Author's Notes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSiqAycVp_c

“Ugh… did you really have to wake me up this early?” Lyra stood woozily in the doorway of her marefriend’s kitchen, hips leaned against the frame.

“It’s only nine, honey,” Bon Bon replied, though her voice was muffled from the cabinet she was reaching up into. “And I told you I was going to be needing your help early today, remember?” A bag of flour fell down from the shelf to the counter with a soft thunk. “Whoops.”

Lyra ran a hoof through her mane, which was wild and unkempt with wide tufts of mint green sticking up here and there. Bags a deep shade hung under her eyes. “I… don’t remember much of last night, come to think of it.”

Bon Bon turned Lyra’s way just to roll her eyes. “Yes, you were out late again. Very late.”

“Hrmph,” Lyra hrmph’d. “So what?”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “So… nothing.” She paused. “I mean… well… eh, we can talk about it later. Regardless… the dishes, if you could…” The mare pointed to the kitchen sink, where an unusually tall pile of pots and pans filled one side.

“Ungh… couldn’t it wait ’til later?” Lyra added a touch of puppy-dog eyes to sweeten the plea.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon chastised. “We need all the time today that we can get! You know what day it is, right?”

The mint-green unicorn turned her head to look at the day calendar on the door, squinting her eyes to make out the red numbers. Her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, exactly.” Bon Bon let out a sigh. “I promise, once it’s all over, we can take some time off and relax, but we’ve got a lot of work to do before then.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Lyra grumbled as she made her way over to the sink. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Shrugging, Bon Bon pulled a mitt onto one of her hooves and opened one of the ovens. She carefully held the front open and, using the mitt, slid a tray inside. She watched the dough sit there in the wavering heat, before letting the front close with a metallic thunk.

“Ready?” Spike had a claw on his hip as he leaned back, looking out straight ahead of him.

“Ready!” came the chorused reply from Derpy and Raindrops.

“Alright. On the count of three, then.” Spike paused, stepping back. He looked up to the sky. “One… two… three!”

Both pegasi, ropes attached to their saddles, trotted quickly forward on the grass. Behind them, with the ropes fastened to its top, was a tall wooden pole—and as the pegasi moved, the pole swung upwards. Multicoloured ribbons that hung from the top fluttered in the air below, looking not unlike the mane of Rainbow Dash mid-trick on a windy day. Once the pole was nearly pointing straight up, Derpy and Raindrops stopped in their tracks, each looking over their shoulders to see how much further they needed to go. Spike, who had been standing off to the side, quickly waddled over to the bottom of the pole and grabbed it, using his claws to shift it over into the small hole.

“Careful, Derpy,” Raindrops suddenly said. Spike looked back to see the grey mare had started to trot away with the rope still tied onto her saddle, and he facepalmed. Raindrops trotted over to help Derpy untie the rope, and then flew up to the pole to remove the ropes from the top—leaving only the ribbons hanging down limply towards the ground.

“Heh, whoops,” Derpy mumbled to herself as she uncinched the strap on her saddle, letting it slide off. “Sorry about that, Spike.”

“It’s no problem,” Spike replied, approaching her. “I keep forgetting things too, what with all that’s going on. And now that Twilight can’t be organising everything, well… now a lot of it’s fallen to me.”

“What about Pinkie?” Raindrops asked. She flew over to the pair of them, ropes in tow. “Did I miss something, or is there a reason she can’t help?”

“She’s out of town, ’cause her sister Limestone’s birthday is today,” Spike explained. “She’s going to be back for the celebration tomorrow, but she can’t really help with the planning before then.”

“Oh, okay,” Raindrops said, nodding. “Well, lemme know if there’s anything else I can help with, y’hear?”

“Of course,” Spike replied. “I think I should be good for now, since we did manage to find this new spot, but I’ll definitely keep you posted. The Cakes are going to be helping to set up tables and chairs later, and Mayor Mare has a volunteer group working on the decorations that’ll go up tonight, and… uh… somepony’s working on the lanterns, I think.”

“Oh, the lanterns!” Derpy exclaimed. “I’ve loved those ever since I was a filly…”

“They are pretty neat,” Raindrops affirmed, though she looked distracted. “Say, Derpy, don’t you have work to get back to?”

Derpy blinked. “Oh my goodness, I totally forgot! Thanks, Rainbow!” Before either Raindrops or Spike could say anything, the grey pegasus leapt into the air and, flapping her wings lazily, let the breeze carry her off.

Raindrops rolled her eyes. “I swear…”

Spike just smiled. “Well, again, thanks for the help. Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have a few other ponies to talk to.”

Raindrops nodded sharply. “Yeah… I should probably see if Rainbow Dash needs me for anything, anyway.” She crouched down, kicked a forehoof back, and took off; a blue and yellow blur was left behind in the empty space. Spike watched her fly away beyond the clouds, and chuckled to himself before making his own exit.

Left behind was the maypole, standing proudly vertical on the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds. The rest of the field lay empty; although a few houses lined the area, this patch of Ponyville had somehow remained undeveloped and wild (though its grass was being slowly cut by a village gardener). It was peaceful.

There was a violent knocking on the door, and Starlight Glimmer was ripped away from the book she had been reading. Though her head filled with thoughts of ponies going on wondrous adventures, of ponies falling in love, of ponies living more interesting lives—all of that faded in an instant once she heard the sharp rap of hoof on wood.

“Yes?” she called hoarsely. Coughing into her hoof, she tried again. “Hello? Who is it?”

“It’s me, Apple Bloom,” replied the voice from behind the door. “Was wonderin’ if I could talk to you about somethin’, since I can’t find Twilight or Spike.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, okay.” Starlight looked over to her messy desk across the room and back down to her book where it lay in front of her on the bed.. “Um… hold on a sec.” She lifted the book in her magic and trotted over to the desk, using a few more bursts of magic to quickly open drawers and shove things into them. Once there was at least some space cleared, she shoved a small paper into the book and let the pages snap closed before placing it down by the lamp. “Alright, I’m ready. Come in!”

The door swung open with a creak, and the yellow filly trotted slowly inside. “Uh… hey, Starlight.”

“Hi, Apple Bloom,” Starlight responded, smiling nervously. She had spoken to the filly once or twice, but didn’t really know her all that well; she knew she took after her big sister Applejack and was friends with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, but not much beyond that. “What do you need?”

“Well… it’s about my sister,” Apple Bloom replied. When Starlight’s expression remained blank, the filly raised an eyebrow. “You… do know what I’m talking about, don’tcha?”

“Oh, um…” Starlight looked back and forth, biting her lip. “Is it about the catering for tomorrow?”

“Not… exactly.” Apple Bloom frowned. “Gosh, did Twilight really not tell you?”

“Er… I haven’t spoken much to Twilight in the last few days,” Starlight admitted. “She’s been busy with that, uh, ‘Object’ thing in the square, and Spike had to pick up the slack with the organisation. Meanwhile I’ve been stuck in the castle. Twilight told me before she left to keep a handle on things, but… she didn’t really give me any indication as to what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“Oh boy,” Apple Bloom droned. “Well… long story short, Twilight kidnapped my sister ’n’ she won’t let ’er go.”

Starlight blinked. “She… what?”

“You heard me.” The filly sighed, brushing a hoof through her crimson mane. “And Twilight’ll do that sort of thing sometimes, so it ain’t much of a problem, or at least it wouldn’t be if we didn’t hafta get ready for the May Day celebrations tomorrow.”

“I… I don’t understand,” Starlight finally managed to get out. “Why would Twilight kidnap Applejack?”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“And Twilight was like, ‘Don’t touch it!’, and I was like, ‘But I’m already touching it!’, and so she dragged me off to the castle ’cause she said she thought it could be dangerous and that she didn’t know where the thing came from. Which I understand and all, but… sometimes that filly’s more careful than a vase collector on movin’ day.” Applejack paused, taking a breath and leaning back in her seat. “And once we got back to the castle, she was more focused on gettin’ her tools together to take back to the Object, so she just told me to wait in here.”

“...and she forgot that the door locks?” Starlight guessed.

“Yep,” Applejack said. Her stomach rumbled and she leaned down to take a bite of a sandwich Starlight had whipped up once they realised Applejack had been locked in the study for the last two days with no food.

“Hmm…” Starlight tapped her chin with a hoof. “That’s weird, though. She isn’t usually so absent-minded, especially when it comes to her friends.”

“Yeah, I found it mighty strange myself,” Applejack replied, “but there weren’t much I could do about it. I tried to yell for her, and Spike, and even you—”

“Even me?” Starlight asked, eyebrow raised.

“Even you,” Applejack said with a laugh. She rolled her eyes, and took another bite of the sandwich. “But obviously nopony could hear me so I just found a book that looked interesting and hoped you’d be by before too long.”

Starlight tilted her head. “That’s… not exactly a great plan.”

“Well, I woulda just bucked out the windows if I felt hungry enough, but I figured I might as well spare y’all the trouble of having to fix ’em,” Applejack explained. “Plus I got pretty darn sucked into that book.”

“Ooh, what book was it?” Apple Bloom asked. She was seated on a swivel chair by the desk, and her face came into view only every few seconds.

“Heh, it don’t matter none,” Applejack replied, though her cheeks grew red. Starlight could’ve sworn that the mare used a hindleg to kick something below the couch at that instant, but it could’ve also just been a trick of the light. “Anyway… since I’m still up and kicking, you reckon I’m safe to go?”

Starlight looked Applejack over for a few moments, and then nodded. “Yeah, you should be fine. Of course, you should let us or the hospital know if anything happens, but… if something were gonna happen, it would probably have happened by now.”

“Phew,” Apple Bloom said, relieved. “I thought we were gonna have to set everything up for the festival without your help, sis, and that woulda been a mess.” She nuzzled her sister with a smile.

“I bet you coulda taken care of it,” Applejack said with a wink. “Thanks a bunch, Starlight.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Starlight replied, though she looked lost in thought. “Honestly, though, I’m… really surprised Twilight brought you here. This isn’t a proper magical or medical quarantine, at least as far as I can tell.” Her horn lit up, and a burst of turquoise light rolled over the room. “Yeah, no signs of spells. I guess you’re… away from ponies, which helps, but… I just don’t get why she’d bring you here.”

Applejack shrugged. “Not sure either, sugarcube, but it don’t really matter.” She turned to Apple Bloom, who was spinning faster. “We gotta get back to the farm and help Granny and Big Mac with the baking. We can always ask Twilight about it later.”

“Yeah, I’ll go talk to her tonight,” Starlight remarked. “Well, good luck, and I’ll see you both tomorrow for the festival!”

After a quick hug to her savior, Applejack followed her sister out the door, and Starlight could hear their hooves clacking on the crystalline floor as they made their way to the front of the castle. The unicorn let out a sigh, and rubbed her face with her hooves. And, with a final shrug, she trotted out of the study.

If anypony had been left to watch, they would have noted that a touch of darkness seemed to overtake the sky, even though nary a cloud was in sight.

“Is everyone back from the playground?” Cheerilee asked. She was standing in the front of the schoolroom, looking over the desks carefully. “I know Apple Bloom is excused for festival preparations, but…” She counted the fillies and colts at the desks once more. “Hmm. Where’s Silver Spoon?”

“She had to go home sick,” Diamond Tiara replied from the right side of the room. “She threw up, so we called her mom and she got picked up.”

“Oh, goodness, okay.” Cheerilee bit her lip. “I hope she’s feeling better tomorrow for the festival.” She paused. “Anyway, now that you’re all accounted for… it’s time to talk about May Day.” She pointed at the chalkboard behind her, where she had written the words ‘MAY DAY’ in large white block letters, shadow drawn in shaky blue. “As you all know, May Day is the oldest holiday still celebrated in Equestria, going back to even before the Confederation was formed. The first records we have of a spring festival being celebrated date back to the seventh century before the Nightmare, but the texts indicate that it had already long been a tradition by then. Regardless, this means that…”

“Psst.” Diamond Tiara could hear a whispering from her right, so she turned to look as subtly as she could at her classmate.

“What?” the filly hissed.

“Is that true?” Sweetie Belle whispered. “Did Silver Spoon really go home sick?”

Diamond raised an eyebrow. “Um… where else would she have gone?”

“I dunno,” Sweetie replied. “You tell me.”

“She went home,” Diamond said flatly. “I watched her throw up into a trash can. Pretty sure she wasn’t faking it.”

“Huh. Well, okay.”

“Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara,” Cheerilee said, snapping the two fillies out of their conversation. “Is there anything you two would like to tell the class?”

Diamond just rolled her eyes and shrugged, leaning back in her seat.

“We’re expecting!” Sweetie exclaimed with a grin.

“Filly or colt?” Featherweight called from the back.

“I bet it’s a gryphon,” Scootaloo cut in.

“Which one of you is the bio-mom?” Dinky asked.

Cheerilee rubbed her temple with a hoof. “Alright, alright, that’s enough. But please, Sweetie and Diamond, if you’re not going to pay attention, could you at least keep quiet so everypony else can hear?”

“Sure,” Sweetie replied sweetly.

“Thank you. As I was saying…” Cheerilee looked up. “Oh. Yes, Rumble?”

“Could you tell us about the Object?” Rumble asked. As the words left his mouth, a dozen pairs of eyes around the room lit up with interest.

“The… Object?” Cheerilee asked, though she knew full well what he was talking about.

“Yeah, you know, the one in the Town Square.”

“I don’t know…” Cheerilee tapped her hoof with a chin. “We have a lot more about May Day to talk about.”

“But you tell us every year,” Scootaloo said. “I already know everything about May Day.”

“Then I hope you won’t mind a five-paragraph essay about the history,” Cheerilee remarked. The room groaned. “Now… I wouldn’t mind telling you about the Object, but… honestly I don’t really know anything about it.”

“What do you mean?” Rumble asked. “You’re, like, the teacher.”

Cheerilee smirked, leaning her elbow on her desk. “Teachers don’t know everything, unfortunately. Especially when it comes to something as new and mysterious as the Object. But I’ll try to talk to Twilight before the festival and see if I can’t find out what she’s discovered.”

Diamond Tiara yawned. “Can we go, then?”

“If you don’t have anything more to tell us,” Sweetie Belle added.

Cheerilee looked up at the clock and sighed. “Yes, yes, alright. I’m sure many of you have festival preparations to work on, and I’m looking forward to seeing everything you pull together. Remember, the essay is due on Friday! And I will not be accepting any extensions this time without a doctor’s note!”

A wave of groaning washed through the back of the classroom, but a quick glare from Cheerilee made the room fall silent. Once it was clear nopony had anything more to say, the teacher lowered her head down to her desk to look at her notes, signalling that the students were relieved of their duties. Everypony in the room quickly began to shove notebooks and pencils into their backpacks, trying to get going as quickly as possible.

Everypony except one, that is. While everypony else began to stand up and file out the door one by one, a filly remained in her seat, even after she’d filed her notebook away into her bag. It wasn’t until everypony else had left the room that Cheerilee looked up, and opened her eyes wide in surprise upon seeing the straggler.

“Do you… need something?” she asked.

Dinky Hooves’ eyes flashed with worry for a moment, but then she shook her head. “No, it’s… it’s nothing.”

Cheerilee pursed her lips. “Well, alright. But you know my office is always open if there is something going on, right?”

Dinky nodded, meekly, and then reached down to grab her saddlebag. “Thanks, Cheerilee. I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cheerilee watched curiously as the filly trotted up past the empty rows of desks and out through the door, not looking back. The door swung shut behind her, rocking back and forth ever so slightly before coming to a stop. Sighing, the teacher looked back to her desk and picked up a stack of papers, straightening it against the desk’s surface.