It didn't take Twilight long to find what she was looking for in the library. Okay, well, that wasn't entirely true. It did take her a few minutes longer than it should've, but that was only because she had to stop scouring the bookshelves to glower at passersby who tried to get her to participate in the inane party games every so often. They were quick to back off, but it still took up precious research time—or so Twilight complained.
Thankfully, the little purple unicorn already knew what she was looking for more or less, and before long, she, Spike, and I had made our way to the upstairs bedroom with books in tow. What followed was a group study session that—even in a magical pony fantasy land—did nothing to endear me to the idea of extensive or even just perfunctory research. Yeah, learning a bit more about another world and its culture was fascinating at first, but it was still studying at the end of the day.
Shit got old fast.
It didn't help that Twilight was in a foul mood. Part of the issue was Spike. Despite his claims that he'd help Twilight with her research, the little guy wasn't as immune to the allure of a good time as Twilight. His attention kept getting dragged toward the ongoing party below. Twilight gave him shit for losing focus for a while, but eventually, she just gave up and let him go back downstairs to the party.
The other factor contributing to Twilight's surly humor was the whole phone situation. I'd wanted to listen to some music to pass the time while researching, but the battery didn't even last through the first two minutes of the first song I tried to play. Of course, I was forced to give Twilight the bad news, and—while she didn't go all flaming demon horse on my ass this time, thank god—she still didn't take it well.
"It's fine! It's fine!" she'd said with a smile and eyes that were both a bit too wide for my liking, "Once we get this whole mess sorted out, I'm sure we'll find a way to get your electrical device working again! I even have some ideas for a few tests I could run!"
I tried to talk her out of whatever madness she was working herself into, but no dice. The most I could do was remind her that there were more important things to focus on right now. And so, we spent the next couple of hours or so studying tomes and grimoires and textbooks, looking for vague answers to uncertain questions. I hadn't given the fact that Twilight and I appeared to be speaking the same language much thought until I opened one of the tomes and realized I could read everything in it.
It couldn't have been English, given I was in another world entirely. Maybe some kind of translation magic? Or maybe I had it all wrong. Maybe this was English, and I was just under some kind of hallucination or a coma or something. Somehow I felt the former guess was more likely, but I wasn't complaining either way, nor did I care enough to question it too much. Instead, I did my best to stay invested in the slow grind of extensive research.
The novelty of learning about a whole new world could only go so far, though, and the whole process grew agonizing by the hour-and-a-half mark. Thankfully, I was saved from my immense boredom and constant fidgeting when Twilight finally spoke up, her voice ecstatic as she shot up from where she'd been resting on the plush-looking bed near the bedroom's only window.
"This is it!" she cried, "Terrence, I think I found it!"
I turned to watch Twilight from where I sat cross-legged on the floor near the nightstand next to the bed. She raised the book she'd been reading in her magical grip and scanned the page closely as she continued in a mumble almost to herself, "Mare in the Moon... longest day of the thousandth year... the stars shall aid in her escape..."
Without another word, the mare dropped the book back onto the bed and another pulled itself from the comically large stack near where I sat. Enveloped in a soft magenta glow, it flew toward Twilight, where she cracked the thick text open and flipped through several pages until she found what she was looking for. Judging by what I could see on the cover, it looked like a collection of myths and fables.
Twilight continued to read for another few minutes without elaborating on what she'd found, but that was fine. If I'd waited this long, I could wait a bit longer. And then Twilight frowned, and that frown grew more pronounced the further she read like she was working something out. Trying to put the pieces of some kind of puzzle together. Eventually, and with much less vigor than before, she closed the book and slowly set it aside.
She didn't look at me, instead staring straight ahead at nothing as her face went through some interesting changes. Her expression started out thoughtful, but that quickly shifted to confusion. Then she seemed to come to a realization, after which something flashed across her face, but the emotion vanished too fast for me to pin down, replaced by resolution.
The hell was that all about?
"Twilight?" I tried cautiously. The mare flinched at the sound of my voice and whipped her head around to find me watching her warily and I continued in a careful tone, "You, uh... good over there?"
Her shock, along with the sudden tension in her body, faded quickly, but the smile she gave me was oddly strained as she spoke, "Yeah, sorry, Terry. Just... I think I know what we might be getting into, and it's... a lot."
"Uh-huh," I replied slowly, "You wanna fill me in?"
Twilight grimaced and hopped off the bed before speaking again, "I'll start with a bit of context," she paused a moment as though collecting her thoughts, then began pacing the room as she pressed on, "There's a... myth of sorts. It's a story attributed directly to Princess Celestia and some scholars believe the events might actually be part of Equestria's history, but the Princess has never confirmed one way or the other."
Here she paused again and her frown deepened slightly. I wanted to ask what was up, but she moved on before I could say anything.
"In any case, I'll spare you the long version, but essentially the myth talks about how Princess Celestia had a younger sister. Together they ruled Equestria as a diarchy, and it was the sister who originally took on the role of raising the moon along with watching over the dreams of her subjects."
"Ah," I nodded in understanding as something clicked in the back of my mind, "The night to Celestia's day. Gotcha."
Twilight returned the nod distractedly before continuing, "According to the story, the younger sister, feeling lonely and neglected as her subjects basked in Princess Celestia's light and ignored her beautiful night, grew bitter. That bitterness turned to resentment, and the resentment eventually twisted the mare into a hateful monster who took on the name Nightmare Moon."
"So... the younger sister went full supervillain and tried to take over Equestria," I surmised, putting the rest of the pieces together, "That sound about right?"
Another nod from Twilight.
She stopped pacing and settled down onto her haunches next to me, but her eyes were locked on the opposite wall. Her gaze was distant, and her expression troubled, but her voice was steady.
"She tried to wrest control of Equestria from her older sister," she continued, "but, as the legend goes, Princess Celestia used a set of magical artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon to her namesake, and there, within the moon, is where she was to remain, imprisoned for all eternity."
"But that prison's not gonna hold, is it?" I guessed, already knowing where this was going.
Seriously, Celestia, what the hell is your game here?
Nightmare Moon's eventual return was obvious now that Twilight had explained the myth. This was a fantasy land with actual magic, from what I'd read so far, the impossible could be made possible with startling ease in a lot of cases. Given that, and the fact that I'd seen and heard this type of plot before, the whole thing with Nightmare Moon wasn't hard to put together.
That would've explained the so-called darkness we had to face in the immediate future, but there was more to it, I was sure. I felt like I could almost see the bigger picture, but I was still missing something—something in what Twilight said. Something in the story. Fortunately, it didn't take long for Twilight to not only confirm my suspicions about what was going on but also outright give me the missing something I was looking for.
"Well, that's where the Mare in the Moon prophecy comes in," Twilight replied. She snatched up the book she'd been reading earlier in her magic and pulled it open before flipping through the pages, "Nightmare Moon was supposed to remain imprisoned in the moon forever, but this prophecy directly contradicts that."
She finally found what she was looking for and tapped at one page with a hoof as she read aloud, "The Mare in the Moon, a powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal."
Twilight shut the book and set it atop the precarious stack beside her, then turned to face me directly, "Like the fall of the Lunar Princess, the Mare in the Moon has been reduced to a mere myth, but if we treat it as a prophecy—and assuming what Igor said about the approaching darkness was true—then it all adds up."
Star Swirl the Bearded? Seriously?
"And how do you figure?" I asked aloud.
"The Summer Sun Celebration itself is the answer," Twilight replied, her mind racing even as she explained, "The festivities are meant to celebrate not only the longest day of the year but the defeat of Nightmare Moon as well."
"Wait, hang on," I raised a brow at the mare sitting beside me, "So if you guys are celebrating the defeat of Nightmare Moon then wouldn't that mean—"
"I know what you're thinking, but it's not literal," Twilight interjected as she held up a forestalling hoof, "The 'defeat of Nightmare Moon' is meant to be symbolic—light triumphing over darkness and overcoming one's own struggles through the magic of friendship and harmony and all that."
Twilight put her hoof down and tapped it meaningfully against the floor, her gaze intensifying, "The thing is, this particular Summer Sun Celebration just so happens to mark the one-thousandth anniversary of when Nightmare Moon was supposedly defeated by Princess Celestia."
"Well, how about that?" I gave Twilight a wry grin, "Any chance it's all one big coincidence?"
"Could be, but I highly doubt it," Twilight snorted, then scowled, "it all lines up too perfectly to be any kind of coincidence."
"And where do these Elements of Harmony fit in?" I asked as I stretched and stood up, "They actually exist do you think?"
"If we assume the myths aren't just myths, then they'd have to," Twilight answered, "and if they do, then we at least have a plan—or the beginnings of one at least."
"Find the artifacts, use them to take down the big bad when she breaks out of prison, save the day," I surmised.
"Pretty much," Twilight nodded and rose to her hooves, "I know it's just broad strokes, but it's better than stumbling around in the dark without any way forward."
Without any sort of preamble, Twilight used her telekinesis to retrieve the pair of attached satchels—saddlebags she'd called them—from the corner where she'd dropped them when we first entered the room. Resting them on her back, she snatched up a few books from the pile and slipped them into one of the bags, then grabbed a large map I hadn't noticed from a nearby desk, folded that up, and shoved it in the other bag.
This all happened in a few seconds and I didn't get a chance to ask what she was doing or where she was planning to go before she spoke up again, "If the Elements of Harmony do exist, then I think I have an idea of where they might be. We'll grab Spike and—"
The hatch door to the room burst open just as Twilight started making her way toward it. The unicorn jumped back with a startled yelp as the small purple dragon in question popped up from below. The pale blue lampshade shoved atop his head was definitely a... festive touch.
"Twilight! Terry!" Spike exclaimed once he spotted the two of us.
"Spike! You scared the daylights out of me!" Twilight breathed at almost the same time. Recovering quickly she began moving again, her next words quick and distracted, "I'm glad you're back, though. I think I worked out what's going on, and if I'm right, we don't have a lot of time to waste."
"Wait, wha—whoa! Twilight, wait!"
Spike, who'd fully entered the room as Twilight was talking, found himself scrambling to one side as Twilight pushed past him and hurried down the rather steep staircase. A moment later I heard her call back up from below.
"Spike? Spike, where is everypony?"
"That's what I came back up here to tell you, Twilight," Spike replied, his voice thick with well-worn exasperation as he pulled the lampshade from his head, tossed it aside, and followed the mare back down the steps, "The party's already over! Everypony left for Town Hall to see Celestia raise the sun. Y'know, that really important central event that's supposed to kick off the Summer Sun Celebration?"
"Damn, is it really that late?" I asked as I, too, headed downstairs, "Didn't feel like the sun set that long ago."
This whole "star manipulating demigoddess" thing is really fucking with my sense of time...
A quick glance around the first floor of the library was enough to tell me that the partygoers had indeed vacated the premises. I hadn't even noticed, and neither did Twilight evidently, because she looked taken aback by the lack of festivities. Once Spike reminded her of the celebration, her surprise and confusion turned to thoughtful silence. Her brow furrowed and I could practically see the gears turning in her head.
"The Summer Sun Celebration," she muttered just loud enough for me to hear, "That's right... it might be a good opportunity... if she's there, then maybe I can..."
It wasn't long before Twilight's distant gaze refocused on me and Spike, her expression suddenly resolute as she spoke a bit louder for us to hear, "Spike, Terrence, change of plans. We're heading to Town Hall to see Princess Celestia once she arrives."
"Change of plans? What were you planning to do?" Spike asked, his face scrunching up in bemusement.
"Any particular reason?" I asked with a curious raise of my brow, "Didn't seem all that interested in the celebration before."
"There's a place deep in the nearby Everfree Forest, an old ruined castle left behind from when the Everfree served as Equestria's capital—or so the legends say," she began. She started moving toward the library's entrance as she explained, "Ancient legends aside, I was planning to head there to look for clues on the whereabouts of the Elements of Harmony, but—"
"Whoa hang on, Twilight," Spike interjected, looking from her to me with both bewilderment and concern in his adorably draconic emerald eyes, "The Everfree? An ancient castle in the forest? The Elements of Harmony? What in Celestia's name are you talking about? And more importantly, were you seriously planning to wander into that deathtrap of a forest alone?"
"Of course not, Spike, I'm not an idiot," Twilight snorted before giving her little purple assistant an innocent grin, "You and Terrence were coming along too, naturally."
"Naturally," I deadpanned with a roll of my eyes.
"That's not... Twilight we can't..." Spike floundered then gave an exasperated grunt, "Having us around won't do any good if we get ambushed by a... a manticore or something! We'd be completely helpless! Er, unless..."
Spike faltered and eyed me curiously. It took me a second to figure out why, but I got it quick enough. In response, I raised my hands and shook my head helplessly.
"Nope, just a poor defenseless human over here," I replied to his unanswered question, then gestured to Twilight, "Hell, if we do end up setting foot in that forest and get attacked, it'll probably be Twilight saving our skins. Thankfully, she's changed her mind, apparently."
"Not quite," Twilight was quick to correct as she used her magic to open the front door to the library, "I still want to take a look at the old castle, but there are some things I want to ask and discuss with the Princess first, hence, my decision to head to Town Hall instead of directly to the Everfree."
"Twilight, that isn't a good idea," Spike pressed, "Going into a forest full of dangerous creatures and who knows what else at night? With just the three of us? You're a smart mare, Twilight. You can't tell me that's not a dumb thing to do. You shouldn't need me to tell you that!"
Twilight had already stepped out into the warm night air and both Spike and I hadn't had any choice but to follow after the determined unicorn as she began making her way down the paved path leading deeper into town from the massive treehouse library... thing.
"It'll be fine, Spike," Twilight huffed with growing impatience, "I've already done some reading on the Everfree so I know what to expect, and besides, it's not like I'm helpless. I have those defensive spells my brother taught me, remember?"
"Okay, sure, granted," Spike begrudgingly conceded, "but still, Twilight, that doesn't mean we—"
"TERRY!"
"Gah! Holy shit!"
The three of us stumbled back in surprise as a familiar rainbow-maned cyan pegasus descended upon us like a prismatic bolt of lightning from the night sky. One second it was just the three of us for what seemed like miles, and the next, a pair of wide purple-red eyes were taking up my entire view. The curse was mine, obviously; The others just gave wordless cries of shock as the pegasus appeared out of goddamn nowhere.
"Jeezus, you scared the shit out of me!" I gasped, one hand over my rapidly beating heart.
"Never mind that," Rainbow Dash replied. She didn't address my comment but she did back up a bit as she spoke, thankfully, "You guys seen Fluttershy? The Celebration's about to kick off and I can't find her anywhere."
"Huh, she didn't strike me as the celebration type," I mused before giving the mare a helpless shrug, "Sorry, though. We ran into her earlier before the party, but she up and disappeared on us while we were on our way to the library."
"Did she say where she was headed?" Rainbow asked. It sounded like she was trying to hide it, but I didn't miss the slight worry in her tone.
"No," Spike took the opportunity to jump in and shook his head as he replied, "She really did disappear. One second she was right behind us, the next, she was just... gone. We have no idea when—we didn't hear her leave."
"Seriously?" Rainbow scowled, "She just... vanished?"
"She just vanished," I repeated, "Don't know what to tell you, Dash. I'd point you in her direction if I could, but..."
I trailed off with another helpless shrug but before Rainbow or anyone else could reply, Twilight spoke up, trying to sound sympathetic but unable to keep the impatience entirely out of her voice.
"Look, I wish we could help you, Rainbow Dash, I really do," she said even as she started walking past the concerned pegasus, "but we have some problems of our own that need taking care of. Maybe you can try asking that pink earth pony mare, um... Pink... uh..."
She paused and frowned.
"Pinkie Pie," I offered dryly, "Her name is Pinkie Pie, Twilight."
"Pinkie Pie," Twilight parroted like she'd known all along, "Why don't you try asking her?"
"I already did," Rainbow groused, following after the distracted unicorn as she started walking again, "She can't find her either."
"Alright, well I... I don't know!" Twilight struggled silently with her irritation for a moment before her eyes lit up with an idea, "Why don't you ask one of the Royal Guards? They're supposed to arrive here in town with the Princess. Given how late it is, they should be around here somewhere by now, right?"
Rainbow scoffed at that for some reason and opened her mouth, probably to retort, but then closed it again. She furrowed her brows, seeming to give the idea some actual thought, but then shook her head. "Nah," she finally replied, "If we're talking about the Royal Guards, then I have a better chance of finding her on my own."
That made Twilight freeze in her tracks. The mare raised her head to face the airborne pegasus, her eyes narrowed, "And just what's that supposed to mean?"
At first, the hostility in her voice confused me, but then I remembered.
Oh yeah, that's right, her brother's one of those Royal Guards, isn't he?
"Sorry, just thought of a few places I haven't checked yet," Rainbow said, completely ignoring Twilight's question as she stared off at some distant point on the starlit horizon, "No time to chat, see ya at the ceremony!"
And just as quickly as she'd come, Rainbow Dash was gone, a prismatic trail left in her wake as she flew off into the night. The three of us were left standing there in complete silence, watching that prismatic trail fade. It took a few seconds for one of us to say something but eventually, Spike spoke up, his eyes locked on where Rainbow had sped off to.
"Well, that was... something," he said before looking over to me with a concerned frown from where he'd hopped onto Twilight's back, "You think Fluttershy is okay, wherever she is?"
"Who knows?" I replied with a sigh, "Honestly? My gut's telling me she probably isn't, but then again, there's all kinds of red flags being raised tonight so I wouldn't be surprised."
"I'm not sure what you mean by red flags," Twilight jumped in as she strode off down the road yet again, "but if Fluttershy did get into some kind of trouble that's all the more reason why we need to hurry up and sort this out with the Princess. She'll know what to do. Now come on, we're wasting time."
The conviction in Twilight's voice as she ushered me to follow after her was almost convincing, but I could hear it regardless—the doubt. I wondered as I obediently followed along if I should tell her what her precious equine sun deity and I talked about after she and Spike left the throne room. Would that be rocking the boat too much?
Celestia hadn't technically told me to keep my mouth shut about whatever scheme she was cooking up. I hadn't missed that, but I also hadn't bothered to question it. Truthfully, I think both of us had just assumed discretion on the matter and that nothing more need to be said about it. That was a dumb way of looking at things in hindsight—you know what they say about assumptions and all—but in the end I decided to trust that Celestia knew what she was doing.
Was that a mistake? Maybe, maybe not. I had yet to determine as much, but now, watching Twilight hurry off to Town Hall, desperate to get the Princess' input on the matter, I started to wonder. Was this all part of her plan? Even if it wasn't, did Celestia truly know what she was getting Twilight into? What she was getting me into?
My thoughts distracting me from whatever Spike and Twilight were discussing, I turned my eyes to the night sky as I pondered things. My pensive gaze found the full moon and the strange pockmarks on its pale white surface.
Huh, they almost look like...
My thoughts screeched to a halt as I caught the movement of the stars immediately surrounding the moon twitch, flicker, and wink out completely. At almost the same moment the pockmarks vanished, their strange pattern fading to nothing and leaving the moon's pale white surface unblemished. I blinked once, thinking I might've imagined it, but no. The pockmarks were gone, as were the stars surrounding the moon.
That sense of foreboding that'd been hanging over me like a blanket intensified then. Somewhere, far in the back of my mind, I swore I could hear it again at that moment, that eerie voice. I could almost make it out, asking me—demanding me to call its name.
Ah, shit...