The Pony Version's Better: Maiden in the Moon

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 2 Part 2
Chapter 3 part 2
Chapter 5 Part 2
Chapter 6 Part 2
Sources
Chapter 1 Part 2
Chapter 4 Part 2

Chapter 1

The Pony Version’s Better
Maiden in the Moon part 1

“Twilight! What did you do!?”
The voice echoed twofold. Eleven sets of eyes locked onto her, all of varying hues and twice repeated, save one set. These violet eyes mirrored hers, confused and helpless. Before purple hooves lay a scrap of parchment.
“Problems halved, Hopes be salved”
Twilight continued to drop her eyes and followed the path towards herself. White light blurred the edges of her vision. A second piece of parchment held her attention. Familiar. This was the first spell she had ever cast.
“Lost in these old recessions? Measure thyself by new dimensions”
The white overtook her, and drained the parchment from her sight. Ahead a pony face, her own face, stared back, and was gone. Twilight squinted, and waited. Would she never see that face look back at her again? Was she supposed to become different? She didn’t feel different.

Chapter 1

“Ugh…I don’t feel any different.”
“The aspirin should kick in soon Tania, and it sounds like the tea is done.”
“Ya, that whistle isn’t helping my headache any.” Tania pinched the bridge of her nose.
Kyle cocked his head and averted his eyes nervously. “I’ll just go…uh. I’ll just go get you some then, hey?” he hurried out of the room. The young apprentice was invaluable to Tania, and had become her charge at a very young age. They had spent most of his eleven years together, and Tania felt very much like she had raised him.
“Thank you, Kyle.” Tania called calmly to him. “Sorry for my grumblings.”
She took a few breaths and, frowning at her workbook, let it drop to the ground. Instead, she picked up a book that she had been meaning to read ever since she had found it the night before. For now she just needed something light to get her mind off the throbbing.
The constant early mornings were taking their toll on the young University student. She was wearing the same shirt for the third day that week, her eyes were bloodshot and her straight black hair had lost its shine. It had been a while since she had clipped in her signature purple and pink extensions. Her bangs had grown too long and she had to squint beneath them to see her book.
Kyle came back in. “Here’s your tea, and if you don’t mind, I was going to get back to the dorm to wrap my gift for…”
“Sure, sure. I’ll be in the lounge just a little while longer. See you soon.”
Kyle paused, trying to shove a stray lock back into his spiked hair.
“Ok. And, hey! Give yourself a break soon huh? We’re on vacation now, and I think your headache’s coming from all this stress.”
“You worry too much. I’ll be fine.”
“Ok, see you soon.”
Tania sat forward, now deep into her book.
“Elements of…” her lips mouthed.

* * *

Kyle’s fingers hovered over the keys of his cell phone. His mentor knew why. She had rushed into the room in a tizzy, again…ordered him to find a book, again…and was trying to immediately act on her findings…news flash!...again. He had dropped everything, even a party invitation, like the faithful apprentice he always was, and was prepared to write this message for her. But now he could tell this request was a little strange, and couldn’t help acting accordingly.
“Tania, do you really believe that old wives’ tale? Someone would never be able to live a hundred years and still look for, hah! Revenge! And according to this story, that would make the Princess herself more than a hundred years old!”
Tania was convinced a story she had read from her book was the real deal. And she needed to tell the Princess this. The only thing was that the story had come from a book of fairytales.
“This is a bedtime story, meant to help young kids trust Princess Solace. It doesn’t hold any weight.”
“You don’t…know the Princess like I do.”
She spoke the truth. Tania didn’t dare consider herself all that knowledgeable about their monarch herself, but she was the “Personal Student to the Princess”. That carried a lot of weight. Maybe Tania was treated differently because of it, maybe she distanced herself because of it, but it meant the world to her. The Princess believed in her, and Tania did her best to return the favour as much as humanly possible. And that’s why she couldn’t sit around when Princess Tia Solace could be in danger.
“Either way, she’s busy setting up for the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s like, the day after tomorrow.” Kyle protested.
“That’s just it, Kyle! The day after tomorrow is the hundredth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It’s imperative that the Princess is told right away!”
“How do you spell that? Impera…impera…”
“Important!”
Kyle paused his typing and looked up.
“You sure about this?” Kyle asked.
Tania narrowed her almond eyes. “Send it”
He clicked the button.

* * *

My dearest Teacher.
My continuing studys have led to me to discover, that were on the something really bad is about to happen. For you see, the mythycle lady in the Moon is in fact NightMere Moon. I realise you many see this as a fable spun to delite young children, but my research has allowed me t see the possibilities of this danger. Even though I may sound silly and fool harted, I cannot ignore the risk. Something must be done to make shure this terrible prophecy does not come true.

I a wait your quick response.
Your faithful student,
Tania Sparks

Important

Chapter 2

“Dusty old books!?” Tania fumed.
“Well what did you expect?”
“Supervise, make some friends!”
Student and apprentice were sitting comfortably in the smaller of the Princesses private cars. Tania already missed the calm busyness of the University. A trip to a quiet town seemed so contrary to the rush she was feeling. Something terrible was about to happen, and she was expected to make party arrangements ? The Princess had downright refused to believe the warning, and had told Tania to go down to Ponyville to check over the celebration preparations.
“Look on the bright side, Tania.” Kyle soothed. “The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
Kyle was trying really hard. She knew he was glad she had finally decided to look presentable for the outing. Her hair was trimmed, the extensions had reappeared, and she was wearing her favourite purple shirt and slacks. But she couldn’t help feel miffed about the whole ordeal.
“Yes! Yes it does.” she said in response. You know why? Because I’m right. I’ll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon’s return.”
Kyle looked at her strangely.
“Ok, look. I don’t believe the stories ok?” said Tania. “Not exactly. The sun and moon raising? That’s just fairy tales. But the story is based on truth. I found a criminal file on a lady named Lunette Solace, alias, Nightmare. After tracing back the Monarchy familial lines, it seems possible to me that she was related to the Princess. Is it so strange to think that she could have tried to usurp the throne all those years ago, and was incarcerated for it?
“But to come back after a hundred years…”
“Once again, there are some things you don’t understand about that. But to put your mind at ease, her descendants could come back and try to take the throne themselves. And that’s why the Princess could be in danger.” Tania wilted. “She’s never so heavily disbelieved me like this before.”
“Well, maybe if you had put it that way in your text.”
“No matter, we’ll find everything out today.”
“And after all that, have you thought about making some friends?”
Tania huffed.
“She said to check on preparations. I am her student and I’ll do my royal duty, but the fate of Queston does not rest on my making friends.”
The two thanked the chauffer and stepped onto the soil of Ponyville.

* * *

“Hmmm, very pony themed.”
“That’s true.”
The small town square was neat and mismatched. Most of the wooden stores and other assorted buildings were carved with whimsical patterns, or otherwise decorated, but each had character. There was everything from a simple coffee shop (coffee and a dvd rental for three bucks!) to a multi-coloured Bakery. Almost all of the buildings had a pony painted into the corner of a window, or a pony weathervane, or a pony sticker on the door. A cake on display in the bakery window had a pony topper, and the fountain in the center of the square spurted water through a pony’s stylized muzzle.
The people were equally mismatched and ponified. Tall and short, thin and stout, various ethnicities and walks of life paced the tiled street, busily making preparations for the festival. Tania even caught the gleam of a metal pony pin from the collar of a muscular man passing by her with a fistful of ribbons.
Kyle tapped his chin. “I guess they must be showing off their town’s theme for the visitors. Ponyville pride and all that.”
“Yes, but…the men here are ok with this?”
“I don’t see why not.”
“I mean ponies ?”
“I think it has something to do with the town’s history. You should research it some time.”
Tania had to dodge the arm of a passerby waving energetically at a friend.
“Maybe the people here have something interesting to talk about.” continued Kyle. “Come on, Tania. Just try.”
Just ahead of them, a young woman with copper hair was returning the previous town member’s wave. Her attention diverted, and coming up quickly with wheels on the backs of her shoes, she nearly ran straight into Tania. Instead, she made a spectacular stop at the last instant, coming nose-to-nose with the young student.
Tania stuttered. “Sorry, I-”
“GHAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSP!”
Tania could almost feel the air around her face being sucked into the other girl’s gaping mouth. The red-haired girl then turned around, and skated off in a cloud of dust.
“Well.” said Tania, still leaning backwards, “THAT was interesting all right.”
Kyle sighed.

* * *

“Summer Sun Celebration, Official Overseer’s Checklist: Number One: banquet preparations. Sweet Apple Acres.” Kyle read from the official papers on his clipboard.
Tania swept her eyes over the rustic sign above them. They had travelled far out of the square and were now in the country. They had taken just twenty minutes to get unpacked at the library and than had set out to the farm by foot. The long driveway before them led to a small two-level house and a few scattered buildings. The walk up to the house was lined with acres and acres of apple trees. If these fruits were indeed sweet, then the property was aptly named. Tania just wished she hadn’t had to ask some overly friendly townspeople to get directions to the place.
“YEE-HAW!”
A cry startled them as they reached the fence bordering the living-section of the farm. A straw-haired and heavily freckled woman came hurtling from their right. She planted a booted foot squarely on the trunk of a tree, did an impressive jump, swept her arms upwards, and landed with a handful of shining apples.
“Alright, let’s get this over with.” said Tania. She approached the woman. “Good afternoon. My name is Tania Sparks.”
In one swift movement, the woman dumped her load into a waiting basket, grabbed Tania’s hand, and began shaking it energetically. The force made her long hair jump up and down at the elastic holding her extremely loose ponytail.
Ponytail.
“Well, howdy-do, Miss Sparks. A pleasure makin’ your acquaintance. I’m Applejack! We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin’ new friends.”
“Friends? Actually, I-” She paused. “Applejack ? Is that you’re real name?” Tania swept the clipboard from Kyle’s hands and began flipping the pages with one hand. The other hand was still vibrating from her acquaintance’s handshake.
“Well no, Sugar cube, of course not. Ma real name’s Jackie Smith if you’re trying teh find it on tha’ fancy list of yours. But you’ll likely find that most’ve teh people around here have a nickname of some sort or another. It’d be a pleasure if you’d refer to me by mine.”
“All right…Applejack then. I’m on important business from Princess Solace.”
Applejack whistled and dropped the handshake. “Tha’s right! The ‘Personal Student to the Princess!” Tania blushed, and let Kyle stop her arm from swaying. “Well, what can ah do for such a respectable lady?”
Applejack put her weight on one hip and stuck her thumbs into the pockets of her cut-off jeans.
Tania cleared her throat. “Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you’re in charge of the food?”
“We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?”
“As long as it doesn’t take too long.”

Chapter 3

“That definitely took too long.” Tania said grumpily as they headed down the dusty road.
“I know, but how can you resist that.” Kyle made Tania smile.
“Figures you’d enjoy that. Good food all right, perfect for the celebration. Actually, though, what I couldn’t resist was those eyes. How can they make something that cute? Of course I couldn’t say ‘no’ to that!”
“I haven’t eaten that well since my birthday! And most of it dessert!”
“That little girl must’ve only been under ten, and they’ve sucked her into this entire hullabaloo. I think she even made my eggs.” Tania’s stomach gurgled. “Yup, almost definitely. And her family!”
“And everything made out of apples! I’m amazed they can come up with that many recipes!”
“So obsessed with apples! I mean, I know it’s the family business and all, but would it kill them to have at least made the salad without apples, or maybe make at least one cherry pie or something? Really sweet people and all but…”
“I don’t think I could ever get sick of apples!”
“I think I would get way too sick of apples!”
They looked at each other.
“Huh?” They said simultaneously. “Oh sorry, I was just rambling!”
“Jinx! You owe me a soda!” shouted Kyle.
“Riiiiighty then. What’s next?”
“Weatherization. We need to check that the awnings are down in case of a storm and that a plan is in place in case of rain. Someone named Dashlynn Hueburn is in charge of that. She’s also supposed to be making sure nothing loose is left about in case some wind is picked up from the flyby.
“Well she’s not doing a very good job is she? Ugh. Look at this place!”
They were at the edge of town square now, looking down the street. There was a lot of junk on the ground from all the general preparations: water bottles, little bits of tape, ribbon. There were also broken branches here and there. Despite the warnings that there was to be an aerial show to be put on by Queston’s own Wonderbolts, people had clearly not made careful consideration of the wind. Posters were taped to the outside of windows, and balloons weren’t tied tightly enough. There was some stand up signs with ponies drawn on their faces. Half the awnings were down, and those that were weren’t very secure. The more she looked around, the more it looked like rain too. It was a sunny day, but damp, and a previous shower had left mud puddles everywhere.
Everywhere. Mud everywhere.
“ACK!”
Someone giggled “Uh, excuse me.” The someone removed herself from her place on top of Tania and tried to help the student up. “Let me help you.”
Tania got up and glowered, examining her muddied clothes. Suddenly she was shocked by a spray of freezing water. The other young woman turned off her hose.
“Oops. I guess I over did it. Um, how about this?”
Tania tried to get a glimpse of her assaulter but the girl had disappeared. Kyle was laughing.
And then suddenly the wind picked up and it was all Tania could do to keep her feet planted on the ground. She squinted and held her hands against the oncoming air.
“My very own patented Rain-Blow-Dry. No no, don't thank me. You're quite welcome.”
The wind stopped and Tania caught her reflection in the window. Her hair had whipped up into itself, converting its carefully straightened locks into piles upon piles of tangled curls. Tania looked upon her attacker. The girl was on the ground and laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. Beside her was a large, industrial sized, fan.
“What? Where did you…?”
“I…” the girl gasped. “I...” She started laughing again. Tania waited patiently for the sportswear-clad girl to get up and regain her breath. It took a while.
Finally the girl spoke. “I was lent this for the celebration. It’s supposed to recreate the effects of a windstorm so I can guess what needs to be tied down.”
Obviously the girl hadn’t been using it for its primary purpose.
“I’m guessing then that you’re Dashlynn?”
“The one and only! But I prefer Dash, or Rainbow Dash if you’re feeling fancy.”
“Oh right, another nickname.”
The name certainly matched. Rainbow Dash’s style was a mixture of sporty, punk, and whatever was in her closet. She wore white and blue runners over knee-high rainbow socks. Above them was a pair of custom track shorts. The blue, yellow, and red lines on the sides had been zigzagged like a lightning bolt and the words “Queston Track” had been embroidered at the hip. Above that she wore a zipped white hoodie with light blue wings printed on the back. Her round face circled even rounder amber eyes. She had cinnamon skin and dark brown, very unkempt, hair. The tips of it had been dyed in Roy G. Biv’s favourite colours.
“What? Don’t you have a nickname?” she asked.
“No. Tania Sparks is a perfectly respectable name just the way it is.”
“Sparks huh? We could work with that. Like Sparkler or even Spark-”
“No. I don’t need another name thank you.”
“What would you call me?” Kyle piped up.
“You?” Rainbow Dash hopped onto the edge of a walled garden. She squatted there above his head, studying him. Kyle fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze. He began to bite his lip.
“Huh. Hey, mind smiling for me?” Kyle gave her a look and slowly spread back his lips. “No, clench your teeth together. Ya. That’s it… Dude! You’ve practically got fangs going on there.”
“Ya, my dentist says…”
“What’s the story behind your hair?” Rainbow Dash was now circling him studiously. Tania waited impatiently, clacking the clip on the clipboard.
“My hair? I dunno. It doesn’t sit straight on its own so I spike it up with hair gel. Even without the gel it’s still pretty spikey.”
“Spikey…Spike! That’s it. Your name is Spike.” Rainbow Dash sat on the wall, clearly proud of herself.
“Ya, I like that.”
“Well, it pretty much created itself. But ya. I suppose it was a pretty awesome choice. And you gotta be awesome.”
Tania cleared her throat.
“Speaking of awesome, I’m afraid this street isn’t. I’m here on Princesses Solace’s behalf and I’m checking up on the Celebration’s progress. I thought you were supposed to clear the street.”
“Yeah, yeah. That'll be a snap.” Rainbow Dash said haphazardly. She lay on her back. “I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing.”
“Practicing for what?”
Rainbow Dash sat up suddenly. “THE WONDERBOLTS! They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff.”
“The Wonderbolts?”
“Yup.”
“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”
“That’s them.”
Tania scoffed. “As if. Besides, I bet you don’t even have a plane.”
“I have a plane!”
“So why aren’t you flying it?”
Rainbow Dash jumped down and began running in place. “Flying is more than just flying you know! You’ve got to keep your stamina up! I’m the fastest runner in all of Ponyville, probably all of Queston!”
“Sure, and also the laziest.” Tania had Dash where she wanted her now. “The Wonderbolts would never accept a girl who can’t keep a street clear for one measly day!”
“Hey! I could clear the street in ten seconds flat!”
Tania smiled. “Prove it.”
Rainbow Dash dashed. In half a second she had scooped up a garbage bag. In the next three and a half she had dumped all the scattered debris into it. She spent the next five setting signs against walls, rolling up posters, and clicking awnings into place. In the last second, she ran back over to Tania and Kyle, sat on a bench and said.
“Loop-de-loop around and WHAM! What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging.” She panted for a few seconds more and stared at them weakly. “Ha ha, you should see the look on your face!”
Tania couldn’t stop gaping. She figured the tangled hair didn’t help with the overall look.
“Ha, you're a laugh, Tania Sparks. I can't wait to hang out some more.” Then the girl was off running into the sun and down a side street.
“Wow. She's amazing!” said Kyle. He took another look at Tania’s hair and chuckled. Tania huffed and started walking in the opposite direction.
“Wait!” said Kyle, laughing as he tried to catch up. “It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!”

Chapter 4

Tania and Kyle walked back up the street, looking out for the convention hall. Now that it was past noontime, the town had become busier once more. A young girl on a scooter nearly toppled Tania once again before scooting off into the distance. The girl did, however, topple a nearby vegetable crate. The owner hurried to grab the carrots before the bundles rolled onto the street, causing some chaos as she did so.
“Wow. Everyone is really going at top speed today.” Tania remarked.
“It’s probably because they only have an afternoon left before the sun goes down. When it comes back up again, the celebration starts. They’re all running out of time.”
“Time!? WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!” shouted a male, British voice behind them.
They turned around just long enough to see a brunette man wearing a tie over an hourglass-printed vintage t-shirt. The man grabbed the arm of a nearby mailwoman and the two ran into the crowd. The woman crashed into at least three people before they were both out of sight.
“So…that happened.” said Kyle.
“Here’s the Convention Hall!” said Tania.
They walked past the double doors and entrance hall into a vast room. The space was completely decked out in luxurious banners and ribbons. Shields hung from upper banisters and white bunches of flowers spilled out of their pots.
“Decorations. Beautiful.” said Kyle dreamily. Tania had never heard the boy get quite as excited over decorations before, but let it slide.
“Yes. The decor is coming along nicely. This oughtta be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed.”
“Not the decor, her.”
On a small stage at the far end of the room stood another woman about Tania’s age. She was picking delicately from spools and lengths of various ribbons. The woman had long black hair styled into large, perfect curls at its base. She was wearing a white dress with a wide purple belt. At the center of the belt was a large diamond-shaped gem. Over her shoulders the woman had draped a white and extremely plush wrap despite the warm day. Tania thought the overall effect was rather like a large marshmallow.
“How is my hair? Is it straight?” asked Kyle, patting back the untamed locks. Tania glanced at her charge and rolled her eyes. He didn’t notice.
“Good afternoon.” said Tania, feeling better about her introductions.
“Just a moment, please. I'm "in the zone" as it were.” The woman picked out a large and sparkly red piece of ribbon. “Oh, yes. Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent.”
“So” thought Tania. “She calls herself Rarity then.
Rarity turned. “Now, how can I help youuuuaAARGH!” Her eyes widened at the site of Tania. “Oh my stars, darling, what ever happened to your mane?”
“Oh, you mean my hair? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations
and then I'll be out of your hair.”
“Out of my hair? What about your hair?”
Rarity got around to Tania’s back and happily began pushing her to the exit, much to Tania’s protest.
Behind them Kyle followed, rehearsing to himself. “Hello, my name is Kyle, but you can call me Spike. My name is Spike. Hi! I’m Spike.”

* * *

For the next hour Tania spent most of her time staring at her ever-changing appearance from the depths of a mirror: a green dress, a yellow dress, a poofy dress, a frilly dress, a shiny dress. It was obvious her captor was a dressmaker. At least her hair was normal now, or at least mostly. Rarity insisted on constantly changing that too.
Ugh, mirrors. Tania had always felt weird around mirrors.
She had repeatedly tried to make an excuse and escape, (“Oh! But you simply must at least try this one on!”) but to no avail. By the time she was dressed in a lacy summer dress encrusted with various gems, Tania had given up and stood listening to Rarity’s attempts at conversation.
“Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from.” Rarity said as she began pulling at the waist of the dress to tighten it.
Had Tania been speaking at all? Either she was being fooled into giving a response, or else she just couldn’t remember anything anymore.
“I’m Spike.” Spike said quietly from a bench for the twentieth time that hour.
“I've” Tania grunted as the waist of the dress shrunk, and her voice increased its pitch. “been... sent... from Celestalot... to-”
Rarity had stopped tugging at the strings, and the loss in force made Tania tip over onto the floor.
“CELESTALOT! Oh! I am so envious!” Rarity squealed. The glamor, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there. I can't wait to hear all about it. We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I.”
Tania looked away.
“Emerald!” said Rarity, pointing to the central gem on Tania’s dress. “What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies.”
Rarity disappeared into a back room. Tania didn’t hesitate a moment scurrying back to the change rooms. It took her less than a minute for her to reappear again in her shirt and slacks.
“Quick,” she exclaimed to Spike and then ran towards the door. “…before she decides to dye my hair blue!”

Chapter 5

“Wasn't she wonderful?” Spike sighed. “And what a name! She sure is a rarity.”
“Her name is Alexisis Rare, not Rarity, and yours is Kyle. Now focus, Casanova. What's next on the list?”
“I thought my name was Kyle.”
Tania narrowed her eyes.
Spike brought the clipboard up to his face and flipped to the next page.
“Oh, birds. It’s the last one.”
Tania stopped before the animal training center. “Well, this looks as good a place to start as any.”
She peaked into the doorway and blinked away the sunlight.
“Hello?”
“Be right with you!” said someone inside. “Please. Come in!”
Tania and Spike came in. The center was well organized with several enclosed spaces for small training sections, a hallway to the back yard, and a few cages for injured animals. A doorway led to an adoption section and another to a vet’s office. Their animal trainer kept busy all right. Various animal noises came from the doorways, all reacting to the tinkling bell that the students had sounded on their way in.
At a cage near the counter, a curly haired woman at least a decade older than Tania was trying to coax an animal as it whimpered.
“I’m sorry; it seems I’ve gotten my hands full here.”
“No problem.” said Tania politely. “I’m just looking for a Cher Sweetly? I’m Tania Sparks and I’m supposed to enquire about the birds.”
“Oh I’m sorry hon.” The other woman looked up from the cage. “She stepped out a while ago.” The woman struggled to keep the cage balanced on the edge of an enclosure and offered one of her hands. “I’m Bon Bon, or Sugar Goode if you prefer. I own the candy store across the street. I’m just watching the place as a favour to Flut…uh Cher while she’s out. Really nice person, really sweet. Drat.” Bon Bon had gotten her sleeve stuck in the cage. Spike came over to help her out. “I can leave a message for her if you want. I can assure you though that the girl will have done a fabulous job (much better than how I’m doing currently.)”
“I really must speak to each organizer personally.”
“Well, I will get write a note then.” She tugged at her sleeve. It was still stuck. Spike shrugged. The creature inside whimpered. “Uh, well I would if-”
“No problem…I’ll just-”
“It’s Ok! I’ve got it!” someone called from the hallway behind the counter.
“Oh Lyra, thank you!” said Bon Bon relieved.
A woman between Tania’s and Bon Bon’s age appeared. She had a short ponytail and a pair of rider’s boots, otherwise she dressed simply. She greatly contrasted Bon Bon’s pastel dress and apron. Lyra took out some sticky notes and a pen.
“Sorry, what’s your name?”
“Tania.”
Lyra held out her hand. “Lyra.” After shaking Tania’s hand she scribbled on the note. “Tania who?”
“Oh sorry, Sparks.”
“Cool I, uh.” Lyra scribbled over her note and crumpled it up. “Sorry, sometime’s I swear I don’t know how to use my own fingers. Ok there we go.” She posted the new note on a board. “Hey Bon?”
“Ya huh?”
“I’m headed to go for that swim with Octavia, then she and I are going to practise one last set with Scratch. Call me if you find plans for this evening.”
“K!” Bon Bon grunted and got her sleeve unstuck. Spike cheered.
“Really nice to meet you, Tania.” smiled Lyra. “Hope I see you again at the celebration.”
Now mobile, Bon Bon lifted the cage and set it on the counter as Lyra disappeared.
“She’s my friend from Celestalot.” She said pointing behind her. “She came to visit just last evening and has already made more friends than me.” She laughed. “Slight exaggeration, but still. I guess some people are like that. But look at me, I’ve made one today.” Bon Bon smiled at Tania.
Tania felt sick to her stomach. Lyra (which was her real name) was a student at Tania’s school. It was only the day before when Lyra had waved to Tania when she was on her way to her dorm. Had Lyra forgotten her so soon? Or even worse, perhaps Lyra had remembered her, but felt detached enough she felt reintroducing herself was necessary. Ouch.
Maybe she should keep track of her relationships a bit better.
Buuuut, no. Relationships could wait until after she was sure the Princess was safe.
Bon Bon was looking thoughtful.
“You know, if you’re in a hurry…” she mused. Tania perked up. “I know that Cher has been practicing at a tree near a back trail. I bet she’s there right now if you want to look for her.”
“Oh yes! That would be perfect!”
“Here, let me draw out some directions.”

Chapter 6

Varieties of bird calls fused into harmony. Tania and Spike crouched near a bush to silently watch. Before a tree, Cher stood blissfully directing the movements of both white and brightly coloured birds. Her feathered performers flitted through trees and circled overhead in perfect formation. The white ones spread their wings and soared straight upwards while the coloured ones darted beneath. The white ones then dived and diverged. Three red ones and a blue one alighted on a branch and tweeted. Four more birds alighted on an opposite branch, and echoed the bird call. The eight then repeated the call and the remaining birds extended the song midflight, more alighting on branches until the trees seem to be growing birds. Cher was like a conductor, her arms pointing the formations and flicking upwards to cue them to sing. Her long blond hair flowed in time, like one extensive a feather. Finally, all the birds took off at once, circled one last time, and landed on the tree before Cher. They had organized themselves so that the white birds formed a star with the coloured ones at the edges. Then the song ended at the flick of Cher’s wrist.
Tania got up and approached the woman.
“HELLO!” she said a tad too loudly. The birds took wing in fright and left the tree. “Oh my. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the show and it looks beautiful!” Cher took a few timid steps towards Tania and paused.
“I'm Tania Sparks. You must be Cher Sweetly.”
Cher scuffed her shoe in the dirt road. She stared at it for a while. It was pink toed, matching the butterfly appliqués on her jeans and her shirt. A lanyard around her neck had a tag on it identifying her as a worker at the training center.
Tania smiled weakly. “But, uh, most people I’ve met here seem to have a nickname of sorts. Do you have one you would rather I refer to you by?”
“Um…Fluttershy”
“I'm sorry, what was that?”
“Uh... errr. My name is um Fluttershy.
“Didn't quite catch that.”
“Flu*Squeak*ttershy”
A flapping sound heralded the return of the birds. They landed together back in the tree. There was an extremely awkward pause.
“Well, um, it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work.”
“Squeak”
“Ooookay.” Tania stepped back and faced the bush. Spike emerged to greet her. “Well, that was easy.” Tania told him.
Tania was pushed forcefully from behind and then Cher was standing in front of Spike.
“You’re a Freedian! Oh, I don’t know when I last saw a Freedian! You’re so sweet!”
“Well well well.” Spike sent a boastful look back at Tania.
“Oh, they say Freedians are so scary! But you’re not scary at all! That's just so incredibly wonderful. I... I just don't even know what to say.”
“Well, in that case, we better be going.” said Tania, grabbing Spike by the arm and pulling him down the path.
“Wait, wait. What's his name?” said Cher, jogging over to catch up. Her birds began following her.
“I’m Spike.” said Spike.
Hi, Spike. I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a Freedian! What is it like being a Freedian?”
“Well, what do you wanna know?”
“Absolutely everything!”
Tania groaned.

Chapter 7

“And that's the story of my whole entire life. Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?”
“Oh yes, please!”
Fluttershy had hung onto Spike’s every word. It wasn’t even like he had tons to talk about from Tania’s perspective. Mostly he had spent most his time as Tania’s apprentice, and hearing her daily life explained in extreme detail to a stranger was a tad disconcerting at best. Kyle hadn’t even been born in Freedrun! He was a Freedian by looks only, and most definitely not by character.
And now he was about to go on about their frustrating day! Tania turned around to face Fluttershy.
“I. am. so. sorry. How did we get here so fast?”
They had arrived at the library. The building was decorated so heavily with a tree motif you could’ve sworn it was a tree house at first glance.
“This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville, and my poor young apprentice needs his sleep.”
“No I don't. Waah!” Tania had shoved him over.
“Awww, wook at that. He's so sweepy, he can't even keep his wittle bawance.”
“Poor thing. You simply must get into bed.” said Fluttershy piteously.
“I’m eleven you kn-”
“Yes yes. We'll get right on that. Well, goodnight.” interrupted Tania. She pulled Spike through the library’s doorway and slammed the door behind them.
They stood a moment in the dark interior, Tania trying to gain her strength.
“Huh. Rude much?” Spike said finally.
“Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming and we're running out of time. I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy people trying to make friends all the time. Now where's the light?”
Just then the light came on, blinding them.
A collective “SURPRISE!” issued from the mouths of what seemed like half the ladies in Ponyville. Noisemakers sounded and people laughed and started chattering with glee.
Tania was not impressed.

* * *

A particularly joyful “SURPRIIIISE!” issued from the mouth of the red haired girl who had nearly run Tania over that morning. Only now, she had changed from her roller-shoes into more casual…crocs. White crocs worn with socks, very high pink and purple socks that disappeared into pink capris. She wore a purple shirt under a dramatically pink jacket with many pockets, two of which were shaped like balloons (one yellow, and one blue). She had completed the outfit with an orange lollipop necklace and pineapple earrings. Her copper hair was a mess of curls, and was just asking for Rarity to pull her into her dress shop to hack it all off. She had tried to manage it by (like so many other townspeople) pulling it into a ponytail. The hair elastic was lost in there somewhere. And finally, she was dressed with a grin, a very large grin that didn’t quit.
“Hi. I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you. Were you surprised, were you, were you? Huh huh huh?”
“Very surprised.” answered Tania, and dropping her voice: “Libraries are supposed to be quiet.”
“That's silly. What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, booooring.” Pinkie had some very dramatic facial expressions. She bounced in place and followed Tania’s slow pace. “You see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, hello, and I was all, ‘GHAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSP!’. Remember?”
“Ya huh.” Twilight picked up her tired feet and elbowed her way through the crowd towards the refreshments.
“ You see I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know every person, and I mean every person in Ponyville, and if you're new, then it meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, and I had an idea, and that's why I went ‘GHAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSP!’, I'll just throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville. See? And now you have lots and lots of friends.”
Tania tiredly poured herself a drink. She stared at it hard. It said vegetable juice, but smelled funky. Oh well…
“Aren’t you going to ask my real name?” continued Pinkie.
“Uh?”
“Well, you’ve pretty much got the whole town figured out, I know ‘cause they told me. See my parents gave me the awesome, but not rockin’ (and I mean that in the most literal sense), name that is Diane Pineapple, but I tell you this to show you how perfect our nicknames are because Pinkie Pie describes me much better and besides, it’s mysterious, because pie isn’t always pineapple, maybe the pie in my name is apple, or lychee, or peach. Besides, Pinkie Pie shows off my bubbly personality even though, technically, Derpy…”
Tania’s face was burning and her ears rung.
“Ah you ahright, sugar cube?” asked a familiar voice.
Tania was not ok. Her whole body was on fire. She escaped upstairs, into the make-shift bedroom on the second level, to the mini-fridge, and poured half a carton of milk into her charred mouth. She wasn’t going to be able to taste anything for a week!
Hot sauce! That stuff was HOT SAUCE!
“Well.” said Pinkie’s muffled voice below. “I recycle. What do you put your homemade condiments in?”
And the last taste Tania’s tongue remembered was apples.

Chapter 8

Tania had wrestled with whether she trusted leaving an eleven year boy at a crazy party with women three or four times his age. But there appeared to be sounds of younger kids down there, and there sure weren’t any drink drinks. She was still not pleased to see him appear through in the doorway wearing a lampshade.
“Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie is starting Pin the Tail on the Pony. Wanna play?”
“No! All the people in this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?”
“It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everyone has to stay up or they'll miss the sunrise. You really should lighten up Twilight. It's a party.”
“Twilight!?”
“Well, that’s what everyone is calli-“
“NO! This is a time of seriousness. I don’t have time for chummy nicknames.”
Tania threw back her arm and a book thudded onto the floor. Spike stared at for a second.
“Hey, T? Why didn’t you, I mean all day you didn’t…”
“There wasn’t really a moment for it.” Tania dropped her head. “I didn’t really need another reason to stand out anyway.”
Tania let the light from the stairway reflect off the window. She didn’t say a word.
“Alright, I’m heading down again. You know, you should really have some fun now and then huh?” Spike shut the door on his way down.
“You should really have some fun now and then.” repeated Tania mockingly. “Here I thought I'd have time to learn more about the Elements of Harmony, but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!” She sat up and stared out the window into the full moon.
She recited the phrase which had been playing through her mind all day. “Legend has it that in the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about everlasting night.” Tania shrugged to herself. “I hope the Princess was right. I hope it really is just an old fairytale.”
Spike poked his hatted head through the doorway. “Come on, Tania! It's time to watch the sun rise!”

* * *

A combination of fatigue and excitement brought the energy levels to a high as the townspeople walked by moonlight to the convention hall. The noise level hushed as they entered the grand hall. Tania recognized many of the people. The three florists stood happily at the back, gossiping amongst themselves. To the left was the mailwoman talking to the carrot seller. Behind her, above the door, a DJ with purple sunglasses and blue streaks in her hair was winding a cable around her arm and clicking switches to get the sound system going. Rarity was giggling quietly with a little girl on a large balcony above the stage. The mailwoman was talking to a young girl and buttering a muffin. A string section, with Lyra as a member, was quietly tuning their instruments near the stage. Applejack stood proudly at the buffet table near them. The mailwoman was popping bubbles by the entrance, each eye independently following two different bubbles. On a balcony, the mailwoman was…wait? Tania looked back to the entrance, then back to the balcony, but the woman had disappeared. Whatever. It looked like things were about to start.
Pinkie Pie appeared at Tania’s shoulder and began breaking the silence.
“Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited, well, except for that time that I saw you walking into town and I went ‘GHAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSP!’ but I mean really, who can top that?”
Tania was afraid to find out.
The strings began to play, and the birds took off, putting on a fantastic show. Everyone clapped loudly after the show was done and the birds perched on various balconies. Fluttershy blushed.
The strings grew silent. An older woman stepped onto the stage.
“Ladies, gentleman, and half-asleep children…” the crowd chortled, and any kids present snapped to attention.
“Tired adults too!” said a voice, sending the crowd laughing again.
The woman on stage laughed too. “Yes, but now it is time to shake that off and greet the morning. As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”
The crowd cheered. Tania had trouble joining in.
“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year.”
Tania looked up through the glass ceiling and glimpsed the moon.
“And now,” the mayor continued “it is my great honour to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very woman who provides our countries with peace to enjoy each sunrise; the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Queston-”
Fluttershy and the string musicians poised their arms. Rarity held a rope on a large balcony above the mayor.
“Princess Solace!”
The strings played a chord. The birds took flight and flew in before the balcony. Rarity pulled her rope and the curtains swept open.
The space behind them was empty.
There was a collective gasp.
“This can’t be good.” Tania thought.
The mayor tried to calm the audience’s nervous chatter.
“Remain calm, everyone. There must be a reasonable explanation.”
Rarity returned appeared from behind the curtain
“She’s gone!”
One of the florists shrieked and fainted. Pinkie hadn’t quite understood yet that something had gone wrong. She had been chattering delightedly in Tania’s ear, but now she stopped midsentence and cried out. Several other gasps and shouts echoed in the room while a dark mist formed at the balcony. The mist was heavy and gathered on the ground. It spilled between the railing supports and cascaded to the floor, dissipating before it hit the onlookers.
“Oh no.” Tania whimpered. A tall lady clad in black robes and metal accents flashed into existence within the mist. She smiled evilly.
“Nightmare Moon!” said Tania with gritted teeth. Spike held Tania’s hand and gripped it tightly. The room grew silent. The women stood tall and parted her lips. She spoke delicately but proudly to her captive audience.
“Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces.” She blinked heavily made-up eyelashes. The woman was putting on a great show. Her clothing was extravagant, complete with a drapery of dark sparkling cloth that flowed from her helmet to the floor. Everything in Tania’s head cried ‘distraction!’ While this knockoff gave her speech, someone was out there with the Princess doing who-knew-what. And yet, Tania stood frozen in her spot, terrified and unsure of what to do.
“What did you do with our Princess!?” shouted Rainbow Dash from the center of the crowd. Enraged, she started determinately for the stairs, but Applejack quickly grabbed onto her hoodie. Tania took a step to the side to avoid the struggle.
Nightmare Moon was clearly amused by the small track athlete below her. She chuckled.
“Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?”
Applejack had to use her remaining hand to shove an apple in Pinkie’s mouth before the pink girl could try answering.
Nightmare’s voice grew progressively louder. “Does my crown no longer count, now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”
Rarity retreated as far as she could to the edge of the balcony. Nightmare reached to her and playfully stroked her under the chin. Rarity leaned so far out she almost fell backwards.
Tania took a quick breath and tried to be brave. “I did, and I know who you are.” Nightmare snapped her head around to face Tania, her teeth glowed bright in the moonlight.
“You're The Maiden in the Moon... Nightmare Moon.”
The remaining florists fainted.
Nightmare straightened and seemed pleased.
“Well well well, somebody who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here.”
“You’re…” Tania had trouble saying it. “You’re here…to…to” She squeaked almost as shrilly as Fluttershy.
Nightmare dropped the smile and addressed the entire room. “Remember this day, wretched townspeople, for it was your last. From this moment forth, THE NIGHT WILL LAST FOREVER!” And then she was gone, her laughter echoing against the walls.

Epilogue

Twilight’s ears drooped. She stared miserably at the scroll on her desk. The night was silent. Not even a cricket chirp or a tiny breeze braved to pass through the open window. The room was burnt amber from the light of a sputtering candle. Fluttershy trotted slowly up the stairs. On the first floor, the two ponies’ friends slept fitfully.
“Um…maybe. Maybe you should get some sleep.” Fluttershy said meekly.
“No. I did this. I can’t spare a second”
“Maybe…um. Um, perhaps there is nothing to do. Maybe they’re…happy.”
“I can’t chance that, not until I know…know…for…” Twilight’s head dropped onto the desk.
Fluttershy blew out the light.

Chapter 2 Part 2

Chapter 2

Spike had barely made it to bed. He had taken a page out of Tania’s book and fallen asleep with his clothes still on. Tania crept down the stairs, her steps hastening halfway down.
The first thing she did upon reaching the main floor was turn on every light she could. Her efforts only seemed to blacken the outside sky further. Night forever. That was impossible, right?
Tania took a breath and squeezed her eyes shut. There was little else about the Nightmare myth she could remember except for a cryptic mention of the Elements of Harmony. Somehow they were supposed to stop Nightmare Moon. Would the rebels expect these as some sort of ransom? Likely they wouldn’t give up the Princess in exchange for anything, but maybe these elements would give Tania a competitive edge. Unless they already had them. Still, it was something to go on.
Tania reopened her eyes and looked around the library. She hadn’t familiarized herself with the space yet and didn’t know where first to look. So she ran to the first shelf and frantically read through the titles.
“Elements, elements…” she muttered. “No, no no.” Book after book was flung off the shelves.
“Elements, where are you?” Tania was losing her patience. It was too big a library to go through it like this. “Ugh! How can I stop the Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”
“And just what are the Elements of Harmony?” Two brown eyes appeared in front of Tania. Startled, she jumped back and saw that it was Rainbow Dash. Dash jumped off the table she had been perched on and kept her gaze constant. A breeze from the open front door heralded several more people coming in.
“And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh?” continued Dash. “Are you a spy? Huh? I…WHOA!”
Applejack had grabbed Dash’s jacket once more and pulled her back.
“Simmer down, Sally.” Applejack scolded. “She ain't no spy. But she sure knows what's going on. Don't you, Twilight?”
There was that nickname again. Tania tried to pick out what was going on. There were three others in the library now: Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy. They all looked at her with sadness in their eyes, waiting for Tania to prove her innocence. But from what? Did they think that she had stolen the Princess? Tania felt herself tearing up.
“I know very little, I’m sorry. I’ve spent all day and all night trying to figure it out myself.” The accusatory gazes lingered “I didn’t take her.” Tania narrowed her eyes. “But I’m trying to find out who did. Go home, please. Let me deal with this myself. You shouldn’t have to do anything, this is my battle.”
“Nuh uh!” said Pinkie Pie.
“Why should we?” said Dash, still being held back by Applejack. “You think you’re the only one who’s affected by this!? Sorry to have to say this, but you’re not the only one who loves the Princess.”
Applejack opened her mouth to excuse Dash’s rude behaviour, but stopped. Dash was right.
“I don’t know what’s going on.” said Rarity thoughtfully. “But I know it’s too big for anyone to do alone.”
Applejack sighed. “Let us help, please.”
Tania laughed nervously. “Help? What’s to help? I don’t know where she is, and I’ve barely got anything to go on. All I know is that there are something called the Elements of Harmony that are supposed to stop Nightmare Moon, but I don't know what they are, where to find them. I don't even know what they do!”
A little voice piped up from one of the shelves.
“The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.” read Pinkie from one of the books’ spines.
Tania ran over and swiped the book off the shelf. “How did you find that?!”
Pinkie did a little skip and answered in a sing song voice. “It was under Eeeee!”
“Oh.” Tania turned the book to its front cover. The head of some kind of horse adorned the soft cover. Tania ran her hand to the edge and cracked it open. She searched the table of contents. How on earth had somebody actually gone out of their way to research a myth so entirely as to write a book on it? How accurate was this thing, and how much was hearsay? Did the rebels own a copy? Tania flipped to the introduction page and began to read out loud.
“There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty.” The other five women stood with rapt attention. “The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal sisters. It is located in what is now…“
“…The Everfree forest”
The six now stood at the entrance to the forest, staring into its dark depths.

Chapter 3 part 2

Chapter 3

“So glad you could join us.” said Applejack sarcastically to Rarity.
“I’m sorry, but practicality is no excuse for not looking your best.”
Before the team had headed towards the forest, they had parted ways to prepare for the trip. Tania had been there first, having only grabbed a jacket and left a quick note for Spike. It had taken all her will power not to go in alone, but she needed the exploration supplies Applejack and Rainbow Dash were to retrieve. Applejack had changed out of her nicer celebration clothes into clothes similar to the ones she had been wearing the previous morning, complete with boots. Dash had long pants. Pinkie had come back the exact same except for exchanging her crocs for more practical…bright magenta moccasins. Fluttershy had had to retrieve her birds and return them home, which had taken a lot of time. Otherwise she had just grabbed a jacket like Tania. Despite all this, Rarity had still taken the most time meeting them at the forest. She had completely changed her outfit into a comfortable shirt, small jacket, capri pants and boots. Too bad the entire ensemble was a crisp white. Rarity obviously didn’t understand how dirt worked. The woman had finished the outfit with a bright purple scarf.
“Lookin’ your best is no excuse for usin’ up valuable time!” Applejack retorted to Rarity’s upturned nose.
Right valuable time. They had to get going.
“The fly by’s definitely been cancelled.” said Dash, looking forlornly upwards. She looked at Tania. “You don’t think the night will really last forever do you?”
“Not if I can help it!” replied Tania. She opened the reference guide. “This book has a very flowery, but hopefully accurate map to the castle ruins. It starts right here in front of…the Everfree forest.”
The six looked nervously into the path.
“It’ll have to be enough for now. Now, look. We can’t know for sure what will be in there, so stay close and stay aware. I expect to find Queston rebels somewhere along the way, and they will likely not be very friendly.”
“um.” said an almost inaudible voice.
“Other than that, I think the only thing we need to be worried about is wild animals.”
“Wheee! Let’s go!” said Pinkie
“um.”
“Not so fast.” replied Tania. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own.” It was a long shot, but maybe…
Applejack shot that hope down. “No can do, sugar cube. We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone.”
There was that word again. Friend.
“We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple.” Applejack trotted purposely into the forest, the others followed.
“Especially if there's candy apples in there.” added Pinkie. Tania made a face. “What? Those things are goOd.”
Tania sighed and started down the trail.
“Um, ok. That’s fine. Never mind.” Fluttershy drooped.

* * *

The forest got very dark after only a few steps in. Behind her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash started handing out flashlights and glow sticks. Tania snapped her glow stick and watched the pink liquid make her fingers translucent. She sighed.
“So none of you have been in here before?”
“Heaven’s no!” exclaimed Rarity. “Just look at it - it's dreadful!”
“And it ain't natural. Folk say it don't work the same as Equestria.” added Applejack.
“I’ve been here.” said Fluttershy timidly. All looked swivelled to her direction.
“No offence, but YOU?!” said Dash.
“Well, yes. My house is right near the edge of the forest you know. And sometimes…sometimes I hear creatures crying out. It’s just awful and I want to save them. Or a lot of the time I have to bring healed animals back home. So yes, I’ve been here, once or twice.”
“Don’ it scare you?” asked Applejack.
“Oh, of course it does, but it scares me to see animals get hurt or never get to go home. But it’s ok, I’m pretty sure I’ve never met a Freedian here.”
“There’s Freedians in the forest?” asked Tania, surprised.
Pinkie pie passed her. “It’s called the Everfree forest for a reason, silly.”
“Duh.” said Dash.
“Wait, you don’t know about this?” asked Applejack.
“Well…no I…”
“Here’s how this goes.” said Dash, happy to have something over Tania. “Freedrun borders Queston, right?”
“Riiight.”
“And Ponyville is on the border of Queston. But no one was ever able to secure the border.”
“That’s awful! We have a border that’s unprotected!?” Tania tapped her chin. “But I guess it’s ok. We’ve been at peace with Freedrun for centuries.”
“So maybe we don’t worry about war, but do you know what does happen? Freedians move into the forest, because hey! it’s not governed by their country, and no Questions live there, so it’s not exactly governed by Queston either. It’s practically free land!”
Tania looked over at Fluttershy. “But why be afraid of them?”
“Like we said.” said Applejack. “The Everfree forest is governed by no one. Who knows wha is goin’ on in here? People play by their own rules. They tend to respect Ponyville, we never have them visit, but it’s kinda weird livin’ like this, knowing that they could just come whenever they felt like it, whether for good or bad.”
“Where have you been?” asked Dash.
“Yes.” said Rarity, who was far behind and picking her way delicately around logs. “Are you not the Personal Student to the Princess?”
“Well ya, but…well now I know, and I’ll be sure to tell her as soon as I…”
“Oh the Princess knows all right.” said Rarity.
“Well then why…”
“She’s doin’ all she can.” said Applejack, defensively. “But ya can’t just herd a whole forest of people out jus’ like that. She’s tryin’ to do it respectful like, but tha’ takes time, and we are patient folks. Ah think she’s even considered moving the border so they own the forest, but she’s holdin’ back because she knows what that would do to Ponyville.”
Tania took a moment to let it all sink in. They had now started up an incline, and were winding their way around a tall hill.
“So that’s how you knew that Spi…uh Kyle was a Freedian, huh Fluttershy?”
“Who’s Kyle?” asked Rarity.
“Yes.” answered Fluttershy. “Freedian’s all look different and come from all over, but sometimes there’s ways you can tell. Spike has pointed ears, for example.”
“You sure know a lot about people for someone who knows so much about animals.” said Pinkie.
Fluttershy blushed, and then screamed. Rainbow Dash had jumped from above them, attached to an upper branch with a rope. She shone her flashlight under face and grinned.
“You know why people are so scared of the forest?”
“Rainbow, quit it.” said Applejack
Dash made a show of kicking against the rock face to swing out into the open.
“Because those of them who make it this far never. come. OUT!”
She gave one last kick to the wall, which sent tremors down to those still standing on the trail. The trail crumbled away beneath their feet.

Chapter 5 Part 2

Chapter 5

“…And right as you all fell, my super quick reaction timing let me scoop Fluttershy right out of danger! Then we both followed you all down with the rope. Most of you were ok, but we got down just in the nick of time and saved Twilight.” Dash was practically bouncing off the trees in her excitement.
“Yes, Rainbow, I was there.” Tania grumbled in reply to Dash’s boasting. Then she changed her tone. “…and I'm very grateful, but we gotta-“ She gasped. “What is that thing!?”
Something large reared up ahead of them. It roared.
“It’s a…It’s a lion!” screeched Rarity.
The creature swished its bushy mane and roared again.
“We’ve got get past him.” said Tania determinably.
“Wait.” said a small voice.
“Are you kidding!? We can’t fight that thing!” said Rarity, and more softly; “…and bring your voice down, you’ve spooked it.”
“I don’t even think it’s a lion.” said Pinkie timidly. Sure enough, the creature poised forward and spread out bat-like wings.
“What!?” said Tania. “But that’s…” she huffed. “No matter, it’s targeted us. We have to fight it.” She bent slowly down and picked up a long stick. Before she could use it though, Rarity streaked past her in a sudden boost of confidence.
“Take that, you ruffian!” she said in her prissy voice. She kicked at the creature with a heeled boot. The creature swung at her and missed. He drew in a breath and roared directly in Rarity’s face. Holding her ears, Rarity backed off.
“My hair!” she exclaimed, her vision filled with locks freshly tangled and spit upon.
“Wait!”
Applejack kicked off the ground and landed on the creature. She had her arm around it in an attempted chokehold. Pinkie Pie cried out.
“Watch out! That things got a…a uh…”
Tania saw it. The creature had a scorpion like tail, complete with needle-like tip. If that thing jabbed at Applejack…
“Applejack! Get off!” shouted Rainbow Dash.
“Wha? Okeedokie! Whoa!” she let herself get thrown off, and made a perfect crouched landing. “All yours, partner”
“Wait!”
Dash saluted to Applejack and sprinted towards the beast. She began circling it, jumping off rocks and the trunks of trees in attempt to disorient it. She swung at it with a rock whenever it looked away, but never made a connection. Instead, the beast did. It wacked her with its broad tail. For a sinking moment Tania saw the poisoned tip glint in the moonlight, then Rainbow Dash was before her feet.
“DASH! Did it get you?”
Rainbow Dash grunted and rolled onto her back. She examined herself.
“I don’t think so… Not with the stinger.”
Didn’t matter. Tania was still mad. She clenched her teeth and stamped her foot. Her friends around her poised themselves as well. She swung the stick over her shoulder like a bat and charged, an animalistic roar passing her teeth. They had gotten halfway there when something pink and blond appeared before them belting out “WAAAAAIIIIIIITTT!!!”
They came to crashing halt. Pinkie tripped and fell face forward.
The group stared in shocked silence as Fluttershy smiled daintily and faced the beast. The beast snarled and raised a paw. Tania flinched and squeezed her eyes shut. Instead of a cry of pain, she heard a soft voice mutter “Shhhhh, it's okay.”
Tania dared to open an eye. Fluttershy petted the beast’s mane softly. The beast whimpered and folded its wings. To Fluttershy it showed a paw.
“Oh, you poor, poor little baby.” she cooed.
“Little?” repeated Dash.
“Baby?” responded Rarity.
Fluttershy carefully took the paw into her hand. It was like a dinner plate covering a tea saucer.
“Now this might hurt for just a second.”
Fluttershy’s hand pinched at the pad of the paw and quickly thrust outwards. The Beast roared in pain.
“FLUTTERSHY!!!” the group cried out in terror. The call was replied with a giggle. Fluttershy was in the arms of the beast. It coddled her and licked her hair into a spike.
Although they were still nervous, the sight made them all grin. They cautiously passed the creature and waited for Fluttershy to join them. She patted him on the head and he sped off. Tania had to ask.
“How did you know about the thorn?” she asked as Fluttershy passed her.
“I didn't. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”
“That’s a beautiful thought, but don’t ever do that again! You had us all worried.”
Fluttershy ducked her head and then embraced Tania.
“That’s exactly what I meant!” she giggled.
They didn’t notice a cloud of mist spring from where a thorn had been thrown aside.

Chapter 6 Part 2

Chapter 6

They had been walking in silence for too long. The path grew slick with dew that had never had the chance to evaporate. The sound of splashing water suggested a bog nearby.
“Eugh.” vocalized Rarity. “My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck.”
Right at that statement, the flashlights went out. There was a moment of chatter and confusion.
“Well, I didn't mean that literally.” Rarity said amidst it all.
Tania started waving her pink glow stick around, trying to find the other girls. Was this the moment? Maybe now was the time to expose her secret. She had just decided to give in when another glow stick snapped into existence. Fluttershy waved her hand around and streaks of yellow shot from between her fingers. Glows of other hues snapped into the dark, but the forest was still dim. Applejack was about to hand off another one when she held back.
“Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin'.”
Tania glimpsed Fluttershy’s yellow face just long enough to see her shriek.
“It's just mud.” said Applejack, and then she let out a yowl herself.
A jolt of adrenaline shot through Tania and she echoed the call. Right behind Applejack was a hideous face, gnarled and hollow-eyed in the glow. The other girls around her shrieked too. Tearing her eyes away from face, Tania saw another, and another. Each face appeared more suddenly then the last. They never ended. The group must have been surrounded by an army! And the shrieking went on and on, echoing off their attackers, and didn’t quit. They didn’t quit, until a giggle cut through the air.
Pinkie laughed.
The sound exposed a face for what it was, a carved tree with jagged teeth. The girls stopped shrieking, but the urge to fly was still prevalent. Then there was Pinkie. She made faces back at the tree. Tania didn’t wait for it to come to life and attack. She expected nothing less from this forest.
“Pinkie, what are you doing?! Run!” Tania cried.
Pinkie just laughed again.
“Oh girls, don't you see?”

“I’m no stranger to feeling scared
To feeling sad
Or unaware
Of how others saw the tangles in my hair.”

Pinkie word’s leapt into verse and melody. Here, of all places and times!
“Tell me she's not...” winced Tania, her eyes never straying from the faces.

“But you can bring more to your life
So don’t keep things
Crammed deep inside
Turn it into something bright!”

“She is.” replied Rarity.

“Listen to Pinkie Pie
Take that hurt and say goodbye
Let the laughter be a light”

Tania could have sworn the acoustics of the forest turned each vocal note into its own chord, like some kind of woody back-up music.

“And if it’s gotten inside your head
Let it show!
Find a way bring the lessons that you’ve learned
Into your world
If it’s gotten inside your heart
Let it grow!
Take this joy, it’s just the water that you need
To tower in these trees!

“I’ve found that laughter here
In this world
Is crystal clear
Others will see your lack of fear
Instead of forcing people back
Because they hurt
They might just lack
Some sunshine in that dreary world of theirs”

“Hey girls!” called Rainbow Dash. “These faces are just molded on! They’re not even moving!”

“Listen to this law
Your world can only stand in awe
When all you say is “Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Pinkie faced a tree and laughed right into its horrifying face. The molded piece then proceeded to…disappear.
Tania couldn’t take it. “WHAT!? But that’s-”

The girls laughed to the time of the music. Tania couldn’t believe it, but the faces disappeared into a cloud of smoke if she flooded it with mirth. And even more amazing, she couldn’t stop laughing! Bubbly shrieks of joy instead of terror bounced off the trees now. Each terrifying face, human and tree alike, washed away one by one.

“Take this joy, it’s just the water that you need
To tower in these trees!”

On her back in the mud, laughing with these strangers who were quickly becoming friends, Tania had never felt so happy.

Sources

Faust, Lauren. "Friendship Is Magic, Part 1 (Mare in the Moon)” My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Dir. James Wootton. The Hub. 10 Oct. 2010. Television. Transcript.

Lauren, Faust. "Friendship Is Magic, Part 1." Wikia. Ed. Nathan2000 and Various. Friendship Is Magic Wiki, 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Transcripts/Friendship_is_Magic,_part_1>.

22bubble-eyes22. SsDs Twilight and Spike. Digital image. DeviantART. DeviantART, 2012. Web. 2012. <http://22bubble-eyes22.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4o21jp>.

22bubble-eyes22. In Real Life. Digital image. DeviantART. DeviantART, 2012. Web. 2012. <http://22bubble-eyes22.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d4l9ift>.

Chapter 1 Part 2

The Pony Version’s Better
Maiden in the Moon part 2

Dear Tania Sparks,

I respect your decision to return to your family, but can not help requesting you to reconsider. I understand wanting to be closer to those whom you love, it is something I try to teach daily. However, I do not believe that the issue is with your family at home, but with the one here. Your continuing education with me has kept you from your social education with those around you, and I will take the blame for allowing this to happen. Perhaps this is why you were affected so deeply when you found yourself unable to reach out to others. One mistake does not equal failure, my dear student, you know this. I believe that if you stay and learn a little less about what is written on paper, and more about what is heard and felt, perhaps you would be given another chance, and grow because of it. Learning comes especially from what you do not know. You already know your family loves you, and that I care deeply for you as well. If you care for others as you do us, they will not be able to help but see this love in you and will want to experience it more fully. If you do not try this yourself, you might find yourself missing others’ love when they try to reach out themselves. Friends are hard to make, and even harder to keep. If someone is willing to go out of their way to become one, then it is a special gift. Dear Tania, there will be one day when you will have to depend on such people and it will come when you least expect it. I hope that wherever you choose to go, you will prepare for such a day. Keep well, and keep learning in all you do.

Your Beloved Teacher,

Princess Tia Solace

Chapter 1

Applejack lost her grip as the mist dissipated from where the woman masquerading as Nightmare Moon had once stood. Now free, Rainbow Dash followed the mist’s trail into convention hall’s lobby and out into the night. She would find no one out there. Tania knew that the mist was a red herring to distract them. The tall lady clad in black, the rebel’s spoke person who dressed as a hundred year old radical, had been a distraction as well. Likely enough, the rebels would have taken their monarch, Princess Solace, captive while the tall lady was putting on her show. But now the speech was over, and that meant the time to find them had passed. And Tania had stood there uselessly. They had gotten away.

Maybe. It wasn’t as if the woman representing Nightmare Moon could have flown off her balcony. There was only one way off it. Tania regained her composure and ran towards the back staircase. In the lavish back hallway, she nearly ran into a shaken Rarity who was exiting the stairway. Rarity had been stuck on the balcony with Nightmare Moon during the entire performance. Tania looked at the fashionista questioningly but Rarity shook her head. She hadn’t seen the strange woman on the way down. Tania whipped around and searched the hallway. There were plenty of doors, but none that led out. Her gaze fell upon a semi-lit exit sign. She ran towards a door inset into the wall on the opposite side and pushed it open. It led to another stairway down. Of course. The building was on uneven ground, so what was at ground level at the front was a story up from the back. Tania raced down the steps into the dark. She couldn’t see a thing, but was aware of a small space, maybe another hallway. She felt her way forward, one hand on the wall and the other in front of her. She questioned chancing a light, but soon saw a rectangle of dim moonlight. She pushed at the metal door that housed the small window and let her eyes adjust to the dim light of the hallway beyond it. Through the glass to her left she could see an empty banquet hall with a large windowed wall facing the grounds. She pushed open another door and entered the room. It was dim there, but by the light of the full moon she knew that the room was spotless, no one had been here. She faced the windowed wall and looked up at the moon. She didn’t need a watch to know that this was impossible. It should have been sunrise ages ago, but the stars still shone unnaturally back at her. Tania refocused her efforts and did a quick check of the wall. No doors. She retraced her steps back into the adjoining hallway and finally found a back door.

Now in the grounds she checked the area for footprints. Nothing. No tire tracks either. She ran all the way to the back of the garden and had to stop when the ground dropped off steeply into a valley. Nothing down there. She went back up to a trail. There, in the middle of the dark garden, she looked back at the moon. It seemed blurrier now. Something wet slid down her cheek.

She had never felt so alone. Princess Solace had been her protection from the world since she had been a tiny child. And with her gone, there was only this darkness. There was no one else except her, and she felt as empty and devoid of colour as the moon washed garden around her. The hopelessness began to make her feel physically sick.
No! She was not going to lose it! Not now when it mattered most! The captors had gotten away, but they were sticklers for the legends. If Tania could just learn a little more about the myth, maybe she could anticipate their next move. She brushed the tears off her face and followed the trail past the side of the building and to the front.
Everyone was gathered in front of the doors chattering nervously. A police cruiser cast its disco lights against the front of the building. The blue and red beams felt so unreal. Tania made her way into the crowd before someone could question her whereabouts. She caught sight of Spike leaning tiredly against a pillar on the opposite side. He looked exhausted and scared. Tania shouldered through the crowds. Spike’s relief upon seeing her gave her courage.
“Did you find them?” he asked hopefully while still knowing the answer.
Tania shook her head sadly. “Let’s go back.”
“Home?”
“Soon, but not yet. Just one more day, ok?”
If only there would be another day. Hand in hand, they walked back to the library.

Chapter 4 Part 2

Chapter 4

Tania grasped with her hands, and dragged her feet against the ground, but she could do nothing to stop her rapid slide down the side of the hill. She had no idea how high up the thing was, and what would happen when she reached the bottom. On either side of her, the other girls disappeared as they grabbed onto roots and rocks. Tania tumbled forward and ended up on her stomach, in time to see Applejack grab a root and grow smaller. Tania’s feet stopped touching ground and flailed into empty air. She only just managed keep herself from falling over the edge with her elbows. No longer falling, her legs swung back to her and banged her knees painfully against the cliff face.
“Hold on! I'm a-comin'!” Applejack let go of her root and started sliding carefully towards Tania.
Now at the edge, Applejack grabbed her arms and tried pulling Tania up. Tania tried to help by kicking at the face with her feet. She stopped when she felt the ground crumbling under her belly. Applejack saw what was happening and stopped pulling harder than necessary.
“Applejack! What do I do?” cried Tania in distress.
Her rescuer looked at the space behind Tania thoughtfully. She then looked Tania in the eye.
“Let go.”
Tania felt she was going to be hysterical in all of two seconds.
“Are you crazy?!”
“No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe.”
“That's not true!”
“Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe.”
Without knowing how or why, Tania saw something in the farmer girl’s face that meant absolute trustworthiness. Tania closed her eyes and let go.
There was a ridiculously long moment of freefall. Tania let her fear bubble up her throat and screamed the entire horrible moment. And then it ended. She bounced for a moment, and when she tried to grab at something to stop the movement, her fingers felt netting. She opened her eyes. On her right, Rainbow Dash’s relieved face greeted her. She was still attached to the rope, and had secured it up at the edge. In either hand was a corner of a net. The other side of the net was held by a wide-eyed Fluttershy, who was perched on a ledge. She too, had a rope attached to her waist. Both she and Rainbow Dash had let themselves down a short ways down the cliff with the rope, where the wall slanted away from the edge. Had Tania have panicked, she might have missed the net or upset it, and Tania would have panicked for sure if she had known the plan. As she was helped off the net and down the ledges, she was glad to see Applejack making her way down too, safe and sound.