Chapters Princess Twilight Sparkle stretched and rolled over, covering her head with her blanket to block out the early morning sun that filtered through her open curtains. She suddenly shot bolt up, the sun was up! How was that possible? The former Princess of the Sun, Celestia had only raised the sun for her twice since she had taken over ruling Equestria, once when she had been down with the flu and couldn't get out of bed, the second time when she had gotten up in the middle of the night to rush to Sweet Apple Acres to comfort Apple Jack when Granny Smith passed away. Both times had been as favors as Twilight couldn't deal with the responsibility at the time.
So how in the world did the sun come up without her, had she really overslept so long that Luna and Celestia took care of setting the moon and raising the sun? That hadn't happened since she came down with that flu.
"Morning sleepyhead," a familiar voice called out as the door squeaked open, "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed whirling around to face her royal advisor, "Why didn't you wake..." she trailed off noticing something quite odd with her oldest and truest friend, "Why are you so small?"
Spike looked down at his stubby legs, before looking up at his friend, "I'm a baby dragon," he pointed out, "I'm supposed to be small."
"But you're grown up now," Twilight insisted, "With wings and everything."
Spike looked carefully at his friend, her hair was sticking up at odd angles and she had a wild, threatened, look in her purple eyes, "Aw, you must have had some wild dream last night."
Twilight however didn't answer, she was too busy staring at herself in the full length mirror, "My wings!" she gasped looking at her sides, "Where are my wings?"
"You've never had wings," Spike insisted, patting her on the side, "You're a Unicorn, not a pegasus."
"I'm supposed to be an Alicorn," Twilight basically yelled, "Remember, I got that unfinished spell from Star Swirled the bearded that messed up my friends' cutie marks and changed their destinies so you helped me set things right, then I finished the spell and became an Alicorn Princess."
"You probably were just dreaming." Spike insisted.
"I was not dreaming," Twilight snapped, she stopped suddenly, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, "Calm down Twilight," she muttered to herself, "This is no time to start Twilighting."
"Since when has your name been a verb?"
"Sometime before Celestia and Luna retired and left me in charge."
"That was some crazy dream." Spike said, "But there is no way Princess Celestia will ever retire, she's been ruling Equestria for over a thousand years."
"It's not a Dream!" Twilight insisted, racing out the door, "Somehow I've been sent back in time to before I moved to Ponyville and met my friends, I need to figure out what happened and get back to my time period."
Twilight was in the library complaining to herself, "Great, Just great, why did I have to go and reorganize the books, I have no idea where anything is, I mean, did Celestia organized alphabetically or by topic?"
"Good morning Twilight," a familiar voice called out behind her as she browsed the bookshelf, "Looking for something?"
"Princess Celestia," Twilight gasped in surprise, seeing her mentor as she used to be, complete with crown, "Yes, I'm looking for information on Time Traveling."
"Time Traveling?" Celestia chuckled, "Only Star Swirled the Bearded..."
"Could go back in time," Twilight interrupted, "I know, but he could only go back a week and only stay for a minute. Even when Starlight rewrote it so she could go back in time to stop Rainbow Dash from completing her first sonic rainboom which prevented all six of us from getting our cutie marks making us to not become friends, but this is different, I'm stuck in my past body."
Celestia nodded softly, "Spike wrote to me and told me about your dream you had, about you becoming the ruler of all of Equestria."
"It's not a dream," Twilight protested, "I'm really am the leader of all Equestria, or..." she stuttered as she noticed her mentor giving her a look, "Or at least I will be in the future, I just need to find a spell to get me back to the future."
Celestia shook her head, "Twilight, have I ever told you about my personal student before you..."
"Sunset Shimmer," Twilight interrupted, "Yeah, you told me about her after she stole my crown, which was the element of magic. She really wanted to be a princess and started studying dark magic in her quest to reach her goal so you expelled her but she jumped through a magical portal to a different land where she tried to use my crown to form an army of brainwashed teenagers to take over Equestria, but I helped stop her with the help of some friends. I helped her make friends and now she's married and has three kids, though her son Morning Sentry is a handful, last time we talked she was debating about sending him to my school of friendship."
"Sunset Shimmer isn't that much older than you are," Celestia said slowly.
"I know, but I'm a magical Alicorn Princess from the future." Twilight insisted.
"You really did have quite the dream last night didn't you?" Celestia asked, a soft small on her face, "Maybe once I have some free time after the Summer Sun Celebration you can tell me about it."
"It's not a dream!" Twilight insisted, but Celestia had already walked away with an official-looking unicorn, "It wasn't a dream right?" she whispered to herself, "It felt so real."
With that she pulled out a book on the theory of time, she might as well start with that.
"Twilight, hey Twilight!"
Twilight looked up at the voice, "Spike?" she asked in confusion, looking at the purple baby dragon, who was holding a red wrapped box, "What's that?" she asked her voice shaking, if memory served her correctly she knew what it was.
"It's a present," Spike said, holding it up, "For Moon Dancer's party today."
Twilight sprung up, basically pinning the poor baby dragon to the ground, "Moon Dancer's party is today?" she demanded, panic filling her voice, "But that means that the Thousandth Summer Sun Celebration will be the day after tomorrow!"
"Yes," Spike said, pulling himself out from underneath the purple unicorn.
"But that means Nightmare Moon is going to escape from the moon and capture Celestia," She stood up quickly, "I need to get to Ponyville!" she cried out as she raced past Spike.
"What's so special about Ponyville?" Spike called out as he raced after Twilight.
"My friends live there..." Twilight explained calling over her shoulder, "And if I don't meet them before NightmareMoon arrives then they won't be able to help me use the elements of harmony to turn Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna."
Spike stumbled as he tried to keep up with her as she raced down the stairs, as he picked himself up again, he said, "This is about that dream you had last night isn't it."
"It wasn't a dream." Twilight insisted as she tore out of the Palace and raced to a pony with a hot air balloon.
"How much does it cost for two tickets to Ponyville?" she demanded, levitating a bag full of bits in front of her.
"Ah..." the pony said shocked, "Ten bits."
"I'll give you twelve if we can leave right now."
"Did you just run away from Canterlot?" Spike asked as soon as they were in the air.
"It's fine, Princess Celestia wants us to check on the Summer Sun Celebration anyways."
"But we didn't talk to the Princess about going to Ponyville," Spike pointed out.
"Quick," Twilight shouted, thrusting a scroll and quill into the young dragon's hands, "Write the Princess and ask her to arrange for me to stay at the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville, tell her I went to make friends like she wants me to."
The dragon looked at her in confusion, "You really believed that dream last night didn't you?"
"It wasn't a dream," Twilight insisted, "And I can prove it, the first pony we are going to might is a pink pony with puffy hair that is going to scream and run away from us when we say hi."
"Yeah," Spike said slowly, "I'll believe it when I see it."
Author's Note
So this just came to me and won't let go so... enjoy.
Twilight glanced over the basket at the small town below her, had Ponyville really changed that much? Sure she was aware that The Golden Oak Library would be intact and the Castle of Friends and The school of friendship would not exist, but half the town seemed to be missing as well.
"Wow," she gasped, "I forgot how small Ponyville was when I first moved here."
"You mean in that dream you had, right?" Spike asked, "'cause you've never been outside of Canterlot before."
"Has Princess Celestia replied yet?" Twilight demanded she needed to make sure she was staying in her old home so that Pinkie Pie could throw her welcome to Ponyville party.
"Uh, no not yet," Spike said, "but, to be honest, she's pretty busy as it is without having to deal with her star pupil running away."
"I am not running away," Twilight insisted as the balloon started to descend, "Princess Celestia wants me to come to Ponyville."
"Sure that's why you ran off without telling her where you are going."
Twilight opened her mouth to argue, but, as they were now getting ready to land in the town square, she noticed something was very off, "What in Equestria is Princess Celestia doing here?"
"I bet it has something to do with her run away student," Spike smirked.
"I did not run away!" Twilight insisted as the basket came to rest in the town square.
"From my point of view it sure does look like it," Princess Celestia announced sternly as she trotted up to the basket as any pony that was in ear shot left quickly to give their princess her privacy, "you leave Canterlot without permission with barely a note telling me where you are going. I'd classify that as running away."
Twilight wanted to shrink back in fear at the disappointed look Celestia was giving her, but it only lasted a second, just cause she was trapped in her old body didn't mean she had to cave into her old insecurities and fears, wings or not, she was a princess after all, and as a princess, she should be able to admit to her mistakes and apologize, just like she use to teach at The School of Friendship.
She took a deep breath and climbed out of the basket to stand in front of her mentor, "You're right, I should have discussed coming here with you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."
Celestia smiled as Spike's jaw dropped, "It probably didn't help that when you are from you don't have to ask permission to do things, am I right?"
Twilight's eyes went round, "You believe me?!"
Celestia's let out a little laugh, "Yes, I do, I must admit that I had my doubts, while your description of Sunset's transgressions was correct, I assumed you could have overheard some of my guards or some of the older students talking about her, however, no one knew that I was debating about sending you here, yet you even knew where I was going to lodge you. The only logical explanation is that you really are from the future."
Twilight let out a sigh, "I can not tell you how glad I am to hear that, I could use your help figuring out what happened, but that can wait until after we deal with the current threat, Nightmare Moon. I need to meet my friends, and that might be tricky."
"Don't you remember how you met your friends?" Spike asked from next to Twilight startling the purple unicorn, she hadn't notice Spike get out of the basket.
"I do, clearly, today is one of my favorite memories," Twilight confessed, "But this conversation didn't happen the first time. One of my friends just walked past on the other side of Town Square and I wasn't there to introduce myself."
Spike and the princess both watched the unicorn, ready for her to go all freak out mode, however, Twilight just took a deep breath and smiled, "Good thing it's Pinkie I missed, she'll start planning a party the moment she hears that someone new is moving in. I'll just meet her tonight."
Spike looked at Twilight, "You know what, I think I believe you too, you would have freaked out over something like this majorly just yesterday."
"I know, it took me awhile but I learned that I have nothing to worry about, I have great friends that can help no matter what."
"Then I will leave you to do what you need to do," Celestia announced, before spreading her wings and taking off.
Twilight waited for a second to watch the princess fly off, "Well," she sighed, "We missed Pinkie, but if we hurry we can still make brunch at Sweet Apple Acres."
Sweet Apple Acres laid spread out before her, unlike Ponyville itself, the apple farm looked almost identical to the way she remembered it from her last visit a couple of weeks ago.
"Somethings never change," she told Spike, who was riding on her back, something she never knew that she missed until the baby dragon had climbed on, "Come on, I can smell the apple fritters from here!" With that she picked up the pace and started to gallop down the path, stopping as she nearly ran into a certain orange pony with a blonde mane.
"Few," Twilight let out a large gasp of air, she had forgotten how long it took to get to the farm from the center of town, "I was worried I was going to miss you," she explained to the pony in front of her, "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she paused as Apple Jack grabbed hold of her front hoof and started to shake it.
"Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Apple Jack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends!" Apple Jack announced while vigorously shaking Twilight's hoof.
"That's great," Spike exclaimed, "That's the whole reason we came to Ponyville, or at least why Twilight here came to Ponyville," he patted Twilight's side in support.
"Is that so," Apple Jack asked.
"Yes," Twilight confessed, "I heard somewhere that Ponyville is the friendliness place in Equestria."
"Is that so," Apple Jack said, kicking a front hoof back in embarrassment, "Li'l ole Ponyville the Friendliness." she chuckled, "Ain't that surprising!" The country pony was quiet for a second before she exclaimed, "Say you hungry? We're about ready for brunch."
"Well, now that you mentioned it..." Twilight said slowly, "brunch sounds wonderful."
Twilight had forgotten how much food one was expected to eat at an Apple Family Brunch. She had also forgotten how amazing Granny Smith's apple pie was. Therefore she had eaten way too much food.
"So," Spike asked, "We've met Apple Jack, where to next."
Twilight nodded down the road a bit, "See that mud puddle, we're headed there."
"But there's nopony in sight." Spike pointed out.
"Oh, but there will be," Twilight said, "Trust me."
It was just like she remembered, one second she was looking at the sky next second she was in a muddy puddle with Rainbow Dash laughing sheepishly, "Uh, 'scuse me?" she laughed, giving Twilight a once over, she was, just like the first time, covered in mud, which caused her to laugh some more, "Lemme help you."
With that the cyan Pegasus flew off and came back with a small rain cloud, which she positioned over the purple unicorn and jumped up and down on it, drowning Twilight beneath her.
Rainbow laughed again, "Oops, I guess I overdid it." She paused to think for a second, "Um, uh, how about this?" she asked as she flew super fast around Twilight in a circle, "My very own patented, Rain-blow dry!"
By now poor Twilight hair was a mess, as Rainbow continued, "No, no don't thank me, you're quite welcomed," then the rainbow maned mare saw the other pony's mane and burst into laughter, again.
"Hi Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, once she was sure that the Pegasus was done talking, "I'm Twilight."
"You heard of me?" Rainbow asked shocked, she knew she was good but she hadn't realized she was so good that pony's she never met before would recognize her at first glance, then again she was awesome.
"Of course," Twilight said, about to point out the fact that Rainbow Dash was the leader of the Wonder Bolts, but caught herself in time, Rainbow still hadn't joined the academy yet, "I was told that you are in charge of clearing the sky, which you would do in five seconds flat after you finish practicing for the Wonder Bolts."
Rainbow eyes grew round, shocked, "How do you know how long it takes me to clear the sky? I just barely met you."
Twilight sighed, "Does it really matter, you can clear the sky, can't you?"
"Of course I can." Rainbow Dash insisted, taking to the sky, "Loop-de-loop around, and wham!" she said, clearing the clouds away before landing on the nearby bridge, "Just like you said. Ten. Seconds. Flat."
"But Twilight said you could do it in five..." Spike began but a look from Twilight silenced him.
"I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." Rainbow insisted, smirking at Twilight, she was having fun here, "You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more." she said eagerly.
"I look forward..." Twilight started, but Rainbow was already gone, "I forgot that she was almost as hyperactive as Pinkie when we first met, at least she calmed down... some."
Spike, however, was looking at his friend with a laugh on his face, "I'm sorry Twilight but if you're from the future couldn't you have avoided that..." he pointed to her tangled and puffy mane.
"I could have, but then there would have been no guarantee that I would have met Rainbow, or bonded with Rarity, who is our next stop. She'll be decorating the Town Hall for the celebration tomorrow."
Twilight smiled as she looked around herself, Rarity was always a perfectionist and everything looked amazing.
"Beautiful," Spike said, stopping to make sure his spikes were straight.
"That's right," Twilight said, nodding her head as she walked up to her old friend who had never met her before, "Good afternoon," she said politely, knowing that Rarity does not like being interrupted while she was in the zone.
"Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help you..." Rarity gasped as she turned around to see who had arrived, "Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!"
Twilight smiled, everything was working out better now, if only she could meet Pinkie Pie then everything would be back to normal, "You mean my mane, it's a long story, I met up with Rainbow Dash outside."
"That pony has no class," Rarity stated, dragging Twilight away, not that Twilight complained any after all this was what she wanted to happen.
Twilight soon found herself having random outfits tried on her, just like what would happen if she ever set foot in any one of her friend's boutiques back in the future, " No, no, uh-uh. Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too... shiny. Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from."
Twilight wondered how she was supposed to tell her anything when she was tightening her saddle way too much, "I just moved here from Canterlot…"
Rarity let go of the straps to Twilight's saddle which caused Twilight to tip over," Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I... Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!"
Twilight quickly grabbed Spike, "Come on, we still have to meet Fluttershy, and find out where we can meet Pinkie Pie, and we don't have much time to do it in."
Fluttershy was working on getting the music ready for the next day, not an easy task when you don't like criticizing anyone, she sighed as she flew up to a blue jay, " Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm. Excuse me, sir? I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off. Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-"
"Hello," a new voice called out brightly, causing Fluttershy to yelp in surprise and the birds to fly away. Twilight mentally hoof palmed herself, she had forgotten how shy and timid Fluttershy had been when they had first met, "Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds." she insisted, "They were sounding beautiful. I'm Twilight Sparkle, I'm new in town."
"Um... I'm Fluttershy."
"I'm sorry what was that," Twilight asked, she thought she had said that her name was Fluttershy, but she wasn't sure, and if she had asked a question then it would be rude not to answer it.
"Um...My name is Fluttershy."
Twilight frowned, she still couldn't hear what she was saying, how had she gotten Fluttershy to loosen up some? She thought for a moment and then remembered, Spike, she had bonded with Spike, "Spike, stop hiding in the bush daydreaming about Rarity and come say hi," she called out.
The effect was immediate, "A baby dragon!" Fluttershy called out in surprise going over to look closer at the little dragon, "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's sooo cute!"
Spike looked happily at Twilight, he always did like getting compliments, "Well, well, well," he said, "Someone forgot to mention this."
"Oh my, he talks," Fluttershy gasped, happily. "I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful I... I just don't even know what to say!"
Twilight looked up at the sky, Celestia was already lowering the sun, "Well, we really need to get going, we haven't even started to unpack."
"What's his name?" Fluttershy demanded, following them as they started to leave.
"I'm Spike," Spike said proudly.
" Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?" Fluttershy asked trotting behind Twilight.
"Well, what do you wanna know?"
"Absolutely everything."
Twilight groaned, she forgotten how carried away Fluttershy could get when faced with an adorable baby animal, they didn't really have time for this. They still had to find Pinkie Pie.
Twilight stopped in front of the Golden Oak Library, a wave of memories threatening to crash down on her, "Well, this is our place," she said brightly, "It was nice meeting you Fluttershy," she said heading to the door, "I'll invite you in, but my stuff probably is all over the place, it was supposed to arrive earlier today." At least she thought that it should have, the only reason it hadn't originally was she hadn't known that she was moving when she first arrived.
She opened the door, it was dark, just like when she had first arrived, not that that meant anything, she still hadn't met Pinkie Pie, so when she turned on the light there would be no surprise party waiting for her. She sighed, flicking the lights on.
"Surprise!" a chorus of voices called out, as a specific pink pony bounced towards them.
"Surprise!" she shouted, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?"
"Yeah, you haven't met me yet." Twilight pointed out.
"I know!" Pinkie shouted, twisting her head in a way that seemed physically impossible, "I stopped by Sweet Apple Acres to get apples for the Cake's and Apple Jack told me about you moving to Ponyville to make friends, and I figured, what better way to make friends than with a party!"
"I should have known," Twilight said with a shake of her head, "If there's an excuse to throw a party, Pinkie's going to throw it."
The Return of Nightmare Moon Again
Twilight glanced up at the moon, sure enough, The Mare in the Moon was still trapped. Could she pull this off a second time? Last time she had braved a wild forest to find the Elements of Harmony, but now, with the knowledge she had gathered, she knew that she and her friends didn't need the Elements at all, the true elements resided inside their hearts. Did she even need to go into the Everfree forest? It probably would be better if she didn't mess with anything, besides, it was the obstacles of the forest that bonded them together and proved themselves as the bearers of Harmony. That trip into the forest was what set her on the path to friendship, and of becoming a princess.
"We're just going to have to go into the woods tomorrow I guess," she muttered to herself, as she allowed the curtain to drop, covering the window and hiding the moon from view.
"Hey, Twilight," Spike said, appearing in her old bedroom, "Pinkie Pie is starting pin the tail on the pony, you want to play?"
Twilight frowned, the first time she had been asked that question years ago, she had snapped at Spike and called everypony in town crazy. It had been harsh, but she still thinks she hit the nail on the head as Apple Jack would say, at least when it came to Pinkie Pie, "I don't really feel like partying, we are at the brink of disaster here, and I need to figure out the best course of action. Do we need to do the whole thing the same way as before? Or can we cut out the part that I thought we needed but learned later wasn't necessary?"
"What do you mean 'Brink?'"
"Nightmare Moon is going to escape tonight and capture Princess Celestia, and my friends and I are going to have to stop her. Before we went to the ruins of the castle of the two sisters to find the elements of harmony, but I learned later, right before I took over Equestria, that the elements are just symbols, that the power lies within us."
"If you don't need them, don't go after them," Spike said, tipping his hat up so he could see.
"But if we don't go the others would never prove themselves worthy of the elements."
"Then go," Spike said, rolling his eyes, Twilight was getting worked up over nothing again, as usual, he wondered if that was what Twilighting meant.
Just then Rainbow Dash rushed into the bedroom, "Come on, are you going to watch the sunrise or not?" she demanded before racing off again.
Town Hall was just the way she remembered it, decorated with ribbons and gems, and crowded with ponies. This was it after Mayor Mare finishes her speech and pulls back the curtain, everyone would notice that Celestia was gone and Nightmare moon had returned.
"Isn't this exciting?" Pinkie asked, jumping out in front of Twilight if it wasn't for the fact that Twilight was so use to her pink friend's enthusiasm, she might have jumped, but she managed to hold still as she was bombarded with a loud noise, "Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited, although if I had met you when you first got here, that would be tough to beat."
"That's nice," Twilight said before freezing, "What did you say?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Pinkie said, "It's just yesterday when I was out and about, you know doing my own thing, all for of my hooves started to tap at once and do you know what that means?"
"You're going to meet a new friend?" Twilight guessed, was it really guessing if she knew what the answer was?
"Yeah," Pinkie stated, eyeing her oddly, "How did you know that," she shrugged, not waiting for an answer, "Anyway I knew that I was supposed to meet a new friend but I didn't because you were talking to the princess and I didn't want to interrupt so we didn't meet, and I bet if we would have met that would top how excited I am right now."
"...Princess Celestia," Mayor Mare called out from the stage, causing Twilight to groan, Pinkie had prevented her from hearing the rest of Mayor Mare's speech.
Rarity pulled back the curtains on the upper balcony as Fluttershy's birds started to sing cheerfully. Twilight tensed knowing what was happening. There was a collective gasp as everypony registered the fact that Princess Celestia was not on the Balcony.
"Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!"
"Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games!" Pinkie Pie shouted, not grasping the seriousness of the situation as she lifted up a table cloth to peer underneath, "Is she hiding?"
"She's gone!" Rarity's voice filled the air.
"Ooh, she's good," PInkie announced empressed, no doubt planning to ask Princess Celestia to play hide and seek with her, should she find her.
The other ponies screamed in shock and fear as blue fog filled the balcony and Nightmare Moon appeared.
"Nightmare Moon," Twilight muttered, "Just like I remembered."
" Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces." Nightmare Moon said in a voice that told a different story.
Rainbow Dash reacted quickly, demanding to know where the Princess was, luckily Apple Jack grabbed her tail, holding her back, it wouldn't do to attack without a plan.
Nightmare Moon laughed, a cold, hollow-sounding thing, "Why? Am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"
Pinkie perked up, forgetting for the moment that this creature had somehow captured their princess, "Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty," Apple Jack quickly shoved an apple into her talkative friend's mouth as she still kept Rainbow Dash from attacking the stranger by holding her tail in her mouth.
"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" Nightmare Moon demanded.
Twilight took a step forward, "I did, I know who you are, you are the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon."
Nightmare Moon, flew down so she was face to face with Twilight, "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."
Twilight fought the urge to tremble, last time she faced Nightmare Moon she had let her fear show, this time she wasn't going to cower, "You are here to bring about eternal night," she said, looking Nightmare Moon in the eyes, through them almost, reminding herself of the pony trapped underneath the dark magic.
Nightmare Moon was shocked, surprised, she was sure that everyone would cower before her, but that purple unicorn stood there, as confident as ever as if she knew something that she did not, "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" she called out, hoping to intimidate the purple pony in front of her.
"Not if I can stop you," Twilight found herself saying, "And return Princess Luna to the side of her sister."
"What!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed, obviously confused, how did this little unicorn know?
"I will get the elements of harmony," Twilight said, "I will use them against you, and I will release your control of Princess Luna."
Nightmare Moon didn't even know what to think about being openly challenged and lunged at the unicorn who teleported out of reach. Nightmare shot one last menacing glare, before turning into the blue fog and flying out the door, surely she couldn't possibly know where the Elements were, she was bluffing, but just to be safe, she better destroy them.
Twilight had raced out of the town hall after Nightmare Moon had left, she needed to get to the library, not only was Spike falling asleep on her back and needed a nap, but her friends would meet her there just like they did the first time.
She tucked Spike in his little bed and headed downstairs to wait for her friends to show up.
"What do you know about Nightmare Moon?" an angry voice demanded as a cyan pegasus pressed her face up against hers, "Are you a spy?"
"Shimmer down there Sally," Apple Jack called out, yanking on Rainbow's tail, again, "She ain't no spy, but she sure knows what is going on. Don't you Twilight?"
Twilight glanced at her friends, she needed to tell them everything, they would believe her, just like their counterparts believed her when Sunset stole her crown all those years ago, "Well, it's a long story," she began.
"Oh," Pinkie stated, "You're really the leader of Equestria from the future who woke up one day to discover that you've been sent back in time to the day that you discover that Nightmare Moon would escape, so you ran away to Ponyville to make friends with your old friends who helped you defeat Nightmare Moon, turning her back into Princess Luna and reuniting her with her older sister Princess Celestia."
"That can't be it," Rainbow insisted.
"Actually," Twilight said, "Pinkie's pretty much-covered everything."
"You're the leader of Equestria?" Rarity asked, shocked.
"Technically we all lead Equestria, I'm just the figurehead." Twilight said, "But I need to stop Nightmare Moon so I can find a way to get back to my own time."
"So, if you've done this before," Apple Jack said slowly, still not sure if she believed her, "Where do we need to go."
"The ruins of the castle of the Two Sisters, deep inside the Everfree Forest."
"Okay," Pinkie shouted, bouncing up, "Let's go!"
Twilight watched in amusement as she bounced down the path to the forest.
Author's Note
I want to apologize for the long wait, writer's block, and then life, then it kind of got pushed onto the back burner, but now I have an actual writing schedule and I have this story on it. It will probably only get updated once a month, but if I finish one of my other projects on Fanfiction then I might just move this to twice a month, I'll keep you posted, but don't be surprised if it doesn't happen until June.
Into the Forest Again.
Twilight shivered as she stared into the dark forest, she had forgotten how scary looking the forest had been back then. She glanced at her friends, friends who weren't her friends yet.
"Whee," Pinkie shouted, racing ahead, "Let's go."
"Wait," Twilight shouted, pulling Pinkie back by her tail, "I should go first, I'm the only one of us who's been in there before."
"Heavens why would anyone go into the forest, just look at it, it's dreadful," Rarity shuddered, staring around her at the gloomy trees
"And it ain't natural, folks say that it doesn't work the same as Equestria," AplleJack added, keeping close to the others as they followed the path.
"Everypony who's ever come in...." Rainbow started.
"Rainbow quit it," Twilight said, "There's no point trying to scare the others, I've told you, we've been through these woods hundreds of times."
Rainbow paused, obviously it had never occurred to her that if Twilight really was from the future then she had truly made it out of the forest in one piece, "Huh," she said, "Way to ruin the adventure of the unknown." she grumbled.
The group hadn't gone very far when Twilight froze, a frown on her face.
"Is something wrong Sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she nearly walked right into her.
"No, not really," Twilight said, taking a deep breath and counting to ten silently, I won't Twilight, I won't start Twilighting. she thought to herself, "It's been a while since I was here, It makes sense that things are different, but I thought that we would have fallen off the cliff by now."
"You want us to fall off a cliff?" Pinkie asked, "That's an odd thing to say."
"No, Nightmare Moon collapsed the ground beneath off causing us to fall and I get stuck on a cliff and Applejack told me that everything was going to be alright. When I let go, Rainbow and Fluttershy caught me." Twilight explained, "That was how I knew that she was the element of honesty. What are we going to do? We need to prove that you're the Elements of Harmony.
"I'll tell you what I think," Applejack said, "Ah don't know anything about Elements of Harmony or anything like that, and ah don't know what to think about you being from the future but I do know that if we work together we will figure everything out, you understand?"
"Yeah," Pinkie cheered, "Together we can do anything!"
It felt like they had been walking forever, and they still hadn't fallen down the cliff or ran into the Manticore, or face the scary faces on the trees. Twilight was starting to get worried about that. Nightmare Moon had done everything in her powers to stop them from reaching the ruins, why wasn't she this time. She shouldn't have mentioned the fact she was from the future and had defeated her already.
"Is it just me or are we walking in circles," Rainbow asked, stopping to stare at a rock, "Because I'm pretty sure that we passed this same rock ten times already."
"That's because we have, silly," Pinkie Pie announced, bouncing forward, "We've just been going in a big circle over and over again."
The ponies all turned to look at the pink party pony, "Why didn't you say something before," Twilight demanded.
"I thought you knew," Pinkie pointed out, "and we were going in circles on purpose."
Twilight exhaled deeply, "No Pinkie, we weren't supposed to be going in circles. Now, what do we..." Twilight trailed off, her eyes landing on Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow Dash, can you fly up and find the correct path."
"Sure I can, but you're the only one who seems to know where we are going."
"You're looking for a large crevice, you should be able to spot it from the sky," Twilight explained.
"Yeah, that will be no problem for me," Rainbow Dash said spreading her wings, "I'll be back in two shakes of a tail." she announced before jumping into the air and taking off.
Rainbow Dash glanced beneath her, the Everfree Forest stretched out in front of her in every direction, "This might take a moment," she muttered as she did a loop de loop, trying to get a sense of where she was and where she needed to go.
"Rainbow's been gone an awfully long time." Rarity said, glancing up into the sky.
"She'll return," Twilight insisted, "She's the element of Loyalty, no matter what happens she will return."
Rainbow Dash glanced down beneath her, there, a giant crevice, about three miles to the east, "Wow we are way off course," she thought, "I better make sure that the path here to the others is clear."
"Rainbow..." a voice called out from the shadows.
"Who's there?" Rainbow called out.
"Rainbow..." the voice called out again.
"I ain't scared of you!" Rainbow called out tensing her muscles, waiting to strike, "Show yourself."
A dark figure stepped out of the shadows, "We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria."
"Who," Rainbow asked, eagerly.
"Why, you, of course."
Rainbow gasped, "Really? I mean... oh yeah me, Hey, uh you wouoldn't mind telling the wondercolts that would ya, 'cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever."
"No Rainbow Dash," the shadowy figure said, "We want you to join us, the Shadowbolts. We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria, but first, we need a captain. The most magnificent..."
"Yep," Rainbow interrupted.
"Swifted..."
"Yes."
"Bravest flyer in all the land."
"Yes," RAinbow chuckled, "It's all true."
"We need you."
"WHOOHOO!" Rainbow Dash shouted, doing a quick loop de loop, "Sign me up. Just let me go back and show my friends where we're suppose to be headed."
"No it's them or us." the shadow figure said, "Well..."
"Thank you," Rainbow said, "For the offer, I mean, but I'm afraid that I have to say no."
Twilight frowned as the shadows seemed to grow longer and longer each second that they waited.
"Look," Pinkie shouted, "Rainbow's back."
Rainbow landed in the middle of the other ponies, "Sorry it took so long, but, wow, Twilight we are way off course. The ruins are this way."
Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh of relief as Rainbow Dash led them deeper into the forest, things were finally getting back on track, but there was still a ways to go before they get to the Castle of the Two Sisters, and who knows what new obstacles would await them. So far nothing was going the same way as it had gone the first time, but Rainbow had run into the Shadowbolts, like last time, it was just at a different time in the journey, and AppleJack had shown her honesty when she had reassured her that everything was going to be okay. But what about the others? What about Fluttershy and Pinkie and Rarity? Would they too get a chance to prove to themselves that they are the Elements of Harmony?
Up ahead came a low growl, followed by a distinct rattling in the bushes.
"Twilight," AppleJack called out, "Ya been through here afore, right?"
"What is that!" Rainbow Dash demanded, jumping in front of the bush.
"Well, everything is different this time around," Twilight announced, "But last time we did have to get past a Manticore."
"A What?" Everyone turned to look at Twilight in disbelief.
"You could have mentioned that little detail just a little bit sooner," Rarity complained, "Before I agreed to enter this disgusting forest," with that she lifted up a hoof and shook some mud off of it. as if to prove her point.
"Don't worry," Twilight said, "As long as we let Fluttershy take the lead we'll be fine."
"Me," Fluttershy squeaked at the same time Rainbow shouted, "Her."
"Yes," Twilight said, "you can understand animals can't you Fluttershy?"
"Well yes," Fluttershy squeaked, "But a Manticorn is just so big."
"Besides," Rainbow said, "according to you we were supposed to fall off some sort of cliff, but we ain't done that yet."
"Okay," Twilight confessed, "So things aren't going exactly like they did the first time around, but I know that as long as we stick together things will be fine."
The bush shook again, whatever was hidden in it was getting closer.
"I don't think it's a Manticorn Darling," Rarity said, taking a step back as a chicken head appeared over the bush.
"It's a Cockatrice," Rainbow shouted, spreading her wings as if she was about ready to take flight before meeting the cockatrice's eyes, turning instantly into stone.
"Rainbow," Twilight gasped, "Nothing like this happened last time, Fluttershy, you need to do something."
"I can't do anything about a Cockatrice," Fluttershy whimpered.
"Let me give it a try," Applejack said, raising up onto her front hooves to give the Cockatrice a kick, only for her to turn into stone as well.
"Fluttershy, you've got to use your stare," Twilight pleaded before she too turned into stone.
"Oh my, I don't think I can do that," Fluttershy whimpered, before looking at her friends as Pinkie Pie was turned into stone as well.
"Excuse me," Fluttershy said, turning to the cockatrice, "But I don't appreciate that you are turning all of my friends to stone, so if you don't mind can you pretty please turn them back."
The cockatrice turned to look at her and squawked loudly.
"Why you poor thing," she gasped, rushing over to the cockatrice, "You're stuck in that bush and can't get out can you." Fluttershy quickly reached her hoof into the bush and moved it around until the cockatrice was finally able to pull its tail free. The cockatrice hissed at Fluttershy, before turning around and disappearing once more in the undergrowth.
"What just happened." Rainbow Dashed asked, blinking as her body was freed from the stone.
"The cockatrice didn't mean to turn you all to stone," Fluttershy insisted, "it was just scared because it was stuck and couldn't free itself. All it needed was a little bit of kindness."
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, the element of Kindness, they were almost there they just needed the Element of Laughter and Generosity.
The group trotted deeper and deeper into the woods.
"My eyes need a break from all of this icky muck," Rarity complained as they entered a thicket of trees that blocked out all of the light from the night sky above, "Well, I didn't mean that literally."
Crunch "What was that?!" Rainbow's voice shrieked in panic.
Twilight smiled, this was just like the first time, okay so Rainbow didn't freak out when someone stepped on a twig but the darkness and the trees with Scary faces. Twilight burst out laughing.
"Are you laughing at me?" Rainbow asked looking around, trying to pinpoint Twilight from her laughter.
"No," Twilight insisted, "That's the solution to this problem, laughter, Pinkie, what is it that you're Granny Pie always says, 'Giggle at the Ghostly'?"
"Twilight's right," Pinkie Pie announced before bursting into song, "When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..."
"Did you know she was about to burst into song?" Rarity asked.
"The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..."
"Of course," Twilight answered.
"I'd hide under my pillow From what I thought I saw But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way To deal with fears at all..."
"Then what is?" Rainbow demanded harshly, still unsure if Twilight had been laughing at her or not.
"She said, 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall Learn to face your fears You'll see that they can't hurt you Just laugh to make them disappear.' Ha! Ha! Ha!" Pinkie continued, laughing at one of the scary faces, which poofed out of existence, causing the other ponies to gasp in surprise, "So, giggle at the ghostly, Guffaw at the grossly, Crackup at the creepy, Whoop it up with the weepy, Chortle at the kooky, Snortle at the spooky
"And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh... Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh!"
Twilight smiled as she wiped a tear from her eye with a hoof, all they had to do was get past the river, and then they'll arrive at the Castle of the Two Sisters.
"We should be coming towards a river," Twilight said, she was getting tired of walking.
"You mean like that one?" Rainbow asked, moving some foliage aside with a hoof to reveal a raging river.
"How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie asked.
"Simple, Rarity can help with this," Twilight insisted, heading downriver.
A water serpent was thrashing about sobbing, "What a world, what a world."
" Excuse me, Steven. Why are you crying?" Twilight asked politely, even though she could see the missing half of the mustache.
" Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid," Steven sniffed, "Do I know you?" he asked suddenly.
"Twilight's from the future," Pinkie announced.
"Let me get this straight," Applejack said, "All this fuss is about a mustache?"
"Why, of course, it is. How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely luminescent scales," Raraity said stepping towards Steven.
"I know," he sniffed.
"And your expertly coiffed mane."
"I know, I know."
"Your fabulous manicure, All ruined without your beautiful mustache," Rarity sympathized.
"It's true, I'm hideous," Steven cried out loudly and began to sob once more.
"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected," Rarity announced, yanking off one of Steven's scales.
"Ow, what you do that for?" Steven demanded.
"Rarity knows what she's doing," Twilight insisted, as Rarity used the scale to cut her tail off and tie it to Steven's face.
"My mustache. How wonderful." Steven exclaimed.
Twilight smiled, yes, that only left the element of magic and she knew she had it, "Steven, would you mind giving us a ride across the river?"
"What, no of course not," Steven said, "climb on up."
"Come on," Applejack shouted, "let's go," as she kicked in the front door.
"Wow," Pinkie Pie said, "Someone forgot to clean up after themselves."
"What are these," Rarity asked, stepping carefully around a shard of pink glass.
"Nightmare Moon beat us here and destroyed the Elements of Harmony," Twilight gasped.
The was a burst of loud laughter as Nightmare Moon appeared upon the balcony, "What's wrong Little Pony, I ruined your plan to stop me?"
"Actually no, you haven't," Twilight announced tossing her mane proudly, "The Elements of Harmony are just symbols, their spirits reside within my friends and me."
"What?" Nightmare Moon asked.
"Applejack , who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty ! Fluttershy , who tamed the cockatrice with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness ! Pinkie Pie , who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter ! Rarity , who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity ! And Rainbow Dash , who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty ! The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us, just like I knew they would."
"What about the sixth element?" Nightmare Moon demanded.
Twilight faltered, she had been so worried about her friends proving themselves she forgot about her part, "You never transported me up to the tower," she gulped, "I haven't felt the spark," she shook her mane once more, and stood up straighter, "My friends are by my side," she announced, "and Friendship is Magic, making me the bearer of the Element of Magic." By now Twilight had tranced down, letting the magic she had spent so long studying to well up, enveloping the others in a strong glow.
"No, how?" Nightmare Moon screamed as she was hit once more with a rainbow laser.
A bright light filled the room and then vanished.
"Ugg," Rainbow groaned, clutching her head, "My head."
"Is Everypony Okay," Applejack called out, pulling herself up off the floor.
"oh thank goodness," Rarity exclaimed, examining her tail, "I'm never going to part from you again."
"What are these?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the element of loyalty around her neck.
"Look at mine," Pinkie shouted.
" Gee, Twilight! I guess you really are from the future, how else could ya have known about the whole element thingy," Applejack drawled.
"I just wish I knew how I ended up here," Twilight confessed, "And as much as I love being back in Ponyville, I need to get back to Canterlot in my own time."
"I am sure that we can figure out what is going on together," a new voice called out as Princess Celestia flew through a broken window.
"Princess Celestia," Twilight said, bowing respectfully, "I know that you will want some privacy with Princess Luna, so we'll see ourselves out."
Princess Luna blinked, as the other ponies nodded their heads, and started to leave, however, Twilight stopped, turning to her former teacher, "I know that I've already finished my studies, but one thing I learned is that there is always something new to learn about friendship, and I know that I taught others just as much as they taught me. I think, if it's okay with you, that I want to stay here in Ponyville, at least until we figure out how to send me back to my time."
Twilight sighed as she collapsed on her old bed at the library, "I am absolutely exhausted," she announced to Spike, "I never thought that I'd miss my wings, but my hooves are killing me."
Spike snickered, causing Twilight to give the baby dragon a dirty look, "Sorry," he confessed, "I'm just having a hard time believing that you're an Alicorn Princess from the future. What is your official title anyway?"
"Princess of Friendship, Leader of Equestria," Twilight announced, splitting her jaw in a yawn, "Now if you don't mind, it's been a long day."
"You're the Princess of Friendship?" Spike asked, "But you're a terrible friend, you forgot Moondancer's birthday party, and you never hang out with them just to hang out."
Twilight shot up from her bed, "Moondancer? Oh my goodness, I forgot about her, and there were others too, I can't remember their names right now though, we kind of drifted apart after I moved to Ponyville."
"Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, Lyra Heartstrings, and Moon Dancer."
"Yes them, Lyra lives here in Ponyville, right, we can look her up in the morning," Twilight suggested, before frowning once more, "No wait, Lyra lives in Ponyville in the future, she's probably still living in Canterlot. Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Lyra all continue to be friends," Twilight announced, "But Moondancer, she was super upset that I didn't come to her party, so upset she swore off friendship. I can't have that happen, first thing tomorrow morning I'm going back to Canterlot to see her."
"The party yesterday?" Spike asked.
"Exactly," Twilight exclaimed, "She was so looking forward to it, and I totally didn't go."
"Don't worry she'll understand, you had to save all of Equestria."
"But she didn't understand," Twilight muttered, "Then again, I waited until after I became the Princess of Friendship and had the Castle of friendship before talking to her again. I bet apologizing for missing her party earlier might just make a difference."
Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight fluffed her pillow before turning out the lights.
Twilight glanced at the door to the dorm, "This is Moon Dancer's room?" she asked, glancing at Spike. They had gotten up at dawn to catch the early morning train to Canterlot and were now standing in the middle of the dorms of the School for Gifted Unicorns.
"Well it was three days ago," Spike insisted, "I don't think that they reassigned rooms in the past three days, did they?"
Twilight gulped forcing down the uneasiness that seemed to be bubbling up inside her constantly, for the first time since waking up two days ago, she was in uncharted waters, she had no idea how Moon Dancer would react to her showing up just days after her party.
She raised her hoof up and knocked, once, twice, three times, "Maybe she's at the library," she announced as the doorknob turned, "Or not."
The door opened and a pony with glasses peeked through the door, "Yes, can I help you?" she asked.
"Hi, Moon Dancer," Twilight said, shuffling her hooves slightly, what exactly was she suppose to say, "I'm really sorry I missed your party the other day, something came up."
"Like what?" Moon Dancer asked.
"Well," Twilight shifted her weight, "I had to go to Ponyville, and..."
"I heard about what happened," Moon Dancer announced, "It's all anyone will talk about. I can't get any studying done because of it. There's even a rumor going around that you're actually from the future and that's how come you knew so much about Nightmare Moon."
Spike giggled, "Well, actually..."
Twilight rose a hoof to the baby dragon's mouth, "What Spike is trying to say is I studied a lot about Nightmare Moon and discovered that she was going to escape. I went to Ponyville because that was where the Summer sun festival was being held this year, but I feel terrible that I forgot about your party, and I didn't want you to think that I just up and moved without saying goodbye. So," Twilight giggled, she was rambling, it had been a very long time since she had simply rambled, "I'm moving to Ponyville, and I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me before I leave."
"Well..." Moon Dancer started.
"I know how important that party was for you," Twilight interrupted, "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
"Twilight," Spike cut in, "You need to let Moon Dancer speak as well."
"Right sorry."
"Lunch sounds nice."
"Great maybe we can invite Minuette and the others as well." Twilight offered, "It would be good to see them again."
"You talked to them four days ago." Moon Dancer pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Twilight said softly.
"So you're really moving to Ponyville?" Lyra asked as they all sat around a table at a nearby cafe that was popular with the students.
"Yeah, for now," Twilight explained, "Princess Celestia thinks that I'll learn more about the magic of friendship in Ponyville than I would ever learn here in Canterlot."
"Well, I did hear that Ponyville is the friendliest place in all of Equestria," Lyra announced, looking around at her friends, "I think it might be a wonderful place to live."
"So, um, I'm sorry I ran off the way I did," Twilight said once more, since they had all met for lunch she had said it like a hundred times.
"It's no problem," Minuette insisted, "How often do we get to say that our friend saved Equestria from eternal nighttime."
"Not very often," Lemon Heart added, "But I bet you and your new friends from Ponyville are going to be busy, what with you being the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and all."
Twilight smiled, thinking of all the adventures and misadventures that she and her friends had been on, adventures that she will have to go through again. She grimaced slightly as she thought of some of the less favorable ones, did she really have to fight Discord and King Sombra and the Storm King again?
"I have to confess, I think that this latest adventure would be the first of many."
Spike glanced at the clock on the wall, before glancing at Twilight who was still talking with her friends, "Um, Twilight, you have a meeting with Princess Celestia in five minutes," He finally announced, "You wanted to go over what you want to study in Ponyville with her."
"You're right Spike," Twilight announced, standing up, "I'm sorry, but I have to go."
Twilight knocked on the door to the throne room, it seemed odd seeing two rows of guards standing in front of the throne room. In the future, she didn't have that many guards posted, one or two to make sure that everypony was safe. As the Princess of Friendship, she felt like she had to be approachable, besides she had been so unused to the guards that when she had first taken over Equestria she had been quite uncomfortable with them following her around.
A commanding voice told her to enter as the doors swung open. Twilight slowly made her way down the hall to where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood. It was obvious that the two sisters had been talking when she had knocked, "You wanted to see me Princess Celestia?" she asked nervously, before tossing her mane up and looking her mentor in the eyes.
"Yes," Celestia said, stepping away from her throne, "I believe that the best way for us to figure out how to get you back to your time is to figure out how you got here in the first place. Tell me, what do you remember happening, before you woke up the other day, that is."
"I was..." Twilight frowned, "Everything is kind of blurry, but I think I was in a library, not the one here in Canterlot a different one, I don't remember where it was, I think it was a new one. I've been making sure that every town and village had a public library, it could have been one of several." Twilight frowned, "After that, I can't remember anything."
"I see, what about enemies," Luna added, "That might give us a clue as well."
"There are none, Equestria has been at peace since right before I took over unless you count that little squabble we had with the Hippos two years ago, but we figured it out and resolved it peacefully."
"Perhaps Discord escaped his stone prison?" Celestia suggested.
"Discord?" Twilight repeated, picturing her friend's husband, he was crazy everyone knew that and sending her back in time would be something that he could do, but, "I doubt Fluttershy would approve," she finished aloud, only to blush when she saw the look the princesses were giving her, "You had us reform Discord, " she explained, "He helps Fluttershy with her animal sanctuary. He also sometimes helps Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich with birthday parties. Foals love watching him pull himself out of a hat."
Princess Celestia blinked, "Are you sure that he isn't a threat?" she insisted, "He's magic is the only thing I can think of that can do something like this."
"Perhaps you insulted him by accident or something?" Luna inquired.
"No," Twilight insisted, "Trust me he isn't the type to hold a grudge, unless..." Twilight trailed off, "I did kind of accidentally stood Fluttershy up a couple of weeks ago. She invited me over for tea, but an emergency popped up, and I couldn't make it, nor was I able to send her a notice that I wasn't going to be able to make it because Spike was with Ember in the dragon lands... and Discord is really protective of Fluttershy."
"Are you suggesting that Discord sent you back in time because you couldn't make it to a friend's tea party?" Luna asked.
Twilight shrugged, "This is Discord we're talking about," she said, "he sometimes does things for the oddest reasons, but I haven't seen him since I arrived here, and trust me, Discord wants to be given credit for his actions, no matter how chaotic they seem."
"So you're saying that you have no idea who could possibly be responsible for this?" Celestia asked, "None at all."
"It could be that there's a new threat to Equestria and they decided to get rid of me before invading, or maybe King Sombra has returned, or the Storm King," Twilight muttered, "But nobody has seen or heard from them in years so that might not be the case."
"I guess there is very little that we can do," Celestia announced, "But study up on the theory of time."
"When it comes to magical theory I usually turn to Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst, but I have no idea where to find them in this time period. I mean, they run the school of friendship together, but before that Starlight was my student and Sunburst was the Royal Crystaller to Flurry Heart and lived in the Crystal Empire. Before that, I have no idea where Sunburst is. Except for maybe their hometown and Starlight might have already formed her town of equality," Twilight shuddered, "Starlight was so hard to reason with, it took her almost destroying Equestria to get through to her. Or I can discuss it with Sunset, she always has a good theory, even if magic works differently in her world, but even if I use your magic journal to open the portal, she probably won't talk to me, although since I haven't become a princess yet, she might not have developed her grudge against me..." Twilight trailed off, "To be honest, I think that I could have handled that situation better, all she really needed was a friend, same as the others."
"Twilight, what are you talking about?" Celestia asked, blinking slightly.
"Oh, I'm rambling again aren't I, sorry, I was just trying to think of what could explain this, but the only enemies that I ever had that I know of that had the power to do something like this became my friend. If I don't get back to my time I might have to fight Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Discord, and Trixie. I don't want to have to fight them again. Although I think that I can, maybe, prevent them from trying to destroy Equestria. If I handle the situations differently. But I'll need to figure out where they are now, and of course, I could use the restricted area." Twilight blushed, "I'm rambling again aren't I," she offered a slight smile, "It's like all of my old insecurities are trying to come out just because I'm in my old body."
"That might be part of whatever spell that has been placed on you," Luna suggested, "Whatever it is, whoever sent you here must be planning something nefarious for Equestria in the future."
"If that's the case," Twilight said, holding her head high with a slight shake of her mane, "Then I better figure out how to get back quickly, and that means I need to at least find Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst."