Prologue
Hello there! My name is Twilight, I'm fourteen years old. My parents, my little brother Spike, and I just moved to this beautiful town, Ponyville.
It's a very cool town. It has so many different things to offer, from things to do, to sights to see. My family and I just moved into an apartment in one of the largest skyscraper-esque complexes in the city. The main parts of the city are various buildings, including several towering buildings like ours. Looking out our window, you can see the expanse of the city.
It's not just buildings though. You can see that where the edge of the city ends, the forests begin. There are several other little parks around and a few skate parks too. I hear that the forests are diverse too. I haven't had the chance to look around too closely though. But from what I have seen, this city is a near-utopia.
The rest of my family consists of my older sister Celeste and my big brother Shining. They no longer live with us though. Celeste isn't living with us anymore, though. She's a very accomplished explorer who is travelling around the world, in search of ancient artifacts and relics.
It was actually her that suggested to mom and dad we move to Ponyville. She sends us emails every week, no matter where she might be. It's almost as if she's still living with us here.
Anyway, today is my first day at a new school. I'd be lying if I said I was really excited. I am really not a social person in any way. In fact, I don't have any friends yet, and I doubt I'll be making any soon. Honestly, I'd rather be in a library and be able to read than be socializing like all the rest.
Another thing that really has me wanting the day to be over already is from an email from Celeste:
"Greetings sis! I am sending this message to you early because I know you will be in class soon. I hope you have a good day and make many friends! <3
P.S. I hope you got the gift I sent you, make good use of it!"
Since I received the email last night, I can only assume and hope I get it tonight! Honestly, I'm really looking forward to getting it! Whenever Celeste sends a present, it's usually something really cool like a book or even an artifact!
Well, it's time I head off to my first day of school... I wish it was over already...
~~~
Even as I'm walking to school, I just can't stop thinking about what Celeste is sending.
Sighing, I look up to see I'm finally at the front gates of the school.
It's a really large building. In fact, I could have mistaken it for a college campus. It's a purely white main building, with a substantial amount of windows to every room. There's a moderately tall stone wall separating the campus from the rest of the city. I can see railings on the building rooftops, meaning we students can go there sometimes. I think.
Well, here we go...
~~~
Almost the instant that Twilight entered the school premises, a young girl passed by her. But she suddenly stopped in her tracks the instant she saw Twilight. She quickly whirled around and stopped inches from Twilight's face.
The girl was an energetic type, with high volume pink hair. She was smiling, flashing her perfect, pearly-white teeth. She was wearing the typical girl's uniform, a white and dressy short sleeved undershirt. Over it was a sleeveless, yellow vest with a red trim and red bow tie. She also wore the typical red skirt, with white and pink-striped knee-socks.
Twilight could swear the girl's eyes were gleaming.
The girl snatched up Twilight's hands in her own and began to vigorously shake hands.
"Hiya! Heeeeeey there! You're new here!" As the girl continued to energetically shake hands, Twilight gutted out a reply.
"Uhm... Yes, Hi... How could you tell I'm new?"
"I know absolutely everyone at this school!" She exclaimed proudly, "My name is Pinkie, what's yours?"
"Tw... Twilight," She quietly returned.
"Ooooh! Nice! To! Meet! Ya! Twilight! I'm sure we'll be great friends in no time! Oh!" She energetically grabbed Twilight's shoulders and shook her a little more than she would've liked.
"I have this great idea!" Pinkie was shouting with ear-shattering volume, "This weekend, I'll throw a super-huge welcome party for you!" She finally released Twilight from her grip and gave another smile, "A pleasant surprise, isn't it? Eh? Eh?!" She was once again inches from Twilight's face.
"Umm... Yeah..." Twilight sighed, "But I'm not really a loud kind of person. I'm really more of a nice, quiet place type of person." She looked away from the over-energetic girl. Her expression dropped off a cliff.
"That's silly!" She exclaimed, "What kind of party would you have in silence? A boring one, that's what! With a party like the one I'm planning, I guarantee you'll make so many friends, so you won't have to be a sad, lonely girl! Instead, you can be a happy one with lots of friends!"
Twilight sighed, and wondered if this girl would ever stop talking.
And at that moment, another girl plowed into them at racing velocity, knocking Pinkie and Twilight to the ground. The girl triumphantly wiped her brow and sighed, "All right! I finally made it to school on time!"
Twilight jumped up and stared down the girl, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
This second girl was much smaller than her. In fact, she was about a half a foot shorter than her. The girl also had hair of streaking rainbow colors and wore a belt of those same colors. The new girl turned around with a sneer.
"Tch! Tsk, tsk! Quiet, little girl!"
"Little girl?" Twilight asked, before leaning over and leveling her hand with the rainbow girl's head, "Look who's talking!"
"I'm thirteen okay?!" The girl pointed her thumb to her chest.
Before another word could be said, another girl thumbing through a book walked right into the small girl, knocking her to the ground. The offender didn't even notice, and continued to read. This girl was taller than even Twilight by a good margin, They weren't bulky, but Twilight could see the muscles on this girl. She had long, blond hair tied toward the end, and a cowboy hat. Other than that, her uniform was standard.
The smallest girl quickly bounced up and began barking at the cowgirl, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
The girl pulled her head from the book, and looked right over the rainbow girl's head.
"Huh, nobody's there." She shrugged and began walking again,
"Nobody?! How dare you-" The shorty began, before being knocked to the ground again.
"Make way for the class president!" Protected by an entourage of other girls, was another girl. And she was stunningly gorgeous. Her beautiful, purple hair was styled so it curled in various places, encouraging her natural grace. "Come now, girls! It's time for school! Let's all have a fabulous day!"
"Who's that?" Twilight asked Pinkie.
"Oh, that's an easy one!" Pinkie sang, "That's Rarity, the most popular girl in here! She's also our elected class president. Oh! And she's really into fashion! Like, really, really!"
At the same moment, Twilight glanced over to see a girl with much more relaxed pink hair helping up the rainbow hair, "What are you doing on the ground, Rainbow?" She asked quietly.
"Nothing, Fluttershy..." Rainbow answered, "Let's just get to the classroom."
"Oh, okay..."
Twilight kept an eye on the two as they walked away. She noted to herself how timid the other girl was. Why was she friends with Rainbow, a girl who's personality was the clear opposite?
"Let's get to class, Twilight!" Pinkie called, snapping Twilight back to reality.
"Hey! Wait up!"
She didn't see it, but from a ways back, another girl was watching them. She had darker skin and flowing blue hair.
"That's her, alright..."
~~~
"Phew!" Twilight exclaimed as she entered her expansive apartment, "It's nice to just be back home!" She sighed and headed toward her room, "First day..." She muttered, "Tiring, per usually..."
She opened her door, and was soon glaring down an unwelcome intruder. Sitting at her desk, on her computer was her younger brother. He nervously scratched his green hair and laughed nervously.
"Oh! Uh... He-... Hey, Twilight!" In an instant, his sister was upon him, giving a vicious nuggie.
"Spike! What are you doing in my room?!"
"I was just using your computer, I swear!"
"You were going through my things, weren't you!?"
"Not at all..." He sighed, before picking up a box, "Celeste's package for you is here."
"Goodie! It's finally here!" She exclaimed, before glaring at her brother, "You didn't open it, did you? I swear, Spike, if you opened it, I'm gonna-"
"I didn't open it! Who do you think I am?! Look, it's completely unopened!" He defended.
She stared down at the package for a moment, "You may leave now."
"But I wanna see you open it!" He whined.
Twilight's response was to literally KICK him out of her room, slamming the door right after him.
"STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!"
Twilight glanced at the clock, before setting the package down, and exiting her room. Before she was going to do anything else, she was going to take a shower, get ready for bed, and have a little snack.
One hour later...
"Ahh!" Twilight happily sighed as she sat down on her bed with the package, "All comfy and relaxed!" She cut open the package and smiled, "Ooh, books! Nice! I love books! Hm?"
Twilight reached in and pulled out another item. It was a stone slab with six gems in it. They had the shapes of a star, lightening bolt, balloon, diamond, apple, and butterfly. A note was taped to it.
"Hmm.." Twilight glanced over it, "'For you and your friends'... None yet, sis." She reached in and pulled out another item. In her hand, she held a purple tiara with a unicorn's horn at the top.
"How cute!" She exclaimed, "A toy tiara! With a note..." She embarrassingly read it, "Wear it so you may know it's secrets... Geez, what's with Celeste and these messages?"
Twilight casually plucked the note from the tiara and placed it upon her head. In return, a blinding light emanated from the tiara, engulfing the room in light.
~~~
Twilight stirred and groaned weakly. She slowly helped herself to her feet, and looked around. No matter where she looked, she could only see mist and the grey, stone-like ground she was standing on.
"Where am I?" She asked herself. A different, female voice answered.
"A different plane of reality."
Twilight turned to see a tall, horse-like creature standing before her. Her coat was a beautiful white. She also bore feathered wings and a unicorn's horn of the same color. Her mane and tail was a beautiful assortment of streaks in the form of two blues, a turquoise, and pink. Upon her head sat a gorgeous golden crown.
Twilight stared at the creature before her, "What... Are you?" The creature smiled.
"I am but a small piece of a spirit, I am a part of the Alicorn named Celestia."
"Not sure I follow what's going on!" Twilight said with distress.
"Allow me to explain," The Alicorn shut her eyes, "First, you must understand that there is a myriad of alternate dimensions, one of which being mine, the world of Equestria. It was a realm inhabited by many magical and wonderful ponies and other enlightened creatures. Long ago, I ruled this land with my younger sister, Luna." She looked to the tiara on Twilight's head, "I am a tiny part of her spirit resting in that horn of yours, so my knowledge is somewhat limited."
"This?" Twilight asked, "I thought it was a toy."
"Centuries ago, there was a civilization that paid tribute to the Princesses of Equestria as if they were goddesses. Information about them and when they discovered Luna and Celestia is also limited."
Twilight shook her head, "But that still doesn't explain why you're here! Talking to me!"
The Alicorn bore a stern face, "Within your spirit, resides an Element of Harmony. That is why I can reach you. Why I am communicating with you now."
"Elements of... Harmony?"
"They are a force separated into six essences; Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, and Magic. To my knowledge, they are forces of pure good, used by the Princesses to stop or banish pure evil. This is why I stand before you. You have been chosen to protect the world from terrible danger."
"Surely you're joking!" Twilight cried. The Alicorn held her stern look.
"You cannot do it alone. Did you notice the jewel that accompanied your horn? That jewel represents Magic, and along with your horn, it will allow you to access and use magic in the human world. For the time being, your task is to find the other spirits of the Elements. Bestow upon them their jewels."
"But what is this great menace? What's so terrible, the Elements are needed?" At this, the Alicorn fragment closed her eyes, head lowered.
"Only the true Celestia knows. But, she has decided to send the elements to this world, leaving them in the hands of that ancient civilization that once worshiped them, and two prophecies."
"Prophecies?"
"The first one states: 'When the moon turns red; a girl will be born and bring with her the vengeance of the exiled princess with her'." The fragment sighed, before continuing, "The second one is a bit more dire...
It states: 'When day is devoured by night, and the sun and moon become one, a bright flash will forewarn the coming of the harbinger of chaos, Discord. All his eyes shall set their gaze upon will be devoured by disharmony and despair'.
After writing these prophecies, it is said she will be reborn into this world as a human being."
"And who is Celestia's reincarnation?"
"Whoever manages to extract this horn and the jewels from their ruins."
Twilight thought to herself, "But it was my sister Celeste who- oh! She must be Celestia's reincarnation."
"Some other time, I will teach you to use your magic, but for now I must go. Remember, you must find the other Elements of Harmony."
Then, the flash of light returned.
~~~
"Wait, Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted. She instantly sat up. She was back in her own bed.
"'Princess Celestia? Even your dreams are weird." She turned to see Spike staring at her.
"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!!!"
Slam!
~~~
"So I was right..." Standing on a tower antennae, was the girl who had been watching Twilight before. Upon her face, sat a look of pure hatred.
At that moment, a celestial, dark-blue aura surrounded her, forming wings.
"Soon, I shall exact my revenge on all those who have shunned my in my past life... Especially you, Celestia..."
Author's Note
Much thanks to mauroz for allowing me to use his concept for a very cool story. Three hours on nonstop writing and here it is!
"Twilight, that wasn't just a dream."
Twilight was sitting at her desk, computer open, and video chat on. On the screen, was a beautiful girl with hair of light blue, green, and pink. A gentle smile graced her face. Twilight just sighed, a tired expression on her own face. The girl continued to speak.
"Little sister, you really did just travel to another place. But I'll explain how that happened some other time. I'm more concerned with you. Most importantly, have you made any friends yet?"
"Celeste," Twilight huffed, "It was my first day. You know I'm not a very sociable person."
"Did you at least talk to someone?" Celeste asked with a knowing smile. Twilight stopped and thought for a moment. Yes, she did actually talk with someone.
"Well... I met a girl named Pinkie. But she's really weird. And she wouldn't stop talking and laughing. She just wouldn't leave me alone." Twilight thought to herself. She didn't realize, but she was staring downward. That was enough of a sign for her sister to pick up on.
"Twilight," Celeste said, recapturing Twilight's attention, "Never reject someone who wants to be your friend, especially if they want to make you happy."
"Okay... I'll try, sis."
"Also, remember to use the headband again tomorrow. Celestia's spirit will teach you how to manipulate and control your spiritual energy. In the meantime, I'll read the book I found in the ruins. The one I sent you was just a copy. It's written in a strange, dead language, so it could take a bit to translate for you. But it has spells you can use once you learn to control your magic."
Celeste continued to smile, even as Twilight was overwhelmed by the whole concept of what's happened to her in the span of a single day. Not exactly how she expected her first day to go.
"So, how is everything?" Celeste asked, causing Twilight to raise an eyebrow.
"You mean other than the fact that the entire world now rests on my shoulders?"
"Oh... Hehe... Right. Yes, other than that." Celeste continued without missing a beat.
"Fine... Talk to you later, Celeste." Twilight said as she turned off her webcam.
~ The Next Day ~
Twilight sighed as she made her way to school.
She was still trying to wrap her head around what had transpired the night before. By now, she had expected that she would receive some... interesting items from her sister. However, last night was far more than she could have bargained for.
After all, how could she have expected to be visited by an Alicorn?
Twilight mulled over everything told to her by Princess Celestia. She supposed to be reunite and lead the Elements of Harmony. She's supposed to save the world from a great evil.
"It's like the plot of some fantasy novel..." Twilight sighed to herself.
She wasn't exactly inclined to be excited at the prospect of having the fate of the entire world rest on her shoulders. She wasn't even convinced that she would be able to use magic, despite all that she was told.
"Can I even use magic?" She asked herself, "I'm in serious doubt."
As she made her way to the school's gates, she saw Pinkie standing directly in the entry way. The energetic girl was squinting, scanning out, looking for something. Twilight had a really good guess as to what.
She ducked, and quietly snuck by Pinkie.
"Huh. It's late and Twilight still hasn't shown up..." Pinkie said to herself, confirming exactly what Twilight thought. Pinkie was searching for her. It was way to early in the day for her to get worn out again.
Twilight broke into a run, dashing by Pinkie as she looked the other way. She sighed with a bit of relief as she continued to run toward the school building, planning to hide somewhere until the bell. That is, until she found herself crashing into someone and finding herself on the ground.
She quickly got to her feet and began to dust herself off, "Sorry! I didn't see you there!"
When she heard no response, she decided to look up to see who she had the pleasure of getting flattened by. Immediately drawn to a familiar cowboy hat, she realized it was one of the girls from yesterday. Twilight continued to stare at this girl. Perhaps she didn't hear? Then, she remembered that this was the one who pushed the rainbow girl. She decided she should try and say something more.
"Um... Hi! My name's Twilight and I-"
"I couldn't care less." The cowgirl deadpanned before walking away, leaving a shocked and slightly offended Twilight.
"Man, what's wrong with that girl?! Who is she?" Twilight asked herself aloud. A voice that wasn't her own answered.
"Her name's Applejack. She just moved to the city last month! Truth is, no one even knows why she's always so serious!"
"Ah! Pinkie?! Where'd you come from!?" Twilight asked in sudden surprise.
"You're so silly! I was standing in the entrance and you didn't even see me! Haha..." Pinkie said as Twilight laughed ever so nervously.
"Yeah! Ha ha..."
~ At the End of the Day ~
With the school day finally over, Twilight and Pinkie walked out of the school grounds. The sun had begun to set, giving the environment a gentle, orange glow. Pinkie was happily sucking on a lollipop as they made their way through the street.
"You sure you don't want one?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm fine. But now I know why you're so hyperactive." Twilight responded.
The girls walked in silence for a few seconds, before Pinkie broke it.
"Twilight? Can I... Ask you something." For the first time since she'd met the girl, Pinkie didn't sound bubbly and happy.
"What is it?"
"Do I..." Pinkie broke off for a moment. She lightly bit the corner of her mouth before turning to Twilight with a plastered smile that betrayed the sadness within, "Bother you?" The question caused Twilight to stop in her tracks. Slowly, she looked at the girl.
"Wha... What makes you think that?" Twilight asked, mentally kicking herself for the obviously fake surprise in her voice. Pinkie's fake smile faded, being replaced by a somber, bittersweet one.
"For as long as can remember, others really don't like to be around me much. It's always my personality, they tell me that. I guess I- ... I could see it... Why people wouldn't want to be around me a lot." Pinkie's voice, as slight as it was, just began to falter a bit.
"Really?" Twilight asked. She was genuinely surprised by this, "I thought you'd have a lot of friends. But... If it's your personality, why not just change it?"
Pinkie looked back at Twilight. She smiled despite herself.
"Because it's in my nature. I want to share happiness with all the people I know... Especially my friends."
It was then, Twilight recalled Celeste's words from the previous night.
"Never reject someone who wants to be your friend, especially if they want to make you happy."
"Pinkie, you do not bother me." Twilight said, "It's just, I've never been very sociable around others. It doesn't have anything to do with you."
"Thank's Twilight." Pinkie gave Twilight a brilliant smile.
"Hey!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Can I sleep over at your house tonight? I've got something super important that I really need your help with."
"What? Tonight?" Twilight asked. Later that night, Celeste was supposed to teach her some magic later that night. Although, she'd probably prefer Twilight met some more people first. "Okay Pinkie, sounds like a good idea."
Instantly, Twilight was snatched up in a vice-grip-like hug, "Great, I knew you'd like it!"
"I... Also... Like... Breathing..." She groaned out.
~ Later That Night ~
"Mom! Dad! I'm home! And I brought a fr- classmate!" Twilight called as she unlocked her door.
Entering, she saw no one but Spike laying on the couch. He hopped up and walked over to his sister.
"Well, Mom and Dad went shopping."
"Oh, alright. Pinkie, this is my little brother Spike."
Pinkie quickly snatched up the young boy into a coddling hug, "Ah, he's so cute! How are you?!"
"F-fine..." He difficultly responded.
"Easy, Pinkie. You're gonna break him."
~ A Few Minutes Later ~
"So... English?" Twilight asked.
The group of three had moved into Twilight's room, with Twilight currently sitting on her wheeled chair. Pinkie happily sat at the end of her bed, gently kicking her feet back and forth. Spike sat back to back with the hyper girl
"Nope." Pinkie smiled.
"Okay, is it math? Is your problem math?"
"Nope, I'm super-duper good at math!"
"Don't tell me... History?"
"Hahaha, nope!"
"So then, what do you need me to help you with?!" Twilight asked with obvious irritation. Pinkie simply gave a happy smile to the obviously annoyed bookworm.
"I need you to help me choose the music we're gonna play at your welcome party! Maybe we can ask this girl, Vinyl, that's in my class. She's amazing with music and she's really, really cool! She loves parties too!"
Twilight's expression turned from annoyed to shocked, staring at Pinkie.
"You're throwing her a party?!" Spike asked excitedly.
"Yeah! I do for every new student! Isn't it cool?!" Pinkie asked, leaning back to look at him.
"It is! So, can I come?!"
"Sure, little dude! The more, the merrier! Hahaha!"
"Great... I passed up a chance for Celeste to teach me about magic... For nothing." Twilight muttered to herself under her breathe. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she agreed to help Pinkie.
Suddenly, the air felt cold and stale, but only Twilight seemed to notice.
"What? Pinkie, do you feel that?"
Twilight looked up to see Pinkie leaned back to Spike, but neither of them were talking.
"Pinkie, did you hear me?" Twilight asked, placing her hand on Pinkie's foot. But once she touched her, she realized Pinkie wasn't even moving.
"Pinkie?! Spike, something's happened to Pinkie! Spike?" She looked over to see that her little brother hadn't moved either.
As she stood up to get a closer look, she was enveloped in a blue light. When the light receded, Twilight was no longer in her room.
"Ugh..." Twilight rubbed her temples as she opened her eyes. The first thing she realized was that she was no longer in her room. The second thing she realized was that she was in a park she recognized from nearby.
"What? H-how did I get here?" Twilight asked no one in particular.
"Good evening."A voice called. Twilight looked up to the top of a stone pillar in front of her to see a girl with light brown skin and piercing teal eyes. The girl also wore a tiara that was similar to her own, except it was a light purple.
"Who... Who are you?" Twilight finally asked as she rose to her feet. The girl continued to sneer at her.
"I have many names. But you may call me Luna." She answered, developing a slight scowl, "I can sense you are emitting a powerful aura. Surely your spiritual energy was recently awakened."
"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.
The girl called "Luna" rose to her feet.
"Simply put, you are the only one not paralyzed by my spell. Something only possible if you are protected by your own spiritual energy."
"So you're the one that paralyzed Pinkie and Spike..."
"Everything within the radius of my spell has been frozen in time. It only takes a mere drop of my magic to paralyze normal humans. Except for you, since you're protected by your Spirit of Harmony."
"I... I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Do not lie to me, little girl. I can tell that your aura has just recently been awakened. That is only possible if it is triggered by something... Or someone."
"Triggered?" Twilight asked. "Oh! That must have been when I put on the headband Celeste sent me!"
Luna merely continued with her explanation, "And only the Bearers of Harmony are capable of controlling their spiritual energy without prior preparation."
"So.. You must also have one of those spirits?"
In response, Luna bathed herself in a dark purple aura, which expanded into winglike structures on her back as she began to levitate above Twilight.
"Insolent Child! I am far above all of you. I am the reincarnation of the Alicorn Princess of the Night, Princess Luna!"
~ Back in Twilight's Room ~
Within the package sent by Celeste, a pink glow began to emit.
A matching flash appeared on Pinkie. In this moment, she was freed from the spell that bound her. The girl looked back to the end of the bed, Twilight no where to be found.
"Twilight? Hello? Where are you?" She asked.
"Spike? Did you see where she went?"
Spike just continued to not say a word or move a muscle.
Just as she was about to slap him, she saw a glow outside.
"What was that?"
~ Back with Twilight ~
"If you're the reincarnation of Princess Luna, then you must know about Princess Celestia." Twilight said.
"Celestia? What of that Alicorn do you know?"
"My sister is the reincarnation of Princess Celestia."
"Really?" Luna asked, amused. She placed her right index finger on her cheek, "And just where might I find her?"
"Sorry, but she's not in the city."
"What a shame... I really want to meet her..."
Luna raised both of her hands in the air. Instantly, a vibrant, purple ball of energy the size of it's creator began to form.
"So that I could harvest her sacred spiritual energy! Instead, I'll do the next best thing for myself... I'll kill you and take your power! Prepare yourself, bearer of the spirit of Magic!"
Twilight's leg bucked underneath her as she gazed upon the sheer size of the energy being drawn by Luna. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't move like she wanted.
"Die!" Luna shouted as she threw down her energy attack.
In an instant, Twilight felt something slam into her, knocking her away from the concentrated energy. Moreover, whatever had hit her was still sitting on her!
"Twilight!" She looked up to see Pinkie sitting atop her, "You're a meanie! You leave to go play without friend and didn't even invite me!"
While it registered to her that Pinkie just saved her life, the girl obviously didn't grasp the situation.
"Do I look like I'm playing here?!" Twilight growled, "Can't you see that psycho night girl is trying to kill me?!"
"Kill you? Well that doesn't sound very fun."
"Really? You don't say? Thank you for the deep insight."
"Don't worry, Twilight!" Pinkie hopped to her feet, "I'll go talk to her and see if she'll stop trying to kill you!"
"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight called, but Pinkie had already sprinted underneath Luna.
"Excuse me! Girl flying in the sky! Please don't hurt Twilight! She's my friend!"
Luna merely stared down at the naive, pink-haired girl below.
"I see. This makes things interesting."
Without another word, Luna used her magic to grip Pinkie's throat, and slammed her into a tree several yards away.
"Pinkie!" Twilight quickly rushed to her side, "Please, stop hurting her! She hasn't done anything to you!"
"You don't see it?" Luna asked with disdain, "That girl should be severely injured or even dead from being thrown that far. Instead, she is merely unconscious. Her spiritual energy saved her. This is only because she too bears a Spirit of Harmony."
Twilight looked down to the girl she was now cradling in her lap, "Pinkie's also a Bearer of Harmony?"
"However," Luna continued, "I sense she is fare more connected to her Element. For that reason, I shall harvest her energy first!"
Twilight hugged Pinkie tighter as she glared up at Luna. Gently, she set her down and rose.
"No... Pinkie is the only one who ever bothered to approach me... She is my friend! I won't let you hurt her!"
In that moment of true resolve, Twilight was once more engulfed in energy, this time of a pink and purple nature. In a flash, two jewels with the symbol of the Element of Magic appeared on her wrists and her tiara on her head.
"What.. What is this? I feel... Strange." Twilight muttered to herself.
"Aha. This is... Interesting!" Luna gazed down at Twilight, "Now then... Fight me, girl!"
"Fight you?" Twilight asked, wagging her finger, "Don't you know better? Violence is never the solution!"
"That is only something cowards say!" Luna glowered. "But if you don't want the first move, I'll take it! Spectra Convicted!"
From Luna's hands, energy with seemed to be shaped like burning skulls began to fly toward her. Just as Twilight was about to take evasive action, she realized Pinkie was still behind her.
"Damn, I can't move! If I do, Pinkie will take the damage... I cannot allow that!"
Instinctively, Twilight raised her hands against the crashing energy. Suddenly, a golden energy ring with a hexagram surrounded by runes appeared before her, stopping Luna's attack in it's tracks.
"What?" Twilight asked. "Oh... That book said the powers of Harmony are connected to the user's emotions... That's the key to using these powers!"
"Hmph." Luna sneered, "It really is your first time using your powers. Hmm... I do not like fighting you in your current state, so I will offer you one chance. I will let you attack me and I won't move... In fact, I don't do anything."
"Seriously?" Twilight asked, "You're pretty arrogant."
"I give you one minute to try something. If you don't try, you already know what I'm going to do to your little friend there."
"One attack?" Twilight mused, "Perhaps the one from the back of the book would be proper..."
Twilight began focusing her energy, "Please, Elements of Harmony, for the safety of my friend, my family, and my own life, help me."
With this plea, each Element of Harmony began cascading different colors of light over her.
"What?" Luna asked, slightly nervous, "What's happening?"
"Thanks you... Take this!" Twilight aimed her right palm toward Luna, who was now expressing a fair amount of fear.
"Friendship's Magic!" With those words, a multicolored beam of energy was fired at Luna, hitting her dead on.
The spot where Luna was now had a large cloud of dark smoke surrounding it.
Twilight fell to her knees as the energy she was filled with faded away, along with her tiara and wristbands.
"I... Did it.."
"Not quite." With a gust of wind, the smoke was blown away. Floating in the exact same spot was Luna. Twilight just stared at her in disbelief, her most powerful spell didn't do a thing!
"Child, that was extremely foolish."
"No..." Twilight whispered, "It was a direct hit..."
Luna now gave Twilight a look pity, "I have no idea where you learned that spell, but you need to study more. For it to work, you need to reunite the other five Element Carriers together, or that attack will contain only your own energy."
"But.. I saw the other energies..." Twilight panted, now completely drained.
"Only so that you could perform that attack. However, in order for that spell to have it's necessary power, you will need the others with you."
"Why... Do I feel so.." Twilight could barely even look up at Luna.
"That is a side effect, it took more of your power, and also in your case, as the caster, you lost your transformation as well. Now, you are at my complete mercy. Moreover, that spell wouldn't have killed me, only sealed my powers."
"I... Already knew... That. My intention wasn't to kill you. I just wanted to know, why? Why are you doing this to us!?"
"Very well then." Luna answered, "It is because of Celestia."
"Celestia?"
"Yes. A person who knows of Equestria's Kingdom as she lived there, told me that in my past life as an Alicorn, Celestia had locked me away in that world's moon. Can you comprehend that? She locked away her own sister! And all the inhabitants rejected her because her job was to bring the night."
"Lies!" Twilight countered, "Celestia would never do such a thing without a reason! And if what you say is true, that happened in another world! Why take your revenge on us here?"
"This person told me that currently, Equestria is in complete chaos and disarray due to a recent battle there. This prompted Celestia to send over not just the Elements, but herself and the souls of all the inhabitants! The reason for this was so one day, all could return and restore Equestria to it's former glory."
"You're saying that there are people living here who used to live in that place?"
"Exactly. And do you know what's even more important? The majority of them live in this city without even knowing what they were in the past! My goal is to seek revenge on every single one of them. But before that, you and all the other Elements of Harmony will face my wrath."
A blinding flash of light appeared in between Twilight and Luna, stunning them for a moment.
"I will not allow that!"
Stepping out of the light was an Alicorn. Her regal main and alabaster coat shone brightly. She spread her wings, glaring at Luna.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried.
"Forgive me for arriving so late, Twilight. But thank you for using your powers. They destroyed the barrier that prevented my from being able to see into this world."
"Celestia!" Luna growled, "We meet at last! Bu why have you appeared in your old form?"
"You say your problems were with me from before. So, let us face each other as we were before!"
Without another word, Celestia launched herself at Luna, capturing the both of them in a blast of light.
~ The Astral Plane ~
When Luna was once again able to see, she looked down at herself. Very quickly, she realized she was also in the form of a Alicorn, "This is how I once looked?"
"Now, it's just us! Tell me, who poisoned your mind with those lies?!"
"You lie, or are you saying it's not true that you imprisoned me on the moon alone for a thousand years?!"
"Luna, what I remember is the wonderful times when we lived together, perhaps they did not mention that to you?"
"Shut up!" Very steadily, tears were streaking down Luna's face.
"You are breaking my heart with all the hatred you have. What I must do not, I swear I never wanted... But I must stop you!"
In a flash, Celestia and Luna make to exchange blows against each other. With a single first strike, Luna defeats Celestia.
"This cannot be right." Luna mused, "Celestia was supposedly so wise and powerful, yet I only needed a single strike..."
She stopped mid-sentence. It was a realization she should have had much earlier.
"You do not have a cutie mark! You're just a fragment of Celestia!"
"Hehe... At least you were fooled as easy as the original..."
"What?" Without another world, her world went dark.
Luna slowly opened her eyes. She shook her head, taking a moment to look around her. She stopped, completely stunned, then shocked.
"This cannot be happening..."
She was on a tropical island, the sun shining brightly above her. A quick scan with her magic confirmed it.
This was an island on the exact opposite side of the world.
...
.....
.......
.........
...........
"I HATE YOU CELESTIA!"
