Celestia's Flare

Chapters

The Story
At the Castle
Magic Mishap
Apples and Magic
The Royal Visit
Oh, you...
The End of the Beginning
Blazing Heat

The Story

Lush green fields, sometimes showcasing colorful flowers blooming, other times populated by apple or orange trees,.-sometimes both at the same time- were left back as the train speeded through the Equestrian landscapes. Pinkie Pie and Twilight sat by the window, enjoying the outstanding views. Most of the times she went between Canterlot and Ponyville, she used pegasi-driven carriages, and though the sight from above could be as awe inspiring as this, the view from land offered such a different perspective that she wished she could take some time to go on a tour and take on such beauty by herself, in the company of her best friends.

She wiped her forehead with a hoof and broke apart from her window; despite the wind that came through it at the speed the locomotive was moving, the warm kept its grip on the traveling ponies. Though keeping a wide grin on her face, and standing with her front legs on the window frame, Pinkie was strangely quiet. Besides her, Rarity occupied herself, working on the capes she had shown them earlier. At Twilight’s side, Spike had fallen asleep once again, his stomach rising and lowering in rhythm with his snores.

Determined not to worry more than she should, at least for the moment, –Celestia knows she had had enough of that, though it had come to be of use recently, not without causing her a great deal of sadness first- she sat straight in her seat, looking at her unicorn friend at work. Rarity held the needle in her mouth, which obviously required a great deal of effort, but the white unicorn pulled if efficiently, albeit slowly. Feeling the look directed at her, Rarity lifted her head and smiled at her purple counterpart, leaving the needle in the table and lifting the cape for her to see. This one was composed by bright pink fabric, revealing the identity of its receiver.

“How do you like them, dear? I’m almost done with Pinkie’s cape, and once I’m finished we can use them in Canterlot. The other ones will take some more time, but I’m sure the girls will understand.”

Twilight gave back a smile. “You’re always the best one, Rarity.”

“Oh, please, Twilight, you’re such a tease!”

“No, I mean you’re always working on this or that design for us, even without magic, even in times where the business doesn’t go too well and you manage to make them marvelous. I admire you.”

“Please, Twilight, it’s the least I could do for such wonderful friends as I’ve the luck to have. Besides, we all do our best, isn’t it right?”

The white unicorn looked straight at her through her work glasses, her crystal blue eyes seemingly piercing into her, so much that she had to break their gaze and give a little nervous laughter.

“Yes, you’re right, Rarity. But still, I commend your work.”

Her friend seemed on the verge of saying something when Pinkie broke in, making the both jump at the unexpected, loud interruption

“We’re almost there, we’re almost there. It’s time now to break the ‘We made it to Canterlot’ cupcakes. Because there’s no better end for a journey that delicious pastries!” The vivacious mare’s words snatched Spike away from his nap; the small dragon rubbed his eyes and looked around.

“Shush, Pinkie, I was having a good rest here… Are we there yet?”

Pinkie rummaged in her saddlebags and a small frown appeared on her face; it disappeared just as fast as she took the small sweets out and gave them out to her friends. “The chocolate cover melted a little, but they’re still Pinkielicious!”

The pink earth pony licked her lips delighted, as Rarity decided to put away her work and enjoy the treat, followed by Twilight and Spike, who nibbled away the cupcake quickly, causing hill a small burp that earned him a glare from both unicorns and a giggle from the earth pony.

“Hehe, sorry.”

The train entered city proper at that moment and Twilight reflected in the two months that had gone past since the wedding. She had received a letter from Shining and Cadence a little more than a month ago, when the happily married coupled come back from their honey moon. They had chosen a small town by the sea, wanting to enjoy a break from royal and royal guard duties and enjoy on a simple manner. Making a note to look for her brother when she had the chance, she lowered her luggage from the stack; a few minutes later they had arrived to Canterlot’s train station.

As they made it out of the train, a deep voice resounded right next to them.

“Miss Twilight Sparkle!”

The group, sans Pinkie, jumped and turned around at the unexpected call. A couple of dark colored pegasi guards stood before them, pulling a carriage; unlike the ones that were used to get to Ponyville, this was a land-base one.

“We’ve been ordered by Princess Luna to receive you and your companions and escort you back to the Castle. If you get aboard the carriages, we’ll take you immediately.”

“I thank you kindly, gentlecolts.” The three ponies and the small dragon climbed to the vehicle and the guards trotted off towards the palace.

As the vehicle crossed the city streets, they took on the sight. Life seemed to be following its normal course, with ponies, and the occasional griffin or donkey went around on business; everyone was obviously affected by the weather, though; juice vendors were making great sales that day. Up in the sky, the weather teams were pulling the same maneuver as the one back in Ponyville, setting up clouds to offer some cover from the blazing sun. After some blocks, the biggest issue was obvious: there was not a single grown up unicorn by the streets; only pegasi, earth ponies and fillies walked around. Twilight remembered the state Ponyville had been left behind by them; she hoped they would be able to solve this problem quickly and have it all come back to normal.

The carriage advanced through the street that led towards palace, and as they grew nearer, it made itself apparent just where the majority of the city’s unicorn had gone to: an incredible big mass of ponies blocked the path to the castle’s gates. Both pegasi stopped at the end of the street, one of them turned back his head, signaling with his hoof towards a group of earth pony guards besides them.

“They will take you through the multitude and into the castle, please follow them.”

They thanked their carriers and the small guard assigned circled around them, pushing their way between the sea of distraught unicorns. Though no movements were made by the colorful crowd, all the stares were fixed into them. As they went past and reached the stairs before the gates, they looked to their sides and saw the chain of uniformed ponies standing on guard in front of the populace. Behind them, a white unicorn with a blue mane and tail and wearing a red vest was overseeing the barricades: Shining Armor was back on duty. They could not linger though, or approach, climbing up the stairs. The guards led them through the gates, into the Main Hall, and towards the Royal Chamber, knocking on the heavy wooden doors.

“Miss Twilight Sparkle, protégé of Princess Celestia and her companions are here to see Princess Luna.”

After this, the doors opened and they proceeded to find the Princess of the Night standing before them.

“Greetings, everypony. It’s good to have you here finally.”

“We’re glad to meet you, Princess Luna.” Twilight approached the royal pony and stood right before her. “If you may excuse my bluntness, now that we have arrived, can you explain what is going on?”

Luna nodded. “I will do that just now, after that I need to go outside and address the group outside and then we’ll discuss what we shall do.”

Prompted by the dark alicorn, they rounded her. After they were all in place, she spoke.

“First, there is something you’ve got to understand about Celestia and me. We are ponies, but at the same time we aren’t.”
Looks of confusion spread among the group; Twilight opened her mouth to talk, but was stopped by the raised hoof of Luna.

“Let me tell you everything, and after my speech we may talk about what you have to say.” After confirming the silence of everypony around, she continued.

“Since even before Equestria was founded and Discord ruled it, ponies have managed the land, using their abilities to control the seasons, help the animals, give the weather a push and all the things that are part of our civilization. That much is part of our natural order. However, consider the Sun and the Moon. Such powerful celestial entities are out of the range of what anypony could even imagine. They are the lamps that guide all life and help sustain and move the earth and the seas. How can such a thing be achieved? I will tell you, right now, just because it Is required for such an occasion; though my sister and I desire this fact to remain hidden, not desiring to alter a bit the way the citizens see us already. I’d like to believe we can trust in you four?”

Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Spike looked at each other and then at the Princess, nodding.

“This will be kept between us, Princess.”

“I would never dream to betray your trust.”

“Because betraying their trust is the fastest way to lose a friend FOREVER!” Pinkie proceeded to do her famous Pinkie Pie Promise, her eye ending full of cupcake.

“You can count on us, Princess!”

“Thank you, I needed to hear that.”

With that, Luna lowered her head slightly and her horn shone brightly. Twilight and Rarity gasped loudly. In front of them appeared five figures: Discord, a herd of Windigos, the Sun, the Moon, and the land of Equestria.

“Discord, the draconequus, is an incarnation of Chaos, bred for the purpose of keeping a counterpart to Harmony, in which ironically he helps to its balance. The Windigos are manifestations of hate, feeding off of it and proving that the power of friendship is one of the major forces ponykind can harness, and that we definitely need our friends and loved ones by our side.”

The images of both monsters disappeared after the alicorn’s words. Luna’s horn glowed again brightly. From the Sun and the Moon, two big sparks of light were separated, which descended and made all the way down to Equestrian soil. Right after touching the ground, both luminous spheres erupted in an incandescent explosion which forced its observer’s eyes shut from the brightness, except from its caster. As the shining diminished, they opened their eyes and in front of them, two small fillies, both winged unicorns, stood before them, floating above the image of the Equestrian land that was being projected.

The two ponies were unmistakable, though extremely young. Slowly, Celestia and Luna opened their eyes and they seemed to look towards them, or perhaps through them. In that moment, the vision vanished and the Luna present before them lifted her head, the glow in her horn fading.

“My sister and I are ponyfications of the essence of the Great Lamps, come down to assist in the task of regulation; the gift that was granted down from heavens to Ponykind. We do not simply manipulate them; we come from them, are part of them and do our part to help the cycle continuing. However, being here, we are also like any pegasus, unicorn or earth pony walking down here. We are ponies, and as such, liable to the same rules, feelings, afflictions and all the wonderful things you are able to experience, be they good or bad. Though is indeed unusual for us to be ill in the same way that a normal pony is, it can happen, and it has happened. Celestia is struck down, gravely, I fear, and her illness has caused the Sun to erupt violently. Big flames and fire storms roar its surface. And these are what has caused interference with unicorn magic, preventing them from using it. Alone I am in here, b my nature as the Moon Guide, and I must add, presently charged with the Sun as well. Be as it might, I can only help the Sun through its course, I cannot counter what is happening now, nor can I block Celestia’s magic. Our only hope is to bring her back to health, so that these difficult times can be overcome and the peace to Equestria returns.”

The face of the Night Princess was covered by shadows that prevented them from seeing her eyes.

“If you excuse me for a moment, I shall address the crowd, informing them of the situation that is happening right now. For the moment, we are receiving the visits of the distressed unicorns, but with no doubt, soon ponies from everywhere will come inquiring about this climate and everything could reach major scales if it is not stopped soon.”

With those words, Luna marched towards the balcony, while the other remained behind. Walls soon echoed with the might of her thundering voice. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie and Spike could do nothing more but look at each other and wait silently for the Princess to finish her speech; the atmosphere weighted over them as if they were loaded with the Apple farm whole apple harvest.

At the Castle

The three ponies and small dragon that had been left behind in the throne room looked at each other. Not even Pinkie made a sound while Luna’s voice bellowed; other voices could be heard countering the Night Princess’ speech, though not much could be made from the inside. Time passed slowly, or so they felt at such a time. In spite of the overwhelming heat, they decided to bundle together, embracing each other and thinking about how their families, their friends and acquaintances would be doing.

Twilight’s ears perked up, as did Pinkie’s. Silence had fallen, suddenly taking control of the atmosphere. Luna came inside through the doors, flanked by a couple of guards at her sides. The crowd had been placated by Luna’s words, for the time being. The Night Princess came back into the Hall, her sultry expression a mix of tiredness, fear and stress; she could not afford to maintain a façade effectively indoors. She approached the whispering group, and cleared her throat to grab their attention. Everypony fell silent and looked at her, nervousness clearly spread among them.

“Except for me and Celestia, there’s nopony able to use magic now on Equestria.” She pointed outside. The ongoing murmur they had heard coming from the street had vanished, leaving only a tense silence behind.

”They’ve been placated for now, but they will be soon growing restless, just like all the other races. All the whole systems around this land that have been based around unicorn magic will collapse and it will disturb the peaceful state of our country as we know it. We must find a way to solve this, for the sake of my sister. Celestia may not die, but this is taking a huge toll on her. It all hangs on this. ”

Her voice, though firmly and regal sounding, carried in it all the weight that Luna bore in that moment. She closed her eyes as the speech continued.

“As I told you before, neither Celestia nor I have been ever sick. This is so unusual that we are at a loss about what to do. Besides that, most doctors in Equestria are unicorns; all the diagnosis, treatments or otherwise medical procedures that could help her are unavailable for us. My magic doesn’t delve into healing spells or something useful for that situation. They attempted to lower her temperature, but there’s nothing that doesn’t evaporate as soon as it comes near her, and being close to her for too prolonged periods of time is harmful for anypony. You will perceive it once we go to see her. I believe it’s about time now. Come with me.”

As Twlight followed Luna, the others fell down behind her, forming a single line that advanced quietly across the corridors; only the tapping of their hooves against the floor betrayed their presence. As they walked on, Twilight and Rarity began to feel extraordinarily strong magical waves traveling the air, pushing against them, though they could still move freely. This outburst of magical energy actually caused the lavender unicorn spirits to raise a little; the block on the use of magic hadn’t diminished their senses. Even the others could feel the push, which made them uncomfortable.

As they got nearer, the air began to warm up even more, until the point that all around appeared seemingly blurry, desert-like. Luna walked in the front, slowly but with all the Royal presence bearing in all its might. Once they had crossed a little farther, her horn shone, a magical shield big enough to cover all of them came into existence. The pressure that opposed them disappeared almost entirely, allowing them to pick up their pace, though the unbearable heat continued affecting them. They finally arrived in front of a wooden door that seemed to be in the verge of scorching. Luna’s magic grabbed the handle and opened the door, letting a blast of superheated air coming out which was only prevented from roasting anypony by Luna’s shield.

A blinding bright golden light hit their eyes as soon as the door opened, causing all of them to close their eyes violently. As they took on the incandescent glow, opening their eyes gradually, the radiating figure of Princess Celestia laying on her bed was revealed. The full force of the shine emanated from her body, casting rays of light everywhere. She moved around in her slumber, legs flailing and tossing around. Her eyes were shut tightly; a bluish glimmer could be seen between her eyelids.
They stood in the threshold, making no effort to approach the lying Princess; not even Twilight moved a hoof forward. The uncertainty of what was presented before them held them from advancing, as much as the unbearable warm that Celestia expelled.

As they remained immobile, Luna beckoned them out. Turning their back slowly, gazes returning furtively at the glowing white pony, until the door that separated them was closed again, cutting them apart.

Instead of coming back to the throne room, Luna led them through a different path, which left them in the Royal Gardens. Floating clouds far in the sky framed the sun, which was a little beyond half through its descent in the sky; soft colors were displayed: orange , blue and purple created a chromatic arrangement that would be the delight of artists Equestria wide. It brought some solace to the ponies –and Spike- that came to rest in the trimmed, light green grass. Some minutes passed until Luna spoke again.

“What should we do?”

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof, submerged in contemplation. A hoofful of books, treatises on medicine, diseases, advanced magic and equine anatomy were spread before her. Luna had gone to raise up the moon and attend to some court duties; the rest of her friend lay around her. Rarity looked at some of the books, Pinkie Pie and Spike slept curled side by side. Twilight’s tail flicked around, hitting the floor, as she moved her head left and right, a soft sigh escaping from her lips.

“There’s nothing in here we can use. I don’t know the answer.”

Rarity left the book she was reading open wide and approached her friend, putting a hoof around her neck.

“Twilight, my dear, it there’s a pony that I would trust more than anypony else, that I know will find the answers and solve this, you are that pony. And you have my support, and that of all our friends.”

The white unicorn’s warm and sweet smile infected Twilight, who soon smiled, and softly nuzzled her friend’s cheek.

“Thanks, Rarity. I’ll do my best. I need to give this everything.”

She picked her saddlebags and went through them, finding inside, among other things, the herbs that she had picked up from Zecora. Her smile grew wider and she turned to look and her fellow unicorn.

“If there’s something I’ve learned during this time, is that answers are always at your reach, if you know where to look. Let’s go and do it.”

Pinkie and Spike were woken up by the unicorns; albeit non-amused by being lifted from their dream, they all went to meet Luna.

Magic Mishap

Beads of sweat ran down Twilight’s face as the chariot sped through the sky, above the clouds, golden light shining upon them. Her mind flashed with memories.

The Night Princess stood before Twilight, her shining blue eyes fixated over the unicorn. “Are you coming back to Ponyville, then?” Her voice was but a soft whisper as she asked the question. Twilight nodded.
“We are going to consult our friend Zecora, the zebra. She might know something about the strangeness that has befallen upon Celestia. I’ll write you as soon as we know something, it that is fine with you.”

With Luna’s permission they had turned back to the village. The carriage landed in front of the forest’s border, going beyond was difficult for the airborne vehicle.

From the depths of the Everfree came a strong blow of wind that ruffled their manes, Spike climbed into Twilight’s back and they set off towards Zecora’s hut trotting lightly. Along the path, very few creatures were found; Twilight suspected they were being affected by the current predicament as well. As they finally arrived to their destination Twilight knocked at the door, which opened after a few seconds, revealing the white and black striped zebra, whose face was invaded by a broad smile.

“My dear ponies, is good to see you. What do I owe to this charming view?” the zebra’s singsong voice greeted the group, as she exited her house. “I’d invite you inside, but in this heat, that’s such a rash thing to decide. It doesn’t bother me none, very warm is the land where I have grown.”

As Pinkie trotted away and laid on her back in a patch of grass near them, rolling her tongue out, the others surrounded Zecora.

“The wave of heat that has affected not only Ponyville, but all of Equestria in the recent days is the product of a sickness that has affected Princess Celestia. This sickness not only affects the climate, but it’s also interfering with the magical ability of unicorns,” explained Twilight, showcasing this to her striped friend by trying to levitate a single stone that laid near, with the same success rate as before. The female zebra nodded in understanding, rubbing a hoof against her chin.

“I beg of you, please continue.”

“We went into the Castle by invitation of Princess Luna and were witness as to what Celestia’s symptoms were. Her magic has been increased tenfold; it is safe to say she has lost control over it. Her whole body shines with a blinding yellow light and the nearer one gets to her, the hottest the air becomes; also the magical pressure is enormous. ”

Zecora fell silent as she walked around, circling the group a couple of times before she came to a halt and addressed them.
“I think, dear Twilight, that now I know the source of your plight,” said she finally. “Please, sit down; get some comfort, so you hear what I have to report.”

She went inside her hut and after a couple of minutes, came out, a bag in her teeth. She sat down, forelegs clamped in the earth; Rarity and Twilight laid down on their four legs, the white unicorn not even minding the dirt below. Spike simply sat, Pinkie still laid on the same spot; her loud snoring now filling the air. Dismissing it, they beckoned for her to continue.

“Where I was born, has always been a place of tradition. Deep jungles arise, where many kinds of plants do rise. And with them we prepare concoctions; we conceive lots of different potions. This art has been passed down for eons since our kind’s dawn. And we’re quite glad with what nature has let us had. However, as fillies, we heard such stories. As ones of a country where there’s magic plenty. With this curiosity I was filled, desiring to see the tales fulfilled. That which I pursued had interested very few. I never relented though, determined to see it through. And when finally I did, I discovered it was magical indeed. “

Three pair of ears perked up, receiving every word of her story. Twilight’s eyes shone brightly as she heard all of it; very little material was available on the faraway country of zebras and other species seldom seen in Equestria.

“The portents I saw left open my jaw. But with time I noted what these ponies lacked. That was the expertise on herbs and all this. Many I had brought with me; most I’ve planted with glee. Poison Joke and Heart’s Desire have gotten you in trouble dire. How is dear Apple Bloom? I’d like to see her soon. “

The zebra let a small chuckle out after these words, a small smile crowning her lips before she continued, the shine in her gaze flickering away as suddenly as it came.

“And the truth that we face, that is here also the case. Magic Mishap is its name, and for unicorns it is shame.“ She untied her bag and threw some powder in the air. A green glow materialized, taking the shape of a flower with very big petals.

“And how would that be, exactly? I´ve never seen such a thing like this,” said Twilight, a slight annoyance betrayed in her voice.

“As I have told you before, you ponies need learn much more,” answered Zecora, her voice the same kind tone. “And what is it with this flower? Well, it messes big time with your power!” chanted the zebra, a slight rise in her speech.

“It breaks down your horn, and that’s bad for an unicorn. How an alicorn might get, you have all reason to fret.”
Gasps were heard from the two unicorns and the dragon, who all looked to her, the worry etched in their faces. However,
Zecora smiled brightly, making a reassuring gesture.

“All that you need is a small seed. This flower can be found where magic has seeped into the ground. When a unicorn stepped in, the seed grow would then begin. Said seed was thus given a little magical plus. And that’s its origin, and the trouble you’re now in. If magic could be injected, it would be quickly completed. But things are quite sour, you can only your magic pour. ”

Both unicorns screamed In panic, Rarity’s mane losing its bright and deforming a little, her curls falling straight. Twilight spoke, her voice pitch going up, her hoof waving in panic.

“But Zecora, we’ve told you we can’t use any magic!”

The zebra dismissed her words with a shake of her head. “Doesn’t matter a little bit; you still have a lot of it. True, the process might be faster, if you were an able caster, but it’s not absolute need, you can it your magic feed. Should you two start now from, around four weeks it’ll blossom. ”

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. The purple unicorn turned her gaze back to the zebra.

“Then, all we need to do is to stand in there and the magic will flow down to it, right?”

“I assure you this is undoubtedly true.”

Twilight looked at the ground for quite a while in silence. Finally, she turned to look again at her friend, her face tense in doubt.

“Will you help me, Rarity?”

“But of course, Twilight dear. I might not have your vast magic, but I will help a friend, and a pony in need.” Rarity threw her hooves around Twilight and brought her into a strong embrace. “I’ll be there for you, and the Princess.”

“Thank you, Rarity, thank you,” the purple unicorn blurted, returning her friend’s embrace. A comfortable warm, unrelated to the climate around them, spread around her body, filling her with a bubbly feeling.

Once they separated, Zecora led both unicorns and Spike to a spot near the hut. It was a clear between some trees with soft soil and the shade provided by its neighbors, perfect for the germination. Twilight nodded strongly with her head, turning to her companions. Her voice echoed across the trees, its tone loud and determined.

“Very well, everypony, we’re going back to the village to make our preparations. It is ok to meet at the Library at five, Rarity?”

“That will be fine, my dear. Let us go, then.”

They went to wake Pinkie up; the hyperactive pony jumped with glee after shaking away her slumber.

“Oh, I had such a wonderful nap. I can totally get Rainbow Dash now! So how did it go? Are we saving Equestria again? Maybe the Princess needs a cake!” The whole group chuckled and Twilight nuzzled lightly her pink friend’s cheek.

“It’s ok, Pinkie. Come with us and we’ll explain everything. And I think I’d like to eat a pastry at Sugarcube Corner, don’t you all?”

Spike jumped with delight at the proposition “I’d like a ruby!”
Rarity smiled softly. “Of course, Spikey, I’ll give you one as soon as we’re back.”
The small dragon chest’s filled up, happy. “You’re the best, Rarity!”
They said their goodbyes to Zecora, who went back to her hut and trotted out of the forest.
As they made it to the center of Ponyville, while eating at the bakery, Twilight called Spike

“Ok, Spike, you can have your ruby later, I need you to help me with a couple of things. We need to gather provisions for Rarity and me, organize the library and send a letter to Princess Luna explaining our discovery.”

The baby dragon nodded in understanding. “Sure thing, boss.”

Twilight walked towards the library. Spike had been sent to Sweet Apple Acres to pick up the food she had ordered to the farm. The sun was midway down the sky and the heat persisted. She opened the door with a push of her hoof and settled to pick up some books in a saddlebag, alongside towels, some plates and cutlery, anti-bug spray and a small tent. Zecora had assured them there would be not worry about wild creatures; she would give them a special dry leaf whose smoke would keep everything at bay. Once she had everything packed, she trotted over to a sofa and laid on it, letting a prolonged sigh escape her lips.

“Oh, Celestia, how long these days be.”

Just as she was sliding into the world of dreams, however, the ringing of the bell as the door opened brought her to her senses again. She lifted her head groggily to see Spike coming alongside Applejack; the orange pony carried a good load on her back.

“Hullo, Twi! How d’ ya do?! Spike here told me everything. It’s pretty good that ya managed to find the solution. I hope it all gets righted soon, we can’t endure much more,” said Applejack as she set her load in the floor. “These are your provisions, Sugarcube.”

Twilight rose, smiling weakly, walking over to the farmer. “Thanks, Applejack. According to Zecora, growing the flower will require around four weeks. We’ll have to take it to Canterlot, prepare the medicine, give it to the Princess and wait for it to make effect. So it’ll be a little longer before everything comes back to normal, if it all goes right. It is still better than nothing, don’t you think?”

“Ah reckon so, Twi. Just hope there’s not much damage. We’re already at our wits end with this.” Applejack lifted a hoof to fiddle with her hat, looking around everywhere. “Good luck, girl.”

The knock at the door interrupted the moment. Spike went to open the door and let Rarity in. She was surprisingly light packed. At her friends’ expressions, she smiled.

“Oh, Twilight said she would take care of mostly everything, and I don’t want to carry too much in this awful heat.”

“Very well, Spike, bring parchment and quill, we’ll write to Luna.”

The dragon complied and brought the requested items in a hurry.

Dear Princess Luna

We have found the cause of your sister’s suffering and what is affecting the kingdom. My wise friend Zecora the zebra explained us about the flower called Magic Mishap. It blooms when its seed is bathed with unicorn magic, and it also can affect it deeply, which is what has caused the misbalance in the Sun. With help from my friend Rarity, we will bring forth a blossom of this flower to make a cure for the Princess’ ailment. It will take about three weeks to a month to complete, though. It is the best clue we have. We will write to you with more news as time passes.

Your faithful subject

Twilight Sparkle

The letter vanished in the mist of green flames. With all the preparations ready, they settled off towards the forest again, Applejack and Spike acting as carry help.

“What d’ya think these flowers are like? She’s always had weird ones, that Zecora,” said Applejack, frowning slightly at the memories of previous plants. “I daresay at this pace, Equestria’ll be destroyed by the goshdarned plants,” the earth pony spat bitterly.

“Applejack, please do not be such a hate-filled pony. Zecora has never meant any harm to us. Her plants are certainly exotic, but I assume we must get accustomed to them.”

“Rarity is right, Applejack. We need to learn from her and all she has to teach us is very valuable. I can’t wait to learn from her after all this has passed.” Now Twilight’s eyes were gleaming with excitation.

“Ah’m just saying. I trust your judgment, Twilight. I hope you’re not wrong.”
The rest of the walk was made in silence.

They arrived to the clear where the zebra greeted them.

“Welcome again, dear friends. Ready to get everything through until it ends?”

They all nodded and set on putting up the tent and preparing everything. Once everything was done, the sun was already almost hiding behind the horizon. They said goodbye to Applejack and Spike, who trotted back to Ponyville.

Zecora brought over a steaming pot, which she put down in front of them.

“Some soup I have prepared; it’d be an honor to have it shared.”

Rummaging in her saddlebags, Twilight brought out her plates and a serving spoon, which they used to enjoy the warm meal as dusk fell over them.

Apples and Magic

Every day since the shift, Luna had dealt with irregular awakenings, having her internal, nocturnal clock led astray by her new schedules. The task of dealing with both astral entities in such short notice greatly strained her magical reserves; and the pressure of taking Court had added to her load. She cancelled the Night Court and redirected all of its cases at the Day Court. She also looked out for Celestia, being the only one who could ease her pain a little. Even though only a few days had gone by since the beginning, she was already feeling close to her limits. After all, barely two years had passed since she came back from her imprisonment. She would need some more time before completely recovering. The Night Princess was not going to let that get the best of her, however. She had her duties, which she would absolutely carry off to the end. She gazed out of her window at the sky, which shone with the dim light before dawn. The navy blue bright of her horn marked the ascent of the great lamp that reigned In the sky. During night, the heat was present, but manageable. Soon, as the Sun picked up its strength, another day of scorching heat would come over. She casted the thoughts away from her mind for the moment and went to see her sister before heading off to breakfast.

The yellowish glow that encompassed all the area of the castle, in which only she ventured now, as the strength and warm were too oppressive for anypony to endure for extended periods of time. She opened the door to the room and walked inside, sitting at the side of the sick royal mare, who had her eyes closed and was moving in discomfort around the bed, her forelegs flailing wildly. Luna smiled sadly while stroking her sister's pastel colored mane with magic.

A wisp of green flame floated in front of Luna, who was in the throne room discussing with one of the royal counselors, an old, grey-maned unicorn called Grey Horn. He had been part of the Palace’s staff for decades, working primarily as a scribe, as his quill and parchment cutie mark attested. But his loads of experience allowed him to become a valuable advisor to Princess Celestia, and now that she had returned, also to her sister. They were both speaking about the current situation when the letter materialized in front of them. Momentarily taken aback, Luna recovered and brought the letter up to her. It was an announcement by Twilight Sparkle about the possibility of finding a cure She showed the letter to Grey Horn , who read it thoroughly and gave it back. She looked at him inquisitively

“What do you think, wise pony?”

“Twilight Sparkle was the one chosen by your sister. She has been the forefront force against the most recent occurrences in Equestria, which includes your own liberation, as you very well know. This warrants deeper looking into, Princess.”

She nodded after hearing his words.

“I shall arrange for a visit soon.”

She looked at her sister and smiled softly.

“Everything will be alright, Celly.”

The sun glowed dimly above the sky, just beginning to warm up, as Fluttershy made her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Her friends had been attended to, and her house had been taken care of. She trotted at a slow, but constant pace, and soon found herself at the gates of the apple farm, crossing through them. Approaching the main house, she knocked at it and soon, the door was opened by one her best friends.

“G’ mornin’, Sugarcube! What are you up to this early? Did you have breakfast yet? Come in!”

“Yes, Applejack, I….” Before she could continue, she was carried away by the farm mare into the house. “Ya’ll always feel better after a good Apple Family breakfast. Now come here and don’t you protest none because ya’re goin’ to enjoy it!” The meek pony didn’t so much as present a token protest before being shoved into a seat at the breakfast table, barely avoiding falling over.

All the family now sat around the table, enjoying a nice meal of pancakes with apple syrup, and fresh apple juice. Apple Bloom ate at a breakneck pace; crumbles flying all around her plate. Her family all bore the same look of peaceful resignation, just letting her do her thing. Big Mac was at her side, eating slowly and greeting Fluttershy with a nod of his head. At one side of the table, the elder Apple sat. She waved a hoof at the guest.

“How d’ya do in this mornin’, gal?”

“Oh, I’m very well, Granny Smith. And you?” asked the pegasus with a small smile in her lips.

“Ah’m doin’ just mighty fine with this family of me here,” said the old mare, contently. Applejack set a plate and glass in front of Fluttershy and she began eating as she took in the conversation going on around the table. All the Apples –even the normally quiet Big Mac – talked eagerly about their chores and plans for the day. Apple Bloom rose from the table, took her plates into the kitchen, and waved a cheerful goodbye to everypony, rushing out of the house, going into the road leading to Ponyville. Soon she was followed by Big Mac and Applejack; the red stallion excused himself and set towards the orchards for another day of apple bucking. Fluttershy and Granny Smith were the last ones to finish, and despite Fluttershy’s offers, the elder pony refused to allow her to help in the plate cleaning. After a couple of minutes she went to find Applejack, who was just outside the house.

“Hey there, Sugarcube! So ya’ll tell me what did brought ya here this early?”

The yellow pony smiled nervously. “Um, yes, Applejack. I was just wondering if… if you could let me bring my little animal friends in here to take advantage of the greenhouses. My hut is becoming hotter every day and this would be a great help to us. If you don’t mind, that is… I promise I’ll make sure that they don’t eat any of your crops or cause disaster around your farm.”

The farm mare turned to look at Fluttershy; her serious look making her want to retreat and pretend everything was just a mistake…

“Why, Sugarcube, if you say you’ll keep an eye for them,, you certainly can bring them around here, and be here yourself. You’ll be our guest!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t dream of imposing myself on you like that, I just…”

“Shush, take it easy, Fluttershy. It’s no problem for us, and we’ll be happy to help you.”

Both mares embraced softly, with Fluttershy profusely thanking her friend’s attentions. They soon separated; Applejack went towards the orchards to continue her chores and Fluttershy headed back to her cottage to prepare everything.

The sun now hung almost vertically over the sky, casting its powerful rays over Ponyville and its adjacent locations, such as the Everfree Forest. Deep into said forest, lied the small tent arranged by Twilight and Rarity to stay in, not very far away from Zecora’s hut. Both unicorns were busy. Twilight lay down, a folded blanket supporting a huge book before her. She passed the pages every few minutes with her hooves, and clumsily wrote down notes with her mouth, something she was absolutely not accustomed to. At her side, Rarity fiddled with a needle in her mouth, working on a small side project, a dress for the next Grand Galloping Gala. The fact that the last one had not gone exactly as she expected it to was hardly a deterrent for her, but she was making sure to have proper expectations this time around. After a few minutes, she dropped the needle, ensuring it fell in a place where it would be easily found, and turned to her friend.

“All this sewing by mouth is simply unseemly, dear. It have been years since I did it for the last time, when I was an apprentice filly, and though I can work with it with time and patience, it is the less ideal method. I can barely imagine how you must be feeling. “

The purple unicorn lifted the gaze from her book, and marked the page before closing in, standing on her four legs and stretching, looking at her friend. She briefly picked on the currently weak, but just noticeable –at least for Twilight. She doubted Rarity could feel anything of the sort- magic aura that currently leaked from the white unicorn, before talking to her.

“I miss my magic, too. I try to distract myself here with theory and studies, but the fact is that I’m missing the practice. I try not to think about it, I don’t want to have any more breakdowns.”

Rarity shuddered involuntarily at these words. “Yes, I can certainly picture what you mean.”

Twilight looked at her and smiled.

Noon fell upon Ponyville. In the small town, businesses closed for lunch break. In a certain tent, a couple of unicorns prepared to eat a lunch given to them by a small dragon. Said dragon, and a zebra, accompanied them in that hour. In a bakery near there, a pink pony devoured sweets while a toothless baby alligator hung from her hair for dear life as she bounced around. A rainbow-maned pony napped away in a cloud, having a couple hours before having weather duty.

In a farm at the edge of town, five ponies sat down to enjoy lunch; lettuce and pineapple salad accompanying daisy and peanut butter sandwiches and the sweet aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven. Outside, a multitude of animals played and ran around, some even taking tentative steps into the house.

“What d’ ya reckon we should do with the apples that come out of this harvest, then? If the weather continues like that we might find ourselves having some mighty losses…” Applejack talked, her voice loaded with worry, casting glances to her family.
Apple Bloom jumped cheerfully on her chair, up and down.

“Ah know, Ah know, sis! We, the Crusaders, have an idea!”

“Now ya slow down right there, miss, before ya’ll break down th’ chair!“ The small pony stopped jumping and a sweet smile appeared on her face. Her sister chuckled at this attempt; she had more than enough experience about Apple Bloom’s antics.

“What’s this all about?”

“Well, we’ve come out with a plan for this excruciating heat.” Everypony at the table, except Fluttershy, tilted their heads at the use of such a word. “It means unbearable, scorching heat!” They all nodded, pressing for her to go on.

“So, anyway, we were thinking about what we could do for our next Crusading, and Ah suggested selling apple juice, seeing as how this weather is awful and everything. What d’ya think, sis?” The little filly looked at her, hopeful.

The orange mare blinked. “Well, Ah don’t know, Apple Bloom…” The filly’s ears deflated a little. Applejack was about to speak again when Granny Smith interjected.

“Ah fer one think that’s one hay of an idea, if ya’ll ask me. Ah say we let the girl do what she wants. After all, we’re only going to report losses in at this rate; is not cider or zap apple season, sending apples away in this heat is only gonna damage them and we won’t be able to sell everything. So let’s go with that!”

Applejack turned her head towards her sister and nodded approvingly, after which, Apple Bloom jumped off her chair, almost like propelled by a rocket and celebrated.

“Just wait, Ah’m goin’ to tell the other Crusaders now!”

With that, she sprinted out of the house before anypony else could get a word in.

“Well, that solves a small part of the problem. We still got ourselves a lot of produce to deal with.”
Fluttershy lifted her head and addressed her friend with her soft, low voice. “Um, excuse me, Applejack. I could buy some of your vegetables…”

“That sounds pretty good for me. What d’ ya guys think?”

“Eeyup!”

“Hay yes!”

“You’ve got a deal there, Fluttershy!”

The yellow pegasus smiled, and went outside to check on her animal friends. Feeling a presence near her, she jumped forward and hid behind her mane as was characteristic of her, before turning and confirming the company of the elder Apple sibling. The gentle red stallion approached her.

“Ah’m mighty sorry, Ms. Fluttershy. Ah was just seein’ how well do you get along with them critters.”
Fluttershy slowly came out of her hiding spot and near Big Mac.

“Well, yes… I’ve been taking care of them for most of my life and know them pretty well. But you’ve also got some nice friends in here, don’t you?”

“Eeyup. But they are mostly here for their produce or as farm animals, and besides, Applejack is the one that is mostly in charge o’ them. I almost don’t get to them.”

While Big Mac spoke, a little rabbit, smaller than Angel, had been coming closer to him, sniffing and looking at the –from his point of view- gargantuan pony, first with some fear and now with curiosity. Fluttershy gave him a broader smile.

“I think he wants to know you better, Big Mac.” The red earth pony lowered his head until it was at level with the small rabbit and gave him a small nuzzle.

“Eeyup!”

The sun fell down and the moon rose, casting its pale light upon Equestria. Ponyville prepared to lie down. In the forest, Twilight and Rarity were assisted by the light of a single candle in the tent. For both, it had been quite a long day, and they knew longer ones would come. Cold breezes flew around and the two unicorns stuck one against the other to provide warm for the night. Twilight covered them both with a thick cover. Rarity smiled at her.

“Good night, Twilight?” whispered the white unicorn, her voice soft and melodic, reverberating like an echo.

“Good night, Rarity.”

The purple unicorn blew the light away and felt how her friend rested against her side. As if she had been switched off, sleep came over to Twilight like a shower of water falling down her. She could not help but notice just how warm the night was at Rarity’s side….

The Royal Visit

The carriage that flew across the Equestrian sky, pulled by two grey coated pegasi wearing the Royal Guard armor, transported nopony else but the Royal Princess of the Night, Luna. Such was her official title, but recent events had transpired that had left the younger royal sister in charge of both the day and the night.

The very same events had left her as the only magically abled pony in the whole land –the blocked magic being that of the unicorn race; earth pony and pegasi magic, being more subtle and attached to nature itself, was untouched.- On the other hoof, she herself was bothered by this development, as being the only able user of magic meant loads of work for the –somewhat- recently awakened Princess, besides moving the huge celestial bodies across the firmament and the custom royal duty.

The last evident result from the circumstances was a nation-wide heat wave caused by the scorching sun. Her sister, Celestia, Princess of the Sun had fallen sick to a disease that nopony had any hope to treat; it was totally unknown, the medical unicorns of the Palace were mostly useless without their magic and getting near Celestia without being roasted for prolonged periods of time was impossible for anypony but Luna herself. Her glimmering, starry mane shone even in the light of day, flowing regally with the wind that pushed against the flying vehicle. The small town of Ponyville was finally reached, the descending chariot attracting the attention of many townsponies as it usually did, but this time, instead of landing in the middle of the village as it usually did, it touched land at the edge of the Everfree Forest; attempting to come down inside the thick forest was a warranted failure.

Descending from the carriage, she looked at the tall, huge trees that comprised the ominous place, very different from the home that, one thousand years ago, it had been for both she and her sister. Shaking away the memories that menaced to invade her psyche at such an inconvenient time, she trotted right into the forest’s entrance, signaling for her guards to follow.

“Let us go, gentleponies.”

All sorts of wild and ferocious creatures lived and roamed around in the forest, making it a great danger that prevented ponies from going in. Zecora, the zebra, as an immigrant hailing from a distant, wild and open country, moved around with remarkable easiness. Around Luna, however, the whole forest seemed to fall into quietness and calm that was very rarely seen. The regal presence of the Princess marked safe passage for the group, who eventually found themselves at the zebra’s door.

Luna lifted her hoof and knocked gently but with firmness. The door was soon opened, and as soon as Zecora identified her visitant, she fell into a bow.

“The Princess, can you be? This is a big honor for me.”

“Please, dear… Zecora, was your name? Stand up.” The zebra did as told, looking at the alicorn and her guards.

“Such is the name I was bestowed. But please, tell me, what brings you to my humble abode? Please come, make yourselves at home,” invited the zebra with a gesture of her hoof. Luna entered, but the guards remained outside, on watch.

The Princess looked around the hut, gazing at all its decorations, as well as the multitude of plants, seeds, flowers and natural ingredients than filled the zebra’s home. She finally turned to her host.

“I have been told by Twilight Sparkle that you had provided them with the cure for my sister’s ailment, a certain flower she called Magic Mishap.”

Zecora nodded. “That flower will produce a potion that will become your best solution.”

“I understand; I hope this will turn out just as you have said it.” Luna looked around her, her eyes scanning all the things that hung around the hut’s walls. Her gaze returned to Zecora after some moments. “I’d like you to tell me a little about your country and former life…”

The zebra complied, inviting her guest to make herself comfortable; candles were lit, and she took a bag of powder from one of her shelves. Finally, she sat down in front of the alicorn.

“Your request I won’t deny, my story I shall relay”

Luna attended earnestly to the story told by her host…

The sun, which was just a couple hours beyond daybreak when Luna arrived in the forest, now almost reached its zenith. The zebra and the Princess headed to the spot in which the tent was located. Luna opened its door, revealing the two unicorns
inside, each one lost in her own task. They registered the royal visit and bowed hastily.

“Princess, it’s…”

“An honor to have you here...”

As both mares greeted her with a hurry bordering on the incredible, she smiled.

“Good to see you, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity. I thank you in earnest for what you are doing for Equestria.”

As the two unicorns went to talk again, a torrent of words erupting from their mouths, Luna simply stepped on the soil and with a push of her hoof and the glow of her horn, leaked her own magic into the earth. The flow of magical energies proved so big, that both Twilight and Rarity felt it feeding the ground. The white unicorn trembled, having never felt such a thing before. Finally Luna cut the flow, her breathing deep and loud as she rested.

“My dear friends, I have to return now to Canterlot, but I hope you keep me informed of the progress. I am sorry that I could not do more, but my magic is being very taxed these days. I hope to hear from you soon. Goodbye.”

With that, the Moon Princess departed, leaving the two friends looking at the ground in amazement.

“Rarity, I think the growth time has been cut for about two weeks now!”

“So we only need to feed this about one week from now?”

“That’s right!”

“Those are truly wonderful news, my dear!”

The two unicorns delighted in the huge turn of events that Luna had just caused: the solution was coming closer.

Noon was a busy time for the market place in Ponyville. But a certain stand held the longest line that weekend day (and the previous days as well, in the afternoons)

“Now there, fellas, remember to be organized, there’s juice for all of you. Keep on the line,” chanted a small earth pony filly, regulating the customers and receiving the money. Her unicorn friend served the glasses which registered a bit for each one while her pegasus friend made the juice and poured it into the containers. The juice container rested in a box full of snow. The apples that produced the juice had been provided by the Apple family from the apple harvest hoping that not many apples went bad from the current heat affecting the land; the snow had been provided by Rainbow Dash in a deal cut with the Crusaders, it came from the weather factory at Cloudsdale, but nopony had been let in into what was their business. The last few days the small fillies’ business had thrived with the onset of thirsty ponies, donkeys and all inhabitants of the town.

The morning of that same day saw the Apple family rise early, as usual. Big Mac, Applejack and Granny Smith went on and around their business. Fluttershy, who was also an early riser, but not as much as them, slept quiet and peacefully in Applejack’s room. When the yellow pegasus woke up, the sky was a light purple, announcing the incoming rise of the sun. She shook the sleep out of her and after a brief combing, went onto her business. The smell of breakfast permeated the house, filling her nostrils. She trotted down the stairs and found Applejack and Granny Smith at the kitchen. The two Apple mares put the kitchen and served the food, calling everyone to eat. Apple Bloom came down yawning and rubbing her eyes, and Big Mac came from outside. The five ponies sat down to enjoy fried eggs, sandwiches and apple pie with milk.

“Y’know, Fluttershy, ‘s nice havin’ you here,” said the orange cowpony, smiling at her friend, who blushed a little and nodded, smiling.

“I like to be here, too. Really, the family is just too warm. I’m so accustomed to being in my cottage with my little friends, and I…”

The shy mare’s voice stopped, and her gaze seemed to become lost in space. She continued eating slowly, in a mechanic way devoid of pleasure, while Applejack, and the whole family, exchanged worried glance between them and looked at her. Applejack spoke.

“Hey,Sugarcube, are yeh fine?” called tentatively the element of honesty, looking directly to her friend. Her sister interjected.

“Yes, Miss Fluttershy, are ya okay?”

This seemed to snap the yellow pony out of her mind, as she nodded weakly.

“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry to have concerned you all. I’ve got to go and check on my animal friends now.” With that, Fluttershy left the dining room and headed outside. The earth ponies around the table looked at each other, unsure. Granny Smith was the only one who talked.

“Ya’ll better go an’ talk to yer friend, Applejack.”

The orange mare nodded and went through the same route Fluttershy had just walked by. The yellow mare was found giving seeds to the birds perched in the surrounding trees. Applejack approached her.

“You ok there, Sugarcube?”

Fluttershy pretended to ignore her friend’s words, watching the small birds and other creatures eat. Applejack sat there, waiting patiently. Slowly, the small animals retreated and scattered around the farm, and finally, the pegasus turned around to look at the earth pony.

“I...” The words got caught in her throat, she looked away from Applejack, fixing her gaze in the trunk of a tree. “I just brought back several memories… But I do not feel like talking about it now. I’m not sure if I could ever talk about it.”

The earth pony did not move from her spot, electing to merely answer her friend’s words.

“Fluttershy, it’d do ya lots of good if yeh speaked about it to somepony. I don’t say ‘s got to be now, but the sooner the better. And me, and the other girls are there; we’re yehr friends, and we love you. Right,Sugarcube?”

Fluttershy looked at her and her face formed a small, but warm smile. “Yes, Applejack. Thank you. You’re a great friend.”

“’’s nothin’ Sugarcube. Now ‘scuse me, there’re chores waitin’ fer me and ya’ll also have your own things.” The orange mare walked away, leaving Fluttershy looking at an empty spot on the floor.

Applejack trotted towards her house. She crossed by her corner, where her brother stood, munching on his usual stick of hay. None of them said a single word, but when Applejack passed by his side, she swatted his rump with her tail. He turned back in silence and followed her into the trees.

Oh, you...

Rainbow Dash sat at the edge of a cloud drifting around, looking down to Ponyville. She could feel the heat anywhere around her, pressing on; it made her mane stick to her head uncomfortably and her sweat as if she had just flew from Ponyville to Canterlot. She could cool herself by dipping into the white, fluffy nimbus, however, so it didn’t bother her too much.

The town below was much more subsided in its activity that it regularly was. Ponies walked around slowly, and for the most part, just when they needed to. They sought to stay under places that offered good shade and coolness -as much as they could hope for in the current state of things, anyway.-

Work in the weather team had been having its difficulty increasing exponentially as the heat wave marched on. At first, everything had gone more or less according to normalcy. But as days went by, the warmness forced them to use as much of their resources as they would in half of the summer. The Cloudsdale Weather Factory, as the purveyor of clouds for Equestria far and wide, had been in big trouble, finding itself unable to supply the demand that came from everywhere; being so out of season and dealing with a never before expected situation meant they were pretty much unable to solve this easily. On top of that, a good deal of snow material was missing from its storage. They were at a loss about it.

Her friends seemed to be all very busy, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, whom she had barely seen for the last few days. Applejack and Fluttershy were at the farm, working practically the whole day despite the heat. Twilight and Rarity were at the forest, working in some solution to the problem or something. She had mostly zoned out when Applejack told her and Fluttershy about what both unicorns had found out and were doing; the important thing was to end the blasted heat wave as soon as possible. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, on the other hoof, were hitting it big with their snow-cooled apple juice business. She felt proud of the fillies, who made her remember her own foalhood. Finally, after sitting around in the cloud for what she now felt was an absurdly long amount of time, she did some stretching exercises, pulled out her wings, flapping them hard, elevated herself, and blasted out of the cloud, soaring across the blue, clear sky, her rainbow trail following behind her.

The time that Twilight and Rarity had spent in the Everfree Forest had been mostly warm and dry by day. In the night, both mares cuddled together to protect themselves against the cold and windy nights. Twilight attempted to rationalize this away as a perfectly acceptable behavior of survival, but deep inside of her, she found herself enjoying her unicorn partner’s body warm, instinctively pressing herself against Rarity. She hoped the snow white mare passed it off as Twilight’s being extremely cold, while she herself wished to be soon back into the warmness of the library and leaving this behind, being able to organize her mind properly.
Some days, however, there was light rain. The two friends were thankful for the brief relapse in the seemingly never-ending heat. Twilight kept studying her books, while Rarity read novels the librarian lent her; her sewing efforts had been put behind, citing the difficulty of working with her mouth.

That night, however, the weather went all out in the Forest. Wind blew strongly from the mountains, crossing the sea of trees and bringing the wild clouds with it. The mass of dark cumulus nimbus kept getting bigger and bigger. Thunder roared above. Both unicorns looked up on instinct, despite having the tent’s roof above them.

“Twilight, dear, I think that the big one is upon us,” said the white unicorn, before turning to look for something in her saddlebag.

She got out two of the brightly colored capes she had been working on before it all began and gave one to her friend. Twilight proceeded to put on it as best as she could, struggling with her mouth, while outside, raindrops began to fall. Nothing but darkness enveloped the camping site as both mares pressed against each other, receiving the night. They fell asleep soon after, lulled by the relaxing song of the storm.

The sounds of nature in the morning –the chirping of birds, steps of small animals going around the tent, the blowing of the morning wind- woke them up early as usual in their spot. Twilight got up first and shook the sleep away while Rarity stretched her hooves in what she would deem unladylike in any other circumstance.

“Good morning, Rarity. Did you sleep well?”

The fashionista did her best to stifle a yawn, while rising to stand in her four legs.

“It was very good. You know, for sleeping in such a wild area, without any usable magic and very few commodities, this is not such a bad time.”

Both mares went outside to wash before commencing their day, or rather another day of sitting there and waiting.

“I’ll prepare the breakfast today, Rarity, you can go and relax a little,” announced Twilight, earning the other pony’s gratitude.
Rarity went back into the tent while Twilight prepared some cheese and lettuce sandwiches.

The purple maned mare grabbed a hairbrush and went to work with her mane, not managing her accustomed curly hairdo, but settling for a straight, non-morning look. She looked at the soil and wondered how much more time would it take before the flower would grow. It supposedly shouldn’t be much longer. Her eyes, suddenly, fixated on a patch in the ground. She lowered her head, squinting to confirm her vision. A loud gasp escaped her mouth and she called for her friend.

“Twilight! Twilight, come here!”

The addressed mare, upon hearing her friend’s cries, immediately dropped a loaf of bread and rushed inside, alarmed.

“What’s the matter, Rarity? What’s wrong?” asked Twilight, her voice worried, her eyes going everywhere at once, making her resemble the mail pegasus.

“Look!” said Rarity simply, pointing her hoof at a small point in the ground. Collecting herself, Twilight lowered her head and frowned for a while, until she saw it. A small bud was coming out from the earth, just visible in the brown soil. Both faces were alight with glee at the sight and they looked to each other.

“Rarity!”

“Twilight!”

“We’re doing it, Rarity! Soon everything will be fine!”

Both mares jumped excitedly as if invisible springs gave them impulse and embraced each other, reaching with their hooves to the other’s back in happiness. However, their faces also reached out, and their muzzles touched. Their lips connected lightly and they felt each other’s skin touching them. Despite during less than a few seconds, each mare felt her own body shiver, and looked into the other’s shining, wide open eyes. They separated and sat on their haunches, looking at each other.

Time was eternal as the atmosphere around them took on a heavy air. The whispers of the wind now blew with deafening strength, as did the chirping of the birds. Everything seemed so much more powerful and augmented during those few endless seconds.

“I’m sorry,” blurted out Twilight, incapable of anything more. There was something that thumped loudly and beat with abandon, almost destroying her. It took her a while to discover it was her own heart in a reckless race against her chest. No more would come out, and the white mare in front of her wasn’t saying anything

Finally, Rarity seemed to come off to her senses, and opened her mouth.

“It was only a silly slip of ours. There’s nothing to be sorry about, Twilight. Now, we just wait for Zecora to come and inform her of this, right?”

The scholar looked at the designer for a while, unable to decipher her friends. After a while she answered.

“You’re right, Rarity. We shall do that.”

Those words marked the beginning of silence that feel inside of the tent, as both mares buried themselves into books.

“Well, dangabit, Apple Bloom, ya’ll doin’ a mighty fine work with them apples. Ah’m glad they didn’t go to waste, and we were able to send other shipments. We’ll be fine fer now, Ah reckon. “

The filly giggled, going to embrace her sister. “Thanks, sis. We’re doin’ our best.”

The elder Apple sister smiled as well, and then looked at her sister’s eyes. “But just tell me, where did ya get the snow from?”

Hearing this, Apple Bloom shifted around nervously. “Rainbow Dash made a deal with us and she brought it from the weather factory.”

Now Applejack looked at her seriously. “And what kind of deal would that be, Apple Bloom?”

The small sister disentangled from the orange pony and ran before she could be caught. “Sorry, sis, that’s a secret. Nothing fer ya to be worried about, tho’.. Bye!”

“Sheesh, Sugarcube…” The orange pony sighed and turned around, going for a brief break in her room.

Outside the house, in the family plantations, Fluttershy and two of her squirrel friends stood by Big Mac as the red farmer filled baskets with the other produces from the farm: vegetables. The yellow pegasus smiled sweetly as she watched him working.
They had hung out together like this for the last few days: she accompanied him to work and helped him in whatever she could; in exchange he looked out for the small animals alongside her. Both ponies worked together wonderfully.

“You really are a strong pony, Big Mac. And a very hard worker too…” Fluttershy looked at him with admiration, her eyes shining.

“Ah just want to help my family as well as I can, Miss Fluttershy.” The eldest Apple sibling carried one of the bushels and loaded it into a cart, going back to fill another.

He dropped his cargo and overturned the half full bushel when he felt something rubbing against his side. He turned his head and found Fluttershy pressing her head to his stomach, rubbing it against his coat. Her eyes were shut and her face was painted the same bright red as his coat, which covered his own blush.

Nopony said anything then.

The three equines looked down at the small leaf that stuck its head out from the floor. Rarity and Twilight stood at each side of Zecora.

“This wonderful seed grew up very well indeed. In three or four day more, we can have what we look for.”

Both ponies smiled at her words.

“Those are good news, Zecora.”

“Indeed, my dear. I can’t wait for these days to be over. I’ve had my fun with dear Twilight here, but I don’t know how much more
can I take of this. Don’t you agree, dear Twilight?”

The purple unicorn looked to her white friend, but found that despite asking her directly, her eyes were fixated on the small bulb. The tone of voice with which Rarity addressed her also clicked something. Her mind raced with uncountable thoughts as Rarity’s words were replayed. She finally spoke aloud, filling the air with her voice, louder than usual.

“Yes, I want to come back to the library and continue with my studies and other things I left hanging. And of course, make sure that Princess Celestia is safe and sound and Equestria goes back to normal.”

The zebra nodded approvingly. If she had noticed something, she was making an extremely good job of appearing oblivious. Twilight even felt the desire of bucking her flank, but as fast as it came, it disappeared.

“I will later come back, and share with you two a small snack.”

She left them alone again, and both mares looked at each other. They returned to their books. But Twilight’s mind was all around the place. Her eyes kept going back to Rarity, who was immersed in her reading, and she mentally chastised herself. She finally shut the book closed and laid on the floor, as the sun began its final descent through the sky.

Zecora came back. The three shared black tea with carrot cake and talked about the nearing recuperation of the Princess and the zebra told them about her life during the last few days in the forest. They parted again as night fell. Twilight looked at Rarity without saying anything.

“Wel, it’s better for us to go and sleep now, don’t you think, Twilight?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sleepy right now. Let’s go.”

The two unicorns laid pressed against each other their usual arrangements from every night totally unchanged. But Twilight Sparkle did barely sleep that night. She was kept awoke by her thoughts, which flashed once and again in her mind, making her restless. She laid still, though, feeling the mare that pressed so tightly into her. Rarity’s breathing was shallow; she could feel every moving muscle of the white unicorn.

Buck it…

The next day found them both with a noticeable lack of sleep, as Twilight could confirm by the small bags on Rarity’s eyes. The fashionista went out to wash herself before Twilight could say anything and then came back. Upon seeing her, the purple unicorn opened her mouth to speak. But her lips were covered by Rarity’s.

The soft, sweet tasting kiss of the white unicorn overrode her senses as each second passed. She closed her eyes slowly and enjoyed the feeling that filled her. No movement was made, just lips touching each other. Rarity broke finally and Twilight opened her eyes to look at her. She opened her mouth one more time, but this time she found herself blocked by her friend’s hoof. Rarity then spoke, her voice low and soft, but serious.

“I’ve felt your heart pumping next to mine every night. You may have probably thought that it was because of the cold. But I knew better. I felt your coat pressed against mine and the warmness that ran through my body. Not the pure, physical warmness that brings sleeping under sheets, but the one that fills the heart. And I enjoyed it in silence, despite knowing that you were also involved in it. I let that fire consume me, overwhelming anything that I thought I’d felt before “

Rarity lowered her hoof, leaving Twilight free. But the scholar could nothing more than look at her in shock. The white unicorn smiled, a sweet little smile directed at her friend, lifting her hoof to caress Twilight’s mane with delicacy.

“You are so easy to read, Twilight Sparkle. Easier than Applejack, even. But then the time finally comes when we find ourselves drawn to the climactic moment. And you say “Sorry”. Oh, dear, what I’m going to do with you…”

She lowered her hoof to caress Twilight’s cheek with extreme care, feeling the flushed unicorn’s soft skin.

“I totally want to do this, Twilight. But there are several things that we need to take into consideration.”

Rarity separated from the lavender unicorn, bringing Twilight to sit by her side, and joined heads with her.

“Listen closely, dear…”

The remaining days passed. Twilight and Rarity now spent all the time they could enjoying next to each other, except when some friend came over. They needed time before they could tell them all, and think about how to approach certain problems, namely a small dragon assistant. They both loved Spike dearly, but the heart of the matter was that he was a completely different species from a pony. His experiences with dragons so far hadn’t brought anything good to him, but he needed them, and sooner or later would have to take that fact into account.

They would cross that bridge when it came to that, however.

The small light blue flower greeted them from its place on the ground. Zecora plucked it with her mouth and stuffed into a bag. She turned to the two unicorns that were standing apart from each other and declared.

“Thanks to you going steady, the potion will soon be ready.”

The End of the Beginning

Zecora motioned for the two ponies to follow her. The unicorns complied, walking behind the zebra, going into her hut. She put the bag containing the flower in a table, and turned around to look at both –now more than- friends.

“Rejoice, ponies, for your Princess. She’ll soon be freed of her illness.”

She walked around her hut, picking different herbs and spices out of shelves while two pairs of eyes followed her every movement. Once she had put on the table everything she found necessary for her goal, she stopped in front of the ponies.

“If you want, go back to town. It’ll be a while before I manage this one.”
Both mares nodded, bowing to the zebra, who smiled.

“Thank you for everything, Zecora. We’ll come back later,” answered Twilight, turning to leave. Rarity walked over to the striped equine and briefly entwined their heads.

“Thank you, darling.” The white unicorn followed her purple friend through the door and joined her in the path. Both looked at each other, and with smiles on their faces, set off to the village, the singing of birds and the cries of the forest creatures accompanying them all the way until the exit. Coming out of the trees, they spied Fluttershy’s cottage near. But upon approaching it, both mares were surprised to not find anypony or any animal near or inside it.

“It’s probable that Fliuttershy is down at the farm, is she is with all her animal friends. No other place in Ponyville can house them.” Twilight continued her trot, with nary another glance towards the pegasus’ empty house. Rarity followed her.

“That is most certainly right, We’ll find her later.” Both unicorns took the path that led to the town’s center, walking slowly below the morning’s burning sun. In the market plaza, a stall that bore a very long line gave them another surprise, standing between Applejack’s stand and Carrot Top’s one. Nearing the stalls, they recognized the fillies running it. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were hard at work, serving apple juice for thirsty ponies. The elder unicorns turned to Applejack, whose stand had a much smaller line.

“What’s all this, A.J. It’s an Apple family business?”

“Howdy, Twilight, Rarity! Nay, it ain’t anything like that. This blasted heat might damage our crops seriously, so Apple Bloom asked us for some, and with the other crusaders has been selling cold juice these past weeks, and it’s a doozy. They haven’t said anything about just where did they get the snow to cool it down, tho’…” The orange mare casted a glance at the three fillies, as did Rarity, to whom Sweetie Belle had told nothing in the days she had remained in the tent.

“We shall talk to them later, Applejack.”

“You’re right, Rares. Now, girls, excuse me, but the line is waiting.”

“Of course, dear. By the way, the antidote for the Princess’ sickness is almost ready. We’ll pick it in a couple of hours.”

“That’s mighty fine, girls. Hope this’ll get fixed real soon.”

The unicorns parted from the market, saying goodbye to her friend, and arrived at the library, coming inside and putting the saddlebags next to the door.

“Spike, we’re here!” called Twilight, out loud. S mall steps hurried downstairs and the dragon assistant appeared before them. He went and hugged Twilight strongly, breaking from her to give Rarity an even stronger hug.

“Twilight, Rarity! It’s been so lonely here… But I’ve taken good care of the library! Also I’ve looked after your Boutique, Rarity, with some help from the other girls.” He looked at the white unicorn expectantly. Both mares gave each other a quick glance before Rarity approached him.

“That’s really sweet, Spikey wikey. I have some gems for you that I’ll give you later. For now, we’ll rest a little.”

The unicorns slept for the next two hours; Rarity occupied a guest room in the library since she didn’t feel like going all the way to the boutique. Upon waking, noon was already upon the town and they came down to the main room. Spike waited for them with some light daisy sandwiches. While eating, Twilight dictated a letter to Luna making her know the potion would be ready soon and they would deliver it later that day. Afterwards, they came to an accord that Zecora might not be yet done, so the three, with Spike riding on Twilight’s back, went out to meet their friends and see how they were doing, as well as fill them on the news. Sugarcube Corner was the nearest place, so they headed there first. To their surprise, it was fully packed with ponies. Upon entering, they caught sight of Mr. Cake and Pinkie attending behind the counter; the bakery’s owner dispatched the clients while the pink mare packed their pastries. Upon seeing her friends, she waved her hooves briefly.

“Hullo, girls, Spike! Sorry, I can’t go to play now. The bakery’s busy and Mrs. Cake is watching Pumpkin and Pound, so we’ll have to talk later!” After saying this, Pinkie tossed three cupcakes towards them, which Spike caught after a jump, dividing them among the three.

“Ok, Pinkie, we’ll see you later.” They waved goodbye to the bakers, who answered silently, and took their leave. They headed towards Rainbow Dash’s cloud, standing right below it.

“Rainbow Dash!” screamed both Twilight and Spike, while Rarity limited herself to look up, taking care to shield from the sunlight. Soon, a multicolored blur sped down from the nimbus, landing next to them. The athletic mare beamed at them.

“Long time no see, girls! All cool down here? “

“Yes, Rainbow, and how’ve you been?”

“Oh, just dandy, you know. This heat is bothersome at times, but that’s not gonna stop Equestria’s fastest flier!” She flapped her wings, showing them proudly. Her three friends chuckled. She looked from one unicorn to the other. “So, you got that seed stuff covered now?”

“Princess Luna helped us a little, too. Thanks to her, the germination time was cut back around a week. Zecora’s preparing the potion right now. I think that we can get it to Canterlot in the evening. Will you come with us?”

The rainbow mare nodded. “I can take this evening out of my schedule, there’s not gonna be much weather action today. I hope it works, this gets harder everyday…”

“Well, we trust Zecora, she’s the most knowledgeable one around here when it comes to herbs and plants. Anyway, we’ll see you later, Rainbow. We’ll go towards Sweet Apple Acres now.” Upon hearing this, the pegasus let out a chuckle, which called towards the unicorn’s attention. Spike’s eyes lighted up and he smile, which, he being in Twilight’s back, went unnoticed.

“What’s funny, Dash?” asked Twilight, looking at her friend. Rarity joined her.

“Yes, darling, what happens?” The cyan pony laughed and shot herself up to her cloud.

“Sorry, not telling, you’ll find out soon. See you soon!”

Spike suppressed giggles covering his mouth.

The slow trot finally had them in front of the farm’s gates. They crossed them, and looked at the fields, which were covered in plastic sheets. Seeing an orange shape among the trees, they trotted towards it. It grew defined the closer they were, taking Applejack’s shape. They approached her happily, and she recognized them.

“Twilight, Rarity? You finally finished that thing o’ yours?”

Twilight smiled as she met the earth pony and crossed her neck with her, as did Rarity.

“Yes, we’re finished at last. Now Zecora is making the potion and I believe we can go and deliver it this evening. Do you think you can go with us?”

“Sure, Sugarcube. Ya’ll goin’ to ask Fluttershy, too?”

“Yes, of course. Is she here?”

“She has been staying here for some time now with those critters of hers. She’s back there, with Big Macintosh now.”

Hearing this, both unicorns looked confused.

“With Big Macintosh? Fluttershy?”

“Yes. Don’t tell me ya haven’t heard none of it. Spike, haven’t ya’ll told ‘em anything?” Applejack looked at the small dragon, a frown on her face. The small dragon chuckled nervously, while the unicorns looked back and forth. Rarity snapped.

“Oh, please! First Rainbow Dash and now you two? Just what is going on here? Tell us! We certainly seem t have missed on a lot of things while down there and nopony bothered to tell us? This is certainly unjust, let me tell you, Applejack!”

The orange mare backed down, raising a hoof. “Whoa, whoa, calm down there, Rares. Is not really that bad. Big Mac and
Fluttershy are seein’ each other, ‘s all.”

After some seconds, both Twilight and Rarity’s face were alight, they eyes opened and both sped to Applejack’s side; Spike almost fell off of Twilight.

“Is that true, darling?”

“How much time have they been going out now?”

“Well, it’s just been a few days now. Being those two, they have limited themselves to being together while making their respective jobs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind ya. Ah’m happy to see them both like that. Why don’t ya’ll go there now?”

“It’ll be our pleasure indeed, dear,” answered Rarity, leading the way towards the back of the farm.

Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were next to a line of apple trees. The red stallion was performing his accustomed task of kicking the apples into the baskets, while the pegasus mare watched him, some bunnies and squirrels accompanying the both of them. Twilight and Rarity stopped at a certain distance, watching the couple from afar. He worked as usual while she stood near him, just watching; Fluttershy wasn’t a very physical pony after all, though she was happy to help if she was truly needed. They went from tree to tree as the loads were obtained, until the cart that held the bushels was full. In that moment, both unicorns and Spike approached them. Only then did Fluttershy see then.

“Hi, girls! You’re finally free? Is everything alright?” asked the butter mare softly, coming to embrace her friends. Big Mac greeted them with a nod of his head and a “Howdy, Miss Twilight, Miss Rarity?” before attaching himself to the cart and pulling the apples. Rarity saw him leave and turned towards Fluttershy.

“So, darling, you absolutely must tell m… us, about this dazzling achievement of yours!”
Fluttershy blushed strongly, half her face hiding into her pink bangs. Her voice was almost inaudible. Twilight and Spike just observed from the side.

“Please, dear. We’re among friends, aren’t we?” pressed Rarity, gently, beckoning the pegasus to tall. Fluttershy slowly pulled herself out.

“Well, I… I just approached him a few days ago and let him know of my feelings… After so much time, coming here and seeing him from afar, I was with him here.. and I decided that if I didn’t do something now, I probably never would. So, um…” She retreated into herself again. Twilight and Rarity beamed and approached to hug their friend.

“Oh, darling, congratulations! Be very happy, alright?” the white unicorn smiled and nuzzled her friend; Fluttershy had closed her eyes, but a big smile in her lips presented itself along her strong blush.

“Those are quite good news, Fluttershy! I can’t wait to organize the wedding. A wedding that goes the proper way since the beginning!” the purple unicorn’s ears perked up, as she also hugged her friend. Fluttershy opened her eyes.

“Um, but Twilight… is a little too soon for that. Not that I wouldn’t like it someday…”

Now the studious unicorn blushed also, less remarkably. “You’re right, Fluttershy. I’ll wait.”

The four friends laughed merrily and turned to follow Big Mac and into the Apple house, chatting animatedly.

“By the way, Fluttershy, once the antidote is ready, we’ll go to deliver it to Canterlot. Will you come too? The other girls already said yes,” asked Twilight as they were entering the house, where Granny Smith and the familiar smell of warm, tasty apple pie waited for them. “Howdy, girls?! Long time no see!”

“Yes, Twilight, that sounds lovely. I’ll go with you.”

“Excellent! Now we only need to go and pick it up. I think meeting in a couple hours at the station will be fine, don’t you?”

Fluttershy and Applejack nodded, and everypony sat down to enioy the delicious cake.

They finally parted ways, and set pace once again for the forest. Upon arriving, they saw the smoke coming out of the chimney. Twilight knocked at the hut’s door. Zecora’s voice answered loudly.

“I’m coming, don’t go roaming!”

After about a minute, in which they heard her hoofsteps around the room, the door was finally opened. The zebra called them inside.

“It’s quite hot in here, but I just need a couple minutes, Twilight dear.”

They waited patiently until Zecora finally put the fire out, and poured the potion in a flask using a spoon. She corked it and passed it to Twilight.

“With this, it should be fine. The Princess will be back in the line.”

“We thank you so much, Zecora. I’ll come back later, is that right?”

“Yes, indeed. And call me whenever you need.”

The seven friends boarded the second Friendship Express of the evening. The remedy was safe in Twilight’s bags, which she held onto. She sat next to the window and could do nothing more that watch out of the window. Next to her were sitting Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who were engaged in a hoofwrestle contest. In the other seat, Rarity was in front of her, looking at her, as well as Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie occupied herself in eating cupcakes along Spike, who sat in front of her, in table, and writing down new recipes.

“Twilight, darling, I know you’re worried, but everything will come out fine.”

The purple unicorn slowly turned to look into Rarity’s eyes, briefly. They shone briely when looking at her.

“I hope so, Rarity.”

The seven bowed upon meeting the Princess of the Night. They all observed the bags that her eyes had below them, as well as a certain thinness that was beginning to show, even under the princess’ high disguise of royal strength. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft as she addressed them.

“Good evening to you all. I assume you bring the antidote now? Pardon me for cutting the talk in such manner, but this is
extremely important.”

“Yes, Princess. It is here.” Twilight pulled the flask out of her bags and Luna levitated it to herself, examining it. She finally looked at them again.

“I humbly thank you for your services, as well as your friend Zecora, whom I shall talk to afterwards. For now, I am going to provide the first dose to Celestia. I’d invite you, but going near her now is nigh impossible for anypony but me. I will meet you again soon here. For now, be free.”

The Night Princess departed from the throne room, leaving the seven friends looking at each other. She reached Celestia’s room. The area around it still held an even more impressive magical aura around it, She opened the door and entered the room where the Sun Princess rested, for lack of a better word. The royal pony was diminished, her muscles, usually firm and strong, were bulging in a malnourished body. Her pearl white skin had yellowed with the days and she was abnormally thin. If it kept going like that, she would soon start to show ribs. Celestia wouldn’t die, but suffered enormously her affliction. Luna approached her, and with her magic, held the thrashing mare in place, firmly but gently, and opened her mouth to let some drops of the potion drop. Satisfied when she heard Celestia gulp down the liquid, she smiled slightly to her unreachable sister.

“Everything will be fine soon, sister.”

Dinner at the castle was mostly silent, except for Twlight briefing Luna the details about the potions, as well as how it should be administered. The Princess excused herself after dinner, and they were shown to their respective rooms. But nopony was in the mood to go to sleep. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack went for a stroll in the castle gardens, letting the cool air of the night wash over them. Pinkie and Spike went to the kitchen, where the cooks were working some night plates for castle servants and engaged in discussion about cakes and desserts. Twilight and Rarity headed to the former’s room, where the purple unicorn sat on the bed and the white one chose a satin sofa.

“Why can’t we come out, Rarity? Big Mac and Fluttershy did do so already, and they’ve had just about the same time that we do.” The addressed mare got off the sofa and headed towards her marefriend.

“I want that as much as you do, Twilight. But I think that we really should wait some more to see how this turns out. We also have to think how to talk to Spike. I just ask for a couple weeks, would that be fine?”
Twilight turned and looked into Rarity’s blue eyes again, said mare diving into her purple pupils as well. She smiled softly. Rarity advanced and kissed her gently, only their lips touching, but enough to fill them both of a warm glee. They separated and embraced, staying like that for some time.

They came back to Ponyville in the following morning, ready to assume their normal lives, or what they would pass as normal lives.

The Saturday after their return to the castle, in Sweet Apple Acres, more exactly in a tree-house built upon a certain three, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting around like they had been for twenty minutes. Sweetie Belle was about to protest when a whoosh could be heard coming all the way from the sky. A blue blur zapped through the door and Rainbow Dash came to a halt inside.

“You came, Rainbow Dash! I knew you would!” cried the excited orange filly.

“Of course, Scoots. Nothing stops the fastest flier in Equestria! … Well, almost nothing…” Rainbow corrected herself upon seeing an unicorn and an earth pony glaring at her. “Sorry, girls, got some knot to tie in the Weather Team, but I’m here now. So, how have things been going….?”

The four ponies huddled together, enjoying the privacy of the small house.

In the night of that very same day, veiled by the shadows of the dark and lighted by the shine of the moon upon them, two figures sneaked over. In a library left back them, a baby dragon slept calmly. One of the two figures carried a basket in her mouth and almost hopped excitedly.

“My first picnic with a marefriend… This is so exciting!”

“Twilight, dear, slow down a little or you will wake up the whole town, and it’s not going to be as romantic. And I would not like that…” Rarity brushed herself against her marefriend, whose blush wasn’t noticeable by her dark coat and the black night.

They both giggled softly and headed towards the Whitetail Woods.

As the days passed, the heat began to recede, becoming more bearable. Luna attended constantly to her sister, who now opened her eyes and looked up to her, thanking her silently. In the course of a few days, Celestia returned from the grip of her sickness. She finally came out of bed and decided to give a great banquet in order to celebrate it. Also, the Princess of the Sun was absolutely famished after those weeks. A devious grin appeared in her face, restoring to her the life that she hadn’t seemed to have up until that point.

“Bring Pinkie Pie here,” ordered her, using her most authoritative voice.

The Castle was all bustle and hustle for the next few days as the Great Royal Dinner in celebration of the Princess Return was announced, invitations delivered all around Equestria. Plenty of farmers and food producers saw their products being requested in great quantities, ensuring of course, that it would not result in a shortage of food for the land. A lot of the apple produce that remained at the Apple family barn was also shipped over there. A certain orange mare was mostly delighted.

“Those stuck up Canterlotians finally will know just what the good food is really like!”
In between the preparations for the event that had everypony excited, all the unicorn’s magic came back. Pegasi and earth ponies were almost turned blind and deaf by the light shows and the scream that resounded as one all over Equestria.

The night of the Royal Dinner finally arrived. Hundreds of small tables had been set in the Royal Gardens, which were illuminated by floating lamps everywhere. At the head of all them, a large table had been prepared. In it sat, Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, the Elements, the Crusaders, Zecora, the royal advisors, among whom Greyhorn could be found, and P rince Blueblood, who sat at a corner of the table and from whom Rarity had made sure to put all the possible distance between them.
The chattering ponies all around fell silent at once when Celestia stood up and cleared her throat. Amplifying her voice by magic, she addressed all of them.

“My little ponies, it is an honor for me that you share with us this night in which we celebrate my recovery. The last few weeks have been especially harsh for our land, and I apologize deeply for it. I apologize to the unicorns, whose magic was taken away so suddenly and who had a great deal of difficulty. Also to the earth ponies and the hard working farmers whose harvests were greatly affected. And finally to the pegasi, who had to work even harder than ever to cover for the days of blazing heat. I apologize once more and thank you for your understanding. For this is my entire fault.”

The silence that fell upon the gardens was only interrupted by the whistling of the wind and the carts that waiters pulled around, serving to the ponies.

“Two months ago, I went on a journey to Zebrica, for a reunion with its leaders. Such reunions are done in order to keep the links among our nations, even if few of our race live in there and few of them live in here.”
Now all the looks had turned upon Zecora, whom a few ponies had noticed but now stood in the spotlight. The zebra seemed unnerved by this. The speech continued.

“And from them, I received a great variety of gifts, including many kinds of sweets. However, among those sweets was one prepared with a plant that is harmful to unicorns. Well, I still ate it.”

The wind blew harder. Everypony was silent as they looked to their Princess, who had a sheepish smile planted on her face. Only Zecora chuckled, looking into the crowd of ponies.

“I won’t do it again, I promise. And now, the following issue.” She motioned to her right, where the six friends and Zecora were sitting.

“Once again, thanks to the Elements of Harmony, the crisis was solved. They talked to a very good friend of theirs, the gentle zebra, Zecora, and she provided the means for my recovering, which Twilight Sparkle and Rarity brought forth. I ask of all you, a great applause for these three heroines.”

The hooves thumping began in the First Table, courtesy of Shining, Cadence, Rainbow, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy and the Crusaders. It soon extender among all the tables The resonance on the floor awoke the birds and sent them flying and the creatures in the gardens ran away –Fluttershy looked around, worried- . Twilight and Rarity were flustered, their faces red. Zecora only smiled and thanked them.

The rest of the dinner went on mostly in calm. When it was over, most of the guests left by carriages set up for that purpose. The Elements, the Crusaders and Zecora stayed inside the castle. The zebra was whisked away for a chat with the Royal Sisters, and all the others went to rest.

The normal Ponyville greeted them as they descended from the Express. Twilight turned to look at Zecora.

“Thank you for everything, Zecora. We couldn’t have achieved anything without you.”

“It Is all my pleasure. I advised the Princess to take everything with measure. I presume that I’ll be seeing you soon.” The zebra turned back and left, leaving the ponies pondering her words. They gave up soon. They all went back to their respective homes.

“Twilight, you’ve got a letter!”

“I’m coming, Spike!”

The lavender unicorn trotted over and picked the letter up.

Dear Twilight Sparkle

We have something that we would like to discuss with you. Please come over to the castle as soon as you can, sending us a note beforehoof. We’ll be waiting to hear from you.

Princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria

P.S. Bring Rarity along if you like.

She finished reading the letter and her face turned crimson. Spike looked at her.

“What do they mean ‘bring Rarity along’, Twilight?”

The purple unicorn turned away to run.

“HEY, TWILIGHT!”

In a certain bakery near there, a pink pony jumped around, creating and baking cupcakes and muffins, singing heartily to herself. A pair of foals, unicorn and pegasus, looked up to her curiously. Smiling, she approached the two babies.

“Oh, Pumpkin, Pound, I’m so excited. I wish those two would just come out right now so I could throw for them the biggest PARTY!” But time’s to time… Auntie Pinkie be watching over them, and will wait for the right moment…”

The pink mare turned to look at what was seemingly a wall.

“Don’t you all think so too?”

Blazing Heat

The library was filled with the sound of pages being passed, as Twilight Sparkle scanned through a considerable pile of books that stood before her; already read books rested at her feet, growing in number as the expression on the unicorn’s face grew somber. Notes were jostled down by a quill that floated by itself at her side, among loads of scattered parchment.

In the middle of all that was a rolled up parchment, sealed with a red string, untouched by the ever growing mess around it. It contained not only their new report on the magic of friendship, but also a request from Twilight for some books of the Canterlot Castle Royal Library detailing a certain topic.

The door to the library opened and Twilight’s assistant, Spike, came inside, his eyes fixated on a small collection of shiny jewels in his arms, whose glow was reflected in his green eyes. He approached his boss-mother figure-caretaker, smiling broadly.

“Hey, Twi, Rarity gave me all these delicious rubies to eat. I’m gonna be covered for a few days!” The glow in his face diminished a little. “You’re still fixated on that?”

Twilight paid him little attention. Since her, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had come back to the village a few days ago, -a new friendship lesson learned- she had assigned herself an investigative task. She always compiled her friendship lessons for availability any time they were needed; the strength of their meaning could and possibly would grow dimmer over time, necessitating the reader to have a chance to strengthen them. She finally answered to Spike, without lifting her eyes from the books.

“This is an important study the Princess assigned to me. Being such a special matter, it has surely been researched before, and I’m looking for analysis on the importance of friendship and feelings. “

The changeling incident was still fresh on their minds. Love had been both a curse and a blessing on that day, and it convinced Twilight of the importance of properly understanding what such concepts embodied and how they worked. For such an important issue –or at least Twilight believed it was-,very little data had been found that could even answer some of her inquiries on the matter. She lifted her head from the books, feeling the tiredness in the eyes and the general soreness on her body.

“Please, Spike, pick up the books I’ve already checked and give some order to the library. Oh, and also send this letter to the Princess. “

Spike nodded and went upstairs to stack his new snacks away before setting to do his chores. The sealed up parchment vanished, engulfed in a wave of emerald flames. He turned to look at the unicorn.

“You know, the Princess hasn’t been writing back lately. Do you think she’s fine?”

“The Princess is a very busy pony, Spike. It’s not the first time she has remained silent for some time. Everything’s fine, we just need to wait for a few days.”

The small dragon seemed satisfied and went ahead to do his chores. Twilight stared at her books. She had dived on them since she had come back from her adventure; Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy hadn’t crossed paths with her a couple days before that. Sometimes days and weeks could pass like that, with her not seeing her friends. She decided to go and pay them some visit. That was also research on friendship and she missed them a great deal.

Applejack and Fluttershy lived farther from the library, so she decided to go there first; it was still early in the day and she needed to take a walk. Her sore muscles troubled her as she trotted off, it took some time for her to regain sense in her numb legs, almost tripping a couple of times. Moments like this made her envy the athletes of the group. But trying to set apart a space on her tight schedules to provide time for exercise had proved futile; a lot of studying needed to be done; besides all of the other tasks she had and the free time she needed.

Halfway through the way to Sweet Apple Acres, she found herself sweating profusely. She was not in as good shape as she should, and she knew it, but there was no way her light pace would have her this much drenched; her mane felt sticky already.. Sipping some water from the bottle she had brought, she felt a little better and continued her journey.

The lands that comprised the Apple family farm came into sight at last, welcoming as always. Strangely, as she came nearer, she couldn’t see anypony near the fields, where they always hailed at this time, going over one thing or another. Said fields were covered by colored plastic sheets supported by sticks buried in the soil, covering the orchards.

She passed through the farm’s door and confirmed it:nopony was near the fields. She went towards the house, and heard voices coming from inside. Knocking on the door, she heard a chair moving and a voice calling loudly

“Ah’m comin’!”

Almost immediately, the door was opened and she was greeted by her farm pony friend, Applejack, who smiled at seeing her.

“Howdy, Twilight! Long time no see! Come in, come in, before ya get roasted.”

Before being able to say anything, she was pulled inside by a pair of strong orange hooves and found herself placed at the Apple family table, being warmly greeted by the rest of the family.

“Good day, Miss Sparkle,” said the huge red stallion, calmly drinking a sip of apple juice.

“Hiya, Twilight!” the little filly cheerfully called at her, while Granny Smith dedicated her a smile.

“How ya doin’, gal?”

“I’m very well, Granny Smith, thank you. It’s strange to see the whole family gathered here at this point of the day.”

“There’s just been too much darned heat these couple o’ last days; we simply can’t endure a long routine. We’re takin’ a couple short breaks a day,” said Applejack, offering her a glass of cold, delicious juice the unicorn accepted with delight. “We’ve even had to cover the trees and orchards so it doesn’t affect the fruits. The weather team has been providing clouds extra-duty, but even so, the heat is mightly noticeable. ”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, this is some unusually strong heat. I’m totally drenched on my own sweat. This is strange.”

A wave of worry swept the minds of all sated at the table. Applejack approached Twilight and hoofed her a wet towel, which the unicorn used to cleanse herself as well as she could.

“I suppose I should contact the Princess about this. It is totally unexpected.”

“Ah’d be mighty thankful of ya if ya did it, Twilight. This is simply no weather for an already hot spring.”

“I’ll do it, but first I want to go and see Fluttershy. I haven’t seen her in a while and I want to see how she is doing.”

“Now that you say it, Ah haven’t see her for a couple of days. Ah might need to go there later on. Fer now, Ah need to go and finish buckin’ those trees. If ya ‘scuse me, Ah’ll be on mah way.”

“I’ll see you later. AJ”

The orange mare disappeared through the door, followed by her brother, who dedicated a brief goodbye to Twilight. After addressing the other two Apples, she followed the road towards Fluttershy’s cottage.

Once again, she knocked, this time at the cottage’s door. As with the farm, the outside of Fluttershy’s home seemed to be mostly vacant of the life that usually bristled around. Not a single creature could be seen.

“I’m coming!” called a low and gentle voice, almost barely heard through the wooden door. Some seconds later, it was opened and the gentle pegasus’ face could be seen staring at her. A face painted by tiredness and worry, bathed –as much as her own- by thick drops of sweat. Twilight gasped.

“Hello, Twilight. Its good to see you.”

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy?”

“Well, you see… Please come inside, I need to take care of something...”

Twilight followed Fluttershy into her living room until the yellow mare stopped. Several makeshift beds made of old clothes laid around in the floor, and atop them, several bunnies rested, their faces contorted, breathing heavily.

“The strong heat has affected several little bunnies and I’ve been attending them. I don’t know how muc longer I can keep with this, though….”

Bags of serum and water bottles littered the floor. Another small rabbit jumped from here to there, going between his comrades, attending to their necessities. Though obviously affected by the heat, Angel Bunny did not forsake his duties, tirelessly helping his kind.

“This is terrible, Fluttershy. This weather is affecting all of Ponyville, and who knows how the rest of Equestria is faring. I’m on my way to send a letter to the Princess and ask her about all this. It’s better if I get going.”

“Good luck, Twilight. We’ll need it.” Fluttershy offered another share of water to the dehydrating critters as Twilight marched out of her door and returned to Ponyville.

She couldn’t get a hold of Rainbow Dash, even as she kept checking the partially clouded sky. She went straight to the library, in which main room she found Spike, laying on the floor, his tongue hanging outside his mouth. At the sound of the door opening, he turned his head to look at her.

“Oh, hello, Twilight. This is some weather we’ve been having here.”

“But Spike, what happened? You were fine when I left you here!” she ran to his side, her face marked with worry.

“Oh, I was so excited with the rubies that I barely registered the heat, but now…”

Reaching him a glass of water, she crouched by his side. “Do you think you can send a letter to the Princess?”

“I reckon so Twilight. Just give it to me.”

Finding the tools she needed, she composed a hasty letter asking Celestia about the strange phenomena occurring in Ponyville, which Spike sent in a burst of flame, getting him even warmer than before.

After applying some ice in his forehead, she looked outside of her window and sat there pondering about all this. This was an unprecedented event in Equestrian history and she had no clues about it. Suddenly, Spike coughed and sat up, letting a big flame out of his mouth, which materialized a letter

“Finally!” The lavender unicorn jumped and unsealed the letter, her eyes scanning the letter at a breakneck speed. She bit her lip.

“This can’t be.”

Twilight Sparkle
It is imperative for you and your friends to come to Canterlot in haste. Celestia has fallen sick, and we need of you to help solve this situation.”
Princess Luna.

Reading the missive several times over, her mind still could not process the fact that Celestia – the Princess! - could even have fallen victim to some disease. But there it was, in Luna’s own words. She didn’t have the luxury to spend time pondering such fact, however. She levitated the sleeping Spike – he had closed his eyes and given up himself to slumber -, loading him in her back and went out of the library, carrying the letter with her and heading to Carrousel Boutique.

Rarity hummed and worked contently, sitting at her sewing machine, when the Boutique’s door opened suddenly, startling her. In came her friend, Twilight Sparkle, carrying an unconscious Spike atop her back.

“Twilight, dear, you scared me there. What’s the hurry?” Rarity left her work and approached the panting purple mare, who had come sprinting from the library. She gazed at the sleeping dragon. “He looks so cute! But tell me, dear, why the haste? And in this ungodly heat, to boot! Let me bring you some water.”

Twilight nodded, catching her breath, whilst Rarity went to her kitchen and fetched a glass with cold water. Upon offering it to the thirsty purple unicorn, she drank it in a single gulp.

“Rarity, it seems that Princess Celestia has fallen victim to some disease and it’s very sick right now. That has something to do with this unusually warm weather that’s been plaguing Equestria the last few days. And Princess Luna wants us to be there and help.”

She took the letter out and passed it to the white unicorn, who read it slowly.

“This is absolutely outrageous, Twilight. I had never heard about the Princess being sick! What are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, Rarity. This is really new for me as well. But if Luna has requested for us to come, then we must do it.”

Both mares looked at each other eyes, silence filling the place, only interrupted by Spike’s loud breathing. Finally, Rarity turned her back to Twilight, going over to her sewing machine.

“I understand, dear. Truth is, I’d been working in a gift for all of you. A cape and hat set in order to combat this awful heat wave.”

Rarity looked at the bulks folded by the machine’s side, concentrating on them. After some seconds, she looked at them harder.

“What?!” The white unicorn gasped, lowering her head a little and attempting to make her horn stick out, to no avail. She turned to her lavender friend, her eyes revealing absolute shock.

“Twilight, I can’t use my magic!”

“How’s that even possible! Here, let me try…”

Twilight did the same effort, with the same futile results. Neither of them could do magic now.

Both unicorns set straight for Ponyville’s Bakery, trotting quickly, getting to the sweet-shaped building in no time; Spike woke up, finding himself in panic at the unexpected race. As they approached the entrance, they noted the pink spot outside it, coming to a halt.

“PINKIE!” both screamed in unison, meeting with the bubbly earth pony, who smiled widely in return.

“Hey,girls! I was waiting for you. I’ve been having doozies since yesterday, but I couldn’t figure out what they meant, and I’ve just had even bigger doozies now, and I knew you were coming! We’re gonna go somewhere, right? Here, have a cupcake!” Pinkie had already packed her saddlebags and loaded them to her back. Her friends looked at her, dumbstruck, receiving the pastries the grinning pony threw at them.

However, Twilight shook her head, regaining herself, passing her cupcake to Spike, as Rarity did. “It figures. Come on, Pinkie, we need to find the others.” Suddenly, screams could be heard from every part around. Distressed unicorns ran out of control by the streets; Ponyville soon became a dusty circus.

“Is that Lyra… jumping around in her hind legs?”

Twilight sighed. The three mares, along the small dragon, hurried towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Ah’m sorry, Sugarcube, but Ah can’t leave the farm alone right now. We’re gonna need all our workforce just ta be able to harvest the apples and take care of everything, including the animals, which are bein’ affected too. Ah ‘spose Fluttershy has that problem too.”

Applejack had a point, and they knew Fluttershy would not be eager to leave her animal friends when they needed her the most. Still, they figured one pegasus was needed to find another, and said goodbye to Applejack, going to Fluttershy’s small cottage.

“The weather team is working to organize some rain that helps a little in quashing this extreme heat, I can’t get anywhere now. Sorry,girls.” Following the rejection of the rainbow-manedpegasus, Twilight, Pinkie and Rarity walked back towards Ponyville. Upon reaching the market plaza, the librarian called to the others.

“Very well, go and take care of what you need; we’ll meet at the train station in one hour, right?”

“Of course, my dear”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

The three friends parted ways.Twilight sighed. Only three of the group had been able to go on the trip; Applejack had however offered to look after Sweetie Belle, and Fluttershy would take care of their pets, which relieved big burdens off their backs. Spike growled while on Twilight’s back. The little dragon had been uncharacteristically silent through all this. The unicorn called out to him.

“Don’t worry, Spike. We’ll find out what’s happening and we’ll solve it.”

Twilight and Spike went about organizing the library, getting the things needed for their journey and instructing Owloysius to head to Fluttershy’s place.

“Journey supplies”

“Check”

“Medicine books”

“Check”

“Zecora’s herbs”

“Check”

Twilight went on, asking for elements needed, which Spike made sure to have ready, until they were certain to have everything they needed. Once the organized unicorn was satisfied, they abandoned the library, heading to Ponyville’s train station.

When they arrived, Rarity was already there. Her saddlebags bulged, looking almost on the verge of breaking, but it was less than what Twilight had expected of her friend. She had, however, taken care of herself, her mane and tail shining brightly and her coat white and spotless.

“You’re always the sight to see, Rarity.” Twilight smiled as she approached the white unicorn, who answered with her own bright smile; Spike’s eyes were wavering hearts.

“We’re going to Canterlot. There’s no way I’m going there without looking my absolute best, even in this awful heat. It’s a shame we didn’t have the time to work on you, dear. But you look good anyway.”

They went to the booth and bought all the tickets. The train was scheduled to depart in 10 minutes and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen. Twilight paced around the platform, going back and forth.

“Twilight, you’re making me dizzy!”

“Sorry, Spike, I just hope Pinkie doesn’t take much more time. That mare’s always doing as she pleases. I…” She was cut off as from one of the columns next to her; the pink earth pony appeared, jumping in front of her.

“Hey, Twi! I’m sorry to be late, but I couldn’t decide which cupcakes to take. You see, Mr. and Mrs Cake baked so many delicious and different cupcakes today that I…" Pinkie was interrupted by a lavender hoof before she could go on. As Rarity approached her friends, Twilight dedicated a small smile to her rambunctious friend.

“It’s fine, Pinkie. We need to go now and aboard the train.”

Nodding happily, the pink pony bounced into the train, followed by her amused friends. Just after they got into the machine and found their seats in the last wagon, departure was announced; Twilight sat down pondering what was expecting them in the palace.