“Summer Sun Celebration preparations. Official inspection checklist.”
“Item one: banquet preparations. Location: Sweet Apple Acres.”
The two ponies and one dragon walked across the soft earth toward a farm called Sweet Apple Acres.
Spike was reading through the checklist as they went.
The moment Twilight Sparkle and Dusk Glow stepped through the white fence, a loud, drawn out “Yeee-haw!” caught their attention.
An orange mare with a golden mane came rushing toward an apple tree like a whirlwind.
She wore a brown cowboy hat, and her emerald green eyes shone with confidence.
She slammed her hind legs against the tree trunk.
THUMP!
Apples rained down from the branches.
Every single one landed perfectly inside the wooden baskets waiting beneath the tree.
The orange mare landed lightly on the ground, crossed her forelegs, and proudly raised her head.
Her cowboy hat tilted slightly as she flashed a bright smile.
Dusk Glow could not help praising her.
“Whoa! That’s impressive!”
Twilight lowered her head slightly.
“Looks like we should start with her.”
The orange mare heard them and trotted over enthusiastically.
“Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres!”
“I’m Applejack, and this here orchard is my home.”
Dusk Glow smiled and introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m Dusk Glow, and this is Twilight Sparkle. We’re…”
Before Dusk Glow could finish, Applejack enthusiastically grabbed the two ponies’ right forehooves and began shaking them up and down.
Both Dusk Glow and Twilight silently came to the same conclusion.
She has one heck of a strong hoof.
“Well, it’s mighty nice to meet you, Dusk Glow and Twilight Sparkle!”
“You two like making friends?”
“Making friends?”
Twilight looked slightly uncomfortable.
“Actually, I…”
Applejack suddenly released their hooves.
Twilight’s hoof continued wobbling for a few seconds.
Dusk Glow stared at Applejack.
Even if I switched to my earth pony form, I’m not sure I’d win a strength contest against her.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Applejack asked with a quick wink.
Dusk Glow gently stopped Twilight’s still trembling hoof.
“We’re here to inspect the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration banquet.”
“So you’re the pony responsible for the banquet?” Twilight asked.
“Sure am!”
Applejack smiled.
“Looks like you found the right pony.”
“Would y’all like to try some?”
“Sure.”
Twilight hesitated.
“As long as it doesn’t take too much time…”
The moment Twilight agreed, Applejack instantly dashed over to a triangle.
She struck it with a mallet.
CLANG!
“Lunch is ready, everypony!”
The moment the dinner bell rang, an entire crowd of ponies came rushing toward them.
It looked almost like a school cafeteria had just announced that lunch was ready.
Before Twilight, Dusk Glow, or Spike could even react, they had been swept along to a large dining table.
“All right, let me introduce y’all to the Apple family.”
“This is Apple Pie.”
“This is Apple Bread.”
“This is Apple Muffin…”
One food after another appeared on the table.
Before long, the entire table was piled high with apple themed dishes.
Dusk Glow noticed something strange.
The names of the foods were almost identical to the names of the ponies serving them.
Even their cutie marks matched the foods.
Wait a second.
Can cutie marks actually be a family naming tradition too?
Dusk Glow stared at the sea of apples and apple related names until his eyes began to blur.
He leaned toward Twilight and whispered,
“Their naming system is certainly… straightforward.”
Twilight paused to think.
“From a sociological perspective, this sort of naming tradition could potentially originate from a family profession being passed down through generations…”
Before she could finish, Applejack walked over and fed Twilight an apple.
She then began introducing more members of the family.
“This here’s my big brother, Big Macintosh.”
“And that’s my little sister, Apple Bloom.”
“And over there is Granny Smith.”
“Ahahaha…”
Twilight gave an awkward smile.
“Everything looks great.”
“The banquet preparations seem to be going very well.”
“Thank you for your help, Applejack.”
She began edging toward the exit.
“We should probably be going.”
“Y’all aren’t staying for some breakfast?”
Apple Bloom looked up at them with an extremely hopeful expression.
The young filly wore a bright pink bow on her head.
Her enormous eyes practically sparkled.
Dusk Glow’s body instinctively shivered.
His heart felt like it had just been struck by an arrow.
She’s…
she’s too adorable!
“Sorry, Apple Bloom.”
Twilight smiled apologetically.
“We still have a lot to do.”
The Apple family immediately looked disappointed.
Twilight’s expression softened.
She almost changed her mind.
Dusk Glow noticed.
He gently lowered himself so that he was at Apple Bloom’s eye level.
Then he softly patted the little filly on the head.
“Thank you, little sister.”
“Your invitation was incredibly sweet.”
His horn glowed softly.
He used his magic to place a small wildflower beside the bow in Apple Bloom’s mane.
“But we have an important job to finish right now.”
“How about we come back for breakfast after the celebration?”
Dusk Glow smiled warmly.
It was still a refusal, but the disappointment around the table immediately disappeared.
Apple Bloom happily nuzzled against Dusk Glow.
“Okay!”
The two ponies and one dragon said goodbye to the Apple family before continuing to the next item on their checklist.
“Good thing you were here.”
Twilight sighed.
“I honestly had no idea how to turn her down.”
“Haha.”
Dusk Glow waved a hoof.
“It was nothing.”
Spike looked down at the checklist.
“Banquet preparations are complete.”
“Next is the weather.”
He looked toward the sky.
“Normally, there should be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing the sky.”
Twilight looked upward.
“Judging by all those clouds, it seems her work isn’t finished.”
Suddenly, a powerful rushing sound tore through the air.
A streak of rainbow colored light shot toward them.
“Twilight! Look out!”
Dusk Glow’s pupils suddenly contracted.
He immediately transformed into his pegasus form.
His wings spread with a powerful whoosh, kicking up a gust of wind.
Just before the rainbow colored figure collided with Twilight, Dusk Glow dove forward.
He wrapped his forelegs around Twilight’s waist and beat his wings as hard as he could.
“Whoosh!”
The rainbow blur passed directly beneath them.
It barely missed Twilight’s hooves.
The blue pegasus slammed straight into a mud puddle.
SPLOOSH!
Mud flew everywhere.
Twilight hung awkwardly in midair, her four hooves instinctively wrapped tightly around Dusk Glow’s neck.
“I thought I was about to become the first documented case of ‘a unicorn getting launched by a flying pegasus.'”
Dusk Glow looked down at the scholar pony whose mane was puffed up from the scare.
He could not help laughing softly.
“Don’t worry.”
“I won’t let you become a cautionary example in a textbook.”
His wings beat steadily as he carefully lowered them both toward the ground.
The moment Twilight’s hooves touched the ground, she realized that she was still tightly hugging Dusk Glow’s neck.
Her face immediately turned bright red.
A few little wisps of embarrassment seemed to rise from her purple mane.
Dusk Glow turned toward the blue pegasus in the mud.
“So you must be Rainbow Dash.”
He looked at her rainbow colored mane with some surprise.
“That was a little fast.”
“Did you know you were flying way too fast?”
Rainbow Dash sprang out of the mud like a coiled spring.
She shook her rainbow mane, spraying droplets of mud and water through the sunlight.
“Too fast?”
“That’s called standard cruising speed!”
Twilight straightened her mane and stepped forward.
“Rainbow Dash, we’re here to inspect the Summer Sun Celebration preparations.”
“The weather clearing doesn’t seem to be finished.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up.
“Oh!”
“So you’re the inspectors!”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ll clear those clouds as soon as I finish practicing my new move!”
Then she immediately sprawled out on a nearby cloud.
Twilight frowned.
“Practicing for what?”
“The Wonderbolts!”
“They’re performing at the celebration tomorrow!”
“And I’m going to show them exactly what I can do!”
Dusk Glow raised an eyebrow.
Then a mischievous smile appeared on his face.
“Please.”
“With flying skills like that, you can barely avoid crashing into the ponies on the ground.”
“They’d be better off pulling me onto the team.”
Rainbow Dash’s rainbow mane shot straight upward.
It looked like she had just been struck by lightning.
“What did you just say?!”
She charged forward.
Her wings spread wide, sending a powerful gust across the field.
The wind blew the checklist Spike had just organized into the air.
“I’m the fastest pegasus in Equestria!”
“I can clear this entire sky in ten seconds!”
She immediately shot into the sky like an arrow.
Rainbow Dash weaved between the clouds at tremendous speed.
Every cloud she passed scattered instantly.
Unfortunately, she was moving so quickly that the wind she generated sent the nearby grass and flowers bending in every direction.
Spike sighed helplessly.
“That is certainly… one way to clear the sky.”
Dusk Glow laughed.
“It’s a little chaotic.”
“But it looks pretty efficient.”
Before long, the sky was completely clear.
Rainbow Dash performed a spectacular turn and landed in front of them, kicking up another cloud of dust.
“Done!”
“So?”
“How awesome was that?”
“Not bad, hotshot.”
Dusk Glow stepped forward.
“I’m Dusk Glow, by the way.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
Her rainbow mane swayed gently in the wind.
She casually held out a hoof.
“Rainbow Dash.”
“Future Wonderbolt.”
“And someday, the fastest and coolest flyer in Equestria.”
She grinned.
“Though I guess you already got a little taste of what I can do.”
She glanced at Dusk Glow’s wings.
“Those wings look pretty good.”
“We should have a race sometime.”
“See ya!”
Before anypony could reply, Rainbow Dash shot into the sky and disappeared.
“A race?”
Dusk Glow watched her vanish into the distance.
“She’s certainly competitive.”
Twilight cleared her throat.
“We should keep going.”
“There are still several items left on the checklist.”
Spike quickly gathered the scattered papers.
“Next is the stage setup.”
“Location: Town Hall.”
Once the weather inspection was complete, they headed to the town hall.
The building was magnificent.
Elegant decorations filled the interior, giving the hall an impressive appearance.
“Decoration inspection.”
Spike held up the checklist.
“Wow.”
“It looks amazing.”
Twilight looked around.
“Yes.”
“The decorations are very well done.”
“We shouldn’t need much longer here.”
“Then we can go to the library.”
“Looks like we can cross decorations off the list too.”
Dusk Glow pointed toward the decorations.
“Not the decorations.”
Spike stared ahead.
“Her.”
His eyes had turned into hearts.
The two ponies followed his gaze.
A white unicorn mare was sorting through ribbons.
She repeatedly muttered to herself.
“No, no.”
“Definitely not.”
Her large, curled purple mane bounced as she moved.
Dusk Glow looked at Spike.
The little dragon hurriedly straightened his scales and adjusted his posture.
“Dusk, how do I look?”
“Handsome?”
Dusk Glow laughed.
“Absolutely.”
“Thanks.”
Spike looked extremely pleased with himself.
“Good afternoon.”
Twilight approached politely.
“Please wait a moment.”
The white unicorn continued sorting ribbons.
“I’m overflowing with inspiration!”
“Oh, yes.”
“Adding warmer colors is always a good choice.”
“Rarity, you’re a genius.”
She suddenly turned toward them.
“Now, how may I help…”
“Ah!”
Her eyes suddenly widened.
She stared directly at Dusk Glow.
For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
“Oh…”
“My…”
“Celestia!”
Her voice rose dramatically.
“What…”
“How…”
“How can somepony possibly be this handsome?!”
Spike immediately straightened his back.
He began quickly polishing the top of his scales.
His tail curled proudly behind him.
“Ahem.”
“I’ve actually been looking particularly dazzling today…”
Rarity suddenly vanished from his field of vision.
Then she appeared directly in front of Dusk Glow.
A measuring tape magically wrapped itself around his wings.
“Oh, darling!”
“Your feathers!”
“The elegant lines of your body!”
“Those eyes!”
“And that magnificent mane!”
She looked completely enchanted.
“Your entire appearance was practically designed for high fashion!”
What?!
Spike’s expression froze.
She wasn’t talking about me?
His little dragon heart cracked just a little.
Dusk Glow was completely overwhelmed by Rarity’s sudden enthusiasm.
He awkwardly smiled and tried to take a step backward.
“Um…”
“Miss Rarity, we’re here to inspect the Summer Sun Celebration stage.”
“You can call me Rarity, darling.”
Rarity elegantly placed a hoof over Dusk Glow’s.
“And you absolutely cannot wear ordinary clothes.”
“I simply must design an outfit that matches your appearance.”
“You are practically a walking work of art!”
Rarity continued.
“The moment I saw you, I immediately came up with twenty different custom designs!”
Dusk Glow had no idea how to respond.
He had not realized it, but his appearance really was unusually striking in Equestria.
His ivory coat looked like moonlight shining over fresh snow.
His ink black mane stood out against it.
His amber eyes had the warm glow of sunlight shining through honey.
It was the kind of appearance that could easily draw attention while walking through the streets.
“Um…”
Twilight suddenly stepped between Rarity and Dusk Glow.
She could not quite explain why, but watching Rarity become so excited about Dusk Glow made her feel strangely uneasy.
“We’re only here to inspect the stage.”
“Once we’re finished, we’ll leave.”
“Leave?”
Rarity stared at her in horror.
“After I’ve met this beautiful canvas?”
“Absolutely not!”
She grabbed Dusk Glow’s hoof.
“I must!”
“Right now!”
“I simply have to design an outfit for this handsome gentlecolt!”
“Wait!”
Dusk Glow barely had time to react before Rarity began pulling him toward the exit.
“Hey!”
“Where are we going?!”