Flying High

Chapters

The Lost Princess
Arriving in Ponyville
Meeting New Ponies
An Unexpected Lesson
Flying High
Picking a Good Apple
A Shining Example
Dark Shadows in the Everfree
A Great Surprise
The Alicorn Amulet
In the Hospital
Arrested
The Transformation
The Battle in Ponyville
Preparations
A Nightmare Ends
The Summer Sun Celebration
Winter Mix Up
The Dragon's Smoke
Fights
The Chapter with a Montage
The Young Fliers Competition
Scootaloo Takes Manehattan
Party of One
Romance with Rarity
The Grand Galloping Gala
The Maze Labyrinth
Tricking the Trickster
The Pegasus Punch
Epilogue - The Sisterhooves Social
Prologue
Finding the Element of Honesty
Part 2, Prologue

The Lost Princess

Present Day

If Twilight Sparkle ever had to say what she liked best about being a pegasus, she was pick the ability to lie on clouds. Flying was fun, and controlling the weather was amazing, but she loved being on clouds the most.

Things were just so peaceful, up in the sky. She could rest on a cloud, thirty feet above the rest of the world, and forget about all her problems. On the ground, other ponies would interrupt her, or make her feel uncomfortable, and sometimes they'd even tease her for being out of place. But here on the clouds, nopony would ever bother her. She could have peace for as long as she wanted.

Twilight especially liked the peace and quiet in the sky. It was perfect for her favorite activity: reading. Twilight Sparkle loved to read, as you could easily tell from her book-shaped cutie mark. She was even the official assistant librarian at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

Among the staff and students, Twilight was treated as sort of a joke—what unicorn school hires a pegasus as a librarian?—but she took her job very seriously. She made it her duty to read every single book in the library, even though she couldn't understand most of the books about magic.

Twilight was currently making her way through the E section of the library. That was why she was reading Equestrian Legends. Chapter Four was all about Nightmare Moon. Twilight knew the basic legend—everypony who celebrated Nightmare Night did—but she was fascinated to find out there was more to the story.

"I never knew Princess Celestia had a sister," Twilight said. "I wonder why she's not around anymore. Did Nightmare Moon defeat her?"

Twilight kept reading. It turned out that Princess Celestia's sister was Nightmare Moon, in a sense. Somehow—the book didn't give specifics—jealousy caused the Princess of the Night to be replaced by the twisted Nightmare Moon. She appeared in ponies' dreams, turning them all into nightmares, until Princess Celestia was forced to banish the monster who had once been her beloved sister.

Not wanting to kill the former princess, Celestia decreed that, on the longest day of the thousandth year, she would be allowed to return from the moon. On that date, (which astronomers quickly determined is June 21st, 1999), a pony will arrive in our fair land. But will it be the benign Princess Luna or the evil Nightmare Moon? Only time will tell.

"June 21st, 1999?!" Twilight gasped. "That's a month from now!"

Twilight immediately put the book in her saddlebag and flew towards the library at top speed.

Twilight flew into the open window of the school library. She always kept that particular window open, so she could make a quick entrance (or exit, as the case may be). A few papers were scattered into the air as Twilight flew by, coming to a screeching halt in front of her boss, an elderly bird lover named Wren Calls.

"Twilight, how many times have I told you to not to fly in the library?" Wren admonished.

"Where's Spike?" Twilight asked.

"It's unnatural, and you always knock books off the top shelf—" Wren said.

"This is an emergency!" Twilight said, cutting Wren off in mid-lecture. "Where's Spike?"

"How should I know?" Wren asked. "I'm not his guardian!"

"Ughhh..." Twilight groaned. Wren Calls was not a helpful pony, even at the best of times; that was how she got the nickname "Wrinkles" among some of the younger ponies. Twilight couldn't wait for the older pony to finally retire and give Twilight the job as Head Librarian.

"I'll go look somewhere else then," Twilight said. She bent down on her hooves and spread out her wings to full capacity.

"No you don't!" Wren crowed. "You've got a whole cart of books to shelve and—"

"I'll do it later!" Twilight called behind her, as she flew through the open window.

Wren muttered to herself about irresponsible pegasus assistants.

Spike and Twilight were casual acquaintances at best, who only knew each other through the princess. As such, Twilight didn't know where to find him. She tried checking the cafeteria and the mailroom (where he sometimes delivered express mail with his flame breath, in exchange for bits), but he wasn't there.

Twilight ended up finding Spike lying down near one of the many statues of Princess Celestia that decorated all of Canterlot.

"Spike!" Twilight said, landing on the ground. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

The only response Spike gave was a small snore. The baby dragon was sleeping. Twilight smiled to herself at how cute Spike was. Who knew dragons could look so harmless?

Twilight opened her right wing and rubbed one of her feathers under Spike's nose. His nose twitched, and he sneezed violently.

"Huh? Wha?" Spike asked.

"Hey, Spike," Twilight said. "Glad to see you're awake!"

"Uh...oh, it's you," Spike said. "The pegasus. What brings you here?"

"It's Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "And I have to send a letter to Princess Celestia right away!"

"Oh, okay," Spike said. He yawned, then stood up. "What's the big hurry?"

"Her sister is going to be here in a month, that's the hurry!" Twilight said. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

"Princess Celestia has a sister?" Spike asked. "Since when?"

"Apparently, for about ten thousand years," Twilight said. "I can't believe this isn't all over the news! A lost princess, returning after a thousand years?"

"Woah..." Spike said. "Is that true?"

"We'll find out, as soon as Princess Celestia responds to the letter!" Twilight said. "Let's go!"

"Right," Spike said. "Let's go get some paper!"

While Spike and Twilight went to get some paper and a pen, Twilight explained the situation to Spike. Together, they sent a message to the princess, asking about Princess Luna's return. Spike sent it to her through dragon mail, and in ten minutes, they got a response.

Spike undid the scroll and read, "My dear friend, Twilight Sparkle..."

"Hey, don't read my mail!" Twilight said. She swiped the parchment from Spike's hands and read it herself, silently.

"What's it say?" Spike asked.

"...She wants to meet with me," Twilight said. "Tomorrow."

"Did she say anything about me?" Spike asked, trying to sneak a peek at Twilight's letter.

"I've got a meeting with the Princess tomorrow!" Twilight said, a slight edge of panic to her voice. "And I haven't fully researched Nightmare Moon yet! There must be at least three more books in our library which mention her! I've got to get going!"

"Uh..." Spike said.

"This is bad! This is bad!" Twilight said, dancing on hooves. "What do I do? What do I do?"

"Calm down," Spike advised. "I'm sure the princess isn't going to get mad at you."

"You're probably right, but there's no sense in being unprepared!" Twilight said. "Thanks for sending that letter, Spike. I've got research to do!"

"Gee, you're—"

There was a loud fwoosh as Twilight flew straight up into the air, like a bottle rocket. She turned and went straight for the library, with her letter in hoof.

"—welcome?" Spike asked. He scratched his head. Was Twilight always that stressed out?

The next day, Twilight went to Canterlot Castle. She took a deep breath, then nudged open the doors to the Royal Hall and timidly looked inside.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked.

Twilight Sparkle was still somewhat nervous around Princess Celestia. The two of them were friends, but it wasn't like she was the princess' personal student who met with her every day. The princess hadn't had any personal students, ever since...well, ever since the incident that the princess never talked about.

Her Royal Highness was sitting on her throne, going through weather reports from Cloudsdale. Her face lit up when she saw Twilight. She instantly put the reports down on a side table and leapt up.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Princess Celestia said. "Please, come in! It is good to see you again!"

Twilight walked inside, a bit awed by the size of the room and by the fierce-looking guards. "Hello, Princess," Twilight said. "It's good to see you, too."

Celestia walked towards Twilight. "I asked the guards to clear the Glass Hallway, so we could speak there in private," she said. "I hope you don't mind?"

"Oh, no, that doesn't bother me," Twilight said. "I love the Glass Hallway."

"Excellent," Celestia smiled. She led Twilight out of the room and together, they went to the Glass Hallway.

If you ever get the chance to visit Canterlot, it is highly recommended that you go to the Glass Hallway while you're there. It is definitely worth the three bits for a personal tour. The Glass Hallway is a utterly magnificent area, which is over a hundred yards long. The walls are coated with dozens of beautiful stained glass windows, some of them fifteen feet high.

The Glass Hallway was personally designed by Princess Celestia, four thousand years ago. As the Princess of the Sun, she loved to see her sunlight reflected through the windows, creating a myriad of brilliant colors.

"I was pleasantly surprised when I received your letter," Princess Celestia said. "I am glad to learn that your research has been progressing well."

"Well, there hasn't been much material for me to research lately..." Twilight said. She wasn't being modest; she was telling the truth. As a non-unicorn, she couldn't do a lot of research in magic, which made up the bulk of the material in the unicorn school's library.

"Do not sell yourself short," Celestia said. "You should be proud of your research skills. You're the first pony to notice that Nightmare Moon's return is imminent."

"So she is coming here next month?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Celestia said. "Most ponies think she is just a myth, but I can assure you that she is very real. Even after a thousand years, I haven't forgotten her."

"But..." Twilight began to say. Her ears lowered. "I'm sorry if I'm being intrusive, but...how does Nightmare Moon relate to your sister? None of the books I found mentioned that."

"Princess Luna is trapped inside Nightmare Moon," Celestia said. "I'm still not entirely sure how it happened, but I'm convinced that my sister is still alive, inside the horrible monster. I can sense it."

"I...I see..." Twilight said.

Celestia stopped in front of a window and gestured towards it. "I brought you here, because I wanted you to see this," she said to Twilight. "What do you see?"

Twilight looked at the window. She had never seen it before, for good reason; it had recently been brought out of storage. The bottom of the window was a horrific scene. It looked like ponies were being tortured by a horned, dragon-like creature intent on destruction and chaos. At the top of the window were two alicorns: one white and one blue. Their bodies formed complimentary halves of a brilliant circle.

Twilight recognized the white alicorn immediately, thanks to the sun cutie mark on her flank. The darker alicorn had a moon for a cutie mark.

"That's you at the top," Twilight said. "Is the other pony your sister?"

"Yes," Celestia said. "That is a picture of Princess Luna and me, defeating Discord."

"Discord?" Twilight asked. She looked at the window more closely. A light was emanating from the Royal Sisters, and it focused on the horned creature. "Is that the name of the monster here?"

"Yes," Celestia said. "We defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony."

"The Elements of Harmony!" Twilight said, happy for an opportunity to show she had done her research. "One of the books mentioned that! The Elements can be used to stop evil creatures, like changlings!"

"They can," Celestia confirmed. "They can even stop Nightmare Moon."

Twilight gasped. "Is that...is that true?" she asked.

"It is indeed," Princess Celestia said. "If we could use the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon, I'm sure they would destroy her and save my sister. The only problem is that—"

"One of the Elements is unknown!" Twilight said. Seeing the look on Celestia's face, she stopped. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. I just read it in a book."

"I see," Celestia said. "What did the book say?"

"Well..." Twilight said. She flew up a few feet, so she was level with the top of the stained-glass window. From here, she had a better view of the princesses. In between the two alicorns were six circles, each one with a symbol on it.

"There are six Elements of Harmony, and each one represents something different," Twilight said. She pointed at one circle, which had a heart on it. "I think this one represents kindness. There's also laughter and...let's see, that's loyalty and that's honesty, which means that one is...giving?"

"That is the Element of Generosity."

"Right. But the last one...nopony knows what it is. Hmmm...it looks sort of like a compass."

"Yes," Celestia said simply. "That's right. Nopony knows what the last Element of Harmony is."

Something in Celestia's voice sounded off. Twilight landed on the ground and looked worriedly at her. "Princess?"

Celestia's thoughts were elsewhere, and it took a moment for Celestia to refocus on the task at hand. She shook her head and looked at Twilight.

"Forgive me," Celestia said. "I got distracted for a moment. Twilight Sparkle...I have a job for you to complete. A very important job."

Twilight gulped. She didn't like the seriousness in the princess' voice. "What is it?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about this for a while now," Princess Celestia said. "And now that you know about the Elements of Harmony, there's no sense in putting it off any longer. I want you to move to Ponyville."

"Whaaaaaat?" Twilight asked. "I can't move away from Canterlot! This is my home! My family lives here!"

"I know that," Celestia said. "But there's an opening for a government position in Ponyville. They need a new head librarian."

"A head librarian?" Twilight asked. Her eyes almost sparkled with joy. "I'm getting a promotion?"

"Exactly. I think you would be the perfect pony for the job...but that's not all I want you to do."

"There's something else?"

"As you may know, the Summer Sun Celebration this year is being held in Ponyville," Celestia said. "They need somepony organized to help them prepare for the event. I want you to be that pony."

"You want me to be in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration?" Twilight asked. "But...isn't that coming up really soon? I might not have enough time."

"The Summer Sun Celebration this year is on June 21st," Princess Celestia said.

Twilight's eyes widened. "June 21st?" she asked. "But that's the day that Nightmare Moon is going to return!"

"And we need to be ready," Celestia said. "While you go around town, preparing for the festival, I want you to find ponies who can wield the Elements of Harmony."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "You're making me a secret agent?"

Celestia chuckled. "In a sense, yes," she said. "But it's nowhere near as dramatic as that. All you have to do is find ponies who match the elements. Find a pony who is kind, a pony who is honest, a pony who is loyal, and so on."

"I...guess I could do that," Twilight said. "Sure."

"You have to do it, Twilight," Celestia said. "This is of the utmost importance."

Twilight stood up as straight as she possibly could. "I won't let you down, Princess Celestia!" she said. "You've done so much to help me already...I will help save your sister!"

"Excellent," Celestia said. "I knew I could depend on you. Let's make preparations immediately."

Arriving in Ponyville

Two days later, Princess Celestia came by to see Twilight off. In a move which surprised the young pony, Celestia had insisted that Twilight take Spike with her to Ponyville.

"But we barely know each other," Twilight had argued.

"This is an opportunity to change that," Princess Celestia had said. "Besides, without Spike, there's no other way for you to contact me in case of an emergency."

When Celestia stepped onto the balcony, Twilight was busy attaching the harness of the small chariot to her back. It was difficult to attach the harness without getting her wings caught in anything.

"It's a good thing you're small," Twilight said to Spike. "I don't think I could pull much more weight."

Spike shrugged. "Just be glad all our luggage was sent ahead of us," he said.

"I see you are almost ready," Princess Celestia said, stepping over to them. She used her magic to fix one of the straps that Twilight was struggling with. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Absolutely," Twilight said. "I've never flown this far before, but I've done the math, and if I fly at a constant rate of 6.3 wingpower, I can make it to Ponyville in two hours."

"Don't forget to take a break if you need to," Celestia suggested.

"Yeah, I won't be mad if it takes longer to get there," Spike said. "I'm not in a hurry."

Celestia leaned in closer to the pair. "Now remember," she said. "Your cover story is that you're being sent to Ponyville to research friendship. That'll give you an excuse to meet everypony in town."

Spike, who had been told about the mission, nodded. "With the two of us working together, I'm sure we'll find the Elements of Harmony in no time!" he said.

"But what about the sixth Element of Harmony?" Twilight asked. "The compass one that nopony knows the meaning of. How can I find somepony who wields that?"

"You...let me worry about that," Celestia said, reluctant to divulge more information. "If worse comes to worst, I can try wielding it myself."

"...Okay," Twilight said reluctantly.

"Good luck, you two," Celestia said. "If you ever need me for anything, send me a letter. I'll answer as soon as possible."

"Roger that!" Spike said, giving a salute. "Goodbye, Princess!"

"See you at the Summer Sun Celebration!" Twilight said. She started buzzing her wings, in preparation for takeoff.

"Goodbye!" Princess Celestia said, as Twilight took to the air, pulling the small chariot with Spike behind her.

Celestia watched them fly away, until they were nothing more than a speck in the sky. Sighing, the Princess of the Day turned around and went back towards the palace.

Being the bright young pony she was, Twilight had noticed the major flaw in Celestia's plan: the Element of Magic. Only a powerful unicorn could wield that particular element, but Celestia knew for certain that no such unicorn existed.

For the past fifty years, Celestia had searched extensively for unicorns with strong magical abilities. If truth be told, that was part of the reason why she founded her school for gifted unicorns, five hundred years ago.

Sadly, the Princess' search for a unicorn who could be the Element of Magic was unsuccessful.

Well, not entirely unsuccessful. Her last student—the one who had hatched Spike from his egg—had shown a lot of promise. But then the disaster happened and...

"Blueblood, why did you do that?" Princess Celestia wondered, not for the first time. "Everything would be perfect now, if you had just done the right thing."

Twilight and Spike arrived in Ponyville about two and a half hours later. They flew over what looked like the main part of town.

"Where do you think City Hall is?" Twilight asked.

"You're the pegasus, not me," Spike said. "Can't you recognize buildings from above?"

"Not unless they have signs on their roofs," Twilight said. Roof signs were more common in pegasus places like Cloudsdale and Airizona, but Ponyville appeared to be an Earth pony town. Its buildings were designed to look interesting, only from ground level. "This kind of looks like the right place. Maybe we should land and ask—"

"What are you doing here?" a harsh voice asked.

An angry-looking pegasus mare with a rainbow-colored mane flew up out of nowhere, stopping two feet in front of Twilight. Twilight let out a small "Eep!" and recoiled, causing Spike to fall forward against the front of the chariot.

"This is a restricted area," the mare said. "A no fly zone! Get down on the ground immediately!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Twilight said. She flew downwards, looping around in a big circle so the chariot would land safely on the ground. The rainbow pegasus landed in front of her.

"Flying a chariot over City Hall? What do you have to say for yourself?" the rainbow pegasus asked.

"Hey, it was City Hall!" Spike said. "We found it!"

"I am so sorry," Twilight Sparkle said. "This is my first time in Ponyville, so I didn't know—"

"The punishment for flying a commercial vehicle over government property is ten days in jail," the mare said sternly. "I'm taking you straight to the police station."

Twilight Sparkle threw herself at the mare's hooves. "No, please!" she begged. "I'm not a bad pony! I had no idea that—huh?"

Twilight lost her grip on the mare's hooves, when the sky-blue legs started shaking. Twilight looked up to see that the rainbow-maned pegasus was...laughing?

"Ha ha ha! I'm just kidding!" she said. "But seriously, they don't like having ponies fly over Town Hall. There have been problems with that in the past."

"Problems?" Twilight asked, getting up off the ground. She started unhitching herself from the chariot, as Spike jumped off the chariot and landed on the ground.

"Yeah, this one mailmare accidentally dropped a grandfather clock through the roof once," the mare said. "Plus, there was that big pegasus protest when the mayor announced mandatory wing inspections...Anyway, I'm Rainbow Dash. I help with the weather team here. Who are you?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia sent me here to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said, momentarily rearing up onto her hind legs. "Back up! You know Princess Celestia?"

"Uh huh!" Spike said. "We're her best friends!"

"I wouldn't go that far," Twilight said. "But I've known her for about fourteen years. She helped me get a job here."

"Wow, that's so cool!" Rainbow Dash said. "What's your job?"

"I'm here to study the magic of friendship!" Twilight Sparkle said proudly. She struck a self-important pose, hoping to seem impressive.

Rainbow tilted her head to the right a bit. "Friendship?" she asked skeptically. "That's a thing you can study?"

"She's the new head librarian," Spike explained. "I'm her assistant, Spike."

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash said, nodding slightly at Twilight's book-shaped cutie mark. "A librarian. That makes more sense."

Twilight's face fell. "Well...I am here to research friendship..." she muttered. Then she brightened up. "Maybe you and I could be friends!"

"Uh...sure," Rainbow Dash said. "It's always nice meeting a new pegasus in town. Maybe later I can show you some of my flying tricks."

"Sounds great!" Twilight said. "But first, we have to meet with the mayor. She wanted to see us as soon as we got here."

"Well, she's probably in there," Rainbow said, pointing at City Hall. "Nice meeting you two. Have fun in Ponyville!"

"Thanks, you too!" Spike said, as Rainbow flew off.

After some paperwork was filled out, Mayor Mare led Twilight and Spike around the mostly empty City Hall, pointing out places of interest. "The choir will be situated there," the elder mare said. "Princess Celestia will be behind the onstage curtain until I introduce her."

"What about food?" Spike asked.

"Nopony has volunteered to help with the food yet," Mayor Mare said. "Perhaps you two can round up some volunteers while you're staying here."

"Well, we want everypony to have a good view of what's happening," Twilight said. "I take it that there will be some kind of seating system in place?"

"No, unfortunately, nopony volunteered to take care of that," Mayor Mare said.

Twilight frowned in frustration; this project was starting to look hopeless. "So you're saying that nopony has volunteered to help with setup, cleanup, food or ushering," she summarized. "What do we have volunteers for?"

"Rarity has agreed to help with decorations, and Fluttershy will lead the choir," Mayor Mare said.

There was a pause, as Twilight waited for the mayor to continue. She didn't.

"...That's it?" Twilight asked. "Only two ponies are helping with this event? The Summer Sun Celebration is next month!"

"Which is why we're so glad you agreed to take charge of the project," Mayor Mare said. "The princess spoke very highly of your abilities. With your help, I'm sure that everything will go smoothly!"

"I suppose," Twilight said. She wanted to complain that she never volunteered to be in charge of this project, but she held her tongue. Mayor Mare sensed Twilight's discomfort, and she tried to change the topic quickly.

"Did I mention that we have a guide for you here?" Mayor Mare asked.

"A guide?" Spike asked. "Like a map or something?"

"No, we have a pony who agreed to show you through town," Mayor Mare said. "She's part of our welcome wagon committee."

"Where is she?" Twilight asked. "Maybe she can help with the Summer Sun Celebration."

"She's probably outside," Mayor Mare said, leading Spike and Twilight to the exit. "I probably should warn you that Pinkie Pie can be a tad rambunctious around new—"

The instant the front door was opened and the three ponies stepped outside, confetti rained down upon them. A pink pony holding several musical instruments jumped up and down on Twilight's chariot.

"Hey, what's—ow!" Twilight said, as some confetti got in her eyes. Spike tried to burn some of the confetti with his fire breath, while the mayor held her head and sighed.

The pink pony began playing a song, although Twilight would never be sure how she could sing and play the tuba at the same time.

Welcome, welcome, welcome,
To the princess' smart student!
Welcome, welcome, welcome,
We're glad that you are present!

We hope that you are happy here,
And you don't treat us with scorn!
So welcome, welcome, welcome...
To our newest unicorn!

The pink pony did a flip in midair and landed on a switch. A banner reading "Welcome to Princess Celestia's Delegate!" popped out of the ground.

"Ta-da!" the pink pony said. "What do you think?"

"Uh..." Twilight said, not sure how to react. "I'm not a unicorn."

"Whaaaat?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I thought everypony in Canterlot was a unicorn! They told me that you were from Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and I thought—"

"It's a common mistake," Twilight said, in an understanding voice.

"A really common mistake," she muttered, too low for anypony to hear. Why did everypony expect her to be a unicorn?

"That was pretty cool!" Spike said, walking over to Pinkie Pie and holding out his hand. "I'm Spike. Do I get a song?"

"Hi, Spike, I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. "I didn't know anypony else was coming here, or I would have changed my sign! But I think I can make up a song for you!"

Pinkie pulled confetti out of nowhere and threw it into the air.

Oh...welcome, welcome, wel—

"Pinkie!" Mayor Mare interrupted. "Can I have a word with you?"

Pinkie frowned. "Okay..." she said, as she put her instruments away.

The mayor took Pinkie a short distance away, before chewing her out. "Pinkie, I told you we couldn't afford anything big right now. How much of the Welcoming Committee's money did you spend on that banner?"

"Um...all of it?" Pinkie said. "Well...the budget wasn't large enough, so I had to pay a little extra."

"Next time, use a piece of paper as a sign!" Mayor Mare said. "This is completely overdone and irresponsible!"

Pinkie's ears flattened and she hung her head in shame. "I just wanted to welcome the new ponies..." she said.

"And the confetti! What have I told you about using confetti on the streets?"

"You said not to use confetti, because it makes a big mess, and we have to pay for street cleaners..." Pinkie said sadly. "But I thought it would be fine if I just used a little confetti!"

"Three buckets of confetti is not a little!" Mayor Mare said.

"Seven buckets, actually," Pinkie Pie said. "I didn't use them all yet!"

"You bought seven buckets worth of confetti," Mayor Mare said, facehoofing. "I swear, you are—"

"Um, excuse me," Twilight Sparkle said, walking up to the pair. "But I can help clean up, if you want."

"What?" the Mayor asked. She looked embarrassed. "Oh, my dear, you weren't supposed to hear that!"

"It's no problem, really," Twilight said. She unfurled her wings and flapped them perpendicular to the ground. This created a small wind, which blew some the confetti away. In a short period of time, she got all the confetti together in a pile.

"Ta-da!" Twilight said.

"Oh my gosh, you are my new best friend!" Pinkie Pie said, hugging Twilight. "Thank you so much, Twilight Purple!"

"It's Twilight Sparkle," Twilight said. "And you're welcome."

"So I'm here to show you around town!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing up and down. "Where do you want to go first? We could go to Sugarcube Corner, which is where I live! They have the yummiest food there! And you're going to live at the library, which is really close by, so we can be best friend neighbors!"

"Yes, we should probably visit our new home first, so I can drop off this chariot," Twilight said. She didn't want to pull the chariot around all day. "And after that, we should visit the local school. I need to sign Spike up for classes there."

"Hey!" Spike said. "I'm not a little kid! Besides, I'm supposed to be your assistant!"

"Maybe when you're older," Twilight said. She still didn't know Spike well enough to want to have him around her constantly.

"Hmmmph," Spike said.

"Miss Cheerilee is in charge of Ponyville Elementary," Mayor Mare said. "She can answer all your questions about child education."

"Great, thanks, Mayor," Twilight said.

"Well, I have to get back to work," the Mayor said. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with the town. Please keep in touch and let me know your progress with the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Will do," Twilight said. "Can I ask you one last thing, though? Who would you say is the most generous pony in town?"

"Well...nopony immediately comes to mind..." Mayor Mare said.

"Bon Bon likes to give free samples at her store," Pinkie Pie suggested.

"Okay, then, who would you say is the most loyal?" Twilight asked.

"Loyal to what?" the mayor asked.

"Loyal to...huh," Twilight said. Now that the mayor pointed it out, she had no idea what the Element of Loyalty referred to. There are many things a pony can be loyal to: her friends, her country, even her favorite restaurant. "Hmmm...Spike, do you know what the loyalty element means?"

"Hey, you know more about this than me," Spike said, shrugging.

"Make a note for me to ask the Princess later," Twilight dictated.

"I thought I'm not your assistant," Spike said.

Twilight lightly smacked him upside the face, with one of her wings. "Ow!" Spike said. Pinkie Pie giggled.

"Well, that's everything!" Twilight said quickly. "Heh heh, it was nice meeting you, Mayor!"

"Likewise," Mayor Mare said. She turned around and went back inside City Hall. Behind her, Spike was grumbling about unfair treatment, while Twilight lectured him on the importance of teamwork. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around, thinking up all the various places that she wanted to take Twilight.

Once the chariot had been dropped off at the library (and once Twilight stopped gushing about how amazing her new home was), they went to enroll Spike at Ponyville Elementary. It was shortly before noon when they arrived, so Cheerilee had declared an early lunch that day, so she and Twilight could hammer out the details.

"I have no idea how old he is specifically," Twilight said. "All I know is that he's still a baby dragon."

"Do you know how many years of formal schooling he's had?" Cheerilee asked.

"A few, I would guess," Twilight said. "He knows how to read and write pretty well. He trips up over large words, sometimes."

"We've had a transfer student from Canterlot before, so I know their educational system isn't too different from ours, besides for the magic training," Cheerilee said. "I think the first place to start is by giving Spike an aptitude test, so we can determine which level of studies he's at."

"Makes sense to me," Twilight nodded.

"What about social skills?" Cheerilee asks. "How does he interact with other children his age?"

Twilight took a moment to look out at the playground area, where Spike was. The playground area was little more than a small field, where the children could run around safely, under an adult's supervision.

The adult in this case was Pinkie Pie, who agreed to watch the children so Cheerilee and Twilight could talk. Normally, the children loved having Pinkie Pie around, but today, they all ignored her in favor of Spike. They were all gathered around the young dragon, which made him feel a bit self-conscious.

"A dragon at the school!" one of the fillies said. "We're getting a dragon!"

"Yeah, this is more exciting than the time Snails got his cutie mark at a Prench restaurant!" Snips said.

"Is it true that you can breathe fire?" Applebloom asked.

"Yeah, watch!" Spike said. He took a deep breath and let out some flame.

"Oooooo!" all the children said.

"How does that work?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Do you need fire to live?"

"Normally, I breathe air like everypony else," Spike said. "But I can heat up the air inside me and let it out as fire!"

"That's neat!" Snails said.

"If you can breathe out fire, can you also breathe out smoke?" Tootsie Flute asked.

"Uh huh," Spike said. "It feels kind of funny when I do that."

"Could you breathe fire in?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I don't know," Spike said. "I never tried."

"What are your parents like?" Twist asked. "Are they big and scary?"

"Well...um..." Spike said. "I don't really know my parents."

"Really?" Scootaloo said, jumping forward in excitement. "Did they give you up for adoption?"

"Nopony knows who my dragon parents are," Spike shrugged. "Princess Celestia says she found me as an egg."

"You know Princess Celestia?" several ponies shouted at once. They all crowded in, shouting questions at the same time. Spike took a few steps backwards, unused to all this attention.

Meeting New Ponies

"Well, that's taken care of!" Pinkie Pie said, as they left the school. "What next?"

"I should probably meet the other ponies who are helping with the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "They were...uh..."

"Fluttershy and Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said. "Oh, can I help, too? Can I? Can I? I love throwing parties!"

"...Sure," Twilight said, with some reservations. "I have to review all the purchases, before you make them, though."

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "And I'm also going to throw a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' party for you and Spike this weekend! It's gonna be super fun!"

"We don't need a welcome party," Twilight said.

"Yes you doooo!" Pinkie sang. "You'll love it! Everypony gets their own Pinkie Pie Party when they move here!"

"I...okay," Twilight said, realizing that she probably couldn't say anything to change Pinkie's mind.

Twilight fell silent, as she followed behind the bouncing pink pony. Soon, they reached the market area, and Twilight's first impulse was to fly away to safety. Pegasi tend to feel claustrophobic in areas where they can't move around much, but in this case, it wasn't just the crowded space that disturbed Twilight. Her senses were being attacked by a variety of overpowering smells and equally overpowering vendors, who shouted as they walked past.

"Turnips! Turnips for sale!"

"Apples! Get your apples here!"

"Carrots! Tasty carrots!"

Twilight cringed a bit, causing Pinkie Pie to turn and look at her curiously.

"Something wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, I..." Twilight said. She shook her head. "I just remembered, we need to get food."

"Food, you say?" one of the vendors—a yellow mare with an orange mane—asked. "Great! My carrots are the tastiest in all of Ponyville!"

"That's a load of hogwash!" said the mare in the stall next to her. The orange mare with a yellow mane adjusted her hat. "Why, everypony knows apples are healthier!"

"You're both being silly!" Pinkie Pie said. "Everypony knows I make the best food in town! Here, Twilight, have a free sample!"

Pinkie pulled out a plate, which had a brownie on top. Twilight wasn't sure where the food had come from, and she didn't get a chance to think about it, either. "No, no," Twilight said. "I...I didn't mean that I'm hungry now. I'm saying that we need food for the event."

"Sweet Apple Acres does a fine job of catering!" the mare with the hat said. "And our prices are real reasonable!"

"Fruits are so last year!" the other mare said. "You'll want the special vegetable blends from my golden harvest for sure! What's the occasion?"

"The Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "I've been put in charge of organizing it."

Both the farmer/salesponies gasped.

"The Summer Sun Celebration?" the carrot mare asked. "The one that Princess Celestia is going to attend?"

"I'll do it for free!" the apple mare said. "Feeding the royal princess would be an honor!"

"No, I'll do it for free!" the carrot mare said. "The princess deserves the best, not some moldy apples which fell on the ground!"

"Are you calling my apples moldy?" the mare in the hat asked. "At least they don't grow in dirt like your carrots do!"

The two mares started squabbling with each other about their food of choice. Pinkie took this opportunity to sidle up next to Twilight. "You know..." Pinkie whispered in Twilight's ear. "I heard Princess Celestia loves cake! Sugarcube Corners makes some nice ones..."

"Okay, that's enough!" Twilight barked. "No more fighting!"

The three other ponies fell silent, and the two farmers glared at each other.

"Look, why don't all of you work together to provide food for the event?" Twilight asked. "That way, there will be a variety of foods, and everypony will be happy."

"Sounds good to me," the apple mare said. "What 'bout you, Carrot Top?"

"I guess we could work together again," the carrot mare allowed.

"Great, they can do the main course, and Sugarcube Corner can do dessert!" Pinkie said. "Everypony will love it!"

"That sounds fantastic!" Twilight said. "And best of all, you said you'd work for free, so it won't cost us anything!"

The farmers shared a glance. With a silent nod, they immediately agreed to rescind their offer.

"Er, about that—"

"I may have been a bit too hasty—"

"I never agreed to work for free," Pinkie said bluntly.

"You're all so generous," Twilight said, purposely ignoring them. "It might even be elemental to your natures! I'll make sure to mention that in my report to the Princess tonight! Can I have your names?"

"I'm Carrot Top," the carrot mare said.

"And I'm Applejack," the apple mare said.

"Great, thanks!" Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. I just moved here from Canterlot to study friendship for the university!"

The farmers looked confused. "Ponies study friendship at the university?" Carrot Top asked.

"I thought universities were for fancy mathematics and such," Applejack said.

"Uh...friendship is more like a research project for me?" Twilight asked. She chuckled nervously under the stare of the two farmers.

"Why don't ponies believe me when I say I'm here to study friendship?" Twilight complained, once she and Pinkie had left the market.

"Maybe it's because schools don't offer degrees in friendship," Pinkie Pie guessed. "Or maybe it's because you're a grown-up, so you should already know how to make friends! Or...oh! I've got it! Maybe they don't believe you, because they suspect that you're on a top-secret mission from the princess!"

"What?" Twilight burst out. "How did you know—?"

"It's kind of obvious," Pinkie Pie said. She gave Twilight a sideways hug. "But don't worry! I'll help you learn how to make friends! That's what I do best!"

"Oh, um...yeah," Twilight said, feeling very confused. Pinkie was a nice mare, but following Pinkie's thought processes was starting to give Twilight a headache.

"Anyway, here we are!" Pinkie said, pointing at a large blue building in front of them. Twilight looked up at it, confused.

"The Ponyville Day Spa?" Twilight asked. "Why are we here?"

"Because that's where Fluttershy and Rarity are, silly!" Pinkie said. "They always go to the spa on Thursdays, you know."

How was I supposed to know that? Twilight wondered, as she followed Pinkie inside. The spa's interior contained shades of pink and light teal, along with a few extra-fluffy couches. Peaceful flute music was playing in the background, and some ponies in robes were walking around.

"Are Fluttershy and Rarity here?" Pinkie Pie asked one of the workers. "We need to talk to them."

"They should be in the baths," the worker said.

"Great, thank you!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's this way, Twilight."

The two of them went down a small hall and through a door labeled "baths". This room was the pride and joy of the Ponyville spa; as the brochures proudly proclaimed, it was the largest indoor bath in over a hundred miles. It was kept heated at a constant temperature of ninety degrees, thanks to one of the unicorn staff workers who knew how to cast a warming spell.

The bath itself was rather grandiose, as polished stairs led around the sides and up to the top level. It was here where Fluttershy and Rarity were seated, letting the hot water soothe their bodies.

"Hi, Rarity! Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie called, climbing up the stairs. Twilight chose to fly up to the bath area instead.

"Hi, Pinkie," Fluttershy said.

"Hello, Pinkie, dear," Rarity said. "What brings you here today? You don't usually go to the spa."

"I want to introduce you to my new friend, Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie said, throwing a foreleg around Twilight. Twilight squirmed a bit at this.

"Charmed," Rarity said. "I am Rarity, the owner of the Carousel Boutique."

"I...I'm Fluttershy," Fluttershy said softly.

"Hello!" Twilight said.

"Twilight came all the way here to talk to you!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Is that right?" Rarity asked.

"I've been put in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration," Twilight said. "So I need to meet with all the volunteers. Fluttershy, you're going to be singing, correct?"

"Um..." Fluttershy said, turning red.

"I didn't know that," Rarity said. "Why, that's wonderful! You have such a lovely singing voice, darling."

"I love music!" Pinkie Pie said. "What songs are you going to pick?"

"Um, I'm sorry," Fluttershy said, sinking down in the water a bit. "But I'm not going to sing. My birds are."

"Your...birds?" Twilight asked.

"Fluttershy's special talent is dealing with animals," Pinkie Pie said. "Her birds are the best! They chirp extra beautiful, just for her."

Fluttershy smiled, relieved. "Exactly," she said. "I'm training a bird choir for the occasion."

"That sounds nice," Twilight said. "You'll have to give me a demonstration sometime. And Rarity, you're in charge of...decorations?"

"Exactly," Rarity said. "I've sketched out a few ideas for how we can set things up, and I'm sure you'll be quite pleased with the results. Making ponies look fabulous is my special talent."

"I've...never heard of anypony with that talent before," Twilight said.

"Oh, but it's true!" Rarity said. "You simply must stop by boutique sometime! I'll prove it to you! Why, with the right dress—I'm thinking light purple—and a proper manecut, you'd look fantastic!"

Twilight's hoof went directly to her loose bangs. "What's wrong with my hair?" she asked, more defensively than she expected.

"Nothing, of course," Rarity assured her. "I just mean that...well, I imagine your bangs constantly get messed up whenever you go flying."

"That only happens when I fly too quickly," Twilight said.

"I think Twilight's mane looks nice," Fluttershy said. "Sometimes, I wish I had short hair."

"I've given up on trying to control my hair," Pinkie Pie said. "I just let it do whatever it wants!"

"I noticed," Rarity said dryly.

Twilight frowned. She wasn't sure if she liked Rarity or not; the posh unicorn reminded her a bit too much of some of the snooty ponies back in Canterlot.

"Well, it was very nice to meet both of you," Twilight said. "I'll follow up with you both later this week, to make sure everything is good."

"That sounds nice," Rarity said. She shifted her upper body. "Won't you join us here in the water? It's sooo warm."

"No, I have to get—" Twilight began.

"CANNONBALL!" Pinkie shouted. She ran and jumped into the bath, making the biggest splash she could.

"Pinkie!" Rarity and Twilight cried.

When Twilight left the spa, she decided to dry off by taking a quick nap on one of the clouds. She was still somewhat tired from her long flight that morning, and before she knew it, she had fallen fast asleep. She didn't wake up until the town's clock tower chimed three.

"Mmmm..." Twilight mumbled, as she turned over in her sleep. "Three o'clock. The big after-school rush is coming..."

Suddenly, she bolted upright. "Three o'clock!" she cried. "I have to pick up Spike!"

Twilight flew over the town, trying to remember where everything was. She found the market easily enough, and she knew how to get back to the library, but she hadn't been paying close enough attention when Pinkie took her to the schoolhouse.

Twilight eventually landed and asked for directions. By the time she reached Ponyville Elementary, it was 3:21, and almost all of the children had left.

"I am so sorry," Twilight said, landing next to Cheerilee. "I got lost finding my way back here."

Cheerilee laughed. "No worries," she said. "It can be a bit confusing here, I know."

"Thank you so much for staying late," Twilight said. "I know you probably want to get home right away."

"Again, it's no problem," Cheerilee said. "I'm used to staying late. I can't leave here until all the children get picked up by their parents."

Twilight looked at the playground, where Spike was chatting with Scootaloo. "Glad to see I'm not the only parent who's late, then," she said.

"Er...Scootaloo is a special case," Cheerilee said. "I drop her off at the—at her home, after school every day."

"Why?" Twilight asked. "Can't her parents pick her up?"

"That's a private matter," Cheerilee said. She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, let me tell you what happened with Spike today. Once you left—"

Cheerilee summarized what had happened over the past three hours. She promised to give Twilight a copy of the results of Spike's aptitude test, once it was graded, along with a list of supplies and schoolbooks that Spike would need. Twilight had experience in education—even if she had only worked as a university librarian, not a teacher—so she was able to share some insights with Cheerilee.

Once the discussion was over, Twilight walked towards Spike and Scootaloo. "Okay, Spike!" she said. "Let's go!"

"Okay," Spike said. "See you later Scootaloo."

"Bye!" Scootaloo said. She started a bit when she saw Twilight. "Wait, is that the pegasus you were talking about?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. Spike was talking about her at school?

"Uh huh!" Spike said.

Scootaloo bounded towards Twilight. "Is it true?" Scootaloo asked. "Did you really fly all the way from Canterlot today?"

Twilight was a little surprised at the young filly's enthusiasm. "Um, yes," she said. "It took over two hours, but I flew all the way in one trip."

"She pulled me on a chariot the whole time," Spike added.

"Wow!" Scootaloo said. Scootaloo bounced a bit, and her wings fluttered in excitement. "That's so cool! Is that the farthest you've ever flown?"

"Definitely," Twilight said. "What about you?"

"I...um...I don't know how to fly yet," Scootaloo admitted. She closed her wings and looked down. "I've been hoping Rainbow Dash could help teach me, but..."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn soon enough," Twilight said, reassuringly. "Stop by the library someday, and I'll give you a book on flying for beginners, okay?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Okay!" she said.

"Nice meeting you...Scootaloo, right?" Twilight asked. Scootaloo nodded in response. "I'm Twilight, the new librarian. See you later!"

"Bye!" Scootaloo said, waving to Spike and Twilight as they left. Scootaloo smiled to herself, dreaming about the day she could fly across Equestria. She was brought back to reality when Cheerilee came up to her.

"Ready to go to the orphanage?" Cheerilee asked.

"Yeah, let me get my scooter first," Scootaloo said. She ran to the schoolhouse to retrieve her favorite possession.

"Don't forget your helmet!" Cheerilee called at the retreating filly's back.

Spike and Twilight spent some time getting their things settled in the library, before going out for dinner. It wasn't until later that night that Twilight got down to business and started interrogating Spike about the ponies at the school.

"I agree that Cheerilee seems like a very nice pony," Twilight said, writing down the teacher's name on a chart. "So who's the class clown?"

"The what?" Spike asked.

"You know, the pony who tells jokes all the time and interrupts the class," Twilight said. "Almost every school has a class clown."

"Well...Diamond Tiara was always whispering things to Silver Spoon, and then they'd laugh," Spike said. "Is that what you mean?"

"It's close enough," Twilight said, writing down Diamond Tiara's name as well. She put the pen away, then picked up the posterboard she had been writing on. She propped it up against a wall so Spike could read it easily.

"What do you think of this chart?" Twilight asked, looking proud of herself.

Possible Elements of Harmony Bearers

Element of Kindness—Cheerilee
Element of Generosity—Applejack, Carrot Top, Pinkie Pie
Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara
Element of Loyalty—???
Element of Honesty—???
Unknown Element—???

"Um, half of the board is empty," Spike said.

"I know," Twilight said. "But unless the final element is party-throwing or fabulosity, I don't think anypony else I met goes in the other spots."

"How do we find the others?" Spike asked.

"Finding the Element of Honesty should be easy," Twilight said. "We need to put everypony in a situation where they want to lie. I already have something in mind..."

"What?" Spike asked.

"Do you know the story of The Empress' New Clothes?" Twilight asked.

"No," Spike said.

"Never mind, then," Twilight sighed. So much for showing off her brilliant plan. "Let's just get started on a letter to the Princess."

Dear Princess Celestia,

Spike and I arrived safely in Ponyville. After meeting with the mayor, we were shown around town by a helpful mare named Pinkie Pie. I enrolled Spike in the local elementary school, and I met with the two mares who are helping with the Summer Sun Celebration.

We have already found some ponies who we think could be the Elements of Harmony. I'm including our chart with this letter. Cheerilee is the local school teacher, while Applejack and Carrot Top are farmers who generously agreed to cater the Summer Sun Celebration for free. Diamond Tiara is the class clown, and Pinkie Pie, like I said before, is the mare who showed us around town.

We had a question about the Element of Loyalty, though. Does it refer to being loyal to a specific thing, or just loyalty in general? There are lots of things a pony can be loyal to. Maybe one of the Royal Guards could wield that Element? They're extremely loyal to you, and I'm sure my brother would love to volunteer for such an important duty.

We'll keep searching for the Elements of Harmony, until we find the right ponies. Once we have the right ponies—and once you approve of them, of course—I'll tell them about Princess Luna and everything. I'm sure we'll be able to save her soon.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle

PS. Some of the ponies here don't believe me, when I say I'm here to study friendship. Would it be better if I said I'm here to study something else?

An Unexpected Lesson

When the party was over, and when Twilight had gone through the responses to "Know Your Neighbor", it was time to update the list.

Possible Elements of Harmony Bearers

Element of Honesty—Scootaloo (confirmed)
Element of Kindness—Cheerilee, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie
Element of Generosity—Applejack, Carrot Top, Bon Bon, Pinkie Pie
Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara, Screwball, Derpy Hooves, Vinyl Scratch, Pinkie Pie
Element of Loyalty—Big Macintosh, Pinkie Pie
Unknown Element—?

"Hmmm..." Twilight said, going over the list. It looked like Pinkie Pie nominated herself for everything. Maybe the party game wasn't a very good idea for finding the Elements of Harmony.

"Hey, you got one of them!" Spike commented. "Looks like the party was a success!"

"Yeah, no thanks to you, Mr. Chaos," Twilight said.

"Hey, it's not my fault everypony went crazy when they saw those gala tickets," Spike said.

"I know you didn't do anything wrong," Twilight sighed. "Still, it ruined the party."

"At least we get to keep the leftover food," Spike said. "So, figured out who you're taking to the gala? Got a special somepony in mind?"

"Of course not," Twilight said. "I haven't dated since...well, it doesn't matter."

"I wouldn't mind taking Sweetie Belle's mother to the gala..." Spike said dreamily. "She was cuuute."

"Ew, Spike!" Twilight said. "Sweetie Belle is still in grade school! Her mom must be four times older than you are!"

"But she's really beautiful!" Spike said, as if that explained things.

"You're still a baby dragon," Twilight said. "No dating until you're at least a teenager."

"You're not my mom," Spike said, crossing his arms.

"I'm still in charge of you until we find the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. "Do you want me to tell Princess Celestia that you're chasing after an adult mare who is probably already married?"

"No..." Spike said. "I know it would never work out between us. I'm just saying that she's cute."

"Well, we're not looking for cute ponies," Twilight said. "We're looking for these ponies. And you know...I think I see a pattern here! The only ponies that were nominated for the Element of Generosity were food-making ponies!"

"Food-makers?"

"Earth ponies, I mean," Twilight said. "But if that's true...oh my gosh! I think I've got it!"

"Got it?" Spike asked. "Got what?"

"Hold on, I need to double-check," Twilight said. She flew directly to the reference section of the library. "Please let this library have a copy of The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia!" she said to herself, as she scanned the shelf. "Please, please, NO? Augh!"

Twilight let out a sigh of frustration, then flew back over to Spike and the chart. "Never mind," she said.

"What was that all about?" Spike asked.

"Well, for a second there, I thought I figured out what the missing element is," Twilight said. She pointed at a sketch of the missing element, copied from the stained-glass window Princess Celestia had shown her. "It looks sort of like a star, right?"

"Yeah," Spike said. "Except it's red."

"Well, unicorns usually have cutie marks about stars and magic," Twilight said. "Sort of like how Earth ponies usually have cutie marks about food or nature."

"So that means the missing element is a unicorn?" Spike asked excitedly.

"It's possible," Twilight said. "I wanted to check The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia first, but I guess they don't have it. I'll have to see if the Canterlot Library can ship it here."

The next morning, Spike and Twilight decided to split up, while investigating the town. Spike wanted to meet all the possible Elements of Generosity, which left Twilight to meet the ponies who were suggested as the Element of Laughter.

Twilight soon regretted this decision. Without Spike to serve as a barrier, the ponies in town unrelentingly attacked her about the tickets to the gala.

"Twilight, can I come with you to the Gala?"

"I'll clean your house if you take me!"

"Only the best pony in town should go, and that's me!"

"I've always wanted to meet Princess Celestia!"

"I made up a song about how I want to go! At the Gala, at the Gala..."

And so on. Twilight eventually started tuning them out, so she could focus on the task at hand. Sadly, the ponies that Twilight was meeting with weren't much better than the crowd of gala-lovers.

"So, Screwball, was it?" Twilight asked.

"BBBBLLTH!" Screwball said, blowing a raspberry at Twilight.

"I heard that you're a pretty funny pony," Twilight said. "You like to make ponies laugh?"

"Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy," Screwball said, running her hoof up and down her lips.

"Do you know any jokes?" Twilight asked.

"I do know one," Screwball said, speaking in a fake, sophisticated Manehatten accent. "A unicorn from Canterlot was putting on a dinner party one night, when a pair of Earth ponies broke in, uninvited. They stomped on the carpet with their muddy hooves, getting dirt everywhere. The unicorn told them to get out of the hallway. They asked if he was trying to get rid of them, and he responded, 'If the shoo fits!'"

Screwball smacked the propeller on her beanie and struck a pose. "Get it? Shoo? Like, horseshoe?"

"...I get it," Twilight said.

"Great," Screwball said. "I was worried that joke only made...horse sense! HA HA! Bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy-bibbedy!"

...NOT the Element of Laughter, Twilight decided.

Twilight caught up with the local mailmare, about forty feet above the ground. Derpy Hooves was a gray pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark, and she wore a pleasant expression on her face.

"So, your name is Derpy Hooves," Twilight said. "Why does everypony in town find you so amusing?"

"I dunno," Derpy said, in a perfectly normal voice. "To be honest, I'm not that great. I'm sort of a klutz."

"Well, what do you do that ponies like so much?" Twilight inquired.

"Stuff like this," Derpy said. She screwed up her eyes, then shouted, "MUFFINS!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "...And ponies find that amusing?" she said.

"They find it hilarious," Derpy said, blinking a few times to get her eyes back to normal. "Honestly, I just don't know what they're thinking sometimes. I'm really nothing special, but they act like I'm the best pony in the world."

"That does seem odd," Twilight agreed. "Oh well. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Derpy."

"You're welcome. See you later, Twilight!" Derpy called.

"You must be Vinyl Scratch," Twilight said.

"That's me," Vinyl said. "Vinyl Scratch, master of epic wubs! You're the new librarian, Twilight Sparkle."

"...Epic wubs?" Twilight asked.

"I heard you got an extra ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala," Vinyl said. "Any chance you could take me? I would love to shake that scene up!"

"I haven't decided who I'm taking yet," Twilight said.

"That's cool," Vinyl said. "I think my friend's gonna be playing there, so I'll try to get a ticket from her. So what brings you to my pad?"

"I heard that you're pretty entertaining," Twilight said. "Is that true?"

"Of coooourse!" Vinyl said. "You're not hardcore, unless you wub hardcore, you know? And I wub harder than anypony else!"

"Wub?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, let me show you," Vinyl said. Vinyl led Twilight across the trash-covered floor of her apartment to the other side of the room, where some bean bag chairs were a few feet from a set of large speakers.

Vinyl left Twilight alone by the speakers, while she went to put a record on the record machine. This ended up being a bad idea. Twilight had never seen speakers before, so started fiddling with them to see what they did. Turning the knobs didn't seem to do anything.

Twilight stuck her head inside the hollowed-out area of the speaker on the right. "What is this, some kind of coffee maker?" she asked.

"Twi, not so close to the speakers!" Vinyl yelled in warning.

*BLAJASHINO!* went the speakers. At least, that's what it sounded like when they exploded and sent Twilight flying into the wall. Twilight's leg started twitching erratically as she slumped to the floor.

"Oh..." Vinyl said. "They aren't supposed to do that..."

Well, this entire mess has been a complete waste of my time, Twilight thought. Instead of walking, she was flying about twenty feet in the air, in order to avoid being bothered by gala-lovers. I guess the only comedians left are Diamond Tiara and Pinkie Pie. I'm not sure where I'll find them, though...

Twilight noticed she was flying near the food market, and she decided to stop by and check on Spike's progress. She landed just in time to see Spike get chewed out by an angry unicorn and upset Earth pony, outside of a candy store.

"I know you think you're a hotshot, because you have hands!" the light-green unicorn said. "But keep those grubby things off of our food!"

"Bon Bon said I could have a sample!" Spike complained.

The Earth pony, who had a curly mane of two colors, shook her head. "I said a sample, not five!"

Twilight walked up. "Is something wrong here?" she asked. "Did Spike do something?"

"Yeah!" the unicorn said, turning to Twilight. "He's been trying to get free food from our candy store all day!"

"I'm trying to find the most generous pony in town!" Spike said. "You know how it is, Twi!"

Twilight sighed. "I'll pay for whatever he took," she said. "How much is it?"

The green unicorn looked at Twilight's book-shaped cutie mark. "You're the new librarian, right?" she asked.

"Uh huh," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

"I'm Bon Bon, and this is Lyra," the Earth pony said, pointing at her companion.

"If you're Twilight, that means your dragon buddy here ate about two gala tickets' worth of food," the unicorn said. She held out a hoof. "Hand them over now."

"Lyra!" the Earth pony said. "What are you doing?"

Lyra grinned sheepishly. "It was worth a shot," she said, chuckling half-heartedly.

The Earth pony sighed. "He ate ten bits' worth of food," she said. "But...tell you what. If you sweep the store, I'll let you have it for five."

"What a generous offer!" Twilight said. She turned to Spike. "Spike, get to it!"

"Huh? Me?" Spike asked. "Can't you sweep the floor with your wings, like you did earlier?"

"I'm not the one who ate all of Bon Bon's food," Twilight said.

Spike grumbled, as he went into the store, to sweep everything. Lyra followed to keep a close eye on Spike.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm so sorry about this," she said to Bon Bon. "He's just a baby dragon. He still hasn't learned how to take responsibility for his actions."

"It's okay," Bon Bon said. "So...do you really have tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Just two," Twilight said. "One for me and a guest."

"I'd love to go," Bon Bon said. "I've heard the desserts they have there are fabulous! I could try them out and get new ideas for my candy store!"

"That sounds nice," Twilight said. "I've never been to the Grand Galloping Gala, myself. I'm not sure what it's going to be like."

"Yoo HOO! Twilight!" a regal voice called from the distance.

Twilight groaned. She knew that voice. The local "I wish I was from Canterlot" fashion designer, Rarity.

Sure enough, Rarity soon appeared. "Twilight! I've been looking all over for you!" she said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, you want to go?"

Rarity laughed. "Do you have to ask? I'd love to go. Sadly, the closest I've ever come to attending is designing the ensembles for some of the guests. Which brings me to my point—"

"No, I don't know who's getting the extra ticket yet," Twilight said, in a bored, monotone voice.

"I want to make your dress for the—what?" Rarity asked. "The...extra ticket?"

"I thought you said you only had two tickets," Bon Bon said. "One for you and one for the dragon."

"Spike doesn't want to go," Twilight said.

"You mean the second ticket is free?" Rarity asked. She squealed. "This is perfect! You can take me! Oh, the society, the culture, the glamor! It's where I truly belong, and where I'm destined to meet him."

"Him?" Bon Bon asked. "Who?"

"Him," Rarity said passionately, preparing to go into a monologue. "I would stroll through the gala, and everyone would wonder, 'Who is that mysterious mare?' They would never guess that I was just a simple pony from little old Ponyville. Why, I would cause such a sensation that I would be invited for an audience with Princess Celestia herself, and the princess would be so taken with my style and elegance that she would introduce me to him."

"Who are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Why, Prince Blueblood, of course!" Rarity said.

Twilight choked on air. "Prince Blueblood?" she asked.

"He's the most handsome, eligible unicorn stallion in Canterlot. Our eyes would meet, our hearts would melt, our—"

"Are you CRAZY?" Twilight shouted. "Prince Blueblood is the most self-centered scumbag on the ENTIRE PLANET!"

Rarity halted in her tale of romantic courtship. "Twilight, are you okay?" she asked.

"No, I'm not okay!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof and flaring her wings. "Do you know what he does to ponies? Do you know what he did to me?"

"I didn't know you two were acquainted," Rarity said cautiously.

"I wish I never met him!" Twilight said. "I wouldn't wish him on my worst enemy! Which is a stupid thing to say, because he is my worst enemy! I can't believe you have a crush on him!"

"Well, I wouldn't say it's a crush," Rarity said. "It's more like...infatuation?"

Twilight's face was scrunched up with emotion. "I...I can't do this," Twilight said suddenly. "I have to go. GOOD BYE!" Twilight flew away so quickly that a small wind blew Rarity and Bon Bon's manes to the side.

"That was strange," Bon Bon said. "I wonder what the prince did to her."

"I don't know..." Rarity said. "But I'm going to find out. Blueblood may be a prince, but Twilight is my friend."

*knock knock knock*

"Read the sign! We're closed!"

*knock knock knock*

"Twilight, are you in there?" Rarity called from outside the Golden Oaks Library.

"I said we're closed!"

*knock knock knock*

"Twilight, if you can hear me, I'm coming inside!" Rarity said. She used her unicorn magic to open the door and let herself in.

Twilight Sparkle was lying on the couch, covered in tissues. She tried to hide her face when Rarity stepped in. "I don't want to see anypony!"

Rarity's heart was panged at the scene. "Twilight...you're crying," Rarity said softly.

Twilight looked at Rarity through teary eyes. She tried shaking her head, but her vision suddenly became filled with dark purple, as Rarity ran over and immediately embraced Twilight in a hug.

Twilight burst into tears. "Rarity!" she said.

"Shhhh, don't cry," Rarity said. "It's okay. Whatever's wrong, I can help you."

"You...you can't help me!" Twilight wailed. "I'm hideous and nopony likes me!"

"That's ridiculous!" Rarity said. "You are beautiful, and lots of ponies like you!"

Twilight shoved Rarity aside. "Just...just go away!" Twilight said. "Leave me alone!"

Rarity flipped her mane over her shoulder. It was now messed up, and part of it was covered with tears, but the white unicorn could care less about that at the moment.

"Twilight Sparkle, I am not leaving you here like this!" Rarity said in a bossy voice. "You are my friend, and I'm not going to let you suffer alone! I won't leave until you're one hundred percent better!"

Twilight sniffed. "I...I can't..." she said. "I can't tell anypony about it..."

"I can guess what this is about, you know," Rarity said. "Was it Prince Blueblood? Did he do something to hurt you?"

Twilight nodded sadly. "Yes..." she said.

Rarity put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder. "Please, tell me what happened," she said. "I promise I won't judge you or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. I just want to know."

"O...okay," Twilight said. She sat down on her haunches and took a deep breath. "I don't...I don't know where to start."

"Start at the beginning," Rarity said. "How do you know the prince?"

"He...he was my coltfriend," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia warned me to stay away from him, but I...I didn't listen."

"Oh, dear," Rarity said. Suddenly, she knew this would not be a happy story.

"He was my first coltfriend," Twilight said. "Well, my only coltfriend. I loved him so much...dating a prince...it was like a dream come true."

Rarity silently berated herself, for her foolish fairy tale dreams of meeting the prince and falling instantly in love. "I'm sorry," Rarity said. "What went wrong?"

"He started pressuring me," Twilight said. "He wanted me to do things I was uncomfortable with. When I said no, he got mad."

"Did he dump you?" Rarity asked. "I had a coltfriend like that once, and let me tell you that they're not worth—"

"That wasn't it," Twilight said in a small voice. "It...it was worse."

"What happened?" Rarity asked.

"It was Hearts and Hooves Day," Twilight said. "I snuck into his apartment to give him a surprise gift and..." Tears reappeared in Twilight's eyes, but she kept going. "He was with another mare!"

Rarity gasped. "No!" she said.

"They were...they were..." Twilight said. She gulped for air; she couldn't say it.

"Kissing?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. "They were doing a lot more than just kissing," she said.

Rarity hugged Twilight again. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm so, so sorry."

Twilight hugged Rarity back. "I never thought I'd get my heart broken on Hearts and Hooves Day," she said. "That was two years ago, and it still hurts like crazy."

Rarity patted Twilight's back. "I know just how you feel," Rarity said. "But you can't let that stop you from finding another colt. Just because that scumbag prince used you, it doesn't mean there's not a perfect stallion out there, waiting for you."

"You...you really think so?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I do," Rarity said. "You are fabulous, Twilight. Don't you ever forget that!"

Twilight cracked a smile. "Thanks, Rarity," she said. "It's really sweet of you to say that."

"It's the truth," Rarity said. She continued in a business-like voice. "Now come on. We have to go."

"Go?" Twilight asked. "Go where?"

"To the spa, of course!" Rarity said. "What you need right now is an emergency spa date. I'll pay for it."

"Rarity, you don't have to do this," Twilight said.

"Tut tut," Rarity said. "It's the least I can do for my friend."

Twilight's eyes welled up with tears again. This is what having friends is like? Twilight wondered. To her surprise, Rarity answered; she must have accidentally spoken out loud.

"Of course," Rarity said. "Friends stick by each other, no matter what happens."

Dear Princess Celestia,

I have a friendship report for you. I know that you didn't really send me here to study friendship, but I learned about it today, when my friend Rarity helped me.

The thing is, I didn't know Rarity was my friend. I met her once or twice, because she's doing the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I thought she was okay, but I didn't really like her. She reminds me of some of the snobby ponies in Canterlot who talk with accents and wear crazy clothing. She's also really overbearing when it comes to fashion—when I first visited her store, she made me try on different outfits for over an hour!

But today, when I crying and all alone, Rarity came by to help me. Once she heard what happened with me and Prince Blueblood two years ago, she refused to leave me alone, until I was 100% better.

And you know what? I am better now, thanks to her. It takes an especially good pony to stick by her friends, even when they're not really friends yet. Rarity is the Element of Loyalty for sure.

—Twilight Sparkle

PS. Do you know what a "wub" is? I looked in the dictionary, but I didn't find it anywhere.

Flying High

When Twilight arrived home from her unplanned spa trip with Rarity, it was three o'clock. Spike and Scootaloo were waiting for her at Golden Oaks Library.

"Oh," Twilight said. "Hello, you two."

"Where have you been all afternoon?" Spike asked.

"I was with my friend Rarity," Twilight said, not wanting to give Spike the details about why she needed a spa date.

"But you were gonna teach me how to fly!" Scootaloo said. "I've been waiting forever!"

"But...we didn't plan a time for our first lesson..." Twilight said, scratching her head. "Ah, no matter. I've got time to teach you now, if you want. Spike, can you watch the library?"

"I guess I can do that, sure," Spike said, shrugging his shoulders.

Twenty minutes later, Twilight and Scootaloo were standing on the second-story balcony, ready for the final test. Since Scootaloo's primary feathers hadn't quite grown in yet—in fact, their growth was astonishingly stunted, considering her age—Twilight decided to start with something simple: paper airplanes.

The two pegasi had spent the past fifteen minutes, throwing paper airplanes off of the balcony. Twilight used them to demonstrate basic aerophysic principles, all in preparation for this moment.

"Okay, so what's the proper gliding position again?" Twilight asked.

"Wings out, legs in, body straight," Scootaloo said, adjusting her body so she was in the right position.

"Perfect!" Twilight said. "And remember, your instincts will tell you to flap your wings to keep yourself in the air, but don't do it. Right now, you're just gliding, not flying."

"Uh huh! Uh huh!" Scootaloo said excitedly. "Can I go now? Can I?"

"Almost," Twilight said. "What's the proper landing procedure?"

"Uh...when I'm close to landing, I tilt my wings up so I can swoop," Scootaloo said.

"Exactly," Twilight said. "Once you've gotten the hang of gliding, we can work a bit on swooping. Now let's go!"

Scootaloo could barely contain her excitement, as she jumped to the rail at the edge of the balcony. She put her hooves on the railing, while Twilight bent down and picked Scootaloo up. Standing on her hind legs, Twilight held Scootaloo over her head.

Scootaloo could feel Twilight's legs shake, and she felt a dollop of worry. "Are you sure this will work?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Twilight said. "My brother used to throw me off of ledges all the time, when I was learning how to fly. Now get in the position!"

"Right!" Scootaloo said. She spread out her wings and pulled in her legs.

Twilight was leaning back and forward, trying to determine what the best angle would be. "Remember, you have to—" she said.

The door behind Twilight slammed open. "Urgent message from the princess!" Spike shouted.

Startled, Twilight gave a small shriek and threw her forelegs forward, hurtling Scootaloo into the air. Twilight instantly turned around and shouted, "Spike! Don't interrupt my—Scootaloo!"

Twilight turned around again and looked at Scootaloo in the sky. "I...NO!" Twilight cried. She took to the air and silently berated herself for being the worst teacher ever. What kind of teacher accidentally throws their student off a balcony?

Scootaloo had no idea that Twilight threw her prematurely. She was too busy focusing on following the gliding techniques she had learned. To her astonishment, it worked perfectly, just Twilight had said it would.

"I...I'm doing it!" Scootaloo shouted. "Woo hoo!"

Resisting the urge to throw her legs out in triumph, Scootaloo slowly glided forward. This is the greatest! The only way this could be better is if...OH YES!

Scootaloo caught sight of her hero, hovering in the air about ten feet ahead of her.

"Rainbow Dash, look! I'm gliding!" Scootaloo cried, as she went past.

"Cool," Rainbow Dash said.

Rainbow Dash thinks I'm COOL! Scootaloo thought. I don't believe this! I—augh!

Scootaloo lost her focus, having been distracted by Rainbow Dash. The ground was now much closer than she would have wanted. Scootaloo tried to remember how to land properly—something about angling your wings? She tilted her wings downward and found herself going into a dive, right at the ground.

Scootaloo shrieked in fear and closed her eyes seconds before she crashed face-first and—huh?

Scootaloo cracked open her eyes, when she realized that she wasn't dead. She looked up and left to see that she was wrapped tightly in the arms of a sky-blue pegasus.

"Don't worry, I got you," Rainbow Dash said. She landed on the ground and set Scootaloo down.

"You...you saved me!" Scootaloo said.

"Don't mention it," Rainbow Dash said. "Was that your first time flying?"

"Yeah..." Scootaloo admitted somewhat reluctantly.

"Thought so," Rainbow said. "I—"

Twilight Sparkle landed on the ground, between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. She had not been too far behind, having flown after Scootaloo at top speed.

"Scootaloo!" Twilight said, picking up Scootaloo and giving her an anxious hug. "Oh my gosh, are you alright? I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"I'm fine!" Scootaloo said. "I glided, just like you taught me!"

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "When I threw you off the balcony, I didn't mean to—"

"You threw your sister off a balcony?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight blinked in confusion. "I'm not Scootaloo's sister," she said. "I'm her teacher."

"Oh," Rainbow Dash. "Sorry. You both have purple manes, so I guess I...heh heh. My bad."

"It's okay," Twilight said. She brushed aside her mane, which had been disturbed in her frantic flight. "I saw you catch Scootaloo before she crashed. Thank you."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "You saved my life! You're the greatest!"

"Aw, hey, it's no big deal," Rainbow Dash said. She nudged Scootaloo with a friendly hoof. "You did pretty well for a first timer. Keep it up, and you'll be flying in no time."

Scootaloo squeed in pure delight.

"You know a lot about flying, don't you, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.

"Heh, are you kidding?" Rainbow asked. "I love flying! My dream is the join the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow sidled up next to Twilight, putting a wing casually over Twilight's back. "You're the pony who got tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala, right? I heard the Wonderbolts will be there...any chance you could put in an order for me?"

Twilight shook her head. "That makes you the fortieth pony to ask me for gala tickets," she said. "I don't know where you can get them. Mine were a gift."

"Awww, seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, disappointed. She removed her wing from Twilight. "Oh, well. I guess I'll have to meet them at the Best Young Fliers Competition, then."

"You're entering that, huh?" Twilight asked.

"Of course!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash is the best flyer ever! She can do a Sonic Rainboom!"

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. "I remember seeing that, about twelve years ago!" she said. "That was you?"

Rainbow Dash chuckled and rubbed the side of her face. "Yeah, that was me," she said. "I was in Cloudsdale at the time."

"Well, since you're such an expert on flying, maybe you can help us with Scootaloo's flying lessons," Twilight said. "It'd be a lot easier for me to demonstrate what I'm talking about with an assistant."

"Please please please?" Scootaloo pleaded

Rainbow Dash considered it, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?" she asked. "I got a little bit of free time to help out a new flyer."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked.

"Would I lie to you?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Now come on, let me show you how that landing is supposed to go."

Rainbow Dash flew up in the air a bit, then demonstrated the simple glide-to-swoop landing. "You turned your wings in the wrong direction," she said. "You want to turn them away from the ground to slow down."

"The angle you tilt your wings at determines how quickly you slow down," Twilight said. "Most ponies don't realize that it's unnecessary to turn your wings at a full 90 degree angle, perpendicular to the ground. Rainbow, could you demonstrate flaring your wings for a landing?"

"Right," Rainbow said, taking to the air again.

Ten minutes later, the flying lessons finished, with Scootaloo gliding off of Sugarecube Corner. Her gliding form was perfect, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash glided next to her the whole time, offering words of encouragement.

"You're doing it!" Twilight said.

"You rock! Woo hoo!" Rainbow Dash said.

When she landed, Scootaloo wanted Twilight to fly her back to the roof of Sugarcube Corner, so she could try again. But since Rainbow had to leave, Twilight said that was enough learning for one day. They said goodbye to Rainbow Dash, then walked back to the library.

"Oh my gosh, that was so amazing! It was so much fun!" Scootaloo said, bouncing around like a maniac. "I love gliding! And you and Rainbow Dash are the coolest ponies ever! Thank you so, so much for teaching me!"

"You're welcome," Twilight said. "Now calm down, Scootaloo. You don't want to hurt yourself."

"Oh," Scootaloo said. She stopped bouncing and started walking slowly. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Twilight?"

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"You know how Rainbow Dash thought we were sisters?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Twilight said, opening the door to the library. "That was a bit unexpected."

"Well, uh...I..." Scootaloo said, scratching the back of her head. "The thing is, I don't—"

"Hey, Twilight!" Spike said, jumping out of a chair. "I was wondering when you'd come back. The letter from Princess Celestia is on the table there."

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight said. "Now what were you going to say, Scootaloo?"

"Ah, it was nothing important!" Scootaloo said, grabbing her helmet and scooter from off of the wall. "I gotta go home now. Later!"

"Goodbye, Scootaloo!" Twilight said. "You did well today!"

"Bye!" Scootaloo said. "Thanks, Twilight! You're the best!"

My dear Twilight Sparkle,

I would like to thank you for all the hard work you've done. You haven't been in Ponyville for a week yet, and you've already found a third of the ponies you need. I am also very glad that you have found a true friend in Rarity, Pinkie Pie and the others. As you know, true friends can sometimes be hard to come by.

That said, I am a little concerned that your suggested Element of Honesty is a little filly. I agree that fillies can be more honest than adults, but I cannot condone sending a filly to fight Nightmare Moon. This is a potentially dangerous situation; even if you were one of the Elements, I would be worried for your safety. Unless you get permission from Scootaloo's parents, I cannot allow her to go on this mission.

Spike says there was a minor uproar when I sent you the tickets to the gala, as everypony in the area immediately ran over each other in a hurry to see them. I would like to offer my apologies; I had no idea that you were in a roomful of ponies at the time. I have already sent an apology letter to the stallion who got injured, and I offered him a free ticket to the gala in compensation. If you need any more tickets—which I'm sure ponies have been asking you for—let me know. At the very least, I'm sure I can spare tickets for the six Elements of Harmony.

In your last letter, you mentioned our next step in this venture. Once you find the Elements of Harmony, I want you to gather them together and tell them about Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon. Explain to them why they are the only ones who can save Equestria. Since they are your friends, or at least, friendly acquaintances, I'm sure they will listen to you.

The physical Elements of Harmony are located inside protective orbs, in the throne room of the Ancient Castle of the Pony Sisters. As you may know, this is the castle which Luna and I used before Canterlot was established as the capital of Equestria. The castle is currently located inside the Everfree Forest.

As a test, I would like the Elements of Harmony to go collect these orbs. If they are truly meant to wield the elements, this task shall be no challenge at all. But just in case, I want you to go with them. I will also send your brother, Shining Armor, to help with this mission. He has been asking me about you, ever since I sent you to Ponyville. Perhaps you should send him a letter?

Your Princess and Friend,
Celestia, Raiser of the Sun and Moon

Most ponies think that Scootaloo's favorite possession is her scooter. That is wrong. Scootaloo's most important possession is a photograph that she keeps on the desk near her bed.

This particular photograph was taken seven minutes after Scootaloo's birth. It featured Scootaloo, in the arms of her exhausted-looking mother. By the looks of it, the mother was no more than sixteen years old. On the back of the photograph was a hoof-written note:

Scootaloo,

I will always love you, no matter what. When it's safe, I will come back for you.

-Mom

Less than a week after her birth, Scootaloo was left in a basket, outside of a fire station. The photograph was the only thing she had to remember her parents by. Before going to bed that night, Scootaloo talked to the picture of her mother.

"And then Rainbow Dash helped us! It was the best day ever!" Scootaloo said enthusiastically. "I told you about her, right? She's the coolest and most awesome pegasus ever! Twilight isn't exactly what you would call awesome, but I still like her. She's really nice! She even invited me to her party yesterday!

"You know what the craziest thing is? When Rainbow Dash first came by, she thought Twilight and I were sisters! At first I thought it was kind of funny, but then I thought...well...it'd be kind of nice, you know? I'd love it if Rainbow Dash or Twilight could be like my big sister.

"But don't worry! Even if get a hundred big sisters, I still won't forget about you, Mom."

Scootaloo smiled at the picture of her and her mother for a moment, before repeating the words she had memorized. "I will always love you, Mom. No matter what."

The next day was Monday, which meant it was the start of another school week. Twilight wanted to speak with Diamond Tiara and Cheerilee about the possibility of them being Elements of Harmony, so she went with Spike to the elementary school.

The playground at the school was abuzz with talk. It seemed that Silver Spoon got her cutie mark over the weekend, and most of the children were gathering around to see it and hear the story of how it appeared. In reality, her spoon-shaped cutie mark had appeared while she was eating a bowl of cereal, but Silver Spoon said that it appeared while she was singing the Mary Trottins song, "A Spoonful of Sugar".

The children who weren't listening to Silver Spoon were listening to Scootaloo talk about her flying lessons. Twilight was close enough to hear this conversation. "I must have glided over a hundred feet!" Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash said I was the most talented first timer she had ever seen!"

"Hmmph, I doubt that," Diamond Tiara said. Diamond was in a particularly foul mood that day. "If you can fly, why don't you prove it?"

"Weren't you listening?" Scootaloo asked. "I only learned how to glide!"

"That's not flying; that's falling slowly," Diamond Tiara said.

"It's still pretty impressive," Featherweight said.

"I'll believe it when I see it!" Diamond Tiara said. "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is and fly for us, you little chicken?"

Hearing this, Twilight decided to step in on Scootaloo's behalf. "Don't call Scootaloo names," Twilight said. "She's telling the truth about learning how to glide yesterday."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Help me show them, Twilight!"

"Okay," Twilight agreed. Twilight picked up Scootaloo and flew about eight feet in the air. Hovering in place, she held Scootaloo over her head and gently threw Scootaloo forward. Scootaloo glided perfectly, to the other side of the playground.

All the children ran along underneath Scootaloo, shouting excitedly. That is, all the children except Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon followed after Scootaloo.

"She actually did it," Silver Spoon said, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, well, she's still an orphan," Diamond Tiara said dismissively. Twilight, hovering overhead, gasped in surprise. "I bet that's why she shows off so much. She just wants attention, when you deserve attention for getting your cutie mark!"

Silver Spoon put an arm on her friend's shoulder. "Di, you don't have to pretend," she said. "I can tell you're upset with me."

"Yeah, well...I thought we were going to get our cutie marks together!" Diamond Tiara said. "Now you're the coolest girl in school, and I'm still a blank flank. It's...it's not fair!"

The two children walked away, Silver Spoon assuring Diamond Tiara that they would still be best friends, cutie marks or not. Twilight landed softly on the ground, her mind still reeling from the news that Scootaloo was an orphan. Twilight was so busy trying to recall everything she knew about Scootaloo, she didn't even notice when Cheerilee walked up to her.

"Did I just see you throw one of my students across the yard?" Cheerilee asked.

"Huh? Oh!" Twilight said, jumping out of her thoughts. "Uh, it's not what it looked like! Scootaloo is my student, too. I gave her a flying lesson yesterday."

"Hmmm..." Cheerilee said skeptically.

"I'm sorry," Twilight apologized. "She just wanted to show everypony what she learned about flying. I promise I won't throw her around again."

"That's good to know," Cheerilee said. "And it looks like Scootaloo is perfectly safe. You must be a good teacher."

"Not as good as you are," Twilight countered. "I read the syllabus you sent home with Spike. I'm impressed that you can come up with a viable teaching plan, with so many students of different ages."

"Apart from Apple Bloom and Twist, all the students are the same age, so it's not much of a problem," Cheerilee said. "In any case, I should probably round up the students. It's almost 8:00."

"One more question first," Twilight said. "Which student is Diamond Tiara?"

"Diamond Tiara is the pink filly with the light purple mane," Cheerilee said, pointing her out.

That mean girl is Diamond Tiara? Twilight wondered. "I heard she's the class clown, is that true?"

"She does talk out of turn more often than I'd like," Cheerilee said. "But I wouldn't call her a clown. She doesn't tell many jokes."

"I see," Twilight said. "Thank you very much for your time, Miss Cheerilee."

As Cheerilee rang the school bell to get all the students to line up, Twilight flew back to the library. As she flew, she wondered what would now happen to her list of the Elements of Harmony Bearers. Specifically, the fourth item on the list would need to be revised.

Element of Laughter—Diamond Tiara, Pinkie Pie

I think I'll take Diamond Tiara off the list, which leaves Pinkie Pie as the Element of Laughter by default, Twilight thought. I guess that works. She loves entertaining ponies and making them smile.

But what am I going to do about Scootaloo? I can't get permission from her parents, if she's an orphan. But nopony else was honest with me at my party...oh...maybe Princess Celestia will know what I should do?

Picking a Good Apple

Big Macintosh's hooves had been hurting him lately, because his horseshoes were old and needed to be replaced. But when his legs were accidentally trampled at Twilight Sparkle's welcoming party, the pain had become unbearable. A quick visit to the doctor's resulted in large bandages and orders to keep off his right foreleg for at least a week.

On the Monday after the injury, Big Macintosh's leg was in a sling as he stood with his sister Applejack. The two of them were surveying the west apple orchard. Applebuck season wouldn't be for at least a month yet, but the grove of green Granny Smith apples was ready for harvesting.

"Boy howdy!" Applejack said. "I got my work cut out for me. That there is the biggest crop o' Granny Smiths I ever laid eyes on.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said. "Too big for you to handle on your own."

"Come on, big brother!" Applejack said. "You need to rest up and get yourself better. I haven't met an apple orchard yet that I can't handle. I'll take a bite out of this job by day's end."

Big Macintosh was skeptical. "Biting off more than you can chew is just what I'm afraid of," he said.

Applejack took offense at that statement. "Are you sayin' my mouth is makin' promises my legs can't keep?" she demanded.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh drawled.

"Why of all the..." Applejack said. "This is your sister Applejack, remember? The loyalest of friends and the most dependable of ponies?

Big Macintosh wasn't fazed by his sister getting up in his face. "But still only one pony, and one pony plus hundreds o' apples just doesn't add up to—" he said.

"Don't you use your fancy mathematics to muddle the issue!" Applejack said. "I said I could handle this harvest and I'm gonna prove it to you. I'm gonna get every last apple out of those trees all by myself."

Applejack took a quick glance at the orchard. Now that she looked at it, there were a lot of Granny Smith apples to get. She gulped nervously.

Twilight stopped by Sugarcube Corner on her way back home from dropping Spike off at school on Tuesday. It was the first time Twilight had been inside the bakery, and she was a little overwhelmed by all the candy and sugar everywhere. Even the walls and tables appeared to be made out of delicious candy. Twilight couldn't help herself from licking one of the peppermint pillars.

"Augh!" Twilight screamed. "Gross!"

The pillar was definitely not made out of peppermint. It was made out of wood, that was painted like peppermint. Twilight wiped her tongue with her hooves, hoping to get the nasty taste out of her mouth.

"Hello?" a voice called. "Can I help you?"

Twilight stepped away from the pillar to see a blue Earth pony, standing behind the counter. Judging from her swirly pink mane, Twilight decided she was probably Pinkie's mother. Twilight walked up to her.

"Hi, I'm Twilight Sparkle," she said. "I just moved into the library down the street."

"Welcome!" the older mare said. "You're the pony who ordered a cake for the Summer Sun Celebration, right?"

"That's me," Twilight said. "But actually, I came by to see Pinkie Pie."

"She's in the back, making cupcakes with Applejack," the mare said, gesturing towards a doorway leading to the kitchen. "They won't be done for a while."

"Oh," Twilight said. "Well, in that case...I guess we can talk about the cake for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Great!" the mare said. "I have a photo album of the different kinds of cakes we've made in the past. Let me get it for you, and you can pick one out."

By the time Twilight and Mrs. Cake had settled on a cake design—a simplistic cake with fancy decorated edges—Pinkie Pie and Applejack were done with baking. Pinkie was bouncing around like usual, while Applejack looked like she was sleepwalking.

"Hi, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "We just made cupcakes!"

"Uh...a couple of cakes..." Applejack said, her eyelids closing. "Sounds good to me..."

"Are you okay, Applejack?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I'm Applejack!" Applejack said sleepily. "Why would you think anything different?"

"Hmmm..." Twilight said. Since Twilight had worked as a university librarian, she was able to instantly recognize that Applejack was sleep-deprived. She looked just like a student, at the end of an all-night study session. "Get some sleep, okay?" Twilight recommended.

"Yes, Granny Smith..." Applejack muttered. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. "The Granny Smiths! I ain't even a third of the way through them yet! I gotta get goin'!"

Applejack ran out the door as fast as she could, without so much as a How-do-you-do as a goodbye. Before Twilight could react to this, Pinkie Pie wrapped an arm around her.

"Twilight! My new best friend neighbor buddy!" Pinkie Pie said. "You came to see me!"

"Hi, Pinkie," Twilight said, trying to get out of the hug. "I came by to ask you if—"

"Yes, of course I'll go to the Grand Galloping Gala with you!" Pinkie said. "I love parties, and the Grand Galloping Gala is the most fun, superrific party of the year! I can't wait!"

"No, I—I don't have a ticket to the party for you," Twilight said. "I wanted to ask—"

"Somepony else?" Pinkie Pie asked. A huge frown appeared on her face. "Why would you ask somepony else? That's not—Oh! I get it now! You want to take somepony to the gala on a date! Lucky for you, I know all the stallions in town—I can totally set you up!"

"Pinkie!" Twilight said. She finally managed to get out of Pinkie's vise-like hug, so she could turn and face Pinkie. "You keep interrupting me! I'm not here to talk about the Gala!"

"Whoops! Sorry!" Pinkie Pie said. "What did you want to talk about?"

Here goes nothing... Twilight thought. "Do you like...laughter?"

"Hmmm..." Pinkie Pie said. "I'm not sure! When I tell silly jokes, it's not because I want to make myself laugh. It's because I want other ponies to laugh!"

"But you like bringing joy and laughter everywhere, right?" Twilight said.

"Uh...kind of?" Pinkie Pie said. She turned and showed off her cutie mark to Twilight. "See, my special talent is parties! I like making things fun for everypony, so they're happy! And lots of laughter is a sign of good party!"

"Oh...I thought your cutie mark meant you're a balloonist," Twilight said.

Pinkie burst into giggles. "Now you're the one being silly!" she said. "Anyway, my answer is yes. YES! Of course I'll do stand-up comedy at the Summer Sun Celebration!"

Twilight stared blankly at Pinkie Pie for a moment. "...That's not what I was getting at," she said.

"You sure? I have some good jokes!" Pinkie said. "How many pegasuses does it take to screw in a lightbub?"

"It's pegasi, not pega—" Twilight said.

"Ten!" Pinkie Pie said. "One to screw in the lightbulb, and nine to—"

"I have to get going," Twilight said. "See you later, Pinkie Pie."

"BYE!" Pinkie Pie said. "Come back in an hour, when the cupcakes I just made will be done baking! I'll give you a free sample!"

Twilight went back to the Golden Oaks Library, ready to start her busy day full of librarian business. As she soon found out, there was no librarian business that day. The ponies in town were so used to the library only being open two days a week that they didn't visit regularly. The only thing close to official business was a letter from Twilight's previous boss, about her Interlibrary Loan request.

Dear Twilight,

The Canterlot University Library has rejected your request to loan you one of our copies of The Encyclopedia of Cutie Marks. As you should already know, it is a reference book, and therefore it cannot be removed from the library.

-Wren Calls

"Seriously?" Twilight asked. "You've got three copies of that book! I just need to look at one for ten minutes, you miserable old crow! Grrrrr!"

Twilight sent a letter to her brother, asking him if he could look up the mysterious six-pointed star symbol in the cutie mark encyclopedia. Twilight was finishing a letter to Princess Celestia—informing her of Scootaloo's situation and about Pinkie Pie being the Element of Laughter—when there was a scratching sound from the front door.

"Hmmm?" Twilight asked.

A second scratching noise came, followed by a soft moan. Wondering if there was a mouse outside, Twilight went to the door and opened it. To her surprise, the soft noises had come from a nervous-looking yellow pegasus.

"Um...hello..." the pegasus said.

"Fluttershy, right?" Twilight said. "We met at the spa."

Fluttershy nodded. "And you're Twilight Spackle, the new librarian."

"Sparkle, actually," Twilight said.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Fluttershy said quickly. She lowered her head. "I came by to tell you that...I...um..."

"There's no need to be nervous," Twilight said. "Please, come inside."

"Oh, no, I can't impose," Fluttershy said. "I just wanted to tell you that...um...the bird choir is going to rehearse today...and you're invited...if that's okay with you."

It took a moment for Twilight to figure out what Fluttershy meant. "Oh, that's right," Twilight said. "I still have to give them permission to perform at the Summer Sun Celebration."

"And they've been working really hard lately..." Fluttershy said. "So please won't you let them sing? I'm sure it will be nice!"

"I think I'll make a decision after hearing them practice," Twilight said. "Thanks for inviting me, Fluttershy."

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Fluttershy said, pawing the ground. "The birds asked me to..."

"It was still very kind of you to help out your animal friends," Twilight said, remembering that somepony suggested Fluttershy as the kindest pony in town. "Do you do kind things often?"

"Um...I guess..." Fluttershy said. "To be honest...I just wanted to help out my animals, that's all."

"Do you like animals?" Twilight asked. She didn't know it, but those were the magic words to break the dam of Fluttershy's silence.

"I love animals," Fluttershy said enthusiastically. "I have over twenty of them that live with me at my cottage! My favorite is Angel Bunny. He's so cute and adorable!"

"We have a few books here about animals," Twilight said. "Would you like to see them?"

"Yes!" Fluttershy said. "I mean, if that's okay. I don't have a library card or anything..."

Two hours later, Twilight Sparkle was in the process of leaving Fluttershy's cottage. "Thanks again for the books!" Fluttershy called. "And for agreeing to let my birds sing!"

"You're welcome," Twilight called back, as she took to the skies. "Thanks for the tea!"

Twilight smiled as she flew away. Fluttershy was a very nice pony, once you got past her shyness. Unfortunately for Twilight, Cheerilee was also a nice pony. Twilight wasn't sure how to determine which of the two ponies was kinder. Maybe they could have a kindness competition?

Twilight shook her head. She could worry about the Element of Kindness later. Right now, she wanted to focus on the Element of Generosity. She still hadn't spoken very much with the three generous Earth ponies yet. Resolving to change that situation, Twilight flew to the food market and landed near the farmer's section.

"Twilight! Hi!" a voice called. "Want some carrots?"

"Hi, Carrot Top," Twilight said, walking to her booth. "Nice to see you again."

"I plucked these carrots this morning!" Carrot Top said. "The asparagus is a day old, so it's a little cheaper."

"Sorry, but I don't have anything to carry food in right now," Twilight said. "I actually came by to ask about the food for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Yes, about that," Carrot Top said. "I talked it over with Applejack and...well, we can't cater that event for free. After all, everypony in town will be there to see Princess Celestia, and that's a lot of food for us to provide."

"I understand," Twilight said. "But our budget is kind of small, I'm afraid. How much will it cost?"

"Tell you what," Carrot Top said. "If you get me a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, I'll give you a huge discount."

"You want to go to the gala, too?" Twilight asked.

"I've got it all planned out," Carrot Top said. "I'll wear my fanciest dress and get the attention of some of the wealthy businessponies. They can loan me enough money to buy out Old Man Mareson's field. My business will double overnight!"

"That's...quite a plan," Twilight said. "But what about Applejack? Do I have to get her a ticket, too?"

"I doubt she wants to go to the gala," Carrot Top said, gesturing towards the Sweet Apple Acres stand. "I mean, look at her. She doesn't care about business. She can barely stay awake!"

Twilight looked thoughtfully at Applejack, remembering her encounter with the sleepy farmer pony from earlier that morning. "She does look dead on her hooves," Twilight commented. "I think I should see what's wrong."

"Fine by me," Carrot Top shrugged. "Just let me know about the gala, okay? Even if I can't go, I still want to meet with the Canterlot businessponies."

Twilight nodded, then walked over to Applejack. As Twilight approached, she could hear Applejack muttering at the passers-by. "Apples...ap...nap...nappy time..." Applejack said.

"Applejack, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Huh?" Applejack asked. She yawned. "I'm fine. I was just up at three this morning, getting apples ready today."

"Three o'clock in the morning?" Twilight gasped. "No wonder you look so tired!"

"Yeah, well," Applejack said, chuckling slightly. "With Big Mac's injury, I had to pull a double shift." She yawned again. "Or maybe it was a triple shift? I don't rightly remember..."

"Please tell me you're going to sleep once you're finished selling apples here," Twilight said.

"Can't," Applejack said. "I'm only about halfway through with the Granny Smith field. I gotta get 'em all picked and packaged and...ugh...anyway, you gonna buy something?"

"Actually, I came to ask if you'd like a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala," Twilight said.

Applejack seemed to come to life at that statement. "Sure would!" she said. "I'd love to set up my apple stand at that gala! Do you know how much money I could make offa those rich ponies?"

"Carrot Top thinks the gala could help her business, too," Twilight commented.

"Shucks, it ain't about business," Applejack said. "I need the money to help my family. Applebloom needs new clothes 'cause she's gettin' bigger again, Big Macintosh needs a new plow because the old one hurts his back, and Granny Smith needs a hip replacement."

"That's really generous of you to think of them," Twilight said. "But don't you need anything?"

"Sure I do," Applejack said. "But helping out my family is more important than helping myself. Only a real selfish pony would ignore her family, you know?"

Twilight clapped her two front hooves together in delight. That confirmed it! Applejack was the Element of Generosity! Bon Bon wanted to go to the gala to learn new food recipes, Carrot Top wanted to go so she could help her business, but Applejack wanted to go in order to help other ponies. If that wasn't a generous motive, Twilight didn't know what was.

"Thanks, Applejack!" Twilight said. "I'll pay you back for this, okay? Bye!"

"What?" Applejack asked as Twilight flew off. She scratched her head, then decided it couldn't be that important. Resting her chin on the table in front of her, Applejack softly called, "Apples! Get your apples here!"

When the exhausted Applejack returned home to Sweet Apple Acres for a late lunch, she found her brother and three pegasi waiting for her.

"Surprise!" they all shouted.

"Huh?" Applejack asked. She snapped her head up to look at them, accidentally knocking off her hat in the process.

"We picked all of your apples for you!" Twilight Sparkle said.

"Yeah, it turns out you can knock apples off a tree when you fly real close to them," Rainbow Dash said.

"And my animal friends helped!" Fluttershy said.

"Eeeyup!" Big Macintosh said.

Applejack ran past them to look at the western grove. Sure enough, all the Granny Smith trees were bare, with full apple barrels underneath them. Applejack turned back to look at her smiling friends. "I...I don't understand!" she said. "Y'all stopped by to help harvest the apples?"

"It was the right thing to do," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah, you're our friend," Rainbow Dash said.

"Besides, I feel kind of responsible for this mess, because Big Macintosh got hurt at my party," Twilight said. "I was going to get all the apples by myself, but when I told the girls, they insisted on coming along. Pinkie wanted to come too, but she got food poisoning somehow."

Big Mac shrugged. "I told 'em to leave, but they wouldn't take no for an answer," he said.

Tears formed in Applejack's eyes, although later she would say they were tears of exhaustion. "Y'all are the best...the nicest...I..."

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"THANK YOU!" Applejack shouted. She jumped up and swept up the three girls in a big group hug. Big Macintosh joined in on the hug, from the other side. "I love you all more than anything! Well, one thing."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash said, pretending to be offended. "What do you love more than us?"

"Sleep!" Applejack said. "I'm goin' to bed now!"

The five ponies all laughed at that.

A Shining Example

Princess Celestia was going through paperwork in her office, when Shining Armor entered the room. "Princess Celestia!" he said. "I request permission to speak!"

"What is it?" Celestia asked, looking up from her desk.

"I have retrieved the files that you requested, Your Highness!" Shining said, saluting mightily.

Princess Celestia sighed. "Shining Armor, I've had dinner at your family's house three times," she said. "You don't have to be so formal with me."

Shining Armor visibly relaxed. "Sorry, Princess," he said. He used his magic to float the folder labeled Prince Blueblood over to Celestia's desk. "Why'd you ask for that scumbag's file, anyway?"

"Let's say...personal reasons," Princess Celestia said. "I want to see if he's broken any laws recently."

"He broke my little sister's heart," Shining Armor muttered angrily. "Isn't that enough?"

There was bad blood between Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood; two years previously, they had a rather public confrontation over what he did to Twilight. After Blueblood made a few nasty comments about Twilight Sparkle's kissing abilities, Shining Armor completely lost his head and tried to assault the prince. Blueblood's personal guards intercepted the attack and beat Shining Armor to a pulp before tossing him in jail.

Celestia skimmed through the folder, which contained all of the Royal Guard's files on the blonde unicorn prince. Unfortunately for Celestia, no major crimes were detailed, except, of course, Blueblood's failed attempt to blackmail one of his teachers at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.

"Hmmm..." Princess Celestia said, flipping through the pages. "It looks like he's been staying out of trouble."

"No, he's been getting into trouble," Shining Armor said. "He just hasn't been caught."

Celestia moved the folder aside, slightly disappointed that she hadn't found anything interesting. "Well, let's forget Blueblood for the moment," she said. "I asked you to come here, because I have a new assignment that I think would be perfect for you."

"A new assign—what is it?" Shining asked.

"It's a guard mission, in Ponyville," Princess Celestia said. "I need you to help protect a team of five ponies, who will be travelling through the Everfree Forest."

"Ponyville..." Shining Armor's eyes gleamed. "Isn't that where Twilight is?"

"It is," Princess Celestia said. "You will be working side-by-side with your sister for this mission. I am confident that you two will do a wonderful job together."

"We will, Your Highness!" Shining Armor said, saluting. "What's the purpose of this mission?"

"Hmmm..." Celestia said, not entirely sure where to begin. "Tell me, Shining Armor. What do you know about Princess Luna?"

"Princess...Luna?" Shining Armor asked. The confusion on his face quickly turned to fear. "Oh no. Please don't tell me that Blueblood has a fiancée."

Celestia grimaced. "Thankfully not," she said. "Princess Luna is my sister. The purpose of the mission to help save her life."

When Twilight picked Spike up from school that day, she chatted a bit with Cheerilee. The schoolteacher was as nice as ever, making it impossible for Twilight to eliminate her as a possible candidate for the Element of Kindness. Twilight loudly complained about this on the way home, much to Spike's confusion.

"I don't understand," Spike said. "Why does one pony have to be kinder than the other? Can't they be equally nice?"

"That's the problem!" Twilight said. "Cheerilee and Fluttershy are both so nice and kind! I don't know how to pick between them!"

"I still don't get why you need a kind pony here," Spike said. "You really think you can kill Nightmare Moon with kindness?"

"We're not going to kill Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "We're going to strip away the evil so Princess Luna is safe again."

"Either way, I think I'll stay at home for this mission," Spike said. "I've seen pictures of Nightmare Moon. She gives me the creeps."

"She is kind of scary, but—" Twilight started, then stopped suddenly. "That's it! Nightmare Moon is scary!"

"Um, what?"

"Fluttershy might be kind, but she's too much of a scaredy pony to fight Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "That makes Cheerilee the Element of Kindness by default!"

"Are you sure?" Spike asked. "I'm not sure it works like that."

"Of course I'm sure!" Twilight said. "Only the Element of Kindness would be kind enough to volunteer for this mission, after all! That means we're almost done! Yesss!"

After Spike sent Twilight's various letters—he complained that she was treating him like her personal mail service—she helped him with his homework. Eventually, they got a response from Princess Celestia, which pointed out the fact that even if Scootaloo didn't have parents, she had an official guardian.

That was how Twilight found herself at the Ponyville Orphanage, trying to convince the director to let Scootaloo join the mission.

"I'm not sure I can allow Scootaloo to go into the Everfree Forest alone," the director said.

"But she won't be alone, sir," Twilight said. "She'll be going with six adults, one of whom is a member of the Royal Guard. You can't be much safer than that."

"Hmmm..." the director said. "And why do you want to bring her along on this expedition again?"

"We're getting artifacts, belonging to Nightmare Moon," Twilight said. "We can't do it without Scootaloo's help."

"You didn't answer my question," the director said. "Why is she so important to an archaeological expedition? She's just a filly!"

Twilight sighed. She was hoping to avoid this, but...

"Nightmare Moon had a daughter named Swift Darkness," Twilight lied, adapting a plotline from Daring Do and the Temple of Doom. "Most ponies don't know about her, because she died at the age of six. Legend says she was an orange pegasus filly, just like Scootaloo."

"I see," the director said.

"The doors of the castle are locked with strong alicorn magic," Twilight said. "Even Princess Celestia can't break the enchantment. The only thing we have to go on is the writing on the doors, which says only Nightmare Moon or Swift Darkness can open them."

"And you think you can trick the doors into thinking Scootaloo is really Swift Darkness?" the director asked, leaning forward in interest.

"That's the plan," Twilight said. "We'll bring her to the doors, and she'll tell them to open. If it works, it'll be the find of the century. If it doesn't work, we'll bring her right back here."

"I see..." the director said. "Well...this all sounds rather out there to me, but I have to admit you've captured my interest. Plus, it seems that there is very little chance of Scootaloo being hurt."

"We only need her to help open the doors," Twilight said. "That's all. There's no danger whatsoever."

"Very well," the director said. "I will allow it."

"Thank you!" Twilight said. "You won't regret it!"

When leaving the orphanage, Twilight couldn't help but bounce around a little bit. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" Twilight said to herself.

"Twilight?" a small voice asked. Twilight turned to see Scootaloo, peeking out through one of the doors.

No! Twilight thought. She immediately came to a halt. "Oh, um...hi, Scootaloo..."

"What are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked.

"I, um...I had to see...uh..." Twilight stammered.

Scootaloo lowered her head. "You know the truth," she said sadly. "I'm an orphan."

"Yeah," Twilight said.

A heavy pause followed. Twilight tried to think of something nice and comforting to say, but all she could think about was how awkward the situation was. It wasn't as awkward as the time Princess Celestia had talked to Twilight about the birds and the bees, but it was definitely a close second.

Scootaloo looked up at Twilight. Her pupils were enlarged, and her eyes seemed to waver. "I know what that means," she said. "You can't give me flying lessons anymore."

Twilight was taken aback. That was not the reaction she was expecting. "What?" Twilight asked. "Why would you—?"

"I'm sorry I tricked you," Scootaloo said. "I just wanted to learn how to fly so badly..."

Twilight knelt down, to get closer to Scootaloo. "What are you talking about?" Twilight asked. "I'm not cancelling our flying lessons. Why would you think that?"

"'Cause it's against the rules," Scootaloo said. She sniffed loudly.

"What rules?" Twilight asked. "There's no rule that says I can't teach you."

"But there is!" Scootaloo insisted. "Today at school, Diamond Tiara told me that orphans can't— "

"Diamond Tiara, that mean filly?" Twilight asked. "I don't care what she says. You're the one I care about."

"You—you mean that?" Scootaloo asked, unbelievingly. "I mean, you don't just feel sorry for me?"

Twilight bit her lip, as her brain was suddenly flooded with memories of a conversation from fourteen years ago, when a different pegasus child had been plagued with loneliness.

"...I don't have any friends, besides my brother," Twilight said sadly. "And I was just thinking...maybe if I was a unicorn, I could have friends."

"I see," Princess Celestia said. She thought for a moment. "Well, I can't make you a unicorn, Twilight, but I can be your friend. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Twilight said, jumping up happily. "You can be my BPF! Big Princess Friend!"

"Scootaloo..." Twilight said seriously. "Listen to me. No matter what anypony says, you are a very special little girl. We haven't known each other very long, but I'm proud to be your teacher...and your friend."

Scootaloo jumped up and gave Twilight a hug. "I love you, too, Twilight!" she said.

I didn't go that far! Twilight thought, but she returned the hug anyway. When they broke apart, Twilight couldn't help but smile at the huge grin on Scootaloo's face.

"Now, no more worrying that I won't be your teacher anymore, okay?" Twilight said. "In fact, why don't we have our next flying lesson after school tomorrow? We can work more on proper swooping techniques."

"Okay!" Scootaloo said.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I cleared things up with the director of the Ponyville Orphanage. He agreed to let Scootaloo help as the Element of Honesty.

Scootaloo is a...very interesting girl. I'm not sure how to feel about her. Yesterday, I thought she was your average, hyper filly. But today at the orphanage, I saw another side of her. She was sad and lonely, and scared that I would abandon her.

Seeing her like that was a startling experience. It reminded me of...well, me. When I first met you, I was a lonely pegasus child who didn't quite fit in at her unicorn school. But you didn't care about that. You became my friend anyway.

I want to say thank you. It meant a lot to me. I hope I can be as good of a friend to Scootaloo as you were to me.

Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle

The next day, six ponies came to visit Ponyville. One of them wasn't a pony at all, actually. She was a griffon friend of Rainbow Dash who was, quite frankly, not very polite. Gilda's quick temper soon made her the enemy of quite a few ponies in town.

One pony who didn't get a chance to meet Gilda was Rarity. Rarity was preoccupied with her work that day, as she was finishing with an order from Reignston. The five dresses were all packed and ready to go, and Rarity was loading them onto the luggage compartment of the train which just arrived.

She was getting a luggage slip from the train conductor, when the speaker in the train station came to life.

"Will the white unicorn please come to the ticket office?" a voice said. "White unicorn, report to the ticket office."

"Odd," Rarity said. "I didn't think anypony knew I'm here."

She wrapped up her business with the package containing the dresses, then trotted over to the ticket office. She stopped short, when she saw the stallion waiting for her at the ticket office. He was the muscular type, with adorable big blue eyes.

"Oh, my," Rarity said to herself. It wasn't every day a handsome stallion requested to speak with her. She spent a few seconds taking him in, then stepped forward. "Excuse me? Sir?" she asked. "Did you call for me?"

"Huh?" the stallion asked, seeming surprised. "What do you mean?"

Rarity's smile fell slightly. "The ticket counter just called for me. The white unicorn?"

"Oh," the stallion said. He smiled and chuckled slightly. "No, that was me. I'm the white unicorn they wanted to see."

Rarity flushed with embarrassment. Stupid! Stupid! "Oh," she said. "I...I'm sorry for bothering you, then."

"Don't worry about it," the stallion said. "I'm Shining Armor. What's your name?"

"Rarity," Rarity said. She shook Shining Armor's hoof, then fluttered her long eyelashes at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," Shining Armor said. He pushed back his blue hair, in an effort to look more professional. "Do you know where I could get a map of Ponyville? I was hoping I could get one here at the ticket counter, but they're all out."

"Is this your first time in Ponyville?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, I just came in from Canterlot," Shining Armor said.

"Canterlot! One of my best friends is from there!" Rarity said. She smiled, then gasped in delight. "Idea! I can give you a tour of Ponyville!"

"A tour?" Shining asked.

"I've lived here all my life, Mr. Armor," Rarity said. "I can show you all the best places in town. We could make a morning of it!"

"Please, call me Shining," Shining Armor said. "And that sounds like a great idea! I'd love to spend the morning with you."

Rarity smiled.

Twilight hummed a little song to herself, as she left Bale's Burger Barn. That was a good lunch, she decided. Time to go back home.

...Home?

Twilight's tendency to overanalyze everything kicked in. She just thought of Ponyville as home. Why? Wasn't her home in Canterlot?

Well...as the saying goes, home is where the heart is, and Ponyville was full of heart. Everypony here was so open and nice...Twilight had made more friends here, in six days, than she had made in the past six years in Canterlot.

Ponyville is a home to me! Twilight realized. I hope Princess Celestia will let me stay here once the Summer Sun Celebration is over. I don't want to move back to Unicorn City!

Twilight smiled widely and starting humming louder. She was thinking about sending a message to her parents, when a crying yellow blur ran through the street past her.

Was that Fluttershy? Twilight wondered. What's wrong with her?

Twilight flew up in the air a few feet, and she followed after Fluttershy for a block or two. Suddenly, Twilight saw something even more startling than a crying friend. She saw Rarity and her brother, eating at a table outside one of the town's restaurants.

"Shining Armor?" Twilight gasped.

Twilight immediately dove and came to a halt at their table. Not caring about manners, Twilight screeched, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Twilight," Shining Armor said. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked, slamming a hoof on the table. "Why are you two having lunch together?"

Rarity's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Shining, dear, how does Twilight know you?" she asked in a dangerous voice.

"Well, I came here to Ponyville so I could see her," Shining Armor admitted.

Rarity used her magic to throw her drink into Shining's face. "You cad!" she shouted. "How dare you use me to cheat on your marefriend?!"

"But I—!" Shining said.

"Twilight is my friend!" Rarity said. She got up and put an arm defensively around Twilight. "She is far too good for the likes of you, you two-timing snake!"

Twilight started laughing at the situation.

"Twiley, it's not funny!" Shining Armor said, trying to use a napkin to clean off the water which was dripping all over his face.

"Ha ha ha—yes it is!" she said. "Rarity, Shining Armor is my—ha ha—my brother!"

Rarity's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "He's...your brother?"

Twilight nodded.

Rarity practically jumped on Shining Armor, in her haste to apologize. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Rarity said. "I thought that you were—I didn't mean to splash water—are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Shining Armor said. "It's not your fault. I probably would have done the same thing."

"I guess I overreacted, too..." Twilight said, somewhat reluctantly. "But my question still stands. What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you get the message from Princess Celestia?" Shining Armor asked. "I'm here to help with the mission in the Everfree Forest."

"Yes, but I didn't expect you here today," Twilight said. "I mean, we haven't even scheduled a day or a time for the mission yet!"

"What mission is this?" Rarity asked.

"Official royal business," Shining Armor said importantly. "Princess Celestia sent us here to take care of it."

"An important mission from the princess?" Rarity said. "Shining Armor, you are just the most fascinating stallion I've ever met!"

Twilight's jaw dropped in confusion. "What are you—?"

"And you're a gentlecolt," Rarity said. She placed a quick peck on Shining Armor's cheek. "Thank you for not being angry with me."

"Ew!" Twilight said. "Gross, Rarity! He's my brother!"

Dark Shadows in the Everfree

On Fridays, Ponyville Elementary only has a half day of school. This tradition was started by the previous schoolteacher, Lon Dis Tense, whose coltfriend lived in Canterlot. She always ended school at noon, so she could catch the 12:30 train to Canterlot and spend the weekend with him.

Cheerilee didn't have a special somepony in another city, but she certainly didn't object to having Friday afternoons off. So she continued Ms. Tense's tradition of half-day Fridays. This made Friday afternoon the ideal time for Twilight to schedule the mission into the Everfree Forest.

So it was that, when school was over that Friday, Cheerilee walked Spike and Scootaloo to the Golden Oaks Library. The teacher was slightly surprised to see Pinkie Pie and Rarity there, talking to Twilight.

"Scootaloo! Cheerilee! You made it!" Twilight said, smiling. "Great. I was worried you wouldn't get my message in time."

"Hello, Twilight," Cheerilee said. "What's this all about?"

"Yeah, your letter said you need our help with something important," Scootaloo said.

"I'll explain once Applejack gets here," Twilight said. "All five of you need to hear this."

Scootaloo and Cheerilee shared a glance, wondering what Twilight could be talking about. Spike, on the other hand, was more worried about the fact that the gorgeous Rarity was standing no less than ten feet away from him.

She's here! Spike thought. Okay, Spike, play it cool. He rubbed his hand through his spikes, then approached Rarity. "Hello," he said. "I'm Spike."

"Oh, hello," Rarity said. "Nice to meet you."

"I'm one of your daughter's best friends," Spike said.

"My...what?" Rarity asked, her left eye scrunching in confusion.

"Sweetie Belle," Spike said. "Your daughter."

"How old do you think I am?" Rarity gasped. "Sweetie Belle is my sister!"

Spike's jaw dropped. "She is?" he asked. "But I thought you—and her—and..." The small dragon began to sweat, while Rarity glared daggers at him. Trying to redeem himself, he pointed to the nearby Pinkie Pie and blurted out, "Pinkie said you two were related!"

"Huh? What—oh, yeah!" Pinkie Pie said. "Yeah, I totally did that! I was just being silly, though."

"Pinkie!" Rarity said, turning on her friend. "I know you like practical jokes, but that's going a bit too far!"

"I thought it'd be funny!" Pinkie said, shrugging. "Sorry!"

Rarity sighed and looked to the side. "In the future, try more sophisticated humor," she said in a dignified voice, before walking away with her head held high.

"So, um...what exactly did I just take the blame for?" Pinkie asked, when Rarity was out of earshot.

"It's...complicated," Spike said. He let out a sigh. "Thanks for the save, Pinkie. Rarity would have been really angry with me, if you hadn't stepped in."

"No problemo, Spikey Wikey!" Pinkie Pie said. In a more serious voice, she added, "Just don't make me do it again, okay? I don't like lying to my friends."

"I understand," Spike said. "And thanks, again. I owe you a major favor now."

"Hmmm..." Pinkie thought, wondering what favor she should call in. "Tell you what. I want you to promise me something."

"What?" Spike asked.

Pinkie Pie leaned closer to Spike. "If things don't work out between you and Rarity, look me up, okay?" She winked saucily at Spike, and gave him a small smile.

A humongous shiver immediately went down Spike's back. "That...that's a joke, too, right?" he asked.

Pinkie laughed loud and hard at that. Spike then decided it would be a good time for him to escape and hide in the kitchen.

Not long after, Applejack arrived. She apologized for her lateness—something about last-minute customers at the apple stand—and everypony gathered together around Twilight.

"What's this all about?" Applejack asked. "Your letter said there's some kind of emergency."

"There is," Twilight said. "Shining Armor, you can come out now!"

Shining Armor entered the room, from upstairs. He was dressed in shining silver armor, and he was carrying a series of posterboards ahead of him.

"Hello, everypony," Shining Armor said. "I'm Shining Armor. I'm a sub-captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot. I'm also Twilight's incredibly good-looking older brother!"

"And how!" Rarity whispered to Pinkie Pie.

"Shining!" Twilight whined. "That's not part of the script!"

"Heh...right," Shining Armor said. He put the posterboards on a stand that Twilight had set up and turned towards the group. "I'm here to escort you on today's mission."

"Mission?" the ponies asked.

"Wait, are you a spy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No, he's a soldier," Twilight said. "Shining's specialty is defensive magic. He's here to protect us."

"Protect us from what?" Cheerilee asked.

"Let me start at the beginning," Twilight said, holding up a hoof. "This is going to take a while to explain, so I made up a series of posters to help."

She removed the cover sheet from the stand, to reveal the first poster, which was a large picture of Princess Luna. "This is Princess Celestia's sister," Twilight said, pointing at it with her wing.

"Right, Princess Luna," Applejack said. "What about her?"

Twilight was taken by surprise at this. "Wait, you know who she is?"

The five ponies all nodded. "Everypony knows about Princess Luna!" Pinkie Pie said. "She's the one who turned into Nightmare Moon! They tell the story every Nightmare Night!"

Twilight and her brother shared a confused glance with each other. "But...both my brother and I never heard of her before!" Twilight said.

"Oh, that's right," Rarity realized. "Nightmare Night is just a small celebration in Canterlot. Not like it is here."

"Nightmare Night is a big deal here?" Shining Armor asked.

"It's a huge holiday," Applejack said. "Everypony in town gets all dressed up for it, and there are carnival games and everything."

"There's even a statue of Nightmare Moon, near the forest," Cheerilee said. "It's on the path that leads to the Ancient Castle of the Pony Sisters."

"WHAAA?" Twilight shouted.

"Is that where the path leads?" Rarity asked. "I didn't know that. I try to stay away from the Everfree."

"Okay..." Twilight said, feeling flustered. "Maybe this presentation won't take as long as I thought." She threw aside her first few posters, then stopped on one of Nightmare Moon, standing next to a large hourglass. "Do you all know about Nightmare Moon's return, then?"

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie said. "After a thousand years, she's going to come back and gobble us up like candy!"

"Er, not quite," Twilight said. Picking up a somewhat old book, she read, "Here's what Star Skill the Astronomer said about it. 'Alas, Princess Celestia's banishing spell will not last forever. It will naturally dissipate, when next the moon is close to Earth for an adequate temporal event, viz., the summer solstice of the year before the next millennial.' "

Silence followed this statement.

"What?" everypony asked.

Twilight sighed and closed the book. "Unicorn astronomers say the spell is going to break during the Summer Sun Celebration, in the year 1999," Twilight said.

"But—that's little more than two weeks away!" Rarity gasped.

"Are you serious?" Cheerilee asked. "You think Nightmare Moon is going to return this year?"

"I'm absolutely certain of it," Twilight said. "And what's more, Princess Celestia told me this herself. That's why she put me in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration here. She wants us to be ready."

"Now just a second," Applejack said. "You're saying that Ponyville is going to be attacked by an all-powerful evil alicorn. How in the hay are we supposed to get ready for that?"

"She's not all-powerful," Twilight said. "She was defeated a thousand years ago, with the Elements of Harmony. With your help, we can defeat her again."

"Our help?" Scootaloo asked.

"Elements of huh?" Pinkie asked.

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight said, pulling another poster off of stand. "There are six of them: loyalty, laughter, generosity, kindness and honesty. I think you five are the perfect ponies for them."

The poster on the stand had two columns. The left column had a picture of an element, along with its name. The right column had the picture of one of the ponies, along with her name.

Bearers of the Elements of Harmony

Element of Loyalty—Rarity
Element of Laughter—Pinkie Pie
Element of Generosity—Applejack
Element of Kindness—Cheerilee
Element of Honesty—Scootaloo
Unknown—?

Rarity sat down. "This is too much," she said. "This is far, far too much."

"I agree," Applejack said. "What are these elementals things?"

"They're some kind of ancient magical artifacts," Twilight said. "I haven't seen them, so I don't know the specifics of how they work."

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the right, as she looked at the poster. "Um...I've always kinda wanted to be a national hero, but..." she said. "What's with the last one on the list? Why's it empty?"

"Nopony knows what that element is," Twilight said. "But Shining Armor looked up that symbol in The Cutie Mark Encyclopedia. It's a unicorn cutie mark that's a sign of great magical power."

"So it's the Element of Magic?" Pinkie asked. "Who's that gonna be? Somepony from Canterlot?"

"This seems too dangerous to me," Cheerilee said. "And besides, I don't think I can be the Element of Kindness. There are many more ponies in town who are kinder than I am."

"Look, let's not get sidetracked here," Shining Armor spoke up. "At this point, it doesn't matter who the Element Bearers are. The important thing we have to do is retrieve the elements and keep them safe. That's the mission that Princess Celestia has requested us to go on."

"I've never had a princess ask me to do something before..." Rarity said.

"What do you mean, 'retrieve the elements'?" Applejack asked. "Where are they?"

"They're inside the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters," Twilight said. "In the Everfree Forest."

After some debate, all the ponies agreed to go on the mission to get the Elements of Harmony. "There's safety in numbers," Applejack had said.

The trip through the Everfree Forest was rather uneventful. Twilight's original plan called for them to take a rather dangerous route through manticore territory, following a path that went over cliffs and serpent-infested rivers. But it turned out that the path Cheerilee had suggested—the one by the statue of Nightmare Moon—was a lot safer.

It helped that Shining Armor was there the whole time, casting a defensive bubble around the entire group. Rarity stayed very close to him, claiming it was for her protection.

Eventually, the path ended at a bridge, which connected two cliffs. The far end of the bridge had some untied ropes, which made it impossible for anyone to walk across. Even though it was 1:00 PM, there was a large amount of dark fog on the other side of the chasm. An ominous castle stood in the distance.

"I'll fly over and secure the bridge," Twilight volunteered.

"No, me!" Scootaloo said. "I can do it! I've been practicing my takeoffs!"

Scootaloo jumped up and flapped her wings, but she soon landed back on the ground. She tried again, flapping her wings harder, with the same result.

"Never mind," Scootaloo said sadly. "I can't do it."

"It's okay, Scootaloo," Twilight said reassuringly. "Learning how to take off can be tricky. Besides, you've only had two flying lessons."

"I guess..." Scootaloo said.

"Here, this is how you do it," Twilight said. She jumped up and forward, using her momentum as a starting point to launch herself into the air. Gracefully flapping her wings forward, Twilight flew over the chasm and landed on the far cliff.

As Twilight landed, a shadowy figure stepped out of the dense fog. It was a tall, black pony, with wings, a horn, and blue armor.

"Twilight Sparkle," the dark alicorn said. "We meet at last."

"Nightmare Moon!" Twilight gasped.

"I've heard a lot about you," Nightmare said. "You're the pony who has been chosen to destroy me."

Twilight bent down, ready to fly at a moment's notice. "So you came here to destroy me first, is that right?"

"Peace, Twilight," Nightmare Moon said, holding up a hoof in a defensive gesture. "I did not come here to fight. I came to talk."

"Talk about what?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon sat down and removed her blue helmet. "You, mostly," she said. "I don't understand why you're here. You're not a unicorn."

Twilight's face dropped. Seriously? The unicorn thing again? She felt like facehoofing. Even ancient alicorns thought she should be a unicorn.

"What's wrong with me being a pegasus?" Twilight asked defensively.

"Nothing, except for the fact that only a unicorn can wield the Element of Magic," Nightmare Moon said. "So why would Celestia decide to put you in charge of the Elements of Harmony?"

"She trusts me," Twilight said. "I'm her friend."

"No," Nightmare said. "You're not a friend; you're a charity case. Celestia doesn't trust you; she just feels sorry for you."

"That's not true!" Twilight said. "The Princess love—she likes me."

"That's what I thought, too," Nightmare Moon said. "Then she banished me to the moon for a thousand years. If she could do that to her sister, who she's known for hundreds of years, imagine what she could do to you."

"I...you're trying to trick me!" Twilight said. "You want to turn me against Princess Celestia!"

Nightmare Moon smiled sadly. "I'm just telling you the truth," she said. "In time, you'll see that I am right."

Twilight took a step backwards and flared her wings. Somehow, this calm version of Nightmare Moon scared her much more than the laughing egomaniac from the storybooks.

"...I could do it, you know," Nightmare Moon said.

"Do what?" Twilight asked.

"Turn you into a unicorn," Nightmare Moon said. "Would you like that?"

"You—how?"

"I am the Princess of the Night," Nightmare Moon said simply. "My special talent is making dreams come true."

Twilight looked suspiciously at Nightmare Moon, whose teal eyes looked surprisingly sincere. "What do you want in return?" she asked.

"Nothing," Nightmare Moon said. She shrugged innocently. "To be perfectly honest, I can't make you a unicorn until a few weeks. After all, I'm still on the moon right now. I have barely enough magic to talk to you in this fog form."

On the other side of the cliff, the ponies were getting scared. They could see Twilight talking to some sort of dark, shadowy creature.

"TWILIGHT!" Shining Armor shouted. "TWILIGHT!"

"She can't hear you," Rarity said. "Why isn't your spell doing anything?"

"I don't know!" Shining Armor said. "My defensive magic should have blasted that shadow creature by now!"

The truth was that Shining's defensive magic was working just fine. Nightmare Moon wasn't being affected by Shining's magic, because she wasn't attacking Twilight. Not physically, at any rate.

Scootaloo was jumping up and down, trying desperately to start flying. Eventually, she gave up and pouted. "I wish I could fly, not just glide," she said.

"Wait," Shining Armor said. "How far can you glide?"

"Um...a hundred feet?" Scootaloo guessed. "Maybe more. I didn't have a ruler."

"Good enough for me," Shining Armor said. He picked up Scootaloo, held her above his head, and threw her into the sky with all his might.

"You don't have to decide right away," Nightmare Moon said. "You still have plenty of time left before the Summer Sun Celebration."

"I..." Twilight said. "I don't want to go against my friends. Especially Princess Celestia."

"That is understandable," Nightmare Moon said, nodding. "Your friends are good ponies. But Celestia has been manipulating you from the beginning. Do you really want to stand with her?"

"I—" Twilight said.

"Twiliiiight!" Scootaloo shouted, as she glided across the chasm. "What's taking you so long?"

"Scootaloo!" Twilight said, as the small filly landed next to her.

"Hello, Scootaloo," Nightmare Moon said. "I didn't expect to see you here at my castle."

"N-nightmare Moon!" Scootaloo gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I offered to help Twilight," Nightmare Moon said. "I could help you, too, you know. I can find your parents for you."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Really?" she asked.

"Your father has forgotten about you, I'm afraid," Nightmare Moon said. "But your mother...ah, yes. She still dreams about you sometimes."

Instead of weakening Twilight Sparkle's resolve, Nightmare Moon's words had the opposite effect. Twilight's face took on an angry shade, as she stepped forward to put herself in between Scootaloo and Nightmare Moon.

"Don't try to use my friends against me," Twilight said seriously.

"You misunderstand," Nightmare Moon said. "I'm not trying to manipulate you or Scootaloo."

"Go away," Twilight said. "I don't have time to talk to nightmares."

Nightmare Moon's eyes flashed a bright green for a second. "Do not make the wrong choice, Twilight Sparkle," she warned, her voice growing deeper. "The consequences will be deadly, for you and everypony else."

Scootaloo looked between the two older mares, then stepped close to Twilight's side. "Yeah!" she said. "We're not gonna listen to a mean liar like you! Right, Twilight?"

"R-right," Twilight said.

Nightmare Moon put her helmet back on and stepped away. She cast a glance back at Twilight. "My offer still stands," she said. "You have two weeks to decide. Two weeks."

The fog making up Nightmare Moon's ethereal body blew away, leaving nothing but shadows behind.

The rest of the adventure was without incident. Once Twilight fixed the bridge, the ponies were easily able to enter the castle. The first major room of the castle had a large circular pedestal in the middle. Sticking out of the sides, like panhandles, were five dishes, each containing a dull gray sphere.

"This is it," Twilight said. "I think these spheres are the Elements of Harmony."

"They don't look like they can destroy Nightmare Moon," Applejack said. "What do we do with them?"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "Claim them? We should probably start by picking them up."

Rarity went first. She used her magic to lift a sphere and bring it to her. It started glowing white, and lines appeared on the surface.

"Shining, save me!" Rarity cried, jumping into Shining Armor's hooves.

"I've got you, Rarity," Shining Armor promised, as Rarity hugged him tightly.

Meanwhile, the lines on the sphere formed into the shape of a diamond, which looked just like Rarity's cutie mark. The sphere opened up, revealing a golden necklace inside. The front of the necklace was the diamond-shaped cutie mark.

"Oooo!" Rarity said. "That must be my Element of Harmony! It's not an artifact; it's jewelry!"

The other girls stepped forward, and each one grabbed a sphere. Pinkie Pie got a necklace which was shaped like a blue balloon, while Applejack got an apple-shaped necklace.

"Mine doesn't seem to be working," Cheerilee said.

Twilight walked up and tapped the sphere with her hoof. It shivered in response and lines flew all over the surface, but they didn't form into any particular shape.

"Huh," Twilight said. "With everypony else, the element turned into their cutie mark."

"Um...Twilight?" Scootaloo said. "It's not working for me, either."

"What? Why not?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo turned sideways and pointed at her blank flank. "I don't have a cutie mark," she said.

A Great Surprise

Twilight Sparkle frowned, as she reread the letter from Princess Celestia.

No. I told you in my last letter that you cannot stay. Your mission in Ponyville is now over. You must return to Canterlot.

Before she knew it, she was back in the hateful city of Canterlot. Back with her mean boss, with the unicorn students who openly disrespected her, and back with...her family.

"I don't understand it," Shining Armor said. "She had a chance to be a hero. She could have saved the world! Why did she give up?"

"She's just a pegasus," Twilight's mother said. "What did you expect?"

Twilight's father sighed. "I love Twilight, but...sometimes, I wish we had a unicorn. Life would have been so much better for her. As it is, she's just a failure."

Failure.

I wish we had a unicorn.

Failure.

Only a unicorn can wield the Element of Magic.

You cannot stay in Ponyville. I forbid it. I am your Princess, and you must obey, you miserable little wretch.

Failure.

"Augh!" Twilight groaned as she woke up. Putting her hoof on her chest, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

"Another nightmare?" Spike asked.

"Yeah..." Twilight said, rubbing her eyes. This time, she had fallen asleep at one of the desks at the library, when she was supposed to be watching over Spike and Scootaloo. "I haven't been able to sleep, ever since we got the Elements of Harmony."

"But that was, like, five days ago! Is it because Nightmare Moon—?" Scootaloo began to say.

Twilight cut Scootaloo off; she hadn't told anypony about Nightmare Moon's offer. "I'm sure it's just because of stress," Twilight said. She gave a weak chuckle. "After all, I need to find three new Elements of Harmony!"

"I'm sorry I can't be the Element of Honesty," Scootaloo said.

"It's not your fault," Twilight said. "Besides, none of the Elements worked for me or Cheerilee, either. I guess not everypony can use them."

"Too bad they don't come with an instruction manual," Spike said. "Or labels."

"Labels?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Spike said. He gestured towards the glass display case, containing the three Elements of the Harmony they had, along with the two gray spheres they had collected. "I mean, how are you supposed to know which element is which?"

"Well, they match the ponies' cutie marks," Twilight said.

"Yeah, but the cutie marks have nothing to do with the Elements," Spike said. "A diamond for loyalty? An apple for generosity? They don't really fit well."

"In other words, if I've got any the Elements mixed up, there's no way for me to know it," Twilight said. She dropped her sleepy head on the desk in front of her. "Great, Spike. Just great. That's a brand new disaster I never thought of."

"Sorry..." Spike said.

"Yeah, well..." Twilight yawned. "Presuming I haven't made any mistakes, I still need to find the Elements of Kindness, Honesty and Magic. Too bad I have no idea where to start looking."

"What about the magician who's coming to town?" Scootaloo suggested.

"A magician in Ponyville?" Twilight asked.

"Snips and Snails were talking about it all during school today," Spike said. "There's some big magician who's putting on a show tonight."

"The Great and Powerful...um...Trucy," Scootaloo said.

"Trixie," Spike corrected. "You know...Trixie is the name of the pony who hatched me from my egg."

"I remember her," Twilight Sparkle said. "She was Princess Celestia's student before I was."

Scootaloo looked at Spike. "A pony hatched you from an egg?" she asked.

"It was a test to get into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twilight explained. "Apparently, Trixie was the only who could do it. The Princess made her a student, right then and there."

"Really?" Scootaloo asked. "What happened to her?"

Twilight shrugged. "I dunno. She decided to stop going to school, I guess. I only met her the one time, and that was over ten years ago."

"Can we go see her?" Scootaloo asked.

"I doubt it's the same pony," Twilight said. She yawned again. "But I'll take you to see her show, if you two can finish your math homework in time."

"Awww..." Scootaloo said. "Can't we have another flying lesson, instead? Math is boring!"

"Have you been doing the wing exercises that Rainbow Dash showed you?" Twilight asked.

"Um...I forgot," Scootaloo said, sheepishly.

"And that's why you aren't having flying lessons," Twilight said. "You can't fly if you don't train your wings properly. Now go back to doing your math."

Scootaloo grumbled about Twilight being a boring, bossy-face, but she did her homework anyway.

A small stage had been set up in the town square, and by the time Twilight arrived with Scootaloo and Spike, a small crowd of ponies was already there. The three of them were pushing their way through the crowd when the show started.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" a voice shouted. "Prepare to witness the most amazing acts of magic, ever seen by pony eyes!"

The curtains flew open, revealing a blue mare with purple clothing. She stood up on her hind legs and made fireworks appear. "I am the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!" she said, while some of the ponies applauded.

"You know, I think it is the same Trixie," Twilight said.

Spike squinted at Trixie, up on the stage. "You could be right!" he said.

"Where?" Scootaloo said, jumping up. "I can't see!"

"Do you need me to hold you up?" Twilight asked.

"No!" Scootaloo said. She ducked down under Twilight's stomach and crawled forward, so she could see the view from in front of Twilight.

Scootaloo let out a huge gasp, as she instantly recognized the pony onstage. Trixie was older, and now she was wearing a hat and cape, but there was no mistaking it. She was the pony Scootaloo saw almost every night, before going to bed.

"What is it?" Twilight asked, alarmed. She looked down at the filly in front of her.

"That's my mom!" Scootaloo said.

"WHAT?" Twilight shouted.

"That's right!" Trixie said. "The Great and Powerful—"

"Mom!" Scootaloo shouted. She jumped forward and flew—literally flew—onstage, with three flaps of her wings. True, it was only a distance of six feet and a height of four feet, but it was still impressive for her first flight.

Trixie's jaw dropped. "Scootaloo?" she asked.

"Mom, you came back for me!" Scootaloo said, hugging Trixie.

Tears filled Trixie's eyes. "Scootaloo!" she said.

A half hour later, a furious Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth through her living room.

"This is ridiculous," Twilight said. "Scootaloo is an orphan! Her parents are dead!"

"Not necessarily," Rarity said, from the couch, where she was sitting with Shining Armor. "They could have put her up for adoption."

"That's a nice way of saying Trixie abandoned her baby," Twilight said harshly. "Just like how she abandoned Spike, after she hatched him! Gee, what a great track record she has! Let's put her back in Scootaloo's life, so she can abandon a foal again. Third time's the charm!"

"Did she act like this when you were growing up?" Rarity whispered to Shining Armor.

"Not very often," Shining Armor responded. "She only gets like this when she's really, really upset."

"And now she's kicked me out of my own kitchen! All because she needs privacy, to talk with her precious, long-lost child. Ha! If Scootaloo was precious to her at all, she never would have become long-lost!"

"Twiley, you need to calm down," Shining Armor said.

"I am not going to let that mare ruin Scootaloo's life again!" Twilight said, stomping her hoof on the ground. "I have to find a way to keep her away from Scootaloo!"

"You can't do that," Shining Armor said. "I mean, she is Scootaloo's mother..."

"She gave up her rights to Scootaloo when she abandoned her!" Twilight said. "I don't care what I have to do to protect Scootaloo! I'll adopt Scootaloo myself, if that's what it takes!"

"Do you really want to be a single mother?" Rarity asked.

"Well...no," Twilight said, stopping her pacing. "I have a hard enough time keeping Spike under control. But still. I don't want to see Scootaloo get hurt again."

"Nopony wants to see that, Twilight," Rarity said. "And Trixie did seem very sincere about losing her child."

"Ha! She's a show mare," Twilight said. "She's an expert at fooling other ponies."

Twilight's tirade was cut short, when somepony from outside started knocking on the front door.

"I'll get it," Shining Armor volunteered. He trotted to the front door and opened it with his magic.

His jaw immediately dropped when he saw who it was. "Princess Celestia!" he said.

Princess Celestia glared at Shining Armor, and his heart turned cold. The Supreme Ruler of Equestria was not just angry; she was royally angry.

"Shining Armor," Princess Celestia said in a terse voice. "What are you doing here in Ponyville?"

"I—"

"Your mission was finished five days ago," Celestia said. "Why are you still here?"

"I, uh, thought I could help my sister Twilight find the other Elements," Shining Armor said. "And, um...there's this mare..."

"You will report back to Canterlot immediately," Princess Celestia said. "If I return home before you do, you can consider yourself demoted. Do I make myself clear?"

"Uh...aye, aye, Your Highness," Shining Armor said.

"Good," Princess Celestia said. She stepped inside, while Shining Armor dashed upstairs to get his luggage.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight gasped. "How did you get here so quickly?"

"Twilight. I came as soon as I got your letter," Princess Celestia said. She looked sternly at her student. "If this is some kind of joke..."

"It's all true," Twilight said. "I wouldn't joke about something like this."

"Where is Trixie?" Celestia asked.

"She's in the kitchen with Scootaloo," Twilight said. She made a sour face. "She said the two of them needed privacy."

"Get her. Bring her here," Celestia ordered.

"Should I get Scootaloo, too?" Twilight asked.

"Hmmm...no. The child doesn't need to hear this."

Twilight went to the kitchen, while Princess Celestia took a few heavy footsteps towards the right.

"Princess Celestia, Your Highness...are you okay?" Rarity asked.

Princess Celestia let out a horse-like snort. "I just found out my personal student had an illegitimate child while she was studying with me," she said. "Of course I'm not okay."

"Oh...oh dear," Rarity said.

Celestia looked pointedly at Rarity. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Rarity," she said. "I'm Twilight's friend."

"Ah, yes, the Element of Loyalty," Celestia said. A small smile broke through Celestia's harsh demeanor. "I should have expected you to be here, supporting your friend."

"Twilight is...very upset about this situation," Rarity said. "But Scootaloo thinks it's the best day of her life. I'm not sure I can balance the two of them."

The door to the kitchen shut, as Twilight and Trixie came out. "Here she is," Twilight said. Trixie had her hat off, and she looked worried. The instant she saw the angry look on Celestia's face, Trixie hung her head in shame.

"Trixie," Celestia said. "It's been a long time."

"Y-yes, it has," Trixie said. "I'm sorry for what I did."

"I had the Royal Guard search for you for weeks," Celestia said. "I thought you were kidnapped or killed."

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Trixie said. "I wanted to keep studying magic, I really did. But I couldn't stay in Canterlot."

"You didn't want anypony to know you were pregnant," Celestia said.

"No, I had to get out of town," Trixie said. "If he found out what happened, it would have been...horrible..."

"He?" Twilight asked.

"Prince Blueblood," Trixie said. "...Scootaloo's father."

Twilight felt like someone had smacked her across the head with a wooden board. Even Princess Celestia was surprised.

Across the room, Shining Armor dropped his suitcase down the stairs. "Blueblood?" he asked. "Are you saying that scumbag—"

"Shining!" Celestia said.

"Uh, right! Demotion! I'm leaving!" Shining said, grabbing his suitcase and running out the door.

"Blueblood is the father?" Celestia asked. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Trixie nodded. "There's nopony else it could be," she said. "But when I told him I was pregnant, he...gave me money and told me to get rid of it..."

"Oh, my," Rarity said, putting her hooves over her mouth.

"Blueblood—I—this changes everything," Celestia said.

"You can't tell him!" Trixie said. "He'll claim sole custody and take Scootaloo away from me!"

"She's not yours!" Twilight said. "And besides, there's no way Blueblood would want to take care of a filly."

"The laws are...complicated, when the child of royalty is involved," Celestia said, not wanting to go into more detail. "I would have to look some things up before I can decide what to do."

Trixie threw herself at Princess Celestia's left hoof. "You can't take Scootaloo away from me!" she said. "You just can't! I know I deserve it, but she doesn't! Please!"

Celestia wrapped her other hoof around Trixie's body, in a half-hug. "Do not worry," she said. "I'll take care of everything. You just take Scootaloo home, okay? All will be well."

It took some convincing, but Trixie eventually left with Scootaloo. The small child was bouncing around with excitement the whole time. When they were gone, Twilight immediately tried to start up a conversation about Scootaloo, but Princess Celestia did not want to pursue further discussion.

"I should be leaving as well," Celestia said. "I left the castle quite suddenly. No doubt, everypony will want to know where I've been."

Princess Celestia stopped to look at the display case with the Elements of Harmony inside. "You've done a good job with the Elements," she said. "I am certain you can find the other two in time."

"But Princess..." Twilight said. "What about the sixth one? The Element of Magic?"

"I am not sure," Celestia said. "Perhaps Trixie reappearing after all these years is a good thing, after all. Did you get a look at her cutie mark?"

Twilight thought backwards. "It's a star," she said. Then she gasped. "It's a six-pointed star, just like the Element of Magic!"

Princess Celestia nodded. "Exactly," she said. "That's why I made Trixie my personal student. After seeing her entrance exam and her cutie mark, I thought she could be the Element of Magic."

"But that was ten years ago," Twilight said.

"Yes, and I fear she hasn't studied a bit of magic since," Celestia sighed. "Hopefully, we can make up for lost time."

"No, that was ten years ago," Twilight said. "Two weeks ago, you told me that nopony knew what the last Element of Harmony was!"

"I mean nopony besides me," Celestia said. "I helped wield the elements a thousand years ago, after all."

"You lied to me?" Twilight asked.

Nightmare Moon's voice sounded in Twilight's head. Celestia has been manipulating you from the beginning. Do you really want to stand with her?

"I didn't lie," Celestia said. "I...just didn't want to discourage you."

"So you kept the truth from me?" Twilight asked. "I thought we were friends!"

"We are," Celestia said. "But I didn't want to upset you by saying that the Element of Magic is probably Prince Blueblood."

Twilight gasped. "What?"

"His cutie mark is an eight-pointed magic star," Celestia said. "He and Trixie are the only ponies I know with magic star cutie marks, so I believe one of them must be the Element of Magic."

"No!" Twilight said, stepping backwards. "You can't be serious! I can't work with him! You know what he did to me! You just heard what he did to Trixie!"

"I am not trying to defend him," Celestia said. "I am merely pointing out the strong possibility that he is the pony we're looking for. And now that Trixie has returned—"

"So you did lie to me!" Twilight said.

"Twilight..." Celestia said. "Look deep inside yourself. If I had told you from the beginning that Blueblood was one of the ponies you needed, would you have gone on this mission?"

Twilight thought about that. "...Probably not," she admitted.

"That's why I told you to leave the last Element of Harmony to me, while you focused on the first five," Celestia said. "I wanted to avoid hurting you."

"No," Twilight disagreed. "You used me. You deliberately misled me. I care more about Scootaloo than any other filly in the world, and now her life is going to be ruined, all because of your lies and your deception!"

Both Twilight and Celestia had faces contorted with pain. "My little pony..." Celestia said kindly.

"Don't call me that!" Twilight spat. "You and your stupid nephew! You and your precious student! She was right—you don't see me as a real friend! I'm just a charity case that you feel sorry for! Your students are the ones who can help you with your precious plan! Who cares if they're a bunch of lying, cheating, jerks? As long as they help carry out your secret agenda, they can do whatever they want!"

"Twilight, you're getting hysterical," Rarity interjected.

"That's why Blueblood has been allowed to go free, isn't it?" Twilight demanded. "You should have thrown him in jail years ago, but you didn't, because you knew he was the only one who could help you carry out your plan! Well, I'm out!"

Twilight flared her wings and slammed her front hooves on the ground. "I'm not helping you with the Elements of Harmony anymore!" she shouted. "You and your sister can go to Tartarus, for all I care! Goodbye!"

Twilight flew upstairs to her bedroom and slammed the door as loudly as she could. Princess Celestia stood in place and pursed her lips. Just when I thought tonight couldn't get any worse...

"Um...Princess?" Rarity asked, timidly. "I'm sure Twilight didn't mean what she said. Please, don't punish her."

Celestia smiled weakly. "I'm not going to banish Twilight to the moon for one emotional outburst," Celestia said. "It's been a difficult night for everypony."

"That's an understatement," Rarity said.

"Maybe I was wrong to put so much pressure on her," Celestia said. "I'll contact her tomorrow morning. She'll feel better after a night of sleep."

Princess Celestia headed to the front door, when she stopped and turned towards Rarity. "Oh, by the way," Celestia said. "I have a present for you, Rarity."

"A...present? For me?" Rarity asked.

Celestia focused her magic, and a number of gold-colored tickets fell on the table in front of Rarity. "Enjoy."

Rarity picked them up. "Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?" she gasped.

"One for all five of you," Celestia said. "Consider it my thanks for retrieving the Elements of Harmony."

"I've always dreamed of attending the gala!" Rarity said enthusiastically. "Thank you!"

"Unfortunately, I don't have time to deliver them myself," Celestia said. "Could you give them to the other ponies for me?"

"It would be my honor," Rarity said, bowing lowly.

"On second thought, use Spike to send them letters," Celestia said. "Ask the other ponies to come here to get the tickets. I have a feeling Twilight could use her friends right now."

Twelve minutes later, there were four ponies gathered outside the door to Twilight's bedroom.

"Twilight, darling? You need to come out. We're worried about you!"

"Yeah, don't be a mopey pants! Come out and talk to us!"

"Rarity says you've locked yourself in here. What's wrong? I'm sure we can help."

"Sugarcube, if you don't open this door by the count of five, I'm gonna break it down! One, two, three, four...five!"

*smash!*

"Applejack, what are you doing?"

"I'm kicking the door down, like I said I would!"

"That's destruction of property! That's—"

"...It was unlocked the whole time?"

"Well, that was—hey, she's not in here!"

"Where's Twilight?"

Deep in the Everfree Forest, a lone pegasus walked in the cold mist.

"Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked, shivering slightly. "Nightmare! I know you're here! Come out!"

A small tendril of black fog turned itself into a vague representation of Nightmare Moon's head. "Twilight?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I've made my decision," Twilight said. "I don't care what Princess Celestia says anymore. I want to become a unicorn."

Nightmare Moon chuckled evilly.

The Alicorn Amulet

How did Nightmare Moon learn about Twilight Sparkle? How did she know that Celestia was building up a six-pony crew to defeat her?

Dreams.

Nightmare Moon's power had been severely weakened, in the battle against Celestia. It took four centuries before Nightmare Moon could view ponies' dreams again. That was all she could do: view the dreams. She didn't have the power to enter the dreams and speak to the sleeping ponies.

Recently, things had changed. Celestia's original spell was deteriorating quickly. The moon had entered the final phase of the thousand-year curse, and as it waxed in power, so did the nightmare whose power was tied to the moon.

Nightmare Moon contented herself with spying on the ponies who were going to oppose her. Most of their dreams were boring and irrelevant, but she managed to pick up a few pieces of useful information here and there, like the fact that Scootaloo was an orphan.

Nightmare Moon used that information to her advantage. She gave Trixie Lulamoon a little push in the right direction, giving her dreams of visiting Ponyville. And of course, Nightmare Moon made sure to change all of Twilight's dreams into nightmares.

Really, Nightmare Moon was surprised that she got away with that trick. You'd think a pony as smart as Twilight would be able to put two and two together. Constant nightmares, after confronting Nightmare Moon? It was obvious what was happening, but the sleep deprivation must have been impairing Twilight's thought processes.

"So, can you do it?" Twilight asked. "Can you make me a unicorn?"

"I can," Nightmare Moon said. "As long as you do something first."

"No," Twilight said.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"You're just like Celestia. You're trying to use me, so you can get the upper hoof in your stupid battle," Twilight said angrily. "Well, I'm not making any one-sided deals anymore. Either you make me a unicorn, or I leave. Now."

Nightmare Moon immediately changed tactics. "You misunderstand me completely," she said. "Tell me, Twilight. What is the only creature more powerful than a unicorn?"

"An alicorn," Twilight said. "Like you."

"Yes. To turn a pegasus into a unicorn, you have to use alicorn magic," Nightmare Moon said. "As I told you earlier, I'd perform the spell myself, if I wasn't currently stuck on the moon."

"Well, then, that doesn't help me," Twilight said. "What, am I supposed to hunt down Princess Cadance or somepony?"

"No, what you need is the Alicorn Amulet," Nightmare Moon said.

"The what?" Twilight asked.

"I made it, over a thousand years ago," Nightmare Moon said. "It has magic strong enough to turn you into any type of pony you want. All you have to do is put it on and concentrate on being a unicorn. The amulet will do the rest."

"That's it?" Twilight asked skeptically. "I just have to wear an amulet?"

"It's not that simple," Nightmare Moon said. "The magic behind it is immensely complex, and it takes about two days for the entire process to be completed. But if you want to become a unicorn, this is the best way to do it."

Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Where do I find the Alicorn Amulet?" she asked.

As Twilight flew away, Nightmare Moon felt a strange sensation which she had not felt in centuries. It took her a moment to realize that she was feeling the desire to giggle like an idiot. Her plans to sabotage the Elements of Harmony were working so well, it was ridiculous.

Giddy with happiness, Nightmare Moon decided to risk using more of her magic to interfere on the Earth. She slipped herself into Scootaloo's happy dreams. "Oh, Scootaloo!" Nightmare Moon called.

"Nightmare Moon!" Dream Scootaloo gasped. "You're a bad pony! Go away!"

"I'm not a bad pony. After all, I kept my promise to you," Nightmare Moon said. "I brought your mother back, didn't you?"

"That...that was you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," the Nightmare said. "And what about the cutie mark finder? What cutie mark did it show for you?"

"The...cutie mark finder?"

"The gray orbs," Nightmare Moon explained. "If you open one of them, you find a necklace with your cutie mark inside."

"That's what happened to the other ponies, but not me," Scootaloo said. She turned to show her flank to Nightmare Moon. "I don't have a cutie mark."

"But darling, that's what the cutie mark finder is for," Nightmare Moon said. "Even if you don't have a cutie mark, the necklace shows what your cutie mark will be."

Scootaloo perked up. "You mean, I just need to smash one of those things open, and I'll see what my cutie mark will be?" she asked.

"Exactly," Nightmare Moon said. "All you have to do is break the gray orbs."

Manipulating children is so easy, sometimes, Nightmare Moon thought.

A shady shop in the alleyways of Canterlot had an unexpected visitor that night. The shopkeeper, a former doctor by the name of Curey O., was not used to seeing pegasi in his shop. Nor was he used to first-time customers who asked for goods by name.

"Ah, the Alicorn Amulet," Curey said, pointing to it. "It's a powerful artifact, although nopony is quite sure what it does."

"Can I try it on?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

The shopkeeper chuckled. "It's a magical artifact," he said. "As in, it only works for unicorns?"

"I want to try it on," Twilight insisted.

The shopkeeper thought about it. There was a dark history surrounding the alicorn amulet, but...he shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The instant the Alicorn Amulet snapped around Twilight's neck, the front of her forehead burned. Her eyes turned red, and she looked at the shopkeeper.

"I'll take it," she said, smiling.

"That will be one hundred bits," he said. "Plus, you need to fill out—"

Twilight grabbed the shopkeeper by the throat and pulled him close. "I said, I'll take it," she said. "I didn't say anything about paying."

Twilight threw Curey across the room and laughed maniacally before leaving with the Alicorn Amulet firmly around her neck.

That night, a series of inexplicable events occurred in Canterlot.

First off, an unidentified pegasus went to the University Library and started a tornado that knocked every single book off of the shelves. Twilight's rude former boss was forced to spend days, cleaning up the mess.

Somepony spray-painted "PRINCESS CELESTIA IS A LYING, FAT FLANK" in humongous letters, on the side of Canterlot Castle. The guards in the area were bewildered as to how this could have happened; they were patrolling the grounds the whole night.

The vandalism didn't stop there. 60% of the unicorn statues in Canterlot had their horns broken off. All the horns were found four days later, lying at the bottom of Canterlot Lake.

In a crime that went unreported, somepony broke into the house of Twilight's parents. Screaming about revenge for the worst vacation ever, the pony set one of the family photo albums on fire. The album in question contained pictures of the family's trip to Ohayo, from, sixteen years ago.

Finally, somepony managed to fight their way past Blueblood's guards and break into his apartments. Prince Blueblood was knocked unconscious, tied up with rope, then left hanging upside-down from one of the towers. He wasn't found for six hours, and when he was pulled to safety, it was discovered that an inappropriate word had been permanently tattooed on his forehead.

The next morning, Twilight woke up with the worst headache she had ever experienced in her life. "Ugh..." she groaned. "Oh..."

"Twi, are you awake?" a voice asked.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly. She was in a strange bed, in a clean room. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were standing nearby.

"Where am I?" Twilight asked.

"You're in the hospital," Pinkie Pie said. "And now that you're awake again, we can have a 'Twilight's Not Dead' party! Yay!"

"Why am—owwww...what happened?" Twilight asked.

"That's what we wanna know," Applejack said. "When you came back to your house last night, you were looking more beat up than a year-old sack of potatoes."

"Yeah, where were you?" Pinkie Pie asked. "We spent hours looking for you!"

"I...don't remember..." Twilight said. She lifted a sore hoof to her forehead, which throbbed with intense pain. "Ow..."

"Maybe we should get the nurse," Applejack said to Pinkie Pie.

"No need," a voice said. A white earth pony with a nurse's hat stepped into the room. "I'm here." The nurse opened a cabinet and pulled out a clipboard, as well as a bottle of water, which she gave to Twilight.

"Drink this," the nurse ordered. "You need fluids, after all your blood loss."

"Blood loss?" Twilight shouted. She sat upright, then screamed in pain. "My wings!"

Twilight turned to look at her wings. Her left wing was in a cast, and her right wing was missing about half of its feathers.

"I'm surprised you were able to fly with a broken wing," the nurse said, reading from the chart. "Who broke it?"

"I...I guess...me?" Twilight said, trying to make sense of things. "Maybe I crashed while I was flying?"

"No," the nurse said, while examining Twilight's forearm. "This isn't crash damage; the bruised areas are too far apart. I'd guess that you got into a fight."

"A fight?" Twilight asked. "But I've never fought anyone in my entire life!"

Pinkie and Applejack glanced at each other. "Uh...that's not exactly what Rarity said..." Applejack said.

"Yeah, she said you were upset, because you had a big fight with the princess and the magician pony," Pinkie said.

"Magician pony?" Twilight asked. "You mean—oh. Oh, jeez. Now I remember. Ugh..."

"What is it?" Applejack asked. "What's wrong?"

"Scootaloo's parents!" Twilight said. "Her mom is Trixie, and her dad is...oh, I can't believe it..."

"Who?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Is it Applejack's brother?"

"Pinkie!" Applejack said. "Don't talk about Big Mac that way!"

"Hey, I think he'd make a great daddy!" Pinkie said.

Twilight gasped, as she remembered what happened after Trixie's exit. "Oh no! I yelled at Princess Celestia! I—I have to apologize before she—"

Nurse Sweetheart put her hoof over Twilight's body, forcing her to lie down. "You are not allowed to leave this bed for at least four days," she said.

"But—I—the princess!"

"You can write a letter to the princess from here," the nurse said.

"I'm doomed!" Twilight said. "Princess Celestia is going to fire me as a librarian, then banish me to the Griffon Kingdom!"

"Hey, maybe she's the pony who beat you up!" Pinkie suggested.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Twilight said. "Even though I did tell her to go to Tartarus..."

"You said that to The Princess?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Wow! How did she react?"

"I don't want to talk about it..." Twilight moaned.

"That's okay," Applejack said. "We don't need to hear about the fight. But where'd you go after that? By the time we all came to your house to check up on you, you were gone."

"Well...I went out to fly," Twilight said. "Flying helps clear my mind, you know? I flew over the Everfree Forest and...uh...I don't remember anything after that."

"You think maybe a monster attacked her?" Applejack asked the nurse.

"Maybe," Nurse Sweetheart said. "The forest can be dangerous at night. You're lucky you managed to escape with your life."

The nurse put a rag to Twilight's forehead, causing a fresh shockwave of pain to emerge. It felt like somepony was drilling a hole into her forehead.

"Augh!" Twilight shouted, pushing the nurse away. "Don't touch my horn!"

"Your...horn?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Yes! My horn!" Twilight said. Her eyes flashed and turned red.

The nurse looked worriedly at Twilight. Nopony said anything until Applejack pointed out the obvious. "Twi, you ain't a unicorn."

"I...I...right," Twilight said, slowly deflating as her eyes turned back to their normal color. "I'm...a pegasus. Sorry about that, I just...huh."

"You need more sleep," Nurse Sweetheart decided. "Your eyes are positively bloodshot."

"Right," Twilight said, closing her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell..."

Where did that come from? Twilight wondered. For a second there, it felt like she was hurting my horn.

But I don't have a horn...

A sharp pain came on Twilight's chest. She put a hoof to it, only to find that her hoof bumped up against something metallic.

"What's this?" Twilight asked, looking down at the thing around her neck.

"We're not sure," Nurse Sweetheart said. "We tried removing it yesterday, but we couldn't. It seems to be enchanted with an anti-theft spell."

"Hmmm..." Twilight said. She reached behind her head and undid the clasp holding the item in place. She held it in front of her face. It was a black necklace, with a red jewel in the center. Sticking out of the top was a pony with wings and a horn.

"It looks like an alicorn!" Pinkie said. "Was it a gift from the princess?"

"I..." Twilight said. A few more memories fell into place, as she gazed at the Alicorn Amulet. Her eyes went wide, as she remembered that she met and talked with Nightmare Moon.

"Are you okay?" Applejack asked.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Twilight said. "I spaced out for a moment, there. Anyway, yes. This is the Alicorn Amulet. The princess gave it to me." Just not the princess you're thinking of.

"Oooo, what's it do?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Nothing. It just looks pretty," Twilight lied. "Anyway, I should probably get some rest. My body hurts like crazy."

"Right, we'll let you sleep," Applejack said.

"We'll be back real soon, okay?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight waved to her friends as they left the hospital room. After making sure Twilight finished drinking her water, Nurse Sweetheart left, too.

Twilight was left to herself, trying to make sense of things. No matter what she did, she could not remember a single thing that happened after she spoke with Nightmare Moon. It was as if somepony had put a magical block on her memories, partway through their conversation.

Did Nightmare Moon give me the Alicorn Amulet? I guess she must have. How else would I have it?

Can it really turn me into a unicorn? What if Nightmare Moon was lying?

Pain came from Twilight's sore forehead again. She wondered if, just maybe, the pain was because a unicorn horn was starting to grow.

I guess there's only one way to know if it works. She said all I have to do is wear it for two days to become a unicorn.

And we need a unicorn to be the Element of Magic...

Twilight put the Alicorn Amulet back on herself. Her eyes glowed red for a moment. Then she rested her head on the pillow and tried to go back to sleep, her mind full of disturbed thoughts.

Around the same time Twilight woke up in the hospital, two fillies went inside the Golden Oaks Library. Neither of them noticed that they were the only ponies there.

"See?" Scootaloo said, pointing at the display case. "Those are the Cutie Mark Finders!"

"Let me see!" Sweetie Belle said, pushing past her best friend. "Ooo, they're pretty! That one looks just like Rarity's cutie mark!"

"It is her cutie mark," Scootaloo said. "She helped us get them. The other two are Pinkie Pie and Apple...Apple...whatever Apple Bloom's big sister is called."

Sweetie Belle took the glass off of the display case. "And nopony has used these two yet, right?" she asked.

"Right," Scootaloo said. "We just gotta open them to get our cutie mark necklaces."

The two fillies both took one of gray orbs. For a while, they tried smashing them open with their hooves, then smashing them against each other. Nothing worked, until Scootaloo had an idea.

"The balcony!" she said. "Twilight's got a balcony upstairs! We can drop them off of there!"

"Great!" Sweetie Belle said.

With some effort, they carried the gray orbs upstairs and to the second-story balcony. They pushed the orbs over the edge of the platform, and the orbs broke into pieces when they fell to the ground. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle excitedly ran down the stairs and outside to see what the results would be, but they were sadly disappointed.

"There was nothing inside of them!" Sweetie Belle said. "They were just big rocks!"

"That's impossible!" Scootaloo said. "My dream said they had our cutie marks inside!"

"You listened to a dream?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well...it was a very realistic dream," Scootaloo defended herself.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Come on," she said. "Let's try getting our cutie marks some other way."

In Canterlot, Prince Blueblood was very upset. To be sure, he always was upset, whenever his schedule of sleeping until noon was disturbed. But today, he was practically seething with rage. After the indignity of being attacked, tattooed and hung to dry like a piece of laundry, he was now being forced to wait for something.

Wait for something! He was a Prince! He deserved whatever he wanted, as soon as he wanted it! That was his prerogative, as the great-great-great-grandson of Prince Bluebill! How could anypony have a more noble pedigree than him?

Blueblood was making a mental list of ponies he wanted to fire and/or banish—a favorite pastime of his—when the door to the waiting room finally opened, and Captain Whitewings of the Royal Guard stepped inside.

"About time you showed up!" Prince Blueblood said. "I've been waiting for nearly twenty minutes!"

"I would have come sooner, but there were six ponies ahead of you," Captain Whitewings said. "There have been a lot of vandalism complai—is that a pink headband?"

Blueblood adjusted the headband which was covering up his new tattoo. "It was the only color they had available," Blueblood said. "That's not important right now. What matters is that I was brutally attacked last night!"

"Yes, I received the report about the break-in at your apartment," the captain said. He pulled out a copy of the report and put it on a nearby table. "I already sent some ponies to look into the matter. Have you come here to give me an official statement?"

"No! I want the perpetrator arrested immediately!" Blueblood said. "Throw her in the dungeons for daring to besmirch the royal visage!"

"Pretty fancy talk," Captain Whitewings said. He flipped through the report. "But we can't arrest somepony if we don't know who did it. It says here that all the eyewitnesses could tell us is that it was a pegasus with a purple coat."

"That's more than enough information," Prince Blueblood said. "There's only one purple pegasus with a grudge against me: Princess Celestia's pet prodigy, Twilight Sparkle."

In reality, Blueblood never saw his attacker, and he had no idea who it was. But he didn't care a bit about falsely accusing another pony, and Twilight made a convenient scapegoat.

That'll teach the little ice queen not to put out for me, Blueblood thought smugly.

In the Hospital

Needless to say, Nightmare Moon lied when she said the Alicorn Amulet was designed to turn a pegasus into a unicorn. The amulet's main purpose was to increase a unicorn's magical power, by amplifying their innate magic. Many unicorns would love to have a charm which made their magic more effective, but the increased magic came at a high price. The dark magic which allowed the Alicorn Amulet to work corrupted the mind of its wearer, slowly turning them evil, irrational, or both.

When Twilight first put on the amulet, the dark power that had been building up inside it for decades overwhelmed her. In general, Twilight was a good pony, but her heart was not pure enough to overcome the Alicorn Amulet's corrosive influence. Twilight would never admit it out loud, but the betrayal and rejection she had experienced caused a small part of her to develop an urge for revenge. The evil in the amulet happily seized upon this, her darkest desire, and brought it to life in an out-of-body experience that Twilight would never remember.

The good news, if you can call it that, was that Twilight's body had begun to adjust to the Alicorn Amulet. Her conscious mind once again reasserted control of herself. While the evil occasionally broke through small cracks in her behavior, most of the time, Twilight was her normal, loveable self. She could once more do normal things, like send letters to Princess Celestia.

"And it will never, never, never, never, never happen again," Twilight dictated. "Your sorrowful friend, Twilight Sparkle."

"Hmmm..." Spike said, writing down Twilight's letter. "Was that four nevers, or five?"

"Better make it six," Twilight decided.

Spike finished the letter with a flourish, then used his flame breath to send the letter to Princess Celestia.

"Good," Twilight said. "Now what did you want to tell me?"

"Um..." Spike said. He reached into the satchel he had brought with him and pulled out a few things of paper. "The princess sent three letters to you this morning."

"WHAT?" Twilight shouted. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I tried!" Spike said. "But you wouldn't let me say anything until you finished your apology letter!"

"Spike—that's not—RRRRRGH!—I—" Twilight shook her head, took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Sorry. Could you please give me the letters now?"

The first letter was an apology from Celestia, for not telling Twilight the whole truth from the beginning. She reiterated the fact that she had not been trying to manipulate Twilight in any way. Celestia explained that, while Twilight was in Ponyville, the Princess had been conducting her own search for a pony who could be the Element of Magic.

The letter ended on a hopeful note, suggesting that Trixie could be the Element of Magic. Celestia asked Twilight to befriend Trixie and introduce her to the other Element Bearers.

The second letter was about Scootaloo. Celestia had gone through a few of the laws, and the situation was not ideal. No matter what happened, Prince Blueblood had the legal right to claim (or reject) Scootaloo as his daughter at any time, seeing as he had never been consulted when she originally put up for adoption.

Trixie, meanwhile, was not legally recognized as Scootaloo's mother. It would be possible, but somewhat difficult, for Trixie to regain full custody of her child. Scootaloo's birth certificate, showing that Trixie was her biological mother, would help speed the process along.

Princess Celestia recommended that Trixie apply to the orphanage, for the right to act as a temporary guardian for Scootaloo. That way, Scootaloo could stay with Trixie for up to five hours at a time (and overnight, with the prior permission of the orphanage's director).

A copy of the form which would allow Trixie to act in loco parentis was included with the letter. Twilight looked it over, then borrowed a pen from Spike and added her own name to it. If Trixie could watch over Scootaloo, then so could she.

Princess Celestia's third letter was the most recent of the batch. It expressed her concern, upon hearing that Twilight had been hospitalized. She asked for details as soon as possible, and she promised to visit, if necessary.

Oh, sure, she comes all the way to Ponyville when Trixie appears, but when I get sent to the hospital, suddenly Celestia is too busy to visit, Twilight thought nastily. She can take her fake concern and shove it up her...

No! Augh! What's wrong with me? Where are all these mean thoughts coming from?

Twilight handed the second letter (and form) to Spike. "Here," she said. "The Princess wants you to pass these along to Trixie."

Spike tucked them into his bag. "I think I'll go visit her in person," he said. "I want to talk to her about hatching me from my egg."

Twilight wasn't sure what Spike meant by in person, but she let the remark pass. "I guess we should send a second letter to the Princess, updating her about my current condition," Twilight said. "Write this down, Spike. Dear Princess Celestia..."

All of Twilight's friends came to visit her in the hospital. Fluttershy agreed to look after Spike in her cottage, and Rainbow Dash agreed to continue Scootaloo's flying lessons. Remembering how helpful her two pegasus friends had been when Applejack's orchard needed harvesting, Twilight asked both of them to travel to the library and pick up the gray orbs in the display case. There was a good chance one of them was the Element of Kindness.

In fact, now that Twilight knew the Elements of Harmony orbs worked by touch, she felt rather foolish for spending all that time, trying to find the right ponies. It would have been so much simpler to have everypony in town line up to touch the orbs, and find the correct five ponies that way.

There was still the question of who the Element of Magic was, but Twilight had no doubts that wielding this Element was her destiny.

I've been wearing the amulet for a day now, which means I'll be a unicorn tomorrow, Twilight thought. And the Summer Sun Celebration is the Monday after this one. That gives me nine or so days to master my new unicorn powers.

Won't Princess Celestia be surprised to find out that I'm the unicorn student she's been looking for? Not that stupid faker Trixie.

Earlier, Trixie stopped by the hospital to talk to Twilight. The conversation had not gone very well, even though it started with inoffensive business matters.

"Have you ever heard of the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked.

"No," Trixie said. "What are they, some sort of band?"

"No," Twilight said. "It's...well, it's kind of complicated, but it's what the princess asked me to study. Celestia thinks that you can complete the elements."

Trixie nodded. "If you need help with your project, I'd be glad to lend a hoof," she said. "After all, I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other in the future. The princess said we're both going to be her students from now on!"

"...She didn't mention that to me," Twilight said. Is she still keeping secrets?

"She was probably too worried about the fact that you're in the hospital," Trixie said. "I was surprised to hear that. What happened to you?"

"I got attacked by a monster last night," Twilight said. "That's not important right now. The important thing is your cutie mark."

"My...cutie mark?" Trixie asked. She turned to look at it. It was a six-pointed star, surrounded by five smaller stars. "What about it?"

"I've been looking for a pony with a magic star for a cutie mark," Twilight said. "How did you get it?"

"Oh," Trixie said. She looked somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, it's not really a magic star...I mean, it sort of has to deal with magic, but that's more of a coincidence."

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"Here, let me show you," Trixie said. "I probably shouldn't do this inside, but...well, this is what my cutie mark means."

Trixie reared up on her hind legs and cast her signature spell: a series of fireworks. They appeared in a circle around her body, making her look rather impressive.

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Your cutie mark represents fireworks?" she asked.

"Yes," Trixie said. "I got it, when I cast that spell for the first time. There was one big explosion in the middle, with five smaller ones surrounding it."

"So your cutie mark doesn't mean that you're a magical genius?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie," Trixie said, putting her hoof on her chest. "But that's mostly just for show. Don't tell anypony, but the spells I use in my act are all very simple. They just look difficult."

"Right," Twilight said. "You didn't have time to study real magic, because you dropped out of school to become a showmare."

Trixie wrinkled her nose, as she didn't like Twilight's tone of voice. "I became a travelling magician two years ago," she said. "I wanted to visit every town in Equestria, so I could find out what happened to my daughter."

Twilight's eyes started to burn. "Don't try to use that as an excuse," she said. "I've done more parenting for Scootaloo in the past two weeks than you've done in your entire life."

"Excuse me?" Trixie asked. "I love my daughter!"

"She's not your daughter!" Twilight said. "You gave her up, as soon as you possibly could!"

"That was the biggest mistake of my life," Trixie said. "I was sixteen, I had no money, I was scared of Blueblood and—"

"And you think you can get away with what you did, by pinning all of the blame on Blueblood!" Twilight said. "I hate him as much as the next pony, but I'm not buying it! You're just as guilty as he is! Both of you wanted to get rid of Scootaloo!"

"I didn't!" Trixie protested. "I had to give her away, but I never in a million years wanted her gone!"

"Oh, quit lying!" Twilight said. "You didn't have to give her away! You could have gone to Princess Celestia and gotten help at any moment! Instead, you turned your back on everypony and ran away from town!"

"I didn't want Celestia to know," Trixie said. "You saw how she reacted last night. She's ashamed of me."

"Ashamed that you're such a tramp?" Twilight asked. "Or ashamed that you threw your daughter away like a piece of garbage?"

Trixie's eyes narrowed, as she stared at Twilight's cold, red eyes. "I don't have to stay here and listen to you insult me all day," Trixie said. "I'm leaving."

"Good! Run away from your problems again!" Twilight said. "You know what? I think maybe it's a good thing you gave Scootaloo away! If you had kept her, she might have grown up to be just like you!"

Twilight's odd behavior did not escape the notice of her concerned friends. After their second visit with Twilight, Cheerilee and Rarity consulted with Dr. Fren Allogee, a craniologist who had been brought to examine Twilight's skull.

"What's wrong with Twilight, Doctor Fren?" Rarity asked. "She's not acting like her normal self at all. Ever since she accident, she's been acting a little...nasty sometimes."

"It sort of reminds me of the story of Dr. Buckall and Mr. Hyde," Cheerilee said. "Did Twilight develop multiple personalities?"

"My examination of Twilight was...inconclusive," Dr. Fren said.

"Inconclusive?" Rarity and Cheerilee asked.

"Twilight has developed localized amnesia, surrounding her near-death experience," the doctor said. "That can happen, after extremely traumatic events. But as things currently stand, I can't tell for certain whether her problems are physical or psychological."

"Why not?" Rarity asked. "I thought you were a head specialist."

"I am," Dr. Fren said. "I examined Twilight's skull carefully. She has three separate head wounds. The two on either side of her forehead are so severe that they only could have come from a creature pony-sized or larger."

"What about the third wound?" Cheerilee asked.

"That one is on the back of Twilight's head," Dr. Fren said. "Quite clearly, it came from somepony who was wearing a horseshoe at the time. The indentation is unmistakeable."

"But that would mean she had a hoof fight with another pony," Rarity said. "I can't picture Twilight doing something like that."

"Could it be that she fought a minotaur?" Cheerilee asked. "That's a monster which has hooves. Perhaps it was able to kick her in the head."

"That's certainly possible," the doctor allowed. "But I haven't gotten to the strangest part of my examination. The magical scan of her skull revealed a large concentration of magical power in her forehead."

"Magical power?" Rarity asked.

"It's gathering in a circle, at the base of her horn," Dr. Fren said. "Or at least, it's gathering where her horn would be, if she was a unicorn. I've never seen anything like it."

"Is that why she's having headaches?" Rarity asked.

"I believe so," Dr. Fren said. "It also appears to be giving her phantom limb pains, in her non-existent horn. It's almost like her body is convinced that she should be a unicorn, and it's trying to shove the magic out of her. I have no idea why this—"

"Dr. Fren, there you are!" an angry voice said.

Cheerilee, Rarity and the doctor all turned around to see Prince Blueblood standing in the hallway, with guards on either side of him. His hair was combed low, over his forehead, and he was wearing a nasty expression, as if he'd rather be anywhere else than Ponyville.

"Prince Blueblood!" Rarity gasped, recognizing him instantly.

"I've been waiting for two minutes!" Prince Blueblood said. "Do you treat all your patients this way? I should sue for malpractice!"

"My apologies, Your Highness," Dr. Fren said. "I was discussing Twilight Sparkle's condition with her friends."

Blueblood smirked, upon hearing Twilight's name. "Yes, I got your report," he said. "So she's faking insanity in order to avoid prison, eh? I always knew she was a filthy pegasus."

"Prison? Twilight?" Rarity gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" Blueblood asked. "A warrant has been issued for Twilight's arrest. She is accused of committing a number of crimes in Canterlot, on Wednesday night."

"Wednesday...that's the night she was hospitalized!" Rarity said.

"She was injured here in Ponyville," Cheerilee nodded. "So she couldn't have committed any crimes in Canterlot."

"There is no need to worry," Prince Blueblood said gallantly. "I will personally oversee the case and have her released if she is innocent."

Prince Blueblood smiled to himself. This was a trick he had done before, on two different occasions. First, he would arrest a pony under false pretenses. Then, he would blackmail the pony into doing whatever he wanted, in exchange for him dropping the charges. If Twilight was really innocent, Blueblood would get a new blackmail victim, and he'd come out of the affair looking like a paragon of justice. A win-win scenario.

Blueblood paused for a moment, so the two mares would have enough time to gush and fawn over him. He was slightly surprised to see them looking at him suspiciously. His hoof immediately went to his forehead and patted down his hair, ensuring that his tattoo was still covered.

"In any case, I am here to meet with Dr. Fren," Blueblood said. "It's a, uh, rather personal matter, so we'll need privacy. You ladies should move along."

Around the time this was happening, Twilight was talking with Scootaloo. The young filly brought out the good side of Twilight, and the two of them talked amicably.

"I can't believe you told Princess Celestia to go to Tartarus!" Scootaloo said. "That is so cool! You must be the bravest pony ever!"

"No, no, no," Twilight said. "It was wrong, and I shouldn't have done it. Promise me that you'll never say that to anypony."

"Even Diamond Tiara?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes, even her," Twilight said, in her best responsible adult voice.

Scootaloo sighed. "I promise," she said. "But still, you're the best! I mean, if you didn't take me to that magic show, I wouldn't have found my mother again! Thank you so much for that!"

"Scootaloo, about your mother..." Twilight said.

"Yes?" Scootaloo asked.

"She...she's..." Twilight said. She bit her lip, as she looked into Scootaloo's smiling face.

"What is it, Twilight?" Scootaloo asked.

The Alicorn Amulet flashed, as a nasty thought crossed Twilight's mind. You need to stay away from your parents, because they are horrible ponies who won't hesitate to break your heart.

With some effort, Twilight suppressed the urge to slander Scootaloo's parents. "You...you know that it doesn't matter who you're related to, right?" Twilight asked.

"Uh huh," Scootaloo said. "That's what they teach us at the orphanage. My real family is the ponies who I care about, like Miss Cheerilee and Sweetie Belle and you."

"Me?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo drew back slightly. "You've been so nice to me," she said. "You've been teaching me how to fly and watching me after school. I like being under your wing, and I was kind of hoping...you could be like my big sister, or...something."

"You want me to be your pegasus mentor?" Twilight asked. "But what about Rainbow Dash?"

"She's always too busy to do things with me," Scootaloo said. "I mean, she's super-cool and everything, but...I dunno, it feels likes I can count on you more than her."

"Well..." Twilight said. "Yes. Yes! Of course I'll be your big sister! I've always wanted another pegasus in the family!"

"REALLY?" Scootaloo asked. She jumped up next to the bed and tried to wrap her arms around Twilight.

"You're going to be the best little sister ever," Twilight said, giving Scootaloo a hug. "You know, my brother and I have a best friends song. We should make one for you."

Scootaloo paled a bit. "Having a sister means you have to sing?" she asked.

Twilight laughed. "Not necessarily," she said. "My big brother song goes like this:

My big brother,
Best friends forever,
Like two peas in a pod, we will always be together.
He's never very far away,
And he will always stay...

Twilight paused. "Oh," she said. "I guess I need to update the lyrics, now that we don't live with our parents anymore. Anyway, you get the idea."

"I guess so..." Scootaloo said. She opened her mouth and sang:

My big sister
She's um...mister?
Like two wings on a bird, we will always be...heard?
Big sister Twiliiiiight
Goes to sleep at niiiiiight...

"Okay, the first thing I'm going to teach you is how to sing," Twilight said.

She and Scootaloo burst into a fit of giggles. It was a sweet and happy moment, the last one Twilight Sparkle would have for quite some time. The happiness ended no less than five minutes later, when Prince Blueblood entered the room with his guards.

"Hello, there," Prince Blueblood said. "Long time no see."

Arrested

Scootaloo was happy to be reunited with her mother, and she was overjoyed when Twilight Sparkle agreed to be her big sister. In Scootaloo's mind, the only thing she needed to complete her family picture was her father's return.

It was probably for the best that Scootaloo had no idea that she was currently looking at her father.

"Hello, Twilight," Prince Blueblood said. "Long time no see."

"Blueblood!" Twilight said. Her eyes immediately turned red. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that any way to treat your ex-coltfriend?" Blueblood asked. "I have come to collect my due."

"No!" Twilight shouted. She pushed Scootaloo backwards and jumped out of the hospital bed. Using her body to shield Scootaloo, Twilight glared at Blueblood and said, "I won't let you take her."

Blueblood was confused. "Take who? This child here?"

"I won't let you!" Twilight said. "Scootaloo is my sister, and I love—love?" Twilight's voice cracked, upon saying the word "love", and her right eye turned back to its normal color. She shook her head, as the Alicorn Amulet's evil reasserted control over her.

"No, there's no such thing as love! Not from you!" Twilight shouted.

"Dear Celestia, you really are insane," Blueblood said. "I thought you were just faking it."

Twilight's eyes darted left and right. "I'm not afraid of you or your stupid guards," she said. "I beat them up two days ago. I can do it again."

"Is that...a confession?" Blueblood asked.

"Yeah, I'm the pony who attacked you," Twilight said. "And I'd do it again in a heartbeat, you pompous [bad word]."

Twilight leaped forward and punched Blueblood in the face. His muzzle started bleeding, and he let out a girly cry of pain. There was a minor scuffle, as the two guards seized upon Twilight and restrained her.

"To the dungeons!" Blueblood shouted. "I demand she be imprisoned at once! This maniac cannot be allowed to fly free!"

"No!" Scootaloo cried, jumping forward. "You can't arrest her! She's my big sister!"

"Scootaloo, stay back!" Twilight cried.

Blueblood looked down at the filly that Twilight had been trying to protect. The strangest feeling overtook Blueblood, and for two seconds, he wondered if he knew this child from somewhere.

"Why should I care what you think?" Prince Blueblood said at last. "Your sister is a menace to society, Little Sparkle. If you interfere with her arrest, I'll have you thrown in the dungeons with her."

Scootaloo slunk backwards at this.

"That's better," Blueblood said. "I am a Prince, and you must obey me as such."

"Stay away from him!" Twilight shouted. "He's evil! EVIL!"

"At least I don't punch innocent stallions," Blueblood scoffed. "Take her away."

Prince Blueblood did not care much for the Equestrian legal system. It moved too slowly for his tastes, and he thought the judges were far too generous in placing restraining orders against him. Really, if he had his way, he would throw out the entire legal system, except for the law that made him a prince, as the last descendant of Prince Bluebill.

Since he didn't want to wait a week for Twilight to be brought to trial, Blueblood decided to bend the laws and declare the situation as a royal emergency. This let him completely bypass the normal legal system, and two hours later, Twilight was brought before the quickest-moving legal authority in all of Equestria: the honorable Judge Railroad.

Blueblood was in the middle of explaining why Twilight deserved to be thrown in the Friedrich Nutsy Mental Hospital, when the doors to the courtroom flew open, and Princess Celestia stepped inside.

"I'm here!" she said. "What's the royal emergency? Have the Changlings—Twilight? What are you doing in the defendant's seat?"

Twilight glared at Princess Celestia with red eyes, saying nothing.

"Blueblood? What is going on here?" Princess Celestia demanded.

"Quickly!" Blueblood said. "Your verdict! Give it now before my aunt can interfere—!"

Judge Railroad slammed his gavel. "The court declares a ten minute recess! I need to speak with the princess."

Blueblood groaned.

Naturally, the case was dismissed, the instant that the trial resumed. Princess Celestia, and the judge with her, believed that Twilight Sparkle was innocent of all charges, and even if she did hurt Blueblood, there was just cause. It was ruled that Twilight be safely escorted back to her home in Ponyville, as soon as possible.

Celestia wanted to speak to Twilight privately, but Blueblood did not give her an opportunity to do so. "You can't do this! It is a miscarriage of justice!" he said.

"Blueblood, please step aside," Celestia said politely.

"You're abusing your authority by granting a pardon to your friend!" Blueblood said. "I demand a new trial!"

Judge Railroad slammed his gavel. "Prince Blueblood, the court would like to honor your request," he said. "Let us begin with a new trial: the State of Equestria VS Prince Blueblood."

"WHAT?"

"I would like to represent the state in this matter," Princess Celestia volunteered.

"Agreed. Prince Blueblood, you have been accused of declaring a false state of emergency. How do you plead?"

At the same time as the trial, two Earth ponies walked side-by-side as they headed towards the Ponyville Library.

"This is the third emergency letter we've gotten in a week," Applejack complained. "Twilight's a good friend, but she makes things a mite too hectic for me."

"I couldn't agree more," Cheerilee said. "We both have full-time jobs, after all. We can't always stop what we're doing to come help her."

"It'd help if she said what the emergency was," Applejack said. "That way we'd know if it was a real emergency, or something that could wait a while."

"Yes, 'Come to the library immediately' isn't much to go on," Cheerilee said. "What do you think happened now?"

"Maybe they figured out what monster attacked Twilight, and we gotta use the harmony thingamabobbers to stop it," Applejack suggested.

"Hmmm..." Cheerilee said. "That's possible, but...isn't Twilight still in the hospital? Why are we meeting in the library?"

"I dunno," Applejack said. "Guess we'll find out."

Cheerilee and Applejack continued chatting as they walked through the streets. Topics ranged from Applebloom's performance in school, Cheerilee's plans to give a lesson about cutie marks, and Big Macintosh's social life. Applejack wasn't sure how that last topic came up, but Cheerilee seemed rather interested in it.

When they arrived at the library, the other Elements of Harmony were already there. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there, too; they had insisted on helping their pegasus friend.

"Good, we can begin," a blue unicorn with a purple hat said. She cleared her throat, then spoke loudly to get the attention of all. "Hello, everypony. For those of you who don't know me, I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, stage magician and personal student of Princess Celestia."

"That's my mom," Scootaloo told Cheerilee.

"Yes, I know," Cheerilee said. After hearing Scootaloo talk so much about her mother in school, it was nice for Cheerilee to finally meet the mare in question.

"Your mom? Her?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I thought you didn't have—I mean, I thought you—"

"I asked you all to come here, for a few reasons," Trixie said. "First, you all should know that Twilight Sparkle has been arrested for multiple crimes committed in Canterlot."

The ponies who didn't know this let out various exclamations of surprise and shock. Rarity fell onto a nearby sofa.

"I'm sure Princess Celestia will be able to help Twilight, but in the meantime, I've been asked to assume all of her duties, just in case something goes wrong," Trixie said. "So that means I'll be in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration this year. But more importantly, the Princess says that you all have been working with Twilight on the Elements of Harmony project."

"Ele-what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie levitated the library's copy of The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide onto a table near Rainbow Dash. "The Elements of Harmony," Trixie said. "They're magical artifacts that can be used to defeat Nightmare Moon."

"Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy asked, scared. "You mean, the Nightmare Moon? The evil creepy alicorn that makes ponies dress up in scary costumes and then eats them alive Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes, that Nightmare Moon," Trixie said.

"Well, it's been really nice talking to you, but I really have to get going, and BYE!" Fluttershy said quickly. She tried to run out the door, but Applejack tackled her.

"Come on, Fluttershy, this is important," Applejack said. "If you don't help, the world will fall under eternal darkness."

"But I'm scared of Nightmare Moon!" Fluttershy said. "Ask anypony! I'm not even brave enough to leave my house on Nightmare Night!"

"Princess Celestia will be there to help us," Trixie said. "She'll protect you if anything goes wrong."

"The...Princess Celestia?" Fluttershy asked. She let out a sigh of relief. "Why didn't you say that? She's nice, and not evil and scary."

"I don't know everything yet, but we have half of the Elements," Trixie said, gesturing to the display case. "We need the final three to finish the set. I volunteered to be the Element of Magic, but that still leaves...um..."

"Honesty and kindness," Spike said.

"Right," Trixie said. "So, who wants to volunteer for honesty or kindness? We've got four ponies here without Elements."

"I tried touching one of the orbs to get an element," Cheerilee said. "It didn't work." Under her breath, she added "thankfully".

"Me neither," Scootaloo said.

"Oh," Trixie said. "Then I guess that leaves the two pegasi. Which one of you is more honest?"

Rainbow Dash flipped through the book in front of her. "Um...when exactly is all this happening again?" she asked.

"Nightmare Moon returns during the Summer Sun Celebration," Trixie said.

"I guess I can go two weeks without telling any lies," Rainbow Dash said. "And Fluttershy here would be a great Element of Kindness."

"Oh no no no no no!" Fluttershy said. "I'm not kind at all! I'm mean! Really, really mean! I do nasty things all the time!"

"Like what?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Like...um...um...like this!" Fluttershy said. She walked to Pinkie Pie and tried to talk in a tough voice. "Hey, Pinkie! Since you're a baker, would you like a Hertz Donut?"

"I love donuts!" Pinkie said. "...But what's a Hertz Donut?"

"It's this!" Fluttershy said. She threw a weak punch at Pinkie's side. "It hurts, don't it?"

Pinkie Pie burst into fits of laughter, and Fluttershy brought her hooves to her mouth in worry. "Oh, dear, I didn't hurt you for real, did I?" she asked. "I'm so sorry!"

"What was the yellow one's name again?" Trixie asked Spike.

"Fluttershy," Spike said.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to, Fluttershy," Trixie said. "But we could really use your help. We need a kind pony to stop Nightmare Moon."

"Besides, if you don't do it, it'll be Nightmare Night forever!" Scootaloo said.

"Nightmare Night forever?" Fluttershy gasped. "But I—that's even worse—I—I—you're sure Princess Celestia will be there?"

"We can't have the Summer Sun Celebration without her," Trixie said. "She won't let anything bad happen."

"...Okay," Fluttershy said. "I'll do it...only if I get to stand in the back."

When the meeting in the library was over, some of the ponies went home, and others stayed behind. Rainbow Dash questioned Trixie about Scootaloo—"Aren't you a little young to have a full-grown filly? And besides, how does a unicorn have a pegasus daughter?"—while Rarity went over to talk to Spike.

"Huh...hi," Spike said.

"Hello, Spike," Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "I have a problem, and I was hoping you could help."

"I'd love to!" Spike said, little hearts appearing in his eyes.

"This entire situation is horrid," Rarity said. "And I'm afraid that it's left me feeling lost and worried. I'd appreciate it if I could get some comfort from a loving colt."

"I would be more than happy to do that for you," Spike said.

"Great!" Rarity said, clapping her hooves together. "I have my letter to Shining Armor all prepared!"

"I...wha?" Spike asked.

"My letter to Shining Armor," Rarity said. "I need you to send it to him. He should know what happened to his sister, after all."

"I—but I thought you meant—I—" Spike sighed. "Sure, I'll send it."

"You're such a sweetheart, Spikey Wikey," Rarity said, rubbing the top of Spike's head.

Spike wrote down the letter that Rarity dictated, then sent it using his fire breath. She thanked him again, then hummed to herself as she left the Golden Oaks Library. Spike watched her go, with a forlorn look on his face. He might have stayed that way for several minutes, had not a pink face suddenly appeared two inches away from his.

"Hello!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Augh!" Spike said, jumping backwards. "Don't pop out of nowhere like that!"

"So, when are we going on a date?" Pinkie Pie said. "I was thinking we could visit the Ponyville Clock Tower!"

"D-date?" Spike asked.

Pinkie Pie pouted. "You said you'd date me if Rarity turned you down!" she said. "And you just helped her send a letter to her coltfriend, Lover Boy!"

"I never agreed to that!" Spike protested. "And besides, he's not her coltfriend! He's just some random colt she doesn't even know that well!"

"But Spiiike!" Pinkie said, jumping up and down. "You have to be my coltfriend! My family is thinking about visiting for the Summer Sun Celebration, and that'd be the best prank ever! Can you imagine the look on my dad's face when he learns I'm engaged to a dragon?"

Spike scratched his head. "Wait, you want to date me as a joke?"

Pinkie giggled. "Of course it's a joke!" she said. "I mean, you're nice and all, but I'm over twice your age! That's probably why Rarity turned you down. You're not even out of elementary school yet! You're only good as a fake coltfriend, not a real one."

Spike groaned. "Love stinks," he said.

Up in the sky, Nightmare Moon was getting annoyed over what was happening on Earth. During her exile, she had spent centuries, coming up with intricate evil plots to defeat Celestia and conquer the world. Her current plan was pure genius: turn Twilight Sparkle evil with the Alicorn Amulet, then win her loyalty by turning her into a unicorn.

It would have been so amusing to see Princess Celestia killed by her own student, Nightmare Moon thought.

But was this ultimate evil strategy bearing fruit? No! So far, all of Nightmare Moon's complicated plans were being completely usurped by the simple, backup plans!

Send Trixie to Ponyville and watch the resulting explosions.

Send Blueblood to Ponyville and watch the resulting explosions.

Honestly. You didn't need an evil genius to come up with those plans. An evil seven-year-old would have done just as well. It was a complete waste of Nightmare Moon's intelligence and planning.

Convincing Blueblood to go to Ponyville had been ridiculously simple. Any smart pony would have questioned the logic of seeing a doctor to get a tattoo removed, but not Prince Blueblood! He never questioned any idea that popped into his mind. After the dream was over, he instantly made it a priority to see the doctor at the same hospital as Twilight.

He's easy to manipulate, and he's dead set against Twilight and Celestia, Nightmare Moon thought. Prince Blueblood is playing right into my hooves, and he doesn't even know it.

She would have manipulated Blueblood's dreams that night, but there was really no point in doing so. Blueblood was already set on a destructive path. Hopefully, his interference would prevent Celestia from working with the Elements of Harmony.

Prince Blueblood was woken up the next morning, when the door to his cell was opened with a loud rattling. He yawned, then glared at the guard.

"Is that it?" he asked. "Am I finally being released?"

The guard nodded. "You're free to go home now. Princess Celestia only ordered us to keep you overnight."

Blueblood rolled his eyes. He knew she wouldn't have the nerve to give him a real punishment. She was far too kind-hearted for something like that. But did she honestly think a single night in holding would be enough to "teach him a lesson", as she put it? What an optimistic fool.

On his way out of the Royal Guard Station, Blueblood was stopped by one of the guards. In general, Blueblood had a hard time telling the guards apart from each other—they all looked the same—but he knew this one on a first-name basis.

"Hold it," the guard said. "I want to talk to you."

"Ah, Shoe Armor," Blueblood said. "I've been expecting a lecture from you."

"It's Shining Armor," Shining said. "And what you did to my sister was unforgiveable. I'm going to—"

"Yes, yes, I remember," Blueblood interrupted. "You went through this song and dance when I dumped her. Do you honestly think I'm impressed by your concerned big brother act?"

"I'm not acting! You tried to throw her in a mental hospital!" Shining Armor said.

"And she's not acting! She's completely crazy!" Blueblood said. "If you're such a concerned family member, why didn't you notice that earlier?"

"Don't you say that!" Shining Armor said. "I love Twilight! Unlike you, I don't abandon my family!"

"Abandon my family? What nonsense are you talking about now?" Blueblood asked.

"Gee, I dunno," Shining Armor said. "What about your wife and daughter? When I saw them, they looked pretty homeless to me!"

"You're as crazy as your sister," Blueblood said. "I don't have a wife or daughter."

"That's not what she said," Shining Armor said. "What was her name...Trixie? Yeah, that was it. She says you're the father of her child."

Blueblood scoffed. Where had Shining Armor drudged up that old name? Blueblood hadn't seen Trixie Lulamoon in years, not since she got pregnant and...

Shining Armor felt great satisfaction in seeing Blueblood's eyes go wide with fear.

The Transformation

Princess Celestia was eating a hearty breakfast of hay and oats, when Blueblood's arrival was announced. Celestia got out of her chair to meet him by the door to the dining room.

"Hello, Nephew," Princess Celestia said kindly. "I see you got my message. Would you care for some food?"

"I am not hungry," Blueblood said. He let out a theatrical groan and sat down. "Can we get this over with?"

"Get what over with?" Celestia asked.

"The huge lecture that you're obviously planning on giving me," Blueblood said. "Why else would you ask me to see you, the instant I got out of jail?"

"I wanted to see how you are doing, after last night," Celestia said. "I hope you had plenty of time to think things over."

"It's too late for fake concern," Blueblood said. "If you really cared for me, you wouldn't have thrown me in jail for no good reason!"

Celestia frowned. She hadn't expected to completely reform Blueblood overnight, but she had been hoping for at least a little change in his behavior.

"I understand if you are upset," Princess Celestia said. "But just imagine how Twilight Sparkle feels.You were locked up for a night, but she would have been locked up for years if you—"

"Twilight is guilty!" Blueblood said. "She even confessed to attacking me! What more do you want?"

"She has an alibi," Princess Celestia said. "At least five ponies, including myself, saw her in Ponyville on the night in question. Please, Blueblood, be reasonable."

"I am reasonable," Prince Blueblood said. "Whoever tattooed...that seven-letter word on my forehead should be punished. Twilight is the only suspect, and so it is perfectly reasonable to punish her."

"That is untrue," Celestia said. "Nopony should be punished for a crime, before they are proven guilty. There is plenty of evidence to prove Twilight's innocence."

"Ugggggh," Prince Blueblood groaned. "I don't care what fake evidence she came up with! Even if she didn't attack me last week, she punched me in the nose yesterday! That's good enough for me!"

"She punched you in the nose?" Celestia asked.

"Yes!" Blueblood said. He touched his nose delicately. "...I even started bleeding a bit. It really hurt."

"I'm sorry you were injured," Celestia said. "But you can't make things right by injuring others."

"But...my nose!" Blueblood whined. "It hurt!"

"Would you like a hug?" Princess Celestia offered. "Maybe that will help you feel better."

"I am not four years—hey!" Blueblood said, as Princess Celestia swept him up in a large hug. His indignation was instantly washed away, as the warm sensation overtook him, and he was reminded of his mother's hugs. He opened his mouth to say something, and he got a mouthful of Celestia's flowing teal mane.

"Auck! Gauck!" Blueblood said, trying to push himself away. "Your hair is—ugh!"

Celestia rolled her eyes, and she used her magic to push Blueblood away to a safe distance.

"Th...thanks," Blueblood said, breathing through his mouth. "Your mane got stuck in my mouth, and...how do you keep it flowing like that all the time? There's no wind in this room!"

"Alicorn magic," Princess Celestia said simply.

"Of course," Blueblood muttered. "In any case, can we...not talk about Twilight Sparkle anymore?" For some reason, he no longer felt like fighting with Princess Celestia.

"As you wish," Celestia said graciously.

Twilight Sparkle could have used an alicorn hug at that moment. She had been wearing the Alicorn Amulet for forty-seven consecutive hours, and as the transformation came to an end, it took a heavy toll on her body.

Following orders, the guards had dropped Twilight off at her home in Ponyville, instead of dropping her off at the hospital. After the day's events, Twilight barely had enough energy to go upstairs and crawl into bed. Sadly, none of her friends had been informed of her return ahead of time, so they weren't there to help.

Now she was rolling around on the floor, crying out. She couldn't take the pain anymore. Her forehead felt like it was going to explode.

The Alicorn Amulet was building up magical power inside Twilight's forehead, as it normally did with every unicorn that wore it. The problem was that the magic had nowhere to go. It pushed forward, to her skull, and backwards into her brain, intent on being released.

"Why is this happening to me?" Twilight screamed. "WHY?"

She sobbed on the ground for a while, until she heard soft hoofsteps approaching. "Twilight," a voice said. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

Twilight Sparkle could have used an alicorn hug at that moment. She had been wearing the Alicorn Amulet for forty-seven consecutive hours, and it was taking a heavy toll on her body.

She collapsed onto the floor, after a hearty round of screaming. She couldn't take the pain anymore. Her forehead felt like it was going to explode.

"Why is this happening to me?" Twilight screamed. "WHY?"

She sobbed on the ground for a while, until she heard soft hoofsteps approaching. "Twilight," a voice said. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon."

Twilight looked at the hoof in front of her, which was clad in a dark gray shoe. She clutched the pony's leg tightly, in hopes of alleviating her pain. "What will be over soon?" Twilight asked.

"Your transformation into a unicorn," the pony said. "Soon...you will be me."

Confused, Twilight tilted her head upwards. A familiar-looking purple pony stared down at her. She was the mirror image of Twilight, except with slightly longer hair and a horn sticking out of her head.

Twilight picked herself off of the floor. "N-no!" she said. "You—you're me! You're Unicorn Twilight!"

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "I know growing a horn is painful, but this is the only way you can achieve your destiny."

Twilight placed a hoof against her forehead, and she could feel a small bump. "My destiny?" she asked.

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "You were always meant to be a unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. Your magical power is...unique. In time, you could become the most powerful unicorn ever."

"I...ow...really?"

"Yes," Unicorn Twilight said. "Then you can take revenge on all the ponies who looked down on you for being a pegasus. Blueblood, Trixie, Celestia...you will crush them underhoof and lead the way for Nightmare Moon's glorious reign as Queen of the Night!"

"Aaaaa!" Twilight cried. "I don't—this is too much—make it stop!"

"You can't stop it!" Unicorn Twilight said, her eyes glowing red. "The Alicorn Amulet will make you into me! We will rule the world, as Queen and Servant! We will—!"

Twilight ripped off the Alicorn Amulet and threw it on the ground. Unicorn Twilight instantly faded into purple-and-red smoke, and she was slowly sucked into the jewel on the front of the amulet.

"Nooooo!" she cried. "It is too late! You...cannot..."

There was silence for a moment, then Twilight stomped on the Alicorn Amulet for good measure. As she heard it crack, she felt instant relief.

"So that's what was hurting me," Twilight said to herself. "Lesson learned. Never accept ancient artifacts from evil—"

A huge column of smoke burst from the cracked crystal. It circled the room, then flew right at Twilight.

"AAAAAAAA!" she screamed.

Princess Celestia's conversation with her honorary nephew was heading towards a friendly direction, until he brought up a particular pony.

"My old student?" Princess Celestia asked. "Which one? Sunset Shimmer?"

"No, Trixie Lulamoon," Blueblood said. "Do you know where she is? I need to see her immediately."

"Why do you need to see her?" Celestia asked carefully.

"There's a rumor that she...has a daughter," Blueblood said. "I want to make sure it's not true."

Celestia bowed her head, as she tried to think of a delicate way to put things. "Trixie claims to be the mother of a filly named Scootaloo."

Blueblood's face instantly fell. "What was that name?"

"Scootaloo," Celestia said.

"Please tell me that is one of your bad jokes," Blueblood said. "That cannot be my daughter's name."

"We don't know for certain who Scootaloo's parents are," Celestia said. "She grew up in an orphanage, without a birth certificate."

"So maybe Trixie is lying, just to get money out of me," Blueblood said. "Yes, that makes sense. But why hasn't she come to me about it, then? Unless she...no, it must be true. Right before she left, she was pregnant with my child."

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Celestia said. "Without a paternity and maternity test, we don't know—"

"Forget that!" Blueblood said. "I am going there right now, and retrieving my daughter from that blue bit-chaser! Bluebelle is my daughter, not Trixie's!"

"Bluebelle?" Celestia asked.

"I am going to have her name changed, first chance I get," Blueblood said. "No, first, I need to get custody away from Trixie! I'll have her thrown into the same jail cell as Twilight Sparkle!"

Celestia frowned. For a moment there, it seemed like Blueblood could be making progress, but now, he was back on the subject of imprisoning Celestia's students. She could not allow that to happen, but what was the alternative? Separating a child from her parents?

"I..." Celestia said. "I believe a trip to Ponyville is in order. You should meet Scootaloo, before you make any plans."

Blueblood took a deep breath. "...Yes," he said. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll go there after my appointment at the, er, tattoo parlor."

"I'm busy all day until 1:00," Celestia said. "We can leave together." Somehow, I think it's best if I'm there to act as a buffer for Blueblood.

"Excellent," Blueblood said. "I promise to return by then."

Blueblood soon broke his promise, and he left early for Ponyville. Cursing her honorary nephew, Celestia took off for Ponyville immediately. As the four pegasi guards drew her in a golden chariot, the Princess of the Sun considered her options.

Perhaps this is a good thing. Being a father could cause Blueblood to turn his life around and become a better pony. On the other hoof, it could cause him to become a worse pony. And what if he raises Scootaloo to act just like him? It'd be like having two Bluebloods around.

The plan had been to land near City Hall, but as the passed over Town Square, Celestia noticed that there was a sizeable crowd gathered below. In the middle of it, creating a scene, was Blueblood.

So much for keeping a low profile... Celestia thought. She ordered two of her guards to take the chariot to City Hall, and she ordered the other two guards to come with her. Celestia jumped out of the chariot, spread her wings, and flew down to ground level.

For a moment, Celestia surveyed the scene. A crowd of schoolchildren were gathered around a purple pony that Celestia recognized as Cheerilee. All the children were chatting excitedly, except for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were standing by themselves at a distance.

"I can't believe it," Diamond Tiara said. "I finally get my cutie mark, and Scootaloo upstages me with a huge disaster."

"She is so not getting invited to the cuteceñera," Silver Spoon responded.

Along with the children were several townsponies. They were gathered in a semi-circle, so everypony could see the spectacle that Prince Blueblood was putting on.

Celestia stepped forward to get a better look. On the ground in front of Blueblood, Trixie Lulamoon was crying through a black eye. "You can't do this!" she said. "You can't do this!"

"I am a member of the Royal Family. I can do whatever I want," Blueblood said. "Besides, she is my daughter!"

Not too far away, Scootaloo was watching with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was hugging Fluttershy's leg and crying. Fluttershy patted Scootaloo's back and whispered words of comfort into her ear. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash stepped forward, with her wings spread wide in a defensive position.

"Hey, Big Shot!" Rainbow Dash said. "You think you can show up in our town and steal somepony? It's not gonna happen! If you want to get Scootaloo, you have to go through me!"

She snarled at Blueblood, who instinctively took a fearful step backwards.

"I have the law on my side," he said. "If you try to stop me, I will have you arrested for obstruction of justice! Who knows? Maybe I can convince the judge to bring back the death penalty!"

"That is enough!" Princess Celestia shouted, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. The crowd burst into excited whispers as she stepped forward, towards Blueblood.

Trixie threw herself at Celestia's hooves. "Princess Celestia!" Trixie said. "Thank goodness! You can't let him take Scootaloo! You can't—"

"Ah, Aunt Celestia, good," Prince Blueblood said. "Give the order to arrest these commoners! They are trying to keep my daughter from me!"

"Perhaps it would be best to discussion the situation in private," Celestia said hotly.

"No!" Blueblood said. "Scootaloo is my daughter! Either she leaves here with me, or neither of us leaves!"

"She's not your daughter!" Trixie screamed.

"Of course she is!" Blueblood said. "Can there be any doubt? She looks just like my uncle Bluenose!"

"I don't want to do this, but I have no choice," Princess Celestia sighed. "Blueblood, do you truly wish to claim Scootaloo as your daughter?"

"Yes!" Blueblood said.

"There here," Celestia said. She used her magic to make a scroll of paper, along with a pen, appear. The writing utensils fell to the ground, in front of Blueblood. "Make it official."

"What is this?" he asked.

"The adoption form," Celestia said. "If you wish to claim Scootaloo as your daughter, you must sign this."

"What the hay is she doing?" Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy.

"Don't help him!" Trixie begged. "Why would you—?"

Celestia used a hoof to silence Trixie, as Prince Blueblood used his magic to sign the scroll with a flourish. Princess Celestia took the form from him and sent it away.

"It is finished, then," Celestia said, standing up straight. "By my authority, I now declare that Blueblood has a daughter, and he is no longer a Prince of Equestria!"

"What?" Blueblood shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth.

"The law states that the last remaining descendant of Prince Bluebill is an honorary member of the royal family," Celestia said. "Now that you have a daughter, you are no longer Bluebill's last descendant. Hence, not a Prince."

"Poppycock," Blueblood said. "Scootaloo is a minor. You can't give her my royal title."

"I am a member of the Royal Family. I can do whatever I want," Celestia quipped.

Blueblood flushed with anger, and he started to curse vehemently. Celestia turned away from him and walked towards Scootaloo, who was curled up under Fluttershy's wing.

Princess Celestia held out a hoof towards Scootaloo. "Don't be afraid," she said. "I promise I will take care of you."

Scootaloo nodded and grabbed the princess' hoof. Princess Celestia perched Scootaloo on her shoulder, so everypony could see her.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" Celestia cried in a loud voice. "I present to you the newest member of the royal family, Princess Scootaloo!"

The crowd started shouting happily, and Pinkie Pie set off two party cannons. The schoolchildren started running around, uncontrolled. Trixie hugged Fluttershy and cried.

"I have had enough of this nonsense—" Prince Blueblood said angrily.

His words were cut off, when a flash of purple magic hit him. Blueblood's head and hindquarters switched places, so that his head stuck out beneath his tail, and his rear stuck out of his neck. He shouted angrily, and the crowd laughed heartily at his attempts to walk around.

As Celestia turned to look, the sun was blotted out. The sky become dark, as a shadowy figure flew through the clouds and landed in front of Celestia.

"You're hailing the wrong princess," Twilight Sparkle said, as she rested on the ground. She adjusted the crown which rested on her head, just above her horn. "You should be hailing me, for soon.

Princess Celestia stepped backwards. "Twilight...you're an alicorn..." she said.

Twilight smiled grimly. "Yes, and once I kill you, the world will know the darkness of eternal twilight."

The Battle in Ponyville

Over the course of her long life, Princess Celestia had heard many threats from different royal ponies. Not only was there Emperor Naponyan, but there was also Princess Pinkie Pie, Queen Crystalis and Princess Shoo-be-doo, the ruler of the seaponies.

Celestia had also received many threats from her various students. None of these threats were very serious; they mostly revolved around difficult tests and unfair deadlines.

The newly-alicorn Twilight Sparkle was something different. She was both Celestia's student and a royal pony. That particular combination of traits had not been seen for a thousand years, when King Sombra tried to conquer Equestria.

Sombra had been Princess Luna's personal student in his younger years, similar to how Twilight was Celestia's student. Even though she hadn't seen Sombra in over a decade, Princess Luna had been extremely reluctant to use the Elements of Harmony on her former student.

I now know how you felt then, Sister, Celestia thought. Fighting your own student is...well...I'm not sure I can do this.

In the back of her mind, Celestia always wondered if King Sombra was responsible for Princess Luna's downfall. Not long after his defeat, Luna began acting differently. She shouted more often, began wearing a helmet at all times, and she constantly complained that ponies were sleeping through her beautiful night.

Around that time, rumors began to emerge about an evil pony who haunted dreams. After a single visit from her, a pony would have nightmares for weeks. Nopony ever saw her face, but a few caught a glimpse of her distinctive moon-shaped cutie mark, resulting in the nickname "Nightmare Moon".

It took six months before Princess Celestia realized that Nightmare Moon was her sister. By then, it was too late. Luna's temporary transformation into Nightmare Moon had become permanent; her body, mind and personality had changed completely.

Of course, Celestia still believed her sister was somewhere inside Nightmare Moon, waiting to be freed. Perhaps the real Twilight Sparkle was trapped somewhere inside this new, monstrous alicorn. There was only one way to know for sure.

"Hold for a second," Princess Celestia said. "This is no place for children."

Princess Celestia took Scootaloo off of her shoulder and set Scootaloo down on the ground. While doing this, Celestia held Scootaloo's body in between herself and Twilight, so Twilight did not see Celestia's lips move as she whispered, "Go get the Elements of Harmony. Now."

Scootaloo scampered off at top speed. Celestia stepped forward towards Alicorn Twilight.

"What happened to you?" Princess Celestia asked. "How did you...?"

"Become an alicorn?" Twilight asked. "It was quite simple, really. I asked Nightmare Moon to give me unicorn magic, and she did."

"You're working for Nightmare Moon?" Celestia gasped, as the ponies in the crowd started murmuring uneasily.

"No, I took a page from out of your book," Twilight said. "I tricked her into giving me what I wanted. Just like how you've been manipulating me for the past three years."

Celestia took a moment to do the math. "Three years...wait, are you talking about when I got you the assistant librarian job at my university?"

"You sent a pegasus to work at a unicorn school!" Twilight said. "I was the joke of the entire university! Or did you already forget about the time a student decided to play 'Rip Twilight's Feathers Out'?"

"I did not overlook Sunset Shimmer's misdeeds. She was severely punished for what she did to you."

"But you could have done more! And that's nothing compared to the disaster with Prince Bluebutt over here!"

Blueblood tried to look impressive, which was hard to do, considering that his face was on his rear end. "I demand you put me back to normal at once!" he said.

"Don't interrupt!" Twilight shouted. She charged up a purple ball of magical energy on the tip of her horn, then she flung her head forward to throw the energy ball directly at Blueblood. It exploded near his feet, and he went flying into the air. He hit the ground some twenty feet away, and he broke his right hind leg upon impact.

"You see?" Twilight asked. "That's what you should have done to Bluebutt, years ago!"

Princess Celestia flared her wings at this, the first sign of violence. "Stop!" she commanded. "I know you are upset, but I cannot allow you to hurt other ponies."

"Upset? I'm more than upset! I'm furious!" Twilight said, stomping a hoof on the ground. "But now, the tables have turned on you, Celestia! I was able to leave my broken pegasus body behind and ascend to my true form! I am no longer the pathetic Twilight Sparkle! I am now Princess Suspended Sunset, the Destined Ruler of All Equestria!"

From the crowd, Pinkie Pie said, "Wow, she's even crazier than I am!"

"Suspended Sunset, huh?" Princess Celestia asked. At least it's a better title than Nightmare Moon...

The Alicorn Formerly Known As Twilight stood up to her full height. "An appropriate name, don't you think?" she asked, smiling slightly. "I will cause your sun to set."

"You will not find me such an easy opponent," Princess Celsetia promised.

"We shall see," Princess Sunset said. Deciding to repeat her earlier attack, she created a ball of purple magic energy on her horn. She threw it at Celestia, but the Princess of the Sun was prepared. Celestia turned to the side slightly, and in one smooth motion, she opened up her wing and knocked the magical attack aside.

The ball of purple energy exploded harmlessly in the air, and two of the ponies in the crowd started clapping. Princess Celestia looked over at the crowd, and as she expected, she could not see Trixie or Scootaloo there.

Good, they're getting the Elements of Harmony, Celestia thought. I need to buy them as much time as possible.

"Before we fight for real, why don't you explain why you're so upset?" Celstia asked. "Or tell me about your plans. What will you do, if you take over my throne?"

"You are an incompetent fool who is incapable of listening," Suspended Sunset said. "I already told you those things. As the Princess of Sunsets, I shall put the world into eternal twilight. Dusk shall rule over all of Equestria!"

While the two alicorns spoke with each other, the Elements of Harmony were being gathered. As soon as Scootaloo was set on the ground, she ran straight towards Trixie. "Quick!" Scootaloo said. "Princess Celestia says we need—"

Trixie, who had been on emotional overload for the past fifteen minutes, swept Scootaloo up in a giant hug. "My baby!" she said. "I thought I was going to lose you again!"

"Moooom!" Scootaloo said. She wasn't entire comfortable, being hugged in public. "We have to get the Elements of Harmony!"

"The...necklaces in the display case?" Trixie asked. "Why?"

"They're the only thing that stops evil alicorns, remember?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ruh...right," Trixie said. To be honest, she hadn't gotten around to reading the library book about the Elements of Harmony. "We've got, um...well, the two pegasi are here. So is Pinkie Pizza, or whatever her name was...Scootaloo!"

While Trixie was talking, Scootaloo dashed over to her schoolmates, who were all gathered around Cheerilee. Most of the children were watching Princess Celestia, and Scootaloo went through the group until she found the two fillies she wanted.

"Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!" Scootaloo said. "I need your help! You have to get your sisters and bring them here, right away!"

"Huh?" Apple Bloom asked. "What do you need Applejack for?"

"We need them to stop the bad guy!" Scootaloo said.

"But...Rarity can't stop bad guys," Sweetie Belle said. "All she can do is make dresses."

"Look, I'll explain everything later, okay?" Scootaloo said. "Just get your sisters and hurry!"

Apple Bloom wasn't convinced. "I dunno," she said. "That purple alicorn seems dangerous. Maybe we should let Princess Celestia take care of her."

"No!" Scootaloo said. "We have to do it, because...um...um...maybe we'll get our cutie marks in beating bad guys!"

Huge smiles erupted on the fillies' faces. "Hey!" Apple Bloom said. "That's a great idea!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle said. "Bad Guy Stopper Cutie Marks!"

The two of them ran off to get their sisters, while Scootaloo went with Trixie to get the Elements of Harmony from the display case in the library. By the time they returned, the battle between Princess Celestia and Princess Sunset was underway, and the two alicorns were circling each other, with intense looks on their faces.

"You cannot win," Celestia said. "Your magic is weak and untrained." She flipped her mane to the side. Her hair stretched out to its full length, and it began to glow slightly as Celestia cast a spell on it. A rope net, made of hair, flew out of Celestia's mane and went towards Sunset.

The purple alicorn rolled out of the way to dodge. "I am the strongest magician in Equestria!" she said. She tried to duplicate Trixie's fireworks spell, in order to make fireworks explode in Celestia's face, but she didn't get the spell correct.

Celestia's eyes burned yellow, and the ground shook. Thin pillars of dirt rose up from the ground, around Sunset. Within seconds, she was trapped inside a dirt cage, complete with a roof.

"How long have you had that unicorn horn?" Celestia asked. "Three hours, at most? I've been using magic for thousands of years."

"Your magic is old and useless!" Sunset said. Flames erupted from her horn, and she burned her way through the bars of the cage. "My twilight will rule!"

"Twilight is the worst time of day," Celestia said, conjuring up a bucket of water to douse Sunset's flames.

"You lie!" Sunset said, shooting a lightning-bolt like burst of energy at Celestia. "Sunset is the best time of all, because it's halfway between night and day! It's still bright enough to see outside, but not so bright that the sun hurts your eyes! That's great for book reading!"

"Jeez, even when she's an alicorn, she's an egghead," Rainbow Dash muttered. She was acting as the lookout for the Elements of Harmony, by hovering in the sky, ten feet above everypony else. When she spotted Applejack at a distance, Rainbow landed on the ground.

"Applejack's coming," Rainbow Dash said. "The only pony we're missing now is Rarity. I'm gonna go look for her."

"Don't take too long," Trixie said.

"No worries. I can find her in ten seconds flat," Rainbow Dash said. She flew off at top speed, towards Carousel Boutique. Applejack soon joined up with the rest of the group.

"Howdy, y'all," Applejack said. "What's up with Nightmare Moon Junior over there? She looks kinda like Twilight."

"It is Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said. "When she grows a unicorn horn, she gets all nasty-wasty!"

"No!" Scootaloo said. "It's not Twilight! There's no way my big sister would turn evil!"

"Um...sorry to interrupt, but...are you sure Cheerilee can't take over for me?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't want to fight anypony! Especially not big evil monsters!"

"Can I replace Fluttershy? I want to help!" Scootaloo said.

"It's too dangerous for you," Trixie said. She glanced at the fighting alicorns and paled slightly. "It might even be too dangerous for the Great and Powerful Trixie."

The magical duel became more and more intense, as time passed. Princess Celestia's reluctance to hurt her student prevented her from using her full strength in the battle, while Princess Sunset was fighting with all she had. As Sunset found herself running out of energy, she decided to go for broke with one, superpowered attack.

Princess Suspended Sunset threw a ball of strong, magical energy at Celestia's head. Princess Celestia countered with an energy attack of her own. The two energy attacks collided in the space between the two alicorns, and they combined into a high-powered sphere of lavender-and-cerulean light.

The sphere of energy rotated more and more quickly, as the two Princesses fought for magical dominance over it. They pushed more and more energy into their attacks, each one hoping to push the destructive orb towards her opponent. Soon, the ball of energy began to expand.

At first, it was the size of a hoofball. Then, it became the size of a pony's head. Soon, it was the size of a full-grown pony. The ground cracked, and the two alicorns flew up into the air, so they could have more room to work with. The massive ball of energy expanded until it was the size of a small house, but even then, neither Princess could wrest full control of it.

Around this time, Rainbow Dash returned with Rarity in tow. "What happened to Twilight?" Rarity asked. "Why is she an alicorn now? Why is she fighting with Princess Celestia? And where did she get that hideous crown?"

"We're not sure," Trixie said, handing over Rarity's necklace. "Here, put this on."

Rarity put on her necklace, then frowned. "Why do only half of us have necklaces?" she asked. "Did the orbs not work for the others?"

"What orbs?" Trixie asked.

"The ones we got in the castle in the Everfree," Rarity said. "Didn't we tell you about that? That's where the necklaces came from."

Trixie scrunched her brow in annoyance; she was really starting to wish she hadn't been put in charge of the Elements of Harmony, when she knew almost nothing about them. "Nopony mentioned anything about orbs," she said. "Are they important? Does everypony need a necklace?"

"I dunno," Applejack said. She tapped the apple-shaped gem, at the front of her necklace. "How do we activate these things, anyway? Is there a code word or something?"

"I don't know!" Trixie said. "Princess Celestia didn't give me all the details! Twilight was the one who studied the elements, not me!"

"Hmmm..." Rarity said, thinking. "I'm not sure how to use the elements, either."

"Maybe I have to laugh to activate the Element of Laughter!" Pinkie Pie said. "Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA! Haaaaaa...huh."

"I'll take care of this," Rainbow Dash said. Without the slightest sign of fear, Rainbow Dash jumped into the air and flew right towards the alicorn battle. She hovered about four feet next to Princess Celestia and asked, "Um, Princess?"

"Sorry, but I don't have time to talk right now," Princess Celestia said, as sweat drops appeared on her forehead. "I'm a little busy."

"I want to tell you that we've got the Elements of Harmony," Rainbow Dash said.

"Excellent! What are you waiting for?" Celestia asked. "Use them on Suspended Sunset!"

"We don't know how to use them," Rainbow Dash said. "And, um, half of the elements are missing."

"What?" Celestia asked. For a moment, she lost her concentration on the battle, which gave Princess Sunset an opening. The giant ball of energy hit Celestia, and a loud crack like thunder was heard. Celestia plummeted to the ground, creating a crater when she landed.

Ponies gathered around the small crater. Princess Celestia was lying on her side, with her eyes closed. Her hair, which normally flowed in the wind, hung limp on the ground.

Princess Suspended Sunset landed on the ground and looked at Celestia's unmoving body. "I did it?" she asked. "I did it! I killed Princess Celestia! HA! O happy, happy day!"

Princess Sunset turned around to face the crowd. "Do you see now? Celestia is dead! She could not defeat the power of Sunset! She—"

While Princess Sunset was distracted, Celestia got up and hit her in the back with a quick spell. The dark alicorn screamed in pain and fury, as her body slowly disintegrated into white nothingness.

Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have made the mistake of assuming I was dead, Celestia thought. She always double-checked her answers before finishing a test.

Most of the ponies in the crowd cheered, as Princess Celesia walked out of the crater in the ground. Everypony else was too shocked at Sunset's defeat to react with joy.

Ten minutes later, Twilight's adult friends were gathered in the library. The mood was dismal, to say the least.

"She's gone..." Rarity said softly. "My friend from Canterlot is gone..."

"She was a good pony," Applejack said, wrapping a hoof around Rarity's shoulder in a comforting fashion. "I'm sure she's in Pony Heaven right now."

"She was the best librarian we ever had!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Ponyville will never be the same without her!"

"She was really, um...organized," Trixie said. Trixie didn't have anything nice to say, because she never had any good experiences with Twilight Sparkle.

"Maybe we could do a little tribute to her, at the Summer Sun Celebration," Rarity suggested. "It's what she would have wanted. She was so concerned about making the event a success..."

There was a knock at the front door, and Princess Celestia stepped in. "Good," she said. "I was hoping I'd find you all here. We need to talk about the Elements of Harmony."

Applejack adjusted her necklace, while all the other ponies merely looked at Celestia. The Princess of the Sun saw their gloomy faces and smiled gently.

"Do not be worried," Princess Celestia said. "I am not upset with you. I understand that you were unprepared to use the elements."

"But the Elements of Harmony would have saved Twilight..." Rarity muttered. "If only I had arrived sooner!"

Regret was an emotion Celestia understood well. "You did your best," Celestia said, closing her eyes. "That is all I can ask of you. Of course, we all wish things had worked out better, but we cannot change what happened."

Tears fell out of Fluttershy's eyes, while Rainbow Dash angrily ran a hoof along the floor. Even Pinkie Pie looked sad.

"The good news is that you have plenty of time to learn how to use the Elements of Harmony," Celestia said. "When Nightmare Moon comes next week—"

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore, princess or no princess. She flew right at Celestia's face and shouted, "Shut up! Just shut up! You killed our friend Twilight, and you still think we'll help you fight Nightmare Moon? You're crazy!"

Celestia was taken aback. "I...what are you talking about?" she asked.

"You killed her right in front of everypony!" Rainbow Dash accused. "We all saw it!"

"Oh my goodness, is that what you think happened?" Princess Celestia asked, taking a step forward. "My little ponies, I would never kill somepony! The spell I used on Twilight was a banishment spell. All I did was send her somewhere else."

"She's not dead?" Rainbow Dash asked. She swept up Fluttershy in a hug. "She's not dead!"

The mood in the room immediately lifted, as the ponies let out various exclamations of relief. "Why didn't you mention that sooner?" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I...I'm sorry," Celestia said. "I had no idea you thought she was dead. I thought it was obvious that I sent her to the moon."

"The moon?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Princess Celestia shrugged. "Banishment to the moon is the typical punishment for trying to kill me," she said. "Besides, I didn't have any time to think of anything else."

"But...that's where Nightmare Moon is!" Applejack said. "And she's coming back next week!"

"Yes," Celestia said grimly. "Unless I'm wrong, I believe both alicorns will return to Earth during the Summer Sun Celebration."

"T-two evil alicorns?" Fluttershy gasped.

"That is why you must learn how to use the Elements of Harmony by then!" Celestia said earnestly. "Only you can save Equestria from being overcome by eternal darkness!"

Fluttershy fainted from fright.

Preparations

Under normal circumstances, the fight between Princess Celestia and Princess Sunset would have been national news. Magical duelers would have documented the battle in painstaking detail, investigators would have been sent to figure out where Princess Sunset came from, and everypony would have talked about it for months.

However, Princess Celestia was no fool. She knew there would be a widespread panic, if her citizens learned of the impending alicorn invasion. In order to help prevent the news from spreading beyond Ponyville, Celestia declared that the Royal Coronation of Princess Scootaloo would take place that Friday.

This proved to be the greatest distraction of the past hundred years, as all of the ponies in Equestria went crazy with joy, over the prospect of a new princess. Tens of thousands of ponies flooded into Canterlot, so they could attend the coronation. Publicity pictures of Scootaloo were distributed everywhere, and Scootaloo-related merchandise couldn't be made quickly enough to match with demand.

The only pony who was unhappy with Scootaloo's coronation, as it turned out, was Scootaloo herself. She was temporarily moved to Canterlot Castle for security reasons, and she didn't like being away from all of her Ponyville friends. She quickly started acting out, much to the disappointment of the ponies who now had to clean up after her messes.

"Got ya, you little punk!" Shining Armor said.

"Let me go! It's no fair!" Scootaloo said, kicking and screaming against Shining Armor's telekinetic grip.

"Ohhhh no," Shining Armor said, brushing a hoof against a coffee stain on his uniform. "I've been chasing you for ten minutes now. You're going straight to Princess Celestia."

"NO NO NO NO NO!" Scootaloo shouted, but Shining Armor did not relinquish his hold on Scootaloo. He marched down a flight of stairs and through two hallways until he was at the throne room.

Princess Celestia was going through paperwork for the coronation ceremony, trying to figure out where all the various dignitaries would be staying. When she heard somepony shouting about booger-brained barbarians, Celestia looked up and sighed.

"I'll be right back," Celestia told the other ponies. She flew the short distance across the throne room, landing in front of Scootaloo and Shining Armor with her wings spread wide. "This is the third time today you have interrupted my meetings. What is the problem this time?"

"Nothing!" Scootaloo said. "No problems here!"

"Young Scootaloo here just knocked the ambassador from Prance into a four-story cake," Shining Armor said. "Do you know the punishment for attacking ambassadors?"

"Look, whatever that mare with the silly accent says is a lie! I didn't do anything!" Scootaloo said. "I was just playing on my scooter like always!"

"I confiscated your scooter two days ago!" Shining Armor said. "That thing is a dangerous weapon in your hooves!"

"Yeah, well, I got it back!" Scootaloo said. "You're not the boss of me, Shining Dumber! I'm a princess, so I get to do whatever I want!"

"I can assure you that's not true," a kind voice said. Both Scootaloo and Shining Armor stopped fighting and turned their heads around to see a beautiful pink alicorn standing at the entranceway to the throne room.

"Cadance," Celestia said, happy for the distraction. "I was expecting you a little later."

"The train left early today," Princess Cadance said. "I wanted to ask which room I'm going to stay in, but it looks like you're, um, busy."

"Oh, no, not at all," Celestia said, with a smile. "We're just taking care of a minor dispute. The Assistant Captain of the Royal Guard here tells me that Scootaloo has been getting into trouble lately."

"What, this adorable little angel?" Cadance asked. Scootaloo beamed at her.

"I think there's only one way to teach you two how to get along," Celestia said. "Shining Armor, I am officially making you Scootaloo's personal bodyguard. Your job is to protect her all the time."

"WHAT?" Scootaloo shouted.

"No way!" Shining Armor said. "Nuh-uh. I qui—"

"I could help watch over Scootaloo, too," Princess Cadance offered. "I've done foal-sitting in the past."

"—I accept the job offer!" Shining Armor said quickly.

"That's very generous of both of you," Celestia said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a coronation to plan, which means no more frivolous interruptions."

The Princess of the Sun gave a harsh warning glare to Scootaloo and Shining Armor, then she turned tail and flew back to her throne.

Over in Ponyville, the Elements of Harmony were preparing for the upcoming battle against Nightmare Moon and Suspended Sunset. The group of ponies was once again at the library, where Trixie read to them from The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.

"'There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known...When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.' I don't understand this part. What is this spark? How do the five other Elements create the Element of Magic? Whoever wrote this—hey, are you listening to me?"

As it turned out, nopony was listening to Trixie. They were busy admiring their new necklaces, which had been custom-made for them.

"I've always wanted a necklace shaped like my cutie mark," Fluttershy said happily.

"And all our necklaces match!" Rarity said. "We should go out together as a group and all wear these! We'll get so many compliments!"

"Hey, what's with the extra one?" Rainbow Dash asked, holding up a necklace with a flower engraved on it.

"Ooo! Ooo!" Pinkie Pie said. "That's Cheerilee's cutie mark! Is she going to be one of the Elements of Harmony?"

"She's an emergency replacement, in case one of us gets sick," Trixie said. Trixie had asked for a back-up pony, because she suspected that Fluttershy would get scared and run away.

"That's good!" Pinkie Pie said. "I might be too busy to help you girls out, because my family is coming to visit me next week!"

Rainbow Dash suddenly had a vision of four pink ponies, bouncing around Ponyville and squealing in high-pitched voices. She shuddered slightly. "Your...family?"

"Uh huh!" Pinkie Pie said happily. "At first they weren't gonna show up, but Dad was super impressed when I told him that I'm on a first-name basis with Princess Celestia! So now they're all gonna show up for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it'll be more fun than a barrel of monkeys! Which reminds me, I should get some monkeys for the party!"

"Pinkie, there isn't going to be a Summer Sun Celebration, if you don't help us defeat Nightmare Moon," Trixie said sternly. "Now stop goofing around. We need to practice."

"Trixie's right," Applejack said. "We gotta figure out how to use the element doohickeys. Is there a hidden button or something?"

"Well, the necklace is shaped like my cutie mark," Rarity said. "Perhaps that means I have to cast my gem-finding spell in order to activate it."

"Um, maybe we have to use our element powers," Fluttershy suggested.

"I know! They're the Elements of Harmony, right?" Pinkie Pie asked. "So we need to sing a song, in six-part harmony!"

On the other side of the room, Spike was sitting at one of the tables in the library. He was supposed to be working on his homework, but instead, he was busy trying to stare at Rarity without getting caught. When he saw the ponies debating how to use the Elements of Harmony, Spike got out of his chair and waddled over to them.

"Are you serious?" Spike asked. "You don't know what to do?"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest magician in all of Equestria, but she is unfamiliar with this particular brand of ancient magic," Trixie said.

"Don't you girls read any comic books?" Spike said. "This is exactly what happened in Issue #19! These two aliens came from outer space to destroy the world, and the Z-Fighters had to work together in order to stop them!"

"How?" Pinkie asked.

"With super-cool poses, duh!" Spike said. "And matching costumes, and... other superhero stuff!"

"Ah!" Trixie said, jumping up with pleasure. She didn't know much about ancient magic, but she did know a lot about looking impressive in front of a crowd. "I know a couple of group poses we can try out!"

"We're not gonna stop Nightmare Moon by doing poses," Rainbow Dash scoffed. "We should try some group attack patterns! That's what the Wonderbolts use against rogue dragons and stuff."

Trixie scowled a bit at Rainbow Dash. "We can try both techniques," she said.

On the moon, the two alicorns were also making preparations.

"So it's agreed," Nightmare Moon said. "You'll help me conquer the world, and in return, we will switch from eternal night to eternal dusk, every other month."

"Yes!" her purple cohort said. "Soon, Equestria will know the wrath of The Dark Princesses, Nightmare Moon and Suspended Sunset!"

"Eurgh," Nightmare Moon groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? Your name is still Twilight Sparkle! Growing a horn doesn't change your name at all!"

"Do I at least get to be a princess?" Twilight asked.

"NO!"

"That's not fair!" Twilight said. "Little Orphan Pony gets to be a princess, and I get banished to the freaking moon! I swear, I can't wait to kill Celestia."

"Celestia is mine," Nightmare Moon said. "Your job is to fight the Elements of Harmony."

"Hmph," Twilight snorted. She was hoping for a rematch against Celestia, not a fight with the Ponyville Amateur Hour. "You can't fool me. I studied up on the elements, when I was working for Fat Flank. I know that there's no way to beat them in a fair fight."

"Those are all lies, my faithful student," Nightmare Moon said, putting a guiding hoof on the smaller alicorn's back. "A thousand years ago, somepony used dark magic to prevent the Bearers from using the Elements of Harmony."

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"His name was Discord," Nightmare Moon said. "And I can teach you his method for turning ponies dull and gray."

After all, it's almost the same technique I used to turn you evil...

The situation with Scootaloo and Shining Armor was tense for about three-quarters of a day, until they got onto the topic of cutie marks. Shining told Scootaloo about some of Twilight's failed attempts to get a cutie mark, and Scootaloo ended up laughing so hard that she fell over and sprained her wing.

Scootaloo got along best with Princess Cadance, who certainly lived up to her reputation of being "the greatest foal-sitter ever". Cadance was able to sympathize with Scootaloo more than anypony else, seeing as Cadance was also born as an orphan and became a princess unexpectedly.

Cadance helped teach Scootaloo how to deal with all the strange ponies she had never met before. She explained what it meant to be a princess, and she even taught Scootaloo a special breathing technique that helped with relaxation.

On the day of the coronation ceremony, Princess Cadance was the one who helped Scootaloo prepare in her bedroom. Shining Armor wanted to be there—he made a special effort to be close by whenever Cadance was visiting—but Scootaloo's room was a girls-only zone that day. They forced him to stand guard outside.

"You're going to look fantastic!" Cadance said, as she brushed Scootaloo's mane.

"I don't like wearing dresses," Scootaloo complained, as she tugged on the side of her purple outfit.

"Me neither, but sometimes part of being a princess is dressing up," Cadance said. "You need to look nice for everypony."

"Is everypony in the kingdom going to be there?" Scootaloo asked.

"Almost everypony," Cadance said. "I have to say, I enjoyed meeting your mother at breakfast. It's very nice that she came all the way to be with you today."

"I guess," Scootaloo said. She sighed and looked at her shoes.

Princess Cadance stopped brushing Scootaloo's mane. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I dunno," Scootaloo said. "It's just...Mom is the only one in my family who's coming."

"Oh. Right," Princess Cadance said, putting her hoof to her mouth. Scootaloo's father, Blueblood, would not be attending the ceremony.

He still had a broken leg, after being attacked by the alicorn Twilight Sparkle. Worse yet, he had a broken mind. Not long after he lost his royal title and privileges, Blueblood had a complete mental breakdown. He ran through town, screaming and yelling and crying, until he was eventually arrested by the Royal Guard.

Princess Celestia, who was fond of poetic justice, sent him to the mental hospital for a month for recuperation. It was the same punishment Blueblood had tried to impose upon Twilight. Celestia did show him some mercy, in that she undid the spell which switched his head and his hindquarters.

"It must be difficult for you not to have your father around," Princess Cadance said compassionately.

"It's not just Dad," Scootaloo said. "It's my big sister, Twilight."

Cadance closed her eyes. She had spoken briefly with Celestia about Twilight Sparkle. Celestia had been extremely reluctant to reveal any details about the purple pegasus-turned-alicorn.

"She only got to be my big sister for a little bit, and now she's gone forever!" Scootaloo complained. "All I have left is her cranky older brother! It's not fair! I want her back!"

"Oh, Sweetheart," Cadance said. "I'm sorry that you miss your sister, but sometimes bad things happen to the ponies we love. That's just how life is."

"But why?" Scootaloo asked. "You told me that love makes everything better! Why doesn't it help me and my sister?"

Cadance sighed. As the Princess of Love, she was often confronted by angry, broken-hearted ponies. She never liked explaining about the more unpleasant aspects of love.

"Love is...complicated," Cadance said. "It is the most powerful thing in the world, but sometimes it can be misused. For example, unrequited love often parades as true love in situations where the beloved's love is—"

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

Cadance reminded herself that Scootaloo was only ten years old, at most. "Let me try again," Cadance said. "Do you know what love is, Scootaloo?"

"Love is...um...a feeling?" Scootaloo guessed.

"No," Cadance said. "Love involves feelings, but it's much more than that. Feelings can change, while love stays the same."

Scootaloo scratched her head. "You mean, like how I still love my sister, even though she's mean and nasty now?"

"Exactly," Cadance said. "Love isn't about you, Scootaloo. It's about the pony you love. It lifts you up, outside of yourself, and settles you down on your beloved."

Scootaloo didn't quite understand this. "So why doesn't love help my sister?" she asked.

"I don't know what's wrong with your sister," Cadance said. "But I can promise you that, deep down, she still loves you. And that's never going to change, no matter how mean she is, or how much you two fight."

"I hope so..." Scootaloo said. "I just want her back, that's all."

Cadance hugged Scootaloo from behind. "I'm sure that everything is going to work out in the end. Now come on, let's go make you a Princess."

Princess Celestia wasn't crazy enough to put Scootaloo in charge of any part of the government, so her coronation was more ceremonial than functional. Nonetheless, it was a huge success. The crowds cheered as Scootaloo was given a crown and officially adopted as Princess Celestia's niece. The celebration lasted the entire three-day weekend (Monday being a holiday).

The problems started when Trixie returned to Ponyville. There were only two days left to prepare, and to be honest, the Elements of Harmony weren't working yet. Maybe it was because some of the ponies were assigned to the wrong elements. Maybe it was because half of the necklaces didn't come from the Harmony Stones.

Most likely, though, the Elements of Harmony weren't working because the ponies themselves weren't working. Trixie was trying her hardest as the leader, but she couldn't fill Twilight's hooves. Her friendship with the other ponies, especially Rainbow Dash, was somewhat strained, and this hurt their ability to work as a team.

A new problem developed, when Trixie called for another practice session. They all chatted about Scootaloo's coronation, until Pinkie Pie showed up, five minutes late. The normally happy pony looked like someone just cancelled her birthday party.

"Um...I'm sorry, but I can't help with the Elements of Harmony on Monday," Pinkie said, sadly. "I'm not even allowed to be here right now."

"What?" all the ponies asked.

"What's wrong, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dad grounded me," Pinkie said. "He said I eat too many sweets."

The various ponies let out cries of surprise and sympathy, all except for Rainbow Dash. "Wait, hold on a sec. You invited your family to come visit for the holiday, and your dad grounded you? You're not a little filly anymore!"

Pinkie's hair seemed to deflate slightly. "Why does it matter? It's not like we've been able to use the elements anyway."

"That's going to change!" Trixie said happily. "I talked with Princess Celestia, while I was in Canterlot for the coronation. She's used the Elements of Harmony before, so she taught me how to use them!"

"Really?" Applejack asked. "What have we been doin' wrong?"

"We just need to concentrate on our particular elements," Trixie said. "Focus on what you represent, and think about how it brings harmony and friendship to the world."

"I don't think that will work," Pinkie Pie said, kicking the ground with her hoof. "Anyway, I have to go now. If Dad finds out that I left my room, I'll be super grounded! He might even take Gummy away from me!"

"But Pinkie, we can't do this without you!" Trixie said. "You're our Element of Laughter!"

"And besides, you're our friend!" Applejack said.

"You can have Cheerilee replace me," Pinkie said.

"No way!" Rainbow Dash said. "We've been practicing with you!"

"Nopony else brings such...enthusiasm to our meetings," Rarity said. "And besides, your cutie mark necklace would look horrible on Cheerilee."

After some begging, Pinkie agreed to stay for another five minutes, so they could at least try the new technique that Trixie learned. The ponies got into formation, and they started focusing on the power of friendship.

The new method wasn't as effective as possible, but it worked better than anything else they had tried. A tiny rainbow came out of the element necklaces, connecting all five of them. The rainbow's ends were loose, until they hesitantly went into Trixie's necklace. The rainbow then disappeared.

"It stopped!" Rarity said.

Trixie turned to the other ponies. "We made more progress than we previously—"

The other ponies screamed in terror. Trixie's necklace was glowing, and her pupils had disappeared completely. As the ponies watched, Trixie's blank eyes were slowly filled with swirling rainbow colors. Only Rainbow Dash could stand to look at it.

"What? What's happening?" Trixie cried. "Trixie can't see anything! Trixie is blind!"

"Somepony call a doctor!"

"No, a magical expert!"

"Get some water, pronto!"

"Spandex!" Pinkie cried. "I need spandex!"

The mild panic was interrupted when the door to the library flew open. Pinkie's stern father stomped into the room, anger written all over his face. "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" he shouted. "What are you doing, young lady?"

Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy's long pink mane and tried to hide behind it. "Nothing, Daddy!"

Mr. Pie started scolding his daughter. "I told you that you can't play with your friends, after you—"

Trixie turned towards the sound of the disturbance, at the same moment she blinked. A rainbow-colored beam of light shot out of Trixie's eyes and hit Mr. Pie directly in the face. He was flung against the wall, and he collapsed on the ground.

"NO!" Pinkie cried.

"My eyes!" Trixie said, blinking a few times. "I can see again! What did—what happened to him?"

Pinkie's father slowly stood up. His entire mane, including his sizeable sideburns, had turned pink. A goofy grin covered his face, and he started bouncing. "Hey, is this a party? Why wasn't I invited? I wanna play with everypony! Let's try singing and dancing! Ooo, your necklaces are pretty!"

"Dad?" Pinkie asked. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Pie ran up to his daughter. "Hey, you look just like me!" he said. "My name is Pinkie Pie! I'm the most partyriffic pony in all of Equestria! Let's have a twins party! We're going to be best friends! Best twins forever, Pinkie Pie and Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie put her arm around her father, stopping him from bouncing around. "You hurt your head, and now you're acting weird," she said. "I'm going to take you home, okay?"

"Why? Is there a party there?" Mr. Pie asked. "Hey, do you want to hear the party song? P-A-R-T-Y! Party, party, me, oh my! I wanna party every day!"

Pinkie Pie led her deluded father out of the library. The other Elements of Harmony were left behind, and they were quite stunned at what just happened.

"Do...do we call that a success?" Trixie asked. "The Elements of Harmony did turn a mean pony nice...kind of."

"I think I'd rather deal with Nightmare Moon than turn her into Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said, speaking for everypony.

A Nightmare Ends

The Summer Solstice that year was Monday, June 21st at 7:49 PM.

Princess Celestia looked over the group of ponies gathered on the open lawn of Canterlot Castle. As the Element of Magic, Trixie was the unofficial leader of the group, and the blue unicorn was standing in front of the others. For a brief moment, Princess Celestia considered not raising the moon that day, but then she nodded to Trixie.

"Is everypony ready?" Princess Celestia asked. She unfurled her wings and flew into the sky. Using her magic, Celestia lowered the sun. Everything was cast in shadows for a few seconds, before Celestia raised the full moon. The Royal Princess landed back on the ground, about ten feet away from the others.

Almost immediately, a dark purplish-black beam of light came shooting out of the moon, as if a giant spotlight had been set up. Pinkie started jabbering about how it looked like a lunar slide, while black mist traveled through the light and formed a dark cloud near the ground.

"Do we attack now?" Trixie asked.

"No," Celestia said with a hardened gaze. "Wait until they arrive."

It took ten seconds for the mist to materialize into the form of two dark alicorns. Under the light of the full moon, Nightmare Moon looked even more frightening than usual. She threw her head backwards and glared superciliously at Celestia.

"A thousand years ago, you banished me to the moon. Tonight, I shall have my vengeance."

"We do not have to fight," Celestia said. "Please, return my sister to me, and I will let you leave in peace."

Nightmare Moon laughed boldly. "Your attempts to pacify me are as ridiculous as your new manestyle," she said. "Nothing save your death will sate my appetite! I will destroy your new capital city and build my throne upon your corpse! Eternal night shall blanket the land, and the sun will be nothing more than a distant memory!"

"Do not be so confident," Celestia said. "Good always triumphs over evil."

"Then let the battle begin, O pestilential Celestia," Nightmare Moon said. She darted forward with her head hung low, in an attempt to stab Celestia's heart with her horn. Celestia quickly dodged to the left, and Nightmare Moon's horn grazed her side.

Celestia hit Nightmare Moon in the head with her wing, then she quickly spun around so she could kick Nightmare Moon with her two hind legs. Nightmare Moon managed to rear up in time, and she smashed her front hooves down on Celestia's back hooves. Celestia let out a minor whimper of pain.

Nightmare Moon grinned, a half second before Celestia's large, multi-colored tail completely enveloped her head. Unable to see, Nightmare Moon sputtered and tried to back away, to no avail. Celestia's hair forcibly grabbed Nightmare's head, lifted her up a half-foot, then threw her to the ground.

Growling, Nightmare Moon got back up and attempted to kick Celestia with her right hoof. Celestia blocked three hits, then dodged when Nightmare followed up with a left-hooved uppercut. Spinning in a circle, Nightmare jumped backwards five feet and extended her left wing. Her horn glowed, as a feather shot out of her wing and towards Celestia's face. The fast-moving feather grazed Celestia's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood.

"The feather dart spell," Celestia said. "I haven't seen that in centuries."

"Is that so?" Nightmare asked. "Then let me show you again."

Nightmare cast her own variation of the spell, which caused thirty of her feathers to stand out straight. Celestia's eyes widened, as all thirty feathers flew at once. Quickly casting a teleportation spell, Celestia disappeared from their line of fire and reappeared ten feet in the air. She shot a yellow beam of light at Nightmare Moon, which created a small crater when Nightmare rolled out of the way.

Nightmare flew up to fight Celestia, but the elder alicorn was prepared. She turned to the side, and her sun-shaped cutie grew in size. It flew off of her flank and went straight to Nightmare's eyes, momentarily blinding and confusing her. Celestia flew to Nightmare Moon and smashed her from above.

Nightmare fell downwards, but before she smashed into the ground, she spread out her wings and caught herself. Her hair spread out, and silver sparkles appeared in it. The sparkles took on the shape of stars, which formed a net that she threw at Celestia. Celestia dodged, but her left hind left got stuck, allowing Nightmare to get three good hits in before Celestia threw a powerful burning spell at her chest.

In the past, Celestia had used that particular burning spell to kill a usurper seapony. Instead of killing Nightmare Moon, all it did was singe the dark monster.

All those attacks, and I've barely even hurt her, Celestia thought grimly. If only the moon wasn't giving her so much power right now!

While Nightmare Moon dueled with Princess Celestia, the dark alicorn Twilight walked towards the group from Ponyville. She tried to look calm, but inside, she was nervous. She knew she would only have one good opportunity to use Discord's spell.

"Stop right there!" Trixie commanded. "Surrender now, or we'll use the Elements of Harmony on you!"

Twilight looked at her former friends, one by one. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were wearing looks of grim determination, while Trixie was scowling. Fluttershy was hiding behind Pinkie Pie, and Rarity looked somewhat scared.

Bingo, Twilight thought. She smirked, then put on her best apologetic face. "I'm so sorry, Rarity."

"What?" Rarity asked, surprised to be addressed by her enemy.

"I'm sorry that my brother decided to leave you for Cadance," Twilight said. "You deserve better than that."

Rarity frowned. When the six ponies had arrived in the palace that day, she noticed that Shining Armor was a tad more comfortable around Princess Cadance than Rarity would have preferred. But that didn't mean the two of them were—he was just doing his duty as a royal guard—Shining's relationship with Cadance was purely platonic...right?

"The Element of Loyalty, getting dumped by her coltfriend," Twilight said with buttery words. "Oh, the irony is heartbreaking. Poor, poor Rarity."

Rarity slumped on the ground, and her body took on a grayish hue. Trixie noticed that Twilight's horn was softly glowing, and she correctly guessed what was happening.

"She's trying to cast some sort of spell on us!" Trixie blurted out. "Don't listen to her! Quick, use the elements!"

"R-right!" Rainbow Dash said. She and the others focused on their respective Elements and a magical glow surrounded them. Rarity tried to contribute to the group's effort, but she was too distracted by thoughts of Shining Armor with Princess Cadance.

Twilight conjured a shield and watched in apprehension as the colors of the rainbow appeared on her opponents, one by one.

Reddish pink came from Pinkie Pie's crazy mane. Orange and yellow came out of Applejack and Fluttershy's bodies. Green came from a streak in Rainbow Dash's mane, followed by the light blue of Trixie's coat. But the pattern stopped with Rarity. Her hair gave off a dark gray color, instead of the deep purple that it was supposed to.

The colors swirled about, surrounding Trixie. Her horn glowed, and all the colors seemed to get sucked into a large ball, at the top of Trixie's horn. Trixie opened her empty eyes and threw the full attack directly at Twilight.

An explosion of color hit Twilight, and everypony was momentarily blinded. A bright circle of light surrounded the alicorn, so that nothing could be seen of her, besides her dark silhouette. Twilight struggled to maintain her shielding spell, and with a scream of anger, she created a small explosion as she shot her shield outwards.

When the light subsided, Twilight was still standing. She panted heavily, and the left side of her body seemed bruised. Other than that, the attack seemed to have had no effect on her.

"YOU FOOLS!" Twilight shouted. "How dare you attack me?! I shall see your brittle bones rot on the graves of your mourning families!"

"Again!" Trixie said. "We must—"

"DIE!" Twilight shot out a beam of energy towards the others. The ground exploded under Trixie's hooves, sending the blue unicorn flying. She landed on the ground nearby, unconscious, and blood trickled down her leg.

Twilight let out a growl of anger, then allowed herself to relax a bit. Without their leader, the Elements of Harmony could never hurt her. Still, that attack had been too close for comfort. If Rarity hadn't been Discorded...

"Ha!" Twilight said. "Who's the more powerful student now, Trixie?! I always knew you were a big fake when it comes to magic!"

The five remaining ponies all looked worried at each other. "Wha-what do we do now?" Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash looked up. One of their emergency back-up plans was to have Princess Celestia fill in as an Element of Harmony, since Celestia had used the elements in the past. However, it appeared that the Princess of the Sun was too busy fighting for her life to help at the moment.

Twilight glared at her opponents and inwardly vowed to make the rest of their short lives miserable. "You're all a bunch of failures!" Twilight said, beginning to use the Discord magic again. "What made you think you could defeat me? You got the Elements of Harmony completely wrong! Pinkie Pie is not the Element of Laughter!"

"But I'm the happiest, funniest, most super-partyriffic pony ever!" Pinkie Pie said.

"No, moron," Twilight said. "You're not funny at all. You're just hyper because you eat too much sugar. Being a hyper lunatic is completely different from being funny."

Pinkie started to turn gray, but she struggled against it. "I also sing silly songs sometimes!" Pinkie said. She cleared her throat, to begin a song. "When you're rife with devastation—"

"Random musical numbers aren't funny, either," Twilight said. "And nopony appreciates stupid references. Face it, you're such a bad comedienne that you probably couldn't entertain a group of babies. Give it up, Pinkie."

Pinkie Pie frowned sadly, and she ran a hoof through her discolored mane.

"And Rainbow Dash? Element of Honesty?" Twilight asked. "You'd have to be dumber than Applejack to think that is a good idea! Rainbow Dash and truth haven't been on speaking terms, ever since she started bragging about how great a flyer she is!"

"Hey, I can do a Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow Dash said.

"You did one Sonic Rainboom, over ten years ago," Twilight said. "I know you're too stupid to understand physics, but it's impossible for you to fly that fast now. You weigh too much. You're not as big of a fat flank as Pinkie, but you're still too heavy to do a Sonic Rainboom."

Applejack had to pull back on Rainbow Dash's tail, in order to prevent Rainbow from flying at Twilight and punching her. Meanwhile, Pinkie was pounding on the ground. Twilight smiled happily at their pain and anger.

Where were the other royal ponies, while the battle for the Crown of Equestria took place? The answer is not as interesting as you would think. Princess Cadance wasn't there to fight Nightmare Moon, because she was getting some donuts at Pony Joe's. She ended up missing the entire fight.

Princess Scootaloo was absent, because Princess Celestia didn't want her to be hurt. Shining Armor was given orders to keep Scootaloo safe inside her room at Canterlot Castle. The two of them stood on Scootaloo's balcony, and watched the events on the lawn through a pair of binoculars.

"They're both there!" Scootaloo said, shivering a bit as she saw the two dark alicorns together. "They look really mean!"

"Let me see!" Shining Armor said, trying to take the binoculars. He focused them on his sister, then gasped. "Is that what Twiley looks like now?"

"Gimme 'em back!" Scootaloo said. "I'm the princess, not you!"

Scootaloo and Shining cooperated with each other, for only a short time. Once the battle broke into two groups, it became impossible for the two ponies to share the binoculars, because Shining Armor wanted to watch the aerial battle between Nightmare Moon and Celestia, while Scootaloo wanted to see Twilight face off against the Ponyville residents on the ground.

The two of them kept stealing the binoculars from each other, and they spent more time complaining than watching the fights. The argument over the binoculars did not stop, until the Great and Powerful Trixie was attacked and defeated in one blow.

"Mom!" Scootaloo cried.

"Oh no!" Shining Armor said.

"We have to get down there!" Scootaloo said, dropping the binoculars. "Evil Twilight hurt my mom! We need to help!"

"Nuh uh," Shining Armor said. "Princess Celestia gave me orders to protect you. I'll probably get in trouble as it is, for letting you watch from up here."

"My mom could die!" Scootaloo said. "Everypony could die! We have to help!"

"It's too dangerous, and it's against my orders," Shining Armor said. "I need to keep you safe."

Scootaloo scowled at her personal guard and ran her into her room. She came back with a picture in her mouth. She spit it out on the ground.

"What's this?" Shining Armor asked.

"It's a picture of my mom," Scootaloo said. "When I was an orphan, this was the only thing I had to remind me of her. See what it says?"

Shining levitated the picture to his eye level. " 'Scootaloo, I will always love you, no matter what. When it's safe, I will come back for you. Mom.' Okay, that's sweet, but..."

"No matter what," Scootaloo said. "That's how family works, right? We have to help no matter what."

Shining stomped on the ground in frustration. What was he supposed to do? His training as a guard didn't cover his sister turning into an evil alicorn, then attacking his charge's mother. Who was more important to protect: Twilight or Scootaloo?

"Please, Shining Armor!" Scootaloo begged. "What if I'm the only pony who can save her?"

Shining Armor paused for a second, then grabbed Scootaloo in his arms. She squirmed to escape his grip, but he held tightly. Slowly, he lifted her up until she was above his head.

"I'm so getting fired for this..." Shining Armor moaned.

Shining Armor threw Scootaloo off the balcony, aiming her towards the other ponies. Scootaloo spread out her wings and dove towards Twilight's head.

Twilight smiled at the angry gray ponies in front of her. They had started fighting with each other, and they no longer posed a legitimate threat. Still, Twilight took delight in continuing her verbal attack.

"Everypony secretly hates your pet bunny," Twilight said. "Angel is spoiled jerk. The next time I see him, I'm going to skin him and eat him."

"NOOOOOO!" Fluttershy moaned.

"The worst thing is your stupid—"

"HYAH!" Scootaloo cried as she swooped down and punched Twilight in the jaw. The punch didn't hurt very much, as Scootaloo didn't angle her dive correctly, but it looked impressive nonetheless.

When she landed on the ground, Scootaloo immediately ran to the other ponies. "Mom!" she said, grabbing her mother's hoof. "Is she dead?"

"She's still breathing," Applejack muttered. "Dunno how much longer it'll last, though..."

Twilight stepped forward, and the five full-grown ponies instinctively formed a protective circle around Scootaloo. "Well, if it isn't the orphaned princess!" Twilight sneered said. "Did you come here so I could kill you?"

"I came to get my big sister back!" Scootaloo yelled.

"You're as delusional as the rest of them," Twilight said. "I bet you think that you can fly, don't you? Stupid little Scootaloo."

"What?" Scootaloo asked. "I can fly! You taught me."

Twilight laughed. "Haven't you wondered why your primary feathers aren't fully grown in yet?" she asked. "You're a cripple, Stupidloo. You can't fly; you can only glide."

Scootaloo shook her head in anger and fear. "Go away, you evil monster!" Scootaloo said. "We want Twilight Sparkle, the NICE pony!"

"Jeez, you're a whiny little princess, aren't you? The old me is dead! The Princess of the Dusk shall live forever!"

"Give me back Twilight!" Scootaloo said. "Give her back NOW!"

Scootaloo reared up on her hind legs, then stomped her front hooves on the ground. An orange shockwave emanated from her hooves. The waves grew to be about a foot in size, and they surrounded the group in a circle.

"Wha—what sorcery is this?" Princess Twilight asked, stepping back.

Light streamed out of the Elements of Harmony necklaces. The Bearers turned back to their normal colors, as the orange glow surrounded the group. All six ponies were raised in the air about two feet, and after a few seconds, the confused Scootaloo understood what was happening.

It's what Cadance told me, she realized. Love lifts you up and settles on the other pony.

Scootaloo felt a crown appear on her head. A magical burst of light came forth from it, and similar magical lights poured out of the necklaces of the others. They combined to form a huge tornado of light, which completely enveloped the evil alicorn Twilight.

"No!" Twilight shouted. "NO! The Elements of Harmony aren't—!"

The light was so bright that everypony had to close their eyes. Even Celestia and Nightmare Moon stopped dueling and landed on the ground, where they watched the scene in amazement. Eventually, the light cleared and the Elements of Harmony landed back on the ground. Twilight Sparkle, once again a pegasus, was standing in a small crater before them. A shocked look was on her face for two seconds, before she collapsed to the ground.

"Twilight!" Scootaloo said. She tried to leap forward, but Applejack held her back.

"Hold on, squirt," Applejack said. "We don't know if that worked or not. Maybe all we did was make her mad at us."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We totally destroyed her! That was awesome!"

Fluttershy was still shuddering in fear. "She—she said horrible things to us!" she moaned.

"That was Evil Twilight!" Scootaloo said, breaking free of Applejack's grip. "Good Twilight is—"

Pinkie Pie was the first to notice the difference. "Scootaloo!" she said. "You...your cutie mark!"

"Huh?" Scootaloo asked. She looked at her flank, to notice that it was no longer blank. A blue heart had appeared, similar to Princess Cadance's cutie mark. Behind the heart was a red, six-pointed star, similar to Trixie's cutie mark.

"I got my cutie mark!" Scootaloo cried happily. "I can't believe it! My special talent is—um—what's my special talent?"

"It's...love magic!" Rarity said, sounding impressed. "It has to be! Your love must be powerful!"

"NO!" Nightmare Moon shouted, drawing everypony's attention to her. "That's impossible! A pegasus cannot be the Element of Magic! Only unicorns can use magic!"

Celestia smiled widely. "Haven't you heard, dear sister? Friendship is magic."

Nightmare Moon groaned in anger. The one thing she hated more than the sun was cheesy lessons about love. When Nightmare Moon had first taken over Princess Luna's body, her love had been the hardest thing to overcome.

"I was planning on killing Twilight!" Nightmare Moon shouted. "You will all die, for taking that pleasure away from me! I will decimate your—what?"

Nightmare Moon found herself surrounded by a green glow, and she struggled to move away. The green glow was coming from Celestia's horn, and the royal ruler turned to the others. "Quickly, my little ponies!" Celestia said. "Use the elements again! I can't hold her in place for very long!"

"R-right!" Scootaloo said. "I'm not the only pony whose sister needs to be saved!"

The Elements of Harmony got into position again. After a brief prompting from Fluttershy, Scootaloo focused on happy feelings like love and family. She and the other ponies floated into the air again, and Nightmare Moon screamed in fury as she was cleansed in the fires of friendship.

Soon, Nightmare Moon was gone forever, and Princess Luna was back. She was a little smaller and paler than Celestia remembered, but there was no mistaking it. At long last, Luna had woken up from the nightmare which consumed her for over a thousand years.

Celestia stepped forward to examine her unconscious sister's body, when a groan came from fifteen feet away. The ponies turned around to see Twilight stumble out of the crater she had been in. She rubbed her aching forehead.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked woozily. "Where are we? What happened?"

"Twilight! You're back!" Scootaloo said.

"YES!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

"I...what?" Twilight asked, seconds before she found herself in the middle of an enormous group hug.

The Summer Sun Celebration

"But it can't be the Summer Sun Celebration today!" Twilight Sparkle argued. "That's still a week away!"

"We told you already!" Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "If you still think it's last week, then how do you explain Princess Luna being here?"

"Hmph," Twilight Sparkle said.

The ponies were on the train, riding to Ponyville. They would arrive late for the all-night party, which had Pinkie Pie somewhat distraught.

"Perhaps we should try a different approach," Princess Celestia said. "Twilight, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Well...last night, Trixie came to Ponyville," Twilight said, nodding her head towards Trixie. "And then you showed up, Princess, and we, uh...I got mad at you. And...I...I met with Nightmare Moon in the woods."

Twilight's friends gasped. "Did she attack you?" Rarity asked. "Is that how you ended up in the hospital?"

"I ended up in the hospital?" Twilight asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember."

At this, Scootaloo could no longer contain herself. "That's where you promised to be my big sister!" she said, bursting forward and grabbing Twilight's hooves. "You have to remember! You just have to!"

"Your...sister?" Twilight asked, paling slightly.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "Perhaps it is for the best that you and my sister can't remember what happened," she said. "Many bad things happened when the nightmare powers controlled you."

"Huh," Applejack said. "I knew there was somethin' weird about Twi after she got injured. She wasn't acting like her usual self."

"I figured she was acting weird 'cause she was in the hospital," Rainbow Dash said. "If I had a broken wing, I'd probably act weird myself."

Pinkie Pie waved her arm in the air, like she was answering a question in school. "Ooooo, maybe it was because of that evil glowy necklace thingy she was wearing that nopony noticed, except I totally noticed it, and I'm a pony!"

"What?" everypony asked.

"Are you saying that you knew my sister was turning evil?" Shining Armor asked with some anger in his voice. "Why didn't you do anything about it?!"

"Twilight said the necklace was a gift from the princess, so I thought it was okay!" Pinkie said. "It was black and red, and it had wings and a horn on it, and—"

"The Alicorn Amulet!" Princess Luna said.

"That's it!" Twilight said. "Nightmare Moon told me to get the Alicorn Amulet! So I went to Canterlot and I...I...uh..."

"Yes?" Princess Celestia asked.

"...I think I stole it," Twilight said softly.

"Oh, dear," Fluttershy said.

"And that would be the night we had those...incidents in Canterlot," Celestia said. "Very well. I suppose that explains some things."

"You're not going to punish her, right?" Shining Armor asked. "It wasn't her fault, and she already got arrested for it!"

"I got arrested?!" Twilight shouted. She flared her wings so quickly that one of her feathers fell loose.

"Mom said you were protecting me, like a good big sister," Scootaloo said. "Please remember it. Please!"

Scootaloo looked like she was about to cry. Before Trixie could step in, Twilight reassuringly patted Scootaloo on the head with her wing. "Don't be sad, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "We can still play pretend sisters if you want to."

"It wasn't pretend! It was real!" Scootaloo said adamantly. "You even taught me the BSBFF song!"

Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "You taught her our song?" he asked. "Twiley! How could you?"

"I don't remember!" Twilight said, grabbing her forehead. She groaned and aggressively rubbed the spot where her horn had been. "I'm trying, but all I can see is the color white!"

Princess Celestia stood up. "We can discuss things later," she said. "Twilight has just been through a terrible ordeal, and the last thing she needs right now is more pressure."

The other ponies nodded, although some of them were reluctant to agree. Twilight was their friend, and they didn't want to upset her.

Mayor Mare was about to pull her hair out. "Where is she?" she asked. "It shouldn't be taking this long!"

Spike scratched his stomach. "Her letter said she'd be here soon," he said. "I'm sure she—"

"That was fifteen minutes ago!" Mayor Mare half-shouted. "We can't have the Summer Sun Celebration without the Princess! Not to mention the fact that all of our volunteers are gone, too!"

Spike shrugged. "Everypony here seems to be having a good time. I wouldn't worry."

Mayor Mare kept fretting for a while, until Twilight flew through the door of the City Hall building. Coming to a quick stop next to the Mayor, Twilight said, "Don't worry! I'm here!"

"Twilight! You're back!" Spike said. He hugged her leg affectionately. "How'd it go? Did the elements work okay?"

"Yes! Nightmare Moon is gone forever!" Twilight said, smiling. She turned to the mayor. "The Princesses are just now leaving the train station. They'll be here soon."

Mayor Mare was flabbergasted. "You—you're still alive? How did you—public execution—insane asylum—the Princesses?"

"Sorry for not being here to help this past week," Twilight said. "But I'm here now! Let's make this the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!"

"Yeah!" Spike said.

Mayor Mare tried her best not to fall over. "I need a drink," she muttered. "Where's Berry Punch?"

Twilight flew to the small stage, where a podium had been set up for Princess Celestia's use. "Hello, everypony!" Twilight said as loudly as she could. "Can I interrupt for a just a second? We have some very special guests tonight!"

There were some gasps from the crowd, as Twilight was recognized by the townsfolk. Whispers flew around the room, faster than Rainbow Dash during the Running of the Leaves. "Isn't that Twilight Sparkle?" "Where's her horn?" "Didn't she get sent to the moon?"

"As you all know, Princess Celestia is going to attend tonight's party," Twilight said. "But she's not the only Princess who's on her way! As a special surprise, Princess Cadance and Princess Scootaloo are coming!"

Twilight paused to cough. She wasn't yet used to the idea of Scootaloo being a princess.

"But that's not all! Princess Luna is also coming! She's Princess Celestia's sister, so let's make her feel welcome, okay?"

Twilight left the podium. The loud whispering had turned to open murmuring. Bon Bon, remembering the stories about Princess Luna from Nightmare Night, ran home to get some candy in order to avoid being eaten up.

The princesses arrived with the other ponies, four minutes later. It was hard to tell who was getting the most attention. Princess Cadance was getting a fair share of well-wishers, since this was her first time in Ponyville. Princess Celestia was always popular, and everypony wanted to meet the new Princess Luna. But perhaps Scootaloo got the most attention, because she was almost a textbook definition of "hometown hero".

A group of ponies, mostly school children, flocked around Scootaloo and asked questions. "What's it like in Canterlot?" "Where did you get your crown?" "Is it true that princesses don't have to go to school?"

Scootaloo held up a hoof for silence, a technique that Princess Cadance taught her. "Being a princess is fine and all that, but I'm not gonna let it change who I am," Scootaloo said. "I'm more excited about this!"

Scootaloo turned and showed off her cutie mark. Some ponies gasped, while others made appreciative remarks. "I've never seen a cutie mark like that before!" "That's really cool-looking!" "It looks kinda like your mom's cutie mark! Is that on purpose?"

"Does this mean I have to become a princess before I get my cutie mark?" Applebloom asked, worried.

"I sure hope not!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Princess Cadance says my cutie mark is a type of love magic," Scootaloo said proudly. "It means my special talent is believing in other ponies!"

The children kept asking Scootaloo questions, except for Diamond Tiara. Diamond was practically frothing at the mouth, over the fact that Scootaloo became a princess and received a cutie mark. Meanwhile, Cheerilee walked over to congratulate Trixie.

"I take it that the mission in Canterlot was a success," Cheerilee said. "I'm glad you figured out how to get the Elements of Harmony working."

"Yes, it turned out that we didn't need you in the battle after all," Trixie said. "Still, thank you for all your help. I doubt we could have done it without you."

"It was my pleasure," Cheerilee said graciously. Secretly, she was glad that she wasn't needed to fight Nightmare Moon. "So, what's going to happen now that your work here is complete?"

"I want to see if Scootaloo and I can live here permanently," Trixie said. "Even if she was born in Canterlot, this is her home town. I certainly wouldn't mind raising her here."

"I'm sure the other children would like that," Cheerilee agreed.

"What is this strange contraption?" Princess Luna asked, frowning at the peculiar sphere which hovered before her.

"It's called a balloon," Princess Celestia said, laughing slightly. "You've got a lot of catching up to do, my dear sister. The world has changed greatly in the past thousand years."

"We can see that plainly," Luna said, tapping the balloon with her horn. "Pray tell, what purpose does this buhloun serve? It appears—"

The balloon popped, and Luna gave a small shriek of terror. She stepped backwards and almost hit the pink pony who had been approaching.

"Oooo! Princesses! Princesses!" Pinkie Pie said, jumping up and down. "You have to meet my family! They came all this way, just to meet you!"

"We have killed the buhloun!" Princess Luna exclaimed.

Celestia shook her head slightly. "My sister and I would be glad to meet your family, Pinkie," she said.

"Yay!" Pinkie Pie said. She bounced away to get her family, while Luna turned to her sister.

"Sister, am I mistaken, or does that pink pony have buhlouns for a cutie mark?" Luna asked.

"She does," Celestia said. "It indicates that Pinkie Pie enjoys parties."

"Most peculiar..." Luna said to herself.

It was not long, before Pinkie Pie returned with two older ponies. They both looked rather dignified and old-fashioned.

"My mom and dad are Cloudy and Igneous!" Pinkie said. "Well, not really. Those are just their names! They're rock farmers!"

"It is a pleasure to meet your royal highnesses," Mr. Pie said, shaking Celestia's hoof.

"You two certainly raised an...interesting daughter," Princess Celestia said, smiling.

"I congratulate you on your return from the moon," Mrs. Pie said, bowing to Luna.

"THOU ART TOO KIND, O TILLER OF THE ROCK!" Princess Luna said loudly. "THE PLEASURE IS OURS!"

Mr. Pie fell over in pain, as it felt like his eardrums exploded. Celestia smiled apologetically. "I forgot to warn you about the Royal Canterlot Voice..."

Meanwhile, Rarity found an opportunity to take Shining Armor aside for a bit. She took him to a corner, where they wouldn't be overheard. "Shining...is there anything going on between you and Princess Cadance?"

"Whu-what?" Shining asked.

"I've seen the way you look at her," Rarity said. "...You think she's pretty, don't you?"

"Well, I...uh..."

Rarity leaned forward, holding her horn dangerously close to Shining Armor's throat. "Is that why you didn't contact me, after leaving Ponyville? You were too busy with the Princess of Love?"

"No!" Shining Armor said. "I...I asked the captain for a transfer here, but Princess Celestia gave me a new assignment! You can ask her yourself, if you don't believe me!"

"Hmmmm..." Rarity said. "And you didn't tell me this, why?"

"I...I guess I didn't write because I was embarrassed," Shining Armor said. "I mean, you saw Princess Celestia chew me out, and then there was the mess with my sister...but mostly, I was embarrassed because I never worked things out with you."

Rarity relaxed her aggressive stance a bit. "What do you mean, we never worked things out? I thought it was perfectly clear that we enjoy spending time together."

"That's just it!" Shining said. "We like each other, but are we friends, or are we dating, or what? I didn't want to ask, because I was afraid of losing you."

Rarity put her hoof on Shining's leg. "Shining...I like you, too, but we live in different towns. It would never work."

A manly tear found its way down Shining's cheek. "Ruh...Rare..."

Rarity's lips trembled. "Shuh...Shine..."

The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before passionately embracing. "You're the most beautiful mare I've ever met, and I want to be yours forever!" Shining said.

"Darling, I need you with me always!" Rarity said. "I don't care what Mother thinks of you!"

Across the room, Princess Cadance smiled at the kissing lovers. It was another job well done. She turned and found herself face-to-face with an angry Twilight.

Twilight narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I saw that, Cadance," she said. "You cast some sort of spell on my brother."

"Who, me?" Cadance said. "No, your brother and his marefriend decided to patch things up on their own! Look how much they love each other!"

"...She's not his marefriend," Twilight said. "They haven't even had a first date yet."

Cadance paled and said an unprincess-like word.

Fluttershy wasn't feeling very well. She didn't like being in a room filled with other ponies, even if it was for a party. Spotting her friends in a group nearby, Fluttershy decided to walk over.

"So y'all are Pinkie Pie's sisters?" Applejack asked.

"That's right," the gray mare said. "I'm Marble, and these are Keystone and Limestone."

"Um...excuse me," Fluttershy whispered.

Rainbow Dash thought about that for a second. "Your parents named you after types of pie?"

"Types of rock, actually," Marble said. "Our parents are rock farmers."

"I love your mane!" Limestone said. "It's so bright and colorful!"

"Hello?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy's soft blue eyes drooped, as she realized nopony had noticed her. They're too busy talking to the new ponies, she thought sadly.

The shy pony walked away from the others, and she decide to hide backstage with her bird choir. She cautiously made her way around the side of the room, and she snuck behind the curtain. To her surprise, a lavender pegasus was sitting there, softly crying.

"Oh! Twilight!" Fluttershy said. "I...I didn't think anypony would be back here!"

"Oh...hey, Fluttershy," Twilight said, wiping away a few tears. "Is everypony avoiding you, too?"

"Well, not exactly..." Fluttershy said. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Twilight sniffed. "This'll probably sound stupid, but nopony wants to talk to me. They all seem...scared of me. And I know why."

"You do?"

"I...I think I'm starting to remember what happened last week," Twilight said. "I...I hurt a lot of ponies, didn't I?"

"That wasn't you," Fluttershy said. "That was Nasty Twilight. You would never do anything like—"

"But I did," Twilight argued. "I yelled at the princess and went after the Alicorn Amulet. That was all my fault. I can't blame Nightmare Moon for that."

Fluttershy wanted to hold Twilight and tell her everything would be fine, the same way Fluttershy calmed down one of her animals after a nightmare. She didn't think it would be appropriate to pet Twilight on the head, though, so she kept her distance.

"Um...I don't know if this helps, but...I was scared tonight," Fluttershy said. "Like, more scared than I've been in my whole life! I'm not brave like Rainbow Dash. But I...I went anyway, because I wanted to help you. We all did."

"But you had no idea if the Elements of Harmony would work on me," Twilight argued. "You just got lucky."

"We had to try, even if it didn't work," Fluttershy said. "You're our friend, and we love you. That...that's more important than fighting evil scary alicorns."

Twilight half-smiled. "You really are the Element of Kindness, aren't you, Fluttershy?"

"I...I don't know..." the butter-yellow pegasus said, playing with her hair. "I just try to be nice to everypony and help my friends. I don't think that's anything special."

"Well, you're special to me," Twilight said. The two of them shared a hug together, before going back to the party.

Around midnight, Princess Celestia managed to find Twilight and tap her on the shoulder.

"Princess?" Twilight asked.

"These long nights can be quite tiring," Celestia said. "I think I'll go outside and stretch my wings for a bit. Would you care to join me?"

"I...um..." Twilight said. She looked around a bit, before nodding quietly.

The two of them left the building together. Outside, the full moon cast a soft glow upon the main fountain in town. Celestia walked with Twilight a few moments before speaking.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you alone yet," Celestia said. "How are you feeling after your ordeal?"

"I'm doing better, but I still don't feel well," Twilight said. "I wish I could remember everything instead of just bits and pieces."

"So you're starting to remember things?" Celestia asked.

"I remember destroying the Alicorn Amulet," Twilight said. "And I think I remember agreeing to be Scootaloo's big sister, but I'm not sure."

"She'll be glad to hear it," Celestia said. The large alicorn spread out her wings and flew into the air. Twilight followed at her side.

"You...you don't blame me for what happened, do you?" Twilight asked.

"Of course not, my little pony," Celestia said. "If anything bad happened, it was my own fault. I should have been better prepared, and I should have been honest with you from the beginning."

"...I'm sorry I yelled at you," Twilight said. "And I'm sorry I wrote those mean things about you on the side of Canterlot Castle."

"What about the unkind things you did to Blueblood?"

"...I don't think I'm sorry for that," Twilight said honestly.

Celestia laughed. "Twilight, if you forgive me, than I forgive you, and all is well. There is absolutely nothing to worry about."

"...Thanks," Twilight said. "That means a lot to me."

"But I didn't ask you out here, so we could talk about the past," Celestia said. "I want to talk about the future. We need to decide what you're going to do, now that your mission in Ponyville is complete."

"My...mission?"

"Nightmare Moon is defeated, thanks to your hard work," Princess Celestia said. "What will you do now, Twilight? Return to the university?"

Twilight scowled, as she thought about going back to her previous job at the unicorn school. "No way," she said. "I...I think I'll stay here in Ponyville. I can still be the town librarian, right?"

"You can certainly do that," Celestia said. "But your family lives in Canterlot."

"I know, but...all my friends live here," Twilight said. "You're always talking about the power of friendship and...I think I understand it now. Friends might even be better than books!"

Celestia smiled. "I never thought I'd hear a pony with a book cutie mark say something like that. You've certainly grown up a lot, since the day we first met in the gardens." Twilight blushed slightly at this, remembering how Celestia first met her while she was crying about being lost.

The two of them continued to fly over Ponyville, for over fifteen minutes, until they were interrupted by Rainbow Dash. "There you are! Everypony's looking for you two!"

"They are?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, the Mayor was yelling about how we couldn't raise the sun without the princess," Rainbow said.

"I suppose I should have told her where I was going," Princess Celestia said. "Very well. Let us return to the City Hall."

The three pegasi flew back to the City Hall building, where a small crowd was waiting for the two of them. The Elements of Harmony were there, along with Spike and Shining Armor. A frazzled-looking Mayor Mare, who had an empty bottle in her hooves, sighed with relief to see that the guest of honor had returned.

Twilight stepped forward, but Celestia blocked her with a wing. She turned to look quizzically at Celestia who smiled and leaned forward.

"Not all of your friends live in Ponyville," Celestia said, nuzzling Twilight softly. "If you ever need to come back to the capital for any reason, I'll have a room available for you."

"Thanks, Princess," Twilight said. "And don't worry. The next time I become an alicorn, I'll do it the normal way, through hard work and helping other ponies!"

Celestia laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Twilight turned to her friends, who had almost literally saved her life. Grinning widely, Twilight scooped up Scootaloo in her hooves. "Come on, Little Sis, we've got a party to enjoy!"

"Yay!" Scootaloo said.

End of Part One

Winter Mix Up

One Week Later

Twilight sighed as she checked the clock. The library had been open for four hours, without a single visitor. Didn't anypony in town ever visit the library? So far, the only consistent patron was Cheerilee, who liked to read romance novels.

Living at the library was a little lonely for Twilight, now that Spike had gone to live in Trixie's house with her and Scootaloo. Twilight didn't grudge him that—Trixie was the pony who hatched Spike from his egg—but she missed having somepony around to talk to.

Twilight also had more free time than normal, now that the research on the Elements of Harmony was finished. She secretly wished that she would be given another top secret project.

I know I'm Princess Celestia's honorary student, but...I'm not researching or studying anything! What kind of a student am I?

Twilight considered writing a letter, but she ended up reading a book to pass the time. About twenty-five minutes later, the door to the library opened and a voice called out her name. "Twiliiight!"

Twilight turned to the doorway. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were both standing there.

"Oh, hey, Scootaloo!" Twilight said brightly. "Are you finished with school today?"

"Yep," Scootaloo said. "My friends were, um, busy, so I thought I'd visit!"

"And Rainbow Dash, this is a surprise! You don't usually come to the library," Twilight said. She halted in her movements. "Wait, we don't have flying lessons today, do we? Did I mess up my calendar?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm here," Rainbow Dash said. "See...we're gonna have to cancel the flying lessons for a while. I'm going into training."

"Oooo, yeah!" Scootaloo said. "You're gonna enter too, right, Twilight?"

Twilight sighed. Not this again... "No."

"But you gotta enter, Sis!" Scootaloo pleaded. "You just gotta!"

"I'm too busy to enter any contests," Twilight said, setting up a pile of books. "I've got...library stuff to do!"

"But you're the second best flier I know!" Scootaloo said.

Twilight paused. "Second best?"

"Heh, told you she wouldn't enter," said Rainbow Dash. "Everypony knows that I'm going to win the Young Fliers Competition!"

"Sure," Twilight said, unconvinced. "So is that all, or do you need help finding a book or something?"

"No way," Rainbow said. "Reading is for eggheads! I just wanted to see you chicken out."

"Chicken—?"

"But hey, don't worry about it," Rainbow said. "I understand if you're too scared to challenge me. After all, I can fly circles around any pegasus in town."

Twilight arched an eyebrow at her cyan friend. She didn't know Rainbow Dash had such a competitive side.

"Twilight's not scared of you!" Scootaloo said. "She's just busy, that's all!"

"Suuuure," Rainbow said. "Look, if you don't want to compete, could you come watch the show anyway? It'll be a lot of fun, I promise."

"I'll try to attend, if I'm not too busy that day," Twilight said. A trip to Cloudsdale sounded like fun.

"Busy doing what? Nopony ever comes to this boring library!" Rainbow Dash said. "I bet you could close it, and—"

"The library is not boring!" Twilight said, slamming her hoof on the table and causing the pile of books to tumble down. "Augh! Now I have to re-sort all those!"

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo shared a worried look. "Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.

"Sorry, it's been a rough day," Twilight sighed. She started picking up the books, and her hoof stopped over a copy of Daring Do and the King's Wager. Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to her. "Hey, wait, that's it!"

"What's it?"

Twilight stretched out her wings. "Let's make a deal, Rainbow Dash. I'll enter your flying competition...if you check out a book from my library."

"What?" Rainbow asked. "But I never read books!"

"Those are my terms," Twilight said. "You want to see me in Cloudsdale, you're gonna have to read for it."

"I...uh..."

"Come on, Rainbow Dash, you can do it!" Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, you're not chicken, are you?" Twilight asked smugly.

"...Fine," Rainbow said. "What's the book?"

"Hmmm..." Twilight said, trying to think of a book that Rainbow Dash would like. Maybe a biography of the Wonderbolts? Twilight looked down and saw the Daring Do book again. She picked it up.

"Okay, I'll take it easy on you and give you a children's book," Twilight said. "How about something from the Daring Do series? She's a pegasus who travels the world and has adventures."

"I...I guess an adventure would be cool," Rainbow said. "I mean, I wouldn't know because I don't read, but..."

"Daring Do is fun!" Scootaloo said. "I read two of them last year."

"Then it's settled!" Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. "Why don't I give you the first book in the series? Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone."

"Fine," Rainbow said, wondering how she had gone from getting a flying partner to getting a reading assignment.

"The competition is next Wednesday, right?" Twilight said. "So turn in your book report on Tuesday, and I'll be at the Young Fliers' Competition."

"Whoa, back up!" Rainbow said. "Nopony said anything about writing a book report!"

"Well, how else am I supposed to know whether or not you read the book?" Twilight asked. "Unless you'd rather have Cheerilee write up a quiz to make sure you read it?"

"I'll do the book report..." Rainbow Dash groaned.

"Wow, it's like you two are switching places!" Scootaloo said.

"What?" Twilight and Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, you have a flying cutie mark, and you have a book-reading cutie mark!" Scootaloo said, pointing at them. "But now you're going to read, and you're going to be flying!"

"Huh. I guess you're right," Twilight said.

"Yeah, well, when this is over, we'll see who has the cooler special talent," Rainbow Dash said smugly.

"We certainly will," Twilight said, just as smugly.

About five minutes after her guests left, Twilight flew into a panic.

"What was I thinking?" she asked. "I can't enter a flying competition! I don't know how to do any stunts! I can barely do a loop-de-loop without falling! This is bad! This is bad!"

From the cover of one of the library's display books, Discord chuckled. Was there anything more fun than driving a wedge between two friends?

Rainbow Dash seemed like the easiest to manipulate, out of the six Elements of Harmony. While that was good, Discord had no idea what the end goal of his manipulations was. If she was the Element of Loyalty, he could easily convince her to run away and abandon her friends, but apparently, she was the Element of Honesty.

"Am I supposed to get her to lie to her friends, or what?" Discord asked. "Too bad she's not a unicorn, because then I could make her Liar Heartstrings."

Across the room, Twilight almost dropped her copy of The Physics of Flight. "Hello? Is someone there?" she asked.

Discord frowned and hid behind the title on the book's cover. Twilight Sparkle. She's not one of the Elements of Harmony, but maybe I should keep an eye on her, just in case.

Discord stealthily followed Twilight for the rest of the day, only taking a brief break to turn Carrot Top's carrots blue. Twilight's schedule consisted of boring, boring and more boring, in Discord's opinion. Most of her time was spent reading, which made spying on her an incredibly tedious operation.

Twilight eventually left her house—Discord had to hold himself back from setting off fireworks to mark the historic occasion—and she went to City Hall. Discord was intrigued when Twilight asked the mare at the desk for a requisition form for a property near the edge of town. Twilight followed this with a request for a copy of the rules for the Cloudsdale Young Fliers' Competition.

Discord groaned. A rule book? That's what she wants? Seriously, how can she even read that book? There's no pictures!

While Twilight was waiting for her items, Mayor Mare came out of her office. She was humming to herself, but she stopped in her tracks the instant she saw Twilight.

"Mayor Mare!" Twilight said.

"Yes?" the mayor asked. She wore the same worried look that Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo had shared earlier. If Twilight didn't know any better, she'd swear that some of the ponies in town were worried that she'd turn evil again.

"It's lucky I ran into you!" Twilight said. "I was just wondering if there are any big jobs I can do!"

"Big...jobs?"

"Well, I've got some free time now that I'm no longer planning the Summer Sun Celebration! Maybe I can help with Ponyville's next big event! Like...Winter Wrap Up!"

"...It's July."

"That's no excuse for not planning in advance!" Twilight said.

"I'm sorry," Mayor Mare said. "But there's nothing for you to do for the city right now. Maybe you should return to the library."

"But what if there's a freak snowstorm?"

"If that happens, I'll eat my collar," Mayor Mare said disdainfully.

Discord chuckled. I know I don't want to expose myself too early, but...this is too good an opportunity. He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, the doors to City Hall burst open. "MAYOR! MAYOR!" shouted a pony. "There's a freak snowstorm! We need an emergency Winter Wrap-Up, now!"

"But—!" Mayor Mare said.

"Yes!" Twilight said, pumping her hoof in the air. Finally, a chance to show everypony that she was still useful!

"Call a town meeting once the snowstorm is over..." Mayor Mare said, hanging her head.

The snowstorm lasted all day and all night. School was cancelled the next day, much to the delight of the children, and most of the businesses were closed for the Winter Wrap Up. Everypony gathered around City Hall to start the day. Mayor Mare, not wearing her usual collar, started things off with a short speech.

"Welcome, everypony! It's so heartwarming to see how the community has responded to this natural disaster. With your help, we can get the snow cleaned in no time. Before we begin, let me introduce our leader for this project...Princess Celestia's personal student..."

Twilight took a step forward.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Mayor Mare said.

"WHAT?" Twilight asked. Nopony heard her over the applause of the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you!" Trixie said, stepping up to the podium. "I am glad to help lead this event. With my magic, we can easily—what?"

The mayor started whispering in Trixie's ear. "But I'm the Element of Magic!" Trixie said back to the mayor. "How can I not...oh. Okay."

"We are going to wrap this winter up, Earth pony style!" Trixie said. "It hasn't been snowing that long, so it should be easy to get everything cleared up. Team leaders, come to me so we can—what?"

The mayor started whispering in Trixie's ear again. "A song? But the Great and Powerful Trixie does not sing!" Trixie protested.

Trixie had a rough time that day, as she went around to all the teams and tried to help them.

"Why do we need to wake up the animals?" Trixie asked Fluttershy. "Don't they wake up on their own?"

"The poor dears have been confused by the snow, and we need to stop them from hibernating," Fluttershy explained.

"Okay. Trixie can take care of this," Trixie said. She reared up on her hind legs and spoke in the impressive voice which she normally used for her non-magical levitation trick. "Forest creatures, the Great and Powerful Trixie commands you to arise!"

"Um...you need to wake them up nicely..."

"ARISE!" Trixie shouted. She stomped on the ground and made fireworks appear outside of the animals' homes. That quickly got all the animals' attention, and they ran away screaming and chattering.

"You scared them!" Fluttershy gasped.

"I woke them all up in less than ten seconds!" Trixie bragged. "See, magic can be useful in—"

"RAAAARGH!"

"AAAAAA! AN URSA MAJOR!" Trixie shrieked.

Fluttershy shook her head. "That's just Harry the Bear—Harry! Leave poor Trixie alone!"

"He's trying to eat me!" Trixie cried, running away. "He's going to—ouch!"

After getting her leg bandaged, Trixie went to visit the Earth ponies working on the town's farms. "What are the teams here doing?" Trixie asked Applejack.

"We're running the snow plows! Well, to be honest, they're just the normal field plows, but we're using 'em to clear the snow."

"Hmmm..." Trixie said, as she looked out at the fields. "What pattern are you following?"

"Shucks, there ain't no pattern! We just let everypony go wherever they want. The whole thing'll be cleared up eventually!"

"That's not at all an efficient way to go about things, Applejack," Trixie said. "What you need is some magic!"

"Nuh uh. This is an Earth pony operation!"

"Look, a simple spell will take care of the situation," Trixie said. She levitated the snow around them and formed it into a large ball above them.

"See? I can do this for all the fields to make it simpler to move the snow!" Trixie said. She smiled, closed her eyes happily and trotted forward. Unfortunately, she didn't see the metal shovel lying on the path in front of her, and she stepped on it.

"Ow! Who left a shovel there?!"

"That's mine! Sorry!" Applejack said.

Trixie lost her concentration when the shovel hit her in the face, and she naturally stopped supporting the levitation spell. A few seconds later, the large snowball fell down on top of her. "Ouch!" Trixie cried.

Applejack winced. "Well, you cleared up some of the snow?"

Trixie shivered as she walked back into town. She had just come from visiting Pinkie Pie's team, which was assigned to helping the town's water resources. Thanks to a mix up, Trixie had fallen through a patch of thin ice and almost drowned in the cold water. She was almost certain that her mane would never be normal again.

After that, Trixie had spoken with the pegasi, who seemed to think that all their work was over, once they finished clearing the clouds. Trixie told them that they should clear the snow off of the rooftops, because they had an easy job reaching the top of buildings. No less than twenty seconds later, a huge sheaf of snow fell off a roof, directly on top of Trixie.

"Whoops! Sorry, Trixie!" Derpy said.

"Grrrr..." Trixie growled.

I don't know why I got volunteered for this job, Trixie thought miserably. I'm a magician, not a community organizer! Why didn't they give the job to Twilight "I'm so organized" Sparkle?

Twilight, obviously hoping to help out, had approached Trixie with a list of suggestions and improvements for the Emergency Winter Wrap Up campaign. Trixie stopped reading when she reached #9, "Hats and capes do not protect well against the cold. Earmuffs and jackets should be worn instead."

To Trixie's displeasure, she found all of Ponyville's unicorn residents, relaxing in the town courtyard. As somepony who had been working all day, Trixie felt like screaming at them.

"Unicorns! What are you doing here? Why aren't you helping?"

"It's Winter Wrap Up," Lyra said. "Unicorns aren't allowed to participate!"

"But that makes no sense!" Trixie said. "We could use warming spells to melt the entire—"

"Shhhh! You want somepony to overhear?" Vinyl Scratch asked.

"Wh-what?" Trixie asked.

Rarity walked up and kindly explained things to Trixie. "You probably haven't been told this, because you're new in town. Every Winter Wrap Up, the unicorns take a free holiday from work."

"Last year, it took the Earth ponies four whole days to clear up all the snow! We almost had the entire week off!" Lyra said enthusiastically.

"Are...are you serious?" Trixie asked. "Don't the Earth ponies know we could melt all the snow with magic in under an hour?"

"Dunno. I'm not even sure they know that snow melts by itself, to be honest..."

Trixie rubbed her chin. "Well...since I'm a unicorn, I suppose I could take a little break...it's been a rough day."

"I wasn't going to mention it, Darling, but I can tell that you fell in some snow," Rarity said. "Let me fix your mane for you! You'll look and feel better!"

Trixie took the rest of the day off after that.

"Today has been productive," Discord decided. Trixie Lulamoon, the Element of Magic, was actually quite powerless in situations where magic couldn't be used. He now knew that he could easily defeat her by making her horn disappear.

Then there was Trixie's daughter, Scootaloo. It seemed that she could also wield the Element of Magic in certain situations, maybe because she was a princess. Discord was certain that he could easily nullify Scootaloo's abilities.

What was her special talent, again? Believing in her friends? Ha! I can fix that.

Over near Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom walked side-by-side, with her new best friend, Sweetie Belle.

"We could get our cutie marks in shoveling snow!" Sweetie Belle said.

Applebloom made a face. "I don't want a cutie mark that means I have to do work!"

"No, it'd be great!" Sweetie Belle said. "You'd only work three months out of the year! The rest of the time, you don't have to do anything!"

"Hey, yeah! Good thinkin'!"

Their discussion was interrupted when an orange filly chased after them. "Wait, hold up!" Scootaloo called. "Sweetie Belle! Applebloom! Waaaait!"

"It's her again," Applebloom muttered. This would be awkward.

"Hi, Scootaloo. What do you want?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"I was hoping I could spend some time with you for a while," Scootaloo said brightly.

"Um...we're gonna be busy today. Sorry."

"But that's what you said yesterday!" Scootaloo said. She stomped her left hoof on the ground. "You two have been avoiding me all week! Why?"

The two fillies looked reluctantly at each other. "Well...we sorta formed a new club, called the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Sweetie Belle said. "Our goal is help all ponies get their cutie marks and find their special talent."

"That's a neat idea!" Scootaloo said. "How can I help?"

"You can't."

"What? Why not?" Scootaloo asked.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders is for blank flanks only," Applebloom said. "And you can't join, because you already have your cutie mark."

Scootaloo looked at the heart-and-star cutie mark that she got from fighting Nightmare Moon. Since she didn't look at her flank all that often, she sometimes forgot that her cutie mark was there.

"I'm really glad you found your special talent, but Applebloom and I haven't," Sweetie Belle said. "So I guess that means we can't hang out as much anymore. Sorry."

"...Oh." Scootaloo said.

"Besides, you're a princess now! I'm sure you're real busy, right?"

"...Right. I'm busy...with princessy stuff," Scootaloo said. She turned around so her friends couldn't see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Goodbye, then."

"Bye, Scootaloo!"

"Goodbye! See ya in school!"

The Dragon's Smoke

I don't want to give you the wrong impression, when it comes to Discord. While it may seem like he is an evil genius bent on world domination, the truth is that he's more of a harmless prankster who occasionally overthrows the government and disrupts the normal progress of society.

So he didn't spend all his time spying on the Elements of Harmony and plotting their downfall. He took plenty of time off for, shall we say, more private affairs.

A few days after the Winter Wrap Up in Summer, Discord strolled into the nearest dragon's lair, wearing a fashionable green polka-dot suit. "Hello, Sweet Stuff!" Discord said. "No need for you to go to sleep anymore! The dragon of your dreams is here!"

"Arrru?" the dragon said.

Discord looked around. "Nice place you got here! Plenty of gold treasure, shiny jewels...ah, but you are the brightest gem of all, darling! What do you say I take you out for a night on the town?"

"I think you're in the wrong place," the dragon said.

"I—what? You're a male dragon?" Discord shrieked. "I—that's—they said a female dragon was living here!"

"Ha! If there was a potential mate within a hundred miles, you think I'd be here?" the dragon looked at Discord. "What are you, anyway? Some kind of half-dragon, half-pony?"

"Okay, I'm ending this here," Discord said. He snapped his fingers and the larger dragon instantly went to sleep.

Discord sighed. Sometimes being a mixed-up freak of nature could hurt your love life...

Cheerilee hesitantly stepped into the Carousel Boutique. "Hello? Rarity?" she asked.

Rarity emerged from one of the back rooms, covered in measuring tape. "Oh, Cheerilee! What brings you here? Shouldn't you be teaching school?"

"The children are on lunch break right now, but I need to get back soon," Cheerilee said. "I came here because I need to put in an order for a dress."

"Okay," Rarity said. "I have some catalogues that you can look over, and—"

"No, I need you to make me a dress," Cheerilee said.

Rarity gasped theatrically. "Do my ears deceive me? Cheerilee, the great catalogue buyer, actually wants me to make her a dress? "

"It's for the Grand Galloping Gala," Cheerilee said. "I was going to wear my store-bought dress, but I...I have a date."

Rarity clapped her hooves together in delight. "Oh, how wonderful! Tell me! Tell me!"

"It's not a date date, it's a...it's like this," Cheerilee said. "Big Macintosh came to pick up Applebloom after school yesterday, and I found out that he has a ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala. So I said the two of us should go together, and he agreed."

"And you need a fantastic dress to really knock his horeshoes off!" Rarity said. "He'll ask you to be his marefriend in no time!"

"No, it's not like that! We're just friends!"

"Pshaw, if he was just a friend, you wouldn't want a special dress for him," Rarity said. "Well, the gala is only two weeks away, but I can make a dress for you in time. The Grand Galloping Gala is so romantic...wouldn't it be wonderful if we both found coltfriends there?"

"I thought you like that one unicorn who protected us in the trip to the Everfree," Cheerilee said. "Shiny something?"

"Exactly! Shining Armor! He's going to be at the gala, too! At least, I think he is." Rarity sighed dreamily. "We'll go into the gala as friends and leave the gala in love."

"Sounds like it will be the best night ever," Cheerilee commented.

"This thing is heavier than I thought," Twilight Sparkle complained, as she carried a mechanical device in her saddlebag. Twilight's destination was an empty field on the far end of Ponyville. To Twilight's surprise, Fluttershy was there, looking at the sky.

"Yay," Fluttershy said softly. "Way to go."

"Hi, Fluttershy," Twilight said, dropping her saddlebag. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Twilight," Fluttershy said. "I'm cheering for Rainbow Dash."

Twilight looked up and saw Rainbow flying around. "What? But I booked the flying field for this afternoon!"

"You did?"

Rainbow Dash landed. "Hey, Twi. What's up?"

"Not much," Twilight said. "I came here to practice my flying. I filed a reservation form at City Hall and everything."

"There are forms you have to fill out to use this area? Huh. I didn't know that," Rainbow Dash said. "I just come and go whenever."

"Maybe the two of you could share," Fluttershy suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Rainbow Dash said. "Glad to see you're taking this contest seriously. It'd be boring if I was the only pony there."

"Are you going to be in the Young Fliers' Competition, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked politely.

"Oh, no, I couldn't handle being by myself in a big crowd like that. I'm just going to watch."

Twilight went to her saddlebag and pulled out some papers, along with her mechanical device. She balanced it on the ground.

"Um...Twilight, what's that?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's an anemometer that I brought to measure my wing speed."

"No, I mean, what's that?" Fluttershy said, pointing at the sky. A large black cloud was appearing on the horizon.

"Looks like smoke," Twilight said. "A lot of smoke. Was there a fire today?"

"Well, whatever it is, it's pretty far off. I hope it's nothing bad," Rainbow Dash said.

The pegasi stayed in the flying field for about fifteen minutes. Things went rather well, until Twilight decided to attempt a loop-de-loop. She went into the swerve correctly, but her wings slowed her down as she went back upwards, and she landed back-first on the ground. "Ow!"

"Pfffff! Ha ha ha!" Rainbow Dash said. "That was hilarious!"

"Hey, I don't fly upside-down normally!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. How are you doing with your book report?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow stopped laughing.

"Um...girls?" Fluttershy asked.

"What?" Rainbow and Twilight asked.

Fluttershy pointed to a scroll on the ground. "I think I just got a letter."

Fluttershy picked up the letter and read it, as her friends walked over. "It's from Trixie," Fluttershy said. "There's an emergency situation...the smoke is coming from a dragon?! Oh no!"

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said. "What are you talking about?"

Fluttershy held out the letter, and Rainbow Dash read it out loud. It turned out that the smoke was coming from a dragon, taking a nap on top of a mountain. Princess Celestia gave Trixie orders to move the dragon someplace else, and Trixie wrote to get Fluttershy's help.

"Why me?" Fluttershy asked. "The only dragon I know is Spike!"

"Trixie must be confident you can help somehow," Twilight said.

A similar-looking scroll materialized in the air in front of Rainbow Dash. She grabbed it and read it. "Looks like you're not the only one Trixie needs help from," Rainbow said. She smiled happily. "All right! Dragon fighting time! We'll be like the Wonderbolts!"

"Um...can I...stay home?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't like fighting monsters."

"You did fine with Nightmare Moon," Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy eeked softly, at Nightmare Moon's name. "I...the only reason I helped was because of Twilight," she said. "I don't think I can fight anything else."

"But it sounds like you don't have to fight the dragon," Twilight said. "You just need to convince it to move somewhere else. And your special talent is dealing with animals."

"Nice, safe animals! Not big scary dragons!"

"It's okay, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said, putting a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder. "I'll be there to protect you in case anything goes wrong."

"I'll be there, too," Twilight said. "I—hey, wait a second! You and Rainbow Dash both got letters from Trixie about this. How come I didn't get anything?"

"Well, you're not one of the Elements of Harmony," Rainbow said.

"I'm still a valuable member of the team, and—"

Then, a scroll materialized in front of Twilight. "Finally!" she said, opening it.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

An emergency situation has just arisen outside of Ponyville. I need you to foal-sit Scootaloo this afternoon, while I go and take care of things. I've arranged to Spike to go home with his friends Snails today.

Thanks.

Trixie Lulamoon
Great and Powerful Magician
Leader of the Elements of Harmony
Princess Celestia's Personal Student
Winner of the Miss Neighbelline Pageant, 1998

Twilight wasn't sure what upset her more: Trixie's overblown signature, or the fact that Twilight had been demoted to the role of foal-sitter. Her ears flattened against her head as she frowned. "Never mind. It looks like I'll be sitting out this adventure."

"Aw, that's no fun," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can we switch places? Please?" Fluttershy asked.

After the bell rang, all the fillies left school. Scootaloo was the last pony to walk out of the building, and she looked gloomily at the ground as she did so. That was when she heard a voice up ahead, shouting her name.

"Come on!" Sweetie Belle said, waving. "Hurry up, Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo bounded forward happily, trotting up to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "Hey!" she said.

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What are you—?"

A dark orange pegasus filly with light purple hair joined the group. "I'm here!" she said. Scootaloo vaguely recognized her as one of the ponies who sometimes showed up to class.

"Who are you?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm Scubaloo! I'm the newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" the filly said proudly.

"Scubaloo? What kind of name is that?"

"Mom says she came up with it, while scuba diving in Haywaii!" Scubaloo said.

"We're gonna go crusading for our cutie marks today!" Applebloom said. "We'd invite you to come along, but...you know..."

"...Right," Scootaloo said. "Maybe you should try scuba diving...Scubaloo. It fits your name."

"Hey, great idea!"

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SCUBA DIVERS, YEAH!" all three fillies shouted at once.

Scootaloo walked off in one direction, while the other fillies went elsewhere. I guess Sweetie Belle didn't call my name... she thought. She was trying to get Scubaloo's attention, not mine.

"Scootaloo!" a voice called.

"Huh?" Scootaloo said, looking up. Twilight was standing there, smiling.

"You're coming home with me today!" Twilight said.

"Yay!" Scootaloo said. She hugged Twilight's leg tightly. "At least you want to spend time with me..." she muttered.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing!" Scootaloo said. "Let me get my scooter!"

Hmmm... Twilight thought.

"This is the mountain," Trixie said, pointing up at the smoke surrounding the mountain top. "It looks like the fastest way is up this path."

"M-maybe we should go around," Fluttershy said.

"What? But that'd take us longer to get to the top!" Applejack said.

"Yes, but the path is so...steep."

"She's scared of dragons," Rainbow Dash said to everypony else. "Look, if you don't like walking up hills, you can fly up!"

"Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it. Flap those wings!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Oh...okay." Fluttershy stretched out her wings a bit, but the dragon gave a loud snort. Fluttershy's wings clamped firmly to her side, and she hid behind Rarity, whinnying. "I-I can't do it!"

"But you got a five on Twilight's anemo-whatever an hour ago!"

"This looks like a job for the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie said, stepping forward. Using her levitation magic, she picked up Fluttershy and floated her up the mountainside. Fluttershy let out exclamations of fear, and her wings flapped uselessly.

Riarty gasped. "You're scaring the poor dear half to death!"

"I'm sorry!" Trixie called up to Fluttershy. "But we're on a time limit! The fate of Equestria is in our hooves!"

"Then let's get to it!" Applejack said, running up the pathway.

Twilight wasn't fooled by the brave front Scootaloo put on. When the two of them reached the library, Twilight turned on the younger pegasus. "Okay, Scoots. Now that we're alone, I want to know what you meant by 'I'm the only pony who wants to spend time with you'."

Scootaloo frowned. "You heard that, huh? It's...it's not important."

"If I'm going to be your big sister, that gives me the right to be ridiculously overprotective. Is something wrong at school?"

"No, school's fine. Miss Cheerilee's nice."

"Are the other kids treating you differently, now that you're a princess?"

"...Yes," Scootaloo sighed.

"What's happening? Are they—?"

"My old friends don't want to spend time with me anymore!" Scootaloo said. "You're studying friendship for Princess Celestia, right? Why is that?"

"I—I'm not—I don't know," Twilight said. "Maybe...Maybe they're scared that you've changed. They liked the old you, and they don't know how to handle the new one."

"But I haven't changed that much!" Scootaloo said. "I just became a princess and got my cutie mark, and I have a family and...I guess that's a lot."

Twilight nodded. A lot had happened since she first moved to Ponyville, a month ago. "I'm sure your friends just need some time to adjust to what happened. If you try harder to show them that you're the same old Scootaloo, I'm sure they'll be your friends again in no time."

I just wish I knew if that was the case with my friends...

The five fearless ponies, and Fluttershy, made it to the top of the mountain without any major incidents, unless you could Pinkie Pie trying to sing Giggle at the Ghosties.

"Is this the dragon's cave?" Applejack asked, looking at the gaping entrance before them. "It's so big!"

"Okay, girls, let's put on our Elements of Harmony," Trixie ordered, pulling them out of her saddlebags. "Just like with Nightmare Moon, we'll attack on the count of three."

"Um...he's just sleeping..." Fluttershy said softly.

"What was that, dear?" Rarity asked.

"The-the dragon is sleeping," Fluttershy said. "I don't think I can hurt a sleeping animal..."

"But we have to get rid of the dragon!" Trixie said.

"Can't we...I dunno...talk to it first?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm sure if you explained the situation very politely, he'd be willing to sleep somewhere else."

"She's got a point," Applejack said. "Tain't fair to attack a sleeping opponent."

"Fine, we can try the diplomatic approach, but it's not going to do any good," Trixie sighed. She could still remember their attempt to reason with Evil Alicorn Twilight, which had ended with Trixie getting zapped with magic and knocked unconscious.

"Can I go first?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I bet I can talk some sense into that monster!"

"Are you crazy? We're not going in one-by-one!" Trixie said. "We all go together as a group! Friends stick together, right?"

The six ponies entered the cave, with Trixie in the front and Fluttershy hiding in the back. "Dragon! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! I am—uhhhh...that's a really big dragon..."

"I wanna go home!" Fluttershy moaned.

Trixie gulped. "We have come...on behalf of Princess Celestia...to ask you to sleep somewhere else."

Our heroes held their breath, but there was no response.

"Please?"

Again, the dragon didn't respond.

"...I don't think it heard you," Applejack said.

"WAAAAAKE UPPPPPP!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

The dragon gave a huge snort as it opened its eyes and waved its head. It caught sight of the ponies, then hefted itself towards them.

"Heh heh, hello there?" Trixie said. "We've come to ask you to sleep somewhere else."

The dragon squinted its eyes and blew smoke directly in Trixie's face. She coughed loudly, but she bravely kept going. "The smoke from your snoring is...covering up the entire region...a little help here?"

"We'd be mighty thankful if you went somewhere else for a bit," Applejack said.

"You'd be doing the entire country a favor," Rarity said.

Fluttershy squeaked.

The dragon roared in their faces, then seemed impressed when the group huddled together, instead of running away.

"The Elements of Harmony, quickly!" Trixie said. "We—"

The dragon swatted the ponies with its tail, sending them flying through the air. "I'm not letting ponies tell me what to do!" it said. "Go away or I'll eat you!"

The ponies moaned in general pain and confusion. Fluttershy was the first to come to her senses. "How dare you..." she said softly. Then she stood up and shouted. "How dare you!"

"Huh?"

Fluttershy flew directly towards the dragon, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "Listen here, Mister!" she shouted. "Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not—I repeat—you do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?"

The dragon whimpered in fear, as Fluttershy gave it The Stare and laid down the law. The giant scaled beast quickly apologized for any inconvenience it may have caused. As the dragon flew away, Fluttershy's friends all cheered and hugged her.

"You did it!" Applejack said.

"You were right about being able to talk to the dragon!" Trixie said.

"See? You're braver than you thought!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm...I'm not brave," Fluttershy said. "All I did was stand up for my friends."

"You did marvelously," Rarity said, taking some gems from the large pile of gold that the dragon left behind.

"This calls for a party!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

The entire incident did not escape Discord's notice. Fluttershy: Element of Kindness? As if! She doesn't seem so kind to me... he thought.

Fights

Rainbow stared at the library book. The cover looked interesting enough, but that didn't change the fact that reading was for eggheads.

"I really don't want to read you," Rainbow Dash said.

To her great surprised, Daring Do turned around and looked at her. "Why not, Rainbow?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash dropped the book. "Whoa! You...you can talk?"

"Of course not," Daring Do said. "This is just a day dream you're having. So, what's up, pegasister?"

Rainbow nodded. A dream. That made sense. "Well, I have to write a book report about you, but I don't like reading."

"Lie about it," Daring advised.

"What?"

"Just take the book description from the back cover, and send it to Twilight. She'll never tell the difference."

"But I'm...the Element of Honesty..."

"So? I'm a fictional book. Are you going to let some stuffy librarian boss you around?"

"No!"

"That's my girl!" Daring Do said, winking at Rainbow. "You're pretty cool, you know that? I had rainbow hair like you, before it turned gray."

"Thanks!"

Discord whistled as he strolled down the street. The whistle started off happy, then it turned into a train whistle. He pulled the train out of his ear, pushed it together like an accordion, and when he separated his hands, a paper appeared.

Elements of Harmony TO DESTROY UTTERLY

Trixie, Element of Being Self-Centered and Useless
Fluttershy, Element of Pretending to be Nice, then Turning into a Total PSYCHO!
Rainbow Dash, Element of Self-Deluded Grandeur
Applejack, Element of Never Getting a Coltfriend, Ever
Pinkie Pie, Element of Weirdness
Rarity, Element of Fake Accents and Hair Spray

"Slam bam, thank you, ma'am!" Discord said, as he made a little checkmark next to Rainbow Dash's name. "The Element of Honesty is now a bold-faced liar. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the cruelest of them all?"

The paper turned into a small hand-mirror. Discord's reflection scowled and said, "You're only halfway done with the job."

"Who asked your opinion, Mirror?!" Discord shouted. He turned the mirror into a pomegranate and ate it. Then he reached into his mouth and pulled a gold-colored apple.

"I haven't tried this trick in a few thousand years, but it should work fine," he said.

Dear Apple Family,

I greatly admire all the hard work you do in providing food for the ponies in Ponyville. I wanted to thank you, with this rare Golden Apple that I found. Please give it to the hardest-working member of your family.

—Sidcord.

Applejack put down the letter that came with the apple. "Who the hay is Sidcord?" she wondered. "I ain't never heard of—Big Mac! What do you think you're doing?"

Big Mac had his hoof stretched out towards the golden apple. "Eating," he said.

"That apple ain't yours!" Granny Smith said. "It's for the hardest-working member of our family, and that's me!"

"What? I work harder than anypony else!" Applejack said.

"Eeeenope," Big Macintosh said.

"I think I work pretty hard," Applebloom said. "And the apple's kinda big, so nopony should care if I just take a li'l bite..."

Applejack knocked aside Applebloom's hand. "No taking my property!"

"You just want it 'cause you love to eat!" Granny Smith said. "You don't deserve that apple!"

Discord smiled, as he listened to the wonderful, wonderful chaos coming from the Apple household. "Element of Generosity no more!" he said.

Twilight Sparkle had thought about it long enough, and she finally decided to write a letter.

Dear Princess Luna,

My name is Twilight Sparkle. You probably don't remember my name, but I was the pony who came to visit you on the moon. Kind of. I mean, I don't remember it because I was an evil alicorn at the time, but you were an evil alicorn, too, so you probably don't remember either.

I'm writing because I don't know who else I can talk to. Ever since I got back from outer space, the ponies in my town have been treating me differently. Sometimes, even my friends seem a little bit worried about me.

I was wondering if you've been having the same problem. If so, can you please give me some advice to convince everypony that I'm not crazy or evil?

—Twilight

PS. Please don't tell your sister about this. I don't want to worry Celestia with my problems. Although I wouldn't mind it if she gave me an assignment or something!

"...Wow," Twilight said, crossing out the first paragraph of the letter. "That is a terrible first draft." She pulled out a new paper and tried again.

Dear Princess Luna,

My name is

"Hey, hey, Twilight!" a voice called.

Twilight looked up to see Rainbow Dash, hovering near the window she had just flown through. "Hi, Rainbow. What's up?"

"I finished your book!" Rainbow said. "I also wrote that book report."

"Oh, great!" Twilight said. She flew up to her friend and took the piece of paper that Rainbow pulled from her saddlebag. "So, what'd you think of the book? Did you like it?"

"Oh, yeah, it was great! Daring Do is a pretty cool, you know? Plus, she kinda looks like me."

"...Your book report is one paragraph long."

"Well, yeah, but it's a quality paragraph!"

"Really," Twilight said, unconvinced. "What was your favorite part of the book?"

"I liked how she flew away from the bad guys at the end! It was a daring escape!"

Twilight winced at the bad pun. "You didn't read the book at all, did you?" she asked.

"Huh? I totally—"

"Where'd you get this report from? Did you ask one of the—you took it from the book cover!"

Rainbow Dash drew her wings in and landed on the ground. "You're right. I didn't read the book. Sorry."

Twilight landed next to her. "Rainbow, we had a deal! I already signed up to join the Young Fliers Competition, so you have to read this book!"

"But I don't like reading!"

"And I don't like flying around in front of a huge crowd," Twilight said. "But I'm doing it anyway because I'm your friend."

"Oh, yeah? What kind of friend bosses somepony around and forces her to do boring egghead stuff?"

"Gee, I don't know! What kind of friend promises to read a children's book, and then lies about it to her face?!"

The two pegasi were standing face to face, snarling. They spread out their wings and began slowly circling around each other.

"Face it, Twi. Nopony wants to read any of your stupid books! You should close the library!"

"It's more important than what you do! You spend half a minute kicking clouds, then spend the rest of the day sleeping on them!"

"If I wanted to sleep, I'd read your boring book! That's all it's good for!"

"And all you're good for is bragging about how great you are! I can't wait to see you finally get put in your place when you lose the flying competition!"

"Ha! As if! I'm going to win with my Sonic Rainboom!"

"You can't do a Sonic Rainboom!" Twilight shouted. "You're lying again! If you did a Sonic Rainboom any time in the past ten years, everypony from here to Canterlot would have seen it!"

"Yeah, well...at least I never tried to take over the world! I know you're not good enough to be a pegasus, but that—"

Twilight quickly spun around, smacking Rainbow Dash in the face with her wing. She immediately shifted her balance to her front hooves as she bucked Rainbow Dash in the face. Rainbow fell over backwards.

"Don't ever talk to me about that again!" Twilight shouted. "Now get out of my library, or I'll have you arrested for trespassing on government property!"

"FINE! I'm leaving!" Rainbow Dash said. She took to the air, then reached into her saddlebag and pulled out Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Throwing it at Twilight's head, Rainbow said, "Here's your dumb book!"

"Ow!" Twilight cried. She charged at Rainbow Dash, but the cyan pegasus quickly flew out the window after throwing the book.

Twilight flew up to the window but didn't leave the library. "Yeah, that's right! Run away, you big loser! I hate you! Nopony cares what you...think..."

A tear ran down Twilight's cheek as she punched the wall in fury.

Not long afterwards, Rainbow Dash knocked repeatedly on the door of the Carousel Boutique. "Rarity! Open up!"

"Coming! I'm coming!" Rarity called. She opened up the door eight seconds later. "Rainbow Dash? What are you—aaaaaa!"

"Is it that bad?" Rainbow asked, unconsciously rubbing one of her black eyes.

"Come in, come in!" Rarity said, stepping aside so Rainbow could enter. "What happened to your face? It looks like somepony kicked you!"

"Somepony did kick me," Rainbow Dash said. "Twilight."

"Twilight? No, you must be mistaken. Twilight would never—"

"Do something like that? Ha! I said I didn't want to read one of her books, and she threw a fit!"

"Oh dear," Rarity said. She was rummaging through a makeup counter, trying to find something which could help cover up Rainbow's bruises. "What happened exactly?"

"We, uh...we made a deal about book reading, and I backed out. Now she's mad because I told her that reading is boring."

"Well...she does have a book for a cutie mark," Rarity said. "I can see how she wouldn't appreciate hearing you say something like that. Still, I don't see why that would be enough to make her resort to physical violence."

"I...also kinda...told her off for becoming Nightmare Moon Junior..." Rainbow Dash said. She frowned. Now that she thought about it, that was a little harsh.

Rarity paused. "I thought we all agreed we weren't going to mention that to Twilight, unless she brought it up."

"Yeah, but...I can't just forget that she tried to kill us! If it wasn't for the Elements of Harmony, we'd all be dead right now!"

"Well, true, but Twilight's our friend, and if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have had the Elements of Harmony to begin with."

"I guess, but...how do we know she's not going to turn evil again? I mean, she bucked me in the face!"

Rarity was hesitant to agree, as she liked Twilight, and she knew firsthoof how infuriating Rainbow Dash could be sometimes. "I'm sure she's just having a bad day," Rarity said. "She'll probably come by later to apologize for what happened. ...But maybe we should contact Princess Celestia, just in case."

Twilight and Rainbow Dash weren't the only ponies with friendship problems. At Ponyville Elementary, Scootaloo was once again feeling lonely. Deciding to make new friends, she approached a filly named Twist, who had glasses and a curly red mane. "Hey, you wanna play tag or something?"

"Printheth Thootaloo? You want to play with me?"

"Sure."

"That'th tho thweet!" Twist said. "I get to be with a printheth!

Scootaloo winced a bit, having a hard time understanding Twist's words. "I can start, unless you want to, Twith."

"Twith."

"What?"

"My name ith Twith."

"...That's what I said. Twith."

"Twith! Twi-thhhh!"

"Scootaloo!" Applebloom called from across the playground.

Oh, thank Celestia... Scootaloo thought. "Sorry, somepony's calling for me!"

Scootaloo bounded across the playground, stopping when she reached Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Scootaloo was happy to see that the two of them were by themselves and needed a third pony. "Hey!" she said.

"Hi, Scootaloo. We were—" Sweetie Belle began to say.

"What happened to that new girl? Scubaloo?"

"She got her cutie mark in scuba diving yesterday," Applebloom said. "Nopony's been able to get her out of the town river since then."

"Hey, hey, hey..." a colt with a deep voice and a leather jacket said. "What's up?"

"Who are you?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm Scooterloo," the colt said, pointing to his Vespa, which was propped up near the side of the school building. "I'm the newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

You have got to be kidding me. They were calling Scooterloo, not me?

"Mechanical scooters are all the rage nowdays," Scooterloo said. "They're so much better than the ones that you push with your legs."

"...If you say so," Scootaloo said. "If you like scooters so much, maybe you could get a scooter cutie mark."

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SCOOTER RIDERS!" the children shouted.

"That sounds like fun!" Sweetie Belle said. "We'd invite you to come along, Scootaloo, but—"

"Yeah, yeah...I know," Scootaloo said, walking away. "Sorry for bugging you..."

"—there's only enough room for three ponies on the scooter," Sweetie Belle finished. She scratched her head. "Why does Scootaloo look so sad?"

"I dunno," Applebloom said.

"She probably wanted to ride on my awesome scooter," Scooterloo said.

Pinkie Pie walked into the library. "Twilight! Twiiiiiiilight!" she called. "Oh, there you are! My Pinkie Sense told me that there was a doozy here two hours ago! What happened?"

"...Pinkie Sense?" Twilight asked.

"Uh huh, it's one of my special abilities!" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically. "Sometimes, I get feelings which tell the future! Like my tail gets twitchy whenever something's going to fall! Or my back gets itchy when something lucky is going to happen!"

"That's not—I think those are just coincidences."

"No, it's real!" Pinkie Pie said. "And my Pinkie Sense tells me that something really bad happened here! I think somepony even used the h-word!"

"Hackensack?"

"Hate!" Pinkie Pie said. "Whenever somepony says that word, my eyes twitch and a huge shiver runs up my spine! It's the meanest word anypony could ever say!"

Twilight's face fell. "But how did you know that somepony said that here?"

"I told you! Pinkie Sense!"

"But—but that's impossible!" Twilight said. "Your body can't react, every time a pony says a certain word! That's unscientific!"

"Yeah, but unicorn magic is unscientific, and they do it all the time!"

"True, but I think unicorn magic follows certain rules," Twilight said.

"You think? Don't you remember when you had a horn?"

"No, I don't! I don't remember a single thing that happened two weeks ago, and I wish everypony would stop bringing it up! They all treat me like some sort of monster!"

"Was that the doozy?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Rainbow Dash and I had a doozy of a fight, if that's what you mean," Twilight said. "She practically accused me of turning evil again!"

"That doesn't sound like her!"

"She was mad because I caught her lying, and she was bragging like usual, and RRRRGH! She's too much sometimes!"

"Not to mention she used the h-word!"

"No, that...that was me."

Pinkie gasped. "Twilight! You know you should never ever use that word!"

"I know that, but..." Twilight sniffed. "I got mad when she lied to me, okay? She said I was a boring loser, so I called her a lazy bragger, and...I kicked her."

"Sounds like you need a hug from your Auntie Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. She grabbed Twilight and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry you two got in a fight."

"I'm sorry, too," Twilight said. "It's just...so hard to deal with things right now."

"But you can't let yourself get angry! The only way to make things better is to apologize."

"I know that, I just...maybe I can't do it. I said some pretty horrible things."

"There, there," Pinkie said, patting Twilight's back. "Rainbow Dash is your friend, and I'm sure she'll accept your apology."

"Thanks, Pinkie."

"You're welcome, Twilight."

"..."

"Um...Pinkie? You can stop hugging me now."

"...You smell nice."

"Seriously, let go! You're cramping my wings!"

"Oops, sorry!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing backwards.

Twilight couldn't help but smile at Pinkie's antics. "I guess I should close the library to go see Rainbow and—huh?"

A scroll materialized in midair, in front of Twilight Sparkle. She immediately recognized the royal seal on it.

"It's from the princess!" Twilight said, picking up the scroll and reading it. "But I didn't finish writing my letter to Luna yet! Maybe Celestia...?"

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I apologize for sending you this letter unexpectedly, but it has just now come to my attention that you attacked another pony today. This is not the first complaint I have received about your behavior in the past week, and I cannot—

"AAAARGH!" Twilight shouted.

Pinkie Pie was taken aback by the ferocity of Twilight's scream. "Holy Hackensack!" she commented.

The Chapter with a Montage

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I apologize for sending you this letter unexpectedly, but it has just come to my attention that you attacked another pony today. This is not the first complaint I have received about your behavior in the past week, and I cannot—that is to say, I refuse to—believe these lies that are being told about you, my faithful friend and sometime student.

I must admit, I am concerned that ponies are still complaining about you. I would have expected the ponies in Ponyville to be more forgiving. I have responded to all of the complaints myself, assuring the ponies that there is nothing to worry about. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

The letter I received mentioned that you are going to be participating in the Young Fliers Competition next Friday. I was invited to oversee this event. Originally, I was going to turn down the request, but I believe I shall attend now. I look forward to seeing the routine that you have prepared.

Your friend,
Princess Celestia

Twilight practically broke down the doors to Rainbow Dash's house, as she went to confront her. "You told Princess Celestia about me?!"

"Oh, hey, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash said.

"I can't believe you did that, Rainbow! Now Princess Celestia has decided she's going to be judge at the Young Fliers Competition!"

"She is? Cool!"

"No, not cool!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof. "She's, like, the harshest grader ever! I worked at her university, remember? You should have heard the horror stories the students told! She once failed a student for misspelling her name!"

Most of the rumors about Celestia's tough grading were false, but that particular story was true. Princess Celestia gave Sunset Shimmer a failing grade on an exam, after Sunset incorrectly spelled "Celestia" at the top of the test. That's because, instead of the princess' name, Sunset had written...well, let's just say it was a very inappropriate word.

"Whoa. That's rough."

"And now she's going to be the judge at the competition, thanks to you!" Twilight said, snapping her jaws close to Rainbow's snout. "I was going to apologize for hurting you, but now I'm not so sure I want to!"

"You—what? But I was going to apologize!"

"You were?" Twilight asked, taking a step backwards. "But...but I was going to do it first!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Nuh uh! I'm way sorrier than you are!"

"No, you'll be sorry, when I beat you at the Young Fliers Competition!"

"Ha!" Rainbow Dash said, gesturing to her display case, which has a trophy and some ribbons. "These are all awards I got from the Junior Speedsters. Have you ever been in a flying competition before?"

"Well, no...but I won Best Flier in my class, three years in a row!"

"Wait. Didn't you say that you went to a unicorn school?"

"So? It still counts!" Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "You have no idea what you're up against, Twilight. I was born and raised in Cloudsdale, and the winner gets to spend time with the Wonderbolts. There's no way I'm losing this competition."

"If you're so confident, how about a new challenge, then? If I get placed before you in the competition, you have to read the entire Daring Do series!"

"Ugh, books again? Fine! But if I win, you have to do my job for a week!"

"Fine! Hope you like reading!"

"Ha! Hope you like clearing clouds!"

The two pegasi glared at each other for a moment.

"...Are we still friends? I'm not sure."

"...Me neither."

That night, Twilight Sparkle had a vivid nightmare.

Shining Armor dragged a chained Twilight to Princess Celestia's throne room. All of her former friends were there, wearing ugly looks and the Elements of Harmony.

"You've! Turned! EVIL!" Rarity said.

"Now we gotta kill you!" Pinkie Pie said.

"NO!" Twilight cried.

"You were never our friend! We only pretended to like you!" Applejack said.

"You could never take my place, anyway!" Trixie said.

"But—but I didn't do anything wrong! I haven't—Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo sidled up to Rainbow Dash. "You're not my sister! Rainbow Dash is my sister now!"

"You made the right choice, Scoots," Rainbow Dash said.

"We didn't kill you last time we used the Elements of Harmony on you," Trixie said. "We won't make that mistake again."

"Let's blast this [bad word] all the way to Tartarus!" Fluttershy screamed.

"No! Somepony help me! Shining Armor! Princess!"

"There, there, Twilight," Princess Celestia said from her throne. "I will make sure everything goes better for you...on the MOOOOOOOOON!"

Twilight curled up into a ball and cried, waiting for the attack, but after a moment of silence, nothing happened.

"Is this what you fear most, Twilight Sparkle?" a voice asked.

Twilight looked up. Everypony in the throne room was frozen in place, except for a dark blue alicorn who was walking forward.

"Princess Luna? How are you—is this a dream?"

Luna nodded. "It is. As the Princess of the Night, it is my duty to watch over ponies' dreams. I must say, your nightmare is encouraging."

"Encouraging? How could you possibly say that?!" Twilight said. "This—this is horrible."

"My little pony, if your greatest fear is turning evil and losing your friends, that means you are still good," Luna said. "But let us clean up before speaking." Her horn glowed, and everypony in the throne room disappeared, besides for Twilight and Luna.

"I...I don't understand," Twilight said. "Why are you here?"

"I received your letter today, and I consequently desired to speak with you about it," Princess Luna said. "I have a feeling there is a lot we can discuss, Twilight Sparkle."

"Oh," Twilight said. She had expected Luna to write a letter in response, not visit her in her dreams. That was kind of creepy, now that Twilight thought about it.

Luna sat down on the throne. "You asked if anypony has been avoiding me lately. The answer is 'yes'. You do not know this, but yours is the first letter I have received since we returned."

"You mean nopony has come to see you in the past two weeks?"

"Practically nopony. I have been gone for so long, and I..." Luna paused. "I don't usually contact strangers like this, but I believe you are the only pony who can understand my situation. Do you truly not remember anything?"

"Everything that happened after I put on the Alicorn Amulet is a complete blank," Twilight said. "I have vague flashes of fighting Princess Celestia, but that's it."

"I have no memories, either," Luna said. "Part of me wishes I did, but...I am glad I do not know the full extent of the evil I wrought."

"Me, too," Twilight said. "I mean, I promised to be Scootaloo's big sister during that time, and...I don't remember it at all."

"It is kind of you to look out for the young princess," Princess Luna said. "Just as it was kind of you to contact me. From the testimony of my sister and my own experience, I can tell you are a good pony, Twilight Sparkle. You must remember that, even when ponies are accusing you of malfeasance."

Twilight nodded. Princess Luna had an odd way of speaking, but she seemed nice enough. "Thanks, but how do I convince other ponies that they don't have to be scared of me?"

"Pah! That is a matter of the utmost simplicity!" Luna said. "I shall write a letter of introduction for you, confirming your upstanding moral integrity!"

"...Princess Luna?"

"Yes?"

"Ponies haven't used letters of introduction in hundreds of years."

"What?" Luna asked. "Letters of introduction have become outdated, too? First the royal we, now letters of introduction—what is next, pray tell? Peacock hunting?"

Twilight didn't comment. "Maybe I can help you get up to date with modern society," she offered.

Note from Discord: I highly recommend listening to an epic 1980's song while reading the following training montage.

Saturday

Rainbow Dash laid on her back, with her wings spread wide. She grunted and pushed her wings against the ground, struggling to support her weight. These wing push-ups, or wing-ups, were an exercise Rainbow Dash came up with on her own.

They increased wing strength by 20%, by her reckoning. They also hurt like the dickens, but no pain, no gain, as her father used to say.

I'm gonna beat Twilight. She thinks she's best pegasus in town, just because she knows the princess, but I'm gonna show my friend who—uh, I mean, I'm gonna show her who's boss. They don't call me Thunderbutt for nothing!

...Man, that's lame. I gotta get a cooler nickname. Rainbow Blast? The Flying Thunder? No, the Element of Awesomeness!

Sunday

"Why do you worry about the competition?" Luna asked.

"I'm not a special flyer like Rainbow Dash is," Twilight said. "I mean, she once did a Sonic Rainboom!"

"In truth? I thought only alicorns could perform that feat."

"Alicorns?"

Luna smiled. "My sister and I were the first ponies to discover the Sonic Rainboom. Nopony else could do it. We figured it was because we have larger wings than most pegasi."

Twilight took a moment to think about the physics behind this. In theory, the power of larger wings would be counterbalanced by greater wind resistance. Maybe it worked because alicorns had the increased stamina of an Earth pony.

"Hey, do you think you can teach me how to do a Sonic Rainboom?" Twilight asked.

Monday

It had been a very busy weekend, for the students at Ponyville Elementary. Scooterloo, Scutealoo, Squeetaloo and Skeeterloo all got their cutie marks, and they were happy as can be. Scootaloo was less happy than they, feeling like the entire scenario was some sort of cosmic joke on her.

From across the playground, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle waved at Scootaloo. "Scootaloo!" they called. "Come here!"

Scootaloo took a step forward, then though better of it.

I'm not falling for this again, she thought. They're just calling for another filly whose name sounds like mine. Scootaloo turned around.

"Is she ignoring us?" Applebloom asked.

"Maybe she didn't hear us..." Sweetie Belle said.

Tuesday

Rainbow Dash collapsed on the ground. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to do it. The Sonic Rainboom was always just beyond her grasp.

Maybe Twilight was right. I can't do a Sonic Rainboom anymore. It was just a one-time thing.

No, that's wrong! I'm not an old gray mare yet! I've got a bright future ahead of me! I'll win this competition and join the Wonderbolts...

Still, it stinks that I did my best flying move before I got my cutie mark.

And now I have to impress the harshest judge ever. Maybe I need a different routine. Something new that will really impress the princess!

Wednesday

"You're the local expert on animals," Trixie said. "I thought you could explain it best."

"Oh," Fluttershy said. "Well...usually, if a pony owns a pet bird, she'll cut its primary feathers. That way, the bird won't be able to fly away."

"But the bird can still fly without its primary feathers?"

"Sometimes," Fluttershy said. "It depends on the bird's abilities and how quickly its feathers grow back."

"What if its feathers never grow back?" Trixie asked. "The doctor said Scootaloo never—I mean, what if the bird has never had primary feathers?"

"Um...in that case...it'd be really difficult for the bird to learn how to fly. I think cutting a bird's wings is cruel, so I never do it to my birds, ever."

Thursday

"Hold a moment, Sister," Luna said. "Twilight Sparkle tells me that you have not responded to the letter she sent last week."

"You've been in contact with her?"

"I visited her in her dreams last night. Why have you not responded to her letter?"

"That was nice of you. I'm glad to see you're making new friends," Celestia said. "As for your question, I haven't responded yet because I plan on seeing Twilight at the Young Fliers Competition tomorrow."

"Do you not think it wise to contact her more than once a week?" Luna questioned.

"Twilight is an independent pony. The last thing she wants is me to hover over her constantly," Celestia said. She believed Twilight did her best work when left alone, as proven by Twilight's success in finding the Elements of Harmony.

"I do not wish to sound impudent, but your judgment on these matters in the past has been less than adequate. Perhaps if you took a more hooves-on approach..."

"There is no need to change my leadership style," Celestia said. "Now that you're here to help me, I'm sure that the leadership of our country will be greatly improved."

Luna stared at her sister, as Celestia left the room, humming to herself.

Friday

Rainbow Dash frowned as she looked at the archway entrance. Now that she was actually at the competition, things seemed a little intimidating. Not that she was nervous or anything, she just...

That was when a group of three pegasi landed nearby. They were the three pegasi that Rainbow Dash hoped to never see again: Dumbbell, Hoops and Score.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Dumbbell said.

"It's our old friend, Rainbow Crash!"

"Get kicked outta any flight schools lately?" Hoops asked.

The three of them laughed uproariously.

"I didn't get kicked out," Rainbow Dash said. "I left because—"

"—You couldn't handle a real flight school! That's why you were with the Junior Speedsters!"

"Where's your lameo friend, Fluttershy? Were her wings too weak to fly up here?"

"Look, you jerks!" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm not in the mood to put up with your crap right now, so if you don't leave I'm going to rip off your—"

"Hey, you three!" an angry voice said. "This area is for contestants only!"

The stallions looked towards the entranceway, where Twilight Sparkle was standing. She was scowling in their general direction.

"Ha, whatever. We gotta get going anyway," Dumbbell said.

"Can't wait to see you fail the competition, Rainbow Crash!"

The three of them flew away, and Rainbow Dash looked anywhere, besides for Twilight's face. Twilight paused before stepping forward.

"Hello, Rainbow."

"Hey, Twilight..."

"Who were they?"

"Just a couple of bullies from my old school," Rainbow said. "Forget about them. They're jerks. So...this is where we get our numbers?"

"Yes, just inside this building," Twilight said.

The two of them looked at each other uncomfortably. Twilight gulped, as she remembered her conversation with Princess Luna, the night before.

"Do you know what happened to my best friends? Snowdrop, Firefly, Sweet Berry? I was hoping to see them again, but...they...they've all been dead for hundreds of years."

"Princess?"

"It is...quite unpleasant to lose your friends. I beg you. Do not let this argument between yourself and Rainbow become an uncrossable gap between the two of you."

Twilight opened her mouth to apologize, but a voice interrupted them. "Twilight! We missed you!"

"Huh?" Twilight asked. She turned around to see Pinkie Pie, waving from what appeared to be a large balloon. Pinkie stood on the edge of the balloon basket, then jumped forward.

"Pinkie, NO!" Twilight shouted. She rushed forward, with Rainbow Dash at her side. Twilight dove and caught Pinkie in her arms before the pink pony.

Pinkie burst into giggles. "Aw, you tried to save me! That's so nice of you!"

"Don't worry, Twilight!" Scootaloo said, poking her head out of the balloon basket. "We're all safe! See?"

Scootaloo left the basket, followed by all of Twilight and Rainbow Dash's friends from Ponyville. Despite the fact that they weren't pegasi, they seemed to have no problem walking on top of clouds.

"You...how are you doing that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie adjusted her hat. "I found a spell which allows unicorns and Earth ponies to walk on clouds for a day. Everypony wanted to watch the competition, so I cast it on all of us. It was easier than using a wings-growing spell."

"There's a spell to grow wings?"

"Yes, but things didn't work well with the first test subject."

"Who was your test subject?"

Trixie gestured to the left. Twilight followed the gesture, where she saw something she never expected to see.

"YAAAAHOOO!" Big Macintosh shouted, fluttering his large butterfly wings. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Applejack hid her face behind her hat. "If anypony asks, I don't know him."

"You came all this way to watch us compete?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Of course we did! You two are best fliers ever!" Scootaloo said.

"We all wanted to show our support," Applejack said.

"Yes, we're worried about you two," Rarity said. "Er, worried about how you'll do in the competition, that is!"

"Are they still not talking to each other?" Pinkie whispered. "Because that's dumb!"

"Well, um...maybe they're just focused on the competition," Fluttershy said.

The Young Fliers Competition

Rainbow Dash looked down at her flank. Number two? How could they put her in number two? She wasn't ready yet!

Rainbow looked around frantically, and she saw a brown-coated stallion with number five. She snuck up on him and very carefully took his number, replacing it with hers.

Phew, he didn't notice! Rainbow thought, letting out a sigh of relief. She took two steps backwards, and she backed right into Twilight.

"Rainbow! I don't believe you!" Twilight said.

"Uh oh..."

"I saw what you just did!" Twilight said. "That's cheating! You should be disqualified!"

"What, you're gonna tattle on me?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting up in Twilight's face.

"Why not? You tattled on me to Princess Celestia!"

"That wasn't me! It was Rarity!"

"Yeah, right! I'm sure the princess will love to hear why you're cheating in order to...um...perform later and...wait, why did you do that?"

"Why do you care? You're not my friend anymore!"

"Of course I'm your...your...does this have something to with those stallions who were teasing you earlier?"

"No! I just...I'm nervous, okay?!" Rainbow Dash said. "I...I can't go next, that's all!"

"Rainbow..."

Rainbow lunged forward and grabbed onto Twilight. "You were right all along! I can't do a Sonic Rainboom anymore! I'm going to fail horribly and be the laughingstock of all of Cloudsdale!"

Twilight hesitated for a second. "That's not true," she said. "You're going to do great in the competition. The Wonderbolts will love you!"

"But I can't do it..."

"You listen to me, Rainbow. I did not spend all that time preparing for the competition, just to watch you forfeit at the last minute! I came here to watch you win!"

"No, you entered because we made a bet that—"

"Oh, who cares about our stupid bet?" Twilight said. She hugged Rainbow Dash furiously. "Your friendship means more to me than any old book! I hate that we've been fighting this week!"

"Me too!" Rainbow Dash said. Her eyes teared up. "I've been a total jerk to you for no reason! I'm sorry I yelled at you and called you evil!"

"I'm sorry I kicked you in the face. Friends?"

"Friends," Rainbow said. She sniffed. "Just don't tell the others that I cried."

"And now for our next contestant, Rainbow Dash, of Ponyville!"

Here goes nothing... Rainbow Dash thought. As she requested, there were three clouds in the middle of the arena for her to work with.

Rainbow started with some simple dodging exercises. She flew at the clouds and dodged them by going right and left. She looped around and dodged through them again. Picking up speed, Rainbow started to turn her body perpendicular to the clouds as she dodged, getting extremely close to them.

She swerved around the clouds in all sorts of directions, making a show out of it and finishing with an upside-down swoop, going into tall loop-de-loop, and landing on the middle cloud in exactly the right spot to make it rain. Rainbow lowered into a pouncing position, then began the speed portion of her show.

A rainbow-colored blur formed as she went around the clouds in a large circle, slowly moving them closer together. When they were close enough, she began a figure eight around the two outside clouds, which brought her close enough to the middle cloud that she was able to push it upwards. When they were all in position, she began her final trick.

Not losing her speed, Rainbow spiraled upwards in a large circle, until she was about fifty feet about the clouds. She performed a corkscrew dive, aiming directly for the center cloud, which was still raining. Flipping around at the last second, she smashed the cloud apart with her hind legs and came to a dead stop in midair.

A rainbow burst into existence, where the raining cloud had been. The rainbow was an arch, connecting the two other clouds. Rainbow Dash was exactly in the middle of the rainbow, so it almost looked like it was coming out of her body. It was a very impressive effect, and the crowd applauded.

Rainbow waved to the audience, focusing on the booth where her friends were cheering louder than anypony else. That wasn't so bad! she thought. That went really well! Ha! I knew there was nothing to worry about!

Rainbow Dash flew to the inside edge of the arena and landed next to Twilight.

"That was really good!" Twilight said.

"Thanks!"

"And let's see what the judges think!" the announcer said. He pointed to the judges' table, where Princess Celestia, Spitfire and Princess Luna were seated.

"Princess Luna is here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I was surprised, too," Twilight said. "I guess she volunteered at the last second."

The judges held up their scorecards. Rainbow got two sevens and an eight, for a total of twenty-two points.

"That puts Rainbow Dash in the lead," the announcer said. "Congratulations to Rainbow! The next contestant is number six, Featherby Wingspan of Clopbourgh!"

"Oh my gosh, I'm winning!" Rainbow said. "I've got this competition in the bag! I'm going to spend the day with the Wonderbolts!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Twilight said. "I still haven't gone yet."

"Oh, yeah," Rainbow said. "Is there any chance that you could fail on purpose? For me?"

"In your dreams!" Twilight said. "But if I win, I'll give the prize to you."

"What? Seriously?"

"I know how much you like the Wonderbolts," Twilight said. "And besides, I owe you a friendship favor!"

Plus, I've already seen them loads of times, Twilight added silently. That's one of the advantages of being a pegasus who lives in Canterlot.

"And now for our final contestant, Twilight Sparkle, of Ponyville!" the announcer said.

Twilight flew about 300 feet above the stadium. She turned her body face down, angled herself in the same direction as the wind, then tucked her wings to her sides.

She instantly began to fall like a rock. The spectators gasped as she fell. By the time she was level with the arena, Twilight had picked up a good bit of momentum. She opened her wings and started beating furiously, increasing her speed as much as she could.

"No way..." Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight's hair flapped wildly as she pushed against the sound barrier. Instead of holding her hooves in front of her, her arms were against her sides, pinned down by the pressure.

Almost...there... Twilight thought. She had felt these sensations before, when practicing in her dreams. But doing a Sonic Rainboom was harder in real life than it was in dreams...she gave a final push with her wings, and...

*BOOM*

Twilight punctured the sound barrier at the wrong angle. A wave of purple and magenta spread out from that spot, going out about fifty miles, before it shuddered and contracted back into itself. Meanwhile, Twilight was shot upwards at a tremendous speed, like a cork being shot out of a bottle.

Twilight managed to catch herself, without looking too foolish. Hopefully, nopony would realize that was unplanned.

"Um...ta da?" Twilight said.

The stadium was stunned for a moment, before it burst into loud applause. Twilight blushed and waved to the crowd, before flying down to the area with the other contestants.

"That was so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said, hugging her friend.

"Yeah, but I did it wrong," Twilight said. "I was supposed to do a full Sonic Rainboom. I only got one color!"

"Who cares? Even a partial Sonic Rainboom is cool! Besides, you're purple, so it looked like you did it on purpose."

"I hope the judges think so..." Twilight said.

Princess Celestia held up an eight. Spitfire held up a nine. Princess Luna held up a five.

"I don't believe it!" Rainbow gasped. "What's wrong with Luna? You were amazing!"

"I guess it's because she's seen me—I'll explain later," Twilight said.

"And Twilight Sparkle gets twenty-two points!" the announcer said. "She is now tied for the lead, with Rainbow Dash. The two of them will have to go through a tiebreaker contest!"

Rainbow and Twilight both looked at each other, surprised. Rainbow grinned. "You're going down, Twi."

"Eat my dust, Rainbow Breath," Twilight said.

"Pardon me," the announcer said. "I have just been informed that a contestant was added to the roster at the last minute. Please welcome Big Macintosh Apple to the arena! He's going to perform a song of his own composition entitled I'm Sexy And I Know It, Yup."

Big Macintosh flew into the arena, wearing a fashionable jacket and highly-styled hair. At his signal, back-up dancers appeared and heavy bass music started playing. From the moment he first started singing, he had the complete attention of every mare in the stadium.

"Oh, wow! I didn't know Applejack's brother could wiggle like that!" Rainbow said, with hearts in her eyes.

"I need to visit Sweet Apple Acres more often!"

"Ooo, Cheerilee is so lucky to be taking him to the Gala!" Rarity gushed.

"Awww, I wanted to ask him!"

"I need to hire him to help with my magic act," Trixie said.

"Um...I thought you aren't a travelling magician anymore," Fluttershy said.

"I'm not, but who cares? Trixie needs that stallion's help!"

"He's makin' a dang fool outta himself," Applejack muttered, refusing to watch. "I'm telling Granny Smith 'bout this."

"I don't get it," Scootaloo said. "What's the big deal?"

"You'll find out when you're older," Pinkie said.

Naturally, the three female judges all gave perfect tens to Big Macintosh's performance. He won a trophy, but he graciously declined the prize of spending the following day with the Wonderbolts.

"I don't have any free time right now. I need to get back to Ponyville right away for a meeting. You can give it to somepony else."

"Who?" Spitfire asked.

"Gee, I dunno," Big Macintosh said. "This is my first time in Cloudsdale. I don't know anypony here."

"Might I suggest Princess Scootaloo?" Princess Celestia said. "I noticed she's here today, and having her spend the weekend in Canterlot would be nice."

"I reckon that'd work just fine," Big Macintosh said. "She's friends with my little sister Applebloom. They're in the same class, you know."

"Then it is settled," Princess Luna said.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle trudged slowly out of the arena.

"I can't believe we lost," Twilight complained.

"I can't believe we tied," Rainbow said. "Now nopony wins the bet!"

"Maybe that's for the best."

"I guess... Still, it bites that we lost a flying competition to an Earth pony."

"I know!"

Outside the stadium, all their friends were waiting for them. The group burst into cheers as Rainbow and Twilight approached, which made them feel better.

"You two were the greatest!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"I'm so lucky that you're teaching me how to fly!" Scootaloo said.

"You rock! Woo hoo!" Fluttershy said.

"But...we lost," Rainbow Dash said.

"Shucks, that don't matter," Applejack said. "You think I win every rodeo I enter? Y'all came in second place, and that ain't bad."

"Plus, now you can be friends again!" Pinkie said. "We should have a party!"

"Is a party your response to everything, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Yes."

"Hello! I hope we're not interrupting anything," Princess Celestia said, as she and Luna landed nearby.

All the ponies bowed, except for Scootaloo, who wasn't sure if she needed to bow to the princesses or not. She tried to curtsy, but she didn't know how to do it correctly, and she ended up falling on her nose.

"We came to congratulate you two on the entertaining display you put on," Princess Luna said. "You should be proud of yourselves."

"Indeed. You did well today," Princess Celestia said. She turned towards Trixie. "And you, my personal student. It looks like your magical studies have progressed nicely."

"It was nothing, Your Highness," Trixie said as modestly as she could (which wasn't very modest, if truth be told). "After all, you were the pony who sent me the spellbook with the walking on clouds spell."

"Yes, well, now you can add that book to the material that will be covered in your exam at the end of the month."

Trixie paled. That book contained over fifty spells! "Yes, ma'am."

Celestia winked at the other ponies. "Trixie has a lot of catching up to do, after missing ten years of school."

"And if I judge aright, it appears that your feuding has ended," Princess Luna said. "Have your ties been mended this day?"

Twilight took a second to translate Luna-speak to English. "Yes, Rainbow Dash and I cleared everything up."

"Yeah, we're best buds again!" Rainbow Dash said, wrapping her wing around Twilight.

"That is good to hear," Princess Celestia said. "I would like for all of you to remain friends, my little ponies. Not only will it bring you much happiness, but you will be able to use the Elements of Harmony in case of emergencies."

"Even me?" Scootaloo asked.

Princess Celestia seemed a tad disturbed by the thought of Equestria's most powerful magic in the hooves of Scootaloo. "Er...perhaps your mother should take care of that."

"Aw..." Scootaloo said.

The princesses stayed with the group for the rest of the afternoon, as Rainbow Dash gave everypony a brief tour of Cloudsdale and the weather factory. Celestia treated them all to a free dinner, before she and Luna went back to Canterlot with Scootaloo. The rest of the ponies returned to Ponyville.

Later that night, Twilight went to Trixie's house. She had never been inside the house before; the décor had too much purple and blue for her tastes, but it was very clean.

"Hey, Trixie, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Twilight. What is it?"

"It's about the wings spell you used earlier," Twilight said. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"Certainly. What do you want to know?"

"Well, mainly I just want to know how it works. I have a hard time believing there's a spell that can make a pony change species!"

"There isn't. The wings are only temporary."

"But couldn't you constantly cast the spell on Big Macintosh, to make him a pegasus all the time?"

"That would be too draining," Trixie said. "And the book warned against using the spell on the same pony, multiple times in a row. There are nasty side effects."

"Oh," Twilight said. "I was wondering how to make somepony into a pegasus..."

Twilight had been wondering about species-changing spells, ever since she had turned into an alicorn and back into a pegasus. She didn't talk about it much, because she didn't want to give anypony the wrong idea, but...if there was a way Twilight could use unicorn magic again...

"You can't fool me, Twilight," Trixie said. "I know this is about Scootaloo."

"It—what?"

"I just learned it from the doctors this week." Trixie took a breath. "She says that Scootaloo...she's crippled. Her primary feathers are never going to grow in."

Twilight gasped. "Never? I mean, of course I noticed she was missing feathers during our flying lessons, but...I thought they'd grow back like mine do."

"They're not," Trixie said. "I was hoping I could use magic to regrow her missing feathers, but...well, you saw the results of the spell. It can only grow featherless wings."

"I was wondering why they looked like butterfly wings," Twilight said. "But still, poor Scootaloo. Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Nothing," Trixie said. "I asked Princess Celestia about it, but she doesn't know of any magical mystery cure."

"Wow..." Twilight breathed. "That's rough. But hey, look at the bright side! Pegasi can still fly without their primary feathers."

"I talked with Fluttershy about it. She said that doesn't happen all the time, and even when it does, the pegasus has limited mobility."

"Yeah, that's true..." Twilight said. "But maybe Scootaloo will be one of the lucky ones! I can look for more information in one of my library books."

"Could you please? That would be...I'd appreciate it."

Twilight looked at Trixie's despondent face, and for the first time, Twilight realized how hard Trixie's life must be. Not only was she Princess Celestia's student, but she was a single mother with a job at Spells and Bells. True, she had Spike working as an unpaid assistant, but sometimes Spike could be just as much trouble as a second child.

"Trixie...I know we got off on the wrong hoof, but if there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."

"Thank you," Trixie said. "You've been a big help with Scootaloo already, looking after her all those afternoons in the library when I couldn't be there."

"Yes, well, she's a nice little sister. Looking after her is no trouble at all."

"I...wait," Trixie said. "If you're Scootaloo's honorary sister...does that make me your stepmother?"

"Of course," Twilight said. "Fairy tales always have wicked stepmothers in them."

Trixie threw her hat at Twilight. "That's not funny, Twilight Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Trixie should not be mocked!"

Scootaloo Takes Manehattan

Princess Celestia declared that there would be an official Princess Summit that weekend. It was scheduled to start after Scootaloo spent the day with the Wonderbolts—which was so much fun—but they ended up having to wait a few hours for Princess Cadance to fly in from New Yoke City.

The Princess Summit started with Celestia giving an impressive speech, about divisions of power in the Equestrian government. Once those two minutes were over, the princesses got in their pajamas and watched movies while eating popcorn the entire night.

It was a lot of fun, and Scootaloo even got some help with her friendship problem. Princess Cadance suggested being extra-nice to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Princess Celestia suggested finding common similarities, instead of differences. Luna offered to give them nightmares until they agreed to play with Scootaloo again.

Scootaloo was happy to return home on Sunday. Even though she liked Canterlot, she didn't enjoy being escorted by the royal guards everywhere. She liked being at Ponyville, where everything was normal.

Kind of.

When Scootaloo went downstairs to get some juice, she found her mother talking to a mirror. "The Great and Powerful Trixie. Trixie. Trrrrrixie. The Grrrreat and Powerrrrrrful...Trrrrrrrixie!"

"Mom, what are you doing?" Scootaloo asked.

"Practicing my introductions," Trixie said. "You should do it too, Scootaloo. Scootaloo. Scooootalooooo! ScooTAloo! Presenting her royal highness, Prrrrincess ScootaLOOO!"

"Um...I'm just going to get some apple juice from the kitchen."

"Suit yourself," Trixie said.

As Scootaloo opened the door to the kitchen, Spike ran out of his room. "Mail delivery!" he said. "It looks like another emergency message from the mayor."

"Why is Trixie always the go-to pony when emergencies arise?" Trixe grumbled. She used her magic to pick up the letter, then she read it. "A tree fell over in the town square? Seriously? That's an emergency? Just get Earth ponies to push it aside!"

"Do you want me to tell them no?"

"No...no, I can handle this. I just need...aha!" Trixie rummaged through her magic kit and pulled out a jar. "I need you to go ahead of me and rub a little of this on the tree."

"What is it?"

"Magical vanishing cream," Trixie said. "This is how I perform the disappearing trick in my stageshow. Just make sure you don't get any on your hands, Spike, or I might make them disappear!"

"Sure thing, Mom!" Spike said, saluting. Then he gasped. "I, um, I mean, Trixie!"

Trixie hesitated. "...You can call me 'Mom', if you want. I hatched you from your egg, after all."

"Yeah, but I—my dragon parents—I should get going!" Spike said quickly, grabbing the vanishing cream and running out the door. Trixie spent a few moments looking at the door, before she turned around and went to get her magician outfit.

"Scootaloo, we're going to the town square!" Trixie announced. "I've got a magic show to put on!"

When Trixie arrived at the town square, only a few ponies were there. Trixie managed to build up a small crowd, by talking loudly and doing a few simple tricks like fireworks and levitation. To finish off the short show, Trixie performed her trick of making the tree disappear, without using magic. She merely touched her horn to the tree, and it instantly vanished.

Everypony in the crowd applauded, and Mayor Mare thanked Trixie for her help. Scootaloo was intrigued by the magical feat, but for all the wrong reasons.

Magical vanishing cream, huh? Scootaloo thought, rubbing her chin. That could be really useful to have...

The next day, Scootaloo once again tried to talk to her old friends. "Hi! How was your weekend?"

"Awful," Applebloom said. "We tried to go crusading, but we ended up covered in tree sap!"

"Yeah, and everypony besides us got their cutie marks!" Sweetie Belle complained. "Screwtaloo, Scootkazoo and Lootascoo, not to mention F. P. Shooterloo!"

"Now we're the only two members left in the Cutie Mark Crusaders..."

"That's too bad," Scootaloo said. "Maybe I could join up! I'd love to hang out with—"

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders are for blank flanks only," Applebloom said.

"Yeah, you can't join because you already have a special talent," Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo felt like stomping the ground in anger. "But I want to be friends with you!"

"You're still our friend!"

"Yeah, you're like #9 on our list of best ponies with cutie marks! Right after our sisters and Cheerilee and my parents and Applebloom's brother and—"

"Oh, forget it!" Scootaloo said. She turned around and trotted away, muttering nasty things about the unfairness of life.

But Scootaloo knew that moping wouldn't fix anything. No, this was a time for action! So during lunchtime, Scootaloo snuck out of the school area and ran to her home. She took her mother's magical vanishing cream, then started rubbing it all over her cutie mark. Predictably, Scootaloo made a huge mess and got the cream all over herself, but she didn't care.

As soon as she got the desired effect, Scootaloo put the cream away, then returned to school. She made a beeline for her old friends, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. "Hey! HEY!"

"Oh, hey Scootaloo," Applebloom said. "We were just about to find you and apologize."

"Yeah, you seemed kind of upset before," Sweetie Belle said. "We didn't mean to—"

Completely ignoring them, Scootaloo turned to the side and smiled proudly. "Look, my cutie mark disappeared!"

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom gasped. "Cutie marks can disappear? I didn't know that!"

"Me neither!"

"So now I can join the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo said eagerly. "That means we get to hang out again!"

Scootaloo and Applebloom both looked at each other for a second, then they smiled. "Uh, sure!" Applebloom said. "Welcome to the club!"

"Yeah, we missed having you around!" Sweetie Belle said.

"YES!" Scootaloo said, hugging them. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, Best Friends!"

The three fillies played with each other for the rest of the lunch period. They made plans to go to Sweet Apple Acres after school, and for a half hour, it was just like old times for Scootaloo.

From a distance, Discord watched the events unfold. "Aw, the three best friends have patched things up amongst themselves. What an adorable little scene! But I think it needs a little chaos."

Discord picked up a rock and skipped it across the ground. It hit Sweetie Belle's leg, causing her to trip and smash into Scootaloo. The instant Sweetie Belle's horn touched Scootaloo's body, Scootaloo's bottom half disappeared.

They both screamed, and Discord sighed happily. "Much better."

Applebloom ran to get Cheerilee, but the teacher had no idea what to do. Scootaloo ran around on her two front legs, screaming wildly about the vanishing cream, before she disappeared completely.

"Welcome to Spells and Bells! I am the Grrreat and Powerrrful Trrrixie! How can I make your day magical?" Trixie said with a smile. Her face fell slightly as she took stock of her customer. "Cheerilee? Shouldn't you be teaching school right now?"

"Hello, Trixie. I'm sorry to disturb you at your work, but there's an emergency situation with your daughter."

"Scootaloo? What's wrong with her?"

"She disappeared into thin air."

"WHAT?"

When Scootaloo opened up her eyes again, she was on a patch of grass, next to a fallen tree. She recognized it as the tree her mother had vanished the day before.

Scootaloo looked around, but there was nopony in sight. She didn't recognize where she was. All she saw were tall buildings in the distance, and a gray pathway nearby. She walked to the pathway and started following it.

As she walked, it became apparent that she was in some sort of park. She started galloping when she heard voices ahead, but she immediately came to a stop when she heard that they were saying.

"Go home, ya loser!"

"No one wants to see your freckled face 'round here no more!"

"Get outta town, bare butt!"

Scootaloo instantly recognized the situation. A group of bullies were picking on a foal who didn't have her cutie mark yet. Scootaloo growled.

"I...I don't want any trouble..." the little foal said, trying to cover up her flank with her tail.

"Too bad, you found it!"

"Yeah, maybe another black eye will teach youse a lesson!"

Before she knew what she was doing, Scootaloo ran forward and put herself in between the bullies and the dark orange filly. "Leave her alone!" Scootaloo shouted. "Just stop! She hasn't done anything to you!"

The leader of the bullies—the only unicorn of the group—stepped backwards. "Who are you?"

"I'm Princess Scootaloo!" Scootaloo said. "And I'm tired of cutie marks! Everypony makes fun of you if you don't have a cutie mark, and as soon as you get one, all your friends leave you! It's not fair!"

"The princess!" one of the three bullies gasped.

The leader scoffed. "Come on, you think we're stupid enough to fall for that? You ain't the princess!"

"Yeah, youse is too stupid looking!"

"You're stupid looking!" Scootaloo said. "I am the princess, and you're gonna be in big trouble if you don't go away now!"

"We don't take orders from blank flanks!"

"I'm not a blank flank!" Scootaloo said, turning to the side. "I have—what?"

Scootaloo looked at her flank, only to find herself in a curious situation. The cutie mark on her left flank had disappeared completely, while the one on the right flank was still there. It must have been a weird side effect of the vanishing cream.

"Why do I only have one cutie mark?" Scootaloo asked.

The three bullies huddled together and talked in low voices. The red-maned filly behind Scootaloo pulled on her tail to get her attention. "We should run," she said.

"What?"

"These girls aren't afraid to hurt ponies," the girl said. "They broke my leg once, and—"

The bullies broke out of their huddle. "Okay, we made our decision. We were gonna beat up Babs, but now we're coming after you, Wannabe Princess."

They charged at Scootaloo, who quickly dodged and ran away. The bullies chased her through the park, but even though she flapped her wings, Scootaloo couldn't generate enough lift to get off of the ground.

I gotta get higher up if I'm gonna fly away! Scootaloo thought. Urgh, if only I had my scooter!

Scootaloo ran down a dirt pathway, in hopes of finding an adult or a place to hide. To her dismay, she found that the pathway was a dead end, which looped around a small lake. Looking anywhere for an escape, she saw a sitting bench at the lakeside, next to a public trash can.

Scootaloo jumped onto the bench, ran two paces and jumped onto the trash can next to it. She jumped in the direction of the lake and used her wings to glide over the water, where she would be safe from the Earth pony bullies.

Behind her, one of the bullies missed the jump and smashed into the trash can. Garbage fell everywhere, especially on top of the bully. The other bully tripped over the mess and fell into the lake.

Scootaloo landed on the opposite shore of the lake. She turned and saw the leader of the bullies gesturing angrily, while the other two bullies were indisposed. "Ha! Can't get me here!"

The leader of the bullies ran and jumped towards the lake. A green glow surrounded her, as she levitated herself across the small lake. "You hurt my buddies! Now you're really gonna get it, Stoopidloo!"

Scootaloo couldn't believe it. "Unicorns can use their magic to fly?!"

"Duh. If you was the princess, you'd know that," the bully said. "But you isn't an alicorn! Youse just a fake!"

"The only fake here is your grammar!" Scootaloo said, using a retort she had once heard Twilight Sparkle use.

"You're gonna need a fake leg when I'm done with you!" the bully said. She sprang at Scootaloo, and the two of them rolled on the ground, trading punches and kicks. Scootaloo knocked the bully's face aside temporarily with a hard punch to the muzzle. The bully responded with a vicious head-butt.

To the surprise of both of them, Scootaloo disappeared the instant the bully's horn touched her.

"What the—where'd she go?" the bully asked. "I had her in my hooves! Augh!"

Scootaloo popped back into existence, next to a fallen tree. It was the same spot she appeared in, when she first arrived at the park. After a few moments of confusion and disorientation, Scootaloo figured out what must have happened.

"The vanishing cream must react to unicorn horns. That's how Mom uses it to make things disappear without magic!"

Scootaloo took the same pathway as before, but this time, she went in the opposite direction.

Babs Seed purposely stayed behind in Central Park, because she wanted to thank the princess for saving her. After ten minutes, though, Babs figured that nopony was coming back, so she started to leave.

She didn't get far before she was confronted by three very angry bullies. One was soaking wet, the other was covered in garbage, and the leader had a bloody scrape on the side of her mouth.

"Your stupid friend escaped somehow!" the leader spat. "But you're not going anywhere!"

Babs tried to run, but the unicorn used her levitation powers to lift Babs in the air. The garbage bully tackled Babs and held her down while the other bullies hit her. Babs was too busy screaming and crying to hear what happened next.

"There they are! The ones that attacked me!"

"Yes, Princess Scootaloo!"

"You kids, stop!"

"It's the police! Run!"

"[Censored]!"

"Mommy!"

"Phew, you need a bath!"

When Babs opened her eyes, she saw Scootaloo standing over her. "Hey, are you okay? It looks like they hit you pretty bad."

"Princess!" Babs said. "Where—what happened to the bullies?"

Scootaloo gestured over her shoulder, where the royal guard had detained the three bullies. "I had them arrested for assaulting royalty," she said. Her eyes dropped. "...It's something I learned from my father."

Babs hugged Scootaloo. "Thank you thank you thank you! You saved my life!"

"You're welcome. Just, um, doing my job as a princess! But maybe you can help me out."

"Sure! I'll do anything to help you!"

"Great!" Scootaloo said. "Could you tell me where we are right now? ...I kinda don't know."

"Huh? How could you travel to Manehattan without knowing it?"

"Manehattan? But that's on the opposite side of Equestria!"

Babs wanted to take Scootaloo on a tour of Manehattan, showing her all the great sights, like Grand Ventral Station, Broadsideway and the Statue of Liberneigh. But Scootaloo wanted to go home, and she remembered that Princess Cadance lived in New Yoke City. So Scootaloo said goodbye to her new friend, then she had the royal guards escort her to Cadance.

Princess Cadance was very happy about the surprise visit, especially because it interrupted a business meeting with the finance ponies on Wail Street, who were once again crying because their stocks went down. After listening to Scootaloo's story, Cadance sent a letter to Trixie, who replied through Spike's dragon-mail.

"Hmmm..." Cadance said, reading the letter. "It looks like there's good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"Your mom has a counterspell for the vanishing cream. Good thing she's a magic expert, huh?"

"That's great! I can go home!" Scootaloo cheered. "But what's the bad news?"

" 'Tell Scootaloo that she is grounded for a month, for stealing a dangerous magical item and using it without permission! She could have been killed! And fighting with strangers?! What kind of moronic'—your mom sounds pretty mad."

"Aw...I can't be grounded! The Grand Galloping Gala is this week!"

"Sorry, but she has a point. Jumping across two time zones at once is dangerous," Cadance said. "But let's undo this mess, shall we? I'm pretty sure I can perform this restoring spell."

Cadance focused her magic on Scootaloo's left flank, and Scootaloo's cutie mark reappeared. "My cutie mark's back!" she said. "Thanks, Cadance!"

"You're welcome," Cadance said. "As for sending you back to Ponyville...Trixie says a magical dampener must be used. I'm not sure I can do that."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I never learned much magic beyond levitation and love spells," Cadance said. "I'll get one of my unicorn guards to perform the spell."

Cadance and Scootaloo said their goodbyes, before the unicorn guard performed the spell to send her back home safely. Scootaloo reappeared at the schoolyard, where her mother and Spike were waiting. Trixie hugged Scootaloo, and they talked about what happened on the walk home.

As soon as they entered the house, Scootaloo was sent directly to her room. She didn't leave until two hours later, when there was frantic knocking at the front door. Trixie answered the door, to find Sweetie Belle and Applebloom crying there.

"Mrs. Trixie! We can't find her anywhere!"

"I'm so sorrrrry! I didn't mean to kill her!"

"Huh?" Scootaloo said, peering out of her doorway.

"Scootaloo, get back in your room," Trixie said. "Girls, you—"

"SCOOTALOO!" Applebloom and Sweetie Belle shouted. They ran past Trixie and tackled Scootaloo.

"We're so sorry!"

"We're the worst friends ever!"

"We were so mean to you!"

"I thought I killed you!"

"We'll never ignore you again!"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Apologizers!"

"We love you! You're our best friend!"

Across the room, Spike put his hands over his ears. "Ugh, girls are loud," he complained.

"Hmmm..." Trixie said. "Friends aren't allowed to visit while Scootaloo's grounded, but...I think I'll allow it. Just this once."

Dear Princess Celestia,

I told you that my friends don't want to hang out with me anymore, now that I've got my cutie mark. Maybe it was kinda dumb, but today I tried to get rid of my cutie mark, so I could be a blank flank again.

Somehow, I ended up in Manehattan where I saved a blank flank from some bullies. It was pretty cool, and I learned a lesson, which is why Mom says I gotta send you this friendship report.

I learned that it doesn't matter if you have a cutie mark or not, because some ponies are always going to be jerks about it. What matters is if your friends accept you for who you are. Real friends will always stick by you, even if your cutie mark is, I dunno, toilet paper or something gross like that. Do you know there's one colt in our class who has a snail for a cutie mark? He's weird.

Anyway, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and I are all friends again. Great friendship lesson, right? You should write to my mom and tell her that you're so impressed, you want me to be un-grounded for the Grand Galloping Gala this week.

'Kay? Bye!
—Scootaloo

PS. Spike here. Please don't try to get Scootaloo un-grounded. I get her scooter as long as she's in trouble, and it's sweet!

Dear Princess Cadance,

Thank you very much for returning my daughter safely to me. Also, curse you for sending me that fine. Five hundred bits for illegally dumping garbage in Central Park?!

This is why I hate New Yoke.

—The Great and Powerful Trixie

Party of One

Discord yawned as he woke up. According to his calendar, it was Pinkie Pie's birthday. What better day to ruin her life?

He flew over to Sugarcube Corner, then peeked in through the window. Pinkie Pie was sitting at a table, talking to various inanimate objects in party hats.

"Thank you all so much for coming! It means so much to Gummy," she said. "Could I have more punch? Well, of course you can have more punch, Mr. Turnip. This is one great party! You've really outdone yourself! Why, thank you, Rocky. I'm having a delightful time as well."

Discord pursed his lips as he watched the scene.

"Huh. Looks like my job here is done."

Romance with Rarity

Saturday

"Meow."

"Mommy's very busy now, Opal!"

"Meow."

"Just a minute, Opal!"

"Meowwwww!"

"All right! All right! Fine!" Rarity stomped over to the front door and opened it so her cat could go outside. "Are you happy now?!"

Opalescence turned up her nose and daintily walked outside. Rarity groaned theatrically and went back to her work.

"Maybe I shouldn't have taken the day off to visit Cloudsdale yesterday," Rarity said, as she sorted through her fabric pile, looking for the one piece that she had just put down a moment ago. "It was certainly a lot of fun, but the Grand Galloping Gala is this Friday!"

Rarity had generously agreed to make dresses for her friends, as a free favor to them. It was only later that she learned she would have more friends than paying customers at the gala that year.

Rarity sang to herself, trying to keep her spirits up as she kept searching.

Stitch by stitch, putting it together.
Looking for the fabric, where is it?
It was here a moment ago.
If I can't find it, I'm gonna hurt somepony!
Seriously, where did I put it?

From outside, Opalescence's shrill shriek was heard. "Raaaowwww!"

"AAAAAA! Get off! Get off!"

"Uh oh," Rarity said.

Cheerilee burst into the Carousel Boutique. She was chased by Opalescence, whose claws were extended. "Rarity, stop your cat!" Cheerilee cried.

"Opal, no!" Rarity said, using her magic to levitate Opal. "That is very naughty, hurting other ponies like that! I'm putting you in your cage, young lady!"

After her cat was secured, Rarity turned to Cheerilee. "I am so sorry about that," she said. "Usually, she doesn't attack ponies."

"It's okay," Cheerilee said, waving it aside. "How are you doing, Rarity? You look...busy."

"Oh, I am! The Grand Galloping Gala is this week, you know!" Rarity said. "In fact, it's good that you're here. I've got some finalized designs for your dress and—"

"That's why I came here to visit," Cheerilee said. "It turns out that I don't need a dress after all."

"You don't? But I thought you were going to the gala with Big Macintosh!"

"Not anymore," Cheerilee said, a note of sadness in her voice. "Things went wrong with us."

"Oh, dear!" Rarity said. She abandoned her work and went up to her friend. "I'm so sorry, Cheerilee! Please, tell me what happened!"

Cheerilee sighed. "Yesterday, he...he stopped by the schoolhouse and literally swept me off of my hooves."

Big Macintosh, a pair of butterfly wings growing from his back, landed in the schoolyard. "Cheerilee! Come out, darlin'!"

Cheerilee stepped outside, and her eyes widened with surprise. "Big Macintosh?"

"You're looking as radiant as ever, Cheery," Big Macintosh said. "And may I say, I love the way your hair looks today."

"Why, thank you," Cheerilee said. She certainly approved of the new, more talkative Big Macintosh. "But why do you have wings?"

"Aren't they wonderful? They let me fly around town! They let me soar to heights of amazing wonder! And I came here, because you are the one mare I want beside me, as I see the town from a new height."

"Big Macintosh, I—"

Big Macintosh swooped down and grabbed Cheerilee in his arms. She gave a small shriek of fright as he lifted her up, and they flew over the trees.

"Oh, wow!" Cheerilee said. "This view is amazing!"

"Not as amazing as you are, dear," Big Macintosh said. He cleared his throat and began to sing.

I can show you the world,
Shining, shimmering, splendid.
Tell me, Cheery, now when did
You last let your heart decide?

A whole new world!
A new fantastic place to see!
No pony to tell you "Eeenope"...

"I don't understand," Rarity said. "He took you flying and sang you a love song. That sounds terribly romantic."

"I haven't gotten to the ending yet," Cheerilee said. "We were flying over his farm, when his wings gave out, and he dropped me in the manure pile."

Rarity gasped. "No! He wouldn't!"

"He did."

"It must have been an accident! He wouldn't purposely—"

"If it was an accident, he would have fallen in with me! But he landed five feet away, where he didn't get a speck of dirt on him."

"I don't believe it! That's dreadful!"

"So I won't need a new dress for the gala after all," Cheerilee said.

"I am so sorry," Rarity said, giving Cheerilee a one-armed hug. "If there's anything I can do to help—how about a trip to the spa? We can get mud baths together! ...Or maybe just normal baths."

"Thank you," Cheerilee said. "I'm sorry, I know you're busy, and I don't want to dump things on you—"

"Friends are more important than work," Rarity said. "I can only imagine what I'd do if something like that happened with me and Shining Armor."

Neither of the two ponies noticed that one of Rarity's ponyquins was now sporting a goatee and horns.

Hm. Discord thought. Out of all the Elements of Harmony, Rarity is the only one with romantic interests. I can use that.

As Rarity and Cheerilee left for the spa, Discord pulled out a delicious cherry-based soda and reviewed his evil plan.

Step 1. Mess with the Elements of Harmony.
Step 2. ???
Step 3. Profit

Discord's magical spell that turned ponies dark and gray was completely misunderstood, probably because he never bothered to explain it to anypony. Contrary to popular belief, he could not use it to override a pony's free will and force them to act out of character. He could only use it to revert a pony to a previous state.

For example, take Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. Discord couldn't use his magic to force her to be cruel. But once he saw her act cruelly on her own, he could use his magic to take her back to that state of mind. It wasn't the same as making Fluttershy cruel, even if it was pretty close.

That was why Discord was sneaking around and upsetting the Elements of Harmony. Not only did it give him a lot of information about his future foes, but it was necessary to test the ponies' characters, if he wanted to use his discordant spell on them.

The final pony he had yet to manipulate was Rarity, the Element of Loyalty. Considering her penchant for being overdramatic, Discord did not think it would be very difficult to get her to act in a disloyal manner. Just pile a lot of stress on her plate, and she'd crack like an egg.

Tuesday

"No no no NO!" Rarity said, stomping her hooves on the ground with each word. She knew she was acting like a baby, but she felt justified in her actions. On the ground in front of her was the latest letter she had received from Shining Armor.

Rarity,

Captain Whitewings denied my request to transfer to Ponyville. He says they need me here in Canterlot. I'm really sorry about this, but I don't have a choice.

I have even more bad news. This week's schedule came out, and I've been assigned to a nine-hour overnight shift on border patrol, on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. So we'll have to cancel our plans of meeting each other. Again.

I have a day off next month, though, so maybe I can come to see you then? I know it's been a while since we talked at the Summer Sun Celebration and...well, I miss you. I'm sorry things haven't been working out for us lately. If you want to try finding another pony to go to the gala with, I understand.

—Shining Armor

"I helped save Equestria!" Rarity said. "I'm on a first name basis with Princess Celestia! So why can't things go my way for once?!"

Rarity's hissy fit was interrupted when a group of her friends entered the Carousel Boutique. They were talking among themselves.

"I can't do it, sorry," Twilight said.

"But I don't know anypony else who can do it!" Trixie complained.

"Ooo, maybe I can convince the Cakes to do it!" Pinkie Pie said. "I'm pretty sure they want a foal of their own!"

"Hello, girls. What's going on?" Rarity asked.

"Scootaloo is grounded for leaving town without permission," Trixie said. "Now I need a foalsitter to watch her while we go to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"Scootaloo's not going to the gala?!" Rarity gasped. She pointed at one of her ponyquins. "But I already finished her dress! It took me four hours! And now you're saying she can't use it?!"

"I'm sorry," Trixie said. "You'll have to give the dress to somepony else."

Rarity felt like sobbing. That was the dress she had put the most work into making, because Scootaloo was a princess. And now it would never be used!

Trixie could tell Rarity was displeased. "Thank you for making the dress, though! If you want, I can give you Scootaloo's gala ticket as compensation. That way, you can go with your daughter, Sweetie Belle."

"Sweetie Belle is not my daughter! She's my sister! SIS-TER!" Rarity snapped. She cast an angry glance at Pinkie Pie, who was rolling on the floor, laughing. Rarity stuck her chin up haughtily, and in a dignified manner, added, "Besides, Sweetie would look horrid in Scootaloo's dress. She's much too pale for an orange dress."

"Hey, can Apple Bloom have it?" Applejack asked. "Her coat is a mite darker than Sweetie's."

"Hmmm..." Rarity said, thinking. "I suppose the dress could fit Apple Bloom, if I made a few modifications."

Applejack nodded. "Since Big Mac and I are goin', it'd be nice if Apple Bloom could come, too. We'd make a regular Apple family hoedown outta it!"

"What about Granny Smith?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"...She ain't talked to us much, ever since she ate that golden apple," Applejack said sadly. She brightened up. "But if we can make enough money at the gala to get her a new hip, I reckon she'd cheer right up!"

"What's this about a golden apple?" Twilight asked.

"It's a long story."

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh, good, the others are here," Rarity said. "Come in!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash entered together. "Hey girls, what's up?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, nothing," Trixie said. "We were just talking about the gala."

"It's going to be so awesome!" Rainbow Dash said. "The Wonderbolts are going to be there! I can hang out with them all night!"

"I can't wait to see all the animals at Princess Celestia's petting zoo," Fluttershy added.

"I'm gonna sing and dance all night long!" Pinkie said. "Party pony in the house, let's go!"

"Trixie is looking forward to spending the night with Princess Celestia. We haven't had any time alone together since the Summer Sun Celebration."

"I'll be working at the apple stand with my family, but we can probably take shifts to try out the buffet!"

"And I'll get to spend a romantic evening with..." Rarity said wistfully, before she remembered the letter from Shining Armor. "Oh. Never mind."

"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"Wrong? No, everything's fine," Rarity said.

"You know, it's great that all of you have plans, but maybe we should all stick together," Twilight said. "Being with our friends is what will make it the best night ever, right?"

"Er...right," Rainbow Dash said. "Anyway, where are our dresses?"

"I've got them all right here, behind this curtain," Rarity said. "Trust me, you're going to love them! Ta-daaaa!"

Rarity pulled the curtain aside and smiled brightly. She was greeted by blank stares and confusion.

"Wow...they're..."

"Yeah, they're..."

"They sure are...something."

"Yes! Something."

"I love something! Something is my favorite!" Pinkie Pie said.

Rarity's face fell. "What's the matter? Don't you like them?"

"It's not exactly what Trixie had in mind."

"Yeah, I was hoping for a dress about 20% cooler than that one."

"Do you think mine can come with a hat? And galoshes?"

"I think mine would look better, if it was a bit darker."

"It's nice, but...um...the armscye's tight, and the middy collar doesn't go with the lapel at all."

"Think you could make a few last-minute adjustments before Friday?"

"Well...I..." Rarity said. She gulped, and her face darkened. "I don't care if they're not what you expected! I spent hours working on these, and they're free! If you don't like them, you can go naked!"

"Whoa, Rarity!"

"Are you okay?"

Rarity took a deep breath. "I...I'm fine. I'm sorry I snapped at you girls. I've just been overworked lately."

"It's okay. We understand," Fluttershy said kindly. "You've done a lot of work for us, and we're grateful."

"Yeah, if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know," Rainbow said.

Rarity's week went smoothly after that, except for a minor incident where the Cutie Mark Crusaders accidentally got Opalescence covered in tree sap. On the day of the gala, a gray unicorn stallion entered her house.

"Hello? Is anypony here?" he asked.

"Oh, hello! I didn't hear you come in!" Rarity said. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but the Carousel Boutique is closed today."

"But this is a fashion emergency!" the unicorn said. "I've tried everywhere else, but I can't get help!"

"Well...perhaps I can make an exception. What is the matter?"

"My favorite tie accidentally got destroyed this morning! None of my other ties match my best suit, and I need a replacement in time for the Grand Galloping Gala tonight!"

"Great! You've come to the right place, Mr..."

"Sidcord," he said.

"I'm Rarity. Mr. Sidcord, I normally deal with fashion designing, but I've got a selection of seven or so ties that you can look at. Perhaps one of them will work."

"Oh, I do hope so," said Sidcord. "This was a very particular tie. It's red and blue, with diagonal stripes of different widths."

"I have one just like that!" Rarity said, her eyes lighting up. She pulled out her coat rack, which had ties on the far end. Lifting up the ties, she held them out to Sidcord. "What do you think?"

"That's perfect!" Sidcord said. "It's not an exact match, but I'll take it!"

"Excellent! That will be ten bits."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"You have saved me from a night of embarrassment in Canterlot, Miss Rarity. I won't pay you anything less than fifty bits."

"Oooo, that's very generous of you, Sidcord!"

Sidcord pulled out the money and gave it to Rarity. She adjusted the tie around his neck, and he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek. "You're an angel, darling."

"Oh!"

"Well, I must be going," Sidcord said graciously. "A thousand thanks to you. Perhaps we shall meet again someday."

"Yes, I...perhaps I'll see you tonight," Rarity said.

"Ah, I should have guessed that a mare as refined as you are is going to the Grand Galloping Gala! I envy the lucky stallion who has you for a date."

Rarity blushed slightly. "Yes, well...I..."

"Goodbye, fair Rarity," Sidcord said, seeing himself out the door.

"Goodbye, Sidcord."

As soon as the door was closed, Rarity turned around and squealed. "I don't believe it! A handsome stallion kissed me on the cheek! Maybe I'll have a night of romance at the gala after all!" she said excitedly.

Her face fell. "Oh, but what about Shining Armor? Well...we're not officially together, so technically it's not cheating on him...after all, he was the one who cancelled our plans tonight...we haven't seen each other in weeks...he won't mind if I spend the gala with another stallion, right?"

Rarity sighed sadly. "...Right."

The Grand Galloping Gala

Shining Armor threw open the window to the bunkroom and sang loudly.

Morning in Canterlot shimmers...
Morning in Canterlot shi-i-ines...
I know for absolute certain
That everything is going to be fine!

"Somepony shut him up!" a voice called from one of the bunk beds.

"We're trying to sleep here!" another member of the Royal Guard said.

Shining Armor's friend 8-Bit tapped him on the shoulder and explained that "shines" does not rhyme with "fine". Shining ran a hoof through his blue mane and laughed loudly. "Say what you want, guys, but nothing is going to spoil my mood today! Tonight's the night I finally get to spend time with...*sigh*..."

"Rarity," all the members of the guard groaned at the same time.

Shining blushed slightly. "I don't talk about her that much."

"Oh no, just every single day for the past two weeks," 8-Bit said.

"Yeah, well...I haven't seen her in a while," Shining Armor said. "And besides, tonight is extra-special. I'm going to ask her to be my marefriend!"

"Did you forget that Captain Whitewings put you on latrine duty every night this week for not paying attention during drills on Sunday?"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" Shining Armor said. "I was busy thinking about...*sigh*..."

"Rarity," all the members of the guard groaned at the same time.

"...Okay, maybe I have talked about her a lot," Shining admitted.

"It's okay, Sub-Captain Shining," one of the newer recruits said. "We're all rooting for you to get the mare of your dreams tonight, Sir!"

"...Mainly because he won't shut up if he doesn't."

"Too true."

Shining turned back to the window and resumed singing.

My Rarity is so pretty...
Can things go wrong?
No, not for me...

"STOP SINGING!" everypony shouted.

It was a beautiful night for the Grand Galloping Gala. The moon was bright, the air was crisp, and all the ponies in Canterlot were wearing their nicest clothes for the occasion. Even the ponies who hadn't gotten invitations to the biggest royal party of the year were dressed up for a night on the town.

Our friends from Ponyville arrived in a group, but they soon split up. The Apples, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all went to the outside area, while the others headed into the palace. They were greeted by Princess Celestia, and Trixie wasted no time in planting herself by Celestia's side.

"I'm going to stay here with you tonight, Princess," Trixie said.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, I'm not leaving your side for a moment!" Trixie said. "We've had hardly any time to interact with each other ever since the Summer Sun Celebration, so I'm going to make the most of it!"

"I'm glad to have you here with me, Trixie," Celestia said. "And it is good to see all of your friends, too."

Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie said their hellos to Celestia, then wandered off by themselves. "Looks like it's just us tonight," Twilight said. "What do you want to do?"

"PARTY!" Pinkie cheered.

"I was going to suggest the ballroom or the lounge area," Rarity said.

"That's right, my brother said he'd meet us in the ballroom," Twilight said. "Let's go there."

"Shining Armor?" Rarity asked quickly.

Twilight chuckled. "Well, it's not like I have any other brothers."

"But he…that is to say…didn't you get a letter from him?"

"No, I didn't. Did you?"

"Yes! He said he was far too busy to meet with me tonight, and that I should spend the evening with…somepony else."

"He cancelled your date tonight?" Twilight gasped.

"Awww, poor Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said, giving her a sideways friendship hug. "If it makes you feel any better, I'd totally date you! If I was a stallion who liked unicorns, that is!"

"That doesn't sound like my brother," Twilight said. "The only time he missed something important was when he got injured in a sports game and broke off his horn."

"Whoa, hold the phone!" Pinkie said. "Unicorns can lose their horns? They didn't mention that in biology class!"

Rarity coughed discretely. "It's not a topic for polite conversation, but yes, that happens sometimes. After a few weeks, the horn eventually grows back."

"Oooo, is that gonna happen to you, Twilight? You had a horn for that week when you were an evil alicorn!"

Twilight gestured towards her smooth forehead. "Nope. Ever since you used the Elements of Harmony on me, I haven't been able to do a speck of magic."

"Ah, bummer! But hey, do pegasi have any cool secret abilities? Can you take off your wings and use them as boomerangs?"

"Er…no," Twilight said. She knew how to expand her wings to 1.5 times their normal width, but that was a closely-guarded Pegasus secret she was unwilling want to reveal.

"Back to your brother, are you sure Shining Armor didn't try to contact you?" Rarity asked.

"No, I haven't heard from him all week."

"Which means he went out of his way, just to stand me up," Rarity said. "Yay. I feel so special."

"I'm sorry," Twilight said. "I'll be sure to—"

"Hail, Twilight Sparkle and friends," a voice said. "'Tis a pleasure to see you again."

It was Princess Luna. The three ponies bowed to her. "Good evening, Princess Luna," Rarity said.

"What's shaking, Night Gal?"

"Hello, Princess Luna," Twilight said. "I didn't know you were attending the gala."

"I did not plan on doing so," Luna said. "My last public appearance was...less than desirable. I am merely visiting the gala temporarily, to speak with you and the young princess. Where is Scootaloo?"

"She's not here tonight," Twilight said.

"Yeah, she was grounded for stealing magical cream which transported her to Manehattan, where she beat up some bullies!" Pinkie said, referring to the events of Chapter 26.

Luna lifted an eyebrow.

"…It's a long story," Twilight said. "You should ask her mother about it."

"I see," Luna said. "In any event, I find these premises a bit congested for casual conversation. Might we retire to someplace more quiet? Perchance the Royal Archives."

"The Royal Archives?" Twilight asked, her eyes widening. "That would be amazing!"

The Royal Archives were a librarian's dream; owned by Princess Celestia, they made up the largest private library in all of Equestria. Twilight had only been there twice in her life. She looked at her two friends, who nodded at her encouragingly. "Go ahead," Rarity said. "I will be fine here."

"Yeah, I can take care of Rarity!" Pinkie said. "I'll make sure she never leaves my—"

Rarity gasped, as she caught sight of a handsome stallion with a white goatee. "There's Sidcord!" she said. She dashed forward towards the dance hall.

"Hey, wait!" Pinkie cried. She bounded forward after Rarity, who stopped running because she didn't want to look too eager. Pinkie ended up smashing into Rarity's rear end, and the two crumpled in a heap on the ground.

Twilight and Princess Luna wisely decided to leave after that.

It was fortunate for the Apple Family that Applejack, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were all able to attend that gala. That way, they could take shifts watching the apple stand, instead of forcing one pony to work all night long.

Big Macintosh got the first shift, and things went rather well, until he saw his former date for the evening, Cheerilee.

"Yikes!" Big Mac said. He tried to hide behind the stall, but it didn't work because he was too large. Cheerilee spotted him and walked over.

"Hello, Big Macintosh," Cheerilee said, without any emotion in her voice. "You decided to come to the gala after all."

"Eeeyup."

"I didn't know you would be selling apples. Is it difficult to sell food at a place with an open buffet?"

"Eeenope."

Cheerilee frowned. "Earlier, you said that you were coming as a guest, not a vendor. Was that not true?"

"Eeenope!"

Cheerilee took a moment to wonder what he was trying to say, then smiled gently. "Big Macintosh, can I tell you something? As a friend?" she asked.

"Eeeyup."

Cheerilee took a breath, then let loose. "You are the most frustrating pony in the world to talk to! Seriously, you are incapable of having a normal conversation! Do you know how hard it is to speak with somepony who only says two words?!"

Big Macintosh stepped backwards, slightly frightened. "Eeenope," he said honestly.

"GAH!" Cheerilee cried. She shook Big Mac's yoke furiously, then pushed him backwards before stomping off.

Fluttershy frowned as she flew around the garden. She couldn't find any animals anywhere! It was almost like they were hiding from her.

"Crrrrrrrra," she heard coming from the bushes.

Fluttershy carefully spread the bushes apart, and she found a large grayish frog with a goatee. "Are you the Western Bearded Frog?" she gasped in delight.

The frog croaked again, then opened its mouth wide and spit up a large amount of purple goo on Fluttershy.

"Oh no, my dress!" Fluttershy said.

The frog bounced away, chuckling to itself.

"Oh, dear, there goes the frog!" Fluttershy said. "This is starting to be the worst night ever!"

Pinkie Pie hit the dance floor. Literally. She punched it in frustration, because nopony wanted to dance normal dances like the Pony Pokey or the Macareina. The Canterlotters only wanted to dance to the fancy orchestra music, which was being played by a nondescript band.

"My dear, are you all right?" a voice asked.

Pinkie looked up to see a white stallion with blue hair and a monocle. He was looking at her with some concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," Pinkie said. "It's just…well, I thought the Gala would be different!"

"I see. Perhaps I could be of some assistance, Miss…?"

"Pinkie Pie," Pinkie said.

"My name is William Theodore Fancypants III," said the stallion. "But you can just call me 'Fancypants'."

"I can? But you don't wear pants!"

"Well, not right now, but..."

"STRANGER DANGER!" Pinkie shouted. She pulled out a whistle and blew it in Fancypants' ear before throwing him over her shoulder and towards the cheese table. This would result in the most delicious and painful injury he ever received at a state function.

Not far away, Rarity was dancing slowly with Sidcord. She groaned at Pinkie's antics and hoped Pinkie wouldn't interrupt the dance any more than she already had.

"Your friend seems to be…making quite an impact," Sidcord said.

"She's a good pony, but her manners are atrocious," Rarity said. "Nothing at all like your manners."

"Yes, well, I always try to behave my best when I'm with a beautiful mare," Sidcord said. "I am very fortunate to have met you today. Otherwise, I might not have had anypony to spend the evening with!"

"A well-bred stallion like you, hurting for company?" Rarity asked. "I doubt that."

"Let me rephrase that. I would not have spent the evening with anypony as wonderful as you, Rarity."

"Ooooo, you flatterer..." Rarity said, feeling a little weak in the knees. Her dreams of romance at the Grand Galloping Gala were coming true! Sure, Sidcord was no equal to the boyish charm and military accomplishments of Shining Armor, but he was very well-refined and dignified in his own right.

Rainbow Dash threw back another mug of apple cider. "Okay, am I the only pony who thinks it's lame we have to keep the Nightmare Moon thing a secret?" she complained. "I mean, we practically saved the entire world, for pony's sake! And nopony even knows about it!"

"You know Princess Celestia didn't want to make things difficult for her sister," Applejack said. "It's bad enough that she was evil for a thousand years. If ponies knew she first came back evil, who knows how they'd react."

"Yeah, well, the guard at the area with the Wonderbolts won't let me inside. He thinks I'm an obsessed fangirl."

"You are an obsessed fangirl."

"I'm just saying, maybe they'd have time for me if they knew I saved the world, that's all! I'm not selfish. I don't want a parade or anything. I just want to meet my heroes."

"Shucks, what for? You and the rest of us—we're heroes. Knowing that should be payment enough."

"Yeah, but we're still a bunch of poor nobodies," Rainbow Dash said. She sighed and took another swig of cider. "I even tried using my connections with Princess Scootaloo to get inside, but nothing doing."

"At least you didn't get stuck foalsitting your little sister half the night," Applejack said. "She's been a right—wait, where's Apple Bloom? I told her to stay right here!"

"Chill. Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie are over there," Rainbow said, pointing to the buffet area, where Pinkie was standing on a table, on her hind legs. She held Apple Bloom in her arms.

"This is your big chance!" Pinkie said loudly.

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom cheered. "Cutie Mark Crusader Crowd Surfing!"

"WHOOOOOO!" Pinkie shouted.

"...I gotta put a stop to this," Applejack said. "Don't drink any more cider while I'm gone."

The instant Applejack's back was turned, Rainbow reached for a new mug of cider.

Thanks to latrine duty, Shining Armor returned to the bunkroom much later than he would have liked. He pulled off his messy work clothing.

"Hmmm...do I have enough time for a shower?" he wondered. "If I don't shower, I'll see Rarity sooner, but I want to look my best for her..."

Shining decided to quickly wash himself off, but he didn't take any time to style his mane. He put on his favorite suit of shining armor, modeled for himself in front of the mirror for a while, then left for the palace.

As he entered the grounds, an inaudible siren sounded. Discord, posing as the fancy pony Sidcord, instantly straightened up and grinned. That's my cue...

"What is it?" Rarity asked, noticing his reaction.

"Oh, nothing," Discord said. "I was just wondering how it is that we both live in Ponyville, but we haven't seen each other before."

"That is most unfortunate," Rarity agreed. "You make a delightful addition to my list of acquaintances."

"Acquaintances?" Discord asked, pretending to be hurt. "I was hoping we could be more than just...acquaintances."

"Friends?"

"Alas, the Grand Galloping Gala is going to my head," Discord said. He picked Rarity up and held her in his hooves. "The romance of the night and the beauty of the mare before me is overwhelming my senses, and I find that I want to do something dreadfully straightforward!"

"Oh, Sidcord!" Rarity said.

"Oh, do not flutter your beautiful eyelashes at me! They make me weak, and I cannot stop my lips...when...they..."

Discord and Rarity leaned their heads together and shared a slow, long kiss.

And...now.

Shining Armor bounded into the area. "Rarity, I...AUGH!"

Rarity pulled back from Discord and gasped. "Shining Armor?"

"Rarity, how could you?!" Shining asked. "Kissing another stallion? We were going to meet here together!"

"I—that is—but you told me to find another date!"

"What? I never did anything like that!" Shining protested. By this time, a small (and growing) crowd was watching the scene.

"Yes, you did! You sent me a letter on Tuesday, saying you couldn't get time off to—how are you here? Don't tell me you got kicked out of the royal guard!"

"Don't change the subject! The last letter I sent you was all about us meeting here at the gala!" Shining said. "You wrote back to me, saying that everything was fine!"

"I wrote no such thing! How dare you make a spectacle out of me at the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Discord stepped in between the two white unicorns. "Oh, I do love a good soap opera," Discord said. "But I should probably clear the air. I wrote those letters."

"What?"

"You!"

"Yep! I stole your letters and replaced them with letters of my own!"

"But why?"

"Who do you think you are?"

"It was all a setup, so I could steal a kiss from the fair Rarity here," Discord said. "I know you're too much of a wimp to put the moves on Rarity yourself, Shiney, so I thought if I showed you how it's done."

Rarity growled with feminine delicacy. Shining Armor moved to punch Sidcord, only to find his punch blocked by a lion's paw.

"Huh?" Shining asked.

"Ah ah ah," Discord said. "Naughty, naughty! I haven't introduced myself!" Discord stepped backwards, his disguised pony body growing in size. "I am the mighty...wait for it...three...two..."

*BAM!*

A sizeable hole appeared in the wall behind Discord. A group of frightened animals burst through the hole, running in all directions.

"You're going to LOVE ME!" screamed an angry, bruised Fluttershy.

Discord howled with laughter as his body morphed into its normal form. He grew so large that he filled up the room. "Puny mortals! I am Discord, God of Chaos! Bow before my wrath! MUAH HA HA HA HA!"

The ponies stared at Discord in silence.

"This is the part where you run away and scream," Discord told them.

Mass hysteria exploded throughout the room, as ponies screamed random things and ran in all directions. Combined with the group of running animals, and the angry-but-now-confused Fluttershy, this resulted in a huge mess, as ponies ran into each other and accidentally destroyed things in their hurry to escape.

Sensing a potential problem, Pinkie Pie jumped onto Discord's shoulder. "Hey, Mister!" Pinkie said. "As a party expert, I know nothing ruins a party more than gatecrashers! So go away and leave us alone, or I'll be forced to use Party Punishment on you!"

Discord peeled Pinkie Pie off of his shoulder and threw her into the cake on the other side of the room.

"I once ruled Equestria!" Discord said. "Luna and Celestia stopped me for a little while, but now I am back! Bow before your new ruler! Bow before...hey, nopony's bowing!"

The crowd parted to reveal Princess Celestia standing at the entranceway to the ballroom, her wings spread wide. Next to her was the Great and Powerful Trixie. Both ponies had an angry, serious look on their faces.

"Stop right there, Discord!" Celestia said authoritatively.

"Sun Butt!" Discord said. "Oh, my favorite self-righteous sun-loving moron! How I've waited for this day!"

"Princess Luna and I defeated you once before," Celestia said. "We will give you one chance, to undo all the destruction you've done here."

"This? Pffft! A minor stampede at a party isn't enough to whet my appetite for chaos!" Discord said. He swirled around and appeared on top of Trixie's head, causing the blue unicorn to shriek. "Besides, I did my research this time. I took the Elements of Harmony, so you won't be able to stop me."

"You stole the Elements of Harmony?"

"Guilty as charged!" Discord said. "And you'll never find where I put them! Oh, what are you going to do now? It's not like they grow on trees or anything. Ha ha ha!"

By this time, most of the ponies had left the building, except for a few stragglers who were interested in what was happening. The ponies from outside started coming in, drawn by the noise.

"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oooo, it's the hothead," Discord said. "The gang's all here! Rainbow Bimbo, Hillbilly Applejerk, the pink menace, the wannabe magician, Fluttershy—we can all see you hiding behind the table there, you know—and of course, my favorite Rarity, who likes to pretend she's high class, when the truth is that she'll kiss any stallion who so much as looks at her."

Shining Armor shot a bolt of magic at Discord. Without bothering to turn around, Discord backhanded the attack aside.

"Just tell me what to do, and I'll help," Trixie whispered to Celestia.

"Tell you what, ladies," Discord said. "Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you a fair chance. All you have to do is solve my riddle!"

To retrieve your missing Elements,
Just make sense of this change of events.
Twists and turns are my master plan.
Then find the Elements back where you began.

Discord laughed and disappeared with a pop. The ponies quickly gathered around a weary-looking Celestia, who explained who Discord was, and what he had done in the past. After some talk, it was decided that Trixie and the others might have a chance of finding the missing Elements of Harmony in the palace labyrinth.

Since the Grand Galloping Gala was more or less over now, Princess Celestia stayed behind to help everypony leave the palace safely. Shining Armor volunteered to protect her, in case Discord returned.

It was fifteen minutes later, when Princess Luna and Twilight entered the ballroom, laughing. They stopped short when they saw Celestia and the servant ponies cleaning up the mess in the room.

"Hello, everypony. Did we miss anything?" Luna asked.

"Nothing important, dear sister," Princess Celestia said. "Just the potential destruction of the world, that's all."

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

The Maze Labyrinth

"They ran out of cake?" Twilight gasped.

Discord appeared in front of Twilight, with a pop. The purple pegasus shrieked and stepped backwards.

"Oh, you want cake? Well, then!" An old-fashioned French dress appeared on Discord's body, as he created a ten foot long cake, above the area that had already been cleaned. "LET THEM EAT CAKE!"

Discord dropped the cake, and it splattered everywhere. He laughed and disappeared.

"Whum—what was that?" Twilight asked, spitting the cake out of her mouth.

Luna wiped the cake off her face. "That was Discord."

"Hmmm...where do I know him from?" Twilight thought.

"You know him from—mmmm, banana cake, my favorite—" Princess Celestia said. She cleared her throat. "He is in the mural about the Elements of Harmony."

"The evil monster from a thousand years ago? He's returned?"

"Apparently so," Princess Luna said. "Sister, I thought he was encased in stone. How did this dragonian fiend escape the confines of his rocky prison?"

"I don't know, but I am going to find out," Celestia said resolutely. "He is the second greatest threat to Equestria's safety, and I—"

"CUT! PRINT! CONTROL ALT DELETE!" Discord shouted. He was wearing a baseball cap and sitting in a director's chair. "Ladies, I love the passionate fury in your performances, but you've got to give me more to work with here!"

Shining Armor jumped forward and shot a blue circular orb of energy at Discord. Discord grabbed it, bounced it on the ground twice, then shot it back at Shining Armor, who went flying through the air.

Discord slithered over to Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight. Of course I've returned. Coming back after a thousand years is the latest fad in evil villainy. I wouldn't be surprised if King Sombrero made an appearance!"

Discord snapped his fingers and a mariachi band appeared, playing a triumphant little ditty. Discord started playing with Luna's flowing mane. "Luna. Love what you've done with the hair, but you need to work on your diction. No one can understand that which thou dost say."

Discord moon-walked over Luna's body to Celestia. "Sun Butt, really? I'm only the second greatest threat to Equestria's safety? What dream world are you living in?"

"Nightmare Moon was a greater threat than you will ever be," Celestia said angrily.

"WHAT? Oh, no, you didn't!" Discord said, wagging his finger in a sassy fashion. "I mean, I saw what happened when Luna turned into Nightmare Moon! (Great choice to turn evil, by the way, Loony. It really brought out your aggressive personality.) She shouted at a mostly empty room, the two of you played aerial laser chess, and you banished her to the moon after two minutes. TWO MINUTES! That's not an evil mastermind; that's a minor flash in the pan."

Luna was starting to remember why she hated Discord.

"We defeated you once, Discord!" Luna said. "We need merely get the Elements of Harmony to reseal the barrier on your evil!"

"You seem grumpy. Do you want a hug?"

"What?" Luna asked.

Discord popped up between the two royal sisters and brought them into a big hug. He squeezed them together so hard that they fused together into one pony.

"Whoops! Sorry Princess Celunia!" Discord said.

"Discord!" Celunia cried, trying to separate herself back into two ponies. "Undo this magic, now!"

"Sure, sure, whatever," Discord said. "I'll get to it eventually. I've got some do-gooders to stop first."

Discord popped out of the ground in front of the labyrinth, then plucked himself out and put himself in a flower pot. "Sorry I'm late, everypony," he said. "Where were we?"

The six ponies were standing together in a small circle, looking hesitant. They nudged Fluttershy forward.

"Go on, this is your chance," Rarity said coaxingly.

"Um...Mr. Discord...sir?" Fluttershy asked.

Discord ran his hand along his goatee. This was new. "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I was wondering...could you maybe give back the Elements of Harmony? If it's okay with you, that is," Fluttershy said in her timid voice. "They don't really belong to you anyway, and it'd make everypony really happy if you stopped trying to take over the world. Please?"

"Well, since you said 'please'...NO!" Discord said. "You're in my court now, darling. That means you have to follow my rules!"

"Okay, 'Operation Be Nice' failed," Rainbow said. She flew straight for Discord's face. "Time for Operation Punch Him Until He—whoa!"

Rainbow Dash's wings disappeared, causing her to fall onto the ground and land on her head.

"Ah ah ah!" Discord said. "Rule One, no magic or wings in this game. You have to walk to the center of the maze, all by yourself."

"What's Rule Number Two?"

"There are no rules. Duh!"

"But that doesn't make any sense!"

"What fun is there in making sense?" Discord asked. "Rule Number Three: this is a group effort. If one pony makes it to the center, you all win! But if one pony gives up, you all LOSE! And I get control of Equestria, eternal chaos will reign forever, and every other Tuesday is Free Taco Night at the palace."

"I don't see the downside to this scenario," Pinkie said honestly.

"I shoulda just stayed home tonight," Applejack said. "This Grand Galloping Gala is nothin' but weird."

"That's the spirit, ladies! Let's get started with the psychological torture—I mean, fun little maze challenge!" Discord said, saluting them. "Don't forget, the first pony to reach the Elements of Harmony is crowned Triwizard Champion!"

"What are you—?"

Huge walls grew from the ground, separating all six ponies. Discord did a little dance after hearing the ponies scream, then he sprang his traps.

Rainbow stomped through the maze angrily. "Stupid Misscord, taking away my wings. Who does he think he is?"

Discord appeared on Rainbow's back, in the shape of Rainbow's wings. "Why, Rainbow Dash, I was doing you a favor. You don't really need your wings."

"Yes, I do! I'm the best flyer in all of Equestria!"

"And yet you lost the Young Fliers' Competition to an Earth pony," Discord said. "Quite a spectacular failure! Glad to see you gave up on performing the Sonic Rainboom, though. It's too far out of your league, for sure."

"Get offa me!" Rainbow said, trying to throw Discord off. "You don't know what you're talking about! I invented the Sonic Rainboom!"

"See, this is why you shouldn't be the Element of Honesty," Discord said. "Are you pretty truthful with other ponies? Sure. But are you truthful with yourself? No. You'd rather lie to yourself than admit that you're mediocre."

Rainbow turned slightly gray. "That...that's not true!" she said.

"Then prove it," Discord said. "Be the hero who saves the Elements of Harmony! Or...you can take your wings back, forfeit the challenge and go home! The choice...is yours."

He pulled a "get wings back" button out of Rainbow Dash's ear and handed it to her.

"I wish I had been able to leave these glass slippers behind," Rarity muttered angrily. "Walking around in these things is killer on my hooves."

"You weren't complaining about your hooves when you danced with me tonight," a voice said.

Rarity's head snapped up, and she saw Discord standing there, in his pony form. "Hello, Darling!" he said seductively.

Rarity took off her shoe and threw it at him. "You absolute cad!" she said.

"Look, I know you're upset, because our amazing kiss was interrupted," Discord said. "But we have absolute privacy here. If you want to pick up where we left off, now's your opportunity."

Discord snapped his fingers, and a smooth jazz version of Love is in Bloom started playing, while he lounged on a heart-shaped bed. He waggled his eyebrows at Rarity.

"I am going to destroy you!" Rarity screeched. She ran forward and jumped at Discord, hooves reaching for his neck. He quickly summoned a hollow red heart, which wrapped around Rarity's body and held her in midair.

"Whoa! That's a little rough for me!" Discord said. "But really, Rarity, I'm disappointed in you. You're supposed to be the Element of Loyalty, and I got you to cheat on Shining Armor in almost no time whatsoever. I fear for your potential relationship."

Rarity turned gray, as her language turned colorful. Discord laughed and dropped her on the ground.

"Here's your special deal, Dahhhling," he said. "You give up the maze challenge, and I fix your broken relationship. I'll even return your magic! Just...give up on your friends."

"I'll never make a deal with you!" Rarity spat.

"Think about it," Discord said, winking. "See you later, Sugar Lips."

Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter, bounced through the maze. She came to a clearing, where ponies were singing and dancing.

"Yay!" Pinkie said. She jumped forward towards the party, but as soon as she touched it, everything disappeared. In its place was a lonely table, with a pile of rocks, a sack of flour and a broken teacup on top.

"It's your birthday party!" Discord sang. "Isn't it fuuuuun?!"

Pinkie backed up. "No! That's not my birthday party! My party was at Appleja—"

"Pinkie, that was a pity party," Discord said. "The truth is that they all forgot your birthday, because none of your friends really care about you. But hey, who can blame them? You were the first to forget about your birthday!"

"You...you're being a big meanie, Discord!" Pinkie said.

"And you're an immature brat whose obsession with parties is a defense mechanism that allows her to escape from the harsh realities of childhood on a rock farm," Discord said. "You're addicted to sugar, your hair suffers from somatic reactions to stress, and you need to deodorize on a more regular basis."

"I...I..." Pinkie said, her face falling.

"Also, no offense, but everypony would prefer it if you didn't sing so often," Discord said. "Your songs are usually good, but your voice is so high-pitched and shrill that it completely ruins any tune you touch."

Pinkie slumped into one of the birthday chairs, her body turning gray.

"Here's my present to you!" Discord said. He materialized a box and slid it across the table at Pinkie. "You know, because you didn't get any real birthday presents. It's a new voice box! All it costs is one forfeit."

"One...forfeit?" Pinkie asked.

Discord pulled a golden scroll from out of nowhere, and he read off of it. "Opening the voice box immediately nullifies your efforts in the maze challenge. You will lose your own voice, and turn into a human for three days. If you get the handsome human prince Flash Sentry to kiss you before the sun sets on the third day, you will remain a human forever! If not, you'll turn back into a pony."

Pinkie scratched her head. That particular contract reminded her of The Little Seapony.

"I...I'm not going to give up on my friends!" Pinkie said at last. "They still like me. You'll see."

"Oh...I expect to."

Discord stretched his back, ready for the next victim. He flew towards Fluttershy, who was drawing pictures in the dirt.

Discord's face fell. "Fluttershy, you've stood in place for the past ten minutes. Aren't you going to even try to get through the maze?"

"I-I figured it would be safer if I stayed here."

"Riiiight," Discord said. "So, anyway, I want to talk to you about the dragon."

"The d-dragon?"

"The one that was sleeping in the cave on top of the mountain," Discord said. "I was there when you started yelling and screaming at it. Why were you so mean to him?"

"I'm sorry I had to be firm, but he was being naughty," Fluttershy said.

"He was taking a nap!" Discord said. "And tonight, at the Grand Galloping Gala! You yelled at all those innocent animals! Face it, Flutterrage, you have anger management issues."

"N-no, sharing kindness is the best way to—"

"You're a raving maniac! You should be locked up with the former Prince Blueblood, for the good of society! Although that could lead to some awkward shipping scenarios..."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I'll make it simple. You are a mean, selfish pony with a mean, selfish rabbit. No wonder you're forced to live far away from everypony else in Ponyville! They're hoping to see you get killed by a monster from the Everfree!"

"I live far away, for the animals' safety," Fluttershy said. "Besides, I'm shy. I like not living close to other ponies."

"Hmph," Discord said. "Never expected to get far with you."

He slapped Fluttershy on the head, forcing his magic through her. An angry look appeared on her face as her body turned gray.

Discord was moseying around with a ten gallon hat on. He tipped it backwards. "Howdy, Applejake."

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "You know, I've been thinking for a bit, and I figure that y'all are the one who sent the golden apple to my family."

"Guilty as charged, Sheriff," Discord said.

"Why'd you do that? It didn't affect you none."

"Oh, but it did," Discord said. "I wanted to see how selfish and greedy y'all really are. Thet Element of Generosity yew have is a phony, as any fool kin plainly see."

"An' you're too much hat with not enough cattle," Applejack said. "I ain't gonna let you get my goat."

"Maaaaaaa!" Discord bleated, his head temporarily turning into a goat head.

"Huh," Applejack said, scratching her head. "Is that...your neck?"

"What?"

"It's longer than the rest of your body, and it's all crooked-like. Does it hurt?"

Discord slowly turned his eyes to the left, so he was looking directly at an invisible audience. "Okay, that does it. I'm not showing any mercy to her."

Discord smashed Applejack into a basketball and performed a super slam dunk with her, while a Discord dressed in a cheerleader's outfit did a dance routine. Applejack fell to the ground, dizzy and gray.

Trixie stepped bravely through the maze. She was surprised at how confident she felt, given that she was going up against a completely unknown enemy.

I am going to be the pony who finds the Elements of Harmony, Trixie thought to herself. After all, I am the leader. It is my job to help protect the others.

Trixie was using the technique of following around the right-hand side of the wall, to avoid becoming lost in the maze. She jumped over a small stream of water, then turned at a corner to find Discord, wearing a magician's outfit.

"Captain Trixie, my favorite pony!" Discord said. "We have much to talk about."

"Do you think I am foolish, Discord?" Trixie scoffed. "I overheard you talking to the others."

Discord pulled his head out of the magician's hat. "Oh?"

"You're going to try to trick me into forfeiting," Trixie said. "But it won't work on me. This is my big chance to prove myself, and I'm not going to let a scaly goat/lion/elephant monster ruin it for me."

"Very brave of you. I can see that you really want to compensate for your colossal failure to defeat Nightmare Moon. You got knocked unconscious in, what, six seconds? Lucky thing Scootaloo was there to save your flank."

Trixie let Discord's comment slide off of her, instead of letting it stick. "Nightmare Moon is a powerful foe, with millennia of experience in magic. There is no shame in losing to her."

"Oooo, but you weren't fighting Nightmare Moon, were you? You were fighting Twilight Sparkle, who only had magical powers for a week. I have to say, losing to a newbie alicorn is pretty pathetic. Must be why Princess Celestia didn't reward you."

"What are you talking about? Celestia made Trixie her official student!"

"Please, you're not a real student. You're a correspondence student at best. No, I'm referring to the fact that Scootaloo is a Pretty Pony Princess™, and you're, well, nothing. How does it feel to be outclassed by a little filly?"

"Scootaloo is my daughter, and I am proud of her accomplishments."

"Too bad you have no accomplishments to speak of. Unless pretending to fight an Ursa Major counts as an accomplishment?"

"Discord, Trixie refuses to—"

The conversation was interrupted by a huge gong. Instantly, all the walls of the maze disappeared. With a wave of Discord's hand, all six ponies found themselves on a stage. Trixie blinked as she looked at the others. Their coloring seemed slightly off to her, somehow.

Discord pulled out a megaphone and shouted, "GAME OVER! Our lucky loser is...PINKIE PIE!"

"What?" Trixie asked.

Pinkie fell forward, as her body started mutating. Her hair grew larger, as her body got skinnier. Clothing appeared on her body: a purple skirt with balloons on it, impossibly tall blue boots, and a white heart shirt partially covered by a light blue jacket. Fingers sprouted from the ends of her hooves.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Pinkie screamed. Her voice disappeared halfway through the scream, and she clutched her throat in pain, accidentally digging into it with her new fingers. Her friends screamed in fright and backed away from her.

"Now the chaos shall last...FOREVER! HA HA HA HA!" Discord said with glee. Lightning struck in the background, as gumdrops and chocolate rain poured from the skies.

"What has happened to me?" Pinkie screeched.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Fluttershy said. "Do I get my wings back now, or what?"

"Oh, of course you only care about you," Applejack said.

"At this point, I just want to go home and have a bath. I've had enough of your losers bringing me down," Rarity said.

Trixie was aghast. "Girls, what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," Discord said. He returned the horns and wings to the ponies, then threw the suitcase with the Elements of Harmony at Trixie. "Here. These won't work anymore, but it'll be amusing to watch your inevitable failure."

"I...Trixie..."

"You lose, I win," Discord smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to curse half the population. Ciao!"

Tricking the Trickster

Discord's takeover of Equestria was swift and brutal. The clouds turned into cotton candy and started raining chocolate milk, store mannequins started quoting Shakespeare, and the trains turned into giant caterpillars. Since the trains weren't working, Twilight Sparkle was forced to fly home, which meant she arrived at Ponyville much earlier than everypony else.

Twilight stopped at Sugarcube Corner because she heard a commotion inside, and it's a good thing she did, because the Cakes were having major problems. A group of sentient muffins, wielding knives, had the two bakers trapped in a corner. Hiding behind them were Spike and Scootaloo.

"Come on! Why can't you fly us to safety?" Spike asked, panicked. He was sitting on Scootaloo's back.

"I...urgh...it's because you weigh too much!" Scootaloo said, flapping as hard as she could, but not leaving the ground. "You're holding me down!"

"What's going on?" Twilight asked. The group of trapped ponies looked up.

"Thank goodness!" Mr. Cake said. "Somepony to help!"

"Find a way to stop these crazy muffins!" Mrs. Cake cried.

Some of the muffins turned and ran towards Twilight, waving their knives menacingly. She jumped into the air and hovered to get away from them. One muffin threw its knife at her leg, but fortunately, it was only a butter knife, so it didn't do much damage.

"Ow!" Twilight said. She looked around, thinking quickly. "Do you have a bag or something I can scoop them up in?"

"We keep our boxes in the back, but as you can see, we're a bit busy right now!" Mr. Cake said, stomping towards a muffin that was getting too close.

"Have you tried eating them?" Twilight asked.

"That's what started this mess in the first place!" Mrs. Cake said.

"Get my mom!" Scootaloo cried. "I bet she knows a 'Stop Evil Baking Goods' spell!"

"She's in—wait, Spike! Use your fire breath!"

Spike slapped his forehead. "Of course!" He jumped off of Scootaloo, took a deep breath, then blew out fire towards the muffins. Some of them were toasted, and the others ran away in fear.

Mrs. Cake ran into the back to get a container to trap the muffins, while Mr. Cake stepped forward. "Thanks a million, Twilight! For a second there, I thought we were well-done! I've never heard of food coming to life before!"

"Yes, well...I'm afraid it's because of Discord," Twilight said. Twilight explained the situation, while Mrs. Cake caught the errant muffins. When she was done, everypony was horrified.

"He's a monster made up of other monsters?"

"He can use magic to do whatever he wants?"

"Who's gonna stop him?"

"Yes, yes, and I don't know," Twilight said. "I was there, when he did a weird spell on the princesses. They tried undoing the spell, but something went wrong. Now Princess Celestia and Luna share the same body!"

"A two-headed princess?" Scootaloo asked. In a lower voice, she muttered, "Gee, maybe it's good that I was grounded."

"Discord has the Elements of Harmony, so he's probably going to be around for a while," Twilight said. "I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it."

"What are the Elements of Harmony?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"Um...it's a long story," Twilight said.

Twilight volunteered to watch Spike and Scootaloo, since their mother wasn't going to return to Ponyville anytime soon. Trixie's house was floating upside-down in midair, so the three of them spent the night at the library. Scootaloo insisted on sleeping in the same bed as Twilight, which the older pegasus found endearing.

While they were eating breakfast the next morning, there was a frantic pounding at the library door. Twilight answered it, and to her surprise, she found Mayor Mare on her doorstep, looking frazzled. "Thank Celestia!" the mayor said. "Twilight, I desperately need your help!"

"Hello, Mayor," Twilight said. "The library isn't open yet, but if you come back after 9:00, I can help you—"

"Ponyville is in utter chaos!" Mayor Mare said. "Houses are floating, animals are running wild, and a monster named Discord has destroyed City Hall!"

"Discord did what?"

"Completely destroyed! He peeled the walls apart like an onion and transformed my desk into a throne! You have to help stop him! If you don't, we'll be doomed!"

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise, as she realized the mayor wanted her to help save the town. "Wow, I'm honored, Mayor! I can't believe you came to me first! I'll do my best!"

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Mayor Mare said. "If Trixie doesn't get here soon, who knows what will happen?"

"Huh?" Twilight asked. "What does Trixie have to do with anything?"

The Mayor blinked. "Trixie is the only pony who can stop Discord," she said slowly. "That's why we need your help finding her. You two are friends, right?"

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Wait...all you want me to do is find Trixie? What makes you think I can't stop Discord?!"

"Well...I'm sure you could make a good try, but the Great and Powerful Trixie is more qualified to stop monsters. She's Princess Celestia's personal student after all."

"So am I!" Twilight found herself shouting at the mayor.

Like most politicians, Mayor Mare was good at pretending to sympathize with other ponies. "I'm sorry Twilight," she said. "But considering your...questionable past, asking Trixie is the better choice. Next year is an election year, and—"

Twilight slammed the door in the mayor's face. Mayor Mare frowned and ran a hoof through her hair. "Great. Just perfect! All of Trixie's other friends are out of town! Who's going to help me find her?"

Three hours later, Mayor Mare was forced to return to the library. She was greeted by an unhappy Twilight.

Mayor Mare tried to break the ice. "Hello, Twilight. How is your day going so far?"

"It's been relatively quiet, except for a chinchilla attack," Twilight said. "Have you come back to ask me to find Trixie again?"

"Oh, no, Derpy Hooves volunteered to help find her," Mayor Mayor smiled. "No, I'm here because of Princess Scootaloo."

"What about her?"

"I heard that she's staying with you," Mayor Mare said. "Is that true? I need to speak with her."

"Scootaloo, could you come here?" Twilight called. School had been cancelled that day due to lack of Cheerilee, so Scootaloo was still at Twilight's house. "What do you need to talk to her about?"

"We need to relocate her," the mayor said. "The library isn't safe enough."

"Safe enough? What do you mean?"

"For one thing, you always leave the windows open, which makes your vulnerable to an aerial attack. What if a pegasus flies in and tries to kidnap the princess?"

"That's ridiculous," Twilight said. "What if Earth ponies break in and try to kidnap Scootaloo? I can grab her and escape through the windows."

"I'm here!" Scootaloo said. "What's—oh, hi, Miss Mayor!"

Mayor Mare bowed. "Hello, your highness. I was just telling Twilight here that we need to move you someplace safer."

"Where?"

"The clock tower. We can post a guard at the door."

"I wanna stay with Twilight!" Scootaloo said.

"But it's not safe here in the library," Mayor Mare said.

"We're not safe anywhere," Twilight argued. "Discord can appear and disappear wherever he wants to!"

Discord popped out of Mayor Mare's collar. "She's right, you know! I'm sort of omnipotent!"

Mayor Mare screamed and ran away at top speed, trying to get away from the monster in her collar. Discord howled with laughter the entire time.

"Was that the Discord monster?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yes," Twilight said, shutting the door. "I have a feeling you'll see a lot more of him when your mother returns. Now come on, let's get back to studying."

Scootaloo stuck out her tongue. "I don't know why I have to study when there's no school!"

Due to Discord's interference, it ended up being four days before Trixie and the others returned to Ponyville by train. Needless to say, it had been a very trying four days, and Trixie was ecstatic to be back home.

"We're finally back!" Trixie said.

"Yeah, no thanks to your stupid face," Fluttershy said.

"Meh, at least it's not as stupid as the hat she always wears," Rainbow Dash said.

"Can you stop insulting me for five minutes?!" Trixie snapped.

"Trixie has a point, dears," Rarity said. "It's not her fault that she's A BIG FART FACE!"

"Says the coltfriend-stealing slimeball!" Applejack said.

"You want a piece of me, Apple Butt?!" Rarity asked.

Trixie rubbed her aching forehead. Sometimes it felt like she was the only sane pony in the group. Obviously, Discord had done something to the other ponies, but she didn't know what.

The only ponies more frustrated than Trixie were the two stallions: Shining Armor and Big Macintosh. Shining was understandably upset, given that his kind-of marefriend Rarity was switching erratically from a raving maniac to a disloyal mare who refused to even speak to any of her friends. On the other hoof, Big Macintosh was suffering from a very special malady, cooked up by Discord.

Big Macintosh first discovered his problem, during the confusion at the Grand Galloping Gala.

"Apple Bloom? Apple Bloom?" Big Macintosh cried, trying to make himself heard.

"Eeenope! Eeenope!" the nearby ponies cried, running in all directions.

Big Macintosh ran through the crowd, until he found a mare who was standing still. "Excuse me, I'm looking for mah little sister," Big Macintosh said. "Have you seen her?"

"Eeeeyup. Eeeyup. Eeenope," the mare said.

"Excuse me?" Big Macintosh asked.

"Eeenope. Eeeyup. Eeeyup yup yup," the mare said.

Big Macintosh drew backwards, as he noticed the movement of her lips did not match the sounds coming out of her mouth. Suddenly, like a dam bursting, he took in the sounds from the nearby ponies.

"Eeenope."

"Eeeyup."

"Eeeyup! Eeenope! Eeeyup!!"

I can only hear two words! Big Macintosh realized.

"EEENOOOOOPE!" he cried, falling to his knees and holding his hooves to the sky.

It was four days later, and the spell on Big Macintosh still hadn't worn off. The spell on Pinkie Pie had worn off, in an odd fashion; she had turned from a human to a pink creature labeled "CASH COW". After a few hours, she morphed back into a pony, but her voice was still missing.

The ponies all went their separate ways, going to their respective homes, except Shining Armor, who went with Trixie. Shining had been ordered to serve as Princess Scootaloo's personal guard—again—and although he was glad for the excuse to visit Ponyville, he didn't relish the thought of going head-to-head with Discord.

Mayor Mare soon tracked down Trixie and begged her to help save the town. Trixie refused.

"It's impossible," she said. "Discord is too powerful."

"But you're the best magician in our town!" Mayor Mare said. "Surely, there must be something you can do!"

"Discord has unlimited magical powers," Trixie said. "Not to mention, he's already defeated myself and the princesses."

"So you're going to give up?"

"No, of course not. The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to wait for instructions from Princess Celestia, before she does anything. I might be good, but there's no way I can defeat Discord without a plan."

"But...but!" Mayor Mare said. "The town is in chaos! Ponies can't do their jobs, and the local economy is suffering from massive deflation! If this keeps up, everypony will move out of town!"

"I understand the problems that Discord poses, probably better than anypony," Trixie said. "But he can't be stopped by brute magical force. If you ask me, you'd be better off getting the help of the smartest pony in town. She can probably think of a clever way to stop Discord."

"She can? Who?" Mayor Mare asked.

"Twilight Sparkle, the librarian," Trixie said.

"Horsefeathers," Mayor Mare swore.

It took a little bit of hoof-kissing, but Twilight eventually accepted Mayor Mare's request to stop Discord. Twilight might not have agreed, but for a personal issue: Discord broke into the library and ripped out the final chapters to all the mystery books, just to mess with readers. Twilight was so furious about this that she banned him from the library for life.

Twilight had read a few books with characters like Discord, so she knew that outsmarting him was probably the only way to win. She had a few clever ideas on how to trick the trickster, and she worked them out with Trixie, the mayor and Scootaloo.

The following day, they put the Scootaloo plan into action. Twilight reasoned that Scootaloo was the least suspicious, therefore she was most likely to get away with tricking Discord. The first step of the plan was to summon Discord to the now-open Ponyville Elementary schoolhouse.

"Are you ready?" Shining Armor asked.

"You bet!" Scootaloo said. "I'm gonna get Discord for turning my scooter into a roller skate!"

"Okay, Spike, send the letter," Shining Armor ordered.

Spike nodded and used his fire breath to send the prepared letter. Not long afterwards, Discord appeared.

"Heeere's Discord!" Discord said, dancing his way around the schoolyard. "Got your fax, Scootaloo. You wanted to see me?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, everypony says I need to talk to you."

Shining Armor stepped forward. "Don't try any funny business! I'm her personal guard, and if you try to hurt her, I'll be forced to take drastic measures."

"That would be vaguely threatening, if you weren't the worst guard in all of Equestria," Discord said. "Go fly a kite or something, would you? The adults are talking."

Shining Armor growled. "I'm serious! You might have taken over Canterlot, but you won't be so lucky with Ponyville!"

"Um...hello? I've been in control of Ponyville for about a week now?" Discord said. He summoned a dunce cap, which appeared on Shining Armor's head.

"GAH!" Shining Armor said. He tried to grab the hat, but it grew in size and covered his body. Shining ran around in circles, unable to see.

"Sorry about that," Discord said. "Shiney's a little upset because his marefriend refuses to see him anymore. Almost like somepony corrupted her..."

"So, um..." Scootaloo said. "The mayor wants me to defeat you..."

"Oh, yes, I know all about that!" Discord said. He rubbed his fingers together, and a princess robe appeared on Scootaloo's back. A golden scepter bearing Scootaloo's image appeared in her hoof. "Princess Scootaloo, the great and mighty conqueror! Kind of pathetic that the mayor needs a foal to do her dirty work."

"Well, you're being naughty and messing everything up!" Scootaloo said. "It doesn't really matter to me if you do that in Canterlot, but I won't let you do that here at my school!"

"Oh? And just how are you going to stop me, Princess Scootaloo? You want to have a wrestling match?"

"No, my big sister says 'violence isn't the answer to anypony's problems'."

"...Sounds like something Dull-light Boring-kle would say," Discord muttered.

"So instead, let's make a deal!" Scootaloo said. "You like chaos, right? Well, the Cutie Mark Crusaders go to school here, and Mom says they're the most chaotic ponies in the entire WORLD!"

"Hmmm..." Discord said, removing one arm and using it to rub his chin. "I have heard good things about your little club. Not much room for improvement with the chaos you produce."

"So that's my deal." Scootaloo paused for a moment, to make sure she had everything correct. Twilight said the proper wording was essential, or the trick wouldn't work. "In exchange for the help of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you agree to leave my domain."

"You drive a hard bargain, Princessaloo," Discord said. He shook hooves with her. "But I accept the terms of your deal."

"It's official?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's official," Discord said.

"Ha!" Scootaloo said. "I tricked you!"

"Whaaaaat?" Discord asked, pretending to be shocked.

"I'm a Princess of Equestria, so that means you have to leave town forever!" Scootaloo said. "The entire country is in my domain!"

"But—but I thought the deal only referred to me leaving the playground!"

"That's the trick!" Scootaloo said, flapping her wings happily. "Twilight was right! It did work!"

"Oh no! Oh dear! Whatever shall I do?" Discord moaned. "Oh, wait. I know!"

Discord clapped his hands, then set a countdown timer on a screen. Four...three...two...one...

"MY CUTIE MARK!" shouted two voices from the building.

Scootaloo frowned. "What was that?"

"That would be Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle," Discord said. "I just gave them their cutie marks."

"You can do that?" Scootaloo asked.

"Duh," Discord said. "And now that there aren't any more Cutie Mark Crusaders, you can't hold up your end of the bargain, making our agreement null and void."

"But—but—"

A slinky cocktail dress appeared around Discord's body. "Oh, but we do have a lovely parting gift for you, Scootaloo! Say hello to your new teacher!"

Discord shot out a wave of blue magic. It flew across the yard and enveloped Diamond Tiara, who was talking to Cheerilee. Cheerilee started to shrink, and she became younger and younger until she was a school age filly. Diamond Tiara grew taller and older; a magnificent pair of wings sprouted from her back at the same time a majestic horn came from her forehead.

"What's happened?" Cheerilee gasped.

"I'm an alicorn?!" Diamond Tiara shouted.

"By the way, the next time Twilight tries to tangle with a god, tell her to bring her A-game," Discord said. "BYE!"

Discord waved and disappeared, as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom ran out of the classroom. They proudly shoved their flanks in Scootaloo's face.

"Look, I got a cutie mark in 'Scootaloo Annoying'!" Sweetie Belle said.

"And I got a cutie mark in 'Bothering Scootaloo'!" Apple Bloom said.

"We're gonna work on our special talents all day long!" they both shouted.

"This is bad," Scootaloo said, as her two former friends started shouting in her ear and poking her in an irritating fashion.

The next day, Mayor Mare tried her plan. She visited Discord while he was on his throne, practicing his singing.

"Excuse me, Discord?"

"La laaaaaa—oh, bother!" Discord said. "Why'd you interrupt me? I was this close to finishing my speak-singing lesson!"

"I'm...sorry to interrupt your important business, but we have political matters to discuss."

"Oh, goody, you've finally decided to surrender!" Discord said. "You've accepted my terms?"

"City Council didn't approve everything, but I think you'll be satisfied," Mayor Mare said, pulling a document of surrender out of her saddlebag. Discord took it from her hooves and started reading.

"Hmmm...ballerina slippers, chocolate-chip cookies, a statue of me standing on top of—hey, what gives? I asked for a statue of me standing on top of the princesses!"

"You're lucky to be getting a statue at all," Mayor Mare said. "They cost a lot of money."

"Pfft, fine," Discord said. He resumed reading. "Gumball trees, a three-record deal including a rap album, mandatory shipping of certain ponies, and a tiny glass of water. Well, everything seems to be in order here. I just sign on the dotted line?"

"Yes, and Ponyville is yours," Mayor Mare said.

"Oh, but what's this?" Discord asked. He grabbed his eyeball and stretched it to the size of a building. "Fine print?"

"No, there's no—"

"By signing this, Discord agrees to forfeit his chaotic magic, and—oh, nice try, mayor! This document is as phony as your hair dye!"

"Darn it!" Mayor Mare said. "I mean, I had no idea that was there!"

The next day, Trixie put her plan into action.

"Discord! Fear and tremble as the Great and Powerful Trixie approaches!" Trixie said.

Discord yawned and relaxed in a hammock, with a refreshing tropical drink in his hand.

"I have a treaty for you to—"

"It's another trick from Twilight, and it hinges upon the fact that the word 'Ponyville' is spelled incorrectly," Discord said, while yawning and stretching. "Seriously, is she even trying to fool me, anymore?"

Trixie frowned.

"Give up yet?" Discord asked.

"NEVER!" she cried.

The Pegasus Punch

The library doors slammed open, and a soaking wet Trixie stepped inside.

"It is official: Discord cannot be fooled into surrendering," Trixie said. "I almost had him, but he turned the tree into a giant water balloon."

"Perfect. Just perfect," Twilight said angrily. She had tried every trick, in every storybook she had ever read, but to no avail. It just wasn't fair.

If we get out of this, I'm going to ask Princess Celestia to make it illegal for there to be problems that can't be solved by books, Twilight thought. She sighed and sat down. "That was the last plan, too."

"The last plan?" Trixie asked. "You said there were three more!"

"Yeah, but those are all variations of the Pegasus Punch trick," Twilight said. "It won't work unless we have another flyer, and Scootaloo still can't fly."

"Scootaloo?" Trixie asked, reluctant to get her daughter involved with Discord again. "She's part of the plan?"

"Right," Twilight said. "Scootaloo and I have to fly over Discord to distract him."

"Can't you use a different pegasus?"

"No, it has to be Scootaloo, because she's a princess. Not that it makes a difference. I'm starting to think we'll lose no matter what we do."

Trixie sat down at the table, equally frustrated. She had been relying on Princess Celestia to bail her out of the situation, but that had been the biggest failure of all. Instead of giving advice or a battle strategy, Celestia had sent Trixie a bunch of pithy letters about "believing in your friends" or some other such nonsense. Trixie threw the letters away almost instantly, muttering about "fortune cookie help" as she did so.

"Maybe we should start over from the beginning," Trixie said. "What weaknesses does Discord have?"

"None. He's all-powerful," Twilight said. "The Elements of Harmony can stop him temporarily, but you said they're not working."

"Correct," Trixie said. "The other ponies are not cooperating with us right now."

"Yeah, I noticed that all of my friends refuse to talk to me, ever since the Grand Galloping Gala. Thanks for that, Trix."

"Don't get snarky with me!" Trixie shot back. "It's not Trixie's fault that Discord put a spell on them!"

"Discord...put a spell on them? Twilight asked.

"Obviously. I don't know what spell, or how to undo it, but—"

As Trixie spoke, a forgotten memory bubbled up inside Twilight's head.

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"His name was Discord," Nightmare Moon said. "And I can teach you his method for turning ponies dull and gray.

Twilight gasped. "I know that spell!"

"You do?"

"I...I did," Twilight said. "Nightmare Moon taught it to me."

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?!" Trixie asked. "What is the counterspell?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't remember. My whole memory of that time is shaky, and since I can't do magic, I don't need to—"

"Augh!" Trixie said. "You have to remember! The fate of the world depends on it!"

Twilight sat in thought for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "If I was a unicorn, maybe I could duplicate the magic. Unless you know a memory spell?"

"The memory spell I know doesn't work like that," Trixie said, shaking her head. "But since you mention it..." She bit her lip. "There is one way you could become a unicorn..."

Discord held court every day, from one o'clock to three. Ponies were invited to come talk to him at this time, about any issues they needed help with. This was supposed to be for the benefit of everyone in the kingdom, but in reality, Discord did this for his own amusement. He liked to call it "torture the public time".

When Twilight arrived at Discord's throne, the large dragonequus was having a philosophical argument with Derpy Hooves.

"No no no! You're wrong! I am the pure embodiment of chaos!" Discord said.

"But there's no such thing as pure chaos! Chaos only exists, in reference to order!" Derpy said, pounding one hoof against the other. "If there is no order, then things cannot be chaotically disordered."

"You're looking at it backwards! Chaos is the opposite of order!"

"Wrong! Take my eyes, for example," Derpy said, pointing at her face. "How do you know one of my eyes is off-center? It's because eyes should be aligned to a center. Nature is intrinsically ordered!"

"I've had enough of this," Discord muttered. He conked Derpy on the head with his crown, causing her eyes to roll around in wild circles. When they stopped spinning, both eyes were aligned perfectly.

"There, I fixed your eyes. Now leave me alone," Discord said.

"Thanks, Mr. Discord!" Derpy said. She flew away happily, not noticing that her voice had changed when her eyes were fixed.

"NEXT!" Discord called. Twilight Sparkle stood up and approached Discord's throne. He smiled, delighted. "Why, if it isn't the local librarian, Twilight Sparkle! Finally, she shows her face before me!"

Twilight stood resolute. "I heard you...you can change body parts."

"Ooo, yes, I'm very good at that!" Discord said. He piled up his body parts into a heap and burst forth, with all of his body parts rearranged. "Want me to put your tail on your head and your cutie mark on your knees?"

"No, that's...not what I mean. I'm talking about Rainbow Dash's wings and Rarity's horn. You took them away, then gave them back."

Discord inwardly chuckled. "And when you heard that, you came running to me, in hopes that I could make you a unicorn. Well, too bad, Sweetheart! I'm not doing it."

"Sweetheart?"

"Look, the truth is that you don't want to be a unicorn. I've seen Unicorn Twilight's life, and it is brutal."

"You...what? How could you see my life as a unicorn?"

"Like this." Discord created a widescreen TV in the middle of the air, and it started playing A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1.

Twilight was shocked by what she saw. The screen was showing video footage of her and her friends, having a picnic in a field. Instead of her normal pegasus self, Twilight was a unicorn...with Trixie's cutie mark! The picnic was interrupted when Spike ran up to the group with an important letter.

"Whoa, stop!" Twilight said. "Is this—how are you doing this?"

"It's exactly what I told you," Discord said, chowing down on some popcorn. "This is what your life would be like, if you were born as a unicorn. Pretty exciting, right?"

"This—this can't be real. It must be a fake!" Twilight tapped on the corner of the screen. "This weird thingy proves it!"

"That's the Hub Logo," Discord said. "My greatest nemesis. Now just be quiet and watch the show, okay? It'll answer all your questions."

The look into an alternate universe was disorienting, to say the least. Apparently, Unicorn Twilight never told anypony about her big brother, who was the Captain of the Royal Guard in this world. He was scheduled to marry his lifelong sweetheart, Princess Cadance, who was acting increasingly mean and nasty. Nopony believed Unicorn Twilight's true accusations, and so she was banished to a green fiery death.

After that, a series of names flashed on the screen while an upbeat song played.

"What was that?!" Twilight asked, freaking out slightly. "What did Cadance do to me? Why don't my friends believe me?"

"They're breaking character, in order to provide dramatic tension. Happens all the time," Discord said. "Now hold your horses, Part Two is coming up next."

"What are all these names?" Twilight asked.

"Trust me. You don't want to know."

Not long after, the video continued. The evil Princess Cadance was really Queen Chrysalis, an evil villain who revealed her identity to Unicorn Twilight for unknown reasons. Twilight and the real Princess Cadance escaped from a mine maze, just in time to interrupt the fake wedding. Queen Chrysalis reverted to her true form and attacked Princess Celestia, knocking her unconscious in one hit.

Then Queen Chrysalis attacked Princess Celestia, knocking her unconscious in one hit.

"Could you stop replaying that section?" Twilight asked Discord.

"Sorry, sorry! It's my favorite part!" he said. "After the battle, everything goes downhill."

Unicorn Twilight and her friends battled to reach the Elements of Harmony, but lost. Queen Chrysalis captured them, but her evil plans were foiled when she gave the ponies free rein of the palace, then stood around and did nothing to prevent them from attacking her. The real wedding took place, followed by a musical number.

Twilight stood still for a moment, trying to absorb everything she had just seen. Finally, she summarized it in one sentence: "That is the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"You're welcome," Discord said graciously.

Twilight shook her head. "And...why did you feel the need to show me this?"

"It's a cautionary tale," Discord said. "That's what your life will be like, if I make you a unicorn. Is it really worth it?"

"I don't want to be a unicorn!" Twilight said. "I'm tired of ponies thinking I'm some kind of unicorn-obsessed weirdo!"

"Riiight," Discord said. "So if you don't want a horn, what body parts do you want to have? Male body parts?"

"Ew! No! I want a pair of wings!"

"Usually, I'm the one who says ridiculous things," Discord commented. "Why would you want wings? You already have a working pair."

"They're not for me. They're for Scootaloo."

"Oh. Oh!" Discord said. "You want me to fix Scootaloo's wings? What a touching sentiment!"

Twilight smiled slightly, glad that the conversation had finally gotten on track. "She deserves to fly as much as anypony else. The doctors can't make her primary feathers grow in, but I'm sure that you can."

"Yes, I certainly can," Discord agreed. "And since I'm such a nice fellow, I'll do this for free! One flying Scootaloo, coming right up!"

Discord waggled his fingers and ran them along Twilight's wings. With a musical lilt and a flash of light, Twilight's wings disappeared. She immediately fell over, unused to her new weight distribution.

"What did you do?!" Twilight screamed.

Discord grinned and gave Twilight a thumbs-up. "I gave Scootaloo a working set of wings, in exchange for yours! Nice, right?"

"You made me an Earth pony?!" Twilight gasped. "Give me my wings back! NOW!"

"No can do, Twilight! That was a one-time, limited offer!" Discord said. "After all, if both you and Scootaloo can fly, you might try the Pegasus Punch trick on me!"

"You—but that—how did you know I was—?" Twilight gaped at Discord.

"Oh, did I not mention? I was spying on you in the library, when you made your plans to defeat me!" Discord laughed. "I've just been messing with you the entire time!"

Twilight cried and ran away, while Discord chuckled and made note of it in his book of successful schemes.

At first glance, it looked like Twilight was running back to the library, but that was not the case. Without losing any speed, she made a few unexpected turns and presently arrived at Zecora's hut, outside of town.

This was the tricky part of her plan, which depended on being a tad deceptive. She had no idea how much Discord-free time she had bought, but she knew she had to act quickly.

Twilight gave the secret knock on the hut's door. "Is it safe to enter?" she asked.

"Everything is clear. You can come in here," Zecora responded from inside.

"Good. Discord thinks I'm at home, crying my eyes out, so we have a little bit of time to—yuck!" First, Twilight tried opening the door with her mouth, the Earth pony way. This resulted in a nasty taste on her tongue. She then tried to grip the knob with her teeth, but all she got for her trouble was sore teeth.

"Is everything okay?"

"No. Things...didn't go as planned," Twilight said.

The door to the hut opened. Zecora stepped outside, along with the ace in Twilight's plan: Princess Cadance. With the help of Spike's fire breath, Cadance had been brought to Ponyville as a replacement for Scootaloo for the Pegasus Punch trick.

"Your wings!" Cadance gasped.

"It seems Twilight has lost the power of flight!"

Twilight stared a bit at Cadance, remembering the odd show that Discord had put on. Why would Unicorn Twilight have a princess for a foalsitter, anyway? The episode didn't explain why royalty would watch after random foals. Maybe Cadance needed money?

"What happened?" Cadance asked.

Twilight shook her head, putting her thoughts aside. "Discord figured out about the flying trick somehow, so he stole my wings," she said. "I'm sorry. I guess now it'll have to be you and Scootaloo who do the Pegasus Punch, not me."

"Hmmm..." Princess Cadance said, walking around Twilight. "This is bad, really bad. Is there any way to turn you back to normal?"

"Not unless you know how to bring back magically-vanished body parts," Twilight said.

Cadance's eyes lit up. "I know a restoring spell like that! I used it on Scootaloo when she arrived in Manehattan, remember? It brought back her missing cutie mark."

"That sounds like a plan. You should use it, if you can," Zecora advised.

"I remember that," Twilight said, having been told all about Scootaloo's trip multiple times. "But I don't think that'll work. Discord's magic is very powerful. Not to say you're weak or anything, but—"

"It can't hurt to try," Cadance said. Her horn started glowing softly.

Seeing as she didn't have a choice, Twilight gave in. "Fine, do the spell," she said. "How long will it take?"

"No more than ten seconds," Cadance said. "Please stand still."

Cadance focused the spell on Twilight's body. The princess didn't know it, but the restoration spell was a variation of the spell that Discord used. It had originally been created to make certain body parts temporarily disappear and reappear, for medical reasons. Since the invention of the spell, medical amputation in Equestria had been reduced by 95%.

The spell did its job perfectly. It travelled along Twilight's sides, and it recognized the fact that she was missing her wings. The magic soaked into her skin, and in a few seconds, wings quickly sprouted from Twilight's sides, eliciting a little gasp of pain from the lavender pony's mouth.

The pink glow of the magic moved along from Twilight's sides and gathered at her forehead. Too late, Cadance remembered that wings weren't the only magical body part of Twilight's that had disappeared.

The magic went into Twilight's forehead. With a sound like a cork popping, the magic drew out the horn she had once had, for about a week. Twilight instinctively reared on her hind legs and spread her wings wide in fear.

When her hooves landed back on the ground, Twilight was once again an alicorn. She closed her eyes and scrunched her face in pain, as her magical memories came back to her. She immediately searched for the memory that they needed, the one she had been hoping to gain, the one on how to undo Discord's graying curse.

...She was disappointed by the result.

Twilight's eyes opened. "A memory spell? That's all you need to undo Discord's curse? What a ridic—!"

A huge flash of light shone, engulfing Twilight. There was the sound of an explosion, and when the light disappeared, Twilight was gone. A crater on the ground, in the shape of Twilight's book-shaped cutie mark, was the only sign that she had ever been there.

"What just happened?" Zecora gasped, so startled that she forgot to rhyme.

"I don't know!" Cadance said. "I cast the spell on her, and then she vanished! I didn't mean to do that—whatever I did!"

Discord's body sprouted from the ground, in a large spiral. Naturally, he had felt the huge burst of magic, and he came to investigate. His eyes scanned the area cautiously, and they fell upon Princess Cadance, standing next to a crater.

"Ahhh! Princess Cadance!" Discord said. "Thought you could use a teleportation spell to sneak into town without my knowledge?"

"You must be Discord," Cadance said.

"At your disservice, Mademoiselle," he said.

"—ulous what?" Twilight asked. "Where am I?"

She looked at her surroundings. She was standing inside some sort of invisible, light blue tube. Surrounding the tube were the dark expanses of space, with stars that could be seen far in the distance. Space smoke—was that something which existed?—lazily floated past the outside of the tube.

An annoyed voice interrupted Twilight's wondering. "Diamond Tiara, if that's you again, I am not making you a princess! I don't care that Discord made you an alicorn!"

Twilight recognized the speaker. "Princess Celestia? Is that you?"

Twilight heard hoofsteps, then she saw Princess Celestia appear in what must have been the tube's entrance. "Twilight? What are you doing here?"

"I don't know! I was in the forest, and then, bam! I'm here in...where are we?"

Celestia walked towards Twilight. "This is the Princess Portal," she said. "When ponies perform great deeds, they are transported here in order to assume their—your horn!"

Twilight reached a hoof to her forehead and rubbed her new horn. "Oh, heh...I kind of tricked Princess Cadance into casting a restoration spell on me..."

"Luna! LUUUNA!"

A head in hair curlers poked through the portal entrance. "Silence, Sister! It is the time of sleep!"

"We have an emergency," Celestia said.

Princess Luna was reluctant at first, but when she learned that Twilight had become an alicorn again, she immediately ran to help. For a few moments, the three alicorns talked over each other, getting nowhere, until Princess Celestia put her hoof down.

"Please, explain from the beginning," she requested.

And so, Twilight did. She talked about her work with Trixie, and the plans to defeat Discord. She started out with a series of simple, easily-stopped attempts to defeat Discord, which not only let her get measure of her opponent, but gave Discord a sense of overconfidence.

"The only way to stop him is to let him think he's won," Twilight said. "So I purposely let him foil my plan today. That way, he won't see it coming when we use the Pegasus Punch."

There were a number of ways things could have gone wrong, which is why Twilight had asked Cadance to serve as an emergency replacement. When Discord took away Twilight's wings, it gave her the idea of using the restoration spell to bring them back. Bringing back her horn was an added bonus, which Twilight had considered possible, but thought unlikely.

"And since I confirmed a memory spell will undo Discord's curse, I'm 90% sure either Zecora or Princess Cadance will pass that information along to Trixie," Twilight said, concluding her explanation. "She'll revive the Elements of Harmony, and they can be used on Discord while the pegasi distract him. He'll never see it coming, and since I'm the only pony who knows all the details, nopony can accidentally reveal the plan to him."

"Your plan is a good one, Twilight," Celestia said. "I am very proud of you, my student."

"No," said a firm voice.

"Excuse me, Luna?" Celestia asked.

"I do not believe you deserve to be Twilight's mentor," Luna said. "You have proven yourself unworthy of the post."

"Why, what gives you that idea?" Celestia asked.

"I have only been here for a month, but that is long enough to know that you are extremely negligent towards Twilight," Luna said. "How many times have you contacted her since the Summer Sun Celebration?"

"I sent her the letter the week before the Young Fliers Competition," Celestia said.

"Exactly," Luna said, as screens appeared on the tunnel walls, showing Celestia's past actions. "You contacted her once, and that was after being put under pressure. Do you not understand how your inattentiveness has brought ruin upon thy kingdom? We both know you did not foresee my transformation into Nightmare Moon. You did not foresee Twilight's descent into madness. And most recently, you did not foresee Discord's return!"

Twilight didn't know how to react. She felt almost like she was doing something wrong, like outsiders were not allowed to watch the two royal sisters argue.

Celestia closed her eyes. "It is true that certain things have been...overlooked. The truth is that Twilight has never been a direct student of mine, because I run a school for gifted unicorns, and she is a pegasus. But this does not mean I treat her as a lesser. I am very concerned for Twilight's well-being."

"As am I," Luna said. "Therefore, I request that Twilight become my student."

"What?" Twilight and Celestia asked simultaneously.

Princess Luna nodded gravely. Taking Twilight as her student was an idea she had considered for some time now. "I will take full responsibility for Twilight, since you are too busy to do so. Is that not meet? I can train her in the ways of alicorn magic."

Celestia looked thoughtful. "That...could work. There would be backlash, of course, but that is a good solution for handling a new alicorn. What do you think, Twilight?"

"I...I'm not sure," Twilight said. "You were my first real friend, outside of my family...but I also like Princess Luna."

"I'm not going to stop being your friend, just because you have a new teacher," Celestia smiled. Then she frowned a bit. "But Luna is right. I have not been as good of a friend to you as I should have, and for that, I apologize."

"I forgive you," Twilight said, as she hugged Celestia. She accidentally poked Celestia in the chest with her new horn, but Celestia was kind enough not to say anything.

"Then it is settled!" Princess Luna said. "Your studies as my pupil begin now!"

"Okay!" Twilight said. She loved learning new things. "What do I do?"

"Your first mission is to defeat Discord," Luna ordered. "Do that, and we'll crown you as Equestria's newest princess. I believe that is an act worthy of public coronation, is it not?"

"Certainly," Celestia said. "I hope for your success, Twilight."

"Thank you," Twilight said politely.

For a moment, nopony said anything.

"Um...how do I go back to Equestria?" Twilight asked.

"Just walk in that direction, and you'll be transported back to Ponyville," Celestia said, pointing.

"Okay, then..." Twilight said, a little reluctantly. When she was almost at the portal entrance, she turned her head backwards to look at the two sisters, who were whispering quietly. "Oh, and changelings. They're going to attack Canterlot on April 12th. Just so you know."

An Hour Later...

Discord had turned Princess Cadance into a lovebird, and was busy locking her inside her cage. "Who's a pretty little birdy? Who's a pretty little birdy?" he cooed.

Cadance squawked back at him, and it is a good thing she could not talk normally, because otherwise I would have to censor it.

"Leave her alone, you big bully!" a voice called.

Discord slither-flipped around to see Scootaloo, standing on the ground. Scootaloo looked somewhat odd with Twilight's full-sized purple wings.

"Ooo, it's the Brutal-loo, the Bully Basher!" Discord said. "Come to try to stop me again? Didn't you learn when I turned your marbles into bowling balls?"

"I'm a princess, and you will treat me with respect!" Scootaloo said. She unfolded her wings and flew up to Discord's height. "Got it?"

Discord was not impressed by Scootaloo's ability to fly. "You're still a chicken in desperate need of a manecut. Whatcha gonna do to stop me, try a Pegasus Punch with your precious big sister?" he mocked. "Twilight has been permanently grounded, and don't even think about Cadance—"

"I'm right here!" Twilight shouted. She flew out from behind a pink cloud and hovered in midair, next to Scootaloo.

Discord gasped at seeing Twilight flying. "Ali—ali—it's not—I turned you into an Earth pony! An alicorn is the exact opposite of that!"

While he was distracted, Trixie and the newly-restored Elements of Harmony got into formation behind Discord and attacked. Discord turned to dodge, but he was too late; the rainbow blast hit him on the side of his scaly body.

"How?" Discord demanded, as his body slowly turned to stone. "How did you do this? I did everything perfectly!"

"Oh, did I not mention? I knew you were spying on me in the library," Twilight said, imitating Discord. "And I lied about what my plans were. So sorry."

"NOOOOO!" Discord cried, as the top half of his body solidified. "Curse you, Elements of Harmony! Curse you, Twilicorn! Curse you, M. A. Larson!"

The effects of Discord's magic fizzled instantly. Houses disappeared, while others reappeared. The sky became its normal color, and the clouds turned white. Scootaloo's wings returned to normal, which she wasn't expecting, and she began to fall down.

"Augh!" she cried. She flapped her wings twice and tried to go into a swoop, but she crashed into the Discord statue. It tilted over and was dashed to pieces against the ground.

Epilogue - The Sisterhooves Social

Three Months Later...

Twilight Sparkle yawned and rolled out of bed. She lightly tapped the sides of her face to wake herself up, then frowned when she saw the mirror. She had someone managed to gore one of her pillows with her horn.

"Not again!" she cried. "That's the fifth time this month!"

The nighttime magical training sessions with Princess Luna were really wreaking havoc on Twilight's interior decorating.

Twilight got ready for the day and flew downstairs, where Shining Armor was cooking breakfast. She hadn't been thrilled with the idea of her brother moving in with her at the library, but only two ponies had volunteered to serve as her personal bodyguard. Twilight was a tad suspicious of the other volunteer, Flash Something, so she picked Shining Armor, even though it meant he had to turn down a possible promotion.

"Good morning, BBBFF," Twilight said.

"Morning, Twiley," Shining Armor said. "I figured I'd cook eggs and haycon this morning, for extra energy. Today's the big day, you know!"

"What, are you finally going to propose to Rarity?" Twilight asked.

"No!" Shining said, turning reddish. "You know what I mean! You and Scootaloo are signed up for the Sisterhooves Social today!"

Twilight smirked at him.

When her breakfast was finished, Twilight went outside. The citizens of Ponyville greeted her as she walked by. It turned out that Celestia's original concerns about making Twilight a princess were unfounded; everypony was so happy to be freed from Discord that they eagerly forgot any bad parts of Twilight's past history.

The only pony who had been upset with Twilight's sudden transformation was Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was slightly jealous that she and the others didn't get to become princesses, even though they helped save the world just as much as Twilight did. She originally gave Twilight a hard time about "abandoning the pegasus way", but she relented a week later when she saw Twilight perform a legitimate Sonic Rainboom.

"Hiiii, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie called. "Check out the wedding cake I made!"

Twilight changed course and headed towards Pinkie Pie, who was standing outside of Sugar Cube Corners with the others. They were admiring a large cake which was on a pull-wagon.

"That looks delicious," Twilight said. "Who is it for?"

"Big Macintosh and Cheerilee!" Pinkie said.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Ooooo, it's so romantic!" Rarity cooed. "He proposed to her last night!"

"They make such a nice couple," Fluttershy said.

Big Macintosh had learned his lesson. Once Discord had been defeated, Big Macintosh opened his mouth and poured forth a torrent of words, on why he was sorry for only saying two things all the time. Out of everything he said, Cheerilee liked "I love you" the best.

"And what does Applejack think about this?" Twilight asked.

"Nopony's seen her," Rainbow Dash said. "She's busy getting ready, I guess."

"Still, it's too early to make a wedding cake," Twilight said. "I bet they haven't even set a date yet."

"Whatever! If there's an excuse to make a cake, I'm making a cake!" Pinkie Pie said. "Think you could take it up to Sweet Apple Acres when you go there today?"

"Sure," Twilight said. "In fact, I was heading there just now."

"Perfect!" Pinkie said. "We can go with you!"

"Yeah, I don't wanna miss this," Rainbow Dash said.

Scootaloo flew around in loops. "Twilight! Twilight! Twilight!" she called.

"Hi, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "You ready?"

"I was born ready!" Scootaloo said eagerly.

Ever since the Discord incident, Scootaloo had been able to fly. As Fluttershy explained, birds who had once been able to fly were capable of limited flight, even if their primary feathers were removed. Apparently, the same rule applied to pegasi.

Scootaloo was captured in a light blue glow and lowered down to the ground. "Scootaloo, behave yourself," Trixie said.

"Aw, Mom!" Scootaloo said.

"This is a public event, after all, which means we have to—" Trixie stopped when she saw Twilight, and her eyes narrowed. "Princess Sparkle. What are you doing here?"

"I can go wherever I want to," Twilight said angrily.

"You go wherever you want, you get whatever you want..." Trixie said. Her eyes flicked to the wagon. "Including giant cakes, apparently. Is there no end to your selfishness?"

"Actually, this cake is for Big—whoops!" Twilight spoke in a friendly voice, then stopped herself and put on an angry tone. "For your information, this cake is for Big Macintosh. You know, the only pony around here who's bigger than your ego!"

"The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie does not have to stand here and put up with your insults!" Trixie said. "Just wait until next month, Sparkle! I'll show you who the real magical champion is!"

"Ha! The only way you'll win is if you cheat!" Twilight said. "And I'll be gloating when you get disqualified!"

"Mighty big talk for somepony who used the Alicorn Amulet," Trixie said. "I'll have you know that magical supplements are against the rules!"

"Yeah, well...your face should be against the rules, because it's hideous!"

Scootaloo leaned up against Trixie. "Moooom, when are you going to stop pretending to hate Twilight? Everypony knows you two are friends."

"Yes, it is getting a tad old," Rarity said.

Two months ago, Twilight and Trixie had started a fake rivalry, over which one of them was better at magic. A public duel had been announced between Princess Celestia's student and Princess Luna's student. The magic duel was scheduled for the following week, and ticket proceeds were going to help the local library and orphanage.

"What? No! This is 100% legitimate acting!" Trixie said. "I mean, 100% real! No acting whatsoever!"

"Yeah!" Twilight said. "Trixie doesn't need to pretend to be jealous of me! She already is!"

"Oh, you wish, goofy hair!" Trixie said.

"Hey! My bangs are cute! And at least I'm not short!"

"That's because you grew two inches when you changed species!" Trixie retorted.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said.

Applejack walked on over. "Hey, thought that was y'all," she said. "What's with the cake?"

"It's for your brother," Pinkie Pie said. "It's a Congratulations for getting over your fears and asking Cheerilee to marry you cake!"

"He did what?" Applejack gasped.

"Ooopsies, guess you didn't know!" Pinkie Pie said.

"BIG MAC!" Applejack shouted. She threw two bandanas at Rarity, then stormed off.

"AJ, don't be upset!"

"He's a grown stallion, and he propose to anypony he wants!"

"Applejack, darling, green isn't my color!"

Granny Smith leaned towards the megaphone. "Who's ready for the Sisterhooves Social?" she asked.

The crowd cheered in response.

"We gotta lotta contenders here today!" Granny Smith said. "First up, is Rarity and Sweetie Belle!"

"Hooray! We're gonna win!" Sweetie Belle cheered.

"But green really isn't my color," Rarity said, looking disgustedly at her handkerchief.

"Then it's Carrot Top and her little sister, Golden Harvest! Applejack and Apple Bloom! Berry Punch and Pabst, who got the blue ribbon last year! Aluminum Fork and Silver Spoon! And the favored contenders, the princess sisters!"

"That's us, Scootaloo," Twilight said. The two of them stepped up to the starting line, where they were cut off by a pair of large alicorns.

"Luna? Celestia? What are you doing in Ponyville?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, dear," Princess Celestia said. "This is awkward."

"You, um...you see, Twilight, we are here for the Sisterhooves Social," Luna said. "With two alicorns present, the fun will be doubled!"

"But we're competing!" Scootaloo said.

"The rules state you have to be blood sisters," Princess Celestia said. "Adopted sisters like you two don't count."

"We can't enter?"

"Since when?"

"Since Royal Decree #106,290," Princess Celestia said.

"You made a royal decree, just to keep us out of the competition?!" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Maaaaybe," Princess Luna said.

The argument which followed was not very pretty. In the end, Twilight and Scootaloo were granted temporary permission to compete in the race. The race was neck-and-neck between the two princess teams, until they reach the hen house. Princesses Celestia and Luna were too large to fit inside.

"Not fair!" Celestia said.

" 'Tis most unjust!" Luna protested.

"IN YOUR FACE, SUCKERS!" Scootaloo cried.

"Scootaloo, be nice!" Twilight said.

"Sorry!" Scootaloo called.

Needless to say, Twilight and Scootaloo won the first place in the Sisterhooves Social that year.

The End

Prologue

Fourteen Years Ago

It was a busy day at Canterlot Castle. The newest batch of recruits for the Royal Guard were officially starting their first day of duty, and most of them were more nervous than a cat in a rocking chair factory.

Celestia was scheduled to meet with all the new guards at 4:00, but that was still a half hour away. Instead of waiting, she decided to take a walk through the gardens. Watching the animals and hearing the quiet sounds of nature always calmed the Princess of the Sun.

Only this day, nature was not so quiet. The birds were clearly disturbed, and they chittered loudly. Wondering what the problem was, Celestia followed the upset animals to the source of their disturbance.

In a corner of the garden areas was a lavender-colored pegasus, so young that she didn't have her cutie mark yet. She was crying to herself and making a lot of noise.

"Are you okay?" Princess Celestia asked.

"I'm looooooost!" the pegasus cried. "I flew here to wish my big brother good luck, and now I don't know where I am, and I—"

"Please, don't cry," Princess Celestia said. "I can help you."

The young filly wiped the tears from her eyes, then looked up at the princess. She immediately gasped.

"You—you're Princess Celestia!" the pegasus said.

"I am," Celestia said kindly. "And what is your name, young one?"

"T...Twilight Sparkle," the lavender-colored pony said.

"Well, Twilight, I think I can help you find your brother," said the princess. "What is his name?"

"Shining Armor," Twilight said. "He's big and has a blue mane, and he's a unicorn."

"Let's see if we can find him, then," Princess Celestia said. "Please, come with me." She began to walk to the nearest guard station, while the tiny Twilight followed at her side.

"Um...Princess?" Twilight asked. She sniffed loudly, trying to keep a few more tears from escaping. "Mom says you can do really powerful magic. Is that true?"

Celestia smiled. "Yes, my little pony," she said. "With my magic, I can control the sun and the moon."

"Wow, really?" Twilight asked. "That's amazing! Since you're so good at magic, can you...can you make me a unicorn? Please?"

The princess halted at that question. "Make you a unicorn?" Celestia asked. "Don't you enjoy being a pegasus?"

"No," Twilight said. She spread out her wings. "Flying is fun and all, but everypony at my school is a unicorn. They'd rather talk about magic than hang out with me."

"What about your friends?" Celestia asked.

"...I don't have any friends, besides my brother," Twilight said sadly. "And I was just thinking...maybe if I was a unicorn, I could have friends."

"I see," Princess Celestia said. She thought for a moment. "Well, I can't make you a unicorn, Twilight, but I can be your friend. Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Twilight said, jumping up happily. "You can be my BPF! Big Princess Friend!"

Celestia chuckled at the young one's enthusiasm. Little fillies were so cute, sometimes.

Finding the Element of Honesty

The Golden Oaks Library was not always a library. It used to be the Golden Oaks Bookstore, run by a pair of book-loving Earth ponies named Dewey DeSeemal and B. Blio File. The two of them worked as the town's librarians until their retirement.

As Twilight soon found out, Miss File did not live up to her last name.

"Who was in charge of this library?" Twilight wondered, after finding adult romance novels in the section for fillies' books. "I'm going to have to re-sort and organize everything!"

Twilight's effort to sort all the books in the library lasted for exactly twelve minutes. It ended when she found a new book that she just had to read, and before she knew it, she had spent the entire day reading.

That was Twilight's first Friday in Ponyville. Saturday was a bit more important, because that was when Pinkie had scheduled the official "Welcome to Ponyville, Twilight and Spike" party. Twilight knew the party would be the perfect opportunity for her to find the Element of Honesty.

All she had to do was wear...the Horrible Hat.

Shining Armor bought Twilight the hat as a joke, five years ago. It was a horrendous monstrosity, which made fashion designers weep at the sight of it. The hat wasn't just a fashion disaster; it was the fashion disaster, the one which caused the fashion apocalypse and forever destroyed good taste in headwear. It was a hideous mix of beige and hot pink, with green-striped polka dots. The fabric, which looked more like sand paper than silk, was curled and swirled around in a haphazard manner, making it seem like the top of Twilight's head was vomiting. Most ponies, upon seeing the hat, felt like vomiting themselves.

Now to make sure this works, Twilight thought. Rarity will make a good test subject.

Twilight adjusted the hat, then knocked on the door of Rarity's house. Shortly after this, Rarity opened the door with her magic and stepped outside. She began with her standard greeting for new customers. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is—augh!"

Twilight smiled. "Hello, Rarity," she said. "I'm here about the—"

"Quick, quick, come inside!" Rarity said, almost dragging Twilight through the doorway. "You don't want to be seen in public like that!"

"Like what?" Twilight asked, pretending not to know what Rarity was talking about.

"Like...that!" Rarity said. "Where in the wild, wild world of Equestria did you get that hat?"

Twilight smiled. "This hat was a gift from Princess Celestia," she said.

Rarity froze in place. "The princess gave you that hat?" she asked.

"Uh huh. It's my favorite piece of clothing," Twilight said. "Do you like it?"

"I...I..." Rarity said. Struggling against her inner fashionista, she forced a fake smile. "It's lovely, darling."

"You really think so?" Twilight asked.

"It's...very unique," Rarity said. She chuckled nervously. "So what brings you to my shop...Twilight, was it?"

"Uh huh," Twilight said. "I came to see your decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration."

"Oh, yes!" Rarity said. "I have them all drawn out. I made two different sketches, so you can choose which one you like best."

Twilight was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Rarity's plans. The two ponies spent some time discussing the pros and cons of the two decorating schemes. Things were going well, until Twilight made the mistake of mentioning her home town.

"You're from CANTERLOT?" Rarity practically shouted. "I have always dreamed of living there! The glamor, the sophistication! You simply have to tell me all about it!"

Twilight took a step backwards. "Well, it's very clean," she said.

"Oh, dear, this will not do!" Rarity said. "I simply cannot allow my new friend from Canterlot to leave here, without a new outfit! After all, you're hosting a party this afternoon!"

Rarity forced Twilight to try on at least twenty different outfits, and four different manedos. It took over an hour before Rarity found something she was satisfied with.

"There you go!" Rarity said. "The shoulders on that dress are perfect! Of course, it doesn't quite match your hat, so you'll have to leave the hat here..."

Twilight grabbed the hat before Rarity could get her hooves on it and throw it into the nearest dumpster. "I'm not giving up my hat," Twilight said, putting it on her head. "Thank you very much for the dress, Rarity, but I really have to get going now. I wasn't planning on staying here this long..."

"Yes, yes, yes, sorry for keeping you," Rarity said. "I'll see you later today, okay, darling? And do rethink wearing that hat, will you? It might be a bit...much for the occasion."

"Okay," Twilight said. "See you later, Rarity."

I knew it! Twilight thought happily, as she left the Carousel Boutique. Only a really honest pony would tell me the truth about the hat. They'd all rather lie than risk offending the Princess.

Twilight's plan to find an honest pony had a minor flaw. It operated on the principle that ponies would rather lie than offend Princess Celestia. However, there was one dishonest pony in Equestria who didn't care a bit if he offended Princess Celestia or not.

Shortly before Twilight's party started, Princess Celsetia stepped into the room of this dishonest, hateful pony.

"Hello, Aunt Celestia," Prince Blueblood said, disdainfully. "Why are you here?"

"Hello, Blueblood," Celestia said. "How have your magic studies been progressing?"

Blueblood shot her a dirty look. "They haven't," he said bluntly. "Not since you kicked me out of your school."

Celestia sighed. Why was Blueblood always so confrontational? "I told you before that I didn't have a choice," Celestia said. "You knew the rules when you broke them."

"Rules are for commoners, not for royalty," Blueblood said.

This was an argument the two of them had been through, multiple times. Blueblood insisted that he was free from the obligations of law and morality, simply because his great-great-great-grandfather had been made an honorary prince. In fact, the only law Blueblood respected was the rather obscure one that allowed him to claim royal status, as the last remaining descendant of Prince Bluebill.

Celestia knew this was not the time to get into a discussion about laws. "Nevertheless, how are your magic studies going?" she asked. "Have you learned any new spells recently?"

"No," Blueblood said. "Why would I?"

"Because magic is your special talent," Celestia said. She pointed towards Blueblood's cutie mark: two overlapping compass stars, similar to the symbol for the Element of Magic.

"I don't know why you keep insisting that I could be a magical genius," Blueblood said. "I don't need to use magic. I have servants to do everything I want."

"Are you saying you don't use magic?" Celestia asked.

"Well, I use a couple of spells to help me with the mares," Blueblood said, grinning saucily. "That's probably not what you mean, though."

Celestia groaned. "Don't tell me you are still treating mares like—"

"Like what, the garbage they are?" Blueblood asked. "Honestly, even you couldn't defend the way they throw themselves at me."

"And you cannot defend the way you take advantage of them," Celestia said. "Mares are not toys for your amusement. They should be treated with respect."

"Oh, trust me, I stay far away from respectable mares," Blueblood said. "They're not fun in the slightest."

"Your definition of 'fun' needs a complete overhaul."

"Blah, blah, blah. Is there a reason you've come here, or do you just want to lecture me on how I'm a horrible pony?" Prince Blueblood snapped.

Princess Celestia frowned. "I came here, because you're in charge of organizing the Grand Galloping Gala this year," she said. "I need two tickets."

"Please, don't be ridiculous," Blueblood said. "You've already got a space on the guest list."

"They're not for me," Celestia said. "They're for somepony else."

"Who?"

"...I don't think you need to know," Celestia said.

"Somepony I don't like, then?" Blueblood asked. "Or are you plotting something? Hoping to invite ruffians to destroy the gala and ruin my reputation?"

"I think you're ruining your reputation enough as it is, without the need for outside help."

Blueblood and Celestia glared at each other for a moment, before he laughed. "Oh, Aunt Celestia, you are ridiculous sometimes," Blueblood said. "So old-fashioned and self-righteous. It's so amusing, I almost feel tempted to forgive you for ruining my life."

"You ruined your life, not me," Celestia said. "You also ruined the lives of several other ponies."

"Yes, I suppose I did," Blueblood allowed. "But that was years ago. You really need to get over it. I certainly stopped caring about it long ago."

"You never care about anypony but yourself, that's the problem," Celestia said. "The tickets?"

"Yes, yes, you can have your silly tickets," Blueblood said. He levitated a box over from a nearby table. Opening it, he removed a stack of twenty tickets. "Have as many as you need. We can't let our precious princess be deprived."

"Thank you," Celestia said, accepting the tickets.

"Why, you're welcome, Auntie," Blueblood said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a poni-pedi scheduled, so unless you wish to reveal your ulterior motive for visiting me, please leave."

Celestia sighed heavily. "You may not believe it, but I do have your best interests at heart," she said.

"I don't believe that for a moment," Blueblood said. "Now get out of my way."

Blueblood shoved past Celestia and left the room, his head high in the air. The Equestrian Monarch stayed behind in the room for a moment, before leaving herself, trying to think of a good way to reform Blueblood. Perhaps a direct hit to the face with the Elements of Harmony would work?

"Hello, and welcome to the party!" Twilight said, opening the front door.

"Hi...uh..." Carrot Top said, a little taken aback.

"You like my hat? Princess Celestia gave it to me!" Twilight said.

"Like it? I love it!" Carrot Top said. "I don't wear hats myself—too much hair—but it looks good on you!"

"That's nice," Twilight said. "So come in! We've got food and music, and over by the nonfiction section, everypony is playing 'Know Your Neighbor'!"

"I never heard of that game," Carrot Top said.

"Oh, it's loads of fun," Twilight said. She had made up the game herself. To play, a group of five ponies got together, and answered questions about each other. Each pony answered separately, and in the end, they compared all their answers.

It was a casual game, intended to help ponies learn new things about each other and share a few laughs. Normally, the game featured fun questions like "Who will be the first to get married and why?" and "What do you think about socks?". Twilight Sparkle, being a master of subtlety, had picked questions like "Who is the most loyal pony you know?" and "Which member of the group is most generous?".

Another pony knocked on the front door. "Oh, excuse me!" Twilight said. She ran to answer it. "Hello, and welcome! Yes, it is a nice hat, isn't it?"

For Twilight, there wasn't much to the party, other than that. All she did was answer the door, and answer the door, and answer the door. Everypony had a different reaction to the Horrible Hat, all of them predictably positive.

"The princess gave you that hat? How kind of her! It's so pretty!"—Fluttershy

"I've never seen a hat quite like that before."—Cheerilee

"If'n you like it, I won't complain!"—Applejack

"Eeeyup,"—Big Macintosh

Twilight was interiorly upset at how things were going. Was it too much to hope that one pony would be honest with her? It wasn't like they'd be sent to the moon if they told the truth about the hat! Twilight seriously did not want her next letter to the princess to look like this:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am sorry to report that the Element of Harmony does not live in Ponyville. Everypony in this town is a liar. Also, they now think you have terrible taste in hats. Sorry.

—Twilight Sparkle

Twilight sighed as she opened up the door again. "Hello, Rarity," she said. "Welcome to the party!"

"Hello, darling," Rarity said. Rarity was wearing one of her casual party dresses. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought my little sister along. She says that she goes to school with your assistant, Spoke."

"It's Spike," Twilight said. "And he's more like a little brother than an assistant."

From across the room, Spike thought he heard his name. He turned to look at the doorway, and his jaw instantly dropped as a heavenly vision of loveliness entered the library. She was an alabaster mare with a curly mane of deep purple. Her casual dress hinted at a profound elegance, and all in all, it reminded Spike of a storybook about beautiful princesses.

She had a coat

As white as snow

With curly hair

And heart aglow

With eyebrows short

And lashes tall

She is the fairest

Of them all

In all the world,

None can compare

To the loveliness

Of this gorgeous mare

His heart felt like it was expanding, making it hard to breathe. Snow White has come to life, and she is at my party, Spike thought. Nopony pinch me. I don't want to wake up from this dream.

"Spike, are you okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Who's that?" Spike sighed.

"Who?" Pinkie Pie asked. She followed Spike's gaze. "Oh, that's Rarity. She's probably here with Sweetie Belle. Yep, there she is!"

Sweetie Belle stepped into the doorway and stood next to Rarity. The family resemblance between the two was unmistakeable, and Spike felt his heart smash to the ground.

"They're related?" Spike gasped.

"Uh huh!" Pinkie Pie said. "One time, Rarity styled Sweetie Belle's mane so they looked like twins! Oh my gosh, that was so cute!"

Great. Just great, Spike thought, disappointed. The most beautiful mare I've ever seen, and she already has a full-grown daughter. Guess that means I can't go out with her.

Still, Spike considered. Sweetie's mom has got it going on.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle were the last two ponies to arrive, because Rarity had insisted on being casually late. For the next fifteen minutes, Twilight wallowed in the swamp of politely dishonest ponies, even though she wanted to fly up to her room and complain angrily.

I can't even do research on the other elements! Twilight thought bitterly. Diamond Tiara's not here, so I can't double-check to see if she's really the Element of Laughter! I mean, I could check to see if the farmer ponies are all generous, but that's pointless! I know they're generous—they all gave me a pack of lies!

*knock knock knock*

Twilight snapped out of her internal monologue and raced to the door. "I've got it!" she cried. She pulled the top half of the front door inside and saw...nopony.

"Huh?" Twilight asked.

"Uh...is this the library?" a voice asked.

Twilight hovered a foot or to, so she could lean over the door. Sitting on the other side of the door was a nervous-looking Scootaloo.

"Oh, hey, Scootaloo," Twilight said. "Come on in!"

"Thanks," Scootaloo said. Scootaloo gave a half-laugh of relief, as Twilight opened the bottom half of the front door. "I was kind of worried. I can't let the other ponies—what's going on?"

"It's the welcome party for me and Spike," Twilight said.

"Oh..." Scootaloo said, stopping. "In that case, I should probably get going, and—"

"Hold it," Twilight said, putting out a wing to block Scootaloo's escape. "You can't leave! You just got here."

"Yeah, but..." Scootaloo said, looking nervously around the room.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Scootaloo gestured towards Twilight's head, and Twilight leaned in close to her. "I don't want anypony to know I'm getting flying books from the library!" she whispered. "The other pegasi will tease me about it!"

"There's no reason to feel ashamed about it," Twilight said. "I learned how to fly from a library book."

"Yeah, but you're a librarian!" Scootaloo said. "It's different!"

Twilight laughed. "I wasn't a librarian when I was your age," she said. "Look, if anypony asks, we can say you're here for the party. I'll check out the books for you when nopony's looking, okay?"

"Okay," Scootaloo agreed, somewhat hesitantly.

"Great," Twilight said. "Now let's go get some food. You look hungry."

That changed Scootaloo's mood. "I love snack food!" Scootaloo said, as the two of them walked to the food table.

Twilight smiled as the little filly attacked the bowl of chips. "You have fun, Scootaloo," she said.

"This is great! Thanks, Twilight!" Scootaloo said. "Here, you have some!" Scootaloo scooped up a hoofful of chips and held them out to Twilight.

Twilight scrunched her face up; she wasn't willing to eat out of somepony else's hooves. "Uh...where am I supposed to hold these?" she asked.

"On your hat," Scootaloo. "That's why you're wearing such a big hat, right? So you can put things on it."

"What? No, silly," Twilight laughed. "I'm wearing this hat because it's a present from Princess Celestia."

"But it's ugly!" Scootaloo said. "Why would the princess give you something like that?"

"It's not ugly; it's—" Twilight began, then stopped. It took her an astonished moment to realize what just happened. "YES!" Twilight shouted. She flew a foot into the air and struck a victory pose. "This is an ugly hat!"

Twilight threw her hat on the ground and stomped on it. One or two of the ponies in attendance (aka Rarity) cheered at this. Using her mouth, Twilight threw the Horrible Hat into the garbage, where it was never heard from again.

Twilight picked up Scootaloo and hugged her. "Thank you, Scootaloo!" Twilight said. "You're so nice and honest!"

"Um...you're welcome?" Scootaloo said, feeling a bit awkward to be hugged by a near-stranger. "All I did was say your hat is ugly..."

Twilight put Scootaloo back down. "You know what? I have an idea!" Twilight said. "I'm going to teach you how to fly!"

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"Sure! I owe you for telling me about my hat!" Twilight said, smiling. A faint shadow darkened Twilight's face. "And let's just say, I know how tough it is when nopony in your family can help teach you how to fly."

"Yes!" Scootaloo said. "Yes, please teach me! That would be perfect!"

Awkwardness forgotten, Scootaloo grabbed Twilight's forelegs and hugged them as hard as she could. Twilight smiled at this. Who knew the Element of Honesty would be a little filly?

The somewhat tender moment was ruined, when Spike belched loudly from across the room.

"EW!" Pinkie Pie said. "Gross, Spike!"

"It's not my fault!" Spike said quickly. "It's a letter from the Princess!"

Spike bent down to pick up the scroll, when he belched a second time. Two golden pieces of paper fluttered to the ground, and Pinkie Pie instantly recognized what they were.

"Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?" Pinkie Pie shouted.

There was a gasp as everypony in the library turned their attention to Pinkie and Spike.

Part 2, Prologue

Part 2

Prologue

About a thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna fought Discord, the Master of Chaos and Disharmony. Their victory over Discord was not as complete as one would like. Instead of thoroughly destroying Discord, the attack merely turned him into stone. After-effects of his insidious magic, including the entire Nightmare Moon fiasco, lingered for years before they were fully eliminated.

Discord's stone prison was impermanent, at best. Discord only needed a little bit of chaos to free himself from life as a statue. In his opinion, this was not too much for him to ask for. Heck, even three fighting schoolchildren would be enough to free Discord!

Discord's wishes were at long last granted, when Nightmare Moon and her partner landed on the grounds by Canterlot Castle. Together, they created enough chaos to free a hundred dragonequi.

Discord's first instinct was to run wild and cause massive chaos. His plan was to turn the moon into green cheese, then force all the cows in Equestria to jump over it. Meanwhile, a swarm of blue rabbits in top hats would attack the castle, demanding free carrots. And to top off all the fun with animals, Discord wanted to use giant slingshots to throw angry birds at bad piggies.

Before Discord put any of his plans into motion, however, he saw the two evil alicorns take an Elements of Harmony blast, directly to the face. They were instantly defeated.

Oh, dear, Discord thought. Celestia has figured out a way to make the Elements of Harmony more powerful. This simply will not do at all.

A brief examination revealed that the Elements of Harmony were spread across six ponies, as opposed to being wielded by two alicorns. Discord smiled at this obvious weak point. The Elements would almost certainly fail, if one of the six ponies was neutralized.

Heck, why couldn't Discord neutralize all of the Element Bearers? That would be simple enough. After all, he was the one who invented the spell to turn ponies cold and gray. All he had to do was work his magic, and the Elements of Harmony would be more like the Elements of Anger!

Elements of Disharmony? Elemental Uncooperation? Discord thought. No, no! My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic!

Discord laughed as he walked away. Celestia had done him a favor, by spreading out the Elements of Harmony! Toying with six ponies would be much more fun than toying with two!