Aevum's Guide to Magic and Its Uses

Chapters

Prologue
Awaken.
Basic Magic With Twilight Sparkle
Forgive, But Do Not Forget
Pinkie's Guide to Throwing Parties
The Brightest Night
The Darkest Night

Prologue

The Everfree Forest was not by any means a welcoming place, and it had been dark for hours. Twilight Sparkle and her friends had been ravaged by the everfree when they made it to Celestia’s old and forlorn castle, nestled smugly within the forest’s green overgrowth. Of the two stone towers that once stood tall and proud over the forest canopy, only the lunar tower remained.

Twilight Sparkle was struggling with staying awake; she felt as though she would fall asleep standing. Thinking back, she questioned the wisdom of staying up all night to study Nightmare Moon. Instead of getting 8 hours of sleep – something the princess expected from her – she didn’t sleep at all, and was now paying the price. The only thing keeping her going at this point was the support of her 5 friends, who currently stood behind her.

You were right about friendship, Princess Celestia. Have I done it properly? Twilight turned to face her friends. “You guys wait out here. Get some rest. I’ll go in and see about the elements.”

The light-blue pegasus flipped back upright and turned towards Twilight, and with little regard to the possibility of Nightmare Moon being near, shouted,“WHAao-” The Rainbow-maned pegasus had no chance to continue as the ginger earth pony put a hoof over her mouth.

“Ay Dashie,” Applejack said quietly, “you gotta be quiet ‘cause we don’ want Nightmare Moon to hear yer blabbering.” The pegasus rolled her eyes and flew just out of Applejack’s reach.

“Applejack is right, Rainbow Dash.” The White unicorn had taken a break from observing her cut-short tail, mirror still held in the air by her magic. “The Elements of Harmony may be the key to defeating Nightmare Moon, but we will surely fail without the element of surprise.” Applejack nodded, having won this bout of argument, but still, Rainbow Dash seemed to have more to say.

“So how come you get to go into the cool, abandoned castle, but we have to stay out here?”

Twilight breathed in to reply, but Applejack was already talking. “What?” She taunted, “yah afraid of the monsters that live ‘ere?”

Rainbow Dash paused, then replied with, “Nah, that’s what Fluttershy’s here for.” The pink-haired pegasus shot a timid smile at Rainbow, who paused to return the favor. Applejack, realizing that she had interrupted Twilight, took a respectful step back.

“Quiet down, y’all,” Applejack said to the group, and turning to Twilight, “what were you bout’ to say there sugarcube?”

“Thanks, Applejack!” Twilight said, turning towards the rest of the group. “You all should stay here. Applejack, you’re in charge.” Applejack nodded. Twilight then trotted into the castle before Rainbow dash could protest.

Mere seconds after she set foot within the temple, a dark and powerful voice echoed, resonating within the castle’s ancient halls. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I have been expecting you.” Albeit visibly shaken, Twilight pressed on. Welp, there goes the element of surprise. Through the central pavilion she walked, before chancing upon a regal-looking doorway. “Nightmare Moon” Twilight gasped, taken only by a slight surprise..

“Yes, yes. Who else would it be?” Nightmare Moon was not taking this very seriously. “I suppose you’re here for the elements?” She said, walking over to where they were displayed. “To… defeat me?”

“Y- yes.” I don’t think that I can make it to the elements before she does. But maybe if I can make her mad, get her away from the elements, I could teleport away and get over there while Nightmare Moon is distracted by-

Twilight’s train of thought was shattered by the loud and obnoxious arrival of her five friends. Twilight frowns Well there goes that plan. It’s unfortunate, I was never good at improvising, that was more Shining armor’s thing.

Horn glowing with magic, and while looking over Twilight, Nightmare Moon picked up the elements from their dilapidated resting place.

“Ooh, I love guests, come in, come in, young Twilight is… all alone.” The elements spun around the armored mare, like a twisted and dark halo, before smashing into the ground, one after the other. Nightmare Moon brought the last of the elements, the Element of Honesty, to her eye level. “Hello, old friend” The element glowed as it resumed circling her. Twilight, frozen with shock, did not respond, but her friends did for her.

“Hehe, you’re so funny Twilight. An eagle could make a nest in that mouth of yours!”

“Now’s not the time for jokes, Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said.

“I mean, it woke ya up, Twilight” Applejack added.

“This pony, is not very nice, is she.” Fluttershy growled.

Rarity sneered, “And her fashion is sooo a millennium ago.”

Nightmare Moon got up, and trotted towards the six ponies, in order to leave in the same way that Twilight and her friends entered. “This is nice and all, but I really need to manage my new kingdom. Goodbye, my little ponies!”

“Not so fast!” Twilight said, now glowing. Light pink magic shut the door in front of the alicorn. This caught Nightmare Moon’s attention. “It took me a while to figure this out, but those rocks you just crushed are not the Elements of Harmony”

“Oh?”

“Rainbow Dash, although your words sometimes cloud your true intentions, you would always come to our aid, despite us only meeting a few short days ago.” Rainbow was now glowing, the broken element of loyalty floating around her.

“Ooh, I like this, I feel like I could do a hundred sonic rainbooms!” Rainbow dash exclaimed, punching at the air with her hooves.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes widened with realization, then went back to her normal condescending glare, all within a very short second. Stepping forward and interrupting Twilight’s monologue, she said, “So your friends possess the elements of harmony. Too bad you can’t use them!” She gestured to the orange gem that had given up on floating around her and had implanted itself into Nightmare Moon’s breastplate.

Crap! I totally wasn’t paying attention! Twilight thought, how did she get that?

Applejack and Rarity evidently had enough of watching the psychological torture of Twilight Sparkle, judging by the unbridled rage on their faces, and the growling coming from Rarity. Applejack charged forward, and Rarity threw several stone bricks at the evil alicorn.

“Oop, somebody is quite angry. Why don’t you sleep it off?”

Nightmare Moon’s eyes glowed as she began chanting in an unknown language, and her friends started wobbling, and they eventually dropped to the floor. Twilight and Rainbow Dash, however, with their respective elements protecting them, did not succumb to the dream realm.

“No!” Twilight shouted as all her friends fell into a magic slumber. I don’t have the power to wake them up, Nightmare Moon’s magic is leagues ahead of my own.

“Twilight, gah, run!” Applejack shouted, her status of being the last of them awake, lost.

Twilight ran and Rainbow flew back into the forest, Nightmare Moon laughing all the while.

Author's Note

This Prologue is set about a month or so after the story begins, so it won't be a long wait until we get to this conflict.

Happy reading!
Revised slightly as of June 28, 2024

Awaken.

Author's Note

Wassup y'all! In order for the end of this chapter to work, you need to view it in arial text. It'll work without it, but it's much less visually appealing. I've set it to arial on my side, but it may be a viewer thing.

Expect the next chapter in a week or so. The name of the chapter will be, "Basic Magic with Twilight Sparkle."

Constructive Criticism is always welcome!

And yes, I liked my own story. Deal with it.

Awaken.

-One Month Before The Summer Sun Celebration-

-Location Unknown-

~Aevum~

It’s so dark here. Why did I choose this accursed place to time-nap again?
The sand-colored alicorn rose to his full height. Where did I put myself to sleep again? He brushed his usually ethereal, dark mane out of his face. I forgot this would happen. I usually don’t have to brush my mane or anything, It just… floats? His weakened state only allowed him to cast a dim light at the top of the little cavern he had woken up in.

“Everfree.” He said with a nod. “ I dug this place out with magic, then fell asleep after locking myself in. The place I chose was the center of the Everfree Plains”

The light revealed several notable items. A barrel of cider and a stack of apples, all preserved by his time magic. A leather-bound notebook, and a magically shielded dummy. The alicorn walked over to his notebook, written on the cover was, “Aevum’s Guide to Magic and Its Uses” It was the ultimate and only guide to his specialties: Summoning magic, and Time magic. It also contained his own version of the basic and advanced magic curriculum. He opened the table of contents, and found his own article describing his time-naps.

[Time Magic: Page 21

Time-Naps

Time naps should last for 1,000 years a piece.
Make sure to put fluid and food in your chosen chamber
Bring something to practice magic on
Bring this Article.
Cast an Extended Advanced Preservation spell (pg.19) on everything within the chamber, including yourself.
The potion recipe to begin the Time nap is on the next page, It uses many rare ingredients, so make sure It’s worth it. Remember that you have to be willing in order to participate in a time-nap or the potion will not work.
The Preservation spell will preserve you perfectly and you will age by one day by the time you wake up. Your physical strength will be preserved but your magic power will be reduced to that of an average untrained unicorn.
The Chamber is sealed by your preservation spell. You must gain enough magic power to break free, You will need to be at the level of a powerful unicorn to escape. This will take about a week, then a month more to be as strong as an average Alicorn.
Good luck! The current year is 2670 After King Cosmos.

Well I guess my job’s cut out for me now. My magic is so weak, I’m getting tired from sustaining this tiny light! However, I am happy that my first time-nap worked.

Aevum turned to the dummy, and began his magic training.

2 Weeks Before The Summer Sun Celebration

After perhaps the longest week of his life, Aevum had finally remastered his basic and advanced magic. Although he lacked the ability to use his time or summon magic, he should have enough power to survive out in the world.

Aevum snorted. Today’s the day! His supplies were running low, but his spirit was strong. He used magic to put his things into a bag. The journal, the rest of his food, and the dummy that was still irritatingly unharmed. Once finished, he walked over to the far wall, and touched his horn to it. He searched through his own intricate enchantment, pulling on it in random places, until he found a part that budged. Aevum pulled with all his might until…

Click

Aevum solemnly munched away on an apple. Goodbye, my small time-capsule-cave thing, you have served me well. He cast the spell: Advanced Explosion, but also made sure to cast a shield to direct the blast.

I should close my eyes, the sunlight is going to be brutal if I don’t. Hopefully it’s nighttime. Cosmos used to make a wonderful night sky. He should still be around. Despite his conscience, Aevum did not close his eyes, and was glad that he did.

BOOM!!!

The sturdy stone wall remained mostly intact, but was shot with great velocity away from the sand-colored alicorn. Aevum took his first steps out of the cave, and pondered the launching of the rock.

That was pretty cool, luckily it hit that tree before it hit anyone. Wait. Tree? This is supposed to be an open plains! I guess a lot has happened since I was sleeping. A lot must have changed.

Aevum pondered the landscape he was in. There were trees everywhere. The trees were covered with all kinds of greenery. He recognised a few, but there were also many species of plant that he did not recognise. The canopy was thick, he couldn’t see through it and the mess of branches meant that he did not want to fly through it. The absence of light, however, told him that it was likely close to midnight. Wow. It must have been freezing in the cave. It’s nice and warm, despite it being the middle of the night. The last thing he noticed was a path through the woods about a hundred feet ahead of him.

There used to be a Town west of here if I remember correctly. Aevum flew over to the path. There was a three way fork in the road with a sign with three arrows pointing to their respective path. One pointed north, the sign said ‘Ponyville’. The second arrow pointed west, and said ‘Castle Ruins’. The last arrow pointed South by south-west, and said Appleoosa on it. There was a break in the canopy here. Aevum flew up above the canopy and hovered there. The moon had what looked like a pony’s head emblazoned into the right side. He then cast out his mind for a closer look, not taking long before audibly gasping.

“What crime has been committed to justify being exiled to the moon!” He cried, “The only thing capable of sending a pony to the moon must be the Elements of Harmony? Surely the elements would not be so cruel!” He paused.

Talking to yourself again, Aevum. This moment of shock would not end so soon, however.

The moon was at its peak, when suddenly, It moved from its Zenith all the way below the horizon in the matter of half a minute. The sun took the moon’s place in the same fashion. Aevum audibly gasped. What in the world just happened? He took a moment to digest the event he had just witnessed, then turned to the north. Endless expanse of trees. Then the south. More Trees. Then the West. Even more trees. Wait…

Far off in the distance, a mighty stone building stood tall over the jungle trees. The tallest point was a barren flagpole atop the taller of two dilapidated towers. I guess I know where I’m going! With a mighty wingbeat, Aevum was moving through the sky, with all the grace of a one-legged hare. The trees formed together into a blur as he got closer and closer to the castle, and he set down right by the entrance.

Now that he could see a castle better, he noticed the grand wooden doors, and how ruined this castle truly was. How is this still standing at all? How are the doors fine, but the entire part of the castle between the entrance and towers is gone!

He did not wait a second longer, and carefully opened the grand wooden doors. Although half the castle was missing, the entrance hall was still in decent enough condition. The roof was in good enough condition to make the room rather dark, so Aevum made the decision to attempt his most basic summoning spell, which was a werelight.

Summon magic: page 1

Werelight

A werelight is a floating orb that produces constant light.
It will either follow you or go wherever you want, and if you attempt to do something like read in the dark, it will immediately come over to you to help, even if you stationed it somewhere else.
Due to the nature of summons, it does not require additional magic to move, and it becomes intelligent. It will not, however, become sentient and make its own decisions.
Summons are linked to you on a fundamental level and cannot be controlled by another in any circumstance.
Werelight Incantation: Vocare Globus Lucis (Verbal or Nonverbal)

Aevum took a deep breath, stamped his front right hoof into the floor and stated, “Vocare Globus Lucis!” Aevum staggered. Crap! Magic exhaustion would absolutely be the end of me right now. He was starting to panic when the drain of energy stopped as quickly as it started.

Still kneeling, he looked up at his newly summoned werelight. Aevum grunted, and stood once more on his now-shaking legs.

I shouldn’t leave my things out in the open, thieves are commonplace in ruins such as these. Aevum looked around for anything to store his belongings, werelight in tow, until finding a dusty old chest in the back left corner of the room. He deposited his things, and now unburdened, set to searching the old ruin. First, the entrance hall. There were many tapestries and works of art on display, but there were several engravings in the wall that all contained two alicorns, one was white, and the other was dark purple.

The werelight came to rest over these engravings, and he began to read. The Princesses of Equestria: Celestia - Princess of the sun, and Luna - princess of the moon.

The tapestries told the story of the two sisters and one thousand years of their reign. However, King Cosmos, the ruler of Equestria from Aevum’s time, was not even mentioned. If these two have been ruling for one thousand years, my time nap must have taken much longer than that. Having gleaned all the information he could from the entrance room, Aevum traveled through the castle in search for more information. Eventually he found himself in the throne room. There were two thrones. The one with the moon must have belonged to Luna, and the throne with the sun tapestry hanging over it must be Celestia’s. There was a large fissure in between the thrones. That must be why the place is falling apart. Aevum could fix this easily with his magic, but his intuition told him otherwise. This place was likely a sacred ruin, fixing it was a no-go.

“Unfortunate, I know.” Said a rather abrasive voice from behind. Aevum quickly turned back. The voice had come from a purple unicorn with slightly darker purple hair.

“Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you.” The unicorn tilted her head, “Princess Celestia tried to keep this place in good shape, but support for it decreased, until ponies started asking her to stop.”

“I am Aevum” He turned to face Twilight. I’ll have to cast a spell later to prevent her from looking me up. I'm bound to be in a couple books, and she looks like the studious type. She probably lives in a library! “And what is ‘this place’?”

The unicorn gave him a surprised look. “It’s The Castle Of The Royal Sisters. Princesses Celestia and Luna used to rule from here for a thousand years.”

Aevum was thoughtful. “What happened to them?” Twilight suppressed a laugh.

“You don’t know?”

Aevum replied. “I don’t”

“Have you been living under a rock?”

Yeah, for a thousand years! “You could say that.”

Twilight Sparkle grumbled,“Well, Celestia is still ruling over Equestria, just from Canterlot, for the last thousand years, give or take.” For a thousand years! Now I’m clocking in at two-thousand, and judging that this thousand-year old building has no mention of King Cosmos, that’s three-thousand years! Aevum let out a heavy sigh.

“And what of Luna, young one?”

“That’s Princess Luna to you, sir.”

“Alright, but the question still stands.”

The unicorn seemed very excited. Aevum doubted that she had many friends. “Well, Princess Luna got mad at Princess Celestia because nopony enjoyed the night like they did the day, and through her bitterness, she transformed into Nightmare Moon, pledging to drown the lands of Equestria in night, forever. Celestia had to use the E-”

Aevum interrupted her. “She used the Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon.” Twilight stood slack-jawed. “A cruel punishment indeed.” He paused. “This Nightmare Moon is angry, Twilight Sparkle. When will her lunar journey end?”

Twilight wore a shocked expression. “In two weeks, on the Summer Sun Celebration.” Twilight sat down. “Do you know how to use the elements, Mr. Aevum”

“Yes, actually…” The alicorn looked at the young pony. That cutie mark looks exactly like the element of magic! Aevum chuckled “I’m not going to tell you though.” I’d rather like to speak with this ‘Princess Celestia’. “Where is Canterlot, young one?”

“North.” Twilight said glumly, likely put out by Aevum’s refusal to teach her of the elements.

“I have an inquiry, Miss Sparkle. How have you come upon said information? One-thousand years is a very long time, And all ponies will eventually be forgotten within the sands of time.”

“I’m actually Princess Celestia’s student.”

“Splendid, young one! What more have you learned under her tutelage?”

“Mainly history” This concerned Aevum.

He hopefully replied “What in the way of magic?”

“I’ve learnt everything in the basic magic curriculum.”

Although his hope for the young mare was shattered, Aevum was still astonished. The princess of all Equestria had only taught her student basic spells and technique? “Is that really all, student of Celestia?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t you hold on for a swift moment, young one?” Twilight nodded, and showed no need to be anywhere anytime soon. Aevum trotted to the entrance hall, and moved his werelight over to the corner of the room. The chest is still there. Let me just grab my things. He opened the chest and grabbed his bag before walking back over to the throne room. Twilight had kept her promise, and had not moved. She had a questioning gaze as she looked upon Aevum. He shot her a little smile as he grabbed his journal out of the bag with magic. He cast a basic duplication spell, conjuring up a brand new copy. He put the original in his bag, but opened the copy. Twilight was intrigued at this point.

Twilight took a deep breath. “What is that?” Aevum had found the pages he was looking for and ripped them out, earning a gasp from Twilight Sparkle.

“It’s my Journal.” Aevum said, matter-of-factly. “Well, a copy of it, at least.” He burned the pages in his hand, earning an additional gasp from Twilight. “The entirety of my notes on both basic and advanced magic. Better than any textbook in existence. On Equestria’s Seas you better not lose this.” Aevum sets the Journal down at her feet. Twilight’s Eyes were huge.

“I- I don’t know what to say!” Twilight looked like she was about to explode with happiness. “But what about the part you burnt?”

“You’re very welcome, Miss Sparkle. Now listen closely.” Twilight was eagerly leaning into the Conversation now. “Practice the spells in the order that the book goes, and master each spell before going onto the next, or else you could give yourself magic exhaustion.” Twilight shuddered. “You know what it is? Good. As for the stuff I burnt? It’s advanced magic that would probably kill you if you tried to use it. Even if you were strong enough to use it, I wouldn’t want you to have that power anyway.”

If he hadn’t had her attention before, he did now. “Will you at least tell me the name of it?”

“No”

“Please?”

“Fine. It’s called summon magic.”

“Thanks!” She said, Getting up and galloping out of the castle, with the Journal hoisted in her magic.

Aevum smiled at her. “Until we meet again!” What a curious young mare. Anyways, I’d like to meet her mentor. I’ll leave at dawn tomorrow morning.

-Later that night-

~Twilight Sparkle~

“Aevum, Aevum, Aevum” Twilight muttered, looking through the library within her home. It was a house and library within a tree. How the builders managed to grow a tree so thick confused her, but she definitely wasn’t complaining. The lower level was the library, dappled with color from all the books, while upstairs lay her room, Spike’s room, and a guest room. Speaking of the little dragon… “Spike! Have you found anything yet?”

The little dragon boastingly replied, “Yep! This delicious ice-cream sandwich.”

“Spike, that’s not what I meant, and it’s too close to your bedtime to be eating that junk.” Twilight used her magic to grab the sandwich out of Spike’s hand and into the freezer. “Did you brush your teeth, Spike?”

“Yep.”

“Go to bed”

“Fine” Spike climbed up the stairs and went to sleep.

“Ooh, found it!” There it was. The book was titled, “Notable Alicorns And Their Magic”. Twilight opened the table of contents. Celestia, Luna/Nightmare Moon, Cosmos, Ah, there he is, Aevum. Page 39. Summon magic. Page 15. Twilight flipped to page 39 with her magic. Aevum, Alicorn of… “What!” Twilight softly exclaimed. “The words, they’re blurring! I can’t read it!” Twilight quickly flipped to page 15 and immediately started reading.

Summoning Magic

Simply put, summoning magic is a very powerful class of magic which is used by summoning an intelligent vassal to do your bidding. It is only limited by the magical endurance of the summoner. The only known user is the creator of the class, Aevum, Alicorn of À̴̢̜̟͇̭̟̄̋̔̏̿c̷̦̟̪̰̲̞͈̃́̐̄͋͊̇c̷͓̮͈͌̒̇ẽ̶̫̰š̵̞̞̜̭͈̆͗̆̏̑͝ͅs̸̛̻̼̣̗͇͔̪͆͒̆ ̵̧̊̾̅̓́̄d̸̡̪̼͖̒̃̚͜e̷̱̖͛̋̐̍͘͠n̴̘̻͓̺̯̏̉̑̃̃͛͂i̶͎̗̰̫̙̳̍̎̑̾̒̓e̸̼̹̘̦̺̼̯͒d̴̬̏͑͌͐̚, and it’s most significant uses were in A̷̢̛̫͓̣̥̣͔̳̻͇͚̣̫̝̲̖̩͎̰̪̗̠̙̾̽̈́̓̓̐́͂̃̊͂̄̊͌̐̏̀͂̾̓̈́̐̀̆̂̄̽͊͛̀͒̌̔̓̽̀̈́̀̇͒͛̂̈́̏͂̕̚č̷̥̺̠͈̥͔̭̹̘̯̫̲͇͔̥̖̤͓͉̜̲͇̳̣̣̲͍̙͉͉͈̫̦͎͕̲͎̖̩͚͔̣̑̔̐͑̊̈̈́̈́̂̏͗̓͂̿̌͂͜͠͝ͅͅç̷̛̛̛͓͇̭̮̤̺̬͕͇̦̗̗͚̫̠̙̖͚̞̭̋̆̅͗̎̆͂́̃́̀̐̎͐̔̍́̉̈́̅͆̿̇̌̎̅̾͘̕̕͘͜͠ę̷̨͙͓̝̠͇̹̩͕͉͖̹̫̲̲̫͓̙̫̑̀̽̐͑̉̂́́́̀̄́͒͊̓̚͠ͅs̸̢̢̨̧̻̘͔̬̻̯̱͚̲̲͖̺̳̬̙͙̹͍̖̦̬̲͍̠̘̠̅̆̄̊̄̋͊̏̌̃͒͜͜͜͠͝͠s̶̡̧̛͙̻̣͙̟͓̥̻̙͓̖̩̖̺̰̺͔̹͈̺̝̪̼͉̟͍̰̎̽̅̔̏̌̑́̄̃̓̀̊͒̈̈́̌̾́̓͐̉́̋̅̂̐̈́͌̓̚ ̸̨̡̣̩̰̤͉͈̬̣͕͍̏̿̉̉̆́͐̅̋̑̀̈̑̈́́͌̇̌͌̔̾̔͐̋͒͋͒̕͜͠͝͝ḍ̸̡̢̗̻̭̖͆͂͂͂̓̾̐̌̾̓͗́͊̌̀̀̋͋͐̈͌̓́͗̎̊̆̊͒́͒̈͗͆̓̃͐̈́̂̕͘̕͠ę̶̺͓͕͖̞̠͓͓͔̝͙̩̯͔̱͙̜̺͑͂̾͗͆͊͌̒̃̎̓̆͛͂̇́̾͒̂̆́̎̉̓̍̓̆̏͗̒̚͘͝͠͠͝n̸̪͇̾͆͗̉͆̀͒̉̋̌̀͛̂͆̏̊̋͒͑̿̔̍͋̒̅̾̿͐̀̏̐͗̀̑̊̚͘͝͠͠͝i̴̖͑͆̍͗͘ͅê̶̢̢͙̝̻̬͎̻̝͔̻̥͚̘͛̉͆́̍̓̃̑̕̕͜͠d̴̨̡̡̼̪͙̝̗͎͇̱̰̜͇̬͖͙̟̫͍͋̍̐͑̀͊̀͛̓͆̓̈́̓̑͌̄͊̈́͌̂͑͋̐͆͌͒͑̈́̑̃́̃̐̈̅͐͆́͘͘̚͘͘͘͠͠͝, ̴̟̰̣̤̻́́'̴̩̟̯͐͗̈̈́̃̈́A̴͙̭̱̙̐͝c̵̠̣̤̟̦̿̿͋ͅc̶̢̘͈͗̇̈́͒e̸̠̗̾̒̐͑̿̀̚͜s̵̯̰͋ṣ̸̡̖̭̗̀̆͘ ̷̠͑̿̈́́̚d̷̙̲̼͒̽ȩ̸̮͉̜̝̬̜͗̒̓͋n̶͖̤͈̬͖͔͐͜ĩ̶̠̜̠̦̰͚̗̃́͐̇͝e̸̞̳͉̠͒̎̑̔̋̂̂ḑ̴͔̙̲͉̰̓͆̉̃̀̏̚ and most importantly, Ą̷̨̛̼̦͛̐́̀̿͂͋c̵̨̨̛͓͔̦͇͙̘̪̈̃̇̍̊̓̃̌̑̔̅͒́̌͝c̷̡̢̖̣͈̝̝̲̣͕̘̠̖̲͕͕̫̼̫̫̣̩͉̟̑̈͐̄̇͌̍̋̓͒̂͑̇̐̾͊͑́̒̚̚͜͝e̴͈͍̥̦̩͕̠͛́̿̇͒̀̋̐̔̕͘͠s̴̢̛̯̞͕̹̦̞̹̲̼̺̦͍͂̒͌̿̕s̸͈̹̪͔̞̱̗̣̹̲̬̯̹̠̜̹͕͓̬̟͈̝̬͑̈̈́͂̊͋͊̚ͅ ̵̨̡͓̱̝̠̻͙͍̣̟̝͎̬̖͍͍̓̂̏͒̈́͂̀̊͊̉͛̍̑̒̿̈̄͜͝d̶̡͙͍̲̼̭͍̙̼̝͓̳̞͇̍̉͊͘͝e̷̢͍̮̳̘̪͖͉̰͖̥͖̱̹̾̈̆͒̀̒͂̎̐͂͑̏̉̈́̎̽̾͑̊͒̑͘͠͝ͅn̷̡̛̝̠͓̦͇͚̳̳͔̼̘̙̭̞͉̤̣͈̆̂̈́̌̈́͆̽̍͋͑̀̍̀̎̒͗͌̿̕͘͜͝͠͝ĭ̷̡̡̛̩̩̟̜̹̠̥͈͙͖͎̖̬̤̮̟̂̈́ͅę̷̱͕̯̙̳̖̙̖̻̦̰̩̟͚̳̗͕͓̏̽̊̍̀̇͂̋͂́͋̉͗̚͝͝d̴̨̟̺̞͌͐́̒̀̒͆̑̈́̒̔̂͊̐̓̂͛̋͝͠͝͝.

“UGHHHHH this is so annoying!” There was so much that Aevum did not tell me. The only pony besides the princess that knows how to use the elements, and still, nopony will tell me!

“How come all the ponies that know things are secretive alicorns?” Twilight whined.

End Chapter 1

Basic Magic With Twilight Sparkle

-Ten Days Before The Summer Sun Celebration-

~Twilight Sparkle: Promising Prodigy~

Four days. It had been four days since she had met Aevum. And ten days until she comes back. She had spent the last three going over the basic magic and the first of the advanced magic segments of Aevum’s Guide to Magic and Its Uses. None of the spells were particularly difficult for her, but there were a few that she had not seen before, such as the magic she would be attempting to cast today. Flip, flip flip, Basic magic, almost there. Oop! Went too far. There! Advanced Magic, page 1.

Advanced Magic: Page 1

Concept of Weaving Spells and SpellWeaving

Complex magic, like curses and enchantments are very useful to mages; they have near-infinite uses and have the potential to last years. However, in order to cast them, you must learn a skill which I have dubbed “Spellweaving”. Spellweaving is the practice of using and casting ‘weaving spells’. These weaving spells, once casted, weave together into your curse or magic.

Weaving spells are ineffective on their own, they must be part of a functioning system to actually provide an efficient product.
Weaving spells last for a very long time and sometimes don’t even need to be replaced.
Example: To enchant a door to open whenever you, let’s say, rotate a flower vase in a certain way, you would need to cast a Weaving Spell to detect when the vase is rotated correctly, and another to trigger the opening of the door. In order to make the system work, you have to weave the spells together with your mind.
Weaving spells leave a magic footprint that can be detected by experienced magicians.
The more powerful the caster, the harder the spells are to detect and/or break.
You will not be creating systems in this lesson, just casting individual weaving spells.
The creation of spell systems is covered in the second Advanced Magic lesson.

I suppose that I should be thankful, these spells have the potential to be the most useful in my arsenal. I’ll need as much practice as I can get for her return. The elements may not work, and if so, what would I do then? A simple magic missile would be pitiful. I’ll have to figure out some more powerful combat magic so I can keep up.

Twilight yawned and arose from her bed. Her stomach rumbled, Time for breakfast! I wonder what’s left in the fridge? Twilight made her way down the stairs, “Oof!” Twilight had stumbled, but managed to regain her footing before her unwanted reunion with the floor. I could have sworn that the last step was smaller than that! She shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

Anyways… she called to her magic. It responded, gathering energy from throughout her whole body before concentrating in her horn, which had taken up a purple sheen. Fridge. The fridge opened, accompanied by Twilight’s magic. Half a gallon of milk, a cup of cider, a few eggs, three apples, and a slice of apple pie: of the six,she levitated the pie and cider and set them down on her dining table.

Thank you apple family. Twilight thought back to the knock on her door the night prior. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, two mares that were her own age, had come to welcome her to Ponyville. Applejack had brought cider and apple pie, the latter of which Twilight would be eating for breakfast this morning. Dash, on the other hand, had brought her a pillow made of clouds, which had alleviated the neck pain she usually woke up with. The evening had started out slow, but the, ah, ‘easygoing’ effects of the cider had lightened the mood and caused a brand new friendship to form between the three.

The front door swung open, “Good Morning, Twilight!” a small dragon walked in.

“Good morning Spike,” Twilight called upon her magic once more, casting a heating spell on the pie. She heated it until it was the perfect temperature, then cut off the flow of magic. “You’re up early.”

Spike suppressed a laugh. “Actually Twilight, it’s noon!” He walked over to the stairs and climbed up the first step, “I didn’t wake up early, you woke up late.”

What? Did I really sleep in so late? Good thing I have nothing going on today, that could have been bad. Twilight shook her head, breaking free from her thoughts.

“Hold on, Spike,” Twilight wiped the sticky pie filling from her mouth. Could you send a letter to the Princess for me?” Spike ran back down the stairs, positioning himself to Twilight’s left side. He then summoned a piece of slightly yellowed parchment and a quill pen, seemingly out of thin air.

“Sure thing! What do you want me to say?”

“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight paused for a moment, thinking of how to word the letter. “Uhhh, So I was at your old castle about four days ago when I came across this curious pony named Aevum. His coat was the color of sand and his mane and tail were a dark gray. He said he wanted to meet you, but didn’t even know who you were. He left for Canterlot, um, two, no, three days ago. He gave me a guide to Advanced magic before I left to write my daily letter to you. Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. Your loyal student, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Anything else?” Spike looked at her with an expectant gaze.

“Erase all the verbal mistakes I made, please,” Twilight ate a piece of pie while Spike crossed out a few things in the letter. He then rolled it up, held it at his eye-level, then bathed the letter with a stream of green fire from his mouth. The Parchment did not burn, instead evaporating into a fine mist and zooming out of Twilight’s window on its way to Canterlot. Spike then retreated to his room. That’s done, breakfast is… She ate the rest of the pie, and washed it down with a glass of water. Done, now to practice magic, I totally forgot to do so yesterday.

Twilight opened her door and walked around to the back of her house. Containing the yard was a short white fence. In the center was a small maple tree, surrounded by iris and spirea plants in a little garden island. On the left side of her garden, there was a red and white target propped up by a wooden trellis. This was her magic target. However, she would not be using it today. Twilight called upon her magic, concentrating the magic in her horn, and willing a spell to detect the sunlight. While doing so, her mind wandered, creating a magical vacuum which absorbed the magical power she was pouring into the task.

A failure. No matter, I’ll try again. Again she called her magic, and again her mind wandered. Another failure. Come on Twilight, you can do this! As she prepared to call forth her magic a third time, a parchment sealed with a golden sun hit her in the temple.

“Oww…” She whined. Really, Princess? Twilight used her already prepared magic and unfurled the scroll. “Dearest Twilight, You were wise to inform me of this. Unfortunately, you were too late. Mr. Aevum arrived this morning and requested an audience with me after sunset. Since you know him, I’d like to speak with you afterwards. I’m sending you a chariot pulled by two of my pegasus guards. They’ll be at your doorstep in half an hour. Bring some friends with you! I’d love to meet them.
-Princess Celestia
Ruler of Equestria
Alicorn of the Sun

Twilight skipped the rest of the formalities. She knew them all by heart anyways. I don’t want to disappoint the Princess, I’ll ask Applejack and Dash if they want to come with me.

Twilight packed Aevum’s Journal in a bag, along with her Canterlot ID Badge. She would have a hard time entering the castle otherwise, and getting Applejack and Rainbow Dash in would be impossible. Applejack will be on the farm somewhere, I'll look for Rainbow Dash first. Twilight opened the fence gate with magic and walked around front. She opened her front door door and shouted, “Spike! Come outside! we’re going to Canterlot!”
His voice responded, understandable although muffled. “I’ll be right out!” Twilight closed the door and stepped away from her house.

“If I was an insufferable blue pegasus,” she whispered to herself, “where would I be?”

“Hey Twinkletoes!” Rainbow Dash was above her, lounging atop a cloud.

“There.” Twilight said, astonished. “Uhhh, Do you want to escort me to Canterlot for an audience with the Princess?”

“First of all, absolutely!” Rainbow Dash looked very surprised. “Secondly, Twinkletoes, that is a horrible way to start a conversation.”

“Great!” Twilight beamed. “Could you invite Applejack? You would both need to be here in 20 minutes.”

“Sure thing!” Dash replied, soaring towards the apple farm.

- 30 minutes later -

As the last into the Chariot, Spike closed the door behind the three mares,“We’re all ready to go!” he announced, donning his conductor hat.

“About time!” The lead pegasus stamped the ground, “Alright, let’s get outta here!” The chariot started to move forward, getting faster and faster until they had abandoned the earth entirely, taking to the sky akin to a fledgeling bird.

“Twilight, wake me when we get there,” Spike whispered, curled up into a little ball next to Twilight, who nodded in affirmation. If he starts snoring, I will be using magic on him. Thank you Aevum, for putting an anti snore spell in your journal.

“Hey Applejack,” Rainbow Dash taunted, with a touch of seriousness in her tone, “You better not throw up in here.” I didn’t even notice that she looked sick! I really need to get more sleep. Twilight shifted away from Applejack and Dash, and successfully went unnoticed

“Shut yer mouth, featherbrain,” Applejack retorted weakly, “I’m tryin’ my best here!”

“Applejack, Is this the first time you’ve flown?” Twilight gave Applejack a comforting pat on her shoulder. You don’t look too good, Applejack. I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with Rainbow on this one. At least Applejack isn’t acting weird – besides feeling sick, that is.

“Yes, yes it is.” Applejack said.

“The first time’s always the worst, Applejack." Twilight shifted in discomfort, "as the Princess’ personal student, I’ve been flying in these things since I was a filly!”

“Yeah!” said one of the four pegasi pulling the Chariot, “and it’s the worst way to travel. Apparently, Equestria used to employ flying sailing ships to travel. They were fast and could carry lots of things at once! The longest of them were hundreds of feet long!”

“Really?” Applejack looked up, the green in her face less prominent than it was before. “How did they float?”

“They would float on clouds maintained by gemstones, and some even had cannons to help deal with monsters. It’s a shame the Princess decommissioned them. The Griffons have been getting bolder since then.” The pegasi sighed. “Hey orange, If you don’t look straight forward, you’ll feel worse. Everyone else, we’ll be landing soon, so don’t get too comfy.” Applejack followed the pegasi’s advice, looking straight ahead.

“Thank you!” Twilight replied. Those airships seem like a cool idea, I’ll have to ask the Princess about them later.

“Cannons are totally sick.” Rainbow dash had a blank expression. “I could be a sky pirate!”

“Cannons are also dangerous, Dash.” Twilight had snapped Rainbow out of her daze. “And frankly, I wouldn’t trust you with one in the first place.”

Rainbow Dash was not amused. “But Pinkie Pie has like seven of them!”

“Those are Confetti Cannons.” Applejack met Rainbow’s eyes. “You’re leaving out some very important details.”

“Sorry to break you up, but who’s Pinkie Pie?” Both ponies turned to look at Twilight, surprise plastered on their faces. Umm, did I strike a nerve?

Rainbow Dash got a mischievous look in her eyes “Hey Applejack.”

“What”

“You know that landing is the worst part right?”

Applejack growled. “Be quiet.” Rainbow dash laughed, until…

‘Thump!’

Touchdown! Looks like I don’t need to wake Spike up after all. The little dragon was already stirring.

“Owww, I bih mah tounhh” Dash pouted. Now it was Applejack and Twilight’s turn to laugh. They came to a stop and there it was.

Rainbow Dash exited the carriage, immediately taking off, then almost fell out of the air, almost like her wings had stopped functioning for a moment, “Woah!”

“This is Canterlot?” Applejack looked around nervously, “Ah feel severely underdressed.” Twilight picked Spike up with magic and set him on her back.

“Pick up your mouths and let’s go, we’re gonna miss our audience with Princess Celestia!” Twilight's misgivings were made tangible when the sun dipped below the horizon, signaling the approach of the night. “Run!” Twilight exploded into a full gallop, Dash keeping pace in the air, Applejack not far behind. They passed glamorous shops, nice houses, and even nicer restaurants. The Buildings turned into a blur as the trio galloped by. Door! She skidded to a halt just before hitting a large metal gate. There were ornate walls on either side of the gate, both sides running off into the distance, curving out of Twilight’s line of sight. Through the gate, Twilight could view the magnificent, yet imposing sight of Celestia’s castle, moonlight coating it in a harsh white light. As she breathed a sigh of relief, Applejack, who had been looking around while running, slammed into Twilight’s rear, sending her face into the gate anyway.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean, that works, but you could just knock.” She made a knocking motion with her hoof. If looks could kill, Rainbow Dash would be out cold. Fortunately for her though, a palace guard opening the door prevented the verbal lashing brewing behind Applejack’s eyes from happening. Applejack and Twilight were still a pile on the ground at this point. And now I look like an idiot.

“We’re with her.” Rainbow Dash gestured to herself and Applejack, and then to Twilight.”

“I feel ya.” The guard said to Dash. “It do be like that sometimes.” Applejack and Twilight hurriedly got back up, cheeks bright red.

“Here’s my I.D. Sir.” Twilight said, trying to play off what had just occurred.

“You’re good to go, ma’am. Celestia and her guest await you in the throne room. It’s through those doors there. He gestured to the far side of the courtyard. “Good day!”

“Same to you.” Twilight said as the trio walked into the courtyard, Guard closing the Gate behind them.

(Break)

~Celestia: Solar Princess~

Who is this pony? Celestia looked up at the ceiling of her throne room. Observing the massive gilded chandelier hanging on a chain was always nice, and she commonly found herself lost in the artwork which adorned the domed ceiling. I’ve already tried being nice, but this pony just refuses to talk.

“Who are you, Mr. Aevum? Where are you from?” Said an agitated Princess Celestia, “I will not ask you again.”

“I told you. I am Aevum,” Aevum rolled his eyes, “and I was born and raised here in Equestria” That is simply not possible. I’m so tired of this.

“The birth and existence of every single alicorn in Equestria has been documented since the beginning!” Celestia used her magic to levitate a scroll that had seen much better times. “This is that document.”

For the first time in this audience, she was rewarded with a genuine reaction. Aevum developed a slight grimace. He looks as though he forgot something. Suddenly, Celestia felt an imbalance in the flow of magic around her. The fool! He’s trying to cast a spell!

Celestia jumped out of her seat – horn glowing with an intense golden light – and casted a pushing spell, sending Aevum into the right wall with an audible thunk. “What have you done!” Celestia raised her voice, “How dare you attack me in my own castle!” Aevum coughed and stood up, immediately recovering from his impact. No normal pony could have recovered that fast. He is definitely not in some kind of disguise.

“I did not attack you,” Aevum replied weakly, “I only hid the truth.” Aevum made some distance between himself and the Princess before sitting down again.

Celestia observed her father’s scroll for damage, noticing a line of blurry text towards the top of the list. She eyed Aevum and moved the scroll to her side. “This would work against an ordinary mage, but I am no ordinary mage.” Celestia called upon her magic for the second time, intending to use her golden magic. “Reveal yourself!” A golden wave erupted from her horn, revealing the text and temporarily showing Aevum’s true form. Aevum now stood slightly shorter than her with an ethereal dark mane and a matching tail which were much like her own, despite differences in shape and color. Sand particles lazily floated off his coat, moving behind him and disappearing, as if an invisible wind blew constantly into his face. The magical image of Aevum disappeared.

He would be handsome if he wasn't giving me such a hard time right now. Celestia turned to the scroll, and looked to where the blurred line was. It was written with her father’s penmanship.

(page break)

Aevum: Alicorn of Time. Description: Sand colored coat with a dark gray mane and tail. Sand floats off and behind him. His talent mark is an hourglass on a clock, adorned with strange runes instead of numbers. Went missing 2670 years after I took the throne.

*1,015 years before Celestia and I, for future reference. - Luna

Page break.
“Knowledge is power. Please do not tell anyone of my true identity.” Just who does this stallion think he is?

Celestia registered this and replied with a calm and easy tone. “Do you think it wise to give me orders? In my throne room? After what you just did?”

“Then I ask it of you, your majesty.”

“Very well, Aevum.” Celestia stood up and stretched, earning a pop in her back. That felt nice. She had to restrain herself from allowing a goofy smile to worm its way onto her face. However, what doesn’t feel nice is keeping secrets for a pony whom I have never met before.

“If you will, I am tired from my journey, and would like to retire for the night.” Aevum had gotten up, turned around, and thrown his bag onto his back. He was now walking towards the exit.

“Then I will see you again, sooner or later. Would you send my student in on your way out? I do believe you know her.” Celestia sat back down on her throne. “And don’t you dare try anything else whilst you stay here.” Dear student, we have quite a bit to speak about.

After Aevum left the throne room, a sense of relief washed over Celestia, but her mind was still reeling from the encounter, allowing unease to set in. The only other meeting that has shaken me this badly was the Europonean convention I had attended with Luna. She never was too cordial, never too afraid to speak her mind. Of course, that got us into a huge mess at the time, but it’s hilarious to look back at. Celestia chuckled to herself, failing to notice that her student had long since entered the room.

“That’s the Princess of all Equestria?” The irritating voice echoed in the back of her mind.

A very southern voice replied to the first. “That’s not too polite of you now, ain’t it?”

“Princess?” Twilight was standing in front of her. Crap, I really need some sleep. This Nightmare Moon situation is having me constantly working. At least the Summer Sun Celebration sets itself up without my input.

“I apologize, Twilight, I have not been getting enough sleep as of late.” Celestia stood up to her full height and turned toward the other two ponies accompanying her student. It is good that she finally made some friends, I was getting concerned over her lack of them when she lived here. Celestia slightly bowed her head, before making eye contact with the two ponies once more. A traditional Equestrian greeting. “And who might you two be?”

They reciprocated the motion. The blue pegasus spoke up first. “My name is Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt extraordinaire.” Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest with pride. Oh my, I hope she doesn’t expect me to judge her or anything. I’ve always hated doing that. Luna was great at it though.

“Ah, full of confidence. It will serve you well, given you abstain from becoming overconfident.” That came out so much better than I thought it would. Go me!

The second pony took a step forward. “Howdy, name’s Applejack. I’m just here to make sure Twilight’s doin’ alright, and to keep this one out of trouble.” She gestured towards Rainbow Dash with her hoof. Rainbow gave her the stink eye. Celestia giggled

“How very noble of you, Applejack,” Celestia said, “It is good to meet you both. Unfortunately, certain… events that have occurred have forced me to end our meeting prematurely.”

“That’s alright, Princess,” Applejack said, “We’re mighty tired too, it’s been a long day for all of us.”

“I appreciate it, Applejack.” Celestia turned to the door, “Nebula!” A guard peeked her azure head through the now-open doorway. “Would you show these two to their rooms?”

“Certainly, your majesty.” Celestia motioned for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to leave with the guard. When Twilight moved to follow, Celestia put her front leg in her way. The guard shut the door behind her.

“Twilight, did Aevum give you anything last time you met?” Celestia observed Twilight closely, noticing the slight change in her expression.

"Why?"

Celestia, although seeing the curiostity burn in Twilight's eyes, remained cryptic, leaving Twilight more confused than when her meeting started. With a sigh of defeat, Twilight reluctantly pulled Aevum’s Journal out of her bag and put it on the ground in front of her. “Thank you, Twilight. You know where your room is. I placed your friends in the adjacent rooms.” Celestia picked up Aevum’s journal with her magic, “Get some sleep. We both know how much we need it.”

(break)

- Nine Days Before Her Return -

~Luna: Bright Light, Smothered by Shadows~

Nightmare Moon was pacing. My great return is at hand! Only nine more days until the stars come to free me! Argh! Why can’t it be sooner!

“You’re the one who got hit by the elements, you know exactly why.”

“I forgot you could hear my thoughts, pest,” She turned to face the spirit of her other self. My weaker self.

“You mean our thoughts,” The spirit of Luna stood tall, “You’re me, remember?”

“I can’t hear yours,” Nightmare Moon stepped to Luna’s side, “explain that, spirit.”

“I, in my entirety, am part of you,” Luna did not meet Nightmare Moon’s gaze. “However, your whole being is not part of me.”

“Thank the heavens for that.”

“Agreed,” Luna said as she moved forward. The moon was a desolate place. Without the Nightmare, Luna would have gone insane hundreds of years ago. It’s nighttime now. Although she had looked up at Earth every single night for one-thousand years, it was a sight that never really got old. Unlike the stars, Celestia has maybe changed them twice. Luna's gaze eventually came to rest upon the faint glow of Equestria, the land where she longed to be.

“Gazing at the earth, again?” Nightmare Moon's voice dripped with malice. “It’s so bland after observing it for a thousand years.”

“It would be serene and perfect without you here, you pollute the beautiful starscape.” Luna attempted to make distance between her and the incarnation of shadows to no avail.

“Where are you off to, Princess?” Nightmare Moon spat into Luna’s ear, which had simply passed through her spiritual form.

“Away from you,” Luna wistfully bowed her head, “we’ll be stuck together when we return.”

“Very well. I shall let you be.”

And she left.

Just eight more days until our fight. I’ve been storing magical energy within the jewel on my crown for a thousand years. I’ll materialize a form and fight for the control of my mind soon before my return. That way nobody gets hurt, and I don’t risk getting sent back here again.

Luna stood.

“Celestia, the next time we meet, It will be I in control,” Luna pledged, “and not her.”

End Chapter 2

Author's Note

An early post for you guys! With all due respect, I will not be writing over easter weekend.
Happy easter 😁

Forgive, But Do Not Forget

-Nine Days Before SHE Comes Back-

~Aevum: Alicorn of Time~

Aevum paced, briskly, lines of concern scribbled all over his face. Back and forth he went, as he thought of a way to escape. He hadn’t woken up soon enough to just leave, and he hadn’t risen from his slumber late enough to formally announce his departure, yet he still had to leave now. What a fine mess he’d gotten himself in, indeed.

Now, this mess would be manageable, given that there weren’t any guards outside his door, and that he wasn’t in the room he was in. His complaints were not about the room itself – the room was quite nice, with a simple silver chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, and a matching carpet of the same color. Songs of praise could be sung about the bed. It was fit for a princess, with a deep blue quilt and silver pillows of finely woven cumulus. The mattress was simply divine, yet Aevum had no idea what it was made of.

Aevum snorted, and poked the mattress with a curious hoof. It was too soft to be made from wool and spring, yet not soft enough to be of the clouds. On the side wall of the room was a window, overlooking a desk made from fine cedar, surrounded by dressers and cabinets of the same material. Upon the desk was a finely cut emerald, which Aevum surmised to be a paperweight, and had stashed it in his bag; it would come in handy later, he told himself.

Anywho, the fact that this room was fit for a princess bothered Aevum, and that was because it was made for a princess, in fact, it was built by Princess Celestia for Princess Luna, as a ‘welcome home’ gift. Celestia’s explanation for this was that she wanted an ‘unbiased’ party to stay at and comment on the room she had built. That was all fine and dandy, but what wasn’t was how the room resided on the top level of the palace, meaning Aevum had to be much more careful to escape than if he was closer to the bottom.

Now, the guards. Aevum reached out with his mind, noticing that both were asleep. As long as he was quiet, he could escape without alerting them to his presence.

“Stille Deur,” he whispered. A brassy sheen encapsulated his horn, and shot a thin beam of light at the door. On contact, the door glowed slightly, as if agreeing to Aevum and his magic. He opened the door, and took a step.

“Thump!”

Aevum inhaled sharply, refusing to let any air escape his lips. He had forgotten that his footsteps still made noise. One of the guards stirred, but did not awaken. Stille laarzen! He thought, the same brassy magic that had silenced the door now silenced his feet.

Now as quiet as a church mouse, Aevum stepped out onto the hallway’s red carpet, closing the door behind him and releasing its silence spell. He made his way through the marble hallway, noting the golden pillars that frequented the sides of the hall, along with several suits of steel armor, each with a unique weapon. If he got into a fight here, Aevum would be very well off.

As he strode through the hallway, Princess Celestia’s reason for putting Aevum in Luna’s room became very clear. A door opened, and Celesia herself strode through it, Closing the door before stretching and yawning, her rainbow mane and tail afloat with the sheen of a brand-new day, much brighter than they were during the audience the night prior.

Aevum wasted no time rushing to the side of the room, using some armor and a well-placed pillar to block himself from Celestia’s view. Aevum looked down with a sour expression, asking himself if hiding was truly the best option? Hiding from the princess would make his life much more miserable; He needed to fix their relationship now, as to prevent any problems later. But how would he go about this? He lay motionless until the princess threw him a proverbial bone.

“Good morning Equestria!” Celestia declared, a warm smile spreading across her face. Aevum’s ears perked up at this; he rose from the floor and walked towards her, in a way that made it seem as if he had just been walking near the wall, and not actually hiding from the princess.

“Good morning, princess,” Aevum said while passing her, “‘tis’ surely shaping to be a fine day.”

Celestia nodded, then followed Aevum, who both shared a common destination – the balcony where she would lift the sun and lower the moon. Aevum was slightly nervous about the encounter to come, but showed nothing of it, externally. This, of course, changed when he reached the balcony door, Celestia in tow.

“After you, your highness.” Aevum opened the door, allowing Celestia to access the balcony if she so wished.

“Thank you, Aevum,” Celestia said, “your courtesy is most appreciated.” She walked through the door, Aevum followed, shutting the door behind him.

“Princess, may I have a wor- '' Aevum's jaw dropped to the floor, and Celestia – who had turned to address him – raised an eyebrow, before following his gaze towards the city.

“Oh!” Celestia said with a quiet giggle, “yes, the view from up upon the palace is truly a sight to behold. I love to start my day looking upon the work that all of my little ponies have achieved over the years, which is why I built this. And yes, you may have a word.”

Aevum opened his mouth to speak, but quickly changed his mind. The moonlight reflected off the tops of all the buildings and turned the city into a glittering, yet serene sight to behold. “Princess –” Aevum took a deep breath, “ – I wanted to apologize for my actions last night.” Celestia blinked: one, two, no, three times before answering.

“It’s quite alright, Aevum,” Celestia said, “anyways, how was your room?”

Aevum, puzzled about the sudden shift in conversation, sighed and complied with the Sun Princess. “It was delightful,” Aevum said, “I’m sure Luna will love it!”

Celestia froze. “How-”

“As I said, Celestia, knowledge is power, and I obtained this little tidbit from your apprentice, young Twilight Sparkle.” Aevum took a small step closer, “She told us about Miss Moody’s –” Aevum gestured towards the moon with his hoof, “ – return. If I may, how does thou stand to halt her surely-evil plans?” Although the light levels stayed very much the same, a shadow passed over Celestia’s tall figure.

“Twilight will use the elements to sa…” Celestia cleared her throat, “defeat Nightmare Moon.” Celestia looked to the moon with a sullen gaze, as if she wanted something from it. Aevum stepped towards the edge of the balcony, uncomfortable upon looking into Celestia’s personal life. He wanted to make amends, nothing more. He did not wish to make friends with a princess of all things, not that Celestia was unlikable or anything, Aevum just didn’t want to get roped into Equestria’s business.

“Well, I do believe my time here is over for now,” Aevum stated, “A long journey awaits, and I must travel at a precarious pace to make it to the lush expanses of Everfree. If you need me, I will be near your old castle, I believe.”

“Oh, I see,” Celestia said thoughtfully, “I will call, should you be needed.” However, this fell on deaf ears, as Aevum had already left.

-Eight Days Before the Summer Sun Celebration-

~Twilight Sparkle: Promising Prodigy~

The visit to Canterlot had been great. The day prior, to Spike’s dismay, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight had gone shopping, and watched a famous opera with the princess, who had been acting strange around Twilight as of late. Now, after a long day of exploring the city with her friends – which made Spike much happier – Twilight was heading home.

The carriage had not moved, a luxurious white vehicle upon a gravel runway, it contrasted the sunset that Celestia had formed just for her, giving the carriage what seemed like a halo of orange light.

“Hey guys!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “are you guys ready to go?” The rest of the conversation evaded her; Twilight’s attention had been diverted to the arrival of Princess Celestia, who hovered over a red-brick building, gesturing for Twilight to come over before landing behind it.

“I forgot something,” Twilight said to Applejack, “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be long now!” Applejack said as Twilight galloped over to the building which hid Princess Celestia. Sure enough, the princess was there, waiting for her. Much like the carriage, the sunset complimented Celestia’s coat and mane, which made her sparkle. What the sunset did not compliment, however, was the somber expression upon her face. Before Twilight could ask what was wrong, Celestia was already speaking.

“I know you’re leaving, so let’s make this quick.” Celestia lifted the copy of Aevum’s journal in her magic, and returned it to Twilight. “I went through it yesterday, and there’s nothing harmful within it. You may continue learning from its contents.”

Twilight put it in her bag, elated at the return of her journal. Now she could prepare for the conflict between Nightmare Moon and the forces of Equestria. “thank you, princess!”

“You’re so welcome, Twilight,” Celestia purred, “It was the least I could do.” Celestia turned away from Twilight, and in her movement, Twilight noticed the bags under her eyes, and her clenched jaw.

“Are you alright, Princess? Twilight asked.

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Celestia said, “I am plagued by the mistakes of the past, and I have nobody to confide in.”

“What about me?” Twilight said hopefully.

“You are biased, Twilight.” Celestia looked up into the distance. Or was she looking back? Twilight wondered. “Also, even if I told you what plagues me, you simply would not understand.

Twilight frowned as Celestia flew back towards the castle.

(Break)

-30 Minutes Later-

After twenty minutes on the carriage, conversation had screeched to a halt, and Twilight pulled out Aevum’s journal to pass the time.

Natural Magic – Page 1.

Natural Magic

Not all magic is harnessed by us magicians. ‘Natural Magic,’ as I call it, is what many know as the basic laws of nature. Wind, weather, the day/night cycle, and ocean currents are all powered by Natural Magic.

Remember from basic magic that magic is simply the caster harnessing pure energy in order to complete a certain task, which is usually determined by the spellcaster. Natural Magic, however, has no caster, and the tasks it carries out are predetermined.

As I said earlier, magic requires energy in its purest form to operate. This includes Natural Magic, but where does it get that energy from? There are multiple ways, but the main source of energy for Natural Magic, (and us, by the way) is the sun.

Natural magic is the most common type of magic, it is everywhere on the planet, and surrounds us all. It is so common, in fact, that whenever a magician casts a spell, it causes a temporal rift to form in the flow of Natural Magic, which can be detected by other magicians. This occurs about a second before the spell takes effect, so being in tune with Natural Magic can improve your battle sense.

Twilight turned the page.

Natural Magic: Page 2.

Gemstones

Gemstones are complex mineral formations that form underground. While they may look pretty, they have applicable uses to everyone, especially magicians. There’s a reason that all of the great archmages of the past wore some form of jewelry – it wasn’t for show, I’ll tell you that!

Gemstones act as an energy reservoir, storing any amount of energy for an infinite amount of time. This energy can be built up by direct sunlight or by the manual transfer of energy from an organism to the gem. Any pony with a strong mind can use the energy within gemstones to run faster, lift heavier objects, and increase their endurance with other tasks involving physical action. Mages, on the other hand, can act as a conduit, and cast spells using energy directly from the gem. You lose more energy the further away you are from the gem (while transferring energy.)

I recommend setting your gem of choice on a sunny windowsill near your bed, so that it gains energy from sunlight, and you can put the remainder of the day’s unneeded energy into the gem before you go to sleep for the night.

Some things to consider when purchasing a gemstone.

The clearer the gem, the more energy it can hold.
The bigger the gem, the more energy it can hold (It’s not worth carrying a huge gem around, a one-inch diameter gem should be plenty for any mage.
Although clear gems can get energy from the sun, gems with darker colors are much more effective at this, and much like plants, dark green gemstones are particularly effective. I have found emeralds to soar above the rest.
The way the gem is cut can also provide benefits; the more flat surface area on the gem, the better it will be at gathering sunlight energy.
- I recommend an Emerald Step-Cut with a 4:3 Length to Width ratio, The flat top is perfect for collecting energy from sunlight.

(break)

Twilight looked out the window and saw a glittering island of light among the sea of darkness that had engulfed the world. She woke Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but left Spike asleep, he was only a baby dragon after all. While still in midair, Rainbow Dash grinned.

“Catch ya later, slowpokes!” She said in a hushed voice, “have fun with the landing!” Rainbow then saluted, before falling backwards into the air, flying down to Ponyville in a rainbow blur.

“Who’s she callin’ slowpoke?” Applejack slurred, “It ain’t me, that’s for sure.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, realizing that she felt normal because she stayed up so late so consistently. She ignored Applejack’s sleep-deprived words and braced for landing, which caused Applejack’s eyes to widen. She straightened her hat and gathered her things – along with Twilight – and made her way off the carriage, which promptly left.

“Hey, it was a lot of fun, Twilight,” Applejack said warmly, “feel free to invite me the next time you go on an adventure like that!”

“Of course!” Twilight watched Applejack walk towards the apple farm before making her way over to her own house, and for the first time in weeks, slept peacefully.

Author's Note

It's eclipse day! I wanted to name this chapter 'Eclipse' so badly, but I'll save the name for a more fitting Chapter.

Also, this chapter would have had another arc, but I did not want to tell a story in both Canterlot and Ponyville in a single chapter, so next chapter will contain what would have been in this one.

Twilight's POV chapters will be starting to thin out in the near future.

Cheers!

Pinkie's Guide to Throwing Parties

-Five Days Before the Summer Sun Celebration-

~Twilight Sparkle: Pupil of the Princess~

Every year, there was a traveling market that visited Ponyville. It was their only stop in Equestria; all the other stops were in different countries. The merchants always set up shop within the plains east of Ponyville, and this is where Twilight found herself early in the morning this fine Wednesday. A small city of tents now populated the usually-barren plains, and ponies from everywhere in Equestria flooded the streets between tents.

Twilight wandered throughout the near-endless expanse of tents, not necessarily looking for anything specific; she was simply window shopping. Of the hundreds of tents, however, few were actual shops, highlighted against the usual tan fabric tents by their extravagant designs, materials, and bright, eye-catching colors. The rest, she assumed, were for storage and bedding and any other things a trader could possibly need.

Most of the traders’ wares looked unappealing – a fake golden ring there, a cheap hot-dog there, impractically expensive diamond-studded horseshoes there. All in all, the majority of items available for purchase were either too expensive, or too exotic. Twilight considered heading home for the day until a purple glint appeared in her vision. A pair of beautiful earrings, in a deep purple tent run by a zebra mare. She seemed to have an affinity for jewelry; she was wearing more of the stuff than she was selling. Twilight thought it was befitting for a pony running a jewelry shop. The earrings that had caught Twilight’s eye were cut in the shape of stars, and they were implanted within a silver shell. The gems themselves were of outstanding quality, they were clear as glass, yet it was the color that truly dazzled Twilight – she could lose herself in the deep purple expanse within the gemstones. They were simple; not too obnoxious, but not boring either. They were perfect.

Twilight let her eyes rest on the earrings for a good, long while, before catching the dark brown eyes of the zebra. “How much for these earrings?” Twilight asked. The zebra mare approached her from the other side of the tent’s ‘counter,’ if you could call it that.

“A fine choice, young unicorn. These, a purchase that you will not mourn. Sixteen-hundred bits you shall pay, be it now, or at the end of the day!”

Twilight grimaced, looking between her purse and the earrings, but failing to notice the white unicorn who had ‘snuck’ up on her.

“Oh, do yourself a favor, darling, and buy the earrings. They’ll look absolutely marvelous with your coat.” Twilight jumped in surprise. The white unicorn smiled at her apologetically, which did little but confuse Twilight more. However, her mind was soon changed after seeing the white pony’s own jewelry. Twilight thought that it would be wise to take her advice.

Twilight sighed, and with a shaky sigh, forked over the bits to the zebra mare, who produced a jewelry box from her tent. She gingerly placed the earrings within the velvet padding, then proceeded to wrap the box in several layers of fine papyrus. The zebra then gave Twilight the box, and wished her a good day, which Twilight happily reciprocated.

The white unicorn – who had been intently watching the whole time – tapped Twilight on the shoulder, “I’m Rarity, by the way, and if you ever need any fashion advice – or a new dress – then come over to my boutique in Ponyville!”

“Oh, well I actually moved into the old library just a week ago!” Twilight levitated the gemstone into her bag, “I’ll be sure to come by!”

“Oh!” Rarity’s eyes widened, “the old library, you say? I think we’ll meet again much sooner than you think, darling.” Rarity’s words failed to form a coherent thought in Twilight’s mind. She made a mental note to buy some triple espresso coffee beans whilst she remained here.

“Well, I’ve heard that there’s a trader here selling fabric at an outstanding price,” Rarity said, "I should really get going, ta ta!”

“Good-bye Rarity, I’ll see you later!” Twilight watched the glamorous pony disappear into the bustling pathways in between tents, before resuming her brand-new quest for coffee.

She fought through the crowds, an army of ponies going from place to place as her enemy, ducking, weaving, squeezing, and hurtling through them in record time. Breath running out quickly, Twilight stopped to take a short break, where she was greeted by a glorious gilded glow: the captivating glow of knowledge. A bookstore. Twilight’s hooves were quivering from excitement, suddenly reinvigorated from the depths of sleep deprivation. Twilight was so ready for the adventures that would take place within the pages of each and every book.

Twilight went to the light, the bookshop swallowing her whole. Within, there were many adorned leather bound books, many of which were books about magic. Twilight chuckled quietly, ignoring them in reverence to Aevum’s journal, which is the best magic book she had ever seen – or even heard of – especially compared to newer ones. There was no reason to buy such an incredibly expensive book.

Twilight, laid down under a tree’s shade, was now out of the majority of her shopping money – new earrings and book in hoof – and brought her attention to the beauties of the day. Both of them. As Twilight was enjoying the warm sunlight, which refracted upon the dewdrops on the grass, casting colored light everywhere within the realm of the ants. Even the Everfree Forest looked joyful today: in the distance, dark green leaves were shining in the sunlight, happily dancing along with the wind. The icy tops of the mountains which walled Canterlot away from the world glimmered from the north, casting a warm, yet imposing silhouette overlooking Ponyville.

The second was the Princess, who was in front of her, staring into Twilight’s soul. “Knock, knock, anypony in there?” She said, gleefully, “I’d hate to go and get a search warrant for your head!”

“Good morning princess!” Twilight scrambled to her feet, “funny meeting you here!” Celestia’s glowing figure was hard to look at with Twilight’s tired eyes, so she looked slightly ajar from the sun princess’ face.

“Twilight, do I see bags under your eyes?” Celestia’s joyful expression was gone, replaced by a more concerned one, not all that different from a worried mother. “I thought I told you to get more sleep! Also, it’s the afternoon!”

“Oh!” Twilight gasped, “sorry about that, I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately.”

“Please do better Twilight. Regardless, you should come with me, I want to show you something,” Celestia beckoned Twilight to her feet and started walking, Twilight close in tow, “Have you wondered how the merchants get from continent to continent with such speed?” Twilight tilted her head to the side. While she might not be concerned with the habits of these traders, Celestia’s interest was of utmost importance. She was the ruler of Equestria, after all.

“No, I don’t believe so, princess.” Twilight struggled to keep up with Celestia’s large strides, “I always thought that they sailed… on… ships.”

Twilight saw a huge wooden boat, sitting on a cloud. At about 200 feet, the boat easily dwarfed any other boat she had ever seen. On each side were three metal tubes protruding from the middle-decks, leaving Twilight to imagine whatever they could be. On the underside, there was one coil pole that reminded her of a lollipop. She would have easily missed it if the rod hadn’t pulsed with a soft, yellow light every few seconds. Condensation constantly emitted from the device, leading Twilight to realize that the ship was constantly forming its own cloud to sit on. A true feat of engineering, if ever there was one.

“Twilight, the merchants have a small fleet of three or four of these ships, and with a little bit of help from the wind, they fly across the world, buying and selling wares as they seem fit. Those cannons are for their own defense, but at the moment, Pinkie Pie has swapped them for confetti cannons and has been shooting them periodically.”

Cannons, that’s what they were, Twilight thought, she remembered about cannons now, from Celestia’s history lessons. However, the name ‘Pinkie Pie’ eluded her.

Ska-DOOSH!

Twilight froze. A cannon had gone off, raining small bits of confetti upon the city of tents. Celestia’s face lit up

“I’m considering building a few to help with trade around Equestria,” Celestia said, “Caravans are too slow when it comes to things like Natural Disaster Relief. That’s why I wanted to show you this, my student. You are free to go now.”

“Hold on, you said the cannons were for defense?” Twilight inquired, “but from what?”

“Oh, many things,” Celestia said, some lilt to her voice, “Dragons are quite bad for their stock, and pirates just love to steal from them.”

“But I thought that pirates had disappeared?” Twilight shuffled her hooves.

“Well, you wouldn’t see any pony like that in Equestria,” Celestia said, “A very long time ago, L- I made sure to kindly persuade all the ponies involved with criminal gangs and piracy and such to… leave Equestria. However, my sovereignty ends at Equestria’s borders, and ponies like that still do exist, Twilight."

After Celestia’s little lesson, and a tad more shopping, It was midday, and Twilight bought a sandwich and a small piping-hot cherry pie. The hot food felt good after such a long morning. She ruefully licked the sticky syrup from her hooves, wishing for more, then sighed and took a bite of her sandwich. Spike would be mad at her for not bringing him anything back, but she was too tired to care at this point. It would be a long journey home, and she was not looking forward to it.

~Aevum: Alicorn of Time~

For the second time today, Aevum was deep in thought, however, it was for a very different reason than before. While gaining the sun monarch’s trust was a major issue all on its own, regaining his full magic abilities was a much more pressing matter, and that required practice and progress, which required time and patience, neither of which he had. So, he would attempt to make some quick progress in his attempt to summon a prismatic blade. However, the spell would become unstable should it fail, and Aevum did not want to test the stability of the stone brick structure which Celestia once called home.

Before he could go into the woods, however, he had to pack a few things. In comparison to his werelight, these blades required a staggering amount of energy; he struggled to summon the werelight a mere three days ago. If he didn’t die from this spell, then he could very well possibly fall into the trance of magic exhaustion. Aevum shuddered, death would be preferable. Unfortunately for him, dying wasn’t really an option, so Aevum would have to prepare beforehand.

Aevum went over his own entry on magic exhaustion in his head. It would occur when a magician casts a spell that is just barely not taxing enough to kill him. It would leave the mage in a trance, conscious, but unable to make any major movements. This all meant that Aevum would have to bring a few day’s worth of food and water with him into the forest, to prevent starvation.

He gathered together a week’s worth of bread and water. The traveling merchants east of Ponyville had many food items, but bread was the longest lasting, and the most worth the price. He walked over to the sunny window on the other side of his little area, and picked up his dark green emerald, which he had gotten made into a silver chain necklace. Despite the trivial amount of energy within, it would still act as a buffer between his life and death’s icy embrace. Aevum put the necklace on, and with all of his things together, he abandoned the safe stone brick of the ancient fortress and entered the harsh jungle terrain.

After a nice ten-minute walk, Aevum made it to a small clearing. It was about as large as the cave he had awakened in, and was sparsely lined by trees. A large stump inhabited the center of the clearing, it came up to his chest, thus, it would make an excellent lectern for the time being. To the west was the imposing structure of Celestia’s old palace. In Aevum’s day it would have been a revolutionary castle design, while it was of cold, gray stone, it had the perfect angle to prevent any land assault. Aevum suddenly decided to thank whatever higher power gave him the opportunity to reside within the castle. In every other direction lay nothing but endless expanses of jungle.

Aevum slowly walked to the massive stump – anticipating his future endeavors – and amidst the orchestra of the Everfree’s ecosystem, placed his journal on the stump, and opened it to his page on his prismatic blades.

Summoning Magic: Page 7

Prismatic Blades

This spell will summon as many prismatic blades as the summoner is able to summon. The result is a shifting multicolor broadsword. It is made of a visible material that is incredibly thin, yet indestructible. This makes the blade incredibly sharp, and it can cut through anything that isn’t protected by magic, (See: Wards) and many things that are.

Follows all the basic summon rules.
Cannot harm magical creatures (ponies, minotaurs, ect.)
If the summoner is unconscious the blades will target anything that approaches the summoner with malevolent intent.
They are great for defending against magical opponents, although the blades will be ineffective for attacking purposes, they can still block and push.
Trigger word: “Terraprisma”

Aevum backed away from the stump, and surrounded by the lush foliage of the Everfree Forest, prepared to utter the incantation. With a deep breath, he focused his mind, channeling his magic into his horn with pure determination and intent. The air crackled and popped with magical power as he delved into the depths of his energy reservoir, pulling forth the energy needed to support the intricate spellwork required to summon the prismatic blade.

Here goes! Aevum took a deep breath, steeling himself, knowing the possible outcomes of this feat. After possibly taking his last look over the beautiful overgrowth of the Everfree Forest, Aevum read aloud the incantation for his spell. Amidst all this, a nearby finch took alarm and fled the scene with brazen calls, flying off into the air. Aevum, however, was too focused on his magic to take notice.

Colorful sparks swirled around him, forming ethereal patterns that danced in the air. Despite the wondrous spectacle, Aevum's brow furrowed in worry as the spell ate up more and more of his energy. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as the strain of the magic began to take its toll, a struggle which would remain until the spell was complete. Filled with determination, and driven by necessity, he pressed on.

The sparks of energy focused on a single point in front of Aevum, forming a pearlescent orb of energy. This was good – the spell was almost complete. Unfortunately for Aevum though, he was running out of energy fast.

The ethereal orb of energy began to shrink, and Aevum’s world got that much brighter; he might as well be a sentient lighthouse. As this was happening, Aevum began to slip, and with every second that passed, the physical world became further and further away. The void whispered his name, and the world became shrouded with night. The only light was the condensing orb that floated above him.

Emerging from the fog within his mind, a younger version of himself had his nose stuck within a book.

“Mommy, Mommy! The young Aevum cried out into the darkness, “Look at this! Can I, can I?”

Oh, it’s this memory. Aevum cringed, as he had never been able to lose this one, despite many attempts. He was young and foolish, and although Aevum had gotten stronger and smarter, not much else had changed.

At first, nothing happened. Aevum simply noticed the fog was getting closer to himself and his memory, forming a ring around them. Young Aevum’s cries went unanswered, until a much larger mare burst through the fog.

“Oh Aevum, dear,” Aevum’s mother looked at his younger self with worry, “please don’t try those spells, you could hurt yourself!” Young Aevum ignored his mother, casting the aforementioned spell anyway. Immediately, the colt fell to the floor. Aevum solemnly looked to his mother, but to his alarm, his mother did not react at all.

“What?” Aevum whispered to himself, “that didn’t happen at all!” To Aevum’s horror, his mother turned around, facing the real Aevum this time. He took a step back, tail grazing the encroaching fog. The colt version of himself was swallowed by the fog, fading into nothingness.

“Aevum,” His mother said, with kind eyes and soft voice, “It is not your time to join me quite yet. Do not forget.”

“I love you, mom.” With tears in his eyes, he took a few shaky steps forward.

“I wish you could stay, I do,” Aevum’s mother looked at him with pride, “but you must return to the realm of the living before it is too late. The eternal night is coming, and you are needed for Equestria to survive. Look for the six-pointed star, Aevum.” She held up a silver necklace with a small green gem embedded into the bottom.

“Don’t forget, my son.” Her voice faded away, and the fog engulfed her, leaving an emerald pendant floating in the void for a second longer, before it dissipated too.

The emerald! Aevum snapped out of his delirium, casting his mind to the emerald, and funneling its meager amounts of energy into himself. This energy would not last for long. The darkness slowly crept away, and the world came back into focus. He had to finish this now, or the Everfree Forest would become his tomb, and this time, he wouldn’t wake up three-thousand years later. This was a really, really bad idea, he thought to himself.

After what had seemed like an eternity, the orb crunched down to a single point. Everything went silent as the draining of Aevum’s energy finally screeched to a halt, animals and insects gazing upon the magnificent spectacle before them: before Aevum’s staggering form, materialized a magnificent prismatic blade. Its elegant movements were coldly beautiful, fitting for potentially one of the most ruthless and efficient spells out there.

With the spell now complete, and mind in turmoil, Aevum decided that it was the perfect time for a nap; he would have lots of time to think about his mother’s cryptic message. He buckled at the knees and fell to the side, having a single thought before giving in to sleep, “find the six-pronged star.”

~Twilight Sparkle: Pupil of the Princess~

The library she lived in was usually quiet, tidy, and peaceful. When Twilight arrived home in the evening, every single one of those traits were proven false. She could hear quite the commotion as she walked up the stony path that led to her front door, her footsteps fading into the constant noise from within her home. Her thoughts were racing, shifting erratically from fear to curiosity and to anxiety, before settling on worry, worry for Spike. There were ponies she did not know within her home. There was only one way to deal with that, she thought.

She called upon her magic, and with heart racing, and horn ablaze with magic, she kicked down the door.

“What?”

Blue, yellow, and red streamers hung from the ceiling, and there was a balloon anywhere that anything could be tied to. Every pony wore a party hat. Twilight let the magic concentrated in her horn dissipate, noticing how quiet it was while doing so. The peace and quiet was usually a blessing for Twilight, however this time, it unnerved her. Her ground floor was full of all kinds of ponies, all of which stared at her.

“What exactly is going on here?” Twilight raised her voice, “why are you all in my house?”

After a few moments of confused looks from every-pony in the room, a bright pink earth pony burst out of the crowd, bouncing over to Twilight with a ‘boing’ sound that could be in a comedy film. She had hair as wild as could be, and never stopped moving. When she spoke, it filled Twilight with pure joy, yet the pink pony simultaneously made her anxious.

“Heya!” The pony bubbled, “I’m Pinkie Pie, and this is your party!”

“What?” Twilight said, “I didn’t set any of this up, though.”

“Of course ya didn’t, ya silly filly!” Pinkie Pie was bouncing circles around Twilight, who tried to turn with her, but promptly gave up. “I did it for you!”

“Why?” Twilight was getting dizzy, even just standing still.

“Because you’re new of course!” Pinkie gushed, “Everyone gets a welcome party,” – Pinkie’s expression shifted, becoming dark and serious – “whether they want one or not.” She resumed her joyful bouncing, leaving Twilight more confused than when she had first arrived. After Pinkie Pie bounced away, Twilight took an actual look around her home.

Around her dining table, several ponies were playing cards. Rarity, the fashionista she had met earlier that day had her cards face-down on the table, hoof on her chin, with a slight frown adorning her expression. Applejack was in her kitchen with several large barrels, presumably holding cider? Twilight couldn’t tell, but regardless, she was getting another pony something to drink.

Not wanting to disturb either pony, Twilight decided to pick a direction and walk. Through her house she walked, slowly getting through the crowd and inching towards her back door. To her delight, not a single book was out of place. There was Pinkie Pie, dancing with a few ponies Twilight didn’t know. She turned to the right, there was Applejack, serving a drink to… Pinkie Pie? Twilight quickly turned back to the left. Pinkie Pie was not there. Looking back to Applejack, Pinkie was not there either. Applejack, however, noticed Twilight’s presence and gave her a friendly wave, which Twilight reciprocated. She continued her search for Pinkie Pie, but her search bore no fruit.

With a resigned sigh, she made her way over to Applejack.

“Hey” Twilight said wearily, “what exactly is going on here?”

“How’d you do, Twi!” Applejack said ecstatically, “We’ve been waitin’ for you to show up!”

“Well I was gone all morning,” Twilight set her bags down atop one of the empty barrels, “but I would have never gone if I knew this was going to happen.”

“You should try to enjoy the party, Twilight! I know you’ve been stressed lately, you’ve needed this for a while, I’d reckon.” Applejack poured a mug of cider and handed it to Twilight, who grabbed it with little hesitation, “plus, all your friends are here! Rainbow Dash is flying around out back, I’m selling some cider, and Pinkie Pie… you’ve met Pinkie, have ya not?”

“We’ve met,” Twilight said, “But she’s kinda…” Twilight made a circular motion around her ear with her hoof.

“Yeah, I get that,” Applejack replied, “Pinkie’s great, but she takes some gettin’ used to, that’s for sure!” She let out a warm, merry laugh, which proved to be contagious, as Twilight joined right on in.

After conversing for a while, Rarity saw fit to insert herself into the group. “Oh Twilight! I was wondering when you’d finally arrive!” Rarity’s voice came from behind Twilight and Applejack, “Oh, but you should always dress up for your own party, darling. It makes you seem complex and interesting, and ponies like that.”

“Oh! Hi Rarity!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I didn’t know that you two were friends,” Applejack said, with undertones of surprise.

“Oh, I only met her this morning, Applejack, “Twilight took a swig of cider, “I’d say that we’re more of acquaintances, if anything.”

“Oh, and Twilight,” Rarity raised her front-left leg, giving it a little shake before setting it back down, “I just wanted to say that my exquisite decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration are finally complete, whenever you want to inspect them.”

“Oh, I was going to check on all of that stuff tomorrow!” Twilight said, shuffling her hooves. She had completely forgotten that she was in charge of the setup for the ceremony. She would go check on those preparations with Spike later.

Wait, Spike! Twilight had completely forgotten. With a bright flash of her horn, she teleported upstairs, rushing past her own bed and down the short hallway to Spike’s room. Quietly, she pushed the door open. Spike was asleep in his bed, just where he should be.

“Good night Spike,” Twilight whispered. She shut the door behind her, and with a sigh of relief, she returned to the party.

This was going to be a long night.

End Chapter 4

Author's Note

"It is good day to be not dead!"
- The Heavy (TF2)

No but seriously, finals suck and I can write more now that they're done.
-Squid ;)

The Brightest Night

Over the four remaining days, Twilight did as instructed by Princess Celestia: supervising the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and ensuring success for the esteemed holiday. Her bond with her five friends grew the more they interacted, and needless to say, Twilight had actually made some friends! However, due to a complication on Celestia’s part, the celebration would never see light, literally.

New stuff: page 1.

Zodiac Magic Cont.

Before I slept, Zodiac magic was exceedingly rare – I had thought it would be gone when I returned – but I actually have seen it, not too long after my awakening. This is why my original entry was lacking, as I didn’t experience it until I met REDACTED, and REDACTED showed me how it works. So here you go!

Zodiac magic is an optional form of magic that takes normal spells and uses natural magic to make that magic stronger. This magic takes extra setup, but the spell can continue to operate for a moment after the caster stops feeding it energy, and multiple spells can be active at once.

If you want to know more, just ask REDACTED.

~Luna: Alicorn of the Night~

Luna’s footsteps echoed across the lunar landscape. She was to be free very soon, the anticipation building up in her chest; heartache and homesickness reaching an even new high. These emotions were not unfamiliar to Luna, yet their ferocity sent her into mild shock. The stars shined brightly, as if pleading for her to restore them to their former glory. Celestia’s night sky was rather drab, a matter for another time. Luna had more pressing concerns. The issue at hand wasn’t so simple as organizing the night sky, no, Luna had some unfinished business, left unfinished for a millennium. Fortunately for her, the problem had presented itself, in the form of a tall, dark, evil version of herself.

“Hello, Luna,” Nightmare Moon’s intimidating form loomed before Luna, beckoning like a ghost, “the time is upon us. Yield to me and we shall rule for all eternity!” Nightmare Moon let out a bone-chilling cackle. Luna did not back down – this would be to surrender – instead, she took a mighty step forward, then another, soon breaking into a full sprint; her footsteps reverberating throughout the thin lunar atmosphere like Equestria’s drums of war.

“Thou art a fool,” Luna raced towards her darker counterpart, “dids’t thee truly think of me to yield without contest? Have at thee!”

“I suppose not,” Nightmare Moon sighed with disappointment and sidestepped Luna's charge, “you were always… difficult.” Luna growled, face contorted in a scowl. “Let’s get this over with then, shall we?”

Luna called upon her magic, letting it fill her whole body. She took to the starry sky and cast a beam spell. A sphere of magic formed on the tip of her horn, before projecting a thin beam across the sky, all the way to Nightmare, who dodged with ease. Luna shot off three more beams before diving straight at the Nightmare, who cast her own beam directly at her. Unlike hers, which was a blue-purple color, the Nightmare’s was a deep Navy, and it emitted no light.

Luna used the approaching beam attack as a rail, sliding along it with a hoof, before spinning into a somersault and delivering a brutal double-back kick to Nightmare Moon’s barrel. The impact sent shockwaves into the lunar surface, splitting it into a spider web of dark ravines.

“Ooh, you’ve never done that before!” Nightmare Moon prepared her next attack, “It actually kind of hurt a little.” Still regaining her balance,Luna cursed under her breath, that attack would have vaporized a normal pony. She had made a fatal mistake: underestimating Nightmare Moon.

It’s not enough? Have I become weaker? Luna had just barely regained her composure when Nightmare Moon came back at her, using pure, restrained energy as a battering ram.

“Wha-” Luna couldn’t get another word in before being knocked back a few hundred feet, kicking up lunar sediment every time she hit the ground. This time, she would be ready for Nightmare Moon’s follow up attack. She turned to see Nightmare Moon preparing to cast a spell. Luna took this time to gain a defensive footing.

“Lightning!” Nightmare Moon cried, the ethereal haze surrounding her horn becoming sparks. A split second passed, and pulsating white arcs of electricity erupted from Nightmare’s horn, coursing through the air at neigh-instantaneous speeds. However, Luna – as an alicorn – was blessed with brilliant eyes and exceptional reaction time. She surrounded her horn with magical energy and converted the air around her to adopt a negative charge – the same as the lightning – and using the air as a shield, deflected the lightning to her side.

The two ponies now stood facing each other, now about fifty feet apart. The deflected lightning finally hit a gray mountain behind Luna, completely leveling it, dust and smoke lingering thousands of feet in the air. Neither pony broke eye contact. Moments later, the shockwave from Nightmare’s spell passed through, overturning boulders and throwing up small rocks and pebbles. Still, neither pony moved, until Nightmare Moon opened her mouth to speak.

“Silence!” Luna interrupted, “I shall not concede, for the fate of Equestria darkens with your presence!”

“As it should!” Nightmare Moon responded, that infuriating smirk adorning her wicked face. “Although, it is truly a shame that we must fight over a common goal!”

“A common goal?” Luna looked upon Nightmare Moon with contempt, a sneer lining her face, “do not make me laugh, heretic.”

“Heretic?” Nightmare Moon laughed, “You can do better.”

“Silence, you CUR!” Luna did not wait for the Nightmare to respond, instead pouring pure energy into a wide cone of pure destruction, “I shall be the savior of Equestria!”

In response, Nightmare Moon formed a shield just barely in time, but it would not hold against Luna’s devastating attack. With a pained yell, she made a brand new crater in the moon with her impact.

“We do not care what dark magic you possess,” Luna landed next to the new crater, not far from the damaged mare, “you will fail! Evil will always give way to the unyielding light!” Conviction and determination flowed through Luna’s body.

“Ugh,” Nightmare staggered to her feet and wiped the blood from her mouth, “oh precious Luna, I am not evil per se, I simply lack the weakness you call ‘empathy’.”

“We shall not tolerate your lies any longer!” Luna said, raising her wings with murderous intent, “You are evil!”

“Oh, but I am nothing but honest!” Nightmare Moon stretched her wings, “It is our element, after all!” Luna looked at the dark mare with unbridled anger, and the Nightmare looked back with a bored look in her eyes. Unable to hold herself back any more, she charged at Nightmare, filling her front hooves with earth pony magic.

“No, I don’t think I'll take that hit,” For the first time in the fight, Nightmare Moon’s eyes lost that tint of boredom, instead filling with focus and calm determination. Luna, ignoring Nightmare’s comment, took a magic-infused swing at her body. However, Nightmare Moon was ready. With one hoof, she knocked Luna’s forehoof to the side. Luna followed up with her other hoof, which Nightmare deflected into the ground, causing a massive explosion.

Nightmare Moon stood unfazed, but Luna did not. Even with a massive store of energy in her jewel, she lacked the physical formidability of Nightmare Moon. Luna was sent skidding back a few feet. She wiped her own blood from her mouth. Luna would not be able to hold Nightmare Moon off for long.

Crap! She thought, I can’t even use my magical domain either! It would just make her stronger as well!

It was Nightmare Moon’s turn to laugh. However, the sound never made it to Luna’s ears. She considered the possibility that the impact of her hoof and the ground may have temporarily deafened her. Before she could recover though, Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed bright, and she cast her signature move: Moonbeam. The Lunar surface began to glow, resonating with

As it approached Luna, the world seemed to slow down around her. Any lesser pony would not be able to counter this, ultimately perishing on the spot. However, Luna was faster than normal ponies, and fuelled by anger, she cast one of her more powerful spells: Quasar. A floating, lunar zodiac appeared, and from it, a devastating, colorless beam screamed towards the Nightmare, making contact with her moonbeam just before the former’s attack struck Luna. The two spells created a blinding energy field at their intersection, one that would certainly be visible from Equestria. At first, Luna’s spell gave way to Nightmare’s, but Luna would not give up so easily.

“So much anger, and raw power resides within you!” Nightmare Moon did not lessen her efforts, “it would be a shame if you failed to use it!”

Luna yelled, the consequences of losing acting as fuel. the Nightmare’s magic was now giving way to hers. An unexpected turn of events, but a welcome one. Unfortunately for Luna, she wasn’t the only one pulling her punches. With a forced smirk, Nightmare Moon matched Luna’s power output, the clash of their magic centering the intense convergence of magical power.

“You will not win!” Luna screamed, her voice echoing across the lunar landscape, “this ends here!”

Nightmare Moon’s smirk faltered for the smallest moment, eyes wide as she realized the true destructive power behind Luna’s spell. With a before ending her spell, the full force of Luna’s Moonbeam smashing through her, vaporizing her on the spot. Luna sighed in relief, not noticing the hazy indigo cloud racing towards her.

“By royal decree,” Luna stated, “you are banished from Equestria eternally!” Luna, now exhausted, collapsed onto the lunar surface.

In just a few moments, Luna would finally be home. She tried to stand, but her body didn’t move an inch.

What is this! Luna thought, panic setting in as she frantically tried to perform even the smallest movements. For her efforts, Luna was rewarded with the transformation of her body into a larger, darker form. Fear gripped Luna’s mind like a plague, its icy grip tightening by the minute, and out of this fear spoke a voice.

“It was about time that you noticed me, dear Luna.” Nightmare Moon’s malevolent voice reverberated against the walls of her mind. Against Luna’s will, her body rose from the ground, seemingly on its own, “you were so angry and reckless, that you became the Nightmare all on your own! No need for me to do anything at all! Why, you practically handed over your body!”

Luna cursed herself, careful not to respond to her oppressor, yet grieved the fact that she had succumbed to the Nightmare once again.

“Now, dearest Luna,” Nightmare Moon’s voice dripped with triumph, “You’ll get a front seat showing of my eternal night!”

Luna sighed from within the Nightmare’s mind, defeated, but still full of hope. There was more than one roadblock in the Nightmare’s plan, after all.

The moon glowed in the night sky, drawing the attention of a certain tan alicorn. Aevum stood on the only stable tower left in the castle of the sisters, and was leaning heavily on the railing. His prismatic sword floated nearby, casting a faint glow on Aevum’s surroundings.

“Oh, that’s happening tonight?” Aevum muttered, voice tinged with fatigue, “Well, that’s bloody troublesome, isn’t it?

The prismatic sword spun in place, as if agreeing with him.

He could feel the irregular spikes of magic power coming from the moon, which was already glowing brighter than usual anyway. The influxes of magic reminded him of before his time nap, when he could effortlessly use magic. For now though, he was stuck.

It was the culmination of all of her and her friends’ hard work. The Summer Sun Celebration was a mere hour away, and every single pony in Ponyville, as well as several from surrounding regions were out and about, waiting for the legendary sunrise. Now though, she sat with her five friends, the only nearby sounds coming from Spike and Fluttershy’s conversation.

The Celebration would take place in the town square. The podium where Celestia would make her appearance looming overhead. This is where most decorations were focused. Several sun-themed banners and tapestries hung from the podium, and golden streamers lined the fences and walls of nearby buildings.

As Twilight turned to make sure everything was truly ready, the moon shone bright as the sun. Extremely sensitive to magic, Twilight felt the presence of powerful magic. Distant magic but powerful indeed. She was sure that Celestia felt it too, as well as a certain Alicorn stuck in a forest somewhere.

“What the hell is that!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Language, darling,” Rarity looked at Dash disappointedly, “We must maintain a certain level of class for the princess!”

“Uhh,” Rarity followed Dash’s eyes to the moon, “By Celestia’s Grace!” The moon was only getting brighter and brighter, until it stopped glowing entirely. The silhouette of the mare in the moon glowed softly, then vanished.

Twilight gasped. It was happening. While everypony else was yelling and running around in a chaotic manner, she was frozen in panic. The only thing she could do was gaze upon the glorious night sky. In all her years, she had not seen the sky this majestic. The stars were clear and bright, colorful nebulae adorned the vivid constellations that looked better than she had ever seen before. She could even see the faint outer bands of the milky way, something that was usually only visible in the darkest of areas. Regaining her senses, she looked at the time. Sunrise was supposed to happen now, yet Celestia was nowhere to be seen.

In contrast to the bright night sky, Twilight felt dark and cold. A mysterious aura emanated from Celestia’s podium, and from beyond, a bone-chilling laugh, echoing through Ponyville’s vacant pathways, and bringing fear to any caught in its cold embrace.

Princess Celestia had been waiting for this moment for a thousand years. A thousand years of loneliness, a thousand years of strife, a thousand years of longing. She stood on the balcony of her castle, eyes fixed on the moon, heart heavy with guilt for what she had done. Every night she had risen the moon, feeling the weight of her actions every time she lifted it above the horizon.

But all of that would not matter come sunrise. Chances were that it would be Nightmare Moon making her return, instead of her sister.

Tonight, the moon shone brighter than ever, and a cold wind blew from the north. A single tear fell from her eyes as she gazed upon it, but she took a deep breath to calm herself.

“This is it,” Celestia whispered to herself, voice trembling, “Luna, please…”

And then, the silhouette of the mare in the moon vanished. Celestia’s heart skipped a beat. She had to hope Luna would return to her. Otherwise, the fate of Equestria would depend on her confrontation with Nightmare Moon.

The north wind blew colder now, biting into Celestia’s coat, but she was already chilled to the core by her sister’s impending return. The memories of her last confrontation with Luna lingered in her mind, and the pain of her banishment returned once again. It was all too familiar to Celestia, but this time it was different, more potent. The pain of losing Luna tore at her heart, making her feel more emotion than she had since Luna was gone.

“No,” She demanded in a whisper, shaking her head, “not again.” She turned and began pacing, her usual stoic demeanor long gone. If one of her servants saw her now, there would be a panic.

“I’ve prepared for this,” She whispered to herself frantically, “I have to believe… I have to hope.” Celestia walked back into the main hall of the castle, but the walls seemed to close in on her, breathing was getting harder. She looked at the grand clock in the hall, each tick adding to the anxiety and tension within her chest. The Summer Sun Celebration would take place in an hour-and-a-half, and she had to be ready, which meant no breaking down in public.

Just as she was about to collect herself, a cold, distant laugh pierced through the otherwise-peaceful night, Celestia’s blood ran cold, and for a moment, she felt like an ant facing a giant spider.

“It’s her.” Celestia snapped out of her episode and steeled herself, posture straightened and eyes full of resolve.

“For Equestria,” she said aloud, voice unwavering, “and for Luna.”

End Chapter 5

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait! I've been busy with stuff for church and crap, hope you enjoyed!

The Darkest Night

Page 38, Advanced Magic

Magical Domains

This is one of the more complicated parts of magical combat. A magical domain is a magical and visual extension of the source of your magic. This works by changing the essence of the ambient natural magic. Yes it is difficult, and yes, everypony can do it, including earth ponies and pegasi. Their function is to increase the power and impact of a certain type of spell. Contrary to popular belief, they do not guarantee a hit.

For example, you could cast a domain for all unicorn magic, and all unicorn magic would become stronger within it. This can be specialized into more obscure branches of music.

If two individuals each try to cast a domain, the one with a stronger conviction will win the magical tug-of-war. Everypony is capable of their own unique magical domains.

Simply put: Your domain makes your attacks stronger.

Princess Celestia

The flawlessly white moon shone brightly, casting a cool light over Equestria. Not a scene nor sound penetrated the silence of the night, but Celestia knew she would be lucky for it to remain silent for long. For on the other side of the elevated plateau stood Nightmare Moon, freshly released from the moon. Canterlot castle lay behind Celestia, and the rest of Equestria with it. The newly-freed mare stretched her neck, and after what had felt like hours, finally addressed Celestia.

“How fitting!” Nightmare Moon sneered, “my prosecutor has come to welcome me to my new kingdom.” Celestia shivered. Her face did not show it, but she was afraid. She didn’t want this. Not again.

“Luna, please!” Celestia cried out, the desperate plea failing to resonate within the Nightmare, “we can talk about this!”

“Talk? TALK?” Nightmare Moon shouted, beginning to approach the disheveled solar princess. “You gave up that option when you sent me to the moon. I have no words for you besides my request for you to surrender.”

Celestia looked down, shaking her head. Just loud enough for Nightmare Moon to hear her, she said, “I cannot allow you to harm the citizens of Equestria.” She said, solemnly. She took a deep breath, but it stuck in her throat, “I… I will fight to protect my little ponies. I’m sorry it must be this way.” A single tear fell down Celestia’s cheek. She let it fall this time, descending and splattering upon the rocky ground. Nightmare Moon eyed her with suspicion, and straightened her posture.

“Since you refuse to surrender,” Nightmare Moon stepped forward, and lit her horn aflame with magic, “do you want to have a bad time?”

“Very well then.” Celestia shoved any emotion besides calm into the backseat. She currently longed to embrace her sister, to tell her how much she was missed, but logic told her she would only make Nightmare Moon angrier. I will lose here, but I will buy Twilight enough time to gather the elements.

“Let’s start then, shall we?”

Break

Nightmare Moon

That’s strange, Celestia’s never worn that armor before. I thought she lost it. Luna’s voice echoed within the walls of her mind.

That’s because you did all the fighting, Luna, Celestia was always the diplomat.

Nightmare, her lack of diplomacy worries me. Look at her! She’s waiting for us to make the first move!

Us?

My body, heretic.

Sure enough, Celestia’s stance was open, maybe even inviting. However, Nightmare Moon knew her defense was water-tight. “She’s never made it easy for us,” Nightmare Moon grumbled, her face contorted in rage, while Celestia stared back, emotionlessly.

“Well, if you’re going to stand there like a love struck filly, I’ll make the first move.” Celestia’s horn lit up with magic. Nightmare Moon growled, and took a defensive stance herself. “Magic domain: Temple of the Sun God!”

The beautiful view of Equestria vanished completely, replaced with a clearing, surrounded by thick jungle trees on all fronts. On one side was Celestia, on the other side was Nightmare Moon, eyes wide in fear. Well this is fun! Luna said to her oppressor, but Nightmare Moon was too shocked to register her words. The ground suddenly shook violently. The ground beneath Celestia fractured and… rose?

A golden (aztec) pyramid rose from the earth, on top of the rising mass was Celestia, looking down on Nightmare Moon with nothing in her eyes. It was like Celestia was fighting a ghost.

“Well, let’s see what you’ve got!” Nightmare Moon snapped out of her shock, now grinning. She was done being amazed by Celestia’s theatrics, and was now excited to fight. Celestia somberly nodded.

“Rise,” Celestia said nonchalantly, and she floated into the air, rising with the sun. She then pointed towards Nightmare Moon with a hoof. “Solar Flare.”

Nightmare Moon laughed. Celestia’s strongest move, one that Luna helped to create, was now being used against her. The sun grew, getting closer, until it was just behind Celestia. It filled the entire sky. Tendrils of plasma from the star’s violent surface collected on Celestia’s horn. She closed her eyes, and when they opened once again, they were glowing brightly.

“I’m sorry, sister.”

Then, Celestia cast that energy into a giant orb of superheated plasma and gas. At first it moved slowly, but then it picked up speed, and by the time it left Celestia’s temple, it was traveling at a third of the speed of light. Marvelous yellows, reds, and oranges filled Nightmare Moon’s vision. She grinned in the marvelous sunlight, knowing it would be the last she would ever see.

“Moonbeam.”

Nightmare Moon aimed her strongest attack at the ground, then sliced up. The Moonbeam cut clean through the solar flare, causing it to impact the ground on either side of the unfazed Nightmare. The moonbeam continued going up, and Celestia barely conjured a shield in time to block it. Her eyes were now wide as she looked back at Nightmare Moon from the top of the pyramid. Green wisps of smoke dissolved from either side of Celestia’s head, but Nightmare Moon was too focused to care.

“Let’s bring you back down to earth, shall we?” Nightmare Moon raised her front hooves and slammed them into the ground. “Magical domain: Eternal Night!”

breAK

Celestia

“Magical Domain:” Nightmare Moon yelled, “Eternal Night!” An infinite plane of perfectly flat grass spread around Celestia and Nightmare Moon. The space was liminal; there were no clouds, nor trees, or any details that could possibly bring the kinda-creepy plains to life.

She doesn’t seem to think anything is up, Celestia thought to herself, her face contorted in a grimace. My attack worked perfectly, but I’m still going to lose. Despite this, Celestia stood up tall, and readied her most powerful attack once more.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed. “Looks like the sun carried over from your domain, Celestia,” Nightmare Moon powered up her magic, but not to attack. Instead, she summoned the moon within the domain, moving it until it was perfectly eclipsing the sun.

“This is where the fun begins,” Nightmare Moon exclaimed, preparing to attack.

“Moonbeam!”

“Solar Flare!”

The two opposing attacks closed in, bright white beam vs. gigantic ball of plasma. However, Celestia would not make the same mistake twice. Just before impact, Celestia condensed her attack to the size of a water droplet, similar to the one falling down her cheek. When Nightmare Moon saw this, her seemingly permanent smirk vanished. The attack eviscerated Nightmare Moon’s Moonbeam… and made direct contact with the dark mare.

Celestia silently walked over to Nightmare Moon’s paralyzed body. Every breath she took was labored. Even a single Solar Flare was exceedingly taxing, even for an alicorn. Two? Unheard of. Soon, Celestia stood over Nightmare Moon’s alive, but limp body.

“Oh, Luna.” Celestia’s voice cracked, the words barely a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

…

Celestia wept.

And Nightmare Moon took her advantage.

break.

Aevum

Aevum awoke to a scroll hitting him in the side of the head. “It seems destiny herself has chosen to wake me up today. He got up, and after a quick stretch, looked out from the tower. Interestingly enough, it was still dark out, even though his internal clock said it was currently supposed to be twilight. He shrugged this off, as it was out of his control, then decided he felt much better today than he had recently, so he would start using magic once again. Expecting a struggle, he called on his magic, which unexpectedly came effortlessly. He turned to his enchanted sword and tilted his head slightly.

“Huh,” Aevum said in surprise, “That went well! Now let’s see about this rude little scroll, huh?” The sword spun in agreement.

After opening it, Aevum struggled to find where to start, the burn marks, or the horrendously rushed handwriting. This is what he made out:

Aevum,

Nightmare Moon is back, protecting the elements. I’m gone.

Equestria depends on you

-Celestia

Aevum’s world shattered around him. Celestia? Gone? But she was the single most powerful Alicorn he had ever met, ever. If somepony had bested her, then Equestria was doomed. Solutions flew through his mind, one after the other, each idea worse than the one before, until the idea of another time-nap formed in his mind.

Yes, I could definitely time-nap again, I’d avoid danger, and have a second chance at meeting others then! Aevum was pleased with his idea, going to pack up all of his things, when the last few words of Celestia’s note: I’m gone, Equestria depends on you. Celestia was not necessarily dead, just gone. And if Aevum let Nightmare Moon take over, there would be no Equestria to wake up to in three-thousand years. How would Celestia and Twilight feel if Aevum bailed on them? Aevum shuddered, but got to planning anyway.

Where would Celestia get banished to, if not dead? Wait, if Nightmare Moon was imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years, and she’s evil, then she likely sent Celestia to either the sun or moon indefinitely. If she’s on the sun, then I can’t do anything about it, but if she’s on the moon…

He didn’t bother getting his journal out, no single pony had a bond with either celestial object from his time. Except for Discord, but he had yet to show his ugly, long face. So if I can sever Nightmare Moon’s connection with the moon, even for just a minute, Celestia will be able to return. But that still leaves the issue of holding a domain against a pony who defeated Celestia! Then Celestia and I buy time for whomever the element bearers are to get their behinds into action!

An excellent plan!

Break

Twilight

“I am Nightmare Moon, and I bring with me, THE ETERNAL NIGHT!”

“Run!” Twilight spun to her friends, eyes wide with panic. “We can escape within the Everfree!” Rainbow Dash tried to charge Nightmare Moon, but Applejack caught her by the tail before she could take off.

“You know, Twilight,” Rarity chuckled nervously, “your ideas are starting to grow on me.” Rarity then made a break for it, closely followed by Fluttershy, Twilight herself, and Applejack, who had managed to wrangle Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie blew a raspberry at Nightmare Moon before bouncing behind them.

“Run if you wish, my little ponies,” Nightmare Moon shouted after them, “You cannot outrun darkness!”

break

Twilight Sparkle was struggling with staying awake; she felt as though she would fall asleep standing. Her friends were not faring much better, except for Pinkie Pie. Thinking back, she questioned the wisdom of staying up all night to study Nightmare Moon. Instead of getting 8 hours of sleep – something the princess expected from her – she didn’t sleep at all, and was now paying the price. The only thing keeping her going at this point was the support of her 5 friends, who currently stood behind her.

Rainbow Dash flipped back upright, and turned towards Twilight, and with little regard to the possibility of Nightmare Moon being near, shouted,“WHAao-” The Rainbow-maned pegasus had no chance to continue as Applejack put a hoof over her mouth.

“Ay Dashie,” Applejack said quietly, “you gotta be quiet ‘cause we don’ want Nightmare Moon to hear yer blabbering.” The pegasus rolled her eyes and flew just out of Applejack’s reach.

“Uhhh, how did Pinkie get up there?” Fluttershy said softly, but nobody listened. Sure enough though, Pinkie Pie had managed to fully scale the ancient stone building, whilst also attracting zero attention.

“Applejack is right, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity had taken a break from observing her cut-short tail, mirror still held in the air by her magic. “The Elements of Harmony may be the key to defeating Nightmare Moon, but we will surely fail without the element of surprise.” Applejack nodded, having won this bout of argument, but still, Rainbow Dash seemed to have more to say.

“So how come you get to go into the cool, abandoned castle, but we have to stay out here?”

Twilight breathed in to reply, but Applejack was already talking. “What?” She taunted, “yah afraid of the monsters that live ‘ere?”

Rainbow Dash paused, then curtly replied with, “Nah, that’s what Fluttershy’s here for.” The pink-haired pegasus shot a timid smile at Rainbow, who paused to return the favor. Pinkie Pie gave Fluttershy a playful back bump, which earned a surprised squeak from the latter. It was once again ignored. Applejack, realizing that she had interrupted Twilight, took a respectful step back.

“Quiet down, y’all,” Applejack said to the group, and turning to Twilight, “what were you bout’ to say there sugarcube?”

“Yes, yes. Who else would it be?” Nightmare Moon’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “I suppose you’re here for the elements?” She said slowly, walking over to where they were displayed. “To… defeat me?”

Twilight’s train of thought was shattered by the loud and obnoxious arrival of her five friends. Twilight frowned. Well, there goes that plan. It’s unfortunate, I really liked that plan.

Her horn glowing with magic, and malevolent gaze directed at Twilight, Nightmare Moon picked up the elements from their dilapidated resting place.

“Ooh, I love guests, come in, come in, young Twilight is… all alone.” The elements spun around the armored mare, like a twisted and dark halo, before smashing into the ground, one after the other. Nightmare Moon brought the last of the elements, the Element of Honesty, to her eye level. “Hello, my old friend!” The element glowed as it resumed circling her. Twilight, frozen with shock, did not respond, but her friends did for her.

“Hehe, you’re so funny Twilight. An eagle could make a nest in that mouth of yours!”

“Now’s not the time for jokes, Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said.

“I mean, it woke ya up, Twilight” Applejack added.

“This pony, is not very nice, is she.” Fluttershy growled.

Rarity sneered, “And her fashion is sooo a millennium ago.”

“Oh?”

“Ooh, I like this, I feel like I could do a hundred sonic rainbooms!” Rainbow dash exclaimed, punching at the air with her hooves.

Crap! I totally wasn’t paying attention! Twilight thought, how did she get that?

“Oop, somebody is quite angry. Why don’t you sleep it off?”

“No!” Twilight shouted as all her friends fell into a magic slumber. I don’t have the power to wake them up, Nightmare Moon’s magic is leagues ahead of my own.

“Twilight, gah, run!” Applejack shouted, her status of being the last of them awake, lost.

Twilight ran and Rainbow flew back into the forest, Nightmare Moon laughing all the while. Soon enough, even Rainbow Dash fell victim to Nightmare’s sleeping spell. They had not even left the castle.

Break

Applejack

It was a struggle, but Applejack forced her eyes back open, then forced herself to her feet. Spike was asleep where Twilight once stood, Fluttershy was sprawled out on the floor. Pinkie Pie was snoring loudly from the corner, and the fate of Twilight and Dash was still unknown to her. All she knew was that Nightmare Moon had not gone to pursue them yet.

“Still awake?” Nightmare Moon teased, “how odd!”

“Still alive an’ kickin’,” Applejack grunted, “I won’t let you go after Twilight!”

“We’ll see about that,” Nightmare Moon said, approaching Applejack with a confident saunter, “you’re just an earth pony!”

“I’m fighting for somethin’ much bigger than myself, ya hear?” Applejack panted, forcing her own legs to carry herself between Nightmare Moon and the door, “and ah can’t let you hurt ‘em.” This challenge was a statement of defiance, and nothing more. Applejack’s legs were noodles, her breath was soggy, and her head felt heavy. She would be ecstatic to even exchange a single blow with the enraged moon goddess.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Nightmare Moon crossed her left foreleg over her right, “you can barely stand up straight! I’d like to see you even try and hit me!” Nightmare Moon was now trying to pull off a posh, noble face. The look was horrible, or in other words, a perfect target for Applejack’s hoof.

She took a step forward, and her muscles failed her. She mustered her remaining strength, and took another step. Her strength had failed her again, but Nightmare Moon was so close! This time, Applejack bolstered herself with pure will. One last step, and her head grew heavier. Nightmare Moon looked down on her with contempt. She would regret that.

Everything she had. One single punch.

She let out a yell, and wound her hoof back, before launching herself – and her hoof – off of the ground. In midair, she threw a devastating uppercut, which made contact with an invisible barrier just under the dark mare’s chin. Nightmare Moon sighed with tangible disappointment, and Applejack thought she had it coming. Applejack yelled louder, but her vision was slowly darkening, NO! she thought, and her hoof began to glow. Cracks splintered the invisible barrier Nightmare Moon put up, before shattering entirely, allowing Applejack’s hoof to reach up, and make contact with Nightmare Moon’s chin. Nightmare Moon didn't even flinch on impact.

Defeated, Applejack finally gave in to her body, and let herself fall into the abyss of sleep. “You should be proud!” Nightmare Moon whispered, “You are the strongest earth pony I have ever met. A normal pony would have died touching my shield!” Nightmare Moon then stepped over Applejack’s body, leaving the throne room, and leaving Applejack to fall unconscious all by herself.

End Chapter 6

Author's Note

Hey! New chapter, fun!

-Squid