The Canterlot Archives weren’t open, but I had authorized access to it, so the guards let me in. I began pouring over the history section, skimming through dozens of books as quickly as I could. Most of them might have interested me on any other day, but they would have to wait.
A book titled ‘Predictions and Prophecies’ caught my eye, filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits, but so far nothing of use. I was about to close the book when I reached a page marked ‘Elements of Harmony’.
“What the hay are the Elements of Harmony?” I muttered to myself, and read the description. “See Mare in the Moon…” Was that all? Who the buck wrote this? I grumbled and began going back through the book until I found the page for the Mare in the Moon, which I had earlier missed. I did see the moon changing before facing Nightmare Moon, so maybe that had something to do with it.
I found the page and began reading to myself. “The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned on the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about night time eternal.”
I grimaced in confusion. “But what in Equestria are the Elements of Harmony, and where do I find them?”
I again searched through the book, but nothing more about them was inside. I began looking through the E section of the Archives and quickly found a book titled ‘Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.’ I opened it up and read.
"There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree Forest."
I closed the book and turned to leave. Now I knew exactly how to stop Nightmare Moon. I had to find the ancient castle, get the Elements of Harmony and use them—however that worked—to defeat her. It wasn’t going to be easy though. Searching for a castle in the Everfree Forest would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, and I doubted I could just fly over it to do so. It was too thick. I would probably need help with the Elements, too. Shining Armor and the Royal Guards were too busy. I needed somepony talented at magic. Perhaps Celestia’s star student was already looking for the Elements herself. Yes, Twilight Sparkle could likely help.
I mounted my surf-sword and began heading back to Ponyville, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head. Once there I asked around for Twilight, though it was a bit difficult with the town still in a panic, but was soon directed to the Golden Oak’s library. I flew over to it and knocked on the door. No answer, though a light was still on. I looked through a window, seeing books spilled all over the floor as if somepony was searching for something like I had been. Trying the front door, I was surprised to find it open. Still no Twilight. I hopped off my sword and walked in further, and I started to hear a faint snoring coming from upstairs. Was she sleeping? During this?
Going upstairs I found the bed empty, but there was another tiny bed with a moving lump in it, the source of the snoring. Looking into it, I saw a small, sleeping purple and green baby dragon, of all things. What in Equestria is Twilight doing with a baby dragon?
Apparently my staring caused him to stir. “T-Twilight?” he said, yawning. He looked up at me and blinked, then screamed and fell out of his bed and onto his back. “Who are you? Where’s Twilight?”
I stepped back and held up a hoof. “Calm down there, little guy. My name’s Swordulan, I’m with the Royal Guard, and I’m looking for Twilight myself. Do you know where she went?”
“Oh.” The dragon sat up and rubbed his eyes. “My name’s Spike, I’m Twilight's number one assistant. I can’t remember where she is, though. The last thing I remember…” Spike looked out the window and gasped. “Oh no, Nightmare Moon! We have to stop Nightmare Moon! Oh no, Twilight must have gone to stop her all by herself! There were some other ponies we met today, I mean, uh, yesterday, that might know where to find her. There was Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and… Rarity.” The hearts were practically popping out of his eyes.
“Do you think you could take me to them? I think I know how to stop Nightmare Moon, but I need Twilight’s help.”
Spike stifled a yawn and nodded. “Yeah, I bet I could help you find them. Come on!”
He jumped up and ran down the stairs, and I followed after. He took me throughout Ponyville, searching multiple locations for the ponies who might’ve known where Twilight had gone, but they were nowhere to be found. Rarity’s Boutique was empty, Pinkie Pie wasn’t at Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be found in the clouds, Fluttershy wasn’t home, and none of her many animal friends knew where she had gone. Sweet Apple Acres was the last place we checked, but none of the Apple folk had seen Applejack since this all began.
As we were beginning to leave a young voice shouted from behind us. “Wait!” Turning around we saw a filly in a red hair-bow running up to us. “I’m Apple Bloom, and I know where Applejack went, as well as Twilight. I saw both of ‘em an’ four others enterin’ the Everfree Forest! Do you think they’re gonna be okay?”
I smiled, though it was mostly fake. I had no idea if they were going to be okay. “Don’t worry, Apple Bloom, I’m sure they will be fine. I’m going to find them and make sure they’re safe.” I turned back to Spike, who looked tired as ever. “Spike, you can go back to your bed. I promise I’ll defeat Nightmare Moon and bring Twilight and Celestia back.”
Spike yawned. “Okay. I would rather help you search for them, but,” he yawned again, “I’m just so tired. Good luck!”
I nodded and left them at a run towards the Everfree Forest. There was a main road that seemed to run through it, and upon finding it I noticed hoof-prints on the ground, lots of hoof-prints. Twilight and her companions had definitely gone in. I sized up the deep, dark forest and charged in, hoping none of the other ponies within were in danger.
I was immediately crowded on either side by trees and couldn’t see further than a couple feet ahead, but I kept on trotting through, until I had to make a quick stop before I tumbled over the edge of a chasm. Staring over it, I saw no easy way to climb down, so I dropped my sword over the edge and teleported to it when it reached the bottom. More hoof-prints were down here, along with a pair of, by my guess, Manticore paw-prints. No sign of a struggle though, it must have crossed here before they had, since it didn’t seem to follow the others. Thank goodness for that.
Continuing forward, the forest went pitch black, forcing me to cast a light spell. I didn’t like the look of the trees, but I ignored them as best I could, and eventually they opened up to a moonlit river. There was seemingly no way to cross other than swimming, or a more pleasant alternative, magic. I levitated my sword over the river and teleported to it again, though apparently I aimed it a bit off since I ended up getting splashed a bit on the other side.
Stupid river. I hate getting unnecessarily wet.
I couldn’t find a trace of where Twilight and her companions had gone. It took me another precious minute before I could find their tracks again and continue forward. Shortly after crossing a bridge stretching over a chasm, the ancient castle came into view. I jumped back on my sword and began flying towards it, but then there was a blinding burst of light from within that forced me to stop and look away. As the light faded, a new light came from the sky. It began turning purple, then orange, and finally the sun burst out from beyond the mountains, shining in a bright blue sky with glory unmatched. I never noticed how cold it had gotten until I felt its warmth again. I couldn’t think about what would’ve happened had it been gone any longer.
A minute later I spotted Twilight and her companions coming out of the castle, followed by Princess Celestia and… Nightmare Moon? No, it wasn’t her, it was a different Alicorn, smaller and blue-coated instead of black. Whoever she was, it didn’t stop me from flying down in front of Celestia.
I bowed as humbly as I could. “Princess Celestia, I’m so sorry. I was not there to help you against Nightmare Moon, and I wasn’t able to stop her from terrorizing Ponyville. This was all my fault.”
Celestia took a step forward, causing me to wince. It was to the dungeons for sure. She raised my head with a hoof and made me look her in the eyes. She was smiling for some reason. “Everything is all right, Swordulan. There was nothing you could have done to defeat Nightmare Moon on your own. You are very brave to have faced her alone.”
I grimaced. That wasn’t exactly what I expected. “I… thank you, Princess. But I still feel like I owe you a debt for failing my duty in protecting you. Is there anything I can do?”
She nodded. “We are going back to Ponyville for the rest of the celebration. My sister, Luna, has returned, thanks to Twilight and her new friends. We will return to Canterlot afterwards, and I want it to be ready for another celebration. Can you tell Cadance to begin preparations?”
“Sister?” I glanced at the Alicorn who was shyly standing behind Celestia. I quickly stood back at attention and saluted. “Yes, Princess. I’ll go right away.”
I took off on my sword to Canterlot. The pain in my head had disappeared, thanks to Celestia no doubt, and I was able to arrive within the hour. I landed at the Royal Barracks and asked a guard where Shining Armor was, and he turned out to be in the castle throne room with Cadance. I rushed off to meet them, and a couple minutes later I was in the throne room. Shining Armor and Cadance seemed to be having a casual discussion about the weather until they noticed me come in.
“Swordulan, where’ve you been?” Shining Armor asked. “I couldn’t find you at the Archives.”
“Has Nightmare Moon been defeated?” Cadance asked. “Is Celestia back?”
I nodded. “Celestia’s student, Twilight Sparkle, defeated her along with her friends. Princess Celestia is in Ponyville for the rest of the celebration, but she wants another one here when she returns.”
Shining Armor gaped. “Really? Twily defeated Nightmare Moon?”
“I’m not surprised at all,” Cadance said. “I always knew Twilight was an amazingly talented unicorn. I’ll start on reorganizing the celebration preparations.”
As Cadance trotted off I looked to the Captain confusedly. “You know Twilight?”
He looked surprised that I had to ask. “Of course, she’s my sister, and Cadance used to be her foalsitter. You didn’t know that?”
I snorted. “Apparently not. Well, I’m glad this is all over, though also a bit disappointed that all this running around after Nightmare Moon was for nothing. I should’ve been there to help Twilight. Anyway, do you need me for anything?”
“By the sounds of it, you deserve a break. Maybe check on your family again. You did the right thing going after Nightmare Moon, even if it wasn’t the smartest choice in going alone. You’ve done the Royal Guard proud,” he smiled and gave a salute, “Officer.”
I gaped and slowly returned the salute. A promotion!? More paperwork to deal with!? “Thanks, Captain.”
I trotted out of the throne room and made my way back outside. Check on my family? I did promise my mother, but… after what happened, what would my father say? No doubt he’d be disappointed, tell me I’m a failure and wish he’d pushed me harder on my training as a young colt. No, I couldn’t face him now. I’d give it time.
I used my break to get some breakfast. I hadn’t eaten in forever. A bunch of fresh carrots from the markets and a tangy fruit smoothie at the local bar was always my favorite way to kick the day off. Princess Celestia and Luna returned shortly after, and the celebration began. Celestia announced the return of her sister in the castle courtyard, and there was a party with mini-cakes, fancy food, fruit punch, music, the typical Canterlot party. I didn’t participate besides standing around like a statue. Parties weren’t exactly my thing, and Canterlot’s were a bit too big for my taste.
As the celebrations continued on, I flew out of Canterlot and found a clear, open field at the bottom of the mountain. This was the spot I usually came to for practicing magic on my sword or when I needed to be more alone than I already was. Hopping off my sword and returning its shape to normal, I sat down and studied the large crystal that sat in the pommel.
How does so much power get packed into such a small thing? It was also strange, as I could make the sword larger, but the crystals always remained the same size and shape. I supposed that made sense though, my magic worked through the crystals and into the sword, not the other way around. One of these days I’d figure it out.
I heard a voice call from behind me. “We’re not interrupting you, are We?”
I jumped up in surprise and turned around, finding Luna staring at me cautiously.
“Oh—uh, no, not at all,” I said, bowing. “I wasn’t expecting—um, is there anything I can do for you, Princess?”
Luna's head slumped and she frowned. “We have come to apologize to you personally, for what We did to you as Nightmare Moon, and also to commend you on standing up to her.”
I blinked. “Oh. Thank you. I—”
“It was a terrible thing We did to you, to everypony. We cannot think you’ll forgive Us, but We hope you are well after our brief encounter.”
I felt the bump on the back of my head. It was smaller than I remembered. “Yes, I’m fine, thanks. And you do have my forgiveness. I don’t believe you were fully yourself.”
Luna shook her head. “We were, but We also were not, but We thank you for your forgiveness. It means much to Us.”
I nodded. “You’re welcome, and it’s the least I could do. If there’s ever anything you need, I would be honored to help.”
Luna gave a weak smile. “Thank you for your kindness, We are most grateful, but We must be going back to the castle. Farewell.” She flared her wings and took to the sky, disappearing back towards Canterlot.
That was… unexpected, but also kinda nice. It was going to take a while to get used to having another Princess around. I had no idea she was Nightmare Moon. But then again, I had heard Nightmare Moon say last night that Celestia was her sister. I was no longer sure if it had been right to attack her or not.
I hopped back on my sword and went back to Canterlot to find Shining Armor. The festivities had finally died down a bit, and he was back to ordering guards around at the barracks. I landed next to him and gave a salute. “Reporting for duty, Sir.”
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at me. “Back already?”
I nodded. “I have nothing else to do.”
“Did you check on your family?”
I opened my mouth but hesitated. That was too hard to explain. “Captain, can I ask you a personal question?”
“What is it?”
“Are you afraid of anything?”
Shining Armor gave me a surprised look. “Of course. Everypony has fears. I’m afraid that if I don’t do my job correctly, my friends and family might be in danger, and I’m afraid that if I make a mistake, somepony else will pay the price for it. There are a lot of things I’m afraid of, and I’m sure every other Royal Guard has fears like those too, but part of being a Royal Guard is learning to swallow our fears and face them head on. You can’t let fear take over your actions. It’s only a lie that brings us down a dark path.”
I grimaced and looked away. “I’m not sure if I’m able to face my fears just yet.”
“Are you kidding? Swordulan, when I saw you go against that hydra, I saw a unicorn whose confidence and bravery knew no bounds. You flew down into that chasm and saved me regardless of the danger. If you can do that, I’m sure you can face whatever else you fear.”
I shrugged. “I’m just afraid that I’ll be a disappointment to my dad. He was always pushing me to be the best, to be like my grandfather, and for the longest time I was only a failure. I was one of the worst trainees until I learned how to fight using magic. I don’t want my dad to only see me as somepony to live in the shadow of his father.”
“I understand, family matters can be difficult to face. Which is why, tomorrow morning, I want you to go to your father’s home and tell him exactly what happened, and that’s an order. You will report back to me whether or not you could face your fears.”
I gaped and shuddered. “Yes… Sir. I will try.”
He nodded. “Good. You’ve got patrol command on the east wall.”
I saluted. “Yes, Sir.”