//------------------------------//
// Night 4 
// Story: The Enchanted Nights 
// by sammyberry 
//------------------------------//

Luna walked along the woods, leaving deep footprints in the snow. She glanced around, looking for some sign of nocturnal life or magic to teach her company, but found only trees and snow. 

Applejack touched a bare tree and whispered, "These poor trees. They're so cold," 

Rarity frowned at the snow. "If I had known I was going to spend eternal night in snow I would've brought my boots!" she lifted her head and used her horn to remove the snow in front of her. 

Fluttershy flapped her wings nervously next to Rainbow Dash, flitting her head back and forth, looking for possible dangers. Rainbow Dash sighed and said, "Fluttershy, remember what Amaranth said? All animals live in peace together! There are no dangers here," Fluttershy responded softly, "You can never be too careful,"

Twilight bit her lip in contemplation. She hadn't sent Princess Celestia a letter in a long time. She hoped Princess Celestia would understand, but she had a nagging feeling that things were about to get a lot worse.

Luna stopped at a fallen log. "I'm not sure what we're supposed to be looking for exactly. I'm not entirely sure what we're supposed to do, either," 

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy landed next to the others. "Maybe we should ask Amaranth," Rarity suggested. Luna nodded in agreement and thought to Amaranth, "Um, hello Amaranth. This is Princess Luna. We're kind of stuck. We're not sure where to start off," 

Seconds later Luna heard Amaranth's voice in her head, "Meet me at the waterfall and I will explain further,"

Luna said, "Ok. We're gonna meet Amaranth at the waterfall. Not sure where that is, but at least we know what to look for,"

The seven ponies moved in a group, gazing at everything around them. 

As they trudged through the deep snow, there was a sudden burst of growling. 

Luna cried, "Everypony get behind me!" She straightened out her wings and put a shield around them with her magic. 

After a few minutes, the growling came again. From their stomachs. Luna gave herself a facehoof. 

They started looking around for something to eat. 

Luna walked towards some bushes. Pale blue berries poked through the leaves. She quickly searched her brain for the name of the berries, and, more importantly, if they were poisonous. She couldn't recall, and didn't want to take any chances, so she left the bush alone. 

When the group met back up with the same disappointing conclusion, they continued on, hoping they'd come across something along the way.

As they were crossing a small clearing, they came across two wolves. The wolves glanced at them and sniffed at the ground, completely ignoring them. Fluttershy flew towards them cautiously.

"Um... excuse me?" she whispered. One of the wolves looked up at her. "Do you know where any food is? My friends and I are very hungry," the wolf opened its mouth, revealing its teeth. Fluttershy shrank back in terror, but the wolf was only yawning. "There's a mint tree a few minutes from here in that direction," she said, nodded her head in the desired direction. "Thank you," Fluttershy responded and flew in the direction the wolf told her.

The other ponies followed her, bellies rumbling.

To their delight, they soon arrived at their destination. The mint tree leaves were a pale green, with tiny white berries around them. The bark was an unusual dark brown, without a trace of snow dotting it. Luna pulled a branch down and ate a leaf. It was crunchy, and filled her mouth with a burst of minty flavor. The sensation filled her, and after only three leaves she was full. 

As she waited for the others to finish, she noticed her eyesight became clearer, colors became brighter, and she could hear things more clearly.

Luna felt completely at home here, where every creature was nice, the weather was amazing; the snow didn't bother anypony at all, and she felt wanted here, unlike at home with Celestia. Luna sighed.

When they were all finished, they continued on their blind walk to the waterfall. Pinkie Pie's eyes starting drooping. "Can we stop for a little while?" she slurred. "I'm so sleepy weepy!" Pinkie didn't wait for an answer; she fell over and was instantly asleep. The six ponies didn't have a choice but to stop.


Princess Celestia paced back and forth, growing more irritated by the second. She had sent Spike letters after letters asking where Twilight was and she kept getting the same answer: "I don't know, Princess Celestia,"

She rubbed her head in frustration. She tried to speak to Twilight through her mind, but it was no use. Celestia couldn't get through. 

With an exasperated sigh, she galloped to her library and shut her door.

And started brainstorming for ideas.


After a couple minutes, Luna stood up and stretched. "Ok, I think we've rested quite enough. We should really get moving again," 

Pinkie Pie stood up, rubbed her eyes, and said, "Okie dokie lokie..." she shook her head and tried to get her bearings. The others stood up and stretched and yawned. Everypony was still tired, but they knew they had to continue on.

Luna led the group with a yawn, then turned and started walking. She hoped they'd find the waterfall soon. She needed a good long nap. The snow had stopped falling, and it was getting sparser as they pressed forward. 

Luna raised her head and glanced at the stars. She felt a warm wind whip past her, and she instantly felt stronger. She closed her eyes and smiled. Luna could also tell that they were very close to the waterfall; she could smell the slight scent of water in the air.

She led the team of tired ponies onward, brushing past bushes, logs, and trees. Suddenly there was no more snow beneath Luna's hooves. She glanced down and saw the grass, warm and soft beneath her achingly tired hooves. A few more steps and Luna could hear the faint rush of water.

"Come on, girls. We're nearly there. I'm sure Amaranth will let us rest when we get there," the ponies let out a collective, "Yay," and yawned and continued their tread. 

When Luna walked around a huge rock, she saw it. The waterfall was rushing down, sparkling and glittering despite the dark sky and small light being produced from the moon. Amaranth was standing next to the river below the waterfall. She turned and saw the group on the hill above her and smiled.

Luna galloped down the hill and skidded to a stop next to Amaranth. But the others, who were too tired to think about what they were doing, weren't able to stop in time, so they all ran into Luna, which caused everypony to fall into the water. Amaranth smiled and helped them escape before the current carried them too far.

Needless to say, everypony was wide awake now.

Amaranth lay down and gestured for them to do the same. "Perhaps I wasn't as clear as I should have been. I will tell you some hints, but first let's get you well rested. No point in telling you something when you're this tired," Amaranth nodded toward four tents in the distance. The ponies galloped towards them gratefully and went inside them.


After a while (they guessed it would be the next 'day') the seven ponies emerged from their tents and stretched, feeling a lot better now that they were well-rested.

They joined Amaranth in a circle, eating fruit for breakfast. Amaranth looked at each pony and said, "Each of you have an important role to play in this overall quest. Your hints are as follows:

Seven ponies enter without knowledge, eager to learn.

The loyal one will figure out what needs to burn.

The honest one will discover the light

While the magical one will stop her with all her might.

The kind one will be a silent hero

To the misunderstood one who thinks of herself as a zero.

The generous one will solve the final task

And you can go home when the eighth asks her question she must ask," Amaranth finished and looked at each pony. "Yes, there is an eighth pony, but even I do not know who it is. The time will come when you're ready,"

The ponies all gazed at the wise wolf-well, almost all of them. Twilight was furiously writing their hints down in a notebook.

Amaranth stood up and looked across the river. "Now that you know the basics of what must happen, go. Your quest will start across the river. I wish you luck," and with that, Amaranth turned and walked away.

Luna turned to her new friends. "Let's go, girls. I have a feeling this will be quite the adventure,"

The ponies started their journey, unaware that a pink mist was following their moves, tracking them as a certain pony watched from her library.