//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Friendship is Magic PT.1: Nightmare Moon 
// Story: The Pillars of Virtue 
// by star-girl 
//------------------------------//

The teacher smiled as her students sat quietly. For once, there was no whispering or boredom; even the most problematic students were upright and attentive. No one wanted to miss this lesson.

The story of the third ever Bearers of the Pillars of Virtue was popular, because it was right out of a storybook. Teaching that lesson was more like reading a fantasy novel than teaching about real life, which was why this subject was so liked. Of course, they'd heard about the bare bones of the journey of the Original Seven, but this course was an in-depth look into everything from their private to public lives, and if a student was disruptive they would be getting dirty looks from their classmates for at least a month. No one even minded the tests because they were so fun to study for.

"Alright, class," she began. "Open your textbooks to page one…"

Once upon a time, there were two sisters who ruled over the magical land of Asteria: Queen Celeste, who governed the sun, clarity, knowledge, and truth; and Queen Luna, who governed the moon, illusion, and fate.

Together, the two ruled in harmony, and Asteria prospered under their reign.

However, all was not well. In the fight against Emperor Sombra, Luna was severely injured, and had to recede from her duties as queen as she took time to recover. This only encouraged the already festering feelings of contempt toward her - she was the younger, the less powerful, the less experienced, and the less wise.

When Luna returned to court, it was to people she did not recognize and laws she did not understand. Her sister brushed off her worries and continued about her days, ignoring the self-hatred festering inside her.

This drew the attention of the Tantabus, an extremely rare subspecies of Windigo that fed off of self-loathing instead of the usual disagreements between people. Luna was emotionally weak, fragile, and not at her best - the perfect host. It told her that she was beautiful, worthy of what her sister had and was taking from her.

Luna hadn't seen it that way before. She'd always just been jealous of Celeste, not hated her for being the center of attention. The Tantabus, which turned dreams into nightmares, turned Luna's jealous dream of being equal to the Sun Queen into a nightmare of revenge for stealing the people's love and adoration.

The Tantabus whispered things in her ear to make her sour feelings into full-blown hatred and malicious intent. Luna, why do you think she does this to you? Does she not care about you? Does she hate you?

The Tantabus was a roaming entity. It was hard for it to survive in a world filled with so much happiness and joy - but every millennium, its power restored itself.

Luna was slowly corrupted, until one day, she refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. Her sister tried to reason with her, but as she did not know what had brought this on, she was not much help. Stop this childishness, Luna. Stop being so immature, Luna. Lower the moon, Luna.

This aggravated Luna, but the Long Night had come at harvest, a time when Asteria could ill afford prolonged cold. With a heavy heart, Celeste wrested control of the moon from her and forcibly lowered it.

This was the final straw. Luna allowed the Tantabus to fully corrupt her, turning her into a wicked woman of darkness, something the citizens dubbed 'Nightmare Moon'.

The fight between the two was long and arduous, raging across the sky as the heavens were thrown out of balance, Luna raising the moon and Celeste forcibly lowering it. Eventually Celeste made the executive decision to use the Pillars of Virtue.

There are seven Pillars: Charity, Compassion, Devotion, Integrity, Optimism, Empathy, and the seventh - the most powerful, mysterious, and unknown. The Pillars were originally made to purify if the target could be purified; however, once Celeste used them, the Pillars did not rid Luna of the Tantabus as she had expected. Instead, to her horror, they sent Luna's spirit to the moon, after which the Pillars went quiet and would not respond to her.

Celeste became different. Where she was once cold, distant, and ruthless, now she truly became the embodiment of the sun. She immersed herself among the people, learning their opinions and their ways. She ran with the Humans, practiced magic with the Mages, and raced lightning bolts with the Cloudwalkers, trying to forget what she'd done to her sister.

It was among the Humans she learned of a prophecy. Though Mages and Cloudwalkers looked down upon Humans, some had a strong connection to the spiritual plane. She went to various prophets, and they all said some variation of the same thing: a powerful young Mage would wield the seventh Pillar with her six friends behind her, ushering in a new era of peace and prosperity to last for eons.

She debated fiercely with herself on what to do. Her old, ruthless self wanted every Mage subject to rigorous testing and training, starting from a young age; her newer compassionate preferred to leave them be and let fate take the reigns.

Eventually, the two sides came to a compromise: she would open a school for Mages, accepting only the most talented. The entrance test would weed out the particularly powerful, the ones to keep an eye one, and it had the added bonus of getting the opinion of young people, which Celeste thought was important.

Approximately nine hundred and eighty years passed, and the Queen of Day grew anxious. With the return of the Nightmare in only nineteen years and the Mage showing no signs of appearing, she feared for the destiny of the world.

Enter Melissa Reading.

"My Lady?"

Melissa looked up from her book. The Summer Sun Celebration was nearing, and it had always been a tradition of hers to read about the Tale of the Two Sisters around that time. "Yes?"

"The queen requests your presence," said the young butler.

Uncurling herself from the chair, Melissa thanked him and set off to the throne room.

The Seat of the Crown was ornate, and the hall was lined with stained glass windows depicting the great heroes of old, some of the windows made by her own father. It was her own secret hope that one day she would be in one of the windows.

She came to the base of the thrones and knelt. "Your Majesty."

"Rise, Miss Reading," Queen Celeste intoned, only for the protocol. Then she smiled. "Melissa!" she swept her student into a warm embrace that Melissa allowed herself to relax into. When she was released, she was held at arm's length. "I'm always happy to see you, my dear, but I'm afraid that this meeting is of a more somber note. It is the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. You know what that means."

Melissa nodded, shoving down the twinge of fear. "The return of Nightmare Moon."

"Yes," said Celeste. "Of course, I have deployed multiple agents across the country, and I trust them, but I have a job for you, my most trusted. As you know, this year our appearance will be in Oakheart, which…?"

"Is the closest to the Castle of the Two Sisters, which houses the Pillars of Virtue," she recited from memory.

"Good," she said, a glimmer of pride in her eyes. "However, we can't just send you there without an alibi; we need your presence to hold up under pressure in case any agents of Nightmare Moon are there. So, of course…"

"I'll have to organize the party," she sighed, resigned. "I already told Ray about it."

"Are you sure that's wise, my dear?" Celeste asked. "He is, after all, but a child. The pressure may get to him."

"He would be less safe at home," she argued. "I can set up better protections than Mom and Dad can. Besides, if it really comes to that" - she swallowed - "I would hardly take him along."

Celeste blew out a breath. "Very well. You have packed already, right?"

Melissa allowed a light smile to grace her features before letting it slip off her face. "Do you even know me?" she teased.

"I fast tracked your request for a Sky Chariot," she added. "It will be on the platform."

Sky Chariots were highly convenient modes of transportation that only the upper, upper crust of New Camelot could afford: enchanted, gilded chariots that, despite the possibility of just being spelled to fly, were pulled by Pegasi for 'safety' (really, it was just because the nobles wanted to feel important). Melissa and the rest of her family hated using them, but they were the fastest way to get to Oakheart short of teleportation, and she wasn't skilled enough to get all the way there. "Thank you, Your Majesty," she said, curtsying.

"Off with you, my dear," said Celeste. "You have work to do, but the most important thing is…?"

"Make some friends," she grumbled. For some reason, Celeste put a lot of stock into this, though Melissa personally didn't see the point.



"All I'm saying is that you should at least try," Ray tried to reason with her as the wind whipped their hair.

Luckily, all Sky Chariots had a silencing spell around them, so the guard driving the Pegasi couldn't hear them. Melissa shot him an annoyed look. "Please, Ray. I have you, Marcus, the queen, my parents, and Katherine. I don't need anyone else."

"First of all, your family consists of four-sevenths of that list. Five-sevenths, if you count Kath, because we all know Marcus's proposing soon. And I don't think you can relate to the queen very well."

Melissa groaned and dramatically threw herself across the floor. "When did twelve-year-olds become so wise?" she grumbled.

Ray smiled angelically. "We're staying in a library. Doesn't that, at least, make you happy?"

"Don't get rude with me, young man," Melissa told him. Mulling it over as she watched the ground speed by far below, she decided to stop whining. She loved flying. "You know what? Yes, yes it does. I'm going to oversee the Celebration, and if the queens can't dispose of Nightmare Moon, I'm going to harness the Pillars and get rid of her, and I won't make any friends. The fate of Gaea doesn't rest on that, no matter what Queen Celeste seems to think."

Ray rolled his eyes as they landed in the town square. A crowd had amassed to watch their descent wondrously, and Melissa could easily pick out their guide in the crowd, mostly because of her bright pink hair clashing with her dark skin. "HELLO, MELISSA AND RAYMOND READING!" she bellowed excitedly, waving a sign in the air.

Melissa heard the driver let out a quiet snort as he guided the chariot down. Ray was grinning, but she just rolled her eyes.

As she was busy tipping the driver, Ray was excitedly conversing with their guide - Mina - about some comic or the other. Great.

"So!" Mina said cheerily. "Where do you need to go first?"

Ray checked the schedule. "Sweet Apple Acres."

"Ooh, great!" she said. "My friend Jackie lives there. She's just the greatest. Well, everyone in Oakheart's the greatest, but she's just the greatest of the greats! Wait, that doesn't sound very nice. Speaking of everyone in Oakheart, do you mind if I throw you a Welcoming Party…?"

And thus they proceeded. Melissa very quickly learned that Mina never stopped talking. She would chatter on about everything - the weather, how much she loved her friends, her life as a baker and party planner (at this, Melissa glanced down at her Marks on the backs of her hands, which were indeed three balloons, the middle and higher one blue, the two lower ones at its sides yellow).

Eventually, they reached Sweet Apple Acres, a farm with a small area dedicated to other products and acres and acres of the foothills of New Camelot Mountain being taken up by apple trees.

The more Melissa looked, the more it seemed to be out of a dream. The red farmhouse was charmingly rustic with chipping red paint and white trim, as was the house off to the side of the property. Some people were tending to the other crops and animals, children were playing in front, horses were being ridden through the apple fields inspecting their crop - and speaking of crop, every single apple she could see was a perfect, glossy round orb, each section of the orchard divided by color. Her mouth dropped open.

"It's the Smithson Family Reunion," Mina confided. "That's why there’s so many people. Usually it's only Granny Smith," - Melissa raised her eyebrows and Ray stifled a laugh at the pun - "her grandkids James, Jackie, and Samantha, and some workers."

Melissa stared in disbelief at all the people. This was all one family?

"Anyway, I'll take you to Jackie. James doesn’t talk much. Onward, Mel!"

Melissa blinked. Apparently, she should’ve paid attention when Mina was talking. When had she gotten a nickname?

"Mel," Ray teased. "I like it."

"You know perfectly well I hate nicknames," Melissa growled.

Ray just smiled.

Jaqueline Smithson was tall, buff, blond, and green-eyed. Melissa was sure she was at least six feet tall, and her smile was warm and friendly. "Well, howdy do, Mina. Who's yer guest?"

"I'm Melissa Reading, and I am the official overseer for this year's Summer Sun Celebration," she interrupted, slipping herself into the conversation. "I understand you're in charge of the catering?"

"We sure as sugar are! Wanna sample?" Jackie's words were more guarded this time around, and Melissa really couldn't blame her. Sweet Apple Acres dominated the market, and she had to have gone to Camelot at some point, which probably didn't endear her to the nobles there.

She frowned. "Are you sure that's wise? I don't want to diminish the stock."

The taller girl's smile became more genuine. "Don't fret, sugar-cube. We have enough." Then she procured a small metal drumstick and started aggressively banging a triangle hanging from a nearby tree with it. "SOUP'S ON, EVERYBODY!"

Immediately, everyone Melissa had noted in a mile's radius - the horseback riders, the children playing together, the people tending to the crops, even the people inside the house - stared. For a long, painful moment, there was dead silence. Out of the corner of her eye, Mina was grinning hugely. Then, a stampede.

Jackie grabbed both of them (Melissa had already been clutching Spike) and settled them down at a gazebo. "Now," she said when everyone had settled down, "let me introduce y'all to the Smithson family." She then proceeded to rattle off a list Melissa could hardly believe she'd memorized and only remembered to breathe before the last three. "-James Ferdinand Smithson II, Samantha Smithson, aaaand Annie Smithson. Up and at 'em, Granny Smith. We got guests."

Mrs. Smithson, who'd been helped along by James, had been slowly dozing off at his side. She snorted and looked around blearily. Her white hair was up in a messy bun and her wrinkles sagged off her face, but when Melissa, pitying her, reached out with her magic to give her a silent boost, her Human aura had something distinctly solid about it - a strong, wise instinct forged from over a century of being the head of the Smithson clan. Usually it took Melissa some time to get to the hearts of people’s cores, especially if they'd erected barriers, but she easily slipped past Mrs. Smithson's more surface level emotions.

The old woman gave her a knowing look of thanks.

Melissa was distracted from this look into Mrs. Smithson's personality by the huge pile of food. Each member of the Smithsons had put a treat on the table, and it amazed her that this wasn't the entirety of their stock. Mina and Ray were already working together on an enormous pie.

She sighed. She had agreed, after all.



Melissa groaned, clutching her stomach. "Oh, Celeste," she sighed. "I ate too much pie."

"Are you kidding?" Ray exclaimed. "That was great! Best baking I've ever had." Of course, they'd both eaten Sweet Apple Acre's products before, but having it fresh from the oven was an otherworldly experience. Ray, for his part, had a black hole of a stomach.

"Don't tell her I said this," said Mina, "but Jackie makes better pies than I do."

Melissa rolled her eyes and looked up at the cloudy sky, frowning. "That's strange…"

"Yeah, someone named Iris's supposed to be in charge of the weather team," Ray agreed, checking the clipboard. "Guess she's not doing her work." Mina opened her mouth, but before she could say anything-

Suddenly, a scream wailed through the sky and a rainbow blur crashed into Melissa at an obscenely fast speed. The wind was knocked out of her as the rainbow-haired person and she tumbled over and over down the slight slope of the road, eventually landing in a mud puddle. Melissa stared at the sky, breathless and with bruises forming, and wondered what she'd done to deserve this.

The girl, who Melissa was assuming was Iris, stood up, recovering much faster than she had, as was the nature of Cloudwalkers. After all, people who could fly had to be naturally hardy in case they fell. Iris's opaque blue wings flared before disappearing, leaving only the wing marks on her back Melissa knew were there.

"Uh, sorry," she said, looking sheepish as Ray tugged her up.

Melissa sighed. "Let me guess: you're Iris Cruz."

Iris raised a brow. "Why? Heard about me, best flier in Asteria?"

Melissa rolled her shoulders and sighed. "I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear for the Celebration. Obviously, someone's going around attempting stupid tricks and hurting innocent people in the process!"

Iris glared at her, obviously hurt by the dig at her skill. Melissa held her ground, obviously hurt by the fall she'd taken down a goddamn hill. Mina looked between both of them worriedly, while Ray looked like he wanted popcorn. As Iris didn't back down, the air started to crackle threateningly as Melissa's magic started to react to her emotions.

"I surrender!" Iris cried, holding up her hands. "I didn't mean to, I swear."

Melissa's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, whatever," she muttered, unwilling to apologize. "I'm Melissa Reading, official Summer Sun Celebration overseer. Anyway, if you're really Iris, you're supposed to be keeping the skies clear. What's with all the clouds?"

Iris let out a gusty breath through her nose. "People have been asking me about that all morning, and my team and I've been trying, but every time we get closer to clearing the sky the Everfree just produces more clouds out of nowhere. It's usually uncooperative but something weird's happening over there, I just know it."

Melissa's heartbeat kicked into high gear as her eyes flicked to the forest. The Everfree was known for being strange and wild - anyone who'd ever went too deep inside either came out mad or unwilling to speak of their experiences there, taking the forest's secrets to the grave. All they knew was that the woods changed, mimicking the ancient legend of the labyrinth, and that it held monsters beyond comprehension.

It was also the site of the Pillars of Virtue.

"Alright," she muttered, "okay. Um, just keep on trying. We'll see."

Iris grinned, magenta eyes shining. "I look forward to seeing you around, Reading."



After a futile attempt to tame her hair and get the mud off of her (household charms had never been her forte; she always ended up forcing too much power into them), Mina said, "You need to check decorations next, right? Wow, my friends run that, too."

Strange, Melissa thought, and idly wondered if the queen had planned this.

A few minutes later, in which Melissa tried to ignore the strange looks she got from townspeople, they arrived at the town hall, where two women were directing a team of decorators. They both seemed to be Mages, like her. Melissa smiled; finally something was going right. The hall looked beautiful, befitting the event.

The one with the solidly purple hair turned to them, and Melissa could practically see Ray fall in love right then and there. She shook her head; he was extremely susceptible to celebrity crushes. By turns he'd had a crush on Katherine, Celeste, various singers and actors, and now this women - Sophia Belmont, the clipboard said.

"Oh, you must be the overseer!" she said in an elegant accent Melissa couldn't quite place. "I'm Sophia and this is Astra, my colleague."

Astra walked with a cane and a slight limp, and her hair was streaked with turquoise. Her smile looked a bit fixed. "Hi," she said.

Melissa's eyes strayed to her Mark, which was two overlapping four-pointed stars with turquoise swirls. She's good at magic, Melissa thought, resolving to talk with her at some point.

"Well, as you can see, everything's in order," Sophia was saying. She eyed Melissa's mud-splattered clothing like she desperately wanted to comment, but her manners were winning out.

Melissa sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time today and eyed Sophia. She was looking very elegant in clothes that Melissa was sure were designer, and she really didn't want to walk around in muddy apparel until she finally got to the library. She gestured to herself: "Do what you will."

Sophia squealed and got ahold of her, dragging her out of the hall. "You're in charge while I'm gone, Astra!" she called, and Astra sighed.

"Of course you leave me to deal with these idiots," she groaned.

They arrived at the Carousel Boutique, a unique shop that was designed to look like a layered cake, except that on each layer there were mannequins displaying beautiful dresses. Both the setup and the dresses were unique and beautiful, and Melissa wondered why Rarity - which was the brand printed at the bottom of the sign - had not gone big sooner. She knew girls who would kill for some of these pieces.

Later, Sophia was taking her measurements, red glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. "Now, Miss Reading, you were just telling me where you're from."

Melissa had been doing no such thing but decided to indulge Sophia, who was giving her clothes free of charge. "New Camelot," she said. "As in, I was born there."

Sophia accidentally let go of the tape, which snapped back onto her finger. "Ow!" she yelped, before blushing. "Are you that Melissa Reading?" she asked, eyes wide.

Melissa blushed. She knew she was the topic of envy for a lot of people, being the queen's personal student, her elder brother dating Princess Katherine, and her parents being two of the highest-ranking nobles in the country, but she'd figured the people of Oakheart didn't really care about that kind of stuff and was happy about it. "Uh, yeah," she said.

"Oh, it's such an honor, your ladyship!" Sophia gushed, beaming. "Oh, I'm clothing one of the most important people in Asteria!"

"It's really no big deal," Melissa said, but Sophia wasn't going to be stopped. She fired off rapid questions that were too fast for anyone to answer. "Have you talked with the queen? Have you been to high-society balls? What's it like to live on a mountain?" She gasped dramatically. "Have you met Prince LeBleu?"

Melissa grimaced at the reminder of the arrogant man. "It's best not to get your hopes up," she said. "Between you and me, he's a dick."

Both Sophia and Ray gasped, Ray temporarily shocked out of his lovestruck stupor. "Melissa!" he scolded, but he was trying to hide a smile.

Melissa shrugged. "It's true. He thinks himself above the 'peasants' and is woefully ignorant about true society. Queen Celeste tells me he used to be good, but it seems high society corrupted him." She looked at Sophia sincerely. "I, for one, can totally promote your store, but don't expect to get any favors from him - and forget about courtship."

Sophia sighed and deflated. "It had always been a dream of mine," she confessed. "But thank you for the offer. I think we're done." Her tattoo lit up, aura blue, and clothes floated into the room, already tailored to Melissa's exact measurements. Ray went out and Melissa admired the quality of them. Her eyes drifted down to Sophia's Mark: three blue diamonds on the backs of her hands that stood out against her skin. Hm. I wonder if she could teach me about gem-related spells?

"Well, I do believe we're done here," said Sophia. "I wouldn't want to keep poor, suffering Astra waiting." They shared smiles and Melissa was shocked to actually feel a spark of kinship with the girl. Well, this is new. Maybe the queen had a point.



"Wasn't she beautiful?" Ray sighed as they walked to their next stop in this most hectic of days.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Ray, she's never even going to look at you like that. You're still a kid."

"Sophia's totally a free love, let's do whatever kind of girl," Mina said, "but you're definitely out of her range."

Ray pouted. Melissa knew it was harsh, but it was best to nip these things in the bud. She didn't want there to be a repeat of last time. They could all live without that. "What's on the list?"

"Angelina Calliope, head of music," said Ray. "Weird, it doesn't say who her team is-"

He was cut off by a chorus of what sounded like birds singing the Asterian national anthem. They exchanged confused looks and rounded the bend, stopping in front of a pretty little cottage where a brown-skinned woman was directing a chorus of what was indeed birds. Mina's smile was huge.

"Hello. Hello? HELLO!" Melissa bellowed, trying to get the woman's attention. She startled and turned around, some of her birds flying off. "Oh, sorry. I just meant to get your attention. I'm Melissa Reading, official Celebration overseer."

"I'm Angelina," the woman said quietly as she descended to the ground. Melissa had to stifle a gasp when she saw Angelina's eyes: they were a cloudy, unseeing blue. Asteria had cures to fix your eyes (it was the only reason she didn't wear glasses) so Angelina must have been born blind; she couldn't imagine never seeing color.

Her eyes trailed down to Angelina's mark. Three stylized pink butterflies with blue bodies and antennae. She was wearing a Seeing bracelet, which functioned as a cane but was more convenient to wear. It was enchanted with a radar spell that connected to the nerves of a person wearing it, allowing them to walk around better.

"Your chorus is beautiful," Melissa offered.

"Thank you," Angelina said, acknowledging the compliment with a duck of her covered head. "You flatter me. However, Azure hasn't gotten the key down right. You have my word we'll get it by tonight."

"Azure?"

"A bluejay."

Bluejays are violently territorial and are known to kill and eat smaller birds, thought Melissa, but she said nothing, more intrigued by the girl in front of her. Many in Asteria had animal talents, but few could actually communicate with them, much less override their natural instincts. Her gaze was captured by scars raking over Angelina's skin. Well, maybe not all natural instincts. The seemingly shy Angelina had faced off against something with claws and lived to tell the tale. Why was she not more well known?

"You really need to give yourself more credit, Angie," Mina was saying. "That was beautiful. I couldn't hear a single bad thing!"

Melissa smiled a little. If she could say anything about Mina after absentmindedly listening to her incessant chatter, it was that she cared about her friends. A good quality - one of Melissa's only regrets about her life was that she hadn't know people like Mina. Of course, she'd soon come to the conclusion that friendship was a waste of time, but it would've been nice, at least.

"Well," she said awkwardly, "everything seems to be in order, so I'll just be leaving now."

"You didn't even introduce me yet," Ray complained. He turned to Angelina. "Hi, I'm Ray, a pyrokinetic!"

Pyrokinetics were different from Mages in that the only spells they could use had to be directly related to fire and that they didn't have channeling tattoos on their foreheads. Pyrokinetics were born that way - their ancestors were blessed by dragons, back when said reptilians were more amenable to humans and, indeed, a bit wiser than they were today.

"Really?" asked Angelina, interested.

Oh, boy, Melissa thought. She could recognize someone winding themselves up from a mile away. "Uh, thank you, bye!"

She tugged Ray and Mina away before Angelina could start asking questions. "Well, that was rude," said Mina.

Melissa shrugged. "We're on a schedule. I haven't even seen my accommodations yet!"

Mina frowned at her, which made Melissa feel inexplicably guilty, and led her to the Golden Oak Library.

The Golden Oak Library was truly a wondrous place - it was a huge oak tree with windows and doors carved into it and lanterns hanging off the branches. Melissa even spotted a small platform on top that she knew would be perfect for stargazing.

Not that she would stay here longer than she had to.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Mina asked proudly. "Jackie's grandparents - uh, her maternal grandparents - grew it."

Melissa shook her head. Oakheart was just filled with surprises, wasn't it? "Let's just go inside," she sighed, casting her eyes to the sun rapidly setting on the horizon, then to New Camelot's silhouette on the side of the mountain, where she knew the queen was lowering the sun.

"Yes, let's," said Mina, sounding giddy for some reason.

Rolling her eyes, Melissa pushed open the door and froze.

"SURPIRSE!"

Melissa and Ray gaped as they looked around. The library had been decked from the proverbial head to toe in streamers, confetti, party games, and refreshments. It almost looked like all of Oakheart was there. Melissa had felt the expansion charms the minute she'd seen the tree, but she hadn't known it was this big. "Were you surprised?" Mina asked eagerly. "I planned this all while we were walking, since you were ignoring me, so I could use my phone without bothering you! I thought I could introduce you to some people here! Lyra said she knew you." Melissa raised an eyebrow. Lyra? They were casual acquaintances - how could she have forgotten that she'd moved here? Maybe then she wouldn't have had to put up with Mina all day.

She only felt a little guilty for thinking it.

"-were you surprised?" Mina finished, taking in a deep breath.

"Very surprised!" Melissa faked, and then added under her breath: "I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet."

Mina giggled, startling Melissa, who thought she'd not heard. "That's silly! What kind of party would this be if it were quiet?"

It wasn't supposed to be a party at all, Melissa thought grumpily. Still, she was grudgingly impressed with Mina doing all of this under her nose - an efficient and subtle organizer was something she could respect, being one herself.

Shouldering her way through the crowd, she made her way to the refreshments table. She could really use a stiff drink to get her through the rest of the night.

Picking up a random bottle, she poured some of the bright red liquid into a glass and chugged it in one go.

"Uh, Melissa? You okay?" Jackie asked.

Melissa turned to her with a bright red face and tears running down her face. It was not, in fact, wine she'd just swallowed, but a highly spicy type of salsa. Melissa was Indian, and so had a high spice tolerance, but this was more than she could take. I just can't get a break.

She bolted upstairs, leaving Jackie looking confused as Ray came up and turned the bottle over. "Salsa."

Mina snatched up the bottle and poured it over some cupcakes. "What?" she asked at Jackie's perplexed look. "It's good!"

"Ah don't blame her for going upstairs," Jackie confided to Ray. "Ah grew up here, and even Ah know this town's plum crazy. Must be somethin' to do with the Everfree."



At what was approximately five in the morning, the party was still raging. Melissa had casted a weak silencing spell at the door, too tired to do much else, and had gotten some sleep, which was better than none.

Now, however, she was awake. The spell had worn off and anyway she was too worried about the impending return of Nightmare Moon to care much about the party. She rolled over, clutching a pillow to her chest, and cast her eyes to the moon. Sure enough, the four stars that had traditionally bordered it were ever so slowly moving toward it. The Tale of the Two Sisters book, encased in a magenta glow, floated toward her, already open to the correct page. She compared the artistic render of the stars, moon, and silhouette with the real thing. She trembled a little; she didn't want to fight an all-powerful Night Queen.

Katherine, of course, had already known. Come on, Mel, she'd said, one of the few people who was allowed to use the nickname. This may just be wishful thinking, and we all know prophecies can go sideways. I wouldn't worry about it; it's just an old wive's tale made to scare children.

I know that, Melissa had snapped.

She sighed. "I hope Kath was right," she whispered to the moon. "I hope you really are just an old wive's tale."

Just then, the door burst open, revealing Ray with a lampshade on his head, making the muffled music and lights pulsing downstairs burst into sharp clarity. Melissa groaned and put her head in her hands; she was supposed to keep Ray from taking part in these kind of things! Luckily, he didn't seem like he'd been hitting the happy juice. Her parents would not have been happy had that happened.

"Lighten up, Mellie!" said Ray cheerfully, seeing her expression. "It's the solstice, after all. Remember what Kath told you."

"Oh, I remember," Melissa muttered.

"It's about that time, anyway," Ray continued, ignoring her. "Sun's set to rise at 5:42. If we want good seats we have to get there fast."

The Town Hall was truly a work of art - Sophia and Astra had done their jobs well. Melissa made a mental note to thank them. People from all over the world had assembled to watch Queen Celeste raise the sun. Not only was the summer solstice already auspicious - it was a day with magic heavy in the air, good for rituals - but the thousandth Celebration would make it even more so. Many scholars and powerful mages were here, too, hoping to bottle some of that potent mana for their own purposes later (which was why the security was so high). Melissa hoped to meet some of them.

By the time everyone had gotten settled, it was 5:30. Mayor Meyer went up to the podium and made the usual speech about the history of the Summer Sun Celebration - how after Nightmare Moon had been defeated, Queen Celeste had bravely pulled together the tattered kingdom, ravaged by monsters that had been freed during the fight, and when Asteria was once more steady, had decreed the first Celebration in honor of their victory against the forces of evil.

Only Melissa, her family, and Kath knew the true story - that after she'd banished her sister, the queen had fallen into a deep depression, and it took a vigilante group to pull the kingdom back into normalcy (this group was now the Royal Guard). The leader of this group had stormed the castle where Celeste was hiding and demanded her to be a proper queen, effectively pulling her out of her funk.

The Celebration was not about the banishment of Nightmare Moon - no, Celeste regarded that as more of a failure than anything else, a failure to see what her sister was succumbing to, and thought it shameful to celebrate such a thing. Rather, the Summer Sun Celebration was a reminder that Queen Celeste had faced the worst of her inner demons and had come out victorious, and that life moves ever on.

Altogether a more inspiring story.

Mayor Meyer seemed to be finishing her speech. "And now, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, may I present to you: Queen Celeste of Asteria!"

Angelina's birds made a triumphant chorus as the burgundy curtains were pulled open to reveal - no one.

Amid the gasps and cries of horror, Melissa threw a panicked glance at the moon. Sure enough, the silhouette was gone, and so were the four stars. "Nightmare Moon," Ray whispered in horror.

Looking back to the stage, Melissa saw that Ray was right - a dark, glittering smoke was pouring onto the balcony where Celeste was supposed to be, and it felt so evil and twisted Melissa couldn't bear to look at it for too long.

Luckily, she didn't have to. The smoke swirled and revealed a woman, easily as tall as Celeste, with the same brown skin, but her eyes were strange - pale blue where white was supposed to be, pupil just a shade darker, iris black and slitted like a cat or dragon's. Her hair was that same formless, glittery smoke, and the sick smile that curved across her face revealed sharp fangs.

"Ah, my beloved subjects," she purred. "Has it really been a thousand years since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces?"

No one dared answer her - well, except for one stupid rainbow-haired girl. "What've you done with our queen?!" Iris bellowed, shooting up before Jackie got a hold on her legs and tugged her back down, shooting her a sharp look.

The woman's ever-present smile grew even more horrible. "I take it you don't know who I am?" She sighed sadly at the mute shakes of the head. "So this is what I have been reduced to: a bogeyman used to scare children at night. How pathetic."

The creepy smile returned in full force. Adjusting her silver armor, the woman's eyes flicked over the crowd. Melissa tried to make herself as small and insignificant as possible - better that the woman didn't know she was a threat yet.

"Well, let me give you all the honor of being the first I've been announced to. I am what you all so juvenilely refer to as Nightmare Moon."

Muffled gasps and shrieks. A few people even fainted, not that Melissa could blame them. The Nightmare's smile grew more genuine, which was just terrifying at this point. "I'm sorry to say, m y subjects," she said, sounding sympathetic, "but you will never again see your queen or your sun."

She spread her arms, cape adding to the grandeur of it all. "From now on, the night will last forever!"