Daylight Saving Time

by The Grey Pegasus

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Thriller, Drama
Length: 11232

Twilight Sparkle is called to spring forward into action to save the world from eternal darkness, under the threat of Celestia succumbing to a strange, mortal illness.

When a strange, sudden illness afflicts Celestia, threatening to plunge the world into eternal darkness, it's up to Twilight Sparkle to save the Princess and the world.

And failure won't happen on Twilight Sparkle's watch, because for her, it's daylight saving time.

Published 2016-03-13 04:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-03-13 04:00:02 UTC

Spring Forward Into Action

Daylight Saving Time

By: The Grey Pegasus

Celestia's sun shone brightly near the top of the blue sky.

There was the murmur of a large crowd of ponies, all in their own conversations.

"Hello, Luna. Are you ready?"

Luna looked up at the daytime sky. It was about to get dark.

For a few minutes only, though.

"I suppose so," Luna answered. "But... we have only done this once before. And it was a long time ago; we were very young."

Celestia stood by her sister. "It will be alright. You looked over the instructions for the ceremony, correct?"

"I did. It is just nerves, I suppose."

Today was a special day. It was an event that was to happen very rarely, three hundred thirty-four years, to be exact. It was by instruction of some periodical rituals they were told to adhere to when they were very young, just growing into their roles as the keepers of the heavenly bodies.

They had only performed it together once. However, although Luna had not even directly participated in most of the past proceedings due to her banishment, she was always a part of it.

Even if she hadn't been the one moving the moon, Luna was still part of the process because of the fact that she was trapped in the moon. And in that strange, confusing millennium of her banishment, despite being constantly at odds with herself or her Nightmare self or Nightmare, however such thing worked, she would always recognize when the warmth of her sister embraced her. It was comforting; her sister was powerful like that, and Luna was grateful.

Solar eclipses were an incredibly special thing. And to the two alicorns, it was a great display of the siblings being in true harmony together.

"Well, the majority of the ceremony is performed by you," Celestia noted. "I understand your apprehension. I myself never quite became comfortable with performing it."

"Experience is on your side, however," Luna said.

"Three times. That’s not exactly ‘experience’, Luna. And it was never intended that I perform it."

"I suppose that is true, Celestia." Luna gave a short sigh. "Will you be alright during the eclipse? We do not know how our matured powers will react to it."

"Of course I will be fine," Celestia replied. "We know what will happen. Nothing severe. You'll just feel a slight surge in your magic, briefly, and then it will be over."

Luna scoffed. "Slight surge. Are you sure about that?”

“It’ll be fine, Luna,” Celestia assured her. “You won’t hurt me.”

Luna sighed. With that statement, Celestia directly addressed her worry. It was one of her greatest fears, especially looking at the circumstances of the incident. The two sisters, keepers of the Sun and Moon, at odds with each other, and now in the eclipse ceremony, the two celestial bodies were to interact with each other.

“Shall we proceed?” Celestia asked.

Luna released her worries and smiled in return. “Let us.”

Brass horns announced their entrance as they walked onto the stage.

Luna looked over to her sister, who simply nodded. She took it as the approval to proceed with leading the ceremony.

“Citizens of Equestria, today we celebrate a rare event—the Solar Eclipse Ceremony!” Luna began. “This Ceremony is performed only every three hundred thirty-four years, and has been performed only three times in my absence. It is with great joy and your honor, that I may lead this rare occasion today!”

Hooves thundered in applause.

“And now, witness the Sun and Moon take the sky together, and the Sun give way to the Moon, to symbolize a balance of power. A harmony.”

Luna looked aside at Celestia, who again smiled and nodded to urge her to continue forward.

The lunar princess looked back at the crowd, then upwards at the sky. She flapped her wings to begin her rise into the air. Celestia would stay down below, emphasizing her role of conceding to her sister during the ceremony.

Luna felt the Moon in her magical grasp. She nudged it along its path, which in a few moments would take it in front of Celestia’s Sun.

Those few moments passed, and the world began dimming. Celestia closed her eyes, sensing the sunlight fade.

Everyone watched in awe as the Moon’s black silhouette began crossing over the Sun. It was a slow process, the lunar rock crawling through the sky.

And soon enough, totality.

The world was as dark as night.

Luna remained in the air through the process. She felt the ponies watch her as she guided the Moon during the ceremony.

Celestia below stood silently, admiring the serenity of the event. Three times before, it was left to her to perform the ritual. In fact, it was usually one with an undertone of fear—of the threat of Nightmare Moon looming over them, seemingly a hint that the evil alicorn was not truly gone.

But no more. Luna had returned, and the Solar Eclipse Ceremony was finally what it was intended to be—a display of harmony.

She searched the front of the crowd and found her former student, Twilight Sparkle, standing amidst her group of friends. The expression of awe planted on the young alicorn’s face was admirable, but Celestia could sense that underneath that face, Twilight was enjoying the occasion not only for its significance and rarity, but also the notes she could take and increase her knowledge.

Celestia felt like chuckling. Twilight was quirky to an amusing extent.

Celestia looked up at the sky to finally share in the sensation of awe. The Sun’s corona formed a slim halo around the Moon’s edge. The actual luminance was faint, but it was nonetheless the most visible sign of the Sun’s presence.

Hushed voices came from the crowd as they admired the sight for the duration of the total eclipse. It was to last mere minutes, and soon enough, Luna’s guiding of the Moon would lead it past the Sun.

Sunlight began returning to the world, slowly, as the Moon left its position from in front of the Sun.

While the Moon continued to leave its position from the top of the sky, Luna looked down at her sister, feeling proud of herself.

Celestia returned the gaze. She smiled back.

Then her head drooped. And her legs buckled. And she fell onto the floor of the stage.

"Celestia!"

The crowd murmured in response. Luna saw it, and did her best to appear calm. Inciting fear in the crowd, despite it filling herself up, was not ideal. By the time, Luna had landed on the stage, the Sun was fully revealed in the sky.

Luna formally addressed the crowd. "Thank you all! That concludes the Solar Eclipse Ceremony. And do not be alarmed, we will attend to my sister, who seems to have fainted."

With that statement made, she approached her unconscious sister swiftly.

And to be expected, not more than a few seconds later, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were beside them.

"Luna, what happened?!" Twilight asked, concerned as much as Luna was. It was evident she wasn't exactly buying the 'fainted' bit.

"I... I cannot be sure yet," Luna answered. Again, she looked at the crowd. "First, let us take her inside the Palace, out of sight."

Luna took Celestia's limp form into her magical grasp and moved to carry her older sister away. They began to make their way around and away from the crowd.

"I... I loved it, Princess!"

"It truly was a magnificent sight!"

"Yes, yes, thank you very much," Luna replied to the crowd, still walking away. Walking, that is, at a slightly hurried pace. But she was doing all she could to maintain an image of composure.

Around her, Twilight Sparkle and her Council of Friendship conversed in hushed tones.

Fluttershy was one to bring up something of possible note. "Um, Twilight? Is it just me, or does the sun... feel a little bit... weaker?"

"I... I'm not sure," Twilight replied. She looked at the Sun. Certainly, she would not be able to easily tell if it was dimmer in any way. "What makes you say that?"

"It feels... maybe a bit brisker than before?"

"I don't think we can really say if that's because of the Sun. After all, we just had about fifteen minutes of the Sun not fully shining down on us. Maybe it needs some time to warm up the air again."

"Perhaps it is linked with Celestia having fainted?" Rarity suggested.

Fluttershy look at the Sun again, then replied to both. "Maybe."

All the while, Luna listened to their conversation and took notes.

<<+>>

Celestia groaned as she woke up, laid down on a couch.

“Tia, what happened?” Luna was quick to ask.

Celestia’s head was spinning. She wasn’t feeling great in the rest of her body. Her joints hurt. Her head felt light. Her magic felt somewhat strained. She gasped as she focused on the pain in her chest.

Luna reacted quickly at her sister’s sign of pain. “Tia, are you alright?” she exclaimed softly.

Celestia took a breath. “I don’t feel so good,” she breathed.

"What ails you, Tia?"

Celestia's eyes rolled around, dizzy, and in doing so, found that Twilight and her friends were also present. She tried to assess what she was feeling. Again, when she focused on the pain in her chest, she winced. "I... I am not sure."

"Is it physical or magical?" Twilight asked.

"That... that is an excellent question, Twilight," Celestia said. "I... don't know. There is pain... in my chest... but where exactly or why... I don't know."

Luna and Twilight stepped back.

"Do you think you can identify her sickness yourself?" Twilight asked.

Luna nodded. "That might be a good start, yes."

The two alicorns approached Celestia once more. "Tia, I am just going to see if I can find what is wrong with you."

Celestia nodded.

Luna began searching Celestia's body. She thought that maybe there was something wrong with Celestia's magical essence, but she couldn't be sure why, or if it was just a side effect. Magic and the body were connected.

Luna could only make a note of it, but otherwise, it was inconclusive. She looked at Twilight and shook her head. "I'm not sure if I found anything of note. I will call for some doctors."

"What about us, Luna?" Twilight asked. "What should the rest of us do?"

"Any way we can help?" Applejack asked.

"For now, I believe you should stay with Celestia to comfort her," Luna answered. "Ease her mind."

The Element bearers looked amongst themselves and nodded in agreement.

"We can take Celestia to her room," Twilight offered.

"Yes, that would be helpful. Thank you."

Twilight nodded and beckoned Rarity to help lift Celestia up and carry her.

Luna parted from the group and made her way to find some doctors. At the least, she could start with the palace's own doctor. However, there was a foreboding feeling that she would need more.

<<+>>

"He says it is magical in nature." Luna sighed as she told the others of the diagnosis. "It has physically manifested itself by affecting her heart. But otherwise, what it is, he cannot identify what exactly."

"Well, I suppose the next logical course of action is to call for other professionals of magic," Twilight suggested. "I'm sure if a proper team is assembled, they can find out what it is exactly. You should start with my friend Moondancer—she's as much of a scholar as I am."

"And what about you, Twilight?" Rainbow said, half in jest, half serious. "I mean, I don't think you're just going to sit there while Princess Celestia needs help."

"But of course," Twilight said. "I've been considering it over the past hour and a half. After all, one of the greatest libraries in existence is just a short flight away. The Star—"

"—Swirl the Bearded Library," Spike said in unison. "Well, if anything could help, it's probably Twilight looking through a bunch of books."

Twilight smiled. "And you know it, Spike."

"Oh boy, do I know it."

"We can hold the fort down here, sugarcube," Applejack said. The other four nodded in agreement.

"I know you might think it might be better for you to be here for Celestia," Fluttershy said. "But Spike made a good point. If anyone could find something that can help, it's you."

"Yeah!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I mean, you have a super motivational factor to do it."

It may have seemed a bit grim, but Pinkie did have a point.

"I will accompany you," Luna said. "I too, believe it would be useful if I helped you search for information. It may also provide Celestia with some comfort knowing that I am not simply sitting around." She looked back at her sister, resting in bed. "After, of course, assembling a team that will assess her state of health while we are gone."

"Then it's settled," Twilight said. "Luna and I will go out and try and do some work on our end. Everypony else, stay put and give Celestia some support."

Everyone nodded in agreement, with Rainbow and Pinkie adding in a salute. Twilight moved to leave through the window, Spike perched upon her back.

Luna stopped her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, I know you are very dedicated to tasks such as these. However, we may need to stay with her through the night. She may need the most help as the night grows deeper.”

“Why is that?”

“Our powers have some link with our respective astral bodies," Luna explained. "They grow slightly the closer our respective astral body is to us; conversely, our magic slightly weakens the farther it is. She will be weakest during that time. It would be good if she had ponies present to comfort her. Give her strength from elsewhere, as it were.”

Twilight nodded, keeping it in mind, although Luna was likely to remind them of it later. "I understand."

The purple alicorn flared her wings, then made an exit.

<<+>>

"Ugh, I'm not even sure where to start," Twilight remarked as she walked along the rows of bookshelves. "And not for the abundance of material to look through."

"You gotta admit it's a pretty big part of it though," Spike noted. "Still, you always seem to have a way of finding the right books."

"I know, Spike, but I have to narrow down the topic further. Well, I guess I'll just start somewhere."

Spike put a claw to his chin. "Do you think finding some stuff about the Solar Eclipse Ceremony might help?"

Twilight paused. "That's not a bad idea, Spike. I was considering starting with magical afflictions, but... maybe you're on to something here."

Spike silently pumped his claw in victory. "You might also want to ask Luna about it later."

"Oh, definitely. I hope she gets here soon."

In the meantime, the two occupied themselves by searching for information on the ceremony that took place earlier. In about twenty minutes, Twilight found something of note.

"Hey, listen to this, Spike."

Spike walked over to her. "What is it?"

"This book is a very, very old collection of instructions for Celestia and Luna, going into the intricacies of every ritual they could perform. It says here that it was entirely possible for the eclipse ritual to serve as a 'transfer of power'—a way to show balance."

"Which means..."

"It's actually possible for their connections to the astral bodies to switch," Twilight said. "The Moon would gain enough energy to be as bright as the Sun, while the Sun would fade to essentially become the Moon. Of course, this isn't an essential part of the ritual, but I don't know. Maybe it could mean something, since Celestia said she felt weak."

"Definitely something you should ask Luna."

As if on cue, the lunar princess joined them. "Twilight Sparkle. Spike. Have you found anything of use? I know it has not been very long, but..."

Twilight held up the book she was reading. "Actually, we have some questions for you."

"For me?" Luna was curious, and it spread to her facial expression as she recognized the book. "Of course."

"This book says that the Solar Eclipse Ceremony can serve as a 'transfer of power' between the two of you," Twilight said. "Did you know this?"

"But of course," Luna answered. "The implications... are not the best, but there are numerous reasons for a transfer of power. Regardless, we brought it up with each other briefly prior to today's events. In fact, even without a purposeful transfer, the Moon passing over the Sun causes a brief increase in the Moon's energy." Luna sighed. "In fact, I was worried for her that it might be dangerous."

"So both of you knew that the Sun and Moon's magic interact like that during the ritual?"

"Yes, but Celestia assured me that everything would be fine. However, we only did this once before, and we were not yet fully matured. I told Celestia this, but she still believed it would be fine. It's what we were told, after all—that nothing wrong should happen if we went about the ritual without doing anything further than performing the display."

"Is it possible that they were wrong, though?" Twilight suggested. "Your mentors were unicorns. I respect their intelligence, but it's possible they couldn't predict what would happen once it was performed by two matured alicorns."

"That is what I would believe," Luna answered, "if this is indeed the cause of Celestia's suffering."

A thoughtful look found its way to her face. Luna walked over to the window and closed her eyes, sensing out her Moon. "I will see if the Moon had stolen any power from the Sun. If it did, perhaps there is some sort of... effects of an... 'incomplete' ritual."

Twilight and Spike looked between themselves, then observed Luna quietly.

After perhaps five minutes of waiting, Luna stepped away from the window.

"So?" Twilight asked.

Luna turned to the two and shrugged, disappointed. "I found nothing. Although perhaps that is a good thing."

"Maybe." Twilight levitated over a pencil and notepad she was using to take notes. "I'll just keep it as a note, and maybe keep the book out just in case I think of something."

"Of course," Luna said. "But now the question is, where should we begin again?"

Twilight sighed. "Well, I was considering starting with magical ailments. Maybe the doctor missed something."

Luna began walking to the section that held those books. "It is possible. And, after all, it is why we are here."

<<+>>

Hours had passed. Luna and Twilight and Spike took turns returning to Celestia to check up on her while the other continued their research.

But every time they visited Celestia, they were told by the experts—they had not figured out what was affecting Celestia. All they knew was that, while Celestia's heart was in danger, it was not a directly due to a physical ailment. However, being one of a magical nature just made it harder.

Twilight had even gone down to the Everfree to ask for Zecora's help. The zebra agreed, but even after hours of her own work, even she couldn't determine the cause.

So Luna and Twilight were still stuck where they started. Or close to.

"It's something new," Twilight said. "It has to be."

Luna sighed as she flipped a page in the book in front of her. "It may be. If it is, then we will have to examine Celestia deeper, unless the other ponies have made progress on her in the past hour." She looked up. "I hope doing so would not further worsen her condition. She already seems to be getting slightly weaker as the day went on."

"Why don't you two just allow the Sun to remain up until we find out what's wrong with Celestia?" Spike asked.

Luna tightened her mouth grimly. "We do not wish to interfere with the day-night cycle if it is possible. And if we did so, it may cause panic amongst the Equestrian populace. As it is, we've been trying to keep Celestia's sickness low-key, and we've succeeded thus far. Celestia herself told me to carry on the day-night cycle as normal, when I went back the last time. She does not wish to scare our ponies, and she sees no reason to do so now."

Twilight looked out of the window. "It's almost sunset."

"I suppose I must go about setting the Sun and raising the Moon, then," Luna said. As she stood, she stumbled slightly. She took a deep breath.

"Luna, are you alright?"

Luna took another breath. "Yes, yes. I am fine. Maybe I am just a bit... tired." She paused. "Although, strangely, I think I feel quite the opposite. Unexpected."

Twilight and Spike shared a quick glance. Spike shrugged.

"Okay then," Twilight said.

Luna walked over to the window. Her head moved in the motions that would bring the Sun down below the horizon, then the Moon up. In minutes, the orange sky became a soft blue.

Luna took another deep breath. "Well, it is done." She turned back to Twilight. "The Sun has now set. I believe I mentioned earlier that we should stop our work for the day and return to Celestia."

Twilight nodded. "Right. Spike, let's clean up a bit."

As the two went about their work tidying up where they worked, mainly consisting of piles of books, Luna paused in her stance. She walked to a bookshelf to lean on it, then sat down on her haunches. She felt... strange.

Twilight noticed. "Luna, are you sure you're alright?"

"I feel... strange," Luna remarked to herself. "I feel... empowered?" She looked outside. The sky was illuminated by light from her Moon, still low in the sky, just barely above the horizon.

"Didn't you say that your powers increase as your respective bodies draw closer to you?" Twilight said. "Which means you're slightly stronger during the night?"

"Yes, yes," Luna said. "But... this is different. It is... more intense."

Luna's head jolted up, looking at Twilight. She froze. Then she stood, her breaths heaving.

In fact, it started looking like she was losing control over herself.

"Twilight! Assemble your friends," Luna said, her head knocking against a bookcase. "And we need to imprison me! Lock me away!” Luna cried, tears breaking in desperation.

“What—what are you talking about, Luna?!”

“I am dangerous!"

With that, magic began bursting from the lunar alicorn. First it was some sparks. Then some streams; wisps of... black. Her ethereal mane began flaring wildly, as if a fight was taking place inside of Luna.

Twilight was frozen in place as she watched the agonizing process of her friend become her enemy. Then that pony looked at her and Spike. The windows could be heard shutting.

For a moment, she recalled Luna's last words.

“Oh.”

She grabbed Spike with her magic and bolted, her wings launching them towards the exit from a standstill.

"Come back, Twilight Sparkle! Do not make this difficult! I am only here for your Princesses!"

"Oh, this is bad," Twilight said, stating the obvious as she sped past the bookshelves.

"Twilight, what the heck?!" Spike exclaimed, clutching her back as they made their escape. "What is she doing here?!"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! But I guess it really did have something to with the Solar Eclipse Ceremony!"

"But how?!"

"Um... I'm guessing that maybe Nightmare Moon left a part of herself in the moon in case things went wrong during the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "And now, during the Solar Eclipse Ceremony, she absorbed power from the Sun."

"She hid from Celestia and Luna for this long?! Especially Luna?!" Spike exclaimed, unwilling to accept what they just saw.

"I told you, Spike, I'm guessing!"

Twilight flew past the doors to the entrance of the Star Swirl the Bearded Wing, slamming the doors shut behind her.

She heard hoofsteps down the hallway. It was one of the guards. Twilight ran up to him. "Excuse me, we need your help!"

The guard looked at her and immediately, Twilight and Spike realized that it was... not what they expected. The guard flared his wings in a threatening display, showing the two his bat-like wings. The look in his eyes was... evil.

Twilight pumped her wings, sending them away from the guard and down the hallway. "Note to self—Luna's thestral guards are under Nightmare's control. Makes sense."

"Twilight, he's chasing us!"

Without hesitation, Twilight flipped over and shot a beam of magic back at the pursuing pony. It hit, knocking him out of flight and into the floor unconscious. "We need to warn Celestia! And the others!"

Twilight found another window to escape through and flew out, immediately teleporting outside of Celestia's room once she was clear of the library. She barged through the door, the guards outside not stopping her, not even having the opportunity to.

"Twilight!" her friends exclaimed upon her sudden entrance.

"Princess Celestia is resting," Fluttershy said as the alicorn approached. "You should be quiet."

"Where's Luna?" Rarity asked.

Twilight reached the side of Celestia's bed. She urgently put her hooves on the sun princess and began shaking Celestia's body. "Celestia! Celestia, wake up!"

Her friends weren't sure what she was doing, but if Twilight was trying to wake Celestia up over letting her rest, it had to have been important.

Celestia's eyes cracked open. "What is it, Twilight?" she breathed.

"Luna—she—"

There was a slight commotion by the door. "Princess Luna!" Rarity said.

Everyone turned to the figure at the door. It was... Luna.

"No," Twilight whispered. "No!" she exclaimed loudly as the lunar alicorn approached. "That isn't Luna! That's—"

She was interrupted by suddenly being thrown out of the window, along with the rest of her friends.

<<+>>

Celestia became alert at the sudden commotion. However, she was weary, and didn't fully process what had just happened.

At that moment, Luna was walking towards her. But Twilight... "Luna?"

"Hello, Celestia," the other alicorn replied. She made it to the side of Celestia's bed. "It's your time."

Nightmare Moon revealed herself, brandishing an onyx blade. It came down swiftly.

And met metal.

Celestia gasped at what just occurred—fear gripped her heart, constricting it further than it already felt like. She reacted, that's what happened, and now her mind was catching up. In that moment, she had conjured up her own magic sword to defend herself. Her sword, forged with part of the energy of the sun, glowed softly—just enough to properly light up the face of the alicorn standing over her. "Nightmare!"

Nightmare's draconian eyes were wide as her mind, too, caught up with what just happened. However, hers was slightly slower, partially because Luna was causing her to trip up. "Where do you even keep that sword?"

Celestia's eyes narrowed. "It has a connection with any of my ceremonial dress—as long as I wear a single piece, I can call Hyperion."

Nightmare's expression became flat for a moment. "Well that explains your strange habit of wearing your crown to bed. Luna is feeling quite satisfied about that fact, now that she knows."

As Nightmare prepared for another attack, she was thrown aside by a burst of magic.

In less than a second, Celestia was out of the door. She felt absolutely drained—her heart was pounding out of her chest and she could hear it in her head, but escaping death was cause enough for her to find new resolve. She could not teleport out—no, she felt too weak. In fact, conjuring and brandishing her sword had cost her energy already. Fortunately, she was a fast flier—the fastest there was, but in her weakened state, she remained vigilant about the very definite possibility of her attacker catching up to her.

She slammed into a wall hard while trying to make a turn. However, she quickly got back up, and the air where she just stood was forcefully shoved back as the alicorn launched off again.

Celestia slowed for the next turn. And then, she halted herself immediately, bringing up her sword to parry another attack by the dark alicorn.

"You're fast, Celestia," Nightmare noted, pushing her blade down against Celestia's. "The fastest flier there is, Luna says. It's fortunate for me that you've been weakened greatly—I'm not sure if I would have been able to catch up."

Celestia tried to hold back against another forceful shove. "A shame, I suppose. Fighting me at my weakest? You must doubt your abilities, Nightmare."

Nightmare Moon lifted her sword in rage.

Then she was kicked away from Celestia.

Celestia was practically dragged up off of the ground by a purple hoof. "Come on, Celestia, time to leave!"

"She is... strong, Twilight," Celestia said as they roared through the halls. Her wavering voice continued. "We need... help. We also need... somewhere safe to plan—get us... to the throne room."

Twilight reacted quickly to an assailant that attempted to attack them from an intersecting hallway. She could hear the armor clang against the shield she quickly put up. "Luna's guards are possessed or something. We'll need a lot of help."

Twilight made another turn onto a different hallway. At the end, a set of large doors.

As soon as Twilight passed the doors, they shut behind the two alicorns. Celestia cast a lock that would keep Nightmare out, if only momentarily.

Twilight laid her mentor on the throne. "We need a plan."

"The doors will not keep out Nightmare Moon for long." Celestia's horn lit, as she used her magic for something. "I can call the guards from this room. They will be able to aid us against Nightmare's other forces."

"But that only buys us some time, Celestia," Twilight said. "And only if we're running—not while we're sitting, locked up in a room."

Twilight noted the sword Celestia was carrying, which was at that moment, resting against Celestia's throne. She picked it up with her telekinesis and felt the magic imbued in the sword. She could see small wisps of flame appear from the surface. "Celestia, what is this sword?"

Celestia took a deep breath. "This sword... is Hyperion. It was forged... not long after Nightmare Moon's original defeat... It is imbued with essence of the Sun. It has the ability to pierce skin or soul... whichever the user wills for it to. I created it... with the ability... to banish darkness."

Twilight processed what she was just told. "So this sword... can defeat Nightmare Moon?"

"One of the prime intentions behind its creation... I vowed to have many plans to defeat her upon her return."

The door thundered as Nightmare attempted to open it. "You may as well open this door now, Celestia! You are only delaying the inevitable!"

Twilight brandished the sword, moving to the center of the throne room. "Then I'll use it."

"Twilight, we still need a plan—"

Nightmare broke through the magical locks of the door. Immediately, she saw the obstacle between her and Celestia. "Twilight Sparkle. I could spare you if I wished to exert myself."

"You're not touching her, Nightmare," Twilight countered.

"... But it seems as if you'd rather die along with your beloved teacher." Nightmare brought out her own sword, and what little light there was reflected off of its smooth, black surface. "I suspect this will be easier anyways. Perhaps the suffering of watching will even kill Celestia for me."

Nightmare became a cloud of smoke as she rushed into Twilight. The clang of metal filled the room as Twilight parried. They began swinging at each other, and parrying, and in between, attacking with magic.

"Why did you even wait until now to make your move?!" Twilight asked as they fought. "You could have taken over Luna earlier and banished Celestia to the Sun right after the eclipse!"

Nightmare cackled. "Why bother trying to keep the sun down and its regent away when I can simply snuff both of them out?!" She swung hard at Twilight, and more sparks flew from between the swords. "This way, there will be no light at all to contest the night!"

Twilight shoved Nightmare off of her hooves with a burst of magic, then lunged forward after her. The dark alicorn, however, simply turned into smoke, reappearing behind Twilight.

Twilight spun and met the sword thrust. She fell to the ground, rolling onto her hooves.

"You were taught by your brother Shining Armor, I hear," Nightmare said. "Respectable. But not enough."

The attacks came faster, and in a moment, Twilight was thrown against a pillar. She heaved as she caught her breath. Then she rolled away as Nightmare charged at her. Twilight lifted the sword to defend against another downward slash, once Nightmare had quickly reoriented herself.

The purple alicorn got back up in a fighting stance, positioning herself between Nightmare Moon and Celestia. Hyperion was still held at the ready. "I won't let you win, Nightmare."

"I begin to tire of your antics," Nightmare said. Again, she charged forward.

The black sword hit the golden one forcefully, causing Twilight to stumble. Given that slight opening in Twilight's defenses, Nightmare shoved her aside with an intense burst of magic, sending the alicorn to the side.

Twilight was knocked away with so much force that she broke through the window in her path, and as such, was thrown out of the fight.

<<+>>

Celestia released a small gasp as she saw Twilight be thrown out of the throne room.

"Still alive after watching that?" Nightmare said. "Very well then. Perhaps you will be easier to defeat than her."

Nightmare Moon's horn lit as she covered the throne room in a spell that would lock Celestia in. And Celestia knew it.

Celestia steeled herself, pushing herself off of her throne and walking down onto the main floor. Her magic felt strained as she used it, yet she was able to firmly grab Hyperion, bring it over to her, and hold it at the ready. "You underestimate me, Nightmare. It will be your undoing."

Nightmare calmly walked over, then forcefully swung her sword at Celestia. The defense held, but it was less firm than even Twilight's defenses. "Is that so, Celestia?"

Nightmare stood menacingly as Celestia backed up. She looked at the clock in the room. "That clock says you have a little over three hours at most to live. At most."

"I'd wager it's longer than that," Celestia growled. She lifted her sword again. Its blade released a pulse of fire.

"We'll see about that."

The two swords met.

<<+>>

Twilight groaned as she lifted her head up off of the ground. Her body felt sore. Though, she did note that she was thrown through a window.

Her horn lit as she bathed herself in her magic, healing any bones with fractures, which she was sure she had. Twilight breathed a quick sigh of relief once the pain had mostly disappeared.

She needed to find her friends.

"Twilight!"

Or, rather, wait for them to find her. Rainbow skidded to a halt next to her. "We heard a window break! What happened?!"

"Yeah," Twilight said. "That was me." She sat up off of the ground and looked at the broken window with great fear. "Celestia's stuck up there with Nightmare Moon, and I don't know how long Celestia will last."

"What can we do?" Fluttershy asked. "Surely Nightmare Moon has a spell that will keep anypony from getting in or out of the throne room."

Spike held a claw up as he got an idea. "We should get back to the library! Maybe we can find something that can help!"

A group of hooves thundered close by. It was headed for them.

Before they were able to react, the figures appeared. "Princess Twilight!"

It was the Royal Guard. The seven sighed in relief.

The guards approached her. "Princess, what can we do to help?"

Twilight looked at the palace again. "Luna's thestral guards are under Nightmare's control. Surely they'll be making sure no pony can approach the throne room." She looked around. "We should talk elsewhere. They could be setting up a perimeter as well—and we're in it."

<<+>>

In barely a few minutes, the group had made their way to the palace's library again. On the way, they were joined by more Royal Guard.

"Princess Twilight, what do you need us to do?" one of the guard ponies asked.

"We need to get back into the palace to help Princess Celestia," Twilight said. "But Luna's guards are under Nightmare Moon's control. I expect that they are guarding the entrances, especially those to the throne room."

"You need a path in."

Twilight nodded. "Exactly. And we need to get there quickly—if Celestia is still managing to fight Nightmare off, she won't make it much longer than a few hours. She's getting weaker as the night draws on."

"Even if we make it to the throne room, how do we beat Nightmare Moon?" Applejack asked. "We don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore... unless we don't really need them to use our powers."

"That is... a good point," Twilight replied. "Although I think I'm getting the sense of the magic needed to use the powers of Harmony."

"But are you sure that it'll work?" Applejack said.

Twilight winced. "Not... really."

"Not like that ever stopped us before," Rainbow said.

"But that's because reasons!" Pinkie noted. "I don't think 'reasons' is gonna work here."

"Uh... what does 'reasons' mean?"

"Regardless," Twilight said, "Pinkie does have a point. Every time before, it's almost like we've gotten lucky. Stakes are really, really high this time, and we need some extra plans."

"So what will you have us do, Princess?" the Royal Guard pony asked.

"Storm the castle now," Twilight said. "And make sure a path is clear when we need it."

"Do you wish for some of us to remain here on guard?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, we'll be fine. I'd rather that you use all of your number to fight Nightmare's ponies."

The guard nodded and signaled for everyone else to follow.

"Really, Twi?" Applejack said.

"What?"

"You just said that you don't want to bank on luck this time."

"What does that mean?"

"You really think we'll be safe?" Spike clarified.

Twilight paused. Her following nod was doubtful and not very reassuring, but she still nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, we'll be fine."

The others looked amongst themselves.

"Well, worked for us before," Rainbow said. "What now?"

"Extra plan to defeat Nightmare Moon," Applejack reminded them. "... Speaking of, how did you intend to beat Nightmare when you went back in? If you did, I mean."

"I wasn't," Twilight said. "I was just trying to get Celestia out." She began pacing around. "But when I did find her, Celestia had a sword—she called it 'Hyperion'. She said it had the power to banish darkness—and it was made with Nightmare in mind."

"So... why is Nightmare still up and kicking?"

"I'm guessing that, between Celestia's weakened state and Nightmare's strength, the sword actually has to make contact for it to work," Twilight said. "Or at least, maybe its flames do."

"It's a flaming sword?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Whoa!"

"It's possible that Celestia would usually be able to make greater use of it," Twilight said. "But, you know, she can't, right now."

"Okay!" Pinkie put a hoof up in thought. "So plan A is a flaming sword, and we don't have a plan B."

"Uh..." Twilight looked down. "Like I said... Celestia's really weak right now. And, while Shining taught me a lot, I'm not completely confident I can bring Nightmare Moon down with it."

"You're right," Pinkie said, still thinking. "That's like, a lot of luck! So... I guess that means we don't even have a plan A."

"Plan A should be saving Celestia—"

"But I thought that was what the goal was," Applejack said.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Celestia can use the sword. So if we save Celestia, it should lead to Nightmare Moon's defeat."

"Spike explained what Nightmare did to Celestia during the eclipse," Rarity said. "Are you really sure Celestia will have the energy?"

Twilight groaned. "That's what plan B is for. Which we'll probably carry out at the same time."

"Well okay," Applejack started, "here's what I see. Plan B has to be quick, because we'll probably have to do it right when we kick down the door. And once we get past that door, Nightmare Moon is gonna try and attack us. And maybe her bat pony guards."

"If the Royal Guard manages to push them away from the throne room, you mean," Rarity noted.

"And that too," Applejack said. "We might have to deal with Nightmare Moon's guards from the start."

"Geez, I wish this was as easy as the first time," Rainbow said.

"Ha!" Applejack laughed. "Back when we barely knew each other? Yeah, I'd say that was challenge enough."

"And all I had to do was talk past some weird shadow ponies."

Twilight smiled as she recalled that fateful night. She missed those days, a bit. Everything was simpler. Especially the Elements of Harmony. "I wish the Elements of Harmony could be plan B."

Applejack paused their banter to lay a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "I'm sure we all do. But times change, Twilight. Even if 'powers of Harmony' is plan B, right now, we'd need a plan C."

Twilight nodded. “Well, I’m sure there’s some books in here about Celestia’s other contingencies for Nightmare Moon’s return.”

“Then we’d best get to work.”

<<+>>

An hour had passed inside of the library. They had options—a lot of them. But none that they could actually make into a plan.

“Twilight, we’ve gone through all of these plans,” Fluttershy said, “but they’re all really complicated, or we just don’t have the things needed for them.”

“We’ll need to start thinking outside of the box,” Rarity said.

“Okay, let’s review,” Applejack said. “Plan A is to have Celestia beat Nightmare in a straight-up fight. Plan B is ‘powers of Harmony’. And we’ve got no plan C.”

“But we’re not even sure Celestia can beat Nightmare Moon right now!” Rainbow said. “She’s too weak!”

“I suppose helping Celestia in the fight is out of the question?” Rarity asked.

“Plan AB?” Pinkie suggested.

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “I feel like she’d be even more driven to rage once she sees us, though. You know, after the first time. She won’t underestimate us. And she has her guards to help her this time.”

“Wait!” Spike exclaimed. “If you think Princess Celestia can beat Nightmare if she had the magic to, why don’t we just help her get her power back?”

“What do you mean, Spike?”

“Remember when the other Princesses gave you their alicorn magic?” Spike asked. “Why don’t you just do that for Celestia?”

“I... guess that could work, Spike!” Twilight said.

“So... is that plan C or plan B?” Applejack asked.

“Or maybe even plan A!” Pinkie pointed out.

“So what’s the plan, Twilight?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight’s look became pensive. “Let’s try to use our powers first. If that doesn’t work, try to distract Nightmare Moon enough so I can transfer my magic to Celestia.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack said. “Let’s get movin’!”

Twilight led the group back out into the night. She took a short pause to look at the Moon. It loomed in the sky, reminding her that Nightmare Moon would continue to grow stronger, while Celestia would become weaker.

They made it to the palace without any incident. However, deep inside, they could hear the sounds of battle.

As they reached the hallway to the throne room, they saw the Royal Guard pushing back against Nightmare’s thestrals. One by one, the combatants noticed the new presence.

“Princess Twilight is here!”

Twilight prepared herself in a fighting stance. Her companions took that as the signal that it was time to jump into the action. “Rally on me!”

She charged forward, followed closely by her friends. Twilight launched straight into the melee, Rainbow right next to her wearing the always-confident look she had.

The group went straight into the thick of the fight.

<<+>>

“Woo,” Applejack said, cooling herself off with her hat. “That was somethin’. Glad we didn’t have to do that the first time.”

“I suppose it shows that Nightmare is being more thorough this time,” Rarity noted as she fixed the hairs in her mane.

Twilight stood in front of the looming throne room doors. “Right. Things only get harder from here.”

Rainbow knocked her hooves together. “We’ll show Nightmare Moon that we’re not to be messed with.”

“Yes we will,” Twilight agreed. “But first, we’ve got to get through these doors.”

“How long will that take?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight shot a beam of magic at the door. Then she reeled backwards, as if physically knocked back by something. “A while.”

Applejack looked down the hallway, where Nightmare’s guards had been pushed down to. “I know you already know it, Twi, but we may or may not have ‘a while’.”

“Then let’s hope the Royal Guard can keep them back, right?” Twilight took a deep breath and prepared to fight Nightmare Moon’s spell.

Twilight’s horn lit again, and when her magic met the door, there was a bright flash of light as the spells met.

<<+>>

“Why do you continue to resist, Celestia?!”

A swing down. Metal met metal.

Celestia stumbled back. “I told you not to underestimate me.”

"Why do you not just fall, Celestia?! How do you continue?" Nightmare Moon spat, not really in disbelief that Celestia was putting up a reasonable fight, but rather seemingly more in disgust. “Is the strength from desperation really that great?!”

Celestia's breath heaved. "My cause is ju—"

Nightmare interrupted with a downward swing. "Never mind. I do not wish to be bored by your righteousness."

Then Nightmare sensed it. The crack...—

The doors to the throne room slammed open, revealing once again, Twilight Sparkle and the other Element bearers. “Girls!—”

Twilight was interrupted by a cloud of black appearing right next to her. Nightmare Moon materialized, hitting Twilight with enough force to send her flying into a pillar.

Without any time for reactions, Nightmare enchained the rest of the mares with magical binds. “Did you really think me to be so foolish this time around?!”

“Well, there went plan A,” Applejack remarked.

“And plan B!” Pinkie added. “Or was it plan AB?”

Twilight got up and looked at Celestia. The sun princess looked incredibly worn. She must have been fighting the entire time while on the verge of collapsing. “Celestia!”

“Twilight!” Celestia’s eyes were heavy. “Have you found a way to defeat Nightmare Moon?”

Twilight jumped to her hooves and hid behind the pillar. “I’m going to give you my—”

Again, she was interrupted by Nightmare Moon, this time launching her back to near entrance. Twilight could feel some bones crack.

“Twilight!” her friends exclaimed in worry.

“Well, there went plan C,” Applejack said.

“I think that was the new plan B,” Pinkie noted.

“You petty ponies,” Nightmare mocked as she approached Twilight. “Worrying about such little things. Why does it matter? It was never going to work—I am too powerful for you. And more importantly, I came with vengeance.”

“I was impatient the first time,” Nightmare continued. “Careless. But now, all contingencies... addressed. I do thank you for giving me the opportunity to add you pesky Element bearers to the list of ponies that I can enact my revenge against.”

Twilight looked up weakly at the dark alicorn. “What... are you going to do?”

Nightmare chuckled. “For you? I’ve had a thought... maybe I should just remove all of the alicorns that may oppose me.”

Nightmare spun and parried Celestia’s attack, then launched her away with a burst of magic. “But it does seem that the roles have reversed. Celestia is almost worn down—she won’t last much longer. I invite you to watch her demise.”

Nightmare cackled again. “All of you, in fact. That will be the greatest revenge. To see your glorious Princess fall by the hoof of the pony you thought you defeated—and what’s more—befriended. Luna’s agonizing screams are lovely.”

Twilight lit her horn as a final act of defiance.

The hilt of Nightmare’s sword slammed straight against her skull, right under her horn.

Twilight’s eyes went wide from the strike. She cut her magic off, barely able to use her horn without immense pain.

“Twilight!” Celestia cried.

It was so excruciating, Twilight thought she might faint if she exerted her magic. “I’m sorry, Celestia... I failed this time.”

“Yes you did,” Nightmare laughed. She turned to Celestia and spun her sword. “I think I’ve had my fun with you, Celestia. This is a befitting scene to leave in your mind. Ready to die now?”

Celestia pushed away the worry and doubt as best she could. But she could not fully do so. “I will fight until the end.”

“Then so be it. You will be the first of Equestria to succumb to Nightmare Moon.”

The two alicorns charged towards each other.

“Twilight!” Rainbow cried. “Twilight, get up!”

“It hurts...” Twilight mumbled. “Can’t...”

“Twilight!”

This time, Twilight perked up more. She turned her head. “Spike! Where were you?!”

The dragon ran up to her. “I waited outside since, you know, I don’t really have a part in the plan—plus you girls always seem to find yourself in a bind. I figured I should hide in case something happened. Are you okay?”

Twilight smiled at Spike’s foresight, then gulped before answering. “No.”

Spike winced at the blunt reply. He quickly glanced at the source of the metallic clangs. “Twilight, what do we do?!”

“You always think of something, Twilight!” Fluttershy cried.

“I... I don’t know,” Twilight said, returning her focus to the swordfight.

“Come on, Twilight, we’re running out of time!” Spike exclaimed.

Twilight stared, letting that realization sink in.

And it sunk in deep.

“Time... that’s it!”

“Wait, wha—” Spike started, before realizing what she meant. “Twilight, every time you had something to do with messing around with time, it doesn’t go well.”

“You’re right, Spike. But all those times, it was always about the past.”

“So if you’re not going to stop this by going to the past,” Spike asked, “what are you going to do with the future?”

“I’m not going to do anything to the future,” Twilight said. “We just need to get to it!”

“But we all get to the future, Twilight,” Pinkie said. “That’s how time works!”

“Yeah,” Applejack said, “and by the time we get to the future the normal way, Nightmare Moon will have won against Celestia!”

Twilight beamed at the statement. “And that’s just it—we need to get to the future a different way!”

“Besides, your head’s been knocked around so hard, you can’t even use your magic,” Applejack pointed out.

Twilight knew that using her magic would hurt, but maybe she could hold out enough do small tasks. First, she conjured up a quill and paper. She gasped upon completion of the task. “Spike, take them.”

“What?!” Still, Spike took them in his claws regardless. “Twilight, now’s not the time for notes.”

“After the incident with Starlight Glimmer, I began to research her spell,” Twilight explained. “And time spells in general. Time is so powerful. I also studied her method of imbuing it in a scroll.”

“So...”

“I need you to write and draw the spell, Spike,” Twilight said. She watched Celestia get thrown around by Nightmare Moon. It hurt to see her mentor hurt, but at the same time, it kept Nightmare’s attention away from them. “I’ll tell you what to do.”

“O... okay.” Spike got on the ground and prepared to listen. “How’s the spell going to work?”

“I... can clearly remember one spell,” Twilight said. “Remember the Crystal Empire? I studied that one intensely too. That might be our best shot.”

“You’re gonna disappear us?” Applejack asked.

“Nightmare will do it to Celestia, then me.”

The words sunk in quickly for everyone.

“Okay, Twilight,” Spike said. “Let’s do this.”

The sword and magic battle continued in front of the seven. Outside of the throne room, Royal Guard kept Nightmare’s ponies at bay.

<<+>>

Nightmare looked at the clock in the throne room. It was attuned to the flow of time itself, a bond so powerful, no spell could affect its movement. It would always read true.

It was half an hour to twelve.

“Are you ready, Celestia? Midnight approaches. You continue to weaken, and you weaken even faster and greater by the minute. And when the clock strikes twelve exactly, you will be so weakened, it will take little effort to finally put you down.”

“You’ve been saying that for the past few hours,” Celestia wearily replied.

Nightmare stepped back to take a quick respite. She would gather her strength for a few moments, especially as the Moon moved higher up in the sky. Celestia might also get some rest, but it would not make a difference.

She began to turn to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. “So, are you ready for the finale?”

Once Nightmare had fully turned, she saw not expressions of despair, but confident defiance. “Still persistent to the end, hm?”

“As ready for the finale as you are, Nightmare,” Twilight said.

“Still think you’ve got a plan? A chance? Ha! You foals! You're too late! Not on my watch!—”

Twilight held back her pain and struck the finished scroll with her magic.

<<+>>

In that moment, no one was conscious as to what was happening.

Everyone, everything, fully frozen in all senses but time, which continued to flow around them. Equestria was gone from their normal realm, lost in time, much in the sense that the Crystal Empire was.

But only for a brief blink, in the cosmic sense.

When Equestria was snapped back into the world, everyone barely felt it. They sensed something, but no one quite knew what.

No one, but Twilight and her friends.

"—Look at the clock—your princess's final minutes approach.”

Twilight looked at the clock, and confirmed her success. It was not as much as they hoped for, but it was likely enough.

"No," Twilight smirked, her expression more devious than Nightmare's. “You look at the clock. You’re too late. You just skipped an hour. Everyone did."

Nightmare appeared confused, returning an incredulous expression at Twilight Sparkle. The young alicorn couldn’t really believe she could save her mentor with... a bluff?

The dark alicorn decided to appease the other alicorn and read the clock. The clock that could only tell truth.

It was half past midnight.

Nightmare snapped her gaze back at Twilight Sparkle. No—she couldn't have. No magic in the world could create such trickery—the clock was immune to tampering. "It is impossible to trick that clock..."

Behind the dark alicorn, with strengthened resolve, Celestia pushed herself up.

Twilight's grin grew almost malicious. “Which means the Sun is on its way back up.”

Nightmare Moon turned to look her opponent in the eye.

Celestia emphasized her newfound resolve by flaring up her sword with great fire, the intense flames lighting up the spacious throne room to the brightness of day. She spun it, beckoning Nightmare to combat with the spinning sword’s deep, metallic hum. “Round two.”

Intimidation, that’s all it was, Nightmare thought. Celestia was still weak. “The night will reign supreme! It will prevail!”

“You only waste your breath,” Celestia wheezed.

“I waste my breath? You are still on the verge of death.”

“And yet I stand and fight.” There was a thundering boom as Celestia went on the offensive.

After a short exchange of attacks, Celestia was thrown to the throne room’s entrance. She landed shakily on her hooves, but held herself up. “Twilight, you should leave. I will continue to buy time.”

Celestia’s horn lit, and quickly enough, the bounds holding the others down were broken. “Go. Stop her forces from enacting other contingencies.”

Nightmare rushed at Celestia. Celestia stood her ground and instead locked the throne room doors behind her—this time, she was the trapper.

Rainbow rushed over and picked Twilight up, and the group ran over to the window where Twilight made her forced exit earlier that night.

They all glided down with the help of the winged members of the group.

“One hour?! That’s it?” Applejack asked.

“It got us far enough to the future, didn’t it?” Twilight grinned. She lit her horn; it was still sore to use her magic, but not as much. Again, she mended her wounds, allowing her to stand on her own.

“Where to now, Twi?” Rainbow asked.

“Back to the books again—I need to lock the place down before any of the powerful spells or artifacts are discovered and used—I’m willing to bet Nightmare knows about them and will send some of her forces after them.”

“Geez, Twi, how many times have you gone back and forth between these places today?”

Twilight turned to smirk. “Today? This will be the first.”

<<+>>

“Doing stuff again?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Ugh.”

“You know Twilight,” Applejack said. “Likes to push her luck.”

Rainbow made a pointing motion with her hoof. “That’s not something I'd consider her to have a lot of. And under it, common sense.”

The two stared down the dark hallway as they remained on guard.

“It’s still night, and she stuck us on guard duty in this creepy place.”

“Well, we survived a night in the old castle in the Everfree, right?” Applejack chucked.

“Yeah, okay,” Rainbow said, unamused. “‘Creepy castle’ with legends of being haunted, compared to ‘creepy library’ while Nightmare Moon and her ponies are running around on the palace grounds.”

Applejack paused. “Okay, you have a point.”

“You’re usually the one with the points. How long have we been standing out here?”

Applejack shrugged. “Half an hour or more?”

They heard metallic hoofsteps down the hall. The two mares looked between each other.

“We’ve got trouble.”

Rainbow turned her head in Twilight’s direction, inside the final open wing of the library. “Gotcha.”

She sped in to tell the others. Applejack moved forward to stop the newcomers early.

There was a woosh beside her.

“Twi’s gotta lock up,” Rainbow said.

“Her lock spell takes, like, five minutes!” Applejack exclaimed.

Rainbow nudged her friend playfully, also signalling a challenge. “No falling back then.”

Applejack grinned. “You’re on.”

Nightmare’s guards came running around the corner in force.

<<+>>

The seven made their escape out of one of the windows in the hallway. Rainbow and Applejack were especially covered in cuts, bruises, and some singed hair from close spells.

“Twi...” Applejack panted, “I really hope that wasn't your daily allowance of luck.”

“Thirty seconds!” Twilight exclaimed. “I was faster by thirty seconds!”

“Uh, Twilight,” Rainbow started, “what’s that you got with you? And why the heck did you make us go grab a gem off of one of Nightmare Moon’s ponies for it? Because that was a little too tight for me.”

Twilight looked at the staff she had tucked under her wing. “This will help us find where any of Nightmare’s ponies are around the palace grounds. Celestia told us to prevent Nightmare’s ponies from trying anything funny.”

Once they had put enough distance between the library and themselves, Twilight attached the gem to the top of the staff.

“How does it work?” Rarity asked.

“It’s kind of like your gem-finding spell,” Twilight explained. “It searches out similar gems.”

“Oh. Simple enough.”

Twilight left the group momentarily and took off into the night sky.

Once high enough to observe the palace grounds, Twilight activated the staff. It showed her paths to all of Nightmare’s ponies, including the one’s scattered away from the palace battle.

She returned to the group, landing softly on the grass.

“So?” Applejack asked.

“We’ve got work to do.”

<<+>>

“Giant freaking shadow monster!”

Rainbow leapt out of the creature’s path, joining Twilight in hiding behind a line of hedges.

“Okay! It seems we’re a little late to this one,” Twilight noted.

“Yeah, you think?!” Rainbow peeked over. “And we’re not in a dream this time, and it’s not because of Luna’s personal problems.”

“You know, Rainbow, it’s been a really long night, so can you just... not?”

The two watched as it left the labyrinth, headed for the palace.

They regrouped with the others.

“Well, no dreaming to help us this time,” Spike said.

“To be fair, it was because of Luna we beat it,” Applejack pointed out.

Twilight groaned. “I know! We need to try and stop it!”

She took off, carrying her friends in her telekinesis.

“I dunno, Twi, looks a bit late for that,” Rainbow said.

The shadow being approached the exterior of the palace where the throne room was.

<<+>>

"Enough!” Nightmare Moon yelled. “This will end now! You will yield!"

The shadow creature slammed into the side so hard, it not only broke Celestia’s magic barrier, but also tore a gaping hole into the wall of the throne room. It roared into the hole.

Celestia stumbled from the shattering hit against her magical shield, but quickly recovered. "Are you so sure?"

<<+>>

Twilight, friends still in magical tow, rushed towards the dark creature.

Then there was pulse of brightness from within it.

With a great flash of fire, it exploded into smoke.

Twilight and her friends gasped at the display, and Twilight herself stopped mid-air for a moment.

They saw a black cloud speed out of the hole in the throne room wall.

Immediately, a golden magical whip flung out at it, grabbing a hold of it and dragging it back into the throne room.

When Twilight and the others landed in the throne room, Nightmare Moon was still standing strong, but also appeared worn.

“How?! How have you made it this far?!

Celestia charged in. “Your cause is unjust!”

“Impossible!” Nightmare exclaimed. “You were—are weakened! I stole your sun’s power!”

“Then you didn’t steal enough.”

Celestia lifted her head up, her horn lit, and behind her, the Sun's rays began peaking over the horizon.

Nightmare was awestruck as natural light began to fade in. "No!"

Celestia swung hard with her flaming sword once more. “Yield!”

The Sun's light seemed to burst along with Celestia's fury.

It was enough of a distraction and shock to give Celestia the opening she needed. She blasted Nightmare Moon with a beam of magic, then launched herself forward with a single flap of her wings.

Hyperion found itself buried in the dark alicorn, who was pushed up against the throne.

Celestia gave one final command. “Release my sister!”

Twilight and the others watched as Celestia plunged the flaming sword into Nightmare Moon. Its flames moved around, almost like they were alive.

Tongues of fire pierced the alicorn’s body, attacking the darkness wrapping itself around the lunar alicorn.

There was the crackling sound of something searing, burning away. Celestia watched as Hyperion’s flames burned away the dark essence of Nightmare Moon trying to escape. The blackness twisted and snapped as the flames attacked it.

Then there was a blinding explosion.

<<+>>

After the great flash, Celestia pulled Hyperion back, releasing it from the alicorn beneath her.

Luna held her hooves up, shielding herself. “Celestia! Please, don’t hurt me!”

Celestia collapsed on top of Luna, exhausted from the long battle. She pulled her sister into an embrace. “Luna, are you alright?”

Twilight approached the two sisters. “Is... is Luna hurt?”

Luna was crying. “On... only my sense of self...”

“Shh...” Celestia comforted her younger sister, as she, too, wept. “You couldn’t have known. It is as much as my mistake for not making sure none of Nightmare Moon’s presence remained in the moon after all of this time.”

“That... that’s a big sword, though,” Rarity noted.

“Skin or soul, whichever the user wills it to...” Twilight said, echoing Celestia’s description of Hyperion hours ago.

Celestia pulled away from Luna, standing up so that she could move to a more comfortable seat. That happened to be Luna’s throne, beside Celestia’s, which Luna was already in. Celestia slumped onto the smaller throne, easing her tense muscles.

“Yes, that is correct, Twilight,” Celestia finally spoke.

Twilight and her friends looked at the carnage dealt to the throne room. Scorches on the pillars and the floors. Holes in the rugs and banners.

And Celestia herself, which Twilight just noticed, was covered in gashes and cuts all around her body. Red stained the sun princess’s white coat. Her golden chest piece showed notable amounts of new scratches. It was then that Twilight realized how close to the edge of death Celestia fought for her, and Equestria’s, life.

As if reading Twilight’s thoughts, Celestia spoke. “Twilight, you did much to avert this disaster from doing any further damage. You saved Equestria—again.”

“If Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s job for Equestria is to raise the Sun and Moon and lead,” Spike said, “it must be Twilight’s job as a princess to just save it from the constant threat of destruction.”

Everyone gave the dragon a look.

Spike shrugged. “What? It’s more true than not.”

Applejack bent down to him. “It’s just not somethin’ you say right now,” she whispered.

“I can see it in your eyes, AJ—you were thinking the same thing.”

Applejack’s face scrunched up, and remained silent as she straightened herself.

Twilight looked outside. Daylight was spreading further across the sky. The orange horizon faded to a light blue, then the last deep blue of night. “So what about the rest of Equestria?”

“They will know of nothing,” Celestia said. “The cycle of the Sun and Moon went mostly undisrupted. I think it is better that their fears about Luna and Nightmare Moon are not stirred. At the least, we can control the release of information, rather than everyone experiencing it in a panic.”

“I suppose so,” Twilight replied. “That’s it?”

“Well,” Luna started, “I suppose everyone also lost an hour of sleep.”

“Yeah, about that,” Spike said, “did it really affect all of Equestria?”

Twilight shrugged. “I just mostly copied the spell from the Crystal Empire. I didn’t feel like pushing my luck further, changing extraneous details. So I guess it did.”

Rainbow scoffed. “For once.”

“I suppose we will find out if we receive complaints about the shifted sunrise,” Luna said. “Right, Celestia?”

Celestia had already nodded her head down, asleep.

“That’s a good idea,” Twilight said, the weariness catching up to her. “I think I’m going to make very productive use of this great gift of daylight... I want a bed.”

Twilight turned around, exiting the throne room.

Author's Note

I figured this eventually had to be done. And I found no story like it. Which surprised me. So then I made it a thing.

Really, you'd think a story under this title would've shown up by now.

Yeah, I’m so, sorry (but not really). I'm a terrible, terrible person (or awesome).

Anyone that knows what this is actually referencing gets all my love.

This was originally supposed to be a half-cheesey, half-serious relatively short story (like the source), but it ended up turning into this mostly-serious narrative (with some cheesey moments).