"Twilight?" A voice called out from the dark. "Twilight, can you hear me?" Slowly, Twilight's eyes opened again, finding herself laid out on a couch, surrounded by rows and rows of books... but more pressing were the ponies surrounding her: Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Jacqueline, and that pink pony she ran into when they first got into town. They all looked down around her with concerned, or in the case of the unknown one, indifferent expressions, as she rolled onto her stomach, rubbing her head.
"That's nothing, dear," Rarity spoke aloud, "You didn't take that far a fall." Nonetheless, Twilight looked back to the door. That monster was still there, but now she had a better look at it: it was some mass of branches, clay and miscellaneous pieces, all centered on the head of a pony-shaped bust.
"What is that thing?" She groaned out, still a bit fuzzy despite focus coming back to her.
"That's you, of course," The pink one spoke up at last. "When I saw you in town, I just had to make it. I like your mane, it makes me smile." She looked back to Twilight with a flat tone, her expression never shifting.
"But... you're not smiling."
"That's one pony's opinion."
"Wait... my mane's not that bad!" Twilight stood up with her returning strength, moving toward the sculpture, if one could call it that. She circled around it, growing a bit more annoyed, even angry, as it all came into perspective.
"No, it's not bad at all," Her new acquaintance said, stepping along with her. "That's why I made it."
"It's kind of pretty, when you get used to it," Spike piped up from one corner, barely able to contain a chuckle. Twilight looked back at her assistant, noticing he wasn't looking at the statue, but her. Perplexed, she looked up, seeing another lock of hair out-of-place more than usual. Sneering, she reached up a hoof, ruffling her mane to its normal disheveled state before sitting in her own corner.
"It looks like two trees having an argument," She huffed, turning away from everyone else. Spike shrugged, leaving her to that while approaching the sculptor, leaning in with a suggestive strut.
"I'm Spike... I was just wondering, do you do handsome, dashing dragons, miss...?"
""Pink."," The pony in pigtails responded flatly, making quotes in the air with her front hooves to emphasize the point. She didn't seem to have any intention of answering the question, scrutinizing the statue itself a bit instead. "Think it needs more split ends? Like the model." Twilight's gaze looked back at that, wanting to be mad, but all things considered, she wasn't sure what "Pink." meant by that. Instead, she gave another look around, taking in the crowd within the library.
"What are they all doing here, anyway?"
"Well," Dash intervened, ""Pink." had to show off her sculpture, Jacqueline knew where we were staying, Fluttershy was going to see me, and Rarity urged her to follow through with it." That covered everypony, it seemed, but Twilight was still a mess with all these faces around. She spun around to take them all in, but she just couldn't focus on any of them; they were all so different, yet they carried on between one another so easily.
"I think I'll just go to bed, if you don't mind," Twilight piped up again. Rainbow Dash headed her off at the stairs before she could retreat, shaking her head adamantly.
"Now, now, tradition is you stay up for the rising of the sun."
"And besides," "Pink." interjected, "You just got up."
"Now go out there and mingle a little. Wouldn't want to be a bad host," Dash finished. Twilight knew what Rainbow Dash really meant; it wasn't good hosting she was interested in, she could do that herself. No, this was punishment, for being too professional. For being more interested in the job than wasting time. Regardless, she no longer had any say in the matter, bowed her head and walked into the bunch, mumbling smalltalk as best she could.
The chatter went on for the entire evening, Twilight putting her best face forward, though every word just made her want to retreat even more; Jacqueline's mane care tips, Rarity's social aspirations, Fluttershy's obsession with miniscule accessories, "Pink." going on about... whatever she was going on about. 'All of these ponies are crazy!' She thought to herself, eventually their words just drowning themselves out. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying it, probably to spite her, Twilight mused, and somewhere along the way, Spike fell asleep on the couch. 'That's not fair,' she thought, 'He gets to sleep.' She did remember, however, he was still very young, a fact she often forgot, and did need his sleep. Sighing, she rummaged around in between guests, grabbed a blanket and tucked him in right there. She received a collective "Awww" from everypony else, to which she shot a glare back. 'Just a few more hours,' she reminded herself. 'Then it's all over, and we go back home.'
Finally, in the wee hours of the morning, it was time to make their exit. Heading for town hall, Twilight lingered behind them all, a bit heavy in her step as she found them all quite exhausting. Finally, the end was in sight, and she looked onward to the building, everything ready to unfold. They all made their way inside, the lack of children striking a bit of jealousy in Twilight's mind. 'They didn't have to come,' her brain lamented, but she made certain to carry Spike inside, he was the most enthusiastic about the trip. She found a secluded corner, resolving to stay there the entire day, away from anyone who might approach. This worked well, up until the moment of truth, Celestia herself ready to make her grant appearance.
"Thank you all for coming," The Mayor spoke out from a balcony adorned in velvet flowers. "The first day of Summer is a momentous occasion for all of ponykind, and today, we honor the one who gives us such warmth and prosperity!" She seemed to drone on for some time, and Twilight was this close to shouting out they get on with it and raise the sun already. Rainbow Dash seemed to sense this, clamping a hoof over her mouth before a word could escape. Spike, at least, had finally awoken, looking on in anticipation as the Mayor pulled a rope, seizing the curtains, to reveal...
...no one. The princess was nowhere to be found. The room was filled with surprised gasps, everypony in town focused on this sight, only to have their thoughts drowned out by a loud, bellowing laugh, dark and powerful. A swirl of blue smoke engulfed where the princess herself would stand, dissipating to reveal a black alicorn, mane and tail as smoke, mad eyes staring from behind a fitted helmet. "Your princess has arrived, Equestria," She spoke out with a powerful projection.
The black alicorn stood firm where the princess should have been, glaring down to the populace who stared in quiet awe. "Does my crown no longer count?" She questioned them all in a haughty, self-aggrandizing tone. "Or have you all forgotten me in my absence?"
Twilight peeked out from the crowd, shocked at what she saw that the others didn't. "The Mare in the Moon," she whispered to herself. She could hardly believe it, that an old ponies' tale would be standing right in front of her. The alicorn's eyes turned her way with a devious smile, having heard her it seemed.
"You shall call me Nightmare Moon, your great and terrible queen," She laughed out, staring down at Twilight in particular before Rainbow Dash stepped in front of her.
"Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon... it doesn't matter, release our princess!" Dash spoke out forcefully, showing no fear in the face of such opposition.
"And who are you to give such an order? Some lackey of Celestia... no, perhaps she has taken you in. How precious, you think that gives you authority even now, in a world of eternal night."
Rainbow Dash charged Nightmare Moon, her wings spreading wide as she flew forward with all her strength. The alicorn vanished into blue smoke just before she made impact, reforming behind her again with a haughty laugh. "Surely, the chosen of Celestia can do better than that?" Dash turned before crashing into the pillar behind her, landing briefly on it and flew again for her target, in a more erratic pattern. Nightmare Moon's gaze turned one direction, Dash flew the other, and came up underneath, striking with her back legs to the jaw, at which point she reeled back with her helmet flying off, out through a window. Her essence seemed to fade into nothingness, Rainbow Dash proudly congratulating herself, only to hear a loud, echoing voice outside.
"You foals... my appearance here was only a taste of things to come, and you dared to strike me!" Of course it couldn't be that easy, but Rainbow Dash leapt out to meet this threat, through the very window she sent the helmet crashing. Five other ponies and a familiar baby dragon followed through the door, staring onward in fear, but they wouldn't back away. Nightmare Moon appeared even larger before them, her eyes flashing white as black clouds gathered overhead in a spiral, leading directly to town hall. "For your insolence," She bellowed out again, "You shall never see your friends for as long as I rule!" Those still inside scrambled to escape, but some force sealed them in the building, as the cloud engulfed it and trailed up toward the full moon in the sky. In an instant, it was gone, with everypony in it.
"Big Macintosh! Granny Smith!" Jacqueline called out in despair, collapsing at the site so empty now. Rarity and Fluttershy, too, stared on in shock, their loved ones swept away just like that. "Pink." only glared still to Nightmare Moon, while Twilight, unable to comprehend how this had happened, dropped her head to the ground; her own antics distanced her from others, but she never wanted to see them hurt. Rainbow Dash was speechless, dropping back to ground level as her wings drooped beside her.
"This is on your head, Rainbow Dash. Know that they are gone because of you," Nightmare Moon gloated over the fallen ponies, especially the princess' rising star. Dash's eyes turned back to the alicorn, too ridden with guilt to maintain rage.
"What do you want from me?" She spoke, barely above a whisper.
"You silly child. To think I would display such power for gain... no, I want nothing from you I do not already have. Equestria is mine, and forever it shall remain." Nightmare Moon faded into the aether, vanishing before their eyes as her trail led into the woods beyond. Dash was ready to collapse, even give up, until...
"Jackie? Where is everyone?" A small, sweet voice uttered from behind them all. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stood, confused and scared. Dash couldn't choke out an answer, but Jacqueline and Rarity ran to them, holding their sisters close; it was all they could do. Seeing Scootaloo, all alone, Dash stood up again, forcing back her anguish.
"I don't know," she spoke with a renewed strength. "But I'll bring them back." She reached around Scootaloo, holding her close for that moment.
"You mean 'we'll' bring them back," Rarity piped up, releasing Sweetie Belle.
"All of us," Jacqueline joined in as well.
"If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me," "Pink." said stoically.
Fluttershy said nothing, but nodded all the same, standing as tall as she could. Twilight, in seeing all this, swallowed for an instance, joining Dash's side with the first smile she'd managed since arriving. "Spike, you stay here and watch the fillies. We have work to do." Spike didn't argue, heading to the young ones to keep them company, as the others turned to the woods.
"The Everfree Forest," Twilight uttered. "Nopony has come out of there in a hundred years."
"Superstition's never stopped you before, Twilight," Rainbow Dash spoke with authority. "We'll just have to be the first." She wanted to be excited about this journey, an adventure into the unknown, seeing things never seen before, but the stakes were too high. All she could do was take the first steps, with the others soon to follow...