The Chronicles of Friendship

Chapters

6. Summer Sun Nightmare
Arc I: Sparks of Friendship—1. The Alicorn of Fate
2. Gonna Be My Day
3. Maretime Bay
4. CanterLogic Showcase
5. Double Drake

6. Summer Sun Nightmare

September 15, 2024 - Old Prime Equestria

“Woo-hoo!”

In the sky over Maretime Bay, Sunny Starscout flew, her translucent orange wings and her horn shining magnificently with the sun. Sunny did some loops before she landed on the sidewalk near her smoothie cart, where some of her friends, Izzy Moonbow and Zipp Storm, were talking.

“Izzy! Zipp! What’re you doing here?” Sunny asked, her horns and wings disappearing. “I thought you,” She pointed at Zipp. “Were going to be in Zephyr Heights! And you,” She pointed at Izzy. “Were visiting Alphabittle in Bridlewood!”

“Oh, yeah! Hehe, that!” Izzy nervously said, moving something with her rear right hoof. “I was just… uh… getting something! Yeah! Yeah! I needed to get a thingy for another thingy!”

“And I was… just… getting…” Zipp’s eyes darted around the town before they landed on the smoothie cart. “...A smoothie! You see, I was getting really thirsty, and there was a break time in that meeting, so I decided to go back to Maretime Bay and make a smoothie from your smoothie cart!”

“‘Meeting?’” Sunny repeated, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you said you were going to Zephyr Heights for a day with Queen Haven, Zipp.” Sunny said with an accusatory tone. “Are you… lying to me, by any chance?”

“Whaaaaaaaaat?” Izzy said, averting eye contact with Sunny. “We wouldn’t lie to you, Sunny!”

“I was only referring to Zipp, and the fact that you used “we” and averted eye contact with me makes me think you two are hiding something from me.” Sunny said, connecting the dots. “And on my birthday too? Hm?!”

“No! We wouldn’t lie to you on your birthday, Sun-Sun! It’s just… uh…” Izzy stammered, not finding any excuse to get them out of this situation. “You shouldn’t go to the Brighthouse right now!” Izzy blurted out.

“Izzy!” Zipp shouted, punching the unicorn with her wing. “Don’t listen to her, Sunny! Of course you can go to the Brighthouse, but do you really want to walk all the way there? And I thought you were making sure you weren’t forgetting how to fly! So you should just… go back to that!”

“Oh, yeah! You’re probably right!” Sunny said, eliciting a sigh of relief from the unicorn and pegasus. “I do need to practice my flying, and I don’t want to walk all the way to the Brighthouse from the other side of town! So why can’t I do both? I can fly to the Brighthouse!”

“Wait! That’s not what I-” Zipp tried to interfere, but Sunny was already in her alicorn form and was taking to the skies.

“Thanks, Zipp!”

Zipp turned to Izzy and immediately said, “Call them, ASAP! Sunny can’t go to the Brighthouse yet! It’s not prepared!”

“Alright, Zipperooni!” Izzy said, pulling out her phone and quickly starting to open it.

July 22, 2024

The sun was starting to set, and Sunny set her hoof on the warm sand. She looked around and saw multiple families, friends, pets, all playing together in the sand. Sunny took a deep, long breath, instantly recognizing the familiar salt water smell that came to her. For Sunny, while the beach was beautiful, it brought back old memories – memories of her and her father. “It feels so… right being here. Watching the sea, smelling the warm, summer air, playing with the sand…” Sunny murmured, turning to Sprout.

Sprout turned to Sunny, thinking the same thing as his friend. His mother was a business mare, and they don’t spend as much time together as Sprout wished for. They could both remember when they and Hitch first visited the beach, accompanied by their parents, or guardians, in Hitch’s case. Sprout could remember that day well. It was the first day off Phyllis had in a long time, and so Sprout was determined to make their day the best.

After that day, while the mother-son duo had their share of bonding moments, none could ever trump the amazing day Sprout had. “It… does, doesn't it? Heh, do you remember when we first came here? When we first visited the beach? Me, you, Hitch, Mom, Argyle, Granny Figgy…” Sprout asked.

“Mhm,” Was Sunny’s reply. “It was one of the best memories I had in Maretime Bay. I loved everything about the beach, especially since that’s what my father said was my Mom’s favorite place to lounge.” Sunny sighed as her ears twitched. She heard the faint noise of music, a mix of pop and… birds?

“Wait, Sprout, do you hear that?” Sunny asked, trying to pinpoint the location of the music. “Ooh! I think we’ve found our music!” Sunny squealed.

“And it sounds… so familiar!” Sprout said, moving his ears. “You know Pipp Petal, right? The famous pop star? The youngest child of Queen Haven? The pegasus who rose to stardom after publishing her first music video on YouHoof? Will we actually meet her?!”

“Ooh, yeah! I’ve heard of Pipp Petals!” Sunny said. Okay, in reality, she’s only heard one song made by her, and she only knew it because it was one of the songs Twilight listened to when she had that all-nighter a couple months back. “She’s so good! Like, amazing!” From that one song, which Twilight told her was the worst based on statistics, it was amazing.

“Yeah! What’s your favorite song? Mine’s ‘Raise Your Voice!’” Sprout said, nudging Sunny. “In my opinion, it’s the best song, even if it was the first song Pipp made, which was a chart-topper in just a week!”

“Oh, mine is… uh…” Sunny mentally groaned as she tried to think of the song she heard Twilight listen to. Confidence in the Heart? No. Confidence Everywhere? Nope. Confidental Confidence? No! It was something with confidence… probably. Sunny thought. “Uh… y’know! The one that goes, “Confidence! Keep you going! Confidence? Er, da, da, da?”

“Do you mean Gardens of Confidence? Yeah, I can’t blame you for forgetting the name. It was good, but was it the best? Ehh,” Sprout shrugged. “Gardens of Confidence?” What kind of a name was that?!

“Yes! I totally agree with you on that,” Sunny said, her eyes darting around, which Sprout noticed. “Soo… we should be meeting that pega-popstar right now! Right? Right?” Sunny turned around and trotted towards the source of the sound, Sprout following the mare.

At the source, a beautiful symphony of music played. Being closer now, Sunny and Sprout gasped in awe. While Sprout knew that the pegasus’ music was good, he didn’t expect it to be this good hearing it in front of him. In front of them, a pink pegasus flew, her mane a cool purple. She wore a crown, her eyes were a light green, her cutie mark was a music note, and her wings- her wings! They looked like clouds. Beside the pop star, a yellow pegasus orchestrated multiple birds, which Sunny assumed was the source of the bird song. She had a light pink mane, and her cutie mark was three pink butterflies.

Suddenly, while the music was still good, it became worse. It wasn’t that noticeable before, but now, they all noticed the only blue jay was off-key. “Ooh, and we were doing so, so good! Right, Flutters?” Pipp said, landing back on the ground.

“We were, Miss Petals,” She said, her voice barely registering in their ears. “Um, let me try this…” The yellow pegasus flew in front of the blue jay, and in a soft but kind voice, she politely helped the blue jay by humming the melody. This time, when the blue jay tried it, it wasn’t off-key. “There! That sounds much better now, thank you.” She thanked.

“Oh, oh! Is this it? Will we have a perfect run? And-” Only then did Pipp notice the two earth ponies watching them. “-Hello! Ohmigosh! I didn’t notice you two before! I’m so sorry! Oh, where are my manners?” Pipp stepped forward and took Sunny’s hoof, shaking it hard and long. “I’m Pipp Petals! But, of course, you might know me already, because if you don’t, then what rock are you living under, am I right?”

“I’ve… heard of your music,” Sunny said, pulling her hoof back and scratching the back of her head. “I’m not really a big fan, but my friend here is! He’s the son of Phyllis Cloverleaf, y’know, the C.E.O of CanterLogic?” Sunny nudged Sprout, who was frozen in awe.

“Oh, my gosh! You’re Sprout Cloverleaf! I love CanterLogic! I must have, what, a hundred phones?” Pipp said, shaking Sprout’s hoof as well, not that he minded. “I didn’t know one of my fans made the phones I love!”

“I- well, technically, my Mom made them, but, uh, thanks?” Sprout squeaked. After Pipp let go of his hoof, he immediately fainted and landed on the sand, which Sunny couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“I tend to have that effect on ponies,” Pipp murmured.

Well, now that that was over, it was time to do what Sunny was here to do. “Ahem, so, the real reason we’re here is-” Before Sunny was interrupted, Pipp quickly cut her off, waving her hoof in her face.

“Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re here for, Sunny Starscout,” Pipp said, smiling. “Zipp told me you were checking on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And music is one of them, right? Though, I was told there’d be a Twilight Sparkle and a cute little dragon with you!”

“Did you say… a baby dragon!?” The yellow pegasus shrieked in excitement. Sunny forgot that there was another pony around, but it was always nice to make a new friend. She wished Twilight, she was sure she’d have a similar reaction to Sprout. She should check on him soon.

“Yes! His name is Spike, and…” Sunny retrieved a picture of the little dragon from her saddlebag and showed it to her. “...this is him! Cute right? Does he look like that ‘Sparky’ dragon I’ve heard about?” Sunny asked.

“Well, yes, actually!” She said, “But, um, oh, where are my manners? I’m Fluttershy! And, if it’s alright with you, I would like to know everything there is about Spike!” Fluttershy moved closer to Sunny, her eyes glistening like a filly on Hearth’s Warming Eve.

“Are you done with your music?” Sunny asked, moving her head to look at her and Pipp.

“I mean, it sounds good enough. And I’ve got to get somewhere for a super awesome party to celebrate the Summer Sun Celebration! Eeek! My friend Pinkie Pie hosted it, but-” Pipp stopped herself, a light blush forming on her cheeks. “I’m just bothering you all with my ramblings! Go, go! Walk and talk! I won’t keep you! See you later! Pipp, Pipp?”

“Hooray…” Sprout muttered, slowly regaining his senses.

Pipp giggled as she flew away, leaving Sunny, Fluttershy, and Sprout there on the beach, the latter still in awe. Ooh, what if she, Hitch, Twilight, and Sprout all hung out together?! I mean, Sprout and Twilight shared an interest in Pipp Petals, and Twilight and Hitch shared having a dragon baby- child- sibling- pet(?). It could be perfect!

But, of course, she had to focus on the now, which was the yellow pegasus looking at her like she could explode in curiosity. “So… can you walk and talk?” Sunny asked, helping Sprout off the sand. “I’ve got to head to where me and Twi are staying? Is that alright with you?”

“YES!”

At this sudden outburst of happiness, Fluttershy blushed as she meekly hid behind her mane. “I- I mean, yes, I can.” Fluttershy squeaked.

Sunny chuckled. “That’s nice to hear,” Sunny said. She turned to Sprout… and gave him a hard smack on the cheeks, snapping him out of the awe-struck gaze he had for too long. “Did that snap you out? Come on, we’re heading to the Lighthouse.”

“Ow!” Sprout gave Sunny a deathglare, but Sunny just chuckled. “At least I’ll be able to relive some memories today…” Sprout mumbled, rubbing the part where Sunny slapped him. Hard, if he said so himself.

Back in CanterLogic, Twilight and Hitch stepped outside of Room 304, waving goodbye to Phyllis. “Have a safe trip, dears!” Phyllis called out, waving to them as well.

Twilight sighed as her smile slowly became more strained. Phyllis was a nice mare, but was she a bit… oh, what’s the word? Racist? Egotistical? Stuck up? Yeah, she was all of those things. “Yeah, thanks!” Twilight said, a bit too forced. But, Phyllis didn’t notice.

“Oh, Twilight! Are you done?” Spike asked, the young drake running towards the purple unicorn. “You took, like, twenty minutes? We’ve – and this includes Sunny – been waiting for so long!”

“Yeah, well, young dragon,” Hitch rubbed the back of his head as he sighed. “Phyllis has a tendency to go off and ramble, sometimes during events. At least she didn’t go into a super long one. Anyways, I hope I didn’t keep Sprout too long. I promised him we would go get drinks after this.”

“Oh, oh! Can I go this time?” Sparky asked, his eyes turning into one that resembled a puppy-dog. A really, really, really cute dog.

“No, Sparky.” Hitch shot down the idea immediately, and he didn’t even look swayed by the eyes. If it were Twilight, she would have a… well, 50% chance of doing the same. “Me and Sprout need our own private time! And since I’m technically your dad…” Hitch added the last part playfully.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she checked her phone and her eyes immediately widened.

Sunny Starscout
Hey, Twi! So, since it seems like you’re going to take a long time there. And let’s face it, you will. Me and Sprout (an old friend of mine & the red stallion on stage) are going to check on MUSIC!!! You can just head on to the lighthouse when you’re done.

Twilight turned to Hitch, who had a similar message, no doubt from Sprout. Hitch opened another message, and his eyes lit up in joy. Twilight wanted to know, but alas, it wasn’t her business…

But on the other hoof, it was just a simple question.

But on the other, other hoof, she had to get back to the lighthouse. And considering her luck today, she did not want to make another friend… did she?

“So! Twilight, are you going to the lighthouse? Because, Sprout told me he and Sunny were going there, and Sprout said that Sunny said that you’d be heading there, right?” Hitch asked. “Could I tag along? I mean, we’re going to the same destination, and it’s always nice to make a new friend who just happens to be one of Sunny’s new friends.”

“Hm, sure, I guess,” Twilight said, expertly hiding a smile. She didn’t even know Hitch on a personal level, she wasn’t about to get all cozy with him. Even if he was one of Sunny’s old friends, and somepony who could relate to, well, hosting a dragon.

Fast forward to sunset, Twilight, Hitch, Spike and Sparky were approaching the lighthouse. It was big and the walls were a nice light blue color. Around the magenta door, stained glass painting encircled it. The railings of the lantern room — at least, that’s what Twilight assumed it was — were golden, shining bright from the light of the sunset. On the tip of the lighthouse, three fake crystals stood, which Twilight thought was a bit too much. There was a teal one, shaped like two pegasus wings on the bottom. In the middle, a circular white gem. And on the top, an indigo one shaped like a unicorn horn.

“So, did the lighthouse look like this the last time you were here?” Twilight asked the sheriff, turning to the yellow stallion. “Because, woah, it looks amazing!”

“No, it didn’t,” Hitch said, examining the lighthouse carefully. “Are those crystals real? Because Princess Celestia didn’t have to put a lot of work into this if… Sunny’s not staying.”

“They aren’t, but they look so much like a real one it’s uncanny!” Twilight confirmed, shaking her head. “Though, I don’t think Princess Celestia would add that just for fun. I think. Do you think it means something? Ooh, what if it’s a symbol between the three tribes! I mean, you have the wings, and there appears to be one that looks like a horn on the top! So I’m guessing the one in the middle represents the earth ponies, seeing as they’re the only ones left.”

“Twi, do you think they’re edible?!” Spike asked, licking his lips hungrily. Twilight groaned, because apparently, Spike didn’t hear anything she said!

“Spike, did you not hear me saying they were fake?!” Twilight asked, giving the dragon a light glare. The dragon just dejectedly sighed before giving Twilight a “sorry?” shrug. “Ugh, whatever.”

The four reached the entrance, and using her magic, Twilight carefully opened the door. “Uh… hello? Sunny?” Twilight called out, noticing it was pitch black. “Sunny? Are you here? And why is it so dark?!”

The four stepped inside, and the light immediately turned on. “Ah, thank you.” Twilight said. She was calm only for a second before it registered to her what was going on in the lighthouse. She looked around the room, seeing streamers, presents, food, balloons, party hats… and ponies!

“Surprise!”

As party music played, a pink pony with poofy pink hair approached her. Her cutie mark consisted of three balloons, two blue, one yellow. “You! You’re that mare from earlier, right?” Twilight asked, noticing the mare immediately. “What is going on!?”

“It’s a party, silly!” She replied, sprinkling confetti in her face. “Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! And you must be Twilight Sparkle, right? Right?” Pinkie asked, putting a party hat on Twilight’s head.

“Okay, it’s nice to meet you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight replied, scanning the room for her friend. “So, care to explain to me why there’s a party happening in my lighthouse?!” Twilight asked.

“Gladly!” Pinkie giggled. “So, when I first met you and Sunny — I talked to her earlier! — I didn’t recognize you! And I know everypony in Maretime Bay, and I mean everypony!” As Pinkie rambled, Twilight sighed as she trotted to the buffet table. “And if I didn’t know you, that would mean you were new! And if you were new, that meant you didn’t know anypony! And that made me sad! And since I was planning to host a party at this super cool new lighthouse for the Summer Sun Celebration, I thought, ‘Pinkie, why don’t we invite the new kids?’ I had expected for you to arrive together, but when Sunny came here early, I found out that you two split up! And that this was where you were staying! So we had decided to do the same thing again until you came, and we had waited for so, so, so long! But now you’re here, and it turns out–”

As Twilight grabbed a drink, Sunny, Sprout, Hitch, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Zipp, Pipp, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Izzy appeared next to Izzy. “-you two made loads of new friends today! Isn’t that just so amazing!?” Pinkie said.

“Aw, hey, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight and gave her a friendly punch, and Twilight, in return, gave her a half playful glare. “I can’t believe you’re staying in this place! Heck, I didn’t even know something this cool existed!”

“Twilight! Isn’t it amazing?” Sunny trotted over to Twilight, who grabbed another hors d'oeuvres and placed them on her plate with her magic. “Pinkie Pie hosted a party just for us! Well, technically us and the entirety of Maretime Bay, but it’s about us!”

“Oh, yeah, it’s just so amazing, Sunny,” Twilight said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, sarcasm Pinkie didn’t get.

“Thanks!”

Twilight rolled her eyes as Pipp flew to her, and when Twilight saw her, like Sprout, she was frozen from shock- and surprise. “It’s just so nice to finally meet you, Twilight Sparkle! Zipp’s mentioned you like, what, one or two times? And I hear you’re quite a fan of my music, right?” Pipp asked, shaking Twilight’s hoof.

“I can’t believe it,” Twilight murmured. “You’re real. Like, really real! Pipp Petals, in the flesh, is standing right in front of me! Wow, I didn’t think I would meet you ever!” Twilight said, shaking her hoof with the same force Applejack gave her earlier in the day.

Before Pipp could respond, Sprout jumped forward. “Hi! Yes, hi!” Sprout said, breaking the hoofshake between Pipp and Twilight. Pipp just rolled her eyes before she flew away, no doubt to find Zipp. “I’m Sprout Cloverleaf, y’know, one of Sunny’s old friends before she moved to Canterlot? And I’m also the son of Phyllis Cloverleaf, the C.E.O. of CanterLogic?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s so nice to meet you too, Spurt.” Twilight said, a bit angry that her conversation with Pipp was abruptly interrupted.

“Heh, it’s Sprout.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said. Sprout.” Twilight said, before she grabbed a drink of red punch and sipped it in one slurp. “Ugh, Sunny! Why are there ponies in our lighthouse?! I thought I would have time to read without distractions!” Twilight asked, gulping down another drink.

“It was a surprise party, Twi! Just enjoy it! And besides, I’m like, 90% sure Nightmare Moon isn’t real.” Sunny said, patting Twilight on the back. “Come on, loosen up! Enjoy the night!” Sunny said.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll… I'll…” Suddenly, Twilight shook her head as she waved her hoof as she fanned her head. Her eyes watered as Applejack cooed.

“Aw, she’s just so happy she’s crying!” Applejack said, not noticing that Twilight’s face was progressively growing redder. “Those are happy tears, right?” Applejack asked, moving closer to Zipp.

“Why is it so… spicy?!” Twilight grabbed one of the drinks of milk and gulped it down. But no, it wasn’t enough. It felt like she had drunk the sun, and the milk only did so little to cool it. Twilight drank three more milk glasses before she ran upstairs, to where Sunny remembered was the bedroom.

Sunny sighed. Twilight, while so close, was still not out of her shell. Sunny knew Twilight had made a new friend, their earlier interaction with Rainbow Dash proved that. But there was something missing. Something that Twilight needed to actually accept friendship. And until Sunny found that piece, she just had to have hope.

Because Twilight Sparkle was her friend, and she refused to give up on her.

A few hours later, it was almost midnight, and Twilight was on a bed which looked designed for her. She was trying to read a book as the party kept going outside of her room. But, because of the loud music, and the occasional sounds of things breaking, she couldn’t. Twilight groaned as she closed the book and placed it back on the shelf next to her bed.

The door creaked open, and Sunny carefully entered, making sure she didn’t startle Twilight. Twilight just flopped on her bed, threw the blanket over herself, and used her pillow to cover both her ears. “Twilight? Are… you awake?” Sunny asked, walking to Twilight’s bed.

Twilight sighed as she got up and turned to Sunny. “What do you want, Sunny?” Twilight asked, crossing her hooves.

“You sure you aren’t going to go down and, well, party? You look pretty bored up here,” Sunny said, sitting on Twilight’s bed. “Were you trying to sleep? Because, well, it’s been like six hours, and you’re awake.”

“No, Sunny, of course I’m not trying to sleep,” Twilight retorted, her horn lighting up the dark room with a small magenta glow. “I would be at the lighthouse’s library right now, but I don’t want to get caught in another conversation. And because I don’t think it’s soundproofed, and since I would be down there… it would be louder.”

“Twilight—”

“Sunny, just… just stop, okay? Nothing you will say is going to make me go down there and… become a wild party animal!” Twilight said, keeping her eyes away from Sunny’s. “It’s 11:30, Pinkie Pie should really be wrapping the party by now. We have to head to Town Hall to see Princess Celestia raise the sun.”

“I… yeah, you’re right,” Sunny said, getting off the bed. “And Twilight, just so you know… while you may not be open to the idea of having friends yet, you already have some. You have me, Rainbow, Hitch, Sprout, Rarity, Izzy, and everyone else you’ve met today. Twilight, please, I don’t want to see you alone in the future.”

When Twilight didn’t respond, Sunny sighed. “You know, Twilight, the Mare in the Moon is just a foal's tale. Nightmare Moon is not coming back, Princess Celestia made sure of that. You have nothing to worry about.” Sunny trotted out of the room and gripped the handle with her hoof. “I’ll see you at the Town Hall.” Sunny turned to look at Twilight one last time before leaving.

Friends? I don’t need friends, Sunny. All they do is cause pain, suffering… and heartbreak. Rainbow Dash is not a friend, Zipp is not a friend, and you… are not a friend. Twilight thought, getting off her bed. You’re family, and that’s all I need. She grabbed her saddlebag before Twilight turned to leave, but one last thought still came.

I don’t need friends… I don’t. Snowswirl proved that for me years ago.

Unbeknownst to Twilight, outside her window, the “mare” formation on the moon disappeared.

Twilight exited her room, pushing aside all her thoughts about friendship away. She trotted downstairs, and to her surprise, nopony was there. Huh, I guess they cleared out pretty quickly. Twilight looked at the buffet table, and saw that there were still some snacks. Eh, it won’t hurt to get a few snacks, right? Twilight ran to the kitchen and checked the cupboards and found some paper bags, which looked to be recently bought. I guess Princess Celestia got groceries as well. Twilight looked in another and found some plastic boxes. She hurried back to the buffet table and put leftovers inside the box neatly. She put it in her saddlebag before exiting the lighthouse.

“I should really get it cleaned, I don’t want the Princess to think I’m a snob, right?” Twilight said to herself, making a mental note to get that done. Twilight made her way to the Town Hall, and around it, multiple stands were set up. And heck, some of them were run by ponies she saw at the party!

Twilight opened the doors to the Town Hall, and inside, there was a big crowd. Twilight took a deep breath, and exhaled and tried to work her way through the crowd, hoping to find Sunny… or at least somepony she knew. Maybe not Sprout, she had mixed feelings about the stallion.

Amongst the crowd, she spotted Zipp, who had spotted her as well. “Zipp! Zipp!” Twilight called out. She had run — well, tried to run — to Zipp. “You’re here?” Twilight asked. “I thought you would be in Zephyr Heights with Pipp. I mean, why would you be in Maretime Bay Town Hall, which is full of ponies cramping us, instead of a luxurious castle in Zephyr Heights?”

“Eh, too lazy to fly back there at this hour after partying for like, six hours? Or seven? And besides, I have to look after Pipp, she’s still here.” Zipp replied.

“Ah, right. I almost forgot that Pipp was your sister.” Twilight said, chuckling. “So, uh, when does it start? Because I can only stand to be here for so long.” Twilight kicked a small uninflated balloon away from her.

“Midnight, obviously. Even if this is a yearly celebration, it feels weird having the sun up at 12:00 A.M.” Zipp said, stretching her wings with the limited space she had. “You’re not going to stay in Maretime Bay after the S.S.C, right?”

“No, nope. My life’s in Canterlot, not here. Maybe Sunny would stay, but not me. I have nothing here in Maretime Bay.” Twilight said. “Not anymore.” Twilight added that last part softly, and for a second, she thought she saw a frown on Zipp’s face, but when she looked again… it wasn’t there.

“Fillies, mares, and gentlecolts,” Twilight and Zipp turned to the upper balcony, where Mayor Mare — a light brown mare with a greying mane — stood, holding a microphone. “It is exactly 11:55 P.M., and in a few minutes, we shall watch our beloved Princess Celestia raise the sun!”

“It looks like it’s starting,” Zipp said.

“Yeah, shh,” Twilight shushed Zipp, and the pegasus gave the purple unicorn a playful roll of her eyes.

“As you may know, today is the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration, and is truly an honor for it to be held here in our lovely Maretime Bay.” Mayor Mare said. “After the celebration, Princess Celestia will give a speech, and then will we host games in celebration of the 1000th year!”

On the upper right balcony, Fluttershy orchestrated her birds as Pipp played the instrumental of her most famous songs. “Now, please welcome our lovely Princess of the Sun—”

Twilight took a glance at the moon, and when she realized the mare formation was gone, she immediately paled. “—Princess Celestia!” The curtains behind Mayor Mare opened, and Princess Celestia flew off the balcony. Not too long after she went airborne, blue wisps started to swirl around the upper balcony. A yellow glow bathed Mayor Mare and she was teleported to the ground floor.

As the blue mist started to swirl faster, it took on a shape. A shape Twilight recognized. The blue mist formed an alicorn, the same stature as Princess Celestia. The mist immediately disappeared, and in its place, Nightmare Moon stood, showing her fangs towards the audience.

Princess Celestia shot a yellow laser at Nightmare Moon, but the dark alicorn dodged it almost immediately. “Well, this isn’t the warm welcome I expected from you, Celestia.” Nightmare Moon growled.

“Please, Luna, stand down!” Celestia pleaded, lighting her horn again. “I do not want to fight you! We can settle this peacefully!”

“Peacefully? Hah!” Nightmare Moon lit her horn before she shot an indigo blast at Celestia. “Any hope of settling our feud ended the moment you banished me to the moon, sister!” Nightmare Moon flew towards Celestia, who shielded herself with a shield shaped like her cutie mark.

As the battle waged on, only Twilight, Zipp, Sunny, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Hitch, Sprout, Applejack, Pipp, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Izzy, and a crowd other ponies (who were recording) stayed, while most of the others fled for their lives.

“Twilight,” Sunny said, running towards the purple unicorn. “You were right. You were so, so right. Nightmare Moon did come back, and I didn’t believe you! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, Sunny. I admit, I might’ve sounded a little crazy,” Twilight said, her eyes focused on the fight happening. “But right now, we need to escape. Princess Celestia can handle Nightmare Moon… hopefully.”

“And if she can’t?” Pipp asked, cowering behind Zipp, who put a wing over her sister.

“Then… I don’t know.”

Author's Note

Well, this is (so far) the longest chapter at 5k words. I think I've learned how to make more visual sentences for ya'll, but I'm still improving, so give me that feedback! But anyways, we've met everyone for the Mane Group of Arc 1. I may have added some stuff that will eventually explain Twilight's hesitance to friendship. Who is Snowstorm? What did they do to make Twilight so hesitant? And will we find out more of them soon?

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage:

Arc I: Sparks of Friendship—1. The Alicorn of Fate

Sunny Starscout.

That fake alicorn was the only thought lingering in Opaline Arcana's head. Ever since Sunny Starscout and her friends had somehow harnessed a power only Twilight Sparkle and her group could achieve, she's been stuck in her Together Tree for... who knew how long?!

Opaline snarled as she got up and paced inside the Together Tree, which was bigger than it seemed inside. She had to find a way out, and make them pay for defeating her and, somehow corrupting, her faithful servant! Opaline would never say this to anypony, but the day she found out Misty had betrayed her, a part of her broke. However, she would never let herself show any sign of weakness, or perhaps love, towards Misty.

"Sunny Starscout, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia..." Opaline muttered. "Why must something ruin my life?! Celestia left me in Skyros alone to fend for myself, Twilight Sparkle tried to show me the "error" of her ways, and Sunny Starscout? She just had to ruin her amazing plan to conquer Equestria!

"They'll pay, they'll all pay!" Opaline growled. Her horn lit up in a light violet as Opaline shot a beam of magic at the hard, wooden walls of the Together Tree in a fit of rage. Opaline expected for there to be some burn mark, a scratch, maybe. But there was nothing, which surprised Opaline. Usually, in the other times that she shot beams, there would be a burn or a mark. But this time, there was nothing.

"What in the world?" Opaline said to herself, rubbing her hoof over the area she had shot. "Did I... do my spell wrong?" Opaline shook her head. "No! No, of course not! This is just some retaliation, isn't it, you rotting tree! I'm still the most powerful in all of Equestria!"

"Are you sure about that, Opaline Arcana?"

Opaline screamed in surprise as she fell to the ground. She turned around as a dark blue fire, resembling a goat, floated before her. "What... no, who are you?!" Opaline questioned, lighting up her horn in protection. "You look oddly familiar... like I've seen you before."

"Oh, yes, you have."

The fire moved towards Opaline, and instead of moving away, she stayed, feeling some comfort around the fire. "Then why don't I know you are? I would remember if I had a conversation with some sort of... fire ghost!" Opaline retorted.

"It's because, dear Opaline, we haven't had a conversation up until... today!" The fire said as it floated in front of her face. "Tell me, who do I look like? Take a deep look, dear."

Opaline squinted her eyes as she muttered, "I... don't see-" Opaline stopped as her eyes widened. She knew who the "fire ghost" was. It was... "Grogar? You're Grogar, the Father of Monsters, correct? But, you're supposed to be dead!"

"Oh, I am! I'm the real deal, and not Discord in disguise this time." Grogar said, the fire spreading as it took on a more "goat" form. "I come with an offer, Opaline. One that can help us both."

Opaline thought about it for a moment, before sighing and responding with, "What deal? Hopefully, it involves getting my revenge on Sunny Starscout."

"I think you'll find you'll be able to get your revenge on all that have wronged you." Grogar said, smiling deviously. Grogar held out his hoof, and Opaline, smiling manically, took it.

Somewhere, in between time and space, a floating island with a majestic building - Fate™ - stood. Inside the building, an orange unicorn ran across a fancy hall, using his magic to carry a folder with the words "OPALINE ARCANA" written in big, bold letters. "No, no, no, no, no!" He muttered, opening a door with his magic as he sped through.

"Fate is really going to be mad! Argh!" the stallion said, jumping in the air as he disappeared in a flash of orange light. Seconds later, he appeared inside a small office, which was dimly lit. "Uh... Ms. Fate? Are you there? Hello?" the unicorn asked, turning around as he placed the items he held with his magic on the desk.

The chair spun around, revealing a white alicorn with a silky gold mane. She had a cross look on her face as she glared at the orange unicorn, who weakly chuckled. "Hey, Fate! It's nice to see you!" the orange unicorn said, shooting a nervous smile at Fate.

"Likewise, I suppose," Fate said, leaning backward into her chair. "But, what are you doing here, Clover?" Fate asked, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "I didn't call you to my office, and last I heard, you had a day off today, correct?" Fate's eyes widened as she noticed the file on her desk. "And why do you have Opaline Arcana's file with you?"

"Right. Um," Clover cleared his throat as he levitated the file over to him. "So, y'know how Sunny Starscout and her friends were able to defeat Opaline by using the magic of friendship to steal her cutie mark and using it as bait to trap her in a Together Tree?" Clover asked.

"Of course I do! I manage the timeline, for Faust's sake!"

"Well," Clover averted eye contact as he opened the file and slid a photo of Opaline toward Fate. "Somehow, Grogar, who shouldn't even exist, was able to get in contact with Opaline and send her to... Fate™, where we are right now." Clover said.

Fate gasped. "What?! Opaline's here?! Please tell me you were able to get her back to the Together Tree," Fate asked, a worried expression forming on her face.

"You see, when I cast the spell, something... interfered," Clover said, inhaling. "Something kept me from sending her back, somehow. I tried to cast the spell again, but Opaline was able to teleport herself away in time, unfortunately for us."

Fate exhaled as she slammed a hoof on her desk, surprising Clover. "Do you know where she could've gone? Did she say anything to you during your standoff? An objective, a goal, a location, perhaps?" Fate asked.

"She said something about "making Celestia pay for leaving her," but other than that, that's our only clue." Clover inquired, spinning his hoof. "But why would she appear here, in the afterlife, instead of in Skyros? That's where Celestia is currently, isn't she?"

As Fate thought, she suddenly realized something. She picked up the file on Opaline and opened it, her eyes fixating on one thing. ""When Celestia and Luna left Opaline in Skyros, she wanted to follow them and make them pay for leaving her."" Fate read. ""But, due to King Helium, she decided against it and stayed in Skyros, fostering feelings of guilt, betrayal, and anger.""

"And... is this supposed to mean something, or are you just reading it aloud for fun?" Clover asked, visibly confused. "Because, if so, then we should be focusing on the important stuff."

"Yes, Clover, it means something!" Fate said, whipping her gaze towards him. "Opaline doesn't want to enact her revenge on the present Celestia, she wants to enact it on the past one! Because if she does, she'll have full control over Equestria! Sunny Starscout and her friends will cease to exist, and by extension, Equestria and its history!"

"Oh, my Faust! But how would she do that?" Clover asked. "The only thing that can change the timeline, is, well, the Destiny Room. But only you, I, and other important individuals can access it!"

"Do you seriously think that with Opaline's power, she'd need a keycard to enter it?!" Fate retorted back, getting up from her chair. "If she was able to resist a spell to get her to travel through time, she could easily break a magically enchanted door!"

"Alright, I see your point," Clover chuckled. "Quick! To the room of destiny! Or, the Destiny Room!" Clover said, lighting up his horn. Fate's horn lit up as well as they both teleported outside of the office and appeared outside a room with no door.

"Where's the door?" Clover asked.

"There," Fate said, pointing to a pile of ashes on the ground where the door was supposed to be. "Come on, we have to be quick. Opaline could change the timeline at any moment! That's assuming she knows how to."

Fate and Clover rushed inside, and inside was a bigger version of a timeline, pieces that represented events in Equestria's history in holes. Opaline was next to it, moving pieces around like a toy. "Opaline! Stop right there!" Fate shouted.

Opaline turned around, and her face instantly turned into one of confusion. "Who are you?" Opaline asked. Her eyes turned to Clover, and she instantly growled. "Oh, it's you again? Back for round two, are you?" Opaline said, her horn lighting up.

Opaline blasted a beam at the two, and they teleported away before the beam could hit them. Fate appeared next to Opaline as a yellow aura surrounded the piece. Opaline snarled as she, along with the piece, teleported to another side of the room, the aura surrounding the piece broken.

Clover suddenly appeared behind Opaline and snatched the piece away before teleporting next to Fate. "Boom! That was easy," Clover said, handing the piece over to Fate.

"For an alicorn who bested Twilight Sparkle, you hardly put up a fight," Fate said. "Well, it's over, Opaline! Whatever plan you had to get rid of Celestia or Luna - it's over!" Fate threw the piece to the ground, the piece shattering upon impact.

Clover turned to Opaline, and instead of a face of anger, it was a face of victory. "What in the..." Before Clover had any time to think about it, a translucent blue shield surrounded them. "What is this, Opaline?!" Clover asked.

"It's a shield, you idiot!" Fate said, crouching down. "Opaline must've created a fake piece before we came in, and used that piece to trick us! She knew we were coming!" Fate groaned.

Opaline got up and smirked. "Oh, aren't you a smart one, aren't you?" Opaline cooed. She pulled out the real piece as she walked over to the timeline. "I admit, for someone who controlled time and space herself, you were tricked easily. I thought you were supposed to know everything."

Fate didn't reply, instead, she growled at Opaline. "Whatever. Soon, my time will finally come! A second chance! A chance to rule Equestria, just as he said!" Opaline said, puffing her chest victoriously. She used her magic to put the piece on the timeline, and a blue shockwave was sent throughout the room, heck, even time and space.

Fate gasped as her eyes shot open. "What happened!?" She realized she wasn't in the shield anymore, so she got up. "Clover? Clover! Where are you?" Fate called out, noticing Clover, who was supposed to be next to her, wasn't there. Fate looked worried before she sighed in relief. "Right, right. When Opaline put that piece on the timeline, she put it in a time when Clover was alive. All I have to do now is..." Fate stood up and trotted to the timeline. "...remove the piece."

Fate exhaled. "I've... never actually done this before, and, um, argh! Who am I even talking to? Whatever. Focus on the piece, Fate!" Fate put a hoof on the piece, and suddenly, she felt a jolt of electricity surge through her. "Ack! What was that?!" This time, Fate used her magic to remove the piece, but strangely enough, she couldn't.

Fate inhaled and exhaled as she faced the piece. "This is... harder than expected. I can do this! I can!" Fate determinedly said. A yellow aura surrounded the piece as Fate put more magic into it. The piece moved a bit before blue lighting bolts surrounded it, breaking the spell.

"No! What. Is. Happening!?" Fate said to herself, flabbergasted. "Fine! Like I care! I'll find a way to get you out, sooner or later! Whatever spell Opaline, or Grogar, put on you, it won't stay there forever! No! It won't! Watch me!" Fate growled.

Huffing, Fate turned around and trotted to the exit. She looked at the timeline one last time as she sighed and said to herself, "I'll find a way to get you back, Clover. I promise." Fate turned to the door (which was strangely fixed) and left.

Author's Note

Yeah. This story was supposed to be released in 2025, but apparently, when I cancelled the original version of this, some of the people reading my story - Ancient Relics, please check it out! - LEFT ME. Some of my motivation for writing that story disappeared, since people weren't commenting that much (Phetiamwantip, you're a real one), but I'm not cancelling it.

Anyways, here's the first chapter of the rewrite, this is just a prologue, so sorry if it isn't that long. I'll try to get the second chapter done soon, but my mid year exams are coming up, so no promises! Hope you like the rewrite, and hopefully, I won't cancel this one.

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage:

2. Gonna Be My Day

August 5, 2014

As a rainbow shockwave spread across Equestria, a young blue pegasus filly from Zephyr Heights, who created it, received her cutie mark - a rainbow lightning cloud. On a rock farm, a pink earth pony filly saw the rainbow it created and smiled widely. A rock cracked open at the cliff's edge, revealing dazzling gems as a white unicorn's eyes lit up. In an apartment in Manehattan, an orange earth pony filly saw a rainbow leading towards a farm. A yellow pegasus checked up on the animals in a forest below Zephyr Heights after they ran away. In Canterlot, a young purple unicorn was taking her entrance exam when she shot a magic beam at a purple and green egg.

In another part of Canterlot, a sad orange earth pony with a magenta mane's eyes lit up as she looked up and saw the rainbow. Outside Zephyr Height's Royal Palace, a white pegasus flew for the first time, while a pink pegasus started singing, attracting a crowd. In the Everfree Forest, a young yellow colt grabbed a teal and magenta egg as he dashed away outside CanterLogic, a red earth pony colt held out his hoof to a young yellow earth pony filly. In Bridlewood, a purple unicorn filly with a blue mane started putting items together as she crafted.

In the royal gardens in Canterlot, a white alicorn with a multicolored mane rushed inside a tower, a tall, purple, and green dragon sticking out the top. "Is this it? Have I found the wielder of the Element of Magic?" she muttered to herself, entering a room labeled "Exam Room."

June 22, 2024

Inside a light orange room, filled with posters about an indigo earth pony stallion, an orange earth pony mare lay on her bed, sound asleep. Suddenly, a navy blue alarm clock started vibrating, sending the mare a loud "RING!". "Urgh..." she mumbled, putting a pillow on her face.

"Sunny? Sunny! It's already 6:30! You told me to wake you up, dear! You said you had a... morning rush prep run?"

Sunny groaned as she got out of bed. "Yeah, yeah, thanks, Mrs. Velvet! I'll be down in five!" Sunny shouted. She trotted over to her desk, which had a "CanterLogic Laptop" on it. She opened a drawer and grabbed one of her teal manebands as she started fixing her mane.

Downstairs, Twilight Velvet was in the kitchen, cutting up fruits as Sunny walked down the stairs. "Oh, Sunny! Care for a PB&J sandwich before you go?" Twilight Velvet asked, levitating a zip lock bag with two triangular slices of a PB&J sandwich inside.

"Of course!" Sunny said, grabbing the bag with her teeth before stuffing it into a saddlebag and putting it on. "I'll see you later, Mrs. Velvet! Also, have you seen Twilight? Is she still sleeping in?" Sunny asked.

"No, actually," Twilight Velvet answered. "She left twenty minutes ago. Said she needed to "get a head start on her studies," I told her she didn't have to but she was insistent."

"Really? That's a first," Sunny chuckled. She sat down on the couch and quickly put on her skates before skating out the door.

"Don't be late!" Twilight Velvet shouted, closing the door.

On the streets of Canterlot, Sunny zoomed on the sidewalks, dodging every pedestrian with ease. "Morning, Golden Rose! Morning, Lunar! Morning..." Sunny stopped in her tracks, facing an indigo unicorn stallion with a cerulean mane. "...Orion! How are you doing today?"*

"I'm doing fine, Sunny," Orion said. "What are you doing now? Competing in a skating contest? Trying to crash into somepony?" Orion asked, noticing the skates.

Sunny scoffed as she shot him a small smile. "I bumped into you one time in the fifth grade! I was still getting the hang of my skates!" Sunny said, raising one of her hooves. "I've gotten better since then!"

"Whatever," Orion said, rolling his eyes. "Well, I don't want to keep you from... whatever you're doing, so I'll be on my way." Orion turned around and walked away, leaving Sunny there alone.

Sunny chuckled to herself before skating away, humming a small (but catchy) tune as she left. Unbeknownst to her, music started playing, seemingly out of nowhere.

[Sunny]: Good morning, sun
No time to chat, I gotta run
'Cause I've got places to be

So much to do
Excited, yes, and nervous, too
A change is starting with me

Sunny passed by two young colts, who were arguing over a deflated ball. Sunny looked around before she saw a store named "Toys4You" and entered it, then a few minutes later, she came back outside, holding a brand new ball with her hoof. She trotted to the colts and she gave them the ball before leaving.

[Sunny]: I never worry 'bout
Upsetting carts, hardened hearts
Or wonder "Will I belong?"

I've heard it enough, I'm callin' their bluff
I'll never get lost in the grey
There's somethin' inside, burns bigger than pride
Shines out of me lighting the way

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (oh-oh-oh-oh)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be my day (ooh-ooh)

Hey there, hello
The friends I make, the friends I know
Today you answer my call

Instead of hide
Instead of staying stuck inside
Instead of building your wall

Come on and party with me
Join the band, understand
We'll all be singin' this song

I've heard it enough, I'm callin' their bluff
I'll never get lost in the grey
Go big or go home, get real or get known
Get ready and raring to say

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (ooh-ooh)

Everyone's afraid
Always judgin', never budgin'
Ain't it time we made
The team, the dream?
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohhhhhh!

Let's open our eyes, sun's starting to rise
And finally able to say

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my... day!)

As she sang her song, many ponies saw her singing and, to her surprise, joined in, acting as her ensemble. A few minutes later, when the song ended, she saw three of her friends - Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts, each having gift boxes on their backs.

"Girls!" Sunny called out, a smile forming on her face.

"Sunny!" Each of them shouted, trotting to their friend.

"It's been a while, Sunny! How's it been?" Minuette asked. "We haven't hung out in a week! What has happened with your life, girl?"

"Oh, y'know," Sunny laughed. "The usual, I guess? Wake up, eat, open the cart, eat, reopen the cart, eat, sleep, then... repeat."

"Aw, so there's no time for us? Not even a couple of minutes?" Lemon Hearts pouted. "What about Twilight, then? You live with her, right? You don't spend time with her?"

Sunny playfully rolled her eyes as she said, "Of course I spend time with Twilight! She's one of my best friends!" Sunny tilted her head as she noticed the gifts on their backs. "Are you heading to the party already? It doesn't start until 8, right?"

"Oh, yeah, but we decided to come early, so we could help Moon Dancer with the decorations," Twinkleshine responded. "Anyways, what did you get Moon Dancer? Bits? A stuffed animal? A "Free Smoothies for a Month" card?" Twinkleshine asked, grinning. "Come on, tell us!"

"A locket!" Sunny said. "I saw it at the Canterlot Mall last week, and it was so cute! It fits Moon Dancer perfectly! It's shaped like a moon and it's colored in Moon Dancer!" Sunny pulled out her phone and showed the trio a picture of the locket, and they all gasped in unison.

"Ooh! Fancy!" Minuette said before a thought came to her. "Hey, Sunny, can you do us a favor? We saw Twilight earlier and tried to get her to go, but as usual, she was able to run away. Maybe you could talk to her? You're closer to her than we are, and we all know how much Moon Dancer admires Twilight. It would mean the world for her if Twilight came."

"I... I'll try," Sunny said, and when her friends smiled, she quickly added, "But I can't promise you she'll come. As much as I would hate to disappoint Moon Dancer, I can't force Twilight to go to parties. Even with our special bond."

"Eee! Thank you, thank you, Sunny!" Minuette said, hugging the orange mare tightly. "She's at the tower Princess Celestia gifted her three years ago!"

"That's... good... to know!" Sunny said. With how tight Minuette was hugging her, it was hard for her to talk. As soon as she let go, Sunny took started coughing. "I'll be on my way... see you at the party!"

As Sunny skated away, Lemon Hearts couldn't help but ask, "Hey, doesn't Sunny remind you of that unicorn? Sunrise... no, Sunbeam... right, Sunset! Doesn't Sunny remind you of Sunset Shimmer?"

"Now that you mentioned it, she kind of does!" Minuette said, nodding in agreement. "Heck, if she just had a horn and dyed her mane red and yellow, I wouldn't tell the difference!"

"Eh, I don't see it," Twinkleshine said. "Sunny's nice and humble, while Sunset is mean and boastful. How could you compare them?"

When Minuette nodded in agreement as well, Lemon Hearts retorted, "Well, they're both determined when they've got their minds on a goal, right?" Twinkleshine murmured in agreement before Lemon Hearts added, "Wait, have any of you seen Sunset? She's been gone for... two weeks!"**

As Sunny arrived at the base of a tall, white tower, she saw a purple unicorn run up the ramp and enter the tower. Sunny inhaled and exhaled as she skated up the ramp, and quickly entered the room before the door closed. "Twilight!" Sunny said, immediately taking off her skates.

"Sunny? What are you doing here?" the purple unicorn - Twilight Sparkle - asked, tilting her head. "And have you seen Spike? I know he was here somewhere."

"I'm... right... here." Sunny and Twilight turned around and saw Spike, a purple and green dragon, laying on the floor, a red gift empaled on his tail.

"Ah, Spike! There you are," Twilight used her magic and lifted Spike off the ground, and took the gift out of Spike's tail. "Uh... what's this?" Twilight asked.

"It was a gift for Moon Dancer but," Spike took the gift back and opened it, revealing a teddy bear with a hole in the middle. "You can see why I used "was," right?"

"Well, it's not like you could give it to her anyway," Twilight said, putting her saddlebag on the floor. "You know we don't have time for that kind of stuff! Studies are more important than parties, Spike."

"But, Twilight," Sunny said, taking a deep breath. "It's Moon Dancer's first party, don't you want to go? You have a lot of shared interests! You both love reading, you two are super smart, you two look like recolored versions of yourselves, and I could go on! Come on, don't you want to go?"

Twilight was silent for a few seconds before replying with, "It's her first party, Sunny, not her last. I'm sorry, but you'll have to tell Moon Dancer no."

"I... I understand," Sunny said, frowning. "Um, anyways, what's so important that you ran here? I saw you run up the tower, and you are not fond of physical activities."

"I'll explain later," Twilight simply said. "Right now, I need you and Spike to find a book. It's called "Predictions and Prophecies," I'm sure I had a copy in here somewhere."

"Predictions and Prophecies? Why would you want that book?" Spike asked. "I thought you were more on the science-y side of life, and not the "believe in a higher order" kind."

"It's... complicated, alright?" Twilight answered.

Before Sunny had a chance to say something, Twilight started rummaging through the library for the book, and Spike followed behind. Sunny sighed as she started browsing shelves, pulling out books, checking the titles, and then putting them back if it wasn't the one they were looking for.

With Twilight, she used her magic to levitate books in front of her, checking the titles quickly before putting them back on their shelves neatly. "No, no, no, no, no... Sunny! Have you found it yet?" Twilight asked, turning to Sunny.

"Nope," Sunny dryly responded, putting back another book. "Unlike you, I have to do this the hard way. And besides, we have loads of books in this library, it's going to be a while before we-"

"Found it!"

Sunny turned to Spike, who was on a comedically tall ladder holding a dark blue book with a golden picture of a horse in the middle. Twilight used her magic to lift Spike off the ladder and onto her back, taking the book from his claws. "Thank you, Spike," Twilight said before proceeding to lift Spike off her back. "Now... Elements... E, E, E, E... aha!"

Sunny took a peek at the book and inside was a symbol of twelve gems, each a different color. "'Elements of Harmony, an ancient artifact made by an unknown sorcerer thousands of years ago. See "Mare in the Moon" if you want to know more about this subject.'" Twilight read and started flipping towards the page.

"'Mare in the Moon? Elements of Harmony?'" Sunny questioned, staring at Twilight. "I guess I could understand why you would want to understand more about the Elements of Harmony, seeing as they're artifacts, but an old foal's tale? Why would you want to know about that?"

"Because, Sunny," Twilight began. "I just have a strange... feeling, to say the least. Something's off." Twilight turned to the book and stopped on the page with the tale of the "Mare in the Moon." "'The Mare in the Moon, a myth from old pony times. She was a powerful alicorn who wanted to control Equestria by removing the day, but she was defeated by the Elements of Harmony on the summer solstice and imprisoned on the moon. An old legend states that, on the longest day of the thousandth year, she will come back to Equestria and bathe the land in eternal darkness.''"

Twilight used her magic to slam the book shut as she gasped in realization. "Sunny, Spike! Do you know what this means?" Twilight asked, looking at her friends.

"That... um... no?" Sunny said, looking confused. "I don't see your point."

"Ugh," Twilight groaned as a scroll and a quill appeared in front of her, a magenta aura wrapped around them as she held them in front of Spike. "Spike, take a note, please. To the Princess."

"Okie dokie!" Spike took the quill and held the scroll in his left claw. As Twilight started telling Spike what to write, Spike wrote it in the letter as Sunny listened.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I know that you, my teacher, have told me that I should take a break from my studies, but what I have found is too important, and it needs to be told to you right away! For you see, my continuing studies of pony magic and pony history have led me to uncover that the mythical "Mare in the Moon" is indeed Nightmare Moon, a foe you faced a thousand years ago. Nightmare Moon is about to return to Equestria today during the Summer Sun Celebration and bring with her an eternal night. Something must be done to make sure that this terrible prophecy does not come through! I await your quick response.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

As Spike finished the last words, he rolled up the scroll and put the quill in one of his loose scales. "Done!" Spike said, holding the scroll up.

"Great! Send it!" Twilight said.

"Now?"

"Well, obviously. I wouldn't have you write a message to the princess and not send it, would I?"***

Sunny cleared her throat as she stepped into the conversation. "I don't know, Twilight. Princess Celestia must be very busy preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it's the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, so it has to be important." Sunny said.

"But that's just it," Twilight said. "Tomorrow morning, it'll be the longest day of the longest year, which is when Nightmare Moon returns! Even if this is just me being paranoid, we can't overlook this! Princess Celestia must be notified of this right away! So send it already!"

"Okay, okay!" Spike said. He blew green fire onto the scroll as it turned into smoke and started traveling towards the Royal Castle. "There. It's on its way, but don't hold your breath."

"Oh, I'm not worried, Spike," Twilight said, looking out of the big glass window. "The Princess trusts me completely, and in all my years I've been her faithful student, she's never once doubted me. Why would she start now?"

Suddenly, Spike burped out a scroll with a red ribbon wrapped around it. "That was... fast," Sunny said. "I thought that would've taken an hour to reply to."

"Sunny, Sunny, Sunny," Twilight laughed. "I knew she'd want to take immediate action, that's why she replied so fast. Now, Spike read it to me."

Spike unfurled the scroll as he cleared his throat and started reading.

My Faithful , Twilight Sparkle,

You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely. But you must stop reading those dusty old books!

"What?!" Twilight shouted, shocked. She used her magic to grab the scroll and started reading the rest.

My dear Twilight, while education is important, there is more to a young pony's life than studying. That's why I'm sending you and your friend Sunny Starscout to supervise the preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Maretime Bay. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends! Now, I've arranged for you to stay in Sunny's old lighthouse, which has been renovated recently. Underneath this message is the list of things you need to check on.

Food from Sweet Apple Acres.

Weather Preparation by a blue, rainbow-maned pegasus named Rainbow Dash

Decorations in City Hall

Security at the Sheriff's Office

Music on the beach

Your ever-caring mentor, Princess Celestia.

"Oh, wow, she sure trusts you completely, doesn't she?" Spike sarcastically said, eliciting a sharp glare from Twilight.

"Spike!" Sunny hissed, nudging Spike. "Look, Twilight, maybe you should stop fussing over this "Mare in the Moon" stuff, right? And besides, we're going to Maretime Bay! Eek! This is going to be the first time the Princess asked me to do something! Well, technically, she asked me to accompany you, but it's still something!"

"Ugh, whatever," Twilight said, frowning. "Come on! Let's just go already! I just want to get this over with! Urgh!" Twilight groaned, stomping out of the tower.

"...She's in a bad mood, isn't she?" Spike said.

Author's Note

*This is Orion Swirl Constell, my OC! He's going to be an important character later on, so, yup!
**Could this be... Sunset Shimmer foreshadowing?
***It's a valid point, y'know.

Anywho, here's Chapter 2! Woo! So, we've some of our protagonists, Sunny Starscout, Twilight Sparkle, and Spike the Dragon! Next time, we're heading to Maretime Bay! So, stay tuned!

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage:

3. Maretime Bay

June 22, 2024

Sunny Starscout
Hey. So, um, me and Twilight won't be able to make it to Moon Dancer's party. You see, this Princess asked Twilight to go to Maretime Bay to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and asked me to accompany her.

Sunny Starscout
I'm really REALLY sorry. Is Moon Dancer okay?

Twinkleshine
No. She isn't. When we told her the news, she started crying and ran away.

Minuette
We're trying to talk to her now, but she's not listening to us. :(

Minuette
Could you try to get back fast? Please. It breaks our hearts to see Moon Dancer so sad.

Minuette
Sunny? @SunnyStarscout? Hello???

Sunny put her phone in her saddlebag as she stared into the sky. She, Twilight, and Spike were on a golden chariot towards Maretime Bay, and Spike was trying to convince Twilight to be more positive, and it was... not working.

"Come on, Twilight! Aren't you a little excited? We've never been to Maretime Bay before!" Spike said, nudging Twilight. "Sure, the Princess basically said that she didn't trust you in a nicer way, but how could she? So far, all you've found out are coincidences. There's no proof that Nightmare Moon is the Mare in the Moon."

Suddenly, Twilight's face lit up, and a determined look appeared. "You're right, Spike! I don't have any proof, so, understandably, the Princess wouldn't believe it from her view!" Twilight turned to Sunny, who was snapped out of her thoughts. "Sunny, your lighthouse has a library, correct?" Twilight asked.

"Um, yeah," Sunny said, shaking her head. "My dad stocked the library with books from throughout Equestria before we moved out. Why?"

"Because," Twilight smiled as she scooted over to Sunny. "If Argyle stocked it with books from throughout Equestria, then there must be something to prove that Nightmare Moon will come back!" Twilight said.

"But how will you make friends like the Princess said?" Sunny asked. "And how are we going to check up on the preparations if you're busy in the library researching?"

"It's simple, really," Twilight said, smiling. "We'll just check up on everything quickly and get to the lighthouse to research before the Summer Sun Celebration starts. Easy!"

"And how are you going to make friends?" Spike asked, crossing his arms. "Come on, Twilight! Just try and make some friends!"

Twilight scoffed. "Why? I already have you two, why would I need more? And besides, it's not like I'll ever see them again." Twilight said.

As the golden chariot landed, the trio trotted out as the guards flew away with the chariot. "Twilight, even if you'll never see them again, it doesn't hurt to make them! Come on, just talk to one of them, I'm sure the residents of Maretime Bay have... something interesting to talk about!" Sunny said, nudging Twilight.

"Alright, alright, fine!" Twilight groaned. She looked around before she settled on a light pink earth pony with a darker pink frazzled mane. "I'll go talk to her, happy?" When Sunny nodded, Twilight trotted up to the pink pony and said, "Um, hello! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and you are?" Twilight introduced herself, but the only thing the mare did was gasp before zooming away at a comedically fast pace.

Twilight turned to Sunny and Spike, the former tilting her head in confusion. "Well, that was... interesting, wouldn't you say so, Twi?" Sunny said. "So, uh, what's the first thing on the list?" Sunny asked.

Spike pulled out the list from his loose scrolls and unfurled it. "Food preparation at... Sweet Apple Acres." Spike read, putting it back in his scales when he was done. "Where's that?" Spike asked.

"Sweet Apple Acres is..." Sunny looked around as she peered at her surroundings. "...I don't know. It's been ten years since I've lived here, okay? It's not like we have a conveniently placed map of Maretime Bay around here!" Sunny said.

At that moment, as if something was listening to her, a small gust of wind blew a map onto Sunny's face. "Ack! What is this?!" Twilight used her magic to lift the map of her face as she levitated it towards herself. "What is it?" Sunny asked.

"It's a map of Maretime Bay!" Twilight said, showing Sunny the map. "This is weird. Really weird. When you said that last sentence, a map flew into her face! It's like the universe was, I don't know, listening to us!"

"Oh, my gosh," Sunny's eyes widened as she cleared her throat and said, "It's not like we have a conveniently placed chest filled with thousands of gold bits lying around here?" Sunny closed her eyes, and after a few seconds, she opened them. When she saw nothing, she sighed. "Yeah, I think it was just a coincidence." Sunny sadly said.

The three walked on the dirt trail toward Sweet Apple Acres - a farm just outside of Maretime Bay. "And... this should be Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight said, stuffing the map in her saddlebag. In the center of the farm was a big, red barn. Around it, were many crops and animals.

Sunny took a whiff of the air before she sighed and said, "Oh, my gosh! Can you smell that?! That's the smell of..." Sunny took another whiff. "...apple pies, apple fritters, apple brownies, apple cider, apple juice, and other apple products! Doesn't it smell so good?"

"You bet it does!"

The trio turned around, and behind them, was an orange earth pony mare, a brown hat covering her braided blonde mane. "The name's Applejack Apple, a pleasure to meet ya'll!" Applejack said, extending her hoof out.

"Well, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and over here are my friends, Sunny Starscout and Spike the Dragon, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Applejack." Twilight took Applejack's hoof, and Applejack shook it. Hard.

"No need for "Miss," just call me Applejack!" Applejack said, not noticing that Twilight was vibrating. "So, what brings you here to the Acres? It's not that we don't like the company, we in the Apple family love it!"

"We're just here to check up on the food for the Summer Sun Celebration," Sunny explained. "Princess Celestia sent us." Sunny carefully pulled Twilight back as the purple unicorn spun around in a daze.

"Oh! So ya'll are the ponies Princess Celestia said was visiting!" Applejack said, widening her eyes in realization. "Ya'll should try the food! Our treat!"

"No, no, we wouldn't want to impose on you," Twilight said, rubbing her temples. "And besides, we've still got to do stuff, y'know, since the Princess asked us to? It looks - and smells like - it's coming along great, so our time here is done!"

"Nope, no way! I insist! It's almost supper time anyway, come on!" Applejack shook her head as she dragged Twilight onto the farm, Sunny and Spike following behind her. "'Sides, I'm sure you need the energy later, I take it you don't exercise often, do ya?"

"I... well," Twilight blushed as she averted eye contact with Applejack. "That's beside the point! Really, me, Sunny, and Spike should get going now."

"Twilight! Be nice!" Sunny scolded, lightly punching Twilight. "We'd love to eat here, wouldn't we, Twilight?" As Sunny faced Twilight, the studious unicorn couldn't help but sigh as she met Sunny's glare.

"I guess we have some time," Twilight mumbled. "Spike! Don't eat too much, okay? I am not carrying you on my back for the rest of the day!"

"Then it looks like it's settled! You three can sit right over there," Applejack pointed to a big table with a light blue tablecloth, which had multiple stools set up. Applejack pulled out a bell as she shouted, "Soup's on, everypony!" and started ringing it wildly.

Suddenly, a crowd started rushing out of the barn – the Apple family, Sunny presumed. As the trio sat down at the table, each member of the Apple family started placing multiple apple-themed foods on it. "Twilight, Sunny, Spike, meet the Apple family! Apple family, meet Twilight, Sunny, and Spike."

"It's a pleasure to meet..." Sunny paused as she started counting each pony in front of her, and when she made it to the "thirty" mark, a young yellow filly with a red mane walked over to her and whispered "one thirty-six" in her ear before trotting away. "...all one hundred thirty-six of you all!"

"We have more than that, but our relatives in Maraneigh. Fillydelphia and Trotsky couldn't make it," Applejack added.

"There's more of them?" Spike whispered to Twilight, who just awkwardly nodded.

"As much as I would love to introduce each member of the Apple family individually, you made it clear you didn't have time, so we'll just let ya'll meet the family here in Maretime Bay!" Applejack said as she brought a red stallion, the young yellow filly from earlier, and an elderly green mare, who was sound asleep on her rocking chair. "This here's Big MacIntosh, Apple Bloom, and the leader of the farm, Granny Smith!"

Granny Smith jolted awake as she took note of her surroundings. "Huh? What year is it?!" she mumbled before going back to sleep.

"Oh, that's our Granny Smith!" Applejack chuckled, slapping her hooves. "Now, what would ya like to eat first? Apple fritters? Apple pie? Apple juice? Apple cider? Apple cookies? Or apple cake?"

As Twilight and Sunny looked at each other, Sunny quietly said under her breath, "...Maybe I made a mistake in accepting their offer."

"Yeah, you think?!"

"Hey! Why don't you include me in the conversation this time?" Spike asked, crossing his arms.

As each member of the Apple family gestured to their meal, Sunny sighed as she mentally prepared herself for having to eat one hundred and thirty-six meals – if not more!

"So... full... argh."

As Twilight, Sunny, and Spike walked along the sides of the streets in Maretime Bay, the purple unicorn groaned as Spike checked "food" off the list. "What's next?" Sunny asked, shaking her head.

"Weather," Spike responded, looking at the cloud-filled sky. "Weird, there should be a blue pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the sky."

"Whoever this "Rainbow Dash" is, is just making my job harder!" Twilight grumbled. "I mean, would it kill you to stop whatever activity you're doing and clear up the sky for Celestia's sake!? Now, we're going to have to find her and get her to do her Faustforsaken job! Ugh!"

"Uh, maybe she's clearing up the sky in some other part of Maretime Bay?" Sunny inquired, shrugging.

"Really? Then maybe we'd, y'know, see a pegasus zooming around in the sky!?" Twilight said, groaning. "Come on, just help me find her so I can go to the lighthouse and- ack!"

Sunny gasped as a light blue pegasus with a rainbow mane crashed into Twilight, the two of them falling to the ground. Not a second later, a white pegasus with a cerise mane landed on the ground, a concerned look on her face. "Rainbow! Are you alright?" the white pegasus asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The blue pegasus – Rainbow Dash, Sunny heard – stood up as she brushed the dirt off of her. "So, how'd I do?" Rainbow asked, looking eagerly at her friend.

"You did horrible." Twilight bitterly said, spitting out the dirt in her mouth. It was only then that Rainbow Dash noticed the purple unicorn and sheepishly picked her up. "I'm going to take it you're Rainbow Dash?"

"That's me!" Rainbow proudly said before adding, "Uh, sorry for landing on you, hehe," Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head, avoiding eye contact with her. "Um, you said you know me? How? Oh, my gosh, did the word of Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria, finally spread?!"

"No, the Princess told me that you're in charge of clearing the sky for the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "That, and I heard your..." Twilight and the white pegasus exchanged glances, and they recognized each other, but they hid it before anyone noticed. "...friend say your name, so, yeah."

"Heh, right," Rainbow said before trotting to her friend, the white pegasus. "This is my friend, Zipp Storm, I take it you know her? 'Cause, y'know, she's the Princess of Zephyr Heights? Heir to the throne?"

"I know her," Twilight said. "We've talked a few times. A few months ago was the last time we saw each other, well, until now, that is."

"It helps to know you have a friend while your Mom and Aunt Celestia lecture me about "being more princess-like" in the castle," Zipp said, not noticing the flinch Twilight had when she referred to her as a friend. "So, what's the student of the Princess herself doing in Maretime Bay?"

Before Twilight could speak, Sunny spoke up. "We're here checking up on preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration!" Sunny said, a bit too eager. "Oh, my gosh! I can't believe I'm meeting real-life royalty! And, Twilight," Sunny turned to her friend. "Why haven't you told me that you knew royalty!?"

"It never came up," Twilight responded. "Well, anyways," Twilight turned to look at Rainbow Dash. "You. Why aren't you clearing up the sky? Whatever... you were doing didn't look important to me. You could've harmed yourself, or anypony else, like me!"

"Why do you think? I'm practicing for the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow answered, posing next to a wall with a poster of the Wonderbolts. "Me and Zipp were doing a few tricks earlier, and it got a little out of hand. Again, sorry. But, that was just a one-time thing! I'm not going to harm anypony else with my amazing tricks."

"Okay, fine, I guess I see your point," Twilight said. "But when are you going to clear up the sky? I've got a schedule! A schedule!"

"I'll do it later, once I'm done perfecting my newest trick." Rainbow Dash dismissively said, waving her hoof.

Twilight groaned – she could assume this was not going to go anywhere. Not with her attitude. Suddenly, a thought came to her as she smirked, but quickly hid it. Sunny, along with Zipp, noticed as the orange mare scooted next to Zipp.

"So, I bet this trick of yours is for the Wonderbolts, am I correct?" Twilight asked, meeting Rainbow's gaze.

"Obviously," Rainbow answered. "I thought you would've already known, seeing as you are the student of Princess Celestia herself."

Twilight's eye twitched, but she cooled down as she smiled at the rainbow-maned pegasus. "The Wonderbolts are the best flyers of Equestria, the highest on the rank. What makes you so sure that they would accept you, a measly pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one short day?" Twilight asked before a fake look of realization spread on her face. "Oh! I see what this is! You aren't clearing up the sky because you can't, am I right?"

"Uh, I could do it in like, ten seconds flat!" Rainbow retorted, shooting a small glare at the bookworm.

"Really? Then why don't you? Hm?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I will! Heck, I'll do it right now!" Rainbow said, crossing her hooves as she went airborne.

"Alright," Twilight said before she turned to face Spike. "Spike! Stopwatch, please!" Twilight ordered. Spike walked up to her and pulled out a stopwatch from his scales. "Let's see if you really are as you say, Rainbow Dash."

As Twilight started the time, Rainbow Dash quickly zoomed into the sky, clearing clouds as she flew. A few seconds later, the sky was completely cleared as Rainbow touched the ground, Twilight stopping the stopwatch the second she did so. "So? How'd I do?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight looked at the time, and when she did, her eyes widened in shock. "Ten seconds!? How!? I... I..." Twilight stuttered as Sunny and Zipp looked for themselves. "It's... it's not possible! You... uh... how!?"

"Told you so, I'm just that good," Rainbow said, hiding a surprised look. "Anyways, me and Zipp should get going now. Since I cleared the sky already, we've got the rest of the day to ourselves!" As stretched her wings, she and Zipp started flying.

"You're a hoot, Twilight Sparkle," Rainbow complimented, releasing Twilight from her stupor. "If you ever visit Zephyr Heights, be sure to visit me! Me and Zipp would love to hang out sometime!"

"Um... yeah! Maybe." Twilight said, sending the blue pegasus a small smile. "See you two at the Summer Sun Celebration?" Twilight asked. She didn't know why, but after that, she liked having Rainbow Dash around, strange as it was.

"Duh!" Rainbow answered as she and Zipp zoomed away, leaving behind a smoke trail as the left.

It was quiet for a few minutes before Sunny spoke up. "So, that was fun, right? You made a new friend, Twilight! Aww, I'm so proud of you!" Sunny said, nudging Twilight.

"Friend? I wouldn't call Rainbow Dash a friend just yet," Twilight replied, looking at the sky. "But, if I had to say, I guess it wasn't so bad talking with her and Zipp. Maybe making friends isn't as boring as I thought it would be."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, I'm about to go to the airport in a few hours, so I rushed this because I wouldn't want ya'll to wait two weeks for the next chapter. Anyways, we have Twilight, Sunny, and Spike in Maretime Bay! We've met Applejack, Rainbow, and Zipp, just a few more!

Just to let you all know early, I probably won't be releasing a new chapter next week. I'll be in Indonesia for five days, so I won't have a lot of time to write. But, as compensation, I will be releasing a leak of the new chapter when I'm halfway done, so stay tuned!

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage:

4. CanterLogic Showcase

June 22, 2024

The trio walked towards Town Hall, a massive cylindrical building in the center of Maretime Bay. "This is the Town Hall? I mean, it looks pretty and all, but really? There isn't anything on the outside? No banner, no flags, no nothing!" Sunny said, pointing at the building.

"Maybe the ponies decorating it haven't done the outside yet," Spike shrugged. "And it's not like we're going to be outside during the Summer Sun Celebration, after all."

"No, but there are going to be stalls outside," Twilight added, shaking her head. "Though, I wonder how they will set it up, especially when there's nopony here." Twilight looked around, and the area around them was deserted. "You think in a tourist town, you would see a tourist. Whatever, come on, let's go in."

The trio trotted up the stairs towards the entrance to Town Hall, and Twilight used her magic to push the doors open. Inside, two unicorns were busy designing the interior of the building. There was a white unicorn with a purple mane and a light purple unicorn with a blue one instead.

"Red? No, no," The white unicorn muttered as she held up different colored bows with her magic. "Gold? Maybe, hm, Izzy, dear," She turned to the purple unicorn, Izzy. "What do you think? Gold or red? Because, you see, red matches the walls perfectly, but gold contrasts the night."

"I think..." Izzy thought about it for a while before she said, "Red! It'll match the walls and give off that night vibe when it's night, y'know? And besides, Rarity, I plan to use those gold bows with something else."

"Well, I see your point," Rarity said, putting the gold bow on the ground as she tied the red one onto one of the pillars. "There! Doesn't it look wonderful?"

"It certainly does!" Twilight said, speaking up.

Rarity jumped in fear as her head spun around, unaware of the trio until that moment. Izzy, however, looked unaffected as she continued with her work. "Uh, sorry? My name's Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I are here to check on the decorations!" Twilight sheepishly said.

"Oh, of course, heh," Rarity awkwardly said, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, what do you three think about it? Does it look good? I, for one, think it looks amazing right now, but I think it could do better. But, of course, I need to go back to the boutique to get more materials."

As Rarity rambled on, Spike looked at the white unicorn with a lovestruck look, one that Twilight recognized immediately. "You're beautiful," Spike said, unaware of what he said.

Rarity stopped and looked at the dragon, which caused Spike to snap out of his daze. "I meant it's beautiful! The decor! It looks amazing!" Spike said, smiling awkwardly.

"Ah, well, thank you dear," Rarity chuckled. "I admit, this is my first important job, so I was getting a little worried. It helps, hearing a compliment from such a cute little dragon!" Rarity said, pinching Spike's cheeks.

"You... think I'm cute?" Spike said, a small blush forming on his cheeks.

"I mean, look at you," Izzy said, stepping into the conversation. "You have such an adorable belly! And, oh, my gosh, that little checklist and claws! D'aw, that's so cute! You're just as cute as Sparky! Maretime Bay's resident dragon baby!

"Sparky? Dragon baby?" Sunny repeated, tilting her head. "Wait, you have another dragon baby in Maretime Bay? Where!?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, he lives with Hitch, the sheriff!" Izzy answered, shocking Sunny. "He's always been with Hitch, since... ten years ago, I think."

"Hitch? As in, Hitch Trailblazer?!" Sunny asked, her eyes widening. "He's the father of this 'Sparky?'"

"Yup! Why?" Izzy asked. "Are you like, childhood friends?! Woah!"

"Um, yeah," Sunny replied, smiling at the remembrance of fond memories. "We are."

"Oh, dear," Rarity mumbled, levitating an empty box in front of her. "I don't have any more materials. It appears I have to go back to the boutique to grab another box." Rarity said before her eyes lit up. "Ooh! You three should come with me! We could get to know each other better!"

"Uh... I don't know," Twilight said. "We wouldn't want to distract you from your work, especially since the Summer Sun Celebration is later this midnight."

"It's quite alright, darling. Besides," Rarity trotted away as a light blue aura wrapped itself around Twilight's legs, dragging her with the white unicorn. "Me and Izzy are about done with the interior, and the exterior is quite easy to do. Come on, then, to the boutique!"

As Rarity and Twilight walked out the door, Twilight being dragged against her will, Sunny, Spike, and Izzy followed them as Twilight complained.

Inside a carousel-themed boutique, Twilight was put on a stage as Rarity grabbed a rack full of dresses. "Eek! So, which one do you want to try first?" Rarity asked, levitating a couple of dresses for Twilight to decide on.

"How about the, uh..." Twilight looked around the room, desperate to find a way to stall Rarity from dressing her up when she saw a light lavender dress, which looked unfinished. "...that one! The light lavender dress behind you!" Twilight said.

Rarity turned around, saw the dress, then turned back to Twilight. "That one? Are you sure?" Rarity asked. "That one's unfinished, you see. I didn't have the time to finish it last evening."

"Oh, it's fine! It looks good, even if it's unfinished!" Twilight said. "Though, since we have time, you could finish it up, right?"

Rarity seemed to mull over this thought before she simply said, "I guess that's true, and it won't take that long anyway..." Rarity grabbed a needle and some thread and grabbed the dress as she put on glasses. "Stay put! I won't take long, darling, I promise."

As soon as Rarity's back was turned, Twilight tried to make a run for it, but Sunny, Izzy, and Spike stopped her. "Hey, guys, you're blocking the door!" Twilight said, chuckling nervously.

"Sorry, Twilight, but you know what the Princess said," Sunny sternly said. "And besides, you had fun with Rainbow Dash, why not Rarity?"

"Yes, but you know I don't like wearing dresses, or trying on makeup!" Twilight said. "Please, Sunny! Please, please, please!" Twilight begged, but Sunny shook her head.

"I don't know why you would want to leave when the prettiest mare in the world is right in front of us," Spike said, his pupils turning into a heart.

"And... done!" Rarity said, holding up the finished dress.

Sunny pushed Twilight back onto the stage as Rarity turned around and held the dress in front of her. "Ooh, it matches with your coat and mane perfectly!" Rarity squealed. "Though, it still looks a bit plain, do you want me to add sapphires or pyropes?"

"Uh, both?" Twilight answered, shooting a glare at Sunny. "Whichever you think suits me the best, you are the fashionista here, remember?"

"Right, right," Rarity said. "Sapphires look better on you, but I feel like if I add some white topazes here... ooh, and some amethysts here..." As Rarity rambled on, Twilight glanced at Sunny, who shook her head as the purple unicorn sighed.

"Well, I shouldn't ramble on and on about gems, it must be boring you, am I right?" Rarity asked, and before Twilight could answer, she added, "Don't answer that, I know you are."

"I wouldn't say gems are... boring, heck, I studied a few myself, under Princess Celestia's guidance, of course," Twilight informed, shocking Rarity.

Rarity spun around and put her hooves on Twilight as the diva looked into the studious unicorn's eyes. "You study under the Princess?!" Rarity asked. "If you study under the Princess, that must mean you know royalty! And more importantly, you must live in Canterlot!"

"You're surprised? I thought I mentioned it earlier," Twilight said, tilting her head.

"No, you didn't!" Rarity said as she released her hold on Twilight. "Oh, this is just wonderful! I have a new friend, and she lives in Canterlot and knows royalty! Eek! Twilight, tell me, what's it like talking with the Princess? Mingling with the fancy ponies? Eating fancy foods? I must know it all!"

Rarity stared at Twilight akin to how a crazed fan would stare at a celebrity – and Twilight was instantly weirded out. She turned to look at Sunny and Izzy, who had similar thoughts, and then she turned back to Rarity. "Well, I'm sure I could tell you about it... some other time! Hehe," Twilight said.

"Oh, no, no, no! I simply must know!" Rarity said, her smile growing a bit too wide. "Come on, tell me just one thing! What is Princess Celestia like? Or, how are the parties? Or, what does it take to gain a reputation in Canterlot?! Please, Twilight, tell me one thing!"

"Uh... the parties are... fancy?" Twilight said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement. But, in any case, Rarity was satisfied. "Shouldn't you go back to that dress? I'm sure, um, indigo gems would match my mane."

"Indigo gems?" Rarity asked. For a moment, Twilight started to sweat as Rarity seemed to ponder over the thought. "Of course!" Rarity smiled as she trotted away. "I'm sure I have some tanzanite somewhere around here..."

As Twilight jumped off the stage, Sunny said, "Let's go, quickly! Rarity's nice, but right now, she seems a bit... obsessed with Canterlot."

"Finally!" Twilight said.

Sunny looked at Izzy with a face that said 'Are you coming?', but Izzy quickly shook her head. "Nah! Me and Rarity have to work on the decorations, remember? I'll see you three at the celebration!" Izzy said. As the three left the boutique, Izzy waved them goodbye.

When Rarity came back, in the air was a handful of tanzanite. "I'm back, darlings!" Rarity eagerly said until she noticed that the only pony in the room was Izzy. "Where'd they go?"

As the trio trotted on the street, Spike sighed. "Did we really have to leave that early? I mean, she's just a regular pony like you two, just, more prettier." Spike said, earning him a glare from the two mares. "Heh, sorry."

Sunny rolled her eyes before she asked, "So, I'm assuming security is next?"

"Yup! At the sheriff's office!" Spike informed, holding the scroll up. "I finally have the chance to meet another dragon! Did you hear that? Another dragon, like me! Are you excited, Twilight?!"

"I admit, having another dragon would help see if you're growing healthy," Twilight admitted. "Seeing as ponies don't exactly have detailed books on dragon lives, this could really help! And I believe the sheriff is Sunny's old friend, am I right?"

"Oh, yeah," Sunny said. "Me and Hitch are still talking, though from our last conversation, which was months ago, he didn't have a 'Sparky' under his care. Or what if..." Sunny's face grew worried as she continued. "He didn't trust me enough to tell me!? Am I a bad friend?!"

"I don't think it's that," Twilight assured, which did little to quell Sunny's worries. "I'm sure it just never came up! Maybe he forgot to tell you. In any case, you can ask him about it," The three stopped in front of a building with a badge on the top. "Because we're here."

Sunny stepped inside, and the only pony inside was a light yellow earth pony mare with a pink mane, tied in a green tie. Twilight and Spike entered not too long after. "Uh... who are you? I haven't seen your faces around here," The pony asked. "Especially that little dragon."

"We're new to Maretime Bay," Sunny replied. "I'm Sunny Starscout, and these are my friends, Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon, it's a pleasure to meet you... uh."

"Posey Bloom," Posey informed. "So, since you three are in town the day before the Summer Sun Celebration, I'm assuming you're here for that, right?"

"Technically, yes," Sunny said. "Princess Celestia asked us to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration since Twilight here is her personal student. Have you seen Sheriff Hitch? He's supposed to be in charge of the security."

"He's at CanterLogic with his deputy, Sprout Cloverleaf," Posey replied, looking starstruck. "Wow, I can't believe I'm talking to somepony who knows the Princess personally. I think... I think I'm going to..." Before Posey could finish, she fainted and landed on the ground.

Twilight immediately crouched and looked for a heartbeat, and thankfully, Twilight found one. "She's alive, just unconscious," Twilight said.

"Should we help her?" Spike asked.

"I'm sure she's fine, besides, she'll wake up sooner or later," Sunny said. "Come on, let's head towards CanterLogic."

In front of a large gray building, a red stallion with a blonde mane and a teal dragon stood at the doors. The stallion seemed to be pondering over something as the dragon tugged at his hooves. "Sprout? Aren't you going to head inside?" The dragon asked.

"Hm? Right, right," Sprout said, smiling at the young dragon. "I'll head inside soon, Sparky. You go on ahead, I'll be right behind you. You don't want to miss the show, do you now?"

Sparky gave Sprout a salute, and he did the same before Sparky ran inside, leaving Sprout alone with his thoughts. "You think they'd noticed if I didn't go? I mean, I've seen all the machines before, it's not like I'll miss anything..." Sprout said to himself. "No, no, I have to foalsit Sparky while Hitch is backstage checking on all the gadgets and gizmos."

As Sprout trotted inside and closed the door, Sunny, Twilight, and Spike arrived. "Alright, we made it!" Sunny said, panting. The orange mare walked to the door and pushed, only to find out that it was locked. "And it's locked, perfect." Sunny groaned.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Twilight has a spell for it," Spike said, turning to Twilight. "Right, Twi?"

"I mean, I do, but breaking and entering?" Twilight gave Spike a questioning look. "Spike, what Princess Celestia taught me in magic is not for... breaking into a building because we were late! I'm sure we can wait until it's done," Twilight contently said. A few seconds passed by before Twilight sighed and said, "Never mind."

As Twilight's horn lit up, a translucent magenta lock appeared in front of the locked doors. With little effort, the magenta lock opened, and Sunny was able to push the door open. "Was that easy?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, it was," Twilight said, looking proud of herself. "Just, never tell this to anyone. I don't want anypony to know I broke into CanterLogic because we were late." As Twilight ran inside, Sunny and Spike followed behind her.

Inside CanterLogic, multiple ponies were lined up towards the stage. Around the room were many different gizmos and gadgets, each with a pony running a stand designed to attract ponies. On the stage, a light pink mare with a blonde mane and glasses trotted towards the mic and took it.

"Hello, citizens of Maretime Bay!" The mare said, smiling towards the audience, who was cheering. "You all know me, right? But, in case you don't, which is highly impossible, I am Phyllis Cloverleaf, C.E.O. of CanterLogic!" Phyllis introduced. "You all must be here for the showcase, correct? Well, today, I'll be showing three new machines limited to the summer months!"

As Phyllis walked around the stage, Sunny, Twilight, and Spike found a spot where they could see everything. "All of you know that CanterLogic only makes products designed to help make our everyday lives easier, and these machines will help keep us protected during the Summer Sun Celebration and our lives! Make sure to get them before they go off sale!"

"And for some who don't have full trust in us, well, we'll let you know our very own Sheriff Hitch Trailblazer has checked and made sure that it is safe to use!" Phyllis said. "Now, welcome him on the stage for he will be giving a small speech."

As the audience cheered, Phyllis put the microphone back on the stand and got off the stage. A few seconds later, a yellow stallion with a teal mane and a sheriff's badge walked on as he gave a warm smile to the audience.

Hitch got the microphone from the stand and said to the crowd, "Uh, hello, everypony! As you may know, I am Sheriff Hitch Trailblazer, I keep Maretime Bay safe and protected every day!" When the crowd was deathly silent, Hitch started to sweat as he continued with his speech. "Um, as Phyllis mentioned, I checked on the machines! Yep, yeah, everything's fine! No problems there, and, uh, it's safe to use?"

When the crowd still didn't respond, Hitch started to awkwardly laugh as Phyllis groaned on the sidelines. Why couldn't I have a card, why couldn't I have a card?! Hitch thought to himself.

"I should've let him bring the cards," Phyllis grumbled. She turned to one of the workers as she said, "You! Get my son now! He's somewhere in the crowd with Hitch's dragon." Phyllis instructed. The pony nodded before trotting away.

With Sunny, Twilight, and Spike, Sunny looked away from the stage. "This is giving me secondhand embarrassment, urgh," Sunny said. "I never knew Hitch could be this bad at speeches."

Suddenly, to their surprise, Sprout walked on stage and took the mic from Hitch, who sighed in relief. "So, like what Sheriff Hitch said, he has given his approval on all of the gadgets that are set to release," Sprout said. "And we are 100% sure that all of you in the crowd will love them!"

"Look," Sunny said, nudging Twilight. "It's Sprout!"

"First things first," Sprout turned around, and the wall behind him started to open, revealing a padded cell designed for testing new products. "We will be showing you how our new products will help you in your day to day lives!" Sprout said. "Now, I will be picking a random pony in the audience to participate, and if you don't consent, just tell me, and you get to pick."

Sprout's eyes wandered across the crowd, looking for the perfect pony, when he saw Sunny. Sprout smiled to himself as he thought, Sunny? Ooh, this is going to be perfect! Sprout cleared his throat as he said, "You there! Orange mare with the magenta mane, accompanied by a purple unicorn and a... dragon?!" When seeing the small dragon, Sprout was understandably shocked but shook his head and continued. "Come up on the stage!"

As a spotlight shone over Sunny, the mare quickly realized what Sprout was trying to do. Sunny looked Sprout in the eye, and the deputy simply gave Sunny a knowing look. Sunny trotted up on the stage when Sprout said, "What's your name, orange mare?" Sprout asked, acting like he didn't know.

"Sunny Starscout," Sunny replied.

"Okay, Sunny," Sprout said. "Do you want to do this? If not, it's perfectly fine! It's perfectly fine to be a chicken," Sprout said the last part under his breath, and Sunny was immediately riled up.

"Oh, I am doing this," Sunny said, giving Sprout a determined look.

"Perfect!"

Sprout led Sunny toward the room, and Sunny looked behind her, locking eyes with Twilight. "Now, may you please step on the black pad?" Sprout asked.

Sunny looked at the black pad, which had four steel circles, which Sunny assumed to be for her hooves, before stepping on it. "What do I do now?" Sunny asked. Sprout pulled out a remote and pressed it. Suddenly, two pairs of hoof-shaped steel clamps rose from the steel circles and effectively locked Sunny in place.

"Don't worry, don't worry," Sprout said, happily trotting out of the room. "Just relax, it's perfectly safe! Because, here at CanterLogic, safety is our first priority for all of our buyers! And by the way, those who make their sales today before the Summer Sun Celebration will receive a 20% discount and a complementary CanterWatch 10!"

As Sprout resumed his speech, Sunny heard a loud whirring noise, accompanied by the faint turning of gears. "For our first product, we have..." The eastern wall of the cell opened, and a metal catapult with six cups rolled out on miniature tank treads. "...The Splat-a-Pult!"

A pair of mechanical wings rose down from the ceiling and put itself on Sunny, along with a construction helmet. "Now, you can still back out of this, Sunny," Sprout advised. "Do you want to do this?"

Sunny steeled her nerves, turned to Sprout, and with the most determined look she could make, she said, "Let's do this."

Author's Note

So, first post of 2025, how are we feeling? It's January, the month TikTok gets banned... heh, I'm glad I don't live in the US. Anyways, I've rewritten Rarity's scene so it has Izzy in it. Since I forgot to have Twilight's mane messed up, Rarity couldn't drag them to the boutique like in canon.

Now, we have CanterLogic! CanterLogic is basically Apple, but with more products in this universe. I'm planning on giving Sprout more angst, so, get ready for that.

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage:

5. Double Drake

June 22, 2024

While Sunny was on the stage, Twilight sighed as she looked down at Spike. "Hey, Spike," Twilight said, getting the small dragon's attention. "So, since Sheriff Hitch isn't on the stage anymore, do you want to try and find him and Sparky?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I would!" Spike said, his eyes gaining an extra sparkle. "But, where is he? If he went off the stage, wouldn't he go directly backstage, since that's where all the products are? And since he's the sheriff, he ensures everything goes smoothly, so he would oversee the technical stuff, right?"

Realizing this, Twilight mentally groaned. "Oh, right," Twilight said, chuckling nervously. "No worries, since I'm the Princess' student, I can just say I can go backstage for the preparations, of course, I'll be checking on it too." Twilight looked at the stage, where green slime balls were hurled at Sunny. "I don't think that'll end soon, so we have some time!"

Twilight used her magic to lift Spike onto her back as the two started galloping towards the backstage. "Well, now that we're done with the Splat-a-Pult, it's time for the E.U.P Entrapment Device!" Sprout announced, which erupted a cheer in the crowd.

A few minutes later, the duo reached a light grey door with a golden star sticker on it with the words: "Behind CanterStage" written on it in big bold letters. The door was guarded by two earth pony guards with Phyllis giving Hitch a lecture in front of them.

Phyllis groaned as she said to Hitch with a stern face, "Sheriff Hitch! I know you're good at speeches, but please, try to make it sound natural, like what you do when you announce somethin' to the town with your cards!" Phyllis sighed before continuing. "Look, I know how much time you spend with my son, and he's an expert when it comes to improvising! I mean, he's my son after all, but that's not the point."

"Then what is?" Hitch questioned, rolling his eyes. "Phyllis, I mean no offense, but unlike Sprout, I can't improvise in front of a crowd. I'm sure I will eventually but cut me some slack, I just became the sheriff four months ago. I'm still adjusting to how exhausting the job is, alright?"

"I know that," Phyllis said, and suddenly her stern face went soft as she continued. "Hitch, you were the best of the best in the academy, that's why they picked you. They told you the job would be hard, and you would have to learn more stuff as you go along."

Phyllis fixed her glasses as she looked into Hitch's eyes. "You've had time to adjust for four months, and if you don't soon, the Summer Sun Celebration could turn into a disaster. I know you're thinking, 'How could a talk about improvising turn into a lecture about adjusting?' But I'm right, am I not?"

"I... guess I see your point," Hitch mumbled. "I'll get Sprout to teach me some tricks on a day off, but even if I don't get it, that's why I have Sprout! He's my deputy, we depend on each other to cover each other's weak points."

At the mention of her son being a deputy, Phyllis visibly grimaced. "Ah, yes, I forgot my son works for you," Phyllis said. "I told him that he'd have a better chance working for CanterLogic, but he wanted to trot on his own path. Oh, Celestia, this job will go horribly for Sprout, I just know it."

"Yeah, yeah," Hitch chuckled. "Sprout told me you've said that to him ten times this week, I don't need you telling it to me as well."

As Twilight and Spike listened in on their conversation, Twilight thought, This is turning out to be so boring. I need to talk to someone now! Twilight put Spike on the ground, cleared her throat, and trotted over to them with a smile. "Hello! You're Phyllis Cloverleaf," Twilight turned to Hitch. "And Sheriff Hitch, right?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, we are," Phyllis answered. "Who are you? And why are you here? You should be watching the show, you're not a worker, are you?"

"No, no, nothing of the sort," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike," Using her magic, she dragged Spike to them. Phyllis and Hitch gasped at the young dragon as Twilight continued. "You see, Princess Celestia sent us here to Maretime Bay to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and we're here for the inspection of your products.

Phyllis thought about it for a while before her face turned to one of realization. "Ah, yes! Princess Celestia informed me you would be going here!" Phyllis said. "She said in her letter that you would be accompanied by a dragon, which is him, and a mare named... Sunny Starscout, right?"

When Phyllis mentioned Sunny, Hitch's face turned to one of confusion. "Yes, I did, but she's on the stage right now with your son. Unlucky for her." Twilight said.

Phyllis scoffed. "Unlucky? What makes you think that? She's one of the luckiest mares in Equestria! She's the first public tester!" Phyllis said.

“You could say that,” Twilight replied.

“Well, then,” Phyllis said, opening the door behind them. “Come on in, Miss Twilight Sparkle, we’ve got a lot to go over! And Hitch,” Phyllis turned to Hitch. “You’ll be coming with us.”

“Oh, what an honor,” Hitch muttered to himself, which made Phyllis raise an eyebrow. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to find my so- Sparky. I need to find Sparky.”

“Your dragon child? Oh, of course,” Phyllis clapped her hooves, and one of her guards dropped Sparky in front of the sheriff. “Sprout dropped him off when he went on stage. Here you go, sheriff!”

Instead of running towards Hitch, like the yellow stallion expected, he walked towards Spike with a growing fascination. Before any of them could get a word out, Phyllis stepped forward. “Now, come on in, everypony! Er, everycreature.”

Phyllis walked into the room and Twilight, Hitch, Spike, and Sparky followed not too long after. Inside the room, it was much bigger than Twilight expected it to be. Ponies were trotting everywhere, either carrying a sandwich or carrying a toolbox. They were all working on multiple gadgets, which she assumed were what Phyllis was showcasing today,

“Ooh, wow,” Twilight said, awestruck at the many devices and gizmos. “Is this everything you make? It’s certainly… a lot!”

“This isn’t everything CanterLogic has to offer for the S.S.C, Miss Sparkle,” Phyllis informed. “This is just room one of many, many other rooms! Of course, we won’t be going to all of them, just most.”

“Most? Well, since Twilight’s checking on preparations, I’m sure she’s very busy.” Hitch said. “We should just go to Room 306, that’s where the most important machines for the Summer Sun Celebration are.”

“Yes! Sheriff Hitch is correct,” Twilight said, mentally breathing a sigh of relief. She did not want to go through many rooms. “Could we just go to Room 306? I have to check on, um, music, food, weather…” Sure, she only needed to check on one last thing, but she didn’t know that.

“Well, I suppose we don’t have to go to 90% of the rooms…” Phyllis mumbled. “Alright then. I guess you are a busy mare then, Miss Sparkle.”

“And that concludes our showcase! Feel free to place orders at the front desk!”

As Sunny stepped off the stage, she took off her safety helmet and shook her head. “It’s nice to see an old friend again.” Sunny turned around and saw Sprout there, standing with a sheepish grin. “Heh, sorry if I got, uh, carried away. You’re not hurt, are you?” Sprout asked.

“Huh? Oh, no, no,” Sunny said, chuckling a little. “It’s a good thing CanterLogic has really good safety techniques, right? The only thing I have a problem with…” Sunny showed Sprout her tail, which had green goop stuck in it. “...is the goo.”

“Yikes, that’s not going to come off so easily, is it?” Sprout asked.

“Eh, I live in Canterlot, remember? I can just buy some new shampoo and it’ll probably wash it off,” Sunny said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Sprout said. “Hey, did you come here with anypony else? I know I saw another pony with you when I called you, right?”

“You’re not hallucinating, Sprout, that’s my friend, Twilight Sparkle!” Sunny said. “She’s the student of Princess Celestia herself! She has a dragon named Spike – like the “Sparky” I’ve been hearing all about. Speaking of which, where is Hitch? He’s the father of Sparky, correct?”

“Yup! He is! He found his egg on the day he got his cutie mark, didn’t he mention it?” Sprout asked. “Anyways, he’s probably backstage with my mom. And the purple unicorn might be with him. I thought I spotted her leaving.”

“Do you know why they would be there?” Sunny asked.

“Mom’s probably showing them the inventions for the Summer Sun Celebration privately. She’s a sucker for royalty, or at least ponies that know royalty.” Sprout guessed. “Right now, she’s probably trying to get Twilight to buy something.”

“So, does anything catch your eye, Miss Sparkle?”

Currently, the group was still walking towards Room 304, and the journey was… quite long, considering that Phyllis stated there were around 500 rooms in total. “I’m sure you’d like to buy one of our machines! Maybe a new CanterPhone? CanterPod? Or if you want, I could pull some strings and get you the new FlyPad set to release in December early. For a fee, of course.” Phyllis advertised.

“Uh, no, that’s okay!” Twilight politely declined, shaking her head. “I just bought the new CanterPhone 16, I don’t need a new phone yet. Maybe I’ll buy the FlyPad when it releases, but right now, I’ll have to decline your offer.”

“Okay, then! You’re a smart shopper, Miss Sparkle. I commend you for that!” Phyllis complimented. “But, I will offer you a deal-”

“So, Twilight,” Hitch interrupted Phyllis, to the pink mare's disdain and to the purple unicorn’s relief. “How’s your relationship with Sunny? I don’t know if you know this, but me and her used to be best buddies! But now we’re not. What’s she up to these days?”

“Oh, y’know, she… started a smoothie cart. Though it hasn’t been going so well in Canterlot.” Twilight said. “And… Well, that’s just about it.”

“So she just started a smoothie cart? That’s all?” Hitch asked.

“Eeyup.”

Suddenly, the group stopped in their tracks as Phyllis smiled and said, “Aha! We’re here! Room 304! You two are in for a treat!”

“You mean you four, right? You four are in for a treat?” Spike asked, raising one of his claws up.

“Oh, no, no,” Phyllis said, laughing a little. “I’m sorry, dear dragons, but you two aren’t allowed in here. Only po- creatures over the age of fifteen are allowed inside, since our helmets can’t fit young foals. You understand, right? I’m sure it won’t take long.”

“WHAT?!” Spike and Sparky cried out in unison.

“Yes, yes, so sad, very bad,” Phyllis opened the door and pushed Twilight and Hitch inside, ignoring their shouts and glares. “Just stay safe you two! I don’t want to deal with paperwork during what should be the most eventful time of the summer for Maretime Bay. Buh-bye!” Phyllis slammed the door on the two dragons, leaving the two alone.

The two stood there in silence before Sparky decided to end the silence. “...So! It’s nice to finally meet another dragon!” Sparky said, turning to look at Spike. “I’ve just got a few questions, like how old are you? What do you like to eat? What color was your egg? How’d you end up with Miss Twilight Sparkle? How-”

“Woah! Alright,” Spike stopped Sparky as the purple dragon quickly grew overwhelmed by all the questions. “I’m 10, I mostly eat hay fries but I love gems, purple and green, she technically brought me to Equestria, and… that’s about it, actually.”

“Woah! You’re like me!” Sparky said. “I’m 10 too, I love to eat hay fries, but only the spicy ones, and Miss Rarity usually gives me gems she doesn’t use for my snacks, my egg was teal and pink, and the same thing that happened to you with Twilight technically happened to me but with Hitch!”

“Wait, really? Awesome! It’s so nice to have a dragon friend,” Spike said before he stopped himself. “Wait, we are friends, right?”

“Uh. duh! Of course we are! How could I pass up on a chance to meet another dragon?” Sparky replied. “Also, can your dragon fire do magical things like mine can?”

“Yes! Mine can teleport stuff, but I’m still figuring it out. It only came to me a few months ago,” Spike said, rubbing the back of his head. “What can your dragon fire do?”

“It can change stuff, wait, let me show you…” Sparky looked around for something until his eyes laid on a spare wrench that (hopefully) nopony was looking for. Sparky breathed his teal dragon fire over the wrench as it turned into a piece of paper. “Ta-da! Look! It turned from a hard, metal wrench into a bendable, paper… paper!”

“That’s… so cool! Oh, my Celestia! I wish my fire could do that! All my fire can do is just teleport stuff, urgh,” Spike sighed before he turned to the door. “What do you think they’re doing there?”

“Eh, probably some boring stuff,” Sparky shrugged. “Anyways, do you want to see what stuff I could try and make?”

“Uh, obviously!”

Back with Sunny and Sprout, the two were holding two smoothies, courtesy of the smoothie stand Phyllis had set up for the event. “So, Sunny,” Sprout took another sip of his kiwi smoothie. “Are you done with your job? I really want to hang out with somepony who isn’t Hitch.”

“Eh, just waiting for Twilight, to be honest,” Sunny said, taking another sip of her orange smoothie. “And why don’t you hang out with that Posey mare? We met her when we went to the station, she sounds… fun.”

Sprout scoffed. “Posey? As in Posey Bloom? Hah! She’s Maretime Bay’s famous complainer. She’s not a bad mare, she has her times, but she complains a little too much. I mean, we don’t want to hear about how a pony didn’t throw their tiny candy wrapper in the trash can.”

“Heh, well, I’m glad I’m not you,” Sunny said. “Ugh, what’s taking Twilight so long?”

“Oh, she’s probably in one of my Mom’s long winded speeches,” Sprout said. “What else do you have to check anyway? You’ve told me what happened with Applejack, then Rainbow Dash and Zipp, then Pipp and Izzy, then… me and Hitch? Or is it just me?”

“To answer your question, I think it’s only music left,” Sunny said. “It’s at the beach, so I can’t wait to actually go there! Eeek!”

“Wait, it’s at the beach?! I haven’t went there in so long, I have to come with you.” Sprout pleaded.

“I… don’t know, I still have to wait for Twilight, after all,” Sunny said, hesitant to leave her friend. “But, Twilight did say she had to get it done faster to research on… a topic.” Sunny dodged saying the words “Nightmare Moon,” as she didn’t want Sprout to think Twilight was a weirdo. “I’ll just text her to meet me at the lighthouse, so, come on!”

“Oh, yes! Finally, something exciting for once!” Sprout cheered.

Somewhere on the moon, a tall dark alicorn stood, walking around the rocky surface with broken chains on her hooves. Her mane was a reflection of the night sky, she wore night-themed armor, and her pupils were slits.

“My time is coming, dearest sister,” She spat out, her horn glowing a weak blue. “Your pathetic day is coming to an end, and my night will rule supreme. You think you have admiration and respect? Well, I’ll take everything from you. Your land, your ponies, your friends, your life. I will make you suffer.”

The alicorn stopped abruptly, her eyes widening as a thought– no, a memory flashed before her eyes. From a thousand years ago, before she was imprisoned on this moon, before she became Nightmare Moon. A time when she was simply known… as Luna.

In Skyros, the land of the alicorns, a younger Princess Celestia and her sister, Luna ran across the streets, giggling as they ran. “Wait up, Tia!” Luna shouted, her tiny hooves only taking her so far. “You know I can’t run fast!”

“Come on, Luna! You're so slow!” Celestia shouted back, her mane pink instead of the multicolored one. “We have to run fast before Opal catches us!” Celestia said.

“Yeah, but– oof!” Suddenly, Luna tripped over a rock and landed on the ground. Luna lifted the hoof that tripped over the rock to reveal a large wound, which was bleeding. Celestia turned around as she heard her sister's light cries and whimpers.

Celestia immediately turned around as she ran to her sister’s aid. “Luna! Luna, what happened?” Celestia asked in a soft tone. She looked at the hoof that was bleeding and frowned. “Aw, did you get hurt?”

Luna was silent for a while before she responded with a small, “Yeah.”

“Oh, Luna, you have to be more careful!” Celestia slightly scolded. Her horn lit up in a bright yellow as gauze and some disinfectant appeared before the two sisters. “Oh, my! It worked!” Celestia said, smiling. She took the disinfectant and put it on Luna’s wound before wrapping the gauze around her sister’s hoof.

“There! See? It’s all fine now!” Celestia said. “Come on, I’ll run slower this time, we’ve only got a few seconds before Opaline tries to find us.”

Luna nodded as she stood up. She was about to fall again before she landed on Celestia, a white wing wrapping itself around the blue alicorn. “Thanks, Tia!” Luna said, a smile forming on her face.

“No problem-o, sister!” Celestia said. And just like that, the two continued to play, the younger sister forgetting about her short-lived pain.

“...Maybe it could’ve been different,” Nightmare Moon muttered, her pupils turning back to normal for a split second before it turned back into slits. “No! What am I talking about? Celestia knew what she did, and she has no regrets. This… this is necessary for the better of Equestria.”

“Oh, sister! I’m back again!”

Nightmare Moon turned around, and a hologram of a magenta alicorn with a white mane with teal streaks appeared behind her. “Ah, Opaline. It’s… a surprise to see you again. Especially on the day of the summer solstice.” Nightmare Moon greeted, the scowl on her face turning into a light smile.

“Of course! My dear younger sister is finally escaping from her prison to enact revenge on Celestia! I couldn’t miss your planning phase!” Opaline cooed. “And just let me remind you, sister, that when you take control of Equestria…?”

“I remove the barrier that keeps you from entering Equestria and have you as my second in command. Yes, yes, I know this, Opal,” Nightmare Moon said, rolling her eyes. “We’ve gone over this a hundred times this month.”

“I’m just making sure you don’t forget!” Opaline giggled. “Now, you better rest up, Luna, you’ve got to have energy for your grand entrance later tonight!”

“Alright, sister, thank you for your… concern.” Nightmare Moon said. And just like that, the hologram of Opaline disappeared, leaving Nightmare Moon alone on the planet she loved.

On Equestria, Opaline Arcana stood proudly on her throne, a blue unicorn standing beside her. “Ah, Misty! Isn’t it just a wonderful day to plot an evil scheme?” Opaline said.

“Yes! Yes, it is, Opaline!” The unicorn – Misty – replied, a goofy grin on her face.

“Ugh, Misty, that was one of the questions you’re not supposed to answer. Learn to read, dear.” Opaline said, rolling her eyes.

Author's Note

Alrighty! Sorry this chapter took so long, hehe. Anyways, we've got some interactions between Sunny and Sprout, Spike and Sparky, Twilight and Hitch, and a surprise Nightmare Moon and Opaline! Wowza! There's not a lot to say, except that see you in February!

If there's any problems, spelling errors, or anything, please comment it or private message me so I can change it! Hate comments will be deleted, so don't even try and hate! :flutterrage: