"But... Celestia! What happened! We are still here for you! You can still go back!" Twilight cried with anguish.
"Oh Twilight. If only you understood." Celestia sighed. With wings outstretched, Celestia's mane stood up and somehow stretched impossibly long. Her mane came crashing down on Twilight. The seven other travelers gasped, but were silenced when they saw a pink-purple glint inside the writhing mass of a mane. As the ethereal mane cleared, there stood Twilight, horn glowing with magic. But she was not scared. She was angry.
"CELESTIA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF!" Twilight screamed, close to the volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice.
She stepped up to Nightmare Moon, pushing her muzzle against the Alicorn's. Celestia shrunk.
"Listen here missy. I don't care who did this to you. I know this is not Nightmare Moon controlling you right now. This is all a big illusion and mind control spell. But you are the strongest pony in history, and a simple spell such as this controls you?! No, you bent purposely to their will. You aren't even fighting!" Twilight snarled. "Why?"
Suddenly, Celestia's pupils turned back to normal, not the slits they saw previously. The scared look they saw before vanished, replaced by a grim appearance. "Twilight, I have escaped the spell's grasp for a while. You must gather the Elements of Harmony that I taught you about." Twilight gasped "Use them against me. The Elements are right by yo-" Celestia's voice cracked, her pupils returning to slits.
"Girls, follow me." Twilight said.
"What are we doing?" Rainbow asked.
"We are following Celestia's instructions."
Twilight cantered up the set of stairs, followed by the seven other travelers.
"Cuse' me Twi, but what in Tarnation was Celestia talkin' about!?" Applejack asked.
"Well Applejack, the Elements of Harmony are jewels that hold the power of Friendship. Each crystal stands for a trait needed for Friendship. When used and united, they have the power to do anything."
"Then how do we find these Elements?" Rainstorm asked.
"They say they are in this castle. Apparently, they are united with a spark. Oh! There they are!"
Twilight pointed a hoof to a contraption. It had six sections, five below and branching outwards like flower petals, one section on the top, empty.
"Where is the sixth one?" Rarity asked.
"Apparently, when the spark is created, it will appear. Girls, help me get them down."
With lots of instructions, they finally placed all the oddly stone elements before Twilight.
"Let me try this..." Twilight's horn fluttered to life, sparks springing off of it due to the amount of magic being taken. Her horn glowed brighter and brighter, and soon the other ponies had to cover their eyes.
"ENOUGH!!!!!!!" The Canterlot Voice resonated through the castle, bits of rotten wood crumbling down from the sheer physical power of the sound. It was enough to startle Twilight out of her concentration. Her horn stopped, magic draining out. There Nightmare Moon stood, looking even more outrage than before. She smashed her hooves into the floor, making the Elements jump up, and fall to the ground...
Time seemed to slow down. Twilight's mouth was open, while the Sonic Trio dashed to the stones. But it was too late. The Elements smashed down, years of rotting away in the castle making it all to easy to destroy.
There was no way to get Celestia back to normal now.