> New Reign
>  by Dream Seeker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Death:Arc 1, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia gave one final, shuddering breath, and exhaled.  As she went limp, a few drops of salty water fell from the eyes of the ponies watching.  Celestia had known it was her time, and had asked to be moved to a private location,  where the only ponies watching at her time of passing would be Princess Cadence, Princess Twilight, and Princess Luna.  As the Princesses snuffled their tears, they waited in mourning for a few minutes before carrying her body to a private location.  Princess Celestia was buried in the maze at the garden, by the three remaining ailcorns.  They reflected on the cause.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Celestia groaned in agony.  It seemed that her injuries finally caught up to her.  An alicorn doesn't age, but has a specific amount of Life Force.  Every time she sustained an injury, she lost some, and it would not recover naturally.  Every paper cut, scratch, scrape, wound she had ever had slowly drained her Life Force.  She had initially predicted a couple thousand more years of life, but this was cut short by Nightmare Moon's massive attacks, and when Chrysalis burnt her horn she knew it would soon be time.  She quickly summoned Cadence, Twilight and Luna with letters.  She was too weak to move.  As she gasped out her knowledge, they began to cry.  She managed to get a couple of final requests in:  To die in a private location, to be buried in the maze, and one other request.  She smiled, despite the situation.  It was time.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Twilight stood nervously in front of the massive crown watching.  She had seen and heard many nobles debating who was next in line to the throne, but only she knew the truth.  She smiled nervously as the ceremony began.

"The next in line to the throne is...  Twilight Sparkle."  Luna read, as the nobles gasped in surprise.  She smirked, and wondered how they never thought of this.
"Twilight Sparkle, approach the throne and claim your crown."
Twilight walked forward, each step measured.  She knew she would never live it down if she tripped here.  "Your Royal Highness, it is an honor."  she stated, as per the memorized notecards she had written to help herself remember the words to the ceremony.
"Are you ready to uphold the throne of Equestria, for the population of the same?"
"Yes."
"Are you willing to uphold the throne of Equestria, even at the cost of your life?"
"Yes."
"Are you able to uphold the throne of Equestria until the day you die?"
"Yes."
"Then by the power of the Moon, I bestow upon you the Stewardship of the Sun.  Use it wisely."
Twilight used her magic to levitate her crown into the proper position, and knelt.
"Rise, and be ready, Princess Twilight."

With that, the crowd burst into applause.  Twilight was not happy that the required duties of a new princess included having to shake the hoof of every noblepony.  After the first fifty, her hoof felt sore.  After the next hundred, it felt like it was going to fall off.  After everypony shook her hoof, she wasn't sure she was going to survive the first day.  Strangely, she felt slightly energized by the whole performance.  When she asked Luna, she learned.  One of the few ways to restore an alicorn's life force was, by coincidence, coming into direct contact with one who has positive feelings for said alicorn!  When Twilight asked about other ways, Luna just shuddered and asked her to cease the line of questioning.  When she went to bed that night, in an alicorn sized matress, she thought to herself.

"What could possibly go wrong?"
> Court of Law:Arc 1, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight was reading.  No, that was an understatement.  Twilight had just read up on the history of all of Equestrian law.  She had woken up really early, before sunrise.  She had scheduled her reading so she could watch the sun come up.  She finished with a sigh, but a knocking on the door jarred her.  She opened the door to find Luna, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Have you forgotten?  You must raise the sun.  I have already lowered the moon."
Twilight gulped.  "But I don't know how."
Luna raised an eyebrow.  "You didn't read up on it?"
Twilight's jaw dropped.  "They have books on it?!"
Luna smirked.  "Only one, Celestia wrote it for whoever was coming after.  You didn't see it?"  she pointed at a large, golden book in the middle of the room.
Twilight looked confused.  "How could I miss that?"

At that moment, Luna and Twilight both realized that the sun still wasn't up.  In her panic, Twilight tried to lift it with pure telekinesis.  She grunted, and her horn glowed brighter than usual, until finally the sun began to rise.  Luna's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Not even Celestia could raise the sun with telekinesis!  She crafted a special spell that would sling the sun around our planet, instead.  You must be more powerful then Celestia!  It must come with being the Element of Magic."
Twilight's jaw dropped.  "Celestia designed a spell to raise the sun?  Not levitation?"
"Read about it, in the book.  Any moment now, your new advisor will be coming to talk to you about Equestrian law."

Twilight was to busy reading to hear the second half of the sentence.  A couple minutes later, the new advisor walked in to find the floor covered in notecards, and Twilight still reading Celestia's book.

"Aheh-hem?"  the new advisor coughed.
"Oh... Sorry..."  Twilight blushed.  "Are you my new advisor?"
"Yes.  My name is Alexandria.  I was chosen due to my ability to copy literature, including important documents.  My ability should save time spent copying documents manually."
"Oh, yes.  Wasn't there one document that was fifty seven pages long, and needed to be copied and signed four hundred and thirteen times?"
"Yes.  It took over a year for them to finish signing all the copies.  I take it then, that you know a lot about modern Equestrian law, as that document is very obscure."
"Oh, yes.  I read all about it this morning."
Alexandria raised an eyebrow.  "All of it, in one morning?"
Twilight blushed.  "Yes?"
Alexandria looked impressed.  "That's faster then I read.  Of course, you are a Princess.  But I digress.  If you know about Equestrian law, how about some tricky questions.  If two nobleponies both have claims on a 12 acre tract of land, how do you divide it?"
"You pick one to divide the tracts, and the other chooses one of these tracts to own."
"How can you tell if a deal is fair?"
"If all parties agree on whether or not it is fair."
"Hmm...  All right, if a griffon hunts for prey on a noblepony's land, how much does the griffon have to pay in fines for poaching if the griffon killed two rabbits and a squirrel?"
"Trick question.  There is no fine, but the griffon goes to jail for one year per life taken."
"All right."  said Alexandria, suitably impressed.  "Let's try this out in front of a real court."
Twilight looked nervous.  "Already?  I... Ok.  Where?"
"In the throne room, of course."

a few minutes----------a few minutes----------a few minutes----------a few minutes----------

Twilight shuffled nervously in her seat.  She felt uncomfortable sitting in the seat of her now deceased mentor.  As the first group of feuding ponies walked up, she tried to sound confident.

"What is wrong, my little ponies?"  she asked, modeling Celestia's voice as best she could.
"He... he sat in my reserved seat at a concert!"  one of the ponies exclaimed.  "I had to... ugh... sit next to a common farmpony!  The nerve!"
Twilight began to frown, but stopped herself.  Really?  She thought to herself.  Do they have to bring this to a Princess?
"Ah'm sorry, it wasn't clear to me.  Ah was told ta sit where ah pleased, and ah'm a good friend of the manager."
"Humph.  That means nothing.  You must pay me 2,000 bits as a fine, according to Equestrian law 218-749-A."
"Um... Wasn't that law repealed a decade ago?"  asked Twilight
"Uh... Well... I did not know that!  The unicorn noblepony declared, uncomfortably."
"Did you really...  Did you also not know that there are no reservations for concerts, aside from the seats reserved for Royalty and Diplomats, according to Equestrian law 184-274-D?"  Twilight asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Um... no...OHMYIAMLATETOANAPPOINTMENT!"  he said stiffly and walked out, as quickly as etiquette would allow him.
"Thanks!"  said the farm pony who had taken the seat in question.  "Ah knew somthin weren't right bout his claims."
"You're welcome."  said Twilight, smiling and waving.  "Goodbye!"
Alexandria smiled at Twilight.  "These nobleponies expect you to not know enough about Equestrian law to properly hold court.  Look!"  she pointed.  "Many of them are leaving, now that they know you actually understand the laws!"

a few hours later----------a few hours later----------a few hours later----------

Back in her room, Twilight sighed.  So many ponies had problems that needed a Princess to solve!  "Ugh..."  she groaned.  "I'm gonna make a law that requires a fee of 10 bits to consult a Princess...  Maybe then they won't come as often..."
"Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea."  said Alexandria.  "Many just come to try to squeeze a few bits from whoever they can.  This crowd is actually smaller then some of the days I've seen here."
"Fine!"  Twilight stomped.  "Consulting fee of 10 bits.  How do I make it a law?"
Alexandria raised an eyebrow in surprise.  "You don't know?"
"Well, I only read about the laws, not how to create new ones.  I didn't think I'd need to create one so quickly."
"It takes one copy for the archives, one copy for you, one copy for Princess Luna, one copy for me, one copy for every Equestrian Noble House, and both you and Luna have to sign each copy, after formally announcing it during a full moon at 7:00 on the dot, with clear weather conditions, outside in the Castle Courtyard, with at least one representative of each of 7 Noble Houses.  Meaning that essentially, 7 noble houses have to agree for the law to be passed.  Not to mention the difficulty of finding a time when a representative of each of 7 houses are available, during a full moon, at 7:00, with clear weather."
"Nrgh!"  Twilight groaned.  "Passing a law is that hard?"
"Yes.  But that only covers certain laws, other laws are harder to pass."
"Noooooooo!"
"Good thing we're done for today.  I'll start planning a way to convince all the nobles this is necessary."
Twilight stopped.  "You would do that?"
"Of course!  As your advisor, it's my duty!  I would even dare to say, my duty as your friemd."
"Of course you're my friend!  You're the only pony who's on my side, it seems."
"Ah hope we count as on yer side, Twi!"  Applejack said as she walked in, the rest of the Elements close behind.
"Obviously!"  Twilight exclaimed, smiling.  "What are you here for?  And how did you get in?"
"We came to help, of course!  Each of us have different talents that could help you create new laws, dear!" declared Rarity.
"And we came in through the front door.  The nice guards knew who we are!"  Pinkie bounced happily as she replied.
Twilight frowned.  "It's really hard to create new laws.  So many rules and restrictions apply!"
Alexandria just smiled.  "I have an idea, that just might work..."
> Laws and Ways Around Them:Arc 1, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight smiled.  It had taken some negotiations to pull this off, but after only a couple hours, she was ready.  She saw her friends sitting in front of her, Luna beside her, a full moon overhead, and clear skies from her seat in the Royal Gardens.  Alexandria stood on the side not occupied by Luna, smiling as well.  Her parents sat behind her friends, waiting.

"It is my great honor to welcome Equestria's newest Nobles into power!"  Twilight exclaimed.  "By the powers invested in me by the Sun, with Alexandria, member of the Royal House of Alexandria as well as Twilight Velvet and Night Light, members of the Royal House of Sparkle, and Princess Luna as my witnesses, I proclaim Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Fluttershy into the new Royal Houses of Belle, Apple, Pie, Dash, and Flutter respectively."

"I declare a new law, under this full moon, at 7:00, with members of the Royal Houses of Alexandria, Sparkle, Belle, Apple, Pie, Dash, and Flutter.  The new law requires a ten-bit fee, from disputing parties wishing for a Royal Consultation.  Only one party is required to pay the fee, and the fee shall be refunded if the Royal Consultation results in an amount of bits changing hooves that is greater than ten bits."
Luna smirked.  "Now only those who truly need shall ask for a consultation.  That was a wise move, Twilight Sparkle.  Now, request a meeting in the morning."
"Already done, Princess."  said Alexandria.  "I made sure all problems were solved, before we came to you to ask for a full moon.  I couldn't see a way to create the law, until Princess Twilight's friends came.  Lady Dash easily cleared the sky, and with five trusted friends being granted Royal Houses, you just have to add my Royal House and Princess Twilight's parent's Royal House to get 7, enough to create the law.  From there, I prepared for everything."
Luna smiled.  "Of course.  Now, sleep.  Tomorrow will be an... interesting day.  All of you need to be at your best.  I shall ward away the nightmares."

in the morning----------in the morning----------in the morning----------in the morning----------

The Nobles stood in the throne room, wondering what was so important so early in the new Princess's career.  Each had different hopes and expectations, ranging from some wondering about the return of Nightmare Moon, to others believing that they were about to become the newest Prince/Princess.  None were ready for these announcements.

"Welcome, everypony.  I have a few announcements to make."  Twilight stated as she revealed herself, already sitting in the throne.  "First of all, I would like to welcome five new Noble houses."  This was met with a few murmurs of astonishment, they didn't expect new Nobles so soon.  "Welcome Lady Dash, Lady Pie, Lady Belle, Lady Flutter, and Lady Apple."

When the new Nobles walked into the room and took their seats, nopony questioned their new positions.  After all, they had saved Equestria on numerous occasions.  Besides, many hoped they could be easily manipulated in the Game of Politics.

"My second announcement is that there is now a law in place requiring a ten-bit fee to be paid for a Princess's Consultation.  Only one party must pay the fee, and the fee will be refunded if an amount of bits greater than ten is exchanged as a result of the consultation."  With this announcement, many Nobles raised their hooves and objected loudly.
"Which Nobles agreed to this nonsense?"  one Noble in particular roared.
Twilight just smiled.  "The Alexandria House, the Sparkle House, the Belle House, the Dash House, the Pie House, the Apple House, and the Flutter House.  The full moon was provided last night by Luna, in case any of you noticed.  Performed at 7:00, in the Royal Garden, with Luna by my side."

Many Nobles gasped in astonishment.  It seemed that the new players in the Game of Politics were not as clueless as they seemed.  With 7 Noble Houses, the Princesses could create or remove laws at will, effectively putting the Nobles out of any and all power!  The worst part was that it was completely legal!  What they didn't know was that Celestia had specifically planned for this to be possible, to help ease the workload of her successor.  What she didn't know what events it would set into motion...

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In a pitch black room, around a table, ponies sat discussing.

"The Princesses have too much power!"  one gruff voice said.  "One law, and they could completely override the systems in place that require the consent of the governed.  As soon as we can, we need to remove them from power.  Before they destroy us all."
"No.  They wouldn't, they have no need."  said one pony, disgust dripping from his voice.  "No Noble would ever think to go against the wishes of their Princesses.  We have no reason to begin yet."
"Then it's settled.  Not yet."  a voice whispered from the darkness, and the other ponies shivered.
"Mark my words.  One day soon, a Princess shall remove the Nobleponies from power, by accident or on purpose.  I still think we should get the preemptive strike."  the gruff one said.
"We will begin when the time is right, and only when the time is right.  You are dismissed."  replied the voice in the darkness.

The ponies teleported away from the secret table, except for the voice in the darkness.  A candle was lit, but the shadows didn't disappear, they seemed to flow around the strange pony.  As the shadows congealed, a shape emerged.  It was an ordinary pony, but their body was made out of pure shadow...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In a pitch black room, around a table, ponies met once again.

"They have finally crossed the line!"  the gruff one crowed.  "They destroyed the purpose of Nobles!  We must act."
"Not until we have a plan."  the Shadow Pony replied.  "I already have an idea.  The first step shall begin shortly."
"Excellent.  Nothing to say, brother?  Too upset over your mistake?"
"Once the Princess died, her authority was lost.  I had not predicted her death.  The Nobles would have no well-respected figure to obey, so this new one needed to give them a reason, or make them obsolete.  We must strike now, while the new Princess is weak.  What is the plan?"
"Excellent.  Listen carefully now, my plan cannot be foiled.  This is what you must do..."
> Assassination:Arc 1, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A pony walked forward, a large cloak billowing behind him.  As he entered the throne room, he took a look around, until he saw his target:  Princess Twilight.  His target was sitting on the throne, smiling benevolently.  His lips curled into a sneer as he watched.  He was going to enjoy this job.  He shook his hood off, pointed his horn and released the already charged disintegration spell.  As he lifted his head back up, he saw Twilight gasp in horror as it came straight at her.  To his surprise, Twilight's assistant jumped into the path of the spell an instant before it hit his target.  Pity, he thought to himself.  It would take him time to recharge the spell.

Twilight smiled as a pony walked into the throne room.  She was ready to do what she could to help him, with whatever he needed.  Suddenly, the pony shook off his hood and showed his horn already lit with a spell.  Twilight gasped in horror as it came closer to her, too fast to block.  An instant before it hit her, Alexandria jumped into the path of the spell.  A moment later, her body crumbled into dust.  Enraged, Twilight snared the Assassin and trapped him in a bubble.  She snarled and reshaped the bubble to press specific painful but nonlethal pressure points on the Assassin's body.  The Assassin screamed in pain, but the bubble blocked the sounds.  Twilight grinned at his pain, glad that he felt pain.  She wished pain.  Pain on him, pain on the nobles, pain on-  she caught her self.  This wasn't her.  Frightened, she expanded the bubble to a more comfortable position for the Assassin.  She trembled in fear and shock as she realized that she had almost given in to the Nightmare.  She told herself to ask Luna what the Nightmare really was, so she could better fight it off if it came again.  Guards burst into the room a second later.

"Princess Twilight.  Are you okay?  What happened?"  asked one guard.
"I am fine, now.  Is Princess Luna available?  I must talk to her."  Twilight spoke, her voice trembling.  "This is an Assassin.  He attempted to kill me, and succeeded in killing Alexandria.  Learn what you can about his motives.  Find out why he wanted to do this."

She looked at him one last time, and saw him mouthing a one word reply to the question he had read off her lips and expression:  Money.

"After the interrogation, hold him in trial for treason.  Make sure he understands that if he cooperates, we will be more lenient."
"Yes, Your Highness."  the guard replied, escorting the Assassin away.

Twilight sat in her room, sobbing.  She couldn't understand why anypony could want her dead.  Had she done anything that bad?  She resolved herself to destroy the coup.  She would make them suffer for their- no, she told herself.  Resist.  Capture, yes.  Suffer, no.  At that moment, Luna walked in and saw Twilight crying.  Twilight looked up and saw an angry expression on Luna's face.

"Thou art a fine Princess, Twilight."  Luna spoke, lapsing into old Equestrian.  "Thy rule is just, thy spirit pure.  The Assassin has committed a crime most foul."
"I-I-What is the Nightmare?"  Twilight asked, still crying slightly.
"Thou speekest of my Nightmare, Nightmare Moon?  Each pony has a Nightmare, what they fear to be.  Hast thou encountered thy Nightmare?"
"Y-Yes.  I-I wanted to make him suffer.  I wanted to k-kill them all!"
"The first time is always hard.  Thou shalt encounter thy Nightmare again.  Only by the strength of thy will shalt thou protect thyself."
"I-Is there anything I can do in particular?"
"Yes.  Thou cannst think of thy friends in thy time of need.  Thy friends shall guide thy thoughts, their wisdom shall rule thy mind.  If I had friends when my Nightmare struck, I may have managed to avoid it.  Take care, for the Nightmare shall try to work itself into thy every thought.  Life is a hard path to tread, once burdened by a Nightmare.  Thou shalt prevail, Twilight Sparkle.  I believe in thee."
Twilight smiled and sniffled once more.  "T-Thank you."

in the morning----------in the morning----------in the morning---------in the morning----------

Twilight smiled upon her throne.  With very few pointless debates thrown her way, she was beginning to find her job a lot more interesting.  Her smile faded slightly as she remembered that Alexandria was no longer available to help her, and she could feel the tug of the Nightmare.  She shuddered, then forced the smile back on her face as she prepared for the next consultation.  Suddenly, a Royal Guard burst into the room.

"Your Highness!"  he declared.  "The prisoner wishes to speak with you!  He says he will tell you everything, on one condition:  You must let him go."
"Take me to him.  I will speak with him."  Twilight replied coldly.

a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------

"I will only tell you if you agree to release me."  said the Assassin with a smirk.
Twilight thought for a moment.  "Tell me where the ponies who hired you are first, and I'll agree."
"I'm afraid I can't help you there.  They found me, not the other way around.  However, I can tell you how much they paid me, and all three of their descriptions."  the Assassin smiled unnervingly.  "And the other targets."
"I agree to your terms.  Tell me."
"They paid me 1,000,000 bits.  A Princess's ransom... For a Princess's head!"  the Assassin laughed.  "For the rest, free me first."
"Fine!"  Twilight grit her teeth.  "Guards, free him but escort us outside the castle, where he will give me the rest of the information.  Make sure he keeps his end of the deal."
"Are you su-nevermind, your Highness."  said the guard, stopped by a harsh look.  He dipped his head, and gathered some other guards to be escorts.

a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------

"Thanks!"  the Assassin said with a grin.  "I thought I was done for this time!  They were all wearing cloaks.  One was black with a dark blue mane and a skull and crossbones cutie mark, another was light blue with a grey mane and a dark crystal cutie mark, and the third was... strange.  He... it?  had a shadowy body, almost like he wasn't a pony at all..."  he shuddered.  "Even creeps me out...  Anyway, as for other targets..."  he grinned.  "You, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity Belle, Fluttershy, and Applejack."
"Did you hear that!"  shouted Twilight.  "Guards, set everypony on the lookout for ponies of these descriptions.  We need to find them, fast.  They intend on killing everypony capable of protecting ponykind!"
The Assassin chuckled ominously.  "Oh, I doubt they feel that way.  I'd bet my last bit, they intend on killing everypony capable of subjugating ponykind.  They're scared of you.  Goodbye."  He was still chuckling to himself as he galloped away as fast as he could.
"Should we go after him, your Highness?" asked one guard.
"No...  As much as I hate to admit it, he fulfilled his end of the bargain, so we should fulfill ours.  Just find the ponies he described."  Twilight sighed.

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

In a dark room, ponies conversed.  They sat around a table, arguing about their next course of action.

"I say we come out and hire as many assassins as we can!"  roared a pony with a black coat and a dark blue mane.
"You've messed it all up!"  replied a pony with a light blue coat and a grey mane.  "Now they know about us!"
"Certainly.  When she comes, we need to set up an ambush.  A trail of false clues, with a trap at the end."  a shadowy being calmly stated.  "Prepare.  The first clue should be..."
> Clues:Arc 1, Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Simmering Steel was nervous.  He had been tasked, by Shining Armor himself, to find out where the terrorist group that tried to assassinate the Princess.  If they almost killed the Princess, what would stop them from killing him?  He was in charge of a large group of soldiers, all looking for clues.  As they turned a corner, Simmering Steel thought he saw a dark shadow flit away down the streets, leaving a shadowy trail behind him.

"Just a trick of the light!"  he yelled to his team, "Don't try to follow it!"

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

"Bonk.  Thunk."  went a pony with a light blue coat and a blue mane's head as he smacked it head repeatedly into the table.  "How could they pass up a clue like that?  They must be stupider than I thought.  I even considered ditching this idea because it was too obviously a trap!"

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

A note swirled in the wind in front of Simmering Steel.  He reached out and grabbed it, reading it to himself.



Thank you for agreeing to do our... "Business".  Our target will be in the throne room on the 7th of this month, which is when and where you should fulfill our deal.  Our address, in case you want more highly paid jobs of your category of work, is the only warehouse by the docks near here.



"Nothing but a receipt for hiring somepony, probably a professional party thrower, meant to set up a party on the same day as the Princess was nearly assassinated.  What a pity the assassination had to cancel the party.  It also has their employer's address."  said Simmering
"Do they have professional party planners now?"  asked another guard.
"Sure.  Ever heard of Cheese Sandwich?"  replied Simmering

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

A pony with a light blue coat and a blue mane groaned.  "How could they possibly mistake an assassin's hiring recipt for a party planner's?"  His head lay flat on the table now.  "I suddenly worry that they won't catch any of our clues."
"Give it time."  the Shadow replied.  "I have an idea that will surely bring them right where we want them."

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

Simmering walked forward, then suddenly came to a halt as he saw a sign.


Evil Ponies Secret Base Is At The Warehouse Near Here!


"Huh.  So the party planner's boss was evil?  Good thing they placed this extremely convenient sign here!  What could possibly go wrong?  Let's go!"

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

The light blue pony's jaw dropped in disbelief.  "They don't see that its a trap?  How could they not see it?"
The Shadow grimaced.  "It's a pony thing.  A surprisingly large amount of them can't see a trap until it hits them.  This is going to be a real disaster for them."

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

Simmering trotted into a nearby hotel.  After buying every room for his guards, he began preparing for the next day's battle.  Oh, they'll be so surprised to see me! he thought.  They'll never see me coming!  So I should probably bring a couple of magic suppressors, maybe one for each of my guards.  Meanwhile, the other guards were thinking about how easy it would be as well, all except for one.  Radiant Sword was worried.  Can't they see it's a trap? he thought.  He could not believe that Simmering could have fallen for it.  Maybe an extreme form of sarcasm?  Just please let him be joking...  he hoped.  As he prepared himself, he decided to try the invisibility spell he had learned recently.  He didn't know it would save his life.  

In the morning, forty ponies trotted into the warehouse.  Ten minutes later, one trotted out, invisible.  He got a free trip on the train due to his position as a guard, and got back to the castle at about midday.  His ears sagged as he stumbled into the throne room.

"Dead!"  he cried.  "They're all dead!"  Then he collapsed.

Twilight gasped.  Of the entire party she sent out, only one was left?  How could this have happened?  She didn't have time to continue this line of questioning with herself.  After checking his body for wounds, and finding none that would merit this collapse, she summoned Luna to take a look at the guard's mental state.  Luna arrived a few minutes later.

"This is a very grave situation."  Luna reported.  "His mind is damaged from witnessing the slaughter of thirty-nine guards.  I saw it through his eyes.  I suggest I remove the memories, and store them in a Memory Jar.  Then, we shall consult him.  If he wishes, we shall return the memories, but it would put him back into this state."
"Why would we return his memories, if they would do this to him?" asked Twilight.
"This counts as a complex medical procedure, and we must have his consent.  However, as we cannot get his consent in this state, we can get him out of this state before asking him.  I doubt he will ask for the memories back, at least not all of them."
"Do it."  ordered Twilight.

Luna's horn glowed and pressed against Radiant's head.  A ball of memories was removed, and stored inside a nearby jar.  Radiant woke up a few moments later.

"What happened?"  Radiant asked groggily.  "All I remember is walking into the warehouse, and then walking our, invisible and alone.  Where am I?"
"You're at the castle, in the throne room."  Twilight replied.  "All of your comrades died in a horrible, bloody battle.  We had to remove the harmful memories from your head.  We are required by law to offer your memories back, but a word of warning:  You will return to a vegetative state."
"Your Highness!"  Radiant struggled to his hooves and bowed.  "I am fine without the memories, if they're really that bad."
"They are."  Luna put in.  "Only centuries of living in the darkest times of Equestria prevented me from falling to the floor when I carried them."
"How did you find the warehouse?  What else happened during the mission?"  Twilight asked.
"Of course.  This is what happened..."
> Divine Intervention:Arc 1, Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight stood in her chariot, fully decked in her armor.  She had decided that it was time to take this into her own hooves.  After forty ponies had died for her sake, she could not let anypony else die for her.  Barely restraining her Nightmare, she rode to the warehouse, war on her mind and going over the spells she had learned specifically for this mission, including spells for attacking ghosts and not entirely "there" beings, like the suspected Shadow.  She was prepared for everything, from anti-teleport wards and anti-magic rings to knife-and-dagger fights.  She had a mobile Beacon on her armor, which would allow her to release pre-casted teleports to various locations.  She had tools that fit on a pony's hooves and let them break anti-magic rings, and even a sword built into her armor that could be removed with her hooves or magic, and was enchanted so only her magic could grip it, including the inherent telekinesis fields in hooves that allowed them to grip objects.  Nothing could stop her from protecting the ponies she loved.  Or could something?

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

"She's coming here, fully equipped!  We'll never be able to stop her!"  cried a voice from the dark table.
"I have a plan.  There is only one thing she didn't prepare for, we must use it against her."  whispered the Shadow.
"And what would that be?"  asked the other voice.
"Hostages."  whispered the Shadow, ominously.

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

Twilight bust through the door of the warehouse.  "Come out and FACE ME!"  she roared.
"You came prepared for everything... but the one thing we have."  whispered a shadowy voice.
"Who are you?"  asked Twilight angrily.
"A piece of a pony you once knew.  A shadow, reforming slowly.  An evil you thought destroyed.  I am... King Sombra's shadow."

Everypony in the room gasped.  Twilight saw her mother and father in the corner, tied up but without gags gasping at this revelation as well.  What surprised her the most was that the ponies that had been Sombra's shadow's allies had gasped as well.

"But... We thought you agreed with us."  one called out.  "You said... you said that the Princesses were selfish and we needed a good strong democracy, and that the Princesses would destroy us all on a whim..."
"Ha!  Foals!  I only needed you for the money.  Now, I have all I could ever need.  The Princess's armor is priceless!"  he turned to face his former allies.
"No!"  the other shouted.  He charged up his horn and fired a beam... only for it to fly right through Sombra's shadowy body!
"Muhahaha... Nothing can stop me now!"  Sombra roared in triumph.  "I have hostages for the Princess, and you foals can't even hurt me!"
"You don't have hostages anymore!"  cried Twilight from the other side of the room.  Sombra turned to find that during his monologue, Twilight had freed the hostages and sent them back to Canterlot with the teleport from her armor.
"No matter.  I can beat you myself!"  he roared, his shadowy body forming a semi-solid shape, enough to charge a spell.  

Twilight was trapped in a shield with little air inside!  Luckily, Twilight knew a spell to recycle the air safely.  But could she keep up her spell longer than Sombra could keep up his?  It didn't look like it.  Twilight's spell required extreme concentration to keep active, but whenever Twilight put her full concentration into the spell, Sombra dropped the shield and hit her with a quick spell that disrupted her concentration.  In a few minutes, Twilight could barely breathe.  Suddenly, the shield dropped for a longer period of time.  Moments before Twilight fainted from hyperventilating in the sudden surge of oxygen, she could hear and see what was going on.

"Stop!"  Sombra cried.  "You don't know what you are doing!"

Strife Shade knew exactally what he was doing.  He stuck one black hoof inside Sombra, disrupting the shadow's spells.  He called out to his companion, "Now!  Remember your crystals?"

Crystal Shade knew what his brother was referring to.  In an instant, he cast his spell, the one he earned his cutie mark for.  Sombra's body began crystalizing.

"You haven't heard the last of m-"  Sombra was cut off by dark crystals envoloping his mouth.  Within a few more seconds, he stopped struggling, fully encased.  Strife and Crystal looked at Twilight's limp body nervously.

"I don't think we could stop a Princess on our own.  If we trap Twilight, Luna and Cadence will come after us.  Sombra was our only hope.  Maybe... we should try to convert Equestria to a democracy peacefully?"  Strife asked.
"It's all we can do.  If Twilight really stopped a Sombra at full strength, not merely a shadow of him, maybe having them as protectors isn't such a bad idea."  replied Crystal.
"Now, let's find a way to get Twilight and Sombra back to canterlot without getting caught..."  Strife gulped.  Suddenly, Twilight's armor beeped.
"That's probably a locator backup system."  Crystal said happily.  "She'll be fine.  Let's get going, before reinforcements come!"

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

Shining armor was worried when the backup locator system went on.  This meant that Twilight hadn't moved at all for about 20 seconds, meaning she had probably just been knocked out.  His chariot was pulled by the Wonderbolts themselves, and made it to the beacon in 12.5 seconds.  When he got there, he found Twilight out cold and Sombra crystalized.  He didn't really understand what had happened, so he put both of them on the chariot and took them back.  When Twilight woke up, she explained what she knew.  When she saw the crystalized Sombra, she just smiled.

"We did need a replacement statue for Discord."  she said.  "And don't try to find his partners.  I don't think they'll try to strike again.  They didn't know it, but when they touched my armor it released tiny tracking devices."

a few months later----------a few months later----------a few months later----------

Strife gazed nervously at Twilight.  They were in the throne room, and he had asked for an audience.  He was disguised, so she couldn't possibly know-

"Hello, Strife."  Twilight greeted warmly.  "I am listening to your petition, not capturing you right now.  I always knew where you were."
"I...I wanted to ask about having a democracy."  Strife said.  "How could I make it happen?"
Twilight smiled.  "If you poll Equestria, and more than half wish for a democracy, I will step down.  If the majority of the ponies I rule don't want me to rule, what is the point?  By the way, you might find it hard to petition while some still believe you to be evil.  I grant you and Crystal a Royal Pardon."

Strife gaped in astonishment.  Not only had he learned that it was possible to change Equestria to a democracy, but he received a Royal Pardon?  He left and said his thank-yous, before discarding his cloak.  He smiled triumphantly as he walked down the halls.  The guards who saw him quickly stopped when they saw the Royal Pardon he held.  The next morning, Twilight announced the Royal Pardon to everypony.  Twilight smiled, because the dark was over.  She could rule Equestria with ease now.
> Bonus:Equestrian Government
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the Equestrian Constitution, in all its glory.  I'm still writing it...

First number is for order created in, for example all the 1s were introduced at the same time.  The second number is for sections within the created order, for example two different numbers are created with separate purposes, but could be released at the same time.  The letters are for different portions of a section.


Article 1


Article 1 Section 1:  Amendments (Article 1 added year 1 Celestial Lunar Reign, 500 Before Celestial Reign, 1500 Before New Reign)
1-1-A:  New Articles may be added, to repair any problems with the government.
1-1-B:  Articles may not be removed, but can be made ineffective by a later Article.
1-1-C:  One ruler is required to approve an Article
1-1-D:  If no ruler is available, a new temporary ruler can be appointed by voting.  All citizens vote, and whichever candidate has the greatest number of votes becomes the new temporary ruler, until the old ruler is recovered.
1-1-E:  Any new permanent ruler must be appointed by an old ruler, unless both rulers are deceased.  If both rulers are deceased, a new permanent ruler can be appointed by voting.

Article 1 Section 2:  Rights of Citizens and Non-citizens (Article 1 added year 1 CLR, 535 BCR, 1539 BNR)
1-2-A:  All races and species are free and equal.
1-2-B:  All citizens have a right to vote for a new ruler, in the cases in which this is necessary.
1-2-C:  All citizens have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
1-2-D:  All citizens and non-citizens must abide by the laws of this nation.
1-2-E:  All citizens have the right to own property.
1-2-F:  All citizens and non-citizens have the right to travel through and out of this nation, unless that being has broken any laws in this nation or any other nation.

Article 1 Section 3:  Royal Guard (Article 1 added year 1 CLR, 535 BCR, 1539 BNR)
1-3-A:  The Royal Guard are chosen personally by the current rulers.  Only one ruler is needed to approve a Royal Guard.
1-3-B:  Royal Guard may detain criminals, as long as they have proof or a warrant with them.
1-3-C:  Royal Guards may confiscate stolen goods, as long as they have proof or a warrant with them.
1-3-D:  Rulers may create warrants, and rulers judge criminals based on their crimes.  Their sentences are to be carried out by the Royal Guards.
1-3-E:  Royal Guards may carry weapons, but can only use them in self defense or to detain a criminal, as long as they do not inflict lethal blows.  Royal Guards are also permitted to train using blunted weapons.

Article 1 Section 4:  Monetary System (Article 1 added year 1 CLR, 535 BCR, 1539 BNR)
1-4-A:  This nation's currency is the "Bit"  and has the equivalent value of 1 apple.  This can be adjusted by a ruler, in accordance with inflation.
1-4-B:  Rulers may mint Bits, but no others can.
1-4-C:  Transactions must be agreed upon by all involved parties, and if any disagreements take place, a ruler must decide what is fair.

Article 1 Section 5:  Laws (Article 1 added year 1 CLR, 535 BCR, 1539 BNR)
1-4-A:  Laws may be created by rulers.  One ruler is needed to approve a law.
1-4-B:  Laws must be posted in every city.  Failure to do so could result in a fine.


Article 2


Article 2 Section 1:  Government Positions (Article 2 added year 2 CLR, 534 BCR, 1538 BNR)
2-1-A:  Amending 1-4-B, a ruler-assigned Minter may also mint bits.  The Minter is not allowed to keep the minted bits, but must give them directly to the Treasurer.
2-1-B:  The Treasurer is a ruler-assigned government official who handles the government's bits, and keeps track of how many bits the government has.
2-1-C:  New Government Positions may be added in later Articles, when deemed necessary by a current ruler.

Article 2 Section 2:  Wages (Article 2 added year 2 CLR, 534 BCR, 1538 BNR)
2-2-A:  The minimum wage in this nation is 10 Bits an hour, and the maximum work time is 6 hours a day.  Workers may work longer than 6 hours if they so choose, as long as the company they work for agrees.  A company cannot require more than 6 hours a day for a job.
2-2-B:  The wage of a Royal Guard is 40 Bits an hour, in 5 hour shifts.
2-2-C:  The wage of a Minter is 30 Bits an hour, in 2 hour shifts.
2-2-D:  The wage of a Treasurer is 25 Bits an hour, in 2 hour shifts.
2-2-E:  New wages can be added, and these wages can be modified in future Articles.

Article 2 Section 3:  City Governments
2-3-A:  All cities must first send a letter to a current ruler, stating their authenticity as a city.
2-3-B:  All cities must have at least 5 Guards for every 100 inhabitants.
2-3-C:  All cities must have an elected mayor, who is in charge of the city.

Article 2 Section 4:  Companies
2-4-A:  Companies that wish to hire must write down their hiring arrangements, and give a copy of them to a current ruler for approval.
2-4-B:  Companies must give their employees at least 3 hours of work a day.  This can be voided if the employee does not want to work 3 hours.  After the 3 hours, employers can stop their employees from working at that company for the rest of the day.
2-5-C:  Companies must own the land they sell their goods on, or rent it from its owner.
> More Death:Arc 2, Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

          Twilight cried.  Just 7 years after defeating Sombra's shadow, it was Pinkie Pie's funeral.  In her will, it had said to call it a "FUN-eral, and just like she wanted, it was full of balloons and streamers, and everypony wore colorful clothing.  However, it didn't change the fact that Pinkie Pie was gone.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

"Your Highness!"  cried the guard as he burst into the room.  "News from Ponyville!  Sugarcube Corner has burnt down!"

In a flash, Twilight had teleported.  Upon arrival, she saw Sugarcube Corner.  At least, what was left of it.  The charred beams and floor were cracked and broken.  The roof had fallen to the floor, and the charred beams dripped with water used to put out the fire.  Twilight teleported to the hospital immediately.  She asked the first nurse she found, "Who survived the fire at Sugarcube Corner?"

"The Cakes, their babies and the customers."  the nurse replied.  "Pinkie Pie tragically burned to save the Cakes' babies."
"T-tell me how it happened."  Twilight sobbed.
"The fire started from an oven.  It had spread to far too fast, and everypony ran out as quickly as they could.  When they assembled outside, the Cakes realized that their children were still inside.  Pinkie Pie rushed back in as quickly as she could, and somehow managed to shoot the children out the window with the party cannon into Quills and Sofas, where they landed on a sofa.  Immediately after, the house collapsed on her.  Her body has been identified.  Thanks to her, the Cakes' children have minor burns and smoke inhalation.  Nopony else will die, or even be crippled."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Twilight went to bed that night and was about to fall asleep when she heard a voice.

"They all deserve to die.  They could not save her."
"No, they tried their best.  Right?"  Twilight thought to herself.
"Why didn't anypony go in to save Pinkie Pie?  Why couldn't they stop the fire sooner?  Why did Pinkie Pie have to be the one to run inside?"  whispered the voice.
"I... don't know..." replied Twilight to herself.

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

Luna decided to let Twilight have a day off the next day.  She was obviously shaken up by the death of her close friend.  She took her seat in the throne room and waited.  Luna remembered when her few friends had started dying.  It was one of the real reasons for her turning Nightmare.  She remembered not getting a break from her duties, even when her best friends had died.  Even now, she heard the whisperings of her Nightmare, trying once again to convince her to begin the Eternal Night.  She knew more than anypony how much Twilight needed comfort now.

----------In Ponyville----------In Ponyville----------In Ponyville-----------In Ponyville----------

Twilight had spent her day off investigating the cause of the fire.  During her inspections, she figured out that the Cakes had left the oven on too long, and didn't get word to the fire station until Pinkie Pie had gone back in.  Her eye began to twitch.

"It's the Cakes' fault.  They neglected their job, and didn't respond fast enough.  They deserve to die."  a voice whispered in her ear.
"No, they just... made a mistake.  Or two.  Everypony makes mistakes!"  muttered Twilight to herself.
"That doesn't change the fact that Pinkie Pie is gone.  Nopony can bring her back, so why should they get to live while others suffer for their mistakes?"
"I can and I will bring them back!"  Twilight roared.  "I just have to create the right spell!"  The voice was silent after that.  Twilight flew back to Canterlot, thinking over the necessary spell matrixes.  On reflex, she lowered the sun in mid-flight.  Moments   later, the moon rose and the stars came out.  Twilight ignored the beautiful sight, however.  She was still concentrating on creating a necromancy spell.

"Dark magic..."  she mumbled to herself.  "It needs a bit of dark magic..."

Twilight flew up to her tower, grabbed some supplies and teleported to the Canterlot Archives.  Once inside, she began looking for all books on dark magic.

"Crystal-growing spell, no...  Shadow Form spell?  I might want to look into that later.  Cool, but not what I need right now...  Necromancy For Dummies?  Perfect!"  Twilight cried in glee as she found the right book.  Within moments, she was deep into the book.  When Luna walked in, she saw Twilight asleep on a book, and smiled.

"Sleep well, Twilight.  I hope reading a good book helps you recover soon."  she whispered, so as not to wake Twilight.  She marked Twilight's page, without reading what book it was.  She made Twilight a little bed next to her small stack of books, and tucked Twilight in with a spare blanket.

----------In The Morning----------In The Morning----------In The Morning----------

Twilight woke up groggily, before realizing in a panic that she had fallen asleep in her Necromancy For Dummies book!  If Luna had seen her... she shuddered.  She realized that she might have to tread carefully with her research now.  But she would do anything to save her friends.  "Life to Death, Death to Life..."  she whispered, getting an idea for her spell.  She wrote it down in her notes as she raised the sun, in perfect sync with Luna lowering the moon.  She had become quite proud of her ability to raise the sun exactly when it needed to rise, but the act held no joy for her now.  No joy with one of her friends missing.  No laughter without Pinkie Pie...

In a secret room, there was a box.  Inside the box, the Elements of Harmony sat until they were needed to save the world once more.  But as Twilight lost her laughter with Pinkie Pie's passing, the necklace with a solitary balloon on it slowly grew dim and grey.  It became an ordinary stone once more.
> Bonus: Magic For Dummies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Welcome.  If you wish to learn about magic, this is the place.  The first thing you should know about magic is how to measure it.  

The Equestrian standard system uses Maguns.  A Magun is equivalent to 1 Newton of force.  (A Newton is a kilogram meter per second, or the amount of force it takes to move a kilogram a meter in a second.). A single Magun can teleport you 1 meter, can allow you to make a shield that can be 1 meter in radius and hold strong against up to 1 Newton of force being applied to it.  A Magun can also levitate a kilogram for one second, that travels at 1 meter/second.  Other spells will be listed at the bottom, with effect based on the usage of a stated amount of Maguns.

Step 1:  Learning Types of Magic

Now, onto casting and different types of magic.  Every unicorn has 3 spell nodes.  Spell nodes are the spirals on a unicorn's horn.  The first is the most intuitive, commonly called the "soul node".  Magic channelled from this node can be used in levitation and cutie-mark based magic.  For example, Rarity's soul node allows her to cast the gem-finding spell, and have extra powerful levitation.  Twilight is a special case, however.  Her soul node is shaped to allow her to cast any magic, as long as she has enough Maguns to do do.  If Twilight was lacking magic from one node, her soul node could redirect a portion of its magic into the necessary node, making Twilight good at everything magic-related.

The second node is the "aura node" that allows for self-sustaining magic.  The aura node is used for spells that stay active for a period of time, or have permanent effects, often drawing some ambient magic to aid their effects so constant casting is not necessary.  Examples include teleportation, shield spells and transformation spells (Note:  Changeling transformation is different).

The third, and most dangerous, node is the "dark node" that allows the user to cast dark magic.  While dark magic is easier to use than other types of magic, each use subtly adjusts the mood and personality of the user.  Repetitive dark magic casting has been known to drive ponies crazy, and can increase the likelihood of the user's Nightmare to take over.  Dark magic often causes permanent effects, such as Sombra creating crystals.

Magic beams don't use any nodes, they're a raw expression of pure magic.  There is no actual spell involved, the user just points and releases magic.  This is similar to what happened to Twilight when she got her cutie mark, but with slight differences.  Twilight lost control of a spell she was trying to cast, and the result was magic released in every direction, while Twilight was attempting to regain control.  This cast many random spells on many random targets within range.

There is one more class of magic:  Rune magic.  Rune magic calls ambient magic through the ground, air and life forms to perform a specific effect.  Instead of channeling magic through a spell node, magic is channeled through a specifically drawn rune made of specific materials.  If a rune is created wrong, it will probably explode, or drain all the magic within a 100-ft radius before exploding with the force of all of the magic is just gained.  The resulting explosion can be more powerful than an atomic bomb, and mess with the natural magic distribution of the land.  This can effect spells cast for up to miles around, causing random changes in spells or increases and decreases in the power of spells cast.  It is for this reason that rune magic is regarded as dangerous and outlawed in Equestria.  DO NOT MESS WITH RUNES.  An example of a functioning rune is the Elements of Harmony.  The Elements of Harmony draw magic from the power of the wielders' friendship, which can be quite powerful.  The Elements of Harmony have a few recorded powers, but it is not clear how one chooses between them.  They can banish the target to a celestial body, turn them to stone, remove their Nightmare from power, and maybe cause other effects.  The Elements of Harmony are equipped with a powerful spell that can repair them if they are damaged.  That is a spell cast using the "aura node", by the way.   The spell will repair the Elements with ambient magic from friendship.

Step 2:  Casting Magic

Time to learn how to cast your first spell.  First, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think of a pattern.  Some choose music, and essentially play their horn like an instrument.  Some picture building, they pretty much "build" spells in their horn.  Twilight, for example, pictures formulas.  Her method is very efficient, as she merely has to picture the equations she just read in order to cast a spell.  This allows her to learn spells very quickly.  However, equations can be too confusing for most.  Take a look at an example:

6M=TK^W3K*V2ME/S

This equation means 6 Maguns is required to move, using telekinesis, 3 kilograms of weight at 2 meters per second.  This doesn't seem too hard, but imagine having to recalculate the entire equation if you wanted to change the amount of weight, or the speed.  This is the simplest spell, telekinesis, and yet to cast it Twilight's way you need a complicated equation every time.  Most unicorns see the object, eyeball its weight, and play the melody, build the spell, whatever feels natural to them.  Twilight uses an equation because it feels natural to her.  Note that most unicorns picture their magic in a way that's related to their cutie mark.

Step 3:  Runes

As previously stated, DO NOT MESS WITH RUNES.  That being said, a rune may be necessary to use.  Celestia help you if you ever get into that situation.  Before even starting a rune, you need to know how to create an anti-magic forcefield.  Such a forcefield can be used to turn a rune off.  Now, onto power source.  A simple rune will have generally one straight rod in the middle for every power source, but if more energy is needed more rods can be used.  Gemstones are inscribed with a pattern that determines what it will absorb, and from what distance.  If this is inscribed wrong, it will probably explode like so many other parts of runes.  Friendship magic is rarely used, as the power supply varies greatly depending on who is nearby.  If life-long friends are nearby, the rune may overload with power, depending on what type of gemstone is used.  Quality of gemstone, from greatest to least, is below.

Changeling Poo:  Changeling poo is actually quite good for Runes 101.  Not only can it be shaped safely before it dries, the amount it stores depends completely on its size.  This means that you can limit the size of an explosion, depending on the size of the poo.  For more uses of Changeling poo, read the story Changed.

Gem of Harmony:  Found only in the Tree of Harmony, these gemstones have seemingly limitless power.  When in possession of great friends, they can be used to shoot out power, much like a magic beam.

Fire Opal:  These rare gems are infused with a strange magic that can allow them to be used as a power source of their own, instead of draining nearby magic.  However, if you make a mistake while cutting a Fire Opal, or smash one, it will explode violently.  Almost everything related to runes will explode violently if you mess up while using it...  Note:  A dragon that eats a Fire Opal will grow huge and become very powerful.  Fire Opals vary in power from 1,000,000,000,000 to 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 Maguns.  (Trillion to Quintillion)  After a Fire Opal is drained, it pretty much becomes a ruby.

Diamond:  Diamonds can hold close to 1,000,000,000 Maguns  (Billion)
Ruby:  Rubies can hold close to 1,000,000 Maguns (Million)
Emerald:  Emeralds can hold close to 100,000 Maguns

After obtaining your power source, you must find a place with a stone floor.  This is for convenience, and so it doesn't read whatever it's sitting on as part of the matrix and blow itself up by mistake when the matrix short circuits.  Next, for the wires.  They should be made of copper or another metal, but copper is usually used for its cheapness.  However, metals do have a maximum amount of Maguns that can run through them at one time, or they will explode, and cause the whole thing to explode.  Resistance of metal types is below, each is per square millimeter radius.

Platinum: 1,000,000 Maguns^2
Gold: 100,000 Maguns^2
Silver: 10,000 Maguns/mm^2
Iron: 1,000 Maguns/mm^2
Copper: 100 Maguns/mm^2

Next, comes the shape of the wire.  The wire needs to be in a specific shape, depending on the effect you want to produce.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO INVENT A RUNE.  Attempting to invent a rune often ends in an explosion.  If even a single wire is even a centimeter out of place, the entire rune will explode.  The ambient magic collectors need to be "jumpstarted"  with a little magic to turn on.  DO NOT JUMPSTART A MAGIC COLLECTOR UNTIL THE RUNE IT IS ATTACHED TO IS COMPLETE.  IT WILL EXPLODE IF YOU DO SO.  Once your rune is active, don't let anything touch it.  Again, if even one wire is moved even a centimeter out of place it will probably explode.  You've made your first rune!  To turn it off, cast the anti-magic shield around just the power sources.

The shape of a rune is like a language.  Different "letters" formed by bending the wire in the right way spell out different words that do different things, or combinations of words that have different effects.  Unfortunately, there is a grammar system to runes that is not yet fully understood.  Failure to use the proper words, phrases, sentences, and so on will result in a massive explosion.

Spells Equations (per Magun):

1M=TK^(W1K*V1ME/1S) (Telekinesis)
1M=R1ME*FR1N/1S (Basic Shield, radius around the caster's center of weight.  The caster cannot move while the spell is up.)
1M=1ME (Teleportation)  Note:  You must know the exact distance and direction in order to teleport.  If you don't, you could end up stuck in something, or buried, or floating, or inside another pony... with explosive effects.
1M=100L/1S (Horn Light) Note:  You may need about 1000 L (Lumens) to see well.
> Study Time and Explosions:Arc 2, Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight smiled as she finished the book she was reading.  "Time to create a necromancy spell!  A rune would work best, so first I need to read up on Rune grammar, letters, and words!"

After only a few minutes, Twilight's research was going nowhere.  Frustrated, she threw the book she had been reading against the wall.  In the whole library, only one book even mentioned the existance of Rune grammar and words!

"Maybe Luna will know!"  she smiled happily, then frowned.  "But how can I phrase the question in a way where she won't guess what I'm doing?"

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

"Luna?"  Twilight asked.  "How do the Elements of Harmony work?  Would it be possible to prevent a Nightmare from taking over a pony's body with them?"

"I... do not know for sure, but I don't think so.  The Runes that make up the Elements are physical Runes, but they also make a sort of, how can I put it...  ah, yes!  Think of it like the Astral Plane, where your Alicornation took place.  It doesn't exactly reside in the physical world, but it can effect the physical world, and the physical world can effect it.  The Elements have several configurations that all access this other plane of reality in the same, or close to the same, way.  The Runes that most think are invisible, are in fact inscribed in the shapes of the necklaces and crown, and the jewels inside them.  The Element of Magic acts as a focus, that directs the energy from the collectors to the target.  The other Elements are collectors, gathering power from their wearer depending on how much they truly represent their Element.  Most Runes require wires to connect the collectors, and in the rare case a focus is used, it must be connected as well.  However, the Elements are connected via the other plane of reality.  Nightmares also reside on other planes of reality, as well as souls.  The Elements' power may flow through the same plane as Nightmares, but the effects will only defeat a Nightmare if the Nightmare is in control.  Think of it like your soul is a tangible object, and the Nightmare is inside it.  Only if the Nightmare comes to the outside can we defeat it.  The best course of defeating your Nightmare is by fighting it, and trying to be a good pony.  The Elements are not a fix-all."

"Thank you Luna.  I will try to resist."  Twilight replied, smiling at how easy it was to come up with a solution now.  All she had to do was modify the Elements to effect this other plane, and she could both stop her Nightmare easily (if she needed too) but bring dead souls back to life as well!

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

A massive explosion rocked Canterlot, as the top of Mount. Canterlot was blown off, rubble flying everywhere.  "Oops..."  Twilight blushed.  She had just changed one of the Elements of Harmony's shape, or at least tried to.  She had forgotten that a powerful spell was designed to fix the Elements in case they were broken, and it reacted violently to her attempt.  After coughing a few times, Twilight saw Luna coming.

"Doth thou know what thou hast done?!"  Luna said fiercely.  "Thou hast destroyed an important symbol of Canterlot!  An entire mountain has been ruined!  That is only what we know of so far.  Mayhap thou killed somepony!  What were you even doing?!"

"Um... studying the Elements of Harmony?"  asked Twilight sheepishly, blushing and looking at her hooves.

"Art thou a child?  Must we really confiscate them from you?  We already told thou, thy Nightmare must be solved by you and you alone, the Elements cannot help you.  Didst thou not already know not to mess with Runes, especially complex ones?  What happened to thy COMMON SENSE!"  The last part was roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"I'm sorry..."  whimpered Twilight, ashamed at both lying to Luna and causing the explosion.  "I wasn't thinking..."

Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Fluttershy whimpered in pain.  A boulder had flown out of nowhere and smashed her wing against the ground.  She knew that if she survived, she would never be able to fly again.  It was two days before she was due for another trip to the spa with Rarity, so if she could survive until then, she stood a chance at being saved.  Her animal friends were keeping her company, and keeping her alive by feeding her and giving her water, but they couldn't do anything for her wing, as her injuries were still trapped under the boulder.

Two days later, Rarity visited the spa to find Fluttershy was not waiting for her.  In fact, she didn't even show up the whole time!  It wasn't like Fluttershy to simply not show up, and Rarity had especially wanted to talk with her about the explosion at Canterlot.  Rarity sighed and walked to Fluttershy's cottage, concerned at the gaping hole in the roof she saw as she approached.  Her animal friends were nowhere to be seen outside, but appeared to be crowding inside.  The moment Rarity saw what was inside, she screamed and fainted.  Her screaming had been heard, and when she woke up a medic was already at the scene.

"S-she is going be okay... right?"  Rarity asked in a small voice.

"I don't know yet, we need to get to a hospital immediately.  She's lost a lot of blood, and we definitely can't save her wing.  Luna willing, she might make it."

Rarity looked confused at the expression, and the medic blushed.  "Now that Princess Celestia is gone, many ponies have been using Luna's name for expressions, so Celestia willing would be Luna willing, or instead of thank Celestia, thank Luna.  I'm surprised you hadn't heard one of them before."  the medic replied while wrapping Fluttershy's limp body.  "Now help me.  The faster we get her treatment, the better the chance she'll recover.

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

"I came as fast as I could!"  said Twilight quickly.  "How is she?"

"She's not looking good.  We found her with a boulder crushing her wing.  No clue how a boulder got into her house, the closest mountain is Mount. Canterlot!"

Twilight winced.  "Can I visit her?"

"Yes, but only for a short while.  We could lose her at any moment.  You may enter now."

Twilight walked through the small doorway, ducking a bit as she went through.  She didn't remember being so large, maybe she was growing to Celestia's size.  When she saw Fluttershy, she gasped and covered her mouth with one wing.  The pegasus was severely injured, with only one wing left, and many gashes in the rest of her.

"Twi-light?  I-is that... you?"  Fluttershy asked weakly.

Twilight moved closer to her friend, whimpering, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!  It's all my fault!  I was messing with the Elements, and it made an explosion, and it blew the top off of Mount. Canterlot, and one of the boulders that fell off must have landed on your wing!  This is all my fault!"

Fluttershy smiled.  "I-I forgive you, Twilight.  It was an accident.  Don't blame yourself.  Just do better next time.  G-g-goodbye..."  her words trailed off, and and her muscles slacked.  The heartbeat monitor's gentle constant beeping flatlined into a constant screech.

Twilight sobbed over her friend's dead body, tears dripping down her face as she listened to the voice in her head.  You caused this.  You killed her.  Give up, foal, you've already lost.  Your hope is gone.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot, Luna watched in surprise and shock as the Element of Kindness gradually turned to stone.  Even more worrying was that the Element of Magic was gradually growing darker, and a blackness seemed to be spreading through the gem in the crown.
> Nightmare:Arc 2, Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Twilight?  We need to talk."  said Luna, back at Canterlot.

"Leave me alone!  Fluttershy just died from my mistake."

"I suspected as much.  You are beginning to lose yourself to the Nightmare."

"At this point, I DON'T CARE!  MY FRIENDS ARE DYING AND I CAN'T STOP IT!"

"Not all of them are dead yet.  Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack are still alive."

"But what will they think of me now?  I killed who knows how many ponies when I knocked the top off of Mount. Canterlot!"

"Ah fergive yew, Twi."  said Applejack, entering the room.

"I do as well.  It was an accident, was it not?"  said Rarity, close behind Applejack.

"Me too!  It was just a mistake."  said Rainbow, also entering.

"But I just killed Fluttershy!  Who knows how many other ponies were buried under the rubble, that I also killed?"

"We forgive you.  It was an honest mistake.  Just try not to cause any more explosions, please."  replied Rarity, smiling.

They just don't want you to kill any more of them!  They're scared of you.  They no longer trust you. hissed the Nightmare.

"We'll still be your friends, even if you make mistakes."  said Rainbow.

Even if they are your friends, you'll still end up hurting them.  Being their friend will only serve to drive them further away.  claimed the Nightmare.

"Goodnight, Twilight.  Your duties resume in the morning."  Luna smiled.

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

Twilight awoke unable to move her left hind leg.  Panicking, she fell right out of bed, to find that her leg was moving.  It just wasn't doing what she wanted it to do.  The Nightmare had control of it.  She walked outside, finding her new leg was keeping up with the others with only a slight limp.  If you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't even notice it was there.  She looked in a mirror, and gasped.  The picture in the mirror was almost unrecognizable.  She was so, tall.  Her mane was rippling slightly as well, just like Celestia's used to.  For a fleeting instant, she wondered what her friends would think.

They'd think that you stole Celestia's power and killed her like you killed Fluttershy!  You don't need them.  They left Pinkie Pie to die!  whispered the Nightmare, and Twilight lost control of her back right leg.

Twilight's gaze moved to her legs.  Both of her back legs appeared to look darker, almost shadowy.  Like she imagined her Nightmare's legs to look.  She quickly cast a spell to disguise them, then thought better of it.  She cast a spell that would make her look normal on her regalia, so whenever she wore it she would look normal.  She opened the door, and saw Luna standing there.

She distrusts you.  She thinks you'll try to kill her and the rest of your friends.  with the Nightmare's comment, Twilight felt more of her body become useless.

"Are you alright?"  asked Luna, concerned.  "You don't look so well."

"We just killed one of our best friends.  What do you think?"  Twilight shot back, her back hooves stomping the ground so hard they made cracks.

Luna looked even more worried.  "We killed?  Our friends?"

"I killed, My friends."

"Do you want me to take over day court again?"

"NO!  WE CAN HANDLE THIS OURSELVES!"  yelled Twilight.  Her corruption spread, almost to her front hooves.

"Twilight.  Your Nightmare is taking over.  Let me just get your friends, and gather the Elements.  Can we trust you to not move, or should we detain you?"  Luna asked calmly.  It was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"WE KNEW YOU COULD NOT TRUST US!"  boomed Twilight.  "WE WILL RULE ALONE, WITH NOPONY TO DOUBT US!

"What would Celestia say?"  Luna cut her off.

For a moment, Twilight slipped back through.  "Help me, oh my helphelphelp!  I can't control it!"  she seemed to be panicking.

"Stay calm, Twilight Sparkle.  Your friends are on their way."

"Don't call us that anymore...  We are Nightmare Ether!  Nightmare Ether said with a mocking laugh.  "You stand no chance against us!

Twilight's friends burst into the room, gasping in horror.  Nightmare Ether had taken her regalia off, and revealed her new form.  Her former friends grabbed their elements, leaving Luna with the remaining three.  Nightmare Ether bucked Applejack across the room, where she lied limp.

"How dare you disobey us?  We are more powerful than you could ever dream of!"  the Nightmare walked over to Applejack's barely breathing body, and began absorbing life force from her until she breathed no longer.  "What a foal you are, Luna.  Not only have you given up your Nightmare, you also kept this method of gaining power from Twilight!  It just shows how little you trusted her."

Luna flinched at this, and while she was distracted Rarity walked up to the former Twilight.  "This isn't you, Twilight.  Come back to us, please."  she sounded heartbroken.

"You're right, Rarity."  said Twilight, reverting to her old form.  "Thank you for saving me."  she reached out to hold Rarity in a hug, which Rarity returned.  "What a pity I'm not Twilight Sparkle, then, isn't it?"  whispered Eclipse in Rarity's ear as Rarity went limp from the life force being drained from her.  When Rarity stopped moving, Ether returned to her Nightmare body.

"You're killing her!  I can't let you do that!"  yelled Rainbow Dash as she flew in at near-rainboom speeds.  Eclipse merely stepped out of the way, growing a sharp crystal in her place.  Rainbow impacted the crystal with a sick thud, before being drained by the Nightmare.

By this time, Luna had managed to wield the Elements herself.  "I cannot allow this to continue.  For a thousand years, you are banished, Nightmare Ether.  To the MOON!"  the Elements charged up, and Nightmare Ether felt fear for the first time.  To her surprise, the face of Luna, who was banishing her, was not contorted in rage, but crying in sadness.  She saw the loneliness in Luna's eyes, as she realized that she would be very lonely for the next millennia.  A thousand years is a long time to wait for a friend.  "I'll wait for you."  Luna whispered as Ether hurtled into the rising moon.  A single tear streaked across her face.  "I'll wait a thousand years."
> The Moon:Arc 2, Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Ether impacted the moon gently.  She would be alone for the next thousand years, and she knew it.  She would survive, but only because of her Alicorn nature.  Two minutes into her exile, and she was already bored.  Nothing to do.  She kicked out violently at a stone.  It rocketed across the desert-like moon, bouncing.  She counted forty-two bounces.  She drew a picture of Luna in the dust, and kicked rocks into it, boring small craters in the ground.  Three minutes later, that got boring.  Great.  Five minutes down, 999 years, 364 days, 23 hours, and 55 minutes to go.  she sighed mentally.  Oh, wait, I forgot a thousand years' worth of leap years.  Better tack 250 days onto that.  999 years, 614 days, 23 hours, and 53 minutes now.

Just three minutes later, Nightmare Ether resorted to singing a song to alleviate the boredom for some time...

"Ninenty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, Ninety-nine bottles of beer!  Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall!"


----------1287 Seconds Later----------


"Take one down, pass it around, zero bottles of beer on the wall!  And to think, I still have 999 years, 614 days, 23 hours, and 33 minutes left...  Might as well get some sleep.  Maybe then I'll be able to better think of how to occupy my time!"

At Canterlot, Luna was having a much different time.  While Ether was singing for 20 minutes, Luna spent her time making it clear that Twilight had fallen to a Nightmare much like her own.  Many were disbelieving, and Luna knew that it would take a few years for them to get used to the idea of her being their only ruler, but it was all she could do for now.  Luna frowned, and remembered her time on the moon.  It had taken a measly ten minutes to resort to that song for passing time, what was it called... oh, yes!  Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall!  Undoubtedly, Ether wouldn't last very long either.  She knew that dealing with the Nobles of Canterlot was nothing compared to the sheer boredom that Ether would have to face.  She lowered the moon and raised the sun, exhausted both physically and emotionally.  She would have to cancel Night Court indefinately, in order to get sleep for Day Court and the rest of her ever-important day.  With a frown, she thought about how few ponies ever came to Night Court.  It's not like anypony will miss it.  The few who came only visited because there wasn't time to fit them into the Day Court!  with her parting thought, she drifted off to sleep, ready to help her subjects who had nightmares and bad dreams.

Ether woke up, the time spell she had set at the start of her exile still counting how much time she had left to spend on this accursed rock.  To her dismay, only eight hours had passed.  She decided to go on a quick gallop around the moon, testing her speed and endurance along the way.  She completed her lap in about eight hours as well, quickly calculating in her head the average speed of 200 km/hr, with a sprint of 400 and a few short pauses to regain breath.  She decided to do a few more endurance, speed, and strength tests to conclude the day before resting.  After measuring her flight speed, the maximum weight she could carry, and how many Maguns she had it was time to sleep.

Luna sighed as she woke up.  Time to change the moon for the sun, go to day court, and help as many ponies as possible.  Generally a normal day.  Unfortunately, her new "normal day" was completely packed.  After checking a few schedules, a shocked Luna found herself with no free time for the next month... and then one day of rest before having to conquer the next month's work.  If she knew one thing for sure, she'd be spending that day working out how to optimize the schedule to have more free time.

Ether was not happy.  She had just spent an entire month training her various attributes, but boredom was already beginning to creep back in to her life.  It seemed like there was nothing that could be done, when she heard a voice.  Wanna play 20 Questions? Twilight asked mentally.  If it will alleviate the boredom, even for a moment!  What is this 20 Questions?  asked Ether back in her mind.  Basically, one pony chooses an object, and the other one can ask 20 Questions about the characteristics of the object.  By the time all 20 Questions have been answered, the pony guessing should know what the object in question was!  I'll go first.  I know what I'm thinking of!  responded Twilight.  What sort of questions should I ask?  asked Ether.  It has to be a question that can be answered by a simple yes or no.  It should pertain to the object, and most ask questions like is it alive, or is it red, or is it visible from here.  

All right, let's see...  Is it visible from this location?
Question 1, answer:  Sometimes.
That's not yes or no!
Sometimes it is visible from this location, and sometimes it is not.
Fine.  Is it visible from this location at this moment?
Question 2, answer:  Nope.
Did that question really count?
Question 3, answer:  Yep.
That's not fair!  When did you tell me that all questions I asked would be counted?
Question 4, answer:  I just said that it should pertain to the object, not it has to pertain to the object.
Why should I play with you if you're just going to cheat?
Question 5, answer:  You have literally nothing better to do.
Cheater!  When do I get to pick an object?
Question 6, answer:  When this game is over, whether you win or lose.
Gah!  How am I supposed to be able to win when you stole five questions from me?!
Question 7, answer:  You probably won't.
Am I allowed to just give up so I can have my turn now?
Question 8, answer:  Nope.
Fine!  I'll start asking questions now.  Is it alive?
Question 9, answer:  Sort of.
What kind of an answer is that?!
Question 10, answer:  My answer.  I suggest you pick up the pace, you're losing badly.
Is it red?
Question 11, answer:  Partly.
Are any of your answers clear?!
Question 12, answer:  Some of them.
What is it?
I'm not allowed to answer that one, but good job thinking of that!
Is it bigger than Celestia's flank?
I disapprove of the comparison, but Question 13, answer:  Yes.
Is that statement influenced by the love of your former mentor?
Question 14, answer:  No.
Do I even have a chance anymore?
Question 15, answer:  Probably not.
Is it bigger than your house?
Question 16, answer:  Yes.
Is it bigger than Canterlot?!
Question 17, answer:  Yes.
Is it bigger than Equs?
Question 18, answer:  No.
Is it bigger than the moon?
Question 19, answer:  Yes.
What if I have no idea what it could possibly be by the 20th question?
Question 20, answer:  You lose.  By the way, the answer was Equs.
There are sooooo many problems with that!  You said it was sort of alive!
Well, if you count the ecosystems as part of Equs, it most certainly is.
Well I don't count the ecosystems!
The official Equestrian dictionary says otherwise.  Now think of your object, so I can guess it.
Fine!  I have my object.  You'll never guess it.
Is it the moon?
......Just leave.  I'm never listening to you again.  Goodbye.  I hate you.
You do know that means you just said you hated yourself, right?
SHUT UP!!!

Luna got up out of her throne after her daily work was done.  Boring, monotonous, just nobles complaining.  Did Tia really have to deal with this, alone, for a thousand years?  How did she do it?  How can I do it?  she asked herself.  As she reached her bedroom, her thoughts turned to Twilight and Ether.  I wonder what she's doing?  How will she occupy her time?  Luna chuckled as she remembered what she had done.  I wonder if she'll find my 'surprises'...

Ether woke up and checked her magic spell-clock.  999 years, 578 days, 17 hours, 35 minutes, and 43 seconds left before the boredom was complete.  With nothing better to do, she began mapping the moon onto a topographic map she created out of frozen moon-dust.  It took her a few days per square kilometer to make it accurate to the centimeter, and she found mapping the recursive part of the map quite annoying.  Mapping where the map was inside the map inside the map inside the map...  Let's just say it took a while.


----------A Few Months Later----------


Ether sighed as she continued mapping the moon.  She was in the double digits in kilometers of distance from her impact crater, and the work was becoming monotonous and tedious.  Suddenly, she saw a... message, written in the dust?



To Whoever Finds This Message:

Hello.  I am Princess Luna Nightmare Moon.  I have grown tired of the boredom, and decided to write a message to whoever reads this.  I... am not sure how you got to the moon.  It could have been by the means I got here, or another, stranger method.  This is my token, marking me as the FIRST.  Ha, I got here before you!  There's nothing you can do about it.  I have been here are hundreds of years, and will remain here for hundreds more.  I will have been here for a thousand years by the time I get back!  I believe that also makes me the one with the largest amount of time spent on the moon.  No records for you, spaceponies!



Ether giggled for a moment at the message, then burst out laughing.  "Oh yeah?  Well, Leap Year didn't exist yet, so I beat your record by TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DAYS.  I beat your record!  Now, I need to leave my mark next to yours..."



To Whoever Finds This Message:

Hello.  I am PrincessTwilight Sparkle Nightmare Ether.  I, too, have grown tired of boredom, and wrote my own message for the first true traveler to the moon.  My token marks me as the second to visit the moon.  You're late, and the third pony to visit the moon!  In addition, I beat Nightmare Moon's record by a whole two hundred and fifty days, due to the invention of leap year.  Still no records for you, unless you got here by another method than us Nightmares.  We were sent by the Elements of Harmony, whereas you probably found your own way up here.  Congrats, anyways.  Below this is a map to my scale replica of the entire moon, it could be useful.  By the time I finish it, I will have been working on it for years, so use it well!



Ether smiled as she finished her day's work, not quite mapping all of the kilometer she was working on due to the message in the dust.  She realized that Nightmare Moon probably left more things on the moon, that might be fun and unpredictable.  She made note of that specific area of the moon, so it would be closely examined later on, after she finished her scale map.


----------A Few Years Later----------


Ether smiled.  She had finally completed her model of the Moon!  A great feeling of accomplishment surged over her.  This was a master creation!  Her smile slipped when she finally realized:  That meant she had nothing to do now.  Then, she remembered that she had spotted Nightmare Moon's impact crater, and there were probably things she left behind.  Ether trotted off into the distance.  She had committed the map to memory, so she knew exactly where to go.  It only took her a few minutes, seeing as she could move very quickly if she wanted to, and she reached the impact crater.  Ether gazed around, looking for signs that her predecessor had left behind.  A moment later, she found a patch of ground that seemed slightly different than the others.  She walked on it, curious.  Ether began probing it with her magic, to find out what it was made of, but at the touch of her magic it collapsed.  As she fell, her only worry was, Argh!  Now I have to fix my map to match this all over again.  Then she realized she had just fallen into Nightmare Moon's trap, and barely put a shield up in time to block the rocks and boulders that were flung at her.  With a rumble, the ground above her began collapsing, so she ran the only way she could:  Down a tunnel leading from the pit to... a castle?
> Castles:Arc 2, Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ether gazed in awe at the massive underground castle carved out of moon rock.  This was a much larger undertaking than her map.  She knew what she would be doing once she finished exploring this fortress and finishing the map.  Before entering, she realized that Nightmare Moon probably would have made dangerous traps throughout the building, so she checked the walls just inside the gates.  To her utter lack of surprise, there were arrows that would be shot at about chest-hight, just high enough that she could duck under them.  Walking through the entry gates, she ducked and let the stone arrows fly safely overhead.  Snatching one with her magic, she noticed that they were not entirely stone.  Dark gemstones replaced the tips allowing painful, if not deadly, spells to be placed on the pony who was hit by such an arrow.  Ether had no care for such brutality, however.  She was more interested in the fact that gemstones could be found inside the moon.  Traveling through the castle, and making sure she dodged any and all traps, Ether soon came across what must have been an access shaft at one point.  It was littered with dark crystals of various sizes, probably created from an explosion powered by dark magic.  She remembered that from when she studied dark magic to create the revival spell.  Ether glided down gently, barely dodging some of the larger crystals.  Reaching the bottom, what she found surprised her greatly.  In the core of the moon lay a great ball of dark gemstone, with magic swirling inside.  A chunk appeared to have been taken out, evidently used by Nightmare Moon to create the gemstone-powered objects in the castle.  Ether sighed in disappointment, as a massive explosion was clearly created by removing only a minuscule portion of the core, less than a tenth of a percent of the core was missing.  Mentally declaring the plan to use gemstones to override the Element's spell a failure, she was about to head back, when she realized something.  The core of the moon could be used as a giant spell matrix.  Ether quickly turned around, checking the core for any already-created matrixes, and her heart sank.  The core of the moon was already used in a matrix...  The matrix for the very spell keeping her here, and laced with so many defensive spells that any attempt to disarm it would be met with the detonation of the core, and the immanent destruction of the moon itself, as well as a regrowth spell to create a new moon, albeit slowly.  Destroying the core would be utterly useless.  Ether turned back to explore the castle, and wandered its halls, searching for a map or some other navigational method for it.  Soon she stumbled across the throne room.  A majestic place to behold, the dark crystal that made up the throne lit the room ominously, aided by various lantern-like structures also made from dark crystals.  The doors closed behind her, and Ether realized something surprising:  She could breathe!  Checking the dark gems' spells, she realized that several columns that held the roof up were made out of dark gems that were enchanted to produce air out of moon dust.  The moon dust was constantly replenished by the moon's core, so there was essentially an infinite supply of air in the room!  Breathing wasn't necessary for an Alicorn, but it sure was comfortable.  Ether took a few deep breaths to relax before taking a look at the map in the center of the castle.  It showed a fairly detailed map of the entire castle, though not as detailed as the map of the entire moon Ether was creating.  Ether took the map and teleported to the spot where she arrived, editing the map of the moon as well as putting the map of the castle to the side.  Taking a closer look, Ether realized that the map was a piece of enchanted dark gemstone, that would automatically alter itself to represent the castle.  Taking this as inspiration for her own map, Ether retrieved gemstones from the arrowheads, and molded them in such a way that she could link the moon's surface to her map in the most efficient way possible.  Her map altered itself to fit the moon's current surface, and Ether smiled at the shortcut she had taken, before frowning as she remembered that the whole point of creating the map was wasting time.  Ether teleported back to the castle, vowing to not come back until she could navigate the entire castle without magical aid.


----------100 Years Later----------


Ether knew every twist and turn in Nightmare Moon's castle.  That being done, she realized what she needed:  A castle of her own!  In a flash of magic, she returned to her impact site.  There, she painstakingly began constructing her own castle, above ground, this one made out of moon dust.  It required a special spell to keep her weight low enough that she could safely walk on it, but by the time it was done, it was worth it.  A few decades later, a giant dust castle stood next to her place of impact, an exact replica of Canterlot Castle.  Next, she worked on guards.  Moonponies made of moon dust were stationed exactly where they would be in Canterlot Castle.  She smiled as she realized something she had not thought about:  The Elements of Harmony prevented her from returning...  But it said nothing about keeping her from teleporting other object up to keep her company!  With a grin, she quickly cast the spell to teleport her very favorite book from the Royal Archives to the moon.

Luna cried softly, looking at the book in front of her on the shelf of the Royal Archives.  It was Twilight's favorite book.  Luna missed Twilight so much, and this was only making her feel worse.  She stared in confusion as it disappeared with a gentle pop.  Then she grinned as she realized what had happened.  Twilight had tried to teleport it to the moon!  She thought back fondly to the time when she had tried such a thing herself...

Nightmare Ether grinned as the book she had wanted appeared, but that smile quickly disappeared.  She hadn't accounted for the change in acceleration of teleporting an object from Equs to the Moon.  The book moved very quickly, easily surpassing Ether's maximum speed.  Before she could even blink, it tore a hole in her castle, and headed straight for the sun...  Ether screamed in rage and agony, tears dripping down her muzzle.  Her favorite book had just been destroyed, a tragedy for a bibliophile!  To add insult to injury, the castle she had worked so hard on had been destabilized by the hole created by the book's flight, and began crumbling.  Startled, Ether tried to keep it up with telekinesis, but to no avail.  The castle crumbled back into the dust it was made from, leaving Ether weeping in the remains.  She vowed to never try to teleport objects back up again, nopony had calculated the distance from Equs to the moon, let alone the speed the moon moved at or its size.  Discovering this for herself would probably result in priceless information and books being lost, and even as a Nightmare she could not bare it.  She cried there for a whole decade.  It had taken her so much time just to create her castle, and it was all gone because of one mistake and a book...


---------About 300 Years Later---------


Nightmare Ether smiled a little, celebrating the halfway point of her banishment.  It was halfway over already.  Time flies when you're stuck on the moon!  She spent the whole day reminiscing on her adventures so far, and went to bed early that night.

Luna smiled, realizing that today marked the halfway point of Twilight's banishment.  Nopony else remembered, except in an old mare's tale about Nightmare Ether.  Today was an ordinary day at court.  Two ponies walked in, paying the mandator 20-bit price to have an audience with the Princess.  Due to inflation, the price had doubled.

"Princess?"  asked one pony nervously.  "We come on the behalf of our distant ancestors..."

Luna smiled, but in her mind she was a little bit peeved.  More ponies than she would like asked her to settle feuds that had lasted several centuries, and it was looking like this was just another one.  She blinked, in a half-buried memory she seemed to recall them, or at least one of their relatives.

"Our relatives are...  Strife Shade and Crystal Shade."  said the other pony, seeming even more nervous than the first one.

Luna's jaw dropped in surprise.  "I remember!  They were the ones that were given Royal Pardons after trying to usurp the throne.  What do you need."  Luna smiled warmly.

"A long time ago, Strife and Crystal set out to convince ponies that a democracy was better than a monarchy.  Today, a majority of ponies alive agree."  the first said, getting more nervous by the second.  "We come with a petition that...  Equestria becomes a democracy."

This was met with silence.  Luna was stunned.  She hadn't expected this, not in a million years.  Then she smiled warmly, knowing what she must do.  "Alright."  she said at last.  "Show me."

A long scroll unfurled, the list extending all the way down the length of the throne room and back again... several times over.

"Give me a while, and I'll look over it.  Assuming there is enough agreements, I will accept the petition."  Luna said.

Both of the ponies' eyes widened.  "T-thank you!"  one stuttered.  "We'll get going now."  they backed out of the room.

That night, Luna smiled.  She had gotten an idea of what to do tonight, to celebrate the day.  The next morning she would read the petition and give up her right to rule, but tonight, she was going to meet somepony she hadn't seen for five hundred years...  Drifting off to sleep, Luna focused on Twilight's dream, entering it.


----------In Twilight's Dream----------


Twilight smiled, her most recent accomplishment complete.  An entire book on magic she had created!  Smiling, she levitated the book over to Celestia for publishing.  Suddenly, Luna appeared out of nowhere, looking happier than ever.

"Twilight Sparkle!"  she smiled.  "It is so good to see you!"

Twilight suddenly remembered everything, and realized that this was only a dream.  The castle vanished, the moon taking it's place.  She ran over and hugged Luna tightly.  "I miss you so much!"  she sobbed.  "Ether can't even play 20 Questions right!"

"It's all right, Twilight."  Luna whispered, nuzzling her gently.  The dream began to crack, and Luna stood up in alarm.  "It appears Ether has sensed my intrusion and is attempting to keep me out.  This will likely be the last time I can talk to you for until your banishment is up.  Goodnight, Twilight.  Good luck as well, for restraining your Nightmare."  Luna whispered, fading into the darkness.  Both Ether and Luna woke up, Ether angry and Luna sobbing.  They both couldn't wait for the end of the end of the banishment, each for different reasons.
> A Nightmare No More:Arc 2, Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna smiled, tears dripping down her face with in her joy.  It was finally time.  As she used her magic to coax the sun over the horizon, she could not contain her joy:  Twilight was returning tomorrow.  All that was left was for the new Element of Magic to read the signs, just like Twilight did for Luna herself, a little over a thousand years ago.  A letter appeared in front of her, and she used her magic to levitate it so she could read it out loud.

"Dear Princess Luna, my continuing studies of magic have led me to discover that an ancient evil is returning!  A thousand years ago, Nightmare Ether was banished to your moon, and she's about to return to Equestria to wreck havoc with necromancy spells!  Something must be done to stop her before it's too late.  What can I do to help?

Your Faithful Student, Starlight Watcher."

Luna chuckled.  Of course she knew that Twilight was returning!  However, Starlight Watcher could not know that Luna knew, at least not yet.  Glancing at her list of the new Element Bearers, she knew that everything was going to be fine.



Apple Pie:  Earth Pony, laughter (Farmer)(Related to Pinkie Pie, Applejack)
Gem Seeker:  Earth Pony, generosity (Rock Farmer)
Prism Armor:  Pegasus, loyalty (Rainboom pony)(Related to Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash)
Truth Finder:  Pegasus, honesty (Detective)
Starlight Watcher:  Unicorn, magic (Related to Twilight Sparkle)
Fancy Belle:  Unicorn, kindness (Related to Rarity Belle, Fancy Pants)



She readied her reply to Starlight's letter.

"My faithful student Starlight, you know that I trust you with tasks of the upmost importance.  However, not everything you read in books is true.  This year's Summer Sun Celebration will be held in Ponyville.  Your task is to make sure everything goes as planned, according to the attached list, as the Official Preparations Overseer for the Summer Sun Celebration.  I also have another task for you:  Make some friends!"


----------Starlight Watcher's Tower----------


"Make some friends!"  Starlight's dragon, Claw finished reading.  Claw was a small red dragon that Starlight had hatched when he had passed his test into Luna's School for Gifted Unicorns.  Well, Starlight had done more than just hatch him there.  He also accidentally changed everypony in the room into different plants, grew claw larger than the room, met Princess Luna personally, and got his Cutie Mark: A shooting star, with five smaller pieces of a comet behind it.

Starlight groaned.  "Let's get this over with."

"At least the Princess arranged for you to be staying in a library!  Doesn't that make you happy?"  Claw asked.

"Yes!  It does.  Because after I oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, I'm going to look for evidence that I'm right!"

"But when will you make friends like the Princess said?" questioned Claw

"The fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends!"  Starlight replied, not knowing how ironic her answer was.  "Let's go!"


----------At Ponyville----------


Starlight arrived at Ponyville, thanking the Thestrals who pulled the chariot before glancing at the list she held in her magic.

"First on the list is Apple Pie, a farmer.  She's in charge of the food."  Starlight told Claw as they headed down the path to Sweet Apple Acres, where the Apple family lived.  As she arrived, she saw Apple Pie baking what looked like the last of the pies.

"Howdy!  Why are you here today?  Are you here to buy something?  Do you want a pie?"  Apple Pie said, before grabbing a pie out of nowhere, hoofing it to Starlight.

"Actually, I'm here to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration..."  Starlight replied, still holding the pie.  "Well, it looks like everything here is fine!  I guess I'll just be going now."  Starlight chuckled nervously.

"Wait!  You can't go yet!"  Apple Pie called.  "You need to meet the family!"

Claw whispered to Starlight.  "At least try to make some friends!  It would be rude to refuse."

"Oh, alright."  Starlight said grudgingly, heading over to a table where Apple Pie motioned her to sit down.  Suddenly, the Apple Family who lived at Sweet Apple Acres came seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hi, I'm Lily Macintosh."  said a strong-looking mare, presenting an apple.  Starlight used his amazing powers of deduction to find out that the apple was a Macintosh apple.  "Apple Pie is my sister."

"Hello, I'm Starlight."  replied Starlight.

"I'm Crab Apple."  a red earth pony grumbled, presenting the apple that represented his name.

"Starlight."  said Starlight once again.

"I'm Ambrosia Apple."  a yellow earth pony smiled, giggling as she handed him her apple.  "Nice to meet you, Starlight."

"Now you have to eat!"  Apple Pie said, grinning.  "Each of us brought foods that represent us!"





"That was delicious!"  Starlight grinned.  "Maybe making friends won't be so bad after all!"

"I just wish I could have tried the dishes..."  Claw grumbled.

"Next on the list is decoration, with Gem Seeker and Fancy Belle."  Starlight announced, coming across the town hall where the celebration would be held.  He opened the door, to see beautiful decorations of gemstone and cloth.

"Woah..." he breathed.  "This is amazing!"

"Hello!"  Fancy Belle said, levitating one last gemstone into place.  "We just finished.  What did you need?"

"I'm in charge of making sure everything goes as planned at the Summer Sun Celebration, and I just came from Sweet Apple Acres, where the food was wonderful.  I heard you two were in charge of decorations?"

"Why, yes."  Gem Seeker declared.  "So, you've already met Apple Pie?  Her cooking is simply divine."

"I agree."  Starlight chuckled.  "So, you're friends with Apple Pie?"  he blushed nervously, hoofing the ground.  "I wanted to try to make some friends here, I didn't have many back in Canterlot."

"Try, didn't have any."  Claw scoffed.

"Why, of course you can be our friend!"  Fancy Belle smiled.  "In fact, later tonight I can introduce you to some of our other friends!"

Starlight smiled.  "Thank you!  It looks like the decorations are perfect, I'll see you later."

"Oh, wait, before you go."  Gem Seeker added.  "A welcome gift."

Starlight's eyes widened as Gem hoofed her a precious gem, a diamond.  "This is expensive."  she breathed.  "Are you sure?"  she asked hesitantly.

Gem smiled broadly.  "Of course I'm sure.  I have plenty of gems, I grow them for a living.  Even if the one I gave is particularly rare."

Walking out the door smiling, Starlight looked back to ask a question.  "Do you know where Prism Armor is?  He's supposed to clear the clouds, but it doesn't look like he's been doing that."

Gem Seeker chuckled.  "He's the only pony who lives in a self-built cloud house, you can easily see it.  He claims he's distantly related to royalty, but nopony believes him.  He's quite fast with clearing the clouds, once he wakes up.  You might need to yell a bit to wake him."

Starlight smiled.  "Thanks!  See you tonight!"  he said as he walked out the door, waving a hoof.  Walking through town, Starlight made his way to a cloud house that looked so odd, even he could tell it was hoof-made.

"Hello!  Is Prism Armor there?"  he yelled.  "Hello?"

"Yeah, I'm coming!"  a white pegasus with a rainbow mane said, poking his head out of the cloud.  "What do you want?"

"I'm here to check up on preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.  I heard you were in charge of clearing the skies?"

"You bet I am!"  the pegasus crowed.  "Only fitting, that Royalty like me helps out in such an important event!"

Starlight rolled his eyes.  "The sky's not clear."

The pegasus blushed.  "Oops.  Here, be back in a moment."  he said as he took off, smashing clouds as he went.  It only took about eight seconds for her to finish.  "There.  Is that good enough?"  he commented.

Starlight's jaw dropped.  "That was fast."  Claw said, Starlight still too stunned to respond.  Claw snapped in from of Starlight's face and he blinked, snapping out of it.

"I didn't know anypony could move that fast!"  he gasped.

"That's me, Prism Armor!"  he said, strutting in the air.  "Fastest pegasus in Equestria!"

"I might be able to believe that."  Starlight muttered.  "Now, I've got to go.  See you later!" he called, waving at Prism as he walked to the library where he was staying.





"Where's the light switch..."  Starlight mumbled, feeling about with a spell, about to light up her horn so he could see the room.

"SURPRISE!"  was roared by what was probably all of Ponyville, leaving Starlight stammering in shock.

"W-wha?" he mumbled confusedly, sitting back on his flank.  "How did you all fit?"  he asked pointing at the seemingly impossible number of ponies present.  He glanced up, seeing the banner that welcomed him to Ponyville, and smiled.  "Thanks.  Who planned this?"  he asked.

"Of course, I did!"  Apple Pie exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.  "I throw a party for everypony who comes to Ponyville!  It's a Pie family tradition."

"That certainly was surprising."  Starlight said, smiling.  "So, is this effectively a pre-Summer Sun Celebration party?"

"YEAH!"  everypony shouted, starting the party.





Starlight sighed.  The party had been going on for hours, and he decided to get a few hours of sleep.  He glanced at the moon in trepidation, seeing four stars closing in on the celestial object.  He gulped audibly, before relaxing.  If the tale were true, Luna would almost certainly have a plan to deal with Nightmare Ether.





Nightmare Ether stood over her impact site, grinning.  However, this was not a pleasant grin.  It was the grin of the crazed, the grin that told you not to mess with the pony that wore it, the grin that was on the pony's face in the dark alleyways where all feared to tread.  It was time.  In a flash, Nightmare Ether returned, behind the familiar stage where Nightmare Moon stood so long ago.  Seeing Luna, she cast a quick spell that sealed her away, grunting as Luna fought back.  Luna was no match for Ether, but she was clearly trying her hardest to resist.  The curtains were drawn, and Nightmare Ether walked out in place of their beloved Princess Luna.  Her lips curled into a mean sneer.

"TREMBLE IN FEAR, MORTALS!" she screamed.  "YOUR BELOVED PRINCESS CANNOT SAVE YOU NOW.  I WAS DENIED THE CHANCE TO SAVE THOSE I LOVED.  I WILL DENY YOU THAT CHANCE AS WELL."

Panicked murmuring filled the room, with several shouting, "Who are you?  What did we do to you?"

"DOES NOPONY REMEMBER ME?" she asked, chuckling.  "FITTING THAT SHE WOULD ERASE MY LEGEND, MY LEGACY, AS HER OWN WAS ERASED."

"I remember you!"  one pony shouted bravely.  Starlight Watcher stepped forward.  "You're Nightmare Ether, returned to wreck havoc with your Necromancy spells, banished for practicing forbidden magic!"

"I remember as well."  a female pegasus pony said in an even tone, walking forward.  "As a detective, it has been my job to learn everything I can about history, be it myth or fact.  You never know when it becomes useful."

"Who are you?" Ether asked, Twilight's old curiosity slipping into her personality slightly.

"I am Starlight Watcher, Princess Luna's personal prodigy."  Starlight declared, stepping forward.

"I am Truth Finder, the detective of Ponyville."  the pegasus said, stepping next to Starlight.

Ether gave a low chuckle.  "How amusing.  I used to be the student of a Princess once.  She died, just like everypony I cared for.  The forbidden magic was to bring them back."  

Nightmare Ether surveyed the crowd of ponies, searching a few of their faces. She was looking for any trace of sorrow, grief, or sympathy. Anything that might hint that they knew her suffering. Any way to tell that they might have dealt with the loss of a dearly loved one.

She found none.

Thorns gripped at her heart tightly and squeezed.
"No you cannot..." She whispered. However, her words were lost to the ponies below as she vanished in a puff of shadow.

"Starlight Watcher." Starlight said to Truth, extending a hoof.

"Truth Finder."  Truth replied, taking the hoofshake.  "Let's do this."





Starlight and Truth went through the library once again, looking for something that could help them discover the locations of the fabled Elements of Harmony.  The door burst open, and four ponies stepped through.  Apple Pie, Fancy Belle, Gem Seeker, and Prism Armor stood before Starlight Watcher and Truth Finder.

"What's going on?"  Prism Armor asked.  "Findey, how did you know about this?"

"Findey?"  Starlight asked, snickering.  "Do all of you know each other?"

"Yes.  We have no time, look for something on the Elements of Harmony.  I'll explain later."  Truth muttered, still looking through books.

"Elements of Harmony, a Reference Guide!"  Gem Seeker announced, holding a book in one hoof.

"How did you find that?"  Starlight asked, shocked.

"It was in the 'E' section."  Gem Seeker replied.

Starlight and Truth exchanged glances, facehoofing.  "Why didn't I check there first..."  Truth muttered.

"It says the the Elements' last known location is in a castle in...  THE EVERFREE FOREST?!"





Ether grinned as she began weaving a spell.  It would take a while, but as long as no new bearers had been chosen, all of her friends would be resurrected.  She would only have to hold off anypony that tried to stop her.  She frowned as she felt her first trap activate, false evil beings to scare away anypony who entered the Everfree.  Her frown deepened as she felt them dissipate, somepony good with laughter.  Her next trap sprung, a giant wall illusion that could only be penetrated by those who completely and fully understood that it was not real.  She began to get worried when the group of ponies passed that as well.  Her next trap sprung, the old Manticore-and-the-thorn trick Nightmare Moon used on her.  After a few minutes, she began smiling.  It didn't seem like they could pass this trap.  Soon it would be too late.  Her smile flipped as they passed the Manticore, and Twilight took the oppertunity to tell the Nightmare they stood no chance.

"They will stop you."

"Nopony but the wielders of the Elements of Harmony can stop me!

"And who is to say they are not the Elements?"

"We bear one of them.  Without Magic, they would be nothing."

"You have not been paying attention.  We lost the power of Magic about twenty years ago.  It is very possible that they have a full set.  You have already been defeated."

Nightmare Ether let out a grunt, ending the mental conversation.  She could only keep casting her spell, and hope that Twilight was wrong.





Starlight and his new friends entered the Everfree together, only to be stopped a short way in by shadowy but scary creatures.  Everypony held back in fear, wondering what strange spell was cast over what must be souls of those long gone.  Suddenly, a hoof moved, poking one of the shadows in the nose.  Apple Pie giggled and bopped it again and again, falling on the ground laughing.

"They can't hurt us, they're only shadows."  she explained to the rest of her friends, still laughing.  "Let's not let them keep us from stopping Nightmare Ether."

The group of friends hurried along, soon coming across a wall of unfathomable hight and length.  "Oh no, we'll never get past this!"  Starlight moaned, only to stare in surprise as Truth Finder stepped right through it.

"It's only an illusion."  Truth Finder said.  "Ignore it."

Starlight felt the wall with a hoof, it was clearly there.  "What do you mean?  I can feel it with my hoof."

"It's just an illusion.  A well-made illusion, but an illusion nonetheless.  Believe me."

Starlight took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and believed.  Walking forward confidently, he felt no wall stopping him.  He opened his eyes and glanced back, seeing the rest of his friends walk through as well.  They regrouped and continued walking.  Suddenly, a Manticore came out of nowhere, roaring in anger.  Before anypony could react, Prism Armor pulled them all out of the way of a blow, just in time.

"You will NOT hurt my friends!"  Prism insisted with a roar.

Starlight cast a shield spell, protecting himself and the rest of his group as they walked past the Manticore.  Starlight winced whenever a blow connected with his shield, but held strong.  Fancy Belle paused, noticing the thorn in the creature's paw, and plucked it out with her magic.  "It wouldn't be right, leaving any creature in pain."  she explained to her friends.  They continued on, finally reaching an extremely worn out castle, damaged near the point of collapse.  Starlight led his friends inside, only to find Nightmare Ether sobbing on the ground, what looked like a Rune around her.

"I can't revive them, the embodiments of Friendship have been chosen anew."  Ether looked up in rage.  "But if I kill you, maybe then their souls can return to me!"

Starlight dodged out of the way of Ether's first attack, a simple magic bolt.  However, he wasn't the target.  The bolt barely missed Apple Pie, Prism knocking her out of the way just in time.  His new friends smiled and nodded at him, confident in his abilities to lead them.  In that moment, it clicked for Starlight, and time seemed to slow down.  The Elements, the embodiments of Friendship, the reference guide, it all made sense.  Ether had openly admitted that new 'embodiments of Friendship' had been chosen, immediately before attacking Starlight's new friends.  Each Element seemed to correspond with one of his friends as well, compounding the evidence.  He and his friends were the bearers.  Starlight's eyes began to glow, and his body flew into the air beside his friends.

"We are the Elements of Harmony."  he said simply.  "Gem Seeker, who was generous enough to give a precious gift to a pony she just met, Apple Pie, who laughed when nopony else could, Truth Finder, who alone could see what was true from what was false, Prism Armor, who could not let her friends be injured, Fancy Belle, who was kind to even a ferocious beast.  Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, Loyalty, and Kindness."

"You still don't have magic, though."  Ether countered.

"Magic is me, Starlight Watcher.  I understand what it means to be a friend now, and a Bearer of Magic.  To be Magic is to be the bond between the friends, the one who everypony comes to when they need help.  Magic is what keeps friends together."

With that, the Elements that were lying on the floor rose up above their respective bearers, transforming into necklaces representing their Cutie Marks.  Starlight had a crown instead, and colored beams of light all struck the Element of Magic at once, which released a rainbow colored beam of its own.  The rainbow struck Ether, and the Nightmare was washed away.  Starlight caught a glimpse of happiness and relief in the Alicorn's eye, and then it was over.  The new Bearers of the Elements floated softly to the ground, staring at Twilight.

"You have done well."  a warm voice said, and everypony turned.

"Princess Luna!"  the friends chorused, bowing.

"You have done well, to let friendship into your heart."  Luna spoke to Starlight.  "Let us hope that Twilight can do the same."  she said as she turned to Twilight.

"I'm so sorry!"  Twilight said in a rush, hugging Luna.  "I thought I could control it, I just wanted my friends back."  she chocked back a sob.  "I understand now.  Death is a part of Life.  Necromancy doesn't work."

Luna turned back to the new Bearers.  "This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and she was the Bearer of Magic a thousand years ago.  She was apprenticed to my sister, Princess Celestia, who passed away just over a thousand years ago."

"You had a sister?"  Starlight asked curiously.

Twilight smiled.  "I lived with Princess Celestia in Canterlot Castle for years.  If you want, I can tell you some stories about life back then."

Starlight looked confused.  "Canterlot Castle?  Where is that?"

Luna chuckled.  "It no longer exists.  Princess Twilight here will be having an enormous culture shock, things worked very differently a thousand years ago.  That long ago, Princesses still ruled over all."

Twilight stared at her in shock.  "Wait, you no longer rule?  What happened?"

Luna smiled.  "Remember the deal you made with Strife Shade and Crystal Shade?  Well, their relatives succeeded.  Equestria is a Democracy now."  she turned back to Starlight and his friends, still staring.  "We can catch up later.  A thousand years of history is a lot to catch up on, and I speak from experience.  For now, a-"

Apple Pie cut her off.  "PARTY!"  she yelled, already planning everything out.





Twilight smiled.  There was a lot of problems still to come, but for now, she was with Luna.  That was all that mattered.  Everypony else she had ever known had died, but at least she still had somepony.
> Meeting the Elements:Arc 2, Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight woke up, and saw Luna about to raise the sun when she stopped and blushed.

"Force of habit, sorry."  Luna apologized.  "You're in charge of the sun now that you're back."

Twilight smiled, her horn lighting up as she raised the sun.  "I really need to catch up on the new Equestria.  I mean, the Canterlot Castle being gone was a large enough shock, as was the fact that you live in a house only slightly larger than average."

Luna smirked.  "I don't have much money, due to donating most of it to charities around Equestria.  You, on the other hoof, just got back from a thousand year long paid vacation."

Twilight's jaw dropped.  "That counted as a paid vacation?  But...  That must mean that I'm the richest pony in all the world by now!"

Luna smiled mischievously.  "Indeed.  Inflation has doubled the price of everything, but you still have a very large sum of money in the bank, especially because your salary rose with inflation."

Twilight closed her mouth.  "What else has changed?"

Luna waved her hoof around nonchalantly.  "Not much.  Major catastrophes in Equestria tend to be in spurts every thousand years.  The Elements of Harmony are chosen every thousand years as well.  For instance, you and your friends lived through the most interesting times since Sombra, Chrysalis, and Nightmare Moon first happened.  I'm expecting a return of Chrysalis, maybe a few other evil beings this decade."

"I was wondering...  What is our job as Princesses now that we have a democracy?" Twilight asked.

"We raise the sun and moon, go to public events to raise moral across Equestria, teach others...  That reminds me!"  Luna said with a cheeky grin.  "I get to run Luna's School for Gifted Unicorns!"

Twilight laughed.  "So, I assume the Element of Magic is your personal prodigy?  Just like I was Celestia's?"

"Yes.  You should really hang out with the new Element Bearers, I think it would be good for you."

Twilight's smile faded.  "I tried to kill them only yesterday, you know.  I don't know how willing they would be to befriend me."

"Nonsense.  They understand that it was Ether, not you, that tried to kill them."

Twilight sighed.  "Still.  It's going to be horrible trying to convince ponies not to see me as evil."

Luna raised an eyebrow.  "Who of the two of us would know more about that?  A thousand years ago, I felt the same way."

Twilight chuckled.  "I guess I forgot about that.  Do we have anything scheduled today?"

Luna smiled.  "It's a Sunday, we've got nothing.  Another plus of the position 'Princess' being modified is a more free time."

"Do you know any of the relatives of my old friends?  Any living members I could visit?"

Luna chuckled.  "Right under your nose!  Of the new Element Bearers, only two are not related to at least one pony you knew well."

Luna hoofed the list of Element Bearers and the their relatives that she knew, and Twilight began chuckling.  "You're kidding, right?  This is amazing!  I would like to spend time with them, actually.  Do you know if today would be fine?"

Luna smiled.  "Go for it.  Today is a day off for everypony."





Starlight was in his library, talking with his new friends, when they heard a knock at the door.

"Who do you think it is?"  Gem Seeker asked.

"Most likely somepony just decided to check out a book from the library."  Truth Finder said with an eye-roll.  "This is a public service, you know."

Starlight opened the door, staring at a familiar grinning alicorn.  "Hi!"  Twilight said.  "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure."  Starlight said nervously, calling to his friends, "It's Nigh- I mean, Princess Twilight."

Twilight flinched for a moment at Starlight's slip, but didn't let it show.  She walked in next to Starlight, waving a hoof.  "I talked to Luna, she said that most of you are distantly related to my old friends, the previous Elements of Harmony."

Prism Armor started to smile.  "I'm related to Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, right?"

Twilight smiled and nodded.  "Yes!  You're also the only pony who can do a Sonic Rainboom currently alive.  You inherited that from Rainbow Dash, who was the old Element of Loyalty.

Fancy Belle's jaw dropped.  "You mean to say, he was telling the truth the whole time?  Nopony believed that he was related to royalty!"

"I just didn't find conclusive evidence either way."  Truth Finder muttered.  "I never openly said it wasn't possible."

"Well, it's true.  Also, considering I am Shining Armor's brother, you're technically related to me!"  Twilight grinned.

Everyponys' jaws dropped.  "I'm related to you?"  Prism Armor asked.  "So, I'm also related to one of the two reigning Princesses of Equestria?"  Prism Armor grinned.

"Yes.  In fact, did you know that all of you except possibly Truth Finder and Gem Seeker are technically nobles?"

"Really?"  Apple Pie asked.  "What does that mean for us?"

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof.  "I don't actually know, I have no clue what the old noble lines do anymore."

"Maybe I could help you catch up."  Truth Finder offered.  "I know a lot about...  Well, pretty much everything really.  You'd be surprised how often it is useful to know a little of everything."

"I'll have to take you up on that offer later.  First, I want to catch up on the thousand-year-old series of books I was reading, back before I was sent to the moon!"  Twilight's smile expanded.  "Now, instead of having to wait a whole year for the next book to come out, I can read all of them now!"

"Which series did you want?"  Starlight Watcher asked.

"You're related to me as well, by the way.  We are both in the 'Light' noble house.  So you're also related to Prism Armor!  The series I'm looking for is called Daring Do."

Starlight began searching.  "We're related?  Interesting.  I would like to know what your life was like sometime.  By the way, the Daring Do series is antique now.  I'd be surprised if this little library had any of them, let alone the whole city."

Twilight grinned.  "On the contrary, I lived here for a long time.  A large amount of the books should still be here from when I bought them.  Also, I'm sure Luna planned ahead and made sure this library had every single book in the series.  A 'welcome back' gift, as it were."

"Found them!"  Starlight smirked.  "Guess you were right.  Every single one is here.  Come grab the ones you haven't read."

"See you later!"  Twilight waved, flying out of the tree that used to be her home, the books floating next to her in a levitation field.  Twilight began to read as she flew, heading back to the house she would share with Luna for the time being.

"It's great to be back."  Twilight sighed happily, returning to her bed.