The Twilight of Changeby teganaxisChaptersFive More Minutes...Oh, You MOSSt Be KiddingTwilight Makes a New FriendA Necessary Plot DeviceThe Dangers of DaydreamingFive More Minutes..."...you... away..." "...Ha ha...ha... already... dear..." "...We'll... you..." "...Who... stop... us..." "...dead..." Twilight Sparkle was ripped cruelly from the misty haze of her dream, thrust into a world of obnoxious sunlight. The purple mare groaned in irritation, digging her head deeper into her pillow in an effort to stave off the inevitable. "Twilight," a small voice called from downstairs, "Hurry and wake up, I've got your breakfast ready!" A moan was Twilight's only response. Helpful as Spike was, it was on mornings like these she would give a leg for some peace and quiet, even if it meant she had to make her own breakfast for a change. Evidently, staying up until 3 A.M. reading was not conducive to a good night's sleep. The sun did not relent. "Just five more minutes..." she begged, forcing her eyes to stay shut. The sun, being an inanimate mass of burning hydrogen, failed to respond. Banging her head against the pillow, Twilight imagined the sun as an expensive lamp. A delicate antique from Saddle Arabia worth thousands of bits. And then she smashed it. The light disappeared from her room, leaving behind a soothing darkness that felt like silk to Twilight's sleepy eyes. Spike must have realized his adopted sister's plight and drew the curtains. What a sweet thing to do. When she got up, she would give the baby dragon a big hug. "Mmm... thanks Spike..." she murmured, nuzzling the pillow like a newborn puppy. When her dragon brother didn't reply, she took it as respectful silence and thanked him again. Yawning deeply, the mare settled in for another few hours (give or take an eternity) of blissful slumber. "Twilight!" Spike's panicked cry carried up the stairs into the librarian's room, ripping her once more from sleep's velvety embrace. 'I take back everything.' Grunting angrily, the purple pony shifted under her sheets. Maybe if she ignores him, he'll just go away... "T-Twilight!" The shout was now somehow in her room. That dragon could move. Sadly, Twilight was not in the right frame of mind to admire the dragon's agility. "What?! Dear sweet Celestia, what do you want?!" The dragon stood there stunned for a second, before pointing a shaky claw out of Twilight's darkened window. "T-The... the sun... disappeared!" The librarian stared blankly at the lizard's look of abject terror for a few seconds. She sighed. "...Really Spike...?" Exasperated, the mare drowsily got out of bed, carefully putting all four hooves on the ground before trudging towards the door. Not even bothering to glance out of the window, the mare walked past Spike as he stared in horror. "B-But Twilight-" "-Look Spike." she interjected, irritation giving her words an edge despite the lazy speed she spoke them. "...If you wanted me to get up so badly... you could of just asked." Spike looked legitimately hurt .Usually, the dragon's pathetic look would have made Twilight feel guilty. This morning, the little dragon's face actually made her feel a bit better. Aw, did his wittle dwagon feewings get hurt? Good. Shaking it off, the dragon shook his head and pressed on. "Twilight, I'm serious! I was putting your plate on the table and then... poof! The sun was gone! I swear!" Twilight, moving through a bog of drowsiness, was not listening. She stopped at the stairs, a small grimace breaching her features. Stairs sucked. Why does she live in a house with stairs? Eyes half lidded, she gingerly set a hoof down on the first step. The book mare dimly fantasized about having an escalator in her house; the kind you see in the big Fillydelphia super-malls, so that she wouldn't ever have to climb stairs again. That would be... heavenly. "Twilight, please, list-... huh?" Twilight's assistant stopped yelling and cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. Celestia's protege didn't notice the dragons's distress- she was too busy enjoying the slight breeze as she was lowered gently to the floor. Smiling pleasantly, Twilight stepped off the wooden stairway, oblivious to the fact she didn't walk a single step. Twilight was not what you would call a morning pony. "When did we get an escalator?" Spike asked, bewildered and wide-eyed. Slowly rolling her eyes, Twilight continued to cheerfully skip (yeah right) towards the kitchen. "We don't have an escalator Spike. Now come down here and eat breakfast." Twilight practically growled, tired of her foster brother's games. Spike blinked, and the stairs stopped moving. Was he dreaming? After pinching himself a couple of times, he decided he wasn't. Huh. Shaking his head again, the baby dragon jumped down the stairs after his guardian. He found her sitting at the table, glaring sleepily at her lettuce salad like it was her mortal enemy. Her silver fork floated lazily in the air, surrounded by a familiar lavender aura. She turned towards disturbed dragon, her face softening. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." she apologized, smiling gently. "This is really good." Spike managed to keep his composure despite the slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I-It's fine. B-But the sun-" "Spike." the mare said firmly, cutting the dragon off. Despite the drowsiness still present in her voice, the message was clear. Sighing massively, the baby took his seat across the table from Twilight, defeated. A long silence reigned; Twilight slowly chewed her food while Spike dejectedly pushed the small gemstones on his plate around with his fork. The mare pondered the taste of her breakfast. It was good... but it was missing something. Glancing over to the counter, the lavender spotted spotted her monogrammed salt shaker, complete with a picture of her cutie mark. Ah. 'All this needs is a little more sa-' Salt. Salt everywhere. "Whoa! What the heck, Twilight!" Spike jumped out of his chair as a literal avalanche of salt tumbled down the massive mountain of sodium chloride that now rested on top of their kitchen table. "I-... What?" The purple mare tripped over her clumsy hooves as she dodged to avoid the white avalanche, managing to get away with only a few grains caught in her messy mane. "Jeez Twilight, tell me when you're going do something like that!" Spike fumed, looking longingly at the tower of salt that now concealed his breakfast jewels. He then glanced down at the floor, a slight pout on his face. "And if it needed more salt, you could of just said so..." he added, kicking at the tile floor. "I-I... but I didn't-" Three loud thuds echoed through the tree house. "Twilight!" The scratchy voice of Rainbow Dash pierced the front door of the library. Her tone was clearly urgent- this was no idle visit. "Come quick! We got trouble!" Temporarily choosing to ignore the sudden appearance of Mt. Salt, the librarian leapt up and rushed for the door, fully awake. After all, being an Element of Harmony meant being ready for action on a moment's notice.She opened the door and was greeted by the faces of all five of her greatest friends, their muzzles twisted into various expressions of worry. That's not the only thing she noticed, however. 'What? Is it still night time?' She thought, looking towards the black sky uncomprehendingly. Impossible. There were no stars. There wasn't even a moon. In fact, the librarian realized, the only reason she could even see her friends in the first place was because of the torches they all carried. The world surrounding them was almost pitch black. But... if it was daytime right now... then- "Whu-... Where is the sun???" Twilight squeaked, utterly at a loss. The faces of her friends all reflected her dawning horror as Spike sauntered out of the library, dusting the salt off a ruby. He looked smug. "Told you so." Author's Note Hey FIMfiction! They finally added an author's notes section so I can stop taking the first comment on my own stories! Yay! Been playing around with this idea in my head for a while, and I was tired of writing nothing but horror, so I thought, why not? Comedy isn't really my forte, but tell me what you think! Make sure to LIKE and COMMENT! Thanks! Oh, You MOSSt Be Kidding'Star moss. Atrichum angustatum. Known for its brilliant orange color and its star-like shape. Loves the sun, is tolerant of shade.' Patches of bright white clouds and gorgeous blue skies flew by as the golden chariot rocketed through the air, but Twilight was too focused to enjoy the scenery. The patch of moss appeared suddenly, overlapping the several other multi-colored growths that had mysteriously materialized. The librarian's skin crawled at the moist sensation as it covered her seat and extended over the back of the chariot. Celestia, who had opted to sit closely to her student, shifted uncomfortably but said nothing. 'Spoon moss. Bryoandersonia illecebra. Aptly named after it's discoverer, Dr. Sterling Spoon. Needs an almost constant trickle of water to survive.' The pegasi flying the carriage neighed in annoyance as their harnesses were covered with a third layer of thick green moss. Luna snorted in amusement. "Now all we need is a purple moss and we'll have a wet, sticky rainbow." The Moon Princess quipped, brushing away some moss that had appeared on her shoulder. Celestia shook her head, shooting her sister a disapproving look. Luna shrugged. Twilight sighed but maintained her focus on reciting all of her knowledge on the mosses of Equestria, hoping to avoid another accident. The panicked librarian only managed to get a few choice words out (like "oh my god", and "what the buck", and "salt") back in her bedroom, before she promptly had a panic attack and passed out. She woke up on the chariot, where Celestia insisted on the task Twilight was working on now, explaining only that "they had heard enough." The Sun Princess said haste was of utmost importance, so the trio had used royal privilege to enlist the nearest chariot, leaving Spike and Twilight's friends behind. When the librarian asked why the princesses didn't just teleport her to Canterlot, Luna explained that they didn't know how it would effect her in her... condition. Thus, all aboard the moss express. The unicorn found her mind wandering back to the same question she had been mulling over since she woke up. What exactly happened back there? The mare was convinced that what happened with Nightmare Moon and Ponyville was not a dream. Her new found powers were certainly real, and not only did they seem to disobey the laws physics and all other rational schools of thought, they bent the very fabric of time and space. Twilight's old habits got the better of her as she pondered the situation. List time. Here are the facts. One, Twilight was sure she destroyed Ponyville and possibly plunged Equestria into eternal darkness using nothing but her mind. Two, Twilight, somehow, reversed all of the damage by simply wishing it fixed. 'And three... I have no Faustly idea what is going on.' Twilight concluded, frowning deeply. She was losing concentration. The images of Luna trying to simultaneously fight off both a hydra and an Ursa Major were simply too horrifying and freaking awesome to tune out. The way the night sky looked through the body of the Ursa Major was eerily beautiful, and the part where Luna cut a head off the hydra with a scythe made of stars was pretty alright. Oh man, what if- Moss. Lovely, safe, not-trying-to-murder-everyone-you-love moss. "Twilight... are you okay?" Celestia inquired, concerned for her protege. The unicorn laughed half-heartedly, all too aware that she had nearly repeated her past mistakes. "Um... yes. I'm fine." Celestia's student smiled unconvincingly. Celestia frowned, but accepted the answer. There's no way either of the princesses could know what Twilight had done. Sure; instantaneous, non-magical teleportation was nothing to sneeze at, but it was nothing compared what Twilight feared she was capable of. They didn't know that Equestria was an errant thought away from total annihilation. Twilight was all-powerful. And it terrified her. "Celestia...?" "Yes, my student?" "What's happening to me?" The ancient princess furrowed her brow, pondering how best to respond. "I... don't know." The alicorn admitted. "I've never seen anything like what you did back in the library." Celestia paused. "...and I know now might not be the best time to ask, but did I hear you right back there? Did you say time travel?" Twilight nodded as a small patch of grey-green moss appeared in the middle of the chariot. The librarian was surprised Celestia managed to pick those words out of her panicked ramblings. The alicorn nodded back gravely, concern etching her features. Celestia put a leg around her student, giving her an encouraging smile. "... I cannot be sure whether this new gift of yours is a blessing or a curse, but we will get through this. Together." Celestia said, nuzzling her student's mane. Twilight nuzzled back, happy for her teacher's support. "I am also with you." Luna added, offering a smile of support. Twilight smiled back in thanks. "What I want to know," the midnight blue alicorn continued, "is what I was doing fighting a hydra and an Ursa at the same time." Twilight's eyes widened. Celestia looked surprised. Luna shrugged again. "You were dreaming after you passed out. I thought I'd take a look." Twilight shook her head, trying her best to stay focused on Log moss (It grows on logs. Who knew?). "I would explain it princess, but I don't want to accidentally... you know..." The Moon Princess grinned widely. "It's fine, Twilight Sparkle." She bent forward towards the unicorn. "Between you and me though," Luna confided, "It was kind of bad-ass." "Sister! Language." Celestia chided. Luna laughed loudly, and a few seconds later her sister and Twilight joined in. A warm feeling replaced the dread growing in Twilight's heart. As long as she had her friends, she could do anything. And although the purple mare never had to take that sentence as literally as she did now, she knew she would be just fine. "33 multiplied by 450" "Easy. 14,850." "Uh, 5382 divided by 13." "414. Give me a hard one." "Buck, I don't know. 50,666 multiplied by 82. Oh! And divided by 3." "Mmm... That's a tough one..." The night guard looked genuinely excited that she had stumped the librarian. Twilight giggled. "Just kidding. 1384870.66... repeating." The other night guard chuckled as his friend stomped her hoof in frustration. Her midnight blue armor made a loud clang against the reflective tile floors of the council room, eliciting dirty looks from Luna and Cadence, who were deep in a conversation about how they would deal with Twilight's potentially world-ending powers. Celestia sat in the third seat, jotting down everything said and offering suggestions here and there. The rest of the seats around the round table were empty; secrecy was of the utmost importance. The night guards were an exception- they agreed to having their memories erased as soon as they were no longer needed. From the amount the Sun Princess had written, you would think they had gotten closer to a solution. In reality, the only thing sitting in that room for three hours had gotten them was a lot of wasted paper and a pissed off bat... pegasus... thing. The guardmare leaned towards her companion. "Why did we agree to this again?" The other guard shrugged. "Kissing ass?" The mare rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that. But why didn't they ask the captain to do it? She's his sister after all." 'They know I can hear everything they're saying right?' Twilight sat back onto the floor, deciding to count backwards from a thousand to pass the time. "I hear he's sick. Can't get out of bed." The mare's companion replied. Twilight saw Cadence shoot a worried look at the gossiping pair before turning back to her conversation. The purple mare sighed. It wasn't surprising that Shining would fall ill eventually; with all the stress of rebuilding Canterlot after the changeling invasion, not to mention having the security of the castle resting on his shoulders, it was amazing he didn't get sick earlier. Twilight wondered if she could simply wish him better. Nah, better not. Before she could even think about helping others with this new ability, she needed to learn how to not outright screw everypony with it first. Plus, she figured, her brother needed a break. The guards continued to chat amongst themselves while Twilight stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind. If only she had a book. Hmm... Ancient Ruins and Scenic Vistas of Equestria, the book Twilight was reading the night before the proverbial shit hit the metaphorical fan, appeared in the mare's hooves without a sound, simply materializing out of thin air. Grinning stupidly at her accomplishment, Twilight couldn't help but fantasize about all the books she could get her hooves on. 'All the knowledge in Equestria, at a whim...' The bookworm closed her eyes in rapture, soaking it all in. "Ow!" Twilight was ripped from her fantasy by the ceiling as it collided with her head. Wait. The entire room was basically gone, replaced with a veritable ocean of books. The tomes were piled high under the ponies, raising them up to the high ceiling, almost twenty feet in the air. "What? What?" The night guard mare started hyperventilating, flapping her wings in an attempt to free her legs from the collection of thesauruses that currently imprisoned them. "Twilight!" The muffled sound of Celestia's voice reached the librarian through the mountain of books separating them. "Mosses! Mosses!!" 'Oh my god, oh my god. Right. Um. Ooze moss. Uh, known for it's slimy texture and the strange smell it emits. Loves caves.' A groan that sounded suspiciously like Luna echoed through the room as it was blanketed in a think layer of the dark green stuff. "Why can't she ever think of flowers? Or puppies?" The dark blue alicorn complained. "...Gross." The male night guard deadpanned, nonplussed. The disgusted scream of his companion demonstrated her agreement with the remark. "Um... Sorry?" Twilight said sheepishly, scratching her mane. Luna sighed explosively. "Wow... this is, uh, really amazing Twilight!" Cadence offered. "But, uh, do you think you can poof these books away? I'm stuck under Celestia, and she isn't exactly the lightest pony in Equestria, if you know what I mean." Celestia snorted. "It's probably not a good idea. We don't know what could happen if things went wrong." The white alicorn said, pointedly ignoring Cadence's comment. "I'll teleport out and get help. Just wai-" The books started to tremble and shake under the assembled ponies, interrupting the Sun Princess. "Um, guys. Guys!" The night guard mare shouted, eyes wide. "Everything's moving!" Without any further ado, Twilight and the guards found themselves forcibly removed from the council chambers in a massive avalanche of literature and smelly plant-life. Lugged Spear stood by the now open doors, looking unimpressed. "Okay." Was all he said. The night guards recovered quickly, coming to attention with a crisp salute. "Sir!" They barked, ignoring the fact that they looked more like big, gross, pony-shaped moss monsters than guards of the Nightwatch. Spear simply nodded to them before turning to Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Causing more trouble than usual, I see." The librarian frowned. "Spear." She replied awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. The two had never really seen eye-to-eye since- Twilight shivered- the incident. The princesses all appeared in the hallway with a flash of light. Celestia's horn flared, her magic incinerating the moss still clinging to her body. She looked disappointed. "Vice-Captain, I remember specifically asking you to not disturb us. There is some..." The alicorn cast a sidelong glance at her new library, "...very serious business going on." The pegasus guardpony bowed low. "Yes, princess. I just thought I would give you an update on the object." Luna looked agitated. "Well, the scientists already told us it's big and round and metal, what other astute observations do they have for us?" Cadence looked more curious than aggravated. Lugged Spear didn't react to Luna's dripping sarcasm. "M'Lady, the object spoke." Now they were paying attention. "Excuse me... did you say it spoke?" Celestia repeated. "What did it say?" Cadence asked, a sparkle in her eye. "Well..." Lugged Spear glanced in Twilight's direction. "... It asked for her." Author's Note Hey guys! Been a while. I decided that instead of making long chapters, which take forever to type and edit, I'll make little bite-sized chapters like these so ya'll can have a quick laugh and get on with your lives. If you're here, that means you liked my past two chapters, so be sure to LIKE the story so more people can see it, and maybe even leave a COMMENT; you guys have no idea how much that helps me out. Thanks! Twilight Makes a New FriendFor any other pony, seeing a giant alien thing crashed into the middle of Canterlot Castle's throne room would be pretty exciting. Twilight, however, ranked it somewhere between the 4th and 5th weirdest thing she's done all day. "Ah, yes. Round and inanimate, just as they described. Fascinating." Luna yawned, laying eyes on the object for the first time. The silver metal orb, bigger than three ponies stacked on top of each other and completely seamless, loomed ominously in the middle of the room. The Moon Princess looked longingly at the great doors that eventually lead to her bedroom, reminded of her lack of sleep. Celestia noticed and smiled warmly. "Sister, you can go back to bed if you wish. Cadence and I will handle this from here." The alabaster alicorn offered. Luna drowsily shook her head. "And miss all the fun?" Luna laughed, waving her hoof with a dismissive gesture. Luna returned Celestia's smile with one of her own. "M'ladies, I'll take my leave." Spear interjected, bowing low. He turned to leave, taking the night guards with him. They wouldn't remember any of this. Twilight saw the male guard wave at her, a big smile on his face. Maybe she didn't traumatize them after all? A scientist, struggling to hold up his load of scientific tomes, shuffled into the hallway. He collided headfirst with the night guard mare before Twilight could shout a warning. With a loud crash, the stack fell directly on the night guard's head. "EEEEEEK!!" The mare shrieked, promptly curling up into a fetal position. She started rocking back and forth, whispering "the books, the books", even as the poor scientist tried to apologize. Well, wishful thinking. The great doors were surrounded with an aura of white magic. They closed shortly after, cutting Twilight and the three princesses off from the Nightwatch mare's little breakdown. Twilight grimaced. "Oops." She said. Cadence gave a weak smile. "She'll be fine. Don't worry." The Love Princess said. She looked distracted; probably still worried about her husband. "...Will you be?" Twilight asked, concerned for her sister-in-law. The pink alicorn looked surprised. "It's just a little cold. Nothing a little bed rest can't cure," She assured, more for herself than for Twilight, "He'll be healthy before we know it." Twilight nodded, meeting her former baby-sitter's eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure-" "Ahem, uh, sorry to interrupt, but are you Twilight Sparkle?" "...Yes." Twilight replied, aggravated at being cut off. The whole room had gone silent. The white unicorn pony (presumably the same one who closed the doors) bowed his head, sending his glasses askew. He pointed a hoof towards the object. "Um..." "Tw...igh...ar...le..." A tinny, barely audible voice floated across the room. Twilight looked at Celestia and Luna. The former nodded assuredly, gesturing towards the orb. "Just in case," Luna whispered, "Remember: flowers and puppies." Gulping nervously, the purple mare made her way to the center of the room. The object began to glow slightly, casting dull shadows across the floor. "Twil...ght... Spa...kle..." The voice repeated, increasing in volume. Twilight's mind raced. 'What is this thing? What does it want with me? Does it have something to do with my new powers? What if it's-' The mare flinched, just barely stopping herself from traveling down a mental path that quite possibly would have led to disaster. 'No, it definitely would have led to disaster.' Twilight reflected. 'The brain-eating aliens from Rainbow Dash's movies aren't exactly known for their friendliness-' "Gwar!" A green, pulsating creature appeared directly in Twilight's path, it's pony-like body oozing some kind of greenish-blue slime. It's mouth opened to reveal rows of razor sharp, Twilight-eating teeth. 'I guess I deserve this one, huh?' Twilight thought, exhausted by the increasing stupidity of the things her brain decided to spit out. The unicorn was surprisingly calm as she stared down the monster. It looked just as cheesy in real life as it did on the big screen. It charged, chomping its jaws and licking its lips. "Woof!" The little puppy barked, skidding to a halt before a triumphant Twilight. Grinning proudly, she looked up to see the whole room with their jaws on the floor, minus Celestia and Luna; the former of whom had face-hoofed, while the latter had grinned back and waved. Cadence simply shook her head in disbelief, not as used to Twilight breaking reality as her fellow princesses. Celestia sighed. "It's going to take ages to erase all of their memories..." "Heh heh..." Twilight laughed awkwardly, her grin fading. "...Sorr-" "No, don't say it." Celestia pinched her forehead. "We know you're sorry. Continue." "Woof!" Twilight shooed the dog away and walked closer to the orb, which was now shining brightly. "Twilight Sparkle." The voice returned, this time completely clear. There were no lights on the object's surface; how it glowed was a mystery. Nothing happened. Twilight was within touching distance of the orb, but it did nothing but glow and sit there. Nervously, the librarian turned back to her mentor. "W-what now?" The unicorn asked. Celestia thought about it for a minute. "Try touching it. It might react to contact." Twilight gulped again and nodded, equal parts scared and curious. If it really was an alien craft, think of the things ponies could learn from them! The possibilities were endless. Including the bad possibilities. 'No, Twilight,' she scolded herself, 'Flowers and puppies.' Ignoring the daisy that had sprouted from the floor tiles, the purple mare gingerly lifted her hoof and started moving it towards the metal object. The air around her seemed to hum with energy. Closer... Contact. There was a sudden burst of wind, sending dust particles and daisy petals into the air. The object's seamless exterior began to ripple like ocean waves, and the strange silver metal shined even brighter than before. A long, drawn out hissing sound, like the sound of air escaping from a balloon, echoed through the breathless room. Then, silence. For nearly a minute, everypony just stood there, rigid in anticipation. Twilight saw Luna lower herself into a combat stance out of the corner of her eye. The librarian backed away slowly as she tried to brace herself for whatever came next, without putting too much thought into what it might be. Pretty much every flower Twilight could think of sprouted up around the room as she tried to focus on something that couldn't maim, kill, or otherwise hurt ponies. The white unicorn fainted when one grew out of his head. Then, a second silver orb, about the size of Twilight's head, floated lazily out of the sphere. It drifted slowly towards Twilight, before stopping maybe a foot away from the librarian's face. "Amazing..." Cadence breathed, awe-struck by the metal's water-like appearance and its silky movements. The room seemed mesmerized by the orbs, and nopony uttered a sound. As the second orb hung in the air, its bigger brother stopped glowing and ceased moving. For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. Twilight's heart quickened. The object called for her and it reacted to her touch- maybe she should try to communicate with it? The mare looked back to the princesses, the question plain on her face. They both nodded their consent, faces grave. Celestia gestured towards her guards, who took up defensive positions around the room. Steeling herself, the protege cleared her throat. "Hello...?" Twilight tested, taking a small step towards the orb. Nothing happened. She tried again. "Hello? Can you hea-" "Hi!" A cheerful, metallic voice interrupted. The room practically jumped out of their skins. "Ah!" Twilight yelped, jumping backwards. The small orb began to hum loudly; the sound reminded Twilight of a computer booting up. The princesses didn't move, tense and ready for a fight should the need arise. A hologram of... something... appeared suddenly from the orb. The creature appeared to stand on two legs and, other than its mane, had no coat to speak of. Its face (or what Twilight assumed was its face) was flat with the most pathetic excuse for a muzzle that the mare had ever seen. It's skin was pale, and its hooves looked like they were mutilated by a meat cleaver. A few things were familiar about the alien, however; including its shirt and jeans, and the pair of glasses it adjusted with its gross hoof-things. "Amazing!" Twilight squee'd, elated to be making first contact with an alien race. She frantically moved around the hologram, soaking in every detail of the creature's body. She needed a notebook and a pen. She needed a camera. She needed something to record this! As per usual, the items in question popped into existence, falling onto the floor. Quickly retrieving the notebook and pen, the purple pony went to work. Questions poured out of Twilight's mouth. "What are you? Where are you from? Are you a race of hologram people or are you actually somewhere else? Where's your fur? What happened to your hooves?" The hologram looked happy to answer the mare's questions. "I'm an A.I.! I'm from space! I'm actually an intelligent program residing inside this orb! I don't have any! I don't have hooves!" It cheerfully replied. Twilight didn't write anything down; she was too busy staring at the A.I. with a creepy smile plastered on her face. Celestia coughed loudly, approaching the A.I. with a hoof raised in peace. "Greetings, A.I., My name is Princess Celestia. I welcome you to our planet." The alicorn put on her best smile. "What might your name be?" The hologram smiled back. "My name is Pan!" The princess bowed her head. "Well met, Pan. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" The hologram- Pan- nodded eagerly, its dark pink, fluffy hair bobbing up and down. "Okie Dokie Lokie!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. The hologram's voice was disturbingly similar to Pinkie Pie's. Celestia continued. "Who created you?" The Sun Princess asked. The A.I. looked confused. "I don't understand the question!" It replied, frowning slightly. Twilight decided the hologram must be female, given its voice and mannerisms. Though, for all the lavender pony knew, it could be a completely new gender. Or not have any gender at all. Luna stepped in. "Well, if you're a computer program, something must have written you, right?" The dark blue alicorn inquired. She bowed her head. "Ah, where are my manners. I am Princess Luna. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Cadence kept a respectful distance from the alien, not wanting to crowd it. Pan smiled brilliantly. "Hi, Luna! My name is Pan!" Luna inclined her head. Celestia, aware that the A.I. was purposefully ignoring the question, decided to change the subject. "Well, Pan, can you tell us why you've landed on our planet?" Pan did a little hop, turning to Twilight. "I'm here for Master Twilight!" The librarian blushed. Nopony had ever called her "Master" before. "M-me?" She asked, rubbing the back of her head abashedly. The A.I. nodded happily. "Yes! I'm your Changer Trainer!" The three mares looked at the A.I. in confusion. "My what?" "Her what?" "Her Changer Trainer!" Pan repeated like it was obvious. "Yeah, we got that part." Luna said, put off by how difficult the A.I. was being. Celestia shot her sister a stern look. "What's a Changer?" Twilight urged, happy to keep her new friend talking. "You are, silly billy!" The A.I. giggled. Again, the sound was an almost perfect imitation of Pinkie Pie's laugh. Uncanny. "Haven't you noticed? You can change things with your thoughts, Twilight!" "Oh, we noticed..." Luna grumbled. Celestia stepped forward, eager to finally get some answers. "So, are you the reason Twilight has gained these new powers?" Pan laughed. "Oh, no! Twilight has always been a Changer!" Twilight doubted that very much. The A.I. continued. "I'm just here to teach her how to control it. You know, before it's too late!" Cadence respectfully butted her way into the conversation. "Um, excuse me Pan, but did you say 'before it's too late'?" The hologram turned towards the pink alicorn. "Hello! My name is Pan!" Luna rolled her eyes. "She probably means before Twilight crashes a meteor into the planet or something." Twilight glared at the Moon Princess. Pan giggled again, flashing Luna a winning smile. "Nope! Good guess though! I'm talking about the apocalypse!" Stunned silence. "Excuse me?" Twilight asked, aghast. The A.I. continued to smile happily, as if she didn't just announce the end of the world. "The apocalypse! The end of days! The complete destruction of the world as you know it! The annihilation-" "Yes! Yes, we understand." Luna interrupted, rubbing her forehead. Cadence shook her head. "So what you're saying is... the world's going to end if Twilight can't learn to control her new powers?" "Correct!" The A.I. answered cheerfully. Twilight grimaced. She had saved Equestria plenty of times before, but the world? Not to mention that when she saved Equestria, she didn't have Ursa Majors popping out of her head like candy out of a pinata. "W-when do I have to be ready?" The librarian inquired cautiously. The A.I. stroked her chin for a second. "Approximately 3 weeks, 6 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 58 seconds from now! 57! 56!" Pan announced, counting on her... things. Jaws hit the floor. Cadence was the first to speak. "That's... that's less than a month!" Luna sighed in defeat. "We're boned." Celestia was too astonished to correct her sister's foul language. Twilight just stared at the A.I., shocked beyond words. She eventually found her tongue, shaking her head vigorously. "B-but... that's impossible! I-I can't..." Pan smiled assuredly. "Oh, no! Nothing is impossible, Twilight! A..." The A.I. looked deep in thought for a second. "...ten percent chance to succeed is still a chance!" Twilight started to hyperventilate. The dust still in the air tickled the mare's nose. "Oh, no, I wouldn't sneeze if I were you-" Pan began. Twilight sneezed anyway. Luna's eyes widened, and she looked up to the ceiling urgently. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What is it, sister?" The white alicorn asked. Luna shook her head in disbelief. "I think... I think Twilight just blew up Jupiter." "Oh my." Pan said. "Eight percent." The book mare felt dizzy. She fell back onto her rump as she struggled to take it all in. The fate of the world depended on Twilight not being a spaz. In the wise words of Princess Luna: they were boned. Author's Note Remember, if you liked the story, please LIKE and COMMENT. It helps a lot! Thanks! A Necessary Plot Device"I can't get over how convenient this is." Twilight said, tapping the metal device strapped to her horn. The machine's bright silver metal matched Pan's orb. The A.I. herself floated lazily next to her master, sitting cross-legged. "I know, right! Technology is great!" Pan chirped, happily adjusting her glasses. Twilight sent the hologram a sideways glance; apparently, those hoof-things were called hands. Whatever they were called, the mare decided, they were still gross. "Shh!" an old graying mare, the librarian of the Canterlot Archives, shot Pan an intimidating glare. Intergalactic visitor from space or not, nopony interrupted reading time. Twilight glanced at the book she was reading. Fifty Shades of Hay. Classy. Pan looked abashed, frowning adorably. "Sorry!" she whispered loudly. "Shh!" "Sorry!" "Shh!" "Sor-" "Pan. Just stop." Twilight shook her head in exasperation. The A.I. bowed her head and nodded sullenly. Together, the two made their way deeper into the depths of the Archives, away from the crabby librarian. "So, Pan. You still haven't told me how this thing works." the bookworm stated. Twilight stopped, turning to browse a particularly old looking shelf of tomes. Every book there dealt with some kind of abstract question or topic; things like the meaning of life, if there really was a god, and recipes for apple pie. Twilight laughed quietly at the sorting mistake. Amateurs. 'Oh! Mysterious Myths and Hidden Truths seems promising.' The book mare pulled the tome from the shelf, flipping to the table of contents. After skimming the text for a bit, Twilight sighed. No luck. An hour had already passed since Twilight began looking for a book about her condition; she was beginning to lose hope. "Oh! The Limiter? It stops you from Changing anything!" Pan said, smiling widely. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Obviously. You told me that last night." the Changer replied. As it turns out, blowing up planets and learning you're the sole hope for all ponykind takes a lot out of you. After Twilight left the throne room, she decided to go straight to bed. That's when Pan strapped this Limiter thing to her head. "Oh yeah!" Pan giggled. "Sorry!" Twilight picked up another book. "So?" Pan blinked. "So?" The purple mare gritted her teeth. For a super-intelligent program designed to help Twilight control reality-altering powers, Pan was proving herself to be pretty dense. "How. Does it. Work?" Pan gasped. "Oh!" Pause. "I don't know!" the A.I. answered gleefully. Twilight face-hoofed. "But," the program continued, "I know it's made out of the same metal I am! And I can't be Changed, no matter what!" The hologram looked deep in thought. "It's some kind of... anti... Change... metal, I guess. Oh!" Pan giggled. "Let's call it Antimetal! I like that! It sounds mysterious!" Twilight groaned. Every time the A.I. answered one of her questions, it just brought up even more. "But, that doesn't make any sense. If I can Change anything I want, why can't I Change this Antimetal stuff?" Pan waved her hands in front of her face, eyes wide. "Mysteeeerioousss..." "Ugh. Never mind." Twilight pulled another tome from the shelf. Ponies or Parasprites: Who is the True Monster?. Sounded preachy. "Wait," the unicorn said, "If I can't make any Changes, what's the point of you being here to help me? What's the point of these powers in the first place?" Pan laughed. "Silly! You can still make Changes, you just have to deactivate the Limiter!" "Okay. How?" Twilight asked, shelving the book. Pan flew over to the bookworm's horn, tapping the metal device with a ghostly finger. "It's voice activated! Just say the magic word!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What's the magic word?" "Oh! That's easy." Pan grinned. "It's change!" "...change? That's the magic word?" Twilight asked, bewildered. 'Wait a minute...' "But didn't I already say change like four times?" As if on cue, a loud scream echoed through the library. "Huh." Pan scratched her head. "I guess you did." The ghastly librarian from before sprinted past Twilight and Pan, screaming bloody murder. A faint, very familiar, buzzing noise filled the lavender pony's ears. "Oh no." Twilight whispered. The parasprite swarm crashed down over the shelves at the end of the row, hungry mouths devouring hundreds of years of knowledge and history. "Pan!" Celestia's protege called, voice tinged with panic. "Pan! How do I activate it again?!" Pan smiled. "Oh, it does that automatically! From the time you say the word, you have ten seconds to do whatever you want! Then it activates again and, poof! No more powers!" The A.I. looked at to the advancing parasprites. "Ohhh, you want to get rid of them?" Twilight nodded furiously, already fleeing the approaching mob. Pan's orb floated alongside the fleeing unicorn as the hologram pondered the situation. "Well, just because the Limiter activates again doesn't mean everything goes away." The program beamed. "You have to fix it yourself! If you didn't, you wouldn't be learning anything!" Her anger towards the airhead A.I. aside, Twilight gulped and focused on the task at hand. Picturing the pristine, quiet library that used to be the Archives, the mare opened her mouth to speak. "Um...- Uh...! Ch-change!" The buzzing stopped. The library was quiet once more. "Yay!" Pan cheered. "You did it!" "Shh!" came the librarian's response. Pan frowned. "Sorry." The pair was back at the front of the Archives. A faint click echoed from the Limiter; Twilight assumed that was the machine re-activating. The Changer looked around excitedly, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. She did it. For the first time since yesterday morning, Twilight felt in control again. The mare practically skipped out of the library. "Did you see that?!" Twilight proclaimed, hooves clopping merrily on the tile floors of the great hall. "I can do it! I can cha-" the purple unicorn stopped herself. "...do things without wrecking everything!" Pan smiled pleasantly. "Yes! See, it's not so bad!" The unicorn shook her head in disbelief. "That was... amazing. Did I just travel through time? Is this the past?" Twilight already experienced her powers before, but that was when they were out of control. Actually Changing something... you know, on purpose... that was another experience all together. Pan shook her head. "Oh, no! What you did was something much, much different!" The hologram adjusted her glasses in a scholarly-like manner. "You created your own library in your head! Then, you used your powers to bring that library, the library you created, into reality, dragging that meanie librarian and us along with it!" Twilight blinked. "So... what happened to the old library?" the confused mare asked. Pan stared at her master blankly. "I don't know!" the A.I. cheered. Twilight sighed. It was going to be a long month. "Huh. That's pretty convenient." Rainbow Dash tapped the Limiter with a hoof. She had just finished ranting about how awesome Twilight's powers were, finally giving the librarian the chance to explain her situation in detail. "You're telling me." Twilight replied, shifting in her seat. Five mares and a dragon sat around Twilight in one of the many pleasure rooms of the castle. They arrived shortly after the Changer's episode in the library. It didn't take long for them to begin assaulting Twilight with questions. "You could have told me you were leaving..." Spike grumbled, pouting. The librarian smiled warmly. "Oh, Spike. You know I would have if I could." she responded, embracing the little dragon in a hug. He blushed furiously. "T-Twilight! Stop that!" "Hee hee! Oh! Oh! Say kumquat! Say it!" Pinkie Pie giggled, batting Pan's metal orb with a hoof. "Okay!" Pan enthused. "Kumquat! Kumquat!" The A.I. laughed happily. "That's such a fun word to say!" Pinkie could barely contain her laughter. "I know, right!?" The party pony turned to Twilight. "Twilight! It's so funny! She sounds like me!" "Indeed," Rarity chimed in, "the resemblance is uncanny. Pan, dear, where did you say you were from?" "I'm from space!" Pan chirped. Rarity nodded slowly. "Yes, we knew that. Where from space?" Pan cocked her head. "The big empty part!" Fluttershy raised her voice shyly. "Um... Pan, I think she meant where you came from. Like, um, where you were made?" "Oh!" Pan said, suddenly understanding. "I don't know!" Rarity opened her mouth to respond before Twilight cut her off with a hoof. "I wouldn't bother." the Changer sighed. Rarity raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue the subject. "Who cares about all that boring stuff?!" Pinkie interjected. "Pan! Pan! Say chimicherrychanga!" "Okay! Chimicherrychanga! Chimicherrychanga!" "So lemme get this straight," Applejack began, ignoring Pan and Pinkie, "Ya have magical reality-altering powers, ya can't control them, and Pan here is an alien A.I. from outer space sent ta help ya?" "Don't forget about the apocalypse in less than a month!~" Pan said, floating next to the farmer's head. Twilight sighed massively. "...Right." the earth pony said, gently nudging the silver orb away from her face. "Hmm... so Twilight needs training so she can save the world, huh...?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin with a hoof, pondering the situation. "What are you thinking about, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. The rainbow-maned pegasus suddenly snapped her hoof. "I've got it!" she shouted, rising into the air triumphantly. "Got what? Got what?" Pan and Pinkie asked, echoing each other. "Yeah, what are you talking about?" Twilight inquired. "Where can you save the world over and over again, without any risk?" the pegasus asked with a sly look in her eye. Everypony looked at each other in confusion. "I don't know." Twilight admitted. "What are you saying, dear?" Rarity questioned. "What I'm saying," Rainbow Dash replied, "is that I know how we can prepare Twilight for the apocalypse." "How?" everypony asked, exasperated. Rainbow Dash smiled wickedly, a gleam in her eye. "Video games." Author's Note Yo! Welcome to the Author's Notes! If you liked the chapter, be sure to leave a LIKE or COMMENT! Thanks! Also, I released this early because I NEEDED you guys to see the new cover art. LOOK at it. LOVE it. The Dangers of Daydreaming"What?" Spike shrugged, averting his eyes from the glares of the six friends. "I'm just saying." He mumbled, absentmindedly popping the ruby into his waiting jaws. With a loud crunch, the dragon chewed the gemstone fragments slowly, measuring their taste. Hmm. Something was wrong. The ruby needed... ...Oh yeah. Less salt. "Twilight." Rarity spoke up, turning to the bewildered mare in question. Her tone of voice was almost accusing. "I demand an explanation this instant! I have a very important client waiting for her order and I can't see my hooves in front of my face! I can't create a masterpiece like this!" The small candle she held in her magic shook angrily in the morning (night?) breeze. Twilight recoiled, taken off guard by the aggression in Rarity's tone. "Wha- I didn't do it! How should I know how it happened?!" Applejack stepped forward, her hat held to her chest in a gesture of peace. "Mmmph, mmm mmm..." Frowning in annoyance, the farmer spit the torch out of her mouth. "Well, sugarcube," she began, "Ah hate to say it, but whenever something weird and magical happens round' these parts, you're are usually involved." "I bet you it was Nightmare Moon!" Rainbow Dash sprung off the ground, her wings buzzing threateningly. "But just keeping the sun down wasn't enough for her this time! She must of gotten rid of it!" Fluttershy squeaked in terror. "No way!" Pinkie Pie cried, jumping nearly five feet off the ground in order to look Dash in the eye. "Luna would never, ever, ever do something that mean! She's not a bad pony!" Twilight nodded gravely. "Pinkie's right. There has to be another explanation for this!" The librarian bowed her head, mind racing. What in Equestria could possibly cause the sun to just disappear? Even during the (albeit short) reign of Nightmare Moon, there was always at least the moon in the sky. To have neither present was unheard of. "Uh, Twi, Ah hate ta interrupt your little brain storm thingy, but my family has ta start the harvest soon or we won't have the time ta finish before the Cider Festival!" Applejack said urgently, shifting on her hooves uncomfortably. "Oh please, it's not like you have the only deadline you know. My life will be ruined if I can't get these dresses done before tomorrow!" Rarity retorted, sending a glare the orange pony's way. Applejack was unimpressed. "Ya'll could break a nail and say your life was ruined! Some of us have our priorities straight." "And some of us are cultured, sophisticated ponies. Unlike a certain orange brute!" "And some of us have actual work ta do instead of playin' with pretty ribbons all day!" "Um, girls... let's stop fighting now please...?" "Hold on girls, Fluttershy's right! We need to stop fighting and focus on the real enemy! Nightmare Moon!" "Oh, it's my turn! Uh, guys! Gummy totally didn't lick the frosting on those cupcakes I gave you yesterday!" "Quiet!!" Twilight yelled, causing the cacophony of agitated voices to stop suddenly. Silenced, the five other ponies all looked at Twilight expectantly as she continued to think. Some kind of force field? No... nopony has enough power to cover the entire sky. An illusion? Impossible, Twilight was too familiar with illusion magic to be fooled by it on such a massive scale. What could it be? She had to be missing something. Something big. "I'm telling you," Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, "It's gotta be Nightmare Moon." No, that... that was impossible. Twilight knew it, but so far, it was the only semi-viable explanation. The princesses were the only beings capable of moving the sun and the moon, after all, and if anypony had some sort of grudge against the sun, it would have been Luna. 'No.' Twilight repeated to herself. 'No, Luna's not that kind of pony anymore.' The lavender unicorn looked up into the endless void above, deep in thought. 'Besides, Nightmare Moon would never stand for a night like this. There aren't even any stars.' Twilight imagined the dread princess descending from a star lit sky, her dark mane swirling around her like a hurricane. She could see it now. The gasps of the townsponies. The howl of the wind. The crash of- Craaash! Thunder? "Hahahahaha!" Oh no. "Bow down, insolent foals! Hahahaha!" The booming voice, dripping in arrogance and malevolence, echoed across Ponyville. A form cloaked in darkness descended towards the clearing in front of the library, the scene a mirror image of the one Twilight had imagined. The stars had come back. Able to see now thanks to the sudden appearance of the night sky (minus the moon), the book mare observed ponies of all shapes and sizes begin to congregate around the area the dark princess was poised to land. Rainbow Dash bristled in fury. "I knew it!" She growled, baring her teeth. The looks of astonishment and horror on the rest of the ponies' faces, especially Pinkie's, mirrored Twilight's state of mind exactly. Speechless, the townsponies could only watch as Nightmare Moon landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing. Chin held high, the princess looked haughtily at the ponies present, like a shepherd at her sheep. Or a butcher at her cattle. "What's the matter, you little worms?" She sneered, curling her upper lip in sadistic glee. Twilight could vaguely sense the fear in the mob of townsponies, but their anger was almost palpable. The princess they had given their trust to had betrayed them again. Nopony bowed. The alicorn's sneer faded. "I... said... kneel!!" The command ended with a clap of thunder, a howling gale sweeping across the clearing. The ponies of Ponyville quickly let their instinct of self-preservation take over in the wake of Nightmare Moon's power, bowing low. Fluttershy squeaked again. Applejack inched over next to Twilight, the look on her face conflicted- as if she didn't want to believe what she was seeing but knew she had to. "Twi," she whispered, "Ah hate to say this, but it looks like Rainbow was right. We need to get to the Elements and fast." Pinkie Pie was crying, tears falling off her face like an adorable pink waterfall. "L-L-Lunnaaa..." She blubbered, clinging to a quavering Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash scraped at the air like a bull at the dirt; she couldn't take this anymore. "Hey!! You leave those ponies alone!" She roared, flaring her wings to the side in preparation for a charge. Nightmare Moon turned towards the disturbance as Rarity grabbed Rainbow's tail in her magic, probably saving the technicolor mare from a horrible night-themed demise. As soon as the dark alicorn saw the six mares, her malicious grin returned. "Ah, if it isn't Celestia's pet and her gang of brain-dead peasants. Nice night to take over Equestria, is it not?" She laughed maniacally as another raging windstorm rushed across the ponies, causing their manes and tails to thrash and twist. "I can't believe this!" Rainbow Dash growled in fury as she struggled against Rarity's surprisingly powerful magical grip. "Let me go, let me go!" The fashion mare shook her head vigorously, letting a few tears streak past her mascara and down her face. She hiccuped once, levitating a handkerchief to her muzzle, wiping away the unruly makeup. "No, Rainbow...! She'll kill you!" The mares hardly registered the flash of dark magic. Before any of them could react, Nightmare Moon stood inches from the fashionista's face, grinning widely. "Make no mistake, white one." She chuckled sinisterly, enjoying the surprise and fear on Rarity's face. "When I'm done here, I'll kill you anyway." Stunned and afraid, Rarity released her grip on Rainbow Dash, freeing the enraged pegasus. "Don't mess with my friends!!" Rainbow Dash screamed in fury, barreling head-first towards a bored looking Nightmare Moon. This time Applejack saved the day, jumping to grab the rainbow-maned mare right before she hit the almost invisible force field surrounding the dark princess. Even confused and terrified, Twilight could identify the shield Nightmare Moon was using: a vaporization shield. In case the name didn't give it away, one touch of that thing and Rainbow Dash would've been Rainbow Dust. Smiling in wicked amusement, the Night Princess teleported back to her place in the center of the still-terrified crowd, laughing loudly. "Hahahahaha! Give up hope, my little ponies. You will never see the sun again!" The alicorn began rising into the air as a maelstrom of midnight black mane, blinding lightning, and screaming wind whipped up the dust around her. "That's right, my little ponies." "The night..." "Will last..." "Fore-" Stopping suddenly, the wicked princess looked around confusedly, as if just realizing something. Turning towards the sky laid out above her, her evil smile twitched in annoyance. The corrupted princess' horn glowed as she lifted the moon above the horizon, finally completing the night sky. Her task done, she turned back to the stock-still crowd, a triumphant grin plastered on her face. "Forever!! Hahahahahaha!!!" 'No. This can't be happening. This shouldn't be happening!' Twilight continued to gape at the scene laid out before her. 'Where's Celestia? What could have caused this? This is... completely out of the blue!' Luna couldn't be evil again, not after what they've been through. Making friends, repairing the ponies' trust in her, forgiving her sister- it couldn't have all been for nothing, right? Even though it was clearly Nightmare Moon that stood laughing in front of her, she refused to believe her eyes. Nightmare Moon was dead. This couldn't be her... this was... ...Luna! "Hahahahahaha... ha... ha...?" The maniacal laughter trailed off slowly, petering down to a few confused chuckles every few seconds. "Where... Where am I...?" Luna, bereft of her evil guise and of seemingly sane mind, drifted gently back to earth. The extreme look of confusion on her face would be comical- if the same exact look wasn't plastered on Twilight's. Like a rusty machine suddenly forced into motion, her bewildered brain began to put together the pieces. An errant thought about salt caused an avalanche of the stuff. A short reflection about Nightmare Moon seemed to summon her. And now, after wishing with all her heart for Luna to come back, Twilight witnessed with her own eyes an almost instantaneous transformation. The odds of such a correlation were astronomical. ...Was she responsible for this? Frowning deeply, the lavender unicorn raised her front hoof. Squeak. "Twilight!" Spike rushed forward and shook Twilight's back leg, causing her to drop the mysteriously summoned Smarty Pants. "Twilight, this is no time to be playing with dolls! Luna's in trouble!" It was all the purple pony could do to just stand there, gaping at her only childhood friend as it fell to the ground with a pathetic squeak. The mob had clearly sensed the change in atmosphere. At the drop of a hat, their mood went from mortally terrified to out for blood. "I-... P-Ponies of Ponyville, your Princess means you no harm! Why do you advance?" Luna, positively alarmed (and still really confused), began to back up, even though angry ponies surrounded her on all sides. "We trusted you, Princess! And you stole the sun!" Rainbow Dash seemed to be the de-facto leader of the assembled townsponies, and murmurs of 'yeah!' and 'she's evil!' rippled through the crowd. Luna's confusion and alarm turned to fear. "No! I-I didn't! I'm not the Nightmare anymore!" The Night Princess watched in misery as the progress she had made building the trust of the ponies crumbled around her. Pinkie Pie rushed to her side, furious. "Everyone!" She yelled, looking scornfully at the crowd. "Luna isn't evil anymore! Leave her alone!" "Move, Pinkie! She'll get what's coming to her!" "No! Dashie, please..." Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy watched as the whole situation unfolded. Conflicted and befuddled, they found themselves unable to join either side. 'This... is this my fault...?' Shell-shocked, Twilight Sparkle stared at the situation she had no doubt created. But why? How? What she did with the salt and Smarty Pants wasn't any kind of magic she knew of. And even if it was some unknown branch of wizardry the librarian had no clue how to use, it didn't explain how she could bring the stars into the sky, or summon the dreaded Nightmare Moon. I doesn't explain the Nightmare's transformation back into Luna. It doesn't explain anything! What the buck was happening??? The crowd took a menacing step forward. Pinkie hugged Luna tightly as the latter spread her wings in preparation to flee, her face twisted into an expression of deep sadness. This was ridiculous! Twilight's mind remembered the time Rainbow Dash had forced her to watch all those old horror movies. An angry mob like this was usually bent on slaying some evil monster, not on hurting an innocent Princess! Treating their own leader like some kind of... some kind of horrible creature! There were much worse things in this world than a lost alicorn who simply wanted friendship... Much... worse... things... A deep, menacing cry of fury echoed through the small town. You've got to be kidding. The Ursa Major towered over the mob, slashing it's terrible claws through the air, roaring a battle cry. Twilight seemed to have developed a habit of thinking of the worst possible situations at the worst possible times. There was simply no time to question how a 500 ton transparent purple bear creature had managed to sneak up on an entire town. Luna sprang into action, leaving Pinkie on the ground to fly up and meet the Major face to face. "Ponies! Flee from this place! Quickly!" She didn't have to tell them twice. Pandemonium broke loose. Pegasi gathered their families and fled to the clouds, while the unicorns and earth ponies were left to bump into each other and navigate the crowded streets in their frenzy to escape. Twilight's friends found themselves swept up in the flood of bodies, pushed away from each other and separated. The sarcastic part of Twilight's mind seemed to function perfectly despite the circumstances. 'Well,' it quipped, 'It could be worse. At least there's no-' Five simultaneous roars could be heard over the panicked din of the crowds. Oh. Sure. Yeah. Cool. Why not? The Hydra sprinted into the fray, full-on tackling the Ursa Major and probably scaring the stars off of Luna's mane. "What in tarnation is going on?!" Applejack's terrified voice rose above the din once, before being pushed back below the rising tide of screams and 'Oh god we're all going to die's. Twilight screamed and fell to the ground, wrapping herself up into a fetal position. Spike desperately tried to get her to move, but soon all the noise and the sounds of battle as the three titans clashed faded into the background. All the lavender unicorn could hear was the sound of blood rushing in her ears, the sound of her frantic heartbeat. She squeezed her eyes shut. 'This is a dream. This has to be a dream.' Her brain tried desperately to rationalize the crazy situation she found herself in. 'I'm going to wake up in my nice bed this morning, eat my non-salty salad, read a book, and go about my business like its a nice-' '-normal day. This isn't happening, I'm just-... huh?' Sunlight. Covers. No hideous monsters. She was... back in her bed. "Twilight!" Spike's voice came from downstairs. "Hurry and wake up, I've got your breakfast ready!" It took a few seconds to register, but Twilight found herself grinning stupidly in relief. That was some dream. It was so realistic... Yawning loudly, the book mare rose from her bed and stretched. 'Mmm... it's too bad I can't tell Celestia or Luna about it though. I wish I didn't have to go so far to talk to them...' "Princesses, please, follow me." Knight Vice-Captain Lugged Spear lead the two regal alicorns at a brisk pace through the marble halls of Canterlot Castle, occasionally nodding at the various guards posted at regular intervals. "You said it's in the throne room, yes?" Celestia asked, her long prismatic mane rippling in the invisible solar breeze. Her face was serious, and she walked with grim determination. The Vice-Captain nodded curtly, conversation was not his forte. "Sister, is the situation really so serious...?" Luna walked grudgingly behind her sister, having been woken up from her rest after a particularly long and tedious session of the Night Court. The bags under her eyes were evidence of her drowsiness, as was the sleepy way her mane flopped around- a sharp contrast to the smoothly flowing rainbow that was Celestia's. The older sister's face softened at the sight of her sister so put out. "You truly are one of the deepest of sleepers, Luna. You didn't hear the loud crash? Or feel the small earthquake?" Luna shook her head, barely managing to stifle a very unprincess-like yawn. An earth pony maid walked briskly to Celestia and offered her some tea. The Sun Princess graciously accepted, smiling warmly. "Well," Celestia continued, taking a sip of her tea, "It would seem some kind of foreign metal object has crash landed in the castle. None of the scientists can make any sense of it, and our magicians claim it isn't the least bit magical." Luna raised an eyebrow skeptically, then smiled. "I see. I'm glad you woke me. It sounds like quite the mystery." Lugged Spear continued to march forward. A few minutes later, he stopped in front of the great doors of the throne room. The hurried sounds of bustling ponies and special equipment could be heard through the thick wood. Turning, Spear began to speak: "M'Ladies, we have arri-" The burly pegasus's jaw dropped. The princesses were gone. "Egads!!" Pfffffftt! Small droplets of tea continued to leak out of Celestia's mouth after she had sprayed the rest of her mouthful into the small room. Soon, the only sound in the modest bedroom was the dripping of tea off of Twilight's now-soaked body. The three mare's present all stared at each other, uncomprehending, for several seconds. Twilight was the first to speak, eyes big and afraid. "Help me." Author's Note Alright guys, here it is. Make sure to point out any errors you catch in the comments, and constructive criticism is always welcome! Btw, Nightmare Moon = Night MARE(as in a female pony) Moon. Your mind is blown. Please, please, please- if you enjoyed the chapter, make sure to drop me a LIKE or a COMMENT! Thanks!
Five More Minutes..."...you... away..." "...Ha ha...ha... already... dear..." "...We'll... you..." "...Who... stop... us..." "...dead..." Twilight Sparkle was ripped cruelly from the misty haze of her dream, thrust into a world of obnoxious sunlight. The purple mare groaned in irritation, digging her head deeper into her pillow in an effort to stave off the inevitable. "Twilight," a small voice called from downstairs, "Hurry and wake up, I've got your breakfast ready!" A moan was Twilight's only response. Helpful as Spike was, it was on mornings like these she would give a leg for some peace and quiet, even if it meant she had to make her own breakfast for a change. Evidently, staying up until 3 A.M. reading was not conducive to a good night's sleep. The sun did not relent. "Just five more minutes..." she begged, forcing her eyes to stay shut. The sun, being an inanimate mass of burning hydrogen, failed to respond. Banging her head against the pillow, Twilight imagined the sun as an expensive lamp. A delicate antique from Saddle Arabia worth thousands of bits. And then she smashed it. The light disappeared from her room, leaving behind a soothing darkness that felt like silk to Twilight's sleepy eyes. Spike must have realized his adopted sister's plight and drew the curtains. What a sweet thing to do. When she got up, she would give the baby dragon a big hug. "Mmm... thanks Spike..." she murmured, nuzzling the pillow like a newborn puppy. When her dragon brother didn't reply, she took it as respectful silence and thanked him again. Yawning deeply, the mare settled in for another few hours (give or take an eternity) of blissful slumber. "Twilight!" Spike's panicked cry carried up the stairs into the librarian's room, ripping her once more from sleep's velvety embrace. 'I take back everything.' Grunting angrily, the purple pony shifted under her sheets. Maybe if she ignores him, he'll just go away... "T-Twilight!" The shout was now somehow in her room. That dragon could move. Sadly, Twilight was not in the right frame of mind to admire the dragon's agility. "What?! Dear sweet Celestia, what do you want?!" The dragon stood there stunned for a second, before pointing a shaky claw out of Twilight's darkened window. "T-The... the sun... disappeared!" The librarian stared blankly at the lizard's look of abject terror for a few seconds. She sighed. "...Really Spike...?" Exasperated, the mare drowsily got out of bed, carefully putting all four hooves on the ground before trudging towards the door. Not even bothering to glance out of the window, the mare walked past Spike as he stared in horror. "B-But Twilight-" "-Look Spike." she interjected, irritation giving her words an edge despite the lazy speed she spoke them. "...If you wanted me to get up so badly... you could of just asked." Spike looked legitimately hurt .Usually, the dragon's pathetic look would have made Twilight feel guilty. This morning, the little dragon's face actually made her feel a bit better. Aw, did his wittle dwagon feewings get hurt? Good. Shaking it off, the dragon shook his head and pressed on. "Twilight, I'm serious! I was putting your plate on the table and then... poof! The sun was gone! I swear!" Twilight, moving through a bog of drowsiness, was not listening. She stopped at the stairs, a small grimace breaching her features. Stairs sucked. Why does she live in a house with stairs? Eyes half lidded, she gingerly set a hoof down on the first step. The book mare dimly fantasized about having an escalator in her house; the kind you see in the big Fillydelphia super-malls, so that she wouldn't ever have to climb stairs again. That would be... heavenly. "Twilight, please, list-... huh?" Twilight's assistant stopped yelling and cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. Celestia's protege didn't notice the dragons's distress- she was too busy enjoying the slight breeze as she was lowered gently to the floor. Smiling pleasantly, Twilight stepped off the wooden stairway, oblivious to the fact she didn't walk a single step. Twilight was not what you would call a morning pony. "When did we get an escalator?" Spike asked, bewildered and wide-eyed. Slowly rolling her eyes, Twilight continued to cheerfully skip (yeah right) towards the kitchen. "We don't have an escalator Spike. Now come down here and eat breakfast." Twilight practically growled, tired of her foster brother's games. Spike blinked, and the stairs stopped moving. Was he dreaming? After pinching himself a couple of times, he decided he wasn't. Huh. Shaking his head again, the baby dragon jumped down the stairs after his guardian. He found her sitting at the table, glaring sleepily at her lettuce salad like it was her mortal enemy. Her silver fork floated lazily in the air, surrounded by a familiar lavender aura. She turned towards disturbed dragon, her face softening. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." she apologized, smiling gently. "This is really good." Spike managed to keep his composure despite the slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. "I-It's fine. B-But the sun-" "Spike." the mare said firmly, cutting the dragon off. Despite the drowsiness still present in her voice, the message was clear. Sighing massively, the baby took his seat across the table from Twilight, defeated. A long silence reigned; Twilight slowly chewed her food while Spike dejectedly pushed the small gemstones on his plate around with his fork. The mare pondered the taste of her breakfast. It was good... but it was missing something. Glancing over to the counter, the lavender spotted spotted her monogrammed salt shaker, complete with a picture of her cutie mark. Ah. 'All this needs is a little more sa-' Salt. Salt everywhere. "Whoa! What the heck, Twilight!" Spike jumped out of his chair as a literal avalanche of salt tumbled down the massive mountain of sodium chloride that now rested on top of their kitchen table. "I-... What?" The purple mare tripped over her clumsy hooves as she dodged to avoid the white avalanche, managing to get away with only a few grains caught in her messy mane. "Jeez Twilight, tell me when you're going do something like that!" Spike fumed, looking longingly at the tower of salt that now concealed his breakfast jewels. He then glanced down at the floor, a slight pout on his face. "And if it needed more salt, you could of just said so..." he added, kicking at the tile floor. "I-I... but I didn't-" Three loud thuds echoed through the tree house. "Twilight!" The scratchy voice of Rainbow Dash pierced the front door of the library. Her tone was clearly urgent- this was no idle visit. "Come quick! We got trouble!" Temporarily choosing to ignore the sudden appearance of Mt. Salt, the librarian leapt up and rushed for the door, fully awake. After all, being an Element of Harmony meant being ready for action on a moment's notice.She opened the door and was greeted by the faces of all five of her greatest friends, their muzzles twisted into various expressions of worry. That's not the only thing she noticed, however. 'What? Is it still night time?' She thought, looking towards the black sky uncomprehendingly. Impossible. There were no stars. There wasn't even a moon. In fact, the librarian realized, the only reason she could even see her friends in the first place was because of the torches they all carried. The world surrounding them was almost pitch black. But... if it was daytime right now... then- "Whu-... Where is the sun???" Twilight squeaked, utterly at a loss. The faces of her friends all reflected her dawning horror as Spike sauntered out of the library, dusting the salt off a ruby. He looked smug. "Told you so." Author's Note Hey FIMfiction! They finally added an author's notes section so I can stop taking the first comment on my own stories! Yay! Been playing around with this idea in my head for a while, and I was tired of writing nothing but horror, so I thought, why not? Comedy isn't really my forte, but tell me what you think! Make sure to LIKE and COMMENT! Thanks!
Oh, You MOSSt Be Kidding'Star moss. Atrichum angustatum. Known for its brilliant orange color and its star-like shape. Loves the sun, is tolerant of shade.' Patches of bright white clouds and gorgeous blue skies flew by as the golden chariot rocketed through the air, but Twilight was too focused to enjoy the scenery. The patch of moss appeared suddenly, overlapping the several other multi-colored growths that had mysteriously materialized. The librarian's skin crawled at the moist sensation as it covered her seat and extended over the back of the chariot. Celestia, who had opted to sit closely to her student, shifted uncomfortably but said nothing. 'Spoon moss. Bryoandersonia illecebra. Aptly named after it's discoverer, Dr. Sterling Spoon. Needs an almost constant trickle of water to survive.' The pegasi flying the carriage neighed in annoyance as their harnesses were covered with a third layer of thick green moss. Luna snorted in amusement. "Now all we need is a purple moss and we'll have a wet, sticky rainbow." The Moon Princess quipped, brushing away some moss that had appeared on her shoulder. Celestia shook her head, shooting her sister a disapproving look. Luna shrugged. Twilight sighed but maintained her focus on reciting all of her knowledge on the mosses of Equestria, hoping to avoid another accident. The panicked librarian only managed to get a few choice words out (like "oh my god", and "what the buck", and "salt") back in her bedroom, before she promptly had a panic attack and passed out. She woke up on the chariot, where Celestia insisted on the task Twilight was working on now, explaining only that "they had heard enough." The Sun Princess said haste was of utmost importance, so the trio had used royal privilege to enlist the nearest chariot, leaving Spike and Twilight's friends behind. When the librarian asked why the princesses didn't just teleport her to Canterlot, Luna explained that they didn't know how it would effect her in her... condition. Thus, all aboard the moss express. The unicorn found her mind wandering back to the same question she had been mulling over since she woke up. What exactly happened back there? The mare was convinced that what happened with Nightmare Moon and Ponyville was not a dream. Her new found powers were certainly real, and not only did they seem to disobey the laws physics and all other rational schools of thought, they bent the very fabric of time and space. Twilight's old habits got the better of her as she pondered the situation. List time. Here are the facts. One, Twilight was sure she destroyed Ponyville and possibly plunged Equestria into eternal darkness using nothing but her mind. Two, Twilight, somehow, reversed all of the damage by simply wishing it fixed. 'And three... I have no Faustly idea what is going on.' Twilight concluded, frowning deeply. She was losing concentration. The images of Luna trying to simultaneously fight off both a hydra and an Ursa Major were simply too horrifying and freaking awesome to tune out. The way the night sky looked through the body of the Ursa Major was eerily beautiful, and the part where Luna cut a head off the hydra with a scythe made of stars was pretty alright. Oh man, what if- Moss. Lovely, safe, not-trying-to-murder-everyone-you-love moss. "Twilight... are you okay?" Celestia inquired, concerned for her protege. The unicorn laughed half-heartedly, all too aware that she had nearly repeated her past mistakes. "Um... yes. I'm fine." Celestia's student smiled unconvincingly. Celestia frowned, but accepted the answer. There's no way either of the princesses could know what Twilight had done. Sure; instantaneous, non-magical teleportation was nothing to sneeze at, but it was nothing compared what Twilight feared she was capable of. They didn't know that Equestria was an errant thought away from total annihilation. Twilight was all-powerful. And it terrified her. "Celestia...?" "Yes, my student?" "What's happening to me?" The ancient princess furrowed her brow, pondering how best to respond. "I... don't know." The alicorn admitted. "I've never seen anything like what you did back in the library." Celestia paused. "...and I know now might not be the best time to ask, but did I hear you right back there? Did you say time travel?" Twilight nodded as a small patch of grey-green moss appeared in the middle of the chariot. The librarian was surprised Celestia managed to pick those words out of her panicked ramblings. The alicorn nodded back gravely, concern etching her features. Celestia put a leg around her student, giving her an encouraging smile. "... I cannot be sure whether this new gift of yours is a blessing or a curse, but we will get through this. Together." Celestia said, nuzzling her student's mane. Twilight nuzzled back, happy for her teacher's support. "I am also with you." Luna added, offering a smile of support. Twilight smiled back in thanks. "What I want to know," the midnight blue alicorn continued, "is what I was doing fighting a hydra and an Ursa at the same time." Twilight's eyes widened. Celestia looked surprised. Luna shrugged again. "You were dreaming after you passed out. I thought I'd take a look." Twilight shook her head, trying her best to stay focused on Log moss (It grows on logs. Who knew?). "I would explain it princess, but I don't want to accidentally... you know..." The Moon Princess grinned widely. "It's fine, Twilight Sparkle." She bent forward towards the unicorn. "Between you and me though," Luna confided, "It was kind of bad-ass." "Sister! Language." Celestia chided. Luna laughed loudly, and a few seconds later her sister and Twilight joined in. A warm feeling replaced the dread growing in Twilight's heart. As long as she had her friends, she could do anything. And although the purple mare never had to take that sentence as literally as she did now, she knew she would be just fine. "33 multiplied by 450" "Easy. 14,850." "Uh, 5382 divided by 13." "414. Give me a hard one." "Buck, I don't know. 50,666 multiplied by 82. Oh! And divided by 3." "Mmm... That's a tough one..." The night guard looked genuinely excited that she had stumped the librarian. Twilight giggled. "Just kidding. 1384870.66... repeating." The other night guard chuckled as his friend stomped her hoof in frustration. Her midnight blue armor made a loud clang against the reflective tile floors of the council room, eliciting dirty looks from Luna and Cadence, who were deep in a conversation about how they would deal with Twilight's potentially world-ending powers. Celestia sat in the third seat, jotting down everything said and offering suggestions here and there. The rest of the seats around the round table were empty; secrecy was of the utmost importance. The night guards were an exception- they agreed to having their memories erased as soon as they were no longer needed. From the amount the Sun Princess had written, you would think they had gotten closer to a solution. In reality, the only thing sitting in that room for three hours had gotten them was a lot of wasted paper and a pissed off bat... pegasus... thing. The guardmare leaned towards her companion. "Why did we agree to this again?" The other guard shrugged. "Kissing ass?" The mare rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that. But why didn't they ask the captain to do it? She's his sister after all." 'They know I can hear everything they're saying right?' Twilight sat back onto the floor, deciding to count backwards from a thousand to pass the time. "I hear he's sick. Can't get out of bed." The mare's companion replied. Twilight saw Cadence shoot a worried look at the gossiping pair before turning back to her conversation. The purple mare sighed. It wasn't surprising that Shining would fall ill eventually; with all the stress of rebuilding Canterlot after the changeling invasion, not to mention having the security of the castle resting on his shoulders, it was amazing he didn't get sick earlier. Twilight wondered if she could simply wish him better. Nah, better not. Before she could even think about helping others with this new ability, she needed to learn how to not outright screw everypony with it first. Plus, she figured, her brother needed a break. The guards continued to chat amongst themselves while Twilight stared at the ceiling, bored out of her mind. If only she had a book. Hmm... Ancient Ruins and Scenic Vistas of Equestria, the book Twilight was reading the night before the proverbial shit hit the metaphorical fan, appeared in the mare's hooves without a sound, simply materializing out of thin air. Grinning stupidly at her accomplishment, Twilight couldn't help but fantasize about all the books she could get her hooves on. 'All the knowledge in Equestria, at a whim...' The bookworm closed her eyes in rapture, soaking it all in. "Ow!" Twilight was ripped from her fantasy by the ceiling as it collided with her head. Wait. The entire room was basically gone, replaced with a veritable ocean of books. The tomes were piled high under the ponies, raising them up to the high ceiling, almost twenty feet in the air. "What? What?" The night guard mare started hyperventilating, flapping her wings in an attempt to free her legs from the collection of thesauruses that currently imprisoned them. "Twilight!" The muffled sound of Celestia's voice reached the librarian through the mountain of books separating them. "Mosses! Mosses!!" 'Oh my god, oh my god. Right. Um. Ooze moss. Uh, known for it's slimy texture and the strange smell it emits. Loves caves.' A groan that sounded suspiciously like Luna echoed through the room as it was blanketed in a think layer of the dark green stuff. "Why can't she ever think of flowers? Or puppies?" The dark blue alicorn complained. "...Gross." The male night guard deadpanned, nonplussed. The disgusted scream of his companion demonstrated her agreement with the remark. "Um... Sorry?" Twilight said sheepishly, scratching her mane. Luna sighed explosively. "Wow... this is, uh, really amazing Twilight!" Cadence offered. "But, uh, do you think you can poof these books away? I'm stuck under Celestia, and she isn't exactly the lightest pony in Equestria, if you know what I mean." Celestia snorted. "It's probably not a good idea. We don't know what could happen if things went wrong." The white alicorn said, pointedly ignoring Cadence's comment. "I'll teleport out and get help. Just wai-" The books started to tremble and shake under the assembled ponies, interrupting the Sun Princess. "Um, guys. Guys!" The night guard mare shouted, eyes wide. "Everything's moving!" Without any further ado, Twilight and the guards found themselves forcibly removed from the council chambers in a massive avalanche of literature and smelly plant-life. Lugged Spear stood by the now open doors, looking unimpressed. "Okay." Was all he said. The night guards recovered quickly, coming to attention with a crisp salute. "Sir!" They barked, ignoring the fact that they looked more like big, gross, pony-shaped moss monsters than guards of the Nightwatch. Spear simply nodded to them before turning to Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Causing more trouble than usual, I see." The librarian frowned. "Spear." She replied awkwardly, avoiding eye contact. The two had never really seen eye-to-eye since- Twilight shivered- the incident. The princesses all appeared in the hallway with a flash of light. Celestia's horn flared, her magic incinerating the moss still clinging to her body. She looked disappointed. "Vice-Captain, I remember specifically asking you to not disturb us. There is some..." The alicorn cast a sidelong glance at her new library, "...very serious business going on." The pegasus guardpony bowed low. "Yes, princess. I just thought I would give you an update on the object." Luna looked agitated. "Well, the scientists already told us it's big and round and metal, what other astute observations do they have for us?" Cadence looked more curious than aggravated. Lugged Spear didn't react to Luna's dripping sarcasm. "M'Lady, the object spoke." Now they were paying attention. "Excuse me... did you say it spoke?" Celestia repeated. "What did it say?" Cadence asked, a sparkle in her eye. "Well..." Lugged Spear glanced in Twilight's direction. "... It asked for her." Author's Note Hey guys! Been a while. I decided that instead of making long chapters, which take forever to type and edit, I'll make little bite-sized chapters like these so ya'll can have a quick laugh and get on with your lives. If you're here, that means you liked my past two chapters, so be sure to LIKE the story so more people can see it, and maybe even leave a COMMENT; you guys have no idea how much that helps me out. Thanks!
Twilight Makes a New FriendFor any other pony, seeing a giant alien thing crashed into the middle of Canterlot Castle's throne room would be pretty exciting. Twilight, however, ranked it somewhere between the 4th and 5th weirdest thing she's done all day. "Ah, yes. Round and inanimate, just as they described. Fascinating." Luna yawned, laying eyes on the object for the first time. The silver metal orb, bigger than three ponies stacked on top of each other and completely seamless, loomed ominously in the middle of the room. The Moon Princess looked longingly at the great doors that eventually lead to her bedroom, reminded of her lack of sleep. Celestia noticed and smiled warmly. "Sister, you can go back to bed if you wish. Cadence and I will handle this from here." The alabaster alicorn offered. Luna drowsily shook her head. "And miss all the fun?" Luna laughed, waving her hoof with a dismissive gesture. Luna returned Celestia's smile with one of her own. "M'ladies, I'll take my leave." Spear interjected, bowing low. He turned to leave, taking the night guards with him. They wouldn't remember any of this. Twilight saw the male guard wave at her, a big smile on his face. Maybe she didn't traumatize them after all? A scientist, struggling to hold up his load of scientific tomes, shuffled into the hallway. He collided headfirst with the night guard mare before Twilight could shout a warning. With a loud crash, the stack fell directly on the night guard's head. "EEEEEEK!!" The mare shrieked, promptly curling up into a fetal position. She started rocking back and forth, whispering "the books, the books", even as the poor scientist tried to apologize. Well, wishful thinking. The great doors were surrounded with an aura of white magic. They closed shortly after, cutting Twilight and the three princesses off from the Nightwatch mare's little breakdown. Twilight grimaced. "Oops." She said. Cadence gave a weak smile. "She'll be fine. Don't worry." The Love Princess said. She looked distracted; probably still worried about her husband. "...Will you be?" Twilight asked, concerned for her sister-in-law. The pink alicorn looked surprised. "It's just a little cold. Nothing a little bed rest can't cure," She assured, more for herself than for Twilight, "He'll be healthy before we know it." Twilight nodded, meeting her former baby-sitter's eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure-" "Ahem, uh, sorry to interrupt, but are you Twilight Sparkle?" "...Yes." Twilight replied, aggravated at being cut off. The whole room had gone silent. The white unicorn pony (presumably the same one who closed the doors) bowed his head, sending his glasses askew. He pointed a hoof towards the object. "Um..." "Tw...igh...ar...le..." A tinny, barely audible voice floated across the room. Twilight looked at Celestia and Luna. The former nodded assuredly, gesturing towards the orb. "Just in case," Luna whispered, "Remember: flowers and puppies." Gulping nervously, the purple mare made her way to the center of the room. The object began to glow slightly, casting dull shadows across the floor. "Twil...ght... Spa...kle..." The voice repeated, increasing in volume. Twilight's mind raced. 'What is this thing? What does it want with me? Does it have something to do with my new powers? What if it's-' The mare flinched, just barely stopping herself from traveling down a mental path that quite possibly would have led to disaster. 'No, it definitely would have led to disaster.' Twilight reflected. 'The brain-eating aliens from Rainbow Dash's movies aren't exactly known for their friendliness-' "Gwar!" A green, pulsating creature appeared directly in Twilight's path, it's pony-like body oozing some kind of greenish-blue slime. It's mouth opened to reveal rows of razor sharp, Twilight-eating teeth. 'I guess I deserve this one, huh?' Twilight thought, exhausted by the increasing stupidity of the things her brain decided to spit out. The unicorn was surprisingly calm as she stared down the monster. It looked just as cheesy in real life as it did on the big screen. It charged, chomping its jaws and licking its lips. "Woof!" The little puppy barked, skidding to a halt before a triumphant Twilight. Grinning proudly, she looked up to see the whole room with their jaws on the floor, minus Celestia and Luna; the former of whom had face-hoofed, while the latter had grinned back and waved. Cadence simply shook her head in disbelief, not as used to Twilight breaking reality as her fellow princesses. Celestia sighed. "It's going to take ages to erase all of their memories..." "Heh heh..." Twilight laughed awkwardly, her grin fading. "...Sorr-" "No, don't say it." Celestia pinched her forehead. "We know you're sorry. Continue." "Woof!" Twilight shooed the dog away and walked closer to the orb, which was now shining brightly. "Twilight Sparkle." The voice returned, this time completely clear. There were no lights on the object's surface; how it glowed was a mystery. Nothing happened. Twilight was within touching distance of the orb, but it did nothing but glow and sit there. Nervously, the librarian turned back to her mentor. "W-what now?" The unicorn asked. Celestia thought about it for a minute. "Try touching it. It might react to contact." Twilight gulped again and nodded, equal parts scared and curious. If it really was an alien craft, think of the things ponies could learn from them! The possibilities were endless. Including the bad possibilities. 'No, Twilight,' she scolded herself, 'Flowers and puppies.' Ignoring the daisy that had sprouted from the floor tiles, the purple mare gingerly lifted her hoof and started moving it towards the metal object. The air around her seemed to hum with energy. Closer... Contact. There was a sudden burst of wind, sending dust particles and daisy petals into the air. The object's seamless exterior began to ripple like ocean waves, and the strange silver metal shined even brighter than before. A long, drawn out hissing sound, like the sound of air escaping from a balloon, echoed through the breathless room. Then, silence. For nearly a minute, everypony just stood there, rigid in anticipation. Twilight saw Luna lower herself into a combat stance out of the corner of her eye. The librarian backed away slowly as she tried to brace herself for whatever came next, without putting too much thought into what it might be. Pretty much every flower Twilight could think of sprouted up around the room as she tried to focus on something that couldn't maim, kill, or otherwise hurt ponies. The white unicorn fainted when one grew out of his head. Then, a second silver orb, about the size of Twilight's head, floated lazily out of the sphere. It drifted slowly towards Twilight, before stopping maybe a foot away from the librarian's face. "Amazing..." Cadence breathed, awe-struck by the metal's water-like appearance and its silky movements. The room seemed mesmerized by the orbs, and nopony uttered a sound. As the second orb hung in the air, its bigger brother stopped glowing and ceased moving. For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. Twilight's heart quickened. The object called for her and it reacted to her touch- maybe she should try to communicate with it? The mare looked back to the princesses, the question plain on her face. They both nodded their consent, faces grave. Celestia gestured towards her guards, who took up defensive positions around the room. Steeling herself, the protege cleared her throat. "Hello...?" Twilight tested, taking a small step towards the orb. Nothing happened. She tried again. "Hello? Can you hea-" "Hi!" A cheerful, metallic voice interrupted. The room practically jumped out of their skins. "Ah!" Twilight yelped, jumping backwards. The small orb began to hum loudly; the sound reminded Twilight of a computer booting up. The princesses didn't move, tense and ready for a fight should the need arise. A hologram of... something... appeared suddenly from the orb. The creature appeared to stand on two legs and, other than its mane, had no coat to speak of. Its face (or what Twilight assumed was its face) was flat with the most pathetic excuse for a muzzle that the mare had ever seen. It's skin was pale, and its hooves looked like they were mutilated by a meat cleaver. A few things were familiar about the alien, however; including its shirt and jeans, and the pair of glasses it adjusted with its gross hoof-things. "Amazing!" Twilight squee'd, elated to be making first contact with an alien race. She frantically moved around the hologram, soaking in every detail of the creature's body. She needed a notebook and a pen. She needed a camera. She needed something to record this! As per usual, the items in question popped into existence, falling onto the floor. Quickly retrieving the notebook and pen, the purple pony went to work. Questions poured out of Twilight's mouth. "What are you? Where are you from? Are you a race of hologram people or are you actually somewhere else? Where's your fur? What happened to your hooves?" The hologram looked happy to answer the mare's questions. "I'm an A.I.! I'm from space! I'm actually an intelligent program residing inside this orb! I don't have any! I don't have hooves!" It cheerfully replied. Twilight didn't write anything down; she was too busy staring at the A.I. with a creepy smile plastered on her face. Celestia coughed loudly, approaching the A.I. with a hoof raised in peace. "Greetings, A.I., My name is Princess Celestia. I welcome you to our planet." The alicorn put on her best smile. "What might your name be?" The hologram smiled back. "My name is Pan!" The princess bowed her head. "Well met, Pan. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" The hologram- Pan- nodded eagerly, its dark pink, fluffy hair bobbing up and down. "Okie Dokie Lokie!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. The hologram's voice was disturbingly similar to Pinkie Pie's. Celestia continued. "Who created you?" The Sun Princess asked. The A.I. looked confused. "I don't understand the question!" It replied, frowning slightly. Twilight decided the hologram must be female, given its voice and mannerisms. Though, for all the lavender pony knew, it could be a completely new gender. Or not have any gender at all. Luna stepped in. "Well, if you're a computer program, something must have written you, right?" The dark blue alicorn inquired. She bowed her head. "Ah, where are my manners. I am Princess Luna. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Cadence kept a respectful distance from the alien, not wanting to crowd it. Pan smiled brilliantly. "Hi, Luna! My name is Pan!" Luna inclined her head. Celestia, aware that the A.I. was purposefully ignoring the question, decided to change the subject. "Well, Pan, can you tell us why you've landed on our planet?" Pan did a little hop, turning to Twilight. "I'm here for Master Twilight!" The librarian blushed. Nopony had ever called her "Master" before. "M-me?" She asked, rubbing the back of her head abashedly. The A.I. nodded happily. "Yes! I'm your Changer Trainer!" The three mares looked at the A.I. in confusion. "My what?" "Her what?" "Her Changer Trainer!" Pan repeated like it was obvious. "Yeah, we got that part." Luna said, put off by how difficult the A.I. was being. Celestia shot her sister a stern look. "What's a Changer?" Twilight urged, happy to keep her new friend talking. "You are, silly billy!" The A.I. giggled. Again, the sound was an almost perfect imitation of Pinkie Pie's laugh. Uncanny. "Haven't you noticed? You can change things with your thoughts, Twilight!" "Oh, we noticed..." Luna grumbled. Celestia stepped forward, eager to finally get some answers. "So, are you the reason Twilight has gained these new powers?" Pan laughed. "Oh, no! Twilight has always been a Changer!" Twilight doubted that very much. The A.I. continued. "I'm just here to teach her how to control it. You know, before it's too late!" Cadence respectfully butted her way into the conversation. "Um, excuse me Pan, but did you say 'before it's too late'?" The hologram turned towards the pink alicorn. "Hello! My name is Pan!" Luna rolled her eyes. "She probably means before Twilight crashes a meteor into the planet or something." Twilight glared at the Moon Princess. Pan giggled again, flashing Luna a winning smile. "Nope! Good guess though! I'm talking about the apocalypse!" Stunned silence. "Excuse me?" Twilight asked, aghast. The A.I. continued to smile happily, as if she didn't just announce the end of the world. "The apocalypse! The end of days! The complete destruction of the world as you know it! The annihilation-" "Yes! Yes, we understand." Luna interrupted, rubbing her forehead. Cadence shook her head. "So what you're saying is... the world's going to end if Twilight can't learn to control her new powers?" "Correct!" The A.I. answered cheerfully. Twilight grimaced. She had saved Equestria plenty of times before, but the world? Not to mention that when she saved Equestria, she didn't have Ursa Majors popping out of her head like candy out of a pinata. "W-when do I have to be ready?" The librarian inquired cautiously. The A.I. stroked her chin for a second. "Approximately 3 weeks, 6 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 58 seconds from now! 57! 56!" Pan announced, counting on her... things. Jaws hit the floor. Cadence was the first to speak. "That's... that's less than a month!" Luna sighed in defeat. "We're boned." Celestia was too astonished to correct her sister's foul language. Twilight just stared at the A.I., shocked beyond words. She eventually found her tongue, shaking her head vigorously. "B-but... that's impossible! I-I can't..." Pan smiled assuredly. "Oh, no! Nothing is impossible, Twilight! A..." The A.I. looked deep in thought for a second. "...ten percent chance to succeed is still a chance!" Twilight started to hyperventilate. The dust still in the air tickled the mare's nose. "Oh, no, I wouldn't sneeze if I were you-" Pan began. Twilight sneezed anyway. Luna's eyes widened, and she looked up to the ceiling urgently. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What is it, sister?" The white alicorn asked. Luna shook her head in disbelief. "I think... I think Twilight just blew up Jupiter." "Oh my." Pan said. "Eight percent." The book mare felt dizzy. She fell back onto her rump as she struggled to take it all in. The fate of the world depended on Twilight not being a spaz. In the wise words of Princess Luna: they were boned. Author's Note Remember, if you liked the story, please LIKE and COMMENT. It helps a lot! Thanks!
A Necessary Plot Device"I can't get over how convenient this is." Twilight said, tapping the metal device strapped to her horn. The machine's bright silver metal matched Pan's orb. The A.I. herself floated lazily next to her master, sitting cross-legged. "I know, right! Technology is great!" Pan chirped, happily adjusting her glasses. Twilight sent the hologram a sideways glance; apparently, those hoof-things were called hands. Whatever they were called, the mare decided, they were still gross. "Shh!" an old graying mare, the librarian of the Canterlot Archives, shot Pan an intimidating glare. Intergalactic visitor from space or not, nopony interrupted reading time. Twilight glanced at the book she was reading. Fifty Shades of Hay. Classy. Pan looked abashed, frowning adorably. "Sorry!" she whispered loudly. "Shh!" "Sorry!" "Shh!" "Sor-" "Pan. Just stop." Twilight shook her head in exasperation. The A.I. bowed her head and nodded sullenly. Together, the two made their way deeper into the depths of the Archives, away from the crabby librarian. "So, Pan. You still haven't told me how this thing works." the bookworm stated. Twilight stopped, turning to browse a particularly old looking shelf of tomes. Every book there dealt with some kind of abstract question or topic; things like the meaning of life, if there really was a god, and recipes for apple pie. Twilight laughed quietly at the sorting mistake. Amateurs. 'Oh! Mysterious Myths and Hidden Truths seems promising.' The book mare pulled the tome from the shelf, flipping to the table of contents. After skimming the text for a bit, Twilight sighed. No luck. An hour had already passed since Twilight began looking for a book about her condition; she was beginning to lose hope. "Oh! The Limiter? It stops you from Changing anything!" Pan said, smiling widely. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Obviously. You told me that last night." the Changer replied. As it turns out, blowing up planets and learning you're the sole hope for all ponykind takes a lot out of you. After Twilight left the throne room, she decided to go straight to bed. That's when Pan strapped this Limiter thing to her head. "Oh yeah!" Pan giggled. "Sorry!" Twilight picked up another book. "So?" Pan blinked. "So?" The purple mare gritted her teeth. For a super-intelligent program designed to help Twilight control reality-altering powers, Pan was proving herself to be pretty dense. "How. Does it. Work?" Pan gasped. "Oh!" Pause. "I don't know!" the A.I. answered gleefully. Twilight face-hoofed. "But," the program continued, "I know it's made out of the same metal I am! And I can't be Changed, no matter what!" The hologram looked deep in thought. "It's some kind of... anti... Change... metal, I guess. Oh!" Pan giggled. "Let's call it Antimetal! I like that! It sounds mysterious!" Twilight groaned. Every time the A.I. answered one of her questions, it just brought up even more. "But, that doesn't make any sense. If I can Change anything I want, why can't I Change this Antimetal stuff?" Pan waved her hands in front of her face, eyes wide. "Mysteeeerioousss..." "Ugh. Never mind." Twilight pulled another tome from the shelf. Ponies or Parasprites: Who is the True Monster?. Sounded preachy. "Wait," the unicorn said, "If I can't make any Changes, what's the point of you being here to help me? What's the point of these powers in the first place?" Pan laughed. "Silly! You can still make Changes, you just have to deactivate the Limiter!" "Okay. How?" Twilight asked, shelving the book. Pan flew over to the bookworm's horn, tapping the metal device with a ghostly finger. "It's voice activated! Just say the magic word!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What's the magic word?" "Oh! That's easy." Pan grinned. "It's change!" "...change? That's the magic word?" Twilight asked, bewildered. 'Wait a minute...' "But didn't I already say change like four times?" As if on cue, a loud scream echoed through the library. "Huh." Pan scratched her head. "I guess you did." The ghastly librarian from before sprinted past Twilight and Pan, screaming bloody murder. A faint, very familiar, buzzing noise filled the lavender pony's ears. "Oh no." Twilight whispered. The parasprite swarm crashed down over the shelves at the end of the row, hungry mouths devouring hundreds of years of knowledge and history. "Pan!" Celestia's protege called, voice tinged with panic. "Pan! How do I activate it again?!" Pan smiled. "Oh, it does that automatically! From the time you say the word, you have ten seconds to do whatever you want! Then it activates again and, poof! No more powers!" The A.I. looked at to the advancing parasprites. "Ohhh, you want to get rid of them?" Twilight nodded furiously, already fleeing the approaching mob. Pan's orb floated alongside the fleeing unicorn as the hologram pondered the situation. "Well, just because the Limiter activates again doesn't mean everything goes away." The program beamed. "You have to fix it yourself! If you didn't, you wouldn't be learning anything!" Her anger towards the airhead A.I. aside, Twilight gulped and focused on the task at hand. Picturing the pristine, quiet library that used to be the Archives, the mare opened her mouth to speak. "Um...- Uh...! Ch-change!" The buzzing stopped. The library was quiet once more. "Yay!" Pan cheered. "You did it!" "Shh!" came the librarian's response. Pan frowned. "Sorry." The pair was back at the front of the Archives. A faint click echoed from the Limiter; Twilight assumed that was the machine re-activating. The Changer looked around excitedly, adrenaline still pumping through her veins. She did it. For the first time since yesterday morning, Twilight felt in control again. The mare practically skipped out of the library. "Did you see that?!" Twilight proclaimed, hooves clopping merrily on the tile floors of the great hall. "I can do it! I can cha-" the purple unicorn stopped herself. "...do things without wrecking everything!" Pan smiled pleasantly. "Yes! See, it's not so bad!" The unicorn shook her head in disbelief. "That was... amazing. Did I just travel through time? Is this the past?" Twilight already experienced her powers before, but that was when they were out of control. Actually Changing something... you know, on purpose... that was another experience all together. Pan shook her head. "Oh, no! What you did was something much, much different!" The hologram adjusted her glasses in a scholarly-like manner. "You created your own library in your head! Then, you used your powers to bring that library, the library you created, into reality, dragging that meanie librarian and us along with it!" Twilight blinked. "So... what happened to the old library?" the confused mare asked. Pan stared at her master blankly. "I don't know!" the A.I. cheered. Twilight sighed. It was going to be a long month. "Huh. That's pretty convenient." Rainbow Dash tapped the Limiter with a hoof. She had just finished ranting about how awesome Twilight's powers were, finally giving the librarian the chance to explain her situation in detail. "You're telling me." Twilight replied, shifting in her seat. Five mares and a dragon sat around Twilight in one of the many pleasure rooms of the castle. They arrived shortly after the Changer's episode in the library. It didn't take long for them to begin assaulting Twilight with questions. "You could have told me you were leaving..." Spike grumbled, pouting. The librarian smiled warmly. "Oh, Spike. You know I would have if I could." she responded, embracing the little dragon in a hug. He blushed furiously. "T-Twilight! Stop that!" "Hee hee! Oh! Oh! Say kumquat! Say it!" Pinkie Pie giggled, batting Pan's metal orb with a hoof. "Okay!" Pan enthused. "Kumquat! Kumquat!" The A.I. laughed happily. "That's such a fun word to say!" Pinkie could barely contain her laughter. "I know, right!?" The party pony turned to Twilight. "Twilight! It's so funny! She sounds like me!" "Indeed," Rarity chimed in, "the resemblance is uncanny. Pan, dear, where did you say you were from?" "I'm from space!" Pan chirped. Rarity nodded slowly. "Yes, we knew that. Where from space?" Pan cocked her head. "The big empty part!" Fluttershy raised her voice shyly. "Um... Pan, I think she meant where you came from. Like, um, where you were made?" "Oh!" Pan said, suddenly understanding. "I don't know!" Rarity opened her mouth to respond before Twilight cut her off with a hoof. "I wouldn't bother." the Changer sighed. Rarity raised an eyebrow but didn't pursue the subject. "Who cares about all that boring stuff?!" Pinkie interjected. "Pan! Pan! Say chimicherrychanga!" "Okay! Chimicherrychanga! Chimicherrychanga!" "So lemme get this straight," Applejack began, ignoring Pan and Pinkie, "Ya have magical reality-altering powers, ya can't control them, and Pan here is an alien A.I. from outer space sent ta help ya?" "Don't forget about the apocalypse in less than a month!~" Pan said, floating next to the farmer's head. Twilight sighed massively. "...Right." the earth pony said, gently nudging the silver orb away from her face. "Hmm... so Twilight needs training so she can save the world, huh...?" Rainbow Dash rubbed her chin with a hoof, pondering the situation. "What are you thinking about, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked. The rainbow-maned pegasus suddenly snapped her hoof. "I've got it!" she shouted, rising into the air triumphantly. "Got what? Got what?" Pan and Pinkie asked, echoing each other. "Yeah, what are you talking about?" Twilight inquired. "Where can you save the world over and over again, without any risk?" the pegasus asked with a sly look in her eye. Everypony looked at each other in confusion. "I don't know." Twilight admitted. "What are you saying, dear?" Rarity questioned. "What I'm saying," Rainbow Dash replied, "is that I know how we can prepare Twilight for the apocalypse." "How?" everypony asked, exasperated. Rainbow Dash smiled wickedly, a gleam in her eye. "Video games." Author's Note Yo! Welcome to the Author's Notes! If you liked the chapter, be sure to leave a LIKE or COMMENT! Thanks! Also, I released this early because I NEEDED you guys to see the new cover art. LOOK at it. LOVE it.
The Dangers of Daydreaming"What?" Spike shrugged, averting his eyes from the glares of the six friends. "I'm just saying." He mumbled, absentmindedly popping the ruby into his waiting jaws. With a loud crunch, the dragon chewed the gemstone fragments slowly, measuring their taste. Hmm. Something was wrong. The ruby needed... ...Oh yeah. Less salt. "Twilight." Rarity spoke up, turning to the bewildered mare in question. Her tone of voice was almost accusing. "I demand an explanation this instant! I have a very important client waiting for her order and I can't see my hooves in front of my face! I can't create a masterpiece like this!" The small candle she held in her magic shook angrily in the morning (night?) breeze. Twilight recoiled, taken off guard by the aggression in Rarity's tone. "Wha- I didn't do it! How should I know how it happened?!" Applejack stepped forward, her hat held to her chest in a gesture of peace. "Mmmph, mmm mmm..." Frowning in annoyance, the farmer spit the torch out of her mouth. "Well, sugarcube," she began, "Ah hate to say it, but whenever something weird and magical happens round' these parts, you're are usually involved." "I bet you it was Nightmare Moon!" Rainbow Dash sprung off the ground, her wings buzzing threateningly. "But just keeping the sun down wasn't enough for her this time! She must of gotten rid of it!" Fluttershy squeaked in terror. "No way!" Pinkie Pie cried, jumping nearly five feet off the ground in order to look Dash in the eye. "Luna would never, ever, ever do something that mean! She's not a bad pony!" Twilight nodded gravely. "Pinkie's right. There has to be another explanation for this!" The librarian bowed her head, mind racing. What in Equestria could possibly cause the sun to just disappear? Even during the (albeit short) reign of Nightmare Moon, there was always at least the moon in the sky. To have neither present was unheard of. "Uh, Twi, Ah hate ta interrupt your little brain storm thingy, but my family has ta start the harvest soon or we won't have the time ta finish before the Cider Festival!" Applejack said urgently, shifting on her hooves uncomfortably. "Oh please, it's not like you have the only deadline you know. My life will be ruined if I can't get these dresses done before tomorrow!" Rarity retorted, sending a glare the orange pony's way. Applejack was unimpressed. "Ya'll could break a nail and say your life was ruined! Some of us have our priorities straight." "And some of us are cultured, sophisticated ponies. Unlike a certain orange brute!" "And some of us have actual work ta do instead of playin' with pretty ribbons all day!" "Um, girls... let's stop fighting now please...?" "Hold on girls, Fluttershy's right! We need to stop fighting and focus on the real enemy! Nightmare Moon!" "Oh, it's my turn! Uh, guys! Gummy totally didn't lick the frosting on those cupcakes I gave you yesterday!" "Quiet!!" Twilight yelled, causing the cacophony of agitated voices to stop suddenly. Silenced, the five other ponies all looked at Twilight expectantly as she continued to think. Some kind of force field? No... nopony has enough power to cover the entire sky. An illusion? Impossible, Twilight was too familiar with illusion magic to be fooled by it on such a massive scale. What could it be? She had to be missing something. Something big. "I'm telling you," Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath, "It's gotta be Nightmare Moon." No, that... that was impossible. Twilight knew it, but so far, it was the only semi-viable explanation. The princesses were the only beings capable of moving the sun and the moon, after all, and if anypony had some sort of grudge against the sun, it would have been Luna. 'No.' Twilight repeated to herself. 'No, Luna's not that kind of pony anymore.' The lavender unicorn looked up into the endless void above, deep in thought. 'Besides, Nightmare Moon would never stand for a night like this. There aren't even any stars.' Twilight imagined the dread princess descending from a star lit sky, her dark mane swirling around her like a hurricane. She could see it now. The gasps of the townsponies. The howl of the wind. The crash of- Craaash! Thunder? "Hahahahaha!" Oh no. "Bow down, insolent foals! Hahahaha!" The booming voice, dripping in arrogance and malevolence, echoed across Ponyville. A form cloaked in darkness descended towards the clearing in front of the library, the scene a mirror image of the one Twilight had imagined. The stars had come back. Able to see now thanks to the sudden appearance of the night sky (minus the moon), the book mare observed ponies of all shapes and sizes begin to congregate around the area the dark princess was poised to land. Rainbow Dash bristled in fury. "I knew it!" She growled, baring her teeth. The looks of astonishment and horror on the rest of the ponies' faces, especially Pinkie's, mirrored Twilight's state of mind exactly. Speechless, the townsponies could only watch as Nightmare Moon landed gracefully in the middle of the clearing. Chin held high, the princess looked haughtily at the ponies present, like a shepherd at her sheep. Or a butcher at her cattle. "What's the matter, you little worms?" She sneered, curling her upper lip in sadistic glee. Twilight could vaguely sense the fear in the mob of townsponies, but their anger was almost palpable. The princess they had given their trust to had betrayed them again. Nopony bowed. The alicorn's sneer faded. "I... said... kneel!!" The command ended with a clap of thunder, a howling gale sweeping across the clearing. The ponies of Ponyville quickly let their instinct of self-preservation take over in the wake of Nightmare Moon's power, bowing low. Fluttershy squeaked again. Applejack inched over next to Twilight, the look on her face conflicted- as if she didn't want to believe what she was seeing but knew she had to. "Twi," she whispered, "Ah hate to say this, but it looks like Rainbow was right. We need to get to the Elements and fast." Pinkie Pie was crying, tears falling off her face like an adorable pink waterfall. "L-L-Lunnaaa..." She blubbered, clinging to a quavering Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash scraped at the air like a bull at the dirt; she couldn't take this anymore. "Hey!! You leave those ponies alone!" She roared, flaring her wings to the side in preparation for a charge. Nightmare Moon turned towards the disturbance as Rarity grabbed Rainbow's tail in her magic, probably saving the technicolor mare from a horrible night-themed demise. As soon as the dark alicorn saw the six mares, her malicious grin returned. "Ah, if it isn't Celestia's pet and her gang of brain-dead peasants. Nice night to take over Equestria, is it not?" She laughed maniacally as another raging windstorm rushed across the ponies, causing their manes and tails to thrash and twist. "I can't believe this!" Rainbow Dash growled in fury as she struggled against Rarity's surprisingly powerful magical grip. "Let me go, let me go!" The fashion mare shook her head vigorously, letting a few tears streak past her mascara and down her face. She hiccuped once, levitating a handkerchief to her muzzle, wiping away the unruly makeup. "No, Rainbow...! She'll kill you!" The mares hardly registered the flash of dark magic. Before any of them could react, Nightmare Moon stood inches from the fashionista's face, grinning widely. "Make no mistake, white one." She chuckled sinisterly, enjoying the surprise and fear on Rarity's face. "When I'm done here, I'll kill you anyway." Stunned and afraid, Rarity released her grip on Rainbow Dash, freeing the enraged pegasus. "Don't mess with my friends!!" Rainbow Dash screamed in fury, barreling head-first towards a bored looking Nightmare Moon. This time Applejack saved the day, jumping to grab the rainbow-maned mare right before she hit the almost invisible force field surrounding the dark princess. Even confused and terrified, Twilight could identify the shield Nightmare Moon was using: a vaporization shield. In case the name didn't give it away, one touch of that thing and Rainbow Dash would've been Rainbow Dust. Smiling in wicked amusement, the Night Princess teleported back to her place in the center of the still-terrified crowd, laughing loudly. "Hahahahaha! Give up hope, my little ponies. You will never see the sun again!" The alicorn began rising into the air as a maelstrom of midnight black mane, blinding lightning, and screaming wind whipped up the dust around her. "That's right, my little ponies." "The night..." "Will last..." "Fore-" Stopping suddenly, the wicked princess looked around confusedly, as if just realizing something. Turning towards the sky laid out above her, her evil smile twitched in annoyance. The corrupted princess' horn glowed as she lifted the moon above the horizon, finally completing the night sky. Her task done, she turned back to the stock-still crowd, a triumphant grin plastered on her face. "Forever!! Hahahahahaha!!!" 'No. This can't be happening. This shouldn't be happening!' Twilight continued to gape at the scene laid out before her. 'Where's Celestia? What could have caused this? This is... completely out of the blue!' Luna couldn't be evil again, not after what they've been through. Making friends, repairing the ponies' trust in her, forgiving her sister- it couldn't have all been for nothing, right? Even though it was clearly Nightmare Moon that stood laughing in front of her, she refused to believe her eyes. Nightmare Moon was dead. This couldn't be her... this was... ...Luna! "Hahahahahaha... ha... ha...?" The maniacal laughter trailed off slowly, petering down to a few confused chuckles every few seconds. "Where... Where am I...?" Luna, bereft of her evil guise and of seemingly sane mind, drifted gently back to earth. The extreme look of confusion on her face would be comical- if the same exact look wasn't plastered on Twilight's. Like a rusty machine suddenly forced into motion, her bewildered brain began to put together the pieces. An errant thought about salt caused an avalanche of the stuff. A short reflection about Nightmare Moon seemed to summon her. And now, after wishing with all her heart for Luna to come back, Twilight witnessed with her own eyes an almost instantaneous transformation. The odds of such a correlation were astronomical. ...Was she responsible for this? Frowning deeply, the lavender unicorn raised her front hoof. Squeak. "Twilight!" Spike rushed forward and shook Twilight's back leg, causing her to drop the mysteriously summoned Smarty Pants. "Twilight, this is no time to be playing with dolls! Luna's in trouble!" It was all the purple pony could do to just stand there, gaping at her only childhood friend as it fell to the ground with a pathetic squeak. The mob had clearly sensed the change in atmosphere. At the drop of a hat, their mood went from mortally terrified to out for blood. "I-... P-Ponies of Ponyville, your Princess means you no harm! Why do you advance?" Luna, positively alarmed (and still really confused), began to back up, even though angry ponies surrounded her on all sides. "We trusted you, Princess! And you stole the sun!" Rainbow Dash seemed to be the de-facto leader of the assembled townsponies, and murmurs of 'yeah!' and 'she's evil!' rippled through the crowd. Luna's confusion and alarm turned to fear. "No! I-I didn't! I'm not the Nightmare anymore!" The Night Princess watched in misery as the progress she had made building the trust of the ponies crumbled around her. Pinkie Pie rushed to her side, furious. "Everyone!" She yelled, looking scornfully at the crowd. "Luna isn't evil anymore! Leave her alone!" "Move, Pinkie! She'll get what's coming to her!" "No! Dashie, please..." Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy watched as the whole situation unfolded. Conflicted and befuddled, they found themselves unable to join either side. 'This... is this my fault...?' Shell-shocked, Twilight Sparkle stared at the situation she had no doubt created. But why? How? What she did with the salt and Smarty Pants wasn't any kind of magic she knew of. And even if it was some unknown branch of wizardry the librarian had no clue how to use, it didn't explain how she could bring the stars into the sky, or summon the dreaded Nightmare Moon. I doesn't explain the Nightmare's transformation back into Luna. It doesn't explain anything! What the buck was happening??? The crowd took a menacing step forward. Pinkie hugged Luna tightly as the latter spread her wings in preparation to flee, her face twisted into an expression of deep sadness. This was ridiculous! Twilight's mind remembered the time Rainbow Dash had forced her to watch all those old horror movies. An angry mob like this was usually bent on slaying some evil monster, not on hurting an innocent Princess! Treating their own leader like some kind of... some kind of horrible creature! There were much worse things in this world than a lost alicorn who simply wanted friendship... Much... worse... things... A deep, menacing cry of fury echoed through the small town. You've got to be kidding. The Ursa Major towered over the mob, slashing it's terrible claws through the air, roaring a battle cry. Twilight seemed to have developed a habit of thinking of the worst possible situations at the worst possible times. There was simply no time to question how a 500 ton transparent purple bear creature had managed to sneak up on an entire town. Luna sprang into action, leaving Pinkie on the ground to fly up and meet the Major face to face. "Ponies! Flee from this place! Quickly!" She didn't have to tell them twice. Pandemonium broke loose. Pegasi gathered their families and fled to the clouds, while the unicorns and earth ponies were left to bump into each other and navigate the crowded streets in their frenzy to escape. Twilight's friends found themselves swept up in the flood of bodies, pushed away from each other and separated. The sarcastic part of Twilight's mind seemed to function perfectly despite the circumstances. 'Well,' it quipped, 'It could be worse. At least there's no-' Five simultaneous roars could be heard over the panicked din of the crowds. Oh. Sure. Yeah. Cool. Why not? The Hydra sprinted into the fray, full-on tackling the Ursa Major and probably scaring the stars off of Luna's mane. "What in tarnation is going on?!" Applejack's terrified voice rose above the din once, before being pushed back below the rising tide of screams and 'Oh god we're all going to die's. Twilight screamed and fell to the ground, wrapping herself up into a fetal position. Spike desperately tried to get her to move, but soon all the noise and the sounds of battle as the three titans clashed faded into the background. All the lavender unicorn could hear was the sound of blood rushing in her ears, the sound of her frantic heartbeat. She squeezed her eyes shut. 'This is a dream. This has to be a dream.' Her brain tried desperately to rationalize the crazy situation she found herself in. 'I'm going to wake up in my nice bed this morning, eat my non-salty salad, read a book, and go about my business like its a nice-' '-normal day. This isn't happening, I'm just-... huh?' Sunlight. Covers. No hideous monsters. She was... back in her bed. "Twilight!" Spike's voice came from downstairs. "Hurry and wake up, I've got your breakfast ready!" It took a few seconds to register, but Twilight found herself grinning stupidly in relief. That was some dream. It was so realistic... Yawning loudly, the book mare rose from her bed and stretched. 'Mmm... it's too bad I can't tell Celestia or Luna about it though. I wish I didn't have to go so far to talk to them...' "Princesses, please, follow me." Knight Vice-Captain Lugged Spear lead the two regal alicorns at a brisk pace through the marble halls of Canterlot Castle, occasionally nodding at the various guards posted at regular intervals. "You said it's in the throne room, yes?" Celestia asked, her long prismatic mane rippling in the invisible solar breeze. Her face was serious, and she walked with grim determination. The Vice-Captain nodded curtly, conversation was not his forte. "Sister, is the situation really so serious...?" Luna walked grudgingly behind her sister, having been woken up from her rest after a particularly long and tedious session of the Night Court. The bags under her eyes were evidence of her drowsiness, as was the sleepy way her mane flopped around- a sharp contrast to the smoothly flowing rainbow that was Celestia's. The older sister's face softened at the sight of her sister so put out. "You truly are one of the deepest of sleepers, Luna. You didn't hear the loud crash? Or feel the small earthquake?" Luna shook her head, barely managing to stifle a very unprincess-like yawn. An earth pony maid walked briskly to Celestia and offered her some tea. The Sun Princess graciously accepted, smiling warmly. "Well," Celestia continued, taking a sip of her tea, "It would seem some kind of foreign metal object has crash landed in the castle. None of the scientists can make any sense of it, and our magicians claim it isn't the least bit magical." Luna raised an eyebrow skeptically, then smiled. "I see. I'm glad you woke me. It sounds like quite the mystery." Lugged Spear continued to march forward. A few minutes later, he stopped in front of the great doors of the throne room. The hurried sounds of bustling ponies and special equipment could be heard through the thick wood. Turning, Spear began to speak: "M'Ladies, we have arri-" The burly pegasus's jaw dropped. The princesses were gone. "Egads!!" Pfffffftt! Small droplets of tea continued to leak out of Celestia's mouth after she had sprayed the rest of her mouthful into the small room. Soon, the only sound in the modest bedroom was the dripping of tea off of Twilight's now-soaked body. The three mare's present all stared at each other, uncomprehending, for several seconds. Twilight was the first to speak, eyes big and afraid. "Help me." Author's Note Alright guys, here it is. Make sure to point out any errors you catch in the comments, and constructive criticism is always welcome! Btw, Nightmare Moon = Night MARE(as in a female pony) Moon. Your mind is blown. Please, please, please- if you enjoyed the chapter, make sure to drop me a LIKE or a COMMENT! Thanks!
