Chapters "Princess!" Twilight yelled. "I received your letter and came as quick as I could."
After Celestia's student had become a princess, there had been little to no chaos in Equestria. Twilight had remained in Ponyville with her friends and had studied hard, researching all sorts of magic to increase her magical ability. However, when Princess Celestia had sent the alicorn an urgent message, Twilight wasn't given much information of the urgent event, but she could tell it wasn't going to be one of Pinkie Pie's surprise parties like she had hoped.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Twilight." Celestia said. "Equestria is in danger."
"What's going on?" the purple alicorn questioned.
Princess Luna flew into the throne room. "A dark magic has wreaked havoc upon Equestria."
"What kind of dark magic?" Twilight asked.
Princess Luna looked uneasy. "The-the same magic that turned me into the Mare in the Moon."
"Unfortunately," the Princess of the Sun started. "When you and your friends banished Nightmare Moon and freed my sister, some of the magic remained. It grew and is spreading across Equestria as we speak, infecting many ponies in the way it infected Luna. If it reaches my sister, Luna will turn back into Nightmare Moon and lead the cursed ponies into a war against their own kind."
Twilight remained silent. She wasn't sure whether to act afraid or courageous. For she had never encountered something as dangerous as this.
"You and your friends must take the Elements of Harmony and defeat this evil magic." Princess Luna instructed.
"But how?" Twilight asked. "How am I supposed to do that? If it's infected so many ponies, then how are we going to defeat it? Battle each and every cursed pony?"
The sister princesses exchanged looks. "That's just it, Twilight. We're not entirely sure." Princess Celestia informed her former student. "We believe the source is deep in the Everfree Forest."
****
"Come on, everypony!" Twilight barged into the party room.
Pinkie Pie had planned a party for her and her friends (including Spike) at Sugar Cube Corner. Twilight had hated missing it, but the Princess's request was far too important.
"Now hold up, sugar cube," Applejack said. "Where y'all goin' in such a hurry?"
"Yeah!" Pinkie grinned. "Is there another party somewhere? 'Cause I looooooove parties! Take it away, Gummy!" the pink mare said, pointing her hoof to her pet alligator.
"I say, darling," Rarity spoke up. "Where are you headed in such attire? You should least look presentable when going out into public."
"Will everypony just stop with the questions and let me explain?!" Twilight yelled.
Her friends nodded. So Twilight explained the whole story about her discussion with the princesses and how an evil curse was causing tyranny all over Equestria.
"Oh my." whispered Flutter Shy.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "What? An evil curse? Sounds cool!"
"I dunno, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Just because we've been in the Everfree Forest before doesn't make it any less dangerous than before."
"Girls!" Twilight shouts. "It doesn't matter if the Everfree Forest is dangerous or not! Of course the forest is dangerous, but we don't have a choice! The fate of Equestria lies in our hooves. *sigh* Again."
There was a brief moment of silence between the six ponies and the small dragon.
"Twilight's right." Pinkie Pie spoke up. "We need to stop Equestria from-" *twi-twi-TWITCH* "OPENING DOOR, EVERYPONY! BEWARE OF OPENING DOOR!" Pinkie yelled.
Pinkie was right, of course. The door to the bakery slammed open, then walked in Lyra, her eyes glowing purple.
"Elements of Harmony...." the unicorn mumbled. "Must destroy.... MUST DESTROY THE ELEMENTS!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!"
Lyra stomped her hooves on the floor and the vibrations knocked the mane six ponies off their hooves and Spike off his scaly feet. The unicorn cast a spell of dark magic and Twilight intercepted it with her own magic. The evil magic was to strong, and blasted the purple princess backwards. The blast would've blew Twilight to pieces if she hadn't been a princess with such skill in magic.
"Twilight!" the mare's friends shrieked.
Lyra laughed evilly.
"Lyra! Stop!" yelled a mare dashing in the streets.
Bonbon ran up to the teal colored mare, shocked at what her best friend did, she struggled to hold back ant tears. When Lyra turned around to look at Bonbon, her gaze sent something into Bonbon's mind. The mare's eyes glowed purple, just like Lyra's.
"Let's get outta here!" yelled Spike.
"We must get to the Elements of Harmony if we're going to get rid of this madness!" Rarity shouted.
"Looks like somepony finally got the message!" Applejack yelled, then helped Twilight to her hooves. The six mares and Spike ran out the bakery, avoiding Lyra and Bonbon.
They rushed to the library, where Flutter Shy and Dash grabbed the Elements of Harmony, and then bolted into the Everfree Forest.
****
"C'mon Twilight. Get up." Dash complained.
The princess rubbed her forehead. "Ugh. This doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore."
"Aww! Come on, Twilight! You can't give up now!" Pinkie Pie encouraged.
"Alright." Twilight retorted. "But I swear, I won't be able to take anymore chaos after this."
"Tell that to Discord." Rainbow Dash commented.
The ponies put their Elemental jewelry on and headed for the ancient ruins of the previous Equestrian castle, where they had discovered the Element in the first place.
Spike decided to stay on the outside of the ancient palace to 'watch for any danger' as he had claimed. The young dragon was simply too afraid to enter the creepy ruins.
As Twilight and her five friends walked through the corridor, the evil laughter of Nightmare Moon filled the hallway.
"We're too late." Twilight mumbled. "Princess Luna has already been transformed. She'll command the cursed ponies to attack."
"No we ain't too late. Look!" Applejack pointed to the end of the long hallway. There was Princess Luna, trapped inside an orb of purple energy. She howled in pain as she struggled to break free. The dark magic would soon engulf her soul, take over her body, and destroy not only Equestria, but the rest of the real Princess of the Moon as well.
The six ponies take formation. The purple alicorn creates a small magical orb which got bigger as it circled around her. Her friends created their own orb using the Elements. They rose off the floor, rainbows and sparks of energy encircled them. With Twilight's conducting, the mares charged the blasts of energy towards Princess Luna/Nightmare Moon which caused the dark energy to implode, with Luna still captured in the orb.
After the implosion, Luna lay motionless upon the altar, were the thrones used to stand. Luna's body was burned and blood was gushing out of her mouth uncontrollably. Sparks flew off of her horn.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight called.
The mares dashed to the Princess's side. As if on queue, Princess Celestia flew in from damaged roof of the ancient palace.
"I-I'm so sorry." Twilight mumbled, her eyes filled with tears.
"Don't be. She'll be fine."
"How can you tell, Princess?" FlutterShy asked.
Celestia just smiled. "My little ponies, you are the heroes once again. We owe you much."
And with that, light surrounded the sister princesses and they teleported to back to Canterlot.
****
After the tragic event that has caused many ponies to go insane and Princess Luna to almost self-destruct, the ponies and the young dragon returned to their homes in Ponyville. All of them were very worried about the state the Princess of the Moon was in. Luna has almost died from that dark energy, and according to Celestia, her sister was still in a coma. It wasn't until Princess Celestia had begged Twilight to heal her sister, that something actually worked.
Twilight wasn't the best at healing, which had caused Celestia to beg her to try something for she could not. Even Zacora had tried healing the Moon Princess, but with no success. The zebra had tried every spell in the book, but nothing cured the princess.
When Twilight and her friends arrived at the royal palace in Canterlot, the guards escorted them to Luna's chambers. The ponies put on their Elements and used it's magic to heal the princess.
Twilight created an orb, similar to the one she had created in the ruins of Equestria. The other ponies added their magic to Twilight's and they formed a lightning bolt, which struck Princess Luna on her unicorn horn. The Moon Princess's eyes flew open.
"Ugh." she moaned. "What-what just happened?"
"You're alive!" Celestia shouted with glee.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Luna asked.
The ponies exchanged looks.
"Do you remember anything about last week?" Rainbow Dash asked, remember the traumatizing event that had happened the week before.
"No. Not really." the princess replied.
So the six ponies, Spike, and Princess Celestia explained what had happened, and everypony was happy that her royal highness, Luna, princess of Equestria, was well and alive.
Princess Luna recovered quickly from the horrible indecent, but that's not the case for every cursed pony.
Some exploded in blood, some imploded, crushing all of their internal organs, some even were sent to the moon. Many ponies died in blood and gore, which was tragic.
Princess Celestia demanded that by law, nopony could ever mention the event ever again. With so many deaths, and the fact that the Princess of the Moon was scheduling an appointment with death himself, the subject was way too sensitive. The dark magic's power was much to powerful for any princess to defeat, which is why Celestia had called her faithful student, Twilight to defeat the witchcraft. But there was an even bigger threat that awaited the ponies, deep within the creepy Everfree Forest. A threat that had caused the evil sorcery to attack Luna in the first place thousands of years ago.
The cruel energy in which overwhelmed the princess was from somewhere unknown to Equestria. The location was a mysterious desert which changed terrain and weather depending on how it feels it is right to torture ponies. Many ponies have ventured into this unknown land yet nopony has ever returned.
About a month before the tragic event, a portal opened in the Crystal Empire throne room, leading into the desert which ponies called the "Unknown Lands". The portal was a light blue vortex surrounded in bronze metalwork. Engraved in the metal was an ancient language nopony could read. Not even Zacora, though the zebra did recognized the writing. She had told the princesses that it was an ancient language of a tribe that had been friendly neighbor of her people for eons, when one day, they turned against them and decided they wanted the whole desert for themselves. The thought sent shivers down Zacora's spine.
"So, Zacora. You're tellin' us that these ponies were your ancestor's neighbors?" Applejack asked, clearly confused.
"Yes, pony, that is true." said the witchdoctor. "But they have an evil brew."
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" snapped Rainbow Dash.
"Young mare, watch your tone," Zacora shot back. "For we may not be completely alone." The zebra glanced at the glowing portal.
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Psst... Are you kidding me? There's no way anypony can be eavesdropping through a portal."
Rainbow did have a point. The portal's energy caused it to hum. It was very unlikely that another pony could hear them.
The sorcerer cleared her throat. "Don't be so foolish. These ancient ponies are not childish." Zacora studied some scrolls she had brought with her to the Crystal Empire. She whispered the incantations to her self and she skimmed the writing. "The ancient ones plan our destruction. They will not stop till all our bones are broken."
"Well doesn't that sound lovely." Rarity said sarcastically.
Zacora ignored Rarity's comment and continued with the lecture. "You must enter the portal, then must travel by camel. You shall reach a sacred temple, but do not lay a hoof on the sacred bottle."
"And what exactly is this sacred bottle, Zacora?" Applejack questions.
Zacora looks around the room with worry. "Hurry." the zebra informed the six mares. "You mustn't doddle. When you enter, you shall be in a land of coral."
"And what in the hay is that supposed to-" A.J. started, but Zacora pushed them into the portal. All six ponies and Spike were floating the vortex, trying not to get lost.
****
Indeed did the seven friends entered in a land of coral. The portal lead into the middle of the ocean which was strange since the "Unknown Lands" was a desert. Apparently, the "Unknown Lands" were on an island. Wait, no. The portal had spawned a mile away from the continent in the ocean. The ocean was filled with coral reefs as far as the eye could see. Ocean life population the entire area, from krill to swordfish, there was every breed of fish you could think of.
When the ponies and young dragon reached the shore, they took a bit to catch their breathe and to dry off.
"Well it sure took you long enough. I thought it'd be another week until you ponies showed up." a voice said behind the friends.
All of them turned to see Discord floating on a cotton candy cloud.
The ponies and Spike stare at the Spirit of Chaos.
"Well," said Discord. "Why are you so surprised to see me? Didn't Tia say that I was expecting you?"
"Er-umm...no..." stammered Twilight. "I mean, no. We were not informed that you would be lounging around a very dangerous land."
"Danger?" questioned Discord. "Who said anything about danger? Everything is perfect here."
Discord snaps his fingers and a nearby cactus is torn out of the ground and floated upside down in circles. With another snap of his fingers, Discord has chocolate rain flood the desert, and then it drained, returning the terrain to the dry landscape it was before.
"What?!" Pinkie whined. "No more chocolate rain?!"
"Ah, Flutter Shy!" exclaimed Discord. "It's been awhile, friend!"
"Discord!" Twilight shouted. "Enough distractions. If you're going to help us stop this ancient civilization from destroying Equestria, then you can tag along. If not, then head back to Canterlot."
The ruler of Chaos sat there for a moment and thought about that. He honestly didn't care what happened to Equestria. Indeed he had used his magic for good, but being the Spirit of Chaos, he could cause tyranny all over and not care at all. He is Discord after all.
"Alright. I'll help." he answered. "But only if you can answer me this."
"What now, Discord? We've played enough of your games." scolded Dash.
"It's just a simple question." the Lord of Chaos explained.
"Alright, we'll answer you silly riddle." A.J. retorted. "But no more jokes afterwards."
"You have a deal." Discord told the ponies.
"HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!" yelled Pinkie Pie. "How do we know he will keep his promise? Pinkie promise, Discord. PINKIE PROMISE!"
Discord sighed. "I Pinkie Promise."
Pinkie gave Discord an evil glare.
Discord sighed a second time. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, because if I lie to Pinkie Pie, I can kiss my flank goodbye."
Pinkie smiled. "Good."
"Anywho, Discord," Applejack started. "Your riddle?"
"Yes! My riddle!" exclaimed the Spirit of Chaos. "Here it is! 'Hit me hard and I will crack, but you will never stop me from staring back'."
"That one's simple." Rarity said proudly. "A mirror. Hit a mirror and it'll break into shards and it can't ever stop showing a reflection."
"Correct!" Discord shouted. "Now you must answer six more riddles!"
"What?!" the mares and the dragon yell in unison.
"You broke your Pinkie Promise...." Pinkie mumbled, about to attack Discord.
"That's not fair!" Rainbow yelled.
Discord laughed "Of course it is! There are seven of you. Rarity here, answered her riddle, so the rest of you must answer one."
"Fine then. Give me a riddle then." Applejack said.
"Here's your riddle, Applejack. 'What has no lid , hinges nor key, yet golden treasure is hidden inside'?"
Applejack was silent for about ten minutes, trying to figure out the answer to this interesting enigma. Then finally, it hit her.
"An egg." A.J. grinned. "There's no lid, hinges and no keys. Yet the golden treasure is the yolk or chick."
Discord grabbed a chunk of cotton candy from the cloud he was laying on and ate it. "I say, you ponies are getting cleverer by the generation."
"Now your turn Twilight." grinned Discord. "'My sea has no water, my mountains have no rock, and my land has no grass. What am I'?"
After pondering about the puzzle for a bit, the purple alicorn figured out the answer. "It's a map. The sea has no water, the mountains aren't rocky, and there are no grass because it's all just a drawing or a picture."
"Yes. That is correct. Okay....Rainbow Dash your riddle is 'What happens when you throw a purple rock into a green river'?"
"Ha. Are you kidding me? Sometimes the easiest riddles are the hardest. But this is obvious. If you throw a purple rock into a green river the solution is obviously a splash."
"Once again. Another pony is correct." mumbled Discord. "ANOTHER RIDDLE!"
"Oh! Oh! Pick me! PICK ME!!" Pinkie yelled., suddenly joyous after the fact that Discord broke his promise.
"Pinkie Pie, 'What is white and black and red all over'?"
"Oh! Oh! I know! I know! An embarrassed zebra or panda!"
"Correct!" Discord shouted. "How about you, Spike?"
"Ah...What about me?" the young dragon asked.
"You need to answer a riddle too or else it's not fair. So, I'll give you an easy one. 'Why was 6 afraid of 7'?"
"Umm....." it took the small dragon longer than he realized to find a very simple answer to a simple puzzle. "Because 7, 8, 9."
"Once again, a correct answer! Seriously, have PonyVillians been getting smarter over the years? A score ago nopony could answer my riddles." the Lord of Chaos scratched his chin. "And of course! How could I forget? Flutter Shy, friend, I haven't given you a riddle!"
"Umm...okay." the timid pegasus mumbles.
"'What can fill a room but takes up no space whatsoever'?"
"I-ah, don't know..."
"Aww... come one Flutter Shy! You wouldn't let your friends down. If you don't get the answer right, then you and your friends have to abandon your quest to make peace the the ancient ponies and head back to PonyVille. No pressure.
"Then the answer is..." Flutter Shy whispered.
"I can't hear you!" commented Discord.
"...Air."
"Air? Well I suppose that'll do, but originally I had thought light, but air works too."
"Now that all the riddles and such are out of the way," Twilight interrupted. "We should get going. It'll be nightfall soon."