Rarity's Diary

My dearest diary;

Good heavens! This has been a rather exhausting ride. Many feats of courage, love, and even some laughter made for much of a gripping, yet riveting adventure.

Last time I wrote to you, the Summer Sun Celebration was about to begin. I was exuberant for, not only the sun to rise, but to see Princess Celestia. Both plans were unfortunately thwarted however. I pulled the curtains, hoping for the princess to be revealed. I was sadly mistaken though. My excite was turned to upset instead. Princess Celestia was mysteriously not there.

Suddenly, a wicked mare of darkness emerged, almost eerily from the mist and shadows. She had a look of resentment and umbrage on her face. Her mane was flowing, but not in the same beautiful way like Princess Celestia's. It was instead night blue mist bordered by translucent purple. The mane does not suit her. When you have a dark mane, you shouldn't extend it to make it too big. That makes you blend into the dark. I know that this pony is evil and all, but she needs to have some style in fashion.

The mysterious figure called us her 'subjects', though I couldn't imagine why. Only Princess Celestia, a royal figure, would've called us this.

Rainbow Dash wanted to fight this figure for possibly stealing the princess, but Applejack was forced to hold her back. The figure called herself royal and asked us if we even knew who or what she was. Pinkie Pie, for some odd reason, was still optimistic about things, and was actually making fun of the princess. I don't think that party pony was even aware of how rude she was acting. Everypony else was cowering in fear, except for a lady, of course. They must always keep their wits about things in situations like this one.

The strange figure apporached me, and asked me if I recalled any legends, and if I saw any signs. Not only was I shivering in fear, but I wanted to call this mare out on this. I wanted to explain to her about how busy I am, and how I can't spend the time engaging with others about hidden philosophies and that sort, but I was just too nervous, and, unfortunately, this lead to her mane slapping me across the face. The mane felt like a cold breeze: dry and unpleasant.

But suddenly, it was that new pony, Twilight, that managed to recognize this figure, calling her the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon.

The malevolent mare seemed to confirm this, and told us that "the night will last forever".

She immediately attacked town hall, where the celebration was being held. She even managed to injure the Royal guards. Her eyes, in a perplexing manner, turned a very bright white as she attacked them. Those poor royal guards. I always had thought of them as handsome heroes, and now, they went through some turmoil with this strange 'Nightmare Moon'.

Rainbow Dash wanted to fight her immediately, but the wicked mare had already vanished. She turned into smoke, and took off to a different destination, far beyond Ponyville.

After this occurrence, Rainbow Dash noticed Twilight trotting off. The speed demon landed into the destroyed town hall. Some ponies were lying down on the ground in fear, including Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash, as quick as she was, came flying at us.

Rainbow informed us that Twilight was galloping off and that she wanted to follow her. Rainbow Dash was acting rather suspicious, wondering why Twilight was the only pony who knew about Nightmare Moon. Rainbow suspected that Twilight was secretly working for Nightmare Moon, but Applejack denied this, asking Rainbow to just calm down, to which Dash responded that she's just trying to help us. Rainbow Dash is a very 'tough love' pony.

As Rainbow Dash pursued Twilight, we pursuited behind. On my way, I came across Sweetie Belle, who was panicking, wanting to hide at Carousel Boutique. I asked her to not touch anything when she goes in, and she promised not to. On second thought, maybe that wasn't such an ingenious idea after all. Sweetie Belle is always getting herself into trouble. I bet she thinks there's going to be zombie ponies now or something.

Rainbow Dash made it into the library. Rather than even knocking politely, she barged in rudely with no excuse. I noticed that baby dragon sleeping in his basket. He looked fairly adorable. I asked Fluttershy what his name was, to which she answered that his name was Spike. I noticed his covers slightly untidy. If you know me, you know that I can't keep things in a mess, unless I'm organizing the mess for art. I fixed his covers, and tucked him in, and I couldn't help but beam a little.

Twilight was searching frantically for a book about Nightmare Moon, and how to use objects called 'The Elements of Harmony', but Rainbow Dash confronted her, eager to get answers about Nightmare Moon, and these elements of harmony, even giving Twilight the nickname of a spy. I'm not quite so sure. Ever since I met Twilight the other day, I always thought she was one of those ponies who atacked from far away, rather than up close.

Applejack managed to push her back, and once again, asked her to calm down, assuring that Twilight is no spy. This shocks me, as I used to think Applejack was much more headstrong.

Applejack asked Twilight why she knew so much. Like the others, I was very curious about what Twilight knew. She answered that she read all about predictions of Nightmare Moon, and that the objects 'The Elements of Harmony' are the only things to defeat her, but that she didn't know what they mean or what they do, or even where they come from, or where to find them.

Pinkie Pie somehow found a reference guide to the elements, finding them under 'E'. You know, as zany and wacky as Pinkie Pie is, she's somewhat of a genius. I don't know how she got so energetic, but I am simply dying to know how she has so much spirit and whimsy.

Twilight read the book out loud to us. She said that the only five known elements are kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. But then she read that the sixth is a mystery. She read out to us that some believe that the elements are located in 'The Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters'.

She read that the castle is located in The Everfree Forest. In case you don't know, that area is arguably one of the most dangerous places in the entirety of Equestria. There are dangerous beasts that lurk in that dreadful forest. I don't go there often. Ever since Sweetie Belle talked to me about rumors that she heard from school, I haven't been able to bring myself the courage. There were ursa majors mentioned that live there, along with other beasts like manticores, sea serpents, cockatrices, dragons, timberwolves, and other strange creatures.

Hearing that the elements were located in the Everfree Forest sent shivers down my spine. All of us were horrified to hear where the location of the elements were in. Even Rainbow Dash, as brave as she is, was worried about her own life in that forest. Even Applejack, as level-headed as she was, was hesitant about entering.

Twilight wanted to search for the elements alone, but because it seemed like all of us were impressed by this ponies likability, we decided to tag along. A pony who's from Canterlot has to have a valuable life ahead of them. I tagged along, as anypony who enters this forest most certainly needs some defenders to give a helping hoof.

While we were trudging through the forest, we couldn't help but want to turn back, but that would be a cowardly move. There's more to a lady than beauty.

Twilight tried checking to see if we ever entered the forest prior to this adventure, but I immediately replied, "No". I wondered how anypony would want to enter a place this sinister. Applejack added that it isn't natural, and it just doesn't work the same way as Equestria. Twilight asked what that could possibly mean.

Rainbow Dash, who earned her backbone once again, tried to intimidate us, by saying that anypony who ever came in, has never come out. If this story is true, it may explain those mysterious dissapearances of fillies in Sweetie Belle's school who went to The Everfree Forest.

Just then, the cliff we were positioned on was suddenly destroyed. I was falling to what I had thought was my untimely demise, but I was suddenly saved from danger due to the work of Fluttershy. I was speechless for words.

Fluttershy felt, admittedly, like a coward to me. But with this, she managed to be able to help me in danger without yelping in fear. She may have gotten shocked at first, but she saved me much quicker than I had imagined. Maybe this pony is more than meets the eye. Then again, it may have just been a stroke of adrenaline. When Twilight was falling off the cliff, and Rainbow and Fluttershy saved her, she still seemed like she didn't have much strength. It was strange because once I thanked her for her vital help, she answered, "You're Welcome", but in a low tone.

As we pushed further towards the castle, I wanted to know why it took so long for Twilight to fall off, until I learnt that it was the assistance of Applejack, who convinced her to fall. This was for Rainbow and Fluttershy to save her. Applejack is getting on my nerves. For a pony who earns low income from the mayor, she definitely has some confidence that she expresses.

As we ventured further into the forest, Rainbow Dash was boasting about her services. Well, as long as she can be useful, she doesn't bother me as much with her arrogance. That's what the adventure was feeling for me. I was still hesitant on 'friendship' but these ponies were pushing me in the right direction, despite their blatant problems.

Just then, a manticore suddenly came into view. He immediately aimed to claw and shred me into tiny pony pieces. I wouldn't allow any of it, and clashed him in the face with my hoof. No-one attacks the fashion queen. Unfortunately, he roared in my face, causing my mane to be cluttered, and tattered.

I trotted away. I was, at the very least glad that I weakened my opponent. Applejack proceeded to tackle against our foe next, using him as one of those classic rodeo bulls. I appreciate her help, but this was a fight, not a rodeo.

Rainbow Dash fought against the manticore next, attempting to spin him around, but instead, he whipped Rainbow away. Seeing someone valuable like that go down was something I wasn't going to stand for. We charged up on the manticore as a team, but Fluttershy stopped us dead in our tracks.

I couldn't watch when she walked up face to face with the manticore, but she worked hard and survived. Fluttershy located a thorn in the manticore's paw, even calling the creature a baby. He even licked Fluttershy when she pulled the thorn out. Fluttershy is intriguing to me. There's a lot I want to learn about her. Her ability to interact with other animals far outweigh her ability to interact with ponies.

Getting into the darker portion of the forest was a rough challenge. My eyes were strained. Normally, I get a certain designated amount of sleep so that I can do my work, but because of the Summer Sun Celebration, I stayed up throughout the entire night. Going into a dark forest was much more difficult for my eyes to take in, not to mention that I was walking in icky, icky, mud.

All of a sudden, the trees appeared to have their blank wood transformed into a face, eyes, mouth, and all. Instead of them just being made of wood, they now had faces on them (faces that looked very threatening). We all quivered in fear, that is, except for Pinkie Pie.

She was laughing, with a smile. It interested me that she wasn't even making a slight flinch. Suddenly, she burst into song, encouraging us to not be afraid. Maybe we shouldn't be afraid. Maybe Pinkie Pie is more inspirational than I had imagined. Her choice of words made us all laugh and cheered us up. The trees looked like they were powered by hatred and chaos, and laughter like Pinkie's and ours managed to take them down.

In any case, we were all in a wonderful mood. This delightful attitude kept us all optimistic, until we reached a river, with crashing waves. It was coming from a sea serpent, who was crying. He wasn't as nasty as I predicted. I hope if i ever come across other wildlife, that they'll be as kind as he was.

Twilight wanted to know why this mustached serpent was crying. He told us that a cloud of purple smoke whisked past him, and tore off about half of his beautiful mustache, making him look horrid. The water he crashed on managed to wet all of us. I would scold him for wetting my mane, but instead, i wanted to help.

Rainbow Dash, and Applejack thought that the problem was worth nothing crying for, but I snapped at them, demanding to know why they would be so insensitive.

I valued his lovely luminescent scales, expertly coiffed mane, and fabulous manicure. But it was all ruined without his beautiful mustache. I never leave a crime against fashion go uncorrected. There was no fashion equipment nearby, so I bit on one of his scales, and cut most of my own tail. The sea serpent collapsed from shock of one of his scales being ripped clean off. Using my levitation, I attached most of my tail to the sea serpent's face in the position of where one side of his mustache originally was.

I was glad to have helped the sea serpent in need. The Everfree Forest isn't as life risking as I'd imagined it, at least when you have friends there anyways. The sea serpent was even nice enough to use himself as a bridge for us to cross over. Hopping onto different scales over a river wet my hooves a little, but it was worth it.

Eventually, we finally reached the castle. All that stood in our way was a bridge. Sadly, it wasn't attached to anything. It was simply dangling. Rainbow Dash volunteered to attach the bridge using her flying skills.

When Dash crossed, I was watching something strange. She was conversing with some mysterious figures, who used their eyes to shroud everything we could see in smoke. But in the end, the figures vanished and Rainbow Dash joined up with us once more, saying that she would never leave her friends. Wow, no matter how brash and how big her ego is, Rainbow Dash is very dependable. I just wish she would care about others more than herself more. She appears to be very impatient, and lacks any type of empathy for others.

Here it was now though. We finally reached the castle. But like the book says, there were only five elements. Twilight noted that she had an idea, and suggested that we stand back. Applejack offered an idea: that we should temporarily walk outside.

But it was only seconds before we could hear Twilight calling us, begging and beseeching for our guidance. A cloud of smoke took control of the elements, giving Twilight a rush of adrenaline, and made her hop in, causing the cloud of smoke to use a forceful teleportation spell.

We all panicked, but thankfully to myself, I managed to find the room Twilight was teleported into. We trotted as fast as we could upstairs to the room Twilight was situated inside.

As we wandered in, we could hear Twilight calling us, in fact, 'the elements'. For Applejack's reassurance, she earned the element of honesty, for Fluttershy's domestic nature towards animals, she earned the element of kindness, for Pinkie's playful nature, she earned the element of laughter, for Rainbow Dash's devotion towards us, she earned the element of loyalty, and me, for my gentle nature towards a sea serpent, caused me to earn the element of generosity.

The spark ignited between the six of us created the sixth element – magic. As our elements formed to make a powerful blast, we defeated the unpleasant foe using all of our magical strength.

In the end, we all had necklaces magically created. Mine looked positively fabulous. In fact, Fluttershy pointed out that the necklace looked like my cutie mark. I even managed to get my mane back. I shall cherish it for the rest of my life.

Applejack noted that we may represent friendship after all. But then, as the sun rose beautifully, Celestia appeared before my now bright eyes. It was as if her regal, and bright figure helped my eyesight once again.

She explained to Twilight that she sent her to Ponyville because she knew she could defeat Nightmare Moon with the power of friendship. For a pony with a career like my own, I never expected to be honored as a hero.

Nightmare Moon's armor was destroyed, and instead, there was a light blue pony looking worn out and injured. I would have given her a make-over, but then I learnt that she's a princess. 'Princess Luna' as Celestia puts it. She'd have too much time on her hooves for I to provide my services.

But on topic; Yes! There is another princess in Equestria! This is quite a large deal for me, as I always imagined Celestia was the only princess. After all, this sun loving princess can lift the sun and moon. She's one of my biggest idols.

But even more of a shock, this is Celestia's sister! I nearly fainted in such anticipation and shock, but I had this surge of confidence in myself that made me not break down as much. You see, with all the time I spent with the others, it gave me confidence in myself.

And even more! This 'Princess Luna' was Nightmare Moon. Thankfully, the two sisters reunited after one-thousand years. Luna apologized, and Pinkie Pie held a party for all of us in the end.

During the celebration, Twilight made a very glum expression. She seemed upset now because she had to leave all of us, and move back to the amazing, fantastic, fabulous, and dynamic city of Canterlot. But our princess, Celestia, decided to decree that Twilight stay in Ponyville and learn more about friendship. And to even write to Celestia about any new things she's learnt about friendship every week.

We are in high spirits over our new friend. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie have even grown on me over this adventure. I suppose I can interact with these five ponies, and that dragon, Spike, in my free time.

Who knows? Maybe these whole 'friendship' endeavors will be a thrilling turn of events. Now if I could just find Sweetie Belle...

~Rarity