Moonrise, Moonset

"Tia, I'm scared." "It's okay Lu. Just take my hoof. I promise it's okay. "Your promise?" "I promise Lu."

Everyone held their breath. I most of all. If my cloaking spell wavered for anything more than one second, the approaching Lunar Guards would spot us.

"Did you hear anything?" A menacing and gravely voice asked the darkness.

"I think so." A similar yet more quavering voice responded.

"It's in the castle quadrant, so we should probably alert the Big Boss" The Guard sneered.

"Yeah, it's not like she's already fired up about that sister spotting or anything. Besides, how do we even know this is the Castle Quadrant? We don't even know where the castle is!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. I still say we tell her.

"Fine."

I gulped. My sister already had a word of my return? How was that even possible. When the steps faded, I took a breath and let us all come back to reality.

"Was that a cloaking spell? It must have been a really advanced one. I've only ever studied ones that cloak me or one other!" Twilight exclaimed, in awe.

"Did they really say they didn't even know where the castle is?" Alder asked, shaking a bit. We nodded in the dim horn light.

"But who said that was stoppin' us?" Rainbow Dash asked, adding a flip for emphasis.

'If we're really doin' this, we gotta get to it. Ya heard what them guards said 'bout Princess here already bein' known 'bout." Applejack was still crouching as if defending us.

"I only remember the castle being somewhere in the central East of the forest," I said. Twilight consulted the map.

"Great. That's actually not that far from where we are."

So, with the first real hope, since Alder and I returned, the six ponies led us off into the rabid black yonder.

"And you're sure they were in the Castle quadrant?" Barrel Bolt pleaded, his eyes welling up with terror.

'Sure as my soul." Old Raspy said.

Barrel Bolt raked his dyed hoof over the plume of his polished helmet. Unlike the patrol threstals, he was just a pony. And frankly, their red eyes and bat wings scared him to death. But nothing scared him more than the Queen herself.

"Now, get on and tell her that." Old Raspy spat. Barrel shut my eyes tight and nodded, closing the palace gate behind him.

When he turned around, the rasper was gone and he was left with only one way to go on the obsidian path lined with guards whose eyes stared nowhere but everywhere. He gulped and pushed open the doors to the hulking menace of a castle.

"God I hate my job," he muttered as the guard ponies at the approaching throne room door began to move to their positions.

he closed his eyes. he knew this trail to terror by heart. As a messenger to the Queen, he had to know it. Closing his eyes hardly made the shadow of her presence any more bearable.

"What is it you fool?" Beneath his dark lids, he could imagine the dark Queen leaning in, her fangs glistening.

"Your Queenship, Lunar Guards spotted movement in the Castle Quadrant of the Everfree. They wanted to know if you thought it had any correlation with your, um, sister." He could feel her purple lashes narrow and her milky way mane fan out around her.

"You are dismissed." She growled.

With a small puff of relief, Barrel Bolt stayed true to his name and bolted from the throne room into the pitch of the hall.

Sighing, Nightmare Moon sat brooding on her throne. She cast a small light from her horn and looked at her royal shadow on the ground. Her mane pulsated with her thoughts. With a brisk finality, she turned her magic elsewhere. Sticking the tip of her horn to the tip of her Cutie Mark, she extracted a pulsating piece of galaxy, similar to her mane, and picked it up with her hoof.

"Ah. My dear little inner magic." She chuckled. "I'll just send you to check on things. Or-" Her devil gaze drifted from her bit of self.

"Guards! I shall return shortly." She shouted to the guards by the windows.

Then, with one last sweep of her horn, she transformed herself into the very night that she brought eternally, and leaped onto a wind that carried her over a strange band of travelers in the Everfree Forest.

"Alder, are you alright?" I asked.

"I suppose so. I just wish I could return to the hive." He murmured.

"It's okay. But we're going to put a stop to this night. All eight of us."

"But there are only six elements." he retorted.

"Well don't you worry a bit, I know there will be many ways for everyone to help. After all, back in the day, Equestria ran on friendship. Not just moonlight." I smiled at him as best I could in the fog of darkness. I couldn't be sure of it, but I swore he smiled back.

"Guys! Take yourselves a gander at this!" Applejack whispered from a nearby bush.

Through the bushes, I could see rolling clouds that hung over a gorge. A broken bridge dangled across it in a misshaped manner. But, on the other side, my heart caught in my throat. There it was. My old home may have looked absolutely ancient and crumbling but I still knew every brick by heart just after glancing at it for a minute. In a rush, I spread my wings and bounded across the gorge to the front path where the now lumpy and overgrown grass covered the beautiful cobblestones that my sister and I had laid down.

I heard a small woosh and then a larger one as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash landed beside me and began to retie the ropes of the bridge. But then, A large "CRACK. SNAP. OH, MY HEAVENS!" was heard from across the bridge. In a bolt, Rainbow dash zipped across the canyon and began to kick the mist clouds into oblivion. How loyal of her.

When the clouds were cleared, Fluttershy joined the rest of them on the other side. The bridge was split right in the middle and the ropes were down fraying beyond repair. Before I could offer to fly anpony across, I saw the most amazing thing. Actually, it was many amazing feats of friendship.

First, Twilight Sparkle started to bend over. Her horn glowed bright magenta and her magic began to carry her high into the air. She seemed to be using a self-levitation spell. She was wise beyond her years. Then, Pinkie Pie jumped into the air and started to spin her poofy tail in circles to form some kind of helicopter that bounced her up to Twilight with a giggly sort of whimsy.

"Why did you do that?" Twilight inquired.

"Cuz it makes me laugh, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Then, Rarity shrieked a bit and I heard Applejack chortle.

"How dare you make such fun of me?" Rarity asked her pearly coat flushing pink.

"Cuz I just don't see how ya can't see the truth here. The cavern ain't even that deep! The mist can't shroud the honest truth that easily." Applejack said with a wink.

"Well, in that case," soon, Rarity's pale blue magic was conjuring up stacks and stacks of large boulder-sized rocks from the dark edges of the forest. The shimmering aura around them brought a temporary glow to whatever might be lurking in the shadows. Soon, the boulders were tall enough to make a crude stepping stone structure. "Come now Applejack," Rarity said kindly, "the 'path' will not be able to stay stable for two ponies go-around. I'll have to carry you with my magic."

How generous. At this point, Fluttershy was hovering above the ground on the castle side cheering them on delicately. How kind. Rarity had just landed on our side, and I was about to congratulate them on their friendship when the whole world seemed to end. Again.