by G. M. Berrow
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
HASBRO and its logo, MY LITTLE PONY and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2017 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE © 2017 My Little Pony Productions, LLC.
Cover design by Ching N. Chan.
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Little, Brown and Company
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First Edition: August 2017
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Library of Congress Control Number 2017938356
ISBNs: 978-0-316-55765-8 (pbk.), 978-0-316-55764-1 (hardcover), 978-0-316-55762-7 (ebook)
E3-20170714-JV-PC
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
PHOTOS
PROLOGUE
In the magical land of Equestria, there ruled four powerful pony princesses. One for the day, one for the night, one for love, and, last but not least, one to represent the magic of a force greater than any other—friendship. That pony was named Princess Twilight Sparkle, and she was incredibly special.
Though Twilight Sparkle had just recently ascended to her role as princess, everypony knew she was wise beyond her years. However, Princess Twilight herself acknowledged she still had much to learn. But luckily, lessons were not just a very serious business to her—they were everything. In fact, that’s how Twilight had already come to understand that it was her supreme royal duty to make everypony feel as if they belonged.
Thanks to her amazing friends, who taught her how to embody and practice this skill, Twilight felt that she was well prepared to meet whatever friendship challenge lay ahead of her and the citizens of Equestria. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack would be there for Twilight—no matter what!
It was Twilight’s greatest wish that everypony in Equestria would experience the Magic of Friendship. It was such a relief to have somepony with whom to laugh, share time, practice loyalty, show kindness, and offer an honest opinion. Sometimes Twilight Sparkle thought holding such an esteemed position could feel like a lot of pressure. But as long as Princess Twilight had her friends and a well-thought-out plan, she knew, deep in her royal heart, she would be the princess everypony needed her to be.
But even the ever-prepared Princess Twilight would soon learn a new lesson—there are simply some things that nopony could plan for.
CHAPTER ONE
The painted purple-and-pink sunrise melted into cool, breezy blue skies as ponies from all over Equestria journeyed toward the bustling epicenter of Canterlot. Hundreds of winged Pegasi soared through the fluffy clouds up above. Down below, the Unicorns and Earth ponies journeyed by train, cart, and hoof from the far reaches of the kingdom.
The excitement for the inaugural event was so palpable that it seemed as if it were buzzing through the air in little shock waves. Some ponies even felt butterflies in their tummies and sweet songs on their lips as they anticipated all the fun and friendship they were going to experience at the very first Festival of Friendship. Anything could happen.
The busy streets were starting to fill up as Spike, the young Dragon who acted as best friend (and adviser) to the Princess of Friendship, pushed his way with urgency through the gathering crowds. “Excuse me!” he called out, struggling to keep hold of the armloads of important scrolls he was taking to the princess. “Dragon on the move! Comin’ through! Watch your tail!” Ponies darted out of the way to accommodate him, whispering with excitement as he passed.
“What do you even do at a Friendship Festival?” an Earth pony with red pigtails commented in awe as she took in the glorious scene around her.
“Make friends, bond over music… meet all four princesses?!” a golden-colored mare with a honeypot cutie mark replied as they trotted off to find out.
Spike took mental note of their excited comments so he could relay to Princess Twilight how wonderful an idea the whole festival had been. It hadn’t even started yet, and it was already a hit! Spike just knew it was going to be thrilling—he had a feeling in his gut.
The little Dragon continued across the cobblestoned plaza with his scrolls, a happy pep in his steps. He was so distracted, he almost walked right into a pair of overexcited filly Pegasi flying right past him and up into the air. Their giggles of delight were even louder than those of the ponies jumping in the bouncy castle.
“Do you think they’ll let me wear their crowns?” wondered a lilac filly named Violet Petals as she soared high above Canterlot to get a better view.
Her friend grinned. “I bet Princess Twilight is the most perfect pony ever!”
It seemed that everypony had the beloved princesses on their minds. Besides the appearance of the royal princesses, so many exciting things were still to be seen! But the true mane event of the weekend would be the stunning musical styling of the super-talented Songbird Serenade. The pop star was set to perform in an epic show that would undoubtedly go down in Equestrian history as one of the best of all time.
Or it might, depending on whether Twilight could persuade the other princesses to go along with her ingenious plan to enhance the experience for everypony in the audience.
Up in the castle, Twilight paced tirelessly… and more than a little nervously. She couldn’t stop fretting over the fact that every detail of the occasion had to be just perfect. After all, everypony’s happiness rested in Twilight’s hooves! She couldn’t let them down.
Taking a cue from her own serene image depicted in the stained-glass windows, Twilight paused and spread her majestic purple wings out wide. She took a deep breath to summon her courage and center her thoughts. Twilight held the air in her lungs for a moment. Just go in there and ask, she told herself. This is your Friendship Festival.
She expelled the air in a heavy sigh an
d shook her head in frustration. “Nope! Still worried. Oooh… nothing is working!” She let her face fall into her hoof and scrunched her muzzle. Luckily, a friendly voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Okay, Twilight!” Spike scrambled inside the cavernous hall with a smirk on his face. He was still buzzing from all the activity outside. “Got all your charts and graphs!” The Dragon carried his mountain of scrolls to the princess.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Spike!” Twilight called out. “I’m just so nervous about this meeting.”
“Just remember the most important thing,” he assured her.
“To smile?!” Twilight twisted her face into a forced version of one.
“Uh, no…” he replied, a little scared by her over-the-top intensity. “You have a plan.”
“Yes, that’s true.” Twilight nodded. Of course Spike was right. Twilight had prepared for this, and there was nothing to be afraid of. The other three princesses knew her well. Whatever she had to say, they would listen. Twilight was ready. She nodded at Spike and stepped through the massive double doors to the throne room.
“Wish me luck!”
CHAPTER TWO
The three other royals listened intently as Twilight enthusiastically bounded back and forth in front of her large whiteboard, which showed an illustration of the performance stage alongside several very advanced friendship equations. If Twilight could get the other princesses to agree to this minor adjustment, it would ensure that the Friendship Festival would be the most wonderful event that Equestria had ever seen!
“Songbird Serenade’s performance is not scheduled to start until after you begin the sunset, and based on my precise calculation, to get the very best lighting for the stage”—Twilight looked to Princess Celestia—“I was hoping you could make sure the sun stays about twenty-eight point one degrees to the south,” Twilight said as she drew a little Celestia on the board underneath a picture of the sun. Her voice seemed to speed up once she got started.
“And, Princess Luna, if you could raise the moon sixty-two degrees to the north at the same time, it would reflect the sunlight on the other side and really frame the entire stage perfectly!” Twilight drew a picture of Luna underneath the moon and an acute angle to prove that her theory was sound.
Princesses Celestia and Luna looked at each other in disbelief. Why did their fellow princess stress herself out over such minor details? Luna opened her mouth to reply, but Twilight wasn’t finished just yet.
“And, Cadance, if you could use your crystal magic to create an aurora above the stage, the sun and the moon will shine through it and create a truly amazing light show!”
As Twilight spoke her final words, Spike threw a claw-ful of glitter up into the air. It swirled down as if it were a beautiful aurora. Spike then poked a hoofmade paper puppet of the pop star above the whiteboard and made it dance. “Presenting Songbird Serenade! Yaaaa, yaaah! Whoaa ho ho!” Spike leaped on top of the board for emphasis but quickly lost his balance. The Dragon tumbled to the ground.
Twilight blushed at Spike’s awkward display and opened her wings to block the princesses’ view of him. She flashed a toothy smile to punctuate her brilliant presentation. Any minute now they would congratulate her and…
“So you’re saying you want us to move the sun and the moon…” Princess Luna recapped, a hesitant look on her face, “for the party?”
“Well, I’d do it myself.” Twilight laughed nervously. “But I don’t have your magic!”
It was difficult to gauge their thoughts, but the fact that all three princesses stepped toward her with their horns glowing gave Twilight a little glimmer of hope. But Princess Celestia just frowned. “Twilight, each of us uses our powers to serve Equestria in our own way.” Celestia’s face softened as she reached for Twilight’s chin with her gold-plated hoof. “You are the Princess of Friendship! You already have all the magic you need.”
“So… that’d be a no?” Twilight sighed in defeat. How was she going to make the festival special now? She could feel her disappointment sinking in, but before it had the chance, her trusty pal Spike snapped into action. He pushed her out of the throne room. After all, they had a checklist to get to and ponies to see. There was no time to waste today!
Everypony was waiting for her.
CHAPTER THREE
The last few stubborn clouds above Canterlot were obliterated with a single swoop from Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus sped through each one with glee and watched as her rainbow trail broke through the mist. Rainbow Dash loved clearing the skies, but she loved helping her friends even more. To do both at once was her favorite!
“Skies cleared and ready for the festival!” Rainbow Dash announced with satisfaction. She took off toward the main plaza, where a vast amphitheater was being decorated for the evening’s events. Maybe somepony needed a hoof with something else!
“That looks awesome, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she swooped past Pinkie Pie. The pink party pony was busy blowing up balloons and twisting them into fun shapes. Pinkie took a deep breath and blew into a red balloon with all her might. It inflated quickly and a few seconds later she had turned it into a perfect likeness of Discord. But before she could admire her hoofiwork, the balloon sprung a leak and shot off into the distance.
“Heads up! RUNAWAY BALLOON!” Pinkie Pie squealed as she bounded after the fugitive straight past Fluttershy, who was busy preparing for the festival. The sweet yellow Pegasus spun around in surprise as her singing flock of chorus birds took flight in every direction.
Nearby, Applejack was busy hauling her apple-cider cart through the courtyard, giving out free samples to anypony she came across. After passing out a few mugs to grateful ponies, she trotted over to the stage area to check on its progress. Unsurprisingly, Rarity was keeping herself busy by delicately hanging bows along the edge. After she tied each one, she used her magic to place a beautiful gem in the center of it. The stage was beginning to look exactly as Rarity hoped it would—perfect.
“Wow, Rarity, that’s a fine job you’re doin’ there!” Applejack shouted to her meticulous friend. “Course, it might not get done till after the concert!” Rarity had hung only three bows so far.
“Applejack, darling, anypony can do a ‘fine’ job.” Rarity turned up her muzzle and closed her eyes. “Twilight asked me, so clearly she’s going for ‘fabulous’! And fabulous takes time.” The Unicorn got back to work, carefully tying the next bow with love.
“Fabulous takes forever!” Rainbow Dash butted in as she landed near Applejack. “But ‘awesome’? That can get done in four seconds flat!” Before Rarity could protest, Rainbow Dash darted over to her and grabbed the ribbons and gems. She zoomed around the stage in the blink of an eye. When the ponies looked again, the entire thing was finished!
Rainbow Dash grinned. “I could do it even faster if I did my Sonic Rainboom.…” she said proudly. But it looked awful. The bows drooped, and the gems were misplaced.
Rarity cried out in despair. How was she going to fix this mess in time? “No, no, no! Don’t you dare! It looks wretched enough already—”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Oh, come on, it looks fine.”
“If you were raised in a barn!” Rarity huffed. “No offense, Applejack.”
“None taken!” Applejack laughed good-naturedly and kept pouring mugs of cider. Her family just happened to have a barn. Where she was born. And spent most of her formative years.
Rarity rushed over to the mess and began to fix it. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie trotted up to help, but before they could, everypony noticed that Twilight and Spike were approaching. They were hidden behind a huge scroll with a checklist on it, which meant the friends were probably at peak pre-event stress levels.
“Hey, Twilight!” everypony chorused cheerily.
Rarity smirked at the little Dragon. “Hello, Spike.” Spike waved back and blushed pink with embarrassment. After all this time, he still had a crush on the glamorous pony.
“How’d it
go with the other princesses?” Applejack smiled brightly. “They like your idea?”
“Not exactly.” Twilight sighed heavily, reliving the meeting and feeling just as bad all over again. “They think I can make today perfect without their magic.”
“And they are absolutely right, darling!” Rarity moved closer to Twilight. She just needed some extra support. “This festival is your brilliant idea, and we all know you’re up to the task!” Rarity assured her.
Twilight bit her lip, unconvinced. But what if she wasn’t? What if Songbird Serenade hated the stage? Or nopony made a new friend? If she failed at the festival, then who was she? Not the Princess of Friendship, that’s for sure.
“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie bounded over and took Twilight’s face in her hooves. “Look at me!” Pinkie’s stare was all sorts of intense, and her bushy fuchsia mane sprung out wildly. “This will be the biggest celebration Equestria has ever seen! You cannot fail. The pressure is intense! It’s almost too much for any single pony to handle… !” Pinkie squealed. She really wasn’t helping Twilight’s nerves.
“But you have us!” Pinkie finished with a cheesy smile. She gestured to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. “So stop worrying.”
Twilight’s friends gathered around her and enveloped her in a group hug. “We got this!” they all shouted together before erupting into a fit of giggles. Twilight smiled in spite of herself. With the help of her friends, she’d have no problem getting everything just right. All they had to do was make it fun!
Applejack started to hum a tune. Soon enough, everypony was singing along together as they worked to ready everything from the epic stage to the decorations, the food, and the games.
“We got this.… We got this together!” Twilight sang along as she trotted past the booths. It was finally beginning to feel as if the forecast would be nothing but sunny skies and a perfect festival, when all of a sudden…
SPLAT! Twilight found herself encased in the middle of a gigantic, sugary, buttery, fluffy, colorful… cake? “Pinkie!” Twilight whined, stepping out of the gooey mess. Dollops of frosting and sprinkles slid down her mane and wings, and a single lit birthday candle had landed precisely on her horn.