The brightest days have the darkest shadows. -Unknown

Zero Hour

June 21st, the first day of summer. A day celebrated across Equestria to mark the beginning of a season of barbeques and pool parties, of warm weather and vacation. The colts and fillies had only recently finished school for the year, and everypony was eager to enjoy some well-earned rest and relaxation. The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, when Celestia's sun graces the sky for almost sixteen hours of nonstop sunshine.

At noon, the sun would reach its highest point, hanging directly overhead in the sky before starting its slow journey downward to begin the relatively short night.

Except this year, it never set.

Nopony noticed it at first. But as the hours dragged on after noon, the sun stayed put at the highest point in the sky. By the time six o'clock rolled around, there was growing suspicion about why the sun had not begun its descent. By nine, there had still been no change, and by ten, parents had to explain to their children why they had to go to bed while it was still sunny out.

While the sun had not moved, the moon had remained curiously absent the whole time. When the next day rolled around, everypony had begun to suspect that either the Princesses were slacking off, or were playing a prank.

Days passed, and still there was no end to the constant sunshine. By the time the sun had been out for a week, it was becoming obvious that this neither gross incompetence or a joke. At this point, two scenarios had emerged, and it was difficult to tell which was worse: something had happened to the Princesses, or one or both of them was doing this intentionally.

Applejack was making her daily rounds of the orchard, inspecting her trees. This day, she looked over her harvest fearfully. The sun had been shining on her crop for a week, and she was starting to worry the heat and sunlight might damage her apples.

Big Macintosh walked alongside her, each farmer inspecting a different row of trees. "I don't like this one bit, sis." He said finally.

"Ya think this sun might be causin' harm to the trees?" Applejack asked.

"I know it sis." Mac sighed. "Look at the leaves. They're getting dried out from this confounded sunshine." He took hold of a low branch and showed it to her. Sure enough, the leaves were dry and crunchy to the touch.

"You think the crop might be damaged?" Applejack was terrified of the idea of a ruined harvest. Sweet Apple Acres was more profitable than most farms, but the loss of an entire season's harvest would ruin them.

"If things don't get any better, we'll be lucky if we even get a crop. And even if we get any apples, they're gonna be real small and dry. Won't be any good for cider, and nopony in their right mind would eat 'em." Mac looked off into the distance, towards the mountainside city of Canterlot. "I don't know what the hay is goin' on up there, but Princess Celestia had better put an end to these shenanigans, or we'll all be up a creek."

Author's Notes:

Hello and thank you for taking a look into what probably will be my most ambitious project to date. I will apologize in advance for any inconsistencies and delays in my publication schedule. I will be starting college soon, so it may be some time between updates. I ask that you be patient with me and i will do my best to deliver as good a story as i can write. I've been working on this idea for quite some time now and I hope you're as excited as I am to see it to the end.