Nightmare in Equestriaby Paragon KnightChaptersPrologue Chapter IChapter IIChapter IIIPrologue Prologue Summer Stone hummed happily in the kitchen as she made breakfast for herself early in the morning (the sky still dark and full of stars), a fruit salad, making a little more than she usually did since her visit to the doctor earlier that week. She couldn't wait for her husband to come home to tell him the great news. She was tempted to just send a letter to the Castle of the Two Sisters where he was stationed as Princess Luna’s night guard after she found out, but then quickly decided against that, wanting to tell him in person what he was about to become. After finishing preparing her breakfast, Summer Stone went to the dining room setting her fruit salad on the table and then sat down. Though Summer Stone did not start eating her breakfast right away. She just sat there for a while thinking about her life while looking down and putting a hoof on her stomach smiling. She thought about her career as a sculptor; how she was ridiculed for choosing such a career because she was an earth pony. She thought about the time both Princesses hoof selected her to make the garden fountains of both Princesses for the royal gardens at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Summer Stone then thought about the day her then stallionfreind, Brave Wind proposed to her; it was the happiest day of her life. Summer Stone sighed as she thought about where she was now, not wanting to change anything in her life for anything in the world. Summer Stone was about to begin her meal for the morning until she heard the front door open. She got out of the dining room to see her husband in front of the door. “Brave Wind! Honey, welcome home! If I knew you were headed home earlier, I would have made some more fruit salad.” Said Summer Stone smiling at her husband. Her smile soon faded as she saw Brave Wind. The dark gray pegasus stallion did not look too well. “Brave, are you feeling alright?” Asked Summer Stone concerned. “No, Summer I am not feeling well. Ever since I left the castle, I haven’t been feeling well.” “What happened at the castle? I thought you were to return home next week.” Wondered Summer Stone. “ I do not know. Lately, Princess Luna has been acting strange for the past few months. She has been distant; she does not even talk to Princess Celestia much anymore. She also has pretty much canceled the night court and yesterday, before she even raised the moon, the Princess ordered all of the night guard to leave the castle and not to return until she calls for us. I do not understand what she meant at the last part and neither do the others in the night guard. Everypony is worried that something bad is going to happen.” Replied Brave Wind. Summer Stone began to wonder what was going on with the Princess. She has heard the allegations everypony has been pinning on Princess Luna and the nightmares. Everypony was convinced that the Princess of the Night has something to do with all the ponies who died unable to wake up from their nightmares. Summer Stone having met Princess Luna in person felt sorry for the her, it must not have been easy having to deal with ponies who blame her for something she had no part of and still continue on with her royal duties. But it seems as if the Princess was showing signs of snapping. Brave Wind held his head with his hoof as he started feeling pain. Summer Stone noticed his pain as she told him, ” Brave, go upstairs and rest. I will make some more fruit salad so that you can have something to eat and I will also bring some medicine just in case your headache continues.” “Thank you sweetheart, I feel better already,” said Brave Wind nuzzling his wife. “I also have a surprise for you,” said Summer Stone trying to lift her husband’s spirit up, ”but I will tell you only after you eaten and taken your medicine.” Brave Wind gave her a funny look and then laughed as he went up stairs to their bedroom. Summer Stone waited to hear the door to their bedroom close to head to the kitchen. But she didn't get far because her stomach started growling, ”Oh, I almost forgot,” looking down to her stomach, “with Brave Wind coming home early I completely forgot about our own meal. I’m sorry, let’s go eat right now,” cooed Summer Stone. After finishing her own meal, Summer Stone went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Brave Wind. She also pulled out some herbs from the cabinet in order to make the medicine for his headache. Twenty minutes later, Summer Stone headed upstairs with the fruit salad and medicine on her back heading to the bedroom. Summer Stone opened the door slowly and quietly as she entered the dark bedroom. She didn't turn on the lights because she didn't want to disturb Brave. She moved as quietly as she could until she reached the bed. “Brave honey, wake up. I have your meal and the medicine as well if you still need it”, whispered Summer Stone. “...” There was no answer. “Brave, Dinner is ready”, Summer Stone whispered again. Still no answer from Brave Wind. Summer Stone turned on the light on the lamp near the bed. What she saw shocked her. Brave Wind was not in bed, but his feathers were all over the bed; some full of blood. Summer Stone started to feel uneasy. Was Brave Wind having the feather flu? Was that why he wasn't feeling well? “Brave, where are you?“ Summer Stone called out. She headed to the bathroom to see if he was there, but she saw that the bathroom lights were also out so there would be no way that he would be there. Summer Stone was now panicking. Brave Wind was nowhere to be found and she was worried about her husband’s condition. As Summer Stone walked around the room, she thought she heard something in the room. She became wary when she heard it. What else could be in the room with her? Summer Stone started making her way out the bedroom. Reaching to the entrance of the bedroom, Summer Stone saw the light switch to the room. She thought it would be best if she turned on the lights so that she can have a better chance at finding whatever was in the room with her. So Summer Stone flipped the switch. When the lights went on, a loud screech filled the entire room. Summer Stone put her hooves over her ears to dampen the noise that was causing her a lot of pain. Summer then felt herself being tackled to the floor by something large. When she opened her eyes, she stared face to face at Brave Wind. The pony on top of her was her husband; that much she was sure of. But his physical traits were different. Brave’s feathered wings were gone, and in its place were flexible dark blue bat wings. Brave still had his dark gray coat , but his ears seemed more fluffy than usual. Another distinguishable feature were his pupils, being thin and slitted as opposed to his wide, circular pupils of his normal eyes. His eyes seemed dilated because of the light that was in the room and she wondered if the light was hurting him, but it didn't seem to bother him; he never took his eyes off of Summer Stone. But the most intimidating feature were his fangs. She didn't even want to think about what he can do with those fangs. Summer Stone never felt so afraid in her life before. But worrying about her husband, Summer Stone tried to talk to him. “Brave, its me, Summer Stone. Please, for the love of Celestia, let me go. You are sick and need help. You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to hurt your family”, she continued as tears began to flow from her eyes, "Brave, I’m pregnant.” She smiled despite the river of tears continuing, “That was the surprise I wanted to tell you. You are going to be a father.” Brave Wind didn't seem to care about the news Summer Stone just gave him because he hissed at her before he attacked, opening his mouth to reveal those large fangs of his, and then puncturing Summer’s neck with them. Summer Stone let out a blood-curdling scream. She could feel Brave’s fangs going deeper into her neck as well as her blood escaping from her wound. She could also feel his tongue licking off the blood in her wound; he was feeding off of her. Summer Stone now knew that the pony attacking her was no longer her husband, he was a monster trying to kill her and her unborn foal. But she wasn't going to let that happen. With all her might, Summer Stone started bucking at the bat-like pony. Being physically bigger than her, the bat-like pony did not seem phased by Summer’s attempt at getting him off of her. Summer continued bucking, but she was starting to tire herself out. I have to think of something to get him off of me, thought Summer, I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. Summer then noticed that the bat-like pony had loosen his grip on her hoofs, too busy feeding on her to realize that he didn't have a good hold on her anymore. Summer Stone began flailing her forelegs as well as using her last ounce of her earth pony strength to send the bat-like pony flying across the room. Summer sighed in relief as she heard her attacker crash into the bedroom floor. But she was also exhausted. Summer could still feel her neck throbbing from the bite. Wanting to know how bad her wound was, she put a hoof on the wound to see how much blood she lost; her body tensed up as she did. Removing her hoof from her wound, Summer saw that it was covered in blood. I have to get out of here. Thought Summer Stone. Summer Stone tried to get on her hooves, but the bat-like pony was already on its hooves. The bat-like pony filled the room again with its loud screech, this time shattering the glass on the window. Then bat-like pony locked eyes with Summer and charged at her. This time though, Summer Stone no longer had the strength to fight him. The bat-like pony got on top of her once again trying to bite her to continue his meal. Unsure on what to do next, Summer’s lips reacted before she even had a chance to think on it. “Somepony! Anypony! Help me!” Out of some stroke of luck it seemed as if somepony did her cry for help because somepony shouted out, “ What the hay is going on?” “Please help, I am being attacked! I don’t know how much longer I can keep my attacker back!”, Summer Stone shouted back. The sound of her door being blown apart and then the sound of hoofsteps coming up the stairs could be heard as Summer Stone was struggling to keep the bat-like pony from making a meal out of her. “What the fuck is that?”, asked a light green unicorn stallion as he came rushing in the room. “Just...help...me…” Struggled Summer to say. The stallion complied as he grabbed the bat-like pony with his magic away from Summer Stone. The bat-like pony however, did not like the idea of being held down. He struggled to get out of the levitation spell with no avail. The bat-like pony then screeched again, forcing the light green stallion to interrupt his levitation spell in order to cover his ears. With the spell no longer holding him, the bat-like pony ran towards the window. He looked one last time at Summer Stone before flying into the night sky. “Are you okay?”, asked the stallion as he came to check on Summer Stone. “No...I'm not okay. My husband just tried to kill me and I had to fight him in order to protect my foal.” “I am sorry for your loss, but you lost a lot of blood and you need treatment for your wound. Let me take you to the hospital.” Summer Stone did not reply quickly. She was too busy thinking on what was supposed to be a happy day turned into her worst nightmare. She knew that she will remember this day for the rest of her life, having her husband turn into that...thing, and then trying to kill her. “Will you take me there?” The stallion nodded. ” Thank you, perhaps when I get to the hospital, I can forget about this day and just rest.” “Oh, I promise that you will have plenty of time to rest after I am through with you.” Replied the stallion with a sinister voice. Dark clouds then began to surround the light green stallion. In his place stood a black, shadow-like creature with a small head with a white fog-like ghostly plume billowing from its head covering one of its bright blue eyes with a red spiky growth around its neck and the shadow-like creature’s body looked like it was wearing an old, ripped cloak. “Wh-What a-are y-y- you?” Stammered Summer Stone as she looked upon the pitch-black creature. “I might as well tell you, seeing as you will never wake up from this nightmare again. I am the bringer of darkness. Minotaurs, griffins, zebras, and ponies. All the creatures of this world are weaklings, for far too long you all have struggled in this world to be the dominant species. And I have taken upon myself purge the world of the weak. Soon the world will be ruled by the rightful dominate species. And only the strong will live in this new world.” “And now“, started the pitch-black creature as it put hands together and formed a crimson and black ball in its hands, ”pleasant dreams”. Then it fired it at Summer Stone. When she was hit, a crimson bubble appeared around her body that soon disappeared, making her fall asleep, leaving her trapped in her nightmare. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo. Chapter IThe azure blue unicorn mage discontinued his dream watching spell as he lost his connection to Summer Stone’s dream. He also was feeling the pain Summer Stone felt when his magic became interrupted by whatever that thing was that attacked her. “Mr. Starswirl sir, are you alright?” Asked one of the unicorn guards when they came rushing in to see if he was hurt. “Yes, I am fine.” Answered Starswirl holding a hoof on his head. “And what about the mare?” Starswirl looked at the now still form of Summer Stone’s body. This is the sixth pony this year to have died like this. He thought to himself. He felt horrible for not being able to figure out who the culprit is. For the past ten years since he took over this case, it has been unsolved. Even after all these years Starswirl hoped that he would have something by now, but he did not. “There is nothing I can do for her now, she is lost in her own nightmare.” Replied Starswirl sadly. “What do you wish to do next sir?” Asked one of the guards. “Bring in the witness. I have some questions I would like to ask him.” The two unicorn guards quickly retreated from the room to get the witness. As Starswirl waited, he was pondering why the culprit would do this.With his magic, Starswirl pulled out and began looking at the culprit’s M.O. For the past ten years, the culprit has been specifically targeting ponies who had pegasus ponies in their family who became those bat-like ponies; even more so the ponies who were in the night guard. Summer Stone was one of the many victims who had a spouse who worked for Princess Luna before she became Nightmare Moon. But what was the culprit’s motive? And how is the culprit able to manipulate a shadow-like creature into the nightmare before the victims died? “Did you want to see me, sir?” Asked the light green stallion entering the room, interrupting Starswirl’s thoughts. “Ah, yes. Please come in.” Gestured Starswirl to the stallion in. “What do you want to know?” Asked the stallion a little nervous. “Calm yourself, my friend, you are not in trouble and I am not going to interrogate you. I just have some questions I would like you to answer. The stallion nodded. “Now, do you know Summer Stone well?” “Yes, I do. She is my neighbor and a friend of my wife. I even met her husband Brave Wind one time.” Starswirl nodded, “Can you tell me what happened the night Summer Stone was attacked?” “Well, it was early in the morning, probably around four to five o’clock? Anyways, I was sleeping at my house until I heard a screeching noise outside, and I went to check it out. Once I was outside I heard the screech again, coming from Summer Stone’s home, louder this time because the screech shattered the windows. That is when I heard Summer crying for help. I rushed into her home to help her and then I saw this bat-like pony attacking her. The I used a levitation spell to remove that thing away from her, and then the bat-like pony screeched again in order to run away. I went to check on her after that thing attacked her and seeing that she was losing a lot of blood, I took her to the hospital.” “How was Summer Stone after the attack?” Wondered Starswirl. “When Summer told me that that thing was her husband, I did not believe her, but I did not tell her that because she needed to go to the hospital and arguing about it would not have taken her there faster. But Summer was never the same after that night. She had her foal a couple months later, but even the foal seemed to give Summer no joy. My wife and I tried to help her out when she needed someone to take care of the colt when she was out of town for work or if she was just needed to be alone. I guess the loss of Brave Wind really hit her hard.” Starswirl again nodded, "And why did you not believe Summer Stone about her attacker being her husband?” "Because it was crazy to believe that. Why would somepony’s spouse attack them for no reason? But once we got to the hospital I began to believe what Summer told me. It seemed as if everypony was telling me the same story to that of Summer Stone's. Just about everypony that day was in the hospital for the same reason Summer was in, for bite marks their family members who worked in the night guards did to them.” Starswirl himself had heard the same story told to him many times before. Family or friends of the victims did not believe the victim telling them about how their pegasus relatives turned into these....bat ponies or thestrals (what everypony seemed to call them) and then were attacked by them before running off; never to be seen again. But there was one more thing Starswirl wanted to know. "Did Summer Stone ever tell you about a pitch-black creature in her dreams?" "A pitch-black creature? No, She never mentioned anything like that to anypony. Why, does it have to do with what happened to Summer Stone?" Answered the stallion. Starswirl nodded, "We believe that the culprit is connected to the nightmares and the deaths of many of the ponies who had them. We are certain that the culprit is a unicorn, but we are uncertain about their motives. But that is all I can say. Thank you, Mr...?” “Element Rune.” “Thank you Element Rune. You can leave now. I believe I gathered all the information I needed in this case.” Element Rune, however, did not move. “Starswirl sir. Can I ask what will happen to Starry Night?” “Starry Night?” “Yes. Summer Stone’s Pegasus colt? What will happen to him?” “ Well, he will go to the Canterlot orphanage since his mother is dead and his father is nowhere to be found.” Answered Starswirl. “What if I adopted him?” “Would you like to adopt him?” Asked Starswirl a little surprised. “Yes, I do. I believe it would be best if my wife and I adopt Starry Night. We have been trying to have a foal of our own for a while, but thing haven't gone our way. And while Starry Night might not be our own, we love him as if he was our own. And it will be easier on him since he already knows us so well.” Starswirl smiled as he heard that the stallion would adopt the young pegasus. Usually when a foal no longer have any of their parents to take care of them, they are usually sent to the orphanage of their town. But it seems as though Starry Night will have a family to go to after all. “Very well then, let us go through the necessary paperwork so I can send it to Princess Celestia's adviser so that she can get the document processed by the Princess.” said Starswirl to Element Rune. At least something good came out of this. Thought Starswirl. Now only if this case could get solved, then this whole nightmare can be over and done with. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo. Chapter IIKnock, knock, knock. “Go away.” Knock, knock, knock. “Miss Clever, it is ten in the morning and you still haven’t got out of bed? You have duties to attend to today and none of them are going to get done if you don’t get out of bed.” The white unicorn mare groaned in displeasure as she took off her bed sheets and climbed out of bed and headed to the massive doors that led out to the castle's halls. Opening the doors, Clover met face to face with the pony that disturbed her sleep, Manuscript. The unicorn stallion had a light brown coat, with his blond mane neatly combed back. His cutie mark was a piece of parchment rolled tight with a red ribbon holding it together. When Manuscript saw Clover’s forest and mint green mane in a bedhead style, he looked upon the white unicorn mare with disgust. Clover, for her part, just rolled her eyes at Manuscript. “Why are you here, Manuscript?” asked Clover in an irritated tone. “This is your duties for the day,” replied Manuscript, entered Clover’s room and handed her a piece of parchment with his magic. “Since you decided to wake up so late in the morning, I saw it fitting to give you the last task that was left in my office.” Clover grabbed the piece of parchment with her light green aurora and started to look over it. The parchment contained a list of all of the ponies she would have to check on for the Summer Sun Celebration. I would like whoever gets this to check on the ponies who will be preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration that will be held in this year’s location: Canterlot. Here is the list of the ponies who will be preparing for the festival: Ludwig van Beethooven - He will be in charge of the music in the festival. (You may want to bring a notepad, the old stallion is deaf and you will not be able to communicate with him without one.) Stratus Cloud - He is in charge of the weather. He will make sure that the skies are clear on the day of the celebration.(He will be working with a team of unicorns to clear out the weather and is also one of the few pegasi left in Canterlot that hasn't left to Cloudsdale. So it should be easy to spot him.) Grace - She will be working on the decorations for the festival. All you will have to do is to check on her progress. Smart Cookie - She will be making the pastries for the festival. Let her know that the guard will come to pick up her pastries two hours before the celebration begins. “So, now I am doing errands for the Summer Sun Celebration?” asked Clover a bit annoyed. “You know I am not a big fan of it.” “As I said, it was the last task in my office and you haven’t woken up; therefore, you are responsible for these tasks, regardless of how you feel about the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Fine, I will do it. But you better not pull this stunt again next year,” warned Clover. Clover then walked over to her drawer and pulled out a plain, ratty looking robe. As she put on her robe, she heard Manuscript sighing. “What’s the problem now?” questioned Clover, beginning to get irritated by Manuscript. “Could you at least look presentable when you go out? You make the Princess look bad when you put on that poor excuse of a robe.” Clover started walking toward Manuscript as she began. ”Well, gee, I am sorry that I do not live up to your standards. I am sorry that I am not the Canterlot citizen you expect me to be. Not all of us had the luxury of a home to come back to every day, have a family who loves you, and had enough money to send you to a prestigious school. Some of us had to struggle in life to get where they are today. And the last time I checked, I became Princess Celestia’s adviser not because of the things I wear, but because of what I dealt with. I have the experience of a lot of things, and she would come to me for advice if she needed a second opinion on something.” by the time Clover was done ranting, her muzzle was inches from Manuscript’s muzzle. “Very well then,” he said while clearing his throat,” I will take my leave.” With that, Manuscript headed out to the door, but stopped before saying, “Just remember to give that parchment to the Princess or me once you are done with your task.” Clover only nodded in understanding and then Manuscript was out the door. “Alright then,” talking to herself, ”I better look at the list to see who I should see first.” Clover opened the parchment paper with her magic as she looked over the list. First up, was Mr. Beethooven, second, Stratus Cloud, after him Grace, and then followed by Smart Cookie. Before leaving, Clover grabbed a notepad, a quill, and some ink so that she would be able to talk to the deaf musician and then headed out her bedroom door. Ever since Princess Celestia started the celebration, she had always held the celebration in town squares, in city halls, and, at times, at parks. Clover knew that Princess Celestia always chose a place where the majority of the town would be able to see her raise the sun. While the Summer Sun Celebration was being held this year at Canterlot, there weren't many places the festival could be held. The layout of the city consisted of narrow streets, houses too close to each other that they seemed to touch one another, and the park being too small to hold all the citizens in the city. There was only one place in the city where the ponies would be able to celebrate the Summer Sun Celebration - Canterlot Castle. Yes, the castle was the perfect place to hold an event such as this. The castle had the size and beauty to celebrate the festival. When the Princess raised the sun, the castle’s marble stone walls reflected the sun’s rays making the castle shine even brighter than usual, making it look like the sun itself had descended from the heavens. That sight alone would leave anypony in awe. Today was the eve of Summer Sun Celebration, and Clover knew exactly where to find the musician, in the ballroom at the castle. Having taken part of the festival before, Mr. Beethooven usually liked to be on the site of where the celebration would be so that his ensemble can set up and practice before the festival started. As Clover entered the Ballroom, she could hear the ensemble practicing the music for the festival. Clover slowly opened the door so that she would not disturb them while they were practicing. Clover then sat down and closed her eyes just to listen to the music they played. Clover herself was a big fan of Ludwig van Beethooven. She has gone to all of his concerts. The music he composed was some of the best music at the time. Beethooven was also an inspiration to her; despite his disability, he still continued doing what he loved most, music. Clover wouldn’t be surprised if ponies continued to listen to his music in the future. The music soon ended and Clover, being the only audience in the room, started clapping. The ensemble smiled as their audience praised them; however, their smiles left their faces when their composer started talking. “And just what are you smiling about? The Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow and we still have a lot of work to do before we are ready to preform. Violas, your group started too early. Knowing when to start is essential or else the rest of the song falls apart. And Cellos, you missed an A Minor. If you are unsure about what note to play next, you have the notes right in front of you! Use them!” How Beethoven was able to notice small things like starting too early or missing a note even though he was deaf was something nopony knew, but that is what made him great, and that's why he was considered the best. After his little rant, nopony answered him, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hear them anyways. “Tell me why you were smiling!” Yelled an aggravated Beethooven. One pony from the ensemble simply pointed his hoof across the room as it set its sights on its target. Beethoven eyes followed the stallion’s hoof until he saw a white unicorn mare with a ragged old robe with what had what appeared to be her cutie mark, three four leaf clovers with three white diamonds in between them. The unicorn stallion’s eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks when he realized who the mare was. Clover just smiled and waved. “Miss Clever, I am sorry you had to witness my outburst. Its just that with the festival being tomorrow, I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes with the music. It is partially my fault. We have been practicing since the crack of dawn and I believe the ensemble is just tried.” Apologized Beethoven as Clover walked up to the stage. Clover pulled out her notepad, a quill, and and some ink with her light green aura. She then began writing something on her notepad and soon after, Clover levitated the notepad to the deaf pony while giving him a reassuring smile. "‘Not to worry Mr. Beethooven, I am sorry for startling you but you do not need to worry. I am in charge of making sure everything is ready for the festival and I just wanted to see how things are going. You have nothing to fear; your music sounded beautiful.’” Read the deaf composer aloud as he read what Clover wrote to him. “Thank you Miss Clever, it is good to know that someone as prestigious as you enjoy my music.” He mentioned as the notepad levitated back to Clover. Clover face became a little rosy from the comment he gave her. Again, Clover’s magic took hold of the notepad and quill, making the quill dance as she wrote what she was going to say. She then returned the pad to the composer. “‘I do not know about that, I am merely an advisor. I am only there when Princess Celestia needs my input. I do not consider myself prestigious at all.’” He said while reading her thoughts out loud. “You give yourself too little credit Miss Clever. You are her advisor because she values your opinion, and I for one have never seen the Princess not take your opinion for granted.” Replied Beethoven. A small frown formed on Clover’s muzzle, but not enough for anypony to notice. There is one; the Summer Sun Celebration. “Would you like to stay and listen to us practice for the festival tomorrow?” Asked the unicorn composer. Clover was going to say yes, but, as much as she wanted to stay and listen to Beethooven’s music, she realized that she still hadn't checked on the others. Clover took her notepad and quill, then began writing on it. She levitated the notepad to the unicorn composer when she was finished. “‘As much as I would love to, I cannot. I still need to check on the others preparing for the celebration. Perhaps another time.’” He said as he read Clover’s notepad. He smiled and said, “Very well then. I will not keep you from your task any longer. Have a good day Miss Clover.” Clover nodded and picked up her things quickly so that the ensemble could continue practicing. When the white mare was out of the ballroom, Beethooven cleared his throat, “Alright, you had plenty of time to rest. Let us continue practicing.” Leaving the castle, Clover levitated the parchment to see who she needed to see next. Clover’s heart skipped a beat as she read the pony she had to check on—the next pony on the list was Stratus Cloud. “Come on Clover,” she said to herself. “You just need to check on him to see that the weather will be cleared for tomorrow.” However, she found it difficult to calm herself down. She felt her forelegs growing weak and being unable to support her own body. Clover also began to feel hot; she was beginning to regret wearing her robes. Her stomach was also full of butterflies as she thought of the pegasus. To say that Clover had a crush on Stratus Cloud was an understatement. She really liked Stratus Cloud, but she found it difficult to express her feelings to him because of her past experiences with stallions. Many of the nobles in Canterlot have tried, and failed, at wooing Clover. She knew the nobles were just trying to use her to get to the Princess. Eventually, Clover began to believe that she would never find somepony to be with. That is until she met Stratus Cloud. Stratus Cloud was different though. When she first meet him through a mutual friend, she thought he was just another Canterlot snob trying to get his way up the social ladder. But, as she got to know him, she realized that he was just a normal pony just like her. In one of their conversations, she asked why he was the only pegasus in the Canterlot weather team. He mentioned that after the incident with Nightmare Moon and her bat ponies, many of the pegasi were seen as monsters and many of the nobles wanted them out of Canterlot. Many of the pegasi did leave; the only pegasi left were the ones who were either too young or too old to leave the city. Stratus Cloud was too young and had no family to go to, so he lived in the Canterlot Orphanage at the time. Once he was old enough, he applied to the weather team at the city. “You should have seened it Clover,” he told her the day he applied. “Nopony had any idea of what they were doing before I started working there. Canterlot was always behind schedule when it came to the weather. No offence to you unicorns, but pegasi are more in tune with the weather. After I got the job, things started to fall into place. Soon after, I became head of the Canterlot Weather Team.” Stratus Cloud was a very laid back kind of pony, never stressing himself out with things he needed to deal with; things always seemed to work out for him. Clover envied that about him, and she also liked him for it as well. As she made her way to the center of the city, Clover noticed a unicorn stallion moving around a small number of clouds. Might as well ask him if he has seen Stratus. She thought as she made her way to him,. “Hello, my name is Clover the Clever, and I noticed that you were moving these clouds around. You wouldn’t happen to be a part of the weather team, would you?” “Yes ma’am, I am.” “Excellent. Do you happen to have Status Cloud in your team? I am here on royal duties checking on everypony preparing on the Summer Sun Celebration to see their progress.” “Of course, Miss Clever. He should be up ahead at the park clearing up what clouds are left,” answered the weather pony. “Thank you.” “Any time ma’am,” the stallion said as he returned to his work. Clover made her way to the park. Canterlot Park was located at the center of the city, so it was relatively small, but the size didn’t stop the locals from enjoying what the park had to offer. Nearing the entrance, Clover saw that the park was full of life. Fillies and colts were running around the park playing a game of tag. Near the edges of the park flowers bloomed throughout, giving Canterlot Park its colors retaining freshness and luminosity. At the far side of the park, Clover could see a group of unicorns taking out the remainder of the clouds with their magic. “Alright everypony, we are almost done. Just a few more clouds and we can head out to lunch,” the pegasus team leader giving encouragement to his team. Clover waited as the weather team worked. Using their magic to dissipate the clouds, the unicorns took out the clouds with ease. But even their magic had limitations. Their magic could not take hold of the clouds higher up in the sky. Though for Stratus Cloud, he had no limitations as he used his wings to reach the clouds to take care of the ones that were too high for the unicorns to reach with their magic. As Stratus took care of the last cloud, he spotted Clover. Grinning, he began doing some aerial stunts as he flew his way over to her. He did every trick he knew, starting from a simple cartwheel to a daring nose dive. This is great, Stratus thought to himself. If I show her how great a flyer I am, she will think I am good enough to join that new aerial team, the Wonderbolts, and, once I join, I will be an important enough pony to have a chance at asking Clover out. Because of his daydream, Stratus was oblivious to the fact that he was heading straight at the ground. Clover noticing that he was not paying attention and cried out, “Stratus, pay attention to what you are doing you goof ball!” Snapping out of his little world, he yelped in fear as he noticed where he was headed. Acting as quickly as he could, Stratus forced his wings to flap as fast as they could to slow down his momentum, but he was going too fast in order for him to make a smooth landing. Well this is just great. Instead of me taking her out to someplace, she will be taking me to the hospital. Realizing that he will not get out of this without any injuries. Stratus Cloud shrieked in terror. “Damn it, Stratus,” Clover said to herself as she watched in horror. “I came here to check on you to see the preparations for the festival, and here you are horseplaying around like there is no tomorrow,” Stratus Cloud was just a few inches from slamming face first into the ground. “You owe me for saving your sorry ass,” Her horn started to glowing as her light green magic enveloped Stratus. Clover’s magic moved Stratus’ face away from the ground and placing his stomach for the impact. Reaching the ground, Stratus landed by sliding as he slowed down; tearing apart the grass and finally stopping when he hit the garden full of purple coneflowers. “What the hay where you thinking Stratus?” Clover scolded him as she made her way to him. Stratus sighed in disappointment, looking away from Clover, “Sorry Clover. I just wanted to impress you with my moves because I really like you, but I should have realized that I never had a chance to be with with you.” “You like me?” Clover repeated gazing at the deflated pegasus. Stratus replied wordlessly with a nod. A small smile formed on Clover’s face as she realized that the stallion she cared for also felt the same way. She knelt down next to Stratus, tapping him on the shoulder turning his attention to the mare, “To be honest Stratus, I loth the nobles, or the ‘important ponies’ as you call them. Every day I have to deal with them trying to wrap me around their hoofs, trying to serenade me, and telling me how I am the second most beautiful mare in Equestria. But I know their true intentions. I had to keep my guard up because I am the advisor to the Princess of Equestria. But when I am with you, I know that I can be myself since you treat me like any other pony. And that is why I also feel the same way about you.” Clover put her hoof on top of his as she looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. Stratus Cloud was dumbstruck. He could not believe that the mare he had taken a liking to shared his feelings. It was not long before a wide grin was plastered into his face. “So does this mean…” “Yes, I would love to be your marefriend,” she said before he could finish his question. “YYYAAAHHHOOOO!” Stratus Cloud jumped off the ground, hollering out loud and flapping his wings out of joy. It didn’t last long though; Stratus winced when he felt a sharp piercing on his wings. Clover rolled her eyes playfully at her new stallionfriend as he completely forgot his injuries, “And now you have somepony to make sure that you will not hurt yourself too much so that you will not end up in the hospital.” Stratus gave her an apologetic smile. “So I believe you are done with the weather duties for the celebration?” Clover asked as she got back to why she was there for. “Yes, Canterlot park was our final spot for clearing up the skies. My team and I will continue to go around Canterlot for the rest of the day to make sure and clear out any clouds that come by.” “Very well then,” she checked off Stratus Cloud’s name from the list. “So, are you going to be busy tonight? I was thinking that we can go out and eat out at a restaurant before the festival starts.” “I am sorry Stratus,” nuzzling him as she spoke, “but there is too much preparing to do for the Summer Sun Celebration. I promise after the festival is done, you can take me out for dinner.” “That is fine with me Clover,” he said, returning a nuzzle to her. “WHO THE HAY MESSED UP MAH GARDEN!” Stratus’ body went stiff when he heard the cry of a very unhappy gardener. Fearing for his life, he slowly started walking away, avoiding the gardener by going the opposite direction. The gardener noticed Stratus’ rigid walk. “Dang nabit! You come back here you weather pony and fix mah garden!” The pegasus bolted out of the park with the gardener trailing right behind him. Clover giggled at her stallionfriend’s reaction when he was caught. Clover was now heading toward the fashion store, Glamorous Trends, as she went to check on how the unicorn mare was farring with her decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. As she made her way through the city streets, she spotted the store. The building was unique to the rest of the buildings; while the buildings of Canterlot had a soft vanilla-like color to them, Glamorous Trends was vibrant orange around the top of the building, making the store being easy to find. The bottom half of the store was made up of granite rocks, the shingles on top of the building were made from clay, giving off a bright red color, and dark brown oak base gave the store an exotic tropical look. Then again so was the owner. Grace was not from Equestria; she was born in Coltombia, a country located far below Equestria. She moved to Canterlot three years ago, wanting to bring her country's style of fashion to Equestria. Clover arrived at the store and saw that the front door had a closed sign hanging on the door. “Hmm...Grace must not be here,” she whispered to herself, ”but I should knock, just in case.” Clover knocked on the door and waited. A couple seconds later she heard somepony’s voice, “I am terribly sorry but the store is closed today due to the fact that I am helping with the festival.” “Grace it is me, Clover. I came to check on how you are doing with the decorations for the festival.” “Clover? Un momento por favor.” A moment later the store’s owner opened the door. The bright yellow unicorn had a vibrant red mane with her eyes as dark as the night blue sky. Her cutie mark was several different gems being sewn together with a thread going through each gem. “Clover, cariño, how are you? Please come in.” Grace said as she greeted her friend at the door. The interior of the store was just as exotic as the outside. The store had a oak floor throughout, different types of flora filled the room giving it color. There were various clothing, from shirts to sandals, with full length mirrors nearby on the left side of the store, while the right side had a small jewelry shop, containing many diamond rings and necklaces. It seemed like Grace was taking full advantage of the season with what she was selling. Grace was taking Clover to the back of the store, where her kitchen was. “I am fine, thank you very much. I am just here to check on your progress with the decorations, so I will not take much of your time.” “I have just finished the last of the banners just before you came, but I must say, it looks like you did not prepare yourself.” Looking at Clover’s messy bedhead style. “Oh, that,” Clover said as she saw herself in one of the mirrors. “I did not have a lot of time to get ready when I woke up.” “Cariño, you have to look presentable. You are the adviser to the Princess and you should look the part.” Clover shot Grace a knowing look, “You sound like Manuscript.” “I am sorry Clover. I know you do not like being compared to the nobility of Canterlot and I understand your reasons, but Manuscript is right. You need to put your stubbornness to the side. At least look nice when the princess calls you in for an opinion.” Clover sighed in defeat, “Ugh, fine. You can fix my hair.” “Certainly, it will be my pleasure,” using her magic, Grace opened one of the drawers, taking out a hairbrush with her magic. Clover raised an eyebrow at Grace’s action. “What? You never know when a beauty problem arises.” Clover shook her head as Grace began combing her mane. “Besides, how will you get any stallion to notice you if your are not at your best.” “Oh, the stallions notice me, but it is not because they are interested in me. They just want to use me to get to Princess Celestia,” she gave Grace an irritated look, “But it no longer matters; I found a special somepony, so that should keep the nobles off my back.” “Really, who is it?” wondered Grace, finishing Clover’s mane and starting with her tail. “Stratus Cloud.” “Awww, did he do anything romantic?” “If you call doing stupid stunts that would have killed him romantic, than yes he did.” Grace groaned when Clover told her what happened. “But, he was being honest with me when he told me that he liked me and that is what I want, somepony who can be honest with me. So, we will have our first date after the Summer Sun Celebration is over.” “Well, I hope that your first date with Stratus goes well,” Grace said as she stopped working on her friend’s tail, giving her mane and tail a less frazzled look. “Well anyways, do you think I can see the banners before I leave?” Clover asked, trying to change the subject. “Of course, cariño. Let me go get them,” she headed out of the kitchen and went upstairs, returning a few minutes later with two large banners, shining dark red polyester fabric with Princess Celestia’s cutie mark embroidered with a golden silk. “Wow! Grace, they are beautiful,” Clover told her friend, clearly amazed at her work. “Of course they are. I used my best fabric for the banners. After all, it is an honor to make these for the Princess.” “Well then, I will take my leave,” just as Clover ended her sentence, a low rumble coming from her stomach, her cheeks becoming rosy from embarrassment. “Sorry, I did not eat anything for breakfast this morning so I am famished.” “By all means cariño, do not let me stop you from eating.” “It is a good thing that the next pony I am checking on next is Smart Cookie.” “Tell her I said hi.” They said their goodbyes as both mares went their separate ways. Author's Note Well this chapter took a while to finish. With work and the finals, I didn't have a lot of spare time on my hand on this chapter, but it's finished. I also want to thank themouthofmush for proofreading and editing this chapter. For those of you who do not know what Clover the Clever looks like. Here is a picture of Clover the Clever that I really liked: (Faith-Wolff) The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo. Chapter IIIA small chime filled the bakery as Clover entered the establishment. The mare examined the place and found the bakery completely deserted save for a few noises she heard behind the room. Clover made her way to the counter, her stomach whining in hunger, reminding her that she skipped breakfast this morning. Looking over the content the counter had, Clover inspected the contents on display. From eggs and cheese croissants to muffins and jelly-filled donuts, as well as dandelion sandwiches and several fruit caused Clover’s mouth to water. There was no way her stomach was going to let this opportunity pass up and neither was she. Clover pressed her hoof on the bell to place her order. A voice hollered. “Pansy could you get that please, I’m kind of busy right now with this cake.” “O-oh, o-okay.” A soft voiced replied back. A maroon colored pegasus mare, her mane soft pink with a few strands of yellow came into view as she started timidly, “W-w-welcome to the C-cookie Factory. How can I help you?” Clover smiled when she saw her gentle-voiced friend. “Pansy it’s me, Clover.” The pegasus mare’s nervous nature faded as she recognized Clover. “ Oh, my, Clover I am so glad to see you. How have you been?” Both mares shared a hug. “I am doing great, thank you. Is Smart Cookie here?” “Yes, she is just finishing the last cake for the festival. I will let her know that you are here.” The mare walked behind the counter and returned with a ginger colored mare with her blonde mane fixed in a bun, Smart Cookie. “Well, whaddya know? Clover what brings you here?” said the ginger colored earth pony baker as she saw her friend. A growl from Clover’s stomach answered for her. She chuckled nervously. “Well, aside from getting something to eat, I am here to check on how you are faring with your cakes for the festival. “Also, I am here to tell you that the guard will come by your shop two hours before the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Ha. This is something, I never thought in a million years that you would ever do something related to the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Trust me Cookie, I am not too thrilled by it either, which is why I did not eat breakfast in the morning just so I could get this over with quickly. Thankfully, you are the last pony I need to check on for the festival.” “Like Pansy already told you we just finished the last cake as you entered the bakery. Let me go get one of the extra cakes we made so your stomach can simmer down. Go ahead and sit down Clover, I will be back soon.” The baker retreated to the back of the store to find an extra cake to munch on. The other two mares headed to a table on the right side of the store near the counter and sat down while they waited for their friend to return. Once seated Clover took the opportunity to talk to her timid friend. “So Pansy, what brings you to Canterlot? Did Smart Cookie ask you if you could assist her with the cakes?” “Um, actually I am here because of the Wonderbolts. I joined them not long ago. And I am here with Smart Cookie because I needed a place to stay since all of my relatives live in Cloudsdale.” “Pansy, you do realize that the Wonderbolts are part of Equestria's military branch, right?” Pansy sighed as she looked down at the table. “I know that Clover, but coming from a military family, my parents expected me to serve in the military. Truth be told, I did not want to join, but I also did not want to disappoint my parents. “I joined the Wonderbolts because they were my only option. They are the military’s support so I do not have to worry about fighting. I will mostly be bringing food and supplies for the actual troops in the ground. And when we are not supporting troops, we are going town to town doing aerial shows and with Equestria not in any wars, I spend most of my time trying to learn new tricks for the show. “I know that you are worried about me, and I thank you, but you do not have to; I enjoy being a Wonderbolt.” Clover watched Pansy as she listened. She noted that what her friend telling her was sincere. “I know Pansy. I am thrilled that you found something you really enjoy.” “If you ever decide to retire from the Wonderbolts, I can assure you that you will always have a job here at the bakery,” said Smart Cookie as she returned to the lobby with medium sized cake and a couple of plates and dining utensils balanced on her back. She then placed the cake down and took a seat with her friends. Pansy face reddened from the compliment. “Oh, my cakes are nothing special.” “I am being serious, you make better cakes than I do; and baking is my special talent. Go on Clover,” Smart Cookie said, “see for yourself.” Clover lifted a knife from the table and carefully sliced a big piece and placed it on her plate. Clover then took hold of her fork taking a bite out of the cake. The sweet taste of the cake filled her mouth with glee. Clover was amazed by how rich the flavor of various fruits was present in the cake. Clover the swigged the rest of the cake with relish. Smart Cookie gave Clover an amused face as she witnessed Clover devouring the fruit cake, however, she was a little confused to why Clover was checking on the festival. “Tell me again how you ended up with checking on everypony for the Summer Sun Celebration. Did Princess Celestia ask you to do this?” Clover sighed. “No, Princess Celestia did not ask me to do this. I did not see her at all this morning. The Princess is probably locked in her room so that nopony will disturb her. She always locks herself inside her room the day before the festival every year.” “The poor dear, how is she faring?” Asked Pansy joining in the conversation. “I know she is worried about something, but she will not talk to anyone about it. I am worried about her and this festival is not doing her any favors.” All of a sudden a small flash of light filled the room, interrupting the conversation the mares were having. A silver aura holding a stack of papers floated on top of the table. Clover recognized the magic aura in an instant; it belonged to her mentor and teacher, Starswirl the Bearded. Taking hold of the stack with her own magic, Clover skimmed over them. Both of her friends saw the look of concern on her. “Is something wrong Clover?” Asked Pansy. “Do you two heard about the ponies dying in their nightmares?” Both mares nodded. “Starswirl is leading the investigation about it and it seems another pony died last night from her own nightmare. I will not go into many details, but it seems as if the pony was having a nightmare the night Nightmare Moon attacked. She left behind a child too. “Starswirl asked me to bring this to the Princess immediately so I must leave.” Clover packed up her things to head to the castle. “Clover wait,” Smart Cookie called out. When she had Clover’s attention, Smart Cookie ran to the back of the bakery and returned with a box adorn with her bakery’s name on it. “This is for the Princess, I know that this will cheer her up a bit.” “What is in it?” Clover asked as she took the box with her magic. “It is her favorite dessert.” Smart Cookie simply stated. “Okay, thank you both for your hospitality. I will see you two soon.” “Goodbye Clover, I hope to see you at the Summer Sun Celebration.” said Pansy hugging Clover. Once Clover exited the bakery, she started her rant on somepony who was not there. “Thanks a lot, Starswirl; just because I am the Princess Celestia’s advisor that does not mean that you can shove every report on my face expecting me to give it to the Princess. For Pete's sake, you could have sent it yourself since you are still in Canterlot! ” Clover just sighed as she realized that ranting off on somepony who was not with her was pointless. She made her way to the castle trying to think of a way to tell the Princess about the recent victim. The bedroom chambers of the Sun monarch were filled with silence. The two occupants of the room kept to themselves. One of the occupants was a fiery feathered bird and the royal pet of the sun monarch, Philomena. The usually mischievous schemer did not try to comfort her owner knowing full well that it could not do anything to alleviate the pain she was feeling. It pained the phoenix that everything she did not have any effect on her owner’s heartbroken state. The other occupant was the sole ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia; however, it was not always that way. She founded and ruled this kingdom with her sister protecting Equestria from any threat that would harm the young kingdom long ago. But once a new threat began to attack the kingdom, the ponies of Equestria put the blame on the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna feeling that her citizens were turning against her, could no longer hold her anger against them; using her magic with the power of the magical creature — where both sisters met in the Everfree forest — she became Nightmare Moon. On that day Celestia was forced to make a difficult decision; she banished her sister to the moon forever, sealed away by the Elements of Harmony. Since Nightmare Moon’s defeat, the ponies celebrated the Summer Sun Celebration; a celebration that Celestia absolutely despised. But she participated in it because she knew that there was another threat that she now had to face alone and she did not want her ponies to know about the nightmare that will befall them. The princess sighed as she turned her attention to her window, which showed the city below her getting ready for the festival. Every year Celestia found herself locked in her own bedroom chambers, making the excuse that she was preparing for the celebration despite the fact that none of it was true. In the days leading up to the festival, Celestia secluded herself from everypony to hide her despondency and vexation from her own subjects. Look at them, not a care in the world. They are too fixated on their festival to realize that they are in grave danger. “It’s the only source of happiness the ponies have since Nightmare Moon. I will not take that away from them just because I detest the Summer Sun Celebration; I am their Princess and I will do everything I can to keep my subjects happy, even if I am the one suffering in doing so.” Replied Celestia. But you have already suffered enough Celestia. How much longer will you have to torture yourself? When will you tell them the truth? When will you tell them of the real threat? You can’t protect them from the threat they don’t even know that exists. Celestia’s mind answered, trying to reason with her. “I will figure something out.” You and I both know that won’t happen. You have already given up your pursuit to find a way to defeat the pitch-black creature. Celestia’s mind retorted back. Knock, knock, knock. Celestia’s argument with her mind came to a close as the echoes of the noise made its way to her ears. “Princess Celestia it is me, Clover. I am sorry to intrude, but I have something you may want to see.” Clover’s voice tried to penetrate the thick layers of the bedroom chambers but failed, thus her voice sounded muffled. “You may enter Clover.” Answered Celestia’s muffled voice in a cold way. The door creaked as Clover opened came in due to its large size; the noise could be heard again as Clover closed it. Celestia turned her head away from the window to face Clover. “Again Princess, apologies for intruding; but Starswirl has sent me his latest report on the most recent victim of the nightmare attacks.” Floating the report to Celestia. Celestia pretended that she was looking over the report Starswirl had written, but she already knew who was responsible and she was growing tired of Starswirl reporting them to her. “Thank you, Clover. I will see to it that I will speak to Starswirl after the festival.” “Also, there is an adoption form that came with it. It is the child of the victim and her neighbors wants to adopt the colt.” What Clover told Celestia took her by surprise. Taking the adoption forms from Clover with her magic, she looked over them. A smile formed on her for the first time that day. Celestia seemed happy that the colt had found another family to love him. Lately, many of the foals who lost both their parents from the nightmares had to live in the orphanages and many families were not adopting the poor foals. No foal needs to live growing up without their parents. Blissfully, Celestia took her quill and ink and began signing the forms determined to make the adoption official as quickly as possible. The adoption forms, then disappeared from sight with Celestia’s magic. “Is there anything else you want to say?” Asked Celestia to her advisor with a renewed sense of joy in her tone. Clover sighed before she began, “Are you okay today Princess?” “I am fine Clover thank you.” “Do not try to lie to me Princess. I have been your advisor for three years now. I can tell when something is bothering you.” Celestia took a deep breath before she started, “Do you know why I hate the Summer Sun Celebration?” Clover shook her head. “It is because I am celebrating the defeat of my sister when she became Nightmare Moon.” “Then why do you participate in it?” There are things I wish I could tell you Clover, but I cannot for the sake of everypony. “Do you know why you don’t like the festival?” Questioned Celestia “Yes, I do. In the three years I have been working for you, I have seen what this festival does to you. Every year during this time, I see the anger and sadness in your eyes. Believe it or not I consider you my friend, and I hate to see you torture yourself over this. “So please, if there is anything you need to take off your chest, just let me know.” Worry filled Clover’s face as she told Celestia her reasons for not liking the celebration. “I thank you, Clover. I am glad to see that not everypony sees me as their ruler but as a friend. It will be good to have a normal conversation with somepony.” Smiling at Clover. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. Oh, and one more thing...” Reaching into one of her robe’s pockets, she pulled out a box with the store’s name, Cookie’s Bakery embroidered on it. “This is from Smart Cookie, she told me to give this to you.” Clover levitated the dessert to Princess Celestia. Celestia opened the box to reveal a three layer cake with bits of citrus fruit in between the layers. The frosting on the cake was full of bright colors consisting of yellows, oranges, and reds covering the cake capable of blinding anyone if it were real like the sun. Celestia’s mouth started to water as she looked upon the dessert with desire. It was her favorite dessert, the Citrus Sun Cake. “If you see Smart Cookie, tell her I said thank you.” Clover bowed and nodded her head as she made her way out the bedroom chambers. “And Clover,” said Celestia to grab Clover’s attention, “try to enjoy the festival this time, okay?” “I will try to Princess.” The creaking sound returned as Clover left the room. Please do Clover. You should not be the one who has to reflect on their past mistakes. That is my burden to bare. Looking at her grandfather clock in the room, she saw that it was time to lower the sun. As she faced the window, Celestia closed her eyes and, with her magic, she took hold of the sun and began pulling the giant star down to the earth. As the sun was brought down, Celestia hesitated on using the next spell, bringing the moon up to the heavens to begin the night. Finally, having the courage to start the spell, Celestia raised the moon to the skies peak; where the sun was during the day. She could feel her sister’s presence as she moved the moon to its proper spot and once she finished her spell, Celestia did not look to gaze upon the moon knowing what was there to confront her. The normally tranquil and undisturbed Everfree forest was full of life; an army of ghost-like creatures were taking refuge from the sun’s rays, waiting for the moon to take the sun’s place in the sky so that their mission could begin. The night was not due to begin for another hour as small rays of light were still able to penetrate the broad forest, making the ghost find ways to entertain themselves with whatever the mysterious forest brought to them. One group of ghosts were near a lake, making weird faces at their own reflections; playing a game to see if they could make the others laugh. Another group of the ghost-like creatures was chasing a small purple rat all over the place. They seem to have been chasing the poor rodent for a while now; fatigue took hold of the rat's face, its tongue sticking out the side of its mouth, its body crying for the little rodent to stop, however it did not stop; scared the ghosts chasing it would try and hurt it. No longer able to continue, the purple rat’s body went limp from over exhaustion. The ghost-like creatures howled with laughter as they neared the little rodent who could no longer run. Across the lake, a dark purple ghost with a roundish body, multiple spikes covering its back with two large pointed ears and short arms and legs with a stubby tail, was leaning on a large tree. Its red eyes saw what one of its comrades did to the rodent; its wide mouth curled into a sinister grin. However, the dark purple ghost was beginning to lose its patience as it looked onto its comrades. Ugh, how much longer must we wait? I know that the Master wants to attack the ponies when they least expect it, but everyone is getting bored of waiting. While the ghastly creature did not want to disturb its Master, it decided to find out how much longer they will have to wait. Quickly sinking into the forest floor becoming a shadow, the dark purple creature made its way up using the shade the branches made by catching the sun’s rays as a pathway to reach the tree top; to where its Master was. The sky radiated in a vast color of red, yellow, and orange, signaling that the day will soon come to a close. At the treetops stood a pitch-black creature, standing perfectly still, its eye set upon the mountainside city. The sun touched the castle’s marble walls; anyone staring at the castle at this time, even from the distance of the Everfree forest, would have gone blind from the brilliant light reflecting from the castle. The rustling of leaves caused the creature of darkness to turn its head. A round shadow appeared from under the leaves and soon the shadow formed into a dark purple ghost. “What is it, Venom Shade?” Questioned the creature of darkness to the spiky-backed ghost. “A thousand pardons Master Darkrai, but I must ask; how much longer must we wait? The others are growing restless from waiting that they have begun to cause havoc in the forest. If we do not act quickly, we run the risk of being discovered.” Its usually grinning smile was set in a worried frown. “Patience Venom Shade. As of now the ponies are preparing for the summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year. We will head to the city once the sun descends from the sky and we will use the cover of the night to enter the city undetected. With the ponies too busy with the celebration, they will be unable to react quickly enough when we strike. And soon after we will control the rest of this pathetic kingdom.” As its leader tells Venom Shade of the plan, its devious smile returns. “An excellent plan Master! I never doubted you for a second.” The colors of the sun soon start to die out as the night fast approached. The mountainous city soon disappeared into the night, leaving only a silhouette shape of the city in its place. “It is time.” The pitch-black creature said as the night officially began. BOOM!!! A large explosion was heard and soon smoke rises into the air. Not long after that, laughter can be heard from under the forest leaves. The two phantoms quickly turn into shadows and descend to where the explosion happened, reappearing near a large white tree with a blue "X" near the top of the trunk, all of its branches growing upwards, but with no leaves. As the smoke faded away, there was a large crater with a round white and red ball-like creature inside. Its face showed that it was in excruciating pain. Although they were covered in the explosion’s residue, all of the ghost-like creatures roared with laughter since the explosion had no effect on them. Venom Shade chuckled at the scene, however, Darkrai did not find it amusing. “Ignorant fools, cease your reckless behaviors! Do you wish us to be discovered!?” All of the ghosts halted their waves of laughter as they focused to their leader. Once it determined that the army of ghosts was giving it its full attention, Darkrai began, “My brothers, this is the moment we have all been waiting for. Many years have we spent in seclusion from the other species of this world, watching as they struggled to live with their lives. But they have shown that they are too weak to survive the challenges this world gives them and for that they must die. Only then will the strong dwell in this world. “Now go, the night draws near. Head to the kingdom’s capital and only reveal yourselves once I have.” The army of thousands of ghost-like creatures flew out from the Everfree forest, heading toward the pony kingdom capital, Canterlot. The only one who did not leave immediately was the pitch-black creature, Darkrai, as it faced the large white tree that once was its adversary. “You thought that giving eternal life to the two princesses would be enough to stop me, but your plan backfired. One fell into hatred against her own subjects. The other is too mentally distraught and can no longer protect her kind. “I promise you this, once you return from your slumber, things will play out more differently when we face each other once more.” One of Darkrai’s claws began to glow with a purple outline. The aura grew into a large claw as Darkrai’s shadowy claw sank into the bark of the large white tree. A deep mark of what was the dark creature’s attack was now part of the white tree’s appearance. While the pitch-black creature was unsure if its foe felt the attack, it was still content with what it did to the tree. Soon it levitated itself from the ground and it too left the forest to join the rest in taking over the kingdom capital. The large white tree near the lake began to gleam in a white light that soon spread throughout the forest. The little purple rodent regained its energy and with haste; it dashed away from the lake, taking this opportunity to leave before the ghost returned. The round white and red ball-like creature also had its energy restored as it rolled away from the area as well, and the creator vanished; the whole in the ground was covered by the soft grass. And even the large white tree’s most recent injury was no longer present. The bright light the tree emitted died off as everything went back to normal. Soon the Everfree forest had once again returned to its quiet and undisturbed state. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo.
Prologue Prologue Summer Stone hummed happily in the kitchen as she made breakfast for herself early in the morning (the sky still dark and full of stars), a fruit salad, making a little more than she usually did since her visit to the doctor earlier that week. She couldn't wait for her husband to come home to tell him the great news. She was tempted to just send a letter to the Castle of the Two Sisters where he was stationed as Princess Luna’s night guard after she found out, but then quickly decided against that, wanting to tell him in person what he was about to become. After finishing preparing her breakfast, Summer Stone went to the dining room setting her fruit salad on the table and then sat down. Though Summer Stone did not start eating her breakfast right away. She just sat there for a while thinking about her life while looking down and putting a hoof on her stomach smiling. She thought about her career as a sculptor; how she was ridiculed for choosing such a career because she was an earth pony. She thought about the time both Princesses hoof selected her to make the garden fountains of both Princesses for the royal gardens at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Summer Stone then thought about the day her then stallionfreind, Brave Wind proposed to her; it was the happiest day of her life. Summer Stone sighed as she thought about where she was now, not wanting to change anything in her life for anything in the world. Summer Stone was about to begin her meal for the morning until she heard the front door open. She got out of the dining room to see her husband in front of the door. “Brave Wind! Honey, welcome home! If I knew you were headed home earlier, I would have made some more fruit salad.” Said Summer Stone smiling at her husband. Her smile soon faded as she saw Brave Wind. The dark gray pegasus stallion did not look too well. “Brave, are you feeling alright?” Asked Summer Stone concerned. “No, Summer I am not feeling well. Ever since I left the castle, I haven’t been feeling well.” “What happened at the castle? I thought you were to return home next week.” Wondered Summer Stone. “ I do not know. Lately, Princess Luna has been acting strange for the past few months. She has been distant; she does not even talk to Princess Celestia much anymore. She also has pretty much canceled the night court and yesterday, before she even raised the moon, the Princess ordered all of the night guard to leave the castle and not to return until she calls for us. I do not understand what she meant at the last part and neither do the others in the night guard. Everypony is worried that something bad is going to happen.” Replied Brave Wind. Summer Stone began to wonder what was going on with the Princess. She has heard the allegations everypony has been pinning on Princess Luna and the nightmares. Everypony was convinced that the Princess of the Night has something to do with all the ponies who died unable to wake up from their nightmares. Summer Stone having met Princess Luna in person felt sorry for the her, it must not have been easy having to deal with ponies who blame her for something she had no part of and still continue on with her royal duties. But it seems as if the Princess was showing signs of snapping. Brave Wind held his head with his hoof as he started feeling pain. Summer Stone noticed his pain as she told him, ” Brave, go upstairs and rest. I will make some more fruit salad so that you can have something to eat and I will also bring some medicine just in case your headache continues.” “Thank you sweetheart, I feel better already,” said Brave Wind nuzzling his wife. “I also have a surprise for you,” said Summer Stone trying to lift her husband’s spirit up, ”but I will tell you only after you eaten and taken your medicine.” Brave Wind gave her a funny look and then laughed as he went up stairs to their bedroom. Summer Stone waited to hear the door to their bedroom close to head to the kitchen. But she didn't get far because her stomach started growling, ”Oh, I almost forgot,” looking down to her stomach, “with Brave Wind coming home early I completely forgot about our own meal. I’m sorry, let’s go eat right now,” cooed Summer Stone. After finishing her own meal, Summer Stone went to the kitchen to prepare a meal for Brave Wind. She also pulled out some herbs from the cabinet in order to make the medicine for his headache. Twenty minutes later, Summer Stone headed upstairs with the fruit salad and medicine on her back heading to the bedroom. Summer Stone opened the door slowly and quietly as she entered the dark bedroom. She didn't turn on the lights because she didn't want to disturb Brave. She moved as quietly as she could until she reached the bed. “Brave honey, wake up. I have your meal and the medicine as well if you still need it”, whispered Summer Stone. “...” There was no answer. “Brave, Dinner is ready”, Summer Stone whispered again. Still no answer from Brave Wind. Summer Stone turned on the light on the lamp near the bed. What she saw shocked her. Brave Wind was not in bed, but his feathers were all over the bed; some full of blood. Summer Stone started to feel uneasy. Was Brave Wind having the feather flu? Was that why he wasn't feeling well? “Brave, where are you?“ Summer Stone called out. She headed to the bathroom to see if he was there, but she saw that the bathroom lights were also out so there would be no way that he would be there. Summer Stone was now panicking. Brave Wind was nowhere to be found and she was worried about her husband’s condition. As Summer Stone walked around the room, she thought she heard something in the room. She became wary when she heard it. What else could be in the room with her? Summer Stone started making her way out the bedroom. Reaching to the entrance of the bedroom, Summer Stone saw the light switch to the room. She thought it would be best if she turned on the lights so that she can have a better chance at finding whatever was in the room with her. So Summer Stone flipped the switch. When the lights went on, a loud screech filled the entire room. Summer Stone put her hooves over her ears to dampen the noise that was causing her a lot of pain. Summer then felt herself being tackled to the floor by something large. When she opened her eyes, she stared face to face at Brave Wind. The pony on top of her was her husband; that much she was sure of. But his physical traits were different. Brave’s feathered wings were gone, and in its place were flexible dark blue bat wings. Brave still had his dark gray coat , but his ears seemed more fluffy than usual. Another distinguishable feature were his pupils, being thin and slitted as opposed to his wide, circular pupils of his normal eyes. His eyes seemed dilated because of the light that was in the room and she wondered if the light was hurting him, but it didn't seem to bother him; he never took his eyes off of Summer Stone. But the most intimidating feature were his fangs. She didn't even want to think about what he can do with those fangs. Summer Stone never felt so afraid in her life before. But worrying about her husband, Summer Stone tried to talk to him. “Brave, its me, Summer Stone. Please, for the love of Celestia, let me go. You are sick and need help. You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to hurt your family”, she continued as tears began to flow from her eyes, "Brave, I’m pregnant.” She smiled despite the river of tears continuing, “That was the surprise I wanted to tell you. You are going to be a father.” Brave Wind didn't seem to care about the news Summer Stone just gave him because he hissed at her before he attacked, opening his mouth to reveal those large fangs of his, and then puncturing Summer’s neck with them. Summer Stone let out a blood-curdling scream. She could feel Brave’s fangs going deeper into her neck as well as her blood escaping from her wound. She could also feel his tongue licking off the blood in her wound; he was feeding off of her. Summer Stone now knew that the pony attacking her was no longer her husband, he was a monster trying to kill her and her unborn foal. But she wasn't going to let that happen. With all her might, Summer Stone started bucking at the bat-like pony. Being physically bigger than her, the bat-like pony did not seem phased by Summer’s attempt at getting him off of her. Summer continued bucking, but she was starting to tire herself out. I have to think of something to get him off of me, thought Summer, I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up. Summer then noticed that the bat-like pony had loosen his grip on her hoofs, too busy feeding on her to realize that he didn't have a good hold on her anymore. Summer Stone began flailing her forelegs as well as using her last ounce of her earth pony strength to send the bat-like pony flying across the room. Summer sighed in relief as she heard her attacker crash into the bedroom floor. But she was also exhausted. Summer could still feel her neck throbbing from the bite. Wanting to know how bad her wound was, she put a hoof on the wound to see how much blood she lost; her body tensed up as she did. Removing her hoof from her wound, Summer saw that it was covered in blood. I have to get out of here. Thought Summer Stone. Summer Stone tried to get on her hooves, but the bat-like pony was already on its hooves. The bat-like pony filled the room again with its loud screech, this time shattering the glass on the window. Then bat-like pony locked eyes with Summer and charged at her. This time though, Summer Stone no longer had the strength to fight him. The bat-like pony got on top of her once again trying to bite her to continue his meal. Unsure on what to do next, Summer’s lips reacted before she even had a chance to think on it. “Somepony! Anypony! Help me!” Out of some stroke of luck it seemed as if somepony did her cry for help because somepony shouted out, “ What the hay is going on?” “Please help, I am being attacked! I don’t know how much longer I can keep my attacker back!”, Summer Stone shouted back. The sound of her door being blown apart and then the sound of hoofsteps coming up the stairs could be heard as Summer Stone was struggling to keep the bat-like pony from making a meal out of her. “What the fuck is that?”, asked a light green unicorn stallion as he came rushing in the room. “Just...help...me…” Struggled Summer to say. The stallion complied as he grabbed the bat-like pony with his magic away from Summer Stone. The bat-like pony however, did not like the idea of being held down. He struggled to get out of the levitation spell with no avail. The bat-like pony then screeched again, forcing the light green stallion to interrupt his levitation spell in order to cover his ears. With the spell no longer holding him, the bat-like pony ran towards the window. He looked one last time at Summer Stone before flying into the night sky. “Are you okay?”, asked the stallion as he came to check on Summer Stone. “No...I'm not okay. My husband just tried to kill me and I had to fight him in order to protect my foal.” “I am sorry for your loss, but you lost a lot of blood and you need treatment for your wound. Let me take you to the hospital.” Summer Stone did not reply quickly. She was too busy thinking on what was supposed to be a happy day turned into her worst nightmare. She knew that she will remember this day for the rest of her life, having her husband turn into that...thing, and then trying to kill her. “Will you take me there?” The stallion nodded. ” Thank you, perhaps when I get to the hospital, I can forget about this day and just rest.” “Oh, I promise that you will have plenty of time to rest after I am through with you.” Replied the stallion with a sinister voice. Dark clouds then began to surround the light green stallion. In his place stood a black, shadow-like creature with a small head with a white fog-like ghostly plume billowing from its head covering one of its bright blue eyes with a red spiky growth around its neck and the shadow-like creature’s body looked like it was wearing an old, ripped cloak. “Wh-What a-are y-y- you?” Stammered Summer Stone as she looked upon the pitch-black creature. “I might as well tell you, seeing as you will never wake up from this nightmare again. I am the bringer of darkness. Minotaurs, griffins, zebras, and ponies. All the creatures of this world are weaklings, for far too long you all have struggled in this world to be the dominant species. And I have taken upon myself purge the world of the weak. Soon the world will be ruled by the rightful dominate species. And only the strong will live in this new world.” “And now“, started the pitch-black creature as it put hands together and formed a crimson and black ball in its hands, ”pleasant dreams”. Then it fired it at Summer Stone. When she was hit, a crimson bubble appeared around her body that soon disappeared, making her fall asleep, leaving her trapped in her nightmare. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo.
Chapter IThe azure blue unicorn mage discontinued his dream watching spell as he lost his connection to Summer Stone’s dream. He also was feeling the pain Summer Stone felt when his magic became interrupted by whatever that thing was that attacked her. “Mr. Starswirl sir, are you alright?” Asked one of the unicorn guards when they came rushing in to see if he was hurt. “Yes, I am fine.” Answered Starswirl holding a hoof on his head. “And what about the mare?” Starswirl looked at the now still form of Summer Stone’s body. This is the sixth pony this year to have died like this. He thought to himself. He felt horrible for not being able to figure out who the culprit is. For the past ten years since he took over this case, it has been unsolved. Even after all these years Starswirl hoped that he would have something by now, but he did not. “There is nothing I can do for her now, she is lost in her own nightmare.” Replied Starswirl sadly. “What do you wish to do next sir?” Asked one of the guards. “Bring in the witness. I have some questions I would like to ask him.” The two unicorn guards quickly retreated from the room to get the witness. As Starswirl waited, he was pondering why the culprit would do this.With his magic, Starswirl pulled out and began looking at the culprit’s M.O. For the past ten years, the culprit has been specifically targeting ponies who had pegasus ponies in their family who became those bat-like ponies; even more so the ponies who were in the night guard. Summer Stone was one of the many victims who had a spouse who worked for Princess Luna before she became Nightmare Moon. But what was the culprit’s motive? And how is the culprit able to manipulate a shadow-like creature into the nightmare before the victims died? “Did you want to see me, sir?” Asked the light green stallion entering the room, interrupting Starswirl’s thoughts. “Ah, yes. Please come in.” Gestured Starswirl to the stallion in. “What do you want to know?” Asked the stallion a little nervous. “Calm yourself, my friend, you are not in trouble and I am not going to interrogate you. I just have some questions I would like you to answer. The stallion nodded. “Now, do you know Summer Stone well?” “Yes, I do. She is my neighbor and a friend of my wife. I even met her husband Brave Wind one time.” Starswirl nodded, “Can you tell me what happened the night Summer Stone was attacked?” “Well, it was early in the morning, probably around four to five o’clock? Anyways, I was sleeping at my house until I heard a screeching noise outside, and I went to check it out. Once I was outside I heard the screech again, coming from Summer Stone’s home, louder this time because the screech shattered the windows. That is when I heard Summer crying for help. I rushed into her home to help her and then I saw this bat-like pony attacking her. The I used a levitation spell to remove that thing away from her, and then the bat-like pony screeched again in order to run away. I went to check on her after that thing attacked her and seeing that she was losing a lot of blood, I took her to the hospital.” “How was Summer Stone after the attack?” Wondered Starswirl. “When Summer told me that that thing was her husband, I did not believe her, but I did not tell her that because she needed to go to the hospital and arguing about it would not have taken her there faster. But Summer was never the same after that night. She had her foal a couple months later, but even the foal seemed to give Summer no joy. My wife and I tried to help her out when she needed someone to take care of the colt when she was out of town for work or if she was just needed to be alone. I guess the loss of Brave Wind really hit her hard.” Starswirl again nodded, "And why did you not believe Summer Stone about her attacker being her husband?” "Because it was crazy to believe that. Why would somepony’s spouse attack them for no reason? But once we got to the hospital I began to believe what Summer told me. It seemed as if everypony was telling me the same story to that of Summer Stone's. Just about everypony that day was in the hospital for the same reason Summer was in, for bite marks their family members who worked in the night guards did to them.” Starswirl himself had heard the same story told to him many times before. Family or friends of the victims did not believe the victim telling them about how their pegasus relatives turned into these....bat ponies or thestrals (what everypony seemed to call them) and then were attacked by them before running off; never to be seen again. But there was one more thing Starswirl wanted to know. "Did Summer Stone ever tell you about a pitch-black creature in her dreams?" "A pitch-black creature? No, She never mentioned anything like that to anypony. Why, does it have to do with what happened to Summer Stone?" Answered the stallion. Starswirl nodded, "We believe that the culprit is connected to the nightmares and the deaths of many of the ponies who had them. We are certain that the culprit is a unicorn, but we are uncertain about their motives. But that is all I can say. Thank you, Mr...?” “Element Rune.” “Thank you Element Rune. You can leave now. I believe I gathered all the information I needed in this case.” Element Rune, however, did not move. “Starswirl sir. Can I ask what will happen to Starry Night?” “Starry Night?” “Yes. Summer Stone’s Pegasus colt? What will happen to him?” “ Well, he will go to the Canterlot orphanage since his mother is dead and his father is nowhere to be found.” Answered Starswirl. “What if I adopted him?” “Would you like to adopt him?” Asked Starswirl a little surprised. “Yes, I do. I believe it would be best if my wife and I adopt Starry Night. We have been trying to have a foal of our own for a while, but thing haven't gone our way. And while Starry Night might not be our own, we love him as if he was our own. And it will be easier on him since he already knows us so well.” Starswirl smiled as he heard that the stallion would adopt the young pegasus. Usually when a foal no longer have any of their parents to take care of them, they are usually sent to the orphanage of their town. But it seems as though Starry Night will have a family to go to after all. “Very well then, let us go through the necessary paperwork so I can send it to Princess Celestia's adviser so that she can get the document processed by the Princess.” said Starswirl to Element Rune. At least something good came out of this. Thought Starswirl. Now only if this case could get solved, then this whole nightmare can be over and done with. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo.
Chapter IIKnock, knock, knock. “Go away.” Knock, knock, knock. “Miss Clever, it is ten in the morning and you still haven’t got out of bed? You have duties to attend to today and none of them are going to get done if you don’t get out of bed.” The white unicorn mare groaned in displeasure as she took off her bed sheets and climbed out of bed and headed to the massive doors that led out to the castle's halls. Opening the doors, Clover met face to face with the pony that disturbed her sleep, Manuscript. The unicorn stallion had a light brown coat, with his blond mane neatly combed back. His cutie mark was a piece of parchment rolled tight with a red ribbon holding it together. When Manuscript saw Clover’s forest and mint green mane in a bedhead style, he looked upon the white unicorn mare with disgust. Clover, for her part, just rolled her eyes at Manuscript. “Why are you here, Manuscript?” asked Clover in an irritated tone. “This is your duties for the day,” replied Manuscript, entered Clover’s room and handed her a piece of parchment with his magic. “Since you decided to wake up so late in the morning, I saw it fitting to give you the last task that was left in my office.” Clover grabbed the piece of parchment with her light green aurora and started to look over it. The parchment contained a list of all of the ponies she would have to check on for the Summer Sun Celebration. I would like whoever gets this to check on the ponies who will be preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration that will be held in this year’s location: Canterlot. Here is the list of the ponies who will be preparing for the festival: Ludwig van Beethooven - He will be in charge of the music in the festival. (You may want to bring a notepad, the old stallion is deaf and you will not be able to communicate with him without one.) Stratus Cloud - He is in charge of the weather. He will make sure that the skies are clear on the day of the celebration.(He will be working with a team of unicorns to clear out the weather and is also one of the few pegasi left in Canterlot that hasn't left to Cloudsdale. So it should be easy to spot him.) Grace - She will be working on the decorations for the festival. All you will have to do is to check on her progress. Smart Cookie - She will be making the pastries for the festival. Let her know that the guard will come to pick up her pastries two hours before the celebration begins. “So, now I am doing errands for the Summer Sun Celebration?” asked Clover a bit annoyed. “You know I am not a big fan of it.” “As I said, it was the last task in my office and you haven’t woken up; therefore, you are responsible for these tasks, regardless of how you feel about the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Fine, I will do it. But you better not pull this stunt again next year,” warned Clover. Clover then walked over to her drawer and pulled out a plain, ratty looking robe. As she put on her robe, she heard Manuscript sighing. “What’s the problem now?” questioned Clover, beginning to get irritated by Manuscript. “Could you at least look presentable when you go out? You make the Princess look bad when you put on that poor excuse of a robe.” Clover started walking toward Manuscript as she began. ”Well, gee, I am sorry that I do not live up to your standards. I am sorry that I am not the Canterlot citizen you expect me to be. Not all of us had the luxury of a home to come back to every day, have a family who loves you, and had enough money to send you to a prestigious school. Some of us had to struggle in life to get where they are today. And the last time I checked, I became Princess Celestia’s adviser not because of the things I wear, but because of what I dealt with. I have the experience of a lot of things, and she would come to me for advice if she needed a second opinion on something.” by the time Clover was done ranting, her muzzle was inches from Manuscript’s muzzle. “Very well then,” he said while clearing his throat,” I will take my leave.” With that, Manuscript headed out to the door, but stopped before saying, “Just remember to give that parchment to the Princess or me once you are done with your task.” Clover only nodded in understanding and then Manuscript was out the door. “Alright then,” talking to herself, ”I better look at the list to see who I should see first.” Clover opened the parchment paper with her magic as she looked over the list. First up, was Mr. Beethooven, second, Stratus Cloud, after him Grace, and then followed by Smart Cookie. Before leaving, Clover grabbed a notepad, a quill, and some ink so that she would be able to talk to the deaf musician and then headed out her bedroom door. Ever since Princess Celestia started the celebration, she had always held the celebration in town squares, in city halls, and, at times, at parks. Clover knew that Princess Celestia always chose a place where the majority of the town would be able to see her raise the sun. While the Summer Sun Celebration was being held this year at Canterlot, there weren't many places the festival could be held. The layout of the city consisted of narrow streets, houses too close to each other that they seemed to touch one another, and the park being too small to hold all the citizens in the city. There was only one place in the city where the ponies would be able to celebrate the Summer Sun Celebration - Canterlot Castle. Yes, the castle was the perfect place to hold an event such as this. The castle had the size and beauty to celebrate the festival. When the Princess raised the sun, the castle’s marble stone walls reflected the sun’s rays making the castle shine even brighter than usual, making it look like the sun itself had descended from the heavens. That sight alone would leave anypony in awe. Today was the eve of Summer Sun Celebration, and Clover knew exactly where to find the musician, in the ballroom at the castle. Having taken part of the festival before, Mr. Beethooven usually liked to be on the site of where the celebration would be so that his ensemble can set up and practice before the festival started. As Clover entered the Ballroom, she could hear the ensemble practicing the music for the festival. Clover slowly opened the door so that she would not disturb them while they were practicing. Clover then sat down and closed her eyes just to listen to the music they played. Clover herself was a big fan of Ludwig van Beethooven. She has gone to all of his concerts. The music he composed was some of the best music at the time. Beethooven was also an inspiration to her; despite his disability, he still continued doing what he loved most, music. Clover wouldn’t be surprised if ponies continued to listen to his music in the future. The music soon ended and Clover, being the only audience in the room, started clapping. The ensemble smiled as their audience praised them; however, their smiles left their faces when their composer started talking. “And just what are you smiling about? The Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow and we still have a lot of work to do before we are ready to preform. Violas, your group started too early. Knowing when to start is essential or else the rest of the song falls apart. And Cellos, you missed an A Minor. If you are unsure about what note to play next, you have the notes right in front of you! Use them!” How Beethoven was able to notice small things like starting too early or missing a note even though he was deaf was something nopony knew, but that is what made him great, and that's why he was considered the best. After his little rant, nopony answered him, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hear them anyways. “Tell me why you were smiling!” Yelled an aggravated Beethooven. One pony from the ensemble simply pointed his hoof across the room as it set its sights on its target. Beethoven eyes followed the stallion’s hoof until he saw a white unicorn mare with a ragged old robe with what had what appeared to be her cutie mark, three four leaf clovers with three white diamonds in between them. The unicorn stallion’s eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks when he realized who the mare was. Clover just smiled and waved. “Miss Clever, I am sorry you had to witness my outburst. Its just that with the festival being tomorrow, I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes with the music. It is partially my fault. We have been practicing since the crack of dawn and I believe the ensemble is just tried.” Apologized Beethoven as Clover walked up to the stage. Clover pulled out her notepad, a quill, and and some ink with her light green aura. She then began writing something on her notepad and soon after, Clover levitated the notepad to the deaf pony while giving him a reassuring smile. "‘Not to worry Mr. Beethooven, I am sorry for startling you but you do not need to worry. I am in charge of making sure everything is ready for the festival and I just wanted to see how things are going. You have nothing to fear; your music sounded beautiful.’” Read the deaf composer aloud as he read what Clover wrote to him. “Thank you Miss Clever, it is good to know that someone as prestigious as you enjoy my music.” He mentioned as the notepad levitated back to Clover. Clover face became a little rosy from the comment he gave her. Again, Clover’s magic took hold of the notepad and quill, making the quill dance as she wrote what she was going to say. She then returned the pad to the composer. “‘I do not know about that, I am merely an advisor. I am only there when Princess Celestia needs my input. I do not consider myself prestigious at all.’” He said while reading her thoughts out loud. “You give yourself too little credit Miss Clever. You are her advisor because she values your opinion, and I for one have never seen the Princess not take your opinion for granted.” Replied Beethoven. A small frown formed on Clover’s muzzle, but not enough for anypony to notice. There is one; the Summer Sun Celebration. “Would you like to stay and listen to us practice for the festival tomorrow?” Asked the unicorn composer. Clover was going to say yes, but, as much as she wanted to stay and listen to Beethooven’s music, she realized that she still hadn't checked on the others. Clover took her notepad and quill, then began writing on it. She levitated the notepad to the unicorn composer when she was finished. “‘As much as I would love to, I cannot. I still need to check on the others preparing for the celebration. Perhaps another time.’” He said as he read Clover’s notepad. He smiled and said, “Very well then. I will not keep you from your task any longer. Have a good day Miss Clover.” Clover nodded and picked up her things quickly so that the ensemble could continue practicing. When the white mare was out of the ballroom, Beethooven cleared his throat, “Alright, you had plenty of time to rest. Let us continue practicing.” Leaving the castle, Clover levitated the parchment to see who she needed to see next. Clover’s heart skipped a beat as she read the pony she had to check on—the next pony on the list was Stratus Cloud. “Come on Clover,” she said to herself. “You just need to check on him to see that the weather will be cleared for tomorrow.” However, she found it difficult to calm herself down. She felt her forelegs growing weak and being unable to support her own body. Clover also began to feel hot; she was beginning to regret wearing her robes. Her stomach was also full of butterflies as she thought of the pegasus. To say that Clover had a crush on Stratus Cloud was an understatement. She really liked Stratus Cloud, but she found it difficult to express her feelings to him because of her past experiences with stallions. Many of the nobles in Canterlot have tried, and failed, at wooing Clover. She knew the nobles were just trying to use her to get to the Princess. Eventually, Clover began to believe that she would never find somepony to be with. That is until she met Stratus Cloud. Stratus Cloud was different though. When she first meet him through a mutual friend, she thought he was just another Canterlot snob trying to get his way up the social ladder. But, as she got to know him, she realized that he was just a normal pony just like her. In one of their conversations, she asked why he was the only pegasus in the Canterlot weather team. He mentioned that after the incident with Nightmare Moon and her bat ponies, many of the pegasi were seen as monsters and many of the nobles wanted them out of Canterlot. Many of the pegasi did leave; the only pegasi left were the ones who were either too young or too old to leave the city. Stratus Cloud was too young and had no family to go to, so he lived in the Canterlot Orphanage at the time. Once he was old enough, he applied to the weather team at the city. “You should have seened it Clover,” he told her the day he applied. “Nopony had any idea of what they were doing before I started working there. Canterlot was always behind schedule when it came to the weather. No offence to you unicorns, but pegasi are more in tune with the weather. After I got the job, things started to fall into place. Soon after, I became head of the Canterlot Weather Team.” Stratus Cloud was a very laid back kind of pony, never stressing himself out with things he needed to deal with; things always seemed to work out for him. Clover envied that about him, and she also liked him for it as well. As she made her way to the center of the city, Clover noticed a unicorn stallion moving around a small number of clouds. Might as well ask him if he has seen Stratus. She thought as she made her way to him,. “Hello, my name is Clover the Clever, and I noticed that you were moving these clouds around. You wouldn’t happen to be a part of the weather team, would you?” “Yes ma’am, I am.” “Excellent. Do you happen to have Status Cloud in your team? I am here on royal duties checking on everypony preparing on the Summer Sun Celebration to see their progress.” “Of course, Miss Clever. He should be up ahead at the park clearing up what clouds are left,” answered the weather pony. “Thank you.” “Any time ma’am,” the stallion said as he returned to his work. Clover made her way to the park. Canterlot Park was located at the center of the city, so it was relatively small, but the size didn’t stop the locals from enjoying what the park had to offer. Nearing the entrance, Clover saw that the park was full of life. Fillies and colts were running around the park playing a game of tag. Near the edges of the park flowers bloomed throughout, giving Canterlot Park its colors retaining freshness and luminosity. At the far side of the park, Clover could see a group of unicorns taking out the remainder of the clouds with their magic. “Alright everypony, we are almost done. Just a few more clouds and we can head out to lunch,” the pegasus team leader giving encouragement to his team. Clover waited as the weather team worked. Using their magic to dissipate the clouds, the unicorns took out the clouds with ease. But even their magic had limitations. Their magic could not take hold of the clouds higher up in the sky. Though for Stratus Cloud, he had no limitations as he used his wings to reach the clouds to take care of the ones that were too high for the unicorns to reach with their magic. As Stratus took care of the last cloud, he spotted Clover. Grinning, he began doing some aerial stunts as he flew his way over to her. He did every trick he knew, starting from a simple cartwheel to a daring nose dive. This is great, Stratus thought to himself. If I show her how great a flyer I am, she will think I am good enough to join that new aerial team, the Wonderbolts, and, once I join, I will be an important enough pony to have a chance at asking Clover out. Because of his daydream, Stratus was oblivious to the fact that he was heading straight at the ground. Clover noticing that he was not paying attention and cried out, “Stratus, pay attention to what you are doing you goof ball!” Snapping out of his little world, he yelped in fear as he noticed where he was headed. Acting as quickly as he could, Stratus forced his wings to flap as fast as they could to slow down his momentum, but he was going too fast in order for him to make a smooth landing. Well this is just great. Instead of me taking her out to someplace, she will be taking me to the hospital. Realizing that he will not get out of this without any injuries. Stratus Cloud shrieked in terror. “Damn it, Stratus,” Clover said to herself as she watched in horror. “I came here to check on you to see the preparations for the festival, and here you are horseplaying around like there is no tomorrow,” Stratus Cloud was just a few inches from slamming face first into the ground. “You owe me for saving your sorry ass,” Her horn started to glowing as her light green magic enveloped Stratus. Clover’s magic moved Stratus’ face away from the ground and placing his stomach for the impact. Reaching the ground, Stratus landed by sliding as he slowed down; tearing apart the grass and finally stopping when he hit the garden full of purple coneflowers. “What the hay where you thinking Stratus?” Clover scolded him as she made her way to him. Stratus sighed in disappointment, looking away from Clover, “Sorry Clover. I just wanted to impress you with my moves because I really like you, but I should have realized that I never had a chance to be with with you.” “You like me?” Clover repeated gazing at the deflated pegasus. Stratus replied wordlessly with a nod. A small smile formed on Clover’s face as she realized that the stallion she cared for also felt the same way. She knelt down next to Stratus, tapping him on the shoulder turning his attention to the mare, “To be honest Stratus, I loth the nobles, or the ‘important ponies’ as you call them. Every day I have to deal with them trying to wrap me around their hoofs, trying to serenade me, and telling me how I am the second most beautiful mare in Equestria. But I know their true intentions. I had to keep my guard up because I am the advisor to the Princess of Equestria. But when I am with you, I know that I can be myself since you treat me like any other pony. And that is why I also feel the same way about you.” Clover put her hoof on top of his as she looked at him with sincerity in her eyes. Stratus Cloud was dumbstruck. He could not believe that the mare he had taken a liking to shared his feelings. It was not long before a wide grin was plastered into his face. “So does this mean…” “Yes, I would love to be your marefriend,” she said before he could finish his question. “YYYAAAHHHOOOO!” Stratus Cloud jumped off the ground, hollering out loud and flapping his wings out of joy. It didn’t last long though; Stratus winced when he felt a sharp piercing on his wings. Clover rolled her eyes playfully at her new stallionfriend as he completely forgot his injuries, “And now you have somepony to make sure that you will not hurt yourself too much so that you will not end up in the hospital.” Stratus gave her an apologetic smile. “So I believe you are done with the weather duties for the celebration?” Clover asked as she got back to why she was there for. “Yes, Canterlot park was our final spot for clearing up the skies. My team and I will continue to go around Canterlot for the rest of the day to make sure and clear out any clouds that come by.” “Very well then,” she checked off Stratus Cloud’s name from the list. “So, are you going to be busy tonight? I was thinking that we can go out and eat out at a restaurant before the festival starts.” “I am sorry Stratus,” nuzzling him as she spoke, “but there is too much preparing to do for the Summer Sun Celebration. I promise after the festival is done, you can take me out for dinner.” “That is fine with me Clover,” he said, returning a nuzzle to her. “WHO THE HAY MESSED UP MAH GARDEN!” Stratus’ body went stiff when he heard the cry of a very unhappy gardener. Fearing for his life, he slowly started walking away, avoiding the gardener by going the opposite direction. The gardener noticed Stratus’ rigid walk. “Dang nabit! You come back here you weather pony and fix mah garden!” The pegasus bolted out of the park with the gardener trailing right behind him. Clover giggled at her stallionfriend’s reaction when he was caught. Clover was now heading toward the fashion store, Glamorous Trends, as she went to check on how the unicorn mare was farring with her decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. As she made her way through the city streets, she spotted the store. The building was unique to the rest of the buildings; while the buildings of Canterlot had a soft vanilla-like color to them, Glamorous Trends was vibrant orange around the top of the building, making the store being easy to find. The bottom half of the store was made up of granite rocks, the shingles on top of the building were made from clay, giving off a bright red color, and dark brown oak base gave the store an exotic tropical look. Then again so was the owner. Grace was not from Equestria; she was born in Coltombia, a country located far below Equestria. She moved to Canterlot three years ago, wanting to bring her country's style of fashion to Equestria. Clover arrived at the store and saw that the front door had a closed sign hanging on the door. “Hmm...Grace must not be here,” she whispered to herself, ”but I should knock, just in case.” Clover knocked on the door and waited. A couple seconds later she heard somepony’s voice, “I am terribly sorry but the store is closed today due to the fact that I am helping with the festival.” “Grace it is me, Clover. I came to check on how you are doing with the decorations for the festival.” “Clover? Un momento por favor.” A moment later the store’s owner opened the door. The bright yellow unicorn had a vibrant red mane with her eyes as dark as the night blue sky. Her cutie mark was several different gems being sewn together with a thread going through each gem. “Clover, cariño, how are you? Please come in.” Grace said as she greeted her friend at the door. The interior of the store was just as exotic as the outside. The store had a oak floor throughout, different types of flora filled the room giving it color. There were various clothing, from shirts to sandals, with full length mirrors nearby on the left side of the store, while the right side had a small jewelry shop, containing many diamond rings and necklaces. It seemed like Grace was taking full advantage of the season with what she was selling. Grace was taking Clover to the back of the store, where her kitchen was. “I am fine, thank you very much. I am just here to check on your progress with the decorations, so I will not take much of your time.” “I have just finished the last of the banners just before you came, but I must say, it looks like you did not prepare yourself.” Looking at Clover’s messy bedhead style. “Oh, that,” Clover said as she saw herself in one of the mirrors. “I did not have a lot of time to get ready when I woke up.” “Cariño, you have to look presentable. You are the adviser to the Princess and you should look the part.” Clover shot Grace a knowing look, “You sound like Manuscript.” “I am sorry Clover. I know you do not like being compared to the nobility of Canterlot and I understand your reasons, but Manuscript is right. You need to put your stubbornness to the side. At least look nice when the princess calls you in for an opinion.” Clover sighed in defeat, “Ugh, fine. You can fix my hair.” “Certainly, it will be my pleasure,” using her magic, Grace opened one of the drawers, taking out a hairbrush with her magic. Clover raised an eyebrow at Grace’s action. “What? You never know when a beauty problem arises.” Clover shook her head as Grace began combing her mane. “Besides, how will you get any stallion to notice you if your are not at your best.” “Oh, the stallions notice me, but it is not because they are interested in me. They just want to use me to get to Princess Celestia,” she gave Grace an irritated look, “But it no longer matters; I found a special somepony, so that should keep the nobles off my back.” “Really, who is it?” wondered Grace, finishing Clover’s mane and starting with her tail. “Stratus Cloud.” “Awww, did he do anything romantic?” “If you call doing stupid stunts that would have killed him romantic, than yes he did.” Grace groaned when Clover told her what happened. “But, he was being honest with me when he told me that he liked me and that is what I want, somepony who can be honest with me. So, we will have our first date after the Summer Sun Celebration is over.” “Well, I hope that your first date with Stratus goes well,” Grace said as she stopped working on her friend’s tail, giving her mane and tail a less frazzled look. “Well anyways, do you think I can see the banners before I leave?” Clover asked, trying to change the subject. “Of course, cariño. Let me go get them,” she headed out of the kitchen and went upstairs, returning a few minutes later with two large banners, shining dark red polyester fabric with Princess Celestia’s cutie mark embroidered with a golden silk. “Wow! Grace, they are beautiful,” Clover told her friend, clearly amazed at her work. “Of course they are. I used my best fabric for the banners. After all, it is an honor to make these for the Princess.” “Well then, I will take my leave,” just as Clover ended her sentence, a low rumble coming from her stomach, her cheeks becoming rosy from embarrassment. “Sorry, I did not eat anything for breakfast this morning so I am famished.” “By all means cariño, do not let me stop you from eating.” “It is a good thing that the next pony I am checking on next is Smart Cookie.” “Tell her I said hi.” They said their goodbyes as both mares went their separate ways. Author's Note Well this chapter took a while to finish. With work and the finals, I didn't have a lot of spare time on my hand on this chapter, but it's finished. I also want to thank themouthofmush for proofreading and editing this chapter. For those of you who do not know what Clover the Clever looks like. Here is a picture of Clover the Clever that I really liked: (Faith-Wolff) The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo.
Chapter IIIA small chime filled the bakery as Clover entered the establishment. The mare examined the place and found the bakery completely deserted save for a few noises she heard behind the room. Clover made her way to the counter, her stomach whining in hunger, reminding her that she skipped breakfast this morning. Looking over the content the counter had, Clover inspected the contents on display. From eggs and cheese croissants to muffins and jelly-filled donuts, as well as dandelion sandwiches and several fruit caused Clover’s mouth to water. There was no way her stomach was going to let this opportunity pass up and neither was she. Clover pressed her hoof on the bell to place her order. A voice hollered. “Pansy could you get that please, I’m kind of busy right now with this cake.” “O-oh, o-okay.” A soft voiced replied back. A maroon colored pegasus mare, her mane soft pink with a few strands of yellow came into view as she started timidly, “W-w-welcome to the C-cookie Factory. How can I help you?” Clover smiled when she saw her gentle-voiced friend. “Pansy it’s me, Clover.” The pegasus mare’s nervous nature faded as she recognized Clover. “ Oh, my, Clover I am so glad to see you. How have you been?” Both mares shared a hug. “I am doing great, thank you. Is Smart Cookie here?” “Yes, she is just finishing the last cake for the festival. I will let her know that you are here.” The mare walked behind the counter and returned with a ginger colored mare with her blonde mane fixed in a bun, Smart Cookie. “Well, whaddya know? Clover what brings you here?” said the ginger colored earth pony baker as she saw her friend. A growl from Clover’s stomach answered for her. She chuckled nervously. “Well, aside from getting something to eat, I am here to check on how you are faring with your cakes for the festival. “Also, I am here to tell you that the guard will come by your shop two hours before the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Ha. This is something, I never thought in a million years that you would ever do something related to the Summer Sun Celebration.” “Trust me Cookie, I am not too thrilled by it either, which is why I did not eat breakfast in the morning just so I could get this over with quickly. Thankfully, you are the last pony I need to check on for the festival.” “Like Pansy already told you we just finished the last cake as you entered the bakery. Let me go get one of the extra cakes we made so your stomach can simmer down. Go ahead and sit down Clover, I will be back soon.” The baker retreated to the back of the store to find an extra cake to munch on. The other two mares headed to a table on the right side of the store near the counter and sat down while they waited for their friend to return. Once seated Clover took the opportunity to talk to her timid friend. “So Pansy, what brings you to Canterlot? Did Smart Cookie ask you if you could assist her with the cakes?” “Um, actually I am here because of the Wonderbolts. I joined them not long ago. And I am here with Smart Cookie because I needed a place to stay since all of my relatives live in Cloudsdale.” “Pansy, you do realize that the Wonderbolts are part of Equestria's military branch, right?” Pansy sighed as she looked down at the table. “I know that Clover, but coming from a military family, my parents expected me to serve in the military. Truth be told, I did not want to join, but I also did not want to disappoint my parents. “I joined the Wonderbolts because they were my only option. They are the military’s support so I do not have to worry about fighting. I will mostly be bringing food and supplies for the actual troops in the ground. And when we are not supporting troops, we are going town to town doing aerial shows and with Equestria not in any wars, I spend most of my time trying to learn new tricks for the show. “I know that you are worried about me, and I thank you, but you do not have to; I enjoy being a Wonderbolt.” Clover watched Pansy as she listened. She noted that what her friend telling her was sincere. “I know Pansy. I am thrilled that you found something you really enjoy.” “If you ever decide to retire from the Wonderbolts, I can assure you that you will always have a job here at the bakery,” said Smart Cookie as she returned to the lobby with medium sized cake and a couple of plates and dining utensils balanced on her back. She then placed the cake down and took a seat with her friends. Pansy face reddened from the compliment. “Oh, my cakes are nothing special.” “I am being serious, you make better cakes than I do; and baking is my special talent. Go on Clover,” Smart Cookie said, “see for yourself.” Clover lifted a knife from the table and carefully sliced a big piece and placed it on her plate. Clover then took hold of her fork taking a bite out of the cake. The sweet taste of the cake filled her mouth with glee. Clover was amazed by how rich the flavor of various fruits was present in the cake. Clover the swigged the rest of the cake with relish. Smart Cookie gave Clover an amused face as she witnessed Clover devouring the fruit cake, however, she was a little confused to why Clover was checking on the festival. “Tell me again how you ended up with checking on everypony for the Summer Sun Celebration. Did Princess Celestia ask you to do this?” Clover sighed. “No, Princess Celestia did not ask me to do this. I did not see her at all this morning. The Princess is probably locked in her room so that nopony will disturb her. She always locks herself inside her room the day before the festival every year.” “The poor dear, how is she faring?” Asked Pansy joining in the conversation. “I know she is worried about something, but she will not talk to anyone about it. I am worried about her and this festival is not doing her any favors.” All of a sudden a small flash of light filled the room, interrupting the conversation the mares were having. A silver aura holding a stack of papers floated on top of the table. Clover recognized the magic aura in an instant; it belonged to her mentor and teacher, Starswirl the Bearded. Taking hold of the stack with her own magic, Clover skimmed over them. Both of her friends saw the look of concern on her. “Is something wrong Clover?” Asked Pansy. “Do you two heard about the ponies dying in their nightmares?” Both mares nodded. “Starswirl is leading the investigation about it and it seems another pony died last night from her own nightmare. I will not go into many details, but it seems as if the pony was having a nightmare the night Nightmare Moon attacked. She left behind a child too. “Starswirl asked me to bring this to the Princess immediately so I must leave.” Clover packed up her things to head to the castle. “Clover wait,” Smart Cookie called out. When she had Clover’s attention, Smart Cookie ran to the back of the bakery and returned with a box adorn with her bakery’s name on it. “This is for the Princess, I know that this will cheer her up a bit.” “What is in it?” Clover asked as she took the box with her magic. “It is her favorite dessert.” Smart Cookie simply stated. “Okay, thank you both for your hospitality. I will see you two soon.” “Goodbye Clover, I hope to see you at the Summer Sun Celebration.” said Pansy hugging Clover. Once Clover exited the bakery, she started her rant on somepony who was not there. “Thanks a lot, Starswirl; just because I am the Princess Celestia’s advisor that does not mean that you can shove every report on my face expecting me to give it to the Princess. For Pete's sake, you could have sent it yourself since you are still in Canterlot! ” Clover just sighed as she realized that ranting off on somepony who was not with her was pointless. She made her way to the castle trying to think of a way to tell the Princess about the recent victim. The bedroom chambers of the Sun monarch were filled with silence. The two occupants of the room kept to themselves. One of the occupants was a fiery feathered bird and the royal pet of the sun monarch, Philomena. The usually mischievous schemer did not try to comfort her owner knowing full well that it could not do anything to alleviate the pain she was feeling. It pained the phoenix that everything she did not have any effect on her owner’s heartbroken state. The other occupant was the sole ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia; however, it was not always that way. She founded and ruled this kingdom with her sister protecting Equestria from any threat that would harm the young kingdom long ago. But once a new threat began to attack the kingdom, the ponies of Equestria put the blame on the Princess of the Night. Princess Luna feeling that her citizens were turning against her, could no longer hold her anger against them; using her magic with the power of the magical creature — where both sisters met in the Everfree forest — she became Nightmare Moon. On that day Celestia was forced to make a difficult decision; she banished her sister to the moon forever, sealed away by the Elements of Harmony. Since Nightmare Moon’s defeat, the ponies celebrated the Summer Sun Celebration; a celebration that Celestia absolutely despised. But she participated in it because she knew that there was another threat that she now had to face alone and she did not want her ponies to know about the nightmare that will befall them. The princess sighed as she turned her attention to her window, which showed the city below her getting ready for the festival. Every year Celestia found herself locked in her own bedroom chambers, making the excuse that she was preparing for the celebration despite the fact that none of it was true. In the days leading up to the festival, Celestia secluded herself from everypony to hide her despondency and vexation from her own subjects. Look at them, not a care in the world. They are too fixated on their festival to realize that they are in grave danger. “It’s the only source of happiness the ponies have since Nightmare Moon. I will not take that away from them just because I detest the Summer Sun Celebration; I am their Princess and I will do everything I can to keep my subjects happy, even if I am the one suffering in doing so.” Replied Celestia. But you have already suffered enough Celestia. How much longer will you have to torture yourself? When will you tell them the truth? When will you tell them of the real threat? You can’t protect them from the threat they don’t even know that exists. Celestia’s mind answered, trying to reason with her. “I will figure something out.” You and I both know that won’t happen. You have already given up your pursuit to find a way to defeat the pitch-black creature. Celestia’s mind retorted back. Knock, knock, knock. Celestia’s argument with her mind came to a close as the echoes of the noise made its way to her ears. “Princess Celestia it is me, Clover. I am sorry to intrude, but I have something you may want to see.” Clover’s voice tried to penetrate the thick layers of the bedroom chambers but failed, thus her voice sounded muffled. “You may enter Clover.” Answered Celestia’s muffled voice in a cold way. The door creaked as Clover opened came in due to its large size; the noise could be heard again as Clover closed it. Celestia turned her head away from the window to face Clover. “Again Princess, apologies for intruding; but Starswirl has sent me his latest report on the most recent victim of the nightmare attacks.” Floating the report to Celestia. Celestia pretended that she was looking over the report Starswirl had written, but she already knew who was responsible and she was growing tired of Starswirl reporting them to her. “Thank you, Clover. I will see to it that I will speak to Starswirl after the festival.” “Also, there is an adoption form that came with it. It is the child of the victim and her neighbors wants to adopt the colt.” What Clover told Celestia took her by surprise. Taking the adoption forms from Clover with her magic, she looked over them. A smile formed on her for the first time that day. Celestia seemed happy that the colt had found another family to love him. Lately, many of the foals who lost both their parents from the nightmares had to live in the orphanages and many families were not adopting the poor foals. No foal needs to live growing up without their parents. Blissfully, Celestia took her quill and ink and began signing the forms determined to make the adoption official as quickly as possible. The adoption forms, then disappeared from sight with Celestia’s magic. “Is there anything else you want to say?” Asked Celestia to her advisor with a renewed sense of joy in her tone. Clover sighed before she began, “Are you okay today Princess?” “I am fine Clover thank you.” “Do not try to lie to me Princess. I have been your advisor for three years now. I can tell when something is bothering you.” Celestia took a deep breath before she started, “Do you know why I hate the Summer Sun Celebration?” Clover shook her head. “It is because I am celebrating the defeat of my sister when she became Nightmare Moon.” “Then why do you participate in it?” There are things I wish I could tell you Clover, but I cannot for the sake of everypony. “Do you know why you don’t like the festival?” Questioned Celestia “Yes, I do. In the three years I have been working for you, I have seen what this festival does to you. Every year during this time, I see the anger and sadness in your eyes. Believe it or not I consider you my friend, and I hate to see you torture yourself over this. “So please, if there is anything you need to take off your chest, just let me know.” Worry filled Clover’s face as she told Celestia her reasons for not liking the celebration. “I thank you, Clover. I am glad to see that not everypony sees me as their ruler but as a friend. It will be good to have a normal conversation with somepony.” Smiling at Clover. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. Oh, and one more thing...” Reaching into one of her robe’s pockets, she pulled out a box with the store’s name, Cookie’s Bakery embroidered on it. “This is from Smart Cookie, she told me to give this to you.” Clover levitated the dessert to Princess Celestia. Celestia opened the box to reveal a three layer cake with bits of citrus fruit in between the layers. The frosting on the cake was full of bright colors consisting of yellows, oranges, and reds covering the cake capable of blinding anyone if it were real like the sun. Celestia’s mouth started to water as she looked upon the dessert with desire. It was her favorite dessert, the Citrus Sun Cake. “If you see Smart Cookie, tell her I said thank you.” Clover bowed and nodded her head as she made her way out the bedroom chambers. “And Clover,” said Celestia to grab Clover’s attention, “try to enjoy the festival this time, okay?” “I will try to Princess.” The creaking sound returned as Clover left the room. Please do Clover. You should not be the one who has to reflect on their past mistakes. That is my burden to bare. Looking at her grandfather clock in the room, she saw that it was time to lower the sun. As she faced the window, Celestia closed her eyes and, with her magic, she took hold of the sun and began pulling the giant star down to the earth. As the sun was brought down, Celestia hesitated on using the next spell, bringing the moon up to the heavens to begin the night. Finally, having the courage to start the spell, Celestia raised the moon to the skies peak; where the sun was during the day. She could feel her sister’s presence as she moved the moon to its proper spot and once she finished her spell, Celestia did not look to gaze upon the moon knowing what was there to confront her. The normally tranquil and undisturbed Everfree forest was full of life; an army of ghost-like creatures were taking refuge from the sun’s rays, waiting for the moon to take the sun’s place in the sky so that their mission could begin. The night was not due to begin for another hour as small rays of light were still able to penetrate the broad forest, making the ghost find ways to entertain themselves with whatever the mysterious forest brought to them. One group of ghosts were near a lake, making weird faces at their own reflections; playing a game to see if they could make the others laugh. Another group of the ghost-like creatures was chasing a small purple rat all over the place. They seem to have been chasing the poor rodent for a while now; fatigue took hold of the rat's face, its tongue sticking out the side of its mouth, its body crying for the little rodent to stop, however it did not stop; scared the ghosts chasing it would try and hurt it. No longer able to continue, the purple rat’s body went limp from over exhaustion. The ghost-like creatures howled with laughter as they neared the little rodent who could no longer run. Across the lake, a dark purple ghost with a roundish body, multiple spikes covering its back with two large pointed ears and short arms and legs with a stubby tail, was leaning on a large tree. Its red eyes saw what one of its comrades did to the rodent; its wide mouth curled into a sinister grin. However, the dark purple ghost was beginning to lose its patience as it looked onto its comrades. Ugh, how much longer must we wait? I know that the Master wants to attack the ponies when they least expect it, but everyone is getting bored of waiting. While the ghastly creature did not want to disturb its Master, it decided to find out how much longer they will have to wait. Quickly sinking into the forest floor becoming a shadow, the dark purple creature made its way up using the shade the branches made by catching the sun’s rays as a pathway to reach the tree top; to where its Master was. The sky radiated in a vast color of red, yellow, and orange, signaling that the day will soon come to a close. At the treetops stood a pitch-black creature, standing perfectly still, its eye set upon the mountainside city. The sun touched the castle’s marble walls; anyone staring at the castle at this time, even from the distance of the Everfree forest, would have gone blind from the brilliant light reflecting from the castle. The rustling of leaves caused the creature of darkness to turn its head. A round shadow appeared from under the leaves and soon the shadow formed into a dark purple ghost. “What is it, Venom Shade?” Questioned the creature of darkness to the spiky-backed ghost. “A thousand pardons Master Darkrai, but I must ask; how much longer must we wait? The others are growing restless from waiting that they have begun to cause havoc in the forest. If we do not act quickly, we run the risk of being discovered.” Its usually grinning smile was set in a worried frown. “Patience Venom Shade. As of now the ponies are preparing for the summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year. We will head to the city once the sun descends from the sky and we will use the cover of the night to enter the city undetected. With the ponies too busy with the celebration, they will be unable to react quickly enough when we strike. And soon after we will control the rest of this pathetic kingdom.” As its leader tells Venom Shade of the plan, its devious smile returns. “An excellent plan Master! I never doubted you for a second.” The colors of the sun soon start to die out as the night fast approached. The mountainous city soon disappeared into the night, leaving only a silhouette shape of the city in its place. “It is time.” The pitch-black creature said as the night officially began. BOOM!!! A large explosion was heard and soon smoke rises into the air. Not long after that, laughter can be heard from under the forest leaves. The two phantoms quickly turn into shadows and descend to where the explosion happened, reappearing near a large white tree with a blue "X" near the top of the trunk, all of its branches growing upwards, but with no leaves. As the smoke faded away, there was a large crater with a round white and red ball-like creature inside. Its face showed that it was in excruciating pain. Although they were covered in the explosion’s residue, all of the ghost-like creatures roared with laughter since the explosion had no effect on them. Venom Shade chuckled at the scene, however, Darkrai did not find it amusing. “Ignorant fools, cease your reckless behaviors! Do you wish us to be discovered!?” All of the ghosts halted their waves of laughter as they focused to their leader. Once it determined that the army of ghosts was giving it its full attention, Darkrai began, “My brothers, this is the moment we have all been waiting for. Many years have we spent in seclusion from the other species of this world, watching as they struggled to live with their lives. But they have shown that they are too weak to survive the challenges this world gives them and for that they must die. Only then will the strong dwell in this world. “Now go, the night draws near. Head to the kingdom’s capital and only reveal yourselves once I have.” The army of thousands of ghost-like creatures flew out from the Everfree forest, heading toward the pony kingdom capital, Canterlot. The only one who did not leave immediately was the pitch-black creature, Darkrai, as it faced the large white tree that once was its adversary. “You thought that giving eternal life to the two princesses would be enough to stop me, but your plan backfired. One fell into hatred against her own subjects. The other is too mentally distraught and can no longer protect her kind. “I promise you this, once you return from your slumber, things will play out more differently when we face each other once more.” One of Darkrai’s claws began to glow with a purple outline. The aura grew into a large claw as Darkrai’s shadowy claw sank into the bark of the large white tree. A deep mark of what was the dark creature’s attack was now part of the white tree’s appearance. While the pitch-black creature was unsure if its foe felt the attack, it was still content with what it did to the tree. Soon it levitated itself from the ground and it too left the forest to join the rest in taking over the kingdom capital. The large white tree near the lake began to gleam in a white light that soon spread throughout the forest. The little purple rodent regained its energy and with haste; it dashed away from the lake, taking this opportunity to leave before the ghost returned. The round white and red ball-like creature also had its energy restored as it rolled away from the area as well, and the creator vanished; the whole in the ground was covered by the soft grass. And even the large white tree’s most recent injury was no longer present. The bright light the tree emitted died off as everything went back to normal. Soon the Everfree forest had once again returned to its quiet and undisturbed state. Author's Note The trademarks and characters of My Little Pony are owned by Hasbro as well as the trademarks and characters of Pokemon are owned by Nintendo.
