Four months had passed since Twilight awoke and Celestia was trying constantly too get the purple mare too talk with her. However, the younger princess refused to even acknowledge her aunt, turning away from her whenever Celestia spoke to her niece. Every night, Twilight would look up at the moon and cry, missing her mother more and more with each passing day. Cadence and Shining were the only two who Twilight had let in and accepted as friends.
Shining Armour was keeping a close eye on Nightmare Moon. The chains holding her, made of star-iron, were starting to disintegrate as the rainbow stars grew closer to the moon, all four picking up speed. The black mare thrashed, loosening some of the chains and breaking others. Concerned, Shining closed the small cube, the image flickering away.
"Captain, what's the news of my sister?" The white stallion turned and sighed, his ears drooping.
"She's breaking free. I'd expect her too be free by daybreak at the latest."
"My mom's coming back?" Both ponies froze and turned towards a hopeful looking Twilight. The lavender mare's deep purple eyes were wide and a small smile donned her face. Celestia sighed and turned towards her captain, knowing her niece wouldn't listen to her.
"Yes, princess, she's coming back. Sometime today, I'd expect." Twilight squealed and began to bounce around, giggling and yelling in excitement. Celestia sighed as her niece turned and bounced down the hall. After a little while, she followed and discovered Twilight staring at the window depicting her defeat of Luna.
"Twilight, you're coming with me. You know, down to Ponyville for the celebration." Twilight growled and pinned her ears back. Celestia sighed and levitated Twilight over, teleporting them both to the carriage.
Twilight whimpered as she lay in the bottom of the carriage, curled into a ball. If her mother saw her with Celestia, she might get the wrong message. Soon, their ride jolted as they touched down. As soon as they were still, Twilight leapt out of the carriage and bolted, her aunt calling after her.
"Twilight!" Her run was stopped by slamming face first into her aunt's solid legs and chest. A cute squeak came from the young mare as she landed on her back.
"Well, you said to come with you but you didn't say to stay with you." With that, she teleported away, leaving behind a shocked Celestia.
Twilight grinned and headed into town, using a spell to hide her wings. All around her, ponies sent her cheerful "hello's" and "hi's". As she walked, small puffs of dirt clung to her fur and dulled her vibrant colouring slightly. She looked around taking in her pleasant, colourful surroundings. All around her flew birds, insects and there was even the occasional cricket. Across her path darted rabbits and squirrels. Sweet smelling flowers dotted the grass along the paths and around the houses.
"Hi!" Twilight jumped, her horn sparking in alarm as a loud, shrill voice sounded behind her. She whipped around to see a bright pink mare with the wildest magenta mane she'd ever seen. The mare's bright blue eyes were wide with excitement as she stared deep into Twilight's. The pink mare giggled and began to bounce in place. Twilight stared at her, not sure what to say. What... is this normal Twilight thought as the strange mare bounced. Then, after a few more bounces, the mare started talking a mile a minute.
"So, what's your name? I'm Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's resident party pony. Why are you here? Are you moving here or are you just here for the Celebration? So, what is your name? Huh? Huh! HUH!" Twilight stumbled back as the mare, apparently named Pinkie Pie, pushed her nose up to hers. With each word, Twilight was forced backwards until she fell onto her back. Fearful, the disguised Alicorn teleported a couple feet away. Pinkie jumped, blinking rapidly from the bright flash. Both mares looked at each other and burst into laughter, collapsing and rolling on the ground. However, the mood was soon ruined.
"Well, what do we have here?" Both mares froze and looked up, staring at the orange unicorn. Her turquoise eyes were narrowed with a smug smile on her face. Twilight growled and stood up, backing away from the other mare. Beside the mare stood a small purple and green drake, his green eyes staring at Twilight coldly. Ignoring Spike, Twilight glared at her aunt's student.
"Wow, this place surely is a dump if they're letting you stay here, Sunset. What's my auntie's precious little pet doing here?" Sunset growled, her horn sparking. Pinkie glanced between the two of them, her eyes unsure. Spike hopped onto Sunset's back and leaned over to her ear. Placing a claw in front of his mouth, he began to whisper into his friend's ear. Sunset nodded and turned, levitating a scroll out of her saddlebags.
"If you must know, we're here to organize the Summer Sun Celebration." With that, the two trotted away. Twilight turned towards Pinkie, a sheepish look on her face.
"I'm guessing you two don't get along. What I'm wondering is why?"
"Well, I'll just say it's personal. She insulted me and hates me because of my mother." Pinkie tilted her head before smiling, a look of mischief on her face. A second after, she vanished, a dust outline of her remaining. Twilight shook her head and smiled, continuing on her way. Not long after that, however, she began to smell a heavenly scent. Following the scent of cinnamon, she came upon a building that made her mouth water. The whole building looked like ginger bread, icing and candy. The disguised princess levitated her bit-bag to her mouth and trotted inside.
"Hello, dear. What can I get you?" Twilight stared at the various treats, her mouth watering like crazy. Last time she'd been to a bakery, things had got south fast. Mrs. Cake cleared her throat, making the purple mare jump. Twilight looked at her, fear in her eyes as she sat down.
"Sorry. Do you want me to go?"
"Why would I want that, dearie?" Twilight pinned her ears back and looked down, pawing at the floor. Her eyes were pained and, feeling sorry for the young mare, Mrs. Cake walked up to her and gently wrapped her hooves around her.
"Last time I was in a bakery, something happened and I got blamed." After a few minutes, Twilight calmed down and bought a few razzleberry muffins and a carrot crepe. After another hour of walking, Twilight came across the marketplace. Everywhere, ponies were buying items and selling even more. At one stand were bright orange mare and a tall red stallion, both with blond hair. The stallion was ignoring the mare while he talked to a fancy, white unicorn. The mare, however, was caught in a screaming match with a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail. Twilight giggled and trotted over, curious as to the situation.
"Ya dirty birdbrain, Ah've already said to leave mah apples alone! Pay for 'em!" The pegasus growled and shook her head, her tail flicking. Her maroon eyes were narrowed in anger as the country pony glared right back. However, Twilight's timely interruption prevented a bad fight between the two.
"Hey. What's going on?" Both mares stopped and turned towards Twilight, their eyes wide. The pegasus huffed and landed, ruffling her feathers.
"Well, this missy here tried to take some of mah apples." The pegasus glared at her and growled.
"I did not! I already said that!" Twilight raised an eyebrow and sat down.
"Why do you say she tried to steal from you?" The orange mare turned towards her.
"Well, Rainbow here swooped over mah stand. Ah ducked and when Ah looked up three apples were gone and she was going through ‘er bags. It's so obvious she robbed me." Twilight nodded and turned towards Rainbow, her eyes neutral.
"Like she said, I swooped over and Applejack ducked. But when I landed, I felt something fall into my bags. I looked to see what it was when she tackled me and three apples fell out." Applejack growled at the pegasus, her ears still pinned. Twilight's jaw dropped as the two mares began to argue again. She turned towards the large, red stallion, matching his wide-eyed stare. Shaking her head, Twilight lit her horn and teleported in between the two mares, making them jump back, startled.
"Alright, I think this is a misunderstanding. Someone probably put the apples in her bag." She pulled the three apples over and stared at them. After a few seconds she grinned and showed the apples to Applejack. "See? They're bruised." Applejack's jaw dropped while Rainbow let out a victorious shout. The orange mare turned sheepish eyes towards Rainbow, who was sending her a smug grin.
"Sorry, RD. Say, what's yer name, anyway?"
"Twilight Sparkle." Applejack nodded and turned towards the red stallion. He turned and looked at Twilight, his face neutral.
"Darlings, why are you staring at the poor dear?" Rainbow and Applejack both groaned as the white unicorn made her presence known. Twilight turned towards her, tilting her head while Applejack turned towards the white mare.
"Twilight, this is Rarity. She owns a house and shop here in town where she designs, and makes ‘er own dresses. Rarity, this is Twilight." Twilight smiled at the dressmaker, her expression polite. Rarity was clearly very refined, judging from her poise along with the slightly uppity way she held her head. Her deep purple mane was curled and held by a small amount of gel while her fur was smooth and well brushed. The mare's sapphire eyes were shining with kindness and a bit of curiosity.
"Hi, it's Twilight Sparkle. Actually, I'm from Canterlot myself." Rarity brightened and began to rant about the joys of Canterlot. Twilight watched, her ears pinned flat against her head. Applejack sighed as the white unicorn suddenly turned and bolted, her curled tail waving behind her. The orange earth-pony walked up to Twilight and grinned.
"Ignore her. She's obsessed with living in Canterlot and meeting royalty." Twilight grinned sheepishly at Applejack.
"So, I shouldn't mention to her that Celestia's my aunt?" Applejack looked at her, eyes wide with shock.
Twilight smiled at the peaceful meadow around her. Birds flew around her ears and chirped, making her smile. Insects, like bees and butterflies flew around and one even landed on her horn, making the disguised princess giggle. Soon, however, rhythmic chirping reached her ears and she turned, interested in the odd sounds. Her ears pricked, she followed the sounds through a bush to see a young, butter yellow pegasus mare hovering in front of a tree branch, her hoof waving to direct a choir of birds. Soon, however, a blue jay began to sing out of sync with the others. The mare stopped and flew up to the branch, quickly correcting the bird before continuing. Twilight sat down and watched, enjoying the sweet music. After a few minutes, the birds chirping ended in a high note. The pegasus smiled and touched down. Her wings fluttered as she did,
"That was beautiful." The mare yelped and spun around, her ears flat against her head. Her turquoise eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Twilight.
"Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?" The yellow mare shrunk back behind her long, pink mane and whispered something so quiet, all Twilight heard was the sound of wind. She rolled her eyes and sat down next to the mare. She nudged her with her foreleg before standing back up.
"It's okay. You don't need to be scared." The yellow mare looked up at Twilight's kind eyes and nodded.
"I... I'm Fluttershy. Are you new to Ponyville?" Twilight nodded before turning.
"Come on. My auntie arranged for me to stay at the library. Let's walk and talk." By the time the two got too the library, they were laughing like old friends. Twilight stopped and turned, her eyes sparkling. She lit her horn and the door swung open, held in her magenta aura. As they entered, Twilight's ears pricked at the faint rustling inside. Suddenly the lights popped on, revealing a crowded library and a very familiar pink mare at the front of the crowd. Pinkie's ears pricked and she gave a bright grin. She took a deep breath and led the group in a loud cheer.
"SURPRISE!" The two mares were blown onto their rumps by the sheer force of the noise. A couple seconds passed before they looked at each other and giggled. The party lasted long into the night and early morning. However, near the middle of the party, Sunset showed up. The whole party stopped, everypony turning towards the orange mare and her drake, a scroll held in his claws. Twilight's eyes narrowed and she walked towards her enemy.
"Why are YOU here, Sunset? I believe the losers belong on the other side of town."
"Oh, haha, Twilight. I'm better that you in every way, princess" Ignoring everyone's gasps, Twilight was quick to fire back and deny Sunset's barb.
"I'm not a princess, Sunset."
"No, your not. You just like to think that. Come on Spike, these losers are cramping my style." Behind her back, Spike sent Twilight a soft look before following. She sighed and sat down, the party resuming behind her. A gentle hoof between her shoulders made her jump. She turned, smiling at her five new friends before letting out a heavy sigh. Fluttershy wrapped a wing around her back, sending her a gentle smile.
"Come on, let's go upstairs. Then the six of us can talk." Twilight nodded and her horn blazed for a second before the six of them popped upstairs.
"W... woah. Cool." Twilight smiled at Rainbow, before settling onto the bed. She curled up, her whole body quaking. The girls looked at each other, concerned.
"Darling, whatever is the matter?" Twilight sighed, her ears drooping as she stared at the ground. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards her friends.
"Well, my mother is going to be coming back into my life soon. I haven't seen her in a long time." Soon, the sound of bonging echoed through town. Six heads whipped around in the direction of the clock tower before the girls turned and darted back down. The six raced with the rest of the crowd towards Town Hall. Twilight could feel her heart racing with fear and excitement. She was going to see her mother again.
Luna screamed in fury as she pulled at her chains, feeling them give slightly. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as pain tore at her heart. How her sister thought that being trapped on the moon was a just punishment for defending her daughter, she'd never know.
"Celesta!! I will get you!!" Suddenly, a quartet of stars came rushing towards her, flowing into the lock against her chest. The four star-shaped keyholes began to glow and the lock gave. The chains dissolved and Luna spread her wings, standing. She narrowed her eyes and growled as a dark purple glow enveloped her.
Twilight looked around as everypony screamed. Rarity walked out onto the balcony and said one thing.
"She's GONE!!" Suddenly a deep purple mist began to cover the balcony and coalesce into a large, tall blob. The mist swirled before splitting, forming the mane and tail of a jet black mare. Her reptilian eyes were narrowed as she stood there. Then, as everypony went silent, she spoke in a silky voice.
"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces." Twilight turned as Rainbow demanded to know what had happened to the princess. Her mother grinned before asking if anyone still knew her. Before Twilight could speak up, however, Sunset did just that.
"I do. I know who you are, Nightmare Moon." Everypony gasped, shock all over their faces.
"Well, well, well. Somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."
"You're here to destroy Equestria." Nightmare Moon laughed, throwing her head back. Her bright blue eyes were spilt down the centre by black slits while her deep indigo mane swirled around her. Sunset turned towards Twilight and lit her horn, making the purple mare's eyes widen. Just as her mother looked at her, Sunset's spell took effect, making Twilight disappear in a bright turquoise flash.