When it was announced that there was to be a party to celebrate Princess Twilight Sparkle's 22th birthday, you could expect that it was to be a party of special magnificence, even though it wasn't technically the actually her birthday yet. Pinkie Pie, the resident party planner, insisted that they throw a preview birthday party, so that they were psyched for the actual thing.

So, without arguing with the pony who made sense only to herself, and with no small fanfare, the residents of Ponyville began preparing for the "Before-the-Actual-Party" birthday party of the Princess of Friendship.

The Castle of Friendship, prehaps one of the most dominating buildings in all Ponyville, was hustling with activity on the inside. Everywhere there was castle, there were ponies preparing the rooms for the arrival its resident Princess.

It was lucky that the Princesses had managed to call away Twilight on important business, so that they could decorate the castle and it's grounds for the special event.

On the inside, ponies were hustling and bustling about setting up with their allotted tasks according to their talents. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were in the kitchen helping other baker ponies in creating a variety of sweet treats and desserts for the party. There were plates filled to brim with warm cookies, baked to golden brown perfection and oozing with melty chocolate chips. There were pies laden with fruits of all kinds: apple, strawberry, blueberry, succulent peach, rich key limes, sweet apricot, fig, quince, and many others. Ice creams and gelatos of many flavors were brought to go with the dominating dish of the entire festivity: Pinkie Pie's signature cake, Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, or as it was called, 'the MMMMadness." The kitchen was soon wafting with the pleasant smells of baking sweets.

There were also many apple dishes (courtesy of the Apple Family) from apple crisps, candy apples, Apple fries, apple tarts, apple fritters, and apple brown betty's, all to washed down with a few kegs of Apple cider they had brought. There was a fresh batch of zap apple jam to go with everything.

While the kitchen occupied the sense of smell, the main hall was taking care of satisfying the sense of hearing. The walls rang to the sound of Fluttershy's troupe of birds as they practiced their vocals to sing the birthday song, while a group of musicians led by Octavia Melody occupied themselves with practicing some jovial birthday songs for the dance. Even though it was called a party, it was really a variety of entertainments rolled into one event.

While all this took place, a group pegasi and unicorns, led by Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, and several others, set up decorations and tidied up the castle's rooms and halls. Ribbons hung from the crystalline, tree-like columns, which had been well polished to give it some extra shine (Rarity was always one to give her best when it came to making something fabulous). Pinkie, for her part, had set up a large banner in the Cutie Map room. It hung on the chandelier above the circular crystal table that had acted as the guide to many of the Six's adventures. The banner had been made of canvas and had been painted with multicolored letters ("Happy Birthday Twilight Sparkle!") and sprinkled with glitter.

The outdoors got as much of a makeover as the inside. Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt and Equestria's fastest flyer, was leading weather teams to provide clear skies for the occasion. Not so much as a single rain cloud would blemish the sky, Dash had seen to that, and she had done her job well.

There was at least one volunteer in the castle who was helping to gather Twilight's presents as they arrived on the doorstep, and he wasn't a pony. A large gamboge furred feline, about a head taller than the other ponies and wearing a red coat, was lugging in presents on a push cart, unloading them in the map room before going to get the rest. His furred face was damp with sweat, and he was breathing heavily.

"There!" He said as he unloaded the last wrapped package. He wiped sweat from his brow and walked over to the map table, leaning on the armrest of Applejack's chair.

Across from him, seated in Fluttershy's seat, was a unicorn with a dark orchid coat, aquamarine eyes, and a dark pink mane with lighter edges. She wore a black leather aviator jacket with two stripes of dark orchid on each sleeve, matching her fur color. She was holding a list out in front of her, a pen in her mouth, and a sheath of envelopes to her left. Her appearance was not unusual here, given that she, too, was helping prepare. The things that were unusual about her, though, were two things: the long scar across her left eye, and the fact that her horn was broken at the tip, leaving a jagged break.

It gave her an almost warlike appearance that contrasted oddly with her calm demeanor, as she carried out her task.

"Complaining much, Capper?"

The unicorn, addressing the cat, looked up from her work. She spat out the pen, which had muffled her question.

Capper gave her a sharp look, still leaning on the arm of the chair. "Not really, Tempest. Why'd you ask?"

The unicorn chuckled with amusement, shaking her head. "Come on, Caps. You and I both know that you're a terrible liar, remember? I didn't believe one second that Twilight and her friends were on Black Skull Island."

Capper scratched the back of his left ear, groaning. "Well, you would be saying the same thing if you had to carry all those heavy boxes around! I had to take twelve trips total before I was done. I was even surprised that there were many acquaintances and friends."

With a little flamboyant exaggeration, he collapsed into the seat.

"...I'm pooped," he sighed.

Tempest smiled and shook her head, still chuckling as she picked up the pen again and checked off another item on the list. When it had been announced that the ponies of Ponyville were going to be having a party for it's resident princess, Tempest, who was currently living under the Castle's roof, and Capper, coming all the way from his new home in Canterlot, had been given the tasks for handling the presents sent head of time and checking off the number of guests that would be arriving.

Capper at least had comfort in knowing he didn't have to a job that involved a horn. Tempest mostly picked the latter task because if their positions been reversed, her horn - which had led her down a path of ambition and villainy, had caused her to hurt millions of individuals, and gave her the guts to join one of the loudest, angriest, and craziest villain in the history of Equestria - would've destroyed the pile of presents that had been meant for her teacher and friend in a magnificent blast of light and fire.

She was still trying to keep her magic from getting out of control, hence the lack of magical use.

Capper looked up from resting place to eye her task with both interest and curiosity. "What're you doing?"

Tempest checked off the last item on the list before spitting out the pen, where it landed in the middle of the crystalline table with a clunk. "Checking off the number of guests for the party that are coming and those that aren't," she said casually.

Capper snorted in amusement. "Who wouldn't come? I swear, the minute the country heard that there a birthday party for Equestria's Number One Princess, the whole place was in an uproar since this morning." He shifted to lie on his left side before continuing. "Even the hippogriffs and seaponies were sending presents here." He smiled. "I wasn't surprised to find that Skystar sent the most."

Tempest smiled back. "Let me guess...seashells?"

Capper laughed at the memory. Skystar, princess of the seaponies/hippogriffs, daughter of Queen Novo, and resident of both Aquestria and Mt. Aris, was well known for her love of shells, and the many crafts she did with them. The former citizen of Kludgeton and con artist had few of them himself in his new home at Canterlot since he had moved there.

Even if she made everything out of nothing but shells, they helped to lighten up the day with the memory of the enthusiastic and bubbly sea pony.

The smile on his face faded a little. "It's too bad she can't come."

Tempest nodded, then rolled up the list. "Well, I need to go inform Pinkie Pie of the number of guests we're about to get." Clenching the list in her teeth, she got out of the seat and headed toward the door. "Wish me luck."

She left, closing the door with her magic...though it came out with more force than she actually needed, and the frosted green crystal of the door shattered, leaving an empty door frame. Tempest peered in the room and gave sheepish grin at the slightly amused Capper.

"Sorry..."

The world passed by Twilight Sparkle as the Friendship Express chugged along the tracks to Ponyville. But the beauty of the scenery was lost on the Princess of Friendship as she sat tired, grumpy, and in much need of more pleasant company.

Delegates of Abyssinia asking for the return of their riches taken by the Storm King...Griffons and Dragons disputing over border lines...the deer of Everfree asking for expansion of their borders...Oh, why was I stuck with this twaddle!? I may be the Princess of making and keeping friendships, but this is ridiculous!

With the Storm King's defeat last summer, other nations outside Equestria, praising the ponies as saviors (particularly Twilight and her band of friends, the Elements of Harmony) for stopping him, had been sending ambassadors to Celestia, Luna, and Cadance in Canterlot for the last few weeks. Some had asked for the return of their riches taken by the King in his conquests, others for support in rebuilding their nations.

In short, things had been stressful.

She looked it, too. Her lavender eyes were slightly bloodshot with sleepiness and had dark circles under them. Her mane and tail, deep indigo with streaks of pink and plum, were frazzeled, giving her the look of wildpony. Even her voice had suffered, scratchy and hoarse with having called many arguing delegates to order.

Now, after weeks of debates, treaties, meetings, and pestering royals, she was on her way to home, hearth, and maybe a warm shower. It would help to take her mind off all that was happening, and all that was yet to come.

For now, however, she pried herself away from the window to look over the list of tasks she needed to do over the week. She was soon so wrapped up in her list that she almost didn't hear a familiar voice.

"Twilight, you want something to eat?"

She looked up, tired eyes resting on a small purple dragon with green, rounded spikes that gave him the look of a small baby dinosaur. His greengage eyes looked into hers with childish innocence, seemingly unaware of her predicament. Though given the fact that he had lived with her his whole life, Spike being unaware of his caretaker's troubles was highly unusual. Nothing ever escaped his eyes, even if it wasn't too noticeable.

She smiled, a weary attempt to at least look cheerful. "No thank you, Spike, but thanks all the same."

He looked at her with a rather critical eye. "You sure?"

She nodded, returning to her list. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just need to look over a few things before we get home, and I'll be alright. We can get something when we get back to the castle."

Spike stared hard at her, unconvinced. "Are you really sure about that?"

She tried to maintain her smile, which was now looking less confident than a few minutes ago. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Why do ask?"

"Because your face tells me that you're going to have an aneurysm and a nervous breakdown at the same time," Spike deadpanned.

At those words, Twilight sighed, face and pointed ears downcast. Despite her trying, she could hide nothing from Spike, and having lived with her for years under her care had allowed him to read her like a book. She rolled up her parchment list and placed it her saddle bag. "You noticed?"

He nodded, the critical look leaving his face, replaced with sympathy and concern for the alicorn. "C'mon, Twilight. What's wrong?"

She sighed again, then lifted her head to look at her ward. "Oh, I'm just worried, I guess. Meeting all these rulers and delegates, trying to solve the problems they've had, listening to their praise for our role in stopping the Storm King..." She groaned in frustration, throwing her hooves in the air. "It's just too much!"

She finally lay her face in her hooves, mostly in defeat. "I don't know how much longer I'm gonna last. I can't take it anymore."

Spike only watched for a few minutes in surprise at her outburst, then smiled. Always Twilight, he thought, shaking his head. Even after our little adventure in the mirror world, she still has anxiety over being a princess. Not to mention the daily frustrations of her role. He chuckled inwardly. Well, you have to take the good with the bad, I guess.

The foal-sized dragon pushed himself off his seat and walked across to Twilight's. He grabbed the edge of the seat and pulled himself up so that he was sitting next to his caretaker. He placed a claw on her shoulder. "Aw, don't worry, Twilight. You'll get through it, I know it! Let's just stop worrying about what going to happen soon and focus on now, OK? Let's just head home and see where the next few you have off takes us."

Twilight looked from her hooves at the baby dragon she had raised since her entrance exam, and smiled. She pulled him in for a hug. "You're right, Spike. Thanks for cheering me up."

He smirked, and a mischievous look passed on his face. "Where would you be without me, your number one assistant? I have to do everything, you know."

The train car rang with the sound of merry laughter at the dragon's little joke.

Sleep.

That was all her life had been. Sleep. And dark. And cold.

When those filthy sub-creatures imprisoned her, they thought that had been the end of the matter, a millennia and 12 years ago. She could've laughed aloud; what fools they had been! They thought they could imprision her, she of ungodly terror! But even though there was no such thing as stopping fear, she only found (to her dismay) that it could halted and hindered, bound and chained, like she was.

Again and again she had tried to loosen or break the bonds of her dark blanket of stone. But try as she might, she was pushed back by the ancient enchantments that held her three other sisters in place. It tightened it's hold on her as she tried once more, and fought back the drowsiness that threatened to wash over her again. She knew it would try to push her down again, and succeed.

And as the darkness closed over her again, she thought one thought that kept her going, that kept her from giving up hope that she and her sisters would rise again, as they had before. It was a word that kept her fire for revenge hot and smoldering.

Soon...

Twilight's friends didn't greet her at the station.

In fact, nopony was there at all. The train station was entirely abandoned.

Which might've not have been a bad thing, since ponies don't usually go on the train unless they were going somewhere far away. It was just the realization, as Spike and Twilight stood there on the station platform, that there was no noise within a 17 foot radius to be heard.

Spike looked around him as he held Twilight's suitcases in his arms (she had only packed two, and filled with "light" reading) a look of confusion spread across his face. "Do you think it's some sort of pony holiday?"

"Well, no that I -" Twilight started, before shooting him a glare. "Oh, don't start that again."

Spike shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Twilight sighed, then looked around again. "But you are right about that, Spike. Where is everypony?"

Spike shrugged again, but didn't say anything. As they stood on the platform, Spike tried to listen for the possibility that the reason for them not hearing anything was the possibility that there was an event taking place in a certain part of town that they didn't hear about or missed entirely, or that everyone was having a stay-in day and wasn't doing anything today. But he heard nothing, save for the occasional breeze or the train whistling as it left, chugging down the track toward it's next destination.

Ironic, really, he thought. And dragons are supposed to have good hearing.

Twilight, however, was not one to give up hope that something strange had happened to Ponyville that she didn't know about. "Well..." she said, trying not to let her concern show too much. "The whole town can't be completely abandoned, so maybe everypony is just taking a day off. Maybe we can stop to see our friends, see how they're doing."

Spike nodded, starting after Twilight as they walked toward town. It seemed like a sensible solution, simple though it was, and it seemed like the best idea.

Besides, the suitcases were heavy.

When they had tried to imprision her, she had fought, and fought hard.

She hated the thought of being confined, of being chained and set on a leash like a filthy domestic animal. She had thrashed and shrieked and howled and raged, raged, raged. But they won, in the end, they had won. But still she fought, for she was a being full of hate for them and their filthy race. They were mere beasts with intelligence, and deserved to die. So she had raged against her bonds until they had decided to place more powerful enchantments on her prison until finally she had wasted the last of her strength.

But she would still fight it, even if it won over her again and again. She didn't care. Her rage fueled her, and that was her fire that burned away all her doubts.

Soon, she mused. I will be free. We will all be free. And when that time comes, they will see what it means to feel the rage of a superior being. The last of that filthy race will perish beneath my strength, and all will know what it's like to feel death.

And though she could not move in her blanket of stone, she smiled inwardly.

Well, that was a bust. Twilight thought glumly.

So far, Sweet Apple Acres, Carousal Boutique, and the cloudiminium where Rainbow Dash lived yielded up nothing. Sugar Cube Corner had no customers, or it's resident ponies, which was strange for even Pinkie Pie lived. Their last stop, Fluttershy's cottage, which lay in the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, was their only hope. But when they had knocked on the door, the only one that answered was Angel, Fluttershy's pet bunny, who had waddled out a bloated stomach, half-groggy, and was carrying half of an eaten carrot.

"Oh! Hi, Angel." Twilight tried hard not to show her concern, and was surprised to find Fluttershy's most demanding of animals answering the door. "Hey, have you seen Fluttershy anywhere? I really need to talk to her right now."

Angel, who had trouble supporting his full belly, groan and leaned on the door frame like a drunk freshly out of a bar before shaking his head.

Twilight face drooped a little with disappointment.

"Ok," she said glumly, poorly hiding her disappointment. "Well, thanks for telling us."

She and Spike turned the hill, walking toward Ponyville. Angel watched them go for a few minutes, then stumbled back into the cottage to sleep off his bloated stomach.

It was none of his business.

Unlike the rest of her sister's, she was the only one who was keeping a cool head about all this.

She hated being imprisoned, that much was the truth about her, and she certainly hated being in a prison of hard stone, where there was little to eat or drink, and you had to stand in the same position for eons on end, which led to the stiffness of muscles and the awful feeling of starvation.

But what kept her calm and on the island of sanity was the entertainment of new ideas that pulsed through her head. She was the both the cleverest and the smartest of the Four, and that made her the leader. They had all agreed unanimously on her having the title, and that satisfied her well, because when the time was right, she would shed her considerate demeanor and rightfully take what was hers.

Because something was awakening. Something that had been set in motion since her imprisionment, as if a great story was being written before her, and they were finally reaching the climax.

It was something she had not felt since...when? An eon or two?

She dismissed the problem, deciding to worry about it when the time came. Thier time would come, when they would shed their fetters and be re-birthed from the earth; a quartet of bastard children heaved from the laboring womb of a great mega beast, to be unleashed upon the world.

That was prehaps the most entertaining thought of all.

When it came to her magic , Tempest carried a handicap that was not typically common, but not impossible, and one that was had been a problem for her since the Ursa Minor broke off the tip of her horn.

Before she had been welcomed into the Castle of Friendship as a resident, Tempest wasn't always the nicest of ponies. Her handicap and the loss of her friends had caused her enough emotional pain that she had set out on a personal quest to find a way to get her horn back. She had done fair bit of traveling for some number of years until she reached marehood, when she met one who said he could restore her horn if she promised to serve him. She had accepted the Stom King's proposal on the spot, never once thinking of the consequences, or that he never intended to fulfill her desires.

At least, she thought bitterly. He got what was coming to him.

Luckily, Twilight was understanding in every way. She and her friends had accepted her on the spot after the Storm King's stony form lay in pieces on the castle courtyard. They didn't mind that her flares of power had a vicious bite to them, or that it had the possibility of lashing out at the wrong time when her emotions were at their strongest. Twilight even told her that her horn, though broken, reflected the power of the unicorn who had it.

Despite this, however, there were still some drawbacks to having a broken horn, such as it's power to do more harm than help.

Luckily, Twilight had developed a solution.

Placing the scroll of parchment that list those who were coming, Tempest reached her hoof into the pocket of the leather jacket she wore (it was a gift from Rarity - she had said the black color would go well with her coat) until she felt a hard nub of metal. She lifted her hoof to find a ring, roughly the size of a small waffer and made of iron. She lifted it to her broken horn and slid it over the fracture so that it slid down to the horn's base.

With this task complete, her horn charged with aquamarine magic and a humming sound. Aiming at the scroll she had dropped earlier, she levitated it with ease, spinning it a few times to practice her control. She smiled, making a mental note to thank Twilight later.

She proceeded to the hall to find Pinkie Pie and give her the news.

It was long since she had smelled blood, particularly that of ponies. In fact, it had been eons since she smelt anything of nutritional value.

Before imprisonment, she was considered the most dangerous of her sisters, savage and blood-hungry. She loved blood.
She practically worshiped it, believing it to be a drink of the gods. Hence, she was the pioneer of gory blood magic, and her practices were adopted by dark mages, witches, sorceresses, and other practitioners of the black arts.

Then, her imprisonment. And she was craving for the rich red liquid that she lusted after, for centuries now.

She knew who had been responsible for torment, and she knew they still lived. And when she got out, she would kill them first and drain them dry. Then all Equestria would be trampled beneath her.

For you can never stop a savage, and her hunger.

"Oooooooh, boy! This is more exciting than a triple fudge sundae with chocolate sauce on top! This will the biggest-est party in the history of parties! Oh, I hope we have enough cake for everyone!"

In the great library of the castle, excited squealing could be heard as Pinkie Pie, an Earth Pony with a hot pink coat and a poofy mane and tail of brilliant raspberry (Capper often thought it resembled a wig of cotton candy) was reviewing the list Tempest bought, and was practically hopping even as she read the list. It wasn't much of a surprise to her five other friends, who had assembled in the library with her. Anything that had to do with parties - no, anything in general - could bring out great peals of laughter from her.

Rarity, a snow white unicorn with a curled purple mane, stood next to Pinkie, her sootily lashed eyes widening with amazement as she read. The list was indeed long, and almost all of Equestria had been invited to come, but Tempest had assured them that there were more ("This is only the first page!").

It was going to be quite a festivity, that was for sure.

Applejack, an Earth Pony with an orange coat and a golden blond tail and mane tied with a red band, read over the list with Rarity, eyes widening in surprise as she got lower down in the list. "Pinkie, Ah know ya wanted to have a big party and everythin', but ah don't remember asking ya to invite the entire Apple Family. Now how in the hayseed did ya learn which Apple was which?"

Pinkie stopped her excited hopping and looked at Applejack straight in the eye. Her smile had vanished, replaced with a rather serious look.

"Applejack," she said, her voice so calm and serious, it made Applejack a little nervous. "When it comes to being an Apple..." She got in the farmpony's face so that their noses were touching "...You have to learn every member of the family if your planning a party."

Applejack leaned back, smiling nervously. "Okay, then. Ah'll take yer word for it."

Pinkie smile returned and, after a short pat on the cowpony's head, went back to bouncing around the room.

Fluttershy, a pegasus with a butter-yellow coat and a light pink, naturally curled mane, read the list, her teal eyes wavering with fear. "Oh, m-my..." she stammered, her voice soft with her casual shyness. "That's a l-lot of ponies..."

"Yupper-loki!" Pinkie piped up, blissfully unaware of Fluttershy's look. "There are probably thousands coming!"

Fluttershy began quaking. "T-T-h-housands?"

"Yeah, maybe even millions!"

Now the pegasus was quaking harder, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks. Rarity watched with concern, looking at Applejack for advice. The farmpony just shook her head at the unicorn. Pinkie had a tendency to get carried away with her words, and it was always best to put an end to it.

"Alright, alright," she said, stepping in before the party pony went too far. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Sure, this place is probably goin' to be filled more than a tree filled with vampire fruits bats at Applebuck season..."

At this, Fluttershy squeaked and hid beneath her mane.

"But," Applejack continued. "There isn't goin' to be so many that we can't get a hoofstep through the castle." Her face turned pensive. "But Fluttershy's right, Pinkie. How in the name of the great green world are we gonna fit everyone in here?"

Pinkie stopped hopping, giving the cowpony a sly look. "Don't worry, cuz. I got it all planned out in such a way it will make your head spin." It was her turn to look thoughtful. "Though how you're head could spin at all, I can't imagine. You would need to have an elastic neck in order -"

It was Tempest - who had been sitting in one of the library's armchairs - that saved them from Pinkie's tirade. "We should have more than enough food to keep everyone happy. I sent Grubber to keep tabs on the amount of baked goods and treats we have."

Applejack's lips curved a little at the edges. "Ya sure about that, sugarcube? Ya sure he won't try to pig out on the pies?

Tempest was about to reply when the door opened with a bang, causing a few books on the shelves to shift. The ponies turned to see a short, hedgehog-like creature standing in the doorway. He had dark grayish coat mixed with cobalt blue, his hair was spiked, colored whitish gray with some darker shades of gray. His eyes were a brilliant opal, and he had two pies in each hand, one of them half-eaten, also evidenced by the strawberry sauce on his face and his stuffed cheeks.

"Eh, 'empest!" he said through a mouthful of pie, his lisp muffled. "Id oo try duh 'raw-erry pie? Abs-lootly 'lightful! An' duh car-mel apples? Eh-er tasted oh uch car-mel in my 'ife! Not oo meh-tin duh - "

Grubber stopped his chewing and talking, brow furrowed in confusion. "Wah choo ookin' ah?"

There was only silence from the girls and Tempest as they stared at Grubber, agog at his appearence and his entrance, mouths open and eyes wide. Then there was a noise like a pig snorting, which quickly turned into a giggle, and transitioned into peals of rather joyous laughter. The ponies turned their heads to see Tempest laughing - no, chortling - so hard tears fell down her face. It was contagious; the girls followed suite. Pinkie rolled on the rug, great peals of wild laughter mingling with the giggles of Fluttershy. Applejack's whooping guffaws rang the loudest of them all, leaning against on the bookshelf as Rarity chortled so hard she actually teared up.

Grubber looked at them, still standing in the doorway, more confused than before, and even a little cross.

"Wah'd oo -" He realized his mouth was still full of food and swallowed. "What are you laughing at? What the spikes do you find so funny?"

Tempest tempered her laughter to a snickering and managed to get out, "N-n-no, Grubber. It's just that - that - AH-HA-HA!" She doubled over in laughter again, unable to help herself.

Grubber just shrugged, deciding it didn't concern him, and went back to stuffing his face.

Rarity, still giggling, wiped away a tear before speaking, "All levity aside, darling, how much food do have?"

Grubber, noticing he was being addressed, swallowed and wiped his lips before answering, "To sum it up, we have enough to save for leftovers tomorrow. There's enough food for everypony!"

"That is, if someone doesn't try to stuff himself," Tempest murmured.

Applejack mouth twitched at the corners for a brief second before turning serious. "Speakin' of which, has anypony seen -"

Suddenly Pinkie leapt upward, her tail twitching madly as her Pinkie Sense activated. "INCOMING!"

Out of nowhere, a prismatic blur shot through the window and crashed in the bookshelf on the opposite wall. The girls, Tempest, and Grubber only managed to get out of the way just in time.

The dust cleared, and everyone got to their hooves to see what caused the commotion.

Lying on the floor and rubbing her head was a pegasus pony with messy rainbow hair and a cyan blue coat. There was a slight lump on her head from colliding with the shelf. A pile of fallen book lay around her, knocked from their assorted places where Twilight had sorted them.

Applejack scowled, not at the pegasus, who was still moaning and rubbing at the lump. "Cosarn it, Rainbow! Ya didn't need to come speedin' and make a mess of everythin'."

The blue pony in question looked at the farmpony with pained, rose-colored eyes. "Sorry, about that Applejack," she said in her raspy voice. "But I was doing a last minute check on the weather, and I found Twilight. She's on her way!"

Rarity's eyes widened. "Where is she, darling?"

Rainbow shot up in the air, hovering above them. "She just left Fluttershy's house."

Pinkie gasped and ran out the door. Her voice carried into the library. "Code red! Code red! Party pony incoming, everypony! Stop everything! PLAAACEEES!"

Applejack and the girls left the library, Grubber waddling behind. The pies laid forgotten on the floor, uneaten.

Author's Note

This is book one of a series I'm planning out. These stories will not (in most cases) reveal friendship lessons, but will depict the trials of good vs. evil, and how friendship can stop even the most powerful evils. Expect some action, adventure, and high flying fun throughout the entire story.