Nightwaker

by Lets Do This

Part III -- Wake the Night

A couple Lunar mornings later, Twilight was standing in her room before a trio of mirrors, a book hovering in front of her face. She was being fitted for an official Court robe by the self-appointed Royal Seamstress to Her Highness Acolyte Twilight Sparkle... or in plain language, Rarity.

Even under present circumstances the fashionista was still a little awestruck about finally being in Canterlot, part of an inner circle so close to the throne itself. She was living the dream -- even if it was a nightmare -- and she kept up a constant stream of gossip as she marked and pinned and adjusted the night-dark cloth.

"... and I was talking with Belgian Waffle, that very nice serving pony who set out our scrumptious repast this morning, and she says the herbs she tends to in the garden outside the kitchens just don't seem to be doing at all well under this pseudo-daylight."

"It's the same in the rest of the palace grounds," Applejack said, trotting in through the door. She waited until it was shut behind her by Nacht, before going on in a lower voice. "I've pretty much covered the entire area outdoors, any place I can get to on hoof, and I don't see anything that looks like it might be a Element, or a place it might be kept or buried. And you're right, Rarity -- this cold light we got now might be enough to see by, but it's sure not gonna be enough for farms and fields back home. If we don't get the Sun back, Ponyville's in for hard times ahead."

Fluttershy trotted in through the connecting door to the adjoining room that Twilight's inner circle had been given to stay in. "I've checked with the animals in the Royal Garden, to see if they know anything that might help, but they haven't seen anything unusual around the grounds, aside from Nightmare Moon's guards. Ohhhh..." She looked worried. "I hope my animal friends at home are doing okay!"

"Incoming!" Rainbow Dash hurtled in through the open porch door, hit the floor hard, and came to a rolling halt inches short of impaling herself on the trimming scissors floating in Rarity's magic. She hopped up and dusted herself off. "Well, that's it. I've covered the entire palace and grounds from the air again, and I still don't see anything that looks like new towers or vaults or places these Element things might be kept. But ya know, it would sure help searching for them if I had even a clue what one looked like!"

She crossed over to the couch by the window, hopped up on it, and stared down sadly at Ponyville in the distance. "I also swung by home, just to catch up on the latest news. It's not good. Apart from our families and ponies who know us, pretty much everyone thinks we've abandoned them, gone over to Nightmare Moon." She turned and thunked down on the couch angrily, crossing her forehooves. "This probably trashes any hope I ever had of getting into the Wonderbolts. But if it's what it takes to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, then... yeah, it's worth it!"

Rarity paused, looking uncomfortable. "And all this isn't going to do my business any favors either. I've already received cancellations from the few society ponies I know here in Canterlot, and I can only imagine how they'll be piling up back home. So if things don't get better soon, I've been thinking of putting the Boutique up for sale, maybe bankrolling a food fund to help Ponyville in case times do get tough. And I've already got a semi-understanding with a buyer, a noble here at court who's looking to expand into the suburbs."

Twilight looked up at that. "Which noble?"

"Oh my word, dahling! I can't say! That would be indiscreet!"

"Well... whoever it is, if they've got that kind of money sitting around and they're not thinking of using it to help other ponies," Twilight grimaced, "then I'd like to know who it is. If I have to throw the book at somepony again to make my Acolyte act look good, I'd like to know it's somepony who really deserves it!"

Rarity smiled in agreement, and then got on with adjustments to the robe.

The door opened again, and in bounded Pinkie Pie, carrying a tray piled with cookies. "I've checked all through the kitchens and storerooms and such," she said happily. "No elementies there! But I brought us all a snack!"

Twilight wasn't listening. She was staring at her book again, muttering under her breath. She'd progressed to the point where her levitation was reasonably solid, at least for any object she was familiar with, and she'd managed to tone down her luminance spell to be useful instead of blinding. But she was still having trouble with some spells, chief among them teleportation.

Spike stood beside her, a small coffee mug in one claw. It wasn't for drinking. He'd been fetching it back for over an hour now as Twilight cautiously attempted to increase her projection distance.

"Okay, Spike," Twilight said, setting the book down. "Let's try it again."

Spike willingly set the mug in front of her, then backed hurriedly away.

Twilight focused. Her horn sang gently. The coffee cup vanished in a flash of light...

... and reappeared less than a yard away. Upside down.

"Urrhh! What am I doing wrong?" She buried her nose in the book again.

"Cookie, Twilight?" Pinkie asked, coming over to peer at the book herself.

"Thanks but no thanks, Pinkie. I have to figure out how to make this spell work. I just can't keep the spell focused and stable long enough to get any distance out of it."

"Which one's the spell?" Pinkie asked. When Twilight pointed, Pinkie stared at it closely, then suddenly smiled. "Why not make a singsong out of it?"

"Huh?" Twilight stared at her.

"Yeah!" Pinkie pointed a hoof at the text. "Da-dadada-da da-da-dada-da," she hummed. "Oh, I know! How about: when elephants last in the dooryard bloomed!"

"What? Pinkie, that doesn't make any sense!"

"Not supposed to, silly! That's what makes it easy to remember. You sing the song in your head, then you say the real words to it. Then you just keep repeating it over and over, and the rhythm helps you stay with it. I do it all the time when I'm trying to learn something tricky."

Twilight shrugged. "I'll try anything once." She put the book down, and waited while Spike teed up the mug for her. Then she focused, fired up her horn, and thought hard. When elephants last in the dooryard bloomed. She ran through the spell, following the same rhythm.

There was a flash, and the coffee cup vanished completely.

"That did it!" Twilight shouted. "Pinkie, you're a genius!"

"No, I'm not! I'm a party pony!" She smirked. "It's way more fun!"

"Where the hay did it go?" Rainbow asked. "Anyone see it?"

"Oh, there it is!" Fluttershy said, pointing.

They looked out through the porch doors, at a tower fifty yards away. Perched on its balcony railing, they could just make out the coffee cup... standing upright, neat as you please.

"Yee haw!" Applejack said, admiringly. "That's how we get 'er done, Twi!"

Twilight nodded absently, while flipping through a few more pages of the book, looking for other spells she needed to work on.

Then she suddenly realized the other ponies were all staring at her, as if waiting for the next move... from her.

Why me? she wondered, annoyed. I'm a near-dropout, stuck with way more magic than I know what to do with. Why do I have to come up with the plan?

Then she sighed to herself.

Because you're the Princess's student. And they're all counting on you.

"Okay," she said. "We've searched everywhere that we can get to easily. So it's probably time to try places in the palace that are harder to get at, places normally off-limits to even the service staff: storage vaults, private quarters, administrative areas. Now, as members of the inner circle of the Acolyte, you should be able to get around the usual restrictions. Just say you're on business for me. But don't push it... if there's something that looks promising but it's too hard to talk your way into, just come back and let the rest of us know. Maybe we can figure out the right way to get in."

"Gotcha, Twi," Applejack said. "But... this is a big place, and talkin' our way around the guards and all is gonna make it take even longer. We'll need some time to cover it all."

"I know," Twilight said sadly. "Which means I'm going to have to do something I really don't want to do...

"... I'm going to have to make friends with Nightmare Moon."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Later that evening, shortly before full Night, Acolyte Twilight Sparkle stalked through the halls of the palace, looking the picture of cold, heartless vengeance in her Court robe. Spike trotted stiffly at her heels and Nacht loomed right behind her. Wherever she went, ponies hurried to get out of her way, averting their gaze to avoid meeting her steel-eyed glare.

Twilight wasn't sure how long she could keep up the act. She hated being treated like this. She hated having to act like this. But there were still no results from their search. The others had been gradually quartering the palace all day, as quickly as they dared, with not even a hint of a lead.

She didn't even slow down as she approached the doors to the Audience Chamber. The doors simply got out of her way. Silence fell in the chamber itself as she trotted calmly along the carpet, around the bonfire, and then up onto the dais. Coming to a halt, she dropped a short bow to the Queen of the Night, who nodded indulgently in return.

And then Twilight settled down on her cushion, with Spike at her side, and used her magic to pull a heavy volume from the stack beside her, flipping it open to one of the bookmarks she had left in it. She resumed reading as Nightmare Moon nodded to the Chief Steward for the Court's business to commence.

Despite appearances, Twilight was keeping an ear open to the business being transacted around her... and found it disquieting, to say the least.

The nobles and officials had quickly learned three simple rules for dealing with their new sovereign: keep to the point, quickly present the bottom line, and never ever waste her time. It had been several hours since anyone had been slung out through a window or mummy-wrapped in their own legal paperwork, but no one felt like taking the chance.

And equally, none of the nobles showed even a hint of concern about the change in power... they were all too busy vying with each other to win Nightmare Moon's favor. When Nightmare Moon commanded the commissioning of a Royal Bard, say, to compose poetry about the Eternal Night, or when she commanded the planning of a parade to celebrate her accession to the throne, they practically fell over themselves to comment on the appropriateness of her demands.

Don't any of them remember that she kidnapped Celestia and usurped her throne? And then she made even the throne itself disappear?

Still, as much as it troubled her to think it, Twilight had to admit that Nightmare Moon made a capable sovereign. Her stern, lightning-fast, no-prisoners decision-making was more than capable of handling the day-to-day of the Court. And the times when she needed to pause to have her Acolyte explain some puzzling modern concept, like "fast food franchise" or "juice cleansing", were steadily becoming fewer and far between.

In a way, it reminded Twilight of Celestia, eternally calm and in charge, dealing smoothly with a non-stop flood of decisions on seemingly petty issues.

And just as with Celestia, something was troubling the dark mare.

Nightmare Moon suddenly arose, stamped her hoof fiercely on the metal disk, and announced the end of the Lunar day session. As the petitioners filed out, and the clerks began sorting through the collected documents and proclamations from the session, she glanced down at Twilight.

"If we can tear thee away, Acolyte?"

Surprised, Twilight closed and re-stacked her book, and then followed alongside Nightmare Moon as she stalked down the ramp and across to the exit leading onto the balcony.

The mare stood by the balcony railing for a long moment, head lowered, eyes shut, sighing wearily.

"We had forgotten how exhausting Court can be, even at the best of times," she muttered. She glowered down at Twilight. "Acolyte, we envy thee the distraction of thy studies. Being patient and merciful with these useless, whining, craven, pompadoured mice... it is taxing in the extreme!" Her fangs bared viciously. "We wish that one of them would step out of line -- just once -- and relieve the monotony!"

"You have what you wanted," Twilight cautiously pointed out. "They respect your authority, and your Night."

"They do nothing of the sort!" Nightmare Moon snarled. "They plot, and scheme, and seek advantage!" She tilted her head sardonically. "Of course, we have no quarrel with that... strength of position and canniness of strategy are respectable to us." Her expression turned sour. "Yet we have not their respect! They think only of how to play us to their advantage."

She gave Twilight a glare that made her feel uncomfortable. "Even thou, mayhaps," she snarled. "Plotting and scheming against us!"

Shocked, Twilight wanted to gasp, and restrained herself with difficulty. Then she looked Nightmare Moon in the eye.

"What good would it do? You've won. I can't defeat you. I can only try to be of help, if I can."

Nightmare Moon stared back coldly. Then she nodded, almost gratefully. Looking up, she lifted her hoof and swiftly banished the cold blue sky of the Lunar day, returning the Night to its full, depthless glory.

"And as for our Night," she went on. "They have no praise for it. We wanted only for ponies to acknowledge our Night for what it is: terrifying, yet not terrible; awesome but not awful; inspiring wonderment, not dread. A thing to be awake for, and a thing of which to dream. Yet they find no joy in it. They sing its praises when we command, but... out of key, lacking conviction."

Twilight gazed up at the endless infinity of Night herself. Even now, having become accustomed to it, it was still breathtaking... and intimidating.

"What dost thou think of it, Twilight?"

The question was asked so casually, so hesitantly, that Twilight almost spoke without thinking. She took a moment to choose her words carefully.

"It's beautiful," she said at last. "But a little frightening."

"In what way?" Nightmare Moon's eyes flashed in anger. Then she appeared to reconsider, and deliberately spoke calmly. "Let us have thy frank appraisal. And fear not -- speak thy mind!"

"Well... the sky's a little too crowded. I've memorized all the known constellations, and I can't even find them up there. And the sky is so black, like a bottomless well. If it was just a shade lighter, so it didn't seem so empty and distant... and the stars... if they could twinkle just a little..."

She bit her lip, staring up at Nightmare Moon's glowing dragon eyes. And Nightmare Moon looked down at her wordlessly for a time.

Then her gaze swept up to the heavens. And the heavens were suddenly as Twilight had described... even more so, with an artistry she could not have hoped to put into words.

Twilight gasped, astonished.

Nightmare Moon nodded at the result herself. "Thank you, Acolyte. We have not had an honest critique of our work in a millennium. And strangely enough, we find it most agreeable!"

Her gaze swung back down again, sternly confident once more. "Now, let us see how thy magic has improved. Demonstrate it for us!"

Nodding, Twilight quickly ran through the gamut of spells she'd learned to properly control so far, including luminance, levitation, and low-grade transfiguration -- being careful all the while to keep her use of power to a minimum, hiding the true extent of her capacities.

But she needn't have bothered. Nightmare Moon was inattentive. She merely nodded when Twilight had concluded, offering a few bland suggestions for further study. Then she stared up at the depths of the heavens again, for a long time.

"We should not have given our word," she snarled at last. "Mercy... and for whom? For the common folk in that town below, who gave up their allegiance without even a hint of protest? For that lot back there in our throne room, who creep and crawl at our heels, begging crumbs?"

She stamped her hoof, hard, nearly fracturing the tiles. "Nay! They are unworthy of us! So, perhaps we need to set ourselves a new goal. And we have one... truth! We shall eliminate wooly-headed thinking, establish that selfsame pristine exactitude in our dominion as exists in the starry vastness of our Night."

She lowered her head and glared at Twilight.

"We demand truth, Acolyte!" she snarled. "And we shall have it! We are long past any shred of tolerance for safe, comfortable, self-serving lies. And we have had just about enough of being patient and merciful, if these do not bring the results we seek!"

Twilight shivered, fearing they were running short of time. If Nightmare Moon ever gave up on her self-imposed promise, there wasn't anything any pony could do to stop her. She forced herself to remain calm, gritted her teeth, and bowed.

"I understand," she said. "How can I be of help?"

The dark mare stared down at her for a long, silent moment.

"Serve us truly, Acolyte," she said finally. "Thee, and thy inner circle with thee... let there be one pony amongst all our subjects on whom we can rely completely!"

Twilight simply bowed her head subserviently, afraid to look Nightmare Moon in the eye.

Despite everything that had happened, despite everything Nightmare Moon had done, and might yet do... Twilight felt uncomfortable lying to her.

It felt like she was simply proving that Nightmare Moon was right.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Even with the best will in the world, they couldn't keep up the search all night. Late in the evening they grudgingly agreed they would resume the search first thing in the morning, and then turned in. After checking that her friends were comfortably settled in their room, with the exception of Fluttershy who for some reason hadn't returned yet, Twilight returned to her own room and tucked herself in.

And lay there in the dark, with the lights off, for some time.

She was afraid to sleep, worried Nightmare Moon might visit her dreams and catch wind of what they were doing. Although, so far it had been as Nightmare Moon had said: her sleep had been sound and undisturbed by dreams of any sort. But she found it hard to get to sleep, her mind whirling with ideas and potential plans for the following day.

And she found it hard to rest easily at all, knowing that Shiny was languishing in a cell somewhere.

Well, there was something she could do about that. While it might not be the wisest move, she felt it was worth the risk. She got up quietly, so as not to awaken Spike, put on her cloak, and crossed to the door.

When she stepped out into the corridor, Nacht glanced at her, then smoothly came about to face her. His glowing eyes stared at her intently. Not curiously, not crossly... just stolidly, placidly attentive, as if waiting for an order, any order, to give him purpose.

Twilight considered for a moment, then realized she might as well make the most of having him tailing her.

"Nacht," she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "I wish to inspect the guards who were imprisoned, to be sure my orders have been carried out properly. Can you take me to them?"

The nightmare thought briefly, then bowed his head. With a gesture of a forehoof, he immediately led the way along the corridor, and then down a long staircase into one of the sub-basements of the building.

After a lengthy journey through abandoned storerooms and dusty, cobwebbed stone corridors, they came to what looked like the farthest set of rooms it was possible to get to.

The rooms were torch-lit, and had been hastily reworked as holding cells, with bars and bunks. And within the cells were the imprisoned guards, Shining Armor among them.

And Fluttershy was there too, Twilight saw, together with some of her animal friends. She was engaged in animated conversation with Shining Armor, while the animals scampered from cell to cell, making themselves available to be patted and played with by the imprisoned ponies.

Though it tore her heart out, Twilight knew she had to make this look good. "What is the meaning of this?" she snapped, as she and Nacht marched into the room. She pointed a hoof at Fluttershy. "We should have thee arrested for giving aid and comfort to enemies of the state!" Fluttershy's eyes went wide, and she cowered behind her mane, looking ready to bolt from the room. Before she could, Twilight quickly continued. "But we are feeling generous. We shall overlook it -- this one time!"

Fluttershy calmed down a little, still looking nervous.

Twilight turned her attention to the guards keeping watch in the room, who had crashed to attention. The Captain of the guard stepped forward to essay a quick bow to Twilight. "Acolyte," she said, stiffly. "How may we help you?"

"It is our wish to interrogate the prisoners!" she snapped briskly. "Can thou and thy soldiers, ah... take a walk around the cell block or something?"

The Captain looked briefly offended. But then she nodded understandingly, and motioned with a forehoof. The guards formed up and marched out.

Twilight looked at Nacht. "Wait for me outside. I will summon you if I need you."

She didn't expect the nightmare to pay any attention to her. But to her surprise, he nodded subserviently, swung round, and trotted out of the room.

And Shining Armor nearly burst out laughing. "You ought to go into the theater, Twily! You've got that Captain Neigh act nailed!"

She smiled uneasily. "I'm just lucky I've read that book so many times! It makes it easier to stay in character -- almost too easy. And I'm sorry, Fluttershy," she added quickly. "I really appreciate what you're doing. I just couldn't say it before!"

"Oh... I see! It's okay. I understand. I just thought that these nice guards could use a little kindness, and the animals were happy to help!"

"How are you doing, Shiny?" Twilight asked.

"Fine, actually!" Shining Armor replied. "You said we were to be well treated -- thanks, by the way -- and the guards watching us are taking that literally. It might not look like much, but it's more comfortable than the barracks upstairs. But more important than that, how are you doing?"

"Not great. We're still searching for the Elements. Nightmare Moon must have them hidden somewhere, but we can't figure out where."

"She doesn't have them." It was the guard Captain, who had re-entered as they spoke.

Twilight stared at her, frightened, but felt Shiny put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "It's all right," he said. "She's on our side. She is my boss, after all!"

"With all the side-tasks the Princess has been giving you, Shining, I'm starting to wonder if you're angling for my job when I retire," the Captain replied with a smirk. Then she turned back to Twilight. "But to the point, ma'am: Nightmare Moon sent her nightmares and some of our guards to the castle in the forest. But they returned empty hoofed, and she was really angry about that."

"Are you sure?"

"Ask the guard who wound up as a wall ornament. Or the one that was set on fire."

Twilight goggled. "She set someone on fire?"

"Worse... she made him think she had."

Twilight cringed at the thought. There was a side to Nightmare Moon that the mare was deliberately not letting her see. "But if she doesn't have the Elements," she said, frustrated, "then where the hay are they?"

And then she looked at the guard Captain, an idea dawning. "Is there anywhere in the palace that even Nightmare Moon herself wouldn't have access to?"

The Captain thought briefly, then nodded. "There's the private vault, in the Princess's quarters. Thank the fates that Queen Nightmare hasn't yet demanded it be opened. It was keyed to Celestia's horn alone, and from what I understand, it's pretty near indestructible, even for an alicorn as powerful as Celestia!"

"I see." Twilight took a steadying breath. "Well... maybe just for once I can use this ridiculous level of magic I'm stuck with! And we're running short on time, so we may need to go for broke. Okay, new plan. Tomorrow, when Nightmare Moon turns in for the day, we're going after that vault!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shortly after the rise of light of Lunar day, Twilight and her friends gathered on the balcony outside Twilight's room.

"You sure about this, Twi?" Applejack whispered. "We haven't nearly covered the rest of the palace yet!"

"We're running out of time," Twilight whispered back. "And this is the only clear lead that we've had so far. We just have to hope it's right!"

"And that we don't get caught if it's wrong!" Rainbow grumbled.

"C'mon! Think positive, Rainbow!" Pinkie chided her.

As they'd planned, Rainbow and Fluttershy ferried Rarity over to a nearby balcony. It was slow going, since Fluttershy was just barely strong enough to help carry a unicorn, but they made it. Once there, Rarity set to work on trying to work the latch on the door.

Applejack grimly put a hoof to her hat to steady it. "All right, Twi! Ready when you are!" She shut her eyes tensely.

Twilight carefully focused on Applejack, double-checking every step. She fired up her horn, and ran through the spell. And Applejack gently lifted into the air, hovered for a moment, then drifted across to the other balcony and was gently set down.

Twilight let out the breath she'd been holding. Looking across from the other balcony, A.J. silently waved her hat in proud congratulations.

Then Twilight repeated the levitation spell with Pinkie Pie, who stared down wide-eyed at the yawning drop below her as she drifted across, and kept a hoof pressed to her mouth to stifle giggles.

Then Rainbow and Fluttershy came back over to collect Twilight and Spike, and brought them across. As they did so, Pinkie finally managed to shove her comb under the door, and Rarity's magic lifted it and used it to trip the lock.

Then they made their way quietly along the corridors. The Captain had promised to adjust the patrols so they wouldn't encounter any of the Royal Guard, but that still left Nightmare Moon's own guards. Not to mention any of the palace staff who might be up this early. But they encountered no one along the way, and finally stood just around the corner from the tall, ornately carved doors of the royal bedchamber.

And saw two nightmare guards standing at attention, eyes wide and alert.

"We're not sneaking past them!" Rainbow grumbled.

"We won't have to," Twilight said. "But we'll have to stay quiet once we're inside, so they don't come crashing in on us."

"Or... one of us could keep them distracted?" Pinkie beamed, and then waved a hoof. "Oooh, me, me! Pick me! I'll have those guys in stitches!"

"They don't look like the laughing sort, Pinkster!" Applejack warned.

"Hey, my family lives on a rock farm... if I can make them laugh, I can make anypony laugh!"

Twilight stared. "Are you sure, Pinkie?"

"Relax, Twi! I've totally got this." Pinkie said proudly. "They'll never know you're here."

Then she sauntered right around the corner, and trotted straight up to the two guards. And beamed.

"Hi there! How ya doing? I'm your official candy-striper for the day! Who's got a smile for me, huh?"

The nightmares stared at her, completely deadpan.

"Oooh! A challenge!" Pinkie pressed her forehooves together, cracking her joints loudly. "You know, you guys remind me of my sister Maud? She likes rock jokes. Do you like rock jokes? Okay, a pebble, a rock, and a boulder walk into a bar..."

Rainbow cautiously peered around the corner at her. "We better make this quick," she whispered. "Before Pinkie forgets herself and hauls out the accordion!"

"Okay, here goes..." Twilight was feeling confident enough of her magic now to try something more advanced to save time. She focused on the section of wall ahead of her, and concentrated. Her horn flared, and sang with power. But nothing happened.

"I don't get it," she said. "The portal spell should be working!"

"Uh, Twi?" Applejack said, pointing wordlessly.

Twilight looked behind her. There was a golden-rimmed gap in the opposite wall, large enough to drive a cart through.

Rainbow doubled over in midair, stifling a laugh. "Nice work, Star Swirl!"

"Shut it, Rainbow!" Applejack snapped. "She'd doin' her best!"

"Why don't you make me?"

"You c'mon down here and say that!" Applejack nudged her hat forward. "And don't think 'cause you're a bird-boned pegasus I'm gonna go easy on ya!"

"Shhh! Not helping, girls!"

"Oops! Sorry, Twi."

Twilight cancelled the portal spell. Then she faced forward again, figured out where she'd flipped a sign, and recast it. This time the portal opened where she wanted it. The others piled through quickly, and Twilight followed, then cancelled it behind them.

They found themselves in a large closet, with shelves stacked with blankets and spare pillows. And there was also a shelf loaded with old toys: wooden animals and tin figurines and carven pony dolls. Pride of place in the center was given to two large carven figures, aged and chipped yet still beautiful. One depicted a tall, proud white alicorn with a sunburst cutie-mark. The other was a smaller, night-blue alicorn with a moon-and-cloud mark.

Twilight stared at them, puzzled. The one was obviously Celestia, so who was...

"Uh, Equestria to Twilight?" Applejack whispered. "Which way do we go now?"

"Right, sorry." Twilight moved to the door, and gently eased it open. Beyond, they saw the royal bedchamber, which Nightmare Moon had apparently also redecorated to suit herself. The carpeting and walls were decorated in a moon-and-stars pattern, the windows were covered with heavy drapes that blocked out most of the light from the Lunar day, and the bed itself had an over-arching canopy with crescent moon sideboards.

And on the bed, the Queen of the Night lay sleeping, divested of her armor and huddled beneath the covers. Her snores were surprisingly soft and gentle.

"Okay," Twilight whispered. "The vault's in a room on the other side, through a door to the right of the bed. Let's head over there. And keep it quiet!"

They cautiously trotted out across the carpet, peering ahead through the darkness. And they could see the door ahead of them, to the right of the bed, standing slightly ajar.

As they crossed toward it, Twilight occasionally glanced at the bed and its sleeping occupant. There would never be a better time, she thought. One good blast of my magic...

She shook her head. That wasn't the way. She had no idea whether it would even work, whether Nightmare Moon might not simply shrug it off, even without her armor.

Just stick to the plan, she told herself. And don't wake her up!

Then she heard Nightmare Moon whimpering in her sleep.

Surprised, Twilight paused, and then trotted closer to the bed. It was difficult to see in the dim light, but the dark mare appeared to be struggling in her sleep, flinching and grimacing. Her face was wet with tears, her mouth open in a silent scream.

Twilight grimaced. She didn't like seeing any pony suffering like that. Not even Nightmare Moon. For a few moments she stood by the side of the bed, forehooves on the sideboard, while she wrestled with herself.

Then she cautiously reached out a hoof, to comfort the sleeping alicorn.

Silently, another hoof descended on her own, stopping her. She looked round, surprised... and froze.

It was Nacht. There was a long, chilly moment, while she and the nightmare eyed each other, his glowing eyes seeming to stare straight into her soul.

And then the nightmare nodded his head silently. Towards the door leading to the vault.

Dazed, she followed along after as he led the way. The door was open, and her friends were all waiting just inside... including a wide-eyed Pinkie Pie.

Nacht ushered Twilight through, then took up station outside, shutting the door behind them. Rarity quickly lit up her horn to give them light to see by.

"Uh... what just happened?" Rainbow whispered. "Why are they helping us?"

"And what were you thinkin', Twi?" Applejack hissed. "First you tell us to be quiet, so's not to wake Nightmare Moon up, then you practically go and do it yourself?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry... it's just that... she's suffering. She's having some kind of nightmare. And there's no one here to help her."

"Well, we have a nightmare of our own to deal with," Rarity sniffed. "And I rather think it's more important!"

"Yeah, first things first," Rainbow agreed.

Then Twilight felt Fluttershy's hoof on her shoulder. The pegasus didn't say a word, she just smiled understandingly.

"Okay, I'm sorry," Twilight said. "You're right. We need to stay focused. Now let's find out if this was all worth the trip."

They crossed to the far wall of the room, in which were set tall, solid-looking metal doors. In the center of them was a large golden star, with a round slot in its center.

"The Captain said it was keyed to the magic signature of Celestia's horn," Twilight said. "But there's a couple unbarring spells I can try. And if that fails, I figure a good solid blast of my magic in the lock might force it open."

"And bring all the guards in the world down on us," Rainbow said. "But hey, subtlety's an overrated concept anyway!"

"Here, give me a boost," Twilight said. With Applejack and Pinkie standing beneath her, she was able to line up her horn with the slot. Steeling herself, she charged up her horn and gently inserted it...

There was a soft clicking of tumblers, and the doors unlocked.

"Woah, nice!" Rainbow said, fluttering in the air beside her.

"Yeah, how'd you manage that so fast, Twi?" Applejack called up.

"I didn't," Twilight said. "It must be keyed for my magic signature, too!"

She jumped down, and the two earth ponies hauled open the doors. Within was a small, steel-walled closet. And inside it, resting on shelves, were ancient stone orbs, each with an embossed symbol on it.

"Paydirt!" Rainbow breathed.

"Is this it? Is this what we're lookin' for, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"The Elements of Harmony!" Twilight agreed, astonished. "We found them!"

Pinkie stared at them, puzzled. "One, two, three, four, five..." she counted. "Where's the sixth?"

"The book said the sixth element is Magic. It also said that when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth to be revealed."

"What th' hay is that s'posed to mean?" Applejack asked.

"I have an idea, but this isn't the place to try it. Let's move these someplace safe."

Locating a couple of carryalls, they hung them on Applejack and Pinkie, and loaded them with two orbs apiece. Rainbow swooped down and grabbed up the last one. Then they faced the door.

"What about the guards?" Fluttershy quavered. "Won't they stop us?"

"Let's find out." Twilight crossed back to the door and pushed it open.

Nacht glanced at her. And then he motioned a forehoof to the other nightmare, Skaad, who was standing by the open entry door. Together, the two nightmares stood watch as the six ponies and Spike toted the five orbs out into the empty corridor beyond.

"Okay, I'm gonna ask it again," Rainbow said. "Why are the guards helping us? Doesn't anypony else find that suspicious?"

"Don't look a gift pig in the teeth, Rainbow!" Applejack grumbled. "Okay, where to now, Twi?"

"We need someplace with some space to work." Twilight thought for a moment. "And I think I know just the place... come on!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Audience Hall was quiet at the moment, while her Majesty slept through the daylight hours, with only a few clerks and orderlies in attendance.

The main doors suddenly shone with violet energy, and then slammed open. The Acolyte of the Lunar Court stormed in, furiously angry, her robes flying about her. "Clear the Audience Hall, at once!" she thundered. "At once!"

"Er... Acolyte," the Chief Steward said worriedly, "is something wrong? Can I be of any assistance?"

"Yes," Twilight snarled, glaring angrily at him, horn blazing. "You can get out of my sight!"

It said something for the efficiency of the Court that the room was cleared in less than a minute.

Glancing around to make sure, Twilight motioned with her hoof. The other ponies and Spike trotted in. Then Twilight used her magic again to shut and bar the doors.

"Hoo wee!" Applejack said. "Remind me never to get in an argument with ya, Twi! Y'all could tell a raging bear where to go!"

"Actually, Harry's quite nice once you get to know him," Fluttershy said.

"All right," Rainbow said. "Let's get this smackdown started!"

The ponies carefully unloaded the Element orbs, and arranged them in a circle on the carpet.

"Okay everypony, stand back," Twilight said, parking herself on the floor in front of the orbs. "I'm not sure what will happen." The others willingly made room.

Twilight shut her eyes. Her horn sang with energy. A violet nimbus appeared around each of the orbs. Yet something was wrong -- she had tons of power to draw on, she was feeding it into the Elements, but nothing was happening. She stared helplessly at the spheres.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. I'll keep trying!"

"You think she can do it, A.J.?" Spike asked.

"I dunno, Spike, but I don't know anypony with a better shot at it!"

Twilight, eyes shut, struggled to stay focused, to keep channeling power into the orbs. She felt frustrated. Why is it so hard? she wondered. You'd think a magical defense artifact would be ready for use the instant it was needed! She began to worry that the Elements themselves simply weren't going to work. Maybe they're too old, too worn out?

All at once, the endlessly crackling bonfire in the middle of the room flared up, releasing a cloud of black smoke. Twilight and the others looked up, startled.

Omigosh! What did I do now? Twilight wondered.

Then the smoke swirled out into familiar long streams, writhing in the air. And from the cloud at the center, large dragon-like eyes shone. "Excellent work, Acolyte!" Nightmare Moon's voice boomed, filling the chamber. "Thou has finally located the Elements!"

The smoke spilled down toward the floor in front of them, and coalesced, revealing Nightmare Moon's armored alicorn shape. "While we suspected they might be in Celestia's vault, there was no way into it... until thou somehow discovered one." She rolled her eyes. "It certainly took long enough... we had almost run out of patience, waiting for thou and thy friends to be drawn to them..."

"She's been using ya, Twilight!" Applejack snarled. "This whole time!"

Nightmare Moon feigned astonishment. "Oh, please! Did thou think for one moment we would share our dominion with anypony else? All we needed was to locate the Elements -- and dear little, precious little, hopeful little Twilight, thou came through! And now that we have them out in the open, it's time to make certain they are never used again..."

The dark mare's eyes shone, her fangs bared, her horn blazed. A flash of magic enclosed both her and the Elements...

In an instant, they were both gone.

"Where'd she go?" Rainbow shouted.

"Over there!" Rarity pointed across the room to the dais, where Nightmare Moon stood, tall and proud, the two nightmare guards standing to either side of her. Above her in the air, the five fragile Element orbs spun round in a wide circle.

Twilight gasped, desperately frightened. She had to get them back. Just one more try, just one more...

"Stay here, everypony," she said flatly.

"Nothin' doin', Twi! We're with you!"

"Please, A.J. -- trust me on this?"

Applejack stared at her for a moment, then nodded.

Twilight got up, and trotted down the length of the carpet, and around the bonfire. Then she came to a halt facing Nightmare Moon.

"Only one of thee to face me?" Nightmare Moon cackled. "How terrifying."

"I don't know," Twilight said, "whether or not my magic helped you escape the Moon. Maybe it did, and maybe it didn't. But now it's going to put you right back up there!"

"Indeed? Oh, this we simply must see! Go on then... in thy own time, our Acolyte!"

Twilight began to ostentatiously paw the carpet with her hoof, readying herself to charge.

Nightmare Moon looked down at her, momentarily nonplussed. The Element orbs settled onto the dais around her.

"Thou are kidding," she sneered. "Thou are kidding, right?"

Twilight continued to scrape the carpet, her gaze set and determined, her horn beginning to blaze with magic. She still wasn't sure of the spell, but it was her best shot at stopping Nightmare Moon. And if it doesn't work, she thought, nothing else matters.

Her hoof came down one final time. And she charged.

Nightmare Moon shrugged. Lowering her horn, she leapt down from the dais, and charged down the ramp at Twilight.
Their hooves clattered over the floor as they closed the distance between them. Nightmare Moon was faster, and her long strides ate up much more ground.

Twilight lowered her head, preparing to cast.

When elephants last in the dooryard bloomed, she thought.

The two ponies collided --

-- or almost. Nightmare Moon skidded to a halt in astonishment, narrowly avoiding hurling herself into the bonfire. Twilight had disappeared.

Nightmare Moon swung round, and saw the smaller pony land painfully in a heap on the dais, to which she had teleported herself. And Nightmare Moon in her rush had left herself far down the ramp, just as Twilight had hoped.

But Twilight was still reeling from her first successful self-teleportation spell. I should take notes, she thought groggily. There might be a test later. Shaking her head, it took her a moment to focus on the orbs.

To either side of her the two nightmares stared at her, seemingly too astonished by her sudden appearance to do anything for the moment. Which suited her just fine.

Just one spark, she thought desperately. I have to make this work! Her horn flared. The orbs shone -- just a few moments more...

Nightmare Moon was far beyond simple teleportation spells. She simply dissolved into a vortex of spinning energy which snapped in on itself...

... and exploded into place on the dais, flinging Twilight away like a leaf. Twilight landed heavily on the carpet, far down the ramp.

Yet Twilight's final effort had not been without effect: the orbs were sparkling, energy arcing between them. And Nightmare Moon was standing in the middle of them, surrounded.

Twilight smiled proudly. Okay, Nightmare Moon! Get ready for a take-down!

Then the orbs suddenly fizzled out. Their power faded. And Nightmare Moon burst into laughter.

"Little foal!" she cried. "Thinking thou could defeat us? With the Elements of Harmony? Guess again! Thou needs the sixth element, the element of Magic -- and that is buried in the Sun with thy beloved Princess!" She cackled insanely. "Thou hast lost! No, thou hast failed even before thou began! Thou never had a hope of defeating us! No one shall ever use the Elements against us again!"

"No!" Twilight whispered desperately. "You're lying!"

"Would I lie, Twilight? See for thyself!" Nightmare Moon's horn flared. And the Elements leapt up from the dais and arced out through the air, each in a different direction. Twilight stared at them helplessly. One, maybe two, she might have managed with her levitation spell, but not all five. And there wasn't even time to focus it on any of them.

The Elements smashed down onto the floor around her, shattering into shards and dust. And Twilight's hopes shattered with them.

"Now you will never see your Princess," Nightmare Moon crowed triumphantly, "or your Sun!..."

The Night will last Forever!

Twilight's head lowered. She stared around helplessly, completely at a loss.

She heard the hoofsteps of her friends come up softly behind her.

"So that's it?" Rainbow said, shocked. "After all that, we just lose? Well, buck that!" She glared at Nightmare Moon. "Okay, lady, that's it! I'm gonna take you down myself!"

"Have'ta get in line, Rainbow!" Applejack called. "We're all with ya, Twi! Last stand or nothin'!"

"Indeed, dahling!... Yes, Indeedy!... Oh! Um... absolutely!" the others chimed in, as they gathered close, all around her.

Twilight's head came up. She'd just realized what she'd been missing -- completely missing -- in trying to force the orbs to activate.

They're not the true source of power of the Elements of Harmony!

She glared up at Nightmare Moon. "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that? Well, you're wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony...

... are right here!"

Twilight felt the other five ponies and Spike looking at her, not knowing what was up, but ready to back her play, no matter what. Just like the good friends that they are...

"Applejack, who believed I was telling the truth when no pony else would, represents the spirit of... Honesty!"

"Rainbow Dash, who willingly abandoned her own dreams to help her friends, represents the spirit of... Loyalty!"

"Rarity, who was prepared to sell all that she had to help those in greatest need, represents the spirit of... Generosity!"

"Fluttershy, who risked imprisonment to provide comfort to those wrongfully imprisoned, represents the spirit of... Kindness!"

"And Pinkie Pie, who kept our spirits up with a smile, a song, or a joke in the face of every threat, represents the spirit of... Laughter!"

Around them, the shards of the orbs vibrated, shuddered, and then rose swiftly into the air. They swept towards the ponies as Twilight called their names. The remnants from each orb split off and encircled each pony in a halo of glittering, shining fragments.

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge we faced in standing up to you!"

Spike looked up at her, wistfully. "I guess I don't get an element, huh?"

"Are you kidding me?" She smiled at him. "Spike, you're the most important one of all!"

"I am?" he looked startled... and hopeful.

"You gave me the key to all this, right from the very start! I was just too self-centered to recognize it!"

Nightmare Moon looked uneasy. Her eyes narrowed. "Then we had best take that key from thee!" Her shadows swept out, and snatched up Spike, dangling him in the air beside her.

"Help! Twilight!"

Don't worry, Spike! she thought desperately. I've got this -- I hope!

Steeling herself, she faced Nightmare Moon, keeping her voice level.

"That changes nothing. When Spike and I first met, he did something no one had ever done before. He became my friend, willingly and unreservedly. He showed me the true value of friendship. And that set me on the path to discovering the other Elements. And now I have all six!"

"You don't have the sixth element!" Nightmare Moon cried, uncertainly. "You don't have the element of Magic! Only Celestia had that!"

"Oh, but I do! Celestia understood that, I think! She said I possessed a form of magic that could rival even her own... and it's a different form of magic... the gift of Friendship!"

As she spoke, there was a blaze of light from overhead. A sixth orb had materialized, sending beams of light cascading about the room, and making Nightmare Moon flinch away from it.

The orb sank down to hover above Twilight.

"... and Friendship... is... MAGIC!"

The orb above her exploded in a blast of brilliant energy. It infused the remnants of the other orbs, and brought them together, not merely as hunks of stone but as jeweled necklaces, which settled into place around the neck of each pony. Twilight's orb became a jeweled crown with a purple star gemstone, which settled atop her mane. The unleashed power enfolded them all, bringing them together, and rose in a prismatic fountain, its shimmering energy filling the chamber.
It arced down toward the dais and encircled Nightmare Moon, encasing her in unstoppable force. Spike fell to the ground unharmed, and scurried out of the way.

"No!" Nightmare Moon screamed, unable to escape. "Nooooooo!"

Twilight's eyes flashed open... and were pools of violet fire!

And now we finish it, Twilight thought. You're helpless! With the power I command, one thought, one wish from me and you're history, Nightmare Moon! You thought being imprisoned in the Moon was rough? Just wait until I've finished with you! You'll be a footnote in a history book, if you're even remembered at all!

And then, just as she was preparing to strike, she heard it... lost and alone in the darkest of nightmares...

The sound of a Princess, crying in the Night.

Twilight paused, listening. And then, setting aside the anger, the fear, the need for revenge, she followed it...

.....

Darkness. The blackness of Night itself. Of the deepest, darkest cave. Of the Universe itself before light existed.

Twilight nervously looked around, wondering where she was.

There was a noise behind her. It was half cough and half grunt. She turned, and then backed away a step.

It was Nacht. The nightmare's eyes gleamed like lanterns in the darkness. His heavy jaw was half-opened, revealing vicious looking fangs.

And then he nodded to her in a manner that appeared polite, though with a stiffness that suggested he was unused to the gesture. His voice when he spoke was gravelly and brutal... yet at the same time stolidly courteous.

"The Mistress of Nightmares..." he said, "... is... unwell. Can thou render assistance?"

Twilight nodded uncertainly. "If I can help at all, I'll try."

The nightmare turned and led the way. A short distance away through the blackness, they came across the other nightmare, Skaad, standing guard over a huddled shape lying on the ground.

It was an alicorn, like Celestia, but with a night-blue coat and a mane of ethereal stardust. The mark on her flank was a crescent moon half hidden in in a dark cloud. She appeared to be asleep, but struggled fitfully in a terrible nightmare, tears streaming her face, mouth agape in a silent scream.

Twilight stepped closer, glancing up at the two nightmares as she approached. They seemed to be warring within themselves, desperate for her help, yet instinctively wanting to keep her from their mistress.

Gently, Twilight leaned down and nuzzled the sleeping alicorn.

"Wake up," she said. "It's just a dream, whatever it is. You can end it. Just wake up."

The alicorn's eyes snapped open. She gasped, looking up in horror. "It's too late!" she cried. "We can never escape! We can never undo what we have done! We can never go back!" She lowered her head in sorrow. "And we will never see our sister again!"

Sister? Twilight wondered. "You mean Celestia?" Twilight asked, astonished. Her mind whirled, but she forced herself to stay focused on the suffering mare before her. "I'm her student. And I think she'd want me to help you, if I can. I want to see her again as much as you do."

The alicorn stared up at her. "What is thy name?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"We are Luna!" the alicorn replied, with just a hint of pride. Then she hung her head. "And we are ashamed. We want to go back to who we used to be. We want it back, with all our heart and all our soul!"

"You can do it. It'll be alright," Twilight said gently, holding out a hoof. "I'll help, any way I can."

The alicorn gave her a cautious, evaluating look. "Why wouldst thou help us -- the Mistress of Nightmares?"

Twilight shrugged. "You look like you could use a friend."

Luna looked sad for a long moment. Then she nodded. "We have needed a friend for a thousand years!"

Luna, Princess of the Moon and the Stars, reached out to take hold of Twilight's hoof.

...and got up.

.....

The ponies all found themselves slowly recovering, lying on the floor in the throne room.

"Ow." Rainbow said. "I'm gonna keep saying it until the headache goes away. Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Everypony okay?" Applejack called.

They picked themselves up, and found that they were unharmed. And each of them wore a golden necklace with a gemstone matching her cutie-mark. All except Twilight, whose crown held a gemstone matching the purple star on her flank.

"Gee, Twilight," Applejack said, a little shame-facedly. "I thought you were just spoutin' a lotta hooey! But I reckon... we really do represent the Elements you were talkin' bout... the Elements of Harmony!"

INDEED YOU DO.

A warm, dawning glow began to fill the room, coming from the windows that faced East. And the voice that came with it was just as warm and comforting. It was a voice of great power, unbounded care, and a strength that was not to be trifled with, the voice of the tall white mare who appeared out of the glow and stood facing them, gazing proudly down at them. Her large eyes held a gaze of absolute, penetrating understanding.

It was Princess Celestia, standing before them, restored and regal.

The other ponies immediately dropped respectful curtsies. Twilight, on the other hoof, ran forward to greet her, head held high. "Princess Celestia!"

The Princess welcomingly drew her close in a warm neck-hug. "Twilight Sparkle! My faithful student! I knew you could do it!"

Then Celestia glanced around at the modified Audience Hall. "Twilight," she asked, half-seriously, "why is it that whenever you visit my throne room I wind up having to redecorate?"

Twilight smiled weakly. "Sorry, your Highness!"

"You have nothing to apologize for!" She looked sorrowful. "And I hope you can forgive me for not telling you more beforehand... there simply would never have been enough time. What little time remained you needed to spend with your friends, to build up the trust among you that would sustain you all. And I realized that I needed to stop trying to lead, and instead work to buy you as much time as possible, trusting you to find your own way. As I said, you had it in you to find the answers you really needed!"

"I understand, your Highness," Twilight said, smiling.

Celestia turned to look at the other five ponies, and Spike, standing before her. "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return," she said, "the five element bearers living in Ponyville, the waning of the power of the Shepherd Stars. And the quite unexpected arrival of a fitting bearer of the sixth Element, possessed of a completely new form of Magic: Friendship Magic."

She turned back to Twilight. "And I could tell that, even inexperienced as you were, you were ready to take on this task. Yet you could not succeed, you could not power and control the Elements fully, until you recognized and held true friendship in your heart."

Her pleased voice took on a note of disquiet, as she turned toward the dais. "Now if only another will too..."

On the dais, in the midst of the shattered remnants of Nightmare Moon's armor, another mare lay sprawled and shivering, eyes tight shut: the night-blue alicorn mare Twilight had befriended, in the darkness of the Night.

"Princess Luna," Celestia called to her, gently, "it has been a thousand years since I have seen you last."

Luna looked up at her and gasped, wide-eyed... and then looked down in uncertainty and shame.

"Look at me, Luna!" Celestia said as she approached her. "I was wrong. I apologize. You have spent a thousand years imprisoned, and I have spent a thousand years regretting the arrogance that made me lock you away, when I should have listened to you. I wish to put that behind us, and start anew. We were always meant to rule together, little sister!"

"Sister?" Twilight's friends whispered, astonished.

Celestia came to a halt and gazed down fondly at Luna. "Will you accept my friendship again?"

Realizing what this meant to their ruler and to all of Equestria, all the ponies leaned closer, hanging tensely on every word...

Leaning a bit too far, Pinkie Pie fell over. "Woaoww!"

But Luna was focused only on Celestia. "Sister," she said at last. "I accept, willingly, without reservation. I have missed you every second of my imprisonment -- and not merely in the Moon... within myself. Can you forgive me for what I have done, for what I became?"

"I already have, Luna!" Celestia reassured her, tears in her eyes. "I have missed you so very much!"

Unsteadily, Luna rose, trying to stand tall and proud. And then she threw herself forward, burying her head in Celestia's mane, sobbing uncontrollably.

There was a loud sound of a nose being blown. Pinkie Pie was crying her eyes out. Then, mercurial as ever, she brightened up like a firework. "Hey! You know what this calls for? A PAR-TYYYYYY!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Some time later, in Ponyville's main square, ponies were gathering, music was playing, and blizzards of confetti and streamers filled the air.

The Royal Golden Chariot touched down in the open space in the square, carrying both Celestia and Luna. They stepped down from it, to the cheers of their subjects.

Luna looked somber and uncertain as she strode along beside Celestia. She was having a hard time coping with everything that had happened, everything she'd done as Nightmare Moon. Then two small pegasi fillies swept up to her and placed a garland of roses around her neck. Though Luna still seemed uncertain as she gazed up at her sister, she did seem reassured at least.

The six Element bearers, together with Spike, smiled at each other as the crowds swirled around them. After all, the celebration was just as much for them, the saviors of Equestria.

Yet Twilight, pleased as she was at having figured out the riddle of the Elements, and the true purpose of her own powerful and unpredictable Magic, looked just as somber as Princess Luna did.

"Why so glum, my faithful student?" Twilight looked up to find Celestia standing before her, smiling kindly. "Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to Canterlot to begin your lessons properly?"

"That's just it!" Twilight looked down, sadly. "I've made so many good friends here... and I feel like I've found a home here... a place, something I can contribute to. And now I have to leave it!"

Celestia didn't react. She commanded. "Spike, take a note please!"

Spike whipped out quill and paper and stood ready.

"I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria: she must continue to research the Magic of Friendship she has discovered, and she must report to me her findings, from her new home... in Ponyville!"

As her friends gathered around her, Twilight stared up at the Princess in awe and renewed joy. "Thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before!"

"I'm sure you will. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get Luna back home. We're going to take it slowly at first, until she feels ready to resume her duties as Princess."

"Let us know if we can help, your Majesty," Twilight said.

"Oh, have no worries, Twilight, I will!" Celestia replied.

When the Royal Chariot had departed, heading back to Canterlot, Twilight finally felt she could relax. There was the Library to organize, and she'd have to arrange a visit to Canterlot to celebrate getting her cutie-mark with her parents -- or perhaps she could invite them to Ponyville?

And there were dozens of other things she needed to do to get settled in, and begin researching the boundaries of the brand new field of Friendship Magic she had uncovered.

But for right now, she could relax and spend time with her friends.

And then she jolted, remembering.

Quickly, she rounded up her friends and Spike, and they set off to locate Photo Finish. The camera mare was just about to pack up and go, and could only make time for one shot, but they made it a good one.

Spike admired the photo for a while. Then he rolled it up in a scroll, attached ribbon and seal to it, and with a huff of green flame, sent it on its way.

Princess Celestia had just sat down on the restored Golden Throne in Canterlot, and was facing a busy day ahead, with a thousand and one things to see to in order to get Equestria running normally again. Then she was suddenly, pleasantly surprised by the arrival of a scroll, containing a photograph: The six Element bearers gathered on a hilltop, with Twilight in the middle of them, hugging Spike in her forehooves. And all of them smiling happily, together.

Celestia's face lit up with a smile of her own.

I could never have done this, not without all of you... she thought.

Do you know you're all my very best friends?

The End

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.

No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.

Comments

[DragonPony]

This was really nice. I liked the way you wrapped it up and still tied it all together to the canon and all. It was a great story with a nice closing. I still had to laugh that Spike got so shafted in this. I mean Twi couldn't even give him a real decent comment at the end there. I had to role my eyes so hard I almost went blind lol. But I kinda gave up on Spike having any REAL big or change part in this story a while ago it was still funny how this time he had to BE there for his complete overlooking and placing as a B-C list character in the world lol.

[Comickook]

Excellent job on the action, characterizations, exchanges and general wrap-up in all the right places. I particularly liked Twilight's checking up on Shining and Fluttershy , the logical alterations to how each pony earned their element and Spike's simple, but still significant contribution concerning Twilight's realizations .

All in all, a very good conclusion to this story.

[Lets Do This]

9305018
Thanks much for the helpful feedback! This was by way of an experiment, to see whether publishing a longer story by parts would work well -- and it's reassuring seeing regulars coming back for the next installment!

[Comickook]

9305156
Thanks very much right back. And, yeah, I would say that this particular experiment WAS a success. :-D

And Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

This was really well-done. I thoroughly enjoyed this re-envisioning of the Season One opener. Fantastic work all around!

[Lets Do This]

9306301
Thanks much, both for reading, and for your comments, which are helpful as always!

I knew I was revisiting well-worn territory for this story, so I tried to make it as original as possible while still being consistent with the original pilot's ending. As with "Twilight Runs Away", the point was to show what the AU implied by the show's opening titles looks like. (Right down to the scene at the end where Celestia receives the photograph by Spike-post... one reason this entire three-parter got written was to provide that grace note of closure to the preceding story.)

Of course there were other ways I could have taken this -- maybe at some point I'll write a "Nightmare Moon Has Won" story, or a "Twilight Goes Over To The Dark Side" story... just not sure if those haven't been done to death already.

[fanreader999999]

Simple.

[Vaguely Demented]

Nice continuation. I especially like the way the nightmare ponies are portrayed.

[Senko]

I have to say after reading this I do feel the challenges they overcame are for Applejack at least a better reflection of honesty than what was shown in the show. I put off reading Twilight runs away for quite awhile now because I wasn't sure where it'd go, glad I finally read it both it and this sequel are good stories.

[Lets Do This]

9472080
Thanks -- glad you liked them! I wrote Nightwaker in response to the reaction Twilight Runs Away got, but even so, I did try to make Nightwaker an original turn on Nightmare Moon's return, including giving the Element bearers a more "realistic" justification for receiving their respective Elements.

[Legatus]

Great read! HUZZAH!

[Lets Do This]

9525054
Thanks much! I really appreciate the feedback -- it helps knowing that you enjoyed it!

[Legatus]

9525068
Thanks for writing! It's a pleasure to stumble around for fimfics such as these. I love how you juggled both Canon and verse around with equal balance.

Plus it also explains why magic kindergarten was so bad! ;)

[verypeeved]

9760795
the pleasure was all mine.

[Mystic Sunrise]

No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.

And absolutely NOBODY gives a buck. Least of all Hasbro. Seriously, this is a waste of words every time someone does it.

If Hasbro actually cared, do you think the site would even exist?

[Lets Do This]

9797243
It's a courtesy, more than anything else -- if they happened to be looking, I'd want them to know we appreciate them letting us play in their sandbox.

[Raiss Icewind]

I'm a little disappointed that the friendship with NMM wasn't more genuine, and instead was such a face heel turn at the end. I understand it had to go this way to be what you wanted tho.
Woulda been nice to see NMM eventually realize she had made a mistake and just set herself up to be defeated by the elements to undue the banishment and start a clean slate (how did she get the power to do that anyway? Celestia needed the elements to do the same)

Anyway, would love to see a darker side of this au too. Dark Twilight, mentor NMM, inquisitor shining armor. People don't write and finish good fictions like that, I'd love to see your version if you ever did.

(Edit* I seem to have found, but not yet read, the dark acolyte story you have. I wonder if it's what I was looking for)

[Pluie]

Neat story. The part where Twilight finds Luna in the darkness reminds me of mmmandarinorange's PMV "The Stars Will Aid In Her Escape (Cosmic Love)" (the specific scene is at 2:00)