Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary

Chapters

Summer Sun Celebration - Applejack
Summer Sun Celebration - Rarity
Summer Sun Celebration - Fluttershy
Summer Sun Celebration - Pinkie Pie
Summer Sun Celebration - Nightmare Moon
Nightmare - Sacrifice
Nightmare - Mercy
Nightmare - Luna
Reunion - Darkness vs Light
Reunion - Two Broken Hearts
Reunion - Twiny on the Loose
Trials - Hungry Beast
Trials - Confrontation
Trials - Rarity of Generosity
Trials - A Dash of Loyalty
The Elements of Harmony - Nightmare’s Little Guest
The Elements of Harmony - Painful Truth
The Elements of Harmony - Final Confrontation
The Elements of Harmony - Happiness and Sorrow
Dawn - Reunions
Dawn - Friendships and Blessings
Dawn - Foalsitter No More
Epilogue
Prologue
Summer Sun Celebration - Rainbow Dash

Summer Sun Celebration - Applejack

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 1

The two pegasus guards gave another synchronized flap of their wings, the sunshine gleaming off of their golden armor as they towed an official chariot carrying two important VIP’s towards Ponyville. One of the so-called VIP’s was none other than Princess Celestia’s little student, Twilight Sparkle, who was perched comfortably on the head of her personal unicorn guard, Overwatch. Spike sat patiently next to them, admiring the view.

Overwatch felt her little charge fidgeting nervously on her head and raised an eyebrow as she tried to look up at her. “Hey Twilight, if you keep moving up there and slip, I won’t be saving you if you fall over the side,” she teased, only to feel a little hoof strike the back of her head. “Hey, no need to get so angry. I know that you can levitate yourself, but if you fall off, you’re going to delay us, and you hate being late, don’t you?”

Twilight let out a groan, closing her eyes and focusing on the warm breeze blowing through her fur in an attempt to calm her stress, so familiar to the pleasant memories she had of flying on Spitfire and Soarin’.

Overwatch waited patiently for her little charge to relax before she asked, “Now then, since you’re no longer panicking, tell me: what’s eating you?”

Twilight remained silent, and Overwatch frowned up at her. “Nervous about visiting someplace new? Or maybe you’re afraid that ponies will laugh at your tiny size and you’ll fail to accomplish your mentor’s tasks?” she asked with concern.

Spike raised his eyebrows in admiration. “Wow, your intuition never ceases to amaze me. You’re pretty much spot on there,” he said, bringing the attention of the two mares onto him. “Twilight almost had a panic attack as she searched for books to help her organize the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not why I’m worried. Well, that isn’t the only problem I’m worried about, at least.”

Overwatch blinked in surprise as she levitated Twilight off her head and in front of her face. “Then what in Tartarus are you so agitated about?”

Twilight frowned and turned away, crossing her forelegs stubbornly. Overwatch raised an amused eyebrow at her charge before shaking her lightly in her levitation field. After Twilight’s eyes stopped rolling around, she was met by Overwatch's piercing glare, and she finally hung her head in submission. “Fine, fine. If you must know, I’m still worried over that tale about Nightmare Moon. I know that the princess thinks it’s just fiction, but what if it’s true? What if we are all in grave danger?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Still worried about that? C’mon, Twilight, give it a rest.”

Twilight wanted to reply, but she was cut off by the enthusiastic voice of Steel Blade. “We’re here, Twilight! Prepare yourself for landing.”

Steel Blade and the other pegasus guard landed softly and with professional precision. Overwatch hefted her saddlebags over her armor and joined Spike as they stepped onto the dirt road with Twilight scanning the area from her guard’s head. Her eyes passed over rows of warmly colored houses, well-decorated and certainly a sight to look at, though they appeared far smaller and less sturdy than the stone goliaths of Canterlot.

Overwatch moved in front of Steel Blade, looking at him with a smug grin as Twilight waved her little hoof at both guards. “Thank you, sirs.”

Both guards held their heads up proudly, and Steel Blade was finally able to free himself from the chariot so the other pegasus could return it to Canterlot. Twilight took a long look at the huge city on the face of the mountain. Even after travelling so far, she could still see the giant city she had lived in for so many years, standing proudly in the distance on its solid perch.

“Enjoying the view?” Steel Blade asked cheerfully, breaking Twilight's trance. In a moment, the little mare shook herself from her reverie, reminding herself of the tasks at hoof as she jumped to the ground from Overwatch’s head and turned towards her personal guards.

“Okay everypony... and Spike," she said, gesturing for him to join in. "We have a lot to do and very little time to do it.”

“Don’t worry, Twilight, we have your back. I don’t think anypony would dare laugh at you with two guards at your side,” Steel Blade said with a determined stomp as Overwatch brought a hoof to her face with a groan.

“I... think I’ll go with Spike and oversee the preparations ourselves,” Twilight said hesitantly, moving next to the baby dragon before turning back to her guards. “I have a special mission for both of you.”

Steel Blade frowned and had briefly opened his mouth to protest, though he stopped himself and simply nodded. “We are at your command, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight reared up on her hind legs, scanning the town before pointing her hoof towards a distant tree. “I want you and Overwatch to go to our temporary base of operations in the Ponyville Library,” she said, in a serious, commanding voice. “From what Silver Scroll told me, it’s located at the giant tree at the center of town. Once there, I need you two to search it for any books about Nightmare Moon or the Elements of Harmony until my return.”

“You do realize,” Overwatch started, raising an eyebrow, “that as your personal guards, we shouldn’t be leaving your side for even a second, right?” Steel Blade simply nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, because I am so going to be attacked or foal-napped in this peaceful little town," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "Come on guys, I need your help. I won’t be able to focus on my duty if I’m also trying to search for evidence to convince Princess Celestia that Nightmare Moon is indeed returning to bring about eternal night.” Overwatch and Steel Blade exchanged a look, conflicted frowns on their faces.

Twilight walked closer, looking up into the eyes of the two towering guards. She reared up onto her hind-legs and tried giving them the cutest pleading face she could, her eyes wide and her lips curled into a little pout. “Pleeeeeease?”

Steel Blade bit his lip, doing his best to resist the puppy dog eyes of his little charge, but eventually let out a sigh, lowering his head in defeat.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go,” he said, to which Overwatch rolled her eyes. “Just, please, try to stay out of trouble.”

“Don’t I always?” Twilight replied with a cheerful smile. Steel Blade and Overwatch exchanged a skeptical look, knowing full well that this tiny unicorn was a magnet for trouble.

Steel Blade walked away, though Overwatch stayed for a brief moment, lowered her head to Spike’s ear. “If she hurts herself again, I’m holding you responsible,” she whispered, shooting Spike an intimidating look that he answered with a quick gulp and nod.

Overwatch nodded in response before trotting to catch up to Steel Blade, humming a happy, aimless tune. They were about halfway to the library before the pegasus turned to his partner nonchalantly, saying, “You’re going to follow her, aren’t you?”

“Oh Steelie, you know me too well. Get her research done while I’m gone. I’ll be back before she returns, and you can give me the quick rundown once I arrive,” she said, removing a small, circular make-up mirror from behind her scarf with her magic and angling it to look behind her. “She’s looking the other way. You good, Steelie?”

“Besides the fact that I would prefer to keep an eye on her myself? Yes, I’m good.”

Overwatch gave him a coy smile. “Oh silly, you know you can’t even take two steps before she finds you. Don’t you worry your pretty head about Twiny. I’ll make sure you can keep your crush on her. Ta taaa!”

Steel Blade snorted, rolling his eyes. “I told you already. I don’t have a crush on—” He stopped, suddenly realizing his fellow guard was no longer beside him.

He let out a sigh. “Where does she learn this stuff?”

Spike looked down at Twilight curiously. “So what’s the first thing we need to take care of?”

Twilight took a quick glance at the retreating figures of her two guards before levitating a tiny, but very long, checklist from her miniaturized saddlebags. “First on the list: banquet preparation. We will need to visit an apple farm called ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ and talk with a pony named Applejack.”

Spike scratched his head in confusion. “Any idea where Sweet Apple Acres is?” he asked hesitantly. “The map of Ponyville was in Overwatch’s saddlebag, and you kinda...”

Twilight facehoofed at her first critical mistake. And I haven’t even started yet.

She sighed, looking around until she noticed a pink pony trotting happily towards them, a huge grin on her face. “Maybe we can ask for directions. Come on, Spike!” Twilight shouted with renewed vigor as she galloped forward, Spike right behind her.

“Excuse me!” Twilight yelled. The pony in front of her opened her eyes but didn’t slow down.

“Excuse me!” Twilight yelled again, the pink pony now dangerously close. With a reflex she had developed over the years of trying not to get stepped on, Twilight jumped backwards several times, following a familiar pattern to avoid ending up on the wrong end of a giant pink hoof. Left, right, left, right, left, right...

The pink earth pony stopped when she noticed the purple dragon in her path. She was about to open her mouth to speak, but another yell caught her attention. “Down here!”

The mare looked down at the source of the sound, coming face to face with a tiny, purple unicorn standing beside the dragon. “Hello, my name is—”

The pink pony suddenly jumped up into the air, her eyes bulging as she let out a loud gasp. Before Twilight could try to salvage the situation, the mare had already dashed off like a bullet, quickly disappearing around a corner.

“Well, that was... weird,” Spike said slowly.

Twilight jumped up onto the top of Spike’s head, leaning forward to look into his eyes from her perch as she balanced herself onto his nose with her forelegs. “Seems pretty normal to me,” she replied.

The young dragon gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean ‘normal’? That pony wasn’t anywhere close to acting normal. She just screamed and ran,” he said.

“Spike, if you were an earth pony who lived in a peaceful little town built by earth ponies and, while on a perfectly happy stroll through town, happened to meet a very young dragon and a unicorn the size of a rat, wouldn’t you freak out and run too?”

He frowned in response, scratching his chin contemplatively. “I suppose you’ve got a point there, Twilight. I just hope the other folks here will be more understanding,” he said, when his head was suddenly jolted, causing Twilight to lose her balance and fall to the ground. The little mare dropped next to a rolled-up piece of paper, which somepony had thrown at Spike’s head. He picked it up and unrolled it, revealing that it was a map of Ponyville with a small note scrawled on the back.

You forgot your map, Mr. Number-One-Assistant.

~Overwatch

Spike frowned. “Seems we won’t need to ask for directions after all.”

Spike and Twilight quickly located the farm and began their walk over there, looking around nervously at the confused and curious stares they were getting from the town’s residents.

Twilight sighed and murmured to herself, "This is going to be a looong day.”

“So this is ‘Sweet Apple Acres.’ Not bad,” Spike said as he passed under the small arch that served as the entrance to the farm, the thin frame decorated thickly with vines and apples.

Twilight looked around in wonder as she jogged alongside her assistant, her mouth open in awe as she took in the expansive sight before her. What for Spike was a ‘not bad’ farm, for Twilight, it was absolutely enormous. The fence itself was six times taller than her, and every single tree was like a tower, hundreds or thousands of which spanned entire hills out to the horizon, full of beautiful, ripe apples. The barn in front of her stood like a fortress, painted a vibrant red with fresh flowers in each window. “Woooow...” she murmured under her breath.

“Yeeeehaaaaaw!”

Twilight and Spike quickly turned in the direction of the accented voice to find an orange mare with a big stetson hat at full gallop towards a tree with several baskets positioned under it.

Twilight looked at her closely, observing her every move, when the big mare smoothly pivoted on her forelegs, her hind-legs extending in a powerful kick that set the tree shaking loose the heavy apples from their stems and dropping them into the baskets waiting below.

So this is earth pony magic in action. I wish I could be that strong. I’ll never be able to reach that level, no matter how much I train. Oh well, at least I can always rely on my magic if I can’t do it myself. Now that I think about it, maybe I could start studying earth pony magic once the whole Nightmare Moon situation is taken care of.

The earth pony stood proudly over the baskets, filled to the brim, satisfied with the work she had done. “Good afternoon!” Twilight shouted politely, her voice loud and strong, strengthened after years of making sure other ponies could adequately hear her.

***

Applejack looked around for the source of the call, quickly noticing a purple and green creature walking towards her from the entrance of the farm. She advanced towards it, assuming he was the one who called her, only to stop when lavender shape jumped up in front of her face. Applejack looked down in surprise at the tiny pony she had almost stepped on.

“Hello! My name is Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn said, giving the farm mare a polite bow.

Applejack’s mouth opened a little as she stared down at the tiny mare curiously, who looked back up at her with a wide smile. “Nice to meet you,” Twilight continued, lifting her tiny hoof in greeting.

Applejack’s confused expression turned into one of annoyance. With one swift sweep of her foreleg, she batted the tiny unicorn a few meters away before she began to scan the area, letting out a snort of exasperation.

“Show yerself, ya darn featherbrain! If ya think Ah’m so stupid as t’ fall fer a prank like this, y’all got another thing comin’!” Applejack yelled as the unicorn she kicked recovered from the blow, standing back up onto her hooves, a bit dusty from the fall.

“Which one o’ y’all is it? Rainbow Dash? Ya multicolored snake in th’ grass! Come out from where yer hidin’ so Ah can buck some sense inta ya! Or is it Pinkie Pie? Consarnit, if this is s’posed ta be a puppet show, save it for later! Ah’m mighty busy with preparin’ fer th’ celebration, an’ Ah don’t have time fer yer shenanigans!” the orange mare continued, still looking around for the prankster as she walked over to another tree to continue her work.

***

“Well, that didn’t go as expected,” Twilight said, wincing as she massaged the point where she was kicked, experiencing firsthoof the strength earth ponies possessed.

“Are you all right, Twilight?” Spike asked as he ducked to take a closer look at her. Twilight simply gave him a nod as she began to pat herself off, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Spike knew that Twilight had shrugged off harder hits than that, but seeing somepony swat her away with such contempt made his blood boil in anger. He straightened up, advancing towards the orange mare angrily as smoke fumed from his nostrils. “I think somepony needs to be taught a lesson in respect.”

Twilight quickly pulled the drake back with her magic. “No, Spike. I cannot let you start a fight here, and earth ponies are very strong. Just because you have scales doesn’t mean she can’t hurt you,” she said, glaring disapprovingly at the young dragon she held immobile in her levitation grasp.

“But Twilight, she hurt you!”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. Now wait here and I’ll go talk to her again,” she said as she jogged towards the giant farm pony. She heard Spike following her, but after giving him another disapproving glare, he stopped, watching her with unconcealed worry.

Twilight quickly closed the distance between her and the farm mare, the earth pony turning to meet her, grumbling angrily all the way. “I am deeply sorry if I offended you in any way, but assaulting me was very impolite,” she began, only to be cut off when she was forced to jump to the side by a giant hoof that attempted to crush her.

“If y’all don’t quit horsin’ around, Ah’m jus’ gonna tear up yer puppet!” the orange mare yelled, looking around with narrowed eyes. “Ah warned ya!” she called out, before turning around and raising her hind-legs for a buck. Twilight’s eyes widened, and she quickly rolled to her left into the dirt as a pair of bone-crushing hooves passed by her, one or two inches away.

“Alright, if y’all think ya can keep playin’ around like a bunch of frolickin’ foals, Ah’m gonna use this here puppet t’ practice my applebuckin’!” the farm mare said with a smug smirk as she once again aimed her two legs, ready to attack. Twilight reflexively flinched, throwing up a quick magenta-colored barrier before the two hooves could kick.

“What in the blue blazes?” the earth pony said as she noticed a purple bubble forming around her target and the additional, differently-colored magical aura restraining her hooves, but she was too late to stop her one-two combo before her hoof, though feeling as if she was kicking through water, made a sharp impact with the barrier and shattered it into pieces.

The unicorn yelped in pain, bringing her hooves up to massage the massive ache in her horn from having her barrier almost instantly destroyed. She had barely time to think, however, when she was slammed with the second kick, flinging her into a nearby apple tree. Her back arched in pain from the impact, and she fell heavily to the ground, nursing new pains from her stomach and broken muzzle.

Twilight only laid there for a moment before she was up again, spitting out a bit of dirt and blood as she made an effort to stand on her trembling legs. She raised her head and focused on the farm mare, glaring at her with an angered and determined expression on her face, even as blood streamed from her nose. “That’s it. Diplomacy’s over.”

***

“What in tarnation was that?” the farm mare cursed as she recoiled from her bucks, having kicked something far harder than any tree she had ever bucked. She turned to look back, noticing the small pile of magenta shards scattered where her target was, dissipating into thin air like…

Applejack’s eyes widened. “Unicorn magic? That means…oh, horseapples!” She immediately ran towards the tiny unicorn she had kicked mercilessly just a moment ago, a look of concern on her face as she regarded the tiny form at the base of a tree. “Y’alright, sugarcube? Ah’m so sorry ‘bout—Whoa nelly!”

Applejack was suddenly lifted from the ground in a magical aura, looking around in surprise as she levitated higher and higher before she was tossed at high speed into one of her trees, leaving cracks in the trunk from the hard impact.

The farm mare landed on her four hooves, shaking off the impact as the tiny unicorn trotted towards her, enraged. Her eyes widened once again in surprise as she was lifted by the levitation field, this time pinning her against the tree behind her as the tiny, beaten, unicorn gave her an angry glare, her horn lit and her nose streaming drops of blood.

“You could have seriously injured me with that kick if I didn’t have my shield up!” Twilight shouted, the aura around her horn pulsing wildly as it shot out tiny sparks like fireworks. “Since I came here, you have been nothing but hostile towards me! I demand to know why, and I demand an apology! Now!" She punctuated her shout with a stomp, which, though it would have echoed impressively in the stone corridors of the castle, only rustled the grass a bit here.

Applejack attempted to stammer out a response to the irate unicorn holding her, struggling against the telekinetic aura holding her against the tree. Neither of them saw the nearly unnoticeable bolt of magic flash in from outside their vision, cleanly striking Twilight’s horn and causing the tiny unicorn to reel back as her magic was suddenly interrupted, her concentration lost.

“Twilight!” Spike screamed as he started to run towards them.

***

Twilight shook her bleary head as she tried to regain her balance, a thin wisp of smoke trailing around the sparks dancing on her horn. She wasn’t sure exactly what broke her concentration just then, but clearly, the farm mare was no pushover. The barrier she had erected to protect herself from the kick had immediately shattered, and the farm mare hadn’t even tried to put her full strength into it then.

Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. All those years she spend training her control over her outstanding raw power, all those years spent conquering challenges and pushing herself to her very limits, all those years spent striving through the pain and sweat, even with her body empowered by the protection spell given to her by her mentor, all of these were unable to compensate for the limitations of her size. She lifted her head slightly to glare at the earth pony towering over her, preparing herself for the inevitable retaliation as she tried to get rid of the massive headache she had gotten from having her barrier and telekinesis so abruptly interrupted.

The blow never came.

The farm mare lowered herself to the ground, looking at Twilight guiltily. “Ah’m awful sorry. Thought ya were some sorta… toy ‘er somthin’ for a prank. Ah didn’t mean ta...” Her voice trailed off as she rubbed at her neck nervously, not quite making eye contact with Twilight. “Ah… Ah’m mighty sorry fer all the hurt Ah just did t’ ya. Ah’ll do anythin’ t’ make it up ta ya. Ah promise.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she got back to her hooves, still trying to shake off the last vestiges of her headache. “Apology accepted. No harm done,” she said, patting herself down before looking up at the mare, putting on a friendly grin. “So, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?”

The earth pony stared at Twilight speechlessly for a few seconds before giving her an awkward smile. “Well shoot. Ah almost bucked you inta jam, an’ there ya are, bein’ all forgivin’ an’ such,” she said, before raising a hoof to gesture at the tiny unicorn’s bloody nose. “Errr.. Ya got a little somthin’ there.”

Twilight paused to wipe off her muzzle with a foreleg before looking back up at the farm mare. “Don’t worry about that. It’s really not a big deal,” she said quickly, before adding, “I’ve been through worse.”

The apple farmer sat down, raising an eyebrow in wonder. “Well, Ah have no idea what kinda mumbo jumbo made y’all so teensy, but you’re tougher than a petrified root. Color me impressed. Ah’m Applejack,” she said, extending a hoof towards Twilight. “Pleasure t’ make yer acquaintance.”

Twilight gave the farm mare a simple hoof bump, still a bit weary from her recent experience. “Nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I hear that you and your family are in charge of the food?”

“You’d be correct, sugarcube!” Applejack said with renewed enthusiasm, immediately perking back up. “Would’ya care to sample some? S’least Ah can do after what jus’ happened.” She looked expectantly at Twilight, whose stomach took the opportunity to growl loudly at the mention of food.

Twilight let out a hesitant chuckle at the sound. In her desperate search for the town’s local customs in the Royal Library, she had completely forgotten to eat. “Well, I suppose I could stick around for just a bite—”

“Sounds good then!” Applejack interrupted, a wide smile on her face as she produced a large triangle from somewhere. “Soup’s on, everypony!”

Twilight shook stars from her head as she recovered, only to realize that she had now been placed on a table, Spike sitting behind her on a haystack with hundreds of excited earth ponies surrounding her. She couldn’t tell exactly what happened; it all became a blur after the massive herd that was the Apple family stampeded over the hills towards Applejack and her. She had quickly teleported to Applejack’s back to avoid the hooves, and then she was taken by the rush and, just moments later, ended up in the center of attention.

Applejack popped up beside her, startling Twilight with her sudden appearance. “Now, why don’t Ah introduce ya t’ the Apple family.”

Twilight took one look at Applejack before turning to the horde of earth ponies before her. With an awkward smile, she waved at them. “H-hello! N-nice to... meet you!” she said hesitantly, but at a volume loud enough for everypony to hear.

Twilight reflexively jumped to the left as a green pony with a leaf-like mane appeared before her. “This here’s Apple Fritter,” Applejack said as the pony in question deposited a plate of food before her.

“Apple Bumpkin,” Applejack said again as Twilight jumped to her right this time, her reflexes once again telling her to avoid anything that looks like it could flatten her.

“Red Gala...” Twilight quickly ducked down as something the shape of a cupcake with a piece of apple on the top almost landed on her head.

“Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Bakin’ Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp...” Applejack said, quickly moving through the list as Twilight desperately tried to avoid the shower of food raining down. At least, until one of the plates finally managed to land on her, followed by another avalanche of food before she could react.

Applejack had finally been forced to take a breath by the time Twilight managed to dig herself out from under the mountain of plates and food, her head emerging just in time to look at the next few ponies on Applejacks’ introduction list.

“Big Macintosh...” Twilight’s eyes went wide as Applejack pointed to a giant red earth pony, who, outside of Princess Celestia, was probably bigger even than anypony she’d ever met, including her brother, Shining Armor, and her alicorn foalsitter, Cadence.

“Apple Bloom…” Applejack said, gesturing to a young filly who, to Twilight’s surprise, was carrying an extraordinarily large apple cake on her small back.

“Aaaaaaand...” the farm mare said, popping a ripe green apple right into Twilight’s hooves, “Granny Smith. Up an’ at ‘em, Granny Smith! We got guests!” The old mare was startled awake, shaking her head to clear it before looking around blearily.

Twilight watched patiently as Granny Smith slowly got up from her rocking chair and approached the table, murmuring something under her breath. The moment the old mare was close enough, her eyes opened a bit wider, looking at Twilight’s tiny body with confusion. “Err… it’s an honor to meet you,” Twilight said, placing the apple in her hooves to the side in order to make a respectful bow to the elderly pony.

Applejack smiled warmly at the rare display of respect towards Granny Smith, lightly placing a hoof on the tiny unicorn mare. “Why Twilight, Ah'd say yer already part of tha' family.”

Twilight wasn’t sure what weighed more on her: the orange pony’s giant hoof now pressing on her back, or the fact that she was being called part of a family of ponies she had never seen in her life. Twilight wasn’t new to making friends—her brother, foalsitter, mentor, and the few other friends she had made were like a big family to her—but back then she had many months to get to know them. Strong bonds formed after weeks of socializing, yet here, a rather substantial group of ponies was calling her ‘family’ despite the fact that she had only just met them six seconds ago, not to mention the fact nopony was freaking out over her size.

Twilight chuckled nervously, an embarrassed grin on her face. “Okaaaay... well, it’s very nice of you to say that, Applejack, but we’ve really only just met. I’ll be sure to talk to you later, but it seems that the food situation has been handled,” she said hesitantly as she slid from under Applejack’s welcoming hoof as politely as possible, which hit the table the moment she wasn’t holding it up with her back.

“Sooo, I think we’ll be on our way,” Twilight said, before the young yellow filly leaned up over the side of the table, her front hooves landing on it with a jostle of silverware as she looked at Twilight with puppy-dog eyes, an expression that Twilight easily recognised since she’d used it very often before.

“Aren’t ya gonna stay fer brunch?”

Twilight gave her a weak grin. “Sorry, we have an awful lot we have to do...” she said, managing to hold her composure against the cute, pleading stare of doom, but the rumble in her stomach and the massive disappointed “Awww...” from the rest of the family quickly forced her to say otherwise, not to mention the quiet, singular, "please?” that also came from the filly.

“Well, I guess since you asked so nicely...” Twilight replied, before she let out a wince, her ears quickly pressing against her head as the Apples let out a loud cheer.

She slowly turned towards the mountain of food before she saw a slight issue with her statement. Turning back around, Twilight let out a nervous laugh as she smiled awkwardly at everypony. “W-would it be okay if I only sample a tiny bit of each? I mean, I’m a bit small to eat too much… you all understand, right?”

It seemed as if everypony only now realized that their guest was, in fact, very, very small, murmuring quietly to each other as they came down from their excited high. Twilight was unexpectedly swept up by a pair of not-so-gigantic hooves, finding herself looking into the eyes of Apple Bloom. “So, why’re ya so small?”

That small question unleashed a massive flood of inquiries from the rest of the ponies, and Twilight was forced to use her hooves to block out her sensitive ears from the unpleasantly loud commotion around her.

“Quiet, quiet, everypony!” Applejack shouted, silencing the crowd in a mere moment. “Apple Bloom, would ya be so kind as t’ put our guest back on th' table?”

The yellow filly looked at her big sister with an awkward grin as she slowly put Twilight back on the table. In the quiet that followed, Applejack turned to the tiny unicorn, a hesitant grin on her face. “Now, Ah think th’ that’s a very good question. Why are ya barely bigger than a sugarcube... sugarcube?”

Twilight gave the farm mare an awkward smile before she answered, “Well... bit of a long story, actually...”

“Ah cannot believe wha’ Ah’m hearin’! So yer the student o’ th' princess? And she had t’ do that to ya?” Applejack said as the rest of Apple family began murmuring to one another.

Twilight was about to say something, but she was picked up by the old hooves of Granny Smith. “Oh that thousand year ol’ goddess, strange t’ hear her flyin’ roun’ an’ shrinkin’ good fellow ponies like you. It was differen’ back when Ah was a young’in... Ah might just go up t’ th’ princess so Ah kin talk some sense inta her old head,” the old mare said as Twilight slid from her grasp and hopped back onto the table, turning back to Granny Smith with an embarrassed grin.

“Well, what the princess did was perfectly acceptable, considering my foalish control over my magic then. It was for the good of everypony, and I have nothing against being small. To be honest, I much prefer being this size now.”

Applejack smiled in admiration. “Well, Ah must say, yer the hardest workin’ unicorn Ah ever seen. No wonder ya shrugged off that beatin’ Ah gave—”

Applejack swiftly put her hoof over her mouth before she could finish her statement, but it was too late. Granny Smith, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and the other Apples closest to her were now looking at her suspiciously, and Applejack simply gave them an awkward smile.

“Applejack, ya did what to our guest?” Granny Smith asked sternly, a serious expression on her face.

Apple Bloom took a closer look at the little unicorn, only now noticing the smudge of blood on Twilight’s muzzle and the large bruise under her fur. Twilight shied away from Apple Bloom, clearing her throat. “Oh no, it’s not as bad as it looks. Really, I’m fine,” she said hastily.

Everypony immediately turned back to Applejack, Twilight’s words acting only as confirmation of what had happened. “Sis,” Big Mac said slowly, “don’t tell me ya bucked her.”

Applejack gulped. “Y-yep.”

“Did ya want t’ hurt her on purpose?” Apple Bloom asked with a curious voice.

Applejack immediately straightened up, indignant at the implications of assault from her family. “Course not,” she said adamantly.

“Wait, hold up. I’m confused now,” Apple Bloom said, furrowing her brow. “How exactly did Twilight get hurt then?”

The farm mare deflated slightly, chuckling hesitantly as she rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Yeah, ‘bout that…”

“We‘re awfully sorry fer Applejack’s shameful behaviour,” Granny Smith said, before she gave Applejack an accusatory glare. “Ah thought Ah taught ya better than that.”

Applejack tried to stammer out a reply, but Twilight beat her to it. “Please, don’t blame Applejack for what happened. It’s just a misunderstanding, and no real harm was done. See, I can have it fixed whenever I want!” Twilight said as she lit her horn and cast a healing spell on herself. Waves of magenta magic swirled from her horn to wrap around her injured areas, restoring them to perfect condition.

“Wow, how’d ya do that?” Apple Bloom asked. Outside of the simple levitation spell that every unicorn in Ponyville knew, she had rarely seen such magic, and it was her first time seeing this particular spell.

“It was an advanced healing spell,” Twilight explained. “When I was younger, I was getting hurt so often that I had to learn the entire medical branch of magic for the sake of my own health.”

Spike coughed, finally deciding to say something after such a long silence. “No kidding. Twilight is like a magnet for trouble. While every other pony is doing their best not to hurt themselves, she tries her best to get hurt whenever she can.”

Twilight shot Spike a deadpan glare. “Haha, Spike, very funny.”

“Who said I was joking?”

Applejack let out a chuckle as she watched the interaction between the two. “Ah’ll make it up t’ you someday,” she said, smiling. “Ah promise, an’ don’t take that lightly. Ah won’t ever go back on m’ word.”

“Wait, is she gonna be leavin’ now that she’s done tastin’?” Apple Bloom said, her eyes wide as she turned from her sister to Twilight. “Can’t ya stay a little while longer and play with us?” Before the tiny unicorn could politely refuse her, the young yellow filly’s pleading look was joined by a multitude of similar looks from the other fillies and colts, each trained intently on Twilight.

Twilight took a step back from the sudden stare attack. Play now? But my royal duty... the princess is counting on me, and I need to help my guards find information about Nightmare Moon’s return, she thought, a fake smile on her face. Her eye twitched. She lifted her hoof, opening her mouth as she kept looking back at the young ponies before her, but her words of refusal failed to come out. Suddenly, one certain colt captured her attention. Green Apple, is that really you? I didn’t expect you would participate in family reunion after what happened in FIllydelphia. You want to play with me as well?

She sighed. To be honest, I was never really given the opportunity to play with fillies and colts my age since the day I was shrunk, save for White Path, perhaps, but that was a completely accidental encounter. It’s still early, isn’t it? I might have a bit of time—

Twilight shook her head, looking back at the fillies and colts determinedly, her tiny hoof stomping against the table. No! My duty and safety of Equestria takes priority over this. “I’m really sorry, but…”

Twilight’s mouth closed on its own as the young ponies added sad pouts to their expressions, her determination crumbling under their heart-rending influence. Oooon the other hoof, maybe a minute or two won’t hurt, she thought, unable to break eye contact despite her best efforts. I’ll entertain them for a bit and be on my way. Yes, that’s the plan.

The tiny unicorn put on a cheerful smile and blinked towards Green Apple before approaching the farm filly. In one quick motion, she moved her hoof to touch Apple Bloom’s muzzle. “You’re it!”

Twilight jumped from the table and ran away, the other fillies following suit as they left Apple Bloom to realize what had just happened. Applejack smiled warmly as she watched the fillies and the tiny unicorn playing with one another. “She sure is a hard workin’ pony. Maybe even as much as me.”

Big Mac raised a questioning eyebrow at Applejack, who simply returned an amused look as she continued. “Ah’ve been workin’ hard for ma’ entire life, and Ah’d say it’s fairly easy fer me t’ recognise a hard workin’ pony if Ah see one. That little unicorn’s been workin’ very hard to overcome her size,” Applejack said, letting out an amused snort as she turned to leave. “C’mon, Big Mac, Summer Sun Celebration’s only a few hours away, an’ we got a heap o’ work to git done. Leave ‘em to their fun. Ah’m sure Miss Twilight can keep an eye on the youngins fer us while we’re busy.”

Big Mac looked back stoically at the tiny unicorn desperately trying to avoid the grasp of Apple Bloom, pausing for a moment before he turned to follow Applejack back to work.

“Eeyup.”

Summer Sun Celebration - Rarity

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 3

“Beautiful…” Spike murmured.

Twilight also looked around the elegantly decorated Town Hall. What other ponies would consider spacious, for her, the inside of the building was humongous; the ceiling was at least ten metres above the ground, nearly as large as her mentor’s throne room. At the distant end was a small balcony far above the ground, ready to accommodate her mighty mentor for tonight’s event. All around them, the symbols of the festival could be seen on the flower buckets, flags, and various other decorations, emphasizing both Celestia's sun and moon while also keeping the local symbols, like apple trees, visible.

"You're right, Spike,” Twilight said approvingly. “This is beautiful indeed. Quite spacious too, if I might add."

“Not the decor. Her,” Spike said dreamily, pointing his claw at a white unicorn with diamonds for a cutie mark. Twilight’s attention turned to the mare as Spike continued to gaze at her with hearts in his eyes.

“No... no... no... oh goodness, no,” the white mare said as she levitated over lengths and lengths of differently colored ribbon, oblivious to the little, suddenly self-conscious, purple dragon.

“How are my spines? Are they straight?” Spike asked, to which Twilight simply rolled her eyes. Without further ado, she began trotting swiftly towards the unicorn before her, Spike simply staying back near the door, immobilized in a half-dreaming state.

“Good afternoon!” Twilight shouted, trying to catch her attention.

“Just a moment, please,” the white unicorn responded, without even bothering to look back. “I am in the zone, as it were.”

She levitated over the next ribbon, a large smile on her face as she tied it into a rather large, shimmering red bow onto a thin, supporting pole. “Oh yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help you?” she said before she turned around, blinking confusedly as she noticed the only other occupant in the room was the baby dragon standing a few meters away from her. “Hmn…I was sure that I heard a female voice, but you look like a male… dragon to me. Voice mutation, perhaps?”

“I... um...” Spike stammered, trying to say something vaguely resembling a greeting. Rarity made a few steps towards the baby dragon, but immediately halted when a tiny, purple creature jumped up to face-level in front of her.

“Hey!” Twilight Sparkle said, waving a hoof in midair to catch the unicorn’s attention. “My name is—”

“Aaaaaahhh!” Rarity shrieked as she stumbled backwards, staring wide-eyed at the tiny creature. The suddenness and loudness of the scream sent Twilight reeling backwards as well, crashing into a neatly organized stock of decorating materials and causing it to fall into a disorderly pile on top of her.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," Twilight said as she struggled up out of the mess. When she finally freed herself, however, it quickly became obvious that she had either been ignored or had failed to properly communicate with the unicorn. The pile of materials she had landed in unexpectedly jerked up, dumping Twilight into the ground as they swiftly arranged themselves into a cloud above her head, wrapped in a light blue magical aura.

“Rats! Rats in our Town Hall! Back, you beast! You're not going to ruin our celebration in front of the princess! Take that, you rodent!" The cascade of levitated items began to slam into the ground as Twilight ducked and darted away from the barrage of decorations. A roll of wallpaper crashed to one side of her just moments before a roll-up flag smashed to the other, forcing Twilight to leap out of the way before a third object crashed to the ground just behind her tail.

"You think you can outrun magic, you filthy pest? I could hit a needle with a thread at that range! Take that!" A dozen steel pins thunked into the wooden stage as Twilight tumbled to one side, only to get a faceful of the roll of wallpaper swinging in the other direction. The inside of Town Hall seemed to ring like a bell as she flew through the air, stabilizing her flight with the self-levitation spell just in time to meet the roll of wallpaper coming back in a mighty blow that knocked her to the floor. As a final indignity, darkness covered her with a resounding thump as a bucket dropped over her, muffling the victory cry of the white unicorn.

Forgetting about her magic in the heat of the moment, Twilight tried to free herself from under the bucket with her hooves, lifting the edge slightly. "S-Spike! Help!" screamed Twilight, peeking out from under the rim of her embarrassing prison, only to notice her dragon still stunned into stillness by her jailer.

“Now allow me to show you the exit, you dirty animal,” the hostile unicorn said, levitating over a broom and dustpan.

Twilight’s eye twitched. That’s it. The mare in front of her wanted to dispose of her as if she were a 'critter' or a simple piece of trash. Despite her humble nature, Twilight was still a proud unicorn, and she was not going to let others treat her like garbage. She poured power into her horn as if there was no tomorrow, the brilliant light shimmering from the bottom of the bucket.

***

Rarity tossed back her violet mane proudly and sat one hoof on top of the bucket that trapped the horrid pest. A quick burst of her magic brought a broom and shovel over to dispose of the little troublemaker, but as they came closer, something felt wrong. The soft blue of her magical field surrounding them had changed to a rather fetching purple, and the two implements of pest disposal turned to fly at her instead.

"Stand back, you traitorous, backstabbing cleaning devices! You were supposed to take out the rat, not me!" Dodging a blow from the broom, she rose up on her rear hooves into a fighting stance to block their attacks. Two swift blows sent both broom and dustpan skidding across the floor and against the wall, where they remained quite motionless.

“Ha! That's what you get for assaulting a proper lady," Rarity declared before pausing and looking around with blush on her cheeks, though she found nopony in the vicinity besides the purple dragon. "Oh my, am I talking to inert objects now? Perhaps the stress of the festival is getting to me. I should go lie down, but then who would take care of the decorations?"

“Had enough?” an angry voice called, causing Rarity to look around frantically for its source, her fear of going insane now stronger than ever.

“Over here!”

Rarity looked down at the purple rat from before, once again standing brazenly in front of her. “Oh, you came back for more? Well, if you want it so much, I will show you what an angry lady is capable of,” she said gallantly as she tried to kick the rat with her hind leg, only for a magical push to the back of her other hind leg to cause her to lose her balance, and she fell to the floor with a solid thump.

Rarity let out a groan as she tried to stand back up, only for the little creature to teleport directly to her muzzle in a bright magenta flash. “Get off me, you ruffian!” she said, but her eyes quickly went wide when she recognized that what stood on her nose was not a rat, but a tiny, purple unicorn, who was now staring at her very crossly.

"A rat? Garbage? Ruffian? Please do go on. I love it when ponies insult me all day," the little unicorn said, glaring up at Rarity as she tapped a hoof expectantly.

“I... I... I...” Rarity tried to say something, but her words got stuck in her throat as she slowly began to realise that she had treated a possibly female unicorn as garbage, the worst possible insult one could give to a lady.

“Speechless? Well then, may I suggest you start with an apology? ‘Sorry’ perhaps?” Twilight said. She had gotten over most of her irritation at being trapped under the bucket, and was rather enjoying teasing the pompous unicorn until Rarity's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed in a dead faint.

“Twilight! What have you done?” Spike asked as he ran over to them, shooting Twilight a glare.

“Well, excuse me for defending myself against a pony who treated me like trash,” Twilight said, returning Spike’s glare with one of her own.

“Well, yeah, but maybe you shouldn’t have—”

“And what about you, Spike? You just stood there and did nothing while I was being assaulted. Even now, you rush to this mare’s rescue to try and make this somehow my fault. How could you leave me for a pony we just met?” Twilight said, her eyes watery and her bottom lip trembling. “I thought I was the most important to you… that you would never leave my side, and you just did.”

Spike’s expression quickly fell, and he stammered out a few unintelligible words before he was overtaken by a wave of guilt and wrapped the tiny unicorn up in a hug. “I’m sorry Twilight. I am so sorry. Please, forgive me. It won't happen again.”

Twilight let out a sigh, patting her assistant’s hand reassuringly. “All right Spike. I forgive you, but please, don’t replace me so easily.”

Spike shook his head. “I would never replace you.”

Their interaction was soon cut off when they heard murmuring from the unconscious mare behind them. “Oh, my. I’ve had the weirdest dream ever. And that mane-cut!”

Twilight broke from Spike’s hug, and trotted over to the white mare. “Care to share?”

Rarity hopped up quickly to her hooves in surprise, her attention turning to the tiny purple unicorn now sitting next to her and watching her with a raised eyebrow. “I’m still waiting for an apology.”

The mare blinked a few times before she began to laugh awkwardly. “I uh… guess that wasn’t a dream.”

“No, it was not.”

“Have I really treated you like garbage and a wild animal?”

“Yes, you did.”

Rarity placed a hoof to her forehead, transitioning quickly into a dramatic pose as she cried out, “What have I done? I have committed such an unladylike deed and betrayed all my manners and good etiquette. I have threatened a guest in the worst way possible! This is the worst. Possible. Thing!” Rarity tilted over as if she was about to faint, but was caught in a levitation field before she could land on the sofa that had suddenly appeared right behind her for no apparent reason.

“I think one faint is enough for a day, and I’m still waiting for my apology,” Twilight said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Her attention, however, quickly turned to the bright red sofa behind the white mare. "Wait, when did that get—"

“Oh. Yes, of course. I am truly sorry for what have I done, Miss...”

“Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s protégé and the pony responsible for overseeing the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration,” Twilight said proudly. After being treated like a rat, she wanted to make sure that the white unicorn knew exactly who she was dealing with.

“Twilight Sparkle? What a charming name!” Rarity said, nodding earnestly. “I am so very sorry for my shameful actions, and—P-P-P-Princess’s Protégé?”

Twilight immediately plugged her ears with her hooves, irked at the auditory assault on her sensitive hearing. “Please, not so loud! Now about those apologies—” she began, but she was soon cut off when Rarity scooped her up between her two giant hooves.

“Apology? Apology? I could say a hundred times how sorry I am for threatening you, the Princess’s Protégé, or for treating you as if you were trash, perhaps even beg for your forgiveness, but it would still not be enough,” Rarity said, lifting her head determinedly as she trotted out of Town Hall, hauling Twilight after her in her light blue levitation field. “No, I must make up for the stain on my honor by repaying you personally.”

“I keep telling you, Rarity, this is really not necessary,” Twilight said as Rarity finished sewing up yet another tiny garment made from the most expensive materials she could find. After the initial fuss over Twilight’s puffy and tangled mane, courtesy of Rainbow Dash, the tiny unicorn had ended up as a model for the crazy fashion mare’s endless imagination.

Twilight tapped her hoof nervously on the stage-like platform she stood on. Since it was surrounded by three large oval mirrors clearly intended for a pony of a much more normal size, Rarity had levitated over three hoof mirrors so that Twilight could admire the outfits she was being forced to wear, even as the fashionista herself worked quickly behind them. Twilight had tried to say she was willing to forgive Rarity after just a simple apology, but the elegant mare was unwavering in her commitment to make up for the ‘stain on her honor,’ showering Twilight with gifts of clothing and miniature makeovers.

Spike had earlier seemed to fall under Rarity’s unintentional charm once again, though after what had happened not long ago, a single glare from Twilight was able to bring him back to his senses.

“Too yellow...”

“Too poofy...”

”Not poofy enough…”

While Twilight could have simply teleported away to avoid such suffocating adoration, the way Rarity handled her magic was astonishing. While her raw power was rather unimpressive—the mare could probably lift more weight with her own dainty hooves than with her magic—her ability to simultaneously levitate as many as fifty or sixty different objects at the same time was an incredible display of her strong focus and perception. It wasn’t long before she finished the next outfit, taking little more than a minute to finish this one.

“Perfect! Clothes to suit a mare of your position,” Rarity said, levitating over four sharp needles to touch up a few details on Twilight’s dress.

To Twilight’s slight displeasure, she was currently wearing said dress. Not eager to sport any new puncture wounds in her body, she set up a barrier around herself, making it impossible for the needles to penetrate.

“Oh, don’t be shy about your beauty. Just one or two small details and it will look just perfect,” Rarity said as she levitated over an odd-looking gem towards her outfit and consequently against the barrier as well. Twilight’s shield easily gave way under the pressure from the gem, bending inwards at the point of contact before simply popping like a bubble.

“W-what?” Twilight exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the little rock that had just completely disregarded the fact that there had been a shield in its way. “How? Wait, is this an enchanted gem?”

“Of course it is, darling! This special little thing can cut through any magically enhanced object, perfect for shaping those especially stubborn, magically imbued gems. Great against magical barriers too, it seems,” Rarity said proudly as her needles finally moved in to finish up the last, few details on Twilight’s clothing, weaving in and out swiftly and leaving not even a single mark on the little unicorn herself.

A bead of sweat trailed down Twilight’s forehead as she stood as motionless as possible, all the while attempting to consolidate both her excitement in finding out that some gems could be used that way and her dread in discovering that this crazy white mare could break her barrier as if it hadn't existed at all.

“Now, with this, you’ll be a gem among the Canterlot mares,” Rarity said, grabbing Twilight with one hoof from the little dress-up stage as she gave a grandiose sweep with her other foreleg across the room. “Every noble will look at you with jealousy and admiration as you trot proudly through the ballroom in a dress worthy of the Princess’s Protégé.”

Twilight gave a grimace at the thought. “I’m not particularly interested in that kind of stuff. Nobles in Canterlot are so hard to deal with sometimes.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock. “How can you say that, Twilight? You have no idea how much I envy you. I’ve always dreamed of living in Canterlot! The sophistication, the beauty, the etiquette and grace of all the nobility. I cannot wait to hear all about your life there,” she said before nuzzling the little unicorn in her hooves. “We’ll be the best of friends, you and I.”

Twilight pushed away Rarity’s nose as she broke free from her grip and jumped back onto the stage, taking a step away from the fashionista. This situation was starting to seem very uncomfortably familiar.

”Prince Blueblood, may I ask you a question?” Twilight asked as the quiet, subdued sounds of the Grand Galloping Gala lingered on in the background.

Blueblood lowered his cup of tea and turned to his little friend. “Of course, Lady Sparkle. Ask away.”

Twilight’s smile vanished, and she leaned towards Blueblood. “Why are all the nobles so... weird? One moment, they’re praising you and kissing your hooves, and the next, they’re slinging mud at you. Is fame and attention all they care about? Why can’t all nobles be more like Princess Celestia? Or Cadence? Or even you?” Twilight whispered as she looked between the various groups of the chatting nobility.

Blueblood cleared his throat. He felt honored Twilight thought so highly of him, especially considering she’d had very few good experiences of interacting with the Canterlot upper crust. For most of his life, he'd been no better than those attention seekers, and it wasn’t long after he became Twilight’s friend that he understood how foolish his original, bigoted attitude was.

“Well, Lady Sparkle, politics has always been a very complicated matter, and often, dealing with the nobility means you must also deal with politics. You can’t really think of them like your average, middle class pony. They desire power and respect, and they will show respect and obedience if they feel that it will benefit them. As long as you are an important pony, they will attempt to ally themselves to you to advance their own standing. It goes without saying that if they think that they can raise themselves above you, to beat you in prestige and influence, they will do everything they can to belittle you.”

Twilight let out a sigh, hanging her head low in disappointment. “I would like to warn you for your own good,” Blueblood continued, raising his teacup again to his lips, “if you ever spot a pony who showers you with favors and compliments the moment they find out you’re important, they’re often speaking nothing but empty lies.”

Twilight glared at Rarity with renewed anger. “Friends?” the little unicorn said, her voice becoming sharper and louder. “Friends? Why would you want to be friends with me? You know nothing about me.”

“Of course, I’ve only just met you! But I am a Canterlot pony at heart, and we Canterlot ponies should stick together,” Rarity said with a firm nod of her head.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Of course, dear. Ask me anything.”

“Which ponies are better: those who live in Canterlot, or those who live here in Ponyville?” Twilight asked, her expression stony and impassive.

“Why, the Canterlot ponies, of course,” Rarity said, with a dreamy smile. “They all have class and elegance, dressed in such wonderful clothing. There’s indeed a reason they are the elite of Eques—”

Twilight stopped Rarity from continuing any further, sealing the mare’s mouth with her telekinesis who looked back with wide eyes while only mumbling with hint of annoyance escapted her closed mouth. “How much time have you spent in Canterlot?”

“Well, I was there four or five times on a trip when I was younger.”

“So let me get this straight. You think that the nobles in Canterlot, who you’ve probably never met in your life, are better than the ponies you’ve lived alongside your entire life just because they’re the ‘upper-class’?”

Rarity rubbed her hoof, “Well, when you put it that way—”

“Now listen carefully! I’ve met more nobles than I would ever want to, and the experiences I had with them were terrible. The first time I met them, they called me the princess’s plaything, the princess’s pet, or just a pony with the horrible misfortune of living with a genetic disease or a curse," Twilight said, stomping her hoof against the stage. "They were mean and arrogant, yet the moment they learned that I actually was the princess’s personal student, they invited me everywhere, showering me with gifts and praise, something that you are doing right now!”

Rarity took a few startled steps back. “But, but, Ponyville is full of ruffians who spend more time playing in the dirt than bothering with fashion and elegance,” she said desperately as Twilight threw the tiny clothes that the fashionista made for her in her face.

“Today I visited the Apple family, and despite a small misunderstanding, they were the most open, kind, and understanding ponies I have ever met. They were proud, hard-working, and generous, and if you ask me, the Apple family should be the elite of Equestria,” Twilight said with a huff before levitating over her saddlebags and hopping off the stage.

“I left my bits with one of my guards, so I cannot pay for the clothes you’ve made me,” she continued, elbowing Spike to follow her out the door. “Don’t get me wrong, your work is fantastic, and the craftsmanship is impeccable, but I refuse to take a single gift from you until I can be sure that you aren’t using it as an incentive to garner favor with me. The decorations looked perfect, but I still have to check with the other so-called ruffians to see if the rest of the celebration’s preparations are coming along, so we really must be off.”

And with that, the door to the boutique slammed shut, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts in the room.

Rarity’s lip trembled as she looked back at the gifts she wanted to give Twilight. Were they meant as an apology for threatening her? Or were they exactly what Twilight said they were, petty gifts meant to bribe the little unicorn into using her position as the student of Princess Celestia for the fashionista’s own benefit?

All this time in Ponyville, the only friendship Rarity had made was with Fluttershy, but other than her, she had always held Ponyville folk in low regards. And here, she wanted to become friends with a pony she had never met before, showering her with gifts and praise.

“A-am I really so selfish? Did I offer friendship only because Twilight was an important Canterlot pony?”

Rarity laid down on her sofa. This was going to take a lot of thought.

Summer Sun Celebration - Fluttershy

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 4

Twilight jogged along the dirt path, an annoyed expression on her face as she levitated the tiny checklist in front of her. Spike followed silently. As much as he wanted to scold Twilight for acting so rudely towards Rarity, he understood she had every right to be angry. Her experience with nobles had been very unpleasant, to say the least.

After a long silence, Spike finally asked, “What’s next on the list?”

“Music,” Twilight snapped. “I’m supposed to meet with a pony named Fluttershy. Her cottage should be just over…”

She stopped as the beautiful sound of birds singing in harmony drew her attention. Her ears straightened up in an instant, and she forgot her annoyance in favor of following the music. Twilight and Spike walked carefully into the bushes to take a closer look, finding a tree filled with singing birds on the other side and one yellow pegasus mare sitting with her back to them.

“Ahh! This must be Fluttershy. Good to know luck is finally on my side again,” Twilight said as she pushed aside the branches of the bush and stepped through.

"Oh my. Um, stop? Please, everyone?" the pegasus said, bringing a stop to the music before flying up into the tree. “Excuse me, sir. I mean, no offense, but your rhythm was just teeny tiny bit off.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in surprise as the blue jay Fluttershy was talking to appeared to nod back. She had assumed that the pegasus was in charge of the music, but she had expected something with a few more ponies and instruments, like at the Gala back home.

With a few flaps of her wings, Fluttershy glided smoothly back to her conducting position. “Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a one, two, three—”

“Hello!” Twilight called as loudly as she could, hoping to catch the pegasus’s attention. At the sound of her voice, however, both the birds and Fluttershy were startled into flight, and the little unicorn was left to wonder exactly how strong her voice had become after years of shouting to be heard.

The pegasus landed back softly onto the ground, looking around for the source of the sound. Twilight stepped forward, giving Fluttershy an apologetic smile. “Oh my, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten your birds, I’m here just to check up on the music and it sounded beautiful.”

Fluttershy let out a loud gasp before charging straight at Spike. “A baby dragon!” she exclaimed as she stopped just short of said dragon, only millimeters away from running Twilight over in her rush. “I’ve never seen a baby dragon before! Ohh, you’re so cute.”

Spike crossed his arms, a smug look on his face as he looked past the pegasus at Twilight. “Well, well, well.”

“Oh my, he talks! I didn’t know baby dragons could talk,” Fluttershy said, her eyes wide in fascination and forelegs curled against her neck. “That’s just so incredibly wonderful, I-I just don’t know what to say.”

Fluttershy fluttered above the ground happily for a few moments before she noticed that the baby dragon was being levitated around her by a magenta aura. Fluttershy turned around to follow, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard another voice call out, “Hello!”

Her head swiveled around quickly, almost fearfully, to find the source of the voice. “Over here!”

It was only then that Fluttershy looked down, finally noticing the small, purple creature sitting on the ground before her. “Oh, and who might you be?” she said, tilting her head to the side. “A talking mouse? No, you are too tall for a mouse. Rat maybe... or maybe you’re just a very small, talking, baby rabbit. Oh, this is so exciting! First a talking baby dragon and now a talking rabbit!”

“I’m not a rabbit. I’m a unicorn,” the purple critter deadpanned.

Fluttershy let out a light giggle, her eyes closed and hoof on her mouth. “Oh, don’t be silly. Unicorns aren’t that small, even as fillies, and you—”

She stopped and quickly lowered her head to take a closer look, easily noticing four tiny hooves, two tiny cutie marks, and one tiny horn.

“Oh my…”

Fluttershy took a quick step back, staring incredulously at Twilight, who simply gave the pegasus an awkward smile. It took a few moments of silence before either of them spoke.

“Errr… Hi, I came to check up on the music, and it’s sounding beautiful,” Twilight said.

When the pegasus continued to remain silent and motionless, still staring at her, Twilight cleared her throat and started again. “M-my name is Twilight Sparkle. You must be Fluttershy! Nice to meet you.”

After a few more uncomfortable moments, Twilight’s friendly smile had begun to break. “If-if you’re angry that I scared your birds, I’m sorry,” she said, uncomfortably rubbing at her foreleg. “But hey, it looks like they’re back, so no hard feelings, right? Right?”

The pegasus mare kept silent as sweat started to fall across tiny’s mare face. “Please, say something. Whatever I did to offend you, I’m sorry,” Twilight said, her face falling.

“Um… you're very tiny,” the pegasus whispered, so quietly that even Twilight’s sensitive ears couldn’t hear her.

“What was that? Could you please repeat yourself?”

“Y-you’re very tiny,” Fluttershy whispered again, though this time, Twilight managed to understand what she was saying.

“Yes, I am tiny. You’re probably wondering why, and it must be a shock for you, but the reason for that is—”

Twilight was unable to finish when, without warning, Fluttershy had swept her up into a soft, warm embrace. “Awwww, you poor dear! So cute and so fragile. I can’t imagine how you’ve endured living with ponies bigger than you. Were you born this small? Or did some mean evil creature make you this way with a curse?” Fluttershy asked, moving her wings to join in on the hug, as if hugging her with hooves wasn’t enough.

Twilight put some strength into her legs to push herself away from the hug slightly, and to her surprise, the embrace was so gentle that her tiny hooves had managed to do it almost effortlessly. With a little more space to move, Twilight looked up at the pegasus's concerned expression. “It’s true that I was shrunk, but it wasn’t by an evil creature. I was shrunk by my mentor, Princess Celestia.”

Fluttershy loosened her hug, using her wings to bring Twilight up to her face level. “Oh dear, why would the princess do such a cruel thing? I always thought that she cared about every living creature.”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the tickling sensation from the soft feathers holding her up, but she quickly cleared her throat and reasserted herself. “Fluttershy!” she began, in a serious tone of voice occasionally broken up by attempts to contain her laughter. “It’s not as bad as you think. W-when I was younger, my magic was too volatile for me to control, so the princess shrank me to keep it from hurting anypony. Princess Celestia still cares about every living creature and especially cares about her subjects. Please don’t think otherwise.”

“Even if she had her reasons, it's still cruel to force you to live in fear in such a big world. Oh dear, you must be terrified, but don’t worry, little one, my cottage is nearby. I can take you there and accommodate you and keep you safe and make herbal tea for you and hug you. Oh, I’m sure you and the rest of my animals will get along just fine,” Fluttershy said with a wide smile, though she quickly stopped when she noticed the tiny unicorn was giving her an angry glare. “Oh, did I say something wrong?”

“I am not a pet!” Twilight shouted as she pushed Fluttershy’s wings away with the help of her magic, dropping to the dirt on all four hooves.

“Oh! I didn’t mean to—”

“Yes, you did. Just please… don’t ever treat me like a pet!” Twilight said, her hoof slamming against the ground.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Fluttershy said urgently, her eyes watering as she held her hooves together in a pleading gesture. “I really didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Are you mad at me? Please don’t be mad at me. Please?”

Twilight took in a deep breath. "It's fine, Fluttershy. I forgive you, but please don't do that again. Anyways, I came to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration’s music. Since everything appears to be in order, I think we’d better be going," she said, giving Fluttershy a curt nod before trotting off in the direction of Ponyville, Spike following right behind her.

Twilight jogged along the dirt road, maintaining a brisk pace as she kept her head stubbornly facing forward. Spike walked next to her, tapping his claws together nervously.

The tension in the air only grew as the silence continued, but Twilight kept looking straight to Ponyville, if only to ignore the large shadow looming over her, following her every move. She had barely reached the outskirts of the town, however, when she finally stopped and turned around, looking up with a frown at the persistent pony behind her. “Would you please stop following me?” she growled.

“O-oh my, um… yes—I mean no. I-I mean…" Fluttershy's voice faded off into a faint squeak as she took a step back, turning away from little unicorn’s piercing glare. Twilight simply rolled her eyes before trotting away.

It only took a moment for the shadow to reappear. As soon as Twilight noticed it following her again, she stopped, and the shadow stopped too. Then, she continued walking, and the shadow followed after.

Twilight turned back on Fluttershy, aiming to make her glare as uninviting as possible. “Shouldn’t you be practicing with your birds for the Summer Sun Celebration? Why do you keep following me?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane with a startled peep. “W-well, I’m just making sure that no pony steps on you by accident. Or that you won’t be attacked by a hungry falcon. Or that—”

Twilight closed Fluttershy’s muzzle with her magic. “There is no need for you to worry,” she said, massaging her forehead with a hoof. “I will be perfectly fine.”

“But you're so tiny and helpless. I can't just leave you alone. What if something were to happen to you?”

“I can take care of myself, and besides, I have Spike.”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yes, I am very sure. I have been this size for thirteen years, and look, I’m still as healthy as ever,” Twilight said, ignoring her still-aching spine from Rainbow Dash’s welcome. “So, would you please stop following me around?”

Twilight tried her best to look intimidating, casting a steely glower at the yellow pegasus. Though the tiny unicorn’s attempts to scare off ponies normally didn’t work very well, Fluttershy cringed back at the look, trying to hide behind her mane again.

“Oh, um… if that’s what you want.”

“Yes, that is what I want!”

After a moment of silence, Twilight turned back around and started at a trot towards Ponyville one more time. Once again, she noticed the large shadow of the pegasus above her. “I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t follow me around.”

“Oh, I’m not following you around. I’m walking next to you. Towards Ponyville,” Fluttershy replied with an innocent smile.

Twilight let out a loud, exasperated groan, stomping her hoof into the ground as she locked eyes with Fluttershy. “This is getting ridiculous! You’re following me because you’re afraid somepony may hurt me by stepping on me accidentally, correct?”

“Of course! It would be horrible if somepony were to crush you by accident. I just can’t let that happen,” Fluttershy said in an earnest tone of voice.

Twilight simply gave her a smirk, before she disappeared in flash of light.

Fluttershy let out a gasp, before looking around frantically for the tiny unicorn. “Oh my, where did she go?” she said, before turning to Spike. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Twilight is, would you? I mean, if it’s not a bother for you to tell me.”

Spike simply replied with a confused shrug, and with little else to go on, Fluttershy began pacing around slowly, her eyes darting between likely hiding places until, much to her horror, she stepped on something that was not dirt.

She jumped back as quickly as she could, her face going pale as she looked with wide, teary eyes at the prone body of the purple unicorn she had just stepped on. Fluttershy’s hooves began to tremble, and she began to hyperventilate as she leaned in closer to Twilight’s body, trying to assess the damage. “W-what have I done?” she said, shaking her head, unable to look away from her grave mistake. “T-this isn’t happening. This isn’t happening. Thisisn’thappeni—”

“Snap out of it!” Twilight shouted as she sat back up, brushing herself off before crossing her forelegs and raising an eyebrow at her pegasus-shaped attachment. “See? A pony stepped on me, and I’m perfectly fine. Hardly felt a thing.”

Fluttershy wiped the tears from her eyes with a sniffle before attempting to give the unicorn a happy embrace, but Twilight simply teleported a few feet back before her hooves were even close. “I think I’ve had enough hugs for one day, thank you very much,” Twilight said firmly. “As you can see, I am in no danger, so you can stop following me around.”

***

A few minutes later, Fluttershy had Twilight once again in her shadow, now watching her even more attentively and placing her steps carefully in an attempt to avoid a repeat of what had happened earlier. She shot a few looks to the sides and perked her ears up occasionally, as if trying to catch somepony before they got close, but she never let her gaze wander too far from the tiny unicorn.

It wasn’t long before Twilight looked at her in desperation and said, “You were very enthusiastic earlier when you met Spike. Maybe you two should talk or something.”

Spike raised a questioning eyebrow at Twilight before mumbling out, “Well, I guess we could.”

“Ooh! So, um, what do talking dragons talk about?” Fluttershy said, seemingly eager to begin.

“Uhh… what do you wanna know?”

“Absolutely everything,” she said, beaming.

Twilight immediately pulled out her checklist, looking intently at the next item on the list as Spike entered wholeheartedly into a complete retelling of his life’s story. On one hoof, Twilight felt thankful that the overprotective pegasus was no longer paying strict attention to her every step. On the other hoof, she was starting to regret getting Fluttershy distracted with Spike, especially when her little dragon assistant began to talk about a few of her embarrassing foibles from when she was younger.

It would have been nice to end the day without being reminded that she once flipped a teacup onto herself accidentally.

It took several more minutes of walking before Twilight reached the building called Sugar Cube Corner. She took a quick glance behind her to make sure Spike still had Fluttershy’s full attention before slipping in quietly.

Once inside, however, Twilight was surprised to find the store completely empty, save for the sounds of baking and bustling ponies coming from the back. She galloped to the glass counter where the owners must have sold their goods, taking a good jump at it before climbing the rest of the way up. With a sharp tap of her hoof, she rang the nearby bell, sending a clear ring throughout the bakery before she began her examination of the cakes and cookies on display below her.

It wasn’t long before she heard a somepony’s voice call out, “Coming!” A lanky, mustard-yellow stallion came trotting in from the back, readjusting his striped bow tie as he approached the front counter.

“How may I help…” he began, looking around curiously as he murmured to himself, “That’s strange. I could have sworn somepony called. Maybe it’s just my imagination; making sweets for the Summer Sun Celebration has been particularly stressful.”

Twilight took a deep breath. I wonder if I’m going to be attacked as a rat again, or if he’s just going to drop into a dead faint at the sight of me. Would be just my luck today if either of those happened. Just calm down, Twilight, and get it over with.

“Over here!”

She watched as the earth pony turned to her, his eyes going wide and his mouth opening slightly. “I know it must be a surprise to see a tiny pony like me, and I will gladly explain myself in time, but I have business that I must attend to,” Twilight said firmly, before the stallion could even say a word.

That seemed to have defused the situation, since the shopkeeper simply gave her a slow nod. “First off, my name is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s protégé, and I was sent here to overlook the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

The stallion released the breath he was holding. “Err… W-welcome to our humble shop then, Miss Sparkle. My name is Carrot Cake, but you can call me Mr. Cake,” he said, beaming at her after his shaky start. “I assure you that all the desserts and confections for the celebration are way ahead of schedule. My wife and I were about to deliver them soon.”

Twilight returned the smile in earnest. Thank Celestia. For a moment there, I’d almost lost hope that I could have a normal conversation without any sort of drama. “Well, I’m glad to see that everything is going smoothly, however…” Twilight said, before pulling out her tiny checklist. “I’m told that I should meet with a pony named Pinkamena Diane Pie. I know it’s just a formality, but I’m still obligated to speak with everypony on my checklist. Is there a chance I may talk with Miss Pie?”

Carrot Cake shook his head. “I am afraid she’s not in at the moment. It appears some new ponies came into town, and Pinkie is quite known for spending the time to properly welcome any newcomers to Ponyville. She could be anywhere right now, but I'm sure you'll meet her sooner or later today."

“I see,” Twilight replied, giving a slow, thoughtful nod. “Well, I still have a few matters to attend to, and I’m sure you’re busy too, so in any case, thank you for your time and best of luck on your delivery!”

Carrot Cake gave her a respectful nod. “Best of luck to you too, and be sure to tell us about how you became so tiny later! I’m sure my wife and I would love to hear the full story when we get some spare time,” he said cheerfully, before trotting back into the kitchen.

Twilight turned and hopped off the counter, jogging happily towards the exit. That was the first conversation today with a professional working pony that didn’t end up in a freak-out. Maybe it was a sign that the rest of her day would be free from any further drama, and maybe she could finally be able to search for clues of Nightmare Moon’s return without any more distractions. With Spike behind her distracting Fluttershy, Twilight trotted towards the Golden Oak Library, hopeful that from then on, her day would finally be normal.

“Elements of Harmony… Elements of Harmony…” Steel Blade mumbled as he flipped quickly through the large tome before him. He had a rather substantial collection of books around him, having brought them upstairs out of the public library where he could get a bit more privacy in his research into Nightmare Moon. Most of the more relevant books lay open somewhere, whether it be on the stands, the bed, or even the mantel over the fireplace. The ones that weren’t open had accumulated an assortment of bookmarks in their pages, mostly bits and pieces of anything close at hoof.

“E… E… E…”

“Steelie!”

Steel Blade jumped a meter into the air, crying out in surprise like a filly before landing in the heap of books around him with a loud clang of armor.

“You jerk! I can’t believe you invited friends and didn’t tell me!” Overwatch said with a mock expression of heartbreak. “How am I ever going to get over this?”

Steel Blade picked himself up out of the pile with a groan, ignoring the fact that Overwatch had materialized right behind him. “It’s not my fault! Whatever’s happening downstairs is out of my control, and I am not going down there if it means I have to deal with that craz—”

A loud knock sounded at the door, followed by the muffled sing-song voice of the unstoppable, unrelenting pink demon of a mare.

Steel Blade turned to it with a horrified look. “Kill me now.”

Overwatch shrugged. “Wish granted.”

Summer Sun Celebration - Pinkie Pie

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 5

It was very late in the afternoon, almost sundown, when Twilight finally reached the Golden Oaks Library.

She didn’t know why she was so surprised. She had seen it as soon as she had dropped down into Ponyville and had a vague idea of what to expect, but after seeing it close up, she couldn’t help but stare at it in wonder. Sure, it wasn’t Canterlot Castle, but for a tree, being large enough to sport at least two floors, multiple windows, and a couple wide balconies was quite a feat, especially considering that it needed to hold enough books for an entire library.

I can’t believe how large it is, and it even has room to grow! There must be so many challenging branches to climb and long jumps to practice on its outside, not to mention the thousands of books waiting for me inside—

She stopped, clearing her head with a shake. Focus, Twilight. Business first, fun later.

“And that’s the story of my whole entire life!” Spike finished, with a flourish of his arms at Fluttershy, who still seemed eager to listen. “Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?”

Twilight stopped in her tracks and blinked in shock before rubbing her eyes. She turned quickly towards Fluttershy just as she said, "Oh yes, please."

Twilight quickly teleported between her eager assistant and the pegasus stubbornly following her. “Oh, I am so sorry. How did we get here so fast? See, this is where I’m staying while in Ponyville, and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep,” she said, giving Fluttershy a forced smile.

“No, I don’t—Whoa!” Spike protested before tipping straight into the ground with a purple levitation field around his leg.

Twilight clapped her hooves together with a concerned pout. “Aww, look at that. He’s so sleepy that he can’t even keep his balance.”

Fluttershy swooped down to grab Spike, cradling him in her forelegs as she nuzzled him. "You poor thing! Don't you worry. I’ll put you right to the bed."

Twilight looked at Fluttershy crossly from her new spot between the pegasus’s hoof and Spike’s arm, irritated that the pegasus had managed to pick her up in the process and didn’t even notice. She teleported from Fluttershy's embrace onto the front doorstep of the library and used her levitation spell to separate the pegasus and Spike, placing Fluttershy a short distance outside the door and quickly shuffling her assistant inside the library.

"Yes, Yes, I'll be sure to make sure he gets some sleep. Thank you for everything and good night!" Twilight said before slamming the door shut with her levitation.

She looked at the door with a hard glare, taking a few deep breaths in the silence before she let out a frustrated growl and stomped her tiny hoof against the floor. She had been careful to only use her hooves to open and close doors and had been keeping count ever since she first started. This would have been her thousandth door if she hadn’t used magic in her rush to get rid of Fluttershy, and now she was going to have to start all over again.

“Warn me before you do that again, Twilight,” Spike said, brushing himself off.

“Sorry Spike, but I won’t be able to do anything with Fluttershy watching my every step. It was hard enough to convince Cadence she did not need to worry about me so much, and I don’t have time to do it all over again,” Twilight said, before she turned to look around the dark library. “Odd… I sent my guards here to search for information about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony, so why are all the lights off?”

Twilight lit her horn to get a bit of visibility, the purple light outlining the silhouettes of several dark figures everywhere she looked. Without warning, the light turned on, and she found herself surrounded by dozens of ponies.

“SURPRISE!”

Balloons and streamers showered everything inside the library. Between the painfully loud noise, crowd, and party supplies, Twilight’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell to her back unconscious.

A pink earth pony jumped up in front of Spike with a loud "Surprise!"

Spike jumped back from the energetic pony, who continued without a pause. “Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I made this party just for you two!” she said, pointing one of her hooves towards him and another towards the unconscious unicorn. "Well, it was originally meant for only the two of you, but then I ran into two armored ponies who I never met before, and I was so disappointed because it was too late for a surprise party for them too," Pinkie added as dozens of ponies surrounded Twilight and murmured to one another, visibly worried. One worked up the courage to gently nudge the little mare.

The energetic pony dipped her head down in front of the unconscious unicorn. “Were you surprised? Were you, were you?” she said, prodding Twilight’s body with a hoof. “Awwww… she was so surprised that she fainted from the happiness.”

Spike rolled his eyes as he ran towards his adoptive mother, dropping to his knees and putting one claw around her back for support. "Twilight, are you all right? Wake up."

Twilight's sensitive ears ached as she slowly woke up, shaking her head to clear the fog. Massaging her head did little to dull the pain.

Pinkie loomed over Twilight, her eyes watching her every step with a wide smile on her face. “Did you like my surprise? Did you, did you?”

“Owww… my head,” Twilight said, shooting a glare at Pinkie. “This is a library, and libraries are supposed to be quiet!”

“That’s silly. What kind of welcome party is quiet? I mean duh, booooo-ring,” the pink pony said, bouncing in a circle around the two reluctant party guests.

Twilight began backing away, not daring to break eye contact with the earth pony now matching her every step as she continued to ramble on. “You see, I saw the baby dragon when you got here, remember? And I started to walk towards him to take a closer look and you were like, ‘Excuse me’, and I was like, ‘Who's there,' and you were like, ‘Down here’ and I was like, ‘Wow, how could I not have seen you,' and you were like, ‘Hello, my name is,' and I was like, 'Whaaa’—" she said with a loud gasp. "Remember? You see, I've never seen you or a little dragon before, and if I haven't seen you before, it means you are new because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville, and I would especially know if anypony in Ponyville was as tiny as you.”

Twilight was unsure if she should run, teleport, defend herself, or try to seal Pinkie’s mouth with her magic.

“If you're new, that means that you haven't met anypony, and what's more, other ponies might not notice you, and if nopony can notice you, that means you can't talk to them, and if you can't talk to them, you can't make any friends, and without friends, you must feel so lonely and sad, so I had an absolutely amazing spectacular idea, and that’s why I went ‘Whaaaa!'"

Twilight sprang up onto a nearby table in a single bound, walking carefully around the mountains of baked sweets and confetti. The pink mare seemed to be set on replaying the entire morning, and the magic zipper spell, which grew more tempting with every word, looked to be the only way to stop her. Twilight's hopes for any part of the day to be normal shattered like a glass in an opera room.

“So I organised a super-duper party and invited every pony from Ponyville, and now, you can have lots and lots of friends!” Pinkie had finally finished her spiel, beaming at Twilight as a familiar group of ponies separated from the crowd and walked towards them.

They were the ponies she had met with throughout the day on her royal errands. Twilight felt a sharp twinge in her aching back when she saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash coming to meet her again. They were nice enough, Twilight thought, after the initial encounter. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to experience a sharp buck or accidental crash from those two again before the Summer Sun Celebration ended, but it’s always good to be cautious.

Twilight leaned her head to the side, finally noticing the shy Fluttershy walking awkwardly behind the two, as if she was trying to hide from the crowd. Surprising she’d be so timid now when she was so adamant in treating Twilight like a defenseless rodent a few moments ago. Still, out of all the ponies Twilight had met today, she felt a bit thankful that the white “Canterlot” mare hadn’t shown herself.

This gathering seemed to be more than just a coincidence, which led to only one reasonable conclusion. "Let me guess. You’re Pinkamena Diane Pie?”

“Of course I am! Though everypony calls me Pinkie Pie. Did you hear about me? Did you, did you?” Pinkie asked, not stopping her bouncing even for one moment.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Mr. Carrot Cake told me that you may be around welcoming guests to Ponyville, so I just guessed.”

“Wow, you're gooood! I play guessing games too! Now let me guess,” Pinkie said as she closed her eyes in deep thought. “You are a unicorn princess who has been cursed by an evil witch who gave you an apple that made you tiny when you ate it, and you will not grow back to normal until you find a charming prince who will take the curse away with a kiss!”

Rainbow Dash and a few ponies in crowd burst into laughter. Applejack simply raised her eyebrow.

Twilight’s mouth fell open, and she sat there in silence for a moment before she tried to formulate a response. "Actually—"

“No? Well... then some cr-aaazy unicorn scientist created a magical device and you were forced to be his test subject, and he shrunk you with his shrink ray in his first step to shrink everypony and take over all of Equestria?"

“No, I—”

“No wait, I know. An evil enchantress made a shrinking potion and sold it to you without telling you what it did, and when you drank it?”

The crowd began to murmur, and a few ponies were bold enough to offer suggestions of their own. "Maybe she was born so tiny and cannot grow up?”

“Or maybe it’s some sort of plague that reduced her size,” another pony said. “I hope it’s not infectious.”

“It’s gotta be a curse—”

“No, it’s a shrinking potion!"

“Or an infection!”

“Wait, I have an idea!” a stallion in the crowd exclaimed. “Maybe she’s a powerful unicorn who couldn’t control her power and the princess shrank her to ensure that she does not hurt anypony!"

Many of the other ponies in the crowd shot him a look as if he was crazy. “Princess Celestia would never shrink any pony. That’s just silly."

A wave of laughter spread through the room, and the outspoken stallion cringed back into the crowd with a quiet response, "It was only a theory."

Pinkie popped up to take another guess but stumbled to a halt when a magical purple zipper covered her muzzle. It occurred to Twilight that it was a bit rude to cut off another pony like that, but as long as it preserved her remaining sanity, she couldn't care less. She braced herself, widening her stance as she poured power into a voice amplification spell to cut through the growing noise.

“Quiet!”

Everypony stared at her in shock with several blinking in confusion or with their mouths agape. The strength of her voice in the enclosed space of the library not only amazed the noisy crowd, but silenced it so well that the only thing that could be heard was a cupcake falling to the floor in small chunks and crumbs. Twilight drew back a bit at the sudden attention, but quickly cleared her throat and continued. "I was shrunk by my mentor, Princess Celestia, so that my powerful magic would not be a danger to anypony. That is it! End of story!”

Twilight looked around with an even gaze. Her declaration seemed to be taken seriously by the crowd, though one stallion in the back was performing a victory dance.

"Where are my guards? How did they let this slip through?" Twilight asked, before she finally looked up at the pegasus holding a corner of the banner 'Welcome to Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle.' Steel Blade looked back at her sheepishly and attempted to blend in with the wall decorations.

Twilight teleported on top of her guard’s nose in an instant, giving him a hard look. “Where is Overwatch, and why did you let this happen?” She motioned towards the ‘this’ out across the floor of the library, most of whom had overcome their initial surprise and were currently dancing, playing, and enjoying themselves in spite of her growing frustration.

“Well ma’am, um... you know that pink mare over there?“ asked Steel Blade, pointing his armored hoof at Pinkie Pie, who was tasting the hot sauce straight from the bottle. “It’s… rather difficult to say no to her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And how did she convince you?”

Steel Blade gulped. For the sake of his remaining sanity, he had been trying as hard as possible to forget the endless month-long stream of consciousness that Pinkie Pie had managed to condense into just a few minutes worth of speech. “With all due respect, ma’am, you don’t want to know. As far as I could tell, I was foalnapped.”

Twilight sighed in defeat. “Where’s Overwatch?”

“She’s upstairs, continuing our investigation on the topics you requested, ma'am," he said, his eyes shifting side to side to look around the crowded library before he continued in a low voice. "She has everything we could find regarding the Elements of Harmony and is waiting for you, though she may need some time to catch up with my portion of the research."

Twilight’s face lit up in a smile. “Finally, some good news,” she said, before jumping from Steel Blade’s muzzle to the floor and full-on sprinting towards the base of the stairs, only for Rainbow Dash to land not far in front of her. With her way blocked, Twilight pulled herself to a full stop, sliding along the floor before she could crash against the giant foreleg.

“Hey again, pally! Remember me?”

Twilight looked up at the rainbow-maned pegasus while raising her eyebrow. “How could I forget? You crashed into me, remember?”

Rainbow Dash smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that,” she said hesitantly before setting her hoof down and leaning eagerly towards the little mare. “I’ve been practicing a new trick. Wanna check it out?”

Twilight shook her head. “Maybe later. There’s something very important I need to take care of.”

Rainbow Dash’s head and wings drooped down. “Okay. Later then,” she said, before she was suddenly butted to the side by Fluttershy, who was holding a sign showing ducks walking across a street and keeping the crowd at least two meters away.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she ran for the stairs, but the farm pony somehow passed Fluttershy’s defenses and got in her way. “Well, howdy do, Miss Twilight. Enjoyin’ the ponyfolk’s welcomin’ hospitality?”

Twilight jumped onto Applejack’s nose, clinging to it with her forelegs as she looked her in the eyes. “Far too much hospitality for my taste. As much as I really like parties, there’s something important I need to take care of, and everypony is distracting me.”

Applejack closed her eyes and nodded, almost shaking Twilight off her nose. “Ah understand. First work, then fun.” With a quick jerk of her head, the farm mare threw Twilight from her nose, sending her flying over her head towards the stairs.

Twilight landed with a slight stumble on the steps. After reasserting herself, she noticed that her destination was but a few meters away, so she climbed upstairs as fast as she could. Just as the tiny unicorn was about to reach the top, a familiar white hoof came down in front of her, blocking her way. Twilight turned up with a scowl, finding Rarity biting her lip nervously. “Um, Twilight, if I could have a minute...”

“No! Look, I’m sorry that I can’t talk about Canterlot, but I’m not in the mood, so please stop blocking my way!” Twilight said, shooting the white mare a glare that would make even the royal guards flinch. Rarity stumbled back flabbergasted, opening and closing her mouth wordlessly before stepping out of the way.

Twilight took the opening, rushing up the stairs without a second glance at the dressmaker, but before she could jump to the next floor, two hooves swept her away. Before she could realize what had happened, she was once again in the midst of the party, sitting on a table before Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.

“Leaving already? But the party just started,” Pinkie Pie said with a pleading pout. “We can't have a party without the guest of honor!”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement and pointed at Spike. "Check out the big bad dragon over there. He knows how to party."

Twilight turned to look at Spike, who was currently dancing in the middle of crowd, his hands moving up and down with his feet stomping rhythmically to the music. The ponies around him cheered and took his example, dancing while the young dragon rolled towards the table, only for a lampshade to land on his head after a weak thump.

"Spike..." Twilight called with a low tone in her voice as a white unicorn wearing purple glasses placed a hoof on her son's shoulder and levitated a saxophone into his embrace. "I leave you for five minutes! Five minutes for crying out loud!" she said with a roll of her eyes, though a smile formed across her face only moments later. She had to admit, the dancing and music lessons they took from Fleur de Lis sure paid off.

Twilight watched the scene for a minute while attempting to calm her growing frustration, only to be scooped up in a little cup and to have something sticky, damp, and sweet dropped on her head. It looked like icing, it felt like icing, and a little taste proved the theory, though the humor of the situation eluded her as a glop of the spiraling cream slid down her nose and plopped onto the table.

"See!" declared Pinkie Pie, holding her hoof out to Rainbow Dash. "I told you she could fit in there. Now pay up."

"Fine," grumbled Rainbow Dash, hoofing over a few bits.

As much as she wanted to shout at them, Twilight restrained herself to a quiet groan as she climbed out of the cupcake and tried to get all of the icing out of her mane. She was still picking out the last sticky remainder when an idea struck.

"Hey! Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash immediately turned towards her, her ears perked and her wings spread in excitement. “What is it, Twilight? Do you want to see my tricks, or maybe you want a ride, or—”

Twilight jumped onto the weatherpony’s mouth, sealing it with her four legs in a vice grip. The pegasus smirked at the gesture as she started to put more and more strength into her jaw, slowly overpowering the little unicorn's grip.

Twilight was eventually pushed away, tiny beads of sweat trailing down her brow as she dropped back down onto the table. “Ha, I won!” Rainbow Dash said, a triumphant grin on her face. “Though I gotta say, you’re pretty strong for being so small.”

Twilight sat down, leveling a challenging gaze at Rainbow Dash. “Say, would you like to play a game?”

Rainbow's eyes lit up, and her smile seemed to grow ever wider. “Sure! What’d you have in mind?”

“Oh, it’s nothing big. I just want you to challenge me to something. If I pass it, you will do what I say, no questions asked,” Twilight said, her stare even as she watched the weatherpony’s changing expression.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “And if you fail?”

“Then I’ll do whatever you tell me to until I succeed, but I assure you, I won’t fail.” Twilight said before shaking her foreleg. “Also, no impossible challenges. I am absolutely not going to lift a house or eat a boulder.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, baring her teeth in another devilish grin. “Game on! Your challenge will be, ummm…” She thought deeply as she looked around, her eyes skimming over the filled bookshelves and the crowd of ponies surrounding them before finally focusing on a bottle of hot sauce sitting on a table.

Rainbow took the hot sauce in hoof, showing it to Twilight before opening it and spreading a good dollop of the smoking substance across the top of a cupcake. “Your challenge… is to eat all of the hot sauce off this cupcake.”

The tiny unicorn turned to the questionably seasoned dessert, staring at it with an even, contemplative expression even as Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs confidently. “What’s the matter?” the pegasus said. “You chicken?”

Twilight let out a quiet snort, raising an eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. “That’s it? That’s the challenge?”

Rainbow Dash’s smirk faltered. “Y-yeah. Don't tell me it’s too easy for you.”

Twilight tried to conceal her fit of giggles with a cough. Besides the fact that she was no stranger to spicy foods thanks to the rather prolific use of spices the Royal Kitchen employs on occasion, Twilight had, somewhat regretfully, tasted rainbow on a trip with Soarin’ to the weather factory, not to mention the scorching fireballs she’d taken to the face while training with her temporarily shrunken mentor. Slurping up hot sauce on a cupcake would be a breeze compared to the things she had gotten used to.

She cleared her throat and, without bothering to say a word, grabbed the cupcake with her forelegs and took a big bite from the top, burying her face into the mound of hot sauce and icing. Dash’s wings sprang up in surprise at Twilight’s sudden and suicidal decision, and she watched closely with wide eyes at the tiny head digging into the foul mixture of peppers and pastry, which was unintentionally splashing specks of it in her hurry to finish the challenge.

In a mere moment, the entire top of the cupcake was gone, and Twilight wiped the leftovers from her face and looked at the pegasus with a victorious smile. “Easy.”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth hung open. “Is... is there anything you can’t endure?”

Twilight waved off her remark before pointing a hoof decisively at her challenger. “As per our agreement, you must do one favor I say without question.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, bringing a hoof to her face. “Fine fine. So what do you want me to do? Is it something embarrassing?”

Twilight shook her head. “Nothing of the sort. All I want is for you to get me upstairs and guard the door so that no pony will interrupt me during my research."

Rainbow Dash paused, blinking a few times. “That's it? You ate a chunk of cupcake and that much hot sauce just to have me guard a door?"

Twilight let out an exasperated groan. “Hey, it may be a small deal for you, but Pinkie’ll drag me back to the party without somepony to keep her busy, and Steel Blade’s afraid of her for some reason.”

Rainbow Dash straightened up proudly with a confident grin. “Well, you got the right pony for the job. I know a few tricks to keep Pinkie busy, and I won’t let anypony bother you. Nopony gets past Rainbow Watchful Dash when she’s on the job.”

“Thanks, Rainbow.”

“No sweat. Anything for a friend.”

Twilight finally breathed a sigh of relief, climbing onto Rainbow Dash’s back so she could finally get to Overwatch and listen to what she had found. Deep within the crowd however, a white unicorn mare looked at them with a guilty expression, shifting her weight nervously. She tried to make a step forward, to talk, to apologize, to do something, but in her hesitation, Twilight had already disappeared into the upstairs chamber, and she was left without the courage to bother her again.

Source

Summer Sun Celebration - Nightmare Moon

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 5

Celestia ceased her meditation, turning her head upwards to gaze upon the moon and the four shimmering stars drawing closer to it. Her sister's freedom, the moment she had been awaiting for a thousand years, was only seconds away. After Nightmare Moon was safely imprisoned and no longer a danger, she would focus on helping Twilight and the other potential bearers unlock the Elements of Harmony in a non-lethal way.

“Are you ready?” Celestia said gravely.

Cadence and Shining Armor nodded curtly, their expressions serious as they stood ready and prepared. Celestia spread her wings and bent her legs, but her attempt to take off was interrupted by a burst of green flames, depositing a tightly rolled scroll and two books in the air in front of her.

The princess caught them in her levitation before they could start falling, casting a concerned look at the books before skimming over the scroll. No sooner had she looked at the first few lines that she stiffened, her legs trembling as she took an involuntary step back.

“Your Highness, is everything alright?” Shining Armor asked, trotting over with careful steps.

“No... no... this can’t be happening.”

“Auntie Celestia, what’s wrong?” Cadence asked, looking with worry at Celestia’s stunned expression.

“I will not let it happen again. I will not lose another pony I dearly care for!” Celestia shouted, and with one strong flap of her wings, she dove into the Everfree Forest to her confrontation with Nightmare Moon.

With Celestia out of sight, a curious Shining Armor took a few steps and picked up the two objects that had shaken the princess.

He looked down at the two books, his eyes barely registering the Elements of Harmony Reference Guide across the front of one of them before he cried out, “Oh no, she’s in Ponyville!” and darted into the forest.

“Shining, wait!” Cadence shouted after him. She took a step forward, but quickly withdrew her hoof when a crinkle of paper called her attention to the scroll sent along with the books. She raised it up with her telekinesis, reading quickly through its contents.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’ve completed the preparations for the Summer Sun Festival on time, but something of far greater concern has come to my attention. My guards and I have discovered an old text of the tale of Nightmare Moon recently. Upon further investigation into the story’s origins and the artifacts used to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon one thousand years ago, we have reason to believe that this very evening, the stars will aid in Nightmare Moon’s escape, and she will return from the moon with a vengeance. I am sending a few books through Spike with this letter as proof, including The Elements of Harmony - A Reference Guide along with my notes indicating points about the device including other evil creatures it had been used against.

I believe the most logical steps to take in reaction to this threat is for you to intercept Nightmare Moon with an army before she can cause any damage. My guards and I will do our best to ensure the safety of the citizens of Ponyville.

Your Little Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle.

Cadence took a step back before levitating over both books. Her gold-clad hoof carefully wiped the mud from the aged texts before levitating it over one of the guards for safekeeping. “If Twilight is attending the celebration, we will be able to intercept Nightmare Moon before she even tries to reach the town, but if Twilight attempts to search for the elements... Even though she’s tough, the forest is teeming with hungry monsters or wild animals,” she whispered to herself.

Cadence let out a sigh. “Just one more reason to help Auntie Celestia. Do not worry, Twilight. We will not let Nightmare Moon get near you or the citizens of Ponyville, and then I’m going to have to figure out who sent you to Ponyville in the first place.”

The compact ball of darkness plunged towards Equestria through the night sky almost unnoticed, the seals that had bound it to the moon broken thanks to the power from the stars that had allowed it to escape. It descended along the same straight-line path it had ascended so long ago, drawing near to the place of its banishment without slowing.

It splashed across the shattered stones and scrub brush of the ancient battlefield like a water droplet. A silence descended across the area, not even broken by the usual, ever-present chirps of insects. A moment passed before a faint glow began to curl through the dark fog, the fragments swirling together into a growing column of darkness. The clouds above blocked off the clear skies with unnatural speed, untouched by mortal hooves.

A crack of lightning split the storm, and a form slowly emerged from the inky darkness below with regal steps. It was large, with a sharp horn, dragon-like wings that seemed to cradle the night, and glowing almond-shaped eyes that looked around the desolate ruins that had once been a glorious castle so many centuries ago.

"Well, well, well," she murmured, lifting up a piece of rubble to examine. "It would seem that our home has failed to withstand the test of time in our… absence. Such a pity." She dropped the stone back to the ground with a disdainful scoff and, with a quick stomp of her armored hoof, crushed it to dust, leaving a little crater in the stone floor below. A dark smile spread across her face as she lifted her hoof. "And you, dear sister, your reign will be crushed just as easily. Mark my words."

Nightmare Moon stepped forward, striding through the scattered rocks to the edge of what had once been her castle, expecting to look out upon her city as she threw open the weathered front doors and stepped out. She stopped, her eyes widening as they flitted between the sparse foundation stones of the old pony capital scattered amid the wild forest.

"What? Abandoned?" Her eyes narrowed, and a scowl crossed her face. "Left to rot. Forgotten, just as we were. How strangely fitting. Perhaps it is time to, how shall I put this... refresh their memories."

A few beats from her powerful wings lifted her up into the air, and she flew up the roof of one of the two towers still standing. Her eyes scanned the horizon, over the thick canopy of the Everfree Forest before her attention snapped to the nearby mountain and the castle perched on its side like a tumor where there had once been nothing but rock. She frowned. “So this is where thou hast moved thy seat of power, dear sister? Wilt thou hide from us in fear behind those walls, or wilt thou face us in combat?”

She looked away, lost in thought, but her drifting eyes soon noticed a small village tucked into the edge of the forest. A slow smile spread across her face. “Hmmm… perhaps it would be most proper to introduce ourselves to the new generation of our subjects. Hopefully, they have become wiser than those fools who abandoned us a thousand years ago,” Nightmare Moon said with venom in her voice as she flew back into the ruins of the castle.

The black mare landed softly, kicking up a tiny cloud of dust as she descended, and began to walk slowly through the ruins. "But before I take back what is rightfully mine, let's take a little trip down memory lane, shall we, Luna?"

She soon arrived at what could only have been a treasure reserve, as evidenced by the thick walls and remaining latent magic. She lit her horn and began scanning the area. "If memory serves, this is where the Elements of Harmony were stored, and I, for one, have no intention of meeting them again unprepared. Now, where would dear sister hide her most precious weapon..."

Nightmare Moon swept her spell broadly over the room, peering into every nook and cranny until she finally drew her attention to the large granite structure in the middle, hoping for some clue as to where the Elements were hidden until...

Her eyes widened, and a sinister laugh echoed throughout the ruins, for she had found the Elements of Harmony, and they were nothing like she had expected.

"Useless piles of rock!" she chortled, kicking shards of what might have formerly been Laughter across the room. "Oh dear Celestia, it appears that the elements have abandoned you as well. When next we meet, I shall have my revenge!"

“Nightmare Moon!” A loud voice echoed through the ruins.

The dark alicorn gritted her sharp teeth, refusing to acknowledge the voice by turning around. "Ah... It seems your sister has come out to visit, Luna. Do you want to play with her?"

She paused, as if waiting for an answer. "No? Still resting? Very well." She spun around and lit her horn, widening her stance in preparation for battle. "I'll play with her. Oh, Celestiiaaaa!" she called in a sing-song voice. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

A proud white alicorn teleported in with a bright flash of gold magic, her wings spread, her horn lit, and her eyes full of determination. “Give me back my sister!”

Nightmare Moon chuckled darkly as she glared daggers at the white alicorn. "I'm sorry, Celestia, but Luna isn't your pet anymore. You'll have to find a new plaything, I'm afraid."

“She does not belong to you. I will free her from your shackles and end your pitiful existence,” Celestia replied sternly as she stomped the ground in front of her, the ancient, dusty floor cracking from the strength of her hooves.

Nightmare Moon let out a bellowing laugh and spread her wings. "So you can have your little sister licking your hooves again? Is that it? Well, I have a counteroffer: I destroy you, and Luna and I can rule Equestria in your place, as equals!"

Celestia shook her head. “Luna may have been my little sister, but she will always be my equal, as she always was.”

Nightmare Moon snorted, a contemptful smirk on her face. "Tsk tsk, Celestia. Honesty was her Element, not yours. Look around! See what happened when you tried to use her Elements against us? Even they abandoned you! I can see through your lies, and it's only a matter of time before your subjects see too!"

Nightmare Moon lit her horn, the spell matrix for a powerful summoning spell forming at its tip. Celestia’s eyes widened, and she dove at her corrupted sister to not give her any advantage. When she was close enough, she swerved to the dark mare’s side, releasing a powerful golden beam of magic from her horn into Nightmare Moon’s barrel. Her adversary was sent crashing through four consecutive walls, trailing a cloud of dust and rock until she landed roughly onto the stone floor, the masonry crumbling into rubble behind her.

Without wasting a moment, Celestia appeared in front of Nightmare Moon in a flash, but she hesitated when bright violet sprites shot from Nightmare's horn, each mote of light tracing out the runes for a slew of summoning circles around the area.

“Aww, did Tia think we were going to fight here? With her army soon to arrive and her trap ready to be sprung before we can take our revenge? I think not! We could always read you like a book, dear sister,” Nightmare Moon sneered as shadowy figures rose from the circles around her, surrounding her and obstructing her from the Celestia’s view.

The sun princess immediately lit her horn again, blasting away the shadows in front of her, but by the time she cleared away enough of the figures, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen.

“Stop hiding! Coward!” she snarled, before ascending into the air with clean, powerful strokes of her wings, a far cry from her centuries of being towed around in a chariot. She noticed that several of the shadows had ascended with her and were now heading for Canterlot. She followed, motioning for her pegasus guards to engage on them as she lit up her horn and began searing through them herself.

As the enchanted swords and the beam of light destroyed the shadows far above the ground, one wisp of purple smoke hid in a wall riddled with cracks, unnoticed by anypony. It emerged slowly once Celestia and her allies flew away, tentatively moving into the open before speeding off toward the nearest town.

Twilight jogged cheerfully towards the Town Hall. She had already sent proof to confirm her theory and, with this evidence, Princess Celestia would no doubt gather an army to confront and defeat this newly-discovered threat. With that out of the way and with preparations for the celebration completed, she could finally try to enjoy herself in this crazy town.

Much to her disappointment, Pinkie’s party for her had ended by the time she finished all her research, and everypony was leaving to attend the Summer Sun Celebration. Despite her missed opportunity and the fact that it was four in the morning, Twilight’s mood remained chipper. After all, she succeeded in not only accomplishing her royal duty, but also in foreseeing a potential national disaster.

Still, it was a bit worrying that Celestia hadn’t sent anything back regarding her involvement in keeping Nightmare Moon at bay. As much as she wanted to help, she couldn’t tell what the princess had in mind, or if the crisis had already been resolved.

Twilight Sparkle sighed. There wasn’t much else to do besides just wait. She looked to her side at Spike, who was smiling and humming a cheerful tune to himself, snapping his claws in time with his rhythm. Twilight turned back to look at Steel Blade, who seemed to be a bit on edge, jumping at any unexpected sound. Poor Steelie, I wonder what’s got him so nervous. I thought he enjoyed the party.

Overwatch trailed the group, staring down at the ground in contemplation. She came back to her senses when she felt Twilight’s gaze on her and immediately quickened her pace. The guard mare trotted to Steel Blade’s side and butt him playfully with her flank, nearly devolving into a fit of giggles when he let out a startled “eep!” in response.

Twilight shook her head and turned forward again. They had finally arrived at the Town Hall. The little mare waved her hoof at the two armored guards flanking the entrance, who snapped a quick salute in return as she entered through the open door. Once inside, she could see a sea of giants all over the room, both on the ground and flying in the air. All of them were focused on one central balcony standing high over the crowd, ready to be host for the princess’s no doubt spectacular appearance.

The little unicorn first jumped up onto Spike’s head before skipping over onto Steel Blade’s helmet to find a better view of the upcoming proceedings. There still wasn’t much to see though. Ponies milled about around them, and Twilight was content to leave them be to look for familiar faces in the crowd.

Rainbow Dash was flying in place above her and was happy to return the wave Twilight gave her, though she was clearly getting antsy with waiting.

Rarity stood under the balcony, making eye contact with Twilight for just a moment before shifting her eyes. The little mare heaved a sigh. Don’t worry about her. Once your assignment is over, this mare’ll be out of your mane for good, though…

Twilight turned to look at Applejack and the rest of the Apple family sitting at the side, some of them finishing setting up the food table. I guess I’ll miss them a little. Maybe I can convince my mentor to let me study earth pony magic with them. They seem like they would provide excellent teachers for such material.

“Isn’t this exciting?”

Twilight nearly jumped off her guard’s helmet, and the fact that Steel Blade had also jumped did not help her in keeping her balance. The tiny mare scrambled back to a sitting position before turning around to look at the face of the pink, overexcited earth pony, who was barely an arm’s length away. Pinkie happened to be perched on Steel Blade’s back, likely so that she could follow Twilight’s example of how to get a better view, completely ignorant to the sweat dripping down Steel Blade’s face or to the unnerved grin he wore.

“Are you excited? I have never been so excited, well, except the time I saw you and went all ‘whaa’, but I mean, really, what can top that?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and looked back towards the balcony just as a call for silence came. A wonderful song from Fluttershy’s birds sounded the fanfare, and the spotlights shown on the beige mare with a white mane and a cutie mark of a scroll, center stage on the balcony.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” said the mature mare, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers.

Twilight cheered along with them, though her mind was elsewhere. I wonder if Princess Celestia will find time to join us after she deals with Nightmare Moon. Hopefully, her schedule isn’t too put off by this.

“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this as the longest day of the year. For now, it is my great honor to introduce you to the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day,” the mare announced with a flourish of a hoof as she moved to the side, “the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria: Princess Celestia!”

Fluttershy’s birds rang out in a triumphant trill as the princess’s name was called, and Rarity yanked on the rope to part the curtains as the spotlights shifted back to the center for the reveal. However, the whole climax fell flat with a warbling note and a collective gasp when the spotlights focused on nothing but empty space.

Twilight looked surprised for a moment, but soon let out a sigh of relief. It seems that my mentor has decided to handle the matter personally, she thought, certain that the princess would not be caught by Nightmare Moon unprepared.

“Keep calm, everypony,” the older mare said worriedly. “There must be a reasonable explanation.”

Twilight could feel her spot on Steel Blade’s head suddenly began to bounce up and down as the guard stallion attempted to stoically weather through Pinkie Pie’s jumping on his back as if he were a trampoline.

“Oh, I love guessing games!” Pinkie exclaimed as Steel Blade’s eye twitched and his legs began to tremble. “Is she hiding?”

Rarity threw the rope she had to the side and peeked around the curtain. “She's gone!”

Another collective gasp followed, even louder one than before.

“She’s good,” Pinkie said before jumping from the guard’s back, oblivious to the torrents of anxiety running through the crowd.

“Gwaa!”

Twilight’s eyebrows shot up at the panicked cry from the crowd and she turned back to the balcony, where a starry, purple fog was condensing.

“Oh no!” she cried, almost stumbling off Steel Blade’s helmet. She quickly righted herself and, without wasting any time, she immediately motioned for her little group to come closer. “Steel Blade, Overwatch, Spike, I need you three to evacuate everypony from the building, but do it without drawing attention to yourselves.”

“But why?” Spike said, his brow furrowing together. Steel Blade and Overwatch simply exchanged a look before giving Twilight a curt nod.

“Spike, we have no time for discussion. Just follow my orders!” Twilight said adamantly as she jumped from Steel Blade’s head, sliding down on his back to land on the floor. The two guards turned to salute Twilight before Steel Blade left to carry out his orders, Overwatch lingering behind as Spike stepped forwards towards the tiny mare.

“Twilight? What’s going on?” Spike asked, looking down at her with worry, only to flinch when Twilight leapt up to hug him around the neck tightly.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Spike. It’ll all be fine. Love you!” Twilight said hastily she released Spike's neck from her tearful embrace before he could hug her in return. Overwatch held Spike back as Twilight dove back into the crowd of ponies, darting between their nervous hooves and not daring to look back as she made her way towards the balcony.

No need to let Spike know that this night could very well be her last.

Nightmare - Sacrifice

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 2

Part 1

Twilight ran like there was no tomorrow as she dodged obstacles and hooves, horribly aware of the terrible voice that boomed out through the huge room.

“Oh, my loyal subjects, it has been so long since I have seen your precious sun-loving faces.”

Rainbow Dash’s voice called out, “What did you do to the princess?”

Twilight felt a surge of fear, and she sped up accordingly. Please. Don’t provoke her. She just returned from a thousand years spent on the cold moon; after being imprisoned for so long, her state of mind must be very unstable and she most likely wishes for nothing but vengeance. Please don’t do anything stupid. Every pony in the room was in danger, and there was only one way to save them.

A cruel laugh echoed around the room. “Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Do you not know who I am?” The mocking tone was more accusation than question, and Nightmare Moon seemed annoyed by the terror that filled the room in response.

“Ooo, more guessing games!” Pinkie Pie said as she rattled off various names the moment they popped into her head.

Pinkie, no! You’ll doom us all! Twilight ran even faster as she emerged from under the crowd and teleported onto the podium. I could just teleport. Why do I always forget about the easiest solutions in the heat of the moment?

“Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” Nightmare Moon said. “Do you not recall the legends? Did you not see the signs?”

Twilight’s mouth gaped open at the growing tension in the dark alicorn’s voice. Oh no no no no, she’s furious! She's going to unleash a thousand years of rage and kill everypony in this room! I have to do something. Anything, Twilight thought in panic as she felt the gusts from the alicorn’s giant flapping wings strike against her. Twilight gulped and closed her eyes as a memory flashed in her mind.

“Y-yes. I specifically asked my brother not to mention the… low points in my studies, and I didn’t even inform you of my decision to stay small. I was afraid you would take me away or force me to become big again. I was afraid when I should know better. Can you both forgive me?” Twilight said, looking shamefaced at the ground.

With a quick movement, Velvet swept her daughter up in a tight, very unexpected embrace. Twilight took a moment to come out of her shock before returning the embrace, even nudging her father to join in.

“No more secrets?” Velvet and Night Light said.

“No more secrets,” Twilight replied, before her mother loosened her hug to look at her. “Can I stay tiny then? Can I still be Princess Celestia’s student? Please?”

“If… if this makes you happy, then yes. Just promise that you won’t give up your life to search for knowledge and adventure,“ Velvet replied.

“I promise.”

Twilight lowered her head as a tear ran down her cheek. “I’m sorry mom, dad, I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill my promise. Please, forgive me," she whispered before inhaling deeply. Skidding into an open section of the floor, Twilight looked up at Nightmare Moon and shouted with every bit of strength she could muster.

"I know who you are!"

***

Her legs trembled as Nightmare Moon started to look around the crowd for the source of her voice. “Over here!” she yelled again, feeling much like a mouse begging a lion to join her for dinner.

The cold gaze of Nightmare Moon swept across the room until the armored alicorn finally paused, staring down at the tiny unicorn with cold, draconic eyes. With every beat of those vast, dark wings, Twilight felt her heart hammer in her chest, increasing to a crescendo as Nightmare Moon began to close the distance between them.

She gulped again. Being brave doesn't mean an absence of fear, but having the courage to overcome it. Her mentor's words ran through her mind even as her instincts were screaming to run away. For the past thirteen years as a tiny pony, Twilight had had to face and defeat her fears almost everyday, but today she was more terrified than she ever was in her entire life.

She could not help but watch as the demonic alicorn, who was the most powerful being in the world next to her mentor, swept down to a perfect landing on the stage in front of her and regarded Twilight with a terrible curiosity, as if the creature were about to open up a present to find out what was inside.

This was the point of no return. She was at the monster's mercy, and there was little or no mercy at all in that cold gaze.

“And what kind of abomination are you?” Nightmare Moon's voice echoed through the room, sounding almost regal for a moment despite the thunder of its volume.

“I...I...” Twilight tried to respond, but was unable to open her mouth as she looked up at the creature's cruel face.

The world turned indigo as a magical field surrounded Twilight, picking her up as effortlessly as it would a foal’s toy. Nightmare dangled Twilight at the end of her nose, turning her over while examining every part of the tiny unicorn before smiling in fascination.

"Well, well,” she said softly. "A tiny unicorn. And you seem to be alive, not a puppet or golem. I wonder what other wonders I've missed during my absence."

She was so close to Nightmare Moon that she could feel her cold breath in her mane, but Twilight tried her best to keep looking at the terrifying creature. In the background, she could hear the tense voices of Overwatch and Steel Blade as they evacuated Town Hall, and every second she could keep the alicorn's attention was one more pony's life spared. Swallowing to help gather her courage, Twilight struggled to regain control over her muscles while piercing, teal draconic eyes examined her every motion.

“I will ask again. Who are you, and what do you know about me?” Nightmare Moon hissed impatiently.

Twilight steeled her nerves and slowed her trembling before replying as best she could. “M-my n-name is T-Twilight S-Sparkle, and I k-know that you are the M-mare in the M-m-moon, N-Nightmare Moon.”

Her response seemed humorous to the monster in front of her, resulting in a predatory smile and a low chuckle from Nightmare Moon. "Oh, my. It seems that somepony remembers me. How flattering." A hint of curiosity seemed to rise in the creature as it touched Twilight with the tip of one hoof and poked none too gently. "Although I cannot help but ask. Why are you so small in the first place, my… er... very little pony?”

Twilight was silent. She knew that by answering this question, she would focus the wrath of the fallen alicorn upon herself, but any further thoughts were disrupted when the powerful alicorn shook Twilight in her magical grasp like a rag doll. Once the world finished spinning, Twilight again gathered her courage to look up into those pitiless draconic eyes, but Nightmare Moon did not wait.

"Do not try my patience, little pony. I asked out of curiosity, but I am also curious to know what sound you will make if I crush you underhoof like an insec—" She paused before sighing as she corrected herself with calmer tone, “If I squeeze you slightly.”

Twilight gulped again. She had ended up in a lose-lose situation, but she had to buy the other ponies more time to escape. “I was s-s-shrunk...”

Nightmare Moon chuckled again. "Shrunk, you say? Interesting... I know somepony who worked on this spell. It was useless when invented, and remains useless now." Suddenly, her eyes widened, to which Twilight fearfully closed her own. "Only an alicorn has the power to cast this spell. Was it our sister who did this to you?"

Twilight bit her lip as sweat started to fall from her forehead, only to be shaken again when she saw the impatient expression on Nightmare Moon’s face. “Y-y-yes.”

“And why would she shrink you? Is this that wicked alicorn’s new method of punishment?” Nightmare Moon demanded.

Twilight could do nothing to protect her fragile ears. “It wasn’t a punishment. She s-shrunk me to... p-protect other ponies f-from... from my m-magic,” she said, trying to defend her mentor with renewed courage.

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. “Protect other ponies from you?” she said with disbelief. “You look nothing like a dangerous mare. I assume that your magic was probably too powerful to control?” Without waiting for an answer, she nodded. “I see... this makes sense.”

Twilight's terrified expression turned into one of curiosity as Nightmare Moon shook her head. "And to think that my... our wretched sister would curse you with such a cruel fate to protect her subjects from something you had no control over... what a pity. That tyrant will gladly ruin one pony's life for that so-called 'greater good' nonsense!"

Despite all her fear and sense of impending demise, Twilight could not let the honor of her mentor be insulted like this. “My mentor did what was right!” she shouted, only to put hooves on her mouth. “I m-m-mean... I d-don’t m-mind being t-tiny,” she whispered hesitantly, not daring to look into the dark alicorn’s face.

Twilight closed her eyes, expecting to be crushed under Nightmare Moon’s hoof or vaporised by her magic, but to her surprise and confusion, the blow never came. After a few seconds she finally opened her eyes to see a faint grin on Nightmare’s face. "’Your mentor,’ you say? Intriguing... How long has it been since she took you to be her student?"

“T-t-thirteen years,” Twilight squeaked out, as if something was stuck in her throat.

"Thirteen years! And she still keeps you at this size?" Nightmare Moon asked curiously as Twilight wiped the sweat from her terrified face.

I’m distracting her longer than I expected. If I play on her curiosity just a little longer, everypony’ll be out of here safely, I hope. Twilight didn’t want to turn to see how the evacuation was going, but she estimated that about half of the ponies had already left. She turned towards Nightmare Moon and, though she cringed at the sight of the alicorn’s sharp fangs, the fact that she was still alive increased her resolve. “Well... I learned how to control my power a long time ago. I just asked my mentor to let me stay at this size.”

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. When she spoke again, her voice was calm and gentle, a drastic change from before. "Dost thou seek excuses for thy mentor's actions? Forgive us if we withhold our enthusiasm—"

For a split second, Twilight thought she could see Nightmare Moon's eyes shift from draconic slits to those of a normal pony, but then it was gone.

"—but I find what you're saying difficult to believe," Nightmare Moon finished, her voice just as cold as before.

Twilight found the change in her voice and the eyes odd, but put the thought aside as she said while nodding urgently, “It’s the truth, I swear! I am so small by my own choice.”

“And why would you willingly accept such a fate, student of the sun princess?” Nightmare Moon asked curiously, as if she had forgotten what she had come here for in the first place.

Twilight felt levitation field around her legs weakening. Testing the amount of freedom in her magical restraints, she flexed her legs slightly, which allowed her a small portion of relief. “Because... when I am small, I can challenge my magic, as well as my physical condition and endurance, much more easily. Living a hard life in a big world lets me learn so much more than living an easy life as a normal sized pony. I plan to return to normal when my talents are needed, but as a student, I do my best to better myself,” Twilight said calmly, almost recited, forgetting for a moment that she was conversing with a monster that could annihilate her like a bug.

The little unicorn had anticipated a multitude of possible reactions, but she hadn’t quite expected one in which Nightmare Moon would give her a proud smile. "If what you're saying is true, then I must praise your commitment. It takes a brave pony indeed to willingly take the thorny road over a straight one."

Twilight was shocked, confused and embarrassed; she had just been praised by a vengeful demon, and she hadn’t read anything on how to be polite to a pony that wanted to murder you. With a tiny smile, she replied hesitantly, “T-t-thank y-you?”

Picking the tiny mare up in her magic, Nightmare Moon lifted a foreleg and placed Twilight gently on it while peering intently at her new toy. "Now that I know the truth behind your size, I want to know what our sister told you and our future subjects about us, and don't lie to me. I do not tolerate dishonesty.”

Twilight almost collapsed on her shaking legs the moment she landed on her executor's knee, but quickly stabilized herself, raising her head to look at the face of the armored alicorn that filled her with fright. She gulped and tried to control her breathing enough to respond. "She... didn't tell anypony."

Nightmare Moon's eyes briefly widened in shock before she leaned in closer, her brow furrowed. "What do you mean, my little pony? Certainly you heard of me in rumor? The history books? Does my very name still strike terror in the hearts of ponies everywhere?"

“I-I-I learned about you from an old ponies tale,” Twilight said as quickly as possible, before she curled up and covered her face with her forelegs, expecting to be hurt after what she was about to say next. “No pony in all of Equestria knows of your existence. I had to research in two separate libraries to find out who you were, not to mention that I found out about your existence by mere accident.”

Twilight could feel the knee she was sitting on begin to tremble. She looked up cautiously with one eye at her almost-certainly-soon-to-be-murderer's face, and sure enough, the alicorn was bright red and quivering with rage. "She... she erased my existence from history? She reduced me, the one who made all of Equestria’s monsters and enemies tremble in fear, into a mere fairy tale villain? How dare she!”

Twilight fell tumbling to the floor, holding her hooves to her throbbing ears, only to feel a levitation field pull her back towards the raging monster. The tiny mare opened her eyes to see Nightmare Moon’s mouth saying something, but all she could hear after the ringing subsided was silence. Her sensitive little ears had finally broke. With a sigh of defeat, she hung her head low and awaited her fate.

After a few seconds of silence however, Twilight felt a burst of magic pass through her, but it wasn’t the vaporising spell she had expected, but some sort of healing magic. “My apologies. In my moment of rage, I had forgotten how delicate unicorns are, especially the shrunken ones.”

Twilight raised her head to see that Nightmare Moon was calm again. Did she just heal and apologise to me? But why? If she wants to kill me, what difference would it make? “Y-you... healed me?”

Nightmare Moon chuckled as she once again placed Twilight down on her knee. “Of course I did. How else could we continue our interesting talk? After all, you seem to know much about this world that I am unfamiliar with.”

So I’m alive only because I am a source of information to her, Twilight thought as she once again turned her head up towards Nightmare Moon, waiting for the next question. She knew that she would be disposed of sooner or later, but for now she still needed to keep the monster distracted.

“Although, we must commend thy wisdom. Thou hast endeavored to learn about us despite our sister’s attempt to erase our existence, and thou wouldst even honor us with thy presence when the others hath shied away,” Nightmare Moon said with a gentle voice. Twilight simply nodded, and the alicorn continued, “We pity thee for being a student of our dishonest and manipulative sister. To think that she would hide such vital information from her own student. Did she tell thee anything of her past at all?”

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin in contemplation. She has a point. Celestia never spoke about her past to either me or anypony else. Or, at least, I think she hasn’t. Whenever I tried to ask her about the past, she just directed me to the history books—No, Nightmare Moon is just trying to weaken my faith in my mentor. Twilight shook her head before she replied, the hesitation and doubt in her voice evident to the dark alicorn. “P-Princess Celestia didn’t know about your return. I w-warned her.”

Nightmare Moon simply burst out laughing at her words. “Thou art naive, little pony. Celestia knew exactly when we would return, and she hath even tried to best us in combat there on the spot, but we decided that meeting with our subjects took priority. Unlike our sister, who hath always kept everypony at a distance, whether it be her subjects...” Nightmare Moon gave Twilight a closer look, “or whether it be thee, her student...” She closed her eyes, and when she spoke again, her voice had become much more cold, “Or even her own sister.”

“She knows where the princess is! Seize her!”

An elderly and authoritative voice had just given the order to attack. Twilight turned around in alarm, moving to stand on Nightmare Moon's foreleg as she took in the three pegasi guards heading towards them, her own guard and dear friend Steel Blade at their head.

They’re going to get themselves killed. With that thought, Twilight sensed a great deal of magical power gathering right behind her. Not wasting even a second, she charged all the power she could in her tiny horn.

She had gone in to die so that nopony else should have to share her fate.

Celestia flew ahead of her guards as they hunted the shadows one by one. Despite the enemy’s numbers, they proved to be weak adversaries. The moment Celestia leveled out in front of the last remaining shadows, she sent forth a wave of her solar magic, removing the shadows from existence with purifying flame.

Princess’s feeling of victory didn’t last long as she turned back towards her guards, who were just now catching up to her. “Something’s not right. This battle was far too easy.” The realisation struck her. “Those shadows were just decoys; the real Nightmare Moon must be somewhere else.”

“What are your orders, Princess?” a guard asked, snapping a sharp salute with his comrades.

Celestia’s eyes went wide. Twilight’s still in Ponyville. What if...? The princess’s mighty wings bore her into the air with such incredible speed that even her trainer from the Wonderbolts would have found it impressive. She shouted back, "Ponyville!" as her magic flared a brilliant gold. Before the guards could blink, Princess Celestia was gone.

Already a considerable distance from the rest of her guards, Celestia flew in short spurts, mainly using teleportation to reach Ponyville as fast as she could. I don’t care if my student and Nightmare Moon’s confrontation was decided by fate or the Elements. I lost one pony I loved for a thousand years, and I will not lose another! However, even as Celestia's resolve grew, her desire to protect the student she had learned to love so much clashed with her determination to save her sister, and she honestly could not determine which pony she was flying so rapidly to save.

With her current size, Twilight could not stop even one flying royal guard at that speed, let alone three, but every pegasus had a weakness that she knew how to exploit. The moment the guards were close enough, Twilight focused her magic on the primary feathers of Steel Blade's left wing and, just as he had brought his wing all the way back during a flap, pushed down on them. Like a domino reaction, Steel Blade lost his balance and swerved to his left, crashing into two other guards who flew right next to him. In a moment, all three pegasi were lying on the ground in a pile.

Twilight teleported to the ground in front of them. “Are you crazy?”

The royal guards’ attention focused on the tiny unicorn they knew far too well as Twilight took brief glances back at Nightmare Moon, who was still on stage, observing them with a faint grin as the magic around her horn vanished. “If Nightmare Moon is as powerful as Princess Celestia, she could slaughter you without even trying,” Twilight hissed to the royal guards as they slowly clambered to their hooves. “Princess Celestia’s going to arrive here with an army to save this town. You three should focus on protecting the other ponies until she arrives and not play hero with a suicide attack,” she whispered.

“But... what about you?” Steel Blade asked, giving Twilight a concerned glare, his eyes pleading for an answer. The little mare broke eye contact, staring down at the floor in silence as she rubbed the floor with her hoof. The few seconds were all he needed to understand. The guard let out a deep sigh before stomping his hoof into the floor, cracks spreading out from the impact point. He saluted and turned around, walking towards the remaining ponies to help with the what little was left of the evacuation. The two other guards saluted as well and followed his example, their perpetually stoic faces now grim and ghastly.

With a sigh of relief, Twilight looked upon the remaining ponies in the Town Hall, and what she saw surprised her. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Spike, Mr. Cake, and, for some unknown reason, Rarity, they all looked at her at a distance with saddened expressions. Rainbow Dash even tried to fly towards her, but Steel Blade and another pegasus guard quickly moved to block her way before escorting her outside, rather forcefully. Overwatch looked at Twilight with a pained expression, though she soon hardened her features, gesturing for the last pegasus guard to help her get Spike and the other ponies out.

Twilight waved her hoof at them. “Farewell. I will see you again... in the afterlife,” she murmured with her head hung low. With Town Hall empty and everypony safe, the tiny mare turned around, only to narrowly avoid running straight into the long, black foreleg of Nightmare Moon, who was now towering over her.

Twilight gave one last look at the face of the mighty giant, before she sighed and lowered her head. “Please, do it quickly,” she said, bowing, or rather, lowering herself to the ground in an act of full surrender.

Her eyes wandered to the hoof of Nightmare Moon, armored inside of an elegant silver horseshoe, and thoughts of it coming down on her like a mighty hammer danced through her mind. Lifting her head a bit further, Twilight looked upon the long horn as if it was about to summon a thunderbolt from the air to smite her. Afraid to look the monster in the eyes, she lowered her head and closed her eyes, though visions of torture flashed in her mind instead, visions of being levitated into the monster’s mouth and chewed between her sharp teeth, or of being pulled apart like an insect by Nightmare Moon’s telekinesis. The last image caused Twilight to shiver, curling herself into an ever tighter ball.

Twilight felt as she was levitated again, floating upwards until she was plopped down on the cold metal of Nightmare Moon’s armored hoof. She slowly opened her eyes, only to find out that she was very, very close to Nightmare Moon’s face. A broad grin stretched across the alicorn’s muzzle, and large, round pupils focused intently on the tiny unicorn.

“So... how are you going to end this?”

Nightmare Moon raised her eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Don’t toy with me any longer! Just end my life already! Is that not what you came here for?” Twilight asked in annoyance, feeling a bit like a cornered cat, ready to lash out at anypony close enough.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “Why would I take an innocent life? Who do you think we are?”

Twilight stood, facing the monster with all her willpower. She looked directly into a giant draconic eye with the determination of a dead pony. “You’re Nightmare Moon! Princess Celestia’s fallen sister who tried to bring eternal night to Equestria! If you had succeeded, every living creature would be dead from hunger and cold! You were imprisoned in a cold, isolated prison on the moon for hundreds of years where your anger and hate would’ve only grown everyday, so unless you think you can convince me that you are not here to seek vengeance and doom every pony, then save it and drop the facade already!”

Twilight finished with a punctuated stamp of her hoof, breathing heavily after her long speech. “Kill me or torture me if you wish. I’ve already accepted my fate the moment I shouted up at you, but at least my death will not have been in vain.”

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “So... that is how you have seen me this whole time: an insane monster ready to burst into a roaring rampage of revenge,” she said venomously. The dark alicorn let out a deep sigh before she continued, in a much quieter tone of voice, “For a moment we thought...”

Twilight crossed her forelegs, glaring at Nightmare Moon. “Why shouldn't I? I’ve found no evidence to convince me otherwise.”

“Release me unless you wanna walk home with a brand new shiner on your face!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she struggled against Steel Blade and the pegasus guard’s grasp, very nearly giving them a run for their money. Still, despite her speed and her formidable wings, she could not overpower two trained guards when she was already inside their tight grip.

“Ma’am, I advise you to stop struggling and cooperate already,” the guard said with a low grumble.

Rainbow Dash swung her head in a headbutt, hitting it directly into the guard’s face and forcing him to back off. “Warned ya’,” she said, smirking.

Rainbow Dash’s smile hadn’t lasted long before she was pulled into a headlock by Steel Blade and pinned down to the ground. “If you think we’re going to let you fly back in there and get yourself killed, think again. Now please, behave yourself!” Steel Blade said, a distressed desperation in his voice.

“What was that for, punk? You should get that Nightmare something so I can rescue Twilight, not me!” Rainbow Dash snarled, before she was picked up and tossed into the hold of the other guard, giving her full view of the tears flowing down Steel Blade’s cheeks.

“Look, I hate it as much as you do. I’m supposed to protect her. I want nothing more than to be there instead of her. I swore to protect her. For thirteen years, I have served as her guard,” Steel Blade growled, wiping the tears from his eyes. With Rainbow Dash no longer resisting, the other guard let go of her, though neither of them took their eyes off of her for longer than a moment as they moved away from Town Hall.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something, but Applejack quickly butted in with an elbow. “Now jus’ hold yer horses, Rainbow Dash. We got no idea what's really goin’ on, an’ we can't jus’ rush in without a second thought.”

“But—”

“No buts, Rainbow,” Applejack said, before turning her head towards Steel Blade. “Now, when’re y'all gonna tell us where the princess is? Who’s that black monster, and what th’ hay Twilight was thinkin’ when she charged in by her lonesome?”

Applejack felt a hoof come to a rest on her shoulder, and she turned around to see the unicorn guard, Overwatch, glowering at her with pained eyes even as she tried to maintain an icy expression. “Go home.”

Applejack turned around, standing square to the guard mare. “An’ what th’ hay is that supposed ta mean? Our friend is in danger in there and ya jus’ tell us ta... go home?”

“We should have helped her!” Everypony turned towards Fluttershy, whose confidence vanished in the blink of an eye. “I... um... I mean... we... should," Fluttershy squeaked out before she ducked and hid behind her mane.

“We’re all worried about Twilight, but please, don’t be afraid to speak what’s on your mind,” Rarity said, trotting up next to Fluttershy and giving her an encouraging smile.

Fluttershy gave her an almost imperceptible nod before continuing hesitantly, peeking out from behind her mane “It’s just… I’m really worried about poor Twilight. She’s so small and defenseless compared to that big mean pony. I-I wanted to protect her, but that other pony was so scary! She was—” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she let out a gasp. ”Oh no, I left poor Twilight to face her in there alone. No, I’m such a coward!” she sobbed before latching onto Rarity and burying her face into the the unicorn’s shoulder.

Rarity simply returned the hug. “It’s okay, Fluttershy. I’m sure Twilight’s safe. She’s going to be all right, right?” she said, looking to Overwatch in search of confirmation, but the guard mare refused to meet her gaze, shifting her eyes to the side. Rarity’s eyes widened and, despite the odd, unpleasant feeling in her throat, she began stroking Fluttershy’s mane gently. “Shhh... it’ll be alright... shhh.”

“Aww, what's up with all those frowny faces?” Pinkie Pie asked as she wrapped both Fluttershy and Rarity in a brief hug before throwing some confetti over their heads. “Once Twilight’s finished playing with that Black Snooty, we can organise an ‘after Summer Sun Celebration’ party. Or a ‘Welcome to Ponyville, Black Snouty!’ party. Today was and tonight is and tomorrow will be so much fun!” she shouted as she threw more confetti into the air alongside two balloons that appeared from nowhere.

“Pinkie,” Carrot Cake said firmly, and in a moment Pinkie appeared in front of him.

“What is it, Mr. Cake? Are you here to help me with food preparation for the party?” Pinkie Pie asked cheerfully as Mr. Cake turned around and gestured with his hoof for Pinkie Pie to follow.

“Sure Pinkie, whatever you say,” Mr. Cake said morosely as he tried to keep up a fake smile. “Now let’s go back to Sugarcube Corner. I’m sure we can find all we need for the party. In the basement.”

Overwatch turned back to the rest of the group, away from the pink pony bouncing away excitedly with Mr. Cake. “There. That’s one less to deal with. Now if you others could please please please please just follow her example, we’ll be gold—”

She stopped, and a confused expression flashed across her face before she looked abruptly to the side, back towards where they came from.

Rainbow Dash followed Overwatch’s gaze, and she caught Spike in the act of sneaking back to Town Hall. “Now where do you think you’re going, little buddy?” she said, flying over to land in his way. “Trying to go and help Twilight on your own?” she asked, poking him suspiciously.

“And what if I am? What’re you going to do about it?” Spike challenged, crossing his arms and glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. “Help or get out of the way!”

“Now wait right there, sugarcube. What’s goin’ on?” Applejack asked, trotting to catch up with the little dragon.

“What’s going on? I’ll tell you what’s going on! Twilight’s about to get chewed up in there so we can get to safety. That’s what's going on!” Spike shouted to the gasps of the Ponyville ponies present. “She ordered us to evacuate Town Hall while she herself went up to distract Nightmare Moon until we all got out of there safely. She may be in the monster’s grasp, but she’s tough. I just know that she’s still alive, so either come help her or get out of the—”

Spike stopped when a spark of magic hit him in the back of the head, near the base of his skull. After a moment, his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell forwards, though he was promptly caught by a levitation field.

Everypony looked at Overwatch, whose horn was lit with magic, as she glided Spike over and laid him across her back. “Twilight put herself at Nightmare Moon’s mercy so you can live,” she said gravely. “Do not invalidate her sacrifice by running back in there. Go home and hide unless you want to be put to sleep as well. Actually...”

She stopped, turning to Steel Blade with a thoughtful look on her face. “Now that I mention it, this would all be a whole lot simpler if I just put everypony on the floor.”

“W-w-wait,” Fluttershy stammered out, “are you saying that Twilight’s g-going to-to die in there?”

Overwatch let out a derisive snort, even as she blinked a few tears from her eyes. “I wouldn’t put high chances to her walking out of there looking like anything recognizable. I don’t want to think about what fate has cooked up for her over a thousand years of imprisonment on the moon, and I doubt you want to see the results of it either. Or become part of it, for that matter.”

Fluttershy’s trembling only intensified as she stared at Overwatch with terrified eyes, and before long, she collapsed in a dead faint.

Rainbow Dash flew urgently to her side, standing with a defensive stance between Fluttershy and Overwatch. “What were you thinking, saying those cruel things to my friend? There is no reason to be scaring her at a time like this!”

“Look ma’am, this night isn’t exactly being sunshine and lollipops on my mood, and I don’t have time for pleasantries. You care about her, don’t you?” Overwatch asked, and at Rainbow Dash’s determined nod, she continued, “Then hide her somewhere safe. Same for the rest of you. Nightmare Moon will be dealt with by those trained for it.”

With the situation seemingly resolved and Applejack and Rarity moving to help Rainbow Dash with Fluttershy, Overwatch turned to speak with her partner. “Now that that’s over with, we need to—”

There was an empty patch of air where her partner was supposed to be waiting, and she looked around in sudden distress, a look of horror on her face. “No no no nononono...” she muttered in panic. She turned her head down and bit her lip, her darting eyes reflecting her internal turmoil.

Overwatch turned quickly to the other two pegasi guards, transferring the drake on her back over to them. “Princess Celestia is supposed to arrive here with reinforcements soon, so you two just escort these ponies home where they won’t get hurt.”

“And you, ma’am? W-wait, no, don’t tell me you’re going after him. That’s suicide!”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Overwatch said, with a weak smile and a wink. “I’m just following my intuition.”

Nightmare - Mercy

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 2

Part 2

Nightmare Moon let out a deep sigh and looked at Twilight with pity. “So let us get this straight,” she started. “Thou art the only pony who knew of our return. Thou thinkest that we are an evil demon who possessed thy mentor’s sister, and that after our return from a thousand years of banishment, we wish for nothing more than to doom every single creature on this world?”

The tiny unicorn silently gave her a determined nod.

“And since thou didst study under our sister’s guidance...” Nightmare Moon’s voice shifted again, and her pupils took on their draconic slit shapes again, “you know better than anypony how powerful I really am?”

Twilight nodded again.

“Knowing all of this, you—tiny, little you—instead of hiding in the crowd or in some chink in the wall, instead of sneaking out from this hall and begging fate that I wouldn’t find you, decided to announce yourself to me and face me, knowing full well that it could mean your demise?”

“Yes, I did!” Twilight replied, puffing up her chest with pride as she continued to match stares with the draconic eyes of the alicorn.

“And why would you do such a thing? Surely you would fear me even as a normal sized pony. Wouldn’t being so small make me look like I was a beast from the deepest depths of Tartarus?” Nightmare Moon asked curiously as she gazed upon the tiny mare with a soft expression on her face.

“Of course I was scared. I have never been so scared in my entire life. I faced you knowing full well that I was going to die. I was even expecting to be tortured. As for why I did it, I see no reason to tell you, so just get on with it already,” Twilight said, crossing her forelegs.

Nightmare Moon shook her head, smiling faintly. “I... we guess that thou art correct. We should not have expected that all of the answers we desired be presented to us on a silver platter,” she said, looking up and around the empty Town Hall contemplatively.

She gave the tiny unicorn a proud smile. “Tis a very brave and noble act of thee.”

Twilight blinked, and then her mouth dropped open in shock and disbelief. “W-whaaaat?”

“We aren’t stupid, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon said firmly, though there was no hostility in her voice. “Thou expected that we would disgrace ourselves with the cold blooded murder of everypony present, so thou hast willingly decided to sacrifice thyself in order to buy enough time to save them.”

Nightmare Moon’s voice once again turned cold and regal, though her proud smile remained as she look up wistfully. “A thousand years ago, I fought a great many solar guards. I know well that there exists a fine line between bravery and stupidity, between noble courage and insolence.”

Nightmare Moon approached the front of a fortress where her wounded sister had retreated. The moon shone proudly above her, sending its potent magic into the alicorn’s battered body and allowing her power to recover from the recent battle against a legion of Solar Guards.

Several Lunar Guards followed at her flanks. Each one of those ponies had fought alongside Luna for many years, protecting citizens from the many monsters that roamed during the night. Every single one of them had been blessed by Luna personally, and it manifested as more than a simple ward. Pegasus wings morphed into dark batlike ones. Their eyes became slit, granting them far more comfort in the darkness than their round-pupiled cousins, and their inner magic, strength, and endurance grew ever more powerful under the light of the moon.

Few ponies knew about the good these blessed ponies did, but those who did called them thestrals or moon-blessed. The grand majority, however, called them vamponies or demonspawn, driving them away on sight. With nopony to accept them, they remained fiercely loyal to their mistress, even as said mistress marched straight at a division of thirty earth ponies, thirty pegasi, and thirty unicorn Solar Guards, all ready for battle.

“So you finally arrived, demon, and I see you brought your wretched minions along with you. Good, you’ll save us the time we would have spent having to pick off the stragglers,” the unicorn lieutenant said, his sword pointed at Nightmare Moon as he stood boldly at the head of the forces guarding entrance to the fortress. “We have waited a long time for this day. I will avenge Captain Hammerhead with this very sword, and send you to Tartarus where you belong!”

Nightmare Moon breathed out a melancholy sigh as she wove together a summoning spell. Several of her faithful shadows formed around her, and they accordingly armed themselves with the swords carried on her back and on those of her thestrals, swords of defeated Solar Guards from the past battle. They filled into ranks with their comrades, arrayed against the foe before them.

“I have no quarrel with you,” Nightmare Moon boomed in her Royal Canterlot Voice as she strode forward alone, ahead of her troops. “Yield and your lives will be spared!” Several of the Solar Guards trembled in fear, but a sharp glare from their lieutenant got them back in line.

The lieutenant galloped forward at Nightmare Moon, his sword held firmly in his magic as he met the dark alicorn. His swing was quick, smooth, and practiced, but it was easily parried by the thin, dark blade of the alicorn. With a simple adjustment and a flick, the sword was sent flying from his grasp, and before the lieutenant could react, Nightmare Moon sent her blade’s sheathe smashing into her foe’s foreleg before finishing with a solid headbutt. The unicorn crumpled to the ground, though he desperately tried to get back up, his face contorted into a snarl.

“Thou art no match for us. Leave peacefully and thy life will be spared,” Nightmare Moon said, standing regally before the lieutenant, who simply lowered his head begrudgingly.

Noticing that her foe had accepted his defeat, Nightmare Moon walked past him towards the fortress. Just a moment later however, she could feel a sharp dagger hit her neck from behind, leaving a small flesh wound where it struck, though the blade itself broke upon contact with her alicorn flesh. Nightmare Moon turned her head to face the same lieutenant she had spared just a moment ago.

“Y-you monster. Why won't you just die?” the lieutenant said with hate in his voice, his leg shaking perceptively under him.

Nightmare Moon lit her horn, levitating up a part of the treacherous dagger before sending it speeding directly into the lieutenant’s neck, impacting with a meaty thunk. His body dropped dead a mere moment later.

“Thou hast abused our mercy and besmirched thy honor. Death is the only fate a fool like thee would deserve,” she said disdainfully before turning to the rest of the Solar Guard in front of her.

“Leave now, unless you insolent fools wish to learn the business of war as he did.”

“Fools charged at me, and they died for their hubris. Hot-blooded and prideful, they wished to slay a demon of the night for glory, not for the well being of their fellow ponies," Nightmare Moon said coldly, though her serious expression lightened when she once again turned to Twilight with a proud smile. "You, on the other hoof, faced the most powerful being in Equestria despite being smaller than a foal. You overcame a fear that would cripple others to save your fellow ponies, even to the point of charging into what you believed would be a slow and painful death."

Twilight stared up at Nightmare Moon in shock, almost feeling as if the dark alicorn was her mentor at this very moment.

A warm smile spread across Nightmare Moon's face while she continued to speak just as soft and gentle as if she were speaking to her own foal. "We commend thy bravery and self-sacrifice. The very idea that we would take a life from such a noble subject is insulting. Thou hast proven thyself worthy of greatness, perhaps as the head of an army or at our right hoof as an advisor, not death in these empty halls."

Twilight blinked a few times as she tried to comprehend what was being said to her. She stammered out a few unintelligible words, but a quick shake of her head cleared up the mess that in her mind. “You... you won’t kill me? Really?” she said hesitantly. “You’re not trying to give me false hopes only to squash them?”

Nightmare Moon responded with an accusatory glare, causing Twilight to flinch. "We once wielded the Element of Honesty. I am a great many things, but I am not a liar like my wretched sister. If I must face a foe or slay an enemy, I shall do it in open battle with no deception," Nightmare Moon said pridefully.

The little unicorn trembled for a moment from Nightmare Moon’s outburst, but once she recovered and released the breath she was holding, she lit up with a great big smile. “Thank you, thank you so much! I was so afraid that I would never be able to see my family and friends again! Thank you!” she exclaimed as she jumped on Nightmare Moon’s nose and hugged it tightly.

The fallen princess crossed her eyes, raising an eyebrow at the tiny unicorn embracing her affectionately. After a few seconds, she cleared her throat very loudly, and the unicorn jumped back to her hoof as if she had suddenly caught fire. Twilight gave the alicorn a sheepish grin, her cheeks blushing as she looked up in embarrassment. Nightmare Moon watched in amusement as the little mare quickly prostrated herself into a deep bow, trembling. “S-sorry... I... I forgot my place for a moment,” Twilight said.

The black alicorn chuckled. “For thy bravery, we are willing to forgive thee this time.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed together as she looked back up at Nightmare Moon, trying to make sense of her situation.

Odd. Sometimes she says ‘I’ and ‘you’ and sometimes she says ‘we’ and ‘thou.’ One second, she sounds emotionless and cold, as if she wants to kill me, and in the next, she looks at me as if I were the most precious thing she has ever seen. Even her eyes transform randomly. It’s like talking to two different ponies in one body. Is her mind still intact after spending a thousand years on the moon?

Twilight mentally noted the softer features on the face of the black alicorn, not quite as terrifying as it had been a moment ago. Still, why is she being so calm and merciful? How did she get through a thousand years of solitude without a mental breakdown?

“Excuse me, err, Nightmare Moon,” she started slowly, looking closely for signs that her captor’s mood had changed. “Um, would it be out of place if I were to ask you a questi—”

“Twilight, hang in there!”

***

Her personal guard, Steel Blade, was streaking across the room with all the speed he could muster, but unlike last time when she had more time to aim her magic, this time Steel Blade was more than close enough to sweep her up in his hooves and angle around.

The tiny mare barely had time to register the two armored forelegs holding her tightly before she was carried speeding towards the open doors of the Town Hall. At least, until a sharp crack of thunder signalled the end of her brief ride, and her friend crashed heavily onto the marble floor, releasing her from his hooves as the two of them rolled across the floor uncontrollably.

Twilight managed to stop herself from sliding on the ground any further, and she shook her head to recover from her dizziness. Steel Blade’s movement was quickly arrested by a few tendrils of Nightmare Moon’s mane, which were now pulling him slowly through the air towards the alicorn.

Twilight began galloping towards the two immediately, though a few seconds later, she scolded herself for forgetting that she could teleport, and promptly disappeared in a flash of light.

She appeared atop Steel Blade’s head, who was now in front of Nightmare Moon, struggling fruitlessly to free himself from her magic. Before Twilight could say or do anything, Nightmare Moon’s mane enveloped her friend and she put him to sleep, ending his frantic writhing. Twilight looked urgently between Steel Blade below her and Nightmare Moon above her before once again, dipping into a low bow. “Wait! Don’t kill him!”

Twilight didn’t dare to look into Nightmare Moon’s face before she continued, speaking as quickly as she could. “Steel Blade is my guard! I’m sorry that he tried to do that! He just wanted to save me so please, forgive his foolishness and have mercy on him! He meant you no harm, I swear!”

A tendril of Nightmare Moon’s mane silenced Twilight before she could continue and then proceeded to tip her small head up gently. Nightmare Moon’s face had a smile on it, and her eyes were once again like the eyes of a normal pony.

“Thy guard’s commitment to thy safety is impressive. Thou needest not beg, for because he chose to save thee instead of attack us, we in turn shall choose not to harm him. He will wake up relaxed, for we have blessed him with pleasant dreams,” Nightmare Moon said gently.

“However,” she began again, her eyes once again reverting to slit pupils as she looked up into the empty Town Hall, “there’s somepony else in here whose intentions I do not know. Show yourself, before I drag you out myself!”

There was a sudden movement, and Twilight and Nightmare Moon both turned quickly to see Overwatch drop down lightly onto the balcony beside them, her ears pressed meekly to her head with a weak, penitent smile on her face. “Heh heh, it-it was the armor, wasn’t it?”

Nightmare Moon was far from amused. “State your purpose before I take pleasure in your helpless sounds of begging.”

Overwatch’s eyes darted to Twilight briefly, though it was clear from the tiny mare’s expression what she expected of her guard. “Oh, I’m just here for this idiot,” the guard mare said, pointing a hoof at the unconscious Steel Blade. “You two seem to be getting along well, and it would be out of line for me to interrupt your conversation.” Overwatch finished with another few hesitant chuckles, tapping her hooves together nervously.

Nightmare Moon’s brow furrowed together, and she looked up at the roof curiously before she turned to Twilight. “Thou hast the strangest guards we have ever met,” the alicorn simply stated, before turning back to Overwatch. “Very well. Thou may takest him from here, but do not expect us to continue to show thee kindness should either of you return.” With that, Nightmare Moon released Steel Blade from her mane, raising a foreleg for Twilight to jump onto before levitating the stallion over to the entrance of the Town Hall, where she laid him down gently.

“Duly noted, Princess,” the guard mare said, before jumping smoothly over the ledge, hanging on briefly before dropping the rest of the way to ground level and trotting over to where Steel Blade lay.

“By the way, Twilight,” Overwatch said seriously, levitating Steel Blade to rest limply on her back, “I’m not sure if you got the message, but Steel Blade and I both want to see you alive after this.”

Twilight simply nodded, and with that, Overwatch turned to walk outside, calling out as she left, “I’m holding you to your word then, Miss!”

***

As the door closed behind her guard, Twilight felt Nightmare Moon’s knee push her into the air slightly to catch her attention, and she turned to look back up into the face of the alicorn. “Now,” Nightmare Moon began, “we believe that thou hast expressed a desire to ask us a question before we were so rudely interrupted.”

Twilight once again looked over at the door, feeling more than a bit grateful that her two oldest friends had gotten out alive as she tried to calm her hastily beating heart. Nightmare Moon gave her an encouraging smile, to which Twilight nodded and began speaking. “Y-yes, I did have a-a q-question, Nightmare Moon. I wish to ask—”

“Is that a proper way to address royalty? As a noble student and subject, thou shalt call us by our proper title,” Nightmare Moon said calmly.

“With all due respect,” Twilight said firmly, “I am a noble student and subject only to Princess Celestia. I am not your subject!” She finished with a stomp of her hoof, but she soon realized what she had just said and braced herself for a painful retaliation.

But instead of giving her a painful blow, Nightmare just sighed. “I guess I expected too much, but you will become our subject soon enough, I assure you of that,” she said calmly, much to Twilight’s surprise.

Twilight slowly relaxed her tense muscles. “Would you have hurt everypony in here if I didn’t interfere? I thought you were furious when no pony recognized you.”

Nightmare Moon shook her head. “We had no intention of hurting anypony. We just wanted to announce our glorious return, though to be honest, we would probably have hurt a few of our future subjects in our anger, something we would like to thank thee for stopping us from doing.”

“Y-you’re welcome, I guess. Still, it doesn’t explain why you don’t want to hurt anypony. Isn’t that what you tried to do a thousand years ago?”

“Our foolish subjects may not have shown us the proper respect and gratitude we deserved for the hard work we did to keep them safe, but we eventually discovered the truth behind that. It was all a result of our dear sister,” Nightmare Moon said coldly, gritting her teeth together, “and her deceitful manipulation. Our subjects were swayed to fear us while she received all of my praise. So, I have no dispute with any pony except Celestia.”

“Wait a moment, the book I read said that you, I mean—”

“Our former name was Luna,” Nightmare Moon interrupted.

“Yes, Luna. Didn’t she became jealous of her sister because ponies didn’t appreciate her nights? Wasn’t that the reason you managed to take over her body or whatever happened back then?” Twilight asked curiously, as her thirst for knowledge got the best of her.

Nightmare Moon’s demeanor took a perceptible dip as she lowered her head somberly. “Unappreciative ponies were just the tip of the iceberg. Dost thou wish to know the truth about how our subjects treated us? How they chose to thank us for all we did for them?”

“I would love too. Pleeeeeease?” Twilight said, barely containing herself from squealing as she tapped her hooves together impatiently, looking up at Nightmare Moon with a pleading pout and wide, round eyes.

The full moon above shone brightly on the fresh blanket of snow that covered the ground, an even coat save for where it was disturbed by the hoofprints of a night-blue alicorn and a group of her fearsome thestrals. The town they were approaching had reported a number of monster attacks, monsters that Luna and her forces had recently triumphed over and chased off before they could try again.

Their silvery armor now had a multitude of dents and scrapes on them, having seen and stopped countless attacks, and were now closer to scrap metal than to any form of protection. The ponies who wore them were in no better condition. Luna herself still dripped blood from many slash wounds over her body, including a few bite marks and puncture wounds from the manticores’ stingers. Despite the fact that her inherent alicorn magic was among the only things keeping her alive, she was as energetic as ever as she trotted confidently into the sleeping town.

“Fellow citizens of this glorious town, your pleas have been answered as we, Luna, the Princess of the Night, and our brave warriors have bested the monsters that have threatened your safety,” Luna called out victoriously. Already, lights were coming on as ponies lit their candles to greet them.

”Please come out and celebrate with us this glorious victory!” she continued, grinning broadly as a few ponies began to open their doors to look out at them.

And then the candles began going out.

Nightmare - Luna

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 2

Part 3

“What happened next?” Twilight asked curiously, trying not to let her excitement show through.

“Screams of fear. Locked doors. Abusive insults calling us the monsters. Prayers for my sister to come save them. Some even threw whatever they could get their hooves on at us, and a few particularly foolish ones tried scaring us with garlic,” Nightmare Moon said, grimacing at the taste left in her mouth after her recollection of Luna’s memory.

“That's horrible!” Twilight exclaimed, stomping her tiny hoof on Nightmare Moon’s silver horseshoe. “How could they be so ungrateful and disrespectful towards the princess, especially after she protected their town?”

Nightmare Moon cleared her throat at Twilight with a tiny smile, showing her fangs, and the tiny mare was quickly reminded who she was dealing with. “Umm…” she began, much more demurely, “what happened to Princess Luna and her guards after that?”

The dark alicorn closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “We tried to keep them alive until we reached the barracks, but some of them, poor unfortunate souls, died from their wounds or froze to death without shelter and care. No pony gave us shelter on our long way. If even one of them had done differently...” Nightmare Moon said, before she trailed off into a respectful silence that Twilight dared not disturb.

“Erm...hmn.” Nightmare Moon cleared her throat again. “Have you any more questions? As much as I enjoy this conversation, my time is a bit limited.”

“Well... I can now understand why you—I mean Luna—felt so betrayed. But then, why would you try to destroy the world a thousand years ago if you would show us mercy now?”

Nightmare Moon's eyes widened briefly before narrowing dangerously. "Destroy the world?" she snapped. "What manner of slander is this? I tried no such thing!"

The force of the alicorn’s voice physically propelled Twilight off her hoof, but the little mare lit her horn and levitated herself back up into place before she fell too far, much to Nightmare Moon's surprise, before she began massaging her ears.

The dark alicorn took in a deep breath to calm herself before speaking, "Our apologies, but thy false accusations angered us."

Twilight furrowed her brow in confusion at Nightmare Moon’s statement. “‘False accusation’? From what I read, you tried to bring eternal night to Equestria, even though without the sun, the everything would freeze and all the crops would die...”

Twilight stopped herself when she saw Nightmare Moon glaring daggers at her. “Did I say something wrong?”

“Yes, you did! Your ignorance is something I would not have expected from our sister’s student. Our goal was to regain the love and respect of our subjects, to show them that we are not a mere pet of their beloved sun princess. It was not to kill them all. Do you think we would be so stupid as to try and gain respect and love from corpses?” Nightmare Moon said, her regal voice fuming as she tried her best to restrain the strength of her voice for the tiny unicorn’s sake.

“B-b-b-but that’s what was in the book! Wait a minute, if your eternal night wasn’t eternal, why did you refuse to lower the moon and keep the sun from rising?” Twilight asked suspiciously.

Nightmare Moon frowned. “We did so to weaken that traitorous wretch you call your mentor. We both possess a bond with our respective heavenly bodies, so we sought to cut off Celestia’s power source. Once we had overthrown her tyranny, we would force an implementation of another form of rule much more equitable to us, something much more permanent than her empty promises, and thus restore control of the sun to her. We never meant to harm our subjects, even if they deserved punishment for their misdeeds against a princess.”

What? So the tale about the two pony sisters would be a lie! Or... maybe Nightmare Moon’s lying, but then again, that would go against what she says about honesty. If she really is telling the truth, then...

“It’s all just a big misunderstanding?” Twilight said, tapping a hoof to her chin in contemplation.

Nightmare Moon blinked a few times. “Care to explain?” she asked flatly.

“Err, well, when you refused to lower the moon, you must have made everypony and your—erm, Luna’s sister think that you were trying to bring about eternal night. That has to be why Princess Celestia banished you to the moon with the Elements,” she said slowly, more to herself than to Nightmare Moon. “She had to choose between you and the lives of all her subjects and, more broadly, every single living creature on the planet. Back then, she must have thought that was the only way!”

Twilight turned to Nightmare Moon excitedly. “The world today has changed, and ponies are much more open minded than in the past. I’m sure your sister’s very sorry for what she had to do, so if you can tell her the truth, I am sure she would forgive you, as long as you can forgive her as well,” she said, but her speech had the opposite effect of what she expected.

A loud crack resounded through the air, and Twilight looked down to see that all the tiles around where Nightmare Moon was sitting had broken, with the alicorn’s horn burning dangerously.

"I will forgive your ignorance,” Nightmare Moon began, in a low, tense tone, “for you have never known us before and the books you have read were the works of fools who knew even less, but we cannot forgive our sister hers!"

Nightmare Moon straightened up, her sudden movements jolting the tiny mare on her hoof around as she glared into the space before her. “We hate our sister for how she treated us! She turned our own subjects against us! She sealed us on the moon! Is it not logical that I would think her goal was to become the sole ruler of Equestria?”

“But to think,” the dark alicorn said, grinding her teeth together as she continued to rage to the empty Town Hall, even with Twilight leaning backwards as far as possible to try and put distance between them, "to think that she banished us because she thought us so foolish as to doom our subjects to a cold death is far more insulting! By the honor of the moon, I cannot allow this affront to stand! For insulting our intelligence so, she will pay!"

Nightmare Moon swung her hoof up unexpectedly, leaving Twilight briefly suspended in the air. With an enraged feral cry, the dark alicorn slammed her hoof down hard to the ground, unintentionally catching the little unicorn midair and pinning Twilight between her silvery horseshoe and a small crater in the marble floor.

The alicorn’s eyes widened, and she quickly withdrew her hoof to reveal the tiny mare she had accidentally battered.

***

Twilight took a deep, frantic breath to replace the air that had been knocked out of her, and she immediately winced, clutching at her ribs. More than a few bones had been broken, and her body was now covered in a collection of cuts and marble dust. Her nose was also bleeding freely and was no longer aligned correctly, if her eyesight was to be trusted.

Alternating between trying to fill her lungs with air and coughing out dust, the tiny unicorn eventually managed to look up at Nightmare Moon, finding that the alicorn’s snarl had been replaced by a worried expression. Too ragged to do anything further, Twilight just laid motionlessly on the ground, barely registering as Nightmare Moon’s horn sent waves of magic into her body.

She wasn’t quite sure how much time passed before the alicorn spoke again. “Stand.” Nightmare Moon commanded.

Twilight tried to move her legs, and to her surprise, they cooperated. Most of the pain had disappeared without a trace, and she did her best to comply to Nightmare Moon’s order.

“Thou hast endured worse. We can see it in thy resolve.”

Twilight took a deep breath and gritted her teeth before lifting her forelegs and pressing her hooves against the floor’s surface, her legs trembling as she did her best to ignore any lingering soreness in her bones. After the little mare had finally stabilised her shaking hooves, she took few quick breaths before looking up at Nightmare Moon, who observed her every motion carefully.

Twilight blinked. “W-wait, how? I’ve-I’ve never felt a healing spell that powerful before!”

Nightmare Moon let out a snort, faintly smiling. "Thou art mistaken. Healing magic is light magic, and so would belong to that wretch's domain. We have merely blessed thee as we would our Night Guards during times of hardship and war. Consider it an apology gift for our carelessness."

“Blessing...?”

"All will become clear with time. We promise. Now, how art thou faring?" Nightmare Moon asked with concern as she lowered herself to Twilight’s level.

“B-better, I guess. My body still hurts a bit, but I’ve long since gotten used to aches like this,” Twilight replied as she stretched out a few kinks in her back and smiled. “Thank you.”

"It is we who should thank thee. Thou hast been the first pony in eleven hundred years who dared speak to us so casually. Even our own guards hath never been so open with us as thou hast been," Nightmare Moon said calmly. "We are thine enemy. We have sworn to kill thy mentor. We are terrifying to behold and we have even hurt thee, but thou hast shown nothing but bravery and understanding, despite our sister's lies. If we had had more subjects like thee in our times, we might never have rebelled against our sister in the first place."

Twilight was stunned beyond words, staring back in shock as she registered the fact that she was not only pleased by Nightmare’s praise, but even found it heartwarming. The more time she spent in Nightmare Moon’s presence, the more she felt as if she were speaking to her own mentor.

I don’t understand. She’s acting as if I was the only pony who has ever looked past her appearance. The only...

Twilight’s thought was broken when she felt the tip of Nightmare Moon’s wing brush across her aching back protectively.

With a proud smile for her little subject, Nightmare continued, “In the past, we used to craft and shape the night sky, turning it into a wondrous masterpiece for our subjects to admire. Regrettable that it was only for ignorant fools back then, but for a subject such as thee, it would give us great pleasure to add to the majesty of the stars in your honor.”

Twilight found herself blushing at the praise, though she soon found herself recalling a certain memory to mind.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Twilight asked.

She caught Celestia's attention and pointed a hoof upwards. "Your night sky is so wonderful. The stars are so bright and though ponies see them every night, there’s so much still unknown about them. I found an astronomy book about the constellations and, though there were many things I didn’t understand, I’m sure that when I grow up I’ll be able to learn everything about the night sky and the constellations that you’ve made."

Twilight felt a small surge of guilt she had not expected to feel, and she looked up into the black alicorn’s eyes with a shamefaced expression, rubbing at the back of her neck anxiously. “I-I have to apologize about something...”

Nightmare Moon’s expression softened with confusion as she spoke in a low calming tone. “We should be the ones apologizing, not thee...” she said slowly.

“I praised my mentor for your hard work.”

Nightmare Moon went silent, and her questioning expression now had a hint of a scowl in it.

“I’ve always loved the night sky, and I’ve spent a lot of time studying the stars and constellations. It was a hobby of mine that brought me great joy,” Twilight said in a low voice, looking down as she absentmindedly tapped her hooves together, “and I’ve always praised my mentor for making it so beautiful, even more than I praised her for raising the sun... I’m sorry. I see now that you’re the one who deserves that praise.”

Nightmare Moon blinked a few times as her eyes began to water. For the first time in millennia, she had been praised for her work, by her enemy, no less—no, by the student of her biggest enemy. Midnight blue washed over her dark coat, and she even became a little smaller as she grabbed up the unicorn in a tight hug against her belly. “Thou hast no idea how pleasing it is to hear such words.”

Twilight winced as her already crushed body was once again squashed, though she was far less concerned with steadily increasing cramps in her back and general lack of air than she was with the indigo fur she was stuck in. After few more seconds, Nightmare Moon released her, and she took in a gasp of breath as she lightly pushed herself from the belly, landing on her hooves with a light clop before losing her balance and falling back into a sitting position. Twilight lifted her head to look at the alicorn, who grew taller again, regaining her dark, intimidating appearance, much to the little unicorn’s surprise, though Nightmare Moon still had an embarrassed blush on her face as she quickly raised a hoof and cleared her throat.

“We-we are very pleased. Thou hast proved thyself to be not only strong and brave, but also very wise. Tell us, are there any other ponies such as thee who admire our nights?”

Twilight smiled with renewed hope as she got back to her hooves, for in that one moment, she saw the true form of her mentor’s sister, something that was possible to restore.

“Oh, I’m not the only one. There are many ponies who enjoy your night,” Twilight said, causing Nightmare Moon to eagerly lean in closer. “There’s always the nightclubs where ponies go to have fun in the late hours after sunset. Ponies in love often spend time together under the blessed light of your moon. Many great scholars have entered the field of astronomy and dedicated their lives to studying the secrets of your sky, and did I mention that ship captains still use the stars to navigate at night?”

Twilight finished with a beaming smile, and Nightmare Moon’s fur color seemed to revert again, though the tiny mare’s optimism waned when it switched back to its resolute black.

"We are pleased by your news,” Nightmare Moon said, straightening up into a regal posture. “Thou hast restored our faith in our subjects. Once we defeat Celestia and take the crown—"

To the alicorn’s astonishment, her mouth was sealed in a magenta aura. She blinked a few times, looking between the unicorn and the magical telekinesis around her muzzle with a furrowed brow.

“W-wait! There’s a better solution!” Twilight desperately squeaked out. “Just tell your sister the truth! Tell her how she and your subjects hurt you, and how you never intended to hurt anypony. Nopony remembers you, so nopony would fear Luna for what you did in the past. You and your sister can share the throne equally and I would be honored to be a subject for both of you! There’s no need for more violence!”

Twilight’s magic briefly flickered, before going completely out. The increased mental strain in addition to the ordeals her body had gone through caused the tiny mare to fall to her knees, breathing heavily. Now that I think about it, maybe I should’ve let her finish before I started speaking. I’m not sure if I can take much more punishment today.

Nightmare Moon looked down silently at the exhausted pony, and when she finally spoke, it was with a hint of regret in her voice. “We are sorry, but we cannot fulfil your wish. We have gone too far and done too much to live under our sister’s shadow again. We shall take over Equestria or die trying.”

The alicorn’s ears suddenly perked up, and she looked up as if searching for something, a tiny smile playing at the edge of her mouth. “It would seem that our sister approaches. As much as we have enjoyed thy company, we must ask thee an important question,” Nightmare Moon stated curtly as Twilight used what strength she had left to look up.

“Wouldst thou join us?”

“W-what?”

“If thou shouldst join us, we would reward thee beyond thy comprehension. Power. Riches. A spot at our side, ruling Equestria as our advisor... “

Twilight shook her head as she tried to stand defiantly on her shaky limbs. “You want me to betray Equestria? Betray my mentor?”

“Thou hast heard my story. Thou hast seen how wrong thy mentor is. We are in the right. Wilt thou not join us?” Nightmare Moon asked desperately, sensing her sister’s concentrated aura of power grow ever closer.

“That’s true, I sympathise with you, but I will not betray my mentor. She’s almost like a mother to me.”

Nightmare Moon frowned, but she pressed on. “Thou carest for thy fellow ponies. Thou wouldst even risked thy life to save them. I pray thee, join with us, or they shall suffereth.”

Twilight could hear the desperation in Nightmare Moon’s voice. She’s bluffing. She doesn’t want to hurt anypony. On the other hoof, she seems desperate to recruit me and is too honest for her own good. Come on Twilight. Play it smart. She’s a prideful pony, and it can be played upon.

Twilight’s thoughts were cut off as Nightmare Moon slammed her hoof down in front of her, shaking the ground with a thunderous crash.

“Thou hast a limited time to decide. We shall bring destruction to this town and its citizens until thou wouldst agree to serve us,” Nightmare Moon growled, lighting her horn and spreading her wings impatiently.

The hammering of Twilight’s heart grew to a fevered pitch. “I will join you,” she announced in a loud, clear voice, trying not to show the panic she was fighting.

Nightmare Moon smiled. “A wise decision. A decision thou shalt not regret.”

“And I will stab you in the back the moment you’re weak!” Twilight added, catching Nightmare Moon off-guard.

“W-what?”

“You said yourself that you don’t tolerate dishonesty. Even if you force me to follow your orders, but I will be anything but loyal. Is this the kind of subject you want to rule? The kind of loyalty you desire?” Twilight played her ace, a very risky attack on Nightmare Moon’s pride. The little unicorn took a few deep breaths as she continued to match gazes with the dark alicorn, who stared back at her in disbelief.

The dark alicorn sighed. “Thou art wise indeed, and thy honesty impresses us. Using force to make others respect and follow us will not give us the loyalty and love we desire.”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

“Instead, we shall defeat our sister and take over Equestria, and then, with a wise rule, we shall prove to all that we deserve their respect and loyalty. We swear it on the honor of the moon!”

With that final line, Nightmare Moon swirled into a fog and flew outside of Town Hall, leaving Twilight motionless and stunned.

All her attempts to save Luna had failed, and soon Nightmare Moon would face Celestia in combat. Twilight, weak and crashing from her adrenaline high, collapsed again as sleep tried to overtake her exhausted body and mind. The little mare fought the allure of rest, the urge to just close her heavy eyelids and forget about what was to come, as she crawled towards the exit.

“I... have to... tell the princess... that her sister... her sister…can still be saved...”

Reunion - Darkness vs Light

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 3

Part 1

Celestia soared over Ponyville, her eyes darting about in search of her student and Nightmare Moon. She was met with little success, as the town itself seemed deserted and devoid of life, until the princess finally noticed a guard she knew all too well. Overwatch was escorting a group of mares into some sort of boutique with one of her fellow guards sprawled unconscious across her back.

Not wasting a moment, Celestia folded her wings and dropped from the sky like an anvil. With a loud thud, she landed on the earth right behind the guard mare, who jumped forward in surprise before twisting around to aim her glowing horn at the princess.

Overwatch’s eyes opened wide, and the aura around her horn disappeared. “Y-y-your Highness?” she stammered out.

“Princess Celestia!” exclaimed a white mare behind the guard, but the princess ignored her as she pulled her four hooves from the ground and shook the dirt from her golden horseshoes.

“Twilight. Nightmare Moon. Where are they?” she asked between deep breaths, her firm tone more a command than a question.

Overwatch shook off her confusion and was about to answer when the rainbow maned pegasus behind her piped up first, pointing at the large building in the middle of Ponyville. “She’s in Town Hall, Princess, with th—”

Celestia immediately spread her wings and sped off in the pointed direction, the wind from her departure throwing back a few of the gathered ponies.

“Oh Tartarus!” Overwatch exclaimed, getting back to her hooves. “Why’d you say that? Oooh, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow before she snapped out her retort, “Why are you so agitated about what I said? I thought you’d be happy she’s here and off to do what you failed to do.”

Overwatch let out a frustrated cry. “Because Twilight and Nightmare Moon were getting along fine! With Celestia in the mix, there’s no way no way this will end well!

This cannot be happening, this cannot be happening, Celestia thought in fear as the distance from Town Hall decreased with alarming speed. She cocked back a foreleg, ready to smash through the wooden doors by force before a familiar voice captured her attention.

“Celestia!”

The shout echoed throughout the open space, and the princess slammed her hooves down into the ground, leaving four deep furrows behind as she skidded to a halt in front of the closed door. She whirled around in the direction of the voice, only to see a dark cloud-like smoke flowing through the window and reforming into the armor-clad shape of her sister.

“Nightmare Moon!” Celestia shouted, anger boiling in her like lava. She spread her mighty wings without hesitation, and with one powerful stroke, she dashed into the air towards her opponent, her horn lit with magic and ready to strike.

Much to the white alicorn’s annoyance however, Nightmare Moon didn’t even bother to face her, instead darting away in what seemed like retreat.

“You won’t escape me again!” Celestia called, flapping her wings even faster before employing teleportation in order to catch her foe, but whenever she got close enough, Nightmare Moon responded by switching forms to her dark mist and darting off to the side.

The alicorns soon reached the outskirts of Ponyville, and Celestia appeared with a bright flash in front of Nightmare Moon, disrupting the dark alicorn’s magic with a flick of telekinesis before she could turn herself into mist again. The corrupted princess stumbled back, and the two alicorns glared daggers at each other, the fires of hate and determination visible in their eyes.

The moon shone brighter than ever in the cloudless sky as the two powerful alicorns hovered in silence. A half a minute passed of nothing besides the whistling of the wind before Nightmare Moon spoke. “Tis always a displeasure to see you, dear sister, even after a thousand years. At least we had a pleasant time in the company of your student before you arrived to barged in.”

Celestia’s pupils shrunk and a cold chill went through her body. She took a deep breath before she spoke again, her face contorted in a tense scowl. “What have you done to Twilight? If you hurt her, I swear—”

Nightmare Moon suddenly burst into laughter, cutting off Celestia with the echoing peals of her cackle before flashing an innocent smile. “Hurt her? My my, Celestia, must you always assume the worst of me? We just had a friendly conversation,” she said lightly. “We have learned so many interesting facts from your student, and the time we spent together was quite enjoyable.”

Celestia gave her adversary an evaluative look, her expression unreadable. “Is this some sort of twisted humor?”

Nightmare Moon chuckled again. “Oh, we are dead serious, dear sister, though whether you choosest to believe our words matters little to us.”

With a swirl of her violet magic, the black alicorn conjured a long thin black-silver sword, the ethereal blade wreathed in all-consuming darkness. When she spoke again, it was with the Royal Canterlot Voice. “We challenge thee to a duel to the death! To the victor, whether through blade or magic, shall go the leadership of Equestria. Dost thou accept our challenge?” Nightmare Moon roared, swinging her sword in a wide arc before aiming it towards Celestia.

“I am not going to play your foolish games, Nightmare Moon. I will stop you by any means necessary, and I will get back my sister!” Celestia said as she charged her horn. Unable to use the rays of the sun to form her own searing blade, she shot a beam of golden magic towards Nightmare Moon, forcing her to evade before the beam could burn more than the tip of her draconic wing.

“So thou refusest our honorable challenge? We expected nothing more disgraceful from you, sister. We shall ensure that thou dies in disgrace!” Nightmare Moon declared as she dove towards Celestia, weaving to and fro between the blistering beams racing past her.

The cursed blade sped towards Celestia’s neck at an alarming speed. Without breaking eye contact with Nightmare Moon for even a moment, the white alicorn twisted around in midair, using her wings to somersault onto her back as the dark blade lunged past her nose, missing by mere centimeters.

Celestia continued to roll until she was upright, her eyes attempting to read Nightmare Moon’s next attack as her adversary flared her wings to burn out her speed before making a quick turnaround. With her foe in front and exposed, Celestia shot a beam of magic right into her enemy’s chest. Nightmare looked back in shock before the attack sent her flying backward, her chest leaving a small trail of smoke as she spiraled down.

Taking the initiative, Celestia dove after her foe, though she soon put on the brakes when she noticed the mass of storm clouds gathering below her in the previously clear sky. Thunderbolts arced out to strike her, and electricity lanced through her muscles and bones. Her wings seized up, and she was sent tumbling down. Nightmare Moon took the opportunity to put herself at the height advantage, leveling out as Celestia fell past her.

Celestia lifted her head to see Nightmare Moon once again diving after her. Her eyes opened in panic as the dark blade was sent once again flying straight at her throat. She steeled her expression and relit her horn, waiting for the blade to get into striking distance before teleporting right behind Nightmare Moon at a well-calculated distance.

Catching her adversary off guard, Celestia hooked her long foreleg around Nightmare Moon’s neck, squeezing it against her own golden peytral. Draconic wings flapped desperately and ineffectively to pull out of an uncontrollable dive. The solar princess quickly added her other foreleg to tighten her vice grip against Nightmare Moon’s neck, feeling as her muscles, forged over years of training just for this moment, began overpowering her foe’s resistance. The slick sweat that covered both alicorns only served to increase Nightmare Moon’s frantic scrabbling as the crushing hold tightened even more.

Celestia’s attention was drawn to her opponent’s long horn when it flared up in a dark aura, swinging the sharp blade towards her. She quickly brought her own telekinesis in arms against Nightmare Moon’s for control over the sword as the two continued to plummet downwards.

Possession over the sword slowly swung in Celestia’s favor, but her concentration was momentarily interrupted by an arc of pain rushing through her back. She quickly reasserted her grasp over the weapon before turning back to see what had struck her, noticing the storm clouds once again looming over the battlegrounds.

Celestia was prepared the next time she was struck. Her hold on Nightmare Moon’s weapon did not falter the second time, and she quickly gained a good amount of control over the blade as her adversary sunk more magic into striking her with lightning.

“If you think a bit of pain can distract me, think again!” the white alicorn cried out, smirking as she tightened her stranglehold once again. The renewed headlock elicited a tiny gag from Nightmare Moon, who grit her teeth and set upon the alicorn on her back anew with a flurry of lightning bolts, swinging her head back in an attempt to dislodge the white alicorn from her back.

Despite the attack, Celestia, with a final bit of effort, wrested full possession of the sword away. The dark essence around the weapon writhed and boiled under her magic, and a few seconds later, it disintegrated back into nothing.

With her foe disarmed, Celestia braced herself against Nightmare Moon, putting the dark alicorn between her and the rapidly approaching ground, flapping a few times to propel them both ever faster downwards. “Give me back my sister!”

Nightmare Moon let out a savage growl and gave Celestia a particularly ferocious backwards headbutt. The dark alicorn lit her horn again, this time slipping out of her opponent’s grasp in the form of a purple mist, allowing Celestia to fall through before rematerializing back in the air.

The sun princess swiftly spread her wings, pulling up sharply to avoid crashing into the ground before landing lightly on her hooves and turning back towards Nightmare Moon.

“Y-y-your sister… does not... w-want to be with you… any longer,” the dark alicorn snarled between wheezing coughs. She lit her horn again, and a veil of darkness descended upon the two fighters. Celestia immediately lit her horn for some visibility, though it did little to cut into the blackness around her.

“Thou pushed us away and took praise for our work! While we were fighting thine enemies and helping thy subjects, thou hid behind thy papers, manipulating everypony like a weak coward! A disgrace!” Nightmare Moon yelled from the darkness as Celestia looked around in confusion, unable to locate the source of the strikingly familiar voice.

“Thou choosest to face us now, but art thou still the coward thou were a thousand years ago, or hast thou finally learned how to feel shame?”

A dark, inky bolt, crackling with energy and power, struck Celestia before she could even notice it, sending her flying. She extended her wings again, rolling a few times until she recovered her balance before swerving out of the path of another bolt. Nearly blind under the dark shroud, Celestia erected a golden barrier around herself, neatly catching a few more projectiles and thunderbolts.

Celestia kept her shield up, pinned down by a lengthy barrage of projectiles, though she watched closely as the impact points wove around her barrier like a snake, giving a rough estimation of where her foe was. At the next lull, she drew her power back from her shield, letting it all out in one single blinding flare, a painful burst of light in the darkness that assaulted her foe’s eyes. Nightmare Moon let out an involuntary shriek, and Celestia took full advantage of the opportunity, instantly dropping the veil with a powerful bolt that hammered into her foe’s side.

The fight quickly devolved into bedlam. Celestia and Nightmare Moon entered the engagement with whatever they could throw at the other, evading and teleporting whenever they could and exchanging magic beams, thunderbolts, and hard hooves, just as often missing as they were spiking the other alicorn into the ground or a tree. Armor and horseshoes dented into unusable shapes and were soon discarded, the shimmering pieces lying scattered and ignored, yet the two continued, heedless of their growing injuries.

“Thou hast improved, sister,” Nightmare Moon panted, impressed despite herself. "When didst the manipulative, weak coward thou were turn into a warrior?"

She swung a vicious low-blow at Celestia, though the white alicorn reflexively darted to the side, returning a titanic kick that struck home into Nightmare Moon's already damaged throat.

“You can thank my student for that,” Celestia responded, mentally trying to keep her mind focused on keeping Nightmare Moon at bay before it could wander off to unwelcome images of Twilight’s dead, unmoving body in Town Hall. “Her resolve inspired me to better myself. She showed me that I cannot always solve all of my problems with diplomacy or depend on others to do it for me. For the sake of my subjects, I will gladly get my own hooves dirty.”

A dark dagger materialized in the air next to Nightmare Moon, sent speeding towards Celestia’s head before it even finished forming. The solar princess swung her head to the side and unleashed another blast of solar plasma that glanced off of her opponent’s foreleg, leaving a painful burn mark. The blade still cut a long wound across Celestia’s cheek, but her hasty counterattack meant that Nightmare Moon had gained no more ground than she had started with.

“Thy student taught thee a valuable lesson. Tis a pity we will still have to kill thee despite her wishes,” Nightmare Moon replied before charging her horn for another magic bolt.

Celestia charged a bolt of her own in the lull, releasing it at the same time Nightmare Moon shot hers. The two spell bolts, one burning bright and the other pitch black and crackling with violet sparks, collided violently into each other, releasing their energy in a thunderous explosion that sent both alicorns reeling back.

The solar princess was sent crashing through a tree at the edge of the forest surrounding Ponyville. With a quick push from a levitation spell and a flap of her wings, Celestia freed herself from the tangle of branches and leaves, taking off once again into the air. She wiped the blood from her face and glared at the unkempt dark alicorn, who flew up to match her.

The two princesses circled each other warily, and Celestia realized that Nightmare Moon was moving with much more caution, wary at their unexpectedly even hoofing in spite of the fact that the Princess of the Night should have had the clear advantage in her own domain.

“‘Despite her wishes?’” Celestia asked, charging towards her foe anew. “What does my student have to do with this? Nightmare Moon, what have you done with her?”

Nightmare Moon deflected her foe’s jab and cross, retaliating with a powerful right hook that connected cleanly. “She merely answered a few of our questions and provided us with valuable information. For instance, we learned what you really think of us!” she spat out, leading into another flurry of blows.

Celestia drew her forelegs up to block the first few hits before lashing out with an unrelenting buck into the stomach of her foe. “Impossible! My student would never provide you with information unless you forced her to!” she growled, the edges of her mane flickering with the flames of rage as she restabilized herself in the air, broken feathers shedding off with each flap.

Both alicorns lit their horns, simultaneously unloosing yet another magical attack. Two beams of magic shot towards each other, meeting in the middle with a deafening roar. The two strained to overpower their foe’s magical might, and the meeting of the two beams pushed back and forth in what appeared to be another stalemate.

"Think what you want, Celestia, but I couldn’t care any less. You turned our subjects against us, and you selfishly manipulated your way to become sole ruler of Equestria! Luna was nothing but your obedient pet!” Nightmare Moon declared, channeling even more power into her attack and tipping the balance against Celestia.

“Luna has always been dear to me. It is not for you to judge the mistakes I’ve made in the past!” Celestia replied with sweat trickling down her brow as she put more magic into her overheating horn as well, the flickering of flames in her mane growing into a blaze.

“Thine ignorance has no end!” Nightmare Moon cried, her voice suddenly adopting a clear, youthful tone. “Thou turned a blind eye when thy subjects treated me as a monster, and then thou banished me to the moon!”

Celestia’s brow furrowed, and she blinked in shock and confusion. “Sister, I had no choice! You were possessed! She tried to bring eternal night—”

“Silence!” Nightmare Moon boomed. “Thou thinkest us a fool! Dost thou believe we would doom our subjects for our own selfish desires? We had never wished to harm them, even when they forced our hoof! Even with their abhorrence of our very being! None of them! Never did we wish to bring the curse of eternal night!”

Celestia’s horn faltered, nearly cutting out completely, and she was forced to weave to the left to dodge the beam of dark energy, which warped the air around it as it shot straight at the nearby hill next to Ponyville. The resulting blast left crater where it hit, humming with shadow magic.

“What?”

Nightmare Moon charged blindly at Celestia, tears streaming from her eyes as she let loose a wild whirlwind of hooves at the sun alicorn. “We wanted thee to share thy rule equally, to tell our subjects that we were not some mere shadow to your light! Our power was absolute in the night, and we were not going to let thee raise the sun so that thou couldst bring us under thine oppressive hoof again!”

Celestia blinked in confusion, and her resolve wilted. Nightmare Moon reared back before delivering a crushing headbutt, followed immediately with a powerful buck that sent her flying back into Ponyville proper. The white alicorn smashed into the ground with a resounding thud, bouncing up only to be spiked into the ground again by the dark blur that was Nightmare Moon.

“We never intended to kill thee, nor had we intended to keep the sun from thy grasp any longer than needed, yet for our hesitation, thou banished us to the moon for a thousand years! This time however, this time we shall not falter, and we shall not fail to make thee suffer as we have suffered!” the corrupted princess cried out, bucking the limp alicorn up into the air before unleashing an explosive blast of dark magic into Celestia’s belly and sending her flying into the air again.

“Let go of me!” Twilight shouted, her voice echoing inside the empty Town Hall. “I have to stop the princesses from fighting!”

“Not in your condition, you’re not!” Overwatch shouted to her change, keeping the little mare suspended in the air with her telekinesis. “Miss Dash and I rushed here as soon as the princesses left, and you know what we saw? We saw a mare barely able to stand on her hooves, let alone cast any sort of spell that would get her anywhere close to the princesses without getting disintegrated by a stray beam! I don’t know how you’re still holding together in the pitiful state you’re in, but you are going to get yourself patched together before you do any more damage to yourself!”

Twilight gathered up the energy to try and teleport away, but her concentration was quickly disrupted when her guard pricked at her horn with a spark.

“P-please…”

“No!” Overwatch immediately replied. “I’ve already sent Miss Dash to get medical help. At her speed, it shouldn’t be long in arriving, but for now, we’re not going anywhere!”

A shuddering crash that shook the ground drew both of their attentions outside, and the two looked through the window to find that Celestia had crashed into the ground just outside the doors of Town Hall, her stomach smoking and burnt. They looked outside in shock as Nightmare Moon swooped in, landing with a flutter in front of the fallen alicorn, yet hardly in better shape than her foe.

Overwatch recovered first. “Twilight, forget everything I just said. We're leaving.”

“What?” Twilight exclaimed, her efforts at escaping beginning anew. “We have to go help them! We can’t let them hurt each other anymore!”

Outside, the weak voice of Celestia filtered through. “L-Luna… I had no idea—”

Overwatch had ducked down, her eyes darting around frantically for another escape route. “Twilight, this is not the time.”

“Save it,” Nightmare Moon responded coldly. “Thy student opened our eyes. Thou didst not wish to just take Equestria for thyself. Thou had done far worse, and now, thou wilt pay for it.”

Twilight took advantage of Overwatch’s distracted mind and quickly charged up her teleportation spell again. This time, she successfully disappeared in a bright flash, landing just outside on the porch of the Town Hall.

“Stop! Please!” she cried out desperately.

Celestia and Nightmare Moon both turned to look at her, astonished. Their heavy breaths were painfully obvious to the tiny mare outside and only served to highlight the poor state the alicorns were in. A wide range of lacerations and burn marks spotted once pristine fur. Feathers were barely hanging on to Celestia’s wings, and Nightmare Moon’s wings looked more like torn fabric than bat wings. Blood left its morbid trails across their bodies, and it was clear that even Nightmare Moon, who could regain her energy from her beloved moon, was exhausted and fit to collapse.

“Twilight…” Celestia murmured, a relieved smile on her face as she breathed out a sigh.

Nightmare Moon turned her draconic eyes to the little mare and, in a voice tinged with regret, said, “We are truly sorry for what we have to do, Twilight, but—”

The doors to Town Hall suddenly slammed open in a burst of telekinesis, and a distraught Overwatch stood on the other side. She looked immediately to find Twilight, but her eyes darted up to Nightmare Moon, and then drifted past Nightmare Moon. The guard’s mouth dropped open and she simply said one word:

“No.”

It was an exclamation of sheer disbelief and dismay, and Nightmare Moon immediately swiveled around, her eyes wide open in horror. The black alicorn barely got a shield up before she became the target of a withering barrage of bolts. Projectiles ripped up nearly everything in their path, and more than a few completely missed Nightmare Moon and peppered the Town Hall behind her, blowing smoking holes across the front of the building.

Twilight was immediately snatched up in Overwatch’s telekinesis and jerked back inside just before a thunderous explosion rocked Nightmare Moon off balance. The female guard barely managed to slam the doors shut when the black alicorn was sent flying towards them, barrier and all. The ball of magic slammed straight through the weakened structure, knocking the doors down and taking a large chunk of the walls with them in a roaring cacophony.

Celestia grit her teeth as she straightened up, despite the protests of her aching muscles. She drew in a gasp when she turned back around in search of her precious student, only to find rubble and wreckage in her place, with magical projectiles continuing to rain down like meteors. The sun alicorn let out a yelp as she struggled to stand up, her foreleg threatening to snap under the new force, and she turned to the line of Royal Guards letting loose with everything they had.

“Cease fire! *Cease fire!*”

***

Nightmare Moon’s barrier popped as soon as she broke through, and she bounced across the marble floor, sliding to a stop amidst piles of dust and debris. She opened her eyes and tried to sharpen her vision, keeping her head down as the barrage of magical projectiles continued to hammer into the building.

She spotted Twilight’s unicorn guard, who was lying motionless under several substantial pieces of masonry, her helmet taken clean off and thrown across the room sporting a new dent. Twilight, however…

The telltale glow of magenta magic caught her eye, dim and weak, yet wrapped around one of the large entrance doors under a substantial layer of debris. Nightmare Moon immediately rose to her hooves, and though a stray projectile froze her bleeding foreleg in a layer of ice, she reached out with her magic towards the same door.

She was not going to let her best subject die buried under stone and wood.

***

Twilight’s horn was ablaze, trying to keep the wooden door and the pile of rubble sitting on top of it at bay. In the back of her mind, she knew that she should have run out of energy long ago, yet something was keeping her reserves up, despite all that had happened. However, even that was running out, and she could feel more and more pressure pinning her to the floor as her magic quickly reached its limits. The door fell ever closer to her, and the tiny mare wasn’t sure if her protection spell could have finally met its match in the weight bearing down on her.

To Twilight’s surprise, however, the massive door suddenly became lighter, held in both a golden and a dark violet aura, and was thrown to the side into another pile of wreckage.

The tiny mare used what little strength she had to lift her head, looking into the concerned face of Nightmare Moon. “Th-th-thank…” she murmured out, before she fell back to the floor exhausted. Pegasus guards streamed in through the opening, brandishing enchanted blades and bellowing battle cries, but before Twilight could tell what was happening or what Nightmare was doing, her eyes closed and she fell straight into unconsciousness.

Reunion - Two Broken Hearts

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 3

Part 2

“Twilight… Twilight… wake up… please!”

“Twilight, please. Wake up.”

Twilight finally opened her bleary eyes, squinting wearily at the three figures towering over her. Despite her blurry vision, it was easy to tell who they were. The mighty white alicorn was directly in front, her head lowered and her horn lit with a pleasant golden glow as it sent soothing magic into the tiny mare’s body. To the left sat a pink alicorn in much the same posture as Celestia, her horn illuminated with a cool blue aura that soothed Twilight’s headache and calmed the unicorn’s nerves. Finally, on Twilight’s right was her brother, who shifted his weight impatiently as he looked worriedly at her.

“C-Cadence…? Shiny? Princess?” Twilight said weakly. She attempted to reach towards them with a hoof, but as she suddenly noticed, her entire body was being kept immobile by her brother’s magic aura. The tiny mare looked around groggily at the chaos of rubble and party decorations strewn around her and quickly realized that she was in the exact same spot where she fell unconscious.

“T-Twiny?” Shining Armor said as he knelt down beside her, his uneasy expression brightening up with a smile. “You’re okay! I was so worried about you. I’m… I’m so sorry, Twiny. I was the one who ordered the attack on Nightmare Moon. If I knew you were in the crossfire, I would n-never…”

Shining Armor’s face quickly fell on the verge of tears, and Twilight gave him a reassuring smile to relieve some of his guilt. “It… it’s okay Shiny. You couldn’t have known I was there. I forgive you.”

The stallion seemed to cheer up at her words, and Twilight finally turned her eye to figuring out exactly what was happening. For one, she felt good. Certainly better than she did before she blacked out. The tiny mare wriggled impatiently in her brother’s telekinesis before she spoke up again. “Errm… Could you please let me go, Shiny?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “Not until the operation’s over.”

Twilight turned back to the two alicorns hovering over her, and she finally put together what was happening. The princess was trying to heal her body back up, though unlike Twilight’s previous trips to the doctor back in Canterlot Castle, Celestia was working much more slowly and methodically, weaving her restorative magic into her student with a precision usually reserved for the most grievous injuries.

The tiny mare gave the three ponies assembled there an awkward smile. “I uhhh… I hadn’t realized it was that bad,” Twilight said with forced laughter, before she cleared her throat and began again, this time completely serious. “Princess, I have something very important to tell you.”

Celestia didn’t so much as bat an eye at Twilight’s words, still intently focused on her magic. Shining drew her sister’s attention with a tiny cough. “Erm, I’m sure what you have to say is really important, Twiny, but could we ask you a few questions first?”

Twilight settled back and tried to fight down her urgent desire to inform the princess of the good news. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt, but make it quick,” she said anxiously.

“Right, first off, what are you doing in Ponyville?” Shining Armor began, looking at her closely.

Twilight’s brow furrowed together in confusion. “What do you mean, Shiny?” she said, shooting her mentor a puzzled look. “I’m here to fulfill the royal duty Princess Celestia entrusted me with.”

“Twilight, I didn’t send you to Ponyville,” the white alicorn said, the aura around her horn dissipating. “Who told you I did?”

“You didn’t? But Silver Scroll said… I mean, she even gave me a checklist with all the ponies responsible for overseeing the preparation,” Twilight said, growing uncertainty in her voice.

“Ahem.” Overwatch chose that moment to clear her throat very loudly, drawing the attention of the ponies there as she trotted over into conversation range. She appeared largely unscathed from the experience she just had, save for a small limp and the fact that she had discarded all of her heavily dented armor. “Apologies for butting in like this, but she also told me and Steelie to escort Miss Sparkle as she went on her rounds.”

“I see,” Celestia growled, before she slammed her hoof into the ground, causing bits and pieces of the debris to bounce up in her anger. She turned away, beckoning Shining Armor to join her a bit farther away from Twilight. “It appears,” she whispered, “that Silver Scroll has deliberately disobeyed my orders to keep the tale of Nightmare Moon out of the library and away from my student.”

Twilight’s ears perked up to catch a smidgen of their conversation, and she looked at her mentor suspiciously. Disobeyed her orders?

“I can’t believe she’d do that. She even acknowledged that leaving the book was no longer in the plan,” Shining Armor added, his words only further reinforcing the worrying thought forming in Twilight’s mind.

“Just a thought, Princess, but I’ve seen her around with Brave Blade often,” Shining Armor murmured. “Those two could easily coordinate something like this with the former captain’s military ties.”

Nightmare Moon gave Twilight a closer look. “Or whether it be thee, her student...”

“They have put my student’s life at risk, but at the moment, I have more important matters to attend to than to punish them,” Celestia commented emotionlessly, despite her twitching eye.

If Celestia knew about Nightmare Moon’s return, if she told Silver Scroll to keep Nightmare Moon’s tale out of the Royal Library, it would mean that…

“Twilight, can you…” Shining Armor said, having returned to his sister’s side. “Twilight? Twilight, are you listening to me?”

It would mean that the princess never wanted me involved at all, but why make such a big deal about keeping the story away from me?

Unless… Shiny had said that leaving the book was no longer in the plan, which means that I was originally supposed to get involved, but what could I do besides tell the princess what she already knew?

“Twilight, you’re worrying me,” Shining Armor continued, poking his sister with a hoof.

Think, Twilight, think. She wanted me to fit in somewhere, and the only other topic to research from that story was…

“Twilight!”

“What do you want, Shining Armor?” Twilight snapped, scowling.

“Sorry for yelling, but you dozed off and… Twiny, what’s wrong?” Shining Armor asked as Twilight turned away with a huff. “D-did Nightmare Moon hurt you?”

“Twilight, don’t worry about her now,” Celestia said sternly as she trotted closer, casting a shadow over the stubbornly silent mare. “She may have gotten away, but she will pay for what she has done. You have my word, my faithful—”

“Wait! She didn’t!” Twilight shouted, causing Celestia to blink a few times in confusion. The tiny unicorn quickly cleared her throat with a small blush before she continued. “I mean, she did technically hurt me, but it was an accident. She didn’t mean to.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Shining Armor said doubtfully. “When we found you, you looked like you’d been through Tartarus.”

Celestia dropped down to her belly in front of her student, leaning in closer. “Twilight, what happened in Town Hall? Nightmare Moon told me that she had a… a talk with you. I was worried that…” she said, her voice catching slightly, “that I was about to lose you again.”

Twilight’s anger dissipated with her mentor’s words, and she looked to Shining Armor and Cadence momentarily for a bit of assistance. The two understood her wishes and released their magic from her, concluding the healing process and allowing the tiny mare to stand up on her hooves and approach the princess.

Celestia let out a sniffle, wiping at one of her eyes with a foreleg. “I know I’ve said this many times before, but you still mean so much to me. I’m not going to lose you again, and I mean it.”

Twilight stood up onto her back legs, placing a reassuring hoof on the princess’s muzzle and looking up into her mentor’s watery eyes with a cheerful smile. “And you won’t, Princess. Thanks to you and Cadence, I’m as healthy as ever, even after the whole thing with Nightmare Moon,” she said, turning around in a circle to show off her back, neck, and forelegs. “See? Not a scratch!”

Celestia let a small smile creep onto her muzzle, but quickly cleared her throat and put on a more serious expression. “We still need to talk about that whole encounter, my faithful student.”

Twilight let out a hesitant chuckle, rubbing at the back of her neck. “I’m really sorry, Princess,” she said regretfully. “I didn’t mean to worry you or make you unhappy, but all those ponies were in grave danger and I couldn’t just let Nightmare Moon kill them, so I tried to distract her…”

Twilight stopped for a deep breath as she neared the end of her retelling. “So you know most of what happened from there. The Royal Guard opened fire and unintentionally propelled Nightmare Moon into the weakened structure of Town Hall, which ended up with me trying to keep a door and a part of the wall from landing on top of me.”

“Yeah, about that,” Overwatch interrupted with a peeved expression. “I still want to know the name of the pony who made that call in the first place.”

“They had a perfectly good reason to do so with what they knew,” Twilight responded quickly, cutting off her brother before he could say anything. “But that’s not the point of what I’m trying to say. At the very end, part of the weight above me was levitated by you, Princess, but the other half was levitated by your sister. Luna is still in there. I know it.”

“Luna… is still in there…” Cadence muttered under her breath, her eyes wide in shock. “Auntie, do you know what this means?”

“I do. I’ve seen signs of it myself, and what Twilight has said has offered more evidence towards that assertion. Luna… It’s good to know she isn’t gone, but you, my student,” she said sternly, looking down at the tiny unicorn at her hooves, “you have decided foolishly to run straight into a situation where you expected to die!”

“Princess, I…” Twilight said, surprised by the sudden shift in Celestia’s tone, “I just wanted to keep the rest of—”

The princess snorted, pushing Twilight off of her muzzle before straightening up to tower over the tiny mare. “Twilight, have you learned nothing?”

“Auntie, a-are you alright?” Cadence said, looking worriedly at Celestia’s cold grimace.

“No, I am not alright,” she murmured, a harsh whisper to those who could hear her. “Twilight has ended up on the verge of death so many times, yet she still charges recklessly forwards with no regard for her own health and safety! Her first solution was to place herself in danger! Does she not care for her life?”

“P-Princess? Why are you so angry?” Twilight asked, backing away from the imposing figure of the alicorn, her mentor’s piercing glare following her closely. Accusingly.

Celestia slammed a hoof down, cracking the floorboards and eliciting a squeak from her student. “How could you just put your own life at risk? You decided to sacrifice yourself, just like that? Did you even think of how much you would hurt your own family if you died? How devastated all your friends would be? Have you even considered how this would affect Cadence? Or me?”

“I-I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to—”

“But you just did!” she shouted, causing Twilight shrink even further away. ”How many times have you almost died because of your recklessness? How many times do your bones have to break before you will stop breaking them? How many times will you put yourself on the brink of death before you stop risking your life?” Celestia snapped, once again stomping a hoof sharply into the ground.

“And you!” she said, her scowl only deepened as she turned her attention to her student’s unicorn guard, who began backing away slowly, her head bowed and her ears down. The princess’s horn lit up unexpectedly, and everypony gasped as it wrapped its golden aura around Overwatch and tossed her into a nearby wall with a loud thud. Celestia bit her lip, her eye twitching as she struggled to keep her power under control. “You swore to protect my student, yet you were not the one facing Nightmare Moon! After thirteen years, you still cannot keep her safe from herself!” she said as the guard mare stood back onto her hooves quietly, careful to keep her weight off of her injured hind leg.

“Auntie please, control your anger,” Cadence pled urgently, putting her hoof on the Celestia’s shoulder.

“Princess,” Twilight said with new resolve as she teleported herself between her mentor and her guard, “why would you punish Overwatch? She didn’t know what I was going to do! I was the one who came up with the plan to distract Nightmare Moon in the first place. Only I should be punished, if anypony! I’m the only one who should be the target of your ire!”

Celestia let out a deep sigh, looking at Twilight with a defeated gaze. “And what good would that do? I’ve always encouraged your desire to improve yourself, but now I see that it was a mistake,” she stated coldly. “Traitors among my most trusted subjects, incompetence among my most dedicated guards, continued foolhardiness in my most faithful student, not to mention discovering my own blindness towards Luna...”

She turned to pick up Twilight in her telekinesis and tossed her to Overwatch, who used her own magic to catch the tiny mare and place her lightly on her back. “Twilight,” Celestia continued, still in the same detached voice, “as your mentor and ruler, I find that it is necessary to confine you to my chambers until Nightmare Moon is captured. Overwatch, I expect you to accompany her back to Canterlot with Steel Blade when he awakens and ensure that she is locked away. You will be given a specialized magic restraining ring for her when you arrive.”

“Y-your Highness…” Shining Armor said hesitantly, but was immediately silenced by the princess’s intimidating glower.

“I wouldn’t need to do this if your troops didn’t let Nightmare Moon escape back into the Everfree Forest. I am doing this for her own good. If I have to lock her away to keep her safe, I will do so without hesitation until she finally learns that her life is not just something to be thrown away,” Celestia said as she turned her back to Twilight. “Now, I need a chariot over at the local library to—”

“Why don’t you trust me?” Twilight shouted, her sudden movement restrained by Overwatch’s telekinesis. “Why did you never tell me about Nightmare Moon? About Luna? Your sister!”

“It's none of your concern or your burden to bear,” Celestia said, blinking a tear from her eye as she kept her back to her student.

Twilight drew herself up in wounded anger, glaring furiously at her mentor. “Nightmare Moon was right, wasn’t she?” she yelled, this time causing the princess to turn swiftly to face her. “You really do hide information from those close to you. You had originally planned to manipulate me into coming to Ponyville so I could learn about the Elements of Harmony, search for them, and use them against your sister, didn’t you!”

“H-how did you know?” Celestia said, her eyes wide and her legs trembling.

“How? Because you made such a big deal out of me finding the book about Nightmare Moon in the Royal Library, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the only other part I could have played that could have agitated you so! But you changed your mind, and if not for Silver Scroll and Brave Blade, I would still be in Canterlot, blind to everything just like you intended!”

Celestia let out a sigh and shook her head disapprovingly, smothering the bit of pride making its way onto her expression. “You’re too smart for your own good, Twilight, and it’s true. I wanted to use you to save my sister, like a simple tool to fit my needs, but after the years we’ve spent together, I found it harder and harder to go on with it.” She lowered her head shamefully. “I’m truly sorry for even considering using you in the first place. I can only hope that you will forgive me one day for my desperation fueled delirium—”

Celestia’s mouth was suddenly sealed in a magenta colored aura, and she looked with surprise at her flippant student. “I don't care that you manipulated me! I would gladly risk my life to save your sister! Even now, all I want is… is to be useful. To be something more than just the toy the nobility accused me of being. After so many years of your kindness, after all you’ve taught me, I would have done anything you wanted of me. Anything!” Twilight screamed as she fought even harder against Overwatch’s levitation.

She eventually stopped struggling, lying limp on her guard’s back. “But what really hurt me was that you didn’t trust me to find the Elements. W-why…? Why have you lost faith in my abilities? Why have you lost faith in m-me?” Twilight demanded, tears flowing from her bloodshot eyes. “Out… out of everypony... I w-wouldn’t have expected… expected you to t-think that m-my size would… that my size would matter.”

Celestia quickly turned away, gesturing with a tilt of her head at Cadence and Shining Armor to leave Twilight alone. “Let’s go.”

“But Celestia…” Shining Armor replied, looking uncertainly between his ailing sister and the unrelenting princess.

“That’s an order. We’ve wasted enough time here while my sister continues to hide somewhere in the Everfree Forest. We cannot let your guards to risk their lives searching for her any longer than they already have,” Celestia finished, avoiding eye contact with her captain.

“Y-yes, Princess,” he muttered out, following the white alicorn with Cadence and leaving Twilight alone with her unicorn guard.

Overwatch held a hoof to her breast under her scarf, looking at Twilight with a pained expression on her face. She turned to the retreating forms of the three ponies leaving them and muttered a single phrase through clenched teeth.

“Damnit.”

Reunion - Twiny on the Loose

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 3

Part 3

“We’re here,” Overwatch stated mechanically. Already, there was a chariot with two pegasus guards at the entrance to the library, ready to take Twilight directly to Canterlot. “Damn, they move fast,” the charcoal mare muttered under her breath before she turned to the unicorn on her back. “I don’t see Steelie or Spike, so they’re probably still asleep or something. Even so, I’m sure they’ll be overjoyed to hear that you’re alive and well.”

Twilight just crossed her forelegs in response, turning away from her guard. Overwatch took a deep breath, releasing it in a long sigh before she spoke again. “Twilight, listen. I understand that you’re angry with the princess, but she just wants to keep you safe and happy.”

Twilight let out a huff, and Overwatch breathed out another sigh as she levitated the little mare off her back onto the ground in front of her. “Look, I know why you’re so angry. You feel that your mentor does not trust you, that she does not have faith in your abilities and skills, but have you even once thought about how she feels through all this? It doesn’t take a genius to see that Princess Celestia is shouldering a lot of pain and guilt.”

“I… I know. She misses her sister and just wants her back after a thousand years, but that’s why I want to help. Why does my mentor no longer have faith that I can help?” Twilight asked, her expression crestfallen. “Is it because I’m small?”

Overwatch let out a snort. “I sincerely hope you don’t think the princess’s guilt over her sister is the only reason for her problems,” she stated bluntly. “You are also a big factor in all this. Over the years, you’ve become a very important pony in her life.”

“I-I’m glad. I did my best to make her proud—”

“And it’s not about your studies, nor how hard you work. It’s how enthusiastically you handle every single moment of your life and how you never let anything bog you down,” Overwatch said earnestly. “Steelie and I have worked fairly closely with Princess Celestia over our time in the Royal Guard, and I have never seen her so happy or so open, to other ponies until you appeared.”

“B-b-but…” Twilight stammered out, trying to say something, anything, to stop her guard.

“Twilight, why won’t you realize that you’re like a daughter to her?” the unicorn guard continued, and the tiny pony in front of her deflated at her words. “You were always so focused on pleasing her, hoping not to disappoint your perfect mentor, that you’ve never realized how close to her lonely heart you’ve become.”

“B-but I’m just her student! Her subject!” Twilight responded hastily. “Nothing more than a little pony under her mighty wings. As much as I have done to please her, I know that I am just one of the many subjects she cares about, one who will pass away just like every other pony she meets. Compared to her eternal sister, I’m not important at all—”

“Twilight!”

The little mare recoiled at her friend’s outburst, her ears ringing from the ferocity. Overwatch let out a snort, scowling, before she continued. “You are not just a mere pony to her. Please remember that! Everything that has happened tonight with Princess Celestia and Luna, every word you’ve exchanged with them, has accomplished nothing besides cause you and them even more agony and heartbreak. Twilight, it’s hurting me to see you all like this! Please, just stop!” she cried out, clutching a hoof to her heart.

“No, that can’t be right. It’s not true,” Twilight mumbled, turning her head away from Overwatch’s pained expression.

“She wants to keep you safe as much as she wants to save her sister, and the best way she knows to prevent the loss of two of the most important ponies in her life is to get you out of harm’s way,” the guard mare said firmly.

Twilight turned back to Overwatch, her expression set and determined. “But I know how she can keep both of them. She doesn’t believe that I can bring her sister back, but I will prove her wrong!” she exclaimed, lighting up her horn and teleporting away before Overwatch could even register what was happening.

The unicorn guard looked around in panic before she caught Twilight reappearing several meters away, galloping out of the town. The two pegasi at the chariot simultaneously freed themselves from the harness, flying straight for the tiny unicorn, who quickly teleported again before they could catch her.

Overwatch caught where Twilight appeared the second time, and took in a deep breath as she prepared her shot. She narrowed her eyes in concentration before firing off her bolt, which flew with laser-like precision towards the base of Twilight’s head, striking as instantly as lightning and causing the tiny mare to tumble to the ground.

The pegasus guards landed lightly where Twilight had fallen, looking with concern at her unconscious body as Overwatch trotted over. “Don’t worry, she’s fine. I just used a sleep spell. She should be out for at least an hour,” she said, levitating Twilight off the ground to her back as she walked back towards the library.

To her surprise, however, Overwatch had not even taken three paces before her charge disappeared in a magenta flash. “W-what just happened?” she stammered out, swiveling her body around as she looked around in alarm. She finally noticed Twilight out of the corner of her eye sprinting into the cover of the nearby forest. “How?” the guard mare said in disbelief, her mouth agape.

The other two pegasus guards had immediately taken up the chase again, a chase that Overwatch knew would ultimately end up fruitless. Somepony of Twilight’s size would be impossible to find in a dark forest with plenty of cover. Instead, she just plopped down into a sitting position, her head hung morosely as she murmured, “Figures she would have some way around my sleep spell.”

“Whoa nelly, wha’s all this commotion about?” Applejack asked, catching Overwatch’s attention as she trotted over with a small group of familiar mares.

“What are you ponies doing here?” the guard mare replied morosely. “Didn’t I tell you to go home and hide? Nightmare Moon is still at large.”

Rainbow Dash swooped in much closer, pressing her nose against Overwatch’s and giving her a challenging glare. “And why we should care what you want? This is Ponyville, not Canterlot, and we’re not going to listen to a bully guard like you,” she said, jabbing a hoof at the guard mare.

Overwatch shook her head. “Fine, do whatever you want. Foalsitting fillies like you isn’t really on my to-do list right now, “ she replied, her tone indifferent as she stood back up and trotted away.

Rainbow Dash quickly intercepted her, landing with a stomp directly in the charcoal unicorn’s path and snorting aggressively. “Fillies, you say? Give me ten seconds and I’ll show you what a filly can do!” she said. With that, she attempted to charge forward to tackle Overwatch, only to be arrested mid-flight by Applejack biting onto her tail.

“Calm ‘own, Rain’ow ’ash,” the farm mare said, only spitting out the tail when the pegasus’s hooves hit the ground. Dash let out a huff, though she still shot glares at the female guard.

“Please accept our deepest apologies for our energetic friend’s rather rude behavior,” Rarity said with a tiny bow, ignoring the frown she received from Dash. “After Princess Celestia fought off that… monster, we noticed that the Royal Guards had become a great deal more lively, and we were curious as to why a large number of them were sent flying into that dreadful forest.”

Applejack sighed. “In less fancy words, we came here t’ see wha’ all tha’ fuss is about.”

“And...umm…” Fluttershy murmured quietly, tapping her hooves together nervously under the stony gaze of Overwatch.

“I think what Fluttershy is trying to say is that we wanted to check on Twilight’s health too while we were here! I even brought her a cupcake!” Pinkie Pie said, a cheerful smile on her face as she whipped out a surprisingly bright purple and pink cupcake from out of sight.

Overwatch’s brow furrowed together at the sudden pastry, but she quickly shook her head. “And how did you know that she would be here?” she asked, looking at them suspiciously.

Pinkie quickly answered, “Well, Rainbow Dash told us that she knew that Twilight was still alive, and then Rarity went over and said that the princess was reviving her student just inside the giant hole in Town Hall accompanied by a pink alicorn and a handsome white stallion—” Rarity let out a brief snort of annoyance “—So then when Dash went over too and saw you and Twilight coming back to the library, I thought, ‘how about we all come and organize Twilight a “Thank You For Saving Ponyville” party’? So now we’re all here!” Pinkie Pie finished with a flourish of her hooves at the end.

“What she said,” Rainbow Dash said. “That black monster gave even the princess a hard time, and Twilight still stood up for us against her. I mean, I tried to fight too, but Applejack got in the way of that plan, but the point is that the monster was like few hundreds, if not thousands, times larger—”

“Rainbow Dash, you are exaggerating her proportions again," Rarity said, but the pegasus cut her off with a hoof.

“Like I said, that monster was like few hundreds times bigger than Twilight. She could’ve squashed her like a bug. Even I would have thought twice about confronting her if I was that small,” Rainbow Dash said, before she stopped for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Actually, forget that, I would have stood against her anyways, but that’s not the point. What’s important is that Twilight’s got the guts when the rest of Ponyville faltered. She stood up for all of us against a giant, and we figured that we should thank her for something that few others would do.”

Overwatch opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by the slam of the library door opening as well as by the pegasus guard suddenly in her face. “Where’s Twilight? Is she alright? What did Nightmare Moon do to her?” Steel Blade asked frantically, grabbing Overwatch in his hooves as Spike ran out of the library towards her.

Overwatch looked uncertainly at the ponies surrounding her as well as at the baby dragon listening in closely, biting her lip nervously. “She’s… She’s gone,” she said finally. “She ran into the forest after Nightmare Moon.”

“W-w-what?” Fluttershy suddenly burst out, her eyes wide in shock.

"But why? Why pursue a monster?” Rarity exclaimed, just as surprised at the news.

“W-we need to go after her!” Fluttershy continued. “I mean, we should go after her. She could get herself hurt in that big scary forest! Or even eaten alive!”

Applejack nodded. “Fluttershy’s right. We can’t jus’ leave Twi alone t’ face down Nightmare Moon agin.”

Overwatch pushed away Steel Blade, freeing herself from his hold, before looking squarely at the mares before her. “You… you would go into the Everfree after a pony you barely know?” she said.

“Of course we would! We wouldn’t just abandon her! That’s what friends do!” Rainbow Dash said sternly.

Overwatch stared at them with wonder, before bringing a hoof to her face and letting out a small chuckle. “Of course. Of course Twilight would have been right all along. I should have known.”

“Known what?” Applejack said, her brow furrowed.

“That this is just part of what love is, isn’t it? Putting somepony else’s needs before your own? It’s been in front of my face this entire time. I’ve been blinded by my own hesitation, but I won’t make that same mistake again. Not this time,” Overwatch said resolutely, looking around at the determined ponies and dragon around her. “We need to get going. I’ll explain everything along the way.”

With Shining Armor leading his soldiers again in order to regroup search parties and aid wounded or unconscious guards, Celestia and Cadence had decided to search on their own. Any monster or animal who dared to get in the way ended up running scared and lightly singed, though the hydra had to be knocked unconscious, one head at a time.

Cadence was surprised by the groups of unconscious Royal Guards scattered about or lying in tree branches, hurt but alive. Shadowy figures stood sentry over the bodies, scaring off local wildlife and retreating only when another group of Royal Guards approached to find and aid their fallen comrades. Celestia, however, seemed to be on the verge of razing down the forest, and she was loath to let the creatures of the Everfree off with just a warning.

“Celestia, calm down. Please… Don’t let your anger at Nightmare Moon get the best of you,” Cadence said in an attempt to calm Celestia’s rage, but the powerful alicorn shot her a glare, causing her to back off slightly.

"I'm not angry at Nightmare Moon!"

Cadence blinked her eyes in confusion. “If not her, then who?”

“I’m angry at myself,” she said, increasing her pace to a trot, “for failing to see Luna’s pain for decades before it was too late. For thinking that a few words would somehow lift her spirits after the continued abuses our subjects heaped on her! I don’t know when or how Nightmare Moon possessed my sister, and I fear that I have even less of an idea of who or what Nightmare Moon really is, but it’s clear that she’s not the monster I thought her to be.”

“But she’s possessed Luna and killed many guards. You had to banish your sister to the moon because of her actions,” Cadence replied, the branches and leaves scratching against her wings as she tried to keep up.

“The actions of Nightmare Moon were harsh and direct, but they came from desperation and distrust. She tried to help Luna in her own way, and it’s only now that I can finally see it. Just today, she spared the life of my student and showed mercy to her guard. The only pony I hate here is myself,” Celestia stated dispassionately, shooting a scorching fireball at the ground in front of a timberwolf as she passed, scaring off the creature before it could even think of acting.

“And it’s true,” she continued. “I used the Elements of Harmony against Luna because I thought Nightmare Moon wished to bring about eternal night. I was hoping to purge the darkness from my sister’s heart, not banish her to the moon! Even the incident today where Twilight put herself in danger was a result of my original plans to use her against my sister. I cannot take back my mistakes, but I will make up for them. I can only hope that Luna and Twilight will forgive me one day.”

Cadence just let out a sigh and followed. No matter how afraid she was of the monsters lurking in these woods, she couldn’t leave Celestia alone in her time of need, and she was going to do everything in her power to bring love back to Luna's heart.

Nightmare Moon levitated another unconscious guard safely into the castle ruins despite the jolts of pain from the wound in her foreleg. More than once her injuries nearly caused her to crumple into a heap amidst the rubble, but she worked past it, spurred on by the memory of her talk with Twilight. The heartening discovery that Equestria not only enjoyed but even tried to discover the secrets of her night gave her the will to keep moving and the determination not to bring harm to anypony, despite her weakness and injuries.

Anypony, except Celestia.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I cannot forgive my sister, but I will spare the lives of her soldiers,” Nightmare Moon said, breathing heavily. “That is the least I can do to prove to you that I am a queen worthy of your respect… Of your loyalty.”

The dark alicorn lit her horn, and another batch of summoning circles appeared around her. The effort made her lose her balance and fall down to her knees, but she managed to finish the spell and bring in more of her shadowy soldiers.

“Go… keep anypony from reaching these ruins until my strength returns to me, but remember, do not kill anypony, no matter what,” she ordered, before finally falling to her belly. From her position on the ground, she watched her shadows move towards the forest until her head become too heavy to lift. Slowly, she closed her eyes, a smile on her muzzle as the silver light of the moon washed over her wounded and exhausted body.

Twilight galloped over twisted roots and hard rocks, swerving in and out of the underbrush as she dove deeper into the forest. The Elements. They’re the key to reuniting my mentor and her sister. Nightmare Moon’s desperate, and she would rather die than give up. I have to get to them before it’s too late.

Twilight wasn’t entirely familiar with the insides of the Everfree Forest, but she had already stumbled across an old path during her escape and knew enough from her readings that it would take her towards the former Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. She knew better than to walk along it though. Patrols of Royal Guards passed by overhead even here, and they seemed to be following the same path she was.

Sweat poured down her brow, but to Twilight’s surprise, she didn’t feel tired at all. Her energy seemed nearly endless. Furthermore, in the darkness of the night she was able to see through the gloomy forest just as clearly as if the sun had been shining down with all of its force.

Even Overwatch’s spell failed to put me to sleep for very long. Twilight looked up through a break in the canopy at the moon as she passed, her hooves easily finding their way through the tangled undergrowth. Nightmare Moon, what did you do to me?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud hissing from the bush in front of her, and she dug her hooves into the ground to stop, a shiver in her spine.

“W-who's there?” she stammered, looking warily at the bush, only to let out a loud scream when out of the leafy cover sprang a giant snake, large enough to snap her up whole. She bolted without thinking, scrambling across the forest floor in her panic until she burst into an unexpected open expanse, an isolated field devoid of canopy cover, and ran straight into a massive lion paw.

Twilight was swat from behind by another paw, tumbling helplessly into the middle of the open area. Her heart beat faster and her legs trembled uncontrollably as she looked up at the mighty beast approaching her. Her eyes trailed from its humongous red mane to the sharp teeth inside its hungry mouth to the large stinger waving about behind it.

She slowly rose to her hooves and began to take a few hesitant steps back, not daring to look away even for a moment from the humongous beast.

“So is this how it all ends?” Twilight squeaked out, barely audible. ”As a s-s-snack?”

She shook her head. "No! I'm not gonna let this overgrown kitten stop me! I am the student of Princess Celestia! I can do this!"

She gulped in nervously as the giant hybrid licked its chops, staring at her menacingly.

"I hope..."

Trials - Hungry Beast

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 4

Part 1

“G-g-good kitty… good k-kitty,” Twilight said as she walked backward, her hooves still trembling slightly under the shadow of giant beast. For every ten steps the little mare took, the manticore took one, apparently content to scare her for the time being as it kept pace.

“Y-you d-d-don’t want to eat me, Mr. Manticore. I’m ummm… stringy! And my bones are umm… hard and bony?” Twilight stammered out, sweat dripping down her brow. “I’m not tasty at all! Not to mention small. Yes, I’ll hardly be a snack for you. Not worth the effort at—are you even listening to me?”

“Gr aar wwwwwwwwww!!!”

Twilight tumbled away under the strength of manticore’s roar, bouncing onto her belly a short distance back. Her ears were buzzing, and she shook her head to clear up her disorientation, only to notice the giant muscled paw of the manticore raised above her, ready to snatch the tiny mare up. Despite her shock and horror, she rolled instinctively to the side, and the paw slammed down mere millimeters to her left, shaking the earth under her.

The beast towered directly above Twilight, and the mare could feel the sticky breath coming from its mouth. She immediately darted away from the paw beside her, only for the other paw to come down in front of her, blocking her way to escape. Twilight let out a shriek as she switched directions, charging off as quickly as she could.

The manticore continued its attacks, each time cutting off the path of the tiny unicorn before she made it too far, but never directly at her. With growing desperation, Twilight covered herself up with a barrier, cowering under the small wall of magenta magic that separated her from her demise.

It didn’t take long before Twilight’s horn flared up in pain as a giant manticore paw slammed down on her barrier. With another few hits, the shield shattered, and Twilight was left shrieking, looking up with a horrified expression at the hungry predator.

The tiny mare let loose with a wild barrage of beam spells, hoping to at least make the manticore think twice about devouring her. At such close range and with such a large target, it wasn’t difficult to land her bolts, but despite the magical power she had, her attacks were simply annoyances, splashing off harmlessly rather than impacting with any force.

Twilight looked around desperately, her mane in disarray and her breathing short and panicked. She was rapidly running out of plans, and the manticore’s incessant pawing at her was not helping her think. The tiny unicorn shut her eyes, drawing as much energy into her horn as she could and teleporting away.

Twilight opened her eyes, and the hopes she had of getting away safely were immediately dashed when she realized she had appeared directly behind the manticore. It took a step back, obviously having noticed the flash of light in the dark forest, and before Twilight could think clearly about what to do, her horn had gathered up another charge and she disappeared again.

The tiny mare reappeared in the air, falling onto her rear hooves before tumbling to the ground, just in time for the manticore to whirl around in her direction. The monster licked its lips before it pounced, though it only got a pawful of dust when Twilight rolled to the side and bolted. She hadn’t gotten far when the stinger tail of the beast plunged into the ground in her path, causing her to jump and turn the other direction, but she slammed to a halt again when the manticore sprang forward and bat its paw down right in front of her face.

She took a deep breath and turned towards the monster again. It was taking its time toying with her, but that meant that she would have a bit of time to find a way out until it bored of her. Come on, Twilight, think! My attacks are too weak, my teleportation spell is nowhere near what it should be in this forest, and there’s no way I’ll have time to move this monstrous beast with levitation…

Maybe I don’t have to levitate it to get away from it. Twilight lit her horn and began to run again. This time when the paw came down to stop her, she wrapped her levitation field around herself, kicking off from the ground to fly over the paw and rise higher and higher into the air.

However, she wasn’t nearly fast enough to outpace the manticore before it caught up to her and swatted her down, disrupting her magic and slamming her into the ground. She scrambled up and looked towards her stalker through blurry eyes, her heart beating as if it was about to escape her chest. Twilight lit her horn again, desperately trying to dispel the shrinking spell, but before she had even grown a centimeter, she was knocked to the side, losing what progress she made.

The tiny mare tumbled a short distance before coming to a stop, lying motionless on the forest ground, this time not moving a single muscle. The manticore approached the body with a confused expression. It made a few tentative paws at the body, rolling it around like a ragdoll, but still, it refused to react.

Let it work. Oh please, please, please, please, please let it work.

Playing dead wasn’t the most dignifying idea she had thought of, but she didn't have much of a choice now that running or enlarging herself were out of the question. Twilight was rolled a few more times before the manticore stopped, but still she refused to open her eyes, to even breathe anything more than painfully slow, shallow breaths. The moment of silence seemed to last hours before she felt a wind run through her fur.

It was sniffing her. And it wasn’t long before the manticore began nuzzling her supposedly dead body with its nose. The beast’s fur was pricking at her sensitive nose, and it was giving the tiny mare a terrible, terrible compulsion to sneeze.

“Ah still can’t believe that Twi’ would do somethin’ so foolish. Ya’d think that, for bein’ a student of the princess, that lil’ pony would be sensible enough to know better than to run into a forest full of predators alone,” Applejack said as she ran ahead of the group with Overwatch, Rainbow Dash flying right above them.

“Really?” Overwatch said, panting a bit trying to keep up with the more athletic ponies. “Because if you ask any other pony whether sacrificing yourself to the angry moon goddess is a ‘sensible’ idea or not, I guarantee you that the answer would be a resounding no. Don’t get me wrong, I still think that Twilight’s heart was in the right place when she made that decision, but in my experience, she hasn’t really been one to act like normal ponies.”

“I can agree with that,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Imagine my surprise when Twilight hitched a ride on me while I was zipping around clearing the clouds, and then claimed that she did it all the time with the Wonderbolts! She’s daring, I’ll give her that, but she’s far too reckless for her own good.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow up at her, and the pegasus looked back at the farm mare in confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that, AJ?”

Applejack chuckled before she answered, “Oh, nothin’. It’s just that she reminds me a bit of you. A more polite and less lazy version of ya.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? I'm not lazy and reckless—well, maybe a little, but I know my limits and I know when to back down.”

“Sure ya do, sugarcube, sure ya do,” Applejack replied with a smug grin, much to Dash’s annoyance.

“Could you girls cut it out? This isn’t the time for teasing each other!” Steel Blade snapped, a stern expression on his face as he flew over the group with Spike on his back.

Overwatch let out a gasp. “Steelie, I can’t believe you! You’ve been around me for how long and you’ve only chosen now to say that you don’t like teasing?” she said with a teary pout.

The pegasus guard let out a slight stammer. “T-Twilight’s life could be in grave danger—”

“Again.”

“Damnit Overwatch, I’m trying to be indignant here. Anyways, we’re here to look for Twilight, so could you girls please act like a search party if you’re not going back to Ponyville? The last thing the guard needs to be worried about is a bunch of civilians wandering a potential battleground,” he finished lamely.

Rainbow Dash let out a huff. “Yeah, like we need your permission to be here. We’re coming along for our own reasons.”

“Well, you kinda do need our permission, actually,” Overwatch said.

“Yeah! If it weren’t for her and Steelie, you wouldn’t even be here,” Spike said. “As far as the Royal Guards know, you girls are our guides in the Everfree Forest. Otherwise, they’d never let any civilian come with us.”

The group fell silent as they whizzed past a wandering patrol, who simply traded brief salutations with Steel Blade before they were left in the dust.

“Besides,” Spike grumbled, “it’s not like you and the rest of the group would have known where to look if Overwatch and Steel Blade hadn’t read all those books with Twilight at the library.”

Dash opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly hushed by Overwatch, whose ears perked up into alertness. “Left. Now,” she ordered, and the entire group turned sharply at her words. They had galloped for a few seconds more before Rainbow Dash heard something: a sneeze, followed by a sharp shriek of terror.

With a confident grin, the blue pegasus dashed towards the source of the voice, bursting out of the treeline to see a manticore ready to attack the tiny purple unicorn. Without a second thought, Rainbow flew towards the beast and began spiralling around it in a tight circle, kicking up a tornado in her wake.

However, whatever distraction it provided was quickly cut short when the manticore’s tail intercepted her mid-flight, punching into her gut and throwing her back where she flew from.

The pegasus crashed to the ground and skid on her back a few meters before she came to a stop. “Well, he’s all yours, AJ. Show ‘im who’s boss.”

Applejack gave her a curt nod, pawing at the ground briefly before she galloped full speed at the manticore. With one powerful jump, she avoided a slash and landed squarely on the beast’s back, grabbing its mane with a fierce cry, “Yeeeeehaaaww!”

Seeing an opportunity while the manticore was distracted in its attempts to shake Applejack off, Steel Blade lunged forward to grab Twilight and take her into the safety of the group. “Twilight, this was crazy, even for you! You just had to find yourself a manticore, didn’t you? You’re in big trouble, little missy,” he said, embracing Twilight briefly, but tightly.

“Yeah, enough playing hero for you today. Leave some for the rest of us, alright?” Spike said from Steel Blade’s back, unsuccessfully masking his worries with a weak grin. “Just sit this one out Twilight. We’ll take care of him.” He jabbed a thumb back towards the angered beast, who had just thrown Applejack from its back. The manticore began to advance on the fallen mare, licking its lips, but it hadn’t gotten very far before Rarity leapt between it and the farm mare and bucked it in the nose.

“Stay back, you ruffian!” Rarity shouted as she remained crouched in a defensive stance, levitating up a few rocks around her and giving Applejack time to stand.

“By the way, if you guards are done back there, we could use some help,” Rainbow Dash called out as she got to her hooves painfully and stretched out her back.

Steel Blade was confused at the sight of the usually enthusiastically aggressive Overwatch being frozen in shock at the sight of the manticore, her eyes glazed over and unseeing. “Overwatch! Snap out of it!”

The unicorn guard blinked uncertainly, stammering out a few unintelligible words before shaking her head, closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath. She opened her eyes with renewed determination, narrowing them at the beast as she began to charge up her horn. Even though she didn’t bother spending the time for a full charge, it still caused the manticore to roar in pain when the magical bolt struck its paw, leaving a burn mark where it hit.

Twilight watched the scene in horror from her guard’s hooves. Unlike the Wonderbolts, who were experienced with dealing with dangerous situations or monsters, the sight of a hoof-full of random mares facing such a humongous beast was unimaginable. “Let me go!” she yelled as she struggled against Steel Blade’s hooves, punching at his metal horseshoes. “Those ponies are going to die against that thing! We have to help them!”

“Twilight, calm down!” Spike pled, climbing up further on Steel Blade as the pegasus tried to restrain the writhing unicorn in his hooves. Twilight soon stopped her struggle against her guard and instead used her telekinesis to pull Applejack and Rarity away from the raging beast.

“Twilight, what was that for?” Applejack asked as she turned her head towards the tiny mare.

“I’m saving your flanks!” Twilight shouted before she teleported in front of the manticore, leaving Steel Blade empty-hooved. “Get out of here! Steel Blade, get them to safety! Overwatch, help me distract it!”

"Twilight! We came to protect you, not the other way around!" shouted Rarity, but Twilight had already begun to charge the manticore.

Overwatch immediately squelched her next spell, wrapping her telekinesis around the tiny unicorn to stop her from doing anything suicidal. However, with a flash, Twilight was once again out of her grasp. The female guard turned to watch with panicked eyes as her charge teleported randomly from place to place around the manticore, sending tiny projectiles against it ineffectually, before she furiously began to charge her own spell.

Steel Blade flew towards the little mare to grab her again, but the monster’s swinging poisonous tail kept him at bay.

“Steel Blade, what are you doing? That wasn’t part of the plan!” Twilight yelled, firing off a few more bolts before glaring at the other mares. “What are you waiting for? Run! I told you to get those ponies to saf—”

Her sentence was violently interrupted when a lion paw slapped against her body, throwing her into a nearby tree. Twilight’s back arched as she slammed against the wood, the bark cracking off from the impact. She slumped to the ground, letting out a yelp as she landed.

The manticore immediately rushed towards her new location, completely disregarding the group of mares now running desperately to stop it. Overwatch threw her bolt out frantically at the charging beast. The missile split apart midair into three spinning balls of magic at the ends of an interconnected rope, wrapping itself neatly around the manticore’s wounded foreleg and causing it to tumble forward into the ground.

However, her bola arrived too late, and the manticore reached out and trapped Twilight underneath its paw, disrupting whatever spell the tiny unicorn was trying to cast as it scooped her up and threw her into its mouth.

Everypony stopped dead in their tracks as the horrible scene played out in front of their eyes, staring on in stunned silence as the manticore began chewing their friend like bubblegum. Steel Blade and Spike looked on with devastated expressions, and Overwatch in particular appeared absolutely crushed by the turn of events.

However, none of them expected the yellow pegasus to swoop straight up to the manticore, her expression fearless and more than a little peeved.

Trials - Confrontation

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 4

Part 2

“You big meanie! Who do you think you are, eating my friend like that?” Fluttershy demanded, sounding akin to a mother scolding her child. “You should be ashamed of yourself, picking on smaller creatures and bullying them like that.”

The manticore stared back, its chewing immediately stopping. It soon found that it couldn’t pull away from the firm, disappointed glare that the yellow pegasus was giving it, nor could it stop the wave of shame rushing through its being.

“Now you are going to let her go, and don’t let me catch you picking on my friends ever again. Understood?”

The manticore nodded hesitantly, spitting out a small magenta sphere onto the ground before pouting like a hurt puppy.

Fluttershy beamed happily at it. “It’s okay. I’m not mad,” she said calmly as she nuzzled the manticore’s paw. She turned towards Overwatch with a bashful gaze. “Um… if it isn’t too much of a bother, could you please release your magic and let his legs go?”

The unicorn guard let out a sputter, looking fearfully between the giant beast and the demure pegasus flying confidently in front of it. She shot Fluttershy a pleading look, biting her lower lip nervously as she tried to mentally beg the pegasus to drop the request. A few moments passed before Overwatch finally let out her breath and lit her horn. When she had dispelled her bola from the manticore, the unicorn guard separated herself silently from the group, sitting down and staring intently at the moonlit sky.

Fluttershy gave the retreating guard an apologetic smile before she turned back to the manticore, specifically the wound inflicted by Overwatch’s bolt on its paw. She looked back at the group and asked, “Err, does anypony have medical equipment?”

Most of the ponies before her were staring at her with their mouths open, especially Rainbow Dash, who rubbed her eyes with her hooves before continuing to look between Fluttershy and the manticore who was pointedly not mauling her. It took a moment before somepony finally replied.

“I do. I have plenty in my saddlebags, just in case Twilight needed any first aid,” Steel Blade said, his attention flickering towards the bubble of magic on the ground. “I’m assuming you need some?”

Fluttershy nodded, landing and walking calmly towards the guard, who opened his saddlebags to allow her to grab a few bandages with her wing before returning to the manticore. She began patching up the burn, and despite a few whimpers from the beast, it was completely content with the attention.

“Now, I know you’re still hungry, but I don’t have anything on me right now,” Fluttershy said as she finished wrapping her bandage around the manticore’s paw, keeping another draped across her back.

“But...” she said, remembering what she had seen while she was looking through Steel Blade’s saddlebags, “I think I can still give you a little something to keep you happy.” The yellow pegasus trotted back over to Steel Blade and this time produced a trio of chocolate-chip cookies from his bags. “Now, I know it’s not meat or fish, but I hope you’ll like them. I’ll bring some more food next time,” she continued, stroking a hoof through the manticore’s mane as it gobbled up her offered gift.

Fluttershy gave the manticore one final pat on the head, smiling as it purred at her, before she turned her attention to the tiny ball of magic on the ground. She took the other bandage on her back with her wing and lowered her head to ground level, bumping the sphere a few times with her hoof. “It’s okay. You can come out now,” she said soothingly.

A few seconds passed with no reaction, so Fluttershy shook the ball of magic a bit more insistently. “You can stop hiding now. That big scary kitten isn’t going to hurt you anymore,” she said a touch louder, but without losing her gentle tone.

The barrier vanished slowly, and Twilight stood up shakily. She had several bruises and a few bite marks on her saliva-covered body, her expression a strange mixture of fear and disgust.

Fluttershy moved a hoof closer to the mare, who flinched back at the unexpected movement. “Shhh… it’s okay. You’re safe,” she said as she began using her tail to wipe off the worst of the spit.

Twilight gave her a sheepish smile, looking distastefully at the saliva sticking to Fluttershy’s tail. “Aheh… S-sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I’ve had worse than just a little spittle,” she said, motioning for Steel Blade to come a bit closer. She reached in with a wing and popped out a bottle of antiseptic, uncapping it deftly before sprinkling some onto a few of the bandages and dabbing at Twilight’s open wounds.

“T-thanks…” the tiny mare said, wincing at the contact. “S-so what happened? The last thing I remember was being eaten by a manticore, which is… wait, where’s the manticore? How did you get me out?”

Her eyes suddenly widened as she suddenly noticed the great head of the beast hovering right above Fluttershy’s oblivious head. “W-watch out!”

Twilight charged her horn to protect her savior, but her concentration snapped as soon as the manticore began licking Fluttershy’s laughing face.

“Oh, you're just a cute little kitty, aren’t you?” the yellow pegasus cooed as the manticore gave her a light hug. “Oh yes you are! Yes you are!”

The little mare watched the whole scene speechlessly until the manticore finally released her friend. “H-h-how?” she asked, hardly managing to get even that one word out of her mouth.

Fluttershy simply smiled warmly as she maneuvered the tiny mare onto her back and began trotting back to the group. “I just asked him to release you and showed him a little kindness, that’s all,” she replied.

Twilight stared at the yellow pegasus in disbelief. Just that morning, this pony was treating her like a pet and being annoyingly overprotective, but to think that she would face a manticore to save her, not to mention taming the terrifying beast in a matter of seconds, would be inconceivable if she hadn’t just seen it happen.

***

Steel Blade let out a sigh of relief. Even after running into a manticore, Twilight had come out mostly unharmed in the end, thanks to those few mares from Ponyville. He smiled as Fluttershy walked back to the rest of her friends with his charge in tow, but only a few seconds passed before he realized that there was still something weighing on his mind.

“Overwatch?” he said as he approached the charcoal mare, who still had her back to him. “Are you alright?”

Overwatch took in a deep breath. “Yes… Yeah, I’m doing fine. Why aren’t you looking after Twi? I suspect she needs your company a bit more than I do.”

“She’s doing fine. That yellow pegasus, Fluttershy I believe, seems to have done an admirable job of calming her down,” Steel Blade replied, waving it off. “I’m a bit more concerned about you. What happened back there?”

The unicorn guard finally turned to look at Steel Blade, a melancholic expression on her face. “Just something I thought I got over years ago, though judging by how I froze up like a foal just then, apparently not,” she said caustically as she got up and began to trot back to the rest of the ponies.

“Are you sure you don’t need to talk about it?” Steel Blade asked, giving her a weak smile.

Overwatch let out an amused snort. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. I just needed a little time to myself, but I’m good to go now,” she said, half to herself and half to her comrade.

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it? N-not that I want to pry or anything, but—”

“Remind me later,” the charcoal unicorn said dismissively. “For now, we should get back to Twilight. What happened to the manticore?”

“Ahh, right,” Steel Blade said, suddenly stopping. “Well, umm…”

Overwatch furrowed her brow, turning to look at the pegasus guard intently. “Is this something I should be worried about?”

“Well…” Steel Blade said hesitantly. “Fluttershy may have persuaded it to leave us alone by offering it a few… cookies.”

“Cookies? Where’d she get cook—” Overwatch suddenly stopped in terrible realization, dashing over to Steel Blade’s saddlebags and proceeding to rummage frantically through them. “No no nonono! I can’t believe it! That slimy, traitorous mare did not just—”

“Hey, they got that manticore away from us, didn’t they? And relax,” Steel Blade said, rolling his eyes. “Similar to how I keep emergency medical supplies for Twilight, I also keep emergency cookies for you. They’re in the other bag. Left side.”

Overwatch let out a loud gasp of pleasant surprise, her eyes wide.

“I’m prepared for a lot of crises,” the pegasus guard deadpanned.

The charcoal mare let out a happy squeal as she lunged across Steel Blade’s back to ransack the other saddlebag. She came up moments later with a few cookies that she immediately stuffed into her mouth, a contented smile on her face.

The stallion smiled back at Overwatch before shooing her off with a flutter of his wings. “Alright alright, it’s good to see you back to normal too. Now come on; didn’t you say we should get back to Twilight?”

***

A few quick healing spells later, Twilight ended up surrounded by a group of ponies scolding her for her reckless behaviour, and she was eventually compelled to tell them why she ran into the forest in the first place and what her goal was.

“Ah can’t believe what Ah jus’ heard. You’re telling us tha’ ya' went into the Everfree Forest alone, knowin’ about all the things in there that would love to gulp ya' down fer a midnight snack, just so you can help the monster who fought the princess?” Applejack exclaimed in disbelief.

“Well, wait just a minute, Applejack. Nightmare Moon is Princess Celestia’s sister,” Twilight replied hastily. “Her real name is Luna. If we leave her be, she’s going to go down fighting. Only the Elements of Harmony can purge her hate and anger.”

“But you could get hurt! Or die!” Fluttershy added. “Think of all the friends and family that you’d leave behind.”

“Yes. Princess Celestia and Cadence would be devastated,” Steel Blade added. “Overwatch and I would never forgive ourselves if something happened to you.”

“Not to mention we won’t be able to have your ‘Thanks for Saving Us’ party and we might have a ‘We’ll Miss You, Twilight’ party instead if something really really bad happens to you, and those aren’t very fun parties at all!” Pinkie Pie pointed out.

Twilight shook her head. “But Princess Luna is far more important than I will ever be. She’s—”

“Twilight, you’re the most valuable pony in the world to me!” Spike yelled, fuming. “I couldn’t care less about some princess I’ve never seen or heard about.”

“B-but I can’t just wait and do nothing. Princess Celestia had planned for me to use the Elements against Nightmare Moon before she, well, changed her mind. Knowing her, there must have been a reason why it had to be me,” Twilight said, pausing to take a deep breath. ”It’s completely possible, likely even, that the princess took me in as her student so she could prepare me to save her sister, and I cannot fail her!”

“Woah, hold on a second there,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “I know you think you’re all cool and brave, and you’ve proven that you can take care of yourself, but sometimes you can’t do everything alone. Even the Wonderbolts can only do some things as a team. Trust me, I’ve tried doing some of their stunts solo. It’s not something I’m eager to try again.”

Twilight wanted to reply, but she was cut off by another voice. “For once, Ah agree with Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said. “Ah don’t know what ya’ve been doin’ under the princess, but Ah’m darn sure that goin’ to save Nightmare Moon on yer own is stupid.”

“That’s right!” Rainbow Dash said. “So unless you grow a few meters and tear your way to the Elementawhatsits with your kick flank magic, we’re coming with you,” she continued, crossing her forelegs with a note of finality.

Twilight massaged her forehead with a hoof. Enlarging herself slightly would help her fight off potential threats while still retaining much of her stealth advantage, and the princess could always shrink her again once Luna was safe.

Or after a few years in the dungeon.

She shivered. Would her mentor even shrink her after going against her orders? Or would the princess consider her return to normal size punishment enough for disobeying her?

Twilight shook her head. There were other issues to think about. “Look, I can’t let you all risk your lives to help me. I am Princess Celestia’s protege. I have trained hard under her wing, and it is my royal duty to save her sister or die trying.”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. Unexpectedly, using the tip of her wing, she flipped Twilight up off the ground to land on her nose, glaring at the tiny unicorn intently. “What's your problem? I get that you want to do everything yourself, but you can’t, and you definitely don’t see other ponies as capable of doing anything to help!” Dash berated with a scowl. “You knew that you couldn’t beat a manticore at your current size, but the moment we tried to rescue you—successfully too, if I might add—you thought that you needed to protect us.”

Twilight let out an inaudible squeak as Dash continued to lock her down with a withering gaze. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to be protected by a pony who barely goes up to your knee? How disrespecting it is when a pony ten times smaller than you thinks that she needs to protect you? Do you really think that we’re so useless and incompetent that you need to take the punch for us?”

“I… I…”

“Thats right,” Fluttershy said firmly, picking up Twilight from Dash’s nose and setting her on Steel Blade’s back. “Did you think that we would just sit aside when our friend was in danger? Did you consider how we felt when you pushed us away thinking that we couldn’t help you?”

“Friends always look out for each other! No matter how big or small!” said Pinkie Pie with an indomitable smile.

Applejack stepped up next to Rainbow Dash to speak with Twilight. “Ah’ll be completely honest with ya. When Ah first met ya, Ah found out that you’re a tough, forgivin’, and hard workin’ little mare, and—Ah, wait til Ah’ve finished, sugarcube,” she said, stopping the little unicorn with a hoof when she tried to speak.

Twilight was taken back by the interruption, but nodded to the farm mare and sat back. “After ya' stood up against Nightmare Moon to save everypony, all of Ponyville owed their lives to ya, not to mention the fact Ah have my own debt to pay for how roughly Ah treated ya. Even though Ah’d rather just kick Nightmare Moon back where she came from instead of this whole business with savin’ her, Ah’ll be at yer side til mah last breath.”

“But Applejack, what about your family? I cannot—”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “If you think we’re not good enough for you, then come on; grow back to your normal size, and I’ll show you what Rainbow Danger Dash is capable of,” she said, hopping on her hind hooves as she punched the air in front of her.

“And once our quest is done, the treasure found, the world saved, and Nightmare Moon redeemed, we can throw a great, big ‘Welcome to Ponyville, Nightmare Moon’ party! Or maybe it should be a ‘Welcome to Ponyville, Luna’ party.” Pinkie stopped, tapping a hoof to her chin for a moment before she lit up with an idea. “That’s it! It’ll be a ‘Welcome to Ponyville Nightmare Moon and Luna Sharing One Body’ party! Nah, too long. I’ll think of something.”

“I-I… I will just… tag along,” Rarity said hesitantly, shifting her eyes away from Twilight

“Don’t bother wasting your time trying to get rid of them,” Overwatch said, smiling warmly. “I doubt you can dissuade them from their rather heartfelt commitment to aid you.”

Steel Blade puffed his chest up and beat a hoof against his breastplate. “And don’t you dare leave us behind again!” he shouted, causing Twilight to cover her ears temporarily. “We’re here to protect you, whether you like it or not.”

Spike crossed his arms. “See Twilight? You’re stuck with the rest of us, and whether you decide to stay tiny or return to your original size, we’ll be here to help anyways.”

Applejack nodded, transferring Twilight to her own back. “After everythin’ ya' did for us, we’ll stick with ya' to the ends of the Equestria,” the farm mare said.

Twilight let out a sigh as the group moved on, sitting on Applejack’s back as they made their way to the ruins of the Castle of the Royal Sisters. She never had many problems with cooperating with her mentor or foalsitter. She trusted Spitfire, Soarin’, and many other Wonderbolts with her life on many dangerous exercises or missions during her stint as their medic. Even the snowball war from so many years ago showed the trust she had for her team.

So why had she refused help when up against a powerful beast? Why put her life on the line when there was a way to get everypony out safely? Why had she disobeyed the princess’s orders and ventured into dangerous forest on her own?

Was it because she wanted to prove herself? Had she wanted so badly to be useful to her mentor that she forgot everything she knew about trust and teamwork? Had her self confidence in her own skills made her underestimate the danger she faced as a one kilogram mare? Maybe Dash and Applejack were right about her underestimating others.

Twilight’s ears drooped down slightly. This whole time, I’ve been trying to prove to everypony that they don’t need to worry about me. That I can take care of myself. Today, I was crushed that my mentor didn’t have faith in my abilities, while I showed the same distrust of the abilities of others…

Twilight chuckled, her mood quickly brightening up. Rainbow Dash was right. When a pony the size of a large rat tries to protect you, it is even more embarrassing than being protected when you’re small.

The group of shadows did as their mistress ordered, doing all in their power to scare off everypony who dared intrude upon the old castle ground. One of their attempts to stop a group of ponies from reaching the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters was to infuse themselves with the trees of the Everfree Forest, turning an already dangerous forest full of monsters into a living nightmare. The path flanked by trees looked as if they had been grown in Tartarus.

It was a good effort, but to the shadows’ disappointment, an overly optimistic pink pony sang a song that encouraged the group to keep moving, and one by one, the shadows left the trees as it became clear that they weren’t getting anywhere with this approach.

The entire group walked on a steady pace. Twilight was quietly humming Pinkie Pie’s song as she rested on Applejack before a familiar voice grabbed her attention.

“T-Twilight, can I have a moment of your time, please?”

Twilight turned towards the source of the voice, finding the white unicorn trotting right behind her with an expression of discomfort. “What is it, Rarity?” the tiny mare asked stiffly. “I hope whatever you want to talk about has nothing to do with Canterlot.”

“Oh no, it’s umm… it’s a more personal matter,” Rarity replied hesitantly.

Twilight looked around briefly before turning back to Rarity. “Well, we have several minutes of walking before we reach our destination, and I’m not going anywhere, so I guess we can talk for a moment,” she said cautiously.

“Oh thank you darling! I promise, you’ll not regret it,” Rarity said cheerfully. Twilight gave her a serious stare, and the white unicorn immediately reined herself in and cleared her throat. “What I mean is... umm, I’d like to thank you from depths of my heart for protecting us at Town Hall. I don’t know what dreadful things would have happen to us had you not calmed that monster—”

“It’s Nightmare Moon!”

Rarity stumbled back for just a moment. “E-Excuse me?” she said in confusion.

“First off, her name is Nightmare Moon, though you could probably say that it’s also Princess Luna who had been possessed a thousand years ago. Second, she is not a monster. Under her frightful appearance is a proud soul who cares about her ponies and just wants to be loved and respected,” Twilight lectured with a twinge of annoyance. “But of course, a noble mare such as yourself wouldn’t bother to look beyond appearance.”

Rarity cringed, and Applejack turned her head to intervene. “Ah don’t think you’re bein’ fair, sugarcube. Rarity went with us to help ya' and repay ya' for savin’ us.”

The little unicorn rolled her eyes. “Applejack, your life and the lives of others were never truly in danger. I admit that with the limited information I had, I thought that Nightmare Moon was going to kill everypony or something equally dark and gruesome, but it turns out that she never intended such things, so you girls don’t owe me anything,” Twilight declared.

“She may not have wanted to kill anypony, but she might’ve hurt a few fellas if it weren’t for you, Twilight. Ya' thought she would hurt us, and ya' sacrificed yourself so that we could escape. It was a mighty fine gesture, even if it wasn’t necessary in the end,” Applejack said.

“I know Applejack, and I’m really grateful that you girls not only came to help with Nightmare Moon, but also saved my life from the manticore,” Twilight said with a warm smile. “In the end, I owe you girls a lot more than you owe me.”

Applejack smirked.”Ah don’t wanna hear it. Ah still owe ya' fer the beatin’ Ah gave ya.”

Rainbow Dash flapped a bit closer to add, “And besides, going on an adventure with you is waaaay better than sticking around in Ponyville. It’s a nice place and all, but it’s way too calm and peaceful sometimes.”

“Too calm and peaceful? Well, maybe one day when I’m released from the dungeon that the princess is gonna lock me into, I’ll ask her to shrink you too,” Twilight said with a smirk, giving the pegasus a challenging look. “Trust me, Rainbow Dash, the love of adventure is one of the main reasons why I’m still so small, and I’m never bored.”

“Umm… T-Twilight, dear,” Rarity said hesitantly, drawing Twilight’s attention away from her conversation with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Oh right, I forgot about you for a second. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you even following us? It is, after all, a life threatening mission. Not exactly the perfect place for a pony like you,” Twilight stated.

“Now hold on a second there. Why’re ya' so mean to Rarity? Did somethin’ happen between the two of you?” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow at her passenger.

“You could say that, Applejack. I had a rather unpleasant welcome from Rarity,” Twilight stated, eliciting another small twinge from the fashionista.

“If ya' recall correctly, so was mah welcome, Twilight. Ah tried to crush you ‘cause Ah thought you were a prank set up by Rainbow Dash or Pinkie,” Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash let out a gasp of realization. “Wait a second, so Applejack tried to turn you into a pancake... because she thought that you were a prank? Don’t tell me, she thought you were some kinda doll or puppet, and that I was… hahaha!” Rainbow Dash quickly burst into guffaws, much to Applejack’s annoyance. “That's too rich. I would pay anything to see AJ’s face when she found out that you were a real unicorn.”

“Laugh as long as you want, featherbrain,” Spike said with a huff. “Your welcome was no better. You crashed into Twilight and dumped her into the mud. She’s lucky you didn't break any any of her bones.”

Spike looked around at the other ponies with a frown. “Actually, I don’t think any of you girls have endeared yourselves to Twilight at your first meetings. Fluttershy was overprotective to the level of creepiness, and Pinkie Pie’s surprise almost made Twilight deaf.”

Everypony blushed with embarrassment, Fluttershy in particular hiding behind her mane with an eep. Applejack took in a deep breath, putting on a chagrined expression. “We’re all awfully sorry, but ya' don’t seem mind our poor welcomes at all, sugarcube, so why’re ya' so angry at Rarity? Surely she didn’t do anythin’ ya' can’t forgive?” she asked, giving Rarity a curious look. The white mare herself was following silently, looking at the ground with her ears flat against her head.

Twilight shook her head, scratching Applejack’s back with her tiny hooves as if giving a massage. “Applejack, I forgave you because you apologized. Your apology was honest, and you and your family gave me a welcome that more than made up for the original tangle.”

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, “The ride on you was enjoyable as well. We’ll have to try it again one day. If I will get the chance, that is,” she said, smirking at the little wink Dash gave her.

She looked at Fluttershy. “I may not like it when other ponies worry about me, but if it wasn’t for you, Fluttershy, I would be a manticore’s snack by now.”

“And Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, “although it wasn’t really the best time for a party, I really like parties, just… no surprise parties please. My ears can’t take it when everypony screams ‘surprise’ at once, especially if I can’t set up my soundproof barrier in time.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie said as she continued bouncing, the smile never leaving her face.

Twilight let out a sigh, finally turning to the fashionista. “As for you, Rarity, I‘ve already forgiven you for treating me like a rat because I understand that it was a misunderstanding,” she said, bringing a hopeful expression to Rarity.

“However,” Twilight began harshly, “trying to buy my friendship with gifts and false praise just because I’m the princess’s student is not something I can overlook so easily... I... I need some time to think about it.”

Trials - Rarity of Generosity

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 4

Part 3

Twilight Sparkle was brooding.

She had her first encounter with a sea serpent just a moment ago. Not quite what she imagined it to be, but at least she hadn’t gotten herself eaten twice in the same evening. Instead, the serpent proved to be a great help in crossing the massive river, which wasn’t completely necessary, but certainly helpful. The hurdle was passed with little incident, and there should have been no reason to continue to think about it.

And yet...

Twilight turned to Rarity, or more specifically, the little brush of tail that was left after she had cut the rest off to soothe the serpent’s shattered composure, and frowned. This whole time, she thought that she understood Rarity, but now she was having serious doubts. Showing false compassion in order to curry favor was fairly common among the nobles, but to offer something so personal to her to a sea serpent the size of a small tower with no bargaining, no threats, and no sly requests for repayment was another story. She had done nothing except… give.

Twilight flopped down on Applejack’s back, resting her head against the orange fur as her ears drooped a bit. Had I jumped to a false conclusion about Rarity? Now that I think about it, she doesn’t have much to gain from coming with us. If anything, she’s put herself in real danger against the manticore only a while back.

Twilight drew in a deep breath and pushed herself to her hooves. I wish I could find out what she’s thinking without asking her, but I need to know somehow. “Miss Rarity, would you mind if I ask you a question or two?”

Rarity stiffened at the tiny mare’s voice before putting on an obviously forced smile and turning to her. "C-certainly, Twilight. What would you like to know?"

“Well, you see… After our first meeting, I got the impression that you cared a lot about appearances, and yet just a moment ago, you gave up your entire tail to a stranger. Why?”

Rarity tossed back her curls and raised her chin with pride. "Why, to help that poor creature, of course! He goes out of his way to warn the Royal Guards about the dangers further in the forest and what does he get? He gets half of his magnificent mustache shaved off by the sword of some ungrateful soldier. Whoever that guard was who attacked him like that should be ashamed, striking such a handsome, young sea serpent as if he was a savage beast. Oooh, the nerve! I should give that callous brute a piece of my mind. Royal Guard? More like a royal pain," she said, snorting in derision before turning back to Twilight.

The tiny mare simply raised an eyebrow, looking at the fashionista as if she had gone a bit crazy.

Rarity cleared her throat. "Oh, and I thought it might expedite our trip across the river as well, dear. It seemed a bit unfair to make the three pegasi in the group carry everypony else over, so when the opportunity presented itself, I took it. I suppose I may have gone a little overboard, but there were principles at stake."

Twilight blinked. “Well… I’m really surprised, actually. I would never expect a noble from Canterlot to help out a giant serpent, let alone somepony who aspires to be a noble like you,” she said, looking away apologetically. ”I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have judged a book by its cover.”

Rarity let out a giggle. “Oh, darling. Surely any noble from Canterlot would help out a pony—or in this case, sea serpent—in need. They are, after all—”

“You've never spent time with the nobility at all, have you?” Twilight Sparkle interrupted.

Rarity seemed startled by the question. “Well, not for nearly enough time. I've never been invited to one of their parties, but from what I've been able to see, they always seemed to be the very picture of elegance and grace. I could only wish to become as inspiring as they are and use my position to help those in need, like how I helped our serpent friend.”

Twilight let out a groan, burying her face in her hooves and trying to decide whether laughing or crying was the more appropriate response. "Rarity, I could count all of the nobles in Canterlot who are as benevolent as you described, not including Princess Celestia, on my hooves. Without sitting down." Well, technically, I’d have to balance on a single hoof if I count Blueblood, Fleur, and Fancy Pants, but it works.

Rarity blinked in confusion. “Whatever do you mean, dear? Are you not a noble yourself? You seem like a kind and gentle pony to me, so willing to assist those in need.”

Twilight let out a snort. “My family may be lesser nobility, but it does not make us any better than ponies from the other classes. House Sparkle has always been focused on self-improvement and magical development rather than social foolishness. My parents worked for the respect they have in the community, and that's something you can't get by just throwing money around."

Twilight turned to Rarity, who had gone silent, and asked in a soft tone, “I need to know, Rarity. Why did you give me all those gifts when we first met?”

Rarity rubbed her neck nervously, a drop of sweat sliding down on her forehead. “To apologize, of course. I have never met any of the nobility in person, but I always thought that it was important to treat higher class ponies with respect, so when I found out that I had treated the princess’s protege like filth, I had to make amends somehow,” she said, lowering her head with a sigh. “To be honest, I never thought the nobility could be anything less than perfect. I just thought they were all like you: brave, kind, and a true example what it means to be a member of a high class society.”

The fashionista looked up, taking in a deep breath. “I want to apologize, Twilight Sparkle, and not just for how I treated you when I thought you were a… mouse.” Rarity said. A hint of a grimace showed on her face briefly before she caught herself, giving Twilight a look of admiration. “I wanted to become friends with you, impress you, because I thought you were everything I wanted to be. I thought that if I befriended you, I could learn from you and so advance on my own path into greatness and nobility. The thought of gaining a friend from Canterlot was… thrilling, but my approach was less than tactful, and for that I would like to ask for your forgiveness.”

Twilight scrutinized Rarity carefully, taken aback by her words. It took a moment, but eventually, a smile creeped onto Twilight’s face, and she nodded happily at the white mare.

Applejack, however, turned to Rarity with a suspicious glare. “Ya' say a lot about how much ya' respect th’ nobility, Rarity, but ya' can’t seem to think of farmers and workers as anythin’ other than ruffians, do ya'? Be honest here.”

The white mare turned to Applejack with a guilty grimace. “That is… not far from the truth. I find you and your family’s manners to be absolutely appalling. You don’t even care about trying to look half presentable, walking around like that with dirt and sweat everywhere. Why, you could do so much with a mane like that if you would just get it washed, conditioned, and styled, possibly swept back over a shoulder with a few ribbons, green perhaps to go with your eyes, and then your tail would look just ravishing with a few…”

She cleared her throat quickly when she realized the other ponies were staring at her uncomprehendingly. “Beg pardon. Just a little aside there, so where was I? Oh yes, I remember now. Your accent. It’s just so rough and uncouth. I swear there’s just a touch of a Manehattan upbringing in there, but you cover it up so crudely. You remind me of everything I abhor in my own parents.”

Applejack frowned, furrowing her eyebrows as she maintaining eye contact.

Rarity let out a sigh. “Even if I think a lot about you could be refined, that doesn’t mean I don’t respect what you and your family do. Your apple trees are incredibly important to Ponyville’s future, and it’s not fair of me to call you a ‘ruffian’ when you need to tend to them. As much as it’s worth, I would like to apologize for my behavior towards you as well.”

Rarity lowered her head respectfully as she waited for an answer from Applejack, but she didn’t have to wait long before the farm mare drew her into a brief hug with a foreleg, grinning. "Ahh, that's all right. Tain't nothin’ to forgive, and besides, Ah ain't none too appreciative of ponies wastin' their time with pointless appearances and fancy stuff when there's work to be done."

Applejack released Rarity, drawing herself up and sweeping her hat down over her chest with a graceful motion. "As for my accent,” she said in an accent that would have been at home in any sophisticated function, “when I visited Manehattan as a filly, I was educated in the ways of proper deportment and behavior by my aunt and uncle, but I find such behavior to be supercilious in a rural environment."

Rarity blinked.

Applejack cleared her throat and put her hat back on her head. “S’not exactly somethin’ I publicize.”

Rarity waited just a little while longer before she ventured, "So... no hard feelings?"

The farm mare simply shrugged. "Ya' may act all high and fancy, but yer always polite an’ fair to everypony s’far as Ah’m concerned."

“Applejack’s right,” added Fluttershy. “You always do your best, and I've never seen anypony come out of your shop unhappy. Even if they don't have many bits, your customers always seem to find what they want for a price they can afford, and that's not counting the gifts you give away.”

“Whoawhoawhoa, she gives away gifts?” Twilight asked in surprise. “I thought that she showered me with clothes because I was the princess’s student.”

“Naaaaaah,” Pinkie added, jumping in front of Rarity. “She gives every new pony a gift, kinda like how I throw a ‘Welcome To Ponyville party’ for everypony.”

Rarity started to say something, but Twilight cut her off with a wave of a hoof. “No, that’s enough, Rarity. I judged you unfairly and even suspected that you had hidden motives when you risked your own life to fight the manticore. I’m ashamed of my own foolishness, so this time, I would like to be the one to ask you for your forgiveness.”

Rarity turned red, caught off guard. “W-why yes, of course I do, as long as you can forgive me as well.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “Sounds good for me. Let’s start with a clean plate.”

“So does that mean that you’ll—”

"I'm still going to pay for my clothes. No discounts, and no trying to find a workaround," Twilight insisted sternly before turning conclusively to look ahead. “But I’d love to see a few of your wares. When we get the time, of course.”

“Hey, Rarity,” Overwatch butt in with a wide grin. “I know Twilight may not want any free, pretty dresses, but I’d be happy to take any gifts you’re willing to offer.”

Steel Blade turned quickly to his fellow guard with a frown. “Oh come on, Overwatch. Really? At least use a bit of subtlety when you’re trying to mooch free stuff off of other ponies,” he said, before his expression turned curious. “But I never expected that you’d be interested in dresses, nevermind your own appearance besides that scarf you wear all the time.”

“What are you talking about, Steelie?” Overwatch said with an alluring look. “I am all about appearances, something you should pay more attention to, by the way. You look pretty sharp in a suit when you actually do dress up.”

“Something you force me into, half the time,” Steel Blade grumbled.

“Umm, I don’t mean to interrupt or anything but umm…” Fluttershy said meekly, noticing a pause in the conversation, “there’s a really big chasm ahead, and I think the bridge is falling down it right now.”

Trials - A Dash of Loyalty

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 4

Part 4

“Raaaainbooow…” a shadow said, its voice echoing in the fog-choked clearing.

“I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!” Rainbow Dash challenged as she stood on her hind legs and punched the air. Behind her was a massive gorge that separated her from the rest of the group, the rope bridge only halfway tied to the wooden posts dug into the hard ground.

“We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, oh the best flyer in Equestria,” a second shadow continued slyly.

“Who?”

“Why you, of course,” another shadow added.

“Really? I mean, yeah, of course it’s me. Hey, uhhh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would you? Because I’ve been trying to get into that group for like… forever.”

“No, Rainbow Dash,” the shadows whispered, before finally revealing themselves from the magical fog, clad in a dark, imposing counterpart to the Wonderbolts uniform. “We want you to join us… the Shadowbolts!”

The shadows watched closely as Rainbow Dash pondered their offer. It was a last ditch effort to stop this inexorable group of ponies from getting any closer to their mistress, especially since it was the last substantial obstacle before the castle, and Rainbow Dash had managed to save the rope bridge.

The leader of the shadows repressed another scowl. They’d cut both ends of the rope bridge, and still, the pegasus mare before them had flown fast enough to catch up with it even though it was already falling by the time she noticed. A massive setback, to be certain.

It became clear that they needed to sweeten the deal. It was taking too long for Rainbow Dash to make a decision, and they needed her answer now. “We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon, we will be the greatest in all of Equestria,” a Shadowbolt said confidently.

“But first…” the leader said, “we need a captain.”

“Whooo! Sign me up!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, flying a backflip in joy, but to the Shadowbolts’ dismay, the pegasus then turned towards the damaged bridge. ”Just let me help the girls finish our mission, and we have a deal.”

“No!,” the Shadowbolt shouted as it blocked the way. “It’s them, or us.”

***

“What’s taking her so long?” Twilight asked as she climbed onto Applejack’s head, her attention focused on the two wooden poles on their side of the chasm, bits of rope still tied around them. She tilted her head to the side, furrowing her brows in confusion. “That’s odd. I’m certain there wasn’t any fog covering this area just a moment ago. At least, not nearly so dense.”

Rarity nodded. “It could very well be unnatural. We could see Rainbow Dash when she pulled what remained of that rickety bridge to the other side, but now, we can’t even see halfway across.”

Overwatch’s ears perked up, swiveling side to side as she focused her gaze into the fog. “Well, that doesn’t seem right…”

The group turned to Overwatch, who waved a hoof at her fellow guard without averting her eyes. “Steelie, could you be a dear and check up on Dash? I may not be an expert on fog, but it doesn’t take one to tell that this one has come in at a rather convenient time. I’d ask to come over with you, but we need a guard here with the rest of these mares. Just make sure she isn’t being ambushed or foalnapped, would you?”

Steel Blade turned his attention to Twilight, who nodded in assent. He spread his wings and, with a quick salute, he propelled himself forwards into the fog.

“I hope Dash isn’t hurt. This forest is v-very dangerous,” Fluttershy said, steeling her trembling legs.

“Dash hurt?” Applejack scoffed. “That pegasus’s skull is way too thick fer that to happen. Bet she’s jus’ takin’ her sweet time, is all.”

Twilight snuck a quick glance at Fluttershy, wondering if the overprotective monster tamer had it in her to fly them all over the obstacle, or at least help Steel Blade move everypony over. She quickly filed that thought for later, turning back to the fog and tapping her chin. “I wonder if she decided to fly back to Ponyville,’ she murmured to herself.

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that. “And why would she do that, darling?” she asked curiously.

Twilight shrugged. “Because we’re risking our well being in this dangerous forest by trying to help Nightmare Moon. Maybe a monster attacked her and she decided that helping a corrupted princess isn’t worth the trouble.”

Overwatch let out a giggle, drawing the tiny mare’s confused gaze. “You speculate too much. Have some faith in your number two fan.”

Twilight blinked. “Fan? Rainbow Dash isn’t my fan.”

The female guard rolled her eyes. “No, of course not.”

***

Rainbow Dash looked at the other side of the chasm, though there wasn’t much to see besides the dense fog separating her from Twilight and rest of the group. She turned back to Shadowbolts with a smirk. “So let me get this straight. You’re giving me a choice between helping Twilight on her mission… and becoming your leader?”

The shadows looked at each other uncertainly before one stepped up to answer. “Of course we are. Chasing after Nightmare Moon with your so-called ‘friends’ will only get you killed, and we don’t have any use for a dead captain. We hope that you’ll make the right decision.”

Rainbow Dash let out a laugh. “Ha! That’s a good one. So I can either become the leader of your flying team and go on to compete against the Wonderbolts, or I can stick with the super awesome tiny unicorn who could kick all of your flanks singlehoofedly.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus stomped a hoof into the ground towards the Shadowbolts, causing them to flinch back. “Which should I choose? Should I stick with Twilight, a pony who knows Spitfire and the Wonderbolts who risked her life to save everypony in Ponyville? Or should I go with a suspicious group of pegasi who waited ‘til I was in the middle of the Everfree Forest before they recruit me? Wow, that's a tough one," she snarked, spreading her wings.

With a jump, Rainbow Dash took a brief flight over the heads of the Shadowbolts towards the bridge. “Sorry folks, but there are ponies who are counting on me. No offence, but my friends are way cooler than you.”

Rainbow Dash was about to tie up the bridge when the Shadowbolts tackled her, dropping their disguises. “What the—”

The summoned spirit’s expression was cold when it looked into the pegasus’s face, though Dash could hardly tell from looking into its dark, transient features. “Our mistress told us not to kill anypony, but if we knock you out—”

The shadow’s sentence was abruptly cut off when an armored hoof slammed into it, the timely arrival of a pegasus guard in not-quite-so-shining armor giving Rainbow Dash the opportunity to stand up.

“Well, I guess that answers why it took you so long,” Steel Blade said, spreading his wings and preparing for combat as he glared at the three foes in front of him.

“Sorry, those three shadow-thingies tried to convince me to ditch my friends and join their imaginary Shadowbolts organization.”

Steel Blade smirked. “Well, it didn’t look like they weren’t trying to initiate you when I arrived, so I’m guessing you refused?”

Rainbow Dash snorted as she took a battle stance. "Well, no duh. Like I’d abandon my friends for these losers.”

Twilight beamed with pride at the cyan pegasus from her spot on Rarity’s back. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I’m glad you didn’t leave us to realize your dream, even with the inherent dangers in our mission,” she said, before rubbing her hoof nervously and adding, “especially considering who we’re trying to help here.”

“I wouldn’t abandon you even if Wonderbolts themselves asked me to,” Dash said as she pat herself off, a couple small bruises fresh on her body. “I may have dreams to realize, but my friends always take priority.”

Twilight could only smile at that. “It’s nice hearing that from you, Dash,” she said before raising her hoof to exchange a hoof bump with her friend, who in her excitement pushed her harder than she expected. The little mare balanced herself on Rarity’s back before she could fall off and added, “Now, we still have to get to the old castle. Overwatch, how much farther is it?”

The female guard looked up from her examination of Steel Blade’s armor, which had accumulated a few more dents and scratches from his last fight. “Well, umm…” she said uncertainly, before spinning a little circle with her hoof. “If you ask Rarity to turn about ninety degrees, you’ll see exactly how far away it is.”

Rarity looked a bit confused at the suggestion, but obliged anyways, and it wasn’t long before…

“Wow. Seriously?” Twilight brought a hoof to her face, realizing that the only reason she hadn’t been able to see the castle ruins at the apex of the very prominent hill before her was because Rarity’s neck was in the way.

Now with that obstruction out of the way, it was clear that the castle had seen better times. What was once immaculate, gleaming walls were now covered in moss and vines. Twilight looked with pity at the large holes that spotted the structure and the piles of rubble strewn about, which made the castle look less like a seat of authority and more like a battle-torn fortress, worn through countless sieges. Strangely enough, the humongous statue of a gargoyle seemed mostly unharmed.

The little mare quickly resisted the temptation to teleport onto the statue to examine its every detail. It was, after all, a very detailed statue of an extremely rare species, and she had almost no information on gargoyles from any of her books.

“Right, we need to go in,” Twilight said, a determined expression on her face. “Spread out and find the Elements of Harmony. Look for anything that might be construed as a magical artifact and hopefully, we’ll be able to find it before anything finds us. Something of that power should be hidden particularly well, so look everywhere!”

The group made its way to the massive front door at a brisk pace, Fluttershy suddenly very wary at the mention of something finding them. Twilight used the time to remove some of her bandages from the encounter with the manticore, noticing with some surprise that most of her wounds had mysteriously disappeared, leaving only faint bite marks. While she found it unusual for the regeneration she was used to, she set it aside when her party finally cracked open the doors into the entrance hall and filed in.

Rainbow Dash immediately spread her wings and took to the air, hovering near a hole in the ceiling and scanning the area. She looked around only briefly, paying slightly more attention to a nearby damaged tower before announcing, “No magical artifacts from here. Found anything Applejack?”

“Nope,” the farm mare said as she stepped lightly over another rock. “Nothin’ but rubble. How ‘bout you, Fluttershy?”

The shy pegasus was crawling backwards away from the entrance, her hooves shaking as she watched for any potential followers. She turned around briefly to shake her head before continuing her vigil.

Pinkie Pie, however, had taken a moment to peek under the long rug that stretched across the decrepit hall before immediately moving to check behind a few intact paintings.

“Pinkie!” Twilight called. “We’re searching for magical artifacts! You won’t find them there!”

The cheerful earth pony let out a giggle, moving on to the next tapestry and sticking her head behind it. “Oh, silly Twilight. You gotta check every spot when you’re exploring a dungeon. Those secret passages aren’t going to find themselves!”

Twilight took a moment to facehoof before she turned to Rarity. “What about you? Found anything?”

“Oh, I found something,” she said, gesturing grandly to the tapestries before her. “Even after hundreds of years, these pieces of art are still simply marvelous! The quality of this cloth is awe inspiring!”

With a roll of her eyes and a groan, Twilight hopped off her ride with a soft clop of hooves on stone, trotting off to explore on her own.

“Oh right, the Elements. I am getting far too easily distracted,” Rarity said, shaking her head. She turned to look at her back, panicking a bit when her passenger was nowhere to be found. “Twilight? Twilight? Twilight, wait up!”

“Hey Twilight, over here!” Overwatch shouted, her voice echoing from the room ahead. The little mare turned towards the source of voice, increasing her speed. She galloped into a large, empty chamber, immediately noticing what looked like a fountain at its center. Six arms extended from the central structure, each one holding a large stone sphere on a small disk.

Twilight blinked in confusion. “You sure this is it, Overwatch? Those spheres don’t look anything like the magical gems displayed in the reference guide.”

Rarity trotted in soon after, breathing a bit more heavily. “Yes, those things are so… drab. Not at all the beautiful gems they’re supposed to be,” she said as the other ponies in the group cantered in, having heard the guard mare’s call.

Overwatch shrugged. “Well, there are only five rocks, but the book said something about how the sixth will be revealed when five are present, so this little fountain-shrine-thingie drew my eye. Beyond that, upon closer examination, it looks like something’s been carved into each rock. It’s been worn out over the centuries, so I can’t quite tell what each symbol is, but this is probably the closest we’re gonna get to an ancient artifact in this place,” the female guard stated briefly. “Plus, it doesn’t look like this room’s being used for anything else. C’mon Steelie, help me get some of these buggers down.”

Twilight frowned, but examined a few of the rocks closely as they were being taken down, finding the aforementioned grooves on the surfaces of the spheres. She took a deep breath before turning to the party behind her and saying, “Okay everypony, I think we found what we came here for!”

“So what’s next?” Spike asked, approaching one of the stone spheres to look at it himself. “It doesn’t look like these things are going to be doing anything at this rate.”

“That’s why we’re going to try to activate them,” Twilight said with resolve, puffing out her chest briefly before deflating into a more contemplative mood. “Or just me, I think. I have the most magical knowledge out of our group, so I’d have the best chance at cracking these Elements. I’ll need some time and space so I can concentrate. Could you ponies please guard the entrances? I cannot be interrupted.”

Overwatch and Steel Blade immediately perked up, looking first at Twilight before exchanging a knowing look and a surreptitious nod to each other.

“Oh come on, Twilight, seriously?” Spike said in disbelief, crossing his arms.

“Yeah! There’s no way we can leave you alone in a place like this,” Rainbow Dash said, flapping her wings in agitation.

“What if something happens to you? Or if an animal comes in through the window to try and eat you?” Fluttershy asked with a worried expression.

“Ah’d feel better ‘bout this plan if ya'd restore yerself t’ full size first, or at least let one of us stay with ya fer protection,” Applejack said in earnest.

Twilight looked between her friends and the artifacts. “Yes, but I can’t afford any distractions at all with something of this importance, so I need you all to guard the entrance and make sure this place is as abandoned as it seems. No arguing. Time is of the essence. Besides, if I get in trouble, I can always signal you girls or something and you’ll all be able to come rescue me within seconds anyways.”

There was a bit of grumbling, but with some urging by her guards, Twilight was finally left alone with the Elements of Harmony.

She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves, staring intently at the stone with a renewed determination. There was no question. She had to save Nightmare Moon and reunite her with Celestia.

There was no turning back now.

The Elements of Harmony - Nightmare’s Little Guest

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 5

Part 1

A chill breeze whistled through the empty windows high above Nightmare Moon’s head, causing the brilliant silver moonlight gleaming off the throne room’s stonework to waver as the remaining scraps of the tattered banners flapped and fluttered. Where the glorious chamber had once symbolized the opulence and majesty of their reign, the only royal guards present now lay bruised and unconscious along the walls, and the only supplicants present were the few starving mice rustling among the dusty ruins in their futile search for crumb or seed. The black alicorn sitting at the center of the room looked grimly at her shadows grovelling at her hooves, already expecting their next words.

“We apologize, mistress,” the shadows said, desiring only to please their summoner and twisting in anguish at her displeasure. “Punish us as we deserve. We have failed you.”

The dark alicorn stared dispassionately at the battered shades, their immaterial bodies torn and twisted nearly as bad as her own injured wings and bloodied dark coat. Her painful wounds still provided a harsh reminder of her ongoing battles against the Royal Guards and the effort she had put into holding back her blows. That restraint was getting more difficult with time, and the constant fights wore down both her body and her magic faster than the moon’s power could replenish them. Soon, her weakened reserves would fail, and she refused to think about what would happen then.

She turned her head to look upon the sleeping guards she shared the ancient dusty throne room with, trying to ignore the many broken swords that decorated the floor, some stained with her own blood. Nightmare Moon gritted her teeth in discomfort as she staggered to her hooves, drawing herself up to her full royal height as she regarded the prostrate shadows. “Have you injured those ponies in any fashion? Have you followed my instructions that they not be harmed?”

“We obeyed, mistress,” they hissed in unison, turning up to look at Nightmare Moon. “First we attempted to frighten them away, and when that failed, we destroyed the bridge. We even tried to draw one of their members away, but she was too strong to submit. Only when all else failed did we try to knock one of them unconscious, but we are far weaker than flesh and blood, and we had to retreat before we were overcome.”

With that, the shadows lowered their heads to the ground again and silently awaited their fate. “We await your judgement, our mistress.”

Nightmare Moon took a deep breath. "We see no fault in your actions," she said calmly and reassuringly, “for it is not your failure, my faithful servants, but mine. You have served me to the best of your abilities, and it is now time for you to return to the darkness and rest. We shall deal with the intruders personally.”

With a small burst of her remaining magic, Nightmare Moon created one last summoning ring in front of her and watched as the shadows flowed through it and back into their distant prison. Only when the last of them had gone and the ring faded from view did she allow herself a pained wince and a moment of honest contemplation of her situation. There were no doubt ponies in her Everfree sanctuary now, and the thought of another drawn-out encounter with the Royal Guard weighed heavily on her already exhausted body, never mind her nearly certain demise at the hooves of her arch-enemy if they were to do battle again. Even without Celestia, she was eventually going to be discovered by whoever wandered the ancient halls of the old castle.

With another deep breath, she once again drew upon her dwindling magic reserves. There was no point in delaying the inevitable, and she wasn’t going to back down from a few puny guards now because of her own weakness.

She spun the darkness around herself in a shroud of shadows and vanished from the throne room.

* * *

Even as the blurred motion of her teleportation spell faded, Nightmare Moon could tell something was terribly wrong. Though it appeared that the abandoned castle was just as hollow and lifeless as before, the empty room where she had last seen the Elements of Harmony had changed, with the stone orbs now resting on the ground instead of in their holders.

“Show thyself, coward!” she called out, lighting her horn and preparing for combat. “If thou art brave enough to enter our domain, come forth and face us!”

Nothing but the echoes of her own voice answered her, and she began scanning the room for any sign of the perpetrator. There were few places for a guard to hide, even with the decrepit state of the stonework and the scattered rubble, and it wasn’t long before Nightmare Moon stalked back to the center of the room with a scowl, her search coming up without result. She cast a cursory glance at the gaping hole above her, but since most of what she could see up on the roof was brightly lit by moonlight, she quickly dismissed it as a potential hiding spot.

Perhaps the intruders gave up and left once they discovered how useless the Elements of Harmony were to them. She snorted contemptuously. Fools. Only those blessed by their touch can unlock their power.

As Nightmare Moon prepared to abandon her search and return to the throne room, a sudden sound like a rolling stone caught her attention. The black alicorn stopped and turned towards the dull orbs laying on the ground, eyeing them suspiciously. She could have sworn one of them moved a bit from its original location, and she approached it curiously.

They might be useless, but just because an intruder wasn’t able to use the Elements didn’t mean that nopony would be able to use them. There was always the tiniest fraction of a chance that she might be wrong, and only a fool would leave behind a former instrument of their banishment, even if it was broken.

She lit her horn, weaving another blanket of shadows around both her and the Elements of Harmony scattered around her. When the veil finally receded, the room was left completely empty, save for the lonely central statue.

The fifth inert stone sphere that Twilight levitated down from the strange structure showed no more life or magic to it than the other four, and she tried to suppress the feeling of panic that was threatening to overcome her. There had to be something she was missing about the Elements of Harmony, some code or key that would release their power instead of just having them sit there like five inert lumps of stone. She tried focusing her magic on them, pouring more power into a single stone than it could possibly hold, but it just sat there in response, silent.

“Please,” she pleaded, trying not to shiver as her voice echoed around the empty room. “I know that you’re self-aware. Starswirl the Bearded said so in his notes. You remember Starswirl, right? Come on! Please! I need your help to save Nightmare Moon and reunite her with her sister!”

Her ears detected the smallest of noises along with a prickle of magic, but any hopes she had were soon dashed by the appearance of a tornado of dark energy in the middle of the room. She promptly dove behind the closest Element just as the sound of hoofsteps echoed through the room.

“Show thyself, coward! If thou art brave enough to enter our domain, come forth and face us!” The voice was terrifyingly familiar, and it sent a chill down Twilight’s back as it echoed around the room.

Oh, no, no, no! Nightmare Moon tracked me down and the Elements of Harmony are still refusing to cooperate! Princess Celestia was right. I shouldn’t be here after all. I’m just going to mess things up.

Twilight could hear as the giant no longer armored hooves of Nightmare Moon struck against the old dusty stone, becoming louder and louder. Her heart beat faster and faster, loud in her ears as she cowered behind the stone and nearly escaping her chest when a giant black foreleg slammed into the rock right next to her. Gathering as much courage as she could, Twilight peeked around the edge of her rock, only to notice that Nightmare Moon’s head was looking everywhere but down at her. Not wanting to be detected, the little mare quietly darted behind another Element, hidden again from the alicorn.

Luckily, it appeared that Nightmare Moon’s search was coming to an end quickly, and that was reason enough for Twilight’s heartbeat to slow from its panic-stricken hammering.

It wasn’t long before Twilight picked up the sound of another spell being charged up, most likely Nightmare Moon preparing to teleport away, and she let out a relieved sigh, leaning against one of the Elements as she wiped away the sweat on her brow. However, her heart skipped a beat when the orb gave way, and the little mare fell flat to the floor as her hiding spot rolled to the side. Twilight’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks, and her entire body stiffened when Nightmare Moon stopped her spell and began to turn around. In a flash of teleportation, the tiny mare reappeared behind another Element.

Twilight’s body trembled with each of Nightmare Moon’s steps, the soft clop of her hooves growing louder and louder. Within seconds, she was directly under the belly of the alicorn, whose four giant legs towered on all sides around her. The tiny unicorn looked up fearfully, half expecting to find two furious draconic eyes staring right at her, but her fear turned into pity when she noticed the numerous wounds slashed across the alicorn’s legs and belly, a few of which hadn’t fully closed yet.

It’s worse than I thought. At this rate, she won’t survive another fight with my mentor.

Twilight’s examination of Nightmare Moon’s injuries, however, was interrupted by a sudden wind, and they were soon surrounded by a tornado of swirling dark magic. The little mare hung desperately to the Element closest to her, pressing herself against it and shutting her eyes tightly. She felt a sense of vertigo as the stone was picked up off the ground, now circling rapidly around the black alicorn as the spell neared its completion.

It stopped very suddenly, and the Elements tumbled heavily to the ground. Twilight barely managed to suppress a small squeak as the Element she clung to fell down the wrong direction, flattening her against the stone floor like the massive boulder it seemed to be.

She separated herself from the weathered orb as soon as it came to a stop, getting up onto her shaky legs before carefully massaging her aching back. It wasn’t the worst she’d ever felt after being accidentally crushed every so often, but it was definitely on par with getting stepped on by the princess herself. With the Royal Horseshoe. After the Royal Brunch.

Twilight quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts before darting behind the Element that had only moments ago committed vile acts against her well being, hiding opposite of where she had heard Nightmare Moon’s hoofsteps.

It didn’t sound like the alicorn had noticed her yet, so she let out a relieved sigh before she began examining her new surroundings.

It was clear that she was in the throne room of the castle. Two massive seats sat prominently at the end of the room, each atop its own raised dias. One was a faded golden color, covered in dust and missing parts of its back. On the charred banner above it and in a faint inscription in the wall beside it, Twilight could see the symbol of the sun that designated it as Celestia’s. The other was dark blue, similarly weathered by the passage of time, marked with a banner of a crescent moon.

The crumbling walls were in far worse condition. Numerous cracks extended from a multitude of massive holes, one of which featured prominently between the two banners above the thrones. Windows had been reduced to mere glass shards where they sat, and a majority of the roof was missing, allowing the bright light of the full moon to shine in. Rubble lay scattered across the broken flagstones of the floor, leaving only a few places where the threadbare surface of the carpet could be exposed to the eye.

However, what drew Twilight’s eye the most were the considerable number of motionless guards across the floor, broken weapons lying shattered at their side or against the wall. She shivered and tried to suppress the growing discomfort in her stomach, feeling as if she had wandered alone into an eerie tomb of some sort.

Twilight peeked out from behind the stone orb at Nightmare Moon, who was trudging towards the two thrones away from her, and once again noticed the lacerations that covered the alicorn’s body. No wonder she’s hurt so badly. Even after the battle with my mentor, she’s been fighting restlessly against guards when she should be recovering.

She looked sympathetically at Nightmare Moon, but soon set that thought aside for a more immediate concern. After Twilight was sure that the alicorn was far enough away, she sprinted out towards the closest guard, trying to make her hoofsteps light and fleeting as she raced across the accumulated grit and grime covering the floor, her horn lit as she approached the fallen pony.

“Please don’t be dead,” Twilight murmured to herself as she ran a scanning spell over the guard’s body. Her eyes widened. There’s still magic inside him. Without wasting a second, she hopped up onto the guard’s exposed neck, checking for pulse and breathing. To her relief, the pegasus was still very much alive, and his breathing was neither labored nor faint. He was, by any other account, simply sleeping.

Twilight let out a thankful breath, but her brief moment of relief quickly turned into panic when the sleeping guard shifted, tipping her off to the side with a yelp. She fell heavily onto the flat of a fallen sword, causing the metal blade to bounce off the stone floor with an echoing clang, loud in the empty chamber.

The little mare’s face turned to panic as she tried to roll back upright, twisting to look towards Nightmare Moon, and her stomach dropped when she found the mighty alicorn returning her stare evenly, albeit with a bit more surprise than the fear she was feeling.

Nightmare Moon quickly shrugged off her momentary shock, her mouth curling up into a predatory, fanged grin. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”

Twilight immediately bolted in the opposite direction, her eyes darting back and forth for someplace, any place, to hide in.

Oh no, nonononono, this is bad. She may’ve shown her good nature back in the town hall where she had the advantage, but I’m still the student of her enemy. There’s no telling what she’ll do to me now that she’s wounded and cornered.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden feeling of heaviness, and every step she took became harder to take than the last. Her hooves became heavier as the pressure of magic pulled her towards the floor, severely retarding her escape and making her every move exhausting and laborious.

Twilight finally looked down, her eyes tracing out the large rune inscribed onto the stonework. It wasn’t an unfamiliar pattern, and she stifled a frustrated groan as she realized what was going on. A *gravity** spell? Are you serious!?*

Her limbs trembled with every step she made, her body easily weighing thirty times more. Despite having supported multiple massive weights and pressures over most of her life, her best effort barely got her to crawling speed, and the slow hoofsteps of Nightmare Moon that had haunted her last few minutes once again made a comeback, matching her step for step, marching ever so closer.

Twilight lit her horn in an attempt to teleport away, but the spell fizzled as soon as she tried to cast it. This time, she did let out a frustrated cry. “Anti t-teleportation wards. C-can it can get any w-w-worse?” she asked herself.

The tiny mare felt something brush against her back, and she turned her head to find a small rock levitated just barely above her. The magical aura around the stone dissipated, and what should have weighed only a kilogram at best fell right on top of her like an anvil. Its greatly increased weight caused her to faceplant heavily into the worn stone, pinning her to the ground.

“I j-just h-had to a-ask.”

“Leaving so soon?” Nightmare Moon asked whimsically as she sat down in front of the magic rune that pinned the intrepid intruder to the floor. “You can’t escape now, Twilight Sparkle, so don’t even try.”

The little mare let out a grunt as she tried to crawl out of the rune, feeling heavier and heavier as she approached the edge. Twilight tried to use self-levitation to lighten her own weight, but she was simply pulled back to the middle by a midnight blue aura in response, feeling as if she was a toy for Nightmare Moon’s amusement.

And there was little doubt that the alicorn was amused, judging by her expression. “Very well. We shall make thine escape more difficult if thou shouldst continue in thine endeavors. Thou hast stated thyself that thou wishest to walk the thorny path, and we shall respect thy desire. We do enjoy watching thee push thyself anyways.”

Feeling a bit dizzy and more than a bit winded, Twilight let out a long sigh and fell limply to the floor. “I… I give up,” she grumbled.

Nightmare Moon knelt down near the edge of the rune, lifting her ear in an exaggerated motion. “Didst thou say something?” she asked in a singsong voice. “We cannot hear theeee!”

“I s-s-said… I… give… up!” Twilight managed to grate out through her gravitationally shut jaw. The moment she said those words, all the gravitational pressure disappeared, and her attempts to get back up only resulted in her stumbling around, feeling as light as a feather after her impromptu weight training session.

The tiny mare tipped the stone from her back easily before she turned towards Nightmare Moon, looking at her with an awkward smile. “H-hello,” she said hesitantly, waving a hoof at the mighty alicorn towering over her.

“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle, and welcome to our domain,” Nightmare Moon said calmly with a sweeping gesture. “Though we must apologize. We haven’t had a chance to tidy up after our thousand years of banishment, and we have no food to greet thee with. Please forgive our lack of hospitality.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck uncertainly, a sheepish smile on her face. “It’s uhh… quite alright. I understand.”

Nightmare Moon’s mouth curled up into a small smile. “Then make thyself at home. We believe thou hast had a long and harsh journey to get here?” she said politely. “Hast thou come alone and bested the monsters that lurk in this forest, or hast thou brought company?”

Twilight took a moment to look at Nightmare Moon’s eyes, relaxing slightly when she found that the alicorn’s pupils were round rather than draconic. She’s acting far calmer than before, even to the point of being kind and warm. Maybe I can try to convince her to abandon her revenge again. It won’t be easy, but it’s worth a shot if I can stop her from fighting. She stepped back from Nightmare Moon slightly, raising a forehoof in front of her. “Errr… May I?”

The alicorn looked slightly confused for a moment, but quickly realized what the tiny mare meant. “Ah, yes, though the last time we let thee sit on our hoof, we accidentally hurt thee in our anger. Allow us to provide an alternative,” Nightmare Moon said firmly as she lit her horn. A small flurry of tile fragments rose up around her, arranging themselves into a small staircase in front of her guest. Understanding the purpose of her gesture, Twilight hopped from stone to stone until she was directly in front of the alicorn’s face. “Forgive us for not finding a more comfortable object, but it is safer than our mighty hoof.”

Twilight let out a light chuckle. “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Now, as for your question,” she said. “At first, I tried to get to this castle on my own. I thought I could pass by anything lurking in the Everfree Forest with a bit of quick thinking and stealth, but errr… that plan didn’t turn out nearly as well as I had hoped.”

Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight curiously and squinted, noticing a few small bite marks on the tiny unicorn that she hadn’t seen before. “Thou hast proven thyself very brave, but also very foolish,” she stated harshly, causing Twilight to flinch under her disapproving glare. “Thou hast recklessly thrown thyself to the whims of the Everfree Forest without restoring thyself to thine original size or even bringing thy guards. Trust us, this kind of overconfidence wilt one day be thy downfall, just as we suffer now for our own hubris.”

Twilight shivered at those words, and her eyes were once again drawn to the numerous wounds covering the alicorn’s body. “I-I know. I was foolish. I thought that it was my responsibility to do everything by myself, because letting other ponies help me would put them in danger. It wasn’t exactly my best idea. I uhh… kinda got myself eaten by a manticore.”

The alicorn’s brow furrowed in concern, and Twilight quickly amended her statement. “Well, it’s not like I didn’t get out. Luckily, I was saved by a group of ponies that I had met in Ponyville, along with my guards and Spike, and they escorted me the rest of the way here.”

Nightmare Moon smiled. “Thou hast made friends with courageous ponies indeed if they have chosen to brave this forest to help thee. Thy strength lies not just in thy skills and power, which are formidable in and of themselves, but in thine allies as well.”

The alicorn’s eyes looked briefly towards the Elements lying motionlessly on the floor before returning back to Twilight, who was looking up at her patiently. “Still, why hast thou risked thy life to meet us? Hast thou come to join us? Or perhaps thou hast come to use the Elements of Harmony to banish us?”

Twilight’s cheerful expression faltered, and sweat formed on her brow as she tried to defuse the sudden tension without losing her chance to redeem Nightmare Moon. “N-no, I didn’t want to do anything like that,” she stated, and the alicorn simply raised her eyebrow in response. “I… I have a good idea of your situation, but no matter how much I sympathize with you, I can’t join you and betray my mentor and friends. I also don’t want to hurt you, let alone banish you to the moon for another millenium. I just want to help you before you end up getting yourself killed.”

Nightmare Moon scowled. “Then thou hast wasted thy time,” she declared. “We shall take over Equestria or die trying. We may have endured our cold prison and held on to our sanity, but our hatred towards our sister has only grown over our thousand years on the moon. We cannot extinguish the flames of our enmity now. This fight will last until one of us can fight no more.”

Twilight bit her lip, but kept pressing on. “But she’s your sister, and it’s all just a big misunderstanding,” she said, before dipping into a low bow. “Please, I beg of you. I will do everything you wish of me. Just please, forgive your sister. End this madness before somepony gets hurt!”

“Though we value thy words and wish for thee to accept us as thy prin—Queen, this is one wish we cannot grant,” Nightmare Moon said regretfully. Twilight plopped back into a sitting position, and the alicorn noticed the forlorn expression on the tiny mare’s face. “Do not take this the wrong way. Thou hast restored our faith in our subjects, and we wish to win thy respect and servitude.”

She gestured with a sweeping hoof at the guards lying scattered on the ground. “Dost thou see these ponies who dared to lay their swords upon us? Upon their queen? Even though they have sought to inflict harm upon their rightful ruler, we have shown them mercy. We have spared their lives and placed them into a blissful sleep when it would be easier to eliminate them, and we have paid dearly for it, all to prove to thee and our subjects that we are not the monster they believe us to be, but a ruler worthy of her throne, merciful and forgiving.”

Twilight momentarily looked at the unconscious guards, stunned, but soon turned back to Nightmare Moon, a wide grin on her face. “So you… you spared the lives of every guard…” she said, before pressing a hoof against her own chest, “for me?”

Nightmare Moon nodded tersely, and the tiny unicorn breathed out a sigh of relief. “T-thank you. I thank you from the depths of my heart for sparing the guards,” Twilight said sincerely, before stomping a firm hoof into the stone. “However, I cannot abandon my mentor. She’s… almost like a second mother to me. I-I just can’t stand by and watch as she fights against her own sister.”

“I admire your loyalty, even if it is misplaced. Our… sister doesn’t deserve a student such as thee,” Nightmare Moon stated before lowering her head, her voice turning cold.

“Pity we are on opposite sides, but we respect your decision.”

The alicorn then rose up and strode away, much to the smaller mare’s confusion. She climbed up onto the ruins of what was once her shining throne and turned to face Twilight. “If thou hast decided to stand by our sister,” she proclaimed, her expression hard and determined, “then draw upon thy magical might and slay us!”

The Elements of Harmony - Painful Truth

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 5

Part 2

“What’s taking her so long?” Rainbow Dash snapped as she flew in small circles with her forelegs crossed, scowling at the castle ruins. "I’m tired of waiting!"

The pegasus darted towards the front doors of the castle, keeping her tail angled so Applejack could not grab it again, but she was yanked to an abrupt halt when Rarity used her magic to grab onto Rainbow’s body instead.

After she had managed to stop the energetic pegasus by bracing herself against an immobile object, Rarity daintily cleared her throat before chastising her friend. "Rainbow Dash! Twilight specifically told us not to interrupt her. Whatever she's doing is very important, and she needs to be able to concentrate."

“Even so, that doesn’t mean we can’t ensure her safety. I shouldn’t be worried, but I don’t feel right leaving her alone for so long, especially in a place like this,” added Steel Blade. “It’s a bit… spooky.”

Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared in front of him, causing the guard to flinch. “Spoooooooky,” she said eerily before bouncing away, leaving Steel Blade to raise an eyebrow at her.

Fluttershy cleared her throat softly. “Um… I agree with Steel Blade. A monster or animal might sneak into the castle, and…” she said with a gulp, twisting a section of mane in a hoof. "I don't want her to get eaten. Again."

Applejack nodded. “Ah agree. We shouldn’t have left her alone in there. At least one of us should keep an eye on ‘er.”

Steel Blade shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about that. I only said that I’m not comfortable out here where I can’t keep an eye on Twilight personally, not that we don’t already have somepony watching her. If anything happens to our charge, we’ll know.”

Rainbow Dash’s brow furrowed together. “And who is this ‘somepony’?”

“Yoo hoooo!” a voice called out from above them.

Steel Blade looked up at the roof of the castle, finding the source of the voice leaning precariously over what little remained of the tiles. “Hey Overwatch!” he shouted nonchalantly. “Anything happen to Twilight?”

Overwatch simply gave him a knowing stare, ignoring the confused looks of the other ponies present. “Really, Steelie? Are you really asking that?”

Steel Blade let out a groan, pressing a hoof into his forehead. “What happened this time?”

“Oh, Twilight just got foalnapped by Nightmare Moon.”

“W-w-what?!” Steel Blade exclaimed incredulously. “Foalnapped by Nightmar—”

“Well, not exactly,” Overwatch said, tapping a hoof to her chin in contemplation. “I don’t think Miss Moon knew our little boss was there. She was stealing the Elements and Twilight just got a bit swept up for the ride, so it was a very unintentional foalnapping, really.”

“Stop. Stop,” Steel Blade said sternly, rubbing at his forehead as he cut Overwatch off with a hoof. “It doesn’t matter what it was. Do you know where she’s gone? Is she still in the area?”

“Mmm… I’ve a feeling they’re still in the castle,” the guard mare said as she hopped down across the little platforms formed by what remained of the stone walls. “I didn’t see exactly where they went—Nightmare Moon did a black whirlwind thing and teleported away—but it can’t be that hard to figure out where they went.”

Overwatch landed gracefully in front of the group before turning to open the castle doors. “I’m fairly certain I can point us in the right direction once we get close, but we have to get going now before the situation escalates.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped, her eyes as wide as ostrich eggs. “S-slay you?” she stammered out after a moment of stunned silence. “What kind of nonsense is that? I would never slay you!”

Nightmare Moon slammed a hoof into the ground, cracking the stone tiles from the impact. “If you wish to protect your mentor from our wrath, then you must end us,” she said as she glared at the tiny unicorn with dragon-slit eyes, her tone cold and serious.

Twilight shook her head fervently. “B-b-but I don’t want to protect my mentor. I want to protect you. It’s only a matter of time before the princess finds you, and you just fought down an army of guards! You’re wounded and weak! I—”

The black alicorn snorted. “You are correct, and that is exactly why you should slay us now! We are weak while you are strong. We possess only a fraction of our magic when you are at the peak of your condition. We have even blessed you with our magic. This is the best time for you to return to your original size and—”

"You aren't listening!" Twilight shouted as she jumped down from the levitated stone, landing on the floor roughly as the floating rocks she had been sitting on clattered to the ground behind her. Mustering her courage, Twilight galloped towards the pedestal upon which Nightmare Moon sat.

She has to understand! I'm not her enemy!

She skidded to a halt at the bottom of the steps and looked up, trying not to cringe at the sight of the powerful alicorn glaring down at her. Feeling like prey before a vicious predator, Twilight took a deep breath and shouted, "I'm not going to kill you! I'm here to save you!"

Nightmare Moon snarled in return, momentarily twisting away from Twilight's words as if they had burned her. “‘Tis a lie! Thou hast come to unleash the Elements upon us to save thy mentor the trouble of killing us! Admit it!”

Twilight was taken aback by this accusation, but she quickly reasserted herself and straightened up. “Yes, I did come here to use the Elements against you,” she said firmly.

With a small baring of her sharp teeth in a victorious smile, Nightmare Moon purred, "Was that so difficult? We much prefer a harsh truth than a pleasant, manipulative lie.”

“But I’m not planning to seal you on the moon again! I’m going to use them to heal your hate and anger!”

Nightmare Moon stopped and blinked a few times. “Excuse us?” she finally said.

Twilight breathed out a relieved sigh. “The Elements. I think I know how to resolve everything.”

Cadence flew over the Everfree Forest with all the speed she could muster, her breathing heavy and her wings run ragged trying to keep up with Celestia. I really regret not joining auntie in her training with the Wonderbolts this past year, she thought as she trailed further and further behind the sun princess. I could really use the stamina right now.

“Please… slow down… I… can’t… keep up…” Cadence pled between gasping breaths, trying to put what little energy she had into flapping her wings as fast as she could.

“We don’t have time to slow down. Teleport if you must,” Celestia responded firmly as she flew restlessly towards her destination, pumping her wings a bit faster to boost her farther ahead.

“Where… are we heading… auntie? Do you know… where Nightmare Moon… is hiding?”

Celestia didn’t even bother to turn around as she answered. “Yes, Cadence, I know exactly where she is, and I should have gone there first to look for her. She’s been hiding in plain sight the whole time.”

Celestia lit up her horn and disappeared in a golden flash, only to reappear a few kilometers closer to her target.

Cadence let out a resigned sigh before following suit, teleporting after Celestia. She winced as her dull headache prodded sharply at her, an unwelcome reminder that she had transferred most of her magic to the sun princess in preparation for further confrontation. Regardless, she pushed through it, urging her leaden wings onwards despite their reticence.

The moment I rushed into the town hall and saw my Twilight exhausted, wounded, broken, and nestled against Celestia’s chest, I feared the worst. I feared that the Luna I knew was long gone, buried in vengeance and insanity after her thousand year imprisonment. Cadence thought as she took a deep breath, her horn releasing small blue sparks as she struggled to charge a teleportation spell.

But when Shining Armor looked at me with those bloodshot eyes and cursed himself for ordering his troops to attack, for unintentionally hurting Twilight in the crossfire…

In a flash, she reappeared closer to her destination, sweat pouring down her brow, but Celestia had already jumped even farther ahead, impossible to catch up with. If what Twilight said was true… if Nightmare Moon really showed mercy… if this whole conflict is just one big misunderstanding…

Cadence looked ahead with growing determination and grit her teeth. Then I will do whatever it takes to save you, Luna! I will continue where Twilight started and succeed.

I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, Luna, but not today!

“Stop right there.”

Twilight stopped her explanation, watching as Nightmare Moon stood from her throne and took a few paces towards her.

“So our dear sister tried to manipulate thee against us without telling the truth? How canst thou be so loyal to her after learning of this betrayal?” Nightmare Moon asked loudly, kneeling down and staring at her expectantly.

“Umm… Would you like the logical answer or the personal answer?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

Nightmare Moon’s brow furrowed. “Both,” she replied.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Well umm… the logical answer is simple. Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria. She cares about all of her subjects and has controlled the cycle between day and night for almost two millenia. I’m just her student, her little pony. If she wishes to utilize my talents for her own goals or for the good of Equestria, even to manipulate me towards it, I will accept it as my duty to serve,” she said with a bow. “I will gladly sacrifice myself if it means that I could reunite you with your sister. To make you both happy.”

Nightmare Moon smirked. “Although we appreciate the respect you show to those greater and wiser than you, we must say that you are still far too humble for your own good,” she said, chuckling. “Oh, the irony. You’ve risked your life to put us on the throne next to our sister, yet we’ve risked our life, sparing her royal guards, to prove to you that we are the queen worth serving. Your life is worth more than you believe.”

Twilight smiled sheepishly at the praise and rubbed the back of her neck. “Err… Thank you. As for my personal answer,” she started, “Princess Celestia has protected and taken care of me for the past thirteen years, and as harsh as being a tiny student was, they were the best years of my life. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

Nightmare Moon snorted at the indirect praise towards Celestia, looking back at the tiny mare impassively. “Go on…”

Twilight cleared her throat and continued. “Your sister showed me kindness. She taught and trained me. She made me into a strong, dependable pony, and in return, all I wish to do is to please her, to prove my usefulness. She may have wanted to manipulate me, but what really hurts is that she changed her mind. That she didn’t have faith in my abilities to use the Elements,” she said with a sigh as she stared down at the floor.

The tiny mare soon found a hoof under her chin, delicately lifting her head up to look into the alicorn’s eyes. “She doth not deserve thee, Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Moon said calmly, “but thine efforts are fruitless. One pony canst not use all the Elements of Harmony. Just look at what happened with them after our sister tried.”

Nightmare Moon gestured towards the stone orbs lying on the floor, and Twilight turned to look at the Elements thoughtfully. “We were once the bearer of the Elements of Honesty, Loyalty and Laughter, though our feelings of betrayal soon separated us from our Elements,” the alicorn said wistfully. “Our sister represented the Elements of Generosity, Kindness and Magic. The moment she tried to use all the Elements against us, we ended up banished on the moon for a thousand years, and these once powerful artifacts turned into worthless stones. They will not heed her call, and we doubt they would heed thine own.”

Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight, but to her surprise, the tiny unicorn didn’t seem to be paying attention at all. “Didst thou not hear?” she demanded, but no response came.

Think, Twilight, think. Starswirl’s notes state that the Elements are self-aware. The guide to the Elements pointed out that Princess Celestia used them against her sister, but Nightmare Moon said that the Elements cannot be used by just one pony…

Twilight frowned as she sank deeper into her thoughts, completely forgetting the alicorn sitting to her side who was now poking her with the tip of her hoof.

Princess Celestia represented three Elements. Nightmare Moon—errr… Luna also represented three. If I could choose, my Element would most likely be magic, though I could also represent loyalty as well, considering how honest I was with Nightmare Moon when she first arrived in Town Hall. I did tell her I would backstab her the moment she was weak. Would that make me the Element of Honesty?

She sighed. On the other hoof, I haven’t been really honest with myself, using excuses to hide my own flaws. Even if I can use the Element of Honesty, I doubt I’m generous enough for that Element, and I’m not sure that simply liking parties and adventuring with my friends and mentor would count me as the bearer of Element of Laughter. Not to mention that compared to Cadence and Fluttershy, I’m nowhere near kind enough.

Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened. That’s it!

“Do not ignore us, Twilight Sparkle!”

The little mare quickly sat back up from where she had tumbled away to and shook her head, ignoring the throbbing sound in her ears. “You’re right,” she said as she slowly regained her hearing. “I alone cannot use the Elements of Harmony, but maybe with the help of my friends, we can heal you.”

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. “And does the flight to the moon come as a complimentary gift? If so, we’re afraid that we’d have to refuse, thank thee very much,” she said sardonically, before she unexpectedly straightened up, suddenly becoming very wary of her surroundings. Nightmare Moon began to tremble, looking around restlessly.

Before Twilight could ask her if something was wrong, the large alicorn turned to her with fearful eyes and said, “We do not have much time, Twilight Sparkle.”

The little mare sat dumbfounded. “Not much time for what?”

“We challenge thee to a magic duel! We command thee to come face us in glorious battle!” Nightmare Moon said boldly, before raising a hoof deliberately and smashing it into the floor in front of Twilight, causing the tiny mare to jump back in surprise as she was showered with bits and pieces of broken stone.

The unicorn began moving back tentatively as she shot a confused look at Nightmare Moon. “What was that for?” she asked, slightly annoyed through her shock.

“We have no time! We may have been a powerful alicorn compared to you, Twilight Sparkle, but we are tired and hurt, while thou art healed and refreshed. Return to thine original size, and face us on equal ground!” Nightmare Moon declared as she hammered another hoof into the ground, once again forcing Twilight to dodge.

“Stop! I don’t want to fight you! I don’t want to hurt you!” Twilight shouted as she deftly avoided each of Nightmare Moon stomps one by one, surprising herself with how easy it was to see and dodge the alicorn’s attacks. Her brow furrowed in confusion, even as she protected herself from the shards of tile showering her. That’s strange… I’ve been up all night, chewed on by a manticore, and crushed multiple times under heavy rocks, so why am I not feeling even a little pain or fatigue?

Twilight swiftly rolled to the side as Nightmare Moon’s powerful strike caused the stone under her to tremble. I may be tough, but I should be in anything but perfect shape.

She got back up to her hooves and glared suspiciously at the tall alicorn towering over her, who in turn stopped her assault and looked back with determination. I told her about my encounter with the manticore, so how could she say I was in perfect shape to fight her? When she stated that we would fight on an equal grounds, did she just mean that her own wounds would balance the odds? Or was there more to it?”

“We will not take no for an answer, Twilight Sparkle! Thy mentor is coming, and we are in no shape to escape or defeat her,” Nightmare Moon said resolutely. “We have already made our decision! We would prefer to fall in combat against a proud and powerful unicorn like thyself than to be slain or enslaved by our traitorous sister!”

“I said I don’t want to hurt you! Please, just tell your sister!” Twilight said as she dove forward, barely evading the massive hoof that slammed down behind her. “I can help convince her to give you a chance! Just please, find it in your heart to forgive her!”

Twilight’s evading skills were quickly nullified when she was caught in a levitation field, and with anti-teleportation wards all over the place, she had no escape from Nightmare Moon’s magical grasp. Unable to move, she looked up at the dark hoof held above her head.

This is going to hurt, thought Twilight as she closed her eyes and braced for impact.

With a resounding smash, she was flattened against the cold floor, the unforgiving hoof leaving her little room to squirm. To Twilight’s surprise, it didn’t hurt as much as she feared, though the pressure still bore down on her tiny body relentlessly. Despite the pain, Twilight surmised that Nightmare Moon was holding back, and she had a very good idea why that was so.

The alicorn lowered her head to the mare under her hoof, pleading, “We beg of thee, return to thine original size and honor us with glorious battle. We wish to die by your hoof, not by our sister’s.”

Twilight shook her head, lighting up her horn to levitate Nightmare Moon’s hoof off of her back, but the harder she tried, the more strength the alicorn used against her, and even with her refreshed magical reserves, she could not fight both the alicorn’s strength and weight.

“If thou knowest not how to remove the effect of the shrinking spell, we shall gladly assist,” Nightmare Moon said as the dark, shimmering blue of her own magic shrouded her horn.

The little mare jerked in surprise, her eyes wide. “Please don’t!” she shouted as she redoubled her futile attempt to free herself. “I’m not going to return to my original size just to fight you to the death!”

Nightmare Moon simply snorted, showing little intention of listening to her captive. Moments later, Twilight deflated under the alicorn’s hoof, closing her eyes and awaiting the inevitable.

She had never been keen on returning to her original size, struggling to face a much smaller environment than she was used to, and fearing the kind of destruction her magic could do to her surroundings and to innocent ponies if left unchecked. She knew deep inside that she would eventually reverse the shrinking spell and use her power for the greater good, but she had hoped that time would come much farther into the future, not now.

It was obvious that as soon as the shrinking spell was lifted, Nightmare Moon would no longer speak to her, nor hold back, and a fight to the death was the last thing the tiny unicorn wanted. If Twilight held back, Nightmare Moon, even weakened, would knock her out just as she had done to the many royal guards before her, and the next fight against her mentor would be to the last drop of blood, with stern will and unfading determination.

The talk she had with the dark alicorn proved that while Nightmare Moon was a good pony, her psyche was highly unstable, and her pride and hate were only exacerbating it. In such a state of mind, restraining the alicorn rather than outright defeating her would give Nightmare Moon openings for counterattacks or suicidal charges. Whether Twilight stayed small or became big, the outcome would be the same.

The spell was already coming to a close, and it would only be a few moments before—

“Keep your dirty hooves away from her, you brute!”

Twilight opened her eyes, and though she could not turn around, she easily recognized that voice.

“R-Rarity?”

With a meaty thwack, Nightmare Moon was lifted bodily off the ground and away from Twilight, thrown unceremoniously a few meters away. The tiny mare looked up to find her rescuer, but there was little doubt who had so brashly attacked the dark alicorn when Rainbow Dash landed on the floor beside her, shouting, “Booyah! Did you see that dive kick?!”

Before Twilight could even stand up, she was lifted away by a magical aura, dragging her towards the middle of the throne room. The sound of galloping grew louder as she flew farther and farther back. The little mare turned around to find herself floating briefly in front of Overwatch’s smug grin and glowing horn before she was plopped onto Steel Blade’s back, surrounded by all her friends and Spike.

“You are not allowed to treat our friend like that,” Fluttershy said sternly, stamping her hoof against the stone floor as Nightmare Moon slowly recovered from the sudden attack.

“If ya lay a hoof on our friend, ya better get ready ta answer ta all of us!” Applejack exclaimed, stepping forward into an aggressive stance.

“That’s right! If you keep acting like a meany pants, you can forget about any ‘Welcome to Ponyville redeemed-Nightmare-Moon/former-Princess-Luna’ party!” Pinkie added, prompting a few eye rolls within the group.

Nightmare Moon shook the stars out of her head before she finally turned to look at the group clearly. Her lips curled up into a proud grin at the steely, protective faces of the ponies before her. “My, my, you have such a loyal and courageous group of friends, Twilight Sparkle,” she said, almost wondrously, before her voice took on a more somber tone. “It’s… it’s such a pity that we will not live to see the day when we could proudly call you all our subjects.”

The dark alicorn’s eyes flickered briefly to the window, and there was a blinding flash of golden fire between the ponies and Nightmare Moon. The light cleared, and Princess Celestia stood resolutely in the center of the room, glaring intently at her downed foe. Nightmare Moon could see several closed wounds on the white alicorn’s body that she inflicted during their last battle, but it was nothing compared to fresh wounds she herself had.

The black alicorn inclined her head in a mockery of a bow. “What a glorious entrance, sister. Hast thou practiced it?”

Everypony simply stared wide-eyed as Princess Celestia approached Nightmare Moon one purposeful step at a time, looking grimly at the fallen bodies of the guards scattered around the chamber, but oblivious to the ponies behind her.

“Y-your Highness,” Steel Blade murmured.

Overwatch’s eye twitched.

Celestia’s ear perked up, and she turned around slowly, almost dreadfully, to stare directly at the little ponies she had hoped would not be standing in the same room as Nightmare Moon.

Especially not with her littlest pony.

The Elements of Harmony - Final Confrontation

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 5

Part 3

“T-Twilight…?” Celestia stammered out, completely flabbergasted. “And the other Element bearers? B-but how?”

Nightmare Moon let out a peal of booming laughter, and Celestia turned back to her foe, a scowl on her face. “Why, whatever is the matter, sister?” the black alicorn asked with feigned innocence. “Oh, that’s right. You changed your master plan to keep your student bottled up and safe from harm. It must be such a shock to see her and her new friends facing me in the ruins of our beloved castle. Oh, and look! We even have the Elements in the middle of the room, just waiting to be awakened.”

Celestia’s scowl only deepened, but Nightmare Moon cut her off before she could answer. “Let me guess,” she started bitterly, tapping a hoof to her chin. “You were planning to wait for your faithful student to finish the job, and once I was banished or defeated...”

She slammed her hoof against the ground with great force and shouted, “You would appear, shining like the sun itself to take all the credit without even lifting a hoof!”

The white alicorn took a step back and blushed a deep red, silent for a long moment before she finally let out a breath and lowered her head. “You are correct, Nightmare Moon,” she said regretfully. “That is indeed what I had planned.”

Nightmare Moon seemed startled at this admission, blinking confusedly a few times. “I am… correct, you say? Am I hearing that right?”

Celestia nodded as she briefly eyed her student and her companions from the corner of her eye before facing back towards Nightmare Moon, her gaze soft. “We may be sisters, but we might as well be polar opposites.”

“‘Sisters’? Am I no longer a monster?” Nightmare Moon asked mockingly, but Celestia continued on regardless.

“You would prefer to confront an enemy when I would rather negotiate. You are honest, no matter the circumstances, while I work through manipulations and deceit. You face the threats of here and now while I plan for problems several years in advance. You let your emotions out freely while I hide them behind a mask of authority,” Celestia said calmly and evenly, as if practiced.

Nightmare Moon smirked. “Thou art correct, sister. Thou wouldst hide the truth and refuse to share any information when we would willingly do so,” she said, her tone growing more and more caustic as she spoke. “Thou wouldst lay back comfortably on thy throne, letting thy subjects do all thy work, all the while rationalizing that they should learn not to depend on thy help all the time, even as we work side by side with them.”

With a bit of effort, she pulled herself up from where she had landed on the cold ground. “Thou wouldst waste time with parties and speeches as we fought alongside our soldiers and aided our workers!” Nightmare Moon added bitterly.

“Once again spoken honest and true, sister,” Celestia replied, leaving the black alicorn increasingly flustered. “It’s unfortunate that as the guardian of the night, you were always there in the darkness, yet always hidden, like a shadow. Ponies fear what they cannot see.”

Nightmare Moon let out a snort, glowering at the white alicorn. “What kind of game are you playing, Celestia? Are you sure you’re not some changeling who took her place, hmn?” she said distrustfully.

Fluttershy let out a tiny ‘eep’ at the mention of changelings, a quiet, unexpected sound that nopony noticed save for Overwatch, whose questioning eyes flickered briefly towards the yellow pegasus.

Celestia shook her head solemnly. “Nightmare Moon, tell me! Did I manipulate my subjects to defeat you for me today? Have I intentionally used my own student to defeat you? Have I hidden away from you?”

Nightmare Moon tapped a hoof to her chin before answering, “We have to admit that thou hast faced us in combat, and even now, thou art here confronting us personally instead of waiting for your ponies to do it for you. Well, that is forgetting thy loyal guards, but as long as they stay unconscious, they are not of our concern at the moment. ”

Celestia looked upon the royal guards that she had assumed were dead. The very idea that Nightmare Moon had spared them was like a flash of hope to her, and she turned back to the black alicorn with a sense of urgency.

“L-Luna… I know that you are there. Please, come back to me!” Celestia said, bowing her head down as her voice cracked with longing. “I’m sorry, Luna, for not being there when you needed me, for even thinking that you wanted to harm our subjects, and as for banishing you… I know that you will never forgive me, but I beg that you at least give me a chance.”

Everypony stared in disbelief at the mighty princess of the sun bowing before the dark alicorn, who slowly walked closer with a stern glare. “Luna does not wish to come back to you, nor will we give you a chance for redemption.”

Celestia looked up at the face of Nightmare Moon and spoke, “I understand. I understand that you tried to help Luna, to protect her, to take care of her, and I am truly sorry for thinking of you as just some monster who took over her body, but I beg of you, give me a chance. I swear that I’ll repay her for my mistakes, no matter how long it takes me, even if I have to spend the next thousand years to do so.”

Nightmare Moon’s cold expression broke. It was just a moment, but there was compassion and sorrow in the dark alicorn’s eyes, but just as quickly, they disappeared again into frigid neutrality.

“We shall say to thee what we said to thy student when she begged us for the same thing,” Nightmare Moon stated, her voice low and seething. “We have managed to stay sane after a thousand years of banishment, but our hate and anger towards you hath grown every day. Dost thou think we can extinguish those venomous flames now? That we can do any more than blow you over like the wildfire that burns in my breast?”

With a grand downswing of her draconic wings, Nightmare Moon took to the air, and Celestia’s hope fell like a stone thrown into the river when the black alicorn leveled a hoof at her and said, “This will never end until one of us can fight no more.”

The dark alicorn closed her eyes as a weak smile grew across her lips and two tears fell down her cheeks. “At least we can find peace knowing that thy student hast finally opened thine eyes, for we shall die certain that thou knowest thy mistakes.”

The scene quickly devolved into bedlam as Nightmare Moon immediately went on the offensive, dark bolts of magic whizzing through the air like meteorites at her foe. Celestia countered with her own shimmering barrier, hoping against all hope to prolong the fight as long as possible.

Steel Blade jolted into alertness, taking a few cautious steps back. “Twilight, we have to get everyone out of here,” he nickered, looking quickly between the tiny unicorn on his back and the dangerous bolts of powerful magic splashing against Celestia’s shield. Overwatch looked like she dearly wanted to dive into cover behind the closest pillar, but she stood her ground protectively near her charge, a spell ready on her horn.

“Wait! No, we have to do something,” Twilight said, looking around anxiously before turning her gaze to the lifeless stones on the floor in front of the group. She looked at the ponies around her, each one so important in getting her to Nightmare Moon and ready to help even now, and she jumped into action, hopping off of Steel Blade’s back to face the group.

“Girls, we need to use the Elements against Nightmare Moon before it is too late!” Twilight stated imperatively before she galloped towards the Elements.

“Ya wan’ us t’ do what now?” Applejack asked in confusion, trotting after the tiny mare with the rest of the girls despite the thunderous battle in the background.

“Please, I cannot do it alone. I need your help,” Twilight pled as she lifted the orbs up and turned around.

Rainbow Dash grinned eagerly, barely staying on the ground. “I got no idea what you want us to do, but count me in.”

Twilight beamed at her and the others, before levitating the first orb over. The Element was now shimmering with an inner glow, which only seemed to grow as Twilight began to speak. “Rainbow Dash, you fought a manticore to protect me. You refused to leave us for the Shadowbolts and even attacked Nightmare Moon to save me. There is nopony better to represent the Element of Loyalty than you,” she said.

"Yeah, like I would leave any pony hanging,” Rainbow Dash said, puffing out her chest proudly. “I stick with the team no matter what.”

The stone orb shattered, becoming a bright flash of light that soon resolved into a golden necklace around Rainbow Dash’s neck, its iridescent ruby shimmering with an inner glow.

A beam of intense light reflected off of the red gemstone into Twilight’s eyes, and though she reflexively turned away and tried to blink off her blindness, she could still catch glimpses of something, flickering in and out.

A rainbow essence streaking straight for a young filly.

A sudden, brilliant explosion, illuminating the skies like a lighthouse.

Five invisible comets branching out from the prismatic epicenter, expanding like the radials of a web as they rode the shimmering wave outward.

Twilight shook her head, furrowing her brow in concentration as she levitated over another of the Elements to present to Fluttershy.

“You stood up against a manticore for me, and even tamed it with your warm heart and gentleness,” Twilight said with a smile. “You are the best one to represent the Element of Kindness!”

The orb shattered just like the first, eventually coming to a rest as a necklace around Fluttershy’s neck, a sheen flashing across its pink butterfly gem.

Another flicker.

An ancient power finally found its place in a filly, a beacon to the loving and joyful creatures around her.

Twilight didn’t miss a beat this time, levitating the next orb up. “Applejack, you told me nothing but the truth, no matter how harsh it was. No wrong can come to pass around you, the Element of Honesty!”

The entire city looked up in awe at the expanding wave, yet in the constant motion of ponies below, the bright eyes of an astonished filly showed through. A revelation.

“And of course, you, Rarity. I had originally thought your gifts were a sign of selfishness, a greed for power, but now I see clearly they are reflections of your inner self, the Element of Generosity!”

The massive geode split in half with a thunderous shudder, spilling its treasures to the only pony present.

“Finally, Pinkie Pie, you crazy, party-loving mare,” Twilight said with a smirk.

“That’s me!” Pinkie replied, a wide, toothy smile on her face.

“I don’t think words are necessary,” the tiny mare said, levitating over the last stone sphere.

The wave passed over a desolate, dreary landscape, filled with an emptiness that wore at even the strongest of souls, yet despite everything the barren expanse could do, a smile broke through.

Twilight blinked out the last of the vision, and she looked up at the five friends before her, the jewels on their necklaces radiating power beyond her understanding.

“Now listen close, girls,” she said seriously, even as a smile threatened to cross over her face.

“Anything, darling,” Rarity replied easily.

“Those Elements are self aware, and they may do what you wish them to do, so please, use them to save Nightmare Moon, but not to banish or hurt her!” Twilight pled, looking at her friends with puppy dog eyes.

The mares before her looked at each other uncertainly, but even without Twilight’s attempt to coerce them, they turned to her and nodded firmly.

The little mare grinned, and then turned back towards Nightmare Moon, who was now engaging in melee against Celestia’s barrier. Princess Celestia’s trying to force her to exhaustion. Perfect. Then we can use the Elements—Wait, we’re still missing an Element. My Element.

Twilight looked around frantically. Where’s the sixth Element? Didn’t we only find five stone orbs? She faltered, and she almost fell to her knees But how am I going to...

Twilight stopped, her eyes widening. No, I know exactly where to find it.

Nightmare Moon slammed against the barrier recklessly. Most of her magic was already depleted, and she could only hope that she would regain a few tiny, precious drops of it from the moonlight still shining in.

“Stop hiding, you spineless coward and kill me in battle!” she screamed, pounding on the golden shield ineffectually. “Let me die with honor, you—”

There was a flash in the corner of her vision, and Nightmare Moon turned towards the window, from which another alicorn flew in and landed heavily.

“Cadence?” Nightmare Moon said, frozen in surprise.

“L-Luna?” Cadence said, breathing heavily as she laboriously drew in her wings. She turned towards the dark alicorn, and a flash of recognition dawned over her sweat-soaked face.

Nightmare Moon scowled. “I am no longer Luna! My name is—R-release me this instant!” she quickly demanded when Cadence had all but materialized beside her, embracing her in a vicegrip of a hug.

Nightmare’s tired and wounded body struggled against the contact, but whether it was the result of her exhaustion or Cadence actually being that strong, she couldn't free herself despite her best efforts. After a short, fruitless struggle, Nightmare Moon tried to slip away by dissipating into fog.

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere!” Cadence shouted, capturing the nebula-like cloud inside a blue bubble and holding it in place until it reformed back to flesh. Not wasting a moment, she dispelled the barrier, once again wrapping Nightmare Moon in her forelegs. “I missed you so much Luna! I’m so sorry! So sorry for not being there for you!”

Nightmare Moon let out a sigh, and Celestia cautiously lowered her shield. The dark alicorn took a deep breath and said, “Listen, Cadence, this is between us and our sister, so wouldst thou kindly—Grrk!”

“No!” Cadence shouted, inadvertently causing pain to Nightmare Moon when she put a bit more strength into her hug. “I should have seen the way your subjects thought about you and threatened you. I should have been there for you in time of need, and now that I can finally see you again, you aren’t going to put me aside!”

She nuzzled the alicorn’s wounded belly and added, “I am here for you Luna. I know you’ve suffered a lot in the past thousand years, but realize that you have a friend here who wishes to cheer you up. You’re not alone.”

Nightmare Moon almost snarled in reply. “How couldst thou? Thou couldst never understand a thousand years of exile in a cold prison, waiting for the day when thou canst finally return to thy kingdom…” She paused, but it was too late to take her words back.

Cadence gave the dark alicorn a stern glare. “I may not know how devastating it is to be banished to a cold prison, but I know how it feels to be banished from your own kingdom. I’m no alien to torture and pain, both physical and mental…”

Her serious expression wilted a bit, and her next words were barely more than whispers. “I lost the Crystal Empire because of Sombra, and even after twelve hundred years, I’m still patiently awaiting its return, so trust me, I know how you feel.”

Nightmare Moon turned away to avoid eye contact with Cadence, her ears down against her head as Cadence continued in a more hopeful tone.

“You can’t let your hate and grief ruin your life, Luna,” she said. “You and Celestia are sisters. You’ve both faced a lot of hardship and trials together, cared for each other, ruled, laughed, and cried with each other. Do not let your desire for vengeance blind you.”

Cadence winced as she lit her horn in a bright blue aura, and tiny hearts flew from her horn to Nightmare Moon, who took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

A few silent seconds passed, though they felt like minutes, before Nightmare finally opened her eyes and asked, her voice imperious yet mournful, “Are you done?”

Cadence loosened her hug, looking up into the dark alicorn’s face. “Please, no more fighting. It doesn’t have to end this way.”

Nightmare Moon looked back, and Cadence could have sworn that there were tears in her eyes when she spoke. “I know your special talent, Cadence. I know how you influence others with your magic. You bring ponies closer by reminding them why they loved each other in the first place.”

The dark alicorn struggled to free herself, if only to wipe out the tears from her eyes. “Dark magic causes one’s deepest fears to surface. Love magic revitalizes one’s most precious memories,” she said, before her voice became low and harsh. “But If thou thinkest that centuries of sisterly bonds can overcome a millennium of desolate isolation, thou art wrong.”

Cadence stared at her friend’s watery eyes in shock. She had failed to be there for Luna in the past, and now, she had failed to heal Luna’s wounded heart. As she desperately searched for words, a flash of light caught both of their attentions, and they turned towards the unexpected source. When they finally realized what they were looking at, their mouths were agape, their eyes wide, and their ears fell flat against their heads.

Nightmare Moon’s heart skipped a beat, and her shocked expression quickly turned into one of awe and fear. Cadence, on the other hoof, even through her awe, managed to discern one specific pony despite her miniscule size and distance between them. A warm smile grew across her face.

“Twilight… I should have known that nothing can stop you when you have a goal in mind,” she murmured before looking at the alicorn in her embrace. “I’m not the only one who wants to help you. Twilight has done everything she could to help you, whether it was to reunite you with her mentor or to simply save you, so please, don’t throw away your life. We will help you get through this.”

Nightmare Moon trembled, terrified, her breathing unsteady. She was ready and willing to face pain or death, but another thousand years on the moon…

Her leathery wings shot out, flapping desperately to escape from Cadence’s hold. “Release me this instant!” Nightmare Moon screeched, flailing around. “I am not going back to that horrible place! I will not endure another thousand years of solitude, nor will I allow Luna to suffer that same fate!”

The dark alicorn delivered a solid hoof to the face of her captor. She pushed Cadence away and flew up into the air, only for Celestia to teleport in her way.

“Please, trust my student. She won’t harm you,” the sun princess said, capturing Nightmare Moon in her levitation. The dark alicorn threw out thunderbolts with what little magic she had left, but whatever she had thrown at Celestia amounted to little more than needle pricks that the white alicorn stoically endured.

Nightmare Moon’s attention turned to the little party of mares as the missing Element appeared out of the air in front of Twilight, its stone casing twice as large as the bearer herself. Twilight was lifted into the air, along with the Element, each wrapped in a blinding magical aura. At the apex of their ascent, the sphere shattered into pieces… only to reform around the tiny mare as brilliantly glowing golden armor, a gem in the form of a six-pointed star upon the trimmed breastplate.

It would have amused Nightmare Moon that the Element of Magic took such a form for the tiny adventurous battlemage if it weren’t for the memories, the nightmares, of the prison she thought she had escaped from.

“T-Twilight, please!” she pled, still squirming around desperately. “Let me die in battle! I will not stand to be banished to the moon again! Please!”

Twilight looked at the terrified princess from the inside of her armor, her tiny eyes aglow with power. “Don’t worry Nightmare Moon! I swear, you and Luna will not be sent to that place again. Please, just trust me.”

The alicorn struggled against the levitation field she was captured in. She entertained the thought of lashing out at one of the Element Bearers in hopes of disrupting the artifacts and delaying their judgement, but no sooner than she thought this, her sister flew above the bearers, spreading her wings protectively. In an instant, Nightmare Moon’s hopes had been dashed, and unable to escape or defend herself, she lowered her head and did the only thing she could.

“Twilight… Please…”

“I promise!”

And with that, a rainbow burst forth from the gem on Twilight’s armor, flying straight at Nightmare Moon and wrapping around her. The dark alicorn hung limply, watching as her vision of the ponies around her was blotted out and she was left isolated, alone in the maelstrom of light and color.

But this isolation… the brief moments she still had couldn’t even come close to the centuries spent without the company of others, and whatever outcome was waiting for her, it was soothing to think that maybe, just maybe, everything would turn out perfectly fine. It was a grand idea that brought her a peaceful smile as she surrendered to her fate.

The rainbow died down, leaving in its wake a little, blue alicorn filly surrounded by shredded scraps of midnight black.

Celestia’s heart beat faster and faster as she landed on the stone tiles. With slow, careful steps, she approached her little sister uncertainly, barely holding her tears as she lowered her head to the blue alicorn. “L-Luna?”

Luna looked up into Celestia’s eyes, muttering. “Err… Y-yes.”

The white alicorn immediately swept her little sister up into a hug and cried, “Oh Luna, I’m so sorry! So sorry for everything my subjects and I did to you a thousand years ago. I know you may not wish to forgive me now, but please, give me a chance!”

To Celestia’s surprise, Luna’s now shorter forelegs hugged her back, and she was shivering, shaking as she rubbed her tears into the dirty, white fur before her. “We… we do not wish to be alone again. We pray that thou not forsakest us again… D-do not l-leave us…”

Celestia hugged Luna tighter. “Never, sister, I will never repeat this mistake again,” she said sincerely, a note of joy in her voice.

“Dost thou s-swear it?”

Celestia nodded her head, nuzzling the soft mane below her. “I swear, sister.”

A small smile spread across Luna’s face. “T-then we shall... f-forgive…”

Her smile turned sour, and with a teary sob, she buried her face in Celestia’s fur again. “No… no, we cannot…”

***

Twilight sat next to Spike’s foreleg as he, her guards, and their friends openly stared at the royal sisters before them, their eyes wide and their mouths open.

The little mare wished she could feel happy. She succeeded after all, but something was missing, something important to call today a victory. She looked around, noticing Cadence, who stood a few meters away, looking towards the two sisters with her foreleg raised yet refusing to budge. Eventually, the pink alicorn lowered her hoof and closed her wings, her head lowered as she trod wearily towards a corner of the room.

Is she sad? Or she is just giving the princesses space for their reunion? Twilight’s brow furrowed as she observed her foalsitter with concern. While she hadn’t heard what Cadence told Nightmare Moon back when the Elements were charging, she had seen that they both cared for each other, or else Nightmare Moon would have fought against Cadence from the start.

As she walked towards her foalsitter, a small fragment of dark skin caught her attention. Twilight looked around the room and noticed many more like it, like layers peeled from an onion.

Did I just… Her heart beat faster, and her breathing accelerated. With hesitant steps, the tiny unicorn approached the closest fragment, too distracted to hear Luna’s next words to her sister.

***

Cadence stood in front of the royal alicorns like a statue, her foreleg raised as if she had wanted to draw their attention. She couldn’t quite express how much she wanted to welcome Luna back, to press the long forgotten alicorn against her chest and assure her that everything would be all right.

But she couldn’t.

Auntie Celestia needs this far more than I do. It would be wrong of me to interfere. She looked to the side at the group of heroines who had restored Luna to her former self and purified her of corruption.

Or perhaps they simply destroyed Nightmare Moon’s influence?

As much as she wanted to thank them from the deepest part of her heart for what they did, she was distracted by the fragments left behind after Nightmare Moon had been vanquished. Is Nightmare Moon just Luna’s other personality? Or was she a being of her own?

A chill went through her bones, and she lowered her head and backed off towards the corner, glad that she wasn't the center of attention.

Her eyes drifted over the scene before her. It looked like a perfect storybook end, perhaps. Luna and Celestia were embracing, a final ending to a conflict a thousand years old. Twilight’s friends were astonished, still trying to process what had just happened. Overwatch and Steel Blade had all but collapsed on each other, enjoying cookies from what must have been a massive stash in one of Steel Blade’s saddlebags. Twilight…

Twilight was examining a fragment of Nightmare Moon off to the side, unnoticed by the rest of the ponies there. Well, besides her suspiciously omniscient unicorn guard, perhaps.

I wonder... Is Nightmare Moon…

“No… no, we cannot…”

Cadence’s ears perked up, and she straightened up in alarm, looking at the royal sisters with concern. Despite the best efforts of her and the Elements, Luna was still hesitant to forgive her sister. The alicorn of love drew in a deep breath, drawing up her determination as she began to form a new plan. Luna needs somepony to help her recover… and that pony is me.

***

Celestia’s heart all but turned to ash at those words, and she simply sat there with Luna, shocked.

Luna eventually pulled back, wiping out her tears as she looked mournfully up into her sister’s eyes. “We feel at ease now. Tis as if the past thousand years on the moon were nothing more than a bad dream, hidden away by the good memories of our past that still float through our mind, no doubt a combined effort of Cadence’s spell and the Elements,” she said calmly. “But we know this be no dream. We cannot sweep aside our past, ignore it like it never happened. As much as we wish to forgive thine actions, we cannot just yet. Mayhap one day we will.”

Celestia looked at Luna for a few moments in stunned silence, but she eventually found a smile creeping onto her lips. “Then I will prove you that I deserve your forgiveness, Luna, no matter how long it takes,” she said, hugging the blue alicorn closer.

"And umm… We... I suppose,” Luna began slowly, fidgeting. “I will need to earn thy forgiveness too?"

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Forgiveness… for what? I was the one—”

Luna cut her off with a hoof, saying, “Thou art not the only one at fault, sis—Tia. True, thou hast shown ignorance and blindness when we were in pain, but we made mistakes of our own. After what we did as Nightmare Moon, you had reasons to fear for the safety of yo… our subjects.”

Celestia shook her head. “Let’s not let the past control us, Luna. We cannot take back our mistakes, so let’s focus on not repeating them again.”

Luna’s head dipped down. How she wished she could amend her mistakes to the wronged, but the families of those she killed and the guards she hurt were long dead, left in the dark years of the past. At the very least, she was punished for it, but they were permanent blots on her conscience, unable to be perfectly wiped clean.

She looked in her sister’s eyes and regretted she couldn’t return her forgiveness, but regardless of her heart’s intent, she still buried herself in the warm fur of the larger alicorn’s chest.

As the two regal sisters once again embraced, they found themselves the center of a happy cheer, Pinkie Pie all but bawling in joy into a tissue she pulled from… somewhere. Celestia finally broke the hug with her sister and said, her voice warm and inviting, “I believe there is one special pony I still need to give my thanks to, as well as an apology.”

Luna nodded in understanding. “Wouldst thou mind if we thank her too?” she asked calmly. Celestia nodded, smiling, but when the two alicorns looked towards the Elements of Harmony, they found that the pony in question wasn’t among them.

Celestia turned towards Overwatch, who tipped her head sideways. The white alicorn turned to find Twilight where the guard unicorn had indicated, and she began to approach the tiny mare, oblivious to what her student was holding in her hooves.

The Elements of Harmony - Happiness and Sorrow

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Dawn - Reunions

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Dawn - Friendships and Blessings

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Dawn - Foalsitter No More

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Epilogue

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Prologue

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

“Hey Twilight! What are you doing?” Spike called up to his adoptive mother, as she perused a long row of books a few meters above him.

Twilight Sparkle, twenty years old and shrunken by Princess Celestia to barely the size of a large rat, could have easily taken a spot as one of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria.

Well, if she ever decided to return to her original size, that is.

However, over her thirteen years under the tutelage of the princess, she discovered her love for the adventures and experiences from being tiny, and so wished to stay as she was, perfectly content at her current size.

Twilight picked out another book, adding it to the mountain of tomes levitating above her head as she checked off another item on the long checklist floating in front of her.

“Twili—”

Spike stopped as Twilight turned suddenly towards him, jumping from the five meter height to land squarely on his nose. She wrapped her magic in a gentle embrace around his mouth to keep it closed even as she still kept the giant heap of books levitating behind her. “Shush, Spike, this is the Royal Library. One of the main rules is to keep quiet. That includes shouting and loud noises too. Understand?”

Spike tried to answer, but his mouth was still held in Twilight’s powerful grip, so he simply nodded his head. A moment later, Twilight loosened her hold on him, and her angry glare vanished.

“Twilight,” Spike mumbled, “you know that besides us, your mentor, your foalsitter, and your personal guards, nopony else uses this library, right? Why do you even bother with the rules, if there is nopony here to disturb?”

Twilight shook her head. “Rules are rules, Spike. What if some very famous and important scholars come here in search for knowledge, and the noise we make discourages them from their pursuit?” she replied, giving Spike a questioning look.

The little dragon sighed in defeat. “Fine, fine. I'll try not to be too loud, but could you please tell me what you're searching for?” Spike asked, pointing up at the books still being levitated in Twilight’s magic. “Are you still working on that spell to turn unicorns and earth ponies into pegasi, or is this some new project?”

“Nothing of the sort. I’m just preparing for an important assignment,” Twilight replied cheerfully, giving her assistant a smile.

Spike stared at her uncomprehendingly, and Twilight’s smile slowly turned into a frown. “Don’t tell me you forgot what day it is today.”

Spike blinked a few times as he continued to look up at the unicorn on his muzzle. “Umm... is today your birthday? No wait, you had that a few months ago. Maybe... or... okay, I got nothing.”

Twilight let out an exasperated groan. “Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration! It’s going to take place in a town not far from Canterlot—Ponyville, I think—but the point is that I’m responsible for overseeing the preparations for the celebration. Do you understand what this means?” she said, a mix of excitement and panic in her voice.

Twilight looked at Spike desperately as he tried his best to think of an appropriate response. “Umm... free food?” he replied hesitantly.

“No Spike,” Twilight said firmly, resisting the urge to facehoof. “It means that I am on my first royal assignment! Princess Celestia is entrusting me with a duty for the first time, and I cannot fail her trust. This day has to be perfect!” she said anxiously, taking a few agitated breaths as a few hairs of her mane sprung out of place.

“Twilight, calm down!” Spike said, as the little mare jumped down from his head to pace restlessly on the floor. “You are, once again, panicking over nothing. Also, didn’t Celestia assign you to the Wonderbolt Headquarters so you could learn about pegasus magic? You didn’t panic back then, so why is this any different?” he asked, giving Twilight a questioning look.

“No, no, and once again, no! My one month trip to the Wonderbolt Headquarters and the time I spent learning from Spitfire and Soarin’ were a part of my studies. Overseeing the Summer Sun Celebration is the first duty the princess has requested of me. For the first time since I became her apprentice, I can prove myself useful to her, and I must prove myself useful!” Twilight replied, shuddering from the images of a ruined celebration and a giant, disappointed princess glaring down at her as they flashed through her mind.

Before her assistant could reply, Twilight jumped onto the bookshelf and began climbing back up, her levitated books following her. Spike sighed and followed the little mare as she skimmed through the titles even quicker than before, once again five meters above him. “So let me guess, those books are about past Summer Sun Celebrations and this village we’re going to visit, right?” he asked quietly, not wanting to get another lecture from his over-energetic mother.

“First off, it’s Ponyville, and yes, you are correct. Just today, Silver Scroll informed me about my assignment and left a list of tasks to do and places I need to inspect. She said that I’ll be staying at the local library, but I need to be prepared," Twilight answered, taking a single solid jump to land on the edge of another bookshelf. "I’m trying to find as much literature as I can about this place.” She looked up at the sign posted on the shelf, proclaiming it to be the ‘History and Traditions’ section of the library. With a nod, she began skimming through the titles again, though her hasty search stopped when an interesting book caught her attention.

“Twilight, you’re going to visit a town near Canterlot, not some isolated island with an alien culture… Twilight, are you even listening to me?” Spike asked, as Twilight buried herself in her new find, a picture of the moon emblazoned on its cover.

“Your Highness, permission to report!” an armored, white unicorn said, his blue, multicolored mane tucked neatly into his helmet as he snapped a smart salute. The sparse light coming through the canopy of the Everfree Forest reflected off his polished armor and brightened the area slightly, though it ultimately did little to penetrate the dark, gloomy atmosphere. He wore a serious expression on his face as the princess turned towards him with graceful poise.

“Speak,” Celestia said firmly.

“Our forces have all been properly briefed and are currently in position with the enchanted camouflage. We had some minor troubles with monsters from the Everfree Forest, but we’ve managed to dissuade a few of them from interfering,” Shining Armor reported.

“And the specialized magic-restraining rings? Will they be able to restrain Nightmare Moon's power?” Celestia asked, levitating over a silver, spiraling ring with a few enchanted gems embedded in it.

“I believe so, Your Highness,” Shining Armor said as Celestia slid the ring over her own horn. “Once on the horn, it cannot be taken off without a special key. Just one ring is strong enough to keep me from using my more advanced spells, and I am confident that even your possessed sister could not—”

“Sir! Manticore incoming!”

Shining Armor turned around swiftly to find two of his pegasus soldiers in midair, keeping a manticore at bay with their spears. He lit his horn to trap the manticore inside his barrier, but he quickly lost focus when a beam of golden magic shot straight past him, carving a scorching crater in front of the beast, the dirt and soil melting into a blistering lava. The frightened manticore quickly turned tail and fled as Shining Armor and his guards stared wide-eyed at the sudden, new smouldering depression in the earth. They turned towards the source of the attack, the princess looking evenly at the results of her magic as small wisps of smoke trailed from her horn.

“Princess... but, the restraining ring...” he said hesitantly. The alicorn gestured towards the ground, and Shining Armor noticed a puddle of hot liquid that was most likely the melted restraining ring. He placed a hoof on the back of his neck awkwardly. “W-well, I certainly didn’t expect that.”

Celestia shook her head with a sigh of disappointment. “Please instruct your soldiers not to try and put those rings on Nightmare Moon until she is greatly weakened. We don’t need any unnecessary casualties because of this.”

Shining Armor nodded, turning to trot to the closest outpost of soldiers. These rings were the strongest version we could produce, and Princess Celestia overpowered one as if it was nothing. I pray that she will be able to weaken Nightmare Moon, or my soldiers won’t be able to see their homes and families ever again. He let out a deep sigh as he disappeared from Celestia’s view.

***

Celestia sat back down, taking a deep breath as she renewed her meditation and prepared herself for the confrontation against her sister. Her calm, however, was soon interrupted when she felt a hoof on her shoulder in an encouraging gesture. Concentration broken, she looked back, matching gazes with pink alicorn. “So, the day has finally come,” Cadence said. “Hasn’t it, Auntie Celestia?”

“Yes it has. It’s a day I have waited a thousand years for, the day when I finally confront my sister once again, but what about you Cadence?" Celestia asked, looking sympathetically into the eyes of her companion. "Luna and I took care of you from the day you lost your empire, and Luna was as close to you as I was. Are you also prepared to face her?”

Cadence gave a determined nod. “Yes, I am,” she said firmly, shedding a few involuntary tears. “Because I had tried to live among your subjects under an illusion spell in those days, I was not around when Luna gave herself up to the darkness. I was not there to raise her spirits when she needed it the most, but not today!”

“Cadence, Luna’s fall to darkness was not your fault, but mine. If only I—” Celestia was interrupted when a wave of green flames flared up in the air front of her, depositing a scroll onto the dark ground.

Celestia levitated it up with a concerned expression and unrolled it, the seconds passing mercilessly as she skimmed over the scroll intently. It wasn’t long before her eyes widened, the scroll dropping from her levitation as her legs began to tremble.

Cadence approached Celestia and grabbed her trembling hoof, massaging it as she looked at the white alicorn’s panicked eyes. “It was a message from Twilight. Did something happen? Did she hurt herself again? Please, tell me!”

The calm mask that normally graced Celestia had slipped momentarily, revealing the depths of the fear and confusion that swept over her. "Twilight found the story of Nightmare Moon."

Cadence shook her head in disbelief. “What? But there isn’t a copy of the story in all of Equestria save for in your possession! How could your student have found it?”

Celestia looked down in contemplation, her eyes darting back and forth. The only pony I ever entrusted it to was my secretary, Silver Scroll, but I told her that sending Twilight to Ponyville was no longer part of the plan. Did she disobey me?.

“Guards!”

A group of soldiers flew towards the princess and saluted. “Yes, Your Highness?”

“Bring me a scroll, pen, and ink. Immediately!”

The guards bowed slightly, sending one of their number off at high speeds through the Everfree Forest towards the nearest town before they returned to their posts. Behind them, Celestia sat down with Cadence as she tried to regain her composure, her legs still trembling uncontrollably.

“Auntie,” Cadence said calmly as she put a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder, “I know that you are worried about your student, but she’s away from danger in Canterlot, behind walls guarded by hundreds of royal guards. She’s safe.”

Celestia took a deep breath to calm herself before she looked at Cadence worriedly. “I know, but the very idea that she may get involved... it terrifies me." She paused and closed her eyes, giving herself a few seconds to regain her composure. "A thousand years ago, I lost Luna because of my own blindness, and a thousand years since, I’ve lived without the sister I had loved so dearly, but Twilight... when I took her in as my student and she almost drowned in my own bathtub after I had promised her parents I’d take care of her...”

She shuddered. The idea that the Twilight she had cared so much for would no longer be alive was unimaginable. “Do you remember when I had accidentally stepped on her in a silly game of tag? It was a little bit before you came in as her foalsitter. I thought I’d killed my adopted daughter then, and just a few months ago, I actually ate her inside a piece of cake during her own birthday party.” Celestia let out a mournful sigh, looking intently at the ground even as she continued to talk. “Cadence, I love Twilight as much as I love my own sister. The idea that the two ponies I love would fight each other… No, I won’t let that happen.”

Cadence nodded in understanding. “I understand your worries, Auntie,” she said reassuringly as she moved closer to Celestia. “Every time I see her getting herself into adventure after adventure, so small and so vulnerable, I worry about her too, but...”

She smiled at the sun alicorn. “You must understand that all the training and the bad experiences she’s endured have also made her stronger. Every time you thought that you’d lost her, she has proved to you exactly how resilient she is.”

Celestia sighed. “I know, Cadence, I know. She may, in fact, be able to unite the Element Bearers and pass the trials that Nightmare Moon would set up for them, no doubt activating the Elements soon after, but just as many potential candidates died before Luna and I became the Element Bearers so long ago, Twilight may die as well."

Celestia spread her wings proudly, straightening up into a regal posture. "The Elements are powerful. They may have been able to change me and my sister into alicorns, but it has always been a gamble, and the fact that Twilight wants to remain so tiny… I fear that it will reduce her chances to befriend the other potential bearers in Ponyville, let alone the possibility that she will be able to survive an attack by even a weakened Nightmare Moon.”

“Come on, Auntie. You can’t possibly think that your student’s size would get in the way. I still remember when you asked me to foalsit Twilight without, may I remind you, telling me that you had shrunk her,” Cadence said, shooting her aunt an annoyed glare. “I may have made myself look younger with a spell to make myself more approachable to young ponies, but I couldn’t prepare myself for when I first saw your student, so tiny compared to me, even when I was the size of a filly.”

She looked up with a wistful, affectionate smile on her face, filled with the soft glow of nostalgia. “You should have seen my face when I first saw her, curled up into an adorable ball on top of your pillow like a kitten. When she woke up and looked at me with those bright eyes, I was all ready for an inevitable scream of fright and panic.”

Celestia chuckled, her mood improving. “Let me guess. She wasn’t afraid at all?”

“Nope. Despite my assumptions, she acted very courteously, not at all intimidated by our huge size difference. She even questioned me about why I was smaller and younger than I should’ve been, considering that you told her about me,” Cadence said. “And yes, she did eventually ask about my age-changing spell. I’m the reason she knows so much about illusion, love, and self-altering spells, and though we are the only ones strong and experienced enough to use the age spell now, Twilight may eventually be able to use it one day, if she can’t already.”

Celestia smiled. “You’re right… Size never really was an issue with Twilight. She could make friends so easily, unintimidated by the size of the ponies around her.” She paused, looking at Cadence with renewed concern. “But keep in mind that I told those ponies who have befriended Twilight about her condition in advance. Ponyville is full of ponies who have never seen or heard about a pony such as Twilight, and there is a risk that she will not try to befriend anypony who doesn’t try to start the friendship first. I just can’t take that risk.”

“Your Highness! You wished for writing materials?” a pegasus guard said as he approached the two alicorns, snapping a salute as he handed over the requested items.

“Thank you. You may return to your post,” Celestia said kindly as she levitated a scroll in front of herself, dipping her quill into the bottle of ink.

Twilight trotted circles around Spike nervously as the baby dragon sat with a bored expression on his face. It had been several minutes since they had sent the letter and Princess Celestia still hasn’t replied.

“What’s taking her so long?” Twilight said in exasperation as she unconsciously quickened her pacing. “Princess Celestia has never delayed in replying to my messages, especially for an emergency such as this!”

“What happened with the ‘no-noise-in-the-library’ rule?” Spike asked in a teasing tone, looking at Twilight amusedly as she stopped herself and put her tiny hooves over her mouth. “Twilight, this book you read about is some old fairy tale. You can’t expect the princess to take it seriously.”

Twilight stamped her hooves down firmly, leveling a serious stare at the baby dragon. “Spike, this is the tale of Nightmare Moon we’re talking about. Princess Celestia banished her to the moon one thousand years ago, and tonight is the night when the stars will aid in her escape! Equestria is in impending danger, and I’m certain that my mentor will listen to me,” she said confidently, before jumping back as Spike suddenly burped up a scroll in a burst of green flames.

Twilight quickly jumped to catch the big scroll with her forelegs before it could fall to the floor and, not wasting a moment, unrolled it and began reading intently.

My dearest faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

I have read your warning about your recent discovery, and, while I value your diligence and trust you completely, you simply must stop reading those dusty old books and fairy tales! Understand that not everything written in a book is the accurate truth.

Your mentor, Princess Celestia

Twilight dropped the scroll, her mouth wide open as Spike took Celestia’s letter and read it himself. He smirked at Twilight and crossed his arms. “Called it.”

Twilight hung her head low in defeat as she began walking towards the exit of the Royal Library, Spike right behind her. “Come on, Twilight, the princess is right. Just because something is written in a book doesn’t mean it has to be true. That’s what fantasies and fairy tales are for: to entertain us.”

Twilight sped up to a trot, turning her head back to look at Spike with a worried expression. “And what if it is the truth? What if Equestria is in danger? What if Princess Celestia’s sister is coming back from her banishment looking for vengeance after spending a thousand years on the moon?" She gasped, her eyes widening in realization. "Now that I think about it, does being an alicorn mean that you don’t need to breathe, eat, or drink water? After all—”

Twilight let out a soft ‘oof’ as she collided into something, which, upon a second glance, turned out to be somepony’s foreleg. She shook her head blearily before looking up at the face of the pony she had crashed into. “S-sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and—”

She paused, her ears straightening up and a smile spreading across her face. “Oh, hello Silver Scroll, Brave Blade! What brings you here to the library?”

Silver Scroll looked down at her with a serious expression. “I have arrived only to remind you that your chariot is prepared and waiting for you. The Royal Guards have already been informed about your departure and your destination." She gave Twilight a sly smile before adding, "And I am sure that a punctual pony such as yourself would hate the very idea of being late on your first royal assignment.”

“And I came to wish you farewell,” Brave Blade said with a friendly smile. “After all, you’ve spent many years safely behind the walls of this castle. Well, at least until you accidentally teleported yourself from the princess’s tower and crashed onto the stone streets of Canterlot,” the former Captain of the Royal Guard continued, chuckling.

Twilight shuddered at the memory. If she hadn’t had a protection spell cast on her so often that its effect had become permanent, she might not have survived the fall when she began experimenting with teleportation. As it was, it was still a terrifying experience, even if it did make her realize that the added durability and strength from the protection spell meant she didn’t have to be afraid of heights.

“Anyways,” the captain said firmly as he lowered his head down to Twilight’s level, “the point I am trying to make is that you have spent many years in the castle, and for the past few years you’ve been walking around Canterlot freely again. But are you ready to visit a completely different town? A town where nopony knows you and nopony has even seen or heard of a shrunken unicorn?”

Twilight walked towards Brave Blade, looking into the old eyes of the former captain. “I understand your concern, and honestly, I feel a bit nervous about leaving Canterlot. But Princess Celestia trusted me to ensure that the preparation of this celebration goes smoothly, and I am not going to fail her now,” Twilight said with determination.

“But won’t your small size get in the way of your duty? Won’t it distract the villagers?” Brave Blade asked in a serious tone. “I think the best course of action for you to take is to dispel the effect of the shrinking spell that Her Highness cast on you thirteen years ago.”

Twilight took a few steps back with an awkward smile. “Heh heh, oh, look what time it is. I must be going. Can’t be late on my first royal assignment and all...” she said, before taking off in a dash towards the exit, galloping directly between Silver Scroll’s hooves.

“Wait for me!” Spike shouted as he ran after her, leaving the two adults behind as he tried to catch up to the tiny unicorn.

***

Silver Scroll looked at Brave Blade, her face doubtful and concerned. “So, she’s still afraid of returning to her normal size. I hope that sending Twilight to Ponyville against the princess’s wishes doesn’t turn out to be a bad idea. Do you think that Twilight will finally remove the shrinking spell when she faces Nightmare Moon?”

Brave Blade shook his head. “I am not confident she will dispel it when the time comes. I may not know Twilight very well, but my son Steel Blade is one of Twilight’s personal guards and he’s spent a lot of time with her over the past years. He told me that Twilight has gotten so used to being tiny that she no longer wants to live as a normal-sized pony. The very idea of everything not being bigger than her, or perhaps that she may accidently hurt somepony with her powerful magic, terrifies her.”

He let out a sigh as he looked up at the ceiling, smiling warmly. “Twilight lives in a world where she can get hurt very easily, where every small task is a challenge, and it’s a world she desperately wants to live in.”

“But will she succeed? Will any pony, especially the potential element bearers, take her seriously?”

“They will. Princess Celestia may have lost faith in her because Twilight has decided to stay small, but I haven’t. Whatever her size, I’m certain she’ll succeed,” Brave Blade replied.

“Whatever the outcome, you and I will be arrested for treason,” Silver Scroll said evenly.

“If Twilight unlocks the Elements of Harmony and frees Luna from the influence of Nightmare Moon, not only will the guards who were once under my command survive, but Equestria will gain one more powerful alicorn and six of the most powerful artifacts in the world. I will accept the consequences of my actions as long as Equestria pulls through as a stronger nation in the end.”

“Twilight, slow down!” Spike shouted as Twilight continued to gallop ahead of him. Despite her tiny size, she had incredible reserves of stamina for a unicorn. Spike kept following until they reached a chariot with two pegasi guards waiting for them, where Twilight finally stopped to take a few deep breaths after her non-stop gallop.

A charcoal-black unicorn guard slumped over the side of the chariot to raise an eyebrow at Twilight, using her scarf as a cushion as she swept her amber mane out of her eyes. “Oh, look who finally arrived,” she said, smiling faintly.

“Overwatch!” Twilight said as she jumped into the chariot and climbed up on the royal guard’s back. “So I take it that you and Steelie will accompany me to Ponyville as well?”

“Of course we will. We are your personal guards, after all,” Overwatch said, a sly smile spreading across her face as she levitated a tiny pair of saddlebags over to Twilight. “And besides, the last time we left you alone, you were almost foalnapped and ransomed. I mean, sure, we had a good spot of vacation time while you were off studying pegasus magic under Spitfire and Soarin’, but Steelie’s been a bit antsy about taking any more time off from watching you, especially at the rate you’ve been getting yourself in trouble.”

Twilight blushed, an awkward smile on her face. “I-I suppose so. Where is Steelie by the way?” she asked as she looked around, perched comfortably on her guard’s back.

“Over here!” one of the pegasi who were attached to the chariot said. Overwatch turned slightly to the side to give Twilight a better view of her friend, who was easily recognizable despite the enchanted armour that made every pegasus guard look the same. Upon seeing his little charge, Steel Blade waved his hoof cheerfully and added, “Since I’m flying with you to Ponyville anyways, I thought I might as well be useful. Corporal Cumulus can fly the empty chariot back himself this afternoon, and we can return with Princess Celestia after the ceremony tomorrow.”

Twilight nodded, giving him a happy smile as Spike joined them in the chariot headed towards Ponyville. She may have been moving from one life of hardships and adventures as the princess’s little student into yet another, but the checklist of duties she needed to go through as the Summer Sun Celebration’s Royal Inspector wasn’t nearly the most prominent problem plaguing her thoughts at the moment.

Summer Sun Celebration - Rainbow Dash

Ponyville’s Tiny Librarian

Chapter 1

Part 2

“Are you sure you don’t want to ride on my head instead?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow. He was being levitated by Twilight, following closely behind her as she trotted back to Ponyville proper. “We’ve spent nearly an hour sampling their food and playing with those fillies and colts. You should really take a rest, Twilight, and let me get us to our next stop.”

Twilight looked amusedly at Spike as another drop of sweat slid down her nose. “You played with them as much as I did, and young dragons like you are in much more need of a break than I am.”

“Come on, Twilight. Don’t think I don’t know a little bit about your telekinesis. You’ve been levitating me for the past ten minutes. With that spell, you’re just lugging around a small portion of my weight in addition to yours. After that game of tag, you’re already plenty tired, so just rest on my head already,” Spike said with a stern look at the tiny unicorn.

Twilight gave him a deep sigh. “Fine, Spike, you win,” she said, lowering him to the ground and hopping up onto his head as he continued the trek. She wiped off a bit of the sweat clinging to her brow and levitated a small checklist from her saddlebags, looking intently at the next item. “Let’s see… Next is weather. I’m supposed to meet a pony named Rainbow Dash, who’s responsible for clearing the clouds.”

Twilight looked up at the puffy clouds still scattered across the sky and frowned. “Well, she doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of that, does she?”

“Look out!”

Twilight swiveled around to face the source of the loud warning scream, finding herself right in the path of a giant blue pegasus rocketing uncontrollably in her direction like a bullet. Her eyes opened wide, and time seemed to slow down, the passing seconds extending into minutes.

Out of reflex, Twilight jumped from Spike’s head, pushing the little dragon out of the way with a quick telekinetic burst as she curled up into a ball to brace herself for the coming impact. With her eyes shut tight, she didn’t quite notice Overwatch’s telekinetic field desperately attempting to shove her out of the way of the speeding pegasus, but the effort only barely got the tiny unicorn out of the way.

Though she didn’t take the brunt of the pony projectile, the sudden turbulent gust of wind from the passing pegasus pushed her aside like a fly, causing her to land with an unpleasant splat in a thick liquid. Twilight frowned as she tried to right herself, unsure whether she should be happy that the mud softened her fall or annoyed that she was now suffocating in it.

***

The cyan pegasus rose from the crater she had created in the ground and began to brush the dirt from her fur and rainbow-coloured mane as she looked around, unsure if she had crashed into that purple lizard-like creature just a moment ago. It wouldn’t be the first close call she’s had, and certainly not the first time she’s lost control when practicing a stunt.

She quickly found the dragon, approaching his sprawled-out body with a sheepish smile. “Hehe... you alright, buddy?”

“Twilight!” Spike shouted, springing quickly to his feet as he ran to crouch in front of a puddle of mud. “Twilight, are you all right?”

Rainbow Dash’s brow knit together into a confused look as she raised her hoof to make a circling motion to the side of her head, wondering just how hard she would have to crash into the creature to make it start talking to random puddles. “Hey there, I didn’t hit you that hard, did I?” she asked, slowly walking towards the baby dragon.

Spike quickly whirled around, glaring daggers at the pegasus. “Look at what you’ve done!” he shouted, pointing a sharp claw at the pool of mud.

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times. “Ummm… I’m sorry for crashing into you, but what‘s that got to do with a puddle of mud?”

Spike slapped his hand against his face with a frustrated groan. “You didn’t crash into me, featherbrain. You crashed into Twilight!”

Dash looked around and next back at him warily as she moved closer. “Dude, it’s just a pool of mud. There’s nopony else here.”

“Then maybe you need to take a closer look!” Spike said, pushing her into the muddy pool in his annoyance before he remembered who was still drowning in it. “Ahh, oops.”

Rainbow Dash yelped, her eyes wide as she tried to get her wings open, but it was too late to stop her from tumbling straight into the puddle. With a groan, the cyan pegasus lifted her head, her feathers and fur covered in muck. “What was that for, you punk!” Dash shouted, giving Spike an angry glare as she tried to advance towards him to return the favor.

She was suddenly restrained by a telekinetic field, and before she could wonder who cast it, her head was suddenly forced to turn back around, bringing her directly face-to-face with a small, mud-covered figure standing right in front of her.

Twilight sat up with a groan, trying to wipe the mud out of her face with her mud-covered forelegs and failing miserably at making her vision any clearer. Landing in a puddle was, perhaps, better than landing on solid ground, but it was only barely so, as evidenced by her aching back and her spinning head. She finally managed to shake out the obstructive mud and was moving on to working out the kinks in her back, only to look up at the sound of a yelp, looking straight at a pegasus in the process of body-slamming her.

The unicorn reflexively lit her horn, but she was a little too late to bring up her barrier or her levitation field. Instead, she took a deep breath, keeping her eyes tightly closed as she was pressed deep into the layer of mud and ooze. The crushing pressure let off after only a moment, simply another small addition to the list of the aches and cramps Twilight was slowly accumulating over the day. With a growl, the tiny unicorn quickly cleared her eyes with a sweep of her forelegs, giving the pegasus an angry glare as she used her magic to bring the culprit straight to her.

“What the hay were you thinking, nearly crashing into us? You could have seriously hurt Spike!” Twilight shouted, using her magic to wipe off the muck that clung to their faces.

The weatherpony blinked a few times in confusion, making a few hesitant attempts to pull away from the levitation field holding her down as her mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing. “You could have seriously injured somepony. Do you have anything to say in your defense?” Twilight asked, crossing her tiny forelegs and looking up at the pegasus sternly.

The pegasus opened her mouth speechlessly, closed it again with a perplexed look on her face, and finally reopened her mouth again to say just one simple sentence. “Wow, you’re small.”

Twilight let out a loud, frustrated groan and, in her growing exasperation, used her magic to punt the pegasus a short distance away before angrily stomping out of the mud puddle towards the downed pony. The tiny unicorn’s eye twitched, and her mane began to trail small wisps of smoke as her anger slowly began to reach ignition temperature.

“Are you not… feeling even a tiny bit… of remorse… about your reckless behavior?” Twilight fumed, speaking between harsh breaths as she approached the weatherpony. The unicorn was almost atop the source of her anger when she finally noticed the tinge of fear in the pegasus’s expression, and she quickly checked herself before she went too far.

With a burst of magic, Twilight used a powerful heat spell to flash-dry the mud on her. She began working her legs a little, shaking off the broken, crusted bits of dirt that still clung to her fur, when she realized that the weatherpony was busy trying to stifle her laughter, tears forming in her eyes.

Twilight frowned at her. “What?”

That small word tipped the pegasus over the edge, and she burst out into uncontrollable laughter, falling backwards in her mirth as she pointed at Twilight’s mane. Spike soon joined the weatherpony in her laughter, and the tiny unicorn finally looked up to find her mane had curled up into a frizzy mess.

Twilight sighed. It was going to be a long day. “Let me guess. You’re Rainbow Dash,” she said firmly, catching the laughing pegasus’s attention.

“The one and only,” Rainbow Dash said, launching herself up into the air with her chest out proudly. “Why, you heard of me? By the way, how did you do that stuff earlier?”

Twilight looked up at the excited pegasus, frowning as she squinted up through the sunlight. “Do what?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the tiny unicorn, looking at her as if she was crazy. “Did what? You kidding me?”

Twilight shook her head, and the cyan pegasus rolled her eyes before continuing. “You know: shrinking yourself, nearly bursting into flames, shrugging off being hit by me when I spun out—sorry about that, by the way—and then pushing me away with levitation, duuuh. You’re, like, the size of a mouse!”

“Well,” Twilight began, raising her head self-assuredly as she slipped into lecture-mode, “as for your first question, I didn’t shrink myself; that particular spell is far beyond my current capabilities. It was actually Princess Celestia who shrank me.”

Rainbow Dash quickly thrust her head at Twilight’s, nearly touching nose-to-nose in her eagerness and causing the tiny unicorn to jump back in surprise. “Oh hey, you’ve had a run-in with the princess?”

Twilight reasserted herself, clearing her throat as she lightly, but firmly, pushed the pegasus’s nose away. “I’m her student. I’ve been training under her wing for years.”

Rainbow Dash’s brow knit together as she leveled a suspicious look at Twilight. “So why did she shrink you? Did you break some rules or conspire against her or something?” the pegasus said as she probed the tiny unicorn with her giant hoof. Twilight pushed away the hoof with an annoyed look, and the weather pony simply sat back and crossed her forelegs. “Oh I get it. Did you try to overthrow her and got shrunk as punishment?”

“Hey!” Twilight shouted as she glared at Rainbow Dash angrily, finding the very idea that she would take action against her wise and caring mentor insulting. “No, I did not do such a thing and I would never even think of doing such a thing. The only reason she shrank me is because my magic was too powerful for me when I was younger, and I could have hurt other ponies,” she said, with clear agitation in her voice.

Rainbow Dash hardened her stare at the phrase, ‘hurt other ponies,’ and Twilight took a deep breath before launching into a deeper explanation of what she’d meant. “Look, the princess shrank me because I couldn’t stop my magic surges. She took me in as her student so that I could eventually learn how to control my magic without worrying about collateral damage. Consequently, this also answers one of your other questions. Yes, I may be small, but that doesn’t make me weak. Even at my size I'm more than capable of lifting and flinging ponies away when I wish.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and she brought her hooves to her mouth with a sharp intake of breath. “Wooow, that is so… awesome!” she said in awe, and before Twilight could react, she was suddenly tossed into the air by the pegasus. The tiny unicorn immediately righted herself with a bit of levitation, and she landed squarely on Rainbow Dash’s nose as the weatherpony flew up into the air to catch her.

“So why didn’t my crash, y’know… flatten you out like a pancake?” the pegasus said, her eyes looking cross-eyed at the pony on her muzzle. “You got some ancient spell that makes you invincible or something?”

Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin as she let out a hum of contemplation. “Well... not quite, Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia had been casting a protection spell on me for so long that I’m fairly certain it’s become permanent. It effectively doubles my strength, endurance, and magical power to compensate for my size and make me less vulnerable. Since it only works on ponies under the effect of the shrinking spell, while spell itself is pretty much only known to the princess, the protection spell is probably as obscure of a spell as any, I suppose.”

Rainbow Dash’s expression turned to one of disappointment. “Only double? Lame,” she remarked, though she soon looked back at Twilight with renewed intensity. “Wait, if the spell is so weak, how did you survive when I smashed you into the mud?”

“Getting hit by you isn’t that big of a deal. I’ve gone through worse than being tackled by a speeding pegasus,” Twilight said nonchalantly.

“Hey! What do you mean ‘not a big deal?’” Rainbow Dash said with an offended tone. “You were pretty much pile-drived into the ground by the fastest pony in Equestria. What can be a bigger deal than that?”

Twilight gave the weatherpony a smirk, already remembering a little tip somepony told her about dealing with pegasi.

”Spitfire, no offense, but I noticed that a lot of your Wonderbolts are… extremely competitive and self-centered. How do you keep them in line?” Twilight asked from her spot on the captain’s back.

Spitfire turned her head to look at the unicorn. “That’s just the nature of a pegasus. We’re hot-blooded, live for the moment, and love the feel of adrenaline in our veins—something that, I’m happy to admit, you share with us,” she said with a wide grin before turning to look back ahead. “As for how I manage to keep a bunch of hot-blooded ponies in their place, it’s simple.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Could you please elaborate on that?”

“Ha! Of course I can,” Spitfire said confidently. “There are two ways to keep these competitive-type pegasi in their place. The first is to impress them. Gain their respect or defeat them in a competition, and they’ll be hanging onto your every word, if only to try and best you later.”

“The other way...” the Wonderbolts Captain said, flashing a devilish smile back at Twilight, “is to play on their pride. Even the laziest pegasi will do their job if they think you’re casting doubt on them.”

Twilight let out a laugh. “You? The fastest flyer in Equestria?”

“You think I’m joking?” Rainbow Dash said, shooting an annoyed glare at the tiny unicorn balanced on her nose. “I’m practically Wonderbolts material.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “The Wonderbolts?”

“Yeah!”

“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”

“That’s them.”

“Pfffft... please, Spitfire wouldn’t even look at a pegasus who can’t keep the sky clear for one measly day,” Twilight said, pointing a hoof at the cloud-strewn sky.

“Hey! I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat.”

Twilight snorted, leveling a challenging look at the pegasus. “Prove it.”

Without further ado, Rainbow Dash swooped down to the ground and popped Twilight off her nose with a flick of her head, only for the tiny unicorn to teleport back to her neck, tying herself to Rainbow Dash with a swift application of magic ropes. The blue pegasus, meanwhile, was so focused on her current task that she didn’t notice the lightweight now holding onto her neck.

Twilight struggled to stay on her ride, the magic ropes and her grip barely holding her on as Rainbow Dash zipped through the sky, making impossibly sharp turns as she moved directly to each cloud in her path like a pinball. Twilight watched in amazement as the clouds seemed to disintegrate at the touch of the weatherpony, even as she was buffeted by the intense gusts and fluffy leftovers of clouds. Unbelieveable. I haven’t had such a hard time staying on a pegasus since I flew with Spitfire. How strong do her wings have to *be** to make such hard right angle turns? Could she actually be stronger and faster than the Captain of the Wonderbolts? But how?*

Rainbow Dash landed lightly on the ground in front of where she thought she had left Twilight. “What’d I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat,” she said, standing confidently with her head held high.

Spike began clapping lightly, quickly drawing Rainbow Dash’s attention. “That was… amazing,” he said with admiration in his voice.

“Umm… Thanks,” the cyan pegasus said as she looked away from him in search of the tiny unicorn, even checking her hooves to make sure she didn’t accidentally step on her.

Twilight moved her mouth for a moment in stunned speechlessness, before quickly reasserting herself, dispelling her ropes and clearing her throat. “That… was ten seconds.”

Rainbow Dash quickly swiveled her neck to look at the tiny unicorn sitting on her shoulder. “Hey, what are you doing there?”

“Oh, I just wanted to experience your work first hoof,” Twilight said, grinning widely at the astonished pegasus.

“You... rode on me?”

“Yes, I did. I used a few magical ropes so I wouldn’t fall off.”

“You did...” Rainbow Dash said slowly, her gaze trained intently on the tiny unicorn’s fearless smile. “You’ve ridden on a pegasus before?”

“I’ve… ridden on a few pegasi before, yes, and riding on you was, well...”

“Yeeeessss…?” Rainbow Dash said, her ears and wings raised in anticipation of Twilight’s answer.

“Underwhelming. I’ve ridden on better flyers.”

“Huh? Uhh, what?” Rainbow Dash said, running through a multitude of confused and insulted facial expressions as she tried to comprehend how it was possible that she failed to meet the tiny mare’s standards.

The pegasus tried to say something, but she was soon cut off by a little laugh and a weak bump on her nose. “Got you!” Twilight exclaimed as she slid off Rainbow Dash’s back, landing softly on the grass. “That one’s for earlier.”

Dash blinked a few times in confusion before bursting out into laughter. “Ha! Good one, I never took you for that kind of pony! Looks like you’re pretty cool after all. We should hang out more often.”

“Well, thanks, you’re pretty cool too. I haven’t had such a thrill riding a pegasus since that time Spitfire flew me to the Frozen North.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide, and her mouth opened briefly before she let out a hesitant laugh. “G-good one, Twilight. You almost had me there… again.”

”You think that was a joke?” Twilight said, smiling slyly. “Well, maybe that was a joke. Or maybe not. If you manage to talk to Spitfire one day, remember to ask her about a tiny unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure she’ll indulge you.”

With that said, Twilight teleported onto Spike’s head. “Let’s go, Spike. We have much to do and little time to do it,” she said, pulling out her checklist as she settled herself comfortably on her perch. “C’mon, we need to check on decorations at the Town Hall.”

Spike nodded, grinning as his hitchhiker pulled out the map again and plotted the shortest path to their destination. The tiny unicorn rolled her neck and stretched out her back. She still had three more ponies to meet, and she wasn’t keen on accumulating any more injuries for the rest of the day.

Twilight looked at her checklist again, and let out a sigh of relief. There was only the music and the desserts to check up on after the decorations, all three of them relatively safe, indoors activities. Then, she’ll finally be free to see what her guards had found about Nightmare Moon at the library.

Rainbow Dash sat down, watching as the baby dragon and the tiny unicorn passed over the bridge and entered Town Hall. “Twilight Sparkle, eh?” she said with a sly smile. “Powerful enough to be the princess’s personal student… and with connections to Spitfire, only the most awesome pony out there! I have to be friends with her, no matter what!”

Overwatch let out a groan. Twilight Sparkle was being more of a magnet for trouble than she had expected, and it was starting to get annoying trying to figure out ways to keep her safe without overtly firing off bolts or subduing the entire local population.

Actually, at the rate this was going, that might not be a half bad idea.

Overwatch hopped over to the next rooftop closer to her charges just as the door to Town Hall closed behind them. The central structure was surrounded by a large ring of open space that separated it from any other buildings, but it still had fairly large windows, so even from her distant vantage point, Overwatch was confident she would be able to intervene if anything serious came about. Sure, Twilight had almost been bucked into paste and tackled into the ground before she could react, but hopefully, things would calm down a bit. Always got to stay optimistic in these situations.

She pulled out a piece of apple pie with a happy grin and took a bite from it as she settled into her spot on the roof. Besides her two charges, there was only one other pony in Town Hall, so Twilight should be fine, and Overwatch could finally take a few deep breaths and calm down a bit. It’s no fun being stressed, after all, and very nearly failing to keep Twilight intact was starting to take its toll on her mental state. It was time for a break, preferably before she had the time to develop a bad attitude and spread it to others. That would not be delicious at all.

Well, hopefully, she’d have time to rest.

She raised the pie up again and opened her mouth again, but she paused just as she was about to take the bite.

Scratch that. It was too much of a long shot to leave Twilight alone and not expect things to immediately escalate. There was a difference between optimism and blind hope. With a sigh, Overwatch looked somberly at her dessert. There was clearly no time to properly enjoy it now, and here she was, just about to revel in the fact that she had snuck past so many ponies to get it.

She quickly scarfed down the rest of the pie before she hopped back down to street level, walking calmly and confidently toward the Town Hall. The easiest way to not look suspicious is to act like nothing’s wrong, and nothing was wrong, right?

It was that exact moment that a high-pitched shriek sounded from inside the building.

Oh sweet Celestia, please no.