The Return of Nightmare Moon
“There you are, Twilight!” Twilight was abruptly stopped in her tracks by Twinkleshine’s voice. Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lemon Hearts stood in a row, blocking the path to her room. Why did they have to pick now of all times to try and get her to socialize? She had important things she needed to research! Twilight was so focused in trying to figure out a way around the girls, that she missed what Twinkleshine said next. From the way they leaned forward, she could figure out the gist of it. They were inviting her to go somewhere with them, and she just didn’t have time.
“Oh, sorry, girls. I’ve got a lot of studying to catch up on,” Twilight said, going to her most common excuse. They were used to it by now, and she was pretty sure they wouldn’t push her. They seemed resigned, so Twilight took her opportunity and ran between the three, hurrying toward her room at the castle and leaving the mares far behind.
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Twilight rushed up the stairs to her room, trying to think of where she had heard of the Elements of Harmony before. It was in some book, she was sure of it. Magical Objects and Their Properties? Pony Powers of the Most Recent Centuries? She shook her head in frustration, and the book suddenly came to her as if the thought was jarred from her memory. Predictions and Prophecies! She’d read it years ago, and she was sure it had mentioned the Elements of Harmony. Now in more of a rush, she burst into her room and looked around for Spike.
“Spike!” she called, looking around for her trusted assistant. “Spike!”
A groan came from the floor, and Twilight looked down.
“Spike?”
Spike was lying on the floor for some reason. Well, Twilight didn’t have time for his jokes right now.
“There you are,” she said briskly. “Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies.” When she glanced back to see if Spike was helping yet, he was standing and holding a crumpled package. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was a present for someone.
“What’s that for?” she asked while nosing through some books on the floor, hoping that one of them might be the one she needed.
“Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but…” The sad-looking teddy bear contained inside the squashed box fell onto the floor.
“Oh, Spike, you know we don’t have time for that sort of thing,” Twilight said with a sigh. Spike said something else but Twilight was no longer listening, focused on finding Predictions and Prophecies. She levitated some books around her, but none were right. This library was a mess, how was she ever supposed to find anything? She looked around for any hint of where the book might be, and her eyes landed on the teddy bear Spike had dropped. What did he say it was for? Moondancer’s party? Twilight had known Moondancer for years, and she had never thrown a party. All of the books Twilight had been levitating abruptly fell to the floor as she investigated the gift more closely.
“Did you say this was for Moondancer’s party?” she called to Spike. He nearly fell off the ladder when she asked about something other than Predictions and Prophecies, which Twilight thought was a little overdramatic.
“Yeah,” he said, then climbed down the ladder. He glanced to the side as if deciding whether or not to say something to her. Finally, he spoke. “You know, Twilight, this party was really important to Moondancer. I think she was hoping you’d come. Is there any way you can put off studying for an hour or two?” He gave her a meaningful glance. “Twilight, please?”
Twilight looked at Spike, then sighed. “I guess we can go. But just for an hour,” she added when Spike’s expression lit up. “I have some important studying to do when we get back.”
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As the two walked to the courtyard, Twilight wondered why she had ever agreed to this. She didn’t have time to go to a party, especially not today, when she was on the verge of learning something that could be really important. She wished she had brought Predictions and Prophecies with her, but Spike had wanted to leave right away. At least she had her other book with her, though it didn’t tell her anything other than what she had read earlier. Spike walked ahead of her, proudly holding his box even though it was crumpled. At least he was excited.
When they entered the courtyard, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine looked up from where they had been standing and talking quietly.
“Twilight, thank Celestia you’re here!” Minuette exclaimed, galloping over to her.
Twilight looked around. Other than the three unicorns, Twilight, and Spike, the courtyard was completely deserted. It didn’t seem like much of a party was going on, even though there were streamers, balloons, and mountains of party food on the tables.
“Where’s Moondancer?” Twilight asked.
Minuette hesitated before answering. “She went inside. We told her you weren’t coming and she just… left.”
Twilight looked at the ground.
“Oh,” she said quietly. She hadn’t thought her absence would have that much of a difference, but maybe it really was as important to Moondancer as Spike had said. She was scraping her hoof along the ground when Spike cleared his throat.
“Twilight, aren’t you gonna go inside and look for Moondancer?” he asked, obviously hinting at what her answer should be.
“Yeah, but I’ve never been inside her house before and she probably doesn’t want me to just walk in…” Twilight’s excuse sounded weak even to her.
“Twilight…” Spike’s voice prompted her, and after a few more seconds of floundering she nodded and slowly began making her way into Moondancer’s house.
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The house was dark, and a bit dusty, like it hadn’t been cleaned recently. Twilight would have been a little grossed out if she wasn’t sure that her house would be exactly like it if it wasn’t for Spike cleaning it up. She made a mental note to thank him later.
Almost as soon as she entered the first room, Twilight heard quiet noises coming from a corner. She gently approached the space near the window, where a light yellow shape lay curled up on the floor.
“Moondancer?” she asked quietly.
At the sound, Moondancer’s head whipped up from where it had been buried in her hooves. She looked ready to make some comment to whoever had walked into her house without her permission, but when she saw who it was her face brightened.
“Twilight!” she said, beaming. “You came!”
Twilight, surprised by the other mare’s sudden change in mood, backed up a step before responding.
“Of course I came, once I knew how important it was to you. I wouldn’t miss it!” This was a total lie of course, but Twilight knew she had made Moondancer cry and felt so guilty she would say anything to cheer her up. “I’m sorry I’m late. I was doing a little studying.”
Moondancer waved her hoof. “Oh, no, it’s fine. I'm really glad you’re here.”
Twilight’s smile was a little forced. She shifted a little, thinking of how she hadn’t gotten to really look up what she wanted to yet. Her mind was trying to bounce between the mare in front of her and her copy of Predictions and Prophecies waiting for her in her library.
“Actually, I haven’t really gotten to look at what I wanted to yet,” Twilight blurted out before she could stop herself.
Moondancer’s expression darkened the slightest bit, then brightened again. “Well, I can help you look for it, if you’d like. As you can see, I have lots of books!” She laughed a little.
Well, now that she had started, she might as well see if Moondancer had the book she was looking for.
“Do you maybe have a copy of Predictions and Prophecies?” Twilight asked.
Moondancer frowned for a moment, thinking. “I might. Let me check.” The unicorn closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. After a few moments, a dusty book floated off of a shelf and made it’s way towards them. “Yep, there it is!”
Twilight stared in open-mouthed shock as the book deposited itself neatly at Moondancer’s feet. “How did you do that?” she asked, forcing her mouth to work.
“Tracking spell. It’s pretty easy, but it takes a lot of concentration. And you have to know exactly what you’re looking for. I learned it in Simple Spells for the Aspiring Unicorn. I can teach it to you sometime, if you’d like.”
Twilight was busy thinking of all the help a spell like that would be. She’d be able to find any book she needed, at any time! It would save her and Spike hours of searching! Realizing she was taking too long, she nodded. Moondancer smiled again. She looked like she’d really cheered up since Twilight arrived.
Now that they had found the book, Twilight leaned over it, quickly flipping through pages with her magic until she got to the “E” section of the book. She read the elements section out loud so Moondancer could hear.
“The Elements of Harmony. See Mare in the Moon?” That seemed a bit unrelated.
“Keep going,” Moondancer encouraged as she craned over Twilight’s shoulder to get a better look. Twilight flipped to the “M” section and found the entry. A drawing that looked suspiciously like one in the book she had read earlier was on the page, along with a small blurb.
“Mare in the Moon. Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal!” Twilight gasped and looked up at Moondancer. “The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun celebration! That means-”
Moondancer nodded and spoke as if continuing Twilight’s thought, “That we could be on the precipice of disaster!”
Twilight looked up at the mare as if seeing her in a new light. She knew Moondancer liked books, but it seemed like they really were a lot alike in the way they thought as well. She instantly said the next thing that came to mind.
“We need to send a letter to Princess Celestia and warn her!”
At this, Moondancer seemed to shut down. “I don’t know, Twilight…” she said hesitantly. Of course, not every pony would want to go directly to the Princess with problems they found, but Moondancer seemed particularly dubious. “Maybe we shouldn’t bother her, at least until we know more about the Elements and the Mare in the Moon. She’s probably really busy trying to get preparations together for the big Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville. Once we have something concrete, then we could send her a message.”
Twilight forced herself to take a step back and think rationally, since that was what Moondancer was clearly doing. Maybe it would be better to find out more about the Elements before sending a Celestia a message. And she’d likely take it more seriously if they had concrete proof. Twilight sighed and resigned herself.
“You’re right,” she admitted. “It would be better to wait until we have more information.”
“Sooo…?” Moondancer levitated a random book over to the two.
Twilight smiled. “Let’s get studying!”
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Since they didn’t know exactly what books they were looking for, Moondancer’s tracking spell wouldn’t work. Instead, they looked in Twilight’s usual way, which involved rapidly levitating books, checking titles, and stacking up all of the unuseful books in growing piles on the floor. Twilight was surprised by how easily she and Moondancer worked together. She had never really noticed that before, even though they had sat next to each other during classes for almost their whole lives. About an hour into searching with no results, a knock came at the door and Spike walked in.
“Twilight?” he called into the room before being nearly smacked in the face by a whizzing copy of Ancient Unicorns and the History of Equestria. He ducked just in time and took a closer look at the room, which had turned into utter chaos with dozens of books flying around and increasingly unstable piles reaching towards the ceiling.
“Spike!” Twilight yelled when she saw the baby dragon. The books she had been levitating dropped as she trotted over to greet him.
“I came to check on how things were going with Moondancer,” Spike said, still looking around the room. “You guys have been gone for a really long time and I was getting worried. But it looks like things are going okay, though, huh?”
“Definitely!” Twilight exclaimed, a wide smile on her face. “Moondancer is helping me research the Elements of Harmony!” Moondancer gave a little wave to Spike with a hoof. “Now that you’re here, you could help us!”
Spike still seemed shocked by this change of events with the two mares. “Sure,” he said finally. “But Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts are still out there. You two left the party so suddenly, they weren’t sure if they should come in or not. Do you want me to tell them anything?”
“The party’s over,” Moondancer called back over her shoulder. “Unless they want to come and help us study, you can tell them they can go home. They can take some of the food home with them,” she added.
“Okay, I’ll go let them know,” Spike backed out of the room as the two unicorns returned to their task.
They researched long into the night, only stopping to eat a bit of leftover party food. Spike helped for the first few hours, then got too tired and curled into a corner with an old comic book he found. Twilight and Moondancer kept going, looking at the titles of hundreds of books from Moondancer’s personal library. Although she didn’t have nearly as many books as Twilight did, she still had quite an impressive collection. Unfortunately, not a single book mentioned the Elements of Harmony other than a few history books like the one Twilight had read earlier in the day, and they never gave any new information. As they pulled the last book off the shelves, Zebras: Horses or Hindrances?, the two were so tired they were about to collapse on the floor.
Twilight yawned and prepared to make the journey back to her room. “Thanks for all the help, Moondancer,” she said, her eyes half closed as she felt for the door. “Come on, Spike,” she mumbled.
When she looked at the baby dragon, he had fallen asleep, one claw still clutching the comic book.
“You two can stay here, if you’d like,” Moondancer offered. “I have extra rooms.”
“No, I don’t want to… impose.” Twilight yawned again.
“Really, it’s no problem! Here.” Moondancer guided Twilight into a small guest room, then left to get a bed for Spike. Twilight looked at the bed. It did look comfortable, and she was exhausted. She resolved to at least wait for Spike before deciding, but her eyes drifted closed and she faceplanted onto the bed, instantly asleep.
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Twilight woke up to a patch of bright sunlight on her face. She blearily glanced around the room, then covered her eyes with her hooves in an attempt to fall back asleep. Her eyes suddenly shot open when she realized she was not in her room. She glanced around the room in a bit of a panic before she remembered last night. She was in a bed in Moondancer’s house. She relaxed and fell back against the pillow. Twilight lay with her eyes open for a few minutes before deciding she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep and dragged herself out of bed, still a little bleary. She rubbed at her eyes with a hoof as she made her way to Moondancer’s small kitchen. The pale yellow unicorn was making pancakes, and they smelled delicious. She gently laid three in a stack on a plate before looking up and seeing Twilight.
“Oh, hey, Twilight!” she said. “You slept well, I hope?”
Twilight nodded and yawned before making her way to a seat at Moondancer’s wooden table. “Thank you so much for everything,” she said, looking gratefully up at the other unicorn. “You really didn’t have to do any of this.”
“Oh, it’s no problem!” Moondancer waved her off with a hoof. “I’m glad I was able to do something, even though we couldn’t find the book.”
“That’s okay. I was thinking I would look in my library today. The Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow and I really need to see if there’s anything about the Elements of Harmony in one of my books.”
“Well, maybe I could help you!” Moondancer offered.
“It’s okay. We’ve taken up enough of your time already.”
“Really, it’s no problem! I don’t have anything to do today, and I’d be glad to help you study!”
Twilight looked at the mare in a new light again, something she’d been doing a lot since yesterday. “Well, I guess if you put it that way, we could really use some help. Thank you so much!”
Moondancer smiled. “Do you want to go over there after breakfast?”
Twilight nodded as she levitated a bite of pancake into her mouth. Her eyes widened as the taste hit her tongue. “These are so good,” she said while chewing.
“I’m glad you like them,” Moondancer replied with another grin. She turned to flip some pancakes in a pan as Spike walked in, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“Do I smell pancakes?” he asked, eyes wide.
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After breakfast, the three headed up to Twilight’s room at the castle. Moondancer’s eyes widened as they walked up the stairs.
“You live in a tower?” she asked.
Twilight nodded. She really never thought of it like it was that special, but to other ponies it must seem pretty cool. She opened her door, and the three stepped inside.
Moondancer immediately gasped as she took it all in. “This is amazing!” She ran around the room, checking out all of it’s various features. “This hourglass is beautiful, it looks like real gold leaf! And all these books! You must have nearly every book printed in the last 200 years!” She skimmed titles as she ran from shelf to shelf. “All five editions of Celestial Studies, Alicorns: Honor and Responsibility, and even Magical Properties of Non-Magical Creatures! I thought that went out of print years ago!”
“It did,” Twilight agreed sheepishly. “Princess Celestia gave me a copy.”
“And it’s so clean!” Moondancer ran a hoof over a table and Twilight thought of the mare’s dirty home. Now she was even more self-conscious of her house.
“Most of that is Spike.” She smiled at the dragon and he puffed out his chest proudly. “Should we get started?”
“Uh huh,” Moondancer nodded, her face pressed to Twilight’s huge window. Twilight began levitating books off of the nearby shelves. Moondancer would join her eventually.
The two worked like that for the rest of the morning, haphazardly searching through books while Spike desperately tried to clean up after them. By lunch time, Twilight was almost ready to give up.
“Ugh!” she shouted in frustration, throwing the books she had been levitating in several directions. Most hit bookshelves and fell to the floor, but one nearly hit Moondancer and she flinched backward.
“Sorry,” Twilight said, forcing herself to calm down, “but I don’t see how it’s possible for none of my books to mention the Elements of Harmony, or even the Mare in the Moon!”
“Don’t give up yet.” Moondancer looked like she was about to put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, but thought better of it at the last moment and let it fall to the floor. “We haven’t looked through all of your books, and it’s always possible that it’s in a different library. If you want to try somewhere else, we can go there.”
Twilight shook her head. “No, you’re right. I don’t even think I’ve ever looked at all these books, it’s possible that we just haven’t found it yet. We can look for a little while longer.”
Moondancer smiled, before gesturing to the kitchen. “Well, if you want a quick break, I think lunch is ready!”
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After some oat sandwiches prepared by Spike, the three continued searching. After Moondancer’s encouragement, Twilight found herself less stressed about finding the book, and even though she still searched as quickly as possible, it felt a little more fun.
Near sunset, Twilight gently dropped the books she was levitating nearby and walked over to Moondancer.
“It’s hard to believe that we’ve looked through nearly my entire library and found nothing about the Mare in the Moon. Maybe it is just an old pony’s tale,” she said with a sigh.
“It is possible,” Moondancer replied, adjusting her glasses with a hoof. “It was in Predictions and Prophecies.”
“I just can’t believe we’ve wasted two days on research on it if it’s not even real.” Twilight didn’t want to admit she was giving up, but if it was real, why wasn’t it in any of her books?
“That’s okay. It was worth a shot. At least we didn’t send that letter to Celestia about it,” Moondancer aimlessly picked through books on the floor.
“I guess we’re done then,” Twilight said awkwardly.
“Well… I did want to look for some books on pegasus weather control. Is it okay if I look a little longer? We’d be up all night anyway for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow morning.” She looked hopefully over at Twilight.
“Sure, no problem. Here, I’ll help you!” Twilight was surprised she had volunteered to help the other pony, but she did enjoy Moondancer’s company. It was nice having someone other than Spike around to talk to.
Twilight and Moondancer continued searching into the night, but the atmosphere had gotten a lot lighter. They laughed about books like Starswirl: Famous Unicorn or Colt Leader?, looked at lengthy books filled with old spells by ancient authors, and discussed their particular skill sets and abilities. Moondancer was surprisingly adept at levitating things with large weights, and even levitated Twilight into the air for a few seconds. Twilight was better at levitating multiple things at a time, and they had a challenge to see how many books Twilight could levitate at once. She got up to fifteen books levitated just inches off of the floor before she became exhausted and made them all drop. Twilight had a great time, which she was surprised by. She had had no idea how much fun it was to spend time just talking with another pony! She and Moondancer had a lot in common, and it made it very easy to talk to her. Twilight was actually surprised she had never tried it before. The lights in her room blazed long into the night.
At four in the morning, just before the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight and Moondancer were just bringing out the dregs of Twilight’s library. The books had started to get very odd, written in ancient languages on crumbling paper, detailing things like the histories of other races in Equestria and ancient magic techniques that had long since been improved upon. Twilight lifted out of one of the last books in the library and gasped when she saw the title, making Moondancer jump up from where she had been flipping through a book by Mane Austen.
“What is it?” she asked, craning over Twilight’s shoulder to get a better look.
Twilight blew dust off of the cover, revealing a title written in gold leaf. “The History of the Two Sisters,” she read in a whisper. The cover had a picture of two alicorns on it, one detailed with a sun behind her, one with a moon.
As Twilight opened the book, a smaller one fell out of the inside, which was just a hollow shell. She picked up the smaller book, which was leather bound and seemed pristine, likely kept in such good condition by its larger cover.
“I wonder why it was hidden,” Moondancer whispered. Both mares had become hushed, as if this old book needed silence or it would vanish. Twilight gently flipped open the smaller book’s cover and the two began to read.
“Dear Journal,
I have been taking care of the two sisters again. Today, the two have been asking about their cutie marks again, wondering when they will get them. All I can tell them is that they will come when they are ready. I have sworn to never tell them what their destinies will be, and I will keep that promise.
Sincerely,
Governess Gumdrop.”
Twilight looked up at Moondancer. “It’s a journal!” she whispered.
“Keep going,” Moondancer prodded the mare.
Twilight read on, skimming through pages of the little journal for interesting entries.
“Celestia has just learned full body levitation and has enjoyed levitating Luna around the castle. She is remarkably adept at it for her age. Luna seems unhappy that she has not learned it yet.
“The two sisters tried cooking today. They attempted to make me dinner, but everything ended up burned, though they didn’t seem to mind. It was nice to see the two of them having so much fun together.
“Celestia and Luna seem to love to trick me. Today, I entered their room only to find them missing. I searched the entire castle looking for them only to find that they had been following me the entire time on the ceiling. Sometimes I wish they had never learned to fly.
“Today the sisters played hide and seek. It would have been more fun if I had not been tasked to keep an eye on them at all times. I had to run back and forth between the two to make sure they did not get too far out of my sight. It was a very tiring day. I’m not as fast as I used to be.
“Celestia received her cutie mark today after attempting to raise the sun for the first time! It was quite the celebration. I think Luna knows what she must do for hers now, though I’m not sure if she has the ability to accomplish it yet.
“Luna has been trying to raise the moon for nearly a month now. She seems frustrated. I have been trying to encourage her, but she becomes more upset every night she is not able to move it. Celestia has taken over partial duties of raising the sun, and is improving every day.
“Luna finally received her cutie mark today after two months of trying! Everyone was very happy for her, but I think she was disappointed that her celebration was not quite as big as Celestia’s was.
“Both Luna and Celestia have now entirely taken over the duties of the sun and moon, I’m glad I was able to live long enough to see it. I’m so proud of them, and I hope they know it. Although I have told them many times, I’m not sure my words have sunk in for Luna.
“I have been growing steadily weaker, and now find it hard to even get out of bed. Now the princesses visit me, still wanting advice from an old mare such as myself. Celestia is becoming worried about Luna, she thinks Luna is becoming unhappy raising the moon. Luna has come by many times, telling me her moon feels unappreciated in comparison to Celestia's sun. I can do nothing for either other than tell them to talk to each other, but neither will do so. I am worried about Luna. She feels alone, and that can lead to dangerous consequences for a pony, especially one as powerful as Luna.
“This might be my last entry. I have grown so weak it is hard to use my magic. Luna still will not listen to my pleas. I fear that something dangerous will come of it if she is not consoled. I will be hiding this journal inside of another book and leaving it in my personal quarters, in hope that the next pony to come upon it will be able to do what I have not. Comfort Luna and show her that her night can be appreciated without using violent means.
Sincerely,
Governess Gumdrop.”
Twilight flipped to the next page, but it was empty. She skimmed the rest of the book, but there was nothing else. “That’s all there is,” she said, and looked up at Moondancer.
The two mares sat in silence for a few moments before Moondancer cleared her throat.
“This book was interesting, but how does it help us?”
Twilight suddenly remembered that Moondancer didn’t know Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna were the same pony. She took her book out of her bag and handed it to the other unicorn. She sat in silence as Moondancer read the short book. Twilight saw her eyes fill with understanding as she read about Nightmare Moon. When Moondancer closed the book, Twilight began to speak, her thoughts already going a mile a minute.
“Celestia and Nightmare Moon really were sisters, and this journal proves it! That means if the prophecy of the Mare in the Moon is true, Celestia should be informed immediately. Spike!”
Spike jumped up from where he had been watching the window and ran over.
“Take a letter, please.” Spike pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” she dictated as Spike scratched her words on the paper.
“My fellow student Moondancer and I have been doing research on the myth of the Mare in the Moon and we have discovered that she is in fact your sister, Princess Luna. According to prophecy, she will be freed from the moon on the one thousandth anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration as Nightmare Moon, and will bring with her eternal night. We believe that the only things that can stop her are the Elements of Harmony, and we urge you to take the necessary precautions.
“Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Spike finished writing out the letter, and immediately puffed fire on it to send it. The letter vanished into smoke and drifted out of the open window. A few seconds later, Spike belched out a letter, which he grabbed in his claw.
“That was fast,” Twilight commented as she ran over to the dragon. “What did she say?”
Spike rolled open the letter and began to read it. “Dear Princess Celestia-” He stopped, confused. “This is the same letter that you just sent her!”
“Oh no!” Twilight gasped.
“What is it?” Moondancer asked, trying to keep up with the purple pony.
“If I received the letter I sent her, not even a reply saying she can’t respond, that can only mean one thing.” Twilight galloped to the window. “What time is it?”
“Almost time for the sun to rise!” Spike supplied as he and Moondancer joined Twilight in looking at the sky. “The sun should be rising any minute now.”
Twilight plastered herself to the window and watched the moon, which was still high in the sky. She waited one minute. Then two. Then ten. The sun still hadn’t risen. Twilight tapped her hoof nervously against the floor.
“Spike, you did say the sun was supposed to be up by now, right?”
“Yeah, it should have risen a few minutes ago!” Spike checked the hourglass behind him and stifled a quiet yawn with his claw.
Twilight’s hoof-tapping increased. “Quick, scan for Nightmare Moon,” she told Moondancer.
The pony looked confused, not used to having to follow Twilight’s thought process. “What?” she asked.
“You know, with your tracking spell!” Twilight’s nerves made her shout and Moondancer backed up a few steps. Then, calming down, Moondancer closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
“No...no...nothing…” she muttered as she scanned. Suddenly, her eyes sprang open. “She’s here!”
“Where?” Twilight barked in a panic.
“The Everfree forest. There’s the ruins of a castle at it’s heart, and she’s inside.”
“That must be where Celestia and Luna ruled before Canterlot. Of course she would go to a familiar place.” Twilight galloped around the room, throwing the two books and diary into her bag and strapping it on with her teeth. She looked back at Moondancer, who was staring at her with a puzzled expression. “Are you coming?” Twilight asked her.
“Coming where?” Obviously Moondancer hadn’t followed.
“To the castle! We need to stop Nightmare Moon. She’s obviously done something to Princess Celestia, and if we don’t do something the night will last forever! And you saw what Governess Gumdrop said in her journal. We could be the only ones who can stop her, because we’re the only ones who know who she was before! If Celestia was the only one who knew about the Elements of Harmony, the journal could be the only thing out there we can use.” She ran to the entrance and looked back at Moondancer. “Will you help?”
Moondancer looked out at the dark sky and nodded. “I’m in.”
After a quick stop at Moondancer’s house to pick up some supplies, the two were ready to set off. Spike had wanted to come with them, but he was so exhausted from two late nights in a row that he had fallen asleep by the time Twilight and Moondancer came back from her house to get him. Twilight tucked him in, then the two took an express pegasus coach to Ponyville, a town built on the edge of the Everfree forest and that year’s host of the Summer Sun Celebration.
When they landed, the town was in chaos. Ponies ran every which way, rushing into homes and locking doors. One magenta pony they encountered told them frantically that Nightmare Moon had appeared during the Summer Sun Celebration and had vanished into smoke after a few minutes, saying that the night would last forever. Without another word, the pony hurried into her house. Twilight and Moondancer galloped to the entrance of the Everfree forest before stopping suddenly.
Huge trees rose before them, and the forest was dark and foreboding. Twilight looked back at Moondancer. Both ponies looked nervous, but Twilight managed a smile.
“Ready?” she asked.
Moondancer nodded, and the two ponies stepped into the forest together.
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The forest was nearly pitch black, and the only light came from the full moon above, which wasn’t very comforting. The unicorns walked nervously, casting frequent glances behind them as if Nightmare Moon might be behind every tree they passed. Occasionally one tried to start up a conversation, but it always died out after only a few seconds. Moondancer’s tracking spell made her horn glow faintly as she guided their route.
After around thirty minutes of walking, the path they were on opened up, winding around a hill with a steep cliff below. Twilight could have sworn she saw a flash of deep blue below them, but when she checked it was gone. As they neared the curve, Moondancer’s horn glowed brighter as she tried to determine Nightmare Moon’s exact position.
“It looks like she’s still in the ruins. The fastest path is actually down the cliff.” She frowned suddenly. “Wait a second. Now the signal is coming from here. Right underneath us!”
Twilight peered over the side, and the ground suddenly fell out from under them, sending them down a steep incline. Twilight flailed but couldn’t find anything to grab onto, and she found herself at the edge of the incline, clinging to the side with her hooves. Moondancer clung in a similar position beside her.
“What do we do?” Twilight shouted to her, scrambling as the ground started to give out from under her hooves.
Moondancer glanced down at the ground below, then looked at Twilight. “Trust me, okay?” she called. Twilight hesitated, then nodded. Moondancer’s horn brightened, and Twilight’s body gradually began to be surrounded in a pale pink glow. She was inched out from her spot until she was suspended in the air, nothing but the ground far below her. She began to freak out, thrashing wildly, and Moondancer pressed tighter against the cliff face, gripping onto it hard in concentration. “Stop struggling,” she yelled to Twilight, her voice tight. “It makes this almost impossible.”
Twilight tried to calm down, and forced herself to look at the sky instead of the ground. She began to descend, and in a few seconds had landed on the dirt at the bottom of the cliff. The pink glow released her, and she could see Moondancer relax on the top of the cliff. Twilight waited for the mare to bring herself down, but seconds went by without the mare moving.
“What are you waiting for? Do yourself!” she yelled up, but Moondancer shook her head.
“I can’t!” she called back. “My magic is exhausted!” Her horn lit up faintly, before flickering and sputtering out in a few seconds. “Can you help?” She began to slip and pulled herself back up, but she was clearly tired. “I can’t hold on much longer!”
Twilight danced around the small clearing below the cliff, looking for something she could use. She wasn’t good enough at full body levitation to carry Moondancer herself, but maybe there was something else she could levitate to catch her. Something like… tree branches! Twilight quickly snapped off ten tree branches and threaded them together with her magic, making a strong net with the leaves cushioning it. She quickly levitated it up to where Moondancer was still struggling.
“Here!” she shouted. “Let go!”
Moondancer looked around nervously for a moment before spotting the net. She released her hooves and fell onto the branches, landing softly. The additional weight made it hard for Twilight to hold on to the branches and she gritted her teeth, digging her hooves into the dirt and straining to let the net down slowly. A few seconds later, the branches landed on the forest floor and Moondancer hopped off. Both were panting from exertion, but smiled at each other.
“This forest really is dangerous,” Twilight gasped, still out of breath. “Quick, which way do we go now?”
Moondancer strained, closing her eyes tightly, but her horn still wouldn’t glow. She opened her eyes and shook her head. “It’s not working!” she exclaimed with frustration, looking around. Three paths lead out of the clearing, one in each direction along the cliff and one going deeper into the forest. She pointed to the path leading into the trees. “As far as I can remember, the castle is this way.”
Twilight nodded and, now more apprehensive, trotted into the trees.
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The two mares followed the path. It was much darker down here and Twilight strained her eyes as she looked ahead. Moondancer’s magic gradually began to replenish itself, and she soon was able to confirm that they were on the right path, which Twilight was relieved by. As they continued walking, they began to strike up more conversations. For some reason, Twilight felt a bit more at ease, both with the forest and with Moondancer. There was nothing like a good dose of trauma to help two ponies bond.
“I’ve recently been looking at books from Nikola Horsela, and he has several interesting theories,” Moondancer said as they walked. “I’ll loan you a few of his books when we get back, if you’d like.”
Twilight nodded and smiled. “That would be great!” She looked over at her new friend gratefully, but paused when she saw Moondancer had stopped in the middle of the path. “What’s wrong?”
In answer, Moondancer only pointed further along the path. Twilight looked back at the path, and her eyes widened as she realized she was nearly face-to-face with a beast she had only ever read about. “A manticore!” she squealed, and quickly backed up a few steps. The manticore roared in the faces of the two ponies, spraying them with saliva.
“What do we do?” Twilight hissed at Moondancer. This manticore looked particularly violent. In all her years of study, she had never fought anything, so she had no idea which spells would work in combat. She was running through her mind, trying to think of any spell that could be useful, when Moondancer’s horn suddenly began to glow. A ghostly musical sound came out of it, and she directed it at the manticore, closing her eyes. A few seconds later, the manticore began to yawn and swayed slightly on its feet. It yawned one last time before falling to the ground. After a few moments, it began to snore.
Twilight ran over to the sleeping manticore, looking at it before turning her attention back to Moondancer. “That was amazing!” she shrieked. “How did you do that?”
“Sleeping spell.” Moondancer adjusted her glasses again. “I have problems sleeping sometimes, and I learned it to use on myself. I figured it would also work on somepony else.” Her horn glowed dimly for a second, and Twilight knew she was accessing the tracking spell again. Moondancer frowned. “That’s strange. The signal is coming from here, on the manticore.” She focused, attempting to scan the manticore’s body with the spell. Twilight thought she saw the same sky-colored swirl come out from the manticore’s body, but when she blinked it had vanished. Moondancer’s eyes suddenly shot open. “Now it’s gone! It’s coming from straight ahead now.”
“I saw some deep blue smoke coming out from the manticore, and it headed in that direction! It might be the same smoke the mare from Ponyville was talking about, the kind Nightmare Moon turned into!” Twilight said before she could second-guess herself.
Moondancer sighed. “Then we have no way of knowing where she’ll go next. We could be chasing her around in circles!”
Twilight thought for a moment. “Let’s head for the castle, but still use the tracking spell in case she changes directions. She’ll probably go back to the castle at some point, and we can find her there if we need to, even if we have to wait.”
“So, we head straight?”
Twilight nodded. “For now.” The two walked around the sleeping manticore and headed deeper into the forest.
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Moondancer’s horn continued to glow with her tracking spell. “She’s still right ahead of us,” Moondancer whispered to Twilight. The two mares became hushed as they continued, sticking closer together.
As they walked, the tree cover became thicker above them and the forest became even darker. Twilight walked a step to the side and bumped into Moondancer, sending both mares sprawling.
“Sorry!” Twilight burst out quickly. She was almost glad it was dark so the other mare couldn’t see her flush of embarrassment.
“No problem,” Moondancer’s voice came from close by. If it wasn’t for the faint glow of her horn, Twilight wouldn’t have had any idea where she was.
The two had just gotten back up to continue walking when Twilight saw a flash underneath them.
“Look!” She gestured at the ground, where she had just seen a navy blue vapor, but it was already gone.
Moondancer’s voice confirmed what she had seen. “She’s right on top of us!”
Twilight looked anxiously around, but the forest was so dark she couldn’t see a thing. She was peering into the trees when they suddenly lit up all at once. The light temporarily blinded her and she stumbled back a few steps, hitting Moondancer again. The mare’s body tensed up beneath her.
“Twilight?” she whispered, her voice strained. “Have you seen anything like this in a book before?”
Twilight forced her eyes open, then tripped backwards in shock. The trees had grown colorful faces, leering at the ponies from every angle. She shrank back against Moondancer and the two mares stood close, peering at the trees.
“Do you know anything we can use on them?” Moondancer asked quietly.
Twilight took deep breaths, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. The only way they would be able to solve this was if they worked through it rationally, and for that she needed to be calm, not terrified out of her wits. She thought for a few moments. “I do know one thing that might work.” She concentrated, and her horn slowly lit up with a brilliant white glow. It bathed the forest in light, and the trees appeared normal again. Smoke seeped out of the trees, speeding along the path as if hiding from the light. After a few moments, the light receded, and Twilight breathed heavily, exhausted.
“Twilight, that was awesome!” Moondancer abruptly threw her hooves around Twilight in a hug. Twilight tensed up, not used to the contact. Sensing it, Moondancer pulled away, adjusting her glasses and shrinking back into the darkness. “Sorry,” she said in a small voice.
“No, it’s fine,” Twilight was flushed again. She hadn’t meant to make Moondancer feel bad, but she didn’t know what to say after the awkwardness of the hug. The two mares stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Moondancer cleared her throat.
“Should we move on?”
Twilight nodded before remembering that Moondancer couldn’t see her. “Yeah,” she said. “We probably should.”
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Twilight and Moondancer continued along the path, but the air had regained some of its tension. The two didn’t speak for some time. Eventually, the path began to lighten again. Now that they could see each other, Twilight felt she had to say something to try and clear the air. She took a deep breath before speaking.
“I’m sorry, about earlier,” she said, looking down at her hooves. “I haven’t spent much time with other ponies before, and I just wasn’t expecting-”
“No, it’s fine,” Moondancer was looking down too. “I haven’t spent much time with ponies either. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s my fault.” Twilight forced herself to look up at Moondancer, and gave her a small smile. “You were just being nice. ”
Moondancer smiled back, and Twilight relaxed a little. She hadn’t messed things up that badly. Other than Spike, Moondancer was the closest thing she had to a friend, and she was enjoying her company. She really didn’t want to screw it up.
As they walked, the atmosphere gradually lightened. The two approached another clearing talking to each other again, even laughing.
“You should have heard my professor. He actually made up a song for us to remember the charges, right in the middle of the lesson!” Moondancer said.
Twilight giggled before bumping into the mare from behind. Moondancer had abruptly stopped in the middle of the path. “What is it?” Twilight asked. She craned her neck to see beyond Moondancer and gasped.
The path in front of them did open up, but instead of a clearing, a raging river separated the two parts of the forest. The water churned with rapids.
“How are we going to cross this?” Moondancer called to Twilight. Twilight shook her head.
“I have no idea!” she called back. Her ears abruptly perked up as she heard a noise off in the distance. It sounded almost like… crying.
“Do you hear that?” she shouted. Moondancer nodded. As one, the two ponies backed into the forest, revising their route so they could see what had made the noise.
As they came back out to the river, they saw a gigantic purple sea serpent beating the river with his tail, creating the rapids they had seen further down the river.
“What a world, what a world!” he cried, burying his head in his hands.
Twilight took a breath before stepping forward. “Excuse me, sir,” she said politely. “Why are you crying?”
The serpent looked down, noticing them for the first time. He made his way to the edge of the river, looking down on the ponies. “Well, I don't know,” he said. “I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off!” He indicated his orange handlebar mustache, half of which was indeed gone, before dramatically leaning backwards. “And now I look simply horrid!” He began to sob again and fell into the river, splashing Twilight and Moondancer with water.
“What can we do?” Twilight asked Moondancer. The sea serpent's head came out of the water and he laid it on the bank of the river, watching the ponies talk while he churned the water. The ponies thought and came to a conclusion at the same moment.
“A duplication spell!” they shouted at the same time. As one, they focused their magic on the remaining half of the serpent's mustache. After a few seconds, an exact copy floated off of it. The ponies guided the mustache half to the other side of the serpent's face and fused it to the short remaining hairs, tying the strands in tight knots with their magic. They set it loose and it curled downwards, perfectly matching the other one.
“Ooh!” The serpent shrieked, running his fingers through his new mustache. “My mustache! How wonderful!”
The two mares just stared at each other, and they broke into giggles.
“How did we do that?” Moondancer asked in shock.
“That was amazing! I’ve never tried doing magic simultaneously with another pony!” The two ponies reached for each other in a hug and this time, it didn’t feel awkward at all.
The two were interrupted by the serpent's voice. “Here, let me help you across the river.” He bowed, and lifted his body to make stepping stone-like bumps for the mares to hop across.
When they got to the other side, Twilight turned and gave the serpent a wave with a hoof. “Thank you so much for your help, sir!”
“No, thank you!” The serpent gave them one more regal bow before diving into the river, splashing Twilight and Moondancer again. The two looked at each other and laughed, their faces bright.
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Moondancer’s tracking spell showed that Nightmare Moon was back at the castle like Twilight had predicted, so the two mares continued straight ahead. The journey had now become fun and Twilight felt completely relaxed around Moondancer. The other mare seemed comfortable with her too, and the two gave each other playful shoves as they continued on, laughing about their adventures so far.
Eventually, the forest grew foggy and Moondancer stopped, focusing to determine the location of the castle. “We should be getting close,” she said, her voice hushed now. Twilight followed the mare, staying close behind her so she wouldn’t get lost in the thick fog.
The fog suddenly cleared up, and the ponies stepped into a last clearing. The castle was visible before them, just over a deep gorge filled with mist.
“There it is,” Twilight whispered. Moondancer nodded.
“I’ll keep the tracking spell on just in case, but she’s in there now.”
Twilight grinned and galloped for the gorge, but stopped right at the edge as she realized the rope bridge had broken and was hanging beneath her. Moondancer cantered behind her and took her tail in her teeth, quickly pulling her backwards from the drop.
Both mares stopped to catch their breath. “Thank you so much,” Twilight huffed.
“Sure,” Moondancer panted back. “We wouldn’t want a repeat of last time.”
After a short break, Twilight peered out towards the castle. “It looks like the posts are still intact. We just need to levitate the ropes over and tie them back up. Will you help?” She glanced back to Moondancer, who nodded with a smile.
Each mare grasped one rope with their magic, Twilight’s aura a bright magenta, Moondancer’s a paler shade of pink. Together, they brought the ropes up to the posts on the other side of the gorge and tied them tightly. Twilight walked ahead on the bridge, testing each board as she went. All of the boards seemed secure, it looked like the bridge had been specifically untied in an attempt to stop them instead of it being so old that the ropes had rotted. Moondancer followed, and the mares made it to the other side of the gorge.
Ahead, the castle ruins loomed, dark and foreboding.
“She’s right inside.” Moondancer indicated the old wooden door of the castle.
Twilight took a step forward. “I’ll go,” she said bravely. “You stay here and keep safe.”
Moondancer walked to meet Twilight, her expression unafraid. “No. We’ll go in together.”
Twilight shook her head firmly. “You have to stay. We don’t even have the Elements of Harmony, and I have no idea what’s going to happen in there. I’ll go in alone, and if I don’t come out, I need you to go warn the other ponies.”
Moondancer took another step forward and faced Twilight, standing close. “Either we go in together, or not at all.” When Twilight shook her head again, the other mare took a deep breath and began to speak.
“Do you know why I got this manecut?” she asked. When Twilight looked, she saw her eyes were filled with tears. Moondancer looked at the ground as she continued.
“It’s because I wanted to look like you. I’ve spent years learning spell after spell, and I did it mostly so I could impress you if I ever got the chance to show you them. I’ve always wanted to be your friend ever since I first met you. I was so socially awkward, and I thought you might be the only one I could really connect with. Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Minuette helped to show me that I might actually have a chance. That’s why I threw that party. When you didn’t show up, I was so worried that it meant I wasn’t important to you, even after all those years we spent together. But then you did come, and you’ve showed me that I really can make friends. And I needed that so much.” She looked back at Twilight. “So I can’t let you go in here alone. Because friends stick by each other, no matter what. Anything that’s in there, we can face it together.” She gave Twilight a smile.
Twilight could only stare for a few seconds, open-mouthed. She had no idea she was so important to Moondancer’s life. If Spike hadn’t convinced her to go to that party, she didn’t even want to think about what might have happened! She was so wrapped up in her studying that she had somehow missed how desperate Moondancer was to have her as a friend, even though it had been happening for years. What if there were other ponies she was important to, and she didn’t even know it! She looked at the mare in front of her, and her eyes teared up. This time, she was the one to hug Moondancer. When they pulled away, Twilight wiped her tears and nodded.
“Together.”
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The ponies walked slowly into the castle, glancing around them. In front of them stood a rock pedestal with five spherical-shaped stones resting on it. It looked oddly similar to the diagram of the Elements of Harmony in her book.
“Are those the Elements?” Moondancer asked.
“I’m not sure. Even if they were, we wouldn’t know what to do with them. Whatever we do to stop Nightmare Moon, we’ll need to do it without the Elements.”
The two mares continued to search the room, looking for any sign of Nightmare Moon.
“That’s strange,” Moondancer said after a while of checking with no results. “My spell says she’s right around here somewhere.”
Twilight peered into a corner on the other side of the room. On Moondancer’s side, she heard a faint rushing, like the wind had started up inside. She turned around and gasped.
Moondancer was caught in a vortex of the vapor, struggling as it expanded, going faster and faster. “Twilight!” she shrieked. Twilight ran towards her friend and reached for the smoke, her hoof just barely touching it before a bright flash of light turned the room into pure white.
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When Twilight opened her eyes, she was lying on the floor of a different room in the castle. Moondancer lay beside her, coughing. She looked forward to see a mare on a pedestal before them, cackling as she looked down at the ponies. She looked just like the pictures Twilight had seen in her books, with a sleek back body and a mane that looked like the galaxy surrounding her.
“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight whispered.
Nightmare Moon regarded the ponies with disdain. “Did you little foals really think you could stop me? You don’t even have the Elements of Harmony!” She took a superior pose. “You’ll never see your princess, or your sun, again. The night will last forever!” She began to cackle again, and lightning flashed around her like a storm.
Twilight looked at the alicorn, and for a moment, she saw something flash before her eyes. A little filly, with a light blue mane and a slightly darker blue coat, laughing as she played with a young white alicorn with a pink mane. Twilight could see the mare she used to be, and suddenly, she wasn’t afraid anymore. She stepped up to the pedestal and looked up at Nightmare Moon.
“Princess Luna,” she said in a hushed voice filled with sympathy. “What happened to you?”
The alicorn took in a quick gasp, and just for a second, she looked like she was still the filly Twilight had read about. Then her eyes narrowed again, and she let out a barking laugh.
“Princess Luna? I’ve never heard of a Princess Luna. What kind of foal’s tales have you been reading? The mare you speak of doesn’t exist.”
This statement didn’t deter Twilight, it made her pity the mare in front of her even more. Moondancer walked up, standing beside Twilight.
“It’s not too late, Luna. You can still go back to how things used to be. Ponies do appreciate your night.”
“No,” Nightmare Moon said with the same earlier expression of slight remembrance. Her voice was slightly choked. Then she shook her head, glaring at the unicorns. “No,” she said, her voice going back to cold. “Luna is never coming back. This ends now.” Her horn began to crackle with energy as she built up a charge. Twilight looked frantically to Moondancer and saw her eyes were calm. Instantly, she knew what to do.
“One...two...three!” She counted, and the unicorns teleported behind Nightmare Moon just as the spot where they had stood was struck by a bolt of lightning.
“Luna, you need to remember!” Twilight shouted to her, and as she turned, the unicorns focused streams of magic towards her. The memory spell was difficult, something they had just learned in class a few weeks ago, but having Moondancer beside her made Twilight feel stronger.
She projected images into Luna’s mind based off of the entries she had read in Governess Gumdrop’s diary. The time she and Celestia had stood on the ceiling and followed her around all day. The time they tried baking and burnt everything. The day Luna got her cutie mark and how proud Celestia was. Her sister making frequent visits to Governess Gumdrop, telling her how worried she was about her sister. She punctuated these with her own memories, looking gratefully at the moon as she studied late into the night, sitting outside with Spike to see a shooting star. She knew Moondancer was doing the same beside her.
Eventually, the glow in their horns faded. “Do you see, Luna?” Twilight said, looking up at Nightmare Moon. The mare was crying, tears hitting the stone floor of the room. “Ponies do care. And your sister? She cares most of all.”
Nightmare Moon looked up at the sky with watery eyes and nodded. Without another word, she closed her eyes and the moon slowly sank in the sky. She fell to the floor, exhausted, seeming to become smaller until she was the same mare Twilight had read about in Governess Gumdrop’s diary. A few moments later, the sun came up in a blaze of light. Princess Celestia appeared in the room. At the sight, Moondancer bowed deeply, but Twilight ran up to her, burrowing into her as the princess gave her a hug. When she pulled away, Celestia was smiling down at the unicorn.
“I knew you could do it,” she said.
“I don’t understand,” Twilight said, thinking about it. “How could we have stopped Nightmare Moon without using the Elements of Harmony?”
Celestia smiled again. “The Elements would have stopped Nightmare Moon, yes, but in order to use them, you needed to travel another path. The strength of your and Moondancer’s friendship made your powers incredibly strong when you combined them, creating a force strong enough to break through even Nightmare Moon’s walls.” She looked at the pony still lying on the pedestal at the front of the room and her eyes filled with tears. Without another word, she ran to her sister.
“Luna!” she cried as she reached the front. Luna looked up, and her eyes dilated in fear for one moment before her sister pulled her into a huge hug. The sisters clutched each other tightly
“I’ve missed you so much, big sister,” Luna said, crying into Celestia’s mane.
“I’ve missed you too,” Celestia held on to her sister as if afraid she would vanish again if she let go.
“I’m so sorry,” Luna sobbed.
“I’m sorry too,” Celestia said back, her voice choked. “Can we put our differences behind us? We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?”
Luna nodded, and Celestia relaxed as though a great weight had been released from her. The two continued to hug for a few more seconds before getting up and walking over to Twilight and Moondancer, who had been standing and watching the scene as if frozen.
“Thank you so much,” Celestia told the two of them, her eyes still watering. Luna nodded, one hoof still touching Celestia’s. The two composed themselves, and Celestia smiled. “Come on. I get a feeling if we go to Ponyville, we’ll find quite the party.”
