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!