Twilight’s head spun with the revelations that Darq had revealed. The fact that something was endangering Ponyville and possibly Equestria did not faze her at all. She half expected something like this, but he fact that Darq was the only known survivor of the attack to his knowledge was something else. ‘If we’re not all dead by the dawn after the new moon, I’ll teach you a thing or two.’ The words buzzed through her head like a persistent fly that didn’t care how often you swatted at it. He’s pretty darn powerful. Not to mention that Rarity was right. He’s quite handsome. I wonder how he hasn’t gotten a Cutie Mark for his magical prowess. But still, him teaching me would be… Interesting. I wonder what he could teach me…

*

“So lemme get this straight. We’re gonna be attacked by weird things from the Everfree—” Apple Jack started.

“Shadows,” Twilight offered.

“Shadows from the Everfree, and the only way to stop ‘em is to set up some magic crystals,” Apple Jack finished.

“Crazy as it sounds, that’s the gist of it,” Twilight confirmed. The other five ponies around her frowned slightly, as if not quite believing the lavender unicorn.

Pinkie was the first to break the silence, “Okie dokie lokie!” She bounced up and down, as if excited for an upcoming party.

Twilight simply shook it off, knowing that this was Pinkie being Pinkie.

“Well. I have to agree with Twilight here. The parallels are too bold to just be coincidences. Ponies are waking up injured raving about dark figures attacking them. Coincidence?” Rainbow Dash added. “I think not!”

“I agree with Rainbow’s point. The evidence is too powerful to ignore,” Fluttershy added quietly.

“Well. If Darq says that this is how it is, then I am inclined to believe him,” Rarity huffed. “How can I help, dear?”

“Well shucks. I don’t necessarily believe it, but I’ll stick ‘round an’ help out. Might as well,” Apple Jack sighed. She smiled softly. “So, sugarcube. What’s the plan?”

“Okay. Rainbow, I’m going to need you on placement duty. Every time I make a crystal, you’ll place it somewhere on the edge of town,” Twilight started. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Rarity, I’m going to need your help making the crystals. Any spare gems and string you might have, bring them, and be ready for a lot of straining magic. Fluttershy, I’ll give you two crystals so you can provide a safe haven for your animals. After you set them up, we’ll need you to gather some sticks to tie them to. Pinkie, we’re going to need a party. Get the loudest music you can find, and send invitations to everypony you know. AJ, how well do you know the local blacksmith?”

Apple Jack thought a moment, “I reckon pretty well. Why?”

“I think what Darq meant by ‘allergic to iron’ is that if we use iron weapons and armor, we’ll have an easier time defending ourselves,” Twilight interpreted. “Could you get him to forge a few sets of iron horseshoes?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Apple Jack replied. She tipped her hat slightly.

“Okay. Everypony know their jobs?” Twilight asked the group.

“Yes,” was the collective response.

“Time is of the essence. The new moon is tomorrow night,” Twilight stated, choosing her words carefully. “The more we get done now, the less we have to do tomorrow, other than the siege itself. Everypony, lets get started.”

“I’ll be right back with some gems, dear,” Rarity said, practically sprinting out the door of the library. Pinkie followed, bouncing with glee, along with Apple Jack, who was now running towards the local blacksmith’s.

Within a few minutes, Rarity returned with saddlebags, panting at the strain of sprinting with bags full of gems. Twilight levitated the bags off her friend’s back, setting it on the table.

“SPIKE!” she called with enough force to scare a cockatrice.

The purple drake walked down the stairs, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Yes, Twilight?”

“Master Level Arcane Arts. We need it now,” she ordered, not bothering to look at him.

“Got it,” the young drake replied, climbing a ladder to the book in question. He grabbed it, and jumped down, bringing it to the table. “Here you go.”

“Stick around, dear. We may need you,” Rarity said with a smile. The purple dragon smiled, and took a seat between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Twilight flipped the book open, sifting through its pages, looking for the spell that Darq had used to create the Light Crystal. Come on. It has to be in here! If it’s anything more powerful than what I can do, it’s in here! Come on! The last page turned, and she had found nothing. She flipped back through the book a second time, with no success. “It’s not here.” With the quickness of horn that only stressed-out-Twilight could handle, the entire library was scoured for anything involving the key term ‘Light Crystal.’ Seventeen books flew from the shelves and organized themselves into a neat pyramid-like stack. “Everypony, take a book. We’re looking for anything about Light Crystals.”

Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike each took a book, flipping through it. Each found nothing on the matter, so they placed them aside, and took another. Similar results plagued the second search. The third, however, yielded a discovery from Spike.

“Got something,” he called. He placed the book on the table, pointing at a small diagram. “It seems that Light Crystals are easier to make out of diamond than any other gem. And also, it helps if they’re cut like eight-sided dice.”

“So diamond octahedrons,” Twilight clarified to herself. “Does it say anything about the spell on how to make them?”

“Nope,” Spike replied with a shrug. “Also, since diamonds of that cut aren’t the most common things in the world, emeralds are also really easy to make them out of. That book might be pretty helpful, so keep it around.”

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight said with a small smile. Rarity smiled as well, tossing a topaz his way. The dragon caught it, instantly munching on the tasty treat.

“No problem. But we still have two more books to search,” he said, picking one up. Twilight picked up the other, scouring it almost ravenously. When both she and Spike got nothing from the books, Twilight growled in frustration.

“Spike. This may call for desperate measures. Take note!” Twilight ordered. The dragon instantly ran to a drawer, pulling a quill and scroll from it. He coughed, signaling he was ready.

“Dear Zecora,” she started.

*

‘–if you could send anything regarding this subject, it would be greatly appreciated. Your friend,

-Twilight Sparkle’

The zebra quickly looked at her bookshelf, seeing two books that caught her eye. She had read both of them, and knew that these two in particular were the ones her unicorn friend would need. She quickly gathered up her cloak, putting it on without trouble. On top of the brown cloak, she placed her saddlebags, containing the two books. Giving her cauldron one last stir, she departed from her hut, and walked towards the exit of the Everfree Forest.

*

A knock reverberated from the door, the sound bouncing throughout the tree-library-home-thing. Twilight opened the door, revealing the cloaked figure of Zecora, with a small scroll in her teeth. She set the scroll down, and reached into her saddlebags, giving Twilight the two books.

“I wish you well, in the coming fight,” the zebra said with a slight smirk. “And remember the inverse of dark is light.”

With that, Zecora trotted off, probably to the market to stock up on herbs. The focus returned to the two books that Zecora had brought. They were easily the size of Spike, and about twice as heavy, plopping on the table with a dull thunk. Twilight wasted no time picking one, and sifting through it. She stopped, looking at the page. “There we go. That’s helpful.”

Rarity took a peek at the book, and cocked her head. “Combination spells? What does that have to do with the Light Crystals?”

“Darq made a Light Crystal in front of me before he was arrested. He said something about needing a combination spell to make one,” Twilight explained. “And knowing what the hay a combination spell is will help when we actually find the spell.”

“So what is it?” Rainbow Dash interjected, curiosity getting the best of her. She stared at the two unicorns in front of her, waiting for an answer.

“Its when a spell requires two different magic signatures to achieve. Some ponies are skilled enough to either forge somepony else’s signature, or craft a second unique signature for themselves. And since I’m not that good I’ll be borrowing Rarity’s signature to make these crystals,” Twilight explained. She opened the second book, and sifted through it, looking for the spell. “Hah! Found it.”

She glanced at the page, looking over the spell’s mechanics. Aw hay. That’s going to be really tough. A thirty horn-power spell…

“Well. Let’s get started,” Twilight said with a grin of determination.

Author's Note

I had to edit the crap outta this one. I accidentally had Twi write to a friend in Canterlot. But I had Darq say that the answers were in the Everfree. So yeah. I edited the crap out of this one to have Zecora come save the day. And of course, her one line is a BEAUTIFUL foreshadow if I do say so myself.