//------------------------------//
// Everfree 
// Story: Memories 
// by Sun Aura 
//------------------------------//

		I walked through the Everfree Forest, my paranoia growing as I waited for something to attack. From what I heard from Celestia, in the heart of the forest was a castle from over one thousand years ago. She said she had left memories behind here, and with nopony caring for it, the castle grew wild, and was left to ruin. She said there were a few things she had left there on purpose, not wanting to carry on old memories with her.
I tried to follow the path that had once been here, but it was overgrown. My fear came back, making my breathing shallower and every noise sounded like an attack. The closer I got to where I thought the Castle was the worse my head began to hurt. 
I stopped. Something wanted me to go the other way. It was not the fear screaming at me, that I could ignore, but it felt like a tug, more of a warm tingle throughout my body. I listened hard. 
Screams came from behind me. I turned and ran toward them though I could not see. I closed my eyes and relied on those colors to guide me. I saw six large colors in the darkness. A blue one was being held up by a red one, the violet being held by a pink one. The orange shape was okay, but the magenta one was not. 
I could guess what was happening. They had fallen off a cliff. The pink color and the red color were the only two with wings. But a pony can barely slow the descent of another pony while flying. One of them would have to set down who they had before catching the magenta one, but my then it would be too late. There was no time for them to get her!
I watched in terror as she fell.
I spread my wings, leaping into the air and flying as fast as I could. I knew what might happen if I did not make it. I could not breathe. I could not think. I felt something solid in my hooves. I had caught her. The screaming stopped. I could breathe again, if somewhat shakily. 
“Feria?” asked the pony I had caught. I was still looking at those colors. I opened my eyes and looked down to see Twilight Sparkle in my hooves. She had been the magenta color.
“Sorry,” I smiled. “I bet you want me to put you on the ground now, right?”
I looked around to see who else was here. Applejack, who was jumping down the cliff with the skill of a mountain goat, had been the orange one. I knew Pinkie Pie was blue, so Rainbow Dash must have been the red holding her up. That left Fluttershy as the pink and Rarity as the violet.
“Now didn’t Ah’ say you would be safe?” Applejack said to Twilight. 
“What are you six doing here?” I asked.
“After Nightmare Moon appeared,” Twilight started, “I went back to the library to find a book about the Elements of Harmony, the only things that can defeat her.”
“We followed her, seein’ as she might know somethin’” Applejack continued. 
“And the book led us in here,” Rarity finished. “Although why something as important as the Elements of Harmony would be in a place as dreadful as this, I don’t know.” I saw Rainbow roll her eyes at that comment.
“Anyway,” Twilight said, “we need to keep going to the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. The Elements should be there.”
I contemplated this for a moment. I knew more about those legends than most ponies, yet Celestia still kept her secrets. The known Elements were Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. As far as I knew, it took six Elements to banish Nightmare Moon. Surely Celestia has a better plan than just one thousand more years?
“I will come with you,” I decided. 
“Please don’t endanger yourself!” Twilight exclaimed. “Without Princess Celestia, you’re most likely to be able to defeat Nightmare Moon of our plan doesn’t work!”
“And what is it that makes me more likely?” I asked. 
“Because you’re an Alicorn,” she said. “Even if you’re not as powerful as Princess Celestia, you can still have more of a chance than anypony else on their own.”
”While I do not agree,” I began, “if that is the case then I will do exactly as Celestia would. I will not let other ponies endanger themselves without making sure the ponies involved will be safe. Should you fail, I will protect you all from retribution.” 
I led the way through the trees, not letting them object again. I heard a roar as something jumped onto the path in front of us. It was huge, with a lion’s body but a scorpion’s tail and leathery bat wings.
“A manticore!” Twilight screamed. “We’ve got to get past it!”
The manticore leaped at us, swiping its paws at Rarity on its way down. She turned and kicked him in the face. It roared at her, swiping again as she ran out of reach. It chased her as she ran past me. Its tail flew forward this time. I had enough time to put up a magic shield, but it kept pounding away at it. 
“Git along, little doggie!” Applejack hollered as she jumped on its back. She held on to the manticore like a rodeo trick before getting flung into the air at Rainbow Dash. “Your turn, partner.”
Rainbow flew circles around the Manticore. Faster and faster she went, making a colorful tornado around the creature. It was quickly stopped by a fling from the tail.
Twilight made the signal for a full on charge at the monster before us. Six of us formed a line, digging our hooves into the ground. We charged the manticore when Fluttershy jumped between us.
“Wait!” she yelled. We watched as she walked up to it, gasping as it looked about to crush her, but she just smiled. “It’s okay.”
The manticore made more of a mewling sound as she nudged its paw. The creature calmed down, lifting its paw up to her. A large thorn was stuck in the pad of its paw.
“Oh, you poor, poor little kitty,” she sympathized. 
“Little? Rainbow questioned.
“Now this might hurt for just a second,” she warned, pulling the thorn. The manticore roared in pain, but then began licking her as a thank you. “Aw, you’re just a little ol’ baby kitty, aren’t you? Yes you are!”
The rest of us snuck by while the manticore was distracted. It finally put her down and leaping off into the forest. I tried to stifle a giggle at the way her mane stuck up from the saliva. 
“How did you know about the thorn in its paw?” Twilight asked.
“I didn’t,” she replied. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”
I smiled as we walked on. If it were not for the feeling of imminent doom, this might be fun. That fear still played at the back of my mind, but I was able to push it down for now. These ponies were interesting. 
“My eyes need a rest from all of this icky muck!” Rarity complained. The trees answered by getting thicker, their leaves blocking out the moonlight. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally.”
“The ancient ruin could be right in front o our faces and we wouldn’t even know it!” Twilight exclaimed.
We began bumping into one another. The ground became sticky. I felt the pressure change in the area. 
“Oh, wait. Ah’ think Ah’ stepped in somethin’” Applejack said. Fluttershy screamed in response. “It’s just mud.”
Soon we all saw what Fluttershy had screamed at. The trees grew faces, angry ones with teeth. They were growling at us. It seemed like they were creatures about to pounce. But Pinkie was just making faces and laughing.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, panic obvious in her voice.
“Oh, girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie giggled. Then she began to sing.

“When I was a little filly and the sun was going down”

“Tell me she’s not,” Twilight groaned. 

“The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown”

“She is,” Rarity answered.

“I’d hide under my pillow
From what I thought I saw
But Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way
To deal with fears at all”

“Then what is?” Rainbow shouted, her voice cracking with panic.


“She said ‘Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You’ll see that they can’t hurt you
Just laugh and make them disappear’
Ha! Ha! Ha!”

With her laughs, the trees became less scary. The trees seemed normal, no face or growling. Pinkie smiled at us, inviting us to try it. I chuckled at the whole idea. I did not know why we even felt afraid in the first place. Everypony joined in the laughter, Pinkie singing the whole way through.
We all ended up in a pile of silly, laughing ponies! Pinkie was practically a squeaky toy, and Rarity was trying to keep herself from breaking down into the loud, nearly breathless laughs that Applejack had already succumbed to. I was actually snorting with laughter. Even with the sense of imminent doom, this is one of the best days I have had in a while. It was not just the laughter that chased away my fears, but the fact that my friends were with me.
I do not know how, but we got up from our pile of giggles and kept going. There was no more awkward small talk between us, but interesting life stories and plans for things we can do once this all is over. Rarity even invited me to come over to her boutique so that she can use me as a model; she rarely gets to work on somepony with a coat as dark as mine. I am glad we came here together.
“There should be a river up ahead,” I said. “We can get across on the bridge.”
We turned a corner on the path, and saw the blue of the river. I could hear its flow from here. They looked at me with confusion.
“How did y

ou know?” Twilight wondered.
“I- I am not sure?” I answered. I just knew it was there. It felt as natural as knowing which turn to make to get to get to Sugarcube Corner. Yet unlike Sugarcube Corner, I had never set hoof in this forest. 
“Where’s the bridge?” Rainbow asked. A few others agreed with her, trying to come up with other ideas.
I just stared at the river. This was giving me an even worse headache. It was like overlapping images. One image was the roaring river in front of us, no way across in sight. The other image was a calm river.  A beautiful bridge carved into a cloud shape spanned the length between the shores.
I heard Applejack ask if Rainbow, Fluttershy and I could fly them across. I did not need to listen to know the answer; it was easy to slow the decent of a pony, but it would be extremely difficult to pick them up and go across. I heard somepony crying upstream. Craning my neck I could see a sea serpent sobbing into the river, thrashing around in a tantrum.
Twilight seemed to have seen the serpent too. She gestured toward it and we walked up. He did not seem to notice us. 
“Excuse me, sir?” Twilight asked as she approached him. “Why are you crying?”
“Well, I don’t know!” the serpent wailed, flailing his hands around. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of smoke just whooshed past me and tore half of my beautiful mustache clean off! Now I look simply horrid!” He flailed again, splashing us all with water.
“Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow grumbled.
“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Applejack complained.
“Why of course it is!” Rarity exclaimed, shocked at their reaction. “How can somepony be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely, radiant scales.”
“I know,” The serpent agreed, beginning to calm down.
“And your expertly coiffed mane!” she complimented again.
“Oh, I know, I know!” if sea serpents could blush, he defiantly was.
“Your astonishing manicure!” she sighed.
“It’s so true!” he gasped. 
“All ruined without your extravagant mustache!” Rarity exclaimed.
“It’s true! I’m hideous!” he yelled as he began thrashing again. Her compliments had seemed to be working, so why did she stop? What was she planning?
“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” she proclaimed.
“Rarity, what are you-?” Twilight yelled. 
We watched as Rarity grabbed one of the serpent’s scales, and sliced off her own tail. The serpent screamed and fainted dramatically. Rarity just remained calm. She levitated the tail she cut off toward his face, magically attaching it to the stump of his mustache. 
“My mustache! How wonderful!” The serpent exclaimed, reciving another compliment from Rarity.
“Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail…” Twilight said, looking at the small tuft that remained.
“Oh, it’s fine, dear,” she assured. “Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.”
“So would the mustache,” Rainbow pointed out.
“A gift from the heart means more than reassurance,” Rarity replied.
“Allow me,” the serpent said, letting us use him as a bridge. Once we were across, they began to continue down the path. I lingered for a moment. Twilight was about to ask what was wrong, but I nodded for her to go on ahead. As they steadily walked along, I headed back to the serpent.
“Excuse me, mr… uh…” I began.
“Oh, forgive me!” he apologized. “We were never properly introduced. My name is Steven Magnet.”
“A fine name it is,” I said, accepting the handshake he offered. “I am Feria.”
“Like the princess?” he asked. I nodded in confirmation as he freaked out even more than before. “Oh dear I feel terrible. How I acted was no way to be in front of anypony, much less in front of royalty.”
“It is okay, Mr. Magnet,” I chuckled. “Anyone would have reacted similarly.”
“You may call me Steven, if you wish,” he replied, calming down. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Actually I was wondering something,” I said. “Was there once a bridge here?”
“Not for nearly fifty years!” he answered. “And it was a death trap years, probably centuries,  before it finally broke down. Somepony moved it into a clearing up the way your friends are heading.”
That confused me even more. How could I remember a bridge in a place I have never been to? A bridge that had been destroyed long before I was born, and out of commission for even longer? Was I going crazy? I could have just been lucky, or saw it on an old map, but why did I see it when I looked at the place it should be?
“Thank you,” I said, beginning to walk off again.
“If I may ask, Princess,” he caught my attention again. “Has something happened? It’s not often we get ponies this deep in the forest, much less a large group. I usually have to travel to parts of the river out of this forest before seeing anypony. And shouldn’t the sun have been up hours ago?” I paused, wondering what exactly to say.
“Do you know the legends of Nightmare Moon?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. The surprise in his eyes told me yes. “The legends are quite true, but do not be frightened. If all goes right tonight, everything will return to how it should be.”
“I hope so, my Princess!” he said. “I do hope the sun rises again soon.”
“It will come back,” I assured. “But do you not think that the night is a very beautiful creation? “
“Yes it is,” he agreed. “But Princess-“
“Please, do not call me ‘Princess’,” I cut him off.  “I am just Feria, I am me.”
I smiled at him again, and walked on. It was easy to find the clearing with the bridge pieces. It was even easier to see it was the same bridge I saw in the overlapping images. It was dark gray now, instead of white; overgrown with plants and quite eroded, but still quite beautiful.
I caught up with my friends, though I kept quiet about what was bothering me. I was seeing things I should not have. As we got our first look at the ruined castle, it happened again.
I could see what they saw; a great gray stone, wooden doors having rotted away and stone archways covered in vines. I could tell there were a few magical wards protecting the place from creatures, though some had broken over the years. On top of it I could see the castle as it probably was when t was new; The stones were gleaming white, the gardens well-kept and the entire place brimming with the warmth of life. 
“There it is!” Twilight yelled. “The ruins that hold the Elements of Harmony! We made it!”
“Wait for us!” Applejack called to her.
“We’re almost there” she yelled again.
I watched her come to a quick stop as she nearly fell of the edge. There seemed to be a crevice in the ground in front of us. I saw a spot where a bridge used to be, though unlike the river, I was not seeing a new bridge in the overlapping image. I saw no bridge nor crevice at all, just flat grassland.
“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?” Rainbow asked, pulling Twilight away from the edge. 
“It’s a rope bridge,” I said, looking over the edge. “It looks like someone cut the other end, but it would be sturdy enough for us to cross.”
“What now?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow flapped her wings in response. “Oh yeah.”
She flew over the gap, easily attaching the first rope. I felt the pressure in the air change. That fear crept back up. I closed my eyes, trying to get a grip on myself, but I could see those colors again. The silvery-blue was back, but it was the black that engulfed it that terrified me. 
I opened my eyes again. Across the gap were three ponies talking to Rainbow Dash. They should have shown up as three colors, but they were part of the silver and black that made up this fog.
“Rainbow, what’s taking so long?” Twilight called to her. She saw them too. “Oh no. Rainbow Dash! Don’t listen to them!”
One of those ponies glanced at us, her eyes glowing. The fog rolled in, though I was the only one to know it was all part of the same thing. The fog muffled our voices. 
I could not breathe. It was like something was pressing against my throat. I wanted to fly over, save Rainbow from those ponies, but the only movement I could do was trembling. There was a ringing in my ears.  
Next thing I knew I was on the ground, my hooves covering my ears and my eyes closed shut. I tried to block it all out. This was not just fear; this was panic, it was terror. This felt so horrible that it physically hurt just being here.
It felt like forever before it stopped, though it had probably been just minutes. I could breathe again. I could hear my friends voices again. I wonder, when did I stop thinking of them as ponies I wanted to protect out of duty? I wanted to protect my friends.
“I am sorry,” I said, still breathing strangely. I did not want them to worry about me.
“What happened?” one of them asked.  Maybe it was Rainbow? The ringing in my ears was still too much for me to tell who.
“I do not know,” I answered. “I just…  I felt terrified. It is better now. We need to keep going.”
“Hold up there, sugarcube,” Applejack stopped me. “You shouldn’t be movin’ on after something like that.”
“I am fine now!” I told her.
“That is not fine!” Pinkie exclaimed. “If you were all happy when Rainbow came back, that would be ‘fine’! You were freaking out! I couldn’t even help.”
“She’s right,” Fluttershy said, a lot more calm than the others. At some point she had sat down, putting her wing around me and holding close. “You were like I am during a panic attack. It’s really not pleasant. I don’t mean to make it about me, I’m just, well, I’ve felt similar so-“
“Okay, but it is over now!” I insisted. “I will be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked.
“I can take you back home, if you need it,” Rarity offered. 
“No!” I shouted, making them all jump. “I feel like you are all supposed to be here. I will be fine.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked again. 
I nodded again. They finally let me up and we crossed the bridge. I wondered why I had such a reaction to that. I know my fear had been growing, but I have never experienced anything like that. Then again, this all was different. Any time I was terrified before, there were never any true consequences for failure. Was that it? No, that could not be it. This terror has been building since I first saw Nightmare Moon. I was glad they were here; I do not think I could have made it here alone.
“If the Elements are here they would be in that building,” I said on the other side. I gestured with my wing to the building on the right without any décor. “It was built as a safe haven of sorts, somewhere for us to hide in case of an attack from the not-so-friendly creatures in the area.”
They all gave me that look I got at the bridge. Did I say ‘somewhere for us’? I did. I was so sure I had never been here. I knew for sure that the building meant for protection would not have been on any map. I cannot explain this one away. 
The inside of the building was just a large, almost empty room. A huge stone thing stood in the middle of the room, I guess I could call it a pedestal. Five stone orbs sat upon it, but some spaces were empty. 
“The Elements of Harmony! We’ve found them! Twilight exclaimed. 
Fluttershy,  Rainbow and I flew up to get the orbs. They were heavier than I thought; Twilight scolded me for nearly dropping one. Somehow this did not feel right.
“One, two, three, four,” Pinkie counted. “There’s only five!”
“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow demanded.
“The book said ‘when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed’!” Twilight recited. 
“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked.
“I have an idea,” she answered. “Stand back. I don’t know what will happen.”
“Come on now, y’all,” Applejack said, herding us out the side door. “She needs to concentrate.”
The place we went looked strange. This overlapped too, but it was not something ruined. I saw this place as a grass courtyard, but it was filled with life-size statues, a lot of life-sized statues. As I looked on, I saw not only ponies, but Dragons and Griffons. 
I took a look at the one closest to me.  It was a statue of an Earth Pony.  I think it might have once been painted green, but it had been long worn off. I looked at the pedestal it was standing on. ‘Little Burst’ was the name it gave. There were numbers underneath ‘9/24/XX-7/15/86’.
“Girls, be careful!” I warned. “This is not a garden. It is a cemetery.”
I heard noises of surprise, but I did not stay to pay attention. Why was this here? I wandered through the statues. Something about it unnerved me. I never felt like this about graveyards. These ponies seemed different than those in other graveyards. When I walked through the one in Canterlot, the ponies I never met seemed almost like they were fictional, like they only existed in a story. This felt real. 
I got to the end of the row. The statue here was an Alicorn, possibly once painted magenta. I looked at her name plate. 'Mira 9/3/XX-2/27/794’. To one side were three holes in the ground, meant for something bigger than normal ponies. I looking to the other side, I saw more Alicorn statues, even one that looked like Cadence. I followed them, reading the names and dates. ‘Flora 7/16/XX-5/8/833’, ‘Azura 5/21/XX-12/30/899’,’ ‘Tornata 4/2/XX-3/28/746’. I assumed they had been immortal at some point.  
The next one was just a hole in the ground. I recognized the Alicorn mare, even without her colors. This was not just subtle familiarity or resembling somepony I knew. I was staring at a statue of Celestia. Only one date was beneath her name, the date ‘2/19/XX’.  The two X’s must have meant the first year, before they even had a system of years. 
This was Celestia’s family. A group of ponies and other creatures born in the first year of existence. These were the ones she grew up with. I wondered if there was a time when she thought they would spend all of their lives together. Centuries of loneliness have not helped her. 
When I saw the next statue, I forgot how to breathe. She was nearly as tall as Celestia, but she looked almost exactly like me. Every facial feature, her posture, her Cutie Mark, even her mane style was exactly the same as my own. I checked the pedestal; it said ‘Feria 1/1/XX-12/24/19’. 
I know Celestia named me after somepony she knew, but this was freaky. Was it my birthday or my appearance that made her name me that? I rechecked the date. She had been older than me by a few months when she died. Why? 
I saw a flash of light. Pulling myself away from her, the six of us ran back to the Element’s chamber. Both Twilight and the orbs had disappeared, tendrils of purple smoke still hung about in the room. 
“Look!” Rarity shouted. Light was flashing in a building across another courtyard.
“This way!” I commanded. 
I led the way through to a hallway, never stopping to think of where I was going. I just took the turns I knew were there. I stopped trying to figure out what was going on, but I used it to my advantage. I knew exactly where to go.
As we got closer, we shouted out to Twilight, hoping she could hear us. We tried to tell her not to worry, but when we reached the hall she was confident. She was talking to Nightmare Moon. I noticed the shards at their hooves, most likely broken orbs; the fear began to creep back up again.
“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony with a simple attack like that?” Twilight asked as we came up behind her. “Well, you’re wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!”
“What?” Nightmare Moon yelled, voicing our confusion.
Before we could ask, the shards from the orbs began to glow. They levitated around us, circling my friends. Twilight began speaking again, but the magic empowered her words, making them echo, making me feel like we could do anything.
“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt,” she began, “represents the Spirit of Honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed an angry manticore with her compassion, is the Spirit of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished our fears by giggling in the face of danger, is the Spirit of Laughter! Rarity, who calmed a woeful serpent with a meaningful gift, is the Spirit of Generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, is the spirit of Loyalty!	
“We got through every challenge you threw at us. At first, I thought the ‘spark’ didn’t work, but it did! It was a different kind of spark!” She turned to look back at us. “I felt it in that very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited in me when I realized that you all are my friends!”
“You see, Nightmare Moon,” she continued, turning to the mare in question. “When those Elements are ignited by that, that spark, which resides in all of us, it creates the sixth Element: The Element of Magic!”
The air above Twilight’s head glowed. A sixth orb appeared. She glanced at me, the only one who was left out. She looked about ready to apologize for something, but I shook my head; I was okay with this. 
What I was not okay with was the headache from the overlapping images. Behind where Nightmare Moon stood were thrones. They looked like they were unoccupied for centuries, but the other image showed their owners. I saw Celestia upon a golden throne, and five other Alicorns, ones I saw as statues in the graveyard, sat upon the others leaving one unoccupied. 
“Go ahead,” Nightmare Moon laughed. “The Elements lost their power when Celestia used them against me. You may have awakened them, but it’s even less than back then; you can never access their full power. You might trap me in the moon for a while, a few centuries if you’re lucky. I can wait. I am Immortal! I spent one thousand years waiting for this; I can last a bit longer.”
“How could they not be?” Twilight asked. She was starting to lose hope. This was her only chance. 
“What should I do with you?” she wondered aloud. She chuckled at the fear that appeared on their faces. “I will not kill you. No, I do not care for bloodshed. Imprisonment sounds better. I cannot keep you forever, but Celestia is suffering the same fate I got when she banished me.  It’s what she deserves for leaving us behind, for only caring about herself. She lived on with no regrets. ”
‘Us’ she had said. She left ‘us’. It all clicked in my mind. I knew why the six Elements would not work. I counted the thrones, making sure I was right.
“There were seven Elements,” my voice echoed throughout the hall. Nightmare Moon looked at me, fear and anger in her eyes. “Seven Alicorns, each gifted with an Element. But they became disconnected, mostly through death. The Elements waited and waited for those that would bear them once again. 
“Seven Elements,” I laughed. “Did you hear that? The Known Elements are Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. The sixth Element is Magic, or the ‘spark’ that ignites a feeling in us, a feeling of Friendship. But that is what it is: a spark. It can die out as quickly as it was lit if you do not care for it. But if you nurture it, feed it what it needs, that spark can become a raging inferno able to change your world. 
“Feelings so intense that it creates a physical effect,” I continued. “When somepony you feel that way about is in trouble, you want to help. You ask what is wrong, you comfort them, you tell them they are not fine when they need to hear it, you try to cheer them up, and if it is needed you give up something not as important to help them. But as worried as you are, you can only help them if they want help.”
“And yet you still don’t have it!” Nightmare shouted at me. “That Element was lost nearly two thousand years ago!”
“That is the thing about it,” I said. “As long as even one pony somewhere believes in an Element of Harmony, there is always a way for it to return. We can always rekindle the spark that is the Magic of Friendship, and let it burn into the Fire that is Love. 
“That is the Lost Element!” I announced. “The Seventh Element of Harmony is the Element of Love, only there when the others become a raging inferno!”
I felt the Elements power grow impossibly strong.  The entire world around us pulsed with energy. I could feel our hearts resonating as a final light appeared; it did not come from the air, but within us. 
“By your lead, Twilight Sparkle,” I said. “The Spark leads the Flame. This is your call.”
She nodded to me, and I felt everything synchronize. The shards came together, creating necklaces and one tiara on Twilight’s head. A warm tingle spread throughout my body as we were lifted into the air. 
A rainbow colored blast of magical energy came out of us, enveloping Nightmare Moon in its light. She screamed, but it was not a scream from physical pain. I saw memories flashing by.  I saw every moment any of us had experienced that spark or flame. I do not know why I felt tears trailing down my face as I saw a memory of the Alicorns I had seen; They were together, laughing and teasing, acting like friends, like sisters. Was this a memory from Nightmare Moon?
As the spell finished, we were slowly set down onto the stone floor. Te Elements of Harmony took on a different physical form. We each had a gold necklace, except for Twilight who had a tiara, each with a large gem in the shape of our respective Cutie Mark. Around my own neck was a similar one, mine containing a pinkish-red gem in the shape of a heart. I also noticed that Rarity’s tail had grown back to its full length.
But the thing that held my attention was in front of me. A dark blue Alicorn was lying in the middle of shattered armor. She was only a bit bigger than me. I closed my eyes, checking those colors. There was no black left within her, just a beautiful silvery blue. 
I opened my eyes and walked over to her. She cowered at the sound of my hoofsteps, but peeked an eye open when I sat next to her. She looked up at me curiously with beautiful turquoise eyes.
“Am I dead?”she asked in a whisper. “Or are you a ghost, haunting me for my mistakes.”
“Neither,” I answered. “You ask because I look like a pony from your memories, right? I saw her gravestone. Celestia saw the resemblance, too, she even gave me the name.”
“Why are you talking so calmly to me?” she wondered. I saw a bright light on the other side of the room, followed by a warm presence, but I paid it no mind for now. “You know who I am.”
“I have met you as Nightmare Moon today,” I replied. “But I have heard tales told of who you were before. You are the one who brings the night sky, not just the moon but all its stars. You are the walker of dreams, the one to protect us from the Nightmares, though you never wished to become one. You are Princess Luna, the Mare in the Moon, Goddess of the Night, and Walker of Dreams, youngest of seven Alicorn Princesses and a former bearer of an Element of Harmony. You are a sister to both Celestia and I.”
“I thought you might be one of their descendants, not a sibling,” she said. 
“Celestia said that I was created just as you and she were,” I stated. “Though I was much more recent. I have only ever seen the Nights Celestia has created, but on those nights I have seen her cry longingly at the moon. You said she abandoned your family, yet the graves outside have been regularly taken care of.  She is not one for being direct, or showing every emotion without provocation, but the little things show it.”
She was about to say something back when we heard a voice from across the room. I looked up to see Celestia. Twilight was being released from her teacher’s hug. After seeing the statue where her grave eventually would be, I saw how tired she looked, the weight of two thousand years showed.
“I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her,” she was saying to Twilight. “But you could not use it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now only if another will as well.”
Celestia turned her head to Luna and I. I backed out of the way as she walked up to us. Luna cowered again, afraid of what she had done.
“It has been a very long time since I have seen you like this,” Celestia said. “It is time to put our past behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?”
I could see the fear in Luna’s eyes. She wanted to accept the offer, she wanted it so much, but I could see her wondering how anypony could forgive her. I tried to give her a reassuring grin.
“I am sorry!” she shouted, jumping up to hug Celestia. “I am so sorry! I missed you so much!”
“I am sorry too,” Celestia replied, returning the embrace. I watched tears fall from both their eyes, streaking one another’s coats. 
“You know what this calls for?” Pinkie shouted. “A party! We’re going to need balloons! And streamers, lots and lots of streamers! Oh! Now I’ll finally have a use for the blueberry version of Mrs. Cake’s special Princess Cupcakes! And she said we’d only ever need strawberry flavor! I told her we’d need it soon!”
Pinkie bounced off, planning Luna’s “Welcome back from the moon” party. I laughed at the bewilderment my sisters had on their faces. The rest of us were so used to it, we sometimes forget how she seems to others. 
“She is like some strange combination of Azura and Circus!” Luna remarked.
“Well, she is the Element of Laughter,” Celestia chuckled. “And doesn’t she look a fair bit like Frosted? Speaking of descendants though, you’ll need to meet our nieces and nephews. You’ll like most of them.”
“Most?” Luna asked, a mischievous grin coming to her face.
“Well, Blueblood is,” she pause, trying to find the words. “You know, I can’t think of a word to describe him.”
“I can think of plenty!” I chuckled as I began following my friends out. “None of them are ‘appropriate’ for a princess to say!”
As I walked, I could still see this place, how it once was. I wanted to know more about this place, but I decided it could wait. After all, I just got my sister back, and I found a few new friends. I should spend time with them. It was amazing to see Celestia next to Luna. It looked like the weight of the last thousand years was lifted off of her.
“Can I ask you something?” Twilight wondered as I came up beside her.
“Anything.” I replied. 
“What’s it like in Ponyville?” she asked.
“It is a lot different than Canterlot,” I answered. “Even if you are not best friends with somepony here, you still know them fairly well. If somepony has a big problem, most of the town would try to help. And the foals are kept safe by everypony; nopony goes ‘Well, they are not my kid, why should I bother? And there is always something interesting happening, whether it is a festival or some creature from Everfree. Were you asking because you want to stay?”
“Well, I, uh…” my question caught her off guard. “I have to go back to Canterlot anyway. I’m the Princess’ student after all, and-“
“You know,” I began. “The mayor told me that our new librarian was scheduled to arrive in town yesterday. She said it was somepony from Canterlot who would be officially starting today. Something you should know about Celestia by now is that she never tells her full plan, but she is quite generous.”
I laughed at Twilight’s expression this time as she processed my words. This was going to be quite the adventure. I could feel my world shift. I felt like everything would be better than I thought, yet something dark lurked at the edge of my mind, mostly just the things about today that were confusing. 
But I would not let that weigh on my mind.