared down at her.

"Child... you are strong..."

"Wh.... who are you..." Twilight barely managed to whisper.

"... I am the true ruler of this kingdom..."

Suddenly, Twilight felt an aura wrap around her and lift her up. She was powerless; so frightened by the darkness that seemed to violate her very soul. "... and you... could be a problem..."

"Twilight! WAKE UP!"

Twilight blinked and shook her head. Suddenly, the mare was gone. She was in somewhere - Sweet Apple Acres? Surrounding her were the five locals and Spike. They were in the barn, far as she could tell.

"Wh... what? What!?" she shouted, bolting up. "What happened!? We were just at the docks, and--"

"And.." started Applejack, "this weird blue fog enveloped th' place. You n' Rarity stared inta space fer a bit before ya fainted. We heard screamin' and cryin', so we gathered ya up an' beat a hasty retreat t' th' farm!"

Twilight blinked, placing a hoof to her head. "It... it was a dream..." she looked to Rarity. "You... you woke up before me?"

Rarity nodded. "Yes, I... I woke up while we were running... " she stared at Twilight, a haunted expression on her face. "Twilight... w.... were you suddenly alone? Trapped in a void unable to see anything?"

Twilight grimaced. "Y... did you see her too?"

"See who, dear?"

"... You didn't hear her voice? The 'True Ruler?"

Rarity shook her head. "N-no... I was just.... all alone..."

Twilight stared at Rarity a few seconds. Why hadn't Rarity seen it? Why had... whatever it was, chosen to show itself to her, but not Rarity? Was there more to it than she knew?

Should she be afraid?

Was it bad that she was?

"N... nevermind.... " said Twilight. "... I think I'm gonna be sick..."

Twilight, without much further warning, threw up.

"... Ah'll get the mop..."

To Be Continued...