Author's Note

Note to Self: The fourth tower was the failed reconstruction of the tower that is hit during the castle siege in the flashback, next chapter.

This is a REALLY big section of Chapter 15. It contains the majority of Episode 2 (pretty much from Twilight's house until the end). If I do some thinking, then, if requested, I can split this up, further.

Just a little thing that occurred to me, while writing: Allen's POV may seem very similar to Firestar's, and that's true. I'm one guy, I have my own style of writing, and I can't really copy/make up any other style. I'm not that good of a writer. But, there are a few differences between Firestar's POV and Allen's POV. For one, humor; there were multiple times during this section that I could've cracked a joke (and, at least to me, they would've been good jokes, too). However, Allen isn't nearly as much of a wisecrack as Firestar, so I held off on the jokes. For another, Allen is a lot more 'serious' than Firestar is. There are still a few jokes, but I kept quite a few more out, as they wouldn't have been beneficial to the scene.

And I'll probably just end up deleting the entire above paragraph, at some point (lol).

Chapter 15: Working in the Shadows: Part 3: Eternal Night

Twilight had apparently cast a spell on Spike, to make sure he stayed asleep. He hadn't woken up from fainting.

This time, I had the overwatch position that had visual inside. Spike was in some kind of baby-bed. Amusingly, he was snoring. "Hm... Hmagh- We gotta stop Nightmare...hagh...!" He hadn't even really woken up. Just talking in his sleep.

Twilight floated a blanket on top of him. "You've been up all night, Spike." She said, her tone full of motherly care. "You are a baby dragon, after all." She walked out of the bedroom, and switched off the light. Then, she scrambled over to a bookcase.

She frantically floated dozens of books over to herself, from the bookcase. None of them had what she was looking for. She tossed them into a haphazard pile on the floor. The crash of them all landing at the same time was actually quite loud. "Elements, Elements, Elements!" Twilight mumbled to herself. "Agh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?"

Flying so fast I didn't even see her, Rainbow Dash flew through the open front door, and got right into Twilight's face. "And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" She asked accusingly. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh?" Twilight was slowly backing up, but Rainbow was keeping pace with her, floating right in her face. "Are you a spy? Whoa!"

Applejack had rushed in, seen Rainbow's interrogation session, and grabbed her, once again. "Simmer down, Sally! She ain't no spy."

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy walked in. Well, Fluttershy floated. The five of them moved towards Twilight.

"But," Applejack continued, "she sure knows what's goin' on. Don't ya, Twilight?"

Twilight looked at all of them, gathering her thoughts. "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon." She started. "Some mysterious objects, called the Elements of Harmony, are the only things that can stop her. But I don't know what they are, or where to find them. I don't even know what they do!"

Unbeknownst to all, including myself, Pinkie Pie had walked over to a bookcase that hadn't been searched, yet. "The Elements of Harmony; A Reference Guide!" She read aloud a book title.

Twilight scrambled over, unintentionally pushing Pinkie to the floor. "How did you find that?"

Pinkie just bounced to the other side of the room. "It was under 'E!'" She exclaimed in a sing-song voice. I could actually hear the bouncing, once again. What, are her legs made up springs?

"Oh." Twilight said, embarrassed. She'd been so hectic, she'd forgotten to look efficiently, by category. She floated the book over to her. Opening it up, she began to read. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery."

I suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach, and not in a good way. On a hunch, I moved my binoculars over to a window. Oh, son of a bi***. A single wisp of Nightmare Moon's fog was eavesdropping on Twilight. I can't shoot fog. Even if I could, I doubt it'd stay still long enough for me to hit it. At this range, I'd need a sniper rifle. Now, if it was a normal target, standing and not moving, I could hit it just fine.

"It is said," Twilight continued to read, oblivious, "that the location of the five Elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now known as..." A whimper of fear.

"The Everfree Forest!" Everyone exclaimed.

Well, sh**. This will not be a fun adventure.

Firestar, Leon, and I quickly packed up. We'd need to follow them.

"Hey," Firestar exclaimed suddenly, "I remember something! There are two paths that lead to Castle. I vote we see which one they take, and we'll use the other."

"Good plan." I replied. "Let's do it."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and co. stood in front of one path. I was crouching behind a tree, next to the other. Once they moved in, we'd have to be very careful. Unfortunately for them, they'd picked the more treacherous path. Ours would be pretty smooth. In fact, we'd have a lot of positions that had sight-lines on sections of their path.

Staring into the creepy, dark forest, Pinkie was, once again, oblivious to the danger. "Whee!" She exclaimed randomly, "Let's go!"

As Pinkie started walking, Twilight interrupted her. "Not so fast." Twilight's voice went quiet. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."

Not smart, Sparkle. Not a smart move.

"No can do, Sugarcube!" Applejack exclaimed. "We sure ain't letting any friend of ours go into that creepy place, alone!"

As everyone started to move Applejack continued. "We're sticking to you like caramel on a candy stick."

Twilight had apparently not taken a step, and Pinkie, investigating a bush, perked up. She'd looked back at Twilight. "Especially if there's candy apples in there!"

Unbelievable. Un-fu**ing-believable.

"What?" Pinkie asked, as Twilight just stared at her. She walked after everyone else. "Those things are good!"

Twilight sighed, and followed her.

"Okay, let's move." I got up. We jogged in. We wanted to stay slightly ahead of Twilight's group, so we'd need to go fast.

After a while, Twilight's bug picked up her asking nervously "So, none of you have been in here, before?"

"Ugh!" Rarity exclaimed. "Heavens, no! Just look at it. It's dreadful!"

"And it ain't natural." Applejack added.

I couldn't help but agree with both of them. While I wasn't one for fashion, I also wasn't a fan of mud, bugs, and getting so dirty, you'd feel it for weeks. I'd do it, but that doesn't mean I'd like it.

"Folks say it don' work the same as Equestria." Applejack continued.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked, fearfully.

"Nopony knows!" Rainbow Dash replied, using a ghostly voice. "You know why?"

"Rainbow!" Applejack exclaimed, sounding annoyed. "Quit it!"

"'Cuz everypony that has ever come in," Rainbow continued, ignoring Applejack, "has never. Come. Out!" She shouted the last word.

The sounds of multiple rocks breaking filtered into our ears, and we sprinted for the nearest overwatch position. Screams came through the bug, but not much else.

"Hold on!" Applejack's voice barely registered. It got louder, though, as if Applejack was getting closer. "I'ma comin'!"

"Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed. "What do I do?" The sound of rocks hitting rocks was still coming through, albeit much quieter than the initial chaos. My guess was confirmed when we reached the top of a hill. Applejack was holding onto Twilight's hooves, while Twilight was dangling off the edge of a cliff. They'd been at the top of a mountain, and the section they'd been standing on had broken off.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had already set down everyone else, safely. They flew up, and into Applejack's vision, who saw them. Applejack looked Twilight in the eyes. "Let go."

"Are you crazy!?!" Twilight half-exclaimed, half-yelled.

"No, Ah ain't." Applejack replied calmly. "Ah promise you'll be safe."

"That's not true!" Twilight yelled. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were waiting, below her. She'd never had the chance to see them.

"Now listen here!" Applejack said. "What Ah'm sayin' here is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe."

Twilight, after a moment's further hesitation, let go. "Aahh!" She screamed, until Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy caught her, after she fell less than ten feet. "Phew..."

She and Rainbow Dash yelped as Fluttershy's grip slipped for a second. However, she reaffirmed her hold. "Sorry, girls. I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny, or two."

Twilight watched Applejack hop down the mountain like a goat, as she was lowered to the ground.

I caught a glimpse of Nightmare Moon's blue fog, but I couldn't tell where it'd gone. That is, until we all heard a roar, in the distance.

I really hope that's on our trail, and not theirs. The terrain of their path had muffled to roar too much. None of them had heard it.

"Check your weapons, make sure they're loaded and silenced." We moved out. This time, we were holding our silenced pistols. If we encountered anything, we'd be ready for it.

As both our group and Twilight's moved, we all listened to Rainbow Dash's embellishment of how she and Fluttershy had saved the day. She performed a couple small tricks, to emphasize certain parts.

I didn't really pay much attention to it. However, I did catch the end. "-And wham! Caught you right in the nick of time!" Rainbow finished proudly.

"Yes, Rainbow, I was there." Twilight replied, annoyed at Rainbow's highly exaggerated tale. "And I'm very grateful, but we've gotta-" A gasp of fright.

"Move!" I yelled.

"A Manticore!" Twilight exclaimed. As if to punctuate, the Manticore roared. I could even hear it, without the bug. Fu**! Come on, legs. Move faster!

"We've gotta get past him!" Twilight stated, somehow calm.

We sprinted for yet another ledge, overlooking their path. Is it a coincidence that our path spies on theirs so many times? And at just the right spots?

"Take that, you ruffian!" Rarity exclaimed, only to be met with another roar. "My hair!" She squealed.

Oh, please! Do those ponies not grasp the seriousness of being attacked by a manticore?

"Yee-Haw!" Applejack yelled out. "Get along, little doggy!"

What's she doing? We reached the ledge. "Set up! Now!"

Firestar and Leon rapidly pulled out parts of my sniper rifle, from the pack on my back. As I watched, Rainbow, creating a - fittingly rainbow-colored - blur around the manticore, was suddenly swatted aside by its spiked tail. With a yelp, she was sent sailing off a few yards away.

"Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed.

Rainbow slid to a stop in front of Twilight and her friends. She pawed at the ground, trying to get up, but the hit had made her groggy. The best she did was move some dirt around.

"Get it set up, already! One of them's hurt!" I whisper-yelled at Firestar and Leon.

"Doing the best we can, Allen!" Firestar replied. "Precision is not a good thing to need, when you've gotta be fast!"

I looked back, and blinked. "What the he**?"

The five standing ponies were all charging the manticore. Wait... I did a quick headcount, through the dust. Fluttershy wasn't among them. Where'd she go?

Suddenly, Fluttershy popped out from a nearby bush, right in Twilight and co.'s path. "Waaaaiiiit!" She screamed, actually reaching a volume that could've been easily heard over normal conversation.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all skidded to a stop. The manticore looked at Fluttershy, confused.

Wordlessly, Fluttershy turned around, and walked up to the manticore. It growled, and raised a clawed paw to strike her down, permanently.

I scrambled for my sniper rifle. The barrel still wasn't fully attached. Sh*t! We're going to lose her! I looked through the scope. Wait, what the he**? Is she really...?

Fluttershy was nuzzling the manticore's other front paw. The manticore lowered its raised one. It then put its nuzzled paw, upside down, in front of Fluttershy's face. I could see her lips move, but she wasn't loud enough for the bug to pick up what she said.

"Little?" Rainbow asked, seemingly out of nowhere, disbelief in her voice.

What did Fluttershy call the manticore little? That thing's more than three times her size! Its paw is bigger than her head!

Fluttershy, for some odd reason, extended her neck. As she bit down on something, I caught a glimpse of it; it looked like some kind of sharp rock fragment, embedded in the manticore's paw, like a splinter.

Fluttershy tugged it out, and the manticore roared in pain.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight and her friends exclaimed, thinking the manticore was going to lash out.

However, the manticore did just the opposite. I did a double-take. Is it seriously licking her? I didn't know manticores even could be friendly!

As it licked Fluttershy continuously, in gratitude, Twilight and co. quickly and quietly walked past them.

"Well, I guess we don't need the sniper then, huh?" Firestar quipped. "Or are we still gonna shoot the thing?"

"I don't think we should waste the bullet." I replied. "Remember, we're covert, here. If it's not necessary, we don't do anything they'll notice."

We repacked the sniper. As we did so, I heard Twilight ask "How did you know about the thorn?"

"I didn't." Fluttershy replied.

I blinked, and face-palmed. Seriously? That thing could've killed you, and you just stopped your friends from defending you, when you didn't even know its motivations?

"Sometimes," Fluttershy continued, "we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

Firestar blinked, and straightened. "Hey... Kindness. Elements of Harmony? Element of Kindness? Anybody else following me, here?"

I looked at him. "Huh." I remarked, simply. "You may be on to something, there."

We finished packing the sniper rifle back into my backpack, and hurried to keep pace with Twilight Sparkle.

We'd been walking for a few more minutes, when Rarity piped up. "Ugh! My eyes need a rest from all this filthy muck!"

Suddenly, everything got darker. I glanced up. Perfect... A cloud moved in, blotting out the moonlight. As that wasn't enough, we then entered a deep part of the forest. Even if it'd been daytime, the trees were so thick, it wouldn't have made any difference, whatsoever.

"Well, I didn't mean that literally." Rarity remarked.

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces, and we wouldn't even know it!" Twilight exclaimed, nervously.

A few seconds later, there were multiple bumps and apologies. In the dark, they were stumbling into each other.

Not two seconds after the first bump of many, I collided with Firestar. We both went sprawling. "Sorry." I groaned, getting back up.

"Ah, you're fine." Firestar replied, casually. He obviously didn't care that his equipment just got muddy enough that he could take a bath in full gear.

Suddenly, Fluttershy's scream pierced the air. Fu**!

"Move! Go!" I exclaimed. We went a little faster. In the darkness, tripping would only slow us down. Better to be slow and steady, then have a lot of small, quick bursts.

"It's just mud!" Applejack said, amused.

We slowed back down. She must be freaking out over the general horror of the Everfree.

That is, until Applejack yelped "Woah!" followed by everypony else screaming, as well.

We went back to our faster pace, only to slow back down to a comfortable one, again, whence the bug picked up Pinkie Pie's laughter.

"Pinkie!" Twilight said, still scared, "What are you doing? Run!"

"Oh, girls!" Pinkie replied, still laughing. Suddenly, she burst into song.

"When I was little filly, and the sun was going dooooowwn...-!"

... Are you fu**ing kidding me?

"Tell me she's not." Twilight said, deadpan.

Yes, please!

"-And the darkness and the shadows, they would always make me froooowwn...-!" Pinkie continued singing.

"She is." Rarity replied to Twilight, her tone conveying that she'd accepted Pinkie Pie's obvious lack of ability to grasp any semblance of seriousness.

"I'd hide under my pillow," Pinkie sang, "from what I thought I saaaww! But Granny Pie said that wasn't they way to deal with fears at all...!"

"Then, what is?" Rainbow asked.

Shoot them?

"She said, 'Pinkie, you've gotta stand up tall! Learn to face your fears! You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh, and make them dissappear!"

Pinkie Pie let off three deliberate, staccato laughs. "Ha, ha, ha!"

Dear Celestia, how long is this going to be?

At everypony else's gasps, I could only conclude that whatever was scaring them was magical, in origin, because laughing at something doesn't make it disappear.

"So... giggle at the ghostly, guffaw at the grossly! Crack up with creepy, whoop it up with the weepy!"

I did a double-take in the dark, when I heard Firestar humming right along with her. I'm in the company of the fu**ing court jester, here, and now he enjoys annoying music? What the fu**? However, eventually, I found myself smiling, just a little bit. For some inexplicable reason, I was happy. More than that, I wanted to laugh. I started to hum along, as Pinkie continued.

"Chortle at the kooky, snortle at the spooky!"

I don't think snortle is a word, Pinkie.

Pinkie's next words were said, though they probably would've been better understood, if she was singing them. Her rate was so rapid-fire, I could barely understand her. In fact, I'm not quite sure I did, anyways. "And tell that big, dumb, scary face to take a hike, and leave you alone, and if he thinks he can scare you, then he's got another thing coming! And the very idea of it just makes me want to...!" The rest of her sentence-paragraph hybrid was incomprehensible, as she'd been reduced to just uncontrollably giggling.

Finally, Pinkie finished with an extremely long "Laaaaaaaaauuuuuuugggghhhh!!!"

The air was then filled with everypony laughing their heads off. Firestar and Leon were laughing, too. I, myself, heard a few chuckles escape. Eh, what the he**? I let myself collapse in laughter, landing on my back, less than a foot behind my two half-serious compatriots on the long road to getting our a**es kicked.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Somehow, minutes later, Twilight's group was still laughing. Not quite uncontrollably, but laughing, all the same. Suddenly, they were all cut off, the laughs replaced by single grunts, as if they'd run into something. I vaguely heard the sounds of running water. A river?

"How are we going to cross this?" Twilight exclaimed.

Before anypony could reply, the air was pierced by a heat-broken cry of sadness.

"Huh?" Apparently, no one in Twilight's group was doing the crying, as Pinkie was as confused as we were. Then again, the crying sounded more stallion-like than mare-like.

The admittedly-high-pitched, masculine voice cried out "What a world! What a world!"

"Excuse me, sir," Twilight began, "why are you crying?"

"Well, I don't know!" The voice took on a little bit of a condescending tone, in its obvious irritation, "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this spectacular little cloud of purple smoke just whizzed past me, and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off!"

Oh, brother. It's a mustache! It'll grow back!

"And now," the voice continued, "I look simply horrid!" It unleashed another wave of crying, and the bug picked up a splash, followed by the sounds of water drenching a certain group of ponies.

Oh, come on! I'll bet you all the bits in Equestria that, right now, we look worse!

"Oh, gimme a break!" Rainbow Dash remarked. I couldn't help but agree with her.

"That's what all the fuss is about?" Applejack asked, incredulous.

"Why, of course it is!" Rarity exclaimed.

Really? I've made smaller fusses over getting shot!

"How can you be so insensitive?" Rarity continued.

Because it's not a big deal?

Rarity's voice took on a baby-like tone. "Oh, just look at him! Such lovely, luminescent scales!"

The male snorted. "I know!" He exclaimed.

"And you're expertly cropped mane!" Rarity's voice was back to normal.

"Oh, I know, I know!"

Well, he's not conceited, at all.

"You're fabulous manicure!" Rarity continued gushing out the compliments.

Laying it on a bit thick, maybe?

"It's so true!" The man said, full of himself.

"All ruined, without your beautiful mustache!"

Killjoy.

"It's true!" The male replied, on the verge of crying, again. "I'm hideous!"

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!" Rarity finished.

Huh? What are you going to do, find some long-lost hair growth spell?

Suddenly, the male yelped in pain. "Ow! What did you do that for?"

"Rarity," Twilight exclaimed, "what are you-" Everypony gasping cut her off.

A fainting-like sound emanated from the male's voice. Then a crash sounded, as if he'd collapsed on the ground.

"What'd she do? Cut his other half-of-a-mustache off?" Firestar asked, amused.

The male, seemingly for no reason, yelped in joy. "Oh! My mustache! How wonderful!"

"You look smashing!" Rarity complimented him, sounding proud of herself.

"Rarity!" Twilight exclaimed. "You're beautiful tail!"

"Oh!" Rarity replied. "It's fine, dear! Short tails are in, this season. Besides, i-it'll grow back." She stuttered a little.

"So would the mustache." Rainbow whispered. Apparently, only Twilight and us heard her, as there was no reply from Rarity.

Firestar, Leon, and I chuckled.

Twilight suddenly gasped, as if she'd discovered something. "We can cross now! Let's go-Woah!" Rushing water, again.

"Allow me!" The male's voice said.

Well, I guess that crisis - whatever it was - is over.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We'd been walking for another half-hour, at least. Finally, we came across a ridge. In the distance, I could see the old castle. Well, it's certainly old. Looks more like ruins, than anything else. I only saw the remains of three castle towers, one of which was almost completely gone. The other two weren't that far behind.

"Uh oh." Firestar said. He pointed. "Bridge is out. They'll have to be carried." Then, he chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Or, they could just have somepony fly over there, and reconnect the bridge."

I patted him on the back. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut, twice a day." I said.

He mock-glared at me, and we all chuckled.

We got to work setting up the sniper rifle. Our trail ended here, anyways. Luckily, we had a good view of both the entrance to the castle, and all of its towers. We finished getting the sniper set up seconds before our VIPs exited the forest, into the clearing that the castle was in.

"There it is!" Twilight exclaimed. "The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony. We've made it!" She ran ahead of her friends.

"Twilight!" Applejack yelled. "Wait for us!"

"We're almost there!" Twilight yelled back.

Oh, sh*t. Twilight hadn't seen that the bridge was out. Luckily, Rainbow had. She dived forward, and latched onto Twilight's tail, as Twilight started to fall.

"What's with you and falling off of cliffs, today?" Rainbow quipped.

"Now what?" Pinkie asked.

"Duh!" Rainbow shook her wings, and took off.

"Oh, yeah." Pinkie said.

"Got something." Firestar said, suddenly. "Contacts, crawling up the cliff. What the fu** are those things? I can't see them well enough."

I moved my rifle's scope. Sure enough, at least a dozen pitch-black... things were crawling up the cliff's face. Twilight and her friends couldn't see them, and Rainbow was distracted by... sh*t! Rainbow was talking with three ponies, who were wearing Wonderbolt-esque uniforms. Take the colors, turn them to purple, dark blue, and yellow, and you've got the exact outfit that those ponies were wearing.

No time to deal with randomly-appearing ponies from creepy Nightmare fog. I could see Nightmare Moon's color ooze a little off of the ever-ascending creatures.

"Firestar," I said evenly, "I want you ready with a spare mag, now."

He moved. I aimed. After half a second of aiming, I pulled the trigger. One down. Who's next? You are. Good night. And contestant number three is now also down for the count. I rapidly sniped the rest of them. More kept poring up out of the fog, below, but I kept taking them down, just as fast. I was down to two, and no more were appearing, and my kill-count was up to ten, when my sniper went click. fu**!

"Switch mags." I ordered. Within three seconds, I'd taken out my magazine, traded with Firestar, slotted the new magazine into my gun, and cocked it. Bam. And bam. Who ordered dead monsters? He**, why am I joking around, this much? I've never been this comical, while on duty.

"Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed, a little worried. "What's taking so long?" Apparently, no one but Rainbow had seen the pony newcomers, and even Rainbow was clueless of the threats I'd just disposed of.

"Oh no!"Twilight had used a spell to clear some of the fog, and had caught a glimpse of the ponies. "Rainbow!"

One of the ponies glared at Twilight, and her eyes flashed. The fog immediately moved in, and obscured Rainbow from view of all of us. Fu**! Sh*t! Fu**ing he**! This is not going according to plan, here!

"Don't trust them!" Twilight continued. "Rainbow! Rainbow!"

"Leon, this is getting tense. Get down there, and-" I interrupted myself as Rainbow came flying out of the fog.

A chorus of cheers erupted. "Good job, Rainbow!" Twilight exclaimed.

"See? I'd never leave my friends hanging!" Rainbow replied, flying along next to them.

They walked up to the doors, and went inside. "Woah..." They all half-whispered, in awe.

"Come on, Twilight." Applejack said, softly. "Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?"

"The Elements of Harmony!" Twilight exclaimed, even more awed than the others. "We've found them!"

"One, two, three four..." Pinkie started counting, and gasped. "There's only five!"

"Where's the sixth?" Rainbow asked.

"The book said," Twilight started, "'when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.'"

Well, that's helpful! They're all already there. Where's the sixth?

"What in the hay is that supposed ta mean?" Applejack asked, incredulous.

"I'm not sure," Twilight replied, "but I have an idea. Stand back, I don't know what will happen."

Twilight's friends walked back out the door, while she stayed inside. I couldn't see most of the ground floor. But I did see the wisp of blue fog that went in through one of the many cracks in the castle's walls. Sh*t.

The sound of howling wind came from the bug, followed by Twilight yelping in surprise. Her friends called her name, and rushed back inside.

I could see the top of a blue mini-tornado. I caught glimpses of circular pieces of rocks, inside it. Where did that come from?

"The Elements!" Twilight exclaimed. The wind got louder for a second, and then all was silent. The tornado was gone.

Twilight's friends burst inside, but, judging from what movements I could see, they couldn't find her. Where'd she go? He**, where'd that tornado go?

While her friends scrambled around aimlessly for her, below, Firestar, Leon, and I rapidly scanned the entire castle for signs of the lavender unicorn. Come on, come on, where the he** are you? Fu**! This is not going well, at all! I was getting anxious, I'll admit it. I may not mind the night, but I'd rather not have eternal darkness.

"Got something!" Firestar exclaimed, and pointed. At the same time, I saw a white hoof stick out of one of the castle's walls. Apparently, Firestar and Rarity had spotted something, at the same time. I looked. One of the two towers still standing (relatively) had a lot of light coming out of it. White light, too.

I had to move a little, to see inside. When I could finally see, Twilight's bug reactivated. Apparently, it had had some trouble figuring out where to broadcast. Nightmare Moon's laughter came through it, sounding as if she was in the middle of it, when the bug started transmitting. The sound of glass breaking was barely audible, but there, nonetheless. What, did one of them just punch out a window?

"You little fool!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. "Thinking you could defeat me! Now, you will never see your Princess! Or your Sun! The night will last forever! Ha ha ha!" More evil cackling.

Does she ever shut up? I've got my cross-hairs right on her. Can I just put a round through her head?

Suddenly, Twilight glanced behind her, and gasped. "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that? Well, you're wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!"

Twilight's friends had arrived. The six of them stood there, boldly facing down Nightmare Moon.

Twilight began her explanation. "Applejack, who reassured me, when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of Honesty. Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of Kindness. Pinkie Pie, who vanquished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of Laughter. Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of Generosity. And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty! The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!"

"You still don't have the sixth Element!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed, sounding more worried than confident. "The spark didn't work!"

And that's where she's got you, bit**!

"But it did!" Twilight replied, softly. "A different kind of spark. I felt it, the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you. To see you. How much I cared about you! The spark ignited inside me, when I realized that you all..." Twilight turned to face Nightmare Moon, and finished with "... are my friends!"

A light suddenly appeared over them all, and everypony glanced up. I moved my scope, a little. Oh,no way! I smiled, awed. Coming out of bright white light, floating down to the floor, was another circular rock. This time, I could see the engraving on it. Curiously, it was the same as Twilight's cutie mark.

Nightmare Moon shied away from the light. Apparently, it emanated more than brightness. Something about it was keeping the black alicorn from looking directly at it.

"You see, Nightmare Moon," Twilight said, "when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Elements; the Element of Magic!"

The light emanating from the Element's rock glowed as bright as a supernova. I had to cover my eyes. When I was able to look, again, I saw an amazing sight; Twilight's friends were wearing necklaces, with their cutie marks on them. Twilight was wearing a crown, with her own cutie mark adorned on the front. The six of them were floated. They moved into the ball of light that was now half the size of the room, and rainbow-colored double-helix-shaped beams came out of it. It was majestic, awesome, and awe-inspiring, all at once. The beams met, inches below the ceiling, and shot towards Nightmare Moon as one wide, super-powerful beam.

"Nooooo!" Nightmare Moon yelled, as the beam hit her, and surrounded her in a rainbow-colored tornado.

A light came out of Twilight, blinding me, again. It took me a whole ten seconds to blink the spots away. Dear Celestia! Get your sight back, Allen! You're not that old! When I was able to look, again, Nightmare Moon was gone. In her place, unconscious, was dark blue, alicorn mare, the size of any other pony. I looked back at Twilight, and my eyes widened, in alarm. She, and all of her friends, were sprawled out on the floor, all just as unconscious as the mare taking Nightmare Moon's place.

Then, thankfully, Twilight and her friends began to stir. Various groans rose into the air.

"My head!" Rainbow moaned.

"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked, sounding groggy. None of them had quite managed to get to their feet, yet.

Rarity suddenly jumped up. "Oh, thank goodness!" Her tail had regrown.

Fluttershy's mouth moved, but I couldn't lip-read, and the bug wasn't sensitive enough to detect what she'd said.

"I know!" Rarity exclaimed. "I'll never part with it, again!" She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

Fluttershy shook her head, and pointed at Rarity's necklace.

"Huh?" Rarity replied. "So does yours!"

"Look at mine, look at mine!" Pinkie bounced over to Applejack.

"Aww, yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed, ecstatic at her necklace containing her 'awesome' cutie mark.

"Gee, Twilight!" Applejack said, looking at he friend's crown. "Ah thought you were just spoutin' a lotta hooey!"

Well, at least you went along with it, and backed her up.

"But Ah reckon we really do represent the Elements of Friendship."

A yellow light suddenly appeared in the destroyed window next to the still-unconscious mare. "Indeed, you do." Celestia's voice replied. The night suddenly vanished, replaced by the light of the morning's beautiful sunrise.

No way. Yes!

"Wooh!" Firestar cheered, quickly. He and Leon gave each other a quick high-five. I smiled, and exchanged thumbs-up with the two of them.

A ball of light came out of the window, and settled in front of it. I blinked, and Celestia stood, in its place. Wings extended, looking majestic.

"Yeah!" Firestar yelled out. "Woo-hoo! They did it!"

Twilight gasped. "Princess Celestia!" She fast-walked Celestia's welcoming embrace.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student!" Celestia quickly embraced Twilight, then stepped back. "I knew you could do it."

"But, you told me that it was all an old pony's tale!" Twilight exclaimed quietly, sounding a little confused.

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew that it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it, until you let true friendship into your heart." Celestia glanced sadly at the dark blue mare. "Now if only another will, as well." She walked a little closer. "Princess Luna."

The mare, still prone, gasped, and looked up at Celestia. There was absolute fear in her eyes, mixed with grief and regret.

Celestia walked up to her, saying "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." She knelt next to the mare. "Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister!"

What? The he**? Gasps from Leon, Firestar, Twilight, and her friends told me I wasn't the only one who didn't know Luna's identity.

"Sister?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash exclaimed, together.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked her sister.

Twilight and her friends leaned forward, straining to hear. Pinkie, leaning too far, fell forward with a yelp. "Woah!"

I snorted in amusement. Pinkie. Only you.

Luna suddenly leapt forward into Celestia's waiting arms. "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" The two of them were crying, tears streaming rapidly down their faces, landing on the hard rock, below them.

"I've missed you too!" Celestia replied.

Pinkie, somehow finding a tissue, blew her nose, and cried. Somehow, her tears were arching waterfalls of water, yet made only a small amount of water, on the floor. Suddenly, she instantly went from crying to wide-eyed excitement. "Hey! You know what this calls for? A party!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Our mission over with, we decided to stay in Ponyville, for a few days. We let loose at Pinkie's town-wide celebration of Princess Luna's return.

At one point, I glanced over, and was surprised to see Twilight Sparkle standing sullenly a few yards away from the crowd of people talking and dancing merrily.

Celestia approached her. "Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies, in Canterlot?"

"That's just it." Twilight replied, sadly. "Just when I learn how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them."

Celestia stared proudly at her lavender student. "Spike? Take a note, please." After Spike had gotten out a quill and scroll, she continued. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree, that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission, for Equestria; she must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings, from her new home; in Ponyville!"

Twilight's new friends, who had gathered around, to hear, surrounded Twilight, and all of them started congratulating Twilight, in happiness.

'Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed, almost on the verge of tears. "I'll study harder than ever before!"

I had somehow not noticed that everypony around us had gone silent, listening to the exchange between Twilight Sparkle and her teacher. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause.

"Whoo!" Firestar cheered, from nearby. He grinned at me. "You know, sometimes, working in the shadows feels pretty good!"