//------------------------------//
// Friendship is Magic 
// Story: Sugarcoat Interferes In Pony History 
// by Twinkletail 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle sat in her bedroom, unable to sleep. She had never before seen a sight quite as terrifying as the sight she'd just fled from, and worse yet, it was exactly the situation that had been told of in prophecy. She didn't understand why Princess Celestia had sent her out on this ridiculous mission to find friends instead of believing her about Nightmare Moon's return, and now they were in a terrible bind. Not to mention the fact that the ponies who were insisting on trying to be her friends were now crowding her room as she was trying to work things out. Unwanted attention while she was trying to study never worked out well for her.

"Elements, elements, elements...ugh!" Twilight groaned. "How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?"

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy? ...Whoa!" Rainbow's accusations were interrupted by a pull from Applejack.

"Simmer down, Sally," Applejack said calmly. "She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?" Twilight let out a small sigh. She didn't want to deal with this, but she needed to clear her name.

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon," Twilight said softly. "Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't k ow what they are, where to find them; I don't even know what they do!"

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. Twilight's attention immediately turned to her.

"How did you find that?!" Twilight asked.

"It was under E!" Pinkie sang.

"Oh," Twilight replied. She took the book, flipping through the pages. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery-"

Twilight's reading was interrupted by her door opening again. A bluish-purple unicorn walked in, one she'd never seen before—although she hadn't seen any of the ponies in town before, so that wasn't particularly surprising. The pony's long blue pigtails bounced as she walked in, giving the ponies in the room a flat stare.

"You're the Elements of Harmony," the pony said bluntly. "There's six of you and there's six of them. Friendship is what brings them together, and that's the last element. So you have to become friends and use your power to stop Nightmare Moon. Think about it."

The six ponies stared at the newcomer, stunned. It didn't make sense...but then it suddenly did. They had to have been brought together for a reason, and this must have been it.

"...It makes so much sense now!" Twilight exclaimed. "Thank you...uh..."

"Sugarcoat," Sugarcoat said. "I know a human who looks and sounds like you."

"A what?" Twilight asked. Then she shook her head. "Never mind, let's go stop Nightmare Moon!"

"Yeah!" the rest shouted. Except Fluttershy, who wasn't really into shouting. The six ponies galloped out of the room, but Sugarcoat reached out a hoof to stop Rarity.

"What is it, Sugarcoat?" Rarity asked.

"Spike has a crush on you," Sugarcoat replied. "You should talk to him about it before it becomes a problem."

Rarity blinked. Spike, the baby dragon, had a crush on her? She certainly did have to take care of that. The age difference between the two was simply too large to facilitate a healthy and legal relationship. But she would take care of that after Nightmare Moon was stopped.