Luna stopped and stared at the log cabin that Celestia was taking her into. The trees around the cabin moved, but they didn't make any noise. The only sound that Luna could hear was the creaking of the wooden steps that Celestia was climbing. Going up the steps, Luna followed after her.

A large wooden door was moved to the side using magic, and they entered. Scanning the room, Luna noticed several very strange things. The distance from the door to the back wall was only five or six hoofs away, barely enough room for them to both fit in, and the back wall was decorated with ice skates, which Luna took a moment to examine.

Luna couldn't help but wonder what they were doing there. She turned to her left and looked at her sister, but Celestia’s back was turned, and all Luna could see was her flowing mane. She opened her mouth to ask her sister, but it wasn't necessary. Celestia faced her, revealing very serious purple eyes. “You don't understand,” Celestia said “this is serious.”

Celestia stepped to the side, revealing a mare from behind her. Luna cringed. Tall white ovals had taken the place of the mare’s eyes, and the pupils were solid black. A grin overtook the corners of her face, revealing sharp triangle shaped teeth. Her hair was straight and all black; it fell into her eyes a little and concealed the corners of her grin; all of this was surrounded by a purple coat.

Luna and the pony stared at each other for what felt like hours as she captured all of the details of this pony's face. What is that? Luna asked herself without breaking eye contact; she didn't dare look at Celestia. Luna clenched her teeth and tightened her brow, and she could hear the soft sound of ringing slowly raising in her ears. The creature moved, and Luna shot out all four hoofs to protect herself.

---

Luna lay in bed with all of her hoofs thrust into the air. Her heart still pounding, and the terror still real. She remained in a catatonic state for thirty or so seconds while picturing the pony's face in her mind. Finally the light from midday had begun to blur her focus as she realized that she was safe. She let out a long sigh and let herself collapse on the bed. Why was that even scary? Luna asked herself while thinking of all the terrible demons she had faced in the past.

Luna got out of bed and walked out to the balcony. Luna loved this time of day. The breeze tickled her nose as the heat from the sun warmed her navy blue coat. Canterlot children could be heard playing in the courtyard. Luna relaxed her shoulders and gazed into the open blue sky, letting herself be at peace with her sister's creation.

The peaceful scene was entirely different from the week before, when the changelings had attacked. All of the damage had been repaired already, and the streets now sparkled. It was an easy task for the unicorn builders guild; though it cost the city of Canterlot quite a lot of money, it needed to be done for the wedding.

Luna closed her eyes and rested her chin on the edge of the balcony as she drifted into a pleasant day dream. She felt peaceful, until she felt something hard hit the long of her back. She looked up, annoyed, to see what had hit her. On the ground, a multi-colored egg laid at Luna's hoofs. She examined it and picked it up using her magic. In large letters, the egg said “Cream egg”, with “Canterbury” written above that. A chocolate egg? Luna thought as she looked above her for the egg's origin, but Luna saw nothing, except for some birds.

---

A crowed had formed outside by the courtyard, and Luna wanted to see what all of the noise was about. As she walked into the crowd, the Canterlot citizens moved aside for her. Luna could see her sister's head popped out above the crowd of ponies, and she called to her, “Tia!”

Celestia made a motion for Luna to come join her. “Luna, come here and see this beautiful foal that the Seeds have just had.”

The young earthpony was wrapped in a blanket with his front legs sticking out, they were pawing at Celestia when Luna walked up. Luna looked at the child and faked a little smile. “He's beautiful,” she said, and both Mr. and Mrs. Seeds gave her a smile of approval. “I'm sure when he grows up he'll be a great member of the Canterlot Royal Guard.” The Seeds looked at each other and let out a little laugh.

“Thank you, your highness,” Mr. Seeds replied.

“No, thank you for showing him to us,” Celestia assured them. “He has a wonderful life ahead of him, and he's sure to do many great things.”

Luna never really understood Celestia's fascination with children. Throughout her life, Luna had seen thousands of foal born, grow old, and die. Villains died; legends died; and even friends died. Everything will be lost to the sands of time, and while some of the memories were worth keeping, children rarely said or did anything worth remembering, yet Celestia loved them, perhaps more than her older subjects.

Later that night, in Celestia's chamber, Luna discussed with her sister that very subject. “Sister, why doth thou waste thy time with...” Luna realized that she had slipped into the olden tongue again (a habit she was trying to break). “I mean, why do you waste your time with children?” Her voice sounded much colder and more accusing than she wanted it to, but Celestia seemed to shake it off.

“Hope,” was Celestia's one word answer.

“Hope?” It was a word that Luna had not heard for a very very long time. While on the moon, she had given up on hope, and the nation of Equestria was so peaceful that the concept of hope was almost unnecessary.

“I hope they're happy,” Celestia added as she walked towards the balcony. “Everyone should be able to be happy and live the way they want to live, and children do it better than anyone.” Luna saw her looking deeply into the night sky. Her chin was up, and her mouth was shut. Luna couldn't tell if she was thinking or frowning.

Luna joined her on the balcony. She wasn't too interested in the topic of hope and children, so she decided to comment on something else, “The stars look exceptionally bright tonight, don't they Tia? And look at how they tinkle. It's almost unreal; in fact, I don’t ever remember seeing them so clearly from inside the city.” As she said that, she could see her sister's eyes move closer together as she inhaled.

Celestia exhaled and said, “Mm, yes.” Again, Luna was unsure of her sister's feelings, but she assumed she was deep in thought. The two trod in silence for several moments while Luna tried to think of some way to change the topic.

Finally, Luna came up with one. “Tia, do you know what happened to me today?” she said in a more cheerful tone, “A Canterbury egg fell onto me while I was on the balcony, and when I looked up, I didn't see anything, except a few birds. Isn't that strange?”

Celestia's expression broke into a smile, and she laughed. “Why is it strange for ponies to throw food at you?”

“Thou is cruel!”

Celestia laughed some more. “Oh, I don't know. I might like it if somepony threw food at me, instead of hoof-feeding me all of the time.” The sisters laughed together, and Luna was glad that the tension had broken. “Thanks, little sister.” Celestia said with a smile. “But I think I need to go to bed now. I've got to get up early for the sun rise.”

Luna agreed and left Celestia's chamber. It must be so hard for her to raise the sun every morning, Luna thought as she returned to her chamber. The moon doesn't do much. I don't have to put it down if I don't want to. Luna thought about what would happen if there was no sun... It chilled her.

When she returned to her chamber, she went out onto the balcony again to do some star gazing. It was her favorite thing to do when the other ponies were asleep, but something else caught her eye. A new, fully grown, apple tree was standing in the middle of the court yard. Luna flew down to investigate, and when she got there, she noticed that the surrounding earth had been pushed up and away from its trunk, like the tree had shot out of the ground. This is strange, Luna thought to herself as she reached up to pick a fruit, but she stopped as soon as she touched it. A sticky substance rubbed off onto her hoof, and she pulled away for examination. She smelled it, then she licked it. Sugar? 

Luna flew up close to one of the branches and tried to examine the apples more closely in the moon light. They looked red, but that wasn't the apple’s skin. No, they looked like green apples that had been dipped in something red. Luna took a bite. A candy apple tree?

---

Luna's hoofs shot into the air as she jolted awake from the exact same dream she had the night before. “Why is that so scary?” she said aloud.

“Luna, what's the matter?” she looked up to see that Celestia was standing directly over her.

“Tia, what are you doing her?”

“I could ask you the same question. Did you sleep there?”

Luna's eyebrows tightened as she replayed her sister's words in her head and tried to figure out what she meant. Did I sleep here? She looked around and saw that she had slept in the courtyard all night long.

“I just raised the sun, and then I found you here,” Celestia said while staring at the apple tree. “So what was so scary?”

Luna didn't feel like answering her because she was still so tired, but something was bugging her about that dream, so she decided to explain. While she did, her sister's eyes kept drifting to the apple tree, and the bags under Celestia's eyes were noticeable to Luna for the first time ever.

“...and then I wake up with my hoofs in the air, and this is the second night in a row that I have had this dream,” Luna explained. She could see that her sister had the same expression from the night before – deep in thought and frowning – as she looked up at the candy apples.

“I had a nightmare, too.”

“Oh, about what?”

“I was standing outside of a burning building, looking through the window, and I could see the foal from yesterday. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't move. I had to watch him burn.” Luna tried to imagine herself in that situation; watching a baby burn; powerless to do anything against it. “Imagine how the Seeds would feel.” Celestia added with a tear forming in her eye as she continued looking at the apple tree.

Luna got up and sat beside her, ignoring the apple tree. “But you wouldn't let that happen, Tia. Don't let it bother you.” She had given up trying to imagine the scene in her head because the realness of the situation had hit her. The Princess of Equestria never acted this way. Luna knew she was talking with her sister. The two sat in silence, watching the sun rise, together.

---

Luna woke up in the courtyard again at roughly noon. I must have fallen asleep when I was with Tia, she thought to herself. The summer air was so warm and comfortable that she felt like going back to sleep. She rolled over and admired Celestia's work again. The sky was blue and filled with fluffy clouds. The pegasus will really enjoy it today, she said to herself. In fact, that looks like fun! She got up quickly, with the intention to fly, when suddenly hundreds of birds flew out of the apple tree, startling Luna, and making flight temporarily impossible.

As they flew, Luna could see that they were all different colors and types. There were many species that Luna had never seen before, not even in the royal garden, and as they flew, Canterbury eggs fell to the ground like a chocolate egg rain storm. Luna had to shield herself from their assault.

What in the name of... Luna stopped her line of thought. She had a slight problem with using her sister's name in that manner, but she had been hearing it so often that it almost slipped into her inner monologue. She used her wings to shield herself. Then she got up to examine the eggs, but a herd of bunnies snatched them before she had the chance.

“A letter for you, ma'am,” a member of the royal guard said from behind her. Luna froze and her ears perked up. Then she swallowed and composed herself. She took the letter with her magic, said “thank you”, and began reading it.

“Dear Princess Celestia,
This is Spike. I am really worryed about Twilight. She has not been to bed since the wedding and I dont think it is because of my bachelor party. And it keeps raining sweet stuff here. And thats not all. Weird stuff is happening all over Ponyville. Can you maybe help Twilight out? And all of her friends to? I think she really needs your help.

Thanks. Spike.”

“This isn't for me,” Luna informed the guard.

“It’s on the back, ma'am.The princess wrote something on there for you.” Luna turned it over and read the back.

“Luna, I'm sure that you have begun to notice all of the strange happenings around the castle lately. Could you please meet with Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and I? I have arranged for them to meet us at dusk. The matter is very important, and I would like you to meet me beforehoof to discuss something very important. Please meet me in my chamber at approximately seven. Thank you, Luna.

Despite the seriousness of the tone, Luna couldn't help but feel happy. She had started to worry that her position was just a formality, something that her sister gave to her because of family ties. She grinned slightly and used her royal Canterlot voice, “We thank thee, soldier!”

“You're welcome, ma'am.” Then he flew away with exceptional speed, perhaps too exceptional for a royal guard.

---

As Luna entered Celestia's chamber, she could see her sister laying on her bed. The royal doctor was standing next to her. Both of them looked up at her, like she was interrupting, and the doctor turned to her. “I'll leave you two alone,” he said. His eyes never looked up as he left the room, even though Luna was looking at him the entire time.

“Luna, please come in,” Celestia said; her voice was noticeably softer than usual. “Has anyone given you a chocolate egg today?” she joked and smiled.

“Well, yes, actually,” Luna said, sounding concerned. She didn't want it to sound that way, and she cringed a little after hearing it, but her sister just gave her a warm smile. She was as regal as ever. Her smile could inspire an earthpony to fly.

“Can you please sit down with me?” Luna walked over to her and climbed onto her bed.

“What is it, Tia?” This time she made sure she sounded more cheerful and less concerned.

Celestia looked at her - the bags in her eyes had grown - and Luna could see her warm smile break as she began to speak, “I'm not sure how to say this, Luna, but you need to know.” Luna saw her sister look away from her, towards the orange sky that could be seen from the balcony. She paused for an unusually long time and took several deep breaths. “Luna, I'm dying,” she finally said.

Luna's eyes opened wide, and she breathed in deep through her nose. She stared at her intensely, without blinking. She can't die.

Celestia closed her eyes and looked at Luna, her brilliant smile had changed. It was still a smile, but it was more understanding, more sympathetic. “It'll be okay,” she said. Luna's breathing got faster as her vision started to blur from the tears.

“No,” Luna sniffled and let out a weak laugh, “It's not true, right?”

“Luna...”

“But you look fine!” It had been so long since a fellow alicorn had died that Luna forgot they could.

“Luna,” Celestia raised her voice, and Luna looked Celestia's serious face. She didn't want to speak anymore, a lump was starting to form in her throat. “It's true Luna. I've been having troubles for a while now. It's why I couldn't stop Discord, and it's why I lost to the changeling queen. And these last few days...” Celestia looked over at a pile of canterbury eggs that were sitting on a nightstand. “I haven't been able to maintain order.”

Luna knew what she was talking about, and it all started to make sense. The world of Equestria was built with magic, and that magic gravitated towards the most powerful beings, thus giving that being more magic - magic with the ability to influence the world. Celestia had been the most powerful being in Equestria for a very long time, but now, as her powers dwindled, she had become one of many powerful magic users, and the order of the land was starting to shift.

“You understand what I am talking about, don't you?” Luna nodded and swallowed hard. “So far, you are the only one who knows about this. I wanted to tell you first.” As much as Luna liked the gesture, it didn't improve her mood any. “I'll tell Twilight and her friends later tonight.”

“You need to stop thinking about other ponies and start thinking about yourself, Tia.” Celestia came over to the bed and hugged her.

“Thanks,” Celestia said with a sigh.

---

The two sisters walked into the painted glass hallway, where the elements of harmony were kept. To their surprise, they found a hyperactive Rainbow Dash bouncing off of the walls, instead of waiting for them.

“Hey princesses!” she screamed form the ceiling. “Watch this!” She suddenly said from behind them. Then the two sisters heard three loud bangs from outside, and Rainbow was no where to be found. The doors started to whip back and forth wildly, and bright colors shined from outside.

The two sisters rushed to the door to see what the noise was, and floating in the sky were three rainbow colored circles, all joined by a trail of rainbow. Rainbow Dash was standing in front of them all of a sudden, “Isn't it cool?” she asked. “I'm sure to get onto the Wonderbolts now!”

“Um, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked. “Where are your friends?”

“What, when, who? Oh, um, they're coming.” Rainbow Dash held her hoof up to her ear. “Am I dreaming, or is that a roaring crowd?” Rainbow Dash was right, although the crowd wasn't for her. They were following Rarity and the rest of her friends. Every fashion designer in town was chasing after Rarity for something, and they were destroying everything in their path. Rarity waved to them all as they cased her flying chariot.

“Rarity! You must attend my wine and cheese tasting event this evening!”

“Oh that sounds lovely!” Rarity replied.

“Oh! Rarity! Who are you wearing?”

“Why, I'm wearing me, of course!”

“Rarity, marry me!” Prince Blue Blood shouted.

Rarity rolled her eyes then she threw her chin into the air. “Hump!”

The chariot landed, and the crowd stampeded towards them as they made a break for the door. “Oh man! You mean that crowd was for you?” Rainbow Dash said with disappointment.

“But of course.” Rarity stopped to say, but then she looked behind her at the elated mob, and she ran inside quickly. Rainbow Dash took a moment to stick her tongue out at the Rarity and the mod before flying inside and slamming the door tight.

Twilight and Applejack grabbed anything they could to barricade the door, but the mod kept pushing. “Pinkie, get over here!” Applejack shouted, and all six ponies held themselves against the door while looking at the two princesses.

“We're here!” Twilight shouted. The two sisters looked at her as the doors shook.

“Let's just give them Rarity!” Pinkie shouted. “That's all they want!”

“Hay!” Applejack shouted at her.

“I agree with Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.

“You too?”

“Sorry...”

The door pounded once really hard, and they all shook. Rainbow Dash pushed against the door as hard as she could; she flapped her wings to give her some extra force. “Man, these guys are worse than the changelings!”

“Oh, I don't think they're so bad.” Rarity said.

Applejack's hoof met her face. “That's it. I'm with ya. Rarity, you're outta here.”

“Wait!” Twilight shouted. “I've got a better idea!” Her horn started to glow, and suddenly each pony in the room heard a loud “poof”. The door burst open, but Rarity and the other ponies were nowhere to be found.

---

Luna was suddenly in a dark room. She used her magic to illuminate the area, and she was greeted with images of herself. The room she was in had mirrors all over the walls, but aside from the images of herself, she was all alone. “Hello?” she called out. “Twilight?”

“Yes?” Suddenly a large image of Twilight appeared on all of the mirrors. “Did you want something, princess?”

“Twilight, thank goodness you are here.” Twilight snickered. “Um, where is 'here' exactly?”

“Oh, these are the caves that Cadance sent me to. I used my magic to teleport everypony here.”

“Interesting choice. Well, how do we get out of here?”

“Well,” Twilight closed her eyes and grinned, “I used the exist.”

“And where is that?”

Twilight opened and narrowed her eyes. “Wouldn't you like to know?”

Luna's ears went back and her eyebrows tightened. “Where is Tia?” she shouted.

“Tia, Tia, Tia. Tia can wait.”

Luna's eyes began to glow as she readied her horn for magic, “You're a changeling, aren't you?”

“Ouch. That hurts, Loony.”

Luna instantly understood the situation.

“You haven't forgotten me, have you, Loony?” The image of Twilight Sparkle changed. Her hair turned all black, and her eyes widened into tall ovals filled with large black pupils. Her mouth began to grin larger than her face, and as her mouth opened, it revealed sharp teeth. “Ha. Ha. Ha! You forgot about me, didn't you? Well, I haven't forgotten about you!”

“Release Twilight Sparkle you evil fiend!” Luna said as she exploded all of the mirrors around her, revealing the real Twilight Sparkle along with all of her friends.

“Twilight?” Applejack said, “What's going on?”

“Yeah, Twilight,” Rainbow added, “why did you bring us here? It's like a dungeon.”

“It's dirty,” Rarity said.

“And scary,” Fluttershy added.

“And filled with these delicious eggs!” Pinkie Pie was eating some Canterbury eggs she had found.

“Oh, hi guys.” Twilight's face was suddenly normal again.

“Stay away from her!” Luna shouted.  “She's Nightmare!”

“Huh? What the hay are ya'll talking about, Princess Luna?” Applejack scratched her head and walked towards Twilight.

“No!”

“It's okay princess.”

“Applejack,” Twilight smiled at her and Applejack returned the favor, “the element of honesty.”

“Huh? Yeah...” Applejack looked over at Luna and said, “See, it's all right.” Twilight suddenly changed back and bucked Applejack in the ribs and sent her flying across the room. “Ow,” Applejack said in pain. “Twilight, what the hay is wrong with you?”

Twilight laughed. “You're all about to see a new age; an age of order! An age of prosperity!”

Pinkie shouted, “Oh my gosh! Luna was right! She is Nightmare Moon!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both face hoofed.

“Uh, no sweet. She's Twilight Sparkle with Nightmare inside of her,” Rarity said.

“Oh!” Pinkie said with understanding. “She's Nightmare Sparkle!” Rainbow Dash fell over laughing.

The demon shot a purple beam at Pinkie, but Princess Celestia jumped in front of the beam. “Tia!” Luna shouted, then she turned her attention back towards Twilight and snarled. Her horn glowed, and she shot a magic beam, but Twilight was gone.

A voice came from behind her, “You missed me, Loony.” A magical beam shot from Twilight's horn that sent Luna flying into the air. She hit the ground with a loud thud. “Ha! You guys are pathetic. Especially you!” Twilight shouted as she pointed to Celestia. “Let's see how you like it being locked up for a thousand years!” The mirrors returned as Twilight vanished.

“No you don't!” Luna shouted. She tried the same trick as before, but it didn't work. The mirrors weren't budging this time. They must be stronger than before. She charged a large amount of magic in her horn and fired it at the mirrors. Nothing.

“Well, it looks like we're trapped for a thousand years,” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“I guess I wont be making that wine and cheese tasting party then, will I?” Rarity said.

“Oh...” Princess Celestia said in pain.

“Tia!” Luna ran to her side, “Are you alright?”

Celestia looked up and smiled faintly. “I saved the baby, little sister.”

“Shhh, just relax Tia. We'll get you out of here.” Celestia closed her eyes and passed out.

“Yeah, princess get up,” Applejack said, “We're ganna need ya to get out of this place.”

“She can't help us, Applejack.”

“What? Why not? She's the princess, ain't she? Can't she just zap us out or something?”

Luna wasn't sure how to break it to the overly confident ponies. She looked at each of them, their faces smiling brightly, then she sat down and stroked Celestia's mane. She had always admired her sister's mane. Most ponies liked hers more, but Luna preferred her sisters'.

This isn't how Tia should die, locked away in a dungeon where no pony can see her. This isn't fair.

“Princess? Are ya'll okay?”

“No. Nothing is okay.” Luna didn't feel like explaining. She just lay next to Celestia and cried.

“Cheer up, princess,” Rarity said. “Trust me, I know what you're feeling right now, but everything will be okay. When the going gets rough, the fabulous get going!”

“How can you all be so calm?” Rainbow Dash said. “We're stuck in a tiny room with no flying space and no food. The princess looks badly injured, and the only other magic-user here couldn't get us out.”

“Ahem!” Rarity said.

“Like I said, the only other magic-user here couldn't get us out.”

“Hump!”

“Ah, did some pony say magic?” Pinkie asked as she pulled out a blue chest encrusted with jewels.

“Oh! Pinkie! Please tell me that is what I think it is,” Rarity screamed.

“Yup! They're the elements of harmony! I thought they might come in handy, so I snatched them from that room earlier.”

“Oh... yes. The elements.”

“Good job, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash shouted, and Pinkie smiled at the sound of it, “but you're forgetting one thing-Twilight was the element of magic! How are we ganna use them without her?”

“Oh, I'm sure Luna could help.” Pinkie bounced over to Luna. “What do you say, Moony? Want to be the element of magic?”

Luna stood up and looked at the blissful pink earthpony with fierce eyes, full of tears and rage. “Absolutely!” Luna whipped her head to remove her black tiara, and, using her magic, she floated the new one into place.

“Aw, yeah!” Rainbow Dash shouted as the six ponies got into position. “Let's do this!” But nothing happened. Luna's ears fell, and she took off her tiara to examine what went wrong.

“Aw, pony feathers!” Pinkie shouted. “I thought that was ganna work!”

“I told you so!” Rainbow Dash reminded her.

“No way! You were all like, 'Aw, yeah!' and, 'Let's do this!' You totally thought it was ganna work too!”

“Oh yeah? You wanna make something of it, chump?”

“Well I don't have anything better to do for the next one thousand years!” Rainbow Dash flew at Pinkie, but Applejack quickly grabbed her tail.

Suddenly a strong wind began to swirl around the room, and all of the ponies had to brace themselves to keep from being blown over. The only calm area was the center of the room, where Celestia and Luna lay. The sound was so loud that Luna had to cover her ears.

Celestia opened her eyes and reached a hoof up to Luna’s ear, and the noise suddenly stopped as her sister whispered in a very clear voice, “He’s still burning… but it’s alright.” Luna didn’t understand. She wanted to ask what she meant, but the noise from the wind had returned.

Luna held tightly onto her sister. “It’s going to be alright!” Luna shouted. They looked into each other’s eyes, and Luna saw her sister’s face glow.

The wind suddenly came to a complete stop. “I know,” Celestia said. Then she exploded into thousands of balls of light. They swirled around Luna as she sat there. They felt as warm as one of her sister’s afternoon days. She closed her eyes and imagined that sunrise hey shared. “I love you Luna.”

---

Twilight Sparkle stood on the balcony above the courtyard. Below her were the makings of her new army; one hundred pegasus Royal Guard ponies were lined up in ten rows of ten. Their eyes glowed purple. Twilight saluted them, and they all saluted her back in unison.

Then a letter fell from the sky and landed at her feet. She picked it up and saw the royal seal. “Don’t open that,” Nightmare warned her from inside of her head.

“Ha! Why? She can’t do anything. I made sure of it. Not even the princesses could break that spell.”

“I don’t trust her. She’s clever.” Twilight could feel her moving from behind her eyes. She shifted back and forth, and her voice was louder in either one ear or the other.

“I made that spell so that only letters could be sent back and forth. I didn’t think she’d figure it out so quickly, but it’s not like she can do anything.”

“Still!” Nightmare screamed as she pressed her face against the back of Twilight’s eyes, transforming Twilight’s eyes from their cute shape into large ovals. “Do you want order, or not?”

Twilight did. As soon as she realized that she was influencing the world, she had started to plan how to make the world better. She didn’t sleep or eat while she tried to figure out how the magic worked, but she wasn’t getting the hang of it.

“I’m the only one who can make that happen for you, Twilight.”

Twilight opened the letter. “What good is order if a single letter can destroy it?” She read, and as she did, Nightmare screamed at her, but the enchanted letter blocked out all noise.

My Dear Faithful Student,

By the time you read this, I will be dead. I do not want you to be sad though, Twilight. I have lived a very long and wonderful life, and these last years with you have been particularly special. I watched you grow up from a young filly, and no other pony has ever made me so proud. You studied harder than anyone, and you have made such wonderful friends. You give me hope for the future. I know tomorrow will always come so long as there are ponies like you to guide it, and that is why I have chosen you, Twilight Sparkle, as my successor. Just look to the east and hope for a new beginning.

Your loving teacher,
—Princess Celestia

A single tear rolled down Twilight’s cheek as she looked to the east. She closed her eyes and tried to think of what to hope for. Nightmare screamed, but the enchantment was still in place. Twilight thought of her goal of order, but it felt oddly unimportant in that moment. So she searched for another thought. She thought of the dress that Rarity had made for her, the one for the grand galloping galla. She worked so hard on that, and she wants to be famous so badly. Her mind became flooded with all of her friend’s hopes and dreams: Rainbow Dash wants to be a Wonderbolt. Rarity wants to be a fashion designer. Fluttershy wants to help animals, and Pinkie wants to party! They all seemed so much more important to her. And they can’ do it if…

“You!” Twilight teleported three feet forward, but she left the squiggly black spirit floating behind her. “You tricked me! And you hurt my friends!” Twilight fired a beam at the black shadow spirit and launched it into the sky over the courtyard.

“No!” Nightmare shouted as the sun broke over the horizon. It destroyed her.

---

Twilight let her friends out of the cage and told them all what had happened. She also said sorry, and her friends all accepted her apology, of course.

---

“So you mean it's not good to make chocolate rain clouds?” Pinkie Pie asked, “That doesn't make sense, Applejack. Explain this to me again.”

Applejack's face met her hoof. “If it's rainin' chocolate milk all the time the apple trees are ganna die.”

“But who needs apple trees when you have chocolate rain clouds, silly?”

“Alright, that's it. Fluttershy, you're on.”

“Okay.” Fluttershy made a yelling motion, but no sound was made. Then, suddenly, a flock of birds swarmed around the cotton candy rain cloud.

“No! Shoo! Go away! It's my rain cloud!” Pinkie screamed, and they all laughed.