The Vacation Crewby DafaddahChaptersChapter 1: Go WestChapter 2: The House that Shadows BuiltChapter 3: PonyfeathersChapter 4: A Day at the BeachesChapter 5: A Night at the OperaChapter 6: The Big BookstoreChapter 7: A Night In LunablancaChapter 1: Go WestChapter 1: Go West Twilight Sparkle and Spike were logging books returned to the library that day. She thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of her librarian job as it tickled her inherent sense of orderliness. It also gave her a reason to peek into each book, thereby getting a glance at what was either important or of interest to her fellow citizens of Ponyville. This made her feel closer to them and broadened her own interests at the same time. Spike liked doing this task as well, but mainly because he enjoyed stamping the cards. Sitting at the desk was also much easier than climbing ladders to find or re-shelve books! Engaged in this pleasant daily ritual, it took them a moment to notice that somepony stood at the door of the library, waiting to be noticed. "Princess Luna, what a pleasant surprise!" Twilight bowed. She approached the Princess, noting that she was wearing saddlebags. As always, Luna felt a warm rush of gratitude towards the lavender unicorn. Twilight Sparkle was one of the first ponies to see in her something other than the hated despot Nightmare Moon and truly accept her as a Princess of Equestria. "Twilight, my dear friend, it is so good to see you and Spike again. May I come in and chat for a while?" "Absolutely, your Highness! Please make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?" "That would be very nice indeed. I brought a few gems from Canterlot, just in case a certain dragon felt the need for a snack." Luna magically extracted a small box of various colored gems from a saddle bag. "Rubies and Sapphires and Emeralds, oh my!" said Spike rapturously. "I'll go make the tea. He grabbed a fistful of gems from the open box and ran to the kitchen. "You know, it was really sweet of you to think of Spike like that. Do that again a few times and Rarity might have a rival for his affections!" Twilight chuckled. "So what brings you to Ponyville, Princess?" Luna looked somewhat abashed, ears beginning to droop. "Well, I was conversing with my sister, and she said that I was looking a bit tired of late. I agreed, as it was true that I did feel a bit peaked, so she suggested that I..." her ears drooped further, "well, that I take a 'vacation'." She said the last three words as if she had ashes in her mouth. "That sounds like a great idea, after all when is the last time you took a vacation?" "This is precisely my problem." She smiled sheepishly. "It has been over a thousand years, and Equestria is so different now. Besides, a vacation before meant holding court in some other palace for a few weeks. When I asked Celestia what I should do, she actually proposed that I should disguise my appearance and go on a normal pony vacation 'just like anypony'! But I have no idea what normal ponies do on vacation!" said Luna, uncharacteristically flustered. "When I told Tia that she suggested I take one of those 'package tours' from a travel agency, and that I take along a friend, as she does when she goes on vacation. So I came here." She paused a moment and gathered her courage. "Twilight Sparkle, you are one of the few ponies I truly consider a friend. Would you go on vacation with me?" She looked at Twilight imploringly. To say that Twilight was surprised would be an understatement. Celestia takes vacations?! She was also flattered that Princess Luna called her a true friend, as she had developed a fondness for her mentor's younger sister. "Princess Luna, I would be pleased and honored to go on vacation with you! Now we just need to start planning this out." Already the bookish mare was getting enthused at the very thought of organizing a vacation, when a new voice rang out. "A vacation! I love vacations!" Pinkie Pie appeared from nowhere as usual. 'How does she do that?' thought Twilight for the umpteenth time. Out loud she said. "Yes, Princess Luna and I are planning to go on vacation. By the way, your Highness, when do you want to leave?" The Princess was visibly relieved that Twilight agreed to her request. Smiling broadly she replied: "Oh, we can start immediately. I have already packed what I need in my saddlebags." Of course this meant dropping everything. Twilight was about to list all the reasons why she couldn't possibly leave on vacation right now, when Pinkie Pie began jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh, can I go too? For vacations the more the merrier! We can party all day and all night! We can go to the water park, the amusement park, go see some shows, go to dances, go swimming, go white-water rafting down the Everfree river..." Twilight was dismayed that Pinkie would just invite herself along. But then, it was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. Also, she saw that Princess Luna was greedily drinking-in the seemingly endless list of fun activities Pinkie Pie was producing, and so she changed her mind thinking it might not be such a bad idea after all. "... we could wear polka-dot bathing suits, we could go zip-lining, we could take a trip in my balloon... oh, we could take a trip in my balloon any day, but wouldn't it be even more awesome to do so while on vacation?" The pink mare finally stopped to take a breath. "Yes, that does sound like fun!" said the Princess, reviewing in her mind the innumerable 'normal pony vacation' things they could do. "Great! This will be the most awesome vacation!" said Pinkie Pie. "I'll be right back!" Upon which she literally disappeared. "Uh, Pinkie Pie... Drat!" Twilight dropped the hoof she had been holding up to get the bubbly earth pony's attention. She turned to face the Princess. "So, where do you want to go? The beach? The Mountains? Manehattan?" While Luna was considering her options, Spike arrived with a teapot, cups and some cookies on a platter. He began serving tea. "Was that Pinkie Pie I heard a minute ago? Should I serve her a cup too?" "Might as well, but who knows when she'll be back." Twilight picked up her own teacup magically, as did Luna. Their eyes closed in pleasure as they sipped the baby dragon's excellent tea. When Twilight opened her eyes again she saw a blue head with a rainbow mane drinking the tea laid out for Pinkie. "Um, ah, hi Dash... when did you get here?" she enquired of her pegasus friend. "Hi Twi, hello Princess, I just got here now, duh!" She rolled her eyes at Twilight's lack of seeing the obvious. "But Pinkie's vacation idea is at least 20% cooler than her usual ideas, don'cha think?" "What idea is that Dash?" Twilight began to get a sinking feeling. "Oh, this idea of going on vacation with Princess Luna. Why else would I be here?" She raised an eyebrow at the lavender mare. Luna's smile grew wider. "The more the merrier!" she said. Just then there came a knock at the door. "Come in." Twilight looked up at the new arrivals, confirming her fears. It was Rarity and Fluttershy, both with saddlebags. 'How did they get ready so fast?' thought Twilight, and then decided to just chalk-it up to Pinkie Pie's ability to bend time and space to suite her random purposes. They both bowed to the Princess, and entered, Rarity speaking first. "Your Highness, it is truly an honor that you should invite common ponies like us to join you on your vacation. I will no doubt tell stories about this wonderful interlude to my foals and grand-foals." She was practically beaming with pleasure. As usual Fluttershy was staying in the background with her head down. She mumbled "Me too," but with a great deal less enthusiasm. Twilight recalled that she was still quite frightened of Princess Luna, and was amazed Pinkie Pie had managed to convince her to join the group. As expected, there came another knock at the door. "Come on in Applejack," said Twi without even bothering to look up. "Hey! Howdja know it was me?" asked the orange mare, who bowed to the Princess and added: "It's mighty nice o'yer ta invite us to join y'all on vacation. I haven't had one fer ages, and it just so happens I got cousins visiting fer a spell and more hooves than work at the farm. So I left Big Macintosh in charge and galloped right over." Twilight signed and remarked "And now all that's left is..." "ME!" Pinkie Pie finished for her, making a patented Pinkie Pie appearance from nowhere. "Now we're all here. It's time for a vacation party!" From nowhere she pulled out a party hat and blew on a paper horn, streamers flew-in from the sides and confetti dropped from the ceiling. *** Twilight Sparkle looked at the collected ponies all arguing about where they should go for 'their' vacation. "Ahem, ladies, please!" When this did not get a response, she tried louder: "Fillies, listen up!" Still they talked on oblivious. Finally, giving up pretense she shouted: "PIPE DOWN AND LISTEN UP!" Everypony froze. Twilight grew visibly embarrassed realizing what she had just done in front of one of the ruling Princesses of Equestria. She struggled to regain her composure. "As this is Princess Luna's vacation, I suggest we first ask her what she would like to do. Your Highness, do you have any preferences?" Luna thought about it for a moment. "I think I would like each pony present to make a suggestion. That way I can have as broad a set of experiences as possible." "Good idea. Who wants to go first?" Twi asked the mares. "Oo, me first, me first!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down energetically. Deciding to protect her ceiling Twilight gestured for her to proceed. "There's a huge carnival in Cloudsdale. Let's go there first!" Luna looked impressed. "That really does sounds like... fun. We shall go to the carnival." she affirmed with a smile. As there were no dissenting opinions, Twilight began to plan the outing. "We can go using Pinkie's balloon, and I can enchant the hooves of all non-pegasi so we can walk on the clouds. Ah, one last little thing. Princess, if you go like that it might cause a bit of a ruckus. Did you say earlier you could disguise yourself?" In response Luna's horn glowed a moment, and a thick white cloud coalesced around the Princess. It dissipated a moment later it, revealing a light blue Pegasus with a night black mane. Everyone ooed and ahhed! Twilight was impressed! "Perfect! But we'll blow your cover if we go calling you Princess Luna in public". She thought for a second. "Everyone, please meet my cousin Selene from Trottingham." All the ponies made a fuss greeting 'Selene' with hugs and hoof-shakes. The Princess played along good-naturedly. Spike offered her a flower, a moon lily, which she pinned into her mane, giving the baby dragon a gentle kiss on the forehead. Spike blushed, and Rarity seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole proceedings. They decided that the Pegasi would fly out to Cloudsdale and wait for the others to catch up. Somehow, by the time they exited the library, Pinkie Pie had already managed to retrieve, assemble and inflate her balloon. They lifted off for Cloudsdale. Chapter 2: The House that Shadows BuiltThe seven ponies and baby dragon passed through the main entrance of the Annual Carnival Exhibition in the Sky of Cloudsdale (also know as A.C.E.S. for short.) On every side were tents large and small offering food, rides, exhibits and acts of all kinds. Pinkie Pie was a moving blur, going from the Cotton Candy stand, to the roller coaster, and then on to the various animal acts. The group followed along with her every whim, despite the absolutely frantic pace she maintained. Luna was having a grand time just being 'one of the fillies' and laughing, eating or screaming along with the rest. When Twilight was about to suggest calling it a day, Pinkie came to a complete halt in front of one tent in particular that read 'House of Horror' in a scary script that looked like dripping blood. "This is it! I wanna go here, I wanna go here!" said the excited pony in a voice that simply could not be denied. Twilight heaved a sigh. "Ok, let's line up and get tickets - looks like this is our last stop before heading home." The friends lined up, with 'Selene' and Twilight last. One by one their friends entered. Periodically, those in line outside would hear screams of fright emanating from the tent. She had a sudden thought, after seeing Fluttershy disappear inside. "Oh, no!" she told the Princess. "Should we have let Fluttershy go in alone? She's already scared of everything!" The Princess saw how anxious Twilight had become and decided to help reduce the mare's distress. 'This', she thought, 'is what being a friend is all about!' Out loud, she told Twilight "I'll go in next and try to catch up with her, after all I have superb night vision." She hurried inside. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the minimal light, which was a bit of a pity as she was able to see all the traps, alarms and trip wires long before her passage engaged them. It was turning out to be a real bore, with only the warped mirrors and moving stairs providing any genuine amusement. Ahead she saw a yellow flank disappear around a corner. Aha! She rushed forward and heard a scream so tiny it was almost cute. *** Fluttershy felt reasonably proud of herself so far. Yes, she had screamed in fear once or twice. Okay, maybe ten or twenty times, but she was feeling more courageous as time went on. The yellow mare turned the corner, and out from the dark jumped Nightmare Moon! She produced her loudest scream so far this evening. Trembling, she hid her eyes, still haunted by her previous encounters with the evil Alicorn. She finally worked up the courage to take her hooves from her face, when from around the corner came Princess Luna, the real Nightmare Moon! And they were alone together! In the dark! She screamed again, even louder this time, hooves scrambling backwards in order to escape. *** Princess Luna turned the corner at speed, first seeing Fluttershy screaming (very cutely) at her appearance. It was as if the mare was afraid of her! She noticed another figure in the dark space. Turning she spied a cheaply made, but nevertheless obvious caricature of Nightmare Moon, with slitted reptile eyes, the bared fangs of a predator, and forelegs raised as if in the act of striking down any unfortunate passer by. She turned back to Fluttershy, and saw her peddling backwards in terror, trying to get away. From her. She felt crestfallen, all the joy of the day deserting her in one fell moment. "Fluttershy!" she said and took a step forward. Fluttershy screamed again, and this time got enough traction to propel herself out of the dark space. Luna heard the mare crashing through the remaining parts of the House of Horror, while she remained frozen in place with the memory of fear in the yellow mare's eyes and the shame of being its cause. She was still there when minutes later Twilight Sparkle came around the corner into the Nightmare Moon space. She could not bring herself to look Twilight in the eye. "Is Fluttershy alright?" she asked, her voice subdued. When Twilight saw the look on Luna's face she immediately ran to her, encircling her in a hug. "Oh, Luna, it wasn't your fault! I should have told you that Fluttershy is really slow to get used to ponies, and she is still haunted by her experiences with Nightmare Moon. It wasn't very smart of me to let you go in after her. But she has a really kind heart. Seconds after running out of the tent she realized what she had done and was concerned about you." Luna looked up at the dummy Nightmare Moon. "This is my legacy. This what ponies think of me, and I can see it in their eyes wherever I go." Twilight was heartbroken at Luna's sad expression. "It seems to me," countered Twilight, "that your story is far from finished, and that your real legacy is yet to be written. Come on, let's get out of here and do something about your legacy. Starting with Fluttershy." She extended a hoof to the Princess. Luna looked up at Twilight, placing her hoof on that of the lavender mare, this simple act of companionship meaning the world to her. "I can see now why my sister says that you truly possess the magic of friendship. Thank you Twilight." With that, the two mares left the unfortunate place and its unhappy ghosts behind. *** When they exited the tent, their companions were waiting for them, including a forlorn looking Fluttershy. She looked up at they two mares, her shyness and her shame both evident in her expression. "Uh, Pri... uh, Selene. I'm so sorry I mistook you for... that mare. I know she's not you, not inside. But I was scared, and ... I'm really sorry." Luna looked at Fluttershy and saw both the curse of her past and the hope that she might be able to overcome it. "Please, Fluttershy, I'm not offended. And I understand why this might happen under these circumstances." Fluttershy truly felt grateful that Luna could accept the fact that she was so easily alarmed. "Even for me, sometimes I'll do something that'll scare one of my little animal friends, and it might take them days before they can trust me again. I hope you can forgive me and be patient with me. I'd really like to be your friend." Luna smiled at the yellow mare. "I would very much like that too, Fluttershy. So I hope I won't scare you again, not even by mistake, not ever." Spike spoke up "Augh! I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting hungry. Let's go get some grub, already!" "Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "I know a great restaurant here in Cloudsdale that's at least 20% cooler than any restaurant in Ponyville." "Oh yeah?" objected an offended Pinkie Pie. "Prove it!" "OK, dinner's on me, and Pinkie Pie don't be getting any funny ideas," retorted Dash. "It had better not be fast food!" said Rarity, alarmed at what Rainbow Dash might consider a 'cool' restaurant. "It better have some desert with Apples in it 'cause I could eat a bushel just on my lonesome," added Applejack. "And then, we party!" said Pinkie Pie, her only predictable character trait. The friends followed Rainbow Dash as she led the way to the restaurant, laughing as tension was replaced humor was restored. Chapter 3: PonyfeathersLuna awoke the next morning to the sounds and smells of breakfast being prepared. Spike and Twilight were banging around in the kitchen, laughter rising sporadically up to the bedroom, as they enjoyed the task. With blankets up to her chin, Luna felt a sense of... peace? No... too noisy! Joy?... no, not that intense. It felt like... home. She recalled a brief moment from her childhood: her mother and sister preparing for the day, hugs and kisses as Luna came into the kitchen, a tiny foal with her favorite plush toy (a dragon) safe on her back between her wings. She smiled at the sweet memory, and arose. After her morning ablutions, Luna went back into the bedroom and looked upon all the little reminders of its normal occupants, and the comfortable spare bed Twilight kept for guests. 'I am on vacation, and so not a Princess today!' she thought to herself, making the bed. 'There's another millennial first!' she added mentally to the list started the day previous. She was still smiling at this private joke as she descended the stairs. "Good morning, Your Highness!" beamed Spike, standing on a chair before the stove, a stack of pancakes half his height in a nearby plate on the counter, with two more cooking in skillets on the stove. Twilight was setting the table. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, thank you. In fact I have not slept that well since..." Luna paused considering for a moment, "well, I guess that's three now!" she said, with a decidedly unregal snort of laughter. "Oh, and Spike, while it's just us, can we drop the 'Your Highness' stuff?" "Absolutely, your you-ness!" quipped Spike, carrying the finished stack of pancakes to the table. "Grub's up!" he announced and hopped onto his chair, dishing out pancakes, salad and asparagus into plates. "Tea or coffee, Luna?" asked Twilight with a pot of each levitating above the table. "Tea, please. I know you and Celestia both enjoy coffee, but I missed tea so much during my incarceration!" She looked down at the tea in her cup, as Twilight poured herself and Spike each a mug of coffee. They all started eating, in between bites complementing Spike on his cooking and generally recounting their personal highlights of the previous day. "You know what my favorite was?" asked Spike, too stuffed to eat another bite. "Please tell us," said Luna, herself having eaten far more for breakfast than she had for... 'Four!' she counted to herself with a smile. "It was the look on Pinkie Pie's face when you raised the moon and it had Pinkie's profile on it! It took her at least a whole minute before she was able to close her own mouth. I don't think I have ever seen her stop moving for that long!" The little dragon guffawed thinking about it. "It was a simple way to show my appreciation for Pinkie Pie's excellent suggestion to go to the carnival. It was so enjoyable to simply have fun together with friends." She gave a conspiratorial wink. "I must admit, part of the pleasure of doing that stunt was to see if I could surprise Pinkie Pie. Well, yes I did, and, yes it was fun!" The three of them shared a good laugh. "I guess that makes five," said Luna with a grin. Both Twilight and Spike raised an eyebrow expectantly, making the Princess chuckle again. "That's my little secret!" replied Luna to their unvoiced question. "And it's time for 'Selene' to clean up. That's six!" Dishes, cups, pots and pans all began to levitate as Luna strode towards the sink. Water and soap began to pour in, suds grew and dishes floated in and out of the water, towels wiping them dry on the way to the cupboard. All in all, it was a truly masterful display of telekinesis. As the silence grew long, Luna turned around, and spied both her hosts with their mouths hanging open, shocked that at the sight of a ruling Princess doing dishes. Turning back to her chore, Luna remarked out loud "List number two - chin on floor count - three!" *** Not long after breakfast, the remaining Elements of Harmony began arriving at the Library. Last to arrive (as usual) were the two pegasi, despite having the fastest means of locomotion of the six ponies. When they walked in the others were already engaged in deciding the venue for today's vacation adventure. "Let's go shopping in Manehattan." proposed Rarity. "Naw, there's a rodeo in Appeloosa, and that'll be way more fun!" said Applejack. Rainbow Dash offered her choice: "There's a formation flying exhibition in Trottingham staring the WonderBolts. That's gotta be the coolest activity in Equestria!" "Or we could go visit the Royal Museum in Canterlot!" suggested Twilight. All the other ponies stopped and looked at Twilight with a greater or lesser degree of horror on their face, and then began trying to convince each other of the merits of their own proposals, all at the same time. Luna kept looking from pony one to the other, wondering how they could ever reach agreement. After a few minutes of bickering all that was accomplished was Luna's neck becoming sore. Conspicuously absent from the debate was Pinkie Pie, who had already had her turn the previous day, and Fluttershy, who was softly mumbling something, while not looking at anypony. Seeing that nopony was paying the yellow mare any attention, Pinkie Pie bent closer to hear what she had to say. "Hey, Fluttershy has a suggestion." said Pinkie, out loud, to no effect. "Listen up!" said the pink mare louder, and the bickering continued unabated. Having run out of boring options, Pinkie Pie then waved her forelegs in the air and shouted out "I SAID LISTEN UP!!!!!" Everypony froze. "Good!" said Pinkie Pie happily. "Fluttershy has an idea." Fluttershy looked up at the circle of ponies and said in her usual soft voice: "We could go have a picnic in the park." "Well that thur's a mighty fine idea, if ya ask me. I can bring some apples, apple pies, apple cobblers, apple cider, and candied apples!" offered Applejack. "We can wear sunbonnets and collect flowers, and decorate our manes!" proposed Rarity. "We can play tag, and touch-hoofball and have six-legged races!" said Rainbow Dash. "We can play hide-n-seek, eat cupcakes, and blow soap bubbles!" added Pinkie Pie. "And I can bring books we can read!" said Twilight, getting excited. All the other ponies began looking anywhere but at Twilight. "Whatever rings your bell, sugarcube," said Applejack to end the awkward pause. Oblivious to the reception of her suggestion, Twilight was warming up to the whole idea. "So Selene waddaya say to having a picnic?" "I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea! And that's seven!" She said with obvious relief, rubbing her neck with a hoof. Spike nudged her in the ribs with an elbow and motioned for her to lower her head. He cupped a paw to her ear and whispered "I've got some cream that works wonders on neck aches. I'll get you some later, cause believe me if you hang around with this crowd you'll need it!" In her element now that she had a defined task at hoof, Twilight got busy organizing the picnic. Thirty minutes later she, Luna and Spike were in the park laying out some picnic blankets, with the other mares arriving laden with various foods, games and sports equipment. As it was a beautiful day several families had also decided to have picnics. Soon ponies and foals were engaged in all sorts of activities, a lively scene that Luna was drinking in like it was water and she had spent a day in the desert sun. Rainbow Dash dropped from the sky to stand before her gathered friends, blowing on a whistle attached to a string around her neck. "Awright! It's time for our first game: the six legged race! Pair up fillies. Spike, you and I will officiate." Rarity looked at Applejack and said "Do you think we can cooperate long enough for a race?" "Sure enough, sugarcube, but jess mind the priorities first, and that means ah mean ta win!" answered Applejack, lining up on Rarity's flank. Spike with his clever paws quickly tied Rarity's left foreleg to Applejacks right foreleg, then did the same for their left and right hindlegs, respectively. "Uh, Selene..." said Fluttershy's soft voice. "Would you mind if we ran together?" She still didn't look up at Luna, but Luna thought that might be more from fear of rejection than fear of her. She was extremely touched by Fluttershy's concern for her feelings. With a big smile she said "It would be my pleasure, Fluttershy! And that's eight!" Spike quickly tied the two mares' legs together as he had for Rarity and Applejack. "Ooh, that means that we're a team!" Pinkie Pie started jumping up and down next to Twilight. "Me and Twilight are a team! Yay!" Twilight laughed. "You'd better hold still for a moment or Spike'll never be able to tie our legs together." Seeing Spike struggling to tie the two mares together, Rainbow Dash fell to the grass on her flank laughing. "Hey look, it's the brain and the pain! Hah, ha ha ha, ha ha!" As the three pairs were lining up at the start, three young fillies arrived, a white unicorn and a yellow earth pony sitting in red wagon being pulled by an orange pegasus filly on a scooter, all three of them wearing crash helmets. "It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders" said Spike. "Come say hello to our friend Selene." "Hi there Selene", "Hi", "Hello miss Selene" said the three to Luna. "Hello young ladies" replied Luna, "what brings you three to the park today? Other than your friend with the scooter, that is?" "She's Scootaloo," and "and ah'm Apple Bloom, Applejack's sister." said the yellow filly in the wagon. "An I'm Sweetie Belle, and Rarity's my sister!" said the other. "And we're here to get our cutie marks!" said the orange one called Scootaloo. "Well, we're going to have a six-legged race. Do you fillies want to watch?" asked Luna. "Naw, we're faster than any of you anyway." said Scootaloo with the unconsciously blunt honesty of the very young. "We'll see you at the finish line!" With that, the little pegasus engaged her wings and buzzing like an angry bee the three rolled off towards the lake. "Okay," said Rainbow Dash, having recovered from her laughing fit, "the finish line is over there towards the lake. Don't worry, I'll be there long before you will! On your marks... get ready...GO!" Luna tried to remember how to pace for a six-legged race. "Fluttershy. I propose that I count one-two, one-two, like that so we can synchronize our steps." "That's a good idea, Selene," said Fluttershy, warming up to Luna as she became more accustomed to her proximity. Luna counted out the pace and they began to make good time, catching up to Rarity and Applejack, who trotted faster most of the time, but tripped every so often when one or the other got distracted. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie were falling behind fast. Fluttershy and Luna were building a lead. To the side they saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders race back and start cheering on Rarity and Applejack, who with the foals' encouragement began to catch up! Twilight was growing exasperated with Pinkie Pie. This mare just wouldn't trot like normal, every few steps she had to hop instead. Then realization hit - just hop with Pinkie Pie instead. "Hey, Pinkie! How's about we try hopping for a while?" "Okie, Dokie Lokie!" She started hopping and Twilight synchronized her hops to match. Now propelled by Pinkie Pie Power, they quickly regained lost ground. Getting close to the finish line, the three teams were neck and neck, and neck and neck, and neck and neck! Rainbow Dash held a checkered flag ready, keeping a eye on the line to make sure she saw who crossed first. As the six mares approached, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were running parallel a few yards away, keeping an eye on Rarity and Applejack. They never saw Rainbow Dash at the line, and neither did she see them. As the three teams crossed there was the sound of a crash and Rainbow Dash went flying, knocked unconscious by a collision with the scooter, to finally splash into the lake. The three fillies in their helmets rolled to safety. Distracted by the accident, the three teams tripped and tumbled into a tangled mess of legs, wings and horns just beyond the finish line. "EEEEEEEEE!" screamed a foal's voice. "Rainbow Dash fell in the water, and she isn't coming up." Ponies in the park heard the commotion and started approaching to see what was the problem. Since there were no obvious sign of distress they proceeded at a leisurely pace. In the tangle, nopony was able to extricate themselves to help Rainbow Dash. The mares were starting to get frantic, afraid she might drown. Luna reacted without further thought, she teleported away from the mess of limbs to emerge next to water. She desperately scanned for any sign of the blue pegasus, finally seeing a splash of color that was either her mane or her tail. Without hesitation Luna dove into the lake and swam to the blue mare's unconscious form. Taking hold with her telekinetic grip, she lifted Rainbow Dash out of the water and laid her on the banks of the lake. Rainbow Dash had stopped breathing. Luna again engaged her magical ability to press the water out of Dash's lungs and to get her breathing again. Finally the blue mare's barrel started moving on its own, and she sputtered and coughed up more lake water. "Geez, thanks Luna" she panted, then her eyes grew wide. "Whoa, didja know you dropped your disguise?" and then she dropped back onto the grass, with Luna lying next to her from her exertions. By this time many ponies had arrived, and some recognized Luna from her earlier visits. "It's Nightmare Moon! Run! " Many of the ponies galloped off, collecting foals on the way, leaving behind pretty much everything else. Luna realized that she must have reverted to her normal form when she teleported. 'I musn't forget myself like that. Many of these ponies still hate me', she thought, 'and with good reason'. She looked around, and noticed that some ponies had stayed, in particular three little fillies. Scootaloo approached her and bowed. "Thank you for saving Rainbow Dash!" said the filly. "You know, she'd my hero. And you saved her, so now you're my hero too!" The little orange pegasus ran up to her and gave her a tight hug. Her two friends also approached. "Thanks for saving Dash," said Apple Bloom, "mah sister woulda been so sad if something bad a-happened to her." "Mine too," said Sweetie Belle. Both fillies also ran in for a hug. "Hey wait a minute - I'm way tougher than that!" objected Dash, coughing again. Then looking towards the tangle of ponies still struggling at the finish line of the race, she chuckled and said: "Let's go get these professional racing ponies back on their hooves!" When she and Luna got to the tangle, she reverted back to the Selene image. It was inevitable that some of the ponies present might have noticed the transformation, but she hoped they would remain discrete about it. She would know when the paparazzi started popping out of bushes, but she doubted that any further vacation activities could be carried out in Ponyville. Spike arrived just about then, not being very quick due to his short legs. Together they got everypony untangled. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were very subdued on the trek back to the picnic blankets. The Elements of Harmony, on the other hand, had no sooner gotten upright than they started bickering about which team came in first. They paused just long enough to invite the despondent fillies to join them in their picnic, to which the three wholeheartedly agreed. Soon the picnic was back in full swing, with the added antics of the youngsters. The rest of the day just seemed to fly by, and before long it was time for everypony to go home. Luna, Spike and Twilight made their way from the park back to the Library. "I am sorry if my lapse has caused you any embarrassment," said Luna. "I'm not," said Twilight. She saw Luna's look of confusion. "Like I said yesterday, it's time for you to write the next chapter of your story. In today's chapter you ran in a six-legged race, saved a young pegasus mare from drowning, and blew soap balloons with three little fillies. A few more chapters like that and you'll be one of the good guys again, don't you think?" Luna thought for a moment and nodded, a small smile replacing her frown. "So what number are you up to now, Selene?" asked Spike from Twilight's back. "You know Spike, I've lost count!" Luna's smiled grew wider. The three friends spent the rest of the walk home in companionable silence. Chapter 4: A Day at the BeachesWhen Spike got up to wake Twilight the next morning, Luna rose with them and all three joined in the happy business of making breakfast. Today, they were expecting the whole Vacation Crew, as they were beginning to refer to the group, to join them for breakfast. Each pony would bring some treat to eat as well. An hour later they were all sitting in the library on various cushions, stuffed to the gills, sipping tea and coffee. Luna raised an eyebrow and braced herself for the coming onslaught. "So does anypony have any suggestions for today's activities?" "Let's go on a hay-ride!" said Applejack. "How about a musical show in Manehattan?" proposed Rarity. "A day at the beach!" said Rainbow Dash. "There's a book fair... " said Twilight, then noticing the stares she finished weakly "... in Canterlot." Luna spoke up "A day at the beach sounds like a truly relaxing idea, then we can take the evening in Canterlot and see a musical. What do you say Vacation Crew?" All the ponies cheered the idea, except for Twilight who was looking a bit miffed. She perked up again when it became obvious somepony needed to take charge and get these ponies organized. Soon they all headed of with their assigned tasks. In less than an hour the crew was reassembled in the Library, and Luna teleported the entire group to the beach. It was fine day, and they set up large parasols, beach-blankets, chairs and various games. Pinkie Pie was wearing a white and pink polka dot bikini bathing suit. All the other ponies also wore various styles of bathing suits, as per pony tradition. Nopony knew why this was so, it just was. Twilight wondered if she should ask Princess Luna about it. Spike was wearing striped orange and black swimming trunks that Twilight had bought for him the previous summer. He strutted his stuff before Rarity, who was studiously looking anywhere but in the direction of the hideous trunks. As at the park, the day unfolded at a leisurely pace, sporadically peppered with group games and activities. In mid afternoon Luna found herself sharing a parasol with Rarity, and decided the moment was opportune to get the know the fashionista mare a bit better. "I'm so glad all of you agreed to join me on vacation. After all, our first meetings were not exactly on friendly terms," she admitted to the white mare. "Princess, that is all behind us. To be honest, I was taken aback when after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia immediately took you back into her confidence. But we all trust her judgement implicitly of course." "Somehow, I sense that this is not the whole story," said Luna with a smile. Rarity looked at her over huge sunglasses. "Since you ask, then I'll tell you the whole truth. It was Twilight. She truly believes that everypony can be a friend, if only you sincerely offer them friendship. She has the courage to make that offer, even where all others would give up. As proof, she had the courage to place her trust in her new-found friendship with we five mares from Ponyville and defy Nightmare Moon, and then to immediately take you, Princess Luna, at face value." Rarity looked out at the waves crashing onto the sandy beach. "Even if we tease her quite mercilessly about her bookish ways, we do so out of love and admiration for a truly fine pony. Also, she is the one who brought us, this group of friends, together. And yes, we know that this is perhaps the main reason why Princess Celestia sent Twilight to Ponyville, but this does not change in the least how we feel about her. In my case it certainly makes me feel grateful to your sister, that she would be so generous as to share Twilight with us." Luna laughed warmly. "And I suspect I now know why you are the Element of Generosity, Rarity!" "Might I ask you a question your Highness?" queried the white mare. "Please do, Rarity, and do call me Luna, as it's just we two mares here." "I am honored, Luna. Do you know how long Twilight is to stay in Ponyville?" She looked down. "Everypony has seen how incredibly powerful a magician she is, and we know that someday, our little librarian will be called on to greater things." Luna considered carefully before responding, these past few days having gotten both deeper insight into the Elements of Harmony, and a very personal appreciation for the six little ponies that composed it. "My dear Rarity, I have lived for thousands of years. The great burden of immortality is seeing most of those you love age and depart, leaving you behind. Sometimes the pain is so great that for dozens or even hundreds of years, you shun becoming too close to mortals, lest you again feel the heartbreak of time's tyranny. This has made us value true friendship for the rare and precious miracle that it is." "Rest assured, Rarity, that Celestia and I both cherish what you six ponies and Spike have made in Ponyville, and we will not of our own accord see it sundered. But mind you, only friendship that is freely given can be so dear, so it is up to you all, including Twilight Sparkle, to keep it alive while pursuing your own destinies." Rarity was still considering everything Princess Luna had said, when she heard a voice shout "Incoming!" She and the Princess were blasted by sand as a blue streak plunged from above into the beach between them. "Rainbow Dash, you got sand all over my bathing suit... and my mane... and my beautiful sunbonnet!" Rarity sputtered as Luna started shaking the sand out of her coat. In lieu of apology, the blue pegasus laughed at their discomfiture. "Better dust off your hat Rarity! Beach volley-ball tournament in 5 minutes - be there or be square!" She fluttered off in a cloud of sand, raising a screech from Rarity who had to shake herself clean all over again. "Eeeee! I'll show her what else I can do with my hat!" Rarity blushed a deep crimson, realizing what she had just said in front of the Princess. Luna motioned towards the volley-ball net with her foreleg, laughing, and they cantered out to rejoin their friends. Chapter 5: A Night at the OperaThe group re-materialized in the library - a feat that Luna could pull off without leaving anyone singed, as was the case when Twilight did a multi-pony teleportation. Looking at the happy bunch she announced the plan for the evening, or rather the little of it Luna had confided to her. "Listen-up, everypony! Tonight is Princess Luna's treat to us! Her instructions are as follows: have a light dinner, be back to the Library before sunset and be dressed for a formal night out." All the ponies looked at the princess with expressions varying from mock horror (Dash) to absolute rapture (Rarity). "That is all she is willing to disclose," concluded Twilight. "Ladies, go!" said Luna brooking no argument. Whereupon the library's neighbors were treated to a stampede of ponies in bathing suites, hurrying off to their respective homes. *** In the Library, Twilight raised an eyebrow towards the princess. "Well this is all very mysterious." The princess just smiled and kept mum. The other Elements of Harmony were arriving, most in the same dresses they wore to the Grand Galloping Gala. Rarity of course had on a new outfit, no doubt the product of the last two hours. Dashing in tuxedo, Spike addressed the mares: "Ladies of Ponyville, her Majesty Princess Luna." Luna descended the stairs, but instead of the Selene disguise, she was her own self, radiant in a midnight black gown, encrusted with jewels like a firmament across her night sky! Everypony's breath was taken away by this vision of regal elegance. "In gratitude for your kind hospitality during Her ongoing vacation, Her Majesty, requests your company this evening in attending the opera in Canterlot, where you will be her guests. Please join her Majesty in her conveyance to Canterlot, now parked outside yonder door." The door to the library opened of itself, revealing the long black limousine carriage awaiting them. Luna gracefully exited the library and with the assistance of a liveried hoofpony, entered the limousine. Spike offered Twilight a tuxedo clad arm, upon which she placed a hoof, and he escorted her out to the limo, which she entered assisted by the hoofpony. Spike reentered the library and repeated the same ritual with each of the Elements of Harmony in turn. After Fluttershy, the last mare to exit, Spike entered the limo himself, taking a seat next to Twilight. A moment later, the carriage shook slightly as it took off and they were on their way to Canterlot! As if the motion broke a spell, all the heretofore sedate ponies erupted into laughter and squeals of joy! "Eeeeeeee! I've always wanted to do that!" Rarity could hardly contain her happiness. "That was sooooooooo awesome!" said Pinkie. "That was at least 20% better than awesome!" corrected Rainbow Dash. "Yer darn tootin!" said Applejack. "Yoohoo!!!" whispered Fluttershy, the loudest cheer she could produce. Twilight turned to Spike. "And you, sir, were dashing and soooo cool! How long ago did you plan this?" she asked the baby dragon. "A gentledragon never tells." Responded Spike with a haughty air, causing another general fit of hilarity. Luna remained silent, enjoying the sight of the mares as they began to explore the coach, Oooing and Ahhhing as they discovered its myriad little luxuries and extravagances. Soon, the coach began its descent to Canterlot. Spike rose and announced: "Ladies, please take your seats for landing. Princess Luna asks that we observe the dignity of the occasion and refrain from further talk until we are seated at the opera. I will escort each of you out of the carriage in turn. Please then follow the Princess on the red carpet to our seating area, proceeding at a stately pace. That is all," said the tiny dragon gravely, just as the carriage landed and rolled to a stop. A hoofpony opened the door to the limousine, and Princess Luna descended to the flashes of dozens of photographers. A crowd had gathered, exclaiming "It's Princess Luna!" and bowing as she walked past them on the red carpet into the opera house. One by one, Spike accompanied the mares to the carriage door, where they descended and followed the red carpet inside, with flashes and remarks from ponies in the crowd who recognized the Elements of Harmony. The last mare to leave was Fluttershy. Knowing her dread of public attention, Spike exited the coach and walked up the carpet with the shy mare holding his arm. The frenzy of flashes redoubled, as many ponies and photographers recognized Fluttershy from her brief meteoric career as a fashion model. The red carpet led to the Royal Box, where the companions were seated in anticipation of the opera to start. Luna kept a close eye on Rainbow Dash, who was fidgeting already. The crowd hushed, and a pony preceded to center stage. "Tonight we are honored with the presence of her Royal Highness Princess Luna, her companions the Elements of Harmony and Spike the Dragon." The crowd clopped politely, but with enthusiasm, as the Princess and her companions bowed. "As many of you know, this is a special night, as it is the premiere of a new opera based on a series of popular books. Fillies and Gentlecolts, I give you 'The adventures of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'." "Eeep!" went Rainbow Dash, suddenly frozen in rapt attention to the stage! She had not moved a muscle when the curtain went down for the intermission an hour later. Only she and Princess Luna remained as their friends went to get refreshments and stretch their legs. "So do you like the opera, Rainbow Dash?" asked the Princess. "This is so awesome! You know I never thought reading a book could be so cool, and then Twilight introduced me to the Daring Do series when I was stuck in the hospital. I thought the opera was just a bunch of heavyset ponies screaming at a crowd of stuffed shirts, and then you brought me here, and I love it! Thank you, Princess Luna!" said Dash with heartfelt gratitude. "I hope you don't mind my saying this, Rainbow Dash, but all the Elements of Harmony are very different ponies. Yet you are indeed very different in your interests than the rest. Why are these mares so important to you?" asked the Princess. "That's not hard to figure out. You see, ever since I've been hanging around with them, I've done things and thought thoughts that I never would have by myself. I feel like I've gotten bigger inside, because of them, at least 20% bigger, in fact! And I know they have my back covered. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm kinda in the habit of getting into scraps every so often." She thought for a second. "Hey, you did the same for me in the park yesterday! So I guess I'd better make sure you understand that I've got your back covered too, if you ever need it." She raised a hoof and held it in mid-air before Luna. Luna was touched by Dash's admission, and happily Celestia had taught how to 'bro-hoof'. She raised her hoof and touched it to Dash's. "Awright Princess!" said the blue mare, as their friends began to return to the box. *** The Vacation Crew was assembled in the Limo, the opera having concluded to thunderous applause. Luna clopped her hooves to get their attention. "We have one more important duty to carry out tonight. As this was an opera premiere, there will be a party held for the cast and honored guests at the Pony Club. We all have been invited and will attend." Cheers rang out. "I do hope you like DJ PON3!" A certain pink pony shouted out "YES! YES! YES! YES!" and the party started even before they got to the club. Chapter 6: The Big BookstoreThe next morning everypony slept in, as the Vacation Crew coach had returned to Ponyville mere minutes before dawn. Just before noon, Twilight snuck down to the kitchen and quietly prepared waffles and eggs. She was setting the table when Spike and the Princess descended the stairs. "Good morning Your Majesty, and gallant Sir Spike! Tea for the former and coffee for latter, I presume?" Luna sat at the table. "That would be wonderful Twilight, and isn't it too late for 'good morning'?" Twilight poured her tea, and coffee for herself and Spike. "Yeah! That was some party last night!" said Spike, serving waffles to the mares and then himself. "By the way, before she left for home, Applejack told me that tonight we are all invited to dinner and a hay ride at the Apple Acres farm, and that she won't take 'no' for an answer. She specifically said to 'come as you are'." "Well, that's AJ for you. I guess all we have left to plan for is the afternoon." Twilight dug into her waffles. "Actually, we already took care of that too. Rainbow Dash and I were talking last night and we decided on a surprise just for you," said Luna. "Oh, these waffles are good!" "They should be. I got the recipe from a certain other Princess of Equestria, who said this was her mom's own, and a personal favorite of her younger sister!" Twilight raised an eyebrow, expectantly. Luna continued eating happily, ignoring the implied invitation to disclose more about the Princesses' early history, just as her sister had ignored similar questions from Twilight in the past. After a moment, Luna glanced up at her and offered this much: "There are things that we Princesses still need to keep for ourselves, Twilight dear. Be patient, we will tell you more when the time is right." Twilight was digesting what Luna had said, when there was a crash in the library followed by the sound of books tumbling to the floor. "I think I know who that is," said Twilight with a sigh. "Eeyup" said Spike, doing a passable imitation of AJ's brother Big Macintosh. In his own voice he shouted: "Hey, Dashie, we're in the kitchen having lunch." The blue pegasus stuck her head through the door, and then entered the kitchen. "Mmm, that smells good! Hiya, everypony!" "Hi Dash, would you like some waffles?" Twilight levitated a plate with a waffle on it, setting it on the table before the winged mare. "Geez, thanks!" While munching she added: "So are you ready for our afternoon surprise?" The blue mare winked at the Princess conspiratorially. "And what would that be?" asked Twilight intrigued. "It was Rainbow Dash's idea, so she should tell you." The Princess winked back at the blue mare. Dash reared onto her hind legs, adopting a dramatic pose. "We eggheads are going to a book signing!" Twilight's jaw hit the floor. "The next installment in the 'Daring Do' series is being launched at the Book Corral in Fillydelphia. The author will be autographing copies. The Princess and I thought you might want to go, seeing as you're such a big fan an' all." "Squeeeeeee!" responded Twilight, absolutely thrilled. Finally, an afternoon in a book store! Luna looked up at the clock. "We had better get going." There was a 'poof' and she re-appeared as 'Selene'. "See you in 10 minutes at the entrance." Chapter 7: A Night In LunablancaApplejack was supervising several of her kin laying out trestle tables in preparation for the evening's meal, when her guests arrived in a group. Princess Luna was in her normal guise, but looking like the very summit of cowpony elegance in a night black Stetson and golden spurs! She called to the Apple clan together and then addressed the assembly. "Tonight the Apple clan welcomes these ponies ta join us in a celebration of friendship, Apple style! Our special guest is none other than Princess Luna herself, so let's show her and all our guests a Royal good time at Apple Acres farm. Yeeeee-haaaaaww!" The ponies clopped hooves, and started to mingle and chat. There literally was food everywhere. Ponies filled plates and sat down to dinner. Several of the Apple cousins got out musical instruments and started playing Country and Western tunes. Periodically ponies would get together to dance, often at the instigation of Pinkie Pie. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were there as well and spent much of the time sitting, eating and chatting with the Princess, as they were less shy in approaching the royal Alicorn than were many of the Apple clan. Shortly before dusk, dinner wound down, and Applejack called the Vacation Crew, augmented with the three fillies, to assemble for the hay ride. They piled into the big hay wagon, with Big Mac and three huge Apple cousins towing it. The wagon left the farmyard, proceeding at a stately pace into the fragrant apple orchards. As they passed by, Applejack would relate stories about the trees - the types of Apples they produced, their age, who had planted them, and even humorous stories about them or the events that had transpired among them in these places. To her each tree was an individual, and her face glowed with pride and love as she shared her passion with the riders in the wagon. Sitting on a hay-bale next to Twilight, Luna whispered to her as Applejack wove images and inspired feelings with simple words honestly spoken. "I have lived a long time, and I had forgotten this... Twilight. Applejack is so full of the magic of the earth ponies! Here, in this place, she is the living heart and beauty of the land, made real in the shape of a little pony! Like all of your friends here, she carries so much... truth... on her four hooves. As do you, Twilight. As Nightmare Moon, I had forgotten this about the ponies of Equestria. Perhaps this is why Celestia sent me to you, and I am grateful to you all for giving this back to me." Of a sudden she realized that the wagon had stopped some time ago, along with Applejack's narration, and that much of what she had just said was heard by everypony, not just Twilight Sparkle. She smiled sheepishly, looking up at Applejack. "Thank you for those kind words, Princess, thought ah'm not sure they was meant fer so many ears! We-all purty much feel the same about ya'll, an we're powerful obliged to ya for the great time we've had t'gether in the last few days. So last night at the dance, we figured on a way to show you our thanks. But ya'll will have get things started by raisin' the moon for us, just about yonder." Applejack pointed to sky between two hills. Luna stood up, and spreading her wings, began to glow. The moon began to rise over the horizon between the hills. Fluttershy rose and gave a low whistle. From the forest rose the sound of chirping tree frogs and buzzing cicadas. A lone coyote called forth, and was then joined by others in an eerie choral. As the moon inched upwards, its light hit the surrounding hills, creating a magical wave of light descending towards the wagon. As it progressed, the light was reflected by hundreds of gems suspended in the trees on both slopes. A short distance in front of the wagon, the descending moonlight revealed a small lake, reflecting the image of the moon and the colored beams issuing from the gems in the trees. Pinkie Pie stood, and began to sing in a haunting voice in harmony with Fluttershy's animal chorus. "She walks like beauty in the night, through stardust paths, in mystery Clad in a veil of pale blue light, love's sidereal sanctuary Her sparkling gems in endless flight, trace constellations wandering slowly Each one a hero there to fight, seek truth, or love or justice holy In her embrace there is no fright, safe from all toil and from worry Our guardian on high to smite, Fear's illusions and darkest folly For all who gaze upon the sight, do wonder at this ancient story, Feel in their hearts that all is right, To see the Moon in all her glory." As the echo of Pinkie Pie's voice faded, a lone pegasus flew over the rising moon, creating an arc of reflected moonlight. Then fireworks bloomed around the moon, slowly disappearing as the music ended. All was quiet, as the mares waited to see the Princess's reaction to their performance. She had lowered her head, when the song ended. Slowly she raised her forelegs, and began clopping her appreciation. She raised her face and all could see her smile of joy. The wagon erupted in pony cheering, as the friends complemented each other on their respective parts in the performance. Luna rose, and the group grew quiet. "All these things I said earlier were true, and I do not regret that you heard them. So with this evening, I must declare that I am returning to Canterlot, after a most successful and rewarding vacation. I will forever treasure these days with you all. Thank you for all you have given me!" In a sweet, low voice, Luna added a verse to Pinkie's song: "The Moon's heart danced upon the sight, and shared the joy of every pony. Truly beloved was the night, so full of beauty and Harmony." She disappeared with a flash. Twilight looked up at Applejack, then around at her friends. "I suspect we may have made two Princesses very happy tonight. Big Mac, let's go home." "Eeyup!" said the stallion, and the wagon lurched into the night... Luna's blessed night.
Chapter 1: Go WestChapter 1: Go West Twilight Sparkle and Spike were logging books returned to the library that day. She thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of her librarian job as it tickled her inherent sense of orderliness. It also gave her a reason to peek into each book, thereby getting a glance at what was either important or of interest to her fellow citizens of Ponyville. This made her feel closer to them and broadened her own interests at the same time. Spike liked doing this task as well, but mainly because he enjoyed stamping the cards. Sitting at the desk was also much easier than climbing ladders to find or re-shelve books! Engaged in this pleasant daily ritual, it took them a moment to notice that somepony stood at the door of the library, waiting to be noticed. "Princess Luna, what a pleasant surprise!" Twilight bowed. She approached the Princess, noting that she was wearing saddlebags. As always, Luna felt a warm rush of gratitude towards the lavender unicorn. Twilight Sparkle was one of the first ponies to see in her something other than the hated despot Nightmare Moon and truly accept her as a Princess of Equestria. "Twilight, my dear friend, it is so good to see you and Spike again. May I come in and chat for a while?" "Absolutely, your Highness! Please make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?" "That would be very nice indeed. I brought a few gems from Canterlot, just in case a certain dragon felt the need for a snack." Luna magically extracted a small box of various colored gems from a saddle bag. "Rubies and Sapphires and Emeralds, oh my!" said Spike rapturously. "I'll go make the tea. He grabbed a fistful of gems from the open box and ran to the kitchen. "You know, it was really sweet of you to think of Spike like that. Do that again a few times and Rarity might have a rival for his affections!" Twilight chuckled. "So what brings you to Ponyville, Princess?" Luna looked somewhat abashed, ears beginning to droop. "Well, I was conversing with my sister, and she said that I was looking a bit tired of late. I agreed, as it was true that I did feel a bit peaked, so she suggested that I..." her ears drooped further, "well, that I take a 'vacation'." She said the last three words as if she had ashes in her mouth. "That sounds like a great idea, after all when is the last time you took a vacation?" "This is precisely my problem." She smiled sheepishly. "It has been over a thousand years, and Equestria is so different now. Besides, a vacation before meant holding court in some other palace for a few weeks. When I asked Celestia what I should do, she actually proposed that I should disguise my appearance and go on a normal pony vacation 'just like anypony'! But I have no idea what normal ponies do on vacation!" said Luna, uncharacteristically flustered. "When I told Tia that she suggested I take one of those 'package tours' from a travel agency, and that I take along a friend, as she does when she goes on vacation. So I came here." She paused a moment and gathered her courage. "Twilight Sparkle, you are one of the few ponies I truly consider a friend. Would you go on vacation with me?" She looked at Twilight imploringly. To say that Twilight was surprised would be an understatement. Celestia takes vacations?! She was also flattered that Princess Luna called her a true friend, as she had developed a fondness for her mentor's younger sister. "Princess Luna, I would be pleased and honored to go on vacation with you! Now we just need to start planning this out." Already the bookish mare was getting enthused at the very thought of organizing a vacation, when a new voice rang out. "A vacation! I love vacations!" Pinkie Pie appeared from nowhere as usual. 'How does she do that?' thought Twilight for the umpteenth time. Out loud she said. "Yes, Princess Luna and I are planning to go on vacation. By the way, your Highness, when do you want to leave?" The Princess was visibly relieved that Twilight agreed to her request. Smiling broadly she replied: "Oh, we can start immediately. I have already packed what I need in my saddlebags." Of course this meant dropping everything. Twilight was about to list all the reasons why she couldn't possibly leave on vacation right now, when Pinkie Pie began jumping up and down excitedly. "Oh, can I go too? For vacations the more the merrier! We can party all day and all night! We can go to the water park, the amusement park, go see some shows, go to dances, go swimming, go white-water rafting down the Everfree river..." Twilight was dismayed that Pinkie would just invite herself along. But then, it was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. Also, she saw that Princess Luna was greedily drinking-in the seemingly endless list of fun activities Pinkie Pie was producing, and so she changed her mind thinking it might not be such a bad idea after all. "... we could wear polka-dot bathing suits, we could go zip-lining, we could take a trip in my balloon... oh, we could take a trip in my balloon any day, but wouldn't it be even more awesome to do so while on vacation?" The pink mare finally stopped to take a breath. "Yes, that does sound like fun!" said the Princess, reviewing in her mind the innumerable 'normal pony vacation' things they could do. "Great! This will be the most awesome vacation!" said Pinkie Pie. "I'll be right back!" Upon which she literally disappeared. "Uh, Pinkie Pie... Drat!" Twilight dropped the hoof she had been holding up to get the bubbly earth pony's attention. She turned to face the Princess. "So, where do you want to go? The beach? The Mountains? Manehattan?" While Luna was considering her options, Spike arrived with a teapot, cups and some cookies on a platter. He began serving tea. "Was that Pinkie Pie I heard a minute ago? Should I serve her a cup too?" "Might as well, but who knows when she'll be back." Twilight picked up her own teacup magically, as did Luna. Their eyes closed in pleasure as they sipped the baby dragon's excellent tea. When Twilight opened her eyes again she saw a blue head with a rainbow mane drinking the tea laid out for Pinkie. "Um, ah, hi Dash... when did you get here?" she enquired of her pegasus friend. "Hi Twi, hello Princess, I just got here now, duh!" She rolled her eyes at Twilight's lack of seeing the obvious. "But Pinkie's vacation idea is at least 20% cooler than her usual ideas, don'cha think?" "What idea is that Dash?" Twilight began to get a sinking feeling. "Oh, this idea of going on vacation with Princess Luna. Why else would I be here?" She raised an eyebrow at the lavender mare. Luna's smile grew wider. "The more the merrier!" she said. Just then there came a knock at the door. "Come in." Twilight looked up at the new arrivals, confirming her fears. It was Rarity and Fluttershy, both with saddlebags. 'How did they get ready so fast?' thought Twilight, and then decided to just chalk-it up to Pinkie Pie's ability to bend time and space to suite her random purposes. They both bowed to the Princess, and entered, Rarity speaking first. "Your Highness, it is truly an honor that you should invite common ponies like us to join you on your vacation. I will no doubt tell stories about this wonderful interlude to my foals and grand-foals." She was practically beaming with pleasure. As usual Fluttershy was staying in the background with her head down. She mumbled "Me too," but with a great deal less enthusiasm. Twilight recalled that she was still quite frightened of Princess Luna, and was amazed Pinkie Pie had managed to convince her to join the group. As expected, there came another knock at the door. "Come on in Applejack," said Twi without even bothering to look up. "Hey! Howdja know it was me?" asked the orange mare, who bowed to the Princess and added: "It's mighty nice o'yer ta invite us to join y'all on vacation. I haven't had one fer ages, and it just so happens I got cousins visiting fer a spell and more hooves than work at the farm. So I left Big Macintosh in charge and galloped right over." Twilight signed and remarked "And now all that's left is..." "ME!" Pinkie Pie finished for her, making a patented Pinkie Pie appearance from nowhere. "Now we're all here. It's time for a vacation party!" From nowhere she pulled out a party hat and blew on a paper horn, streamers flew-in from the sides and confetti dropped from the ceiling. *** Twilight Sparkle looked at the collected ponies all arguing about where they should go for 'their' vacation. "Ahem, ladies, please!" When this did not get a response, she tried louder: "Fillies, listen up!" Still they talked on oblivious. Finally, giving up pretense she shouted: "PIPE DOWN AND LISTEN UP!" Everypony froze. Twilight grew visibly embarrassed realizing what she had just done in front of one of the ruling Princesses of Equestria. She struggled to regain her composure. "As this is Princess Luna's vacation, I suggest we first ask her what she would like to do. Your Highness, do you have any preferences?" Luna thought about it for a moment. "I think I would like each pony present to make a suggestion. That way I can have as broad a set of experiences as possible." "Good idea. Who wants to go first?" Twi asked the mares. "Oo, me first, me first!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down energetically. Deciding to protect her ceiling Twilight gestured for her to proceed. "There's a huge carnival in Cloudsdale. Let's go there first!" Luna looked impressed. "That really does sounds like... fun. We shall go to the carnival." she affirmed with a smile. As there were no dissenting opinions, Twilight began to plan the outing. "We can go using Pinkie's balloon, and I can enchant the hooves of all non-pegasi so we can walk on the clouds. Ah, one last little thing. Princess, if you go like that it might cause a bit of a ruckus. Did you say earlier you could disguise yourself?" In response Luna's horn glowed a moment, and a thick white cloud coalesced around the Princess. It dissipated a moment later it, revealing a light blue Pegasus with a night black mane. Everyone ooed and ahhed! Twilight was impressed! "Perfect! But we'll blow your cover if we go calling you Princess Luna in public". She thought for a second. "Everyone, please meet my cousin Selene from Trottingham." All the ponies made a fuss greeting 'Selene' with hugs and hoof-shakes. The Princess played along good-naturedly. Spike offered her a flower, a moon lily, which she pinned into her mane, giving the baby dragon a gentle kiss on the forehead. Spike blushed, and Rarity seemed a bit uncomfortable with the whole proceedings. They decided that the Pegasi would fly out to Cloudsdale and wait for the others to catch up. Somehow, by the time they exited the library, Pinkie Pie had already managed to retrieve, assemble and inflate her balloon. They lifted off for Cloudsdale.
Chapter 2: The House that Shadows BuiltThe seven ponies and baby dragon passed through the main entrance of the Annual Carnival Exhibition in the Sky of Cloudsdale (also know as A.C.E.S. for short.) On every side were tents large and small offering food, rides, exhibits and acts of all kinds. Pinkie Pie was a moving blur, going from the Cotton Candy stand, to the roller coaster, and then on to the various animal acts. The group followed along with her every whim, despite the absolutely frantic pace she maintained. Luna was having a grand time just being 'one of the fillies' and laughing, eating or screaming along with the rest. When Twilight was about to suggest calling it a day, Pinkie came to a complete halt in front of one tent in particular that read 'House of Horror' in a scary script that looked like dripping blood. "This is it! I wanna go here, I wanna go here!" said the excited pony in a voice that simply could not be denied. Twilight heaved a sigh. "Ok, let's line up and get tickets - looks like this is our last stop before heading home." The friends lined up, with 'Selene' and Twilight last. One by one their friends entered. Periodically, those in line outside would hear screams of fright emanating from the tent. She had a sudden thought, after seeing Fluttershy disappear inside. "Oh, no!" she told the Princess. "Should we have let Fluttershy go in alone? She's already scared of everything!" The Princess saw how anxious Twilight had become and decided to help reduce the mare's distress. 'This', she thought, 'is what being a friend is all about!' Out loud, she told Twilight "I'll go in next and try to catch up with her, after all I have superb night vision." She hurried inside. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the minimal light, which was a bit of a pity as she was able to see all the traps, alarms and trip wires long before her passage engaged them. It was turning out to be a real bore, with only the warped mirrors and moving stairs providing any genuine amusement. Ahead she saw a yellow flank disappear around a corner. Aha! She rushed forward and heard a scream so tiny it was almost cute. *** Fluttershy felt reasonably proud of herself so far. Yes, she had screamed in fear once or twice. Okay, maybe ten or twenty times, but she was feeling more courageous as time went on. The yellow mare turned the corner, and out from the dark jumped Nightmare Moon! She produced her loudest scream so far this evening. Trembling, she hid her eyes, still haunted by her previous encounters with the evil Alicorn. She finally worked up the courage to take her hooves from her face, when from around the corner came Princess Luna, the real Nightmare Moon! And they were alone together! In the dark! She screamed again, even louder this time, hooves scrambling backwards in order to escape. *** Princess Luna turned the corner at speed, first seeing Fluttershy screaming (very cutely) at her appearance. It was as if the mare was afraid of her! She noticed another figure in the dark space. Turning she spied a cheaply made, but nevertheless obvious caricature of Nightmare Moon, with slitted reptile eyes, the bared fangs of a predator, and forelegs raised as if in the act of striking down any unfortunate passer by. She turned back to Fluttershy, and saw her peddling backwards in terror, trying to get away. From her. She felt crestfallen, all the joy of the day deserting her in one fell moment. "Fluttershy!" she said and took a step forward. Fluttershy screamed again, and this time got enough traction to propel herself out of the dark space. Luna heard the mare crashing through the remaining parts of the House of Horror, while she remained frozen in place with the memory of fear in the yellow mare's eyes and the shame of being its cause. She was still there when minutes later Twilight Sparkle came around the corner into the Nightmare Moon space. She could not bring herself to look Twilight in the eye. "Is Fluttershy alright?" she asked, her voice subdued. When Twilight saw the look on Luna's face she immediately ran to her, encircling her in a hug. "Oh, Luna, it wasn't your fault! I should have told you that Fluttershy is really slow to get used to ponies, and she is still haunted by her experiences with Nightmare Moon. It wasn't very smart of me to let you go in after her. But she has a really kind heart. Seconds after running out of the tent she realized what she had done and was concerned about you." Luna looked up at the dummy Nightmare Moon. "This is my legacy. This what ponies think of me, and I can see it in their eyes wherever I go." Twilight was heartbroken at Luna's sad expression. "It seems to me," countered Twilight, "that your story is far from finished, and that your real legacy is yet to be written. Come on, let's get out of here and do something about your legacy. Starting with Fluttershy." She extended a hoof to the Princess. Luna looked up at Twilight, placing her hoof on that of the lavender mare, this simple act of companionship meaning the world to her. "I can see now why my sister says that you truly possess the magic of friendship. Thank you Twilight." With that, the two mares left the unfortunate place and its unhappy ghosts behind. *** When they exited the tent, their companions were waiting for them, including a forlorn looking Fluttershy. She looked up at they two mares, her shyness and her shame both evident in her expression. "Uh, Pri... uh, Selene. I'm so sorry I mistook you for... that mare. I know she's not you, not inside. But I was scared, and ... I'm really sorry." Luna looked at Fluttershy and saw both the curse of her past and the hope that she might be able to overcome it. "Please, Fluttershy, I'm not offended. And I understand why this might happen under these circumstances." Fluttershy truly felt grateful that Luna could accept the fact that she was so easily alarmed. "Even for me, sometimes I'll do something that'll scare one of my little animal friends, and it might take them days before they can trust me again. I hope you can forgive me and be patient with me. I'd really like to be your friend." Luna smiled at the yellow mare. "I would very much like that too, Fluttershy. So I hope I won't scare you again, not even by mistake, not ever." Spike spoke up "Augh! I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting hungry. Let's go get some grub, already!" "Yeah," said Rainbow Dash, "I know a great restaurant here in Cloudsdale that's at least 20% cooler than any restaurant in Ponyville." "Oh yeah?" objected an offended Pinkie Pie. "Prove it!" "OK, dinner's on me, and Pinkie Pie don't be getting any funny ideas," retorted Dash. "It had better not be fast food!" said Rarity, alarmed at what Rainbow Dash might consider a 'cool' restaurant. "It better have some desert with Apples in it 'cause I could eat a bushel just on my lonesome," added Applejack. "And then, we party!" said Pinkie Pie, her only predictable character trait. The friends followed Rainbow Dash as she led the way to the restaurant, laughing as tension was replaced humor was restored.
Chapter 3: PonyfeathersLuna awoke the next morning to the sounds and smells of breakfast being prepared. Spike and Twilight were banging around in the kitchen, laughter rising sporadically up to the bedroom, as they enjoyed the task. With blankets up to her chin, Luna felt a sense of... peace? No... too noisy! Joy?... no, not that intense. It felt like... home. She recalled a brief moment from her childhood: her mother and sister preparing for the day, hugs and kisses as Luna came into the kitchen, a tiny foal with her favorite plush toy (a dragon) safe on her back between her wings. She smiled at the sweet memory, and arose. After her morning ablutions, Luna went back into the bedroom and looked upon all the little reminders of its normal occupants, and the comfortable spare bed Twilight kept for guests. 'I am on vacation, and so not a Princess today!' she thought to herself, making the bed. 'There's another millennial first!' she added mentally to the list started the day previous. She was still smiling at this private joke as she descended the stairs. "Good morning, Your Highness!" beamed Spike, standing on a chair before the stove, a stack of pancakes half his height in a nearby plate on the counter, with two more cooking in skillets on the stove. Twilight was setting the table. "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, thank you. In fact I have not slept that well since..." Luna paused considering for a moment, "well, I guess that's three now!" she said, with a decidedly unregal snort of laughter. "Oh, and Spike, while it's just us, can we drop the 'Your Highness' stuff?" "Absolutely, your you-ness!" quipped Spike, carrying the finished stack of pancakes to the table. "Grub's up!" he announced and hopped onto his chair, dishing out pancakes, salad and asparagus into plates. "Tea or coffee, Luna?" asked Twilight with a pot of each levitating above the table. "Tea, please. I know you and Celestia both enjoy coffee, but I missed tea so much during my incarceration!" She looked down at the tea in her cup, as Twilight poured herself and Spike each a mug of coffee. They all started eating, in between bites complementing Spike on his cooking and generally recounting their personal highlights of the previous day. "You know what my favorite was?" asked Spike, too stuffed to eat another bite. "Please tell us," said Luna, herself having eaten far more for breakfast than she had for... 'Four!' she counted to herself with a smile. "It was the look on Pinkie Pie's face when you raised the moon and it had Pinkie's profile on it! It took her at least a whole minute before she was able to close her own mouth. I don't think I have ever seen her stop moving for that long!" The little dragon guffawed thinking about it. "It was a simple way to show my appreciation for Pinkie Pie's excellent suggestion to go to the carnival. It was so enjoyable to simply have fun together with friends." She gave a conspiratorial wink. "I must admit, part of the pleasure of doing that stunt was to see if I could surprise Pinkie Pie. Well, yes I did, and, yes it was fun!" The three of them shared a good laugh. "I guess that makes five," said Luna with a grin. Both Twilight and Spike raised an eyebrow expectantly, making the Princess chuckle again. "That's my little secret!" replied Luna to their unvoiced question. "And it's time for 'Selene' to clean up. That's six!" Dishes, cups, pots and pans all began to levitate as Luna strode towards the sink. Water and soap began to pour in, suds grew and dishes floated in and out of the water, towels wiping them dry on the way to the cupboard. All in all, it was a truly masterful display of telekinesis. As the silence grew long, Luna turned around, and spied both her hosts with their mouths hanging open, shocked that at the sight of a ruling Princess doing dishes. Turning back to her chore, Luna remarked out loud "List number two - chin on floor count - three!" *** Not long after breakfast, the remaining Elements of Harmony began arriving at the Library. Last to arrive (as usual) were the two pegasi, despite having the fastest means of locomotion of the six ponies. When they walked in the others were already engaged in deciding the venue for today's vacation adventure. "Let's go shopping in Manehattan." proposed Rarity. "Naw, there's a rodeo in Appeloosa, and that'll be way more fun!" said Applejack. Rainbow Dash offered her choice: "There's a formation flying exhibition in Trottingham staring the WonderBolts. That's gotta be the coolest activity in Equestria!" "Or we could go visit the Royal Museum in Canterlot!" suggested Twilight. All the other ponies stopped and looked at Twilight with a greater or lesser degree of horror on their face, and then began trying to convince each other of the merits of their own proposals, all at the same time. Luna kept looking from pony one to the other, wondering how they could ever reach agreement. After a few minutes of bickering all that was accomplished was Luna's neck becoming sore. Conspicuously absent from the debate was Pinkie Pie, who had already had her turn the previous day, and Fluttershy, who was softly mumbling something, while not looking at anypony. Seeing that nopony was paying the yellow mare any attention, Pinkie Pie bent closer to hear what she had to say. "Hey, Fluttershy has a suggestion." said Pinkie, out loud, to no effect. "Listen up!" said the pink mare louder, and the bickering continued unabated. Having run out of boring options, Pinkie Pie then waved her forelegs in the air and shouted out "I SAID LISTEN UP!!!!!" Everypony froze. "Good!" said Pinkie Pie happily. "Fluttershy has an idea." Fluttershy looked up at the circle of ponies and said in her usual soft voice: "We could go have a picnic in the park." "Well that thur's a mighty fine idea, if ya ask me. I can bring some apples, apple pies, apple cobblers, apple cider, and candied apples!" offered Applejack. "We can wear sunbonnets and collect flowers, and decorate our manes!" proposed Rarity. "We can play tag, and touch-hoofball and have six-legged races!" said Rainbow Dash. "We can play hide-n-seek, eat cupcakes, and blow soap bubbles!" added Pinkie Pie. "And I can bring books we can read!" said Twilight, getting excited. All the other ponies began looking anywhere but at Twilight. "Whatever rings your bell, sugarcube," said Applejack to end the awkward pause. Oblivious to the reception of her suggestion, Twilight was warming up to the whole idea. "So Selene waddaya say to having a picnic?" "I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea! And that's seven!" She said with obvious relief, rubbing her neck with a hoof. Spike nudged her in the ribs with an elbow and motioned for her to lower her head. He cupped a paw to her ear and whispered "I've got some cream that works wonders on neck aches. I'll get you some later, cause believe me if you hang around with this crowd you'll need it!" In her element now that she had a defined task at hoof, Twilight got busy organizing the picnic. Thirty minutes later she, Luna and Spike were in the park laying out some picnic blankets, with the other mares arriving laden with various foods, games and sports equipment. As it was a beautiful day several families had also decided to have picnics. Soon ponies and foals were engaged in all sorts of activities, a lively scene that Luna was drinking in like it was water and she had spent a day in the desert sun. Rainbow Dash dropped from the sky to stand before her gathered friends, blowing on a whistle attached to a string around her neck. "Awright! It's time for our first game: the six legged race! Pair up fillies. Spike, you and I will officiate." Rarity looked at Applejack and said "Do you think we can cooperate long enough for a race?" "Sure enough, sugarcube, but jess mind the priorities first, and that means ah mean ta win!" answered Applejack, lining up on Rarity's flank. Spike with his clever paws quickly tied Rarity's left foreleg to Applejacks right foreleg, then did the same for their left and right hindlegs, respectively. "Uh, Selene..." said Fluttershy's soft voice. "Would you mind if we ran together?" She still didn't look up at Luna, but Luna thought that might be more from fear of rejection than fear of her. She was extremely touched by Fluttershy's concern for her feelings. With a big smile she said "It would be my pleasure, Fluttershy! And that's eight!" Spike quickly tied the two mares' legs together as he had for Rarity and Applejack. "Ooh, that means that we're a team!" Pinkie Pie started jumping up and down next to Twilight. "Me and Twilight are a team! Yay!" Twilight laughed. "You'd better hold still for a moment or Spike'll never be able to tie our legs together." Seeing Spike struggling to tie the two mares together, Rainbow Dash fell to the grass on her flank laughing. "Hey look, it's the brain and the pain! Hah, ha ha ha, ha ha!" As the three pairs were lining up at the start, three young fillies arrived, a white unicorn and a yellow earth pony sitting in red wagon being pulled by an orange pegasus filly on a scooter, all three of them wearing crash helmets. "It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders" said Spike. "Come say hello to our friend Selene." "Hi there Selene", "Hi", "Hello miss Selene" said the three to Luna. "Hello young ladies" replied Luna, "what brings you three to the park today? Other than your friend with the scooter, that is?" "She's Scootaloo," and "and ah'm Apple Bloom, Applejack's sister." said the yellow filly in the wagon. "An I'm Sweetie Belle, and Rarity's my sister!" said the other. "And we're here to get our cutie marks!" said the orange one called Scootaloo. "Well, we're going to have a six-legged race. Do you fillies want to watch?" asked Luna. "Naw, we're faster than any of you anyway." said Scootaloo with the unconsciously blunt honesty of the very young. "We'll see you at the finish line!" With that, the little pegasus engaged her wings and buzzing like an angry bee the three rolled off towards the lake. "Okay," said Rainbow Dash, having recovered from her laughing fit, "the finish line is over there towards the lake. Don't worry, I'll be there long before you will! On your marks... get ready...GO!" Luna tried to remember how to pace for a six-legged race. "Fluttershy. I propose that I count one-two, one-two, like that so we can synchronize our steps." "That's a good idea, Selene," said Fluttershy, warming up to Luna as she became more accustomed to her proximity. Luna counted out the pace and they began to make good time, catching up to Rarity and Applejack, who trotted faster most of the time, but tripped every so often when one or the other got distracted. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie were falling behind fast. Fluttershy and Luna were building a lead. To the side they saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders race back and start cheering on Rarity and Applejack, who with the foals' encouragement began to catch up! Twilight was growing exasperated with Pinkie Pie. This mare just wouldn't trot like normal, every few steps she had to hop instead. Then realization hit - just hop with Pinkie Pie instead. "Hey, Pinkie! How's about we try hopping for a while?" "Okie, Dokie Lokie!" She started hopping and Twilight synchronized her hops to match. Now propelled by Pinkie Pie Power, they quickly regained lost ground. Getting close to the finish line, the three teams were neck and neck, and neck and neck, and neck and neck! Rainbow Dash held a checkered flag ready, keeping a eye on the line to make sure she saw who crossed first. As the six mares approached, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were running parallel a few yards away, keeping an eye on Rarity and Applejack. They never saw Rainbow Dash at the line, and neither did she see them. As the three teams crossed there was the sound of a crash and Rainbow Dash went flying, knocked unconscious by a collision with the scooter, to finally splash into the lake. The three fillies in their helmets rolled to safety. Distracted by the accident, the three teams tripped and tumbled into a tangled mess of legs, wings and horns just beyond the finish line. "EEEEEEEEE!" screamed a foal's voice. "Rainbow Dash fell in the water, and she isn't coming up." Ponies in the park heard the commotion and started approaching to see what was the problem. Since there were no obvious sign of distress they proceeded at a leisurely pace. In the tangle, nopony was able to extricate themselves to help Rainbow Dash. The mares were starting to get frantic, afraid she might drown. Luna reacted without further thought, she teleported away from the mess of limbs to emerge next to water. She desperately scanned for any sign of the blue pegasus, finally seeing a splash of color that was either her mane or her tail. Without hesitation Luna dove into the lake and swam to the blue mare's unconscious form. Taking hold with her telekinetic grip, she lifted Rainbow Dash out of the water and laid her on the banks of the lake. Rainbow Dash had stopped breathing. Luna again engaged her magical ability to press the water out of Dash's lungs and to get her breathing again. Finally the blue mare's barrel started moving on its own, and she sputtered and coughed up more lake water. "Geez, thanks Luna" she panted, then her eyes grew wide. "Whoa, didja know you dropped your disguise?" and then she dropped back onto the grass, with Luna lying next to her from her exertions. By this time many ponies had arrived, and some recognized Luna from her earlier visits. "It's Nightmare Moon! Run! " Many of the ponies galloped off, collecting foals on the way, leaving behind pretty much everything else. Luna realized that she must have reverted to her normal form when she teleported. 'I musn't forget myself like that. Many of these ponies still hate me', she thought, 'and with good reason'. She looked around, and noticed that some ponies had stayed, in particular three little fillies. Scootaloo approached her and bowed. "Thank you for saving Rainbow Dash!" said the filly. "You know, she'd my hero. And you saved her, so now you're my hero too!" The little orange pegasus ran up to her and gave her a tight hug. Her two friends also approached. "Thanks for saving Dash," said Apple Bloom, "mah sister woulda been so sad if something bad a-happened to her." "Mine too," said Sweetie Belle. Both fillies also ran in for a hug. "Hey wait a minute - I'm way tougher than that!" objected Dash, coughing again. Then looking towards the tangle of ponies still struggling at the finish line of the race, she chuckled and said: "Let's go get these professional racing ponies back on their hooves!" When she and Luna got to the tangle, she reverted back to the Selene image. It was inevitable that some of the ponies present might have noticed the transformation, but she hoped they would remain discrete about it. She would know when the paparazzi started popping out of bushes, but she doubted that any further vacation activities could be carried out in Ponyville. Spike arrived just about then, not being very quick due to his short legs. Together they got everypony untangled. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were very subdued on the trek back to the picnic blankets. The Elements of Harmony, on the other hand, had no sooner gotten upright than they started bickering about which team came in first. They paused just long enough to invite the despondent fillies to join them in their picnic, to which the three wholeheartedly agreed. Soon the picnic was back in full swing, with the added antics of the youngsters. The rest of the day just seemed to fly by, and before long it was time for everypony to go home. Luna, Spike and Twilight made their way from the park back to the Library. "I am sorry if my lapse has caused you any embarrassment," said Luna. "I'm not," said Twilight. She saw Luna's look of confusion. "Like I said yesterday, it's time for you to write the next chapter of your story. In today's chapter you ran in a six-legged race, saved a young pegasus mare from drowning, and blew soap balloons with three little fillies. A few more chapters like that and you'll be one of the good guys again, don't you think?" Luna thought for a moment and nodded, a small smile replacing her frown. "So what number are you up to now, Selene?" asked Spike from Twilight's back. "You know Spike, I've lost count!" Luna's smiled grew wider. The three friends spent the rest of the walk home in companionable silence.
Chapter 4: A Day at the BeachesWhen Spike got up to wake Twilight the next morning, Luna rose with them and all three joined in the happy business of making breakfast. Today, they were expecting the whole Vacation Crew, as they were beginning to refer to the group, to join them for breakfast. Each pony would bring some treat to eat as well. An hour later they were all sitting in the library on various cushions, stuffed to the gills, sipping tea and coffee. Luna raised an eyebrow and braced herself for the coming onslaught. "So does anypony have any suggestions for today's activities?" "Let's go on a hay-ride!" said Applejack. "How about a musical show in Manehattan?" proposed Rarity. "A day at the beach!" said Rainbow Dash. "There's a book fair... " said Twilight, then noticing the stares she finished weakly "... in Canterlot." Luna spoke up "A day at the beach sounds like a truly relaxing idea, then we can take the evening in Canterlot and see a musical. What do you say Vacation Crew?" All the ponies cheered the idea, except for Twilight who was looking a bit miffed. She perked up again when it became obvious somepony needed to take charge and get these ponies organized. Soon they all headed of with their assigned tasks. In less than an hour the crew was reassembled in the Library, and Luna teleported the entire group to the beach. It was fine day, and they set up large parasols, beach-blankets, chairs and various games. Pinkie Pie was wearing a white and pink polka dot bikini bathing suit. All the other ponies also wore various styles of bathing suits, as per pony tradition. Nopony knew why this was so, it just was. Twilight wondered if she should ask Princess Luna about it. Spike was wearing striped orange and black swimming trunks that Twilight had bought for him the previous summer. He strutted his stuff before Rarity, who was studiously looking anywhere but in the direction of the hideous trunks. As at the park, the day unfolded at a leisurely pace, sporadically peppered with group games and activities. In mid afternoon Luna found herself sharing a parasol with Rarity, and decided the moment was opportune to get the know the fashionista mare a bit better. "I'm so glad all of you agreed to join me on vacation. After all, our first meetings were not exactly on friendly terms," she admitted to the white mare. "Princess, that is all behind us. To be honest, I was taken aback when after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Princess Celestia immediately took you back into her confidence. But we all trust her judgement implicitly of course." "Somehow, I sense that this is not the whole story," said Luna with a smile. Rarity looked at her over huge sunglasses. "Since you ask, then I'll tell you the whole truth. It was Twilight. She truly believes that everypony can be a friend, if only you sincerely offer them friendship. She has the courage to make that offer, even where all others would give up. As proof, she had the courage to place her trust in her new-found friendship with we five mares from Ponyville and defy Nightmare Moon, and then to immediately take you, Princess Luna, at face value." Rarity looked out at the waves crashing onto the sandy beach. "Even if we tease her quite mercilessly about her bookish ways, we do so out of love and admiration for a truly fine pony. Also, she is the one who brought us, this group of friends, together. And yes, we know that this is perhaps the main reason why Princess Celestia sent Twilight to Ponyville, but this does not change in the least how we feel about her. In my case it certainly makes me feel grateful to your sister, that she would be so generous as to share Twilight with us." Luna laughed warmly. "And I suspect I now know why you are the Element of Generosity, Rarity!" "Might I ask you a question your Highness?" queried the white mare. "Please do, Rarity, and do call me Luna, as it's just we two mares here." "I am honored, Luna. Do you know how long Twilight is to stay in Ponyville?" She looked down. "Everypony has seen how incredibly powerful a magician she is, and we know that someday, our little librarian will be called on to greater things." Luna considered carefully before responding, these past few days having gotten both deeper insight into the Elements of Harmony, and a very personal appreciation for the six little ponies that composed it. "My dear Rarity, I have lived for thousands of years. The great burden of immortality is seeing most of those you love age and depart, leaving you behind. Sometimes the pain is so great that for dozens or even hundreds of years, you shun becoming too close to mortals, lest you again feel the heartbreak of time's tyranny. This has made us value true friendship for the rare and precious miracle that it is." "Rest assured, Rarity, that Celestia and I both cherish what you six ponies and Spike have made in Ponyville, and we will not of our own accord see it sundered. But mind you, only friendship that is freely given can be so dear, so it is up to you all, including Twilight Sparkle, to keep it alive while pursuing your own destinies." Rarity was still considering everything Princess Luna had said, when she heard a voice shout "Incoming!" She and the Princess were blasted by sand as a blue streak plunged from above into the beach between them. "Rainbow Dash, you got sand all over my bathing suit... and my mane... and my beautiful sunbonnet!" Rarity sputtered as Luna started shaking the sand out of her coat. In lieu of apology, the blue pegasus laughed at their discomfiture. "Better dust off your hat Rarity! Beach volley-ball tournament in 5 minutes - be there or be square!" She fluttered off in a cloud of sand, raising a screech from Rarity who had to shake herself clean all over again. "Eeeee! I'll show her what else I can do with my hat!" Rarity blushed a deep crimson, realizing what she had just said in front of the Princess. Luna motioned towards the volley-ball net with her foreleg, laughing, and they cantered out to rejoin their friends.
Chapter 5: A Night at the OperaThe group re-materialized in the library - a feat that Luna could pull off without leaving anyone singed, as was the case when Twilight did a multi-pony teleportation. Looking at the happy bunch she announced the plan for the evening, or rather the little of it Luna had confided to her. "Listen-up, everypony! Tonight is Princess Luna's treat to us! Her instructions are as follows: have a light dinner, be back to the Library before sunset and be dressed for a formal night out." All the ponies looked at the princess with expressions varying from mock horror (Dash) to absolute rapture (Rarity). "That is all she is willing to disclose," concluded Twilight. "Ladies, go!" said Luna brooking no argument. Whereupon the library's neighbors were treated to a stampede of ponies in bathing suites, hurrying off to their respective homes. *** In the Library, Twilight raised an eyebrow towards the princess. "Well this is all very mysterious." The princess just smiled and kept mum. The other Elements of Harmony were arriving, most in the same dresses they wore to the Grand Galloping Gala. Rarity of course had on a new outfit, no doubt the product of the last two hours. Dashing in tuxedo, Spike addressed the mares: "Ladies of Ponyville, her Majesty Princess Luna." Luna descended the stairs, but instead of the Selene disguise, she was her own self, radiant in a midnight black gown, encrusted with jewels like a firmament across her night sky! Everypony's breath was taken away by this vision of regal elegance. "In gratitude for your kind hospitality during Her ongoing vacation, Her Majesty, requests your company this evening in attending the opera in Canterlot, where you will be her guests. Please join her Majesty in her conveyance to Canterlot, now parked outside yonder door." The door to the library opened of itself, revealing the long black limousine carriage awaiting them. Luna gracefully exited the library and with the assistance of a liveried hoofpony, entered the limousine. Spike offered Twilight a tuxedo clad arm, upon which she placed a hoof, and he escorted her out to the limo, which she entered assisted by the hoofpony. Spike reentered the library and repeated the same ritual with each of the Elements of Harmony in turn. After Fluttershy, the last mare to exit, Spike entered the limo himself, taking a seat next to Twilight. A moment later, the carriage shook slightly as it took off and they were on their way to Canterlot! As if the motion broke a spell, all the heretofore sedate ponies erupted into laughter and squeals of joy! "Eeeeeeee! I've always wanted to do that!" Rarity could hardly contain her happiness. "That was sooooooooo awesome!" said Pinkie. "That was at least 20% better than awesome!" corrected Rainbow Dash. "Yer darn tootin!" said Applejack. "Yoohoo!!!" whispered Fluttershy, the loudest cheer she could produce. Twilight turned to Spike. "And you, sir, were dashing and soooo cool! How long ago did you plan this?" she asked the baby dragon. "A gentledragon never tells." Responded Spike with a haughty air, causing another general fit of hilarity. Luna remained silent, enjoying the sight of the mares as they began to explore the coach, Oooing and Ahhhing as they discovered its myriad little luxuries and extravagances. Soon, the coach began its descent to Canterlot. Spike rose and announced: "Ladies, please take your seats for landing. Princess Luna asks that we observe the dignity of the occasion and refrain from further talk until we are seated at the opera. I will escort each of you out of the carriage in turn. Please then follow the Princess on the red carpet to our seating area, proceeding at a stately pace. That is all," said the tiny dragon gravely, just as the carriage landed and rolled to a stop. A hoofpony opened the door to the limousine, and Princess Luna descended to the flashes of dozens of photographers. A crowd had gathered, exclaiming "It's Princess Luna!" and bowing as she walked past them on the red carpet into the opera house. One by one, Spike accompanied the mares to the carriage door, where they descended and followed the red carpet inside, with flashes and remarks from ponies in the crowd who recognized the Elements of Harmony. The last mare to leave was Fluttershy. Knowing her dread of public attention, Spike exited the coach and walked up the carpet with the shy mare holding his arm. The frenzy of flashes redoubled, as many ponies and photographers recognized Fluttershy from her brief meteoric career as a fashion model. The red carpet led to the Royal Box, where the companions were seated in anticipation of the opera to start. Luna kept a close eye on Rainbow Dash, who was fidgeting already. The crowd hushed, and a pony preceded to center stage. "Tonight we are honored with the presence of her Royal Highness Princess Luna, her companions the Elements of Harmony and Spike the Dragon." The crowd clopped politely, but with enthusiasm, as the Princess and her companions bowed. "As many of you know, this is a special night, as it is the premiere of a new opera based on a series of popular books. Fillies and Gentlecolts, I give you 'The adventures of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'." "Eeep!" went Rainbow Dash, suddenly frozen in rapt attention to the stage! She had not moved a muscle when the curtain went down for the intermission an hour later. Only she and Princess Luna remained as their friends went to get refreshments and stretch their legs. "So do you like the opera, Rainbow Dash?" asked the Princess. "This is so awesome! You know I never thought reading a book could be so cool, and then Twilight introduced me to the Daring Do series when I was stuck in the hospital. I thought the opera was just a bunch of heavyset ponies screaming at a crowd of stuffed shirts, and then you brought me here, and I love it! Thank you, Princess Luna!" said Dash with heartfelt gratitude. "I hope you don't mind my saying this, Rainbow Dash, but all the Elements of Harmony are very different ponies. Yet you are indeed very different in your interests than the rest. Why are these mares so important to you?" asked the Princess. "That's not hard to figure out. You see, ever since I've been hanging around with them, I've done things and thought thoughts that I never would have by myself. I feel like I've gotten bigger inside, because of them, at least 20% bigger, in fact! And I know they have my back covered. I'm sure you've noticed that I'm kinda in the habit of getting into scraps every so often." She thought for a second. "Hey, you did the same for me in the park yesterday! So I guess I'd better make sure you understand that I've got your back covered too, if you ever need it." She raised a hoof and held it in mid-air before Luna. Luna was touched by Dash's admission, and happily Celestia had taught how to 'bro-hoof'. She raised her hoof and touched it to Dash's. "Awright Princess!" said the blue mare, as their friends began to return to the box. *** The Vacation Crew was assembled in the Limo, the opera having concluded to thunderous applause. Luna clopped her hooves to get their attention. "We have one more important duty to carry out tonight. As this was an opera premiere, there will be a party held for the cast and honored guests at the Pony Club. We all have been invited and will attend." Cheers rang out. "I do hope you like DJ PON3!" A certain pink pony shouted out "YES! YES! YES! YES!" and the party started even before they got to the club.
Chapter 6: The Big BookstoreThe next morning everypony slept in, as the Vacation Crew coach had returned to Ponyville mere minutes before dawn. Just before noon, Twilight snuck down to the kitchen and quietly prepared waffles and eggs. She was setting the table when Spike and the Princess descended the stairs. "Good morning Your Majesty, and gallant Sir Spike! Tea for the former and coffee for latter, I presume?" Luna sat at the table. "That would be wonderful Twilight, and isn't it too late for 'good morning'?" Twilight poured her tea, and coffee for herself and Spike. "Yeah! That was some party last night!" said Spike, serving waffles to the mares and then himself. "By the way, before she left for home, Applejack told me that tonight we are all invited to dinner and a hay ride at the Apple Acres farm, and that she won't take 'no' for an answer. She specifically said to 'come as you are'." "Well, that's AJ for you. I guess all we have left to plan for is the afternoon." Twilight dug into her waffles. "Actually, we already took care of that too. Rainbow Dash and I were talking last night and we decided on a surprise just for you," said Luna. "Oh, these waffles are good!" "They should be. I got the recipe from a certain other Princess of Equestria, who said this was her mom's own, and a personal favorite of her younger sister!" Twilight raised an eyebrow, expectantly. Luna continued eating happily, ignoring the implied invitation to disclose more about the Princesses' early history, just as her sister had ignored similar questions from Twilight in the past. After a moment, Luna glanced up at her and offered this much: "There are things that we Princesses still need to keep for ourselves, Twilight dear. Be patient, we will tell you more when the time is right." Twilight was digesting what Luna had said, when there was a crash in the library followed by the sound of books tumbling to the floor. "I think I know who that is," said Twilight with a sigh. "Eeyup" said Spike, doing a passable imitation of AJ's brother Big Macintosh. In his own voice he shouted: "Hey, Dashie, we're in the kitchen having lunch." The blue pegasus stuck her head through the door, and then entered the kitchen. "Mmm, that smells good! Hiya, everypony!" "Hi Dash, would you like some waffles?" Twilight levitated a plate with a waffle on it, setting it on the table before the winged mare. "Geez, thanks!" While munching she added: "So are you ready for our afternoon surprise?" The blue mare winked at the Princess conspiratorially. "And what would that be?" asked Twilight intrigued. "It was Rainbow Dash's idea, so she should tell you." The Princess winked back at the blue mare. Dash reared onto her hind legs, adopting a dramatic pose. "We eggheads are going to a book signing!" Twilight's jaw hit the floor. "The next installment in the 'Daring Do' series is being launched at the Book Corral in Fillydelphia. The author will be autographing copies. The Princess and I thought you might want to go, seeing as you're such a big fan an' all." "Squeeeeeee!" responded Twilight, absolutely thrilled. Finally, an afternoon in a book store! Luna looked up at the clock. "We had better get going." There was a 'poof' and she re-appeared as 'Selene'. "See you in 10 minutes at the entrance."
Chapter 7: A Night In LunablancaApplejack was supervising several of her kin laying out trestle tables in preparation for the evening's meal, when her guests arrived in a group. Princess Luna was in her normal guise, but looking like the very summit of cowpony elegance in a night black Stetson and golden spurs! She called to the Apple clan together and then addressed the assembly. "Tonight the Apple clan welcomes these ponies ta join us in a celebration of friendship, Apple style! Our special guest is none other than Princess Luna herself, so let's show her and all our guests a Royal good time at Apple Acres farm. Yeeeee-haaaaaww!" The ponies clopped hooves, and started to mingle and chat. There literally was food everywhere. Ponies filled plates and sat down to dinner. Several of the Apple cousins got out musical instruments and started playing Country and Western tunes. Periodically ponies would get together to dance, often at the instigation of Pinkie Pie. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were there as well and spent much of the time sitting, eating and chatting with the Princess, as they were less shy in approaching the royal Alicorn than were many of the Apple clan. Shortly before dusk, dinner wound down, and Applejack called the Vacation Crew, augmented with the three fillies, to assemble for the hay ride. They piled into the big hay wagon, with Big Mac and three huge Apple cousins towing it. The wagon left the farmyard, proceeding at a stately pace into the fragrant apple orchards. As they passed by, Applejack would relate stories about the trees - the types of Apples they produced, their age, who had planted them, and even humorous stories about them or the events that had transpired among them in these places. To her each tree was an individual, and her face glowed with pride and love as she shared her passion with the riders in the wagon. Sitting on a hay-bale next to Twilight, Luna whispered to her as Applejack wove images and inspired feelings with simple words honestly spoken. "I have lived a long time, and I had forgotten this... Twilight. Applejack is so full of the magic of the earth ponies! Here, in this place, she is the living heart and beauty of the land, made real in the shape of a little pony! Like all of your friends here, she carries so much... truth... on her four hooves. As do you, Twilight. As Nightmare Moon, I had forgotten this about the ponies of Equestria. Perhaps this is why Celestia sent me to you, and I am grateful to you all for giving this back to me." Of a sudden she realized that the wagon had stopped some time ago, along with Applejack's narration, and that much of what she had just said was heard by everypony, not just Twilight Sparkle. She smiled sheepishly, looking up at Applejack. "Thank you for those kind words, Princess, thought ah'm not sure they was meant fer so many ears! We-all purty much feel the same about ya'll, an we're powerful obliged to ya for the great time we've had t'gether in the last few days. So last night at the dance, we figured on a way to show you our thanks. But ya'll will have get things started by raisin' the moon for us, just about yonder." Applejack pointed to sky between two hills. Luna stood up, and spreading her wings, began to glow. The moon began to rise over the horizon between the hills. Fluttershy rose and gave a low whistle. From the forest rose the sound of chirping tree frogs and buzzing cicadas. A lone coyote called forth, and was then joined by others in an eerie choral. As the moon inched upwards, its light hit the surrounding hills, creating a magical wave of light descending towards the wagon. As it progressed, the light was reflected by hundreds of gems suspended in the trees on both slopes. A short distance in front of the wagon, the descending moonlight revealed a small lake, reflecting the image of the moon and the colored beams issuing from the gems in the trees. Pinkie Pie stood, and began to sing in a haunting voice in harmony with Fluttershy's animal chorus. "She walks like beauty in the night, through stardust paths, in mystery Clad in a veil of pale blue light, love's sidereal sanctuary Her sparkling gems in endless flight, trace constellations wandering slowly Each one a hero there to fight, seek truth, or love or justice holy In her embrace there is no fright, safe from all toil and from worry Our guardian on high to smite, Fear's illusions and darkest folly For all who gaze upon the sight, do wonder at this ancient story, Feel in their hearts that all is right, To see the Moon in all her glory." As the echo of Pinkie Pie's voice faded, a lone pegasus flew over the rising moon, creating an arc of reflected moonlight. Then fireworks bloomed around the moon, slowly disappearing as the music ended. All was quiet, as the mares waited to see the Princess's reaction to their performance. She had lowered her head, when the song ended. Slowly she raised her forelegs, and began clopping her appreciation. She raised her face and all could see her smile of joy. The wagon erupted in pony cheering, as the friends complemented each other on their respective parts in the performance. Luna rose, and the group grew quiet. "All these things I said earlier were true, and I do not regret that you heard them. So with this evening, I must declare that I am returning to Canterlot, after a most successful and rewarding vacation. I will forever treasure these days with you all. Thank you for all you have given me!" In a sweet, low voice, Luna added a verse to Pinkie's song: "The Moon's heart danced upon the sight, and shared the joy of every pony. Truly beloved was the night, so full of beauty and Harmony." She disappeared with a flash. Twilight looked up at Applejack, then around at her friends. "I suspect we may have made two Princesses very happy tonight. Big Mac, let's go home." "Eeyup!" said the stallion, and the wagon lurched into the night... Luna's blessed night.
