Even though time progressed forward, the light of the full moon kept the night lit. Under normal circumstances, this would've caused panic and chaos between the ponies but today was an exception. Today was the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, a day to commemorate the passing of Luna's sister, Princess Celestia. Nine hundred and ninety nine of those year's had passed and the memory of Celestia never once vanished, Luna made sure of it, every year on the date Celestia had vanished Luna would create an astronomical event.
An eclipse.
While the moon was still in orbit, instead of raising the sun and moving the moon, the moon would remain still while the sun made its way. The sun would pass behind the moon and create an eclipse. In doing so, the sun's radiation would seep past the corners of the moon, making them even brighter. After ten minutes, Luna would move the moon and set it down over the horizon.
This year would mark the one thousandth, and it was taking place in Ponyville. Everypony, and I mean everypony, from every corner of Equestria came to Ponyville to see the wondrous display up close. This massive cluster of ponies spilled into the down like rushing water. The town had never been so packed before in its entire time.
The Apple family had set up shops all over town, selling apple related refreshments. Whenever someone got hungry, all they needed to do was walk about ten feet before bumping into a stand. While all of this was happening, Twilight Sparkle was observing it from the telescope on her balcony, with Flash and Spike behind her.
"Geez." Spike said, leaning over the edge. "Look at how many ponies there are. Has it ever been this crowded?"
"Keep in mind Spike, that this year is the one thousandth." Twilight stated, looking away from her telescope. "Some ponies might only go once or twice. But I can't think of anyone who wants to miss out on this." Twilight said, going back to her sightseeing. "Only problem is that I have no clue how we're gonna get to the center with this huge mob."
"We could fly over them." Flash suggested.
"Yeah, but only if you're strong enough to carry both me and Spike over there, that ain't happening anytime soon." Twilight said, still looking through her telescope.
While looking through the telescope, her vision of the center vanished and was replaced by a large eye.
"GAH!" Twilight yelled as she stumbled back and fell on her haunches.
"Hiya Egghead."
Twilight looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing on the edge of her balcony, smiling innocently.
"Rainbow Dash. What are you doing here?" Flash asked.
Rainbow hopped down and said, "all these ponies are so noisy, I can't get a wink of sleep back at my house. So I thought maybe I could crash at yours."
Twilight quickly stood up, "what?! How can you sleep on the most important daynight of the century?" She demanded.
"Pffft, you mean the whole 'Summer Sun Celebration' thing? I've been to that at least a hundred times now. Just because I'm skipping one day doesn't mean the end of the world." Said Rainbow.
"But this year is the one thousandth. You won't get another chance like this ever again." Twilight said, trying to convince Rainbow Dash.
"Meh." Rainbow shrugged. "If you've been to one, then you've been to them all. This one's just more crowded than the others."
Twilight was about to protest but was cut of by Flash, "say, Rainbow Dash. How fast can you fly while carrying a pony?" He asked.
"Pretty fast." Rainbow answered before raising a brow with an intrigued look. "Why do you ask?" She asked
"I was wondering if you could carry Twilight over to the center since the crowds are so big." Flash answered.
"I don't know. Sounds like a lot of work, what's in it for me?" She asked.
"You said we should be friends right?" Flash asked, Rainbow nodded. "Well don't friends help out other friends?"
Rainbow Dash tapped her chin as she pondered. "Hmmmm...you make a fair point. All right, I'll do it." Rainbow said, flying underneath Twilight and sitting her on Rainbow's back. "Hold on tight Twilight, you're in for a bumpy
"Hiya Watcher." Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down. "Remember me? Of course you do."
Pinkie? How did you...
"Don't worry Author, I know you spent a while planning all this stuff but I'm gonna be that guy and skip to the good parts." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.
What?! Why would you do that?
"Because I can." Said Pinkie Pie. "But don't worry, I'm only doing it for now. So you can continue."
Um...okay. Due to Pinkie's impatience, the scene has been rushed to the center of Pinyville. Inside is the entire Mane six, Flash, and Spike, along with a large crowd of ponies that couldn't fit. Spotlight's shined on the curtains leading to the balcony where Luna was meant to enter.
Fluttershy' birds began to sing, signaling that the celebration was beginning. Everyone was awaiting in anticipation for their Queen to enter. The curtains were drawn back and a hoof stepped forward. Then the crowd became confused.
What should've been Queen Luna that stood before them definitely looked like Luna, yet was not. The mare Alicorn standing on the balcony had a black coat of fur and waving mane was a darker shade of blue. She wore light blue armor on her hooves, chest, back, and a helmet that covered her head and neck. The Alicorn smiled, showing off her sharp jagged teeth as she spoke loudly.
"Greetings my ponies. It is I, your queen, Nightmare Moon!" Nightmare Moon spoke with a loud and booming voice.
"Um..." all eyes locked on the mare known as Bonbon as she spoke. "Don't you mean 'Queen Luna' your highness?"
Nightmare frowned in disappointment, "perhaps an explanation is required. You see, long ago, when Celestia was still alive, I took over her body and tried to defeat Luna. But alas, I was defeated thanks to the Elements of Harmony. But now I have returned, and this time I've taken over your precious Queen's body. Now you will all bow to me and abandon your so called 'Queen'."
"This is a joke right?" A guard spoke. "There's no way our Queen would let something like this happen."
"It seems you all require a demonstration, and we seem to have a volunteer." Nightmare Moon smiled, her horn glowed dark blue as the guard that spoke out instantly turned to stone, a horrified expression on his face.
Before anyone could process what had just happened, in an instant all of the other guards in the room, except of Flash, was instantly turned to stone. Then there was an earsplitting crack and every stone statue shattered into pieces.
Ponies screamed in fright upon seeing the horror that had just unfolded.
"Now that I have your attention, do you believe me now?"
"You monster!" Flash roared. "Release our Queen at once!"
Nightmare Moon vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared in front of Flash. "You dare to oppose me Pegasus? You dare to face me alone?"
"He's not alone."
Nightmare Moon became puzzled as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Fluttershy, who hid behind Rainbow, rushed to Flash's side.
"It seems there are others who defy my rule. I can only assume that no matter what I say or do your faith will not be swayed?" Nightmare Moon asked.
Twilight glared at Nightmare and slowly demanded. "Give. Us. Back. Our. Queen."
She looked between the six mares and frowned. She sensed no fear, except for Fluttershy, in any of the mares. In fact she sensed something much more important. She smiled before continuing, very well. If your faith cannot be broken so easily then I shall wear it down piece by piece." Nightmare Moon's horn glowed and her eyes became pure white, and instantly every pony in Ponyville began to turn to stone, from their hooves all the way to their head. "I shall make a bet with you seven ponies and dragon. Come to the Castle of the Twin Sisters and face me. If you succeed in defeating me, then I shall release your Queen and free the stoned ponies. But if you fail, then you must worship me as the new Queen whether you like it or not. Do we have a deal?" she asked, extending her hoof towards Twilight.
"Deal." She said, shaking the hoof.
"I can't believe you did that!" Spike screamed. "Now were all gonna get turned to stone and Nightmare Moon is gonna kill us!"
Spike ranted on and on in the corner of the library. After Nightmare Moon turned into a mist and left, the first thing the group did was head back to Golden Oaks and try to find any information on Nightmare Moon. Books had been tossed on the floor as everypony searched for some information they could use.
"Crying isn't going to help Spike." Flash said, fast reading through the book in his hooves.
"Flash is right." Twilight said. "We can't just lie down and do nothing." Twilight let out a frustrated grunt as she threw the book she was reading behind her and began looking through another one. "There must be something we can use."
While everyone was frantically looking through books, Pinkie Pie was lying on her stomach casually reading a book. She stopped and looked up. "Can I tell them or no?" She asked.
I suppose. Their never gonna find out unless you do something.
Pinkie Pie smiled before looking back to everyone. "Hey guys, I think I found something."
"What'd ya find?" Applejack asked as everyone gathered around Pinkie Pie.
"Nightmare Moon said she was defeated by the Elements of Harmony right?" Pinkie asked, everyone nodded. "Well it says here, that a long time ago a powerful creature named Discord caused chaos and destruction all over Equestria." Pinkie stated, pointing to the page of both Celestia and Luna with six gems circling behind them and from the gems a rainbow beam shot from them at a strange and bizarre creature, turning him to stone. "It says here that the six gems are known as Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, Loyalty, and Magic. It also says that they are located in the Castle of the Twin Sister's. All we need to do is find these six Elements, use them against Nightmare, and get our Queen back. There's just one problem, the six elements are in the most dangerous place in Equestria."
"The Everfree Forest." Everyone said, now standing at the edge of the untamed and crazy forest.
Not much could be said about the forest, all that anyone ever did find out about the place was that the weather controlled itself and that it was home to some of the most dangerous creatures in Equestria. Few dared to tread in the forest and those who did barely escaped with their lives. Now the group of ponies had to enter this forsaken land if they hoped to return their Queen.
Wasting no time, the group entered the forest and
Hello again Watcher. Remember how I said I wasn't going to skip anything? Well I lied.
Pinkie! What the heck are you doing?!
I was getting bored, so I've decided to just skip ahead.
You can't do that! Think about all the things the Watcher is missing.
Yeah right. Don't worry dear Watcher, you're not missing much. Everything that happens is the same as what happens in the show. The cliff that everyone is walking on collapses, Applejack holds onto Twilight before she falls, she then tells Twilight to let go and Twilight does and is then carried to safety by Flash. After that, they run into a Manticore and try to fight it. But Fluttershy helps the poor little thing by pulling a thorn out of its paw. Then they all come across a ravaging river where a sea monster is whining over his Moustache. Rarity cuts off her tail and gives it to the sea monster who gives them safe passage. Then they all came across a bunch of scary looking trees where I sang a song, did a dance, and stuck my tongue out at them. Finally they all got to the broken bridge. Dashie flew over to the other side and fixed it but was tempted by the 'Shadowbolts'. She chose her friends over the Shadowbolt's offer and everyone made it to the castle. They all got to the castle, Nightmare Moon was there, said something like "you'll never defeat me." Twilight tried to use her magic to activate the Elements, didn't work. Nightmare Moon busted the Elements into pieces. Twilight then realized that her friends were the Elements and used them to return Nightmare Moon back to Queen Luna.
...
...
There are no words to describe my hatred right now.
Oh lighten up Author. I've skipped as far as I'm gonna skip. You can take the rest from here. Have fun.
As Pinkie had said, Nightmare Moon had been defeated and Luna returned. Her coat and mane were lighter than before and her eyes were deep blue with normal pupils. She stood up and rubbed her head while letting out a groan. "I didn't think that would hurt so much."
"Your highness!" Everyone shouted, embracing Luna in a bear hug.
"My Apprentice. What has happened?" She asked.
"It was awful. Some horrible spirit possessed you and you turned ponies into stone and you tried to take over Equestria!" Twilight explained quickly. "But I was able to bring you back thanks to my friends."
Luna's ears perked up at the word 'friends'. She glanced over at Flash who gave a simple nod. "Twilight's friends. Would you be so kind as to give my Apprentice and I a moment?"
Twilight's friends complied and exited the room. Leaving only Flash, Luna, and Twilight. "Is something wrong Luna?"
"Do you remember the test I had assigned to you?" Luna asked.
Twilight's irises shrunk and her face went pale. "The test!" She screamed, her hooves pushed against both sides of her head. "I completely forgot! What with everything that had happened I was so caught up in trying to get you back! I'm so sorry, is there still time to finish the-"
"Calm down Twilight." Flash said. "You actually passed the test with flying colors."
Twilight stopped hyperventilating and blinked at Flash two times. "Excuse me?"
"My dear Apprentice. You are the most intelligent and powerful unicorn mare I have ever met. But everyday I see you wasting your time on your books and studies. There is more to life than mere words in a book. So I sent you here to Ponyville in hopes that you might make some new friends." Luna explained, "and now that you have, I hereby ask of you, my faithful Apprentice, to stay in Ponyville and spend time with your new friends. Do you accept?" She asked.
"Of course." Twilight said, not even giving the offer a second thought. "But..." she glanced over to Flash. "What about him? He's my friend too."
"Then he shall stay here with you. If that is alright with him." She asked Flash.
"It would be an honor, my Queen." Flash said, bowing respectfully.
"Then it is decided, from now on you shall tell me all about your friendships every week. I look forward to what might occur." Luna smiled.
1 hour before everything
As the yellow figure with resemblance to Celestia came closer and closer to Luna, she didn't move a single inch. She had awaited her sister's return for one thousand years, and now she was gonna get what was coming to her. Luna closed her eyes and awaited her demise.
But it never came.
Luna felt a warm embrace as her eyes shot open to see the figure wasn't attacking her, but hugging her. The figure pulled away and smiled at Luna, who was at a loss for words.
"W-w...why are you-" she chocked, failing to properly speak.
The figure spoke with a ghostly voice that a slight echo. "It is alright sister. I do not wish to harm you."
"But...but why?" She demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I imprisoned you on the sun. I botched the spell, destroying your body but leaving your spirit in tact. I deserve punishment."
"But I cannot give it." Celestia said. "You are my sister, and I could never hurt you no matter what crime you've done. I have been watching you ever since you took over, and I have never been more proud. I know you feel guilty over everything you've done but I'm here to tell you that I forgive you."
"But I don't deserve forgiveness!" Luna screamed.
"Yes you do. You have done so much and ask for so little. The only thing I ask of you know is to not feel sad over what you have done. I want you to show me that smile sister. Show me the smile of my sister when she was happy and full of joy." Celestia begged.
Luna looked at her sister and memories of the two spilled into her mind. All the happy and wonderful times they had spent together. A feeling washed over Luna, a feeling that she hadn't felt for a thousand years. It had been so long she had forgotten how good it had felt.
How good it had felt to smile.