> Seven of Six: The Longest Night
>  by SpectralFury
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Harmony and Chaos
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once upon a time, 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 eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night.
And it was so very very boring.
So a very powerful and handsome draconequus came along and decided to spice things up a bit. At first he enjoyed the company of the two sisters and helped break the monotony of their cookie cutter days with jokes, pranks, and beautiful chaos. At first they all got along, but like most beings, they didn’t truly appreciate a good time. The sisters started complaining about the draconequus’ actions, and generally made an effort of waving around the poles in their butts. They demanded that he stop having fun.
So he decided that they weren’t fun anymore, and took their kingdom for himself. He kicked the sisters out of their castle and, with nopony else to worry about, decided to cut loose. Days and nights lasted from a few minutes to weeks. It rained everything but water. Grass was replaced with checkered marble and obsidian. Gravity was optional. All in all, it was a total upgrade. None of it made sense but, of course, what fun is there in making sense?
Alas, chaos didn’t reign forever. The two sisters managed to find some dreadfully powerful artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. Like the cowards they were, they blasted him with them while he was enjoying a snack of some delicious and completely harmless seeds. Just sitting there, not even trying to fight them. He may or may not have had his back turned. And so the rightful ruler of Equestria was turned to stone, and made into a statue for all to gawk at.
Centuries later, the moon sister realized that ponies hated her. Something about being afraid of the night or other nonsense. So she realized that being loved didn’t matter at all, and decided to get with the times and start conquering. She fought her sister, but since she was stupid, she forgot to deal with the Elements of Harmony first. And so the sun sister banished the moon sister to the moon. Deliciously ironic, Celestia. Really. I heartily approve.
And so the sun sister ruled all alone, just as it should be, as punishment for driving all her companions away and being a huge killjoy. The banishment was supposed to last a thousand years, which when you think about it seems to be a common theme. Really, we need to switch things up a bit with how long villians are banished or imprisoned. Who is next, King Sombra?
Anyway, just a decade before Loony Luna was supposed to return, something very chaotic happened. Somepony decided to mess with time, and had a fight with their rival in what was, to their point of view, the past. Now, time magic is something you just don't mess around with, since it is way too easy to mess up and get the opposite of what you want. It is practically chaos magic on its own. Even I think twice before using it.
Something important was changed, causing a wave of chaos to spread throughout the multiverse.
And it just so happens that dear old me is powered by chaos. Who knew that kind of mischief I could get up to?
This chaos was just enough to empower the draconequus, but not enough to free him, much to his disappointment. Still, he had some ability, and decided to investigate. He found a city in the clouds, no time travelers, and a pegasus filly trapped in crystal. Being a respectable lord of chaos, he freed the filly before she suffocated. After all, death isn’t fun. He sampled the crystal and, deciding to show some initiative, sought out the villain that would go so far as to harm a foal. Expecting some manner of monster, he was quite surprised to find a crying unicorn filly in a school. He decided to nip whatever was wrong with her in the bud and take her under his wing. Also, having a minion when you are stuck in stone is a pretty big boon.

===

    “What was that last part?” asked Twilight Sparkle, a lavender unicorn with a rather wild indigo mane. Upon her haunches were purple, eight-pointed stars, with five smaller stars surrounding them. She sat underneath a tree at the park in her hometown of Canterlot, enjoying the day. In front of her floated the transparent shade of her mentor, Discord, a serpentine chimera known as a draconequus.
    “I said having a friend-ion is good when you’re trapped in stone.”
    Twilight looked at him flatly. “We’ve been over this. I’m not your ‘minion.’ We’re friends.”
    Discord huffed dismissively. “Minions, friends, what’s the difference?”
    “Princess Celestia says that friends care for and help each other. Maream-Webber’s dictionary defines a minion as ‘a follower or underling of a powerful person, especially a servile or unimportant one.’”
    Discord grunted in frustration and glared at her. “Curse your eidetic memory! Fine, you’re a minion then. You exist to get me out of stone. Beyond that, I don’t care.”
    Twilight’s eyes started watering. “Wh- what about the time you saved me from those bullies?”
    Discord cringed and looked away. “Don’t- don’t start that. You know I-” He looked again. Twilight looked like she was ready to cry. “No! No you stop-” He snarled, but it was obvious he didn’t have his heart in it. “Stop. Doing. That.” He shivered. “Okay okay! Fine. I might be slightly...fond of you.”
    Twilight jumped and hugged the spectral being, her crocodile tears shoved away. “Yay!” Discord cringed, but relaxed and patted her head while rolling his eyes. He quickly tired of it, however, and slinked out of her grip.
    “You really need to quit listening to Sunbutt,” he said. “I know she’s a decent teacher, but she really needs to get out more. Friendship- gag! Anyway, we’ve gone off topic. You need to save the world from dear Lulu.”
    Twilight tilted her head. “Lulu? Oh, wait. You said Princess Celestia has a sister?”
    Discord nodded. “Yup! Dear Luna was right by her side for centuries, and just one little betrayal and it was-” He rocketed off to the sky on a trail of fire before reappearing. “Off to the moon! Then Celestia went on a campaign of erasing her sister’s history from existence. Quite cruel of her, to be honest. She did the same to me, but some phrases are still left over, thankfully.”
    “I’d be pretty mad if somepony erased me from history,” Twilight said. “I mean, so they had a fight. Why couldn’t they make up?”
    Discord shrugged. “Eh, who knows. Maybe dark magic corruption. Still, I thought Moonbutt was stronger than that. Oh well. Anyway, like I said, she’s coming back.”
    “No you didn’t.”
    Discord sputtered before gritting his teeth. “Ugh! Okay okay, so I got a little sidetracked. Nightmare Moon- which, honestly, is a much better name, is coming back, and she plans to plunge the world into eternal night. Can you tell me why that’s bad?”
    It took Twilight about three seconds to figure it out. “Oh! Because without the sun, everything will die?”
    Discord snapped his fingers. “Right in one, as usual!” Twilight clopped her hooves together in pride.
    “Wait, why can’t you do it?” she asked. “I mean, I know you’re limited, but you’re still more powerful than me.”
    “Two reasons, my little apprentice. One, my influence doesn’t go much further than Canterlot. I can see quite aways, but after a certain point I’m blind. The residual chaos that let me investigate Cloudsdale waned years ago. Two, you need to fetch the Elements of Harmony and use them against her. They’re useless in my claws, and would probably just renew the seal against me if I tried.”
    Twilight thought about this for a moment. Discord had never lied to her before, and the few times she had left the city, he did tend to become harder to hear. “But, I mean, can I use them? You’ve been tutoring me with chaos magic, and if they see it on me-” She was silenced as Discord brought his lion paw up under her chin.
    “My dear Twilight, you may have invited chaos into your heart, but you’re still a pony. As evidenced by your stubborn hold on friendship and harmony, you are a far, far cry from a being such as me. Even if the Elements don’t like your chaos, I doubt they will do more than convince you to give it up.”
    “But I like chaos magic! It’s so fun!” He whipped her tail, causing a cracking sound. In a violet flash, a hayburger popped into existence in front of her, which she promptly devoured.
    “I know, I know, Twilight,” Discord said, sliding up to her side. “But ask yourself this, what’s more important? A little chaos, or the lives of your friends?” He opened his lion paw and eagle talon, miniature representations of both choices appearing.
    Twilight glanced at the ponies displayed. Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Moon Dancer. She wasn’t very close to them, but they grouped together at school constantly. When it came down to it, the choice was obvious.
    “I’d choose them,” she said.
    “Good girl.” He patted her on the head. “However, while I know you’ll do this out of the goodness of your heart, it always helps to have a bit of extra motivation.” He snapped his talons, and a closed chest with a question mark on it appeared. “Success means not only will Equestria survive, but I’ll give you a solution to your little power shortage issue.”
    Twilight’s eyes went wide. It was a constant irritant that reality constantly tried to fight back when she wanted to break it. Such as the fact that matter and energy couldn’t be created or destroyed for free. Anything she conjured came from her own magical reserves, and creating even the most basic of objects from raw magic drained her heavily.
“Now…” He snapped his talons, and a train ticket appeared in place of the chest. “Here’s a ticket to Ponyville. Last I heard, the Elements of Harmony are in the old capitol, but it’s been so long I-” He let out a soft laugh. “-I seem to have forgotten exactly where it is. I know it’s somewhere in the Everfree Forest. You’ll just have to ask around. I’m sure the locals will be able to help.” He stroked at his beard for a moment in thought before slapping himself on the head. “Oh! I totally forgot. Nightmare Moon returns tomorrow morning, and she’ll probably crash Celly’s Summer Fun Celebration of whatever it is.”
    “It’s Summer Sun Cele-WHAT!” Twilight glared at Discord. “You mean you’ve known about this for years and wait until NOW to tell me this?!”
    Discord looked at a watch that suddenly appeared on his wrist. “Oh! Would you look at the time, I have an appointment with a whoopee cushion and your brother.”
    “Discord.”
    “Just remember. Nightmare Moon. Elements. Everfree Forest. Eternal night if you fail.”
    “Discord.”
    “And for chaos’ sake, do not use chaos magic in front of Lulu! She’ll probably take you seriously and I’d really not have to clean up what’s left of you. Okay? Super! Ta!”
    “DISCORD!”
    But he was already gone. Twilight glared at the spot he was at and snapped her tail ineffectually a few times. She knew she couldn’t force him to appear, but it made her feel better. When she finally noticed all the ponies staring at her, she shot them dirty glares.
    “What are you looking at?” They were looking at a unicorn that was shouting at thin air, and she knew that, but she was quite frustrated. The others quickly went about their business, and she left for home.

===

    Twilight opened the door to her home and stepped in. Having only recently graduated from Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, she still lived with her parents. Even with her degree, getting a job in Canterlot was difficult. Nepotism was very strong there, despite Princess Celestia’s distaste for it. Unfortunately, Canterlot itself was governed by House Gleaming Riches, and they were more than happy to perpetuate the exclusive policies.
    Her father, Night Light, was an astronomer that worked at the observatory at the peak of the Canterhorn, the mountain that Canterlot was built upon. It was that job that got them a home in Canterlot, as he was very good at his work. He was likely asleep within the soundproofed bedroom, his job obviously being a graveyard shift.
    Her mother, Twilight Velvet, had up until recently been a simple housewife. However with Twilight Sparkle joining the age of majority a few months back, she had returned to her special talent, painting. Twilight looked up at the door to the workshop and noted a lit bulb near it, which signified that she was with a client. Likely a noble getting their portrait done.
    She walked in, considering her plan of attack. Mainly this consisted of wondering if she should take Spike with her. After a bit of thought, she nodded, and headed into the kitchen.
Unsurprisingly, Spike was busy trying to defeat the locked case around the snack gem stash.
    “Spike,” Twilight said sternly. Immediately the baby dragon spun around and hid the container behind himself, a panicked and guilty look on his face.
    “Gah! Oh uh, hey Twilight. Back from the park already?”
    Twilight glared at him. Spike gulped and smiled nervously. She let out a stern grunt. He brought the case out, and she immediately pulled it from him.
    “Spike, we’ve been over this. You’re not allowed to have new valuables without supervision.”
    “I just wanted a snack,” he defended.
    “And you couldn’t wait until I or mom came back?” Spike had nothing to say about this. “That’s what I thought.” She opened the case and tossed him a gem. He immediately grabbed it and started munching. “Enjoy it, because that’s the last one you’re getting for two weeks.”
    Spike started coughing in surprise. “W-what!” Twilight snapped her tail, and the gems disappeared. She didn’t know exactly where besides ‘the ground’ and she didn’t much care. They could get more later. “Twilight!”
    “No,” she said sternly. “We’re still fixing the workshop after you ransacked it the last time. I’m not taking any chances. Now, repeat the lesson to me.”
    Spike sighed and slumped. “Dragons grow in power with their hoard, but if they get too much too fast, they turn into greedy monsters, stealing everything they see.”
    “Mmmhmm,” Twilight noted. “And?”
    “And I know what it’s like to do that, and I don’t want to hurt anypony by relapsing.” He almost doubled in size that day, and he stayed that way afterwards. Only nine years old, and he was almost as big as an adult pony. Large for his age, but thankfully they had managed to stop him before too much damage was done. To both the house and his psyche.
    Twilight nodded. “Very good.” She put the case away. “Now, I need you to come with me.” She turned and headed for her room. Spike followed along dutifully.
    “What are we doing, Twilight?”
    As if it were the most normal thing in the world, she said, “We’re going to save Equestria.” 
Spike looked at her a little uncertainly as they entered her bedroom. One wall contained all of her books, most of them for school, but she enjoyed reading as a hobby. Hanging on the wall was her diploma for graduating from the SGU’s standard curriculum, a source of pride to be sure, but the real gem was her Master’s in Dweomercraft. Twilight’s special talent was magic in all fields, and she had decided to seek a career in spell creation. Unicorn magic was so very limiting compared to chaos magic, and she wanted to help bring that freedom to the rest of her fellow horned equines by creating new spells. Her parents, brother, and Spike knew of her talent in the chaotic arts, and the fact that it was slightly illegal, but they looked the other way as long as she kept control over it.
    For some reason, Princess Celestia thought that chaos magic was dangerous. Twilight had no idea why. Respect it, and it respects you. Like fire. Simple.
    “Okay…” Spike said. He had learned early on that when Twilight declared that she was going to do something, it was best to just go along with it. She tended to be right. While she packed her saddlebags, he listened as she told him about the threat of Nightmare Moon, the need for the Elements of Harmony, and where they were going. She kept Discord’s name out of it, and in fact couldn’t even speak of him if she wanted to.
    It was part of their deal, after all. He mentored her in magic and life, and she promised to help him escape from his completely unjustified imprisonment in a few years. A completely fair exchange. She could speak of him, at least from her perspective, but to anyone else that listened, she would be muttering or shouting nonsense.
    “So, we need to be on the train…” She glanced at the ticket. “In an hour. Wow, that’s not a lot of time.”
    Spike pouted. “Aww. We’re not going to get to go to Moon Dancer’s birthday party. I had a gift ready for her and everything.” He produced a wrapped package to show her.
    Twilight froze halfway out the door, her confident stride replaced with irritation, and then anger. “Ugh! As if things weren’t bad enough, now I’m going to have to ghost on Moon Dancer! Nightmare Moon better apologize for all this. Spike, take a letter.”
    Spike quickly fetched a quill and parchment.
    “Dear Moon Dancer. I’m sorry to say that Spike and I won’t be able to come to your party today, as an ancient villain from Equestria’s past named Nightmare Moon is returning and ruining your special day. Spike and I are going to stop her. I hope our gifts are enough to offset our lack of presence. Love, Twilight and Spike.” They weren’t fillyfriends, but Twilight liked teasing her. As Spike rolled the scroll up, she fetched her own gift, a copy of Sixth Dimensional Rune Crafting. Moon Dancer was much more of a bookworm than her. It would be perfect.
    Once the gifts and scroll were ready, Twilight had Spike send it to Moon Dancer by dragonfire. She would be ever grateful to Princess Celestia for the book on raising dragons, as it had details on Spike’s green flame. More specifically that it could be used to send objects similar to a teleport. She would also be ever grateful she wasn’t expelled due to the circumstances of Spike’s hatching.
    “Uh, Twilight, shouldn’t we leave a note?” Spike suggested as they neared the front door. Twilight paused, and agreed. She quietly crept into her parents’ bedroom and told her father who, in all honesty, probably didn’t understand what she was saying. That was the point, after all. If she went saying that she was going to go on an adventure to fight a fallen dark alicorn, there would be questions. And there was no time for questions. Her parents wanted her to tell them what she was doing when she went out, and she did. If her father forgot as he went back to sleep, well...she tried.
    Ready and willing, they left. The trip to the train station was uneventful, aside from the fact that the ticket was for one passenger. One simple application of magic later, there were two tickets. It wasn’t stealing if she was busy saving the world, after all. More like a requisition. Like when her brother ordered new equipment when he increased a garrison’s size.

===

    Twilight and Spike were well rested when they stepped off the train. Not too far away, the town of Ponyville was visible. The architecture was about a hundred years out of date, which made sense considering it was founded around then. Cobblestone walls, thatched roofs, and a few modern buildings were interspaced, but it mostly had a theme, and that theme was ‘cozy.’
    “First class is where it’s at,” Spike said after a post-nap yawn. “Where'd you get the money for that, anyway?”
    Twilight snorted. “Didn’t you see me make a duplicate? It was magic.”
    “But…” Spike tapped at his chin. “Didn’t you tell me that stuff like that has enchantments to stop fakes?”
    Twilight smiled, only slightly remorseful. “Well...yes...mostly, but I defeated them. Is it really that bad if we’re saving the world?”
    “I guess not.” Spike shrugged. “So, hero time! Where do we start?”
    Twilight smiled, opened her mouth and...came up with nothing.
    “You forgot to make a plan again, didn’t you?” Spike deadpanned.
    “Hey! The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance. I don’t have time for plans. I’ll wing it. Now let’s see...think, think…” She opened her mouth several times, her expression shifting from thought to inspiration to disappointment.
    “I got it!” she announced as her horn flared. “I’ll just divine the location of the Everfree castle, easy peasy.” The magic on her horn flashed, and she opened her eyes, seeing Ponyville. “Wait, what?” She tried again, but again her magic failed to locate her target.
    “What is it?” Spike asked.
    “I’m supposed to be seeing the castle. But it’s…” She facehoofed. “Of course. If Princess Celestia left the Elements in the castle, she wouldn’t want anypony to stumble across them. She’s probably got a bunch of wards on it.”
    “So, what now?”
    Twilight tapped at her chin. “Well, I guess we could go to the town hall and ask for a map. Surely they know?”
    “Makes sense to me,” Spike said. “Wait, wasn’t that the original plan?”
    “We’ve both slept since then, Spike. You know the rule.”
    Spike snorted and rolled his eyes before following her into town. The populace was all abuzz with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Decorations were being hung, food was being sold, and ponies were smiling.
    “I’m telling you Philomena, it doesn’t make sense.” Twilight and Spike turned to find an interesting sight. A royal sky-carriage had just landed, pulled by two royal guards. Hopping off it was a unicorn with a warm yellow coat, and a curly mane of red and gold. Her cutie mark was that of a stylized sun.
    Twilight recognized her instantly. Sunset Shimmer, the previously estranged personal protegé of Princess Celestia herself. Sitting upon Sunset’s back was a phoenix, and if Twilight was right, which she usually was, it was Philomena, Celestia’s pet. Why Sunset had it, she didn’t know, but since the guards weren’t busy arresting her for stealing the royal pet, she must have had permission.
    “Hey, isn’t that-” Spike was silenced as a purple hoof pressed against his mouth.
    “Shh,” Twilight ordered as she pulled them out of sight. They heard Philomena let off some trills of birdspeak.
    “Well, yeah I know that Celestia gave me this task, but how does this deal with Nightmare Moon? I won’t get my princesshood checking up on the locals. I’m sure they’re handling it fine.”
    Twilight’s eyes widened. So Sunset Shimmer knew about Nightmare Moon as well? And was on a quest too?
    “The plot thickens…” she said under her breath.
    Spike nodded. “Yeah, you think we can help each other o- hey wait!” Twilight was already only a few feet from Sunset. “How does she do that?” he asked himself before moving to catch up.
    Twilight was casually trotting vaguely in Sunset’s direction as she conversed with the bird. Once she was close enough, she turned and let out an exaggerated gasp. “Oh. My. Gosh! Is that you, Miss Shimmer?”
    Sunset’s head whipped around and locked on to Twilight. Twilight noted surprise, then a bit of irritation before it was pushed behind false content. “Twilight Sparkle...how nice to see you,” she said through her teeth. Twilight knew she was lying, of course. When Sunset returned from wherever she was banished to, Celestia had her as a guest teacher at the SGU all the time. Twilight had heard about the protegé’s pride problem, and vowed to mess with her. And so began a series of events where Twilight defeated the challenges Sunset had prepared for the classes and, later, for her specifically.
    Naturally, she did all of this ‘accidentally’ by ‘stumbling upon’ the solutions. With her absolutely sincere innocence, there was no way Sunset could accuse her of anything. But they both knew what was really happening.
    “Oh I know!” Twilight gushed. “It seems like it was only yesterday that you were having us practice life-to-life transfiguration.” She giggled. “Got it in three point four seconds. Tell me again, what was your record?”
    Sunset growled under her breath. “Three point six,” she muttered. “Look, Sparkle. I don’t have time to reminisce. I’ve got-”
    “Oh pssh. It’s not like you’re trying to save the world, Miss Shimmer.” Sunset looked at her inquisitively. “I mean, you’re here to help with the celebration, right? Princess Celestia is supposed to be here tomorrow, and she sent you ahead, right?”
    Sunset narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Right…”
    “Can I help?”
    Sunset looked surprised by that. She gave Twilight another look as she brought out a document. Atop her, Philomena trilled questioningly.
    “She’s offering to help,” Sunset insisted. “So she can help by checking on the preparations. I have other things to do. This way everything will get done faster.” Twilight smiled, her plan going perfectly, but Sunset glared slightly. “I know you’re capable of checking on a few ponies, Sparkle. Just go down the list and make sure they’re doing their jobs.” She handed the list over.
    “And what will you be doing, Miss Shimmer?”
    Sunset sighed. “It’s just Sunset, alright? You’re not a schoolfilly anymore, Sparkle. I will be in the library. Princess Celestia needs me to take care of some important business, and I will. Just take care of the list while I deal with it, and everypony will be happy, got it?”
    Twilight did a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am!” 
“Good.” Sunset turned and began walking to a nearby tree which, upon inspection, had a library built into it. As they entered the tree, Twilight heard the phoenix trill another question, but couldn’t hear Sunset’s response.
“Uh, Twilight,” Spike said. “Aren’t we supposed to be stopping Nightmare Moon? Why didn’t we team up with Sunset?”
Twilight smiled and shook the rolled up parchment in her magical grip. “Oh Spike, we are! Except we’re doing the most important part.”
Spike raised a brow and crossed his arms. “Uh huh…how? We’re going to be checking up on the festival while she actually does research.”
“Didn’t you ever pay attention to Shining’s Ogres and Oubliettes campaigns? The wise mentor always hides what you need to do underneath a veil of mundanity, because you’re not supposed to have to be told to do it.” She held up the scroll again. “Princess Celestia obviously told Sunset about the threat, but didn’t emphasize what she needed to do, instead assigning the real work as a sidequest.”
Spike thought about it for a moment, and nodded. “Yeah, okay. But...why? And why doesn’t Princess Celestia handle this herself?”
“Hmm…” Twilight tapped her chin. “Maybe she never moved on from the betrayal? I’m not sure. Anyways, things like these sort themselves out. Everypony will learn some kind of lesson on harmony and friendship and the like, and all will be well with the world.”
Spike scratched his head. “Well, if you’re sure. What’s first on the list?”
Twilight unfurled the scroll and gave it a once over. “Well, first on the list is somepony named Madam Jacqueline.” She fake gagged. “Bleh. Nobles. Let’s start at the bottom instead. We’re supposed to check up on a pony named Fluttershy. She’s handling the music. Ready?”
Spike nodded, and they set off. It was only about a quarter hour before they approached their destination on the edge of town, a cheerful building with decorative silhouettes of a dog, cat, and pig. Above the front door was a sign labelled ‘Ponyville Pet and Vet.’ Without delay, the two entered.
The scene within was best described as a ‘free range store.’ Animals wandered freely, nests and sleeping spots were all along sloped walls, the floor, and Twilight was sure those holes in the walls were for mice. The store reeked of dirt and animal funk, and the owner clearly was used to it, as there was no attempt to cover it up. The only manner of organization was that the various pet products were stored behind the counter, safely away from the curious creatures.
    Behind the counter was a butter yellow pegasus who had her soft pink mane tied back; her curly bangs were short and out of her eyes. Upon her flank was a cutie mark of an aqua medical cross flanked by two pink wings. She was shooting one of her customers a stern look, causing them to shrink back slightly.
    “I told you last time that bunnies can’t survive on just carrots, Golden. They’re tasty, but don’t have all the nutrients they need.” Her voice was incredibly soft and delicate, but her tone brooked no argument.
    “I’m sorry, Doctor Fluttershy,” the mare said guiltily.
    “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” She went behind her counter and produced a small pet carrier with an adorable rabbit inside. “Now, I’m happy to help ponies when their pets are sick, but ignoring my advice is just stupid and endangers your animal friends. If I see this neglect again, I’m going to the guards, understand?”
    The customer, Golden, wilted at that. “Y-yes Doctor.”
    Fluttershy nodded. “Good.” The two completed their transaction, and Golden left. As Twilight approached, Fluttershy sighed.
    “Some ponies just can’t understand medical advice, but you aren’t here to listen to me complain. Welcome to the Pet and Vet, I’m Doctor Fluttershy, how can I help…” She trailed off, her eyes drifting to Spike. Her irritation quickly was overtaken with extreme interest. “Is that a baby dragon?”
    Fluttershy was instantly in the air and hovering in front of Spike. “Oh my! I’ve read about dragon care in the past but, I never thought I’d actually see one!”
“Well well well, look who’s got the attention now,” Spike said, shooting Twilight a smug look. Twilight just smirked and rolled her eyes in response.
Spike’s words seemed to have gotten Fluttershy’s attention, who gave Twilight a look. “Wait, have you been ignoring him? Trying to overshadow him? Dragons require an adequate amount of pride to properly develop, you know.”
Twilight cleared her throat, irritated that someone else dared to tell her how to raise Spike. “I’ll have you know that I was tutored by Princess Celestia herself on dragon care, so I’m pretty sure I know how to raise my son.” She shot Fluttershy a glare, who met it head on. After a moment, the pegasus smiled. Twilight wasn’t truly angry with her. Obviously she simply cared for the well being of all creatures. She just could be a little forceful about it.
“I believe you. So, what can I do for you?”
Twilight relaxed at Fluttershy’s acceptance and pulled out Sunset’s checklist. “I’ve been drafted to help check on the festival preparations, and you’re listed under the music. I just need a listen, and I’ll be on my way.
Fluttershy smiled before she loudly cleared her throat, and clopped her hooves together twice. Instantly, most of the birds in the shop flew up and landed on a set of perches that hung from the ceiling.
“And a-one, and a-two…” On cue, Fluttershy began conducting, and the birds began singing a bright and cheerful tune that would be perfect for an announcement or arrival for someone important. Twilight had heard of ponies that could communicate with animals, but the ability to train and coordinate a flock of birds to sing in concert was simply amazing. And on top of that, they were mixed species. She’d never see this kind of coordination between the three pony tribes in Canterlot. And yet, mere animals accomplished it. Harmony in chaos, exactly what she liked to see.
With a spectacular ending, Fluttershy nodded and flew up to a bluejay. “Well done. You’ve come a long way.” The bird tweeted humbly and looked away as Twilight stomped her hooves in applause.
“That was amazing!” Twilight said. Fluttershy tried to hide it, but her blush was visible as well.
“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, living up to her name by averting her eyes. “But really, it was the birds who did it. I just helped them out.”
Twilight waved a hoof dismissively. “Don’t sell yourself short. There’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your accomplishments.”
Fluttershy smiled faintly. “If you say so. Now, I don’t suppose you could stay? I’d like to ask your dragon a few questions.”
Twilight glanced at a clock and checked the list. Only three other stops, and they had several hours to go. “We can spare a few minutes.” Spike beamed at the chance to show off.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Spike!”
Twilight smiled and gave them their space, distracting herself with the other animals in the shop. She often considered getting a pet, but between her schoolwork and Spike, she didn’t have a lot of time. Maybe something low maintenance? Probably not for a while. She still needed to find a job.
After letting Spike gush about himself for ten minutes, Twilight collected him and left Fluttershy to her store, but not after promising that the two could meet again later during the festival if they had time. She was out to save Equestria, after all.
Their reverse checklist led them to the Ponyville Town Hall, a large, circular building with many windows. It looked like it was built more for form than function, much like back home. Perhaps the architect was from Canterlot?
“Alright, so the pony handling the decorations is Pinkamena Pie,” Twilight noted. They stepped into the hall-
And were immediately met by Princess Celestia. The two froze in shock at the presence of their monarch.
“P-Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried out. “What are you doing here?” A number of scenarios played through her head. She was there to make sure Sunset was doing her job, she was there because she sensed Discord, she was there because Twilight was interfering in her plans. Twilight braced herself for what would come out of the alicorn’s mouth.
Celestia said nothing, just smiling serenely. In fact she wasn’t doing anything at all. Spike’s snickering tipped her off that something was amiss.
“That’s a new one,” said a voice. Twilight looked over to find who could only be Pinkamena. Light pink coat, hot pink mane in a straight and smooth cut, even her cutie mark was a chisel on a piece of what appeared to be rose quartz. The only thing not pink about her were her eyes, and the black artist’s hat she wore. She had an amused and bemused smirk on her lips.
“I’m sorry?” Twilight asked, her eyes still glancing at the strangely still Celestia.
“I’ve done plenty of statues of Princess Celestia, but I’ve never had somepony be afraid of her before. Usually ponies are in awe or happy to see her.” She smirked at Twilight. “Are you a criminal?”
“Hey I was given clemency-” She silenced herself with a hoof before reigning in her emotions, and cleared her throat. “Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m helping check the preparations. Is that…” She examined Celestia more closely, finding that, yes, it was indeed a statue of her holding up a large sun with her wings. The flawless marble and sculpting had somehow surpassed the uncanny valley, creating something that invoked genuine emotion from Twilight. It was, like Celestia herself, awe inspiring, commanding, and drew attention like none other.
“This is amazing!” Twilight said, inching a hoof towards the marble. Pinkamena’s hoof gently pulled her away, however.
“Please don’t touch the art,” she said. “It’s going to Canterlot after the festival. Now then, you said you’re here for inspection?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. Spike and I…” She looked around. “Spike?”
    She heard a goofy mumble from the other side of the statue. Twilight and Pinkamena looked around to find the whelp staring at someone else. A pure white unicorn with an indigo mane set to a curly, but modest, manedo. Her cutie mark was a shining diamond. She was utterly engrossed in her work, glancing down at some kind of diagram while she manipulated various decorations in the room.
    “Spiiiike?” Twilight tried again.
    “She’s...beautiful,” he mumbled, staring at the unicorn. Pinkamena suppressed a snicker.
    “Rarity,” Pinkamena said. “We’ve got some visitors.”
    “Just a sec,” Rarity said with a peculiar accent. She adjusted a few bows before smiling in satisfaction, and turned. “Why hi there! What can I do you for?”
    Twilight blinked. That’s what she thought. Rarity, like Twilight Velvet, was from Vanhoover. “Well, we’re here to check the decorations which…” She looked around. “...are coming along quite nicely.”
    Rarity smiled and waved the compliment off. “Oh, really you should be saying that to Pinkie Pie. She designed it. I just helped her set it up.”
    Pinkie smiled at the praise. “Aw, you helped too.”
    “Tsk, just a little,” Rarity dismissed. “I’m Rarity.”
    “Twilight Sparkle.”
    “And who is this?” Rarity asked, turning to Spike.
    Spike responded by mumbling something incoherent. Rarity just giggled and patted him on the head. “Well aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” Spike finally managed to start speaking whole words, and Twilight let the two interact for a moment.
    “So, is it Pinkamena or Pinkie?” she asked the earth pony.
    “Either will do,” she said, shrugging. “I usually go by Pinkamena back home and when I’m with a client, but Pinkie is easier to say. So, what do you think?” She gestured to the decorations.
    Twilight took a look around, and felt her heart swell. The warm colors, the position of everything, the symbols, all centered around the majestic statue of Princess Celestia. Twilight wasn’t sure, but she almost felt the warm aura that the Princess carried with her everywhere she went.
    “Well?”
    “It’s amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like this before.” She looked at Pinkie, who was holding a rope.
    “Ah, good. I won’t be needing this, then.” She threw it out of Twilight’s sight.
    “Why would you need a rope?” Twilight asked.
    “Well I gotta keep my reputation intact one way or another,” she said with a sly smile. Twilight had to think about that for a moment before she smiled, the dark joke hitting her as she cracked a smile and snickered.
    “Be careful you don’t say that around my brother. He’d take it seriously.”
    “Oh? He one of those protective types?”
    “Try Captain of the Royal Guard.”
    Pinkie seemed surprised at that, but her look quickly turned thoughtful. “Well, I have a way with hard things. He wouldn’t be a problem.”
    Twilight blinked. “Uh, what?”
    “What? Oh hey, look, Rarity!” Pinkie pointed at the approaching unicorn.
    “Twilight, little Spike is just so adorable! And you two took it upon yourselves to help out the Princess’ student out of the goodness of your hearts. You must let me get you some lunch. Do you mind, Pinkie?” she asked.
    Pinkie gave a slow look around the room before nodding contentedly. “We’re done. Thanks, Rares.”
    Pinkie had other things to do, so Rarity led Twilight and Spike to one of the local diners. But not before stopping at a gem shop called ‘The Treasure Trove.’ Twilight immediately shot Spike a look.
    “I...may have mentioned that I eat gemstones, and that we were out?” He shrugged and tried to appear as innocent as possible. Twilight glared. Spike gulped.
    “It’s no big deal, hon,” Rarity said, unlocking the door and entering. The two stepped in to find a resplendent display of gemstones, from pea sized to some as large as a pony’s head. The latter were, naturally, under heavily warded cases.
    “When Spike here mentioned that dragons need gems for a balanced diet, I couldn’t just force him to subsist on the regular stuff.”
    Twilight frowned. “I don’t really have that much money on me.” She could simply conjure some bits, but replicating the anti-counterfeit enchantments was draining and difficult, and she refused to summon them from others. Filching a snack from Hayburger was one thing. Stealing someone’s rent was another.
    “Oh it’s no trouble at all. The mine makes plenty, and I already donate a lot to charities. This is just another.”
    Twilight blinked. “Mine?”
    Rarity smiled. “Uh huh! You’re looking at the owner of Rare Mining Ventures.”
    Twilight thought about it for a moment. She had seen a newspaper article-
    “Wait, somepony found a huge crystal in the Canterhorn a few years back.” Rarity nodded. “That was you?” She nodded again.
    “Yes, I know! I was just there with the rest of my classmates on a field trip. Princess Celestia was kind enough to let me claim it, and bought it from me. It gave me a cutie mark, and the startup funds for my business.” She giggled as she filled a bag with gemstones. Most of them were of low to moderate quality, but Spike began salivating when she held up a few larger, more high quality ones. She had been simply admiring them, but when she noted Spike’s drooling mouth, she added them as well, but with visible reluctance.
Seeing the avarice in his eyes, Twilight grabbed the bag before Spike could get his hands on them. “You can have some of these during lunch,” she said, which seemed to be enough to mollify the whelp.
Lunch was a casual affair at a sweet shop called Sugarcube Corner. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, were quite accomplished in their art, and the baked goods the two unicorns ate were spectacular. Spike got to enjoy his special treat as Twilight crushed some gemstones to dust on his fritters, giving them a more complex flavor.
All the while, they spoke of their lives. Rarity was a bit interested in Canterlot, saying she had always wanted to take a vacation there and to see the palace. Eventually lunch ended, and they parted ways. Twilight was just about to bring out the list when she heard a shout of frustration.
She looked and found Sunset Shimmer in a glaring contest with another pony. She was a baby blue pegasus with a messy, rainbow colored mane. Her cutie mark was a lightning bolt shaped wing with rainbow feathers. Oddly enough, she was sporting a set of light steel armor, common for municipal guardsponies.
“Do I have to make it an order?” Sunset asked.
“I don’t care if you’re the Princess’ student,” the pegasus said angrily. “The only pony that gives me orders is me.”
“What part of ‘the fate of Equestria depends on it’ do you not get?” Sunset said exasperatedly.
“The part where you don’t have an signed order from the Princess, and the fact that your reputation doesn’t exactly help you. I have a festival to monitor. I don’t have time to escort you through the Everfree.”
“But-” A blue hoof was shoved in her face.
“This conversation is over. Get an order from the Princess and I’ll help you. Otherwise get lost.” She took off and flew up towards a cloud before perching on it, looking down at the streets.
“What happened?” Twilight asked as innocently as possible. Sunset whirled around, her face red.
“What happened is that I found out where the El- er, I found out where some magical artifacts are. Princess Celestia needs me to get them, but they’re in that forest. I was going to get that guard...Rainbow Crash or something...to escort me there. I wonder…”
She gave Twilight a once over, then shook her head. “Nah, you’re too...soft. Guess I’ll have to find somepony else. Or go it alone.”
The sweet smile on Twilight’s face vanished. “Are you sure about that? I mean the Everfree is supposed to be soaked in wild magic. It’s probably pretty dangerous.”
“I’ll be fine,” Sunset said, and turned away.
“Do you want any help?” Twilight asked before she could stop herself. Sunset turned and looked at her curiously. “I mean, between the three of us-”
“I don’t need your help!” she snapped, and walked off. Twilight had been concerned for the unicorn’s well being, but that just evaporated.
“Fine. Get yourself killed for all I care,” she muttered.
“Uh, shouldn’t we stop her?” Spike asked.
Twilight laughed mirthlessly. “Stop Sunset Shimmer? Right, and I’ll be the next Princess of Equestria. Shimmer’s a powerhouse and isn’t afraid to use it when things get in her way. She overpowered the guard squad that was escorting her out of the palace when Celestia exiled her.  I might be able to beat her, but not without destroying a few buildings in the process.”
“You have my thanks for that.” Twilight and Spike jumped at the voice of the guardspony from earlier.
“Are you trying to give us heart attacks?” Twilight asked the mare that had snuck up on them.
She just chuckled. “Sorry about that. Stealth training. We don’t get many criminals in Ponyville, but when they show up, they don’t see me coming.” She held out a hoof. “Sergeant Rainbow Dash, Ponyville Guard Service.”
Twilight shook it. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike.”
“Do you know Miss Shimmer?”
Twilight shook her head. “In passing. She teaches at the school I used to go to. I ran into her earlier today and offered to help her with a task Princess Celestia assigned her.”
Rainbow looked at her intensely. “Is she really here to save the world?”
Twilight briefly considered lying to the pegasus. However her parents and even Discord would be disappointed in her for doing so. Lies were cheap and crude, and were hard to handle as you wove a web of them. Plus, this was an officer of the law. Even on a good day, lying to one wasn’t a good idea.
“She told me that she was taking care of important business, but not exactly what.” She noted the way Spike shifted slightly. It may have been a half-truth, but now was the time for the real truth. “Though, the truth is I did hear that there might be a threat returning as well. The Mare in the Moon, or Nightmare Moon. I came here to investigate, and ran into Sunset. She asked me to take care of checking up on some things for her.”
Twilight brought out the scroll and looked at the names, spotting Rainbow Dash on the list. “Oh, like you! You were tasked with keeping the skies clear and…” She looked around, finding nothing but clear blue sky.
“I took care of that this morning,” Rainbow said.
“Wait, a guard is on weather duty?” Spike asked.
“My full time job is being captain of the weather team,” she explained. “Ponyville’s so quiet that there are only a few part time guards, and even then we’re usually only called out when needed, or on tourist heavy holidays. But anyway, if you’re here to look into a threat, why are you busy with this?” she asked, gesturing to the list.
“Call it a hunch,” Twilight said. “Sunset said that Princess Celestia assigned her this task, and I think the Princess knows what she’s doing, so it needs to be done. If Sunset doesn’t want to do it, I will.”
Rainbow gave Twilight an appraising look. “Fair enough, but I’m not going to abandon my post on the word of a book of old prophecies and the hearsay of two mares, no matter if one of them is the Princess’ student. One of you gets some evidence, then we’ll talk. Until then, I have a town to keep an eye on. Good day.” She jumped back up in the air and zipped up to her cloud perch.
“Woah, fast,” Spike said. Indeed, Twilight had only seen a handful of pegasi with that kind of speed, and even then she wasn’t sure if they came close to Rainbow Dash.
“I’d hate to have to run from her,” Twilight said, checking off the third task on the list. “Now all that’s left is...ugh.” She sneered at the document.
“What is it?” Spike asked.
“Spike, what kind of pony do you think has a name like Madam Jacqueline?”
“Uh, somepony old? Or rich?”
Twilight nodded. “Exactly. I’m not looking forward to this.”
There was a slight gap between Ponyville and the farm known as Sweet Apple Acres, and when the smell hit Twilight’s nose, she knew why.
“Ugh, I don’t have a problem with farmers, but does it have to stink so badly?” she asked as they approached the fenceline. Immediately visible were apple trees as far as the eye could see. However as they walked down the path, they could see several fields of other crops such as corn, wheat, and carrots. Off in the distance was a large farmhouse, several barns and other supporting structures.
A bit of movement caught Twilight’s eye, and she turned to find an orange earth pony bucking an apple tree. Her blonde mane and tail were tied up in buns, and she had a brown stetson on. Her cutie mark was that of a shining, golden apple. Deciding it would be best to get directions, she approached the mare.
“Hello, can I ask you something?”
The mare turned and smiled, clearly slightly winded. “But of course, darlin’.” Twilight wasn’t surprised to hear a southerner accent come from the farmpony.
Twilight smiled and cleared her throat. “Yes, I’m helping check on the festival preparations. Can you lead me to Madam Jacqueline?”
“Of course. Right this way.” The orange pony trotted along, humming some kind of tune. “So you’re here to check up on our preparations?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, the family brought out all the stops today. When her highness requested that we cater for the Summer Sun Celebration…” She giggled. “It was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up.” She gestured to the buildings and the setup they had. “What do you think...er...I’m afraid I didn’t get your name.”
“Twilight Sparkle.”
“Well, Twilight Sparkle, what do you think of our fair operation?”
Twilight looked around. Up close it was about what she expected, that being dirt, plants, and farming equipment. However as she looked closer, she noticed something else. Ponies. Ponies were everywhere, working, talking, having a decent time. As they approached the farmhouse, she noted that the many long tables outside were covered in all manner of baked goods. The smell of apples was pungent, and despite the fact that she and Spike just ate, she felt her stomach grumble.
“Well, I don’t know much about farming, but you all seem to have things under control. It’s very...uh...homey?” Twilight smiled, noting that the farmpony looked at her with a bit more intensity than should be necessary. It quickly passed, however, and she settled on a warm smile.
“Our home may not be as productive as the ones that are adopting the new miniaturized steam engines, but it has heart. I’m glad to see that you appreciate such virtues.”
Now close to the farmhouse, Twilight noted that the construction was actually incredibly high quality, and not only due to the craftsmanship. The mouldings were fine, and the paint job was precise. As she walked up onto the porch, she noted no squeaks from the boards, and in fact it almost didn’t vibrate at all. She glanced in through the window, and was surprised to find that much of the interior furniture looked fairly expensive.
“One moment, darlin,” the farmpony said, and walked inside.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many ponies working,” Spike said. “Do you think they all live here?”
Twilight did a quick calculation. The farmhouse was certainly large enough. “It wouldn’t surprise me,” she said. “House Ruby Harvest is one of the largest earth pony families in Equestria. They provide nearly all the apples on the market. This must be one of their larger farms.”
“Actually this is the largest operation outside of Appleloosa,” said a refined voice. Twilight and Spike turned to find that the farmpony had returned, albeit different.
Much different.
Her mane had been let down, and styled into an elegant beehive that was popular among the higher class. Her relaxed posture had been replaced with poise, and she had on a fair amount of makeup.
“Madam Jacqueline, a pleasure to meet you, though you may call me Applejack if you wish,” she said, holding out a hoof. Twilight took it dumbly and shook it, questions running through her mind. “You should close your mouth before something flies into it.”
Twilight’s jaw snapped shut. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect-”
Jacqueline giggled. “That was the intent, sugarcube. The best way to learn what kind of pony you are conversing with is to see how they treat the help. It helps me weed out the undesirables when it comes to business partners. Truth be told, I was a little confused. You’re obviously from Canterlot, but your manedo is so…” She hesitated. “...free. Alas, one mustn't judge a book by its cover. Now then, you wished to meet with me?”
Twilight blinked, still having a bit of trouble processing all of this. “Uh, yes!” She brought out the list. “I’m helping Sunset Shimmer check on the Summer Sun Celebration preparations. You’re in charge of the food?”
Jacqueline smiled and brought Twilight down to the tables. She grabbed a metal rod before clanging it against a triangle, calling out for everyone to come. Within a minute, a large crowd of primarily earth ponies surrounded them. “May I introduce…” She then began listing off names, pointing out each and every one of them. Most of them had apple related names as family, but there were a handful of off names as well. Likely just hired assistance. Finally, she ended with, “Big Mcintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith.” The three being a massive red stallion, a yellow filly, and a green colored mare that looked fairly spry for her age.
“Each and every one of our fine goods was produced by the family. Would you care to sample some?”
“Please!” Spike said. The little whelp was always ready to have sweets.
“We just ate lunch, but I’d be glad to have some pie,” Twilight said.
It was delicious.
“So, what is the verdict?” Jacqueline asked.
“Hmm?”
“For the Celebration, sugarcube.”
Twilight snorted. “Oh, sorry. I was just...wow that pie was good. I’d say its good to go.”
The crowd cheered. They all said their goodbyes, and Twilight left back towards Ponyville.
“So what now?” Spike asked. “Was taking care of the list really going to help us with Nightmare Moon?”
“I have to assume so, Spike. Princess Celestia wouldn’t have had Sunset doing that if she thought it wasn’t important. Now we just have to find the old capitol building and the Elements. The city hall is pretty much set up for the festival, so I doubt we’re going to find any help there.”
“So where do we go?”
“The library, of course! There’s sure to be some maps there.” The two headed to the large oak tree that Twilight initially met Sunset at. Soon after they approached the front door, however, Discord slithered out from the leafy branches above.
“Well, haven’t you been busy,” he said. “Send your pet away, if you would please?”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “You know what, Spike? I think you’ve earned a break.” She brought out some bits. “Why don’t you go enjoy yourself. Staring at maps isn’t that fun, anyway.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice, as he took the bits. “Thanks, Twilight! I’ll be back later!” A moment later, he was gone.
“I thought you said you couldn’t be here,” Twilight accused as she walked into the library. It was homey, dusty, and smelled of parchment, a dirty pleasure that Twilight refused to tell anyone.
Discord floated in and began examining the place. “Yes I did, but I simply couldn’t bear the suspense. So I thought I would see if I could follow you here and wouldn’t you know it…” He slid underground before phasing up out of the horse head centerpiece in the middle of the room. “Surprise!”
“So you can help me?” Twilight asked.
Discord stroked at his beard. “Oh, I do have a bit of power here. I’m not exactly sure why that is, but something about Ponyville has an old, familiar smell about it. Whatever happened ten years ago in Cloudsdale caused a rift in fate and destiny. To be short, it broke spectacularly. However the thing about destiny is that it so rudely tries to piece itself back together. I’m sure that those pieces are coming together here in Ponyville. However those pieces are tainted by chaos, and thus…”
He snapped his fingers, inverting gravity in the room. Twilight immediately fell to the ceiling, landing on her hooves. She had a lot of practice, after all.
“It’s not going to be a problem, is it?” Twilight asked.
Discord shrugged, and floated up to her, cupping her face. “I don’t know. That’s what chaos is after all. What’s beautiful about it my dear, is that you get to decide what happens, not some all controlling force of destiny.” He snapped his fingers again, allowing normality to resume.
“As far as helping you, I could distract Nightmare Moon slightly, but nothing major. Doing what I just did was tough enough. Fighting Darth Lulu?” He winced. “Ehhh...unlikely. We’ll see. However I’m much more interested in what you have been doing. Instead of looking for the Elements, you’ve been making friends.”
Twilight cringed. “W-well...I mean if Princess Celestia wanted Sunset to-”
Discord put his hands up. “No no no! Don’t mistake my words for disappointment. I heartily approve.”
Twilight cocked a brow. “Wha?”
He floated over to her, wrapping his lion arm around her neck. “Twilight, when I decided to mentor you, one of the goals I set was to make sure you thought for yourself. That you don’t just always follow the instructions to the letter. You make your own decisions, and refuse to let somepony else tell you how to be or how to solve your problems. Yes, you follow Sunbutt’s friendship lessons from the school, but you aren’t a slave to them. Just as such, I sent you to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, but when you saw something new and unexpected, you stopped. You thought, and you decided to adapt to the changing reality.
“You ride the waves of chaos instead of crashing headfirst into them. I couldn’t be more proud- eck!” He pulled back slightly as Twilight hugged his noodly body. He sighed and patted her on the head lightly in return.
“Yes, yes, we’re friends, but now is not the time for hugs. You still have work to do. From what I’ve seen so far, you’re doing a splendid job. Keep up the good work, though…” He floated over to the bookshelves, and ran a talon across the spines before stopping on one.
“Aha! Here you are, my dear. This should help you nicely.” He handed it over to her, the cover reading The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.
“Wow, what are the chances of this being here?” Twilight said.
Discord snickered. “Yes, what are the chances?” He reached out into the air and grabbed at nothing, opening a door to a black void. “Oh, and one other thing, Twilight? Harmony magic is very much like chaos magic in that you can’t force it. Let it come naturally. Go with the flow. Destiny wants something to happen, so what are you going to do?”
“Ride it out to where I want to go?”
Discord smiled and scoffed. “Sometimes I wonder why I teach you at all. It’s like you have all the answers already.” Twilight smiled and blushed, looking away. “Well, I must be off. I’m going to replace all the sunflowers in the palace with moonflowers. For now, I bid you adieu.” He gave an exaggerated bow before stepping into the doorway, and slammed it shut.
And then Twilight was alone. All alone with her book. A grin formed on her lips-
“Wait,” she said quietly. “HELLO! ANYPONY HERE?”
Silence.
“Yes!” She started tittering. Alone meant she could have some fun. With a snap of her tail, all the books in the library flew out to form a floating throne. Another snap, and gravity was nullified. After all, books aren’t exactly comfortable to sit on. She floated over and ‘sat’ down, opening the reference guide.
“Hmm...still needs something...ah!” With another gesture, a chocolate milkshake appeared.
“Perfect,” she said, cracking the text open.

===

    “Twilight!”
    Twilight jerked awake, looking around in a panic. “I’m the Queen of Books! You can’t-” She blinked, taking in the sight. She was floating in the air, surrounded by books, chairs, tables, and pretty much everything that wasn’t nailed down on the library’s bottom floor. With a yelp, she released the magic holding everything up in the air.
    Naturally, she suddenly found herself in a book pile.
    “Gah! Jeez Twilight, did you have to do that?” Spike said, pulling the books off of her.
    “Sorry, Spike,” she said, yawning and stretching. “I guess I fell asleep studying and reading the reference guide.”
    She looked to Spike, who was wearing a t-shirt with Celestia’s emblem on it, along with a pair of sunglasses. “Uh, reference guide?”
    With a gesture, Twilight sent the books and furniture back to where they belonged, more or less. All that remained was the reference guide in question. “Yup! This book has all we need to know about the Elements of Harmony. Apparently there are six, with only five known for some reason. I’m betting that Princess Celestia had a hoof in it, seeing as she used them to banish her sister. Why? I dunno. Anyway, they are: kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and honesty. It says here that “When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.”
    “Well, that’s great, Twi, but what about the map to the Castle of the Two Sisters?”
    Twilight shrugged. “I looked for it, but anything that covers the Everfree is mysteriously missing. Somepony must have taken them.”
    “What are we gonna do?” Spike asked, concerned.
    Twilight patted his head. “We’re going to relax, Spike. Things will work out.” She glanced over to a clock, finding that she had been reading and sleeping until six in the evening. “Let’s go have more fun at the festival. We have time, and I have a hypothesis.”
    “What is it?”
    “There are five elements, and we met five mares that gave me the impression that they value those concepts.”
    “And the spark…” Spike’s eyes went wide. “Sparkle!”
    Twilight grinned. “Technically it’s a stretch, but that’s what I’m thinking.”
    “Well let’s go get them!”
    Twilight raised her hoof. “Hold on there, grasshopper. We’ve made friends with them, kinda. But if we go up to them talking about Nightmare Moon, we might drive them away. Remember what Rainbow Dash said?” Spike nodded. “So, I’m thinking we just have to wait for Nightmare to show up, gather the girls, go get the Elements, and save the day. Easy!”
    Spike didn’t look all that convinced. “Eh, well if you say so.”
    The two left and headed out into the festival, which had gone into full swing. Ponies trotted about, smiles on their faces as they partook in the festivities. Most easily visible was the multitudes of apple foodstuffs that everyone was snacking on. Behind that were the subtle decorations, pushing and prodding everyone into cheer and merriment. The weather was perfect and clear, and not a single cloud obscured the orange sky as the sun slowly set.
    And yet, the festival wouldn’t be over for another twelve hours, culminating with the sunrise. Twilight found it amusing that the holiday celebrating the longest day of the year was celebrated mostly at night.
    And so for the remainder of the night, Twilight and Spike enjoyed themselves. They played games, bought food and knick knacks from the stalls, spoke to ponies, and generally had a good time. Spike, having been out and about already for hours, was exhausted by the time midnight rolled around. Twilight had him rest back at the library’s living space, as it seemed like the thing was practically abandoned anyway.
    She continued to relax and enjoy herself, occasionally playing a prank or two with a gentle nudge of chaos magic. Just enough to make things interesting without outing herself. Something was missing, however. Something she had forgotten.
    She looked around, trying to spy what it was.
    “Hmm…ponies, fun, food, frolic. The three F’s are good to go, so what…”
    Then she saw it, a smudge of yellow and red. Twilight trotted over to it to find a dejected Sunset Shimmer sitting at an out-of-the-way table, nursing a mug of what was likely hard cider. Standing on the table was Philomena, or who she thought was Philomena. The majestic bird had been reduced to a chick, which meant one thing. She had died, only to be reborn.
    “Sunset?” she asked, only getting a grunt in response. “What happened?”
    Sunset sighed. “I screwed up.” She said nothing more, and just sipped at her drink.
    “What. Happened.”
    Sunset glared at her. “I went into the forest and almost died, okay? Happy?” She sneered and turned away. Twilight was having none of it, and sat down at the table.
    “No, I’m not. What were you thinking, going into the forest alone?”
    “You wouldn’t understand.” She brought the mug to her mouth again, only for it to be yanked from her grip. Sunset glared, only to be met with one just as stern.
    “Alright look,” Twilight said. “Our little game is fun when there’s nothing to lose, but I think the end of the world is where it should stop.”
    Sunset’s eyes widened for a moment. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said quickly.
    “You’re not the only one that knows about Nightmare Moon, Sunset.”
    That got the other unicorn’s attention, who immediately started glaring. “Have you been spying on me, Sparkle?”
    Twilight smirked. “You weren’t exactly quiet when you arrived. Also I have my own sources. I came here on my own to stop Nightmare Moon. I didn’t know that Princess Celestia was sending you.”
    Sunset stared at her for a moment, obviously gauging the others' trustworthiness. “Fine. I guess that’s plausible. So what’s your plan? Mine obviously didn’t work.”
    Twilight produced the checklist. “Well, I took care of the supervisory preparations,” she said smugly. In an instant, the paper was incinerated by a red aura. “Hey!”
    “Look, I’m not sure why Princess Celestia was trying to distract me with that, but I figured you would be smart enough to see through it.”
    Twilight looked at her flatly before turning the ash back into parchment. She did not miss the surprise in Sunset’s eyes. “Princess Celestia isn’t stupid, Sunset. She has a reason for everything she does. If she wanted you to oversee the preparations, then it was a part of your quest. A part that you hoofed off to me.”
    Sunset sneered, opened her mouth, only for silence to reign for a moment before she threw up her hooves in frustration. “Ugh! She always does this! Why can’t she just tell me what I need to do?”
    “What exactly did she say, anyway?” Twilight asked.
    Sunset sighed, and produced some rolled parchment. “Dear Sunset...blah blah blah, the time has come for you to prove your readiness...more things and filler...you must go to Ponyville and start there. While you work towards your goal, supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration...yadda yadda yadda...make some friends.”
    She shook the parchment angrily. “I mean, who does that besides Celestia? The end of the world is coming, and she’s having me check up on this stupid festival and...ugh! It’s like she never gets the hint. I’ve tried better to learn her stupid friendship lessons, but why can’t she just understand that they’re not for me? I’m good at magic and blowing things up. Not silly fun times!”
    Twilight blinked as Sunset ended her rant. “Wow. Um…” She winced and rubbed at the back of her head. “So...hear me out. Could it be possible that defeating Nightmare Moon involves friends?”
    Sunset snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and the next princess of Equestria is going to be the Princess of Friendship,” she mocked.
    Twilight smiled faintly. “Stranger things have happened. But really, do you think Princess Celestia is stupid enough to give you meaningless tasks when a world ending threat is approaching?”
    Sunset snarled, looked away, frowned, and finally relaxed in resignation. “No. I guess not.”
    “Then you’ll let me introduce you to all the friends I’ve made?”
    Sunset rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine, I guess. It’s not like we’re going to make it through the Everfree again.” She winced and looked at the baby Philomena, who hopped over to Sunset before taking refuge in her mane.
    Twilight looked over at a clock. It was nearing 5 AM already. “Hmm, we might not have enough time for that.” She looked up at the moon, and stiffened when she saw it. “Yep, no time at all.”
    “Why, what is it?” Sunset asked. Twilight pointed up at the moon, which had four bright stars shining around it, slowly drifting to its surface. The prophecy of Nightmare Moon’s return had mentioned that the stars would aid in her escape, and Twilight was glad she had taken the time to read these past hours. “Oh crap.”
    “Don’t worry, we have time. Even if Nightmare Moon shows up and overthrows Celestia, the world isn’t going to die in ten minutes.”
    Sunset grit her teeth. “I’d rather fight.”
    Twilight looked at her flatly. “Hmm, yes, we should totally fight the dark magic powered alicorn of the night. That will surely work.”
    Sunset pouted. “Shut up. I like simple solutions.”
    “Celestia gave you the solution. You just need to follow it.” She watched as Sunset glared again, her mouth twitching with whatever she wanted to say. It was just like when Twilight played the ‘dumb lucky student’ back at school.
    “Fine,” she grit out. “Where to?”
    “Let’s go to the town hall. If Nightmare shows up, she’ll probably crash the sunrise. Villians do that.”
    They began trotting there, with Sunset raising a brow. “So, you do this kind of thing often?”
    Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Er, well no, but it fits the theme.”
    “What theme?”
    Twilight winced. “Um...like in fiction stories?” Sunset just stared at her flatly. “Hey, those and Shining’s OnO games are all I’m running on, okay?”
    “Shining…” Sunset muttered. “Wait, you don’t mean Shining Armor, do you?” Twilight nodded. “The Captain of the Royal Guard?” Another nod. “Of fucking course.”
    Twilight looked at her. “What?”
    “Nothing.”
    “But-”
    “Nothing.”
    Twilight let it go.
    The whole thing was very well made. Fluttershy’s bird choir lifted any spirits that Pinkie’s decorations didn’t, and Mayor Mare’s speech certainly filled all the ponies with a bit of patriotic fervor in favor of their monarch.
    “Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the finish of the Summer Sun Celebration!”
    Everyone stomped their hooves and cheered. Celestia’s appearance was always well received. She had a near 100% approval rating, after all.
    “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…”
    Beside her, Twilight heard Sunset suck in a breath. She followed Sunset’s eyes up to the moon, and stiffened herself as the stars finally reached its surface.
    With a flash. The Mare in the Moon was gone. Nightmare Moon was free.
    The bird choir suddenly grew loud again, building up for the big reveal.
    Pinkie, who was the stagehand, pulled the rope for the curtains, revealing…
    An empty stage. Everyone in the crowd began to whisper and worry.
    Both Twilight and Sunset frowned. “Still not up for a fight?” Sunset asked.
    Twilight shook her head. While she was confident her chaos magic could certainly throw the alicorn for a loop, she didn’t feel like dodging lethal attacks. “Ride it out. Once she does her thing and leaves, we’ll get the Elements.”
    Sunset narrowed her eyes. “How do you know about the Ele-”
    She was cut off by Rarity’s scream. On the stage, a dark blue, star speckled fog began coalescing into a large mass. Every unicorn in the audience felt the magic building up to a whine, which finally culminated in a short flash.
    Standing on the stage was a pitch black mare. As tall as the Princess and bearing the wings and horn of an alicorn, she was a twisted mirror image of Celestia herself. Where Celestia was warm, welcoming, and kind, the features of Nightmare Moon reminded oneself of a predator, cold and uncaring of whatever she crushed in her path.
    Even if her body language and features didn’t portray this, the armor adorning her obviously portrayed her as a bloodthirsty conqueror.
    “Okay, I think I’m with you on this one,” Sunset whispered.
    Nightmare spoke, her voice deep and seductive. “Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces.”
    Rainbow Dash was up in the air in but a second. “You will tell us where Princess Celestia is.”
    Nightmare sneered and lit her horn. Instantly, Rainbow was gripped in a blue telekinetic light. Nightmare dragged her forward, threatening to burn Rainbow to ash with her glare. “You dare to give orders to your rightful Princess?”
    Rainbow Dash struggled, trying to fight off the magic. “Not my princess,” she managed to say. Nightmare snarled and flung the pegasus towards a wall. It was Twilight that caught her before she crashed, bringing her down to the ground. Rainbow tried to fly back up there, but Twilight held her there.
    “You can’t win, but there are alternatives to fighting,” she advised. Dash glared at her, but ultimately acquiesced.
    “You should listen to your unicorn friend,” Nightmare said. “And be thankful I am feeling merciful. In the past, such insubordination would have been met with an execution.” The gathered ponies in the room gasped in shock at the declaration.
    “Strange that you do not know this already. Tis mere history,” Nightmare said dismissively. “Unless, do none of you know who I am? Do none of you know the legend? Did none of you see the signs?”
    The ponies were smartly quiet, and for a moment Twilight thought all would be well.
    Then Sunset stepped forward.
    “What are you doing?” Twilight hissed. Sunset ignored her as she took another step.
    “I saw the signs, and I know who you are, Nightmare Moon.”
    Nightmare glanced over to Sunset, sizing the unicorn up. There was no fear, naturally. Sunset was nothing to her, but...did Twilight see a flicker of a smile on the alicorn’s lips?
    “It appears that Celestia didn’t erase history as much as I thought. Then, little unicorn, you know why I’m here?”
    “You’re here to bring night eternal, thus dooming all life on the planet?”
    Nightmare nodded with a smile. At least at first. As Sunset finished her sentence, Nightmare sneered again. “I am not a fool, you stupid filly. Eternal night will feed life just as well as the day. I have planned for this for a long time, after all.” She stomped an armored hoof to the stage. “Know that my love for ponykind burns just as bright as my wrath. I will show all the beauty of the night, and I will lead Equestria into a new golden age!” She reared up, lightning striking outside from her deliberate theatrics.
    “Stand aside, and you will be spared,” she said to the crowd. “Cross me, and perish,” she said to Rainbow Dash. “And for those that seek glory and power…” She looked at Sunset. “...know that those with drive and ambition are welcome by my side.”
    With another stomp, her ethereal mane wrapped around her, turning her into an amorphous spectre. She shot through the statue of Celestia, crumbling it to its base before she flew out the door.
    Silence, broken by Pinkie Pie crying out, “Really?! I worked so hard on that!”
    Seconds later, chaos erupted. The mayor was quick to assume command and calm the crowd, at least mostly.
    “I’m instituting a curfew,” she announced. “Everypony return to their homes. For those from out of town, remain here at the town hall.” As the ponies started filtering out, she waved to the two royal guards.
    Beside Twilight and Sunset, Rainbow Dash sighed and grunted in annoyance. “Thanks for holding me back, and sorry for ignoring you.”
    “Ignoring? Rainbow, what did you do?” Fluttershy said upon approach. With her were the rest of the ponies that Twilight had met earlier that day.
    “She ignored my reports about the returning supervillain,” Sunset said. Instantly, everyone out of the loop was looking at Rainbow with demanding expressions.
    “Hey, I was assigned to the festival. How was I supposed to know your crazy story was real? You didn’t have any evidence.”
    Rarity clicked her tongue. “She’s got you there, hon. You can’t just expect a guard to drop what they’re doing for a foalish story like that.”
    “I agree,” Jacqueline said. “Without seeing Nightmare herself, I would have dismissed the story as nothing but a fabrication. It’s simply too unbelievable that Princess Celestia didn’t see this coming.”
    “Actually, she did,” Twilight said. “She sent Sunset here to search for the solution.”
    “I actually already know what and where the solution is. The Elements of Harmony, powerful magical artifacts, and they’re in the Everfree Forest, more specifically the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Sunset said, shooting a look at Rainbow, who winced. Twilight jabbed Sunset in the ribs, prompting a glare off between the two. Finally, Sunset groaned and rolled her eyes.
    “Alright! Alright. Look, officer, you were just doing your job. I can’t blame you for that.
    “I guess,” she muttered afterward.
    Rainbow didn’t seem too convinced, but nodded anyway.
    Pinkie Pie said, “So, eternal night is upon us, and the only thing standing in its way are seven ponies and a prayer.” She smirked. “When do we leave?”
    Sunset blinked. “Woah woah woah. This is like, super dangerous stuff. I’m sure Twilight and I can work it out with Officer Dash here escorting us.”
    “This is not up for debate, dear,” Jacqueline said. “An Apple never lets a friend trapse into danger on their own, and I’m sure I speak for the rest of us when I say that you’re stuck with us.”
    The rest of the girls nodded and agreed, which left Sunset visibly stunned.
    “You’re...going to help me? Just like that?”
    “Just like that,” Fluttershy said.
    Sunset blinked before looking around as if someone was spying on them. “Okay?” she said, uncertain. “Um. Right. Let’s go then.” They all started to walk out of the town hall, but just before they reached the door, Sunset held Twilight back.
    “You did this, didn’t you?”
    Twilight arched a brow. “You mean befriending the five of them? Yeah.”
    Sunset shook her head. “No, I mean this...helping stuff. You told them about me, about what I needed, didn’t you?”
    Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Nope. I suspected they would help us once I read about the Elements, but I didn’t tell them anything.”
    “But that never happens,” Sunset argued. “Ponies do things in exchange for favors. Or if they want payment.”
    Twilight snorted and rolled her eyes. “When it comes to nobles, maybe. Regular ponies are different, though.”
    Sunset narrowed her eyes. “We’ll see.”
    “Are you two coming?” Rarity called out.
> Are Not Enemies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not wanting to give Nightmare Moon any more of a head start than they already had, the team gathered only the bare minimum of provisions. Some food and medical supplies, along with water. Of course, the bare minimum was something rather subjective to the ponies, so there were a few things that may have been considered excessive.
    Or many things.
    With no more time to spare, they entered the forest.
    It was, as Twilight expected, woody, wild, and dirty. Unexpectedly, the fur of all ponies stood on end as an aura of wild malevolence descended upon them. The trees held silhouettes of monsters in the dark. The noise of insects and animals was constant, the air was humid, and there was a faint scent of decay that pervaded the nose. There was a dirt pathway to their destination, oddly enough, as the forest was supposed to be completely unused aside from the odd adventurer or camper.
    “So, none of you have been in here before?” Twilight asked.
    “It’s not exactly the safest of places, you know?” Rarity said.
    “On top of that, it isn’t natural,” Jacqueline added.
    “What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
    “The weather can’t be controlled,” Rainbow Dash said.
    “The animals care for themselves,” Fluttershy added.
    “And the plants are wild and untamed,” Jacqueline finished.
    Twilight looked at them all curiously. “You mean like most of the world?” Everyone save for Sunset looked like she just grew a second head. “What?”
    “What do you mean ‘like most of the world?’” Rainbow Dash asked evenly.
    Twilight tilted her head curiously at them. “Well, the vast majority of the world runs on its own, and doesn’t need outside interference to function. In fact, outside Equestria, only the griffon lands really practice environmental control, and that’s only with the weather.”
    “You’re wrong,” said Fluttershy.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. Everypony knows that without our help, the animals wouldn’t know when to migrate, what forests are safe, and how to take care of themselves.”
    “And it seems pretty far fetched that weather would be possible without the factories,” Dash said with a bit of a growl. “I mean, why would we even have an entire industry for it if it wasn’t necessary?”
    “Because Celestia is a control freak-” She slammed her mouth shut, but too late. Discord’s words had already slipped out. Everyone was looking at her with bewildered or angry looks, save for Sunset, who actually looked amused.
    “What do you mean she’s-”
    “How dare you-”
    “What did she ever do to-”
    Twilight cringed and backed off from the sudden tirade of words thrown at her. Her own face started to turn red as her fellow equines worshipped Celestia so blindly, and she was about to start yelling back with a loud bang sounded above them. They all looked up at the red sparks when Sunset spoke up.
    “That’s enough!” She stepped forward and stomped her hoof. “We don’t have time for this. Twilight’s right, only a handful of species even have the ability to doctor the environment like we do, and we do it the most. She wasn’t saying that it’s wrong to do so, only that it exists.”
    Fluttershy huffed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
    Sunset pointed a hoof warningly at the pegasus. “Then maybe you should take a vacation to Taurland. I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”
    “Hmph!”
    “Now let’s go.”
    “Now wait just a gosh darn second!” Applejack announced, her posh accent slipping away. “Are we really going to just ignore what she said about the Princess?” There were a few voices of agreement.
    “What about you, hon? You’re the Princess’ student,” Rarity said.
    Sunset stiffened slightly. “Celestia is...look, Twilight’s not entirely wrong.” She winced as she got more flak in response. “But everyone’s entitled to their opinion!” she shouted over them. “I think she knows now that maybe she should keep it to herself?” She turned to Twilight to emphasise her words.
    Twilight crossed her arms and pouted slightly. “Fine.”
    Sunset smiled. “See! We can agree to disagree, and still be okay with each other. Right? I think that’s how it goes,” she muttered at the end.
    The rest of the group seemed uneasy at the idea, but slowly agreed to put their differences aside for the moment.
    “Good! We’ve gotten off track, let’s go, girls, we’re burning moonlight.” Sunset waved them on, and the group followed. Twilight silently fumed, but kept silent. She wanted to be the leader, to be the one to lead the group to defeat Nightmare Moon, but that seemed to be slipping away.
    Ride it out.
    Discord’s lessons popped into her head. Forcing something very rarely worked. She could try to step in and assume control, but she doubted that would go over well. Instead, she should take a step back and let things play out. If there’s an opportunity, then take it. Otherwise…
    Sunset seemed to actually be a decent leader. At least for now.

===

    It was an hour of trekking through the dark and monotonous forest. The humidity and heat was just faintly bearable, and more than once scrapes and bruises occurred due to the party’s general lack of experience in the matter.
    Had they acquired such experience prior to the trip, they may not have found themselves in their current situation.
    “Not again!” Sunset despaired. Within her mane, Philomena shivered at the sight.
    An entire pack of manticore surrounded the party in the clearing they had taken a moment to rest in. Four of the monstrous chimaeras looked at the little ponies like the dinner they were. The future looked bleak.
    “Well, it was a pleasure knowing all of you,” Pinkie said, playing a violin she had somehow acquired. Twilight looked at her curiously, suspecting chaos magic, but put it aside for now.
    “Rainbow Dash, you and Fluttershy run. There’s no need for you two to be eaten with the rest of us,” Sunset said, charging her horn. Behind her, Fluttershy was standing tall, but the trembling in her legs was enough to show that it was false bravado.
    “Absolutely not,” Rainbow said evenly. “If you think I’m going to abandon those under my care, you’re either stupid or are a wannabe hero.”
    Sunset whipped her head around and opened her mouth, but was silenced by a hoof. “I have a duty to all citizens of Equestria to lay my life down before anypony else comes to harm. The six of you run. I’ll hold them off.” She looked out to the approaching enemy, her gaze rock solid.
    Sunset looked back at the path they had come from, clearly considering it. However when she looked back at Rainbow as she walked away from the safety of the herd, something broke within her. She may have been a power hungry unicorn, willing to dabble in the darker arts, but abandoning a member of one’s herd, however temporary, was unthinkable. Here was Rainbow Dash, someone she had only known a few hours, laying her life down for complete strangers. The thought of just abandoning her when she was willing to die without a thought…
    Unacceptable.
    “I’m staying,” she announced, stepping forward to Rainbow’s side.
    “What are you doing?” Rainbow hissed.
    “Something stupid,” she whispered back. “Also I’m not going to just run away like that. We have a world to save! Are we really going to be stopped by something as trivial as manticores?”
    The effect was instant. One by one, the formerly cowering mares began taking their places at each other’s side, forming a ring to meet the approaching predators. The sight of the snarling ponies gave them pause, and they looked more closely at their supposed prey. They saw the unnatural lights on the horned ones, the steely looks from the winged ones, and the unnerving calm of the ground-bound.
    One of the manticores decided to try his luck and pounce. In return, he got a pair of hooves in his face, followed by a beam of purple light blasting him back. The other beasts suddenly took a step back, reconsidering.
    “Come on,” Sunset whispered, moving towards the other side of the clearing. “Keep together.” As the ring of ponies slowly moved to continue on their path, the manticores began giving them a wide berth. They snarled and snapped their teeth, but no more. Once they were safely away from the pack, everyone relaxed.
    “You...idiot!” Rainbow said, lightly punching Sunset in the shoulder. “How did you know that would work?”
    “Well, I once read that with most animals, you just need to present yourself as a big enough threat that messing with you isn’t worth it.”
    Rainbow sputtered. “You made up a plan based on something you read in a book?” She let out a frustrated groan, throwing her hooves in the air. “We’re lucky that worked.”
    Sunset shrugged. “Maybe, but I refused to just abandon you like that. Right?” She turned to the rest of the group, who gave words of agreement.
    Rainbow blushed slightly, taking her helm off and rubbing at the back of her neck. “Ah. Well...thanks, guys. That means a lot.”
    The group shared a few more words before moving on.

===

    “Do you hear that?” asked Pinkie Pie.
    The group stopped, ears out as they tried to hear what the pink mare had picked up on.
    “No.”
    “Nope.”
    “It’s this way,” Pinkie said, pointing. “Down the road.” The group followed, and within a minute they all began hearing a somber tune from some kind of woodwind instrument. Soon enough, they came across a cloaked equine leaning up against a tree. They had a flute up to their mouth, and was the source of the rather sad music. Next to her laid a saddlebag pair that had little, if anything, in them.
    “Who is that?” Twilight asked, only to get confusion and a lack of answers.
    “Let’s find out,” Sunset said. “I mean, there’s only one of them. They can’t hurt us if they want to do us harm, right?” There was some uneasy agreement, and they approached. “Hello!” Sunset called out. Immediately the music stopped, and the cloaked being looked at them.
    “Do my eyes deceive me? Is someone there to help me be free?” The voice was deep, smooth, and femenine.
    Sunset tilted her head at the odd words, but the information finally clicked. “You’re a zebra!”
    The zebra nodded. “Zecora is the name I go by. I have another if you want to try.”
    “What does she mean by that?” Applejack asked.
    “Zebra names are generally difficult for non native speakers to pronounce,” Twilight said before Sunset could speak. The two shared a gentle glare for a moment.
    “Indeed, my home tongue is hard to pronounce for those not native to my house.”
    “What are you doing here alone in the Forest?” Sunset asked.
    Zecora frowned. “My homeland has fallen to strife. I came to Equestria to restart my life. Canterlot may be the new Roam, but the Everfree reminds me of home. I am a shaman, maker of potions and brew. Selling them would help both me and you.”
    Twilight narrowed her eyes. “But that doesn’t explain you now. I mean, why are you just sitting here in our path?”
    Zecora put up a hoof. “Peace, young unicorn- I mean you no harm. I do not wish to cause you alarm. I was searching for a place to build my house. To prepare for the future- possibly a spouse.” She sighed. “Misfortune has befallen me, my supplies are gone. Blasted away by some demon spawn. For klicks and klicks my stuff was tossed. Now I wander, unfortunately lost.”
    “This wouldn’t have been a starry, blue fog that flew through the air, would it?” Applejack asked.
    Zecora nodded. “Indeed, at the time I did not believe my eyes. The Nightmare has returned, here to seize her prize.” She frowned grimly, a deep sorrow in her eyes.
    “You won’t have to worry about that,” Sunset said. “Cause we’re going to stop her.”
    Zecora looked at the group of proud ponies for a moment in scrutiny before a relieved smile pulled at her lips. “It may be hard to see, but the future may yet be free.” She stood up. “I would like to wish you well, as I must escape this hell.”
    Sunset nodded. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Good lu-” she stopped as Rarity approached the rather dirty zebra.
    “Now I couldn’t just let somepony sweet like you wander off with nothing,” she said, opening her saddlebags. Soon enough, a dozen gems and a not insignificant amount of her supplies floated out. “Here, once you get back to town, these should fetch you enough money to stay at the inn while you pick yourself back up.”
    Zecora’s eyes widened, along with the rest of the party. “Oh, no. I must protest. I do not need to be so blessed.”
    Rarity let out a short laugh. “That’s what they all say, hon. Don’t you worry, I got plenty back at the shop. After all, what good is money if not to share it with somepony?”
    Sunset felt her fur stand on end again. She didn’t like it, but it pulled at something in her. “She’s right,” she said before thinking. Despite the logic in her mind protesting, she opened her own bags and pulled out one of the maps of the Everfree. “Here, this should help you get out of here a bit more easily.”
    Zecora opened her mouth to protest again, but shut it when she saw the other ponies quickly following suit. Within a minute her bags were full. Food from Applejack, some medical supplies from Fluttershy, Rarity’s gems, a novel to read from Pinkie, Sunset’s map, and a survival guide from Rainbow Dash.
    Twilight stood there, uneasy. She had nothing to give. Well, she did, but it wasn’t exactly safe to do. She cringed, weighing the pros and cons before throwing them out the window. Following the group’s example was just right. It was for a good cause, and she doubted that anyone there knew what was about to happen.
    She approached the curious zebra, and examined her garb. It was quite tattered and dirty, and so Twilight knew what she would give.
    “This’ll just take a sec,” she said, lighting her horn. Everyone was staring at that, which meant that when it flashed, her whipping tail should have been hidden. The light quickly vanished, revealing that Zecora’s damaged and dirty cloak and saddlebags had been both cleaned and repaired, good as new.
    The zebra looked at herself in bewilderment while the rest of the party looked on in awe. “I must say, that is some magic. The state of my cloak really was quite tragic.” She gave the party a short bow. “Thank you kind ponies, I had lost hope. I believed that my life had become a joke. In the future, seek me out. We shall be friends, I have no doubt.”
    No one saw Sunset flinch slightly, watching Zecora depart.
    “Come on, everypony, let’s go,” Sunset said. She let the group pass by her for a moment, watching Zecora continue on. However as soon as she was in the rear, she turned and looked at Twilight Sparkle with a curious expression.
    What the purple mare did was not unicorn magic.

===

    “And you really have to watch your balance. If you let the positive and negative charges get too out of balance, you’ll end up with a thunderstorm.”
    The group had been listening to Rainbow Dash and Applejack discuss the similarities and differences between pegasus and earth pony magic for quite awhile. While Twilight had read up on it for some of her papers, she hadn’t really delved into something she couldn’t herself participate in. Still, it was quite interesting.
    “I must say, what I wouldn’t pay for a pair of those wings. They seem just so useful,” Applejack said, poking at Rainbow’s feathered side. “Or the ability to call down rain whenever I need it. I know the weather team does their best, but I really wish the town would hire more ponies so you can keep up with coverage.”
    Rainbow Dash looked at her in bemusement. “What do you mean? We’re a proper compliment for a town of Ponyville’s size.”
    It was Applejack's turn to be confused. “What? But, whenever I put in a request for an extra shower, I’m told that you are all stretched too thin.”
    Rainbow furrowed her brow. “I’ve never gotten any requests from Sweet Apple Acres. Are you sure?”
    Applejack frowned. “Completely.”
    Rainbow’s frown deepened. “I’ll look into that. It wouldn’t be the first time a weatherpony’s family asks them to nudge things around so their rivals suffer.”
    Applejack nodded. “Thank you.”
    Rainbow was about to say something when a shill scream came from Rarity. Everyone was instantly on alert, with Rainbow turning to look for the immediate threat.
    “SNAKE!”
    It was, in fact, a snake. One of the most common phobias of ponykind. Instantly everyone was backing away from the hissing creature, only to go still as they too ran into their own snakes. They snapped at their forelegs, pushing them together, surrounding them.
    “Where did they come from?!” Sunset yelled.
    “I don’t know!” Applejack said. “What do we do?”
    “Stay calm, everypony,” Rainbow assured. “Flutters and I will airlift Applejack and Pinkie out, the unicorns can teleport.” They all agreed, only for another scream to pierce the air. They all turned to find a massive serpent sliding out of the woods. It was easily sixty feet long, heavily scaled, and meant business.
    “Basilisk!” Sunset warned. “Don’t look it in the eyes!” Pony eyes were instantly averted, and all were starting to coordinate their escape when a snorting laughter overshadowed everything.
    “Pinkie?!” Twilight yelled. “What are you doing?”
    Pinkie snorted again and looked at Twilight, grinning in amusement. “Oh, it’s quite elementary, my dear Twily.” She stepped out of the herd and towards one of the smaller snakes with absolute fearlessness. She leaned down and examined the serpent, which started snapping at her. Pinkie dodged it effortlessly, and eventually looked down at it with an unimpressed gaze.
    “Points for looks, but the movement’s all wrong.” The snake, amazingly, suddenly looked at the pony with comprehension and almost embarrassment.
    “Pinkie?” Sunset asked carefully.
    Pinkie was completely unconcerned. “Oh girls, don’t you recognize a fear spell when you feel one?”
    The lot of them looked at each other warily, not sure if the mare was crazy or a genius.
    “I mean really…” She picked up the snake, much to its hissing protest. “All you have to do is look closely. See? It looks like a snake, but really look at it. The movement is too repetitive, there’s no flaws to the scales, and really, eastern Griffonia accent? We’re in the Everfree! If you’re going to have them hiss, at least get the accent right!”
    The snake, miraculously, looked away with a blush. Sunset was the first to start snickering.
    Pinkie dropped the snake and started walking around, giving criticism and tips as she went. “Too black, not enough black. Too many diamonds. Your scales are too shiny.” One by one, the snakes seemed to shrink as the girls started giggling at the scene. “And you!” The whirled on the basilisk, who moments before was looking upon them all with hunger. Suddenly it hissed deeply with a questioning inflection, as if asking, ‘Me?’
    “Yes, you!” Somehow, Pinkie was on its back. “You really need to work on this hide. I mean, come on! There’s no scars, no pits, no damage at all! A real wild basilisk would be covered in those!”
    The basilisk looked back at itself in concern, only to have its mouth pried open. Pinkie had, somehow, gotten inside.
    “And these teeth! Nine centimeters? Any basilisk worth their salt has at least ten centimeter width teeth. Yes, it looks scarier, but anypony with eyes could see that they’re too thin to be real.” She let out an unimpressed huff before zipping out and landing on the snake’s head, prying its eye open. The scholars among the party all flinched, but when Pinkie didn’t drop dead on the spot, they returned to their amusement.
    “And this eye color! What on Arcadia were you thinking! Roaring Fire Orange? Are you an idiot or just lazy? Did you even research basilisks at all? Sulfur Yellow. SULFUR YELLOW!”
    She landed on the ground with all the grace of a dancer, eyes shut and snout in the air. “I can’t work with this. The amount of disappointment I am feeling is simply too vivid for me to properly express into words. You really need a refresher course in illusion magic. Go back to school and try again. I don’t want to even get a letter until then.”
    The basilisk tried hissing something that sounded like an apology when Pinkie interrupted.
    “It’s too late for that, Mister Scales. You have already failed me. Get out of my sight.”
    The basilisk looked from Pinkie to the party, trying to summon up some ferocity. Unfortunately, the light laughter and snickering was simply too strong; with the serpent’s embarrassed look, it broke out into a roaring cacophony. Faced with an overwhelming amount of hostile amusement, the fear spell fell apart at the seams, and all serpents vanished from view.
    Sunset approached, still coming off the tail end of that infectious laughter. “Pinkie, that was amazing! How did you know all that?”
    She shrugged. “Eh, I made it all up as I went.”
    The party froze. “You mean...you didn’t know it was really a fear spell?” Rarity asked.
    Pinkie snorted. “Oh! I knew that. I’ve been to enough art expos to tell the difference between my own emotions and those that somepony is trying to press on me. After that I just kinda winged it. And the best way to get rid of fear like that is to laugh it away. I knew I could have just told you, but I thought it would be best to simply…” She bowed. “Demonstrate.”
    Hooves stomped on the ground in applause as Pinkie thanked her adoring fans.
Meanwhile, a blue cloud watched in irritation and growing respect.

===

    The party had been walking for a while longer when Sunset fell back to speak to Twilight.
    “So...I bet you’ve seen a lot of different kinds of magic during your studies,” she said.
    “Yup.”
    “Even ones that are pretty rare or barely understood.”
    Twilight quickly became suspicious. “Yeah?”
    “Like...say...chaos magic.”
    Twilight’s eyes locked on to Sunset for a moment before she forced herself to relax. Though anyone paying attention would have noticed the flinch and skip in her walking. “I’ve read about it,” she smoothly said.
    Sunset frowned. “Uh huh. Have you ever used it?”
    Twilight snorted. “Of course. Everypony knows that unicorn foals use chaos magic until they’re taught not to.”
    “That’s not what I meant.”
    Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’ve had a couple magic surges, yeah.”
    Sunset glared. “Stop dodging my question.”
    “I’ve done nothing but tell the truth.” Twilight smirked at Sunset’s growing rage. She expected an explosive reaction, just as per usual, but Sunset looked at the rest of the group, took several deep breaths, and managed to bleed it off. Twilight was actually impressed.
    “Look, Sparkle. Nopony knows this because Celestia kept it quiet, but the reason I was exiled was because I delved into dark magic. I don’t believe in banning magic just because it’s not ‘normal.’ So if you’re worried about me tattling on you, don’t be.”
    Twilight eyed her for a moment. That did explain things, for sure. It would have been quite the embarrassment for Celestia if word got out that she raised a warlock, and Sunset admitting that was...it was a huge gamble. By all rights, Twilight, as did everyone, had legal authority to try and detain her on the spot.
    Warlocks were no joke, and the Crown did not tolerate them. Except this one, it seemed. And if she was willing to offer that kind of trust...
    “Yes, I used chaos magic to repair Zecora’s stuff.”
    “Amazing! I’ve never met anypony that could get it to work right. Is there a trick or…”
    Twilight smirked. “Looking for a new master?”
    Sunset sneered. “Knock it off, Sparkle. I am simply trying to have a discussion about a mutual interest.”
    Twilight snorted. “Yes, there’s a trick.”
    “Tell me!” Sunset’s eyes were hungry.
     Twilight’s smile was sickly sweet. “The trick is to be a foal, so you can forget the rules of unicorn magic more easily. Though, it would be best if it was the first thing you ever learned.”
    Sunset stared at her in confusion. “Forget the rules of- but those are the fundamentals of every spell and action! They dictate how everything works. You can’t just throw them away.”
    Twilight leaned in. “That’s why you fail.”
    Sunset sneered again. “You’re lying. It doesn’t make sense to-”
    “Look alive, everypony!” Rainbow Dash carefully called out. The group had approached a raging river that the path had run into. Ordinarily that wouldn’t have been much of an issue due to the bridge, however there was one problem, and it was quite major.
    An ursa major, to be precise.
    It was blocking the way to the bridge, taking up the entirety of the path. It mewled and moaned, its spectral flesh and fur scorched and torn in several places. That was bad enough, but the great beast was easily the size of town hall, if not bigger. And everyone knew how temperamental an injured beast could be.
    “Back. Up,” Rainbow quietly ordered, slowly stepping back. The rest followed suit until they were all a fair distance away from the threat.
    “What do we do?” Rarity asked.
    “There’s no way we can fight that,” Rainbow said.
    “We might-” Sunset tried.
    “Uh uh,” Rainbow interrupted, shaking her head. “Absolutely not. If you try to fight that, I will detain you for attempted suicide.”
    Sunset glared at her and snorted, but said nothing more.
    “Can we go around?” Applejack asked.
    “Not without another bridge. That river looked pretty nasty,” Rarity said.
    “Rainbow mentioned teleporting earlier,” Pinkie Pie said. “Why not just do that?” The group turned to the unicorns.
    “I never learned the spell,” Rarity said, looking embarrassed.
    Sunset shook her head. “I know it, but the Everfree is full of wild magic. This deep in, the transit could easily be disrupted, and I and whoever I tried to bring with me would either be injured or killed. Unless…” She looked at Twilight, who frowned.
    “Er…” Twilight stepped back.
    “Do you know something that can help us out?” Rainbow asked. “Because this little mission ends right here if you don’t.”
    She bit the inside of her cheek and considered her options, none of them good. “I know something that could help, but the issue is similar to Sunset’s. We wouldn’t die, but we could end up anywhere in the forest, and not even with a guarantee that we would be together.”
    Everyone groaned, the prospect of failure was nothing that any of them wanted to swallow, and as they looked to each other for a solution, it seemed inevitable.
    “I can do it,” said a soft voice. All turned to Fluttershy, who was vibrating under her skin, but wielded an expression of steel.
    “I’m sorry, but do what?” Applejack asked.
    “I can calm the ursa,” she clarified.
    “WHAT!” Rainbow scream-whispered. “Absolutely not!”
    “Rainbow Dash-”
    “NO!”
    “Rainbow Dash.” The guard shrinked underneath Fluttershy’s determined stare. “You know I can speak with animals, and I’ve worked with bears before.”
    “Harry is one thing, an ursa major is entirely different!”
    Fluttershy nodded. “I know, but I have to try. If I don’t, Nightmare Moon is going to take over Equestria! Do you know how many ponies will be hurt if we give up here?”
    “But it could kill you!”
    “I know, but that’s a risk I will just have to take, for the sake of everypony else.”
    “Are you sure?” Sunset asked. “I mean, I’ve read about ursas. One wrong move, and you’re done.”
    Fluttershy shook for a moment before taking a deep breath, and straightening her posture. “I know, but this is something I have to do.”
    The rest of the group was certainly unsure, but none made any more protests. They all knew the cost of their failure.
    “F-fine,” Rainbow said, looking down. “But you better come back!”
    Fluttershy smiled faintly. “Don’t worry, Dash. I’ll be fine.”
    The party followed Fluttershy, but stopped when she told them. She took several more calming breaths before flying over to the giant bear.
    “Oh, you poor thing!” she said, landing near it. “What happened to you?”
    The bear predictably turned and started growling at her, but the pegasus miraculously did not flee.
    Fluttershy moved to the injuries, but didn’t touch them. “What kind of horrible being would harm such a magnificent creature? These burns, and these cuts! You got into an awful fight, didn’t you?”
    The bear’s growling ceased, and turned into a kind of embarrassed grumble.
    “A black pony?” Her expression darkened. “I know who you’re talking about. We’re trying to stop her, and were on our way to the ruins when we ran into you.”
    The bear snarled, but not at Fluttershy, and she nodded in understanding.
    “I know what you mean. We’ll be sure to give her a stern talking to once we’re done with her.”
    The bear grumbled, but nodded.
    “We can’t just leave you here, though. Would you mind if we tended your wounds?”
    The ursa looked at her warily for a moment. She obviously wasn’t considered a threat, but injuries were a different story. After a scrutinizing gaze, the ursa rolled onto its belly, presenting the wounds on its back.
    And Sunset watched the whole time. At first she had just written Fluttershy off, a victim of her own hubris, but then it worked. A giant beast, a known ponykiller, was having a conversation with her, and then presented itself for treatment! All her life in Canterlot and beyond, kindness was an extreme luxury you afforded for your loved ones, rarely strangers, and never one’s enemies. And yet, here it was happening, and Fluttershy wasn’t being burned by it.
    Fluttershy smiled and waved her friends over, who tentatively approached. The ursa glared at them, but made no moves against them. After a bit more encouragement from Fluttershy, the lot of them were all over the animal, tending its wounds. Cold packs were applied, wounds sutured, burns smeared with cream. Soon they were out of supplies, the spectral bear was tended to, and looked considerably more at ease with the lot of them.
    “Lift your paw, please,” Fluttershy said, and the ursa curiously complied. She tied a pink and yellow ribbon on one of its claws, to which every Ponyville native gawked.
    “If you want me to keep an eye on you until you’re healed, find my shop on the southeast side of town. If any of the ponies get scared, show them that ribbon. It will tell them you’re under my care. All I ask is you don’t hurt anypony, alright?”
    The bear let out a rumbling.
    “A son? W-well...if you can keep him under control, I’m okay with it.”
    It stared at her for a moment before snorting, and grabbing the lot of them. Screams and squeals were abound as it licked them all, and promptly sat them down before walking away, each stomp shaking the trees.
    Sunset approached Fluttershy, saying, “Wow. I never thought it would be possible to calm a beast like that.”
    Fluttershy nodded. “Even the most fierce of creatures can turn into a big softie if you show a little kindness. You just need to be willing to show it.”
    “And the ability to speak to animals helps,” Twilight added.
    Fluttershy blushed. “Well, that too.”
    “As much as I’d like to continue on, perhaps we should clean up first?” Applejack asked, gesturing to the slobber covering them all.
    As the unicorns levitated water out of the river, Twilight saw an appraising gleam in Sunset’s eyes. She wasn’t sure, but she got the feeling that the little warlock was opening herself to friendship. Perhaps Twilight wasn’t meant to lead the Elements, but Sunset was. She didn’t like the idea of it. She wanted the mantle, but it was growing more and more obvious that it wasn’t meant to be. It made her fume, but she kept it quiet. They had a job to do.

===

    The uneasy feeling that the forest forced upon them was reaching a crescendo. The further they went in, the worse it got, but still they trekked on. They told each other stories and played verbal games to distract each other, but it was starting to wear thin.
    However, a light at the end of the tunnel shined.
    “Look!” Twilight said, pointing above the treetops. In the distance, the tip of a castle tower could be seen in the moonlight.
    Sunset groaned in relief. “It’s about time! All in favor of running the rest of the way? I’m ready to get those Elements and take a break.”
    A chorus of ayes resounded, save from Applejack and Fluttershy. Still, outvoted, they soon joined the small stampede that was running down the path. Their goal was in sight, they had the means, they just needed to complete the journey.
    All they had to do was get through a copse of black, spiked vines.
    Applejack gasped as soon as they started running past them. “Everypony stop!” She skid to a halt, tripping over one of the vines.
    “What?” Sunset asked, but it was too late. The rest of the ponies similarly tripped or stepped on one of the vines, and all hell immediately broke loose. The vines sprung to life, quickly wrapping around the ponies and starting to squeeze tight. The unicorns immediately tried blasting them, but as soon as they did so the vines spat some manner of resin on their horns, stopping them. All the other ponies simply struggled, but to no avail. Slowly, their breathing became harder and harder.
    “Stop struggling!” Applejack called out. “They’ll let you go if they think yer dead!”
    “That doesn’t make any sense!” Sunset shot back in a panic. “We need to fight!” She pulled on her vines more, only to be punished for her resistance.
    “Trust me!” Applejack said. “You need to relax! They’ll set you down.”
    Sunset stared at the farmer for a long second before nodding, and going limp. Her...friends...had been four for four so far. She had fought and succeeded with them. It was time to trust without question. The other ponies, seeing this, did the same. Within seconds, the tightening stopped, and the vines even started to loosen as they slowly put the ponies down.
    “That’s it,” Applejack said. “Shallow breaths. You don’t want to disturb them none. Now when they set you down, lie there for a bit and catch your breath.
    The ponies nodded their understanding, and the lot of them did as they were told. The vines did shift from time to time, but Applejack’s reassurances were enough to keep them from panicking again.
    “Okay, now, we don’t want to get caught by ‘em again. The unicorns can float themselves, and the pegasi can carry us earth ponies. Understand?” Her friends responded in the affirmative. “Okay, go.”
    Like a well oiled machine, the ponies extricated themselves from the deathtrap. Things were going more-or-less alright, but Rarity quickly began to struggle.
    “Mph! My magic is tuned for precision, not power!”
    “We’re almost through!” Pinkie Pie said, pointing to the soon to be barren path.
    “Hold on, sugarcube!” Applejack said. “Just a bit longer!”
    Rarity grunted and struggled. “I can’t...hold...on…” With a final yelp, she started to fall towards a particularly dense patch of vines. She screamed as she fell, and fell, and fell…
    She finally opened her eyes, noting that Twilight and Sunset had caught her, and were hovering over safe ground.
    Rarity chuckled in embarrassment as she was set on the ground. “Thank you, you two. I just couldn’t even think about getting caught by them again.”
    “Not a problem,” Sunset said with a smile.
    “Anytime,” Twilight said at the same time, glancing at Sunset. The two shared a short glare before letting it go.
    “What were those things?” Sunset asked. “I’ve never read about anything like that before.”
    Applejack brought an arm up to wipe the sweat off her brow. “I’m not surprised. They’re extremely rare, and are almost never seen outside the Everfree. We call them plundervines, because when they show up in Ponyville, they steal everything that isn’t secured. Food, tools…” She frowned. “Ponies.”
    The lot of them gasped.
    “Wh- why haven’t they been catalogued?” Sunset demanded.
    Applejack frowned. “We try to get somepony out here each time they show up and cause trouble, but they’re always gone by the time the authorities show up. About a decade ago...two ponies were lost, and when we tried to get somepony to come out, they called plundervines just a myth. Officially the ponies got themselves lost in the Everfree, and declared dead a month later.”
    Applejack’s face was burning red, and the vines may very well have been incinerated by her gaze if she were a unicorn.
    Fluttershy stepped forward. “Applejack, did you know these ponies?”
    Applejack sighed, and hung her head. “Yes, but- it’s not important right now. I don’t like bringing back painful memories, and we have a job to do.” She turned and continued on, despite the protests of the others.
    With their moods sufficiently dampened, they continued on.

===

    The endgame was upon them. The Castle of the Two Sisters was in sight, a mere few hundred feet away, across from a rather large chasm in the ground. They could have very well gone around, but the rend in the earth went on for who knew how long. Thankfully, there was a rope bridge, albeit collapsed from the rigors of time.
    It was a simple task to send the pegasi out to retrieve it, and for the unicorns to cast a spell to ensure its integrity.
    Confident and proud, the seven ponies crossed the bridge, only for it to collapse behind them at the strike of a blue cloud. They gasped in shock, and the cloud seemed to linger for a moment to mock them before speeding towards the castle.
    “She’s after the Elements!” Twilight said, charging forward. Everyone else followed her, not wanting to allow their enemy free reign with their prize. They were just about to reach the main portcullis when Sunset yelled for them to stop.
    Having recently paid the price for failing to heed the warning of one of their own, all immediately screeched to a halt.
    “What is it?” Twilight frantically asked.
    Sunset held up a hoof and lit her horn, eyeing the doorway with suspicion. “It feels like…” She shook her head. “No, it couldn’t be.” She smirked and grabbed a nearby stone, throwing it at the door.
    The smirk vanished when the stone turned to fine ash, and all gasped.
    “That doesn’t look healthy,” Pinkie said.
    Rarity lit her own horn, and flinched at what she felt. “By Celestia, is that…”
    Sunset nodded. “Dark magic, and it’s twisted into a war ward.” She sighed. “This will be trouble.” She took a deep breath. “Give me a second here, I need to discuss something with Twilight.”
    The party nodded and stepped away, pulling out snacks and water for a quick meal.
    “What do you think?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the invisible wall of death mere feet from them. “Can you break it?”
    Sunset frowned, checking it again with her magic, and shook her head. “Not quickly, no. Breaking dark magic normally requires preparation. It’s...sticky, in a sense, like hot tar. You need to freeze it and chip it away...normally. Or else you’ll end up with it attaching to you.”
    Twilight nodded. “And that’s bad. But, wait. You said normally?”
    Sunset didn’t say anything, and just stared at the ward stoically.
    “Wait, you’re not talking about…” Sunset looked at her. “You can’t be serious!”
    Sunset sighed. “I know what you’re thinking, and yes it’s pretty dangerous, but it’s doable.”
    “What’s doable?” asked Rainbow Dash. She and the others had overheard parts of their conversation, and had decided to investigate.
    Twilight looked at Sunset. “You don’t have to tell them.”
    “Tell us what?” Applejack asked. Sunset gave Twilight a bit of a look for that, but shook her head in resignation.
    “I am, with Princess Celestia’s permission, a journeymare level warlock.”
    The lot of them shouted in fear and shock at this admission. Some stepped back, others just stared, but Rainbow Dash stepped forward, wings out.
    “Explain,” she calmly ordered, clearly ready to arrest the unicorn at a moment’s notice.
    Sunset took a breath. “Everypony knows I was exiled. What nopony knows is that it’s because I started delving into dark magic. I wasn’t corrupted or anything, but I was hotheaded. I got myself exiled by arguing with her and not budging on...certain matters. I spent a little over a decade elsewhere before she found me and allowed me to return. One of the things we discussed was my interest in dark magic. We came to an agreement. I would be allowed to practice, as long as she supervised, and as long as I didn’t go crazy.”
    She looked Dash right in the eyes. “You can confirm this with her personally when we’re done here.”
    Dash stared right back, eyes narrowing more than once before she stepped back. “Alright. One chance. If Princess Celestia doesn’t back you, I’m arresting you on the spot, and I bet she’ll help me.”
    Sunset nodded. “Done. Now as for why this is relevant. You can break dark magic with normal magic, but it’s a long and hard process, because the magicks are basically incompatible. It’s like trying to disassemble an engine without the right tools. It’s possible, but you’ll probably end up hurting yourself and the engine while doing it. In order to break dark magic efficiently, you have to know and use dark magic.”
    “So you can break the ward?” Rainbow asked.
    Sunset took a breath and looked at the door. “Yes, with your help. All of you.”
    The ponies were understandably baffled.
    “How can we help with this?” Fluttershy asked.
    Sunset explained, “Dark magic has a reputation of being infectiously corruptive. I disagree, but I do acknowledge the fact that it can influence a user if they allow it to, with greater intensity equalling greater influence. This-” She pointed at the door. “-is a war ward. It’s designed to vaporize anything unwanted on contact. It was made for war, and as such it needs to be handled extremely carefully. Anypony trying to interface with it has to basically bathe in dark magic to do so. If I were to try and dismantle it by myself, I would probably get overloaded in a second. Usually a team of unicorns would power a filter to keep another unicorn's mind safe while they dismantled the ward. We don’t have that, but we do have her.”
    She pointed at Twilight.
    “Me?”
    “Yes, you. I won’t elaborate exactly what she knows, but she knows a special kind of magic that can make powering a shield with unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony magic possible.”
    Twilight nervously laughed for a moment before putting a hoof on Sunset’s shoulder. “Would you excuse us for a second?”
    Sunset had a strange feeling of being pulled somewhere, and suddenly had Twilight’s nose against hers. “Are you crazy? What are you talking about I know how to…” She sputtered. “Chaos magic isn’t the universal solution!”
    Sunset gently shoved Twilight away from her. “The books say that chaos magic can do anything! Discord proved this when he transfigured grass to granite, or made it rain chocolate milk! Anything is possible.”
    Twilight facehoofed. “Yes, it can do anything, but that doesn’t mean I have any practice doing what you’re asking of me!”
    Sunset smiled. “So you do know how to do it.”
    Twilight pressed her lips in a line and glared at her. “Yes, I know how to do it. I’ve never done it.”
    “That’s good enough for me.”
    Twilight sputtered. “What! If it fails you could die or worse.”
    Sunset gave her a steely gaze. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” She turned to walk off.
    “Why?”
    Sunset turned. “Excuse me?”
    “Why? I understand the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance, but if you go insane, we’ll have not just Nightmare Moon, but you to deal with!”
    Sunset let out a groan and gave her a teacher’s stern glare. “Because we all have a job to do! Because if we don’t stop Nightmare Moon, our home is going to be destroyed, and replaced with whatever fascist state she thinks up!”
    Twilight didn’t know what ‘fascist’ meant, but replied, “And I agree with you, but that doesn’t mean we should be trying untested solutions when the consequences of failure are that severe!”
“Twilight Sparkle, you are the most intelligent and well read unicorn I ever saw at the SGU. There was barely any spell you didn’t get on the first try, and even then you only needed one other attempt. I might have power, but you have power and skill. More than me, even. You broke all of my records, and made it look easy. You will not only try to cast this magic, you will succeed.”
She turned and left, only to find that the rest of the herd had found them. The lot of them were looking at her with wariness and uncertainty.
“And as for the lot of you! I can see it in your eyes. The fatigue, the doubt, but I have something to say about that. Horseapples! I know how to pick out talent from a class of noponies. And I have to say that each and every one of you has a strength that few can compare to. Now here’s what’s going to happen. Twilight’s going to bridge your magic together, and use it to feed a shield so I can get rid of this ward. Then we’re going to go in there, get the Elements of Harmony, and defeat Nightmare Moon. Then we’re going home. If any of you have something to say otherwise, then stuff it!”
They all stared and blinked at her for a moment, speechless. That is, until Rainbow Dash started cackling.
“No pep talk like a military pep talk. Is that where you were? The army?”
Sunset bit her lip. “Something like that. Now, let’s go!”
There really wasn’t much to argue against that kind of confidence. Indeed, Twilight felt what the rest of her friends showed. A warmth within herself that gave her a boost, a drive, and the will to believe.
Twilight decided right then and there that Sunset must have been the sixth bearer. She was the only true option. She inspired them all at their lowest, brought them together at their weakest. It was a sharp pain in her chest, but it was the truth.
Her reward was lost, but perhaps she could settle for simply saving the world.
“This is all you, Twilight,” Sunset said, gesturing for her to take the floor.
Twilight took a deep breath. “Alright! Fighting off a dark war ward’s worth of corruption, easy!” She smiled, her confidence faltering, but the warm looks she was given by her friends reinforced her conviction.
“Okay. Sunset in front, I’m behind her. Everypony else form a semicircle within hoof’s reach. Earth ponies to my sides, then pegasi, then Rarity. That should keep things balanced and easy to work with.” She summoned a rock, and started drawing circles for them to stand in. Once they were in position, she turned to Sunset, who nodded her head.
“Alright, now all of you transfer your magic to me. I know this will be difficult for the non-unicorns, but I know it’s possible. Just call upon your magic as usual, but instead of using it for your talents, I want you to touch me with your hooves and ‘push’ it towards me. I’ll be able to meet you halfway if need be.
The girls gave their affirmation, and took their positions. Twilight took several breaths and called upon her chaos magic, shaping it into a kind of transformer to change the differently kinded energies she was about to absorb into unicorn magic.
“Okay, do it.”
Rarity’s was the easiest, of course. Then it was Pinkie Pie, surprisingly enough. Rainbow was next, though Fluttershy and Applejack struggled. Twilight reached out and pulled the connections to her, and locked everyone in. Taking one last breath to fortify herself, she opened the valves, and almost instantly overloaded herself before she was able to shunt all the magic through her horn into a general mental defense spell. She didn’t have the concentration for anything more specific.
Sunset sucked in a breath as Twilight’s protection hit her.
“Woah, that feels weird,” she said.
“I’m stable for now, but this is pretty taxing,” Twilight warned. “Work quickly?”
Sunset nodded and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before her face twisted to a scowl. Violet fog leaked from her eyes, and when she opened them, they were green and red, a classic sign of dark magic use. Her horn bubbled black, green and purple, and she sent her spell at the ward.
The effect was, strangely enough, almost silent on part of the ponies. There were a few grunts and deep breaths here and there, but it was much like watching a craftsman carry out their work. Quiet, focused, and without speaking.
Twilight knew better. She knew that within Sunset’s mind was a kind of speed chess, where she attacked the ward, trying to subvert it, while the construct fought back in trying to repair itself and throw her off. She noted that Sunset’s enraged expression had settled into a disturbing calm, as if everything was fine, and she wasn’t in black turmoil beneath. She hoped it was something to do with her shield spell, and not because Sunset had that much practice.
Then Sunset gasped.
“What is it?” Twilight instantly asked.
Silence.
“Sunset, what’s wrong?”
Sunset’s breathing got heavier, and she started grunting. She still said nothing.
“Sunset, cut the connection.” Nothing. “Sunset!” She was starting to interfere when Sunset finally spoke.
“I got this. I got this.” Twilight eyed her carefully, trying to find some sign of the situation growing worse, but Sunset’s mask remained in place.
Then it evaporated.
“Oh, fuck!”
The connection started to invert, and an infectious orange started to push back against Sunset’s black. Twilight reinforced the shield as best she could, but suddenly found the power being drained from her, into Sunset.
“SUNSET!”
“Sorry about this!” The black blob on Sunset’s horn expanded outwards into an all encompassing fog for a split second before focusing inward, and was forced explosively down the connection. As soon as it hit the ward, everyone, even the non-unicorns, felt something shatter.
And then they knew no more.

===

    When Twilight finally stirred, she felt like she had just ran a hundred miles. She blinked slowly, her eyelids heavy, and looked up.
    The moon was there to greet her, and she felt ice go down her back. Nightmare Moon calmly sat in a half ruined throne of blue, next to an empty throne of yellow, staring at her, tapping her hoof idly on the floor. They were surrounded by the dilapidated and crumbling walls of the castle’s throne room.
    “Girls...girls are you there?” She looked around and found her friends lying around her, unconscious. However as soon as she spoke, they began to stir. She glanced over at Nightmare, expecting her to move to stop them, or even speak, but the alicorn did nothing. Deciding that they weren’t seen as a threat, she decided to take advantage of her enemy’s passivity to help them.
    One by one they stood, their bodies obviously just as drained as hers. Magical exhaustion, courtesy of Sunset, who was-
    “Oh no.”
    Sunset was still out cold, which wasn’t a good sign. What was even worse was that where her horn once was, there was now only a cone of charcoal. An absolute magical overload, the career ender for any unicorn. She might have been able to put out a few sparks under strain, but all the infrastructure for her magic was now irreparably damaged.
    Twilight sighed. Sunset would have never done that unless the alternative was death.
    Clap. Clap. Clap.
    The group turned to look at Nightmare Moon, who was smiling down upon them, not with cruelty or pity, but actual admiration.
    “Well done, my little ponies. I am impressed, and that is something I rarely say.” She stepped off her throne, and slowly approached them. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and tried to raise her wings aggressively, but failed.
    “Now now, there’s no need for such aggression, Rainbow Dash,” Nightmare said, causing her to flinch. “Yes, I know your name. I know all your names. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkamena Pie, and finally, Sunset Shimmer.” She smirked. “How could I not? I’ve been following your lives as soon as I became aware of you, years ago.”
    The lot of them gaped for a moment, but it was Twilight that asked, “Why?”
    Nightmare smiled at her. “Why, because of the prophecy of course.” Her smile faltered when they looked to each other in confusion. “Wait, do you not know? No, I remember hearing you speak of it as I witnessed your journey.” She narrowed her eyes. “Or...do you not know it all?”
    Twilight swallowed and tried to stand tall, but her knees were shaking just enough to be visible. “On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal,” Twilight quoted.
    Nightmare nodded. “Correct, and the rest?”
    “The rest?” Twilight repeated.
    Nightmare scowled. “Yes, the rest. The rest of the pr-” She froze, her eyes going wide. “Oh, sister, you sneaky sneaky snake.” She huffed a laugh. “You didn’t tell them at all, did you!” She devolved into maniacal laughter, stomping her armored hooves on the ground. The sound was enough to finally get Sunset to stir.
    “Um, excuse me, but was there more?” Fluttershy asked.
    The laughter suddenly stopped. “I believe that is obvious.” She stepped back and started pacing before them. “Yes, the prophecy details my return, but it goes on to say: ‘So the six shall rise against her, and defeat her with the magic of old, but they must fear the eventide, for it will betray them all.’”
    “Even-what?” Rainbow asked.
    Twilight explained, “It’s an archaic term for- oh.” She looked to their fallen comrade. “Sunset.”
    “Or Twilight,” Nightmare mocked.
    “Twilight what now?” Sunset said, slowly standing. “Ugh, what’s with the headache- Nightmare Moon!”
    “Quite. We were just discussing the imminent betrayal of yourself, or Twilight Sparkle.”
    Sunset hissed, bringing a hoof to her horn, but yelping as soon as it made contact. “I...would never!”
    “My prophecy states otherwise,” Nightmare said smugly.
    “Wait, your prophecy?” Twilight asked.
    Nightmare cackled. “Indeed! I foretold my own return a hundred years before I was banished. Quite ironic, if I do say so myself, but one cannot decide what they prophesize when opening themselves to the future.”
    “How can we even trust you’re telling the truth?” Applejack demanded. “You could just be spinning all kind of lies!”
    Nightmare smirked. “I suppose you’ll just have to trust me. After all, can you really risk a traitor in your midst? Is it even difficult to determine who it truly would be?” She looked to Sunset. “After all, which one of you was exiled by my sister? Which one of you is the warlock? Which one of you had dreams of returning to Equestria with an army to overthrow Celestia?”
    Sunset grit her teeth and looked away from the others, who were eyeing her with a bit of suspicion.
    “Most impressive,” she purred. Sunset looked up, confusion evident on her face.
    “Ambition, power, will, intelligence. These are things I respect,” Nightmare said. “You would be a fine vassal at my side. Join me, I and I will make all your darkest dreams come true. You will rule with absolute authority. None will question you, all will worship you, and nopony will ever stand in your way again...Princess Sunset.”
    Sunset let out a choked gasp, and looked to Nightmare in shock.
    “Or you,” she continued, looking at Twilight. “An adept chaos mage, cunning, wise, and just as power hungry, if not as aggressive. Your master hides themselves well from my dream scrying, but know that I could teach you far, far more than them. Join me, and your power will surpass Starswirl, Celestia, and even Discord! You will be the mistress of magic, altering reality with the same ease as a flick of a hoof.”
    Her secret now out, Twilight’s lack of denial invoked just as much scrutiny from her newfound friends.
    Twilight was ashamed to actually consider her offer. All that magic. All that power at her command. She could achieve her dream with Nightmare’s aid, and far more easily than on her own or with an imprisoned Discord. A new golden age for all of ponykind was right before her. All she had to do was take it.
    She looked over to Sunset, who had turned at the same time to meet eyes. They stared at each other for a moment before movement behind them drew their attention. It was their friends, nervously shuffling about, trying to determine if their hesitance was genuine or a lie to buy time. Their friends, who they fought and bled with for the past who-knew-how-many hours in the accursed Everfree Forest. Their friends, who believed in them. Their friends, who taught them all how to be true companions during their journey.
    Suddenly, they were wondering why it was a choice in the first place.
    The two eyed each other, looking grim, and nodded to each other. The other five held their breath as the two eventide unicorns turned to the Princess of the Night, and frowned.
    “We reject your offer,” Twilight spat.
    “And nothing you can say will change that,” Sunset added.
    Nightmare stared down at them coldly. “So be it. And what do you plan to do now that you’ve rejected my generosity?”
    “We’re going to get the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight stated.
    “And we’re going to kick your sorry ass!” Sunset yelled.
    Nightmare stared at them for a moment before bursting out into laughter once more. “The Elements of Harmony? Do you mean...these Elements?” Her horn glowed, and the stone floor rumbled. Two slabs lifted up in front of the thrones, and spread outward. The grind of stone on stone sounded through the hall as a strange, planetarium-like mechanism rose to the surface. Large arms lazily rotated, holding perfect spheres with images of gemstones upon them.
    “The Elements!” they all cried.
    Suddenly, blue lights streaked towards the device. Then, just like that, the Elements of Harmony were reduced to shards.
    Utter silence. The little ponies stared as their only hope was broken before their eyes.
    “Despicable,” Nightmare spat. “Even if you had the Elements, you aren’t worthy of them!” She sneered and started pointing at them. 
“The honest apple farmer that lies to gauge her potential business partners. The generous miner that likes to keep the biggest and prettiest for herself. The laughing artist that uses gallows humor and mockery as her fuel. The kind vet that cows her customers with her snarls and glares. The loyal guard that allows prejudice to cloud her duties. The two rival leaders, showing the early signs of the taint of corruption and madness.”
    She bared her carnivorous teeth in a wicked, cruel smile. “Failures, all of you. At your jobs, your lives, and as heroines.”
    The two unicorns hung their heads low, the reality of it all sinking in. There was no hope. No light at the end of the tunnel. No plan, idea, or whim that would help them.
    But as they felt their friends come to stand by their side, there was a spark. A wave of electricity went up their spines, triggering a deep seated truth within them both, and it showed them the way.
    Twilight looked up, something fey in her eyes. “Maybe so.”
    Sunset did the same, something cruel threatening to escape. “But it doesn’t matter.”
    “Because you’re wrong,” they both said.
    “You implied it yourself,” Twilight said.
    “The spirits of the Elements are right here,” Sunset continued.
    "And while we might not be paragons of those virtues…"
    "But I bet we're good enough to defeat you!"
    Twilight hit Nightmare with a sucker blast, sending her careening back into the planetarium. It shattered on impact, leaving her in a pile of debris. She expected to be exhausted, especially after Sunset’s power drain, but something was swelling within her. Something powerful, ancient, and infinite. As she looked to her friends, she saw them standing tall and strong.
    Sunset shouted, “When Rainbow Dash offered to stay behind so the rest of us would escape, she put the lives of others above her own, proving she represents the spirit of loyalty!”
    Nightmare started to dig herself out of the rubble, only to find that some of the stone shards started to levitate, and began to surround the flying pegasus.
    Twilight yelled, “Rarity helped a lost traveller escape the forest by offering her own supplies and food, and represents the spirit of generosity!”
    Nightmare saw another Element activate, and scrambled to dig herself out more, sending a blast of magic towards the group. To her shock, it fizzled out midway, and she started to panic.
    “Pinkie Pie saw through your illusions, showing that you can banish your fears with jokes and comedy, representing the spirit of laughter!”
    “NO!” Nightmare pulled herself from the rubble, and kept trying to stop them, but to no avail. None of her attacks did anything.
    “Fluttershy, who calmed the ursa with her compassion and love, represents the spirit of kindness!”
    Sunset finished, "And Applejack showed us that even in the most severe of doubt, one must be able to trust, and be trusted, showing she represents the spirit of honesty!"
    Five ponies had glowing stone shards rotating around them. Morale was high, energy was plentiful, and the seven mares were on top of the world.
    “It matters not!” Nightmare yelled. “There is still the sixth element, and the two of you will never allow the other to take it! There can never be harmony with seven, only six!”
    Sunset looked down, and smiled sadly. “When I was younger, I wanted to be a princess so badly. I wanted the power, the authority, and the wealth. I could do whatever I want, whenever I want, and nopony could stop me. But Princess Celestia was right. I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what harmony was, what friendship could be, and that those were what I needed to be a true princess. I know I’m not perfect, and may well never be.”
    She paused.
    “But I’m okay with that now. When Twilight heard about my mission from Celestia, she did all she could to help it succeed, despite my ignorance. She was the one that brought us all together. Without her help, we would have never even made it out of the gate. In that, she represents the spirit of magic!” She smiled and turned to Twilight. “Kick her ass.”
    Glowing stone shards rose out of the planetarium’s rubble, and flew to the shocked Twilight. She felt the power of harmony growing within her. The power to defeat Nightmare Moon would be soon theirs. But she wasn’t happy. Sunset joined them. Fought with them. Helped them. Burned for them. And would be forced to stand aside. It wasn’t right.
So she would make it right.
    Twilight brought her magic to bear, chaos, unicorn, it didn’t matter. She wrapped her will around the elements and started pulling, trying to include the other in their group. Chaos and Harmony weren’t mutually exclusive. They could co-exist, and even thrive together. It was a fundamental truth. She knew it well, and would show this to the world.
    She felt something give, and smiled.
    “When stopped by the ward, Sunset addressed our fears. She inspired us, made us believe. It was through her words that we had the will to continue on, no matter what you would throw at us. By giving us the belief that we could continue on, Sunset represents the spirit of hope!”
    Sunset gasped, and watched as each of her friends donated a shard, which began to spin around herself. She tearfully looked to Twilight, who returned with her own smile.
    All together, the stone shards merged and condensed into golden jewelry; Twilight gained a crown, while the others each gained elegant necklaces. A growing whine began to build as the harmony magic started to reach a crescendo, and Nightmare Moon could only stand there and watch as all her efforts were thwarted once more.
    Light of different colors of the rainbow erupted out of the Elements, twisting together into a ribbon of color and magic that flew towards the fallen alicorn.
> They Are Siblings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next thing Twilight knew, she was waking up, the victim of yet another magical surge. This time however, she didn’t feel like she was just run over by a chariot. She heard her friends talking amongst themselves, noting how their new artifacts looked like their cutie marks. She couldn’t see hers, so she looked to the closest pony instead.
    This happened to be Sunset; she bore a golden necklace with a brilliant topaz cut into a sun-shape. However soon Twilight's eyes drifted upward, and she gasped.
    “Sunset, your horn!”
    “What! What about my horn?” She tentatively tapped a hoof against it, and gasped when it didn’t send a burning pain into her head. “What happened?”
    “It’s healed!”
    The rest of the ponies turned to gasp and congratulate her on her fortune.
    Sunset basked in the attention for a moment before smiling. “I...don’t know what to say, Twilight. When Nightmare Moon mentioned her prophecy, I thought she might have been right. I really did consider betraying all of you, but when I truly thought about it I just...couldn’t. I couldn’t betray my friends like that, and I’m glad. When I was sent on this quest, I never thought the Elements would be like this, but we really do represent the spirits of harmony.
    “Indeed you do.” It was a motherly voice that echoed through the room. One that everyone knew immediately. Through a window, a brilliant sunrise rose from the horizon, and a blinding light flew in from outside, coalescing into the majestic form of Princess Celestia. Nearly everyone immediately bowed in respect to the monarch. Sunset, however, simply approached Celestia.
    “Sunset Shimmer, my determined student. I knew you could do it.”
    Sunset cocked her head. “Did you really?”
    If Celestia was insulted by this, she didn’t show it. “Even in your darkest moments, you were capable. I always believed in you. Though since you have lately given my lessons a true effort I was more confident than before, yes.
    “You have impressed me greatly, and have proven to me that you are ready. Now, hopefully, another will show they have learned as well.”
    The ponies looked to both of them for clarity, but only saw a mixture of guilt and regret on Sunset’s face. Celestia didn’t elaborate on what she meant, instead turning towards where Nightmare Moon once was.
    “Princess Luna!”
    The lot of them winced when the pile of blue hair groaned in pain, but that vanished when their former enemy decided to finally stand.
    The Nightmare was still there.
    And yet, not. No longer was she the tall and impressive alicorn urserper. Her fur had lightened to a mere charcoal black, instead of pitch. No longer did her mane and tail blow in an ethereal wind. Her armor was gone, surrounding her in shards, leaving bare fur. Her horn had shrunk to that of a unicorn’s, and her wings were as small as a pegasus’. Her eyes, while still an eerie teal, had normal irises, and her teeth had flattened to that of an herbivore.
    All in all, she was a smaller, softer Nightmare Moon.
    “Luna died a millennium ago, sister,” she spat, and Celestia stilled. There was a long moment of silence before Celestia spoke.
    “I see,” she said simply, though her neutrality was rapidly losing to sorrow. “So, you will not accept my friendship? I would have you by my side again, if you agreed.”
    Nightmare sneered. “After your century of neglect? Of basking in the adoration of our subjects while I wallowed in their hatred? After suffering a rotation of madness and clarity from a thousand years of solitary confinement?!”
    Celestia drooped her head. “I cannot express the regret I feel for all of that. Not truly. Not without insulting you. I did not know, sister. I didn’t know! I was blind and prideful in our youth. I didn’t know what the elements would do. I only sought to try and cure you of your madness!”
    She winced as soon as soon as the word left her mouth.
    “Madness?” Nightmare said quietly, dangerously. “Is it madness for a pony to lash out when all blame is on her, for no reason? Is it madness to want a single scrap of appreciation for all she does? Is it madness to cry out for attention from the only family she has left?!”
    Tears welled in Nightmare’s eyes, as she stood there, panting. As soon as she realized, she grit her teeth and looked away in disgust.
    “I’m sorry, sister,” Celestia said quietly.
    Nightmare glared. “Yes, you are.”
    Celestia flinched.
    A sigh. “But...I can see that you at least regret what has happened. That is more than I saw before my...rebellion.”
    Celestia looked to her sister, hopefully. “L-Luna?”
    “That is not my name,” she stated. “Luna is dead. She will never come back. However, seeing that the Elements have stripped me of my power, and seeing that you truly regret your actions, my anger has...cooled.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “I have served my sentence on the moon. I have been punished by the Elements. I declare my banishment over, my payment exacted. I name myself Selene, Princess of the Moon. Make no mistake, I have not forgiven you, Celestia. I may never forgive you. But...I am willing to see if things have truly changed. I will return to your side. I will aid you. I will behave.”
    She smirked. “For now. However long that lasts is up to you and Equestria.”
    She walked forward towards a slowly smiling Celestia, only to coldly walk past, ignoring the offered hug. All ponies in the room stared for a moment in silent shock, or sadness.
    “That could have gone better,” Pinkie said, to the glares of the others. Still, she had a point.
    “Are we really just going to let her go free?” Rainbow asked.
    “Lu- Selene was correct. She served her banishment, and the Elements have stripped her of her power for her recent actions,” Celestia explained. “There is nothing more to do but heal.”
    Rainbow frowned, but gave her a polite bow. “As her Highness wills.” The age old response when a guard disagrees, but won’t protest.
    “So, what happens now?” Twilight asked.
    “Now I ask what you are doing here,” Celestia asked, but with no heat. Still, Twilight shrunk a bit. “I sent Sunset here to awaken the Elements and hopefully help my sister from her...darkness, and yet here you are, Twilight Sparkle, bearing the Element of Magic, and my student is wearing something entirely new. Where there were six, there are now seven. Would you care to explain?” She waved a wing for the group to follow her out.
    Twilight laughed and smiled nervously. “Uh, well, you see…” She explained what she had done. How she had ‘happened’ across the legend of the Mare in the Moon and researched it herself, then came to Ponyville to see what she could do. How she didn’t want Sunset to be left out, and how she pulled on the Elements to extend their power to the seventh pony. In between the beginning and end, the rest of her friends chimed in, adding their own perspectives or narrating their own parts in the story. Sunset had even willingly added her own failures, including how she ignored the important parts of her instructions, and inadvertently got Philomena killed in a manticore ambush. Celestia was quite shocked at that, but was happy to find that the newly reborn chick was happily asleep in Sunset’s mane, somehow oblivious of the events that had recently taken place.
    “And then, well...I’m not sure what happened. I kind of blanked out, and when I woke up, you were there.”
    “That is quite the story, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said with a smile. “You know, for some time I had you pegged as a possible candidate for the Element of Magic. It’s a shame that you declined the offer to become my protegé.”
    The entire group gasped and exclaimed their surprise.
    “You...you said no to Princess Celestia?” Sunset asked.
    Twilight smiled. “Well, with my own studies, I didn’t really have the time.” A quick look at Sunset made sure exactly what she was studying was clear. “Besides, I learned what I needed. She taught me enough about friendship to know how to help you.”
    Sunset snorted. “True, but it was still a mistake.”
    Twilight rolled her eyes. “I used to be such a shut in. Can you imagine what I would have been like if I didn’t have a normal school experience? I would probably be some kind of book-obsessed perfectionist know-it-all!”
    The lot of them laughed at that, just in time for their arrival back at Ponyville. Without Nightmare Moon twisting the paths and adding obstacles both big and small with her power, the way out was much more straightforward.

===

    Their return was triumphant, with the citizens of Ponyville cheering for the saviors of the day and their princess. They were immediately set upon by the local guard, making sure that, yes, Princess Celestia was okay and, no, the familiar looking pony named Selene wasn’t Nightmare Moon.
    Selene herself looked quite surprised at Celestia’s covering for her, but did not protest, instead maintaining a stoic silence.
    It was easy for Celestia to convince the mayor to allow her to commandeer the town hall for an announcement. Celestia and the Elements stood there, proud and tall, while Selene stood back slightly, eyes keen and observing.
    “My faithful subjects. It is with great pleasure that I announce that the evil Nightmare Moon has been defeated!”
    A roaring cheer responded.
    “Of their own volition, these seven ponies learned of the tale of the Mare in the Moon, and sought out the artifacts of good that they now wear, the Elements of Harmony. They braved trials both of the Everfree, and of Nightmare Moon herself. However each and every one of them were overcome, and through this, a bond of friendship was formed. When they finally reached the old capitol within the center of the forest, they retrieved the Elements, defeated the Nightmare, and purged her corruption from my sister, Princess Selene!”
    She gestured to the side, where Selene slowly approached. She gazed upon the cheering crowd with a cool eye before eyeing Celestia in bemusement. Her idle interest turned to a cruel smile for a split second, just enough for Twilight to realize that something was wrong.
    “Citizens of Equestria!” Selene announced. “It is with great pleasure that I finally return to you. However, there is something that I must let you know.”
    “Oh no, please don’t…” Celestia whispered.
    “My sister has lied to you.” This led to predictable gasps amongst the audience. “While I...appreciate...her attempts to make this transition smoother, I cannot in good conscience allow such dishonesty pervade my political persona.” She paused a moment. “I was Nightmare Moon.” More gasps, some screams. “However, through these heroines, I have been shown the error of my ways. I will rebuild my reputation through loyalty to my subjects, good cheer at their accomplishments, and honesty to all. I will not begin my new life on a lie. I will earn your admiration, not cheat for it.”
    She gazed upon the crowd.
    “I still see fear. Understandable. I have given you much to fear me for. However know this, I love Equestria. I would never harm anypony without due reason. You need fear me no longer, for my ire no longer burns for my sister, but instead for the ills that plague Equestria. After a thousand years, I return to find nothing has changed. Stagnation has taken root. In order for Equestria to grow, we must change, and I will create that change. I will bring Equestria out of its rut and into a new golden age, where it is the envy of every nation on Arcadia. Mark my words. When I am long dead and history is set in stone, Equestria will forever remember this night as the turning point in our history. The night that we turned our backs on the status quo, and embraced the future!”
    Silence, utter and complete. The ponies in the crowd stared at her with shock, awe, and confusion. For a moment it looked like Selene’s speech had fizzled out.
    Then someone started stomping their hooves.
    It was like a plague. Stomping, cheering, whistling, and yelling spread virulently. There were many holdouts, but soon they too had been swept up in the raw inspiration that Selene had invoked. With a bow to the crowd, Selene stepped away and over to Celestia with a cocky smile, not even trying to hide it. The group of them waited until they retreated to a back room before Celestia spun around.
    “Did you have to do that? How is that behaving?” Celestia asked.
    “I am merely embracing the virtues of harmony, sister. Or did you forget I once bore the Element of Honesty?” Applejack started at this.
    Celestia sighed. “I purged records of you so you could start anew, and you throw it all away in a second!”
    Selene shrugged. “Oh well. I meant what I said. I’m not going to be the perfect little sister you used to know. I will win the admiration I deserve, and I will do it legitimately this time.”
    “And upset the entire country in the process.”
    “Uh, should we be here?” Twilight quietly asked Sunset.
    Sunset shook her head. “Not...really? But they’re not asking us to leave, and this seems important.”
    “You can’t just purge the nobility!” Celestia shouted.
    “And why not? They are useless, yes? Exist only to collect taxes and whine to the crown.”
    “They delegate so we don’t have to handle everything-” Celestia groaned and rolled her eyes. “Later. We’ll discuss this later.”
    “So you’ll support my efforts, sister? We must show a united front.” Selene had a shit eating grin.
    “I will support what I believe will help Equestria, but later.” She turned and addressed the Element bearers. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It seems that my sister and I have some discussions in our future.”
    Selene snorted.
    “Anyway, I have a reward for all of you. While I sent Sunset on this quest, and she will get the reward she requested, you six went beyond the call of any ordinary citizen to aid Equestria in its trying times. All of you will be added to the Hall of History in the palace, a national holiday will be created, and each of you will receive the Equestrian Pink Hearts of Courage.
    “However, I realize that personal risk to yourselves deserves something material as well. You need simply ask and, if it’s within reason, it will be granted to you.”
    Everyone started excitedly chatting to one another for a few moments.
It was Rainbow Dash that spoke up first.
    “I’d like some new gear for my job. The best weatherpony bodysuit, goggles, the works.”
    Applejack said, “I could use a bit of an endorsement in Canterlot. I always have trouble getting new business contacts on account of being, quote ‘an upstart.’ Unquote.”
    Fluttershy raised her hoof. “Ooh! I’ve always had space issues with larger animals. Can I get some land so I can set up a large animal area?”
    “I could use some new art tools,” Pinkie said. “You know, diamond tipped chisels, hammers with enchanted handles, that kind of stuff.”
    “I’d like a tour of Canterlot, if that’s alright,” Rarity said. “I know I’ve been there once, but only for a field trip. I’ve never seen the upper districts.”
    One by one, each of their requests were granted. And then there was Twilight, and she had an amazing, slightly devious plan.
    “Two things, if it’s not much trouble,” she said. “One, enough money to start a spell weaving business. I can’t get any loans or interviews in Canterlot because I’m not connected to nobility.”
    “Easily doable, and I know you have the skills to make it succeed so it won't be a waste,” Celestia said. “The other part?”
    Twilight waved a hoof. “It shouldn’t even cost anything. Just your signature.”
    Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “I see. What is it you want?”
    “I’d like a license to freely practice chaos magic.”
    Complete silence.
    “And how long have you been using chaos magic, Twilight Sparkle?”
    She shrugged. “Long enough to prove that it doesn’t drive you insane. However the real question is how fair would it be if you granted your personal student permission to use dark magic, but disallowed a heroine of Equestria to use chaos magic, as long as she did it in a responsible manner? A heroine, mind you, that was deemed worthy to use the most powerful artifacts known to ponydom?”
    More silence, broken by Selene’s chuckling. “I knew I was right to try and recruit you. Well, what will it be, sister? Hypocrisy, or generosity?”
    Celestia’s face was threatening to permanently wrinkle, with the expression she was wearing. “That’s how you got past the wards when you were younger, isn’t it?”
    Twilight smiled with a fey twinkle in her eyes. “Uh uh. That’s not what we’re discussing.”
    The rest of the ponies were just staring at her in horror at her blatant disrespect, and her audacity to trap the Princess in such a way.
    Celestia finally relented. “Very well. As long as you maintain a level of control and exercise your power responsibly, I will grant this boon.” She stepped forward. “But know this, chaos mage. My sister and I stopped the likes of Discord. We can absolutely stop you, should you prove a threat.”
    Twilight gave her a gracious bow. “Terms accepted.”
    “My offer is still open, by the way,” Selene added.
    “I’ll keep that in mind,” Twilight replied.
    The two and Celestia stared at each other for a full minute before Celestia sighed, and turned to Sunset.
    “As for you, my determined student…”
    Sunset raised a hoof. “Actually, Princess, I’m going to have to decline.”
    Celestia’s eyes bugged out. “W-what?”
    Selene started snickering again. “It is so funny to see you lose your composure.”
    Sunset glared at her for a moment before returning to Celestia. “I’d like to stay in Ponyville, if that’s alright. I know I went on this quest with the promise of princesshood, but I learned a lot here in Ponyville. I learned that power isn’t the end-all, be all. I learned that what I was missing in my life wasn’t authority, but instead…” She gestured to the other six. “Friendship. And if I’m granted a princesshood, I’ll have to go back to Canterlot, and probably won’t see them again. So! I’m going to have to decline. At least, until I’m truly ready. That’s what you’ve been trying to teach me, right? Responsibility?”
    Celestia was just staring at her, mouth agape.
    “Uh, Princess? Are you going to-mmph!” Sunset suddenly found herself pressed against Celestia’s chest, a pair of legs squeezing her tight.
    “Daww!” Pinkie chimed in.
    “Sunset, you don’t know how proud of you I am right now,” Celestia said with silent tears. “When you...when we had our fight, I thought I lost you forever. I hoped...hoped with all my heart that would find your way back home. I’m so sorry I thought I had to bribe you to come back.”
    Sunset’s arms were squeezing her just as tightly. “Well, you kind of did at the time, but I’m glad I let you.”
    Everypony watched the fuzzy scene, sharing the warmth it seemed to radiate to the room. Even Selene seemed to appreciate the sight, though she would later deny it when someone pointed it out.
    And all was good.

===

    Twilight Sparkle finally made it to her bedroom after a thorough tongue lashing and hug session from her brother and parents. It was expected, vicious, and cuddly.
    With a sigh, she flopped on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, her brain starting to wind down from all the adrenaline and overtiredness. Apparently their trek through the Everfree had taken twelve hours which, combined with the day’s work prior, meant they all had been up for about a full day and a half running around, and another half dealing with the aftermath.
    She was completely exhausted.
    “Totally worth it,” she quietly said, bringing her rewards back in sight. A check worth a hundred thousand bits, enough to purchase a storefront in Ponyville and buy supplies for her plans. She ultimately chose to move out of Canterlot for two reasons. One: her friends were all in Ponyville. She would visit her Canterlot friends from time to time, but she doubted it would hurt anyone if they slowly drifted apart. Two: she was certain that if word got out for what she wanted to invent, a squad of tribalist unicorns would show up at her shop at night, burn it to the ground, piss on it, then burn the ashes.
    The real gem was the document. A royal decree that authorized one Twilight Sparkle to use chaos magic without restriction, with the only exceptions being if she broke the law or otherwise destabilized lives, a town, the country, or the world. It was needlessly wordy, but it all boiled down to one word: behave.
    “I couldn’t agree more,” said a familiar voice. Twilight banished her prized possessions to a secure location and looked up to find Discord floating above her with a huge smile.
    “Where have you been?” she asked.
    He waved it off. “Oh, here and there. Celly and Selly have a nose for my brand of magic, and if they got wind I was near you, they would have you imprisoned within a second. I wanted to make sure you weren’t in any danger.”
    Twilight smirked. “Aww, and you say you don’t care about me.”
    Discord sighed. “Yes, I guess it’s time to face the truth. You’ve infected me with friendship, Twilight Sparkle. Until I met you I couldn’t have cared less about anypony other than myself, but you seemed to grow on me. I sought out a pawn, and ended up a parent, sort of. Never thought that would happen.”
    “Well, I’m glad you tried to corrupt me and succeeded, sort of.” Twilight shrugged. “I was serious when I was saying I’m glad I never ended up as Celestia’s student. You taught me how to actually live.”
    Discord smiled, and swept Twilight up in a hug. “Is this what friendship feels like?”
    “Well, seeing as I’ve been cultivating it for the past two days, I’m pretty sure that’s a yes.”
    He dropped her, but obviously wasn’t sincere about how callous it was. “I’m not sure if I like it. If this keeps up, I’ll care about other ponies. I’m not sure if that works with my schtick.”
    Twilight hummed. “Well, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I’m sure if you don’t cause too much trouble, Princess Celestia won’t try and sic us on you.”
    Discord slowly met her eyes. “You wouldn’t, would you?”
    Twilight’s expression went hard. “No. Never! You’re my friend, Discord. My first friend. I’d never betray you!”
    His gaze softened, and he patted her on the head. “I’m glad to hear it. Now, onto your progress report.” He summoned a television screen, which quickly sped through the entire ordeal, and cut right to the chase. A summary screen filled with numbers and words detailing score, but the end result were shining platinum words that read ‘Rank: S+’.
    “Not only did you stop dear Moonbutt from conquering Equestria, you also sowed so many seeds of chaos! You modified the Elements of Harmony, you somehow didn’t purge Selene of her darkness, you trapped Celestia in a choice between logic and virtue, you gained free reign to use your power, and you have the ear of one of the princesses of the land! Not a bad haul if I do say so myself.”
    Twilight clopped her hooves in response.
    “Now, where Celestia had her reward, I have my own.” He snapped his fingers, calling forth a spell scroll.
    Twilight took it, eyeing it over. “What does this do?”
    “Quite simple, my dear. This will grant you very limited access to the chaos realm, where I draw my power from.”
    Twilight’s eyes went wide. “You mean-”
    He nodded. “Yes. Your power will be technically infinite, but the rate you can call on it is limited. You won’t be able to alter the world like I can, but you’ll be able to cast small cantrips constantly, and you’ll never tire from it.”
    Twilight looked at him with a bit of bemusement. “I’m grateful, definitely, but why not just grant me full access?”
    Discord laughed. “Greedy. No, the real reason is that Celestia’s fear of chaos magic isn’t unfounded. The fools that lose themselves to it dive too deep, too quickly. If I did that, you would be no better than the examples they use to warn you at school. No, it’s best to get used to it, slowly and carefully.”
    Twilight mused on that for a moment, and it made sense. “Alright.” She unfurled it, and with reckless abandon, cast the spell. A flash filled the room, the scroll was gone, and Twilight was looking around expectantly.
    “Um, nothing happened.”
    Discord rolled his eyes. “Of course something happened. If you felt it, then I would know something went wrong. Go ahead, try to...say...conjure something to eat.”
    Twilight beamed, and snapped her tail, conjuring a hayburger. She waited for the quick onset of hunger, but it never happened. The power hadn’t come from her own reserves.
    “YES!” she took the treat and immediately devoured it, savoring each bite. “Thank you, Discord!”
    He smiled. “Anytime, my dear. Once you prove you can handle this, we’ll slowly increase the flow. But that’s for far-future us to worry about. What are your plans for the near future?”
    Twilight smiled, and started explaining, weaving in illusions into her demonstration.
    Discord just sat there, eyes wide at just how much chaos her idea would bring to Equestria. She had no idea, either, just pure idealism and vision for a better future. It was possible that it would all work out, of course, but he knew pony nature. Once she revealed this to Equestria at large, everything would change, and there would be no going back.
    Chaos would smother Equestria, and he wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
It was delicious.