//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: The Spark to Light a Candle // by SPark //------------------------------//         "Take that, you accursed piece of parchment!"  The black alicorn's eyes slitted with rage and a bolt of pure magic shot from her horn to the offending document.  It sizzled and burned satisfactorily.  The dark mare stood on the dais of her throne room, her chest heaving with anger, the burnt spot before her marking yet another of her failures.         "I will do it," she muttered angrily to herself.  "I will."  She glared at the scorch mark, then hissed out another curse as she realized that her own rage-driven spell had melted some of her beautiful frost.  Her slitted eyes flicked up to where the guards flanking the door were carefully not looking in her direction at all.  She glared at them for a while, hoping that one would cough, or twitch, or give her some other excuse to vent her rage on him, but neither did.  She snorted in frustration and looked out the window instead.  Moonlight streamed down onto the city, as always, and she sighed, relaxing a little bit at the sight of her lovely, eternal night.           "I brought the night that never ends.  I have brought a winter that never ends too.  I defeated my accursed sister.  I can certainly master this spell and bring my perfect servants to life.  I know I can.  It will simply take time, that is all."  She nodded to herself.  She was the Queen--no, the Goddess of Night.  All would come out according to her desires in the end.  It always did.           After some time spent contemplating the moonlight she heard the faintest possible scuff of hoof against stone.  She turned her head to see one of her Shadowbolts bowed before her throne.  She had bowed so low she was practically prostrate, in fact, with her nose pressed to the freezing floor.  The alicorn smiled faintly, her ill temper further eased by this display of proper respect.  After waiting long enough to be certain the pegasus mare would be half frozen, she spoke.         "You may rise and report."         "Yes, your Majesty."  The pegasus got to her feet, but paused to bow again before continuing.  "There was an incident at the diamond dog mines yesterday."         "An incident."  The alicorn's eyes narrowed.  "What kind of incident?"         The pegasus swallowed.  Being the bearer of bad news could be fatal, but somepony had to make the report, and she had gotten the short straw.  "There was an attack on the mines, and while a group of ponies distracted the guards by pretending a frontal assault, a smaller group tunneled into the mine and freed the unicorn slaves there."         "And how," hissed the alicorn dangerously, "was this feat, which I was assured could not be done, accomplished?"         "The dogs say it was magic, your Majesty.  They'd cornered the unicorns trying to escape in the deepest part of the mine, but then they all simply vanished."         "I see.  I would not have thought such pathetically weak unicorns would have had the skill to cast such a spell."  Her mind flashed to the stables, and the slave ponies slain by magical fire.  Could this be more of the same?  But who would kill slaves one day and free them the next?  At least this time there were witnesses.  Perhaps... "I presume the dogs saw enough of the ponies attacking to identify those responsible?"         "They recognized Pinkie Pie and some of her rebels," said the Shadowbolt.         "Ah."  That was almost disappointing.  Merely another pathetic rebel attack, albeit a more successful one than most.  "Perhaps it's time I wiped out Pinkie's little band once and for all.  Was there anything else?"         "Yes your Majesty.  The dogs said that the distracting attack was lead by an alicorn."         "What?!"  The shadowbolt cringed and flattened herself to the floor again. "Describe her!”         "S-she was shorter than you, your majesty," the pegasus was trembling and stammering now.  "Her coat was blue, and her hair lighter blue.  But her cutie mark was also a crescent moon."         The black alicorn stepped back in stunned silence.  Then she screamed, "WHAT?!  No!  You lie!"         "P-please, your Majesty, I'm only saying what the dogs said.  I'm sure they're wrong.  They're stupid animals!  Please don't kill me!"         For a moment the black alicorn glared at her and considered doing just that.  But that would mean delay while she summoned another servant.  So the bolt of power that threw the pegasus mare halfway across the room didn't kill her; it just left her stunned and wailing with pain.  "Oh shut up," she said, stalking over to the smaller mare.  "Get up, go to the captain.  Have her take the Shadowbolts to the mines and find out what really happened!"         "All of them, your Majesty?" said the dazed pegasus.         "Yes all of them, you cretin!  I want every single diamond dog questioned.  I want every scrap of information anyone can find about this blue alicorn.  And I want it by tomorrow! Go now, before I decide to kill you after all.  If you're not back with the information by next evening star-set I'll have the whole company whipped!"         "Yes your Majesty, right away, your Majesty. Thank you, your Majesty."  The pegasus scurried from her presence with remarkable speed.           The black alicorn returned to her throne and settled on it, her face creased with unaccustomed lines of worry.  She was very familiar with the alicorn the dogs had described, but that description was an impossibility. The Princess Luna had died the day Nightmare Moon had thrown that name aside to take a new one, and no living pony had ever set eyes on her to know to counterfeit her appearance.  No living pony in Equestria, at least.  Her eyes narrowed.  "Perhaps it's time for me to check in on my dear sister," she murmured.         "We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of our good friend Marie Mare."  Pinkie Pie stood on the dais at one end of the room, with the various rebels and freed slaves looking up at her.  Pinkie's mane was as bright and fluffy as ever, but her smile held a hint of a deep, aching sadness. She had spoken words like these far too often over the past year.  "There is much to celebrate.  She was a kind, capable mayor for many years, and when mean ol' Black Snooty came, she was one of the first to stand up to her.  She was also my friend, and a friend to a lot of you.  So it's okay if we all cry just a little."         She paused, and Twilight, standing among the gathered ponies, saw the sparkle of tears in Pinkie's eyes.  "But we should all smile too, and remember all the good things about her.  So please, anyone who wants to come and share happy memories, come up and speak."         Twilight stayed where she was while ponies began to file forward.  She was once again reminded of how much of an outsider she was here.  It would feel presumptuous for her to try to speak.  She had not lived through the past year with these ponies, though just now she felt as though it had been a decade or so since she'd stepped through the portal.  She tuned out the eulogies and closed her eyes, letting her head sag wearily.  She was so very tired.  Her head sagged further, then jerked up as she felt a soft touch on her shoulder.         She glanced over to find Luna standing beside her, while all around ponies scattered, the funeral apparently ended.  "When did you last sleep, Twilight?" asked Luna.  Twilight blinked at her tiredly for a moment.           "Uhm.  In Manehattan?"         "You did not rest before we set out to rescue Rarity?"         "No.  I couldn't sleep.  I kept thinking of things that might go wrong with our plans.  I sat up all night thinking up backup plans in case of any possible emergency."  She smiled a bit wryly.  "Though of course none of those emergencies were anything like what actually went wrong."         "You did well all the same.  I am not sure I could have come up with such a plan.  And it seems to have worked.  Though..." she hesitated.  "I know you need sleep, but we cannot rest now.  Pinkie has said, and I agree, that we must move from here.  It is no longer safe.  There is a camp in the forest where we may make our final plans before setting out for Canterlot."         Twilight nodded.  A scout had reported seeing a flight of Shadowbolts over the forest near where Luna's portal from the mine had emerged, though thankfully all the rescued ponies had been well away from it by then.  But there was no doubt that Nightmare Moon would have reason to cast suspicious eyes on the Everfree Forest, and the castle was far too close to the portal's entrance for them to stay.  They had paused only to honor Marie, who'd been killed when the diamond dogs brought down their tunnels, and to gather what supplies they could before leaving.  "I'll be all right," she said.  "I've stayed up longer than this before, after all."         Luna chuckled softly.  "Yes.  Though I am told you made a few somewhat... questionable decisions when last you chose to go without sleep."         Twilight managed a small smile.  "Well, yes.  Still, I can rest once we've reached the new camp, right?"         "Indeed."         Most of the ponies had left the room by now, and Twilight followed, weary to the bone with a tiredness that was as much spiritual as physical.  It was easy enough to put one hoof in front of another.  It was harder to think about where those hoofsteps would lead.  She knew she ought to be feeling excited and confident. They'd done the impossible and gathered all six Elements in one place.  Victory was nearly at hand.  She tried to focus on that, but her mind kept circling back to dark things.  To the funeral, and Marie's death.  To all those who had died.  To Spike, who she missed intensely, and to her other self, who had failed, and died, and caused all those other deaths.  Including Spike's.   Somehow that thought was enough to bring her to the edge of tears.  Even though she knew her Spike was alive and well, waiting for her back home, knowing that this Spike was dead, and that this universe's Twilight had lead to that death, made her want to weep.  It didn't make sense, but she felt tears gathering in her eyes as she walked all the same.         The walk to the new camp didn't take very long, but with her mind trapped in thoughts of death and failure it seemed like an eternity to Twilight.  She was pathetically grateful when they finally arrived and it was time to gather for one last planning session.           She got her notes from her saddlebag, taking comfort from the rustle of paper in her hooves.  With everypony else gathering around beneath a giant mushroom she didn't have time to read through them all one last time as she might have liked, but she did smile a little at the top page, where her checklist of the Elements was now complete.  Seeing that made her feel just a bit more hopeful. They had come this far, surely they could win!         Once the six elements and Luna had all gathered around, all eyes turned to Twilight.  "So what's the plan?" asked Rainbow Dash         "Now we need to get us six in front of Nightmare Moon."         "So we get to storm the castle!" said Pinkie Pie exuberantly.           Twilight smiled a little.  "Yes."         "That will not be easy," said Rarity with a frown.           "Have you been inside the castle since Nightmare Moon took over?" asked Twilight.  "I used to live there, but I'm sure she's changed things."         "Yes.  My trial, after I was caught aiding badgeless ponies in Canterlot, was there.  Though I didn't see Nightmare Moon herself.  I think the largest problem is going to be getting in the front gate.  They do generally keep the drawbridge down, but there are always at least four guards stationed there, the whole thing is wrapped in a dozen protective spells, and there's also the dragon."         "Dragon!"  That was Applejack.  "We're goin' ta have ta fight a dragon?"         "Oh no, no, it's not like that!" said Rarity reassuringly.  "Why the little thing could hardly hurt a filly, it's just a baby.  But the guards use it to send messages instantly to each other with dragon's fire.  The captain of the Black Corps will know as soon as we assault the gate, and he can coordinate the defenses.  We'll have half the Corps right on top of us before we can get across the drawbridge!"         Twilight had barely heard anything Rarity had said after the words "just a baby".  She felt like she'd been hit between the eyes.  "Wait... what did this baby dragon look like?"         "He had purple scales and green spines.  Quite a handsome little fellow, for a dragon. Though he kept staring at me rather strangely the whole time I was at the gatehouse."         Twilight felt her heart jump. That had to be Spike! He was alive!  She tried to gather her scattered wits.  They needed to plan.  Spike being alive didn't change anything.  But it changes everything, whispered some part of her.  She shook herself.  No, she couldn't let this sidetrack her from the plans they needed to make!         Luna thankfully stepped in.  "So.  Our challenges are the guards, the protective spells, and the messages that will summon more guards.  I think, actually, that none of those will pose much of a problem.  Our only goal is to get you six to the throne room.  Secrecy will not matter, nor will much else.  I believe if I summon my full power I can easily dispel any wards, neutralize any guards, and prevent the dragon from summoning help.  Of course the instant I do, Nightmare Moon will know we are there, but within minutes we can be at the throne room, and it will not matter what she knows."         Twilight managed to pull herself together.  "Yes," she said.  "If you can clear a path for us, we can run straight from the gate to the throne room in only seven minutes." She smiled.  "I've, uhm, had reason to run that path as fast as possible a few times when I was a student."         "Then we have our plan," said Luna, sounding satisfied.  There was a general murmur of agreement from the others.  Looking across their faces, Twilight saw a certain amount of apprehension, but mostly she saw determination. She felt her heart lift to see it.  Her friends were with her. They could do this.  And Spike might be alive after all.  Surely that was a good omen.         As the other ponies settled in to sleep, Twilight found herself still thinking about Spike.  Was he happy?  Did the guards treat him well?  What would he think if he saw her?  Did he know that his Twilight Sparkle was dead, or had she simply gone away and never come back?           And what if it wasn't Spike?  There were other dragons in the world.  There could be some other young purple dragon at the castle.  Maybe Spike was still dead after all.         Twilight rolled over restlessly.  It was still cold and her blanket was somewhat inadequate, but she was tired enough she should have been able to sleep soundly.  It was thoughts of Spike that were keeping her up.  No matter how she tried to still her mind, she couldn't keep it from running through dozens of scenarios.  Spike chained to the wall in the castle, starving and miserable.  Spike lying dead somewhere. Spike waiting home alone for a pony who would never return.  Spike crying over her death.           Finally she gave up on sleep for the moment and rose.  The blue unicorn stallion standing watch, whose name she couldn't recall, nodded at her but didn't ask questions as she made her way to a spot far enough into the mushroom grove to not wake anypony.  She started to pace back and forth.  It must be Spike that Rarity had seen.  He'd even stared at her, no doubt stunned by her beauty, as the Spike of her own world had been.  But maybe it wasn't.  Maybe he was still dead.  Maybe Rarity had some certain something that appealed to dragons in general.  For all Twilight knew it was another dragon, thinking about his dinner as he stared at the gems on Rarity's flank!           She paced faster, her mind racing around and around on the same track.  Spike alive. Spike dead.  Spike alive. Spike dead.  Spike alive.  Spike dead.  Like some kind of Schrodinger's dragon, she thought, half-crazed, her eyes a little wild.           "Maybe I have to collapse the wave form then!"  She stopped pacing and stood, shifting uncertainly, as the idea she hadn't even meant to speak aloud spread through her mind.  If she could just know whether Spike was alive or not...  Suddenly she knew exactly how Applejack must have felt back in Manehattan.  She had to know.  But that was crazy!  She couldn't just scry here.  Even if she had water to scry in, using unicorn magic in the Everfree would get her noticed, possibly caught, and ruin everything.           She started pacing again.  Surely there was a solution?  Surely she should be able to think of something.  If she wasn't anywhere near her friends... and Nightmare Moon had failed to notice short duration magic before, hadn't she?  She could cast the spell swiftly, and then teleport away.  That would be safe enough, wouldn't it?         Before she even realized she'd decided, she started trotting further from the camp, in the direction of the ruins of Ponyville.  When she'd put a fair distance between herself and the camp she teleported ahead.  Teleportation, or winking as the art had been called in ancient times, was line of sight. In open space that meant one could go a great distance, but in the forest it was more limited. Still it moved her faster than her hooves alone could have.           Soon she arrived at Ponyville.  The fountain at the center still held some brackish water, and though frost rimmed the edges of it, and it was choked with decaying matter and fungal growths, a patch was free of ice and smooth enough to scry in.  She cast the by now familiar spell swiftly... but the water stayed empty.  Twilight frowned, then smacked herself in the forehead with a hoof.  Of course it wasn't going to work; she'd tried to scry Spike before and failed.  "I really do need to sleep, I'm not thinking clearly," muttered Twilight.  What had Luna said?  If a scrying spell didn't find somebody, it meant they were either dead or... or... surrounded by powerful magic, that was it.  And Spike was living in Canterlot.  Right at the palace itself.  Of course he was surrounded by magic.  Perhaps Nightmare Moon had even bound him in some kind of spell to force him to serve her...         Twilight's eyes went up, to where she could see Canterlot itself, far off in the distance.  The moon was still brilliant overhead, and the light was more than bright enough for her to see the palace clinging the peak above the city.           Spike was at the gatehouse.         Which Twilight could just make out in the distance.         A straight line of sight.         There was a feverish light in Twilight's eyes as she stared at the spot where Spike surely must be.  Surely.  But perhaps not.  He might be dead.  And she had to know!         She knew it was insane.  Somewhere under the froth of worry and fear, she knew that.         But all she could think of was Spike.  Spike dead.  Spike alive.  Spike dead.  Spike alive.         Twilight stood staring across the miles at the tiny speck of the palace gatehouse for a long, long moment.         Then her horn lit and she winked out of existence.         With a flash of magic, Twilight Sparkle appeared on the road in front of the gatehouse.  It hadn't really been built for defense; before Nightmare Moon had taken over the simple structure had provided an antechamber before ponies entered the palace proper.  It was still structurally the same, and the doors still stood open, almost as if in mockery of Celestia's policy that anypony could gain access at any time, but they were now flanked by a pair of stern, black-armored unicorn guards.  More could be seen inside the door, where across the modest chamber a second, closed, pair of doors lead into the palace proper.         The guardsponies' horns glowed, both leveled threateningly at Twilight.  She, however, completely ignored them, peering into the chamber beyond, scanning among the ponies for a glimpse of purple and green scales.           She spotted Spike at the exact same time he spotted her.  He stood among the guards, seemingly free and unfettered.  Twilight had nearly expected to find him chained to a wall, or wearing a magical collar, or bearing some other restraint, but there was no sign of any such.  He looked sleek and well-fed as well, and Twilight felt a shock, and then a second shock as she realized how much it had hurt, seeing all her friends so abused.  She smiled, a tear starting in her eye, to see Spike looking so well.         Spike continued to stare at her for a long moment.  Then he said softly, disbelievingly, "Twilight?"         "Yes, it's me," said Twilight.         One of the unicorns flanking the gate turned to Spike.  "You know this mare?" he asked.         Spike nodded, and Twilight was puzzled to see his expression harden into one of grim determination.  "Yes," he said, his voice rough with... anger?  "I know her.  This is the traitor Twilight Sparkle.  Arrest her!"         Twilight felt as though the world had dropped out from under her hooves.  "W-what?" she stammered, even as the unicorn guards ran to tackle her, their horns flaring with magic.  She knew some basic combat spells, she should have been able to fight at least some of them off, but she was so stunned that all she could do was stand there as their magic enveloped her.         She was still staring at Spike as the guards clapped manacles around her hooves and dragged her away.         Luna seldom needed sleep.  After all they had done, however, and with the prospect of seeing Nightmare Moon tomorrow, she had felt she needed a full night's worth.  Not that "a full night" had any meaning anymore.         So she woke feeling rested and energized, though once more she felt an ache to wake in darkness.  How she missed the sun!           She turned to find Twilight, but there was no sign of her.  Other ponies were stirring around her, though most still slept.  She rose, a flash of concern running through her.  Twilight had looked so strung-out and exhausted that Luna had expected to find her still asleep.  If she was awake already had something gone wrong?         Pinkie Pie was up, and when Luna approached her she was greeted with a cheer that seemed to indicate no disaster had fallen during the night.  "Good morning!  Not that it's really morning since there's no sunlight, but there will be sunlight soon, I just know it!  Nightmare Snooty is going down!"         Luna smiled at Pinkie's enthusiasm.  "Have you seen Twilight yet?"         "Nope.  No sign of her."         Luna frowned.  "She was already awake when you arose?"         "I guess so."  Pinkie frowned too.  "That isn't right, is it?  She looked so tired, she should still be sawing big ol' logs."         "That was my thought as well."         "I'll go look for her."         "As will I."  Ponies were getting up and making breakfast preparations in the moonlight all around, and Luna circled the group three times, meeting Pinkie Pie again several times as she did so, before concluding that Twilight Sparkle wasn't merely unnoticed amid the milling ponies, but actually gone.  She felt a whisper of fear that might spill over into a scream of terror at any moment.  Twilight couldn't be gone.  They needed her, or everything they'd done so far would be in vain.           A pale shape glimpsed out of the corner of her eye was Dale.  The big stallion nosed her gently.  "It'll be all right.  We'll find her," he said.           "I hope so," said Luna.         Pinkie Pie bounded up to her.  "Pokey Pierce saw her get up and go out into the woods a little after midnight," said Pinkie.         "Why would she do such a thing?" asked Luna.         "Dunno!"         Luna's wings twitched, and she spent a moment carefully refolding them, trying to cling to her composure.  Very well.  Twilight had gone off into the forest for some reason.  They had to find her.  "Can anypony track her?"         "No."  Pinkie looked more sober than usual as she shook her head.  "Tracking in this mess of mushrooms and dead leaves and rotting things is nearly impossible.  That's been good for us, usually but... no."         "I see.  Very well."         Luna took a deep breath. She would not panic.  She would not panic.  So they could not track Twilight physically.  They would have to track her magically.  And since she still could not simply cast a spell that would run continuously, such as the spell that would trace Twilight's track, she would have to resort to scrying.  Again.         "Pinkie... get everypony ready to go.  I will go find Twilight.  We'll head out to Canterlot as soon as I return."         "Okey dokey lokey!" said Pinkie Pie.         Luna set off at a gallop away from the camp.  Best not to cast the spell amid the ponies, lest she attract Nightmare Moon's attention before they were ready.  The nearest standing water she could think of was in Ponyville and so, unknowingly, she retraced Twilight Sparkle's steps to the choked fountain at the heart of the town.  Dale ran beside her, a reassuring but silent presence.         She felt the faint traces of magic around the still puddle when she arrived, and something about that made her heart sink.  If Twilight had come here to scry, what had she been looking for?  What could have happened in the night to change all her plans?         Luna cast the scrying spell and peered into the water, hoping for answers.           It remained empty.         Something in her stomach tightened.  She tried again.  Still, nothing.           A third try, with more power behind it, and Luna thought she saw a brief flicker of something.  She gathered all her power to her and cast the spell once more, throwing everything short of the moon itself into it.  Her horn blazed with light, and the water glowed with brilliant fury.  Twilight was alive and Luna would find her!         Suddenly a scene burst into view at the center of the daylight-bright puddle.  It was Twilight, alive!  But her hooves were chained together and she was shuffling between a pair of black-clad guards.           Even as Luna's heart leapt in relief she felt something brush against her magic.  A touch both familiar and alien at once.  Instantly Luna cut off the spell and threw up every kind of shield and hiding spell she could think of.           "Quick, run for the forest!" she cried.  Some physical strike might be reaching out at any moment.  She thought she might have dropped the spell and shielded herself swiftly enough to keep Nightmare Moon from scrying her in return, but she knew she couldn't prevent her darker self from finding the location she'd cast the spell at, even if she couldn't find the caster.  It was time to move, and fast.           They raced through the deserted town and into the forest beyond.  Rotten logs broke beneath their hooves, their hearts pounded, their breath came in gasps as they sprinted as fast as they could.         Suddenly behind them there was a thundering boom.  Purple-green light flashed as a bolt of magic stabbed down from the star-strewn sky.  Luna glanced back, and though she couldn't see it through the trees she suspected that there was now a smoking crater at the heart of Ponyville.         She slowed to a trot, and Dale slowed as well.  "Now what?" he asked.         Luna frowned, and that thread of panic returned.  Twilight was alive, but Twilight wasn't here.  Twilight had made all their plans, and now all those plans had gone right out the window!  They couldn't just charge into Canterlot now.  They would need time to find Twilight and bring her and the other Elements to wherever Nightmare Moon was.  How would they buy that time?  Luna might fight off Nightmare Moon herself for a while, but could just a few dozen ponies battle all of her guards long enough?  Pinkie's rebels were hardened and experienced, but they made up only about a third of their force.  The freed slaves were willing but not as able.  They wouldn't stand a chance on their own.  What was she supposed to do?         "You'll think of something," said Dale, answering her thought as he sometimes did.         "Will I?  Twilight is the one who has planned all this so far.  I..."         "You have planned many things in your life."         "But nothing like this.  I have planned experiments.  I have planned social gatherings.  I have never planned a desperate rescue attempt.  Every time I have needed to do something truly important, somepony else has planned it.  Usually Celestia.  Every time except..."  She halted, shivering.  She had planned Celestia's defeat and her revenge on her own.  This horrible world of dark and decay was the direct result of that particular plan.         "You are not her," Dale said softly.         "I know.  And yet I was.  For so very, very long, I was.  I know too well how she thinks, Dale.  'Tis so easy to know what she will do.  Yet that does not tell me what I must do now!"         "What would Twilight Sparkle do?"         Luna blinked.  Then she smiled just a little. "Make a list, no doubt."         "Then let's go make a list.  And you can ask Pinkie Pie as well.  She probably knows a good bit by now about desperate attempts."         Luna nodded and increased her pace.  Yes, she would ask Pinkie Pie. And she might even make a list as well.         Back at the camp Luna saw that the ponies were ready to leave.  She swiftly found Pinkie Pie and explained that Twilight had been captured.           "Oh, cupcakes!  That's not good.  That's the total and complete in every way opposite of good!"         "Indeed.  I do not know how best to proceed, Pinkie.  The plan Twilight created for our assault relied on speed.  I would occupy Nightmare Moon whilst your ponies helped the elements run to the throne room and destroy her.  Yet now we must first find Twilight!  She must be within the palace complex, for who else could have captured her?  Yet the palace is large, and the catacombs within the mountain larger still!  How can we gain the time to locate her?  While I might fight Nightmare Moon to a standstill and buy as much time as needed from her, you and your ponies could not hold out against her guards for long."         "Not alone we can't," began Pinkie.  She was grinning suddenly.  "But if we had a little friend in our corner..."         Luna blinked at her.  "A little friend?"         "Yep!  And I know just the guy!  I've been saving him for a special occasion.  I figured someday I could bring him to the palace, when there was nothing left to lose and hay, why not, right?  Then you and Twilight changed my plans, and your way was lots better than that!  But now, well... we have nothing left to lose, don't we?  We get Twilight back and Black Snooty goes poof, or we don't and everything is mushrooms and darkness forever and ever and ever."         "I... uh..."  Luna had no idea what Pinkie had just said.         "Come on!  I'll show you," said Pinkie.         An hour later they were back at the ruined palace, but they didn't go to the old throne room this time, nor to the chamber of the Elements.  Instead Pinkie Pie led the way down to the ravine that lay between the palace and the Everfree forest.  There was a narrow path that wound down to the base of it, and there, in the near-pitch blackness, there was a door.  "It's super-secret," said Pinkie Pie.  "It goes into the basement, but you can't get there from the palace anymore, the stairs fell in a loooong time ago."         Luna nodded.  She remembered the basement entrance, though in her day a spell had hidden the door.         Inside it was so dark that Luna had to light the smallest possible spark of magic at the tip of her horn to show the way.  Pinkie guided them down a passageway carved from living rock.  Behind her came Luna, and Dale and Big Macintosh followed.  Pinkie had insisted that both big stallions come along, saying cryptically that they'd be needed.         After several minutes they emerged into a larger space.  The dim light didn't show it very clearly, but Luna could just make out a stack of crates in the middle of the room.  She followed Pinkie over to them.         Pinkie reached out and caressed one of them with a hoof.  "Here we go!  Say hello to my little friend!  His name is Trinitrotoluene.  Trinitrotoluene, meet Luna."         Luna blinked at the boxes, and for a moment the long word Pinkie had used was meaningless.  Then she saw the much more familiar letters stamped on the side of each crate and her eyes went wide.         "Is that..."         "It most definitely and indubitably is!"  Pinkie's grin was as broad as Luna had ever seen it, and her hoof once more, with loving tenderness, caressed the crate of TNT.