Author's Note
Nyx belongs to Pen Stroke
Flitter, Willow, and Ziggy belong to RealityCheck
If I am forgetting to mention any of them, please let me know.
PROLOGUE
The sun was just peeking over the horizon in Ponyville, but the Weather Team was already hard at work.
“Come on! Come on! Keep those clouds moving!” a blue Pegasus mare hollered.
“We get it, Rainbow Dash!” a lavender mare with an ice-blue mane shot back.
“I am just making sure we get the storm ready on time, it’s not like you have to be here earlier then everypony else, Cloudchaser!”
Cloudchaser rolled her eyes. “We all know you do,” she muttered. “Ok, I’ll move a little faster,” she said.
“That’s the spirit!” Rainbow Dash grinned. Cloudchaser rolled her eyes again and sighed. I can’t wait for today’s storm to be finished…
※ ※ ※
A pale yellow Pegasus mare was trying to sneak away from the activity.
“Hey, Fluttershy!” The yellow mare froze. “Where are you off to?” Rainbow Dash asked as she flew over.
“Um…Well, I…um….” Fluttershy seemed flustered.
“Aw…it’s ok, Fluttershy, if you wanna leave, it’s fine, after all, you aren’t part of the Weather Team,” Rainbow Dash told her.
“Oh, thank you Rainbow!” Fluttershy hugged Rainbow Dash before flying off in the other direction once more.
A grey mare with a yellow mane was attempting to push a cloud in the direction of the others, but the only thing she succeeded in doing, was turning the cloud into little puffs.
“Ditzi!” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Can’t you even do a simple task without making a mistake?!” Ditzi frowned. “Aww… Ya know I didn’t mean it…” Rainbow Dash went over. Ditzi smiled and went to collect all of the cloud puffs. Rainbow Dash followed and soon they had the cloud put back together and pushed it toward the others.
A pink mare with a blue-lavender mane was finishing up the last touches on the storm clouds.
“That should do it, Candy,” Rainbow Dash called.
“Ok, Rainbow, but we just gotta make sure the clouds have enough rain for the morning, otherwise the storm wouldn’t last as long as we want,” Candy said.
“Oh…right,” Rainbow Dash face-hoofed, “I totally forgot about that,” she muttered.
A lavender mare with a golden and yellow mane flew over, “It’s okay, Rainbow, everypony makes mistakes,” she smiled as she said that.
“Yeah, I know Cloud Kicker, it’s just that, well, I’m s’posed to be the one everypony looks up to, and I don’t know how they can do that when I am making mistakes all the time,” Rainbow Dash sighed.
“You don’t make mistakes all the time,” Cloud Kicker giggled, “It’s ‘Derpy’ who does that!”
As if on cue, they heard somepony say, “Oops…” Rainbow Dash and Cloud Kicker looked over and saw that Ditzi had accidentally made a cloud let the rain out onto a pair of unsuspecting earth-pony fillies below. Rainbow Dash started cracking up at the two fillies looking around; they seemed to think somepony had sprayed them with a hose or something.
Rainbow Dash looked over at her friend, Lightning Dust, and saw that she was nearly falling out of the sky, because she was laughing so hard. Rainbow Dash flew over.
“Hey, Dash! Did you see what Derpy did to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Lightning Dust asked Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash grinned and said “I sure did!” then she frowned. “But don’t you think calling Ditzi ‘Derpy’ is a bit mean?” Rainbow Dash asked her.
“Wait,” Lightning Dust seemed confused, “Her name isn’t Derpy? It’s Ditzi?”
“Yeah, Derpy is just a dumb nickname somepony thought of for her, and it has really spread,” Rainbow Dash explained.
“Ooohh....” Lightning Dust face-hoofed, “I really need to know these things, I’m sorry ‘bout calling her Derpy.”
“It’s fine,” Rainbow Dash told her, “As Cloud Kicker says, ‘Everypony makes mistakes,’ and it’s as true as the words that come out of AJ’s mouth.”
Lightning Dust opened her mouth to say something, but a voice called, “Are you two gonna hover there all day gossiping, or are ya gonna get back to work?!” Rainbow Dash looked at who was talking and saw that it was only Thunderlane.
“Okay, Thunderlane, we will,” Rainbow Dash flew back over and helped with the last few touches on the storm.
※ ※ ※
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash shouted, “Ready?!”
“READY!” the Weather Team shouted back.
“Okay, then let’s get this storm started!” Rainbow Dash grinned as she kicked her cloud. The rest of the Weather Team also kicked, and rain poured out. The storm had begun.
Nyx goes over to Mixup, Flitter, and Firework. “You should come back to Ponyville with us!” she tells Mixup.
“Oh, I-I um…I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” Mixup trails off.
“How come?” Sweetie Belle asks.
“Well, everywhere I go, there is nopony like me. And everypony is always afraid of me,” Mixup says sadly.
“Well this is Ponyville we’re talking about, we are…” Nyx trails off, “What did Princess Celestia call it?”
Willow comes up, “You mean the day I came?” Nyx nods. “She called it ‘The Cross-roads of Equestria’, and it’s true,” Willow smiles, remembering his first day of school.
Nyx nods and says, “Yeah, we have many creatures in Ponyville, I mean not just the common Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth-Ponies; we also have Diamond Dogs, Changelings, Thestrals, Alicorns, Zebras, Gryphons, and a Draconicus.”
As Nyx lists the residents of Ponyville, Mixup’s eyes widen. “Wow, I never expected that many creatures in one place…”
“So,” cuts in Flitter, “Will you come?”
Mixup thinks for a moment. “Okay, I guess I will come,” she agrees.
“Awesome!” Scootaloo shouts, making Mixup cringe. “Oh, sorry,” Scootaloo apologieses.
As the Crusaders leave the forest—with Mixup listening intently to stories about Ponyville—Hawkeye, Pipsqueak, Rocky, Zavier, and Dinky trail behind.
“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Hawkeye says to the other two.
“I know!” Pipsqueak whispers back, “I mean, we had enough trouble with one Draconicus, now we’ll have two!”
Dinky nods “I wouldn’t put it past Discord to try and get Mixup to make Ponyville the ‘Chaos Capital of the World’, just so he wouldn’t have to go against Fluttershy,” she says.
“Mmm-hmm,” Hawkeye nods as he says this.
“Uh, yeah,” Rocky says, “It’s just that, well Discord makes me nervous, and having Mixup around, it will be like having two Discords.”
Pipsqueak rolls his eyes. “That’s what I just said!” he tells Rocky.
Rocky looks at him funny. “Um…I knew that,” he says.
“The tales of Discord, I have heard—” Zavier was cut off by Pipsqueak.
“Let’s catch up to the others, we wouldn’t want them to think something’s up,” Pipsqueak says.
“Yeah, good idea,” Hawkeye agrees.
“—I would have like another word,” Zavier muttered, completing his rhyme.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders come to a stop as Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Bubblegum walk up to them, all three wearing rain gear. Bubblegum had moved to Ponyville the year before. She was a blank-flank, so she was invited to join the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but she was just mean to them and joined Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, instead.
“Hey, freaks,” Diamond Tiara says from under a pink umbrella, “What new creature did you scrape of the bottom of a rock?”
Moonbeam and Willow narrow their eyes at the lead bully. “We aren’t freaks, and we aren’t creatures; we are fillies and colts, not much different than you,” Moonbeam says dryly.
“Yeah!” Nyx says, glaring at Diamond Tiara, “Pretty much the only thing different—other than our appearance—is the fact that we aren’t bullies and you are!”
Silver Spoon narrows her eyes at the Crusaders. “Hmph! Well, I don’t see you getting whatever you want, whenever you want it!”
Flitter rolls her eyes. “We don’t need to, we have all that we want; friends, family, and harmony,” she shoots back.
“Like, whatever, weirdo!” Diamond Tiara sneers, “You will always be low class, and we will always be rich.”
“Good riddance,” Applebloom mutters as the three snobby fillies walk away.
“Yeah, you would think they were royalty the way they act,” Scootaloo agrees.
“Let’s just get back to the clubhouse,” Nyx says. “Yeah,” Hawkeye agrees.
As they walk down the street, they notice that Pinkie Pie has somepony cornered and is very excited.
“Looks like there’s somepony new in Ponyville,” Firework comments.
“Yup, poor them,” Applebloom says, trying not to laugh.
“Let’s go try and help,” Scootaloo says.
“Yeah, they might be pretty overwhelmed by her,” Rumble agrees.
“Hi I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie smiles as she says this, “What’s your name?”
The Crusaders notice the pony she is talking to is a navy-blue pegasus with a violet mane, green eyes, and silver glasses. The young pegasus seems uncomfortable with Pinkie being so close.
“I-I’m W-W-Wond-der St-truck,” the Pegasus stammers.
“Ooooo!” Pinkie squeals, “I just love meeting new ponies!”
Nyx walks over to them. “Hey, Pinkie?”
Pinkie Pie turns to look at Nyx. “Oh, hiya, Nyx! I was just meeting this new pony!”
Nyx smiles at Pinkie. “Yeah, I could tell, but I think you’re kinda scaring her.”
Pinkie’s grin falters. “Aw…Am I?” She turns back to Wonder Struck. “I’m sorry if I frightened you, it’s just…I just love meeting new po—”
Nyx cuts her off, “We know Pinkie, but don’t you have a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party to plan for her?”
Pinkie Pie gasps. “Yes, I do! I completely forgot!” she gallops away muttering to herself about party supplies.
“Sorry about that,” Nyx says to Wonder Struck.
“Um…Yeah, thanks,” Wonder Struck says, shyly, “My name’s Wonder Struck, but you can call me Wonder—if you want.”
Mixup hangs back as the other Crusaders go over. Twist smiles at Wonder. “I’th nithe do meed you,” She says.
“Thanks, Nice to meet you, too,” Wonder tells Twist, smiling. While the others introduce themselves, Mixup still hangs back, not sure if she is welcome.
“So do you wanna be a Cutie Mark Crusader like us?” Pip asks Wonder.
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle is eager at this idea, “I could make you a cape, just like ours!” She grins as she shows Wonder her cape, which is soaking wet from the rain.
Wonder thinks it over for a moment. “Okay, sounds fun!” she agrees.
Just then she notices Mixup.
“Who is that?” Wonder asks, pointing to Mixup.
“That’s Mixup,” Moonbeam tells her.
“Hey Mixup, come meet Wonder!” Firework calls to her.
“Um…Okay,” Mixup says nervously.
Wonder smiles. “It’s okay, I won’t bite,” she says earnestly.
Mixup smiles and comes over; she is surprised that Wonder doesn’t seem fazed at the fact that she is so different.
“Hey!” Scootaloo shouts to them; she is already heading down the street.
“Are we going to the clubhouse or not?” Mixup and Wonder just laugh and race after the others as they gallop away.
※ ※ ※
By the time the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally arrive at the tree house, they are soaking wet.
“Wow,” Wonder is amazed, “Did you really build all of this?”
Scootaloo shrugs. “Applebloom’s brother and sister—Big Macintosh and Applejack— helped.”
Wonder looks sad.
“What’s wrong?” Mixup asks.
Wonder sighs. “It’s just, a lot of you have siblings that are so great,” she says, “I mean, Sweetie Belle has Rarity, Scootaloo and Firework have each other and Rainbow Dash, Zixon and Zavier have each other, Applebloom has Applejack and Big Macintosh, but my older sister is just plain mean.”
“Well, that’s no way for an older sibling to act!” Rumble is furious, “My big brother, Thunderlane needs to teach her a lesson about being a good role model!”
Wonder hesitates, “Um, okay… But don’t be too hard on Star, she is kinda under a lot of stress right now with the move…” she trails off.
Sweetie Belle puts her hoof around Wonder. “We’ll be so close of friends, it will be just like having a bunch of brothers and sisters!”
Applebloom comes over. “Yeah, an’ we’ll have bunches of fun together!”
Wonder smiles.
※ ※ ※
Nyx drops her wet saddlebags at the door and quickly shuts the door after Mixup enters.
“Nyx, is that you?” Twilight calls from the other room.
“Yes, Mom, it’s me!” Nyx calls back. “My mom is the best,” Nyx tells Mixup, “She makes the best Blueberry pancakes, too.”
Mixup smiles. “She sounds really ni—” she jumps at a knock at the door.
“Nyx, can you get that?” Twilight asks. “I’ve kinda got my hooves full!”
Nyx tries not to laugh as she hears a crash from the other room. “Sure thing!” She opens the door and is surprised to see Wonder standing outside, soaking wet.
“Um…hi?” Wonder gives Nyx a curious look. “What are you doing at the library?” she asks Nyx. “I thought you said you were gonna go home for lunch.”
Nyx tries not to laugh. “I did,” she says grinning. “I live at the library!”
Wonder stares at her. “Wait, do you mean you spend most of your time here reading, or that you actually live here?”
“I actually live here,” Nyx laughs. “Well, don’t just stand there in the rain, come inside!”
Wonder looks around as she steps into the library.
“Come on!” Nyx calls, halfway up the stairs, “I’ll show you guys my room!”
※ ※ ※
Mixup follows Wonder and Nyx upstairs and into a bedroom.
“This is my mom’s room,” Nyx explains. “My room is upstairs. Come on!” She races out of the room and darts up even more stairs and Wonder and Mixup chase after her.
She skids to a stop at the top and they all enter the room.
“This,” Nyx motions around her, “Is my room.”
Mixup looks around at the room they had entered. She notices there are posters plastered on almost every inch of the wall. “Who are these ponies?” Mixup asks Nyx.
Nyx stares at her. “You don’t know who— Well I guess you wouldn’t considering you’ve been hiding from ponies for the longest time,” she says shrugging. “Well, this is Sapphire Shores,” she motions to one poster. “And this is Daring Do and these are the Wonderbolts and this is—”
Wonder cuts her off. “I think all she needs to know for now, is that they are all big time celebrities,” she smiles at Mixup.
Nyx looks sheepish. “Oh, yeah right, sorry Mixu—”
“Nyx! Lunch is ready!” Twilight calls.
Nyx grins. “Okay, coming Mom!”
※ ※ ※
Nyx comes into the kitchen with Wonder close behind. Mixup had left a little while ago; she had promised Firework and Scootaloo that she would be at their house for lunch and she didn’t want to be late.
Twilight is taking something in a pie tin out of the oven. She frowns. “I followed the recipe Applejack gave me, so I wonder what went wrong…”
Nyx goes over to Twilight. “What was it supposed to be?”
Twilight looks at Nyx. “It was going to be a pie…”
“It’s okay, Mom, I don’t mind.” Nyx smiles. “This is Wonder, she just moved to Ponyville,” Nyx says, motioning to Wonder.
Twilight smiles. “Nice to meet you, Wonder. I’m guessing you’ve met Pinkie Pie, considering you’re new to Ponyville.”
Nyx laughs. “She sure did meet Pinkie! You should have been there, Pinkie was so excited to meet her, that she even forgot about the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!”
Twilight laughs. “That must have been some encounter.”
Wonder smiles shyly. “She was kind of um… overwhelming,” she says softly.
Twilight smiles back at her. “Yeah, Pinkie Pie overwhelmed me at first, too. You’ll get used to it.”
※ ※ ※
After lunch, Nyx and Wonder head back to the club house for a CMC meeting.
“We’ve already tried rock-climbing, hang-gliding, karate, gardening, foal-sitting, tree trimming, and zip lining,” Firework says, “What else can we do?”
“What about skydiving?” Moonbeam asks. “I thought we were doing that today.”
Scootaloo goes over. “How about dancing, have you tried that yet?”
“Hm…” Flitter thought for a moment. “We tried tap-dancing, but nothing like ballet or anything lame.”
“Ballet?! Lame?! Scootaloo asked in shock. “A lot of great athletes do ballet to stay fit, it’s not lame!”
The other crusaders laughed.
