The Twin Students of the Sun.

by Whiteeyes

Rating: everyone
Tags: Bon-Bon, Sunset Shimmer, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 38587

Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's personal students, are sent to the town of Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun celebration. What could go wrong? First fic of the Sunsetverse AU.

One thousand years ago, Celestia failed to reach out to her sister and save her from the darkness that consumed her. In her sorrow, she was forced to seal her within the Moon.

Five years ago, Sunset Shimmer, Celestia's personal student, also turned twords a darker path. Celestia once again sought to save somepony she cared about from falling onto a dark path. This time, she succeeded...

The first story of the Sunsetverse, join Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's personal students, as they are sent to Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. Oh, and make some friends. Sunset's not so sure how that counts as a job, but it would probably be a good thing for Twilight. Poor girl's obsessed with some Mare in the Moon legend she read. A few days out of the library and interacting with other ponies would only be a good thing for her, right? After all, there is no way Nightmare Moon is real.

*Edit*-10-6-2014 : *spittake* I'm a featured story? What? What? What? I don't even, how? ...I need to lay down for a bit. Um, thank you all my viewers who made this possible, and thanks to the staff for enjoying my work enough to feature it. I will strive to do even better in the future, and once again thank you for all of your support.

Published 2014-03-07 14:40:04 UTC
Last updated 2015-01-04 04:21:02 UTC

We're going WHERE?

"Spike! Where are you?" Twilight Sparkle shouted, slamming open the door of her combination dorm room/library as she looked about for her number one assistant. She was getting rapidly more annoyed as he failed to appear. "Spiiiike, where are you?"

"Twilight. The door. Again." came an exasperated voice up on the balcony. Looking up Twilight saw it was Sunset Shimmer, the other personal protege of Princess Celestia. "Really, you need to stop doing that. I know dragons are tough, but yikes. I almost think you're doing this on purpose."

"I would never...oh my goodness Spike!" Quickly closing the door with a burst of her telekinetic magic, Spike flopped onto the floor in front of her, a ruined present in hand. Ignoring his muttering about Moondancer's party, she started pacing around. "Sorry Spike, but we have no time to lose. I need you to send a letter to the Princess right away! I just discovered that all of Equestria is in terrible danger!" Twilight shouted, flailing her hooves a bit dramatically.

"This isn't like last time with the griffon ambassador is it?" Sunset asked, perfectly calm as she read her book, practically ignoring Twilight's latest panic attack. The poor mare had a tendency to let her imagination run away with her and go to dark and frightening places. She really needed to work on that before she wound up in real trouble someday. In Sunset's opinion, Twilight was beyond lucky that Gregorious was so understanding about the filly's elaborate plan that, naturally, blew up in all their faces. She winced a little at the memory. It had taken a whole week for her mane and coat to grow back in enough that she could go outside again.

"No, it's nothing like that!" Twilight fumed. Like it was her fault Gregorious had exhibited all the classic behavioral markers of a spy making her suspect him.

"Or what about the time with the zebra scholar you thought was just a pony in disguise?" Spike asked.

"No!"

Spike frowned. "This isn't going to be like that time with that humming monkey thing is it?"

"Human! And I know what I saw, even if I can't figure out where it went. Lyra believes me!"

"Heartstrings believes in sea ponies and the Rainbow of Light." Sunset quipped back. "This isn't another 'shape shifter' incident is it?"

"Shape shifters are real!" her counterpart insisted, which while technically true didn't do much to support her assertions.

"So it is about that again." Shimmer replied, face hoofing lightly at the implications.

"No, it's not shapeshifters! It's something completely different! Nightmare Moon is going to escape at the Summer Sun Celebration and cover the world in eternal darkness!" Twilight cried out in desperation. The rest of the room just stared at her. "What?"

Sunset closed her book with a sigh. There was no way she was completing the tome today it seemed. "Nightmare Moon. The evil spirit from Nightmare Night. The one foals leave candy for or else they'll be 'gobbled up'. That Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes!" Twilight replied, excited that somepony was finally listening to her.

"Nightmare Moon is going to escape her prison soon,"

"Yes!"

"Somehow defeat Celestia,"

"Not if we can help it!"

"And cover the world in eternal darkness?"

"That's the situation yes." Twilight said, having apparently found a quill, ink, and parchment and was now composing a letter in haste.

Sunset meanwhile was just staring at her fellow student, jaw just hanging open in shock and dumbfounded disbelief. "And you honestly think this is going to happen why?"

"I read it in a prophesy in a book." she explained, as if that was the be all end all of any argument. "Spike, send this at once! It is very urgent." The dragon quickly complied with a salute, igniting the offered scroll and sending it off magically to Celestia.

Sunset nearly sighed and waited for the inevitable rejection letter for whatever Twilight had proposed. She might have been a brilliant spellcaster, but she had the annoying tendency to overreact to anything not being "perfect", a trait Sunset always found so agrivating, that and the anxiety attacks make made dealing with Twilight almost as difficult as...as....okay she didn't have an analogy at the ready, but still!

'Maybe this will be the final straw, and Celestia will throw the crazy mare out into some clinic so I never have to see her again, and then I'l have Celetia all to myself again. She's probably been holding me back this entire time anyway.' a tretcherous little voice in the back of her mind suggested. She quickly ignored the notion, and did her best to feel bad about the thought. She wasn't a bad pony anymore, Celestia had shown her that she had the ability to be a good pony, not a monster.

She sometimes wondered if Twilight wasn't just picked because of whatever had happened during her entrance exam, an event both the Princess and Twilight had refused to comment on, but because she would also be a great test of how much Sunset had reformed. 'Or a punishment for how I used to be.' "No, bad, lalala I'm not thinking that!" 'Or maybe my replacement if I ever do go bad like I almost did.' "LALALA I'M NOT LISTENING!" Sometimes she wished that when Clestia had checked out the "voice in her head" it had turned out to be some lingering side effect of her brief fling with dark magic, or even just garden variety insanity. But there had been no dark energy, no simple disorder, she was just her. And apparently, she was just naturally a jerk who didn't like anypony else but herself. She was getting better though! "Aargh! Why does redemption have to be so hard?"

Not for the first time, Sunset wondered how many voices were in Twilight's head and debated whether or not it was a horrible thing that her answer was 'more than me', or if she was just being honest. However, any further musings on their mutually unstable mental states was interrupted by Spike belching out the Princess's reply. Twilight eagerly accepted the scroll, reading through it, her enthusiasm slowly dieing as she read through, eventually replaced with...annoyance and frustration. With a mumble, she floated it off to Sunset. "Here, it's for you too. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go pack."

Stunned that Celestia had apparently actually dismissed Twilgiht ('Yes!' "No, bad! Feel sorry for her!") Sunset quickly picked up the scroll and began reading.

To Twilight Sparkle, my Faithful Student, Sunset twitched a little at the feeling of a slight barb against her own character, even as she reminded herself that Celestia was too nice to ever do such a thing on purpose. Taking a breath, she continued...

I am most pleased to see that you take the idea of independant study so seriously, delving deep into Equestrian lore and legend. However, your worries about Nightmare Moon are greatly exaggerated. I know you enjoy studying, but there is such a thing as studying too much.

You spend way to much time with your muzzle buried in dusty old tomes, when you need to spend more time with other ponies. I know you spend time with your brother, Sunset, Spike and myself, but that's hardly a healthy social life. In fact, thinking about it, Sunset isn't any better off with her own social situation. She winced again. It was hard making friends when you used to be an insufferable jerk to everypony you every met out of a sense of entitlement. There was probably nopony in Canterlot who would be friends with her.

Thinking about it now, I have the perfect solution to help the both of you! "What?" A change of scenery might be just the thing! This year the lottery has selected the nearby town of Ponyville to host the Summer Sun Celebration. I want you and Shimmer to go to the town and check up on the preparations and make sure nothing goes wrong. And while you're there, you two can also meet new ponies and make some friends! Pack your bags, you'll be leaving this afternoon!

Yours,
Princess Celestia Astros of Equestria

P.S. Oh yeah, be sure to tell Sunset about all this.

Having finished reading the letter, and then rereading it again to make sure she hadn't made a mistake, Sunset looked up to see a grumpy and fully packed Twilight staring back at her. "We're going WHERE?"

Author's Note

Let the insanity BEGIN! Differences in this AU will either be introduced naturally, explained in the comments, or left as future surprises.

Also, Sunset's internal 'evil voice' and "good voice". Redemption isn't easy, and it's the small victories that count. After all, she's chastising her bad voice now.

Oh Bloody Tartarus I am on Fire!

"Okay since there are two of us" Sunset began, before being interrupted by Spike who did an attention getting cough into his paw. "I'm sorry, were you actually planning on walking around all over town yourself today?" At the young dragon's sudden feigning of interest at the sky around him, she smirked a bit. "Like I was saying, since there are two of us I say we should split up the work. I'll handle the caterers, you handle the patisserie. You get musician A, I'll get B, you get the decorator, and I'll get the weather team. Then we can just meet back at the place we're staying for lunch." she concluded, feeling clever for having though of a simple solution to what would have otherwise taken them all day.

Twilight nodded and looked over her own copy of the lit floating right next to her. "Right then. Where are we staying? I didn't read that far ahead." Realizing what was about to happen, Sunset quickly folded down her ears and covered them as Twilight's eyes grew giant and she squeed at a pitch that should constitute torture in any civilized land. "A library! We get to stay in a library!"

"Yeah, because that is so different from what we normally do." Spike noted sarcastically, digging a claw in his ear to try and get rid of the ringing sound.

Sunset rolled her eyes and gave a small smile. Twilight's over reactions could be annoying at times, but on occasion they were just cute. Besides, it's not her fault that she's crazy. "Right anyway, we better get going." Sunset said turning...and smacking face first into a pink earth pony with a poofy, pinker mane. Remembering her manners, Sunset apologized. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't see you. I'm Sunset Shimmer, and these are my frends Twilight Sparkle and Spike the dragon. We're new in town and I was wondering..." Anything else she was going to say however was lost as the pink pony gasped, leapt in the air, turned around, and ran off so fast she kicked up a dust cloud.

Coughing and trying to clear the air, Sunset called after the fleeing mare "That was rude you know!" Sudenly realizing what this meant, she turned to her colleague with a huge grin. "Twilight did you see that? I was the polite one there! Me! I was more polite than somepony else!"

"Alright Shimmer, good job." Twilight congratulated her, trying not to roll her eyes. Sunset didn't even seem to notice Twilight's dry tone as she bounced around happy about her latest minor accomplishment. Really, she treats learning a new and difficult spell after days of study like a non-event, but gets excited over doing the most minor good deed. Still Twilight found it cute in a way, and it wasn't Shimmer's fault she was crazy.

****************

By the time Sunset Shimmer had arrived at the farm, Sweet Apple Acres, her good mood had died. It just had to be so freaking out of the way from the town proper didn't it? She didn't really have a lot of endurance, being both a unicorn and a scholar. In fact, Sunset had to admit that Twilight was in a lot better shape than her, carrying Spike around all the time had actually helped keep her in better shape. 'Maybe I should have checked the addresses first before dividing them out, that way I could have given Twilight all the hard ones. ' "...I'm just going to blame that on being tired, which is why I can't think up a good argument against that. Because I am tired." At least she was at the farm and could sit down and take a rest...

"Well howdy there sugarcube! Woah, you don't look so good." a strong voice called out.

Looking to her left, Sunset found herself almost face to face with a blond maned, orange coated earth pony wearing a rancher type hat. "Oh, hi. I'm Sunset Shimmer from Canterlot. I'm supposed to check up on the catering for the Celebration." she paused to catch her breath and wipe a bit of sweat from her brow. "I'm fine, just a little out of shape. Thank you for your concern!" she added that last part quickly and with a large smile.

Blinking a bit in confusion at how enthusiastic her guest had been at the end, the earth pony chuckled a bit nervously. "Right, the names Applejack. And if'n you want to check up on our cookin' you came at the right time. Now why don't we just sit down over here in the shade and cool off for a while?" she suggested, motioning over to a picnic table that was set up already.

Sunset nodded and followed Applejack, whose cutie mark was a trio of red apples she noted, over to the table and sat down, feeling some relief. "Yeah, it feels so much better in the shade than out in the sun....thank you very much!" She couldn't afford to be rude to somepony hoof-picked by Celestia for such an important job after all.

"Um...right....anyway while you're here why don't I introduce you to the rest of the family!" AJ suggested with great enthusiasm.

Sunset looked rather nervous at the idea "Oh, um, I'd love to really, but I'm on a tight schedule so if maybe we could just go over the menu instead..."

"Shoot that ain't no problem. Nice thing about being part of the Apple Clan is we can do both at the same time! This here is Caramel Apple!" she said, introducing a mare who dropped a candy like her namesake onto the table.

"Oh nice to meet"

"Apple Fritter." AJ continued, as another mare dropped off a matching treat.

"Yes hello I'm"

"Apple Strudle."

"Nice to"

"Apple Tart."

"Hello I"

"Apple Crisp"

"Yes I"

"Red Galla."

"But"

"Sour Apple."

"What?"

"Applesauce."

"Um..."

"Golden Delicious."

"Grrrrr."

"Apple Cider."

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."

"Apple Turnover."

Sunset's eye was twitching at this point.

"Big Macentosh, Grany Smith, Applebloom, Babs Seed, Fuji, Red Wine, Apple Seed, Green Apple..."

"Does nopony in your family take cold showers!?" Sunset shouted in frustration. Then seeming to just realize what she said, she clapped her hooves over her mouth and quickly sunk down underneath the table to hide.

Applejack meanwhile was just shocked at how rude that outburst was. Glaring she quickly dove under the table to give that mare what for, but stopped on seeing her curled up and rocking back and forth while crying. She obviously felt bad and was miserable. Clearly, yelling would not help anything. With a sigh, Applejack sat down next to her and put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder. Instantly her guest was up and hugging AJ, crying her eyes out.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that! I am a bad pony! I'm sorry!" Sunset blurted out quickly while clinging to Applejack like she was a life preserver in a storm tossed sea.

Patting Sunset on the back and speaking in the same tone of voice she used to calm Applebloom after a nightmare, AJ worked to calm the hysterical mare. "There there. You all ain't a bad pony. If you were, you wouldn't be down here crying about it would ya? You're just hot and tired, and my goin' so fast probably wasn't helpin' at all. Now then, if you're feelin' better, why don't we head on up and you can apologize and then we'll sit own to lunch? Sound good?"

With a wordless nod, Sunset followed Applejack back up and looked out to the assembled Apples. "I'm so sorry I snapped like that. I just had a long day and was a bit hot and tired but that's no excuse, so since everything looks good and I don't want to cause any more trouble I'll just leave." she announced and got up to do just that, doing her best to ignore the family's pleas for her to stay. Even if they did forgive her, Sunset felt that it was better if she just left. At least, that was her intent.

What stopped her was a little yellow filly, so small she didn't have her cutie mak yet, wearing a big red bow in her mane staring up at Sunset with giant watery puppy dog eyes. "Ain't ya gonna stay for lunch?"

"Quick, evil jerk me, do something!" '...wow, I guess even at my worst I'm not evil enought to say no to that face.' With a sigh of defeat, Sunset smiled at the little kid. "Okay, you win, I'll stay." She was a little surprised at how enthusiastic the Apples were to have her stay, and tried her best to pay attention to what they were saying to her. "Well it could be worse. I just hope Twilight's having an easier time of it than me."

****************

"Sooo, Twilight, what's a patisserie anyway?" Spike asked as he rode through town.

"A pony that specializes in making pastry deserts, like cakes, pies, doughnuts, and so on; they're also often skilled in the art of candy making. Usually the candy is used to accent their pastries, but some sell it separate. It can also refer to a shop specializing in the same type of products." Twilight exposited as she trotted along, checklist in Spike's capable hands. "I'm just surprised Sunset took the two that were furthest out of town, in oposite directions even! She must have felt she could use the exercise."

"That, or she didn't bother checking where everything was before dividing it up." Spike said, rolling his eyes. "You know how lazy she can be sometimes."

It was now Twilight's turn to roll her eyes. "I don't believe any student of Princess Celestia could possibly be that lazy. The princess wouldn't allow it."

"What about when she finally got teleporting down and declared she was never walking again?"

"That was only for a week, and it was mostly her being excited about learning the spell. Heck, I'll probably be just as excited when I get it down." Twilight came to a stop and looked up. "Hey, this is the place isn't it?"

Spike, who was about to retort that the only reason he felt Sunset stopped was because she figured out that teleporting was actually more work than walking short distances, blinked at the non-sequitur and looked up. It was a rather nice, pale canary yellow store with a large blue piece of wrapped candy serving as a the logo on the sign hanging above the door, the word Bonbon's writen on it. "Um, yeah, this is the place Twilight." Spike said, checking the list quickly to make sure. "So, um, I guess we go in then?"

Taking a deep breath and gathering her nerves, steeling her will for the task, Twilight walked into the shop to the tingling of cheery little door chime. Well she hadn't messed anything up so far, so all in all it was going better than she expected. "Hello, is anypony here? I'm here to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Coming, I just have to pop these tarts in the oven. I'll be there in just a sec, there we go." a voice called from the room just beyond the counter, where Twilight assumed the kitchen was. The owner of the voice, an earth pony mare with a cream colored coat and a blue and pink mane and tail done in a bobbed style, came walking into the room with a gentle, warm smile on her face. "Hello dear. Don't worry, tarts take a bit to cook. So you're here to check up on everything then? It's lovely to meet you, my name is Sweetie Drops."

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Drops. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant Spike." - her passenger waved at this - "So is Bonbon not available then?" she asked, looking around and frowning as Ms. Drops got a bemused look on her face.

"Oh you must be from out of town, or else this is just your first time coming here. There is nopony named Bonbon dear." Seeing the confused look on the unicorn's face, she continued "When I commissioned the sign when I first opened the shop, the sign was supposed to be bonbons, as in the candy in plural. But apparently poor old Mr. Paint Thinner misunderstood, he's getting on in years you know, he thought it was the owner's name and he did such a nice job I didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. I've thought one or twice about changing it ever since, but it seems a lot of hassle for something so harmless, and it makes a great conversant starter don't you think?" She then realized that Twilight didn't seem to really be paying attention. She had a look of distracted distress on her face, and was even twitching slightly. "Dear what's wrong?"

"It's a mistake! Mistakes are bad, why are you not upset at the mistake? If you're okay with this mistake what about with the cooking? If Princess Celestia eats cooking with mistakes she'll get upset! And then she'll blame me for it because I was supposed to check up on everything! And then I'll be banished! And locked in a prison where she banished me to!" Twilight started hyperventilating at this point, prompting Spike to pull a paper bag out of her saddle bags and slap it on her muzzle.

"Sorry about that. Twilight has some anxiety issues when it comes to getting things done perfectly. The little details set her off sometimes." Spike explained, rubbing Twilight's back to help calm her down.

"Oh dear. Well there's no need to worry. Cooking sweets to eat is my special talent; I'd never put anything subpar out. Especially not at an event like this." Sweetie said, turning to show off her cutie mark which was a trio of blue wrapped candies like the sign out front, though each of these sported a yellow stripe as an accent. "You know, it's really interesting, how I got this. You see, there I was as a filly trying to think of something to do, bored out of my mind, when this big rainbow-" her story was cut off by the ringing of a timer from in the kitchen. "Oh that's the biscuits. I'll be right back dear." Popping into the kitchen, she quickly went to work sorting out the ovens, humming a tune around her oven bit as she worked.

Having a lovely idea, she grabed some tea she had made earlier for her lunch break, some biscuits from a previous batch, grabbed a tray set for two, and headed back into the main entry to find a thankfully much calmer Twilight. "Feeling better dear?" At the unicorns nodding she smiled even warmer, if that's possible, as she set the tray down at the small table she kept or those that wished to eat their purchases right there in her store. "I just had the most wonderful idea. Why don't we sit down for a minute and have some tea whith some of my biscuits. That way you can give a sample a try before tomorrow, and we can both relax for a few minutes. It can be very stressful prepping for a big event you know; I have been cooking stuff all day yesterday and today to get ready and fill in my usual stock. Taking tea every now and then dose wonders."

Twilight sat down and poured herself some tea, it smelled strongly of lemon grass and bluebells, and picked up a biscuit. It was one of those desert biscuits, chocolate by the looks of things. She took a small nibble, stopped, and smiled. Dipping the other end into the tea, she took a larger bite, and then finished it off. "These are good." she noted, taking a sip of the tea. While not up to the standards of what Princess Celestia had brewed at the palace it was nonetheless a rather enjoyable blend. Still few could ever hope to match the palace brewmasters, even with a proper special talent, so Twilight knew she was a bit spoiled when it came to tea. For somepony without the proper matching cutie mark to make tea this good they had to be rather skilled. Twilight's opinion of Ms. Drops went up a few notches. "I'm sorry I implied you'd put out bad food, I was panicking and it was just rude of me Ms. Drops."

"Oh you can just call me Sweetie dear, or if you really want to be formal Miss Drops. I do have a special somepony, but we haven't tied the knot yet." Sweetie explained with a smile, taking a sip from her own cup as Twilight remembered that tying newlyweds' tails together with a ribbon for a day was the earth pony equivalent to unicorns exchanging horn rings. "And don't worry about your panic attack dear. I'm sure it must be awfully stressful making sure everything is just perfect for the princess. She's quite lucky to have a worker as dedicated as you."

Twilight beamed at this. "Actually, I'm one of Princess Celestia's personal students in the art of magic. As such, I have an even higher obligation to do my best to ensure everything goes as perfectly as planned."

"Oh my, one of Princess Celestia's personal students?" Sweetie noted, amazed that somepony so special had come to her little shop for so minor a job as checking up on food preparations. Then again Celestia herself was going to be visiting this year, so that might have warranted a higher caliber of inspector now that she thought about it. "That sounds very impressive dear. You must have done something quite amazing to get the princess's attention like that." Sweetie Drops had expected an interesting story then, of how Twilight came to study under Celestia. What she had not expected was her reaction.

Twilight got up, put on her bags and telekineticly placed Spike on her back, and started heading out the door. "Thank you for the tea, it was good, but I have to get going. I have a lot of things to inspect today." And with that she was gone.

Sweetie meanwhile just sat there, confused. "Was...was it something I said?"

****************

Sunset wanted nothing more at this point than to figure out a time travel spell so she could go back in time and switch the first two locations on her and Twilight's lists. The family was so friendly they could have probably broken Twilight out of her shell. And as a bonus Sunset wouldn't be walking to the opposite end of town on a completely bloated stomach. Normally she would have teleported back to her starting point in the middle of town to cut her walk in half, but teleporting still made her a bit queasy. Considering just how much she had eaten, that would clearly have been a terrible idea. Just as she began to think that nothing could be worth this walk ahead of her came sweet soothing music. Creeping up quietly, not wanting to disturb the performer she had come to inspect, Sunset was treated to an amazing sight.

A butter yellow pegasus, her long pink mane and tail being a color match for the trio of butterflies that was her cutie mark, was conducting a chorus of birds in singing a truly beautiful version of...the Equestrian National Anthem? "Oh, for when Celestia arrives on stage. I didn't realize the anthem could sound this good, she's got real talent." Walking up smiling she introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Sunset Shimmer and" was as far as she got before the startled birds flew off and the seemingly equally startled pegasus dove into the bushes. Sunset immediately assumed he worst, which naturally meant it was her fault. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean to startle you and now your birds flew off and I'm interrupting your practice and I'm sorry! I am such a bad pony!" she confessed, tears in her eyes.

The yellow pegasus aso came out then, tears in her own eyes. "No, I'm sorry. I overreacted, and I know where my birds live so it's not a big deal and I made you feel bad. You're not a bad pony, I am for making you feel that way! I'm sorry!"

"No, I am a bad pony, and now I'm making you feel bad! I'm sorry!" Sunset apologized.

"I'm sorry I'm making you feel bad too!" the pegasus echoed in her own sorrowful way.

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry!"

This went on for quite some time.

****************

"Um, Twilight are you okay?" Spike asked nervously. Having been a newborn baby at the time Spike didn't remember what had happened at the time, but he did know that Twilight never liked to even think about her entrance exam.

"I'm fine Spike, I just need to get back to work. What's next on the list?" Twilight asked as she trotted quickly through town, wanting to get this job just over and done with.

"Okay, if you say so." He quickly checked the list. "Alright next is music with a group called the Pony Tones. They're....um....there's no address listed Twilight so I have no idea where they are."

"What?!" Twilight shouted, causing those around her to stare for a few seconds before moving on quickly. "What do you mean there's no address? How am I supposed to find the Pony Tones are then? Just hope somepony conveniently walks up and tells me where they are?"

"Did you say the Pony Tones? I know where they are!" a child's voice called out.

Blinking a bit, Twilight turned and looked right at the beaming face of a little white unicorn filly with a two tones pink and purple mane and tail. "Seriously?" she asked in a deadpan manner. She had been sarcastic after all.

"Yeah!" the filly replied with a slight squeak."One of them's my sister! I was bringing them lunch! They're in the park, we can go together." the filly announced, and Twilight noticed that the kid had a little red wagon loaded up with a picnic basket for her to pull along.

Consigning herself to fate Twilight nods and followed behind the eager young filly, wondering what else could go wrong today. After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, she felt a need to speak. "Soooo, my names Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike. What's your name?"

"My name is Sweetie Belle." the filly replied, causing the older mare to stop and blink at the coincidence. Was everypony she met today going to start off their name with Sweetie? "My big sister Rarity is working really hard with the others, so I decided to being them some lunch as a surprise. I made it myself!" she announced, pride shining through her happy smile.

"That's great, I'm sure Rarity will love it." It was so nice to see sibling love in action. Twilight remembered doing things like this for her BBBFF back when she was little. Before she had time to think about it further, they had arrived at the park and at the gazebo in front of them a trio of ponies where practicing. A white unicorn mare with a purple mane, probably Rarity, noticed them and motioned for her two compatriots, both earth ponies, to take a break. One was a blue on blue stalion who was a bit lanky, and the other was a...larger tan mare with her yellow streaked red hair done up in an elaborate bun. Both of them seemed glad for the break and quickly sat down, talking between themselves as Rarity walked over.

"Hello there Sweetie Belle. Let me guess, you made us lunch?" she asked, Twilight noting a slightly strained tone in the other mares voice.

"I sure did sis. I made sandwiches, and apple sauce, and juice!" Sweetie Belle replied, pushing the cart forward a bit with her nose.

"That's nice dear." Rarity said with notable strain in her voice. "So, um, who's your friend?"

Twilight resisted the urge to facehoof. Of course her little sister showing up with a total stranger would be cause for concern. "Hi there. My name's Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant Spike. We're here to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I trust everything's going great?"

Rarity immediately brightened up. "Oh of course! We're practicing right now and everything, at least as best we can without our bass singer here." Noticing Twilight's mounting nerves, she decided to quickly cut it off. "Not that it's actually a problem darling; Big Mac's busy helping his family farm with the catering, and he's quite talented enough as is. A little last minute practice is something he's good enough to be able to miss, no problem." Seeing Twilight calm down, she continued "The Pony Tones isn't any of our main jobs, but we all put enough time into it that it's not a problem. Now then, I assume you have other areas to check?"

"Right, everything looks good here. So what's next on the list Spike?....Spike?" Twilight looked over her shoulder to find Spike spacing out. "Spike!"

"What? Oh right, next up on the list is...ah, decorations at town hall!" he quickly read of the list.

"Ah decorations." Rarity said wistfully. "I would have loved to try my hooves at it, but the Pony Tones pays better, and unlike Big Mac I'm not good enough to skip out on practice to do another job. Sweetie Belle, why don't you show our friend Twilight the way to town hall? She's new in town and it's the least we could do to help her out."

"Okay sis! Come on, it's this way!" she shouted before running off with the sort of speed only an excited child could have.

"Hey, wait up! Um, glad to meet you and that everything's going okay. Bye!" Twilight hurried through, running off after the filly as fast as she could.

Once they were out of sight, Rarity dropped her smile and let out the breath she'd been holding. Opening the basket in resignation, she just shook her head. "Even the juice; how does one even burn juice?" Most ponies would throw such thoroughly burned food out but, well, it was made with her sister's love. With a resigned sigh, she bit into her sandwich with a loud crunch. It said something that she was getting used to this to the point were it wasn't even a struggle to eat it anymore. Also that she had enough experience to tell what burnt item was what.

*****************

'I finally figured it out. Ponyville isn't real, I died and went to Tartarus.' "Okay, so it's been an emotionally scaring bad day so far, but it can't get any worse right?"

As proof that Murphy was hard at work even in universes he had never been born in, that was the exact moment that a high speed Pegasus crashed into Sunset, knocking her into a mud puddle. Murphy is kind of a jerk like that.

Sunset opened her eyes to a facefull of blue flank, a cloud with a tri-colored bolt adorning it. The owner of said mark quickly got up and turned around, revealing a pegasus mare with a shortly cropped rainbow mane. Helping Sunset to her hooves, the Pegasus looked a bit nervous. "Sorry about that. I was doing some stunts practice and I kind of lost control there at the end. Name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria!"

"Right. Sure you wait, Rainbow Dash?" Quickly levitating out her scroll, Sunset smiled. "Oh good, you're the local weather captain. That's great! I'm Sunset Shimmer, and I was sent to check up on the preper-aaaa-tiooooo why is the sky overcast? The sky is supposed to be clear and sunny! What is your team doing?"

"Taking the day off." Rainbow replied as if it was the most simple thing ever.

Sunset's eye twitched a bit. "What?"

"You know, a day off? Not having to work, enjoying their holiday, unwinding a bit? You do take time off right? Case youuuu're looking a liiiiiitle high strung." Rainbow noted nonchalantly. "Anyway yeah, I volunteered to clear the sky all by myself. So they could spend some time with family and friends, you know? Since I can do the job all by myself."

Sunset had had enough. "Yeah, maybe if you worked all day instead of crashing while doing looptyloops or whatever! There's no way this will be ready in time now!"

Rainbow just rolled her eyes at all the dramatics. "Puh-leeze, where you not listening earlier. Fastest flyer in Equestria. I don't need to work all day. I could probably clear the sky's in ten seconds flat."

"Nopony is that fast!"

"I am!" Rainbow responded, indignant at the challenge.

"Then prove it! There is no way" Sunset paused in her talking as a Rainbow seemed to transform into her namesake, a blur that went from cloud to cloud faster than the eye could track until they had all vanished. "in ten...just...the sky...clouds...how?"

"Yesh, I'm just awesome like that. Plus, I saved one to make up for knocking you into the mud earlier!" Dash exclaimed, and proceeded to hop on a cloud she had repositioned, destroying it and giving Sunset an instant shower, leaving her looking somewhat like a wet dog. "Hahahahaha! You look...ahem right." she said, reigning in her laughter at Sunset's glare. "One spin dry comming up!"

"Spin whaaaaaaaaaa!" Sunset's question was cut off as Rainbow proceeded to make a one mare tornado around her, drying her off and giving her a massive case of frizzy mane. So far today she had been annoyed by Twilight, given a sudden job by Celestia, walked for a ridiculous distance, got emotionally scared, stuffed full of apples, walked an even more rediculous distance, got into an "I'm sorry!" contest, walked even farther, got tackled into the mud by a pegasus, had her view of reality shattered by a multicolor streak, got soaked with a torrent of rain water, and spun in a personal tornado. Having taken all this in, she did the only logical course of action, said "Nope. I am done." and fainted.

Rainbow landed with some concern, especially when prodding her a couple of times resulted in no response. "Oh no! My awesomeness was too much for her to take! I need to get her to the hospital; hopefully they know how to treat awesome overdose!"

****************

Twilight was rather glad that Sunset had decided to divide their work the way that it was. If Twilight, the more athletic one, was feling winded trying to keep up with Sweetie Belle she had no idea how badly Shimmer would be doing. Not that either of them would need to keep up. The town hall was easily the tallest building in Ponyville, and smack dab in the center of town to boot. Nopony would ever need directions to get there, even if they were from so far out of town they didn't even speak Equestrian. Twilight could not figure out why Sweetie had been given such an utterly pointless job by her older sister.

"We're here, we're here! I did it!" Sweetie cheered as she bounced around, squeaking slightly on the word 'I'. "Now I need to go back and see if Rarity needs any more help. Bye!" she called as she ran back the way she came, fueled by the seemingly limitless energy kids seem to possess when doing things they want to do.

"Alright Spike, who's in charge of the decorations? And please don't tell me their name begins with Sweetie something, or I'll suspect a conspiracy." With Twilight, it was hard to tell if that was sarcasm, or an actual precautionary statement.

As such Spike breathed a genuine sigh of relief as he double checked the list. "Nope, it's somepony named Masquerade who's in charge. So, ready to go in?"

"Yep. Let's go." Twilight stepped into the hall and looked around. Brass suns in the shape of Princess Clestia's cutie mark adorned each pillar along the wall, yellow and white ribbons trailing below them like the suns rays. Banners were strung between them as well, alternating yellow and white. Twilight noticed the subte effect of each sun being slightly lower than the last, making her eyes be drawn smoothly towards the center stage. A common but effective technique for naturally drawing attention to a specific area, in this case the main stage. Above said stage was an even larger brass sun being adjusted by a pegasus, who hovered back and seemed to be judging her work.

The pegasus was an orangish yellow, and her mane was three bands of colors stacked like layers on a cake. The top most layer was a sort of moss green, followed by a darker emerald band, leaving a teal layer for the bottom. From this distance though, Twilight couldn't make out any more details. "Hello? Are you Masquerade? My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant Spike. We're here from Canterlot to check up on the preparations before Princess Celestia arrives."

"Right right, be with you in a moment. Just trying to figure out if this thing is better centered so it doesn't attract extra attention, or slightly off center so everypony's eyes are drawn to the area. It's so hard to judge, I've never had to set up for anything like this before. Usually Rarity handles the fancier events like these, but she's busy at the moment." Masquerade explained as she hovered there, hoof to chin as she studied the scene. She had a bit of an accent Twilight just couldn't place, but it sounded very smooth. "Hmmm, I just can't seem to decide. What's your opinion on the matter?"

"Um," Twilight had not been expected to be put on the spot like this "well I know only the basic theory about guiding sight lines, and that was really only related to my studies in illusions, so I don't know how helpful that would be for something real." She started walking closer to the main stage to get a loser look to hopefully make a more informed decision.

"Oh please, illusions are no less fake than real life. Both are full of ways to influence people. Take the banners. You know they're guiding sight lines because you studied it. To anypony else they're pretty but hey, let's focus on the stage." Masquerade explained, floating down for a landing. "In the end it's all about knowing how to not only manipulate ponies, but make them want to be manipulated."

That brought Twilight to an abrupt stop. "Um, that sounds rather sinister."

Masquerade snorted. "Please. I'm talking about theater here. The tricks to get ponies to not question the lack of a fourth wall, why prisoners don't just walk around the free standing door, or why you only have six extras on stage if two whole armies are clashing. The ways to get the audiance pulled into the show and not want to get pulled out. Nopony questions why they tend to look at the right area at the right time during a play. It's all subtle cues, and I'm trying to figure out what would work best for the show." She turned around and faced Twilight then. "So, what's your opinion? Center or off center?"

It was then that Twilight noticed two things about Masquerade. Number one, her cutie mark was a trio of teal domino masks with handles. And two, her eyes, instead of iris and pupils, had round cut green gems in their place. She was dealing with a twinkle eyed pony. "Um, I see...I mean in my opinion it looks, I mean" Twilight babbled nervously, looking everywhere but at Masquerade.

The pegasus sighed, closed her eyes, and massaged her brow in a mix of frustration and resignation. "You don't have to watch your words, I'm not going to get offended if you use words like 'look', 'see', 'eyes', or the like naturally. I can participate in a normal conversation just fine thank you."

Twilight blushed fiercely. "I am so sorry. It's just that I've never dealt with, well, you know..."

"A twinkle eyed pony? Yeah we're not exactly that common. I'm actually surprised that there are two of us in a town the size of Ponyville. Ditzy Doo, local mailmare she's quite nice, she's the other one. The way I hear it she had wandering eyes, literally couldn't tell where she was flying most of the time. Now she's got a pair of topazes and is flying just fine." Masquerade explained casually, looking at Twilight with an amused smile. "To get your obvious questions out of the way, I see just fine, I was born blind so getting them was a no brainier once I was old enough, they are emeralds, and it didn't hurt but it itched like crazy for several months after it was done. Anything else?"

"Um, no I'll just be leaving before I embarrass myself any further." Twilight said, and then promptly turned and walked into a pillar in her haste. This wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't knocked the brass sun off its moorings and released it down onto her head.

Spike looked down at the unconscious Twilight, then up at Masquerade. "Sooooo, I don't suppose you know where the local hstpital is do you?"

****************

And so it came to pass that both of Celestia's prized pupils left Ponyville General at about the same time, Spike giving Twilight a break and walking beside them instead of riding her.

Sunset walked slightly funny, a side effect of the thermometer the nurses had used while trying to figure out what had caused her fainting spell. Once they had determined it was sheer stress, they're given her a mild relaxant and let her sleep it off. And a rather good tranquilizer once she was awake to help deal with her stress. "Well everything's looking good on my half. Except for all the personal humiliation, but for some reason I don't seem to mind right now." She stopped walking and looked up, a goofy grin on her face. "Look, a birdie! Hi birdie!"

Twilight sighed as she pulled Sunset along in the direction of the library, her own head lightly bandaged. Luckily the brass sun had been hollow, or else it might have done some real damage. However considering her headache she was pretty sure she'd have loved a dose of whatever Sunset was on right now. "Come on, let's just get to the library where we can lay down for a bit, collect ourselves, and just relax and let our medication run its course." They had arrived at the library, and she opened the door looking forward to some nice quiet

"SURPRISE!" a veritable army of ponies bellowed as streamers and confetti flew everywhere, startling Twilight and leaving the befuddled Sunset blinking in confusion.

It was then that the pink pony from this morning poped up in front of them. "Where you surprised? I bet you were. I remember when I ran into you guys this morning and I was all 'Pinkie Pie', oh that's my name by the way I'm Pinkie Pie, 'Pinkie Pie, you know everypony in town. You don't know these ponies. Therefore they must be new in town. Throw them a surprise welcome party.' and so I did while inviting everypony in town that I could and well I couldn't get everypony in town which is okay I guess cause I don't think the library is large enough to hold everypony in town but it is large enough to hold everypony that did show up which is good cause if I was too small then everypony would be cramped and then the party wouldn't be as fun so I guess it's lucky that the library was the right size huh?" the mare, apparently named Pinkie Pie, rambled without even pausing for breath, or having a strained tone indicating she was struggling to keep the rapid fire dialog going.

Twilight just stood there stunned, the rapid talking, ambient noise, and music not doing her headache any favors. Sunset meanwhile was in a daze and just looking around. Spotting some cupcakes on a table, she decided she was hungry and walked over, starting to eat them. She had just finished her first one and was about to start a second when she started to get a slight burning sensation in her throat and started coughing a little. Pinkie then popped up. "Do you like it? It's my own special cupcake recipe. You can really taste the hot sauce." She then held up the bottle she had used in making these cupcakes, it's label reading Ghost Manticore Vengence Pepper Sauce, Mild.

Steam literally erupted from Sunset's ears as her system burned quickly through the tranquilizer; the hot sauce possibly quite literally burning it. Now fully conscious, Sunset said the first and, at the moment, only thing on her mind. "Oh bloody Tartarus, I am on fire!"

Author's Note

Welcome to "We have Issues Theater!", staring Twilight and Sunset! With special guest Fluttershy! We've also gotten a lot of character introductions out of the way. Place your bets on what pony will hold what element! And before you ask, yes Masquearde is number six, not Fluttershy or Rarity. It's more fun to use non-canon ponies for AUs, you're a lot more free to mess with them without readers crying foul. And yes, there is a reason she's twinkle eyed beyond making Twilight uncomfortable or as a G1 callback, but right now that would be spoilers. And nopony complain about "Censoring Derpy", she's Ditzy Doo and in an AU where magical eye care exists so there is no reason to leave her walleyed just so she matches canon. At that point it's just mean.

Up next, the Summer Sun Celebration, where surely nothing could ever go wrong!
Muahhahahahahahahaahaha!
No Murphy, noooooooooooo!

Yipie, We're All Going to Die.

Sunset Shimmer was sleeping in her bed on the library's second lot. Or rather she would be sleeping if there wasn't a party going strong into its twelth hour downstairs. She knew it was tradition to stay up all night so that you didn't miss the sun rise, but she had no intention of staying up. While Celestia made a big public production of it once a year, raising the sun kind of lost its majesty once you'd witnessed the Herald of the Dawn doing her duty while wearing a pink flannel night gown and grumbling about needing more damn coffee on an almost daily basis. As Celestia once said "The downside to raising the sun is that you're always up before dawn."

There was a loud crash from below, causing Sunset to bolt upright. Looking around the room she noticed Twilight across from her in her own bed. The lavender mare had a pillow clutched over her head in an attempt to drown out the noise. "Can't get any sleep either huh?"

Her partner shot up in frustration. "No! And with the party going on downstairs, I can't do any research on Nightmare Moon! The world could be doomed to eternal night because ponies were partying till the break of dawn! That's almost enough irony to physically drown in!"

Sunset facehoofed. "Twilight, Nightmare Moon isn't real. She's not going to attack, so it doesn't matter if you study or not."

"But the book of prophesies I read stated, and I quote, on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape. And according to what I can find, this is the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration since her banishment." Twilight protested. "You'll see. When Nightmare Moon shows up you'll be asking me for ideas on how to beat her, and then I'm going to do your own 'I told you so' dance to you! And then the world will end because I didn't get a chance to study!"

"Twilight, if Nightmare Moon turns out to be real, not only will I let you do the dance, I'll drink an entire bottle of that crazy pink mare's hot sauce."

Any further conversation was halted as Pinkie crawled out from under Sunset's bead and, reaching into her mane, pulled out a bottle of hot sauce and tossed it to a stunned Sunset, who somehow still had the presence of mind to telekineticly catch it. "Here you go, you're going to be needing that later." And with that she literally bounced down the stairs and out if the room, leaving two very confused unicorns to just sit and stare.

"How did she get under there without us noticing?" Sunset asked, quickly ducking her head under the side of her bed to make sure nopony else was down there waiting to surprise her.

Twilight on the other hoof had a more immediate concern. "How long was she under there just watching and listening to us?"

Sunset suddenly had a vision of Pinkie hiding under her bed, just waiting until the two unicorns had fallen asleep. Then the pink mare crawls out, and then she pulls out a knife and "Changing the subject! Who else is never going to sleep in this room again?"

"Oh Sunset it's not that bad. All she did was pop out and give you some hot sauce...which she had no idea you'd be needing. So she was just here...watching us...just watching...for no real reason....hey I think it's almost time for the ceremony! Why don't we head on over to the town hall instead of waiting in this room! And maybe on the way back pick up some heavy duty locks!" Twilight got out of bed quite quickly. Apparently adrenalin was better than coffee when it came to coming fully awake.

Sunset on the other hoof practically flopped out of bed, still dead tired after getting only about an hours rest in the last twenty hours, and most of that had been bought on by stress induced fainting. She had so been looking forward to a good night's sleep, tradition be damned. "Twilight, we don't need to pick up locks, we're only here for one night. Tomorrow we'll be back in Canterlot and we won't have to deal with her again. Still, we might as well get going." As they headed out, Twilight made sure to pick up Spike on the way out, removing the lampshade from his head before letting him mount her.

The building was already starting to fill with ponies by the time they arrived, Pinkie's party seeming to have died out at some point adding its own glut of ponies o the mix. Speaking of, Pinkie was practically hovering around the dessert table, waiting for the celebration to start so she could dig in. Sunset noticed Applejack and Rainbow Dash near there as well. While Rainbow Dash seemed just as eager as Pinkie to dig in Applejack had a determined look on her face as she stared at the two, as if daring them to just try and eat all the desserts while she was on guard. Sweetie Drops, whom Twilight recognized, looked at them with trepidation and seemed to be ready to rush over and put out more deserts as soon as the celebration was underway.

Meanwhile up on stage Twilight noticed Masquerade doing a quick polish of the mane brass sun, she had decided to place it dead center it seems, before ducking back behind the curtain. The Pony Tones meanwhile were off to the side of the main stage to provide music during the actual celebration proper. Sunset meanwhile noticed Fluttershy and her birds off to the other side, and made a mento note to apologize for taking up so much of her time earlier that day...or was it yesterday? "Bah, it doesn't matter. What matters is that I apologize."'Only a neurotic like Sparkle would worry about proper grammar while apologizing.'

Sunset was snapped out of her reverie when an older looking grey maned mare, probably the town mayor, walked out on stage. She tried to pay attention to the speech, but Twilight kept prodding her and trying to get her attention. Turning at last to the offending mare, she hissed "What is it, I'm trying to listen?" Twilight's response was to point up. Rolling her eyes, Sunset looked up...and her jaw dropped. He moon was blank. "Oh bloody Tartasus, no. You can't be right. That's just stupid."

"I present to you your princess, Celestia!" the mayor finished, and the curtains were pulled back to reveal...nothing. The gasps from the audiance was audible.

Masquerade popped out from back stage. "She's not back there. Maybe she went to the little fillies room?" she suggested, trying to cut the tension which got a couple chuckes.

Twilight and Sunset however shared a nervous look. Princess Celestia, for all that she ate and drank like a normal pony, had never even once in the years that they had known her had to use the bathroom. Mostly because she didn't need to. As the alicorn had explained when asked (because Twilight can't leave anything alone), her body perfectly converted any food she ate into pure energy and as such her body required no such function. "No way Sparkle, there is no way we're under attack from a monster from a foal's story."

It was then that a dark purple mist, littered with what looked like stars, started to billow out upon the stage. It soon coalesced into a mighty black alicorn adorned in silver armor. Her cat eyes glared over the crowd as she bearded vicious fangs at them. "PEASANTS REJOICE! FOR WE HAVE RETURNED AS IS OUR RIGHT TO RULE!" she bellowed, her very voice shaking the room. She waited as everyone in the crowded room started to yammer in confusion.

Except for a certain rainbow maned weather pony who started to charge the alicorn. "Hey you, what did you do with the Princess? Give her back or else I'll" Whatever she was going to do was interrupted as Applejack quickly grabbed Rainbow's tail with her own teeth and reigned her in.

The dark alicorn was not happy to say the least, as her mane turned into a nebulous, writhing mass. "WHAT IS THIS? DOES OUR CROWN MEAN NOTHING? DID NONE SEE THE SIGNS? DOES NONE KNOW OUR PERSONS? OUR NAME?" Her presence and voice were terrifying enough that Fluttershy, normally scared of just being near other ponies that she didn't know, decided that hiding in a huge crowd of strangers was safer than being on stage. Not that anypony could blame her. Any sane pony would be terrified at this point.

So naturally Pinkie decided to treat it as a guessing game. "Is it Meany Pants? Dark Spooky? Black McDarkbad? Steve? Loudy Yelly Pants? Smokey the Shadow Pony? Oooh ooh Black Snooty, Black Snooty!" Any further guesses were quashed as Sweetie Drops stuffed several tarts into the pink party pony's mouth.

The dark figures mounting rage was cut off as Twilight stepped forward, proclaiming "I know who you are. I saw the signs and read the prophecy. You're Nightmare Moon."

The announcement caused quite the stir and no small amount of distress for the crowd, but none more so than Sunset Shimmer. "Oh come the bucking Tartarus on! We're actually under attack from a bucking villain from a bedtime story?!" she then noticed the crowds attention and shifted uncomfortably. "Oh what, like none of you are surprised that the monster from your childhood stories is real?"

"WE ARE NOT A FABLE MEANT TO AMUSE A CHILD! WE ARE NIGHTMARE MOON, RIGHTFUL AND ETERNAL RULER OF THIS WORLD THAT WE HAVE SHROUDED IN ETERNAL NIGHT!" Nightmare Moon Declaired, savoring the looks of shock and horror on the ponies' faces. "THAT IS CORRECT, WE HAVE DEFEATED THY PRECIOUS CELESTIA AND HAVE CLAIMED THIS LAND AS OUR OWN. WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED WHEN LAST YOU SAW THE SUN, FOR IT WAS TRULY THE LAST YOU SHALL SEE IT! FROM THIS NIGHT FORTH, THE NIGHT SHALL LAST FOREVER!"

The mayor decided to get involved at this point, turning to the royal guards present. "Stop her, she's the only one that can tell us what has happened to Princess Celestia!" The two guards, showing more courage and loyalty than would be found in a dozen other ponies combined each, flew at the imortal entity that claimed to be powerful enough to have defeated The Hammer of Dawn. The fact that it was horribly one sided surprised nopony, as Nightmare Moon simply turned her mane into a vortex that shot a bolt of lightning at each pegasus taking them out in one blow, though thankfully not in a fatal manner, as they crashed to the ground and began moaning in pain.

Laughing evilly at the amusing attempts to stop her, Nighmare Moon turned into a cloud of purple mist and flew off. Dash at this point broke free of AJ's grip, and flew out the window into the night after the departing alicorn.

Twilight on the other hoof turned and left via the main doors. "Come on Sunset, we need to get back to the library and plan what to do about this."

Sunset simply followed in a daze. "Right, right, I'm comming." In her defense, the day had been rather terrible for her and having the monster who was supposed to eat her if she forgot to brush her teeth show up was rather disorienting. It also made her want to brush her teeth a second time just to be extra sure, but that was probably the lack of sleep talking.

Arriving back at the library, Twilight quickly laud out her plan of attack. "Alright, according to the legend I read Nightmare Moon was originally defeated by an artifact called the Elements of Harmony. We're going to have to go over all these books to find anything about it." Looking at the shelves, she whickered in annoyance. "These books are disorganized beyond all reason! Why place a book about basket weaving next to a book on scuba diving? In case somepony wants to take up underwater basket weaving?"

"Actually, Celestia is quite skilled at it." Sunset responded. Noticing the look of incredulity Twilight sent her way, Sunset rolled her eyes. "Apparently three centuries ago was just that boring. She also invented tightrope unicycle pottery making, bungee jump, the pinwheel, and extreme reading. And before you ask I don't know what that involved, just that they wound up rebuilding a section of Canterlot, paying massive compensation to a zebra ambassador, had Fillydelphia changing its official desert to cheesecake, Cloudsdale banning all tubas even to this day, and Celestia making the sport illegal."

Twilight blinked, several times. "You know, for once in my entire life I do not want to know something...huh, I guess it is the end of the world when I'm not curious about something. Shiny was right, go figure."

Before they could really begin however, the door slammed open (once again on poor Spike) and four familiar mares charged in. "Rainbow Dash? Applejack? Two ponies I don't know? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked. Really, at this point she was just accepting that anything was possible.

AJ facehoofed "Oh right, ya'll haven't met. Sunset Shimmer, this here is Masquerade" she gestured to the twinkle eyed pegasus "and Sweetie Drops. Ladies, this here is Sunset Shimmer, inspector fom Canterlot fer the Celebration. Don't know why these two are here rightly, but me and Dash decided to pop in and check up on ya."

"Well, I did after losing track of Nightmare Moon anyway. Who knew tracking a dark cloud of mist at night would be so hard?!" the chromatic mare complained. "Hey, I recognize you purple, you were that pony that knew who she was! What are you doing here? What's your angle? Are you a spy?"

Sweetie Drops rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that. Twilight, might I introduce Rainbow Dash, head weather mare, Applejack, local apple farmer, and Masquerade, our resident drama pony...in that she's an actor. If you want the other kind of drama you should meet Rarity Belle, now she's this unicorn that"

"I know who Rarity and Masquerade are; I met them on my route." Twilight dead panned, annoyed by all the distractions to the point that she failed to notice Spike wiggle his way from out behind the door.

"Oh okay that saves some time then." Sweetie replied,smiling. "Everypony, may I present to you Twilight Sparke, personal student of Princess Celestia, and therefore not a spy." She shot a suddenly emberrassed Rainbow Dash a slight smirk at that.

"That's fine and all," Masquerade piped up "but it does raise one question. If Clestia's personal student was in charge of inspections, what is Sunset Shimmer doing here?" she asked with a slightly accusatory hoof point at the mare in question.

Sunset just quirked an eyebrow. "Students, with an s, plural. And the senior student at that." Noticing the stunned looks on the locals faces, she facehoofed. "Seriously, why do ponies have so much trouble with the idea that the immortal Alicorn has enough time to teach more than one student?"

"Yes yes, it's a mystery. Now can we focus on stopping Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked, turning back to the bookshelf.

Dash did a victory pump. "Aw yeah, the eggheads have a plan! Lay it on us, how do we buck the Nightmare back into the moon?"

Twilight twitched dangerously. "I don't know right now. We need to find a book on the Elements of Harmony, but considering how disorganized this library is that could take forever. Well, you guys might as well help us search. To find a book on the Elements, we're going to have to go book by book and shelf by shelf; it'll be long, boring, difficult"

"Or we could check out the book labeled The Elemnts of Harmony: A Reference Guide somepony put on the table with a note." Spike said, pointing out the otherwise ignored object on the table, causing all the mares to stare in shock. "...seriously? Nopony noticed?"

"Give me that!" Twilight shouted, zipping the book over to herself and desperately starting to read.

Sunset looked on nervously. "Alright then, I'll just read the note then." Floating it up, she cleared her throat and began "Dear Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, the Twin Students of the Sun," she blinked at that. "We're not twins. That's a stupid title!...right, continuing. Yes I know it's not a good title, but I didn't write that prophecy! We're getting off track..." Sunset trailed off and shared a look with Twilight, who had been so intrigued by this she had actually stopped reading. "Right, we're obviously dealing with somepony that knows what's going on. So I'm going to start over from the beginning and then we can freak out over it and analyze in afterwards." Clearing her thrat, Sunset proceeded to do just that.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, the Twin Students of the Sun,

Yes I know it's not a good title, but I didn't write that prophecy! We're getting off track here though, so let's get back to business. If you're reading this Nightmare Moon has escaped, defeated Celestia, and plunged the world into eternal night. If this is not the case then you've either read it too early, in which case sorry or the spoilers, or you're reading the after Nightmare Moon has been defeated, in which case enjoy the victory party! Assuming this is not the case however, I took the liberty of preparing the Reference Guide so you wouldn't have to go through the library, which I think is somehow an even bigger mess than it usually is. The Guide was under E. Oh, I'm also including Z's prophecy deal, just remember these things never make sense untill later.

The Twin Students of the Sun
Shall Send the Nightmare on the Run
And When the Deed is Finally Done
The Many Shall Become the One

Well, good luck! You're really going to need it!
- P"

"P huh? Well that explains it." AJ said, nodding.

"Um, come again?" Twilight asked, confused.

Masquerade cleared her throat. "P and Z are a pair of mysterious individuals who leave notes around town on occasion, with warnings about the future. A pair of predicting precog ponies nopony knows the real identity of. They are eerily accurate though, so ponies tend to listen to their notes, even when they sound odd. The full blown prophecy bit is new though."

"Great, we'll worry about to later, I found what we are looking for." Twilight said, turning back to the book. "The Elements of Harmony are six magical gemstones that each represent one of the Virtues of Harmony. Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, and Laughter. The sixth Element is a complete mystery, but will appear when the other five are brought together and exposed to a spark. The Elements can be found in the ruined Castle of the Royal Sisters located deep within the Everfree Forest."

"The Everfree Forest?" the locals called out in a mixture of surprise and fear.

Sunset was surprised by such a reaction, especially from the normally brash Rainbow Dash. "I take it you know the place?"

Mask snorted. "Know it? Ponyville is right on the boarder to it, the most dangerous place in Equestria!...besides maybe the Fire Swamp, but really it's hard to top a swamp filled with fire."

"Oh I'm sure it's not that bad." Twilight said, setting up her saddle bags and levitating Sunset her own set. "Spike, stay here while me and Sunset get the Elements and rescue Princess Celestia." She turned to find her way barred by Rainbow Dash.

"Woah woah woah. There is no way we're going to let you two go into that death trap. The Everfree Forest is totally unnatural. All sorts of weather happens on its own, and no pegasus can stop it while it's in the forest."

AJ nodded. "Not only that, but the plants grow all mixed up on their own and so thick you can hardly move in some places."

"And worst of all is the horrible monsters that dwell in the forest. They'll hunt you down and swallow you whole!" Masquerade provided as a capstone to how horrible the place is.

While Sunset naturally looked properly disturbed at the thought of a place that so thoroughly defied the laws of nature Twilight, if anything, looked even more determined. "Be that as it may, it doesn't matter if the Everfree is a thousand times more dangerous than you make it sound. If thats we're we have to go to get the Elements and rescue Princess Celestia, then that's where we're going, and nothing's going to stop us."

"I understand dear." Sweetie nodded. "And that's why I'm comming with you. You'll need a local to help out, plus safety in numbers and all that."

"What? We can't ask you to go on an ultra dangerous mission!" Sunset cried, feeling panic that the kind looking mare would be placing herself in mortal peril for their sakes.

"I know you can't. That's why I'm volunteering." Sweetie replied "I know full well how dangerous it's going to be, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that we get through and save the world, and it's more likely to happen with three ponies than with two."

"Better make that four I reccon." AJ said, stepping forward. "I ain't no slouch when it omes to deling with beasties, mah farm's right smack dab next to the forest after all. I know mah way around the shallow parts,so I can at least get us going the right way."

"Five." Rainbow Dash chimed in. "You had me at 'ultra dangerous mission'."

"The sad part is you probably did." Masquerade sighed. "Well since we're all crazy, we might as well make it a full six pack. Cause at this point I know I'd just worry myself sick, so I might as well come along as the voice of reason."

Sunset took a look at these ponies, and knew that nothing would turn them from their quest to help. And so her team would consistent of herself, exhausted without sleep, Twilight the neurotic, Sweetie Drops the sweets maker, Applejack the apple farmer, Rainbowdash the super speed pegasus (okay, so she was useful), and Masquerade who was an actor. All against Nightmare Moon, whatever forces she had, and the deadly Everfree Forest. She evaluated their chances. "Yipie, we're all going to die."

Author's Note

Some interesting writing choices I made last chapter that I'm surprised that nobody commented on. Namely, the Student's relationships with the Princesses and the Element Bearers that they met. Since I really have nothing else to talk about this chapter, I might as well talk about them.

Sunset Shimmer, whose symbol is a Sun, has a lot in common with Luna, Princess of the Night. Both have had links with dark magic (though they ended differently), both have trouble socializing, and both feel like Celesta regularly overshadows them with how "perfect and beloved" she is. Both have a tendency to try and demand respect as well, feeling it's owed to them by sheer virtue of their station in life. Both are also a bit darker and more anger prone than normal ponies.

The other Element Bearers that Sunset meets, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, are the returning Bearers from the canon verse. They are also the first and last of the three ponies she visits. She is the new character welcoming in the veterans from the old.

Twilight Sparkle, whose symbol is Stars, is much more in line with Celestia. Both are highly organized, intelligent, and concerned for the well being of others. Twilight admires Celestia's "perfection" as a goal to try and achieve herself. Also like her mentor Twilight is full of hope and optimism...baring the occasional OCD panic attack. Just Twilight on that last part though, Celestia is as unflappable as ever. Both of them however go out of their way to see the good in others and try to find solutions that leave everypony happy. Both also have events in their pasts that they consider terrible failures that still haunt them to this day.

Twilight meets Sweetie Drops and Masquerade to the fic, the veteran welcoming the new blood. They are agin the first and third ponies she meets on her list. Also, like Sunset, she meets the earth pony first and the pegasus second, and winds up going to the hospital at the end of her encounter with their third organizer, though in neither case was it the pegasi's fault. Both also have minor meltdowns while meeting the earth ponies, and both are calmed down by the future Bearer.

Both Twilight and Sunset meet a canon Bearer as their second pony, Rarity and Fluttershy. Besides Sunset's sorry contest with Flutershy, the scene with Rarity actually has some more weight than I let on, which will be relevant in the future.

Pinkie is Pinkie, though this chapter seems to show she's a bit more mysterious than usual...

Please Die.

"So this is the Everfree Forest huh? You know for an accursed land of doom it's not that bad." Sunset noted, looking around. Sure the canopy was so thick that even the dark night was rendered to near pitch black save for the slivers of light that illuminated the forest in patches. And sure the plants were covered in thorns, vines, pointy branches, and grew in twisted patterns. But all in all, the last half hour really wasn't any worse than walking in any other forest.

"Don't say stuff like that! Seriously, never say stuff like that!" Masquerade shouted as she trotted along. The canopy had been so thick that even Rainbow Dash, flying fanatic, had agreed that the pegasi needed to walk to avoid being separated from the group. "In every story I've ever read or acted in, saying stuff like that is like giving fate a gold leaf invitation to screw with you!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "This isn't a story Masquerade, so I think we're fine. Now come on, we have to get through this evil magical forest to find the ancient castle in order to get the magical artifacts to defeat Nightmare Moon and save the princess." Twilight got five steps before she fully processed what she said. "Not a word Sunset."

"I have no idea what you mean Protagonist Number Two...or should that be one? I'm not sure, which one of us got introduced first in the story again?" Sunset stopped as she seriously started to ponder this. "Is it just ego that I put myself first? I mean from a narrative perspective I might not be that important. For all I know I was the late introduced comedic relief sidekick. I listed myself as the most important pony out of sheer hubris. I'm an out of control ego monster! Somepony stop me!"

Masquerade smacked Sunset at that point. "Get a hold of yourself. If anypony is going to be over dramatic it's going to be me. I'm properly trained for it. You amatures might hurt yourselves."

Applejack took the oportunity to slide over next to Twilight for a more private conversation. "Twi, ah'm a bit worried 'bout Sun there. When she was down on the farm yesterday she had a panic attack like that, saying she was a bad pony and such. What's goin' on with that?"

Twilight sighed. "Well, the thing you have to understand is that, based on my observations, Sunset Shimmer is a little crazy." Seeing Applejack's incredulous expression, she elaborated. "Not like 'lock me up in a padded cell' crazy mind you. I think she's got an inferiority complex. She seems to panic a lot in social situations and starts blaming herself whenever things go wrong. I think something happened where she doesn't think she's as good as other ponies, but I don't know what. I've tried to help by prasing her skills whenever she learns a new spell or the like to help boost her self esteem, but it doesn't seem to work."

"Hey guys I found a clearing up ahead." Rainbow shouted, rushing forward...and then falling down with a shout.

"Rainbow!" Sunset shouted, rushing over as fast as she could, the others following right behind, only to be met by a quickly rising RD.

"Whoops, cliff, my bad guys." Dash said, coming in for a landing. Seeing the looks of shock on the other ponies' faces (except for Masquerade), she blinked a couple times in confusion. "What?"

"Sorry, just forgot you had wings for a second. But this is perfect!" Sunset said, heading up to the ledge. "We can totally scan the whole forest from up here and plot out a route! This is a huge break for us!"

It was then that Murphy decided to attack in the form of a cloud of dark mist. It seeped into the cliff face, causing it to break and crumble, sending four of the ponies falling as the two pegasi instinctively took to the air.

"Ohmygosh, catch them!" Rainbow shouted, dive bombing and snatching Sweetie Drops out of mid-air as Masquerade swooped in and caught Twilight. The other two, Sunset and AJ, were lucky and managed to wind up sliding down the cliff side, slowing their pace and giving the flyers more time to come back and rescue them.

Applejack managed to bite into a root, halting her momentum and keeping herself safe, when she caught sight of something that sent a chill down her spine. Sunset hadn't slowed down enough and her rear hooves had gone over the edge of a sheer drop, and the rest of her was slowly following as she scrambled for purchase. "Hold on, ah'm a coming!" AJ shouted, releasing the root and controlling her slide so that she came to a halt just in time to lock her forelegs with Sunset's own before the unicorn plunged over the side to her doom. "Don't worry, ah got ya. Everything is gonna be fine." Applejack did her best to give a reassuring smile as she fought to ignore her own very slow slide forward.

"No it won't, you're sliding. Let me go or you'll fall too!" Sunset pleaded.

"Not happening sugarcube, ya just need to hold on there until Dash and Mask come on back up from taking the others down." She then slid forward another inch and dug her hooves in all the harder. "Hey, ah heard some unicorns can teleport all over the place, any chance ya can do that?"

Sunset closed her eyes and concentrated, her horn glowing...and then quickly fading out. "Sorry. Normally I could, but I haven't had any sleep since last night, I'm too tired. I am so useless right now."

"Ya ain't useless, ya could just use a nap." AJ said with a grin. "Anyway back to plan A, wait fer the pegasi to come on back up."

"No, plan A is you letting go so you don't die too. I'm not worth you dieing too." Sunset argued, trying to wriggle free of Applejack's grip, but stopping as soon as she realized it was just pulling AJ forward as well. "Seriously, let go."

"No." was AJ's response, her face hardening in determination. "Now listen here. Ah don't rightly know what happened to you before, ah don't know why you think you're worth less than a wooden bit, and ah don't care. Ah met ya, ah ate with ya, Ah even showed ya my family. Ya were nice, the kids liked ya, and yer out here risking yer life to save Equestria. And when we both got in danger, yer main concern is fer mah safety. Yall are a good pony, and yer lying to yourself if ya think otherwise. Now just hang on, they're almost back."

Sunset stared, and then snorted. "You know, just because I'm about to die you don't have to say nice things about me."

"Darn it, ah ain't doin' that! Ah'm no lier, and ah ain't gonna start now. Ah say what ah mean, and ah mean it. Yer not a bad pony, and it's about dang time ya two got here!"

"Yeah yeah. Do you know how hard it is to find clear ground to place you guys on after a rockslide? And that's without having to help Mask here land the egghead safely." Rainbow Dash said, grabbing Sunset by her barrel on one side.

Masquerade rolled her own gems as she grabbed Sunset from the other side. "Well sorry if we're not all athletes aiming to join the Wonderbolts like you. Not everypony can fly full out while carrying another pony on their own you know. I mean I slowed her down enough to make it a survivable landing even if it hasn't slowed her down enough for you to come help." Nodding to AJ, the earth pony let go as the two pegasi performed a textbook cumulus carry of their passenger down towards the ground. "Oooof, no offense but even with Dash here, I think you weigh more than Twilight." she teased.

"How in any way is that not offensive?" Sunset snarked right back, though the relieved note in her voice robbed it of any venom. "I'll have you know she works out by walking all over the place with Spike on her back. You'd be in better shape too if you had to carry a lazy dragon around everywhere."

After coming in for a landing, Sunset was quickly hugged by a relieved Sweetie Drops and Twilight. By the time she managed to extract herself, Applejack had also been ferried to the ground. "Hey listen. Um, thanks for saving me back there. And for the stuff you said. It was nice."

AJ nodded. "And ya remember what ah said. Ah ain't no lier, and ah ain't never said nothing that weren't true." She then flashed a big smile."Also, while ah was up there, an managed to spot what ah think might be the castle we're looking for."

Sunset was ecstatic. "Yes! Yes yes yes! We are back on track girls! It's smooth sailing from here on out!"

Mask proceeded to facehoof. "Seriously, just stop tempting fate."

Twilight snorted. "Oh please, what could possibly go wrong now?"

"I don't know." Sunset admitted, stepping out from behind a tree with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, coming face to face with a stunned group of ponies. "It could really be anything I guess."

RD, AJ, Sweetie, and Twi kept on looking to their Sunset Shimmer and back to the suddenly appearing double. Sunset was no less confused. "What the bucking Tartarus is this?"

"What is what?" asked a thoroughly confused Masquerade.

"Beats me, but hey do you girls think you could do me a favor?" the double asked. Opening her eyes, they were reptilian and shining with dark green energy that seemed to leak out. Her horn flared with a black roiling aura that floated a dagger from out behind her back and into the origional Sunset's chest. "Please die."

Author's Note

What the? What? What?!

Muahahahahahahhahahahahahaha!

Murphyyyyyyyyyyy!

Well at least my writing muse is in full swing again.

Most Metrosexual Obstacle in the History of Ever.

Twilight snorted. "Oh please, what could possibly go wrong now?"

"I don't know." Celestia admitted, stepping out from behind a tree in all her glory. "It could really be anything I guess."

Twilight was stunned silly, looking at the others and back to her mentor over and over, relief flooding into her being. Now that Celestia was here everything would be alright.

Sunset however seemed upset at the return of their teacher. "What the bucking Tartarus is this?"

"What is what?" asked a thoroughly confused Masquerade.

"Beats me, but hey do you girls think you could do me a favor?" the Celestia asked. Twilight smiled wide. She loved helping Celestia and would do anything she asked. "Please die." And then Twilight was on fire.

****************

Twilight snorted. "Oh please, what could possibly go wrong now?"

"I don't know." a writhing mass of shadow chuckled,, seeping out from behind a tree on oily tendrils, glowing eyes serving as its whole face. "It could really be anything I guess."

Applejack looked around in a panic, she knew what this was. The Pony of Shadows. According to her Granny Smith, the thing was a servant of Nightmare Moon that had haunted the Everfree since its master was banished. She hoped somepony had some idea of how to deal with it. Such hopes were dashed when Sunset shouted "What the bucking Tartarus is this?"

"What is what?" asked a thoroughly confused Masquerade.

"Beats me, but hey do you girls think you could do me a favor?" the Pony of Shadows asked, tentacles lashing out and lifting Applejack of the ground, choking her slowly. "Please die."

****************

"Please die." And with that Spitfire, leader of Dash's lifelong heroes the Wonderbolts, snapped forward with hidden wing blades and cut Rainbow's throat open. Dash collapsed, struggling to breath through her ruined throat.

****************

"Please die." Sweetie looked down at the dagger in her heart, placed there by her true love who had just betrayed her. She wasn't sure which hurt worse as she collapsed. Still, at least the pain would be brief.

****************

Twilight snorted. "Oh please, what could possibly go wrong now?"

Masquerade was about to respond when suddenly the others started spazzing out, looking around in confusion as Sunset shouted "What the bucking Tartarus is this?"

"What is what?" asked a thoroughly confused Masquerade, looking around in desperation to figure out what everypony else was looking at, but she saw nothing. Then all of her friends collapsed.

Sunset and Sweetie were clutching their chests, Sunset with a look of absolute terror pasted on her face while Sweetie cried her eyes out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both seemed to be struggling to breath; AJ was pawing at her throat as if trying to escape something's grasp while RD seemed to be trying to hold a damaged throat together so that it could be used for breathing. Twilight was writhing in silent agony.

"What the buck? Girls, what's wrong?" Masquerade asks, looking them over trying to find the problem. "Seriously, I can't see anything. Hey, can you hear me? Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, anypony?" She tried shaking Sunset, but got no response. She then noticed that everypony's eyes were glowing a sickly green color. She'd read enough stories and worked with enough special effects over the years to know what that meant. "Oh buck, dark magic, oh buck, buck, buck." Masquerade paced back and forth, trying desperately to solve this problem. Her friends were trapped in some sort of illusion. While that normally wouldn't be too bad, dark magic tended to make things much more lethal when it came to illusions. "Okay think, if this where a story, how would you break the spell? Splash with cold water, there isn't any around. Um, defeat the spellcaster...that's probably Nightmare Moon and there is no way I can beat her on my own. A kiss of true love...and none of them are my type. I don't have a magical artifact, that's what we're questing for, and what are the odds of a mysterious stranger coming in and providing a solution and cryptic advice? Nopony ever goes this deep!"

"Nopony this is true. But there are others that can help you." A mysterious cloaked figure then walked into the clearing, eyes glowing yellow beneath the hood. A hoof reached into a concealed pouch, pulling out some green, sparkling powder that was quickly blown over the suffering ponies. Black lightning battled green mist for a couple of seconds, before both dissipated into nothingness.

Masquerade was grinning like mad as her friends slowly got up. They were disoriented, confused, and shaken, but they were alive. "Yes! Alicorn ex Machina for the win! Thank you for conveniently showing up at the last minute with the solution stranger!"

"A stranger I need not be. After all, you surely know of me." the mysterious figure lowered her hood, revealing what Masquerade thought was an odd looking pony, the coat and mane colored in alternating black and white stripes. In addition she had a slightly broader muzzle, and smaller eyes and ears. Also, now that she looked closer, Masquerade realized that the stranger's hooves were slightly oversized, or at least looked that way on the skinnier legs.

Her examination was cut short as her friends reacted to the strangers identity, though in markedly different ways.

"A zebra?" Twilight and Sunset's jaws dropped in almost perfect sync, amazed at the sight if one of the savana dwellers so far north, especially one that wasn't a visiting diplomat or scholar. Zebras did not like the cold, and their embassy high in the mountains of Canterlot stood empty most of the time as a result. Any zebras that did visit tended to do so briefly, and came from the limited pool of those willing to travel so far and put up with so much cold. As such Sunset and Twilight were honestly amazed to meet any zebra they didn't already know.

However while the Canterlot ponies were reacting with a mixture of wonder and amazement, the other towns ponies had grouped up defensively and assumed a frightened posture. "Zecora!"

"Wait, that's Zecora?" Masquerade asked, pointing at the zebra in question. "That's supposed to be the mysterious evil enchantress? That one that...lives deep...in...the...Everfree." Taking a look around, she proceeds to facehoof. "Okay yeah, we're in the right location, but last I checked evil spellcasters don't rescue ponies in danger. There's no way this is Zecora."

"I am afraid quite mistaken you be. I am Zecora, Sage of the Everfree." Zecora proceeded to bow to the group in formal greeting. "I am surprised you didn't recognize me before; from my failed trips to find an open store. Whenever I go to town there is a most strange coincidence, for I always arrive when the town seems to be without residents."

"Oh no. Guys, tell me the small provincial town did not lock down everything the minute the foreigner walked into town." Sunset looked around, but none of the locals reactions were doing anything to dispel her concerns. "Really? That's like one of the worst small town stereotypes and you all did it to a zebra sage. I mean really?"

Twilight decided to step in before things got any more awkward. "Um, anyway, I wish to express my thanks, Zecora. I pledge myself to repay your good deeds, and may, um, may you find gentle waters in your journeys," she said bowing slightly, finally remembering how to complete the formalities for receiving a great favor in zebra culture. And if Zecora actually called on that favor, well it would be worth it in exchange for the whole saving all their lives deal.

"Your thanks I will gladly receive, for from dangers giving you reprieve. Dark magic that inflicts pain, hopefully such things shall wain. But the night is long and the forest deep. Before you continue, you ponies should sleep." Zecora held up a hoof to ward off any protest. "If you don't wish to fully rest, at least taking an hour break would be best. It would be a terrible plight, if you were to get too tired this eternal night."

"Wait a minute, how do you know the night's eternal?" Dash flew in Zecora's face, pressing her hoof to Zecora's nose while glaring at her.

"Because the sun is three hours late, and the moon as bare as a licked clean plate. It does not a genius to see, the fulfillment of the prophecy." Zecora proceeded to put her hood up and walk away into the deeper woods. "Heed my warnings and soon seek rest, or the students shall fail this vital test."

"Wait, test? Prophecy...Zecora wait!" Sunset tried to run after her, but couldn't find her in the dark of the woods. "Zecora? Zecora? Darn it!" She stomped back to the clearing, fuming. "Well that's just great. Good job Rainbow Dash, you attacked a local guide and on top of that, I think she's that prophet, Z."

Dash looked rather shocked. "What? No way! Z is totally cool and helps ponies out. Zecora is evil! They cannot be the same pony."

"And what makes Zecora so evil," Twilight asked, actually curious if there was anything to the rumors.

"Well fer one thing, she lives here." Applejack pointed out. "Fer another, she's always creeping around town, coming in once a month and sneaking around, pawing the ground something fierce like she's ready to charge. And I ain't never seen a pony that looked as weird as her."

"She's not a pony, she's a zebra!" Twilight, Sunset, and Masquerade all said at the same time. The two unicorns looked at the pegasus with mild surprise.

"What? I have read stories with them you know. So anyway, zebra, not a pony. So looks are off the table." Masquerade proceeded to pace a bit. "Okay, so she lives in the Everfree. That is weird, but that doesn't mean it's evil. And she said she comes to town so often cause she's looking to shop oh my gosh we are the ignorant towns ponies that run the gentle creature out of town because of their looks." she realized, facehoofing at the realization.

"Wait, she lives in the Everfree? It snows here doesn't it?" Twilight asked, surprised at the news that a zebra lived this far north.

"Heck yeah it does, and not on a schedule either. With the wild weather, it sometimes snows in the fall or spring in the Everfree." Rainbow Dash answered, glad for any distraction from the ingestion that somepony as awesome as her could be wrong about Zecora.

Sunset blinked in confusion. "Snow in the spring and never mind, that's not the issue. How is she okay? Zebras generally can't handle cold at all, let alone snow. How does she live out here?"

Sweetie looked quite upset at this. "Oh my. If she can't handle the cold well, what if she got really sick and came to town for help? Oh I'm so ashamed to have been one of the ponies to close up my shop whenever she came to town, and all because of a silly rumor. She saved our lives and here I am having treated her like some sort of monster, just because of the way she looks."

"Yeah well, she's still plenty freaky. Like what's up with all that rhyming?" AJ retaliated, a bit too stubborn to admit fault.

"I think she's a shaman, so it's probably a geas." Twilight proceeded to clear her throat. "A geas in shamanism is-" however her speech was cut off as Sunset stuck her hoof in Twilight's mouth.

"No time for a lecture. I know Zecora said we should rest, but I think we're taking too long as it is." She then proceeded down the trail in the direction Applejack had pointed out earlier towards the abandoned castle, the others following quickly behind. "Nothing's going to stop us now!"

****************

"You guys just have to keep jinxing us don't you."

"Yes Mask, apparently I do." Sunset replied, staring at the torrential raging river before them. "Okay, this doesn't look normal, so I assume something is making the water go crazy. Hey, any chance you pegasi can just fly us across?"

"No can do," Rainbow explained "if our grip slips for even a second you guys are going to get washed away. And that's not even counting being hit by the waves, the trees are too thick and low for us to do any high flying. This river is a serious no fly zone. We'll need to find another way across."

"Wait a minute girls. Do you hear...crying?" Sweetie asked, struggling to listen over the crashing waves. "I think somepony is in trouble!" She ran off after the faint sound.

"Wait! There really shouldn't be anypony this deep!" Twilight called, but the cream colored mare had already run off. "Augh! Come on girls maybe if we're lucky there will be a bridge that way at least."

Following Sweetie Drops, and now hearing the crying themselves, they eventually came to a bend in the river revealing a giant purple river serpent, moaning and wailing and thrashing about. Clearly, he was the source of the turbulent river.

"Hey! Could you calm down for just a minute? We need to cross the river!" Sunset shouted, trying for the quick solution.

"Guests?" the serpent asked in a surprisingly cultured tone, and looking closer his mane was quite styled, but his claws were covering his face. "No! I can't be seen right now! I'm hideous, go away!" With that he turned away sharply, causing a massive wave to wash over the ponies.

Rainbow Dash fluttered her wings a little. Luckily the feather coatings of pegasi prevented them from getting wet, a natural advantage for a cloud dwelling species. She also knew that earth ponies were hardy enough that a little cold water wouldn't bother them. The real problem was the unicorns. With the longest hair, thinnest bodies, and weakest constitutions among the tribes being shocked with freezing cold water with nowhere nearby to dry off was a serious health risk. "Hey watch it pall! You could really hurt somepony with that! How about I teach you a lesson on messing with ponies?" She would have flow into his face then, hit it a few times, if somepony hadn't pinned her tail to the ground. Turning around, her protest died unsaid as she noticed it wasn't AJ keeping her pinned this time. It was Sweetie.

"Now, Dash, honey, be nice. He's clearly rather upset, and yelling isn't going to make anything better." Walking over to the serpent, she called up to him "Hello! Yes, my name is Sweetie Drops! Are you alright? You sound like you've been hurt. Do you need any help?"

"No, no I'm not hurt. Thank you for asking." the serpent responded. "I'm sorry if I worried you like that, it's just that I'm having the worst night ever. I was getting ready for a date, when all of a sudden this dark cloud of energy flies by and...and...and..." at this point the creature removes its claws, revealing its face "and it cut off half of my glorious mustache!" The creatures wailing intensified.

"Oh my bloody bucking Tartarus burning in the sun, that's what you are crying about?! Facial hair?!" Sunset exploded, before sneezing.

"Now Sunset, yelling isn't going to help anything." Sweetie pointed out. Turning to the serpent, she she smiled. "Now then, while I'm sure it is a great mustache, I'm afraid I really don't get what the problem is. Could you maybe tell me about it Mr. River Serpent?"

"Well, alright. First of all, my name is Steven Magnet. And the problem is, my glorious hair is ruined, and I have a date coming up today! She's always loved my mustache, and now half of it is gone! I don't want to keep just half of it, that would look rediculous, but I can't just shave off the other half either! It's my best feature, and without it I don't look at all as fabulous!"

"Well, that's a little silly." Sweetie noted. Seeing Steven's glare, she elaborated. "What I mean is, I'm sure you look fine without a mustache. And you have a lot of great qualities about you. Why, just talking to you, I can tell you're gentle, regal, and a very sensitive man. And if you want my opinion, any woman shallow enough that the look of your mustache determines whether or not you date her is too shallow for you. Real relationships are built on deeper bonds than that. So here's what I suggest you do. Shave off that other half, go on your date, and tell her what happened. If she doesn't care, you've got a wonderful thing going on and you don't have to worry. If she does care, then she's shallow and nowhere near good enough for you. A gentleman like yourself can do o much better. What do you say?"

"What do I say?" Steven roared, raising a razor sharp claw high, before swinging it down. The other half of his mustache fell to the ground. "I say Steven Magnet is done feeling sorry for himself! Thank you dear Sweetie, that was just the pep talk I needed. Oh dear, I got you and your friends wet when I was all in a tizzy earlier didn't I?" taking a deep breath, Steven proceeded to blow on the assembled ponies, drying them out almost instantly, though the unicorns long hair frizzed immensely,resulting them looking like puffballs, but a couple of shakes and one TK on their parts fixed that problem quickly. "Oh I am so sorry for causing you do much trouble earlier, that was rather juvinial of me wasn't it? You said earlier you wanted to cross the river, right?"

Having said that, he proceeded to extend his serpentine form above the water, making a bridge for the ponies to cross. Once on the other side, Applejack turned to Sweetie. "Well Miss Drops, ah have ta say you sure did know how ta handle things back there. Ah honestly was expecting we'd have ta do it Dash's way."

Sweetie just smiled. "Well, after the whole thing with Zecora, I got to thinking. It's wrong to judge someone as bad just because they're not a pony. Everyone deserves fair treatment. With enough kindness, patience, and understanding, you can overcome almost any obstacle."

"Yeah." Sunset muttered, too low for any of the ponies to hear her. "Like the most metrosexual obstacle in the history of ever."

"I heard that!" Steven retorted, causing Sunset to look up in flushed shame. "I think you could learn a thing or two from your friend warlock."

Silence hit like a brick wall, as every pony stood still like they had been turned to stone. After a few seconds, Twilight turned to regard the serpent. "I'm sorry, what was that you said?"

"I was just telling your warlock friend to try and be nicer." Steven explained. "...you did know she's a warlock right? You guys can sense dark magic right?"

"That, that's rediculous! I've know Sunset for years! There's no way she's a warlock! Right Sunset?" turning around, Twilight realized that the pony in question was gone, fled while the others were frozen in confusion and shock. "Sunset?"

Nopony said anything. There was nothing to say.

Author's Note

Important AU Redesign Blog Post!

To answer everyone's burning questions based on what this chapter raised, I'll answer them in the order of sheer important magnitude.

1) Masquerade's "type" is male. Yeah, she's heterosexual, the kiss comment was a bit of a tension cutting joke for her. This should answer the most basic shipping question, "does she swing that way?", because as we all know shipping is the one true goal of the fandom.

2) Alicorn ex Machina is their version of Deus ex Machina, due to a lack of Deus to ex Machina.

3) Masquerade is able to predict things to a certain degree via sheer genera savvy from being an actor and avid story reader. She does not have precognition.

4) Pomegranates are delicious. This has nothing to do with the story, I just wanted to share that.

5) Yes, repeat obsticals will not necessarily be solved the same way as in the origional.

6) Nightmare Moon does not like pomegranates. Clearly, this is because she is evil.

7) A shaman is a type of spellcaster in Equestria. It is a title to a style/type of magical practitioner. Like a mage is a skilled caster of unicorn magic (so not all unicorns are mages), and a warlock is a practitioner of dark magic, a shaman is a practitioner of spirit magic. Spirit magic is magical powers anybody can use, but come with a price. A shaman gets their powers by meeting with and bargaining with various spirits. Spirits grant power in the forms of knowledge, spells, gifts, or other abilities. In return the shaman provides services, offerings, favors, and occasionally geas. A geas is a special rule that a shaman agrees to abide by in exchange for something they consider worthwhile. A geas is not magically binding and a shaman can break it, but it comes with a cost. It's usually minor, such as losing their powers for a while, though less friendly spirits have been known to make the penalty more severe, such as breaking a limb each time the geas they set is broken. "Broken promise, broken bone." Spirits become more powerful while shamans retain a geas with them. The more geas they have, the more powerful a spirit is. As such geas remain a valuable bargaining tool for shamans, but one they aren't quick to use except for the most impressive of gifts. For example, Zecora is currently under one geas: in exchange for always speaking in rhyme she has masterful knowledge of alchemy, potion making, and herbology. If she breaks this geas by not speaking in rhyme she loses access to the knowledge until twenty four hours after she starts speaking exclusively in rhyme again. As she gains mastery of three subjects that each require a lifetime of study, she considers it a fair trade to talk in rhyme all the time.

8) Murphy doesn't like pomegranates.

9) A sage is a title denoting a master scholar or one with great knowledge and wisdom. With her geas given knowledge she easily qualifies.

10) Yes, the heroes are being followed.

Let's Go Idiots!

Sunset Shimmer's life was over. Oh sure, she was still breathing, but that was just a technicality. 'You know, if everyone assumes I'm evil is there really not a reason to use dark magic now? It would certainly help me survive.''Except that kinda of defeats the point of having given it up all these years, and make everyone's hatred of me justified.''So I'm just going to lay here and wait for something to eat me? That's stupid!''It's called dying with dignity, and it'll probably hurt way less than an angry mob.' Sunset reasoned with herself as she lay belly up, limbs splayed out, eyes closed, waiting for the end. She figured the others would never believe her, warlocks were notorious liars and Twilight would be able to detect the taint in her system if she put any effort into it, and there was no way Shimmer was getting out of this death forest on her own. She was physically and magically exhausted to the point where she probably couldn't have made it to the local grocery store. Sunset Shimmer was going to die, either at the hooves of an angry mob or eaten by a monster. And so she found a clearing, lay down, and waited for the inevitable.

This way at least when the others rescued Celestia they would be spared the guilt of having killed her in fear. She'd probably get a nice eulogy, and dying on a quest to save the princess would probably get her a snazzy memorial and her cutie mark on the five bit coin...or at least the bit coin...maybe the jangle if she was lucky. Celestia probably liked her enough to at least do that if she died on a quest to save her. The memorial was a given at least; Celestia was a big softie like that. So Sunset stayed there waiting. And waiting. And waiting. "Boy, for a forest full of monsters you'd think one would have found me by now."

"That's what you're doing out here?! Are you insane?!"

Snapping her eyes open, Sunset looked straight into the gems of Masquerade, the pegasus hovering directly over her. "Please don't kill me." Sunset really didn't want that weighing on the actor's conscience.

Masquerade looked thoroughly confused however. "So wait, you want to get eaten by a monster, but you don't want to get killed?" Flopping down on the grass next to the confused unicorn, the twinkle eyed pony rolled her eyes. "And here I thought I was kidding about the crazy. So you have, like, a really specific death wish or something?"

"What? No! I just, it's just..." Rolling away from the pegasus Sunset sighed. "Look, you wouldn't understand."

Mask smiled. "Try me. Go on, we're the only two ponies in the entire glen. If you've got a good reason, I promise not to laugh." Her smile turned into a smirk. "You do have a good reason right? Cause it would kind of suck if you got yourself killed for a stupid reason."

Sunset sighed. "You did hear what Steven said right?"

"That nonsense about you being a warlock? Phhh, molt was just making fun of you back for that metrosexual comment." Masquerade said, motioning with her hoof as if the brush it off. "I mean, it's not like you really are one right?" The silence that resulted was quite possibly the loudest in history. "Huh, I figured if any student of Celestia was going to be secretly evil, it'd be Twilight. Star and night theme. Dark colors. Dragon familiar. The brightly colored sun one is a great twist!"

"Oh bloody Tartarus my being a warlock is not some plot twist in some stupid play!" Sunset shouted, getting up to face her tormentor with a ferocious glare. "It was the worst mistake I ever made in my life and nothing I ever do is going to make up for it."

"Ah." Mask said, nodding sagely. "So you were one in the past. Let me guess." Suddenly she stood up, making dramatic poses to go along with her epic narration. "The evil warlock, Sunset Shimmer, having had her evil army of the undead defeated, begged Celestia to spare her! Celestia, being the ever kind Alicorn, does more and takes Sunset Shimmer under her wings in order to teach her how to use her incredible powers for heroic ends!"

Sunset just raised an eyebrow. "An undead army? Really? Something like that would get noticed. And if I was that far gone, there's no way Celestia would have taken me on as an apprentice." It was a nice dramatic idea, but her life wasn't that crazy.

Masquerade was apparently undeterred however, as she instantly launched into a new intro. "Sunset Shimmer, unknowingly apprenticed to an evil unicorn warlock, learns of his plans to take over the world. Taking this information to Celestia, the forces of good were able to defeat the evil warlock! As a reward for her heroics, Sunset Shimmer became one of Celestia's prized pupils!"

"Oh I wish it was something that good. My whole thing is stupid." Really, something that heroic would have been something for Sunset to have been proud of.

"Sunset Shimmer, very hungry one day, accidentally uses dark magic to make an evil sandwich, which she then ate." Seeing the unicorns incredulous stare at that one, she just shrugged. "Well it was the best stupid idea I could come up with. Plus, I'm hungry, so food is kinda what's on my mind."

Sunset couldn't help it. Letting out a few chuckles at first, before breaking out into laughter, and then finally laughing out of control while rolling around on her back. Finally after a few seconds she calmed down. "That...that...that's just I don't even...oh I feel a lot better now."

"I try." Mask said as she sat back down. "Now, do you feel like talking about it?"

Sunset, sighing, rolled back up to sit next to her companion. "I don't know, you'd probably think it's stupid. And it's a bit of a long story."

"Hey, I love stories. I'm an actor." Mask said. "Plus, you seem like a very smart pony to me. I highly doubt you're dumb, so I doubt I'd find what you did stupid." Seeing Sunset hesitating still, she nudged the unicorn. "Aww come on, we've got all night. No, seriously, we have ALL night. I'd like to get back to the quest to fix that sometime soon."

"Alright fine." Sunset sighed, wondering where exactly to begin. "So, how much do you know about me?"

"Your name is Sunset Shimmer. You curse a lot, your mane is red and yellow, you have the same colors for your sun cutie mark, you curse a lot, you are one of Celestia's students, you curse a lot, and you didn't sell your soul for a sandwich. I think that last bit is the most important."

Chuckling a bit at the attempt at levity, she began again. "Alright, so I might as well start from the beginning, or at least as much as I know. I was left in a basket on the front porch of an orphanage in Canterlot. And no, there was no note, locket, mysterious birthmark, or odd object with me." she added in an annoyed undertone, attempting to cut off any comparisons the actor might make between her life's story and any cliche ones that might cross her mind. Masquerade however had a very serious look on her face and just motioned for her to continue. "Right. Well, despite some of the horror stories you might hear, the orphanage wasn't bad. The staff was overworked and understaffed, but with Celestia in charge of the system it was definitely well funded. Food, doctor's visits, toys on Hearths Warming. The only things really missing were birthdays, cause that was too much work for only one foal, and of course parents. See, here is the thing they don't tell people. There are a couple golden ages where you're most likely to get adopted. Newborn, because you're just adorable and everypony loves babies. And ages four to six because you're old enough to understand rules, are basically pre-trained, and are still cute while skipping over the wailing baby and fussy toddler stages. As you get older, your chances drop. Once you hit your teens, you're practically guaranteed to be a lifer. Staying in the system until you're an adult and they have to kick you out."

"From the sound of how this is going, I'm guessing you were a lifer." Masquerade noted. Unlike most, she didn't sound sorry to hear it, or condescending, or cruel. She was just stating a fact.

"Sort of. Okay here's the thing, older orphans tend to be bitter. The ones that used to have parents they knew are extra nasty. The ones that lose their parents in their teens are the worst. The next part of my story starts when I got transferred to a shelter for the older kids. Fewer staff, more problem kids, not a nice picture. Nopony wants to be surrounded by dozens of moody teens. So naturally they can't do anything to curb the bullying when, say, a thirteen year old blank flank is transferred in."

"You were a blank flank at thirteen?" Masquerade couldn't help but blurt out in shock. And why not? The average pony got it around ages eight to ten, with some late bloomers not getting it till they were twelve or so.

"And at fourteen. And fifteen. Yeah, nopony there had ever heard of somepony going that long before either. They actually called in a doctor to make sure I didn't have some weird illness or disorder or something." Sunset snorted, looking grimly amused. "You know, at the time I actually kind of hoped I was sick, so I'd have an excuse and then all the other kids would feel bad for laughing at me. But the doctor couldn't find anything wrong with me, except that the needle in his mana gauge must have been broken, because it was detecting no changes in my mana levels even after he had me cast a battery of simple spells." She smirked. "Remember that, it'll be important later."

Masquerade nodded. "Right, Checkbox's Sword." Seeing Sunset's confused look, she explained. "When you're telling a story, you don't include the unimportant details. If there is a sword on the mantle in act one, somepony better be stabbed in act three. Basically, if it's not important to the story, you don't bring it up. Like you didn't mention the doctor's name, but you mentioned the mana gauge, because one was important to the story and the other wasn't. So, why wasn't the needle moving?"

"Right well, that leads into my cutie mark, and my becoming Celestia's first student in over a century." Sunset smirked a little as Masquerade leaned in closer to listen more intently. "I didn't think the needle was broken, because I wasn't feeling tired at all. So I started practicing magic more and more on my own, and found that I was good at it. Like, really good. And I wasn't getting all that tired, I had a huge mana reserve. So I started showing off to the other kids, and they liked it. Not enough to be my friend, but enough to stop picking on the "bank flank supreme". Then I decided after a couple days of showing off to hit the local parks, pass the hat and earn a few bits of my own. Kids loved what I could do, and my reserves meant I could put on shows for a long time before I got too tired, so I was actually making a decent chunk of change. First thing I bought was some more basic spell books. I still didn't know what my talent was, so I wanted to see what spells I could and couldn't do. Over the next couple of weeks I found that I could learn any spell just as well as the others. I was old enough to realize that this meant I was a magic talent. I'm not sure if you know how big a deal that is."

"It means you're a unicorn that's good at casting spells." Mask said, clearly not getting what Sunset was hinting at.

"That's...mostly right. It's a lot more impressive than that. It's...it's like if a pegasus had a special talent for weather...just weather. Every single type of weather comes easy to them and they are a master of it. Storms, clouds, winds, lightning, snow, sunny days, fog, you name it they can do it masterfully at the level of the more specialized pegasi in the Weather Patrol." Seeing Masquerade's jaw drop, Sunset nodded and continued "Most unicorns don't just know only a few spells, that's sometimes all they can learn. The less related to your special talent a spell is, the more difficult it is to learn, until you hit the point where it is impossible. It's why, despite the stereotype, most unicorns know actually jack all about magic because, since they can't really use the stuff that doesn't come naturally to them, they never bother learning how it actually bloody works. Magic talents like me and Twilight, we can learn any spell if we study long enough. Magic talents are rare, I think we're the only two in all of Canterlot. It's a big deal. So yeah, I figured that out as a kid and was ecstatic, but I didn't have my Cutie Mark yet. So I realized that there was more to my talent than that, some extra facet I hadn't figured out yet. I looked up some previous magic talents in history, just to see what their little quirks were. "Magic used to help others", "Magic to find glory", "Magic for the love of magic itself", "Magical power to rule", all sorts of stuff. None of them really fit me though. Then one day while I was resting after a big, extra elaborate performance, I realized something. I was recharging my mana while awake...which is something that shouldn't happen. A little bit of experimenting later, and I figured it out." Assuming a standing position, she showed off her mark, a two toned sun. "I regain my magical energy while under the sun. "Magic fueled by the sun." So I got my mark. Less than a week later a disguised Celestia saw my act, recognized what I was, and made me her student. Just in time for my sixteenth birthday when I became an adult. The palace has the best birthday cake ever."

Masquerade actually stamped her front hooves a bit in applause. "That was incredible! Best cutie mark story ever! But you skipped the part where you did...dark...oh my Celestia. As her student!?"

Sitting back down, Sunset heaved a sigh. "Yeah. You have to understand, it wasn't right away or anything. The first couple of years were good. Then...I started to get impatient. I wanted more power right then and there, and I felt Celestia was holding me back. See, when I got found by Celestia it was because I was special at magic. It was also why the kids in the orphanage stopped ganging up on me. I had tied up a lot of my self image in my magical prowess. And once I could actually see how far down the mountain I was, I desperately wanted to get to the top to be worth something." Seeing the actor giving her a probing look, Sunset blushed. "I...might have had a couple sessions with a therapist about it a few years ago. Anyway, so yeah, I was obsessed with power and felt that Celestia was holding me back. So I started cracking open forbidden tomes and experimenting with dark magic. The rush of power was, well, I can't even describe it. Even after all these years I still miss the rush on occasion. Anyway a few month later one of the guards catches me and brings me before Celestia. I was expecting her to yell at me, lecture me, tell me I was no longer her student, or even banish me from Equestria. Instead, she did something far far worse. She broke down crying and apologized."

"Wait what!?" a voice cried out fom the brush.

Sunset turned, startled. "Rainbow Dash? How long have you been listening?"

"Rainbow Dash, who's Rainbow Dash? I am a magical talking bush. Because magic. Beep beep." The silence that greeted that spoke volumes. "...since the beginning. Mask figured you'd be more comfortable talking one on one, so she told us to stay hidden."

"Us? How many of you are there?"

"Um, all'a us." Applejack admitted as the group walked out from behind the rather large bush and into the clearing. Applejack had the decency to look ashamed at spying, while Sweetie and Rainbow looked more concerned about Sunset. Twilight was impossible to read, she looked lost in thought.

Shooting a glare at Masquerade, Sunset wished for just a moment that she was still evil so she could actually do something. "Only two ponies here huh?"

"No, I said it was only us two in the clearing. The other's were behind a bush, I just didn't mention that part." Masquerade said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Anyway, you might as well finish your story."

Sighing in defeat, Sunset sat down. "Might as well. Yeah, Celestia broke down into tears and apologized that she failed me so much that I turned to dark magic instead of her. She wanted to know what she had done that was so wrong that she hurt me that much. She, she was apologizing for hurting me. I was the one who betrayed her, and here she was saying it was all her fault because she didn't listen to me. I was expecting her to be self righteous but that, I was so unprepared for it that I broke instantly. I realized just how horrible what I was doing truly was, and to a pony that loved me so much she apologized when I betrayed her. I broke down crying and, well, we talked about a lot of things. So I wound up on probation for a bit, saw a therapist specializing in dark magic cases for a while, and well things went mostly back to normal. And that brings us up to now basically."

The group was silent, until finally Twilight spoke up. "When was this, and who knew?"

Sunset blinked. Out of all of them, she expected Celestia's ever faithful student to hate her. "Um, it actually happened a few months before you were brought in...not as my replacement if that's what you're thinking! Celestia made that very clear to me before she finalized things if that's what you're worried about. Um, not that many ponies know actually, Celestia said I had a right to privacy. Um, my therapist knew obviously, so did the guard, Tin Shield, that found me. Um, the royal physician Dr. Caduceus so he could check on me for any side effects, monitor my taint levels, and other such stuff. Oh and...Shining Armor for security reasons. Yeah, that's kind of the reason your brother never liked me."

"That's, I, how, gah!" Twilight shouted, stomping around the clearing. A unicorn stomping was always funny looking by other tribes standards. Their small, light hoves hardly disturbed any dirt as their long legs gracefully moved them around like they were dancing in small leaps, their tails sticking straight up in the air.

To another unicorn however, it was an impressive and slightly scary display of anger. "I'm sorry I betrayed Cel-Princess Celestia! Please don't hurt me." Sunset asked, dropping to her belly and covering her eyes with her tail tuft, a sign of total surrender for any unicorn.

"What no I-I'm not mad at you Sunset. Really, I promise." Twilight said, her voice calm and reassuring. Seeing her fellow "student of the sun" move her tail and glance at her, she cracked out her best smile. "You have nothing to worry about. My brother on the other hoof..."

"He was sworn to secrecy, he couldn't tell you. Don't get mad at him because of me, family shouldn't fight!"

"No, that's not why I'm mad." Twilight said, shaking her head. "I'm mad because he sort of broke his word." Seeing everypony's confused looks, she elaborated. "He was always telling me to stay away from you because you were a bad influence, a bad role model, dangerous to be around. I...misinterpreted a lot of what he meant, but he was crossing the line. Princess Celestia swore him to secrecy so that nopony would judge you for your past actions. He told me things to try and get me to dislike you because of what you did without breaking he word of his agreement. But in doing so, he trampled over the spirit of the order. That you get a second chance." Reaching out her own hoof, she offered Sunset a hoof up.

Taking it, Sunset stood unsteadily. "So...so none of you hate me for what I did?"

To her surprise, everypony else chimed in with a chorus of "No!" "Nuh uh!" "Course not sugarcube!" "Not at all!" "We cool!" and other assurances.

Masquerade walked over and draped a wing over Sunset's side. "Though I have to say, you were right, it was kind of a dumb reason." Seeing a few glares directed her way, she cracked a smile. "Ahh don't get too mad, that's just your crowning moment of stupidity, everypony has one."

"My what?" Sunset asked, baffled beyond all reason.

"Crowning moment of stupidity, that one thing you did that totally proves that, underneath everything, you're an idiot. Everypony has one because deep deep down I truly, honestly believe that everypony is an idiot. Take me for example!" Masquerade said as she flew up a bit, pointing at her gems. "When I got these I flipped out so much at everything once I woke up after surgery that I made a total idiot out of myself. I kept asking what everything was, and the nurses kept saying what the object was. I couldn't seem to annunciate that I wanted to know visual qualities. Like color, shininess, dark and light. The nurses thought I flipped my lid at first before my doctor finally came in and told them they were being idiots, I was born blind so I didn't know what things were visually. He then got me to sit down and go over some flash cards to get me up to speed on colors, light and dark, bright and dull, that sort of deal. I was so excited that it wasn't till later that I realized how badly I handled everything. Hence, I'm an idiot. If you need example B, I willingly walked into the Everfree at night." Seeing several of the others laugh at her antics, she smiled. "Okay, sharing time! Everypony's crowning moment of stupidity! Me and Sunset shared, it's only fair. We could all use a good laugh after all the drama."

The other ponies looked uncertain for a moment, before Sweetie Drops stepped forward. "Well one time I got my special somepony, a unicorn, a hoof file." Sunset and Twilight winced. They could see where this was going. "So yeah, didn't know your tribe doesn't file their hooves but their horn. And hoof files are a lot rougher than horn files so...yeah she had to wear an ice pack for a few days. It was the worst birthday present ever."

"Wait, a few days? How did she hurt her horn that badly?" Sunset asked. She was actually more surprised at the intertribal relationship than the same gender one. After all, the second was a lot more common, and had a lot less unspoken social pressures.

"Well see, the thing is...she was also an idiot. She didn't want to admit I got her a bad present, so she kept using it to file her whole horn. We both had a good laugh at how dumb it was afterward." Sweetie explained, chuckling as the other girls joined in.

"Last year's apple buckin' season." AJ supplied, making the locals have a huge laughing fit. Looking at the two unicorns from Canterlot, Applejack blushed deeply and said "It'd take a while to tell it all, but trust me, I was the biggest darn fool in all of Equestria fer a week."

"Nah, biggest idiot in Equestria has got to be me." Dash exclaimed. "And before you make the joke Mask, haha I am so competitive I have to win a stupidity contest. Now it uh, it involves my cutie mark. I was kind of a jerk getting it. I mean I was still awesome, but I kind of also messed up at the same time, so whenever I look at it I'm reminded of how cool and awesome I am, but it's also kind of a slice of humble pie you know?" Seeing the others look down a little, Rainbow put on a goofy face. "MMMM, pie." That got a few laughs. "Yo, egghead junior, you're up!"

"Um, what? Oh uh..." Twilight rambled, having apparently been lost in thought. "Probably the Book Fort Penington incident."

"Book fort?" Rainbow asked, clearly confused about the idea.

"Yes, it's like a block or pillow fort but made out of books. And before you ask I did name all of them. Anyway I had just finished Penington when I realized that one of the books was one I had never read before, so I decided to take it out and read it. From the bottom of a corner. While I was inside the book fort. You can guess what happened." Seeing everone's smiles, she grinned herself as she continued "So yeah it fell on me, I was fine but you should have heard me shout! "Augh! Knowledge, why have you betrayed me?"" Chuckling alongside her audiance, Twilight delivered the finishing blow. "The best part, the best part was...the book was on architecture."

Everypony wound up laughing for a good while after that. Sunset found herself flopped on her back, gasping for breath. "That, that...hoo. Thanks guys, I really needed that."

"Yes, that was a great idea you had Masquerade. How did you know?" Sweetie asked.

The pegasus smiled. "I'm an actor. I know how to keep my audience happy, and that the best way to balance out drama is with a few laughs. But you all do know what this means right?" Seeing everyone's confused looks, she cracked a grin. "It means Nightmare Moon is going to get her flank kicked by a bunch of idiots! Who's with me!?" Everypony got pumped up at that, shouting confirmations and joy.

Sunset felt better than she had in a long, long time. "Buck yeah she will! We've got a world to save! Let's go idiots!"

****************

They had tried to soldier on, really, but it had been a very long and exhausting night, both physically and emotionally. On top of that, none of them had slept yesterday in traditional anticipation of the dawn ( or due to downstairs party in the unicorns' case). As such not half an hour later they had all flopped down, asleep in a cuddle pile, instinctively huddling close together for warmth and safety.

As such none of them noticed the dark blue mist that slowly filled the forest trail where they slept...

Author's Note

The reason Sunset's inner voices were darker than usual was because, well, her thoughts were very dark at the time.

The rest of the girls are much younger than Sunset, as they are teenagers. Twilight is sixteen and the oldest, while Rainbow Dash at thirteen is youngest. Masquerade and Sweetie Drops are both fifteen, and Applejack is fourteen. At twenty three, Sunset is clearly the oldest. Everypony but Twilight and Sunset are technically minors, but that doesn't matter as much when it comes to pony culture as it would in our world. Rainbow for example has demonstrated great ability and self reliance, and as such it is not unusual that she holds a job and lives on her own. In fact as weather manager she has a very well paying job. This is just an accepted part of Equestrian culture when it comes to cutie marks enabling ponies to start working at a younger age. Child labor laws prevent the hiring of children before age ten however, even if hey do have a cutie mark. Parents are still responsible for their children until they turn sixteen and are expected to make routine checkups on their children, though this can be as rare as "once a year" if the parents are so inclined. More (over)protective parents have been known to check on a weekly basis.

There are sixteen jangles to the bit. A bit is enough to buy you a pound of what we'd call "penny candies".

Moving on to a fuller explanation of how Sunset's special talent and taint affect her mana capacity:

Sunset's special talent of pulling energy from the sun is literal. The more direct sunlight she has, the faster she recharges. Clouds, being indoors, or sitting in shade reduce her recharging abilities, sometimes dramatically. Being indoors and away from windows, night time, and being underground turn it off completely. Her recharge is not 'unlimited casting'...sort of. She can run out of energy, especially for larger spells in her current condition. But given enough sunlight she can recover and cast again, though this can take a couple of minutes. Recharging takes time. During they day and outside in direct sunlight however, Sunset could probably fire off minor spells for hours on end and not feel any strain. She could also teleport more than twice without getting exhausted, provided she waited about three minutes after each teleport to recover the energy expended. In short, it does not give her extra mana capacity, but instead let's her recover mana expended at a much higher rate.

Her ability to rapidly recover mana has helped to quite effectively hide her tainted condition. Taint is a byproduct of the use of dark magic. It is essentially a metaphysical infection of sorts. The more taint a practitioner has, the more energy efficient dark magic is for them. However, the parts of their magical reserves that have been tainted can be used for nothing but dark magic. As more taint is acquired, dark magic becomes more efficient while simultaneously making it the only option available for larger portions of the users mana reserves. Both factors strongly encourage the use of more dark magic, which in turn creates more taint, which in turn give stronger incentives for more dark magic use. As such taint tends to have an accelerated growth curve. However like any infection, taint can be cured and is fought by the host's body. Not using dark magic at all for extended periods of time results in a steady decline in taint. Sadly unlike when the physical body fight off a disease, which is on an accelerated curve, the removal of taint is at a completely neutral rate. Not using dark magic for a period of ten years is enough to clean out the systems of most unicorns. There is no known method of cleaning out taint beyond waiting.

When Sunset stopped using dark magic, she had accumulated about 90% taint. In the five years since she has stopped, she has dropped to roughly 80% taint. Sunset Shimmer has, roughly, access to as much clean mana as the average unicorn. Her ability to rapidly regain this mana helps hide her condition as, to an outside observer, she seems to have naturally large and untainted mana reserves. This is also why it took Celestia so long to notice that her student had been practicing the dark arts, as nothing seemed to be wrong with her mana reserves.

For those interested Twilight has twice as large a mana reserve as Sunset, and none of it is tainted.

Stupid Dreams.

Sunset Shimmer got up and stretched, blinking in the morning sunshine. Smiling at the birds singing in the tree outside her window, she went downstairs. "Moning Mom, morning Dad."

Her mother, Orange Cream, looked over from the oven where she was preparing breakfast. She was a very good cook, as her cream cake cutie mark clearly showed. "Oh good morning dear! Any big plans for today?"

"Nah, Celestia doesn't have any major plans for me today." Sunset noted, taking a seat and waiting for some of her mom's very berry waffles. Every Thursday was waffle day, best day of the week.

"So does that mean you're free this evening?" Scarlet Shimmer asked, looking over his newspaper. "That'll be nice, you usually spend a lot of time working as the Princess's student."

"Yeah well, she does dictate a lot of responsibility for smaller things to me, but that's because she trusts me. Plus, who else is she going to trust it to? It's not like she has another student laying around." Sunset pointed out, breaking into a smile as she got her customary stack of three waffles...don't judge her they're that good. Celestia herself had asked for the recipe.

"Well its just, you've been very busy lately. If you're free this afternoon I figured maybe we could do something together as a family. See if we can get tickets for a show or something." her dad elaborated, taking a moment to turn to the entertainment section. "Unless you already made plans with your friends, I know how popular you are."

Swallowing a mouthful of waffle, Sunset shook her head. "Nah, most of my friends aren't free on weekdays. I'd love to go to a show with you guys." Finishing up her breakfast over small talk, she said her goodbyes and teleported to the palace to start another great day.

Her name is Sunset Shimmer, and her life is perfect.

****************

Twilight Sparkle, Grand High Mage, Graduate of Celestia, Mighty Mistress of Marvelous Magics (what can she say, she loved alliteration for her titles) was busy reading a tome of long lost knowledge. Well, lost until she had been able to discover the Long Lost Library of the Crystal Empire. That had been fun, she'd even run into Daring Doo for that adventure. ( They exchanged autographs, apparently the archeologist was a mutually appreciative fan.)

At present the Princess had no need for Twilight's advice or services, and none of the tomes seemed critically important (though a lot of them were culturally significant) she pondered maybe checking up on her good friends, the ones who had helped her the first time she saved the world. She ran through the list in her head.

Sunset Shimmer, her fellow graduate, would be very busy. It was a school holiday, meaning she'd be working with a lot of less fortunate children with her outreach community center. Twilight still felt like it was a bit of a waste of talent, but she couldn't fault Shimmer's heart; wanting to help less fortunate children lead a better life was an admirable ambition. Even though Twilight felt that it was a little personal on Shimmer's part when it came to her motivations, one could not deny the meaningful, positive impact she was having on those kids lives. Plus her fellow unicorn had really had her fill of adventure after the third time they saved the world, and deserved a chance to relax.

Rainbow Dash would be busy as District Coordinator for the Weather Bureau. After the whole Nightmare Moon incident, her career really took off. Twilight sometimes wondered if her fame had fast tracked things for the pegasus, but there was no denying Rainbow could do her job. Still, it was a very busy time with some upcoming complex weather systems, so Rainbow was definitely unavailable.

Masquerade was headlining a new show on Bridalway. She would probably be free after a show, and Twilight could even attend. Still, that should probably be a whole weekend trip, not just popping by for an afternoon.

Applejack was nice and all, but there was only so much time one could spend listening to her talk about apples with that accent of her's. Still, she was in Ponyville so she could make it a double visit and swing by to see Sweetie Drops, see how the planning is going for her big wedding. Twilight would have to remember to double check her calander, make sure the date was clear.

Having made up her mind, she called out "Spike! I'm taking the afternoon off to go see my friends in Ponyville. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

"Yeah, no problem." Spike replied. "I'll just spend the time studying and doing chores, like always."

Flashing one last smile at HER student, Twilight teleported the distance from Canterlot to Ponyville. For somepony of her talents, it wasn't that great a challenge.

Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and her life is one of adventure and discovery.

****************

Applejack wiped some sweat off her brow as she beamed with pride at all the baskets of apples she'd managed to buck. Another rewarding hard days work.

"Applejack!" her father called from the house. "Come on in! It's supper, don't keep you're ma waitin'!"

"Commin' Pa!" Applejack called back as she headed in to wash up before supper.

Her name is Applejack Apple, and her life is simple and fulfilling.

****************

Masquerade Pantomime smiled a huge smile as she bowed again and again to the roaring applause of the crowds in the Canterlot Royal Opera. It was her third week performing there alongside her lifetime idol, the Great Poniachi. Even Princess Celestia, in attendance this night, was giving a standing ovation. Tears leaked from her emerald green eyes (a feature many a bold stalion had claimed was her most beautiful). As that moment, she felt on top of the world.

Her name is Masquerade Pantomime, and her life is one where dreams come true.

****************

Rainbow Dash, Captain of the Wonderbolts, flew in formation with the others for the show. Down below the fans cheered, waving rainbow colored flags, wearing rainbow wigs, and various other things to show how much they loved her. Banners declared her the greatest Wonderbolt of all time. Frowning in concentration, Dash decided to show off a little and breaks formation, now flying literal circles around her teammates...while going backwards. The crowds are eating it up, and even the Wonderbolts are taking it in good cheer. They know she's the best and they don't mind.

Her name is Rainbow Miriam Dash, and her life is

"Lame." Rainbow says, abandoning the show and landing on a nearby cloud. "Really, that's the best you could do? You might as well come on out."

Everything stopped. Everything. Suspended in the moment. A shimmering cloud of blue energy appeared, before solidifying into a miniature copy of Nightmare Moon. Though she was slightly smaller than dash, she didn't seem worried at all. "So, how did you figure it out?"

"Because you suck at this." Dash explained, smirking at the outraged look the mini-nightmare shot at her. "First of all, I'm guessing you just got my general dream. That I want to be a Wonderbolt and had to build from there?" Seeing the seething look she received Rainbow broke out into an even bigger grin. "I knew it! That's why you totally got everything wrong. You thought I was some sort of glory seeking attention hound and that's why I want to be a member of Equestria's number one areal sports team. Wow, you are DUMB."

"Oh? Why don't you enlighten me then." Mini-Moon demanded. "What did I get wrong in that oh so shallow dream of yours?"

"Everything." Dash noted, adopting a serious look. "I can see why you'd think that way, you're some spell thingy made by a mare who was so jealous she had to get rid of the sun so everypony would have to pay attention to her. Of course you'd see a dream like mine in the most selfish light. Heck, I bet the other's are having dreams where they're on top of the world right? All their wants and dreams fulfilled, no hard work?"

"Indeed. If you are unhappy with your dream, perhaps I can make it more to your liking?"

"Wow, you really are bad at this." Dash sad, shaking her head sadly. "I don't want to be a Bolt to be declared the best flyer ever or something. I already know how good I am, I don't need my ego constantly fed. I want to do it to inspire a new generation the way I was inspired."

"I can give you that." Mini-Moon promised, eyes glittering with the promise of pleasure.

"Yaeh, but let me ask you a couple of questions. First of all, if I could get it without any hard work, what's the point? The struggle is half the reason to even try something like this. Second of all, do you know how I got my cutie mark?"

"No. Why is that even relevant?"

"Because it's the best and worst thing I ever did. See, I entered a race to help a good friend of mine, and I knocked her off a cloud at the starting line without even realizing it. I was so focused on winning, on proving I was the best, that I forgot why I was racing in the first place. To help a friend. I got so focused on me, that I hurt the very pony that I was supposed to be helping. She was okay in the end, but let me tell you it was a real eye opener, and now every time I look at my cutie mark I'm reminded of the fact that I used to be a colossal, selfish jerk. I have spent a lot of my life trying o make up for it and be a better pony."

Mini-Moon rolled her eyes. "That still doesn't explain what it has to do with anything."

"I'll tell you what it has to do with anything. It means you don't get anything about me." Dash turned on her, quite obviously angry. "Because there is one thing you didn't consider. No matter how good you made this dream, it would never be good enough. The are ponies all over Equestria counting on me and the others to stop Nightmare Moon and save the day...literally. If you think I'm going to wallow in some selfish, shallow dream while others need my help, you are dead wrong. Rainbow Dash always helps those who need it. And right now, the best way to help a lot of ponies is to kick your flank and wake everypony up so we can slam your boss back into the moon!"

The Mini-Moon stopped looking pleasant. And stopped being mini. Now standing twenty stories tall, crackling with energy, she bellowed. "Fool! I may be just a spell construct, but I am still the power of Nightmare Moon! What makes you think you can stand against me?"

"That brings me to my third question. Want to know how I knew this was a dream?" Rainbow asked. Seeing the Mega-Moon's hesitation, she smiled as she elaborated. "See I used to have nightmares as a kid, so my dad taught me this neat trick. It's called lucid dreaming. You find a flaw in the dream, realize you are dreaming, and then you have total control of the dream." Seeing her enemies look of horror, Dash smiled very cheekily. "But then again I guess it would make sense if you never heard of it. After all, you're just a magic potato."

And indeed it was just a normal potato. Suspended twenty stories in the air. "I hate you so much." the potato stated before it fell to splat on the ground. However, it was already starting to, very slowly, pull itself together. "You...fool! I...will not...be...beaten...so...easily! There is...nothing...you can do...to stop me! Nothing!"

"Oh really?" Dash asked as she flew upwards, gaining some serious air. "Fourth, and final, question. Want to see what I did to earn my cutie mark?" Rainbow Dash proceeded to dive at maximum velocity.

And then the sky exploded.

*******************

"I do."

The pastor nodded. "And do you, Sweetie Drops, take her in turn as your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, in good times in bad, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, in peace or giant monster attacks, till death do you part?"

Sweetie Drops was crying tears of joy. She always cried at weddings, and apparently her own was no exception. "I do."

"Then by the power invested in me by the Princess herself, I now proclaimed you wives. You may now kiss."

Sweetie leaned in for a passionate embrace...when some idiot decided to hit her upside the head.

******************

"Ow!" Sweetie exclaimed, snapping awake. Looking around, she saw a rather apologetic looking "Rainbow Dash! I was having the most wonderful dream!"

"Yeah, sorry, but we all were." Dash explained. "Nightmare Moon trap. You're not the only one upset." She looked over her shoulder at the others. Twilight looked rather glum, scratching circles in the dirt. Masquerade looked quite down herself, her hoof drifting towards the gems she had instead of eyes a couple of times before she stopped herself. Applejack looked like somepony had run over her dog with a train, and Sunset, if anything, looked worse. Dash sighed, she had been afraid of this. "Look, guys. I'm sorry that you were happy, but we do not have time for this. The whole world is counting on us, we don't have time to just be thinking of ourselves."

"Right. Princess Celestia and everypony else is counting on us. We don't have time to be selfish." Twilight said, smiling weakly.

"Yeah, we should get back to saving everypony." Masquerade agreed, before glaring. "And also kick Nightmare Moon's flank for doing this to us."

"Agreed." AJ said with a grim nod. "Sunset, any way we can set it up so that she's constantly on fire while she's stuck in the moon?"

"After what she did to me? Fire would be letting her off easy." Sunset said, trying to stand up, before collapsing on her haunches, eyes streaming tears. "Stupid dreams."

Sweetie didn't know what dreams her friends had experienced, but one thing was sure. This was quite possibly the most evil thing that Alicorn could have done to her friends. "Oh, oh my. Rainbow, dear, I think everypony could use some hugs and moral support right now." See the pegasus's concerned look, she smiled. "My dream is readily doable. I think the others had better ones."

"My dream is...mostly doable." Masquerade admitted. "A couple details were overly exaggerated, but I can still do it someday. It's not likely, but if I work hard I can someday have something just as good." Her smile returned as she considered this.

"Same here." Twilight admitted. "Sure the details would be different, but the general idea? I'm well on track to be there in just a few years." Streightening herself up, she asked "What about you two?"

"Mine was...I can't do mine. Things were just...a bit different. Enough to make it better, but still not something I can control, ya know?" AJ admitted. "Still, other than that life's just as good as the dream I suppose. Sunset, what about you?"

"I had a mom and dad and they loved me." Sunset admitted. She soon found herself in a group hug, five ponies embracing her and giving her support as she cried it all out. "Stupid dreams."

Author's Note

Well that is quite possibly a couple of the cruelest things I have ever written, please do not beat me with large sticks for making ponies cry by giving them fake loving parents. Also, this chapter is out a lot faster because I had it half written while I was stuck on the previous chapter.

Also, regarding where Twilight put her future friends, remember that it can only be based on what she knows. Hence, for example, why Dash is a high ranking bureaucrat.

*door smashed in*There he is! Get him!

Noooo! Not the large sticks! Ow! Augh! Gah! Ouch! My leg!

The Beginning

Sunset awoke, groggy. "Ugh, is everypony alive? My head feels like it weighs a ton." She was just starting to get up and look around, trying to piece together what happened.

"I'm alive. My chest feels heavy though." Masquerade called out. "My eyes are working too, was kind of worried with all that magic flying about they'd malfunction."

"My head also feels weird, but I'm fine." Twilight said, standing up unsteadily and placing hoof to head...and feeling something there. Turning to face her fellow student, her suspicions seemed confirmed. "Um, Shimmer, why does it seem that we have crowns on our foreheads?"

"What?" Reaching atop her own head, Sunset pulled the offending crown off. It was a beautiful golden color, and set at the apex was a large violet gem in the shape of her cutie mark. "It's, it's my Element! Friendship!" Looking over she saw that Twilight's crown was very similar to her own, but with two big differences. Twilight's gem was a red representation of her own cutie mark, and her crown was silvery in color. "Twilight is-is your crown made if star metal?"

"I-I guess so. Is it just me, or does yours look like oricalcum?" Twilight asked, removing her own crown to quickly check. "So, this is what an element looks like when it's bonded with a user."

"Then how come ah ain't got a fancy crown? Not that ah'd ever get rid of my hat mind, but where's the rest of our Elements?" Applejack asked, looking around worried about the location of the ancient artifacts.

"Um, check your left foreleg." Sweetie suggested. "It's, um, got the match to mine." She lifted up her front right leg, showing off a golden bangle set with a deep green gem shaped like one of the candies that adorned her flank.

Looking at her left leg, AJ found a silvery band set with an orange apple jewel. "Well that's all right then, but how come we got fancy leg jewelry and you guys got crowns?"

"Probably the same reason me and Mask got these sweet torcs!" Rainbow called out, showing off her golden necklace set with a purple lightning bolt.

Masquerade, whose jewelry was a silver version set with a blue domino mask, nodded. "Makes sense. On pegasi it's near the wings, earth the hooves, and unicorns the horn. Basically, where we're at our most magical."

"That makes sense, I guess. But why do they look like our cutie marks? And why are they silver and gold? How do we get Celestia back now that Nightmare Moon is beaten?" Sunset asked. "There's a lot of questions that we need answered."

"I believe that I can answer many of those." came a calm, regal voice. The sun rose, and a brilliant ball of light descended from it, resolving into a regal white Alicorn. "But first let me just say I am quite proud of you all."

"Princess Celestia?" her subjects shouted in near unison, all but Sunset imediatly bowing before her.

She was too relieved to even think about bowing. "Oh thank goodness you're back! I was afraid we'd have to rediscover how the ancient unicorns rose the sun!"

Twilight was the next in line with questions. "You aren't hurt are you your majesty? How did you escape wherever Nightmare Moon had imprisoned you?"

Smiling radiantly, Celestia spoke. "I am fine, thank you for your concern. As to my prison, your defeat of Nightmare Moon freed me, shattering her cage of dark magic. I believe that answers "how to get me back", "how I escaped", and "am I alright". We seem to be on a roll here. As for the Elements...that is a longer discussion. Right now, there is somepony I need to talk to." Walking over, Celestia approached a figure that none of the others had noticed. A small blue Alicorn that seemed to have been doing her best to not attract attention. "Hello sister."

That shocked the assembled ponies. "Sister!?"

"Nightmare Moon is your sister?" Sunset was clearly having problems processing this.

Masquerade also seemed quite shocked. "What a twist."

"Nay." Celestia said, shaking her head. "Nightmare Moon is not my sister, but the entity of dark magic that possessed her, using her jealousy and resentment to take control of her." Kneeling down, Celestia smiled as warmly as she could. "It's been a thousand years. I'd love to have you back if you're willing to forgive me. What do you say Luna?"

The smaller Alicorn instantly threw herself into a hug with her sibling. "I missed you so much! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" And then Luna was crying.

"Why don't we all head on back to town? We can discuss this back there just as well, and it'll give...uh...Luna here time to calm down." Applejack suggested, not sure how to deal with a crying mare that only minutes ago was their mortal enemy.

Sweetie nodded before trotting over to Luna's side. "I think that's a good idea. Luna, are you up for the walk? You look a little unsteady."

"We-I...I can walk. It's been a long time since I was in command of my legs, but I believe I can still use them just fine." Luna noted, slowly rising to her feet. Her legs wobbled a little, but otherwise she was fine. "Mostly we...I am feeling a bit drained in power. I-Tia, my mana reserves! They feel, strange!"

Wasting no time Celestia and Sunset immediately threw detection spells at Luna. "I'm not sensing anything wrong, except I think her mana reserves are empty...or close enough. You got anything Celestia?...Princess?"

"Her...her taint." Celestia stammered in amazement. "It's, it's gone!"

"What?" Throwing out her own spell, Twilight scanned Luna as well. "That's, if what you're saying is true that's...wait, what about Shimmer? Is her taint gone?"

Seeing Celestia's shocked expression, Sunset blushed and shuffled her hooves a bit. "It uh, it came up during the adventure, my whole ex-warlock deal."

"I see." Celestia said, nodding sagely. Her horn glowed for a bit, before she shook her head sadly. "It did clear a chunk of it out of your system, I'd need instruments to figure out how much, but you are more tainted than pure still."

"Hold on, that's not fair! How come the Elements purified Luna here, but not Sunset?" Dash demanded, flying in the princess's face.

"I do not know. Perhaps because she was not the target? In all honesty, I did not know the Elements could purge the taint of dark magic." Celestia admitted. "In fact, purifying my sister was what I sought to do a millennium ago when I took up the Elements to face Nightmare Moon."

"I...think I know what went wrong a thousand years ago." Sunset admitted. "See, am I right in assuming you think my Element is Magic?" Seeing Celestia nod, Sunset shook her head. "I'm sorry, but it's not. It's real name is Friendship. And that's why you can't wield them properly alone."

"That would explain why they seemed weaker that night than when Luna and I wielded them together." Seeing the looks of shock, Celestia smiled. "The star metal ones were her's."

"Loyalty, Honesty, and Laughter...became the depressed pony who specialized in illusions, manipulations, and treachery?" Masquerade noted, aghast. "Man, that Nightmare thing did a number on you."

"It...was not so simple." Luna admitted. "I was not even in my right mind before my possession."

"Wait a minute, if Sunset not being the target was the problem, maybe we should get them workin' and blast her?" Applejack suggested.

"We can't do that." Sunset and, surprisingly, Rainbow Dash said at the same time.

Noticing the stares, Dash shrugged. "Don't ask me how. I just know my Element's telling me we can't use it for personal gain. Somehow. There aren't like any words or anything, I just know it for a fact. Like how two plus two equals four."

Sunset nodded. "Mine's basically telling me that the power of the Elements is supposed to be a last resort kind of deal. We can't use them casually."

"What if we...ah shoot we can't lie about why we're using them." AJ moaned. "That makes sense I guess. Anypony else got any rules coming in?"

Twilight nodded. "They only work if we all agree on our target. No divided Loyalty or goals."

"We cannot use them on anything that isn't a threat to Harmony or the like. No shooting a random monster just because it wandered into town and started smashing stuff. It has to be genuine evil before these things will work." Masquerade explained.

Nodding, Sweetie added her own rule to the instruction manual. "We are also required to be in Harmony with each other. Even if we all agree on what has to be done, they won't work if we don't get along."

"Lame." Dash complained, legs crossed as a grumpy scowl crossed her face, her lower body hanging as she hovered there. "I get they're like super powerful. But with all these rules, it almost seems like you really can't use them most of the time, so what's the point?"

"The point is so that we can use them when we actually need them." Mask replied with a gem roll. "Seriously, that's like complaining that the magic items from the Daring Doo books don't show up again after they're used to save the day."

Dash just looked more confused. "The what books?"

"Daring Doo." Twilight said, grinning. "I love that series. Action, adventure, ancient ruins, lost legends, magical artifacts! You should read them Dash, it's a very good series."

"Eh, no. I don't do reading. Reading is for eggheads." Dash rebutted.

Seeing the look on Twilight's face, Sunset sighed. "Oh boy, here we go."

*****************

"-and that is my two hundredth reason why reading is awesome." Twilight declared. "Hah! Two hundred reasons why reading is awesome! Game set and match Rainbow Dash!"

Dash looked shocked beyond all reason. "When I asked for two hundred reasons, I didn't think she'd actually do it."

"I tried to warn you you poor, poor fool." Sunset said, shaking her head. "Anyway, we're back in Ponyville so we can all calm down and...Pinkie is right behind me isn't she?"

Pinkie giggled. "Aww, you guessed! Anyway...hit it!" Suddenly confettie was flying everywhere and ponies raced into the streets, celebrating. "Happy "Just Saved The World" party! Oh hey, who's this?"

Smiling, Celestia nodded at the smaller Alicorn that was trying to hide behind her. "This is my younger sister."

"Ah." Pinkie said, nodding. "Well Luna, nice to meet you now that you aren't Black Snooty anymore."

All the Element Bearers and the Alicorns stared at her.

Pinkie on the other hand looked confused. "What? I thought it was obvious? Anyway, to Sugercube Corner for the party proper!"

*****************

"-and that's how we got the Elements." Sunset finished. "So, now that everypony is up to speed, do you have any ideas as to how they came to look like our cutie marks?"

Celestia nodded. "I believe so. Before the Elements appeared as regular gemstones. However, having bonded on an individual level they have taken on a form more appropriate for the one who bears it. It is a symbol of how close your bond is."

"So, are we the only ones that can use them now?" Twilight asks. "What if I get seriously injured? Can we get somepony else to wield my Element? What if I'm not worthy anymore? Oh my gosh, what if I die? If this things bonded to me forever and I die of old age if nothing else then someday Equestria might be doomed because they needed me and I died on them! Quick, is there any way to make me immortal?"

"Twilight, calm down. Those are some excellent questions, and I admit I do not know the answers, but at this point there is no reason to panic." Celestia said, beaming. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Plus," Sunset added in, "you do NOT want immortality. Trust me, the price you pay for that sort of stuff repulsed me, and that was back when I had aspirations to become Empress of a Dark Empire." She shuddered a bit at the memory. "Still, leaving that aside, Twilight's right, we really need to look into this."

"Don't worry I intend to. Which brings me to another point." Celestia was clearly steeling her nerves for this. "I'm going to need the Elements to study them back in Canterlot. Since you four have lives here, it would be unfair of me to ask you to come with me in order to study the Elements. As such, I'm going to have to ask you to trust me with your Elements." Raising a hoof to forestall the obvious complaint, she added "For now at least, until I've learned all that I can. I promise to keep them safe, and should the need arise they will of course be returned to you."

"Okay, here you go." Rainbow said, hoofing it over like it wasn't one of the most powerful artifacts on the planet, but instead was a spare rice cracker. "Let us know if you find out anything awesome."

The others, however, seemed a bit more hesitant. "Ah don't know bout you girls, but it feels like givin' up a part of me." AJ noted. Sighing, she took off her Elemental Bangle and passed it over. "Still, ah honestly agree it's fer the best."

"It is the right thing to do." Sweetie agreed, removing her own Element and adding it to the pile.

"Hold on just one second." Masquerade said. She then proceeded to grab some random pony's camera. "Need this for a quick pick pay you for the photo." She then took a picture of herself smiling while wearing her Element, before removing her necklace and giving it to Celestia. "Just want a photo reference so we don't get them mixed up." she joked, unable to keep a straight face.

Celestia nodded. "Thank you all for trusting me. I will do my best to safeguard the Elements, and I will share with you all whatever my students and I discover about them in our studies."

"Yeah, about that." Sunset interjected, before adding her crown to the pile. "I...I don't think I'm going back to Canterlot with you." Everypony stared at her in shock. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all you've taught me but...I think I'd be happier if I stayed here. I mean, for the first time in my life I have real friends. And I-I really, really want to keep them, more than I want to stay your student. I'm, sorry I'm blowing that second chance you gave me by not staying your student, but this is what I want to do."

They all sat in silence for a while, before Celestia broke the tension by smiling. "I think I have an even better solution. Sunset Shimmer, it has come to my attention that I was wrong about the nature of your Element. It seems that for too long we have been ignorant of the magical power of Friendship. As such, I would be happy to have you stay on as my student...while you live and study here in Ponyville with your friends. I would also assign you to study friendship, and send me regular reports as an official Royal Research Project...also by Royal Decree friendship is now a legitimate field of magical study. So, Sunset, what do you say?"

"Guah...Gah...heevle...FDA...huh...yes...I...yes!" Sunset shouted after her brain managed to finish processing the bombshell Celestia had just hit her with. "Yes! You know I never wanted to stop being your student right? I just didn't think I could do both! Princess Celestia, thank you!"

"Wow, you actually used her title. You must be happy." Twilight noted. "You know, I'm going to miss you."

Sunset waved off the idea. "We're not that far from each other, we'll be able to visit all the time. Or at least write each other. Where's Spike? I need to remind him that he's responsible for your eating if I'm not there. And that you get enough sleep."

"You're exaggerating. I'm not that bad Shimmer." Twilight said, rolling her eyes.

"Two words Sparkle, "dry sandwiches"." Sunset noted, smirking.

"That doesn't count!" Twilight shouted. "I was also exposed to toxic fumes when I though those books were food! Those poor poor books...." she trailed off, a haunted look upon her face.

"You know Twilight, if you want to stay here with your friends as well I'm willing to extend the offer to you." Celestia noted.

"Uh, I uh, I don't know." Twilight admitted. "I hadn't thought about it. I mean, Shimmer it makes sense her Element is Friendship, but I mean I still want to study under you. Do you really think I'm ready to be on my own? I have so much to learn still. Is it really a good idea for me and Spike to be here in Ponyville? Would Spike even want to be here?"

"Whether or not you wish to stay here is your decision." Celestia nodded. "I honestly believe that you are reaching a point where you will grow more with independent study than with focused lessons. You have an amazing growth curve when you put your mind to it. I honestly believe you moving to Ponyville would not hurt anything. But yes, this would also be Spike's decision, so you should probably go speak with him on the matter. I saw him over by a large tray of cupcakes earlier."

"Oh no! He'll spoil his appetite!" Twilight got up in a panic, taking off her crown she placed it with the others. "Hold on to this, thank you, will think on thenoffer, got a dragon to catch!" With that Twilight galloped off in search of Spike.

Sweetie blinked a bit. "That...was odd. But I'm confused. Why would Twilight being here mean Spike had to move too?"

"Well, it's not like the Element of Loyalty is going to abandon her own son." Seeing the looks of shock thrown her way, Sunset facehoofed. "Right, you're not in the magical academic circles. Sparkle hatched Spike, so he's technically her adopted son." Looking around, Sunset realized something. "Hey, where is Luna?"

"She...retreated to the upstairs balcony. She is...not comfortable being around so many strangers." Celestia confessed. "I believe it is lingering guilt over what she did while possessed."

"Ah." Sunset said, standing up. "I know that feeling. I think I'll go talk to her, ex-warlock to ex-warlock. Sympathize and help her work through it like I did, or at least get started." Seeing Clestia's grateful, approving jod Sunset started to walk off, she turned around. "I think that concludes our important business, so I think we're free to party now. Be down in a bit."

****************

"-and that's how I defeated Nightmare Moons magical trap!" Dash finished, smiling as her young audiance, foals from around the town, listened in rapt attention to her story. She had been toning down the story so that it was a bit more kid friendly, such as leaving the torture illusion and Sunset being an ex-warlock out. "So then, we get to the bridge we need to cross right? Only the bridge is broken."

"So then you flew them across? Zoom!" Scootaloo, a young purple maned orange feathered pegasus and self proclaimed president of the Rainbow Dash fanclub, shouted, miming flying with her fore hooves.

"Eeh, not quite. See, Mask spotted that there was a magical trap on the other side, ready to catch us if we tried that. But Twilight managed to beat the magical trap, and with her and Sunset's magic they managed to fix the bridge. Now comes the cool part where we get to fight Nightmare Moon."

*****************

"So yeah, I helped save Equestria and the whole world from eternal night." Masquerade said, chatting with her friends. "And I thought the hardest thing I'd have to do today is decide on decorations."

"Dude, you know that has to be the cover of my next album right?" Vinyl Scratch, a white unicorn mare with a wild neon blue mane, noted. "Heck, I'll even pay you guys for your likeness. Like, ten percent of sales profits each."

"Vinyl." her earth pony marefriend, Octavia, complained. "You hardly make any money on those "el pees" of yourse, don't make it even less. Though how you make any mony off of you wubtrot, ahem, "music" is still beyond me."

"Oh come on guys, can't you give the "classical versus modern" thing a break for one day?" Masquerade asked, exasperated. "Seriously, given how often you two fight, I'm surprised you're still together." She'd only know the two for the last two months, ever sense they moved to Ponyville to, apparently, get away from their parents, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out how they ever stayed together. And didn't murder each other.

"Oh, we agree on a lot of things. It's just that we each play the music the other hates. Other than that, we get along fine." Vinyl assured her. "Spraking of fine, guess who got two tickets so go see Fine Cut Beef next month in Canterlot?"

"The minotaur metal band?" Mask asked in confusion...she assumed because she couldn't hear her own voice over Octavia's scream of delight.

Seeing Masquerade's look of confusion, Vinyl smiled. "Guess you didn't know. Octy is a total metal head. However, if she wants the tickets she has to pitch in in cleaning up the house until the concert."

"Augh! Alright fine, I suppose FCB is worth cleaning. I still don't see the point in doing it every day, it's not like we're expecting company." Octavia muttered. "Neat freak."

"Hey, I have genuine health concerns if something gets moldy. Unicorns aren't as resistant as earth ponies you know." Vinyl shot back.

"I'll just let you two work this out." Masquerade said, exiting the radius of the lover's spat as quickly as she could.

"Well at least I'm not gone most nights, leaving my marefriend lonely!"

"Yeah, but who's gone weeks at a time playing fancy stuff in distant cities on her violin?"

"It's a cello!"

****************

Celestia walked into the kitchen. "So, I don't believe I've gotten your name here. Pinkie was it?"

"Call me Pinkie Pie, or just Pinkie since that's what my friends call me. And we are friends Celestia, whatever others may think." Pinkie noted as she stirred a bowl of cake batter, pulled cookies out of the oven, mixed punch, and rolled out some dough. "So, I'm a bit busy at the moment. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing, it's been a while." Celestia said, feeling rather awkward. "You, um, seem to be doing well."

"Yep. I'm an apprentice baker, and professional party planner. Well the second one I'm not a apprentice on, but you get what I'm saying. So, what aren't you saying?" Pinkie asked.

Celestia sighed. "I just want to know. Why didn't you help the others stop Nightmare Moon? I personally think you would have made an excellent Bearer of Laughter."

"You know why." Pinkie said, her serious voice in total contrast to the propeller beanie and goofy glasses she wore. "I said no to that plan before, and I'll say it again. I want nothing to do with the Elements."

Celestia shuffled her hooves nervously. Things got quiet as a long awkward silence descended. "You, uh, haven't visited your father in a while I noticed. A long while."

"I'm busy right now. Maybe in a few years." Pinkie replied, her gag gear gone, before sighing. "Look, I know he's family. But what he did? That's hard to get over. Did you want anything else?"

Celestia though for a good long while. "So...is there anything you would like to have Pinkie?"

The party pony stopped, and tapped her chin in thought. "Weeeeeeeeeelllllll....."

****************

"And don't you ever go running off into the Everfree again!" an orange earth pony with a bright green mane, her cutie mark was a trio of tangerines, scolded Applejack.

"Yes Ma." AJ said, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

"Now Clementine." Granny Smith admonished. "You can't go scoldn' the mare that just saved the whole dag blasted world from Frightmare Spoon!"

"Don't cha mean Nightmare Moon granny?" Applebloom asked.

"Ain't that what I jus said?" the multi centerian asked.

"I know I should be proud of you but, I mean I am. It's just that, ever sense your father passed away, I don't think I could handle losing any more of my family." Clementine admitted. "I guess I'm, how would your father have put it, I'm as nervous as a bobcat in a room full of lawn chairs."

"Long tail cat in a room full of rockin' chairs Ma." AJ corrected. Her mother never could get the country sayings right. "And I know what ya mean. I miss him too."

*****************

"Sooo...how are you feeling?" Sunset asked as she sat down next to Luna. "Because in my experience, moping alone by yourself doesn't help you feel any better."

Luna looked over, clearly agitated. "We I am okay. I am still getting used to being in control again. Right now a party celebrating our...Nightmare Moon's defeat is a bit much for us."

Sunset sighed. "Yeah, this is the worst part, the crash. So I'm going to tell you two things to make you feel better. First, once you became possessed everything after that was not your fault. You had no control over your actions, so you don't have any share of the blame."

Luna sighed. "Intelectually we know this is true, but we, I still feel guilty."

Sunset nodded. "And addressing that guilt is point number two. It's okay you're still jealous of Celestia." Seeing Luna's shocked face, Sunset snorted. "It wasn't that hard to figure out. Heck, I'm still jealous of her and I don't have that whole sibling rivalry deal going on."

"You...you are jealous of our sister?" Luna truly seemed baffled by this.

"She's an immortal super mage that is beautiful by every tribes standards, rules an entire nation, is adored by millions, and everything she does seems so natural and easy. Of course I'm jealous of her. Just about anypony that has to put up with her on a personal level all the time would be." Sunset explained. "Jealousy is perfectly natural, it's how we respond to it that matters. For example, now I use it as a motivation to improve myself so I have less reason to be jealous."

"I see. It is just so hard at times." Luna admitted. "She always seems so calm and in control, no matter what is occurring."

"I know! And when she does make a mistake, everypony around her falls over each other in rushing to take the blame for her!" Sunset replied. "Like she's so perfect that anything that goes wrong with any of her plans it has to be somepony else's fault."

"Does she still do that thing? Luna asked. "You know, pull the perfect solution out of her plot and make it seem like it was her plan all along?"

"All the time. Tartarus, she did it less than five minutes ago! Created an entire new field of study so I could remain her student and stay here with my friends. And she said it like she had been planning it all along." Sunset started laughing at this point.

"And the worst part is, despite how insufferable she is at times, you know she's doing it all out of love." Luna finished, sighing. "Do you know reason she didn't get the Elments herself, or recruit ponies to wield them for her? She apparently had such a plan once, but it fell through. Then, she thought about it more and, believing the Elments would only seal me away again, abandoned the plan and tried to talk me down when I reappeared instead. She didn't even defend herself when Nightmare Moon attacked her."

"Huh." Sunset said,a thoughtful look crossing her face. "I guess that makes more sense than this being some desperate gambit to manipulate me and Twilight into assembling a team of ponies to wield the Elements for her."

Luna adopted a sly smile as she coyly asked "Oh, has Tia learned the art of subtlty over the last thousand years? Truly it is an age of wonders."

Sunset facehoofed. "Right, Celestia is about as subtle as the sun. She can be a bit tricky at times, but nowhere near this level."

Awkward silence hung there, as neither seemed to know what to do. Finally Luna asked "So, in this modern era, what do ponies do for entertainment? I imagine I will have much leisure time in between my studies to understand what has transpired in the last thousand years."

"Well some of the stuff is generally the same. Plays, concerts, reading. Though the quality has gone up in my opinion, and variety has vastly increased as they became both easier to produce and more readily available to the common masses." Sunset explained. "We also have newer versions of the stuff. Comic books which combine art with writen story, but those are mostly for foals. I know there's some stuff writen for older audiances, but I'm talking in general. There's also movies, um, think of them as being like enchanted pictures that perform plays. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. There's also modern music styles that didn't exist back then. Rock and roll, heavy metal, hard rock, symphonic metal, um, pop, uh, geeze uh there is a lot. The newest one i know of is something called wubtrot, I personally don't care for it but it's what they're blasting at nightclubs these days."

"Night...clubs?" Luna asked, clearly confused.

Sunset suddenly broke out into a huge grin. "Oh, oh yeah. Nightclubs. Princess Luna, you are going to love this."

****************

Masquerade had ducked out for a few minutes. It seemed like everypony and their uncle wanted to shake hooves with one of Equestria's saviors. As such she was quite surprised that not only was she not alone out here, but it sounded like somepony was faintly playing classical music, nearly drowned out by the more festive party music going on within. Rounding the corner, she was rather surprised to see who it was. "Vinyl? What are you doing out here? And why are you listening to classical, I thought you hated classical?" she asked, shocked to see the unicorn just sitting there with a miniature record player.

"Oh, hey Mask. Yeah, me and Octy decided to cool our hocks a bit, step away and calm down. And duh I hate classical music, it's the most rigid and over praised variety of music on the planet. Just because it's old doesn't make it impressive. Give any air headed pop song a couple hundred years to be just as old, and it'll technically be classical as well." Vinyl explained. "So no, I'm not listening to classical music. I'm listening to Octy play classical music. There's a difference." Leaning back, the unicorn got a far away look in her crimson eyes. "You know, Octavia is a total slob. She's unfocused, forgets things like chores, groceries, or that the sofa is on fire, long story. She's easily distracted and seems to have no goals in life. Except when she's playing her cello. When it comes to her music, she isn't just an artist. She is THE artist. She's like, perfectly focused on giving a perfect performance that is done perfectly perfect to perfection. Then she goes back to being distracted by making funny voices into an electric fan. So yeah, I hate classical music. Cause sometimes I think she loves it more than me...and if you tell anypony how sentimental I'm being I will demolish your house with my wubs."

"Gotcha, I'll just leave you alone." Masquerade said, walking to the other side of Sugercube Corner...only to find Octavia sitting there with her own miniature record player, the disk she was about to insert being DJ PON-3's latest work, I Rode a Kraken, What Did You Do Today?, as evidenced by the photograph of Vinyl riding an actual kraken that served as the sleeve art. "Uhhhh..."

"Tell anypony and they'll never find your body." Octavia said in a cheerful, singsong voice.

"Tell anypony what? I was just heading back inside." Masquerade wondered if running into these sort of "comedy of errors" type deals came with being the pony who bonded with the Element of Laughter. Because if so, she could see how that might start grating on Luna after awhile.

*****************

"So after talking it over some more with Spike and Princess Celestia, I've decided that I'll be moving to Ponyville as well." Twilight announced, much to the delight of four of her friends. The other seemed quite distracted. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Oh? Sorry dear. I'm glad you're staying with us, really, it's just," she sighed "well, my marefriend was supposed to be arriving by train today, but with all the Nightmare Moon business I don't know if she'll even be arriving at all today, or even tomorrow possibly." Sweetie shook her head. "I have to idea how the trains are running after all this mess."

"It turns out, they are running spectacularly!" a very cheerful voice boomed.

Turning to the doorway, the Canterlot natives were stunned. "Lyra? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked. Indeed it was Lyra Heartstrings, the mint green unicorn that Shimmer had once dubbed her "conspiracy buddy".

Lyra subtly adjusted her bright red cape so it flowed more dramatically off her shoulders. "I, the Brilliant and Cunning Lyra, am here for one reason alone! And that is that now that I have graduated, I can be with my chocolate strudel!" she calmly (for her) explained.

"Oh caramel cake, I was so worried about you!" Sweetie Drops shouted, dashing across the room to nuzzle her marefriend.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "You were worried?! I just found out my hony pudding is now a heroine in her own great saga! You went into the dread Everfree Forest, land of terror, and survived! Not only that, but you faced down a wicked power mad Alicorn, the dread Nightmare Moooooon! If anypony should be worried, it should be I!"

"Huh, she must be upset, she's quieter than normal." Sunset noted, then saw the stares the locals were giving her. "What?"

"I think they're waiting for you to do the thing." Pinkie deduced, popping up from under the table.

"Gah!" Sunset said, falling backwards. She knew Pinkie's small size, she looked like she had Shetish ancestry, would help her fit into small places, but that hardly explained how she constantly managed to surprise everypony. "Do what thing Pinkie?"

"Uh uh uh, that's Doctor Pie, PhD in Party-ology. It says so on this piece of paper." Pinkie explained, pulling it out of her mane and unrolling it.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Pinkie, just because you wrote it on a random piece of paper doesn't make it tru-tru-ttraaand that's a diploma from Celestia's Scool for the Gifted. In your name. With her signature and seal. Proclaiming you a doctor. Of party-ology...where and when did you get this?"

"Like half an hour ago from Celestia. See, I managed to convince her that, if there is such a thing as Friendship magic, than party-mancy has to be real too, there are way too many stories for us not to be. Plus I did a little demonstration to convince her. This is basically an almost purely political move. It both legitimizes and lends royal support to the art of party-mancy while simultaneously acknowledging the upper echelon of the art's skill as a measurable example. Finally, since I'm the only non-nomadic party pony I know of, I'm really the only valid long term study subject. The title of doctor therefore insures me respect and parallelism with anypony that seeks to use me as a subject of study, while insuring that my inputs and invites will not be ignored." Pinkie explained, having donned a lancoat and glasses sometime during the conversation without anypony noticing.

"Uhhhh..don't ya mean insights?" AJ asked, barely able to follow along.

"Duh, no. I mean invites, because I'd totally throw a "Doctor Party" and this way they'd pay attention and come." Pinkie explained rolling her eyes. "Hence, Doctor Pie. Because politics. And because I want to totally stick it to my dad. Whose "small time" now Dad? I'm a bucking doctor, and all you ever got was an associates degree! In literature!" Seeing the other ponies shocked faces, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, slight family issues."

"Right, but that doesn't answer my question. What are they waiting for me to do Pink...Dr. Pie?" Sunset grumbled. Even if it was apparently political and honorary as can be, it was still a valid PhD.

"Remember when you told Twilight that if Nightmare Moon was real, you'd drink that whole bottle of hot sauce? You haven't done that yet." Dr. Pie explained.

Sunset just stared at the party pony, then turned back to her friends who all had various grins on their faces. "Ahh, well, uh...I guess I did say that. And she was real, and I was being smug about in Sparkle's face all day about it. Aww, what the heck, that manticore pepper stuff wasn't that bad." she decided.

"Oh, uh, that's not quite right. See, the stuff you had earlier, the Ghost Manticore, was store brand. You said you'd drink some of my hot sauce, as in the stuf I blend myself. Soooo here you go!" Dr. Pie announced, sounding a bit too cheerful about the whole thing.

Sunset took the bottle, which somehow felt hot in her hooves, and read the label. "Tartarus Dragon Slayer, and the extra spicy version apparently. And oh look, it actually has a picture of a flaming pepper spearing through a three headed Tartarus dragon."

Dr. Pie shrugged. "You made the bet, and you just said against that you'd do it."

Sighing in defeat, Sunset uncorked the bottle. "Aww whatever. I pull in energy from the sun itself. I'm sure I can handle some hot sauce."

****************

"I'm sorry I'm still a little confused." Dr. Stable noted, reading over the chart. "Specifically, about how drinking hot sauce you created wound up with our patient covered in first degree burns over forty percent of her body."

"I may have gone a teeny tiny bit overboard with that batch." Dr. Pie admitted. "Still, I'm impressed she drank the whole bottle."

"So yeah, Shimmer, Spike, and I just need to pack up our things, which should only take a couple of days. Princess Celestia's already made arrangements for us to move into the library, apparently it's been abandoned for a while." Twilight explained to her assembled friends. "We should be moving in by next week. I must say Lyra, it's a nice surprise to see you down here as well."

"Thank you Twilight! It's great seeing you too! I look forward to discussing theories with you once more! Something I honestly thought I would miss when I returned to my town of birth to be with my true love!" Lyra admitted, slightly abashed.

'Everypony in this town is absolutely crazy!' Sunset thought, then broke out into a huge grin that shown through her bandages. 'We're going to fit right in then.' "Hey Nurse, could I get some of that tranquilizer I got when I was hospitalized here earlier? It really did wonders."

"That was mostly for stress." Nurse Redheart noted. "It really won't help with the pain. I can recommend the painkillers your friend Miss Sparkle used after a giant brass sun hit her though, they're pretty effective."

"That would be great, thanks."

***************

A cloaked figure trotted into the castle ruins. If this were some sort of cliché it old have been at night under a full moon, or during a storm, or coinciding with some other even one usually associated with such dark workings. Not a sunny day with birds singing and harly a cloud in the sky. Still, he was on a tight schedule, and it would be foolish to sit around waiting for a more "appropriate" time. And he was no fool.

Having reached his destination, he quickly started sifting through the remains of Nightmare Moons destroyed armor, until he finally found it. "The Eye of Terror." Indeed the pale blue cats eye gem that served as accent to Nightmare Moon's armor, and over the centuries had become a symbol of her in the minds of lesser ponies, lay there undamaged on the ground. A common fool would struggle with feelings of it glaring at them, having to tell themselves over and over again that they're not really being watched by some piece of jewelry. Unlike those fools, the cloaked figure wasn't struck with such disconcerting feelings. He knew full well the gem was alive, looking at him, and that it hated him. He didn't take it personally. The Eye of Terror hated everything.

"You failed in your plan, oh eye of all nightmares." Levetating out a specially prepaired box, a sickly lime green glow encircled the gem, which was quickly placed within, the box then sealed shut. "Now, you will serve in our plans. And so we are one step closer, to Oblivion!" In a flash of lime green fire, the figure vanished, leaving no trace that a warlock had ever been there.

The Beginning...

Author's Note

And so the story ends, and the series begins...along with opening the universe up! This is a shared author universe here! Head on over to the Sunsetverse group forums, or PM me if you are interested in writing a story set in this universe! I do have to approve your general idea, but there is a lot of free game going around once you are approved!

As for this story itself, yes I have plans for cloak pony, party pony, and dress pony. But those are for other stories.

Octavia and Vinyl are that one odd couple you never can understand how they work, but somehow they do.

Clementine is AJ's mom and she is alive. Yes I planed this from the start. Clementine is also the link to the Orange family.

Lyra has a Masters in history, mythology, music, cryptozoology, and biology. Yes, all in the five years she's been away at school. She is Gifted after all, in this case with being an eccentric renesance genius. She is also sort of the worlds version of Brian Blessed with the way she talks! Yes this is her talking! You don't want to see what her shouting is like!

As for how Dr. Pie got her PhD, I can assure you that there were no massive cake bribes involved, at all.

Next: Sunset, Twilight, and Spike have moved into Ponyville and are getting settled in. They're meeting the neighbors, getting to know the town, make a couple of new friends. And then they get a message from Celestia, but it just turns out to be the usual Gala tickets. No big deal...why is everypony staring at them?

Welcome to Ponyville!

Let's just get this over with.

'This is totally Twilight's fault.' "Shut up." 'She finally dragged me down with her with all her crazy.' "Quiet." 'If it weren't for her believing little breezie tales, I'd be back in the library learning something useful!' "Well if I think that, maybe I do need to get out and make friends!" 'The place is freaking officially named Ponyville.' To that, Sunset had no real answer for...herself. The name was so painful generic it almost sounds like a bad joke, or a generic place to set a children's story book, complete with a Once Upon a Time. Like any good stories started with those...

****************

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there were two sisters who held sway over day and night. The younger sister, driven to jealousy by the lack of appreciation her nights received, turned to dark magics to sooth her pain and claim the respect she felt she deserved. Nopony would be able to ignore her anymore, for her night would last forever. The elder sister sought to turn her beloved sister back to the light, but failed. In grief, she did what she had to do. Using the Elements of Harmony she sealed Nightmare Moon, the monster her sister had become, into her own beloved moon in the night sky. And there she has stayed, for almost a thousand years...

****************

"Awww cheer up guys. Look at it this way, we get to enjoy the entire Summer Sun Celebration right where Celestia will be. I mean she only holds it in Canterlot once every, what, six years?" Spike noted, trying to cheer up his friends as they flew on in their royal sky carriage.

"That just means we could see Celestia raise the sun back home in Canterlot next year instead of wasting time here while Nightmare Moon prepares to destroy us all!" Twilight insisted, pacing around the cramped carriage in her anxiety as much as the presence of other passengers would allow. Actually, judging by how sore Sunset's hooves and Spikes feet were, pacing considerably more than their presence should allow.

Doing a little bit of mental math, Sunset realized that this meant five whole years had passed since that day. "It seems like it was so long ago at times. Other times it feels like I turned my life around just yesterday." 'That's because I'm crazy!' "....eh, I can live with that."

****************

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there was a princess who held sway over night and day. She felt lonely, and went out into the land to find somepony to meet to liven up her day. She often traveled in disguise, finding joy in meeting new ponies who would never dare to speak to her if they knew she was a princess. However on this day she met a remarkable little filly named Sunset Shimmer who, like the princess, had a cutie mark of the sun itself. Sunset Shimmer was very skilled with magic, and had a large amount of magical power. So impressed was she by the display that the princess dropped her disguise, and offered the young filly to be her student. The young girl agreed and the two became teacher and student. However over time Sunset began to grow arrogant, boastful, and entitled. She felt that as a powerful Mage and student of the princess she deserved to be treated special just for being her. When study under the princess did not yield the power she wanted fast enough Sunset Shimmer turned to the darker arts. The princess, having learned from her failure with her sister, confronted her student before it was too late.

They talked for a great length of time and, in the end, Sunset Shimmer saw the error of her ways. Seeking forgiveness for her foolishness, she cast aside dark magic and swore to strive to always be a better pony. The princess forgave her readily, tears of joy in her eyes. And so the student came and watched her mentor raise the sun upon the longest day, and stood at her teacher's side. And there she has stayed for almost five years...

****************

"Calm down Twilight. Nothing's going to happen. Celestia said so herself didn't she? Unless you think she's wrong." Sunset noted with mock concern, like a parent trying to get a kid to see they were being silly.

Twilight stopped in her pacing to stare at Shimmer. "What no, of course not. The Princess can't be wrong! And don't use her name like that. Even if we are her students we need to show her proper respect!" she declared. She really and truly despised Sunset's bad habit of dropping Princess Celestia's title so casually and failing to show formal recognition, just because she was the senior student...

"Right, so, if Princess Clestia said nothing bad is going to happen, nothing bad is going to happen. So just calm down and do those breathing exercises. And who knows, maybe meeting some new ponies would do you some real good."

Twilight did as asked, breathing in and out in a slow rythem while using her forleg to measure time. Despite assurances to the contrary, she knew something bad was going to happen. Maybe if not from Nightmare Moon, then from herself...

****************

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria, there was a princess who raised the sun. Once a year on the longest day of the year, she did it before all the public, and it was beautiful. Attending one such performance was a young filly named Twilight Sparkle. After seeing the princess raise the sun, Twilight fell in love with magic. Afterwards she went home and began to study. And study. And study. And study some more. Her parents were so impressed by how well she was doing they decided to send her to a special school. However the school would not let her in unless she passed a test and hatched a dragon egg. The little filly tried and tried, but no matter what Twilight did she couldn't hatch the egg. Suddenly there was a bright flash, and little Twilight's magic went surging out! She hatched the egg, but it also turned into a giant dragon! The school board was sent flying around the room, and Twilight's poor parents were turned into potted plants! But then the princess came and stopped Twilight's magic. She set the school board down, returned the parents to normal, and even shrank the dragon back down into a baby. Amazed at what the little filly, who had just earned her cute mark, could do Celestia invited her to become one of her personal students, for she really couldn't see how different it would be to have two exceptional students instead of one. Twilight and her parents agreed, and so Twilight met the princess's other student, Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight soon came to realize that the princess, Sunset, and herself were simply way more powerful than other unicorns; Sunset had even said so herself on a couple of occasions. Twilight realized that being so powerful, and able to lose control, she needed to be very careful and do things just right. Until she could, she would do her best to avoid normal ponies untill she was sure she wouldn't hurt them. And so she locked herself away from the world with her books. And there she has stayed for almost five years...

****************

Twilight was only starting to feel marginally calmer when Spike shouted "We're here!" Looking down, they had indeed arrived at Ponyville. Nothing looked too extraordinary so far to make its stand out from all the other little towns throughout the land. Thatched roof houses, a few shops, a farmers' market, a giant gingerbread house...okay maybe some things stood out.

After the carriage landed and the passengers got off, Spike riding atop Twilight as he often does, Twilight turned to their drivers with a smile. "Thanks for the ride guys!"

"Oh yes, thanking ponies, right. Thanks!" Sunset quickly added as Twilight once again led by example on how to be nice to other ponies. Giving an exaggerated wave and a large smile as the pegasi guards flew off with their carriage, she sighed an stopped once they had flown off. Why did it have to be so hard to be good? Taking another look around, Sunset levitated out her copy of the list of preparations to check. "Alright, we're here and we've got a job to do. Let's just get this over with."

Author's Note

It's better to think of this chapter as a prolog or interlude. I'm also doing it to draw some parallels with main characters, and showing a bit why Twi's like this in the AU. PTSD and World of Cardboard fed (accidentally) by Sunset boasting a bit about their power, and not having Celestia's undivided attention to notice the issue. Sunset, to clarify, has no idea what exactly happened at Twilight's entrance exam. The most she knows is that Twilight hatched Spike.

Next chapter, Ponyville!

Because Friendship is magical!

"And the bridge is out." Sunset stated, looking across the giant chasm at their destination, the Ancient Castle of the Two Sisters. "You know, at this point I'm not even surprised anymore. I'm not sure if my lack of surprise is a good thing because I'm learning, or a bad thing because now I expect everything to go wrong."

"Yeah looks like it's been cut." Masquerade confirmed, examining the posts on their side. Staring into the thick, billowing fog, she notes "But from what I can see the rest of the bridge is fine, we just need to reattach it on this end, though a few of the planks look rather worn do we'll need to be careful...why is everypony staring at me?"

"Nothing really dear. We're just impressed you can see it through all that fog at all, let alone well enough to judge its condition." Sweetie explained.

"Fog? Awww nuts, hold on a second." Mask said. She then started squinting one eye, then the other, then both, and then started throwing in head tilts. Just before somepony decided they needed to check for a concussion, she frowned. "Yep, there it is. We have illusory fog."

"Illusion?" Twilight asks, setting her horn aglow. "I...wow you're right, it's masterfully subtle. How did you know?"

"Twinkle eye. We see with magic, so illusions have a really hard time affecting us. Let me tell you, it makes working with non-practical effects a pain in the rear sometimes." Mask replied, assuming a more normal stance. "Anyway I found that I can kind of see illusions if I look at them funny. How did you think I dodged Nightmare Moon's first trap?"

"Huh. I never actually thought about that." Sunset admitted, before panicking slightly "And by that I mean that there was a lot going on and a failed to notice, not that you're not worth noticing, I mean I'm just thick not to think of that and get distracted by rhyming zebras well okay there was only one zebra but still there was a lot going on and it's really my fault for not noticing and" Any further rambling were cut off as RD stuck her hoof into Sunset's mouth.

"Oh no need for more drama. None of us noticed, on account of nearly dying and Zecora." the multi-chromatic pegasus assured her.

"Anyway, the problem as ah see it is that that there looks like another trap the varmint set fer us. Probably set ta snatch ya two if ya fly in." AJ reasoned, looking at their airborne members with concern. "And since ya'd be flyin, I doubt you'd like whatever hitcha midair."

"Which is why I'm dismantling this trap right now." Twilight said, horn glowing even brighter. "We do not have time to deal with any more of Nightmare Moon's shenanigans! Princess Celestia needs our help, and I am not waiting around!" Then suddenly her eyes shown with a brilliant darknes...

****************

Twilight looked around the swirly, foggy, featureless plain. "Augh! I triggered the trap? Well whatever, I can totally break the illusion."

"Oh, already? But I haven't even told you my mistress's offer." a Mini-Moon that had appeared from nowhere next to Twilight purred.

"Not interested." Twilight said. "And from what Rainbow said, all I have to do is beat you to wake up."

"Don't be so sure about that." a second Mini-Moon pronounced from where it reclined.

"She had...certain advantages in the dream realm. But lucid dreaming won't work here." a third one flying overhead noted. "This isn't a dream after all."

"She also decided to...reinforce this one." the fourth Mini-Moon stated, walking from out behind Twilight. "So it really is in your best interest to hear us out."

"I highly doubt that." Twilight protested. "You have nothing to offer me, unless it's surrender and freeing Princess Celestia."

"Now why would you want little old sun butt back when we can offer you something better?" MM 1 asked.

"Power." 2 replied.

3 chimed in from above. "Enough power to make you greater than even Starswirl the Bearded, enough to make him look like a foal's party entertainer."

"And all you have to do is renounce Celestia, who is not even around anymore, and swear allegiance to Nightmare Moon, who basically already rules the world." 4 summed up rather nicely.

Twilight just stared at them, jaw dropped, for a good long moment. Then she collapsed to the ground, rolling about in a fit of laughter.

"What's so funny?" 1 demanded, rage smoldering in its eyes.

"It's just, haha, oh my, ha, Rainbow was right. You guys are terrible at this. Probably comes from having to use your boss's point of view." Twilight explained as she finally calmed down from her laughing fit. Standing up she explained. "Listen up because I am only going to say this once. I have too much power already. What the bloody Tartarus makes you think I'd ever want more of the stuff?"

"What?" 3 asked, genuinely confused.

"There is no such thing as too much power. Ponies always crave more." 4 objected.

"Not so. On both accounts." Twilight countered, shaking her head. "See, here's the thing. I'm dangerous. Very, very dangerous. I probably would have wound up making a massive disaster years ago if Princess Celestia hadn't taken pity on me. When I got my cutie mark it was during an out of control magical outburst. My special talent, you see, is Magical Catastrophe, I'm a literal walking disaster. Afterwards Princess Celestia fixed everything and, instead of locking somepony as dangerous as me far far away, took me on as her student. She taught me discipline and how to control my magic. Without her guidance and care, I would probably go down in the history books as a horrendous natural disaster, a destroyer of cities, a monster. I owe Princess Celestia everything, and there is nothing you can offer, say, or do that will ever make me betray the mare I owe my life to!"

"Don't be so sure about that." Mega-Moon 1 said, as its fellow constructs also assumed their giant size. "I'm sure after a time under our "care" we can convince you otherwise."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Twilight's voice boomed, providing its own echo and reverb. Her eyes were blazing portals of white light, and an aurora of violet magic swirled around her. "See, here's the thing. You're not real, so I don't have to hold back. Since you seem to recall what Rainbow did, I'm sure this question will be very familiar. Want to see what I did to earn MY cutie mark?"

And then everything exploded.

****************

Twilight's eyes suddenly started pouring out a dark light. "Aw nuts, I think Twi got caught in the trap." Dash noted, facehoofing at the predicament.

"Right, I'll try and smack her out of it." Masquerade said, but as she was trotting over, Twilight's eyes suddenly flashed a brilliant white and she stood up tall. "Woah, um Twilight, you okay?"

"I feel great! That was very therapeutic. You're right Rainbow, those magic constructs really are bad at the whole temptation thing. Oh look, illusion's gone." Twilight then proceeded to levitate the bridge back into place. "Sunset I believe you have a rope fusing spell?"

"Right, on it." Sunset replied, splicing the ropes back together. "Also throwing in some basic reinforcement so it doesn't break while we cross. Man that nap really helped recharge the old mana reserve."

"Well, by my estimates it was a two hour deep sleep, so of course it restored a good bit." Twilight responded. "Though I will admit I wound up using a good chunk dismantling her trap."

"So, what did the idiot offer you?" Dash asked, honestly curious how the spell had failed this time.

"It offered me power in exchange for betraying Princess Celestia." Twilight stated matter of factly. "The bridge looks good, we can cross now everypony...Sunset why are you laughing so hard?"

"I'm sorry, but you, the Faithful Student, betray Celestia? It should have asked for something more viable. Like you eating your own head. And, and it wanted you to betray her, for power? You, one of the two most powerful unicorns on the planet?"

"Yes. I already pointed out how stupid the offer was before I opened the can of magical whoop-flank." Twilight replied, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go girls. We have an evil alicorn to stop."

****************

"Are you, umph, sure these rocks are the, urn, Elephants of Harmony?" Dash asked, placing the last of the five giant stones on the ground. "Cause if I almost got a hernia for nothing I'm going to be pissed."

"Elements, not Elephants. And yes I'm sure. They have magic I can detect in them, even if it's dormant. And they're powerful enough that Sparkle and I can't affect them with even a levitation spell." Susnet explained, examining the white granite orbs closely. "The book said that we need to activate them in order for the sixth element to appear. So now all we have to do is work out how. Twilight you're not that good at artifice, no offense, so can you help the others guard the area while I figure this out?"

"Of course." Twilight said. "Come on girls, let's set up what we can and keep an eye out for any trouble." Walking over toward the doorway and casting some alarm wards out into the forest, she was surprised when Applejack walked up to her. "Applejack, what's the matter? You look upset."

"Well it's just, how was that not offensive? Didn't she just call you dumb?" AJ asked, trying to understand why Twilight was so unphased.

Twilight shook her head, seeing how the misunderstanding could have occurred. "Oh no, not at all. I have almost no training yet in artifice...uh the study, use, and making of enchanted items. I've been focusing mostly on raw spellcasting in my studies, and she has several extra years of study on me even before you factor in her independant study from before she became one of Celestia's pupils. It's let me really close the gap on spellcasting compared to Shimmer, but when it comes to stuff like this she's the expert."

"If you say so." AJ conceded. "Wait a cotton pickin' minute, you're saying when it comes to castin' spells you're almost as good as her?"

"Um, yes." Twilight admitted, blushing a little. "Like I said, I was very focused. The price I paid was that Sunset's more skilled than me in other areas of magic than just casting spells. I'm sort of a 'one trick pony', even if that one trick has a lot of uses."

Meanwhile, unaware of the conversation taking place twenty feet away, Sunset was muttering to herself out loud as she examined the mystical relics after her first attempt to activate them. "Hmmm, doesn't seem to be an electrical charge, so 'spark' wasn't literal. It seems to work on a frequency resonate feedback loop that they broadcast to each other and is received by...none of them? That doesn't make any sense, they'd just build up energy with no way to release it, and I don't care how powerful something is: anything that generates infinite power five times over with no way to use it would destroy itself. So what uses the...energy...of course!" Sunset shouted, jumping to her hooves in her excitement. "The sixth element is the one that uses the power the others generate! If I get them to resonate with enough energy, the sixth element is bound to appear!"

"Great, stop talking about it and do it!" Rainbow shouted, turning around and glaring at the unicorn in impatience. "Hurry up before-" She was interrupted, however, when a cloud of dark mist blasted past her, sending her tumbling through the air for a few seconds. She could still though, as that same black cloud surrounded Shimmer and the elements in a swirling vortex of darkness before they vanished. "Before Nightmare Moon attacks us again."

"Everypony, I saw a flash of light in the tower over there!" Sweetie shouted, pointing at the eastern tower that was still standing. "Let's hurry! Sunset needs our help!"

****************

Sunset looked about wherever she was in a panic, unsure what was going on. And then she got slammed across the room by a back hoof. Getting back on her hooves, she looked up and saw her opponent. "Oh great, you're here in person. Wonderful. Simply bucking wonderful. Could today get any worse?"

"Not for you little mage. Your defiance shall cost you your life." Nightmare Moon bellowed, though thankfully not at the earth shaking levels from before. "We have so decreed it to be thine fate. And what we hav so decreed shall be, for we are power supreme!" Lightning swirled around her mane, as she flashed wickedly sharp teeth. Sunset's response was to lower her head and scrape her front hoof across the floor in challenge. "Surely you jest?"

"I do not. If I'm going to die, let it be with at least some honor." And then Sunset charged. Nightmare Moon accepted the challenge, lowering her own head for her counter charge.

Jousting was an ancient method of dueling used by unicorns who were unsuited for a duel of a more mystical sort. It was only ever practiced by those with little skill in the magical arts. In the time of Nightmare Moon, no spellcaster would ever be caught engaging in the barbaric sport, and as such she figured the unicorn before her lacked the magic needed to put up a decent fight, as evidenced by the perfection of her technique. This Shimmer had clearly had to defend her honor many times without aid of spell. To bad for the little foal that she had total advantage this combat.

All of That would have been true if jousting was still as Nightmare Moon remembered it. Nopony dueled to the death these days; such a thing had been illegal for centuries. Instead, thanks to modern safety equipment, jousting was now a sport. One Sunset used to be prety serious about in her youth. Serious enough to have studied the sports history and know what the Nightmare would think of her jousting skills. As such she could easily imagine the mad Alicorn's shock when, in a moment of masterful spellcasting, she teleported instantly past Nightmare Moon and, without losing momentum, reached the Elements. "But if it let's me live screw honor! Sixth Element, comming up!" And then she started pouring all the magic she could into them.

Nightmare Moon stared in horror as the stones began to glow brighter and brighter, hovering in the air. "No! We won't be defeated again!" Suddenly...the glowing stopped, and the stones fell back to the ground. Seeing the unicorns shock, Nightmare Moon laughed. "Hahahahaha! We were foals to be scared of you, a mere mortal!" Taking a great leap into the midst of the Elements, the force of her landing sent the upstart unicorn flying. "Even wielding Magic, the Sixth Element, thou couldst not wield the artifacts! They are proven to strong for any mortal!"

"Wait? The sixth one is Magic?" Sunset asked, confused. "Wait, that doesn't match with the others. Something's not right here..."

"Ah yes, the others. Allow us to take care of that." And Nightmare Moon stomped her hooves, and the Elements of Harmony shattered.

"Oh no! We're too late!" a voice cried out. Turning around, Sunset saw all of her friends there, having rushed into the room a moment too late.

"My friends?" Sunset asked, turning it over in her head.

'No no, it can't be that simple. That's just stupid.

"Indeed, not one of thee have the power to defy us!"

'Wait, that prophecy, how did that end again?

"Yeah we'll, I ain't giving up!" Dash said, assuming a martial ready stance. "I've got a blackbelt in striking thunder, and I'm not afraid to use it. Whose with me?"

"I ain't got any fancy fightin', but I do have good old rasslin' and buckin'." AJ replied, determination on her features.

'Augh! Why can't the idiots who make prophesies make them easier to remember!''It was in rhyme! That's pretty easy to remember!'

Twilight noded, horn glowing. "My brother gave me a few lessons in combat training. Admittedly I wish he had given me more and I'd payed better attention, but it's the best I've got."

Sweetie just shook her head. "I'm afraid I've never been one for violence, but I'll do what I can to help. What about you Masquerade?"

"Relax, I've got this." Mask said, her smile only a bit forced. "I've been in hundreds of fake fights. We've already practically won."

'Won! The many shall become one! That's it!' "That's it! I've figured it out! How to use the Elements to beat Nightmare Moon!" Sunset declared triumphantly.

"Um, that's nice dear, but I think it's a little late for that." Sweetie said, patting Sunset's shoulder. "She kind of already destroyed them."

"No she hasn't! The Elements are right here! They're us!" Sunset declared, still feeling the euphoria of her epiphany.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "It seems thy friend has gone mad in the face of death. Pitiable, but understandable."

"Oh you wish. Applejack," Sunset quickly turned to the farm pony in question "when I was hanging on for dear life, you spoke the truth to me, even when I didn't want to hear it. You knew what had to be said, whether I liked it or not. You are the Element of Honesty!"

From the pile of rubble, several shards, now turned into bright orange crystal, started to circle around Applejack. "What in the?"

"I'm not done yet! Sweetie Drops! You showed understanding, compassion, and sympathy to a creature most would consider a monster. Your kind words and empathy helped those in need simply because they needed it! You are the Element of Kindness!"

As green crystals started to encircle the patisserie, she looked quite humble. "I'm not sure if I'm worthy, but I'll try to be."

"This is impossible! We destroyed the Elements!"

"Wrong! You destroyed a bunch of rocks! What the Elements ARE is virtues that can reside in anypony, like how Twilight Sparkle is probably the most dedicated and devoted being on the planet! The Element of Loyalty!" As red crystals floated around her fellow unicorn, she turned to the pegasi. "Masquerade. When I was at my lowest point, you cheered me up and made me feel like living once more. Defeating despair and bringing joy and hope, you are the Element of Laughter."

"Aww great, now I'll get typecast for comedies." Mask joked as blue crystals floated around her.

"Rainbow Dash. Willing to give up your own holidays so that others can enjoy theirs. Willing to give up on your dreams because others are counting on you. Always willing to give what you can to help your fellow pony, you are the Element of Generosity!"

"Aw nuts, I got the lame one." Dash complained as purple crystals spun around her. "Still we need the whole set, so glad to help!"

"It does not matter! You still lack Magic! I saw it myself earlier! Your own magic is too tainted to ever represent such a thing!"

"Sunset shook her head sadly. "And that's where you are wrong. The last Element isn't Magic. As I know, Magic is no virtue. It's a tool, and one that can be abused. Badly. No, the last Element is something different. Something that makes you want to be Kind to others, inspires ponies to be Loyal, be Generous, be Honest with, and make them joyous with Laughter. That special something that brings them all out in somepony. That makes us all one. The final Element...Friendship!" A brilliant white light enveloped the room, and Sunset could feel her friends with her. They were trusting her, as friends do, with an important task. Directing the energy they provided her. "I can see how you'd make that mistake though, thinking the final Element was Magic. It's a very easy mistake to make. Because Friendship is magical."

And then everything was rainbows.

Author's Note

Well, now we all know what Twilight thinks her special talent is. Hello childhood trauma, how are you doing?

Everything is my fault forever!

That's nice. Now then-

Hold on! How come Twilight got such a short segment? Do you hate her or something?

Not at all. I just felt that we needed very little extra evidence at this point to show that Twilight is Loyalty. Plus, we got to show just how powerful she really is, able to take on four spell constructs at once and win in a battle at the speed of thought. Now then-

Hold on! Why did you change Magic into Friendship? That's total BS and you know it!

Yes, it was a Brilliant Scheme wasn't it? It's an AU, and it's a lot more in keeping with the shows messages and morals. Remember in the mane-verse they say that Friendship = Magic, so it honestly is the same thing, but a lot less obscured. Now then, time for the wrap up in the final chapter, nice and neat.

Muahahaha!

God. Damn it. Murphy. Anyway, Happy New Year! Aaaand theme song!

My Little Ponies
We used to wonder what friendship could be!
My Little Ponies
But here we finally see:
An Honest heart,
Everypony plays their part!
Lessons to attend,
Making time for a friend!
Kindness is sweet as can be,
And Friendship is the magic of you and me!
These are My Little Ponies!
It's great to have the very best friends!