Memories

I walked through the Everfree forest, watching and waiting for something to jump out and attack. Celestia once told me about this place. She said in the heart of the forest, was her old castle, the place she lived before Canterlot. She left the memories of the place behind, and moved her castle to Canterlot. Without somepony caring for it, the castle grew wild, and was left to ruin. Some things were left there, not being moved to Canterlot quick enough before the forest enveloped it. There were artifacts and books that nopony had seen in almost a thousand years. I smiled remembering how Tia would call them ‘Lost Things’.

I tried to follow the path that had once been here, but it was now overgrown and destroyed. At intervals, the feeling would go through me again, it switched between warm tingle, and electrifying pain. I tried to use the feeling to see which way I should go. Unfortunately, walking toward the castle made both feelings more intense.

I stopped and looked around. The feeling changed. The pain was stable, but the tingle was very intense. Something was telling me to turn around. I listened for monsters ahead of me, but I heard nothing there. Then it happened. There were screams from behind me. Somepony was in trouble! I did not care about anything else, all I knew was I had to help.

I ran toward the screaming, I saw ponies falling! Two were caught by pegasai, one was safe on the edge, but holding on to one who was about to fall. She would not be able to hang on much longer. The pegasai would have to set down the others before catching her. There was not enough time for her to be saved.

I watched in terror as she fell.

I spread my wings and felt another pulse of tingling energy go through my body. I flew up as fast as I could, not knowing if I would make it. I could not breathe, I could not think. I felt something solid. I had caught her. The screams stopped, and the tension left, I could breathe again. She was safe.

“Feria?” asked the pony I had caught. I looked down to see Twilight Sparkle in my hooves. She was looking up at me as if to ask how I had managed to save her.

“Sorry, I bet you probably want me to put you on the ground now, right?” I said, smiling in relief. Both the pain and the tingle had subsided by the time I set her down. Applejack jumped down the cliff with the skill of a mountain goat, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were waiting at the bottom of the cliff, having already carried down Rarity and Pinkie Pie.

“Now didn’t ah’ say you would be safe?” Applejack said to Twilight.

“What are you six doing here?” I asked.

“After Nightmare Moon appeared,” Twilight started. “I went back to the library to find a book about the Elements of Harmony. I had been looking for it all day, because the Elements are the only things that can defeat her.”

“We followed her, seein’ as she might know something” Applejack continued.

“And of course the book said the Elements were here, so we came in,” Rarity finished. “Although why something as important as them would be in a place as dreadful as this, I don’t know.” I saw Rainbow Dash roll her eyes at Rarity’s comment.

“Anyway,” Twilight said, “We need to keep going to the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. The Elements should be there.”

I contemplated this for a moment. I knew more about legends and such than most ponies, but not as much as Celestia, considering she lived through them. I knew the Elements were Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty, along with an unknown Element. I never knew how the most powerful things in Equestria could only delay the problems in their legends.

“I will come with you,” I decided.

“Please, don’t endanger yourself,” Twilight said. “Without Princess Celestia, you might be the only one who can defeat Nightmare Moon if our plan doesn’t work.”

“Then all the more reason I come along. Nightmare Moon would know about the Elements, and about the ruined castle. I had been heading there anyway, thinking I could find and use one of the Lost Things to fend off Nightmare Moon.  I did not know the Elements were there, but we need all the help we can get.”

I led the way through the trees and back to the path, not letting any of them object again. We wandered for a while, keeping each other company as we pressed on. I felt the warm tingle again, without the pain for a while, but it soon came back.

I heard a roar and looked through the trees as a creature jumped out at us. It was huge, about three ponies tall, and it had the head of a lion but a scorpion tail and a pair of leathery wings. I roared at us again as the pain went through my body again.

“A manticore!” Twilight yelled. “We’ve got to get past it!” The manticore leaped at us and swiped his paw at Rarity.

“Take that you ruffian!” she yelled, bucking him in the face. He roared at her again, ruining her hair as she ran off. I tried to use my magic to maybe levitate him long enough for us to escape, but the pain going through me would not let me concentrate long enough. The manticore ran after Rarity, but was soon jumped by Applejack.

“YEE-HAW! Git along, little doggie!” she yelled, trying to hold on as the manticore thrashed around, but she was soon thrown into the air, near Rainbow Dash. “Your turn, partner.”  She said as she passed her.

Rainbow Dash flew to the manticore and tried to make a tornado around the creature, only to get smacked back to us by its tail. Twilight made the signal for a full on charge at the monster before us, and we all began to run toward him.

“WAIT!” Fluttershy yelled, jumping between us and the creature. We stopped and watched her walk up to it. I watched as the manticore was about to crush her. “It’s okay, “Fluttershy said calmly. The manticore lowered its paw and we saw a thorn stuck in it. “Oh, you poor, poor little kitty.”

“Little?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Now this might hurt for just a second” Fluttershy continued as she pulled out the thorn. The manticore roared, but soon began purring and licking Flutershy as a thank you. “Aw, you’re just a little ol’ baby kitty, aren’t you? Yes you are!” The manticore put her down and walked away from us, leaving Fluttershy’s mane sticking straight up from the saliva.

“How did you know about the thorn in its paw?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I didn’t” she replied. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.” I contemplated this as we all walked on. We all had assumed the manticore was there just to kill us, but it is alive, like we are. Just because it is different does not mean we should not treat it as a like we treat other ponies.

“My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!” Rarity complained. The trees answered by getting thicker, their leaves blocking out the moonlight. I felt a sharp pain shoot through me again. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally.”

The ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it!” Twilight exclaimed. We all started bumping into each other, and everything. The ground became sticky, and I felt a slight change in the air pressure.

“Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin’,” Applejack said as Fluttershy screamed “It’s just mud.” But she soon saw what Fluttershy had screamed at, the trees grew faces, they were growling at us, you would have thought they would eat us any second. But Pinkie Pie was just laughing and making faces at the tree.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, slightly panicked.

“Oh, girls, don’t you see?” Pinkie asked. Then she began to sing.

“When I was a little filly and sun going down”

“Tell me she’s not…” Twilight complained.

“The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown”

“She is.” Rarity answered.

“I’d hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw

But Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way

To deal with fears at all”

“Then what is?” Rainbow Dash shouted, her voice cracking slightly in mild annoyance.

“She said ‘Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall

Learn to face your fears

You’ll see that they can’t hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear’

Ha! Ha! Ha!”

At her laugh, the tree became less scary. It was just a normal looking tree, no faces or growls. Pinkie smiled at us, inviting us to try it. I walked up to one, and chuckled a little. It worked, and everything going back to normal. I do not know if a spell made the trees physically change, or we saw it in our minds, but this could work. We all started to join in the laughter, and soon we couldn’t stop.  Pinkie kept singing the whole way through.

We all fell into a pile of silly laughing ponies. Pinkie was practically a squeaky toy, Rarity was trying to keep from breaking down into loud nearly breathless laughs like Applejack already had. I was actually snorting with laughter. I could not tell if the warm tingle I felt was from my friends, or if it was what I usually felt. I think it might be both, but it overpowered the painful feeling. I felt the pain coming back, but not as powerful.

I do not know how, but we got up from the pile of giggles and kept going. Instead of awkward small talk, we really began to know each other past what we first saw. We shared things most did not know about ourselves, and learned about each other along the way; Rainbow Dash said a lot of her fascination with the Wonderbolts came from a conversation with one when she was little, Rarity asked me to come by her shop sometime and model a few dresses, as she rarely gets to work with somepony who has a black coat. The warm tingle kept the pain at bay, for me. It was still there, but not as intense. I was glad I had met these ponies on my way to the castle. I do not think I would have made it without them.

“We should be coming up on a river soon; we can cross on the bridge.” I said as we turned a corner on the path, then saw and heard the river. They looked over to me with obvious confusion.

“How did you know?” Twilight asked me.

“I- I am not sure?” It was strange. I just saw it in my mind, like I would see a memory. I could not remember something I could not have seen, right?

“Where’s the bridge?” Rainbow Dash asked me. I just stared at the river. In my mind, I saw a calm river. I saw a beautiful white bridge, carved and decorated to look like clouds.  All I saw here was a thrashing river.

“How are we going to cross this? Pinkie asked as we heard somepony crying upstream. We looked through the bushes to see a sea serpent sobbing into the river, thrashing around in a tantrum. We would not be able to cross while he was there, I do not think even a bridge could help us across. Twilight Sparkle must have come to the same conclusion, as she tentatively approached the sea serpent.

“Excuse me, sir?” Twilight asked. “Why are you crying?”

“Well, I don’t know.” The serpent wailed with flamboyant hand motions. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whooshed past me and tore half of my beautiful mustache clean off! Now I look simply horrid!”

“Oh, give me a break.” Rainbow muttered.

“That’s what all the fuss is about?” Applejack complained.

“Why, of course it is.” Rarity exclaimed, shocked at their reaction. “How can somepony be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely, radiant scales.”

“I know.” The serpent said, beginning to calm down.

“And your expertly trimmed mane.” She complimented again, walking up to him.

“Oh, I know, I know.”

“Your astonishing manicure.”

“It’s so true!” the serpent gasped.

“All ruined without your extravagant mustache!” Rarity exclaimed.

“It’s true, I’m hideous!” he yelled as he began thrashing again. I thought it was going to work, so why did Rarity stop the compliments? She knows we have to get across, right?

“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” Rarity proclaimed.

“Rarity, what are you-?” Twilight yelled. We watched as she grabbed one of the serpent’s scales, and sliced off her own tail! The sea serpent screamed and fainted dramatically. Rarity levitated what used to be her tail towards him, and magically attached it as the other half his mustache.

“My mustache! How wonderful!” the serpent exclaimed as Rarity gave another compliment to him.

“Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail…” Twilight said, looking at the small tuft that was left.

“Oh. It’s fine, dear” she replied. “Short tails are in this season. Besides, it’ll grow back.”

“So would the mustache.” Rainbow pointed out.

“But it was a generous gift, one that meant more than reassurance,” Rarity replied.

“Allow me,” the serpent said, letting us use him as a bridge. We were across, and the others were starting to head off, but I lingered a moment. Twilight looked back at me for a moment, but I nodded for her to go ahead without me. As they steadily walked along, I headed back to the sea serpent.

“Excuse me, mr… uh…” I said.

“Oh, forgive me,” he apologized, “we were never properly introduced each other. My name is Steven Magnet.” He offered me his hand.

“Thank you,” I said, accepting his handshake. “I am Feria.”

“As in the Princess?!” he asked as I nodded in confirmation. “Oh dear, I feel terrible! How I acted was no way to be in front of anypony, much less in front of royalty!”

“It is okay, Mr. Magnet. Anypony would have reacted like that in a similar situation.”

“You may call me Steven, if you wish. If there is anything I can do for you, my princess, please ask.”

“Actually, could you tell me something? I believe there was once a bridge across this river. Do you know where it is?”

“Why, that bridge hasn’t been here for nearly fifty years. It had been a hazard for a long time before that, if anypony came by they were not allowed to try to use it, but it eventually broke down. The remaining pieces of it are in that clearing up ahead.”

I thought on this for a moment. How could I remember the bridge in a place I have never been? A bridge that had been destroyed long ago, before I was born, and out of commission for even longer? What could this mean? Was I going crazy? I thanked him and began to walk off.

“If I may ask, princess,” Steven asked, “has something happened? It’s not often we get ponies in the forest, much less a group as large as yours. And the sun hasn’t come up, but night should have been over hours ago.”

I paused for a second, trying to know what to tell him. “Mr. Magnet, do you know who Nightmare Moon is?” I asked, looking over my shoulder. The surprise in his eyes told me yes. “Do not be frightened, I do not believe she is as evil as ponies think she is. If all goes right tonight, everything will return to how it should be.”

“I hope so, my princess. I hope the day returns soon.”

“It will come back. But do you not think that the night is a very beautiful thing?”

“But, Princess-!”

“Please, do not call me ‘Princess’. I am just Feria, I am me.” I smiled at him and walked on. I entered the clearing with the bridge pieces. It was easy to see this is the same bridge I saw in that memory. It was dark gray now, overgrown with plants and quite eroded, but still somehow beautiful.

I soon caught up with my friends, but I kept quiet. This was confusing me. I saw these memories that could not be mine. As I thought on this, the painful feeling came back. It grew stronger as we came closer to the castle, but was manageable. The trees parted, and we got our first look at the castle.

The castle had once been a marvel greater than the one in Canterlot. Now it was ruined. It looked like the bridge. Bright white stones, now dull gray. The wooden doors had rotted away, and the stone archways were covered in vines. I could still sense the magical wards protecting this place. I could see what it used to be in my mind, like I saw the bridge.

“There it is!” Twilight yelled. “The ruins that hold the Elements of Harmony! We made it!” She took off running, as we followed after her.

“Twilight, wait for us!” Applejack called to her.

“We’re almost there!” She yelled again, coming to a quick stop as she nearly fell of the edge. The rope bridge that should be there had been cut, even thought my mind saw a bridge more marvelous than the one on the river.

“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, pulling her back.

“Now what?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow flapped her wings in response. “Oh yeah!”

I watched as she flew over the gap and tied one rope. I felt the pain shoot through me again, stronger than before.  It lingered instead of being just a quick shock. I looked across the gap, and saw three ponies talking to Rainbow Dash. They were distracting her; I could tell somepony was using magic against her.

“Rainbow, what’s taking so long?” Twilight called to her. She saw them too. “Oh no. Rainbow Dash! Don’t listen to them!” One of those other ponies looked at us, her eyes glowed, and the fog rolled in. It blocked our view and muffled our voices. We shouted to her, but she could not hear us.

“I will fly over there! She needs help!”  I yelled, spreading my wings. I had barely flapped them when another pain went through me. This was the strongest one yet. I cried out and crumpled to the ground. Each painful shock happened so fast, I do not even know if they were separate ones, or one long one.

I could tell my friends were around me, asking if I was okay. I wanted to answer, but it hurt to move. I could not even talk. Only a few minutes passed, but it felt like forever. I noticed it soon stopped, and was replaced with the warm tingle. I was glad. I began to be able to move again, I could hear my friends’ voices again. I did not realize until now, but I had stopped thinking of them as “some ponies”. They were my friends.

“See? I’d never leave my friends hanging” Rainbow Dash said as she came back through the fog, clearing it on the way. She noticed me lying on the ground breathing heavily. “Oh my Celestia what happened to you?”

“I am sorry,” I said, getting up. “That- that happens sometimes. It has never been that bad before.”

“What do you mean ‘that happens sometimes’? What was that?” Twilight asked.

“It looked like it hurt a lot.” Pinkie Pie said, concerned and not bouncing like usual.

“I- I do not completely know what it is. Usually, I will feel this warm tingle all over my body, but it occasionally becomes a sharp pain. When that happened, it is usually at the strength of a static shock you would get from sliding on carpet.”

“That wasn’t like any static shock I’ve ever seen…” Fluttershy said.

“I know, that is what was weird about it. I have never felt the pain as intense in reality. I felt it in a dream once, but it was more… dream-like. Although, the good, tingling feeling has never been this intense either. I am not completely sure what causes it, but I think it is connected to my special talent.” I tested my wings. The pain was still going through me, but not as terrible as before.  “We need to keep going.  We should get to the castle soon.”

“Wait a second there, sugarcube.” Applejack said. “You shouldn’t be movin’ after that.”

“I am fine enough for this. Yes, the one feeling hurt me, but the other makes me feel better. But if we stay here worrying about me, we will never return things to their rightful place!” I nodded my head toward the eastern side of the ruined castle. “The elements should be in that building there, it was designed as a safe haven, somewhere for ponies to hide in case of an attack.”

They looked at me in confusion. I had not answered their questions, but I had raised a few more. How could I explain to them that I had no idea why I knew these things? Would they still trust me? Would they stay close? I still did not know exactly what caused those feelings, but I had connected that being with these six ponies made the good feeling more intense. Their concern when I was in pain was what helped me fight through it.

We reached the building where the Elements should be. It was a rounded tower, with one big empty room inside. To its left, was what looked like a garden. I saw a statue or two in there, but did not pay much attention to what it was as we entered. There were tall pedestals in the middle of the room, five stone orbs rested on them, leaving some pedestals empty.

“The Elements of Harmony, we’ve found them!” Twilight said as Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and I flew up to get them for her. “Careful!” she warned when I nearly dropped one.

“One, two, three, four,” Pinkie counted. “There’s only five!

“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow asked, the panic in her voice rising.

“The book said ‘when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed’!” Twilight recited.

“What the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked.

“I have an idea. Stand back. I don’t know what will happen.”

“Come on now, y’all. She needs to concentrate,” Applejack said, herding us out of the room into the garden area outside. We looked around the garden for a bit, but I kept glancing over at the large statue in the middle of the place.

I wandered to the statue, drawn in by wonder. I could remember many things about this place, but I did not remember this. It was fairly well preserved, as if somepony had specifically visited here often, and cleared away the growth. The statue itself was life-sized and greatly detailed. There were seven ponies in a group, laughing and playing with each other. Like nearly everything else here, I remembered the ponies from a dream, and from memories that did not belong to me, but I did recognize two from the memories I should have. One was on the back left. This pony looked like Celestia. Well, the Celestia I had known, smiling and loving, but this one was freer. It was like she had not spent hundreds of years, watching ponies grow old and die while she stayed exactly the same, like she did not have any regrets for things that had happened.

The other pony I recognized, because it was me.

This one was taller, older, but she was exactly like me in every way. The way her head tilted as she laughed, the fwippy-thing that happens with her mane, even the cutie mark carved into her stone flank was exactly like mine, a flaming heart which reminds me of the ‘Fire of Friendship’ from the Hearth’s Warming Eve plays.

I noticed the inscription on the statue; ‘Dedicated to the Royal Pony Sisters, may those gone rest in peace, and let those still living feel no burden upon their soul.’ There were five stone plaques in the ground in front of the statue. I read them aloud “Tornata, Azura, Mira, Laruta, Feria.”

My heartbeat quickened. I felt the tingle coming back, but I felt an equal amount of pain. I knew Celestia had other sisters. She had told me that I reminded her of one of them, she even gave me the same name. But this was too much for me. Seeing her, even as a statue was surreal. I looked down at the stone plaques again.

This was not a garden anymore, it was a graveyard.

I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. Something had happened to Twilight. I broke away from the statue, but it would not leave my mind. The six of us ran back into the Elements’ chamber, but Twilight was gone. The Elements were missing too, and I could see small tendrils of purple mist left at the center of the room.

“Look!” Rarity shouted, as a light flashed outside the window. I looked out and saw more lights in a building across a courtyard.

“They are in the throne room!” I shouted, running through the room to a hallway. They followed behind as I led them through the twisting corridors. It was like I had walked these halls often, but I had never set hoof here before, had I? I knew exactly where to go. I knew the halls were fairly maze like, a design from Laruta. The halls were decorated by Azura, and weather controlled by Tornata. The castle was bigger, for royals, staff, civilians and animals had been allowed to mingle as friends. That idea came from Mira and the pervious Feria, but as time went on, and the Alicorns discovered their immortality, they were treated differently, and they isolated themselves, and let the castle become empty. There were things, faces, moments I should not remember, but were still in my mind.

As we were getting closer to the throne room, we shouted out to Twilight, hoping she could hear us. We told her not to worry, told her we would be there soon. We entered and saw Twilight Sparkle talking to Nightmare Moon, the smashed Elements at Nightmare’s hooves. I felt fear in my heart. Not a magical feeling, like that which I usually get. No, this wan normal fear, but it consumed me, I felt cold. I was more scared here than when I saw Nightmare Moon the first time.

“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony with a simple attack like that?” Twilight asked Nightmare Moon, as we came up behind her. “Well, you’re wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right ”

“What?” Nightmare Moon yelled, voicing our confusion. As she did, the Element shards began to glow. They floated up around us, encircling us with their magic. We watched in awe as it happened.

Twilight continued speaking, the magic adding power to her words. “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, is the spirit of… Honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed an angry manticore with her compassion, is the spirit of… Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished our fears by giggling in the face of danger, is the spirit of… Laughter! Rarity, who calmed a woeful serpent with a meaningful gift, is the spirit of… Generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who would not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, is the spirit of…Loyalty!

“Our souls got us through every challenge you threw at us. At first, I first thought the ‘spark’ didn’t work, but it did! It was a different kind of spark.” Twilight looked back at us. “I felt it in that very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all, are my friends!” she turned back to face Nightmare Moon.  “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by that… that spark, which resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Element: the Element of Magic!” As she finished her speech, a shard from each Element fused together, and brought the sixth Element. Twilight glanced over at me. The warm tingle was so intense, so why was I still scared? She realized I had been left out of this. She looked like she wanted to apologize, but I just smiled at her, and she shifted her focus back to Nightmare Moon.

“You think that can stop me?” Nightmare Moon yelled. “You only have the same powers Celestia used to put me on the moon. Not even that! Their strength was nearly gone one thousand years ago! New bearers awakened their powers, but they are still weaker than they once were!”

“But…. How could they not be….” Twilight looked shocked and broken. She had given up hope; if these Elements would not work, what would?

“Even if you use those against me,” Nightmare Moon continued, “I will only go back to the moon. I will not be there as long this time. The banishment would only be a hundred years at most. By then you will be gone, the Elements power will fade once again! That is, if you are able to defeat me!” She threw back her head in laughter. “I will not kill you, no, I do not care for bloodshed. But you will suffer a fate similar to that I suffered the past thousand years, just like what I did to your precious princess!”

“You wouldn’t have been banished if you hadn’t betrayed Celestia!” Twilight yelled out to her. Nightmare Moon glared at her with an emotion I had not seen her use before.

“I didn’t betray her! SHE ABANDONED ME! THE PONIES ABANDONED ME! ALL SHE CARED ABOUT WAS HERSELF! CELESTIA LEFT US ALL BEHIND AND WENT ON LIVING WITH NO REGRETS!” Nightmare Moon yelled at us. In those words, I saw that flicker which showed her true feelings. There was anger and hatred, but loneliness and regret were more prominent.

I felt the pain come back, her words physically hurt me. ‘Us’ she had said, ‘Celestia left us’. I looked behind Nightmare Moon. What used to be seven thrones were barely standing there. Each one decorated, and individual. Again, I saw something in my mind like a memory. The thrones restored, and a pony sitting on each one. The same ponies I saw as statues, the ones I saw in my dreams and memories. Each was in full regal garments. Each had their crown, and matching golden necklaces.

It all clicked together in my mind. Who these ponies truly were, what my feelings mean, both the hurt and the tingle. I knew what Nightmare Moon meant when she said ‘Celestia left us’. I knew why the Elements faded, and why they were not at full power. I remembered who Nightmare Moon truly was.

“There were seven of you.” I said to her.

“WHAT?” She asked, still angry at Twilight’s comment. Her ethereal mane swirled wildly with her emotions.

“Seven Alicorns started at the beginning,” I said, the same magic that had worked on Twilight worked on me now,  it was a bit trance-like, words spilling out of my mouth. “Each one had a power, something nopony else could control. Each would bear an Element of Harmony. But if even one of them died, the Elements would lose their power, until new bearers called out to them.”

“Seven Elements,” I laughed. “Did you hear that? The Known Elements are Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Loyalty. The sixth Element is Magic, or the ‘spark’ that ignites a feeling in us, a feeling of Friendship and Love. But that is what it is; a spark. It can die out as quickly as it lit, if not cared for. But that spark can turn into a raging inferno able to change your world.

“I finally know what it was I had been feeling all these years. A great friendship, or love, and I could get a warm comforting tingle. It was a simple flame that could keep me going, no matter what. But when I felt a friend in pain, when I felt somepony sad or alone, angry at those they cared for, that simple flame burned my soul”.

“Tonight, I felt both of those at their most intense.” I looked back at the others. “You six ponies are my friends, the best ones anypony can ask for. Your feelings toward me became my strength, and the feeling from that is something I am glad about.” I looked straight at Nightmare Moon, I looked her in the eyes. “While the loving flame burned high, I also felt its burn. That came from your pain.”

“Your fear, your loneliness, your hatred and regret, I felt them in the physical world.”

“WHY?” Nightmare Moon screamed at me. “Why would you feel anything for me? You do not know me! And even so, one pony’s care does not mean anything!”

“A single pony can mean everything.” I said to her. “The ‘spark’ becomes a towering inferno. That connection turns into Friendship. And Friendship is Magic. Some friendships have a powerful, unbreakable bond. We think of ‘love’ as ‘that special somepony’, but we love our friends, we love our family, and, of course, we love our special somepony. I care for you because I know some of who you truly are!”

“That is the Lost Element, Seventh Element of Harmony; the Element of Love, the thing that keeps us going, that thing that can also tear us apart.” As I finished my speech, I watched as the powers of the Elements grew. Shards flew up from the spot I was standing, they resonated with the other Elements, synchronizing together. I felt its power, so familiar, like something from long ago. I looked over at my friends.

“By your lead, Twilight Sparkle” I said. “You figured this out, this is your call.”

She nodded to me, and we focused. The Elements’ magic grew more and more powerful. The shards came together, and became golden necklaces. Our hearts resonated, and the warm tingle spread through my body, more intense than ever, but it was kind. It was something only those you love could make you feel.

A rainbow colored blast of magical energy came from us, and blasted Nightmare Moon. She screamed, but I do not think the scream was because of physical pain. I think it was the memories. I saw them too. Memories from all of us. I saw a small rainbow-maned Pegasus filly talking to a blue Pegasus stallion. I saw a young white unicorn seeing the fabulous outfits on ponies in a traveling play. There was a pink pony, surprising others with a party. I saw a blonde filly, running home to her family. Another was of a lavender Unicorn, watching the sunrise. I watched a yellow Pegasus saving a baby bunny from a fox.

But there was a pony I did not recognize until the end of her reel of memories. A blue Alicorn was playing and laughing with six others. They were happy together. There were other creatures around them, some nearly pony-like, some were animals, one even reminded me of a statue in the Canterlot Castle’s garden. Then, they were gone, two ponies were left. I saw one pony getting love and praise from those around her, and the other got nothing, she was ignored. Even the other Alicorn turned a blind eye to the suffering. The ignored one fell, and became a terror.

Soon, it was over. The feeling was still there, still intense, but more under control. I looked towards my friends. They were still glowing with the Elements’ magic. I saw Twilight closest to me. She was now wearing a tiara, with a large pink gem shaped like her cutie mark. Around my own neck, was a deep red heart shaped gem in a simple gold necklace. I saw the sun rise outside the window, the night was finally over.

“Ugh, my head” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Are y’all okay?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Rarity exclaimed looking at her tail which had grown back to its full length. Powerful magic may have some side effects.

“Why Rarity,” Fluttershy said, “It’s so exquisite.”

“I know! I’ll never part with it again!” she replied, still being thankful for her tail.

“No,” Fluttershy corrected. “Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark.” A purple gem in the shape of a diamond was embedded in gold around her neck.

“What? Ooh.” She admired. “So does yours!” Fluttershy gasped, looking at her own neck to see a pink butterfly surrounded in gold.

“Look at mine! Look at mine!” Pinkie Pie bounced up, a blue balloon gem around her neck.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow exclaimed, taking in the awesome of her red lightning bolt gem.

“Gee, Twilight,” Applejack said, sporting a orange apple-shaped gem on her necklace, “I thought you were just spoutin’ a bunch of hooey. Same with what you said, Feria,” she nodded to me. “I guess we really do represent the Elements of Harmony.”

“Indeed you do.” said a voice. Princess Celestia teleported into the room, now free from wherever she had been kept this night.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight gasped, running forward to hug her teacher.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,” Celestia said, returning the hug. “I knew you could do it.

“But… you told me it was just an old pony tale?” Twilight said to her.

“I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more, nothing less.” Celestia replied smiling. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not use it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now, if only another will as well.” Celestia looked past us, to the one nopony else had noticed yet.

On the ground, surrounded by lingering trails of magic and broken armor, was a dark blue Alicorn. She was bigger than the average pony, but still smaller than Celestia. When she opened her eyes, they were normal, but a lovely shade of turquoise.

“It has been a very long time since I have seen you like this. Over one thousand years,” Celestia said, walking up to the Alicorn. “It is time to put our past behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?”

“Sister?” the others asked, as the blue Alicorn cowered in fear and shame. I could see that she did not know what to do. A part of her was still angry, but she wanted to forgive. But would anypony forgive what she had done? How could anypony forgive her? I walked forward, standing between the two sisters. I smiled at the blue Alicorn.

“You asked why I would care for somepony I do not know. I do know who you are, who you truly are. I do not know much, only what Tia told me, but it was all good things. She told me you were her sister, which alone tells me much.”

“You are the one who brings the night sky its beauty. You walk through dreams, and protect us from the nightmares, never wishing to become one yourself. You are Princess Luna, the Mare in the Moon, and Goddess of the Night, youngest of the seven Alicorn Princesses, and former bearer of one of the Elements of Harmony. And you are my sister too.”

“Celestia and I were the last of us, how can you..?” She whispered to me.

“How were you and your sisters created? “ I said. “Tia told me how you not only raised the moon, but created the whole night sky. I have seen many of her beautiful nights, but she is much better at making her day than she is at creating your night. I want to see what you can truly do. I wish to see your magnificent night.”

“You think she abandoned you and your sisters,” I whispered to her. “I have seen her cry at night, longingly looking at the moon. When you came back to your old castle, did you not notice the one part that was well taken care of, was the statue of dedication to the seven sisters, the grave markers.” That sentence struck a chord in her heart, I felt it, like usual. She began to cry.

“I’m sorry!” Luna cried out. “I’m so sorry!” Celestia came forward and hugged her. “I missed you so much!”

“I am sorry, too.” Celestia replied.

“You know what this calls for?” Pinkie Pie yelled. “A PARTY! We’re going to need balloons! And streamers, lots of streamers! Ohh! And Mrs. Cake can finally make her “Princess Cupcakes” with a moon design!  She’ll be so excited!”

Pinkie bounced off, planning Luna’s “Welcome back from the moon party”. The rest of my friends followed her out, thinking “that is just like Pinkie Pie”, and Celestia and Luna were left bewildered, standing behind with me.

“She reminds me of Azura.” Luna remarked.

“Well, they are both the Element of Laughter.” Celestia chuckled. “Twilight was a lot like you were as a filly.” Luna smiled at that. She genuinely smiled at her. “Speaking of Azura, you should see some of our nieces and nephews. It has been a thousand years, after all. Young Cadence looks just like Azura. I don’t think you’ll like Blueblood much, though.”

“Tia,” I laughed, “Nopony likes Blueblood!”

They laughed and followed me out of the castle. I saw another memory, the same thing was happening, but the castle was at its best. I looked back at it for a moment. The morning sun shone through the windows of the throne room, it almost looked like it once did, when it was in its full glory. I wish I could see it like that in reality. I turned and saw Twilight Sparkle waiting for me. She wanted to talk.

“Feria?” she asked. “How, uh… what was it like to move to ponyville?” The question surprised me. I had to think for a minute to find the answer.

“It was a bit odd.” I replied. “It was more difficult for me, because of who I am, but it is a great experience. There are many fantastic ponies here, as you have already seen. Sometimes strange things can happen, especially since we live next to the Everfree Forest, but a lot of ponies love to stay anyway. Most will help you with anything if you ask.  And as I hear, we need a new librarian” I laughed as her eyes widened while she realized what I had said.

“I think would like that, but I am Celestia’s student, I have to be in Canterlot…” She said.

“If you ask, I think she could be fairly generous.” I smiled as we walked off to join the others. Pinkie’s party would be one of the best, if only for the guest of honor.

I still do not completely know what was with the memories I saw, but I had some ideas. I wanted to go back to the castle and look for clues. I decided against it, for today at least. Today, I will enjoy the party. Today, I will truly meet Luna as herself, not as Celestia’s stories, not as Nightmare Moon. I get to become her friend. I never want to see her suffer again. I never want to see any of my friends suffer like that.

My own issues could wait, as my friends would always be more important to me.