Chapter 1: Fighting is Magic
The sun of Celestia slowly rises from the east, breaking the horizon line with a bright shine. Twilight blinked her eyes to adjust to the light, confused about where she found herself. Before Twilight, there were high pillars of mountains and water flowing down. The tops were flat and barely secured by the natural formation of the pillars, like mountains below them. The sight was breathtaking, but it was not the sight that made it hard to breathe, as the thin air took seconds to gain a full breath.
The thought of looking down had sent a shiver down Twilight's spine, but in the distance, a sound grabbed her attention. The grunts were quiet, but almost as if, upon realizing the sound, it became louder. Turning her head to the noise, she had nearly missed it. The figures barely moved on a similar mountaintop, but unlike Twilights, the area seemed to have structures surrounding the pillar. The roof of the mountain was filled with stones and what appeared to be a small circle with an image in the middle.
Near the center, two stallions stood upon it, one an older stallion, their features hard to see in the shadow of a nearby mountain. The other is more straightforward, as the sun shines on them just enough to show their white beaten coat. “Shining?” Twilight asked herself, but it couldn’t be. This stallion was far too young, too small, and weak. Yet Twilight could see the familiar cutie mark of a shield.
The younger stallions seemed hurt, their breath rapid as the winds around them, while their body favored the left side as they struggled back to their hooves. Before getting fully onto his hooves, a blue aura of magic surrounded his white coat, “Is this all you got? Pathetic!” The voice barely said over the winds. The young stallion was thrown to the side, hitting a collium and breaking it in half. “Up, now Shining!” The voice demanded
Twilight’s eyes opened with shock as she tried to look back at the young stallion. Yet again favoring the left side, the stallion coughed out in pain. With a wipe of his hoof, the young stallion looked back to the hidden stallion. The threat only looked down at him, not bothering to move closer to the colt. “I—I won't let you hurt anyone else!” the younger shining stammered.
The older stallion scoffed at the statement, “I am ready when you are.” Was the only thing he responded with, his stance barely moving to that of a steadfast warrior in the still-dark section of the arena. Charging toward the stallion, Shining threw his head up and down as a slash of magic followed his head. The attack had stopped mid-way as the stallion sidestepped the sudden jab from Shining. The two started to trade blows, Shinings fast and light but the older stallions heavy and defensive. Within the shadow, the two bodies had been engulfed by the shadow, though through this darkness, two magical auras ignited in the dark. Twilight instantly recognizes Shinings.
Trying to move and get closer, Twilight found her body stuck in a singular area. The young unicorn seemingly forgot the ability to move and react. “What’s going on? Who is he fighting?” Twilight asked, though no one would hear her question. “Shining! Get away from him!”
The fight in the darkness started to wander around as punches missed or were directed into the air, all while Shining’s magic sparked left and proper but ultimately missed its target. “I won't let you hurt anyone else,” yet this is how you fight? What an idiotic statement! " the older stallion said, his tone sounding bored.
With a single upper hand, the young stallion flew out of the darkness, his head hitting the ground before anything else. The punch's force pushed him to his side, only to roll a few more meters. The hidden stallion had started to trot closer to Shining, each step echoing the open air. “If this is all you had, then I had nothing to worry about in the first place.” The voice said, cutting through the air. Shining’s guttural coughs and gasps for air followed behind the hoof steps.
Shining slowly brought himself to his hoof, unsure what the stallion would do if he stayed put. Getting up with a pained grunt, Shining pointed his horn at the stallion. A spark of magic shot off, impacting the attacker as the dust was lifted from the sudden impact. Though the dust surrounded the two, the light of a defense bubble had appeared within the mist. Placed before the attack hit, but the older stallion was caught off guard at the sudden appearance of Shining’s sudden push for the attack. Shining broke through the dust, throwing his hoof forward with a blood-curdling yell. The hoof impacted the stallion’s chest with a loud thud.
The area went silent momentarily as the older stallion took a punch to the chest. “That’s it? I barely felt it.” The stallion stated. Twilight could see the younger stallion step back in fear through the darkness. Yet before he could pull his hoof back, the older stallion returned the attack with his own as a sudden snap was heard. A sharp gasp from Twilight accompanied Shining’s body as it hit the ground. “No.” Twilight pleaded; her brother has to be alive. He is the most potent stallion she knows. He has to be alive; Shining’s magic snuffed out like the last embers of a fire, and a chill crawled up Twilight’s spine, not realizing she had started to yell in the pain of watching her brother die. “Shining! Shining, please!” Twilight shouted, her begs to fall on deaf ears as the older stallion seemed to let out a long breath. Though Twilight's screams continued, it was as if she was silenced by all but the events before her.
The older stallion gently levitated the dead body, shining up onto his back. Twilight’s tear-filled eyes had watched the stallion before she took each step in the darkness. Her mind was racing with thoughts to save her brother, to bring him back from death, and yet all she could do was watch as the Stallion gently floated Shining’s lifeless body off of him. The magic engulfed the young stallion. “Shining, your fate was sealed before you were born. These peaks will cleanse you of your sin. And of mine.” The older stallion said. The body of Shining had floated toward the edge where the sun started to break into the hidden shadows. The sunlight had begun to move higher as the mountain's shadow started to close in on the stallion. More of the arena was shown inch by inch.
“Let him go! Don’t hurt him anymore!” Twilight demanded her will to move, only causing more mental pain as her body betrayed her. The shouts of demands and begs filled the air as the older stallion continued.
“May peace find your future, and may I be wrong on your fate.” The older stallion stated while focusing his magic around Shining. With a single push, the body flew over the edge and into the air. The sunlight shined on his body again, the beaten and battered white coat showing marks of red and purple around. His neck twisted in an unnatural angle and by a sudden force. Twilight’s voice called out to him again, but only fell with Shining’s lifeless body through the clouds below.
“No!” Twilight shouted, trying to reach her magic, her hoof, anything to catch her brother, yet nothing happened. “This has to be a nightmare; it is a nightmare. Shining isn’t dead, he can’t be!” Twilight's refusal of the situation before he had started to turn to that of rage as she looked back to the stallion that caused it all.
The shadow figure turned his head toward Twilight. Though she could not see it, she felt the stallion's smile creep its way from ear to ear. Laughter had started to fill the area as the light against the shadow came to a sudden halt. The winds began to pick up around the area. Twilight struggled against her invisible bonds as the sunset from the east.
The darkness grew once more as the stallion’s laughter became louder, almost as if they were bouncing around Twilight’s head. “Stop laughing! Let me go!” Twilight demanded at the voice as the shadows started to reach the air. The sight reminded Twilight of the times she spilled ink onto white paper, the spread of the darkness reaching its way across the floor, the skies, the mountains, and even the sun. Twilight soon realized that the sun was not setting; it was being extinguished.
The fear in her heart started to quicken as she struggled more to escape. The sun shrank with every second, and the darkness came closer to her. “Get away! Princess! Princess, save me!” Twilight begged as she thought of the spells to deter the darkness. Her horn stayed still as she only grew more panicked.
Looking at the sun once more, Twilight only saw the last of its embers start to die out, but before she watched the end of her precious sun, the shadow figure stood before her. His eyes shone in the sudden darkness of a bright white; Twilight’s body betrayed her once more, but it refused to budge as the stallion grabbed her by the neck. “Witness your fate! Your sin against pony kind, against all that is good. Witness your future!” The voice of the stallion echoed in Twilight's mind.
The ground below Twilight suddenly disappeared as she felt the rush of wind past her; Twilight had been thrown off the ledge just like her brother. “Witness your future!” echoed throughout Twilight's head, the voice distorted and loud. Twilight yelled out in pain and fear, yet she was unsure if she had been yelling this whole time. The darkness swirled and grew with each second, the feeling of suffocation taking effect on the young mare as her head felt dizzy.
Though the darkness practically absorbed everything before Twilight, something had materialized before Her eyes. The feeling of falling had started to quicken as Twilight controlled her free fall to turn her attention to the sudden figure. “Mom?” Twilight's voice asked, shivering at a sudden loss of words as her eyes filled with tears.
Before Twilight, Twilight Velvet walked out of the darkness with ease. The darkness seemingly slipped off of her as if it were a certain. Looking just as young as the last day Twilight saw her, Twilight was shocked. Opening her mouth to call out to her mother again, Twilight was interrupted by her mother. “It is up to me; I must stop him before a great evil is released upon Terra. No matter what the cost.” Velvet started looking past Twilight, though only darkness was there when Twilight looked behind her.
Turning back to her mother, Twilight saw the mare walking toward her, “The future of Equestria and the world itself lies on my actions. I have stalled too long; it is now time to act!” Twilight's mother stated in a tone that filled the air with uncertainty yet stayed strong and filled with righteous determination. With a sudden flash from her horn, Twilight Velvet's magic filled the darkness with a sudden bright light. Twilight had gone blind at the sudden blast of magic as she clenched her eyes shut and yelled in sudden pain. The sudden slam of Twilight's head to the ground shattered the world around her as the bright light of Celestia’s sun shined through.
Twilight felt the damp grass below welcome her back to the waking world. Though not damaged, the book under her cheek started to show wrinkling when Twilight fell asleep on top of it. Though present, the throbbing pain from Twilight's horn had been put to the side as Twilight rubbed the sleep from her eyes and thought about the dream she had just had. “It-it was a dream?” Twilight asked, finally blinking the sleep out of her eyes.
With a raise of her head to look at the time the sun had passed, Twilight's thoughts continued, “Of course, it was a dream; that place was probably from a book I read, and Shining is fine. I just went overseas with some support groups in Abyssinia. These nightmares are getting out of hand. Maybe I should talk to Princess Celestia about them.” Her voice shook for a moment; the image of the lifeless body of shining falling into the clouds once more flashed through her mind. “I should send him a letter soon.” Twilight suggested to herself, unsure if she would get a response.
Twilight carefully moved her sight around the sun to avoid harming her eyes; once she gathered the time, she realized she had only fallen asleep for a few minutes. Mentally praying that the Princess had not seen her asleep, Twilight lowered her head to the book. “But mom…” Twilight’s dream struck within her mind through flashes once more. The sight of her mother both warmed but chilled her heart, “Mom is dead…” Twilight said softly, her tone almost like a soft reminder to herself.
Blinking her eyes to wipe the tears away, Twilight looked at the chapter in the book again. “The story of the two princesses.” Twilight read out loud, hoping the reading would distract her from her thoughts. Though her thoughts were on the dream she had just experienced, Twilight soon realized why she was out there reading the book in the first place. “Elements of Harmony? I know I've heard of those before... but where?” Twilight asked, then looked at the sky above.
After rereading the story, Twilight returned to her library for more information about the book and the Elements of Harmony. While walking toward the Libary, Twilight had bumped into a group of ponies before her. Twinkle Shine, Lyra, and Minuette wore party hats and held presents on their backs. “Hey Twilight, we are just getting ready for Moonshines Party. We are just about to celebrate Lyra’s departure to the tournament. It will be at the west courtyard; you ready to go?” Twinkleshine asked.
“O-oh, sorry, girls. I just found something vital; I have to look into it. It is crucial. Excuse me!” Twilight said as she started to rush through the group and back to her home. While she began to run away, Twilight heard one of the “friends” ask a question. Though she did consider them as such, it felt that friendship should mean little to her as the personal pupil of Princess Celestia.
Upon reaching her library, Twilight rushed up the stairs and pushed through the doors. Between the door slamming to the wall and the barely-heard yell of a baby dragon flying back from the impact, Twilight yelled her number one assistant’s name into the hall, “Spike! Spike!”
Spike let out a small groan as the purple dragon crawled out of the mess of books he had landed into. Upon reaching the end of the books, Spike shook his head to wave away the pain. “I am here, I am here,” Spike said as he looked around and found the item on his mind. The present Spike had prepared had now found itself in his tail—the items inside were penetrated by the sharp tail he had. Disheartened, a small groan left his mouth as he removed the item from his tail.
“Spike, I need help finding a book.” Twilight started running past the young dragon toward the castle's top levels; Spike followed behind, unsure of what Twilight wanted. “It will be under Predictions and Prophecies,” Twilight explained, all while her magic gathered books around her and from nearby bookshelves. Having to dodge and jump around the flying books, Spike knew Twilight was entering her hyper-focus mode, and asking for more info would be futile.
Rushing along a nearby bookshelf, Spike started to scan the letters going past one by one, ensuring to keep an eye on a sudden magical aura from appearing on a book and sending it toward his face. “No, no, no. Not that one! Oh, I will keep that one for later.” Spike overheard Twilight behind him as he heard her books scattering across the room. Upon climbing the ladder to continue to the top area of the bookshelves, Spike’s eyes widen with joy, finding the book before Twilight had and just in time.
“Spike!” Twilight called out, her yell more questionative than demanding.
Pulling the book, Spike turned around and waved it. “I found it!” Spike shouted, realizing what he had done. Spike gulped as the familiar magical aura enveloped the book, yanking the young dragon for a ride. With a sudden crash to the ground, Spike groaned in annoyance more than pain as the book flew to Twilight. “So much for being on break,” Spike mumbled slowly, pulling himself up, dusting himself off as the books before him gave him a knowing task to clean up after Twilight's hyper fixation.
Though the young dragon did not like cleaning up, Twilight’s hyper-fixation always unsettled him, as he imagined a messy room and unhealthy cleaning habits. He would have to talk to her later, but his eyes were scanning for the best place to gather the books and prepare them for restocking. Twilight mumbled in the background, “E…E…E..? E! Elements of harmony!”
Twilight had started to read the story as Spike stacked the books behind her; Twilight’s reading slowly became loud. “For more information, read Mare in the Moon?” Twilight finished off, the story vaguely familiar to the two library inhabitants. Spike stopped in his tracks, the story reminding him of the times Twilight had read it as a bedtime story when he was younger.
“Mare in the Moon?” Spike had asked, turning his head to face Twilight, whose attention had turned to him. “But that's an old pony’s tale and a baby story. What does that have to do with anything?” Spike continued after pushing the books toward a stack he had already prepared.
Twilight had started to move the pages toward Mare in the Moon. “I was reading a book about the old tales of the twin Princesses, but then I found a connection to the elements of harmony. Now that the book sends me to the Mare of the Moon, I think I have finally struck something!” Twilight explained upon reaching the story.
“Found it!” Exclaimed the young mare, her eyes moved in a rhythmic back and forth through the pages as she read. Spike had started to place the books on the shelves by order of name, but he soon realized he would have to climb back up a ladder to get to the bookshelves. Gathering the courage and the books to climb the latter, Spike found it with ease to make it up to the fourth level, “Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!” A gasp escaped Twilight’s voice,
“Spike, do you know what this means!” Twilight asked, her eyes barely removed from the book before her. The question startled the young dragon enough that he lost his balance on top of the latter. Fighting for the balance on top of the ladder, Spike quickly lost as he dropped.
Spike's yell was soon interrupted by the sudden aura glowing around his body, gently being brought to Twilight as she barely looked his way. “No, Twilight. I don't know what this means. Is it bad?” Spike asked upon reaching Twilight's back. The young mare turned her head to Spike.
“Spike, I need you to take a letter, " Twilight said, her professional tone taking place. Magic flowed around her to gather a pen and paper for Spike. She stood straight as if the princess was standing within the room, all while letting the young dragon down to write the paper with ease.
After a few minutes of talking and writing, explaining how to spell certain words, and a couple of rewrites of the paper, Spike had finally sent the letter to the Princess of Equestria. “I don't think she will respond so quickly. Twilight, Princess Celestia is preparing for the next Hoof Tournament and Summer Sun Celebration! That's just the day after tomorrow, after all.” Spike stated that he had just blown the scroll through as he closed the window.
“Spike, I know this would be very important to Princess Celestia. The future of not only Equestria but the whole world is at stake. We must send it now because it will be too late to do anything if we don't.” Twilight explained as she levitated some of the books sitting around back into their place.
“Whatever you say, Twilight, but I wouldn’t be holding my b-breath.” Spike hesitated as he let out a burp and a small flame with that burp. Twilight let out a knowing smile as Spike recovered and reached for the scroll, a bit confused.
“You see, Spike, I knew Princess Celestia knew that this was very important and that she should take the most immediate actions,” Twilight stated, her confidence in her teacher never failing her. Spike had started to unravel the scroll, his eyes showing worry as the thoughts of what Twilight said to be true flew into his mind.
“My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and trust you completely,” Spike started, the scroll written in a refined elegance fitting for a royal member of society. Spike sometimes has to squint and read it a few times before reading it out loud not to mistake a word for another. “I request that you come to my throne room as soon as possible. This matter is of the utmost urgency. Princess Celestia.” Spike finished the letter, letting out a slight sound of hesitance.
“You see, Spike, I was right. Princess Celestia is calling me to her throne room to prepare for the return of Nightmare Moon. Come on, grab your things; we have to go!” Twilight exclaimed with excitement. The young dragon was now worried about the situation that Twilight might have found. If this Nightmare Moon were to return, who knows what it would mean for the future and safety of his mother figure?
The castle hallways were empty except for the guards who ensured the castle's security and the Princess's. Though the two guards in the hallway watched the area quietly, the sudden door slamming open at the end of the hallway sent their senses into overdrive. Preparing to attack the intruder, the two guards quickly relaxed upon seeing Twilight and her Baby dragon, who Twilight's saddle bag had dragged along. The young mare didn't seem to recognize the sudden guard the two royal guards were put in as she stopped in front of the door.
With the sudden stop at the door, Spike gently slipped off Twilight and onto the ground, his stomach threatening to release all its contents as the dragon's hand cupping his mouth stopped that from happening. Twilight gave the baby dragon an apologetic look with a smile as she cleared her voice and checked herself one last time. “Books, check, pens, check, Sundial? Check.” Twilight mentally started, looking in her saddles one previous time. “Alright, ready, Spike?” Twilight asked
With an audible gulp, Spike nodded slightly, “As I will ever be,” Spike stated. Twilight nodded, and with a wave of her head and the ignition of her horn, the doors were enveloped in the purple unicorn's aura. Gently pushing the doors inwards of the room, the two stepped in.
Princess Celestia had been sitting on her throne, the scrolls around her filling her attention with politics and preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight and Spike entered silently, not to disturb the princess while she worked, only for the doors to announce their entrance as the heavy slam reverberated into the room.
Twilight and Spike looked behind themselves, wincing at the sudden slam of the doors. The silence was deafening, and Twilight turned back to see Princess Celestia slowly move the scrolls to the side and give her a soft smile. “Good afternoon, Twilight Sparkle, good afternoon, Spike. You must know it is always fine to interrupt my reading when it is just you and me.” Princess Celestia started to explain, and Spike and Twilight bowed with respect.
“Yes, I know, Princess Celestia, but it seemed you were critical, especially with what I had just found,” Twilight explained, the hood steps of Princess Celestia getting closer with each step until she was right before the young mare. With a single lookup, Twilight saw the accepting nod from Princess Celestia, giving Twilight and Spike the acknowledgment and permission to stand.
“Yes, you seem to have found something rather interesting. With due time, we will speak on such matters, but right now, we have some more important matters to attend to.” Princess Celestia explained the Princess and her student had walked toward the middle of the room as Spike stood to the side, unsure if he was to hear what was to be said or to wait. Princess Celestia's magic sparkled to life with a gentle nod as the curtains around the room were gently shut. The room was only illuminated by the small light of candles on the chandelier above. “I think it is about time I look into your magic and combat abilities.” Princess Celestia explained.
Twilight had stopped in her tracks upon hearing the Princess’s words. Princess Celestia noticed this action, turning her head and smiling a little. “I assume you would continue to keep up your training and focus on not only your magical connections but your physical ones.” Princess Celestia said, her tone more teasing than chastising.
“O-of course I have every day. I will spend at least an hour continuing the training you have given me. But I thought this meeting would focus on the return of Nightmare Moon-“ Twilight had stopped upon noticing Princess Celestia remove her crown and royal shoes. The Princess's wings opened wide as if stretching the stiffness out of them. Looking to Spike for any reaction, Twilight just saw Spike shrug and shake his head no. “Yeah, I don't want to do this either, Spike!” Twilight thought to herself as if she were answering the young dragon's reaction.
“One thing at a time, my dear student. I will evaluate if you have been keeping up your training.” Celestia stated her tone, though caring, holding a sense of eagerness within it. Stepping toward Twilight, Celestia made a single horn motion across the room. The whole room and Spike shone briefly and then returned to normal. “Now the room holds a protection spell; I expect you to give it your all, Twilight.” Celestia gave a small smile that seemingly brought Twilight peace and tranquility. “Though this is a test, think of this as a sparing session.”
Twilight blinked twice at the statement, her mind struggling to process how she could truly take this as a simple sparing session before Princess Celestia would merely show Twilight the different steps to fighting, how to balance on a punch while focusing her magic into the correct position. How do you defend yourself from magical and physical attacks and use magic to recover mid-fight? Though Celestia would spar with Twilight, this was a test and one that Twilight felt well unprepared for.
“Is there anything you want me to focus on?” Twilight asked hesitantly, leading Celestia’s smile to falter momentarily. Looking at her Princess and waiting for a response, Twilight could already feel sweat drops forming on her head. Shaking her head, Twilight cleared her voice. “Yes! Yes, fight; that's what we will do right now. I will start.” Twilight stammered, standing up straight. The Princess and Twilight looked at one another before respectfully gently lowering their heads in a bow. The only time Twilight would ever see Princess Celestia bow to any pony has always been a rather odd perspective to see from the Princess, yet Twilight finds it even stranger when the Princess bows before her.
Upon rising to meet each other's eyes, Twilight and Princess Celestia have prepared their stance. They stance firm, their forelegs lightly at shoulder length apart. Their dominant hoof is slightly above the ground, as the other aims to hold their body. Leaning forward into the stance, both ponies' horns gently ignited. Celestia’s wings raised, prepared to flash to the wind, their back legs still with anticipation.
Spike looked on with a gritty expression at the fight. Internally, he had worried about Twilight as he was unsure how accepting she would be of fighting her mentor. On the outside, he could barely hold his excitement as the two fighters watched each other's moves. Celestia’s calm composure watched Twilight, whose anxiety had not helped her focus on her stance, as the shaking of her forehoof almost set her off balance. Realizing her body weight, Twilight awkwardly smiled and forced a calm exposure into her face.
The two stood in their stances for a few silent seconds, each second feeling like an eternity to Twilight as her breath shook with each moment. Finally, accepting the moment, Twilight charged into the fight. The two mares had gotten close, and Twilight's front hoof went for a quick jab, making contact with Celestia's wing, which had blocked it. With the first attack on Twilight's side, the young unicorn continued the push onto Celestia.
Their hooves stepped back and forth on the carpet below them, neither gaining ground nor losing it. It wasn’t long until the two had started to use magic within their fight, with magical slashes following the motions of the user's heads, teleportation across the room, bubbles and lasers aiding in the conflict, and pushback of the fight; the two mages continued. Lasers had started to bounce around the room, seemingly being absorbed into the spell that Celestia had prepared, the two fighters' hooves blocking and pushing off each attack as Celestia changed the tide of the battle to force Twilight into the defensive.
Twilight whipped her horn up and down to Celestia, who had used her magical spell to block the slash Twilight summoned. While her horn was aimed down at Celestia, Twilight shot a single magical blast at the Princess. Celestia's quick reaction made the attack seem practiced, and the laser was soon absorbed by a potted plant nearby. “Good, keep using your magic to keep up the attack,” Celestia said mid-fight; though Twilight hesitated, Celestia had found an opening as the spell dissipated.
Twilight’s side was suddenly hit with a buck from Celestia, the wind escaping her mouth with a sudden groan of pain. Twilight staggered back only to look up and see Celestia close the distance with a spin kick at Twilight's head; instinctively, Twilight raised her hooves to block as the force from the kick sent her rolling backward. “But you hesitated; you had my eyes on your attack; that should have been a punch or a kick taken,” Celestia said, her tone educational but with a hint of coldness. Though the world around her had spun, Twilight used the motion of the attack to get herself back onto her hooves.
Twilight regained her breath as Celestia walked toward her, the fight though pushing her seemingly not being enough to tire her out. Steadying herself into the fight once more, Twilight took back her stance as the Princess had gotten close to her. The attacks continued as Twilight shot a blast at Celestia’s foreleg, sending the Princess into the defense; the sudden attack had gotten the alicorn off-balanced as Twilight pushed on, teleporting around the room and sending a magical blast at Celestia. Celestia watched the pattern Twilight was using and, with a spell of her own, reacted with an Illusion to appear before the unicorn's next teleportation.
Twilight teleported in front of Celestia surprised that she would catch up with her teleportation until she realized it was a mere illusion. “You are fast with your magic; that is good!” Celestia said from above, landing right above Twilight. Celestia grappled Twilight into an arm hold, pushing the young mare's arm down.
Pain stored up Twilight's foreleg as she knew this was to force her out of a fight. With little sense in her action, Twilight summoned a shield bubble before them both. Aiming with her horn, Twilight shot a magical blast at the shield, which then deflected it back to the two fighters. Celestia took the hit head-on as she was too focused on ending the fight there. The blast pushed into Celestia’s chest, winding the princess for the first time.
Instinctively letting go to hold her chest, Celestia felt the back hooves of Twilight make an impact with her stomach in hopes of getting the alicorn stunned by the attack. Once Twilight looked back to Celestia, the young mare realized the alicorn had already recovered and pushed on the assault.
Twilight waved her head up with her horn ignited at the incoming buck. Before it made contact, Twilight rolled to the side, avoiding the attack entirely and holding onto her spell as she shot it at Celestia. The laster flew past, hitting the window behind Celestia’s head. Turning her head to ensure the spell would do its job, Celestia let out a sigh of relief as she saw the window withstand the attack.
Twilight’s hoof struck Celestia right on the nose, staggering the princess back, the auditable gasp of Spike and Twilight halting the fight. Feeling the blood drip from her nose, Celestia realized Twilight had gotten a fair strike on her face. Twilight looked to Spike for support, who was shocked as he watched the action. “Good, I was distracted, but you took advantage of the attack. This might not work in a tournament, but in a real fight, all that matters are those small moments.” Celestia informed Twilight, wiping the blood off of her nose. With a small breath, Celestia couldn't help but smile at Twilight, the young unicorn unsure if this was a smile of pride or excitement about the fight. Both answers did not resonate well with her.
Celestia rushed up to Twilight with a sudden speed as the waves of punches and kicks surrounded Twilight; in every few attacks, the two would block an attack striking at the other body, but soon Twilight felt her punches getting slower, while her forelegs started to sore from the blocks. Watching Celestia for an opening, Twilight prepared a plan, charging her horn up and hiding the knowledge of her plans with the magical slashes.
Moving with the fight's motion, Celestia continued to push Twilight back from the center of the room, opening her wings and swiping them at Twilight. The Unicorn managed to duck under the attack. With a spell in mind, Twilight wanted the wing to pass by. Once it did, Celestia was greeted by a sudden light, blinding her as Twilight’s light spell exploded before the Princess's eyes.
Reacting to the light in pain, Celestia moved back, but it was not enough as Twilight rushed under her, knowing that this attack would not work twice in the fight. Grabbing onto her mentor's foreleg, Twilight bucked at Celestia's back legs, sending it to slip onto the ground. The sudden weight shift was more than Twilight needed as she yanked Celestia over her shoulder and slammed the mare onto the ground.
With Celestia now on the ground and her foreleg within her grasp, Twilight yanked the foreleg by force; the resistance from Celestia started as she struggled against Twilight’s strength. Using her other arm to clamp it before Twilight locked it, Celestia struggled to get back onto her hooves while losing control in the fight. Struggling to hold her grip on Celestia’s foreleg, Twilight continued by placing one back leg over the foreleg grip while the other went under as a support to the weight; with all her strength, she leaned her body toward Celestia’s core, the tendons stretching to their limits.
Celestia’s foreleg sent waves of pain to her brain as she could feel her knee bending at an odd angle. Thinking quickly, Celestia activated her horn, teleporting herself and Twilight into the air. The princess prepared for the fall by opening her wings and spinning her body.
The sudden change of situation processed within Twilight's mind as she held onto the foreleg; the sudden force of the cold ground hit her back, and she slowly was dragged through the polished ground until she let go, rolling onto the ground. “You… almost had me there,” Celestia stated, her voice winded from the attack and newfound pain; though she was hovering in the air, Celestia stretched the appendage momentarily. Looking at her foreleg, Celestia took in the situation, facing her attention back to Twilight, struggling to get up. Celestia gently landed. She switched her stance, accommodating the new pain in her foreleg as she used her right foreleg to balance and her left to prepare for the attack Celestia watched.
Twilight hissed through her breath as she forced herself onto her hoof; her breath caught in her throat as she adjusted to the burns on her back. Though the pain was a constant reminder of her body’s limit, it was the exhaustion that had started to take effect. Late-night study sessions, strange nightmares, and stress of the impending doom coming on the horizon had been more than enough to whittle down the energy Twilight had. Sparking her horn to prepare another spell while she got into her fighting stance, the sudden headache took effect as Twilight’s hiss stopped, a fit of coughs exited her mouth, and the weight of her body took over.
Stumbling back down, Twilight wiped the saliva from her mouth as she took tiny breaths. Staring down at Twilight, Celestia lowered her hoof, watching her student. The Princess knew of her students' late nights and lack of personal health, but this reaction was not just to irregular sleeping schedules. “Do you need a break, Twilight?” Celestia asked; the initial shake of Twilight's head had given Princess Celestia her answer, but her body's reaction seemed to say otherwise as Twilight stumbled on her words.
“N-no! I am fine; we can continue!” Twilight said through gasps of breath. Celestia observed, waiting for her student’s next move, but Twilight stayed in place. Though she got up inches and fought her exhaustion, Twilight continued to hiss in pain and take deep breaths as she looked at her mentor with water-filled eyes.
The Princess had started to trot toward Twilight, stopping in front of her and lowering her head to meet at eye level with Twilight; Celestia worriedly examined her student. “Twilight, it is alright if you can no longer continue in the fight. Your safety matters, and you have done so well.” Celestia explained, her motherly tone returning once more to bring Twilight some motivation and approval for the fight.
The room was still; Twilight had looked at Celestia, forcing air through her nose in hopes of stopping herself from crying at the performance that was given. Though her princess told her she did well, Twilight felt she had not done enough for the exam. Twilight looked away until her tears broke through the dam behind her eyes. Blinking, hoping to continue the fight against her tears, Twilight's eyes landed on Spike, and her head moved to face another object; the baby dragon looked at Twilight with worry. He had watched the whole fight, just like fights in the past; he had seen the amount of magic and energy Twilight had been given and the damage she had taken.
In his eyes, there was fear for what would happen to Twilight next, her pain during the fight, and what he could or should do. Celestia had started to trot past Twilight, reaching her magic for the water and tea she always had prepared, but in doing so, Twilight had been shown Spike fully. The fear he had woke something within Twilight as a wave of energy rose within her. Reaching her hoof toward Spike, she gave him a soft smile, “It’s okay, Spike.” Twilight mouthed, though she was not sure Spike fully believed her. She had to prove to him that everything was alright, with her head turned to the ground once more. Twilight started to focus on her body and magic. With a deep breath, Twilight finally rose onto her hooves; her heavy breathing was more than enough noise to grab Celestia’s attention. Twilight focused one last spell into her mind as her aura surrounded her, and with a bright light, Twilight’s body shined for a moment.
Celestia gently placed the cups of water back down, intrigued by Twilight’s newfound second wind. The light faded slowly as Twilight managed to heal some of the damage to her body. Her head drooped as her horn fizzled with the last of her magical reserves. “I am not done!” Twilight stated, her breath now calmed with the chill of the fight.
The action of standing back up, though shocking to Celestia, had not been the item that grasped her attention, “A rejuvenation spell? How much has she been studying?” Celestia thought to herself as she returned to the center of the room. “If you can continue, we shall resume the fight,” Celestia explained.
Twilight gave a slight but straightforward nod of understanding; once both were ready, Celestia pushed forward in the attack. “I have no more magic left to use, and the spell only heals half of a user's wounds; I have to focus on holding the strongest defense right now,” Twilight internally planned while side-stepping the laser sent her way. Celestia closed in the gap quickly; hooves were swung as blocks met these attacks with a newfound fury. Twilight aimed for specific parts of the body as she managed to duck a punch and buck the side of Celestia under her wing.
Stepping back, Celestia looked at her wing with confusion; the attack barely did any physical damage. Turning to face Twilight with a confused look, “Was that supposed to hurt?” Celestia asked the young unicorn, who jumped back, her dominant hoof still ready to block.
“N-no. It should have seized the wing; I missed the nerve.” Twilight explained to her mentor that she was disappointed the attack did not make its mark. On the other hand, Celestia smiled at Twilight's engagement in the martial arts, even entering her understanding of different arts.
“Let’s continue,” Celestia stated, returning to the fight with her quick speed. Twilight continued to step backward through the fight, unsure of what else she could do. Without her magic, Twilight had started to focus on the physical and close-range techniques she had read about. The magic Celestia continued to use did not help Twilight gain any ground throughout the fight, as she was cornered multiple times.
Twilight had managed to get out of the corner through lucky openings, sudden attacks back on Celestia, and even parries that switched the two combatants' positions. The fight was one-sided, but Twilight held onto hope that she would win the battle; rolling out of the way from Celestia's magical blast, Twilight appeared next to the Princess, using her whole body to shove the princess into the wall. With a step back from the Alicorn, Twilight felt the last bit of her stamina while away with the action, her vision becoming hazy and blurred.
Celestia had started to show signs of physical distress as beads of sweat formed across her head, her left hoof shaking from the pain that Twilight had caused. Turning to her student, Celestia found Twiligth struggling to stay up in the last moments of the fight. Preparing for one previous attack, Celestia raised her hoof, aiming to come down on strike. Twilight rewound her hoof with the last bit of energy in her body, prepared to go down fighting.
The two met in the middle, Twilight's hoof slamming into Celestia’s chest, the punch weakened by exhaustion left no pain upon impact, while Celestia’s hoof merely tapped onto Twilight's nose. “Boop.” Was all Celestia said? The smile on her face was more than enough for Twilight to accept the fate of the fight. As if the tap on her nose was filled with the force of a punch, Twilight felt her body fall backward and into unconsciousness.
“Twilight? Twilight!” Spike's voice echoed throughout the darkness; it was unclear where the voice came from. Turning her head and looking around the darkness, Twilight would be awarded more darkness. In the distance, a singular flash of light shined for a singular moment.
“Spike? Princess?” Twilight asked, her voice echoing across the darkness as she squinted her eyes to better adjust to the room. Before her, the light flashed again, the sudden light practically blinding the young mare as she reacted in pain.
“They only saw him as the perfect stallion he was,” A voice said through the darkness, the tone venomous, almost rageful in exploding. The light was a unicorn stallion, but no distinguishing features could be made out. “H.O.O.F. tournament two-time winner. An example of the perfect stallion every stallion should strive for! What a joke!” The voice yelled, the voice, though familiar to Twilight, distorted by the echoes around.
Twilight winced at the yell, the noise reverberating and sending a chill down her spine. Unsure of what to do, Twilight looked around for a way out or away from this thing. The darkness around was all she saw. “No one will ever see the true stallion behind that perfect grin; his reputation is too strong… but even the strongest armor can be broken.” The voice continued, seemingly speaking to itself.
Twilight turned to face the figure who seemed to be walking in place. “Yes, yes! I need to chip at his fame first, use those close to him, and then people will see who he is! He will pay! He has to pay!” The voice shouted as his form grew in size at the rage. Twilight could feel the pressure of each echo hitting her mind, the echoes growing louder with each second she could barely think.
The pain filled Twilight’s senses, and she could barely open her eyes. “Excuse me!” Twilight shouted through the pain, but the echoes stopped just as her voice spoke. The figure had stopped in its place as it turned its head around; unsure if he saw anything, he continued to look. Twilight’s breaths normalized again, uncertain if this thing could understand her. The curiosity she held overcame any sense of safety. “Excuse me, are you alright?” Twilight hesitantly asked, unsure if the thing would respond to her.
The thing turned its head, locking eyes with Twilight; though she could not see any eyes on the figure, she felt the gaze stopping right at her. “You! You’re in the walls? Who are you!” The voice asked though echoes did not follow this time. Twilight was unsure how to respond to the statement; opening her mouth to speak, only dried words came out. “Wait. I've seen you before… Twilight?” The voice asked the question, residing more with a statement than an actual question.
Twilight's eyes widened as her throat caught her words; unsure if she wanted to continue the conversation anymore, Twilight immediately went to take a step back. The darkness around the mare stopped movement as the figure slowly trotted closer, “But you, you look older.” The voice continued as it walked in a line before Twilight. Though the facial features of the thing before her were nonexistent, a creeping smile had implanted within Twilight’s mind. “Yes, you. You are the answer!”
Before Twilight could speak her thoughts, another voice appeared from all around. “I think she is coming too!” the young dragon's voice echoed once more. Twilight had only briefly taken her eyes off the thing, but when she returned to look, the thing cut the distance and was now nose to nose.
“You are the answer; you will be destined for great things! You will help me crack his heart! You, Twily, you will be destined for greatness!” the voice shouted. The echoes resumed once more as Twilight's head rang with pain. It was as if metal was grinding on metal within her head. The laughter of this thing chanting out a nickname she had once long ago filled the darkness as the white figure slowly took all her vision.
Twilight woke up with a sudden yell; sitting up, her eyes scanned the room for the white figure, only to see Spike and Princess Celestia before her. “Twilight! Are you okay?” Spike asked; he held a wet rag in his hands, and the rag practically rang out because of how many times he had twisted and squeezed it in worry. Shaking her head from her thoughts, Twilight only brought Spike over with a deep hug. “Woah, Twilight, what's going on!” Spike asked
Unsure of what to say or how to explain it, Twilight opened her mouth to explain what she could. It wasn't until she saw Spikes's worried expression that she stopped herself, “Can I put this on him? I don't even understand what I saw or what that thing was. And he is already worried about the return of Nightmare Moon; if I tell him, it might be too much for him.” Twilight thought to herself, preparing her smile. Twilight cleared her voice. It was hard to do so due to her dry throat, “It’s nothing, Spike. I was just worried because of the fight.”
“Oh, Twilight, I knew you had it! You did amazing!” Spike said, his hug bringing Twilight close again, hoping to ease the stress. “Plus, you even impressed Princess Celestia! She said you did amazing!” Spike continued; the sound of Princess Celestia writing had finally grabbed her attention. Upon turning to look at her mentor, Twilight found Princess Celestia with a quill and scroll before her. Her crown and royal attire returned to their places, and a soft smile and a general nod welcomed Twilight back to the land of the awake.
The thoughts of the monster within her mind had been thrown to the back of her mind as she stood up. Still holding onto her foreleg, Spike gently climbed up to her back as Twilight anxiously waited. Though Princess Celestia was continuing with her writing, she spoke to Twilight. “Before I tell you if you passed, I would like to congratulate you on your dedication to the arts of combat and your undying dedication to bettering yourself, my little pony,” Princess Celestia started, finally moving the paper to the side and giving Twilight all of her attention. “You surprised me with different parts of the fight and surpassed my expectations. You did well, my faithful student, as I knew you would. You passed.” Princess Celestia explained.
Twilight could barely hold in her excitement as she grew a smile ear to ear. The young unicorn tapped her hooves in place and gave herself an exclamation of excitement. Though she would have liked to cheer and continue to celebrate her passing of the sudden exam, Twilight's attention was grabbed to the scroll. “Thank you, Princess Celestia; thank you so much for your training and support. Does that mean I am ready to take on Nightmare Moon? Is that the scroll to the Equestrian military?” Twilight stared, her eyes struggling not to look at the paper, “Or even another pony that can help us prepare for the ensuing attack!”
Princess Celestia looked at the paper and chuckled at Twilight's question: “My dear student, sometimes you still remind me that you are still very young. Nightmare Moon is an old pony’s tale; you must stop reading those dusty old books!” The princess struggled to hold in her laughter.
Twilight’s mouth dropped at the sudden explanation of the old tale, “But why, why did I just fight you? Was it not to scale my power and magical abilities to take down Nightmare Moon?” Twilight questioned the stressors of before, which now crumble into various questions.
“So, there is no Nightmare Moon?” Spike asked, his adolescent brain slowly catching up with most of the conversation.
“No, and No,” Princess Celestia started while levitating the scroll toward Twilight. There is no such thing as Nightmare Moon, and I was not testing your ability to fight a fictional alicorn of the night. Though I would find it interesting to watch, you would still have a ways to go, my faithful student.” Princess Celestia explained to the pair.
Twilight scrambled for words, unsure what to say or how to properly word it, “Now I was scaling your level to fight you. It would be the 500th tournament of H.O.O.F.,” Princess Celestia explained, the scroll finally being shown to Twilight. Within it was a letter to the tournament asking the H.O.O.F. Officials to allow Twilight to complete this year's tournament. “And with each student I have, I enter them into the ring. Seeing this grand occasion, I wanted to test your skills and see if you could participate in this year's tournament!”
Twilight’s eyes widen at the statement, “But, Princess Celestia, I can’t participate in this! I am sure that Nightmare Moon is real! And this is just going to waste time! It is also late notice, and the regional qualifiers are over! I doubt the officials would allow this to happen!” Twilight exclaimed. The scroll was gently levitated back as Princess Celestia shook her head,
“My dear student, there is still so much for you to learn. Anyone and all can join this tournament! Additionally, I have a favor to be owned by Pipe Down Waddle, and he would gladly allow you to participate!” Princess Celestia stated as she continued to write the rest of the scroll.
“Oh, this is going to be so fun! Twilight, this is your first tournament. I knew that all this training would lead to something bigger! Aren’t you excited, Twilight? " Spike's enthusiasm was only shared by the Princess, as Twilight forced a smile onto her face.
Not wanting to disappoint her, the princess, Twilight, turned her head to Spike and gave a forced smile. “Yeah, I am just so excited!” The young mare looked back to Celestia, who continued her writing, “I am just super excited!” Twilight said in a more worried tone taking place.
The air gently pushed Twilight's mane as her thoughts stared at the moving ground below; she hadn't been focusing on anything in particular but just watched as the mountains turned to trees, then the trees to farmlands. “What’s wrong, Twilight? I thought you said you were excited about this. Spike asked as he popped into the corner of Twilgihts vision.
Turning her head to look at Spike, Twilight let out the slight sigh she had unknowingly held onto, “No, Spike, I am not excited about this; not only are we going away from home, but we have to make sure the summer soloist preparations are completed, and on top of that enter a tournament! We are not going to have any time to prepare!” Twilight stated that her anxiety became hard to control as she thought back to the book and the story of the Mare on the Moon.
“Prepare? Prepare for what?” Spike asked, his head turning to the backpack that he had prepared for the trip, looking through it to ensure they had packed everything for this trip. Twilight finally took her eyes off the edge of the carriage as she turned to Spike. Who had pulled out the scroll form before that Princess Celestia had handed the,
“Spike, don’t you remember! Prepare for Nightmare Moon,” Twilight shouted, her thoughts to the mythical mare now uncontrolled as she pointed to the sky. Though Spike followed her hoof, all he saw was the day skies welcoming a pleasant warmth through the skies. “You know what I mean, Spike. We need to stay focused; Princess Celestia might not believe that Nightmare Moon will return, but all the information indicates her return. I must know what these Elements of Harmony do and if it can stop her.” Twilight stated, a firm determination seeping into her talk.
Spike looked at Twilight with an unsure look. “But Twilight, Princess Celestia even said that it’s just an old ponies’ tale. That doesn't make it real,” Spike explained, the look of confident knowledge all over his face as he explained the obvious. “So if the Princess said it, it has to mean it’s not true.”
“I would like to believe that Spike, but Princess Celestia is just too busy to see the incoming danger; this Soloist and the Hoof Tournament is not only going to take the next two days but also going to take place within Ponyville, wherever that is,” Twilight said as she looked ahead.
“Princess Celestia said it’s the small town at the bottom of the mountain next to the Everfree Forest; I even got her letter here.” Spike started, unscrolling the paper and clearing his throat; once ready, he read out loud. “My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony’s life than studying. I am sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location, Ponyville. and to participate in the tournament that will also be held within Ponyville! I look forward to seeing your work and dedication to the preparations and your own combat skills. I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends while you are in town! From Princess Celestia.”
A groan exited Twilight's mouth as she seeped deeper into the carriage. “Hey, look on the bright side, Twilight! The princess did give us a library to stay in! All the books you can have to yourself just like in Canterlot!” Spike cheerfully explained. Though Twilight knew that the cheers were only meant for her, the idea of living in a library seemed to only excite her.
Then, a thought grew within Twilight’s mind. “Yes, yes, it does! Wanna know why? This will make it easier for me to find more information and proof about Nightmare Moon’s return! All I need is time to look at the preparations and a few hours to study!” Twilight exclaimed. Her cheer, though placing a slight smile on Spikes's face, was not infectious to the baby dragon.
“But wait, what about making friends, like the Princess said?” Spike asked, though some of him already felt he knew the answer. Just then, the two felt the decline of the carriage as the two passages turned their attention back to where they were going. Arriving in Ponyville, Twilight felt uneasy as, in the distance, the town, the tournament stadium, could be seen slowly entering into sight. On the other hand, Spike watched the beautiful lands around the city; the forest, houses, apple trees, and more had seemed so breathtaking.
Upon landing, the two gathered their items from the carriage and waved the Royal Guards off. “Thank you, sirs.” Twilight thanked as she turned her attention back to Spike, who held onto the majority of items. In hopes of helping her assistant, Twilight levitated some of her items off of Spike, allowing the baby dragon to get through the town with ease.
“So, will you make friends here at all? Or are we just going to be studying and then the tournament?” Spike asked. Twilight took a small breath as she looked on the map of the town to find Ponyville. Once she found the path the two would have to take, the two started to walk.
“Yes, Spike, She said[to check on preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on friendships. It is not that difficult.” Twilight said as she started to walk toward their newfound residence, her pace faster than Spike would have liked, but with a slight jog, the baby dragon kept up with Twilight.
As the two walked on their way, Twilight noticed the mumbling and whispering of the many ponies within the town. Trying to focus on the plan, Twilight turned toward Spike to check how the young dragon was doing. The struggling dragon moved with the sudden weight back and forth until jumping and ensuring that the bags, boxes, and such would not fall. Using her magic to move the items back in order and make it easier for the dragon, Twilight gave Spike a supportive smile and nodded to continue him forward. “Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about. Come on, Twilight, try!”
Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, her smile still on her face as she saw a bubbly pink maned pony trot toward the two; clearing her voice and thinking on what to say, Twilight looked toward Spike with an unsure look. Spike gave a confident nod to Twilight as if to encourage her. With a deep breath and smile, Twilight turned back to the pink earth pony. “Uh… Hello, my name is Twilight-“ Twilight started only for the pink pony to jump into the air, and with a prolonged and loud gasp, the pink pony disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Twilight’s confused look was all Spike needed. “Alright, let's do your plan first,” Spike said reluctantly as he started leading the way to their new home. Twilight followed behind the baby dragon.
After the two dropped off the last of their stuff to their part-time residence, they started to trot to the first place on the list that Princess Celestia had handed them. The walk was long, but in time, the two found themselves at the front entrance of Sweet Apple Acres Farm. Twilight looked at the farm and then toward Spike. “Are you sure this is the place?”
“The owners of Sweet Apple Acres would run the Summer Sun Celebration’s banquet; it says here we can speak to a Mrs. Granny Smith,” Spike explained as they gently opened the gate and entered the farm. Before Twilight could continue the conversation, the sudden cheer of a southern “Yeehaw!” Grabbed the two’s attention
At the tree line, Twilight could see an orange blur pass the trees with ease, swooping left and right as a flurry of bucks and kicks landed on the trunk of a tree; each hit sent a wave through the trees as the mare seemingly danced around the tree with each step leading into a new attack. With the last punch, the orange mare turned around and tipped her hat up as apples fell from the tree branches and into the buckets around them. “Woah… do you think she will be in the tournament?” Spike asked under his breath as Twilight could feel her jaw still hanging with astonishment.
Shaking her head to gather herself, Twilight cleared her voice and looked to Spike, “Let's get this over with.” Twilight stated as she started toward the earth pony. The orange mare had begun to bring the buckets of apples toward the nearby barn. Upon seeing Twilight and Spike, Applejack gently placed the buckets of apples down and gave a heartwarming smile. “Good afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle-“ Twilight started until the mare forcefully grabbed Twilight's foreleg and shook it with extreme excitement.
“Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight! It is such a pleasure to make your acquaintance!” The mare said, the excitement within her practically shaking Twilight with a single hoof. “I’m Applejack; welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! You are the Summer Sun Celebration Overseer, right?” Applejack asked as she let go of Twilight's foreleg.
“Y-yes, we are…” Twilight said, her foreleg throbbing in pain as she looked at her hoof with a surprised look. “She won't be in the tournament, would she?” Twilight thought to herself before shaking her hoof. Twilight returned to her professional manner: “So we are here to see the banquet’s process. If you could please—“ Before Twilight could continue, Applejack had grabbed her throbbing foreleg and started to guide her toward the barn.
“Show you our work? I would be ever so happy to! Come on!” Applejack stated with a confident cheer in her tone while dragging Twilight toward the barn, who was struggling not to fall over into the dirt herself. Spike quietly followed behind as the two mares made it to the side of the house, where Applejack saw her family setting up a table for what seemed to be dishes and various Apple-focused meals. “Hey everypony! Soups on!” Applejack shouted.
Almost as if it were rehearsed, the family of apple farmers had started to scatter into different areas, gathering some of the meals they had prepared. Twilight blinked twice at the sudden movement of what seemed to be a hundred family members moving in unison. “I really appreciate this, um, miss.”
“Applejack,” Applejack answered for her; Twilight nodded as she finally got back onto all four hooves.
“Applejack, but we are kind of in a hurry and need to ensure that everything else is prepared,” Twilight explained. Applejack simply nodded at Twilight's statement and then turned to her family.
“Hear that everypony, we have fast food today! On the double,” Applejack shouted; the family seemingly started to move quicker as food piled onto the table. Twilight opened her mouth to speak only for Applejack to grab one of the many peonies within the mess and bring them over to Twilight, “This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp.” Stopping only to take a deep breath, Applejack continued introducing the rest of her family members as Twilight was again stopped before she could speak. “Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Up and at them, Granny Smith, we got guests!” Applejack shouted, waking the elderly mare from her sleep.
The elder mare had jumped up in a sudden jolt, Twilight thinking she was brought back from the dead as the elder mare gently trotted toward her. “What’s that soup on? Why didn’t you say so, oh, a guest.” Granny Smith stated as she turned her attention to Twilight, “Why isn't it nice to see a new friend of Applejacks.” Granny Smith stated as Twilight looked at Spike, who had already started to feast on the meal on the table.
Twilight looked back to Granny Smith and forcefully smiled, “H-high, Mrs. Granny Smith, I hope we are not intruding; I am just here to supervise the banquet for the Tournament and the Summer Sun Celebration. It seems all is in order; Spike and I should probably-“ Twilight was suddenly grabbed by the cheeks by the elderly mare.
Granny Smith inched closer to Twilight, looking her in the eyes as if examining a map for directions, “Hm, that's odd.” Granny Smith whispered only loud enough for Twilight and Applejack to hear. Applejack tilted her head and gave Twilight a shy but confused look.
“Um, Granny, I think Twilight would like to sit and eat,” Applejack started gently putting a hoof on Granny Smith's foreleg. Come on, your food is getting cold, too.” Applejack's southern draw now sounded hushy. Before she could guide Granny Smith's hoof off, Granny Smith simply pushed her aside.
“Tell me, younging.” Granny Smith’s tone became similar to that of a doctor questioning a child about an injury. “You ever feel like a shadow watching ya?” Granny Smith started. Twilight had tried to take a step back only to see the elder take a step closer. “Like something got its eye on ya, even when there ain’t a light to cast it away.”
Twilight, caught off guard by the statement, blinked and looked toward Applejack, who seemed worried for her grandmother. “I—N-no, I don’t get that feeling. Why?” Twilight managed to whisper out as Granny Smith looked her over once more. With a smack of her lips, the elder chuckled and soon let go of Twilight's face.
“Ah, it’s nothin’. Just my old rambling going off the rocker! Come, come, let’s get our supper on!” Granny Smith cheered; just as she announced it, the family at the table cheered with her, raising their drinks and hooves alike. Taking the young mare's hoof and guiding her next to the baby dragon, Granny Smith soon left to sit at the end of the table. Twilight momentarily looked at the elder walk away until Applejack grabbed her attention again.
“Hey, sorry about that. Granny Smith isn’t always up there, ya know? She is usually clear of mind. I truly do not know what got into her.” Applejack explained, only for Twilight to shake her head with a forced smile.
“No, it’s all fine, Applejack; I was caught off guard. I would really like to stay, but we have so many more things on the checklist, and I can see the food situation is handled and in good hooves. So I think we will be on our way.” Twilight explained as she reached out for Spike with her magic, stopping the baby dragon from biting into a slice of apple pie.
Turning around to leave, Twilight bumped into a little fully, the red bow tie on her head obscuring Twilight from the filly's face until she looked up. Twilight instantly recognized the filly to be the younger sister of Applejack, whom she introduced as Applebloom. “Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch? We barely even got to say hello,” Applebloom said, her eyes practically begging Twilight to stay for the meal.
Though her willpower was strong, Twilight seemed to struggle to say no to those who held innocence within their hearts. Applebloom gaze was only intensified as the seconds passed until Twilight relented with a garbled sigh, “Fine… lunch wouldn’t hurt. Could it?” Twilight asked no one in particular, and with that, the Apple family cheered as the feast continued. Twilight reluctantly sat back down, resting Spike in the seat next to her as the family passed the food around and took their time in the moment. Almost as if time was slowed with each bite, Twilight watched the family enjoy their meal while discussing family stories; the slow and cherishing bites of the meals felt as if fate had started to mock the young student.
What felt like an eternity but had only been an hour had finally passed as Twilight's stomach rumbled, not from hunger but from the pain of eating too much. “Alright, food has all been taken care of. Next, we got the weather!” Spike's cheerful voice said a few feet ahead of the sluggish Twilight.
Holding back a groan of discomfort, Twilight turned her head toward the skies, seeing various clouds sitting on what was supposed to be scheduled as a beautiful day. Twilight resisted the pain in her stomach as she turned back to Spike, unsure if he noticed the clouds hanging in the sky. “Princess Celestia’s weather patrol stated that there should be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash taking care of the clouds for the day, tomorrow, and the summer sun celebration,” Spike explained, rereading the note.
“Well, it seems that some pony isn’t doing her job up there,” Twilight mumbled as she scanned the sky for any pegasus. Though she had not seen any pegasus moving around in the skies hurriedly, a bright rainbow blur had grabbed her attention. By the time her brain processed that the blur was getting bigger, it was too late to react; a sudden impact slammed into Twilight’s side as the air was shot out of her lungs, and the pain from her stomach seemingly disappeared without a trace.
The air was soon filled with the soft but raspy chuckles of the mare who had found herself on top of Twilight. Upon realizing that she had been standing on Twilight, the rainbow-maned mare stepped off with a small, “Whoops, sorry about that.” With a soft groan, Twilight shook her head. Managing to recover in seconds, she turned to face this newcomer.
“Let me guess, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked her magic surrounding her body for a moment. A bubble had spread away from her, and the mud stuck onto it until it dropped to the ground, disappearing from her spell. With a slight push of air from her mouth, Twilight readjusted her mane just enough to return to the previous state.
Rainbow Dash quickly posed with a hoof to her chest, her body firm and proud at the acknowledgment. “The one and only! Why, have you heard of me?” Rainbow asked as she gently moved her mane to the side. Twilight wanted to respond with an internalized roll of the eyes.
“I heard you were supposed to keep the skies clear. I am Twilight Sparkle, the princess student, and the summer sun celebration organizer.” Twilight explained to Rainbow, the mare seemingly losing interest in the conversation after Twilight’s initial response. “I was told that the weather was supposed to be clear for the H.O.O.F. tournament and the summer sun Celebration, but lookie here… clouds.”
Twilight poked at the cloud that Rainbow had actually jumped on top of while she spoke, this action punctually connecting to the situation before her. Rainbow looked at Twilight's hoof that had entered the cloud. “Yeah, yeah, I will do it in a jiffy,” Rainbow explained, the answer easing Twilight's anxiety and making her eager to complete the next task. Twilight turned to Spike to ask what the next task was. “Once I finish practicing,” she said.
Twilight’s teeth grinned at the sudden response from Rainbow; her nose let out a huff of air as she turned back to the cyan Pegasus and cleared her voice. “Practicing for what?” Though her tone was a forced kindness, she had a hard time hiding the annoyance that was building within her.
Jumping into the air and doing a back flip only to land before Twilight again, Rainbow stood on her two back hooves and spread her wings while raising her hooves to the air. “The Woncerbolts! They always have their recruits enter the tournament, and then, for the celebration, they perform the aerial welcome to the sun! And I am going to show them what I got!” Rainbow explained in an enthusiastic tone as she returned to all fours.
Twilight's annoyance was quickly quelled as confusion raised in her mind, “I am sorry, the wonderbolts?” Twilight's question had only gained a confirming “yep” from the pegasus as she quickly jumped into the air. “The most talented flyers of Equestria, one of the nation's greatest pegasus fighters?” Twilight asked, unsure if Rainbow had been joking in her statement.
“Yep, that's them!” Rainbow's confident tone responded. Within Twilight, an idea had started to brew; clearing her voice to ensure that the Pegasus was listening to her, Twilight thought about the following words to say.
“Please, they would never accept a Pegasus who struggles to keep the skies clear for two measly days,” Twilight said. Her soft, judgmental tone filled the air as Rainbow's attention was finally turned toward Twilight and Spike.
“Hey, I do not know what gave you the idea. I can't! In fact, I could clear this sky in ten seconds. Flat!” Rainbow said, adding more emphasis to the last word. Twilight’s expression expressed a single statement that did not need to be said: “Prove it.” Rainbow's face twitched with a single flicker of anger as she huffed air out of her nose. “Watch this.”
Within a blink of an eye, the pegasus disappeared from Twilight's sight; a light gasp exited Twilight's mouth as Spike's eyes shot to the sky, seeing the direction the mare had flown to. Twilight’s head turned to the skies only to catch the last few seconds of Rainbow's show as the clouds that were once covering the skies had seemingly been kicked away with great ease by the rainbow blur. The gush of wind pushed against Twight as her mane flew back; looking before her once more, Twilight found the rainbow-maned pegasus mere inches from her. “Boom, what did I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat.” Each word was given its punctual importance as the mare turned to trot back.
Twilight's mouth dropped at speed, her mind barely able to process the scene she had just witnessed, where Spike had to wave his claw before Twilight. The laughter of Rainbow’s voice finally snapped her out of the shock, “You should look at yourself; your face is so priceless. Oh, Twilight Sparkle, you are a riot; well, I hope you enjoyed the show.” Rainbow said, though, laughing. Wiping her eye, Rainbow hovered and started to fly away.
“That was awesome! Twilight, do you think you can even beat her? She said she was going to be in the tournament. Do you think that you will fight her!” Spike asked, excited at the sight he witnessed, which overtook attention to detail as Twilight turned too late to stop the baby dragon from speaking.
Rainbow Dash stopped mid-air as she turned her head to look at the two again. “Wait, you can’t be serious! You? You are going to participate in the tournament!” Rainbow asked, flying back to the two at similar speeds. Twilight stepped back, unsure of how to answer the question. “Oh, don't tell me, are you the special late arrival! I heard rumors that the Princess asked for one last contestant. Is that you? Are you some personal student?” Rainbow prodded, unsure of what to think.
Twilight stammered her response instinctively, taking a step back from Rainbow. “What? I—how did you hear about that? " was all Twilight could say. Rainbow’s already strong smile became wider with realization as she did a backflip and landed on all four.
“You are, aren't you? And I just shocked you with my flying skills! If I can surprise the Princesses Favored Student, the Wonderbolts are sure to be taken by my skills!” Rainbow stated to herself as she looked to the skies, her imagination building a fantasy of Wonderbolts taking awe at her flying and fighting. Rainbow had been too busy giggling at her excitement to realize Twilight’s embarrassed but angered expression.
“I think we are done here, Spike. What is next on the list?” Twilight asked, hoping to get away from the discussion as fast as she could. Spike looked at the two mares with unsure worry. Taking out the notes once more, Spike prepared to answer Twilight's question, but Rainbow had finally been brought out of her daydream.
“Oh, Twilight, don’t you know how great this will be for me! If I show off my awesome skills and beat the Princesses prized student, the Wonderbolts would surely notice me!” Rainbow chuckled with glee in place. Jumping back into the air at quick speeds, Rainbow started to spin around Twilight, “I hope to see you at the tournament tomorrow, miss Twilight Sparkle! Everyone will be watching!” Rainbow joked to the student; before Twilight could respond, Rainbow shot into the air and off to the distance.
Twilight’s eyes watched as the rainbow trail disappeared into the distance; she could practically hear the laughs of Rainbow echo within her mind. Though preoccupied with the threat of Nightmare Moon in the looming future, her thoughts now had an image of her losing the tournament and a disappointed person looking down on her. Twilight felt her heart beating in her throat as she gasped for air, unsure if it was just the high winds finally affecting her or the sudden realization of the meaning of the tournament.
Placing a hoof on her neck in hopes of helping with the sudden loss of air, Twilight’s focus soon became on the fact that if she not only loses the tournament but also is wrong about Nightmare Moon, there could be a high chance of losing Princess Celestia as her mentor. The placement of a genital claw on her foreleg stopped the racing thoughts as she whipped her head to see Spike, who had been speaking to her; the sound around her slowly returned to her ears as she could finally hear Spike. “Twilight, are you okay?” Spike's question broke through the last of the deafening barrier.
“Yes, yes, I am alright, Spike,” Twilight stated, unsure if she had believed the lie herself. Spike’s eyes watered with worry as he wrapped his baby arms around TWilights foreleg and embraced the Unicorn. The action broke through Twilight's fear as she gently brought the baby dragon to her. “Hey, I am alright. You don't need to cry.” Twilight said through the last of her breath catching.
“I didn't mean to make you upset Twilight; I am sorry.” Spike whimpered through Twilight's fur; the mare was shocked at this statement. Sitting down before the baby dragon, Twilight brought him closer, unsure what to say.
“Spike, I am not mad at you. I hope you know that.” Twilight gently stated, unsure if the dragon had taken her recent attack as anger to him. “I just was caught in my mind. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I brought up that you are going up against her in the tournament. I know how worried you are about the tournament and this Nightmare Moon thing, and when Rainbow mentioned participating in the tournament, I wasn't thinking.” Spike hiccupped, finally looking at Twilight, his watery eyes finally breaking through as tears gently rolled down his cheeks.
Twilight shook her head, “Oh, Spike, I know you were excited, but it is not your fault. Rainbow.” Twilight took a moment to look at the direction Rainbow flew off to, “has a lot to prove. I let her get into my head. I shouldn’t; I already know better.” Twilight finished, her tone unsure at the statement, but her thoughts had not lingered on Rainbow for long as she turned her attention to Spike. Gently rubbing his head as she used to, Twilight gently stood up and placed him onto her back. “How about this? Before the next checklist, let’s get some Ice cream. I am sure we can find something here.” Twilight offered, hoping that the statement of a nice treat would cheer him up and her up.
Spike wiped the tears out of his eyes and gently nodded to Twilight with a strong sniff. “A-alright, I would like that,” Spike said, his voice whimpering with the statement. The baby dragon melted Twilight's heart as she gave a reassuring smile and a single nod.
