The Seventh Pony

I awoke from a haunting sleep. I don't know if it only happens to me, but whenever I sleep swell, I get bombarded by nightmares. This time, the nightmare was about some sort of darkness swallowing Equestria. It was kind of ironic, today was the Summer Sun Celebration, a celebration of the longest day of the year. However, this Summer Sun Celebration was different. It was the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration, making it an extra special celebration. I got out of my bed and gazed into the mirror. There I was, Midnight Smoke, a coat of gray, a mane of black, and a horn, that was me. It was nothing truly special. I made my way downstairs and opened my door. Out here was the most dazzling village anypony has ever laid eyes on, Ponyville. Right in the center was the town hall, a marvelous building that rose about two stories high. It was currently being decorated with flags and banners for the Summer Sun Celebration. Around the town hall were multiple houses, all painted different colors, but the interiors of all of them were the same. It was also a peaceful village, no one ever tried to break into each others houses, and most of the time ponies treated other ponies with respect. It was for  these reasons that I had moved here many years ago. I walked outside of my door with high expectations for this day. I looked into the sky to find that there were still clouds in the sky. Whoever pony's job it was to clear the sky, they were doing a really bad job of it.

Suddenly, a rainbow colored pony rose across the sky and started dashing through the clouds. I stared in awe at this pony. She was flying about the sky clearing clouds from the sky like it was no problem. When she was done, there was not one cloud hanging above Ponyville. I took back what I said earlier about the weather pony not doing a good job of clearing the clouds, that pegasus had done a wonderful job of it, and it only took about ten seconds.

After this amazing scene, I walked through Ponyville. Everypony was preparing for the celebration. Ponies ran to the town hall, despite the fact that that the celebration wouldn't take place for a couple of hours. I couldn't blame them, it was the only time of the year where the citizens got to publicly see Princess Celestia. I heard my stomach growl, and decided that I should get something to eat, don't want to pass out from starvation in front of the princess. I decided to head over to Sweet Apple Acres, a small apple farm on the western side of Ponyville. I had never been there in my whole time of living in Ponyville, which is awkward, since it is a pretty famous business here in Ponyville.

On the way to Sweet Apple Acres, I passed by what looked like some sort of beauty shop. When I looked at it, I saw a purple pony tip-toeing out of the shop. On her back was a baby dragon. What had happened in that beauty shop that would cause somepony to want to escape? I shook the thought away. I just needed to get an apple at Sweet Apple Acres, that was all. I continued on my way, passing by many other ponies and walking along the dirt road.

After a long walk, I finally reached the hill going up to Sweet Apple Acres. It was a beautiful red barn rising high into the sky. Everywhere you looked there were apple trees, that's what got this place its name after allwereThere was an Orange Pony manning a stand outside of the barn. I walked up to the pony and got my bits ready.

"Excuse me" I said. The pony turned around

"Hello there partner, what can I do for you on this fine day?" She asked. She was orange and wore a western hat.

"I would like one apple please."

"Coming right up!" She hit a barrel filled with apples with her hooves, causing one apple to jump out and land on the stand. I stared at her in awe.

"How did you do that?" I asked in amazemant

"Oh it's nothing, I do it all the time here at Sweet Apple Acres!" She exclaimed

"Okay, well how much do you want for this apple?" I asked. She stared at me like I had spoken a foreign language. A smile quickly lit up her face though.

"Oh, you can have this one on the house, sugarcube!"

"Really, thanks!" I exclaimed.

"You are welcome!" she said

I picked up the apple  using my magic and began to chow down on the apple. It was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted. It took me shorter than I expected to finish off the apple, I guess I was  very hungry. I walked back down the hill, leaving the rolling hills of Sweet Apple Acres behind. There were still a couple of hours before the Summer Sun Celebration, and I could find nothing else to do. "Maybe... Maybe I should talk to some ponies," I said aloud. I was startled by a voice from above.

"Talking to yourself?" After recovering from the shock, I looked up to see that it was a rainbow pegasus. She looked vaguely familiar.

"Are you the pony that cleared the sky earlier today?" I asked.

"Yes I am," answered the mare, "I'm Rainbow Dash, whats your name?"

"Why should I tell you my name if I barely know you?" I questioned

"Well, I told you my name," said the pony sarcastically, "So you should tell me your name!"

"Yeah , well what if your just a spy!" I yelled. The mare got a stern look in her eyes.

"Okay, I've only talked to you for two seconds, and now you accuse me of being a spy!"

"Yes, that's right!"

"Why would I be a spy?"

"Because I've barely seen you here and I've been here for 3 years," I said, "You were probably talking to your spy friends all of that time!"

"That's it!". Rainbow Dash went into a nosedive in an attempt to hit me. I did the only logical thing that came to mind, a teleportation spell. I used some of my energy to successfully teleport myself a little ways away from where I had stood before. The pony landed in a pile of mud. I let out a laugh. "That's not funny!" she yelled. She flew up high in the sky and attempted another nosedive. I did another teleportation spell, only this time, the mare anticipated it. She turned, and went directly towards me. She hit me, and I was blown back into a tree. "Now that's funny!" said Rainbow dash, laughing. I needed to stop this. If I continued, I would only end up with more injuries. I imagined Ponyville town hall, and concentrated all of my energy into a teleportation spell to get me there. I saw a sudden flash, and I was next to the Ponyville town hall. . I held my hoof to my head, I had gotten a headache from using all of my energy to cast the spell. After it went away, I breathed a sigh of relief. That was going to get ugly if I hadn't done that spell. I decided to head back to my house, there were still a couple hours of daylight left, and I was exhausted after that fight with Rainbow Dash. When I got to my house, I noticed a card lying on the entrance mat. On the card were big pink words saying, "Party Invitation!" I opened it and read it.

Hello everypony! There's a new pony in town, and I want everyone to meet her! Come to the library, but be quick, she'll be here soon!

Pinkie Pie

I looked at the invitation, and thought of what I should do in my mind. I wanted to go to sleep, but this party might be my chance to meet someponies. I made up my mind. I would go to this party, and try to make some friends.

The invitation said that it was at a library, and I knew that there was a library in town, but it was closed down since no one lived there, and there was no one to take care of the books. If this new pony was living there, that meant I could learn some new magic spells! I was very lacking in my knowledge of magic, despite being a unicorn. I walked away from my door and went to the library.

I opened the door to find the lights off. Huh, that was strange. Maybe this wasn't the library. Suddenly, lights came on.

"SURPRISE!" yelled a huge crowd of ponies. There was a pink one with three balloons for a cutie mark in the middle of all the ponies.

"Oh never mind, it's not her" said the pink pony, surprisingly enthusiastically, despite the fact that I was not the pony she was hoping for.

"Uh, is this the library?" I asked.

"Well of course it is, silly!" she said, "Would this be a library if there weren't so many books here?" she asked. She was right. The main room was a circular room cut into a tree. To the right were some stairs which led up stairs to what looked like a bedroom.

"I guess you're right, but I came here for the party, not the library," I said.

"Okay then, get in the crowd, I think she's coming!" She switched off the lights and got into her place. I heard the sound of a door opening, and noticed some light coming from where the door was standing. I noticed a pony and a small baby dragon walk in the door.

"Huh, rude much?" said the dragon sarcastically.

"Sorry Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we're running out of time," said the pony nervously, "I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time," I'm pretty sure some members of the party took offense to that, "Now wheres the lights?" After saying that, the pink pony turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" Everypony, including me, yelled. I noticed that the pony was the same pony that had sneaked away from the beauty shop. She got an annoyed look on her face. The pink pony suddenly ran up to her.

"Hi I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!" said the pink pony,"Were you surprised, were you, were you, huh huh huh?"

"Very suprised," said the purple pony,"Libraries are supposed to be quiet!" Pinkie Pie let out a giggle

"That's silly, what kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie,"I mean, duh, BORING!" The Purple pony started walking away, but Pinkie followed,"You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember. you were all 'Hello' and I was all," Pinkie let out a gasp, "Remember?, you see, I never saw you before and if I never saw you that means you're new!" she continued,"Cause I know every pony, and I mean everypony," the purple pony let out a groan,"and if your new, it meant that you hadn't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, and I had an idea, so that's why I went,"  the purple pony had clearly lost interest in the conversation, and had started pouring a drink in a cup. Pinkie let out another gasp, "so I thought' I'll just throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville' see, and now you have lots and lots of friends!" A group of ponies had gathered together, and I noticed the pony who sold me the apple, and the rainbow colored pony who I fought with. I decided to duck further back in the crowd, so she didn't notice me.

The purple pony suddenly looked surprised and stopped sipping her drink. When she turned around, her mouth was red. "Are you alright sugarcube?" Said the pony that had sold me the apple. The purple pony suddenly dashed away, and went up the stairs.

"Awww, she's so happy she's crying!" said Pinkie Pie. Spike picked up the bottle that the pony had dropped.

"Hot sauce" He read. Pinkie Pie reached towards the bottle, and tipped it over. It got onto one of the cupcakes that had been laid out. Pinkie Pie picked up the cupcake with the hot sauce on it, and ate it.

"This is good!", said Pinkie Pie with her mouth full.

I don't know exactly how many hours I was at the party, but I didn't get spotted by the rainbow pony and the purple pony didn't come out until it was time to go to the Summer Sun Celebration, to watch the sun rise.

Everypony filed into the town hall excitedly, anxiously awaiting the moment when the sun would rise and the celebration would begin. I decided to sit far away from any of the ponies that I had met at the party, okay I didn't really meet anyone, but I thought I could use some time away from all of those ponies. Suddenly, a chorus of chirping swept its way through the crowd. I looked up to see a yellow pony with pink hair directing the birds. Her cutie mark was a trio of butterflies. A spotlight shone down on where the mayor of Ponyville was standing.

"Fillies and gentlecoats!" The mayor began, "it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" Everypony cheered. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!" The spotlight shone on the balcony above, and the curtains opened to reveal.... nothing.

A confused gasp swept through the crowd. A white pony with purple hair investigated the balcony, "She's gone!" She exclaimed. An even louder gasp swept the crowd this time.

"Remain calm, everypony, I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for this!" said the mayor. Suddenly, a dark mist appeared on the balcony. From the mist, appeared a pony who's coat was black as night, and whose mane was the color of the stars. Her hair looked like one of those nebulae in the sky.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces" she taunted.

"What did you do with our princess!" shouted a voice. I looked over to see it was the rainbow pony. She tried to fly up to her, but the orange pony who sold me the apple pulled her back. The dark pony chuckled.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you?" she said, " Don't you know who I am!" I saw Pinkie Pie excitedly try to guess her name.

"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty--" she was cut off by the orange pony, who had stuffed a cupcake in her mouth. Did Pinkie Pie ever take things seriously?

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" Questioned the dark pony. Suddenly, the purple pony from the party spoke up.

"I did. And I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" she said. Everyone let out a gasp, including me. I thought Nightmare Moon was just an old pony's tale used to scare young fillies, but she was actually real! Nightmare Moon chuckled maniacally.

"Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here" she said.

"You're here to... to..." she stuttered, and then gulped. Nightmare Moon chuckled more manically than before.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She laughed insanely, and lightning surrounded her.

The night. Last. Forever! Oh no, my dream was coming true!