Twilight Sparkle. Bookworm, student of magic, general recluse. Can five mares and a card game break her out of her shell? Yes. Yes they can. Otherwise there would be no show.
Friendship? Waste of time. Card games? Waste of paper. This was the opinion of one Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia. Or at least it was, until said Princess decided to send that humbug to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. Now she has to deal with pink ponies that won't stop talking, dueling Pegasi, and nighttime eternal if she can't finish this on time.
A blend of two AUs. The one is Yu-Gi-Oh in Equestia. The other is a "What if" alternate timeline that kind of snuck into the writing process, so I apologize if that's a turn-off for you.
Many years ago, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this the elder used her powerful unicorn magic to raise the glorious sun at dawn and bring daytime to all the land; while the younger sister brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom, and their subjects- all different types of ponies.
But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies loved and played in the beautiful day her sister brought forth, but they slept through her dark and dangerous nights. One fateful day, the younger sister refused to lower her moon to make way for the dawn. The wise elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one’s heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.
Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: The Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her evil sister, and banished her permanently to the moon. The elder sister took on the mantel for both the sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.
"...and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since." A young violet coated unicorn said as she finished reading the history book. Placing her hoof on the Unicornian drawing of the 'Elements of Harmony' she mumbled to herself. "Hm, Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before... but where?"
This was Twilight Sparkle, daughter of Twilight Velvet and Night Light, a studious young Unicorn. Ever since she was accepted to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns eight years ago, she had earned top grades, passed every exam, and made exactly one friend in that time, her number 1 assistant Spike. There were a few other students she was familiar with, and they were perfectly willing to call her a friend; but Twilight was far from willing to do the same. Not because she didn't like them, she just didn't have time for friends or parties or 'hanging out'; she had studying to do. After all, in addition to being the top student at the school, she was also the Princess's personal student.
"There you are Twilight!" Twilight's walk back to the school's library was halted when three of her classmates: Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts and Minuette, suddenly blocked her path. "Moondancer is having a little get together in the west castle courtyard. Just a gift exchange, couple of card games, and some snacks. You want to come?"
"Oh, I'd love to girls, but I've got a lot of studying to catch up on."
"But, it's summer vacation." Minuet stated. Instead of responding, Twilight just quickly continued on her way.
"Gah! Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends."
"I know I've heard of The Elements of Harmony." Twilight repeated, returning her mindset to its studious nature, driving all thoughts of friends and card games from her brain. 'Stupid fad.' She thought to herself.
Passing a few other ponies, she came to the school's library, which was also her living quarters. Opening the door with her magic she rushed inside, calling for her assistant. "Spike! Spike!" A grunt drew her attention to the floor, where a purple scaled baby dragon with green spines was lying on the floor. "There you are. Quick! Find me our copy of Predictions and Prophecies." Taking a second look at her assistant revealed a yellow, something, impaled on his tail. "What's that thing?"
The dragon pulled the item off his tail using his claws, a feature Twilight had spent a good deal of time studying. "It was a gift for Moondancer but..." He paused when a busted stuffed bear fell out of what Twilight now realized was a box covered in wrapping paper.
"Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing." She said, looking through a small stack of books.
"But we're on break." Spike complained.
"I know, but I'm not going to let some break stand in the way of my studying."
Spike wanted to point out that what she just said was backwards, but Twilight was now pulling random books off the bookshelf, completely forgetting about how she had organized them just last week. 'She must be really out of it.' he thought to himself. 'I'd better just get it for her.'
Twilight had several books floating around her in her magic now, none of them the one she was looking for. "Spike!"
"It's over here." Seeing the object of her desire she grabbed it her magic and pulled it to her. She let the other books out of her magic and brought the book to her reading desk.
"Elements, elements." Twilight muttered as she flipped through the book, "A-ha! Elements of Harmony." The entry in the book was unusually short, only one sentence long. "'See: Mare in the Moon.'?" Twilight began flipping back in the book until she came to the page with the information she was looking for.
"Mare in the Moon. Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about night time eternal."
"Spike! Do you realize what this means?" There was no answer. "Spike?" She looked around the room, only to look out the window that was the back wall and see Spike out on the path, carrying his gift in his claws. Twilight sighed, Spike was her number one assistant, but sometimes his social tendencies were incredibly bothersome. She grabbed a scroll and quill from her desk and began writing a note to the Princess herself.
My Dearest Teacher,
My continuing studies of Pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster. For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact, Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night. Something must be done to see that this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Finishing the letter, she wound it up into a scroll, and sealed it. She then returned her saddle bags to her back, put the letter and the book in said bag, and set out after Spike. She could have delivered the letter to the Princess herself, but this was far too imperative. The Summer Sun Celebration, the longest day of the year, was tomorrow (or tonight, depending on how you looked at it) and it was the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Meaning Nightmare Moon would return to Equestria in- Twilight quickly checked the sun- fourteen hours. Celestia needed to take immediate action, and Spike was the fastest delivery colt for the Princess around.
She arrived at the west castle courtyard. A table was set up with a wide assortment of different fruits and snacks. The three mares Twilight had passed earlier were standing around chatting with each other. Spike was handing his busted gift over to a cream coated mare, Moondancer, when he noticed Twilight trotting towards them.
"I thought you didn't have time for this sort of thing." Spike said sarcastically.
"I don't." Twilight said, trotting past a rather excited Moondancer who looked like she was about to greet her. "I'm here because you left, and I need you to send a letter to the Princess."
"Well as long as you are here, why don't you enjoy yourself." Moondancer asked. She was a very learned Unicorn, nearly as studious as Twilight, but was held back from her full potential because of her tendency to socialize. As a matter of fact, she and Twilight were very similar, they had the same straight hair style, and they both had a double streak running through their mane and tail. But while Twilight's were purple and magenta running through navy purple, Moondancer's were purple and lavender running through red. This similarity was probably because they happened to be third cousins; something Moondancer was very excited to find out while Twilight just ignored it.
"Thank you, but I expect to be too busy to stay long." She pulled the letter out of her saddlebag and gave it to the baby dragon. "Now send it Spike."
"Now?"
"Of course."
"Um, I don't know Twilight. Princess Celestia is really busy with the Summer Sun Celebration. And that's like, the day after tomorrow."
"Tonight actually." Minuet said trotting over, "Celestia is going to be raising the sun from Ponyville tonight."
"That's just it. Tonight is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration, it's imperative the Princess is told right away!"
The other mares looked at each other, "About what year it is?"
"No. About-" Twilight stopped herself before she said more. She didn't want to start a panic before Nightmare Moon returned. "Look, it's just really important."
"Okay! Okay." Spike held up the letter and breathed an emerald green fire over it. The letter vanished and the smoke from the fire traveled off towards the castle. "There, it's on its way. But I wouldn't hold your breath."
"Oh, I'm not worried. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me."
Twilight was expecting to get a reply right away and was surprised when one didn't arrive.
"So," Moondancer asked, "are you two doing anything for the Celebration?"
"Not really." Spike answered.
"Well, if you get finished with your studies," Lemon Hearts put the term 'studies' in air quotes, "You could come down to Ponyville with the rest of us. You're invited too, Moondancer."
"Thanks."
"Ponyville..." muttered Twinkleshine, "I've never heard of that city."
"It actually a town, just a few miles south of here." Minuet answered the yellow mare. "You know Lyra Heartstrings? Green coat, kinda looks like me? That's her hometown."
"It was founded roughly a hundred years ago by Earth Ponies." Twilight surprised herself by actually joining the conversation, "It's a farming community, with a few private businesses and stores."
"It's also a hotspot for duelists." And just like that, what could have been an intelligent conversation about history and culture was train wrecked because of a card game. Thanks Minuet. "I hear someone in the town invented some kind of arena where the cards actually come to life."
Any further talk about that stupid card game was halted when Spike's cheeks suddenly expanded, and he belched up another tongue of green fire, which condensed into a scroll identical to the one Twilight had sent just a few moments ago. Spike went over to the snack table and grabbed a cupcake to get the taste of burned paper and fabric out of his mouth.
Twilight made to grab the scroll in her magic but was beaten to it by Twinkleshine. "My dearest and most faithful student, Twilight." She read in a mock imitation of the Princess's voice. "You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely." Twilight beamed with pride at the Princess's words, despite the overdone tone of the pony relaying them. "But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books."
For the first time in the life of Twilight Sparkle, her brain stopped working.
Seeing Twilight so flustered, Spike swallowed the last of his cupcake and decided to read the rest of the letter to her, with more tact. "My dearest Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying. So, I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for this year's Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville."
"Twilight's going to supervise the Celebration?" Lemon Hearts asked. "Wow. That's a really big honor. Congratulations Twilight."
"G-huh?" was the only response she was able to make.
Spike continued reading. "Now, I have an even more esen- essench- esenti-"
Moondancer looked at the letter "Essential."
"Thank you. Essential task for you to complete: Make some friends."
"EEEeeehhh." Following that beautiful bit of phrasing, Twilight Sparkle collapsed on the ground.
"What? We don't count?" Twinkleshine joked, only to be quieted by a jab in the shoulder by Minuet. "I mean, you should probably get going."
"oohhhh.''
"You should go with her Spike."
"Huh?" The dragon had half of another cupcake in his mouth, "But what about Moondancer's party?"
"It's alright Spike." Moondancer began packing up the various snacks and party supplies. "We can continue the party tonight, at Ponyville. That is, if it's okay with everyone." The girls all smiled and nodded, then after helping their friend to clean up, the carried the still brain-dead Twilight to the train station, save one.
"You girls go on without me." Lemon Hearts said. "I need to take care of something first." and the yellow unicorn left for the closest game shop. "If she's going to Ponyville, she's going to need one of these." = = = Rising high above the Canterlot skyline, was Canterlot Castle. Built over a thousand years ago during the reign of King Bullion, it was the single largest building in Equestria. From the top of the Southern Tower, a white pony looked out over the land.
She was Celestia, ruler of all of Equestria. She stood twice as tall as the average pony at eighteen hands, and being an Alicorn, possessed both a two hands long horn and a pair of stark white wings reaching twelve hands from wing tip to perfectly maintained wingtip. Her ethereal mane flowed in a non-existent breeze, kept out of her face by the gold diadem that rested upon her head. In a word, she was magical.
Yet at this moment, Princess Celestia simply felt old. She had ruled this land for many years, far more years than most of her subjects realized. And as she was about to bring about the dawn of a new year, she felt so very old.
Old, and lonely.
"Your highness?" a voice came from the door behind her. She straightened her unnaturally long neck and pushed the years from her mind, once again she was the Princess Celestia the masses wanted and needed to see.
"Enter." The door opened to reveal a pony wearing the gold armor of the Royal Guard. He bowed before his monarch.
"I am here to inform you that Miss Twilight Sparkle has left for Ponyville, your highness. She will arrive in less than hour."
"An hour? Didn't I order a pegasii chariot for her?"
The guard bowed deeper. "Yes, your highness, you did. But she left for the town via the Ponyville Express." He held out the pegasus guard's report for the Princess to consult.
She took the parchment in her magic. Reading it, she learned that her pupil had left in the company of many of her magic school's other students, in fact the very students she had been trying to get the young bookworm to open up to over the years.
"Well well well." She gave the report back to the guard. "You are dismissed." The guard left and the stark white pony resumed gazing out the window, this time her gaze was directed directly at the small hamlet a few miles south of the city. A small smile played across her face. "I don't know how or why this happened, but if she has ponies willing to help her or at least travel with her. She may be closer to making friends than I thought."
She looked to her left at a tapestry of herself in midair, with the blazing sun above her on her left and a crescent moon just barely above the horizon on her right. She put her hoof on the overshadowed moon, "For your sake, I hope so." = = = The Ponyville Express was a pink steam train that made regular trips between the mountainside capitol and the more rustic hamlet of Ponyville. Currently aboard this train were many of the Canterlot nobility -who were utterly put off that the Princess should decide to hold the Celebration in such a back-water town like Ponyville- as well as ordinary civilians, and several of the students from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.
Twilight Sparkle sat apart from all of them, putting herself away in the corner of the car. She had regained enough of her mental processes earlier to grab both Predictions and Prophecies, as well as the story book she had first been reading. She was hoping to read them before attending to her duties and learn some more about the Elements of Harmony, or at least about Nightmare Moon. Instead her assistant Spike was trying to cheer her up about her current assignment. A kind gesture, but not what she needed right now.
“Look on the bright side, Twilight, the Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
“Spike, I know what you’re trying to do, but I just need some time to think right now. Why don’t you go talk to your friends.”
The baby dragon stayed for a moment before he entered the aisle, but he paused and looked back at his caretaker, “They’re your friends too you know.” With that he left her alone.
Twilight sighed and looked out the window at the passing countryside. ‘Why didn’t she believe me? Should I have given her some proof of what I said? Cited my sources?’ Her musings were interrupted by Lemon Hearts who just sat down next to her.
“Trying to figure out how to get out of this assignment?” She asked.
“No. Celestia said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I will do my royal duty.” Twilight said, rather begrudgingly.
“In that case, take this.” She pulled something out of her bags. “If you’re going to Ponyville, you will need it.”
Twilight looked at what she had been given with disgust. It was a deck of cards, their backs decorated with a simple brown background with a large black oval over it. While unassuming, Twilight knew exactly what it was.
“Duel Monsters? I’m sorry, but I don’t like that game.” Duel Monsters was a new game that had been created about a year or more ago. Before long, young fillies and colts across Equestria were playing it. Twilight, being the studious shut-in she was, never found the time to play it, nor did she want to. On top of that, the game was almost all she heard ponies talk about lately, making her dislike for it even stronger. “Besides, I don’t have time to sit around and play some game.”
“Maybe, but you can’t afford to not play, either.”
Well that didn’t seem at all threatening. “What do you mean?”
“Remember how Minuet said that Ponyville was a hotspot for Duelists?” Twilight did remember how the conversation had degraded. “Well, what she said was actually a bit of an understatement. The ponies in Ponyville take the game very, very seriously. Chances are, something is going to slow down the preparations, and the only way to resolve it will be by playing the game.”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Twilight said, but the look on Lemon’s face was dead serious.
“Here,” she gave her a small booklet, “This is a Duel Monsters rulebook. I suggest you at least learn the basics.” And with that she left. Twilight looked at the booklet and deck of cards, groaned, stuffed the deck in her saddle bags and began reading the rules. = = = The train pulled into Ponyville before Twilight could get very far into the rulebook, but she had ‘learned the basics’ as Lemon had asked. Dozens of Unicorns and a few others departed the pink train, some more quickly so as to get away from the ‘vicious monster’ that had accompanied Twilight Sparkle. As the Canterlot ponies saw Ponyville for the first time, they began uttering some mixed opinions about the town.
“Uhg! Dirt roads?” One posh looking stallion said, “I had heard that Ponyville was a small town, but this is utterly barbaric.”
“Do you smell that?” Said an Earth Pony mare to her Unicorn companion, “That is the smell of hundreds of flower boxes all mixed in with the smells of bakeries, farms and carts of fresh fruit.”
“I must admit,” said her companion, “It is a pleasant fragrance.”
“I hope you found us a proper place to spend the night.” Said one mare to her husband, “I have no intention of sleeping in a house with a leaky straw roof.”
“Wow!” Minuet exclaimed, “Everypony looks so friendly.” Moondancer moved a little closer to the blue Unicorn to avoid some of this friendliness.
“And there are so many different kinds of ponies too.” Spike observed, “I’ve never seen this many Earth Ponies and Pegasi in one place before.”
Twinkleshine had a bit more apprehension than her friends, “Is it just me, or does this place seem a little, small, to anyone else?”
Twilight was too determined to complete her assignment to stick around and listen to any of this. She didn’t get very far in her progress before she was stopped by a bouncing, pink, singing, something.
“Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! To Ponyville today! I hope you all enjoy yourselves And maybe want to stay!
We’ve got a lot of treats in store I promise it will be fun! Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! To our celebration of the sun!”
The singer was a pink Earth Pony mare, maybe a year or two younger than Twilight and her friends. Her mane was a darker shade of pink and looked more like cotton candy than hair. Her cutie mark was two blue balloons flanking a yellow balloon. The ponies who had been on the receiving end of the pony’s song looked at her with a myriad of different expressions: confusion, disgust, blank, amused, and cheerful.
“Um, hello.” Someone said.
“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, I wrote that song just for you. Well, not you specifically, but all of you wonderful ponies visiting from Canterlot! Did you like it?”
Most of the ponies scoffed and left the station on their way to where ever they would be staying the night.
“Yeesh, tough crowd.”
“Pinkie Pie, was it?” Minuet stepped forward, “You wouldn’t happen to be the perfectly pink pony party planner Pinkie Pie, would you?”
“That’s my name, and yes indeedy, I am. You’ve heard of me?”
“Our friend Lyra Heartstrings said she’s never been to another party quite like the ones you throw.”
As Minuet dropped the name, Pinkie suddenly gasped, bounced into the air, and seemed to hover for a few seconds. “You know Lyra? Wait! If you know Lyra, that must mean you go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!”
“Ding Ding! Got it right on the first try.” Minuet said. “I’m Minuet. This is Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine,” The two mares waved, “Moondancer,”
“Um, hi.”
“Spike,”
The young dragon gave a smart salute “Hey.”
“and the sour puss trying to sneak away is Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight froze in her trots as she was called out. “H-Hello.” She squeaked.
“It’s nice to meet all of you.” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. She lowered her head, so it was eye level with Spike “I didn’t know that Dragons could attend a school for Unicorns.”
“They, um, can’t.” Spike said, rubbing his claws together, “I’m just Twilight’s assistant.”
“Yes he is.” Twilight said, scooping Spike onto her back, “And right now, we are on an official mission from the Princess. So, we will just be on our way. Spike, where are we going first?”
Spike pulled out the scroll and read aloud, “Summer Sun Celebration: Official Overseer’s Checklist. Number 1: Banquet preparations, Sweet Apple Acres.”
“Good. Now, I’ll be off.” Twilight started walking into town. Until she was forcibly turned sideways by the pink roadblock. “Gah! What? What are you doing?”
“Getting you on track of course!” Pinkie Pie said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“How is pointing me in the wrong direction getting me on track!?”
Spike tapped the top of Twilight’s head “Uh, Twilight? Do you see that giant mess of apple trees over there?” he pointed straight ahead in the direction Pinkie Pie had pointed Twilight.
“Yes?” Twilight snapped. For a supposedly smart pony, she could be quite dense at times.
“I’m pretty sure that’s Sweet Apple Acres.”
Twilight didn’t say anything, just stood there as her face slowly heated up.
“It’s alright. You’ve never been here before. Come on! I’ll walk you there.” Pinkie Pie began pushing Twilight forwards, before she got her hooves working again and started her way towards the Acres.
Moondancer quickly trotted to keep up with the retreating pink and purple ponies. “I’m going to go with them. Make sure nothing, breaks. Hey Twilight! Wait up!” The other three just smiled and went on their way. = = = Sweet Apple Acres was a huge growth of apple trees, kept separate from the road by a white picket fence. The three ponies and one Dragon passed through an ivy covered, well not really a gate, more of an arch with a sign hanging under it. The only buildings to be seen were a collection of small storage houses, a chicken coop, and a dark red barn that looked to be the main dwelling of whoever lived here.
“Hey Applejack!” Pinkie Pie suddenly screamed. “You’ve got visitors!”
From the grove of trees came an orange Earth Pony. Her mane and tail were straw blonde and bound near the base. Her cutie mark depicted a trio of red apples. On top of her head sat an old worn cow folk style hat. She looked to be a year older than Twilight was. “Howdy, Pinkie!” she looked at the two Unicorns and Dragon, “And a good afternoon to ya’ll.”
Twilight stepped forward, “Good afternoon, my name is Twilight Sparkle. And I’m here to-“ She was cut off as the mare began furiously shaking her hoof.
“Well howdy-doo, Miss Twilight.” She then started shaking Moondancer’s hoof, “And I didn’t catch your name.”
“Moondancer.” The spectacled pony answered.
“And I’m Spike.” The young Dragon actually managed to return her hoofshake without his claws going numb.
“A pleasure making ya’ll's acquaintance. Now, what can I do ya for?”
Twilight cleared her throat. “Well I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you’re in charge of the food?”
“We sure as sugar are.” Applejack said, proudly. “Would you care to sample some?”
“As long as it doesn’t take too long.” Before Twilight had finished speaking, Applejack had started banging a metal drumstick against a rusty triangle.
“Soups on, everypony!”
The Canterlites could feel a massive rumbling approaching them. “I think ya done goofed, Twilight” Pinkie said. The four of them were suddenly carried off in a cloud of dust and ponies; only to be deposited at a small picnic table under a small grove of trees.
“Now,” Applejack said, popping up beside them, “Why don’t I introduce ya’ll to the Apple family.” She presented her hoof at the large group of Earth Ponies that had apparently been the cause of that dust cloud.
Twilight, seeing the impending doom, decided to get the heck out of dodge. “Thanks, but I really need to hurry.” She couldn’t leave though as a yellow mare with a green mane brought up a plate with some apple pastry on it.
“This here is Apple Fritter.” The plate was left in front of her. Another mare, this one with a red mane, came forward with a pair of caramel covered apples on sticks in her mouth.
“Apple Bumpkin.” Those were also placed on the table. A third mare came forward. This one was pink with a green mane. She carried a cupcake with an apple slice stuck into the frosting on her head.
“Red Gala.” A stallion took her place. He was yellow with a blue mane. In his mouth was a plate with another apple themed dessert on it.
“Red Delicious. Gold Delicious. Caramel Apple. Apple Strudel. Apple Tart. Baked Apple. Apple Triage. Apple Cinnamon Crisp.” with each name, another earth pony featuring a similar color pallet of yellow, green, gold and/or brown would come forward and place an apple themed food item on the table. Until there was no more room and they started placing the dishes one on top of the other.
Applejack suddenly inhaled deeply, “Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and…” She then shoved a raw apple into Twilight’s mouth before running off to one side, “Granny Smith.” Applejack slowly walked up to an elderly Earth Pony who was sleeping in a rocking chair. “Up and at ‘em, Granny Smith. We got guests.” As the old mare sleepily walked over to the other Ponies, Applejack began patting Twilight’s back. “Why, I’d say you were already part of the family.”
Twilight immediately spat out the apple. Pinkie Pie grew a surprisingly evil grin, “Wow AJ, a dinner, having her meet your family, then a proposal; all within a minute and a half. You sure move fast.”
The rest of the Apple family nickered as the farmpony nodded, then realized what Pinkie just said. “Wait! No! I didn’t mean it like that! I meant, uh, I don’t know what I meant.” The other Ponies and Dragon just kept laughing, except Twilight who was trying to get the sour apple taste out of her mouth.
“Been hitting the applejack again, Applejack?” A stallion said.
“Ah-he-he, well!” Twilight exclaimed. “I can see the food situation is handled. So we’ll be on our way.”
“Aren’t ya gonna stay for brunch?” Asked a small filly wearing a giant bow. She blinked twice as her big sad eyes watered and her lip quivered.
Spike immediately knew that the filly was faking. Twilight…
“Sorry,” she sadly said, “But we have an awful lot to do.”
A collective, dejected cry of “Aww.” suddenly echoed from the Apple family.
“You know, Twilight.” Spike said “This may be the only chance we get to eat before the celebration.” Moondancer and Pinkie Pie were both nodding and smiling expectantly.
Twilight bit her lip as she tried to decide. She hung her head in defeat as her assistant’s logic won out over her own motives, “Fine, ten minute lunch break.”
“Yay!” was the collective cheer.
“But only ten minutes!” = = = Fifteen minutes later… Pinkie Pie had a significant bounce in her step as she lead the other three back into Ponyville proper. Spike looked over the checklist he held, “Food’s all taken care of. Next is weather.” Looking back he saw a bloated Twilight being helped up the road by Moondancer.
“I ate too much pie.” The violet Unicorn moaned.
“They didn’t serve any pie.”
“Tell that to my stomach!”
Spike began looking upwards for someone, “There’s supposed to be a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds.”
“Ooh.” Pinkie oohed. “I know Dashie. She’s a really cool pony. I didn’t know she was clearing the clouds though.”
“Probably because she’s not.” Twilight said, bitterly. Overhorn were several clouds, and that was just directly above them. “The Summer Sun Celebration is tonight, and because of her slacking off, no one will be able to see it!”
“Aren’t you being a little bit harsh, Twilight?” Moondancer tried to calm down her friend.
“No, I am being obedient and efficient. Unlike this Rainbow Dash.”
“Maybe you should discuss this with her.” Pinkie Pie pointed at what looked like a stray rainbow that was snaking its way between the clouds. As it got closer, Twilight could see it was a rainbow colored trail following a flying Pegasus.
“YOU!” She yelled. “Come down here!” The Pegasus took a moment to stop, and then land.
She was a sky blue Pegasus about the same age as Pinkie Pie. Her wind-brushed tail was colored just like a rainbow; while her locks were colored red, orange and yellow, and her crest was green, blue, and purple. Her cutie mark looked like a white cloud with a lightning bolt curving down from it. The bolt itself was red, yellow and blue in color. “Yes?” she asked, somewhat nervous.
“Are you Rainbow Dash?”
The pony lost all her nervousness, “The one and only.” She proudly said, “Why? You heard of me?”
“I heard that you are supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Twilight sighed, and somehow regained some self control. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.”
“Oh that!” She said, “I’ll get around to it. After I finish practicing.”
“You’ll get around to it?”
Moondancer knew something was about to break. “Practicing for what?” she asked, cutting Twilight off before she could ignite her magic.
“The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash suddenly got all starry-eyed. “The best fliers in all of Equestria. One day, I’m going to get a chance to show them that I can fly just as well as the Wonderbolts can. Maybe even join them. Until then, I have to keep practicing.”
“It’s true.” Pinkie Pie said. “There’s not a day when you don’t see Dashie up in the sky, flying loop-de-loops and trying to outrace the wind.”
“Pinkie Pie, I told you not to call me Dashie.”
“Well,” Twilight said, “If you’re so talented, then clearing the clouds should be easy for you, right?”
“Of course, I could do it ten seconds flat!”
“Then why don’t you?”
Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight Sparkle intently, “You got some glitter in your ears or something? I just said I can do it in ten seconds flat. I don’t have to do it until tonight.” With that, she flew up to one of the clouds and began stretching.
“What? No. You get back here, now!” It was then that Twilight noticed something. Around Rainbow Dash’s barrel was a gray belt, with a small box tucked just behind her left wing. Twilight had a sinking suspicion what was in that box.
“The ponies in Ponyville take the game very, very seriously. Chances are, something is going to slow down the preparations, and the only way to resolve it will be by playing the game.”
Lemon’s words echoed in Twilight’s mind. 'I can’t believe I’m doing this.' she thought to herself.
“Do you play Duel Monsters?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash stopped her stretches and looked at her with a smirk, “Yeah, I play."
“Then how about we settle this with a game?” Spike and Moondancer both felt their mouths hit the dirt. Twilight Sparkle, the no-nonsense study nerd, was challenging somepony to a duel. “If you win, then you can put off doing your job until the last moment. But if I win, then you will clear the clouds now.”
Rainbow Dash dropped down to the ground and stood nose to nose with Twilight. “It’s on.” = = = Rainbow led them to a nearby part of town. It looked just like the rest of Ponyville, except for one big thing. In the middle of a lot, was a large yellow stage. It had two raised platforms on each end, with two rows of five rectangles on the stage beneath them. A blank row divided the stage into two opposing halves. A number of white stones lined the outside of the stage. On the side was a large black ‘$’ mark. Rainbow Dash flew over to the far-left side of the stage.
“What is this thing?” Spike asked.
“It’s a duel arena.” Pinkie answered. “Have you ever heard of Filthy Rich, the guy who’s in charge of Stinking Rich Industries? Well, he had his company make these to make the game of Duel monsters more immersive.”
“Immersive how?” Spike asked.
“You’ll see.” Pinkie sang.
Twilight climbed onto the raised platform opposite to the one Rainbow Dash was on. In front of her was a table with half of what the rulebook described as a duel field inscribed onto it. “Ever dueled on a duel arena before?”
“I’ve never dueled before period.”
“What?” Rainbow seemed shocked, “Then why did you challenge me?”
“Because it seemed like the only way to get you to stop being lazy and do your job.” Twilight snapped. “Besides, it’s just a card game. I have a 50% chance of winning.” She stated, smugly.
Rainbow hesitated, ‘I’m not lazy, does she really think that?’ “We’ll see about that.” She pulled her deck out of her carrying box and put it on the table. Suddenly the whole stage lit up. The white stones began emitting rainbow colored light. “Place your deck in the space marked ‘deck.’” Rainbow Dash called out. Twilight pulled the deck given to her out of her saddle bag, gave it a quick shuffle, and did as Rainbow Dash told her. The wall above her table suddenly revealed Rainbow’s half of the field. Above both ponies were a pair of floating ‘2000’s.
“Draw five cards, and then take the first move by playing one of them.”
“I don’t need your help.” Twilight retorted. She drew the top five cards in her deck with her magic. This would be what card dealers called a player’s fan. It consisted of five gold monster cards. The goal of the game was for each player to summon a monster. The player with the stronger monster would win and the loser would lose life points. The first player to lose all their life points would lose the duel.
Twilight picked out one of her monsters and placed it on her field, “I summon Skull Servant.” On the stage below them, there was a flash of sparkles. A skeletal pony wearing a purple robe suddenly materialized.
Skull Servant Atk: 300
“What in Equestria?” Twilight asked. “How did-?”
“That’s what I meant by immersive.” Pinkie said, “The duel arena reads the cards, and creates a magical illusion of the cards on the field.” Spike and Moondancer were awestruck. A number of other townsponies were suddenly gathering around the arena, making quite an audience.
Rainbow didn’t seem impressed by the display, “Only 300 attack points? I’m really going to have to hold back.”
“I end my turn.” Twilight said.
“My draw.” Rainbow added a new card to her fan, which was laid out on the table before her since she didn’t have magic to hold it. “I summon Droll Bird in attack mode!”
Droll Bird Atk: 600
From Rainbow’s side of the field came another flash of sparkles. From them came a large brown bird with goofy looking eyes and a large duck-like beak.
“Droll Bird! Destroy her monster!” The bird opened its mouth and let out a wail. Twilight covered her ears, but her Skull Servant just shattered like it was made of glass.
Twilight Sparkle: LP 2000 → 1700
“Woo Hoo! Good move, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie cheered.
“I end my turn.”
Twilight drew another card, it was another monster card, but it only had 500 attack points. She looked at the rest of her fan, and realized with embarrassment that she had summoned the monster with the least amount of attack points. ‘Come on Sparkle, don’t let your frustration get the better of you.’ She grabbed a different card. “I summon, Enchanting Mermaid.”
This monster didn’t really look like anything Twilight had ever heard of. Its lower half looked like a fuchsia fish tail, while its upper half was a thin figure with teal color skin. A fuchsia silk garment covered its chest. Instead of hooves, the figures fore-limbs terminated in appendages not unlike Spike’s claws, except these lacked claws and scales. The head was rounded and flat, yet had a distinct feminine quality to it, this was intensified by the mane of long auburn hair that fell around the figure’s shoulders.
Enchanting Mermaid Atk: 1200
“Oh my!” A somewhat posh sounding voice said, “Pinkie, you never told me about this.” Turning around, Spike came face to face with an angel. Moondancer saw a white Unicorn mare, who looked to be the same age as Applejack, with a long curling mane of purple walk up to the trio. The Unicorn was carrying a basket filled with different kinds of ribbon and lace in it. Her cutie mark looked like a trio of diamond shaped blue gemstones arranged into a larger diamond shape.
“Hey Rarity!” Pinkie greeted, “Never told you about what?”
“This.” The Unicorn, Rarity, pointed at Twilight’s new monster, “You said Duelists summoned monsters in their game. But that creature looks positively gorgeous.”
Pinkie giggled slightly, “I guess monster is kind of a misleading term. Oh, I want you to meet Moondancer, Spike, and the pony dueling is Twilight Sparkle. They’ve all come from Canterlot to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration.”
Rarity gasped, “Canterlot! Oh, my dear,” she grabbed Moondancer’s shoulder, “You must tell me all about it! The style. The glamour. The sophistication. I’ve always dreamed of living there.” Rarity paused for a moment, “Did you say you are here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration? I’ve been handling the decorations for town hall. I had to head back to my boutique to get some decor with a bit more sparkle.” She pulled out a pink ribbon with more than a bit of sparkle. “What do you think?”
“I wouldn’t really know.” Moondancer said, “But we’ll be sure to give the whole town hall an examination once Twilight clears up a little problem with the weather.”
“Enchanting Mermaid, attack her Droll Bird!” Twilight called out.
The feminine creature extended one of her arms. A simulated wave of water rushed forwards and crashed down on the brown bird, shattering it in the same manner as the skeleton had prior.
Rainbow Dash: LP 2000 → 1400
“I end my turn.”
“Nice comeback, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie cheered, while Moondancer clapped her hooves together.
“My draw!” Rainbow shouted. “I summon, Skull Red Bird, in attack mode!”
Rainbow’s new monster looked like a raptor of some kind. Its feathers were maroon in color, except for the feathers on its wings. These were gold and looked more like sharpened metal than feathers.
Skull Red Bird Atk: 1550
“Skull Red Bird! Destroy her monster!” The bird flapped its wings and set it’s razor sharp feathers flying towards Twilight’s side of the field. She instinctively ducked down as her monster shattered.
Twilight Sparkle: LP 1700 → 1350
“I end my turn.”
Twilight added Enchanting Mermaid to the discard pile, the place where destroyed monster cards were placed after battle, also known as the graveyard. She drew another card, then looked at her fan. “I summon Kabazauls!”
Emerging from her field was a truly giant monster. It vaguely resembled a hippo, if hippos were pink and stood on two legs, which thanks to Twilight’s research, she knew they didn’t.
Kabazauls Atk: 1700
“I attack with Kabazauls!” The massive creature reared its head back and let out a sneeze. The illusion shattered Rainbow’s bird, but it also blew her mane around. It was a wonder her cards didn’t get blown away.
Rainbow Dash: LP 1400 → 1250
Twilight groaned slightly, ‘I’m already on my third monster, and I haven’t even taken out half her life points yet.’ She looked at her cards, hoping for some sort of inspiration, but the stiff paper offered none. “I end my turn!”
“My draw! I summon Insect Knight in attack mode!”
Once again, the sparkles erupted from the field, this time revealing a truly gruesome sight. The monster looked like a white grasshopper carrying a sword in one claw and a shield in the other. Many of the ponies watching the duel made noises of disgust or fright as it appeared.
Insect Knight Atk: 1900
“My knight attacks your monster!” The nightmarish bug raised its sword and brought it down on the hippo’s head.
Twilight: LP 1350 → 1150
“I end my turn.”
“I draw.” She did so but was met with just another monster that didn’t have enough power to take down Rainbow’s 1900 attack point Insect. ‘Wait a minute.’ “I place a monster face down in defense mode and end my turn.” Instead of a monster, the brown and black back of the card materialized on the field sideways to how the card should have been viewed.
“Wait, where’s the monster?” Moondancer asked.
“Monster cards can be placed in defense mode or attack mode.” Pinkie explained. “Defense mode monsters can’t attack, but if they get destroyed, then Twilight won’t take any damage.”
“So, she’s stuck?” Rarity asked.
“Maybe, but something tells me she’s planning something.” Pinkie answered.
“My draw. Insect Knight, destroy her face down monster.” The insect once again raised its sword, but this time it was stopped, by a giant dark blue horn belonging to a large beetle that just appeared as Twilight’s face down card flipped face up.
Hercules Beetle Def: 2000
Rainbow Dash: LP 1250 → 1150
“Sorry Rainbow Dash, but if you attack a monster in defense mode and it has more defense points than your monster’s attack points, you take the difference as damage. Don’t worry, your monster is fine.” Twilight lectured.
“I summon Tyhone and end my turn.” Rainbow said through gritted teeth. Next to her Insect Knight emerged a round yellow creature with small wings and a round, barrel like mouth.
Tyhone Atk: 1200
“My draw.” Twilight looked at the card she just drew. “Perfect. I summon, Dark Magician.”
The monster that emerged looked like a regular Unicorn. It had pale blue fur, and a gold mane. Most of its body was covered by a dark blue robe while it’s shoulders and forelegs were covered by a similarly colored armor with red trim. A large, pointed hat sat on its head, and a long staff was held in its left hoof.
Dark Magician Atk: 2500
“Tw-Twenty-five hundred?” Rainbow Dash was shocked. She had never seen a new player with a monster that strong before.
“I also switch my Hercules Beetle to attack mode.”
Hercules Beetle Atk: 1500
“Dark Magician! Attack her Insect Knight!” Twilight yelled. The dark Unicorn held his staff forward. In an instant, the colors of Insect Knight seemed to reverse before it shattered
Rainbow Dash: LP 1150 → 550
“Now, Hercules Beetle! Destroy her Tyhone!” The massive beetle opened its wings and flew across to the other side of the field and grabbed the strange monster in its jaws.
Rainbow Dash: LP 550 → 250
“I end my turn.”
Rainbow Dash drew her next card and looked at her fan. Nothing she had could take out her magician. Still, she would never surrender. “I summon Sonic Duck in attack mode.”
The monster that appeared looked exactly like what is sounded like, a green duck wearing a red scarf and a bucket on its head.
Sonic Duck Atk: 1700
“Sonic Duck, destroy her Beetle!” The duck charged across the field with surprising speed and rammed its bucket helmet into the large insect’s gut, destroying it.
Twilight Sparkle: LP 1150 → 950
“I end my turn.”
“I draw. Dark Magician, end this game.” The Unicorn once more raised its staff and cast it’s magic.
Rainbow Dash: LP 250 → 0
“She did it!” Pinkie Pie cheered. Spike ran up to the duel arena as Twilight collected the deck she used.
“Twilight that was amazing! You dueled like a pro!”
“I must say, darling, it was quite a spectacle to watch.”
“Thank you.” Twilight paused when she realized she didn’t recognize the white Unicorn in front of her. “Um...”
“Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Rarity, I was getting some more decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration when I saw you and Miss Dash’s duel, and I couldn’t help but keep watching.” She cleared her throat, “Pinkie tells me you are in charge of overseeing the preparations for the Celebration.”
“Yes, I am. I’m Twilight Sparkle.”
“A pleasure, Twilight. Well, shall we all head down to the town hall and see if my work is worthy of the Princess?”
“In a moment.” Twilight was, surprisingly, beginning to like this mare. She knew what job she had to do and seemed ready to get on with her work. “I just have to finish this up first.”
She walked over to where Rainbow Dash was waiting for her. “I hope you remember your end of our bet.”
Rainbow nodded and immediately took to the sky. She began racing back and forth between the clouds, giving each of them a hard kick which bust the clouds apart. The back draft from her passes made Twilight’s mane go flying and nearly blew Moondancer’s glasses off. Ten seconds after she had taken off, Rainbow landed right back down after having cleared out all the clouds. “What did I tell ya. Ten. Seconds. Flat.”
Twilight stood slack jawed.
“Hey, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash took on a much more mellow tone of voice. “I’m sorry if I came across as lazy, or anything like that. I’d never leave Ponyville hanging or slack off on a job. I just know what I can do and how long it takes to do it. If that makes me a lazy pony, then I’m sorry.”
Suddenly she was back to her same rough-and-tumble self, “And hey, you were awesome on that field. I never would have guessed it was your first duel.” She spread her wings to fly off, “We should hang out again some time.” And with that, she was gone.
“She’s amazing!” Spike said in awe.
“She sure is.” Pinkie Pie said.
“I will admit, I was wrong about her.” Twilight consented. “Now then, I believe we were checking on the decorations?”
“Oh yes, darling. If you will all follow me.” Rarity led the small party towards the center of town. “Now, Pinkie tells me that you are from Canterlot…” = = = The trot from the dueling arena to Town Hall wasn’t necessarily a long one, but it certainly felt a lot longer with Rarity’s constant questions about Canterlot. Twilight tried to answer as many questions as she could, but Rarity kept asking about the city’s ‘culture’ and ‘personality.’ It was just a city; it had the same culture as any other city in Equestria. Didn’t it?
Spike wasn’t exactly helping matters. Every time they passed by a window he would check his reflection, making the smallest of changes, straightening his spines, checking his teeth, flex a muscle. Add that onto the fact that the rest of the time his eyes were glued onto the white Unicorn, even Twilight could see he was smitten with her.
“Here we are!” Pinkie Pie said suddenly, “Ponyville Town Hall!” It was a round three-story building made of wood. A large pair of double doors let the party enter the inside.
Everyone was in awe of what they saw. What would normally have been an official looking chamber was dressed roof to floor in tapestries, banners, curtains and ribbons in every color of the rainbow, but favoring the royal blues and golds.
“Now, it’s not quite finished,” Rarity said trotting inside, “I still need to cover the tables, decorate the Princess’s balcony, and of course I can’t figure out which color ribbon would go best here.” She said pointing at an undecorated post. She levitated a pink ribbon up to the post, then put it away. “What do you think, Ms Sparkle?”
“Me?” Twilight asked, “Oh um, I guess… yellow? Also, it’s Miss Twilight.”
“Oh, my apologies.” Rarity held a yellow ribbon up to the post, “Hm, no I’m afraid that won’t work.” She did the same with several other ribbons, each of a different color. “Any particular reason?”
“For what?”
“Your name. Most ponies that I know who have a two-part name put the title before their second name, like Mrs. Cakes or Mr. Rich.”
“Oh! Well, I guess you could say it’s a family tradition. Every mare in my family names their daughter Twilight. Twilight Star, Twilight Peak, Twilight Song, my mother Twilight Velvet, and now myself. And we ended up being called the Twilight family.”
“My family does the same thing!” Pinkie said from the other side of the hall, “Everypony in my family gets named Pie. Granny Pie, Igneous Pie, Inky Pie, Blinky Pie, Limestone Pie, Marble Pie, Pinkie Pie!” The Unicorns in the room weren’t quite sure what to make of some of those names.
“Well, that’s certainly interesting. Ah-Ha!” Rarity finally decided on a particularly sparkly red ribbon. “You’ve done it again Rarity.”
“Well, I’d say the decorations are coming along nicely.” Twilight said giving the room another full sweep. “I think we can…” She paused as she caught sight of an, unusual tapestry. “Um, Rarity. What’s that doing here?” On the left side of the room, was a blue tapestry displaying a gold crescent moon between two stars. Not an ugly tapestry by any means, but it didn’t exactly fit with the Sun theme of the celebration.
“Oh, that.” Rarity walked over, “I’ll admit, I hadn’t planned on including it. But apparently Princess Celestia specifically asked for it. And it does add a nice bit of balance, does it not?”
“I suppose.”
“Well, I won’t keep you here any longer. I assume I’ll see you later tonight?”
“Oh!” With everything that had been going on, Twilight had almost forgot that it was a holiday. “I guess you will.”
“Wonderful! Well, tata darlings.” Twilight, Moondancer and Pinkie all walked out of the Hall, Moondancer picking up Spike in her magic and letting him ride on her back. Twilight gave the moon tapestry one last look before leaving.
‘On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape, and she shall bring about night time eternal.’ = = = “Wasn’t she wonderful.” Spike swooned.
“Who’s Starstruck? Are they a friend of yours?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“What? No, I meant- never mind. What’s next on the list, Spike?”
“Music. It’s the last one.”
‘Great.’ Twilight thought, ‘See how the music is going. Get to the library. Learn the location of the Elements of Harmony. Stop the return of Nightmare Moon.’ And she still had nine hours to do it.
Except, she didn’t know where Ponyville’s library was. So, she would have to spend an hour or two looking for it.
“So, where are we supposed to go?”
“Says here that rehearsals will be in a field just south of the town.”
“That’s a strange place for a band.”
Oh yeah, she still had a guild with her.
“Excuse me, Pinkie Pie? Might I ask you where the library is?”
“Trying to get out of making friends again?” Spike teased.
“I am not! I just-“ she paused her rebuttal as what sounded like music started playing on the other side of a few bushes. The quartet peaked over the bushes and found a rather unusual sight. Instead of a band, there was a tree; in that tree sat a flock of birds. Red birds, purple birds, small birds and tall birds. Conducting the birds in the tree was a yellow Pegasus mare.
The song itself was a, unique, take on The Glory of the Sun by Royal Stanza. Despite being in birdsong, it was very beautiful. Apart from the blue bird that was out of sync with the others.
The Pegasus noticed this and told the flock to stop. Twilight decided this was a good time to talk to her. The others stayed back in the bushes. Spike looked over at Pinkie Pie to ask her who the Pegasus was, but stopped when he saw her looking, sad?
“Are you alright Pinkie?”
“Yep!” She said, any trance of the dour mood suddenly gone from her face. “Just thinking about something.”
“Okay.” He said slowly. = = = “Um, excuse me, sir.” The Pegasus said in a very sweet and soft voice, “I mean no offence, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off.” She resumed her spot in front of the tree. “Now, follow me please. A-one, a-two, a one two three.”
“Hello!” One word was all it took to scatter the birds. “Oh my!” Twilight said, quieter this time. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds. I’m just here to check up on the music and it sounded beautiful.”
As the Pegasus landed, Twilight got a better look at her. Her coat and feathers were a soft yellow color, while her long mane was a soft pink. She stood about a half hand shorter than Twilight, but that might have been because she was keeping her head pointed down. Her cutie mark was three pink butterflies.
A good few seconds passed between them in silence. “I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Still silence. “What’s your name?”
“Um, I’m Fluttrsh.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Um, my nm s Flrrsh.” The mare took a few steps back and seemed to be getting smaller.
“Didn’t quite catch that.” Twilight said taking a step forward.
*Squeaky door hinge noises*
Another passage of silence passed. “Well, um,” Twilight looked around for some way to get out of this, conversation? “It looks like your birds are back. So, I guess everything’s in order. Keep up the good work.”
*more quiet noises*
“Oh-kay. Well that was easy.” Spike stepped out of the bushes.
“A baby Dragon!” The Pegasus suddenly did a complete 180° and practically shoved Twilight out of the way as she flew up to Spike. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby Dragon before. He’s so cute.”
“I am?” He asked, not used to getting this kind of treatment.
“Oh my, he talks. I didn’t know Dragons could talk. That’s just so incredibly wonderful, I-I just don’t even know what to say.”
Spike then started glowing as he was picked up by Twilight’s magic. “Well we better be going.” She said as she trotted away with Spike on her back.
“Wait! Wait what’s his name?” The suddenly very talkative Pegasus said as she followed them.
“I’m Spike.”
“Hi Spike, I’m Fluttershy. Wow, a talking Dragon. And what do Dragons talk about?”
“I would guess the same things Ponies talk about.” Moondancer said, quickly trotting to catch up with Pinkie Pie right behind her.
“Oh dear!” Fluttershy said, again seeming smaller, “I’m intruding on you all aren’t I?” Moondancer’s words then clicked in her head. “Oh, and I thought that- But that’s clearly not what you- I just assumed- I-I’m so sorry I just-“
“No! No. It’s alright. I,” Spike sighed, “I get that a lot.”
“But that doesn’t make it alright. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for thinking you were a pet, Spike.”
‘First she calls me cute then she apologizes for thinking I was a pet?’ Spike thought, ‘This pony is way nicer than the ones in Canterlot.’ “Well, what do you want to know about Dragons?”
“Absolutely everything.”
“Uhg.”
“Well, since Twilight’s heard all this before, why don’t I go with you and help you set up in Town Hall, while Twilight does whatever big important thing she keeps trying to sneak off to do.”
Twilight scoffed, “I have not been sneaking off! But that’s not a bad idea, Spike. Moondancer, if you could go with them. No offence, Fluttershy was it? But I’d feel better if he had a chaperone.”
“Oh, that’s alright. I get scared going into Ponyville alone by myself too.”
“Okay? I’ll see you all at the Celebration. If you need me, I’ll be in the library.” And thus Twilight left the three and went her own way.
“So, what do you want to go to the library for anyway?” Twilight jumped, she had forgotten about Pinkie Pie.
“Uh, reading.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense, I mean there are a ton of books in there. What are you going to be reading about?”
“The Elements of Harmony.” Twilight slapped a hoof over her mouth. Did she just say that out loud to some random civilian?
“Ooo, The Elements of Harmony, sounds fancy. I’ve never heard of them before, what are they?”
Twilight tried to look away, but those innocent inquisitive eyes! “I don’t really know what they are, that’s why I’m trying to read about them. All I know is they were used to defeat a really dangerous evil a long time ago.”
“Wow, there’s a whole bunch of stuff I don’t know. Hey, how about I learn about the Elements of Harmony with you?”
“NO!” Twilight blurted, scaring a few ponies they were walking past. “I mean, it’s nice of you to offer, Pinkie Pie, but I really think it would be better if I did it alone and by myself.”
“That doesn’t sound like any fun. Besides, how does that old saying go? ‘Two heads make light work’?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, “I get what you're trying to say, but it’s imperative that I do this alone.”
Pinkie squinted at the purple Unicorn, “You're hiding something.” Twilight stopped in her tracks, “And not like a ‘I know about your surprise party’ kind of something, it’s like a ‘I accidentally let your hamster run away’ kind of something.”
For the briefest of moments, she wanted to tell her. She wanted to tell this random stranger about the prophecy and the book and everything. But the rational part of her mind took control again and she resumed her walking. “I’m sorry, but there is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind.”
Pinkie just stood there for a moment, then she galloped in front of Twilight, “Then I challenge you to a duel!”
“What?”
“If you win then I won’t press you anymore; but if I win, you will tell me what you’re so afraid of.”
Again, that nagging voice in her head told her to accept the challenge, while the rational part told her to just forget it, it was a waste of time. But this time that little voice won out. “Alright, Pinkie Pie, let’s duel.”
Twilight and Pinkie Pie quickly made their way to another one of the large duel arenas. Twilight gave her deck a quick shuffle before setting it in place. “Ready, Twilight?” Pinkie asked from the other side of the field.
“Ready.” She replied.
Both mares drew their first fans, starting the game.
“I challenged you, so you can make the first move!” Pinkie called out.
“Thank you.” Twilight looked at her fan, ‘When I dueled Rainbow Dash, I made a mistake by summoning a weak monster in attack mode on my first turn. Better play defensively instead.’ “I summon Basic Insect in defense mode.”
The monster on the field looked like a blend between an ant and a green grasshopper. Its forelimbs ended in clawed paws.
Basic Insect Def: 700
“Aww, it’s so cute!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “My move!” She looked through her fan for awhile then choose her card, “I summon Burglar in attack mode!” Emerging on her field was a brown rat stood on its hind legs wearing pirate’s clothes. On its left arm sat a large metal glove armed with three metal claws.
Burglar Atk: 850
“Burglar, attack her Insect! Thief’s claw!” The rat raised its giant claw and brought it down on Twilight’s Insect, destroying it in the same manner as a stained-glass window.
“My move!” Twilight drew, and was surprised to see, instead of the gold colored monsters she had become used to seeing, a teal green card. ‘That’s right, Duelists can power up their monsters using magic cards like spells and traps.’ She looked back at her fan, ‘Let’s test that concept.’ “I summon Saggi the Dark Clown in attack mode!”
On Twilight’s field emerged a blue earth pony in white clown make-up. A pointed hat covered half of its face and the half that could be seen was sad and frowning.
Saggi the Dark Clown Atk: 600
Pinkie Pie’s monster remained still, while she looked quite baffled, “Um, Twilight? You might want to rethink that move.”
“No, I don’t. Because now I activate the spell card, Horn of the Unicorn!” Twilight placed the card on the square behind her monster. On the card’s artwork was a gold Unicorn horn. “Now my monster is stronger than yours.”
Saggi the Dark Clown Atk: 600 -> 1300
“Saggi! Destroy her monster!” The Dark Clown’s hat shifted revealing the wicked grin on the other side of its face. It raised its hooves and launches a sphere of black energy at Burglar. The rat illusion was sucked into a black hole.
Pinkie Pie LP: 2000 -> 1550
“And just like that, almost a quarter of your life points are gone in one move. Magic Cards, definitely a worthwhile investment.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Pinkie Pie said, drawing her next card, “Because I’ve got a spell card for you, Burden of the Mighty. Now all your monsters will lose attack points equal to their level times a hundred.”
Saggi the Dark Clown Lv. 3 Atk: 1300 -> 1000
“Now I summon, Amazoness Sage.” Pinkie’s new monster was a tan coated Earth Pony mare with a blue mane. A shawl of feathers and rough cloth covered her withers. In her hooves was a wooden staff decorated with more feathers and bits of shell.
Amazoness Sage Atk: 1400
“Sage! Attack Saggi the Dark Clown! Jungle chant!” Her monster began shaking its staff in a rhythmic fashion. For seemingly no reason, Saggi exploded.
Twilight Sparkle LP: 2000 -> 1600
“When Horn of the Unicorn is sent to the discard pile, I return it to the top of my deck instead.”
“Oh good, that’s that rebicycling thing I keep hearing about isn’t it?”
“Uh, sure?” Twilight said as she drew her next card, which of course was Horn of the Unicorn. ‘I can’t let this pony win, otherwise she’ll blab to the whole town that Nightmare Moon is coming back, and then the Princess will have to deal with the panic, and if she’s busy dealing with the panic, she won’t be able to stop Nightmare Moon.’ And that was ignoring the question of if Princess Celestia even could stop Nightmare Moon. ‘I have to stall for time. And I think I know how.’
“I summon Witch of the Black Forest in attack mode.”
A Pegasii mare in dark robes appeared on Twilight’s field. Beneath her purple mane, a third eye could be seen where a Unicorn’s horn would be. Unlike Twilight’s other monster cards, which had a gold outline, this one was decorated with a bronze design. ‘Meaning it has a special ability.’
Witch of the Black Forest Lv. 4 Atk: 1100 -> 700
“That ends my turn.” ‘Come on, take the bait.’
“My move, I set a monster face down in defense mode.” The face-down appeared next to her other monster. “And Amazoness Sage attacks Witch of the Black Forest. Jungle chant!” Once again, Twilight’s monster was destroyed.
Twilight Sparkle LP: 1600 -> 900
“When Witch of the Black Forest is destroyed, its ability activates. I can now add one monster from my deck to my fan, as long as it has one thousand five hundred defense points or less.” She did so, then shuffled her deck as the card instructed. ‘The card I chose was Kabazauls. After factoring in Pinkie’s Burden of the Mighty and my Horn of the Unicorn, it will have two thousand attack points. That should be enough to deal with any of her monsters.’
“I end my turn.” Pinkie Pie declared.
“I draw.” Twilight stared at the card she drew in disbelief; it was even better than Kabazauls. “I summon, Dark Magician in attack mode!” just as in her duel against Rainbow Dash, the blue armored unicorn emerged onto Twilight’s field, its staff held high.
Dark Magician Lv. 7 Atk: 2500 -> 1800
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about your spell card. Remember this?” Twilight played Horn of the Unicorn again, restoring her monster’s attack points.
Dark Magician Atk: 1800 -> 2500
“Now I’ll attack your Sage with my Magician!” The illusionary Unicorn lowered its staff towards the tribal shaman, whose colors were inverted before she exploded into card fragments.
Pinkie Pie LP: 1550 -> 450
“I end my turn.”
“WOWEE!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Talk about a comeback! You’ve definitely got what it takes to be a great duelist Twilight!”
That gave Twilight pause. The thought of her continuing to play this game after this whole thing was over, ‘No. This is just a means to an end. Like those social dinners the nobles have. It’s just a way to get what they- what I want.’
“My move!” Pinkie’s voice brought her back to the moment. “I switch my monster from face-down to face-up defense mode.” The card on her field vanished, her monster materializing in its place. It was a young Earth Pony colt, dressed in a dusty tan robe. In his hoof was a short staff topped with a bird’s skull and ram horns. Certainly, a disturbing monster to look at.
Dharc the Dark Charmer Def: 1500
“Dharc the Dark Charmer’s flip ability activates. That’s an ability that only works when the monster goes from face-down to face-up position.”
“Yeah, I got that.” Twilight said sarcastically, “What’s the ability?”
“I get to take control of a dark attribute monster on your field.”
“What!?”
The eyes of the skull on Pinkie’s monster’s staff started glowing a dark purple color. And Twilight’s Dark Magician floated over from her side of the field to Pinkie’s.
“And since he’s not on your field any more, Burden of the Mighty isn’t weighing him down any more. And he’s still got that Horn of the Unicorn equipped so…”
Dark Magician Atk: 2500 -> 3200
What had once been an ace in the hole had suddenly become a very dangerous enemy.
“I end my turn.”
“I draw.” Twilight managed to get out, weakly. ‘What could possibly save me now?’ She looked at the card she drew. “That’ll work. I play the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light.” Both the Dark Charmer and Dark Magician were suddenly surrounded by swords made of shining light. “For the next three turns, your monsters can’t attack. And I summon Kabazauls in attack mode.” The giant pink hippopotamus opened its mouth in a giant-sized yawn as it took the field.
Kabazauls Lv. 4 Atk: 1700 -> 1300
“That ends my turn.” ‘Three turns, that’s all I have to find a way beat my Dark Magician. Or…’ a smirk traced across her face, ‘the monster controlling my Dark Magician.’ Her current monster was too weak, but if she could find a way to make it stronger or at least get rid of that spell that was weakening it, she might have a chance.
“My draw,” Pinkie said. “You played a good game, Twilight, but I’m afraid that this is where it ends. I play the magic card, Polymirization!” On the field appeared a swirling blue and green vortex. “This is a special card that lets me fuse the two monsters in my fan into one. A fusion monster!” She selected two cards, “Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, and Flame Manipulator;” All Twilight could see was a Unicorn and a Pegasus in armor before they were pulled into the vortex. “combine to form, Flame Swordspony!”
The vortex dissipated to reveal a singular pony standing there. It was a Unicorn stallion, armed with a large orange broadsword with a symbol engraved on the side which looked like two campfires. What was truly worrying was that it stood outside the glowing swords that were preventing her other monsters from attacking.
Flame Swordspony Atk: 1800
“But wait, there’s more! I also equip him with the spell card, Salamandra, boosting his fire by seven hundred points.”
Flame Swordspony Atk: 1800 -> 2500
“Swordspony! Attack!” The warrior charged across the field, its blade catching fire as it ran, and plunged the weapon into Kabazauls hide, shattering it.
Twilight Sparkle LP: 900 -> 0
“Ya-Hoo!” Pinkie cheered, “Thanks for the great duel, Twilight!”
“You’re welcome.” Twilight said as she returned the deck to her saddle bags. This looked like a good time to sneak away before-
“Didn’t we have some kind of a bet made? Oh yeah, you were going to tell me that secret you were hiding.” -that happened. Twilight sighed in defeat, then looked around the area, it looked like everypony had left for the town hall and the Celebration. Nevertheless, she beckoned Pinkie to her side of the field and when she spoke, it was in a whisper.
“This morning, I was reading through this book I found,” she pulled the book out of her saddlebags, “Majesty, Megan, Mare in the Moon and Other Myths. In it is the story of how a thousand years ago, Princess Celestia defeated an evil Pony who wanted to make the night time eternal.”
“Wow, what does that mean?”
“It means she wanted to make it always night.”
“What? But then everything would freeze. Owls would deafen us with their incessant hooting. The town sundial would be useless.”
“… I’m glad you realize how serious this is. The point is, Princess Celestia stopped her a thousand years ago with the Elements of Harmony I mentioned earlier. But then, I found this.” She pulled the second book out of her bag.
“Predictions and Prophecies.”
“Read the entry for Mare in the Moon.”
Pinkie Pie started flipping through the pages, “Lady of the Lake, Mare in the Mirror, Mare in the Moon. Let’s see…Myth…rule Equestria…Elements of Harmony…thousandth- ‘On the longest day of the thousandth year the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal.’ You think this Nightmare Moon meanie is coming back?”
“Yes.” It was weird, here she was telling a perfect stranger about this and she felt like this huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. “I tried to tell Princess Celestia about it, but she just laughed and told me to supervise the Summer Sun Celebration and make some friends.”
“I may be the best party planner in Ponyville, but even I know the end of the world is no time to have a party.” Pinkie looked at her, “Why didn’t you tell anyone about this earlier?”
“I was worried if I did, then ponies would start to panic.”
“You’re right there. A few days ago, a flock of crows landed in town, and everyone was saying that someone had been murdered. It was crazy.”
“Anyway, that’s why I need to get to the library, so I can find out what these Elements of Harmony are and how to use them.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” She grabbed Twilight’s hoof and they started galloping through the empty streets. “To the library!” = = = “And here we are, the Golden Oaks Library!” Twilight was stunned. The ‘library’ was built into a living tree.
“Incredible. This is a genuine Earth Pony Oakenshield home. This must be over a hundred years old, a historical treasure.”
“Uh, Twilight? You’re drooling.”
She quickly wiped her mouth. “Sorry. Now, lets go find that book. In the real, living, Oakenshield home.” Twilight was giddy with excitement. But she had to contain it, the fate of the world was on her shoulders.
The inside of the library was exactly as she expected it to be. Smooth livingwood floor, the walls lined with alcoves lined with books upon books. Apart from the electric lights, there was nothing artificial about the building, pure magic and nature.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”
“Who are you talking to?” Pinkie asked.
“I’m trying to find the librarian.”
“His name was Book Binding, and he moved away about two years ago.”
“Then, who’s the librarian now?”
“No one.”
“NO ONE!?” Twilight was shocked. “Then how do ponies check out books?”
“Check out books?”
“Take them home to read?
“You can take library books home!?”
“…The ponies in this town are crazy. Okay, you look in the history section, and I’ll look in the magic section.”
“Aye-Aye, Captain.” Pinkie gave a quick salute before hopping over to the selves. Twilight went over to the magic section. Or, what should have been the magic section, if it had been maintained, but the two years without a librarian had apparently taken its toll on the organization of the books. Between a basic spell-book and a book on magical flowers was Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet. “Twilight!” Pinkie called out, “Are there supposed to be cookbooks in the history section?”
“No. Just keep looking for anything that might contain information on the Elements of Harmony or the Mare in the Moon.” She looked at the clock, only five hours left before Nightmare Moon was supposed to return. “I hope it is just an old story.” = = = In town hall, the Summer Sun Celebration was in full swing. The sun had gone down, and Ponies were dancing the night away as Fluttershy’s birds sang from the balcony. One pair of dancers was a light green Unicorn mare and a pale-yellow Earth Pony mare.
“What did you say your name was?” The Unicorn asked.
“Bon Bon. I just moved in yesterday.” Bon Bon replied. “Ponyville is a very, different town.”
“That’s what makes it home. I’m Lyra by the way.”
On the other side of the dance floor were the wealthier visitors from Canterlot, keeping their distance from the common riffraff. One of them, a yellow Unicorn mare, found herself striking up a conversation with Upper Crust, a stallion well known for his connections within the fashion industry.
“My marriage was ruined by something really stupid.” She said, mournfully.
“Really, what was it?”
“My husband.”
Back on the dance floor, a brown Earth Pony stallion was watching a group of young fillies and colts dancing together. He turned to the grey Pegasus next to him. “You say that’s your filly?” He pointed out a young filly who bore a strong resemblance to the mare. “How could you have a daughter that age?”
“I didn’t. When I had her she was just a baby.”
A little ways away, Minuet and her friends were chatting with Rarity.
“I must say, darlings, you wear the soft curl style well.” She said. “My little sister has been trying to get her mane to look like that, but she keeps coming out looking like a circus clown.”
“Yeah,” Twinkleshine said, patting her coiffure, “it is really hard to get your mane this soft and puffy. I could show her how if you like.”
“Oh, I’m sure she would love the help.” The group was then approached by Moondancer and Spike. “Hello Moondancer, and hello to you Spike.” The Dragon was once again enamored. “Where is your friend Twilight and Pinkie Pie?”
“After we finished with the preparations, they went off towards the local library.”
“Well, I guess we won’t be seeing her again tonight.” Twinkleshine sighed, “There is no way to drag that pony away from her studies.”
“Really? I would have said the same about Pinkie and parties.”
All conversation and dancing came to a standstill as a chorus of trumpets and bird calls filled the building. “Excuse me.” Rarity said before dashing off. A spotlight traveled down the end of the room before stopping over an older brown Earth Pony mare.
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” Mayor Mare proclaimed, “As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” A great cheer erupted from the local ponies present, while a polite clapping could be heard from the wealthier side of the crowd. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you, the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!”
Rarity pulled back the curtain on the upper balcony as Fluttershy’s birds sang another fanfare. Only for all to see nothing but an empty balcony with no princess. Confused whispers became heard from the townsfolk. “Remain calm everypony,” The mayor said, somewhat nervously, “There must be a reasonable explanation.”
“Is the Princess hiding?” a young filly in a pink bow asked Applejack.
“I don’t know Apple Bloom, I don’t know.”
Rarity stepped out onto the balcony, “She’s gone!” Now the whispering became more worried and vocal. That worry only escalated as a dark blue fog specked with stars began billowing up on the balcony.
The fog grew wider and taller, before splitting apart into two revealing a pony wearing the fog as their mane and tail. Her fur was black as night, and she wore an indigo helmet over her head and a matching breastplate with a gold eye design in the center. Her eyes were a dark blue and cut like snake’s eye. Her cutie mark was an off-white crescent moon over a purple cloud-like blemish. Alarmingly, she stood as tall as Celestia with a horn sharp as a blade and giant wings spread wide making her look even bigger.
The room fell perfectly silent as the mystery mare began to speak. “Oh, my beloved subjects, it’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious little sun loving faces.” She spat out ‘sun loving’ like it was something vile.
“What did you do with our Princess?” Rainbow Dash shouted. She began to fly forwards at the intruder but was stopped as Applejack grabbed her rainbow tail in her mouth.
“Woah there, Nelly” She mumbled through the hair.
The dark mare chuckled a very cold chuckle, “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am!?” She moved towards the balcony where Fluttershy was set up, “Does my crown no longer count that I’ve been imprisoned for a thousand years?”
‘Crown? Imprisoned for a thousand years? What is she talking about?’ Rarity thought to herself but froze when the stranger began addressing her, giving the Unicorn a good look at her sharp, pointed teeth. “Did you not recall the legend?” her chin was grabbed and flicked by the intruder’s ghostly mane, “Did you not see the signs?” She then turned to the crowd, as if expecting somepony to speak up.
“No? How unfortunate. Then I shall tell you; I am the true Queen of the Night, Nightmare Moon!” She pointed out the window where the ponies could see the mare in the moon had vanished, leaving only the white disk. Which was rising higher into the sky. “And I hope you remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever.” After which she started laughing evilly, as the gathered ponies could only look on in horror.
Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie. Let me get you up to speed. Today is the Summer Sun Celebration, the longest day of the year. It’s supposed to be a fun and enjoyable holiday. But Twilight Sparkle learned that this really mean pony, Nightmare Moon, was going to return tonight. She tried to warn the Princess, but instead she was told to oversee the Celebration preparation. That was how she, her Dragon assistant Spike, and her classmate Moondancer met: Applejack, an apple farmer with a big family, Rarity, a dress maker with an eye for all things fancy, Fluttershy, a shy Pegasus who can talk with animals, Rainbow Dash, a totally awesome flier and duelist, and me, Ponyville’s party planner. When Twilight told me about Nightmare Moon, we started looking for clues about the one thing that could stop her, the Elements of Harmony. But I think we're out of time...
Nightmare Moon’s laughter reverberated throughout Ponyville Town Hall. Bursts of lightning struck out from her mane over the cowering civilian’s heads.
“Seize her!” Mayor Mare commanded, “Only she knows where the Princess is.” A trio of Pegasus guards appeared out of nowhere and flew to arrest the intruder.
“Stand back, you foals!” Her eyes glowed white as the lightning struck the guards, throwing them to the ground. Her mane and tail then recollected around her in mist that snaked its way out of the building, her haunting laugh reverberating in its wake.
Only now did the screaming start. Panic quickly spread as ponies started running around wild. Rainbow Dash broke free of Applejack’s hold and flew after the escaping cloud. “Come back here!” She shouted, but the mist had already vanished from sight.
“Nighttime, forever?” Rainbow repeated the black Alicorn’s words. True enough, the now flawless full moon remained high in the sky. The stars which should have been disappearing as the sun rose instead seemed to only be growing brighter and more numerous. Even the sky itself seemed to be darkening, going from a gentle purple to an emptier black.
‘But, how? Why? Who was that?’ Rainbow asked herself, oblivious as the panic spread outside the Town Hall as ponies ran screaming to their homes. ‘She said she was Nightmare Moon. But Nightmare Moon is just a story. Something to keep foals from staying up late on Nightmare Night.’ Her eyes strayed downwards, and she caught sight of a pale-yellow Unicorn carrying a tiny purple and green dragon leave the building, followed closely by a white Unicorn and a familiar yellow Pegasus.
“Now where do ya’ll suppose they’re goin’?” Applejack asked as she trotted under the blue Pegasus.
“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” She said before flying off after the fleeing ponies.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack called to her little sister, “Run home and tell Granny what happened, stay there until I get back!” Applejack then followed the Pony train into town. = = = Nightmare Moon’s smoke-like form moved through the strange town. She had intended to make her grand debut in her old castle; only to find it abandoned and rotting away as the wild nature moved in. Instead she located the nearest village, and wouldn’t you know it, she had found her dear sister.
And while she would have preferred being welcomed back as befitting royalty, she had at least hoped that the populace would have at least some idea as to who she was. No matter, she would just have to inform them of who their new queen-
A bright light shone from within her vaporous form, dispersing it. The light was golden, yet strangely cold, and it came from the eye in her chest piece.
‘My amulet? Why does it speak now?’
The light fell on a near-by market stand. From that stand, a number of small, tough leaflets of paper came flying out and hovering before her. Many of them tore through the odd purses which held them in the process. The leaflets began to glow as spectral figures materialized around them. Nightmare Moon quickly realized she was surrounded.
“Back, spirits!” She commanded as she took a defensive posture, “Whatever you are, you stand no chance against me!”
One of the spirits stepped forwards. “Oracle of the Night.” It said in a hollow, echoing voice. “We will serve you.” To her great surprise, the spirits began bowing before her, then fading as the leaflets stopped glowing and fell to the ground.
Nightmare Moon picked one of them up, the image on it was of a green pony with dark red armor covering their decaying flesh. The backside was a plain brown background with a black oval shape in the center. Nightmare Moon chuckled to herself, “Well well well, somepony who recognizes true power.” = = = Back at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight and Pinkie had made no progress in their search for any material regarding Nightmare Moon or the Elements of Harmony. The delay of the sunrise had only expedited the search. Still nothing.
“Uhg! This is hopeless!” Twilight groaned in frustration. “We don’t stand a chance against Nightmare Moon without the Elements!”
A violent knocking startled the two mares. After catching her breath, Pinkie opened the library’s door, admitting Moondancer, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Applejack into the illuminated interior.
“Pinkie! Miss Twilight! It’s terrible, absolutely terrible!” Rarity exclaimed.
“What happened?” Twilight asked, quietly.
“The Celebration seemed to be going fine, then this evil lookin’ pony appears out a’ nowhere, callin’ herself Nightmare Moon, and says she’s going to make the night last forever. Now the moon’s stopped moving and no one can find the Princess anywhere.” Applejack explained.
Twilight closed her eyes in both sadness and guilt, “We’re too late.”
“You knew!?” Rainbow Dash asked, anger building.
“I feared!” Twilight yelled, tears flying as her eyes snapped open. “I learned Nightmare Moon was going to return and I tried to warn the Princess! I tried…” The Unicorn fell to the floor and started weeping. Spike, Pinkie and Fluttershy went to embrace the broken mare.
“She warned the Princess?” Applejack asked.
“Oh yeah, she didn’t tell you. Twilight is Princess Celestia’s apprentice.” Moondancer explained.
“What does that mean?” Rainbow asked.
“It means she was the Princess’s private student.” Rarity explained. “Learning from her face to face, one on one.” That seemed to register to the blue flier.
Pinkie walked towards the others, “Twilight told me she found an old prophecy foretelling Nightmare Moon’s return, and that the Princess was able to stop her one thousand years ago using something called the Elements of Harmony.”
“Then what are we doing standing around here?” Rainbow took to the air, “Let’s go get these ‘Elements’ and stop Nightmare!”
“Hold it right there, fly-girl!” Applejack grabbed her rainbow tail in her mouth before the pony could go racing off without a plan. “Where are these, Elements?”
“I don’t know!” Twilight said, standing up shakily, “Nothing I read had any details. I don’t know what they are, or where to find them. I don’t even know what they DO.”
“Are you talking about these Elements of Harmony?” At some point, Rarity had moved over to an untouched bookshelf and taken out a red book with gold bindings on the spine. She had opened it to a page and turned it towards the others, displaying an illustration of five hexagon shaped gemstones, all of different colors, over a gold compass design while a sixth gemstone sat in the center.
“How did you find that?” Twilight said as Rarity gave her the book.
“My sister and I were here about a week ago. She found this book and I remember reading about these legendary stones called the Elements of Harmony.”
“Why didn’t you put the book back in it’s spot when you were done?” Moondancer asked.
“I did! I put it back in with the ‘E’s, for Elements.” Moondancer stared, bewildered. “Is, is that not how libraries are organized?”
“Our librarian left town, and we’ve apparently been using the library wrong ever since.” Pinkie explained.
Moondancer felt a great deal of contempt for these ponies. “Barbarians.”
Twilight skimmed through the pages of the book, before finding a promising passage. “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known. Translated from the old Ponish, their names are such: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. Tantalizingly, all records of the sixth have been lost, or are purposely vague. It is said that the last known location of the five known elements, was in the castle of the royal pony sisters.”
“The who?” Rainbow asked, before getting shushed by everyone else.
Twilight kept reading, “It is located in what is now-“ Twilight stopped reading. Even she knew the dangers of this location.
“Where? Where are they?” Pinkie asked.
“The Everfree Forest.”
“THE EVERFREE FOREST!?” The other ponies each shouted together.
“Whas that?” Spike asked.
“It’s a dangerous stretch of land that no pony in their right mind would dare walk into.” Applejack explained. “All kinds of strange and unnatural stuff comes lurking out of there and causing trouble in town.”
“So, it’s right next to Ponyville?” A few nodding heads said yes. “Well that’s convenient. Let’s go.”
“Oh no! You are going straight to bed.” Twilight grabbed the Dragon in her magic and carried him upstairs into a bedroom.
“What? But we’ve got to stop Nigh-Yawn!” Spike’s protest died in his throat as a massive yawn overtook him.
“Spike, you’ve been up all night. You’re still just a baby Dragon.”
“But I want to help.” He said as he was placed in the bed. Twilight found a fresh bedsheet and tucked him in.
“Spike, this may be dangerous. I’ll feel a lot safer knowing you are here, safe.” She kissed him on the head. “Can you do that for me?” Spike didn’t say anything as sleep quickly over-powered him. “Thank you, my number one assistant.”
Twilight returned downstairs. The other ponies watched in silence as she took the book and added it to the other two already in her saddle bags. As she did, she caught sight of the duel deck she had been given. She considered removing it, but some feeling told her to keep it. ‘It’s too small and light to be of any bother.’ She told herself as she put her saddlebags on. “Moondancer. Look after Spike while I’m gone.”
“Be safe, Twilight.”
She turned to the other ponies, “Thank you for your help. I wish you all well on your journeys home.”
“Uh, we’re coming with you.” Rainbow said.
“What? But why?”
“I know we’ve only known you for a day, and none of us have ever been in the Everfree Forest before.” Pinkie said. “But you are still our friend. And as your friends, we are not about to let you go and risk your life without us.” She didn’t let Twilight counter her as she quickly left the library and began walking away, probably towards the Everfree Forest.
“Besides,” Rainbow added, “I want a shot at that Nightmare Moon jerk. She comes into Ponyville and thinks she can just push us around; she’s got another thing coming.” The mare flew off after the pink pony. Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack followed her.
Twilight watched them leave, then shook her head and turned back towards Moondancer. “I guess we will be back as soon as we can.”
“Good luck.” Twilight smiled before closing the door and running after the other mares. While not how she had originally planed it, she was nonetheless glad the others where coming with her. Weird. = = = The Everfree Forest. Located on the south side of Ponyville, a small stream was all that acted as a defense against the mass of trees. It truly looked like a wicked forest out of a fairytale; thick gnarled branches, dark leaves and heavy vines that obscured the sky, rocks and mushrooms sticking out of the ground randomly. There didn’t even seem to be a discernable path they could walk on.
“Last chance if anypony wants to back out.” Twilight said.
“No can do, sugarcube.” Applejack retorted, “We’re sticking to you like caramel on a candy-apple.”
“Did you have to say that?” Pinkie groaned. “Now I’m hungry.”
With that, the six mares entered the Forest. Twilight had never gone hiking before, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Roots sticking out of the ground, waiting to trip her up. Branches hanging too low, whacking her in the face. Random dips in the ground causing her to slide. It was a challenge just to walk, finding The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was looking to be next to impossible.
“So, none of you have been in here before?”
“Ugh, heavens no.” Rarity said, trying to maneuver around a patch of green mushrooms. “Just look at it. It’s dreadful.”
“And it ain’t natural.” Applejack added. “Folks say it don’t work the same as Equestria.”
Twilight suddenly realized that the whole landscape had changed. What had been dense vegetation had suddenly become an empty path on the side of a cliff, with a great drop below them. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She couldn’t keep the fear out of her voice.
“Nopony knows.” Rainbow said, slowly stalking back towards the other ponies in a ‘spooky’ fashion. “And do you know why?”
“Rainbow! Quit it!”
“Cause everypony who’s ever come in.” She continued, “Has never, come, OUT!”
“AAAHHH!!!” The valley below was filled with the ponies’ screams.
“All right! That’s enough!” Applejack chastised the Pegasus again. “We’re all jumpy enough without you scaring everypony!” She turned her attention to the pile of quivering mares. “Now don’t ya’ll listen to her. My Granny Smith comes into this forest almost every year, and she told me that most of the stories folks say about the Everfree are just that, stories.”
“But, they can’t all just be stories, can they?” Pinkie asked.
“Now listen here, I’m not gonna lie to you and say that everything is fine and that there’s nothing dangerous in this here forest. But I am gonna tell you that if we don’t keep moving forwards, then that Nightmare creature is going to take over Equestria, and we’ll never see the sun again. Now, ya'll can either go back home and stay safe, no one will think any less of ya. Or, you can keep going, and help us stop this evil night.”
Twilight wasn’t sure this blunt honesty was going to work, but to her surprise, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy all let go of each other and continued trotting.
“That was amazing!” She said, “How did you know…”
“That telling them the truth would work? I didn’t. But it’s better that they know the truth than putting their faith on a lie to keep them calm.”
Twilight could see the logic in that, and she now had a deeper respect for this mare who before this had seemed like just a simple country girl. She trotted after the other five, feeling like there was some hope for their little band after all. She didn't hear the low roar coming from down below in the valley.
Twilight wasn’t sure how long they had been in the forest. She doubted that the moon had moved since Nightmare Moon had returned, so she couldn’t use that to gauge the time. She figured it mustn’t have been more than twenty minutes, but with dirty hooves, leaves caught in her mane, and listening to Rainbow Dash’s story of how she allegedly saved a basket of puppies from going over a waterfall, it felt like over an hour.
“…then I loop-d-looped around and WHAM!” Rainbow illustrated with a small aerial backflip, “Rainbow Dash saved the day again.”
“Oh dear, I hope you didn’t frighten those poor little puppies by flying too fast.” Fluttershy said.
“Twilight, dear,” Rarity called out from the rear of the group, “Are you alright? You seem a little distracted.”
“Sorry. I guess I’m just worried, about Princess Celestia, and about how the rest of Equestria is doing. I mean, you all know what’s going on because Nightmare Moon appeared right before you and told you. But what about Canterlot and the other cities? All they know is that the sun hasn’t risen. They might not even know that Princess Celestia is missing!”
Rarity climbed her way through a patch of low hanging vines to bring herself next to Twilight. “Don’t worry yourself so much, darling. I have full faith in the ponies of a refined city like Canterlot to deal with this problem as calmly and efficiently as we are.” = = = Meanwhile in Canterlot...
“Come on, come on!” A silver furred Unicorn said as he and his friends tried to lower the moon with their magic. “If they could do it a thousand years ago so can we!” The others poured more magic into their spell as other students of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns ran across the campus.
Two of them were a pair of sisters, one with a red mane, the other purple. They carried several scrolls and textbooks in their magic. These were brought to the courtyard where the sounds of panicked screaming could still be heard from the city proper. More students were gathered, each carrying something magically related.
“This is everything we could find on light and heating magic!” the red-maned mare said.
“Thank you, Cherry Bomb, Grape Shot.” One of the stallions said. “Now, if we enchant these fire gems with Lumious’s Rain-Splitter and a Morning Glory charm, we should have a working prototype for a new sun. Come on ponies, let’s get to work!” = = = “I hope you’re right.”
“You’re welcome, Twilight. Now, which way to this castle we’re looking for?”
Twilight stopped in her tracks. She quickly opened her saddle bags and only found the three books and the Duel Monsters deck. “No. No, No, NO!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t have a map! We’ve been walking blindly for the last half hour.” Every pony began looking around them, as the forest suddenly seemed to be a lot denser and creepier than it had been. Twilight continued to berate herself. “Ugh! How foolish could I have been. Was I just expecting there to be a convenient path that would take us straight to the Elements? Of course there wouldn’t be!”
“Twilight! Calm down! I think I remember seeing something that looked like a map in that book I read. And it I’m wrong I’m sure Miss Dash here would be more than willing to fly up over the trees and see if she could see the castle.”
Twilight managed to slow her breathing, “Thank you, Rarity.” She pulled the red covered book out of her saddlebags and began flipping through the pages. Sure enough, between photos of old ruins and drawings of long forgotten artifacts were detailed maps of the areas in question. “Yes! A topographical map of The Castle of the Two Sisters and the surrounding area.”
“Top hat what?” Rainbow asked.
“Topographical,” Applejack answered, “It means it shows us the elevation of the land, where to look out for steep hills, ravines and rivers.”
Twilight lit up her horn with magic so she could see it better, “Okay, here’s where the Castle is supposed to be. Applejack, you’re more familiar with the local terrain than I am. Can you take a look?”
“Sure. Okay, this flat area is definitely Ponyville. So that must be the river we crossed when we first entered. And that’s that gully we passed. So that means we must be here, and to get to those Elements we just have to keep going southwest.”
“And since the moon was already starting to set in the west when Nightmare Moon escaped, and it hasn’t moved since then, we can use that as a guild.” She put the book away. “Come on, everypony, let’s keep moving!” She said, pushing aside a tree branch, only to find a large leonine figure in the way.
Its fur was golden brown while its thick mane was a dull red. It suddenly rose onto its hind limbs spreading a pair of leathery bat wings, revealing this to be no ordinary lion.
“A manticore!” Twilight screamed, as the beast let out a throaty roar. “We’ve got to get past it.” Fluttershy became distressed on hearing Twilight’s declaration.
The manticore suddenly lunged for the nearest pony, who happened to be Rarity. Her instincts told her to duck, causing a powerful swipe from the monster’s right paw to just barely miss her. Still running on instincts, she kicked out with her back legs, striking the beast in the muzzle. At this point her brain caught up to what her body was doing, and she started running. The large predator pursuing closely behind her.
“Wait!” Fluttershy whispered as the two passed her.
Applejack quickly jumped on top of the creature’s shoulders, stopping it in its pursuit and instead focusing its attention on the pony pulling at its mane.
“Yeeha! Git along little doggy!” Applejack called in sheer glee.
“Wait!” Fluttershy once again said.
The manticore began hopping around the forest like a bullfrog, bashing into trees to try and shake Applejack off. Eventually this worked and the farm pony went sailing. “All yours, partner.” She said as she passed Rainbow Dash.
“I’m on it!” she said, eagerly as she dived down into fray.
“Wait!” This time Fluttershy spoke at a volume that in normal circumstances, would have been heard by a pony. But with Rainbow Dash flapping past her, everypony’s attention on the manticore, and the manticore’s growling, her call once again went unheard.
Everypony looked on, still in the same spot they started in as none of them had been able to distract the monster for more than a few seconds. Now, Rainbow Dash was flying circles around it, leaving a rainbow contrail behind her. This kept the creature contained in a blender of colors.
Unfortunately, Rainbow hadn’t seen the creature’s tail, which was red, armored and held a venomous stinger at the end. As the monster tried to escape its multichromatic prison, it lashed out its tail, whacking the Pegasus back towards the group.
“Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed in concern. She landed roughly on her stomach. The manticore hadn’t stung her, thankfully, but now this was getting ridiculous. The manticore lowered its head, growling. Twilight and Applejack both kicked dirt with their front hooves, before they, Rainbow and Rarity all began charging at the monster, with Pinkie Pie bouncing along behind them. They were about halfway there when-
“WAAAAAAIT!”
Fluttershy ran out in front of the herd and placed herself between them and the predator. The ponies were all shocked, some because they had forgotten she was even there, and others because they had never heard the Pegasus that loud before.
She turned to the manticore, a smile on her face as she slowly trotted up to it. It growled and raised its paw again to strike her. Everypony covered their eyes, unable to see such a soft mare get hit.
“Shh, it’s okay.” Fluttershy said, caringly, not to her friends, but the vicious monster they were fighting. She began sniffing at its left paw, which he then held out to her, revealing a large thorn embedded in the paw pad. “Oh you poor, poor little baby.” She said.
The other ponies were dumbstruck. “Little?” Rainbow asked.
“Now this might hurt for just a second.” She wrapped her teeth around the thorn before pulling it out. The Manticore let out a roar as it lifted her up in both its paws.
“Fluttershy!” Their concerns proved to be unfounded as the creature began purring and licking the Pegasus’s mane.
“Oh-hoho! You’re just big old kitty cat, aren’t you? Yes you are. Yes you are.”
With the ‘monster’ pacified, the ponies began to trot passed it and in the direction of the castle. Twilight waited for Fluttershy to leave the manticore alone so she could ask a question. “How did you know about the thorn?”
“I didn’t.” She answered, her mane thoroughly matted from the licking. “But sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”
Twilight thought on that for a moment, before realizing, she was right. The manticore might only have been attacking them because it was hurt. She knew her brother, Shining Armor, could get very short tempered if he had lost a sparring match in training. Maybe what applied to ponies could apply to everyone, even monsters and animals. = = = As the ponies marched on, the forest grew darker and darker. More than once, they found themselves tripping over a root or stumbling into a bush. Even Rainbow Dash found she had to land just to keep her wings from getting tangled in vines and branches.
“Ugh! This stinks!” She whined, “We could be walking right past that old castle and never even know it! I hate the night!”
“Then quit yer yappin’ and move along.” Applejack chastised, “The sooner we find that castle, the sooner we find them Elements, rescue the Princess, and defeat that no good- er, monster? Witch? What exactly is Nightmare Moon supposed to be any way?”
“A princess, apparently.” Twilight answered.
“Woah woah woah, What!?” Rainbow was shocked, “She can’t be a princess. There’s only one princess.”
“I know that. But apparently, there used to be two.”
“Oh! Oh! Can I tell the story? Pretty please?” Pinkie was bouncing around like an eager school filly, her hooves already grabbing the book on Mythology from Twilight’s bag.
“Um, sure. Go ahead.”
“Thank you.” Pinkie opened the book and began reading aloud as the mares continued walking.
“’Many years ago, in the magical land of Equestria,’”
“History? Ugh lame!” Rainbow jeered, rolling her eyes.
“Shh!” Rarity and Fluttershy both shushed her.
“’There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land…’” as Pinkie read The Tale of The Two Sisters, the other girls who hadn’t been aware of the full picture, suddenly felt, less sure of themselves.
“So, Nightmare Moon used to be this younger princess. And she felt unappreciated for her work and became evil to get back at her sister and those ponies who scorned her.” Rarity summarized. “I hate to admit it, but I believe I can see where she’s coming from.”
“Are you serious?” Rainbow asked.
“Absolutely.” Rarity agreed. “How would you feel if you poured your heart and soul into making something, or doing something, and somepony else got praised and had their efforts called ‘Glorious,’ ‘Beautiful,’ and ‘Awesome!’ while your own efforts earned an ‘eh’?”
Rainbow looked down at that, “I guess I’d feel really bad.”
“I’d wonder, ‘What did I do wrong?’” Twilight added.
“Exactly. She must have felt terrible. For a princess not to be loved by her ponies, I’m not surprised she, broke.”
“It might have been more than just them not appreciating her night.” Twilight added, “They might have been afraid of her. There’s a reason that period of pony history is called The Dark Ages. Ponies were scared of everything, especially the things associated with the night.”
“Things like dark forests that no pony comes out of?” Fluttershy asked, having noticed that it was now almost too dark to see.
Off in the distance, a faint howl was heard. “Or of wild animals hunting lone fillies?” Applejack asked, getting closer to the other fillies.
Twilight watched a pair of glowing yellow eyes track their movements from the treetops. “And of m-monsters attacking towns in the dark.”
Rarity caught a glimpse of something moving through the underbrush. “And ruffians and bandits, stealing and pillaging from travelers.”
Rainbow was shaking in her feathers. “And of ghosts and ghouls and other spooks and stuff?” She stopped shaking and strutted forwards without a care. “Well it’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about that stuff, huh?” She walked about four hands before bumping into a tree. A tree that was glowing with a round mouth filled with dagger sharp teeth.
“Gahh!” Rainbow scurried back, drawing the other ponies’ attention to the wicked tree. And to the one behind it. And the two next to it. And the ones behind them. Suddenly, the whole forest seemed to be snarling at them with barred teeth.
All of the mares had backed up into each other’s flanks as they screamed. The snarling trees surrounding them and advancing in the darkness. They suddenly heard the sound of, laughing? Away from them, Pinkie Pie had walked right up to a tree and was laughing and giggling at it while making weird faces while it continued to snarl.
“Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!” Twilight implored the Earth Pony.
“Oh girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie said before shaking her hips and…
“When I was a little filly and the sun was going down,”
“Tell me she’s not-“
“The darkness and the shadows they would always make me frown.”
“She is.”
“I’d hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way to deal with fears at all.”
“Then what is?”
“She said, ‘Pinkie, you got to stand up tall. Learn to face your fears. You’ll see that they can’t hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear.’”
Pinkie then gave out a few laughs and in doing so, the trees did start to look less frightening.
“So, giggle at the ghostly, Guffaw as the grossly, Crack up at the creepy, Whoop it up with the weepy, Chortle at the kooky, Snortle at the spooky.”
With each encouragement, each of the girls found that, Pinkie was right. Laughing at their fears made them seem less frightening. Evil eyes turned into harmless critters, supposed ghosts turned to clouds, and menacing trees were just trees.
“And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave ya-lone and if he thinks he can scare you then he’s got another thing coming and just the very idea of such a thing makes you wanna, hahahahaha! Laugh!”
By this point, everyone had forgotten what they were even scared of and were just laying on the ground laughing with each other. = = = Still in high spirits, the group continued to travel through the Everfree. The intense darkness returned to the usual level of darkness, and they were making good time. Right up until they hit the river. At least 6 meters across, the river was in a state of flooding, with small waves frothing at each other and the river itself threatening to break its banks and soak the mares.
“How are we gonna cross this?” Pinkie asked. The others began looking around for a smaller section of river or a conveniently place log they could cross. They had only been searching for a few seconds before the sound of crying could be heard.
Further upstream, they found a giant purple scaled tail thrashing in the river. Attached to that tail was a sea serpent. His hair and moustache were orange and styled in a manner that suggested hair-gel. And indeed, he did seem to be the source of the crying. “Oh what a world! What a WORLD!” He wailed slamming his claws into the surf.
“Excuse me, sir.” Twilight addressed the creature, the fact that he could speak and Fluttershy’s display with the manticore leading her to try diplomacy. “Why are you crying?”
The serpent turned to the ponies, apparently not at all bothered that six pony mares were suddenly talking to him in the middle of the darkest and most foreboding forest in the known world.
“Well, I don’t know.” He said. Now that he had calmed down a bit, they could see he was at least seven meters tall, and that was just what was out of the water. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little could of purple smoke just whooshed past me, and tore half of my beloved moustache, clean off!” he pointed to the spot where the right side of his moustache should be, but where instead was a hairy stump. “And now, I look simply horrid!” He then fell backwards into the river and continued crying and churning the river. The splash from his landing utterly soaked the ponies.
“Oh, gimme a break.” Rainbow muttered.
“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Applejack asked.
Rarity suddenly was upon the two with angry eyes. “Why of course it is! How can you be so insensitive?” She turned her nose up at the two, strutted over to the serpent and began petting him. “Why just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales.”
“Sniff, I know.”
“Your expertly coiffed mane.”
He stopped crying and began grooming himself. “Oh! I know. I know.”
“Your fabulous manicure.”
“It’s so true.” he was practically gushing now.
“All ruined without your beautiful moustache.”
“It’s true, I’m hideous!”
Rarity narrowed her eyes, “I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected.” Rarity then shocked everyone by biting the sea serpent and pulling off one of his scales.
“Ow! What did you do that for?” he inquired.
Rarity held the scale in her teeth and reeled her head back, the scale shimmering in the moonlight like a polished sword.
“Rarity! What are you-?” Everyone’s mouths hit the dirt as Rarity swung the scale like an ax with a metal *shing* sound. The sea serpent flailed his arms as he fainted. On the ground was Rarity’s severed tail hair. She spat out the scale and levitated the tail to the stump of the serpent’s moustache. Using a bit of magic, her tail attached itself, balancing out the intact side.
“Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho! My moustache! How wonderful!” he cheered.
“You look smashing.” Rarity complimented.
“Oh, Rarity! Your beautiful tail.” Twilight said. Now Rarity only had a short plume of purple locks to her posterior.
“Oh, it’s fine my dear, cocktails are in this season.” Rarity assured her companions, “Besides, it’ll grow back.”
“So would the mustache.” Rainbow commented, wondering if this encounter was entirely necessary. Twilight truly didn’t care, as she found Rarity’s generous sacrifice quiet charming and caring. Her attention was then drawn to the river which was no longer flooding.
“We can cross now.” She was about to start wading when a large scaly body placed itself in front of her.
“Oh please! Allow me.” The ponies walked across the serpent’s body and crossed the river without getting their hooves wet(ter). = = = As they continued on, they found that the trees were growing further apart, and looked far tamer and more natural than when they first entered. Then, all at once, they saw it. “There it is!” Twilight declared. “The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. We made it.” Atop a misty hill in front of them, sat a crumbling set of stone walls and wooden doors. Certainly not the castle some of the girls were expecting, but never-the-less Twilight was right, they had made it through the Everfree. Twilight was so excited she began galloping off on her own.
“Twilight! Wait for us!” Applejack called, she and the others joining the run.
“We’re almost there. WOAH!” Twilight was so excited she completely missed the misty ravine and the fallen rope bridge. She just barely managed to stop herself from running off the edge before Rainbow grabbed her tail and pulled her back.
“Now what?” Pinkie asked.
“Duh.” Rainbow said, wiggling her feathers in her face before taking off. She dove into the mist and grabbed the severed end of the bridge. She then carried it to the other side and began to tie it off on the stone pillars which had stood the test of time.
“Rainbow.” Sung a voice from nowhere.
“Who’s there?”
“Rainbow.” Sung again, seemingly from everywhere.
“I ain’t scared of you.” She said, kicking her hooves at the growing fog. “Show yourself!”
By now the voice was calling her from an actual spot. “We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flier in Equestria.”
“Who?”
“Why you, of course.”
“Really?” she asked excitedly. “I mean, uh yeah, me.” She knew she was fast, and would sometimes boast that she was the fastest, but for someone else (who wasn’t her parents) to finally say it. “Hey, uh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? Cause, like, I’ve been trying to get into that group for like, EVER.”
“No, Rainbow Dash, we want you to join us.” Out of the mist came three Pegasi wearing furtight suits in black and purple. Jagged gold lightning bolts adorned their necks and shoulders. Over their eyes, they wore pointed yellow goggles. On their flanks over their cutie marks was a print of a skull with white wings. “Shadowbolts.” The middle pony, the only mare was the one who had been speaking. “We’re the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest. And soon we will be the greatest in ALL Equestria. But first, we need a captain.”
The implications of that statement made Rainbow’s eyes sparkle.
“The most magnificent,” The Shadowbolt said, flying around Rainbow.
“Yep.”
“Swiftest,”
“Yes.”
“Bravest flier in all the land.”
“Yes, it’s all true.”
“We need, you.” This last word was whispered in Rainbow’s ear.
“Whoohoo! Sign me up!” Rainbow cheered. “Just let me tie this bridge real quick, and then we have a deal.”
“NO!” The Shadowbolt was suddenly right up in her face and looking very sinister. “It’s THEM or US!” The sheer venom dripping from her words were making Rainbow cower.
“Rainbow!” Across the ravine, she could barely see the other girls through the fog, still waiting for her. “What’s taking so long?”
Twilight couldn’t see much from where she was, but she could see Rainbow and three strange pony-like figures standing on nothing.
“Oh no.”
The Shadowbolt looked towards the girls and her goggles flashed a sinister light. The fog and mist suddenly rose and blocked off all contact with the other side of the bridge.
“Rainbow! Don’t list-“ Her words were cut off as the clouds filled the gap.
Rainbow grew quiet, her thoughts juggling her two options.
“Well?” they asked.
“you.” An awful smile grew on their faces. “Thank you, for the offer I mean.” Rainbow then went straight back to securing the bridge. “But I’m afraid I have to say no.” She then flew across the restored bridge and landed with a small little pose.
“Rainbow, what happened over there?” Fluttershy, of all ponies, asked.
“Don’t worry about it, I’d never leave my friends hanging.”
“But you were talking to ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” She looked back across the bridge. The Shadowbolts were still there, but now she could see that the fog was moving through them, and although they appeared to be sitting, their hooves weren’t touching the ground.
Applejack crossed the bridge and waved her hoof through them like they weren’t even there. “What are they?”
“The Misguiding Mist.” Twilight explained, “It’s a very old magic that shows you your deepest desire or something close to it, then leads you down the wrong path or makes you abandon all you hold dear.” She looked at Rainbow, “I’ve never heard of anyone but the best sorcerers being able to break out of their influence on their own.”
“Oh. Well that’s cool.” Rainbow said. “Come on, lets keep going.”
“Wait!” Twilight turned back to the ‘Shadowbolts.’ “The Misguiding Mists can’t just appear out of nowhere. Somepony cast it, recently.”
They slowly made their way inside the ruins. The inside seemed much more intact than the outsides. Stone pillars rose out of the ground to hold up a nonexistent ceiling. The windows had long lost their glass, but the frames themselves were still intact.
“Come on, Twilight.” Applejack encouraged. “Isn’t this what you’ve been waiting for?”
In the center of the ruins was a short pillar topped with a stone sphere. Extending out from that pillar were five arms also ending in stone spheres. Each of the smaller spheres was decorated by the imprint of a differently shaped gemstone.
“The Elements of Harmony. We found them.” Rainbow and Fluttershy both flew over to the stones and began to carry them down to the ground. One was engraved with a typical gemstone shape, another with a diamond like Rarity’s cutie mark, the third had an upside-down triangle, next an elongated hexagon, then an octagon, then there was no more.
“One, two, three, four, there’s only five.” Pinkie confirmed.
“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow questioned, her voice echoing off the stony ruins.
Twilight pulled the book out of her saddle bags and began flipping through the pages. “The book says, ‘When the five are present a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed.’” She then returned the book and laid down on the ground before the stone orbs.
“What in the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked.
“I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back, I don’t know what will happen.” She then ignited her horn and held it before the orbs.
“Come on now ya’ll,” Applejack said, ushering the others back outside, “She needs to concentrate.”
“What? Leaving so soon?” Twilight stopped her spell and looked up, the other five quickly turned around to face the intruder.
Stepping out of the shadows was Nightmare Moon herself. Her pace was slow, like she was simply walking into a bakery.
For Twilight and Pinkie, this was their first time seeing the Mare from the Moon themselves, thus they were frozen in awe and fear. Fluttershy and Rarity were equally petrified. While Applejack was quick to run back to Twilight’s side and Rainbow Dash flew straight towards the black pony. She got within two meters before slamming into a blue bubble made from magic.
“Ah. I remember you.” She said to the pony pancake, “You were there when I returned.” She then pushed the bubble outwards, sending Rainbow back to her friends. “As was the farmer, and the two beauties in the back.” Fluttershy and Rarity both pulled back a little. “But the rest of you,” she turned her attention towards Twilight, “You’re new.”
“Um, hi! I’m Pinkie Pie.”
“Hello.” She didn’t move an inch. “And you, who knows about the Elements of Harmony. What is your name?”
She gulped before standing up. “I am Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to Princess Celestia. I saw the signs of your return, and I promise, I will stop you.”
“Twilight.” She mulled over the word like she was savoring a flavor. “The time between light and dark. The witching hour, as they used to call it.” She smiled a toothy smile. “How poetic.”
“Enough!” Applejack said, stepping in front of Twilight. “Where’s the sixth Element?”
“Oh, my little pony.” Princess Celestia often used that phrase to describe her subjects. Twilight always found it cute and motherly. To hear it from Nightmare Moon was just, disturbing. “The sixth Element can only be found ‘once the spark unites the other five.’” She rolled her eyes, “I still don’t know what she meant by that.”
The giant of a pony began slowly walking forwards. “I really should be congratulating you all. Not many ponies are foolish enough to enter the Everfree Forest, or lucky enough to make it this far.” She stopped. “So, I am going to make a deal with you.” Everyone somehow became more alert. “In the thousand years I’ve been imprisoned, there have been many changes to the world. One of which I am very interested in.” She suddenly pulled something out of the shadows with her magic. It was a deck of cards. A deck of cards with the back decorated with a brown background and a black oval.
“Duel Monsters?” Rainbow asked from the ground.
“Indeed.” Nightmare Moon confirmed. “I will allow you one free shot at awakening the sixth Element and using the Elements against me if you can defeat me in a game of Duel Monsters. If you lose, then I will take the Elements for myself.”
“I assure you, young Twilight,” She lowered her head so she was eye level with the Unicorn, “I am quite serious.”
“I’ll duel you!” Rainbow said, getting up. “And I’ll mop the floor with ya!” She reached for her deck holder, only to find it wasn’t there. “Oops, I left my deck at home.”
Twilight slowly turned to her own saddlebags, before pulling out the duel deck. “I’ll duel you. If you promise to uphold your end of the bargain.”
“I swear it on my crown as a Princess of Equestria.”
Twilight held out her hoof, which was then taken by Nightmare Moon and the two shook to confirm the deal.
“Twilight you can’t do this.” Rainbow complained, “You just started dueling today.”
“Then the advantage is mine. She hasn’t dueled at all.”
“Let us move this match somewhere more appropriate.” Nightmare Moon said, “Take the Elements and follow me.” She then walked back into the shadowy hallway, closely followed by Twilight. The others were quick to each pick up an orb and follow the two to the single most important game of Duel Monsters ever played.
The winged Unicorn lead them to a higher part of the ruined castle. Golden yellow tapestries depicting the sun hung next to navy blue tapestries decorated by the moon and stars. Twilight paid these remnants of the distant past little mind, as she was focused on the task at hoof; defeating Nightmare Moon in a duel.
“I’m still confused.” Fluttershy whispered from the rear of the procession as they began ascending a spiral stairwell. “What is ‘Duel Monsters?’”
“It’s a card game that colts and fillies play.” Applejack explained. “What ah can’t figure out is, why is Nightmare Moon so interested in it?”
“She’s a pony who has been banished from the entire world for one thousand years, Applejack.” Rarity commented. “I would imagine there is much about this world that fascinates her.”
“Yeah, but a filly’s card game?”
“We are here.” Nightmare Moon declared. The ponies found themselves in a large open room, a few tree branches stuck through the shattered windows. A raised dais sat at the far end of the room. “This was once a grand ballroom.” She explained, a touch of emotion in her voice. She then levitated her deck to Twilight. “I believe it is customary for us to shuffle our opponent’s deck?”
Twilight looked over at Pinkie, who nodded. “Very well.” She gave her deck to the dark princess and took hers in exchange. They each gave the decks a few quick shuffles before giving them back. Nightmare Moon then took flight and landed on the dais. She then used her magic to levitate two pieces of broken pillar in front of each of them, the stones were large enough to act as a table for their decks.
“Are you prepared, Twilight Sparkle?” She said, the golden eye at the center of her chest-piece glowing eerily.
“I am.” She said, confidently. Both mares placed down their decks. “Let’s duel!” They both drew five cards and the duel had officially begun.
As she said these words, a shadow seemed to fall over the room. The other ponies noticed it and began to shiver.
“None shall go before the Princess of the Night!” Nightmare Moon declared. “I summon Trial of Nightmare in attack mode!” A navy-blue mist blew out from the card before solidifying into a silver longsword. Its hilt was rigid and green while its cross-guard looked like a horned skull. The eyes of the skull glowed an evil red.
Trial of Nightmare Atk: 1300
“I then place one card facedown and end my turn.” Another cloud of mist condensed into the familiar facedown card.
“Then I draw.” She looked at her fan. “I summon Ryu-Kishin in attack mode.” A violet mist flowed out of her card before condensing into a gargoyle figure with leathery bat wings, a stone horn growing out the top of its head, and its lips pulled back in a toothy snarl.
Ryu-Kishin Atk: 1000
“I’m afraid you’ve made an error. That creature isn’t strong enough to take out my blade.” Nightmare Moon taunted.
“It will be. I play the spell card Negative Energy.” As she played this, Ryu-Kishin glowed with a black energy. “This card doubles the attack points of a dark attribute monster on my field.”
Ryu-Kishin Atk: 1000 -> 2000
“Ryu-Kishin, Attack her Trial of Nightmare!” The gargoyle spread its wings and flew across the field before slashing at Nightmare’s monster. The blade shattered into metal fragments before returning to smoke.
Nightmare Moon LP: 2000 -> 1300
“I now place one card facedown and end my turn. At which point my spell wears off and Ryu-Kishin returns to its original attack points.”
Ryu-Kishin Atk: 2000 -> 1000
“Hold on a minute.” Rainbow said, “They’re just playing with the cards. So how come the cards are coming to life like they’re in a duel arena?”
“I saw your arenas.” Nightmare Moon called out. “And while it is an interesting used of magic, it’s nothing that I cannot replicate.”
“Now, my draw! I summon Sand Stone in attack mode.” Appearing from the mist was a massive pile of, well, sandstone. Several green whip-like tendrils grew out of its right arm while three long claws grew out of its left. Its maw was filled with sharp teeth while a second mouth rose out of where the tail should be.
Sand Stone Atk: 1300
“Now it’s time for me to cast a spell card, Cursed Armaments!” Ryu-Kishin was suddenly dressed in purple armor decorated with a cruel looking face. “The monster equipped with this card losses 600 attack points for each monster I control.”
Ryu-Kishin Atk: 1000 -> 400
“Sand Stone, feast!” The mass of sand crawled forwards and lunged. Ryu-Kishin raised its arm in an attempt to block, but it proved fruitless as the gargoyle was consumed by the living desert.
Twilight LP: 2000 -> 1100
“Gah!” Twilight screamed in pain.
“Twilight!” Her friends called out in concern.
“I-I felt that.” She looked at her opponent. “What did you do?”
“It won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re asking.” Nightmare responded, sounding utterly bored, “Just enough of a jolt to keep things interesting.”
“As if this duel wasn’t serious enough.” She muttered, looking back at the five stone orbs her friends carried, the Elements of Harmony. “I activate my trap card, Jar of Greed.” Her facedown card flipped up revealing a crimson red jar laced with gold lines and filled with jewels and bits. A grinning face adorned one section of the jar’s surface. “This lets me draw one additional card.”
“Grasping at straws, are we? I end my turn.”
“Then I draw. I set one monster face down and end my turn.”
“That’s it? I must say I’m disappointed. I draw,” her eyes narrowed at what she drew, “and I summon Nightmare Horse to the field in attack mode.”
Appearing out of the card was a prehistoric ghost. Its body made of ethereal blue flames, it looked like a pony, but its legs were longer and thinner, its head longer and more animalistic. Gauze strips covered its body like an unraveling mummy.
Nightmare Horse Atk: 500
“Now, Sand Stone, destroy her facedown.” The monster moved across the field and raised its clawed arm, only for it to be stopped by an orange forcefield. “What?”
“Bad move, Nightmare. The monster I played was Aussa the Earth Charmer.” Pinkie Pie smiled as the monster was revealed. She was a young Earth Pony, with sandy fur and a messy brown mane. She wore an earth green turtleneck sweater and a beige jacket like cloak. A pair of glasses sat on her muzzle and she carried a staff that had several orange and brown crystals bound together by a torn piece of her sweater.
Aussa the Earth Charmer Def: 1500
Nightmare Moon LP: 1300 -> 1100
“And now Aussa’s flip effect activates. I can take control of one Earth Attribute monster on your field.”
Aussa tapped the butt of her staff into the ground, causing the crystals on the other end to glow. She then began waving the staff around in differing arcs, Sand Stone’s face following the light even though it had no eyes. The living rock then slid onto Twilight’s side of the field and Aussa sat atop its head scratching it like a pet.
“You will pay for that.” Nightmare Moon seethed. “Nightmare Horse! Attack!”
“But Nightmare Horse doesn’t have nearly enough attack points to take down either of Twilight’s monsters.” Rarity observed.
The specter galloped across the room before jumping over both Aussa and Sand Stone. It landed in front of Twilight and began kicking its forelegs.
“Gah!” Twilight screamed as the flames from the monster’s body licked at her.
“Nightmare Horse has an effect which lets it attack my opponent directly, even if she has monsters on the field.” Nightmare explained.
Twilight LP: 1100 -> 600
“I end my turn.” Nightmare Horse trotted back over to Nightmare Moon’s side of the field.
Twilight was still shaking from the attack. “Twilight! Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight looked back at her and the rest of them and smiled.
“I’ll be alright. I draw!” She looked at the card she had drawn and then at the other cards in her hand. “I switch Sand Stone to defense mode,” The living rock lowered its head. “and I switch Aussa the Earth Charmer to attack mode.” Aussa held her staff out in an aggressive manor.
Sand Stone Def: 1600
Aussa the Earth Charmer Atk: 500
“Then I play the spell card, Prevention Star.” Three small stars began circling Sandstone and Nightmare Horse. “As long as this card is equipped to Sand Stone, your Horse cannot attack or switch its position.”
“Yes!” Rainbow cheered. “Now she doesn’t have to worry about getting attacked directly.”
“More than that, Rainbow. I play the spell card, Riryoku! Here’s how it works, I target one monster on your side of the field, and its attack points get cut in half. Then those lost points get added to one monster on my side of the field.”
Nightmare Horse began to glow a sickly green and wisps of energy flowed into Aussa who glowed with a black energy.
Nightmare Horse Atk: 500 -> 250
Aussa the Earth Charmer Atk: 500 -> 750
“Aussa! Destroy her Nightmare Horse!” The young mage fired a spark of orange energy out of her staff which hit the undead monster.
Nightmare Moon LP: 1100 -> 600
“Uhg!” For the first time that duel, Nightmare Moon reacted to the damage being dealt to her, even if it was only a flinch.
“I end my turn, which returns my monster’s attack points to where they were.”
Aussa the Earth Charmer Atk: 750 -> 500
“You got this Twilight!” Applejack cheered.
“We believe in you.” Fluttershy encouraged.
“I’ve had enough of this. My draw. I summon Master Kyonshee in attack mode!” Emerging from the magical mist was a sickly yellow Unicorn. Its hooves were shaven and green in color. Its mane was oily black and tied into a long braid. It wore a purple chineighs style suit and hat. Its face was covered by a piece of paper that was stuck to its forehead and covered in a series of inky red brush strokes.
Master Kyonshee Atk: 1750
“Master Kyonshee, eliminate the traitor.” The eastern monster began hopping across the field where it slashed at Sand Stone with its sharp hooves. It then hopped back to its mistress’s side.
“When the monster equipped with Prevention Star is destroyed, instead of being sent to the graveyard it is removed from play.” Twilight explained as Aussa landed on the ground before her.
“What does she mean, removed from play?” Rarity asked.
“It’s not very common, but sometimes a card will say that instead of being put in the discard pile, a card is removed from the game entirely.” Pinkie Pie explained.
“I end my turn.” Nightmare Moon said.
“My draw. I summon Enchanting Mermaid in defense mode.” The same piscine monster from her duel against Rainbow appeared on the field. “I also switch Aussa the Earth Charmer to defense mode.” Aussa laid down on the ground.
Enchanting Mermaid Def: 900
Aussa the Earth Charmer Def: 1500
“I end my turn.”
“Looks like you’re all out of ideas.” Nightmare taunted as she drew her card. “I summon Vampire Lady to the field.” Emerging on the field was an aqua Earth Pony with her teal mane done up in a bun. She wore an elegant magenta gown and matching gloves over her forehooves. Across her back was a magenta shawl marked with sharp yellow points like the spokes on a bat’s wing. Her waist was bound by similar yellow spikes. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow, and her red lips were pulled into a devilish smile.
Vampire Lady Atk: 1550
“Vampire, attack the child. Kyonshee, the fish.” Nightmare’s monsters quickly obeyed her orders as they sprang on the monsters. Kynoshee landed its hop on top of Enchanting Mermaid, destroying her. Vampire Lady appeared behind Aussa before biting her neck. The young monster let out a silent cry before she too was destroyed.
“I end my turn.”
Twilight was getting frustrated, “I draw. I set a monster facedown in defense mode. End of turn.”
“Is this all you can do? Kyonshee, attack.” Twilight’s monster was destroyed before her friends could even see what it was. “I end my turn.”
“I draw.” She looked at the card she drew in despair, “I- I end my turn.”
“It would seem the duel is mine.” Nightmare Moon said. “I will draw and end my turn here.” She looked at the broken mare she was facing. “This was fun while it lasted, but you’ve lost. You’ve lost the game. You’ve lost your sun. You’ve lost your princess. You have nothing left.”
Twilight bowed her head. She was right, she had nothing. She had failed. She should just-
“Don’t give up now, Twilight!” Rainbow yelled. “You still have us!”
“And we’ll be right with you all the way to the end!” Pinkie Pie added.
“You can bet your boots we will!” Applejack hollered.
“You can still find a way to beat her.” Rarity encouraged.
“Go Twilight.” Fluttershy, cheered? Whispered? It was still hard to tell with that mare.
Twilight was dumbfounded, her friends were still behind her, urging her to do her best.
Her friends.
When did she start thinking of them as friends? But then, what else could she think of them as? After all she and they had been through, they couldn’t be anything less than friends.
Unseen by all, a spark of magic jumped between the stone orbs.
“It’s my turn, your highness.” Twilight said with no small degree of sarcasm. “I draw! And I summon Witch of the Black Forest in Defense mode.” The three-eyed witch appeared on Twilight’s field in a burst of black feathers.
Witch of the Black Forest Def: 1200
The golden eye on Nightmare Moon’s chest-piece gave of a sparkle of light.
“I end my-.”
“Not so fast, I activate my trap card, Fiendish Chain.” Rusty chains suddenly wrapped around Twilight’s monster. “Fiendish Chain negates the effect of your monster. You will not be able to receive any extra monsters from your deck now.”
Twilight’s eyes widened. ‘How did she know about Witch of the Black Forest’s ability?’ “Then I set one card facedown and end my turn.”
“I draw. Master Kyonshee, destroy her witch.” The hopping monster bounced along the field, rapidly approaching her bound witch.
“I activate my facedown Quick-Play Spell, Spellbook of Wisdom!”
“It’s a special type of spell card that you can activate during your opponent’s turn like a trap card.” Pinkie explained.
A glowing emerald book with silver details appeared in the hooves of Witch of the Black Forest. “For the rest of this turn, my Spellcaster is immune to either trap cards or other spell cards.” Twilight allowed herself a smug grin, “Guess which one I’m choosing.”
The rusty chains were suddenly pushed back by an emerald barrier, just as Kyonshee arrived and slashed at her. The chains, the book and Witch of the Black Forest all disappeared in a burst of colored mist.
“Since my witch wasn’t affected by your trap, her effect activates. Once she’s been destroyed, I can search my deck for a monster with 1500 or less defense points and add it to my fan.” She fanned out her deck and began deliberating between a few cards, before pulling one out. “After which my deck is shuffled.” She gave it a few good shuffles before setting it back down. “I believe it was still your turn?”
Nightmare Moon glowered before ending her turn.
“My draw. I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode.” Emerging from the violet mist was not one, but two creatures. They resembled Enchanting Mermaid from the waist up; with two arms, an enlarged chest area, and a round head with flattened ears. These creatures stood on two straight legs that ended in flattened paw structures. Their skin was pinkish tan, and their ears stood erect with noticeable points to them. They both wore blue dresses with the smaller of the two’s being lighter. The smaller elf also had yellow blonde hair, while the taller’s was rusty orange.
Gemini Elf Atk: 1900
“Now, attack her Kyonshee!” Both elves raised their forelimbs and held them together. A yellow light built up between them, which was then fired off at the hopping zombie. It shattered in a burst of light.
Nightmare Moon LP: 600 -> 450
“Ahh!” Nightmare Moon shielded her eyes from the offensive light.
“I end my turn.”
“My draw!” Nightmare Moon hissed. “I place one card face down and summon Mezuki in attack mode.” Another primordial nightmare, Mezuki had an ape-like body and forelimbs, but the head and legs of a horse. Its fur was dark brown and covered by gold bands. A huge axe was carried in its clutches.
Mezuki Atk: 1700
“I then switch Vampire Lady to defense mode.” Vampire Lady took a seat as if to watch the duel instead of partake in it.
Vampire Lady Def: 1550
“This will end my turn.”
“Then I draw.”
“Which activates my trap card,” Nightmare said, “Drop Off. The card you just drew must now be discarded.”
Twilight growled but discarded the card anyway. “Gemini Elf! Attack her Mezuki.” The elves again fired a join stream of magic at the monster, burning it away.
Nightmare Moon LP: 450 -> 250
“Gah!” she recoiled from the attack but came back with a smile on her face. “When Mezuki is in the graveyard, I can banish it and special summon a different Zombie-Type monster from the grave.”
“Which of her monsters do you think she’s going to bring back?” Rainbow asked.
“Ah don’t think we’re gonna have to wait too long ta find out.” Applejack answered.
“Return from the grave, Nightmare Horse!” A pillar of blue flame burned out of the ground before forming into the ghostly monster.
Nightmare Horse Atk: 500
“Nightmare Horse!” Rarity exclaimed, “But that means…”
“Yes, I can attack her directly.” The dark winged Unicorn took great pleasure in seeing the despair in the smaller pony’s eyes.
Twilight grit her teeth, “I end my turn.”
“Then I draw. Now, Nightmare Horse, attack her life points directly!” The spectral horse ran across the field, again jumping over Twilight’s monster and burning away her life points.
Twilight LP: 600 -> 100
“I set one card face down and end my turn.”
Twilight was panting heavily from the attack but still she stood, “I draw.” She only glanced at her card before playing it. “I summon Basic Insect in attack mode!” The small green insect scurried up next to Gemini Elf.
Basic Insect Atk: 500
“I then equip my Basic Insect with the Horn of the Unicorn.” A Unicorn horn suddenly appeared on the bug's forehead.
Basic Insect Atk: 500 -> 1200
“Now, Gemini Elf, attack Nightmare Horse!”
“That won’t work, activate trap card, Dimensional Prison!” A rip appeared behind Twilight’s monster, pulling the two elves into a swirling purple void. “When your monster attacks one of mine, I can remove the offending monster from play.” Nightmare Moon smiled as the portal closed, “Your attack has failed.”
Twilight’s smile hadn’t left her face, “The first one, but what about the second?”
Her eyes went wide as the green insect began marching across the field. “No. This isn’t possible. How could you have defeated me?”
“I didn’t. We did.”
“What?” Nightmare Moon said in confusion.
“I couldn’t have done this on my own.” She turned to look at the other five mares. “Each one of you helped me on this journey. Applejack, who reassured us when we were afraid and in doubt, represents the Element of Honesty.” The stone orb marked with a hexagon suddenly glowed orange and dissolved into dust which began orbiting around the mare. The others each backed away from this unexpected display of magic.
But Twilight wasn’t done. “Fluttershy,” the Pegasus ducked down at hearing her name called, “who tamed a manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness.” The octagon marked stone glowed pink and, like the Element of Honesty before it, dissolved into an orbiting ring of dust.
“Pinkie Pie, who from the first moment I came to Ponyville, hasn’t stopped trying to make anyone smile, even in the face of danger and disaster, truly embodies the spirit of Laughter.” By this point, Pinkie had picked up on the pattern and eagerly accepted the blue glowing dust that had once been the stone marked by a gem shape.
“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity.” Poetically, it was the stone that resembled the Unicorn’s cutie mark that glowed purple and turned to dust this time.
“And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her comrades for her own heart’s desires, surely represents the Element of Loyalty.” The final stone, marked with a triangle, turned to dust, glowed a warm red color, and began orbiting the hovering Pegasus.
“The spirits of these five ponies not only kept me and each other strong, but they helped us to overcome every obstacle to reach you and overcome you.”
Nightmare Moon was so dumbfounded by the Elements resonating with these individuals, that she momentarily forgot that she was about to lose the duel. That fact was harshly shoved back in her face when Twilight’s Insect brought its paws down on her Horse, destroying it.
Nightmare Moon LP: 250 -> 0
The remaining cards on the field each turned back into the magical fog and quietly dispersed. “You still don’t have the final Element!” She taunted, “And without it, the others are useless.”
“But that’s where you are wrong, the sixth Element is here, I was just too foolish to see it.”
“What art thou blathering about?”
“The sixth Element is what is supposed to unite the others together. When I heard you all encouraging me,” she said, turning back to the five shiny ponies who were standing behind her, who had been standing behind her since this journey started, “promising to stay with me even in defeat, I realized something.” Her eyes started to water, “You all are my friends, and that it was friendship that brought us all together.” She turned back to the dark Princess. “The sixth Element isn’t locked away in this castle or hidden inside of a vault. It’s inside of us. Inside of me. Inside of every creature in the whole world. It just needs the spark of another to bring it out.”
From above the six friends shone a light. Hovering above them was a sixth stone orb, this one engraved with a six-pointed star in the same shape as Twilight’s Cutie Mark. It remained there only a moment before turning into dust and orbiting Twilight.
Each of the rings began to orbit faster, and as their light intensified, they condensed into golden ornaments that decorated the bodies of these mares.
But the light continued to increase. So much that Nightmare Moon had to advert her gaze, until a familiar sound began to build. Risking her eyes, she again looked towards these mares, and was met with a rainbow-colored ribbon of magic cascading towards her.
“NOOO!” She cried, trying to call on her magic, her amulet, anything to stop this. But there was nothing she could do. And as her conciseness began to slip away, she was left with nothing but, relief. = = = Conciseness found the six mares lying on the ground, as if they had all passed out. “Oh, my head.” Rainbow moaned.
“Is, everypony okay?” Applejack asked.
“I believe so.” Rarity answered, performing a quick check. She didn’t seem hurt, except for her tail, which was still bob cut.
“Oh wow, Rarity.” Fluttershy said, “It’s so lovely.”
“Lovely? What? What is?”
“Your crown.”
Rarity did feel an extra weight on her head. Moving to an unshattered window pane, she saw that a golden tiara sat just behind her horn, with a purple gemstone in the same shape as her cutie mark as the center piece.
“My word.” She then took a closer look at her Pegasus friend. “I must say yours is certainly beautiful too.”
Fluttershy felt her head. Holding her mane back a bit was a golden hair pin, decorated with a pink gemstone in the shape of a butterfly.
“Look at mine, look at mine!” Pinkie exclaimed. A gold necklace bounced around her neck with a light blue gemstone cut to look like a balloon in its center.
Rainbow had a golden ring around her left forehoof, a red lightning bolt decorating it.
Applejack’s was a golden pin attached to her hat in the shape of an apple but colored orange.
Twilight wore a diadem similar to Rarity’s, but with the ends reaching under her ears, and with the magenta gemstone in the shape of her cutie mark.
“Are these?” Rainbow began to ask.
“The Elements of Harmony.” Twilight finished.
“But, what happened?” Applejack asked, taking off her hat and looking at her new accessory. “You were talking about how we each helped each other and how we were representing the Elements. And now they’re, what, bonded to us?”
“I think so.” Twilight answered, “I’d have to do some research and experiments to know for sure.” She gasped as she remembered something. “Nightmare Moon. What happened to her?”
Laying on the other side of the ballroom was a smoking pile of cobalt armor and duel monsters cards, with a winged unicorn at the middle.
“I thought the Elements were supposed to defeat Nightmare.” Rainbow said, “Why is she still here?”
“I think, Nightmare Moon is defeated.” Twilight said. Walking over to the armor, she put her hoof on one of the fragments, which promptly shattered like an eggshell underhoof. “Then she must be…”
“The younger princess from the story.” Rarity finished.
Fluttershy was quick to run over to the unconscious pony and pull her out of the rubble. She was much smaller than Nightmare had been, but still quite large for a pony. Her fur and feathers were a soft cornflower blue, while her mane was navy blue, ethereal, and flowed as if underwater. Her cutie mark was a black, blotchy cloud with a white crescent moon inside. Rarity noticed that it was identical to Nightmare Moon’s cutie mark save for the colors.
“She looks so, young. Like she just got done with schoolin’ young.” Applejack remarked.
“Hey! The sun’s coming back!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Everypony except for Fluttershy ran over to the window to see that yes, the sky was becoming lighter, the stars were vanishing, and within a minute the sun had risen into the sky.
Then a magical buzz was heard, and a bright light flew into the castle through the window, before transforming into a massive white Unicorn with swan-like wings.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight said, overjoyed at seeing her mentor safe and sound. The other mares, save Fluttershy, all bowed before their ruler.
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student.” The Princess responded, bending down and embracing the little Pony with her neck. “I knew you could do it.”
“But, you told me it was nothing but an old Pony tale.”
“I told you to make some friends. Nothing more.”
“You also told me to, quote ‘stop reading those dusty old books’ unquote.” Twilight interjected.
Celestia seemed taken aback, Twilight had never sassed her like that before. “Well, I may have said a few things that I didn’t mean. Forgive me, Honesty is not my strongest element.” She smiled at her little joke, only to finally notice the state and holders of the Elements of Harmony. “What has happened to the Elements?”
“Is this not what was supposed to happen?” Twilight asked, worriedly.
“In truth, I do not know. There is much about the Elements of Harmony that even I do not understand.” She turned her attention to the other winged Unicorn in the room, “But tonight, they have brought us the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the return of Princess Luna.”
“Princess Luna. Wait, you know her?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Of course I know her, she is my little sister.”
“Your sister?” If Princess Celestia was the older princess from the story, then she must be… “Wow you’re old!” The Pegasus received a harsh shushing from Rarity and Applejack for that.
Celestia knelt down to her sister, waking the blue mare from her slumber. She attempted to scurry back away from her, only to run into Fluttershy who was equal parts trying to reassure her and trying to hide behind her.
“It has been many years since I have seen you like this.” Celestia said. “Please let me say now what I should have said then. It’s my fault.” Tears began to fall from her eyes. “I should have stood by your side against everything, but instead I let you down and you had no choice but to turn to the darkness. And then I sent you away instead of trying to fix my mistake. Please, forgive me.”
Twilight and the others were shocked to hear their Princess speak like this. She had always seemed so, flawless. Now, she was crying on the floor begging for forgiveness.
“Sister.” Luna said, “There is nothing to forgive. I was the one who didn’t tell thee what ponies said about me. I was the one who created the Nightmare and attacked Equestria. And I was the one who would not let friendship into her heart, which forced the Elements to banish me. I should be the one who is asking for forgiveness.”
“Then let us both say we were wrong, and rule together, like we were meant to.”
“I would love to.”
By this point everypony was crying to some degree. Except Rainbow Dash, she was too cool to cry. Those were sweat drops on her cheeks.
“Hey! you know what this calls for?” Pinkie shouted. “A party!” = = = A convoy of Royal Guards arrived a few minutes later to escort everypony back to Ponyville. A sizeable crowd was waiting to welcome back Princess Celestia, and their friends and neighbors who braved the evil of the Everfree Forest to rescue her and bring down Nightmare Moon. Within ten minutes, Pinkie had transformed this welcoming crowd into a full blown Hero Party.
Ponies were very surprised by the presence of a second Princess. Princess Celestia again chose to bend the truth and told everypony that Nightmare Moon had taken her sister captive, and with her defeat she was set free. Nopony seemed to question it, so Twilight, her friends and Princess Luna all silently agreed to leave those details in the dark, for now.
Twilight and Spike were promptly reunited. Her classmates were also there to present their congratulations on saving the day. But Twilight was not in a celebrating mood.
“You seem troubled, my faithful student.” Celestia said as she approached her. “Are you not happy your quest is complete, and you may return to your studies in Canterlot.”
“That’s just it. Just as I’m learning how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them.”
“Seriously?” Twinkleshine called out, “We’re right here!” She got a host of shushes from the other students.
“I may be able to offer a solution to your problem. One that will see you able to further explore all your friendships.” Twilight looked up, confused.
“While you and your friends were seeking to defeat Nightmare Moon, other students of my school were working on their own projects to end the eternal night. And while their efforts were valiant, they each met with failure. And unfortunately, that failure resulted in no small amount of damage to the school.”
“My room? The library?”
“They received minimum damage but were both ransacked for spellbooks.” Twilight’s limbs locked up and she fell over at the thought of all her hard work organizing those books being destroyed. “The rest of the campus was not so lucky. Multiple ‘new suns’ were brought into being and died shortly thereafter. It will take some time not only to repair the damages, but also to raise the funds to repair them.”
“Until that time comes, I propose that Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns continue here in Ponyville, should the town council permit it.” A nodding from Mayor Mare confirmed it.
Twilight was overjoyed, she could stay with her new friends, and she could stay with her old friends, which she was willing to admit she had. As all of her friends came in to give her a big group hug, she felt like she had discovered her cutie mark all over again. This was the start of a new chapter in her life.
Dear Diary
I have just finished moving my belongings out of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Most of the students will be lodging with local Ponyville families until a more permanent place of residence is constructed. As for myself and Spike, we will be living in the Golden Oaks Library, which I will also be running as its new owner. Mayor Mare gifted it to me as a way of saying thanks for saving the world.
While on the subject, the rest of Equestria has taken the news of Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna rather well. According to Rarity, some of the more distant towns have gotten a few details wrong, calling Princess Luna Princess Celestia's niece or daughter. I trust those rumors will be quieted before too long. After all, Celestia only has one niece.
Me and my friend's involvement has also gone unmentioned in some circles, instead giving all the credit for Nightmare Moon's defeat to the Princess. Rainbow Dash is rather annoyed at this, but I for one don't mind.
Princess Luna's first decree upon her return was that the six of us were to be the guardians of the Elements of Harmony. I'd like to run a few experiments on them, to better understand what they are, but considering their power, that might be one mystery that will remain unsolved.
As for the subject of Duel Monsters, I must admit I'm still not sold. While I will admit, there is a certain thrill to game, particularly with the added effects of the duel arena; I most probably not seek to continue to actively seek out duelists to play against. I'm certain Rainbow Dash and Pinkie will want to duel again, and for now that's enough.
-Twilight Sparkle 1st of Sororis, in the first year of the Era Harmonium
= = = In the Castle of the Two Sisters, Nightmare Moon's armor had completely turned to dust, save for one piece. At the center of the pile sat a piece of gold wrought in the shape of an eye flanked by two ram's horns. A thin chain of gold bound it together.
The empty halls echoed with the sound of hoofsteps. They crossed the room and picked up the necklace. The figure held the millenium old object in front of their hooded face, before locking it in a wooden box and leaving.
Yesterday, Spike and I finished moving into our new home. I keep insisting that he gets a real bed, but he is adamant in keeping his old doggy bed. I suspect it’s because of sentimentality, as he’s had that bed since he hatched.
We plan on completely reshelving the library the day after tomorrow. The reason for the delay is that Applejack has asked us to help her with harvesting some of her apples tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it, both for being able to spend some one-on-one time with Applejack, but also for learning more about apple harvesting.
-Twilight Sparkle 4th of Sororis, 1 EH
= = = The sun shone down on the apple tree leaves, filling them with life giving energy. “No.” The remaining light trickled its way down creating tiny spotlights that danced across three creatures busy harvesting apples. “Nope.”
“Thank you kindly, Twilight, for helping me out.” Applejack said, getting herself hitched up to a wooden cart filled with dark red apples.
“Nope.”
She began pulling the cart towards the barnhouse, Twilight and Spike following behind. “I bet Big Macintosh I could get all these red galas in the barn by lunchtime.”
“No.”
“If I win, he’s going to walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny’s girdles.” The farmmare giggled to herself at just the thought of such a thing.
“No.”
“No problem at all, Applejack.” Twilight said, her own cart of apples being pulled along behind her, “Though I’m glad the goal is lunchtime. All this hard work is making me hungry.”
“I know, right.” Spike agreed, tossing out another apple, this one knocking Twilight on the head. She gave the baby dragon a scowl.
“Oh really? You’ve been lounging on my back all morning while we worked.”
“Exactly, you two are taking so long I missed snack time.”
Twilight’s mind heard the mention of snack time, sent a reminder to her stomach, which confirmed that it was very empty in the loudest, wettest, most embarrassing growl Twilight had ever heard herself make.
“Ah-hehehe, I guess we better get some food.”
“Nope. Worm. AH HA.” Spike paused in his ‘lightening of Twilight’s load’ when he pulled out a glossy, crimson red apple that looked far more appetizing than the dull red galas they were carrying.
Twilight couldn’t help but lick her lips at the thought of eating it. “Oo, Spike, that looks delicious.” Spike evidently agreed, as he consumed the fruit in one large, and messy, bite. “Spike!” Twilight chastised.
He swallowed, “What?” He then held his claws over his mouth as his cheeks inflated, like he was about to throw up. Instead, he let out a sound like a burp, as a jet of emerald flames flew out and condensed into a scroll of paper bound in red silk and bearing the seal of the Princess.
“What in the Sam heck was that?” Applejack shouted in confusion.
“Oh, right, you haven’t seen Spike’s magic before, have you?” She shook her head; not even aware Dragons had any kind of magic. “Spike’s fire breath can send messages like an instant delivery service. Princess Celestia uses it to send me messages and assignments.”
Spike picked up the scroll and read aloud. “Ahem, ‘Hear ye, hear ye! Her grand royal highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the prestigious and refined capitol city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of…’ Uh, yadda yadda yadda ‘Cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest.”
Both Twilight and Applejack inhaled in glee, “The Grand Galloping Gala!”
“The Grand Galloping Gala!” They cheered again. Jumping up and down in child-like glee and excitement.
Spike found the girlish display of joy just a little too cheery for his taste. His response was a Griffon gesture of one claw pointed towards his open mouth in an invitation to gag him. The universe saw this display and decided to oblige him, as a second burning feeling built up inside him before spitting out another bought of green flames.
“Look!” Spike said, “Two tickets!” The Gala tickets were printed on a gold-foil paper that reflected the late morning light.
“Wow,” Twilight said, “I’ve never been to the Gala. Have you Spike?”
Spike was almost insulted by Twilight’s lack of awareness, until he remembered that this was the same Twilight Sparkle who left a dozen of her prized books lying on the ground unorganized not a week prior.
“No,” he finally answered, “and I plan to keep it that way. I don’t want any of that frilly-girly-frou-frou nonsense.”
“Ah, come on, Spike. A dance would be nice.”
“Nice!” Applejack interrupted, “It’s more than just nice. I’d love to go. Land sakes, if I had an apple stand setup, ponies’d be trying to taste our vittles till the cows came home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why! With all that money, we could do a heap of fixing up around here. We could replace that saggy old roof.” As she was talking, she pointed towards one of the storage barns, which did indeed have a sagging, and rather leaky looking roof. “And Big Macintosh could replace that saggy old plow. And Granny Smith, could replace that saggy old hip!”
She let out a deep sigh, like she was coming out of a daydream. “Wow, I’d give my left hindleg to go to that Gala.”
“I didn’t know Granny Smith needed an operation like that.” Twilight said.
Applejack looked confused for a moment then turned away with her cheeks flushing, “Sorry about that, I let my mouth run off without my head again. Granny doesn’t need an operation.” She wrapped her hoof around Twilight’s shoulders. “But I would like to earn some bits at that Gala.”
“Well, since Spike really doesn’t want his ticket, I’ll let you use it.”
“Yeehaw! I’m going to the Grand Galloping Gala! Thank you, Twilight. Thank you, Spike.” Spike was staring at the sky. “Spike?”
“Are you looking at something?” Twilight inquired.
“I don’t know.” He admitted, “Do either of you get the feeling that somepony else is supposed to be here?”
“Ya mean Rainbow Dash? I asked her to come and help, but she said she was too busy to help me haul apples.” Applejack explained, then straightened up as she remembered what they were doing before The Princess’s letter arrived. “Come on, we got to get these into the before lunchtime!” She rehitched herself to the cart and began to canter towards the barn. Twilight levitated Spike onto her own back and quickly followed after the farmer. = = = Meanwhile in town, Rainbow Dash was locked in a duel with a Pegasus mare with a periwinkle coat of fur and a curly blonde mane held back by a lily flower. They were dueling on one of the arenas and a significant crowd was gathered to watch.
Both mares had a single monster on their field. Rainbow’s monster was a green parrot-like monster with a long feathery tail.
Faith Bird Atk: 1500
Her opponent’s monster was a fishy looking pony, with a gangly body covered in blue scales, and purple fins lining its spine. Add that to a barbel lined mouth filled with teeth and red, sunken eyes, and it made for a rather frightening illusion.
Root Water Def: 800
“Alright, Rainbow Dash, it’s time to take you down.” She drew her card, a smile dancing across her lips. “I summon, Fire Kraken!”
Emerging onto the field was a deep red cephalopod. Orange flames licked out from under its tentacles, as a much more violent blaze stretched over its mantle like a pony’s mane.
Fire Kraken Atk: 1600
“Now Fire Kraken, destroy her monster!” The beast from the depths shot flames out from its mouth, destroying Rainbow’s bird.
Rainbow Dash LP: 1300 -> 1200
“Not bad, Drizzle.” Rainbow smirked, “But I’m better. I summon my Whiptail Crow.” Rainbow’s monster was a bird like pony with orange skin, green claws and a pointed yellow beak. Its wings were leathery like a bat’s and its tail was long and whippy like a lizard’s.
Whiptail Crow Atk: 1650
“But I’m not done. Since I have a Dark Attribute monster on my field, I can special summon this little guy. Caligo Claw Crow!”
Rainbow’s second monster was a cartoonish crow with metal blades attached to two of its claws.
Caligo Claw Crow Atk: 900
“Now, Claw Crow, destroy her fish, and Whiptail Crow, destroy her Kraken!”
Both monsters flew across the field, striking with claw and tail.
Drizzle LP: 500 -> 450
“Nice move Rainbow, getting two monsters on the field at once.” Drizzle complimented, “But that won’t save you in the end. Its my turn and I summon Sea Kamen.”
Drizzle’s new monster was a purple corpse of a sea pony. With pulled back lips and rotting limbs, it was definitely the ugliest monster Rainbow had faced yet.
Sea Kamen Atk: 1100
“Next, I activate the spell card, Gravity Lash. By targeting a monster with this card, that monster loses attack points equal to its defense points.”
Whiptail Crow Atk: 1650 -> 50
“Now, Sea Kamen, destroy her Whiptail Crow!” The frightening monster lunged forwards, slamming its hooves into the weakened monster, destroying it effortlessly.
Rainbow Dash LP: 1200 -> 150
“I end my turn.”
“I got to give it to you, you’re a much better duelist than I thought. But the duel isn’t over yet, not till I win.” She drew her card and had the biggest smile on her face. “I summon my Blue-Winged Crown.”
Rising in flight was a blue swan like monster with large wings and a crown of white flames on its head, Rainbow’s monster left the crowd in awe.
Blue-Winged Crown Atk: 1600
“Alright, Blue-Wing, attack her monster and finish this duel!”
Drizzle hadn’t been expecting Rainbow to pull out another strong monster so quickly and had left her field wide open. Thus, there was nothing she could do but watch as her monster disappeared in a plume of blue and white flame.
Drizzle LP: 450 -> 0
The monster illusions disappeared as both mares collected their decks. Rainbow quickly shook hooves with her opponent before flying into the sky and soaking in the praise the crowd was giving her.
“That was just the start!” She announced, “If you want to see more Rainbow Dash dueling action, tell your friends. I’ll be taking on all challengers!”