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Description
The Elements of Harmony

  "Ah! The air up here is as refreshing as ever, don't you think Twilight?"
It was early morning above Canterlot castle where Princess Luna stood. She was at the highest point of the highest spire with her wings and head raised, feeling the breeze caress her hide.
  "Yes Princess." Twilight Sparkle said calmly; she was used to answering the exact same question every morning as Luna watched the sun. "There is a slight chill to it today though." Luna laughed quietly although it was barely audible over the whistling of the wind.
  "But that makes it all the more refreshing." The alicorn mare folded her wings again and turned to face her protégé. "Are your friends awake yet?" Twilight frowned a little; she didn't like the other ponies being referred to as her friends.
  "Not yet I believe Princess." She responded, keeping her composure as she spoke. "Applejack may be up but I have my doubts about the others." Luna nodded, taking in Twilight's answer before heading for the stairway back into the castle.
  "You really should give them a chance you know." She said without turning her head, completely aware that her student was following her.
  "I did; they're nice ponies but I wouldn't call them my friends." She responded with a shake of the head. "We've got nothing in common and they just seem to interrupt my studies for the fun of it." Luna chuckled at Twilight's naivety.
  "My faithful student, you still have much to learn about others that you won't be able to find in a book." Her words were gentle but Twilight heard the feeling behind them; Princess Luna had long been urging her to mingle with other students and ponies her age. It didn't matter to her though and it never had.
  "With all due respect Princess, I don't need to befriend the others; the fate of the world doesn't revolve around me socialising." Twilight answered as they reached the bottom of the staircase and turned into a meeting room. Inside was a set of imperial blue pillows positioned in an arc in the centre of the room. Hustling and bustling around the walls was a small purple dragon; Spike, Twilight's assistant.
  "Are you almost finished here Spike?" Twilight asked quickly before Luna could pursue her argument. Spike turned and nodded.
  "Pretty much Twilight; there wasn't much to do." He responded with a salute. Twilight nodded and took a seat on one of the cushions as Princess Luna did likewise with a larger pillow just in front of the arc.
  "Good, thank you Spike." Twilight said, leaning forward on the pillow pleasurably. "Could I ask you to wake up the others; they should be up here by now." Spike nodded, rolling his eyes at the mare's lack of patience and turning to leave. Twilight noticed the slightly disapproving expression that the princess gave her but tried to pass it off by asking her opinion on a theory she had been considering recently.

Eventually Twilight forced her conversation to a standstill as she heard the sound of five ponies traversing the stares up to the room.
  "Mornin' Princess, mornin' Twi." Came Applejack's familiar accent followed by various good morning wishes from Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
  "Hiya Twilight,hiya Twilight, hiya Twilight!" Pinkie chorused as she bounced around the room. Twilight sighed in annoyance.
  "Good morning Pinkamena." She said before snapping her head in Luna's direction as she stood.
  "Good morning my little ponies; I trust that you slept well." Luna's voice was compassionate but was rather commanding and attracted the attention of all six ponies as she spoke. "If you'd all take your seats the sooner I can begin and the sooner you can depart." All of the mares had long since learnt that when Luna requested something she usually meant it and each of the remaining five took their seats.
  "Thank you." Luna said quietly as the chatter vanished and she commanded attention. "It has been several years now since you all arrived here in Canterlot at my request and I'm sure you all know by now what my reasoning for this was." As she spoke her horn flashed and levitated a platter of tea-filled cups toward them, each of the ponies in turn accepting one with thanks; Luna always preferred to address her students while they were comfortable as it made them more willing to learn.
  "It's because together we're those element thingies isn't it?" Rainbow Dash asked, replied with a nod from the princess.
  "It's because we, as potential wielders of the elements of harmony, have the power to protect Equestria." Twilight stated, filling in the rest of the blanks.
  "That's right; each of you has your own unique characteristics that are stronger than any other pony's." Luna continued, taking a sip from her own teacup. "Honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, laughter and magic." She pointed to each of the ponies in order as she said the qualities aloud. "As Twilight rightly said you all hold the power to protect Equestria from those that would harm it but you've all said that you've felt no different to how was expected of young ponies. For this reason I realised that something was missing; until now the elements of harmony have mostly been a mystery to us. We recovered the elements but it was unknown as to how to utilize them." Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion.
  "How do you mean Princess?" She asked inquisitively. "What is it that you've discovered?"  Luna looked back at her protégé and sighed.
  "My little ponies, how have you been getting along with one another?" She asked, causing Twilight to frown at the seemingly irrelevant question.
  "Well, as well as could be expected." Rarity answered in-between sips of tea. "Fluttershy and myself get together every week in the castle spa, don't we darling?" Fluttershy nodded a little before stopping when Rainbow Dash piped up.
  "We all get on fairly well; but I don't see what this has to do with anything." She said before an awkward silence fell over the room; as the six young mares waited for their princess to continue patiently.
  "I see." Luna finally said thoughtfully. "Tell me, does anypony know what event is coming up?" Almost as soon as the question was spoken Twilight's hoof had punched the air.
  "The Summer Solstice Celebration, right?" She answered correctly.
  "That's right; this year's celebration is being conducted in Ponyville." Luna continued. "Tomorrow morning we'll depart together and stay in the local library until the celebration has ended. This will count as a holiday so I'll trust you to relax and enjoy one another's company, agreed?" Twilight caught the princess glancing at her as she uttered the words and she looked down to avoid it. The room was filled with excited agreements from the remainder of the ponies and Luna got to her feet.
  "Very good. I expect you all to go about your studies as usual today, am I understood?" She stated rather than asked. "I'd like to have a revision session with Twilight before court but otherwise, dismissed." The young ponies took to their hooves and departed, talking among one another of what they'd do in Ponyville the next day but Twilight stayed sat where she was with a thoughtful look on her face.
  'That was odd; the princess usually sounds rather professional in her talks but she clearly cut herself off today. What does she know that she doesn't want us to know?' Twilight thought to herself.
  "Twilight? Are you okay?" Luna asked her, bringing her back to her senses. Twilight smiled embarrassedly up at the princess before standing.
  "I'm sorry Princess; I just thought your announcement today was a bit...anticlimactic." She said calmly. Luna merely laughed, causing Twilight to cast an even more confused look.
  "I decided on a slight change of topic this morning; it didn't leave me with much to say." The princess laughed.
  "What were you going to say before?" Twilight asked curiously but Luna shook her head.
  "If that was yours to know my student I would've already told you." She said simply before sitting just in front of Twilight; the young mare soon gave up trying to find out what was being hidden and had no choice but to surrender to her lessons.

~*~

It was first thing the following morning and the six young mares plus Spike had all gathered in the meeting hall waiting for their mentor to arrive. Most of them were discussing what they'd do once they arrived in Ponyville while Twilight was triple-checking her saddlebag's contents, staying quite willingly disjointed from the rest.
  "Good morning my little ponies." Luna's voice caused the ponies to look up in her direction. Good mornings were exchanged and the princess led them up to the spire where a couple of guardpony pegasi were waiting with a carriage to transport them all. The journey took a couple of hours at most; Ponyville wasn't too far away, certainly not as far as the likes of Appleoosa or Manehatten but it was still about midday when they finally arrived and the young mares all hopped out (excluding Rainbow Dash who had flown beside for most of the trip, showing off to the adamant guardponies as best she could), stretching their backs before rushing off to meet family and friends before Princess Luna could utter a word. This left Twilight and Spike to follow Princess Luna to the local library where their belongings were dropped off as they made their selves at home.
The day dragged on and Twilight was content to while it away in the library, searching the tomes it contained for more research material for her studies. Luna spent most of the afternoon at the town hall where the mayor of the village among other ponies had gathered to greet her. When she finally arrived back she was quite tired already but set about assisting her protégé regardless. Eventually the day started to come to a close and Luna attracted Twilight's attention.
  "I think you've accomplished enough for today Twilight." She said, magically lowering the young mare's quill, closing the book she had been reading and adding it to the pile beside them. Twilight looked slightly disappointed.
  "Are you sure Princess?" She asked with a slight pleading tone. "I'd be more than happy to continue-" She was cut off by a stern glance from her mentor; the same glance that was used to stop Twilight's studies every day.
  "Ponies around Equestria are celebrating this holiday while you would waste it away with endless studying." Luna stated rising and levitating the pile of books back to the shelf they had come from originally. "You should at least get some fresh air; which is why you'll be accompanying me to the banquet tonight." Twilight frowned; she disapproved of such social gatherings. They were far too rowdy for her taste and it honestly felt like she only had to go because of her place as personal student to the princess.
  "It seems that we arrived a day earlier than I had previously arranged and still the villagers are nice enough to organize a full-sized banquet tonight on such short notice." With another flash of her horn Twilight was on her feet against her will and the pillows had been moved into a tidier area of the room. "The least we could do is ensuring that we actually attend it." Twilight continued to argue but was soon put to silence as was usual with such occasions and was forced to tidy her mane up and get ready. Twilight didn't understand why she had to dress up but did anyway as she was aware of how pointless it would be to resist. Eventually the two of them were ready (according to Luna's standards) and Twilight called Spike before they headed to the village hall. Twilight had to admit as they walked through Ponyville that it was a beautiful place; it felt natural and Twilight could point out several different signs of earthpony ancestry. The village hall looked slightly newer but was still quite a pleasant sight. As they passed through the doors the pegasi guards took their places either side of it. Excited whispers could be heard from ponies nearby who had gathered for the event in hopes of sighting Princess Luna and it reminded Twilight of her standing, steadily slowing a little so as not to overtake Luna.
  "All stand for her Royal Highness Princess Luna!" Came the announcement inside the main hall; sounds of ponies rising from their tables were heard as they entered. Luna smiled in amusement and made her way to her table, as implied by a tan pony with silver hair and a pair of spectacles resting upon her muzzle, most likely the mayor. Twilight followed with Spike hot on her hooves and they stood beside Luna waiting for her to give the signal; Luna sat and nodded and the rest of the ponies immediately sat too (save one boss-eyed pony who took a few seconds to realise what was going on). Looking around Twilight saw a full attendance of earthponies, pegasi and unicorns, perhaps the entire village population. Luna rose again and gave a short speech, thanking them for their hospitality before the meal began with waiter ponies spreading out and supplying the food. Twilight groaned as she noticed one of the waiters was Pinkie Pie who made a beeline for the table. After a few minutes of chatting she was off again and Twilight took the chance to look around once more, this time spotting Applejack sitting at the largest of the tables with a large amount of other earthponies, some of which she recognised as Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Applebloom, her closest family. Twilight saw Rarity with her parents and her younger sister Sweetie Belle, joined by Fluttershy while Rainbow Dash chatted with a small amber filly. Soon Twilight was bored of playing I-spy and decided to have a bite to eat, wondering why most of the food provided was frosted and covered in sugar but nonetheless enjoying it. As she was expecting there wasn't much efficiency in sitting around eating junk food and occasionally spouting a "pleased to meet you" to a pony that would dare interact with the princess.
  "I think I shall be going now." Luna finally said aloud after about an hour, causing Twilight to perk up a little. Luna had turned to the mayor and was bowing her head. "Thank you for the warm welcoming but I'm afraid that I have some work that simply cannot wait any longer. Do please give my regards to the staff at Sugarcube Corner." As Luna stood so did Twilight.
  "Actually Twilight, could I ask you to remain here for a little while longer?" The princess asked quietly, causing Twilight's head to droop a little in disappointment. "I'm sorry but I do need to have some time to myself as well; plus, the longer you're out and about the better." Twilight shrank back down into her seat slightly sulkily but smiled up at her mentor regardless.
  "That's alright Princess; I understand." She chirped with a fake smile. Luna nodded and took her leave, also leaving her student to the boredom she felt towards the occasion.

~*~

Twilight had been unable to stand the company of the noisy villagers for much longer than thirty minutes and decided to take her leave of the banquet as well. Once she had arrived back at the library she felt slightly guilty; thirty minutes is much too short a time for a princess to spend by herself in a day. Stopping at the door Twilight decided to just pop in, grab a book and then find a pleasant outside spot to read it; after all Spike wouldn't likely be back anytime soon and she could take advantage of the beautiful village while she was staying. It was decided and Twilight quietly opened the door, trotted over to the shelf where Luna had returned the last book they had been reading and levitated it down in front of her. She took the chance to glance around; Luna was nowhere to be seen.
  "Maybe she's gone to take a nap..." Twilight told herself as she turned to leave again, the book levitated just above her head. She was sure to close the door after her as quietly as she had opened it before heading off to look for a comfortable reading spot. A few more ponies had started leaving the banquet by this time but Twilight was still comfortable with how deserted and quiet the streets were. Eventually she found a little space of grass surrounded by trees and decided to sit underneath one. The moon was full and it was surprisingly easy to read by its light Twilight found. She opened up to where she had left off and was soon engrossed in the book's contents.
  "Help! Help!"
Twilight was dragged back to the world as she heard the voice of a frightened young foal as he ran past. Twilight watched carefully and noticed that he seriously was scared and not just playing around. With a sigh she shut her book and got to her hooves, focussing a spell in her mind.
HISS
Twilight felt the foal run into her legs and slide down to the floor before looking up shakily. Twilight looked down at the colt with an inquisitive expression.
  "Is something the matter?" Twilight asked calmly. The colt got up quickly and wiped away some tears before continuing.
  "It's Princess Luna!" The colt stuttered; Twilight froze on the spot. "She's in trouble!" Luna was the most powerful being in all of Equestria and Twilight found it hard to believe that anything could endanger her but that didn't seem to matter; the colt looked as sincere as sincere could be.
  "What?" Twilight asked with a slight worry to her voice. "How do you know this?"
  "When Princess Luna left the banquet I followed her to ask her something." The colt elaborated. "But she went into the Everfree forest. I followed but a huge monster attacked her."
  "And you ran for your life?" Twilight pursued; the colt nodded vigorously. He wouldn't have seen anything after then.  "Alright, I want you to go back to town hall and tell the mayor what's happened. Tell her that the princess' protégé sent you." With those words the young mare turned and ran in the direction of the great forest beside the village. Twilight ran and ran, thoughts flying through her mind; why would the princess head to the Everfree forest alone? When they had last entered to collect the elements of harmony she had emphasised how dangerous the place was; she had said that the rules there were different to Equestria's.
  'Even I would think twice about entering by myself.' Luna had told her. Taking a jump over a patch of blue flowers Twilight suddenly felt something click together. The princess had been hiding something from them since her previous speech and then it had been odd how she had arrived earlier than she had arranged; it was obvious that Luna had a reason for all of it and Twilight felt sure that she would soon find out what it was. In she charged, weaving in-between the warped trees before slowing, realising how impulsive and unwise she had been adventuring in alone; she had already lost her sense of direction and had no idea where to go next. As she looked around, trying to figure her location out Twilight could've sworn that her vision had darkened. A few seconds more and she was sure that it had gotten darker; in fact the entire wood around her was darkening. Starting to panic a little, unsure of what to do Twilight tried to cast a simple illumination spell; nothing happened. She felt her throat seize up as the darkness around her threatened to swallow her entirely. She stared directly upwards in an attempt to keep the night sky in sight but it was pointless; within seconds even the moon had been blotted out and Twilight felt the strength in her legs ebb away as she hit the floor with a thud that was muted to her ears.

~*~

  "You okay sugarcube?"
These were the first words that Twilight heard after coming to. To her surprise she was already sat up on her haunches when her senses returned to her. The memory of what had previously occurred followed shortly after; her reckless trek into the forest before being choked out of consciousness by the shadows. Twilight raised her head to find that she was still in the forest but wasn't alone anymore. Looking around she saw the other elements of harmony, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy along with Rarity who was emanating a soft white light from the tip of her horn.
  "Wh-What happened?" Twilight stuttered, getting to her hooves.
  "The mayor told us that the princess and you had taken off into the forest and we were right to follow." Rarity said softly. "We found you passed out just off the path."
  "So where's the princess Twi?" Applejack asked urgently but Twilight merely frowned.
  "I don't know exactly; she took off before me." She stated, shaking her mane free of leaves from the forest floor. "But I have an idea where she may be headed; the Everfree ruins."
  "You mean the place where we found the elements last time?" Rainbow Dash asked, fluttering just above their heads.
  "Why would she head there when there was a party back there silly?" Pinkie Pie asked in a completely carefree voice that annoyed Twilight to hear in the situation.
  "Pinkamena, if I had known I wouldn't of let her come alone." Twilight turned on her hooves and started heading back into the forest. "Now let's have no more of this silliness; the princess could be in trouble as we speak!" Pinkie's ears drooped momentarily at Twilight's tone before perking up again and hopping after her. Rarity and Applejack looked from Twilight to one another before sighing and following the remainder of the ponies following Twilight's lead. The going was slow and Twilight found herself repeatedly being overwhelmed by the darkness before being brought back to reality by her companions' laughter as they joked behind them, mostly caused by Pinkie. Twilight would then stop and make a comment on how they should get their priorities right before setting off again without a word. Eventually the path cleared out and the landscape became less of a forest and more of a crag; fallen trees littered the ground and occasional ditches appeared around the base of the odd rocky hill which was the foundation for the ruins at the top. If they had arrived then so should have Luna Twilight told herself, picking up the pace.
  "I must say, this place is much less drab than it was the last time we were here." Rarity said with a slight feeling of excitement in her voice. "The yellow lights aren't very fitting but I suppose it's better than it was." Twilight stopped on the spot as she registered what had just been said. Rarity had been correct; the ruins were covered in bright yellow lights.
  "The princess must be here then!" Twilight cried before breaking into a run.
  "Twilight wait!" Applejack shouted before chasing full pelt after with the rest of the mares following suit. "We don't know what we're gettin' ourselves into!" Twilight didn't hear but it didn't matter; at this point she didn't care. Luna's unusual behaviour stank of danger and Twilight couldn't help but tell herself that rejoining with her would make everything better.

The ruins were in poor condition and none of the towers that had once stood there were intact. Only a handful of rooms were still accessible past the rubble and Twilight made a beeline through them.
  "Princess?" She called out desperately, noting the yellow lights lining almost every inch of the walls and floor as she ran. "Princess, are you here?"
  "Tw-Twilight?"
Twilight came to a halt as she heard the familiar voice; it was close. She ran around the next corner and there in front of her was her mentor sat in the centre of the room.
  "Princess Luna!" Twilight cried, dashing over to the alicorn. "What are you doing here?" Luna frowned and sighed at the question.
  "I am the ruler of Equestria Twilight, I'm allowed to go where I wish." She spoke softly. "More of a question is what are you doing here? I specifically asked you to stay at the banquet." Twilight's face fell slightly; she hadn't been expecting such a response.
  "I didn't follow you if that's what you think Princess!" Twilight's voice was full of disappointment. "One of the citizens told us that you had headed into the forest!" Luna frowned slightly but raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
  "...Us?" She asked simply.
  "I came with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkamena, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Twilight elaborated as Luna poked her head around her student.
  "...Where are they?" The princess asked unsurely.
  "Uh...they're catching up..." Twilight suddenly realised how suspicious Luna had been acting recently and thought for a second. "...Why?" Luna smiled a little.
  "Does this mean that you've finally befriended them?" Luna's question made Twilight seize up; was this really a suitable time or place to consider that?
  "Of course not! Why would I have?" She asked in annoyance. "It's not safe to come here alone; you said so yourself! Why did you come here alone? Did you tell me to stay because you didn't want to be seen? What is it that you've been hiding from us and why have you been keeping it from me?" Luna blinked at the sudden surge of questions.
  "Twilight Sparkle!" She exclaimed in a tone that she hadn't used since Twilight's transfer from fillyhood to marehood and the time of rebelliousness that had come with it. "Remember your place!" Twilight jumped at the loud use of voice and backed off slightly.
  "Uh....is this a bad time?"
Both mares turned their heads to see the remainder of Twilight's companions entering the chamber.
  "My little ponies, I trust that you're safe?" Luna asked urgently, ignoring Applejack's question. They all nodded with murmured comments beside and Luna exhaled in relief. "Thank Equestria. You shouldn't have come here."
  "Well we couldn't leave Twilight in here alone so we went after her." Rainbow Dash said coolly.
  "...You went after her?" Luna's glance at Twilight was quite disapproving. "Twilight, does this mean that you ran blindly into the Everfree forest by yourself?" Twilight tried to answer but merely spluttered before being cut off. "You're aware that you endangered not only your own life but also your fellow students; what do you have to say for yourself?" Twilight tried to justify herself but no words that could help her situation came to mind and her confidence slipped away.
  "What do you have to say for yourself?" The princess repeated her question; Twilight opened her mouth again but after a second just closed it once more and lowered her head so that she didn't have to look her mentor in the eye.
  "Uh...sorry to break the moment but what exactly is going on here?" Rarity asked in an attempt to take the attention off of Twilight. "Why are the ruins glowing in such a...ghastly colour?" Luna was brought back to the moment and thought for a second before responding.
  "I'm afraid that explanation will have to wait; you have to leave. Now." Her sudden statement made Twilight perk up again.
  "But what about y-" She asked before being cut off.
  "I am more than capable of taking care of myself Twilight Sparkle." She shot strictly at the unicorn mare. "It is far more important that you leave before it's too late." The last part of the sentence seemed to ring out and caught all of the ponies' attentions.
  "Too late for what?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously.
  "With all due respect Princess, are ya keepin' somethin' from us?" Applejack continued. Luna had clearly made a mistake in saying those words and was desperately trying to cover up for it.
  "...Princess?" Twilight asked quietly. Luna shook her head desperately.
  "Enough!" She exclaimed to silence the mutterings. "You will retur-" Her voice cut off suddenly and her eyes widened in what looked like fear. The young mares all followed her glance before realising that the yellow lights had started flickering out.
  "Run my little ponies!" Luna's voice had suddenly turned to begging but not one of them took a step forward; they were paralyzed by the sight that had suddenly unfurled behind the princess. The lights finally flickered out and seemed to coalesce into one area at the back of the chamber. The room was covered in a blinding light, causing the ponies to all shield their eyes from the fierce glare.
  "Ah...the breeze is divine; a pleasant change from the heat of the sun." A voice rang through the chamber seemingly from the source of the light but still nopony could look in its direction for fear of blinding themselves.
  "...Celestia..." Luna murmured, rising to her hooves instantly and turning to the light, bowing her head a little to evade the brightness.
  "We see; does this mean that you have finally accepted Equestria's fate? Luna, do you bow your head out of despair?" The voice boomed. On the word despair the young mares all felt their skin writhe as if hit by a veil of fire, each falling to the floor out of weakness. The light mostly dissipated from the chamber and Twilight dared to look up. Her view was distorted due to the glare but she could just make out a silver silhouette highlighted by gold with a long cherryblossom mane wafting from behind it.
  "Equestria's fate is not absolute yet Celestia!" Luna growled, taking a battle stance. The figure that was Celestia let out a cackle and shook her head, a soft sound of metal hitting metal emanating from her body armour.
  "Still our dear sister?" Celestia asked with a sneer. "You would still dishonour us with a forgotten name? If you can remember our name as a foal then surely you must remember our true name too?" Twilight's vision darkened as Luna sidestepped in front of her and her companions protectively.
  "No?" Celestia asked with a disappointed tone. "Then let us remind you of Dayflash's power!" Twilight forced a singular word through her throat as Celestia, or Dayflash as she seemed to prefer, made a dive in their direction, another fierce light emerging from her horn as she spread her alicornian wings.
  "Princess!"

Description
The Elements of Harmony

  "Ah! The air up here is as refreshing as ever, don't you think Twilight?"
It was early morning above Canterlot castle where Princess Luna stood. She was at the highest point of the highest spire with her wings and head raised, feeling the breeze caress her hide.
  "Yes Princess." Twilight Sparkle said calmly; she was used to answering the exact same question every morning as Luna watched the sun. "There is a slight chill to it today though." Luna laughed quietly although it was barely audible over the whistling of the wind.
  "But that makes it all the more refreshing." The alicorn mare folded her wings again and turned to face her protégé. "Are your friends awake yet?" Twilight frowned a little; she didn't like the other ponies being referred to as her friends.
  "Not yet I believe Princess." She responded, keeping her composure as she spoke. "Applejack may be up but I have my doubts about the others." Luna nodded, taking in Twilight's answer before heading for the stairway back into the castle.
  "You really should give them a chance you know." She said without turning her head, completely aware that her student was following her.
  "I did; they're nice ponies but I wouldn't call them my friends." She responded with a shake of the head. "We've got nothing in common and they just seem to interrupt my studies for the fun of it." Luna chuckled at Twilight's naivety.
  "My faithful student, you still have much to learn about others that you won't be able to find in a book." Her words were gentle but Twilight heard the feeling behind them; Princess Luna had long been urging her to mingle with other students and ponies her age. It didn't matter to her though and it never had.
  "With all due respect Princess, I don't need to befriend the others; the fate of the world doesn't revolve around me socialising." Twilight answered as they reached the bottom of the staircase and turned into a meeting room. Inside was a set of imperial blue pillows positioned in an arc in the centre of the room. Hustling and bustling around the walls was a small purple dragon; Spike, Twilight's assistant.
  "Are you almost finished here Spike?" Twilight asked quickly before Luna could pursue her argument. Spike turned and nodded.
  "Pretty much Twilight; there wasn't much to do." He responded with a salute. Twilight nodded and took a seat on one of the cushions as Princess Luna did likewise with a larger pillow just in front of the arc.
  "Good, thank you Spike." Twilight said, leaning forward on the pillow pleasurably. "Could I ask you to wake up the others; they should be up here by now." Spike nodded, rolling his eyes at the mare's lack of patience and turning to leave. Twilight noticed the slightly disapproving expression that the princess gave her but tried to pass it off by asking her opinion on a theory she had been considering recently.

Eventually Twilight forced her conversation to a standstill as she heard the sound of five ponies traversing the stares up to the room.
  "Mornin' Princess, mornin' Twi." Came Applejack's familiar accent followed by various good morning wishes from Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.
  "Hiya Twilight,hiya Twilight, hiya Twilight!" Pinkie chorused as she bounced around the room. Twilight sighed in annoyance.
  "Good morning Pinkamena." She said before snapping her head in Luna's direction as she stood.
  "Good morning my little ponies; I trust that you slept well." Luna's voice was compassionate but was rather commanding and attracted the attention of all six ponies as she spoke. "If you'd all take your seats the sooner I can begin and the sooner you can depart." All of the mares had long since learnt that when Luna requested something she usually meant it and each of the remaining five took their seats.
  "Thank you." Luna said quietly as the chatter vanished and she commanded attention. "It has been several years now since you all arrived here in Canterlot at my request and I'm sure you all know by now what my reasoning for this was." As she spoke her horn flashed and levitated a platter of tea-filled cups toward them, each of the ponies in turn accepting one with thanks; Luna always preferred to address her students while they were comfortable as it made them more willing to learn.
  "It's because together we're those element thingies isn't it?" Rainbow Dash asked, replied with a nod from the princess.
  "It's because we, as potential wielders of the elements of harmony, have the power to protect Equestria." Twilight stated, filling in the rest of the blanks.
  "That's right; each of you has your own unique characteristics that are stronger than any other pony's." Luna continued, taking a sip from her own teacup. "Honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, laughter and magic." She pointed to each of the ponies in order as she said the qualities aloud. "As Twilight rightly said you all hold the power to protect Equestria from those that would harm it but you've all said that you've felt no different to how was expected of young ponies. For this reason I realised that something was missing; until now the elements of harmony have mostly been a mystery to us. We recovered the elements but it was unknown as to how to utilize them." Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion.
  "How do you mean Princess?" She asked inquisitively. "What is it that you've discovered?"  Luna looked back at her protégé and sighed.
  "My little ponies, how have you been getting along with one another?" She asked, causing Twilight to frown at the seemingly irrelevant question.
  "Well, as well as could be expected." Rarity answered in-between sips of tea. "Fluttershy and myself get together every week in the castle spa, don't we darling?" Fluttershy nodded a little before stopping when Rainbow Dash piped up.
  "We all get on fairly well; but I don't see what this has to do with anything." She said before an awkward silence fell over the room; as the six young mares waited for their princess to continue patiently.
  "I see." Luna finally said thoughtfully. "Tell me, does anypony know what event is coming up?" Almost as soon as the question was spoken Twilight's hoof had punched the air.
  "The Summer Solstice Celebration, right?" She answered correctly.
  "That's right; this year's celebration is being conducted in Ponyville." Luna continued. "Tomorrow morning we'll depart together and stay in the local library until the celebration has ended. This will count as a holiday so I'll trust you to relax and enjoy one another's company, agreed?" Twilight caught the princess glancing at her as she uttered the words and she looked down to avoid it. The room was filled with excited agreements from the remainder of the ponies and Luna got to her feet.
  "Very good. I expect you all to go about your studies as usual today, am I understood?" She stated rather than asked. "I'd like to have a revision session with Twilight before court but otherwise, dismissed." The young ponies took to their hooves and departed, talking among one another of what they'd do in Ponyville the next day but Twilight stayed sat where she was with a thoughtful look on her face.
  'That was odd; the princess usually sounds rather professional in her talks but she clearly cut herself off today. What does she know that she doesn't want us to know?' Twilight thought to herself.
  "Twilight? Are you okay?" Luna asked her, bringing her back to her senses. Twilight smiled embarrassedly up at the princess before standing.
  "I'm sorry Princess; I just thought your announcement today was a bit...anticlimactic." She said calmly. Luna merely laughed, causing Twilight to cast an even more confused look.
  "I decided on a slight change of topic this morning; it didn't leave me with much to say." The princess laughed.
  "What were you going to say before?" Twilight asked curiously but Luna shook her head.
  "If that was yours to know my student I would've already told you." She said simply before sitting just in front of Twilight; the young mare soon gave up trying to find out what was being hidden and had no choice but to surrender to her lessons.

~*~

It was first thing the following morning and the six young mares plus Spike had all gathered in the meeting hall waiting for their mentor to arrive. Most of them were discussing what they'd do once they arrived in Ponyville while Twilight was triple-checking her saddlebag's contents, staying quite willingly disjointed from the rest.
  "Good morning my little ponies." Luna's voice caused the ponies to look up in her direction. Good mornings were exchanged and the princess led them up to the spire where a couple of guardpony pegasi were waiting with a carriage to transport them all. The journey took a couple of hours at most; Ponyville wasn't too far away, certainly not as far as the likes of Appleoosa or Manehatten but it was still about midday when they finally arrived and the young mares all hopped out (excluding Rainbow Dash who had flown beside for most of the trip, showing off to the adamant guardponies as best she could), stretching their backs before rushing off to meet family and friends before Princess Luna could utter a word. This left Twilight and Spike to follow Princess Luna to the local library where their belongings were dropped off as they made their selves at home.
The day dragged on and Twilight was content to while it away in the library, searching the tomes it contained for more research material for her studies. Luna spent most of the afternoon at the town hall where the mayor of the village among other ponies had gathered to greet her. When she finally arrived back she was quite tired already but set about assisting her protégé regardless. Eventually the day started to come to a close and Luna attracted Twilight's attention.
  "I think you've accomplished enough for today Twilight." She said, magically lowering the young mare's quill, closing the book she had been reading and adding it to the pile beside them. Twilight looked slightly disappointed.
  "Are you sure Princess?" She asked with a slight pleading tone. "I'd be more than happy to continue-" She was cut off by a stern glance from her mentor; the same glance that was used to stop Twilight's studies every day.
  "Ponies around Equestria are celebrating this holiday while you would waste it away with endless studying." Luna stated rising and levitating the pile of books back to the shelf they had come from originally. "You should at least get some fresh air; which is why you'll be accompanying me to the banquet tonight." Twilight frowned; she disapproved of such social gatherings. They were far too rowdy for her taste and it honestly felt like she only had to go because of her place as personal student to the princess.
  "It seems that we arrived a day earlier than I had previously arranged and still the villagers are nice enough to organize a full-sized banquet tonight on such short notice." With another flash of her horn Twilight was on her feet against her will and the pillows had been moved into a tidier area of the room. "The least we could do is ensuring that we actually attend it." Twilight continued to argue but was soon put to silence as was usual with such occasions and was forced to tidy her mane up and get ready. Twilight didn't understand why she had to dress up but did anyway as she was aware of how pointless it would be to resist. Eventually the two of them were ready (according to Luna's standards) and Twilight called Spike before they headed to the village hall. Twilight had to admit as they walked through Ponyville that it was a beautiful place; it felt natural and Twilight could point out several different signs of earthpony ancestry. The village hall looked slightly newer but was still quite a pleasant sight. As they passed through the doors the pegasi guards took their places either side of it. Excited whispers could be heard from ponies nearby who had gathered for the event in hopes of sighting Princess Luna and it reminded Twilight of her standing, steadily slowing a little so as not to overtake Luna.
  "All stand for her Royal Highness Princess Luna!" Came the announcement inside the main hall; sounds of ponies rising from their tables were heard as they entered. Luna smiled in amusement and made her way to her table, as implied by a tan pony with silver hair and a pair of spectacles resting upon her muzzle, most likely the mayor. Twilight followed with Spike hot on her hooves and they stood beside Luna waiting for her to give the signal; Luna sat and nodded and the rest of the ponies immediately sat too (save one boss-eyed pony who took a few seconds to realise what was going on). Looking around Twilight saw a full attendance of earthponies, pegasi and unicorns, perhaps the entire village population. Luna rose again and gave a short speech, thanking them for their hospitality before the meal began with waiter ponies spreading out and supplying the food. Twilight groaned as she noticed one of the waiters was Pinkie Pie who made a beeline for the table. After a few minutes of chatting she was off again and Twilight took the chance to look around once more, this time spotting Applejack sitting at the largest of the tables with a large amount of other earthponies, some of which she recognised as Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Applebloom, her closest family. Twilight saw Rarity with her parents and her younger sister Sweetie Belle, joined by Fluttershy while Rainbow Dash chatted with a small amber filly. Soon Twilight was bored of playing I-spy and decided to have a bite to eat, wondering why most of the food provided was frosted and covered in sugar but nonetheless enjoying it. As she was expecting there wasn't much efficiency in sitting around eating junk food and occasionally spouting a "pleased to meet you" to a pony that would dare interact with the princess.
  "I think I shall be going now." Luna finally said aloud after about an hour, causing Twilight to perk up a little. Luna had turned to the mayor and was bowing her head. "Thank you for the warm welcoming but I'm afraid that I have some work that simply cannot wait any longer. Do please give my regards to the staff at Sugarcube Corner." As Luna stood so did Twilight.
  "Actually Twilight, could I ask you to remain here for a little while longer?" The princess asked quietly, causing Twilight's head to droop a little in disappointment. "I'm sorry but I do need to have some time to myself as well; plus, the longer you're out and about the better." Twilight shrank back down into her seat slightly sulkily but smiled up at her mentor regardless.
  "That's alright Princess; I understand." She chirped with a fake smile. Luna nodded and took her leave, also leaving her student to the boredom she felt towards the occasion.

~*~

Twilight had been unable to stand the company of the noisy villagers for much longer than thirty minutes and decided to take her leave of the banquet as well. Once she had arrived back at the library she felt slightly guilty; thirty minutes is much too short a time for a princess to spend by herself in a day. Stopping at the door Twilight decided to just pop in, grab a book and then find a pleasant outside spot to read it; after all Spike wouldn't likely be back anytime soon and she could take advantage of the beautiful village while she was staying. It was decided and Twilight quietly opened the door, trotted over to the shelf where Luna had returned the last book they had been reading and levitated it down in front of her. She took the chance to glance around; Luna was nowhere to be seen.
  "Maybe she's gone to take a nap..." Twilight told herself as she turned to leave again, the book levitated just above her head. She was sure to close the door after her as quietly as she had opened it before heading off to look for a comfortable reading spot. A few more ponies had started leaving the banquet by this time but Twilight was still comfortable with how deserted and quiet the streets were. Eventually she found a little space of grass surrounded by trees and decided to sit underneath one. The moon was full and it was surprisingly easy to read by its light Twilight found. She opened up to where she had left off and was soon engrossed in the book's contents.
  "Help! Help!"
Twilight was dragged back to the world as she heard the voice of a frightened young foal as he ran past. Twilight watched carefully and noticed that he seriously was scared and not just playing around. With a sigh she shut her book and got to her hooves, focussing a spell in her mind.
HISS
Twilight felt the foal run into her legs and slide down to the floor before looking up shakily. Twilight looked down at the colt with an inquisitive expression.
  "Is something the matter?" Twilight asked calmly. The colt got up quickly and wiped away some tears before continuing.
  "It's Princess Luna!" The colt stuttered; Twilight froze on the spot. "She's in trouble!" Luna was the most powerful being in all of Equestria and Twilight found it hard to believe that anything could endanger her but that didn't seem to matter; the colt looked as sincere as sincere could be.
  "What?" Twilight asked with a slight worry to her voice. "How do you know this?"
  "When Princess Luna left the banquet I followed her to ask her something." The colt elaborated. "But she went into the Everfree forest. I followed but a huge monster attacked her."
  "And you ran for your life?" Twilight pursued; the colt nodded vigorously. He wouldn't have seen anything after then.  "Alright, I want you to go back to town hall and tell the mayor what's happened. Tell her that the princess' protégé sent you." With those words the young mare turned and ran in the direction of the great forest beside the village. Twilight ran and ran, thoughts flying through her mind; why would the princess head to the Everfree forest alone? When they had last entered to collect the elements of harmony she had emphasised how dangerous the place was; she had said that the rules there were different to Equestria's.
  'Even I would think twice about entering by myself.' Luna had told her. Taking a jump over a patch of blue flowers Twilight suddenly felt something click together. The princess had been hiding something from them since her previous speech and then it had been odd how she had arrived earlier than she had arranged; it was obvious that Luna had a reason for all of it and Twilight felt sure that she would soon find out what it was. In she charged, weaving in-between the warped trees before slowing, realising how impulsive and unwise she had been adventuring in alone; she had already lost her sense of direction and had no idea where to go next. As she looked around, trying to figure her location out Twilight could've sworn that her vision had darkened. A few seconds more and she was sure that it had gotten darker; in fact the entire wood around her was darkening. Starting to panic a little, unsure of what to do Twilight tried to cast a simple illumination spell; nothing happened. She felt her throat seize up as the darkness around her threatened to swallow her entirely. She stared directly upwards in an attempt to keep the night sky in sight but it was pointless; within seconds even the moon had been blotted out and Twilight felt the strength in her legs ebb away as she hit the floor with a thud that was muted to her ears.

~*~

  "You okay sugarcube?"
These were the first words that Twilight heard after coming to. To her surprise she was already sat up on her haunches when her senses returned to her. The memory of what had previously occurred followed shortly after; her reckless trek into the forest before being choked out of consciousness by the shadows. Twilight raised her head to find that she was still in the forest but wasn't alone anymore. Looking around she saw the other elements of harmony, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy along with Rarity who was emanating a soft white light from the tip of her horn.
  "Wh-What happened?" Twilight stuttered, getting to her hooves.
  "The mayor told us that the princess and you had taken off into the forest and we were right to follow." Rarity said softly. "We found you passed out just off the path."
  "So where's the princess Twi?" Applejack asked urgently but Twilight merely frowned.
  "I don't know exactly; she took off before me." She stated, shaking her mane free of leaves from the forest floor. "But I have an idea where she may be headed; the Everfree ruins."
  "You mean the place where we found the elements last time?" Rainbow Dash asked, fluttering just above their heads.
  "Why would she head there when there was a party back there silly?" Pinkie Pie asked in a completely carefree voice that annoyed Twilight to hear in the situation.
  "Pinkamena, if I had known I wouldn't of let her come alone." Twilight turned on her hooves and started heading back into the forest. "Now let's have no more of this silliness; the princess could be in trouble as we speak!" Pinkie's ears drooped momentarily at Twilight's tone before perking up again and hopping after her. Rarity and Applejack looked from Twilight to one another before sighing and following the remainder of the ponies following Twilight's lead. The going was slow and Twilight found herself repeatedly being overwhelmed by the darkness before being brought back to reality by her companions' laughter as they joked behind them, mostly caused by Pinkie. Twilight would then stop and make a comment on how they should get their priorities right before setting off again without a word. Eventually the path cleared out and the landscape became less of a forest and more of a crag; fallen trees littered the ground and occasional ditches appeared around the base of the odd rocky hill which was the foundation for the ruins at the top. If they had arrived then so should have Luna Twilight told herself, picking up the pace.
  "I must say, this place is much less drab than it was the last time we were here." Rarity said with a slight feeling of excitement in her voice. "The yellow lights aren't very fitting but I suppose it's better than it was." Twilight stopped on the spot as she registered what had just been said. Rarity had been correct; the ruins were covered in bright yellow lights.
  "The princess must be here then!" Twilight cried before breaking into a run.
  "Twilight wait!" Applejack shouted before chasing full pelt after with the rest of the mares following suit. "We don't know what we're gettin' ourselves into!" Twilight didn't hear but it didn't matter; at this point she didn't care. Luna's unusual behaviour stank of danger and Twilight couldn't help but tell herself that rejoining with her would make everything better.

The ruins were in poor condition and none of the towers that had once stood there were intact. Only a handful of rooms were still accessible past the rubble and Twilight made a beeline through them.
  "Princess?" She called out desperately, noting the yellow lights lining almost every inch of the walls and floor as she ran. "Princess, are you here?"
  "Tw-Twilight?"
Twilight came to a halt as she heard the familiar voice; it was close. She ran around the next corner and there in front of her was her mentor sat in the centre of the room.
  "Princess Luna!" Twilight cried, dashing over to the alicorn. "What are you doing here?" Luna frowned and sighed at the question.
  "I am the ruler of Equestria Twilight, I'm allowed to go where I wish." She spoke softly. "More of a question is what are you doing here? I specifically asked you to stay at the banquet." Twilight's face fell slightly; she hadn't been expecting such a response.
  "I didn't follow you if that's what you think Princess!" Twilight's voice was full of disappointment. "One of the citizens told us that you had headed into the forest!" Luna frowned slightly but raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
  "...Us?" She asked simply.
  "I came with Applejack, Rarity, Pinkamena, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Twilight elaborated as Luna poked her head around her student.
  "...Where are they?" The princess asked unsurely.
  "Uh...they're catching up..." Twilight suddenly realised how suspicious Luna had been acting recently and thought for a second. "...Why?" Luna smiled a little.
  "Does this mean that you've finally befriended them?" Luna's question made Twilight seize up; was this really a suitable time or place to consider that?
  "Of course not! Why would I have?" She asked in annoyance. "It's not safe to come here alone; you said so yourself! Why did you come here alone? Did you tell me to stay because you didn't want to be seen? What is it that you've been hiding from us and why have you been keeping it from me?" Luna blinked at the sudden surge of questions.
  "Twilight Sparkle!" She exclaimed in a tone that she hadn't used since Twilight's transfer from fillyhood to marehood and the time of rebelliousness that had come with it. "Remember your place!" Twilight jumped at the loud use of voice and backed off slightly.
  "Uh....is this a bad time?"
Both mares turned their heads to see the remainder of Twilight's companions entering the chamber.
  "My little ponies, I trust that you're safe?" Luna asked urgently, ignoring Applejack's question. They all nodded with murmured comments beside and Luna exhaled in relief. "Thank Equestria. You shouldn't have come here."
  "Well we couldn't leave Twilight in here alone so we went after her." Rainbow Dash said coolly.
  "...You went after her?" Luna's glance at Twilight was quite disapproving. "Twilight, does this mean that you ran blindly into the Everfree forest by yourself?" Twilight tried to answer but merely spluttered before being cut off. "You're aware that you endangered not only your own life but also your fellow students; what do you have to say for yourself?" Twilight tried to justify herself but no words that could help her situation came to mind and her confidence slipped away.
  "What do you have to say for yourself?" The princess repeated her question; Twilight opened her mouth again but after a second just closed it once more and lowered her head so that she didn't have to look her mentor in the eye.
  "Uh...sorry to break the moment but what exactly is going on here?" Rarity asked in an attempt to take the attention off of Twilight. "Why are the ruins glowing in such a...ghastly colour?" Luna was brought back to the moment and thought for a second before responding.
  "I'm afraid that explanation will have to wait; you have to leave. Now." Her sudden statement made Twilight perk up again.
  "But what about y-" She asked before being cut off.
  "I am more than capable of taking care of myself Twilight Sparkle." She shot strictly at the unicorn mare. "It is far more important that you leave before it's too late." The last part of the sentence seemed to ring out and caught all of the ponies' attentions.
  "Too late for what?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously.
  "With all due respect Princess, are ya keepin' somethin' from us?" Applejack continued. Luna had clearly made a mistake in saying those words and was desperately trying to cover up for it.
  "...Princess?" Twilight asked quietly. Luna shook her head desperately.
  "Enough!" She exclaimed to silence the mutterings. "You will retur-" Her voice cut off suddenly and her eyes widened in what looked like fear. The young mares all followed her glance before realising that the yellow lights had started flickering out.
  "Run my little ponies!" Luna's voice had suddenly turned to begging but not one of them took a step forward; they were paralyzed by the sight that had suddenly unfurled behind the princess. The lights finally flickered out and seemed to coalesce into one area at the back of the chamber. The room was covered in a blinding light, causing the ponies to all shield their eyes from the fierce glare.
  "Ah...the breeze is divine; a pleasant change from the heat of the sun." A voice rang through the chamber seemingly from the source of the light but still nopony could look in its direction for fear of blinding themselves.
  "...Celestia..." Luna murmured, rising to her hooves instantly and turning to the light, bowing her head a little to evade the brightness.
  "We see; does this mean that you have finally accepted Equestria's fate? Luna, do you bow your head out of despair?" The voice boomed. On the word despair the young mares all felt their skin writhe as if hit by a veil of fire, each falling to the floor out of weakness. The light mostly dissipated from the chamber and Twilight dared to look up. Her view was distorted due to the glare but she could just make out a silver silhouette highlighted by gold with a long cherryblossom mane wafting from behind it.
  "Equestria's fate is not absolute yet Celestia!" Luna growled, taking a battle stance. The figure that was Celestia let out a cackle and shook her head, a soft sound of metal hitting metal emanating from her body armour.
  "Still our dear sister?" Celestia asked with a sneer. "You would still dishonour us with a forgotten name? If you can remember our name as a foal then surely you must remember our true name too?" Twilight's vision darkened as Luna sidestepped in front of her and her companions protectively.
  "No?" Celestia asked with a disappointed tone. "Then let us remind you of Dayflash's power!" Twilight forced a singular word through her throat as Celestia, or Dayflash as she seemed to prefer, made a dive in their direction, another fierce light emerging from her horn as she spread her alicornian wings.
  "Princess!"