Book 1: A New Element of Friendship

A New Element of Friendship

Why Can’t Something Go Right For Once?

You know what’s an interesting wake up call? Getting sung right into your ear at a time I would consider to be too early, which was 7:00. Especially if the pony doing was Pinkie Pie. Needless to say, I just did a Sonic Scream right at Pinkie, which did nothing to change her usually bubbly mood.

        “Hey, Medley! Guess what? Guess what? C’mon, guess already! I thought you’d be awake by now? Do you want me to sing a pep-me-up-for-morning-stuff song? Also, can I have some of you coffee and hey what’s that?” She rambled at a high speed before getting distracted by something poking out of the closet.

        “Pinkie, I like you as much as the next pony, but please do not get me up at this insane hour without a license and a very good reason,” I whispered sleepily, wishing for a mute button for Pinkie.

        “C’mon, Mr. Grumpy! It’s the Summer Sun Celebration! And It’s at a big number as well! Number 1000! C’mon, we need to get ready for it today!” She excitedly yelled before dragging me away from my bed to try and hurry me along.

        In case, by some odd coincidence, you’ve never met her before, the pink pony of puzzling physics named Pinkie Pie is Ponyville’s professional party planner and takes her job seriously. She usually does a party every day for some reason or another. I still remember with some fondness on my ‘Welcome to Ponyville Party’ she set up just for me. Honestly, she’s one of the most fun ponies to hang around, if you can tolerate her need to be as energetic as possible. She also works at the Sugarcube Corner, home to the most amount of sweets available, except for maybe Bon Bon’s Confectionary. But now I’m starting to ramble. After I had my coffee and the spell of enchanted voice volume (on a sheet, so anypony could use it), I finally got myself out the door with Pinkie Pie trailing behind.

       As it turned out, I had an important role for the celebration: I was to perform a piece entirely dedicated to Celestia’s 1000 year rule, specifically made for today. With my talent, I would easily perform it, but as they say, practice makes perfect. Anyways, it was about 8:00 before anything interesting happened. I only got through a few warm-ups before I noticed a royal chariot fly across the sky and start to fly down towards Ponyville. I knew it couldn’t be Princess Celestia (an alicorn is very conspicuous, especially in daylight) so I wondered who it could be. My question was soon answered as the carriage had landed and a mare stepped out of the carriage. She was a dark lavender pony with a violet mane and tail that both had pink highlights. With her was a… baby dragon? Huh. I really didn’t see that coming. Anyways the mare was talking to the dragon with an air of impatience.

        “But the fate of Equestria does not rely on me making friends,” she said, with the carriage now at a complete stop. The guards whinnied a bit to signal this as well. She jumped off the chariot and walked up to them.

“Thank you sirs.” She thanked them as they flew back off to Canterlot.

“Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!” the dragon exclaimed.

At that moment, I saw Pinkie Pie walk towards the three of us, most likely to tell me something interesting. I knew that this would be a hilarious event to watch, as I predicted pinkie would confuse the mare with her usual gasp, jump and run away to make the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party for her. And wouldn’t you know it, I was right to the letter. I even got the confused sentence right, which was:

“Well, that was interesting alright,” She said while making a confused face.

At this point, I just started to laugh out loud at her reaction. She took notice and yelled at me.

“And just what are you laughing at?” She demanded.

“Hehehe! I’m sorry, but it’s always hilarious to watch Pinkie Pie react to every new pony who lives here. She did this to me too, don’t worry. Names Medley,” I politely introduced myself.

At this, the dragon looked like he recognized it and took out a checklist.

“Huh. Well, he is number 7 on the list, but since he’s here, we might as well check on him now,” he said to the mare.

“Ah yes, the Summer Sun Celebration preparations. How’s the song coming along?” She asked me brusquely.

“There goes getting a name apparently. I already memorized the song and I was just about to try it out for the first time,” I replied, trying to remain polite but letting some of the sarcasm come through.

“Oh, sorry. Lots on my mind today, what with the preparations and all. My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant Spike. We’re here to oversee the preparations for the celebration,” She finally introduced herself and the dragon.

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘already memorized it’? I thought it took at least a week to get all the words right, especially since this was made just a few days ago,” Spike questioned.

“Ah, Spike. This is where talents come into play. You see, my talent is eidetic memory for any composition, no matter what. If it also has an instrument, I can play that as well along with singing it,” I explained.

“Really? That’s so cool!” Spike grinned.

“Oh come now. Even I had to practice my magic a lot and my talent is magic. I don’t believe you at all,” Twilight suspiciously stated.

“Just because I have good memory for music does not automatically translate into good overall memory. I have to make sure to keep up my mental exercises to retain a memory at all. Trade-off, I suppose,” I rationalized.

“You better have that song memorized, or else it’s my head that goes!” She said in a panicked voice.

“Don’t worry. I understand where you’re coming from. After all, I once had a lot on my plate for being a very good actor and singer, trying not to brag here,” I told Twilight.

She huffed a bit and went along her way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Spike gave me a look that tried to convey that she was stressed and not to take it personally. I understood and nodded my head to make sure he did as well. It was after that did I realize I was supposed to actually be doing something. However, my tendency to wait until the last minute kicked into high gear and wanted to try and help Pinkie with the party. I did end up helping her and it  of the morning and the better part of the afternoon as well. It was soon after that that other ponies started to come into Twilight’s home and help with the surprise party. It was 4 o’clock when Twilight arrived with Spike. Though it was an odd conversation that took place between him and Twilight.

“Huh. Rude much?” He stated.

“Sorry Spike,” Twilight apologized. “But I have to convince the the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we’re running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where’s the light?”

I think it was bad timing on Pinkie’s part to turn on the light at that specific time, as we startled Twilight completely. I was amazed that she didn’t even see us, even with her magic. Once we all yelled surprise, I think, she just sighed and started to just try and get away from the crowd. That failed almost immediately with Pinkie Pie being a chatterbox and talking Twilight’s ear off for a solid two minutes (I timed). It all ended with Twilight accidentally drinking hot sauce and escaping to her room to study. After seeing the culinary disaster waiting to happen, I went upstairs to try and comfort her a bit. After all, she must’ve been introduced to the other ponies who were working on preparation. Applejack had her family over, so Twilight must’ve been suckered into sampling their food. It makes sense too, as Applejack works, lives, and co-owns Sweet Apple Acres, the best farmland to ever produce apples. They are to live for, not kidding. Then there’s Rainbow Dash, who never really did grow up much, so probably showed off her skills and got Twilight into some kind of mess. I can tell since Twilight also looked like she escaped Rarity’s clutches. Then there’s Fluttershy, who was most likely interested and was talking to Spike due to him being a dragon. She never did change from foalhood either, but at least she’s cool with animals. Which reminds me, I need to get a pet soon. And now she got introduced to Pinkie, who does not know the meaning of the word subtle or simmer down. I knew that they could be a handful, but were cool ponies to hang around once you got to know them a bit. But, I’m digressing.

“Hey Twilight. Not in the mood to party?” I asked politely, not wanting her to be more upset.

“All the ponies in this town are crazy!” She yelled. Yep, I set her off. Well, now it’s time to try and reel her back in.

“They really do mean well. It’s just that, I know today is a big day for you and I know you want everything to be perfect for Princess Celestia,” I began.

This got her to calm a bit, but instead have it be replaced with confusion. “How did you know that?” She asked, maybe a bit too harshly.

“Hey, don’t hit the messenger. I could just tell from earlier today and from recent events. I can be a logical pony when I want to be,” I joked a bit, trying to lighten the tension.

At this, she gave a small smile towards the joke, but quickly started to frown.

“Do you want to be left alone or do you want someone to vent towards?” I gave her a choice.

“Just leave me be, please. Oh, and tell Spike not to eat too much sugar. He is a baby dragon after all,” She smiled at that and turned towards the window.

I just said I would leave her be then and closed the door behind me to go back to the party. Though I swear I could hear something about ‘Elements of Harmony’. I left her alone for about an hour, but then had to get her so that she could make it in time for the celebration. She thanked me and we made our way to the town hall. Everypony was ready for what they needed to do. I was off to the side so that I could come on later and Fluttershy was getting her birds ready. It was very soon afterwards that the Mayor began her speech. She did the introductions, the history behind the Summer Sun Celebration, and it was soon time for Princess Celestia to make her appearance.

What would’ve been next would be Princess Celestia, but for some reason, she was missing. It was soon clear why, as mist that looked like a starry skyscape started to form into an alicorn. This, however, was not Princess Celestia. I think everypony could tell that much, judging from the sharpened teeth, the cat-pupil eyes, and the very dark coat. The voice also kind of gave it away.

“O̴͇̲̝h,̵̟͉ ̵̯̹̞̠͖̭̣m̮͕͖y̖̝͕ ̧̲b͎̺͔̻̥̬e̻̮̙͝l̠̼͙̫͍o̗͈̯̺̺͈̼ṿ̗͕̳͓e̳̟͢ḑ͙ ͔̖s̘͠u͕b̴͍̣͉̫̝j̩̲ę̻͍͕̰̻ͅc͎̯t̗͚͝s͎̮̘̦̥̪.̺͡ I̹t̻͈͎̝̩̤’̼̱̥ͅs̼͕̝̹͙̀ͅ ̤͙b͇̰͖̞͙̖͎͘e̗͇̼͍e̶̳n ͔̭̻͠s͚̲̻͓͍̘̯ǫ̠̠̠̞̤͈ͅ ͈̣̖̮̘̣͡l̻̯̝͜o̢̖͖͉̝̦͖n̨͕̺͓͚̩͉g͎ ͙̳̣s̷͙i͇͝n̫̠͈̫c̷̺̱͉̠̰̯̰e̹͍̯̫̱ͅ ̯̼͙̰͖̯ͅI҉͇̦̦̣̘̪̠’̖̮̼̀v̻̟̼̞͓̥̪e̢̪ ͏̱̩͖̩̗̞s͓͔̯͠een̛̲͍̞͓̫̱̞ ̮͕̞̼y͕̩̞͙̪̠o͇̭̖̠̻͘ụ̲̜̯͖̼ͅŕ͓͈̠̪̼̹̫ ̳̤̺͔p͈̲͕̕re̱͍c̲̟̦͡ị̻͇̤̝͓͙͜o̳̲̘̩͞u̟̻̩͉̫̟s͍̲̜̩̖̦̀ ̢̟̼̭̥̘l͚i̛͎̗̯̲͓ṭ̫̜̩͖ṱ̢̩̰̭̩̮l͉̱e̩̺̳̠ ̮̪̰̥̖̬s͎̺̥̲u̷͙̤̳͓ͅn̷̳͎̞̬̹-̮ͅl̘͓̪̯͈̳͢o̪̗̥̣̙v̮̭̪̱̜͠i̝n̢̞̙̙͈̯g͏̪̜̞̭͔ ͖͓͓̰̹̱f̡̥͖̗̼̟̰̗a͈̖c̖̪̞̩̯e̩̙̭͟s,” She drolled.

“What did you do with our Princess?” Rainbow Dash loudly demanded as she tried flying directly to the alicorn, only being held back by AJ.

She began to chuckle in response to RD’s actions. “W̫̼̻̪͉h͕̦̝͉y̸̩͙̹̱ͅ?͖̦͠ ̖͚̲̹̺A͉͎̰̘͓͔m̪̫ ̯̰̰͖͎̕I̝̫ ͔͉̪͚̳̭̀n̦͙̤͇͉̞ͅo͎͠t̖͓̬͘ ̺̺͉̭̭r͈o̢̬̫̱y̪͕͡a̵̙̲͖̤͇̙ͅl̟͖͔̹ ̳̦̣ḛ̘̼n͚̘̯̙ò̼ú̻̤̤g̣̰̰̱̻͕ͅh̨̝͓̝̟̳ ̷̙̪f̡̞͈o̙̱̙͟r̳̺̲̰͍̩̱ y̺̮̭̤̻̲͇͜o̮̮͈͖̹̜u?͜ ̳̞Do͇͔̮ņ͎'̦́ṱ̮̘͢ ̣̰̝͈̮͜y̡͓̩͔̩̗o̷ͅṳ̶͙̭͔̟̣ ̞̪͘k͇̹͓͓n͇̜͍̮̦̲o̞w͖̮͓͍ ̖̹̣̩̜wh͍̠̞̳̲̺ͅo͙̲̲̘͍̮ I̥̦͚̭ ͓a͕̳̣̫̻̹͉͘m͕͍̲̗̰̟͞?̪͠ͅ” She challenged.

“Oh, oh! More guessing games!” Pinkie Pie still retained that cheerfulness. “Uh, let’s see: Hokey Smokes? How about: Queen Meanie? No, no, Black Smokey, Black Smo-” She was interrupted by AJ, who stuffed an apple cupcake in her mouth to try and get her to stay quiet.

It somewhat worked. However, she was on a roll here. “D̲̪̩͈̩̦ọ͍̙̪̙̪͎͡e͈͚͔̙̞͖͖̕s͖̝͉̕ ̷̝m͖y̥͍̯̜̳̘͈ ̢̣̜̹͉̞͍cr͚͜ͅo̴̱̪̲w̼̦̝͚̩̬̼n ̭͍͖̜̖̦̯n̰͇̼o̥ ̷͔l̮ǫ͙̺͇͉̣̠̻n͉͔̻̮̳͈̹͞g͈̳͚̟͚̘̯e̢͙r̟̫͎̯̠̥ͅ ͔̞̭̗̝co̱̤̖̺͕̦u͏͎͚̝ͅn͙̯t̤͚̺͉̖͠ͅ ҉̜̭̗̣̗̲n̝̥̻o͕̩͓͉̹̘͖w͓̕ ̲̥̺t̰̜h̦͞a̱̮̠͕ͅt̲̣̼͔̬̲̞ ̬I̷'̬̳̗̫̦̖v̜̝̪͎͓̬̳e̙̟̻̮͔ ̟̲͉͉͢b̻̹̮͙̙̝ͅee̤̹͞n̟̘̳̖̼̜͓ ̳i͖̭̬̪̲͕̰mp̤͢r͟i̡̪̣̩̗̪s͝ó̟͎̖̖̞n̼̟ẹ̺͜d͏ ̢̜̥̤̲̦f̴̝o̷̬͇ͅr̜͚̗͙̼͍̼ ̮̹̙̻̱̼̰1̪̼͓̀00͇͚͉̺͉0̟̺ ҉̦͇y̸̩͉̠e̟̳͖̜͓͉̰͡a̝r̩͓͈̭͝s̤̣̻?͏̞̯͈̙͕ ̙͉̫D̟̥̬i̘̦͔d͈̗ ̼y̮̣̲o̰̤͇͍͓u͇͕̠͓ ̮͓̹̬͉͢b̼͙o͘t͓͝ ̖͖͔r̟̮̕e̠͇̗͖̻̼c̵̩̫͓̬͖a͕̰̥̳l̖̬̳l̷͉̠̠̤̼ͅ ̣̜͔̥͖͉͉t͉̟̫h̶̰̹͎e͓͖̬͞ ̡̤̼̘l̞̗eg̻̜̪͎͈en̮d̪̬̗?͕̟ ̳̖̼̭͡D̶̤̱͙i̺ḑ̬͚̭͉̣̹ ̸̖̼y̭̠̮͍͖o͏̳͉u̧̱̫ ̺n̬̺̞o͕͓͉̦t҉̘̩ ̢̘͚̥͓̼̺͕s͔̘ͅe͖e̲̗̭̺̥̠̱̕ ̛̖̮t̤̫̬̗͟h̴͈͚͈̙̱̞ͅè̫͖ ͙͔͉͖̩̫͙s͇̱i̹̜̝̕g͔n̼̻͖͕͇͎̕s̖̤̺̟͔͇?̥͓̖̣̰̻͎” She taunted while intimidating Fluttershy and Rarity.

Twilight, however, took a stand (metaphorically, of course). “I did. And I know who you are. You’re the Mare In The Moon. Nightmare Moon,” At this proclamation, the entirety of Town Hall gasped, including me. After all, I thought it was just a myth as well. Though, come to think of it, the signs were kind of obvious. But, I digress.

Nightmare Moon looked pleased enough. “W̯̼e̴l̸̘͈͖̗̬̮̳l̡,̱̬ ̟͎̗̗̤̭w͙͉̺̗e̶͍l͍ļ͇̤͚,̛͙̰̼̞̺ ̜͎̬̹w̱͚̹̝͢ȩ̳̘̤̰͈l̫̥͉͖l̖̹.͈̜ ̧͍I̝̮̱̠̱̦ͅt̜̝̲ ̞̯̗̙s̻e̖̪̥̺̻̤͎e͖̠̯̫m̳s͡ ̟̠̞̘s̯͙o̹̻̳͕͍͇̯m͙̭e̦̜p͔o͜n͇y̭͖ ͔͚͎rȩ̻̲̦̻̥m̳͔̦̞̱̯̳e͙̯̣͈̦͚̜m҉ͅb̰̤̟͙e̡͖͍̥̣̘r̥̦̦̣̬s̯̹̭͉͉̮̗ ̷̰͎̱m͙͖̖ȩ.͕͟ ̸T̵̼͖h͏̱̣̭ȩ̹̣̼̦̲̻͈n̡͉ ̵̰̤y̴̞̣̪o̜̳̗͇̻̹͈u͚͇̘̼̗͈̩̕ ̼͙̹͍a͇͙l͉̭͉s͏̗̥̬ͅǫ̪̺ ̟͇k͙̤n̹̻o̢̥͚̩w͎̖͎̣̹ ̡͈̜͔͕w̵̞̹̘̖̮͙̳h͍̱̝͉̙̳̬y ͏̖͎I̵̠̱ ̻̩̹͈͙̱͡a̺͕͇̺̗̺m͙ h̗̹̳͕̣e̩̥̝͇͉r͜e̬̰̻̜̦̘͓,͏̳͍̖̩͖̱̘” she said.

It seemed like Twilight was about to say it, but lost her nerves at that point. I stepped in, understanding her situation completely. However, I am just as tactless as Pinkie on my off days and this counted as an off day.

“You’re here to raise eternal night and to make sure the sun never rises again,” I stated in a monotone voice.

She turned to look at me like I had spoken out of turn. S̳̞͍o̸ ̳͓̥̯̟y͔̤̹̘̞̭͡o̫̺̦̙̤̹u҉͙͙̝͖͍̻̬ ̞̯͔̱ķ͎̬̪̼n͏͙o̭͚͍w͕̫̼̬ ̫͞a͙s̸̱͙̮͓̙͚ ̴̮̞ẁe̢̬l̰͉̟̦͞ͅl͓͕͚͇.̖͠ ̸T͏̯̟̠h͍̯̺̟en̡̺̥ ̰r͙̳̗̞̫͕e̝̻̞̟͚m̨̤̰̖e͖͖̣̻͓͉̝͞m͔b̫̲̞͉͍͕ḙ̛̪͍r̀ ̹̬̮t͓̻̝̯h̻͔̹̳i̶͇̙s,̳̞͟ ̶̪̞̯m̠͉͇͇̘y̩̲͕ ̦̼̻ͅl͖̭̻ì̝̩̲͎̩̰̩t̟̕t͏̦̪̞̬̫l̖e̻̪͎͍̱̫͞ ̺̭̲̲͔po͚n͈̰y͉͈̜͡.̧̖ ͉̹̙̗́T̻̤̮̫̗́h͓͚̬i̞͍͉s̫̫̱̫ ̙̩̗̤̗g͓̼͡o̧̫̱̥̮̭͎͚e̷͔̣̹̺̦͙s̘̞̪̝̼̗̥ ̗̫̲͖̼f̩o̥̖̪̞͕r̢̝̤ ͙͉̣̩̗͇̼̕t̳̺͚̟͓̝h̛̝ḙ̸̦ ̻̱̤͘r̠ḛ̰̱̗s̷̲̘̳̤̗͎t̯ ̷̰͈̰̘̻̩ͅo̬̳̯̜̟f̹̹ ̘̜͚̞̠̫y̛̞o̴u̦̞̣͙ ͈̤͙̙͔͇a̗̬̕s̩ ͓w҉̳̜̰e̗̭̝̕l̙̭̣͞ͅl͙̹͓̳̲͜.͇ ̖̼̮̟̻R̗͔̦̼̲e̘m͍̬͓̠̭̯ͅe̮͎̤̟m̫̺͖͠b̡̬͍̫̥ͅé͚͉̻̭̼̖͈r̰͉̺ ̹̼͖͚͎͇͟th̬̲̻͈̲̬̟i͇̙̘̤͡ṣ͔̻̭̭̯̺ ̮͎̲d͖̜̦a͉̕y͕̹͈͚,̘͚̫̠͚̹͢ ̛̰͓̹̹͇͕͔f̣̙̣͉͙̥͉͘o̻̮̺̖͚̗r ͘i͔͙̜̟͕͇͠t̻̬̝̪͎͞ ̠̞̖s̩ḩ̼̫͓a̡l͢l ̴͔̥͓͕̦͔͍be̮͙̱͉̟̼̕.̳͔̝̫͚̹̘ ͍͕͎̹͡Y̷̘̻o͚̺̜ͅur͔̙̞͎͎ͅ.̗͕̟̖͇̼͞ ̨͇L̞̜̰̖A̡̟͔͈S̬̣̺͙͕̖̯͢T͓͇͔͓̟!͉͇̜̝” She laughed maniacally as she teleported off to who knows where.

“This is really bad. Really bad,” Twilight stammered.

End of Chapter 3