Eventide

by A_Mormon Brony

Chapters

Chapter 2: The Next Morning
Chapter 3: Nothing Makes Sense
Chapter 4: Suddenly the Enemy
Chapter 5: The Messenger of Music
Chapter 6: "I Demand a Sign!"
Chapter 8: No More Sparkle
Chapter 9: Life Goes On
Chapter 7: Between Day and Night
Chapter 1: The Visit

Chapter 2: The Next Morning

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Chapter 3: Nothing Makes Sense

Author's Note

There is some slow-down in this chapter. I'm hoping I made the best use of it.

Chapter 3: Nothing Makes Sense

For the rest of the day, Twilight moaned and groaned about suddenly being unable to communicate directly with the princesses, to hear from them directly if they’d found the connection that was so obvious to her.

But, that other voice would always give her the same message, that it hadn’t had the chance to relay her concerns to them, and that she’d just have to be patient and wait until he could get in contact with them.

Then, early the next morning, Twilight rose from her bed and marched to the mirror attached to her vanity. Seeing the strange, fiery face, she said, “You know, it’d be easier to talk to you if I knew your name, or at least knew what to call you.”

The other voice answered her back, “There is nothing I would like to do more than give you my name, or any way that you could identify me. Unfortunately, the princesses have forbidden me from giving you that information.”

Presently, Twilight growled, “And, how the hoof am I supposed to trust you if you won’t even trust me with your name, huh? And, why the hoof would they forbid you from giving me your name, anyway?”

Just then, from behind her and to her left, she heard Spike sleepily ask, “Are you alright, Twilight?”

The purple alicorn turned her growl on her assistant as she said, “I’m fine. Just go back to sleep.”

For a moment the purple dragon was silent. Then, he said, “Uh, okay, Twilight.”

At that point, the other voice said, “This isn’t the best place to have this conversation. Why don’t you go to your bathroom? We can pick up where we left off there.”

Twilight huffed, then growled, “Fine.” And, she pushed away from her vanity and marched into the library's only bathroom. Then, after closing the door behind her, she looked into the mirror on the wall opposite the sink and asked, “Now, tell me, why the hoof can’t you just give me some way of identifying you?”

The other voice answered, “Trust me, this is no easier for me than it is for you.”

At this, Twilight snorted and said, “I’d hardly call this easy.”

The other voice continued, “But, it is safer for you this way.”

Now, Twilight let out a long groan of frustration before nearly shouting, “Why, huh? Why is it better that I can’t identify you? What danger is there out there that won’t allow you give me some way to identify you?”

For a few seconds the voice was silent. When it did speak again, it sighed and said, “Very well. I will consult with the princesses. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I want you to wait here. In the mean time, I’ll contact the princesses and tell them about your concerns. Then, when they’ve come to a decision and let me know about it, I’ll come back and let you know what that decision is.”

Twilight let out another long, frustrated groan, then said, “Alright then. But, I don’t want to have to wait in here all day.”

The voice answered, “Your bladder and bowels need to be emptied. While you are waiting for me, you may go ahead and empty them. You will likely be done with that before I return. So, if you want, you may also take a bath.”

Twilight started speaking under her breath; but, her voice rose in tone and volume to a near shout as she said, “I don’t need you to tell me what I need to do. I can take care of my own needs on my own. Just contact the princesses, ask them my questions, and get back to me as soon as you can!” And, she concluded her speech by growling with each exaggerated breath.

The voice paused for a second, then said, “Whatever. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Twilight wasn’t sure, but she thought she could feel a dark, uncomfortable presence leave her after the voice went silent. And, indeed, in the absence of the voice, she did feel like she needed to urinate and defecate. So, she sat human-style on the toilet and proceeded to empty her bowels and bladder. Then, feeling the relief from that, she again turned to the bathtub to turn on the taps and used her magic to produce a shield in the pipes to keep the water from escaping, thus allowing her to get a bath ready. And, when the tub was approximately half full, she turned off the taps and hopped into the warm water.

Manipulating a brush with her magic, she went to work, scrubbing a bar of soap until it was fully lathered, then rubbing her torso and the sides of her neck with the brush. She used her magic to scrub each leg as she extended it out of the water, then immersed herself in the water to rinse the suds off of her. Next, she drained the tub and used her magic to levitate a bottle of shampoo to her, then used the brush to scrub the shampoo into her mane and tail. Then, after putting the bottle and brush back into place, she again turned on the taps with her magic and pushed her head under the running water, letting it rinse away the shampoo from her mane. She then turned a hundred eighty degrees and stuck her tail under the running water, allowing it to rinse the shampoo from there.

Feeling at least cleaner than she had before her bath, she leaped out of the tub and dispersed the shield spell she'd used on the pipes, allowing the water to drain out. After that, she manipulated a towel with her magic and dried herself off.

And then, she waited. And, she waited. She didn’t know how long she’d been in there, all she knew was she had to wait for the other voice to come and let her know what the princesses had decided.

To occupy her time, she decided she’d try something she hadn’t really thought of doing before: she used her magic to separate the hairs in her mane, then in her tail, so that they were free from tangles and arranged just the way she wanted them. Maybe not the most exciting thing she’d ever done in her life, but it at least helped her pass the time.

There was just one problem. She went through all the hairs on her head, neck, and tail; and still that other voice hadn’t returned. Should she go through the hairs on the rest of her body? It hadn’t been that long since she’d cleaned the bathroom. Maybe she should clean it again?

Eventually, she settled on going through the events of the last day or so, starting with the message from the princesses. And, with that review came all the questions she needed answers to: Why couldn’t Princess Luna find the connection between magic and friendship? What kind of magic had she been studying that wasn't connected to friendship? What kind of friendship had she been studying that wasn't connected to magic?

Twilight slumped into a canine-style position thinking about that. Was there a type of friendship out there that wasn’t magic? Was there a type of magic that wasn’t associated with friendship? If there were such things, would she want to know about them?

Then, there was the strange voice, which had made her head look, to her anyway, like a ball of black fire with red eyes and mouth. And, she wasn’t able, wasn’t allowed, to identify it. This strange, extra voice was supposed to be her go-between with the princesses, something she’d never needed before. So, why now? And, what’s taking that voice so long to return?

Twilight knew she could disobey the voice and leave the bathroom immediately. But, what if it returned and couldn’t find her again? Could she take that chance? Why was she getting so worked up about it? The more she thought about it, the more it drove her crazy. Nothing about this whole thing was making any sense.

It was about the time this thought crossed her mind that she once again heard the voice, which asked, “Did you miss me?”

Twilight rose to all fours again and, snarling into the mirror, growled, “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting in here for hours!”

The other voice answered, “I came as soon as I could. And, I have some answers for you.”

Twilight asked, “So, have they found the connection between magic and friendship yet?”

The other voice answered, “No, they have not. They’re still looking.” Then, after Twilight emitted a groaning sigh, the voice continued, “However, they have given me permission to show you why you have to keep separate from them while they explore this mystery, and why I cannot divulge my identity to you. Exit the library, and I’ll show you.”

Obediently, although begrudgingly, Twilight opened the door to the bathroom and exited. She then made her way to the nearest stairs to the front door of the library, opened that door, and exited.

The other voice then said, “Now, circle around to the back of the library.”

As the purple alicorn followed her instructions, she said, “I really don’t understand why I have to be lead by the nose this way.”

The voice only answered, “You will, Twilight, you will.”

It wasn’t until Twilight was on the opposite side of the library from the front door that she saw it: a red, pulsating, slimy-looking vine starting to spring up from the ground. As she approached it, she asked, “What is that thing?”

Twilight continued to approach the bizarre growth until the voice warned her, “Don’t get too close.” Then, after she stopped moving, the voice continued, “Nopony knows what it is, and it’s not wise to get too close to it. For all anypony knows, it could be poisonous.”

Twilight had a feeling that she was already too close to the strange plant, so she stumbled backwards away from it.

In the mean time, the voice continued, “Plants like this have been growing all over Canterlot. And, since they showed up, the princesses have been unable to find the connection between magic and friendship.”

Twilight swallowed hard before stammering, “A-and, n-now they’re h-here.”

The voice confirmed, “And, now they’re here.”

Then, Twilight asked, “But, how can this kind of plant be keeping friendship and magic separate? How does that make any sense?”

The other voice in her head answered, “The princesses don’t understand it either. All they know is since plants like that one have been showing up, friendship and magic have become two separate things. Until something can be done about those plants, until they can be destroyed, friendship is no longer magic.”

The purple alicorn whinnied in alarm, then turned and galloped to the front door of her library home again. But, just before she could reach the door, she wasn’t watching where she was going; and she ran into another pony, a unicorn. And, she only realized this when she turned around and saw the unicorn she’d knocked over. Alarmed, she apologized, “Lyra, I'm so sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

The pale-green unicorn got back up on her hooves again and said, “No problem, I’m fine.” She then turned to the purple alicorn and asked, “The question is, are you alright?”

Twilight sighed and answered, “To be completely honest with you, no, I don’t think I am.”

Concerned, Lyra used her magic to open the front door to the library. Still focused on the purple alicorn, she said, “Well, let’s go inside, and we can talk about what’s troubling you. After all, if you can’t talk to a friend about your problems, then who can you talk to?”

Something about that word "friend" infuriated Twilight. Glaring at the pale-green unicorn, she said, “No! No more about friends, no more about friendship! I came here to study the magic of friendship, and I just learned that I was wasting my time!”

Stunned, Lyra took a step back and asked, “Twilight, what are you saying?”

Twilight took two steps toward her, invading the pale-green unicorn’s personal space, and causing her to stumble backwards. Then, opening her wings to make herself look bigger, she growled, “Don’t you understand? Friendship and magic are two separate things! Friendship! Is! Not! Magic!” And, with a swing of her head, she knocked her school-time friend aside before galloping back into the library.

Not far away, a cream-colored earth pony approached the once-again fallen Lyra and, helping her back to her hooves, asked, “What was that all about?”

Lyra took a few seconds to try to compose herself, then answered, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen Twilight like that before. All I know is there’s something seriously wrong with her.”

The cream-colored earth pony nuzzled the pale-green unicorn and said, “Maybe one of her other friends can help her.” She then turned in the direction of the bakery made of ginger bread and said, “Let’s go to Sugar Cube Corner. Maybe you can talk to Pinkie Pie about it.”

Lyra took a moment to sniffle, then sigh, then turned to her earth pony friend and said, “Alright, Bon-bon. Let’s go.” And, with that, the two headed for the bakery.

In the mean time, under the covers of her bed, Twilight lay there, as flat as a living creature could be, covering her mouth with her front hooves. She wondered to herself, What have I done? What have I just said? Friendship isn’t magic? How could I have said that, when I know that it is? What’s happening to me? How could I say that to my friend?

At this point, Twilight knew exactly what she was feeling: Nausea. Terror. She knew that friendship is magic, but she’d just told an old friend of hers that it isn’t. What was she going to do now? It was Applejack who was the bearer of the element of honesty. But, that didn’t mean she had a monopoly on it. What would the orange earth mare think if she knew what Twilight had just done, what she'd just said?

Haunted by these thoughts, Twilight suddenly felt her stomach convulse, and at first she was grateful she hadn’t eaten anything yet. But, then, after a loud belch, her stomach convulsed again, forcing out a slimy liquid all over her front hooves, and onto her bed. Nopony had died; but to Twilight, somepony might as well have. Feeling as though she’d been abandoned, she hid her face in her front forelimbs. At first, she sniffled, loud, harsh. Then, she started whimpering as she thought about how she’d never even want to see her mentor again. She tried to speak, but all she could do was move her lips. Still, in her thoughts she prayed to her mentor to forgive her for lying to her friend. Then, when no answer came, her whimpers turned to sobs which grew louder and louder, until she was wailing.

And, while she wept, the dark spirit cackled loud in Twilight’s ears and said, “Step three: complete.” And, it, he, cackled some more.

Chapter 4: Suddenly the Enemy

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Chapter 5: The Messenger of Music

It was late in the afternoon, and ponies had gathered in Ponyville’s Town Hall to discuss the matter of their resident alicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Among them were the other five of the six element bearers, as well as Twilight’s assistant, Spike, and a couple of Twilight’s friends from her time at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, Lyra and Minuet.

How alarming it was for Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity to hear pony after pony approach the pulpit and testify that their friend, Twilight Sparkle, had told them that they were no longer friends, and that there was no magic in friendship. Even worse, Rarity had to add her voice to the testimonies against her friend, who had most recently risen to the position of alicorn princess. And, it was the same for Lyra.

The question arose, what would cause a pony that was such a staunch believer in the magic of friendship to suddenly start preaching that there was no link between friendship and magic? Hadn’t she proven, time and again, that the two were the same?

Then, Rainbow Dash was called, and had to testify of the difficulties that Twilight had been having since she’d earned her wings. But, after offering that testimony, she immediately stated that she believed that her friend wouldn’t give up on the magic of friendship just like that, simply because she was having difficulty learning how to fly. Whatever had happened, it wasn’t related to her inability to control her wings.

The next to be called was Applejack, who testified that, just a couple days ago, Twilight had told the five of them that she’d been visited by the princesses, and Princess Luna had told her that she was unable to find a connection between magic and friendship, and that there should be no further meetings among them until the connection was found again.

Spike, the next to be called to testify, talked about how, since that supposed visit from the princesses, which he hadn’t seen, Twilight had been behaving very strangely, first messing and wetting her bed, then cutting off all communication with the princesses and instead talking to herself. Then, the last night he’d been in the library, she’d told him that he was no longer her friend. She’d called him a lizard, and told him to either leave or drop dead.

As the hatchling dragon, upset at what he'd had to testify against his adoptive mother, returned to his position between Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and the former proceeded to comfort him, Mayor Mare approached the pulpit and asked, “So, what shall we do about this problem?”

For at least a minute there was silence.

Then, the pale-green unicorn rose to all fours, entered the closest aisle, and approached the pulpit. Once behind it, and as the mayor stepped to the side to give her room, Lyra said, “One of us needs to go talk to Twilight. And, I volunteer for that assignment.”

Presently, Minuet rose to all fours, reared up on her hind legs, raised a front hoof, and said, “I should go with you. After all, both of us have known Twilight since her school days.”

Lyra nodded and said, “You’re right, Minny, both of us were Twilight’s friends back then. If you want to come with me, then I welcome it.” Then, as Minuet settled back down, the pale-green unicorn looked around at the audience and asked, “Are there any other volunteers to come with me?”

In response, the five element bearers and Bon-bon rose to volunteer to join the group.

Lyra turned to the cream-colored earth pony, shook her head, and said, “No, Bon-bon. You don’t know Twilight as well as I do. I can’t risk your life for this.” And, with that, she left the pulpit and proceeded down the aisle toward the five element bearers.

In the mean time, as Minuet levitated herself over the other ponies to join up with Lyra and the five she was going to meet up with, Bon-bon leaped over the ponies between her and the aisle, then galloped to her unicorn friend and said, “No, Lyra, you don’t understand. I can help.”

The pale-green unicorn stopped only long enough to tell the cream-colored earth mare, “I’m glad you want to help, Bon-bon. But, Twilight’s a stranger to you. She’ll be more likely to respond to friends than to strangers.” And, with that, she continued on toward the five element bearers.

Immobilized with shock there in the aisle, all the cream-colored earth pony could do was watch her unicorn friend pass her by. It was a minute or two before she could find her voice, and by then it was too late. Alone in the aisle, she still said, “But, she does know me, as Sweetie Drops.” And, after that, she slumped down into a canine-style position, then sphinx-style. Finally, like a dog waiting for his or her master, she folded her forelimbs in front of her and rested her head over one side of them.

In the mean time, Lyra and Minuet met up with the five element bearers, and the group of seven started their march toward the library.

At about this time, Twilight was in the library, resisting as much as she could the growing influence of the other voice. She’d been asked what her normal duties at the library were, and she was maintaining silence, citing her lack of tongue and voice as her reason.

The other voice, in response to Twilight's resistance, asked, “Do you really think it matters to me if you cooperate or not? I will find out what your duties are, and I will fill them. No pony will ever know that I’m in control. So, you might as well tell me what I want to know now.”

Indignantly, Twilight asked, “Well, if it doesn’t matter anyway, then why bother asking me? You know so much about what it takes to run a library. So, go ahead. Run this one.”

At this response from the purple alicorn, the other voice growled, “I don’t need to run a library in order to succeed in my plans. I have the element of magic, and soon I’ll destroy the other elements as well. This is just a cover until I can get that done.”

For a moment, Twilight felt a wave of fear wash over her. Then, she calmed herself and said, “Wh-whatever y-your plans are, y-you won’t succeed. I’ll use all my strength to prevent it.”

Now, the other voice cackled for a few seconds before saying, “Your strength? You have no strength. I am your strength.” And, he cackled some more.

Calmly at first, Twilight said, “I know now that I was wrong to trust you. None of what you’ve said has made any sense.” Then, with a more determined tone, she added, “Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure that your plans fail. I’ll alert the princesses. I’ll have Spike write a letter. I’ll …”

Presently, the voice scoffed before asking, “The princesses? Spike? That lizard abandoned you already. And, do you think the princesses are ever going to trust in a creature that betrayed them as you have, that stopped talking to them?”

Hearing the voice laugh once more, Twilight said, “I only stopped communicating with them because you told me to, because you said you were the messenger between them and me. Like I said, I know I was wrong to listen to you now. I just want to make things right again.”

The voice growled back at her, “You stupid horse. Can’t you see it’s too late for you now? You’re a traitor. You’re the enemy. Do you really think the princesses are going to care about you, now that you’ve betrayed everything you believe in?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. As her head turned automatically to see who was knocking, she recognized her friends immediately. She called out, “Lyra, Minuet, help me!”

Again the other voice laughed, then asked, “Haven’t you forgotten something? They can’t hear you, remember? I destroyed your voice box and your tongue.”

For a few seconds Twilight was silent with surprise. Then, she closed her eyes and planted a front hoof between them. Shaking her head, she said, “I should have known. There’s no known bat that’s venomous to ponies. None that live around in or around Ponyville, anyway.” She then stopped shaking her head, dropped her front hoof, and said, “You lied to me. Like you’ve been doing all along, you lied to me.”

Again the voice scoffed, then said, “Like that matters anymore. Like I said, I control the element of magic now. And, soon I’ll destroy all the element bearers. Then, there will be no ponies to invade my home.”

Twilight, latching on to two words, asked, “Your home? What home is that?”

The voice growled back to her, “If you will not help me, then be silent. Our first guest has already come in.”

And, sure enough, Lyra had opened the door and entered the library.

But, before anymore of the group could enter, Twilight used her magic to close the door behind the pale-green unicorn.

Lyra, recognizing the magical aura, said, “Twilight?” The one thing she was not prepared for was an aura of a different color, one that was black, to grab her and toss her further into the library, against the bookshelf of the opposing wall.

Helpless as books rained down around her, the pale-green unicorn could only look on in terror as she saw her purple alicorn friend galloping toward her, glaring. Before she could say anything, Twilight jumped at her and pressed a forelimb across her neck. Then, glaring into the pale-green unicorn’s eyes, Twilight, in a very different, more masculine voice, asked, “Lyra, what are you doing here? Have you come to betray me?”

Suddenly unable to vocalize, Lyra could only whisper, “B-betray you? I c-came here to t-try to h-help you.”

Grinning angrily, Twilight said, “Help me? What makes you think I need help?” And, she tilted her head to an almost unnatural angle.

The pale-green unicorn whispered, “I-I don’t know. All I know is th-that you’ve b-been t-telling everypony th-that f-friendship isn’t m-magic, and that n-nopony is your f-friend anymore. I j-just w-want to know wh-why.”

Now, Twilight’s head started twitching erratically back and forth as she said, “Why? Why don’t I believe in the magic of friendship anymore?” She then cackled before she continued, “Haven’t you heard? There was never any magic in friendship. They’re two … separate … things.” And, to emphasize the last three words, she struck Lyra across the face with her free front hoof while she said each of them.

Tears started to leak from the pale-green unicorn’s eyes, and blood from her nose and mouth, as she whispered, “B-but, you’ve proven that friendship is magic. D-don’t you remember? Y-you and y-your friends f-freed P-princess Luna from N-nightmare M-moon with the m-magic of f-friendship.”

Twilight glared into Lyra’s eyes and snarled, “And, what a mistake that was.”

The pale-green unicorn continued, “And, what about D-discord? Y-you and your f-friends returned him to his st-tone prison. A-and, F-fluttershy even r-reformed him, with the m-magic of f-friendship.”

Twilight slowly responded, “Discord was weak.”

Finally, Lyra whispered, “And, what about your wings? Don’t you remember? Starswirl didn’t understand friendship the way you did, the way you do. So, he wasn’t able to perfect the spell Princess Celestia gave you. But, you did; and because of that, you have your wings.”

With surprising force, Twilight threw her pale-green unicorn friend across the room as she cried out, “Enough!”

It took a few seconds after Lyra hit the wall before she could focus enough to rise to all fours again. And, when she did shakily rise again, she began to amble toward the purple alicorn as she said, “Twilight, I’m your friend. I will always be your friend.”

At this point, Twilight’s face took on an expression of remorse, and she also started to amble toward Lyra. But then, when there was less than twelve inches separating them, the expression of remorse on the purple alicorn's face turned into one of fury; and Twilight turned her back on her friend and, with as much force as she could muster, kicked the pale-green unicorn in the head with her back legs.

The resulting force caused Lyra to fly once again, but this time into the corner between two book shelves. But, not only that, her skull cracked and split open, exposing her brain.

At this point, Lyra felt no pain. But, as she started to lose consciousness, she looked up at the purple alicorn and said, “Twilight, … we … will … forever … be … friends.” And, she collapsed into unconsciousness.

Twilight ambled over to the fallen unicorn and said, lifting up a front hoof, “I think not. You and I are friends … no more.” And, with that, she brought the hoof down on the fallen unicorn’s windpipe.

As, within her head, Twilight watched her front hoof crush her friend’s throat, helpless to stop it, she silently cried out, “No!” Then, she watched as a vapor leaked upward from the body; and she whimpered, “I’m so sorry, Lyra. Please, don’t hold this against me. I’m not in control. It’s the other voice. Please, forgive me.”

Then, the only voice that could speak for her asked, “Other voice? You still don’t recognize me? You don’t remember Nightmare Moon? Or, how about King Sombra?” And, the voice once again started to cackle.

Twilight answered, “No, I still have no idea who you are. And, what do Nightmare Moon or King Sombra have to do with it?”

Now, the other voice chuckled for a second or two longer before saying, “The element of magic doesn’t know who I am.” And, he laughed again, loud enough that it hurt Twilight’s ears. Then, as Twilight cowered in a corner of her consciousness, the voice said, “Step five is now complete. I have full control over the element of magic. And soon, I will control and destroy all the other elements. And, with them under our control, the tantabi will have control of Equestria, forever!” And, again he laughed long and loud in the purple alicorn’s ears.

Chapter 6: "I Demand a Sign!"

It had been difficult for the other element bearers, as well as Minuet, to watch their purple alicorn friend commit the acts of violence she’d committed against Lyra; and not just because of the fact that a strange force had kept them from coming to the rescue of the pale-green unicorn. Then, when they’d heard a sickening crunch, followed by Twilight trotting through the library with blood on one of her hooves, it was clear to them that Lyra wasn’t coming back out, at least not alive.

That was two days ago, and Twilight was making it clear that she wasn't going to allow anypony to enter, even to retrieve the body of the pale-green unicorn.

The six ponies decided on Sugar Cube Corner as the best meeting place to decide on what they should do to convince the crazed purple alicorn to let them in, and hopefully retrieve what was left of Lyra.

The meeting began, but it was a minute before Minuet, the first to speak, asked the other ponies around the table, “So, does anypony have any idea what we can do?”

For at least another minute, there was silence.

Then, a frustrated Applejack hammered the table with a front hoof and said, “Ah don’t know what we can do. Ah ain’t never seed Twilight like this a'fore.”

Pinkie Pie agreed, “Yeah. It’s like some nightmare from the Everfree forest has been lying to her all this time, telling her that friendship isn’t magic, then backing it up with more lies. Then the nightmare took her over, and it’s been making her do all the terrible things she’s been doing.”

The other five, with blank looks, stared at their pink earth pony friend.

Pinkie looked back at each of them, then said, “What? It’s just what it looks like to me.”

Rainbow Dash, putting her closest hoof on that of the pink earth pony, said, “Pinkie, you’ve got a crazy imagination. But, now’s not the time for it.” She then withdrew her hoof.

In shock, Pinkie opened her mouth to speak; but the words wouldn’t come. After a few seconds of trying, she finally closed her mouth again, then slumped down until her head was resting on the table.

With a sympathetic voice, Applejack moaned, then said, “We’re sorry, Sugar Cube. We didn’t mean to make you feel bad or nothin’. But, we’re here to decide what to do ‘bout Twilight, not to let our 'maginations run wild ‘bout what it looks like.”

Pinkie didn’t say anything. She didn’t even do anything except sniffle, then sigh.

Then, Rarity said, “But, what are we going to do? We can’t just give up and leave her like this, stuck in the library with just a dead corpse as company.”

Indignant, the orange earth mare shouted, “Ah know!” Then, realizing she'd spoken louder than she'd intended to, she calmed down again and added, “But, she ain’t a’lettin’ us in. So, there ain’t nothin’ we can do ‘bout it.”

Then, Rainbow Dash turned to the blue unicorn and asked, “Well, Minuet, do you have any ideas?”

In return, the blue unicorn asked, “Have you tried getting in through the balcony on the second floor? Maybe crashing through the window?”

Minuet’s last question sparked fury in the azure pegasa, who flew toward her and, glaring into the blue unicorn's eyes, snarled, “My crashes aren’t intentional, ya know!”

Immediately, Applejack leaped between the two and, pushing each away with a front hoof, said, “Alright, that’s enough! Now, neutral corners, both of ya!”

For another second or two Rainbow Dash hovered there and glared into the eyes of the surprised and frightened Minuet. Then, she turned away, returned to her position between Pinkie and Fluttershy, and dropped down into a human-style sitting position, forelimbs folded in front of her, still offended by what she took as an insult from the blue unicorn. Before turning to face her friends again, she said, “I tried to get in through that second-floor balcony. But, there was another of those black force fields.” Then, when she turned to her friends again, she added, “It was like looking into nothing. And, that nothing kept me from opening the door.”

At this point, Fluttershy started whimpering. When Rainbow Dash wrapped her in a comforting wing, she blurted out, “Oh, Twilight, what’s wrong with you? What made you so cruel?” And, she turned to her fellow pegasa and buried her face in her side, then started sobbing.

As Rainbow Dash added a forelimb to the wing she was using to hold the yellow pegasa close to her, the other ponies found it difficult to not be moved by her plight.

Finally, Minuet sighed and said, “Well, it may sound crazy, but I don’t see that we have any other choice. We have to go back and try to visit Twilight again. We have to try to convince her to let us in. Maybe it’ll work this time.”

None of the element bearers said anything more. But, as the group of six rose, it was evident that they were losing hope that their purple alicorn friend would respond to their pleas.

Not even Pinkie Pie, who would normally be smiling, could muster the strength to even look optimistic.

In Canterlot Castle, the daytime alicorn paced back and forth in the throne room.

Her sister, seated canine-style in her place, watched for a few seconds, then said, “Behold, I know thou worriest for Twilight. I also worry for her.”

Princess Celestia paused in her pacing, turned to her sister, and said, “She’s my most faithful student. She’s always kept in contact with me, even though she didn't need to. Now, suddenly she’s silent. Of course I’m worried about her.” She then sighed before adding, “Then there’s the last letter from her friends. No connection between magic and friendship? Where did she get such an idea? She knows as well as we do that magic and friendship are the same thing.” And, she went back to pacing.

Princess Luna watched her big sister do a few more linear laps in front of the two thrones until she could no longer tolerate it. Then, she rose to all fours, turned, and headed through a nearby door.

Now alone in the throne room, the daytime princess stopped pacing again, then looked up at the ceiling and said, “Twilight, wherever you are, please contact me again. Please let me know that you’re alright.” Then, as she looked down, a tear leaked from each eye and rolled down each cheek. It was going to be another long day.

In the library in Ponyville, within her head, Twilight was still buried in the memories of her friend, whose body was starting to deteriorate in the corner where it lay. The entrance she couldn’t avoid, the fight she couldn’t stop, those last words. And, after that, it almost seemed as though the tantabus had provided her a service by sealing the windows and doorways with those dark force shields. At least this way, she could grieve for her friend in relative peace.

But, that … thing … was still in control. And, there was nothing she could do about it. At least she’d been able to convince that other voice, that nightmare, that tantabus, that sealing all those windows and the door was a good idea. She couldn’t bare the thought of the blood of another friend staining her hooves. But, at the same time, never before had she felt so lonely. She couldn’t talk to her friends, she couldn’t contact the princesses, all the company she had was that tantabus that had taken over her body.

Then, there was the body of her friend. If she’d been in control, if she hadn’t allowed the tantabus to take control, her friend, Lyra, would still be alive. And, all she could hope for was that her friend could forgive her for what she’d allowed to happen. And, it didn’t help that the tantabus was continually reminding her that those outside the library wouldn’t want to be friends with a murderer, wouldn’t want to be friends with a pony that would rather be their enemy. She was a monster now, and she had to accept that.

Those thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by the voice of Minuet calling out, “Please, Twilight, you have to let us in so we can talk to you! We have to get you out of there! And, we know that Lyra’s dead in there! We need to get her buried!”

Well, they did know that Lyra hadn’t come out of the library, and they had seen Twilight attack her. But, did that mean they knew that she was dead? No, they wouldn’t know that until they came in here and saw for themselves. The windows and doors were still blocked off by the tantabus’ shields.

But, that didn’t mean that Twilight had no influence over the situation. She might not be in control of her body anymore, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything.

The purple alicorn, addressing the other voice, said, “Tantabus, you know what, I’m beginning to think I might’ve been wrong in fighting against you.”

For a moment the tantabus was silent. Then, he asked, “How do I know that you aren’t just saying what I want to hear from you, huh?” After a few seconds, he continued, “You know, come to think of it, all these shields are keeping me from my objective of destroying your friends. I should let them in, maybe take them hostage. Then I could kill them at my leisure.”

Twilight replied, “I suppose you could. But, why just capture the pawns when you can have the king and queen?”

If the purple alicorn’s experience with the tantabus had been uncomfortable before, it became torturous to her when he approached her and said, “I’m listening.”

Twilight tried unsuccessfully to push the unpleasant feeling aside before she said, “Y-you could l-let m-my f-friends …”

Impatiently, the tantabus asked, “Yes? What about your friends?”

Twilight swallowed hard and cleared her throat before continuing, “You could let them take you to Canterlot Castle. Then, you could kill both Luna and Celestia.”

For a moment the tantabus hummed in interest. Then he cackled as he said, “Kill the princesses that control the sun and the moon?” And again he cackled.

Twilight chuckled nervously before saying, “That’s right. All you have to do is let my friends in, and let them take you captive.”

Presently and suspiciously, the tantabus said, “Take me captive?”

Twilight continued, “Just long enough for them to take you to Canterlot Castle. Then you could break free, as soon as you’re in their presence, and kill them.”

The tantabus pointed out, “But, this is your body.”

Twilight responded, “But, you’re the one in control, not me.”

The tantabus stated, “If anypony is going to be taken captive, it’s going to be you. In the mean time, I think it’s time for me to accept some visitors.” And, as Twilight watched, the shield in front of the door faded and disappeared, at which point the tantabus, using Twilight’s mouth, said, “Very well. You may come in.”

The six visitors, momentarily confused, looked at each other.

Then, the first to enter, Pinkie Pie, taking her first steps into the library, focused on her purple alicorn friend and said, “Hi, Twily. Long … time … no … see.” She trailed off as she started noticing the smell. She looked around to see the body of the pale-green unicorn in the corner between two book shelves, head cracked open, lying in a puddle of her blood. Immediately she turned away from the corpse and back to the purple alicorn and, covering her mouth and shaking her head, whimpered, “Oh, Twily, why?” And, she started to sob.

The next to enter was Minuet, who said, “Now, everypony, just keep focused on Twilight. We can take care of Lyra’s remains when we’ve taken Twilight into custody.”

At this point, the purple alicorn showed her first signs of life by pointing her horn at the pink earth pony, then leaping at her, stabbing Pinkie Pie through her chest. Then, with a neck thrust, she tossed the hapless pink earth mare behind her.

Pinkie hit her back on the edge of the second floor, then landed hard on her face on the first, and moved no more.

Seeing this, Rainbow Dash tackled Twilight hard on her available side, causing her to fall onto her other side.

Seeing her friend immobilized, Minuet used her magic to suspend the furious pegasa and pull her away from her target.

Rainbow Dash then turned her fury on the blue unicorn and growled, “Minuet, what’re you doing? Twilight just murdered Pinkie Pie!”

Minuet levitated the rainbow-haired pegasa to her and added, “And, you knocked Twilight unconscious.” She then sighed before continuing, “I know how you feel. Pinkie was also my friend. And, when we come back, we’ll give her an appropriate funeral. But, right now, we have other things to worry about.” She then turned her attention to the other three element bearers and said, “Now, we’ve gotta make sure Twilight’s secure. Whoever has a rope, tie Twilight’s legs with it. I’ll see about restraining her magical abilities, although I don’t know how successful I’ll be at it.”

Then, a male voice from the purple alicorn mare said, “You don’t need to worry. I just have some questions that need to be answered.”

Applejack, after finding a rope, turned to the purple alicorn and, rope in mouth, said, “Ya always had yer books ta git the answers y’all needed. Couldn’t y’all look in them?”

Twilight rose to all fours again, turned to the orange earth mare, shook her head, and answered, “Not for these answers. I need to know if there is such a thing as a connection between friendship and magic. And, for that I need a sign. And, for a sign, I need the princesses.”

At this statement from the purple alicorn, Applejack grunted in angry frustration before saying, “Why would y’all need a thing like that? You know as well as we do, we’ve proven it a hundred times, that friendship and magic are the same thang. How can y’all doubt whatcha know?”

Twilight started marching toward her earth pony friend, intruding on her personal space and causing her to back away, as she said, “Do I? Do I really? Then why have I never gotten a sign from the princesses themselves? Why have they never shown me proof of this supposed magic of friendship, huh?” Then, when Applejack was up against the book case behind her and had dropped the rope in surprise and alarm, Twilight stopped; then she turned away from the orange earth mare and toward the doorway and said, “Once I get a sign from the two alicorn sisters that friendship is indeed magic, then I’ll believe. So, let’s go. We have no more time to waste.” And, she proceeded out the door.

It took several minutes, as well as demands from the impatient, suddenly masculine-voiced Twilight Sparkle, before the remaining element bearers, as well as Minuet, left the library, and with it the bodies of Lyra and Pinkie Pie.

And, when everypony was out of the library, Twilight used her magic to produce the shield in front of the door once again. And, after that, she lead the group to the train station to ride the train to Canterlot and see the alicorn sisters at the castle.

In the mean time, within her head, Twilight said to the other voice, “You really didn’t need to kill Pinkie Pie, you know.”

The tantabus replied, “Well, I had to make it look good, didn’t I?”

Twilight added, “And, why didn’t you let yourself get captured?”

For a moment the tantabus was silent. Then, he asked in response, “You really need to ask?” He then chuckled as he said, “I’ve had to make adjustments to step six, but it is complete now. And, thanks to you, I can destroy the two princesses as well.” And, his chuckling turned to cackling.

At this point, Twilight could only think to herself, Oh, princesses, please forgive me for doing this.

Chapter 8: No More Sparkle

In a flash of light, the daytime alicorn appeared in the room between the nighttime one and her student. Facing her little sister, she asked, “Luna, what’s wrong?” And, before Princess Luna could answer her, she found herself caught in a dark-purple aura, which threatened to strangle her.

The aura turned the daytime princess away from her sister and toward her attacker, then levitated her high into the air and thrust her against a nearby wall.

The nighttime alicorn, seeing her older sister in danger, turned from her visitors to the daytime alicorn and, reaching for her older sister with a forelimb, said, “Sister, no.”

At that point, Princess Celestia focused on her sister and said, “L-luna, g-go g-get M-moon D-dancer. H-h-hurry.”

The nighttime princess hesitated for only a second before nodding to her sister, then disappeared from the room.

In the recesses of her mind, Twilight asked the tantabus, “Tell me, really, why do you want to do this to us?”

The tantabus answered, “Look, and see for yourself.”

Not really trusting anything the nightmare would likely show her, still the spirit of the purple alicorn looked through the eyes of her body, at the daytime alicorn, and saw the writhing, slimy red vines reaching out from her hooves and her horn.

The tantabus then said, “Now do you see? The reason why there is no more magic in friendship is because of your mentor, Princess Celestia. If I can kill her, then half of the problem is solved.”

Twilight couldn’t turn away from what the tantabus was showing her, her beloved mentor which the nightmare was trying to pass off as a monstrosity. And, while the tantabus released adrenaline into his host's body, and tried to connect the release to the image he was generating, Twilight was having a very different reaction. Instead of fear, she felt fury at the nightmare spirit trying to portray her mentor that way. Turning to the tantabus, she said, "Really? I know that you've been lying to me all this time. Do you seriously think I'll believe any image you show me?"

The tantabus responded, "What do you think? You were weak and stupid enough to let me take you over. And, what makes you think I wouldn't be truthful to you now? And, besides, weren't you the one that was questioning your beliefs when you couldn't get your wings to work?"

Twilight didn't need the reminder at that point. She knew what she had done wrong. She answered calmly, "Yes, I did question my beliefs then. And, I know I was wrong to do so." Then, louder and with a little more force to her voice, she continued, "But, you told me you were a messenger between me and the princesses. You showed me that vision of the two of them telling me that Luna couldn't find the link between friendship and magic. If I'd known then what I know now about you, I would never have listened to you."

The tantabus cackled, then said, "Yeah, like that matters to me now. What matters is that I control you, and that means I control magic. And, once I get rid of you and your friends, including the princesses, there will be no more ponies to invade my home." And he cackled some more.

Presently, Twilight said, "You realize that what you call home was once the home of ponies, right? The Castle of the Two Sisters?"

The tantabus answered, "That was a thousand years ago. After Princess Luna was banished to the moon, your daytime princess and the other ponies that lived in the castle abandoned it; and we tantabi took it over. So, that 'Castle of the Two Sisters' no longer belongs to you. It belongs to us tantabi."

Twilight scoffed, then said, "Yeah, as you're so fond of saying, we shall see about that."

The tantabus said nothing in response, just went back to torturing the white alicorn.

In a house that was falling into disrepair, a butter-colored unicorn mare with mane and tail of slightly-yellowish-red, each with a strip of two shades of purple, and a cutie mark of a crescent moon and three four-point starbursts, adjusted her glasses as she read, or tried to read, through a book about some kind of magic, or maybe it was about animals. At the moment it didn’t matter that much to her.

Since that day a year ago, she’d always remembered with fury that party she’d thrown, feeling betrayed that her closest friend, Twilight Sparkle, had moved away instead of attending the little festival with her. But, for some reason, probably because it was the anniversary of the event, that evening, the memory had come even stronger than ever. And, with it, her feelings of betrayal and anger over somepony she’d thought was her friend. And, so strong was that memory that she was having trouble focusing on anything else, really. And, that’s why she was reading, to try to get that memory out of her mind.

How long she’d sat there at her desk, trying to push that memory away so she could get her mind on her book, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was suddenly there was a knock at her front door. Well, she wasn’t able to focus anyway, so she might as well go see who’s knocking.

She passed a mirror and noticed a few strands of her mane had escaped from where she’d tied it. On the other hoof, her dark-gray sweater, which she’d taken to wearing to keep her warm over the past year, remained about as comfortable as it had always been. And, while she couldn’t say it was the best thing she had to wear, it still fit her mood.

While she was thus looking in the mirror, again she heard knocking at her front door. So, pulling her attention away from the mirror, she ambled into the hallway to the door, then used her magic to open it. Before she could get a good look at her visitor, she grumbled, “Yeah, what is it?”

The voice that answered, “Are you Moon Dancer?” had an authoritative tone to it. And, it sounded familiar to the unicorn mare, although she couldn’t understand why. Not until she turned to the doorway and saw who was there. Then, when she realized who she’d grumbled to, she took a step back in surprise and said, “Oh, Princess Luna, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

Moon Dancer continued to back into the hallway as the nighttime princess lowered her head and entered through the door, then closed it behind her with her magic. She then raised her head again and said, “We hope we are not disturbing thee.”

Moon Dancer, as soon as she saw that Princess Luna was no longer approaching her, stopped in her place and answered, “Oh, no, Princess, uh, of course not. Uh, please, will you come in?”

The nighttime alicorn snickered a little as she answered, “We are already in.”

The butter-colored unicorn chuckled nervously before saying, “Oh, yeah, that’s right.” She then cleared her throat and asked, “So, what can I do for you?”

Suddenly taking a very serious tone, Princess Luna answered, “Thou art needed at the castle. Thy friend, Twilight Sparkle, is in trouble.”

Moon Dancer scoffed, then looked down and said, “Some friend she is. She probably deserves what she’s getting.”

The navy-blue alicorn lowered her head to her target’s level before saying, “Nay, Moon Dancer, not this kind of trouble.”

The unicorn mare groaned and asked, “So, what’s she gotten herself into this time?”

The nighttime princess settled into a sphinx-style position before sighing and saying, “She’s been possessed by an evil spirit, and calls herself Nightmare Mage.” She watched Moon Dancer’s face start to soften from anger to fear, then continued, “When we were possessed by a similar spirit, we became Nightmare Moon. We had no friends to come to our rescue, and not even our sister could help us. So, she had to exile us to the moon for a thousand years. Then, when we came back, at our old home, Twilight Sparkle, your friend, came and freed us from our possession. We fear that, if we cannot get your help, Twilight Sparkle, who calls herself Nightmare Mage, will have to be exiled from Equestria as we were, perhaps to the moon, perhaps some other planet, but certainly for a thousand years. We need thy help. Wilt thou come with us and free thy friend?”

Moon Dancer opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t find the words. The mare that had abandoned her instead of coming to her party needed her help?

The butter-colored mare turned away from her visitor, not knowing what to make of the emotions that were flowing through her. As much as she wanted Twilight to suffer for what she’d done, what Princess Luna had described to her was not what she had in mind. But, at the same time, how could she set aside her feelings of betrayal and abandonment and come to Twilight’s rescue? Was it even possible?

With a front hoof, Princess Luna reached out to her, then said, “We know not how much time is left. Twilight Sparkle is no longer qualified to bear the element of magic, so that right must fall to another. We hope that thou wilt accept that right. Nightmare Mage has threatened to kill our sister and us, and we know not but that our sister is now dead. We, our sister, and all of Equestria, need thy help.”

Of all the declarations she might have expected to hear, being needed wasn’t one of them. And, it was coming from Princess Luna. But, it involved Twilight, who she had begun to see as an enemy. Could she, should she, take the reigns of an enemy, even if it meant serving the two princesses?

Then, Princess Luna rose and said, “The reason why Twilight couldn’t come to thy party was because we needed her help, and she chose to stay there to learn more about friendship. As we said before, we were possessed by an evil spirit; and, if it had not been for Twilight and her friends there in Ponyville, we would still be Nightmare Moon. And, if that had been the case, all of Equestria would be in eternal night right now. And, that would have included thee. We would not have permitted thy party. But, we are here now, Princess Luna and not Nightmare Moon, requesting that thou come and rescue thy friend, who hast done thee, and all of Equestria, a great service. Wilt thou come with us to the castle?”

This was a possibility that had never occurred to Moon Dancer. All this time, she’d felt betrayed, abandoned, by one she’d considered to be her best friend, up until then. Now, on this night, on this anniversary of that party that she now realized Twilight couldn’t attend, Moon Dancer learned that the purple unicorn, the purple alicorn, was a friend after all, and not an enemy.

This time, when she turned to her visitor, tears were leaking from the trembling eyes of the butter-colored unicorn. She opened her mouth again, but still couldn’t find the words, couldn’t even find her voice. So, she swallowed hard and cleared her throat before making another attempt. This time, she was able to squeak out, “She’s a friend?”

Princess Luna simply nodded.

Moon Dancer felt as though her house, her world, were crumbling around her, ready to collapse on and crush her. All she thought she knew about Twilight Sparkle had proven to be wrong. And, Princess Luna was her witness.

The butter-colored mare collapsed into a canine-style position, looked down at the ground, and started whimpering. All that time she’d spent being angry with Twilight Sparkle, and the purple unicorn-turned-alicorn didn’t deserve any of it. In fact, Twilight had proven to be more of a friend than Moon Dancer could’ve imagined.

Again Princess Luna asked, “Wilt thou come?”

The melting, trembling mare that was Moon Dancer slowly looked up at Princess Luna, and said nothing, just slowly and shakily nodded once.

The nighttime alicorn nodded in return, then said, “Then we shall take thee there.” And, with that, she used her magic to open the door behind her, then backed out of the small house. She then used her magic to pick up the weeping unicorn and move her onto her back. Then, after using her magic to close the door again, the nighttime princess closed her eyes and focused. In a dim flash of light, the unicorn and the alicorn were back at the castle.

In the mean time, back in the throne room, Princess Celestia asked her former student, “Princess Twilight, what happened to you?”

The purple alicorn tightened her magical grip on her mentor’s throat and said, “Not Twilight, remember? My name is Nightmare Mage!”

Applejack approached the bearer of magic and said, “Alright, Nightmare Mage.” Then, putting a front hoof on her friend’s shoulder, she plead, “But, please, let Princess Celestia go. We don’t know what came over you, we don’t know what happened to you, but we do know this ain’t you. You’re our friend; and if we’ve neglected you in any way, please, forgive us.”

With slow, unnatural smoothness, Twilight turned her head to the orange earth mare. Twitching erratically, she said, “Neglected. Neglected!” The purple alicorn then released her hold on the white one before using her magic on the earth mare, raising her high above the ground by her throat, and saying, “My only problem with you is that you still exist, and you refuse to leave me alone, you stupid mud horse. Laughter is dead. I control magic. And now, I will do away with honesty.”

It was at that moment that Princess Luna appeared with Moon Dancer on her back.

The first thing the nighttime alicorn saw as she looked around was her sister unsteadily rising to her hooves and struggling to breath again. When she approached her big sister, the white alicorn mouthed the words, “The elements. Get the elements.”

Instantly understanding, again Princess Luna, after carefully moving her rider from her back, nodded again, then disappeared from the room, taking the bearer of generosity with her.

With her little sister once again out of harm’s way, Princess Celestia proceeded to use her magic to wrestle the orange earth mare from the magical grasp of her former student.

When Princess Luna and Rarity appeared inside the Ponyville library, Rarity assumed that the magic of the alicorns of day and night must be more powerful than that of Twilight, who hadn’t lived as long as they had.

The nighttime alicorn looked around and saw the body of the pink party pony first. Centering her attention on the cadaver, she ambled to it, flared out her wings, and said, “Oh, Pinkie, no.”

As Rarity proceeded to search for the small chest containing the elemental regalia, she said, “Pinkie was Twilight’s second victim. She killed Lyra first.”

This news snapped the navy-blue princess from her grief over the fate of the bearer of the element of laughter, at least long enough for her to include one of Twilight’s friends from school. Looking past the white unicorn and seeing the body of the pale-green one, she said, “This is far worse than we had suspected. We know not if Twilight can be salvaged now.”

Rarity turned to the nighttime alicorn and said, “Princess Luna, if we are to save Equestria from this monster that has possessed Twilight, then we must get to work and find the elements as soon as possible.”

The navy-blue alicorn shook herself out before saying, “Thou art correct, Rarity. We can grieve for Twilight and those she killed when we have freed her from the nightmare that possesseth her.”

At this point, Rarity paused long enough to look at the nighttime alicorn and say, “I understand how you feel. Pinkie was a friend of mine long before Twilight moved here to Ponyville, long before the six of us freed you from being Nightmare Moon. It’s … hard for us, all of us, to understand how Twilight could’ve allowed this to happen, how she’d could’ve done what she did. As one of her closest friends, I, for one, being a unicorn like Twilight was, wish I could’ve seen this coming. Maybe I did, and I ignored the signs. I don’t blame you for what happened, I blame myself.”

Princess Luna approached the white unicorn and said, “We know not who is to blame, but we know that it is neither thee nor us.”

Rarity stomped a front hoof on the floor and demanded, “Well, if it isn’t me, then who is to blame, huh?” She then dropped into a canine-style position; put a hoof to her mouth, the one she’d stomped on the floor; and, sorrowfully and more quietly, asked, “Who is?”

The nighttime princess had taken a step back at first, surprised by the white unicorn’s outburst. Then, after Rarity settled down, she approached her and, resting a front hoof on her back, said, “We know not. But, we have no time for that matter right now. We must find the elements, and then we can use them to stop Twilight before she can hurt anypony else.”

It took a moment for Rarity to get a hold of her emotions again. And, when she did, she rose to all fours again and said, “You’re right, Princess Luna. None of us can afford to find or hold blame while a friend of ours is in trouble. We shall free her first.” She then approached a display case with the elemental decorations inside it and, pointing to it, said, “Ever since Princess Celestia gave her the elements, Twilight kept them in here so they'd be safe.”

Princess Luna used her magic to remove the protective cover, then test the necklaces and tiara. When she was satisfied, she grasped the symbolic regalia with her magic, then closed her eyes and bowed her head. One second later, her horn started to glow and sparkle, and a second after that she disappeared along with Rarity and the elemental regalia.

Back in the throne room of the castle, Princess Celestia had managed to free Applejack from Nightmare Mage’s grasp and sent Rainbow Dash to fetch Cheese Sandwich from a nearby room.

The grateful orange earth mare, once free, had informed the daytime alicorn of her former student’s desire for a sign of the connection between magic and friendship.

It was during the time of Princess Celestia’s speech to her student that Princess Luna and Rarity reappeared.

Princess Celestia was saying, “Haven’t you had enough signs of friendship being magic? You freed my sister from her curse. Wasn’t that enough? You and your friends defeated Discord using the magic of friendship, and Fluttershy later reformed him. Isn’t that enough of a sign? And, what about driving out the changelings? Surely that was a sign of friendship being magic. And then, there are your wings, which you couldn’t have gotten if you hadn’t understood the magic of friendship better than my former mentor, Starswirl the Bearded, did.”

At this point, Nightmare Mage screamed out, “Silence, you glorified mutt! Discord was weak! Starswirl was weak! The changelings, are they ever weak! All of you are weaklings compared to me!”

Even though she was present, and every pony in the room knew it, still it was a surprise to them when they heard Princess Luna say, “Thou wouldest like us to think so, wouldest thou not?” And, as the attention of all the ponies in the room turned to the nighttime princess, she continued, “The truth of the matter is that the tantabus is the weak one. The only way a tantabus can gain control of somepony is to make him or her believe he or she is weak and stupid, is that not so? And, once a pony believes such a lie, and lowers his or her defenses, then the tantabus can take over with no opposition. We know because we were controlled by a tantabus. If we’d had friends who cared for us as much as thine care for thee, Twilight, we would not have had to spend a thousand years on the moon. But, what is past is past. Thou hast friends, dear Twilight; and they are here to help thee.”

It was at this time that Rainbow Dash and Cheese Sandwich entered the throne room and approached the nighttime alicorn, along with Moon Dancer and Rarity.

In the mean time, Nightmare Mage cackled and said, “Oh, really? Aren’t you forgetting something? Without me, Twilight has no voice and no tongue. If you get rid of me, Twilight will never speak again. And, what about laughter, and magic?”

At that point, Cheese Sandwich took a few steps toward Nightmare Mage and said, “I came here because my Cheesy sense had told me there was a party that needed saving. I later learned … that Pinkie had died, … and I was going to carry on the element of laughter since she couldn’t. And, for her sake, I will gladly do that. This is the party I was meant to save.”

Moon Dancer ambled up next to the dark-orange stallion and said, “Princess Luna explained to me that it's because of you, Twilight, that Equestria still has both night and day. And, that is more important than the party I threw. Thanks to you, Twilight, I can still throw a party, any party I want; and I still have the chance to make friends. I’d thought, because you hadn’t come to the party I threw, that we were no longer friends. But, now I know that you … are the best friend I could ever have. Thank you, Twilight, thank you.”

One thing that hadn’t occurred to the tantabus was the possibility that the elements of harmony could be passed on to others. But, as much of a surprise as that was, still, he spoke out and said, “It matters not. I still hold magic in my grasp, and you’ll have to take it from me by force if you really want it.”

Now, Princess Celestia approached the possessed Twilight and said, “Sadly, Twilight no longer qualifies to bear an element of harmony. But, I know her. If she could give the element up willingly, then she would. But, she cannot. So, if it must be by force, then so it shall be.” She then turned to her sister and asked, “Luna, will you come and restrain Nightmare Mage?”

Suddenly, the tantabus realized what a foolish mistake he’d made. How many times had he been told, never to march into the middle of enemy territory and declare war. And, that’s precisely what he’d done.

Backing away from the two alicorns, Nightmare Mage stammered, “W-wait, y-you don’t understand. Th-this isn’t how it w-was supposed to happen. I-I-I’d made these plans so c-carefully, and I was s-supposed to w-win.” Then, the tantabus cried out, “Why couldn’t I destroy you?”

As Princess Luna used her magic to levitate and immobilize Nightmare Mage, Princess Luna answered, “Thou understandest not the magic of friendship. If thou hadst, thou wouldst not have even wanted to kill us, nor our sister.”

Princess Celestia then approached the tantabus-possessed Twilight Sparkle and touched her head with her horn. Then, after a spark seemed to leap from Nightmare Mage to Princess Celestia’s horn, the white alicorn backed away from her, then turned to her sister and nodded for her to set Nightmare Mage on her hooves again. As the white princess approached Moon Dancer, she turned to Nightmare Mage and said, “Now, Twilight, since you want a sign of the magic of friendship, let this be it.” And, she touched her horn to Moon Dancer’s head.

The butter-colored unicorn closed her eyes and bowed slightly to receive the right to bare the element of magic, then opened her eyes again once she had received that right. Afterwards, as she and Cheese Sandwich were joined by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack, forming a circle, she looked at her friend and said, “For your sake, Twilight, and the gift you gave me, th-the gift you gave all of Equestria, I now give you this gift.” And, her eyes started to glow white.

Cheese Sandwich looked upward and said, smiling, “Pinkie Pie, I do this for you.” And, as he focused on the purple alicorn again, his eyes started to glow white.

Rarity took a few steps until she was a little ahead of the first stallion element bearer and said, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there for you when you needed me the most. But, I’m here for you now.” And, her eyes started to glow white.

Rainbow Dash took a few steps until she was next to the new bearer of the element of magic, then said, “Twilight, you may not be an element bearer anymore; but I want you to know, if you ever need me again, just call for me, and I’ll be there.” And, her eyes started to glow white.

Applejack took the steps that brought her up next to the rainbow-haired pegasa, then said, “Twilight, Ah know it weren’t you that tried to kill me. It were the tantabus. So, Ah forgive y’all.” And, her eyes started to glow white.

Last of all, Fluttershy walked up next to Applejack, opposite Rainbow Dash, and said, “If my last act of kindness to you is to free you from this tantabus, then, Twilight, that’s what I’ll do.” And, her eyes started to glow white.

The six rose into the air; and the light of their coats formed a rainbow that shone above them, arched, and lowered, descending onto a fear-paralyzed Nightmare Mage.

Suddenly unable to control the purple alicorn’s body, the tantabus cried out, “No! I was winning!” And, as the rainbow finally fell on him, he repeated the words, “I WAS WINNING!” Then, baptized in the colors of the six friends, suddenly the tantabus found itself separated from the body of his host.

Princess Celestia approached the black will-o-wisp, which was now stripped of the pony body, and said, “Now, tantabus, return to the Everfree forest, and bother the element bearers no more. But, know this: The bearers of the elements of harmony, from this time and forever, have full rights to visit the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters whenever they want it.”

The tantabus stayed only long enough to puff out in a weak explosion, then flew off through the nearest window.

Once the new team of element bearers was settled on the floor again, Applejack approached the purple alicorn and, putting a front hoof on the shoulder she could reach, asked, “So, Twilight, do y’all have the sign yeh was a’lookin’ fer?”

It took a moment for Twilight to assess all the damage that had been done to her body by the tantabus, and see how much of her body she could control. Then, she used her magic to search for a quill and something to write on.

Princess Luna took action immediately, providing the purple alicorn with the writing equipment she was looking for.

After accepting the quill and parchment from the nighttime princess with a grateful nod, the purple alicorn spent a few minutes writing on the parchment with the pen. When she was finished, she returned the equipment to Princess Luna, then turned one hundred eighty degrees and started ambling toward the exit of the throne room.

Princess Celestia turned to her sister and asked, “What did Twilight write?”

The nighttime alicorn read the letter silently to herself, providing Twilight with enough time to leave the room, before handing the parchment to her older sister.

At first, the daytime princess read the letter silently to herself, as her little sister had done. Then, after prodding from the element bearers, she read aloud:

Dear Princess Celestia:

Over the past week, I’ve learned that it’s never a wise move to question what I know to be true. After the ease with which I flew when I first got my wings, I was struggling with it so much the day afterwards, I started to question why I was given them. "If there really is magic in friendship," I had wondered to myself, "why, after being able to use these wings so easily the first day, must it be so difficult for me to use them now?" I think that was my mistake, asking such a question.

The tantabus must’ve seen his opportunity to strike, seeing me question my beliefs the way I did.

A week ago, I got what I thought was a visit from you and your sister, Luna, who told me that, after running experiments with magic and experiments with friendship, had been unable to find a connection between the two. After all my experiences, what I heard didn’t make sense, and I knew it couldn’t be true. But, in the vision, you seemed so certain. I should’ve known then that it wasn’t really you two. But, I’d never had experience with a tantabus before; and you'd never given me reason to question you. So, I didn’t question the vision.

Then, the tantabus supported that first lie with more of them, saying that he was going to be the messenger between you and me while you searched for the missing connection. I should’ve known that supposed messenger was lying to me, because none of what he’d said made any sense, not after all I knew about friendship and magic. And, the more he said to me, the less it made sense.

Then, he took over my body and destroyed my larynx and tongue so I wouldn’t be able to speak; and he said he’d speak for me. He was the one that killed Lyra and Pinkie Pie, but it was in my body. If I hadn’t questioned what I knew was right, then I wouldn’t have gotten so deeply into this mess, and had to be bailed out by everypony.

Again, I thank you for what you did; and I’m sorry for what I did, what I allowed to happen. I don’t know if I can ever make up for my errors in judgment, but I do know I can’t stay here in Canterlot, nor will I be returning to Ponyville. I know I will never have my voice again, but I suppose I deserve that for all I did, all I allowed to happen.

Moon Dancer, thank you for coming to my rescue. I’m glad you were able to see past me abandoning you, and were able to come and help me out. Please remember my example, and never question what you know to be true. And, please take care of my other friends, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, as well as your new friend, Cheese Sandwich.

And, speaking of Cheese Sandwich, I know that Pinkie Pie forgives me, and I’m glad she could find you so that you could take over for her. She’s proven as much of a friend to you as she was to me. I won’t be there to attend her funeral, nor the funeral of my friend Lyra; but I won’t forget the effect they had on my life.

Rarity, Applejack, the fault for what happened lies with me, not you. I’m the one that questioned what I know is true. I’m the one that allowed myself to become possessed by that lying tantabus. And, I’m the one that will leave and never return. I cannot forgive you, either of you, because neither of you ever lost my trust.

So, this is the lesson I learned through this whole ordeal. I just wish it hadn’t come at such a cost. Please, my friends, don’t come searching for me. I will leave, never to return. I betrayed you, so if anypony needs forgiving, it’s me.

Faithful student of Princess Celestia, former bearer of the element of magic, fallen alicorn princess,

Twilight Sparkle

After that, Princess Celestia released the letter from her magic, allowing it to fall onto the floor.

For a few moments the group of eight ponies stood or sat there in the throne room. The ordeal was over. And, soon would come the time for cleanup.

Chapter 9: Life Goes On

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Chapter 7: Between Day and Night

Twilight had yet to understand how the tantabus that was possessing her body was doing it. All she knew was, whenever she looked through her eyes at various houses, she saw those writhing, slimy, red vines growing over practically every building in Ponyville. And, worse than that, every pony that would walk by one of those houses would be attacked by those vines, and wouldn’t see them, wouldn’t even bother looking at them. Could they not see them at all, or just not the way she was seeing them? The worst part was, when a vine stabbed a pony, as it did to every pony that came too close, the pony’s skin would peel away, revealing a sickly-green, pony-like creature that might or might not still be alive. It still walked, just not with the intelligence it had before. And, she seemed to be the only one that saw it.

Knowing that she was the only one who could see those wriggling vines, and what they appeared to be doing to ponies that walked past them, she deduced that those vines couldn't be real, and that it had to be the tantabus that was producing illusions. But, not being in control of her body anymore, as much as she wanted to let somepony, anypony, know what was happening to her, she knew she couldn’t. At least, not directly. But, she could only hope that a friend of hers already knew. But, then again, maybe that’s why the tantabus killed Pinkie Pie, because she was sensing him somehow and already knew. Well, if she was going to get a message to somepony, it’d have to be one of the sister alicorns. She was heading for Canterlot Castle, so she could wait.

In the mean time, she waited at the train station, along with that tantabus which was in control of her body, while her friend Rarity purchased the tickets for her and her other three remaining friends.

Then there was Rainbow Dash, who was sitting canine-style near the edge of the platform, glaring at her. And, the fact that the azure pegasa wasn’t attacking Twilight seemed to her a testament to the amount of self-control she was exercising. After all, Twilight, in the azure pegasa’s eyes, had killed Pinkie Pie.

It could be that part of the reason why Rainbow Dash was exercising so much self-control was because Fluttershy was resting sphinx-style between her fellow pegasa and the possessed purple alicorn.

Then again, the only reason why the tantabus wasn’t killing anymore of the element bearers was because he was waiting for the opportunity to kill the sister princesses. If they knew about the tantabus’ plans, would the bearer of the element of kindness be so willing to restrain her fellow pegasa, or would she also be out to kill the purple alicorn? The thought that the right answer to that question would be the latter option was at the same time frightening and comforting to Twilight. How she hoped to be free of this nightmare that was holding her captive.

If there was one thing that could be counted on about trains in Equestria, it was that they generally arrived in a very short time. And, thus it was with this train.

When the train came to a complete stop at the station, the tantabus-possessed Twilight lead the team of element bearers on board, then chose the bench closest to the door she entered and took a canine-style position on it closest to the window.

The other four element bearers sat around her, Rarity next to her, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy in the opposing bench, and Applejack in the bench behind the two pegasae.

And, it wasn’t until the train started to move when the orange earth mare looked at the purple alicorn and noticed something about her mouth. Pushing between the two pegasae, she asked, “Twilight, could you open your mouth, please?”

Twilight answered, “I see no reason why I should do what you want me to, mud horse.”

What Twilight said to Applejack wasn’t as important to her as what she saw as she watched the purple alicorn’s mouth open and close. And, what she saw confirmed her suspicions. Twilight Sparkle had no tongue.

The orange earth pony backed away and fell off her bench, moaning in fear and surprise.

Fluttershy, hearing her friend behind her, turned to her and asked, “Applejack, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

Applejack pointed a trembling front hoof at the purple alicorn and half-whispered, half-voiced her answer, “Didn’t you see, Twilight don’t got no tongue.”

At this point, the other three element bearers turned to look at Twilight for a second, then turned back to Applejack.

Then, Rainbow Dash scoffed and said, “Of course she’s got a tongue. If she didn’t have one, how could she talk to us?”

As Applejack started shakily getting back up on the bench, she answered, “Ah don’t rightly know. What Ah do know is what Ah saw, and Ah ain’t seed no tongue.”

Seeing how genuine her friend’s fear was, Fluttershy slowly turned to the purple alicorn and asked, “Twilight, will you please open your mouth?”

Twilight continued to look out the window as she snarled, “Ugh, not you too, bird horse.”

Rainbow Dash then turned to the purple alicorn and said, “Hey, there’s no reason to call names. Fluttershy just asked you a question.”

Twilight turned to glare at Rainbow Dash, then turned her glare on Fluttershy. Then, she turned to Rarity and asked, “Yeah, and what about you, huh, needle horse? You wanna see my mouth too?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “Alright then. Everypony have a look inside my mouth!” And, she opened her mouth to an unnatural, uncomfortable width.

Applejack, who had already seen that her alicorn friend had no tongue, closed her eyes and covered them with her front hooves and turned away.

Rainbow Dash, looking into the purple alicorn’s mouth, just sat there in shock.

Fluttershy gasped and covered her mouth with her front hooves.

Rarity gagged, then collapsed.

After a few seconds, Twilight closed her mouth again. But, before turning back to the window again, she said, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to keep a lookout for Canterlot and the castle. The princesses and I have an appointment.”

After a few seconds, Fluttershy snapped out of her stupor of horror and started attending to Rarity, while Rainbow Dash remained frozen.

In the mean time, Applejack uncovered and opened her eyes, then glared at each of the other element bearers and said, “Ah hope you’ll remember this next time. Ah don’t lie.”

And, until the end of the train ride, those were the last words any of the five element bearers said.

In Canterlot, a darkish-orange earth stallion with curly brown hair and a halved, grilled-cheese sandwich for a cutie mark wandered through the streets, intent on finding the party he knew must be here. At least, that’s what his Cheesy Sense had told him the day before. The good news was ponies here were far more polite to him than the ones in Manehattan had been. The bad news was that there was no sign of the party he knew he was supposed to host.

He made his way down a road lined on both sides with houses, but was unable to even find foals playing in any of the yards he saw. At the end of the road, he sighed, turned to the rubber chicken on his back, and said, “Well, Boneless, I don’t know what we’re gonna do. My Cheesy Sense told me that there’s supposed to be a party here, but I can’t find it. Maybe we’re supposed to start one of our own, and other ponies’ll just join in.”

As the lone stallion turned ahead of him to look for a good place for a party, he heard a voice in his right ear, a mare’s squeaky voice, say, “Oh, there you are. I’m glad you could come.”

Instinctively the stallion turned to his right to see who was talking to him. When he couldn’t see the mare, he stumbled backwards a step or two and said, “Wh-who’s there?”

Now, he heard the voice in his left ear giggle before saying, “Don’t I remember you from one of the parties I threw back in Ponyville? And, don’t you remember me?”

The stallion turned to his left, but still couldn’t see anypony. Even more frightened, he stumbled back a few more steps as he said, “I-I-I d-don’t think s-so.”

As though it dawned on her, the mare’s voice said, “Oh, that’s right. You can’t see me this way. Just a moment.” Then, the stallion’s fear turned to shock as a carnation-pink earth mare with curly, electric-pink mane appeared in front of him and said, “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie.”

In initial shock, the stallion fell into a canine-style position as his hind legs gave out under him. Then, it clicked in his mind; and he pointed with a front hoof at the familiar-looking mare and said, “Wait, I recognize you.” Then, as he rose to all fours again, he asked, “Wait, why can I see through you? What happened?”

The spirit of the pink party pony sighed before saying, “It’s kind of a long story. What’s important is you’re needed at the castle. I’ll tell you everything you need to know along the way.” Then, she turned a hundred eighty degrees and started heading along the street, toward the castle.

Uncertainly, the stallion watched this translucent mare turn around in front of him as he said, “Well, alright.” Then, he started following her toward the castle.

Pinkie then turned back to the stallion and said, “I want you to take over bearing the element of laughter, now that I can’t anymore.”

Worriedly, the stallion galloped a bit to catch up to the pink earth mare. When he was next to her, he asked, “Can’t bear the element of laughter anymore? What happened?”

Pinkie lowered her head and said, “I’m not sure how it happened, but Twily got possessed by a nightmare creature from the Everfree forest. She killed her friend Lyra first, then a couple days later she killed me.”

For a moment the stallion froze mid-step before exclaiming, “Killed!” Then, a second later, he forced himself to keep moving, to catch up with the evident spirit of the pink party pony, before saying, “B-but, y-your mane, y-your cutie mark.”

Pinkie looked back at one of her hips and said, “Yeah, one of the things we get to take with us after we die is our cutie mark. I learned that by experience. And, speaking of that, our experiences, our memories, are some of the things we get to keep after we die.”

As the stallion watched the ghost of his foalhood heroine turn to look ahead of her again, he felt feelings of grief rise within him, feelings he’d never learned to contain. He tried to say more, but all he could do was stammer.

Pinkie turned to him again and said, “Right now, I wish I could nuzzle you, or give you any kind of physical comfort. But, my body is back in Ponyville library; so, that’s out of the question. You’re Cheese Sandwich, aren’t you?”

Unable to speak, the stallion just nodded.

Pinkie, having received her answer, looked ahead of her again and said, “Just follow me to the castle, and Princess Celestia will take care of the rest.”

Cheese Sandwich continued to follow the spirit of Pinkie Pie, but couldn’t keep from whimpering as he ambled along.

At the gates of Canterlot Castle, two earth stallion guards watched, spears in hoof, for any possible intruders, when they saw a lone stallion sobbing as he approached them.

One of the guards, a gray stallion on the right side of the gate, seeing the darkish-orange one approaching, took a step toward him and said, “Halt. Who are you, and why are you here?”

The gray stallion then heard the voice of a familiar-sounding mare in his ears say, “This is Cheese Sandwich, and he’s with me.”

Frightened, the gray stallion reared up on his hind legs and stumbled back a step or two. Whinnying in alarm, he fell backwards into a canine-style position.

The other guard, a white stallion, after watching this odd behavior from his companion, asked, “What’s wrong?”

The gray stallion turned to the white one and asked, “You didn’t hear her? The voice of Pinkie Pie?”

In sincere curiosity, the white stallion answered, “No, I didn’t.”

The gray stallion said, “She said that this is Cheese Sandwich, and he’s with her. If I can hear her voice and not see her, then something must’ve gone wrong. You stay here with this Cheese Sandwich, and I’ll go in and talk to Princess Celestia. She needs to know about this.” And, with that, he rose to all fours again, turned to the gate, entered, then proceeded to the throne room to speak with the daytime alicorn.

In the mean time, the white earth stallion guard proceeded to attend to the weeping darkish-orange one there at the gate.

At the train station, Twilight, the first to exit the train, proceeded to march through the station, on her way to the castle.

The two pegasae had no problems keeping up with her; but it was a different story for the unicorn and the earth mare, who found themselves having to gallop to keep up with the impatient purple alicorn.

And, while she made her rapid-paced march, Twilight refused to say anything. She just kept up her march from the train station toward the castle, the tantabus in control, receiving guidance from the spirit that should have been in control of the purple alicorn body.

In the mean time, so hasty was the march to the castle that the other four element bearers had to focus all their energy on keeping up with their purple alicorn friend.

In the room where Princess Celestia received guests, she positioned herself on the platform connecting one flight of stairs leading down to the pathway to the front of the castle, and two other flights, leading up in opposite directions.

From the hallway, two earth pony guards approached on each side of another earth pony, one who had been given little time to come to terms with the death of a foal-hood heroine, and clearly needed more time.

But, he wasn’t going to get more grieving time at the moment, as the daytime princess asked, “You are Cheese Sandwich?”

The darkish-orange earth stallion took a step toward the flight of stairs in front of him and, keeping his head lowered, nodded unsteadily.

The daytime princess continued, “My royal guard has informed me that you said that Pinkie Pie brought you here. Is that true?”

Cheese Sandwich opened his mouth and tried to speak, but was unable to without stammering some more.

The white alicorn turned to her guards and said, “Leave him with me, and return to your duties. I will attend to Cheese Sandwich myself. If Twilight and her friends show up, please take them to the throne room. My sister, Princess Luna, will be waiting for them there.” And, as the two earth stallion guards returned to their positions outside the castle entrance, Princess Celestia used her magic to raise the grieving earth stallion and levitate him over the stairs.

As distraught as Cheese Sandwich was, he was still surprised to find himself flying over the stairs. Then, when he realized it was the alicorn’s magic at work, he allowed, for the moment, his feelings of grief to be replaced by wonder at how he was flying over the stairs.

Then, as soon as he was above that intersection among the stairs, Princess Celestia proceeded up the flight of stairs to her right as she said, “It’s alright, Cheese Sandwich. I will take you to a room where we can discuss the matter that brought you here.”

Cheese Sandwich wasn’t sure if it was the feeling of amazement at flying under another creature’s control, or if it was his residual feelings of sorrow over the news of the death of Pinkie Pie. Maybe it was the combination of the two that was keeping him from being able to speak.

At the entrance to the castle, the two pegasae settled down, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy on Twilight’s right, and, when they managed to catch up to her, Applejack and Rarity on her left.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight stopped her with a glare.

The purple alicorn then turned to the earth pony guards and said, “I have an urgent matter to discuss with both princesses, as soon as possible.”

The two stallions bowed, and the gray one said, “Yes, Princess Twilight.”

As the two rose back to all fours, the white one added, “Follow us, and we shall take you to the throne room.”

As the two guards turned and proceeded to lead the five element bearers into the hallway, she said to them, “Proceed.” And, she followed them until they came to the familiar meeting room with the flights of stairs. And, from there, they turned right and lead the group of five to the throne room.

Princess Luna, who had accepted the request from her sister to wait for their coming guests in the throne room, had been waiting there for a few minutes, enough time to get comfortable in her chair, when the double doors opened, and the two earth stallion guards lead Twilight and four of her five friends through the doors and up the pathway to the two thrones.

As the group of seven stopped short of the steps leading up to the two thrones, the nighttime princess nodded to each of the guards before saying, “You are dismissed.” Then, as the two guards turned and headed back out, Princess Luna turned to the five remaining ponies and said, “Ye are welcome here any time. But, we have questions for you. Where is Pinkie Pie? And, what is this urgent matter that you have with us?”

In a masculine voice, the purple alicorn answered, “I bring you a message about the future.”

The unnatural sound of a stallion’s voice coming from a mare surprised the nighttime alicorn, and she instinctively went into defense mode, rising to all fours and opening her wings to make herself look bigger and more imposing than she was. Still, she was able to keep her voice from betraying her surprise as she asked, “And, what is this message?”

Presently, Twilight burst into black and purple flames, tossing the other element bearers away from her. A purple mist leaked from the back of each of her eyes, and her teeth sharpened, as Twilight said, “You and your sister will not be a part of it.”

If Princess Luna could’ve backed away from this evident threat, she would have. But, with her throne blocking her retreat, there was really no place for her to go. All she could do was stare wide-eyed at the possessed purple alicorn and say, “Oh, mother of me, it’s happening to Twilight now.” Then, she closed her eyes and focused the magic in her horn, sending an urgent message to her sister to come as soon as possible.

Twilight, or the tantabus possessing her, seeing the glow and sparkles coming from the nighttime alicorn’s horn, smiled and said, “Yes, that’s right. Call for your sister. Bring her here. This is the completion of step seven, and soon the sun and the moon will have their freedom from their captors, forever! Then, all of Equestria will feel the wrath of the great, the all-powerful, Nightmare Mage!” And, she, he, cackled long and loud enough to vibrate all the windows in the room.

Chapter 1: The Visit

Author's Note

In the episode "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?" Princess Luna says she created the tantabus so she could punish herself for becoming Nightmare Moon, and for the things she did as such. But, I have some questions for you to consider: What if the tantabus wasn't an original Princess-Luna invention? What if tantabi existed before the princesses? What if it was a tantabus that was responsible for Princess Luna becoming Nightmare Moon, and another was responsible for corrupting King Sombra? And, what if one of them was to target Twilight Sparkle next?

Chapter 1: The Visit

What could only be described by the inhabitants of the Everfree forest as a black floating flame or will-o-wisp started its journey from the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. From there, it floated through the forest until it was between two trees at the edge; and there it peered out, setting its sights(?) on a small village inhabited by ponies.

More times than it had wanted, ponies, most of which had come from this village, had invaded the will-o-wisp’s long-time abode; and the dark spirit had decided it was time to take action against these invaders. But, which of them could it attack, perhaps possess, so that it could destroy these invaders, and keep them, or any other pony for that matter, from invading its home again?

There was the pink pony with neither wings nor horn. That one had this strange, irritating whinny, sometimes accompanied by a snort, that would infect the other five. But, she wasn’t the leader.

There was the other wingless, hornless pony, the orange one. Something in her voice made her unique from the other ponies, and she had this habit of telling things precisely as she saw them. But, once again, she was just a subordinate.

Among the winged ponies, there was a blue one. She, while wanting to join another team, was clearly happy to be part of her present one, and was still just another subordinate.

The other one, the yellow one, unlike the blue one, was very timid. She took care of animals on the edge of the forest, as well as her friends. But still, she didn’t lead the group. Most likely because she was so timid.

Then, there was the white pony with a horn. She seemed obsessed with making cloth coverings for herself and other ponies. And, she was always giving things away. As easily as she could lead a group, she was not the leader among the six invaders.

There was that one pony that had always had a horn, but now had a pair of wings to go with it. Only she could be the leader of the invaders. Only she could make the perfect target. Only she, who was so obsessed with books that she’d invade the ruined castle that the black flame called home just to read more of them, would be the one he could choose to possess so he could destroy the group of six.

The spirit returned to the ruins it called home to consult with another one, one who had successfully seduced an alicorn a thousand years ago, but had been stuck with that alicorn on the moon for that time. Communicating with that other will-o-wisp, he learned how to invade the mind of an alicorn, to carefully modify the alicorn’s thinking until he could take control of it.

It took a few days; but, when the spirit had decided he had learned enough, and had made plans to take over the purple alicorn’s mind, again he proceeded out of the ruins to the edge of the forest. But, he could only watch from the shadows until nightfall. After all, ponies were active during the daytime. And, the spirit’s dark form was a stark contrast to the daylight. It would be too easily detected.

Finally, as the sun set, and ponies returned to their homes and their beds, the black spirit made its way out of the forest and into the village of the ponies, searching until he found the home of the purple, book-obsessed pony with wings and a horn. And, outside the window he waited, until the light in the room was extinguished, and it could put its plan into action.

It had been a week since she’d earned her wings, and the purple alicorn was just getting used to them. She had to wonder about her current predicament. On the first day, she’d had such complete control of her wings, she’d even been able to make an explosion that had produced a star-shaped cloud over Canterlot. So, what had happened to that control? Had her wings suddenly atrophied overnight? One day she was flying all over the place. The next day, she couldn’t hover over the ground to save her life. How could this have happened? Why? And, if these wings were a gift of the magic of friendship, why was she having so much trouble with them?

What a frustrating week it had been. Over and over again she’d crashed. But, at least after that second day, she was getting a little better. But, she was still far from how well she’d done on that first day. Oh, well. She’d just keep on working until she got back there, and hopefully she wouldn’t atrophy again.

And, looking back on the week, she couldn’t ignore how helpful her friends had been. And, she had to wonder to herself, did these new wings mean she could use alicorn magic now? She could use magic anyway, having been a unicorn up until that day when she’d rewritten that spell from an old hero of hers, Starswirl the Bearded. But, was there another change in store for her? Had she reached her full potential?

So many questions, such as these, were running through her mind as she retired to her bed that night, after another day of flying lessons that had interrupted her reorganizing her library home for the umpteenth time since she’d been reassigned to Ponyville; and those lessons felt more like they’d been intended for falling than flying. It took her a few minutes before she was relaxed and comfortable enough to finally fall asleep.

A few seconds later, she awoke, or so it seemed to her, to see the two sister princesses staring at her from just beyond the foot of her bed. Alarmed, and a little disgraced, Twilight jumped up out of her covers. She then sat human-style on her bed and started straightening her mane with her front hooves as she asked, “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, why didn’t you send me word that you were coming?”

The two alicorns looked at each other, then back at Twilight; and the white one answered, “We didn’t want to disturb anypony else. You see, we’ve come with some alarming news.”

Twilight froze for a second, then pulled her front hooves free of her mane and put them under her again, before asking, "What news is that?”

This time, it was Princess Luna who answered, “I have been doing research into friendship and research into magic, and …”

When the nighttime princess trailed off and said no more, Twilight rose to all fours on her bed. Raising a front hoof to reach out to the two princesses, she asked, “And, … what?”

Again the two alicorns looked at each other, then back to Twilight. Then, the nighttime princess took a step toward Twilight and said, “Well, I … haven’t been able to find a connection between the two.”

Twilight Sparkle took a moment to process what Princess Luna had said to her. She, the princess of the moon, had been doing research into magic and research into friendship, and couldn’t find the connection? But, weren’t they the same?

Twilight looked down and started tapping the bedding in front of her with her front hooves, as though she was operating a typewriter or a calculator. She scratched her chin, then did some more tapping, evidently trying to visualize this new information. Finally, she looked up at Princess Luna and, tilting her head, asked skeptically, “Are you sure about that?”

This time, both princesses took a canine-style sitting position in front of Twilight; and Princess Luna said, “I’ve run the tests over and over again, and I haven’t been able to find a connection between magic and friendship.”

Then, Princess Celestia added, “I’m sorry to have to order you to do this. But, until we can explain this new finding, I have to order you to stop your studies regarding the magic of friendship. Please, Twilight, for our sake, and for yours, you have to discontinue your studies on this subject.”

Now, Twilight felt a tear leak from one of her eyes as she said, “B-but, this doesn’t make any sense. I know that friendship is magic. Princess Celestia, if it hadn’t been for the combined magic of my five friends and me, I wouldn’t have been able to free your sister, Luna. It was the magic of friendship that allowed us to defeat Sombra. It was the bond I shared with my friends that allowed me to rewrite Starswirl’s spell; and because of that, I earned my wings. You know as well as I do that friendship is magic.”

At this point, Princess Celestia rose to all fours, pointed a front hoof at her student, and said, “I’m sorry, but you have your orders. Please, do this … for us!” And, with that, as Princess Celestia repeated those last two words, the two sister alicorns drifted away from the purple one. Yet, mysteriously, they remained visible, apparently shrinking until they disappeared after Princess Celestia’s fifth repetition of the words, “for us.”

Watching the two alicorn princesses shrink away, Twilight Sparkle was immobilized; but, she wasn’t sure why. Was it from shock at the news they’d delivered? That was most certainly a factor. Was it because it had been delivered by two ponies, at least one of which she’d looked up to? Most definitely another factor. But, there had to be something else. If she couldn’t study friendship and magic, then what was there left for her to study? She needed answers, and she needed them now. But, her source for those answers was fading away, and she had to do something before they were gone. So, mustering everything she had, she crouched as though to pounce on something, then took a running leap off of her bed.

But, her heroic effort was in vain. The two princesses had disappeared.

In despair, she pointed her head to the ceiling and cried out, “No!”

A split second later, she was sitting up in her bed, panting.

From the main floor, her faithful assistant called out, “Twilight, are you alright up there?”

But, the purple alicorn was unable to answer. She took a few seconds to compose herself again, to slow her breathing, to think about the message the sister alicorns had given her. Could it be true? Was there really no connection between magic and friendship? Could all of her experiences, all of her studies on the subject, have been a lie? But if it were so, why had she never detected it? Why? No, there must be another explanation. Friendship and magic were the same thing, she knew it. She knew it! But, … the two princesses seemed so sure.

With this last thought, another question rose in Twilight’s mind: What was she feeling right now? Was it grief she was feeling? No, that couldn’t be it. After all, nopony had died. Was she feeling sick? She wasn’t nauseated, although she was feeling unusually cold. And, she was also wet, which she attributed to sweating. But, feeling directly under her, the sheet she was sitting on was especially moist, and sticky. Sniffing under her covers, she realized she’d wet and messed herself in her bed. Certainly this was a good reason to feel ashamed, if she wasn’t feeling sick. She was feeling something, she just wasn’t sure what it was.

Eventually, she fell back into her bed, hid herself under her covers, and started sobbing.

With a feeling of mirth, the black spirit thought to himself, Step one: complete.