Restoring Harmony to the Cosmos

by Orfearus

First published 8th of February, 2012

Twilight must raise the sun, and the Elements must restore harmony, or else chaos will rule supreme

When a dark affliction cuts the princesses tie to magic, the burden of the cosmos rests in Twilights hooves. Will she be to move the stars and restore balance between Sun and Moon? And will the other Elements of Harmony find a cure to such dark magic? Or will disorder and chaos rule over Equestria once more?

Note: This takes place between seasons 1 and 2

This is my first fic, so all comments will be greatly appreciated, questions promptly answered, and edits thoroughly made. I also don’t have any artwork to use, and am a horrible artist, so if anybody wants to draw something I would be more than happy to use it

Prologue: It comes

It was a beautiful winter's day, as the sun shined bright over the crowded streets of Canterlot. The afternoon was just approaching, and a cool breeze blew through the air as ponies rushed to finish all of their tasks in preparation for the evenings events. It was the first Winter Moon Celebration since Luna returned after all, the symbolic day when Celestia lowered the sun and Luna rose the moon in harmony on the longest night of the year. The streets were filled with earth ponies and unicorns, each trying to make their way through the throng, while the skies were so filled with pegasi that they threatened to block out the sun. With such focus on preparations So it was no surprise when a grey unicorn went unnoticed by the crowd. He was a normal unicorn, the average height, with an un-interesting bowl as his cutie mark. It was also no surprise that they did not notice him as he stepped into the shadows of the back-alleys of Canterlot.

For if anyone watched, they would have beheld a fearsome sight. His equine form melted around him. The grey fur turned black when shadows touched it, as if embracing the darkness itself. His ears melted back into his head, and his horn all but disappeared. The cutie mark vanished as soon as the black shadows covered it. A shroud of darkness obscured Its features, and made it near invisible in the covered alley. Finally, free from that hideous form It thought to itself. I don’t know why I even bother with it, due to all the limitations of such a body. While a unicorns' form did have limitations, there were a few irreplaceable advantages. Nopony could know what It was doing, and so the shape prevented suspicion. At least It was free from that form for a while, It thought to Itself, as it melted into the shadows of the back alleys.

.........

It traveled for a little while along these back-roads, until It felt Its destination nearing. At that point, It pressed Itself firmly against the wall and let tendrils of magic start to climb the rugged surface. He could feel every grove in the wall, as the invisible magic slowly inched its way further up. Once it reached the roof, sunlight streamed over the magic as it materialized into a dark formless blob. From the center of the blob, emerged an eye.

The Princesses castle filled most of Its view of the surrounding area. Looking around for an entranced proved to be a more difficult task than imagined. The walls were heavily fortified, and guards patrolled at regular intervals. On special days like today, no guests were allowed into the castle, and the only entrances were through equally guarded gates. But the dark ritual of his master plan demanded that this be the day, and It had been planning for far too long to let a simple obstacle stand in its way. As the guards patrolled the grounds, It recognized the 2 guards coming Its way from previous visits. Perfect. It knew what needed to be done to gain entry to the castle. As It pulled Its magic back to the ground, rather than re-absorbing the power, It reshaped the magic into a pitch-black shadow blade. My old master would have frowned at such a liberal use of his darkest magic It thought. Then again, he was so overconfident he was defeated before he could use it. I won't make that mistake. With that, It melted into the shadows once more, to intercept the approaching guard.

.........

"Do you mind if I leave early today?" one of the guards asked

"You do this every Market Day!" came the reply

"Cummon, it's only a few minutes. The end of our shift is just at the next gate, and you know how much these extra minutes mean to me."

"Fine. Go, I'll finish up our shift. But you owe me"

"Thanks a ton man, I won't forget this" Said the guard, as he hurried off

They have the same conversation every market day It thought to itself. Sometimes my job is just too easy

The lone guard walked down the alleyway, eager to get to the end of his shift. Maybe it was the bitter wind still biting his hooves, or the prospect of reaching the market before everything closed up, but the guard hurried on past oblivious to the world around him. Big mistake. Within a second the guard was lying on the ground, the black dagger protruding from his back. It got to work quickly. First It dispelled the magical weapon, and then inspected the guard. Steady pulse, no visible wounds, if he weren't lying unconscious on the floor you might think him perfectly healthy. Focusing Its magic, It made a shadowy prism over the guard. With a single thought, the guard disappeared underneath the cloak of magic. To remain un-detected, It would need the guard later. Time was running short, so It turned around and hurried on its way.

Out of the shadows, stepped the guard.

.........

Locating the guard's room was easy enough, considering It had been studying the castles layout for months now. The room was small, with only a bed and a night side table to break up the dreary stone floor. As the guard approached the bed, It let Its equine form fall once more. Concentrating on a simple spell it had learned, It teleported the unconscious guard onto the bed. Now came the tricky part. Leaning close enough to the guard so that its dark shroud enveloped the guards head, it reached into the pit of its soul and mind. With a flash, false memories of that night jumped into the guards mind. When the guard woke up the next morning, he would clearly remember finishing his shift and returning to bed early. The memories were so vivid, It might have believed them real had It not created them a moment ago. Leaving the guards room, It slipped into the shadowy corridors that weaved their way throughout the castle

.........

The castle was silent. Moving like an actual shadow, It made no noise as it passed through the labyrinth. While It walked, It went over the plan in it's head multiple times. How many years had It been waiting for such an opportunity? Building It's power, perfecting it's plan. In just a few hours It's master plan would be in action, and nothing would be able to avert the coming chaos. It walked through a corridor that was open to courtyards on the outside, and from the shadows that the sun painted along the walls, It could tell the afternoon was nearing an end. Still hours before the Princess of the Night awakened, so it had time to spare. Navigating up another flight of stairs, It came to the hallway where the Princesses room was located. Outside were two ever vigilant guards. Nothing It wasn't prepared to handle

Approaching in the shadows, still unseen by the unsuspecting guards, It plunged the room into darkness. Moments later, when light was restored to the hallway, both guards could be seen with black spikes protruding from their backs. Not meant to kill, of course, but merely to paralyze. The door to the princesses room silently slid open, whether due to the door itself, or the magical spell It cast just in case, It didn't know. For that fact, It didn't care - as long as the princess wasn't alerted to Its presence.

Silently, It slipped across Luna's room to where the princess was sleeping. She looked so peaceful in her bed, body draped in the light of the afternoon sun streaming through her balcony window. Royalty always finds a way of looking good It thought to itself. Some deep, repressed anger built up inside of it. If not for the powerful magic of this princess, It's master would still be by It's side. Now was the time for revenge. Slowly, It drew a dagger from the darkest depths of the shadows surrounding It. This was not the pitch-black shadow dagger It had used earlier - this was an ancient silver dagger, engraved with a unicorns head. It ran the dagger along Luna's flank. The dagger seem un-hindered by equine flesh, and a pitch black line carved its way right through the crescent moon cutie mark that deemed her Ruler of the Moon. The black line faded as It approached the princess's head. A spark jumped from the tip of the engraved unicorn's horn to Luna's, signifying the ritual was complete. That's why he chose me It told itself. I may not be as tentative when using such power, but I get the job done.

Silently, It left the room. There was neither a hair out of place on the princess's body, nor a hoof mark in the plush carpet that adorned her floor. As It closed the door, a vial appeared from thin air and floated in front of the paralyzed guards. It placed a single drop on each of the guard's muzzles. The liquid causes short term memory loss. They would fill the missing time in with the menial guard duty they'd been doing for so long now. As It walked away, the black spikes in the guard's backs dispelled, leaving no trace of magic in the air. As far as anyone was concerned, nothing had happened.

.........

It approached the dining hall where It knew It would find Celestia. An opportunity was already arranged to present itself, so all It could do now was wait. So It waited. And waited. It was there on a mission, and would not let itself be distracted for a single second by the extravagance of the dining hall around It, knowing immediate action would be needed the second the opportunity appeared. And so It continued to wait, letting only dreams of the master plan's completion fill It's mind. The chaos that would rule the streets. The power of the princesses would fall at last. It would take back what was stolen from It. The sun drifted closer to the horizon, signaling the end of dinner, and the approaching start of the celebration.

As the meal started to close, a guard entered through the main doors.

"Lord Baleham, There is an urgent message for you just delivered direct by Dragonfire from Manehatten" he announced

"Must I come now?" The lord questioned

"It is urgent" was the only response, as the guard turned and walked down a deserted hallway.

The lord reluctantly got up, giving It plenty of time to sneak around to the hallway and hide. This was Its only opportunity and It wouldn't let that slip away. The lord approached the guard, and took the scroll he was carrying; It already knew what the message contained. The guard walked some ways away, to leave the lord in peace; It thanked Its own brilliance as the plan started to unfold. As the lord unrolled the scroll, his face turned white. That was all the chance It needed. A black dagger silently found its way into the lord's back, and It magically lowered him to the ground without a sound. Another second of concentration, another prism to cover the lord. As the lord disappeared, It picked up the note off the floor, and turned around

The lord walked back into the dining hall.

.........

The lord returned to the table. His face was losing colour with each step, as he approached the head of the table.

"Celestia, I have urgent business that I must speak to you about" He said.

"Alright, Lord Baleham, come with me."

They walked a ways down a corridor, just the two of them with a few guards following at a distance. The silence was overwhelming, the Lord emanating desperation that seemed to hang in the air.

"Celestia, please reconsider your decision" he pleaded, stopping in the hall where he was

"I'm sorry, Lord, but you know I can't" was her only response, turning to face him. There was a gentle power in her eyes, which told the Lord his appeal was useless. He continued anyways, and fell to his knees.

"Please Celestia I implore you" he begged, visibly distressed. He had stooped to a level rarely seen among people of the court, in a desperate attempt to win the princesses favour. Celestia saw the look in his eyes. It was the look of a frightened colt, on the edge of losing everything he held dear to him.

"It's just not something I can allow. I'm sure you can understand" she replied, trying to sooth his rage with her kind words

"Please" He said, lunging towards her feet in an attempt to kiss them in flattery.

This attempt at flattery concealed the true purpose of this meeting, as he sharply drew the hidden dagger across Celestia's flank.

A burst of bright light sent the lord flying backwards.

It was blinded, head low to the ground, struggling to keep its form as the Lord stable.

"I cannot believe such outright disregard for protocol" Celestia's voice boomed

It was fighting, stabilizing his form before the princess noticed anything out of place. The magic pressing down upon him was very great

"You of all people should know I never lower my defensive wards"

The light was fading, forcing him to bring a look of the utmost shame upon his face while still battling back the magic with all his might

"You're grovelling at my feet will not earn you anything, and it may just destroy your respect in the process"

The light faded, and he just noticed a black line streaked across the Sun of Celestia's cutie mark fade away. With the magical assault dying down, all that remained was a mask of shame; Hiding behind this mask was another of fear - the ritual was not yet done.

"What has brought you to such actions" Celestia demanded, all kindness seeping out of her voice as a commanding air filled the room.

"I am truly sorry Celestia. I am desperate. But I can promise it will not happen again, for if you shall not reconsider, I am afraid I have been removed from my position as representative from Manehatten, and striped of my Lord status". Each word was a struggle to say, all the while battling the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. With the last words said, he could not contain his emotions anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes. Grief, sorrow, despair and regret mixed together in an outpour of emotions through those words, and emanated in the air. If he were able to move, he would have collapsed in shame and sorry. But he could not even lift a hoof – he was held in place by a magical force he had not previously realized was there.

"I am truly sorry for the position you are in." Celestia replied, kindness returning to her voice once more, with a small band of pity woven in.

Celestia slowly approached the broken Lord

"While there is no way I can reconsider my decision, I do not wish to see you in such pain. I will do what I can to see you remain a member at my table"

She stopped, and lowered her head

"Let me remove this spell that holds you and the pain it has caused"

A single spark jumped from Celestia's horn to the Lord.

And a single spark jumped back to Celestia's horn from the dagger

.........

Lord Baleham walked out of the castle, head held low. His head showed his shame, but also prevented anyone from looking into his eyes. Because if you did, you would see them filled with malicious glee. Nopony saw through his ruse, and no trace of his actions remained. Its job was done, and the rituals complete. As It walked away, the celebration in Canterlot was just starting. In unison, Celestia's sun sank below the horizon, and Luna's moon rose above it. There was a small wisp of snow on the cold winds that blew that night, but nothing could dampen the fire in Its heart. My master will be so proud It thought to itself. All that remained in this master plan was a trip to the palace garden.

And then it would wait, for chaos to return.

Eternal Nightmare

A cold wind blew into Ponyville, carrying with it a light snow that sparkled under the newly risen moon.

“Cumoooooooon Twilight” came a shout from a baby purple dragon, drifting up the stairs of the library he inhabited

“Hold on Spike. The suns just set and we have plenty of time” returned a reply from a purple unicorn, the other inhabitant of the library

“Were going to be late for the party!”

“You just want to make sure your there to hold open the door for Rarity when she arrives” teased the unicorn
If they were in the same room, she would have seen the dragon turn a bright red

“That is NOT why I’m hurrying …”

“Relax Spike. I’ve learnt my lesson about keeping secrets, I’m not going to tell anypony. Besides, I think it’s sweet how you’re always going after her”. If it were possible, Spike would have turned an even brighter shade of red

“That doesn’t change the fact that we’re going to be LATE”

“Coming Spike”

Twilight finished magically combing her mane, and walked across her room to the large collection of dresses that Rarity had made for her

“What’s the occasion for this party anyways?” she shouted down, trying to decide between her star-studded gala dress, or a more frilly, yet equally attractive, deep blue dress gilded with gold ribbons.

“Dunno. Pinkie finds any excuse for a party.”

Then it hit her

“The Winter Moon Celebration!” she thought out loud. How could she forget! And especially since it was the first one in over a thousand years, she knew that the celebration would be huge. And for such an occasion, Pinkie always pulled out all the stops and went overboard on the sweet baking. Since ponies on sugar rushes and formal dresses rarely went well together, she decided to levitate out a simple black dress from the other side of her wardrobe. It was rather elegant in form, still formal enough for the even, slim so it wouldn’t get wrecked by many dancing pones, and most importantly, durable.

“TWIIIILIGHTTTTTT” Spike shouted

“Just putting on my dress. Wouldn’t want Rarity to see you show up with an underdressed pony.”

As she trotted down the stairs of the library, she noticed a slight pink blush disappearing from the dragons face. The pink accent made him look all the cuter, dressed up in a full tuxedo with a black top hat and a red bowtie, with a small black satchel hanging at his side.

“You look great, now let’s go before were late.” He said, visibly embarrassed about how easily Twilight could return the conversation to Rarity

“Where would I be without my number one assistant?” She rhetorically asked

“LATE”

.........

The full moon was just rising in the sky as Twilight and her assistant Spike left the giant tree that housed the library. Snow was starting to accumulate on the ground – the weather patrol said there would only be light flurries throughout most of the week. Even though there was a chill in the air, neither one minded as the watched the light of the moon dance among each hoof-crafted snow flake. They walked in silence, admiring the view until Twilight suddenly stopped. Levitating in front of her was a masterfully crafted snowflake.

“Wow! I’ve never seen such a beautiful little snowflake.” The snowflake glowed in the magical field surrounding it, sparkling brighter for the moonlight that shone down upon it, and reflecting in Twilights bright eyes. But then realization struck. “If only I had my preservation kit with me.” She said, sulking, as she slowly lowered the snowflake to the ground.

Only to have it land in the preservation kit in Spike’s outstretched claws.

“Here you go” Spike said, as Twilights face lit up once more

“Wow Spike, you’re amazing! This is just what I need to finish my snowflake collection. You’ve been working so hard lately; perhaps I’ll give you a few days off to be Rarities number one assistant.”

“I still don’t see why…. Wait. YOU WOULD DO THAT?!?!”

“Well, I don’t see anything on my schedule for next week, I think….

She was cut off mid-sentence as Spike embraced her in a bone-crushing hug.

Twilight gladly accepted the hug – it was rare for Spike to show such affection. In fact, Twilight couldn’t remember the last hug Spike had given her. She decided to take a second or two and savour the moment. It wasn’t until a cold wind blew through her mane and sent a shiver down her spine that she was brought back to reality.

“Spike, were here.” She announced.

He looked around, and sure enough they had arrived at Sugarcube Corner. However, if you were not accustomed to the place you would not have recognized it through the party decorations. There were so many streamers, they seemed to grow out of the house. Dark blue was the dominant color, but every once in a while you could see some orange or pink ones mixed in. Balloons were floating everywhere around the building, gleaming as the moonlight shone through them and bathing the house in a cacophony of colors. The sweet smell of baked goods, gingerbread strongest among them, wafted out through the open doors. Everything about the house just screamed PARTY. They both took the sight in for a few moments.

“Wow, Pinkie really outdid herself this time” Twilight commented. “We've only had a few parties of this calibre before.”

“I hope were not too late for Rarity” was the only response she got out of Spike.

Twilight raised a hoof to knock at the door, as an eager Spike waited behind her.

“COOOMIIIING Twilight” Came an overly excited shout from inside. The door opened to reveal the bouncy pink pony who had given the shout from inside.

“That’s amazing, Pinkie. How did you know it was me?”

A timid yellow pegasus walked up behind Pinkie. “What’s even more amazing is that’s 15 ponies in a row” exclaimed Fluttershy “Pinkie must be psychic!”

The pink pony only smiled at that and bounced away to get more cookies for the new guests.

The inside of the house was just as decorated as the outside. Streamers lined the walls and hung from the ceiling. Plates of sweets lined the tables, and a large portion of the floor was cleared as a dance floor. Pinkie had even set up some extra fancy lights that bathed the entire place in a rainbow of changing colors. Even though the party wasn’t slated to start for half an hour, there were already many ponies there; nopony wanted to be late for a famous Pinkie Pie Party. Luckily for Spike, Rarity wasn’t one of them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were arguing over a gingerbread house

“We should just eat it now” Shouted Dash

“But there arn’t any ponies ‘ere yet. A’least wait till th’ party kicks off” replied Applejack.

“Fine” Dash said, flying away from the argument.

“So Twilight” came a timid voice from beside her. “Do you really think Pinkie could have psychic powers?” asked Fluttershy

“Well, I’ve read about many ponies who claim to be psychic. But in the end it’s all just an elaborate hoax set up to profit. However, it IS Pinkie Pie. You never can tell with that pony.”

Twilight looked around and spotted Pinkie with even MORE sweets. Perhaps a cookie or two would be a good idea. As she headed towards Pinkie, Rainbow Dash landed next to Pinkie and whispered something into her ear. The pink pony bounded back into the kitchen, only to return with a tray of muffins. A moment later, a knock came from the door

“Ditzy’s here, Ditzy’s here” Pinkie shouted, rushing forwards to open the door for the newest guest. Sure enough, Ditzy Doo was waiting at the door.

“Wow Pinkie, those muffins sure look good” The new pegasus replied.

“Do you like them??” Pinkie asked, giving one of her famous Pinkie Pie smiles.

“guees ere grooood” came the muffled reply, through a mouthful of muffin.

“16 in a row” Fluttershy whispered to Twilight. “I guess I have to believe she’s psychic.”

But something didn’t feel right. Twilight was determined to get to the bottom of this. She stood to the side of the party, remaining unnoticed by others and observing the scene. Ponies were having a great time already, even though the party had barely begun. Music was just playing in the background, and the chatter of excited ponies rose up through the air. Twilight’s eye also caught Rainbow Dash, as he rose up to the air and hovered by the window, clearly watching for something. Or some ponies. So this was all a trick! An elaborate prank! But the fact that they chose to pull it on Fluttershy infuriated Twilight. I’ll show them she thought, conjuring up a voice amplification spell she had learnt – the same spell used to make the Royal Canterlot Voice if she wasn’t mistaken. Carefully placing the spell on Rainbow Dash, she leaned back against the wall and waited for their prank to fall apart.

Moments later, Dash hurried down over to Pinkie Pie. She leaned in as if to whisper something into her ear.

“RARITY”

The magically amplified voice echoed throughout the entire room

Rainbow Dash shot straight up into the ceiling

Pinkie Pie dove for cover underneath a table of treats, knocking most of them over

Spike turned right around at the mention of Rarities name

Outside, Rarity jumped up nearly as much as Rainbow Dash.

When everything calmed down, Fluttershy approached Pinkie and Dash with a fury the rivalled that of the Grand Galloping Gala.

“YOU LIED TO ME” She shouted

“More of j-just a f-fib. It was o-only a j-j-joke” stuttered Rainbow Dash, visibly cowering in fear from the normally kind-hearted pegasus.

“I told you we shouldn’t have pranked her” Pinkie said to Dash

“YOU LIED TO ME” Fluttershy shouted, approaching the cowering pair

Twilight galloped over in an attempt to calm the enraged Fluttershy

“Relax, Fluttershy. They were just pulling a harmless practical joke. They really didn’t mean any harm from it, just trying to have some fun.”

Though the words themselves did not reach Fluttershy in her rage, the calming feel of a friends hoof on her shoulder and the comforting tone of Twilights voice seemed to lesson her anger a bit.

“AND MAY I INQUIRE AS TO WHY SOME PONY IS SHOUTING MY NAME AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS?” Interjected Rarity, entering through the door Spike was holding open.

“Someone” Spike said, glaring at Twilight “was just ruining a practical joke”

“They were trying to trick Fluttershy into thinking Pinkie was psychic. I couldn’t just stand by and let it happen”

“Well, ya do remember her Pinkie senses? Wouldn’t be too ‘ard to believe she was psychic” Applejack said

Fluttershy, having calmed down by this point, started to look at the floor.

“I-I’m sorry I yelled.” Came a now timid voice from Fluttershy

“Don’t worry Shy. It was really wrong of us to trick you” replied Rainbow. One of the most sincere apologies that she had ever given

“We won’t do it again” said her pink sidekick in crime “Now who wants to PARTY!”

The music rose up, and the events of the night were soon forgotten in the joys of the party. The party was everything it was expected to be, and more. Each pony partied long into night, and returned home exhausted as the full moon rested in the sky, as if anticipating the coming morning

.........

In Canterlot, Luna had never felt so exhausted. Raising the moon was always tough work, but every time she had recovered within the hour. Never having been one for public celebrations, she thought at first it was just the effort this Winter Moon Celebration required. But after having 3 full meals that night, and more snacks and sweets than she had eaten in a very long time, her energy was no closer to recovering. Am I getting weak? She asked herself. I know I’ve neglected to practice magic daily, but I should still be strong enough to fulfill my royal duties. Extremely disturbed by her lack of strength, she went to seek the only pony she trusted would be able to help. Her sister

.........

Luna entered her sister’s room, knowing that it was still an hour or more before she needed to be up to raise the sun. But to her surprise, the bed at the side of the room was empty.

“Tia, you here” She called out tentatively

“Out here” came the voice she was searching for from out on the balcony.

There sat Celestia, looking over Canterlot. She didn’t look her normal, perfectly groomed, leader of the ponies self; her mane was dishevelled, and she seemed visibly distressed.

“Luna” said Celestia softly. “I have always tried to be strong for you. As the older sister, I have tried to guide you and make this life easier for you.” She turned and looked deeply into her sisters eyes. Her own eyes were filled with sorrow, and a tear gleamed in the light of the full moon above. “But today I am weak” She said, turning her head to the ground. “I feel like I have let you down, sister, for I have let my energy slip from me.” Every single word seemed like a struggle, emotionally tearing the princess of the sun up on the inside. “I have grown too weak. I fear I do not have the strength needed to raise the sun this morning.” With those final words, she let her whole body droop down to the floor.

They remained in silence for a long while, as a mixture of emotions started to well up inside Luna. Celestia had always been there for her. But now, it was Celestia that turned to her for help. Disappointment, not at her sister, but at herself, rose inside of her. Could she really have not realized everything Celestia did for her, every day? She was princess of the night, and yet still ran back to her sister when confronted with difficulty. She should be stronger! This mixed with the sadness her sister left in the air, and the fear for her sister in this weakened state threatened to overwhelm her mind. She was at a complete loss for what to do.

“I’m sorry to put this burden upon you”. If it were possible, Celestia would have lowered herself even more.

Those words made a new feeling rise up inside Luna this time. A sheer determination to be there for her sister began to flood Luna’s body. It was time to step up to her true potential. The time to raise the sun was almost there. She reached into the deepest recesses of her power, and let it join with her body. Her horn started to glow, but she knew she would need more. Farther into the infinitesimal cavern of magic her body housed, and her entire being glowed with a magical light. She would be strong. For her sister. A tendril of magic blasted out to her horn, reaching the cosmos, feeling the connection between sun and moon. She directed her magic to move the celestial bodies through the sky.

And then she collapsed.

Celestia lunged out to catch her falling sister, but was not fast enough to prevent the limp body from hitting the floor.

“LUNA” She shouted. “Are you alright?”

Picking up the fallen sister, and feeling the steady breathing of her lungs and beating of her heart, Celestia embraced her under the still starry sky.

“I’m so sorry Tia. I tried to be strong for you. But I fear I am not strong enough” She said, gazing up at the moon that she failed to lower from the sky.

Celestia tried to look into her sister’s eyes, but Luna concealed her defeat by turning he gaze to the floor.

“All night I felt weak. I was afraid that I would let you down.”

“You have not let me down, sister. You are strong”

“NOT strong enough to even move the moon that my destiny dictates. I couldn’t even re-gather my energy after raising it this night.” Her sorrow was overwhelming at this point. “What can I do” She sobbed, into the comfort of her sister’s mane

“We’ll find a solution”

“But I’ve worked so hard to get everypony to like me again. If the sun does not rise, they will fear me as Nightmare Moon again. I can’t stand the thought of losing my friends---” at that thought she could not bear to continue.

“You tried your hardest to lower the moon. This is not the work of Nightmare Moon – that much I am certain of. I will stand by you. Nopony will hate you for this, for all the work you’ve done to try and bring the day back around.” The calming voice of Celestia seemed to bring solace to her sister’s heart. They would find a solution to whatever was causing this. They had to. But for now, the two princesses simply stared out over Canterlot and the grounds beyond, as they remained in each other’s comforting embrace.

And for the first time since Nightmare Moons destruction, the sun did not rise over Equestria.

Unsettling Realizations

“TWILIIIIGHT Wake up”

Spikes cry pierced through Twilights dreams. And I was just getting good at the flight spell she thought, wanting to recapture the dream.

“Spike, can’t I sleep a bit longer. That was a late party last night”

“WAKE UP NOW” came the reply

Twilight cringed at how loud the baby dragon was. Any hope of recapturing the dream was disappearing fast. She opened a single eye, only to have it bathed in Luna’s bright moon

“The sun’s not even up, what could possibly so urgent?” she said, contemplating the fact that she might have slept through the entire day

“Well, the moons been up for the past 18 HOURS. IT’S LUNCHTIME. NOW GET. UP.” Spike literally roared the last few words, rolling Twilight out of bed.

“Lunch under the moon?” Twilight groggily said. “That’s not even …

WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?”

“I said the moons been up far too long, and there’s a hoard of ponies outside hoping you can shed some light on things.”

“Why would I be able to shed light on things?” She thought aloud. “What could even cause the moon to still be up?” Twilight was still wiping the sleep from her eyes, so it took a moment for the events to make logical sense in her mind. Why would Luna not lower the moon tonight? Nor Celestia raise the sun? The only answer would be something is stopping them, but there’s only one pony strong enough to stop them. Realization struck like a solid wall, as everything lined into place

Nightmare Moon

“Oh no” Twilight said to Spike. “Could Nightmare Moon really be back?”

“I think that’s what they want to ask you.” He said, gesturing to the ever increasing crowd of ponies gathered outside her house.

There was a loud CRASH at the balcony door, as a rainbow streak ploughed into it

“Rainbow Dash. Are you OK?” Twilight said, helping her friend inside.

“no, no, NO! What are we going to do Twilight? The sun didn’t rise, Nightmare Moon probably has taken over Canterlot, and the Princess is in danger right now.”

The Princess! Twilight couldn’t let anything happen to her mentor.

“Calm down, Dash. We’re the elements of Harmony. Let’s just gather the others up and head on up to Canterlot. We can simply trap Nightmare Moon once more, and allow Celestia to raise the sun.”

“Um, everypony’s already gathered up at my place” came a new timid voice from the window, following the agitated rainbow pegasus into the library

“Fluttershy, that’s amazing! We can just get out of here and hurry to the castle!” Twilight replied. “You two fly on ahead, I’ll meet you there.”

Twilight walked downstairs and only then realized the flaw in her plan. How was she going to get past all these ponies outside her front door?

“Spike, gather my things. I want you to pack a few of my books, as well as all of my notes from the past month. They may be helpful, and perhaps once this is done I’ll finally get some more time to talk to Celestia.” She became a little giddy at the last point, before calming down once more to face the gravity of the situation. “Meet me outside once your done; I have some ponies to calm down!” Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the crowd surrounding her house

“Nightmare Moon is back”. She heard the scream from multiple ponies and from all sides. The fear pierced the air and seemed to overwhelm everybody with the realization that their beloved daytime might never return

“Everypony, calm down” Twilight shouted

“But NIGHTMARE MOON is coming” came a shout from the nearest pony

“Calm down everypony.” Twilight responded. There was no way she could do anything if she could not even get the crowd under control

“Didn’t you defeat Nightmare Moon?” asked a calm and rational unicorn, standing off to the side.

“We did, I’m sure of it! It shouldn’t be possible for her to return.”

“Then the greatest fears have come true. The elements have lost their power” The grey unicorn silently disappeared in the resulting chaos from his comment.

“Oh no”

“What will we do?”

“Were going to live through this night forever”

“CALM DOWN” Twilight shouted, amplifying her voice through magic.

The entire crowd went silent.

“Thank you. I presume you’re all here because you know I’m Celestia’s student and I will know what’s happening. I’ll be honest. I do not.”

“Then we should all rush up to Canterlot and demand Nightmare Moon brings back our day!”

“That is the most REDICULOUS idea I have ever heard. Violence doesn’t solve anything. It never has. Besides, you’ll get lost in the streets of Canterlot just approaching the castle, let alone the labyrinth of corridors within the castle. And what will you do when you find Nightmare Moon? Will she just give back our day because we asked for it?”

The mayor approached the front of the crowd.

“Twilight, you have led us through some hard times. You are the reason that Winter Wrap Up was successful for the first time in many years, and you have defeated Nightmare Moon before. What do you suggest we do?”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Now the conversation was going a way she could handle.

“I am going to take a small group of 5 others with me to Canterlot Castle. The elements of harmony will return to the castle once more to restore peace to Equestria. You must stay hsere and remain calm; we will have the sun raised by tomorrow morning."

That seemed to silence the crowd for a while. Twilight had once learnt that by exuding confidence, other ponies would listen to her and follow her decision without question. She was just glad that they were remaining calm. Spike came out of the Library and broke her concentration.

“All ready” He said

“Thank you, my number one assistant” she replied. She looked at Spike, and he saw her horn start to glow. A daring spark was in her eyes.

Spike gave her a quizzical look, seeming to say ‘You sure this is a good idea?’

Twilight's audacious smile only replied ‘absolutely’

Giving complete confidence, Spike took a tentative step closer to the unicorn.

“So where are the other elements now?” a question came from the crowd

Just what she had been waiting for

“Waiting for me. And with that I must leave.”

Spike came as close to Twilight as he could. A spark jumped from Twilights horn, and the magic grew to encompass the two of them. A unicorn never forgets the vividness of their first teleportation. Neither would Spike. The world around them twisted to a black, endless darkness. The purple aura encompassing them seemed to be the only warmth protecting them from the frigid world they were passing through. Spike could not feel the forces threatening to tear their fragile magic field apart, nor the effort that precision of a long distance journey required. If he could, he would have been paralyzed in fear at the complexity of such a spell. They spent mere moment in that abyss, before Fluttershy’s cottage re-appeared in front of their eyes, leaving behind an astonished crowd of Ponies at the library. But that couldn’t be helped. They needed to act fast.

.........

“Where IS She” Shouted an impatient Rainbow Dash

“Well, there were a lot of ponies outside waiting for her. Perhaps she got delayed by them all.” Replied Fluttershy, trying to be courageous and stick up for the friend that saved her from the practical joke the previous night

“What’s she going to say to them? ‘Hey, I’m Twilight. Yes we defeated Nightmare Moon, but apparently she’s back, so now we’re going to try again while you run wild wondering if you’ll ever see the light of day again.’”

“Actually, I was trying to calm them” interjected Twilight, having materialized behind the rainbow pegasus she just startled. “The last thing we want now is chaos. I simply told them that we would have their sun back by tomorrow morning.”

“We don’t even know what to do” replied Rainbow Dash, turning to face Twilight head on. “We’ve defeated Nightmare Moon, with no small amount of danger and hard work, and look how long THAT lasted. How are we going to do it again before tomorrow morning?” At the last comment Twilight let out a little giggle.

“Morning is the time when the sun comes up. Tomorrow morning won’t come until we succeed.” Rainbow Dash’s confidence dropped a little at such a simple oversight.

“If y’all are done arguing, than we should get going” urged Applejack.

“Your right, is everypony ready?” Twilight took a step back to inspect the group assembled in front of her.

The scene she witnessed was reminiscent of the time they all went to get rid of the dragon. Each of them had saddlebags filled with their own supplies that they believed important to take with them on any trip outside of Ponyville. Every pony appeared confident and rearing to go. The only difference from last time is that instead of hiding inside a bush, Fluttershy was also gathered and prepared for whatever danger lay ahead.

“A’ve got apple fritters, apple pies, apple chips, apple sandwiches, apple danishes, and apples.” said Applejack. This was met with some quizzical glances from the other ponies. “What? Nopony makes better meals than th’ Apple family.” Everypony had to agree with that

“I’ve just packed the essential fashionable items for any night-time excursion. Scarves, blankets, and a hat” Rarity said, putting on the woollen toque she pulled out of her bags. “I packed extras for anypony that’s missing something”

“Me next, me next” said Pinkie Pie, jumping up and down. “I packed some balloons and party hats I had left over from last night ... err this night”

“But Pinkie, why would we need a party?” asked Twilight

“Maybe grumpy old Luna just needs to loosen up a little. Just one party and she’ll be back to her normal, day allowing self”

Twilight decided not to press the issue any further.

“Well, I packed some food and medicine I keep for any injured animals. It may not be too helpful with the princess, but I wouldn’t be able to stand leaving any poor, injured animal at the side of the road” Fluttershy said. She did not mention the diamond amulet she packed, made from a diamond she found the first time she ventured into a deep, dark cave by herself. It was a special amulet that gave her courage when confronted by fearful situations.

“Did you pack anything that might be useful against Nightmare Moon?” Twilight questioned

“Oh. Uh, no.”

Twilight was getting visibly annoyed. Most of her friends didn’t have anything that would be even remotely helpful in restoring the sun to the sky. “Dash, please tell me you have something useful in those... your not bringing anything?” she said, noticing the lack of saddlebags that Dash was carrying

“Time and speed are the most important, so I'm not letting anything weigh me down!" Dash replied, launching herself into the sky

“Well, I brought some books. So somewhere amongst these party supplies, apple sandwiches, and fashion accessories we need to find a way to defeat Nightmare Moon. Either way, we’re wasting precious moonlight. Elements of Harmony, let’s MOVE OUT”

With that, the six ponies galloped off up the path towards Canterlot, the full moon still shining high in the sky above them. As they galloped, Spike lay on Twilights back, worrying about the princess, and worrying even more due to their lack of communication. The others may have overlooked it, but when you are the one receiving the burning notes, you did not. If Celestia was alright, she would have sent notice by now to inform Twilight by now. He closed his eyes and prayed for the princess’s safety, as they sped on through the silent, still landscape of the night.

.........

Screams of frightened ponies greeted the courageous herd as they approached the Canterlot gates

"Run for your lives!"

"Nightmare moon is back!"

"How will we live without the day?"

Chaos was running rampant in the city. Ponies were running over each other in attempts to leave the city, or head back to their homes, or to just head anywhere in general. General disorder threatened to trample any unsuspecting pony. The six ponies stopped outside the city to re-capture their breath

"Ah don't see why all these here ponies are running" said Applejack. "It's not like y'all can outrun the night. Specially once it's already risen"

"What are we waiting for?" Dash said, already starting to fly towards the castle.

"In case you didn't notice, not all of us can fly" Rarity pointed out.

Having finally caught her breath, Twilight took a step forward.

"Everypony that can't fly gather around me. Dash, Fluttershy, go on ahead but wait for us outside the castle. We need to do this together."

"Alright, but don't take too long" replied the cyan pegasus, as she led Fluttershy above the chaos.

The remaining ponies gathered close to Twilight as she closed her eyes and started reciting a complex spell. A mystical purple aura appeared around the 4 ponies as Twilights horn started to glow with a burning light

"Your not going to try and teleport us all, are you?" asked Rarity. "That would be crazy"

The light died down and the aura disappeared.

"You don't really think I'm that crazy, do you?" asked Twilight, with a faint giggle. Her response didn't instill much confidence in the group.

"So Twilight, what-cha going to do?" Asked an every happy Pinkie Pie

"Just stick close together and everything will be alright."

The 4 ponies walked into the crowd, huddled together to try and avoid the stampeding ponies rushing out through the gate. A stallion slipped on the ground and went hurling towards them. They closed their eyes and braced for impact, only to have it roll off of a magical barrier only inches from Applejack's nose. Twilight visibly shook with the effort required to deflect such a blow.

"That's some pretty fancy magic there Twilight." Applejack said

"Let's just keep moving. I don't know how many more hits like that it can take."

They quickly made there way through the city, the shield pushing aside ponies that ran to close and threatened to bowl over the 4 that fought their way against the flow of the crowd. The closer they got to the castle, the smaller the crowd was, until it had all but disappeared. At that point a flash from Twilight's horn dispelled the barrier, and they broke out into a gallop climbing the last few step to the entrance.

"That was a nice spell there" said Rainbow Dash, who had clearly been watching and was impressed by her solution to the crowd.

"I aim to succeed." she replied. Twilight was already exasperated by the effort, but they could not stop for even a moment for her to catch her breath. She pushed onwards, leading the small troupe of ponies into the castle's main hallway.

They charged inwards on a mission, but the beauty of the hall, accented by the soft yet powerful light of the moon stopped them short. Polished stone floors and walls reflected the pure light of the moon that entered through the open doorway, bathing the whole room in a pure light. Accenting this was the light that shone through the multitude of colored glass windows, creating a rainbow of colors that gave an otherworldly glow to the room. This, along with the intricately carved marble columns that lined the hallway, ornate carpet along the floor, and gold and diamond chandelier that hang in the middle of the room, stopped most of the ponies in their tracks

Twilight had never witnessed such beauty, but had seen the hall many times before. She was the only one able to overcome it's enchanting spell as she rushed forwards to the closest guard

"Where's the princess?" she demanded

"In her bedroom. But I really don't...."

Twilight didn't wait for the rest of the guards response. "Lets go ponies!" she shouted, snapping the rest out of their trance as they followed her galloping down one of the many hallways. For an inexperienced pony you would almost certainly get lost. However Twilight had run these halls for many years, and was able to easily guide them to the bedroom of the Princess of the Sun

"Are you all ready for this?" she asked, receiving quiet nods from her companions. They were about to burst through the bedroom doors when words floated out from the room.

"Sister, don't waste your magic. This isn't very important." came a voice

"No, it's far too important. After what you've done, it's the least of what you deserve." That voice was clearly Celestia's. Twilight couldn't hold back anymore. She charged at the door followed by her 5 faithful companions, and blasted it open with her magic. Standing before them were the two princesses, a comb encompassed in a gentle green light combing Luna's mane.

"Princess Celesita" Twilight said. "But.... Celestia... the moon... Nightmare.... LUNA?"

"My dear student, you shouldn't jump to conclusion." Celestia said

"I wouldn't blame her" Luna interjected. "That's the first thing I would have thought too."

"So what's goin on?" asked Applejack

"We're not quite sure" answered Celestia. "For some reason we can't seem to recover our magic after using it. To make things worse Luna used all of her magic in an attempt to raise the sun this morning. Unfortunately that means she'll be without magic until we can figure out how to fix this,"

Twilight walked over to Luna, a deep regret in her eyes.

"I'm sorry I doubted you." she said. "I know you've changed now, but I couldn't think of any other possibility. I guess I was to afraid of something I didn't know, I decided to put the blame upon a friend. That was wrong of me."

"I think we all owe her an apology" Rainbow Dash said, reluctantly walking up beside Twilight. The other followed suite.

"No need to worry. Now that all this is sorted out, I'm sure we'll find a solution." Luna replied.

"Wait, Celestia, does that mean you can't recover your magic either?" Rarity asked

"Precisely" she said

"Than give me that!" She snatched the still levitating comb out of Celestia's magic with her own, and started to help Luna bring her mane under control

"There's still a crowd of chaotic ponies outside" Fluttershy timidly said, gesturing to the city that was visible from the balcony.

"Your right Fluttershy. Twilight, come. We should restore at least a bit of order to the city now."

The two of them walked out to the balcony. As they walked, Twilight looked up to her mentor.

"Why didn't you send a letter?" she asked, thoroughly confused by the recent revelation.

"I am sorry, my dear student. When I saw Luna in that condition all other thoughts left my mind. I guess I just feared seeing her injured due to my actions. Or lack of actions. I knew you would come, so I spent the short time since her failed attempt at raising the sun by her side."

The two stood, staring out over the city. Ponies still ran in every direction, apparently unaware that their disorder would not some how magically fix the problem.

"Twilight, would you be so kind as to put a voice amplification spell upon me. In my current state I would hope to retain as much magic as I can in case we need it."

"Gladly" Twilight said, focusing hard as she made the invisible spell permeate the air surrounding the princess.

"CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA. I THINK YOU CAN DO A BIT MORE THAN THAT TWILIGHT" She said

Twilight put all of the power she could muster into the spell

"CITIZENS OF EQUESTRIA. PLEASE REMAIN CALM. NEITHER ME NOR MY SISTER IS GREATLY HARMED. THE NIGHT WILL NOT LAST FOREVER. WE ASK THAT YOU CONTINUE ABOUT YOUR NORMAL DAILY ACTIVITIES WHILE WE RAISE THE SUN ONCE MORE"

Celestia nodded at Twilight, and she dropped the amplification spell. The chaos that had ruled the streets of Canterlot a moment ago disappeared, and ever pony appeared calm at hearing Celestia's reassuring voice in this time of trouble.

"Thank you Twilight. Things would be much more difficult if you were not around."

The two of them returned to the room to see the ponies circled around Luna. Rarity had finished combing her mane to it's normal perfect appearance, and Applejack was pulling out another apple danish to give to the princess.

"Wow Applejack. These are really quite tasty." Luna said

"Ah'm glad you like 'em" responded the pony, smiling at the compliment.

"Did everything go well out there?" asked Rarity

"Everything went fine" responded Celestia. "Now I think it would be best if we tried to figure out what has happened to our magic, and find a way to reverse it."

"But I've never heard of such a thing before!" Twilight said

"I have" said Luna. She was staring at the ground, a shameful look on her face. She glanced over at her sister, and seeing the reassuring look on her face, proceeded to talk

"Over a thousand years ago, when Nightmare Moon was controlling me, I remember considering trying to..." the words were hard for Luna to say ".. to find a way to cut an Alicorn's connection to magic." She stared at Celestia, having brought the thoughts of Nightmare Moon to the surface.

"Go on sister." Celestia said. "I know it is hard, but please continue."

"I figured it would be a much more elegant and simple solution to ......"

Luna stopped. But it was not because she couldn't continue; Celestia was visibly shaking

"I'm sorry for everything that I put you through, all those years ago." Celestia said, trying to remain strong. "At the time I had no idea what you were going through. If I could go back, I would never have let it happen. I'm sorry"

Luna just stared at her sister. "I'm more ashamed of my actions than is possible to say. I let out friendship mean so little back then. But I digress from the reason for my story. During my research I discovered there is only one possible way to sever an Alicorn's connection with magic. However it requires and ancient artifact and ancient magic I did not possess. However my research also told me about a 'Spring of Magic', where waters ran clear as crystal imbibed with magical powers, that could cure it."

Luna stopped talking at that point, and walked over to lay beside her sister. Knowing that they needed the time together, but not having time to waste, Twilight picked up the conversation.

"Perhaps one of my books has a reference to this spring." She floated out the books from her saddlebags. Foremost among them was Supernaturals - natural cures that are just super. She opened it up. "Here we go."

Spring of Magic:
This spring holds magical water thought to have a connection with the essence of magic itself. A drink of these waters is able to give anypony the ability to use magic, and is the only way to restore a pony's connection with magic once it is severed.* To carry this water from the spring without losing it's magical ability, a diamond chalice is required.*
* See 'Magic Severing'
* See 'Diamond Chalice'

Twilight flipped to the chalice's page first

Diamond Chalice:
This is a magically enchanted cup made of pure diamond. It's properties prevent any magic from effecting it. It is for this reason that it is able to preserve the magical qualities of water from the Spring of Magic.*
* See 'Spring of Magic'

Twilight than flipped back to the Magic Severing page and read aloud

"Magic can only be severed through the use of the Discordial Dagger. This is a a special dagger known to be enchanted by Discord himself. It requires the special dark magic of discord himself to wield." She paused and looked at Celestia

"That is an extremely evil and ancient form of magic, which cannot be sensed by unicorns and alicorns around it when used. Supposedly Discord invented it and is the only one who knows it, however he rarely used it. Whether this was due to overconfidence or fear we'll never know." She gestured back to the book and Twilight continued.

"The ritual requires a slice of the dagger along the victim’s cutie mark. A spark jumping from the daggers horn to that of the victim signifies the completion of the spell. There are no immediate signs, but the victim will be unable to recover their magic once it has been used, and their connection with magic will sever at the end of the week."

Twilight looked up to see a look of horror on both princesses faces.

"That's exactly what happened to me!" Luna shouted, unable to contain her fear at this point

"But Discord is still in his prison of stone" Celestia said, trying to remain calm and composed. "There's no way he could do this"

"Let's go check the garden!" shouted Rainbow Dash, who was tired of waiting around and talking. Before anyone could stop her, she was out the window and flying off. The other ponies ran of to follow her. As Twilight left the room, she glanced behind her to see the princesses still lying on the floor, silently being close to each other. She knew that they had reached a touchy subject that day, so she quietly slipped out of the room to follow her friends.

.........

"IT'S GONE!" shouted Rainbow Dash, her voice breaking into fear on the last note. The others were just entering the hedge garden, running past other statues to reach the empty pedestal that Dash stood in front of.

"But that shouldn't be possible" said Applejack

"I don't see what's so bad about a missing statue" Pinkie Pie said, confused by the fear everyone else was showing

"It's not just a statue" Twilight explained "but it's Discord himself, frozen in a prison of stone"

"And if he's gone ...." Fluttershy wasn't able to finish her sentance

"Oh no, what can we do?" Rarity asked.

"How do we fight DISCORD?" shouted Rainbow Dash

"We need to restore the princesses magic powers. They'll be able to combat Discord." Twilight magically pulled a map of Equestria out from her saddlebags, levitating Supernaturals beside it.

"The last location of the Diamond Chalice was deep in the diamond mine. It should be about... here" She placed an x at the edge of a mountain range. "The spring of magic is even more ambiguous though."

A pure white hoof reached over Twilight shoulder and pointed to the middle of the Everfree forest on the map. "There" Celestia said "is one of the oldest castles in Equestria. In the treasury is an ancient compass, enchanted to guide ponies to their hearts greatest desire. However, it can only be used by selfless ponies such as yourselves. It will guide you to the spring."

"How do you know this?" asked Twilight

"That used to be our castle" Luna replied, walking up beside her sister.

"Alright ponies, are you ready?" Twilight shouted, met with a resounding chorus of yes's.

"Then let's go!"

"Hold on" said Celestia

She tentatively approached Twilight. The midnight moon made her look even more powerful than the sun did.

"I wouldn't ask this of you if I did not think you capable" she said, looking deep into Twilight's eyes. "I want you to stay. We need you to try and raise the sun."

"WHAT?!?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight felt he legs give way underneath her.

"Celestia, how would that be possible?" she asked. "I don't have nearly as much power as you, and even if I did I wouldn't know where to start."

"I will be there to guide you, every step of the way. When I took you on as an apprentice, you displayed an immense magical talent. While you stayed at the castle, we worked hard to prevent your magic from getting out of control; doing so reduced the current magic you us now to only a fraction of your true capability. Now we need to unlock that power."

Twilight stared into her mentors eyes, looking for any hint of a joke. All that returned was a stare of utmost confidence and determination. She looked around to her friends, standing by her side.

"Will you be alright without me?" she asked.

"We'll be fine" Applejack replied.

Twilight reluctantly handed the map to AJ. "Alright, Celestia. I'll stay"

"Than I'm staying too" said Rarity, stepping up to beside Twilight

"Rarity, don't be rash. They`ll need you, you can't stay."

"And ah recon you'll need her more" AJ said. "Now don't you remember what happened last time I turned down a helping hand?"

Twilight remembered last Applebuck season all to well. It was not a pretty memory.

"Twilight, dear, your trying to lift the SUN. I couldn't even fathom the energy that would take. And with the princesses unable to use magic, I'm sure having another unicorn around will be helpful."

"Fine, Rarity. You can stay too"

Rarity ran up and embraced Twilight in a quick hug. "Thank you Twilight. I'll make sure you don't regret it!"

"Alright, if were done here, than ah think we best be hitting the road" Applejack said. "There's a lot o' distance to cover tween here and that big castle in the forest, and not a lot of time to do it in."

"Thank-you, all of you, for your brave efforts" Celestia said. "If you stay true to yourselves, and your friends, then there is no way you will fail."

Applejack and Pinkie Pie galloped away from the castle, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flying above them. Twilight and Rarity stood beside each other watching them go. Spike groggily sat up on Twilight's back, having just awoken from a much needed nap. Celestia and Luna stood towering above the unicorns, contemplating the effects of everything that had occurred that day

And the moon hung above them all

.........

Somewhere in the darkness of the night that covered Equestria, It waited.

“You have taught me well, master” It said out loud to Itself

“Even though you remain in stone prison, you aid in the growing chaos. I shall cause the downfall of the princesses. Disorder runs rampant in Equestria, and the princesses power weakens every day. By the end of the week, the powers that hold you in your prision will be gone. By the end of the week, you will be free.”

It easily disappeared into the shadows that covered the world

The Darkest Passage

The four ponies had put Canterlot long behind them, and were making speedy progress over the open equestrian plains under the bright moonlight. Leading them was Applejack, running at the fastest speed she thought the others could handle. Close behind was Pinkie Pie, surprising everypony with her speed. What was even more surprising was that she could find the energy to talk while running. Rainbow Dash flew overhead, showing visible signs of strain at the relentless pace. That was because she was taking such large flaps of her wing to create a draft for Fluttershy, who was flying very closely behind Dash, but still struggling with the efforts to keep up.

"I wonder what the castle will be like" said Pinkie. "Maybe it'll be big, and tall, and like the castle the princesses are in now, except this ones a few hundred years old and might be older, but I hope theres nothing scary in there. Do you think there will be anything scary?"

"Ah.... don't.... know" panted AJ, taking longer strides in an attempt to tire out the pink pony

"Maybe it'll look just like there castle now, with all the bright colors and magical enchantments and the nice rooms and...

"PINKIE" shouted Rainbow Dash. "Sometimes it's nice to travel in silence"

"But if I stop talking then you'll hear my tummies all rumbly grumbly and that'll remind me of just how hungry I am"

"We jus ate" AJ shouted towards Pinkie. "How can you be hungry?"

"We didn't just eat. We ate, and then we ran. And now were still running, and I want to be eating. Or perhaps resting. But not running"

"A break might be a good idea" said Dash, glancing back at the exhausted pegasus following her

"Alright, we're at the entrance t' the forest. Let's rest here for a little while, and then make our way to the castle"

The intrepid group stopped at the edge of the forest. Fluttershy immediately collapsed onto the ground, resting her sore wings.

"It's ok Shy, we're resting and won't go as fast through the forest" Dash said, watching over the fatigued pony

"I've just never flown that fast for that long before" came a faint reply from the yellow body lying on the ground

Applejack was standing a few feet away, taking a quick rest but not letting her muscles cool down. Pinkie was close by, trying to get some more food out of their stubborn leader.

"Why can't I have another apple sandwich? They're REEEEEEEEEALLY good"

"Cause we need to save em for later in our journey" Applejack replied "We're goin to be out here a while, an need to conserve food."

"But I'm hungry now!"

"Than go look for somethin tasty to eat in there" she said, gesturing to the forest.

"Fine, I will. And I'll eat it all myself." the pink pony replied, as she bounded off into the forest.

"Finally, some peace and quiet" the orange mare thought out loud to herself.

Pinkie walked through the barren trees, trying desperately to find something to eat. She was a high-energy type of pony, and bouncing around all the time took a lot more energy than walking. And that meant she enjoyed eating more often, or at least snaking, or having something to munch on whenever the urge struck. She had to search the forest carefully, because the moonlight was very soft, giving a dark, eerie glow to the forest. The shadows of the trees were longer and darker, and the entire forest seemed evil. But if there was food in there, she was determined to find it.

Since she was so intent on searching for food, Pinkie failed to notice the pair of pitch black eyes staring out at her. Or perhaps they just blended so well into the night that they were invisible. Either way, she walked right past the spot where It was hiding. Perfect. Much more havoc could be wreaked from within the group. A pitch black spike found it's way, guided by magic, into the pony's back. A dark prisim surrounded it's prey, just in case a quick teleportation was needed, and the plan was in motion.

"Pinkie, we need to get goin" called a rustic voice through the trees

Out of the forest, stepped Pinkie

.........

"Twilight, I need you to focus"

The commanding voice of her mentor made her try even harder to succeed.

"For so long we've worked on putting barriers around your magic, to prevent it from overpowering you. Now you need to break through those barriers and access that magic"

"But how?" Twilight asked. No matter what she tried, she could never find more power within herself than what she had always known.

"You have focused on controlling your magic for such a long time, it had become a subconscious command. Your mind refuses to allow you to use more than a fraction of your magic, even though you're capable of controlling it. You must command it otherwise"

Twilight focused her thoughts inwards. Command my mind. Access my magic. Her horn started to glow a bright purple

"Your body has placed a cap upon the magic you feel; it is trying and stop you from going past this safe point. When you feel the bottom of your well of magic, you must break through"

Twilight reached into that pit of power she was so accustomed to. It was always there for her, never changing, never fading. She felt the familiar limit to her powers that she knew she had, that she never questioned before. However today would be different. Upon reaching that wall, she mentally braced herself and pushed with all her might. She wanted to shatter these barriers, throw away these safety measures. She wanted - no, needed this magic, to help the princesses, to make Celestia proud of her. But no matter how hard she tried, the walls around her magic would not give an inch.

"I'm sorry, Celestia. I just can't do it."

"Do you recall the last time you used all of your power?" her mentor asked calmly

"Of course. That was the most important day of my life. I was just a filly coming for my entrance exams into your school for gifted young unicorns."

The air began to glow with a purple aura, and suddenly they were back in the testing room of the castle. The sun shone brightly in the sky, beaming down upon a dragons egg lying on the table, giving it a mystical glow.

"I knew that all my hopes rested on that table. Focusing the little magic I had as a filly, I tried as hard as I could to make it hatch. I tried anything I could think of, refusing to give up, but no matter what I did the egg wouldn't hatch for me."

The light in the room started to fade, a pressure bearing down upon the two ponies captured in the memory.

"At that moment I realized what it meant. Fear welled up inside of me, as I drew closer and closer to failing the most important test of my life. Despair at not being able to reach my goals, at never being able to reach them. My entire dreams and future was right in front of me, falling apart, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."

The emotions were no longer just inside of Twilight, but seemed to permeate the air around them. The coldness of despair, the black horror of hopelessness. The air seemed to grow thicker, as each breath became harder to take. There was a sudden explosion outside, bathing the room in a blinding rainbow of lights.

"It was the shock of the sonic rainboom that made me lose control of my magic. My emotions grew deep inside of me and pushed back the walls I thought were around my magic. The power flooded into me, and I couldn't control it. But I couldn't hold it either. I felt it coming out of me, so I tried to guide it to be harmless."

A single color pierced through the cacophony of lights on the floor. A bright purple seemed to glow, growing brighter as the other colors seemed to fade. The ground retreated from their feet, becoming engulfed by the purple aura.

"Power overwhelmed my senses, and I lost vision and hearing of the real world. All I saw was magic. All I heard was magic. All I felt, was magic. And than it was over. The magic used itself up, the world slowly returned to normal, and I regained my senses"

The colors faded, and the two ponies were standing on the ground once more.

"But no matter what I try, I can't re-access that world of power. I can't just command it to come, and the barriers to leave."

"Than I guess were done with the practical part of the lesson for now" the princess said. "Would you like to learn about the Harmony of the Cosmos?"

That made Twilight excited. She always loved to learn new things, and to have Princess Celestia teach her was the greatest honor she could ever hope for

"YES!!!!" she shouted, jumping into the air.

"Come and lie down" Celestia gestured to a place beside her. Twilight got up and finally let go of the last connection she was holding to the magic within her body. Having finally put her mind at rest, she could look around the room and enjoy the sights for once. They were in the princess's bedroom, an elaborately decorated room. She had been there before, but the urgency of the situation prevented her from truly appreciating it's beauty. A plush carpet lay on the floor, so soft that it felt like walking on clouds. A elaborately decorated bed sat in the corner of the room. The faint glow of moonlight coming from the balcony made everything seem surreal. Aside from that, it was sparsely decorated. She walked over to the balcony where the princess was standing.

She lay down and looked up at Celestia. She was gazing into the night sky, so Twilight followed her gaze.

"The cosmos refer to the sky. The sun and moon. The celestial bodies that we guide through their daily travels. But cosmos original meant 'harmonious system', and that definition applies here too. The sun and moon move in harmony, connected by a great magic that has lasted generations. What this means is that to lower the moon and raise the sun, only one must be done and the other will follow. If the sun is raised, the moon will lower."

Twilight thought about this for a while. If raising the sun didn't require her to move both celestial bodies, than it seemed more reachable. Still impossible, but no longer twice the impossibility. That gave her little comfort. As always, Twilight's mind was exploring every inch of this new idea, contemplating all of it's possible effects and implications. There was just one question on Twilight's mind, one thing that didn't add up with her previous knowledge.

"What about an eclipse?" Twilight asked. "If the sun and moon are in such harmony, than how is it possible for both of them to clash?"

"Have you ever seen one?" replied the princess

"Well, no. But I have read about them."

"The last eclipse happened before me and my sister ruled Equestria. Your right, an eclipse would be the break down of such cosmic harmony. The Cosmos itself is said to be the antithesis of Chaos and Disorder; and eclipse would be the embodiment of that chaos and disorder."

As the moon floated in the sky, Twilight was able to have her first real conversation with the princess in years. After talking about the sky, and harmony, they talked about friendship, and magic in general. Twilight was for once able to talk to somepony who knew more than she did, and delighted at the opportunity to learn everything she could. Celestia was so glad to have somepony that wasn't so concerned about 'royal etiquette' and who actually understood and truly shared an interest in what she said, that she kept on talking. And even though the moon still hung in the sky, all of there problems seem miles away for the hours they spent there.

........

"There it is!"

Rainbow Dash dove into the forest to tell the others of her discovery. The forest only got darker the deeper they went, as the shadows of the trees covered the ground and a few evergreens helped to block the remaining moonlight . The forest itself appeared dead with no leaves on the trees, and the eternal night only helped to put everypony was on edge. They had all heard the stories about the Everfree Forest at night. And those who hadn't heard them from Pinkie during the journey. She told stories of wearponies and cockatrices, of being swallowed by the darkness around them. After every story, Fluttershy would crouch down in fear and Pinkie would hide with her. These 'stories' added an extra few hours onto their journey, so everypony would be glad to know they were almost at their destination

"And if your quiet enough" came Pinkies voice through the trees "you can hear the vampire bats coming through the trees as they land to suck your blood"

The group of ponies were silent as Dash descended through the trees. On her way, she accedently hit nudge a branch, making it ruscle in the quiet night

"AHHHHH, THEY'RE COMING" screamed Pinkie, followed by an uninteligable whimper from Fluttershy

"It's just me" Dash said, landing in front of the fleeing pink pony.

"Why d'ya have to tell these stories Pinkie. Now Shy's frightened like she's seen a gho...... scary thing" Applejack said, watching her vocabulary to try and not frighting them anymore than was already done. I wish Twilight was here to help control them she thought to herself. It would not be the last time she wished for that purple unicorn

Slowly but surely, Fluttershy got up, looked around, and returned to the group. She walked with a lowered back, as if ashamed to be such a hinderence to the group, all the while looking around her for when something might jump out.

"I'm.... I'm sorry for being so weak and helpless all the time.." she mumbled out under her breath, so quiet that only Rainbow Dash walking beside her could hear.

"Don't be ridiculous Shy. Your able to stand up to fears that we couldn't" she said, gesturing to the three others.

"But I'm so weak when anything scary comes along. Are you not angry that I'm constantly needing your help?"

"Don't be silly, Shy" AJ said, walking into the conversation. "We understand you might be a bit timid, and we'll always be here to help you out. We jus want you t' be the best you can be."

Those final words seemed to sink into Fluttershy's heart, and dispel the fears from just a few minutes ago.

"Thanks everypony. I'm lucky to have friends such as you!" she replied.

AJ was about to turn back and reply, when the castle seemed to appear in front of them. One minute they were walking through the thick underbrush, almost unable to see with the faint moonlight that penetrated the canvas, and the next they were standing in a clearing with the largest castle they had ever seen looming in front of them. It was easily larger than the Canterlot castle, and appeared to be much older. There were 4 main towers at each corner, that seemed to touch the heavans. The walls of the castle were so high they felt threatening just looking at them. In it's glory days, it would have been a truly fearsome sight. It still was rather intimidating. Looking into the main gate the castle seemed to stretch to infinity, becoming swallowed by the darkness long before the end of the main hallway was in sight.

"It's... so BIG" Fluttershy said, frightened at the monstrous size of the structure before her

"How are we ever goin to find compass in THERE" Applejack shouted,

"We need a compass just to FIND the compass" Dash said,

"Do we have to go in there?" Pinkie asked. "It's so dark and scary"

"What'cha afraid of Pinkie?" AJ asked, trying to be reassuring to her frightened friend

"When a castle is left abandoned like that, Specters move in" she said, backing away from the castle

"sp..sp...s.s.s.specters?" Flutershy asked, fear returning to her eyes

"There ghosts of dead ponies who haunt these halls to guards it's treasure against anypony who wishes to steal even a bit of it"

"And a load of hourseapples" said AJ. "Specters do not exist, and certainly aint in there. Now lets go"

Fluttershy looked around at her friends, moving towards the entrance to the castle. She had to be stronger for them. Silently she slipped the diamond amulet out from her saddlebags. It gleamed in the midnight moon, and glowed with a reassuring light. Slipping it around her neck reminded her of that dark cave from so long ago. If she could do that alone, than there was no way she would let her friends down here. Bravely, she stepped into the castle after them.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash led the way down the hallways. It was surprisingly light in the castle, because the walls emitted a comforting, pure light when they were near. As they walked down the hallway, it grew lighter in front of them and darker behind them. The light was moving with them down the hallway. Fluttershy and Pinkie were staying close by behind them, not daring to be more than a few feet from the strong mares that led the way into the darkness.

"Ah still ave no idea where to go" AJ said "Any ideas?"

"None" Dash replied. "I don't see anything that could lead us to the treasury"

The lights around them seemed to flicker

This was the perfect time for It's plan. Being at the back of the group, nobody noticed a slight black glow appear around Pinkies body. Ahead in the darkness, something moved.

"SPECTER" Fluttershy screamed, and bolted for the exit

"RUUUUUUUN!" Pinkie shouted, close behind Fluttershy.

"WAIT" the two leaders shouted in unison, turning around to chase down the fleeing ponies. The fleeing ponies had never ran so fast in their life, but could not outrun the practiced and trained skill of their pursuers. Just as they were approaching the exit, the light stopped materializing in front of the fleeing ponies, plunging them into blackness. Immedeately, they jumped backwards into the light, landing right in front of their pursuers.

"We're trapped in here" Pinkie shouted

Fluttershy was to afraid to say anything. She just lay there cowering at Dash's feet, hoping the brave pony would protect her from whatever was in the darkness.

"We need to go on" Dash said, grabbing Fluttershy by the tail and pulling. However the timid pegasus held to the floor with more force than anypony thought she was capable of

"We can't go back there. There's a specter there." she replied

"No there isn't. Specter's don't exist,"

"But there's something in there, and it's scary"

"We don't have time for this. We need to get going."

Dash turned around and took a few steps forward. Fluttershy grew even more scared. Would they leave her here, and go find the compass. Would her friends continue on without her if she wouldn't come? She opened her eyes slightly to see Rainbow Dash lying on the ground a few feet away, talking with Applejack

"Ah don't know what to do about those ponies" AJ whispered in Rainbow Dash's ear. "We need to find that compass, and we've lost enough time as it is."

"We should be going now." Dash replied. "But as long as there here, refusing to move, than I'm staying by them."

"Ah know. We can't abandon our friends. We'll jus have t' wait till they feel strong enough t' continue. Because we can't turn around either, that would be abandonin the trust tha Twilight, Rarity, an the princesses put in us."

Fluttershy just lay their thinking. This was for her friends. They counted on her to be strong enough. But it was so scary in there. She looked down at the amulet hanging from her neck, gleaming in the soft magical light. NO. She would be strong enough. Mustering up all the courage she had, she stood up.

"Alright." she said, a new resignation in her voice. "I'm ready"

Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned around in surprise at hearing the normally timid pegasus find courage in such a frightening situation.

"That's great!" Dash said "Let's go Pinkie!"

Rainbow Dash flew around to behind Pinkie and started to urge the timid pony into moving. When that failed, she attempted to push the pony. However, with reflexes faster than they thought physically possible, Pinkie jumped over Dash's head and returned to her timid position on the floor.

"I'm not going anywhere when there are GHOSTS around!"

"Cummon Pinkie" AJ said, trying once more to convince the pony to move. "Our friends are counting on us."

"No" Pinkie said stubbornly.

To everyones surprise, it was Fluttershy who approached the terrified pony next.

"I know things like this can be scary" she kindly said. "I know ghosts and specters and all sorts of scary things may lurk in there. But they may not. And our friends are counting on us to face our fears. It's the only way to fight back their fears of this eternal night." Fluttershy knew her words reached the timid pony, but also felt it needed something more. Reluctantly she removed her diamond amulet. "I found this diamond in a scary cave when I first faced my fears. It gives me courage when darkness comes and reminds me that often our fears have no merit to them. So much can be gained just by facing them." She looked at the amulet one last time. "I wan't you to have it"

Pinkie just stared up at the caring pegasus by her side. She glanced down to the diamond amulet that hung from her extended hoof. She extended her own hoof and took the amulet from Fluttershy.

"Thanks Shy. I really needed a friend to talk some sense into me." She looked down at the amulet, and placed it around her own neck. "Your right. For our friends. Let's go"

"That still brings the question of where do we go?" Rainbow Dash said.

Applejack took a few steps towards a side passage. It remained dark, so she turned around and walked towards the one on the opposite side of the hall. The light followed her into that passage, and illuminated floor as it appeared to stretch to infinity.

"It appears the castle wants us to go this way." she said. "Ah don't ave any better ideas, so let's just follow it."

The 4 ponies walked side by side down the corridors of the castle, letting it's mystic light lead them deeper and deeper into labyrinth of hallways.

.........

It didn't want to reveal itself just yet. Go along with them and perhaps a better opportunity will present itself. Enough time had already been gained.

.........

"Try again Twilight"

Twilight didn't see much hope in the exercise. She was battling against near impossible odds. But somehow Celestia's comforting voice made all those fears go away and made everything seem possible. It even made the sun seem withing reach.

Once more Twilight reached into her well of magic, bringing all the power she could muster to the surface. She tried to push the walls surrounding her magic back, to reach further into the magic, but felt only a familiar resistance at the edge of her power. Undeterred by this, she guided the magic out through her horn. Instead of the purple tendrils of magic that often accompanied a spell, only a single, very faint, purple beam broke out of her horn. She curled the beam around itself, and held it still in front of her, becoming used to the spell once more. Using all her concentration to guide it, she launched the beam towards the sky, and it broke through the lowest layer of clouds. Even though very little energy was required, Twilight struggled to push the beam further out, shivering as the cold air parted around the beam of light that her consciousness was focused on.

She was trying to reach the sun. Theoretically, such a feat was not impossible, but might as well be where magic is concerned. Reaching out to any distance required intense concentration, and even through Twilight's years of excellerated tutoring and lessons from the princess herself, reaching space was no laughing matter. At such extreme distances, even being a single degree off in her measurements would send her millions of miles off target. And to make matters harder, she couldn't even see the sun. She was attempting to do the impossible, and was blind doing it.

As her magic approached the unfamiliar barrier of space, she was stretching her concentration to it's limit. In her first handful of attempts she hadn't made it this far. The unknown out there scared her, but having come this far she was not about to turn back. Gathering up all of her courage, she plunged further in

The freezing shock was sent through her magic and almost made her release the spell. Almost. Holding on with all her might she felt shivers overwhelming her physical body.

"She needs warmth." A frightened voice floated into her consciousness

"She'll be fine" said the familiar voice of her mentor. "Let her find her own warmth"

Trying to narrow down her concentration, she cut the voices from her mind and re-focused on the task at hand. Focusing all of her energy and power into that tiny beam, she transferred enough energy to make a fixed point of magic where the beam was reaching. At such distances, even a simple spell that required almost no energy, left her completely drained. But after coming this far, she could not stand to return because she was completely exhausted. Using the point as an anchor, she stretched the beam outwards in another direction and started trying to search for the sun.

What felt like hours had passed. Her soul was so chilled to the bone from the absolute nothingness of space that she could feel nothing except cold. Cold and exhaustion. Every time she would reach out to find the sun, only to go as far as her magic would let her and find nothing. Every time she would return to the fixed point she made and try and determine where the sun was. And than she would try again. With the concentration required just to keep the spell stable, she could barely use her mind to determine the location of the sun. At this point it was more random guessing and hoping to get lucky; in the expanse of space that never happens. Disappointed at her last failed attempt, she returned the beam to her fixed point and just lay there for a while, debating whether to give up or not.

As she held her magic steady, the cold of space surrounding her, something inside her wanted to give up. Just wanted to return to the ground and try another day. But as long as she could hold off this cold she would stay. However even among this eternal cold and hopelessness, a small warmth leaned against her mind. Just a small glow of hope. She let her mind push towards that hope, trying to keep the cold despair at bay. At first she thought she had imagined actually feeling such a warmth - perhaps she was so cold it was burning - but as she reached onward with her magic the warmth grew. It grew and grew until the soul-numbing coldness of space was kept at bay, and this new, all encompassing heat replaced it. The warmth of the sun was right in front of her! Just letting her soul envelop the warmth, light, and hope that it emanated, Twilight felt all of her fears melt away. With the return of feeling in her soul came back the overwhelming exhaustion. She tried to hold on as long as possible, to feel the warmth, but reached a point where even she could not continue the massive mental exertion required. Slowly, she let her tiny magical trail fizzle out to nothing.

Twilight opened her eyes, barely lifting her head to look around the room. The magnificence of the observatory meant little to her now. The multitude of star charts that adorned the walls were mere posters which she didn't have the energy to read. The domed roof with the circle cut out from the center was a mere roof, with the meaning of the oculus lost behind layers of fatigue. Even the solid stone floor seemed comfortable, and the many complex instruments around the room could not interest her mind enough to keep it from sleep. Only one thing in that room could make Twilight push sleep off for even a couple minutes longer. She turned to face Celestia, who was gazing down at her

"I did it" she weakly managed to say

"You did it" came the reply from her mentor. Twilight lay her head down to rest.

She was barely aware of the light-blue magical aura that enveloped her, and lifted her off the ground, and even less aware of where she was going. By the time they had left the room, Twilight was fast asleep. She did not feel it when she was placed down on a bed. She did not notice it when a blanket was placed with care over her sleeping form. She did not know when a full plate of food was laid to rest beside her plate, waiting for her to awaken from her sure-to-be deep sleep. All she knew was the peace of rest as it fought back exhaustion, and the warmth of the sun as it burned deep within her soul.

.........

The dark hallway stretched out for what seemed like miles in front of the 4 ponies. They had been following the winding passages deeper and deeper into the castle until all hope of knowing where they were had disappeared. They had been following this particular hall for quite a while, and judging by its appearance it was the main hallway of the castle. Pillars lined the hallway at regular intervals, carved with dragons, griffons, and ponies of all kinds. Many of them had inscriptions along the base, probably immortalizing the deeds of those that were carved into the respective columns. The roof was arched, and appeared to be painted with scenes from history, however the colors had faded to almost beyond recognition and the dim moonlight made them near impossible to recognize. It was in this hallway the ponies raced along, hoofsteps reverberating off the walls, following the appearing light, until it suddenly stopped. The four retraced their steps into the light, and looked into the massive room beside them that it now illuminated

"Ah think we've found it" said AJ, taking the first steps into the treasury

"But it could be anywhere in here" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

The room was a massive circle, and packed full of ancient artifacts. It was hard to believe that there were this many objects in existence that merited keeping, and even harder to believe that there once was a time the room was empty.

"How.. how are we supposed to find it?" asked Fluttershy, still wary of danger in the castle, but not letting it overpower her.

"Ah dunno. it's like findin a needle in a haystack." AJ said, tentatively walking up to the pile

"Well, we better start looking." Rainbow Dash flew up into the air and started making slow passes over the pile

The ponies quickly became engrossed in their search. Rainbow Dash dove headfirst into one of the piles, pulling out objects and throwing them aside. Some of these action were met with a crack of breaking glass when they hit the ground, but Dash didn't slow down her relentless pace, even when criticized by AJ. The earth pony herself decided trying to reform Dash was a lost cause, and lunged into her own pile of artifacts to search through. Fluttershy took a more tentative approach, carefully placing the artifacts at her side, and wincing every time one of Dash's artifacts broke. Pinkie slowly made her way to one of the far corners, looking at artifacts all the time

She smiled to herself. Now was the time to act. A faint black glow appeared around her body. Glancing around the room, she made sure none of the other ponies were looking. They were all to engrossed in their search. Placing both hooves on the castle wall, the glow intensified. The black magic flowed from the earth ponies hooves into the building, and the last of the glow disappeared into the walls. Not three seconds later the building started shaking.

"Wha's that?" AJ asked, looking up from her pile.

Rainbow Dash looked up to see the world around her shaking. A small piece of the roof landed right next to her

"THE BUILDINGS COLLAPSING!" she yelled

"RUN!" shouted Pinkie, making a bolt for the door

"We need that compass" said AJ, throwing objects aside with haste trying to find it.

Fluttershy was cowering on the floor, narrowly being missed by the falling debris. Pinkie was already out the door, trying to convince to follow. Rainbow Dash was flying around in a panic, dodging falling debris.

"It's not here" shouted AJ

Another tremor shook loose more debris, showering them, all with dust.

"FLUTERSHY!" Dash shouted, as a large piece narrowly missed the cowering pegasus.

"We need to go" came a shout from the door

"Not without that compass" AJ shouted

"And risk out lives for it? Fluttershy's going to get crushed if we don't leave now."

Dash landed beside Fluttershy, trying to pull the frightened pony to safety. The yellow ponies legs dragged along the ground, clutching desperately to ... something.

"THE COMPASS" Dash shouted, recognizing the object. "WE'VE GOT IT!"

"Good, now lets go!" AJ shouted, leaping over a chunk of debris and to the others. But still Fluttershy would not move

"Shy, we gotta go now."

A timid squeak was the only response

"Shy, were in danger."

A chunk of rock smashed into the ground behind them

"SHY. LETS. GO"

Rainbow Dash placed her back hooves underneath the stubborn pegasus and slightly lifted the frightened mass. Even though she did not buck apple trees, her daily work with the weather patrol gave her enough strength to lift the pegasus a few feet in the air. AJ quickly got the idea, and ran over to carry the pegasus. Fitting the light pegasus on her back, she took off into a gallop.

Rainbow Dash flew above them, urging them faster with every flap of her wings. They ran down the main hallway, AJ weaving in and out between falling columns, while Dash flew above trying to avoid them as they fell. Pinkie ran behind, keeping up with the racing duo that led the way. Another shake ran through the entire building, collapsing the columns behind them and the roof in front of them. The ponies came to a grinding halt.

"What now?" Rainbow Dash asked. She looked behind but knew that they would not be able to make it past the fallen pillars. Ahead of them was nothing but a solid rock wall.

"Were trapped!" shouted Pinkie.

"Watch her" Applejack said, setting Fluttershy on the ground and walking up to the fallen rocks.

Fluttershy stirred a bit, lifting her head up and looking around.

"Are....are we safe?"

A falling pillar gave her an answer

"Shy, look at me" Dash said, trying to prevent the pony from returning to her frightened state.

The pegasus did as she was asked

"We need to get out of here. But we need you to fly. We can't make it out of here if AJ has to carry you. Alright?"

Futtershy was on the verge of tears from fear, but was able to hold herself together.

"Alright" she replied

"AJ, do you have an exit?" asked Dash, turning around to face the earth pony.

"Right here" she shouted, having cleared enough of the rubble to make it up the caved in roof and onto the second floor.

AJ led the way through her newly made passage. The entire floor appeared to be one massive room, stretching from one side of the castle to the other. Moonlight shone through the broken down sections of the wall, revealing the surrounding forest just outside. Holes dotted the floor, making it an obstacle course for the earth ponys. An obstacle course that was getting worse as time went on.

"This way!" AJ shouted, dashing towards the nearest exit and leaping over any holes in her way. Rainbow Dash was overhead, grateful for the space this room offered. Pinkie and Fluttershy were lagging behind, due to their inferior athletic abilities

"We're almost there!" shouted Dash from above. "Just a little farther"

AJ lowered her head and focused on pulling every ounce of speed out of her muscles. Faster and faster she ran, dodging debris and leaping over holes, until the moonlit opening stood right in front of her. With a single bound, she flew out of the building, through the small gap in the wall, and into a tree just a few feet away. Her reflexes had grown to be lightning fast from farm work, and she grabbed a hold of the nearest branch. Nimbly dropping from branch to branch, she landed on the ground only a few seconds later. She turned around to see Pinkie approach the wall.

"Jump Pinkie!" she shouted, seeing the tentative pony slow to a stop

"Nope" Pinkie replied, taking a few steps back

"We don't have time for this" Dash shouted, launching herself upwards towards the hole

Fluttershy, who was flying right behind Pinkie, scared for her life, didn't see the earth pony stop. She smashed right into the stubborn pink pony and sent them both tumbling out of the castle.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Dash screamed, at the same time Applejack shouted "PINKIE!"

Rainbow Dash swooped low over the falling ponies, catching Fluttershy midair and bringing her a safe distance from the falling castle. Applejack ran back to the castle and took a flying leap towards the falling pony. Catching her midair, AJ planted her back hooves on the castle and launched the two of them into the forest. The nearest wall collapsed on where they were only moments ago. All of the ponies made there way further into the forest before anyone talked.

"I'm so....so sorry." Fluttershy said, fighting back tears" I should've been watching where I was going, but I was scared and..."

"That? That was fun!" said Pinkie "You were like, flying so fast and than crashed into me and sent me flying so fast, and we were like 'WEEEEE' and tumbled through the air, and than AJ caught me and Dash caught you, and now we're here!"

Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at the pink ponies idea of fun. At least nobody actually did get hurt. She wouldn't have been able to handle that.

"So where's this here compass you found?" Applejack asked, approaching Fluttershy

"Oh, right. Here it is" she said, handing an old looking compass to the earth pony. The compass had a single ended needle that appeared to be floating mere millimeters above the compass itself. There were no directions markings on the compass, but ancient writing encircled the needle. As it rested, the compass didn't appear to be pointing any direction. AJ put it in her saddlebags.

"All that running made me super hungry" said Pinkie Pie.

"Some food would be really nice right about now" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"Alright, but ah can't give it all to you. We need to keep it for the rest of the journey" AJ said, handing out small apple sandwiches to each pony. They all hungrily started eating, except for Pinkie

"That's all the food?" she asked. "Fine. I'm going back to the apple tree I found earlier." She left the group and headed into the forest.

The remaining ponies looked at each other confused.

"Apple tree?" Rainbow Dash said. "Can one even grow out here? And at this time of year?"

"Technically they can, but it's rare" Applejack replied. "If anypony could find one however, it would be PInkie. I'll bring some back for y'all." She got up to follow the leaving pony.

She followed the ponies trail trough the forest for a while, never able to catch up. Going around a tree, she saw the pink tail disappear through the underbrush an into a clearing. She pushed her way through the tangled underbrush to see what was there. The last thing she remembered was darkness enveloping her vision.

.........

The leader will be much more useful than this pink fool It thought to itself, as it stepped into the clearing. It's equine form melted around it once more, and it approached it's newest victim. There was a black flash, and a pink pony appeared beside the orange one. A spark jumped to the pink ones head, transferring false memories with it. A black prism appeared over the orange one, as It moved the body into the darkness of the surrounding forest. Now It could cause some real chaos. Another black flash caused movement to return to the pink ones body. The pony looked around, still trying to find the apple tree that was planted in her memory. There was a snap of a twig behind her. Out of the shadows, stepped Applejack

A Light of Hope

The yellow pegasus groggily lifted her head from the forest floor, wondering why she had slept outside that night. Opening her eyes and glancing up at the sky, she noticed the full moon shining faintly through the evergreen she slept under. Why did her body prompt her to awaken under this moon? What could be so important to it? Her limbs felt too heavy to support her weight so she decided to simply lie there a little while longer.

Putting her head down on the soft, mossy pillow of the forest floor, she faintly noticed an orange pony walking back into the clearing where she was lying. A few memories pierced through the fog that enveloped her sleepy brain; Applejack telling her to rest, her friend reassuring her that everything was alright. She tried to lift her head once more, to see what the pony was doing, but it felt almost too heavy. Calmly, AJ walked over to her tired body, saying "Rest Fluttershy. We're in no hurry." The calming tone of her voice soothed the awoken pony back to a deep sleep.

........

Who knew time was this easy to steal It though to itself. Only a few days left until the princesses powers would fall, until it`s master would be free once more. Because as long as the princesses have their power, the stone prison would hold. Black magical lines started to glow all around the forest, magical lines it had been meticulously crafting for the past five hours as the ponies slept. A dark mist started to thicken, obscuring all vision.

It couldn't stay here forever. But they could.

.........

The intricately crafted columns that lined Canterlot Castle's Great Hall glowed faintly in the light-blue light that Rarities horn emitted. She trotted along, not too fast as to miss the beautiful paintings that adorned the walls, but not too slow as to keep the princesses waiting for the brand new jackets she had designed, which were levitating in front of here. Turning back to them, she inspected her work one last time. The colors matched the princesses coats perfectly, and were well padded for the cold nights of winter. They extended down to keep the hooves warm, and up to the neck, while not covering and obscuring the wearers mane. And most importantly, they could be put on with, or without, magic. The princesses did not complain about requiring her to help with daily things, such as combing their mane or putting on the elaborate dresses that formality required them to wear, but it was clear that they were not pleased with such things either.

Rarity was pulled out of her thoughts by the smells of the kitchen that wafted through the open air as she walked by. Her stomach grumbled and the delectable smells pulled her into the kitchen. Neither she, Twilight, nor the princesses had gotten lunch yet. Might as well bring them something up while she was headed that way.

"Greetings Rosemary" Rarity said as she walked into the kitchen

"Rarity! What a pleasure to see you!" she said. The chef was a pure white unicorn, that was one of the more sophisticated ponies in the building. And when in Canterlot Castle, that's saying something.

"How's everything in the kitchen?" she asked

"Not so good. With the days out of whack, I've got ponies coming to me every hour looking for breakfast. How am I supposed to run a kitchen, when ponies don't even know what meal it is!"

"It's a hard task to bring proper food to each meal, but how do you manage now?"

"I don't know Rarity. I just don't know." Rosemary just looked over at the gleaming kitchen she worked in. "So what can I get for you Rarity?"

The rumbling in her stomach returned again in full force. "I've heard fabulous things about your soup. Would you have any made so I could take it back to the princesses."

"Not at the moment, but I was just about to whip up another batch. If you come back in 15 minutes I'll have it ready. Can you wait that long?"

Rarity looked down at her stomach. However if waiting led to that fantastic soup, it was worth the wait. "I'll be back in 15 minutes."

Rarity walked out of the kitchen, still carrying the coats, wondering how to spend the next fifteen minutes. With every step she took away from the kitchen, the delectable smells faded ever so slightly to the back of her mind. She walked, dimly aware of where she was going, and taking in the fabulous sights, until she arrived at the large marble arched entrance into the library. Twilight always needed new books, and had made lists for everypony. Her feet must have subconsciously led her here. She levitated out the list, and started to walk to the nearest shelf, but collided with a walking column of books on her way

"Oh my, I'm terribly sorry about that. I should have been watching where I was going" Rarity said, looking for just what pony she had collided with, yet nopony was visible. Rarity looked around, confused, when a rustling emerged from underneath on of her coats. Out from the coat peaked the purple head of a baby dragon.

"Spike?"

"Hey Rarity. Sorry about this" he said, getting up and gesturing to the pile of books on the floor. He immediately started to collect them once more, piking up Rarities list in the process. "Twilight sent you here too?"

"You know her with books. Never has enough"

Spike finished collecting the fallen books and looked over Rarities list. "I've got all of the books on this list right here!" he said proudly. "You don't need to worry about a thing."

"Absolutely magnificent Spike!" she said, picking up her coats off the floor and giving them a quick brush down. She carefully inspected the seams for damage, and once satisfied they hadn't sustained any, turned back to Spike. "Since this seems to be in good hands, I'm headed back to the kitchen to grab the princesses lunch." she stated, walking back out of the library.

Spike, who had been proudly beaming from the complement, snapped back to reality. "Rarity, you do so much for the princesses. Let me go and get their food, and you should relax." he said, hurrying as fast as he could while carrying an immense stack of books.

"Spike, I'm more than capable of carrying a few bowls of soup"

"You spent innumerable hours fixing the princesses manes, outfits, rooms, and everything else that was even slightly out of place"

"Well, somebody needs to while they can't"

"Your always running around, and haven't taken any time to yourself."

"I'll have plenty of time later on" Rarity said resolutely, though unable to keep a hint of longing for the missing hours she normally did take just to herself

"Go, let me take care of this." Spike shouted, taking stepping between Rarity and the kitchen door.

"Really Spike? You don't mind?"

"Of course not!"

"You really are the best assistant I've ever seen!"

The books Spike was carrying wobbled a little, as the baby dragon felt his knees go weak with the compliment. He quickly regained his strength, knowing that Rarity would not let him help if he appeared incapable. Walking into the kitchen, he quickly walked out balancing four bowls of soup on the books, his arms, and even his tail. Extending the bowl on his tail to Rarity, she gratefully took it and began to eat.

"Now you can finally rest and do what you want for a while" Spike said, starting the long trek back to the princesses room

Rarity looked around the gleaming white halls. She could do anything she wanted in the whole castle. She could go to the spa, or the library, or anywhere. She could do whatever her heart desired. Glancing down the corridor, she decided how she would spend the time.

"Spike, wait up! Mind if I walk with you?"

.........

"We've been this way before!"

"No we haven't!"

Rainbow Dash was furious with Applejack at the moment. First they all slept in while she was standing watch, being supposed to wake them after an hour. But at how rested her wings felt, she was sure they had been sleeping more than an hour. But AJ insisted against it. With the moon still high in the sky, it was impossible to tell who was right. Then, when they were finally ready to get going, AJ took one look at the map and headed into the forest. That was at least an hour ago, and they had passed the same clearing 3 times so far.

"We're going in circles!"

"Ah know where we're headed."

To make matters worse, a thick black fog had fallen over the forest, obscuring most of the moon from view, the cold of the night had been pressing at them for such a long time it was eating to their bones, and every minute they spent in the forest the fog was getting thicker, causing them to be getting more and more lost.

"Just give me the map. I'll fly up and find out where we're headed."

"Fine. Have it." the orange pony said, stopping in the middle of the path. Rainbow Dash took to the skies, to try and get their bearings. The distinct sound of a cracking branch broke through the forest."

"I hope she's alright" Futtershy said, much to afraid to go up after her

"She's crashed into many branches before. And buildings, and many other things that would hurt. She'll be fine" Pinkie said, trying to reassure her friend

Neither of them notice Applejack walk into the deepest part of the fog. The spell is almost complete It thought to itself. Just a little longer and these ponies will never find their way out of the forest. Than I can focus on some more pressing issues. The fog grew another layer thicker as AJ returned to the back of the group.

A scratching sound started at the edge of the clearing they were in.

"Oh no. Somethings coming" Fluttershy said, cowering down to the ground. She looked to the sky, hoping Dash would come back and protect them from whatever evil lurked behind those trees. "Rainbow!" she shouted to the sky.

Before either of the other ponies could comfort the frightened pegasus, a rainbow blur streaked down from the sky and landed beside her. In her mouth was a map, or at least half of one. She apparently didn't notice the other half missing.

"It's alright Shy. What's wrong?"

"There's something there" she said, pointing at a pile of rocks across the clearing.

The scratching intensified

"Stand behind me!" she shouted, spitting the map out of her mouth and onto the forest floor.

First a claw appeared on top of the rock, black and sharp, followed by a dark-coated black bear stepping into the clearing. It was on four legs, searching for food.

Rainbow Dash tensed up, but Futtershy put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Oh, it's just a bear. I'm sorry I got all frightened about nothing." she said, taking a few steps towards the bear.

Rainbow Dash looked down onto the ground, at the half a map lying there. In her rush to get back, the map had accidentally ripped on one of the trees. The other half was lost in the forest behind them.

"What's a bear like you doing awake at a time like this? You must be starving!" she heard Fluttershy say. "I'm sure I can find something for you to eat around here. You look starving."

In all the commotion, they had all but forgotten the orange earth pony. She smiled to herself, picking up a small rock in her powerful hooves. Time to cause some chaos, and escape. The rock went flying through the air, faster than the eye could see, and hit the bear squarely in the chest. The bear roared up in a fury. Fluttershy screamed

"FLUTTERSHY" Dash shouted, looking up to see the powerful claws of the bear coming down towards the frightened pony. She picked up the nearest, and strongest branch she could find, and launched herself towards the bear. It's claws landed on the branch, mere inches from Fluttershy's face. Dash was pushing the bear back with all her strength, but it was not going to be enough.

"Fluttershy, MOVE!" she shouted, and the frightened pony obeyed the order.

.........

Applejack had disappeared from view again. This time, she was standing just inside the clearing, out of view. Beside her was standing ... well, her. It let the orange ponies form melt away into the shadows, leaving only the real Applejack standing. I have more important things to attend to. Perhaps I can return if they ever make it out of this forest. A spark jumped to the orange pony, relaying false memories as always. It took another step deeper into the forest, and movement returned to the orange leader. Immediately, she ran into the field, shouting "Ah'm coming Dash!". It disappeared deeper into the shadows of the woods, knowing exactly how to escape. It's time to return, master. By the time they escaped from this forest, enough time would have passed. By that time, you will be free be free.

.........

"Where were you?" Dash shouted, as Applejack lunged and pressed her weight against the branch.

"Sorry, ah was searching for that half o' the map" she said.

A faint cracking was heard coming from the branch.

"On 3?" Dash said, glancing over to her companion. A silent conversation was exchanged between the two ponies, Dash's eyes trying desperately to relay a plan to AJ.

"Alright" she replied with a curt nod, seeming to understand completely. If there was any doubt in her eyes, it was covered up by determination.

"1"

Cracks were appearing down the branch. AJ was wondering whether it would hold for the entire count

"2"

Splinters flew as the bear raked its claws against the branch. It stepped back and threw its entire weight towards the ponies

"3"

Both AJ and Dash darted to different sides, sending the bear flying forward. In unison, both ponies turned around and buck as hard as they could into the bears side. No matter how much padding the bears fur provided, it could not withstand the combined power of both ponies. It reared up, in pain this time, and fled back into the woods.

"Great job AJ!" Dash said, approaching her friend with a hoof raised high

"Jus like th' apple trees" she smiled, raising her own hoof to meet Dash's.

"I was almost afraid that you wouldn't pick up on my plan"

"Ah've known ya long enough to know ya'd pull some crazy shenanigans like that."

Both ponies glanced after the bear to make sure it wasn't going to return. Confident they had scared it away for good, they turned around to take care of their frightened friends.

"Are you hurt?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking Fluttershy over carefully for cuts or bruises.

"No, I'm alright." she said. "Thanks to you."

"Pinkie, are ya fine too?" AJ asked

"Wow, that was AWESOME! Dash you were like KAPOW and smacked that bear with the stick and than AJ, you came out of nowhere and were so strong, and than both of you just hit that bear so hard, it ran away, and it was so amazing we should have something to celebrate!" she said, surprisingly all in one breath.

"Ah'll take that as an 'alright'"

Pinkie looked up, pulling some cupcakes from her saddle bag. "Want one?"

"Ah think we best get going."

"But we don't even know where we're going" Dash pointed out

"Yes we do" AJ said, pulling the compass out of her bag. The needle glowed a faint orange that reminded them of the last sunset they had seen, and pointed off into the forest.

..........

"Are you ready Twilight?" Celestia asked.

Twilight looked around. They were at the highest point of the tallest tower of the castle, a special platform designed for taking off and landing during high altitude flights. When Twilight asked about the location, Celestia's only reply was "even a small difference can tip the scales to success". Being closer to the sun, even if it was only a hundred meters closer than the observatory, could make a difference, that was if the biting cold of a winter nights breeze didn't get to her first.

She looked to her left and saw Rarity, that reassuring face she always had. At their feet stood Spike, always there for her, always dependable. On her other side was Celestia, determination in her eyes and reassurance in her smile. Luna stood on the far side of Celestia, knowing that without magic she would be little help, but still wishing to be whatever aid she could.

"I'm ready"

Just like always, she reached out to the sun. She was accustomed to it's position in the sky from their many exercises, and knew she could find it easily. The beam of magic she sent out was slimmer, and fast than her first try. It used much less energy this way, because she would need every ounce of magic in her body for what she was attempting to do

Today was the day she tried to raise the sun

The coldness of space still shocked her, and the cold winds that blew around her physical body did not help the compulsive shivers. As quickly as possible, she turned her beam in space and headed towards the sun.

A familiar warmth filled her, fighting back the cold of space. The moments when she felt the sun, she felt complete. But she could not dwell on that feeling, because every second she spent in the expanse of space, was a second more exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. She focused all of her energy into that beam of magic, collecting all of the power within her soul in an attempt to do the impossible. Every ounce of energy she had ever known collected around the sun, tendrils of magic shooting up the beam of light and trying to envelop the sun. More power than she had ever known was resting on the edge of her consciousness. Directing the power to action, she attempted to move the sun.

A decision she immediately regretted. The sun itself seemed to lash back at her, pain at the immense magical exertion seared through her horn, and her body. Twilight had just enough time to retract the energy from the spell before it shattered in a brilliant display of lose magic.

The sky glittered with purple from where the tiny beam had just been. The sight was quite beautiful, and the ponies could have appreciated it if it did not symbolized Twilight's failure.

"I'm sorry Celestia. I couldn't do it."

"I know you'll be able to Twilight. Were you at least able to recover your magic?" Celestia asked

"Yes, but I couldn't do anything" she said, knowing her mentor wanted her to try again. The searing pain in her horn was starting to die down. "I placed all my energy into that spell, and the sun just brushed it off. I don't think there's anything I can do."

"We've been training for this day for such a long time. I know you can do it."

Twilight wanted to believe the words, but hidden underneath them she heard a faint tone of pleading. Almost as if Celestia were begging her to try again, if she were on the verge of giving up. Twilight already knew what the outcome of a second attempt would be.

"I'm sorry Celestia, I just can't do it,"

"Than I guess I was wrong about you." she said. A tear rested on the edge of Celestia's eye. "You are not fit to be my apprentice. Goodbye Twilight"

Every pony standing on the platform gasped, shocked at the news. Rarity begged her to reconsider, and Spike burst into tears. But none of this commotion reached Twilight's mind. The only thing that did was despair. Her hopes. Her dreams. Gone. Shattered. She had been abandoned by the one pony who she loved and trusted, the one pony she had worked her entire life to impress. Was it her fault? Was she too weak? Anger took over instead, anger at her own weakness, and refusal to continue. Couldn't she have just been stronger. Tried again. From deep within her welled up a fear. What would she do now? Return to ponyville as the failed apprentice? Her entire life had fallen apart with that one shocking decision.

The cold feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed her. Coldness, fear, anger, despair. She wanted so badly to hold onto the love that Celestia had once given her, the warmth that filled her soul at those times. From the depths of her soul a magic more powerful than she had felt in a long time came to the surface. She may have been abandoned, but she would not forget the lessons of control she had learnt. She shot that magic out towards the sun, wanting to feel it's warm embrace once more. The frigid barrier of space was as cold as the despair she already felt. The magic within her was still building to neigh-unbearable levels. Her vision started to turn purple. NO. She would not let her lack of control deny her last chance to feel that warmth. Containing, but not dispelling the magic, she reached her power forwards to the sun. And overwhelming fire met her, but the warmth and love she had known was gone.

The sudden disappointment brought even more magic to the surface, threatening to overwhelm her. All warmth had left her world. As the magic pressed in, starting to block out her senses, clouding her vision, a single spot of warmth appeared on the edge of her consciousness. Without thinking, she reached for it, pushing the magic back under control once more. The warmth grew, and started to take form. It emanated from a pure white hoof resting on her shoulder. She looked up to see the tear streaked face of her former mentor, smiling down at her. A near infinite pool of magic pressed against her mind. She took her own magic that was still threatening to overwhelm her, and joined it with that of her mentors. Together they guided their joined powers. Together, they rose the sun.

.........

"Look! The sun!" Rainbow Dash shouted, as the first beams of light pierced through the barren trees. The black fog seemed to melt away under it's pure light, and it's warming heat drove off the bitter cold.

"Yay, the suns up!"

"This calls for a party!"

"Ah knew ya could do it Twilight!" Applejack stared up into the bright beams of sunlight that signified the purple unicorns greatest success, and wished she could be there to congratulate her directly. But they had their own problems to worry about. They had a diamond chalice to find.

"We better keep on goin" she said, cutting the celebration short. Now that the bright sunlight shone down upon the forest, they could clearly see the end was not that far away. AJ looked down at the compass, and then followed the needle up to the mountains that lay in the distance.

.........

A blinding light took It by surprise. It looked up to see the sun rising over the horizion. But how? The princesses did not have such magic left? Regardless, it was just another obstacle for It to overcome.

It looked down to see the thick shadows surrounding It fade away in the morning light, revealing a pure white... something. It was a pony, but one like had never been seen before. It had four legs like any pony, strong and powerful. It had a horn like a unicorn, through which it could access an immensely powerful store of magic. But it also had only one wing. Whether this was as a result of a magical experiment gone wrong, or it was born like this, was uncertain. Perhaps it was this defect that caused It's master to take It in.

When It looked at Itself, a fear spread through It's mind. Not from this appearance, but from the dark lines that had spread all over it's body. The lines seemed to emanate from it's horn, and brought a sinister smudge to it's body. Leaning down, It touched one of the lines with it's horn. A black shock ran through It's mind, and a fear greater than the world itself seemed to press down upon It's mind for a single second. During that second It knew just what had happened. So this is what Master warned me against. I must make a point to be more sparing with my magic to stop such a curse from spreading.

It turned It's head towards the mountain. So much was needed to be done, and It had precious little time to do it. It glanced at the blackness once more. How little time it had left. Running full speed across the barren plains of Equestria, it headed straight for the mountain where the Crystal Chalice was held.

.........

The warmth of the sun shone down upon her. The warmth of Celestia's sun. The warmth she helped guide back to the world. Twilight couldn't feel her knees. She couldn't comprehend the feelings that she felt. So she just felt. She felt warm, overwhelming warmth, the might have been caused by relief, satisfaction, hope, love, or perhaps all of that. The emotions were so strong that they overwhelmed thought. Twilight felt her legs collapse from underneath her. She saw the floor rising up to meet her.

Twilight landed on a soft, velvety red couch with a gold border.

"Absolutely magnificent Twilight" Rarity said, already jumping into action. "I never doubted your abilities, but that was extremely impressive. And a bit dramatic if I might add." She glared at Celestia, who was crouched over the couch.

"Don't be angry" Twilight said. "It was necessary. I would never have been able to access that magic without her." Tears streamed forth as the painful emotions welled up inside her once more, threatening to break trough the joy of the moment

"It was still a step to far" Celestia said, bending down in front of Twilight to fill her view. "I should never have put you through such pain, regardless of the circumstances. I'm truly sorry for the pain I put you through"

"It's alright Celestia." A shiver went down Twilight's back. "Just promise you won't do something like it again."

"Twilight, I didn't know if I would be able to do it this time. Going through with that was the hardest choice I've ever made, over my thousands of years as ruler. I know I won't be able to make that choice again. Twilight, I promise I won't ever abandon you."

Twilight just stared into her mentors eyes. Tears streaked down Celestia's face, tears of sorrow for her actions and tears of joy at their success. Twilight was now starting to unravel the host of emotions that plagued her. The pain from before seemed to melt away, as the warmth of Celestia's love flowed through her. Her hopes and dreams had rested with her mentor, that only a short while ago had been shattered, were now complete and clear. Only together had they overcome the impossible, and she finally knew why Celestia had chosen her. She trusted Celestia with her world, as Celestia trusted her with her sun.

"Celestia" she said, looking deep into the Ruler of the Sun's eyes.

"Yes Twilight"

"You know I forgive you. For everything."

"Thank-you Twilight. You have no idea what that means to me." But Celestia felt that somehow, her apprentice knew exactly what those words meant to her.

Rarity walked up to them, apparently returning from something. As soon as she approached, a faint blue glow appeared around the area and the cold wind died down. Levitating beside here were 4 plates with sandwiches on them, and a bowl filled with rubies.

"Here you go everypony. Freshly prepared and delicious, just what you need after such a stupendous success." She placed a plate down in front of each pony present, and the rubies in front of the baby dragon. Celestia took hers and took a few steps back, giving Twilight enough room to comfortably lie down and eat.

Twilight started to lift her sandwich up with a faint purple glow.

"No you don't Twilight" Rarity said, enveloping the sandwich with her own light-blue magic.

"Rarity, I can handle myself."

"Darling, you've just raised the sun. You used more magic than we even thought possible. Now there is no way that I am letting a friend of mine over-exert themselves when they don't need to. Understand?"

"I didn't lift the sun by myself. I just helped to tip the scales to success." she said, glancing over at her mentor. Celestia smiled back at her star pupil.

"Twilight" Rarity said. She could be down-right scary when she was determined, and Twilight didn't have the energy needed to argue.

"Alright Rarity. You win."

"It's not about winning and losing" she said, levitating the sandwich towards Twilight's mouth so she could take a large bite of it. "It's about helping your friends."

Both Luna and Celestia appeared to have enough energy to eat on their own, with there hooves, and were sitting only a small distance away.

"Hardest choice you ever made?" questioned Luna.

"You didn't give me any other choices" Celestia said glumly "and not a night went by where I didn't wish otherwise."

Those words struck true in Luna's heart. No matter how many times she wished the past did not happen, there was nothing that could change it. She glanced up to see the purple unicorn falling asleep under the morning sun.

"There you go Twilight" Rarity said, taking good care of her friend. "Get some rest." A blanket floated over to the couch and landed on top of the exhausted friend. She turned back to the two allicorns, noticing one of them already falling asleep on the floor. She slid another blanket underneath the tired princess. Celestia looked up, appreciation flooding her eyes, and than slowly placed her head back on the blanket. Rarity placed a third on top to keep her warm, and turned to Luna.

"Let's go Princess. These two need their sleep."

Luna gave one last look at the sleeping pair. They had just overcome almost un-surmountable odds, and did so together. They deserved this rest. She followed Rarity off the landing platform, leaving mentor and apprentice to sleep under the morning sun.

Enveloping Darkness

It paced around in the cave, in a ruthless fury. The sun had risen. Against all its preparations and countermeasures it had still risen. Neither princess alone could have had enough magic to do so. Could they? Now was not the time to question things, now was the time to act. The black mark spread further across it's body every time it tried to access the dark magic, so it decided that such spells were only to be used in dire need. It had more to fear from that mark than the ponies it used such magic on. Its only hope to reverse such a curse was the creator of the magic himself. But even that was being threatened, as the approaching ponies would not just turn around. Something drastic needed to be done to stop, or at least delay, the relentless ponies. And something had to be done about that sun. But what?

The thoughts that traveled through it's mind were broken by the shouts of another pony nearby

"WEEEEEE! We're here!"

It turned around to see a pink pony bouncing towards the cave. They were here faster than expected. The sun must have also dispelled the magical fog, and every other curse it had placed around that forest. Everything was falling apart. No, get yourself together. The stone prison is still weakening, and with minimal use of magic the curse too would be delayed. Slipping through the blackness of the cave, it hid in one of the nearby side passages.

"Alrigh, we made it this far, and saved a ton of time to boot. This 'ere compass sure knows the way!"

The leader came into view, carrying the compass. It was working for her? Of course it was, or else the princesses would have never chosen such a troupe for this expedition. Following behind were the two pegasi, the cyan one prompting the yellow one to follow.

"Cummon Fluttershy, what are you waiting for?"

The timid yellow pegasus entered the cave. A perfect subject to bring about some chaos with. It glanced down at the black lines, just reaching it's flank. A single spell wouldn't cost too much magic.

As the pegasus stepped into the cave, walking blindly past the passage where It was waiting. A loud CRACK emminated from across the hallway.

The startled pegasus jumped in fear, bolting away from the sound and into the closest side-passage; directly into the black spike It wielded. It quickly placed a black prism around her, feeling a shock of fear as the black curse devoured the energy it placed into the spell, spreading onto its flank and down its leg. But such a cost was necessary - if things went according to plan than It would be the only one leaving this cave. It turned around

Into the cave, stepped Fluttershy

.........

The sound of hoofsteps echoed for miles through the cave, waves of sound disappearing into the faint light and returning to each ponies ears, amplified by the steps of the others. As the sounds mixed together, it gave an ominous feel to the cave; the faint glow emanating from enchanted gemstones in the wall completed the effect. Each pony felt as if they were walking into an abyss, so large that it would swallow them in its giant mouth, never to allow them to escape. The only sense of security available were the mine-cart tracks, long ago used to transport gemstones, now in a state of disrepair, and the presence of the other ponies around them.

The mine cart track travel straight into the cave, unimpeded by the tentativeness that even Applejack showed as she led the way. As the track approached an open pit, it turned to the side, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie continued to go straight, walking fearlessly up to the pit. While the massive cave was threatening, nothing could prepare the ponies for the immense size. It was a crevice opening from the ground, extending to near infinity.

"Whoa" said Applejack as she walked up to the edge. The monstrous size left even Dash at a loss for words, landing beside her friend.

Pinkie walked up to the edge and looked directly into the pit

"Be careful Pinkie, it's a long way down." said Dash

"It's a long long long LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way down. I wounder how far down it is?" she replied, kicking a rock into the pit.

The echo's from the falling rock continued to reverberate for a good minute, and nopony could tell when the rock stopped falling and the echos kept coming.

"It's dangerous that close Pinkie" said AJ

"Danger? I laugh in the face of danger. Or was that fear? Either way, it still works!" Pinkie said, letting out a joyous laugh.

The walls of the cave bounced the sound back, perverting it to a malicious, evil sound. The effects of the cave seemed to mesmerize the ponies that stood perilously close to the edge, as if they tempted death itself. In this trance, the three ponies seemed to forget about their timid shy companion.

Giving the perfect opportunity to more direct action into the downfall of the ponies. Fluttershy walked silently up behind the ponies, creeping to the edge of the pit still unseen by the others. Bracing her back legs on the ground, she lifted up her fore-hooves and brought them to right behind the pink ponies back. With one violent action, she pushed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

The blood curdling scream bounced off the walls of the cave, filling the ears of the ponies with a terrifying sound.

"PINKIE!" Applejack shouted, lunging to grab one of the flailing hooves before it was too far away. Unfortunately she was not fast enough, almost losing her balance.

"Don't worry" shouted Rainbow Dash, pushing AJ back from the edge with her hooves and launching herself towards her falling friend. Spikes of rock stuck out from the uneven wall, threatening to impale her wings as she stretched them as wide as she could to achieve maximum speed. Each flap of the wings brought her closer to her friend, but closer to death

"Stop flailing and spread your hooves out wide!"

"But.."

"Do you want to have another party? Than listen to me!"

The frightened pony closed her mouth, and followed Dash's directions.

Gliding closer to the pony, she extended her hooves and wrapped them around the falling friend, and pushed her wings as far as they would go. A pure pain surged through her body, wind whipping through her wings as she tried to support the weight of two ponies. The ground appeared through the darkness rushing up to meet them.

"We can make it." she said, more to give herself courage than to re-assure her friend. With a monumental effort that made her wings feel like they would snap, she pushed with all her muscles downwards against gravity to re-direct their movement and turn skyward. The ground kept on approaching, but at a lesser rate. Another flap of the wings, and the ground all but seemed to stop below them. Pushing with all her might, it disappeared back into the darkness as they began their ascent.

"I can do this!" Dash said, flapping her wings again. The momentum from their re-directed velocity kept them moving upwards, but they were slowing.

"I can do this" she said, straining with every flap. The muscles screamed for a release from the pain, but she would not give it to them.

"I can't do this." Her wings gave out from under her, and they started falling.

"DASH!" shouted the frightened passenger.

The sound of a friend in need caused her wings to snap open again. Try as she might, there was no way she could lift both their weights.

"Is... there anything.... you can do.... to lose.... some weight." Dash panted. "Ditch.... some stuff.... from that.... bag"

Pinkie turned to the saddle bag she was carrying and reached deep into the pockets. She pulled out a handful of balloons and a metal cylinder

Dash turned her attention to cliff, the top now invisible because of the distance, and began to fly once more. Closing her eyes, she focused only on the act of flying. Flaping wings. One after the other. Pain was all she felt, but she would not give in. Pain turned to numbness, and the dulling of feelings in her wings made each flap come easier. She opened her eyes to see how much further to the destination, only to have it obscured by a yellow color

"Pinkie?" she said, looking down towards the pink earth pony. There were balloons of all colors tied around her. She looked up, filling the last of the balloons from the metal container she was holding.

"Helium. Lighter than air" she said matter-of-factly, as if she had been planning to float on helium balloons her entire life.

The POP of a balloon brought Rainbow Dash's attention back to the flight. A glance at Pinkie revealed all of the helium to be gone, so as the last echo of the explosion faded into the darkness she directed her wings to give them some distance from the wall. Turning her attention upwards once more, she strained against gravity again. Their combined weight had greatly decreased due to the buoyancy of the balloons, but it made it by no means an easy flight. The edge slowly came into view above them, as Dash struggled to make the last few wing flaps to reach safety. As they got closer, a faint weeping was audible from the ledge

"She's... she's..." came Fluttershy's voice, barely able to talk between sobs. "I wasn't looking... and now... I bumped into her..."

"It'll be alright, Shy" came the comforting voice of AJ "I'm sure Dash and Pinkie will be back here soon."

"No... it's all my fault." she said, sobbing into the earth ponies mane. "Pinkie... she's..."

"I'm what?" Pinkie said, as Dash rose the last few feet to above the cliff.

The two ponies lying on the cliff turned around.

"YOU'RE ALRIGHT!"

"Of course we are. Dash is such a good flyer, she wouldn't let anything happen." Pinkie said

"Nothing" Dash panted, setting Pinkie on the ground, and lying down herself.

"So, how do I look?" Pinkie asked

The three ponies looked at their friend, with the balloons still tied around her waist. Sometimes it was hard to take that poney seriously, and they all burst into laughter.

"Very fitting, Pinkie." said AJ.

Their laughter echoed throughout the cave, bringing a joyous atmosphere to the otherwise frightening situation as the tired ponies rested before continuing.

........

The dining hall was beautiful as ever for the two unicorns that entered it, majestic and powerful. The table was perfectly polished marble that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. In fact, everything seemed warm and inviting under the light of the sun. The sun I raised thought Twilight. It still didn’t seem real, everything that happened. An event that seemed so unlikely that your mind cannot accept the reality of it. She had to ask, just to make sure

“It’s real, isn’t it?”

“What’s real, darling?” replied Rarity, instantly giving her undivided attention to her friend.

“The sky, the moon, the sun, all of it!” A gesture to the sun revealed what was still lingering in her thoughts.

“Of course it is! You really did lift that massive sentinel of hope burning in the sky.”

“It just seems so... so monumental that it’s doesn’t seem possible it actually happened”

“Well that’s what life is. You’re just going along, until something monumental like this happens. And once it’s done, life continues as it always has, as if nothing even happened at all. Sometimes when you look back, it's hard to know whether it all actually happened, because things start up the exact same as before. Well, not the exact same. We each have a magic-less alicorn to look after.”

Both girls let out a little giggle at the last comment, relieved that they could still find joy amongst such troubles.

“I prefer ‘assist’ to 'look after'.”

Both ponies turned around to see the two princesses entering the hallway

“Oh, Celestia, I didn’t mean any offe-“

“Though 'take care of' is probably the most accurate term.” Celestial grinned at her student, taking a seat at the head of the table, Luna beside her.

“Lunch is ready!” came the call, as Spike walked out of the kitchen balancing 4 daffodil sandwiches. “Unfortunately the normal servers still think it’s night time, so you’ll have to excuse the reach of my tail.” The plates were placed on the table and Spike took a seat next to Rarity.

“Finally, something that doesn’t involve magic to eat” Rarity said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I was starting to get annoyed with all of the soups and such made for unicorns. Not that I’m complaining about helping, but it’s nice to finally sit back and enjoy a meal for once.”

"What's this, your first time relaxing in a week?" Twilight teased, before realizing just how close to the truth those words were.

“I shall make sure that sandwiches become a more common item." Celestia said "Rosemary probably doesn’t realise all the trouble that her meals are causing.”

As the ponies started to eat their sandwiches, Twilight noticed there were only three of them. Luna had silently picked up her sandwich and was retreating down the hallway.

“Do you mind if I take this with me? I just don’t feel that hungry at the moment.”

Noticing the distressed look on her friends face Rarity asked “is everything all right?”

“it’s fine, just could you ‘assist’ Celestia for the rest of the day? There’s something that I need to do.”

“Of course.” Rarity decided sometimes it was best not to pry into a friends thoughts.

Twilight grabbed her sandwich off the plate and started to walk down the hallway, following the path she had seen Luna take just a few moments ago.

"Luna, wait up!"

The deep blue allicorn turned her head to see who was calling, carrying a plate with a daffodil sandwich in her mouth. Her head wasn't held as high as normal, and there was a gloomy look in her eye.

"Hey Twilight."

The purple unicorn walked over and magically lifted the plate from her mouth, more as a reflex trying to be helpful than a conscious gesture

"I really wanted to apologize for suspecting you for ... this whole ordeal." Twilight said, gesturing to the sun above them. "It's been bugging me ever since that first day"

"It's OK Twilight. I'm used to it."

"That's no excuse. It was still wrong of me, and I know that your a better alicorn than I gave you credit for back then. I'm sorry."

"Really Twilight, it's alright."

She looked around the room. Their feet had taken them to the observatory. The sun shone down through the multitude of windows, glistening on the many instruments and reflecting off the walls. The entire room was bathed in a bright and blinding light, that gave Twilight a comforting feel about the place

"The observatory" she said. "It's nice in the sun, even though it's not really useful during the day"

"It's a nice place to come. I always make my way up here when I'm troubled to look at the stars."

Together they walked to the window, almost blinded by the bright sun.

"What's troubling you Luna?"

"It's ... nothing really."

"No, I wan't to help"

"Twilight, please."

"Alright."

Twilight looked at the princess, and then up towards the sky. What she really needed right now was a friends, someone she could count on no matter what the circumstances, someone to be there for her without needing to pry into her problems, but just to help wherever they could. But Luna never really had anypony since her return. She could be that pony. Placing the sandwiches she had been carrying on the ground Twilight gazed towards the sun. She knew what she had to do.

Twilight reached into her well of magic once more, gathering up every ounce of power she could. Stretching it towards the sky, she glanced down at Luna. The alicorn gave a questioning look to her, which she replied to with a smile. Returning her mind to the sun, she narrowed her focus and concentrated her magic on the sun. Weaving a field of magic, she pushed all of her power into the spell

The light reaching the observatory was immediately cut to near-nothing. Twilight opened an eye to look at the sky, but it was still a mid-blue, the type of sky that you saw at twilight except without all the colors that bathed the world in a mysterious glow. Closing her eyes once more she focused solely on the magic. All she felt was the spell, and the physical and mental strain that it caused as she pushed the field to be even larger. She could not open her eyes, not even for a second to see if she was successful, for fear of losing her concentration

Luna looked over at the unicorn, surrounded by a harsh purple glow that she channeled through her horn. The light darkened another magnitude, and she turned her head back to the sky. There was a single strip of midnight blue, and shining through the sky were three faint stars. A tear came to the alicorn's eye. Here was a unicorn that would go to such lengths to help her, with no gain for herself. A unicorn she would be glad to call a friend. The three faintly twinkling lights put her heart at ease.

"Thank you Twilight" she whispered.

The unicorn could only hold such an extensive spell for a few seconds. When the magic started to slip, there was nothing she could do to force it to remain. Letting the last of her power slip from her grasp, she collapsed upon the floor, now bright again in the sunshine. She looked over to see Luna lying on the ground beside her, still staring at the sky. Luna turned back towards the exhausted unicorn.

"Thank you."

.........

The four ponies walked swiftly through the cave, because nopony wanting to spend more time than necessarily in the mines. Every minute in the damp underground passages let more moisture condensate on their skin, providing an irritating itch that ran deep into their bones

Rainbow Dash looked around at the walls of the tunnel they walked through. Embedded with gemstones, the faint light faintly lit up the passage. The walls themselves seemed too close together, an illusion of the mind that seemed all to real. Dash picked up the pace, something matched by the ponies around her. The only thing she wanted more than to leave this mine and never return, was to leave the very tunnel they were in. Relief came in the form of another open pit before them, and while she would not stretch her wings and leave her friends side, the simple knowledge that she could was reassuring. She walked towards the winding path that followed the cliff, the only way around the canyon. The mine cart tracks had long since disappeared, and they were traveling with only the compass for directions

"Whoa there Dash. Let's just slow down a bit." said Applejack, putting a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "No need to rush towards a perilous cliff."

"Ya Dashy, just cause all these mining type ponies like big scary dangerous drops and tiny winding paths and nopony really wants to be here very long doesn't mean we can't just slow down a bit." said Pinkie, surprisingly still with breath to spare. "Actually, I really really really don't want to be here, so that's enough reason to barrel on." With that, the pink pony took the lead, bouncing perilously close to the cliff, while never even slipping up on the narrow path.

"I don't know" said Fluttershy, looking at the path

"Than jus' fly around" said AJ over her shoulder

"Oh, right"

"Cummon Shy" shouted Dash, already having taken to the sky and halfway across the pit.

"I'm gonna beat you to the other side, Dashy"

"Oh, no you don't"

With a blur of rainbow light, distorted from the light of the crystals, she dashed towards the far side, arriving seconds before a pink blur rushed past her

"Alright you two, enough foalish behavior, it's time to focus on the search. We're getting closer" AJ said, walking past them and staring down at the compass in her hooves.

The other side of the path was another long, narrow tunnel. AJ walked into it without even filching. The only difference about this one were the mine cart tracks had returned, and the railroad once used to transport diamonds now gave a nice break from the uneven rocky ground.

Great. More narrow tunnels Dash thought to herself, watching Pinkie enter the long tunnel ahead of her. She stared down the passage, trying to work up the courage to enter. The only break from the oppressive walls was the occasional side passage along the wall. Taking a deep breath, she took her first step towards the passage, only to have her legs freeze up. Stretching her wings out, she let out sigh of relief to see the few feet of leeway on each side. As long as she avoided the stalactites, flying was possible. A soon as her feet left the ground, the fear seemed to melt away. It's not quite the freedom of the skies, but it'll do for now. She would never admit to anypony how hard that was. The great Rainbow Dash afraid of caves? A title she could go without. As always, Fluttershy was the last to follow

Fluttershy quickly glanced up and down the tunnel they were entering. Time was running short, and she could not allow them to proceed. But their loyalty to each other knew no bounds, and they had proved they would risk their lives for each other. Risk their lives... a plan started to formulate in it's mind. A black line of magic traveled up the tunnel, in the opposite direction from the ponies and found it's target. A black shot of magic launched out through the darkness. For a split second, overwhelming fear returned, unable to be kept at bay by It's mind, paralyzing it until it could force the emotions back down. A loud noise reverberated through the passage.

"Wha's that?" said Applejack, turning around. Fluttershy slowly covered the distance between them, as the other ponies waited, listening.

"I don't hear anything." she said as she approached her friends.

"It's probably nothing, just a falling rock" Rainbow Dash said, still floating in the air and continuing through the passage

"Ya, nothin."

The four ponies kept on walking, A bit uneasy about the current situation. The lights seemed to flicker, even though the magic enchantments had been stable for hundreds of years; the ground itself seemed to shake and rumble beneath their feet. Nothing seemed safe.

"Something feels off." Applejack said

"Does the ground feel all rumbly grumbly to you too?" Pinkie asked.

AJ stopped in the middle of the track. The shaking was intensifying, and a sound was growing from nothing, reverberating down the hallways. A clickity clack, like metal striking metal repeatedly. She turned around, and only then realized the source of the sound.

"MINE CART! RUN!"

Barreling along at an already ridiculous speed, a solid steel cart was shooting straight for them. The closer it got, the more deafening the sound.

Pinkie Pie turned tail and fled down the pathway, overtaking Applejack and Rainbow Dash within a second. A passage was coming up at the side of the tunnel a little ways away. At this rate they would make it. Dash turned around to check on the cart, only to see their oversight

"Fluttershy, run faster."

"I'm trying."

"FLY!"

Fluttershy launched herself into the air, spreading her wings wide. The sound of the cart was so deafening by now it threatened to block out all thought. She glanced behind her to see the cart. A fatal mistake. At once her wings locked up, freezing at her side. Dropping out of the sky, she face planted in the ground, directly in the path of the incoming cart,

"FLUTTERSHY!"

Rainbow Dash turned around and sped towards her friend. Applejack turned her head and immediately knew Dash wasn't going to be fast enough. But the loyal friend would not give up, and would get crushed herself trying to save Shy. Two lives were at risk, stressing her brain even more trying to find a way to help. She planted her front hooves in the ground for support. Digging her back hooves under a railroad tie, she pushed with all her might. Even for such a powerful pony, she still strained under the pressure, but was eventually able to send the tie flying. It launched through the air, crashing into a stalactite hanging from the ceiling. The stone spike fell crashing to the ground, landing directly between the barreling cart and unprotected friend

The cart crashed into the spike, sending rock fragments flying through the air. The cart didn't stop, but lost a significant amount of speed. Rainbow Dash dodged her way through the flying debris and towards Fluttershy. Landing by the pony, she wrapped her hooves around the frightened pegasus and launched herself back down the tunnel, mere inches before the cart crushed the ground behind them. Throwing Shy forward, she landed on AJ's back as the pony turned tail and fled from the approaching cart. Flying right above AJ, the heroic duo dodged into the side passage where Pinkie was waiting for them. The mine cart sped past them, the rumbling of the ground lessening and the deafening sound disappearing into the distance

"You ponies are AWESOME! I can't believe so just ran back in there and smashed that cart and saved Fluttershy and you didn't even break a sweat!" Pinkie said

"You... you saved me?" Fluttershy said, still in shock and astonishment at her rescue

"Shy, I'd never let anything happen to you. You don't have to worry while I'm around." Dash said, sincerity in her voice.

"Everypony, I think y'all best come over here." came Applejack's voice from down the passage. She was staring at the wall, the compass resting in her hoof

"What is it, AJ? said Pinkie, walking up to the earth pony.

That's when she saw it. Glistening in the faint light of the cave, wedged inside of a crevice, was a chalice made entirely of diamond.

"That's amazing!" Pinkie walked towards the crack and just stared at it

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get it!" Dash ran towards the crack, shoving her forehoof in to try an reach the cup. Coming back empty hooved she shoved her wing in to try and hook the handle on it's tip, but to no avail. Disappointed, she puled back, but her wing was stuck. Immediately fear began to course through her veins, as she struggled to free herself.

"Dash, calm down." Applejack walked closer and laid a hoof on her friends shoulder, but that did nothing to lessen her struggles. Dash look down at her wing, and a fresh wave of fright coursed through her veins. It was not a fear of caves, not before and not now. No, now she realized her only fear was losing the freedom her wings gave her. The thought of never flying again flashed through her mind, overlapped with the idea that she might never leave the cave, trapped never to see her beloved open sky again. Her mind worked itself into s frenzy to try and slip free of the rocks

"Dash, you're gonna break somethin, stop." Logic could not break through the fear the clouded her mind. Looking into her friends eyes, she saw her taken back to a frightening memory. Feathers started to pull out of her wing as she strained to remove it from the crevice.

"DASH."

She pushed her friend up against the wall, the physical action eliciting a response from her pony friend.

"What?"

"You need to calm down. Panic will get you nowhere. Alright?"

Their eyes met, and in a split second her fear disappeared into the deep eyes of a friendly face. A friend that was there to help fight away her fears.

"Alright AJ. I'm calm. Now get me out."

Reaching a hoof into the crack, she gently unhooked the wing from the rough edge it was stuck on, and guided it out.

"Better?"

"Better."

"Now, how do we get that there chalice out here?" Applejack sat down on by the edge of the crack, thinking. They were so close, yet it seemed miles away from them. "If only we had a unicorn here."

"Did somepony call for a unicorn?" said Pinkie, bouncing up to her friends. She put her head into her saddlebags, and removed it with a party hat on her head like a horn

"Pinkie, tha's not what I meant."

"What, is it not looooooooong enough?"

The only response Applejack could give was to bury her face in her hoof.

"Magic wouldn't work on it anyway, remember." Dash, said, sitting beside her friend

"Ooh, how about now, how about now?" Pinkie said, jumping up and down with 6 hats stacked on her head. She shoved her head into the crevice

"Pinkie, that's NOT GOING TO WORK." Rainbow Dash shouted, visibly annoyed with the ridiculous schemes of their pink friend.

Pinkie removed her head from the crevice, the handle of the chalice hooked on the end of her party hats. "What did you say? I couldn't hear you with my head in the big crack in the wall."

"Nothing."

"Great job, Pinkie" Applejack said, taking the chalice off of her horn.

Suddenly, the cave was plunged into pitch blackness. The glow from the gemstones disappeared, like a dark veil had fallen over the ponies and bathed the cave in the darkness of a midnight without a moon. In such a darkness, nopony noticed it when a black flash teleported the real Fluttershy into the area; nopony noticed when a dark spark transferred fake memories to the pony. It's time for me to go It thought to itself. This would buy the time it needed, It doubted they would be able to escape. Nopony noticed when It's fake equine form melted around it, as It disappeared with a black flash into darkness and fear.

.........

Twilight opened her eyes and tried to shake the sleep away from them, yet a weight pressed down upon her eyelids and tempted her away from reality. Lying there, she simply stared into the deep blueness and hoped to awaken her mind by counting the infinite stars that dotted the night sky. Her eyes darted around the glowing night, identifying Canis major, Canis minor, and Orion, her favorite constellations. Slowly the mental activity woke her mind from the slumber, and slowly doubts started to cross her mind. Isn't the sun supposed to be up?

Various explanations crossed her mind. Perhaps the princesses recovered their powers? Or had she simply slept for an extended period of time? Each proceeding explanation seemed less likely than the previous. Then the sky shifted. Was that her imagination? The sky couldn't simply move like that, it just wasn't possible. Her thoughts had already reached the realm of impossibility trying to explain the phenomenon when the sky shifted again, and she realized just what had the capability of moving like that.

Lifting her head, the deep blue star studded sky moved from her vision, and it became obscured by a dark, yet equally deep blue. The softness of the sky brushed against her head. Jumping backwards at the confirmation of her suspicions, she stared at the night-sky blue alicorn lying in front of her, with the star-studded mane.

"Morning Twilight" said Luna in a casual voice

"What. what happened?" she said, not quite having put the previous events back together in her mind.

"You used all of your magic to block the light of the sun and put my soul at ease. After that you simply collapsed and fell asleep."

"Why did you stay? You could have let me just sleep on the floor."

"Because friends are always there for each other. And I would really like to be your friend. That is, if you'll have me." The last statement seemed more like a question, her voice trailing off into the distance.

"Of course! I'd be honored to have you as a friend." Twilight seemed overjoyed, both at having an explanation for why she had woken with a face full of Luna's mane, and at having made a new friend

"I've never had a friend before. Celestia's told me a lot about them, and has urged me to try making some, but until today I never really knew what friendship was like."

"Friendship is magical. The pure joy that friends bring to you is absolutely amazing, it's beyond words to describe"

"You seem to be speaking from experience"

"It wasn't too long ago that I didn't think friends were valuable. But now when I look back, there's nothing I wouldn't give for them."

Twilights thoughts immediately drifted to her friends, miles away from civilization and risking their lives to bring harmony back to Equestria. She wished there was more she could do to help them, but knew that her new friend here needed her more.

Luna's thoughts traveled far and wide at the new revelations on friendship. I finally have a friend. My first real friend in... the thought of how great a period of time stretched out behind her brought a chill back to her spine.

A silence enclosed the room between the two new friends, as their own thoughts stretched out before them. Of new friends, old friends, and lack of friends. The silence brought a new thought to mind, one that Twilight hoped they could share.

"Luna, why did you come up here in the first place? You said that you often came to stare at the stars when you were troubled. What's troubling you?"

Luna just looked at the ground, idly pawing it with a hoof.

"I'd rather not say."

"Friends are ponies who are there to help each other, no matter what. Ponies who you can share your deepest thoughts with, knowing that no matter what you say, they will dedicate themselves to you. Ponies you don't need to hide anything from. I want to help you, with whatever it is that troubles you. Please Luna, won't you tell me? As a friend?"

Knowing that it was futile to try and debate some pony who studied friendship on the subject she knew very little about, she let out a sigh and decided to trust Twilight's experience and share her problems. Gesturing to the ground beside her, her new friend lay back down at her side, triumphant at being a good friend while eager to help more. Luna stared idly at the sky, not really seeing the clouds hanging in front of her.

"I came up here because I was troubled about the events of my past. Because no matter how much I try, those events always come back. The recent night brought that to light. When the moon did not fall, I saw the chaos that came forth. Everypony is still afraid of me, nopony trusts that I've changed. A wedge has fallen between me and the ponies of Equestria, a wedge that threatens to keep us apart. Fissures run deep between me and my sister, on the verge of becoming tears in the fragile balance of our lives. I've tried to fix the problems of the past, tried to make everything right, but no matter what I can't escape the actions of Nightmare Moon. The past is always here, haunting me, and no matter what I do it won't go away."

The pain the memories brought was evident to Twilight as she lay at Luna's side. Pain long since suppressed from a pony who had tried everything to forget it and move past it.

"There is no way to escape the past." Twilight said, weaving her words into Luna's thoughts. "It will always be there. The only thing you can do is learn from it. Every experience in life brings lessons with it. The experiences that hurt the most, that strike you closest to your heart, bring the lessons that you will treasure closest in your soul. There is no pain like that of the past, because there is nothing you can do to change it. But if you have discovered the secrets that it holds, and find yourself a better pony through them, than you will be able to lay the past to rest and move on. Only then will you finally be able to leave it behind you."

Luna turned her head towards her friend, their eyes meeting each others. Though pain was still deep within her eyes, it seemed something greater was coming closer to the surface of her soul; acceptance. However mixed in this acceptance was doubt in what her friend was saying. A doubt she brought forth and let hang in the air, allowing it to be vulnerable and broken.

"Can you truly ever leave the past behind you?" she asked "I've tried to forget, I've tried to move on, but Nightmare's actions comes up. It's a nightmare I cannot wake from, a fear that I cannot just move past, actions that I cannot just erase."

"Actions can never be erased. And perhaps that's best, for you would be erasing all the lesson they teach. However ever step forwards from the past is a step for yourself." Twilight's voice resonated throughout the building, growing in power and resolve as the unicorn rose to her feet. "You are not Nightmare Moon. You are Luna, princess of the moon. You raise the moon every night and lower it every day. You dedicate your life to giving everything you can for all your subjects, even though they sleep through your beautiful night. You used all your magic and risked your life to bring the day back around. No matter what any pony says, you are amazing. You are a leader whom we should look up to and idolize, one that displays such honorable qualities that is seen only once in a thousand years. And by staying true to yourself, to who you are, you have proven you can overcome your past, defeat the Nightmare that still haunts you and become an admirable pony."

Tears streamed down both ponies faces, sparkling in the sliver of sunlight that penetrated the overcast sky and shone into the observatory. A great burden had lifted from Luna's soul. For the first time in over a millennial, she felt she could breath freely. She no longer feared her past, nor Nightmare Moon herself. She, for the first time in her life, could accept the past and be herself, and nopony else; and it was only because of her friend that she could.

"Thank-you Twilight. For giving me strength and courage to face the past and the future with."

Luna reached up and pull Twilight down to the ground in an embrace. The two ponies lay in silence a while longer, however this was not the awkward silence from before; this was a comfortable silence where both ponies knew what thoughts were running through the others minds, a silence between friends where words need not be spoken to communicate emotion. However words are powerful, and there was a particular word that Luna felt needed to be spoken.

"Twilight" she said, turning her head to face the purple unicorn. Ever since the previous day, there was a burning question that she needed to ask. "Twilight, do you forgive me? For my actions in the past?"

Twilight leaned her head against that of the princess. "I forgave you the day I met you and understood the truth behind your story."

"Thank-you. You have no idea how much this means to me." Yet somehow Luna felt that her friend knew exactly what those words meant.

Twilight's thoughts returned to where she had last heard that phrase. Raising her head, she met the princesses gaze and held it. "However, I feel there is some pony else that needs your forgiveness more.

.........

The mine was pitch black. Darkness was closing in around her. Sight, gone. Shouts of her friends came from all around her, overwhelming her hearing. Her mind couldn't focus in such chaos.

"What happened?"

"Where are you?"

"I can't see!"

"AHHHHH" Fluttershy let out a piercing scream as somepony stepped on her tail in the chaos.

Everything fell silent. Perhaps the oppressing silence was even worse than the chaotic noise, suffocating her in it's emptiness.

"Fluttershy, are you alright?"

"n-n-n-no" she said, cowering underneath a wing.

"Everypony, just stay still." Applejack's confident voice rang clear through the cave, seeming to restore order in an instant.

There was a shuffling noise coming from the same direction the Applejack's voice came from. Rocks clinked against each other, each ringing out with different sound in the cacophony of sounds that reverberated within the cave. Suddenly, a bright light blinded the ponies, forcing them to shield their eyes. By the time anypony could see, the light had already disappeared. As suddenly as it had come the first time, another light appeared, a miniature star piercing the darkness. However this time the sparks came rapidly, long enough for their eyes to adjust to the bright, if unstable, light source.

Rainbow Dash was standing still, a hoof very close to the tail of Fluttershy, who was hiding in her wings. Pinkie appeared to have frozen solid mid-step, two hooves still raised and in a position that appeared uncomfortable. She walked over to the cowering pegasus

"Heya Shy, how ya doin?"

"How am I doing?" she replied slowly, removing her head from under her wing.

"Ya, silly. How are you doing? You look scared, but that's just silly cause were all here and were all safe together, so there's really nothing to be scared of."

"It's a dark, deep, scary cave. There's everything to be scared of."

Applejack just stood back, striking the rocks together to create enough light for them to see each other, and watched in wonder. Normally when Fluttershy was scared, you couldn't get a word out of her. But here she was carrying on a full conversation at the bottom of an ominous mine.

"Aw, you’re still scared? I know what you need!” she said. Her hoof extended towards Fluttershy, carefully balancing a diamond necklace on the end. Each spark reflected a thousand times within the diamond, bathing the two poines in a warm glow. Fluttershy looked up at the diamond, temporarily lost in memories, before slipping the necklace on and embracing the pony.

"Thanks Pinkie."

Applejack stared at the scene, so surprised at just how easily Pinkie could dispel fear that she stopped sparking the stones in her hooves. The image of the two friends together was imprinted in her retina, until she remembered just what situation they were in. Apparently her fear had disappeared enough for the gravity of the situation to slip her mind. Striking the rocks together again, she brought to light the first problem they had to tackle before escaping from the cave.

"Alright everypony, if we're all set than I think we should get movin. Except I kinda - dropped the compass in the panic. Sorry girls."

"Don't you worry, silly filly, no compass can hide from me!" Pinkie said, pressing her nose so close to the ground that she could smell the rocks, and scanning the floor. Applejack struck the rocks with increasing fury, trying to light the ground around them as brightly as she could.

"Dashie, found anything yet?" the pink pony shouted, bouncing along the cave floor.

"No, not yet." she replied, tentatively. "Pinkie, what's put you in such a happy mood?"

Everypony needed something to cheer them up. I like to cheer pony's up, so here I am!"

"There you are, little compass." The voice was Fluttershy's, more confident and capable in the cave than they had ever seen her before. "Now, can you lead us to safety. Please?" She got a faint yellow glow in response out of the compass, not enough to see anything around her by, but just enough to keep her heart at ease. The needle swung around and pointed back up the tunnel they had entered from.

"Shy's got something!" Dash shouted, rushing to her friends side. "Let's go"

"Hold on. Ah can't spark these rocks and walk."

Fluttershy walked over to Applejack, both Dash and Pinkie close behind her. "Do you trust the compass?"

"Well, of course ah trust it. It lead us to this here chalice, and brought us out of the forest."

"Than trust it to keep us safe."

Applejack's strikes got fewer and further between, until Shy reached out and put a hoof on her friends arms, lowering the rocks to the ground. In truth, that very action frightened Fluttershy to the core; she hated darkness and to be the one to place them in that darkness was almost unthinkable. But something gave her the courage to face that darkness, and even though she couldn't see her friends, she knew they were together. Holding the compass in her mouth, she could just make out the direction the needle pointed.

"Make sure we don't get separated" she said.

"How?" said Applejack

"I know I know!" shouted Pinkie. Even though they couldn't see the pony, they knew she was bouncing. "PARTY CHAIN!"

AJ felt a gentle pair of hooves placed on her flank, and had no way to tell who's hooves they were. But they were all friends, and if this kept them safe than there was no reason to feel ... awkward about such a thing. Following suit, she placed her front hooves on the flank of the pony in front of her, and the chain began to weave it's way to the entrance.

Fluttershy's eyes never left the needle of the compass. The only sound that broke the silence was the breathing of her friends, resonating in the small hallway, and the soft sound of hooves on rock. The rough ground tripped the group up a few times, and judging by the ground that they fell on, they were following the mine tracks. Only once did they topple so greatly that it took a few minutes to reorganize themselves based on sound alone.

The group walked for what seemed like an eternity in the oppressive silence. Rainbow Dash felt that the darkness closing in around her was as bad as the walls of the tunnel. Both prevented her from flying, both stole the freedom of movement that she desperately longed for. But if Fluttershy could stay strong, so could she. She hoped.

Suddenly, the needle took a complete 90 degree turn, pointing directly beside her. "Hold on everypony"

"What is it Shy?" the voice was clearly Applejack's, coming from somewhere behind her.

"The needle. It just turned directly beside me."

"Do you trust the compass?"

"Yes but..."

"Than perhaps were finally getting out of this tunnel." Applejack gulped. "And continuing around the canyon."

A shiver went down Fluttershy's spine, alerting the pony behind her of her fear.

"Don'tcha worry Shy." Clearly it was Pinkie behind her. "There's nothing to fear."

"Nothing to fear. Got it." Following the compass closely with her eyes, accounting for every twitch in the needle, she continued on their journey.

The needle moved more often, forcing the chain to slow to a near crawl. First she felt the wall beside them, and than the edge of the path they walked along, before realizing they were in the middle of winding their way around the canyon. halfway there, its best to just keep going she told herself, glancing down at the where she felt the pendant was for support. A shout came from the back

"WHOA!"

"Dash! You alright." AJ shot out an instinctual hoof, stabilizing the pegasus.

"I'm. I'm fine. Just a loose rock. Let's just keep going."

As they continued, Shy soon discovered that the path continued for much longer than she first thought. What felt like an hour of crawling only seemed to give them an inch more distance along the path. If they gained anything. Every step felt the same and they had no way of knowing just how far or much further they had left. If the wall wasn't moving beside her, she wouldn't be able to tell they were even moving. Wait. She could see the wall. Lifting her head from the compass, she turned the corner and saw the first real light in a long time.

"THE EXIT"

It was hard to tell who made it out the exit first, as every pony dashed forwards at top speed, relieved to finally be out of the cave.

"Thank-you compass! Thank you so much! I never thought we'd see the light of day again!"

"It's alright Shy." said Dash, placing a hoof on the pegasus's shoulder. "We've made it, but only because you were so incredibly brave."

.........

It stood hooves deep in the waters of the spring of magic, gulping down as much water as it could drink. The water had immense energy in it, more energy than It thought possible - energy that it would need for what it tried. As drank down more power, an eerie face stared back through the water. Blackness covered over half its face, and the curse had spread to each of it's hooves. Time was quickly running out. But it needed to do this. For it's master. Nothing else mattered now, when life was balanced so delicately on the edge.

It drank one last gulp of water and turned its face towards the sky.

Time to shatter the harmony of the cosmos.

Cosmic Disorder

The powerful sun shone down upon the plains of Equestria. The grass, which had previously been wilting from the lengthy night, was now burnt from the eternal sun. The beautiful fields of Equestria, cultivated through peace and harmony, had turned a dreary brown; the fields seemed like they would be more suitable in a war-torn country instead. It was on these fields, stretching for miles in all directions, that the four intrepid ponies lay to rest.

Well, it is sorta like a war Applejack thought to herself, staring over dreary distance. Except instead of fighting an enemy for land and riches, were fighting against time for magic and harmony – its own riches in itself.

She hadn't been able to sleep much, due to the blinding light of the sun. Every few seconds when she put her head down, she let her eyelids fall only to have them snap back up. Not even a minute of sleep, nor a second of rest. Perhaps it was simply knowing how close they were, that within a couple of days (if you could call them days without the cycle of the sun and moon) they would be back home.

Eventually, she just gave up trying to sleep and stared out across Equestria, imagining what lay on the horizon. Just over that hill could be Sweet Apple Acers. Or Manehatten. It's hard to tell where anything is this deep into the wilderness. She looked to her side as another thought crossed her mind. Or it could be the spring. I hope were getting close by now. Feeling even more restless thinking about their journey, she got to her feet.

Weariness was evident from her first step - the normally confident and extremely capable pony stumbled over her own hooves. Wake up you crazy hooves she thought, trying to shake the numbness from them. She looked around, hoping nopony saw her slip up. Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was also awake, too focused on the Equestrian plains to notice her weary friend. She walked over, simply wanting somepony to talk to after the hours of thinking in solitude.

"'ey Dash. Slept well?"

The pegasus turned her head and smiled, moving over to give the earth pony a place to sit.

"Eh, I've had better. It's this blinding sunlight. How about you?"

"Naw, not a wink. Still as tired and worn out as before."

She turned towards her friend, as if looking for permission to drone on to somepony about her problems. Dash smiled back at her, conveying a message that words could not. I'm here for you, let's see if I can help.

"Bein a leader's hard. Very hard" Applejack said, turning her head towards the sun. Twilight flashed across her mind, and she wondered how that unicorn managed to be a leader for such a long time. A new respect started to enter her mind, before she re-focused her tired brain on the time at hand

"Ah'm constantly worryin bout every teensy thing tha' could go wrong, and Ah'm breakin mah back trying to make sure it doesn't. And when it does, cause it's bound t' happen sooner or later, ah gotta go and fix it."

She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out one of the few remaining apple sandwiches from their limited supply of food.

"A've been rationin these here sandwiches, cause ah knew how long this journey would take. So far, i's been good, but tha' doesn't make sayin 'NO' to Pinkie any easier." She replaced the sandwich and turned to Rainbow Dash, trusting her friend to be there for her at a time like this.

The reckless pegasus, who normally dove headfirst into anything let her actions speak for her, realized that this was one of the rare times when words spoke louder than action. She let her thoughts fly free thinking about what was just said, wanting, needing to find the right words for her friend. As they slowly formed in her mind, she turned back to her dear friend, and faithful leader.

"Applejack, your the truly responsible pony, and the leader we need. It's only thanks to you that were still safe. While every pony was losing their head in the darkness, you were able to bring us together. And it's only thanks to your strict attitude and unwavering will that we still have food left. It's because of you that we're as close to the spring as we are."

"And I know it runs deeper than that. You were born to be a leader. Perhaps not to organize everything, but to lead and keep us safe. Remember back to Winter Wrap Up? While we were all worried about our fashion and holiday's, the first thing that concerned you was making sure we had food for everypony. You take care of Ponyville, and all of us! There is no pony I would rather be with on this journey than you."

Applejack lay down, resting her head on the browning field.

"Thanks Dash. Tha' doesn't physically make th' job any easier, but it sure makes it worth a whole lot more."

"Here, let me help you out and take some responsibility off your hooves. I'll go wake everypony up and get us moving again."

As Applejack just lay there, glad for a small break from the overwhelming tasks of leadership, as Rainbow Dash headed over to where the other two ponies were resting, somehow finding sleep under the mid-day sun

"Time to wake up sleepyhead" she said, gently nudging Fluttershy awake. "We need to get going"

The dazed pegasus looked up with sleep in her eyes, staring at the pegasus who's shadow shielded her from the bright sun.

"Already?" She wearily asked

"Unfortunately, yes. The princesses magic won't come back on its own."

Rainbow Dash glided over to the sleeping Earth pony, leaving Fluttershy to guard her eyes from the sun as they slowly adjusted to the blinding daylight.

"Pinkie, time to get going"

The earth pony gave no response to the pegasus's prompting

"Pinkie, wake up"

Still nothing.

An idea crossed Rainbow's mind, at the same time a smile crossed her face

"Pinkie, it's time to party"

"Did somepony say PARTY!" she shouted, immediately awake.

Applejack, who was watching the whole event from the top of the hill, burst into laughter. "Tha's not nice, Dash."

"So? It's hilarious!"

"So... is there a party or not?" asked a still confused Pinkie Pie

Dash snickered a bit under her breath. "Yes Pinkie, there's a party. But it's waiting for you at the Spring of Magic, so we better get moving if we want to make it while there's still cake left!"

"Then what are we waiting for? It's not a real party until Pinkie's there!" She started bouncing up and down, excited to get moving once more.

"Alright Dash, which way are we goin?" Applejack walked up to Rainbow Dash and handed the compass to her. That small action spoke worlds. Not only did she hand over her leadership, but her trust and safety with it. Rainbow Dash excitedly took the compass, eager to prove her capability - both to her friends, and herself

"Ok. We're so close now compass. Take us to the spring"

The reaction was immediate, the needle glowing a fierce blue and coming to life. It swung around and pointed straight off into the distance, over the brown plains and towards the distant horizon. The response was so strong, it was like the compass had been waiting it's entire life for those words

"I think I've found the way!" she said, picking up the compass in her mouth. With a single leap, she took to the skies, and the lead.

.........

The sun shone bright on Canterlot Castle, piercing the windows and winding its way into every crack of the building. From a distance, the castle seemed noble and proud, standing tall underneath the powerful sun. From up close, it seemed majestic and regal, a fitting home for royalty and the proper place from which all of Equestria could be seen. The many windows and balconies of the castle threw it open to the world that was governed from within. On one of these balconies, the princess of the sun could be seen standing, surveying the world in front of her. At her side was the faithful unicorn whose magic she had come to rely so heavily on during the past week.

The princess looked down into the bright eyes of her faithful student, eager to stimulate her mind with another conversation, and possibly learn something herself from that talented unicorn.

"Celestia, do you think they're safe out there?" A true concern permeated her voice

"Yes Twilight. As long as they have each other, nothing can harm them."

"I just feel that I should be out there, with them. I should be there to help."

"But Twilight, my dear student, you are there to help them. Every time they see the sun, they know that you are by their side. Every time they wish for you at their side, they know how much more they need you to be here. A true measure of a friends strength is not only how well they can work together, but how well they can work apart."

Twilight's gaze loomed on the horizion, as if hoping to see her friends return from their journey any minute.

"That still doesn't make the waiting any easier. I feel I should be doing something, anything to help them."

"And that's the worst feeling, isn't it. Knowing that you've already done as much as you can and now you have to trust your future to your friends and hope they are strong enough."

Twilight took a step back in shock.

"I... I didn't mean it like that. I trust them completely and know that..."

"I know you do Twilight. You just need to sometimes take a different perspective on things."

Twilight measured the next words she was going to say, looking at them from all angles. They seemed harmless enough, and true to her heart.

"I know they're capable of their task, and that wanting to go after them and be with them is useless, but I can't help missing them."

"And perhaps that's best, for that means your heart and soul are with them."

Twilight still stared at the sky and wondered what her friends were up to. Where their travels took them, what the spring was like, and the challenges they had to fight on the way. What had they encountered out there?

"Celestia, that statue's been gone from the gardens for over a week. Do you believe that Discord is behind all this?"

That question got a response out of Celestia. For if not only she had her doubts, but her own student, than perhaps they had merit to them. Unfortunately, that put a more chilling explanation for what had happened at the forefront of her mind.

"No Twilight. Discord prefers a more ... forward approach rather than sneaking around with curses and shadows. For now, the prison probably holds. But I fear it is weakening."

"How?"

"It is the nature of the curse upon us. I may have used all of our magic, but I still have a connection with magic. For now. It weakens every day, and once it breaks the past spells I've cast, the ones used to trap Discord or hold the world together, may start to fail. For now the sun holds the prison strong. But for how much longer, I don't know."

"Wait, so if it's not Discord, than..."

"Somepony else want's to set Discord free"

"Somepony else that knows Discord's magic. An apprentice?"

There was a slight glimmer in Celestia's eyes, as her faithful student put the numbers together. "Yes. He most likely had an apprentice before becoming trapped, who has planned for years to bring about his escape. But when he faces the Elements of Harmony, even he will falter."

The two of them stared in silence at the great expanse of land that was Equestria, stretching before them. The silence was peaceful, and relaxing, until a gentle sound broke it from behind them, as Luna walked towards the balcony them.

"Hello sister. Would you care to join us?" Celestia said, in her most welcoming voice

"If it's not disturbing anything, I would love to."

In silence, the three of them simply stared at the sun. It's warm rays brought comfort to them, but a comfort that was only skin deep. Under the surface, Luna was cold. Cold and concerned. She was the first to break the silence

"Celestia, sister. We need to talk."

Celestia turned her head around to face Luna. "Yes, we do. We've needed to talk for a while now"

Twilight glanced around, knowing that this conversation was not for her, and rose to leave

"Twilight wait." It was Luna that called out. "Please stay. I feel this is important for you to hear to, and fear that I may lose the courage to speak on my own."

Twilight simply shook her head. "Luna, these are your ghosts you need to fight, and yourself you need to trust, not me. I know you are strong enough to face it on your own." She left, rather swiftly, before either princess could say something else. They needed their time alone together, and she was determined to give it to them.

"Luna, what has come between us that you must muster up courage to talk to me? To talk to your own sister? You know I am always there for you, always wanting to help."

"I know you are. But it hasn't always felt that way, and I haven't always been that... sisterly to you"

They're thoughts flowed back to a thousand years ago, to the days before, and the nights after. To every conversation since her return. To the present day. No matter when they talked, or what they mentioned, there was always a tone that penetrated their exchanges.

"The past is still haunting you?" Celestia asked

"The past still haunts both of us" Luna replied

Celestia's gaze fell to the ground, overlooking Equestria. But she wasn't seeing present-day Equestria in front of her, but a time from her past. She looked back up.

"Yes. Yes it does."

Their eyes locked, and they knew each other was thinking of that tragic day, over a millennium ago. Back to a time when the princesses ruled in peace. A time when Celestia would raise the sun every day, a faithful apprentice at her side, and hold court where all the ponies of Equestria would come just for a chance to tell her how grateful they were. I time when Luna would raise the moon every night, and all the ponies of Equestria would sleep, unaware of the great princesses struggle. Unaware of all those nights of solitude she spent, wishing for somepony, anypony to appreciate her. All those nights of solitude turned into nights of planning and preparing. All those nights where, if even a single pony had come and shown their love, the entire history of Equestria would be changed. But nopony came; nopony ever came, and no relief came to Luna. There was nothing to keep Nightmare Moon in check. Not wanting to relive the pain just yet Luna stopped her memories from progressing beyond that point.

"You know I regret my actions" she said, the unspoken words that she finally gave voice to

"And you know I am sorry for mine" replied her sister. The princess of the sun looked down to her sister, a tear in her eye. "But not just on that fateful day, all those years ago, but every day leading up to it for a century. I wasn't there for you. I had all the love in the world from our subjects, all the devotion they could give, and yet not enough love to give back to my own sister. I knew your suffering during the night, all the troubles you faced every time the sun rose, yet I did nothing. I realized how much you needed a friend, and yet I was still just a co-ruler to you. I wasn't there for you. I've failed you as a sister, and a friend. I'm sorry."

Luna had come here to apologize, but never expected that it would be her sister that broke down in sorrows and regrets. All those years she had fought alone, she believed nopony knew her sorrows. Perhaps it would have been better if nopony knew, rather than have somepony you trusted know about them, and still do nothing.

"All that time, you knew my pain?"

"I suspected it. But I brushed it off as mere suspitions, not something real and tangible to be concerned with. Now I realize just how wrong I was. I realize that Nightmare Moon's rise to power was all my fault. It should have been me spending those thousand years of solitude, me who had to endure the pain, for it was my failure that caused it."

Tears streamed down from the alicorn's eyes. Tears of regret, tears of sorrow, tears of pain.

"But you did live in pain for those years." Luna said

"I lived in regret. Every day I would wake up, look to the moon, and say 'What have I done?' Every day I was ashamed, too embarrased with myself to look myself in the mirror. And when I caught a passing glance, all I saw was a broken pony, a pony who had made a grave mistake that she could not undo. Every morning, the sun would be raised and the moon would be lowered by me. Every morning my heart would be overwhelmed with sorrow for forcing such an imprisonment on you. I stole a thousand years of your life, and have forced you to live the rest in the shadow of Nightmare Moon, the shadow of my own failure. How can I ever make up for my mistakes?"

The pain from all the years on the moon rushed back to Luna. Isolation. Lonelyness. Sorrow. Regret. Every day she regretted not being strong enough. Every day she wished she had never attempted what she did. Every day Nightmare Moon would whisper in her mind that it was her right, the she deserved the power. The only company she had was that of her vengerfu soul. And every day she fought it, hoping that through this fight she could make up for her mistakes. And now she realized just how much of a fight her sister went through every day, not with a vengeful soul, but with her own soul, for it was her action that caused such pain.

"Tia" she said, looking up to her sister.

Celestia looked down. She had not heard that name since they were fillies. Since they were best of friends.

"Tia, I realize now that your actions may have been part of what drove me to jealousy. Part, for my own actions cannot be forgotten as well. But you've paid for your mistake a thousand times over, every single day for that thousand years. And I don't want you to live in pain anymore. I want us to be... to be friends again, like we were before. Like we were, so long ago. So Tia, I forgive you for your actions. For not being there, for fighting and imprisoning me, for everything. Tia, I forgive you."

"You... You forgive me? You can overlook such horrible transgressions on our very friendship?"

One image was burned in Luna's mind for all those year. The last look on Celestia's face. The sorrow and regret, the overwhelming sadness at what she was driven to do. And now, she finally understood that image

"Yes Tia. I forgive you."

Celestia fell to her knees, at a loss for words. She was at a loss for anything. Such overwhelming relief and joy penetrated her body. She had never thought it was possible to make up for her actions, and would dedicate her life to trying to help her sister. But that young alicorn had shown herself to be stronger, and had lifted the pain from her soul. For the first time in a thousand years, she did not feel that pang of sadness she was so used to. For the first time in a thousand years, she felt joy.

Luna looked down at her sister, crying on the floor. This time she was the one that spread her wing, she was the one to comfort her sister, as she lay down beside her.

"Friends?" she asked, looking into her sisters tear-filled eyes.

"Friends." she replied. "Now and forever."

.........

It stood in the spring of magic contemplating what was to come. The ponies were getting closer, and the time to act was almost upon it. Everything would be over within a few short minutes, whether for better or worse, it would be over. It stared down at its reflection, coal black eyes glancing over its form and coming to rest upon its single wing. Memories and words danced unbidden through it's mind.

"This is your form. Different, imperfect, flawed. Just like mine. And that's why it's powerful."

It looked over at the Draconequus perched atop a nearby rock

"But father, wouldn't I be more powerful with a perfect form?"

It knew the Draconequus wasn't it's real father, but as a filly he was the only creature there for it. It didn't know its real parents, never had, never would. Its first sight of the world was an empty grassy plain; it's second a swooping hawk. Powerful, majestic, and hungry. Once eyed by a predator, you cannot escape. With fear as the first real emotion it felt in the world, it closed its eyes and waited for the end. The end that didn't come. The third sight it saw was the Draconequus. So in a way, he was it's father. He taught it everything it knew.

"You want to be perfect? Alright then, I grant you perfection."

Blackness surrounded it, a magic it could not comprehend at the time

"Father, I'm scared!"

"Scared of what, my child. Scared of perfection?"

The blackness cleared, and two gleaming white wings laid on its back. Fully functional, real wings. But rather than flying, it simply stared at them

"What's wrong, little one?"

"This wing. It's not me. It's not right. It's not natural." It lowered it's horn to the new wing, and it burst into magic.

"You right. Perfection is not natural. We all have flaws, and those flaws are what make the world. Those flaws make us unique, and give us power. All I do is find those inherit flaws in each pony, and bring them forward. And the power that they hold, is unbelievable.

Flaws held power, and make us who we are. So why is it called chaos to bring those flaws out? Why did every pony oppose it when it tried to bring discord about, tried to bring forth those flaws and those true character traits? It had withstood such opposition all its life and never found those answers. So it continued to fight, to bring them about.

A faint black aura started to surround it, as it drew magic from it's soul and the spring. All it knew was fear, overwhelming, oppressing fear, the same fear it had felt upon first contact with the magic. But it was not afraid. For through this fear brought redemption, and it led to forgiveness.

Through this fear it could bring back about its master's revival

Master, I have wronged you it thought. But I will make it right. Please, forgive me as I free you from the pain you have suffered for the eternity past. The black aura drained magic from the world around, bringing an immense power to its control. It already harnessed a magic that was greater than any unicorn could imagine, and would have one that that rivaled that of the princesses by the time it was ready. The world around it turned dark, the sun blocked from its view, as all it felt was magic. Beautiful, powerful magic shot out through it's horn, and headed straight for the sun.

This is for you, father.

.........

The sun shone brightly on the two unicorns, lying comfortably on the polished floor of the observatory. It was extraordinarily warm in the direct sunlight, and the view from up there! The view was something to take your breath away. The flat plains revealed all their secrets to the castle, their vantage point open to the beauty of the world around them. They could finally rest, reprieved from their duties because the alicorns were busy conversing downstairs, and relaxed knowing that if their friends were arriving home, they would be the first to see it.

"The sun's beautiful this time of day" Twilight idly said

"It truly is spectacular! And knowing that our friends are seeing the same sun does wonders to calm my nerves."

"The colors are quite vivid."

"Extraordinary. I haven't seen the sky alight with such reds and oranges in weeks. It's almost like the sun itself is fighting to light the sky on fire."

"We haven't seen a sunset like this in weeks."

"Twilight, is the sun supposed to be setting?"

Twilight's mind snapped to action.

"No Rarity. No it isn't." She got to her feet, and stared at the sun, reaching deep into her well of magic. She had to do something. What, she wasn't quite sure of at the moment.

"Twilight, what can I do to help?"

Twilight looked down at her friend, vision contorted through the purple field of magic. "Catch me if I fall"

The sheer power the unicorn harnessed was enough to lift her off her feet, suspending her few feet above the ground in a magical field. She felt the walls around her well, and pushed against the familiar resistance. This time, they finally gave way, flooding her body with a greater power than she normally felt. She strained to contain the power, and opted it best to simply channel it through her horn rather than try and suppress it.

When she reached the barrier of space, her concentration did not even flinch against the numbing cold. The sun had moved from it's normal place, but there was still magic in the air. Something had moved the sun, and she could follow the signs left by it and find the sun once more.

She tracked the celestial body with her magic, and tried to envelop it, to protected her beloved sun. But there was already magic around it! Something was acting upon her precious sun! She weaved a field of magic into the space around, and through it located the source of the other magic. The magic felt dark, ominous, unlike any she had ever felt before. But it was still magic, still channeled through a single beam to it's destination.If she could only break that magic and free the sun from it's grasp. Gathering all her power into a single lightning bolt, she struck the beam. It shattered like it was made of glass. It exploded outwards, bearing into her magic like knives, threatening to overwhelm her. But this was too important. She fought through the pain, and encircled the sun.

........

It recoiled in pain, as its magic was shattered. So there was another unicorn there, and one of great power. That was how the sun had been raised. But that unicorn was bound to have a flaw, something that it could use to gain that power. Smiling, and absorbing the magic from the spring once more, it returned to battle

.........

The black magic came back in full force, pressing down against her from all sides. She was surrounded by magic. Fear pressed inwards, suffocating her, threatening to destroy her. Fear. Despair. Worry. But she would not give in. She would not abandon the sun.

A sudden shock of magic exploded. It was around her, inside of her, and a part of her, all at once

...

...

...

She was... where was she?

All she could see was purple, and no sound penetrated the barriers around her mind

All she could feel was magic, a tremendous power, as the deepest walls in her body had been shattered from the shock. A magnitude of magic she never thought possible overwhelmed her soul. Reaching out, all that she could comprehend was magic, as the most powerful battle raged on around her. Two forces, equal in strength, fighting each other. The power of the sun, against the power of the unknown assailer. Neither could gain any headway; the two forces were perfectly matched. At the center of the battle, the most important object in all of Equestria; the sun. She could sit back and wait no longer - now was the time to act.

When enveloped this completely by magic, power is all that exists. There is no light or dark, no good or bad, there only is. And so she channeled her power towards the sun, towards the raging war, and joined. She knew what she wanted, what she needed to do. She fought to bring the sun back to the sky, to let it's bright light shine over the world once more. First, there was no reaction - she felt as if she were hitting a brick wall. But suddenly, the sun started to move. They were winning! It started it's slow trek across the sky, when

SNAP

The opposing force shattered into a million tendrils of magic, more ancient and powerful than she had ever felt. Ancient, yet familiar, as if she had encountered that magic before. Focusing on the task at hand, her and the remaining power guided the sun to its rightful place in the middle of the sky. When it arrived, she let out a heaving sigh of exhaustion, releasing her magic.

She plummeted from her magically-induced levitation towards the ground, landing on a soft as air surface, eyes closed, trying to restore enough energy to even lift herself up.

"TWILIGHT!"

Something invited her to sleep, to simply leave that world and regain her strength. But she could fight it, for just a few seconds longer.

"It's alright. I fought. I kept the sun in the middle of the sky."

She opened her eyes, expecting the rays of sun to illuminate the world around her. She was met with nothing but blackness.

"But...But...I"

She looked up to the sky and noticed her fatal error. Only now did she realize exactly which of the forces were fighting on which side

For hanging in the sky, for the first time since Harmony was brought about, was a full solar eclipse

.........

It stood in the spring, panting for breath. I did it. The harmony of the cosmos has been shattered. All thanks to that oblivious unicorn. It glanced at the spring. A pitch black form stared back at it. The curse had spread across it's entire body thanks to that last use of magic. There was no escaping the oppressive fear that surrounded it, every waking second of the day. But there was no chaos more complete than what it had just brought.

It walked over to the statue of Discord. In mere hours you will be free, my lord, and I will be redeemed. In mere hours, this world shall be yours!

The Spring of Magic

The sun hung in the sky, yet there was no light. The day was at its peak, but they had just been plunged into a pitch black night. A night that seemed to swallow the world in its grasp, blocking out light, and hope, and replacing it with despair. Such is the power of the solar eclipse at which Applejack was staring.

"This isn't good" she said, a wave of cold running through her body. Not only was the moon blocking most of the suns light, but also its heat.

"It's downright scary" said Fluttershy, timidly walking at the back of the group

"Dont'cha worry, we've been through worse." Pinkie bounced over to Fluttershy and gave her a reassuring smile. It seemed to have a calming effect on the timid pony, however nothing could fully wipe away the fear and emptiness the eclipse filled the landscape with.

"I don't know how much farther I can go" she said

"Shy, you're doin great. Ah'm sure i's not tha' much farther anyway, right Dash?" Applejack said

All three of them turned towards the rainbow pegasus, who looked slightly lost at the head of the group. She gave a nervous chuckle.

"Ya, not much farther." he turned back to the compass. "Oh, cummon. You were just pointing ahead a minute ago, where are you pointing now? This could be my only chance to prove I'm a capable leader, and you're ruining it!"

"Trouble with th' compass, Dash?"

"The crazy thing keeps on leading us in circles." She turned towards the compass once more. "Why can't you just point straight for one! We're running out of time!"

The compass swung around to the one side, and than the other, and than behind them.

"For crying out loud!" Dash threw the compass towards the ground

"Easy there, sugarcube. Le's just calm down for a bit."

"I know, I just don't want to let you all down." Dash sat down on the ground, staring at the compass

Fluttershy walked towards the dejected pegasus. "You know, Dash, you could never let us down."

"But I've failed as a leader. I'm not even able to help guide us towards the spring."

"Maybe tha's cause you're tryin' too hard t' be a leader, and not hard enough t' find the spring."

Dash looked down at the compass, lying in the grass, barely visible in the darkness.

"Cummon Dashie. You just gotta get up and try again. I now you can do it! Do you wan't me to sing about it? Huh, do ya do ya?" Pinkie was already bouncing on the spot as she asked

Rainbow Dash picked up the compass and just stared at it for a while, letting Pinkie contemplate bursting into song in the middle of the dreary landscape.

"Please compass. Guide us to the spring. Not for me, but for the princesses. For my friends. For Equestria. Guide us forwards."

The compass came to life once more in her hands, pointing forwards with the same vigor as before, and nearly pulling itself from her grasp.

"Pinkie, I don't think we'll need that song!"

"Awww, but I just though of the perfect rhyme for 'Try once more'"

"We'll have to hear it later, let's go!"

Rainbow Dash immediately flew out to the lead again, followed by an excited Applejack, tentative Fluttershy, and disappointed-yet-still-happy Pinkie Pie.

"Dash, how do we know when we're gettin' close to th' spring?" The pony who was always sure of herself surprised them all by asking Dash the question, as if she was trying to bolster Dash's confidence as a leader.

"Well, the spring itself is magical, so I think we'll know..."

A blinding wave of light erupted from the center of the compass, blinding everypony. When it cleared, they were no longer running along the open plains of Equestria, but towards the side of a mountain.

"... when we're there."

"Alright, wha' just happened?" AJ asked

"The ground around us, it just... changed!" Dash replied

"Do you think we're at th' spring?"

Rainbow Dash looked down at the compass, stationary once more. "I certainly hope so" she replied. "Let me fly on ahead around that mountain and check."

The skies above were still dark and ominous underneath the mid-day moon, and the low hanging clouds made even Rainbow Dash hesitate as she took to the skies. Gliding around the mountain, she saw the moon reflecting off of the pristine surface of a lake, surrounded by forests at the foot of the mountain. Somepony was standing on the shore. She swooped lower to get a closer look, and immediately pulled up. That wasn't a pony standing there. It was a Draconequus!

Startled, she bolted away. But if that truly was Discord, why hadn't he stopped her? Before returning to her friends, she had to get another look, just to be sure. Silently gliding above the clouds, she approached the lake. Peering through the clouds, she glanced at the figure. It was indeed Discord. But he wasn't moving. Tentatively approaching, she glided down from the clouds until she was a few feet from the creature. It was still frozen in stone! She landed beside it.

"Ha, you're not that scary. Still stuck in stone I see?"

.........

It stepped out from the trees surrounding the forest, behind the oblivious pony. It couldn't use its magic, but needed to get rid of that pony. However, perhaps it could use that pony. It lifted a large rock above its head, and brought it forcefully down upon the pegasus's head. She crumpled immediately into an unconscious form on the ground. Dragging her into the forest, she hid the pegasus in the darkness. Out of the shadows, stepped Rainbow Dash

.........

Twilight lay in a heap upon her bed, door barred, light blocked from the room, completely overcome with grief. She had been crying ever since consciousness returned to her mind, refusing to see the real world and the mess she had made of it.

"Twilight, darling, there's no need to shut yourself in there. Now open this door up and let me come talk to you."

"Go away Rarity." Normally she would have felt poorly of herself for addressing her friend so sharply, but at this point there was nothing that could make her feel any worse.

"Twilight, I insist you let me in."

"Just leave me alone!"

"Twilight, you're being silly, let me in and we can work something out together." Rarity tried opening the door again, but found the same immense resistance blocking her path. She had never been the strongest pony, and had always relied on her words to open doors for her. But when dealing with such an overwhelmed pony, drastic measures had to be used.

"I really hoped I would never need to try this" she said, more to herself than anypony in particular. "But here goes. She needs me in there."

A magical field started to materialize around Rarity, as she felt the portal between her world and the world of nothingness used for teleportation come closer to her. Have I ever teleported before? Twilight's tried to instruct me how to, but never sucessfully. No time to worry, she needs me. Mustering up both the energy, and the courage, to delve into the world, she started to press the magic around her.

Suddenly, she felt a hoof on her back, and turned to see the pure white color of the sun princess's coat.

"Rarity, do you know what you're doing?"

Was it that obvious she was un-experienced?

"In all honesty, no. But I don't see what else I can do."

"I may not have magic, but let me guide you through it."

At that point, she was willing to take any help in the world. "Alright, Celestia. How do we do this?"

"First, expand your magical field to encompass both of us."

The glowing magic returned, brighter than before, and around both ponies.

"Now bring us through that gap into the other world."

It was wired hearing of the vast emptiness that teleportation brought you through called a world, but Rarity did as she was told. The castle around them twisted around them disappearing into the blackness of a void.

"Hold your magic together, don't let the pressures break it apart."

Rarity heard that not a moment too soon, as the oppressing, and overpowering, wall of force came at her from all angles, threatening to tear them apart from reality. The princess was literally putting her life into her hooves, and Rarity wasn't going to disappoint.

"Your doing great, Rarity. Now come with me."

The complement made her fight with renewed vigor, as she looked up to see the princess travel a few meters out into the void, still surrounded by Rarities magic. She followed suit.

"This should be far enough. Return us to our world once your ready."

Eager to escape the dreary nothingness of the void, Rarity brought them back to the castle almost too quickly, disorienting herself on the way. In a bright flash, the world around them twisted to the shape of the inside of Twilight's bedroom. The purple unicorn was still lying on her bed, head in her pillow, balling her eyes out. Ignoring her weariness and the Princess beside her, she rushed over to her friend

"Twilight, everything's going to be all right. Stop crying, dear Twilight, and look at me."

"No, Rarity, it's not going to be all right." The words were barely distinguishable between the chocked sobs. "I've failed all of Celestia's expectations, and destroyed the harmony that has prevailed for milennia in the process. It's my fault that the sun isn't in the sky, and that the moon is in front of it. All my fault. I wouldn't blame her for whatever punishment she brought upon me. I deserve it. I've failed. And worst of all, there's nothing I can do to make it right."

For the first time in her life, Rarity was at a loss for words. The only thing she could think of say were a few 'it's going to be alright's', and she knew just how little they would help. Pleading in her eyes, she turned to Celestia

"Twilight, may I speak with you?"

Twilight nearly jumped off her bed at the sound of the sun princesses voice.

"Celestia, your here! Oh no, Celestia I'm so sorry and I didn't mean for anything bad to happen and I was just trying to..."

"Twilight, relax. There's no need to cry, and no need to panic." She wanted to say everything was going to be all right but knew that the words would sound hollow, because she didn't truly believe them.

"Celestia, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that would happen."

"And how could you Twilight? You just did what you thought was right. And even though it caused great troubles, I'm proud that you would stand up to an unknown force to try and protect the sun, and Equestria."

"Really?" Twilight looked up from her pillow, mane streaked with tears and eyes still wet. But somewhere deep inside them was a glimmer of hope. Hope that perhaps she wasn't as much a disappointment as she feared

"Really Twilight. Though I must be honest with you. I'm scared"

"Scared? Why?"

"Disharmony. Now it truly does rule the skies, and it's only a matter of time before it comes to the ground. And when it does, Discord may finally be able to break from his prison."

"What can we do?"

"Nothing. All we can do is trust in the elements of harmony to guide our friends on their journey."

.........

"We're almost there, hurry up!" Rainbow Dash shouted to the ponies below. They rounded the corner, bringing the spring into view of the others on the ground

"Tha's some rough terrain gettin to the spring though. Give us some time, i's not goin anywhere." Applejack said

"Ya, but we could be getting out of here and headed back home."

"Well, if ya wanna try to speed us up by findin an easier path round the mountain, tha' would be mighty helpful."

"Just give me the chalice. I'll fill it up and be back before you know it."

"Alright, Dash"

Applejack reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the gleaming diamond chalice. It reflected the faint light of the eclipse, and emmited an eerie glow. She threw it into the air, where Dash was patiently waiting to catch it. The pegasus swooped low over the lake, chalice held tightly in her hooves. But instead of gathering water, she pulled up and began flying away from the pond at a rapid speed

"See you later fools." The words echoed from the pegasus, but in a sinister voice unlike Rainbow Dash's normal one.

"Dash, what are you doing?" Fluttershy leaped into the air to try and get to her friend, but knew that trying to outrace her was futile.

Suddenly, a rainbow blur streaked out of the forest, and crashed directly into Rainbow Dash. Two rainbow forms started tumbling out of the sky, as two Rainbow Dash's righted themselves in the air, one holding the chalice.

"Wait a minute. Two Dashies? I didn't know you had a twin!" said Pinkie

"I don't. That's not me" the one with the chalice said

The Rainbow Dash not holding the chalice began to be surrounded by a black magic, as its equine form melted around it. The levetation spell around it slowly raised it towards the sky. It was a pure-black pony, with 4 legs, a horn, and a single wing.

"You have meddled in my affairs for the last time." The voice seemed to resonate from every particle of air surrounding them. "I will see to it that you never see the light of another day!"

A black magic started to build up around it.

One more spell couldn't hurt it thought to itself.

Those were the last words it ever thought.

.........

The magic had consumed it so much, that calling it a pony at this point would be inaccurate. The creature became surrounded in a black field, radiating out pure power. Rainbow Dash was thrown away from the black circle encompassing it, sending her flying into her friends, and the chalice towards the mountain. An explosion radiated out from the center of the darkness, pressing the ponies into the earth and nearly suffocating them with it's overwhelming force. It was clear that the creature was not controlling itself; it was being controlled by the very magic it had used.

Applejack pulled herself up off the ground and stood tall.

"If i's a fight it wants, than i's a fight it'll get!"

"AJ, I'll stand strong with you!" Rainbow Dash took her place beside her friend.

"But... But... Applejack. I don't want to fight it" Fluttershy said, nervously.

"Alright Shy, if you don't wanna fight than you'll need ta go an' get the chalice from the mountain."

"Oh, Oh, can I go with Shy to get the chalice. Please please pleeeeease?" begged Pinkie.

"We can handle it ourselves, right Applejack?" said Dash, perhaps a bit too confidently.

"Alright Pinkie, you can go with Shy."

"YAY. Cummon Shy, let's go get that chalice!"

Fluttershy seemed much less tentative now that Pinkie was going with her, and much more enthusiastically than anypony would have suspected, hurried after the bouncing pink pony.

"Are you ready Applejack?"

"To stand with mah friends for the fate of Equestria? Ah'm ready."

They slowly advanced towards the black magical ball, bracing for any attack that could come at them. As they approached, a sinister voice blasted through the air, echoing off the mountain.

"So you wish to stand against me? I shall enjoy destroying you."

The black magic started to dissipate, and out of it emerged a creature, surrounded by such a thick field of magic, that it's very form could not be made out.

"You go high, ah'll go low?"

"Just what I was thinking"

Rainbow Dash launched herself high into the air, while Applejack braced herself on the ground against the advancing creature.

"You'll never harm ma'h friends." she said, launching pointed rocks towards it with her back hooves. Meniacle laughter rolled through the air, as each rock stopped by magic mere inches away from the black shield. Each rock then returned towards the earth pony, at a much faster speed then before. She had a single second to avoid being smashed into a pulp, and was able to escape with only a glancing blow landing upon her flank. Pain shot through her body, but she pressed it down with her mind. She could deal with it later.

"Ya'll will need more than tha' if ya want past."

She couldn't see the smile appear on its face, as much as feel its amusement at her resistance fill the air. Thousands of tiny rocks started levitating beside it, spinning around and building up speed, until

The entire world disappeared into a brief flash of white. Applejack used the distraction to make her way up the mountain, barely able to see because of the... was that a cloud that crashed into the ground? She hear the sound of a thousand tiny rocks colliding with the mountain behind her, and picked her pace up even more until she was partially up the mountain. She glanced upwards, to see Rainbow Dash send another cloud flying towards the ground, keeping the creature blind in a viel of pure white.

"How are we doing on time?" Dash shouted down

Applejack turned around to see Pinkie and Fluttershy still searching for where the chalice could have landed.

"Still need a bit more" she shouted back

"I see it!" came a cry from Fluttershy, flying over to a small yet dark cave in the mountainside. She entered without hesitation, and emerged with the chalice a few moments later. She began triumphantly soaring down the mountainside towards Pinkie.

The ground beneath her exploded in a flash of black, launching the pegasus across the lake and the chalice into the air. As Applejack turned her attention to the creature once more, Pinkie turned it to the chalice.

"I've got it! I've got it!" she shouted repeatedly, bouncing up the mountain as if it were flat ground. She was matching the movement of the chalice foot for foot. It started its fall to the ground, as Pinkie headed for it.

"I've got it!"

The ground underneath the pink pony suddenly shifted, sending her tumbling forwards. The chalice plummeted towards the ground uncontrollably. The ground where the chalice was going to land molded itself into rock spikes. As the chalice crashed into the ground, it shattered into hundreds of tiny fragments

"But, but. I was going to catch it!" Pinkie shouted, almost breaking into tears. A maniacal laugh filled the air, cut short as a sharp thud filled the air. Pinkie turned around to see Applejack's hooves make contact with whatever the creature beneath the magic was, and send it flying into the spring

Immedeately, Applejack rushed over to Pinkies aid. Rainbow Dash was already at Fluttershy's side on the other side of the spring, inspecting her for injuries.

"You alright Pinkie?"

Pinkie answered the question by returning a sad smile to AJ.

The black creature levitated out of the spring, in the middle of the two pairs of ponies.

Applejack picked up a shard of the chalice, and put it in Pinkies hoof. "D'ya think you can get this t' Dash?" she asked

"Okie Dokie Lokie" Pinkie replied, taking the shard from Applejack.

"And tell her 'The skies the limit.'" Pinkie jumped off of the mountain, landing in the spring and disappearing under the water. Applejack picked another shard up off the ground before turning around. The creature was slowly advancing on the two pegasi, one cowering in fear while the other trying to protect her.

"Hey ugly. Don't you take another step towards mah friends, ya hear?"

The creature turned around, glaring at the earth pony.

"And what are you going to do about it?"

"Oh, you do not want t' know what a friend does when she's mad"

"Try me"

"You asked for it"

Applejack charged forwards towards the spring, as the creature turned around to meet her. A black beam of concnetrated magic launched itself towards the earth pony. She nimbly flicked the shard in her hoof around, blocking the beam and absorbing it's magic. The shard started to heat up, but Applejack forced herself to withstand the pain.

Dash, you better be ready she thought.

Launching herself through the air, she crashed directly into the creature, and they tumbled into the spring. It wasn't very deep, so she was able to pin the creature to the ground with her hooves, while struggling to hold her breath. Looking up she saw a rainbow streak flying towards them. She felt struggling underneath her, and brought her hooves sharply down upon the creature. The fire that seared up her legs made her gasp in pain, causing her to lose some of her already diminishing oxygen supply. Her lungs screamed for air, but she would not give it to them. Just a few more seconds.

An explosion filled the air, as a rainboom radiated outwards over the sky, with the pegasus heading straight for them at super-sonic speeds. A streak of light launched out from the pegasus, glowing and reflecting all the colors of the rainbow, and aimed straight for them. The pegasus banked sideways, as Applejack held her position until the last possible second. Using all her might, she launched herself out of the way as a diamond shard pierced the magical shield of the creature, and embedded itself in its heart.

The black veil surrounding it disappeared, as dark magic leached out of it and dissipated into thin air. It let out a shrill cry, before its coal black eyes closed, as it passed into unconsciousness.

.........

It layed there, broken wings, broken heart, broken dreams. Everything it had tried bounced harmlessly off these ponies. They worked together in such harmony, that nothing could harm them. It felt despair, at having come so close to its goal, yet to not reach it. Thousands of years of planning and preparing, to end like this. It just wasn't fair that no matter what, it could not succeed. It wasn't right. But it was life, and there was nothing to be done about it. Pain shot through its chest, as it felt the diamond spike being pulled out of its chest. Its eyes shot open

"Oh, no, mister pony. You seem awfly hurt. Let me help you."

A yellow pegasus was crouched over it, gently removing the spike and lying it on the ground next to where it had been dragged to

"You were just misunderstood, and let your magic and jealousy control you. Your not a bad pony. Your just like Nigtmare Moon. All you need is a second chance, and perhaps a friend"

The pegaus pulled out some bandages and medicine from bag and went about fixing up the wound. The bandages stung, and its chest throbbed with unimaginable pain, but it was alive. At least that was good. The pegasus put some sort of herb into its mouth, and forced it to swallow. The pain receded to a simple dull throb, clearing its mind enough to think.

"Dash, could you come and help me bring him to the water? I need to finish cleaning the wound."

It felt itself moving, and than being set down at the edge of the lake. It looked towards the water, only to see a pure white pony looking back at it. The magic had been destroyed by the shard. It tried to stand, stretching it's wing out, but collapsed upon itself.

"Oh my, what happened to your wing?" the pegasus asked, examining the lone wing. It gave no response.

"Don't worry. It's not that bad." It could hear the doubt in her voice. It knew just how bad it looked to be a pony with one wing. "In fact, it looks old. When did this happen?" That was a piece of information it shared with no-one. It hadn't allowed the memory to live for such a long time, it silently wondered if it still possessed that knowledge.

"Nevermind" she said, "let me just finish bandaging you up"

It turned its head to the side, looking around the lake. The moon was still in an eclipse, but now that they were here it doubted that would last much longer. The orange earth pony and cyan pegasus were staring down at a pile of diamond shards.

"How are we ever going to get the water back to the castle now?" Rainbow Dash asked

"Ah dunno."

A pink pony bounced past it, picking up the diamond shard that the pegasus had removed from its chest as she passed. It watched as she dumped the shards onto the pile.

"Here we go, every last fragment!"

"Thanks Pinkie, bu' what can we do now?"

"The waters magic silly, it can fix broken cups!" Before anypony could react, she pushed the pile into the water

"PINKIE!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Pinkie reached into the water and pulled out a intact, full of water, diamond chalice. Applejack took the cup, still in disbelief, and walked over to the hurt pony.

"It's time to go Fluttershy. You've done all you can to help him."

The yellow pegasus looked down at the hurt pony. "Do you want to come with us? Be my friend?"

It simply shook its head

The cyan pegasus walked over to them. "Well, next time your looking for a fight, don't pick it with the elements of harmony."

Its eyes grew extremely wide.

"What, you didn't know?"

It shook it's head, eager to learn more.

"We defeated Nightmare Moon by harnessing the element. Of course, there were 2 more of us, but there back at the castle taking care of the princesses."

"Speaking of the caste, ah would love to be headed back there. But how the hay are we going to bring this back?" Applejack said, walking over to the statue of Discord still standing a few feet away

It got up and walked over to the earth pony. With a bright flash of white light, the statue disappeared.

"Where the hay did you send it?" the pony said, threateningly

It didn't answer, but simply looked out over the mountain and into the distance

Pinkie walked up to beside Applejack, taking the compass from her bag. "Cummon girls. You said there'd be a party here and there wasn't. So now we need to get back to canterlot to throw a 'we saved the world again' party! Compass, can you please please please please take us back to canterlot? Cause I really really really really want another party again!"

The compass swiveled around and pointed over the mountain and into the distance.

"Canterlots that-a-way" she said, pointing her hoof in the direction of the compass. It was the same direction the injured pony was looking in

"Did you send it back to canterlot?" Applejack asked

It simply nodded its head

"Wow. That was mighty nice of you. Your not such a bad pony after all."

"If you ever want to visit ponyville we'll be more than happy to have you." Fluttershy said, following the pink pony already disappearing over the mountain

The four adventurous ponies left the spring, glad to finally be headed home. Behind them remained the injured pony, allowing its wounds to heal in the magic of the spring, while contemplating the future that lay before it.

Epilogue: Final Hope

What is a monster? Is it one who brings Chaos or Fear? I started asking myself that recently.

It looked down at its single wing, and imperfect form

I had a chance to be perfect, a chance to be just like everypony else. But I turned it down. The world did not create me perfect; the world created me a monster

It gaze rose and looked towards the castle standing in front of it

But perhaps I don’t need to be a monster. That yellow pegasus was able to see past this form. Perhaps the world could accept me to just… be. Perhaps, just perhaps. But I’m in too deep now to turn back

It disappeared as quick and quiet as a shadow, navigating its way to the garden where Discord lay once more.

She was one of the elements of harmony. They all were. While Chaos may hold power, Harmony holds more. But there is one bright light to gain from this. If they hold the elements, than the princesses do no longer.

It made its way to the statue, watching from the shadows

The magic is un-bound. There is nothing left holding it together. And the past chaos may have been enough to wake you from your deep sleep. Father, please say it was enough. Please, return to this world.

It waited throughout the night, under the full moon. The cycle of the days had returned once more, the harmony of the cosmos restored. The silver light of the moon shone upon the statue, illuminating the frightening features of the Draconequus frozen in stone. It had waited millennia to free its master. It could wait another few days

And so It waited

And waited

There was no other purpose in Its life than that statue, no other reason for being than that Draconequus

And it continued to wait

The cycles of the sun continued, the moon passed around, as the days grew longer. Winter snow fell upon it, freezing it to the bone.

And still it waited.

Spring sun came, thawing its frozen body, and bringing a new warmth and green to the world

And still it waited.

It waited for a sign,

An opportunity,

Anything that would free its master.

Waiting

Waiting.

"This statue represents victory." The words drifted through the air from around the hedges.

Something was coming through the statue garden. Something, somepony. It remained in hiding, eyes fixed upon the statue

"How cool would it be to have that as a cutie mark" said one of the fillies, following her teacher.

"Cool. If you were actually victoryful at something" another said

"That's not a word!" the third one shouted

"What are you, a dictionary?" replied the first

The fillies were fighting? It turned its gaze, leaving its master for the first time since it resigned itself to the fates of time. An idea started to form in its mind

"This creature is called a Draconequus. It has a head of a pony, and a body made up of all sorts of things. What do you suppose that represents?" The teacher asked

"Confusion"

"Evil"

"Chaos"

The fillies replied, cutting each other off.

Would it really be so simple? Could a simple spark of chaos be enough to awaken him? It was the first opportunity that had come around, and better than any idea time had brought it.

It's not chaos you dodo! It spoke the words, and they words floated through the air, reaching only the ears of their intended victim. The filly shouted the words that had just been transferred to her mind.

"It's not Chaos you dodo!"

“Don't call me things I don't know the meaning of, and it is too chaos!" The words floated, by magic, from it's mind to theirs, as they spoke them aloud.

"Is not!"

"You're both wrong!" said the third filly, involving herself in the argument

It would not have to wait long for their friendship to be replaced with chaos. Suddenly, the three fillies broke out into their own fight, each intent upon pressing their ideas upon the other. It chuckled to itself at the sight of such discord in front of Discord's statue.

The heart of the statue glowed a pure black. The spark of chaos had awoken him

"Actually, in a way you're all right." said the teacher, breaking apart the chaos.

It lay, hidden in the shadows, hoping that it had been enough. Hoping that the small spark could awaken him in his weakened prison. The class turned to follow the teacher, once more leaving it alone with the statue.

CRACK

There it was! The first flaw in that perfect prison of stone. The first imperfection. It could take that leverage, and use it to gain more.

CRACK
CRACK

Fractures appeared all across the statue, fissures running throughout the polished stone. The magic was unwinding! It had, at last, succeeded.

You gave me a second chance at life. Now I am giving you yours.

It turned its back on the cracking statue and disappeared into the shadows.

My debt has been repaid.

.........

Thank-you all for sticking with me through my first every piece of writing. It's interesting for me to go back and re-read the beginning, because you can see just how much my writing has changed since then. For the reader that has made it this far, I'm sure you've seen it. I'm also sure you've seen parts that, in your eyes, weren't perfect. Because I know I'm not perfect, no-where close.

I am going to be doing a re-write of many of these chapters, and submit this fic to EQD. Any and all criticism would be greatly appreciated, and if you want to help me pre-read and suggest ideas during the re-write, that would be even better! Because as it stands I'm my own pre-reader, and having somepony elses thoughts would be a huge benefit.

Once more, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

- Orfearus