The doors to the hall burst open, and the Royal Guardsponies barely glanced aside as giggles and laughter poured through the door. They watched the pair of mares, one still slightly taller than the other, sashaying down the hall wearing saddlebags and matching dark red blouses and skirts that swayed in time with one another. And perched atop the shorter of the two, a young purple dragon scribbled away at a scrap of scroll. For the three of them, all was right in the world today.

For Twilight, especially. Everything was exactly in its proper place, and for that she was singularly happy. “So, what’re we doing for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow?” She kept her voice bright, her eyes sparkling. Moon Dancer had been thrilled to see Twilight come to her party, since wherever Twilight went, so too went Princess Cadence. It had been a fairly sober affair compared to her usual excursions, but still not a bad evening.

Cadence tossed her mane and smiled broadly. “Well, Princess Celestia said she didn’t need me present this year. So with her out of the castle, and Fancy Pants still in Manehatten on business…” Her smile turned into a broad, wicked grin. “I was hoping that you and I could invade the western tower tonight with a nice bottle of red wine, a few snacks, and Fleur De Lis, and we could all watch the sunrise together.”

Twilight felt her lips curl into a smile. That really did sound like a nice change of pace. “Yeah, I bet that’s not all you want to watch rise,” she retorted, tossing her own mane in a very sassy way. As was typical for these conversations, Spike just rolled his eyes and made no comment. “Spike, what do I have left on todays checklist?” She was almost certain she knew, but it never hurt to double check or triple check.

Spike chuckled. “Well you do have to read that special book on Equestrian history and write our report to Celestia, still.” He ran down the list, his eyes scanning the page as they turned into one of the main meeting halls on the upper floor of the palace. “We’ve also still got to look into those weird cosmic movements you were looking at last weekend. The Hourglass room should be free today, which means that the star-sphere will be free too. We can knock over two pins with one ball!”

“The correct term is ‘astrolabe’, Spike.” Twilight corrected him for the eight hundredth time, wearily rolling her eyes. “Right, I’d better take care of that now then. Would you mind going and making sure Fleur doesn’t have any plans, Love?” She always enjoyed the moments when she could gently needle Cadence with the term… especially since her use of it had gotten no less sincere as the years had passed.

And as usual, Cadence’s cheeks colored prettily, and she socked Twilight in the foreleg. “I’ll head out right away and drop by her place once I’ve gotten a few errands done. Try to keep her out of trouble, Spike.” Cadence rolled her eyes and grinned at Spike. He returned her grin, the pair of them probably sharing a camaraderie in a task that Twilight was certain was impossible. Then she leaned in to gently kiss Twilight’s cheek, an act which never failed to set her heart aflutter. “I’ll see you later then… Love,” Cadence whispered the last word, then vanished in a flurry of feathers and hooves.

“Oh, brother,” Spike grumbled, crossing his talons and huffing. “I swear, you two are more syrupy than the pancake breakfast in the grand hall.” He rolled up her checklist as Twilight stifled a laugh and started trotting out the door toward the Hourglass Tower.

It was a grand and glorious day in Canterlot, the sun shining brightly overhead and the sky as clear and free of any unwanted clouds as anypony could ask for. All around her, the castle was quietly preparing for a low-key Summer Sun Celebration. With Celestia heading for another town to perform the Sun Rising ceremony, the castle servants would be simply having a quiet and relaxed day of their own. It was a holiday everypony was looking forward to.

For Twilight, it would be just another night with the pony she loved. She kept her walk brisk though, pausing as she spotted a familiar glow. “Hey, Minuette! The violin is looking spectacular!” she called out, waving to the unicorn pony as she passed her by. Minuette returned the wave, then went back to focusing on her violin as she carefully inscribed runes into the body of it, continuing to advance her knowledge of sound magic. “Good morning to you, Mrs. Inkwell!” Princess Celestia’s advisor and top assistant smiled broadly at her in response. She did not wave back, but she was a little busy floating an impressive stack of papers.

“Hey kiddo!” That voice came from overhead as Twilight marched up the steps to the Hourglass room. She turned and felt her grin broaden at the sight of the flame haired pegasus she was all too familiar with, floating just overhead and with her head tilted cockily. “Looking good today, purple smart.” She grinned, offering up her hoof for a bump as she came closer to ground level.

Twilight sighed exasperatedly, but she returned the hoofbump anyway. “I swear, Spitfire, if you keep calling me that, Princess Celestia’s going to start using it! And I’m never going to be able to live that down!” Truthfully, Twilight didn’t much mind the nickname, but it was a little foalish. Quickly, she tried to change the subject. “So, I heard you and the Wonderbolts are going to be doing another Summer Sun show,” she said, keeping her tone bright. If she was being honest, she wished she could have invited Spitfire to join them tomorrow. Fleur was a lot of fun, no doubt, but Spitfire always turned parties up to eleven.

“Yeah, it sucks, but what’re ya gonna do?” She grinned broadly, rubbing at her nose proudly. “You know what they say, be careful what you wish for! I got what I wanted, and now I’m run off my flank trying to keep up with things.” She shook her head slowly, her smile still broad. “Can’t complain, though. I gotta jet, but I wanted to drop in and get me one of these…” And then she dove in and planted a hard, tongue-wrapping kiss on Twilight before she darted away, leaving her temporarily breathless. Spitfire’s eyes practically glowed when she spoke “Mmm… before I shipped off again.” She rolled her eyes. “Eight city tour this time, but they tell me we’re gonna get a good three or four months of downtime soon, so we’ll be able to catch up after the Best Young Flyer competition.”

Spitfire’s tone told Twilight exactly what kind of catching up she wanted to do, and Twilight just eye-rolled again. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve got work to do, Spitfire. Good luck out there! Be safe!” She made shooing motions with her hooves, and the pegasus stuck her tongue out before almost literally exploding into motion again, a massive trail of flame magic tracing her path as she soared off into the skies. Someday, I’m going to study that magic, Twilight harrumphed, then nudged open the door to the Hourglass room.

She knew this room quite well, actually. She’d fallen asleep here no few times over the years during her studies and had passed no few long nights buried in the books here. Not alone, certainly, but… usually, she’d only been studying. Usually. This was the place where Princess Celestia kept a wide range of her most special and rare books, protected by the powerful age defying magicks of the massive hourglass that dominated the center of the room. Not far from it, the most complex astrolabe in all of Equestria sat awaiting her calculations, marking the location and presence of the most commonly considered constellations and major stars in the Equestrian sky, as well as the rest of the planets that they could track.

Twilight nudged Spike, who hopped off her back with a happy little hum, now lost in what looked like a comic book. Twilight chuckled and dragged over his favorite bean bag chair, which he promptly hopped into. She didn’t expect he would be terribly interested in a dry book of Equestrian lore, especially one as odd as this. Everypony learned basic Equestrian history, after all. Why was this book so special?

She found the book right where it was meant to be and carefully curled herself up on her favorite overstuffed chair. The book felt old to her hooves… very old. The binding was of some material she couldn't identify, and the cover bore the ancient symbol of Equestria. She paused for a moment, feeling a strange pulse of trepidation before pulling open the ancient cover and beginning to read a story that was both incredibly familiar… and also incredibly unfamiliar.

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together…

Wait a moment. Two sisters?

For Princess Cadence, today was full of promise as she trotted down the road quietly, her saddlebags full of the dozen or so little things for her private celebration tonight. A nice bottle of wine, some fine chocolates, a few special surprises from The Crop, and Twilight’s favorite greens and salad dressing as an aperitif. It would be a lovely evening, all things considered. She turned on her hooves down through the side streets and whistled a happy tune.

Three years was quite a long time, but there was no doubt they had been some of the most fun in her life. Down here in Canterlot, as she traveled through the club districts toward Fancy Pants’ new place, buried and hidden amidst the drinking establishments and nightclubs, where Fleur and he now stayed together, she couldn’t help but see so many familiar faces. Many of them had been lovers, and no few of them she and Twilight had shared together.

Sometimes, she wondered if her habits and appetites were manipulating and changing Twilight to more suit her desires. Then she would shake off such a ridiculous thought and make a silent promise to herself to never say any such thing in front of Twilight. The girl had thrown herself into the study of intimacy and romance with the same zeal with which she studied everything else.

Still, sometimes it was hard to restrain that zeal. Twilight all too easily could get trapped in her shell of intellectual pursuits, and Cadence had to work hard to make certain she got away from it from time to time. Initially, she’d complained about it, but… well, Cadence had at long last convinced her that even if she didn’t make friends with everypony she met, she at least had to learn how to live with them.

Fortunately for Cadence, Twilight had come to call both Fleur and Fancy friends, even if she was pretty shy about it. She was also pretty certain that Spitfire and that strange DJ pony were also pretty close to her, though Cadence wasn’t positive. Still, it was good that she was trying, and that was enough for now. Cadence knew one day she could break open that shell of hers, but it was going to take some kind of massive life event for it to happen.

She was nearly at Fleur’s place when it happened. A sudden sparkle of green magic smoke flitted out of the sky before her, and she could not help but stare at it. A moment later, a burst of bright green fire exploded inches from her face and dropped a slightly scorched scroll in front of her eyes to the pavement below. “What in the world…?” That was Spike’s dragon magic, normally attuned to Princess Celestia alone. How had he…?

She grabbed the scroll and quickly unfurled it, her eyes quickly scanning down the words. "Cadence, don’t have long to write this, Twi thinks I’m taking notes. She found something in a book and is freaking out over it, and when she told Princess Celestia about it, the princess ordered us to go to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration prep. She said she was going to tell you, but when I offered to send the letter, she told me it wasn’t necessary. Something fishy is going on, so I’ve sent our itinerary with this scroll. I would come in disguise, just in case! Please, hurry!”

There was no signature, but there didn’t have to be. Spike’s talon writing was very distinctive, and the smell of his magic was all over the thing. There was no reason for anypony to ask her to come to one of the most backwater villages in Equestria even if it was a trap… not that anypony who tried to spring a trap on her was going to like what happened next. She burned the scroll with a thought and a burst of magic anyway, wanting to make certain there wasn’t any evidence once she’d committed the names to memory.

Hopefully, Fleur would have her own plans. She focused her magic for a moment, concentrating as hard as she could on the complex illusion spell to conceal her true nature as an Alicorn… and released the power in a rush of energy and sparkling lights. She could feel the gentle tingle of the magic settle over her, then spread her broad wings, smiling a little to see them looking just like her pegasus wings of old, before launching herself up into the sky. Even at her best speed, she was going to be significantly behind Twilight at this point. She only hoped she could get there before something bad happened.

Twilight turned to give Spike a raised eyebrow. “Okay, Spike. I’m not terribly happy about this but…” she sighed, and shook her head. “The princess’ orders are what they are. Let’s get this checklist done and then get to the library as fast as we can. I only hope that the library here is as well stocked as I’ve read. So, give me the skinny.” She poked his belly with her hoof and turned her face back into the wind as the medium sized earth pony village loomed below them, the Royal Guards banking to take them in to land.

Spike nodded once. “Okay, so. We’ve got weather and clouds by Rainbow Dash.” He unfurled the scroll, reading as his eyes scanned down it. “Decorations by Rarity, food and drink by the Apple Family, Primary Party Planning by Pinkie Pie.” He blinked, staring at the scroll for a moment. “Which for some reason is in all capitals and pink ink with glitter in it. Huh. Uhm.” He coughed then continued as Twilight tried to make sense of that weird detail. “Musical accompaniment by the local animal expert, Fluttershy… And we’ll need to drop by the Mayor’s place for the keys to the library. And don’t forget about Celestia’s other command...”

Twilight sighed miserably. And here she was, hoping she could write a basic report and enjoy a nice evening with Cadence… and now she was more than half certain the entire world was in danger of being invaded by some ancient demon Alicorn from one thousand years ago, who might just have total control over the Moon of all things. Ugh. And worse still, Celestia had been utterly unconvinced by her research notes! And had basically commanded her to go out and make new friends! She didn’t need new friends, she had plenty of them! Wasn’t Fleur, Fancy, Spitfire, Vinyl, and Cadence enough? Okay, so maybe only Fleur and Cadence were really close to her, but still. “Aw, cheer up Twilight!” Spike piped up, his tone kindly. “Spitfire will be in town, too! I know you love to get together with her, even if Cadence can’t be here.”

She paused at that, then felt her lips curl into a half smile. “Thanks, Spike. Maybe that’ll be nice assuming there isn’t anything wrong, but…” She sighed, heavily. “I just can’t get it out of my mind. We need to make absolutely sure before we plan anything fun.” The wind was whipping faster past her now and before long, she felt the hard thump as the chariot impacted the solid ground. “Nothing for it then.” She hopped out and gave a courtly little bow to the two guards. “Thank you, sirs. Have a safe trip back to Canterlot.” They both made satisfied noises at her and smiled happily. The guards so rarely got the credit they deserved for the hard work they did, but Cadence and she tried their best to make up for that.

Ponyville was built like most earth pony communities - solidly and simply. Even so, the entire town was dotted with a positive cornucopia of uniquely designed buildings and the bright colors that earth ponies loved so much. The big surprise was that the town seemed to have a very mixed population. Almost equal parts earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus. That was… Practically unprecedented actually. Nearly every Equestrian city has a single core population, then small communities of the other two…

She almost didn’t notice the bright pink earth pony approaching her, so lost was she in her thoughts. But once her eye caught her, it was impossible to ignore her. She moved with such a vivacious energy that Twilight was instantly reminded of Vinyl or Sapphire Shores. “Uh… Hello there!” Twilight called out, as she certainly seemed approachable enough. Maybe she could find who she was looking for quickly. “I don’t suppose you know where we might find -”

The pink pony’s eyes went wide, and she gave off the loudest and most astonished gasp that Twilight had ever heard in all of her life. So astonished was she, that Twilight could have sworn she hovered in midair for a full ten seconds before disappearing in a puff of dust and smoke as she careened down the street and around the corner without another word.

Twilight felt her jaw hang open around the unspoken word for a few long seconds before snapping it shut. “O...kay then,” she commented to nopony in particular then shook her head to clear it. Spike was actually chuckling, and she half glared at him. “Make a note Spike. We ought to make sure the mental health facilities here aren’t being overwhelmed. We don’t need a crazypony interrupting the Sun Celebration.”

“Aye Aye, ma’am.” Spike grinned, making a mock salute. “Fortunately, I don’t think it’ll be hard to find our first stop.” He pointed with his talon to a large road sign, one of the arrows declaiming the direction of a place called Sweet Apple Acres, which Twilight vaguely recalled Celestia telling her about.

She nodded firmly and quickly set off on a trot, hoping that the next pony they encountered wouldn’t be quite so… enthusiastic.

The soaring wooden arch that lead on to the farmland was adorned with but a single symbol, that of the incredibly prolific and widespread Apple family. Even in Canterlot, Twilight had heard of the legendary family of farmers, who had been supplying the divine Zap Apple Jam and Apple Family Cider to the royal household for untold generations. She couldn’t deny the thought of those victuals made her mouth water a touch, but she shook it off and picked up her pace. Spike made an annoyed sound at the bumpy ride, but the fate of Equestria might very well be at stake if she didn’t hurry.

Along the path, she spotted an orange coated earth pony mare with an absolutely gorgeous blonde mane under an unusual hat. “Good morning!” she called out, cupping her hoof a little to project the sound, and the earth pony looked up with a bright and cheerful smile. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m here to check up on preparations for tomorrow’s Summer Sun Celebration!” She did her best to keep her tone polite, but also warm. She didn’t wish to appear standoffish, after all and offered a polite hoof to the mare.

The mare grinned brightly, and took Twilight’s hoof… and promptly proceeded to nearly shake it out of its socket. “Well it’s a dandy pleasure t’ meetcha, Miss Twilight! My name’s Applejack, and welcome t’ Sweet Apple Acres!” Now up close and personal, it was impossible not to notice Applejack’s flawless physique. If Fleur was often considered the epitome of unicorn beauty with her slender limbs and graceful demeanor, Applejack was her polar opposite as an earth pony: with a rippling musculature that looked like she could have taken down an entire mountain all by herself.

But before Twilight’s mind could further appreciate her good looks or conjure up more than one or two fantasies about this mare, Applejack was dragging her toward the barnyard. “Now don’t you worry none, Sugarcube. We’ve got this little shindig all sewn up, thanks t’ most of our clan bein’ in town fer the Celebration! An’ even better, yer just in time for lunch!” Her voice was boisterous with an accent that Twilight simply could not identify, but she was being given precious time to comment. A wide picnic table with a white and red plaid tablecloth spread over it seemed to await her, and Applejack had a big grin on her face. “Now you just sit tight, we’ll get’cha a taste of our cookin’ and introduce ya to the rest of the clan!”

Twilight for a moment, felt a brief flash of horror at the thought of being delayed here so long. Then she couldn’t help but give a rueful little laugh, given the bright and simple enthusiasm on Applejack’s face. There was no way in Tartarus she was going to get out of being fed, so she might as well enjoy it. “Well, I suppose a bite to eat wouldn’t hurt. What do you think, Spike?” She turned her head, only to see a greedy and drooling grin on her little dragon’s face, and she had to laugh again. “Alright, Applejack. You’re on, but let’s make this quick.” She smiled brightly as a fresh thought occurred to her. “And uhm… I don’t suppose you’ve got a spot of your cider lying around, do you?”

Applejack grinned at her, tilting her hat toward Twilight. “Well, I might be able to scare up a mugfull or two fer a guest.” She waggled her eyebrows. “An’ maybe a bit more for a new friend.”

“Ugh… Spike…” Twilight restrained a belch, then continued, “I don’t want to see another slice of pie until next month, understood?” She turned her head and much to her infuriation, Spike looked happy as a clam. She really needed to learn to restrain her love of sweets better. Maybe Princess Celestia would have some advice for that. She danced aside a large mud puddle, glanced skyward, and felt her brow furrow at the sight of so many clouds.

That was odd. Today was supposed to be mostly cloud free. “Ergh. Where in the world are the weather pegasi?” She half glared at the sky around her, trying to find one of the flighty ponies until her eye alit on a snatch of highly vibrant color. “Hey! Up there, you!” she called out, and was rewarded a moment later by a bright eye peeking down at her. “Can you tell me where I’ll find the Ponyville Weather Manager?” Twilight cried out, wincing a little at the heavy feeling in her tummy. She’d just have to walk this one off.

There was a grumbling sound before the pegasus flopped over the side of the cloud, and Twilight could barely restrain her shock. Her mane was a perfect rainbow of colors, set against a powder blue coat. It was the single rarest mane coloration in the entire pegasi genetic tradition. Literally a one in a million occurrence, at generous estimates. “Yeah, yeah, you’re lookin’ at her!” she groused, half glaring at Twilight. “What do you want?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. No wonder her name is Rainbow Dash. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’m here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebrat-” Her words were cut off a moment later, the sound of a plummeting pegasus suddenly intruding into her world and followed by a massive wave of mud and water careening over her form. She barely had time to snap her mouth shut before she was literally soaked in the stuff.

“Oh, heck! Ditzy, are you okay!?” The blue pegasus - Rainbow Dash, she was certain now - dove down next to Twilight to where a dazed and dizzy looking pegasus wearing a spotless mailmare’s cap and bearing two heavy bags under her wings sat astonishingly untouched by the mud. Only when she looked at the drag path did she realize she’d simply skipped overtop the puddle, hitting it with enough force to simply spray Twilight with it while remaining untouched herself.

“I’m just fine, Rainbow Dash!” the other pegasus that Rainbow Dash had called Ditzy said with a broad, happy smile. “Just a little heavier bag than normal. Threw me off.” It wasn’t until a moment later that Twilight noticed her eyes were permanently cockeyed, and they seemed to move in direct opposite of one another. “I’m sorry about the mud, Miss.” Her tone was so apologetic and cute, that Twilight couldn’t keep a wry smile off.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, waving off the mailmare. They had hard enough jobs, all things considered. “I’ll think of someway to get clean. You just get on back to work. I’ll be fine.” She half chuckled, though Spike was very obviously unamused by his current mud-coated condition.

Rainbow Dash shook her head in amusement. “I can help with that. You get going, Ditzy,” she gently admonished, and the grey mare grinned, saluted sharply, and launched herself up into the air. Dash did the same, and Twilight could not help but stare at the beautiful rainbow trail of magic she left in her wake. A moment later, she returned with a dark grey raincloud, and smiled over the edge of it. “You know… there aren’t many ponies out there who’d have done what you just did,” she said, almost too softly.

“What do you mea-ACKPTH!” Her words were cut off as Dash bounced up and down on the cloud, drowning her in a lukewarm rain shower but getting her most definitely clean. Spike too, though he had to scrub at his scales a bit.

The water thus dispersed, she could hear Rainbow Dash stifling a huge chuckle as she floated down. “Nevermind that. So you’re here to check up on the festival prep, huh? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of those clouds in a jiff. I’d never leave Ponyville hangin’.” She grinned cockily, tilting her head with a very familiar confidence. “Besides, I need to be rested up for the big event tomorrow.”

Twilight pushed aside her wet mane to arch an eyebrow at the weather pegasus. In an instant, Rainbow Dash went from cocky to almost deliriously excited. “The WONDERBOLTS!” she exclaimed, launching herself off the ground in a bouncing flip. “I’m gonna finally have a chance to show ‘em my stuff! Once they see my patented tricks, I’ll be a shoe-in for Wonderbolt Academy!” Her beaming smile was like no few Twilight had seen before, but… there was something about this pegasus.

“Oh? You? With the Wonderbolts?” She put on her best challenging smirk, cocking her head to one side. “When you can’t even get the skies clear before the big event?” If this mare was anything like Spitfire, there was no way in Tartarus she’d be able to resist that challenge…

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her body language going stiff and aggressive. “I can clear this entire sky, by myself, in ten seconds flat.” She crossed her forelegs over her chest and smirked. “Guaranteed.”

Twilight couldn’t help it. She giggled softly. That would take some serious speed indeed. “Okay then, Rainbow Dash.” She arched an eyebrow. “Prove it.”

The pegasus’ smile turned hard and bright… and suddenly a massive pressure wave of air blow dried her mane into a bushy curl as Dash launched from the ground at an astonishing speed. Twilight prided herself on her excellent sense of time… and what followed was undoubtedly one of the most incredible displays of aerial acrobatics she’d ever seen. Rainbow Dash wasn’t just fast and agile, she was a natural born athlete of astonishing skill, and it was more than a little arousing to watch her work.

By the time she hit the ground, exactly ten seconds later, Twilight had already decided she wanted to introduce her to Spitfire and Cadence. This pegasus was wasted in a small town like this. “What’d I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat.” Rainbow smirked, and Twilight knew she couldn’t keep the look of amazement off her face. Rainbow Dash giggled and nudged her with a grin. “You’re somethin’ else, Twilight Sparkle. I think you and I could become fast friends. Catch’ya later!” And then she was gone, off into the sky like a blaze of color.

It was very, very hard to keep her mind on her job in that moment, and a few seconds later, Spike’s talons snapped in front of her eyes. “Earth to Twilight! We can stare at filly flanks later. We’ve got work to do and a world to save, remember?” Twilight shook her shock off, and nodded firmly. “Somepony just told me that the decorations pony is in Town Hall. We can pick up our keys and talk to her at the same time.” Spike gently prodded her, then swung up onto her back. She nodded silently, turned, and took off like a shot. She had to hurry, who knew what might be at stake.

The keys to the library acquired from a frazzled assistant to the Mayor, Twilight shoved open the doors to the town hall to find it bedecked in bright bunting and sparkling ribbons. Artfully sewn banners hung from the rafters and the upper balconies, and the entire place sparkled like new. In fact, the decorations here wouldn’t have disgraced a high-society Canterlot party. “That’s… so beautiful!” Spike sighed happily, and Twilight felt a little amused.

“Well, it’s certainly nice, but really Spike, we’ve seen a hundred rooms like this!” She turned to look at him, and his eyes were not focused on the decorations, but the far end of the hall.

“Not those!” He waved irritably at the ribbons above their heads. “Her.” His talon pointed out a white coated unicorn who had walked into view from one of the back rooms, carrying several large bundles of ribbon and cloth with her magic and humming a bright tune. Twilight blinked, having only seen white-coated unicorns before in Canterlot. It was supposed to be a sign of being directly related to one of the ancient royal families, or so Prince Blueblood had nagged her about nigh-on constantly.

“Hmm… No…. No…” She was comparing swatches of ribbon to one another, nibbling cutely at her lower lip before finally tying a big sparkling bow around one of the pillars. She took a step back and beamed at it. “Perfect! Always a classic. Rarity dear, you are a talent.”

Twilight stared for a moment. Her jaw nearly hit the floor at the sound of that absolutely cultured voice, sweetly whispering at her ears in perfect Canterlot High Society tone. Her mane was artfully coiffed in a way that utterly baffled Twilight, given that it had to have taken a skilled stylist to produce it, and she moved with a liquid grace that even Cadence might’ve envied. She shook herself back to sense, just in time to catch the unicorn’s eye. “Ah, good morning!” she called out, raising a hoof with a smile. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve come here to -”

The unicorn whom Twilight presumed had to be the Rarity her list spoke of, gasped in an incredibly dramatic and horrified way. “Darling! Your coiffure! What in Equestria happened to you?!” She raced over at top speed, and Twilight flicked her eyes skyward.

At some point during her conversation with Rainbow Dash, her mane had gone flyaway and bushy as all get out. She blushed and grinned. “Ah… yeah, my mane is kind of in a mess right now. Sorry about that. Anyway, I’ve come from -”

“No no no no! That simply will not do!” She grasped Twilight firmly by the shoulders and marched her forcibly out of the town hall. “We absolutely must do something about this! Come with me, darling. We’ll get you fixed up in a jiffy!”

Twilight opened her mouth, but the dreamy look on Spike’s face convinced her to close it. She sighed, silently. Today just was not going according to plan.

By the time Twilight had escaped from the hooves of the incredibly enthusiastic fashionista, the sun was hanging up high in the sky, and she scowled a bit at it. Time was slipping away from her like so many papers in a windstorm, and she wasn’t certain how long it would take to find what she needed in the library. That meant she had to hurry. Fortunately, Rarity had been quite knowledgeable about her last destination, and in spite of the fact that Spike was still gazing dreamily back into the boutique, she took off at her best speed toward the forest path.

Sure enough, the sound of birdsong rose above the bushes and trees with a majestic chord. Her ears perked to full alertness, and she picked up the pace, Spike muttering about being in too much of a hurry as he clung to her neck. She rounded the corner and skidded to a stop as she spotted the yellow pegasus standing by a tree mostly bare of leaves, but covered in bright and beautiful southern birds… one of which had broken off into a jazzy little solo that was discordant with the others.

The yellow pegasus sighed and flittered up to where the bluebird was still belting out it’s tune and gave it a mock-stern look. “Now, Mister Blue. I know you’re very talented, but I need you to stay with the chorus, okay?” Her voice was whisper soft and silken smooth, and actually quite cute. The little bird chirruped, and she gave a warm smile. “Thank you ever so much. Now, is everybody ready?” The birds chorused at her… and it clicked.

She could talk to the animals.

The excitement at seeing such an amazingly rare magical talent on display sent a surge of energy into her. She quickly rushed over, practically bouncing in place, her voice set to rapid fire. “Hello there! I couldn’t help but see you were communicating with the animals and -”

The yellow pegasus squeaked, and all of the birds quickly dispersed as she dashed behind the tree in sudden fright. Twilight instantly put on the brakes of her enthusiasm, and felt her cheeks burn bright red. “Oh, goodness I am so very sorry I frightened you!” she gushed out, stopping in place and then… actually watching the other pony. “Um… I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’ve come to oversee the Summer Sun preparations. Are you Fluttershy?” She tilted her head to one side at the other pony, who was slowly un-tensing from her momentary panic.

The pegasus nodded once, but otherwise didn’t talk or move. She rubbed at the tree with her hoof and looked away from Twilight. Oh, Celestia she’s… well, her name. Twilight felt instantly awkward, and took in a deep breath. She tried to do as Cadence often did for her, and project as much calm and harmlessness as she could with a gentle smile of her own. “It’s okay. I just wanted to say you were doing a terrific job, and I’m really looking forward to the performance.” She put on her best non-threatening body language, then cast her eyes about. Somehow, Spike had gotten lost in the shuffle, and she knew he’d be a perfect connection to -

“Jeeze, Twilight, you need to watch when you go whole-hog like that,” Spike grumbled as he hauled himself out of the bushes, brushing off the stray leaves and branches. Twilight kept her eyes focused on Fluttershy, and sure enough her eyes brightened, went suddenly wide and… and Twilight could have predicted the next reaction with an amused grin.

“A baby dragon!?” Fluttershy exclaimed, and immediately let loose with an adorable squee-sound. Fluttershy instantly dashed past Twilight, and she turned to see Spike suddenly staring bemusedly at the enthusiastic pony now holding him up by the armpits. “Ohmygoodness, he’s so very adorable and cute, and he TALKS!” She nearly snuggled him on the spot, but instead set him down and put on a brilliant smile. “Do you have a name, little dragon?” she cooed softly, and Twilight grinned. This was perfect.

“Uh… My name’s Spike!” he proclaimed, quickly adjusting to the attention with a smile of his own, his gaze turning to Twilight for a moment. “Uh, hey Twilight! Where’re you going?!” His voice wasn’t quite panicked yet, but it was concerned given how much Fluttershy was already fawning over him

Twilight waved happily and silently, knowing her smile looked purely mischievous as she snuck away from the two. Secure in the knowledge that Spike would make sure she was ready for the celebration, and also that she wouldn’t need to worry about him trying to distract her from the much more important task of researching the mysterious Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. He’s going to get me for this, but I’ll bet I can distract him with a gem or two later, she thought with a chuckle and set off for the library at a quick trot.