Friendship is Magic (Part 1)
-Reddy's POV-
Ah! I'm finally at another town! It's times like these you gotta take a break from traveling. Especially when you're low on food again. It's been about a week since I restocked on some supplies. My bag feels so light with the lack of food that used to take place. Now was a good time as any to take a nice break. Maybe I'll stick around for a day, maybe two if I really feel like it. Entering this town, I passed by the sign greeting visitors like me reading, "Welcome to Ponyville!"
Smiling, I brushed on ready to go shopping until…
BAM!
I was being crushed by something unbelievably heavy. Managing to get out from under it, I laid on the floor taking a quick look to see a chariot pulled by two royal guards that just landed next to me.
"Ah geez…" I groaned. "My back…"
I then started to hear voices.
"Yes, yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return." The violet unicorn told her baby dragon friend as they got out of the chariot.
"Then… When will you make friends, like the Princess said?" The dragon asked before landing on my head.
"OW!" I screamed.
The two jumped away from me and stared at me. The royal guards too, moving the chariot away from me.
"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?" the unicorn asked.
"No, I'm not." I told her. "But, at least you didn't step on me." I chuckled as I got up, stretching the pain out.
My usual smile seemed to calm her down quickly, and even gave the others a grin. The unicorn went over to the royal guards and thanked them before they bowed and left through the air. She went back to me and said, "Again, I'm so sorry about that!"
"It's alright." I assured her.
"Hey, this is a good time to ask her~!" the little dragon said, implying something.
I glared at the dragon, leaning close face to face. "Excuse me? What did you say?"
"Uh… I was uh…" the dragon gulped, stepping back.
"Um, excuse me." the unicorn said, brushing the reptile aside. "I'm sorry if my assistant said anything that bothered you miss."
"Excuse me!?" I shouted.
"What!? What did I say!?"
"You said 'miss'! I'm not a miss! I'm a dude!"
The two stared at me for a moment. Finally, the dragon said, "Really? But you have a long black mane."
"I didn't have the time to cut it." I growled at him. It was true, I have a long black mane, but only because I was too busy exploring the world to care about such matters when it comes to fashion. Then again, even if I cut my mane, all kinds of ponies think I'm a girl because of the fact that my nose is small like a mare's. Truly, I've been cursed this way for all I can remember.
Leaving the two, I huffed being annoyed at them. I know it was a problem that happened frequently and they were not the first, but I still get frustrated at times like this. Wouldn't you if somepony called you by the other gender? Or at least slightly embarrassed?
After a moment of walking, I calmed down and looked around for supplies. It was surprisingly difficult however as I couldn't find the necessities I needed. Barely any of the stores were open and it looked like everypony was setting something up. I decided to ask somepony what was going on. Surely, something must be up.
"Excuse me." I called a pegasus sleeping on a cloud. She had a rainbow mane, a cyan blue coat, and magenta eyes. She turned to me with a yawn before replying.
"What's up?"
"Is there an event going on today? I can't seem to buy any supplies."
"Yeah, it's the Summer Sun Celebration."
"Summer Sun Celebration?" I repeated. "Huh… It's been a year already…"
Reminiscing the day I left home, it was on this very day. Last year was when I started my life as a traveler. I remembered the promise I made to her. To this day, I'm still looking for it. Who knew it's taking me this long to find it?
"Hey! Hello?" The pegasus called me. I snapped out of my trance and saw the pegasus in front of me. "You okay there?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."
"You're one weird girl, you know that?"
"HEY! I'm not a girl! I'm a guy!" I replied angrily.
She glanced at me and smugly said, "Then what's with the long hair?"
"I don't have time to cut it with all the exploring I do." I stated.
Suddenly, she perked up and said, "Exploring? What kind?"
"Oh, you know. Adventuring Equestria and all that."
"Where do you go?" she asked with a rise of excitement.
"Oh, well besides towns, I try to find as many dungeons as I can."
"Dungeons!?"
"Yeah. You see, I'm looking for something important. So I've been exploiting a bunch of abandoned temples, ruins, anything ancient really."
"What'd you find?"
Checking my bag, I pulled out my latest discovery. It was a big sapphire orb. "This thing was in that swamp cavern I cleared out a while ago."
"Whoa!" She said, grabbing it and holding it in her hooves. I snickered at how happy she was.
"If you look directly through it, you can see the younger version of whoever you're looking at right now."
She looked directly through it, towards me. "Hey, you're right! You look like a filly!"
"You mean, COLT."
"Oh, right, colt."
Putting the orb down, she smiled and said, "Hey, you know, you're not that bad. What's your name?"
"Reddy. Reddy Togo"
"I'm Rainbow Dash, nice to meet ya!"
We gave a hoof bump to each other and grinned. Rainbow then flew back to the cloud she was sleeping on before and said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna take a nice long nap! See you at the Summer sun celebration!"
"See ya Rainbow!"I said before heading off.
-Pinkie's POV-
Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm sorry I can't talk to you all right now, I'm kinda busy at the moment. Busy with what? Oh, well I'm planning another party before the Summer Sun Celebration for somepony new! She and her little dragon friend just came to Ponyville, so what better way to welcome her than with a welcoming party? Right now I'm at the library setting up the tables with food and decorations and everything! While I did all that, somepony came inside.
"Well, seeing how I can't buy any supplies, might as well use the time to plan for my next trip."
I looked over to see a red pony with a long black mane, gray eyes, and had a cutie mark of a golden key. I hopped over to him and said, "Hi there!"
"Oh, hi there!" He greeted.
"I don't think I've met you before. Are you new?"
"Yeah, I'm just stopping by town."
"Oh my gosh! I have to plan you a welcoming party!"
"Really!? Sweet! When's the party!?"
"Hmm… I'm not sure. I was planning another party before I found out about you."
"Oh, so we'll just have the same party. Who's the lucky pony to get a party today too anyways?"
"Don't know yet. I'll ask her when she comes."
"Oh, okay then."
"By the way, what's your name mister?"
He gave me a surprised expression and stared at me for a while. Suddenly, he hugged me tightly. "You're the first one today for not thinking I was a girl!"
"Well, of course you're not a girl! Who would make a mistake like that?"
"You'd be surprised." He said, looking out to the distance. "Anyways, my name is Reddy Togo."
"Reddy Togo?" I repeated. "Hey! That's like saying, 'Ready to go!'"
"Huh… Yeah, I guess it is. Never thought of it like that."
"Oh! Almost forgot, my name is Pinkie Pie!"
"Hey! You're pink too!"
I looked at myself and realized what he was talking about. "You're right!"
We laughed a bit before I went back to making the party favors. "Well, I'm just setting up the party right now. Wanna help?"
"Sure! What do you need?"
"Hmm…" I held my chin thinking about it. Looking up at the ceiling, I had an idea. "How about you set up the streamers?"
Reddy took the streamers from the table and looked up. "Sure!" He said aloud before climbing the book shelves and tying the streamers along the ceiling. When he finished the first one, he swung on it like a vine and reached the other side. I was so amazed! He was like a monkey swinging around like that. He was having so much fun, I wish I thought of that before!
"Aw! I gave you the fun job!" I complained.
"Sorry! Maybe next time!" Reddy replied.
He stopped swinging around the time the streamer he was on tore. He yelled as he fell on the table and bounced around everywhere. When he finally stopped, he got up and brushed off the dust.
"Whoa… That was hectic."
"How'd you do that!?"
"Hmm? Do what?"
"You were bouncing everywhere like basketball! How'd you do that?"
"It happens sometimes. No big deal."
"Oh, okay then."
We went back to working on setting up the party. Reddy was a neat guy to have around helping out. I'm pretty happy that he came by when he did.
-Applejack's POV-
"Woo-wee! Did she know how to eat!" I told Rainbow while walking to Twilight's new place. We were heading there to help her fit in with Pinkie's usual welcoming party.
"That Twilight girl was funny alright. Can't wait to hang out with her some more too." Rainbow said, snickering while thinking about something. "Oh, by the way, I met this guy. His name is Reddy."
"Why Rainbow! I didn't know you met somepony already!"
She started blushing and yelled, "Shut up! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Heh, heh, alright, alright. Well, how was he?"
"He was pretty cool. Apparently, he's an adventurer dropping by town."
"Maybe I'll get to meet him."
We reached the Golden Oaks Library and took a quick view on Pinkie's work. As usual, she really knows how to make a party. I also happened to see some other ponies managed to get here before we did. Walking around the room, we met up with Pinkie who was talking with this red pony reading.
Pinkie turned to me and Rainbow and said, "Oh, hi! I'm so glad you can make it!"
"Glad to be here." Rainbow replied.
"Hey Pinkie, who were you talking to just now?" I asked.
She looked over to the red mare and said, "Oh, that's Reddy. He's new to town."
"Oh, so that's Reddy…" I realized. "Wait… What's with the long mane?"
"He doesn't have time to cut it cause he's always adventuring." Rainbow stated.
Reddy looked up at us and smiled. "Oh, hello! Nice to see you again Rainbow!"
He got up and walked over to Rainbow and bumped hooves together. "Nice to see you too!" Rainbow responded.
"So, you're Reddy huh?" I called out. "Gotta say, you don't exactly fit the explorer type."
"You don't need looks to fit the part." Reddy stated. "But you know, you do look strong… Or maybe that's just me."
"Hmm… No, I'd say you got that right Reddy." I said smiling at his comment. He's not such a bad guy.
"Oh girls!" Rarity said while coming towards us. "I'm glad to meet up with you here. Oh, who's your new friend?"
"This is Reddy Togo." Rainbow introduced him.
"How do you do- Whoa! What happened to your mane?" Rarity asked, inspecting Reddy's hair.
"I didn't cut it." Reddy stated.
"And your coat is so dirty!"
"I just came from a hike."
"Well, this won't do. We'll have to wash you up, straighten your mane, oh! Maybe make you a nice dress when we have the time."
"What!? A dress!? Who do you think I am!?"
"Well now, no need to be embarrassed. All mares need to look pretty, don't you think?"
Reddy had on an angry expression. He looked like he was about to blow, but breathed out slowly and said, "I'm… a… DUDE"
"Pardon?" Rarity asked, couldn't quite hear it.
"I'M A GUY!" Reddy yelled before escaping to another room. We all stared at Rarity for a moment, unsure what to say.
"Really!?" She yelled. "B-But… The long mane, and the nose, and… and…"
"Everypony hide! She's coming!" Pinkie yelled as she peeked through the window. We turned off the lights and all got into place, waiting for Twilight to come out. When the door opened, she came in with the little dragon, Spike.
"Huh. Rude much?" Spike said.
"Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?"
When Twilight turned on the lights, we all sprang out and yelled, "SURPRISE!!". The two jumped at the sight of everything. Twilight groaned while Spike was amazed at the sight of the party.
"Surprise!" Pinkie said up to Twilight while blowing a kazoo. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh, huh, huh?"
"Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet." Twilight pointed out.
"Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all 'hello' and I was all *GASP*, remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!"
Twilight rolled her eyes and got a drink while walking away from Pinkie, only to be followed.
"And if you're new, that meant you haven'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, then I had an idea, and that's why I went [deep gasp]! I must 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!"
Suddenly, Twilight's face grew red and started to sweat a lot.
"Are you all right, sugarcube?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Aww, she's so happy she's crying!" Pinkie thought.
Twilight ran out of the party and to her room. We were all wondering what happened until Spike picked up the bottle and read it aloud. "Hot sauce. Ooh…"
Pinkie took the bottle and drank it down. We all stared at her as she only replied, "What? It's good!"
-Twilight's POV-
I got in my room annoyed, angry, aggravated! Ugh! I can't even use a dictionary to define how I'm feeling! All these crazy ponies and their friendship is really starting to bug me! Especially with the fact the Nightmare Moon will be coming back! But with all of them prancing around, I won't be able to get more information on Nightmare Moon!
"Huh? Who's there?" Somepony asked.
I looked up to see somepony. He looked really familiar, and he seemed to recognize me easily.
"Oh, it's you." He huffed, lying on the bed again.
"You're that pony I met earlier today, right?" I asked.
"Yep. I'm the GUY." He said, yelling a bit loudly on the last part. He sighed and said, "Ah, who cares. You're not the first one, and you're certainly not the last."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you a girl."
"It's alright. Thanks for apologizing." He jumped off the bed and said, "By the way, my name is Reddy Togo."
"I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"Nice to meet ya!" He said while raising out a hoof to shake. But after the last time I did it, my hoof was sore, so I kinda pulled back. He looked at me while raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Scared of germs?"
"Eh heh… Let's just say I shook a bad hoof today."
He smiled and said, "Okay then! Whatever!"
It was weird. He was angry at me at first, but now he acts like it never happened. "You sure are forgiving, aren't you?"
"I guess? I don't know." Reddy replied. He walked around and asked, "By the way, what are you doing in here?"
Groaning, I said, "Their having a party outside, and it's driving me crazy!"
"What!? They already started!? Shoot! I hung out in here too long!" He claimed as he rushed to the door. Before leaving, he asked, "Hey, aren't you gonna come?"
"No way! Do you see what time it is!?"
"Hmm… It's…" Reddy checked the time and suddenly became slow. "Eve… of the Summer Sun Celebration…"
He seemed to be frozen for a moment. I couldn't help but worry a bit and asked, "Uh… Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh, it's fine. I'm just remembering something." He said with a small smile. "A whole year already…"
"Is there something about today in particular that's getting you on edge?"
Reddy came by and sat next to me and began. "Well, it was a year ago on this very day. I left my family and decided to travel all over Equestria."
"Really? Why?"
"I wanted to have an adventure! To feel the rush of excitement! But most of all, meet new ponies! It was so much fun doing all of it! But… Well, that's only part of it. I came out to travel because of a promise I made on this very day. Today will mark a whole year of me looking for it."
"A whole year? Is it really that important?"
"To me it is." Reddy said while looking down and sighing. "A whole year though… Man, I sure had one heck of a year."
"Sounds rough."
"Hey, what's life without a little strife?" Reddy quoted while laughing. "So, what's biting you? You look as if you got the whole world on your shoulders."
He was never more right. I took a deep breath before I began. "I was doing some research on the Summer Sun Celebration, and found a line reading the following. 'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night.' In other words, Nightmare Moon will be coming back on this very day."
"Nightmare Moon?" He repeated in a tone as if he knew about her. "That old Pony tale, right?"
"So you have heard of it."
"I read all kinds of myths and legends that connect to old ruins and dungeons on my travels. This is just another one of the few."
"You probably think I'm crazy or something, huh?"
Reddy held his chin and gave a long thought before saying, "Well, crazy? Maybe. But wrong? Far from it my friend."
I looked up to him, surprised that he believed me. "You… You believe me?"
"Why not? You look pretty smart, and you look like you know what you're saying. I've been through my share of weird stuff too, so this shouldn't be any different."
"Then what should we do?" I asked Reddy. He closed his eyes and thought.
"There are those things the book talked about. The uh… Um… Elements of Harmony, right? Yeah, there are seven, and…"
Before Reddy could finish, Spike came in and said, "Twilight! Oh, and you… dude… It's time to watch the sunrise!"
"Oh, really!? What are we waiting for!? Let's go!" Reddy said, pulling me by the hoof. We exited the room and outside with the other ponies.
Later, we arrived at town hall with all the other ponies. Reddy and Spike were beside me as well as Pinkie, badgering me with her talkative nature.
"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-- well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [deep gasp] but I mean really, who can top that?"
The fanfare started to play, and the mayor came out to greet the masses.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" She said to us all. The crowd cheered as the mayor continued. "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…"
Fluttershy who was up with the birds prepared the music. "Ready?"
As the music played, the Mayor introduced, "…Princess Celestia!"
The curtains opened and nopony was there. Rarity looked around the void display wondering what happened. The ponies began to worry.
"This can't be good." I muttered to myself.
"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!" The mayor claimed.
"Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" Pinkie guessed.
"She's hiding!?" Reddy responded. "Oh! Oh! Hide and seek! Hide and seek!"
"She's gone!" Rarity said, making everypony gasp.
"Ooh, she's good." Pinkie stated before yelping to the loud thunder. The ponies gasped as she appeared before us.
"Oh no... Nightmare Moon!" I spoke.
Spike sighed as Nightmare Moon grinned menacingly over us all. "Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces."
"What did you do with our Princess?!" Rainbow questioned as she was about to fly up to Nightmare Moon, only to get her tail pulled by Applejack.
"Whoa there, Nelly..." Applejack said in a muffled voice.
Nightmare Moon chuckled and asked, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"
"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games!" Pinkie said happily. "Um, Hokey Smokes! How about… Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty--"
"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?"
Before I could say anything, Reddy stepped in all excited and said, "Twilight did! She totally knows who you are! And so do I! You're the mare in the moon, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon!"
The ponies gasped while I pulled Reddy over to me. "What do you think you're doing!? Does it really look like the time to have fun is now!?"
"Oh, sorry." Reddy apologized.
"Well, well, well, Some ponies do remembers me. Then you both also know why I'm here."
"You're here to… to…" I couldn't help but gulp on the last part.
Nightmare Moon chuckled as she said, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!"
"NO WAY!" Reddy yelled, angrily. All the ponies looked over to him as he said, "Do you know how hard it'll be for me to go exploring at night!?"
"Do you dare defy me?"
"Heck yeah! Bring it on!" Reddy said, kicking his hoof itching for a fight. Nightmare Moon began to cast her magic as Reddy was about to jump in. I was worried, so I quickly grabbed him and Spike and ran away from Nightmare Moon.
To be continued...
