//------------------------------//
// In Spite of a Horseshoe 
// Story: Friendship is Abundant 
// by Wind Whistler 
//------------------------------//

I removed an awkwardly placed conversation, since I came up with a way to explain what was in it with the improved version of the first chapter.

I updated this as well as the other first four chapters (she now has a minor role in chapter three) in order to adjust to the canon personality and name Derpy was given. Because of this, I'm sure that she'll be more entertaining. Also, she's now the only pony that calls Golden Harvest "Carrot Top."




Episode Two: In Spite of a Horseshoe


Once Twilight Sparkle got back to the library with her new allies, her first priority was to tuck a sleeping Spike in bed. She was originally going to have Spike sleep in a basket with a blanket and pillow, but Golden Harvest insisted that he should sleep on a proper bed. Once they took care of Spike, Twilight and Golden Harvest headed back to the main section of the library where Trixie, Colgate, Derpy Hooves, and Vinyl Scratch were situated.
"Just tell us all what to do and we'll see what we can do," Vinyl Scratch stated.
"Trixie added, "Yes, tell Trixie what your so called amazing plan is."
"To find a book that can help us, duh!" Twilight groaned. "I need to find a book about the Elements of Harmony, so that I can stop Nightmare Moon."
"Aha! You want all the glory for yourself then. Trixie knew it!"
"I never said anything along the lines of that."
"You said that you wanted to stop Nightmare Moon, not we."
"It's not like you would want to share the glory with anypony else in the first place you big hypocrite!"
"STOP!!!" Golden Harvest shouted with all her might. All the other ponies in the room were rendered temporarily speechless. "If you both keep bringing each other down like that, the two of you won't even be able to stop her."
Once Twilight regained her senses, she raised one of her front hooves and asked Trixie, "Until we defeat Nightmare Moon?"
Trixie hesitated for a while, but she eventually repeated, "Until we defeat Nightmare Moon." She raised a hoof as well and joined it with the one Twilight extended.
"Umm, excuse me," Colgate said to Twilight. She continued after being sure that Twilight was paying attention, "I was wondering... What are the Elements of Harmony and what do they do?"
"I don't know," Twilight Sparkle told her. "But I do know that they are the only things that can stop Nightmare Moon."
"Is it alright if I help you look for a book relating to that?"
"It is."
Colgate went up to the bookshelves and began looking through them. Even though Twilight Sparkle loves reading and is rather organized, she ironically has a difficult time looking for books. She doesn't want to admit it, but Twilight appreciates it whenever Spike finds what she needs. This is the first time she openly accepted help finding books from somepony else.
Derpy Hooves came up to Twilight and said, "I'll help too!"
Twilight answered,  "Well... Why not?"
The gray pegasus flew up to the bookshelf and brought back a book. She presented it to Twilight.
Twilight saw that it was titled, How to Make Bombs at Home. “Do you seriously think bombs will thwart Nightmare Moon?”
“Nah. I just like the pretty explosions. Boom!”
Just then, one of the books glowed and it levitated down in front of Twilight. She saw that it was titled The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. Twilight was just about to thank the first pony who volunteered to help when Trixie spoke up.
"You honestly need others to find the right book?"
"Of course I don't," Twilight said. “...But I have to admit this is the perfect book. I'll get to reading right away." Twilight opened the book and read a passage to the others, "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 pony sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree Forest."
Some frightened gasps could be heard from the others. Trixie who didn't appear astonished at all bragged to the others, "Trixie knows all about the Everfree Forest, but she would like to see what you all know."
"It's dangerous,"Golden Harvest stated.
Colgate explained, "It doesn't follow the same laws as the rest of Equestria."
“It's a forest,” Derpy said.
Vinyl Scratch leapt in front of Trixie and shouted, "And nopony can hear you scream as beasts SHRED YOU UP INTO BILLIONS OF PIECES!" She then chuckled evilly at what she had just said.
Trixie let out a loud and very high pitched shriek and cowered down. Derpy then came up to Trixie and shouted as loud as she could in one of her ears. That made Trixie scream again.
“You know Great and Powerful Trixie,” Derpy told her, “it's funny to hear you scream.”
Golden Harvest went to the frightened unicorn and said to her, "We'll be sticking together, so don't worry about it too much.
Trixie swiftly stood up and told the others, "Trixie wasn't scared! She was just practicing how to drive away the monsters!"
"Well, that would definitely drive them away," Twilight Sparkle snarked. Trixie was just about to say something, but she stopped herself. Twilight then stated, "There's some more about the Elements of Harmony in here." After receiving some encouragement, she continued, "There is a way to bring upon the sixth Element. When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed. When they are recognized, the six Elements of Harmony can be used to thwart tyranny."
"So we have to bring the five Elements together to make the sixth one appear?" Colgate inquired.
"It appears so. Since I think we're done here, ready to head to this Everfree Forest?"
Everypony said that they were ready, even Trixie. Vinyl Scratch raised her shades above her eyes before she headed out with the others. Once they left the library, Golden Harvest led the others to the Everfree Forest.



At the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, Twilight Sparkle took a look at the foliage that it was composed of. The plant life appeared different than it does in other places, so she assumed that was why the other ponies feared this place. Still, Twilight was just as determined to go in and find the Elements of Harmony needed to stop Nightmare Moon's reign of darkness.
"Let me lead the way," Twilight Sparkle said as she entered the Everfree Forest proper. The other ponies followed her. Soon, the ground they were treading on lacked grass. Twilight saw that there were two paths to take: one straight ahead that leads up higher, and another to the side that goes down. Ascending the high path could easily lead to a dead end due to unsteady terrain, so she opted to lead the group downhill. It didn't seem that there were going to be any alternate paths for a while, as the one Twilight chose led them into a long canyon-like structure. They could tell that they are still in the Everfree Forest from the trees and bushes growing beside each wall.
"This'll take time!" Vinyl blurted out.
"So," Twilight began, "what do you want me to do about it? You know that I want to get there as fast as-"
"We can all have a scaring competition to lighten us all up!" the white unicorn interrupted.
"I got something better!" Derpy Hooves explained. She flew up and produced a storm cloud. Derpy then bounced up and down on it which made thunder shoot out from all over. “Look at me! I got a trampoline!” In the process, a bunch of trees got fried. “WHEEEEE!” It was then when one bolt came and electrocuted Trixie.
Upon getting zapped, Trixie screamed, “WHAT THE HAY WAS THAT FOR?! Is there something you have against Trixie, you stupid, retarded, little cross-eyed pony?!”
“Nope. What gave you that idea?”
“Maybe this isn't the best time for trampoline time,” Golden Harvest said.
Just then, Twilight felt a tremor. She then saw a purple cloud seep out of the ground and fly off ahead. "Nightmare Moon!" The ground behind Twilight's group began to collapse. All of the ponies began to run from the growing hole that presumably leads deep down under Equestria. All of them except Derpy Hooves, since she was able to fly.
"Gallop faster everypony!" Golden Harvest commanded while running ahead of the unicorns.
"I'm trying!" Colgate screamed. A crack then appeared in front of the blue and white maned unicorn and expanded. Colgate couldn't stop in time, thus sending her into the black void. She screamed until she realized that Derpy caught hold of her. The cross-eyed pegasus began to fly Colgate towards safe ground.
The ground in front of Twilight Sparkle collapsed as well, but she was able to stop in time. Twilight looked at the pit and saw that it was too huge for her to leap over. "This might be it!" she yelled in order to be heard. "Go on without me and bring a stop to Nightmare Moon!"
The sole earth pony turned around and made a bound across the gap to Twilight. "I'm not leaving you behind! Get on!" The purple unicorn got a hold of her and Golden Harvest jumped across that same pit. The ground the two of them were just on crumbled into oblivion. Golden Harvest darted as fast as she could from the ever expanding chasm. Once the ground stopped falling apart and Golden Harvest caught up with the others, Twilight got off her back.
"Why did you save me when you could of just saved yourself?" Twilight asked.
Golden Harvest explained, "I just couldn't look at myself the same way if I just abandoned you like that."
"Thanks Golden Harvest. That was very kind of you to risk your life for me."
"I'm sure that if there was a similar situation where I needed your help, you would save me." Even though she knows that Nightmare Moon is still a very real threat, Twilight couldn't help but smile at Golden Harvest's kindness towards her.
"I felt my adrenaline rushing back there!" Vinyl Scratch shouted. "I want to experience it again!"
Trixie tried to seem as calm as possible when she told her, "Trixie says that it is unwise to experience unnecessary danger solely for entertainment."
"You gotta loosen up and have fun, Trickster!"
"What kind of lame name is Trickster anyways? Trixie's name is Trixie, not Trickster!"
All of the sudden Derpy said, “We'll stop Nightmare Moon! We'll stop Nightmare Moon! We'll stop Nightmare Moon! We'll stop Nightmare Moon! And have muffins cause they're so taaasty!” She repeated this many times.
“What the heck are you doing?”
Derpy stopped and explained, “I'm singing!” She went back to what she was doing instantaneously.
Aside from the “song,” the rest of the trek through the canyon was rather uneventful.



At the point where the walls stopped, it began to look like an actual forest again. A sea of tall, intimidating trees stood in front of the six mares, daring them to go through. Since they appeared different than the ones she saw when they entered, Twilight hypothesized that they were getting closer to the castle. The ponies went forth into the thicket, unsure what they'll come across. About a few minutes later, their surroundings became pitch black. Twilight Sparkle stopped in her tracks in order to not run into anything. Unfortunately for her, the other ponies didn't do the same. Amongst the confusion that comes with the lack of visibility, they all tumbled and knocked Twilight down with them.
"Sorry!" Colgate said instantly.
"No, it's alright," Twilight stated. She got up and told the other unicorns, "Everypony who can illuminate the forest, do so now."
It turned out that all of the unicorns except Colgate could produce light from their horns. With her eyes closed and a smug look on her face, Trixie told the other ponies, "Hah! The Illumination spell is for amateurs! It is foal's play for somepony like the Great and Powerful Trixie!" All of the sudden, Trixie could hear screams coming from the other ponies. She was partially successful in suppressing a scream, leading to an "Eeep!" Trixie then said, "It's probably nothing... right?" At that moment, Trixie opened her eyes and found herself in front of a tree with monstrous fangs that could snap a pony in half. She let out a shriek that somehow happened to outclass the one she made back at the library. After realizing that every other tree was like that, Trixie cowered down and shut her eyes.
Derpy Hooves came up to Trixie again and screamed into her ears.
After she finished her screaming, Trixie told her, "That's not funny!"
“You're sense of humor must be broken,” Derpy stated.
"How the heck can you think of messing around when a bunch of trees are about to eat us?!"
Derpy looked around and said, “They're trees with teeth. I bet they munch hard.”
Colgate got up and said to Derpy, "Wait a minute! You said trees with teeth, right?"
“And they're pretty as well.”
She then told the other ponies, "Take a closer look at these trees!"
"Umm, if you say so," Twilight answered.
"Alright," said Golden Harvest.
Vinyl Scratch stated, "Taking another peek at these gnarly monsters is good for an awesome fright, so I will."
"Trixie just can't!" Trixie cried.
"It'll be alright," Colgate said calmly. “You can get up.”
“Fine...” Reluctantly, she got back up and reopened her eyes.
“I don't think that these trees will hurt us.” Colgate went over to one of the trees and raised one of her front hooves up to the mouth.
“DON'T DO IT!” Trixie shrieked. Just as Colgate put her hoof in between the sharp fangs, Trixie ran up and shoved her away from the tree. “What were you even thinking of doing?!”
“I was proving that the trees weren't dangerous. I noticed that their dental structure is abnormal.”
“You scare so so so easily!” Vinyl Scratch pointed out.
Trixie got back on her hooves, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is never afraid!”
“But you seemed so afraid earlier,” Colgate stood up.
“And you scream whenever I zap you or scream into your eardrums,” Derpy said.
“Well, Trixie wasn't scared,” Trixie claimed.
“I can tell that you were and there's nothing wrong with that,” Colgate tried to reassure.
“But there is. Who will admire the Great and Powerful Trixie if she's a coward?”
“Even though you get scared at times, I like you.”
“Because you heard that the Great and Powerful Trixie is the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria, no doubt.”
“Actually, that's not the reason. Most magical unicorn is such a big name to live up to, so I figured you made that up to get more attention.”
“You must be lying then. I'm admired for being the Great and Powerful Trixie. That is the reason why she's liked.”
“There's more to you than that. You decided to help defeat Nightmare Moon instead of running away like most of the other ponies.”
“But that was so Trixie could get the fame that comes along with saving daytime, nothing more.”
“That's probably true, but when you thought that I was in danger, you tried to save me.”
“Look, Trixie only did it, so that she would look like a hero,” Trixie claimed. “If you aren't going to admire me as the Great and Powerful Trixie, then don't admire her at all. You're too good a pony to be fooling yourself like that.”
Colgate came up to Trixie and hugged her. Even though she tried to look as tough as possible, Trixie couldn't help but cry from the gesture.
“Trixie, actually being modest?” Twilight whispered in Golden Harvest's ear.
“I believe so,” she responded.
“Hmm... I'll just have to wait and see if it's genuine or not...”
“And I'll wait for the perfect opportunity to have fun with her again!” Derpy exclaimed.



Ready to go on, Twilight trotted past the scary-looking trees and the others followed. The density of the trees let up, allowing for the moonlight to reach the ground. Sooner than they expected, Twilight's group came upon a raging river. Twilight Sparkle was thinking of ways to get through when they heard crying from upstream. Soon, they saw a long tail thrashing within a river. It was attached to a sea serpent.
“What a world, what a world!” cried the sea serpent as he continued to thrash about.
“What's the problem?” Golden Harvest asked.
“Well, I don't know. 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 mustache clean off!” He pointed to where his mustache has been cut off. “And now I look simply horrid!” The serpent's body fell down into the water, splashing the ponies.
Once he got back up, a wet Trixie told him, “So you won’t be able to go to the male beauty pageant for a while then. It’s not like it’s the end of the world or anything.”
“But it so is! The beauty pageant is what I live for! All the other sea serpents will think that I’m hideous, and they're right!” He began to cry louder than before.
“You honestly go to a beauty pageant? Trixie was only kidding!”
“I have an idea on how to put him on could nine,” Vinyl Scratch stated.
“Feel free to do whatever you need to do, Vinyl Scratch,” Golden Harvest encouraged.
Vinyl Scratch turned to the sea serpent and told him, “In my ‘pinion, you’re taking things a bit too seriously. You gotta loosen up and laugh every now and then.”
“But what do I have to laugh about?” the sea serpent wept.
“Well, it’s kinda funny how your life could become such a wreck just cause your stache got messed up.”
“I might have been overstating how bad my life might be with such a horrid mustache… I suppose that I could laugh about that.” The serpent let out a small chuckle.
“There. You feeling better now?”
“I think I’m beginning to. I think it’s also a bit silly how everybody would hate me just because of how I look.” He let out a louder laugh than before. “Just because my girlfriend dumped me for not wearing my makeup the other day doesn’t mean that my life is terrible.”
“It’s radical that you learned to laugh despite what happened to you,” Vinyl told him.
“This is so wonderful! Oh, thank you so much for making me so happy and giggly! I'm just so bouncy now!” The overjoyed sea serpent just couldn't keep his tail still.
Twilight saw that they still had no way across the raging river, so she decided to ask, “If you don't mind, sir, could you help us across?”
“Of course!” The laughing serpent grabbed all of the ponies and placed them on the other side of the river. “See you all later!



Once the river was out of sight, everypony heard a bloodcurdling scream just up ahead. “W-what was that?” a scared Trixie asked.
“I don't know,” Golden Harvest told her. “Just stay calm and we’ll all be fine.”
Suddenly, a giant ogre leapt up in front of the ponies. The huge, hulking monster was balding and one of his eyes was entirely white. He roared with all his might, spit flying out everywhere. Unsurprisingly, Trixie let out another high-pitched shriek.
“Awesome!” Derpy bursted out with excitement. “I bet he came to play and have fun with us! You know, because he let out a yell of excitement!”
“This is not a time to be silly! We should all be frightened of him!” Trixie shivered.
“So you finally admit that you’re scared,” Twilight Sparkle said with pride.
Golden Harvest told Twilight, “This isn’t the best time now, Twilight.”
The ogre reached with one of his massive hands for Trixie and Golden Harvest took notice. The orange earth pony rushed to the front of her and kicked the ogre’s hand as hard as she could. As the monster screamed in rage, Trixie was able to distance herself from him. The ogre swung his other arm at Golden Harvest, knocking her into a tree and leaving her dazed. He then resumed his pursuit for Trixie. Vinyl Scratch came to Trixie’s side and her horn began to glow. A loud guitar riff resonated from her horn and a music note came flying out. The note hit the ogre and it stunned him for a second. The next thing he did was swat Vinyl to the side.
Seeing that the ogre came after her once again, Trixie concentrated and materialized a black cloud. It hovered over the attacker and shot out a bolt of lighting that zapped him. The burn mark he received didn’t deter him one bit. As Colgate focused on the ogre, both her horn and the beast glowed the same color. Twilight noticed that the ogre’s movements were now slower, so she levitated a rock and threw it at him. Although slowed, the monster turned to head for the unicorn who chucked a stone at him. The purple unicorn threw more stones in an attempt to beat him down, but it was futile. Just then, the blue glow from the ogre disappeared and Twilight had no time to react against the swat she was just about to receive.
Once Twilight was swept to the side, Colgate apologized, “Sorry! I wasn't able to slow him down for long enough...”
“You tried your best,” Twilight told her.
Since Derpy was just watching, there was nothing to stop the monster from approaching Trixie.
The ogre came up to Trixie and said to her, “Cape.”
“What?” Trixie asked.
“Cape.” He pointed to Trixie's cape.
“Just leave us alone once Trixie gives you what you want!”
“Yes.” Trixie undone her blue cape and gave it to the ogre. The giant creature then stretched the cape and tied it around his head, forming an eye patch that hides his blank eye. He then said, “Hat, please.”
Trixie looked at her hat, then told him, “Uh, Trixie's hat doesn't look as magnificent without the matching cape, so she'll let you have it.” She levitated the hat and placed it on top of the ogre's bald spot.
“Thanks. Purple haze came and made my eye bad as well as make me bald.” He then walked away.
Twilight got up and asked the other ponies who were attacked, “Is everypony okay?”
“I am,” Golden Harvest told her.
“I'm cool,” stated Vinyl Scratch.
“Okay!” Derpy Hooves confirmed.
Twilght said, “If we're all set, then let's get going!”



After some more trekking through the Everfree Forest, the ponies spotted what appeared to be some ancient ruins. It was surrounded by a deep trench and a thick fog. It was unclear what was down there, as a haze obscured the view. Fortunately, there were two posts presumably there to hold a bridge up ahead. “Finally!” Twilight exclaimed. “The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. Let's go!” She rushed on ahead, but found out too late that there was no bridge. Twilight struggled with her front hooves, but it was no use. Trixie came and grabbed Twilight's tail with her teeth.
After dragging her to safety, Trixie took her grip off and told Twilight, “You're so reckless, you know!”
“Thanks.”
“Trixie didn't ask for your thanks.”
Golden Harvest said, “Excuse me, but how are we going to cross this?”
“Simple,” Twilight stated. She headed back to where the bridge is supposed to start and looked down. Twilight barely made out what she wanted to see, a bridge hanging down from the cliff she was on. Her horn began to glow. “I'll just take hold of this bridge here and fix it.” However, Twilight found that the bridge didn't move one bit, no matter how hard she tried. She headed back to the others.
“What's going on?” Golden Harvest inquired.
“My magic just won't go through these clouds for some reason.”
“Let Trixie try herself,” stated Trixie as she went over to where Twilight was. She tried the same thing that the unicorn before her attempted, but she was unsuccessful as well.
Colgate asked, “Why not have Derpy Hooves fix the bridge?”
Twilight looked over at Derpy and told her, “Derpy, you are our last hope... You really are, because there isn't another.”



Derpy Hooves glanced at Twilight before telling her, “I'll be right back! ” After taking off, she flew into the trench and took hold of the bridge's loose end. Derpy flew up to the other side and retied one of the ropes when a mysterious pony appeared from the fog. This stranger looked just like Pinkie Pie, except she was purple instead of pink and her eyes gave out a yellowish glow.
“Derpy! Derpy! I'm so glad to meet ya!” the Pinkie Pie lookalike bounced about, sounding just like her. “I'm Auntie Pie and we're going to have soooo much fun!”
Auntie Pie said “Auntie” in a weird way, but Derpy Hooves didn't hold it against her. Derpy let go of the bridge's rope and asked Auntie Pie, “You're Pinkie Pie's aunt?”
“Are you crazy in the noggin?!” Auntie Pie saw that Derpy looked confused, so she added, “But you can call me Pinkie Pie's aunt if you really really really want to.”
“I never seen you around here.”
“Don't be a silly filly! I don't live in Ponyville, Manehatten, or any of those places. I live my life to the fullest in the Everfree Forest!”
All of the sudden, Derpy felt sorry for Auntie Pie. Ponies must have been mean to her because of her glowing eyes, so she went to live away from them. All these years living in the Everfree Forest by herself must of made her go crazy.
“I bet that you would love some muffins, wouldn't ya?” Auntie Pie told her. A plate that served as a base to a tower of black and gray muffins appeared right next to the mysterious relative of Pinkie Pie's. “These are veryveryveryveryvery special muffins! They're yummier than every other muffin in the whole entire world!
Derpy said, “I'd love some! I'll fix this bridge so that my friends can enjoy them as well.”
As she headed to retie the last rope, Auntie Pie rushed in front of Derpy and giggled, “Oh, you don't want to do that, Derpy!”
“How else are we going to share these muffins with my fends?”
“They're not going to have muffins. Like, duh! You are going to have to choose between these oh so delicious muffins and them!” Auntie Pie managed to look just as cheerful despite having Derpy having to choose between two things she likes.
Trixie was watching the conversation that was taking place. She shouted at Derpy, “Don't tell Trixie that you are abandoning us for, for, for muffins!”
Derpy glanced at her friends, then back to Auntie Pie. “I appreciate that you made all these muffins all the way in the Everfree Forest just for me, but I can't leave my friends.” Derpy decided to push Auntie Pie off the cliff so that she could share the muffins with her friends. Everypony wins, because Auntie Pie might be put out of her misery and the others get to eat her muffins. She then went and retied the final rope, making the bridge stable again. For some reason, the fog was gone and Derpy couldn't find the muffins anywhere.
“I knew that you would never let us down,” Golden Harvest said as she was crossing the bridge.
“But I did. Even though I pushed Auntie Pie off the cliff, I lost the muffins we were going to have.”
“We'll be fine without some muffins,” Twilight reassured.



Past the bridge, Twilight Sparkle and the others ran into no further obstacles on the way to the ruins. Right after they entered, the six mares instantly took notice of a structure that held five stone spheres.
Vinyl Scratch asked, “These the Elements of Harmony we need?”
“I believe so,” Twilight answered. “Help me get them down.”
Twilight, Trixie, Colgate, and Vinyl Scratch each levitated a different sphere while Derpy flew up and grabbed the fifth one. Once all of the spheres were carefully placed on the ground, Colgate inquired, “What do we do with the five Elements to make the sixth one appear?”
“The book mentioned that a spark will make the sixth Element appear.”
“I bet we need a giant laser beam!” Derpy suggested.
“I highly doubt that. It wasn't made clear what the spark is, but I have an idea. Stand back.” Twilight noticed that the other ponies didn't back away.
“We can't do that!” Vinyl Scratch said.
“What?”
“We can't let you be when Nightmare Moon can whoosh in and zap you at any moment!”
Golden Harvest said, “We'll make sure that you're safe.”
Derpy spoke, “And we'll beat up Nightmare Moon if she comes by!”
“I'll try my best to help,” Colgate stated.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you all how to vanquish Nightmare Moon on this very night!” Trixie piped. She looked at Colgate, then added, “...Even if she happens to be very scared...”
“If you all insist, I can't stop you,” Twilight told the others. “However, I don't know what will happen, so brace yourselves.” She crouched down and concentrated hard. Twilight's horn began to glow and it looked like she was straining herself.
As Trixie glanced away, she noticed that a purple smoke was headed right their way. She cast a firework spell at the incoming cloud, causing it to fall apart and force Nightmare Moon back into her physical form. 
“You think it's funny to mess around with your new ruler, little foal?!” Nightmare Moon shouted at Trixie. “If you all insist on guarding the Elements of Harmony, then I'll just eliminate you all!”
It didn't appear that Nightmare Moon was paying attention to Derpy Hooves. While she was talking, the cross-eyed pegasus lifted a brick and flew up above her. Derpy managed to drop the heavy brick right on top of the alicorn's horn, causing it to crack. Nightmare Moon was still able to conjure up mist from her body. Like it did before, the mist shot out a bolt of electricity. Derpy couldn't avoid it and fell to the ground once she got electrocuted.
“Derpy!” Twilight cried.
“Focus on the Elements, Twilight!” Golden Harvest commanded. “We'll handle her!” She grabbed the brick that Derpy dropped, leapt up to Nightmare Moon's head, and slammed the stone on her horn as hard as she could. Nightmare Moon's horn shattered into many pieces that all fell to the ground. The purple cloud hovering over her disappeared. “You're a lot less powerful without your horn to cast spells!”
Nightmare Moon merely let out an evil laugh. “It'll take more than that to thwart your new ruler!” The shards of her horn turned into smoke and flew back to her head where they materialized into a new horn. Vinyl Scratch created a series of tiny musical notes from her horn that fell to the ground and zoomed towards Nightmare Moon. The black alicorn was able to grab hold of all of them with her magic, then hurled them with great force at both Vinyl Scratch and Golden Harvest, knocking the two of them to a wall.
The evil alicorn teleported right to where Twilight and the Elements were. “You just ran out of time!” At that moment, Trixie rushed to the front of Nightmare Moon and shot fireworks right into her eyes.


The overwhelming light and the searing heat made her temporarily blind. When Nightmare Moon regained her senses, she spotted Twilight Sparkle trying to escape with the Elements in tow. She warped straight in front of her path, successfully intercepting Twilight. “Hah! There is no escape!” All of the sudden, Nightmare Moon felt something wrap around her neck. She saw that it was a rope made up of colorful napkins. As the rope tightened, everything around her seemed to speed up.”


Colgate shouted, “Quick! The spark!”
“I'm trying!” Twilight, who never tried to escape in the first place exclaimed. What Nightmare Moon thought was Twilight Sparkle escaping was merely an illusion created by Trixie in order to distract her.
Even though she was being slowed down and choked, Nightmare Moon was still able to produce more haze. Unaffected by Colgate's magic, the haze created two bolts of thunder that were targeted at the two blue-coated unicorns. Trixie barely managed to avoid the one aimed at her, but Colgate got the full blunt of the attack. Now at normal speed, Nightmare Moon's horn glowed purple and the rope that was tying her turned into smoke.
“CREATE THE SPARK BEFORE WE ALL DIE!!!” Trixie shrieked.
Nightmare Moon levitated what was used against her and aimed it at Trixie. Trixie was unable to dodge the brick that darted over to her, slamming her into a wall that cracked from the sheer impact. Twilight could of sworn that the shattering noises she heard weren't just the ones coming from the wall. Nightmare Moon teleported back to Twilight and the Elements.
“There's nopony else to protect you. Now it's just you and me!” As she laughed, her horn produced a silver glow. The radiance flowed from her horn to the rest of her body, coating Nightmare Moon in the same luminosity. The glow then became brighter until she was entirely white. All of the sudden, the brightness disappeared from Nightmare Moon and a crescent-shaped shock wave emitted from her chest. The shock wave knocked Twilight Sparkle away from the Elements of Harmony, but she managed to get back up.
Twilight stomped one of her front hooves to the ground a couple of times, then prepared herself to charge after the Elements. “You're kidding,” Nightmare Moon stated. “You're kidding, right?” Unbeknownst to Twilight, her horn was glowing silver when she began to gallop. Nightmare Moon charged after the last remaining pony. Just as Twilight Sparkle braced for impact, she involuntarily created a smaller version of Nightmare Moon's crescent shock wave from her horn. The shock wave tripped the alicorn and a confused Twilight ran up to the Elements of Harmony.
Twilight Sparkle crouched down to the Elements and concentrated again, “All I need is one spark! Come on, come on!” Just as the five Elements began to glow, Nightmare Moon teleported up to them. The magical energy Twilight put into them then rebounded and knocked her away.
However, she saw that the Elements were still emitting energy and that Nightmare Moon appeared frightened. “No, no!” Nightmare Moon uttered. It appeared to Twilight that the sixth Element would appear. Just as something was going to happen, the five Elements lost all of their radiance.
Twilight Sparkle looked around, but she didn't see the sixth Element anywhere. “Where's the sixth Element?!”
Nightmare Moon laughed. She slammed the ground, shattering the five Elements into many shards. “You little foal! Thinking you and a bunch of random ponies could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun. The night will last forever!” After chuckling some more, she asked Twilight, “Any last words?”
Twilight took another look at her surroundings. Colgate and Derpy Hooves were both lying down on the ground unconscious, fried from the zapping they received. Golden Harvest and Vinyl Scratch were both down as well. Trixie was the only one who was still conscious, but Twilight could tell that she was in agonizing pain. She then realized that despite all the risks, these ponies all confronted Nightmare Moon in order for her to create the spark. Twilight faced Nightmare Moon and told her, “Here are some last words for you. You may of defeated the others and shattered the Elements of Harmony, but that doesn't mean you have destroyed them.”
“What?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“The spirits of the Elements of Harmony reside in each one of them.” At that very moment, the shards began to levitate. “Golden Harvest, who went out of my way to save me, represents the spirit of... Kindness!” Some of the shards flew over to the orange earth pony and surrounded her. Golden Harvest was able to get back up. Twilight continued, “Colgate, who was able to reassure us all with the truth, represents the spirit of... Honesty!” Shards then came to surround Colgate. All of her injuries from being electrocuted disappeared and she regained consciousness. “Vinyl Scratch, who was able to make a sorrowful serpent laugh, represents the spirit of... Laughter!” Vinyl Scratch was revived by the shards that came and surrounded her. “Trixie, who values life more than material possessions, represents the spirit of... Generosity.” The shards that came for Trixie were able to levitate the brick off of her. Once she was surrounded by them, Trixie no longer seemed to be in pain. “And Derpy Hooves, who thinks of her friends, represents the spirit of... Loyalty!” The last of the shards came and revived Derpy. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through everything you threw at us.”
“You still don't have the sixth Element!” Nightmare Moon pointed out. “The spark didn't work!”
“But it did! A different kind of spark.” Twilight turned to the other ponies. “I felt it the very moment I realized the lengths you all would go for me.” She began to tear up. “The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends.” As Twilight went to face Nightmare Moon again, a bright light appeared right over her. She looked up and saw that it was the sixth Element. “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 sixth Element then created a bright flash.
Once flash was over, Twilight's friends began to hover. Each set of shards that surrounded the ponies joined together to create golden necklaces around their necks. The jewel on the center of each necklace was in the shape of the wearer's cutie mark. The Element of Magic morphed into a golden tiara for Twilight Sparkle. Twilight then hovered up to the others. All six ponies were now surrounded in auras of pure magic. Once Twilight Sparkle was close enough to her friends, they all combined their powers to create a six-colored beam encompassing the spirits of the Elements of Harmony. The rainbow beam wrapped Nightmare Moon into a colorful tornado as she screamed. Twilight's eyes began to shine brighter and brighter until the entire area was flooded with light.



The next thing Twilight and the others knew was that they were lying on the floor. Vinyl Scratch got up and stated, “This feels like one of these after parties I've been through.”
“That doesn't sound like fun,” Colgate commented.
“Trust me, they're fun. Exciting things happen.”
“I don't know what it's like, but that sounds so awesome!” Derpy blurted out. “We have to go to your after parties sometime!”
Trixie stood up and said to Twilight, “Twilight, I...”
“Go on,” Twilight urged.
“Trixie hates to admit it, but... it's good that you were able to stop Nightmare Moon.”
Golden Harvest spoke, “It was all of us who stopped Nightmare Moon.”
“So that means we can all brag about how Trixie and her friends put a stop to Nightmare Moon!”
“Let's not do it now,” Twilight stated. “Once we work together to defeat more evil entities, save entire nations, and put an end to the ultimate evil, then that's when we'll all boast.” All of the ponies laughed at what Twilight just said.
They then looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was rising. A ball of light was generated by the sun and floated down to the ruins. It then morphed into a magnificent white alicorn with a multicolored mane. Everypony but Trixie bowed down to her.
Twilight called her out, “Trixie! Be respectful to Princess Celestia and bow down like the rest of us.”
“It will be alright,” Celestia told Twilight. “I trust in her as much as I do the other friends you made.” She came up to her student and nuzzled her. “I knew that you could do it, Twilight Sparkle.”
“You told me it was all an old pony 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.” She turned to a small, purple alicorn who appeared frightened and trotted closer to her. “Princess Luna.” The timid alicorn whimpered. “It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.”
“I thought we killed her,” Derpy said.
“Will you accept my friendship?”
Luna hesitated then rushed up to Celestia, “I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!”
“I've missed you too.”
“So, now what?” Trixie interrupted.
“What about we all participate in the Summer Sun Celebration?” Celestia asked with no resentfulness in her tone.
Vinyl Scratch exclaimed, “That'll be awesome!”
“But how do we get back safely?” Colgate inquired.
“Don't worry about it,” Celestia said in a calm tone. She emitted a beam of light that were the colors of her mane straight into the sky. In a few seconds, four guard pegasi who were pulling an empty chariot arrived. “We'll just go by air. Follow me, sister.” Luna nodded and followed Celestia into the chariot. After the rest of the ponies got on, the guard pegasi began to fly the chariot towards Ponyville.



Once the chariot was well over the Everfree Forest, Trixie felt compelled to ask Princess Celestia something. “We'll be famous for saving the world from an everlasting night, right?”
“Not exactly,” Celestia said cryptically.
“What do you mean?”
Princess Celestia's horn glowed again, and the Elements of Harmony disappeared from the ponies that were wearing them.
A perplexed Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, “Celestia! What happened to the Elements of Harmony!?”
Princess Celestia reassured, “I put them somewhere safe. It would not be good for you to let the fame to go to your heads, so I'll tell the citizens of Ponyville that I put a stop to Nightmare Moon.”
“But I thought that we were going to get respect,” Trixie said.
“You may of not gotten what you want, but think about what you gained on your journey.”
Trixie pondered, “What I gained...” She then glanced at Colgate. “On this journey... I have learned that having great talent isn't the only way to be appreciated. Showing concern for another can cause others to care for you as well.”
“Very good.”
“But what about Derpy?” Twilight wondered. “Won't she accidentally tell others the truth?”
“You don't have to worry about that. It would be very unlikely for anypony to believe her.” Celestia paused before adding, “We'll be landing right outside of Ponyville. You six can get off there while me and my sister make a royal entrance there.”
“Wait,” Colgate muttered. “My parents will be worried about me. What will I say?”
“What about we all make a royal entrance together?”
“Yes, please.”
Once the chariot was no longer right above the Everfree Forest, the guard pegasi began to descend. Soon, they were pulling the chariot on the ground towards Ponyville.



There was much cheering and rejoicing from the townsponies when the chariot arrived in Ponyville. Once everypony was off the chariot, Princess Celestia told the crowd that she brought Nightmare Moon to justice and that she saved six certain ponies that have been kidnapped by her. She went on and said to them that she decided to introduce her little sister, Luna. Luna was shy, which was understandable considering what she had done.
Two adult ponies from the crowd called for Colgate, so the blue and white maned unicorn promptly headed for them. Twilight watched as the female earth pony with a reddish-purple mane gave Colgate a big hug. She assumed that the mare was Colgate's mother, even though she still looks young. Twilight Sparkle thought about how she won't get to know her friends very well, since she'll have to leave Ponyville.
Princess Celestia took notice of Twilight's mood and said to her, “Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?”
“That's just it. Just when I began to take interest in my friends, I have to leave them.”
Celestia glanced around for a bit before hovering a feather and a blank scroll towards herself. “Since it appears that Spike is still sleeping soundly, I'll take this note in his place.” As the princess levitated the feather to do the writing, she read what was being written, “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She and my new student, the unicorn Trixie must report to me their findings from their new home in Ponyville.”
“Thank you Princess Celestia! I promise that I'll learn to live with another pony and study harder than before.”
Trixie got Celestia's attention, “Wait! You're making me your student just like that?”
“Indeed I am,” the princess said. “You have no place else to stay, do you not?”
“Well, I could find one anytime, but I'll accept your offer.”
“I'm sure that you two will have a great time in Ponyville.”
“We sure will,” Twilight told Celestia.
“I have to tend to my sister, so I'll see you some other time.”
Once Celestia headed for Luna, Twilight spoke, “Trixie, there's something that I have to tell you.”
“What would that be?”
“I'm sorry.”
“What?” Trixie seemed taken aback.
“I'm sorry for ruining your show. Even though I disliked how you were running it, that didn't give me the right to of done what I did back there."
“Trixie doesn't accept apologies for things as catastrophic as that, but since you're her friend, she'll make an exception. I accept your apologies.”
Golden Harvest came up to them and stated, “I'm glad that you two have made up your differences.”
“This doesn't mean that Trixie accepts that Twilight may be more talented than her.”
“But you do admit it,” Twilight pointed out.
“Yes... But I will work hard to become the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria! We'll have a rematch sooner or later, Twilight Sparkle!”
“Looking forward to it! By the way, what will Spike think of us living together?”
“He'll be in a surprise, that's for sure.”
As Twilight Sparkle was laughing with Trixie, she thought about how great it is to have friends. The quest she went through made her realize how loyal, generous, honest, kind, and uplifting friends can be. Twilight took a mental note to visit all of her new found friends and to get to know them better tomorrow.



The Summer Sun Celebration was now over, so Princess Celestia returned to her palace in Canterlot with her sister in tow. After giving Luna a tour around the castle, Celestia retreated into her den. There, she began to write in a scroll:


Twilight Sparkle and her new found friends defeated Nightmare Moon and brought my dearest sister Luna back. However, none of the ponies that befriended my star pupil were the ones that I planned at all. If I knew that a certain visitor was going to come, I would of taken measures to ensure that the outcome would be the one I had in mind. Despite this, the Elements have successfully aligned with these unexpected ponies. I'm sure that she will get along with them just fine. I knew that Twilight had within her a spark, but I didn't foresee how much potential it had. I look forward to seeing how Twilight Sparkle's friendship with them will grow. It appears that friendship is abundant after all.