It really is good to be home, Twilight thought as she took in the newly cleaned halls of the Everfree Castle.
"Wait, you mean to tell me we're living in a castle!?" Starlight exclaimed as she came upon the sight of the tall stone walls and marble floors.
"Technically, we live in a series of tunnels under the castle right now," Trixie quipped, bumping into Starlight teasingly. "But one day soon, Trixie would like to have a room above ground..."
On the train ride home, Starlight eagerly soaked in all possible knowledge about Nightmare Moon. It didn't hurt of course, that she already had a potent dislike for Celestia, since her friend's move to Canterlot had been the start of all her troubles. Twilight had told her all she wanted to know, and specified what she'd be doing at the colony, namely developing spells to convert base materials like soil and rubble into needed supplies like steel, glass, and if necessary: water.
"Come and follow Trixie, Starlight!" The blue unicorn announced, and trotted along towards the tunnels. "Let me show you around the colony!"
As Twilight watched the other two depart, she was surprised by a tackle-hug from an unknown source.
"You're back!" Said unknown pony announced with joy, and Twilight recognized the voice as belonging to Twinkleshine.
"I take it you missed me?" The purple filly giggled.
"More than you know." The other unicorn admitted, before pulling on Twilight's tail with her magic. "Come on, I've got something to show you!"
"It isn't some inane friendship problem is it?" Twilight whined. "I've reached my month's sociable limit."
"Nope. It's a good surprise." Twinkleshine insisted, practically dragging Twilight along to the library.
"Mm, is it a new book?" Twilight guessed.
"Nope, guess again!"
"What could be better than a book? I give up." Twilight announced as they came to the library, and approached Twinkleshine's impromptu display case.
"A mystery, that's what!" The pink maned unicorn exclaimed, and nodded to the stone spheres. "At first I thought they were decorative, but certain clues tipped me off. See for yourself."
"Hmm. Lots of harmonic energy..." Twilight muttered, levitating each orb in turn as she studied them in her magic. "Too spherical to properly stand on their own. Hmm. One two three..."
"It has to be a coincidence, right?" Twinkleshine nudged the other mare. "There are six of them, one for each element of harmony."
"I want to say that's exactly what it is." Twilight muttered with a frown. "Because Luna insisted the elements were jewels, right? But then I think, what are the odds that six relics of harmony magic could be anything but the elements?"
"So unless these are a fluke," Twinkleshine theorized, "Something must have happened since Luna's banishment. How do we find out what happened?"
"The first choice is to ask the mare herself. Wake me up in about five minutes." Twilight announced, before lying on the floor and casting a sleep spell on herself.
* * *
"What is the trouble, my little pony?" Luna asked as soon as Twilight entered the dreamscape.
"I think we found the Elements of Harmony." Twilight blurted out, beginning to feel the excitement of her discovery.
"You think you have? But how? Why so uncertain?"
"Well they don't look like you suspected they would. You expected they would be jewels, but the six harmonious artifacts we found were nothing more than rocks." Twilight admitted. "Even though I could sense their power, that power seemed to lay dormant."
"I think I see the problem, dear Twilight." Luna admitted. "The elements must have rejected Celestia when she used them against me."
"Serves her right..." Twilight muttered.
"If that is the case, Celestia must be searching for a new element bearer to wield them against me. I have no doubt that her prized student will be able to take charge of the element of magic..." Luna mused.
"Oh! That reminds me!" Twilight exclaimed. "Sunset Shimmer disappeared, or so the papers say?"
"She has? Hmm..." The Nightbringer glanced at Twilight with a bit of a frown. "That could either be good news, or bad news. Good news if she's run away..."
"... But bad news if she's setting a trap for us." Twilight finished.
"In the old days, my sister and I each wielded three elements, and she somehow used all six to banish me. I suspect that a single pony who exemplifies one of the virtues of the elements might be able to wield that one."
"So anypony can be a bearer?" Twilight asked, brimming with ideas. "Should we try to find ponies who can exemplify the five virtues?"
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, dear student. It is enough that Celestia cannot use them against me." Luna sighed in relief. "See it as an extra-credit assignment, if you will. Look into the elements if you have the time, but your main focus is to work on your spells."
"Time to moon-proof the castle: got it." Twilight announced, even as she felt Twinkleshine stirring her awake from the other side of consciousness.
* * *
Equestria saw their beloved Sun Princess as a beacon of hope, and a wise ruler. Many Lunar Cultists saw her as a tyrant who suppressed the media, and the arts and sciences. In truth, Celestia was neither.
Celestia, Solar Regent, was simply a unicorn, who (with the help of some magical artifacts) became an Alicorn, and everything she did, was done for the good of her little ponies. Today, Day Court was cancelled early, and although Celestia was glad for the break from sniveling nobles, she had a much more important meeting to attend to: a meeting with a young foreign dignitary who was something of a last hope.
Becoming an Alicorn was both deceptively simple, and painfully difficult. It required only two conditions: a pony who had mastered their special talent, and an artifact powerful enough to charge their ascension. This was the case for the diplomat Celestia was meeting today, a former pegasus whose special talent was compassionate mediation, and who became an Alicorn due to an accident with an ancient relic.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was a royal in her own right, as a Princess of Roam, a neighboring nation to Equestria, created by the last of the ancient pegasus legions. She hailed from Maredrid, and was adopted into the Equestian royal family when she became the Alicorn of Love. As the third child of the King and Queen of Roam, Cadenza (known as Cadence, to her friends), had little chance of actually taking the throne while a mortal pegasus. Now as a nigh-immortal Alicorn, she was often visited by Celestia, who taught her what she knew of their shared species.
Unfortunately, the purpose behind today's meeting was anything but casual.
"Good afternoon, Aunt Celestia." Cadence announced with a calm smile as she levitated her teacup with her magic. "I assume by the nature of your message that this wasn't a social summons."
"I wish I could say it wasn't so." Celestia replied, and the servants dutifully left the room. The Sun Princess cast a noise-cancelling bubble, just in case.
"You recall my student, Sunset Shimmer, correct?" Celestia continued, after the spell was cast.
"Allow me to offer my condolences." Cadence replied, and her eyes conveyed her true sympathy, a refreshing break from the waves of two-faced ponies that were so often met with in politics.
"Allow me to enlighten you to the full story." Celestia explained, taking a measured sip of tea. "There is much about my student's life that was kept from the media, and knowledge of those facts might help us find her."
"I know that for a time, she was deeply in love." Cadence replied, carefully gauging her mentor's reaction.
"I know. Were you also aware that she was pregnant?"
"When she left?" Cadence asked, a little shocked.
"No, no, back when she fell madly in love with that guard stallion." Celestia sighed. "She wanted to settle down and start a family, and I think I made the biggest mistake of my life when I refused to give her my blessing."
Cadence gasped, and shook her head.
"Aunty! How could you?" She cried, practically holding back tears for a mare she barely knew. "I felt her love! How could you deny her happiness?"
"At the time, I thought it was more important for the best interests of Equestria that she remain my student." Celestia admitted, and she wasn't lying when she said that she considered it her biggest mistake. That meant a lot coming from a mare who'd been around for over two thousand years, but it was the truth. Ruling Equestria all alone was disheartening, and some part of her had hoped that her student could help bear the burden.
"Why, Celestia? So that you could send her to do battle with all of the nation's enemies?" Cadence noted with a grim frown. "What happened to her foal?"
"It was given up for adoption, and Sunset made it very clear that I was not allowed to go anywhere near it. I don't even know the child's gender."
"I'm not sure I blame her, Aunt Tia... Your relationship has been strained, as of late." Cadence noted in her most sympathetic voice. She was still seething over Celestia's refusal to give Sunset her blessing.
"This applies to the given situation, because about a year and a half ago, I accepted a new student to my Canterlot school. His name is Sunburst, Cadence, and he looks so much like my Sunset, so much that it nearly hurts."
"You don't think..."
"He might be her son." Celestia allowed herself a small smile, and it almost immediately fell as she spoke her next words. "And as soon as the new semester began, Sunset vanished."
"Oh, Aunty..." Cadence whispered, reaching out across the table with her magic. "You didn't say anything to her?"
"I couldn't. I was told to leave Sunset's foal alone - how could I tell her I had taken him under my wing against her wishes?" Celestia pleaded, hoping that Cadence would tell her she hadn't just made another huge mistake.
"Where do you think she's gone?" Cadence asked, instead of pointing out the fact that all this mess could have been avoided if Celestia just communicated for once, instead of moving everyone from behind the scenes like pieces on a chessboard. That argument was always wasted on Celestia.
"I'd say she went to Zebrica. She knows enough illusion magic to change her appearance, and she has enough pension saved up to live among the cities there for a long time."
"A unicorn mare wouldn't stand out too much either. You do plan to leave her alone, Aunty? I believe you've meddled quite enough." Cadence said in a firm voice. This was one point she wouldn't concede to the older Alicorn.
"Because of extenuating circumstances, Cadence, I can only agree to that if you help me." Celestia replied with just as much conviction, and Cadence already knew her answer. She could lose a little bargaining power, if it meant that Sunset Shimmer would be left alone.
"What do you need me to do?"
* * *
When Fluttershy wasn't working in the compound, her favorite past-time was to take the half-mile walk down to Sweet Apple Acres, and watch the Apple Siblings at work in the fields. She wasn't an earth pony, so she couldn't buck the trees, or carry cart loads of apples, but she could fly a basket at a time back to the barn, and bring cool water to the mare and stallion as they worked.
Fluttershy related to the two older Apples in a way that she didn't connect with other ponies. Rarity was a dear friend, but she was so excitable (and loud!) sometimes. Pinkie Pie and Trixie were just... Too much to handle when they were together, and even her childhood friend Rainbow Dash fell into that category. When she had to get out from her bedroom and be among other ponies, Fluttershy chose Sweet Apple Acres.
"Howdy, Fluttershy." Big Macintosh called out as the young pegasus approached, and was met with an "eep!" in reply.
"Um, I mean, hello." The pegasus quickly recovered, and fluttered along behind the stallion as he worked on plowing the wheat field.
"Y'all figured out which system works best for growin' wheat?" Mac asked. 'Y'all' in this case, meaning rest of the colonists.
"Oh yes! The uv-enchanted glow lamps are working quite well for all the crops!" Fluttershy announced, proud of their progress, even if she wasn't actually one of the scientists in that division. She helped water the plants with Rainbow though, so she felt like she'd had a helping hoof in their little wheat field.
"Have you been doing well with stocking the non-perishable supplies?" The pegasus asked in return, with her kind smile.
"Eeyup." Mac replied with a simple nod.
"We got canned apples, and dried apples, and oats, all stored so they'll last for the next five years!" Applejack announced as she trotted up to meet Fluttershy.
"Oh good! That's more than enough to last us until we get the first harvest!" The pegasus announced as she fluttered a celebratory dance in the air.
"Last night, Luna told me as much, too." Applejack admitted. "Apparently, the moon colony is about to become our plan A. If the Princess can't reason with her sister, we'll need that space to regroup."
"Eeyup." Big Mac noted.
"I hope everything turns out okay, and no one has to get hurt." Fluttershy whispered, her mood dropped just a bit.
"Sometimes, a pony's gotta fight for what's important." Applejack said, patting the other mare across her shoulders.
"Eeyup." The stallion concurred.
* * *
"All of these tomes are available for your use, Starlight Glimmer." Trixie announced, as she indicated the colony's extensive library.
"Wow! All of this!?" Starlight took in the view with an open mouth. At home, there were precious few books about magic, and all of it basic spells. Starlight hadn't even gotten her cutie mark until she'd flared and turned an apple into an orange, so she had precious little experience in her special talent.
"The alchemy section is that way, if you were wondering." Trixie pointed, smirking, to the last group of bookshelves.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Starlight blurted, wrapping the other mare in a quick hug, before she trotted off into the library, not noticing the Great and Powerful blush that Trixie was sporting.
On a soft couch at the back of the library, Twilight Sparkle was reading a book on the limits of teleportation magic. She glanced up from her reading when she saw Starlight come around the corner.
"How was the tour?" She asked with a knowing smile, recalling the first time she'd seen the colony.
"It was amazing! I can't believe all of this is going on right under Celestia's nose!"
"I'm glad you like it," Twilight replied, "Since we'll need your help a lot in the coming days..."
She paused for dramatic effect. Twilight had always wanted to do this to somepony.
"My help? For what?"
"For when we go to the moon, of course." Twilight finished, smiling inside at the shock on her new friend's face.
"The- the moon??" The pink mare stuttered out, and Twilight nodded with amusement.
"Of course. But first, you need to help build the greenhouse." The purple unicorn said.
"Right! I'll get right on it!" Starlight announced, and Twilight levitated over a list.
"Here are some books to get you started."
An hour later, Starlight Glimmer trotted into what used to be the Castle Conservatory, a rather large octagonal room designed for tea parties. It was the room designated to become the greenhouse, and Starlight levitated the book in front of her, checking to make sure her spell was correct. Focusing intently, the young unicorn set the book down and lit her horn, focusing on the composition of the stone walls, and the holes where tall windows used to stand.
The stone bricks were hoof hewn, and composed of mostly sedimentary rock, if Pinkie Pie's report was to be believed. That was important to know, because it affected how Starlight's spell would work.
With a flash of magic, Starlight broke down the walls into their component sediments, superheating them until they were a red, molten goo. She shaped the glowing hot glass into five panes, one for each wall that faced away from the castle, and slowly cooled it, swirling in doses of her magic, to keep it clear and not too brittle. When the process was complete, Starlight looked out onto the Everfree forest from picture windows of clear, strong glass.
* * *
Twilight put down her notebook, and pulled a piece of chalk out of her saddle bags. She was out of the library now, and in one of the first-floor servant's quarters. The furniture had mostly been removed, and it had been designated as the castle's magical 'core', so to speak. It was big enough to hold several runes and magic circles, and easily hidden from Celestia, both visibly and magically.
At the center of the room was a large crystal, found by Rarity, and brought home via Pinkie Pie. The runes and sigils on the surface were designed to store and amplify unicorn magic, and many colony unicorns magically charged it on a daily basis. The crystal was the main generator for many of the spells Twilight planned to implement to moon-proof the castle. A fresh-air spell, a gravity spell, and more, were all powered by the crystal generator. Once they arrived, Twilight planned to make the crystal draw on the moon's inherent magic, but for now it was all powered by horn.
The tricky part was getting the massive power that was necessary to teleport an entire castle to the moon. The spell needed to account for terrain and adjust accordingly, as it wouldn't do to teleport inside of a mountain or something. On top of that, the Everfree Castle was huge, and Twilight would need the help of every unicorn in the colony to power the jump.
Some of these hurdles might not even come up, as Luna insisted that when she returned, she would designate a safe space to land the castle, and power the teleport herself. Twilight wanted to trust the Princess, but all plans need to be flexible. At a moment's notice, she wasn't sure if Luna could be there to help. What if she was held up in her talks with Celestia? What if the Sun Princess sent guards to destroy their hard work?
With that in mind, Twilight decided to lace a proximity ward and shield spell into the matrix as well. If all else failed, she could just use her brother's awesome shield abilities to protect the castle.
When Twilight finally emerged from her workshop around dinner time, she was exhausted. Her BBBFF met her on her way to the dining hall.
"No offense, Twily, but you look like a zombie." Shining commented offhand.
"I feel like a zombie. There's so much work to do!" Twilight groaned in reply, not unlike an actual zombie.
"You know, there is such a thing as taking breaks." Shining commented in a teasing tone of voice.
"No time. I have to get everything ready for the Princess to return." Twilight announced with a yawn.
"We're still a couple years out, Twily. You should take tomorrow off." Shining Armor smiled at his little sister. "Besides, I have it on good authority that Twinkleshine has been itching to get some time with you."
"T-Twinkleshine? She does?" Twilight exclaimed, feeling more happy, light, and stress-free by the second.
* * *
Meanwhile, across Equestria, a gifted little pony sat in a tower library, looking at a book which held a prophecy about the imminent return of Nightmare Moon.
"Spike, take a letter." Moondancer asked quietly, her dragon nodding as he pulled out paper and quill.
"Dear Princess Celestia..."