twilightpony | Happy Summer Sun Celebration!

The party was fun. I spent the whole time there with my friends. I danced for a while, and tripped over my wings a few times. Those wings still have a mind of their own. At least they don't throw my covers halfway across the room that often anymore. I think I tripped a fair number of ponies too.

Pinkie Pie was often zipping off to organize a game, like pin the tail on the pony, or to tell a joke, or to juggle cream pies, or to drop a thousand balloons into the room. Applejack had her hooves full keeping the refreshments coming, and no she didn't want any help. Fluttershy stepped out a few times to make sure the fireflies didn't wander off. Her dawn chorus birds were sleeping in the bushes around a hill in the west pasture. Rarity was wearing a summer dress sequined in a starburst pattern and she had on a large plumed hat. Spike was playing all the games and Dash was playing pranks on Pinkie and Mayor Mare. That joy buzzer earned her a bucket of ice water over the head, courtesy of the Mayor.

Before the morning twilight, while the stars were still shining brightly in the night sky, Mayor Mare cut the music to announce the parade! That was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's cues. Rainbow dashed off with a few other pegasi to collect and shape the clouds they'd parked by the west pasture and Fluttershy went out to rally her flashing fleet of lightning bugs. Rarity, Spike and Pinkie set to moving the lanterns and streamers to the door, ready to be distributed by me and Applejack.

Mayor Mare explained that we were all to follow her lead. She was going to trot all around town, and we were to try and match her gait pattern, the clip-clopping of our hooves in the streets ringing as one! Now that's a fun game. She pointed out that Applejack and I were handing out lanterns and streamers to ponies to carry, and as a bonus, there were little silver bells and chimes on the lanterns and streamers, to compliment the fancy hoofstepping. She told us remember to look up, and as a final surprise, we were heading to a choice location to watch the sun rise. There was much hoof stomping. Everypony was champing at the bit to get going.

Rarity, Spike and Pinkie Pie slipped out ahead (Pinkie knew the route to be taken), Mayor Mare got to the door, and out, and the trot about town began. I calculated that with what we had, every fifth pony should get a lantern or a streamer. That went pretty smoothly. There were a few ponies that didn't want to carry anything and a few that really, really wanted to be a lantern or streamer bearer. I had to relight a few candles that had gone out. Finally, everypony was off and trotting and we followed.

The Mayor was having a grand time putting us to the test. Not just trotting, but stomping and tap dancing, fast and slow. As we went along, ponies that had stayed home or were at other parties joined the procession and joined in the drumming of the hooves. Pinkie was pulling out more lanterns and streamers from where she'd hid them and Applejack and I helped distribute them among the new ponies and I helped Spike light the candles. Meanwhile, a river of fireflies followed us overhead. It was amazing.

As the twilight grew near, Mayor Mare left the edge of town and trotted zigzags and loops through the western pasture and then spiraled up the biggest hill in the field. The lightning bugs were matching us every step of the way, the sky was growing lighter, and suddenly I felt waves of hope and love in the air. Everypony stopped and stared. From the north, giant streams of colored light were spreading south. The Crystal Empire. The crystal ponies, like us, were celebrating.

"Look east, everypony!" called out the mayor. There, bookending Ponyville in the distance were the Royal Pony Sisters carved in clouds. Rainbow Dash landed next to me, pleased as punch. The cloud sculptures began to turn pink, then salmon. To the west, the moon set. Then, straight over Ponyville, the sun rose. In the hush, Fluttershy's special dawn chorus sang from all around. Everypony cheered.

We were a lot of excited ponies, full of hope and love, in a wide, rolling field, with dozens of very sparkly streamers clenched in our teeth. There was pronking and galloping and prancing, the ponies with the streamers became impromptu leaders of small processions, running patterns. It was dazzling, like a thousand stars in the early dawn light. After a while the leaders took off toward town and headed back to the Town Hall where Applejack's crew was spreading a delicious Summer Sun Celebration breakfast for everypony.