Twilight started fretting, "Well, she got this idea into her head, but I wasn't really sure because it was so radical. I tried to draft up some charts and checklists to weigh all the pros and cons, but she said she made up her mind..." She trailed off, muttering quietly to herself like Fluttershy in front of a press conference.
Leaning in curiously, Applejack asked, "Come on, Sugarcube, what'd she decide?"
Twilight took in a deep breath and let out a worried sigh. "She's... leaving the country. She knows that if she went anywhere near the capitol, all the ponies who thought the princesses let her off too easily would start making hay about it all over again, and that would be right there with the princesses to vouch that she's reformed. Everywhere else, she was afraid of starting a panic just by showing up." The unicorn let out a little chuckle. "Plus, you know curious she is about the world. So she figured that as long as everypony is afraid she'll become Nightmare Moon again, maybe she should travel somewhere where there aren't many ponies."
"Oh my, traveling abroad? How romantic! Oh, darling, you should have told me sooner! If she's going to be visiting other cultures, then she should represent the best of our own. I simply MUST prepare a fine dress for her to wear when she arrives! First impressions are so very important, you know, and I just received a shipment of sapphires that will look absolutely DIVINE on Nyx." Rarity then stood up and called out to her little sister, "Sweetie Belle, I have to dash off to the Boutique for a few hours!"
Pinkie Pie, who was being spun around in the air, quickly pulled her blindfold up and cried out, "Waaaaaiiiit! Don't go out yet!"
Rarity, who hadn't had a chance to get very far, blinked and asked, "Whyever not?" A question that caused Twilight to arch an eyebrow and ask their bubbly friend, "Yeah, why not?"
Bobbing around in the air, Pinkie Pie stammered, "W-well, because... we haven't had CAKE yet!" Quickly zipping out of Nyx's telekinetic field, she moved back into it just as quickly, but this time holding a large five-layer cake in her hooves. All of the Crusaders cheered, including Nyx as she dropped Pinkie, and everypony gathered around.
The five oldest Crusaders were the first to get their pieces, and started munching on them. "Mmm, this is so good! Thanks, Pinkie," Nyx said, watching the younger Crusaders line up for their slices next. Something seemed a little odd, though. She swallowed a mouthful of moist, chocolatey deliciousness before asking, "Hey, where's Spike?" She would have expected to see him at least lining up for a piece of his own, but had lost track of her draconic 'sibling' while spinning ponies around.
Twilight looked around as well, sharing the confusion. "That's weird. Where DID he go? And where's Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy for that matter? I know they were here just a little while ago."
"Ooh, maybe it was a mirage! Or an illusion! Maybe Fluttershy showed Dash a rabbit hole that sucked them into a parallel dimension where everything's topsy-turvy, and nothing makes sense! Here, have some cake," Pinkie Pie interjected, quickly shoving a slice of cake in front of the other three. Right at that moment, an irate Rainbow Dash threw the door open.
"What the hay, Pinkie? How long are we supposed to wait out there? I'm looking forward to that..." Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened as she saw the cake being served up. Then she narrowed her eyes in a cold glare, pointing accusingly at the pink earth pony. "You were supposed to wait until after! CAKE TRAITOR!"
Pinkie meeped as Rainbow Dash tackled her, Fluttershy timidly poking her head inside while Dash and Pinkie tussled, holding onto one end of some sort of banner. "Umm... am I supposed to still be holding this...? I can fly with my end, but I don't think it would be very legible that way..."
Rainbow Dash ended up knocking toward the doorway, where she tripped over the banner Fluttershy was holding, sending her tumbling outside. Moments later, a series of loud whistles and explosions filled the library as fireworks went off, illuminating the night sky with a festival of colors that all the little Crusaders and their parents had to rush to the windows or out the door to see, sadly only catching the last few streams of color.
Down below the fading smoke trails of the display, an embarrassed Spike waved to them standing next to an empty box. "Uh... heh... sorry, I kinda jumped the gun there."
From her spot on the ground, though, Pinkie Pie somehow produced a second box full of fireworks. "It's okay," she exclaimed in her usual perky way. "I brought backups!"
As Spike and Pinkie Pie got the second display started, the rest of their friends settled down on the grass to watch, chuckling at the comedy of errors that had led to that moment. Leaning over toward where Twilight and Nyx were sitting, Applejack asked, "So, Nyx. Twilight tells us you're goin' abroad for a little while. Where'd y'all plan on headin'?"
Nyx looked over to her mother, knowing she'd see the worried smile that was on the purple unicorn's face. Putting a foreleg around Twilight in a loving hug, she replied, "Well, princess Celestia already knows about it, so she arranged for me to visit..."
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