A New Generation: Friendship is Magic

by Sky_Wishes

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Nightmare Moon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, My Little Pony: A New Generation, Adventure, Mane 5, Princess Celestia
Length: 14050

On the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, Sunny Starscout realizes an ancient evil is on the verge of returning. Now it’s up to her to stop it; if only she could find the mysterious artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony.

While reading through her dad’s old history books, Sunny Starscout comes to a horrifying realization: The ancient legend of Nightmare Moon is in fact real, and she’s due to return to Equestria on the eve of the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration to bring eternal night.

To make matters worse, the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration happens to be tonight.

Luckily, there’s a solution: Six magical artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony could be the key to Nightmare Moon’s defeat. But how is Sunny supposed to find them when they’ve been lost for generations? And why isn’t the Princess not doing anything about the danger?

Updates every Friday

Cover made with the help of AngelLight-Bases

Published 2023-10-20 20:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-04-23 19:49:00 UTC

Prologue: The Mare in the Moon

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects — all the different types of ponies.

But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn.

The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: The Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of The Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon.

The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon…

“…And harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” Sunny heaved a happy sigh and clutched the book close to her chest. She knew that she probably should’ve gone to bed hours ago— There was still so much stuff she needed to do in the morning before the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow! —but she couldn’t help it. The tale of the two alicorn princesses had been a favorite of Sunny’s ever since she was a little filly. Back when her dad was still alive, he used to read it to her every night before bed, and she’d fall asleep dreaming of meeting the beautiful Sun Princess who saved Equestria from darkness. Sometimes the Moon Princess would be there as well, and they’d use the Elements of Harmony to return her to normal. Then they’d play all day and all night, spreading friendship and harmony to all the ponies they met.

Sunny giggled to herself at that thought. While it was unlikely that her fillyhood dreams would ever fully be realized, at least part of them would come true tomorrow, because Princess Celestia had decided to hold the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration right in Ponyville! Everypony knew and admired the benevolent yet reclusive princess tasked with raising the sun and moon, and tomorrow could be her only chance to meet her in person!

Smiling at the thought of it, Sunny picked up another book. Predictions and Prophecies, one of her Dad’s favorites. With a smile on her face, she continued reading until she stumbled onto a peculiar paragraph.

The Mare in the Moon: A myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned it the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal.

Sunny looked at the paragraph. She reread it once. Twice. She looked back at the legend of the two princesses that she’d been reading just minutes earlier. Back to Predictions and Prophecies. Back to the Legend. Predictions and Prophecies. The legend. Predictions and Prophecies. The legend…

Finally Sunny’s eyes settled not on any particular book, but on the view outside her bedroom window. The moon hung high in the sky, and Sunny could make out the craters and seas of it’s surface.

Craters and seas which coincidentally made up the shape of an alicorn.

Sunny had heard of the Mare in the Moon before. When she was a filly, her Dad had always let her look through his telescope and pointed out the shape the craters made. Even nowadays, when she volunteered at the old folk’s home, she occasionally heard the residents chatting amongst themselves about the legend.

Both the Mare in the Moon and Nightmare had wanted to bring eternal night. Both were defeated by the Elements of Harmony. Both were imprisoned in the moon. Sunny had read the legend about Nightmare Moon about a thousand times by now. How had she not made the connection before?

Wait a minute…

Sunny’s eyes darted back to Predictions and Prophecies. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape…

Everypony knew that the longest day of the year was the Summer Sun Celebration. And since this year was the millenial celebration, that meant that the day that Nightmare Moon would return…

…was tomorrow.

Sunny scrambled to her feet. She had to do something! But what could she do? Should she warn Hitch? Warn Princess Celestia? How would she even do that? Write a letter? It wasn’t like she had some sort of magical direct communication line to the princess. How was she supposed to guarantee that it would get to her in time? And even if it did, what would they do? How had Nightmare Moon been defeated the last time?

Sunny’s eyes lit up. Of course! The elements! She quickly picked up Predictions and Prophecies again. It was supposed to be full of knowledge on this kind of stuff, so surely it would have more information on—

Elements of Harmony: See Mare in the Moon

Sunny nearly threw the book to ground in a fit of frustration. Well that wasn’t any help at all. Still, it wasn’t like those two books were the only two books she owned. She turned back towards her old bookshelves. There has to be more information on the elements somewhere around here…

Sounding the Alarm

“Sunny. Sunny. Sunny! Are you in there?”

Sunny cracked her bleary eyes open. Her muscles ached from sleeping on the ground, and she let out a small groan as someone pushed her bedroom door open.

“Ugh. There you are, Sunny. I’ve been looking for you all morning.” A familiar male voice rang in her ears. “Don’t tell me you stayed up all night reading again. I told you that being up so late was bad for you. And you shouldn’t leave all your books strewn about the floor like this!”

Sunny lifted her head off the ground. “Hitch…?”

The yellow stallion continued his rant as he returned various books to their proper shelves and papers to their desks. “Yes, it’s me. You have got to start taking better care of yourself. Have you even had breakfast yet?"

Sunny's stomach growled. She shook her head. "No..."

Hitch gave Sunny a pointed look. "Listen Sunny. I understand that you really love this stuff. But you have a responsibility to yourself to get enough rest. And it's not even just about you this time! Everypony in Ponyville is counting on you for refreshments for the celebration tonight.”

"Celebration...?" Sunny rubbed her eyes, trying to process what her foalhood friend was saying. "What celebrat—" She cut herself off as her mind finally caught up with her.

The Summer Sun Celebration.

Nightmare Moon.

The elements!

“Hitch!” Sunny jumped up suddenly, scattering papers across the floor as she did. “I need to tell you something! You see, I was reading—”

“—I know that. And as I’ve been saying, you need to stop doing that. I can’t keep coming around reminding you to take care of yourself.”

“But I found something really important—“

“—And I’m really busy today, too. I still need to have Zipp clear the clouds, check Izzy’s decorations, make sure Pipp’s ready to sing tonight. And that’s not even including—”

“—But everyone in Ponyville could be in danger, Hitch!”

At the sound of the ‘D’ word, Hitch stopped in his tracks and swiveled around to face Sunny. “Danger?” He asked in his ‘sheriff voice’. “What kind of danger are we talking about? Stampeding cattle? Parasprites? Sleeping Dragon?”

“No, it’s Nightmare Moon!”

“Nightmare—” Hitch’s serious face shifted into one of incredulity. “Nightmare Moon? From that old bedtime story?”

Sunny nodded. “Yes, but she’s not just a bedtime story! She’s real, and she’s going to return tonight.”

Hitch remained blank-faced. “Nightmare Moon. From the foal’s bedtime story. Is going to come here tonight.”

Sunny nodded again. “Yes. Now I’ve been doing some research, and the only things that can defeat her are these artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. Now, I couldn’t find much information on them, but—”

“Sunny.”

Hitch put his hoof on Sunny’s shoulder. “Listen to me. You’re one of my best friends. We’ve known each other since we were foals. So listen to me when I tell you I say this with your best interests in mind. I think all these books are starting to get to you.”

Sunny glared at him, shoving his foot off. “What? No! This is serious! If you look at the story of the Mare in the Moon—”

“—Which is also just a legend.” Hitch interrupted “And besides, if there was really some scary immortal alicorn who wanted to plunge Equestria into eternal night, don’t you think the Princess would warn us?”

Sunny couldn’t come up with an answer to that, and simply cast her gaze on the floor.

He sighed. “Listen, I’m not sure what sort of bad dreams you had last night, but like I said, I have a lot to supervise before the celebration tonight. Are you going to be okay? Because if you need to take a day to rest, I can always get somepony else to cover refreshments.”

“But I’m not just—” Sunny paused as she carefully considered Hitch’s words. A small smile began to spread across her face. “Actually, Hitch, you know what? I think I will need somepony to cover for me.” She let out an exaggerated yawn. “I did stay up really late last night, and I want to make sure I’m rested up for the party tonight. So if it’s not too much trouble…”

Hitch smiled. “Of course not. Anything for a friend!” He turned around to walk out the bedroom door. “I’ll get right to it, so get some sleep, okay? I’ll see you tonight.”

“Bye, Hitch!” Sunny said, as he walked out the door. As soon as it was shut, she turned back to her desk.

“Well Hitch,” Sunny said with a smile. “If you won’t believe me, maybe there’s somepony out there who will.”

The small town of Ponyville was buzzing with excitement. All around, ponies were cleaning, decorating, and generally doing their part to make sure that the festivities were the absolute best that they could possibly be. It seemed like there was no way that anything could go wrong.

Which was precisely why it was so surprising to see a certain orange earth pony mare skating through the streets, megaphone in hoof.

“Attention everypony! Nightmare Moon is coming! We need to prepare!"

Sunny rolled through the streets, determined to reach as many ponies as possible. So Hitch didn't believe her. Fine. She'd just find somepony else who would. Ponyville was full of other ponies; surely one of them would have to listen to her.

"Nightmare Moon is coming everypony! we need to— Ooof!"

At that moment, Sunny ran straight into a makeshift wooden stage. "Ugh..."

"Sunny?"

Sunny looked up to see the face of a familiar pink pegasus. "Pipp!" She said, jumping to her feet.

"Oh, hey Sunny!" She replied, swooping down to face her. "How are you doing? Do you like the stage? I made it myself."

"Um, Yeah. It's very nice, but—"

"So, what's all this Nightmare Moon stuff about? Is it some sort of Nightmare Night promotion? 'cause I love your Bloody Orange smoothie as much as the next pony, but I think you might've mixed up your holidays?"

Sunny shook her head. "No! She's real, Pipp!"

"Who's real?"

"Nightmare Moon!"

Pipp gave Sunny a blank look before she burst out into laughter. "That's a good one, Sunny!"

Sunny growled and stamped her hoof on the ground. "I'm not joking, Pipp! This is serious! Nightmare Moon is coming, and we need to find the Elements of Harmony to defeat her, and—"

"Sunny Starscout!"

Oh no.

Sunny turned around to see the town mayor, Phyllis, storming angrily towards her. “Oh hey,” she said wearing a sheepish expression. “What brings you here?”

Phyllis snorted. “What brings me here? What brings me here? I’m here because somepony’s trying to incite a panic in this town with her wild stories about an old mare’s tale! Do you know how many parents have come to me complaining of their foals crying because they’re scared that Nightmare Moon is coming to gobble them up?”

Sunny folded her ears back. “I’m sorry. But I’m not trying to scare anypony, honest! You see, I was looking through my dad’s old books, and—”

“Bup, bup, bup! I don’t want to hear it. I’m under enough pressure as it is trying to make sure that everything goes perfectly, and the last thing I need is you messing things up with your usual antics.”

“But—”

“—No buts! If this keeps up, I’ll have to have you banned from this year’s Summer Sun Celebration!”

“What? Mator Cloverleaf, you can’t do that!” Pipp said, suddenly flying forward. “Sunny didn’t mean any harm!”

Phyllis scoffed. “She never does. And yet somehow it keeps happening.”

“Come on. Cut her some slack. I’m sure she’ll tone it down with the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ stuff, right Sunny?”

Sunny nodded vigorously. “Right! Of course I will!”

Phyllis glared at Sunny before turning back to Pipp. “Fine,” she said with a sigh. “But I’d better not hear of any more incidents, or else.” And then with another a scoff and a flick of her tail, she turned around and walked off, leaving the two mares by themselves once more.

Sunny heaved a sigh of relief and turned to face Pipp. “Thanks for sticking up for me there. I’m glad she likes you.”

“Pshhh, it’s no problem!” Pipp said with a grin. “Although you might wanna tone the publicity stunt down a tad. Wouldn’t want to scare anymore foals.”

Sunny growled and stamped her hoof. “Argh, Pipp! this isn’t a publicity stunt! This is real! Nightmare Moon really is coming, and we need to prepare!”

“Prepare by doing what, exactly? How are we supposed to go up against her?”

“Um— Well—” Sunny stammered. “We could— Or maybe—”

Pipp drapped a fluffy wing over her back. “Just relax, Sunny! I’m sure even if Nightmare Moon was coming, Princess Celestia would’ve told us!”

Right. Hitch had said that too, and it was the one piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit. If Nightmare Moon was coming, why wasn’t the Princess doing anything about it? There was no way she could just not know, right? She was Princess Celestia, for goodness’ sake!

Sunny looked down. “I guess that makes sense…”

Pipp beamed. “Right? There’s no need to worry! So just relax, do your ‘Sunny Thang’, and whatever you do, don’t forget to come see me perform tonight!~”

Sunny forced a small smile. “Yeah… I’ll do that.”

“Great! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some practice to get back to.” And with that said, Pipp spread out her wings and flew back onto the stage.

Sunny, on the other hand, was left to wander the streets on Ponyville, looking at everypony excitedly setting up for the Celebration. A dark pit formed in her stomach as she watched them. Didn’t they know how much danger they were all in?

Maybe Pipp and Hitch are right, though. Maybe I am worrying over nothing.

“Psst!”

Sunny looked up. Where did that come from? She looked around, but the streets seemed mostly deserted. So where did…

“Over here!”

Sunny scanned the area around her. There were a few bushes and some ponies who were preoccupied with the planning, but not much—

One of the bushes moved.

Normally, Sunny would’ve blamed the wind, but the skies were completely clear. So without many other options, she slowly and carefully approached the bush. “Hello?”

“Hey.”

A head popped out of the bushes, and Sunny jumped back slightly. The voice gave a chuckle, and to her surprise, Sunny recognized it.

“Zipp?”

“That’s me.” The sleek white pegasus climbed out of bushes, deftly shaking off the leaves that clung to her wings and fur as she did so.

Sunny tilted her head. “What were you doing in the bushes? Aren’t you supposed to be clearing the clouds?”

“I needed to make sure nopony heard us. Plus, I finished with the clouds a while ago.” She leaned into Sunny’s ear and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I wanted to hear your theory on Nightmare Moon.”

“You do?” Sunny squealed, earning her an annoyed look from Zipp.

She felt her face heat up. “Sorry,” she whispered. “You do?”

Zipp nodded. “I’m curious.” She pulled out her notebook. “You said something about these Elements of Armory?”

“Harmony. But yeah!” She pulled her Dad’s book out of her saddlebag. “According to the legend, that’s what Princess Celestia used to defeat her last time. But I’m not sure where they are. Or what they are, really.” She beamed. “Either way, it’s so nice to finally have somepony who believes me!”

“Well…”

Sunny looked up. Zipp’s face was scrunched up into an unreadble expression. “Zipp?”

Zipp pawed her hoof at the ground. “It’s just… it would be weird if there was this huge looming threat and Princess Celestia didn’t tell us, y’know?”

Sunny felt her heart sink. “Right…”

“I’m not saying that you’re definitely wrong. But I am a little skeptical, just to be clear.”

“Oh.” That made sense, at least. And help was better than no help, regardless of the reasoning. “So what do we do now?”

Zipp grinned. “What we do now is launch an investigation. And lucky for you I know just where to start.”

Golden Oaks

“The library! Of course! Why didn’t I think of it before?”

Standing besides Sunny, Zipp grinned once more. “I know right? If you're looking for information, you gotta come to Golden Oaks. Now come on.” She gave Sunny’s flank a slight nudge with her own before trotting up to the door, Sunny eagerly following behind.

*tap tap tap* Zipp rapped her hoof against the door three times before stepping back and waiting for a response. However, none came. Zipp turned to Sunny, who simply shrugged. She tried again *tap tap tap* still nothing.

Sunny tilted her head. “Do you think she didn't hear us, or...?”

Her words were cut off by the slow creak of the door opening, and an old unicorn mare emerged. “Come in, come in.” She said before disappearing back into the darkness.

Sunny turned to Zipp. “Should we...?”

Zipp nodded. “It's okay. Elder Flower can be... odd sometimes, but she's totally harmless. Come on, let's go.” She walked through the doorway, Sunny nervously trailing behind.

To Sunny’s surprise, the inside of the library was pitch black. Even as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could only see the faint outlines of the bookshelves. “Um, Elder Flower?” she asked.

“Yes, dearie?”

“Why are all the lights off?”

Elder flower gave a short chuckle. “Why for the party, course!”

“What party?”

“The 'Welcome to Ponyville party' for the new pony!”

“...Elder Flower?”

“Yes?”

“There aren't any new ponies coming to Ponyville today.”

“Really? Huh, I must've mixed up my stories again. Oh well!” She lit up her horn, and all the lights turned on, revealing the rows and rows of books stacked up high. “There we go! I hope you ponies find what you're looking for! I suggest checking under 'E'.” With that said, she trotted off to the upstairs, humming a little ditty as she did so.

Sunny tilted her head once more. “What was...?”

“No clue.” Zipp replied. “But under 'E' is probably where we'd find stuff on the Elements of Harmony, so maybe we should check there first?”

Sunny nodded. “Good idea. You do that. I'll try to learn more about Nightmare Moon. Maybe I can learn more about this prophecy. Sound good?” She raised her hoof up for Zipp to bump.

“Sounds good.” Zipp replied, reciprocating the gesture, before spreading her wings and flying toward the 'E' section. “Good luck!”

Sunny nodded before turning towards the shelves. “Okay Sunny. All you have to do is find information on Nightmare Moon. Easy-peasy. I mean, there's an entire holiday dedicated to her! How hard could it be?”

As it turns out, very hard.

Sunny had looked everywhere: Old history books, books on myths and legends, even Foal's Nightmare Night stories, but they all basically said the same thing; Younger sister gets jealous of older sister, tries to plunge Equestria into eternal night, gets banished to the moon. (The foal's stories also had some passages about how foals had to give up some of their candy in order to avoid getting eaten. Sunny figured that she could discount those parts.)

Okay, so there's nothing here, so think! What did Dad tell you about Nightmare Moon?

Think Sunny, think! Think back... to all those years ago...

“Sunny, it's bedtime! Are you ready for your nightly story?”

A young Sunny, only a few moons old, hopped up and down on her bed as her dad came to tuck her in. “Yes! I'm ready! I'm ready!”

Argyle laughed. “Alright, alright. Settle down now.” he said, seating himself beside Sunny's bed. “Now what story would you like to hear today? Do you want me to tell you the legend of Nightmare Moon again?”

Sunny shook her head. “Nuh-uh.”

“Oh, really?” Argyle replied, raising an eyebrow as he did so. “Why's that? I thought that one was your favorite.”

“It is, it is! But I was doing some thinking.” Sunny reached out to grab a folded piece of paper on her bedside table, which she handed to her dad.

He unfolded it to reveal a drawing depicting an alicorn mare with long pink hair running alongside a pitch black alicorn. Both ponies had wide smiles on their faces, and it was clear that they were both enjoying themselves. “What’s this, Sunny?”

“It’s the Princess!” She chirped. “And Nightmare Moon! They used to be sisters and rule together, right? What was it like back then?”

Argyle grinned. “Good question, Sunny! I admire your curiosity.” He walked over to the bookcase and pulled out a book with a worn leather cover and crinkled yellow pages. “Unfortunately, there aren't many surviving stories from that time period, but one of the ones we do have talks about their battle against a God named Discord.”

Sunny's ears perked up. “The spirit of chaos and disharmony, right? I saw his statue when our class went on the Canterlot field trip!”

Argyle nodded. “The very same. He had thrown Equestria into disarray with his cruel pranks. Blueberries grew to the size of houses, bears chirped instead of roared, and cotton candy clouds rained chocolate milk!”

Sunny giggled. “Chocolate milk rain? That sounds funny!”

Argyle shook his head, a grave expression on his face. “Oh, but it wasn't. Without proper water, crops couldn't grow properly, and ponies didn't have anything to eat. Because you see, Discord didn't think about others. He only cared about what he found funny. And unfortunately, that usually came at the cost of other ponies suffering.”

“Oh.” Sunny's ears drooped. “That's not very nice.”

“No, it wasn't. Thankfully, the Sun Princess and the Moon Princess arrived and defeated him with the power of the Elements of Harmony.”

Sunny gasped. “The very same Elements that the Princess used to defeat Nightmare Moon?”

“The very same. Using their power, they were able to turn him into a stone statue; the very same statue that you and your friends saw on your field trip.”

Sunny cocked her head. “But I thought the Elements only banished people to the moon?”

Argyle chuckled. “Apparently, they can do more than that. But with Discord defeated, ponykind was once again free to live in peace and harmony, ruled by the two princesses.”

Sunny shut her eyes, imagining the scene. “That sounds amazing. But wait, how did the Moon Princess use the elements? I thought she was a bad pony.”

“She wasn't always bad though. She used to be as kind and benevolent as her sister.”

“Then why'd she turn bad?”

“Jealousy can be a very powerful thing. Sometimes it can make monsters out of the best of us.” He planted a kiss onto Sunny's forehead. “Tell you what, Sunny-bunny. Tomorrow we can try and learn more about her. Does that sound good?”

“Yeah!”

“Alright, it's a plan. Goodnight, Sunny.”

“Night, Dad...”

Unfortunately, that research hadn't borne much fruit. Sure they learned the Moon Princess' name (Luna), and a few small details (Very loud, a bit of a prankster, said to walk through dreams), but nothing big. So another dead end.

“Hey, Sunny!”

She looked up to see Zipp flying down towards her, book in hoof. “Hi Zipp.”

“Looks like you've got quite the pile over here.” Zipp said, landing beside her. “Found anything yet?”

Sunny sighed. “Nothing that I didn't already know. What about you?”

Zipp grinned. “Well lucky for you I was able to find this!” She placed the book she was holding on the table.

“Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide. That's perfect! What does it say?”

Zipp cleared her throat. “A-hem. 'There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters, located in what is now the Everfree Forest.”

The Everfree Forest. Sunny felt a shiver go up her spine just hearing the name. The most dangerous part of Ponyville, where nature ran wild without pony interference. Ponyville citizens were forbidden inside its borders without special permission from Hitch, not that anypony really wanted to go inside in the first place.

“What's with these element names?” Zipp mused. “All these pictures depicted them as stones, but these names are all virtues. So say, if you're using the Element of Honesty, does it make you honest or do you need to be honest to use it?”

“I'm guessing the latter option.” Sunny shrugged once more. “So what else is in there?”

Zipp scanned the book. “There's some history of their previous uses, speculation on their origins, history of their uses... Not much else, though.”

Sunny sighed again. “Well, I suppose it's better than nothing.” She stood up. “Come on, we'd better start looking someplace else.”

Zipp nodded. “Okay. Hey Elder Flower?”

“Yes, dearies?” The reply came from behind them, startling the two ponies.

“You weren't— How did you—” Zipp quickly shook her head. “Never mind. I'm not even going to bother to try and solve that. Can we check out these books?”

“That depends. Do ya have your library card on ya?”

Zipp smirked, pulling out a small card. “You know I never leave home without it.”

“Great! Then come me with to the checkout corner. But before you do, the Tree wanted me to give you two a message.”

Sunny and Zipp exchanged confused looks. “Uh...” Zipp finally said. “The tree? Like the library?”

Elder Flower shook her head. “Not this tree, sillies! The other one! In the forest!”

“A tree in the forest wants to give us a message?” Zipp asked flatly.

“Sure as sugar, sweetie!”

“And that message is...?”

“That you need to know that her spirit lives on in you. Also, that it's important to recycle. Now let's check out those books!”

“Well that was... interesting.” Sunny said as soon as they were out of the library. “I mean, what do you think that cryptic message was? 'The tree's spirit lives on in us'? Elder Flower said that she wasn't talking about the library tree, but I'm not sure what other tree she could be talking about. What do you think, Zipp?”

No answer. Sunny turned to see the pegasus trailing slightly behind her, face buried in Elements of Harmony reference guide. “Zipp? Zipp! Zipp!”

“Sorry! Sorry.” Zipp said, putting the book away. “It's just, I feel like even with all our research I feel like we're still no closer to figuring things out. I almost wish there was a way we could just ask the Princess ourselves so we could—”

Zipp was cut off by a purple unicorn running full-speed into her. Plates, paintbrushes, and books went flying to the air before landing on the ground in a book-plate-paintbrush-pony pile.

“Ugh...” Zipp groaned. “What was that?”

A giggle. “Sorry!” A familiar high pitched voice said from beneath the pile.

“Izzy?” Zipp replied.

The unicorn sat up. “That's my name! Don't wear it out.”

Sunny trotted over to the two mares, reaching out to help Zipp up. “Are you guys okay? That looked really rough.”

“I'm fine.” Zipp replied.

“Me too!” Izzy chirped. “Sorry about crashing into you! I just got the best idea for some amazing plate decorations for the celebration tonight, and I had to get some new supplies ASAP!” She lit up her horn, levitating all the fallen objects. “Ooh,” she said, eyes falling on the book. “What's this about?”

“It's a book all about the Elements of Harmony.” Zipp said, taking the book back into her hooves. “Me and Sunny were just doing some research on them before you came along.”

“What a coincidence! I just heard the Princess say something about Elements of Harmony earlier!” Izzy giggled to herself. “Well, I gotta get back to work! Crafting waits for nopony! See ya!” She said, before trotting off at a much more leisurely pace.

“Bye Izzy!” Sunny called back as she and Zipp both waved goodbye. The two turned around and continued their own walk in the opposite direction before the full force of Izzy's words hit them.

“Wait, what?!”

Author's Note

I’d like to thank everybody who liked, favorited, and added this story. The response that this has gotten is a huge honor, and it warms my heart to see you all enjoying this. I may not be able to keep up with all the adds and comments, but I want you to know that they are all seen and appreciated.

Keep up the comments! I love seeing you guys speculate and reading your ideas! They’re my main fuel for writing.

Next up: The Sun Princess

The Sun Princess

"Izzy! Izzy, wait!"

Sunny and Zipp both raced after Izzy, nearly tripping over their own hooves as they did so. Before they knew, they were running towards the unicorn faster than they could stop themselves, and they crashed into her, once again sending books and paper plates and paintbrushes flying.

Izzy however, was unperturbed. "Oh hey guys!" she said. "Funny that we're running into each other like this again!"

"Never mind that!" Zipp said, suddenly standing up. "What was that you said earlier?"

"I was just saying how funny it was that—"

"—Not that!" Sunny interrupted, standing up besides Zipp. "Earlier! Before we ran into into each other!"

"Crafting waits for nopony?"

"Earlier-earlier!" Sunny and Zipp said simultaneously."

"Oh!" Izzy said, nodding. "About the Princess! Well, I was decorating the town hall, trying to figure out whether to use blue glitter or purple glitter, because you see blue glitter gives a 'Shazam' feeling while purple gives a 'Shazing', feeling, and the effect is—"

"Izzy!" Zipp stamped her hoof. "Get to the point!"

"Right. The point. So I was trying to decide between them, when poof! The princess popped in! And I don't think she knew I was there because didn't say hi or anything, and she muttering all sorts of things to herself like, 'elements', and 'Sun Celebration', and 'Stars', and 'Moon', and it gave me the greatest idea: Sun and moon themed plates! So I rushed out to get supplies and..."

Sunny began tuning the rest of Izzy's words out as she processed the information. Izzy had seen the Sun Princess, the Princess Celestia, in the flesh! On one hoof it made sense; The Summer Sun Celebration was taking place in Ponyville this year after all, so it made sense that the Princess would arrive prior to prepare. But on the other hoof, it still seemed unbelievable. After all, she was notoriously reclusive; Save for the Summer Sun Celebration, she was seldom seen outside Canterlot Castle.

"Stars..." Zipp mumbled to herself. Suddenly, her ears perked up, and her head jerked towards Sunny. "The legend said that the stars would aid in Nightmare Moon's escape, right? So when the Princess was talking about stars earlier..."

Sunny's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "...She could've be talking about the prophecy! But that would mean she'd have to know about it, so why—"

"...And then you guys asked me what I said about the princess so I started telling this story!" Izzy finally finished. "Any other questions?"

"Yes!" Sunny replied, urgency tinging her voice. "Is she still there?"

"Probably!"

"Then you need to take us to her." Zipp said, stepping forward. "Now."

Izzy nodded. "Okay then! Follow me!" she said before trotting forwards.

Sunny shared a nervous look with Zipp before following. What was the Princess doing? Did she know about Nightmare Moon? If so, why hadn't she said anything?

Just keep walking, Sunny, keep walking. Hopefully, you'll get your answers soon.

"Here we are, at Town Hall!...Town hall...town hall..." Izzy said, echoing her own words as she gestured to the building. "The Princess should be right through those doors."

Right through those doors. Sunny involuntarily gulped. It's not that she didn't want to meet the Princess— she been dreaming of this day for moons and moons now! —but she hadn't expected her first meeting to be like this. What was she even supposed to say? "Hey Princess! Quick question— is your jealous sister going make nighttime last forever? Just curious!"

Zipp approached the door cautiously. "So do we knock or something?"

"I mean..." Sunny started. "...It's Town Hall. You don't normally have to knock to get in, right?"

"But if the Princess is in there..."

The pair's brief dispute was interrupted by Izzy simply walking through the two of them and opening the doors. Both mares rushed to stop her from walking in, only to tumble in themselves.

"Oof..." Sunny groaned as she slowly stood up. "That felt—"

Her eyes fell upon the Sun Princess, and words failed her. As she seldom made public appearances and there was a strict "No photos" policy, Sunny, like most ponies, only knew of the Princess's appearance through old portraits and books. Seeing her in person, even from a distance like this, she realized that none of them truly did her justice. Her silky white frame stood strong and tall, much taller than any other pony she'd ever known. Her mane, a rainbow of colors, shimmered and sparked as it swayed in an invisible wind. Her wings were spread out, radiating strength and beauty. In fact, she looked much more like a Goddess than she did a Princess.

And yet, she looked... sad.

At first Sunny couldn't quite place it. There was just something off about her. But looking into her eyes, there was an unmistakable and deep melancholy about them. It called back memories of the time Sunny had said her final goodbyes to her father.

Izzy opened her mouth to speak. "Prin—"

Sunny instinctively clamped her hoof over her mouth, not want to let words ruin the moment. She looked over to face Zipp, who also seemed frozen in place, perhaps in awe over the Princess's beauty, perhaps locked into some sad memories of her own. Whatever the case, it kept her still.

The Princess lit up her horn. Underneath her feet, a series of runes forming a circle glowed.

Sunny heard Zipp give a faint gasp of surprise from besides her. A magic circle, she mouthed, entranced by the magical process happening in front of her.

"My dear sister."

The sound of the Princess's voice stole Sunny's breath away. It was equal parts regal and melodic, and yet it to carried the sadness that Sunny saw in her eyes.

"It's been a thousand years since we last met. In those years, I have searched and searched for the Magic that would finally free you. But alas, it is not my fate. I burn too hot after are." A wistful smile creeped onto her face. "I wonder if our roles were reversed if you would be able to do what I could not. You were always the one more connected with our ponies." Her expression steeled into something much more unreadable. "But that doesn't matter now. Unfortunately, I am more than your sister, and I'll do whatever it takes to defend my ponies. No matter what happens, this next meeting shall be our final one. Goodbye, Luna."

At last, Sunny's burning curiosity could take it no longer. "Princess!" she called out.

The Princess's eyes fell upon Sunny. Then her horn lit up again. Then she was gone.

"No!" All three mares shouted while rushing forward. Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Where'd she go?" Sunny asked.

"What was all that stuff she was talking about?" Asked Izzy.

Zipp stamped her hoof on the ground. "The legends are true! And the Princess knew! She knew and she didn't try to tell any of us!"

Chills went up Sunny's spine as she sensed her friend's anger. "Easy Zipp. I'm sure she had a good reason—"

"—What, a good reason to lie to us? To actively try to hide this from us?" She stamped her hoof once again, tears welling up in her eyes. "To just let us go about our day without knowing about the big threat hanging above our heads? What possible good reason could she have for that?"

Once again, Sunny was at a loss for words. "Maybe she didn't want to cause a panic?" was all she could muster, a not-so-convincing grin on her face.

Predictably, Zipp didn't calm down. Instead she stomped her foot again, before sitting where the Princess had once stood. "So what now?" She asked, voice laced with bitterness. "Obviously the Princess isn't interested in telling us anything, and I doubt Phyllis is going to believe us about hearing all this. She'll probably just accuse us of trying to cause trouble.

Sunny sighed before sitting down besides her. "I'm not sure if Hitch will believe us, either. I'm not sure if I'd even be able to reach him with all the festival planning going on." It wasn't fair. This was supposed to give Sunny the answers. Either the Princess would tell her that she was being silly and just to enjoy herself, or that she was correct and that she had it all under control. Not... this.

"Did she seem sad to you two?"

Both mares turned their head. Sunny had nearly forgotten that Izzy was there. "Yeah..."

"I mean, I always expected the Princess to be proud and happy. She's the princess of the Sun! But she seemed so down, and I don't know..."

"She had to banish her own sister." Zipp interjecting, the anger from earlier slowly leaving her voice. "And now it sound's like she's going to have to do it again. I know if I had to do that to Pipp..." Zipp's whole body stiffened as her voice trailed off. "Pipp," she whispered, more to herself than to anypony else. She stood up. "Listen guys, I think I need to go check on her. Maybe I can convince her to stay away or something. I don't know. I gotta split."

Sunny didn't even have the energy to protest as Zipp bolted out of the town hall. All she could do was weakly wave goodbye.

"So..." Izzy asked. "What now?"

Sunny turned away. "I don't know. I guess you finish your decorations, and I go get ready for the celebration." Sunny's natural instincts urged her to talk to someone, do more researching, do something— but her desire for action was stymied by reality. She'd done all she can. With a heavy heart, she walked out of the building.

Outside, it was already dusk. The Sun was mostly gone, and the moon was peeking out from the horizon. Sunny could still see the craters and seas forming Nightmare Moon's silhouette, along with four stars surrounding it that seemed glow closer and closer to the moon each passing second.

Legend has it, on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid in her escape.

Sunny gulped.

She prayed the Princess knew what she was doing.

The Stars Will Aid in Her Escape

Author's Note

I’m back!

Sorry for taking so long to update. I’ve been busy with a lot of stuff and haven’t had time to write. Hopefully I can be on top of things now though.

Enjoy!

The Stars Will Aid in Her Escape

"Sunny. Sunny! Sunny!"

For the second time that day, Hitch was knocking on Sunny’s door. This time, however, she was very much awake. “Come in.” She called flatly.

Once again, Hitch pushed open the door. “Ugh, how’d this place get so messy again? Didn’t I just clean up this—”

His words were cut off as his eyes fell upon the sight of the orange mare lying motionless in her bed. “Sunny?” He asked, slowly approaching the bed. “Is everything alright?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is this about the whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ thing? Because Mayor Cloverleaf told me about your little incident today. Listen—”

"—She’s coming, Hitch. I know she is. The Princess is trying to hide it from us, and I don't know why."

"The Princess?" Hitch said incredulously. "Sunny, I'm not sure where your getting these ideas, but this is getting out of control—"

"—I saw her, Hitch."

"Who? Nightmare Moon?"

"No, the Princess. She was saying all this stuff about Nightmare Moon, and the Elements, and..."

And this point she finally looked up to see Hitch, who looked like he was torn between sitting down and listening to her story or calling in a therapist. She shook her head. "Never mind. You don't believe me anyways, and what are we even supposed to do, anyways?”

Hitch, whose expression had finally settled on concern, sat down besides her. “Um… do you want to stay home tonight? We don’t even have to celebrate if you don’t want to. We can just hang out, or play board games, or…”

Did she want to just stay home? It’s not like it mattered either way.

Then again, although she hadn’t been able to get any information out of the Princess earlier today, but if she truly intended to defeat Nightmare Moon tonight, there would be no way she could run away again, right?

Right?

“Sunny?”

Hitch’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Sorry. It’s fine. I don't want to stay home." She climbed out of her bed. "Come on, let's go."

Hitch furrowed his brow. "Are you sure? Because you seem kinda..."

"It'll be fine. I'll be fine." She glanced outside the window, where the moon was now hanging high in sky. She squinted. Was it just her, or was the alicorn silhouette missing?

She felt a shiver down her spine. "We need to get to the town hall. Now."

In contrast to how sad and empty the town hall had felt before, the building was now packed to the brim with smiling and laughing ponies, who were chatting amongst themselves while enjoying the provided treats. Normally, nothing would've made Sunny happier than seeing the ponies of her home town enjoying themselves. Tonight, however, it was a much different story.

"So um... here we are! Izzy did a great job on the decorations, didn't she?" Hitch's smile was wider than usual, and his cheery tone obviously strained.

In spite of herself, Sunny gave a tiny smile. "Yeah. She did."

Hitch’s smile relaxed a bit, and he peered around before pointing into the crowd. "And hey, what a coincidence! Here she comes now!"

"Wait, really?" Sunny turned to look where Hitch was pointing and, sure enough, Izzy was running towards her, Zipp flying by her side.

"Sunny!" Izzy called as she rushed towards her. "You're here!"

She nodded. "I am. I almost decided to stay home, but it just didn't feel right." She looked up at them. "What about you guys?"

"Same here!" Izzy chirped.

"Mom and Pipp wouldn't stay home, so I wouldn't either." Zipp replied landing besides them. "Although I have to say it's weird to see everypony just celebrating like nothing's going on."

"Huh?" Hitch interjected. "What are you ponies—"

"Yeah," Sunny replied. "I still keep wondering if there's something we can do, but I looked through all my old books and couldn't find anything."

"Couldn't find anything on what—"

"Me too," Zipp said. "There was nothing in the library books either."

"Library books? What library—"

"I didn't have any books, but while I was decorating I looked and looked and looked for that nifty magic circle that the Princess was making, but it was like it disappeared! *Poof!* just like that!"

"Wait, the Princess made—"

"Wait really?" Zipp asked, pulling out her notepad once more. "I did try to do some research on magic circles too, but since I didn't exactly get a good look—"

"All right, that’s enough!"

All three mares turned to face Hitch, who had slammed his hoof to the ground in frustration. "Just what in the Hay are you all talking about? Library books? Magic circles? The Princess? I—"

At that moment, the lights began to dim, cutting off his rant. Everypony began to stomp their hooves in anticipation as Mayor Cloverleaf walked onto the stage, followed by a spotlight.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, as Mayor of Ponyville let me welcome you to the Summer Sun Celebration!” She paused, waiting for the second round of applause to die down. “To all newcomers, I hope you enjoy your stay, and to all my little ponies, thank you from the bottom my heart. I’ve watched you all work tirelessly to make all this a reality, and you’ve all done such a wonderful job! Give yourselves a round of applause everypony!”

Another round of hoof-stoomps.

“In just a few moments, our Beloved Princess Celestia will raiee the sun, officially commerating the longest day of the year! But before all that, I am proud to introduce local celebrity, our very own Pipp Petals, to sing her new song in honor of the event!”

The crowd erupted into a thunderous round of applause (Haven’s whoops and cheers in particular could be heard above the crowd) as Pipp sauntered onto the stage. Without saying a word, she took the microphone from Mayor Cloverleaf and began to sing, clear and sweet:

♪Oh, glorious sun♪

♪Shining above us♪

♪Bringing with it a new day♪

♪May you inspire us♪

♪And always guide us♪

♪Forever lighting the way…♪

For awhile, Sunny just stood there with her eyes closed, drinking in the music. The slow, melodic anthem may have different from Pipp’s usual upbeat pop, but it was beautiful nevertheless.

“Wow,” Izzy gasped. “She’s good.”

Hitch nodded. “You did a good job too, Izzy. That blue smoke really adds to the ambiance.”

“What blue smoke? I didn’t make any blue smoke.”

“What?” Zipp asked. “If you didn’t make it then where is it…” she let out an involuntary gasp as realization dawned on her. “PIPP!”, she shouted, practically launching herself at her younger sister, tackling her off the stage.

The crowd gasped. “Zipp!” Pipp yelled. “What the Hay—“

Pipp was cut off by the sound of chuckling. Although it was soft at first, its volume grew louder and louder until it became racuous manical laughter. The blue smoke grew larger and thicker until a very familiar black alicorn stepped forth.

“Oh no…” Sunny whispered.

Nightmare Moon gave a wicked grin as she scanned the room. “Oh, my beloved subjects. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, sun-loving faces.”

A series of gasps and murmurs of ‘Nightmare Moon’ began to come from the crowd. Pipp, in either awe or curiousity, began to step forward, only to be blocked by Zipp spreading out her wing.

Nightmare Moon’s smile grew wider. “Oh, so you all recognize me! I have to say, I’m touched.” She stood up taller and began walking forward. “In that case, as your new princess, I’d like to make a decree, that the night shall last— Oof!”

To everypony’s surprise, Nightmare Moon’s ‘decree’ was interrupted by her slamming into a golden forcefield. “What? She shrieked, as she looked down at the glowing runes at her hooves. “A sealing spell? Who did this?”

“I did.”

Another round of gasps and murmurs started up from the crowd as a bright light appeared, revealing Princess Celestia herself. Much like before, she stood strong and tall, the very picture of Equestria herself. However, this time all traces of sadness were wiped from her eyes, replaced by sheer determination. “Hello, Sister. I thought you might make your enterance here.”

The other alicorn grinned once more. “Ah, sister. I should’ve known that this was your doing. But surely even you know that this won’t hold me forever.”

“I do.” Celestia said solemnly. “And I also know that you must be stopped. One way or another, this ends tonight.”

A laugh. “And what’s your plan, dear sister? Just trap me forever? Perphaps you’d like to try and use your precious elements to banish me for another thousand years? I don’t see them with you~”

A pause, ever so brief. “This ends tonight,” she simply repeated, charging up her horn.

“Very well then.” Nightmare Moon began charging her own horn. “Let’s see how this ends.”

The sound of lightning crackling was heard, and the crowd began fleeing for their lives. Izzy had to put up a protective barrier to prevent them from being trampled as Hitch fruitlessly tried to shout orders above all the screaming.

“Let’s get out of here!” Sunny shouted, and she, Izzy and Hitch rushed out into the cool night air. Sunny looked back at building just in time to see what looked like an even bigger forcefield envelop it.

“Everypony, wait!” Hitch continued shouting. “You can’t just run off! We need to do a headcount, and come up with a plan, and… oh who am I kidding?” He sat down, ears drooping. “I don’t know to do here. This is all my fault.”

“What? No! Of course it isn’t!” Sunny layed her hoof on his shoulder. “How would this be your fault?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You told me this was going to happen, and I didn’t listen. If I did, we could’ve canceled the festival, or put in more safeguards, or, or—” he let out a sigh. “I’m really sorry, Sunny.”

Sunny gave a sad smile. “It’s okay Hitch. There’s only so much that could’ve been done.” She looked back at the building behind her. “After all, the princess apparently wanted it to play out this way…”

Izzy looked up at the sky. “So is the night really going to last forever now? Because I love the moon, I mean, it’s even in my name! But nighttime forever just seems…”

“Yeah,” Hitch finished. “I know.”

“Sunny! Hitch! Izzy!”

The three turned around to see Zipp sprinting towards them along with a very panicked-looking Pipp.

Sunny smiled. “You’re okay! Thank goodness!” She rushed to greet them, only to be surprised by them not returning her relief. It was only then when she noticed a very important pony was missing. “Where’s your mom?”

“We don’t know!” Pipp yelled inbetween gasps. “We lost her in the crowd, and now she’s gone!”

“Oh no!” Izzy said. “Did you check your house?”

Zipp nodded. “We did, but we couldn’t find her there, either.”

“Do you think Nightmare Moon got her? Oh my hoofness, Nightmare Moon totally got her!”

“Pipp! Calm down! I’m sure she’s just looking for us too.”

“What if she isn’t though? What if she’s already left town with everypony else! What if we end up stuck here forever, forced to fend for ourselves and grow our own food and live under a sunless sky forever?”

“Ugh, Pipp! Now is not the time for this!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry my panic attack is so inconvient for you, but what do you want me to do, exactly? Just sit and wait until the Princess wins or she… she…”

A silence fell on the group. “Yeah,” Zipp finally said. “I guess so.”

Is that true? Is this really it?

Sunny closed her eyes, thinking back to Nightmare Moon’s words.

Perphaps you’d like to try and use your precious elements to banish me for another thousand years? I don’t see them with you~

And suddenly, it dawned on her.

“Wait. We can do something!”

Everypony turned to looked at her. “Really?” Hitch asked, “what?”

“The Elements of Harmony! They’re what the Princess used to defeat Nightmare Moon the last time right? But she doesn’t have them now.”

“So…?” Hitch asked.

“If we can get them to her, then we can save Ponyville! Who’s with me?”

“Sunny, are you serious?” Zipp asked. “We don’t know anything about the Elements! We didn’t find anything in our research, remember?”

Sunny gave a sly grin. “We found out one thing though.”

“What?”

“Their last known location.”

“Their last known—” Zipp’s eyes widened. “You aren’t seriously suggesting we go look for them in the Everfree Forest are you?”

Izzy gasped. “The Everfree Forest! But that place is super spooky and creepy and sinister and eerie!”

Sunny nodded. “I know. But the Elements could be in there!”

“Hold up, hold up!” Hitch said, stepping in. “The Everfree Forest is a strictly forbidden zone. It’s far too dangerous in there!”

“Hitch, please.” Sunny said. “This could be our only chance to save Ponyville, and all of Equestria for that matter! Can’t you bend the rules, just this one time?”

A pause. Then Hitch finally let out a sigh. “Fine.” He said, using his ‘sheriff voice’. “As Sheriff of Ponyville, I officially give us premisson to go into the Everfree Forest to retrieve the Elements of Harmony.”

“Wait, We?” Pipp interjected. “As in us? Go in there?”

Zipp rolled her eyes. “Yes, Pipp. We have to go to the dangerous place. You can stay if you want—”

“—No!” Pipp interrupted. “Nope, nope, nope! Out of the question. If my big sister is going, then I’m going too!”

Sunny beamed. “Then it’s settled! We’ll all go home to prepare, and regroup back at Everfree’s enterance! Does that sound good?”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“Yup.”

“Definitely.”

Sunny nodded. “Alright then! Let’s find those elements!”

Enter Everfree

“Well… Here we are.”

Sunny, along with Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, and Pipp stood right at the border between Ponyville and the Everfree forest. The forest almost seemed like a completely different world, with its dark, foreboding atmosphere and trees with long branches that grew like claws. A mournful howl came from the depths, and Sunny shivered.

“The Elements are in here, huh?” Hitch said, stepping up to the entrance. “Guess we’d better go in then.” He took a few hesitant steps fowards. “Yep, just going into the deep dark forbidden forest.” another few steps forwards. “Full of timberwolves and manticores and all manner of creatures that could gobble up a pony in a single bite.” he paused, before quickly backtracking. “You know what, before we do all that scary stuff, why don’t we take inventory? Sunny, what did you bring?”

Sunny nodded. “I brought my lantern so that we can see the we the way, plus a couple of smoothies and snacks to keep our energy up. After all, it could be a long walk.”

Hitched nodded. “Great. Practical. Love it. Zipp?”

“I brought all the books I could carry on the Everfree Forest and it’s creatures, plus all the books I already had on the Elements of Harmony. You can never be too prepared, right?”

“No you can’t. Pipp?”

“I brought... bug spray!”

“That’s great Pipp! And...?”

“That’s it.”

Hitch cocked his head. “We’re going to the one of the most dangerous places in all of the Equestria, and you only brought bug spray?”

“I panicked, okay? Plus, I’m carrying the rest of Zipp’s books, so that should make up for it, right?”

“Eh, fair enough. Izzy?”

“Oh, I just brought the essentials.” She took a deep breath. “Streamers, paint, paint brushes, scissors, glitter, stickers, glittery stickers, and of course, my crafting glasses!” she looked around, only to see all her friends giving her a blank stare. “What? You never know when you’ll need to get crafty!”

Hitch regarded her with a blank stare for a few seconds before shrugging to himself. “Okay then!” He said cheerfully. “I brought a first aid kit in case of emergency, along with my trusty multi-tool!”

“Great!” Sunny replied. “Now that that’s out the way, it’s time to find the elements. Come on, everypony!”

“Yeah...” Hitch said, watching the others trot on ahead of him. “Let’s go inside... I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Zipp gave a mock groan before shoving him forward. “Come on, Sheriff, let’s get moving.”

“I’m going, I’m going! You don’t have to push!”

The inside of the Everfree was just as welcoming as its outside. More than once Sunny had spotted glinting yellow eyes peering at them from the darkness, only to vanish as quickly as they were spotted. “Um, Zipp? You do know where we’re going, right?”

“Sorta. This map is pretty old though. It’s kinda hard to read. If I’m reading it right, however, we should be heading in the right direction.”

Sunny open her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by another howl, freezing all five ponies in place as they peered around for the source. Eventually, the noise died down, and after a few tense seconds of waiting for something to leap out of the bushes, everypony heaved a simultanious sigh of relief.

“Let’s keep moving.” Sunny simply said, her friends silently agreeing.

As they pressed forward, Sunny took a mental headcount of their party. Zipp with the map was leading the pack, with Hitch right behind behind her despite his obvious nervousness. Behind the two of them was Izzy, humming to herself as per usual. And Pipp…

Sunny frowned as she looked behind her. Pipp was bringing up the rear, and she was starting to fall a bit behind. Not so far that she was at any risk of losing the group, but far enough away to cause some worry. Concerned, she slowed down her own pace so she was walking alongside her. “Pipp?”

“Huh?” Pipp looked up in surprise. “Oh hey, Sunny. What’s up?”

Sunny smiled. “Nothing, really. I was just make sure everything was good with you. The hike isn’t too much, is it?”

“What? pshaw.” Pipp gave a forced chuckle. “I’m fine! Do you realize how much energy it takes to do all the elaborate dance moves I do on stage and sing at the same time? This is nothing in comparison.” She laughed again, but the sadness in her eyes was still evident.

“I’m glad to hear that! Still,” she pulled out a smoothie from her saddlebags. “Wanna a drink? This one’s just for you!”

Pipp grabbed the cup eagerly. “Well, you know me. I never say no to a smoothie, especially one of yours.” She took a long sip from the straw before her smile grew wider. “Blood Orange?”

“Extra Bloody, just the way you like it.” Sunny said with a wink. “Like you said, I know what you like!”

Pipp giggled. “You sure do.” She sighed, her smile morphing into a crowd. “I dunno, Sunny. I know I was all stubborn earlier and insisting on coming with you guys, but now that I’m actually here...” She looked around nervously, shaking some dirt off her hoof. “I’m starting to wonder exactly why.”

“What do you mean? Why what?”

“Why I’m here. I mean, look at the rest of you guys!” She gestured to everypony ahead of her. “It’s Hitch’s job to protect us all from threats, Zipp’s super smart and knows a lot about this place, you know a lot about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony and stuff, Izzy’s incredibly resourceful, but what can I do? Sing and dance? Not that those are bad skills, but what use are they here?” She snorted. “I couldn’t even think of anything better to bring than bug spray. I’m just going to slow you guys down.”

“That’s not true.” Sunny said with a smile. “How would you slow us down?”

Another bitter chuckle. “I mean, I’m already doing it now, aren’t I? You’d be ahead with the others if you weren’t here listening to my rambling.”

“Pipp,” Sunny wrapped her foreleg around Pipp’s neck. “I’m back here listening to you because I want to. Because I care about you. Because we’re friends. You know that, right?”

“I mean, are we? I know we chat sometimes at your cart, but does that really count as...”

Sunny nodded. “Of course it does! Or at least, I’d like it to.” She giggled. “Even if it didn’t, following me into the forbidden forest to find some mysterious gems that may or may not be there has to count for something, right?”

Pipp gave a tiny smile. “I guess it does, doesn’t it?”

“See?” Sunny snuggled closer to Pipp. “You’re my friend, and the fact that you were able to come here at all means the world to me. Besides,” she winked. “You can do a lot more than just sing and dance.”

“I can?”

“Sure you can! No one communes with the spirits like you, and I’m sure this place is crazy haunted.”

“You think so?” Pipp shot up a foot in the air, wings fluttering with excitement. “Well what we waiting for then? We’ve got to find that castle, right?”

Sunny nodded. “Right! Now come on!”

Pipp landed down besides Sunny before wrapping her in a hug. “Thanks for taking time to listen to me, Sunny. I appreciate it.”

Sunny was just about to reply when she got cut off by Izzy’s piercing scream.

Enemies and Obstacles

“Izzy!”

Both Sunny and Pipp rushed at breakneck speed towards the direction of the scream, only to be met with a horrifying sight.

Izzy’s hind legs were ensnared in thick dark green dark vines, pulling her off the path and into the bushes. Zipp was in the air, trying to fend of similar vines reaching towards her, while Hitch frantically sawed at the vines holding Izzy with the knife from his multi-tool. “What happened?” Sunny cried.

“The plants— they’re alive!” Zipp deftly dodged another vine going for her wings.

Pipp shrieked. “Sunny, look out!”

Sunny turned around just in time to see another vine snaking towards her hooves, and jump out of the way. “Get away!”

“What do we do-o-o-o?” Pipp cried, while attempting to spray several more vines.

“Help me get Izzy loose!” Hitch called.

Sunny and Pipp rushed to the unicorn’s sides, grabbing onto a hoof. “We got you, Izzy!” Sunny said, while trying to pull her out of the bushes.”

“Yeah, just... hold... on!” Pipp said, panting with exertion.

“I’m holding on as best I can!”

At last, Hitch was able to cut through the last of vines, sending Izzy, Sunny, and Pipp flying backwards. “Ugh...” Sunny groaned before quickly standing back up. “Now what, Hitch?”

“Now, run!”

Sunny, along with everypony else, took off along the path, the vines following close behind. She ran and ran and ran until her legs ached, her lungs burned, and she collapsed on the ground at last.

Looking behind her, she couldn’t see the vines chasing after her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see her friends, either.

“Hitch?” She called to no response.

“Zipp?” Still nothing.

“Pipp? Izzy?”

She strained her ears, desperately hoping for the tiniest bit of sound, the faintest call back. But it was no use. There was nothing. Oh no, oh no, oh no! “Where are you guys?”

Once again, she started galloping across the path, calling her friends’ names. To the left, nothing. The right, nothing. Above her, nothing. Nothing but trees and other foliage in all directions, along with the occasional growling of wild creatures. Eventually she slowed to a stop once more. “Everypony?” she halfheartedly called out once last time, to avail.

But then, there was a loud boom that shook up the forest. Sunny looked around for the source, only to find nothing.

Another boom. Although she wanted to turn tail and run away from, a small part deep inside her knew that she had to go towards it.

So she did. Every minute or so, there’d be another boom, and as she got closer and closer, the trees grew further and further apart, and the thick foliage started to clear up, revealing the source of the explosions; a series of fireworks in the very familiar heart with a button inside of it.

The sight of it spurred Sunny forwards, and she galloped forwards towards a clearing. Sure enough, Izzy was standing at the edge of a rushing river, using her horn to send fireworks in the air. “Izzy!”

“Sunny!” Izzy took a break from her firework-shooting to tackle Sunny into a hug. “I can’t belizzle that you found me! To be honest, I didn’t think that my plan would actually work! It was just the first thing that popped into my head.

Sunny smiled and pulled Izzy closer. “I’m glad it did. That was some quick thinking.”

Izzy beam. “Yup! I thinks good, don’t I?”

“Sunny! Izzy!”

The two turned to see the rest of their party running towards them. “Guys!” Sunny called before letting go of Izzy to join them. “You’re all okay! Thank goodness!”

“We sure are.” Hitch said, before walking out towards the river. “But where are we now?”

“Hmm...” Zipp landed and pulled out her book once more. “Looks like Serpentine River. The Castle of the Two Sisters should be right across for”

“Whad’ya mean, Serpentine?” Izzy asked, peering into the rushing waters. “Looks pretty straight to me.”

Zipp peered at the map once more. “Apparently there are supposedly Sea Drakes living in here. I don’t see any though.”

Hitch took a cautious step into the river, before quickly stepping out. “Forget the Sea Drakes, how are we going to cross the river? It’s moving way too fast.”

“Don’t worry!” Izzy said, levitating a few sticks. “I’m sure I can unicycle something together. It’ll just take me two shakes a mare’s tail!” She shook her own tail twice with a giggle, before leaving the rest of the group to their own devices.

“Huh.” Zipp said, putting her book down. “I guess Izzy was right. You never do know when you need to get crafty.”

“Yeah, but I’m betting it might take a bit longer then ‘two shakes of a mare’s tail’, though.” He let out a sigh as he kicked the ground under his feet. “What do we do now? Just wait until she’s finished?”

Pipp sank to the ground. “Why not? I could use a break after all that running.”

Zipp, on the other hand, said nothing, and simply buryed herself in her book once more, while Sunny pulled out a few cookies to snack on.

Hitch turned to Izzy, who was humming happily while levitating rocks, sticks, vines, and... streamers?

Hitch sighed. “Yup, we’re gonna be here for a while, alright.”

A few minutes had passed, and Hitch’s thoughts were getting more and more frantic. What’s taking her so long? Who knows how bad things are getting back in Ponyville? The Princess can’t fight Nightmare Moon forever, and Izzy’s just what? Playing around with streamers and glitter?

He shook his head at that thought? What am I thinking? Izzy’s probably going at fast as she can.

Yeah, but we don’t have anytime to waste! Everypony back home is probably panicking! After all, I left them to try and find these elements, and we don’t even know if they’re here!

“Hitch?”

Hitch stopped in his tracks and looked at Pipp, who was staring at him with an worried expression. “You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just...” he turned around and looked back to where Ponyville would be, “...I can’t help but worry about everypony back home. Do you think they’re all doing okay?”

She frown, casting her gaze to the ground “Yeah... I feel kinda bad about leaving Mom behind.” She forced a smile. “But hey, at least we’re trying to save Ponyville, right?”

Hitch didn’t return her smile. “Yeah… it’s just… What if these elements aren’t even at this castle? What if they don’t actually work? What if it’s already too late now and the Princess has already fallen? What if…”

“—Hitch, Hitch, Hitch, Hitch!” Pipp interrupted. “You need to calm down. Nothing good will come of you stressing like this!”

In spite of his nerves, Hitch chuckled. “That’s kinda funny to hear coming from you. Miss, ‘I’m five minutes late for my meet-and-greet, therefore all my fans are going to hate me forever’, herself.”

Pipp puffed out her cheeks. “Hey! Punctuality is important to ponies! It could’ve been a PR disaster!” She tried to give Hitch her best angry glare, but seeing his amused expression, she just couldn't hold it, and burst into little giggles. “Okay okay, you may have a point. But hey, that just means I get what you’re going through, right? I’m an expert on stressing out!” She puffed out her wings in faux pride, and both of them chuckled once more.

As the laughter died down though, Hitch’s face fell once more. “Yeah I know, but this...” he looked up at moon. “...This is huge. How am I not supposed to worry?” He turned towards Sunny and Zipp. “On that note, how are they not worried?”

Pipp frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe they are. I know Zipp tends to bury herself into her books when she’s nervous, so that’s probably what she’s doing now. Maybe Sunny’s doing something similar?”

“Oh...” Hitch looked down. “So everypony’s afraid then...”

Pipp gave a sad smile. “Yeah, like you said, all this is a lot.”

A few seconds passed. The two sat in sad silence. Suddenly, Pipp’s ears perked up and she looked at Hitch with a smile on her face in a glint in her eyes. “You know what always cheers me up, though?”

“Singing?”

“Singin— Oh, you already said that.” She blushed. “Still, it always makes me feel better no matter how stressed I am! You wanna try?”

Hitch tilted his head. “Are you sure? This doesn’t exactly feel like the best time for a song and dance number...”

“Sure it is! Like I said, it’s not like stressing yourself out with what if’s is going to help.”

“I’m not really a singing person...”

“Aw, c’mon! I know that’s not true!” She gave him a light nudge with her hoof. “You led the choir during the last Hearth’s Warming Eve Pageant, remember?”

He blushed. “I mean, I did, but...”

“But what? You did great! In fact...” She flew up to trees, and quickly grabbed a random branch. She flew down, and handed it to Hitch like a makeshift microphone. “Why don’t you sing it right now?”

Hitch raised an eyebrow. “Sing a Hearth’s Warming song? On the Summer Sun Celebration?”

She nodded. “Why not? The song’s all about getting through a dire situation with friendship, so it’s thematically appropriate at least. Here, I’ll start!” She took a deep breath before singing:

♪As dawn shines on us every morn♪

♪The Fire of Friendship is reborn♪

♪And all the friendships we have made♪

♪We cherish in every way♪

Although nervous at first, Hitch eventually started to sing along.

♪Loyalty binds us and makes us strong♪

♪Honesty shows us that we belong♪

♪And kindness shared will unite us through each day♪

The pair’s voices began to unite together, singing in harmony.

♪The fire of friendship lives in our hearts♪

♪As long as it burns, we cannot drift apart♪

♪Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few♪

♪Laughter and singing will see us...♪

“Through...” They finished, before bursting into laughter again.

“See? And you said you weren’t really a singing person!” She nudge Hitch again.

He blushed once more. “Yeah, yeah, you were right. You always are.” His expression softened. “Thanks Pipp. That really did help me get my mind of things.”

“Uh-huh!” Izzy piped up. “That song just melted my worries away!”

Pipp blushed. “Aw, thanks you two! I’m just happy to help!”

There was a pause before both heads turned to see the Purple Unicorn who was suddenly in front of them “Izzy?”

“Hi friends!” She said with a wave.

“B-but—” Hitch stammered. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be working on the bridge?”

“Why would I work on something that’s already finished, silly?” She giggled.

Both ponies’ jaws dropped. “You’re already finished?”

“Yup! Ta-da~” She hopped out of the way to gestured to the newly completed bridge, which Sunny and Zipp were already making there way across. “I just hopped over here to let you ponies know! Now come on, silly fillies!” she turned around and started hopping towards the rest of the group, leaving the two with confused looks on their faces.

“What was...” Hitch started before trailing off.

Pipp recovered quicker than Hitch. “Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now let’s go!” she said, before chasing after Izzy.

“Hey! Wait for me!”

“So,” Sunny asked, “Where to next, Zipp?”

“Hmm...” Zipp looked back down. “We’re almost there. There should be a bridge up ahead, and once we cross that, we should be there.”

The group gave a few cheers of celebration in response. “We’re in the home stretch everypony!” Sunny called out to the rest of the group. “All we have to do is get to the castle, get those elements, and deliver them to the Princess!”

“So what happens after that?” Izzy asked.

The question nearly gave Sunny pause. “I... I don’t know, really. I guess the Princess uses the elements and Nightmare Moon gets sent away for another thousand years.”

“Hopefully she’s clearer with her communication the next time around.” Zipp grumbled.

Izzy’s ears drooped. “Are you still mad at her, Zipp?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Of course I’m still mad! She hid something really important from everypony, and now look where we are! We’re in one of the most dangerous places in all of Equestria, for hoofness’ sake! I mean, you almost got—” she cut herself off. “I just can’t believe that our princess would put us all in danger like that.”

Izzy’s frown grew deeper. “She did make that forcefield thingy to try and protect us.” she offered, her voice a lot weaker than usual.

“That’s not the issue, Izzy!” Zipp shouted, abruptly landing. “She should’ve warned us! Why do you insist on defending her!”

A pause. Izzy hung her head low. “She seemed so sad.” she whispered. “It reminded me of when I was little, back when I didn’t have any friends.”

“I—” Zipp sighed, and her eyes softened. She went up to put a hoof on Izzy’s shoulder. “I get that she’s sad. I can even imagine why she’s so sad. It just... doesn’t justify anything for me, okay?”

Izzy looked up at Zipp. “I know but—”

“—Look!” Hitch interrupted. “I think I see the bridge!”

All five ponies sprinted forward, up until they reached the cliff edge, where they realized the bridge was out. With help from Pipp and Zipp however, it was soon repaired, and the five made their way into the castle.

The first thing Sunny noticed about the castle was how dirty the place was. A layer of dust coated practically everything in the place, and she and her friends were sent into a coughing fit just opening the door.

The second thing Sunny noticed were the tapestries hanging from the wall. Some of them depicted The Princess, standing tall next to the sun. Others, however, depicted a different alicorn, one with a navy blue coat and a mane that shimmered like the night sky.

The third thing Sunny noticed, however, was the most important thing; a large platform holding five stone sphere, each with a jewel inscribed in them.

“These are...” Zipp gasped.

“The elements!” Sunny cried dashing towards them. “Quick everypony, we need to get them down from there!”

Zipp and Pipp worked to carefully lower two of the elements, while Izzy levitated the last three down. Once they were safetly on the ground, Hitch peered at them, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“You sure that these are the Element of Harmony we’ve been looking for?” He said, prodding at one of the stones. “They look at lot less... gemstone-y than I expected.”

Zipp nodded. “The book says that they’re only gemstones when they’re active. This is their default form.”

“And they’re only five of them why...?”

“It says that once the Elements are gathered together, a spark will cause the sixth to appear.”

“Ooh!” Izzy said. “What kind of spark? Like a magic spark, or like, a spark from a fire? Cause I can do either of those!” She lit up her horn eagerly.

Hitch laughed nervously. “Maybe we should learn a little more before we go lighting things on fire...”

“It doesn’t matter.” Sunny said, stomping her hoof to get the group’s attention. “I’m sure the Princess knows how to use these. The most important thing now is to get them to her, right?”

“Right.” The group chorused.

“Good. Now let’s let’s get back to Ponyville!”

Lost Magic

The journey out of Everfree was thankfully a lot faster and lot less eventful than the journey in. There was little conversation, as the group were one hundred percent focused on getting the Elements to the Princess. Even so, it was difficult, as the Element’s rock forms weren’t exactly designed for easy travel. Still, they galloped home as fast as they could.

Sunny’s lungs were once again burning as they finally exited the forest. Still, she knew that they couldn’t stop there, and they made haste to the Town Hall. It was still encased in its bubble, and Sunny could see the occasional flashes of yellow and blue light that meant the battle was still going on.

“Come on, everypony! We’re almost there!” And she picked up her pace, faster and faster and faster—

—Until she eventually slammed into the force field.

She nearly dropped the Element she was carrying on her back, but Izzy fortunately caught it with her magic. Sunny, however, didn’t notice this, as she was far too bust slamming against the barrier with her hooves.

“No no no no no!” She cried with each desperate bang. “We were so close! How are we going to get these to the Princess now?”

Zipp landed besides her, making a few cursory taps of her own. “I’ve never seen a force field like this before.” tap, tap, tap. “Izzy, do you think could—”

*CRASH*

The group instinctively ducked for cover as the forcefield shattered around them, the magic shards quickly disintegrating into sparkles.

Hitch was the first up. “Is everypony okay?” He asked, frantically looked at rest of the group.

“Yeah...” Zipp groaned.

“I’m good.” said Sunny.

“We’re okay here.” Pipp said, referring to both herself and Izzy. She turned to look at the now exposed building. “Well, that was convenient. What do you think that was?”

“No time to question it!” Hitch said. “We need to get in there!”

Sunny looked up at the Town Hall. Despite begging for entrance only a few seconds ago, she couldn’t help but gulp. She had a bad feeling about this.

Sunny’s bad feeling got a name as soon as she stepped into the building. Nightmare Moon was cackling maniacally as she stood triumphantly over the prone form of Princess Celestia.

“PRINCESS!”

As soon as she heard the simultaneous cry of the group, Nightmare Moon turned and give them a wicked grin. “Ah, my beloved subjects, perfect timing! Have you come to pledge your loyalty to your New Princess?”

“No way!” Pipp shouted, although she was still cowering behind Zipp. “We’re here to stop you, you monster!”

That triggered another cackle. “You must be kidding me! Tell me, just how do you puny foals think that you can best me?” She laughed a bit more before she spotted the stone orbs that they were carrying, and her entire body stiffened. “What the— How did—” she growled and slammed her hooves into the ground. “Give those to me!”

“No way!”

“I said give them to me!” This time, her statement was punctuated with a laser beam from her horn.

Sunny braced herself once more, only to be surprised when she didn’t feel anything. She nervously cracked her eyes open only to see Izzy standing in front of her, holding a shield spell. “Iz—”

“Get to the Princess!” She interrupted. “I’ll hold her off!”

“But—”

“Just go!”

Sunny had no time to protest as the rest of her friends pulled her away from Izzy and toward the Princess. “Princess!” She called once more as she approached her nearly unconscious form. “Princess, please! Wake up! We need you to wake up!”

After a few agonizing seconds, she eventually cracked her eyes open. “You...” she groaned. “I saw you...”

“—No time for that!” Zipp interrupted. “We brought you the Elements of Harmony. You need to use them to defeat Nightmare Moon!”

The Princess gasped. “The Elements? But...” Her eyes grew wide as her eyes fell on them. “Where...?”

“Doesn’t matter!” Hitch interrupted. “You know how they work, right? So use them!”

“I... can’t...”

“You have to!” Pipp pleaded. “Izzy—”

“...Who?” The Princess lifted up her head to see Izzy, who was straining under the exhaustion of holding up the shield.

The Princess’s eyes hardened, and she stood up, much to the group’s delight. “That’s enough!” She shouted, in a firmer voice than anypony had ever heard from her.

Nightmare Moon hissed before turning her attention back to Celestia. “Oh joy. Black for round two?”

She stepped further. “I will not let you harm our subjects further.” Her horn glowed, and the Elements of Harmony were lifted up into the air. Slowly, five jewels— a red one, an orange one, a blue one, a purple one, and a pink one —emerged from orbs, and they fell to the ground. The jewels began circle around Celestia— slowly at first, but they quickly picked up in speed.

Nightmare growled once more. “No!” She cried. “Stop! I command you!”

Celestia didn’t listen as she rose higher and higher into the air. Sunny watched and awe she grew brighter and brighter and brighter and...

...Nothing happened.

There was no radiant glow, no magical beam of light directed at the maleficent mare. The jewels just get spinning, and eyes time passed, even that grew slower and slower, until the Princess eventually collapsed on the ground once more.

“...Princess?” Sunny asked.

She held her head low. “I told you... I can’t...”

Nightmare Moon’s shock slowly faded as a smirk began to crawl on her face. “Haha! I can’t believe it!” She wiped her tears with her hoof. “Actually, I can! Your precious elements are nothing—” she began to charge up her horn. “—but worthless stone!”

“NO!” Sunny cried as she watched helplessly as the beams shattered the elements into tiny pieces.

She gave a little chuckle to herself “I’m glad that’s all taken care of.” Her expression steeled and she unfolded her wings turned towards Sunny and her friends. “You ponies, on the other hand, are a different story. While you hardly count as a threat, you’ve been a massive thorn in my hide, and I cannot allow this treason to go unpunished.” Another smirk crossed her face, and her horn started glowing again. “Nighty-night, my subjects!”

And then Sunny’s world went black.