The sound of the train coming to a stop woke us up. We had arrived at Canterlot. The doors opened and we stepped out on the platform.
"What now?" Applejack whispered.
I said, "Now I need to see Twilight Sparkle. If any pony knows where to find books and scrolls, it would be her."
Night Star dropped down in front of me. "Where have you been, Moonlight, and why do you have all these ponies with you?"
"I caught these ponies conspiring against Nightmare Moon."
"Very well then. I apologize for my outburst. I'll be taking them down to the dungeon immediately."
"No!" I shouted.
Night Star was surprised. He turned and glared into my eyes.
"I want them to come with me when I present my case to Nightmare Moon."
"You know the rules. All prisoners must be escorted directly to the dungeon. Besides, Nightmare Moon is currently unavailable."
I asked, "Where is she?"
Night Star scratched his chest. "How should I know? I'm only following orders. She hasn't returned since the party. Now, will you allow me to do my job, or will I have to call for the guards and arrest you for disobeying Nightmare Moon's orders?"
I clenched the ground. "No, Night Star. You may proceed."
"Glad to hear it."
Night Star flew over the ponies and nudged them forward. Fluttershy lowered her head. Applejack walked over to Fluttershy and tried consoling her. Rainbow Dash spread her wings out to take off, but Rarity convinced her to back down.
With Night Star taking the ponies to the dungeon, I knew I had to hurry over to the library. I rushed through the garden and ran up the stairs. I busted open the door. Twilight Sparkle was laying on the ground asleep.
"Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight woke up. He immediately started pouring liquid back and forth between two vials in an attempt to appear busy. "Don't worry, Moonlight. I almost have it!"
I ran up the stairs. "Put the vials down. I have something to ask you."
Twilight placed the vials onto the table and with one eye open replied, "What is it, sir?"
"Do you happen to know where I can find a time scroll?"
Twilight said, "Those scrolls would be kept inside the Canterlot Archives."
"Inside the Starswirl the Bearded wing?" I asked.
"I believe so," Twilight replied.
I looked around the room and made sure no one was listening. I quietly asked, "One other thing, do you have the book on Obscure Unicorn History?"
Twilight responded, "Why are you whispering? The book is right over there."
Twilight Sparkle walked over to the bookshelf. She browsed through the books and pulled one off the shelf. She placed the book on the table.
Twilight asked, "If you don't mind me asking, why would you want to read this book?"
"I need to see something."
I opened the book and flipped through to page 70. "Here it is."
Twilight asked, "Starswirl the Bearded?"
I slowly glanced through the chapter. I found the account about the pegasus on page 87.
I entered my study room one day only to notice a pegasus hiding behind one of my bookcases. The pegasus was cowering in fear. I asked her why she was in my room, but she was too terrified to respond. She kept muttering the same words over and over, 'I just want to go home.' I asked for her name and she responded 'Sumica'. She was gray with green hair and her cutie mark was a deck of cards. When I checked the room for any suspicious behaviour, she vanished.
"That has to be her."
Twilight asked, "Sumica, sir?"
That moment, a guard kicked open the door. "Sieze her!"
A couple of unicorns rushed up and grabbed hold of Twilight. Twilight asked, "What did I do?" As Twilight was pulled out of the library, more guards came in and began tearing the place apart.
I asked the guard, "What's going on? What's the meaning of this?"
The guard responded, "Sorry for the intrusion, Moonlight. We have just received word that Twilight may be withholding books prohibited by decree from your royal highness."
I said, "I need her to finish her research. You can come back when you have further proof of this accusation."
"Orders are orders, sir."
"Who gave you these orders?" I asked.
The guard replied, "Why, Night Star did."
I gritted my teeth. "Night Star?"
I darted out of the library and ran to the front door of the dungeon.
I asked the guards, "Night Star, where is he?"
"He turned in the prisoners and left."
I tried to open the door but was stopped by the guards.
One of the guards said, "I'm sorry sir. Night Star ordered us not to let any pony in until further notice."
"Let me pass. I need to see the prisoners."
The guard replied, "Hey, you may have special privileges in Canterlot, but as part of the Night Brigade, we take our orders directly from Night Star. The only way you are coming in here is if Nightmare Moon or Night Star is personally with you. That is unless you want to join your friends."
I was infuriated and desperate. Night Star had stopped me at every corner. With Princess Luna missing, my last resort was to use the time scroll in the Starswirl the Bearded wing.
* * *
I approached the Canterlot Archives. Four unicorns were standing guard.
"Halt! Who goes there?" one of the guards shouted.
"Let me pass," I commanded.
"Moonlight Sonata? I'm sorry sir. We have our orders. This is a restricted area. Even you aren't allowed in."
I stomped the ground. "I have orders from Nightmare Moon herself. Now let me pass!"
The guard hesitated. He eventually decided to open the door for me. As I walked inside, the guard dashed off into the air.
The room was neat and tidy. All the books and scrolls were properly ordered and arranged on the shelves. I went over to a shelf and pulled down one scroll after another in search of the time scroll.
A few minutes went by before I could hear some commotion outside. Night Star was conversing with a guard.
"Where is he? He should know better than to enter into a restricted area."
One of the guards said, "I think he went this way!"
I quickened my search. Night Star and the guards entered the room.
The guard shouted, "There he is!"
Another guard asked, "Hey, what is he doing?"
I noticed the guards coming at me. I pulled down one last scroll. It was the one I was searching for this whole time. I read the scroll and closed my eyes to concentrate. I focused on the time just before Nightmare Moon arrived in Ponyville. I opened my eyes hoping that it worked.
The guard shouted, "Stop him!"
I closed my eyes and tried to focus my magic again. I thought of how much my friends needed me to travel back and fix the timeline.
I opened my eyes to see a pony walk by me. She said, "Hurry, it's almost time."
It was a success. I officially traveled back in time. I rushed by a giant pony statue and inside the building. That is when I saw my old friend.
"Doctor Whooves!" I shouted.
"That's my name, but I don't believe we have been introduced."
"It's me, Moonlight Sonata."
Doctor Whooves shook his head. "I only just arrived in Ponyville."
"There isn't enough time! I need to, wait... you don't know me?"
"No, should I?" Doctor Whooves asked.
"I got your letter from Wrek. I'm here to help."
Doctor Whooves said, "I don't know any pony named Wrek."
I took a moment to glance around the room. Fluttershy was up preparing the birds. I also noticed Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash in the crowd, but Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were no where to be seen.
I said, "Something is wrong."
That was when I saw Sumica enter inside. She took one look at me and fled. I pursued after her.
"Sumica!" I shouted, "I'm not going to lose you this time!"
There was a flash of light where Sumica was. She suddenly vanished. I wasn't able to believe it.
Doctor Whooves walked up behind me. "Did you know that pegasus?"
In disbelief, I said, "I can't believe I lost her."
I began to feel disoriented. I could feel pressure build inside my head. I turned to Doctor Whooves and tried explaining everything as fast as I could.
"That pony altered the timeline somehow. You wrote me a letter explaining what to do. Oh and you also told me to remind you never to eat pears. You hate..."
I was teleported back to the Archives.
"...pears," I finished saying.
A guard shouted, "There he is!"
Two guards came up and grabbed hold of me.
Night Star prominently asked, "Where did you go? What did you do?"
I scowled at Night Star.
Night Star ordered, "Guards, take him to the dungeon for questioning."
The guards dragged me to the dungeon, opened the door, and shoved me inside the cell. They left and closed the door.
I looked at all the ponies and blushed. "Hey guys."
"Moonlight?" Cadance asked.
Rarity asked, "What happened?"
I explained, "Night Star stonewalled me."
Twilight Sparkle asked, "Did you go to the Canterlot Archives?"
I said, "I did. I even found the time scroll."
Twilight Sparkle said, "So it does exist."
I kicked around a rock on the ground. "Yeah. I even used it to go back in time, but I wasn't able to fix the timeline. Whatever changed happened before the appearance of Nightmare Moon."
Rainbow Dash asked, "What does that mean?"
I pouted and went deeper in despair.
Cadance said, "Don't do this to yourself, Moonlight."
Tears dropped from my face. "But I tried my best. It should have worked."
Cadance put her hoof on my shoulder. "I may not know what happened or what you may have done, but I know you tried your best. I know you have a good heart inside of you. You're just like Shining Armor. Although you may answer to Nightmare Moon, you continue to help those who are in need. I also see it in Night Star."
"Night Star?" I mumbled.
"You can't give up now. You have ponies that have put trust in you. We can't do this without you."
Rarity said, "Cadance is right, darling. Don't beat yourself up. Now tell us, what can we do? Isn't that the reason why we are here in the first place?"
I wiped the tears away from my face and cracked a smile. "Ok. Just give me a moment to think."