The Castle of the Royal Pony sisters stood stark above the gloaming Everfree Forest, carried aloft on the naturally fortified hill that had once been the centre of Equestria. Its walls were dark shadows against the night, made to seem darker still by the faint, energetic glow of magic permeating their very stones. Now and then a flash of light would erupt from somewhere within the ancient palace, accompanied by the faint rumble and scrape of stone on stone as great hewn hunks of masonry shifted and stretched through the air.
Six pairs of eyes watched from the edge of the forest clearing, picking out the best route and marvelling at the changes. Already the fragile rope bridge across the gorge was gone, replaced with a shining arch of granite and marble that shone under regimented werelights. Beyond, the castle itself stood taller, its fortifications nearly whole again, centuries of neglect and decay soon to be wiped away as if they had never occurred.
By some unspoken consensus the group retreated back into the depths of the forest, just far enough that only the briefest glimmer of that arcane light would fall on them. They sat in silence, contemplating what they had seen.
It was Rainbow Dash who spoke first.
"There's no way we're getting her out of that."
Four of the others stared at her, shocked, surprised that Rainbow Dash would be so quick to declare the lost cause, though they all felt it. Rainbow didn't back down from her statement either.
"I never thought I'd hear Rainbow Dash admit defeat so quickly," Rarity said, primping at her mane. She glanced toward another flicker of light and shuddered. "Though I can hardly disagree. Whatever is going on in that castle is beyond anything we could hope to prevent."
"But we have the elements, right?" To the casual observer, Pinkie Pie's voice sounded as cheerful as ever, but there was an undercurrent of fear that was completely alien to her normally chipper personality.
"The elements ain't worth jack without Twilight," Applejack replied. She tapped at the torque hugging her neck, setting the little jewel embedded in the front ringing with her hoof.
"So we're just giving up?"
Applejack closed her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't say that. It's just-"
"No."
They turned. Fluttershy had barely spoken since Twilight's disappearance. The already soft-spoken mare had retreated completely inside herself, unwilling to discuss anything but the most trivial of matters. To hear her speak now, even in such a whisper, was unusual enough that it caught all their attention.
"Fluttershy, y'all have seen-"
"We can't leave her, Applejack. She's our friend. Even if we don't have the elements we have to do something."
"I know, an' that's why I want to head back to town and-"
The glare that Fluttershy unleashed on her friend was chilling. She took a step toward the farm pony, her eyes not even blinking as she replied. "She wouldn't abandon us. We can't abandon her."
"I feel I must side with Fluttershy," the last member of their party said. She shuffled her wings, uncertainty radiating from every movement of her bright white body. Princess Celestia moved to Fluttershy's side and gently placed a wing on her back. "Though my power is much diminished, I cannot stand by and let my student suffer so. She means so much to me. To all of us. Whatever th-that... whatever her fate, I would never forgive myself if I didn't try."
"Hey, I'm not sayin' we shouldn't try," Rainbow Dash shot back, her wings flaring defensively. "It just- you've seen that place, it's totally impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible," Celestia replied, though the calm tenor of her voice was betrayed by the continued shivering of her wings. She sat down, the abrupt motion catching the others by surprise, but her eyes were closed and she didn't see their reactions.
The only movement then was Fluttershy as she edged closer to the Princess, one wing tremulously extending to rest on the elder mare's back. Princess Celestia opened her eyes and smiled down at the pegasus by her side.
She opened her mouth to than Fluttershy, but before she could speak a light flashed at the centre of their group with a roar of thunder, throwing the ponies onto their haunches. Only Celestia was able to resist the shock, but even she had to blink the stars from her eyes.
As they cleared she found herself face to face with the dark image of their foe, the Nightmare herself, her wings held aloft behind a mane that glowed with the dark fires of creation itself. The shadowy image of Luna leered at Celestia as the other ponies groped to their feet. Shorn of her armour she seemed somehow more intimidating.
"Touching, dear sister. Very touching, but Twilight is no longer yours to have."
"Nor yours to steal, Luna." Celestia was unable to hide the disgust in her voice. She turned her face from the monster her sister had once again become and closed her eyes. "Let her go and I might spare you."
"Spare me, save me. You have no idea what you're talking about. You've already lost, Celestia, you just haven't seen it yet." Luna's eyes narrowed as she spoke and a slight smile crept onto her face, but there was no laughter to accompany it this time. "You might find Twilight is not so keen to see you again."
Rainbow Dash leapt into the air and flew up in front of Luna's face, her teeth bared in a vicious scowl. "What have you done to her!"
"Me? Rainbow Dash, you wound me-"
"Now there's an idea! I oughta buck you right into that gorge!" Dash dropped back, raising her legs into a fighting stance, but before she could charge Celestia's magic gripped her body, tugging her roughly to the ground. "What the hay?"
"It would achieve nothing, Rainbow Dash. Luna is not here."
"But I-" Dash's eyes fell to the ground, where Celestia indicated the Night Mare's hooves. Or at least where her hooves should have stood. They faded to nothing some distance above the ground. "I don't get it."
"A projection. She wouldn't risk facing us like this," Celestia said, returning her attention to Luna's face. The image of her sister smirked back. "There are six of us to her one and I was always the superior in close combat."
"Astute as ever," Luna replied, lowering her head in mock salute. She turned and strode a short distance from the group, walking right through Rarity without care of the unicorn's terrified squeak. "Though not entirely correct. I could vanquish you all with a mere thought. I chose not to."
Rainbow Dash popped into the air again, still glaring at the projected image of Luna. "Yeah right, that's why you're hiding away in your castle instead of fighting us right here!"
"In fact, Rainbow Dash, I came this way in order to invite you within. A demonstration of good will. We need not be enemies."
She turned again as she spoke, finally noticing Rarity had been in her path. The unicorn had fallen on her rump again and was standing shakily to her foot once more, but it wasn't fear that made her so jittery. Her eyes were filled with a fury that the others had never seen.
"Good will? You betray our trust, usurp your sister, kidnap our friend and then expect to be able to treat with us as if it was just some sort of- of party game?"
"And I suppose next you'll accuse me of wanting to bring the night forever," she said with a quiet chuckle.
"You must confess there is something of a precedent."
Luna's eyes narrowed, their slitted pupils contracting even tighter. Yet after a moment the anger Rarity had provoked seemed to drain from her and she turned away, lowering her head in a manner more akin to the Luna they had grown used to.
"We need not be enemies," she said again. Quieter this time, as if willing herself to believing it. Another step away and she paused to look at Celestia. "Please, sister. Let me show you."
"Bring me Twilight and I might consider it."
Luna shook her head slowly, the smirk returning. "She is safe and well, Celestia. If you wish to take her home I won't try to resist, but you must come to us."
Her head rose again, taking on the haughty air of Nightmare Moon once more as Luna strode from the little clearing. Her image faded into the darkness between the trees, to the parting echo of her voice.
"I shall await you in the great hall. We shared many secrets in these walls, once. I have one more for you now. Do not tarry. It would not bode well to be late."
And with that she was gone. Celestia turned to the others, trying to hide the uncertainty in her eyes without success. The elements - Twilights friends, and Celestia's too, now - gathered around her, the faces filled with determination and hope. Whatever fears they had expressed before were gone, their spirits galvanised to the single thought of freeing their friend.
There was little to be said. She looked at each in turn, her own confidence growing in each pair of eyes. Even Fluttershy's seemed harder than usual, though she refused to meet the Princess's gaze. Celestia reached out a hoof to gently raise the pegasus's chin.
"Well. Shall we depart anon?"
"I-" Pinkie said before Rarity stuck a hoof over her mouth.
"It means lets go, Pinkie."
"Mmf mmf!"
"Good." Rarity pulled her hoof from Pinkie's face and carefully brushed it against her coat as the rest of her group set off. She trotted behind them, holding her head high and ignoring the strange feeling that something was watching her. It was a feeling she'd always felt in the forest to some degree. If she'd known who was behind it this time she might have been a little more concerned.
A short walk brought them to the foot of the new bridge, a structure even larger up close than it had first appeared from a distance. Celestia hesitated on the threshold of the stonework before gently placing a hoof on it. She pressed hard and let her magic flow into the stone, seeking any possible traps.
"It seems safe," she finally said, not bothering to hide her relief. The others let out their breath and followed the Princess onto the bridge.
It was broad, designed for traffic much greater than a mere few ponies, and reminded Celestia of the great crossing that had girdled the once mighty river now roaring in the depths of the gorge below. She paused near the centre of the span and looked around, remembering the city that had once surrounded their castle, lost to conflict and the ravages of time. Only the protective magic permeating the castle had allowed it to last so long when the rest of the ancient city had been reclaimed by the forest.
"Come, hurry, my little ponies," she said, urging herself toward the palace gates. They stood wide, inviting and open as if waiting for a grand parade instead of the five ponies and their deposed Princess. Celestia refused to let her awe show at how the old stones had been restored and even improved over their original state.
The Great Hall lay at the centre of the old palace gardens, an enormous area once filled with riotous plantlife that Celestia had chosen to maintain in a 'natural' state. Now it was empty save for knee-deep grass that wavered uncertainly in a fitful breeze. The hall itself was a long, squat building, so unlike the graceful architecture of Canterlot, built to withstand a direct armed assault. Its designers had never anticipated it would be torn apart from within by the rage of a spurned and bitter alicorn.
The hall within was dark, but the darkness was split by bright shafts of moonlight spearing down from holes in the still-incomplete roof. A faint mist rolled and crawled across the floor, concealing far too much of the surface for anyone's liking, yet they had no choice but to go on. At the far end Celestia knew a throne had once stood. Two thrones. Once, before all of it, she had shared the rulership equally with Luna - or so she thought. Her sister had seen things differently, as always
The dais was still the same, though it only held one throne rather than the two she had expected. Curled in the seat was Luna herself, transformed again to the Night Mare, her coat as black as shadow and her eyes glowing with power that even Celestia had never before seen in her sister. Those same eyes rolled toward the group as it approached and Luna stood, easing herself slowly from the piled cushions of her throne.
Her armour shone as she stepped through a shaft of light and she paused, just for a moment, letting her antagonists see and understand.
"I thought that armour destroyed," Celestia said, her voice barely audible. Luna bobbed her head and smiled, letting her fangs show.
"We both thought many things that turned out to be otherwise." She raised her wings, spreading them wide and kicking up a skein of mist about herself. The vapour writhed and twisted, settling through the air like a basket of snakes suddenly tossed from a great height. "Shall we speak then, sister? Or are you merely here to claim your prize?"
"I have nothing to say to you, Luna."
"So harsh," the Night Mare replied, pouting. She looked away for a moment. "So untrusting."
Applejack stepped forward and spat on the ground. "Why should any of us trust you?"
"We saved you from this," Rarity added, moving to Applejack's side. She looked into Luna's eyes, seeking some sign of the princess she had once known. "How could you turn back to- to this evil?"
"Were I evil, I would have destroyed you before you reached this place. Did you encounter any traps? Obstacles?"
"Well, I-"
"The road was easy and straight, the forest was quiet and safe!" Luna's wings fell against her sides as she climbed the dais back to her throne. "The land tamed and made whole. I know you feel it, Celestia. Magic courses through this place once again."
She seated herself on the throne and folded her wings. "I know why you chose to left our ancient home to rot. I know the pain it would have caused you to remain here, Celestia, but there is no more reason for that pain. We could return. We could rule together as we once did."
--
"This creature is her true form," another voice said from the darkness, accompanied by the slow clop of approaching hooves. Celestia's eyes widened in recognition of the voice of her student. She peered into the dark surroundings, trying to spot any motion amongst the pillars. "Something you would have known had Celestia deigned to tell us."
"Twilight?"
"It's me," Twilight replied. Her voice echoed strangely in the darkness, seeming to come from several directions at once. "Your faithful student."
--
The unicorn remained silent, save for the sound of her hooves striking stone. Celestia turned to face her sister again, fear and doubt growing in her mind as her most favoured student continued her approach. Of the others, only Applejack seemed able to act, her head turning this way and that as she tried to find her friend amongst the dark shadows of the hall.
"Twilight, what's goin' on?"
"Why nothing, Applejack. Nothing at all." Twilight's voice echoed strangely amongst the ancient stonework, obscuring her location. As she continued to walk, the sound of her hooves seemed to come from every direction.
Rarity had quietly joined Applejack and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, more for Rarity's own benefit than anything else.
"Darling, the theatrics are all well and good, but we are here to rescue you."
Laughter echoed around the hall. "You think I need rescuing? Oh my friends, you're here to save me from the terrible fate of freedom!"
"Oh Twilight..." Celestia lowered herself to her haunches and bowed her head. "My faithful student, what has she done to you?"
"Luna did nothing to me, Celestia. I saw the truth."
"Twilight, whatever spell she cast on you-" Celestia frowned and turned a curious gaze on Luna. The Night Mare hadn't move or spoken during the entire exchange, a sharp contrast to the last time she had taken this form. It was disconcerting. "You only think you see the truth. Please, Twilight, fight her influence. For your friends. For me."
"There's nothing to fight, Princess. I'm no more Luna's slave than I was yours."
"If you aren't her slave, Twilight, then what?"
"Something you could never allow us to be."
To Celestia's left, Twilight stepped out of the shadows. The faint glow of magic trailed from her eyes - not the dark magic of the north, but neither was it the usual bright power Twilight displayed - and a thick torque straddled her neck and chest, imprinted with the great star of her mark and the crescent of Luna's moon.
"Equal."