Back at the Warren estate, another day had come and gone with no success for Celestia. She stares out the window of the Warrens’ living room, her eyes toward the wooded area surrounding the estate. All this time Celestia spent trying to find the rest of the group, she can only wonder where Twilight and her friends are. In all honesty, Celestia herself began to wonder if they would ever be found at all. At the very least, it shouldn’t be hard to reach out to them or at the very least pinpoint their whereabouts.

But the more time passed, the more Celestia’s confidence in finding the others dwindle. The sound of hooves across the floor drew the sun monarch away from the window as Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash walk alongside her. She offers a tiny smile before turning her gaze back out the window.

“How’s it hanging princess?” Rianbow asked.

“Oh honestly Rainbow,” Rarity scolded. “You could at least ‘try’ to act in a better manner than that!”

Rainbow shoots a glare toward Rarity, who in turn glares back.

“Can you for once not feel the need to criticize everything I say?” Rainbow spat.

“I would if every now-and-then you actually say something sensible!” Rarity argued.

By this point, Fluttershy steps between the bickering ponies and extends her wings to separate them.

“Oh please stop fighting!” She begged. “My nerves are already shot worrying about the others!”

As Rarity and Rainbow turn toward Fluttershy, they can see tears welling in her eyes and her lips trembling in sadness. The two calm themselves almost instantaneously, clearly seeing how the situation is affecting their friend. They approach Fluttershy, pulling her in for a hug.

“Shh… there, there Fluttershy,” Rarity said soothingly.

“Yeah, we’re sorry,” Rainbow apologized.

Eventually, Fluttershy calms just enough to smile once more as all three mares hug it out. They sit alongside the Princess, looking toward her expressionless gaze with great concern.

“Did I ever tell you all the time Luna and I got separated in the Everfree Forest?” Celestia asked, out of the blue. “When we were both fillies?”

The three ponies turn to each other, confused over the fact Celestia brought up such a random memory.

“Uh no…” Rarity responded. “I can’t say you have, Princess.”

Celestia closes her eyes, for a moment or two, before taking a deep breath.

“It was a long time ago, after Equestria was first founded. At that time, Princess Platinum waged a long, dangerous war against the Griffin king and his armies. My mother took me and Luna into the Everfree, hoping to keep us both safe. Of course, it wasn’t long until the Griffins discovered us, and our family were on the run for our lives. My mother and I managed to get out of the forest… but Luna…”

Celestia found herself choking her words, fresh tears roll down her muzzle. She quickly wipes them away with her hooves.

“My father ordered a massive search party in the forest, hoping to find Luna,” Celestia continued. “But they never found her, and for two long weeks my parents mourned and grieved for her loss. I too nearly gave up hope until I felt something in my soul.”

Celestia places a hoof tenderly against her chest, right over her heart. A small smile forms upon her face, as more tears spill.

“Both my magical and blood connection with Luna never died, giving me all the hope I needed to know she was still alive. So… I decided to take matters in my own hooves and went back into the forest to find her myself. I combed every square inch of that forest, from dusk to dawn. Just as I was about to give up, I could faintly hear a small whimper following it toward a hollow tree stump… and there I found her. So cold, so hungry, that if I hadn’t found her sooner… she would have died.”

Finally breaking down, Celestia sobs in her hooves. The ponies around her did not know what to do or say about this. Never before had they heard such a story from Celestia nor read about in any Equestrian history book. Seeing their princess cry, they slowly step to her side and nuzzled against her. Celestia stops momentarily, her tear-filled eyes gazing upon the little ponies.

“We never knew that story princess,” Rarity said softly.

“How come you never told us that before?” Rainbow asked.

“It isn’t one of the finer stories of my life I wish to tell,” Celestia explained. “The one time in my life that I lost my sister, when we were both so young.”

“What made you bring it up now?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

Celestia sat upon her haunches, wiping her eyes once more.

“I hoped I would be able to reach out to Twilight or Sunset with that same magical connection… but I can’t!”

It was in that moment the three mares look toward their benevolent ruler with understanding.

“You fear that because you connect to them that something terrible has happened?” Rarity asked.

Celestia offers no response, no more than a tiny nod. Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy nuzzle closely against Celestia, trying to ease her nerves.

“We can’t think like that princess,” Rainbow insists. “If we do, it only means that what you’re thinking is probably true. It’s better we think they’re still out there somewhere, waiting for us to find them.”

“No matter how far apart we end up, we always find each other in the end,” Fluttershy smiled.

Hearing such kind, encouraging words from her subjects, Celestia forms a smile upon her face as she leans down to nuzzle them in return.

“Thank you my little ponies,” Celestia said sweetly.

They sit there for the longest time, nuzzling one another for such time that they didn’t notice Ed and Lorraine standing there, watching with smiles on their faces. Finally, the three ponies and the alicorn stop their little love fest to acknowledge the two paranormal researchers.

“And where are you two off to today?” Celestia asked.

“We’re giving a lecture at the high school auditorium about one of our most recent cases,” Ed answered.

The two were about to turn and leave, when Celestia stops them.

“Might we come along as well?”

The couple turns back toward the ponies curiously.

“How exactly are you going to be able to come with us looking like…”

Lorraine gestures their pony appearances, as Celestia chuckles. Next thing anyone knew, her horn starts to glow brightly which causes the Warrens to shield their eyes. When the light fades, the Warrens remove their hands and stare in awe at what they saw. Celestia and the girls, standing before them, in their human forms. Along with Celestia, in a gold blazer with her cutie mark as a broach, a purple-and-white striped shirt, purple slacks, and gold shoes.

“Does this appearance work for us?” Celestia asked.

Ed and Lorraine both turn to each other in amazement, before looking back toward the now-human ponies.

“I guess that’s one way to do it,” Ed said, bewildered.

<>

Next thing they knew, Celestia and the girls were sitting in the auditorium amongst a number of people watching Ed and Lorraine give their presentation. Celestia is quite transfixed with the presentation, Rarity busily applying make-up to herself, Fluttershy hiding in her hair due to the horrifying images onscreen, and Rainbow snoozing off out of boredom.

“Fear is defined as a feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or eminence of danger,” Ed states to the crowd. “Whether it’s a ghost, a spirit or an entity, they all feed on it.”

Ed points to the man on the film footage shown from a projector. The man himself, clearly possessed, acts very strangely.

“Take Maurice here. He’s a French-Canadian farmer, had nothing more than third-grade education, yet after he was possessed, spoke some of the best Latin I’d ever heard. Sometime backwards. He’d been molested by his father, who had also tortured him repeatedly. A dark spirit made its home in this man.”

“Now, if you look into his eyes, you can see him tearing blood,” Lorraine added.

The footage shows an exorcism being performed on the man, blood pours from his eyes.

“And, like that, an upside down cross started to appear from within his body.”

The footage shows the man lifting his shirt, a cross appears upside down from beneath his skin.

“Alright, Drew, you can hit the lights,” Ed called out.

The lights in the room come on, as the majority of the audience raise their hands. Ed points to one of the students in the crowd, a girl who stands up to address the two.

“Did you personally perform the exorcism?” She asked.

“No, I’m not authorized,” Ed shook his head. “But I’ve assisted on many. See an exorcism can be very dangerous, not only for the victim, but for anyone in the room.”

“So, what happened to Maurice?”

“Well, he tried to kill his wife. But instead he shot her in the arm and then he turned the gun on himself. Maurice had a very trouble life with little to live for, and not even an exorcist could bring him back. Which brings us to the three stages of demonic activity: Infestation, oppression, and possession. Now infestation, that’s… that’s the whispering, the footsteps, the feeling of another presence, which ultimately grows into oppression, the second stage. Now this is where the victim, and it’s usually the one who’s the most psychologically vulnerable, is targeted specifically by an external force. Breaks the victim down, crushes their will. And once in a weakened state, leads into the third and final stage, possession.”

Unbeknownst to the Warrens or the ponies-turned-humans, Carolyn Perron sits in the audience listening to the Warrens’ lecture. After all the events transpiring at her home, she figured the two demonologists could be her last hope.

“So, what are you guys?” One student asked. “I mean, what do people call you?”

“Uh… well, we’ve been called demonologists, that’s one name for us,” Ed answered. “Ghost hunters, paranormal researchers…”

“Kooks,” Lorraine added.

This caused some of the students to laugh, as Ed played along.

“Wackos,” Ed added.

“But we preferred to be known simply as Ed and Lorraine Warren,” Lorraine concluded.

<>

As soon as the lecture ends, Celestia and the girls wait in the auditorium for the Warrens to wrap it all together so they can leave. During which time they waited, an old woman, perhaps in her eighties, approaches them with a smile on her face.

“Wasn’t that quite the lecture?” She asked.

“Oh, indeed it was,” Celestia nodded. “I simply cannot believe two people alone could help so many people in the ways that they do.”

The old lady nods silently in agreement.

“Are you involved with the paranormal at all?” She asked Celestia.

Celestia contemplates the idea in her head.

If you wish to call being a mystical alicorn goddess, who governs a land of talking ponies and other creatures, paranormal… then yes.

Probably not a good idea for her to bring that up.

No kidding.

“I am not,” Celestia responded simply. “What about yourself?”

“Oh yes,” The lady nodded. “I’ve been involved for the last maybe sixty years of my life and I’m still involved… I’m still involved.”

Celestia could see Ed and Lorraine make their way out from backstage, knowing it’s time to go.

“It’s been lovely talking to you,” Celestia said kindly. “But my friends and I really must be going.”

She stuck her hand toward the elderly woman, who shakes it softly with a smile.

“Alright, be safe now dear.”

With that said, the old woman slowly walks away just as Ed and Lorraine approach the rest of the group.

<>

Together, they make their way to the Warrens car in the parking lot. Just before they could enter, Drew the Projectionist ran toward them.

“Hey, Ed, Lorraine?” He calls out.

“Yeah?” Ed responds.

“There is someone here that would like to talk to you.”

He signals for Carolyn to come forward, which she does rather quickly.

“How can we help you?” Lorraine asks.

“There’s something horrible happening in my house,” Carolyn spoke, terrified. “Could you come take a look?”

“You know, uh… it’s getting kind of late,” Ed responded. “We really need to be heading home.”

“No, you don’t understand.”

“Oh, but we do. There’s usually some sort of rational explanation…”

“I have five daughters who are scared to death. I’m so afraid this thing wants to hurt us. I mean, you have a daughter, won’t you do anything you could to protect her? Please! Please can you come and take a look?”

While the Warrens determine what to do, Celestia once again tries to reach out with her magical connection to either Twilight or Sunset. Only this time, she actually manages to gain a trace on them. Quickly taking advantage, she scours the area to detect where the trace is coming from. Her magenta eyes lands upon Carolyn Perron, sensing Twilight and Sunset’s auras pulsating around her. Realizing, she turns toward the girls with wide eyes.

“I think I’ve finally found a trace of where Twilight and the others may be,” She said urgently.

The girls’ eyes widen, but with excitement.

“Oh, that’s fantastic!” Rarity said joyfully.

“Where are they?” Fluttershy asked.

“I can sense traces of Twilight and Sunset’s magic on that woman Ed and Lorraine are talking to,” Celestia pointed towards Carolyn. “If we can convince Ed and Lorraine to take her face, we can follow her back to her home and possibly find the others.”

Celestia approaches the Warrens, deciding to inject herself into the conversation.

“If I may say so myself, I believe helping this poor woman would be the right thing to do. She seems quite distressed and it would be morally wrong to deny her help.”

Before Ed can object to the idea, Lorraine is quick to throw her opinion over his.

“Of course we will,” Lorraine assured. “Of course we will…”

<>

The next thing Celestia and the girls knew, they sit in the back of Ed and Lorraine’s car heading toward the Perron farmhouse. As they drew nearer, Celestia can feel the magical connection with Twilight and Sunset grow stronger and stronger. Perhaps this indeed is the day they’d finally reunite once more.

At the Perron house, Carolyn looks out the kitchen window watching the Warrens’ care drive up to the house. The Perron sister were all in the living room watching television, while the ponies and Spike try to assist Twilight with walking. Ever since being attacked by the demonic force, Twilight could barely walk without assistance. Whenever she tried, her back gave out.

Thankfully, the Perrons were kind enough to fashion some form of back brave to ease her pain. How she wished to find Celestia and the others already.

“Hey, would you guys turn it off?” Carolyn called. “Thanks.”

She proceeds to open the front door, allowing the Warrens in. Along with the pair, four other women with strange-looking hair follows. Celestia, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow walk into the living room as the Perrons introduce themselves to the Warrens. Their eyes land upon the four ponies and Spike, as time stands still. The four ponies and the little baby dragon look toward the ponies-turned-humans, as they stare at each other for the longest time.

“P-P-Princess?” Twilight croaked.

Celestia slowly raises her hand in the air, which glows brightly. When the light fades, she and the others return back to their original state. A huge smile forms on Celestia’s face, as she nods.

“Yes Twilight,” She said happily. “It’s us.”

In the span of a second, every pony and Spike rush toward one another hugging each other tightly, as many tears fell. They are all so happy to finally find each other once again. Celestia turns toward Twilight, seeing she is limping her way toward them and her concern starts to rise.

“Oh, my dear Twilight,” Celestia gasped. “What happened to you?”

Sunset helps Twilight over to them, before approaching Celestia’s side.

“Princess, we are dealing with something far more dangerous and powerful than we’ve ever dealt with before,” Twilight said.

“There’s a demonic spirit in this house!” Sunset continued. “We fear it won’t stop till it gets what it wants.”

Celestia turns from her proteges toward the kitchen, where the Warrens and the Perrons discuss the course of action to take. From the corner of her eye, Celestia could see a dark mass of energy quickly shoot from behind Carolyn and into the basement, slamming the door behind it. This caused all the ponies to jump in fright, as they stare upon the door that seemingly slammed all on its own. As Celestia stood tall and regal, with all her little ponies and Spike back by her side, she knew one thing was very clear.

They were in for a long, dangerous ride for their lives…

Author's Note

Just so you all know, the old lady that Celestia was talking to at the end of the lecture is supposed to be the real life Lorraine Warren who made a little brief appearance in the movie.