//------------------------------// // 12 years later // Story: My Little Adventurers: Camaraderie is powerful // by MrAquino //------------------------------// The same purple haired Half-Elf was now a young adult, and ran across the college grounds with a pack on her side, with some papers flying out. Her studies had prompted her to return to one of the many spires around that other students like her lived and studied in, after reading some history about Queen Celestia's past and battling an individual being called Nightmare Moon. According to the history book, Nightmare Moon was close to Celestia, but made a pact with an unforeseen entity when no one focused on her, but more on Celestia. Due to this, Nightmare Moon attacked Celestia, trying to take her throne for herself, but Celestia, unwilling to take the life of someone close to her, promptly banished her to the moon with some artifacts called "The Elements of Harmony." Our student ran to her spire, ignoring anyone that wanted to greet her, and ran up it's spiraling staircase, promptly bashing the door open. "Spike! Spike!... Spike!?" She yelled before looking down. Lying on the floor, dazed, but unharmed, was her young, purple dragonborn assistant, Spike. He was covered in purple scales with a pale colored underbelly, and and green frills over his ear holes, and a darker green scales sticking out from his head all the way down to his back. Despite looking like a humanoid dragon, he wasn't exactly intimidating looking, mostly due to the fact that he was still a child, so his scales weren't sharp looking, save the exception being his actual claws on his hands and feet. She knelt down and helped Spike back up before returning to the library in her house, looking through the books on the shelves. "Quick! Find me an old copy of predictions and prophecy." Spike walked into the room with a present through his claws. She stopped and gave a curious look. "What's that for?" Spike looked at the destroyed present in his claws. "Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but..." Spike answered in a young child's voice, nowhere deep sounding with growls and hisses like most Dragonborn are said to have. He stopped talking as a doll fell out from the bottom of the broken present. "Oh, Spike. You know we don't have time for that sort of thing." "But we're on a break!" Twilight ignored him. Her hands glowed as ethereal hands started to go into the higher shelves, mimicking her grabbing movements and tossing actions. "No! Nononono! SPIKE!!!" "Right here." Spike replied, shaking the present off his claws and presenting her the book. "Oh... thank you." She accepted the book and paced around, flipping through the pages. "Elements... Elements... E... Ah-ha! Elements of Harmony! See... Mistress of the Moon?" "Mistress of the moon?" Spike asked, cleaning up Twilight's mess. "But that's just an old wive's tale." Twilight flipped through the pages, stopping at what looked like a woman surrounded in shadows. "Hmm... The Mistress of the Moon. Myth from ancient times. A dark elf who wanted to rule over Equestria after making a deal with a shadow patron. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon, legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars aid in her escape, and she will bring eternal darkness. Spike! Do you know what this means!?" "Um... no." Twilight used the same spell to clean her mess before offering Twilight a scroll and some ink with a feather. "To Celestia, please." Spike accepted the tools, quickly dipping the feather into the ink and preparing to write. "Yes, ma'am!" He began to write as Twilight spoke. "My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of magic have let me to discover that we are on the presivous of disaster!" "Hold on." Spike scratched his head. "Presi... presi..." "Um... Threshold." Spike gave a blank stare. "Brink?" More staring. "That something bad is about to happen!" Spike continued his writing. She cleared her throat. "Where were we? ... Right. Continuing on; For you see, the mythical mistress of the moon is actually Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, bringing in eternal night! Something must be done to ensure that this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." "Alright... and done!" "Great! Send it." "...Now?" "Of course." Spike looked a bit unsure. "I don't know, Twilight. Celestia has been busy with getting ready for the Summer Sunset Celebration. And it's the day after tomorrow." "That's just it, Spike! The day after tomorrow is the thousandth Summer Sunset Celebration! It's imperative that we tell her majesty about this right away!" "... Why do you use those high words on me?" "Just send it." "Alright, I will." He wrapped the scroll up with his mind, and, placing two fingers on his head, thought really hard, making the scroll vanish in a flash. "And it's sent. But I wouldn't hold your breath." "Oh, I'm not worried, Spike. The Queen trusts me completely. In all the years that she's been my mentor, she's never once doubted me." There was a burst of fire erupting in the house that went away quickly, leaving a scroll to land in Spike's claws. "See? I knew she wanted to take immediate action!" Spike opened the letter and cleared his throat. "My Dearest, most faithful student, Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely... But you must simply stop reading those dusty old books!" "Wait, what!?" Twilight took the scroll out of Spike's claws and read herself. "Wait... I'm being sent to a town called Ponyville!?" Spike took the scroll back. "And by the looks of it, I'm joining with you." Twilight and Spike had packed some snacks before being teleported out. Twilight's brother, Shining Armor, arrived, wearing golden armor that he had during his training as a paladin. "So... think you'll be gone for long?" Shining Asked. "It's only for today, Shining." Twilight replied. "But... you believe me, don't you?" "It's... hard to say, Twilie. You could be freaking out over something small. But if anything does happen, try to alert me as soon as you can." "... Thanks. How's your Paladin training, by the way?" "Well, it's tough, yes, but I feel it's really rewarding. And you? How's your training to becoming a witch?" "Lots of book studying, but it's quiet." There was a pause between the two. Twilight gave Shining a tight hug. "I'll miss you, my BBBFF." Shining placed a warm arm around his sister. "I'll miss you to, sister. Tell Spike I'll miss him as well." A small tear came down from their eyes as they released each other. Twilight took a deep breath and regained her posture, wiping the tear off her face before turning to Spike. "Are we ready?" "Just about." Spike replied. "Come on, Twilight!" "Well... I'll see you soon." "See you soon. And hey, maybe when you return, I'll be captain of the royal guard." Twilight giggled at his statement. "Right, and I'll be an expert at the art of Transmutation when I return." Twilight walked to Spike, giving a wave to Shining, who waved back. The two stepped on an alter, which glowed a blue glow below their feet, and they were instantly transported away. Twilight took a deep breath, as the transportation method wasn't really used, and she looked back, seeing Canterlot at a distance, built right on the side of the mountain on where it's foundation stood. Spike pulled out a scroll, walking ahead, and making Twilight follow him on the road they stood on. "My dear Twilight, there is more to a young person's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends." Twilight sighed in annoyance "Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?" "...Yes!" She answered "Yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return." "Then... when will you make friends, like the queen said?" "She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends." They both approached a village at the end of the road. The village looked pretty large, but not overwhelming huge like in Canterlot, mostly smaller, with buildings that, while some looked old, haven't encountered anything awful that would need repairs. Both walked into the village, getting a few curious looks of people, which mostly consisted of humans and a few dwarves. "Maybe the folks in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about." Walking up to and stopping at them was a gnome woman with pink, curly hair. "Come on, Twilight, just try!" "Um... hello?" Twilight spoke with a wave. The dwarf let out a prolonged gasp before running away. Twilight and Spike had a blank look on their face. "Well, that was interesting all right." Spike sighed. "It was worth a shot." He another scroll out with a list on it, looking up and following the signs that lead to their first destination. It was a bit further from the rest of the village, with apple trees growing almost everywhere, with the only thing sticking out being a few buildings that looked rather ancient and of Dwarven creation. "Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres." "AAAAAHHHH!!!" Some screaming was heard, causing Twilight and Spike to jump. They turned to see a human woman wearing leather clothes and fur coat over it charge at a tree with a tree, whacking it hard with a single club. The force made all the apples fall off the tree and into baskets around the bottom of it's trunk. "Oh no, a barbarian!?" Twilight asked aloud before covering her mouth. "Ok... we can do this. Let me do the talking." She approached the lone woman, a bit taken back at how she was covered in noticeable muscles at closer viewing. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle-" She felt her hand crushed as the woman grabbed her hand and shook it rapidly. "Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends! "Friends? Actually, I—" "So, what can I do you for?" Applejack released her hand, causing Twilight to bite her lips as she used her other hand to hold her hurt hand. She cleared her throat after Spike had a nice chuckle. "Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?" "We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?" "As long as it doesn't take too long..." Applejack quickly ran to a horn and blew into it loudly, making Twilight and Spike cover their ears. Everything went silent, followed by the floor shaking. Both barely had time to react as a stampede of barbarians arrived, pushing Twilight and Spike into the middle of a huge table. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?" "Thanks, but I really need to hurry—" She was interrupted as the various family members added their own food in front of Twilight, ranging from huge mountains of meat to simple baked goods. "This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp... [deep breath] Big McIntosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith." While all the other family members looked identical, the last 3 stuck out more. Big Mac was clearly the biggest and most built out of all of the family, standing a good 2 feet taller than Applejackl. Applebloom was only a little girl, wearing a fur coat that was bigger than her. Finally, Granny Smith was a really elderly looking Dwarf, with her hair in a bun, seemingly seeing a lot more than what everyone had seen, even though she was snoring loudly. "Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests!" Granny Smith snorted herself awake "Wha..? Food's ready? I'm up, here I come, ahm comin'..." She spoke, walking slowly to them all. "Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!" Twilight gave a nervous chuckle around so many brutish looking people. "Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way." She spoke, trying to quickly get out of there. "Aren't you gonna stay for brunch?" Applebloom asked, making a cute face. "Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do..." There was a collective sigh of disappointment from the whole family. "...fine." The whole family cheered, clacking tankards together and drinking hard alcohol. "Food's all taken care of, next is weather." Spike spoke, leading ahead. Twilight followed, groaning from a bloated stomach and her gown covered in alcohol and other food. "Ugh... I ate too much meat..." "Hmm, there's supposed to be a half Avariel named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds." Twilight looked around, seeing the sky was still cloudy. "Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?" Twilight felt a sudden force hit her, making her land in a nearby mud puddle. Resting on top of her was a half elf, with pretty pale skin, black hair, and wings that are white with the expetion of the tips, dyed to be the colors of that of the Rainbow. The Half elf got up with some sheepish laughter "Uh, 'scuse me?" She spoke. "Lemme help you." Her help came in the form of a cloud that showered all over Twilight's head, soaking the half-elf in water "Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this?" She flew around Twilight, drying her up quickly. "My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry! No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome." She paused as she saw that Twilight's hair was messed up, and her dress was wrinkled up. It didn't take long for her to burst out laughing, followed by Spike holding in his own. "Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash." She got up and stood proudly. "The one and only. Why, you heard of me and all of my endevors in keeping this village safe?" "I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear." She sighed in annoyance "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Queen sent me to check on the weather." Rainbow Dash flew up and perched on a nearby roof. "Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing. "Practicing for what?" "The Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash landed in front of Twilight and handed her a drawing of various Avariels in very light looking armor. "They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!" "The Wonderbolts?" "Yep!" "The most talented paladins in all of Equestria?" "That's them!" "Pfft! Please. They'd never accept a half Avariel who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day." "Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat." "Prove it." Rainbow Dash look appaled, taking out a sword and charged at the clouds, slicing them all away. And though there was no way to time her right away, it was less than ten seconds before the sky was clear. Dash landed near Twilight and Spike, sheathing her sword. "What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." Twilight had a blank look on her face. Rainbow Dash flew over her, chuckling. "You should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more." Dash flapped her wings in the air and took off. "Wow, she's amazing!" Spike gawked. "Think I can be a palladin one day?" Twilight snapped out of her phase. "What? No. On;y when you're older and dedicated to it." "Oh... right... sorry." "It's alright. Where to next?" "Uh, let me see." He pulled out the scroll. "The Town Hall." "Decorations. Beautiful..." Spike spoke in awe. The town hall was found easily in the middle of the village, and everything inside looked way more posh than it needed to be. "Yes, the décor is coming along nicely." Twilight replied "This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed." "Not the décor, her!" Standing at the stall was a female dwarf. She had luscious black hair that hung over her shoulders, as she wore an elegant white dress with some precious gems around the sleeves and bottom of her dress. Spike patted the scales on his head down. "How are my spines? Are they straight?" Twilight rolled her eyes and approached the dwarf. "Good afternoon—" She spoke before being interrupted by the dwarf that, while still had a bit of the ruggedness in her voice, was still very lady-like. "Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help yo—" She jumped back as she saw Twilight's ruined hair and dress "Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!" "Oh, you mean my hair? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!" "Out of my hair? What about your hair?!" Despite being shorter than Twilight, just under 5 feet, the Dwarf was able to use her strength to push Twilight out and into the streets. "Wait! Where are we going?! Help!" Spike only followed them, blindly having a crush on the dwarf he just met. Twilight landed in Rarity's home, which was itself a shop, another guild even, built in Ponyville. The place looked more ravishing than the rest of the homes, standing out more, with a few other unique buildings around, giving Twilight the idea that this was the marketing area. For the longest time, Rarity had washed Twilight's hair and clothes, but also groomed her hair into different hairstyles with different dresses to wear. She was settled on a dress that looked a bit similar to her own dress, but with a star connecting the sides up so the bottom half of her dress wouldn't fall off, and a black cape hanging on her back. "Now go on, darling, tell me where you're from." Rarity spoke as she tightened up the midsection of Twilight's dress. Twilight winced in pain. "I've... been sent... from Canterlot... to—" Rarity released Twilight. "Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I..." She gave Twilight a tight hug before releasing her. "Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" Rarity left the room. Twilight got up and dragged Spike. "Quick! Before she decides to dye my hair a new color!" "Wasn't she wonderful?" Spike asked as they walked through what seemed to be the village's park. "Focus, Casanova." Twilight replied "What's next on the list?" Spike cleared his throat and pulled out his list. "Oh, uh, music! It's the last one!" They stopped as they heard birds chirping as if it was a song. They looked over a bush to see a halfling woman waving a staff around, as if she was commanding the birds like a conductor. Said Halfling had petunias in her hair, almost as if her hair was pink, and wore a dress made of daisies. One of the birds sang off key, causing the halfling to speak in a calm, motherly tone. "Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm." She approached the lone birds on the small branch "Excuse me, sir? I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off." Said bird nodded, letting the Halfling get back into her original position. "Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-" "Hello!" Twilight greeted. The Halfling yelped loudly, causing the birds to fly away instantly. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful." The halfling stayed quiet, looking down and not making much action bur twiddling her fingers on her staff. Twilight smiled nervously "I'm Twilight Sparkle. ...What's your name?" Um... I'm Fluttershy. "I'm sorry, what was that?" "Um... My name is Fluttershy." "Didn't quite catch that." The halfling let out a small squeak, turning into a mouse in front of Twilight's eyes. The birds landed on their tree branches "Well, um, I now see that you're, in fact, a druid, and it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work!" There was only squeaking from the mouse. "Oookay." Twilight turned around and approached to Spike "Well, that was easy." The druid looked to see Spike, suddenly turning into her halfling self and gasping in excitement. "A baby dragon!" She screamed, making her birds fly away again. She approached to Spike, getting a closer look, as they were both around the same height. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's sooo cute!" "Well, I'm actually a young dragonborn." Spike corrected, but was still flattered. "Oh my, he talks. I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say!" "Well, in that case we'd better be going." Twilight cut in, quickly dragging Spike along. The Halfling quickly followed. "Wait, wait! What's his name?" "I'm Spike." Spike answered "Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?" "Dragonborn. And what do you wanna know?" "Absolutely everything." Twilight groaned that they were going to be followed. "Well... I started out as a cute little purple egg..." "...and that's the story of my whole entire life!" Spike concluded as they approached a giant, old looking tree that was now made to be a library, with a door in it's trunk and various windows around outside. "Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?" "Oh, yes, please!" Fluttershy replied with excitement. Twilight interupted before Spike could continue "I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville and my poor dragonborn assistant needs his sleep." "No I don't-" Spike replied before being tripped by Twilight's foot. "Aww, wook at dat, he's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!" Fluttershy quickly picked Spike up like a baby and opened the door. "Poor thing, you simply must get into bed." She ran right in and gently pushed the halfling out. "Yes, yes, we'll get right on that. Well, g'night!" She slammed the door, leaving the two in darkness. "Rude much? Spike asked "Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Queen that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy people trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the lantern?" The light illuminated as floating balls of light appeared, and inside was a bunch of people wearing various colorful clothes, all yelling one thing in unison. "Surprise!" "Surprise!" The same gnome from earlier appeared in Twilight's face, bouncing around. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?" "Very surprised." Twilight answered with some spite. "Libraries are supposed to be quiet." She walked away to pour herself a complimentary drink. "Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all like," She gasped "remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everybody, and I mean everybody in Ponyville! And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went-" Another deep gasp "I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!" Standing behind the gnome was the rest of the interesting characters Twilight and Spike had met. Twilight's eyes teared up upon drinking, and began to cough hard. "Are you all right, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. Twilight didn't answer, running off and ran up the stairs into where her room was going to be. "Aww, she's so happy she's crying!" Pinkie spoke. Rainbow Dash took a tankard and drank from the same bowl Twilight got her drink from. "Huh. It's cider. Guess she's a bit of a lightweight." "Eh, our family cider has been strong." Applejack replied. "Guess she's too used to wine." "Ahem!" Rarity spoke up. "Alright... maybe not." Twilight laid in bed, trying to sleep, but couldn't as there was loud singing going on, a well known song mostly sang by dwarves. The door opened with Spike peeking in. "Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie's starting pin the tail on the kobold! Wanna join?" "No!" Twilight yelled "All the folks in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!" "It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everybody has to stay up, or they'll miss the Queen herself showing off her might! You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party." Spike left Twilight alone, who imitated him in a mocking fashion. "Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" She looked outside to see the moon in the sky. It was a full moon, revealing what looked like a the side profile of a woman's head in the moon "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night. I hope the Queen was right... I hope it really is just an old wive's tale..." She was interrupted by Spike barging in. "C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!" Crowds of fellow villagers were inside the town hall, alongside several guards on guard duty, a bit crowded, but there was space for everyone to move. Twilight and Spike stood in the middle. Pinkie came out of nowhere, surprising the two. "Isn't this exciting?" She asked "Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went-" A deep gasp "but I mean really, who can top that?" The chirping of Fluttershy's birds were heard as the halfling orchestrated them all. Standing onstage was a middle aged woman wearing authoritative looking robes. "Ladies and Gentlemen," She began "as the elected leader of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!" The crowd cheered loudly before going quiet. "In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very elf who keeps us safe and orderly every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria... Queen Celestia!" Rarity, above on the balcony, pulled some ropes to open the drapes, only for Celestia to not be there. There was a collective number of confused murmurs. "This can't be good." Twilight murmured to herself. "Remain calm, everybody, there must be a reasonable explanation!" "Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games!" Pinkie spoke up "Is she hiding?" "She's gone!" Rarity yelled, looking behind the curtains. There was collective gasps from the crowd. "Ooh, she's good." The entire place went dark, save for the moon, where the woman-looking shape disappeared in a flash, with a beam of light coming down at the building. There was a huge blast, pushing everyone down, even making Rarity fall and take a hard landing. The smoke cleared, as standing in the middle of the wreckage was a lone figure, a woman by the looks of it, who stood just as tall as Celestia. Her hair was silver, the skin as dark blue as the night itself, and she wore pure black armor over drapes of blue that waved in the wind. She looked around with her feline-like blue eyes, seeing everyone in shock and fear. "Oh, my beloved subjects." She spoke in a sultry voice "It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." "What did you do with our Queen?!" Rainbow Dash demanded, ready to charge at the woman, but was held back by Applejack. "Whoa there, Nelly!" Applejack yelled. The mysterious woman chuckled "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" "Ooh, ooh, more guessing games!" Pinkie smoke "Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty-" She was muffled as Applejack stuffer her mouth with some ham. The woman towered over Fluttershy as she cowered. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" She asked before turning to a down Rarity, placing her cold fingers across the dwarf's face "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs!?" "I did." Twilight spoke, standing in front of the crowd. "And I know who you are. You're the Mistress in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" A collective gasp escaped from everyone. "Well well well, somebody who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." "You're here to... to..." Twilight sweated hard. Nightmare Moon only chuckled "Remember this day, peasants, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" She began to cackle loudly, as lightning formed in her hands. "Seize her!" The village leader yelled "Only she knows where the queen is!" The soldiers in the place began to charge at Nightmare Moon. "Stand back, you fools! ELDRITCH BLAST!!!" She blasted the balls of lightning from her hands, pushing 2 soldiers back by ten feet, knocking them unconscious immediately. Screaming was heard everywhere, as people ran out. "Gaseous form!" Pounding her own chest, Nightmare Moon turned into a dark cloud and exited the building. Rainbow Dash got out of Applejack's grapple and flew after the cloud. "Come back here!" Nightmare Moon as the cloud disappeared past the hills and into the nearby forest "Nighttime? Forever?" She looked down to see Twilight running out of the building with Spike at her side. Dash landed as the rest of the others walked out "Where's she going?" "Likely her library." Applejack answered. "And we should head there as well." "Oh we will," Rarity spoke "right after we change into something more... outgoing now." Spike stirred in his sleep as Twilight placed him in his bed. "Uh... We gotta stop Nightmare!..." "You've been up all night, Spike." Twilight spoke in a soft coo "You are still a child after all." She walked out of his room, closing the door and looking around in her library "Elements, elements, elements... Ugh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" "And just what are the Elements of Harmony!?" Ranbow Dash demanded, wearing light armor that covered her body, with a shield in her left hand and a short sword in the other, pointing the blade at Twilight's neck, causing her to back up. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy!?" She was pulled down by her feet by Applejack, wearing the same clothes as before, but now having a huge axe strapped to her back. "Simmer down, Sally. She ain't no spy." Applejack spoke before releasing Dash "But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?" Twilight noticed that Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy entered, wearing more adventurous clothes. Rarity had on chain mail armor with a shield and a greatsword strapped to her back, with a light crossbow on her left side. Pinkie wore leather armor with a dagger held on her left side, a sling on the right, and a lute on her back. Fluttershy wore leather armor herself, with a dagger at her side, but also a shortbow on her back. And though she didn't see it first, Rainbow Dash appeared to have 5 javelins sticking from her back, with enough space so her wings wouldn't get caught, but also let her reach over and pull said javelins out. Twilight took in a deep breath. "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!" "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide." Pinkie read aloud, carrying a book in her hands. Twilight ran over and took the book "How did you find that?!" "♫It was under "E"!♫" "...Oh." Twilight opened the book and read aloud "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal elf sisters. It is located in what is now-" "The Everfree Forest!" Everyone shouted as they stood on a bridge that lead into said dark forest. "Whee! Let's go!" Pinkie spoke, taking the first few steps. "Not so fast." Twilight spoke, making Pinkie stop "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own. I am a witch, and with my spellbook, I'll be able to do this." "No can do, sugarcube." Applejack spoke, walking into the forest, followed by the others "We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone, and we ain't prepared for nothin'. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple." "Especially if there's candy apples in there." Pinkie added, getting a confused look from Twilight. "What? Those things are good." Twilight sighed in defeat, following the party, pulling her spellbook out just to be ready. "So, none of you have been in here before?" Twilight asked as they all walked into the forest, right beside a cliff "Ugh, heavens no!" Rarity andwered "Just look at it;it's dreadful." "And it ain't natural." Applejack added "Folks say it don't work the same as other forests." "What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked. "Nobody knows." Rainbow Dash replied in a mocking, spooky voice, tip toeing to the others "You know why?" "Rainbow, quit it." Applejack ordered. "'Cause everybody who's ever come in has never come out!" At that moment, the cliff they were on cracked, causing a rockslide. Rainbow flapped her wings as Fluttershy, out of pure reaction, turned into an eagle. "Fluttershy! Quick!" Dash flew down, quickly, with Fluttershy following, making only a loud screech in response. Rainbow Dash was able to pick up Rarity, huffing from her heavy weight, as Fluttershy used her talons to pick up Pinkie, also struggling a bit. Applejack grabbed on to some roots of a tree, but looked down, seeing Twilight hanging on to the side of a cliff. "Hold on! I'm a-comin'!" Applejack spoke, releasing the root and sliding down steadily to Twilight. "Applejack! What do I do!?" Twilight asked, sweating nervously. Applejack looked up before back to Twilight. "...Let go." "Are you crazy?" "No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe." "That's not true!" "Now listen here. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but what I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe." Twilight looked at Applejack, nervously swallowed, and released. She screamed loudly before felt herself being picked up. Looking up showed that Rainbow Dash had caught her. "Glad to know you're lighter than Rarity." Rainbow Dash joked. "I heard that!" Rarity yelled from below, standing beside Pinkie and Fluttershy, back to her normal self. Twilight turned to see Applejack scaling down the mountain with her bare hands, jumping off when she was about her size up from the ground. The sounds of an animal roaring made them all jump. "Uh, perhaps we should get a move on?" Twilight suggested. But before they could go anywhere, standing between two rock formations that lead to where they were heading was a lion-like monster with a vaguely humanoid head, wings of a dragon, and a long tail that ended with a cluster of deadly spikes. "What the hell is that!?" Rainbow Dash asked, taking her sword and shield out, "A Manticore!" The monster let out a ferocious roar. "We've gotta get past it!" "Um, girls?" Fluttershy spoke. The Manticore leaped at Rarity, who was quick enough to use her shield to defend herself, and swung her sword at it, cutting it a bit. "Take that, you ruffian!" She yelled, showing more of her Dwarven accent doing so. The Manticore roared at her, making her cover her ears a bit. "Wait." Fluttershy spoke. The Manticore was ready to bite Rarity's head off, but felt something on it's back. Looking up was Applejack, pulling on it's mane. The Manticore began to shave violently as Applejack held of "YEE-HAW! Git along, little dogie. "Wait." Fluttershy continued. The Manticore threw it's head back and tossed Applejack in front, making the human roll on the floor a bit, landing by Rainbow Dash's feet. "All yours, partner." "I'm on it." Rainbow Dash replied, charging at the monster "Wait!" Fluttershy insisted again. Rainbow Dahs was quickly clawed at, by the manticore, giving her armor a bad but. "Rainbow!" Twilight yelled. Dash got up and coughed a bit, but looked back at the beast. Twilight picked up her spell book and looked at her strongest spell, Flaming Sphere. She and the others charged ahead, before Fluttershy stood in their way. "WAIT!" She yelled. Everyone stopped. The Halfling turned to the Manticore and approached it. The Manticore prepared to swipe at her, causing everyone to flinch and cover their eyes."Shhh... It's okay." Everyone reopened their eyes, seeing the Manticore not attacking, but presenting it's paw, showing a huge thorn in it's paw "Oh, you poor, poor little baby." "Little?" Rainbow commented "Now this might hurt for just a second." Her hands glowed green as she pulled the thorn out. The monster roared loudly. "Fluttershy!" Everyone yelled in fear, before seeing the Manticore was licking the halfling's face, purring even. Fluttershy only giggled. "Aw you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are." During that, everyone took the opportunity to sneak around the beast. Twilight stopped, seeing the Manticore had ran back into the forest, leaving Fluttershy with a sticky hair. "How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked "Circle of the shepard." Fluttershy answered "Sometimes, we all just need to be shown a little kindness, even to the most dangerous of creatures. "Ugh, my eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." Rarity spoke, followed by the trees covering the moonlight, leaving them in darkness "Well, I didn't mean that literally." "That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it."Twilight spoke. "Don't you all have dark vision?" Applejack asked. "I can't see anything!" Rainbow Dash replied. "I think it's magical darkness." Pinkie spoke. "I doubt my spells can work here." Twilight added "Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin'." Applejack spoke. Fluttershy quickly screamed "It's just mud." Loud growling came, as light came in, revealing the trees to have frightening, humanoid faces. Everyone screamed loudly, but stopped upon hearing laughter. They looked to see Pinkie making funny faces at the trees. "Pinkie, what are you doing?!" Twilight asked "Run!" "Oh girls, don't you see?" Pinkie spoke, pulling out her lute and began to sing. ♬When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...♬ "Tell me she's not..." ♬The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown...♬ "She is." Rarity replied. ♬I'd hide under my pillow From what I thought I saw But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way To deal with fears at all♬ "Then what is?" Rainbow asked ♬She said, "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall Learn to face your fears You'll see that they can't hurt you Just laugh to make them disappear."♬ "Ha! Ha! Ha!" Pinkie made some fake laughs, making one of the faces of the trees morph back into a regular tree. Everyone gasped at what she was doing. With Pinkie's singing, and knowing what they had to do, joined. ♬So, giggle at the ghostly Guffaw at the grossly Crack up at the creepy Whoop it up with the weepy Chortle at the kooky Snortle at the spooky♬ ♬And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna...♬ hahahaha... heh... ♬Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh!♬ Laughter erupted from everyone as light had returned, and the trees were back to normal. They kept laughing a bit, which died down quite a bit, with their spirits at an all time high. They stopped as they saw a raging river. "How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie asked. There was a distant cry in the distance. They looked over to see an 18 feet tall, aquatic looking creature, wearing beautiful clothing consisting of pearls, crying, causing the waters to go violent. "What a world, what a world" It cried. "Stay behind me." Twilight spoke. That's a marid. If my studies are correct, it's a powerful being who uses slaves." "Slaves!?" Fluttershy asked before being shushed. Twilight approached. "Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?" "Well, I don't know." The Marid answered, tearing up "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved hair clean off, and now I look simply horrid." He wailed again, causing water to splash on them all. "Oh, give me a break." Rainbow muttered "That's what all the fuss is about?" Applejack added "Why, of course it is."Rarity replied "How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent clothing." "I know." The Marid sniffled "And your expertly coiffed pearls." "Oh, I know, I know." "Your fabulous manicure." It gasped "It's so true! "All ruined without your beautiful hair. "It's true, I'm hideous!" "I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" Rarity took out a handaxe from her back and lifted it dramatically before using the other to lift up her hair. "Rarity, what are you-!?" Twilight asked before watching Rarity slice her hair off easily, making herself nearly bald. Rarity's hands glowed, picking up her hair and putting it on the Marid's head. The Marid patted it's head before cheering. "My hair! How wonderful!" "You look smashing." Rarity complimented "Rarity... you have magic?" Twilight asked. "Oh of course, dear. And don't worry about me, short hair is in this season. Besides, it'll grow back." "So would his hair." Rainbow Dash commented. Twilight rolled her eyes before seeing the stream was now calm "We can cross now. Let's go." Twilight spoke, before a bridge was conjured up. "Allow me, on behalf of the dwarf who made be beautiful again." It spoke before going into the stream, back into it's home. The party ventured through the forest and into the opening, standing next to a bridge, which connected over a canyon to the other side. On the other side of the bridge was some ruined castle "There it is!" Twilight cheered "The ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!" She started to run ahead. "Twilight, wait for us!" Applejack yelled "We're almost there. Whoa!" She stood at the edge of the cliff that the bridge, flailing her arms back. Rainbow Dash pulled her back. "What's with you and cliffs?" She asked. "Now what?" Pinkie asked. "Duh." Rainbow Dash showed off her wings before jumping off the cliff. She disappeared under the clouds beneath, reemerging quickly with the end ropes in her hands. She began to tighten up and tie the first rope up, but stopped. "Rainbow..." A voice echoed. "Who's there?" "Rainbow..." Dash pulled out her sword and shielf "I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!" "We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best paladin in Equestria." "Who?" "Why, you, of course." "Really?! I mean... Oh yeah, me. Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? 'cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever." "No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us, The Shadowbolts." Emerging from a fog was a trio of knights, all wearing black armor with piercing red eyes illuminating from the darkness in their helmets. "We're the greatest paladins in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria, but first, we need a captain." Dash looked a bit suspicious. The knights walked around her. "The most magnificent-" "Yep." "Swiftest-" "Yes." "Bravest hero in all the land." "Yes, it's all true." "We need... you." "WOOHOO! Sign me up. Just let me tie this bridge real quick and then we have a deal." The knights stood in the way of the last rope. "No! It's them or us." "Rainbow, what's taking so long?" Twilight asked. She squinted her eyes, seeing the unknown knights standing in front of the rope. "Oh no. Rainbow! Don't listen to them." One of the Shadowbolts raised an arm, creating a bubble around them all. "Well?" The Shadowbolts asked. Dash looked at them all. "You..." Dash spoke. They reached for her, but Dash quickly turned to the rope. "Thank you! For the offer, I mean, but I'm afraid I have to say no." Dash turned around and flew back to the others. Like the fog, the Shadowbolts vanished away. Dash landed with her party. "See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'." The entire party entered the ruins of the castle. Standing in the middle was an alter of some sort with 5 balls of stone surrounding a larger ball of stone. "Whoa." Twilight spoke, looking at her book. "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?" Applejack asked. "The Elements of Harmony, we've found them." Dash flew over to one of the ball, picking them up from their place. "Careful, careful!" "One, two, three, four... There's only five!" Pinkie counted "Where's the sixth?" Rainbow Dash asked, placing the last one to the floor. "The book said: when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked. "I'm not sure, but I have an idea." She pulled out her spell book "Stand back. I don't know what will happen." Everyone stood back as Twilight scrolled through her pages. "Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." Twilight sat down and read her book, finding a spell that would work as everyone walked out. A mist entered the room, picking up the elements of harmony and glowed. Twilight looked up to see the Elements floating, but not by her own method. "The Elements!" The screamed, jumping into the mist, vanishing with them. The rest of the party entered, looking everywhere for her/ "Twilight, where are you?" "Look!" Rarity pointed, seeing that light in a tower. "Come on!" Twilight Sparkle found herself in another place, coughing and regaining her sight. She gasped as she saw Nightmare Moon with the elements, laughing evily. She pulled out her spell book and found her spell. Her hands glowed as she used a spell. "WEB!!!" She yelled, firing a huge mass of thick, sticky webbing at Nightmare Moon, enasing her in it. She then fired some green goo at Nightmare Moon's face. "ACID ARROW!!!" The acid burned Nightmare Moon's face, but the dark magic in her quickly healed her. "You're kidding." She spoke in an unamused tone "You're kidding, right?" She pointed a finger at Twilight. "HELLISH REBUKE!!!" Twilight felt an immediate burning sensation, and jumped out of the way as pillar of flames almost surrounded her. Her dress was caught on fire, rendering her to pat the flames out quickly. Nightmare Moon got out of the webs easily and strolled to her. "ELDRITCH BLAST!!!" She yelled, firing the same blast of lightning at Twillight. Twilight got up. "You took my two level 2 spells!?" she cracked her fingers. "Luckily, I got 4 level one spells, and plenty of cantrips." She pointed her hands out."MAGIC MISSILE!!!" three glowing darts of magical force came out of her hands. One took the blast, another directly into Nightmare Moon's chest, and the last one at the elements. "No, no!" Nightmare turned to see missile had hit the elements in the middle and caused them to glow a bit, before quickly dying out. "But... where's the sixth Element?!" Nightmare Moon only laughed. "ELDRITCH BLAST!!!" She blasted her spell at the elements, making them all explode into small pieces. "You little fool! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your queen, or your sun! The night will last forever!" She laughed at her victory. The sounds of Twilight's party was heard, all rushing ahead to the battle. Twilight had an epiphany. "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!" She spoke as everyone got to her side, weapons ready. The fragments of the Elements of Harmony got up and began to circle around the party. "What!?" "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful marid with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty! The spirits of these five people helped us through these challenges!" "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" "But it did! A different kind of spark." She looked back to her party "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!" She turned back to Nightmare Moon, with another stone sphere over her head. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" The shards of the elements of harmony went into the party, turning into necklaces, but a tiara for Twilight. A blast of multi colored magic blasted at Nightmare Moon, who lifter her hands out to block it away, but failed. "Nooo! Nooo!" Then everything went bright, and dark instantly. Everyone woke up, drowsy, but unharmed. "Ugh, my head." Rainbow Dash spoke. "Everyone okay?" Applejack asked "Oh, thank goodness." Rarity spoke, having her old hair back again. "Why Rarity, it's so lovely." Fluttershy complimented "I know! I'll never part with it again." "No. Your necklace. It looks just like a diamond." "What? Ooh. So does yours, but it's a butterfly." "Look at mine! Look at mine!" Pinkie spoke, with her necklace in the shape of a lute "Aw yeah!" Dash spoke, with her necklace looking like a cloud with lightning. "Gee, Twilight!" Applejack spoke, her necklace being an apple "I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship." "Indeed you do." The all familiar, motherly voice was heard. The sun rose once again, and walking out from the sunlight, towering over them all, was Celestia herself, wearing her white robes with golden highlights on the edges. The party members quickly bowed to her, laying their weapons to the ground in respect. Twilight quickly got to Celestia's feet and bowed to her. "Queen Celestia!" "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student." She placed a reaffirming hand on her head. "I knew you could do it." "But... you told me it was all an old wife tale." "I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!" Everyone looked down to see that in Nightmare Moon's place, was another elf, younger looking than Celestia, with brighter, but still darker skin and hair that looked like a calm night, wearing a simple black dress. Her eyes opened, and she gasped in fear as Celestia approached her. Celestia got down to her knees, seeing the elf, Luna, cowering. "It has been a hundred years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." "Sister?" Everyone asked,. "Will you accept my friendship?" Tears were in Luna's eyes before she gave Celestia a hug. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" "I've missed you, too." Pinkie sobbed heavily before snapping out of it. "Hey, you know what this calls for?" She asked. "A party!!!" Another party was held in Ponyville, with the sun returning, and everyone happy to see their queen was still alive, Luna, meanwhile, hid behind her sister, with the news not being shared that she was actually Celesitia's sister. Spike was awake now, giving Twilight a supporting hug, though the Half-Elf still felt a bit down. Celestia took notice. "Why so glum, my faithful student?" She asked "Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" "That's just it." Twilight answered "Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." "... Spike, take a note, please." Spike quicjky nodded, pulling out a quill and scroll out. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the Half-Elf Witch. Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville." Twilight was met with her friends joining at her side. "Oh thank you, your majesty! I'll study harder than ever before!" Cheering came from everyone as a new chapter was made in Twilight's life.