“Neato!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I never imagined you like this, but it works!”
“Indeed,” said Rarity. “It makes you look quite studious.”
Applejack blushed and pushed up the glasses that now adorned her face. “Shucks, I just wanted something simple.”
“Simple and elegant,” said Rarity.
“They won’t get in the way when you’re on duty?” Dash asked.
Applejack glanced at her frames. “I’ll wear contacts when I’m on patrol, but I’ll wear these otherwise.” She looked down and sighed, “Equality may be a madmare, but she was right about me losing myself to revenge. These glasses will keep my eyes from being led astray.”
“That threat she made still scares me…” Fluttershy shuddered. “Even just reading about it was terrifying.”
“To devour Sun and Moon,” Twilight muttered.
“You say something, Twi?” Applejack asked.
“No, it’s all good… just mentally bracing myself for my next internship task.”
Dash gave her wings a flap. “Yeah, I gotta be flying out too now that I’ve got a clean bill of health.”
Twilight looked at Applejack. “I’ll be sure to stop by after I’m done with my work.”
“You’re always welcome at Sweet Apple Acres.” Applejack passed her eyes over all her friends. “That goes for all of you too.”
~~~
Luna was in the shadows of a tree when Twilight arrived.
“Come,” she ordered.
“Okay, is there any specific training I sho—”
Luna took off and flew into the Everfree Forest. Aura ran through Twilight and she gave chase with enhanced speed.
~~~
Twilight gulped down some air when the trees parted and she found herself standing near a cliff. She was covered in fresh scratches and bumps but bore nothing serious enough to have slowed her down. Most of the injuries had come from having her eyes on Luna when she should have been looking ahead. But, with the Elements’ Cowling, she was able to barrel through branches and react faster to avoid rocks or other hazards.
She had sped up just as Luna had zoomed out of the forest and into the clearing. The crackle of aura around her died down, but she was ready to activate the Elements with her full might as soon as she spotted Luna again. Taking her surroundings in, she saw the weathered ruins of a bridge on her side of the canyon.
When she looked to the other side, Luna was there but remained still for only a moment before darting into the woods on the other side. Taking a breath, Twilight lit up her horn and concentrated on a teleport, but a solid mass of shadow about the size of a small acorn nailed her right at the base of her horn. She was not far enough in the spell for her magic to explode out, but the blow still staggered her.
“There are times when complex spells will be your downfall.” It was that third voice that emanated from Luna.
Standing up straight again, Twilight considered her options for crossing. Rather than activating the Elements immediately, she strode over to the remains of the bridge. There were bits of planks scattered around both edges and worn pieces of rope still clung to the ends of the bridge.
Twilight placed a hoof on one of the planks and applied what she estimated to be the walking weight of a fourth of her body. She was not even halfway through applying pressure when cracks spiderwebbed out and the wood splintered.
So repair and reinforcement are out of the picture, Twilight thought. She looked across the canyon. Modified cloud walker?
She considered the humidity in the air, but without a pegasus to make a cloud out of it, any foothold would not be able to support her.
While Twilight continued running through strategies, she felt a shudder run through her. Getting out of her thoughts, she saw a pair of piercing turquoise eyes glare at her out of the darkness on the other side of the canyon.
“I will not wait much longer.”
With a gulp and the eyes still on her, Twilight settled on her course of action. She cleared away what remained of the bridge except for the ends of it to provide a clear path. Then, she backed up a good distance, took a breath, and activated the Elements.
Aura flared and trailed off her as she went into a gallop. She became a blur of purple with streaks of rainbow flowing around her. She reached the edge and kicked off the ground with all her might. She heard something crash behind her, but dared not look any other direction but forward.
She zoomed over the canyon. The other side grew closer and closer even as time slowed for Twilight. Then, the other side got higher. Even with all the speed she had built up and all the power behind her jump, Twilight felt gravity winning. The edge was almost within reach.
Just a little more! A foothold. She needed something to grab, not even for a second. Just enough to get her to the edge. She concentrated, even as gravity’s pull grew stronger and panic set it. She channeled that fear into processing power. Just as she did, the spark of revelation came to her. Channel. Flow. Flow… let my magic flow outwards!
Beyond her horn and even beyond her body, Twilight stretched out her magic. It was unlike a spell which created an aura around or outside a unicorn’s body. Rather, she felt her senses explode with a new feeling that was like touch but without actually touching. At the same time, she felt a fire flowing up her hooves and down her back, but she focused on the new sensation.
She could tell something was flowing all around her. She could feel how her body disrupted it, but not enough to stop her fall. It needed to be made thicker, made stronger. She could not actually see what this was, so she shut her eyes to focus on it and to shut out the view of the rapidly rising cliff in front of her.
Condense! Twilight thought and willed with everything she had. The flow around her front hooves slowed. Whatever was between them now fell with her. She pressed her hooves together and felt some resistance but not enough to grasp onto and launch her out of the canyon. She pushed and pushed until her legs’ muscles could push no more. She felt something painful run up her hooves, but all she cared about was that she now had something to grab onto.
With all the strength she could control from the Elements, Twilight pulled onto the thing she had made and flew upwards. She finally opened her eyes just as she skimmed over the cliff face and tumbled onto the ground.
She gasped for air as the Elements’ aura died down. Her hooves smoked and a bit of them had blackened, not like how they would from overuse of magic, but as if something incredibly hot had struck them from the outside. Her whole body ached from escaping the canyon, in particular, her back, which felt like somepony had placed burning irons on her shoulder blades. Glancing to her side and over the edge, she caught sight of the last remnants of a tiny storm cloud getting blown away by the wind.
Once she had recovered her breath, Twilight managed to stand.
“Come,” said the voice. “You’re ready.”
Twilight’s mind brimmed with questions on what she had just done, but given that the voice was related to a Princess of Equestria, she listened and walked towards where the voice had come from.
It was only a short distance through the forest before her hooves graced not earth, but cut stone. The path that appeared before her was worn and covered in cracks, but it looked like it had just been swept clean. It piqued her curiosity as no books she read had ever mentioned ponies attempting to build a road in the Everfree.
She only followed it for a bit before coming to a stop. Her eyes widened. Amidst all the trees and shrubbery, there stood great stone steps that led to an even greater gate overgrown with moss and vines. Walls, ancient and weathered, supported the gate and extended out and around to form a thick first line of defense. Spires poked out from within the walls and made up its corners. Twilight assumed these walls had once repulsed enemy hordes but had now lost out to the Everfree.
What most caught Twilight’s eye though was the large rounded balcony that could be glimpsed through the crumbling stones. She could not make out if it had a matching mosaic, but the shape was identical to the grand dais the Princesses stood and rose up from when summoning the sun and the moon.
There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind what this structure was: a royal castle.
The gate gave a low moan. It opened just enough to knock off some dust and allow a pony to slip inside. Twilight caught a glimpse of Luna’s ethereal tail and gave chase.
She rushed up the steps and slipped inside. Just as she got into the courtyard, the gate slammed shut behind her. She tensed up and readied her horn and the Elements. Silence greeted her. A wind rustled some old leaves.
“Luna?” Twilight called out. “Princess?”
With no response, Twilight advanced forward. There were a pair of doors slightly open up ahead. Their carvings were faded, but she could see the sun and the moon rising on each side of the doors until they met in the middle.
Making her way inside, Twilight found herself in a grand hall. Light poured in through gaping holes in the ceiling and smashed windows, exposing the weathered and tattered rug and banners to the elements. At the end of the hall stood two thrones. Even age could not completely destroy the vibrant golds of the throne to Twilight’s right nor the cool blues and silvers of the throne to her left.
Luna stood between the two thrones, waiting for her.
“Princess Luna,” Twilight called out, adding her title due to the atmosphere, “what is this place?”
“It’s where it all happened,” Luna answered.
“I wanted to wait after I bungled our initial meetings,” came a male voice from above and to Twilight’s right. She looked up and saw Tantabus standing there on the corner of a balcony.
“But circumstances have changed.” The pitch-black armored mare—the form Tantabus had taken when she had first met Twilight— called out from the balcony opposite of Tantabus. “It is time to tell you, the Bearer of the Elements, the whole truth.”
“Sister may not agree, but time is of the essence now,” said Luna. “I apologize, Twilight Sparkle, but honesty has never been my strong suit. It was fun though… getting to be friends with you.”
She flashed a smile at Twilight that tugged at Twilight’s heart and then took to the air before Twilight could respond. Tantabus and the armored mare did the same until they were flying side by side.
In unison, they spoke as their bodies grew closer and closer to each other. “Tantabus. Luna. Nightmare Moon. We are all one in the same.”
There was a blinding flash. Twilight shielded her eyes with a hoof, but everything still went white for a second. When her vision cleared, the dull greys of weathered stone and near-brown faded reds of the carpet were replaced with polished surfaces and deep crimson. Restored windows allowed colored light to dance across the freshly cleaned carpet and upon the lustrous banners.
Between the two thrones, now in their full regal splendor, stood an alicorn mare only slightly shorter than Celestia. Her mane was like Tantabus’s body and swirled with brilliant stars and glistening galaxies. Her blue fur and feathers gave way to a black splotch on her flank that enveloped a crescent moon. A bandana with an identical crest rested around her neck. Twilight knew of this mare from pictures.
“Forgive me for my duplicity,” said the mare before bowing her head. Her voice was the voice Twilight had heard before. “Now I appear before you as I truly am. I am Princess Luna of Equestria, Sovereign of the Night, Defender of Dreams, Guide of the Moon, and…” She raised her head and looked straight at Twilight. “I am the one who wounded Celestia and nearly destroyed the Elements.”