The power flooded out, in a wave of rainbow light that did not just erase the darkness from every last corner of the ruined castle, wash away the illusion that Nightmare Moon had cast to make the place seem whole again and return the soul of the prisoner down in the cells below, but spread out through the forest, breaking down the Challenge that had silenced the entire forest and cut it off from the outside world before continuing out into Ponyville and consuming the mist that had spread out from the forest, finally dying out as it reached the edge of the corruption.
Not that fillies were aware of any of that, the flare within the castle had overwhelmed them, leaving them flash blinded and sprawled on the ground. Applejack was the first to awaken and she gazed around blearily, trying to work out why her head felt like it had exploded and why the others were unconscious on the ground.
“Fluttershy?” She asked, nudging the nearest pony to her and becoming relieved when the pale yellow Pegasus filly stirred and opened her eyes, shaking her head slightly to shift her mane so she could see their surroundings properly.
“Wh…what happened?” Fluttershy asked as the others started coming around. “And…oh wow…look at your necklace! It’s lovely!” She gestured to the golden collar which had an amber apple with emerald leaves embedded amongst the swirling pattern engraved in the shining gold.
“Yours is too.” Rarity informed her, her hoof going from her own amethyst diamond to the rose quartz butterfly with its golden setting that rested around Fluttershy’s neck.
“Look at mine, look at mine!” Pinkie Pie was the first to get to her feet and she bounced around the courtyard, moving over to Twilight’s side, allowing the pony, who had reverted to her unicorn form when she had passed out, to see the pale blue topaz balloon on her collar.
“I don’t do jewellery.” Rainbow Dash commented as she found a reflective surface and looked at the ruby lightning bolt within her necklace, “But I think I can make an exception for something as cool as this.”
“Twilight’s is the prettiest.” Pinkie said bluntly, gesturing to the diadum, which, with its odd patterns and pink garnet star, looked unique.
“What happened to the Princess?” Twilight asked, looking for the alicorn, unaware of what had happened while she had been transformed. The Princess who had been struck directly by the rainbow of power, was led at the foot of the tree. Free of the darkness, which seemed to have been burned away by the bright light of Harmony, Luna looked about the same age as them. Her coat was a gorgeous midnight blue and her mane and tail was much shorter, though they still looked like the night sky. The purple unicorn could finally get a good view of the Princess’s cutie mark as she carefully approached, the almost black splodge on her rear had a silver crescent moon on it.
It was a good symbol for the Moon Goddess, Twilight decided as she lowered herself at Luna’s side and gently nudged her with her muzzle. “Excuse me, Princess Luna?”
The Alicorn blearily opened her eyes, seeming dazed and confused as she blinked around at the ponies who were slowly gathering around her. They came to a stop on Twilight and a small frown graced her features, “You were an Alicorn...” She shook her head as if trying to clear her head, “Are you all, alright?”
“I do that,” Twilight told her softly, a smile on her features as she nodded and supported the exhausted looking Princess as she got to her feet, noting that her mane was fading to an odd pale shade of cloudy grey and blue. “I should ask the same of you, you’re not hurt are you?”
“No, but I need to get down to the dungeons.” Luna staggered and leaned into Twilight as her hooves scuffed the floor.
“Easy, easy.” Fluttershy murmured as she got on the alicorn’s other side, “You were a lot bigger a few minutes ago, you just need to adjust. Let us help.”
“I…” For a moment the ponies were worried that Princess Luna would not let them as she held herself proud and tall, proving herself just a little taller than them all. Then her shoulders sank and her gaze turned towards the ground. “It would be for the best, thank you. My sister…It has been many years since I have seen her like this and I do not…” She trailed off, looking worried. “She will hate me for all I did…”
“I’ve known Princess Celestia since I was a filly.” Twilight told her quietly, making the others lean in a little to hear, wanting to hear more about their new friend, “She took me on as her private student when I lost control of my magic and hatched a baby dragon’s egg. In the time I’ve studied under her, I’ve heard story after story about you, how you two worked and played together. About all those…I guess I have to call them pranks that you both played on the nobles… she misses you. I can tell.”
“How can she?” Luna demanded, staring at her with wide, slightly wild eyes, “How could she ever forgive me for what I have done?”
“It wasn’t you, darling.” Rarity built up the courage to reassure her, looking a little nervous though it was hard to tell if it was because Luna had been a raving lunatic just a few minutes ago or whether it was because the Princess was, after all, a Princess and deserved some respect. “It was that beastly Shadow thing we drove out of you.”
“Tha’s right,” Applejack agreed, “Yer sister’s gonna know that, jus’ like we do. I bet she can’ wait to see yer again.”
“And we’ll be there, so it won’t be so scary.” Fluttershy offered, giving her a shy smile as she spoke, “Things are always less scary in a group.”
“And I can always make her laugh if she’s too mad. Though I need to reload the party cannon…” Pinkie Pie’s comments did not entirely help. In fact the mention of a ‘party cannon’ made Princess Luna stare at her in confusion, still she started forward, guiding the others down to the dungeons.
Without the Shadows embedded in every nook and cranny the castle did not seem as foreboding. The black stone was actually a marbled grey that actually looked rather pretty in the shimmering moonlight and the silver detailing looked a lot less menacing with nothing casting horrid and terrifying shadows up the walls.
Luna’s head sank further and further as they went and it took Twilight a moment to realise what was wrong. When she did she felt like she could kick herself. All those stories she had been told had taken place here. This palace had been her home. She had lived and played here. The last time Princess Luna had walked these halls, the castle had been whole and glorious and she had ruled alongside her sister.
The time she had spent on the moon had ravaged the palace, aging the stone and allowing the Everfree Forest to take it over. Now she could see clearly, the crumbling brickwork had plants growing up it and in several places she could see where animals had made their homes amongst the rubble.
It was a worrying reminder that poor Princess Luna would have a thousand years of Equestrian history to catch up on. She would have to adjust to a country that had changed drastically in her absence and find her new place in the system.
Twilight turned to look at the alicorn at her side, letting out a sigh when she saw that she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. “Princess Luna?” She asked gently.
“Yes, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna did not look up, but she sounded relieved about something, probably for being dragged out of the mire that her thoughts had become.
“If you need any help…adjusting.” The unicorn hesitated to offer but she remembered what Celestia had told her about Luna often feeling lonely and that she had fallen to the Shadows because she had felt alone. She knew that problem. Until she had met the others, she had felt like she did not really have any friends except for Spike. “You know, to the modern era, I’d like to help.”
Luna’s head shot up and she watched her for a couple of seconds, pausing to consider her properly, “If you’re offering for my sister’s sake I don’t…”
“No!” Twilight shook her head rapidly, backing up slightly and bumping into Pinkie Pie, “No, I just…I’m different, I don’t fit in easily. So I know what it’s like to need someone you can just spend time with at the end of a difficult day. If you want to just talk, or just need somewhere to escape from the pressures of your day…night job…”
Luna looked honestly surprised, then she smiled, a bright smile that lit up her features and chased away some of the worries that Twilight had had. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. I will think on it.” She looked around, “I think it’s this way.”
She headed down the nearest stairs and led them down a set of partially eroded stairs into a dark, dank corridor that was lit by the occasional hole in the ceiling that let light through. They navigated the rubble carefully as they headed past what had clearly once been a guard post and along a row of cells that whose bars were partially rusted or worse.
Twilight was relieved to see a light coming from one of the cells, the glow from within cast the shadows of the bars across the corridor and she darted up the corridor to find her teacher led on the floor, looking exhusted, her horn glowing with a bright golden light, allowing the unicorn and the alicorn to see each other clearly.
“Twilight! You’re safe.” Celestia breathed, her entire body relaxing as she stared at her student, “You need to be careful, Nightmare Moon…why are you smiling like that?”
“Princess Celestia.” Twilight bowed and backed up slightly as Applejack pushed Luna forward, “May I reintroduce Princess Luna.”
“Umm, hello my sister…” Luna looked nervous as she unlocked the cell door, “It’s been a long time.”
“It has.” Celestia towered over her sister as she got to her feet, making every pony there nervous as she gazed down at her sister, “I…Luna, my dear sister…” Luna’s back straightened and she looked hopeful at those words, “Can you ever forgive me?”
“F…forgive you?” Luna’s voice shook as she spoke, staring at the older alicorn in shock, “I am the one who needs to be forgiven.”
“No, my sister. I am the one who should be begging for your mercy. If it was not for my actions, you would not have fallen to the Shadows. I failed you when I let you go, when I had to send you away and again when I could not free you like I had promised. My student, Twilight Sparkle, proved to be stronger than I in more than one way.” She nodded to the purple unicorn who looked stunned at the admission, “Luna,” She turned back to her sister, “I would like nothing more than for you to rejoin me and rule at my side once again, as sisters,” She hesitated, “And as friends.”
“R…really?” The honest, open joy and hope in her tone kind of made the young fillies listening in feel like they were intruding.
“Really, I promise.” Before Celestia had finished talking Luna had pressed herself against the white alicorn and burst into tears.
“I’ve missed… you so much.” Luna sobbed, “It’s been…so dark…and cold…”
“It’s okay, you’re okay now.” Celestia reassured her as the other ponies backed up, giving them some room. Through the holes in the ceiling they could see the night time turning into the day and before too long, bright sunlight was pouring through, decimating the last of the creepy feeling brought on by the shadowy cells.
Above them they could hear the sounds of hooves pounding on the ground, confusing the ponies until Twilight heard someone calling, “Twilight?! Twilight Sparkle! Twily!”
“Shiny?” Twilight breathed, the biggest smile her new friends had ever seen from her gracing her features as she bolted for the exit, “Shining Armour!”
“Who’s Shining Armour again?” She heard Rarity asking as her friends followed her up. She did not pause to answer them, instead bolting towards the source of the noise, only to find her brother was there with a group of guards and Spike on his back. Not that the baby dragon was there very long. The moment he saw her he scrambled off of the unicorn stallion’s back and crashed into Twilight, leaping at her and hugging her tightly.
“Twily!” Her brother rushed over before Spike could say anything and the bright smile on his features when he saw she was safe and sound was all she needed to press herself against him and rest her head on his shoulder. The stallion nuzzled her in reply, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you.” Twilight responded, leaning against him. “But I had to…” She felt her brother stiffen and stand to attention and pulled away, turning to see what he was looking at. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had emerged from the stairwell and every guard there looked torn between saluting and trying to arrest the smaller of the two Princesses.
“It’s alright everypony.” Celestia informed them, her regal ponya pushing through the exhaustion that was so clear in her stance and posture. “My sister is back, properly. You don’t have to fear, she’s herself again. Thanks to Twilight Sparkle.”
Shining Armour glanced at his sister, shocked, finally noting the fact she was wearing a completed puzzle and a golden diadem, the gem in which glinted with a purple light that was very similar to the purple glow weaving through the cracks between pieces of the puzzle.
“Twily…” Her brother breathed, “What…happened? Some pony told me you’d turned into an alicorn.”
“We can talk about it later,” Celestia chuckled, heading for the chariots, “There’s something that we really should do first. After all, a certain set of ponies worked very hard to set up a lovely party for me and it would be a shame to waste all that effort.”
Twilight grinned and led her brother over to the same chariot as her group of surprised but delighted friends. He hesitated, not quite sure how to approach the group of ponies. “Umm, Twily, I don’t know your friends.”
“It’s alright, Shiny. They’re nice.” Twilight chuckled, feeling a little odd introducing her brother to her friends rather than the other way around. “They don’t bite.”
“I do.” Pinkie Pie protested, bouncing around, “I bite cupcakes and cookies and candies and…”
“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack sounded exasperated but amused, “Tha’s not what Twilight meant and you know it.”
“Shiny, these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy.” Twilight pointed to each of them in turn, “Everypony, this is my brother, Shining Armour.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Rarity looked him over, curious, “Are you from Canterlot too?”
“Uhh, yes.” He nodded, wondering why her eyes widened and she suddenly looked fascinated at that, “I’m the Captain of the Palace Guards.”
“Really?” Rainbow Dash asked as he herded them into the largest chariot, planning to get them back to Ponyville in it, “That’s so cool!”
“I’ll tell you more about it once we’re back in Ponyville, promise.” Shining Armour chuckled, gesturing for a couple of his strongest pegasi guards to take the reins as Spike scrambled onto Twilight’s back, hugging her neck tightly. Twilight adjusted slightly so he could get comfortable, but Spike refused to move.
“Not going anywhere.” He grumbled, “You were gone forever. I thought…”
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight apologised as they lifted off, “I didn’t think…It took a little longer than I thought, can you forgive me?”
“Only if you promise not to leave me behind next time.” The dragonet, who had not slept properly all night, grouched as he started falling asleep.
“Hopefully there won’t be a next time.” Fluttershy whispered, her voice barely carrying over the sound of the wind as they travelled at high speed over the top of the trees.
Twilight did not say anything in response to that. She kind of hoped that there would not be a next time too, but she was almost certain there would be. The Shadows had made it perfectly clear that there was some pony out there, some other Princess, who would not be happy to see her if they ever met. Twilight could almost guarantee that at some point that Princess would come calling. So yes, this would probably happen again.
She did not think that this was the time to tell her exhausted, tired and injured friends though. In fact it was possible that it would not matter for much longer if the Ponyville crew knew or not. She was going home tomorrow after all. Her shoulders sank as she thought about it. She was not really looking forward to it.
While Canterlot was her home and she missed it a little, she did not want to go back to school and have to deal with the bullies again. The only highlights of her time in Canterlot were the rare moments she got to hang out with her brother, or her classes with her mentor. The entire rest of her time in school was spent either putting up with snide comments from her classmates or living in the library. She had had more fun in Ponyville in a day than she had had in Canterlot in years.
And soon it would be over and as much as she loved studying under Princess Celestia, she did not think she could easily go back to being lonely and hated by her fellow classmates. It would be boring and she would go crazy. At least, she supposed, she could always send the others letters. It would not be the same, but it was better than nothing.
“Twilight?” Rarity asked as she watched the part-time Princess’s head sink and rest against the edge of the chariot, “Are you alright, darling?”
“I’m…okay. I guess.” Twilight replied, the events of the last day and a bit catching up to her as she felt the weariness sink into every fibre of her being.
“Yer don’ sound okay.” Applejack frowned, nudging her lightly.
“I...” Twilight turned to look at them, a small, sad smile on her face, “I’m going to miss you fillies.”
“Awww, we’ll miss you too, darling.” Rarity hugged her, carefully so she did not awaken Spike, “But we’ll come and visit, right?” She asked the others.
“Totally,” Rainbow Dash nodded, lifting off and making the chariot judder slightly as she went, “I could get to Canterlot and back in a flash!”
“And the rest of us can get the train there, it’s just a little trip.” Fluttershy offered, with a nod, “I’m sure I can find some pony to look after my animals while I’m away.”
“And when we get there I’ll throw a big party!” Pinkie Pie giggled at her. “So you won’t feel so blue.”
“An’ I’ll bring some o’ ma apple pies for you ter share with yer friends in Canterlot.” Applejack promised, only to watch as Twilight’s shoulders sank further, “What? What’s wrong Twi?”
“I don’t…you lot are the only friends I have, besides Spike and my brother…” Twilight admitted, though she was embarrassed to do so.
“Well that’s no fun.” Pinkie pouted as she sat down and thought about it.
“Then we’ll just have to visit lots, darling.” Rarity promised, crossing her heart as she did.
“It’s just a shame you can’t stay in Ponyville.” Rainbow commented as Ponyville loomed on the horizon. “We’re way cooler anyway. By about twenty percent.”
“I don’t know about that, Rainbow.” Rarity partly scolded as they started coming in to land in the main square of the village, not far from the town hall. “Canterlot is very different from Ponyville, you really shouldn’t compare them.”
“If Twilight prefers here to there, then Ponyville’s obviously better.” Rainbow shrugged, unconcerned with Rarity’s irritation. The white unicorn opened her mouth to retort but she did not get a chance to utter a word before they touched down with barely a bounce.