//------------------------------// // Day of the Long Night // Story: Spannerverse // by jszellmer //------------------------------// The mayor was finally calming the crowd down when Cherry Blossom ran up. “Mayor Mare,” Cherry Blossom said. “One of our children’s vanished. I think she’s following Nightmare Moon into Everfree Forest.” The mayor gasped. “We’ll have to organize search parties. She’s only a filly. She can’t have gone far. Hopefully, one of the adults will catch up to her before she gets too far.” “Is Rainbow Dash here?” Cherry Blossom asked. “She’s fastest, and the weather teams are already organized into groups and will be able to follow Requiem through the air.” “Good thinking,” the mayor said. “We’ll organize the others into teams to cover the interior of Everfree. I don’t want to assume that she’ll fly all the way there.” Mayor Mare called for Rainbow Dash, but there was no answer. Mayor Mare grabbed one of the other ponies. “Have you seen Rainbow Dash? We have a missing child and we need her and the weather ponies to help organize search parties.” “No, ma’am,” said the pony. “I saw her leave with Twilight Sparkle and some of the others. I think she’s going after Nightmare Moon.” “That’s where Requiem’s going,” said Cherry Blossom. “Perhaps they will find her.” “Maybe,” said the Mayor. “But I’m not counting on it; not if they’re going after Nightmare Moon. We’ll just have to organize the search parties ourselves. And we’ve got another problem.” “What’s that?” asked Cherry Blossom. “Twilight Sparkle is Princess Celestia’s protégé,” the Mayor replied. “She has, or had, direct contact with the Princess.” “And?” asked Cherry Blossom. “With her gone, how do we tell Princess Celestia that Nightmare Moon is back?” --------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and the others made their way through Everfree Forest towards the ruins. As they travelled, Pinkie taught them to laugh at their fears, Rarity helped a dragon recover his fabulosity and Fluttershy won an epic breakdance competition against a giant robot. Twilight had such high hopes that she would win through, only for it to turn to ashes when they finally arrived. Nopony was there. Twilight didn’t understand it. Nightmare Moon had come in this direction. The only logical place for him to come to was the ruin. The ponies explored the ruin, hoping to find evidence of what had gone on there. They came to a large chamber, empty but for an oddly decorated plinth and a throne. “Face it Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash. “This place is deserted. Maybe he didn’t come here at all. It is a ruin, after all.” Twilight could feel her control slipping. “No, no,” she said. “It can’t be deserted. He flew in this direction. This is the only logical place in the region he could have gone. I did research! I was going to find the Elements of Harmony and use them to heal Nightmare Moon! Nothing’s gone right tonight. Stupid Summer Sun Festival. Stupid ‘go out and make friends.’ Stupid, stupid Elements of Harmony, can’t even find them.” She lashed out at the plinth in frustration. She continued to strike at it, sobbing incoherently. Finally, she hit it hard enough that something fell off the top. It was a tiara of some sort. “Elements of Harmony…” she trailed off. The decorations on the pedestal. They weren’t built into it; they were mounted on it. Could these be the Eelements of Harmony? She began prying them off. The others helped her and soon they lay in a pile at their hooves. “What do we do now?” asked Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was about to say something, but was interrupted by Applejack. “I don’t think that a party is the solution to this one, sugarcube.” Pinkie Pie deflated for a moment. “Think, think, think,” said Twilight. “If Nightmare Moon isn’t here; where would he go?” “Home?” asked Fluttershy. “But this was their home,” said Twilight. “Yes, was their home,” said Rarity, putting emphasis on the past tense. “But where does the Princess live now?” “Canterlot,” said Twilight. “But how would he know that? Princess Celestia changed the location after she banished him.” “And you think that Nightmare Moon couldn’t simply intimidate somepony into telling him?” said Applejack. “Seriously, Twilight. I thought you were the smart one.” “How do we beat him there?” asked Rainbow Dash. “He’s an Alicorn; he can travel faster than any of us can. Well, maybe not me, but it’s not like the Rainboom Express accepts passengers.” “I could teleport,” said Twilight. “I can teleport anyplace I've physically been to. But I don’t know if I can travel that far, much less take passengers with me.” “Ooh, ooh, ooh,” said Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing around like a maniac. “I have the best idea and Dashie gave it to me.” Twilight sighed. “Fine. Go ahead and tell us, Pinkie. It’s not like we have any other ideas.” “This one’s a gem,” continued Pinkie. “Or at least a geode. And I grew up on a rock farm, so I know my geodes. If Dashie’s Rainboom can boost your magic, maybe the Elements of Harmony can do it also.” “It’s worth a shot,” said Twilight. At random, she grabbed the tiara. (At least she would say it was at random. She most certainly would not say that it was because, as a filly, she would sometimes sneak into Princess Celestia’s wardrobe when she was busy and play ‘Princess’ with her jewelry.) She began to concentrate, focusing her magic through the tiara and feeling her magic wrap around her and her friends. It built into a peak and, unexpectedly, backlashed against her. She was thrown backwards, hitting her head against a wall and blacked out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- “She’s waking up” “Are you all right?” “Is her face going to be stuck like that?” “Pinkie! Twilight groaned. “What happened?” “Something went wrong with the spell,” said Rarity. “I could feel the energy building, but then it turned on you. I can’t imagine why, though.” “You were out for hours,” said Fluttershy. “We couldn’t wake you up. We were so worried.” “Any idea what went wrong?” asked Applejack. “I don’t know,” Twilight answered. “I was directing the energy from the spell to take you too, but it felt like something was missing; some connection between the tiara and you. I think the magic released itself through the path of least resistance; back into me.” “What if we used all the elements?” Everypony turned to look at Fluttershy. She immediately blushed and said, “They’re the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia used all of them to banish Nightmare Moon. Maybe we need to use all of them to get to Canterlot. If, um, that’s all right with you, that is.” Twilight looked at her friends. Pinkie Pie, who helped her laugh. Rainbow Dash, who was loyal to the end. Applejack, who was honest and true. Rarity, who put others before herself. Fluttershy, who cared about everypony. “It’s more than all right,” said Twilight. They each took an Element. Twilight began again. This time, the magic flowed unrestrained through the Elements, connecting them to Twilight and each other. In the process, the Elements changed into necklaces, each one taking the form of the pony’s Cutie Mark. The sensation of teleporting was different from what she did when she sent herself with her magic alone, more of a free fall. They reappeared outside the castle, disoriented from their trip. Rainbow Dash threw up in some bushes. “New rule,” she said. “Let’s never do that again.” The others agreed, even Twilight Sparkle, whose eyes refused to straighten out, making it hard to walk. Sweet Celestia, she thought. Is this how Derpy Hooves feels all the time? Twilight made a mental note to apologize to her as soon as possible. As they charged into the castle, Twilight noted a pair of unconscious guardponies. Nightmare Moon was here. She hoped that they were not too late. As they approached the throne room, they could hear voices talking. Cautiously, they approached the room, keeping out of sight. Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon weren’t fighting. They weren't even arguing. They were embracing each other, sobbing as they did so. Strangely, there was a dark blue Pegasus filly in the room with them, who appeared to be desperately trying to hug them both. Twilight observed the situation for a while, turned towards the others and smiled. “You know, maybe we’re not needed after all.” --------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Celestia knocked on the door. It was opened by an exhausted looking Earth Pony mare. It was obvious that she had been crying and likely was operating on very little sleep. “Are you Sunflower?” Celestia asked. The mare gasped. Princess Celestia? Here? Why? “No,” she stammered. “I’m Cherry Blossom. Sunflower is inside, with the children.” “And this is the Ponyville Orphanage?” Princess Celestia continued. “Yes, yes it is,” Cherry Blossom answered. Why would Princess Celestia come here of all places? “Would you like to come in?” “If I may,” said Princess Celestia. She came into the orphanage. A mixed band of children were sitting at a table alongside a Pegasus mare, none of whom could believe what they were seeing. “I have something that belongs to you. Or should I say, somepony.” She stepped aside, revealing Requiem standing behind her. “Requiem!” Cherry Blossom cried, hugging the child close. The others mobbed in as Cherry Blossom released Requiem from the death grip in which she had been held. “Thank you so much for bringing her back to us, Princess,” said Sunflower. “We thought we would never see her again.” “Is there any way we could repay you for this,” asked Cherry Blossom. “Just that you take good care of her,” Princess Celestia replied. “My brother has grown fond of her. She is the reason I am able to have him back again.” Cherry Blossom and Sunflower were confused. Who was this ‘brother’ Celestia spoke of? “Of course we will,” Cherry Blossom said. “I’ll be staying in Ponyville for a while,” Princess Celestia. “After all, I did promise the town a sunrise for the Summer Sun Festival. It would be remiss of me to not follow through.”