Chapters A/N: I feel bad. I almost... Killed... Fluttershy... But, I didn't. So, am I a good person or does the fact that I even THOUGHT about killing off Fluttershy make me a bad person? I LOVE YOU FLUTTERSHY! I'M SORRY! T^T Ahem. Enough of that. Enjoy the story!
A Sonic Rain-What?
Little Fillies
Sonic What? ______________
Rainbow Dash was flying around Cloudsdale when she saw three young colts talking to a yellow-coated, pink-maned filly. It didn't look like the conversation was a friendly one. She swooped down to stand up for her friend.
"Hey! Stop picking on Fluttershy!"
The three colts looked at the young Rainbow and laughed.
"Oh, look at that! Rainbow CRASH is standing of for her girlfriend!"
Rainbow was enraged by this remark. She flew up to the lead colt and put a hoof to his chest.
"I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THAT!" Her face was flushed red in anger.
"All right, Crash! Let's race than! If you win, we leave Fluttershy alone. If one of us wins, YOU have to leave US alone!"
Rainbow Dash thought about this. Could she beat them? They had stronger wings... But she was lighter. Suddenly, she heard a faint voice.
"Um... Dash... Uh... You don't have to... Do this... If that's OK..."
She looked to Fluttershy questioningly, to which she responded with a sheepish nod.
"I don't have to beat you in a race to prove I'm better than you! Everypony knows that fillies are better than colts at everything anyway."
The lead colt had a look of anger on his face. This made Rainbow smirk, thinking that she had won the squabble. However, her satisfaction was short-lived as she felt a hoof make contact with her face. She lay on the clouds motionless.
"You... You hit a filly!" one of the colts yelled.
"N- No I didn't! You saw! She flew into my hoof! I never hit her!" this was the lead colt speaking this time.
"Rainbow Dash..." Fluttershy whispered.
"C'mon! Let's go before we get caught!" the third colt said to the others.
If there was any more conversation, Rainbow would never be able to tell. She had slipped into unconsciousness.
Revenge _____________
"All right, Miss Sparkle. If you can make this dragon egg hatch, you will be enrolled in this school."
The aforementioned purple unicorn filly excitedly pranced into the testing room. She had received an invitation from Celestia herself to try out for the academy. She studied extra super hard for this moment. However, as soon as the dragon egg was wheeled in her mind drew a blank. Those days of studying did nothing to help her when she was under so much pressure. She concentrated hard on the egg, but all that came from her horn were a few sparks. She frowned and looked back at her parents, who returned an encouraging look.
She turned again and concentrated even harder. A brilliant glow emanated from her horn and... Nothing. She looked at the judges who were to decide whether she would make it into the academy or not. They all shook their heads.
Twilight made her way out of the room dejectedly, her head held low. She went right past her parents, ignoring their words of optimism, saying she'd do better next time. She knew better.
She failed, and there wasn't going to be a next time.
She thought for a while. She had come upon a sudden realization.
No. she thought. It is not I who failed Celestia... She set me up to fail! Maybe my magic is more powerful than she wants me to think, maybe more powerful than even hers! Maybe there are other ponies with magic more powerful than hers as well! And SHE just wants everypony to think that SHE is the most powerful, so that SHE can rule Equestria forever! Her look of sadness turned into a look of anger as she stormed off, away from her parents, to the only place that she could think straight; the library.
The Promise _________________
After checking Rainbow Dash into the Cloudsdale ER, Fluttershy quickly left for home.
It's my fault! she thought to herself.
She started crying.
If I could just... Stand up for myself...
She finally made it home. Alone. She had no idea where her parents were, not since she was even younger than she is now. She woke up one day and they were just... Gone. Whenever she asked somepony about it, they either didn't know or didn't care. Or both.
Fluttershy lay in her bed, snout in her pillow and cried, exactly the same way she did when she discovered her parents to be gone.
Suddenly, however, she stopped crying. From now on, Fluttershy swore to herself- no, to Celestia- that she would stand up for herself so her friend wouldn't have to.
She thought back to what Kev- the lead colt that was bothering her- had said. She called her and Rainbow girlfriends. She thought about the hit. Kev must have had something in his hoof, otherwise Rainbow wouldn't be in the ER right now.
She though again about what Kev said. Girlfriends. Maybe what he said was accurate...
After all, they were friends, and they were both girls.
Same Result __________
Rarity had been chosen by her class to make costumes for a play. She was an excellent seamstress, but she couldn't help but feel that the outfits were missing something... Something she couldn't quite put her hoof on...
Suddenly, her horn began to glow by itself. It started pulling her toward something far away. At first she tried to fight it, but she remembered her parents saying something about your horn, destiny and... Cutie marks!
She smiled slightly and let her horn continue to pull her until she finally reached...
"A ROCK?! My destiny is A ROCK?!?!"
Suddenly, nothing happened. She began pounding on the rock with her hooves.
"Stupid rock! Stupid, stupid! STUPIDSTUPIDSTUPID!"
A crack appeared in the rock. She had hit it in the right place.
She stared in awe as the crack traveled up the side of the rock, eventually causing it to split in two. Her eyes lit up and she smiled widely as she looked inside of the rock.
It was filled with a variety of gems.
She felt something and looked behind her. Her flank was now graced with three diamonds.
She had earned her cutie mark.
Everypony who saw the school play the next day said that the costumes Rarity had made were the best ones ever.
Manehattan ______________
Applejack had run away from Sweet Apple Acres in search of her cutie mark. She decided she would stay with her aunt and uncle Orange in Manehattan. She was excited when she arrived. She had never seen bigger buildings in her life. She was only slightly put off after somepony bumped into her.
"Watch where you're going, simpleton!" the stallion said to her.
"Ah- Ah'm sorry, sir..." She may have been young, but her accent was still thick.
As the stallion walked off, Applejack wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him say something along the lines of "Incompetent redneck..."
A few minutes later, AJ made it to her aunt and uncle's house without further incident.
"Tank y'all kindly fer lettin' me stay here..."
Aunt and uncle Orange laughed at her "simple" accent and mannerisms. In a few weeks time, her accent would be gone completely.
This was put to the test at a dinner party.
A gentlecolt had asked her how she enjoyed life in the city, to which she replied:
"Oh, it's simply divine. Although, I must admit, the city noise took some getting used to. Where I come from, nights are so quiet you seldom hear a peep until the roosters wake you." she smiled as she said this, thinking she gave an adequate response.
"The what?"
"I say, what in the Wide World of Equestria is a... Rooster?"
A murmur arose through the attendees, all asking the same basic thing: what is a rooster?
AJ was confused by these questions. Everypony knows what a rooster is, right?
Finally, the food came out. The portions were minuscule and left AJ hungrier than if she hadn't eaten at all. She decided to just go to bed. When she woke up, she was homesick. However, she couldn't go back. Just what would Big Mac and Granny Smith think?
She would have to go through many more years of this.
Pinkamena _____________
Pinkamena Diane Pie was doing what she normally did at home; she hauled rocks around. She was the eldest sister in her family and the other two, Inkamena and Blinkamena, were too young to do much work. Her father, Clyde, made Pinkamena do most of the work as a result.
She sighed, blowing her straight long mane out of her face.
Today was going to be different, she just knew it.
She looked in the air, off toward the direction of Cloudsdale, as if expecting to see something.
The sky was a dull gray and filled with clouds.
The frown she already had on her face deepened.
This isn't what was supposed to happen... she thought to herself, a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Quickly, without permission from her father, she ran away as fast as she could to the general direction of Ponyville.
Once there, she looked around. She never thought she would ever be able to visit Ponyville before.
But now was not the time for sight-seeing. Pinkamena had to get to the bottom of the strange feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, the one that told her that something that was supposed to happen never happened.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
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The Summer Solstice: Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy
A/N: This chapter only has sections for three ponies because I have plans for Rarity's section. Big plans. As in, it requires a whole other chapter big plans. And those plans involve some dark stuff... Stay tuned!
The Summer Solstice: Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Fluttershy
To the Summer Sun Celebration ________________
Today, Rainbow Dash was excited for once. It was the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, which took place in Ponyville this year, not too far from her home in Cloudsdale.
She had always wanted to meet Celestia.
But what would Fluttershy think? Surely Fluttershy wouldn't be interested on something happening on the ground...
I should probably leave a note, just in case... Rainbow thought.
After writing said note, Rainbow left her home for Ponyville. When she arrived, she stared in awe at the buildings. they were just so... Different... From the ones in Cloudsdale.
Everypony she passed greeted her with a smile on their face. It seemed like they were all headed in the same direction, which Rainbow assumed to be toward the town hall where the Summer Sun Celebration was being held.
Judging by all the decorations, she was right.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the royal fanfare began to play.
Nothing happened.
There was a murmur amongst the crowd.
"What happened? Isn't Celestia supposed to be here?" somepony asked Rainbow Dash.
"I... Uh..." she trailed off as a dark cloud formed on the balcony where Celestia was supposed to stand.
A shady mare appeared shortly after, and she was obviously not friendly. The guards assaulted her, but they were fended off with lightning strikes.
"Greetings, foals! I am Nightmare Moon! I am here to take the place of Celestia as the ruler of Equestria!" the mare known as Nightmare Moon stated. She looked around, taking in the faces of fear of everypony in the crowd. She gave a satisfied smirk.
"Now, where can I find Celestia?"
To Ponyville ____________
Both Twilight and Trixie were carrying saddlebags full of their possessions. It had been Trixie's idea to set up base in Ponyville instead of Canterlot, as it was closer to where Nightmare Moon was released.
Twilight looked up and saw that the sky was dark and stormy.
"Hurry, Trixie! We're missing it!"
The two of them sped up in order to catch Nightmare Moon. A shadowy mist seeped out of one of the buildings, most likely the town hall, materializing in front of Twilight. Both she and Trixie skidded to a stop.
Nightmare Moon stood before them. Twilight bowed.
"What's this? I, Nightmare Moon, am in your presence, and instead of trembling you bow to me... Explain yourself."
Twilight smiled. "We both want the same thing. And we can help each other accomplish our goal."
Nightmare Moon eyed Twilight suspiciously. "And how do you expect me to believe you? How do I know that you are not the pony my sister called upon to fight against me?"
Twilight didn't know how to answer. How exactly does one prove they are trustworthy to somepony they just met? She had an idea about what to say, but she wasn't sure it would work... Or where she even heard it from. There was a long silence before she sighed.
"Er... Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my- OW!"
To the Ground ______________
Fluttershy was on her way back to Rainbow's home. She heard a chirp from Angel.
"Oh, Angel, of course she won't be upset. I mean, I'm her friend, and she couldn't stay mad at me."
Angel chirped again.
"Oh... You didn't mean at me, did you... Well... We'll just have to find out, won't we?"
She arrived at Rainbow's door. On the door, she saw a note.
"A note? 'Dear Fluttershy, I am not going to be in Cloudsdale today because I went to see the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. I don't know when I'll be back. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine...' P... Ponyville..."
Fluttershy thought for a while.
"Angel, do you think that Rainbow Dash would mind if we... Dropped by for a visit in Ponyville?"
Angel chirped in response.
__________Gathering the Elements__________
Rarity had gathered up a crack team of ponies. These ponies were herself, Ditzy Doo, Vinyl Scratch, Bonbon, Octavia, and Doctor Whooves. These are the ponies that Celestia herself suggested she bring.
As they stood on the edge of the Everfree Forest, millions of thoughts raced through their heads. What will the elements do? What do they look like? And most importantly, where were the elements? The plan was to look in the Castle of the Sisters.
"Well... Is everypony ready?" Rarity asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Bonbon replied.
"Yeah, this should be cool." Vinyl added.
"We DO get muffins after this, right?" Ditzy put in.
"Yes, I do believe so." Octavia stated.
"Alon-zy!" Doctor Whooves yelled, leading everypony into the Everfree Forest, unknowing as to what horrors they would see there.
So far, nothing bad had happened. The forest was clear of anything that could be considered dangerous. And when they walked far enough, it was clear of trees as well. There was a horribly loud roar, and everypony turned in its direction.
There in front of them was a huge manticore, and it looked pissed. It started to charge at them.
"Everypony! Keep going! I'll settle it down!" Octavia yelled as she took out he cello.
"No! We have to stick together!" Rarity yelled.
"I know what I'm doing! Just go!"
"But..."
Vinyl put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. "She knows what she's doing. Let's go."
With that, they turned and left, a beautiful sound playing behind them.
The group had gotten far away from the manticore, but there was still no sign of Octavia.
"D... Do you think she... She's... D-" Rarity started.
"No! She's not! She can't be!" Vinyl yelled, although she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than she was Rarity.
That's when Octavia walked back. She was covered in cuts, scars, and a sticky red substance.
"TAVI!" Vinyl yelled. "Tavi, what happened?! You look terrible!"
"I... I stopped... Playing..." Octavia replied. Than she collapsed on the ground.
Everypony quickly gathered around her. Doctor Whooves put a hoof on her neck and shook his head solemnly.
"I'm afraid she's dead... There's nothing we can do..."
Ditzy quickly ran over, and whispered something in whooves ear. The rest of them were in too much shock to pay any attention, but Rarity could of sworn she heard something about time machines and fixed points. He looked very solemn.
Ditzy saw the look of sadness on his face, one that she had never seen on him before. She decided it was best to leave him alone for now.
They buried Octavia and held a small funeral in the forest. They continued on solemnly.
It was darker than usual in this part of the forest. There were a lot more trees, too.
Nopony there could see a thing in front of them. That's when Bonbon screamed.
"Bonbon! What is it?" Rarity was quick to ask.
"It... It's... The trees have faces!" Bonbon replied, causing everypony to look around.
The trees did, in fact, have faces.
"Don't worry, it's not like they can do anything. It's just faces." Doctor Whooves replied, taking out a cylindrical device with a blue light on the tip. It lit up and emitted a high pitched sound and Doctor Whooves looked at it. "No, I was wrong. they can do a lot. They're a breed of weeping ang... Monsters. I mean monsters. Just, whatever you do, keep looking at them, don't blink. They will not hesitate to kill you."
"What?! They're going to KILL US?!?!" Bonbon yelled.
"No, not so long as you keep looking at them."
"D-Doctor! W-Why are they moving???" Ditzy asked.
"What?! NO! Ditzy, it's your eyes! They don't know you can see them! Everypony, look toward Ditzy!" Doctor Whooves yelled.
It was too late. As soon as they turned, Ditzy was nowhere to be seen. The trees had gotten her. For some reason, the tree's faces disappeared. The remains of the group continued on hesitantly.
Their spirits down, the four remaining ponies continued along the path to the old castle. They came across a raging river, one that seemed impossible to cross.
"How could we have come this far only to be stopped by a little river..." Rarity sighed. Her mane was entirely frizzed, many hairs out of place.
Something in the river moved. Rarity, with her eye for detail, was the only one to see it, although she dismissed it at first.
Than it moved again.
"Did everypony see that?"
"See what?" Bonbon asked.
"Something... In the water. It moved."
The thing in the water moved again.
"I saw it! But... What is it?"
Suddenly, a giant serpent rushed out of the water and it...
Cried...
About its mustache...
And this was shaping up to be a dark chapter, too...
"Oh, deary me! My gorgeous mustache has been destroyed by something traveling this way!"
Bonbon just stared at the large serpent, Doctor Whooves and Vinyl Scratch were off looking for another way around the river.
"Is that it...?" Rarity asked.
"What do you mean?! My mustache is my prized possession!"
Rarity sighed. She used her magic to lift a pair of scissors out of her saddlebag which she used to snip the hairs on her tail off. She levitated the tail to the serpent.
"Are you sure? You want to give this to me? To replace my mustache? Oh, thank you! I'll tell you what, since you've been so kind, I will help you cross this river!"
Rarity and Bonbon cheered. Something actually went their way today.
"Doctor! Vinyl! Come over here! We have a way over the river!" Bonbon yelled.
As soon as the two ponies got back, they all crossed. Bonbon had offered to go last and received much objection from Doctor Whooves. Bonbon won out eventually.
Everypony was already on the other side when Bonbon started crossing. The three others made it across without a problem, so why wouldn't she be able to?
As soon as she made it half way across, a large felled tree floated violently down the river. Bonbon froze as she saw it. It struck the serpent making him shake and causing her to be knocked into the rough rapids below.
Rarity, Vinyl, and Doctor Whooves lost all hope when they looked over and saw the rocks next to a waterfall covered in red. By now, they were all used to this.
They continued on ahead.
There was a thick fog covering the ground, but the group of three could still see in front of them. They exited a jumble of trees to find that the old castle was withing sight. They trotted as fast as they could in the direction, but quickly stopped. The fog cleared and they saw that there was a large gorge with a broken bridge blocking their way.
"NO! ENOUGH WITH THE OBSTACLES!" Rarity yelled to nopony in particular.
Vinyl put a hand on Rarity's shoulder.
"Don't... Don't worry... I'll hold the bridge up..."
Rarity facehoofed. Of course... she thought My magic wouldn't be strong enough, anyway...
Vinyl's horn started glowing and the bridge supported itself once more.
Little did they know that a team of pegasi were watching them.
"Rarity, you go first." Doctor Whooves offered.
She crossed.
"All right, Vinyl. You cross now."
"Can't, Doc. I gotta hold it up."
Doctor Whooves sighed as if he already knew what would happen. He crossed solemnly.
All right, Vinyl... You can do this... Just keep your focus... Vinyl thought to herself.
A group of dark pegasi swooped in right in front of Vinyl. She lost her focus for a second. That's all it took.
Her magic lost effect on the bridge and it fell apart once again. She started falling into the chasm. Her glasses came off, revealing her vibrant red eyes. She did not scream as she fell.
"NO! VINYL!" Rarity yelled. Her hair was beyond saving at this point, and so was her sanity.
"There was nothing we could do, Rarity..." Doctor Whooves stated, as if reading Rarity's mind.
It was my fault... I brought them here... she thought.
The two continued to the castle to collect what they were venturing for.
"Foals! Did you really think that you could beat me, Nightmare Moon, the the elements of harmony?"
Rarity and Doctor Whooves stared in disbelief.
"No! We came here for the elements, ponies DIED today to get these elements... And I am willing to FIGHT TO GET THEM!" Rarity yelled.
Doctor Whooves lightly pushed rarity back and trotted up to Nightmare Moon, mouthing "I'll handle this..."
He took out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at Nightmare. Her horn glowed and it shot a bolt of energy at him, knocking the sonic out of his mouth. He was knocked back slightly, a lot of energy taken out of him after only one blow. He got up and started trotting toward her again.
"What?! That would be enough to kill any normal pony!" Nightmare yelled.
"I... I'm not... A normal... Pony..." Doctor Whooves replied. He continued moving toward her.
She shot another bolt of energy. This knocked him down. His body began to glow, and particles were flowing off of him. He turned to Rarity.
"Have... Have fun... At the Gala..."
He was hit by a third bolt of energy, which caused him to lay motionless on the floor.
"Now, if there won't be any further interruption, I am going to take what I came for." Nightmare Moon levitated a stone with a gem engraved on it and she teleported away.
Rarity was now on the ground herself. However, she was still alive. But she wished she wasn't.
What she really needed right was some more pet cats.
Hello, everyone!
Glad you were all so patient (or at least i assume) and I hope you don't hate me for adding this as a chapter and making it look like it was an update which was by no means intentional! ^^;
A Few Years Later
Rainbowshy and Flutter Dash (note: this section has nothing to do with shipping) _______________________
Rainbow Dash woke up. She had the dream again, the dream that her life had been different. Perhaps even better. That's usually how the dream protrayed her life.
It was the dream where she raced Kev and won. She looked at her flank. Nothing was there. She was the only pony her age without a cutie mark. She thought about leaving her home today. She remembered the last time she did, the ridicule she received from everypony... She decided against it.
She would wait until Fluttershy came over. Fluttershy could stick up for Rainbow Dash, like she always did. Fluttershy was the bravest pony she knew.
Rainbow heard a knock on the door and her ears perked up. She rushed to the door and greeted her guest with a smile.
"H-Hi, Fluttershy! It's been a while!"
Flutteshy had a short, pink mane and tail and a cutie mark of three butterflies, which Rainbow thought was strange considering Fluttershy's personality.
"Hey, Rainbow! I've been thinking about what we should do today..."
Rainbow looked at Fluttershy in a confused manner, her long, multi-hued mane drooping on the cloud that she was standing on.
"I think we should have a race!"
Rainbows eyes grew large. "A-a r-race?!?! Oh... Um... I don't know..." she held her head low and scraped her hooves on the cloud. "Y-you know I... Don't like races..."
She started thinking about the day her life took the turn for the worse.
Fluttershy saw the look on Rainbow's face and quickly retracted her offer.
"Oh, right... Of course... Well, um..." Fluttershy had started to speak introvertedly. Assertive. "Is there something else you'd rather do?"
"No... I-I'm fine... I was actually planning on staying home today..."
Fluttershy sighed. "All right. Come on, Angel." There was a chirp from her bluebird friend as they left.
Research ____________________________
Twilight Sparkle was about to give up all hope. None of her history books had anything about Celestia's weaknesses. She slammed her books on the floor.
"Twilight, perhaps the answer isn't in the history books." Trixie, her assistant, suggested.
Twilight thought about this. Of course! If somepony had a weakness, they wouldn't want it to be publicized... And with the power Celestia has as the princess, she can have her weaknesses put off as fiction!
"Trixie, what would I do without you?"
Trixie smiled, accepting the compliment. Ever since Twi hired her as an assistant, she had cast aside her old stage name. It seemed stupid now... The Great and Powerful Trixie... She hadn't been doing well as a traveling entertainer anyway.
Twi picked out a book titled "Nightmare Moon and other Old Mare's Tales." Nightmare Moon sounds like she'd be able to help us with our cause...
She opened the book to the story called "the Mare in the Moon." Twi liked the sound of this... Nightmare Moon. She was an alicorn. She once knew Celestia, and, in fact, was the one who ruled alongside her to raise the moon. She got jealous and took a turn to the dark because nopony appreciated her moon.
The next part Twi liked the best.
Celestia imprisoned Nightmare in the moon. She had a reason for revenge, a reason to help their cause. The only problem was that it would take 1000 years for her to escape the moon.... The good news was that 1000 years was tomorrow.
The legend said that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars would aid her escape, and she would show up in Ponyville.
Twi smile mischievously. Yes... This Nightmare Moon should work perfectly...
"Trixie, pack your things. We're going to Ponyville."
The Filly who Cried Dragon ________________
Fluttershy hovered away from Rainbow's home dejectedly. She never should have brought up racing. She heard a chirp and looked toward Angel, who had a worried look on his face.
That's when Scootaloo showed up. Scootaloo was Fluttershy's biggest fan. Fluttershy stopped and Angel perched on her head.
"Fluttershy! I've been looking all over for you!" Scootaloo was panting. She wasn't exactly the strongest flyer, and she flew as fast as she could to reach Fluttershy. "There's a BIG problem!"
"Don't worry, Scootaloo. I'm sure that whatever it is, I can help. What's the problem?" Fluttershy asked with a smile.
"There's a big, scary dragon coming toward Cloudsdale! You're the braves pony I know, you can beat that dragon easy!"
Fluttershy stood rigid. She was absolutely terrified of dragons. Of course, she couldn't let Scootaloo know that she was scared. She looked up at Angel who, with a nod, flew away.
"I-I'm sure that I'll be able to... to, um..."
Scootaloo looked at Fluttershy expectantly. There was a silence between the two that lasted a while. Fluttershy felt uncomfortable and felt that she had let Scootaloo down. That is, she did, until Angel flew back to Fluttershy and shook his head.
"O-Oh, don't worry. There isn't a dragon. Wherever did you hear such a thing?"
Scootaloo thought hard, than looked down embarrassed. "Oh, well, uh... Nopony told me... But... I could have sworn I saw a dragon... Must have just been a cloud..."
Scootaloo reminded Fluttershy of herself at that moment. Of course, Scootaloo was assertive most of the time WITHOUT having to force herself, or making a promise to a friend.
A Rarity for Rarity ________________
Everypony's favorite mallow mare was busy working on a dress for a very important client, one who would make her fashion known throughout all of Equestria; Sapphire Shores. She heard the sound of hooves on the floor. It was getting louder, as if the source was getting closer.
Suddenly, she felt a bump on her hind leg, causing her to lose her concentration as she consequentially dropped her needle and dress. She looked back and saw Sweetie Belle, her younger sister.
"Yes, Sweetie? Did you need something?" Rarity said through clenched teeth, trying to hide irritation.
Sweetie Belle was panting. "There's... Some... Pony... At... Door... Prin... Cess... Celestia..." she fell on the floor, out of breath.
Rarity froze up. What could the princess possibly want from her? If Celestia wanted a dress, she would become EVEN MORE famous than the dress she was making for Sapphire Shores. She slowly made her way to the door. There standing before her was Princess Celestia herself.
Rarity's eyes widened as she bowed to Celestia. She saw the calm demeanor that she had about her, one that she almost always had.
"Hello, Rarity. I must speak to you about a matter of utmost importance.
"W-Why, of course, Princess. What is it you wish to talk about?"
Celestia's smile turned into a slight frown as she looked around to make sure nopony was listening to their conversation.
"As you know, I'm supposed to be here tomorrow for the Summer Sun Celebration. However, Nightmare Moon is going to be freed on the same day. I believe she is going to be helped by somepony, betraying me and all of Equestria in doing so." She paused to let it sink in. "I need you and five other ponies to go out to the Everfree Forest and collect the Elements of Harmony in order to defeat them."
Sweet Apple Acres _____________
It's been years since AJ ran away from home, but something inside her brought her back. It was strange seeing her brother, Big Macintosh, all grown up, and the last time she was there Applebloom was just a few days old.
When Sweet Apple Acres was in view, she quickly galloped closer.
Applebloom stared at the mare running toward her and her brother, who wore a stetson. She was much too... Proper, for lack of a better word.
However, when she saw AJ's cutie mark of three apples, all doubt was cast aside, and she knew that the pony with her mane in a bun was in fact her long lost sister.
"B... Big sis'? Is that you?" Applebloom asked, having never met AJ before.
"Applebloom... I haven't seen you since... Well, since Ah was your age..." AJ quickly caught her mistake in her accent and corrected herself.
"I mean... Since I was your age..."
She looked around. The farm was extremely old fashion. She couldn't see a single unicorn working there, the farm apparently only being run by her older brother.
When she was with aunt and uncle Orange unicorns always helped with the harvest of the fruit, making it go by a lot faster.
She sighed. "Pardon me, but I have business that I positively must attend to."
She walked off to the barn.
"Big Macintosh, has AJ always been like that?" Applebloom asked.
Big Mac said nothing for a while, a dramatic silence building up.
He sighed.
"No... No she has not... Not always..." he replied.
Oh boy, a party... __________________
Pinkamena had decided to stay home at Sugarcube Corner today. Every time she left, she felt the strange feeling that she always felt, the one in the pit of her stomach. She grouped it with her collection of Pinkamena Senses, strange things that happened with her body when something was going to happen. For example, when her tail twitched, something was about to fall.
Her tail twitched.
She quickly held her pillow over her head. A small alligator plopped on top of it.
"Oh, Gummy..." she sighed, picking up the toothless reptile. "Haven't I told you not to try to sneak up on me like that?"
Gummy just stared at her and blinked one eye at a time.
Pinkamena suddenly realized something. Tomorrow was the Summer Solstice, and Celestia was coming to Ponyville this year. Mayor Mare entrusted Pinkamena with the party planning.
She loved planning parties. In fact, that's how she got her cutie mark.
She didn't, however, enjoy attending parties. She couldn't really explain it. She just didn't feel the same way everypony else did when they attended parties.
She sighed and grabbed pencil in her mouth and took out a sheet of paper to write down what they would need for the party. She suddenly stopped and stared intently at the wall, which seemed to interest her more than anything else in all of Equestria.
"Gummy, do you ever feel like somepony is watching everything that you do?"
Gummy blinked one eye at a time in response.
"Well, if somepony IS watching..." she walked up to the wall and pressed her face on it. "I have my eye on YOU !" she said, a suspicious look on her face.
After the short outburst, she went back to planning the party.
END OF CHAPTER TWO
BONUS CHAPTER: Meanwhile, in Canterlot...
A/N: Oh, you guys! I never thought, or even DREAMED that I would get... How many views was it? 1,300+? Wow... That... That's a lot... I just want to give out some thanks: Thanks, firstly, to Lauren Faust, without whom there would be no MLP and no inspiration for this story. Second, I would like to thank England for Doctor Who. Third, I would like to thank my friend who read the chapters before they were published. And last, but not least, I would like to thank you, the reader. Without your comments or sheer number, I would never have had the motivation to keep writing this story. It is truly the reader that is the most important component, because at the end of the day, that's who I'm writing for. Thank you all so much. And now, enjoy a short little chapter about Celestia!
BONUS CHAPTER! Meanwhile, in Canterlot... ________________
Celestia sat on her bed, bored. Nothing interesting was happening today. Well, other than her sister escaping the moon. But she had that taken care of.
"I wonder how many of them have died yet..." she thought out loud. She quickly perked her head up and looked around, making sure nopony heard her. She went back to observing her loyal subjects. She did so enjoy playing with their minds.
She wasn't always like this, though. Her heart was heavy because somepony had disappointed her a long time ago. Somepony who was now trying to overthrow her reign. Somepony who, at this very moment, was killing off Rarity's friends.
"Twilight Sparkle..." she said to herself. Her viewing orb's sight moved over slightly, revealing the lavender mare, her horn glowing, amplifying Nightmare Moon's powers enough to kill Doctor Whooves.
It's a shame... thought Celestia. He seems like he was such a smart one. And loyal, too. He would be very useful to my court.
One of Celestia's guards burst into her room, Celestia still focusing on the orb so as to not drop it.
"What is it?" she asked, not turning around.
"Your majesty! The ponies of Ponyville are worried sick about you! Mayor Mare has been contacting us all day! Even WE didn't know that you hadn't left yet!"
Celestia sighed. Her guards were truly terrible, not even able keep track of her when she was in her own castle. That could be a good thing,though, if one of her guards were to be a spy...
"All right. I will go to Ponyville for the sole purpose of averting everypony's fears."
END OF BONUS CHAPTER
