Blackout Shelter

Chapters

1 Old Management
2 Search Party
3 Crimes Against Equinity
4 Total Collapse

1 Old Management

It wasn’t long before Ponyville Castle had been outfitted to suit Princess Twilight Sparkle’s royal needs. And now that all the work had been finished, Applejack was back in the orchards, Pinkie Pie was resuming her apprenticeship with the Cakes, Rarity was perusing her artistic endeavours, Fluttershy was back among her animal companions, and Rainbow Dash was taking back the reigns of the weather crew. The castle library was now open to the public, as Twilight was showing some out-of-towners one bright, blue morning.

“How fancy it is,” remarked Ms Peachbottom. “A real superb job, your highness.”

“Glad you like it,” replied Twilight. “We did our best to set everything up the way Golden Oaks used to be.”

She looked away from the group for a moment. The destruction of her old Ponyville home still caused her some heartache.

“That’ll make the old librarian happy,” said Amber Aldis. “Whoever that was.”

They looked expectantly at Twilight.

“Um…”

That was when Twilight realised that she had no idea who used to run the Library before she’d come to town.

“We were only supposed to stay at Golden Oaks for one night during the Summer Sun Celebration, so why didn’t the librarian come back afterwards demanding her home back?”

Spike was rather astounded when Twilight brought this up later. “Why didn’t either of us think of this before?”

“I guess it just never occurred to us,” said Twilight. “Could you keep an eye on things here? I’m going to go ask Pinkie Pie.”

“Good thinking,” smiled Spike. “She knows practically every pony who ever lived here.”

When Twilight got to Sugarcube Corner however, Mrs Cake told her that Pinkie Pie wasn’t there. It was something of a worry to her as she was meant to watch over the twins soon. So Twilight decided to go ask someone else. She found herself in Carousel Boutique talking to Rarity, who was applying emeralds to a freshly made garment.

“Hmm, well, the Ponyville Knitters’ Club used to meet at the Library whenever the community center was full,” said Rarity in response to Twilight’s question, “but that was years ago. The librarian at the time might have been replaced since then.”

“I see,” said Twilight, who eyed the crate of leftover green jewels.

“You’re welcome to them,” smiled Rarity. “I wager Spikey-Wikey’s getting hungry. Um, perhaps you ought to ask Applejack,” she went on. “I dare say she once researched the many different types of apples at one time or another.”

Applejack was applebucking her way through the courtland trees when Twilight arrived and inquired about her predecessor.

“I did meet her once,” said Applejack.

So the old librarian was a mare, thought Twilight.

“My hat blew away once and it got stuck in the library’s branches,” Applejack went on. “The librarian helped me get it back. I just said thanks and then came back here. I never had to look up apple names. We learned all that from Granny. Ain’t that right, Big Mac?!”

“Eeeyup!” Big Mac responded from his end of the courtland field.

“I, uh, was never much of a reader,” Applejack admitted. “So I never made a point of going there before you came around.”

Twilight nodded. “Maybe I’ll ask Fluttershy. Maybe she went there once to learn about animal care.”

The door to Fluttershy’s cottage opened a crack after Twilight knocked.

“Please be quiet, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly. “Owlowiscious mustn’t be woken up.”

“Oh,” Twilight grinned. “How’s he coming along?”

“He’s nearly back in his normal sleep cycle,” smiled Fluttershy, opening the door all the way and beckoning Twilight inside. “I’d say another week should do it.”

Twilight saw that Fluttershy had a scroll and her phoenix feather quill out on her table.

“Writing a letter?” she asked.

“I just finished,” replied Fluttershy. “Just a moment, please. I’ll just send it off.”

Fluttershy rolled up the scroll and shoved it up her right nostril. Twilight gaped.

“That letter’s for Discord, isn’t it?”

“How did you guess?” asked Fluttershy.

“I really couldn’t tell you,” Twilight shrugged.

Twilight found out that Fluttershy had done most of her zoological research before she’d moved to Ponyville. When she’d taken her leave, she spotted Rainbow Dash, Blossomforth and Thunderlane dealing with some stratocumuli.

“No harm in asking her,” Twilight said to herself, taking flight and approaching Rainbow Dash.

She asked her if she knew who ran the Library before she moved in.

“Do I look like an egghead to you?” Rainbow replied.

Twilight frowned and turned back to the ground.

“Uh, wait, um…” Rainbow Dash faltered, “why don’t you ask Cheerilee? She must’ve rented books out before.”

“She’ll be teaching a class right now,” Twilight turned back to Rainbow Dash. “I don’t want to interrupt her.”

“What about Pinkie Pie? She knows everyone…”

Twilight interrupted. “I don’t know where she is.”

“She’s heading back to Sugarcube Corner right now.”

Rainbow Dash pointed downwards. The bakery sat right beneath them, and there was Pinkie Pie hopping through the front doors.

“Oh! Perfect. Thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight waved as she descended into town.

When she entered Sugarcube Corner for the second time that day, she found Pinkie Pie waiting on an order from the Mayor. Pound and Pumpkin were crawling all over her.

“What’s up, Twi?” she beamed as Mayor Mare took her leave with her large butter tart.

“Pinkie, do you remember who worked at the Library before that Summer Sun Celebration when I came to Ponyville?” asked Twilight.

“Hmm…” Pinkie Pie pondered. “Oh, yeah! Her name was Tuckaway. She was a pegasus pony with a green coat, white mane and tail, and red eyes. Her cutie mark was a faux fur satchel with brass clips and a blue, a green and a red book in it. Her birthday was 3 weeks and four days before you came to town. She had a one week return policy for every book, and…”

Once Pinkie Pie had divulged all the information she could recall, Twilight returned to Ponyville Castle that evening.

“Find anything out?” asked Spike as soon as he saw her.

“A few things,” said Twilight, sitting in her throne before telling Spike everything Pinkie had told her about the original librarian.

“Did she say where Tuckaway went after Nightmare Moon was stopped?”

“She doesn’t know,” replied Twilight, looking at the floor. “What’s this mess?”

“I looked through the stuff that didn’t get destroyed by Tirek,” Spike explained, picking up a few papers. “Thought maybe there’d be a record or something of who used to work at the Library. Didn’t find anything though. Most of these are just doodles.”

He showed some crude drawings to Twilight, who’s eyebrows dropped.

“Darn foals,” she said.

Spike picked up a blank paper and a quill. “How about we send a note to Princess Celestia?”

“That’s a great idea!” Twilight slammed her hoof on her throne. “She’s the one who made the arrangements for us. She must know what happened to Tuckaway.”

Minutes later, Spike had written down Twilight’s query to Princess Celestia and ignited it.

“I gotta say, I much prefer our method of sending mail to Fluttershy’s,” Twilight said.

“What’s that?” asked Spike.

He was soon sorry he asked.

Spike didn’t have to wait long for a much needed distraction. Princess Celestia’s reply arrived, and Twilight hurriedly looked it over.

“She says that it was pure coincidence that we were sent to a library,” she told Spike. “Tuckaway was keen to move out for some reason, so she was more than happy to leave Golden Oaks permanently even though Celestia only asked for one night. If she had returned after that night, other arrangements would have been made for our permanent move to Ponyville.”

“She won’t miss Golden Oaks then,” said Spike.

At the moment, the baby dragon walked over to a mini-fridge and pulled out two bottles of cider. Twilight took one, and they both drank to the memory of their old Ponyville home.

That night, Twilight had a quite pleasant dream. She was floating in a light evening sky surrounded by breezies. They glided by her carrying sacks of pollen and making no noise at all.

“I suppose using the Royal Canterlot Voice would not go over well with these creatures,” came a voice.

Twilight looked to her right. Princess Luna was floating amongst the hundreds of fairy creatures a short distance away from her. Eventually, the breezies between the two alicorns parted and they were face to face.

“Good… um, night, Princess Luna,” Twilight smiled weakly.

Luna chuckled. “Goodnight, Princess Twilight.”

“What brings you here?”

“I understand it was you who prompted my sister to inquire about Tuckaway, the old Ponyville librarian,” Luna said.

“Has she?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. And no answers have come,” said Luna. “Nopony seems to know where Tuckaway went after I returned to Equestria. And now Celestia is concerned as to why she was so keen on vacating the Library.”

“Could somepony have been after her for some reason?” Twilight wondered.

“Possibly. And we in the capital would certainly like to find out what became of a subject who has disappeared,” said Luna with determination. “Therefore I would like you to join a search party I am organizing.”

“Of course, your highness,” Twilight bowed in midair.

“You shall resume your regular duties, but whenever you can spare a few hours, please carry on from where you left off in your investigation,” Luna instructed. “We will keep in touch.”

Author's Note

Inspired by a dream I had the previous Easter weekend.

2 Search Party

Twilight did something she’d never done before when the sun rose; she let Spike sleep in.

“What’s the occasion?” he asked an hour after reveille.

“I need you to save your energy as much as you can today,” said Twilight, and she told him about Princess Luna’s search party for Tuckaway.

“Got any leads?” asked Spike.

“Just one.”

Twilight magiced one of the drawings Spike had found yesterday up off a neat pile next to her throne. He took a moment to recognise it. There wasn’t much drawn on this paper, but it did raise some questions. In one corner, there was an illustration of a large tree. It was labelled “G.O.”. A wavy line was pencilled in between the tree and a square in an opposite corner of the sheet. This was labelled “B.S.”.

“It might be just a silly doodle by some bored pony,” said Twilight when Spike looked up. “But we have to look into every possibility. ‘G.O.’ must stand for Golden Oaks.”

Spike had an idea of what ‘B.S.’ meant that he knew better than to say out loud, and didn’t think this investigation would go anywhere.

Spike was left in charge of the castle library again as Twilight went out to talk to Fluttershy.

“You want Discord’s help?”

“Not directly,” Twilight said quickly. “I just want to tell him about the search party. Who knows? He could be useful.”

Fluttershy glowed. She was happy about Twilight’s attitude towards Discord becoming less hostile after the Chest of Harmony had been opened. She took a blank scroll and the quill Philomena gave her. Twilight looked away. She wasn’t too keen to watch Fluttershy send her note.

“I’ve given him the message,” Fluttershy said in a would-be attention grabbing voice.

Twilight turned back to face her.

“And I’ve asked him to set you up with an inbox.”

“What?!”

Owlowiscious, asleep in a room upstairs, was luckily not disturbed; not even when Twilight shrieked a moment later as a scroll had dropped out of her left nostril.

‘We’re all set, besty,’ it read.

Twilight attempted to look grateful for the benefit of Fluttershy, who was happy to know how helpful her pen pal was being.

There was a bit of a complication late that afternoon. Snips and Snails showed up with a long overdue library book from months ago when the large oak tree had still been standing. They were bouncing with pride at finally finding it, but they were soon looking rather anxious. Spike suggested that they were afraid to ask a Princess if they could have their money back after having to pay a lost book fine. Twilight decided that there was no harm in giving them the two bits, which she paid out of pocket in order to speed things along. But it did take a while to adjust the records, as a replacement had already been added to the shelves. This was the second replacement actually; the first had been a victim of Tirek’s attack. As there was no damage to the book Snips and Snails had borrowed, it simply became a second available copy.

“We’ve lost some time,” Twilight said to Spike after the moon was out. “We better get going if we want to finish our investigation before midnight.”

She magiced the drawing into the air in front of herself and Spike, and they started to follow the line out of the Castle, through Ponyville, and towards Froggy Bottom Bog. It took a while for them to realise where they were heading, but before they even made it, Twilight slapped her forehead.

“We messed up, Spike!” she groaned. “We were supposed to start at the Library, not the Castle!”

Spike was no happier than Twilight, but after his last visit to Froggy Bottom Bog, he was at least glad not to have to go there.

They returned to the town and made their way to the remains of Golden Oaks. The burnt bark and charred roots had long since been disposed of and the hole where the basement once was had been filled. Twilight was grateful to the Mayor for holding off on any plans to replace the Library with something else for a while. She and Spike restarted and it was already past midnight when they had once again left Ponyville. Now the curvy line on the paper indicated that they had to go into the Everfree Forest.

“I don’t know which is worse,” sighed Spike. “What do you think we’ll find?”

“Hopefully nothing that wants to eat us,” replied Twilight, lighting her horn before pushing on.

It seemed like lately they’d been catching the Everfree Forest on a good day. The number of times they’d gone to Zecora’s hut without running into a vicious creature was outweighing the times when they had been ambushed. And now that they knew the safest route to the Castle of the Two Sisters, trips there for the restoration project were becoming less and less eventful. Tonight, Twilight and Spike only came across one disturbing thing on the way to their destination.

“What is that?” Spike asked from behind a large rock.

“I think it’s a giant land shrimp,” Twilight whispered, eyeing the large, green shape.

“That’s a shrimp?” Spike thought it had a shape like a loudhailer.

Twilight took a cautious step forward. Upon closer inspection, the shape appeared a little transparent.

“Oh. It’s a land shrimp shell,” she said. “We can move on. There’s nothing in there.”

“OK,” said Spike, following her. “But I hope we don’t meet the thing that shed that shell.”

What they found instead was a clearing in the forest. It was definitely an area they’d never been to. There was a wall of overgrown trees surrounding a flat, grassy mass about a quarter of the size of the Crystal Stadium. There were only four trees in this area and about twenty bushes that were no bigger than Apple Bloom.

“This is where the map leads to,” said Twilight, inspecting the drawing. “But there doesn’t appear to be anything here.”

“Yeah. No giant land shrimp could hide in here,” Spike said, peering around.

Twilight looked up at the full moon and decided that its light was sufficient enough to show them everything in this clearing.

“Let’s go a little further,” she said. “If we don’t see anything past that one bush, we’ll call this a wasted effort.”

Spike had been thinking of it like that since they’d backtracked earlier. It was already well past both their bedtimes.

As they advanced, there was a faint booming noise. They stopped. The noise stopped. They looked around.

“Let’s go back,” said Twilight.

Spike nodded, and they started to turn around. The silent booming came again. They stopped. The noise stopped. This time, they looked down.

“Does this ground feel different to you?” asked Twilight.

Spike jumped up and down a few times. The booming was louder.

“Could there be something buried here?” he asked.

The hard ground beneath them shifted. They stepped quickly backwards and stared down in surprise. A door was opening in the ground. A faint yellow light was coming from what lay beneath it, partially obscured by an emerging head.

A green coat, a white mane, a pair of red eyes…

“Tuckaway?” Twilight breathed.

The red eyes blinked. They were bleary and a little twitchy. They looked up at the full moon, then at Twilight and Spike.

“Who are you?” Tuckaway asked.

“I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m a recently coronated member of the Royal Family and appointed by Princess Luna as a participant in a search party for you.”

Tuckaway’s eyes widened. “P-princess Luna sent you?”

“Yes.”

“And ‘Twilight’ you’re name is?”

“That’s right.”

Spike thought Tuckaway looked unhinged, but Twilight was too happy about finding her to notice.

“Want to see where I’ve been living since I left Ponyville?” offered Tuckaway.

“May I?”

Tuckaway receded back into her underground dwelling. Twilight and Spike followed, leaving the door open upon Tuckaway’s approval.

Twilight and Spike were impressed. They were standing in an underground bunker. Two dim lanterns hung in opposite corners. On one side was a cot with a white sheet and blue-green duvet, a wide wooden pantry and a pool table. On the other side, there were mostly books and bottles. There were also shelves and another table, but books and papers were nearly covering everything. In the middle was the square door in the ceiling, a downspout that hung down into a wooden barrel, and Tuckaway, who looked almost as messy as the other half of the bunker. Her mane and tail were unkempt and her wings were hanging down by her sides.

“So why have you been looking for me?” Tuckaway asked.

“Well, you moved out of…”

Twilight wasn’t sure she should mention Golden Oaks, as she wasn’t sure how Tuckaway would take the news of it being blown up.

“You moved out of Ponyville,” she said instead, “and no one knew where you went. The Royal Family was worried when no one could tell them what happened to you.”

“The Royal Family? These ponies who’ve been helping Princess Luna try and find me?” asked Tuckaway, her eyes still bleary.

“That’s right,” answered Twilight. “May I ask why you’ve come here and what you’ve been doing since you left Ponyville?”

“Um…” Tuckaway appeared more alert now. “Why don’t you summon Princess Luna? I’d prefer to not have to explain everything twice.”

“Yes, I suppose…”

“Here.” Tuckaway shifted over to the messy side of the bunker and beckoned Twilight to join her. “Here’s parchment and ink.”

She produced a clean scroll and a small pot.

“Thank you,” smiled Twilight, magicing the items out of Tuckaway’s outstretched hoof.

Twilight had heard of scented inks, but she’d never come across one until tonight.

“Mm. Mint,” she said, inhaling a few times before beginning to write her note.

She decided to address it to both Celestia and Luna, as the sun was due to rise soon and the former would likely be awake soon. She wrote her message of success and the location of their whereabouts, requested their presence, and ended with her signature.

“Ooh, it still smells like mint,” grinned Twilight, sniffing her letter once more before giving it to Spike.

Tuckaway watched as Spike set fire to Twilight’s letter.

“There’s jugs of water in there if either of you are thirsty,” she said, indicating one of the pantry doors. “Don’t drink outta the barrel here. That’s where I bathe.”

“Thank you very much,” replied Twilight and Spike.

Twilight had herself a drink along with Spike, and then decided to write another note. This one for Discord. She turned away from Tuckaway so she didn’t see her slide her second rolled up scroll up her nose.

“Tuckaway, may I borrow your bed sheets?” she asked once her letter was gone. “I want to make a marker for the princess.”

“By all means,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll be needing them anymore.”

Twilight happily collected the white sheet and blue-green duvet, and flew out of the bunker.

Spike yawned, his mouth wide enough to make a tatzelwurm jealous.

“You’re still a baby dragon, aren’t you?” asked Tuckaway.

“Uh huh.”

“Probably shouldn’t have let Princess Twilight take those bed sheets,” Tuckaway chuckled lightly. “We could play pool if you like. Might keep you awake.”

Spike agreed. He’d never played pool himself, but he’d seen Applejack and Rainbow Dash play once. However, his sleep deprivation really took hold of him just as he grasped his cue. He stumbled backwards, fell on his tail and hit the table covered in books. His cue struck a book, knocking it off the table and onto his face.

Spike’s sleepiness dissolved.

“Mint-scented poison?!” he gasped, rapidly taking in the page in front of him. “Weaken any magical creature who sniffs it?!”

Tuckaway’s expression was causing Spike even more panic.

“Your regime is about to fall, dragon,” she snarled.

Spike called to the open door in the ceiling. “Twilight! Twilight!”

No reply. Spike grabbed his cue, backed up, ran a little way, then pole-vaulted up to the exit.

Spike appeared above the ground just in time to see Twilight, her bed sheet maker finished, keel over.

“Twilight!”

He ran to Twilight and shook her hoof. Twilight was groaning. Her face was kind of glum-looking. Her legs were stiff and her eyes weren’t moving very fast. She looked like she was having a silent sulk fit.

“Twilight! Please, say something!”

Twilight only managed to say “Sssspike…” before continuing to groan dully.

Spike looked down into the bunker. He didn’t have a chance to start on Tuckaway. She started barking as soon as he appeared.

“I saw the signs! I read Mare in the Moon! I knew Nightmare Moon was returning! I knew she’d overthrow Princess Celestia and take over the throne as Princess Luna, the princess of the night! I knew she’d destroy Equestria with her eternal darkness!”

She flew around the bunker grinning like Berry Punch after a pint.

“I’ve been down here researching my flank off ever since the Summer Sun Celebration! I’ve been trying to find a way to sneak poison to Princess Luna for who knows how long!”

Spike’s efforts to tell Tuckaway that she’d made an awful mistake were fruitless. She wouldn’t stop gushing her excitement at her plan coming to fruition.

Spike looked back at his paralysed friend and panic grabbed him again. There was a familiar shape illuminated by the full moon. He could tell it was Celestia and Luna approaching the clearing, guided by the neatly arranged bed covers. Then Spike watched in horror as the sisters stopped flying and started falling out of the sky. He saw that they were plummeting towards two trees which were fairly close together. He eyed the bed sheets, was hit by inspiration, and franticly got to work. As quickly as he could, he snatched up the covers, sprinted to the trees, tied one end of each to one tree, and stretched the sheets towards the other tree. In the nick of time, he had made a hammock to break the princesses’ fall.

Tuckaway’s voice boomed from behind the out of breath dragon, who wheeled around.

“I’ve done it! I’ve defeated Nightmare Moon!”

Luna certainly stood out amongst the white sheet and blue-green duvet, but Celestia seemed to blend in. Tuckaway hadn’t noticed her.

“The sun will rise again! Goodbye, moon!”

Again, Spike’s warning of Tuckaway’s big mistake fell on deaf ears. Tuckaway flew away towards Ponyville. Spike examined the two sisters. They both had glum faces and their bodies were stiff. Spike made an attempt to drag the two of them towards the bunker, but even if his fatigue hadn’t taken hold of him again, he couldn’t have managed it alone.

“I’m gonna try and find an antidote,” Spike said and repeated to Twilight as he passed her on his way to the door in the ground.

Author's Note

Now we're into the fresh stories.

3 Crimes Against Equinity

Spike easily found the cure for the minty poison. It was on the next page of the book that had fallen on him. The recipe wasn’t exactly a bedtime read. Spike looked around. There were plenty of jars lying among the books and sheets, and they were all labelled. Surely Spike would manage to find what he needed. He discovered a large empty jar and began scrambling around gathering ingredients and mixing various quantities. Whenever he came across a difficult step, he left the bunker to check on the princesses. The average was about once every two minutes. For hours, something was added to the mix, and no dangerous beasts approached any of the handicapped alicorns.

The sun was several hours overdue to be risen by the time Spike had reached the end of the complicated instructions. It was even later to rise than it had been when Nightmare Moon had escaped her thousand year prison. Spike had no confidence in his concoction. He was unable to find one of the ingredients and had been forced to skip one step, but his potion looked exactly like the illustration of the finished product (red, thick and glossy). He was staring at a warning written in bold letters at the bottom of the page.

Drink in any quantity to take effect. This potion is highly flammable. Tastes like shaving cream.

Spike spent an unpleasant minute trying to decide the safest way to get himself and his potion out of the bunker and up to the forest ground. He resorted to holding his jar with his tail while he did his pole vaulting act.

He went to Twilight first, who was still lying stock-still, but managed to open her mouth at Spike’s request. She wasn’t groaning now as Spike tipped about a third of his thick, red potion into her mouth. Right away, Twilight shook, and then stood up on all fours, her eyes alert, yet slightly unfocused.

“Twilight? How do you feel?”

Twilight started moaning again. She didn’t answer. She just stood there staring at nothing in particular. Spike couldn’t help but look in her line of sight.

“Huh?!”

For a second, Spike thought a group of Everfree creatures were advancing on Celestia and Luna, but soon he realised that they were pegasi. Members of the Royal Guard. Two were examining Celestia and two others were looking Luna over. A gold-plated carriage sat near them. And it was soon clear to Spike who its passenger had been.

“Auntie Celestia!” cried Prince Blueblood. “What happened to you?!”

Spike took a cautious step forward. He could hear Celestia moan, and then he heard her say “Twwwwwilight…”

Blueblood looked towards Spike. He spotted Twilight standing around, wide-eyed and, from what he could tell, with a nervous expression.

“Seize her!” he ordered to guards. “Princess Twilight has betrayed the throne!”

“No!” shouted Spike as the royal guards advanced. “She didn’t do this!”

The guards didn’t respond.

“I’ve got the cure! I’ve got…!”

“Grab her and send her to Tartarus!” bellowed the bombardier.

Panic absorbed Spike all over again. He threw his jar of cure towards the rapidly approaching guards. It shattered yards in front of them. Red liquid made a gooey strip on the grass. Spike took a quick breath and exhaled a fierce stream of fire. The guards were stopped in their tracks, obstructed by a wall of green flames.

“Fly over!” Spike heard Blueblood yell. “Fly over and arrest Twilight!”

Spike quickly knocked Twilight, who didn’t react at all, backwards into the underground bunker, and dived in after her, shutting the door behind him.

Spike was hanging onto the door handle and pressing his ear against the door. Before the sound of his impromptu bonfire had faded, he heard Blueblood and the guards shouting and rushing about.

“The traitor escaped!”

“Find her! Find her and lock her up!”

“Careful! She knows magic most of us have never heard of!”

“I always thought she’d go power mad!”

“Has everypony lost their minds?” Spike asked, desperately wishing he could sleep and get everything under control at the same time.

Twilight wasn’t in pain or anything, but she was insensible for almost a week. She could still walk around. Spike was able to spoon-feed her and she could drink through a straw, but she had virtually no thought in her head about… anything. And then, all of a sudden, her brain turned back on.

“W-what?! Huh?! What’s going on?! What are we doing here?!”

Spike jumped into the air.

“You’re OK!”

He hugged Twilight, who was still confused, but in control.

“Spike, what’s happening?”

Spike’s explanation made Twilight shudder. The actions of Prince Blueblood and the royal guards was a real concern to her.

“Rarity told me he was a bit of a nob, but…”

“It’s not just him,” Spike frowned. “Look at this.”

He held up a poster. Twilight tried to magic it out of his claws.

She gasped. “I’ve lost my magic!”

She tried again, to no avail.

“Rats! I knew that potion wouldn’t work right,” Spike punched the wall.

“Spike, please, don’t beat yourself up,” Twilight implored. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.”

Spike managed a smile, but neither of them was happy when he showed her the poster.

“I managed to grab this when some royal guards came around searching this area again. They have no idea this bunker is here.”

Twilight read.

“Wanted: For crimes against equinity. Twilight Sparkle. Guilty of poisoning Princesses Celestia and Luna in order to take over Equestria. 1000 Bit reward for her capture. By order of Prince Blueblood, Princess Cadance, and Prince Shining Armour.”

Twilight was staring at the last line with a wild face.

“Why in Starswirl’s name do Cadance and my brother think I’m responsible for this?!”

“Here’s why,” said Spike.

Now he was holding a book, which was open to a page with an illustration of a full moon and a silhouette of a pony with spirally eyes.

“Another one of Tuckaway’s really old books,” Spike explained before Twilight began to read.

‘A prolonged absence of the sun causes a terrible debilitating effect on ponykind’s judgement and ability to think clearly. One of the many reasons it was absolutely vital that Nightmare Moon be stopped from bringing eternal night to Equestria.’

Twilight looked back at Spike. “How long have we been down here?”

“It’s hard to tell with it being night-time all the time,” said Spike. “But it’s definitely been longer than the time you and your friends took to find the Elements of Harmony.”

“It sounds like we were just in time to stop Nightmare Moon before ponies started losing their minds,” said Twilight. “But now it’s too late. Now everypony can’t think straight. Now they’re jumping to conclusions. Now I’m public enemy number one!”

Some time later, Twilight found she had no better luck with the mint poison antidote than Spike. Her ability to use magic didn’t return. She could still fly, but she didn’t have much space as it was risky to leave the bunker. They heard guards walking and talking above them on two occasions. They were speaking of criminals always returning to the scene of the crime.

“Why do you think Tuckaway hasn’t told them about this bunker?” Spike asked.

“Obviously, she can’t think straight. She hasn’t seen the sun in years, and she might never see it again,” Twilight answered solemnly. “Nopony might.”

Spike looked at the map they had followed to this place. “Any idea what B.S. stands for?”

Twilight was about to say no, but a possibility occurred to her.

“Blackout Shelter, maybe. If Tuckaway thought Nightmare Moon would succeed in darkening Equestria for always and always and always, that name would sound appropriate.”

Twilight spent a while looking through all the old and rare books Tuckaway had managed to get her hooves on. She had the same book that Pinkie Pie had found for her about the Elements of Harmony. It seemed Tuckaway thought gathering the first five and finding the sixth would be impossible. One night, Spike risked peeking out of the door to see if anyone or anything was around. He did see something; a newspaper. He dashed out of the bunker, snatched it up, and jumped back out of sight.

“That minty ink stuff took out Discord, too!” he cried, showing Twilight the headline. “He was found a few miles outside Canterlot stiff as a board and not making any sen-- well, any more sense than usual.”

“I forgot about him,” Twilight grimaced. “Why did I send him a note too? He could easily have sorted this whole thing out.”

“Would he have?” Spike asked.

“Of course he would have,” insisted Twilight. “He’s our friend.”

Eventually, it looked as though everyone who had devoted their time to hunting down Twilight had given up on that clearing in the Everfree Forest.

“I think I can go and get my friends’ help now,” said Twilight. “I’m sure our Rainbow Power will fix everything. I mean, I don’t seem to be effected by the overshot night. Maybe my friends aren’t either. Surely they don’t believe all this stuff about me being guilty. And that minty poison couldn’t possibly have taken the power of the Element of Magic from me.”

Spike agreed, and wished Twilight luck in her risky trip into Ponyville.

There were a few clouds floating about the Everfree Forest when Twilight left the Blackout Shelter after so long. There were no ponies in sight. Twilight grabbed a cloud, climbed onto it, and beat her wings to propel herself towards Ponyville. Eventually, she could see pegasus ponies in the distance. She recognised Thunderlane and Blossomforth, who seemed to be struggling with some stratocumuli.

“They just keep coming back,” she heard Thunderlane grumble. “Why can’t we make them leave forever?!”

“Don’t ask me,” Blossomforth replied, shoving a cloud aside.

Twilight could see that the two pegasi were just pushing clouds around the sky and coming back to them thinking they were different clouds. It was a pathetic sight.

Twilight managed to not be spotted by Thunderlane and Blossomforth, and her detour around them and their mess of clouds led her to the sky above Sweet Apple Acres.

“I’ll talk to Applejack first,” she decided.

Her first discovery upon arrival was that a lot of the apple trees had no leaves. Others had very few. Others were still entirely covered. There was movement amongst the nearly bald golden delicious trees. Twilight heard voices.

“Didn’t I tell y’all not to cut off all the leaves?!”

“Eeeyup.”

“The apples can’t grow if they can’t get nutrients from the leaves! Those red gala trees ain’t gonna grow nothin’ now, are they?!”

“Nnnnope.”

Twilight heard Applejack sigh heavily and say, “I need a break. I better not come back and find all the trees completely leafless!”

Applejack was exhausted. She’d never had such a challenge with her work in all her life. She staggered into the barn, struggled into her room, shut the door behind her, and flopped onto her bed, not closing her eyes. It was difficult to know when bedtime was these days. She didn’t think Minuette would be free for asking though. She’d been appointed as time keeper in Ponyville and she was definitely worse off than Applejack.

There was a knock on Applejack’s bedroom door.

“Forget where ya left the buckets again?!” snapped Applejack.

The door opened.

“Hi, Applejack,” smiled Twilight.

Applejack stuttered. Twilight couldn’t tell if she was shocked, delighted or scared.

“H… howdy, Twilight…”

She leapt off her bed and they hugged.

“Applejack, I need your help,” said Twilight.

“Huh… yeah, I guessed you’d… probably… um…”

“I’ve been staying in a secret bunker in the Everfree Forest,” Twilight started to explain.

Applejack couldn’t keep still. The exhaustion Twilight had seen in her wasn’t there anymore.

“I, uh…” she faltered. “I don’t know if you wanna, like, hide here or something…”

“Well…” Twilight began.

“But I can’t…” Applejack glanced out her window. “I can’t leave the field. I gotta stay. The farm’s… it’s really hard to farm without the sun. I can’t leave Big Mac, Granny and Apple Bloom to do the work alone. I gotta help them!”

She jumped out of her window, crawled along the roof and climbed down the water spout.

Twilight’s throat had a lump in it the size of an ice archery target.

“She… she thinks I’m guilty too…”

Twilight wanted to get out of there sharpish. She flew out of the window, snatched up her Everfree cloud, and flapped away from the orchard towards the forest.

“You missed another one, guys!” barked a familiar voice.

Twilight turned around just as somepony grabbed her cloud.

“Rainbow,” she gasped.

Rainbow Dash’s annoyed expression was instantly replaced by one of shock.

“Twilight. There you are,” she breathed, grasping Twilight’s front hooves.

“That’s right, Rainbow,” Twilight smiled.

“Where… where’ve you been?”

“In an underground bunker in the forest,” said Twilight. “And I…”

Rainbow starting getting jittery just like Applejack had. She was looking across the sky from cloud to cloud.

“I’m glad to see you, Twi,” she said, “but I have to get back to work. We’re trying to make the best use of the moonlight we can. I need to be here with the weather team at all times.”

Twilight realised that Rainbow Dash was shunting her and her cloud into the sky above the Everfree Forest.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” she finished, before taking off back into Ponyville.

Tuckaway had barely made a dent in the Blackout Shelter’s food and drink supply. Also, Spike had been delighted to discover a supply of diamonds in a drum. Tuckaway had collected them for an alternative poison she had attempted to make to slip to Nightmare Moon. Sometimes, Spike and Twilight played a few rounds of pool to kill time. The bunker was far from an unpleasant place to live for a long period of time. Yet Twilight felt sick to her stomach at the mere thought of having to return to it.

Spike heard two knocks, then three, then one. He pole vaulted on his cue and pushed the door open. Twilight entered, shut the door, touched down into the bunker and sat down.

“How’d it go?” Spike asked.

Twilight was thinking hard. She couldn’t stop there. Surely her other friends had faith in her. She ought to try and visit Pinkie Pie, Rarity and/or Fluttershy.

“Um, I couldn’t get into town,” she lied. “There were guards hanging around.”

Spike moaned.

“But I’ll try again later,” Twilight went on. “After I get some sleep.”

A windstorm picked up shortly after Twilight had kipped down. When she next woke, Spike said he’d gotten his claws on another newspaper that had blown into the forest from Ponyville.

“‘More guards posted at Ponyville Castle’,” Twilight read. “Whoa, I never even saw the castle when I went to see App-- uh, when I went into town.”

Another article spoke of an attempt to discover the long lost art of the sun raising spell. Any books that contained this spell had been out of print for centuries due to Princess Celestia being in complete control of sun and moon for so long. Of course, this whole rediscovering thing was going nowhere as Celestia couldn’t even string two words together and nopony else had much brain power between them. Another article mentioned how the continuous presence of the moon was effecting the economy. Several charts were printed on this page, and Twilight was relieved to find that Ponyville was faring well in comparison to most of the other cities in Equestria. Another article contained details about disputes over where clouds should go when they’re shunted away by weather crews. Many town leaders were badgering each other to “pick up their garbage”. Everyone in Equestria seemed to want to keep it from raining, even though their crops and fields would need water.

Without the sun, it was getting colder and colder outside as time went on. But when Twilight next left the Blackout Shelter, she hardly noticed how cold it was. She was determined to find out that her other friends still believed in her innocence. When she’d collected an Everfree cloud to conceal herself in, she approached Ponyville, where Thunderlane and Blossomforth were once again fumbling with the same clouds as before. She spotted Rainbow Dash nearby, lying on a cloud and drinking coffee from a thermos. Twilight gulped and decided to go the other way this time. This route led her to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“How to approach her without making her jump?” Twilight asked herself as she stood in front of Fluttershy’s back door.

The tiny flap on the door opened. Angel Bunny poked his head out, took one look at Twilight, and then was out of sight. Seconds later, the backdoor opened a crack.

“Are you there… Twilight?” came Fluttershy’s soft, frightened voice.

“Yes,” Twilight shivered out of hopefulness rather than coldness.

The door opened more. Fluttershy peered at Twilight, smiled, then frowned.

“Do you… have a place to hide?” she asked.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “But…”

Her heart sank. Fluttershy had the same look Applejack and Rainbow Dash had given her.

“I have a lot of responsibilities, Twilight. The moon’s got all my animal friends confused. Um… Owlowiscious’ sleep cycle is out of sync again. I’m so sorry. I wish…”

Twilight sighed. “Maybe I’ll go now.”

“Oh. OK. But please, be careful.”

They waited for a moment, just to look at each other. Then Fluttershy shut the door.

Twilight wouldn’t give up. She remounted her cloud and set off on her obstacle course through the weather team and their mess. She made it to Carousel Boutique, but Rarity didn’t seem to be home. Twilight took to peeking through the windows. She found Rarity’s bedroom. It was neat and the bed was made, but Rarity wasn’t in it. She found Sweetie Belle’s room. It was untidy and there was rubbish everywhere, and Sweetie Belle was asleep in her bed.

Twilight was on the verge of flying away from the boutique when she heard the door open. She looked around and spotted Rarity exiting her home with a cart in tow and her horn alight. She looked haggard, but when Twilight hissed her name from around a corner, she was quite alert.

“Twilight… you’re alright. How… how wonderful…”

Twilight could sense an evasion tactic coming and started talking quickly.

“I just came from my hideout to ask for your…”

She wasn’t quick enough.

“I have a lot of work to do, dear,” Rarity said, a lot more calmly than Twilight expected. “The Mayor has given me an important job. It’s my responsibility to collect gemstones to keep our economy going. Money is decreasing in value with this darkness, and there’s a lot of newfangled equipment needed to compensate for the missing sun.”

“So…”

“So I must carry out these duties. I hate to leave you, but my assistance is sorely needed for the greater good. I’ve never failed to collect a sufficient amount of jewels yet.”

Twilight watched Rarity disappear around a corner with her cart. Her last resort was Pinkie Pie. She had to get to Sugarcube Corner.

“This isn’t it… this isn’t it… this isn’t it…” she kept saying this as she maneuverered her way to the bakery, avoiding detection by ponies who were working outside.

Eventually, she was outside Pinkie Pie’s bedroom window. The room was empty. She moved over to the Twins’ bedroom window. She could see Pound Cake asleep in the crib. Pumpkin Cake was nowhere to be seen. Then Twilight saw a light come on in a downstairs window and flew down with her cloud to see who was in that room. The window was open, and Twilight could hear Pinkie talking in an exasperated voice.

“Why did you and Pound have to fall into opposite sleeping patterns? Oh, well. This is the way it is. Like, if Twilight showed up outta nowhere and tried to talk me into something weird, I’d have to tell her to leave me here.”

Twilight wanted to yell, but Pumpkin beat her to it.

“Twily! Bad Twily!”

The yearling filly was pointing wildly at the window. Twilight was out of sight before Pinkie Pie could turn around.

This time, when Twilight had made her safe return to the Blackout Shelter, she told Spike the truth about how her friends reacted to her.

“They’re all just as effected by this darkness as everyone else in Equestria,” she lamented as she lay on the cot, Spike patting her head while she brooded. “We’re stuck here. Forever.”

Author's Note

I wouldn't be surprised if some Y2K bugger is still in some kind of underground bunker completely unaware that all is well in the world.

4 Total Collapse

Twilight and Spike were by no means uncomfortable in that bunker. The cot was comfy and broad enough for them to share, the non-perishable food wasn’t totally tasteless, the temperature was satisfactory, and neither of them had anything bad to say about the game of pool… it seemed like Tuckaway spent the majority of the time she lived there making sure the pool table was perfectly level. But a while after Twilight’s second unsuccessful trip to Ponyville, an unhappy coincidence arose after Spike had sunk a the cue ball along with the one he intended to pot, leaving six on the table. Twilight, who by now had gotten used to holding her cue with her hooves rather than her magic, looked at the 4 ball, the 2 ball, the 12 ball, the 5 ball, the 3 ball and the 11 ball. They strongly reminded her of the Elements of Harmony. She threw her cue to the floor and slapped the balls into the air. Spike took cover under the table to avoid any flying balls. When he next stood, he found Twilight crumpled up on the floor covering her face with her hooves.

“It’s all over,” she sobbed. “We’ve all lost our power. None of my friends can help. They’re all insane from the eternal night.”

Spike looked at the coloured balls on the floor. “What if they’re not?”

“Come on, Spike. I told you they all made excuses not to join me,” Twilight choked.

“But… what if they weren’t excuses,” suggested Spike, walking up to Twilight. “I mean, none of them ever actually said they thought you were guilty, did they?”

“No,” replied Twilight. “But…”

“You’ve seen the newspapers,” said Spike. “Ponyville’s way better off than every other city in Equestria. What if that’s because Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Pinkie are the only ponies who can actually think straight? What if the Rainbow Connection really is protecting you six and they’re all the only reason Ponyville’s doing OK?”

Twilight stood up, staring intently at Spike.

“But if they haven’t been effected by the moon,” she asked, “then why wouldn’t they…?”

“Maybe they’re worried that everything will fall apart without them,” Spike went on. “You did say they seemed stressed out, right?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “You’re right. They might be scared to leave when they’re the only ones who can make things even slightly efficient. And when you think about it, my role in Equestria may have changed, but they still have other responsibilities in life. They’ve been doing the jobs they love for years. They’d have to be worried about leaving them if they knew they’d crumble without them!”

“Especially after what happened to where we used to live and work,” added Spike. “But if you can promise them that everything will be fine if they leave for just five minutes…”

Twilight rocketed into the air, nearly shattered the door, zoomed out of the Blackout Shelter and sped towards Ponyville.

“I’ll go see them one by one again,” she said excitedly to herself, “I’ll ask them to meet me at a specific time, I’ll give them my word that everything will be all fixed, I’ll bring them to the dugout, we’ll activate our Rainbow Power, we’ll lower the moon, we’ll raise the sun, and…!”

“We got her!”

Perhaps the prolonged presence of the moon had effected Twilight’s judgement a little bit. She never saw or heard Thunderlane and Blossomforth coming. She was now paying a hefty price for her excitement.

“We got Twilight! We got her!” the two pegasi roared as they grasped Twilight’s forelegs and tried to steer her towards the castle.

The shouts of Ponyvillians and royal guards erupted from below as Twilight tried to fight off Thunderlane and Blossomforth. As reinforcements closed in, she got an idea.

“She’s over there!” she yelled, looking to her left.

Thunderlane and Blossomforth instantly let go of her and flew in the direction Twilight had indicated.

“She’s getting away!” Twilight heard Bon Bon shout as she spun around and headed back towards her hideout.

Just as she flew over the threshold to the Everfree Forest, she felt herself being held back and saw a blue and yellow aura envelop her. She had no time to see or guess which unicorns were trying to magic her back to the mob because a window of opportunity opened in front of her. A tall tree just beneath her had a branch sticking up like an antenna. If she could just grab it and pull herself down into the tree and out of sight…

It worked, but the voices were getting louder and Twilight had to flee to the Blackout Shelter to avoid capture.

“Why wasn’t I more careful?” she scolded herself. “Now they all know I’m hiding in the Everfree Forest.”

The clearing came into view. The door to the bunker was still open. Then Twilight heard snarling behind her. She looked back and shrieked. Bulk Biceps was right behind her, drawing level as she headed for the entrance to the shelter. Twilight tried to stop and let Bulk pass so she could lead him somewhere else. But she didn’t quite manage to slow herself down in time to avoid the door. And at the same time, Bulk struck the ground nearby with a thunderous crash. The ground crumbled. Something rough hit Twilight on both sides.

“Ow!” she cried as her forehead was forced into the wooden frame of the door.

The loud crumbling stopped and a light trickle of dust rose up around Twilight. She looked around. Bulk Biceps was nestled in a dent he’d made in the ground a few feet from her. She was stuck in the doorway with her chin just above ground level, wedged between large chunks of concrete and one of the wooden planks from the doorframe. It didn’t take her long to realise that Bulk Biceps had caused the Blackout Shelter to collapse.

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” Bulk bellowed in triumph.

“Spike! Are you alright?!” Twilight shouted down into the wreckage as voices arose behind her and Bulk.

Spike’s voice was quiet from beneath the wreckage, but Twilight distinctly heard him yell “Yeah! I’m under the pool table! Are you OK?!”

Twilight craned her neck around. The number of royal guards present seemed to be making up for the Ponyvillians who hadn’t joined the mob. Everypony had a malicious face. There was no sign of any of her fellow taskforce members amongst them.

“No, I’m not OK!” Twilight called back to Spike.

“You got her! You got her!” several ponies shouted.

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” yelled Bulk Biceps. He seemed extremely proud. This was probably the first time in weeks he’d succeeded in something.

Twilight desperately tried to claw her way out of the wreckage as the mob drew nearer.

“What the jumping jackets is that?!” came High Note’s frightened voice.

The pounding of hooves and the flapping of wings stopped abruptly. Twilight looked up and yelped. There, on the other side of the clearing, obviously following the noise of the mob, was a giant land shrimp. It was walking briskly on its ten legs towards the nearest pony present.

“Perfect!” cried Comet Tail and one of the royal guards.

“That big bug’ll take care of Twilight!” Lyra yelled.

Twilight looked back at her fellow equines for a second before realising that there was no way she could get any sanity out of them without the sun. Her last resort was to try her fake-out tactic again.

“Hey Bulk, can you help me out of here please?”

“YYEEEEAAAAHH!” replied Bulk Biceps, stepping forward.

“Get back, you!” a guard snapped, pulling Bulk backwards.

“Oh! Right!” Bulk said loudly. “She’s supposed to get eaten!”

Twilight began to sweat. She looked ahead again. She’d have to break free of the concrete on her own before the giant land shrimp got to her. It wasn’t working. She was stuck fast. The giant land shrimp lunged hungrily towards her. The mob behind her shouted excitedly. She was too aghast to keep trying to get away. A massive hungry mouth was opening in front of her.

An odd thing happened to Twilight in the face of this danger. At first, she thought her life was flashing before her eyes, but what she was seeing looked an awful lot like somepony else’s life. One second, she saw a puzzled looking red stallion standing beneath an almost bald tree. Next second, she was looking into a thermos of warm, sugary coffee, which was surrounded by a fog of clouds. Next second, she was peering into a pit containing four shiny rubies illuminated by a blue light. Next, there was Daisy Jo snoozing on a sofa and, by the looks of it, snoring like crazy. Then there was a mobile decorated with griffins and manticores spinning around over… could that have been Pound Cake? Finally, Twilight seemed to have her own vision back because the giant land shrimp was nearly upon her.

Bam!

Someone zipped past Twilight and kicked the giant land shrimp right in the face. It toppled backwards just as another pony skidded into the scene with her rope ready to go.

“Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” Twilight cried in amazement as Applejack tied the giant land shrimp up.

Suddenly, two pairs of hooves had grabbed her and tried to pull her free. She looked to her left and then to her right.

“Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie!”

“Seize them!” she heard Prince Blueblood bark.

Twilight looked back towards the mob, but it was a little difficult to see them because there was a unicorn standing defiantly in front of them.

“Rarity!” cried Twilight.

The ground quivered a little bit, and the next thing Twilight knew, diamonds were shooting out of the dented ground and pelting the armour of the royal guards. The armour split on each one of them and fell to the ground with a loud clang. One of the pairs of hooves grasping her let go.

Blueblood started to bark orders again. “Surround them and…!”

He suddenly stopped talking. Pinkie Pie had forced a toffee into his mouth.

“No more bogus orders outta you, buddy!” she snapped as she made her way back to Twilight’s side.

“Havin’ a bitta trouble here!” Applejack hollered.

The giant land shrimp was a little too strong for the rope, and Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep it in check for long.

“Leave it to me!” called Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stepped forward and right as the giant land shrimp turned to face Twilight, she gave it the Stare. That impeded it in an instant. It began to step backwards. But now the mob was circling around Twilight and her friends.

“Stay back, you animals!” Rarity warned.

“You’re not taking our friend away!” Pinkie Pie said as the six of them were completely enclosed.

“You can’t blame her for what’s happening to the sky,” said Fluttershy firmly.

“We know y’all can’t help it, but you’re making a huge mistake!” Applejack growled.

“And we’re not gonna let any of you do anything to Twilight!” snarled Rainbow Dash.

The mob suddenly gasped and back away. Twilight’s heart raced as she and her friends began to transform. Their manes and tails were lengthening and growing coloured streaks. The hues of their hooves changed, and their cutie marks expanded a little bit. The concrete around Twilight fell apart, and she felt herself rise in the middle of the protective circle her friends made against the threatening circle of maddened ponies. The mob didn’t pose a threat anymore; nor did the giant land shrimp. Everything was under control. Twilight and her friends concentrated hard, and a beam of light arose into the sky and lit up the whole clearing in a gorgeous technicolour glow. The sky began to turn from black to pink as the moon dropped below the horizon. Then, at last, as the light of the Rainbow Connection dimmed, the light of the sun touched Equestria for the first time in weeks. The royal taskforce looked around. Everypony was squinting and trying to witness this stunning event at the same time. Twilight spotted Minuette, who’d evidently abandoned her post to join the mob.

“Where does it go?!” she called to her.

Minuette shook her head for a second, then her horn glowed and she called back “It’s 9:50AM!”

“Perfect!” Twilight beamed, and focusing hard, returned the sun to its proper place.

As the mob started to take all this in, a loud burst erupted from the beam of multi-coloured light. It must have covered the whole of Equestria before disappearing entirely.

The last thing anypony saw before Twilight and her friends returned to normal was Spike rising from the ground as though it wasn’t there.

“You did it!” he cried, jumping into the air in excitement. “You brought back the sun!”

Several Ponyvillians and royal guards joined Spike in the cheering and congratulations. Twilight found herself being raised onto Bulk Biceps’ back and carried towards Ponyville. She looked back. Her friends were being carried shoulder-high right behind her. Hasty apologies for irrational behaviour were being launched at them all the way out of the forest, and Twilight had no reason not to accept every single one. Ponyville slid into view looking beautiful after being deprived of sunlight for so long. A very unwelcome sight awaited Twilight and Spike.

“I’ve done it!” Tuckaway was shouting to everypony who hadn’t joined the mob. “I’ve brought back the sun! I’ve overthrown Nightmare Moon!”

Clearly, she was too far gone due to not seeing the sun for over a year. Even now that the sun was right above her, she still seemed to think she was responsible for the longstanding night finally ceasing. No one was giving her a favourable look as she continued to take credit for the beautiful morning sky.

Discord popped out of a nearby marehole and grabbed one of Tuckaway’s wings with his thumb and forefinger. “Where do you want her?”

Twilight smiled and said “Canterlot Home for the Loopy.”

Tuckaway threw a fit of protest. “I’d rather eat stink vines than go with you, Draconequus!”

“They’ve got egg nog,” Discord said, raising an eyebrow.

“Ooh, the one thing I’ve been craving since I left Ponyville,” smiled Tuckaway, relaxing instantly.

Pinkie Pie seemed to perk up as well. “Egg nog? Can I come too?”

“One day,” smirked Discord before vanishing, taking Tuckaway with him.

Discord’s presence was quickly replaced by Princesses Celestia and Luna, who received a warm welcome back to full power and health.

“Well done, Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia beamed. “Once again, you and your companions have saved Equestria from disaster!”

Everypony around them cheered and applauded.

“I hope you’ll forgive me for misspeaking to my nephew,” Celestia added right to Twilight’s face. “I never meant for all the blame to be given to you.”

“I know you didn’t, your highness,” Twilight said kindly. “And will you forgive me for sending that poisoned note to you and Princess Luna?”

“Absolutely,” replied Celestia, Luna nodding beside her.

A scroll dropped out of Twilight’s nose, which she hastily magiced open, acting like this didn’t just happen in front of the rulers of Equestria. It said ‘So do I.’

Twilight and Spike were in the highest of spirits, but they noticed that none of their fellow taskforce members seemed so accepting of all this praise.

“Oh, don’t look like that,” pleaded Twilight. “I know what you were going through.”

“That doesn’t make up for not helping you sooner,” frowned Rarity.

“Don’t be ashamed. You all may have been scared to lose your livelihoods, but nopony can blame you for being so dedicated,” Twilight smiled warmly at all of them. “But please, try not to worry about leaving your work behind in a crisis. I mean, now that the sun’s back, surely you can trust others to look after things while you’re gone.”

Rainbow Dash looked around at Thunderlane and Blossomforth.

“I’m not so sure about that,” she chuckled.

Author's Note

I think you can guess what I was playing while making up this story.