Magic of Friendship Part 1
Pony's Log number 101: What started as a rather simple assignment would change my life forever...
Mario: "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon."
"She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both..."
"...sun and moon..." Twilight continued, cutting him off.
"Hey...I was..."
"...and harmony had been maintained for generations since," Twilight finished, not noticing she had cut Mario off again, "Hmm...the elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before...but where?" Twilight continued to ponder about it while Mario just sighed in defeat while he sat next to her.
"I have a feeling we will both find out..." he said to himself.
[theme song]
It wasn't much longer before Twilight and Mario began to head back to Twilight's home observatory. While many teased that Mario and Twilight shared a home there, they didn't, but Mario did work late into the night doing research projects with her so he could get why they would say that. It was then Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Heart arrived on the same road.
"There you are, Twilight! Mario!" Twinkleshine called out cheerfully, "Moon Dancer is having a little get together at the west castle courtyard. Wanna come?" Mario smiled. He had known about Moon Dancer's little party for a few days.
"We'll be there for sure," said Mario, for he had promised to get Twilight there one way or another, "I can't wait to..." "Oh sorry, girls," Twilight replied gently, "I've got a lot of studying to catch on. Plus Mario and I are busy today." Mario went agape. This was the first time he was hearing this when Twilight dashed away.
"Could you excuse...could you excuse me please?" Mario replied to the stunned girls sheepishly before dashing after Twilight, "Twi...Twi. Twi!" The other girls just looked indignant as they watched both unicorns disappear.
"Does that pony do anything except study?" Twinkleshine remarked with a sigh, "I think she's more interested in books than friends."
"How does Mario put up with her?" Lemon Heart added. The other two unicorns just shrugged. Twilight was just busy dashing about the courtyard grounds at high speed with Mario following close behind. They had just crossed a bridge when Lyra waved at Twilight, but Twilight zipped by without noticing. Mario stopped to greet Lyra.
"Hey Lyra," said Mario quickly, "Sorry can't talk. Need to stop Twilight from skipping another party. See ya!" Mario then took off at high speed, making her and the pony next to her feel a huge gust of wind as he disappeared to catch up to Twilight. It wasn't long before he had caught up and ran beside the purple pony and he was not happy.
"Twilight Sparkle, we need to..."
"I know I've heard the Elements of Harmony," she said aloud as Mario rolled his eyes as they continued to run back towards a tall golden tower that represented her home and research lab. Mario was losing patience.
"Will you listen to me?" he bellowed, but his words fell on deaf ears as they arrived back at the entrance. Since Twilight was so determined to find what she was looking for, she didn't know until it was too late that Spike was making his way out of the house with a package in his claws. She bashed him right out of the way the instant she opened the front door.
"Ow!" Spike groaned as Mario helped him to his feet.
"Spike! Spi-ike! Spike?" Twilight called out as the climbed up the steps to the research part of her home, not even realizing she had almost run him over. Spike only groaned.
"Down here!" Mario called out, letting his frustration out as he said it.
"There you are!" Twilight called out, "quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies." She then noticed the bashed package stuck to the end of his tail.
"What's that for?" she asked.
"It was a gift for Moon Dancer, but..." Spike then yelped as the gift was set aside.
"Oh Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing," Twilight pointed out.
"But we're on a break!" Spike protested.
"You promised us a day off!" Mario added, "You and I were supposed to..." He noticed she wasn't even listening to her. "...go to this party together...as my date." The last part was too soft for anyone to notice as Twilight pulled out multiple books with her horn and began reading the titles.
"No, no, no...no, no, no!" She grunted, "Spike!" Spike just sighed as he effortlessly headed towards another tall ladder and scanned another book shelf before grabbing the book with ease.
"It's over here!" Spike called out with the book in his arms. Then the book and the dragon were pulled towards Twilight. Mario tried to catch Spike before he hit the floor but was a little late. And Mario got several books to the head as Twilight released her magic on them.
"Ah! Elements, Elements..." Twilight said aloud to herself as she searched the pages, "E...E...E...Aha! Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?" Spike and Mario just sighed. Not only was their day off ruined, but they were left cleaning up Twilight's tossed books. It hadn't been the first time she had left the two boys to book cleaning duty either and the glares on their faces showed just how annoyed they were about it.
"Mare in the Moon?" Spike pondered as he and Mario put the books back in their proper place, "But that's just an old ponies' tale."
"That's not what Mom told me..." Mario added as he placed another books into the shelf.
"Mare...mare...aha!" Twilight exclaimed as she found what she was looking for, "The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!" Twilight gasped.
"Spike, Mario! Do you know what this means?" Twilight asked. Spike was fighting not to lose balance on the ladder as it wobbled dangerously. Mario tried to keep the ladder steady, but the number of books and Spike's wobbling made keeping it steady very difficult.
"No...whoa! OW!" Spike tumbled once more, but this time Twilight caught him with ease. Mario just looked to see if Spike was alright before looking rather glum at Twilight.
"We're not going to Moon Dancer's party are we?" he asked in a bored tone.
"Take a note please, to the Princess," Twilight asked.
"Okie dokie," said Spike as he grabbed a quill and some paper, hopped off Twilight's back, and got ready to write. Spike had gotten good at writing as fast as Twilight could speak. While Mario could do the same, his penmanship was rather...sub-par.
"My dearest teacher," Twilight began as she paced about the room, "My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!"
"Hold on," said Spike, while he was a fast writer, sometimes Twilight would use words a bit too...complex for his caliber, "Preci...preci..."
"Threshold," Twilight proposed instead.
"Threh..."
"Mario help him out!" Twilight asked annoyed.
"Sorry, but you know I only scrapped by with a A- in spelling," Mario pointed out. He was good at multiple things, but he had acknowledged by now he wasn't good at everything.
"Uh brink?" Twilight proposed. Spike was still struggling until Twilight grunted impatiently, "Ugh, that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure that this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student..." Ahem," Mario coughed. While Twilight had done more work on this particular research project, she always seemed to forget crediting him for everything else they had done together. He could only forego being left out so many times and this was it. "Fine...faithful students, Twilight Sparkle and Mario Star," Twilight added with an eye roll as she stared out her large glass window wall.
"Twilight Sparkle and Mario Star," Spike replied slowly, "Got it!"
"Great! Send it!" Twilight replied excitedly.
"Now?"
"Of course!"
Spike was about to send it when he realized something.
"Uh, I dunno, Twilight," Spike replied as he held the letter in his claw, "Princess Celestia's a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. And it's like, the day after tomorrow."
"That's just it, Spike," Twilight pointed out as she got into his face, "The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away!"
"Impera...Impera..."
"Important!" Twilight bellowed.
"Whoa!" Spike exclaimed as he tumbled backwards into a bookshelf. Mario tried to catch him but ended up getting shoved back himself.
"Take it easy Twilight," said Mario, "Let's just calm down and think this through for a second..."
"NOW!"
"Okay, okay!" Spike retorted as he blew a green flame over the letter and it magically disappeared, "There, it's on its way. But I wouldn't hold your breath..."
"Oh, I'm not worried, Spike," Twilight replied confidently, "The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my...er, Mario and I's...mentor, she's never once doubted me...unlike someone I know..." Mario looked hurt.
"Hey, I do trust you," Mario replied gently as he walked up to her, "I trust you with my life, Twilight. I just think you spend too much time reading dusty old books. There's more to life than just studying all the time. Look at me for example! I can do more than just study you know."
"True, you can do alot of different things," said Spike, "plus your agile, can jump super high, and you did become the fastest pony alive."
"Until his accident cost him everything and he had to focus on his studies," Twilight added, "which were more important than fame and fortune."
"Oh you had to bring that up didn't you?" Mario retorted, clearly offended, "And if you recall, despite never getting to get back on the track I beat the odds and now I'm getting closer to running faster than the speed of..."
"BLECH!" Spike let out a loud belch and another letter magically appeared before them.
"See?" Twilight replied with a smile, "I knew she would want to take immediately action." Mario just mocked her sentence silently as Spike opened up the letter.
"My dearest, most faithful students, Twilight and Mario," Spike read as he cleared his throat, "You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely..."
"Mm-hm!" Twilight nodded smugly as Mario rolled his eyes and stood next to her.
"...but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!" Spike finished. Twilight gasped and Mario chuckled to himself.
"Called it," he said proudly.
"Uhh, Mario...she meant the both of you," Spike added. Twilight gave him a smirk that said "you wanted to be included in this letter". Mario just grumbled to himself. Soon enough they were on a flying chariot being pulled by two strong royal Pegasus pony guards. It was taking them towards their mission above the clouds. Mario just enjoyed the ride while Twilight continued to pout against the edge of the chariot.
"My dear Twilight and Mario," Spike continued as he read the letter over while they were on their way, "There is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete, especially Twilight: make some friends!" Twilight just sighed to herself. She was not looking forward to this mission at all. Especially the second half. Mario was much more enthusiastic.
"Well, despite the circumstances," he said to Twilight, "I had always said we needed to get out of Canterlot together. This will be a nice change."
"True," Spike added, "Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?"
"Yes, yes it does," said Twilight, now smiling, "You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return."
"Then...when will you make friends, like the Princess said?" Spike asked.
"Yeah Twilight," Mario added, "Don't get me wrong. I'll help you anyway I can. You're not the only one whose sensing trouble, but I would like to have the time to make some friends."
"She said to check on the preparations," Twilight retorted as they began to descend into what appeared to be an open street in the town of Ponyville, "I'm her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me, or us, making friends."
"How do you know that?" Mario asked before hearing the two royal guards give a horse-like whinnying.
"Thanks you sirs," Twilight replied.
"I left some bits for you two in the chariot," said Mario, "Thanks for the smooth ride you guys." The two horses huffed in appreciation as the three friends began to scan about the town. It was just then a particular pink pony with cotton candy style mane and tail walked up to them.
"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about," said Spike, "Come on, Twilight, just try!" "Go on," Mario added, "Someone came to see us!" Twilight noticed the pink pony and tried her best to smile.
"Um...hello?" she said slowly.
"Who are you?" Mario asked, despite feeling a little shy himself.
"GASP!" the pink pony exclaimed before zipping away at top speed. If Twilight and Mario hadn't ducked, she would have collided with their heads, and taken them with her.
"Well that was interesting all right," said Twilight unamused.
"Random too," Mario added. Spike just sighed as he pulled out a long checklist.
"Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist," Spike read aloud, "Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres."
"Heehaw!" shouted a orange pony with blonde hair that had both her mane and tail tied into ponytails. She also had a brown stenson hat on her head and was knocking apples down a tree by bucking the tree with her back legs.
"Wow," said Mario, clearly impressed.
"Let's get this over with," said Twilight with a sigh as they made their way towards the orange pony, "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle-"Twilight was soon caught off guard as the orange pony began to roughly shake her hoof.
"Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight," said the orange pony with a thick country accent, "a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"
"My name is Mario Star," Mario added, trying to introduce himself, "and..."
"Friend?" Twilight replied, cutting Mario off, "Actually, I...er...we..."
"So, what can I do you two for?" Applejack asked, not missing a beat or the nervousness in both Mario and Twilight's tones. Poor Twilight's hoof was still shaking about and Spike and Mario had to grab it to make it stop. Spike just snickered until Twilight glared at him and cleared her throat.
"Well, we are in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight explained.
"And you're in charge of the food?" Mario finished, tired of being cut off and wanted a word edgewise.
"We sure as sugar are!" said Applejack proudly, "Would you care to sample some?"
"Sure," said Mario, feeling his shyness return.
"As long as it doesn't take too long," Twilight added, getting a glare from Mario until they both heard a triangle start ringing.
"Soup's on, everypony!" Applejack called out and then a loud thumping was heard. Mario and Twilight were wisked away by what felt like a huge mass of ponies and brought before a round table with a green checkered colored cloth. The three felt rather frazzled until Applejack sat nearby.
"Now why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple Family?" Applejack proposed.
"Thanks, but I really need to hurry-"
"This here is Apple Fritter," Applejack began, cutting off Twilight as one by one, each introduced family member brought a apple treat to the table, "Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicous, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." Applejack took a deep breath to regain some air. "...Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, and Granny Smith. Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests." An elderly pony soon woke from her slumber with a loud snort.
"Wha...? Soup's on?" she retorted, "I'm up, and here I come, ah'm comin'..." Applejack looked about the family as they surrounded the three. During the intros, Applejack had shoved a green apple into Twilight's mouth.
"Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!" said Applejack happily. Mario felt a little emotional.
Must be nice to have such a huge family, he thought, I wish I had a family this big. Why do I feel like fit in with them? Must be that country hospitality I read up on a few years ago regarding country cultures. His thoughts were interrupted when Twilight spat out the chewed up apple from of her mouth and gave a nervous laugh.
"Okay, well," she replied slowly, "I can see the food situation has been handled. So we'll be on our way..." She had turned to leave when a small yellow filly with a red mane and big pink bow walked shyly up to her. Mario had remembered her name was Apple Bloom.
"Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?" Apple Bloom asked quietly as she gave Twilight and Mario puppy dog eyes.
"Can you really say no to that face?" said Mario. He honestly didn't want to leave either.
"Sorry," said Twilight, trying to minimize damage, "but we have an awful lot to do..." Everyone gave a long disappointed sigh, even Mario.
"...Fine," Twilight conceded and the Apple family, and Mario, cheered. It was a couple of hours later they finally left. Spike and Mario felt very satisfied.
"Food's all taken care of," said Spike, "next is the weather."
"Indeed, that feast was awesome," said Mario, "If I didn't love apples before, I sure do now!"
"Ugh..." Twilight groaned, her belly now visible, "I ate too much pie..."
"I told you," Mario pointed out, "Sampling means taking small amounts of everything. Not devouring everything shoved at you, but did you listen to me! No!" Twilight just grunted angrily as Mario smirked and they kept moving.
"Hmm, there's supposed to be a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds," Spike pointed out as a few clouds hung around the sky. the door to tuck him in but Twilight interrupted her and shoved Fluttershy out. Mario just watched her shove the shy Pegasus out in shock.
"Yes, yes," Twilight replied quickly, "we'll get right on that. Well, g-night!" Twilight then pulled Mario inside and slammed the door.
"Huh. Rude much?" Spike pointed out with a death glare.
"I'll say," Mario added, showing her a bitter look himself despite it being pitch dark inside.
"Sorry Spike, Mario, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time!" Twilight replied.
"You've already notified her Twi," said Mario, "We still have a mission!"
"Right," Twilight added, "I just need to be alone so I can study with a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?" Mario was about to say that making friends was their mission, when the lights turned on and they found themselves surrounded by numerous ponies. The place had also been decorated. They all jumped as a honk went off
"SURPRISE!" the ponies all shouted and someone blew a kazoo. Twilight just groaned while Spike and Mario were still in shock.
"Surprise!" shouted the pink pony that had seen take off earlier that day, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya! Huh-huh-huh?" Mario gave her a funny look.
Looks like somepony had her fair share of sugar today... he thought to himself.
"Very surprised," said Twilight, "Libraries are supposed to be quiet."
"Well that's silly!" Pinkie Pie answered, "What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you two first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all (GASP), remember? Y'see I've never saw you two before and if I've never saw you before that meant that you're both new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!" Mario suddenly felt goosebumps along his spine.
"O-kay..." he said uneasily. Twilight just groaned and headed towards a table that had some cups and sodas on it for a drink.
"And if you're new," Pinkie Pie continued, "that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends than you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went (GASP)! I must throw you a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!" While Mario had a hard time keeping track of what Pinkie Pie was saying. He soon noticed that five other girls had appeared before them. They had been the ponies he and Twilight had met today. Twilight seemed to have tuned her out and was sipping her drink when suddenly she lifted her head, turned around, and her cheeks were puffed out as her face went deep red.
"Are you all right, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. Twilight said nothing and flame erupted out of both her mane, tail, and her mouth before she rushed off. Once the flames had fizzled out, she dashed upstairs without another word.
"Aww, she's so happy, she's crying!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Mario rolled his eyes as Spike examined the soda bottle Twilight had drank from.
"Hot sauce" Spike read on the label and Mario blinked.
"What is Equestria is that doing with the sodas?" he asked. Just then Pinkie Pie dumped a large dollop of it on top of a cupcake and gobbled it up. Mario and the other's made faces.
"Ooh..." Pinkie Pie remarked as she ate it, "What? It's good!" Mario just made another face and sighed.
"If...you say so..." said Mario, suddenly losing his appetite as he looked up sadly at the staircase leading up to what was apparently Twilight's bedroom.
"You seem worried about Twilight," said Rarity as she stood next to him, "Why not go check up on her?" Mario just looked at the stairs and sighed.
"Alright," said Mario, "but I don't know what good it will do..." The others five mares looked a bit puzzled until Mario a huge leap to the third tallest step and headed into the room. Rainbow Dash was stunned.
"Did you see him jump? That was awesome!" she exclaimed. It wasn't much longer before he reappeared and jumped from the top step back down to the floor with ease. The five just stared once more.
"Twilight's tired out from all the supervising and she just wants to...what?" he asked. He wasn't going to tell them that Twilight had blatantly refused to come back down and he had told her he was going to have fun at the party, which only got him a loud growl before he let her be.
Fine," Mario had told her, "Unlike you, I trust that Mom knows what she's doing about what you reported to her and we were supposed to be making friends, If you want to ignore that part of her message and sit in the dark. Be my guest. I'm going to do what Mom asked me to do: make some friends! I'll be downstairs if you need me." Mario's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed the other five mares were still staring at him.
"Umm...is...is there something in my teeth," said Mario, feeling very shy, "is my mane messed up again. I mean...did I say something wrong? I must have I mean...why else are you looking at me funny and...I...I mean...I..." He was interrupted by a small giggle. He noticed that it was from the Fluttershy.
"You seen to have issues being shy like I do," said Fluttershy.
"Yeah...I...do..." said Mario, rubbing a hoof against the floor, "it usually takes me awhile to open up sometimes..." This was not always the case, but being the center of attention always made him feel shy. Those track races had helped until the accident and he began to stay with Twilight and keep to himself more. When it came to opening up, Mario had to admit that he was rusty.
"Well to answer your question," said Applejack, "We wanna know how you did that huge jump."
"Yeah, I've never seen a non-pegasi pony jump that high," said Rainbow.
"Are you kidding? I jump higher than that all the time," Pinkie Pie added, "we should totally have a huge jumping contest. We can see who can go higher and higher and higher until we literally reach the moon, maybe the sun, and maybe even..." Mario began to cower back a bit as Pinkie continued to ramble until Applejack put a hoof in the girl's mouth.
"Easy there," said Applejack, "Why don't you tell us more about yourself, sugercube?"
"Me?" he repeated, "Well...s-sure...I've...I don't think I've ever talked about myself...unless you include an essay in magic school..."
"Well, is it exciting?" Rainbow Dash question.
"Well, there's the fact Princess Celestia took me in after I was buried alive under a building and the fact I used to be track champion..."
"GASP! You are buried under a building!" Rarity exclaimed in shock. Fluttershy covered her hoofs in shock as well.
"You were a track champion..." said Rainbow Dash and then paused, "Wait...no way...were you...were you who they called the Flying Unicorn?"
"That's me," said Mario.
"Oh Wow!"
"That is super-duper amazing!"
"Tell us more!"
"Um...yes, please do!"
Mario just smiled as he began to share some of his past with them. He did his best to make things interesting and they seemed intrigued so Mario felt better as he continued to speak. He did try to stay brief about having no family until Princess Celestia (which Applejack gave him the most sympathy) and the big accident (which earned him a friendly hoof jab and a challenge to a race from Rainbow Dash). While he said nothing about his crush on Twilight, the way he kept looking at her bedroom door pretty much gave it away (Well Rarity figured it out, Pinkie literally talked his ear off about romantic dates, Applejack just gave him some basic but supportive advice). Either way, he was enjoying himself. It was well into the night when he and Spike finally decided to see Twilight. Twilight was just groaned form all the noise and music downstairs as she had buried her head underneath a large pillow as she sat on her bed.
"Hey Twilight!" Spike called out, wearing a nightshade on his head, "Pinkie Pie's starting "Pin the Tail on the Pony"! Wanna Play?"
"Yeah, come on down and have some fun," said Mario, "I got to do a singing duet with Rarity, try out some awesome candy from this mare named Bon Bon, and I just won my first dancing contest! And I won the limbo by being able to stay exactly one inch from the ground leaning back. Though it was kind of sad that they had to finally pin Rainbow Dash down because she kept demanding a rematch when I beat her. Eeesh. Losing isn't the end of the world you know." That had to have sounded hypocritical since he hated losing too, but he ignored the feeling. Twilight was clearly irritated.
"NO!" Twilight barked, "All the ponies in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!"
"It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration," Spike answered, "Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the Princess raise the sun! You should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!" Twilight begins to mockingly imitate Spike, who just leaves. Mario stays behind.
"Twilight seriously, you are missing out on all the fun," said Mario, "Mom did say that we were to make some friends. I've made five already and there could be more since everyone seems to enjoy chatting with me and I'm having a great time. First time in my life, I really feel like I fit in. I just might move here. I had hoped you would join me." Twilight said nothing.
"Twilight dwelling on this all night isn't going to make things right," Mario continued, "just trust Mom okay. All we can do is just be on guard and take action when the time comes. Now come on down and have some fun like real friends do." Twilight still remained silent. Mario closed the door and looked at her sadly before joining the "pin the tail on the pony" game. Twilight just continued to stare at the ceiling hugging her pillow close.
"Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" She couldn't stop remembering what she had read. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she was bring about everlasting night."
"I hope the Princess was right...I hope it really is just an old pony tale..." Twilight said worried. It wasn't much longer before Spike arrived with Mario right behind him.
"C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!" Spike called out. Twilight looked at the moon one last time before crawling off the bed and found Mario waiting for her. While he looked stern at first, he offered her a hoof. Twilight just stared before putting hers on top. Mario smiled and escorted her towards the main building for the ceremony. The building itself wasn't particularly large, but yet it fit everyone who wanted to see the sunrise with room to spare. Twilight was still worried as she stood next to Mario waiting for the ceremony to begin. That was when Pinkie Pie stood nearby.
"Isn't this exciting?" she asked out of the blue, "Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went (GASP) but I mean really, who can top that?" Twilight just gave Mario a curious, but annoyed look.
"If you drank five bottles of soda and a bottle of hot sauce, you'd be hyper too," he whispered. Twilight just rolled her eyes when a cream colored mare with whitish mane and tail and wearing some glasses on her nose appeared. She was known as the mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare. Mario had gotten to speak to her during the party. (She had given him a funny look when they first met, which puzzled him, but it was soon dismissed and they had a nice chat with each other.) Fluttershy's birds did their intro song as she took center stage.
"In just a few moments," she announced proudly, "our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, and the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..."
"Ready?" Fluttershy asked her birds, who simply nodded.
"...Princess Celestia!" Mayor Mare announced as a spotlight appeared where the Princess was supposed to appear and Rarity opened the curtains. But she wasn't there.
"Huh?" Rarity said in shock. The rest of the ponies chattered quietly and nervously in the background.
"This can't be good," said Twilight.
"Please tell me this happened because Mom actually was handling our warning," Mario added nervously.
"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!" Mayor Mare replied, trying to settle everyone down.
"Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "Is she hiding?"
"She's gone!" Rarity cried out and everyone gasped.
"Ooh, she's good!" Pinkie Pie remarked, but soon she yelped and everyone gasped once more as a dark clouded mist entered the hall. Everyone watched in fear as the mist slowly morphed into the shape of a large black alicorn.
"Oh no..." said Twilight quietly in panic.
"Nightmare Moon!" Twilight and Mario said together. Spike was in so much shock he fainted, falling off his seat on Twilight's back. Nightmare Moon laughed menacingly at the ponies around her.
"Oh, my beloved subjects," she said in a bold voice, "It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." Some ponies just looked at her fearfully.
"What did you do with our Princess?!" Rainbow Dash demanded angrily and tried to approach.
"Whoa there, Nelly..." said Applejack, her voice muffled as she held Rainbow Dash back by the tail. Nightmare Moon just chuckled.
"Why, am I not royal enough for you?" she asked angrily, "Don't you know who I am?" The dread silence and the blank look on everyone's faces showed that they clearly didn't. Even Mario felt very uncomfortable that nopony else minus him and Twilight knew who she was.
"Ooh, ooh, more guessing games!" Pinkie remarked excitedly, "Um, Hokey Smokes! How about...Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty..." Pinkie pie was soon shushed as an apple cupcake was shoved down her throat. Nightmare Moon was furious.
"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" she demanded as she glared angrily as Fluttershy and then turned to Rarity, "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"
"We did," said Mario, stepping forward, followed by Twilight.
"And I know who you are," said Twilight, "You're the Mare on the Moon - Nightmare Moon!" All the other ponies gasped.
"Well, well, well," said Nightmare Moon, "Someponies who remember me. Then you two also know why I'm here."
"You're here to...to..." Twilight gulped. She had forgotten.
"Um...something about...eternal darkness?" Mario's memory felt a little fuzzy too. Nightmare Moon just chuckled in triumph.
"Remember this day, little ponies," Nightmare Moon declared, "for it was your last. For this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She laughed triumphantly, thunder clashing alongside her. Everyone, including Twilight and Mario, just watched her in pure horror.
To be continued...
(End Theme)
Well there's the first episode, or at least part 1 of it. Like I said additional content is meant to tie Mario as part of the mane 6...or should I say mane 7?
You'll have to keep reading to find out.
Peace Pony Fans!