//------------------------------//
// The Battle in Ponyville 
// Story: Flying High 
// by arglefumph 
//------------------------------//

Over the course of her long life, Princess Celestia had heard many threats from different royal ponies. Not only was there Emperor Naponyan, but there was also Princess Pinkie Pie, Queen Crystalis and Princess Shoo-be-doo, the ruler of the seaponies.

Celestia had also received many threats from her various students. None of these threats were very serious; they mostly revolved around difficult tests and unfair deadlines.

The newly-alicorn Twilight Sparkle was something different. She was both Celestia's student and a royal pony. That particular combination of traits had not been seen for a thousand years, when King Sombra tried to conquer Equestria.

Sombra had been Princess Luna's personal student in his younger years, similar to how Twilight was Celestia's student. Even though she hadn't seen Sombra in over a decade, Princess Luna had been extremely reluctant to use the Elements of Harmony on her former student.

I now know how you felt then, Sister, Celestia thought. Fighting your own student is...well...I'm not sure I can do this.

In the back of her mind, Celestia always wondered if King Sombra was responsible for Princess Luna's downfall. Not long after his defeat, Luna began acting differently. She shouted more often, began wearing a helmet at all times, and she constantly complained that ponies were sleeping through her beautiful night.

Around that time, rumors began to emerge about an evil pony who haunted dreams. After a single visit from her, a pony would have nightmares for weeks. Nopony ever saw her face, but a few caught a glimpse of her distinctive moon-shaped cutie mark, resulting in the nickname "Nightmare Moon".

It took six months before Princess Celestia realized that Nightmare Moon was her sister. By then, it was too late. Luna's temporary transformation into Nightmare Moon had become permanent; her body, mind and personality had changed completely.

Of course, Celestia still believed her sister was somewhere inside Nightmare Moon, waiting to be freed. Perhaps the real Twilight Sparkle was trapped somewhere inside this new, monstrous alicorn. There was only one way to know for sure.

"Hold for a second," Princess Celestia said. "This is no place for children."

Princess Celestia took Scootaloo off of her shoulder and set Scootaloo down on the ground. While doing this, Celestia held Scootaloo's body in between herself and Twilight, so Twilight did not see Celestia's lips move as she whispered, "Go get the Elements of Harmony. Now."

Scootaloo scampered off at top speed. Celestia stepped forward towards Alicorn Twilight.

"What happened to you?" Princess Celestia asked. "How did you...?"

"Become an alicorn?" Twilight asked. "It was quite simple, really. I asked Nightmare Moon to give me unicorn magic, and she did."

"You're working for Nightmare Moon?" Celestia gasped, as the ponies in the crowd started murmuring uneasily.

"No, I took a page from out of your book," Twilight said. "I tricked her into giving me what I wanted. Just like how you've been manipulating me for the past three years."

Celestia took a moment to do the math. "Three years...wait, are you talking about when I got you the assistant librarian job at my university?"

"You sent a pegasus to work at a unicorn school!" Twilight said. "I was the joke of the entire university! Or did you already forget about the time a student decided to play 'Rip Twilight's Feathers Out'?"

"I did not overlook Sunset Shimmer's misdeeds. She was severely punished for what she did to you."

"But you could have done more! And that's nothing compared to the disaster with Prince Bluebutt over here!"

Blueblood tried to look impressive, which was hard to do, considering that his face was on his rear end. "I demand you put me back to normal at once!" he said.

"Don't interrupt!" Twilight shouted. She charged up a purple ball of magical energy on the tip of her horn, then she flung her head forward to throw the energy ball directly at Blueblood. It exploded near his feet, and he went flying into the air. He hit the ground some twenty feet away, and he broke his right hind leg upon impact.

"You see?" Twilight asked. "That's what you should have done to Bluebutt, years ago!"

Princess Celestia flared her wings at this, the first sign of violence. "Stop!" she commanded. "I know you are upset, but I cannot allow you to hurt other ponies."

"Upset? I'm more than upset! I'm furious!" Twilight said, stomping a hoof on the ground. "But now, the tables have turned on you, Celestia! I was able to leave my broken pegasus body behind and ascend to my true form! I am no longer the pathetic Twilight Sparkle! I am now Princess Suspended Sunset, the Destined Ruler of All Equestria!"

From the crowd, Pinkie Pie said, "Wow, she's even crazier than I am!"

"Suspended Sunset, huh?" Princess Celestia asked. At least it's a better title than Nightmare Moon...

The Alicorn Formerly Known As Twilight stood up to her full height. "An appropriate name, don't you think?" she asked, smiling slightly. "I will cause your sun to set."

"You will not find me such an easy opponent," Princess Celsetia promised.

"We shall see," Princess Sunset said. Deciding to repeat her earlier attack, she created a ball of purple magic energy on her horn. She threw it at Celestia, but the Princess of the Sun was prepared. Celestia turned to the side slightly, and in one smooth motion, she opened up her wing and knocked the magical attack aside.

The ball of purple energy exploded harmlessly in the air, and two of the ponies in the crowd started clapping. Princess Celestia looked over at the crowd, and as she expected, she could not see Trixie or Scootaloo there.

Good, they're getting the Elements of Harmony, Celestia thought. I need to buy them as much time as possible.

"Before we fight for real, why don't you explain why you're so upset?" Celstia asked. "Or tell me about your plans. What will you do, if you take over my throne?"

"You are an incompetent fool who is incapable of listening," Suspended Sunset said. "I already told you those things. As the Princess of Sunsets, I shall put the world into eternal twilight. Dusk shall rule over all of Equestria!"

While the two alicorns spoke with each other, the Elements of Harmony were being gathered. As soon as Scootaloo was set on the ground, she ran straight towards Trixie. "Quick!" Scootaloo said. "Princess Celestia says we need—"

Trixie, who had been on emotional overload for the past fifteen minutes, swept Scootaloo up in a giant hug. "My baby!" she said. "I thought I was going to lose you again!"

"Moooom!" Scootaloo said. She wasn't entire comfortable, being hugged in public. "We have to get the Elements of Harmony!"

"The...necklaces in the display case?" Trixie asked. "Why?"

"They're the only thing that stops evil alicorns, remember?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ruh...right," Trixie said. To be honest, she hadn't gotten around to reading the library book about the Elements of Harmony. "We've got, um...well, the two pegasi are here. So is Pinkie Pizza, or whatever her name was...Scootaloo!"

While Trixie was talking, Scootaloo dashed over to her schoolmates, who were all gathered around Cheerilee. Most of the children were watching Princess Celestia, and Scootaloo went through the group until she found the two fillies she wanted.

"Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo said. "I need your help! You have to get your sisters and bring them here, right away!"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked. "What do you need Applejack for?"

"We need them to stop the bad guy!" Scootaloo said.

"But...Rarity can't stop bad guys," Sweetie Belle said. "All she can do is make dresses."

"Look, I'll explain everything later, okay?" Scootaloo said. "Just get your sisters and hurry!"

Apple Bloom wasn't convinced. "I dunno," she said. "That purple alicorn seems dangerous. Maybe we should let Princess Celestia take care of her."

"No!" Scootaloo said. "We have to do it, because...um...um...maybe we'll get our cutie marks in beating bad guys!"

Huge smiles erupted on the fillies' faces. "Hey!" Apple Bloom said. "That's a great idea!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle said. "Bad Guy Stopper Cutie Marks!"

The two of them ran off to get their sisters, while Scootaloo went with Trixie to get the Elements of Harmony from the display case in the library. By the time they returned, the battle between Princess Celestia and Princess Sunset was underway, and the two alicorns were circling each other, with intense looks on their faces.

"You cannot win," Celestia said. "Your magic is weak and untrained." She flipped her mane to the side. Her hair stretched out to its full length, and it began to glow slightly as Celestia cast a spell on it. A rope net, made of hair, flew out of Celestia's mane and went towards Sunset.

The purple alicorn rolled out of the way to dodge. "I am the strongest magician in Equestria!" she said. She tried to duplicate Trixie's fireworks spell, in order to make fireworks explode in Celestia's face, but she didn't get the spell correct.

Celestia's eyes burned yellow, and the ground shook. Thin pillars of dirt rose up from the ground, around Sunset. Within seconds, she was trapped inside a dirt cage, complete with a roof.

"How long have you had that unicorn horn?" Celestia asked. "Three hours, at most? I've been using magic for thousands of years."

"Your magic is old and useless!" Sunset said. Flames erupted from her horn, and she burned her way through the bars of the cage. "My twilight will rule!"

"Twilight is the worst time of day," Celestia said, conjuring up a bucket of water to douse Sunset's flames.

"You lie!" Sunset said, shooting a lightning-bolt like burst of energy at Celestia. "Sunset is the best time of all, because it's halfway between night and day! It's still bright enough to see outside, but not so bright that the sun hurts your eyes! That's great for book reading!"

"Jeez, even when she's an alicorn, she's an egghead," Rainbow Dash muttered. She was acting as the lookout for the Elements of Harmony, by hovering in the sky, ten feet above everypony else. When she spotted Applejack at a distance, Rainbow landed on the ground.

"Applejack's coming," Rainbow Dash said. "The only pony we're missing now is Rarity. I'm gonna go look for her."

"Don't take too long," Trixie said.

"No worries. I can find her in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash said. She flew off at top speed, towards Carousel Boutique. Applejack soon joined up with the rest of the group.

"Howdy, y'all," Applejack said. "What's up with Nightmare Moon Junior over there? She looks kinda like Twilight."

"It is Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "When she grows a unicorn horn, she gets all nasty-wasty!"

"No!" Scootaloo said. "It's not Twilight! There's no way my big sister would turn evil!"

"Um...sorry to interrupt, but...are you sure Cheerilee can't take over for me?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't want to fight anypony! Especially not big evil monsters!"

"Can I replace Fluttershy? I want to help!" Scootaloo said.

"It's too dangerous for you," Trixie said. She glanced at the fighting alicorns and paled slightly. "It might even be too dangerous for the Great and Powerful Trixie."

The magical duel became more and more intense, as time passed. Princess Celestia's reluctance to hurt her student prevented her from using her full strength in the battle, while Princess Sunset was fighting with all she had. As Sunset found herself running out of energy, she decided to go for broke with one, superpowered attack.

Princess Suspended Sunset threw a ball of strong, magical energy at Celestia's head. Princess Celestia countered with an energy attack of her own. The two energy attacks collided in the space between the two alicorns, and they combined into a high-powered sphere of lavender-and-cerulean light.

The sphere of energy rotated more and more quickly, as the two Princesses fought for magical dominance over it. They pushed more and more energy into their attacks, each one hoping to push the destructive orb towards her opponent. Soon, the ball of energy began to expand.

At first, it was the size of a hoofball. Then, it became the size of a pony's head. Soon, it was the size of a full-grown pony. The ground cracked, and the two alicorns flew up into the air, so they could have more room to work with. The massive ball of energy expanded until it was the size of a small house, but even then, neither Princess could wrest full control of it.

Around this time, Rainbow Dash returned with Rarity in tow. "What happened to Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Why is she an alicorn now? Why is she fighting with Princess Celestia? And where did she get that hideous crown?"

"We're not sure," Trixie said, handing over Rarity's necklace. "Here, put this on."

Rarity put on her necklace, then frowned. "Why do only half of us have necklaces?" she asked. "Did the orbs not work for the others?"

"What orbs?" Trixie asked.

"The ones we got in the castle in the Everfree," Rarity said. "Didn't we tell you about that? That's where the necklaces came from."

Trixie scrunched her brow in annoyance; she was really starting to wish she hadn't been put in charge of the Elements of Harmony, when she knew almost nothing about them. "Nopony mentioned anything about orbs," she said. "Are they important? Does everypony need a necklace?"

"I dunno," Applejack said. She tapped the apple-shaped gem, at the front of her necklace. "How do we activate these things, anyway? Is there a code word or something?"

"I don't know!" Trixie said. "Princess Celestia didn't give me all the details! Twilight was the one who studied the elements, not me!"

"Hmmm..." Rarity said, thinking. "I'm not sure how to use the elements, either."

"Maybe I have to laugh to activate the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie Pie said. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA! Haaaaaa...huh."

"I'll take care of this," Rainbow Dash said. Without the slightest sign of fear, Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and flew right towards the alicorn battle. She hovered about four feet next to Princess Celestia and asked, "Um, Princess?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now," Princess Celestia said, as sweat drops appeared on her forehead. "I'm a little busy."

"I want to tell you that we've got the Elements of Harmony," Rainbow Dash said.

"Excellent! What are you waiting for?" Celestia asked. "Use them on Suspended Sunset!"

"We don't know how to use them," Rainbow Dash said. "And, um, half of the elements are missing."

"What?" Celestia asked. For a moment, she lost her concentration on the battle, which gave Princess Sunset an opening. The giant ball of energy hit Celestia, and a loud crack like thunder was heard. Celestia plummeted to the ground, creating a crater when she landed.

Ponies gathered around the small crater. Princess Celestia was lying on her side, with her eyes closed. Her hair, which normally flowed in the wind, hung limp on the ground.

Princess Suspended Sunset landed on the ground and looked at Celestia's unmoving body. "I did it?" she asked. "I did it! I killed Princess Celestia! HA! O happy, happy day!"

Princess Sunset turned around to face the crowd. "Do you see now? Celestia is dead! She could not defeat the power of Sunset! She—"

While Princess Sunset was distracted, Celestia got up and hit her in the back with a quick spell. The dark alicorn screamed in pain and fury, as her body slowly disintegrated into white nothingness.

Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have made the mistake of assuming I was dead, Celestia thought. She always double-checked her answers before finishing a test.

Most of the ponies in the crowd cheered, as Princess Celesia walked out of the crater in the ground. Everypony else was too shocked at Sunset's defeat to react with joy.

Ten minutes later, Twilight's adult friends were gathered in the library. The mood was dismal, to say the least.

"She's gone..." Rarity said softly. "My friend from Canterlot is gone..."

"She was a good pony," Applejack said, wrapping a hoof around Rarity's shoulder in a comforting fashion. "I'm sure she's in Pony Heaven right now."

"She was the best librarian we ever had!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Ponyville will never be the same without her!"

"She was really, um...organized," Trixie said. Trixie didn't have anything nice to say, because she never had any good experiences with Twilight Sparkle.

"Maybe we could do a little tribute to her, at the Summer Sun Celebration," Rarity suggested. "It's what she would have wanted. She was so concerned about making the event a success..."

There was a knock at the front door, and Princess Celestia stepped in. "Good," she said. "I was hoping I'd find you all here. We need to talk about the Elements of Harmony."

Applejack adjusted her necklace, while all the other ponies merely looked at Celestia. The Princess of the Sun saw their gloomy faces and smiled gently.

"Do not be worried," Princess Celestia said. "I am not upset with you. I understand that you were unprepared to use the elements."

"But the Elements of Harmony would have saved Twilight..." Rarity muttered. "If only I had arrived sooner!"

Regret was an emotion Celestia understood well. "You did your best," Celestia said, closing her eyes. "That is all I can ask of you. Of course, we all wish things had worked out better, but we cannot change what happened."

Tears fell out of Fluttershy's eyes, while Rainbow Dash angrily ran a hoof along the floor. Even Pinkie Pie looked sad.

"The good news is that you have plenty of time to learn how to use the Elements of Harmony," Celestia said. "When Nightmare Moon comes next week—"

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore, princess or no princess. She flew right at Celestia's face and shouted, "Shut up! Just shut up! You killed our friend Twilight, and you still think we'll help you fight Nightmare Moon? You're crazy!"

Celestia was taken aback. "I...what are you talking about?" she asked.

"You killed her right in front of everypony!" Rainbow Dash accused. "We all saw it!"

"Oh my goodness, is that what you think happened?" Princess Celestia asked, taking a step forward. "My little ponies, I would never kill somepony! The spell I used on Twilight was a banishment spell. All I did was send her somewhere else."

"She's not dead?" Rainbow Dash asked. She swept up Fluttershy in a hug. "She's not dead!"

The mood in the room immediately lifted, as the ponies let out various exclamations of relief. "Why didn't you mention that sooner?" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I...I'm sorry," Celestia said. "I had no idea you thought she was dead. I thought it was obvious that I sent her to the moon."

"The moon?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Princess Celestia shrugged. "Banishment to the moon is the typical punishment for trying to kill me," she said. "Besides, I didn't have any time to think of anything else."

"But...that's where Nightmare Moon is!" Applejack said. "And she's coming back next week!"

"Yes," Celestia said grimly. "Unless I'm wrong, I believe both alicorns will return to Earth during the Summer Sun Celebration."

"T-two evil alicorns?" Fluttershy gasped.

"That is why you must learn how to use the Elements of Harmony by then!" Celestia said earnestly. "Only you can save Equestria from being overcome by eternal darkness!"

Fluttershy fainted from fright.