The Price For Luna

by PoweredByTea

Part 4 – Nadir

My dearest teacher,

My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the p̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶r̶ ̶b̶r̶i̶ that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

Celestia blinked at the letter hovering in front of her, rereading to check it really did say what she thought it said. She dimly remembered suggesting to Twilight that she take the opportunity to study something other than magic for a change. Apparently, her ever faithful student had taken the suggestion at face value.

“I really must stop underestimating that unicorn,” Celestia murmured, still staring wide-eyed at the letter. True, that unicorn had been making that exceedingly difficult lately. The thought made Celestia smille for a moment.

How to respond? She couldn’t tell Twilight everything. The sixth Element of Harmony required friendship, true friendship. She couldn’t just order Twilight to become friends with specific ponies, that wasn’t how friendships worked. But maybe she could nudge Twilight in the right direction?

Yes, she would reassure Twilight so the unicorn could relax a bit then send her to Ponyville with a job that would require her to talk to many ponies. Her direction decided, she picked up a quill and wrote the reply.

“And make some friends,” she appended to the end of the letter after a moment’s thought. True, that was almost an order, but it was clear from the context that it wasn’t. Probably. Actually, knowing Twilight, it wasn’t impossible that she might take it as an literal imperative.

Celestia suddenly had a mental image of a panicky Twilight running around Ponyville trying to talk to everypony about the weather. Well, getting Twilight to talk to ponies one way or another would aid her cause. And it would do Twilight some good too.

Yes, doing Twilight some good, using her, putting her in the path of danger.

Feeling disgusted at herself, Celestia lit her horn and the letter vanished.

☼ ☼ ☼

The missive-fire beacon burned gently with coppery-green flames, giving the surrounding forrest an unsettling tint. It was particularly noticeable against the white of the birch and those members of the guard who passed close on some errand or other. Across the flames stood Whiskey; the old captain hadn’t said anything in about half an hour—but then, there really hadn’t been call for him to do so. A pair of firefly lamps that Celestia had ordered set up rested in the grass nearby, their steady orange light mixing with the flickering green of the beacon. Whiskey occasionally frowned at them, but remained silent. Chances were they negated some of the secrecy offered by the thick canopy, but they were a comfort in that they took some of the edge away from the dark.

The beacon flared momentarily, and spat out a scroll which Celestia caught in her magic. Hastily, she unrolled it and read the contents.

To: Whitetail Woods

This is the 3:30am check in. No change in the Moon, no unusual sightings over Canterlot.

Quill Scratch

Authenticator: Phoenix Teeth

Celestia levitated the message over to Whiskey, who glanced at it and passed it over to an assistant to check the authenticator.

“Not long left ‘till dawn, yer Majesty,” he observed, glancing up at the canopy. “Maybe nothing's happening tonight after all?” Whiskey sounded relieved at that thought.

Celestia schooled her expression, keeping it neutral. In truth, she was starting to share Whiskey’s worry. Could this somehow not be the right night? Foresight hadn’t been wrong yet.

Would Luna not return? Would the stars not aid in her escape? An image came to her of herself struggling through the motions of the Summer Sun Celebration as if nothing had been out of the ordinary. She didn't want to think about it.

The beacon flared a second time and this time Whiskey caught the scroll in his teeth. Celestia exchanged a glance with the captain. This wasn’t a scheduled check in.

“Canterlot?” Celestia asked.

Whiskey unrolled the scroll and shook his head. “It’s Ponyville. The observer reports spottin’ something movin’ from beyond a group of houses. Weren’t able to see what it were, I’m afraid. ‘Cept he says ‘twernt equine.” He passed the scroll to be authenticated, and looked up at Celestia.

Celestia considered her options. “Instruct the observer to not approach, Captain. I’m due in Ponyville soon. I will investigate this personally.”

“But Princess!” Whiskey objected.

Celestia smiled despite herself at the note of protectiveness in Whiskey’s voice. “Captain, I assure you, I am far from defenceless.”

Once she was sure that there would be no further objections, she lit her horn and, picking up one of the firefly lanterns for good measure, willed the Whitetail Woods to dissolve away. With a vague feeling of snapping, her surroundings became an open street lined with jettied and thatched residences. She was in Ponyville.

She raised the lantern and squinted, but everything beyond the lamplight was dark and indistinct. At best, she could make out the outlines of the buildings. There was no movement and certainly no threat to her ponies she could see. For good measure, she kicked off into the air, and with a few wingbeats, all of Ponyville and the surrounding land were laid before her. Still nothing out of the ordinary.

Whatever it had been, she didn’t have time to investigate further. She was due at the town hall, where she would deliver a speech explaining the situation and appealing for calm. At the same time, Stonewall and the other guards stationed there would be drawing her candidates aside. Locking her wings at their full extension, she glided down towards the town hall.

The town hall itself was a cylindrically shaped building sitting in the middle of a wide open space. Much of the spirit of the little village of Ponyville was reflected in its town hall. Unlike those of Equestria’s major cities—large, gaudy things with their fancy stone pillars and think, unassailable walls—this town hall was a simple affair imperfectly crafted out of wood.

The finish on the timbers was slightly rough, but everywhere were painted bright, joyous little designs. Celestia could imagine the central room being used as much for hosting country dances as it was for official government events; indeed, several flyers pinned up near the entrance provided evidence of this. Ponyville Town Hall, then, actually managed to belong to the ponies of Ponyville in practice as well as theory.

Celestia found the entrance she was looking for round the back of the building. Taking a moment to marvel at the odd feeling of essentially using a tradespony’s entrance, she pushed open the door and ducked inside, still followed by her lantern.

Inside awaited two ponies, who both quickly bowed. One she recognised as Mayor of Ponyville. The second, the brilliant white unicorn with the excessivly styled purple mane, she also recognised. Rarity. They’d met at the “Sky”’s welcoming party.

“Everything is prepared, your Majesty,” the Mayor said. “We can begin at your convenience.”

“And if I might add,” added Rarity, “despite the short notice, I think you’ll find the decorations more than adequate. No no, they are spectacular, if I do say so myself. In the end, I went with blue and gold for the colour scheme, blue for the night, of course, but the gold should be set off by first light of the morning...”

Celestia actually had to interrupt the unicorn with a gesture.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Your Majesty,” Rarity said. “I’ve set up a curtain—it’s just along there—so if you could just stand behind it, when the moment arrives I will pull it back thus revealing your Majesty’s radiant form in all it’s glory.”

“Thank you. I’m sure I shall manage,” Celestia replied.

With that, the mayor and Rarity showed themselves out leaving Celestia alone. Noticing the back room had a window, she checked the Moon. Still no change.

Stonewall's head poked his head through the door. “Your Majesty? Most of the ponies seem to be here, including your student, the teacher, the farmer, and the... ah...” Stonewall was momentarily at a loss for an appropriate noun “...Pinkie Pie. I believe the mayor intends to give a little speech, then you’re up.”

“Thank you Stonewall,” Celestia said. “If you could tell the mayor as politely as possible to keep the speech short...?”

Stonewall nodded and stepped out, leaving Celestia alone again. The mayor’s voice began to filter through the wooden walls as her address to the assembly began. Once more, Celetia took a quick look outside at the moon—and then a longer look. The four stars were moving rapidly towards the moon, much faster than they had been.

She gulped involuntarily, as the image of the mare’s head that had haunted her every evening for the last thousand years vanished. Dimly, she was aware that the silence from the main hall was expectant, but that could wait a few moments.

Then, she felt it. The creature’s magic. Tendrils of fear encircled her throat and heart, squeezing hard. A small part of her that clung to rationality screamed at her to think about what this meant. She was here, in Ponyville. Somehow, she’d known where to come, and now Celestia’s magic would be a beacon for her.

Wasting no time, Celestia’s horn glowed, and her body was briefly enveloped in light. Her horn vanished and her stature diminished as she became “Sky” once more. She needed to get away. Even though the oppressive feeling of the alien magic was gone, the creature would still know to look here. Breaking into a gallop, she all but barreled through the back room door out into the darkness, taking flight briefly to cover the clear open space that separated the rest of Ponyville from its town hall.

She landed, somewhat ungraciously, behind a stack of hay bales. She was shaking, surrounded by inky blackness she could do nothing about. What she wouldn’t give for a torch right now. Or even a single candle.

No. Not a second time. She wouldn’t let herself be broken by the oppressive blackness a second time. She allowed herself just a moment in which to shut her eyes, and think back to better times, to memories she had tried to convince herself she could live without.

Ah, there it was. A tingling on her shoulder, as if a ghostly hoof had been placed there gently. After a moment, the hoof was withdrawn, the sense of a presence beside her remained. Celestia didn’t need to look to know Luna was there, beside her. What would Luna be doing? She’d be sitting on her haunches, expression ever serious, and eyes calmly scanning her surroundings. Celestia borrowed a little of that strength and made it her own.

A fool tries to chase away the darkness with light, and ends up alerting her enemies and blinding herself. Do not fear the dark, instead, make it your friend.

Luna’s words, from long ago. Celestia stole a glance back at the town hall, but there was nothing to see. She had to assume that the creature was somewhere close. They had a contingency plan for this situation, as unlikely as it had seemed. There was a rendezvous point outside of Ponyville that Stonewall would know to make his way towards. Celestia just had to reach it without being spotted.

Your white plumage and coat will stand out in the dark, Luna said from beside her. Do something about that.

Celestia glanced about, finding only a patch of dusty ground. It was summer, and any mud would have already been dried up by her own sun. It wasn’t ideal, but the dust took some of the lustre from her coat and she didn’t have time to look for a better solution.

She took to the air, darting quickly from rooftop to rooftop. Luna kept pace, prompting her as they progressed. Watch that you don’t silhouette yourself against the sky. Be mindful of your outline, that will give you away. Move quickly when you must, and freeze still otherwise.

Celestia was alighting on a rooftop when the buildings around her were illuminated by a series of sudden flashes of light, each followed a fraction of a second later by sharp bangs. It had sounded like a thunderbolt, though not the massive kind that reached down from cloud level to the ground, but more like the kind produced by a mischievous pegasus bucking a cloud.

From behind you, Luna hissed. Get down, freeze, and observe.

Celestia found a chimney top to duck behind. She could see nothing but stillness between the dark shapes of the buildings of Ponyville. Nor was there anything in the sky—

Another, brighter flash tore through the darkness accompanied a moment later by an appropriately louder bang. This time Celestia spotted the source: the town hall had lit up, each window and door momentarily bathed in white.

That second flash in particular filled Celestia with dread. What had happened? Was there fighting going on?

Your disguise is far from perfect. Luna said. Continue to the rendezvous point, you can use the missive-fire there to re-establish contact.

Yes, that’s what Luna would have done. It was safe, pragmatic, but it wasn’t what Celestia was going to do. She climbed out from behind the chimney and dove off the thatched roof, catching herself with her wings. She headed back in the direction of the town hall, this time flying close to the ground, attempting to always keep a building between her and her destination.

It didn’t take long to reach the edge of the clear space that surrounded the hall. Celestia alighted on an overlooking rooftop, intending to check the coast was clear before covering the last stretch.

It was fortunate that she did. All at once, a blue wisp began to leak out of several openings and bled into the night. Celestia whipped her head back behind the thatch.

Eyes and mark! Luna barked.

Celestia awkwardly unfolded her wings to cover the sunbursts on each flank and squeezed her eyes shut. She shuffled further down the far side of the roof to where Luna was hidden, her stomach pressing against the thatch. Breathing hard, Celestia counted out a minute before daring to open them again.

When she did, the rooftop was still empty and all around was silence. Either she hadn’t been spotted, or she hadn’t been considered important.

Assuming the form of a blue wisp had been one of Luna’s favourite tricks. In some ways it was almost as useful as Blink’s Talent. That wisp. The colour was right, the feel of the magic was right. Celestia took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she sucked air through her nostrils. That scent. That bygone, forgotten scent. Luna’s.

She was here. She had really been here. Not fifty paces away.

The comforting feeling of her sister’s imagined presence beside her was gone. The space where she’d imagined the shade of Luna was empty, there had never been anything there. Once again, she was alone in the dark.

It was time to get moving.

Peeking over the rooftop once again, she saw no sign of the wispy form. No, wait, over there. Movement. Celestia counted four indistinct blurry equine forms moving away from the meeting hall. They would have to wait, with the town hall safe, she needed to get inside and find out what had happened.

She spread her wings and lept off the rooftop, hoping to cross the empty gap as quickly as possible. She alighted on the second floor balcony of the circular structure. There didn’t seem to be anypony about outside, but muted voices could be heard from within. She trotted over to the interior wall, trying to keep her profile close to the ground.

Light poured out of the windows, so to preserve her feeble night vision, Celestia kept her right eye shut as she peered inside—something Luna once taught her.

Within was a scene of chaos. Hundreds of ponies milled around directionlessly. The Mayor was running around from group to group appealing for calm, clearly out of her depth. A tight knot of ponies crowded round three shapes on the floor that appeared to be of interest. Celestia gasped as she managed to catch a glimpse of white through all the pony bodies. Three downed royal guards.

Her throat tightened. One was Stonewall. Worse, she couldn’t see Twilight anywhere. In just a few moments, all her plans were in ruins before her.

Since Luna was nowhere to be seen in the hall, there was no need to be sneaking about. The balcony windows were too big to be openable, so Celestia circled the building until she found the upper story door and pushed it open, causing a pair of foals to jump at the sound of her’s entrance.

“Hush now, everything will be fine,” she reassured them, before leaping down to where the three guards lay. Each was surrounded by a dozen ponies who were trying to get a look or perhaps help in some unspecified way.

“Everypony, move back and give them some space!” Celestia said, her words cutting through the hubbub. The crowd moved back from the downed guards.

“I’d like anypony here who has any sort of medical or first aid training to make themselves known,” she continued. Two ponies, a mare and a stallion, stepped forward.

“Um, I’m not a doctor, but I’ve done a first aid course.”

“I’m training with nurse Redheart.”

Celestia nodded at two of the guards. “See what you can do to help. Everypony else, keep giving them room.”

Celestia trotted over to Stonewall and knelt down as the other first aiders each took responsibility for a guard each. Stonewall looked conscious but dazed, appearing to have sustained burns in several places. Fortunately, they looked survivable.

“Pr... Sky?” he said weakly, looking up.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“Nightmare Moon was here. She appeared on the balcony up there,” he said, gesturing with a hoof. “She said some things about the night lasting forever. I don’t exactly remember. Then the mayor ordered us to attack...” Stonewall managed to almost look sheepish. “I know you told me not to do that... but when Winter and Oakwood jumped at the order... I couldn’t just not help them...”

“So you attacked Nightmare Moon along with them?” Celestia asked. “Not very wise of you... but very brave. Element of Loyalty indeed.”

Stonewall chuckled, then winced a bit.

The stallion who had been Redheart’s apprentice trotted over. “I don’t think they’re in immediate danger, but we need to get some dressings on those wounds.”

Celestia nodded, then raised her head and called out for bandages. She noticed the mayor looking at her and dearly hoped that the administrator wasn’t going to take issue with an apparent stranger galloping in and taking over. She didn’t want to waste the minutes it would take to explain.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be an issue. A pegasus flyer was sent out to Ponyville hospital in short order so Celestia turned her attention back to Stonewall. “Did you see Twilight?” she asked.

“Yeah. Smart kid,” Stonewall replied. “Knew exactly who Nightmare Moon was and called her out.”

“She’s not here now, do you know where she went?”

Stonewall shook his head.

Celestia stood up and addressed the room. “Has anypony seen a unicorn called Twilight Sparkle? I need to speak with her as soon as possible. It’s important.” Several of the ponies glanced questioningly at each other. “Purple coat. Indigo mane and tail. Has a stripe down the middle of both.”

“I think I know who you mean,” offered a stallion. “I saw her leave. She didn’t say where she was going.”

Celestia turned back to Stonewall. “I need to find Twilight, then I’ll return. We’re far from sunk yet.”

With that, Celestia turned to go but a wing brushed against her.

“Princess, I...” Stonewall began. Several ponies looked at each other in surprise at the form of his address. Celestia ignored them. “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”

“What do you mean you don’t think you can do this anymore?”

Stonewall clambered to get upright, backing away. Celestia realised that quite a few nearby ponies were staring. How sharply had that come out?

“What do you mean, Stonewall?” she asked again when she trusted herself to speak.

“I—I know what I did that makes you think I deserve this,” Stonewall explained. “But things are different now. I met somepony. We have a foal on the way and that changes things. When that lightning bolt hit me, all I could think about was my foal growing up without a father. I don’t want that to happen.”

Stonewall continued to back away, looking as if he expect her to strike him down. He had a foal on the way. She hadn’t known that.

“I need a bearer for Loyalty.” She was stepping forward again. Stonewall began to back away again. “This is more important than you understand.”

Help me!

“I... I...” Stonewall shut his eyes and lowered his head. “I keep seeing my little colt or filly being taken to see my grave.” He backed into one of the walls, wincing in pain as he caught one of his burns on the wood.

Immediately, Celestia dropped to her haunches, wings drooping. What was she doing? What had happened to her? Had she really just tried to conscript an Element of Loyalty? That was as illogical as it was wrong.

“Lieutenant Stonewall,” she said at last. “I understand. Family is important. Under the circumstances, I cannot expect you to continue.” She only hoped that no further hint of accusation had entered her tone. “Consider yourself off-duty.”

☼ ☼ ☼

Celestia walked through the inky darkness. Her night vision, never very good to begin with, was gone, lost to the lighting in the town hall. All she could see were indistinct shapes towering over her, buildings she presumed, and tens of thousands of stars who looked down at her with contempt and hate for what she had done to their adopted mother a thousand years ago. Twilight was nowhere to be seen. She hoped her student had found somewhere safe to hide.

She tried to picture Luna walking through the dark with her as before, but it proved impossible. The feeling wouldn’t come. Luna was gone, she always had been.

It would have to be quick, the confrontation. She would lose any kind of protracted fight. Luna was so much more of the warrior that she. Diplomat. Philosopher. Peacemaker. Scholar. Occasional artist. Teacher, lately. These were things she thought of herself as; she was no warrior.

She would have to have surprise on her side. Approach while invisible, masking her magic until the last moment with the transformation spell. Ideally, she would catch Luna asleep. A beam of magical sunlight would be enough. No space for hesitation. Luna was too dangerous.

She could hold her head up. She could discipline herself to not sniff. She could keep her face measured. But she couldn’t stop the tears.

She collapsed against a house, and her gaze involuntarily crossed the dark silhouettes of the Ponyville buildings. One stood out.

The library. In a time of crisis, Twilight would be attracted there like a moth to a flame. Perhaps the situation was still salvageable. It had to be.

☼ ☼ ☼

Ponyville library was an oddity, and not just because of the fact that was built into a tree. Ponyville was simply too small a town to justify the expense of an entire library, and yet there it was. Celestia had gathered it was a former pet project of a previous mayor that hadn’t really taken off. For the amount of use it probably got, chances are it wasn’t technically worth the bits—not that Celestia particularly minded the thought of the citizens of Ponyville having access to a such a source of learning, efficient use of bits or not.

The library even lacked a full time librarian and had been tended to by Cheerilee. During the hasty reorganising of the Summer Sun celebration, she’d remembered the library when looking for a place for Twilight to stay. If anypony would appreciate such lodgings, it would be her.

However, when Celestia landed, she found the windows of the library darkened, the door locked, and nopony answered when she knocked. Had she misjudged her protégé? She briefly considered simply kicking the door in, but then noticed that the library had an upper story balcony, which she fluttered up to.

The upper story window swung open when pushed—yes this place certainly had been under the care of an earth pony and, more recently, a unicorn—and there was Spike, lying asleep in a basket. Despite everything, Celestia found herself smiling a bit at the sight of him. As for the rest of the library, it was a mess. Books and papers lay strewn across the floor. Perhaps Twilight had been back here?

Celestia knelt down by the sleeping dragon and shook him gently with a hoof. She was loath to wake him, but she needed to find Twilight.

“What...” he mumbled. “Aw, come on Twilight. Five more minutes.”

“Spike, it’s not Twilight, it’s Celestia.”

“Princess?” Spike said, becoming more awake, “Huh, you don’t look like Celestia.”

“I’m in disguise right now,” Celestia explained.

Spike looked her over. “Oh, okay,” he blinked away some sleep, “You look a bit like Celestia.”

“Spike, I’m sorry for waking you, but I need to know where Twilight is,” Celestia said, her smile fading. “It’s important.”

“Oh,” Spike said. “Is this about that Nightmare Moon mare? Are you and Twilight going to kick her out of Equestria? Or make her explode with your pony magic?”

“Yes Spike, this is about the Mare in the Moon and I do have a plan, but it’s a little different to those things.” She wasn’t sure how true that was anymore, but Spike didn’t have to worry about that. This time, there was no twinge from her connection to Honesty, she took that as a good sign. “But I need to find Twilight first.”

“Oh, right,” Spike said. “Twilight brought me here after Nightmare Moon came but I was kind of falling asleep so she put me to bed. But a few minutes after that I heard some ponies arguing.

“They woke me up just after I got comfortable,” Spike added, pouting slightly before continuing. “I think they were talking about something to do with the ‘Elements of Harmony’ whatever those are.”

Celestia’s eyes widened. She really, really must stop underestimating that unicorn.

“Then they all started talking about going into somewhere called the Everfree Forest, I don’t know why, I was trying to get back to sleep.” Spike thought for a moment. “Twilight was looking in a book, you know, as usual. Maybe it would say there?”

“Do you know who these other ponies were?”

“Nope, not a clue,” Spike frowned, thinking. “Oh, wait, I bet I know. They must have been the ponies we met yesterday while checking on the preparations. Um, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and... Rarity.”

One of the Apple family siblings and Pinkie Pie. They were her Honesty and Laughter. But Rarity and Rainbow Dash? Neither were promising candidates. What was Twilight thinking? Well, having a strong flyer like Rainbow Dash couldn’t hurt but Rarity was more confusing. Celestia had let slip that she was from Canterlot just once in the dressmaker’s hearing and from then on Rarity hadn’t left her “Sky” persona alone. The whole ordeal had been incredibly trying, and she’d pegged Rarity as a rather superficial hanger-on.

And now this superficial hanger-on had followed her student into one of the most dangerous parts of Equestria of her own free will?

And Fluttershy? She had no clue who this this Fluttershy was.

Something else clicked. Had Spike said that last name like he had been savouring the word? Never mind, it wasn’t important.

“Perhaps I’ll take a look at that book,” Celestia said, getting up.

The library floor might have been a mess but the book in question was easy to find, having been left open on the table while the other books had been thrown across the floor. It was indeed Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide. A decent enough text that actually managed to be mostly accurate.

It is said, Celestia read from the open page, that the last known location of the five Elements of Harmony was in the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

Then Spike had been right. That was where Twilight would be heading, with only five local ponies for assistance.

“Spike, please take a letter,” Celestia said. The seriousness of the situation mustn't have been lost on the little dragon, because he climbed out of the basket to fetch writing materials without complaint.

“Captain Whiskey,” she began when Spike was ready. “Send the squad of ponies equipped for travelling in the Everfree to Ponyville immediately. There, they should proceed into the forest by the path until they reach the old castle. They are to look for a group of six civilian ponies—Spike, what tribe was Fluttershy from?”

“She was a pegasus.”

Celestia could have guessed so from the name, but it was better not to assume.

“They are to look for a group of six civilian ponies—two earth, two pegasi, and two unicorns—and provide them with assistance and protection.”

She leaned her neck over Spike’s shoulder so she could tot up the first letters of each line and derive the correct authenticator.

“Finish it off with ‘passphrase: sandy opera. Signed, Princess Celestia.’”

“Sandy what?”

“It’s a passphrase, Spike,” Celestia explained. “So they know it’s really me sending it. There is a beacon set up in the Whitetail Woods that should catch it.”

The little dragon nodded and with a deep breath, burnt the note.

“Thank you Spike,” Celestia said, affectionately laying a hoof on the little dragon’s head. “You should get your rest now. I’ll find Twilight.”

“Celestia...” Spike began, as he climbed back into his basket, “it’s... going to be okay, isn’t it?”

Celestia put on her best comforting smile. “Don’t fret Spike, I’ll fix things.”

Apparently that was good enough, because Spike closed his eyes and began to snore. Celestia’s smile faded as she stood.

“Oh Twilight,” Celestia said to herself. “I meant for you to face the Everfree more prepared than this.”

Comments

[Lurks-no-More]

I'm amused to see Celestia scrambling to catch up with the events.

Also, your italics have gone rogue! See "Celestia glanced about," and so on.

[Ri2]

Okay, let's see if I remember correctly. Celestia wanted Stonewall to be Loyalty, Big Mac Honesty, Cheerilee Kindness, Pinkie Laughter, aaaand...who was supposed to be Generosity?