The Visiting Team -- Part II

Chapters

Don't Look Back
Turn It Around
Seek and Find
Bring It All Together
And Save A Tree
Take Charge

Don't Look Back

Most problems seem more tractable on the other side of toast with jam. At least, Twilight had always found it to be so.

After a quick breakfast, most of the team had departed about their various tasks. Tempest had stationed herself just inside the audience room's door as gatekeeper, with Guard ponies outside and Grubber running errands for her. Spike was sitting on the room's worktable at Twilight's elbow, keeping careful notes as instructed. And Starlight was seated beside Twilight, helping manage the influx of reports from all over: from the Palace, from the city, and a few from elsewhere in Equestria.

Which, once they'd been put in order, formed a somewhat reassuring picture. Twilight found there was very little that needed doing, actually. The encroaching weeds seemed mostly limited to Ponyville and Canterlot. The rest of the country was troubled by the bizarre sky, and there were questions, concerns, and outright fear everywhere amongst the populace. But so far the Palace staff and the Guard had managed to keep things in order and running smoothly.

Twilight nodded, relieved. "Looks like Celestia had things pretty well organized."

"You'd think she would," Starlight agreed, "after a thousand years."

"So... what do we do next?" Twilight wondered. "Maybe we should start thinking about a defense for Ponyville?"

"If I might suggest, Highness?" said Raven. "It would be most appropriate at this point to conduct a Royal Audience, for the staff and Guard and such dignitaries as are visiting us at present."

Twilight stared at her. "An... audience?"

"It does not have to be a long one," Raven said. "Certainly not a full-day session as usual. But it would help immensely, to demonstrate that the Golden Throne is still occupied and there has been no interruption in authority in Equestria."

"The... Golden Throne?" Twilight echoed hollowly. "Me?"

"You are the Princess," Raven replied, matter-of-factly.

Twilight gulped, and looked around at her friends. She somehow managed to keep her voice from wavering. "Of course, Raven. Would you arrange it, please?"

"At once, Highness." Raven bowed deeply, then hurried from the room.

Twilight put her hooves on the table, staring ahead blankly. "If I should suddenly keel over," she whispered in terror, "it's perfectly all right. Being stunned will do that to you..."

A short time later, in the Grand Audience Hall of the Palace, there was a loud fanfare. The assembled ponies and guests fell silent, looking to the tall entrance doors at the rear of the Hall.

The doors swung open. Through them stalked Commander Tempest, in full iron-black armor, polished till it shone. Her head was held high and important. She came to a halt, then raised a hoof and brought it down, hard. Even through the red carpeting covering the central aisle, her armored shoe rang loudly in the stillness.

She stamped again, then once more.

"Her Royal Highness!" she called. "Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria!"

She stepped to the side, and Twilight walked into the Hall, doing her best to look calm and collected... while at the same time focusing very hard on not catching a hoof on the carpet.

Behind her followed Raven and Twilight's friends. Tempest smoothly fell in beside Twilight, a pace behind, and together the party proceeded up the aisle, coming at last to the immense Golden Throne.

Twilight stared up at it as they approached. The upper platform loomed far above her, like the edge of a cliff seemingly poised halfway to the vaulted ceiling. Twilight halted before the Throne, feeling extremely out of place. As fond as Celestia was of Twilight, she had never, not once, asked Twilight to sit with her upon the high seat of the Throne itself. And now Twilight had to somehow sit in her place... all on her own.

Gathering her nerve, Twilight put one hoof after another. She ascended the carpeted ramp to the high seat, then turned and sat down, her head held high and confident, as she imagined Celestia herself would have done.

The rest of the group had split up near the base of the throne, with Raven and the others moving to the one side amongst the assembled scribes and administrators, and Tempest taking up station amongst the guards on the other side, with Grubber right beside her. Seeing that Twilight was settled, Tempest once more stamped her hoof, three times. This time she'd found a stretch of bare marble and the ringing clash of hoof on stone throughout the Hall was piercingly incontrovertible.

"Long live the Princess!" she called.

"Long live the Princess!" the Guard quickly echoed.

And in response, the entire crowd gathered in the Audience Hall bowed, deeply and willingly, in respect.

Despite her terror, Twilight had to smile at the entire performance. It had been Raven's suggestion, actually. An appropriate level of pomp and ceremony, which drew attention to the occupancy of the Throne while at the same time making no direct statement about which Princess was being so honored.

Twilight gazed out upon the attentive audience, the staff and guests and guard ponies, all looking up at her curiously and expectantly. And she suddenly decided that, unlike Celestia, she didn't like sitting up there all alone.

"Ahem," she said. "It is our pleasure that our assistant and scribe, Spike, shall attend us."

At Spike's surprised look, Twilight motioned minutely with her head towards the platform beside her.

Spike jumped, then hurried forward up the ramp and came to a halt beside her, bowing deeply. "Your Highness?"

"Spike," she said, as much to the audience as to him, "I'll want you to keep very careful notes for me. When the Princesses are returned, I want to be able to present them with a full and complete report of my actions on their behalf."

"Absolutely, Twilight! I mean, Your Highness." Spike bowed again. Then he pulled out scroll and quill and stood ready beside her.

Twilight turned to the audience, considering her next words carefully. And decided that the plain truth was probably best here.

"Princess Celestia," she said, "as well as Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, are temporarily... unavailable. Their whereabouts are unknown. I and my friends, the Heroes of Equestria, are investigating their disappearance, and will effect their safe return as soon as possible. In the meantime..."

Twilight paused uneasily, then went on. "In the meantime, I will be assuming their duties as Princess of Equestria. Rest assured, the daily business and defense of Equestria will continue as usual. And I look forward to the return of their Highnesses, at the earliest possible moment."

Twilight paused for breath, and to think frantically. How the hay did Celestia end one of these little speeches?

Then she nodded, remembering. "If there are any immediate questions, the Crown will now entertain them."

A large, expensively dressed griffon in the front row of delegates raised a claw. "Your... Highness?"

The Chief Steward, standing next to Raven, came to attention. "His Excellency Egmund!" he intoned helpfully. "The honorable ambassador from Griffonstone!"

Twilight nodded uneasily. "Er... yes?"

"Princess, ah... Twilight. You say that all the other Princesses are missing?" The ambassador looked affronted. "None of you have any idea where they've gone? Seems rather careless in my view!"

"At the moment, that's how it appears," Twilight said carefully. "My friends and I are hopeful that we'll quickly--"

"And you and these... heroes," Egmund interrupted, "are now in charge?"

"Yes... we are," Twilight said, trying not to sound weak and apologetic, and not having much luck.

"Well! I must say this is a distressing situation!" the ambassador said. "Can we truly feel confident that matters are well in claw here? Perhaps this is some kind of attempted coup? Or subterfuge of some sort, to delay our negotiations and demand new terms? How can we be certain that --"

There was a loud, peremptory clash of armor on tile, cutting off his tirade. Tempest had had enough. "Does the esteemed ambassador from Griffonstone," she growled, "challenge the rightful authority of the Princess of Equestria?"

In the face of Tempest's acid glare, and the equally vehement gaze of every single Guard pony in the Hall, the ambassador cowed, coughing uneasily. Then he harrumphed and resettled his feathers.

"My apologies, Your Highness," he finally said, bowing. "No disrespect was intended."

Tempest eyed him a brief moment longer, darkly suspicious. Then she relented and looked to Twilight.

Who let out the breath she'd been holding. "My friends and I have only two concerns right now," she said, "the safety of Equestria, and the safe return of their Highnesses. And I hope," she added, a mite testily, "that there's no doubt from anycreature here present about that!"

Tempest eyed her for a moment, then quickly turned to the other guards. "So sayeth the Crown!" she added loudly.

"So sayeth the Crown!" the Guard echoed loyally, their voices booming throughout the hall.

And the entire audience, as a group, bowed humbly and respectfully.

Twilight swallowed. She somehow found words to continue.

"Now... are there further questions?"

The Ponyville group had made their way to the meadow beyond Fluttershy's cottage, and nervously approached the unruly, vine-choked wall of the Forest itself. "Discord went this way, I'm sure," Fluttershy said. She pointed to a faint hoofpath that wound its way to the wall of green and vanished inside.

"And... we think it's a great idea to go in after him?" Rainbow asked.

Zecora answered calmly:

// To the heart of the Forest, //
// this is the quickest way. //
// A good place to start, //
// since we haven't all day. //

"Works for me," said Sunset. "Everypony stay close."

Lifting the overhanging branches, she crept inside, followed closely by Zecora. Reluctantly, the other five ponies followed as well.

It was dim and muggy within, though the path itself seemed clear, if overhung with branches and creepers. Sunset tried her horn, and found she could manage a small luminance spell before her magic became too unstable. Its fitful glow glinted from damp leaves all around them. And the further they tramped into the humid darkness, the more they felt as if they were being watched...

"Where are we headed again?" Applejack asked, rescuing her hat from a low-hanging branch that had swept it off her head.

"Not sure," Sunset said. "There must be a source of some kind for these vines. We'll know it when we see it. Maybe it's somewhere beyond your home, Zecora?"

The zebra looked grim.

// That way lies deeper //
// than I normally tread. //
// Creatures living there //
// are fearsome, it is said. //

"The ones we see near Ponyville," Applejack warned, "they ain't no picnic neither. Thankfully they mostly keep to the Forest. But we don't take chances," she added. "We keep the young'uns and the critters indoors after dark."

"I wish I was indoors," Rarity complained, gingerly lifting aside wet branches and thorned creepers so they wouldn't catch on her coat. "I'm going to need a shampoo bath and a hooficure once we're out of this."

"Right, Rarity," Rainbow sneered. "Like your looks are so important right now. We're trying to save Ponyville, remember?"

"There's no call to be snippish, Rainbow," she retorted.

"Urgh!" Rainbow ducked a branch, then dodged a vine hanging beyond it. "I can barely fly a length in here without crashing into something."

"Then why don't ya try the ground for once," Applejack shot back. "Works just fine for us earth ponies."

"Meh," said Pinkie Pie. "I'm with Rainbow on this one. I keep having to stop, drop, and roooollll..." She tumbled quickly under a branch that Applejack had just let go of, then bounded back to her hooves. "But these vines and low branches, they just take the spring outta my step, ya know?"

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow growled. "Ponyville's depending on us, and you're all treating this like a picnic outing! We need to stay focused here, find whatever's behind this and take it out! Fluttershy, you're with me on this, right?"

She looked up, startled. Then lowered her head sadly.

"I just wish I was safe at home with my animals," she said quietly, trudging along the path.

Rainbow face-hoofed disgustedly, but fell silent, focusing instead on avoiding the many obstacles in her flight path.

Zecora looked at Sunset, amused.

// For me I'm sure, //
// it is not to say. //
// But are your friends //
// often this way? //

Sunset shook her head, exasperatedly. "Not sure myself. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into here..."

So saying, Sunset shoved hard against the branches blocking her path. And felt them suddenly give way. She tumbled through, landing heavily in a broad, open clearing beyond.

A fallen tree had torn open a gap in the canopy overhead. Bright moonlight fell upon the massive trunk and its spider-like fan of roots, and on the heaps of moss and shoots that were already half-burying it, as the smaller plants fought each other to reach the light.

Sunset got to her hooves and caught her breath, hearing the others push their way into the clearing behind her.

"Which way now, Zecora?" she muttered.

The zebra glanced around, getting her bearings, then pointed a hoof. And Sunset took a step forwards...

... right on a twig. In the open clearing, its snap was far louder than anything that small and damp had a right to be.

Before them, what had looked like heaps of moss and broken branches draped over the trunk of the tree reared up alertly. Glowing green eyes narrowed, fanged jaws gaped.

"Oh, lordy..." Applejack whispered. "Timberwolves!"

"All right, everypony," Sunset warned. "Keep it together." She kept her gaze fixed on the massive, wolf-like shapes facing them. "We can do this. Horns at the ready. We'll blast them to kindling!"

"Uhh, Sunset..." Rainbow muttered. "Most of us aren't unicorns?"

Sunset glanced around. "Uh, right. I knew that. Okay, everypony get behind me and stick close together. Rarity, back me up here. We'll keep it simple. You focus on shields, I'll handle the rough stuff. Ready?"

"Er... shields, Sunset?" Rarity looked confused. "I'm not sure I know how to work that kind of magic."

"What?" Sunset stared at her.

"I'm a whiz with pinking shears. Does that help?"

"Uhh..."

Zecora nudged Sunset with a hoof.

// Discuss this later //
// we should, I fear. //
// For we are greatly //
// outmatched here! //

Sunset nodded. "You're right, Zecora. Okay, everypony, new plan..." she called, "... RUN FOR IT!"

The others turned and shoved back through the branches, trying to regain the hoofpath. As they did so, Sunset stood her ground, charging her horn and attempting to fire a blast at the nearest timberwolf.

And nearly wound up taking the top of her head off. The magic blazed outwards from her horn, crackling and distorted, then slammed back together, striking far short of the target. The beast Sunset had aimed at snorted, briefly dazed by the flash. Then it recovered and roared angrily, preparing to spring. The others did likewise...

And they were suddenly struck right on the nose, each of them, by green pods that exploded into an obscuring cloud of pollen.

Sunset watched in amazement as Zecora plucked yet another pod from a shrub nearby and hefted it, eyeing the beasts before them. "Nice shot!" she said.

Zecora nodded acknowledgement, then jerked her head towards the shrubbery behind them. Sunset took the hint, and dove through them, hearing Zecora bellow a warlike cry behind her as she flung the pod.

And as Sunset scurried away in retreat, fast as her hooves would carry her, she grimaced angrily.

More than anything else, she hated being wrong...

Turn It Around

With a pair of Royal Guard ponies escorting her, Moondancer trotted nervously through the main doors of the Canterlot Archives.

As she walked in, the richly-robed research ponies at the various desks and reading tables looked up from their tomes and scrolls. Not with annoyance or even curiosity, just seeing what the disturbance was.

Moondancer paused, looking at the guards with her. "I think you may be a little noisy in here, sirs, with that armor," she said, "Would you mind waiting here by the doors? I can yell if I need you."

The guards glanced at each other, then bowed compliantly, and took up station as requested. And Moondancer advanced alone into the room, glancing around. The research ponies were already getting up from their tables and carrels, and gathering together to face her.

Then Moondancer abruptly froze, swallowing nervously. At the head of the group she could see the Head Researcher, Paradigm Shift, himself. The scholar of scholars, dry as a twig and sharp as a whip, who almost never budged from his garret study. And here he was, as if waiting for her.

The white-maned pony came to a halt, facing Moondancer. His associates quickly fell into line behind him. "Yes?" Paradigm Shift said gently. "May we be of assistance?"

Moondancer thought quickly. It's like Trixie said: there's one act on the stage. So...

She gave a respectful bow. "Honored researchers, my name is Moondancer, and I'm Princess Twilight's Minister of Research." She glanced around at the robed ponies. "But that doesn't make me an expert, not by any stretch of the imagination. I just really love reading. Ahem." Smiling sheepishly, she drew herself up again. "I need your help in finding a book."

"Ah, what manner of book?" Paradigm's tone was perfectly even, neither amused nor condescending. Just asking clarification, as if on a minor detail.

Moondancer almost smiled. Here was a pony that she could relate to. "A book," she replied with similar calm directness, "that might well help us to save all of Equestria."

Paradigm's bushy eyebrows lofted at this, but he said nothing.

Moondancer pressed on. "May I call upon your expertise and knowledge in this matter, sir? You and your entire research team? It is that important."

"Well! This is most unusual." Paradigm glanced briefly around at his fellow researchers. They in turn stared back at him, gravely awaiting his judgement.

Moondancer gritted her teeth and kept looking at the head researcher, as he turned back to her. She looked him square in his calm gray eyes...

Then Paradigm smiled, honestly pleased. "Princess Celestia has oft come to us in search of guidance. On some detail of Griffon or Zebra culture, some fine point of law or history, even on --" He made a distasteful look. "-- crossword clues. But to my knowledge, the Princess has never, not once, asked us to assist her... in saving the day."

Paradigm Shift bowed deeply. Following his example, the assembled researchers hurriedly did likewise.

"You shall have every resource we can offer, Minister Moondancer," he said. Then, looking her in the eye, with a twinkle in his own, he went on. "How shall we begin?"

Moondancer allowed herself to breathe again. "Well..." She glanced around at the innumerable galleries filled with books. "I usually just start with the A's and work my way through the lot. But I don't think we have that kind of time. So we should start by trying to identify the vine or weed, or whatever it is, that's invading the city. Maybe there's something about it in one of Botanical Garden's monographs on thaumotropic plant life. Also, we should see if we can determine the nature of the dark magic it projects, try to find a counter-spell. I should ask my friend Starlight to help us with that. She's really good with spellwork."

Paradigm nodded. "Quite so. And, if I may suggest, Minister," he added gently, "we should also see if there are any historical precedents for the situation we find ourselves in. Any party or parties who might hold a grudge against Equestria or its Princesses. That could help us narrow down the search substantially."

Moondancer blinked, her mouth open. Then she nodded quickly. "Just what I would have suggested, sir. If I'd been swift enough to think of it."

Paradigm laughed. "My dear Moondancer, I have met with ministers and potentates, officials and royalty of all stripes. But it's a rare occasion, a rare one indeed, for me to encounter a pony in such a posting whom I might readily welcome as a colleague."

Moondancer stared at him in astonishment, taking that in, as Paradigm Shift turned to his fellow researchers. "Fellow scholars! We have been called upon to assist in saving Equestria. And she shall not find us wanting. This has top priority, all hooves on deck as it were. Let us get to work!"

As the group conferred on strategies for dividing the effort, with Moondancer right in their midst, she couldn't suppress an ear-to-ear smile. A colleague, she thought. Paradigm Shift, the pony who had to stop accepting prizes for learning and discovery only because he ran out of prizes to accept, called me a colleague...

She wanted to laugh out loud.

Wait till I tell Twilight that!

The Ponyville group, Zecora included, had regathered in Fluttershy's cottage. And Sunset was pacing back and forward angrily. "What was that?" she demanded loudly. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Beggin' yer pardon, Sunset," Applejack said in an injured tone. "But that's kinda harsh, ain't it?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow added. "I mean, we're with ya a hundred percent. But we're not exactly a magical commando squad, here."

Sunset looked up at them in surprise. "Oh, I wasn't talking about any of you," she said. "I was talking about me." She stamped a hoof in frustration. "I'm so used to having five other overpowered unicorns backing me up, I didn't even think about what I was getting us into!"

She gazed out through the window next to her, at the green wall of the forest. And then sighed, helplessly.

"How does she do it?" she asked. "Twilight, I mean. She wouldn't goof up like this. Somehow she knows just what to ask of each of us, without even thinking about it. Because she knows us, knows what we can do, knows our strengths and weaknesses. Because... she's such a good friend."

She looked sadly around at the others.

"I'm sorry, gang. I wasn't paying attention, and I nearly got us all hurt. Some leader I turned out to be, huh?"

Applejack trotted over, put a hoof around her. "Don't beat yourself up, sugarcube. All of us walked into this with our eyes open. What matters now is we're all safe, and we've got another chance to get it right."

The others nodded readily.

"Absolutely!" Rarity agreed. "Though if we can possibly choose a path that doesn't involve running into those walking compost heaps, I would be more than gratified." She wrinkled her snout disgustedly.

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. "We're with ya, Sunset -- totally! So, what's the plan?"

"Just... gimme a minute here, gang," Sunset said, putting a hoof to her head and shutting her eyes. "I gotta rethink this a bit..."

And then she suddenly looked up, staring around at all of them. Five ponies, five personalities she already knew, all so well... from their counterparts at CHS, on the other side of the mirror.

"Okay," she said. "I think I've got it now. Fluttershy, you're crazy good with animals."

"Um... yes?"

"Can you ask the birds and squirrels and other creatures in the Forest to act as lookouts? To let us know if there's anything dangerous in our path, or sneaking up on us from the sides?"

She nodded in surprise. "Of course I can."

"Rainbow," Sunset went on, "you're wasted flying low. So fly higher, where there's less underbrush. Keep watch for anything coming at us from above."

The pegasus nodded. "Can do!"

"Rarity," Sunset said, "You're good with pinking shears."

"Afraid it's about all I'm good with, my dear."

"That's okay, it's just what we need. Can you help clear a path for us? Trim back the branches and creepers in our way, so we're not distracted with struggling through them?"

Surprised, she nodded willingly. "Of course, darling!"

"Applejack, you're the strongest of us. So you bring up the rear. You watch our six, and keep everypony safe, okay?"

"Not a problem, Sunset. Be glad to!"

"And Zecora, you and I will take point. But I'll let you lead, since you know your way better. I'll focus on keeping the group together."

The zebra smiled, nodding in approval.

// One who follows //
// leads best, they say, //
// from taking time //
// to see the way. //

Sunset smiled in return.

"And Pinkie," she said, "you're, uh..." She waved a hoof, not sure how to put it. "You're our wild card, our ace in the hole. The pony they'll never see coming. You do whatever's needed, okay?"

Pinkie was somehow suddenly wearing full tactical gear, including night-vision goggles. She snapped to attention, saluting.

"I... am...on it!"

The others laughed, and Pinkie stared around, surprised. "Whaaaat? I'm just getting into character!"

Sunset laughed with them all, then stared out through the window at the green wall of the Forest.

"Okay, gang," she said determinedly. "Let's do this..."

"Wow, I'm glad that's over with," Twilight said. She and Starlight had retreated to the quiet of the audience room. And Twilight had her head resting in her hooves, her elbows on the table. "I mean, I don't know how many more ways I can say 'I don't know' without sounding like a complete idiot!"

"You did just fine, I thought," Starlight said. "And maybe now we can get back to dealing with Ponyville, huh?"

"Maybe," Twilight said. "But we still don't know what to do yet."

"Excuse me, Your Highness?"

Twilight looked miserably at Raven. "Tell me there isn't something else?"

"Afraid so. But this should be quick." She consulted her clipboard. "We need you to witness the signing of the latest trade accord with the Griffons, on behalf of the realm."

"Um, not an expert here," Starlight said, "but... priorities? Is now really the time to be worrying about trade negotiations?"

"In this case, yes. We've been working on this for months, and have finally gotten all parties on board. We just need to meet with the ambassador to ratify and sign the treaty."

"Fine," Twilight said. "So, where is it?"

Raven looked puzzled. "Highness?"

"This treaty? I'm not signing anything on behalf of Equestria until I've read it first."

"That... may take some time, Highness."

"Why? It's just a trade agreement, right?"

Several minutes later, Twilight and Starlight were staring at multiple stacks of paper and numerous scrolls, piled on the table before them.

"Seriously?" Starlight said. "What are we trading here? Whole continents?"

Raven shrugged. "There were many details and nuances which needed to be carefully spelled out. The griffons can be... picky about such things."

"Well, all right," Twilight said. "Let's get to it, then."

Starlight reluctantly nodded. "Sure. Can't be much more complicated than cramming for a final exam, right?"

Half an hour later, both of them were already bleary-eyed, and they'd only put together an outline of the agreement.

"I'm still not entirely clear on what we're agreeing to here," Twilight said. "I mean, this section here --" She pointed at a passage midway through a stack of paper. "Is this even Ponish?"

"And this scroll," Starlight said, unrolling it. "on the boundary demarcations with Trottingham. Who wrote this thing? It looks like the Griffons are ceding half a township here, and getting nothing in return. That doesn't make sense."

Twilight glanced through it herself. "You're right, that has to be some kind of clerical error. Maybe somepony didn't read it through properly." She stared around at the rest of the documents. "In fact, they're all like that. It feels like a wordy, half-finished rush job. Maybe... maybe as long as we're reading through all this, we might condense it a bit, put it into some kind of order. That should help in the final sign-off."

"You think we should?" Starlight said. "Raven said this took a while to put together."

"I don't feel comfortable signing something I can't even follow myself," Twilight said. "We can at least make it easier to read. Spike, help us out here. Starlight and I will summarize things. You copy them down for us."

"You got it, Twilight!" He picked up a new blank scroll, and held up his quill.

Starlight shrugged, and willingly helped Twilight sort the scrolls into a useful order.

An hour and a half later still, Twilight and Starlight were just putting the finishing touches on a single, carefully-lettered scroll.

"Ha!" Starlight said. "It is like doing the final roll-up on a School project."

"Ow..." Spike groaned, kneading his claw and making faces, "just like, from my point of view."

"You did great, Spike," Twilight told him. "Now let's talk to Raven and show this to her."

But when they requested Raven's assistance -- Twilight utterly refused to think of it as summoning her -- and proudly showed the administrator the single, compact scroll, Raven began making the uncomfortable-looking faces of a pony trying very hard not to say something career-limiting.

"It's just that," she finally said, "negotiations with Griffonstone have taken so long, and been so tortured, even over seemingly minor details of wording. If we change anything now, it's likely to set the entire effort back to the start."

"So, you don't think this is a good idea?" Twilight tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

Raven winced. "It might be best at this juncture to retain the treaty's original composition. Any issues can be ironed out in the periodic reviews, which are spelled out in an appendix to the agreement."

"Oh." Twilight looked at the mountains of paper on the table, then at the simple, almost spell-like document hovering in her magic. And then she set the summary scroll on the table.

"You're right, Raven," she said. "I'm only in charge temporarily, so I shouldn't disrupt work you and the staff have put so much effort into."

Raven smiled gratefully. "Rest assured, Highness, we do appreciate the leadership you and your friends have shown. If you're ready, I'll work on scheduling time with the ambassador and his party. Say, in a couple hours, if that's suitable?"

"Sounds good to me," Twilight said.

As Raven departed, Starlight shrugged. "Well, at least we tried, huh? So, what do we do in the meantime?"

Twilight considered it. "We could help to search for the Princesses," she suggested. "But the guards must have already thoroughly quartered the Palace by now, looking for clues."

"Maybe," Starlight said, "though you know, there's one place they likely haven't searched all that thoroughly."

"Where?" Twilight asked, puzzled. And then looked uneasy.

"Oh..."

Meanwhile, down in the Palace's celebration area...

"Thank you, Canterlot! You've been a marvelous audience, ah... today. Yes, definitely today. And don't worry! The Grrreat and Powerful Trrrixie -- aided by her great and powerful friends -- has matters well in hoof!"

There was an agreeable, if muted, round of applause. Trixie aloofly trotted down the stairs of her wagon's fold-out stage, and then into the crowd of autograph-seekers, with Guard ponies accompanying her to keep back the more enthusiastic fans.

"A wonderful show, my dear!" said a portly matron with a gilt-frosted mane. "Simply wonderful. My little niece and nephew here adored it."

The filly and colt with her obligingly smiled on cue.

"Well," Trixie purred, chucking each of them under the chin, "we aim to please!"

"How do you manage it, Miss Trixie?" asked a pudgy delivery pony, scratching his tan mane. "I can't tell whether you're using real magic or not."

"Oh!" she replied mysteriously. "One never knows, with the Great and Powerful Trixie. Is it real magic, or simple illusion? Is Trixie faking it? Or does she have extraordinary powers, beyond the ken of mere mortal ponies?" Trixie dimpled, then giggled mischievously. "Trixie likes to keep her adoring fans guessing."

A nervous-looking businesspony raised a hoof. "Do you know if they've found the Princesses yet?" he asked. "Twilight and the others, I mean?"

"They will find them, won't they, my dear?" the matron asked, fearfully. "The children do worry, you know..."

Her niece and nephew looked up at her in confusion.

"I used to complain," mused a lordly-looking noble, "about Princess Celestia's confusingly progressive tax policy. But right now, I'd give anything to have her back on the throne again."

"I feel the same," sighed the delivery pony. "They'll find Her Highness soon, won't they?"

Now the matron's niece and nephew looked worried. "I miss Celestia," whimpered the colt. His sister nodded sadly.

"Well," Trixie said, a little testily, "my friends and I are hard at work on that. And rest assured, the Great and Powerful Trixie -- and her capable friends -- shall not rest until the Princesses are restored!"

This prompted a small, though encouraging, round of applause. But there were more questions along the same lines, as Trixie continued to sign autographs. Everyone wanted to know about Celestia.

Celestia, Trixie grumbled to herself. Always Celestia.

Finally tiring of the constant questioning, the demands for reassurance, Trixie turned away, claiming a prior engagement, and closed up her wagon. Then she headed for the Palace, the guards in tow. And as she went, she looked up at the two tallest towers of the Palace -- in particular the one to the left, which held Luna's private suite.

It's like they've forgotten all about you, Trixie thought to herself crossly. Well, Trixie hasn't, that's for sure.

She trotted up the front stairway and through the doors into the main entrance hall. And here she found Cheese Sandwich, conducting an impromptu call-and-response singalong for a group of the guards and staff. Trixie shook her head, amazed despite herself. Somehow, with just a wheezy accordion and a mind like a butter churn, the party pony had the entire crowd belting out the chorus to Chancellor Puddinghead Fell Down The Stairs like it was Hearthswarming Eve.

Huh, Trixie though proudly. At least I'm not some kind of song-and-dance pony. I'm a miracle worker! And if nopony else is going to trouble themselves to look for Princess Luna, then I guess it's up to the Great and Powerful Trixie!

Jamming her hat tighter onto her mane, Trixie turned and headed for the stairs leading up to the Royal Residence wing of the Palace.

Back in Ponyville, Sunset's party again approached the Forest, this time by the path near Sweet Apple Acres, which was broader and sloped up a short rise before diving into the vine-strangled shadows.

With Fluttershy's animals keeping watch ahead of them, and Rainbow keeping watch overhead, and Rarity efficiently clearing brush out of their way, they made much better progress this time. Of course, every now and then they had to wait impatiently until Pinkie Pie returned from whatever covert operation she'd assigned herself to, rambling like a hunting dog through the underbrush around them. But they made their way without incident deep into the Forest's dark interior.

They came at last to a large, gnarled elm tree, with a wooden door and windows set into its base, its trunk decorated with traditional masks and its gnarled branches with hanging bottles. The door stood open and then windows were dark, making the tree look abandoned and lonely. And it was thoroughly enmeshed by the black, coiling vines.

Zecora gazed at it miserably as they passed.

"Is that your home, Zecora?" Sunset asked her.

The zebra nodded. Then her normally placid expression turned darkly stern.

// To magic of all kinds //
// this plant seems drawn //
// Spell, potion, and chanter, //
// the list goes on... //

// So, perhaps towards its magic //
// out paths should now roam, //
// to drive back this menace //
// from hearth and home! //

"We're with ya on that, no question," Applejack said. "But these vines are all over the place. How do we follow 'em back to their source?"

Sunset tapped her horn with a grin. "This thing isn't just for looks, you know." She swung her head back and forth, one eye closed, her horn faintly glowing. "You're right, though. It's hard to pin down exactly. The dark magic of these vines, it feels strongest... thattaway." She gestured with a forehoof.

"Oh, do let me guess," Rarity said, dryly. "That way will lead to the darkest, muddiest, most dangerous part of the Forest, yes?"

Zecora smiled.

// The heart of the Forest //
// is dark, it is so. //
// But if I recall rightly... //
// I know which way to go. //

Unhesitatingly Zecora set out along a smaller, winding track, leading away among the surrounding trees, and after a moment the others uneasily followed her.

After what felt like over an hour of tramping, single-file, along the narrow track, it opened out into a relatively thin part of the Forest. The trees were spaced father apart here, large swathes of night-dark sky visible overhead. The ground was mostly bare, with patches of scraggly underbrush.

"Huh. Don't look nearly so bad here," Applejack said.

Zecora shook her head warningly.

// Appearances can deceive, //
// mislead, and mislay. //
// And this place has always //
// felt wrong in some way. //

"It might have something to do with that," Sunset said, pointing.

Ahead of them, and stretching as far as they could see in either direction through the trees, was a vast thicket of the black, thorned vines. The vines erupted from the ground and then spread laterally, like a banyan tree: rising, branching, then plunging back into the ground, in an immense, impassible tangle.

"Yep," Applejack said, "This looks like the source of them weeds, all right."

"Ohhh, how are we going to get past all that?" Fluttershy whispered.

Rainbow waggled her wings. "Duh!" She leapt into the air.

"Rainbow, wait!" Sunset called. But the pegasus simply blasted past her, arcing upwards over the wall of vines. The pegasus had only gotten a few yards, however, when a large frond on one of the vines snapped open, like a clawlike mouth, and then launched at her.

"Woah!" Rainbow yelled, as she dodged it. She jinked away from another of the fronds snapping at her, and then evaded a third. "Okay, that's not gonna work," she muttered, turning back.

But now there were more of the mouth-like fronds, rising from the underbrush all round the group.

"Back to the path, gang," Sunset called. "We'll have to go around."

"Sunset! Behind ya!" Applejack shouted.

Sunset turned and found one of the fronds gaping right before her, hissing angrily. It suddenly expelled a puff of blue, swirling gas right in her face. Sunset coughed and choked. She felt dizzy and light-headed. She turned away from it... and another frond blasted her in the face with more of the gas.

Sunset blinked in confusion, on the verge of passing out. The landscape before her swayed drunkenly. The frond spread wide, like a huge mouth, closing in viciously, implacably...

... until a lasso of black creeper looped over it, yanked tight and hauled it down out of the air, to slam hard into the ground.

"Listen here, ya rabid rhodadendrons!" Applejack yelled. "Ya mess with one of us, ya mess with all of us!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow added. She darted upwards into the air, waving tauntingly. "Up here!" Turning in midair she took off like a shot, one of the fronds chasing her.

"Come and get me!" Pinkie Pie shouted merrily, leading another frond in a different direction.

"Don't forget me!" Rarity called lightly, with a frond chasing her in a different direction.

Still dazed, Sunset looked around herself in increasing amazement. She wondered if she was dreaming. The five ponies from Ponyville had somehow completely forgotten their fears. Applejack was fashioning lasso after lasso from the creepers, and steadily roping and hog-tying the plants, left and right. Rainbow and Fluttershy were darting about through the air, leading the fronds into helpless knots. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were doing the same on the ground.

Applejack leapt over and under the increasingly stymied vines, leading the remaining fronds into weaving themselves into hopeless snarls and tangles. Very quickly the attacking fronds were reduced to a helpless, wriggling mass, struggling on the ground.

"Ta daaaa!" shouted Pinkie Pie. And somehow she made confetti fall out of thin air, all round her.

"Wow..." Sunset shook her head to clear it. "That was just... amazing work, gang. Great job!"

Pinkie Pie waved a hoof. "De nada! Anything for a friend, Sunset!"

And then, right behind Pinkie, a loose front reared up. It roared angrily, then flung itself down upon the pink pony, catching her unawares. It slammed tight shut on her, engulfing her on the spot.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow yelled. Arrowing down out of the air, she slammed into the frond, knocking it to the ground. But when they'd finally pried its jaws open, there was no sign of the party pony.

They all looked around, hoping Pinkie had pulled one of her strange jaunts out of harm's way in time. But there was neither sign nor sound of her, anywhere they looked in the silent clearing.

"She's just... gone," Rarity moaned.

"Pinkie..." Sunset gasped.

Seek and Find

There was a sound of hooves on stone steps, echoing up the long winding spiral staircase in the rightward spire of the Royal Residence Wing. Plus two ponies very much out of breath. "I wonder how many steps this is," said Twilight.

"Ninety-two so far," Starlight said. She shrugged, seeing Twilight's surprised look. "What? I didn't have much else to do on the way up."

Twilight grinned. "I thought it was closer to eighty-five, actually."

Starlight considered it, then grinned. "You're not counting the landings."

"I was, believe me," said Spike, clambering up the stairs behind them.

"When I was little," Twilight said, "I don't recall it taking nearly this long, coming to visit the Princess." She paused for a moment, uncertain. "Maybe she made it easier, somehow? Like, she made most of the steps go away?"

"Maybe," Starlight agreed. "A good teacher would make sure the difficult stuff is what you really need to focus on."

They finally reached the short corridor at the top, and stood before the set of tall, golden doors bearing Celestia's solar icon. Twilight stared at the doors, uneasily. And Starlight nudged her shoulder.

"You need to check everything, Twilight, even here. Maybe we'll find a clue. Maybe Celestia managed to leave a message behind somehow."

"Maybe." Twilight reached out a hoof, and pushed open the doors.

Beyond was a broad suite, a large fireplace to one side with a comfortable day-bed set before it. Across from that was a small vanity, and a much larger desk with a comfortable chair. Beyond was the arched doorway leading out to the suite's balcony, which looked down upon the Palace, upon Canterlot, and upon a seemingly endless vista of Equestria besides. Through it fell the dim, yellowed half-light of the arrested dawn outside, giving everything an antiqued, shadowy look.

And without the large, shimmering, reassuring presence of Princess Celestia in the midst of it all, the suite felt empty, silent, and abandoned.

Twilight deliberately drew herself up, all business.

"Right," she said. "You check that side of the room, I'll check this."

"Gotcha," Starlight said, and trotted to the right. She inspected the daybed and the fireplace, then trotted over to the arched doorway and out onto the balcony, just to be sure. Then she turned back into the room.

And she found Twilight standing on the chair before the desk, her hooves resting on its edge. Starlight found it hard not to smile at that. Twilight was practically full-grown, yet the difference in scale between herself and Celestia meant that leaning on the Princess's desk like that, she looked like a small filly, nervously inspecting her mentor's workplace.

Then Starlight saw what Twilight was staring at. It was a large, heavy book with gilt clasps, lying in the middle of the desk. Almost as if it had been left there, deliberately.

"I wonder what it is," Twilight whispered as Starlight came over, and hopped up on the chair beside her.

"Maybe a history book?" Starlight suggested. "Or a grimoire Celestia was studying?"

"Maybe it's a photo album!" Spike said, clambering up to sit on the desk next to Twilight. "I wonder if there might be any pictures of me in it, from when I was little."

"Or maybe it's an autobiography," Starlight suggested. Then she frowned. "Though you'd think, after a thousand years, it'd be a bit thicker, huh?"

"Or maybe..." Twilight said uncomfortably, "it's her diary?"

She and Starlight exchanged a look. "Might be," Starlight agreed. "Sure looks like one."

Twilight looked conflicted. "Do you think we should be reading something that private?"

Starlight smiled. "Are you afraid you might learn something unexpected? Like she really cares about you, and trusts you to do the right thing? Why else would she leave something that important just sitting around on her desk?"

"I suppose." But Twilight still hesitated. And Starlight put a hoof on her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I just feel like," Twilight said, "us being here, searching her room like this, going through her private documents... it's like we're admitting she might not be coming back. That she might be gone for good."

Starlight nodded. "That would be scary, wouldn't it?" She sighed, shaking her head. "But we've got to face it. Until the Princesses return, we're the ponies in charge. And we may have to make some tough calls."

"Yeah." Twilight nodded. "I'm sure we will."

"Look, we only want to find out what happened to her," Starlight said. "So if it is her diary, just look at the last few pages. I doubt there's any deep dark secrets hidden in that!"

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "You're right, Starlight."

And, taking a deep breath, she pulled over the book and flipped it open.

A short distance away -- at least, as the alicorn flies -- another set of hoofsteps echoed up another long staircase.

Trixie finally reached the top of the tower. Trotting down the corridor and around the corner, she came at last to the tall, ivory-white doors of the Lunar Suite. And paused to catch her breath. Even with her pitifully weak levitation spell to help her, it had been a long climb getting to the top.

Recovered at last, Trixie nervously trotted forward, reaching out a hoof to push open the doors.

"Princess Luna?" she called, just out of habit, not really expecting an answer. Hearing none, she trotted forwards, through the doorway and into the dark and shadowy suite beyond.

Its furnishings, tapestries, and lamps were merely dim outlines against the general dusk. Across the room, the doorway leading to the room's broad balcony cast a stream of cold, brilliant moonlight across the broad marble tiles. The room itself held the strange, disquieting stillness of a place where somepony normally expected to be there, unexpectedly wasn't.

Trixie strode forwards into the room, her snout held high and proud. Then she stopped in the middle of it all, peering around, uncertain of what she was looking for.

Casting a fitful luminance spell with her horn, she crossed to the large writing desk and hopped up onto the hard-backed chair. On the desk in front of her was a large book, leather-bound with silvered clasps.

Trixie unhesitatingly pulled it over and flipped it open.

It turned out to be a journal, written in Luna's exact, almost typeset horn-writing:

I am returned. And yet, this place is unfamiliar to me. My sister, the castle, all of it... it feels like a dream, almost. And I do not recall what came before...

Intrigued, Trixie paged through the few entries that the journal contained, finally coming to one near the end:

Tea with my friends again. Such a trivial, informal occasion. Yet it is the one constant, the one anchor, in my new life. I need keep no secrets from them, for I have none. They seem to know me so well, even as I struggle to recall myself. Especially Trixie: at once so confident, and yet so needy. I see myself in her. If only I could recall the kind and caring Princess that she sees in me...

Trixie looked away from the page, her eyes shut, fighting back tears.

Shutting the journal, she hopped down from the chair, and crossed over to the balcony. Above her, the sky was the same half-dawn, half-dusk as ever. And directly in front of Trixie was the disc of the Moon, hovering above the horizon.

Hooking her forehooves over the railing, Trixie stared at it.

We'll find you, Luna, she silently promised. No -- I'll find you. I promise.

And then she grimaced. But what if we can't? she thought. Who'll raise the Sun and Moon then?

Trixie stared helplessly at the cold white disc of the Moon, anxious and afraid.

And she thought she saw it shift, just a tiny bit.

Trixie blinked, not sure if she'd only imagined it. She squinted, staring intently at the Moon's disc, trying to measure its position against the distant hills. And thought she saw, just barely...

"Hey, Trixie? Are you in here?"

Trixie looked round, almost guiltily. She saw Moondancer peering in through the Lunar Suite's open doors.

"Out here, Moondancer," Trixie called.

The beige pony trotted into the room, then crossed to the balcony. She joined Trixie in leaning on the railing. "Thought I saw you heading up here. Find anything?"

"No." Trixie glanced up at the Moon briefly, then shook her head. "Nothing that tells us what happened to Luna. Or the others."

Moondancer put a hoof around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Trixie. We'll figure it out. We'll find her."

"But what if we don't?" Trixie demanded, crossly. "What if we never do? What if it's all left up to us?"

Moondancer shrugged. "Then we'll just have to come up with something. We're the Heroes of Equestria, just like it says on the tin. It's... kind of our job now."

"I guess." Trixie hunched inside her magician's robe, feeling worried. And occasionally glanced the Moon. Did I just move that? She wondered. And if so... what do I say? Should I say anything? Would they believe me, or just think I'm crazy?

"You wanna hear something interesting?" Moondancer said, breaking into her whirling thoughts. "With help from the Archive ponies, I've been doing some research on the Everfree Forest. And I think I know why it is the way it is. Why it's such a magical desert. Because --"

"Because it was where Celestia and Luna fought, that final time," Trixie said, grumpily. "And afterwards, Luna was gone, and Celestia never went there again, because it reminded her of what she'd done to her own sister. So the magic and light and hope was removed from the Forest, and it became a haven for the creatures of the Night that Luna had summoned to aid her in battle..."

Trixie fell silent, blinking. Now how the hay did I know that?

Moondancer stared at her. And then laughed. "And here I thought I was being so scholarly! You spent so much time with Nightmare Moon, I should have come to you first. She must have told you all about it."

She never told me anything, Trixie said to herself. "Oh yes," she said aloud. "All about it. But... it's not something Trixie likes to dwell on."

Moondancer nodded. And then she hugged Trixie companionably.

"I miss her too," she said quietly.

Trixie hugged her back, feeling conflicted as she did so. After all, here was the one other pony who, more than any, felt the same way that Trixie did. And thus, perhaps, she was the one pony Trixie could trust.

Trixie opened her mouth, about to speak...

Then her gaze fell on something a lot closer. It was difficult to see, silhouetted against the half-night sky. She stared, trying to make it out. Two winged shapes were steadily flapping their way up the tall spire of Celestia's tower across the way.

"Are those... griffons?" Trixie said, pointing.

Moondancer looked herself. "Yeah, I think so. Looks like Egmund or whatever his name was. And his aide."

"They're heading for the top floor." Trixie grabbed Moondancer. "That's Celestia's suite!" she hissed.

"Twilight's searching over there!" Moondancer said. "I saw Starlight and her heading up the tower stairs. We need to warn her somehow. But how?" Moondancer looked around, at the very tall tower they themselves were standing in. "We can't fly over there. And these darned vines, they're still disrupting our magic."

"Not all magic," Trixie said proudly. She brought up a smoke-bomb.

"Trixie..." Moondancer warned.

But the showpony was on a roll, seeing a chance to save the day. "Reward favors risk!" she yelled. Hugging Moondancer, she flung down her hoof.

A few moments later, as they clung to the lightning rod atop the very tip of Celestia's tower, Trixie bashfully cleared her throat.

"Trixie would like to point out," she said archly, "her aim has been improving of late..."

In the corridor outside Celestia's suite, a side door opened a hair, and a yellowed, avian eye peered through. Seeing no one, Ambassador Egmund flung the door open and stalked out into the corridor. He was careful to keep most of his weight on his rear paws, so his foreclaws didn't tick on the marble tiles.

Behind him, his aide Cherp caught the door, almost on her beak. Then she gently shut it behind them as she followed Egmund into the corridor.

"Sir, is this wise?" she asked, in a long-suffering tone. "This could be counted as trespassing, at the least. Or far worse..."

"There's strange business going on here, Cherp," Egmund replied portentously. "Strange business indeed. And we need to get to the heart of it. We depend upon these ponies not to muck up the weather, to say nothing of the very day and night itself! And now Equestria has seen fit to put an inexperienced stripling on the Golden Throne. And you can see the result, can't you? Well!" He fluffed up his feathers importantly. "Before we sign any kind of treaty, we need to make our feelings known to this new adminstration, in no uncertain terms!"

"Yes, sir," Cherp sighed. She followed along loyally as Egmund stalked haughtily forwards, towards the golden doors at the end of the corridor, going over his intended opening remarks in his head.

But they'd only gotten a few paces down the hall when the everburn torches all along the corridor abruptly guttered and snuffed out. The hallway was plunged into dim shadows.

Behind them, a door slammed, and there was a sound of pattering feet underfoot. Ahead of them, a large hedgehog hurried through the golden doors of the Royal Suite. Turning, he paused with his paws on them, and smirked.

"Heh, heh!"

And slammed the doors closed.

Egmund was taken aback. He paused, squinting in the sudden fall of darkness, waiting for his eyes to adapt. And then he heard, in the darkness behind him, a metallic tap-tap-tap of armored shoes. A sullen electric crackling and whiff of ozone filled the air. Turning, Egmund saw a vision out of a nightmare: a scowling visage, hovering in the darkness, lit only by the electric blue sparking of its broken horn. A scarlet-maned unicorn, with a scar across one eyelid...

... and a look of cold, unrestrained ferocity in her eyes.

"I had my suspicions about you," Tempest growled. "I'd hoped that you might be just as fat and stupid as you look. That you wouldn't try something so ridiculously dumb."

"Now see here!" Egmund huffed. "You are speaking to an official representative, you know. My aide and I got a little turned round looking for our suite. And I --"

He got no further. He found himself forcibly shoved against the wall, with Tempest's gritted teeth inches from his face.

"Don't even try it. You're nowhere near where you've any right to be. And you've got five seconds to convince me not to take you down myself, right here and now!"

"Er... diplomatic immunity?" Egmund offered, feeling that it was a bad move even as he said it. "I am an ambassador."

"Really?" Tempest smirked. "And I am a Commander. You know what that means? It means in time of war, I have absolute authority to deal with any threat to the realm as I see fit."

"But we're not presently at war... er, are we?"

"Depends how you look at it." Tempest snorted heatedly. "Attempted assault on the person of the Princess herself? I think anypony would agree that could be considered an act of war..."

"I did raise that point, sir," the aide whispered, her eyes wide in terror.

"Quiet, Cherp." Egmund stared Tempest square in the eye. "I... I don't believe you have that kind of authority. Or that your sovereign would condone such behavior, were she aware of it."

"You might be right about that. Twilight is the Element of Friendship, after all. I'm sure she'd be all pleasant and agreeable and understanding. And you know why she's like that?" Tempest scowled. "Because she has somepony like me, backing her up, making sure nothing happens to her. But right now, she's not here... and I am. And she can only court-martial me once -- after the fact. So take my advice," she added tightly. "Don't be worth it to me!"

"Uh... er..." Egmund pressed back against the wall, terrified. "Well, the truth of it is, you see..."

"Yes?" Tempest purred, like a cat with a particularly interesting mouse. "Go on. Surprise me..."

Twilight and Starlight were staring at the last page of the diary. There was a brief message, written in Celestia's neat, florid quill-writing:

If you are reading this, my beloved student, it is reasonable to assume I am unavailable to you, and you are faced with a uniquely difficult challenge. Know then, by this writing, that I grant you full and complete authority and freedom to act as you think best, to defend Equestria and its citizens, as well as the principles that we all hold dear.

You may feel the task is too large, too important, that you are not ready for the responsibility. But know this: neither was I, when Equestria's future was first entrusted to me. I only succeeded because I had excellent teachers, and mentors, and good companions to help me all along the way.

I was not alone. And neither are you.

I believe in you. I always have. Do what you need to do.

-- H.R.H. Celestia, Princess of Equestria

"See?" Starlight said, in awe despite herself. "I told you she trusted you."

"She thinks of everything," Twilight agreed, humbled and misty-eyed. "But this still doesn't tell us what happened to her." She paged back through the blank sheets preceding the final note, looking for the last actual diary entry.

Before she could find it, there was a loud thump and a scrabbling on the roof-tiles overhead. The sound seemed to slither across the ceiling, towards the balcony.

And Trixie and Moondancer half-dropped, half-fell onto its marble floor.

"Trixie?" Starlight asked, amazed. "You do know there are such things as doors, right?"

"Later, bestie!" Trixie said, turning to Twilight. "The griffon ambassador is after you!"

"We saw him and his aide fly up to a window," Moondancer added carefully, "on this floor of the tower. Which does seem suspicious, I agree."

"Suspicious like a marked deck!" Trixie snapped. "Which," she added quickly, "being the Element of Honesty, Trixie knows nothing about..."

There was a pattering of feet behind them, making them all turn. Grubber charged through the suite's doors, swung round, laughed through them, then slammed them closed.

And then he turned to find Twilight and the others staring at him.

"Oh, hey gals," he said brightly, attempting to look casual. "What's up? The boss, uh, she told me to come and see if I could be any help here. You know, looking for the Princess and all?"

"Tempest..." Twilight said, worriedly.

In the clearing in the Everfree, the ponies were still staring at the frond that had grabbed Pinkie Pie, trying to get over their loss.

Then a cheery voice called to them across the clearing.

"Hey, gang! Whatcha doin'?"

Astonished, they turned to look. And saw Pinkie Pie standing in one of the downed fronds, holding its jaws open with a hoof.

"Pinkie!" Applejack called. "You're all right!" They all rushed over to hug her, relieved.

"Of course I am!" she answered with a shrug, as if not understanding their concern.

"You had us worried," Sunset said.

"Pinkie, dearest," Rarity demanded. "How did you escape being eaten?"

"I didn't get eaten, Rarity -- I teleported!"

Sunset blinked. "I thought earth ponies couldn't work teleport spells."

"Not me, silly! This plant." She hefted the frond's jaws, then let it slam closed. "It teleports things. It's like a whole network of weird magical tunnels inside. Each of them leads to one of these frond thingies. I popped in there --" She pointed a hoof. "-- and I popped out here!"

Sunset shook her head. "Must be that old party-pony magic, at work again. Only Pinkie Pie would discover that a pony-eating plant is actually a living teleport network."

"Aw! Thanks, Sunset! But you told me to do whatever was needed, so I did!"

"Okay, so Pinkie isn't plant food," Rainbow said. "Which... is good. That still leaves us the problem of getting past these vines, or going around them, to whatever's behind them. Whatever's the real cause of all this."

"Or..." Sunset said, thinking dangerously. "We go through them."

"Huh?"

Sunset turned to Pinkie. "Do you think you could lead us through this teleport network? Like, to a frond somewhere on the other side of this thicket?"

"Sure I can!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Applejack asked, nervously. "Maybe it only works for Pinkie."

Sunset shrugged. "We don't have a lot of time to waste, trying to go around. And if we can turn these vines to our advantage, so much the better. But I'll go first, just to make sure it's safe." She smiled at the party pony. "I trust Pinkie Pie. She won't let me down."

"Not on your life, Sunset!"

"Well, all right..." Applejack said. "We'll wait right here for ya."

Sunset turned back to Pinkie. "Ready when you are."

"Wheee!" Pinkie shouted happily. And grabbing Sunset's hoof, she hauled open the frond and dove in, yanking Sunset in after her.

It wasn't like normal teleporting, which was a brief flash and a little disorientation as one adjusted to suddenly being somewhere new. It was a long, blurred, disembodied sensation, in which the only sense of solidity Sunset had was Pinkie's unseen hoof still gripping her own. Sunset felt like she was being quickly whisked along dozens of glowing, dimly-lit tunnels, winding and criss-crossing in a bewildering tangle.

Some of that is probably our doing, she thought. Shouldn't have tied them into so many knots.

She began to worry about whether Pinkie actually knew how to navigate this bizzare thaumic continuum. Maybe she'd just gotten lucky in finding her way back out the first time. Maybe we'll be wandering around in here for days, Sunset thought. Or years. And what happens if Twilight finds a way of dealing with these plants while we're still in here? What if they kill off the plant, trapping us inside? What if we never get out? What if --

Sunset abruptly found herself ejected from the mouth of a frond, landing heavily on an unfamiliar stretch of forest clearing, just far enough away from the wall of vines that the fronds didn't try to attack them.

"Ugh," Sunset said. "I've got to stop stress-thinking the way Twilight does..."

"See? I told you I could do it!" Exhilarated, Pinkie Pie turned a happy somersault.

"You sure did." Sunset said. She was still feeling dizzy from the whirling, tumbling journey. "How do you even find your way around in there?"

"Easy! There's this really strong sensation, like something powerful and kind, located over this way. I use it like a compass. I just stay focused on that, and it keeps me from getting turned around in there." She shrugged. "The rest is just, ya know, taking whichever tunnel seems to be heading the right way."

"Well, that is officially the weirdest way I've ever traveled," Sunset said. "But where the hay are we now?"

"I dunno," Pinkie said. "Maybe we should ask at that funny-looking ruins over there?"

She pointed, and Sunset turned to look. And stared.

Across a large ravine, much like a dried river-bed, there was a rise of ground on which stood the shattered ruins of an ancient castle. It was little more than crumbling stonework, overgrown by trees and creepers, but Sunset knew it all too well. It was the Castle, hidden deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest, where Celestia had once brought Sunset, seemingly ages ago, as a young filly...

... to show her the Elements of Harmony.

And all around the Castle, among the trees of the Forest, Sunset could see the tangling, winding black vines. They formed a huge wall, encircling the Castle, fencing it in. The Castle looked under siege almost.

"I think," Sunset said cautiously, "we should go get the others, and bring them all here. We may have just found what we're looking for..."

Bring It All Together

The doors of the Solar Suite swung open. Twilight and her friends hurried out into the corridor.

Which was brightly lit again. The griffon ambassador was standing, hunched and apologetic, with his aide beside him looking similarly embarrassed. And Tempest was standing behind them both, a self-satisfied smirk on her face.

"Tempest?" Twilight asked. "What's going on here?"

"Oh, the ambassador and I were just having a little chat," she said languidly. "About how he'd gotten turned around on the way to his quarters. And since he was in the neighborhood, he thought he might just pay a call on Equestria's rightful ruler, and beg the indulgence of a brief audience." She snorted. "Right, Ambassador?"

"Ah... yes," Egmund said quickly. "Very true, Commander. If we might be so bold, Princess?"

"Well, certainly," Twilight said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Egmund glanced at Tempest, and then tossed his claws in the air. "It's about this treaty, Highness! I have to say, I'm not entirely sure it's reasonable. But I can't get anyone here or at home to listen to me. In part because I can't point to anything I think is wrong with it. Because... to be quite honest, I can't make head or hindquarters out of it myself!"

"Really?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"Indeed! The thing was started under my predecessor. And it's been back and forth through diplomatic channels so much, and rewritten and expanded on so many times, that I find it impenetrable! I just don't feel it's right to ratify an agreement when I can't tell if the terms are favorable to Griffonstone or not."

"Wow." Twilight glanced at Starlight, then at Spike. "I... wonder whether you might like to take a look at a simplified version of the agreement that we put together? Spike?"

Spike quickly produced the scroll, which he'd hung onto earlier, as part of his role as her note-taker.

Egmund took it doubtfully, read it over. And his expression turned from doubt to pleased surprise. "But... this is so clear and straightforward, Highness," he said. "It can't possibly be a legal document, it doesn't even read like one. But, nevertheless..." He held up a claw, examining it closely once more. "Yes, this all makes sense. I see you've even been kind enough to address the issue of that township that got cut in half. I could never figure out why we let that happen."

"So..." Starlight asked cautiously, "you'd be in favor of proposing this as an alternative?"

"More than that!" Egmund said. "I'd be happy signing the thing right now. Or, at an official ratifying ceremony, if we really need to have one. I suppose one must follow protocol that much."

"Really?" Twilight asked, amazed.

Egmund laughed. "Your Highness, I have no problem signing something even I can follow. And something tells me I should do so quickly, before the bureaucrats get their claws into it again."

"Then if it's all right with you, I'll ask the staff to make copies," Twilight said, taking it back from him. "And set up an official ceremony?"

Egmund bowed. "I would be much obliged, Highness. And may I say, though I had my doubts at first, if this is any indication of how Equestria's new administration plans to operate, then I look forward to doing business with Your Highness in future."

Tempest grunted in amusement. "Good to hear it," she said. "And now, perhaps the ambassador's party should return to their proper quarters? To get ready?"

"Of course, Commander, at once. If you'll pardon us, Your Highness?"

Bowing profusely, Egmund bustled off at speed, with Cherp scampering along in his wake.

And Twilight looked up at Tempest, an amused smile on her face. "Do I even want to ask what was going on out here?"

Tempest gave her a studied blank look.

"Just keeping the peace, Your Highness."

"The Castle of the Two Sisters," Sunset whispered in amazement.

It had taken a while, one pony at a time, to bring the others through. But finally they were all standing together on the edge of the chasm, staring at the ancient ruin on the far side.

"Uh... the what now?" Rainbow asked.

"The original Palace," Sunset explained. "Where Celestia and Luna once ruled a thousand years ago, back when the Everfree Forest was a lot nicer than it is now. Even after Canterlot's Royal Palace was finished, the Princesses still used this place as a kind of summer palace and retreat. They weren't ready to abandon it completely. Until, well... you know..."

She stamped a hoof in irritation. "I'm sorry, gang. If I'd known this was where we were headed -- and I should've guessed -- I could have saved us the walk. The Guards could have brought us here by chariot. They could have just flown us over all this."

"You couldn't have known for sure, dearest," said Rarity, putting a consoling hoof on her shoulder. "And if we did go the long way round, at least we know we didn't miss something. Being thorough counts, right?"

Applejack nodded. "Measure twice, cut once. But how do we get over there? There's a hoof bridge, but it's come unhitched from the other side."

"Hey, no problem!" said Rainbow. "I'll just zip down there, grab the end, retie it, and we're golden. Won't take a minute."

"Hold up, Rainbow," Sunset said. She pointed at the black, thorned creepers writhing across the ground all around them. "Those vines... they're not headed for the Castle."

"Oooh, you're right!" Fluttershy pointed fearfully into the yawning chasm below them. "They're headed... down there!"

Rainbow flapped a bit higher, peering into the distance. "Yeah, they're headed for some kind of cave opening down at ground level."

"Well, that's just grand," Rarity said. "And how do we get down there?"

Sunset checked her horn. It was still misbehaving due to the effect of the vines, so levitation or teleportation was out. She was about to ask if Applejack could fashion some kind of rope for them to use to climb down. Or if Rainbow and Fluttershy would mind ferrying them down.

Then there was a loud, painful-sounding series of noises coming from the chasm to their right:

"Woah! Oof! Ouch! Ow! Ugh!"

And, from the floor of the chasm below, Pinkie Pie scornfully called up to them. "Use the stairs, sillies!"

They hurried over and looked. There was indeed a long series of heavily-weathered steps set into the wall of the chasm, leading down into it. With Sunset in the lead, the others single-file behind her, the group made their way down the stairs to join Pinkie on the chasm floor. And then, carefully crossing over and around the vines converging on the cave entrance, they peered into the dimness within.

"The vines are thinner here than up there," Sunset said. "So it looks like they're heading in, not out. But who knows what we'll find in there, following them?"

// Nevertheless, into the dark //
// we must go. //
// For what these vines seek //
// we must know! //

Rainbow frowned at the zebra. "You're pretty gung-ho for a pony who was carting everything she owned away from this forest a while back."

Zecora looked calmly unoffended.

// Zebra in herds //
// are usually found. //
// With companions like these //
// my resolve is sound! //

Sunset nodded, then risked a luminance spell again. She found it was still weak and flickering, but reasonably stable as long she didn't apply too much power. "Okay," she said. "Let's check it out. Stay close."

The group edged into the darkness, huddled tightly together as if attempting to keep within the circle of light projected by Sunset's horn.

"Ouch! Uh, a little less close?" Sunset suggested, after having had a hoof trodden on for the third time.

"Sorry, Sunset," Rarity said. The group spread out a bit.

The cave tunnel ahead of them narrowed slightly, twisting a bit, then abruptly opened out into a large rocky cavern. And Sunset found her luminance spell was no longer needed. There was a dim greenish glow, filling the chamber. But what was causing the glow made them all gasp.

In shape, it was very like a tree, but formed entirely from crystal. It had a solid trunk that forked into narrower, angular branches. In color, it was a weak, sickly grey, and was projecting a dim, fungus-like glow, which made one feel ill just looking at it. The trunk and every one of the branches of the tree were ensnared tightly by the vines, as if the vines were deliberately strangling it.

"I think it's dying..." Fluttershy whispered, mournfully. "Those vines are sapping the life out of it."

"Well, all right," Applejack said. "So this is what we came looking for, a dying tree of some kind. So how do we go about saving it?"

Sunset edged closer, stopping when some of the nearer vines twitched threateningly in her direction. She was counting the tree's branches. There were five in all, each with a kind of dimple near its tip, where something had been removed. Something gem-shaped...

"Wait a second," Sunset breathed. "The Elements!"

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie bounded happily. "Did Sunset just figure it out?"

"Maybe, Pinkie. This tree reminds me of the big tree-like stand the Elements of Harmony are kept on: five branches, each holding an orb which, when unlocked, becomes a gemstone. There are five branches here, each with a place where a gemstone would fit."

"And the tree itself is made of crystal," Rarity observed. "So maybe this tree thing is where the gems came from in the first place?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow added excitedly. "Celestia and Luna! They must have gotten those Element thingies from this tree!"

"Wow..." Sunset said. "It adds up. But there's still something I don't get. Celestia told me pretty much everything there is to know about the Elements when I was her student. I wonder why she never mentioned..."

Then Sunset's gaze fell on the large, six-pointed shape, set at the tree's heart. It looked very much like a pony's cutie mark... a very specific pony's cutie mark.

"And... as usual," Sunset observed quietly, "Twilight's hunch was right on the money."

She turned to the others, suddenly all business. "Okay, I think we've got our answer. We need Twilight and the Elements here, right now. Without them, this tree is unable to fight off these vines. We need to reactivate the Elements, and put them back on the tree to save it."

"Uh, awesome plan, Sunset," Rainbow agreed. "Totally with ya there. Just one tiny problem? We're here -- and Twilight and the Elements of Harmony, they're all the way up in Canterlot."

"And we've no way to reach her. Ugh," Sunset grunted impatiently. "I wish I'd thought to ask Twilight to loan me Spike. We could get a message to her pronto. But Spike's with Twilight, too."

"If wishes were horses..." Applejack said, shrugging. "Maybe we need to find some other way to reach her?"

"Except... wait a minute." Sunset tested her horn. "Yeah... it's a low-power spell, so it might get through the interference from the vines."

"What sort of spell, Sunset?" Rarity asked.

Sunset smirked. "Like I said, Spike's with Twilight -- which is exactly where we need him to be. Now give me a minute to recall this properly. After all, I only saw Princess Celestia do it once..."

Having witnessed the signing ceremony with the griffons -- to the evident pleasure of the griffons, and the befuddlement of the Equestrian diplomats, who found themselves with a copy of the new treaty they could carry home in a lunchbox -- Twilight and Starlight returned to the private audience chamber, and gratefully shoved the piles of paper and scrolls off the table.

Then they stared at each other.

"Now," Starlight suggested, "maybe we should think about organizing a rescue effort for Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded. "Assuming nothing else needs doing around here."

As she spoke, she heard the doors to the corridor opening behind her. Groaning in frustration, Twilight thumped her head on the table. Then she whirled to the doors, hopping mad.

"No! Whatever it is, it can wait this time! I need to send help to my friends in Ponyville, and I --"

She abruptly fell silent, registering who was standing in the doorway. There was Moondancer, of course, staring back at Twilight, wide-eyed. But behind her was a gray-maned, richly berobed pony with a very sharp-eyed gaze. Unoffended, he was regarding Twilight with the quietly indulgent amusement of an academic who has seen it all.

"I'm... very sorry about that, sir," Twilight said, astonished. "I didn't mean to shout."

The elderly pony bowed respectfully. "Chief Researcher Paradigm Shift," he said formally. "At your service, Highness. Though I'm only here because your very diligent Minister of Research here has made an unanticipated discovery, which she wished to inform you of. I came along merely to lend color and insight, if needed."

Moondancer grinned sheepishly. "Oh, it was team effort, sir, believe me! But Twilight, I did come across something important, something related to the Elements of Harmony." She trotted over to the table, and levitated a couple of small journals onto it. Paradigm Shift nodded to the assistants accompanying him, and they brought over several other volumes. But he and they remained in the background, merely looking on with interest.

"See," Moondancer said to Twilight, "we started by looking into who might be behind this: who might have a grudge against the Princesses. And of course, Discord's name came up pretty quickly. But since he's been reformed, it didn't seem likely he'd be behind this. But it got me wondering, how did the Princesses take him down so easily? You saw what a hassle he was for the seven of us. Legend tells us that Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to stop him. But where did those come from?"

She pulled over a journal, and flipped it open.

"I found this in the Star Swirl wing. It's one of his later journals, where he talks about using the growth of crystals to construct a living organism, which might last for a millennium or more. And look what I found, folded in amongst the pages. It wasn't even cataloged as ephemera, it just fell out as I was reading it."

Twilight looked at yellowed paper, bearing a brief series of notes in strict, almost typeset lettering. "This looks like Princess Luna's writing!"

"Yep. And she mentions not only this journal, but a couple other references as well, which I looked up." She pointed to a scroll and a journal which the assistants had brought. "The bottom line is, she believed Star Swirl the Bearded had somehow constructed a tree from crystal, to serve as a repository of magic, and potential source of balance in Equestria. Or as he called it, harmony."

"Okay," Twilight nodded. "A crystal tree, which is connected to the Elements of Harmony somehow?"

"More than that," Moondancer said. She brought over another journal, this one written in florid, graceful lettering. "Princess Celestia notes in one of her journals immediately following the Confused Era, that she and Princess Luna found this tree. The Tree of Harmony, they called it. And from it, they obtained the Elements of Harmony. This tree literally grew the Elements that she and Luna used to defeat Discord!"

"Wow. And then later," Twilight said, "Celestia had to use those same Elements to banish Luna." She gasped. "No wonder the Elements went inert. Using them for something like that -- it would be the very opposite of what they were created for."

"Right!" Moondancer nodded eagerly. "As Celestia describes it, the Tree was meant to serve as a kind of lynchpin, a source of harmony for all of Equestria. In particular, for the Everfree Forest. Look at this." She pointed to a particular passage in Celestia's journal:

Even without these Elements, the Tree of Harmony will still possess a powerful magic. As long as that magic remains, it will continue to control and contain all that grows here...

"Do you see?" Moondancer was practically hopping like Pinkie Pie. "Something must have happened to this Tree, because the Everfree is so out of control."

"Wait a second," Twilight said. "The Elements came from the Tree -- but they were never returned to it. What if the Tree needs them to survive?"

"Yeah," Starlight said. "And what if this magic Celestia speaks of, that the Tree has to contain and control the Everfree... what if that's just about run out?"

Twilight nodded. "We should go have another look at the Elements, I think."

Working together, they gathered up the journals and scrolls that Moondancer had brought. And then they all set out at a brisk trot, with Paradigm Shift and his assistants accompanying them. Soon they reached the main gallery of the Archives, where Twilight stared up at the orrery, and the inert spheres of the Elements.

"I knew we needed these for something," she whispered. "The Tree of Harmony..."

Starlight nodded. "If only we knew where that was."

Moondancer shrugged. "Star Swirl himself didn't say where he'd planted it. And Celestia and Luna's journals and notes don't say either. I think maybe they felt it was necessary to keep the location a secret for some reason."

"Okay, we know what to do," Twilight summed up. "And how to do it. The only thing we don't know," she added sadly, "is where we need to be..."

Spike suddenly looked ill. Then he made a face and belched flame. A small scroll materialized in the air before them. "Huh? Where'd that come from?" Spike stared at it. And then grinned. "Woah! You think it might be Princess Celestia? Trying to reach us from whereever she is?"

"Maybe. Only one way to find out." Twilight took the scroll in her magic and opened it. "No," she said, in surprise. " It's from Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset?" Starlight asked, amazed.

"Hey!" Spike demanded. "What's she doing using my message spell? That's for the Princess!"

"Maybe be outraged later, Spike?" Starlight suggested. "Right now we need to save the world?"

"Yeah, yeah," Spike muttered, crossing his arms. "Whatever."

"Well?" Moondancer asked, "what does she say, Twilight?"

Twilight read aloud:

Dear Princess Twilight (hey, sounds cool just writing it, huh?),
Have found strange crystal tree in cave near Castle of the Two Sisters. You know, in the Everfree Forest? Need you and the Elements of Harmony here soonest.
-- Sunset Shimmer.
P.S. Pinkie Pie says to say 'hi'.

"Sunset's already found the Tree?" Moondancer gasped. "That's amazing!"

Starlight shook her head. "What would we do without her, huh?"

"We'll ask Cheese to throw her a thank-you party," Twilight said. "Right now we need to get there -- and fast!"

Tempest was already waving over a nearby guard. "Locate the other Advanced Projects members," she snapped. "And have the Chariot and an escort made ready for immediate departure."

"Yes, Commander!"

"And," Twilight added quickly, "we'll need somepony to help us with gathering and moving these." She nodded to the Elements.

"At once, Highness!" The guard hurried away.

Twilight stared up at the Elements again herself. "I only hope we're not too late..."

And Save A Tree

Sunset Shimmer stood inside the cave entrance, looking out at the riverbed beyond and scanning the sky in what she thought was the direction of Canterlot.

"Ya think she got the message?" Applejack asked.

"I hope so," Sunset said. "I think I did the spell right, but if not, I don't know what to fix. If she doesn't show, we could try it again, but--"

"But I don't think we'll have to!" Rainbow called, pointing.

Overhead they could see the Royal Chariot, sweeping about in a long curve above the treetops. It lined up with the chasm, and the Chariot's flyers brought it in for a rough, bumpy landing on the riverbed. Standing on the Chariot's platform were Twilight and Spike, accompanied by Tempest, Grubber, and Cheese Sandwich.

"Hi, everypony!" Twilight called as she hopped down. "Hey, Sunset -- I got your message."

"Great, Twi. But where are the others, and the Elements?"

"We had to split up," Twilight said. "These things aren't designed to seat eight plus luggage." She pointed upwards, to where a second chariot was lining up with the chasm. The Royal Chariot took off, and the second chariot came in for a landing. Aboard it were Starlight, Trixie, and Moondancer, plus a rope bag containing five of the stone orbs. The sixth, larger one had been roped securely onto the platform behind them.

"Somepony call for an order of Elements?" Trixie asked archly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not disappoint!"

Ignoring her, the ponies all helped unload the orbs, and set them in a loose circle. Then they looked at each other, uncertainly. "So... we've got them," Rainbow said. "Now how do we wake them up again?"

"I'm... still not sure," Twilight said hesitantly.

"Twilight." Sunset looked at her sympathetically. "That's not really true, is it?"

"Huh?"

"You've known, all along," Sunset went on. "You just haven't wanted to admit it, even to yourself." She gestured to the Ponyville group. "It's like you said: these ponies are your friends, some of the best friends one could have. And having spent time with them, I've seen why, first-hoof. They're smart, capable, and caring. And when it really matters, they don't give up."

"All true!"

"Shut up, Rainbow," Applejack muttered.

"And," Sunset went on, "unlike us ivory-tower students, these ponies aren't so steeped in magic and spellwork that they can't see a way through without them. They don't need magic: they just need the Element of Harmony that each of them represents." Sunset put a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "All you have to do is accept that, and be the Element you represent: Friendship. That's all it takes."

"I know that, Sunset."

"So? What's this really about, then?"

Twilight looked at her miserably. "What if... what if by taking on the Element of Magic, I can't be part of our group any longer? What if the Elements interfere with the Field of Harmony in some way, so we can't use it? What if --"

Sunset held up a hoof for silence. And then she stared at it in surprise, and both of them laughed in recognition. "You know, that's exactly what Princess Celestia would do," Twilight said, "whenever I'd been stressing out aloud too much."

"Guess I've picked up more than a few things from being her student," Sunset agreed. "But the point is, Twilight, you don't have to worry, not ever. So what if you're not able to power the Field with us? Or if we have to rely on using the Elements instead? We'll manage, like we always do. And we'll still be your friends. All of us, no matter what."

Twilight glanced around. The other ponies were all nodding, proudly and willingly. But Twilight still looked doubtful. So Sunset played her final card. "You know," she said, "I could try activating the Elements with Applejack and the others. I could try taking your place here."

"Really?" Twilight asked. It wasn't clear if she was relieved or regretful at the possibility.

"Could, but for one thing," Sunset said. "C'mon, I wanna show you something."

Sunset led the way into the cave, to the dying tree. Twilight gasped, seeing it. "The Tree of Harmony!"

Sunset blinked. "Is that what it's called?"

Twilight nodded. "Moondancer found a description of it, more or less, in one of Star Swirl's journals."

"I really need to brush up on my history," Sunset admitted. "In any case, look at the center of it, the very heart of the tree."

Twilight was looking, her eyes wide. "My cutie mark..."

"Uh huh. You were right, Twilight. The six of you were always meant to be together, meant to be friends, meant to reactivate the Elements and use them together. And then restore them to the Tree of Harmony to keep it from dying."

"And restore that power," Twilight quoted, "that will defend and maintain balance in all Equestria." She grinned sheepishly. "That's from Star Swirl's journal, too."

"Lemme borrow it sometime when we get back home. But right now, we've got a tree to save, huh?"

Twilight nodded. "You're right, Sunset."

Working together, the ponies brought the six stone orbs into the cave, and spread them in a loose circle, with one of the ponies from Ponyville standing by each of them.

Twilight looked around the circle. "Is everypony okay with this?" she said. "I realize it's a big ask, but--"

"Twi," Applejack said. "If we weren't willing to help come what may, none of us'd be here. Just tell us what to do."

"I don't think you need to do anything. It's all on me. Just be ready."

"Fire away, then," Rainbow said. And the others nodded, too.

Twilight stared at the orbs, uncertain.

"You know, Twilight," Sunset said quietly, "when Princess Celestia originally tasked me with finding a way to reactivate the Elements, I always assumed I was the pony to wield them too. But I think my job was simply to find somepony who could do that. And I've done that... It's you, Twilight. You can do this. You should do this." She smiled, nodding. "Go on."

Twilight nodded, then cleared her throat. She pointed a hoof at each of her friends, naming them:

"Applejack, Element of Honesty.
Fluttershy, Element of Kindness.
Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter.
Rarity, Element of Generosity.
Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty..."

She took a deep breath.

"... and Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic."

The ponies waited. And waited... and waited some more.

Nothing happened. The orbs didn't even flicker.

Rainbow had been holding her eyes tight shut. She opened one of them and peered around. "Is something sparkly and rainbow-lasery supposed to be happening right now? Just askin', cause I don't wanna miss it..."

"It's not working!" Twilight said, frightened. "In the other timeline, all I had to do was name my friends and our respective elements."

Fluttershy pointed at the Tree. "Maybe the Tree's too far gone?" she said. "Maybe it doesn't have enough power left for this to work?"

They all stared fearfully at the strangled, dead-looking crystal tree.

Sunset stamped a hoof. "Maybe it doesn't. But we sure do." She looked around at the Canterlot group. "The Field of Harmony, gang! We'll use it to give the Elements a jump-start. We'll pair up, each of us with the pony whose Element matches ours." She pointed rapidly. "Starlight, you're with Twilight. I'm with Fluttershy. Cheese, you're with Pinkie. And the same for the rest of you."

"Let's use the seven-gem solution," Starlight suggested. "That way, Twilight can help power the Field as well."

"Works for me," Sunset said. "Trixie, you have the spare set of Field gems?"

"Hmph! Why else do you think I stashed these away before we left?" Removing her hat, Trixie produced the Field necklaces from it, one by one, and hoofed them round to their respective ponies.

"Do you think it'll work, Sunset?" Moondancer asked. "The way these vines distort our magic..."

"Of course it'll work," Sunset said. "Because the vines only block regular everyday magic. The Elements -- and our Field gems, too -- they use a very different kind of magic..."

"... Friendship," Twilight agreed, nodding.

"And we won't be trying to work a spell," Sunset went on, "so much as provide a pool of magic for the Elements to draw on."

Rainbow shrugged. "Worst case, it doesn't work. And we're toast. So no loss in trying, huh?"

"Not when you put it like that." Moondancer grimaced.

The ponies swiftly teamed up. And Applejack looked around the ring of paired ponies, grinning.

"Huh! Just like dance night in Appleloosa. Bow to your partner, bow to your own, and so forth..."

"All right, gang!" Sunset said briskly. "Let's fire it up."

Together, the Canterlot ponies triggered the Field spell. In seconds, the cave was gleaming with the swirling, spectral light of the Field's storage ring. They were lifted off the ground, eyes gleaming, their manes and tails gently flowing. And the five Ponyville ponies were lifted with them, held securely in the air.

OKAY, TWILIGHT, Sunset said, her Voice booming in the confined space. WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.

Twilight nodded, and looked around the circle. She pointed, and named the elements:

"HONESTY... KINDNESS... LAUGHTER... GENEROSITY... LOYALTY...

... AND MAGIC..."

The stone orbs crackled with power, gleamed briefly... then exploded into swirling clouds of gleaming shards. Each of these swept upwards, to one of the six Element Bearers, reforming into a glittering necklace for each of them, plus the lavender star-gemmed crown for Twilight.

Amazed, Twilight peered up at the crown, then down at the Field gem she was wearing. Both were gleaming with power, feeding their separate magic auras without conflict.

IT WORKED! she called, overjoyed. OKAY, NOW FOR THE HARD PART...

TWILIGHT! Moondancer called, LOOK OUT!

Attracted by the surge of magic, vine shoots were flinging madly at the group. They quickly snared all twelve ponies in midair. The vines twisted around their hooves, their necks, their horns, tugging at them, pulling them in different directions, trying to draw them apart.

KEEP IT TOGETHER, GANG! Sunset called. GO FOR IT, TWI!

Twilight hurriedly redirected the Field's magic, to gather up each of the six Element gems, one from each pony, including herself. She tried to levitate them towards the Tree, but then a vine wrapped around her face, covering her eyes and blocking her view. For a moment, her levitation spell faltered, the gems trembling perilously in midair.

Shaking her head fiercely, Twilight managed to get one eye uncovered. With that, she took firm hold of the gemstones, and swept them over to the branches of the Tree, dodging tendrils and creepers that were attempting to grab them.

The gems swept up to their places on each of the Tree's branches. Each gemstone slotted smoothly into its socket. The center of the tree opened like the mouth of a starfish, accepting the final magenta star gemstone.

For a long, tense moment, nothing seemed to be happening. The ponies struggled against the pull of the vines. The Field of Harmony's storage loop thrumming dangerously, threatening to unbalance, to overload...

And then there was a blaze of cleansing, soothing light. The Tree flared brilliantly, its energy fully rekindled. A wash of power blazed outwards from it, crumbling the vines to dust, which blew away on the winds. The explosion of power briefly bottled up in the cave's narrow tunnel, and then simply blasted outwards, taking a chunk of the cliff-face with it, exposing the cave to the open air outside.

The explosion of power moved on, magnifying as it went, spreading outwards across the Everfree Forest, across Ponyville and Canterlot, wiping out the vines wherever it encountered them, eradicating them utterly. And the ponies could all feel it happening directly, as if they were flying along with the blaze of power themselves, all across the land. It was a wonderful, marvelous feeling -- like finally, finally cleaning up a mess that had been allowed to gather and fester far too long.

Feeling dazed, Twilight glanced around at her friends, who all looked just as bewilderedly pleased as she did.

STAND DOWN, she called, gratefully.

The Canterlot group complied, winding down the Field spell. The ponies' eyes and manes returned to normal, their hooves settled to the ground.

And then they all stood and stared at the Tree of Harmony. It was utterly transformed. No longer gray and sickly, it glittered like a fireworks display. Its branches were draped with strands of sparkling light, the gemstone Elements gleaming brightly.

Rainbow spoke first. "That... was... awesome!" Leaping into the air, she turned several loop-the-loops, threatening to brain herself on the cave's ceiling.

Zecora nodded, smiling ear-to-ear.

// I don't have to ask //
// if you did it right. //
// I could tell myself -- //
// it was so bright! //

Rarity touched the empty necklace at her throat. "It does feel strange however -- getting the Element gems back, then having to turn right around and give them up again."

Twilight glanced up at her now-empty crown. "I feel the same way, Rarity. But it had to be done. And we don't have to worry now. The Tree is restored, and we still have the Field of Harmony if we need it to defend Equestria."

"Now," said Sunset, "we just need to figure out what happened to the Princesses."

"And to Discord," Fluttershy added quietly.

"Unless," Applejack said, half-seriously, "ya feel like continuing to rule Equestria... Princess Twilight."

She bowed respectfully, and the other ponies did likewise.

Twilight smiled ruefully at them. "If it's all the same to all of you, I really just wish we could find the Princesses and put things back to normal. I've had more than enough of being in charge for one day."

"Hey!" Pinkie Pie said. "What are those heaps of vines doing there?"

The gleam of the Tree was slowly settling down to a less eye-watering level, so they could now see that there were four piles of vines left, around the Tree's roots. Abruptly, these swirled with energy, then were eradicated like all the rest... revealing the Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Plus a very embarrassed-looking Discord.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight shouted. And she ran forwards to hug her mentor, tightly and relievedly.

"Twilight!" Celestia said gratefully. "And Sunset," she added, as Sunset hesitantly came up to hug her as well. "I am so very proud. Both of you have done extraordinarily well. Equestria owes its safety, and we owe our freedom, to the two of you."

"It was a team effort," Sunset said. "Twilight was a great leader. She stepped right up and took charge."

"And Sunset was the best backup I could ever ask for," Twilight said. "I was afraid I wasn't doing enough to help Ponyville. And I shouldn't have been. Sunset had it covered the whole time."

"Most of the time," Sunset allowed. "And we had a lot of help from our guide, Zecora, here."

The zebra bowed her head respectfully to the Princesses.

// Pleased I am, //
// and honored, too, //
// to meet those who rule //
// by knowing what to do. //

Twilight felt a hoof at her shoulder, and she turned to find Princess Cadance smiling thankfully at her. Twilight smiled back at her, lost for words. Then she looked around at the others as well. Trixie was hugging a startled Princess Luna tightly, like she never wanted to let go. And Starlight and Moondancer were with her as well, smiling and letting the younger Princess know just how much they'd missed her.

The ponies from Ponyville were standing a short distance away, their expressions a mixture of relief everyone was back safely, and awe at being in the presence of all the ruling ponies of the realm at once.

Even Discord was being welcomed back. He and Fluttershy were exchanging a heart-felt hug. Then the draconequus reluctantly set Fluttershy back on the ground, and came over to the Princesses. And bowed, ashamedly.

"I guess I owe all of you an apology," he said. "But it's my own fault, really. All these vines? They're my doing... that is, the old me, I mean," he added, seeing the shocked look on Fluttershy's face. "I planted those plunderseeds a thousand years ago, in hopes they'd snare Celestia and Luna, and drain the Tree of its magic. Of course, that was right before the Princesses showed up with the Elements and gave me that rather permanent time-out. So I wasn't able to do anything further about them." He stared up at the Tree in amazement. "But even without the Elements, the Tree had enough magic to keep the vines from sprouting, even after all this time. It's astonishing when you stop to think about it. Say what you will about Star Swirl -- and believe me I have, many times -- he knew his stuff."

Discord glanced around, shamefacedly.

"But, like I said, that was the old me. And when I suddenly recalled yesterday, while talking with Fluttershy, that the vines were still down there waiting to spring up and cause all this trouble, I decided I'd just go and root them out quietly. I probably should have said something, left a forwarding address and so on. But I was hoping I could just go take care of them, and no pony would be the wiser. Nopony would need to find out about my elegant little booby-trap." He rolled his eyes. "But, fool that I was, I forgot the most important rule about dealing with booby-traps --"

"Don't get caught in them," Trixie said, smirking at him.

"Don't get --" Discord frowned at her. "You stole my thunder."

Trixie beamed smugly.

"So now that we're all free again," Discord went on breezily, "if I promise to help clean up and get things back to normal, could I ask you all to overlook my little lapse of judgment? I didn't mean for things to get so out of hoof." Then he twiddled his thumbs, looking innocent. "Though I will put my paw up to having thoroughly enjoyed the resulting little hiccup in the daily routine!"

Celestia glanced at Luna, then at Cadance. Then she smiled at Twilight. "I'd say that's for the current Princess of Equestria to decide."

"Huh?"

"Well, Twilight, as far as anypony else knows, you're still in charge."

Twilight smiled uneasily. "I'll be more than happy for you to take over again, Princess. You and Luna both." Then she glared at Discord, who at least had the decency to look worried. "Just as long," Twilight said, eyeing him, "as there aren't any other little leftovers from that other timeline that we'll have to deal with."

"Nothing on my slate," Discord said. "But to be honest, I don't normally plan these things in advance anyways. It's so much more fun when I'm just as surprised by the outcome as everypony else."

Twilight sighed. "Then I'd say we should all just get back to civilization, and let everypony know they can stop worrying and get on with their lives." She glanced around at her Canterlot friends. "And then we should head back to the Royal City," she added. "To hand things over to the Princesses, and help get things sorted out up there."

"Oh..." Fluttershy said. "Already? We'd only just gotten used to having you here."

"Indeed!" Rarity said. "We knew it wouldn't be forever but... we'll miss seeing you, Twilight."

"We'll be glad to have the pleasure of your company again," Applejack said. "Any time y'all want to come visit."

"Oh, you're coming with us, Applejack," Twilight said. "I still want to hear all the details, but it sounds like you five and Sunset did a terrific job protecting Ponyville, and then figuring out where the Tree was."

"Ah, no biggie," Rainbow replied smugly. "We were just awesome!"

"Strange, but I feel the same way," Rarity said. "While it might mean having to get my hooves dirty just a bit, it was nicely exhilarating."

"I guess I really am cut out for a life of adventure," Fluttershy agreed. Then she hunched meekly. "As long as it's not too adventurous..."

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie was suddenly dressed as a cheerleader, and waving pom-poms. "We knew just what to do, 'cause our friendship is so true! Yaaaayyy, us!"

"So I'm thinking," Twilight said, "what if we made the five of you official members of the Advanced Projects group? You wouldn't have to actually move to Canterlot, or give up your lives here. But if we needed the extra hooves on deck, so to speak, it would be good to be able to think of all of you as our backup team, here in Ponyville."

Applejack smiled, and glanced at the others.

"Twilight, we're already your friends. And we'll always be glad to pitch in and help, whenever ya need us. But if you want us with ya more formal-like, then just speakin' for myself, I'd be plum honored to sign on with ya."

"Yeah!" Rainbow said. "Do we get to wear official jerseys, or something? Just so folks around here know we're on the team?"

"We can come up with something," Twilight said. "Or at the very least, make an announcement, while we're still here in town. And then let's all head back to Canterlot. After all, we'll want your input on adding some new rooms in the tower, so you five have a place to stay whenever you come visit us."

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, grinning. "Do ya mean it, Twilight?"

"Yay!" Pinkie shouted.

"Absolutely," Twilight said. "'Cause it's like the old saying goes: one should always take good care of the visiting team... exactly the same way that all of you took care of us."

"You know, Twilight," Celestia said, "I had thought about suggesting you consider expanding the membership of your group to include earth and pegasi ponies. Once again, I find you anticipating me. And given how well you handled being in command of Equestria itself, I believe I made the right decision in making you the leader of this group."

"I was only able to manage it because of my friends," Twilight said. "And because you've always trusted me and believed in me, Princess. Just like you said in that note you left me."

"Twilight?" Celestia looked puzzled. "What note was that?"

"On the last page of your diary?" Twilight said. And then she blushed and looked uncomfortable. "Um, not that I was reading it or anything... but, on the last page, it did say --"

Celestia looked astonished. Then she laughed out loud. "Oh, Twilight! That message wasn't written for you. Well, I suppose it is now, and I'm more than happy to have it apply to you. But to be strictly truthful, I wrote that note in my diary years ago -- when Sunset was my student."

"Princess?" Sunset looked both surprised and pleased.

"Sunset, only fate kept you from being where Twilight is now. And I consider both of you to be my most faithful of students."

"Sister," Luna asked plaintively. "Do you think we might leave this cold, dark cave now, and head back home?"

"Seconded, Auntie," Cadance said. "We should get back to the Royal City soon, before Shining Armor implodes from worry about me."

Celestia nodded. "That's an excellent suggestion. If you'll be good enough to lead us, Princess Twilight?"

With Twilight at the head of the group, they all left the cavern, heading back to the Chariots still waiting outside. Which just left the small problem of where to seat everypony. "We might have to make a couple of trips," Twilight finally said. "I'm not sure there's room for everypony, even with both Chariots."

"Then isn't it a good thing we have more?" Tempest pointed to where a third platform and team were coming in for a landing. "I asked them to join us later. I figured we might need the extra space coming back."

"Tempest!" Twilight grinned.

The Commander shrugged. "Standing around watching things means you always have time to plan ahead."

"Well... even with the extra space," Twilight said, "we should allow the Princesses to go first."

"Oh, I wouldn't hear of it!" Celestia said. "You ponies are the heroes of the day. It's only fitting for you to return in style. And besides, having been snared in those vines for hours, I feel like stretching my wings. What do you say, Luna? Shall we 'wing it', as the saying goes these days?"

Luna looked a little doubtful, then nodded. "It shall make our return all the more impressive, Sister," she said.

Cadance nodded willingly. "I'm up for it, Auntie, if the two of you are."

In the end, they divided the group so that Twilight, Sunset, and Tempest were on the lead Chariot, with Trixie and her companions on the following one, and the ponies from Ponyville on the third -- aside from Rainbow, who insisted on flying on her own to make more room for the others.

And as the flyers took wing and drew the three Chariots up into the air, Twilight glanced left, to where Trixie was standing at the railing of her Chariot, which was being escorted by Luna. Then to the right, where Cadance was escorting Twilight's Ponyville friends. The Ponyville ponies were all staring around in awe at the scenery passing below.

Finally Twilight looked up, to the graceful form of Princess Celestia overhead, her wings flapping powerfully. As the Chariots approached Ponyville, Celestia's horn sang with golden magic and the Sun finally, finally completed its ascent into the sky. At the same time Luna, concentrating fiercely, sent her Moon down below the horizon, bringing the strange half-day/half-night to a close.

And from the streets below, a loud, roaring and stamping cheer went up from the citizens, young and old, as their sovereigns and heroes returned in triumph.

Looking at it all, listening to it all, Twilight smiled. The kind of smile she felt all over.

It was that kind of moment...

Behind them, in its cavern, the Tree of Harmony suddenly gleamed brighter. The gleam coalesced into a glow, which spread downwards along one of its roots. There, a single flower emerged, then bloomed, revealing a small blue, crystal chest, hexagonal in shape...

... and having twelve keyhole-shaped slots on its various facets. One for each of the members of the Advanced Projects group, both old and new.

As if the Tree itself knew, somehow, that more help would be needed this time round...

The End

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.

Take Charge

The Golden Chariot, with Twilight and the others aboard, made excellent time back to the Royal City. Shortly thereafter it was touching down on the broad sweep of lawn in front of the grand staircase leading up to the doors of the Royal Palace.

And straight into the midst of bedlam.

Noble ponies and commoners alike were thronging the streets. They stared up at the divided sky, wide-eyed and trembling. The Royal Guard were nearly overwhelmed trying to keep the frightened ponies back from the Palace itself.

"Great Celestia," moaned a silver-haired dowager, "would you look at that sky!"

"Never seen anything like it!" a velvet-jacketed financier yelled. "What do you think it means?"

"There's Princess Twilight!" called a blue-bonneted heiress. "She'll know!"

There was a minor stampede on the Chariot, dozens of ponies trying to crowd close, shouting questions and demands for answers. Twilight and the others descended from the platform, staring about themselves in wordless shock.

All except for Tempest. She rapped an armored hoof, whistled sharply. Several Guard ponies swiftly gathered, and under her watchful eye began gently but firmly clearing a path through the crowd, up the steps to the Palace. As they did so, the doors of the Palace itself burst open. Shining Armor came charging down the steps towards them.

"Twilight! I'm glad you're safe." The blue-maned stallion was practically dancing with agitation, eyes wide and staring. "It's Cadance! And Celestia and Luna! They're..."

"Ehem!" Tempest growled warningly. "You have a report to make, Captain?"

The steel in her tone got through his panic. Getting control of himself, Shining Armor deliberately snapped to attention. "Right. Sorry about that, uh, Commander. It's been a little, well, hectic here -- as you can see."

Twilight put a steadying hoof on his chest-plate. "Take it easy, big brother. We're here to help, but you're going to have to fill us in, okay?"

"Right. Okay... right. We should head inside and discuss it. Detail, fall in!"

With Shining Armor leading the way, the Guard ponies on all sides holding back the crowds, and Tempest herself chaperoning Twilight closely, glaring at anypony who got too close, the ponies trooped up the stairs and into the Palace. The guards shut the doors behind them.

And Shining Armor all but melted into a puddle of anxiety on the carpet.

"Twily! Nopony here has any idea what's happened to the Princesses. None of them have been seen since late last night. I was talking with Cadance myself, not half an hour before they all disappeared. And when I stopped by to check on her later, she was just... gone!"

Twilight stared at him, frightened herself. "There's no clue what happened?"

"Well, there is one thing. This way."

Shining Armor turned and led them up into the Palace corridors. He brought them to one corridor in particular, a long stretch of marble-floored hallway leading towards the Royal Suite. And right in the middle of it, one of the black, twisting vines was poking up through the floor, shoving aside the tiles.

"We've been finding these weird, invasive vines all over the place. In the cellars, the kitchens, the Audience Hall -- even here in the Royal Suite. They seem to be charged with some kind of dark magic, which keeps us from using our own magic to block them or drive them back."

"We've seen them too," Starlight said, edging closer to examining the black tendril. "Though much more invasively, down in Ponyville. It looks like they're coming from the Everfree Forest."

"That's a long ways from here," said Moondancer. "Why would these vines come all the way up the mountain unless --"

"Unless," Tempest finished for her, "they were specifically after the Princesses." She glared around at the guards. "Has anypony else gone missing, apart from their Highnesses?"

The guards shook their heads. "Not that we know of, ma'am."

"Somepony... or something," Twilight said, "wanted to take out all the alicorn Princesses in Equestria."

Moondancer chucked Twilight's shoulder. "Good thing they didn't count on there being a unicorn Princess, huh?"

"Yeah, good thing..." Twilight agreed tensely.

"But... all the Princesses are gone?" Trixie squeaked, looking panicky. "Then... what do we do?"

"Excuse me... Miss Sparkle?"

The group looked round. They found a small, professional-looking white mare standing before them. She had a dark brown mane, thick-framed glasses and a bright red lace jabot. She held a clipboard, tucked in one forehoof. And she simply radiated efficient organization.

"Raven Inkwell," the mare said, nodding briskly. "The Princesses' chief of staff. May I be of assistance?"

"Oh yes, please!" Twilight said. "We've only just arrived, and we need get to the bottom of whatever's been happening here."

"And we need to figure out where the Princesses have gone," Moondancer said. "And how to stop these vines from taking over Equestria."

"We should probably also figure out," Starlight suggested, "what to tell everypony -- before things get really crazy out there."

Raven made a quietly polite noise. It was not exactly a cough or clearing of the throat, more a sort of studied, efficient punctuation mark. "If I may suggest, Miss Sparkle? We should make an official announcement, as quickly as possible, so the citizenry know the situation is under control."

"Yes... uh, right." Twilight replied. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Raven nodded. "I have a contingency proclamation prepared, stating that the Princesses are currently... indisposed? And the Palace staff is working at top efficiency to keep things in order. Further announcements will follow, that sort of thing."

"Sounds reasonable to me." Twilight glanced at her friends. "What do the rest of you think?"

The others nodded in agreement. All except for Trixie. She drew herself up haughtily, set her jaw, shoved her hat forward on her mane, crossed her forehooves.

"No," she said flatly. "That won't do at all."

"Trixie..." Starlight warned. But the showpony put up a hoof for silence. Then she leaned forward, eyeing Raven narrowly.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she said. "Why do you keep calling Twilight 'Miss Sparkle'?"

"What? Uh, Miss --"

"Trixie Luna Moon!" the showpony snapped loftily. "Minister of Propaganda and the Performing Arts. And you haven't answered my question. Is Twilight's proper title not 'Acting Princess'?"

"Well, of course it is, but --"

"And is she not in charge, under the current emergency?"

"According to official protocol, yes. Although --"

"And," Trixie interrupted forcefully, "until one of the other Princesses returns from..." She waved a hoof. "Wherever it is they've been spirited off to, is Twilight not effectively the Princess here?"

Raven stared at the showpony, her mouth open. And Twilight winced, readying an apology for Trixie's behavior...

Then Raven bowed, humbly and unreservedly.

"My deepest apologies, Princess Twilight," she said. "I spoke improperly. How would Your Highness prefer I word the announcement?

Before Twilight could react, Trixie went on. "The first part is... all right," she said grudgingly. "About the Princesses being, uh, held up returning from some conference or other, that's how I'd put it. But as for the rest, it should say Princess Twilight is in charge of the situation. And she and her team are working on resolving it, pending the Princesses' return. Aided of course, by her able and capable staff." Trixie turned and added a curtsey in Twilight's direction for good measure. "If that suits you, Your Highness?"

"That... sounds fine to me," Twilight said cautiously. "But Raven, could you also announce that if anypony has immediate questions or concerns, they can be directed to the Palace staff?"

"Absolutely, Highness." Raven bowed. "I'll have that put out at once." She turned her attention to her clipboard, quickly jotting a few notes with a quill.

And Twilight looked at Trixie in surprise. "Where did all that come from?"

"Huh." Trixie lofted her snout. "Rule one of showbiz, Twilight. There's only room for one act on stage. So make sure they all know it's you."

"A press release isn't going to hold things for long," Starlight fretted. "We'll need to follow it up with some action."

"Like, for instance?" Moondancer asked.

Twilight suddenly realized everypony was looking at her. She cleared her throat, drawing herself up formally.

"Captain Shining Armor," she said.

"Huh?" The Captain quickly came to attention as well. "I mean yes, Your Highness?"

"I want you and the other guards to keep looking for the Princesses. We have to find them quickly, before ponies really start to panic. If you find anything, even the smallest thing, let me know immediately... okay?"

"Of course!" For form's sake, he glanced at Tempest. "Uh, Commander?"

Tempest raised an eyebrow. "You heard the order, Captain."

Shining Armor saluted. Then he and several of the Guard ponies galloped off at once.

"Way to take charge, Twi!" Spike said, and elbowed her proudly.

But Twilight wasn't finished. "Trixie," she said. "As my Minister of Propaganda and Performing Arts, I'll want you to advise me on messaging. And to work on organizing entertainments and diversions, to help take ponies' minds off the crisis."

"Uh, sure," Trixie stared at her uneasily. "This is a different side of you, you know?"

Twilight wasn't listening. "Cheese," she said next. "I'm appointing you my official Court Jester. I want you to work with Trixie to help keep spirits up, particularly inside the Palace. We need to make sure everypony here keeps it together, so they can do their jobs properly."

"Absolutely!" Cheese replied, and he bumped hooves with Trixie.

"Moondancer." Twilight turned to her. "You're my Minister of Research. I want you to check with the ponies at the Archives, see if there's any precedent here. Anything like these vines, anything at all that we can do to contain them, or drive them back."

"I'm on it, Twilight -- I mean, Your Highness!"

Twilight paused and glanced around.

"Gosh, I wish Sunset was here. I've gotten used to having her as my second-in-command."

"Well hey, what about me?" Starlight offered. "I'm pretty good at organizing things."

"Okay," Twilight nodded readily. "You're my second. And my Minister of Magic. I want you to look into how these vines interfere with our spellcasting. See if there are any counter-spells, like Tempest's armor, that we can use to stop that from happening."

"Gotcha." Starlight nodded. "I'll do my best."

Raven made her punctuation-mark noise. "Is there anything that I or the rest of the staff can provide you with right now, Princess Twilight?"

Twilight found she was running out of steam. "Uhh... a quiet room, someplace?" she asked. "Where we can make plans?"

"And maybe breakfast while we work?" Moondancer added. "We haven't eaten yet this morning."

"Of course." Raven nodded. "The Princess's private audience chamber is always kept in readiness. This way, please." Turning, she led the way at a brisk trot, swiftly dispatching orders left and right to other staff ponies as she passed them.

In very short order, Twilight and her friends had been ushered into a small but well-appointed audience room, their breakfast orders taken, and the doors closed behind them.

And Twilight gave a small, helpless-sounding sob. She turned, flung her forehooves around Tempest, hugging her tightly, her eyes tight shut.

Surprised, Tempest put a hoof around her, resting her chin comfortingly on Twilight's mane.

"I'm sorry," said Twilight, after a bit. "I'm not being very grown-up about this, am I?"

"Twilight..." Tempest said, "right now, you're being more grown-up than most grown-ups I know."

"Definitely!" Starlight came over to put a comforting hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Don't let it get to you, Twi. Sure, it's scary -- I mean, I'm scared spitless right now! But you're not alone here."

"That's right," Moondancer said. "You've always been there for us. So now we're here for you."

"Absolutely!" said Spike.

"All of us," Trixie agreed.

"Like cheese on crackers!" Cheese said, riffing a cheerful tune on his accordion, which finally got Twilight smiling gratefully.

Then Starlight smirked at Trixie, nudging her shoulder. "Minister of Propaganda, eh, Lady Trixie?"

The showpony sniffed. "Trixie thought it appropriate, as well as sufficiently authoritative. That is, pending Your Highness's approval, of course." She touched her hat brim in Twilight's direction.

Then she looked over her shoulder. "Hey, Moondancer?"

"Yeah, Trixie?"

"What does 'propaganda' mean, anyways?"

Back in Ponyville, Sunset and the other five ponies had regrouped at Sugarcube Corner, in the bakery's front room.

"All right," Sunset said. "We've got everypony safely tucked up in their homes, and guard ponies patrolling the streets in case of trouble. So let's focus on the vines themselves. They're still overgrowing everything, still messing up our magic."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's take 'em out!" Rainbow shouted. "Get out the weed-whackers, and go to town!"

"We can't go to town, silly!" Pinkie Pie laughed. "We're already here."

"And we need a plan, Rainbow," Sunset said. "We need to understand what we're up against, how to deal with it."

"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow crossed her hooves grumpily. "Whatever."

"Now, from what you told me," Sunset said, "the vines first appeared at Sweet Apple Acres, which is nearest to the forest. And at Fluttershy's, which is also close to it. Then Rainbow notices the clouds moving in."

"Right!" Rainbow nodded eagerly. "Lucky thing I had the dawn shift, or I'd have still been asleep and missed the whole thing."

Sunset gave her a look. "You and I have very different ideas about luck, Rainbow. Okay, so Rarity was first to notice their debilitating influence on magic. Or maybe it's on spellcasting? I wish Starlight was here, she'd know. Then Pinkie sees the vines at Sugarcube Corner, when they've reached the center of town."

"But what does that tell us, Sunset?" Rarity asked.

"For one thing, it says the vines weren't after Twilight, or any of us in particular. They're overrunning Ponyville mostly because it was in the way. Rainbow, did you check the borders of the town?"

"Yeah, and you were right, Sunset! Beyond Ponyville, the vines are thickest to the northeast."

"Towards Canterlot," Sunset whispered, "and the Princesses..."

"Okay, makes sense," Applejack said. "But we still don't know what's causing these vines to run wild like this."

"Um." Fluttershy looked uncomfortable. "I did see Discord walking into the Everfree Forest yesterday. But --"

"Hey, yeah!" Rainbow interrupted. "Discord! This crazy mess has his cloven hoofprints all over it!"

"But, he's reformed, right?" Fluttershy objected. "And after everything he's been through, I don't think he'd do something like this."

"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow challenged. "You actually believe him?"

Fluttershy looked briefly cowed. Then she nodded, firmly.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I do."

Flummoxed, Rainbow tossed her hooves in frustration. "Well, who else could it be?"

"Loathe though I am to defend him," Sunset said, "I think Fluttershy has a point."

"How so?" Applejack asked.

"Think about it," Sunset replied. "What's the one thing Discord loves to do? Gloat! If these vines were Discord's doing, he'd be right here the whole time, watching the fun and laughing at us as we struggle with it. But look around." She gestured with a hoof. "No Discord!"

"He wasn't at dinner yesterday," Fluttershy pointed out. "Oooh... maybe whatever got the Princesses got him too?"

"Hmm." Applejack nodded. "Reckon you might be right, Sunset. And here I was all ready to accuse him myself. Huh, just goes to show, I guess." Shaking her head, she turned to look out through the shop's window-door.

And froze, wide-eyed in terror.

"So?" Rainbow demanded. "Who's really behind all this?" She smacked her forehooves together. "Who do we go after, huh?"

"M-m-maybe it's... her!" Applejack pointed out the window, trembling like a leaf. The other ponies quickly joined her. And all of them gasped, shivering in terror.

All of them except Sunset, who was behind them all and couldn't see.

"Oh!" Rarity gasped. "She's the cause of this, no question." She sounded as nervous as Fluttershy. And Fluttershy, of course was completely silent, cowering on the floor with her hooves over her face. Even Rainbow was warily quiet, staring angrily out the window.

"Who? Who is it?" Sunset shoved through the group to the window, and looked out herself. And saw, coming up a side road, a cloaked pony-like figure hauling a cart laden with bottles, jars, native masks, and other items. The cloaked figure strained to haul the heavy cart, finally coming to a stop, utterly spent. Tossing its head the figure flipped back its hood, and revealed a striped face, brush-like mane, and bright blue, intelligent eyes that stared miserably around at the dwellings and shops, as if searching for something and not finding it.

"Zecora!" Applejack spat, as if Doomsday itself had walked into town.

"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow nodded grimly. "Her showing up, right now? That can't be coincidence!"

Sunset looked around at them all, confused.

"Uh, what am I missing here, gang? Why are you all flipping out at the sight of a zebra?"

"A what now?" Rainbow asked.

"A zebra," Sunset repeated. "From the Zebralands? It's a large continent, south of -- Abyssynia, I think. Ugh, I wish Moondancer was here. She knows this stuff backwards and forwards."

"Well, wherever she may be from," Rarity said archly, "She lives somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest."

"So?" Sunset shrugged. "Zebra are plains-dwellers. Maybe she's more comfortable in a natural environment, rather than here in town."

Applejack shook her head. "There ain't nothin' natural about the Forest -- that place is cursed!"

"Cursed?" Sunset echoed, scornfully.

The farm pony nodded. "The plants and trees grow, all by themselves..."

"The clouds move around," Rainbow added, "all on their own."

"And the animals," Fluttershy managed to squeak. "Ooh... they're definitely not nice."

"The Everfree Forest is eeeevilll!" Pinkie shouted. "And so's Zecora! She's an evil enchantress! In fact, she's so evil I made up a song about how evil she is. It goes like this..."

Sunset stoppered Pinkie's mouth with a hoof.

"I don't believe this!" she snapped. "Ponyville's under seige, it's up to us to figure out how to save it. And you're all jumping at shadows, and looking for somepony to blame it on? What is wrong with you? You're behaving like a bunch of paranoid, short-sighted hicks from the sticks!"

She glared around at them. And realized that they were all staring back at her, astonished and more than a little hurt.

"Uhhh... let me take that back," Sunset said, embarassed. "Look gang, I know this seems like a tight spot, and we don't have a lot of answers yet. Which... is all the more reason to go find some, and maybe by trying things we wouldn't normally do. Now, if Zecora lives in the Everfree, she may know something about these vines that we don't. I'm gonna go talk to her."

The others gasped, staring at her in astonishment.

Rolling her eyes, Sunset turned and pulled open the front door of the bakery, then trotted outside. Behind her, she could hear the others following behind her... reluctantly, at a distance.

Sunset walked straight over to the zebra, who was checking over the contents of her cart. Hearing Sunset approach, the zebra turned to face her. The expression on her striped face was miserable, yet stoically proud, as if she was prepared to face whatever new catastrophe befell her.

Bowing respectfully, Sunset struggled to recall a brief lesson in diplomatic etiquette that seemed like ages ago. "That... seems a heavy load." She nodded to the cart, taking care to keep her tone neutral and non-judgmental. "Have you been long on the road?"

Zecora stared at her, in astonished delight.

// Ah! Oft have I visited, //
// out of the wild. //
// Yet rare has my reception //
// been so mild. //

"My name's Sunset. And if I may, uh... can we be of help in some way?"

Zecora's face fell as she looked at her cartload of belongings.

// From my home //
// I have had to flee! //
// The Forest grows too wild, //
// even for me. //

"Sunset," said Applejack, coming up behind her. "Do you understand that weird jabber of hers?"

"Well, of course I do!" Sunset swung crossly on them. Then seeing their puzzled looks, she got hold of her anger. "Look, it's a social convention. Zebra culture was originally tribal and warlike, right? Over time they learned to be more peaceful and inclusive. The rhyming speech is part of that. It's a kind of social signaling. It tells whomever you're talking to that you value them enough to take care in choosing your words."

Zecora nodded placidly.

// Zebra take care //
// to speak in rhyme, //
// so others will know //
// we take the time. //

"I see..." Applejack said. "I think."

"Zecora," Sunset asked, turning to her, "these vines from the forest... uh... do you know..." She hurriedly searched for words. "What it is that makes them grow... er, like this?" she finished lamely.

In return, Zecora smiled in unoffended amusement.

// Thy kindness is clear, //
// and pleasing, and good. //
// So I say to thee, Sunset, //
// do speak as thou would! //

Then she glanced worriedly at the black, thorned vines covering everything around them.

// These plants to me //
// are new as well. //
// As are their effects //
// on potion and spell. //
// They seem unnatural, //
// in their unruly greed, //
// so I think they are more //
// than merely a weed. //

"We feel the same way." Sunset nodded. "They seem to be coming from the Everfree Forest, along with these dark clouds, and everything else that's going on." She looked at the others. "We need to find out where they're coming from, and how to stop them. Which means... we need to go in there and find their source." Ignoring the shocked looks on the other ponies' faces, Sunset turned back to Zecora.

"You're much more familiar with the Forest than we are. Could we ask you to guide us?" Sunset gestured to the cart. "If you'd like, we can store your belongings in the town's Library. The guards can make sure they're not messed with."

Zecora nodded, smiling warmly.

// Guide you, I will, //
// and with great pleasure. //
// For friends such as this //
// are rare, and a treasure! //

Then the zebra glanced worriedly at the day/night sky, the gathering clouds, the steadily-encroaching vines.

// I think we should //
// make haste on our way. //
// For the world seems a war //
// 'Twixt night and day. //
// Its source we must find, //
// And right soon, in sooth, //
// Or else things will remain //
// Forever uncouth. //

"Glad you can follow what she's sayin'," Applejack said, as Zecora moved to rehitch herself to the wagon, and Rainbow and Applejack moved to give it a push as well. "We cain't hardly make mane nor tail of her, half the time."

Sunset shrugged. "Celestia once assigned me to read an entire book of pre-classical poetry. At the time I thought it was a total bore, but now I'm finding it helps a lot. Just goes to show, eh?"

The party set out towards the Library, and the other ponies followed along behind the cart, uncertain and perplexed. And all of them occasionally glanced up, worriedly, at the green wall of the Everfree looming over the rooftops nearby.