"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight Sparkle began her letter. "I have learned a valuble lesson in friendship today. I learned never to underestimate your friends. There is nothing you cannot accomplish when you are with your friends. Friendship is an unstoppable force and can face any problem." She paused. "How's that for a letter, Spike?"
"Perfect," her dragon assistant replied, scribbling down the rest. "I'll send it right away."
He held out the letter and exhaled a burst of flame, disintigrating the letter into ash.
Twilight turned around and studied her library home. Books were scattered around the floor and dust covered the shelves. "This place is a wreck."
"I know, I know, we need to clean up," Spike grumbled. He grabbed a feather duster and began to wipe the dust off the bookshelves.
"As always, you're on top of everything that needs to be done!" Twilight smiled, oblivious to her assistant's attitude.
Immediately, a letter appeared in the air, surrounded by sparks and traces of smoke.
"The princess replied already?" The unicorn levitated the letter down to her level. She opened it and read the words scrawled inside.
"'My dearest friend,
What you are about to read is extremely secret and only you and your group of friends may be exposed to it. If you were to tell my sister Celestia of this, I, and possibly all of Equestria, may be in grave danger.'" Twilight stopped. "It's from Princess Luna!"
"Keep reading!" Spike urged, anxious to hear more.
"'I fear that the infamous Nightmare Moon is still alive and well. She lives in me, clawing her way out. Already I have noticed myself doing things I never believed I would do, such as snapping at poor Tia, hurting innocent ponies, and, worst of all, craving the Elements of Harmony. It is only a matter of time before the monster comes out. What she may do if she does I do not know. But I do know this; you and your friends must come to the palace immediately and take the Elements of Harmony before Nightmare does. I need you to hide them and keep them safe until further notice. Please enter the palace without stirring suspicion, and especially without Celestia knowing. If she were to find out, she may banish me to the moon once more to protect her kingdom. I believe I may be able to keep Nightmare Moon from coming out, but Celestia would not take any chances. Please, make haste. I do not know how much time I have left. Nightmare is inside of me, and she will do anything to get out. Hurry, before it is too late.
The Night Princess,
Princess Luna.'"
Twilight's mouth was agape. Nightmare Moon? Returning?
"Spike, I need to go to Canterlot right away with the others."
"Can I come?" He asked, excited.
"No!" Twilight almost shouted. "No. I need you to stay here and take care of the library. If I'm not back in a week, tell the Princess." She hugged him. "I love you. Take care of yourself, and don't worry about us. We can handle this."
"All right," Spike said doubtfully.
The unicorn rushed out of the library at top speed. All of this had happened so fast. It was a normal day, and all of a sudden, Luna was telling her Nightmare Moon was coming back and all of Equestria was in danger. Oh, she hoped she would make it to the palace on time. . .
"Princess Luna?" Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the bedroom slowly.
"Is she in there?" Rarity asked nervously.
"Oh my goodness, what if she already turned into Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy squeaked.
Rainbow Dash swooped around the hallway. "If she did, I'll fight 'er!"
"Calm down, ya'll," Applejack said. "There's no need to get in a tizzy. She's prob'ly just fine."
"If she's not a super-duper-scary monster pony!" Pinkie Pie chimed in.
Twilight cleared her throat. "Princess, may we come in?"
There was a long pause, and then the six heard a quiet voice say, "Yes. Please come in."
They carefully walked into the huge bedroom and looked around. The curtains were drawn, shrouding the room in darkness. The stars expertly painted on the ceiling seemed to glow dimly, the only light source in the dark room.
"Are you all right, Princes?"
A dark figure in the corner of the room turned and faced them. "No, I am not."
They gasped as they noticed the changes in Luna's appearance. Her coat was much darker, and her mane was stringy and wild, as if it hadn't been brushed for weeks. Rarity stifled a cry when she noticed Luna's beautiful tiara and hoof slippers lying broken and dented on the floor.
"She is coming," the princess said solemnly. "She wants to be free."
"We won't let that happen!" Twilight cried.
"There is nothing we can do. Nightmare won't rest until she is ruler of Equestria and I am dead." She turned to her dresser drawer and pulled out a bejeweled object.
They recognized immediately. "My big crown thingy!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Yes, the Element of Magic. Take it and the others before-" Luna didn't finish her sentence, for a transformation was taking place. Her coat turned from navy blue to jet black, and her pupils changed into dark slits. Fangs crept out from her mouth and her eyes glowed turquoise.
She was Nightmare Moon.
"Run!" Twilight screamed, and the six ponies dashed wildly out of the room, shrieking like maniacs.
They moment they left the room they crashed into something large and white. Twilight was knocked off her feet and landed roughly on the floor.
"Goodness, girls," Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What's your hurry?"
"Nightmare Moon!" they screamed in harmony.
"Wha-" Celestia began to say, when a dark figure appeared in front of them. It snickered, showing its gleaming fangs.
"Oh, Tia, you didn't think you'd see this day, did you?" Nightmare lowered her sharp horn until it was pressed against Celestia's neck.
Magic surged through it, hitting the Sun Princess in the neck like a lightening bolt and knocking her over.
Like her sister, Celestia changed as well, but she grew smaller instead of larger. Her multi-colored hair turned a soft pink, and her slippers and crown fell off, landing with a clang on the marble floor. The princess was now the size of Twilight and more than twice as frightened. She had become a regular pony, with a short horn and regular-looking wings. Her purple eyes grew huge with fright.
"Get the message, Celestia? I am the ruler of Equestria!" Nightmare soared over their heads and fired another beam of light. It incased the seven ponies in a bubble, which slowly expanded and then burst, leaving nothin in its place. The dark alicorn was alone in the hallway, laughing to herself. Enslaving Equestria had started out so much easier than she had expected.
Twilight's eyes opened slowly. She was laying on her side on something cold and wet. Everything was blurry and white, and the wind was howling. Next to her was her friends: Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Princess Celestia. Celestia was now no taller than Twilight was, and her mane was a solid pink instead of multicolored pastel. What had happened?
It came back to her in a flash. Nightmare Moon was alive and well, and she had diminished Celestia's power and banished Twilight and her friends to this place. Wherever it was.
Twilight craned her neck to get a better look at her surroundings. They were lying on a huge boulder, covered in snow, just like everything in sight. The sky was a deep grey, and Twilight could see nothing but snow for miles.
"Twilight..." Celestia groaned. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," the purple unicorn replied. "Do you know where we are?"
Celestia opened her mouth to speak when a booming voice came out of nowhere. "You're in the middle of the Equestrian Mountains, miles away from any civilization. I have sent you here because I do not wish to kill you...yet."
The rest of the ponies sat up, terrified looks on their faces.
"Oh, Celestia. How long I have waited for this day! How long I have yearned to see that horrified expression on your face." Nightmare Moon cackled.
"We're not afraid of you!" Rainbow snarled. "Let us go so we can fight you, you big coward!
"Rainbow Dash, you and your silly loyalty." Nightmare's voice said disapprovingly. "I wonder how loyal you will be once your friends are dead."
"If you touch a hair on their heads, I swear I'll-" Celestia threatened.
The voice became louder. "Silly sister, I will only hurt them once I have done away with you, dear. And after I have used the Elements to enslave Equestria!"
"You and wut army?" Applejack demanded. "There's only one of y'all and seven of us!"
"Applejack, don't lie. You represent Honesty, don't you?"
"We defeated you once, we can do it again!" Rarity added confidently.
"You really think so, do you? Oh, you silly foals. I am not working alone this time, as my mistake was when I first tried to take over. No, I have gathered an unstoppable army, hiding in every corner, watching you while you sleep. You are idiots to think you can defeat them!" The voice faded away. "Goodbye, Tia, and good luck trying to escape!"
Silence. The ponies heard nothing but the wind howling.
"We have to stop her!" Twilight said to break the silence.
"Do we have to?" Fluttershy hid behind her hooves.
"Of course we do! She's a big fat mean meany-pants!" Pinkie Pue insisted.
"We need to take the Elements of Harmony back before she uses them to destroy Equestria," Celestia said softly. "Before it's too late. It may be too late already. With all six of the Elements, she may be unstoppable."
"But what if she only has five?" Twilight opened her hoof and revealed a slightly dented tiara.
"The Element of Magic!" Celestia cried. "How did you get it in time?"
"I grabbed it right before Luna went through the transformation. She was telling us about how Nightmare inside of her, craving the Elements, and-" Twilight stopped. "What happened to Luna?"
The princess hung her head. "Dead, most likely." She turned away.
Everypony stayed silent as Celestia grieved her sister. After several moments, the princess turned back to them, her eyes red with tears. "We need to stop Nightmare Moon. For Luna's sake."
The ponies nodded in agreement. "For Luna."
Celestia suddenly looked up and her eyes grew wide. "We are not alone in this mountain. I can sense something. Something that won't exactly fight on our side."
"How can you tell?" Twilight asked, almost afraid to ask.
Her question was answered by an ear-splitting shriek. It sounded like somepony dragging nails across a blackboard. The ponies screamed.
"What in the hay was that?" Applejack cried.
"I don't want to find out!" Twilight leapt to her feet and, with the rest of the ponies following, galloped down the boulder as fast as she could.
They jumped off the rock and ran down the mountain, sending chunks of snow, ice and rock down the mountain towards them.
Finally they found an opening in the mountain, leading into a cave. The ponies dashed inside and stood very still.
"Did we lose it?" Fluttershy asked nervously.
"My hair!" Rarity wailed.
"Quiet, everypony!" Celestia ordered. "Do you hear something?"
Twilight listened. She could hear faint thumps off in the distance, getting louder with each one.
They huddled together and dared not to even breath.
The thumps stopped. Everything, even the wind, was silent.
The ponies were about to breath a sigh of relief when they heard the terrifying screech again, and the whole side of the cave was ripped off.
They screamed with terror. Standing in front of them was a huge monster, with the head of a bull and the body and claws of a bear. However, unlike the animals it was similar to, it was a deep black, except for its yellow, glowing eyes. It seemed to be made out of darkness itself.
It was much bigger than a house. It seemed to be the size of the mountain itself.
"Run!" Rainbow Dash shrieked. The seven ponies ran out of the cave and down the mountain, with Celestia leading. They stopped abruptly in front of a huge cliff, more like a canyon. It seemed to lead straight into the center of the Earth.
The monster shrieked and leapt up, landing with a huge thud between the ponies and the cliff.
It grabbed a huge boulder the size of Sugar Cube Corner and held it above its head as if it were a pebble, ready to hurl it at the group.
"Get behind me, girls!" Celestia screamed, as if she were a mother protecting her children. The ponies obeyed, bewildered.
Celestia, as small as she was, stepped up to the monster, and, using her magic, took hold of the boulder it held. Twilight Sparkle couldn't help but gasp when Celestia slammed the rock into the monster's chest, knocking it to the ground.
It was halfway off the cliff, shrieking louder than anything Twilight ever heard before.
"Go to Canterlot and take the Elements from Nightmare before its too late!" Celestia cried.
The monster, practically hanging off the cliff, clutched the mountain with one hand. With the other, he grabbed the Princess.
"Celestia!" The ponies screamed.
"Run, foals!" She cried.
The monster's grip on the mountain weakened, and it fell, with Celestia still clutched in it's hand.
They fell down, down, down, until the six couldn't even see them.
Twilight felt as if her heart would fly out of her chest. Princess Celestia was gone. They were on their own.
