• Published 28th Aug 2013
  • 15,870 Views, 342 Comments

The Moon Shall Rise From Hell's Ashes - TundraStanza



A young man that's never heard of the MLP franchise is sent to Equestria, but not by Discord or one of Twilight's failed spells. This time, the victim is forced in by Nightmare Moon. He'll have to rediscover what it means to be alive.

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Ch. 2: The Candle That Burns

The Candle That Burns

---{Narrator}

She couldn’t sleep.

It was the proper hour to do so. Her sister’s sun was already warming up the morning air to just the right, comfortable warmth. She had already taken in a healthy serving of dinner (and the extra sweet that she always swiped from the other plate never gave her stomach any troubles before). Plus, she had already finished a warm cup of straight, black decaf. (Coffee didn’t give her hives like tea did.) She should have already been resting so that she could aid her little ponies’ rest the next night.

Why could she not sleep?

An uncomfortable chill made her hide crawl. An unusual burning sensation ruffled her feathers. She twisted and turned on her personalized bed. But the discomforting temperatures would not leave. She let out a rather un-princess-like grumble and trotted over to the window.

A lark fluttered by and tweeted a greeting. The princess forced a small smile and nodded once in response. Only after the early bird turned around and went on its way did Luna resume her frown of discomfort.

This impending feeling… she thought, I haven’t felt this way since…

She shook her head.

No, that’s impossible. I have already been cleansed of that darkness.

She looked across the landscape in the direction of a small, familiar village.

So then why do I…?

She couldn’t ignore the signs anymore. With a gentle nudge, she magically opened her bedroom door a crack. Even though she couldn’t see them both through the crack, she knew her guards were standing there.

“Spirit Sword, Faith Shield, I am going out for a while,” she declared as she physically shoved her outward-opening window.

It took one second for her to take flight. It took another second for the stallions she had addressed to realize the weight of her words. It only took a half-second more for them to abandon their imitation of the London guards.

“Your Majesty, wait!” exclaimed Spirit Sword as Faith Shield slammed the door open.

But the princess had already flown far away, barely visible from the window.

“What should we do?” asked the confused Faith.

“Follow her of course,” answered his partner.

“But Her Majesty’s previous orders were to always stay…”

“Forget the orders!” exclaimed Spirit, “Her safety is top priority.”

“Hoo boy,” Faith sighed, “Fine, you lead the way. But first, I got to take a leak.”

---{Dilan Shier}

The Everfree Forest was about what I expected from a wooded area. Crooked trees, wild vines, and bushes of thorns were spread out as far as the eye could see. I had Zecora to guide me, but I still felt nervous. If a manticore prowled nearby her place at night, what else did I have to look out for? I needed a distraction.

“So what kind of pony is Nightmare Moon?” I inquired.

“She is the blend of hatred and jealousy,” Zecora replied, “the emotions that led to the night’s treachery.”

“I meant her species,” I clarified.

“Strength of earth, Pegasus flight, and magic unicorn,” she continued without skipping a beat, “These are the physical aspects of an alicorn. Do not touch that plant of blue, unless you want a joke on you.”

Surprised at her change of subject, I barely avoided stepping on a striped, blue plant. I wasn’t a plant specialist, but its shape kind of looked like poison oak. Though, I’ve never seen it in quite that shade of blue before. By joke on me, I assumed Zecora meant a rash. Yeah, I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with nature’s itchiness. I saw some more of the blue poison oak scattered along the sides of the path and stuck as close to Zecora’s trail as possible.

“An alicorn?” I echoed, “I was under the impression that that was the name of a unicorn’s horn.”

“For an alicorn, the pony types are in unity. It is a name that defines all-in-one harmony.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I shrugged.

“We are here, Dilan Shier.”

---

So this is Ponyville, huh? I observed.

The whole town looked like a lot of houses all crowded around each other, at least from the angle I was looking. There were trees of various types scattered between some of the houses. I thought I could see an orchard somewhere to the right. Zecora was trotting ahead, so I followed.

On the ground level more within the town’s streets, I saw rather vibrantly colored creatures. Were these the pony residents? They looked a little different from ponies back in my world. But then, everything looked different from my world. I guessed that wasn’t such a good frame of reference.

Further in, I saw some stands that resembled farmer’s market stalls. Zecora said something about getting supplies and that I should stand and wait. At least, I thought that’s what she told me. Sometimes, it was really hard to tell what she was saying.

Trying to understand her rhyming accent was the least of my problems. Ponies from all over the color spectrum (and some not on it) were staring at me. Tall and black really stood out, I guess. Some quick glances by other ponies turned into double takes. The stares became filled with much wider eyes.

Then came the screams.

“Nightmare Moon!” some lady yelled.

“It’s Nightmare Moon!” shouted a guy.

“Run away!” screamed an older woman.

The rest of the voices were drowned in a combination of “Aaaah!” and “Aiyee!”

The locals ran around in panic. One stall got knocked over. Several doors slammed. I even saw a cloud flow away that was composed of nothing but wings and left hooves. (How the heck I was able to tell which side hooves they were, I’d never know.) A falcon screeched somewhere I couldn’t see.

“I can’t say I haven’t seen this before,” Zecora sighed.

“You’ve previously brought in villains of lore?” I inquired.

She shook her head. “This town has a habit of shunning things it doesn’t know. The very first time I came here, they shut all their doors and windows.”

“Oh, well, uh,” I paused, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Do not worry yourself with history,” she said while her iris moved to the corner of her eye, “For right now, we have company.”

I looked to where her gaze was indicating. Another winged pony swooped in and stomped the ground upon which she landed. She was much taller than the locals, almost as tall as me. Right then, I made a fairly good imitation of a deer staring at headlights.

---{Narrator}

At that moment, Princess Luna realized the source of her body’s earlier discomfort. She clearly saw it in front of her. But she couldn’t believe it. Rather, she didn’t want to believe it. But the evidence was undeniable.

Nightmare Moon was back.

“This cannot be,” Luna said as she stared at her darker half, “How have you returned?”

The monster said nothing and simply returned her stare.

“Well?” she continued, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

The armored mare slowly blinked. Was it trying to test Luna’s patience? Was it trying to make her break into emotional despair so that it could take her heart again? Well, it wouldn’t work! Elders darn the day that the darkness claimed her a second time!

---{Third-person}

Meanwhile, a pony staring around the corner jumps into the air and takes a long gasp before racing away in a zip line fashion.

---{Dilan Shier}

Clearly, the pony standing before me was frightened. Yet, she commendably stood her ground. Eventually, my eyes remembered how to blink. She… wanted to know if I was going to say something. Well, I really only had one thing to say at that moment.

“Who are you?”

I could have sworn I heard two objects hit dirt. I thought I saw Zecora and the other pony hold all their hooves in the air for a brief second. But then they resumed their standing positions so quickly. I was convinced that my eyes were playing tricks on me.

“Do you jest?” she sputtered in a flabbergasted sort of way.

Hold on. I looked her over again. There appeared to be a small black tiara and hoof attire that resembled glass slippers. This must be one of the royal sisters.

“Oh!” I stamped the ground in lieu of a finger snap, “You must be… Princess Celestia!”

In the corner of my vision, I saw Zecora use her hoof to perform a facepalm. I didn’t even think facepalming was possible with hooves. Looking back at the princess in front of me, however, quickly changed my fascinated smirk to a concerned frown. She was holding her head down and somehow shielding her eyes from view with nothing.

“I see what you’re doing,” she muttered.

“Huh?” I blinked in confusion.

“You’re reenacting the opinions of the ponies that didn’t appreciate my night.”

“Wait, what?”

“By pretending not to recognize me, you hope to tear open the wound in my heart that I thought had long since healed.”

I was still lost.

“And when I let you gain even a foothold in my mind, poisoned by your lies of help, that’s when you’ll step in. You’re trying to win me over through madness again.”

Her eyes came back into view. Staring at them literally made me short of breath. Those were not just the eyes of some angry lady. Those were the white, burning eyes of righteous fury. She was ready to end me.

“Princess Luna?” I whispered.

“Well, it won’t work!” she exclaimed, “Since you’ve been gone, I have gained friends in my little ponies. I have made amends with my sister. They mean the world to me.”

I was certain that the entire atmosphere shook with her next words.

I WON’T LET YOU TAKE THEM AWAY FROM ME!

My hooves stepped back a pace before I could tell them to do so. I couldn’t breathe. My heart was beating so loud that my ears were burning. I was wrong before. Princess Luna wasn’t ready to end me.

She was ready to erase me.

---{Narrator}

“Your Majesty!”

The familiar stallion’s call snapped Luna out of her Canterlot Voice tirade. She slowly turned to her head to face the source. Spirit Sword flew in followed by Faith Shield no more than an inch behind. As they fluttered down for a landing, Luna stood surprised.

“W-What are you doing here?” Luna stammered, “I thought I gave you standing orders.”

“With all due respect, Your Highness,” Spirit stated firmly, “You are more important to Equestria than your empty sleeping quarters.”

“He’s right, you know,” Faith agreed, “Whoever heard of ponies put in charge of guarding absolutely nothing?”

“What my partner is trying to say is that you should be willing to trust us,” said Spirit after rolling his eyes at Faith’s terrible joke, “Let us take on the weight of the responsibility that you place in our hooves.”

Luna’s eyes softened. The loose atmosphere that was shaking in her earlier fury returned to its original position. She breathed a little deeper and smiled. Sometimes, her guards… her closest allies knew just the right words to say. She nodded once to Spirit Sword and once to Faith Shield.

If I had unleashed my wrath on Nightmare Moon right then, she thought, That would have proved nothing. I could’ve even harmed some pony innocent in the surrounding environment.

“Thank you,” she said, “both of you.”

Spirit Sword nodded once. Faith Shield let out a quick, sheepish chuckle.

I’m not alone anymore, Luna realized, I don’t have to bear all of this weight on my own, either.

---{Dilan Shier}

Breathing became a much less straining task. After having a short coughing fit, I was able to look up again at my soon-to-be executioner. But she wasn’t alone.

Woah! my mind exclaimed, Vampire ponies!

There were two armored ponies that had bat wings, slightly furrier ears, and golden eyes with slit irises. They were even a pale, gray color.

Wait, don’t vampires burst into flames in sunlight?

I wondered if it had suddenly turned nighttime while I wasn’t looking, but a quick look around proved that these were clearly still daylight hours.

Don’t tell me that mythology breaks its own rules in this world, I internally groaned, Well, at least they’re not ridiculously sparkly.

“As long as you’re here,” Luna said with a hoof pointed in my direction, “I order you to apprehend Nightmare Moon.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said the two vampire ponies as one.

They flew over in my direction, bat wings flapping about. They started circling around me in a very quick, dizzying pattern. Before I realized what was going on, a black leathery wing swooped by. I heard the swipe of metal nicking flesh. I clenched my teeth in response to the new stinging pain in my neck.

Augh! What the heck?! I held a hoof bracer against the hurt spot. When I pulled it away… Blood? Does that vampire have a knife hidden in his wing or something?

The other vampire pony came in for a pass. I barely leaned over to avoid whatever lethal force was hidden in his wing (or wherever he was hiding it. I didn’t know).

Okay, let’s see what happens when I take to the air!

I gave my wings that felt like arms a couple flaps. The resulting force sent me above their heads. The vampire ponies slammed headfirst into each other. They shook their heads from the dizziness before their golden gazes locked on me. They were flying up almost as fast as their horizontal flight speed.

All right, keep those arms steady to maintain altitude. My wings stayed mostly straight while flapping sparingly. Meanwhile, use these arms… I held out my front hooves. To do… something else.

Granted, I never had that much understanding of martial arts. However, I did get some brief tips in the past about how to do anything that I could with my arms and legs to defend myself when the situation called for it. Getting attacked two-on-one definitely called for it.

When one of the vampire ponies came close enough, I delivered a jab to his uncovered face with each of my front hooves. He went tumbling backwards as the other guy looked in surprise. My left hook punch caused him to twirl like a ballerina. They quickly straightened themselves out and flew close again.

I felt two more stinging pains somewhere along either side. But with the vampire ponies so close, I was able to swing my right back hoof into a roundhouse kick. (I was not ashamed to admit that it didn’t look nearly as impressive as a video game fighter.) On the other guy, my left hoof was close enough to slam him down with an ax kick.

Worst… leg pain… ever.

Ow, okay, bad idea, I acknowledged while wincing. I saw the vampire ponies crash into two different places along the ground. I took a few breaths to try and steady myself.

*Bzzrt!*

“Wah!” I yelped as I saw the bolt of lightning barely miss my head and wing.

That zap had come from the ground going up. I didn’t think it was possible for lightning to travel in that direction. I chanced a glance toward the direction from where it came. My eyes opened wide at the sight of Princess Luna.

Her horn was practically cloaked in electrical sparks.

She can shoot lightning?! I sputtered, How is that fair?

Another bolt headed my way. In response, I folded my wings for a split-second before opening them again. The bolt whizzed over me, and my heart started beating loudly again. But the princess wasn’t done yet.

---{Narrator}

“Spirit Sword! Faith Shield!” cried Luna as the respective guards crashed into the ground.

She clenched her teeth. Even though she couldn’t release her full strength without endangering the town, there was something she could do in controlled bursts. She centered her focus and released her magic in a straight line.

“Wah!” yelped Nightmare Moon, evading the spell by less than an inch. She slowly turned to face the caster. Her eyes were wide in disbelief.

So, you thought I couldn’t cast this spell without your power, huh? asked Luna silently, That was your mistake.

She sent another few bursts up to the sky. Nightmare Moon awkwardly flew out of the way as if she were a young Pegasus filly unfamiliar with flight muscles. If she weren’t so busy being serious, Luna would have chuckled at the sight.

It appears you were wrong when we first met, thought the princess, It was not I who was nothing without you. It is you who is nothing without me.

Spirit Sword and Faith Shield slowly stood up and shook off the rubble that had covered their hide and armor. In spite of their bruises, they flew up and around the current enemy. By passing by swiftly and sharply, they managed to get in a few more hits.

Nightmare Moon’s hooves hung limply as she struggled to maintain flying and dodging. One more bolt flashed up and actually managed to strike her.

---{Dilan Shier}

Gahhhh! That bites! I screamed on the inside. Electrocution was no more fun in experience than it was to hear about it. The only consolation was that it wasn’t a lethal shock.

My limbs had been cut to the point where it was unbearably painful to swing them around at my attackers. My eyes closed at the rest of my body’s pain, but I had to keep one open for the sake of looking at my situation. The only limbs that I could tell if they worked were my wings, but I was losing altitude. I was low enough that the next charge from the vampire ponies was coming above me.

All of my hooves are numb, I thought, And I can’t effectively whack these guys with my wings without screwing myself up.

The vampire ponies were flying in for the kill.

Darn it, I closed my eyes in frustration, What am I supposed to do now?

A sudden feeling of another arm swept up around me and collided with two other objects.

---{Narrator}

“Seriously, Pinkie, what’s going on?” asked the befuddled Applejack.

“Yeah,” nodded Rainbow Dash mid-flight, “Because all you said at my place was, ‘Trouble, Nightmare, Twilight, Friends, Elements,’ and, ‘Stop her!’ in that order.”

“Not quite enough details to work with, darling,” commented Rarity.

“Hasn’t Nightmare Moon been dealt with already?” asked Fluttershy.

“Exactly,” agreed Twilight Sparkle, “Besides, we just saw Princess Luna the other day.”

“And why did you want me to come along?” piped in Spike, riding on Twilight’s back.

“Because, Spike,” stated Pinkie Pie very seriously, “You’re my friend.”

“Oh.” Spike blinked. “Well, uh, thank you.”

And no other explanation was given during that gallop.

---

No… Luna thought with watery eyes, What have I done?

She was charging up one last lightning stun bolt to knock Nightmare Moon out of commission. Spirit Sword and Faith Shield had been charging in for one last attack. But neither the guards nor Luna had remembered the most important thing when dealing with the Mare in the Moon.

She had the power of darkness.

Her defeated look had been a façade. Her smoke-like tail had whipped around and snatched both of the guards and held them immobile in her grasp. Lightning traveled faster than any counter-spell Luna could have performed. As a result, the two stallions had taken the worst of the blast.

Nightmare Moon was standing on shaky, bleeding hooves. She looked at her own smoke-tail with mouth open, like she was surprised at her own abilities.

---{Dilan Shier}

What in the world is this power? I shook at the sight of the unconscious vampire ponies that I was ‘holding’.

---{Narrator}

This can’t be happening, Luna thought, trembling, I’ve hurt them… again.

---{Dilan Shier}

Why am I doing this? I asked, without an answer, I should’ve just run.

---{Split-screen}

What have I been fighting for?

---{Narrator}

“Princess Luna!” called Twilight as the seven friends approached. Though, they all soon came to a screeching halt.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack did a double take. All of them looked at Luna, then at Nightmare Moon, then back at Luna.

“Am I the only one seeing double?” inquired Spike.

“No, I’m seeing it too,” affirmed Rainbow.

“Oh, good. I thought it was just me,” muttered Fluttershy.

“Pardon my Prench, but what the flying feather is going on here?” asked Rarity.

“Yeah, how are there two of them in their different forms?” wondered Pinkie, “Did she try using the Mirror Pond? It was a lot of work covering that thing up!”

Luna looked over as if just realizing the other ponies’ arrival.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a soft, solemn tone.

She looked at each of them and noticed the six Elements of Harmony items were adorned. A sigh both of relief and of sadness left her mouth.

“Please, help me to overcome her again,” she begged, “I realize now that I cannot do it alone even when we occupy different spaces.”

While she really wanted to ask about the scientific impossibility of two Lunas existing simultaneously, Twilight Sparkle (for once) saw the importance of a friend in need first. Placing a hoof on the shoulder of her fellow princess, she nodded and wore a brave smile.

“You can count on us, Prin-… Luna,” she answered before turning to her friends, “All right, every pony! Get in position!”

“Right!” the rest confirmed.

---{Dilan Shier}

I don’t want to do this! I screamed in my head, Stupid tail-thing, let go!

The resulting mental signal caused the smoke-tail to fling its unconscious quarry off to the side. I felt like I was going to hurl. But my body was too busy using that energy to remind me of the rest of my problems.

Blood was dripping lightly from various places. My hooves were so shaky that I could barely hold up the rest of my weight, let alone walk. I had moved my wings a lot just to avoid the worst of the hits. I wasn’t ready to put the hope of my life into a tail that attacked without command.

It was about then that I saw the newcomers. I also saw their various forms of jewelry.

A tiara? I blinked. And five necklaces? Weren’t those the shapes described in that book?

That book came from… wait.

Where’s Zecora? I looked as far as my panned vision could see, but she had up and vanished.

“To help you search for those answers, I will do what I can. But to find and reach that goal is one that is up to Dilan.”

Oh. Then, I got it. She agreed to help me take on the first step on this quest to do whatever it was I was supposed to do. She didn’t say anything about tying my shoes for me. (Well, ponies didn’t wear laced shoes, but the point still stood.) This was something I had to do.

“Well, if anyone deserves to judge me while I’m in this world,” I muttered, “it might as well be the ones who saved it.”

I watched them all rise into the air, carried by the very light energy of their necklaces. The eyes of the pony with the crown glowed white. A light-based bridge was formed between the six jewels. I could actually feel the pupils in my eyes widen at the sight of the rainbow-colored geyser flowing into the sky.

Then the light headed down toward me.

This is going to hurt, isn’t it? I figured.

Soon, I could see nothing but a full display of the visible light spectrum that spun around me like a tornado. Yet it didn’t really have the pulling sensation that normal wind had. It felt more like my body was getting hit by a pins-and-needles feeling like a foot after coming in from the cold, warming up, and recovering its nerve signals. I also heard some gentle voices of various pitches.

I’ll stand by you, no matter what happens.

Hope you feel better soon.

Here, I’m giving this to you.

You have my word.

Don’t feel blue. Feel pink!

Together!

I wasn’t breathing so hard anymore. My pains from earlier almost felt like they were being washed away. I closed my eyes and smiled lightly. Whatever I was going through, it felt really good.

I’ll take this kind of death over the Ford any day, I decided.

---{Narrator}

The midday sun shined through the sky as the Elements of Harmony finished their spell. Their bearers were dropped to the ground on their hooves. The exception was the bearer of Loyalty who preferred to stick to the air if she could help it.

“Another job well done, girls,” Twilight told the group.

Spirit Sword was starting to come around and he let out a groan. With a gasp, Luna quickly rushed over to his side. The concern was written all over her face. Even though Spirit’s mouth didn’t immediately smile, his eyes twinkled with happy life.

“Ever at… your service, Your Highness,” he coughed.

Meanwhile, Faith Shield was trying to stand. His legs buckled beneath him, however, and all he could manage was a sort of bowing position on his knees.

“Yeah, what he said,” he panted, “Man, my throat is killing me. I need a drink.”

Some of the doors in town opened. Scared ponies took a peek outside. Everything seemed to be right with the world again.

“Wait, look!” exclaimed Spike while pointing a claw.

The rest of his group looked to see what he was shouting about. All of their eyes opened wide at the sight. Luna looked just as horrified, if not more so. In spite of their pain, the guard ponies also turned their necks to see what the fuss was about.

Nightmare Moon was still standing.

At least, she was until she toppled over onto her side. Her eyes were shut, and one could barely see her chest expand and contract as if she were still breathing.

“I don’t get it,” commented Pinkie Pie, “The last time we used the Elements of Harmony on Black Snooty, we were able to dispel the dark magic that had enclosed her and simultaneously released Princess Luna and Celestia from captivity.”

Every pony shifted their stares to her.

“Oh, wait! This time Queen Meanie was a completely separate entity, thus tricking the Elements’ magic to assume that everything was already in order and just calmed her down instead of getting rid of her. Now I get it!”

It took her until right that moment to realize that every pony was staring at her.

“What?”

“When did you become the biggest egghead?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Silly, Dashie!” chuckled Pinkie, “I told you before that my head is more shaped like a grapefruit.”

“Yeah, but… you… ugh,” stammered Dash.

“Questionable paths of deduction aside,” Twilight quickly changed the subject, “She may be right. Since the darkness hasn’t taken over Luna directly this time, it may be that the magic of the physical Elements didn’t see a need to remove Nightmare Moon from existence. We may very well be dealing with an entity that has no idea what she did as Luna.”

“A pony that’s Nightmare Moon,” reiterated Rarity, “and yet at the same time isn’t?”

“How can something be and at the same time not be?” asked the confused Applejack.

“I don’t know for sure,” admitted Twilight, “In any case, we should probably let Princess Celestia know about this.”

“Way ahead of you, Your Majesty,” interrupted Faith Shield.

Stares turned to him as he pointed a wing to the sky. Pulling an empty night chariot were two bat pony guards. Behind them, two Pegasus guards pulled the sun chariot. Riding that was Celestia herself.

“I figured one of the other guards on duty would eventually get word to the other princess,” smirked Faith.

“You told me you needed to take a leak,” said Spirit with a raised eyebrow.

“I did,” affirmed Faith, “and I still do.”

Before Spirit could make a comment about the other guard’s impressive bladder control, the separate chariots landed. Celestia ran over to her sister immediately after hopping off the chariot.

“Luna, are you all right? How are you feeling?” she asked as she placed her head next to her sister’s.

“A little bit shaken at the sight of another me,” admitted Luna, “But otherwise, I’m as dandy as a daffodil.”

“Another you?” echoed Celestia before eventually turning to see Nightmare Moon lying a few feet away.

“We’re not entirely sure what that pony is,” pointed out Twilight, “But it might be an entity that’s completely separate from the Nightmare Moon that we’re familiar with. The Elements of Harmony couldn’t touch her.”

“Really?” pondered Celestia, “That’s quite the conclusion you’ve come to, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Actually, it was Pinkie Pie’s idea,” admitted Twilight.

“I’m a grapefruit head!” pitched in Pinkie.

Celestia chuckled, “Yes, you are.”

She looked over at the sleeping pony that looked a lot like her sister had looked once before. The very appearance was bringing back some painful memories. It was very difficult to hold her poker face at that moment.

“I know you’re watching,” Celestia said to the air with a warning tone, “Is this your handiwork?”

“Me?” answered the air playfully, “Why, Celestia, I’m appalled that you would even suggest such a thing.”

A flash of light revealed the recently reformed master of chaos.

“Besides,” Discord continued, “bringing back an antagonist of old would be far too boring. Honestly, where’s the fun in bringing back an enemy that you can beat without a challenge?”

“I’m not hearing a ‘no’,” pointed out Celestia with a firm tone.

He pulled in a random teacup filled with mud and sipped it, completely ignoring the implicit accusation. His drink was immediately interrupted by a deadpan look of his first friend.

“Discord,” said Fluttershy with folded hooves, “Did you or didn’t you have anything to do with this Nightmare Moon?”

Under normal circumstances, he would have continued messing with other ponies at his own pace. However, recent events convinced him to be more direct and open with Fluttershy. With a sigh, he sent back his cup and its contents to where he got them from.

“I promise that I am telling the truth,” he said while crossing his heart and then placing a literal cupcake into his eye socket, “I had nothing to do with this.”

“Thank you,” nodded Fluttershy.

“That will be all,” added Celestia.

With another random flash of light, Discord vanished.

Luna cleared her throat. “So, what are we going to do about this?”

Celestia looked to her guards. “Load her onto the other one.”

“What?” asked Luna.

“There are many things we don’t understand right now,” Celestia pointed out, “For now, we should take her into proper care. Then, we’ll see about asking her what she knows. I assume you probably have more to ask her than I do.”

Luna didn’t really have anything to argue with that. The healthy bat ponies went about loading Nightmare Moon into the lunar chariot. Meanwhile, Luna used her magic to lift Spirit Sword onto her back. Celestia did the same with Faith Shield.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle and all your friends for your help today,” acknowledged Celestia.

“Thank you very much,” added Luna as she and her sister climbed into the solar chariot.

The other ponies bowed as the two chariots flew off to Canterlot. Afterwards, Pinkie Pie held a rather serious look in her eyes. Her tongue was sticking out of her mouth as if she were in deep thought.

“Are you still thinking about grapefruit heads?” inquired Rarity.

“It’s not that.” Pinkie shook her head. “If Applejack the bearer of Honesty could find a loophole around a Pinkie Promise, how much easier would it be for Discord the master of Chaos to do the same thing?”

“He’s not going to get that loophole,” Fluttershy stated.

“How can you be so sure?” Pinkie turned to look at her.

“Because my friends always keep their promises,” Fluttershy said with all the seriousness her face could muster.

---{Third-person}

Where the heck did Zecora go?

---

Author's Note:

I think it's only fair to warn you:
I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing!