//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Escape from the nightmare 
// by kalakala 
//------------------------------//

Finally, the night is here and the sleepover is nigh. Let’s head over to the Apple Clan to wait for Luna to collect our little Bloom,not a moment too soon as we see Luna pulling up in her midnight blue chariot, pulled by two hardened bat ponies. Knocking on the door she is met with Applejack, who bowed and welcomed her in and did all of the things a Regal Princess would expect of a loyal subject. Luna was not a regal princess and so awkwardly accepted the small fuss.

With a call, Applejack signalled to Bloom, whom came down the stairs brandishing a small pack containing all she would need for a sleepover, from blankets to a first aid kit, put in after much fussing from Applejack. With goodbye and a promise to stay safe from Applejack, the two trotted back to the chariot, where they flew to Canterlot. Who would have thought that but a small farmers daughter would be welcomed into a castle by Princess Luna herself.

Attempting to keep out of the noble’s sight, they hurried along corridors before making it to the chamber they sought. Needless to say, it was still as I described it earlier. The duo settled down into a night of merriment, with delightful activities such as playing games, gossiping and make up. It was around midnight, when Apple Bloom was starting to waver due to how long she had stayed up compared to her usual 9 o’clock bedtime, that things went wrong. Luna in her infinite wisdom had brought along an old spell book, simply put this book described itself with spells that promised “Joyful visits to amazing locations”.

Just before she casts the spell, I should explain that the book was only half-right, while the spells might take you to wonderful areas, it could also send you to Tartarus. The spell you see, was not a pocket dimension or a teleportation spell, but something altogether more strange and a good example why you shouldn’t trust ancient books found in a dusty archive for good and clean sleepover fun. That book was the final manuscript ever produced by Starswirl the Bearded and very simply closed off his research on time. While I say it was his final, I mean that it was not his choice to stop. All that was written about the spell was merely theory and never tested. This is all a rather roundabout way to tell you that the spell would send you back in time an unknown amount.

Rather by chance, it was just as they were casting this spell that Celestia was sneaking past their room in order to reach the kitchens for her nightly cake raid. After hearing a large crash come from the room, she decided that she should check on the damage the two had wrought on the innocent room. Having entered the room, she searched out the pair and was surprised when she couldn’t find them anywhere in the wrecked room. Growing worried, she cast a scrying spell in order to locate the two. Had her coat not already been a pure white, it would have paled significantly when she couldn’t find them.

Moving right on to the next morning, we can see that Celestia has brought herself to Ponyville and more specifically to the doorstep of the Sweet Apple Acres farm house. I can’t bring myself to watch as she delivers the news of Apple Blooms disappearance to the three members of the Apple family. As expected Applejack begins crying, Big Mac straightens up and I suspect it will be a long while before he talks again. The most heartwrenching is Granny Smith, who simply curls up on herself with an expression of loss.