Everypony You find yourself in an abandoned village. The land is covered in fog, and it’s hard to make anything out clearly for more than a couple of feet. You get the feeling that there is something there, just past the edge of the fog. Something large. And equine. Suddenly, a deep, yet feminine, voice echoes around you as the shape flits in and out of your peripheral vision. I am watching. I am always there. I always have been. I always will be. I am in your mind. I am in your heart. I see your True Self. Your flaws. Your failures. I will crush you. Do not oppose Me. Give in to your Despair… Suddenly, the dream ends. You awaken in your nice, cozy bed. All seems right with the world. Soon, Princess Luna will move the moon back to the other side of the world and the Summer Sun Celebration can begin. ----- Entropy and Fireheart You both have received orders from Princess Celestia in the form of a letter. The letter reads: Dear [Your Name], Congratulations! Your name is one of five that has been drawn in the annual Free Day Drawing! With this letter, you will find a voucher for One Free Day, which entitles you to one day free from work of any kind*! You may spend this voucher any time between now and the next annual Free Day Drawing, at which time, any and all previous vouchers will become void. On a personal note, might I suggest attending the festivities that will be occurring on the longest day of the year, The Summer Sun Celebration? But, if you do, please attend the Celebration in Ponyville. The one in Canterlot is dreadfully dull (I know from personal experience). If you choose to go to Ponyville, please stop and say Hello to my Most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle. Tell her to keep up the good work! Sincerely, Her Majesty, Princess Celestia *[size=-4] The Free Day voucher cannot be used in the event of catastrophe, apocalypse, Ragnarok, or any other world-ending event. The Free Day Voucher can be declared void by either myself or Princess Luna for any reason and is non-negotiable. But, that’ll likely never happen.[/size] Spoiler: OOC Freeform time! You can start anywhere you want, just make sure you get to Ponyville somehow. /railroading :derpe: ----- Lightning Chaser and Dark Shine “Skies are clear! Great work, guys!” Rainbow Dash performs a mid-air somersault. “This’ll be the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!” She flutters closer to you two and whispers. “Trust me.” She brushes her hoof on her chest. “I got it on pretty good authority that the close of the festival is gonna be pretty awesome, even by my standards. Be sure to stick around until sunset! Catch ya on the flip-side!” With that, the cyan Pegasus dashes off to…probably take a nap or something. Spoiler: OOC You’re now free to do whatever you want. ----- Pink Fizz and Jhera Flower With the last of the clouds gone, it seems like everypony is getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration that’s going on in Ponyville. The word around town is that there are more ponies attending the Celebration than last year and the year before that combined! It seems like the Apple Clan is more than ready to accommodate the new arrivals, as they’ve gathered more food than either of you have ever seen and have even stocked some Zap Apple Jam and Zap Apple Pies. Twilight Sparkle goes about her business, making sure that everything is Perfect (that’s “perfect” in italics) and that everything goes off without a hitch. Typical Twilight Sparkle. Her faithful assistant, Spike remains ever at her side, checking things off a massive checklist. Fluttershy can be seen going around town, coaching the birds to perform in perfect harmony. Sugarcube Corner is buzzing with activity as The Cakes and Pinkie Pie set up their display of pastries, cakes, muffins, and What Have You (which is new on the menu. It’s a combination of cake, donuts, éclairs, chocolate mousse, and gummy candies). Rarity has been shut in her shop all morning and has only just opened the Carousel Boutique for regular business. She seems exhausted, likely from working on new designs the night before. The rest of the town is getting in on the fun by setting up food stands, games of chance and skill, and just generally being cheerful and sociable. Spoiler: OOC You know the drill… Have fun!
Jhera checked his cart for the varying types of flowers he believed ponies might want to have with them during the Summer Sun Celebration. Should he have added violets to it? Was bringing daffodils really necessary!? He was so nervous, at one point he considered not even attending the celebration, for fear of embarrassing himself. This was going to be the first celebration he had ever attended, and he really had no idea what he was doing. He had heard that many other families were setting up stands and shops near the point of gathering, so he decided he would join them. 'Okay, it's fine!' he told himself, 'I'm fine, really! I'll just plant the stand near it and not say a word! I'm sure the ponies will come to me!' He chuckled nervously and began looking over his stand again.
Entropy lowered the letter (that he held with his hooves) and smiled. Celestia certainly was a generous ruler. It was things like this that made him happy to serve in the Royal Guard. He looked up at his tiny home and sighed. It was things like that, his outcast social status, his lack of ability to do anything but ruin a perfectly good spell, that made him wish he was a normal unicorn. His talent may help keep the city safe, but what good was that if the ponies that lived there avoided you like the plague? Going to Ponyville was a wise idea. There, unicorns made up a much smaller percentage of the population. Entropy wondered whether going to see Twilight was a good idea, though. She probably wouldn't be that happy to see him... Well. He'd cross that when he got to it. He went toward the train to take the next ride to Ponyville.
Dark Shine turned to Lightning Chaser. "I will see you at the Celebration!" He smiled as he said it. At that he flew off to his cloud to finish preparations for himself. Suit? No need. Necklace? Nah. Flattened out Mane? Sure, why not. He straightened his hair, covering his face completley with black and white stripes of hair. He pushed it back with a hoff to make perfectley straight lines of black and white in his hair, which went down past his neck a bit.
After a good day's work of clearing clouds from the sky in preparation for the Summer Sun Celebration, Lightning listens in to what Rainbow Dash has to say about the swiftly upcoming event. Leaning in a bit to hear what she has to whisper, he chuckles at the filly's excitement and responds, "Can't wait! See you around Rainbow!" Watching the cyan pegasus fly off, his attention turns to Dark Shine as the colt addresses him. He gives a nod and replies, "See you there!" Now left alone to his own devices, he decides he should spiffy up before the big event this evening. Drifting along, he flies his way to home. Upon arrival, he enters into his cloud home and immediately tries getting a bit of rain to wash up. Once he feels sufficiently cleaned up, he dries himself off with a cloud towel. Lightning spends some time styling his shimmering mane and tail, then digs through his wardrobe. Pulling out one of his moderately fancy suits, he slips it on before securing a bow tie for a finishing touch. Feeling much more refreshed and dapper, he exits his home and starts to glide down toward Ponyville to get a good spot for the festivities.
Fireheart who finished her shift exited the castle using her magic to put the ticket in her saddle bag. bumping into entropy. "oops, sorry, you see im in a rush got to get to ponyville for the celebration. the train arrives in 15 minutes" Fireheart then re-adjusted her saddlebag and a small iron dagger fell out. "oops, let me just pick this up. guard's have to be extra-careful these days ever since the changeling incident" Fireheart started to gallop towards the train arriving with 4 minutes to spare.
Pink Fizz woke up late at home, as usual. She stood in front of the mirror and thought about how she should fix her hair... and didn't... but chose instead to make funny faces at herself for about ten minutes. She got to the end of the first minute and was bored, so she decided to go outside and trot around the town. Wandering out of her house by the manual means of walking, she looked up and down the street at all of the busy-bodies. That was so... not for her. However, going to the Carousel Boutique and parusing the dresses? That was totally for her. Though probably one of the tackiest looking ponies without a dress, the frizzy-maned unicorn meandered lazily into the Boutique. "'Ello! I've come to see what you've got dis year, eh? Maybe somethin' my style dis time." Of course, Fizz never actually bought anything. She always just browsed. After all, she never had enough bits to buy anything, what with not having stable employment or anything.
Jhera As Jhera adjusted his flowers, Twilight Sparkle trotted over to his stand. Without a word, she examined the cart; first glancing at one side, then the other, and even underneath it. She cast a confused glance in Jhera’s direction. “Is this your first time setting up a stand? I notice that you don’t have a Festival Vendor Number.” She nodded to Spike, who leapt upon her back and began fishing through her saddlebags for a quill and paper. She chuckled, “This is a new policy, mind, so all the kinks haven’t been worked out yet. Spike? Do you have the quill and paper ready?” “Got it,” the baby dragon replied. “Great! Give him number…247.” Spike raised an eyebrow. “Uh…we got a 247.” “Oh. 248 then.” “We got one of those, too.” “249?” Spike sighed. “All of the 200’s are taken.” Twilight thought for a moment. “Hmm…” She looked at Jhera and smiled. “How about Number 1?” Spike looked over his list, then replied in surprise. “We…we don’t have a Number 1.” Then, “Huh?!” Twilight chuckled again. “I was hoping I hadn’t used it. I saved all of the single digits for special occasions. I think having a first-time vendor would be a special enough occasion. Wouldn’t you agree?” The past part was directed at Jhera. “Sure!” Spike wrote a large number “1” on the piece of paper in his hand, and Twilight levitated it and fastened it to Jhera’s cart. Satisfied with her work, she looked over his flowers, and then took a deep breath. “These flowers are beautiful!” She smiled. “Would you mind if I was your first customer? How much for these here?” ----- Entropy and Fireheart The two guards boarded the train with about 4 minutes to spare. Being that they were guards, they were able to go most anywhere for free, and the train was no exception. The conductor didn’t even bother asking them for a ticket. The train ride was mostly uneventful and it seemed that luck shined on the two as the train made it to Ponyville station several minutes early. As they disembarked, two friendly fillies approached them. “Welcome to Ponyville! We’re currently holding our annual Summer Sun Celebration, and as a friendly gesture, we’d like to present you with these!” They withdrew a pair of leis and draped them over the guards’ heads. “Please enjoy yourselves, and try to stay until sunset. They say something special is going to happen! Don’t miss it!” As the guards walked away and into town, they could clearly hear one say to the other, “They make a cute couple, don’t they?” and then giggle. ----- Dark Shine From his home, Dark Shine could hear the festivities commencing. The Summer Sun Celebration had always been a time of revelry, and it was almost as if everypony had completely forgotten about last year when Nightmare Moon appeared and threatened to cover the world in Eternal Night… ----- Lighting Chaser The celebrations in Ponyville were now in full swing. There seemed to be twice or even three times the total population present, playing games, eating tasty desserts and meals, and generally having fun. Lighting found that a row of bleachers had been set up near the center of town, in front of the town hall, and that a few ponies had already taken their seats. As he glided down, he took notice of a filly seated by herself. Spoiler: Roll Mind for Perception 4 + 1 = 5 Just passed. He had to take a second look, but he then easily recognized the pony as Fluttershy. She edged away from him slighty, trying to make room for him as he landed. [size=-2]“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want this seat?”[/size] ----- Pink Fizz Rarity snapped awake as Fizz drew closer. She chuckled nervously as she already knew Fizz’s…reputation. She knew that the white pony was almost as strange as Pinkie Pie. ‘Cut from the same cloth’, to turn a phrase. “A-ah, yes! Come in, come in!” The posh unicorn looked over her “customer” for a while and said, “Yes. You’re definitely a Summer.” She yawned loudly. “Most definitely a Summer…oh, you’ll have to excuse me. I was up late, preparing for tonight’s show…” She suddenly clamped a hoof over her mouth, then squeaked, “Uh…forget I said that.”
As he flies into town, he is amazed at the huge increase in the number of ponies enjoying themselves. As much as he may want to join in on a party game or two, he remembers how difficult it was to find a decent spot for the Celebration in the past. With so many ponies this year, it would be even more difficult. So he continues to make his way to where the Summer Sun Celebration is set up to take place. He spots a row of bleachers in front of the town hall with some ponies already seated, and makes a beeline for it. Gliding down, Lightning notices a filly seated by herself. Doing a quick double take, he realizes that he recognizes the filly. As he lands, he tries to make sure there is enough room for both of them. "Oh, I don't want to push you out of your spot. It seems like there is room for both of us... that is, unless you're saving seats. Then I can find another section..." he replies, some timidity in his voice.
"my parents house is here so ill probably need to get going to there make sure they know im ok. see you at sunset entropy". Fireheart trotted off buying a lavender muffin from a young dinky doo on the way to her parents house and then relaxed catching up with old friends and family until around an 1 before sunset and explored ponyville a bit more bumping into twilight. "your twilight im guessing, celestia sends her regards" shows twilight the letter.
Dark Shine flew down from his cloud. This was it. The big event. Oh how exciting! He flew down next to his co-worker Lightning but noticing he is with somepony who is shy, he quickly flies to the nearest available space.
"Oh, uh," Jhera said. He wasn't expecting Twilight to come over to his stand, and when she did, he was expecting a scolding for doing something wrong. In fact, he DID do something wrong. When she gave him the number, he wasn't expecting anything special. "That's a syringa, a bouquet of those is 7 bits. Interesting choice, those go with anything." He handed her the flowers and accepted her bits. "Thanks. Make sure to tell everpony about me, I'm hoping to afford a new cabinet to store my books in."
Fizz giggled lightly and winked at Rarity. "No idea what ya said!" Then she, like Rarity, yawned wide and hovered a hoof before her face. "I'd ask, but I still in da wakin' up phase o' da day. Or somethin'." She pondered a moment and perused the gowns. "Lovely select'. T'ink I should try somethin' on?" Her head twitched to the side and her horn sparkled for a moment with an orange fizzle. She groaned gently and held the sides of her head. "Urrrrrgh! Dere's gonna be a show?!" She blurted out and turned to Rarity in full. "What kinda show?!" She grinned widely and bounced a little in excitement and anticipation.
Entropy made an effort to keep his face blank for the entirety of the time the fillies talked to him, and also while he and Fireheart bid each other farewell. After that, he ducked into an alley and removed his helmet and armor, which distinguished him as a Royal Guard. It was tiring to have to keep a straight face all the time, and even more tiring to have ponies constantly walk over to the opposite side of the street to avoid you because you were intimidating. He put them into his saddlebag (it's a large saddlebag, okay?). He walked back into the street, looking around for something fun to do.
Lightning Chaser [size=-3]”No, no, it’s okay. Really. I’ll move. I won’t be doing much sitting anyway once the show starts…“[/size] Fluttershy rises from her seat and moves one row down. Shoving her hooves in between her legs, and glancing sheepishly at the ground, she says, [size=-3]”Gosh, I hope I do okay. Rainbow Dash said it was going to be easy-peasey-mac-and-cheesey, but I’m not sure… I’m not as good at flying as she is…”[/size] ----- Jhera Flower Twilight’s eyes sparkled at the mention of books. She nodded affirmatively. “You can never have too much storage space when it comes to books! Why, this one time, I had so many books that I had to keep them under my bed, but there were so many that they lifted my bed off the floor a good twen-“ Spike suddenly tapped his mentor on the top of her head. “Uh, Equestria to Twilight…? We gotta get going if we want to make in time for…The Surprise…” His eyes darted back and forth, and he glared at Jhera. “You heard nothing…” Twilight giggled softly. “Oh, come on, Spike. It’s not like it’s a big secret, especially if I know Pinkie Pie…” She turned to Jhera. “I’ll make sure to put in a good word for your stand. Don’t forget to stick around for sunset! We’re organizing a Special Surprise for everypony in town!” She winked. “You won’t want to miss it.” ----- Dark Shine Spoiler: Roll Mind for Dark Shine 7 + 2 = 9 Passed As Dark Shine settles into his seat, not too far from Fluttershy and Lightning Chaser, he can hear Fluttershy going over her insecurities over the upcoming show. ----- Fireheart Twilight was finishing the last of her rounds and was heading toward the center of town when she ran into Fireheart. Twilight smiles as she reads over the letter for herself. “Well, congratulations on getting a Free Day Voucher! I thought they were just an urban legend.” Spike mutters, “You’ve received two so far…” “I have? Gosh, I must’ve forgotten to use them.” Spike rolls his eyes, “Or maybe, and here’s the more logical explanation: You threw them away. Workaholic… Pff.” “Speaking of work, I should really get going! That surprise isn’t going to present itself, you know. Thanks for the message!” With those words, Twilight resumes trotting toward the center of town, humming a little tune as she goes. ----- Pink Fizz Rarity had turned to pick out a stunning dress for her “customer” when Fizz suddenly blurted, "Urrrrrgh! Dere's gonna be a show?! What kinda show?!" causing her to jump. When she recovered from her fright, she sighed. “Yes, it’s supposed to be a special surprise for the citizens of Ponyville. I was up last night working on some of the props.” Her eyes suddenly lit up. “Would you like to see them?! Stay right here!” She dashed off into the back of her shop and returned shortly thereafter levitating a large box. She placed the box on a nearby table and opened it. Inside were near-perfect representations of the Elements of Harmony. Rarity then explained, “I had to cut the gems myself. Do you know how hard it is to find Kunzite, let alone shape it into a butterfly?” She glanced up at the clock then shut the lid. “Oh my! Look at the time! C’mon! We have to get to the show early so we can give these out.” And I really don’t want you here alone… ----- Entropy Entropy trotted through the main area of the improvised fairgrounds. One thing that caught his attention was what appeared to be some sort of trivia game, hosted by Cheerilee and being played by Sweetie Belle, Ditzy Doo, and Big Macintosh. Ditzy had just rang her buzzer. “What is Rainclouds!” Cheerilee stared at her blankly before letting her head fall to the podium with a dull *thud*. Not bothering to raise her head, she muttered, “For the last time, Ditzy Doo…you don’t have to answer in the form of a question.” Then, raising her head, she added, “And, no, the answer to the question, ‘This type of cloud, commonly referred to as a Raincloud, is gray and puffy,’ is not ‘Rainclouds.’ Ditzy buzzed once more. “Marshmallows!” Sweetie Belle, stared at Ditzy Doo half-lidded, then buzzed in. “Miss Cheerilee, the answer is ‘Cumulo-Nimbus.’” The teacher grinned broadly. “That’s correct, Sweetie Belle! 25 points! And you answered so politely, too!” Then, without a word, Big Mac got up from his stand and started leaving. “Uh, Big Macintosh? Where are you going?” Cheerilee asked. “The game isn’t over yet. You and Sweetie Belle are tied.” Big Mac turned back toward the teacher and stated, “I have to tend the stand so Applejack can be in the show.” With those words, Big Mac continued on his way. For something that was supposed to be a secret, an awful lot of ponies know about it… ----- Spoiler: OOC Okay, one more round to go until the big cutscene show!
Pink Fizz gasped loudly and leapt into action! "Here! Lemme get dis box dere for ya! See ya soon, wit' dresses!" She crossed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as her horn lit up with a bright orange light, and with a flare of sparks and energy around her, she attempted to teleport... herself and the box... to the not-too-far-off celebration stadium! Fssssshhhhhzzzz-BOOM! Spoiler: In Case of Success Let after the bright orange flash would be the little floating orange fizzies which would float to the ground in her wake. Spoiler: In Case of Failure "Heh... maybe I'll uh... jus' 'elp ya carry some t'ings, eh?" Defeated, she'd help in the manual unicorn filly manner.
Lightning is about to protest, but Fluttershy has already moved down a row in the bleachers. He leans over, but overhears her talking about her insecurities regarding... something. She had mentioned not being in the stands for long. *Perhaps the special event involves the Mane 6?* he wonders. Leaning over a little further, he tries to reassure Fluttershy. "Um, Fluttershy? I don't know what has you so worried, but... um... I'm sure you'll do great," he says with a friendly smile.
Entropy walked over to the Trivia stand. "Hi!" he said, and happily noted that they did not immediately look for an escape route like every stinkin' unicorn in Canterlot. "Um...mind if I join in? I'm not that great at trivia, but I can give it a shot!"\ He took a seat, then looked back in the direction that Big Macintosh had gone. "So...Applejack is going to have a part in the event?"
When Jhera was sure his cart was filled with everything he would need, he closed it and began pushing it towards the show area, as Twilight had called it. 'I wonder what it's going to be like,' he thought, 'I've never attended a Summer Sun Celebration before! Oh, what if I say something out of turn? Should I just keep my mouth shut for the whole celebration? If I do that, ponies might miss my stand! Although, Twilight is going to be giving out free advertising for me. Oh, but she's going to be in the show! What will I do?' He looked up to notice that he was already in the spot that he was going to. Well, time sure flies when you're panicking, eh?
