“Uh, Twilight?”
“... But if it’s a regular celebration, they won’t have any books! I wonder if they have a library…”
“Twilight!”
“... but they probably wouldn’t be open anyways- I mean, it is the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. What kinda name is Ponyville, anyways?”
“Twilight!” Spike finally manages to garnish Twilight’s attention, waving Equestria: A History in front of her nose.
“What Spike?” Twilight catches the book, reviewing the pages he had it open at. “The mare in the moon?”
“Yes! The prophecy says-”
Twilight cuts him off. “Yes, yes, the prophecy says Nightmare Moon comes back on the longest night of the thousandth year, I know. Fun fact, it’s just a little fillies tale- she’s not real!” She sets the book aside, not glancing at the cover, to focus on her assistant. “My parents are going to give me serious trouble if I don’t go to the celebration tonight! Seriously, I need to do some quick research- first, does Ponyville have a library?”
Spike hangs his head, claws drooping disappointedly. “You told me about Ponyville’s Golden Oak Library yesterday.”
“It does? Good. Then, what kind of selection does it have?”
“It’s not as big as we are here- but how are we supposed to find out without visiting?”
This gives Twilight pause. “Good point. We’re gonna have to bring plenty of books, then. We’ll have to be sure to cover the time before and after the ceremony, not just the train rides. To the packing!”
Spike sighs, stuffing Equestria: A History into the saddlebag first. Nothing like a good history book to keep Twilight occupied for a few hours. A sideways glance towards the bookshelf, and another book, so far untouched, catches his attention. Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. He pulls it off the shelf, flips a couple pages, and sticks it in the saddlebag. Hours four through six of the eight hour ride to Ponyville covered. Probably. Twilight has distracted herself with reading another book- so he goes to browse through the shelves once again, hunting for something distracting.
Spike yawns widely. As it turned out, those two books had covered the entire journey to Ponyville, and roughly three hours before they went to bed, to sleep until the celebration came a little closer. He should have thought to bring a quill, ink, and parchment; almost as soon as she got up, Twilight had a revelation- she does that, from time to time- and wanted to send a letter to Princess Celestia. Apparently, all of the sudden, Nightmare Moon is real, and she’s afraid they’ve missed all of the signs. Unfortunately, after fully half an hour of scrambling, they can’t find any paper- and the hotel staff has already left for the celebration, so they can’t ask them for some.
Finally, Twilight drags Spike to the event, chewing on her… Well, it’s not her hooves; rather, it’s a layer of magic over them, generated by her own horn. A trick she’d been taught somewhat early on, to make her nervous habit less harmful. In the meantime, she’s praying they haven’t missed an opportunity and doomed Equestria to eternal night.
If nothing else, Twilight decides, the decorations are beautiful. And the music- whoever taught those birds to sing should have a medal! … Maybe it’s the pegasus conducting them…? Finally, when the curtains are drawn… Celestia is missing. Twilight spares another glance out the window at the moon- nothing changed, right?
Wrong. The dark spots have disappeared… Nightmare Moon has escaped. She gazes back up towards the balcony, watching the proceedings, praying for her mentor, praying for the sun to rise.
That had been absolutely terrifying. Nopony had seemed to know about Nightmare Moon, so she had taken it upon herself to protect them from her ire. She’d announced her knowledge at the mare, and told Nightmare Moon about it. Nightmare had been bored, and mildly irritated, but her reward had been the understanding- even thankful- glances she’d gotten from the surrounding ponies. This way, it’ll be easier for them to avoid her ire. Nightmare had eventually departed- and as soon as she had, Twilight had taken off at a gallop. She’d even left Spike behind- but it’s not like he’ll be able to help her. She gallops for the woods- thank Celestia the celebration is being held so close to the Elements’ last known location!