Chapters Twilight trotted through the streets of Canterlot, rolling his eyes as he heard the clipping of hooves trailing around and behind him. He didn't mind the guards, however, it was nearly impossible to stand the press. His wings were fixed to his sides, feathers heavily ruffled as he tried to make himself look as small as ponily possible.
Instead of taking the hint, the crowd started muttering words of concern to Twilight, who at this point, felt as if drowning in a sea of incomprehensible voices, too overlapped to get anything. He was sweaty, and his surroundings felt fuzzy. An emotional pony he was, and the action he took was one made from pure impulse, instead of any actual forethought. He reared back, and as soon as his front hooves hit the ground again, he disappeared with a violent, purple spark.
"Thank the nightmare!" Twilight exclaimed, as he suddenly appeared in a burst, at his home sweet home. The wave of relief was cut short, by the realization that the sudden teleportation had likely taken everypony by violent surprise, would cause a fuss, and worst of all, his sudden appearance scorched the floor below him. Twilights wings flapped in panic, and slowly he rose to the ceiling.
"Twilight Sparkle." the voice of the princess rang in Twilight's ears, causing the ringing and disorientation to hault, and causing him to crash to the floor in turn. "Princess Luna!" he yelped, scrambling into a sitting position, and fluttering his wings into place. "I wasn't expecting you here! Heheh... Heh..!"
Luna raised a brow, the rest of her face unshifting. "I sent you a letter, faithful student." Her horn lit up, as did Twilights hindquarters, and he was made to stand. Before she spoke further, her eyes drifted toward the scorched teleportation spot. Twilight hunched over, staring at the floor, tail slightly between his legs. Luna pawed a hoof against the mess. "I take it you missed my letter because you were out on the town."
She noticed his expression with a hefty sigh. "Need I remind you, Twilight, we have simple cleaning spells?" With this his ears perked up, and he giggled without thinking. "Oh! Uhhh, right! Indeed! Apologies for not thinking of that." Purple magic swiped over the scorch, polishing the floor to a pristine shine.
"OH! Oh, yes! Princess Luna?" Twilight prepared to inquire.
Luna nearly hopped as she remembered what she had intended to say. Her wings flared with as much regality as she could muster. "Ah, yes. The Winter Moon Celebration is happening tomorrow night, and you must oversee the preparations in a town near the mountains called Ponyville. I know you are up to the task." Before Twilight could reply, Luna continued. "Also, you have a new assignment. This newest assignment is for you to study and discover the location of the Elements of Harmony." He couldn't even ask what the elements were, as Luna teleported away, leaving behind nothing but hints that her shimmering, blue magic had been used in the area.
Twilight went out of his way to avoid going to Ponyville, via chariot. Flying was a task, especially when focusing on carrying so many bags with magic. Of course, this wasn't the only downside to flying on his own. Twilight did so to avoid attention, but the occasional pegasus would clearly notice and gawk at the young prince. All the eyes around him made him feel feverishly warm. Luckily, he arrived at his destination.
He flapped his wings clumsily, and ended up skidding on the dirt in an attempt to land. Unfortunately, his landing was delayed by a rainbow blur whizzing past him, slamming into one of his wings. Twilight's attempt to land was turned into a desperate attempt to balance himself, so he reared back and tried to even his flight, so the landing wouldn't be disastrous.
Twilight failed, and landed chin-first in a mud puddle.
He struggled to his hooves, legs shaking like a newborn fawn. The unnoticeable winter cold now bit at his fur, and the mud was already frosting. After his prolonged pause, his stunned expression slowly warped into one of annoyance and slight pain. "Who in damned Tartarus do you think you are!?" Twilight snapped at the pegasus who had landed nearby.
His ears flattened as she let out an amused giggle. "Sorry 'bout that, uhm... Let me help you!" she lowered herself, looking ready to zip around him, until she seemed to be hit with a realization. "Oh, shoot! You're the prince right? Awesome! What are you doing HERE?" Before Twilight could reply, in his own fashion, he hesitated long enough for her to continue. "We should probably get outta the cold before I do a rainblow dry actually... All that wind probably doesn't help with the cold." she amusedly grinned as she impolitely grabbed his hoof and dragged the both of them to a bakery. "Name's Rainbow Dash, by the way! My friend's Pinkie Pie!"
Twilight snorted, and rolled his eyes, thoughts of contempt silenced by a bouncy pink pony opening the door. Finally, a nice, warm place to rest and-!! She slammed the door, after emitting a loud gasp that, for a second, he worried about being a heart attack. He darted his head in Rainbow Dash's direction, shooting metaphorical daggers from his eyes. This earned a sheepish grin from the mare, before she grabbed his hoof and zipped towards somewhere else.
He could barely take in the sights he was seeing, but it seemed most of the mud was dripping away, and only a few patches crusted over purple fur. They seemed to have exited the town, passed a cottage with a bear nearby of all things, straight into a farm with an orchard of ripe apples. Twilight was about to snap at Rainbow Dash for slowing down errand progress before her ears perked at a realization.
"Wait, aren't you the pony who's supposed to clear the skies, tonight?"
Author's Note
Welp. First MLP fanfic. Please inform me of any grammatical errors! I'd appreciate it.
Rainbow Dash seemed ruffled and embarrassed for a second, before composing herself. Much to Twilight's chagrin, she responded: "Yeah, yeah, I'll get cloud busting in a snap. I still have a few hours, you know?" She stretched either of her wings. "For NOW though... I'm practicing to meet the Shadowbolts!"
Twilight was about to reply snappily, but stopped to laugh at what he registered this rainbow pony just said. "The Shadowbolts? The best aerial team in all of equestria. You expect to impress the one and only after a day of practice? " He flashed a smug grin at this idea. "Riiight. Okay. Well why would they recruit a pony who can't even clear the sky in an area for one measly morning?"
The flying braggart paused, and landed in front of him, bumping his nose with her own, with an amusingly angry scrunch of the face. "ExCUSE me! I can totally clear the skies for the morning! I told you I'd do it, didn't I?"
Twilight laughed again. "Then DO it!" He gave a half lidded grin, as she landed, hook, line, and sinker into his trap. "Fine, then, I will! I'll even do it in 10 seconds. Exactly!"
Rainbow huffed, before zipping around, busting clouds left and right. Twilight got out a stopwatch, and started fiddling with it, trying to calculate the exact time to put, excluding the time it took to pull it out. It took him about 6 seconds to get the exact time set. By the time he looked up, his jaw dropped at the sight of a clear sky, and a rainbow pegasus, flying upside down, grinning at him.
"Alright, Rainbow Dash. I know when I'm beaten. You were right. How much for the bet?" He got out a little pocket purse, and started counting coins. This was a pointless endeavor as she gave them back. "It wasn't a bet, I was just showing ya how awesome I am. Why would you even pay me for that? Makes no sense."
Twilight wouldn't admit it was how Canterlotians knew to act, so he harrumphed, and walked closer to the apple farm with a hidden smile. This apple farm happened to be next on his to-do list, thankfully! So he could stay on schedule.
He trotted forward, with a bounce in his step, only to stop at the loud, and startling whinny of a nearby pony. Yet another time, he was rammed into. Thank Luna, it wasn't into mud this time. Before he could let out a loud groan, he noticed the pony was offering a hoof to help him up.
"Oh. Uhhh, hey. Are you Applejack? I'm here to talk about the food preparations for the Winter Moon Celebration. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
The orange mare took off her hat, put it to her chest, and gave a fast, but clumsy bow. "Well howdy do, Prince Twilight! Yes, I'm Applejack. The food preparations are goin' juuust fine, I swear that to ya! If ya want, I can get you some samples, and you can rest for a spell, while ya try our country cookin'." She offered.
Twilight was slightly annoyed at the idea, but he forced his face into a grimace, in an attempt at smiling. "Nooo thank you! I have a lot to do, today! Very busy!"
Applejack sighed, seeming very disappointed. She looked at Twilight, almost... Was she actually giving him a puppydog face? He couldn't tell, so he sighed. "... I might be able to try an orderve or two... Only for a minute or two." Better to give in and do some uhh.. Quality control! Right?
She was immediately pleased by this, and suddenly the most crushed look in the world turned into a triumphant "yee-haw".
Twilight was almost filled to the brim. This was the last time somepony would trick him or pressure him into staying around, with those damned puppy eyes! He poutily stomped into the town hall, noticing a beautiful white unicorn studying gems, inches from her face.
"... Are you Rarity?"
"Why, yes, I am. And--" as soon as she looked up, Rarity gasped, and zoomed up to him, her regal demeanor nearly disappearing for a second. "PRINCE Twilight!" She entered a stunned silence, only interrupted by her own need to bow, practically grovelling at his hooves.
That's when she let in the most horrified gasp. Ah, yes, now Twilight remembered, he still had mud encrusting his normally shining coat. Before he could explain the amusing mishap to who seemed a sophisticated pony, she grabbed his foreleg and pulled him as hard as she could toward an unknown boutique, abandoning the town hall, entirely, for the sake of cleaning his dirty hooves.
Twilight finally arrived at his temporary living quarters. The near unused "Golden Oaks" library, now the place where he was to sleep and cook and all that. He let out a sigh of heavy relief, and flopped onto the floor. Finally! A nice, secluded place! A fortress of knowledge where few would tread, where he could have a quiet moment to himself!
Then the lights went out.
As soon as he got up to check the switch, the lights flashed back on, the confetti of a party popper poured down onto his head, and an entire town of ponies screeched "SURPRIIIISE!" Some bowing immediately after, realizing who they started at that moment, apparently. "Who. IS. RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?" Twilight snapped at everypony. "Do you realize how irritating and unneeded this is!? I came here for peace and quiet! This is a Luna damned LIBRARY! Not some partyhouse!" He snapped at the pink pony who had popped the party popper.
A yellow pegasus stepped in the pink ponies defense. "Um... Excuse me.. Sir prince..? Pinkie didn't do anything wrong.... You're yelling at her for, uhm... For... Being nice..... Which is..... Rude....." Despite her assertive words, she was shaking like a leaf, looking like she was ready to take it back once she said it.
Twilight looked back and forth between them, then at the rest of the stunned Ponyvillians. Then he let out a deep sigh. "I apologize, everypony, and uhh, Pinkie. I've had a very busy day, and I'm a bit frazzled. That was unprincely." He didn't quite understand the exact issue, for he believed his reaction made sense, but... Well, he didn't want to have a lastingly awful impression ANYWHERE.
Pinkie slowly blinked. "Soooo, is that a yes or a no to the surprise party?"
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled, together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon, to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects. All the different types of ponies! But as time went on, the younger sister became weary.
The ponies toiled and suffered in the days heat, and had little to no time for her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger alicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to force it upon her, but the younger refused for the sake of the poor ponies. The eldest was convinced that her sister had become a wicked mare of darkness, and fled the dry kingdom. She vowed that she'd keep the sun in the sky, as soon as it was within her power, and vengefully, her sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom. The Elements Of Harmony.
Using the magic of the Elements Of Harmony, she attempted to overthrow her younger sister, and The Elements, sensing her corruption, backfired onto her, and sent her into her own burning sun. The youngest sister took on the responsibility of the sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria, ever since.
"... Hmmm.. This book seems odd. I know of the banishment, and The Elements, but... Hmmm.." Twilight stood, flicking his tail to the side, before searching the bookshelves of the Golden Oak, with intensity and vigor.
This book had been written by Luna, herself, but if he recalled correctly, some of the Canterlotian Elite, at the time, had written their own accounts of the events. Twilight himself had to admit, a book written by the victor of the battle could have holes. Surely the situation wasn't so straightforward?
He checked the shelves for "A Canterlotian Journal" written by "Sailor Pants". Much to his chagrin, the book was missing. Either Golden Oaks wasn't as much of a fortress of knowledge as Twilight had first assumed, or somepony else had the book, or somepony took it....
He galloped to the libraries records in a small file cabinet. He stressed further, when he discovered nopony had rented the book. Twilight stomped a hoof against the wood floor in frustration. Unfortunately, this was a book that wasn't allowed to be sold for profit, so he couldn't go out and buy it. On top of that, this library didn't have it.
"... It'll have to wait." he muttered to himself, continuing his research on The Elements that Luna had asked of him.
It was the day of the Winter Moon Celebration. The sun was raised to look as if right above a golden spire, bathing the spire in light that made it look as if it glowed, below the spire being a platform of kindling material.
Twilight hadn't found any more on the Elements Of Harmony, but with a smile, he thought he could wait. He flew up to the platform, and gave the Ponyvillians a bow, before magically opening Luna's curtain.
He blinked when he heard them all let in wheezing gasps, and quickly spun around to where Luna was meant to stand. Nopony was where she was meant to be. Twilight was about to step toward her place, when he heard a shocked gasp come from the spire's direction. Standing in front of it was, to everyponies bemusement and fear, a white alicorn, with a drooping pink main, and the fear of a young filly in her face.
He recognized the eldest princess, and pointed, looking at the guards. "Seize her, quickly! She's the Mare Of The Drought!" The crowd gasped again, as the guards went to tackle the ex princess, who teleported away from them. "Wait!! No! I am not!" she flared her wings.
"Yes. You are. I will not let you burn these ponies, again!" Luna's voice cut through the days air, as she landed behind her formerly sister. "This is my kingdom now, sister. Things have changed. If you know what is good for you and everypony else, then you must accept things, now!
The younger slowly backed away from Luna, ears dropping. "Thou art a deceiver! I shan't let thou get away with thoust most filthy lies!" she stomped a hoof, backing away further as Luna approached in response. "Listen everypony! Hear my words--"
Twilight cut her off, attempting to tackle her. "You tried to burn the land. You tried to destroy all that we had! You wanted your precious light, every day AND night!" He lowered himself, preparing for another pounce. "You are a fool, if you expect any of us to hear what you have to say."
And as Twilight pounced at her, she teleported away, to the crowd, and Luna's shock. He looked to her. "What should we do? We don't know where she went!"
Luna pet his mane in response. "You don't need to worry about that, my little pony. She's weak, and unable to interfere. Why do you think I wanted you to do research on The Elements? I knew she would make a return. And I know that once you find The Elements, we can fix this."
"For now... The Winter Moon Celebration is under way!!"
Luna lifted her wings, as she took to the air, lowering the sun. Her golden magic lit the wood below the spire ablaze, as if the sun itself had crashed and burned. The spire melted, the melted metal making a river, toward a crescent moon shaped indentation on the ground, nearby. As the melted metal moon hardened and cooled, she raised the moon.
The starless night exploded into stars, from the ponies perspective, like fireworks, from directly behind Luna. They shone brightly and beautifully, as she looked at them, stomping and adoring her beautiful night, despite her sisters brief interruption.
"Now my subjects, I must take my leave. Don't worry! The eldest will be sent back to the sun, and the land will be safe. I promise." She trotted away, as the warmth of the sun seeped away from the land, under her moons light.
