I can't let her go alone.
For one, just look at her. Scrawny little thing, and one good country brunch ain't gonna change that. Best hope she has goin' alone into the Everfree is that the monsters won't think she's worth the effort.
Even so, she'll have to find her way to some castle that might not even be there, and that ain't happenin' any time soon. Don't get me wrong, filly's got a good head on her withers. Must be if she got sent here t' oversee the Celebration. But I've made deliveries to Canterlot. Closest thing they've got to the Everfree is a park the size of a postage stamp. Even if she sticks to the path—peeve it, even if the path lets her stick to it—she'll be turned around faster than you can say "Jonathan Jonagold."
But banish it to the moon—'specially since there's a vacancy now—she's our best shot. Ain't like anypony else has any idea what's goin' on. Nightmare Moon, straight outta the old mares' tales? Nopony saw that comin' 'cept for her. But she's got a plan, and she needs to get to those ele-whatsits to make it work. So I'm goin' with.
And... truth be told, that ain't the only reason. This here's a case of what Big Mac's fancy philosophizin' books call "enlightened self-interest." Least, I'm pretty sure it is. Eternal night means no sun means no crops means no Sweet Apple Acres. Like Tartarus I'm gonna sit on the sidelines when my family's whole way of life's about to go belly-up.
Ain't like this'll be that odd. It should be just past sunrise. I'd be waking up 'round now anyway. Call it just another day on the farm. We got one hay of a weed problem and an even bigger varmint that needs clearin' out, but I've never met a chore I couldn't lick, and I don't intend to find one today.
I can't let her go alone.
Ponies don't understand the Everfree. Animals don't understand the Everfree. I certainly don't understand the Everfree, and I've lived next to it for years. I've heard rumors about the mare who actually lives in there, and I wouldn't believe them if I hadn't seen her walking past the cottage now and then.
I wonder if she wants a pet. I wonder what kind of pet Twilight might like.
Focus, Fluttershy. Even if it sometimes helps to think about something less... well, terrifying. Because this is. Everything about it is. We're going into the Everfree, at night, when it should be day, and we're not just confronting somepony, we're going against an alicorn. Right now I want nothing more than to hide under my covers, or maybe my whole bed. I really don't like Nightmare Night as it is, and now Nightmare Moon's showed up four moons early!
But...
But animals depend on day and night, on the flow of the seasons. It's part of how we look after them. If somepony doesn't do something, all of nature will be thrown out of balance. Even the Everfree. I mean, probably the Everfree. And the creatures there...
Well, I may not understand the forest itself, but I've at least tried to get to know them. Some are just too strange for me to understand, but others are really very nice once you give them a chance. Like Spike, who's so much nicer than how I always imagined dragons would be. And... I'm not sure, but I think Twilight's the same way. She doesn't hide when she's afraid; she lashes out like a mistreated dog. I think she's been hurt before, or she's so afraid of getting hurt that she's never let anyone close. But if somepony doesn't go with her now, the emotional injuries will be the least of her problems.
And... Call it a hunch, but I think Nightmare Moon might be hurt even worse than Twilight.
I'm afraid. Of course I am. But I'm more afraid of what will happen if I hide and do nothing than what will if I go in there with Twilight.
I can't let her go alone!
I mean, have you even met Twilight, hypothetical entity I'm addressing this to? She walked out of her own welcome party! Who does that? I'll tell you who. A pony who's used to knowing everything right up until she has to deal with something she's never thought about until now and doesn't understand right away. It's just like when Limestone tried to throw me my ninth birthday party 'cause she thought, hey, if I could throw one then how hard could it be? And then she got so embarrastrated that she almost bucked Holder's Boulder into the quarry!
Where was I?
Oh, right, Twilight. She's afraid of what she doesn't understand, because she's so used to understanding everything about everything. This is new and weird and different and she doesn't like it. Yet. And you should never go up against Nightmare Moon when you're already shaking in your horseshoes. If you can't enjoy the scares, then you're just going to be, well, scared. Without the fun parts. Or the candy.
Oh my gosh, Nightmare Moon's back and she doesn't want candy! Our standard tactics are useless! Though under another hoof, she also doesn't seem to want to gobble anypony, so that's a plus. But yeah, she's already shown that she's a major party pooper, way more so than Twilight. And if Twilight tries to go and face her alone... Oh, I can just see it.
"Join me, young Sparkle," she'll say between ominous deep breaths, "and not only I shall ensure that other ponies will never bother you again, I shall also bestow unto you every book in Equestria!"
And then Twilight would waver right up until the moment when her friends all charge in and restore her heroic resolve! But if we don't come with, we can't charge in dramatically, and then where will we all be?
Stuck without a sun. And I only have so many glowsticks stashed away for glowstick emergencies. So, let's go and show Black Snooty what for! And then we can try that welcome party again, this time with the guest of honor sticking around for more than a few minutes. Maybe she can show me how to do that trick where her mane lights on fire!
And, uh, maybe I'll say something next time she tries to drink hot sauce.
I simply cannot allow her to go alone.
Despite what certain hat-hoarding, apple-farming mares who shall remain nameless may claim, my literary tastes branch out beyond bridle rippers. I've read enough epic fantasies to recognize which quests call for the lone, determined hero and which call for a plucky band of unlikely misfits. And this? This is a band-of-misfits situation or I'm a mule.
Now, that is not to denigrate Twilight Sparkle, noble a scion of Canterlot as any the city can produce, I'm sure. One need but take one look at her to see the power at her command. Even before considering how her slightest use of telekinesis harnesses more magic than I go through on a daily basis, that slim physical frame speaks volumes of the mystical might that's a part of her very body!
But, sadly, one must face facts, and the fact is that her opponent is an alicorn. Nightmare Moon herself, no less!
Dear me, I wonder if she's offended by how we remember her.
Regardless, no one mortal mare can hope to face down Princess Celestia's equal and opposite. At least, I only hope the Nightmare is her equal. If she's already beaten the princess... Well, we cannot give her time to recover after what must have surely been a grueling ordeal. And the more support Twilight has, the better. I'm not thrilled about going into that horrid, mucky forest, but one must put aside such petty concerns in a time of crisis such as this.
Although, thinking about the legends... Didn't the banished princess go mad because ponies didn't appreciate her hard work? The night sky was her canvas, every star part of a creation that she presented to an indifferent audience. I'm not saying I'm in favor of eternal night, anything but, but I can understand how and why this all began. Call me a hopeless optimist, but if we give her a chance, let her know how much has changed in the intervening years, perhaps reach out to her as a fellow artiste...
Well, perhaps we can triumph even if these "Elements of Harmony" turn out to be more fiction than fact. I might even get a high-profile client out of this debacle!
Epic quest first, Rarity, networking later...
I can't let her go alone.
Seriously, she looks like she'd get winded walking from one end of a library to the other. And I mean Golden Oaks, not whatever ginormous mega-egghead buildings they have in Canterlot. We don't have time to waste on her dragging herself to the middle of the Everfree. Weather 101: Every second of lost daylight is another huge amount of heat not going into the atmosphere. That's gonna pile up real quick. We've got to be even quicker.
If it were up to me, I'd make everypony else stay home while I just went up and over. But Twilight's the one who knows what we're looking for. And I'm about ninety percent certain she's not a spy. Give or take a couple. I'm still keeping an eye on that dragon of hers.
Fluttershy's actually stepping up, and I'm not gonna be the one to put her down. Also, a manticore would probably try to swat me out of the sky if I flew that far over the Everfree canopy without her. Emphasis on "try," of course, but I can't waste time kicking scorpion-tailed butt when we're maybe a week away from a summer blizzard.
Applejack I know is cool, not that she'll ever hear me tell her that. But yeah, she can definitely hold her own in there. And the other two... I mean, I don't know them well, but they seem like they know what they're doing. Kind of. Okay, I'm not sure Pinkie even knows what's going on, but Rarity's a lot more dangerous than she looks, at least when it comes to getting ponies into dresses.
Heh. There's a thought. We defeat Nightmare Moon with a makeover.
Yeah, not happening. Whether it's Twilight's peppermints of homilies or good old-fashioned flank-whooping, we've gotta take her out the hard way. All of Equestria's counting on us, including the princess. And weird as it sounds, I gotta admit, it'll be faster if we go together than me racing there, not knowing what to do, and getting bucked in the muzzle by an alicorn.
And hey, what could get me more traction with the Wonderbolts than saving the world?
Why won't they just let me go alone?
They don't understand the severity of the situation. Nightmare Moon isn't some holiday hobgoblin, she's here and real and... about as powerful as Princess Celestia. With a significant margin of error on that estimate.
Okay, they can all probably appreciate that much. But it's not like they've ever met the princess. They don't understand just how strong or knowledgeable she really is, or what that implies for the Nightmare. We're dealing with a being who's turning the very heavens against us. How can they look at that and think they stand a chance?
I mean, I can because I've done research. Some research, anyway. Okay, I know that I'm looking for the Elements of Harmony, in the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Which is... admittedly somewhat larger than I had anticipated. And I don't have Spike with me to keep an eye out and maybe set the odd timberwolf ablaze. Timberwolves are native to the Everfree, right? I haven't studied the local flora and fauna.
Also, I don't know what the Elements actually look like.
Or how to activate them.
Or what one of them even is.
And of the five I do know, none of them exactly scream "enough power to defeat an alicorn." Kindness and Laughter? What, am I supposed to make friends with Nightmare Moon?
Ugh. Maybe this whole "spontaneous teamwork" thing is what Celestia meant all along. I mean, she did send me to check on these mares in particular. Other than Pinkie Pie. I'm not entirely sure she's even a pony, but I might as well face it, I could use all the help I can get right now. Even from eldritch madcreatures who defy all reason, logic, and decorum.
Also, I'm pretty sure Applejack is ready, willing, and able to hogtie me if I don't let her come with me. And Rarity will probably help her if she can force me into another corset. And outpacing Rainbow Dash is basically impossible, especially if Fluttershy convinces some of the local birds to scout for them...
All right, fine. I'll let them come. But I'm not going to like it.
Luster Dawn moved away from the memory gem, frowning in thought. "I just don't get it."
"There you are, honeybunch!"
"Whoa!" Luster bobbled in the air, the sudden shout making her autolevitation slip.
Before she could recast it, a teal aura enveloped her and eased her to the floor of the Cutie Map room. "Easy there, sweetums," Starlight Glimmer said, a too-wide, too-warm smile on her muzzle as she enveloped Luster in a too-big hug. "I've looking all over the castle for you! Oh, I'm so excited you're staying here while you're in Ponyville."
Luster didn't even try to escape. There was no escape from the Glim-hug. "Mom," she muttered half into Starlight's barrel.
"You'll be happy to know that Mama's got your room set up just the way you left it! But you've got to be more careful." Starlight released Luster from the full force of the hug, just holding her in her forelegs. "We don't want you giving yourself an ouchie, now do we?"
"Mom," Luster said with a flat look.
"Yes, pumpky-wumpkin?"
"You are really channeling Poppy Firelight right now."
Luster could almost see the gears turn in Starlight's head. "Oh. Shoot." Starlight released her daughter fully and brought a forehoof to her head. "Dad told me I'd understand after you moved out, but I didn't think..." She shook her head. "Never mind. Sorry, Luster, I think empty nest syndrome hit me harder than I realized."
"I hadn't noticed," Luster deadpanned.
"Hey now. I'm still your mother, young mare." Starlight looked around. "Though I do have to wonder what brought you to the map room."
"I thought the best way to get started with this new focus on friendship studies would be to see how Princess Twilight started out. So, I went to the source." Luster nodded up at the roots of the old Ponyville library, the memory gems twinkling in the strange, diffuse light that filled Namepending Castle.
Starlight nodded. "I'm sensing a but."
"It's just... she barely even tolerated her friends when they set out to thwart Nightmare Moon. And they weren't any better! Most of them pitied her more than anything." Luster put her head in her hooves and she tried to make sense of it all. "How can ponies so different go on to become the living definition of friendship?"
A cut-off laugh made her look up to see her mother smiling and snickering like Aunt Trixie watching a much younger Luster try to figure out how a bit had gotten behind her ear.
"What?"
Starlight took a few moments to collect herself before saying "I did the exact same thing when I started my friendship studies, just after Twilight reunited me with your father. Same memory crystal and everything. It flew in the face of everything I thought I knew about friendship... which just told me how little I really understood about it." She tousled Luster's mane. "You do have it easier than I did, though."
Luster focused on fixing her hair. "Thanks to the established curriculum and years of friendship graduates before me?"
"Well, that and not having to unlearn your own twisted philosophy."
Awkward silence stretched out for a brief time. Luster never did know how to react to those... She wasn't even sure if they qualified as jokes. Finally, she said, "Still. I just don't get how then led to now. Or even to them attuning to the Elements."
"Well, I wasn't there, but I do know you're missing a lot of context. By the time those mares got to the castle, they owed each other their lives several times over." Starlight gave a sage nod. "There's definitely something to be said for bonds forged in the heat of the moment."
"You got that off of a romance novel, didn't you?"
Starlight didn't even blink. "I can neither confirm nor deny that. The point is that the mares who went into the Everfree that night and the ones who came out were very different ponies. Friends change you, and you change them in turn. Generally for the better."
"I... guess." Luster sighed. "Makes as much sense as anything else I've heard about friendship. Honestly, the weirdest part was seeing how familiar Princess Twilight's perspective was." A shiver ran down her back. "You... You don't think she expects me to replace her, do you?"
"That's a matter between you and the princess." Starlight looked in the direction of Canterlot and scowled. "Though as an interested party in the matter, I would have something to say about it. And on a completely unrelated note, I may have a train to catch this weekend."
Luster rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "Completely unrelated, sure."
"But for now, I'll say that if you want to do some extracurricular friendship studies, spending time alone probably isn't the way to do it." Starlight swept a foreleg to take in the mysterious, historically significant, and above all empty room.
"I guess. But..."
"Let me guess: But what if your new friends are only pitying you?"
Luster winced and nodded. "Went through that too, huh?"
"Somewhat. Also a degree of 'How much are they my friends, how much are they my parole officers?'" Starlight nuzzled Luster before the awkwardness could set in again. "But if there's one lesson you should take from those memories, it's that the best way to go from pity to genuine mutual appreciation is spending time together. Now go on and have fun. You should still remember how."
Luster nodded and initiated a much more reasonable hug. "Thanks, Mom."
"Anytime, Dawny-dearest."
"Mom."
Starlight winked at her. "I'm only doing it where none of your friends can hear me, Luster. It's a lot more than your Poppy ever did for me."
Author's Note
Ignoring the significance of the Mane Six, coming to her own twisted conclusions about friendship, eager to engage in academic hermitage...
Yeah, Luster as the daughter of Starlight and Sunburst makes a disturbing amount of sense.
