Chapters It had been a century and a quarter since the return of Princess Luna and much had changed in Equestria. The last of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony had died twenty five years ago, with the exception of Applejack who had gone missing at that time but was now presumed dead. Ponyville had been turned into an amusement park shortly thereafter and in the Everfree Forest a separate nation calling itself the Kingdom of Dream Valley had been established, a nation that had cut itself off from the ponies of Equestria.
In Equestria itself corruption and internal decay had started taking hold as power hungry bureaucrats and greedy business ponies had been slowly nudging the system in their favor. As a result Equestria itself was undergoing a recent economic depression as inflation and joblessness are starting to rise, though the country is still a wonderful place to live.
In the midst of this tensions between Celestia and Luna had started rising steadily and a recent revelation is about raise them to the boiling point…
“YOU BOTH DID WHAT?!” Celestia bellowed in the traditional Canterlot voice. She had brought Luna and Cadence into her private chambers along with Shining Armor and Sky Runner, the two stallions mostly because of they were the subject of the argument.
“What I did was ensuring that one of Equestria’s rulers wouldn’t go mad with heartbreak and possibly restoring Nightmare Moon!” Luna said.
“Aunt Celestia,” Cadence replied. “It was my idea to begin with. I couldn’t stand the thought of Shining Armor dying and me having to live on for a thousand years or more without him!”
Celestia gave an uncharacteristic snort. “So what made you think THIS was a good idea!?” she gestured her wing to the two stallions. “Or how could you think you could hide it from me!?”
The two consorts to the princesses stood at the edge of the room. Shining Armor looked nervous and moved like he was trying to blend into the wall. Sky Runner on the other hand looked more like he had something on his mind he really wanted to say, his wings flapping as if he was ready to move immediately.
“That…was unexpected.” Cadence said submissively. “When I came up with the spell I just thought that it would make his lifespan match mine through the lifebond, I didn’t think it to turn him into an Alicorn as well. I only hid this from you because I knew how you’d react.”
Celestia gave a sigh. “Cadence I don’t hold this against you. Since you were the first Alicorn born in over a thousand years we had no idea if you would also be ageless, that was why I approved of your wedding.” She then turned to Luna. “However I expected better from you sister, you could have told her that what she was doing would have alienated him from everypony he knows. But instead you chose to unnaturally extend the life of your own consort and risk throwing Equestria into chaos! Once other ponies find out about this the nobility and the masses will be breaking down our doors asking to be made into Alicorns!”
“Sister,” Luna huffed. “The spell could only work through the lifebond. I couldn’t do this to anypony else if I wanted to!”
“Do you think that would make any difference? It’s hard enough keeping Equestria together through a depression! We can weather this storm and continue to guide our subjects, but not if you keep imposing your ideas on what is best for our ponies, like the Tambelon Incident or Nightmare Moon before that.”
Sky Runner had had enough and stepped up to Celestia. “With all due respect your highness, aren’t you doing the same thing?”
“I beg your pardon?” Celestia asked in an offended manner.
“In the past hundred years you have gone out of your way to keep this country from making any significant form of progress. For example I keep hearing complaints on how hard you’ve made it to get a patent or allow any invention to make it out to the public.”
“I did that for the sake of the all the hard working ponies that would lose their livelihoods to automation. After the Film Flam brothers had started mass producing their Cider Squeezers and other harvesting machines small farms couldn’t afford, most of our food is now produced by a few large farms. The Apples, who once had orchards all over Equestria, now have only a few here and there; destroying a tradition that went back almost two hundred years! I had to keep that from happening to any other pony that depends on these small family run businesses.”
“What about the ones who want to start a shop or business of their own? The laws you have been signing have been making it harder and harder for them to compete.”
“I let those who know these sorts of things best handle them, but if those ponies want to thrive maybe they should focus more on co-operating than competing with others.”
“In a perfect world maybe, but the way things are we need to improve ourselves if we don’t want to end up in another dark age. Are you so out touch with the common pony that they are practically begging to change the way things are done? I didn’t know her as long as you had but I’m sure Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t have wanted you keep us from the future.”
Celestia glared at him like an injured timber wolf. “Get out, all of you get out! I will consider what to do about you two stallions later, but do not leave the castle! And nopony is to disturb me until further notice!”
After the four Alicorns left they began to speaking as they walked to the gardens.
“Wow, I’ve never seen Aunt Celestia so upset before,” said Cadence. “It seems like you really hit a nerve when you mentioned Twilight Sparkle, Sky Runner.”
Sky Runner sighed. “It was around the time of Twilight’s death that Celestia had started becoming more withdrawn from her subjects. I can’t believe that losing her personal student would have had that big an impact on her.”
“It was more than that my beloved,” said Luna. “Twilight Sparkle was like a daughter to my sister. Celestia was so proud of her, not just for her accomplishments but how she grew as a pony. The loss of her diminishes us all, but it hath affected her most severely. There are times when she tries to squeeze life and enjoyment out of every second and others where her mood becomes like a storm on the horizon. ”
“Twilight was one in a million,” sighed Cadence. “Ever since she passed away things have seemed to be slowly going downhill for Equestria.”
“At least Twily died happy.” said Shining Armor. “I never even told you this Cadence but I was there when she and her husband passed away. I know that given how much time had passed I was supposed to be in hiding, but when I heard my little sis might not have had a lot of time left I flew to her library myself in the middle of the night. I saw the two of them old and wrinkled and holding each other in bed. Twily must have been only half asleep because she then turned to me and asked if I was ‘there to take them home’. Given my wings and that I was supposed to already be dead she must have thought I was some kind of angel. I just hugged her and said ‘What’s a BBBFF for?’ She smiled and closed her eyes saying ‘It’ll be good to see the rest of the gang again’ then she turned back to her husband. I left and their children found them the next morning, passed away in their sleep.”
Cadence used her wing to wipe away Shining’s tears. “If there was good way for a pony to die that would be it.”
Sky Runner shook his mane. “I only met her a few times but from how special she was I can understand why Celestia reacted the way she did. Having somepony use the memory of Twilight Sparkle against her must have felt like her own daughter was going against her.”
“But true none the less,” said Luna. “Twilight wasn’t the type to stand against my sister on anything but she wouldn’t want Celestia to deny herself love or separate herself from other ponies on her account.”
The four then split up to return to their various duties.
“How dare he!” Celestia fumed. As she paced around the room in an angry fashion she jostled the stand where Philomena and Helios, formerly named Peewee, roosted waking the two phoenixes.
Before he disappeared Spike sent her the rescued hatchling when he started getting too big for him to handle. Celestia gave him the new name after his first burning, at which time Philomena began looking at him like a mate instead of a kid brother.
“Insinuating that my faithful student would think that I was ‘out of touch’ with my own people!”
“Squawk!” said Philomena.
“Well of course she was free to make up her own mind! Her independent mind was one of the things I loved about her the most! She just happened to always think the best of me.”
“Caw,” said Helios.
“If she saw me now? Well I guess it would have scared her a little.”
“Coo, coo,” said Philomena.
“The last time I made a public appearance other the Summer Sun Celebration? Well there’s the last Equestrian dessert contest. Only it’s been close to a year and a half since this depression had lowered the number of entrants below the required number for the contest. Then there was the last Grand Galloping Gala, except that was mostly just the nobility and I only gave them a token greeting.”
Celestia sat down in the middle of her chambers, the very same place she had come to usually read Twilight’s letters. “They’re right. I am out of touch with everypony. Am I that afraid of being hurt again? Have I worked so hard for my little ponies that I pushed them out of my life?”
“Chirp Cheep!” said Helios.
“You’re right!” Celestia said with a boost of confidence. “If I became out of touch with my subjects the best thing to do is be involved with their lives! Problem is that if they know I’m watching or asking, that and the guards won’t let me go unescorted.” A devious smile came across her face. “So I won’t be going as myself.”
Celestia used her magic to levitate a quill and parchment then she started to write.
Dear Sister by the time you read this I’ll have left Canterlot on a fact finding mission. Now before you start panicking I shall return in about a week’s time during which I expect you to run Equestria as if I had never left. Do not inform anypony outside the castle about this leave of absence, I am merely observing our subjects as they live their day to day lives so that I may be able to better serve them.
As for the heated discussion we had earlier I have decided that while I disapprove of you and Cadence’s actions I see no need to reprimand you or your consorts (though I stress that they keep themselves hidden).
Signed,
HRH Princess Celestia
“Now all I need a disguise.”
Celestia stood in front of a mirror and started to morph her form when she was done she looked into the mirror and saw a normal sized white Pegasus mare with a pink mane staring back. She turned into profile and saw her cutie mark was slightly different, the rays of her sun were now straight and triangular.
“Perfect, this is going to be more fun than when I picked the town for this year’s summer sun celebration by throwing a dart at a map! I’ll just sneak out when the day and night guard change and then I’ll just make a flyby of Equestria to see just what my little ponies are up to these days. And if anypony asks I just plain old Bright Dawn, a Pegasus who’s just going on a journey.”
The disguised Celestia stepped towards her balcony the turned to the two phoenixes. “Make sure Luna gets that letter in the morning, I should be back in week.”
After the two birds cawed in response Celestia waited until the coast was clear then flew off into the night.
What Celestia didn’t know was that a humanoid figure was watching her through a vision in a cauldron bubbling with a noxious green liquid.
“I knew if waited long enough Celestia would make herself vulnerable.” She cackled to herself. “How couldn’t she with me and my allies quietly nudging Equestria further along the path of decay.”
She waved a green hand with sharp claw-like fingernails over the cauldron. “Soon she will be dead and before anyone notices I will put in the means to learn the secrets that will bring the Dark One the army it desires! Keh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!”
The Pegasus stallion with a cobalt blue mane and bronze colored coat tossed and turned in his cloud bed. Visons started to swim through his sleeping mind.
A pink maned Pegasus flying through the night sky.
A violet bolt of lightning striking her.
The mare falling through the clouds.
Her landing unconscious in a clearing next to a large tree that resembled a hawk.
Dream Catcher woke with a start panting for breath he looked at his cutie mark shaped liked the buffalo artifact he was named after. He had a very unique talent among ponies, his dreams gave him visions. Usually his dreams offered visions of the past, the future or of far distant places but he had no control over what saw or when the dreams came.
This was the first time however his dreams showed him something he wasn’t at least familiar with. Who was this beautiful mare and was it already too late to save her?
Dreaming of the Sun
Dream Catcher couldn’t get back to sleep after that dream. He spent hours trying to figure out what the visions meant. If somepony was really in trouble he had to do something, but where and how?
He realized that two pairs of eyes would probably be best so he set out of his cloudhouse and down into the town of Maresberg to ask for help from his best friend.
The Carnation pink unicorn stirred from her bed at the tapping on her window. Her cutie mark was a pinwheel pattern with eight arms that had a star at the end of them.
“Star Spiral, are you awake?” She heard Dream Catcher say from outside her second story window.
She got up and walked over to the window. Using her magic to open it up she scowled at the Pegasus hovering outside her second story bedroom.
“Are you crazy? Coming out after dark after what happened to your dad and my parents?”
“I think somepony is in big trouble, it’d be safer if we both went looking together.”
“Another dream?”
“Yes, and if it’s a vision then a mare out there really needs help.”
Star Spiral sighed. “I can’t leave Sprocket alone. I’m all he has left.”
“If we run into whatever is taking the ponies of this town off of the streets at night I’ll handle it, but I have to know for sure.”
Star Spiral gave her tail a swish. “Fine, but only because it’s close to dawn. I just hope this isn’t a wild goose chase.”
Back at Canterlot Luna was worriedly pacing, Sunrise was a mere three minutes away and Celestia was nowhere to be found. Celestia’s phoenixes gave her the note when she knocked at her door. She inferred from the note that Celestia would continue to raise and lower the sun from wherever she was but Luna was still both extremely frustrated and worried about her sister.
The time had come and Luna reached out with her magic to lower the heavenly orb down for the day. The sky was darker usual without the moon and stars but the sun would drive off the dark any second now.
Then a whole minute passed with no sun.
Luna could already hear the screams of panicking ponies in the streets of Canterlot. “No, they might think I’ve gone rouge again! Sister where art thou?!”
Hearing more panicked responses Luna then decided to do what her sister had done in the during her thousand year absence, she reached out to the sun with her magic and coaxed it to rise. It was harder than moving the moon, mostly due to unfamiliarity but she managed to set her sister’s sun on its proper course.
While she was breathing a sigh of relief that she was sure she was sharing of all Equestria a guard came up to the balcony.
“Your highness, the staff are concerned about Celestia’s condition.”
“Stall for now, Celestia had run off last night and if she didn’t raise the sun it means something has happened to her. Have some of the guards gathered for a briefing in one hour to prepare a search, until then keep this quiet.”
“Yes, your majesty.” The guard said as he bowed and left.
Luna gazed on the sun had just risen for the first time. “Celly,” Luna said using the pet name she had for her since she was young. “Please be ok.”
Star Spiral breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the sun rise. “We should be safe now. Whatever it is it only comes out at night.”
Dream Catcher took a look around in dawn lit landscape until he spotted a hawk-shaped tree. “There, that tree! In my dream she was laying at the base of that tree!”
“Are you sure you don’t want to look around?”
“Only if she’s not at the tree, she might have woken up and wandered off.”
Star Spiral began muttering. “If she even exists.”
Soon enough they reached the hawk-shaped tree and found a white Pegasus mare with a pink mane and sun cutie mark.
“Are you ok?” Dream Catcher asked.
The mare’s eyes fluttered open. “Where am I?”
“You’re about five furlongs outside of Maresburg,” said Star Spiral. “We need to know how badly you’re hurt.”
The mare steadily gotten to her feet and began to move her wings. “It aches a bit, but I think I’ll be fine.”
“Hmmm, you must have fallen through a couple of clouds and that slowed you down.”
“What’s your name?” Dream Catcher asked.
“I think…I think it’s…Bright Dawn.”
“You think?” said Star Spiral.
“I can’t remember anything else.”
“Anything at all?”
“I know what things are and how to do certain things but other than that, nothing.”
“Maybe that you hit your head in that fall and got Amnesia,” said Dream Catcher.
“In any case we should take her back to town with us,” said Star Spiral. “We need to have a doctor look at her and by the time we get there Red Cross should be sitting down to her usual cup of coffee at the Golden Horseshoe Dinner. “
“Alright let’s take it quickly but carefully. This way Bright Dawn.”
In an abandoned mine not too far from Maresburg the goblin witch, Hagiel, looked through the potion in her cauldron.
“That should be long enough. Once the ‘princess’ returns from her ordeal I’ll have unlimited access to everything we need to learn how to open the Gates of Tartarus!”
Hagiel then left her lair to another part of the mine. This one instead of being arrayed with the objects needed for her dark magic had a wide assortment of machines scattered about. Strange mechanical golems, some of which looked humanoid others like ponies moved about doing assorted tasks.
Soon Hagiel found what she was looking for, a monkey with brown colored fur about her size sitting at a workbench wearing goggles who was currently working on a small metallic sphere.
“Just one more screw and…it’s done!”
“Greaser!”
The Gizmonk turned and faced the witch unable to contain his excitement.
“Look Hagiel I have invented another masterpiece! Now the plans just came to me so I don’t know what it does, but it has a button. I wonder what will happen if I press it?”
“Forget about your useless toys slave!” Hagiel said slapping the device from Greaser’s hand. “Is that special Clockwork I asked for ready?”
“Well you didn’t so much ask me as threaten to turn me into a roach and crush me if…”
“Is it ready?!”
“It’s ready, it’s ready!”
Greaser ran over to a white tarp draped over something. “Presenting the Greaser Autonomous Mechanical Construct model PON type-A, with turbo!”
He took off the tarp revealing another pony shaped mechanical golem, only this one was larger and had wings and a horn.
“As you asked for your rottenness, but I still don’t get why you wanted a custom Clockwork when you already have so many do your biding.”
“Because with the rest I wouldn’t be able to do this! Paratapapa!”
Hagiel casted a spell and before Greaser’s eyes the Clockwork took on the appearance of Princess Celestia. “It’s a simple illusion spell but enough to fool anyone. Now Clockwork, go to Canterlot Castle and wait for me to speak through you. I will help to pass you off as Princess Celestia and by the time those pretty little ponies realize that you’re not it will already be too late. Kehehehehehehe!”
The phony princess bowed her head to the witch and turned to the mine’s exit, a second later a large flame came from the pony machine’s backside as it rocketed out of the mine and into the air.
“So how do like the turbo feature?” asked Greaser. “I also added a smoothie machine for after it’s finished its job so we can have celebratory snack.”
“Grrrrrrr…” Hagiel was covered in scorch marks from the jet flame.
Maresburg was a town about the size Ponyville was a hundred years earlier resting in the shadow of Misty Mountain. The buildings seem to have seen better days but the ponies still were very cheerful to each other.
The Golden Horseshoe Dinner, named for the legend of the mystic artifacts said to be owned by the first unicorn, was not as impressive as the name suggested. It had an Art Deco design with a neon sign that was turned off for the day, but seemed to have been worn down like most of the other buildings in town.
The three came inside where a number of patrons were already sitting down to breakfast. “Red Cross should be at the counter,” said Dream Catcher.
“Hey Sis!” shouted a grey unicorn colt with a black mane and a white gear for a cutie mark.
Star Spiral moved in on the colt. “Sprocket what are you doing here by yourself?”
“I didn’t find you when I got up so I thought you’d be here with Jetstream and Powder Puff.”
“Listen Sprocket, I don’t have time to hang out with you right now. Have you seen Red Cross today?”
“I’m here,” said a white earth pony with a red mane and a first aid cross as a cutie mark. “What’s the problem?”
“Bright Dawn here has lost her memory,” said Dream Catcher. “It looked like she fell a long way; can you give her a check-up?”
Red Cross gave a stern look at Dream Catcher. “Another one of your dreams?”
All activity in the dinner seemed to grind to a halt. Dream Catcher looked down in a shamed manner. “Yes, but she was all I saw.”
“Alright, I’ll take a look at her.” Red Cross
“What’s wrong?” Bright Dawn asked.
“I can see things in my dreams before they happen, that was how I found you. But since in the past I saw a few minor disasters for the town that came to pass most of the ponies here don’t like it when I get them.”
“That sounds like a wonderful gift,” Bright Dawn said while Red Cross shined a flashlight into her eyes. “I mean if you see something bad you can stop it from happening.
“Except it rarely shows him anything that helps anypony,” said a tan coated earth stallion with a black mustache a wide brimmed hat with a gold badge on it and a megaphone for a cutie mark. “Name’s Sheriff Bullhorn and I uphold the law around these parts. You picked a bad time for a visit miss Dawn.”
“I just found her,” said Dream Catcher. “She doesn’t have any memories so she’s probably just lost.”
“No memory, that’s convenient. A couple of months back ponies in this town started disappearing at night without a trace. Now after eliminating all of the suspects in town a new pony shows up and no memory and thus no alibi.”
“You can’t just accuse her just because she happens to be new in town!”
“I’m not, just letting her know I’m keeping my eye on her during the investigation.”
“If you call sitting here and stuffing you face with donuts investigating!” said Star Spiral. “Especially when you could be out there finding the missing ponies!”
“There aren’t any ponies alive to bring back. But then you would know about that break in the case that better than anypony.”
Star Spiral started to tear up, Sprocket the stepped between her and the Sheriff he was tearing up himself. “Now that’s going too far! You’re just guessing and the only reason you know it is because Dad felt Mom die and it killed him!”
“It happened right in front them!” said Dream Catcher. “You can’t just mention it to them so callously!”
“Alright I’m sorry!” the Sheriff said. He turned back to Bright Dawn. “You better keep your nose clean.” The stallion then left the diner to go on his beat.
“You ok sis?” Sprocket asked.
“I’ll be fine,” Star Spiral said wiping her tears away. “How is Bright Dawn doc?”
Red Cross finished her examination. “I can’t find anything to indicate head trauma and other than some minor bruises she seems perfectly healthy,” She turned to Bright Dawn. “But as the patient I’d like to ask you how you feel.”
A loud gurgle came from Dawn’s stomach. “Well I guess for the most part I’m hungry.”
“Well the food here is the best in town,” What do you want?”
“I feel like a stack of pancakes covered in butter.”
Dream Catcher turned to a tan unicorn behind the counter. “Short Order did you get that?”
“Blowout patches covered in axel grease!”
“What?” Bright Dawn asked.
Star Spiral feeling a lot better at Dawn’s reaction gave a little giggle. “That’s his way of saying what your meal is. Speaking of which, Short Order I’d like scrambled eggs on toast.”
“Coffee and doughnuts for me,” said Dream Catcher.
Short Order spoke again from behind the counter. “One cops n’ robbers, one order of chicks on a raft and wreck’em! Order Up!”
In a flash the three meals were levitated in front of them.
“That was fast,” Bright Dawn said.
“He usually is,” said Star Spiral. “In any case we have to figure out where you’re going to stay until you get your memory back.”
“I guess you would have a hotel in town, but I don’t have any money.”
“I would offer for you to stay at my house but I already have my hooves full with Sprocket, that I’ll be really busy with an important job for the town. Maybe Jetstream or Powder Puff could…”
“Or you can stay with me,” said Dream Catcher. “I mean I found you in that vision so I guess that makes you my responsibility, and my house has felt a lot lonelier since whatever it was took my father away.”
“What about your mom?” Bright Dawn asked.
“She died while I was still a colt. She was a unicorn who studied how different species lived; she named me while she was studying the Buffalo. One day while staying with a griffin clan there was a rockslide and she sacrificed herself to keep a clutch of their eggs safe.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok; Dad did a good job in spite of how much losing her hurt him. He just ran the weather patrol here until he was taken.”
“Dream are you sure about this?” Star Spiral asked.
“It’s ok,” said Bright Dawn. “I’d be happy to accept your invitation.”
Dream Catcher did his best to hide that he was seriously blushing. At that moment a bell started echoing throughout town.
“A town meeting is being called,” said Star Spiral. “We have about an hour to finish eating and get over there.”
Cadence burst into entrance hall. Luna was already about to give the white Alicorn a hug. “What’s going on?”
Celestia, or rather Hagiel through the disguised clockwork, spoke up. “I went out to examine our subjects more closely. However I fainted during flight and crashed.”
“Sister how…”Luna said.
“I awoke and went to a doctor. She said I came down with Spell Fever.”
“Doesn’t that disease affect Unicorns?”
“Yes, it is contagious and non-unicorns can spread it. I will have to spend the next week or so confined to bed rest. I trust you both can run the kingdom while I recover?”
“Of course Auntie,” said Cadence.
“I also shouldn’t use magic during the duration so I will need you to continue rising and lowering the sun Luna.”
“Of course sister, but will you be ok in time for the Summer Sun Celebration?”
“Trust me. By the time the celebration comes I will be perfectly fine.”
As she left for Celestia’s private chambers no one noticed that for a split second a red glint came from the imposter’s eyes.
Dreaming of the Sun
The auditorium in the Maresburg town hall was jam packed with ponies. Mayor Pinto trotted up to the podium and the crowd went silent for the spotted stallion.
“Now that we are all here it is time to address a matter of upmost prestige and importance to our town. As you know every year all cities and towns in Equestria partake in the Summer Sun Celebration, but only one plays host to the regent of the sun herself as she raises the sun on the longest day of the year. It is an honor many compete for but this year, without even submitting our name for consideration, Maresburg will be hosting Princess Celestia herself for this time honored tradition!”
There were a lot of murmurs and a couple of groans.
“What’s wrong?” Bright Dawn asked.
Dream Catcher shook his mane. “This town has fallen on hard times and because of how things are in Canterlot these days most of the folks in this town have a low opinion of the Princesses.”
The Mayor continued. “Now in order to ensure the success of this festival I now turn over the podium to my appointed director of festivities, Star Spiral!”
Star climbed up the stage and then turned to the crowd. “Thank you Mr. Mayor. I know that many of you do not feel like celebrating given a bad looking situation, but keep this in mind with the princess coming here ponies from all over Equestria will also be visiting our town. This is a chance to turn our luck around and perhaps bring in the bits we so desperately need.”
The reaction from the crowd became more positive.
“Now we’ll have to clean up of course and I expect us all to pitch in there, but there are some specialty tasks that need to be taken care of. First off weather, I’m sure that as the leader of our weather team Jetstream can ensure that we’ll have clear skies for the occasion.”
“Yeah about that…” said a powder blue Pegasus with a white mane. Her Cutie Mark consisted of three dark blue lines that curled on the side closer to her head. “Cloudsdale had an accident at the weather factory that’s forcing them to ration clouds to all the cities. We’ve been scheduled to get rainclouds that would bring light showers for the week and they’ll take them back if they’re not used up. We aren’t scheduled to get any more for another month.”
“Is there anything we can do about it? We can’t have wet grass with so many ponies coming here!”
“Maybe if I got all the Pegasi in town to gather them up we make due with two days’ worth of heavy rain, if we keep the winds down.”
Star Spiral shook her mane. “Try your best. Next up food preparation, I trust you have no problems Short Order?”
“My spatula is at your service.”
“Good now for the last century or so it was been traditional to have apple dishes so that means we’re counting on Crab and Sour Apple to pull in their reserves.”
“Are you crazy?” said an Earth pony Stallion with a brown mane, a light green coat and cutie mark of a red apple with a yellow bottom.
“We don’t have enough apples for this hoopla and the rest won’t be ripe until fall starts comin’!” said an Earth Pony mare with a black mane, yellow coat and a plate of green apple slices for a mark.
“Couldn’t you ask your relatives to…?”
“We don’t want anything to do with those sellouts!” said Crab Apple. “Ever since Sweet Apple Acres was sold off and they started using those blasted farming machines they all forgot what it even means to BE an Apple!”
“Ok, just give what you can and we’ll talk about how we can get the rest. On to the matter of Decorations, I’m sure we can all agree that Powder Puff is the best mare for the job.”
A lavender coated Earth pony with a billowing cream colored mane stood out. She had an open compact case with a mirror as a cutie mark. “Thank you, everypony. I promise that I’ll make the best decorations ever! I already even have an idea for some. I got it from this story about how my grandmother Cream Puff had her life saved by Rainbow Dash when she lived in Ponyville. But back then Grandma was just a baby so she didn’t know Rainbow Dash had saved her life at the time…”
“Uh, Powder Puff I’m sure that it’s interesting but you have to keep in mind we need to limit you to a budget of a thousand bits.”
“But if the Princess is going to here I’m going to need at least twice that much!”
“I’m sorry but we don’t have the money. You’ll just have to make due. Finally Music, do you have any problems with your song bird chorus Chickadee?”
“Chickadee isn’t here,” said a pony in the crowd. “She took her birds to visit her sick mother in Hollow Shades and might not be back for two weeks.”
“Ok, so we might have to do something non-traditional. Does anypony have any ideas for music?”
“Oh! Oh! Pick me!” said Sprocket.
“Anypony at all?”
“I have an idea, pick me sis!”
Star Spiral sighed. “Ok Sprocket, what crazy gadget did you come up with this time?”
Sprocket zipped out of the auditorium and came back a second later with a calliope like device on stage. “This can mimic anything from a kazoo player to a full symphony orchestra.”
“Right now I just want a songbird chorus.”
“No problem sis!” Spocket’s horn glowed in a baby blue color as did his machine. A drum rolled inside and soon pipes coming out of the top were letting out a beautiful bird song.
“Sprocket, this could actually work!”
But then the song started to sound really bad. Then the pipes started belching smoke and the gears and springs flew out as the song came to a stop.
“Oh no!” Sprocket yelled. “I had to order some of these parts all the way from Baltimare!”
“Can you fix it?!”
“Maybe I could cobble something together if all the scrap metal in town didn’t keep vanishing.”
“Here we go again,” said Sheriff Bullhorn. “The kid’s stolen junk is connected to the disappearances theory.”
Sprocket ignored the Sheriff. “Thing is it might take a bit of scrounging.”
Star Spiral lowered her head. “We’ll consider it a plan B in case Chickadee isn’t here in time. As for everypony else please help out however you can.”
As the crowd started to disperse Bright Dawn could a mare next to her muttering. “This is going to be the worst Summer Sun Celebration ever.”
“Dream Catcher,” Bright Dawn asked. “What do you think of the Princess?”
Dream Catcher sighed. “Well to tell you the truth when I was a colt I had a crush on her. My parents didn’t quite approve. They said she was a figure to be revered, not the target of immature affections.”
“It just strikes me as odd that she would pick this town for a festival that is more or less in her honor if almost everypony resents her.”
“Well Dad used to say that she had gotten more eccentric in recent years, so who knows why she picked us.”
“Hey Dream Catcher!” yelled Jet Stream. “You’re helping me set up the storm right?”
“Sure,” said Dream Catcher. “I’m on the weather team after all.”
“Let me help too,” said Bright Dawn. “I just had an idea, if I help everypony with all things we need for the Summer Sun
“Well I can’t say no to an extra pair of wings,” said Jet Stream.
“I’d like it!” said Dream Catcher. “That is…we’d all like the help.”
“Ok you two, follow me. We got a lot of work to do if we want to get this storm in today.”
~~~
Hagiel looked at Celestia’s bedroom through the monitor device that Greaser set to allow her to see through the clockwork’s eyes. While luxurious it was far too bright and cheery for the goblin but she still needed the tomes within this castle. As the clockwork moved towards the bed to continue the illusion the Phoenixes stated squawking at it.
As soon as the imposter lay down in bed Hagiel rang a bell by pulling a rope close by using her magic.
A guard came into the room. “You summoned me Your Highness?”
“Yes,” Hagiel spoke into microphone and it became Celestia’s voice on the other side. “I don’t want my precious birds to spread this dreadful spell fever to anypony.” Hagiel tried to make it sound sweet, it wasn’t easy. “Would you take them to the garden?”
“At once Your Highness.”
“While you are at it can do me a favor and bring me one of the books we have on Tartarus, I would like to keep my mind sharp while I’m recovering.”
“I’m afraid I cannot do that ma’am.”
Hagiel’s patience was getting short. “You’re refusing a royal order?”
“Following one ma’am. You left a standing order over a century ago that no one is to enter the restricted section of the royal library other than yourself or your royal sister even if you gave them the key that only either of you have in your possession or if you claim they are invited by you. Unless you’re rescinding that order, are you Your Highness?”
Hagiel didn’t expect this; Celestia had restricted access to anything on Tartarus to protect her subjects. The witch wanted to blast something but as much as she wanted to turn the guard into vapor it was too soon to tip her hand. “I was just testing you, you passed. Now just take them to the garden.”
“Of course Your Highness.”
After he took the two birds with him, the imposter looked around the room. “Now if I was the key to the tomes that hold the knowledge on how to release one of the darkest forces ever known and I’ve been hidden away by a goody two-shoes sun princess, where would I be?”
As Hagiel looked around the room she saw a large portrait of the harmony bearers. “Figures you’d keep it near the ponies you’d most honor.”
The fake princess swung the portrait away from the wall and found a small door, she opened it to find a refrigerated cupboard with several slices of cake inside as well as a yellow piece of paper with writing that said “Princess Celestia’s private cake stash. Do not touch. This means you Luna.”
Hagiel growled and then spotted a bookcase next to the portrait. Pulling the book closest to the portrait out she opened it to find it had been hollowed out and had a rusty brass key inside. “You must have thought it was so clever to hide it in the small unassuming thing next to the depiction of your favorite student. But I wouldn’t have gotten as far in the Order as I did without learning how to think like a thief.”
~~~
Jet stream was busy coordinating all the other Pegasi while pushing a number of grey clouds. “Let’s go, let’s go! We have to get this storm started before sundown!”
Bright Dawn found a tiny cloud and stated pushing into a hole in the coverage. Dream Catcher pushed in a larger cloud into a nearby edge.
“Anything yet?” Dream Catcher asked.
“No,” Dream Catcher said simply. “You’d think that being a Pegasus this should be familiar to me.”
“Don’t let it get you down,” said Jet Stream. “Not all Pegasi are good with the weather, still we appreciate the help. And just maybe with the princess coming here it might the break I need to get noticed and really get my racing career off the ground.”
“You race?”
Dream Catcher laughed. “Jet Stream has always wanted to be professional race flyer, when she isn’t managing the weather
“So why aren’t you trying out in the big cities?” Dream Catcher asked.
Jet Stream sighed as they started moving a larger cloud. “I can’t afford the entry fees, at least not for the races that sponsors use look for new talent.”
“But you think Celestia coming here could help out your dream?” Dream Catcher asked.
“When she comes here so will a lot of ponies with big money, hopefully then I can convince one of them to sponsor me on the professional circuit. Once I make it big I’m going to use my winnings to help build a rehabilitation center for Unicorns and Pegasi with severe horn and wing injuries, I’ve seen how hard it can be for them to recover emotionally as well as physically.”
“That sounds like a wonderful dream. I’m sure you’ll make it someday.”
“Thank you,” said Jet Stream. “Come on we still have a lot of work to do.”
The Sun was setting as they put the last clouds in place.
“We’re ready on this end!” Dream Catcher said.
“Ok, start the rain gently then slowly turn it up the flow. I know you all want to get home by dark and we’ll try to do that, but too much too fast can cause some real damage. Ready?”
The pegasi were spaced evenly on the now extra-large cloud. All of them stood to stomp the cloud.
“Now!”
They all stomped the cloud lightly to start a small sprinkle below after a few moments they gave it a harder stomp to make the rain heavier.
“Great job everypony, if everything else goes as well as the weather we might just pull the Summer Sun Celebration off.”
The pegasi then flew off in a hurry.
“What’s going on?” Bright Dawn asked.
“Ever since ponies started disappearing nopony in town stays out after dark. We better get home ourselves.”
A short flight later and the two came to a rather modest cloud house. “So this is your house?”
“Yes, I lived here with my father until he…disappeared.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, you had nothing to do with it. Any way you can sleep in my parents’ room while you’re staying here.”
“Thanks, so what do you have to eat around here? All that storm building has me famished.”
“I had just the thing on the menu for tonight, Spaghetti and Hay Balls.”
“Sounds great.”
Bright Dawn walked up next to Dream Catcher and by accident the tips of their wings had touched. They both gave a blush and some giggles and then walked into the kitchen.
