Zero stood up from his seat. “Welp, until those, pegasi were they called? Until they return from their search I can’t do anything of use.” he thought. “Which means I have some down time.” He decided to give the house another once over.

He hadn’t noticed how cozy looking it was before. To his right was a staircase leading to an apparent second floor; built into the stairs was a neat and organized bookshelf. To his left was a nice wooden table resting beside a chair that had matching green colors with the couch. A couple of meters in front of him was the front door, to its left was a fine stone fireplace, its chimney was surrounded by little homes for the critters and tiny walkways. The whole house appeared to be made of wood, even the floor that was decorated with multi-colored rugs.

Right next to one of the rugs was the soup that Fluttershy had dropped. “Well, she’s not here, so…”

Zero went through a doorway that lead to the kitchen and grabbed what cleaning supplies he could recognize. As he returned to start washing, he noticed the animals were all coming out of their homes now, apparently no longer seeing him as enough of a threat to hide away from, though they still kept their distance. Among them was a little white bunny. It looked sorta cute, but something about the look in its eye made Zero’s gut feel like the little thing was the embodiment of mischief itself or something. He decided he should steer clear of the mite before he arrived at the soup.

It still smelled good, making Zero realize how hungry he was. “Eh, I’ve gone without eating for a while before, I see no reason it should stop me now.” he thought, though it did make cleaning up the mess much less enjoyable than it already was.

Once he was finished, he returned the cleaning supplies to where he found them and placed the bowl in the sink after giving it a good rinse.

“Alright,” Zero thought as he clapped his hands and rubbed them together, “what’s next?” Zero returned to the main room, as he entered, his blaster caught his eye, still in its spot on the high shelf.

“You could use a good wash yourself.” Zero silently said to the gun. He made his way over to it, making sure not to step on any of the animals that now covered the ground. As he grabbed it, he reached into his belt for the cleaning kit he used only for weapons and armor maintenance.

Sitting back down on the couch, he began to thoroughly clean his weapon, after a good while he couldn’t find a speck of dirt on it. Zero admired his work, he always loved the look of a freshly scrubbed blaster.

Zero attached his weapon to the backplate of his armor which he had also given a little attention to, removing any grit staining it, and returning to it the shiny gleam it once had. Well, about as gleamy as it could get now anyway, clone armor couldn’t hold on to its reflective shine all that much after combat, which is what birthed the nickname ‘shiny’ for rookies.

Now with cleansed gear, Zero stood up again, looking around for any appropriate chores he could do. When he found none, he plopped right back down.

“Well…” he began as he eyed the front door, “I did agree that I would stay where it’s safe, but if she could venture out there then it must not be dangerous. I can be out and back before she returns.”

He made his way out the front door, taking in his surroundings. He hadn’t appreciated just how beautiful this planet was until now. The sky was the brightest of blues with the most fluffy clouds he had ever seen. As far as he could observe was a carpet of light green grass sprinkled with relatively small trees.

Zero scanned the area around him, spotting a village way off to his left. There was a path leading away from it all the way to the cottage he was standing outside of, and there appeared to be someone using it off in the distance.

Reaching into his utility belt, Zero took out his micro-binoculars. The devise was a slightly curved, grey rectangle that was big enough to use with both hands, but small enough that he had to hold it with only two fingers and his thumbs.

Looking through it revealed that the thing on the path was actually Fluttershy, and she wasn’t walking on it, she was just standing there and talking to seemingly no one.

“Odd...” Zero said to himself as he looked for anyone she could be speaking to. “The only thing around her are those birds on that tree-“ his thoughts stopped once he realized Fluttershy was facing the tree.

“Oh you can’t be serious.” He muttered to himself.

When she said that she was late for a rehearsal with her birds he though she meant she was going to train them to fly out of something during the ceremony, not whatever it was that she was doing.

Zero continued to try and find out what her goal was, “Maybe she’s trying to get them to memorize a signal or-“ His thoughts trailed off as all the birds appeared to start chirping. He could only just barely hear them from here. It wasn’t like any bird noises he had heard before, they were in unison, almost harmonizing with each other.

“That’s weird.”

After they had finished their song, Fluttershy said somethings to a few different birds, they then began to sing the same song again, this time in greater harmony.

“What?…”

When she said rehearsal did she mean, like, literally?

There’s simply no way. Only the Jedi could communicate with animals, but even the wisest of them couldn’t actually talk to them, much less get them to perform in a kriffing symphony.

“Must be that head injury.” he told himself, an excuse he had now found himself using often.

Zero decided he would leave her to, whatever it was she was doing, and scout out the town. Learning about the life and culture of the natives from a new planet was always a good plan, no matter the situation.

He searched for a way to get close to the village whilst staying out of sight. The main road was, of course, not an option, to the right of the main road was a small river, across it was a field with a few trees, but not enough to supply substantial cover. There was also a river to the left from the path, though it was further away. A ways away from the other side of the river was that eerie forest that he had wandered through the prior night. As much as he didn’t like the idea, it would provide great cover, besides, the outer edge was nowhere near as dense as the area he had been lost in.

With a begrudging grunt, he made his way to the river. Crossing it at the most shallow spot he could find, he made his way to the giant mess of foliage, only going as far in as was necessary. He jogged his way in the village’s direction, making sure to be aware of his surroundings, both in and out of the forest, while also keeping an eye out for any signs of his brethren or a crashed vehicle.

It wasn’t long before he reached as far as the trees would take him. Preparing his next move, Zero studied the area around himself.

There was another semi tree filled field at the end of the overgrowth he was in. To the east of the field was the river he had crossed. Zero now saw it was flowing away from an intersection directly in front of him about a hundred meters away. The other stream split west, making the land Zero was on look like a tiny peninsula.

After a quick look around, Zero saw that there was no building near him, apart from the village, and not one of the equines in sight. He crept his was out of the foliage and over to the point where the rivers met. Once he arrived he crouched next to a tree for cover.

Again equipping his micro-binoculars, he scouted the village. Now that it was in full view he could get an idea of how big it was. For a backwater planet it was decently sized, it looked like it was a little over half the length of a standard G.A.R. cruiser.

Zero focused in on the structures. The building that was closed to him appeared to be a carousel, if you could believe it, around it was a bunch of buildings each about two stories tall. They all seemed to be made of wood with thatch roofs, all connected by dirt roads which were filled by the populace in the distance. Most of the buildings looked similar to each other with a couple of exceptions. Apart from the carousel there was a building off to the left that had a bunch of smaller looking quadrupeds running around outside.

“Could be a daycare or a schoolhouse.” Zero muttered to himself as he continued his survey.

Way to the right of the carousel was what looked like the largest building in town. He couldn’t make out its finer details and it only looked like it had three floors, though it could have had between five or seven considering its height. He continued his gaze to the right, most of the houses in this direction were the common wooden types, over one of their roofs, he saw a building with a big sign on it it that looked like a few weirdly shaped, haphazardly placed, white cylinders with a red zig zaggy pattern at their thinnest point.

“Unusual,” he thought, “perhaps it’s some sort of entertainment center or business or something or other.”

Behind that building was another tall structure, however, it was too far away to determine anything about it. Zero searched back to the left of the village. The structure with the fillies around it appeared to be the edge of town, beside it was a large orchard, separated from the town by a large strip of fields. The trees there looked like they had something growing on them, something spherical and red, however, it was to hard to see exactly what they were. A quick glance over the area and Zero saw what he believed was a farm, the center piece of which being a large red barn with white detailing. Zero thought he recognized some of the crops that were growing there, though he couldn’t be sure.

“Well whatever they are I’m sure they’re enjoying this sun.” he stated as he craned his neck to look up at the bright star, now stationed right at the top of the sky. As he was looking up, he saw a flash of blue streak across the sky, leaving behind a multicolored trail.

“What was that!?“ he blurted out as he observed it zip right towards the village.

Bringing his micro-binoculars back to his visor, he watched as the projectile crashed right into a bystander, sending them both into a puddle of mud. Zero squinted his eyes to see if the poor equine was hurt, but he couldn’t make out anything in the mess. What he could see, was the cyan missile… standing up?!

“There’s no way…” Zero gawked as the form of a light blue mare with a multi-colored mane removed her self from the mud.

“How did she survive that fall!? How was she even flying?! Surely it wasn’t the use of her wings? They were far too small to support any form of aviation that I have ever se-“ his observations were instantly proved false as the mare flapped her wings and began to levitate. She zoomed into to sky. Almost faster than Zero could comprehend, and grabbed a grey cloud, bringing it back down with her to the equine she had buried in mud.

“Di- did I just see that right?” Zero questioned to himself, completely dumbfounded, a feeling that only grew as he saw her start to bounce at the cloud, somehow making it rain down on the purple mare beneath her.

“The- I- wha- it- *sputter* HOW?!” There was no way that was real, it was simply not possible

“Welp,” Zero began, “it’s official. Hitting my head made me lose my mind.”

He didn’t actually believe the thought, it’s just that it was the only thing he could think of that could explain the events he just witnessed.

Zero was about to take a minute or two to comprehend what had just happened but apparently the mare wasn’t done yet. In a blur she flew circles around the other mare, creating a tiny cyclone for a little bit before dispersing it.

“…”

“…”

“Where am I?!”

Zero lowered his binocs and sat down. He rested a hand on his head as he tried to wrap his mind around the things he saw.

“How did she do that?” was the only thought going through his mind for a while before it was replaced by others.

“Were they all capable of those feats? What about Fluttershy? Did all of them posses wings?” The last thought made him decide to check. Against his better judgment, he raised the binoculars, focusing on the equines once more.

He couldn’t seem to catch a break as the second he spotted them, the blue one started to dash around the sky, somehow vaporizing every cloud in the area.

“…” “ok then…I’ll just add that to the list…” Zero switched his attention to the purple one, she actually didn’t have any wings that he could see. Her mane was atrocious, definitely a consequence of the cyclone she a been in the eye of.

“So there are at least two different types of equines here,” he thought to himself, “good to know I guess…”

He was still bewildered by the newfound knowledge he had obtained. He was struggling to think of what his next objective should be. “I- I’ve seen everything in the village there is to see from this angle, and I’m unable to get any closer without risking a good chance of getting spotted.

On the subject of spotted, Zero remembered the offer that Fluttershy had made him. “How am I supposed to go to this ‘sun of summer something’ without being seen? Or is she just going to let me waltz right in, I already know she’s planning to introduce me to the Princess…

The Princess! Could what Fluttershy have said about her moving the heavens be true?

Zero shook his head, “Unnatural speed and operating clouds were one thing, moving a celestial body was another.” Thought Zero, though he was feeling a faint bit of doubt.

A crackling behind Zero alerted him that someone was approaching. He dove behind a bush right as three equines walked by the tree he used to be under.

One of them began to speak up, “You chose a wonderful spot for the picnic Sunshine Gleam!” said a light purple mare.

“I know, right!” Replied the orange one she was talking to. “I found this spot a couple of days ago and I just knew it would be a great place to hang out!”

“Well, you were right,” said the third masculine equine boasting a black coat. “It looks great.”

The one called Sunshine Gleam spoke up again, “yeah, I just said that.”

Zero had to get out of here without getting spotted, luckily a nearby rock meant he could use an old reliable trick. After grabbing the rock, he waited till their backs were turned away from the bush he was behind before he crept out a little. He then chucked the rock very hard into the nearby river, causing a large splash.

When equines turned their heads to the source of the noise, Zero knew now was the time to move. Slouched over, he made a silent beeline toward another, way further out bush. When he arrived at his target he gingerly set himself down on the ground again, and peered back at the group. They didn’t suspect a thing, which increased Zero’s gratitude for all the stealth training his Mandalorian instructor put him through.

He waited for them to settle down before he quietly made his way back to the dark forest.

“I best be headed back now, Fluttershy could be on her way home. Besides, I think I’ve seen enough for one day…”

**********

Zero still hadn’t totally accepted what he saw by the time he arrived at the cottage. As he entered he made sure to not accidentally let any of the little animals escape the house. He made his way to the couch that he had grown all too familiar with him. Plopping down on it reminded him of just how uncomfortable his armor was to sit in, though that was the least of his concerns right now.

He was about to start thinking about what he should do next when he heard the door creak open. Fluttershy had returned from the apparent bird orchestra she was conducting.

“Hey there,” she began, still looking a tiny bit uneasy at the foreign creature in her home, “I’m- oh! You cleaned up the soup.”

“Huh?” Zero wondered for a moment, “Oh, yeah, yes I did.”

The mare walked over to inspect where the mess used to be. “You did a very good job,” she gently said as she looked up at him, “and you’ve cleaned your armor up as well. It looks quite nice…” she trailed off as eyed his boots which had a few blades of grass littered on them from his escapade.

Welp, cover blown.

“You went outside didn’t you?”

“Um… yeah?”

“I told you not to. What if you got hurt?” Her tone sounded a little angry.

“I stayed safe,” Zero objected, “I didn’t go near anyone or anything, it was just a look around was all.” he said with a shrug. He was, again, surprised at her concern.

Fluttershy shook her head, “But what if someone saw you? W-what if something from the Everfree forest saw you ‘looking around’ and got curious? With your hurt talon you wouldn’t be able to defend yourself, and with that bad hoof you couldn’t run! You’d just be standing there helpless and-“

Zero interrupted her by putting both his hands on her shoulders, making her let out a tiny squeak as she recoiled back a bit.

“It’s fine. I’m fine. No one saw me and I promise you I was careful.” Zero didn’t know what she was making such a big fuss about. Just because he had an injured hand didn’t mean he couldn’t defend himself, and his foot was at most just bruised.

Fluttershy let out a sigh, his words seemed to put her at ease, she still looked a bit mad though.

Zero decided it was best to discuss something else, “So,” he started as he took his hands of her, “what’re you doing back here?”

“Oh, um, well, right when I had finished with the rehearsal, Pinkie Pie, a friend of mine, came up to me and invited me to a party.”

“A party?” Zero wondered. “But weren’t you already invited?”

“Oh, no this was different from the Summer Sun Celebration. You see, somepony just moved into town, so Pinkie wanted to throw her a big welcome party.”

Zero had heard her say pony before, he made sure to make a mental note that it was probably the name of their species or some form of addressing or something.

“They ran out of ice, so I came home to get some.”

“Do you always have a party when someone moves in?” Zero asked.

Fluttershy nodded, “Pinkie makes sure every time. This time it’s a bit different though, Twilight Sparkle, the mare the party’s being thrown for, came here from Canterlot.

“I take it that’s a big deal?” Zero guessed.

Fluttershy nodded again, “Very, it’s the city the royal palace is in! Most ponies from there don’t come down here often, much less move here.”

“Huh.” Zero said to himself. “Well that must be exciting.”

“It is,” Fluttershy responded, “in fact, her party is still going strong, it might even last up-until the festival.”

“Speaking of,” Zero began, “how exactly am I supposed to go there?”

“Don’t worry, I have an idea.” she said with a smile.

“What?”

“It’s a surprise!”

Zero hated surprises, but he figured he should trust her on this. “Well… okay then.”

“Great! I’ll come pick you up before it starts! she quietly exclaimed, “Alright then. I should be headed back soon, the ponies at the party still need ice.”

“Wait.” Zero put his hand in between her and the kitchen.

“What is it?”

“I- um- is there anything I can do for you while you’re gone? Like some chores or tasks or something? I don’t have much to do here and I want to pay you back for all your help.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t ask you to do chores for me…”

“Why not?” Zero reasoned, “You’ve helped my with my wounds, gave me a place to stay for the night, it’s the least I can do.”

She still looked unsure.

“Please?”

“Um- alright.” she caved.

Zero let out a grin, he stood up from the couch and clapped his hands together, “So, what do you want me to do first?”

**********

A couple of hours had passed. Zero had finished almost all of his chores, most of which included taking care of certain critters or organizing something, like the bookshelf he was focused on right now. The sound of a door opening let him know it was time to go as Fluttershy entered the cottage.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Yup.” replied Zero as he place the last book where it goes. “Alright, let’s head out.”

They both made there way out the door and onto the path that lead to town. The night here seemed more beautiful than the day! The sky was almost purple rather than black, with almost as many visible stars out here as there were in space. The sight made Zero question just how did it get so dark that one night in the forest.

“Thank you for doing all those things for me, Fluttershy said as they walked, “I really appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem, I was glad to have something to do, especially if it was paying you back a bit for the stuff you did for me, like getting those pegasai to look for my brothers. What is their progress on that anyway?”

“They said they would set out to look tomorrow morning.” she replied.

“How’d they react when you said they were looking for aliens?” Zero questioned.

Fluttershy looked a bit uneasy, “I didn’t think they’d believe me if I told the that, so I just described what you looked like and asked that they just look for anyone with your appearance and come home without talking to them. N-not that you all look the same or anything!…”

The mare turned her head away from Zero, she must have thought she offended him.

Zero let out a chuckle, “Well we’re supposed to be clones. I’d be quite concerned if they didn’t!”

The joke let her know she didn’t hurt him. She gave him a shy smile as they continued toward the village.

They trodded in silence for a while, not knowing what to say to each other.

“So…” Zero began, “What the name of this town?” He was pretty sure he heard her mention it before, but he didn’t remember.

“Oh- it’s called Ponyville.” she answered.

“Okay…”

Silence once more fell on the two as they made their way to the town. Zero never was good at small talk, mostly because he had never actually done it before.

“Um… so, your day, how was it?” Zero asked, nagging himself for his awkward delivery.

“It was quite well, thank you.” she replied, also seeming a bit awkward.

“What’d you do?” Zero continued.

“Well, after I left, I met with my bird friends for that rehearsal to prepare for tonight. I was just about finished but Twilight, the new mare, startled me and the birds flew away.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Zero empathized.

“Oh it’s fine,” Fluttershy assured, “she didn’t mean to, and the birds already sounded perfect, I’m sure they’ll come to the celebration. Also that mare, Twilight Sparkle, she had a baby dragon!” Fluttershy said with a tiny squeal.

“A baby whatnow?” Zero stuttered.

“Uh huh! His name is Spike, and he was just the cutest little thing!” she exclaimed.

Zero thought that dragons were the thing of myth, at least, it was everywhere else in the galaxy.

“What’d he look like?” he asked.

“He was small, a little over half my height, he walked on two legs, like you. He had purple and green scales with the most adorable little eyes!”

The description didn’t fit any Zero had heard of. Where he was from, the most commonly spoke of dragon was the Krayt Dragon that was supposedly on some dessert planet. It apparently looked more like a giant snake with seven legs on each of its sides, and a sort of spiked hammerhead. It was also certainly not small as it was rumored to be able to grow about a hundred meters long, perhaps more.

“So anyway, after I met them it was time for the party, and you know all the rest. Um- so how was your day?”

“Oh, well I uh…” Zero stuttered, upset with himself for not foreseeing the question. “Well after you left I cleaned up that soup, which smelled really good by the way, you must be a good cook,” Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, seemingly flustered at the compliment a little, “then I polished my gear before I headed outside.”

The mare looked like she was still a tad bit upset that Zero did that, but he went on without acknowledging it.

“I went to get a closer look at, Ponyville was it? It’s a nice town, I can see why you live here.”

Fluttershy nodded her agreement, “Thank you, I do love it here.”

“It certainly looks appealing,” Zero continued as they entered the town. It looked barren what with all the townsfolk at the celebration, “I was looking over it when I saw… um.”

“Yes?” The equine pressed.

“Well, I saw a blue projectile fly around the sky at ridiculous speeds before it crash landed in town, except it wasn’t a projectile, it was a person.”

“Yes, I heard about that at the party,” Fluttershy stated, “Rainbow Dash crashed right into poor Twilight right?”

“I guess…,” Zero replied. He didn’t really care about the semantics. Right now, he just wanted to know how it happened.

“But I’m more interested in how she was even flying, much less that fast! I mean there’s no way her wings were big enough to cause flight!”

The mare looked at him like he just asked the dumbest question she had ever heard. “Um- she can fly because of pegasus magic, all pegasai can, well, not as fast as her but-”

“Wait wait wait…” Zero interrupted, “so you’re telling me, you can fly?”

“Um, yes, would you like for me to show you?” she offered.

Zero nodded his head.

“Alright then…” she said as she started to flap her wings. It was unbelievable, just by flapping her wings at a slow and steady pace, she just lifted off the ground without losing any forward momentum. “See? There’s nothing to it really…”

It was a good thing Zero was wearing his helmet or his jaw would have just about hit the floor. “How are you doing that?!”

“It’s the pegusus magic.” she stated, “you did hear me say that the first time right?”

Zero wasn’t able to speak, and even if he was he couldn’t think of any words to say.

“Don’t you have magic where you come from?” The mare wondered.

Zero shook his head.

“How to you get by without magic? I don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t have it.”

“H-how so?” Zero pressed.

“Well it’s just that we use so much of it in our day-to-day lives, pegasai use it to fly and manage the weather, unicorns use it to assist their businesses, and earth ponies use it to help them tend to soil amogst other things. Not only that, but the biggest pegasai city, Cloudsdale, wouldn’t even be accessible without it.” she explained.

Zero was trying to keep all the information he had just learned straight. So everyone here had magic, there was another pony type, that being the unicorns, creatures Zero thought were only legends, and apparently they also controlled the weather here as well as the sun and stars?

“S- so, where did it come from? How do you use it? Wh-“

“I think it would probably be best if Princess Celestia explained it to you…” she pondered.

“Y-yeah, perhaps you’re right.”

Right as Zero finished his sentence, Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “We’re here!”

They had arrived at the largest building in town that Zero had scouted earlier. “This is the town hall. The celebration will be held inside.”

“It’s a good looking building,” Zero admired, “but that leaves the question, what am I supposed to do?”

“I already told you, I have a surprise.” the mare said with a smile. She trodded over to a bird which was perched on a nearby fence. She whispered something that Zero couldn’t hear before the bird flew off to someplace.

“Is this part of the surprise?” he asked.

“Uh huh!” The mare confirmed. She sounded exited, her voice was a few octaves higher than normal.

A rattling sound caught Zero’s attention, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he turned to find what made the noise. Dozens upon dozens of birds were carrying a huge ladder over to the town hall.

“What.” Zero didn’t mean to say that audibly, but Fluttershy didn’t mind. The birds quietly set the tall latter against the building.

“Go on.” The mare coaxed.

“Okayyy…” Zero replied as he made his way up the ladder. It lead to a ledge just outside of the second floor. Zero didnt know what to expect was at the top, but if he had to guess, he would never have suspected what he found.

From the top of the ledge you could look down and see everything happening in the building through the open window. It was practically packed to the brim with ponies, but that’s not what caught Zero’s eye. On the ledge, was a small table and chair, on the table was a lone, cozy candle that bathed the scene in its dim, relaxing light. Around the candle was an assortment of cupcakes and other pastries as well as a glass of punch.

“I hope you like it.” Fluttershy said as she flew up to join him, “I wanted you to be able to experience the celebration with us but I know you can’t exactly be down there, so I prepared this. I know it’s not the same but you can still watch the sun rise with us. And you can also see what the celebration is like down below, I placed the table on the opposite end of where Celestia will raise the sun so no one should be looking up here, and even if they did it’s placed too far away for them to see you.”

Zero was stunned, absolutely gobsmacked. Not one word escaped from his lips as he looked at the place Fluttershy had made for him.

“I- is something wrong? Do you not like it?” she worried.

“No no, it’s just that… it’s amazing!”

“You really mean it?” the mare asked.

“Of course I do!” Zero remarked. He had never been treated like this before, a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy a party of all things, all prepared by someone he barely knew. “I don’t know what to say. Th-thank you.”

“Oh- it was nothing.” she said modestly.

“No, it’s definitely something.” Zero insisted. “I, it- thank you.” he repeated himself.

“You’re welcome,” said the mare. “Once the celebration is over I’ll try and talk to Princess Celestia, then I’ll have my friends return the ladder to get you down.” With that the birds that had carried the latter to the building now carried the object away from it.

Fluttershy started to fly down to the ground but before she did, she turned back to Zero. “I hope you enjoy yourself!”

“I do too! Er- to you, I mean, I want you to have fun as well.”

She gave him smile before she descended to the ground as well as perhaps an innocent giggle at his stuttering, though he wasn’t sure.

Zero took his seat, admiring the good looking food in front of him, this would be his first time eating what his instructors called ‘junk food’. Everything he had ever consumed before was either specifically planned, bland meals designed to be as nutritious as possible, or the emergency ration sticks that tasted like cardboard.

He removed his helmet, placing it off to the side, and picked up one of the cupcakes. It had pink frosting covering the top and was glazed with multi-colored sprinkles.

“Here goes…” he thought as he took his first bite.

It was now official. He was addicted.

Zero felt like his eyes dilated after swallowing the scrumptious desert. Remembering just how hungry he was he started to wolf down every one of the pastries. He had no idea how bad they were for his near peak physical condition, and to be truthful, he didn’t care. They were just so good!

Before he practically inhaled the whole tray, he took a sip of the punch to wash it down. It tasted delicious, it wasn’t long before he finished off the entire glass. After that he returned to the remaining treats, taking a bit more time to savor them now. Once he was done with his meal he let out a nice, hearty “Mmmmmm…”

“That was amazing!” he thought to himself. His only regret was that he couldn’t lick the frosting off his fingers because off the black gloves attached to his body suit, forcing him to resort to a napkin.

Zero’s attention turned to the ponies bellow him. “Do they have evenings like this often?” he wondered.

He continued to observe the mingling beneath him, “Is this the way that life was like back home before the Separatists attacked? Is this peace and harmony what we’re all fighting to achieve?”

All those smiles, all that laughter, if it was what he was working to build, then it’s worth it. Well, as ‘worth it’ as a war can get anyway.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of trumpets playing as well as the sound of singing birds. Following the sound to its origin, he saw Fluttershy conducting the flock, helping them sing in perfect harmony with the instruments.

“Very impressive.” Zero inwardly commented.

A spotlight flashed on one of the walls before it lowered down onto a stage at the bottom floor. Standing on the stage was a mare with a pair of eyeglasses; she had no horn or wings so Zero assumed she was an earth pony. The mare had a dark-wheat colored coat with a grey mane and tail, suggesting she was an elderly equine.

“Phillies and gentlecolts,” she began, “as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”

The crowed cheered after she finished her sentence, even Zero joined in a little with some inaudible clapping.

“In just a few moments,” the mayor continued, “our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria… Princess Celestia!

The trumpets and birds sounded again as on the second floor, a white mare with a purple mane pulled on a rope, causing the curtains of the stage their to part, revealing… no one?

The crowd of equines started to whisper among themselves with worried expressions on their faces.

“This doesn’t look like it was planned…” Zero though with growing concern.

“Remain calm everypony,” the mayor spoke up, there must be a reasonable explanation.”

Zero leaned in towards the crowd, “What’s going on?”

The white mare on the second floor made her way onto the stage, searching around the area before she faced the crowd. “She’s gone!”

Almost everyone in the crowd gasped, faces of panic were worn on almost everyone. One of them let out a scream followed by many more as a dark, starry, and purple mist started to flow up from the higher stage before aggressively dispersing, revealing a pony that was much larger than all the rest in the building. She was clad in purplish-blue armor, and appeared to be a mix of both pegasus and unicorn with a pitch black coat and wavy mane the same color as the mist she appeared in.

“Oh my beloved subjects,” she started, “ it’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces.”

Zero reached for his helmet, he knew this wasn’t good.

“What did you do with our princess?!” said a mare that looked very similar to the one he had seen crashing into town. Immediately after she finished talking, she charged for the black equine but was held back by a different pony with an orange coat. The orange pony, who was wearing what appeared to be a stetson hat, muttered something Zero couldn’t hear as she struggled to keep the blue one from attacking the intruder.

The scene made the dark equine laugh, “Why? Am I not royal enough for you?” Don’t you know who I am?”

Zero wasn’t liking the signals she was sending, he removed his blaster from his back and took a ready stance. He intended to keep the safety on, not wanting to use the weapon unless it was absolutely necessary, but when the sinister looking equine leaned uncomfortably close to Fluttershy, he primed his weapon, ready to fire it at a moments notice.

The onyx intruder scared away the birds as she continued to speak. “Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?”

She turned away from Fluttershy, which slightly eased Zero’s nerves, before wiping around to the white mare behind her. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

“I did,” a voice spoke up from the crowd. It was a purple mare boasting a darker purple mane with a light purple streak in it, “and I know who you are. You’re the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon!”

The statement made the crowd gasp, all of them turning their attention back to the fiendish looking equine.

“Well well well,” she began, “somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I’m here?” she questioned.

The purple mare looked distressed as she spoke up again, “you’re here to- to…” she couldn’t finish her statement, lowering herself in fear of the menacing presence above her.

The black pony let out a sinister laugh, “Remember this day little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night. Will last. Forever!”

Lightning cracked into the building causing Zero to jump a little, the mare’s mane swirled up and around her in a huge rising circle that almost brushed past the white-clad warrior. Nightmare Moon started laughing again, this time louder, more triumphant, and continuous as the townsfolk stared in terror.

“Is she actually planning to force an eternal night?!” Zero thought, “Is she insane!? That would kill everything on the whole planet!” Zero readied his gun, he was prepared to fire, but hesitated, as he had no jurisdiction here. Any act he committed could be interpreted as hostility towards the people.

“Seize her!” Commanded the mayor, “only she knows where the princess is.” As the mayor spoke, three armored guards made a dash for Nightmare Moon. “Stand back you fools!” she said as she struck them all down with lightning. She closed her eyes and leaned back as she again started to laugh again.

“Well that does it!” Zero decided. There was no one here that was strong enough to stop her, he had to act. Accepting whatever consequence the Republic could give him, however grim, he stood up from his position to get a clear shot, but right before he was about to fire, the dark mare opened her eyes.

She was already facing upward from her maniacal laughter, opening her eyes revealed the strange, pale being on the edge of the second floor. Their line-of-sights locked together before Zero fired a shot from his blaster. The sound echoed around the building. Just as the blue bolt was about to hit its target, the mare’s horn glowed with a dark purple aura. A transparent purple shield materialized out of thin air just in time to protect her from the shot.

“What was that” Zero internally yelled before he prepared to fire again.

Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed once more, this time causing an aura to form around Zero himself!

“What the-!” Zero blurted as he was lifted from the ground.

“And just what are you?” the onyx equine questioned.

Zero didn’t answer, instead opting to fire a flurry of shots at the mare. Another flash of her horn and she deflected every one of them. “Very well then…” she said.

She used her magic to flip Zero over the ledge and onto the ground like a fishing cast, causing him to collide with the ground back first.

“Uunfff!” He groaned as shards of pain erupted from his spine.

With one last crazed laugh, Nightmare Moon shifted back into smoke and charged for the door. Even in the form of mist she was able to smash the doors wide open, escaping far away into the black sky…

Author's Note

Welp, I planned for this to be the shortest chapter and it became the longest. If that doesn’t describe to you what my writing process is like I don’t know what will.