Pinkie hummed as she bounced through the halls of the decrepit castle. “Wow, Twilight,” Pinkie remarked with a giggle. “This place is super creepy!”
“I’ll admit it is a bit... dreary, dear,” Rarity said, cringing as she stepped past a cobweb.
“Are you kidding?” Rainbow Dash did a loop in midair, bumping into Fluttershy and eliciting a squeak from the latter. “This place is awesome! It's like it's straight from a Daring Do book!”
“Now girls,” said Twilight, “we’re just here to find Nightmare’s Amulet. Let’s try not to disturb anything else.”
Twilight led the group through the halls of the ancient castle, lighting the way with her horn. There were holes in the ceiling and walls where rock had crumbled long ago, through which a few rays sunlight found their way inside the otherwise dark hallways. Mold spotted everything in large patches, from the walls to the decaying furniture, and giant cobwebs stretched across entire doorways, scattered with dead insects that had lost their way.
“Now where d’ya reckon this here ‘Nightmare’s Amulet’ is, Twilight? And for that matter, what even is it?” Applejack asked.
“Well, Princess Celestia said that Princess Luna—well, at the time, Nightmare Moon—kept it in her chambers 1000 years ago. By now, it could really be anywhere, though,” Twilight replied. “Supposedly, it was a powerful charm in which Nightmare Moon stored much of her extra strength.”
“So basically,” said Rainbow Dash, “it's an evil necklace thing that Nightmare Moon once used to destroy Equestria and stuff? Why are we looking for this thing again?”
“Mainly, to prevent anypony questionable from getting their hooves on it. It could wreak quite a lot of havoc, after all,” said Twilight. “The other reason we’re looking for it is that Princess Celestia thinks we may be able to harvest the amulet’s powers for good.”
The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was as old as Equestria itself, Princess Celestia had told Twilight. A millennium ago, it was here that she and Luna had ruled over all of pony lands. Nightmare Moon destroyed the castle in a fit of rage when she engulfed Equestria in darkness with her transformation. From then onwards, it was abandoned, and Princess Celestia had a new castle constructed in Canterlot. Only days later after Nightmare Moon's banishment, the Everfree Forest appeared, a scar upon the land, and a painful reminder of what Celestia had done to save her sister from herself.
As the six ponies wandered through the castle, they soon found themselves in a small room. The setting sun shined brightly through the window here, almost blinding them. Twilight shielded her eyes with her hoof, and slowly, they adjusted. Along the right side of the room stood several bookshelves; they stretched from the ground to the ceiling. There was also a small desk. Opposite to it, on the left side of the room, was a bed. It was in horrible condition; the wood was splintered and long decayed. It had fallen to one side, as it was missing two of its legs. A plain navy blue comforter lay on top of it, covered in holes.
"This room.... This must be Princess Luna's chambers," Twilight muttered.
"Great! So this is where that amulet thing should be, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, hovering near the ceiling.
"This is where Princess Celestia believes it is, yes," responded Twilight.
"Then what're we waitin' for?" Applejack asked. "Let's get searchin', everypony!"
While the other ponies searched the room, Twilight trotted over to the desk, on which lay a small leather-bound book. The sunlight glittered off of the golden crescent moon emblazoned on its cover. In the corner of the desk was a quill in a jar of ink, though it had long dried out. Twilight lifted the book with her magic and examined it. When she flipped it open, the pages inside crumbled away into a pile of ash.
There was the sound of creaking wood, and when Twilight glanced up from her book, she found the bookshelves that had previously occupied much of the room were missing.
"Twilight! Come look at this!" she heard Rarity call.
"It was a secret door!" Rainbow Dash said.
Behind the bookshelves lay a large room, across the middle of which ran a tattered velvet carpet. Twilight’s eyes followed it to the end of the room. There, some stairs led up to a raised portion of the ground, upon which two thrones sat. The tattered remains of a yellow tapestry remained behind the throne on the right, while a dark blue tapestry in much better condition lay behind the left throne, depicting a crescent moon. The floor was covered in rubble, presumably from the missing ceiling.
"The throne room," Twilight said, as she slowly entered, the others following her. "This... this is where Princess Celestia and Luna once ruled together, in harmony."
"To think," Rarity said, "that such grandeur was reduced to ruins like this...."
It was at that moment that Pinkie launched up into the air, screaming, “Twitchy tail! twitchy tail!”
Rainbow Dash whirled around. “Huh?” was all she could say before she slammed into a statue, causing it to fall over. “Ouch!”
A golden medallion fell from the statue’s neck, clinking on the ground. “Is... this the amulet?” asked Dash, picking up it up.
“Hmm....” Twilight lifted the medallion with her magic, inspecting it carefully. “To be honest, I don’t actually know what the amulet looks like.” She rubbed the charm with her hoof. “This thing doesn’t look very magical, though.”
"Maybe you need to say the right thing, like 'Open Sesame!'" Dash suggested.
"I don't think so," Twilight said. "Even if the magic was locked away, I think I'd still be able to detect it."
“Sugarcube, I don’t mean to interrupt, but, uh, has anypony seen Fluttershy?”
"Yeah, she was right here—" Twilight glanced around the group. "Wait, where'd she go?"
Pinkie gasped. “Do you think the amulet kidnapped her?”
“...No Pinkie, I don’t think that’s possible."
“You only think it’s not possible!” Pinkie pointed out. “I’m gonna go find that amulet and teach it a lesson about messing with my friends!” She mimicked boxing an imaginary opponent before running off.
“Piinnkiiieee, wait!” Twilight called.
But she was already gone. Not a moment later, Fluttershy returned. Twilight stared at her, mouth wide open. Rainbow Dash brought a hoof up to her forehead. “Oh, I'm so sorry, everypony. I didn't mean to slow us down,” Fluttershy said, blushing slightly. “I... I just had to use the mare’s room.”
Twilight and Applejack exchanged glances; the latter simply shrugged.
“Alright, then. Did anypony see which way Pinkie went?” Twilight asked, shaking her head. Rarity nodded, pointing to a crumbled part of the wall, beyond which lay the Everfree.
"The Everfree?" There was a collective gulp.
“Well, uh, onwards and upwards, then?” Rainbow Dash said, with a nervous chuckle.
The Everfree Forest was not a friendly place for ponies, and even though they had traveled through it before, Twilight and her friends had every reason to be fearful.
Although it was only evening, it was already pitch black. The moonlight only barely pierced the forest's canopy; most of the light the group had came from Twilight's horn. Unfortunately, her simple illumination spell was only enough for them to see a few steps ahead of themselves. The air was chilling; it chewed through their fur and bit at their very skin. Silence hung in the air; all they could hear was the sound of their own hooves crunching in the leaves. The group followed a faint trail that led from the old castle and wound among the trees. As they made their way through the forest slowly, Twilight's lavender light danced around them, shimmering off of evil-looking eyes and sharp teeth. They could only hope it was their imagination.
Applejack tried to shake the images out of her head. "Now just where could that mare've gotten to?" Her words echoed in the darkness.
"I don't know," Twilight said, sighing, "but I hope we find her soon. It's already getting pretty late, and I really don't want to be stuck here come midnight."
"You're not... scared, are you, Twi?" asked Rainbow Dash with a snicker.
"I-I'm not scared!"
"I'm pretty scared...." Fluttershy said.
"It's okay, dear," Rarity said, wrapping a hoof around her friend. "I'm quite certain—"
"Boo!"
As one, they spun around at the noise. Except Fluttershy, that was, who ducked for cover, hooves over her ears, as Rainbow Dash collapsed into giggles.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Cut it out, Rainbow Dash!"
"Aw, c'mon, Twi." Dash wiped a tear out her eye. "It was a just a little joke."
With Twilight grumbling, the group continued to make their way carefully through the fallen branches and twigs. They came to a small clearing, where there was a shuffling sound coming from the bushes. "Rainbow Dash, I swear—"
"I'm right here!" said Dash in protest.
"Then who was that?"
A pink pony leaped out from the foliage. "Hey guys, I've been looking all over for you!"
"Well shoot, Pinkie, we've been lookin' all over fer you!"
Pinkie giggled, bouncing up into the air. "Well here I am!"
"Really, dear, you mustn't run off like that!" Rarity pouted.
"Well, I'm just glad that everypony is all safe and sound," Fluttershy said with a smile. As they talked, little did they notice the darkness around them growing thicker. Fluttershy was the first to hear the faint chattering and squealing. Freezing, she cocked a nervous ear back and forth, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. “Uh, g-girls? D-did a-anypony hear that?” Fluttershy flattened her ears as the hissing and chattering grew louder.
“What in the world—?” Applejack pulled her hat over her ears to block out the sound. As the group closed in on itself, the first of the creatures showed itself.
The monster was rodent-like, the size a small filly. With fur darker than the night itself, it had razor-sharp teeth, and claws to match. Saliva dripped from its mouth, and it chattered hungrily.
With a flash of magic, Twilight knocked the rodent away as it lunged at the group. "Girls? A little help?"
"Right!" Rainbow Dash flew up into the air. With a harsh battle cry, she came straight back down, plowing one of the rodents into a tree.
"O-oh my," Fluttershy squeaked. "I'm sure if we reason with them...."
"There ain't no reasoning to be done, sugarcube!" Applejack bucked another rodent across the teeth. Pinkie Pie picked up a rock in her mouth and chucked it; a rodent hissed at it was smacked across the face.
"Twilight, can't you get us out of here?" Rarity cowered, shrieking. "These rats are simply dreadful!"
"I'm trying!" Twilight said with a grunt. She gnashed her teeth, grimacing as sparks flew uselessly flew off her horn. A rodent tackled her, knocking Twilight to the ground.
"Twilight!" Applejack managed to drag the creature off of her friend.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and the group found themselves at the edge of the Everfree, near Fluttershy's cottage.
Rainbow Dash fell to the ground, groaning and rubbing her forehead. "I really shouldn't ram into things like that anymore...."
"That sure was a close one!" Applejack said, rubbing her hindquarters.
Twilight panted for breath. "You... you can say that again."
"That was so fun!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down in place. "All the monsters were like grrrr! And Dashie was like like woosh! And AJ was like kapow! And Rarity was all like, 'Please save me!' And, and—"
Rarity looked away in embarrassment. "You may be exaggerating that last one a little bit, dear."
"Nope," Applejack said with a chuckle, "Ah dare say she was pretty spot on."
Suddenly, Pinkie's tail began to twitch. "Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!"
Twilight groaned. "What now?"
Then, Pinkie's nose began to wiggle. "Shaky nose! Shaky nose!" And then her ears began to flop. "Floppy ears! Floppy ears!"
"Now what in tarnation is that supposed to mean?"
Pinkie gasped. "That means that there's a party I'm forgetting about! Sorry, guys! I gotta go!"
Before anypony could say anything, Pinkie was off.
Twilight opened her mouth as if to say something, but simply sighed. "Well, girls, if you don't mind, I think I'll head home myself. I think there's some studying I need to be doing about this amulet."
"Sounds good to me," Applejack said. "Ah should be headin' home too. Big Mac is probably wonderin' what's holding me up."
Rarity grimaced. "And Sweetie Belle must be back from her play date. I couldn't possibly let her go unsupervised. I'll take my leave as well."
With that, they parted ways for the night. Twilight yawned as she trotted home. The full moon rose as night overtook day, and its soft light caressed the town gently, lulling it to sleep. The stars in the night sky sparkled overhead; they beckoned to Twilight. She smiled at the sight, her eyes slowly growing more heavy.
It was well in the afternoon when Twilight woke up the next day. When she tried to recall what she had actually learned from her late-night research, her mind went blank. With a yawn, she rolled out of bed and immediately fell into a gigantic stack of tomes. Muffled grunts and mutters of indignation could be heard as Twilight slowly punched her way out. Groaning, she fell back against the ground.
“Oh, Twilight, you're finally awake!” Spike called from the doorway, a few minutes later. “I actually wanted to ask you something. Is today like a holiday or something?"
"Huh?" Twilight rubbed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was just wondering, because Pinkie is floating outside the library doing cartwheels in the air," explained Spike. "And I think she covered the ground with moon rock. It looks like one heck of a party!"
Spike gestured towards the window.
"Wha—?" Twilight glanced out the window. Sure enough, there was Pinkie Pie, doing exactly as Spike described. "What in the world? Pinkie did mention some kind of party yesterday... but that was just Pinkie being Pinkie. Today's just Sunday, right?"
"Or uh... Moon Day?" Outside, sat Princess Luna on a comically over-sized throne, watching Pinkie perform her aerial acrobatics.
Twilight's eyes grew large. Slamming open the window, she stared agape at the scene.
"Yes, this pleases your princess!" exclaimed Luna, clapping her hooves together.
Twilight shut her window and slumped against the wall. "What in the world?" Suddenly, her eyes grew wide. "Nightmare's Amulet.... We couldn't find it last night..." she muttered. "Princess Luna couldn't have possibly...." Shaking her head, Twilight stood up. "Spike, I'm going to go check this out. Grab the Elements of Harmony, will you?"
With that, Twilight grabbed her saddlebag and darted down the stairs and out of the Ponyville library. With the first step she took outside, she was flung 10 feet in the air, only to hit the ground again, hard. "Oof!" Rubbing her forehead, slowly, she stood up. Picking up a rock with her hoof, Twilight eyed it with suspicion. When she threw it, she found it bounced along the streets. "What kind of rock—? Ponyville can't possibly be.... on the moon, can it?"
"Twilight!" Spike was standing at the doorway of the library with the Elements of Harmony. Twilight sighed and shook her head. She'd sort this out eventually.
"Thanks, Spike," she said, taking the elements with her magic. She stuffed them into her saddle bag.
As she made her way through the streets, she found that the trees were chock-full of ribbons, and so was Ponyville in general, for that matter. Ponies were busy all around town. Some were decorating the streets with streamers and balloons. Others were hanging up banners depicting the moon from every building. Twilight eyed the banners with suspicion.
As Twilight passed by the Sugarcube Corner, a pair of orange hooves reached out from the double doors and grabbed her, pulling her inside.
"Oh, Twilight, thank Celestia you're here!" said Rarity.
"Girls, I'm so glad I found you!" said Twilight. "We have a situation on our hooves."
"Darn tootin'! Have y'all seen what's happened to Sweet Apple Acres?"
"You mean that— Sweet Apple Acres too?" Twilight rubbed her temples. "It's worse than I thought."
"I'm just here because Applejack asked me to come," said Rainbow Dash with a shrug. Twilight shot her a glare. "What?"
Pinkie Pie ran by, an unfrosted cake atop her back.
"You've got a situation on your hooves?" She scoffed. "I've got cakes to bake, balloons to inflate, banners to create, and a whole town to decorate! And you're telling me you've got a problem!" With that, she disappeared into the kitchen. A second later, she reappeared. "Hey, have you guys heard the one about the party on the moon? It could've been great, but it had no atmosphere!" Guffawing, Pinkie disappeared again.
Everypony took a moment of silence in an attempt to absorb what Pinkie had just said. Finally giving up, Rarity asked, "Do you think that those moon rocks would make for a good ensemble? I had a dress in mind, but frankly, they seem a little dangerous."
"Oh, those strange rocks? I don't think that's such a good idea, Rarity. One of my chickens tried to eat one, and he got really sick," said Fluttershy. There was a pause. "Also, I got a really bad splinter."
"Now wait just a second, Fluttershy, why aren't you home taking care of yer little chicken?" Biting her lip, Fluttershy avoided Applejack's gaze. Her eyes momentarily watered. Applejack didn't probe any further.
"Girls! Ponyville! On the Moon! Nightmare's Amulet! Let's try to stay focused here!"
"Oh, right, that. What color do you think goes well with moon rock, dear?"
Twilight was practically frothing at the mouth. "Rarity!"
"Did you say somethin' about Nightmare's Amulet, Twi?" Applejack asked. "What in the world does that haveta do with all of this?"
Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Girls, there's a reason we couldn't find that amulet."
Rainbow Dash gasped. "You're not suggesting that... that Daring Do stole it, are you? That is. So. Awesome!"
"No, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, putting a hoof up to her face. "I wasn't suggesting that at all. Daring Do isn't even real! What I was suggesting is that the amulet was never lost and that Luna had it with her all along!"
Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged glances before breaking out into laughter.
"Twilight, dear, why would Princess Luna still have that musty old amulet?"
"For the same reason that Ponyville is currently located on the moon! There is no Princess Luna, only a Nightmare!"
“But Twilight, that's—” Applejack tried to come up with an explanation, but ultimately failed.
The other ponies grew silent. "I'm glad you all finally understand." Twilight said. "Now let's go. Somepony go get Pinkie."
Once they had convinced Pinkie that she could make her super special Sugared Strawberry Sherbet Special later, the Elements of Harmony ventured out into the streets. They headed straight for town square, in the middle of which Princess Luna sat. When they found her, she greeted them in the traditional royal Canterlot voice. "Twilight! I was wondering when I would see thee! And we see thou hast brought thy friends!"
"Princess Luna, what's going on here? Is this some sort of prank?" Twilight demanded. The Elements of Harmony stood behind her in formation.
"Pranks? What wonderful fun!" Luna clapped her hooves again. "In what brand shall we partake, dear Twilight?"
Twilight ignored the princess' invitation. "Princess Luna, why is the ground covered with moon rock?"
"It is only natural, dear Twilight," replied she, "for we are on the moon! Is it not a glorious frivolity?"
"Princess Luna, why are we on the moon?" was the next question.
"Have you not noticed? In honor of your glorious princess, Ponyville has shown its hospitality with a celebration!"
"A celebration?" Twilight repeated.
"Naturally! And what better place to hold such a festivity than on the moon? We are oh so excited to make many friends tomorrow; in fact, we venture to say that all of Ponyville will be our friend, forever! Oh, we tremble in joy just imagining it! Will it not be glorious?"
Then came the next question. "Where's Nightmare's Amulet, Princess?"
Princess Luna blinked. "Nightmare's Amulet? Twilight, what know you of that accursed amulet?" Princess Luna frowned, her voice suddenly dropping. "We haven't seen it for 1000 years, Twilight, and neither has anypony else. It has been forever lost to time. We think it would behoove you not to dredge up the past."
"You haven't seen it in 1000 years? A likely story," Twilight muttered.
"Whatever do you mean?" Princess Luna shifted in her throne uncomfortably.
At this point, a small crowd had formed to see what all the commotion was about.
"Why are you having this party, Princess? To celebrate your successful takeover of Ponyville?" Twilight shook her head. "To think, all this time.... I really thought that you had changed, Princess. I guess I was wrong."
"A... takeover of Ponyville? Twilight, we understand not from where your accusations stem! We are guilty of no such act!"
"But why else?" Twilight demanded. "Why else would you have kidnapped Ponyville like this? Princess, I don’t want to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
“What art thou—”
Twilight magically removed the Elements from her saddlebag and snapped them on her friends' necks. “Ready, girls?”
"Oh, oh, one more, Fluttershy!" Pinkie could barely contain her mirth. "What kind of tea can't you drink on the moon? Gravit-tea!" Pinkie fell on the ground, rolling in laughter as her element snapped around her neck. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Oh, haven't you been listening, Pinkie?" Fluttershy said. "Princess Luna held this celebration as an excuse to take over Ponyville, so we have to use the Elements of Harmony!"
"Whaaaat?" Pinkie Pie quickly stood herself up. "Twilight, wait!" She exclaimed, tackling her friend. "This party isn't a Happy Day Nightmare Moon Took Over Ponyville Party, it's a Happy Birthday Princess Luna Party!"
Twilight furrowed her brow. "Pinkie, what are you talking about? Now's not the time for your—"
"Tomorrow's Princess Luna's birthday, silly!"
"What? It's... it's your birthday tomorrow?" Twilight reeled in realization, glancing up at the princess. "T-that's what all of this was for?"
"'T-tis true, I assure thee," Princess Luna said, clearly shaken.
"Oh!" Twilight pushed Pinkie off of herself, standing up. She backpedaled. "Oh my gosh, I-I'm sorry. I-I swear I didn't know. I am so sorry, princess. I am so sorry." Pushing her way through the crowd, Twilight ran home.
"Twilight!" Spike called, knocking on the door. "Open up!"
"Spike, not now!"
"C'mon, open up, Twilight, someone's here to see you!"
"We hope our visit is not too intrusive." another voice called.
Suddenly the door flew open. Twilight forced an unnaturally large smile. "Princess Luna! O-of course not! You're always welcome here! Whatever did you wish to discuss?"
Then, Twilight's face fell. "Listen, Princess, I just want you to know that I'm really sorry for what I did. And even if you decide to—"
"We would simply like to let you know that you are forgiven. We did not want to see you holed up in your library on a day of celebration, after all!"
"...I accept my punishment. Wait, w-what?"
"Twilight, we do not blame you." Princess Luna said. "We would have done the same." Luna frowned. "If we were you, that is, and we suppose we are not, and therefore we would in fact never do the same. Nonetheless, it would be foolish to trust a mare who had not so long ago threatened to engulf this world in darkness."
"Y-you really forgive m-me? After what I did?"
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, we forgive you. Now if we are not mistaken, have you not a letter to be writing?"
"O-of course! Spike! Take a letter." Twilight said.
"One step ahead of you, Twi!" Spike said, already holding a quill and a piece of parchment.
"I think I'd like you to hear this one too, Princess Luna."
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today, I learned that you should never assume the worst of other ponies. Acting on your suspicions can be disastrous if you turn out to be wrong. When your sister, Princess Luna, was invited to Ponyville for a celebration, I assumed to worst of her motives, and, I'm sorry to say, I turned out to be wrong. Princess Luna has also shown me how important it is to be forgiving of other ponies. Everypony makes mistakes, after all.
Always your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
