literature

LoTP: Fellowship of The Helmet Chapter 1

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(60 years later)

In the center of Ponyville, one of the quaintest villages in Equestria, stood a house built into a tree, known to the locals as the Sparkle residence. Inside, a white unicorn with a purple and white striped mane and tail was at a desk, dipping a quill into some ink. The quill levitated, glowing in a magical aura, to the parchment lying flat on the desk. On the parchment, the quill wrote, "A Unicorn's Tale."

"How exciting, I'm finally making progress." The unicorn spoke.

A knock came on the door.

"Twilight, answer that, please!" she called as she wrote some more words down, an introduction to the way of life in Ponyville.

A few seconds passed, then the door was knocked on again.

"Twilight, the door!" she called again, this time a bit louder. "Where the devil is that mare?"

The Twilight that Ms. Sparkle was calling was out by the edge of town, lying on her belly underneath a tree. The lavender unicorn mare had her face buried in a book about ancient spells and the ponies who created them. She read every word intently, so as to not miss a single detail.

Her eyes lifted away from the book when she heard the wheels of a cart. After a few more seconds, another sound joined the wheels: the sound of humming. Simply from the humming, the lavender mare was able to tell exactly who was coming. Smiling wide, she leapt up, forgetting to take her book with her as she barreled down towards the road. When she reached the trail, she saw the cart and the humming pony on it. She was white with a long pink mane and tail, her horn long and sharp, and she wore a gray cloak around her tall body, covering a pair of white wings. Two common earth pony stallions were pulling the cart.

"You're late. I was expecting you over an hour ago." The lavender mare said to the white one.

The cart came to a halt and the tall mare looked straight at her accuser.

"A sorceress is never late, Twilight Sparkle. She arrives precisely when she means to."

She shared an intense look with Twilight, and the earth ponies trotted in place nervously. Soon though, both of the mares broke into a fit of giggles and Twilight threw herself onto the tall pony to hug her.

"Oh it's so great to see you again, Celestia!"

"It's good to see you too, Twilight."

The earth stallions breathed a sigh of relief as Twilight sat next to her tall friend in the cart, and with a nod from Celestia they began trotting again.

"You didn't think I would miss your mother's birthday, did you?" Celestia asked.

"Of course not." Twilight answered with a smile.

The cart got deeper into to town as the two began to converse. Earth ponies were tending to their crop fields and farms, but raised their heads to watch the cart clatter by.

"What's new outside Ponyville? Tell me everything." Twilight begged.

"Everything?" Celestia asked surprised. "My aren't you the eager one, for such a young unicorn."

She giggled at her purple little friend.

"What can I say? Life in the world goes on as it does to this very day. Ponies work, the underground works, the dragons work. It's always the same."

"Look! It's Celestia!"

A couple town ponies had spotted her and had to say hello. Celestia gave each and every one of them a hearty hello and a wave from her gentle hoof. After they were behind them, the two friends went on. They passed by another part of town: a big open area where everypony seemed to be setting up festivity decorations. Above the clearing a large banner was hung that read "Happy Birthday Velvet!"

"I trust your mother is quite excited for tonight." The tall mare said.

"Oh you know Mother." Twilight giggled. "She has the whole town going crazy."

Celestia chuckled.

"I would expect nothing less from Velvet. 111 years old is quite a feat."

"Half the town has been invited! Of course, the rest of them are going to show up regardless."

The two mares began laughing for a bit.

"She's up to something though. I can feel it." Twilight muttered, suddenly somber. "She's been obsessing over old books and gazing at maps when I'm not looking."

"I'm sure you're mother has good intentions for whatever it is you think she is planning." Celestia assured.

"You two and your secrets." Twilight giggled. "You know before you came around, we Sparkles were well thought of in Ponyville. No adventures, nothing unexpected from us."

"If you're referring to that incident with the Ursa Major, I was hardly involved in that at all." Celestia said defensively. "All I did was give your mother a friendly nudge out of the door."

"Well whatever you did or didn't do, you have been officially labeled as a disturber of the peace." Twilight finished.

Celestia smiled mischievously as she looked ahead, passing by some more town ponies. Some young foals ran out from behind them, all shouting her name and calling for fireworks. Celestia seemed to ignore them, and they groaned in unison, disappointed. But suddenly out of the back of her cart, colorful sparks and fire exploded in a spectacular show. The kids cheered and the town ponies smiled secretly. Celestia and Twilight laughed again as they saw the smiles of the ponies. A little further down the road, Twilight stood up and moved to the edge of the cart.

"Celestia, I'm glad you're back." Twilight bid her friend as jumped off the cart and began to walk away. "See you tonight at the party!"

"Okay, Twilight! Goodbye!"

As Celestia turned her head and looked forward, she smiled.

"I'm happy to be back too."

The cart continued on its way until it reached the library. Celestia walked out of the cart, dismissing her drivers. She cantered up to the door of the building and knocked on the door.

"Go away! I'm not interested in any more visitors, well-wishers or distant relations!" A frustrated female voice shouted from the other side of the door.

"What about very old friends? You interested in those?" Celestia called.

The door opened up to show a purple unicorn with wide, wondering eyes.

"Celestia?" she breathed, shocked.

"Velvet Sparkle." Celestia smiled.

"Celestia!" Velvet repeated happily.

The two mares hugged tightly, Celestia leaning down a bit to accommodate for her larger size. She pulled away from Velvet and looked her in the eyes.

"111 years old. You haven't aged a day." Her voice grew concerned at the end, as it was more of an observation than a pleasantry. Despite her old age, Velvet looked no older than 60. Celestia eyed her friend warily.

"Well come on in, old friend." Velvet laughed and trotted inside, oblivious to Celestia's concern.

Celestia followed, leaning down to enter the door. In Ponyville, all the ponies were around Velvet's size, so the houses weren't exactly built for large ponies like Celestia. After they were both inside, Velvet shut the door.

"Can I get you some tea? I just made some." Velvet asked.

"That would be lovely." Celestia replied.

Velvet nodded and made her way to the kitchen to fetch the kettle. Celesta turned to walk into the living room, but ended up banging her head on the doorway into it. She just chuckled and went on in. The living room was a bit messier than normal. Over by the desk, there seemed to be a stack of papers next to another stack of books. The papers were mostly maps, just like Twilight had said.

Before she could get too far into it, Celestia smiled and took her cup of tea as Velvet came in with the kettle and poured her a cup. Then their peace was disturbed when the door was knocked on yet again. As if it were a reflex, Velvet threw her body to the wall and looked at Celestia.

"I'm not home!" she loudly whispered.

"Velvet! I know you're in there!"

Peeking out the window, Velvet groaned upon seeing who it was at her door.

"Oh blast these relatives of mine," she muttered. "They won't stop coming after my house. They haven't forgiven me for living this long!

"I've got to get out of this town. I want to see the outside again. Mountains, Celestia I want to see and hike the mountains again! Then I'll find some place nice and quiet so I can finish my book."

"So you do intend to go through with your plan?" Celestia took another sip of tea.

"Oh yes I do." Velvet sipped her own cup. "All of the arrangements have been made. And it shall happen soon."

Celestia nodded. "Twilight suspects something, you know."

"Well of course she would. I didn't expect anything less of her." Velvet chuckled. "She's a Sparkle. She's not like all the rest here in Ponyville. And for that I am thankful."

Celestia chuckled again, but sobered as she asked:"You are going to tell her, aren't you?"

Velvet's smile disappeared as well when she heard the question.

"Yes. I will tell her. Later tonight. After the party." Velvet said. "I don't want to spoil tonight for her. She loves it here so much… but she'd probably beg to go with me regardless."

Celestia shrugged and nodded, knowing that much already. She sipped her tea quietly, and then let the subject change to less serious issues.

After they finished their tea, it was time to head to the party. In no time, Celestia's fireworks were lighting up the night sky. Ponies danced underneath the sky fire and cheered for it, drinks in the hooves of everypony in attendance. It was certainly a night to remember. Among the joyful dancing ponies was Twilight, out on the floor with a couple of the town stallions. One of her friends, a mare by the name of Applejack, was sitting at a nearby table with a mug of cider near her mouth.

Noticing her friend all alone, Twilight rushed up to her and hugged her from behind.

"Come on, Applejack! Have some fun! Go dance with those nice gentlecolts with me!"

Applejack glanced over to where Twilight gestured. The stallions she referred to did seem polite, but the orange mare turned away.

"Ah'll just go get me another mug a' cider." She attempted to excuse herself.

"What about Cherry Jubilee?"

Applejack immediately blushed, causing Twilight to smile.

"Ah… uh… Ah'll get that cider."

But Twilight wouldn't have it. She pushed Applejack into the crowd of dancers, right into Cherry Jubilee. As she got swept up in the dance, Applejack threw a dirty look back at her friend who just laughed in return.

Over on the other side of the party, Celestia was using her magic to send up fireworks, both pony-made and magical. The ponies below were captivated by the brilliant show of light and color the explosives gave. Velvet was telling some young fillies and colts about some of her past adventures. Some of their parents were there too, hanging on to every detail as the words left Velvet's mouth.

While the rest of the party continued, two ponies loitered suspiciously near the fireworks cart, one of them a pink earth pony, the other yellow pegasus.

"Hurry up, Fluttershy." The pink one said as she went over to the cart.

"Oh, Pinkie Pie, are you sure we should be doing this?" the pegasus asked, afraid.

"It's a party, Flutters. Nopony is gonna care if we take one firework and light it ourselves." Pinkie assured her winged friend.

With a squeak and a consenting nod, Fluttershy hopped into the cart and grabbed a random firework in her mouth to show Pinkie

"No no. The big one. Get the big one!" Pinkie pointed her hoof.

Fluttershy looked around to spot the one Pinkie was talking about. She noticed one wrapped in red paper and in the shape of a dragon. Her eyes widened and she gave a frightened squeak. Taking a steadying breath, she grabbed it and then quietly ran off with it, Pinkie close behind.

Velvet found herself busy greeting all her party guests, though her daughter Twilight was right by her side helping her. Then her eyes spotted somepony storming towards them from a distance. Frantically, she turned to Twilight.

"Sparkles from Manehattan! Hide!"

The two mares scurried off and hid in a nearby tent from the visiting relatives. More and more Sparkles were flooding in, muttering about Velvet's rumored wealth amongst themselves After it was clear, Velvet and Twilight exited the tent.

"Oh thank goodness." Twilight muttered, watching the group of ponies go.

Velvet looked at her young beautiful daughter and began to speak.

"Twilight, you remind me so much of your father, rest his soul." She started. "I know things haven't been easy for the two of us since he passed."

"We've gotten by just fine, Mother." Twilight reasoned with a small smile.

"That we have." Velvet half-smiled back at her, then furrowed her brow with a frown. "You know, there haven't been many Sparkles in our family with half the adventurous mind you have. You're so special, Twilight. And I have been selfish. I know it may not seem it. But I have been selfish."

Twilight's left eyebrow rose up a bit confused by her mother's words.

"Mother, have you been hitting the cider mugs tonight?" she asked.

"Well…yes I have. But that isn't the point." Velvet made sure to keep her train of thought. "The point is, Twilight…I'm just pleased to know you'll be alright."

Those words didn't offer Twilight any clarity; if anything it made her even more confused then she already was. She nuzzled against her mother, trying to ease her worried mind.

"Why don't we go see what fireworks Celestia has planned?"

In a nearby tent, an unplanned firework was being lit.

"This is gonna be so great! I can't wait to see this one go off!" Pinkie nearly shouted.

"Um…Pinkie?" Fluttershy was nervous as usual. "Shouldn't we have done this someplace else?"

"What do you mean? All we have to do is stick in the ground and light it. What else is there to it?"

"Shouldn't we have put it in the ground…OUTSIDE the tent?" Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie's eyes widened, but it was too late. The sparks reached the end of the fuse and the firework lifted off into the sky, taking the tent with it. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were left lying on the ground with their faces covered in black ash. The giant firework soared up towards the stars and then exploded with a great flash and a loud bang. Instead of just an array of sparks, a large fiery creature was formed from the explosion and flew towards the party. All of the ponies began to panic and ducked for cover as the flaming creature swooped over them.

The winged creature pulled up into the sky and everypony lifted their heads up to see it again. When it was farther away, the flaming beast exploded giving off an eye-dazzling performance of sparks, fire, light, and color. Night almost appeared to turn into day for a few brief seconds. After another beat of silence, the partygoers began cheering wildly. The two ponies responsible for what just happened stood back up in amazement.

"That. Was. So. Totally. COOL! Let's get another one!" Pinkie bounced up and down, her enthusiasm speaking for her.

She and Fluttershy felt their tails jerked back and up into the air, a yellow aura surrounding them. Hanging upside-down in mid-air, the two young ponies saw Celestia glaring at them with her horn glowing the same shade of yellow.

"Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. I should've known," she softly said. The two smaller ponies smiled sheepishly at the alicorn, who merely frowned back. "Since you two are so set on making this party better, you can clean the dishes. And don't worry, I'll be keeping a close eye on you two."

Meanwhile, everypony had begun chanting Velvet's name, egging her to go on stage. A rumor had been going around the party that Velvet was planning on performing a brilliant magic trick, and now everypony wanted to see it.

After hearing her name enough times, Velvet picked up a saddlebag and carried it up onto a mock up stage made out of planks and barrels. When she reached the stage, everypony went silent.

"Well, first off I would just like to thank everypony for coming tonight. It's not often you get to celebrate someone's 111th birthday now is it?"

That earned her a few chuckles from her audience.

"Anyhow, I have been working on a magic trick for tonight, and I would like to share it with you. But most importantly, I want to dedicate this trick to my daughter, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight felt a heart-warming smile grow on her face as her mother smiled back. Velvet's smile was laced with sadness, though only Twilight seemed to notice.

"I love you more than anything, Twilight. This is for you."

Out of the saddlebag, Velvet pulled a helmet out and put it on her head. It was no secret that some magical helmets were known to dramatically increase the magic powers of unicorns and alicorns. Everypony was eager to see what Velvet would do with one, Twilight especially. Celestia took her eye off Pinkie and Fluttershy to see what was about to happen.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, Velvet's horn began to glow a brilliant magenta. The lights nearby began to dim and all the focus was on her now. At first nothing seemed to be happening but a moment later, the crowd began to show signs of shock. Velvet's body seemed to be getting bigger in size, her horn growing longer as well. As she reached a size that rivaled Celestia, her white coat dimmed to a darker color making her look a very dark grey. Nopony could tell from a distance, but her round pupils turned into thin slits.

Then from her back, she sprouted wings of puffy black smoke and plasma that glittered like the night sky. The crowd began cheering, approving of the trick, but Celestia remained silent, fear creeping into her heart and on to her face. Upon seeing the wings and what they were made out of, she stood up and her eyes went wide with realization.

"No. It can't be," she whispered.

Before she could make another move, Velvet rose up a single hoof and stomped it to the ground. A huge flash of blinding light disoriented everypony's eyesight for a brief moment. They looked at the stage and wildly applauded for the performance, but they soon realized they were clapping at nothing.

Velvet had vanished.
A Long-Expected Party.

Velvet Sparkle is turning 111 years old, very old for a pony like her. Celestia is coming to visit for her birthday and Twilight Sparkle couldn't be happier! As old friends meet and secrets are revealed. It's truly a party to remember, when Velvet Sparkle's speech comes up, she does something nopony's ever going to forget.
© 2012 - 2024 Laurenfaustsloyalfan
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