//------------------------------//
// The Mage in the Moon, Part 2: The Elements of Harmony 
// Story: Spellbound 
// by Atlantis Productions 
//------------------------------//

	Nightmare Moon let loose a maniacal cackle. Lightning flashed out of thin air, making the cackle seem even more evil and dramatic.
Doing something besides stare in fear, Rachel attempted to tackle the night witch. Fortunately, Abigail was there to stop her by grabbing her leg.
“Seize her!” shouted the mayor. “She must know where the queen is!”
Several Royal Guards, mostly Angels, rushed towards Nightmare. This, however, proved to be a mistake as Nightmare simply withdrew her sword and swiped it in their direction, causing a gust of wind powerful enough to knock them back into the walls.
Nightmare laughed. “Pathetic fools! No wonder it was so easy to send my sister to the sun!” The dark Seraph enveloped her body in a veil of purple smoke, spread her wings, and took off out the door.
Rachel finally escaped Abigail’s grasp and chased after Nightmare. Nightmare, however, was too fast for even the young speed demon.
Nightmare’s words echoed in Tiffany’s head. “No wonder it was so easy to send my sister to the sun!”
“Spike, we need to get back to the library. Now,” she said urgently before running out of town hall with the Beastling in tow.
Little did they know that Rachel had seen them run off.



“Elements, Elements, Elements!” said Tiffany, throwing around book after book with her magic, not finding anything about what she was looking for. Spike, unused to staying up late, was tucked into bed upstairs (he was only twelve).
“How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”
“And what exactly are the ‘Elements of Harmony’?” asked Rachel aggressively, surprising Tiffany, “And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Are you a spy?”
“Calm down, sugarcube,” said Abigail. “She ain’t no spy. But she sure knows what’s goin’ on. Dontcha, Tiffany?”
Tiffany hesitated for a moment, but decided that, considering the circumstances, she could trust these girls. “I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon’s return. According to the legend, the only things with the capability to defeat her are the Elements of Harmony. But since I’m unable to find anything about the Elements, I have nowhere to start looking.”
“Why not just look it up online?” asked Pinkie.
“Pinkie please, we don’t have time for nonsense,” said Tiffany, resuming her search, not really hearing what the redhead said.
Pinkie shook her head and pulled out her phone. Opening the internet browser, she typed in “Elements of Harmony” and tapped the first link that came up. “Found it!”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yeah, it’s not that hard to find. The Elements of Harmony are a relatively common myth. Here.” Pinkie handed Tiffany her phone.
Tiffany read the article aloud, “The Elements of Harmony are, according to most depictions of their appearance, six gemstones, all of different species and color, that when combined possess the ability to restore Harmony. Some versions of the myth also note other abilities the Elements may have, such as granting their wielder immunity to fire or poisoning, or even allowing their wielder to achieve magical feats that would be almost impossible otherwise.”
“Okay yeah, that’s great and all, but we’re on a bit of a time constraint. Mind skipping ahead a bit?” urged Rachel.
“Alright, fine. Just trying to get as much information out of it as possible.” Turning to the next page, Tiffany continued, “The last known location of the Elements is also the last known place they were used: the Ruins of Castle Serafa.”
“The Ruins of Castle Serafa?” asked Rochelle. “But that’s in the Everfree Forest.”
All the girls reacted in fear, with the exception of Tiffany and Rachel; the latter rolled her eyes while the former was just confused.
“What’s so scary about some forest?” Tiffany asked. “I mean yeah, I’ve read about it, but it can’t be that bad.”
“It’s better you see it for yourself,” said Fiona.
“Well, I guess I will. Now let’s see, I need a map of the forest.” 
“Good luck findin’ somethin’ like that online. That forest seems ta constantly be changin’,” said Abigail.
“I don’t have to. I know a spell that is perfect for this situation. All I need is a sheet of paper.”
“Here you go,” said Pinkie, handing Tiffany a sheet of printer paper.
“Okay, here goes nothing.” Tiffany placed her hand on the paper and channeled deq into it, the markings on her arm and hand glowing faintly.
Before long, ink started to appear on the paper, without there being ink anywhere on the table. Tiffany was making the paper into a map through simple will of deq.
“And there we go. One map of the Everfree Forest.”
“Um, Tiff. It’s just a big blot of ink,” said Rachel.
“Actually, it’s a ducit map,” corrected Rochelle. “It’s specially enchanted to shift to reflect one’s current surroundings once activated.”
“That’s correct. Unfortunately, this one has a rather weak enchantment on it, so it won’t last long before wearing off. We should hurry,” said Tiffany.



Ten minutes later, the six girls were standing outside the entrance to the dark Everfree Forest.
Tiffany placed a hand on her forehead and cringed.
“You okay there, Sugarcube?” Abigail asked.
“I’m fine, just a headache. I’m very sensitive to large amounts of deq and I can feel that this forest is teeming with it.”
“Perhap you should say here, darling,” said Rochelle. “Believe me, you certainly do not want to find out what happens when a Deqling is exposed to too much deq.”
“Absolutely not. Queen Celestia is depending on us to find the Elements, defeat Nightmare Moon, and somehow rescue her from the sun. I’m going in there, no matter how much it hurts,” protested Tiffany.
“Alright people, let’s not delay the plot any further and get in there,” said Pinkie impatiently, before bouncing into the forest. The others followed suit (except they just walked, or in Rachel’s case, flew slowly along side).
Tiffany pulled out the map. It was going to be a long walk.



The girls had been trudging through the forest for about about an hour in fearful silence. All around them, they heard the cries of numerous monsters, but luckily all of the monsters that they did come across so far either ran away, or could be defeated by a simple punch from Abigail. Rather wimpy in my opinion.
All the while, Tiffany’s headache gradually got worse. By now it was getting hard for her to sense incoming monsters. And that ability would be particularly useful, especially as they were currently walking across the top of a steep cliff.
“My feet are starting to hurt, are we there yet?” whined Pinkie Pie.
“Seriously, Pinkie?” asked Rachel.
“I’m going to have to side with Ms. Pie, actually,” said Rochelle. “We’ve been walking through this dreadful forest for an hour without break. And it’s not like it’s been a walk in the park either.”
“Oh, will y’all quit yer bellyachin’!” said Abigail. “It ain’t gettin’ us any closer ta stoppin’ Nightmare.”
“Abigail’s right. If we are to stop Nightmare and save Celestia we need to-” Tiffany stopped speaking when she felt something beneath her feet shake. “Did anyone else feel that?”
Just then the cliff gave out and everyone (with the exception of Rachel and Fiona) started sliding down it uncontrollably.
“Fiona, hurry!” said Rachel.
The two Angels flew down the cliffside-turned-slope as fast as they could. Rachel caught Pinkie easily, as did Fiona with Rochelle, but Abigail and Tiffany kept sliding.
Abigail dug her fingers into the slope. Surprisingly, this did prove effective in slowing her down. However, Tiffany only slowed down after she was hanging half way over a cliff at the end of the slope.
“Hold on, Tiff!” Abigail shouted.
“Like I have a choice?” retorted Tiffany.
Abigail slid down the slope some more. When she got to the edge, she dug her clawlike fingers into the slope and grabbed Tiffany with her other hand.
“Ah gotcha, Tiffany!”
“You’ve got me? Who's got you?”
The part of the slope Abigail was clinging to collapsed, making them both slide over the edge.
At the last second, Abigail was able to grab the cliff again. She was having trouble holding both herself and Tiffany. Too bad Humans don’t have control of how deq flows through them, it would be very convenient right about now.
“Abigail, what do I do?” Tiffany asked in panic.
“Let go.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“No ah ain’t. Just trust me. Let go, an’ ya’ll be safe. Do you trust me?”
“Well it’s not like I have any other choice. Alright, I trust you.” Tiffany closed her eyes and let go of Abigail's hand and fell only for a second before her fall slowed and she opened her eyes to see Rachel and Fiona had caught her.
They flew her down to the safety of the ground. Abigail found her own way down by climbing.



Once they were all reunited on the ground, they continued walking.
“Okay, well that cliff pushed us off course a bit, but I think we can still find our way,” said Tiffany, looking at the map.
“Great, because I just want to get to Nightmare Moon before we get in any more danger,” said Rachel.
“Rachel, why did you say that aloud?” asked Pinkie in fear. “You’re tempting Murphy’s Law!”
“You seriously believe in Murphy’s Law, Pinkie?” asked Tiffany.
“Yes! I’m honestly surprised you aren’t, being Missy Magic.”
“Pinkie, there’s a difference between magic and superstition. That’s just superstition.”
“You know what else is superstition? Nightmare Moon,” said Pinkie. “Oh, wait.”
“Okay, I get your point. But trust me, nothing is going to happen.”
Tiffany would regret saying that as just as she said it, the group heard the sound of a Lion roaring. They turned in the direction of the sound and saw, not a Lion, but a Manticore.
“I told you so.”
“Priorities, Pinkie!” shouted Abigail.
The Manticore charged at them.
Rochelle tried to disorient the monster by using her deq to conjure light, but it just roared in annoyance.
“Mes cheveux!” shouted Rochelle (My hair!), for the Manticore’s roar had turned it into a mess. Rochelle then realized the Manticore was right next to her and she bolted.
Next Abigail jumped onto the monster’s back and started riding it like a rodeo Bull.
“Yeehaw! Get along little doggie!” she shouted.
The Manticore started thrashing about, trying to get the cowgirl off its back. (Hey, I’d be ticked off too if someone tried to ride on my back without my permission.) Eventually, it managed to get Abigail off its back, making her go flying off.
She landed safely and signalled off to Rachel, who then flew at the beast. She flew around it at high speeds, intent on confusing it and landing punches when a weakness showed.
But despite her best efforts, the Manticore wouldn’t be that easy to defeat. It raised its Scorpion-tail and slashed downwards, hitting Rachel and throwing her off her flight pattern.
Tiffany had finally had enough. She built up deq in her fists, charging up a strong combat spell, and was about release it when she saw Fiona jump between her and the Manticore and yell, “Stop!”
“Fiona? What are you doing?”
“I’m an animal expert. Trust me.” Fiona approached the Manticore slowly. When she was close enough she went into a submissive position, her body language telling the large beast that he was in charge.
The Manticore calmed down, and Fiona got back onto her feet. She started petting the beast, comforting it. The beast moved its paw over to her, showing her a large purple thorn stuck in it.
“Oh, you poor little baby.” She pulled a bottle full of red transparent liquid out of one of the deep pockets in her khakis. “This might sting a bit, but that’s how you know it’s working.”
Fiona gently removed the thorn and poured a little of the liquid on the wound. The Manticore whimpered a bit as the liquid stung its paw, but within about thirty seconds the wound had stopped stinging and the paw was as good as new.
“There you go. Now run along. But be careful not to go near Black Briar vines again.”
The Manticore gave Fiona a big lick and flew off on its giant bat-wings.
“How did you know the thorn was in its paw?” asked Tiffany.
“Animal expert. I know all about all kinds of Beast, even those of the Arcane variety. Plus, Manticores never attack unless provoked, so I knew something was up.”
“And what was that medicine you used on the wound?”
“Oh, that was just my personal cure-all potion. You just mix water, grape juice, and a special secret ingredient, and there you go.”
“What the secret ingredient?” Abigail asked.
“It’s a secret, I can’t tell you,” Fiona answered, before asking Tiffany, “So, um, how much longer until we reach the Ruins of Castle Serafa?”
Tiffany unfolded the map. “Shouldn’t be too much longer. According to the map we’re getting close. We just need to cut straight through a swamp section just ahead and we’ll be there in no time.”



The girl trudged through the swamp. It was getting darker and darker as the trees blocked out the moonlight above. Eventually, it got so dark that none of them could see an inch in front of their noses.
“I can’t see a thing,” said Rachel.
“I can help with that.,” Tiffany said, summoning her deq in a ball of bright light. But she would come to regret it when she saw what was around them.
Surrounding them on all sides were peculiar looking trees. A few moments after the light began to shine, something inside the trees began to stir. And one by one, humanoid figures melted (for lack of a better term) out of the trees.
These figures were obviously female; each had varying heights, had wood for skin and leaves for hair. The closest thing they had to clothing was moss that covered their breasts and pubic areas.
“Tree Nymphs. Dryads,” Tiffany said, recognizing the creatures from one of her books.
The Nymphs opened their eyes. Their eyes were like amber jewels, sparkling orange.
One of the Nymphs, presumably the leader, took a few steps forward.
“Why have you disturbed our slumber?” she asked with a powerful, yet elegant voice.
“Oh, um, we’re really sorry about that,” apologized Tiffany. “We didn’t expect their to be anyone living this far into the forest. We were just passing through.”
The leader Nymphs looked intensely into Tiff’s eyes, which was kind of creeping her out.
“You seem genuine, but I’m afraid we can not allow you to leave without tribute.”
“Tribute? What kind of tribute?”
“One of you maidens must stay behind and join us as a Nymph.”
“You don’t seriously expect us to do that, do you darling?” protested Rochelle. “After what we’ve already been through.”
“We can, and we do.”
“Sorry, sugarcube, but that ain’t gonna happen,” said Abigail.
“Yeah, you’re not splitting us up without a fight!” agreed Rachel.
“Very well. Since you six choose not to be reasonable, I suppose we have no choice.”
All the other Dryads started approaching the six girls. Their amber eyes had turned red with anger and sharp thorns started sprouting from all over their bodies.
“Geez. I heard you could have a thorn in your side, but this is ridiculous,” said Pinkie.
Surprisingly, Pinkie’s sudden joke caused one of the Nymphs to giggle.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?” asked Tiffany.
“Just trust me. I’ve got this,” Pinkie replied.
“Um, when Pinkie says she’s got this, should we be relieved, or worried?” Tiffany asked Rachel.
Rachel simply answered with, “Yes.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
“Yeah, well that’s Pinkie Pie for you. Unpredictable.”
“A snare drum and a crash symbol fell out of a tree,” asked Pinkie. “*BA-DUM TSSSHHH*”
The Dryad that had giggled before started to outright laugh, along with a couple other of the Nymphs.
“What did the rock say when it rolled into the tree? Nothing, rocks don’t talk.”
All of the Nymphs but the leader were now laughing uncontrollably, and even the leader Dryad was starting to crack up.
Apparently, Dryads have a simple sense of humor when it comes to nature jokes.
“Hey, did you hear the one about the oak tree? It’s a corn-y one.”
“You are quite amusing, maiden,” said the leader Nymph between laughs. “Perhaps we were acting a little too harshly before.”
“A little?” asked Rachel.
“In our defense, it’s considered rude to wake up a Nymph before sunrise.”
“Oh don’t worry too much about it,” said Pinkie. “It was our mistake for not creating a faint light.”
“You may go along your way, maidens. Feel free to visit any time, as long as it’s during the day.”
“Thank you. We’ll be going now.”
“We wish you a farewell, maidens. May Mother Everfree be kind to you.”
With that, the Dryads walked back to their trees and melted back into them.
The girls then continued on their way.



Not long after they have exited the swamp area, the trees became less thick and the girls spotted what remained of the highest towers of the ruins of Castle Serafa.
“I can see the ruins!” shouted Pinkie excitedly. “We’re almost there!”
“Which means this dreadful night is almost over,” said Rochelle. “Merci Gaia.” (Thank Gaia.)
“Don’t rejoice yet, girls,” said Tiffany. “We still need to defeat Nightmare Moon.”
“Tiffany’s right,” agreed Abigail. “This night ain’t over yet.”
Suddenly, a sound met the girls’ ears.
“Does anybody else hear that?” asked Fiona.
“Yeah,” said Rachel. “It sounds like… crying?”
“Where’s it coming from?” asked Rochelle.
Almost immediately, Abigail answered, “This way,” and then started going in the direction of the sound.
The others followed the cowgirl until they came to a wide clearing. Lying on a large rock in the center was a creature with a man’s torso and head (not to mention fabulous blonde hair) from the waist up and a purple Rattlesnake’s tail from the waist down. In other words, this creature was a Lamia.
“Oh what a world! What a world!” the Lamia cried out, tears flowing down his face.
“Excuse me, Mr. Lamia,” said Tiffany, slowly approaching the creature. “Is something wrong?”
The Lamia looked up at Tiffany, sniffed, and wiped a few of his tears. “Yes actually. You see, I was just strolling through the forest when I was chased by a monster. I managed to get away, but now I’m lost.”
“Oh, poor dear,” said Fiona.
“Could you point me the way to town?”
“We can do one better,” said Rochelle before taking the map from Tiffany.
“Hey, what are you doing, Rochelle? We need that,” protested Tiffany.
“Yes, we do. But he needs this map more.”
Rochelle walked up the Lamia and offered him the map. “Here. Take this.”
“Thank you, fair lady. You are generous,” he said, taking the map.
“Don’t mention it, darling. It’s the least I can do.”
“The name’s Steven, by the way. Steven Magnet.”
“Rochelle Belle. Charmed.”
“Well, farewell. I hope to meet you all again someday.”
Steven slithered away into the forest.
“He was surprisingly charming, especially for a Lamia,” said Tiffany.
“Well, no use just standing around here,” said Rachel. “Come on, let’s get to the castle.”



The girls returned on their path to the castle. With the castle’s towers in sight, the fact that Rochelle just gave up their only map didn’t seem to bother any of them.
They exited the trees and right in front of them stood the ruins of what once had obviously been a magnificent castle. You could almost see what it had been in it’s heyday just by looking at it from a distance.
All that lay between the girls and the ruins, and by extension Nightmare Moon, was a rope bridge only just barely hanging onto its foundations over a chasm.
“Great, bridge is out,” said Tiffany. “How are we supposed to get to the other side?”
“Don’t worry,” said Rachel. “I’ll just do a quick fly over, secure the bridge on the other side, and we’ll be clear to cross.”
Rachel jumped into the air and flew to the other side.
Upon landing, she reached for the rope, but stopped moments before touching it because she heard a voice say, “Rachel.”
“Who’s there?” she shouted, getting into a fighting stance, in case she had to face a hostile force.
A heavy fog suddenly rolled in. From this fog emerged a tall humanoid figure, but Rachel couldn’t see their face since they were still masked by the heavy fog. In a deep, masculine voice, the figure said again, “Rachel.”
“Who are you? Show yourself!” sane demanded.
The figure stepped out of the fog.
“There’s no need ta fear, Rachel,” said the figure, revealing himself to be a tall, blonde, green-eyed, Caucasian Human man wearing a red, plaid, long-sleeve shirt, worn-out blue jeans, and cowboy boots.
“Big Mac? What are you doing here?”
“Ah’m ‘ere for you, Rachel.”
“Me? I-I don’t understand.”
“Rachel, don’t listen ta him! That’s not the real Big Mac!” shouted Abigail, which Rachel could somehow not hear. Plot convenience, maybe?
“Rachel, ah didn’t have the courage ta say this ‘till now, but ever since ah first met ya ah’ve had a crush on ya.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. Ah’m in love with you.”
“Rachel, it’s just an illusion! Don’t trust him!” shouted Tiffany, which again Rachel couldn’t hear. Again, I blame plot convenience.
“I-I-I don’t what to say. This is so sudden.”
“Y’all ain’t need to say anything. Just come with me. We can go somewhere far from here, where we can be alone and in love.”
“What about my friends?” Rachel gestured to the others.
“You can forget about them. Ah’m sure they can handle Nightmare Moon without you.”
Rachel hesitated, considering her options.
“Come on, Rachel. Is it me, or them?”
Rachel made up her mind. “Thank you, Mac, but I’m going to have to decline.” She then proceeded to grab the fallen rope off the ground and secured the bridge. When she looked back at Big Mac, he was gone and the heavy fog was dissipating.
The other girls crossed the bridge.
“Rachel, I’m so glad you didn’t fall for it,” said Tiffany.
“What do you mean?”
“That was Phantom Fog. It lures its victims to their deaths by creating illusions of people the victims love. It’s like a Siren made of cloud.”
“Hold the phone!” yelled Pinkie. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
“What do you- ohh,” Tiffany started, before realizing what she meant.
Applejack did a double take. “Rachel, are ya meanin’ ta tell us that y’all have a crush on mah brother?” she asked.
Rachel didn’t answer. Instead, she just blushed.
“Well, the important thing is that we made it,” said Rochelle.



Now before them stood the ruins they set out for. Nothing stood between them and Nightmare Moon, whether that was good or bad is a matter of opinion.
The girls approached the castle quickly, but also not without caution. Through the wide open front gate, they found a large courtyard.
A chill ran down each of their spines, the eerie atmosphere of the ruined castle keeping them on high alert.
Through the rotted wood doors at the other end of the courtyard from which they entered, they found stairs leading into a great main hall. Unlit torches and moth-eaten tapestries lined the walls between open doorways. High above, horse-shaped stone Gargoyles sat on ledges overlooking the hall. At the other end of the hall was another door, no doubt leading into the throne room.
Suddenly, Tiffany put her hand to her head and winced.
“You okay, darling?” asked Rochelle.
“I’m fine. The Elements of Harmony are in there,” answered Tiffany, pointing towards the throne room door. “I can sense them.”
The girls approached the door. It opened without much difficulty, despite how old it was.
The throne room was almost completely empty, with the exception of two thrones on a dais at the back of the room and a pedestal holding six crystals.
Surprisingly, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen.
“The Elements. We’ve found them,” said Rachel.
“And it looks like we got here before Nightmare Moon,” said Abigail.
“Oh great, you jinxed it,” said Pinkie.
“Pinkie, we’ve been over this,” said Tiffany.
“Actually, she’s not wrong,” said a new voice.
The girls’ attention was drawn to a window above them. “Nightmare Moon!” they all screamed.
“Well, I hate to say, ‘I told you so,’ but...” said Pinkie, “I told you so. Actually, that was kind of fun to say.”
“Pinkie, now’s not the time,” said Tiffany.
Nightmare flew down to the dais, standing between the girls and the Elements.
“At long last the Elements of Harmony are within my grasp. I really should thank you girls for leading me right to them. Now all of Sohre shall bow to me and finally they will learn to respect the night.”
“That’s yer plan?” asked Abigail. “Seriously? Gain their respect by makin’ ‘em fear ya more? Yeah, great plan.”
“Mock me now, but soon you will be groveling at my feet.”
“In your dreams, Nightmare!” said Rachel.
Nightmare smirked. “You have spunk to say that, Angel girl, but you will learn to obey your queen.”
“You aren’t our queen! Celestia is!” said Rochelle.
“You dare mention that foolish wretch again and you will regret it, Deqling. My sister will not be acknowledged as long I reign.”
“Then we should make sure that reign is short,” said Rachel. She flew towards Nightmare, attempting to tackle her.
Nightmare simply dodged out of the way, making Rachel crash into the pedestal which held the Elements, knocking them down and shattering them.
“The Elements!” the girls screamed in shock.
“Huh, I thought the Elements would be made of crystal, not glass,” said Pinkie.
“Hahahahaha! Well, isn’t this an interesting turn of events. I had no idea the Elements were so fragile. Now that the Elements are useless, nothing can stop me!” said Nightmare triumphantly.
Suddenly, Tiffany felt something in her Aura. It was like something was calling to her. Channeling deq into her eyes, her vision turned black before six humanoid shaped Auras appeared, each a different color. But what even more surprising is that the shards of the Elements were also giving off an Aura, which could only mean one thing.
“Your wrong, Nightmare,” said Tiffany.
“Oh, and how would that be? The Elements are shattered. You are hopeless,” said Nightmare.
“Not true. The Elements can’t be destroyed, for the spirits of the Elements of Harmony lay within us!” proclaimed Tiffany. “Abigail Smith, who reassured my when I was in doubt, represents to spirit of Honesty! Fiona Shy, who tamed the mighty Manticore with gentleness, represents the spirit of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who gave the Dryads a tribute of jokes, represents the spirit of Laughter! Rochelle Belle, who calmed a sorrowful Lamia by sacrificing our most useful tool, represents the spirit of Generosity! And Rachel Dash, who couldn’t abandon her friends for her own heart's desires, represents the spirit of Loyalty!”
The shards of the Elements began to glow and flew towards their respective bearers.
“But what of the sixth Element?” asked Nightmare.
“Glad you asked. The sixth Element can only truly be harnessed when its bearer’s Heart unites with those of the other Element bearers. And I realize now that the friends are not a hinderance. Friendship is not unnecessary. I am the Element of Magic!”
The remaining Element shards flew to Tiffany and glowed a brilliant violet purple. Then all of the Element shards reshaped themselves into necklaces, with the exception of Tiffany’s Element, which reshaped itself  into a crown.
“This can’t happening! Not again!” shouted Nightmare Moon. “No! No!”
The Elements glowed brightly, lifting their bearers into the air and firing a giant rainbow-colored beam of light at Nightmare.
“Nnnnnoooooo!” Nightmare screamed as the rainbow beam hit her.
There was a blinding white light, and then everything was silent.



When Tiffany regained consciousness, the sunlight was streaming through the open windows of the castle, and Queen Celestia knelt beside her, smiling warmly.
“Good morning, Twilight,” said the queen.
“Queen Celestia, we did it. We recovered the Elements of Harmony and we beat Nightmare Moon,” said Tiffany.
“I can see that. I am proud of you, my student.”
Tiffany heard her friends stirring from their slumbers.
“Ugh, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus,” said Rachel.
“Does anyone else have a strange craving for hay?” asked Pinkie.
“Ah don’t know about y’all, but ah never want ta do that again,” said Abigail.
“I think I’ve gone temporarily deaf!” shouted Fluttershy. “Should I be worried?”
“Wait? What happened to Nightmare?” asked Rochelle.
“She's not Nightmare Moon anymore,” said Celestia, looking at the last remaining person in the room.
Lying unconscious on the dais was a girl looking to be in about her mid to late teens. She had short, jet black hair, brown skin covered in light blue Deqling markings, and four dark blue Angel wings. All she wore was a simple blue dress.
Celestia approached her younger sister. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Celestia lightly shook her in attempt to wake her up. After a few seconds, the sleeping princess awoke.
“Five more minutes, Tia,” she groaned.
Celestia chuckled. “I missed you, Selene.”
“Luna,” the younger sister corrected.
“Right, I forgot you prefer Luna. To be fair, it has been a thousand years.”
“One thousand years? So that wasn’t just a dream?”
“Unfortunately. The important thing is that you’re back.” Celestia embraced her sister in a hug.
“It’s so beautiful!” said Pinkie. “Hey, you know what this calls for?”
“What?” asked Tiffany.
“A party!”



Avalon rejoiced. Many of the town’s residents were basking in their queen’s sunlight.
The others were in the town hall, where a ceremony was being held, but not for the rising of the sun.
“I would like to thank the six brave heroines who came to not only my rescue, but my sister’s as well, when we were in need,” said Celestia.
She and Selene stood upon the stage, the girls off to one side.
“And to commemorate their achievements, I’d like to award them all with the Honor of Sohre!”
The mayor gave Celestia six gold medals.
“Abigail Smith, the Element of Honesty.”
Abigail approached Celestia. Celestia placed the medal around her neck.
“Thank you for your candor, Applejack.”
Applejack bowed to the queen and stood proudly to one side.
In the crowd, a young voice could be heard saying, “That’s my sister!”
“Rachel Dash, the Element of Loyalty.”
Rachel approached the queen.
“Thank you for staying by Tiffany’s side, Rainbow. And remember, don’t get cocky.”
“No need to worry, your majesty,” Rainbow said as the medal was placed around her neck. She went to stand beside Applejack.
“Rochelle Belle, the Element of Generosity.”
Rochelle approached the queen.
“Thank you, you are a true rarity.”
“Ooh, I like that. Rarity, has a nice ring to it,” she said as her medal was placed around her neck and she went to stand beside Rainbow and Applejack.
“Fiona Shy, the Element of Kindness.”
Fiona shyly approached the queen.
“Thank you. You were extraordinarily brave, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy didn’t say a word as she accepted the medal and went to stand beside Rarity.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie, the Element of Laughter.”
Pinkie was in the center of the stage before Celestia could finish saying the word ‘laughter’.
“Thank you, Pinkie. Never change.”
When the medal was placed around her neck she bounced off to stand beside Fluttershy.
“And last but never least, Tiffany Sparkle, the Element of Magic.”
Tiffany approached her teacher.
“Congratulations, Twilight. I always knew you would do great things one day. You have made me proud.”
The medal was placed around Twilight’s head. “Thank you for teaching me all that I know, your majesty.”
“You’re welcome.”
Twilight went to stand beside her friends.
“Let’s hear it for the Elements of Harmony!”
The entire room was filled with applause.



Twilight and Spike were packing up their things, preparing to leave back to Monoceros. All the while, Twilight was feeling a bit sad.
“Why the long face, Twilight?” asked Celestia, entering the room.
“Well, it’s just that now that I know what it’s like to have friends…” Twilight trailed off.
“You don’t want to leave, do you?”
“No.”
“Very well, if your wish is to stay in Avalon and study friendship, then your wish is my command.”
“Thank you, your majesty. Spike!”
“Yeah?” he called from downstairs.
“You can unpack. We’re staying in Avalon!”
“Yes!”
“Anything for you, Twilight,” Celestia said, smiling.