The mane six take turns spending nights with Luna, helping her in her nighttime activities.
This story is also currently on hiatus. I don't exactly have any ideas to continue this story on, so hopefully, if I take a break from it, new ideas will slowly come to me. I'm sorry for those who were anticipating new chapters, but unfortunately they won't be coming soon. :C
When the mane six start taking lessons about night from Luna, they never thought they'd have to walk among wolves, grow poisonous light, collect stardust and moondust, or be trapped in a whole other kingdom! With the help of friendship, the seven ponies learn more about the enchanted nights then they'd ever had expected to learn.
All this happens while Princess Celestia slowly grows angrier because of Twilight falling behind on her regular studies. Will Celestia learn about the night and accept it, or will she banish Princess Luna again?
Hello~~!! I changed the story a little so that I could continue it as an actual story. I hope no one's mad ^^' and sorry for the slight feud between the sisters, I didn't want to do it like this but it was the only idea I had.. Again sorry~~
"Hello Twilight!" Fluttershy said in her soft voice. "How are you this evening?" Twilight Sparkle looked up from her books and said, "Oh, hello Fluttershy. You're early. You didn't have to show up until fifteen more minutes," Fluttershy smiled softly and said, "Well, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be late is all," Twilight smiled and said, "Well, that's fine. Make yourself at home. I'll go get the food and drinks," Twilight walked into the kitchen to prepare the food.
Fluttershy looked around the room, even though she had seen it many times before. She noticed the warm golden glow coming from the lamps, and the soft, plush carpet underneath her hooves. There was piano music playing softly, definitely giving off a sense of serenity. Fluttershy was well aware that when everypony else arrived, particularly Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, the calmness would be snatched away and replaced with crazy techno music, disco balls, strobe lights, balloons, and other things of that sort, so while Fluttershy knew it couldn’t last, she reveled in the sweet tenderness of the night.
The smell of food awakened Fluttershy out of her soft dream. “Here you go, Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie baked these cookies earlier this morning!” Twilight said happily. “Oh, thank you, Twilight,” the yellow pegasus replied thankfully. Fluttershy gently picked a cookie up in her mouth and placed it on top of her hoof so she could eat it. “Oh, it tastes wonderful! I must tell Pinkie Pie when she arrives,” Fluttershy said smiling.
As she was finishing her second cookie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came in. “Good evening, darlings!” Rarity called out in a singsong voice. Rainbow Dash flew in and stood down next to the tray of cookies. “Are these those cookies Pinkie Pie was bragging about?” Dash asked as she took one and started biting it. Fluttershy nodded and said, “Oh yes. They’re wonderful, aren’t they?” Rainbow Dash put on a forced smile and replied, “Oh, um, yeah, they’re fine, I guess… but I personally think they’re too sweet. There’s too much sugary icing on them,” Fluttershy shrugged and said, “To each her own, I suppose,” Rainbow Dash listened to the music playing and scoffed. “Come on Twilight! Do you honestly expect us to have fun while listening to piano music?” she ran over to the CD player and inspected the open CD case lying on the counter beside the player. Twilight shrugged. “Not really. I just had it on while I was studying. I’ve heard that piano music can help a pony think better. So I tried it, and I must say that it really works,” Rainbow Dash just looked at her. “Um, ok, well, can I put in something more… fun?” Twilight laughed and said, “Sure, have at it, Rainbow Dash,”
With techno music now blaring from the speakers, the calm scene Fluttershy had had the sweet blissful opportunity to witness had been transformed into a fun, happy, energetic party. Pinkie Pie showed up next, became excited about the music and got to work on decorations. Applejack finally made her appearance, claiming she had to stay a little late and help Big Mac at the farm. “Ok ponies, gather around. It’s time for the sleepover to officially begin!” Everypony cheered excitedly. “Ok, first order of business… makeovers!” Applejack groaned. “Twilight, do we have to?” Rainbow Dash sided with Applejack, while the others sided with Twilight. “Majority rules girls, sorry,” Twilight said with an apologetic look. “You two can pick the next thing we do, ok?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash sighed and said, “Fine,” in unison.
Twilight laughed with her friends as she put their manes and tails in rollers. Their mud masks and cucumber-covered eyes made them look alien, but they couldn’t care less. They were also dressed in comfy bathrobes, thanks to Rarity. “This is going so much better than my last sleepover,” Twilight said, turning her head in the direction of where she had seen Applejack and Rarity last. The two ponies rolled their eyes, or as best as they could without the cucumbers falling off.
“Ok, ok, makeovers are done!” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight giggled and said, “Fine,” the bathrobes, mud masks, cucumbers, and rollers vanished. “Aww!” Rarity frowned.
“Next?” Twilight asked, turning to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Truth or Dare!” they shouted together. Obviously they had discussed it while everypony else was doing makeovers. “Ok, Truth or Dare it is,” Twilight confirmed. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in terror. She didn’t like that game. “Applejack, you can go first,” Twilight said.
Applejack smirked. “Pinkie Pie. Truth or Dare?” Pinkie looked up from her fourth cookie and through a mouthful of food said, “Dare!” A few cookie crumbs flew out of Pinkie’s mouth. “Oh, darling, that’s disgusting!” Rarity shuddered. Applejack ignored the crumbs and said, “I dare you to go the rest of the night without eating anything sweet!” she said proudly. Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Anything but that! Please!” Applejack smirked. “Would you rather me dare you to go without talking?” Pinkie Pie contemplated that thought for a few seconds, then said, “No more sweets tonight,”
Rainbow Dash cried, “My turn! Fluttershy, truth or dare?” Fluttershy didn’t say anything and tried to hide behind her mane. Dash looked at her. “Fluttershy? Truth or Dare? I’ll pick it for you,” Fluttershy still didn’t say anything. She squeezed her eyes shut. Dash shrugged and said, “Ok, fine. Dare. Alright, I dare you to walk outside and stand there in the dark for a full minute,” Dash grinned evilly. Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she scrunched down as far as she could into the carpet. She wouldn’t budge. Not an inch.
Of course, that didn’t stop Rainbow Dash from pulling her outside by her tail. The other ponies were watching her from the window. Fluttershy picked up her head and glanced around. Suddenly a soft blue glow caught her eye. She turned to the left and saw Princess Luna walking slowly along the road in Ponyville.
Fluttershy gasped and flew over to her. “Princess Luna! We haven’t seen you in forever! Where have you been?” Princess Luna had a shocked look on her face-after all, this was the first time she had come across a pony out of bed this late at night. “What are you doing up so late, Fluttershy? You should be asleep,” Fluttershy had a look of admiration in her eyes. “You know my name, Princess Luna?” Luna smiled kindly and responded, “Yes, Fluttershy. You are the Element of Kindness, one of the six ponies that helped me escape my evil self. I will forever be in your debt,” Fluttershy blushed. “Fluttershy!” Twilight called. Fluttershy looked behind her and saw her friends walking towards her and Princess Luna. “Princess Luna. It’s an honor to meet you again,” Twilight said, bowing. The other ponies followed suit. Princess Luna smiled in gratitude. “The honor is mine, Twilight, for if you six had not been there to help me, I would still be evil,” Pinkie Pie bounced up to her and asked, “Princess Luna, why do we never see you anymore?” Princess Luna lifted her head to the moon. “I am in charge of the moon, not the sun, so I show when the moon is in the sky. During the day the moon is not needed, and so I am not needed. It is such a terrible shame, but it is still my job, and so I work with happiness, even if I cannot see anypony,” The other ponies all looked at Princess Luna with sympathy.
“It must be awfully lonely, Princess. Why don’t you organize get-togethers and things during the night, so everypony can still see you!” Applejack suggested. Princess Luna smiled sadly. “If I could, I would, Applejack. But you ponies need your sleep sometime. I can’t take your rest away from you. Besides, everything is more fun in the daytime anyway,” Luna adopted a sad look onto her face.
Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no. I believe that nighttime is just as fun as daytime. It’s full of wonderful exciting treasures that have never been discovered. I love the calm serenity of it. You do your job beautifully, Princess Luna,” Luna’s eyes moistened, and she started to laugh. It was a melancholy laugh, one that broke all the ponies’ hearts and made them sad. Then Luna teared a little. “Thank you, Fluttershy. You have given me hope. Now I know that there is at least one pony in Equestria that enjoys my nights. Thank you,” she bent down and hugged the little pegasus. Fluttershy wasn’t expecting that. She smiled and returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Princess Luna,”
Twilight had been thinking for a while, and now she spoke, “Princess Luna, would it be possible for you to teach us the ways of the night? Nighttime sounds so amazing, I would love to learn about the night. I don’t care about not getting sleep. I already know a lot about the sun and the day, so it won’t be a surprise. But I don’t know much about nighttime, or rather, I haven’t experienced anything,” all the other ponies nodded in agreement.
Princess Luna smiled. “You ponies inspire me. Yes, I will teach you about the night. But for now, you ponies must go to sleep. We can start your lesson tomorrow night.” And then Princess Luna continued walking, and disappeared in a flash of moonlight.
Fluttershy sang quietly to herself as she fed Angel his dinner. She was so excited for tonight she could hardly wait! She had taken a few naps during the day, but now that it was nearing nighttime she couldn't sleep at all. Fluttershy just knew that tonight would be full of wonderful occurrences and splendid surprises. Maybe she could even see the nocturnal animals like owls, badgers, and the sacred Silver Deer. Fluttershy's wings flapped at the thought. She simply couldn't wait.
Applejack paced back and forth. She wasn't too keen on staying up all night, but she didn't want to let Princess Luna down. She raised her head towards the heavens, basking in the last few rays of light before the sun was fully set. She sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She could learn about the specific plants that only blossomed during the night, like the Luminous Crescent and Satin Star Leaves. Applejack couldn't help herself; she smiled and shuddered with excitement. If she could learn about those special plants... oh Celestia she would love the night. From after that thought, Applejack couldn't wait for the night's lesson.
Twilight glanced at the darkening sky. She was very intrigued by the stars and planets. She hoped Princess Luna would teach her about astronomy. Twilight could barely contain her excitement. She swept her eyes over the book she was reading. It was about astronomy, but Twilight had the feeling it couldn't compare to actually witnessing the sights in real life. She closed her eyes and smiled. The night would be amazing.
Pinkie Pie tried to stay calm. She knew she couldn't be as loud as she normally was, since it was nighttime and all sensible ponies were asleep, but it would be super duper hard. Pinkie Pie sighed and gazed out at the stars. The luminescence they produced made the grass shine, and the grass waved in the soft wind, as if they were dancing. Pinkie Pie opened her window and let the cool air wash over her. Yes, she finally decided, there were multiple ways of having a party. There was the crazy happy fun way, and the melodic, calm, and peaceful way. Pinkie knew she would like the night's version of a party just as much as hers.
Rainbow Dash groaned. Why did she ever agree to stay awake all night? Come on! It was nighttime! Everything would be dark and she wouldn't be able to see where she was going. Dash stepped outside, and instantly the cold breeze shifted past her, ruffling her feathers. She noticed some white flower petals drifting along in the wind. They definitely contrasted with the night sky, but it was a beautiful contrast. Dash followed the movements of the petals and saw how they twisted and turned gracefully in the air. She wished she could fly like that. It looked so beautiful. Dash looked up and closed her eyes. The moonlight washed over her, and brought with it the wonderful sensation of excitement. She leapt upwards and twisted gracefully in the air, creating a total different look that she had when flying in the daytime. Sure, Rainbow Dash could fly super fast, but sometimes, the epic coolness was being able to look graceful and feel so calm and carefree, not having to rush. Dash instantly knew she made the right decision.
Rarity looked up at the moon as she walked towards Twilight's. She couldn't believe she was actually going. There would be nothing to her interest. The night was dark and empty, and while there were pretty lights being shined down from the moon and stars, that did nothing for Rarity except help her see. Why couldn't there be any pretty physical things in the night? Rarity grumbled. All the grand things couldn't been seen in the dark. Rarity was almost to Twilight's when she noticed something sparkly dotting the road in front of her. It was a silver glittering thing, glowing in spots. Oh, how spectacular! Rarity bent down to get a closer look. It was star dust! Rarity had seen this stuff on the road to Twilight's all the time, but had always thought they were just clumps of dirt. Rarity realized that star dust, like regular stars, could only be seen at night. Rarity smiled widely, and after concluding that the night did hold beautiful things, she galloped the rest of the way to Twilight's.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once everypony had arrived at Twilight's they all walked outside. “Princess Luna?” Fluttershy called out in her soft-spoken voice. Princess Luna appeared in a flash of moonlight. “Good evening ponies. I’m so glad you’ve arrived,” Princess Luna said with a smile on her face.
Princess Luna led the six ponies to a lake. “First thing I will teach you ponies is the enchanted plants that exist only in the nighttime. Watch closely,” Luna turned toward a pale yellow bulb sitting atop a green stem. Princess Luna lay down in front of the flower.
As the seven ponies watched, the flower started to illuminate, and slowly opened up. Applejack gasped. “It’s a Luminous Crescent! I thought these were extinct,” she whispered, entranced by the pure beauty of the flower. Princess Luna laughed quietly. “It is definitely not extinct, Applejack. Ponies just never see it because it is only visible during the night. During daytime it closes up and looks like a dead flower. The moon’s soft glow is what keeps this flower alive, not the harshly bright light of the sun, no offense to my sister. This flower is very delicate,” Princess Luna explained. The ponies all gasped together.
Rarity leaned in closer to the flower. “It’s so beautiful. It’s a shame it can only be viewed at night,” she said sadly. Princess Luna smiled. “There are many wondrous things in the world, Rarity. You just have to know when to look for them,”
Rarity smiled. Princess Luna led the ponies closer to the lake. " While we're here, I'll show you the Night Fish, even though tonight's lesson is mainly about plants. You'll want to watch out for these fish, they can be mean. Their scales reflect the moon. These fish are very smart, and love playing tricks, so it'd be best if you don't lean too far over the edge, Rainbow Dash," the princess said with a small smile. She continued, "During the day, these fish stay well hidden in underwater caves, which is why no pony else has ever seen them," Twilight was furiously writing all this information down, trying to get every word. "Shall we move on?" Princess Luna asked. The ponies nodded.
Luna walked towards the Everfree Forest. She stopped at the edge and gently muzzled a branch with silver star shaped leaves on it. She breathed on the leaves, and they shivered and started to radiate pale light. Twilight gasped. "Those are Satin Star Leaves! I've only seen pictures!" Princess Luna said, "Pictures can not completely grasp the wonderful splendor of these leaves. What I find most intriguing is that these leaves exist for one night. Then they fall off, break into dust, and are replaced by regular leaves in the morning. Then at night, the regular green leaves follow their relatives' example and fall off, leaving room for the next batch of leaves and thus continuing the cycle," Everypony gazed at Princess Luna with admiration. That princess knew everything about the night.
Luna looked at the ponies and blushed when she noticed them all staring at her. "Ok ponies, this is the end of your lesson for tonight. I haven't even begun to show you all the wonderful plants here in the night, but if I showed them all to you, there would be no time for other things, so I show you my favorites. Tomorrow night I will show you the magical creatures of the night, like the Night Fish you just saw. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night, ponies,"
Twilight said, "We thank you, Princess Luna. You are a wonderful teacher, and we can't wait to learn more,"
And the ponies all went their separate ways for the night.
Princess Celestia looked at her sister with a stern look. "Luna, I fear you are taking Twilight Sparkle away from her studies. She hasn't been studying or sending letters. When I have inquired this to Spike, he told me she was asleep. Now, Luna, you wouldn't want to take Twilight away from her real studies would you?" Princess Luna looked down and replied softly, "It is her choice if she studies with me or you. I do not force them to come, they arrive at their own free will. I cannot make Twilight stop coming," Princess Celestia let out a snort. "No, but you can call off all of this nonsense. There's no need for you to waste these ponies' sleep time for something they can learn from books. Just be warned, Luna. If Twilight falls behind on her studies because of your lessons, I will not be mad at her, I will be mad at you," As Princess Celestia stopped speaking, the sun went down and Luna went off to raise the moon.
Luna walked along the path, thinking of what her sister said. She could be really mean to her sometimes. "Something had changed within Celestia while I was gone," Luna thought. She concluded that because her sister had had to raise the sun and the moon for 1,000 years and had been the only active princess for the same period of time, perhaps she had gotten used to being number one, and the only one.
Luna chewed her lip in thought. She shook her head. No, her and Celestia were equal, no pony was greater than the other. Celestia was older, but they both shared the same rights and freedoms, or so Luna had thought.
As time wore on, she contemplated not having her lessons, or perhaps having her lessons every other night? Or perhaps even once a week? Yes, that should work out just fine. Maybe three times a week. That still left four nights of her being left alone, though.
Luna thought more. She knew the ponies would want to all be together, so they could share their findings with each other, so she couldn't have three ponies on some nights and the other three on other nights.
Luna sighed and her lively spirit crawled back inside its little shell it was so often hidden in. She blocked herself off from the world, slowly returning back to her silent self, her more reserved side, her depressed side.
She didn't even notice that she was walking towards Twilight's. Luna stopped, the wind whipping her mane and hair in the silence. She looked down and saw traces of stardust. She gasped and followed the faint trail away from the path, growing ever closer to the Everfree Forest. As she slowly crept up to the forest, Luna gasped. The stardust was falling softly, gently pouring onto Luna's back, mane, and tail. It felt cool to the touch, and sent shivers up Luna's spine.
She slowly walked through the glittery snow, soaking up its beauty. She approached two trees that grew very strangely; they were bending away from each other, like two parentheses back to back. Luna peeked through the small gap between the trees and couldn't believe what was before her eyes.
The moon's light shone down on the meadow, making the grass appear a silvery green. There was a small pond with lily pads floating atop the glassy surface. Fauna were celebrating the night, basking in the moon's coolness.
Luna thought she heard music drifting in the wind, but maybe that was just her mind playing tricks on her. The place laid out in front of her was real, though.
She closed her eyes and soaked up the serenity, her earlier depression far away now that she had her tranquil meadow. Luna galloped off to Twilight's, eager to tell the other ponies about her discovery.
The ponies were all milling around, waiting for Luna, who was an hour late. Rarity was just about to go stomping home when Luna cantered up to them. "Girls, you won't believe what I just found!" she cried happily. Every pony looked at her.
"What, Princess Luna?" Rainbow Dash asked. Luna smiled and said, "Follow me," she turned and followed her trail back to the meadow.
"Isn't it gorgeous?" Luna breathed. Pinkie Pie nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah, it's really pretty!" Twilight only stared, transfixed by the scene in front of her.
"This is beautiful, Princess Luna," she breathed. Luna smiled softly. "Come, let's go explore," she said happily. She made the gap wider with her magic, and then joyfully jumped through. Pinkie followed her.
When all other ponies had jumped through, the trees vanished, leaving the seven ponies stuck in the meadow. The ponies all started looking around in confusion. "Princess Luna? What the hay is this?!?!" Dash cried, eyes narrowed and turning on Luna. Luna only shook her head, not having the slightest idea why the trees disappeared.
"I knew it! You're trying to make us stay in your stupid night! Well it's not going to work! I will find a way out of here, and once I escape this place, I'm NEVER doing anything in the night again! I never liked it anyway! I don't even know why-" Luna cut her off.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm a failure, and I know my nights are not fun. The only point for my night is so ponies can have time to sleep so they can enjoy my sister's day. I get it. I'm sorry for this," Luna looked at Rainbow Dash with a look of such remorse, and her voice was so full of regret and sorrow Rainbow Dash's anger flooded away instantly. She walked towards Luna and hugged her.
"No, Princess Luna. I'm sorry. I know this wasn't your fault. I was just mad because we're stuck here and I needed someone to blame. Your nights are magical, and I love them. Princess Luna, you are not a failure. You are amazing," Luna started crying and wept into Dash's shoulder. The other ponies crowded around and gave Luna a huge group hug.
"Hey, Princess Luna, there's some more of that shiny stardust stuff!" Pinkie Pie said, hopping up and down excitedly. Luna peered over all the pony heads to look where Pinkie was pointing.
Luna gasped and gently emerged from the sea of ponies.
This dust wasn't stardust; stardust was pink and gold and lavender and pale blue and mint green and pale red. This dust, however, was silver and black and dark blue. This dust was rare. This dust was moondust.
Luna turned to the ponies. "Girls, this is not stardust. This is moondust! This dust is very rare. I haven't even seen it. I had always thought moondust was just an old pony tale. Oh girls,"
The other ponies crowded around Luna and Pinkie Pie, straining to see the small glittering specks on the ground.
Suddenly there was piano music playing softly. Twilight looked up and spotted a small music box sitting on a fallen moss-covered tree. She trotted over and inspected it. "This is the most beautiful music box I've ever seen," she said.
It was a white rectangle, with flowers carved into it. Moondust decorated it prettily, with some stardust thrown on for good measure. A pale pink ribbon was tied around the box. Inside was a violet velvet cushion, and a moondust covered snowflake was twisting in its own revolution, slowly curving round and round as its sweet music quietly filled the studious purple unicorn's ears.
Luna and the others walked up to see the music box. Luna smiled happily and walked on, enjoying the music.
As she walked farther, the others following close behind her, they happened upon another surprise: a field where deer and wolves were laying down together peacefully. A deer and a wolf were laying next to each other, asleep. Luna's first instinct, of course, was to run, but seeing the deer not worrying, Luna's heart slowed down and she tentatively took a step. A wolf glanced her way, looked behind her at the other ponies, then put its head back down, ignoring them completely.
It was simply impossible. This went against their nature. And yet here they were, together in harmony. A larger silver wolf approached the ponies, a smile on her face. "Hello, Princess Luna, keeper of the moon. Hello Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy. I have been expecting to see you ever since I sensed you had entered into our kingdom. I'm happy to have met you all at last. Please follow me,"
Luna looked back at the other ponies, then gulped and followed the gray wolf slowly. They were brought to a fire. Nopony had noticed before, but it was snowing. Snow fell quietly onto the ground, covering the naked trees and the grass.
The ponies gratefully lay down next to the fire and were given hot soup. Pinkie Pie quickly gulped it down. Twilight gave her a stern look, then turned to the wolf. "Um, excuse my asking, but... where exactly are we?"
The wolf looked at the ponies with a warm smile and replied, "You are in the kingdom of Syarrd, where it is always a calming night. I'm sure you will enjoy it here," Rarity spoke up, "Yes, well, um... it is very nice, but... how do we get back to Ponyville?"
Fluttershy added in a small voice, "And why are the wolves not fighting with the deer? I mean, not that that is a bad thing, not at all, but..."
The wolf smiled understandingly. "All the animals here are vegetarian. We all had to band together during a horrible storm years ago, so we have all learned to live together peacefully. As for you returning to Ponyville, you can follow this path," she said, gesturing to a small path leading away from the clearing, "but only after you have truly learned and accepted the night,"
Luna looked up slowly. "Does that mean I could go back?" she asked. "I'm just wondering," she added when the other ponies looked at her. The wolf shook her head and said, "I'm afraid not, Miss Luna. Remember how you thought moondust was only a pony tale? You have yet to understand all the beauties and magic that live in the night,"
Twilight stood up. "Well... may we know your name?" the wolf stood up as well and turned to go. "My name is Amaranth. Just think to me whenever you need help or have a question," and she left.
Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, "Yay! More night learning! Who's ready to get started?" she tripped over and face-planted into the snow. Everypony stared for a minute, then burst out laughing and helped Pinkie up.
"Well... let's continue our lessons," Luna said, leading the way through the woods. She thought to herself, "Sister, I'm sorry I'm disobeying your orders,"
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.
Luna walked through the forest, not caring if she made noise. This wasn't the Everfree Forest, it was simply a forest. Specifically, it was the Dark Star Forest. Luna wasn't completely sure how she would teach her newfound friends anything, or how she would learn anything. Was she supposed to just walk around until she found something? That was what the case appeared to be, though Luna couldn't tell what was special or important in these woods; she wasn't sure what all was here. As Luna was lost in thought, she almost fell into a hole.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight cried, grabbing Luna's tail with her teeth and pulling back. Luna watched the hole retreat from her hooves as she was pulled back to a safer proximity. "Thank you, Twilight," Luna said. She peered down the hole.
It was massive. The hole could easily fit Sugarcube Corner inside and still have a little extra room around the sides. The hole was also very deep. Very deep. Luna couldn't even see the bottom.
"What's a hugemongous hole like this doing in the ground?" Pinkie Pie said, turning her head every which way in order to inspect the intruding hole in all directions.
Applejack marched up to the hole and said, "Well, I ain't quite sure, but I do know that we're gonna hafta get to the other side. Our only problem is: How?"
Twilight sat on her haunches and thought for a rational explanation. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flapped her wings. She soared across the hole and landed on the other side. Rarity glared at Rainbow Dash. "Oh yes, that's a wonderful idea, Rainbow Dash. There's just one itty bitty problem: the rest of us do not have wings!"
Fluttershy said quietly, "Um..." and flapped her wings. Rarity groaned and rephrased, "Ok, the rest of us besides Fluttershy do not have wings!"
Luna cleared her throat and stretched her wings. Rarity groaned in exasperation and said, "Never mind!"
Twilight looked around for something to help them get across. She spotted a tree with strange vines hanging from it. "Princess Luna, do you know what these are?" Luna walked up to Twilight and gazed at the tree.
"I-I think so... I believe this is an Everlasting Tree. It has only one vine, and that vine extends for forever. It's pretty thick and very wide too.... Perhaps we could use this to help us across," Twilight grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking," she said.
Twilight and Luna used their magic to lift the vine and toss it across. "Hey, Dash! A little help please?" Applejack called up to the blue pegasus. Dash saluted and flew down after the vine, which hadn't made it to the other side. Dash flew back to the other side, the vine in her mouth. She spit it out into the grass and stepped on the end to make it stay. "All aboard the Vine Line!" she laughed. Everypony rolled their eyes and giggled. Princess Luna went across first, then Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity. Fluttershy flew along beside them.
Luna made it to the other side and hopped off the vine. Once everypony was off the vine on the other side, Dash let go of the vine. It slung back to the tree and recoiled itself around the branches. The seven ponies continued on.
Celestia was keeping tabs on her sister by her magic. She flipped furiously through the pages of the book she was currently reading, hoping to find the answer to her question. The question was, "Where can I find the entrance to this hidden place called the kingdom of Syrrad." Unfortunately, she was getting no luck.
The only answer she had found so far was, "The kingdom of Syrrad can only be found by those who look during the night," That was not the answer she had been hoping for.
Celestia groaned and tossed the book aside, in the "Not Helpful" pile. So far, that book was number 53. And all 53 books were now in the "Not Helpful" pile. She decided that she had better and more important things to do, so Celestia called in one of her servant ponies and said, "Look through these books and see if you find anything about the location of the kingdom of Syrrad. Her servant pony had no other option than to agree, so he wearily started looking through the books in Celestia's massive library.
Celestia, meanwhile, walked out onto her balcony. She let the warm sun wash over her. The warmth made her feel cozy and protected. From what Celestia had experienced in the night when she'd had to raise the moon herself, with the cold chill and solitariness that enveloped her during the darkness, Celestia was glad she'd been given the responsibility to be in charge of the sun. It was much brighter and a lot more cheerful. But Celestia wasn't feeling cheerful at all. Instead, Celestia felt hollow and empty inside. She hated to admit it, but she kind of missed her sister.
"This water is so pretty!" Pinkie exclaimed, wading through the water of a lake. Colorful lights were shining on the surface. They did not come from any specific thing in the air around them; in fact, it seemed as if the colors had no producer at all, they were just... there. Luna smiled as she swam through the milky water. The water cut around her and created beautiful designs with the colors. "Come on, Pinkie. We need to get through this lake. I think I see something glowing over here," she called.
Luna waded onto the bank and shook herself dry. As she waited for her friends, she suddenly saw white. She was standing alone, with emptiness around her..
There was nothing there, only white color. Luna turned around frantically, searching for her friends or any sign of life at all in all directions. She saw absolutely nothing. Luna cried out, "Where am I? What's happening?" A voice whispered to her, "You are nowhere and everywhere, young filly. You will live your life like this if you continue your actions,"
Luna looked around hopelessly. "What am I doing wrong?" The voice replied with, "You are intruding your sister's rule. If she had known you would try to steal her spotlight once again, she would have sent you back to the moon!"
Luna shook her head slowly. "No... Celestia isn't that cruel! I made a mistake before! I admit to wanting complete control, but that was over 1000 years ago! I'm not trying to take Celestia's rule, I'm only trying to teach ponies that the night is a wonderful thing as well!" Luna couldn't believe that Celestia would send her back to the moon. She hadn't done anything nearly as terrible as what had happened 1000 years ago.
The voice chuckled and said, "Silly little filly. You have yet to learn how jealous ponies can be," The landscape faded to darkness.
"Luna?" Luna could hear Twilight say, but she couldn't see the purple unicorn. She realized her eyes were closed; she had fainted.
Luna opened her eyes and sat up. The other ponies moved back away from her. "Princess Luna, are you ok?" Twilight asked, an anxious look in her eyes. The others had the same expression. Luna nodded slowly. "Yes, girls, I-I'm fine," Applejack and Rainbow Dash helped her up.
She thanked them with her eyes and said, "Ok, girls. we need to continue. I think I saw that glowing over here somewhere," Luna slowly walked away.
The others followed her, looking around for any sign of something glowing. Luna gasped. "What is it?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
There, in front of Luna, stood seven cats. They were all a different color, and they were all glowing.
The biggest one, which was obviously the mother, was dark blue. The six other kittens were purple, pink, yellow, orange, light blue, and white. The colored cats ran to the pony with its corresponding color.
Fluttershy nuzzled the little yellow kitten and said, "Oh, you're so sweet! I think I'm going to call you Daisy," The kitten purred and rubbed against Fluttershy's leg.
Twilight gently suspended the purple kitten in the air in a bubble in front of her with her magic. "Your name will be Scholar. You're such a cute kitten!"
Rarity hugged the white kitten. "Oh I know exactly what I will call you! Your name is Grace!"
Applejack smiled at the little orange kitten. "I'm gonna name you Sugarcube," the kitten jumped on Applejack's back and purred.
Pinkie Pie giggled and said, "Your name will be Cupcake," The pink kitten jumped around, exactly like Pinkie.
Rainbow Dash looked at her kitten and said, "Hmm... wait a minute," she whispered to Twilight, who smiled and started on a spell. Her horn glowed, and there was a bright flash. Suddenly, Dash's kitten had wings sprouting from its back. The kitten stared at its newfound limbs, astonished. Rainbow Dash said, "Now you're 20% cooler! Your name should be... Sonic Rainboom! In honor of my two Sonic Rainbooms! I think I'll just call you Sonic though," Sonic jumped up and did little twirls in excitement.
Luna's cat slowly approached, looking extremely nervous. "Hello, little girl," Luna said softly. The cat purred and trotted towards Luna. Luna let her crawl onto her head and smiled. "I think I'm going to call you Eternal," The cat snuggled into Luna's mane, resting her back against Luna's horn.
The ponies, with their new little pets, continued on their walk, unaware of the strangely green and smoky light wafting through the woods, slowly coming towards them.
