Nightmare Free Equestria

Luna stood in the basket of the hot air balloon, surrounded by five other ponies: Trixie, Octavia, Lightning Dust, and Daring Do. Two additional balloons traveled with them. One held Twilight Sparkle and the five ponies she had chosen to travel into The Everfree Forest with her. The other held Vinyl Scratch and several of the inventions she was bringing in the hope of using.

Perhaps we should look into developing larger aerial transport systems, Luna contemplated as the floated above pink clouds. Something more along the lines of a ship that would be able to fit us all properly.

Her horn glowing, she used her magic to pulled at one of the clouds beneath her. The portion she had pulled away from the rest with more effort than needed for a regular cloud, and there was no risk of it suddenly dissipating. Bringing it closer, she reached out her tongue and gave it a tentative lick.

"Princess?" Trixie asked, watching Luna curiously.

"These clouds indeed seem to be made of a confectionery as opposed to condensed moisture," Luna said, holding the rest out in front of her.

Trixie raised an eyebrow, looking at Luna and portion of pink cloud for a moment. Her own horn glowed as she took a hold of a different piece and pulled it from the rest. Bringing it closer, she took a bite as well.

"Cotton candy?"

"Indeed," Luna agreed then ate the rest of hers. "We are certainly within Discord's domain of influence." She turned toward the other balloon.

"Are you capable of approximation or arrival at the landing location?" she called out.

"If I remember the layout correctly," Twilight called back, "we should be reaching it shortly. I still don't understand why we're landing at Sweet Apple Acres though."

Luna did not answer. She did not want Twilight Sparkle to know the actual reason. After all the ponies she was now bringing with her had been selected, Luna had done some looking and asking around with the other ponies. It was during this she discovered that two of The Elements of Harmony were not available. None knew what had happened to Rarity, and Applejack was last seen at Sweet Apple Acres, refusing to leave. While nothing could be done about the former, it was possible that the latter was still around. There was no guarantee that the Element of this world would be the same as in hers, but Luna was hoping so.

It was why she had (successfully) attempted to convince Twilight to bring Pinkie Pie along. Even if the pink pony was not to end up as a bearer, her unusual skills would still be useful. Even if it did not seem so at the moment while the aforementioned mare was busy hanging from the basket with her back hooves so she could take bites out of the clouds.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked. "Could you check and see where we are? We should be close."

"Sure," Dash replied with a salute. The mare pulled her goggles into place, and with a single flap, flew up over the edge of the basket before diving down through the clouds. There was silence -- except for the sound of chewing -- as the ponies waited for Rainbow Dash to return.

"Geez," the pegasus groaned as she came back up, covered in thick gobs of the pink sugary substance. "This stuff is horribly sticky. I don't-"

Before she could say anymore, Pinkie Pie's tongue reached out and slurped across Rainbow Dash, leaving her completely clean of cotton candy.

"Thanks?" Dash said, blinking in confusion as she was dripping wet with pony saliva. "Anyway, we're close but need to adjust course. We need to float that way," she pointed south, "a little more if we want to land in Sweet Apple Acres."

Luna and Twilight both lit up their horns. The wind shifted, pushing the three balloons further south. The groups waited as their trajectory was adjusted. Finally, they began their descent.

The farm that had been Sweet Apple Acres did not look well. Trees were bent and twisted, with a portion even being upside down. Of the trees that still stood upright, most did not have apples. There were oranges, watermelons, and even rubber ducks. Another patch had been transformed into pine trees, which were sprouting pineapples. The ground below looked extremely muddy, the farm having been flooded.

Hopping out of the basket and landing with a splash, something did not feel right.

"This is not water," Luna said as she lifted up one of her hooves.

"I believe that it is milk," Octavia said, leaning down to sniff at it.

"He flooded the farm with milk?" Lightning Dust asked, flying above it instead of letting herself get soaked.

"If that's any indication," Daring Do said, pointing off in the distance, "then he made it rain from the cotton candy clouds."

The others turned and looked off in the direction she was pointing. Off in the distance, they could see a brown liquid falling from one of the pink clouds.

"That is not too surprising," Luna stated. "Vinyl, will your equipment be able to function?"

"I'm honestly not sure," Vinyl responded. "I don't know how waterproof this stuff is. It should be fine in a mist, but an inch deep puddle of milk? No idea."

"Very well." Luna turned to face the other group. "Twilight Sparkle, you and your companions begin the quest for The Elements of Harmony." Twilight gave a nod and started to lead the others toward The Everfree Forest. Once they were gone, Luna turned back to the others.

"I shall not give specific orders on what shall be done," she told them. "We are facing a foe who likes to believe himself unpredictable, and there is a proverb which states 'no plan survives first contact with the enemy.'" She looked at them, straightening up. "But I will not go without at least giving you some preparation. So I shall tell you this:

"Play to your strengths. Each of you have shown unique skills and talents that I believe shall be useful. Trust each other. Discord does not understand the power of teamwork, nor the magic of friendship. Keep moving if you can help it. Staying too close to him for too long puts you at risk that he may use his powers on you.

"Now, I shall fly ahead and begin the distraction and attack. Please join me as support as soon as you can. Vinyl, the equipment would be appreciated, but if not, I trust you to come up with an alternative." She looked at them. "If I do not get the opportunity later... thank you. Thank you for following me into this conflict, for trusting in me and... for being my friends while I am here. Know that no matter what happens, I appreciate your help and you have made me proud. Surely your princesses would feel the same way if they knew."

The other five looked at her, not saying a word. Luna gave a gentle smile, then set her face firm. With a flap of her wings she took to the air. She did a slow turn, moving to rise up and face the proper direction. Quickly she rose higher and higher, keeping below the clouds, but getting as high as she could

As she flew her horn began to glow. As the magic built up and grew brighter, the aura spread, encompassing her body. Soon, Luna's body disappeared from sight, encompassed in a cloud of glittering blue energy. As it dissipated, a larger form had emerged. The fur coat was as black as midnight, the crescent moon on her flanked appeared to glow with the light of nighttime. Her eyes were a pale blue-green in color, including the part that should be white, and her pupils had became slits. She wore a helmet and chestplate, a night blue in color with the plate emblazoned with the crescent moon. The mare narrowed her eyes, snarling as she flew through the air.