“So, it’s the big day huh?” Rainbow asked Twilight as she sat beside her on the carriage, her wings folded neatly over her back as they rode beneath the full moon.

Normally she’d have prefered to simply fly by herself, easier to make sure that the skies were secure when you were the one who had done it, but she had a responsibility to stay beside Twilight now. Besides, she trusted that the skies were clear this close to Canterlot. It wasn’t at all that she was simply enjoying the easy feeling that came from being beside her best friend.

“Yes, yes it is,” Twilight replied with a smile as she magically fixed her tiara which had become a little crooked with the wind. “Queen Luna is coming back! And I’m going to be the one to bring her!”

“Easy, Twi, if you keep up that level of excitement you might pull something,” Rainbow commented, smirking at her friend.

“Oh shut up,” Twilight said before she smiled. “By the way... thanks, Dash.”

“For?” Rainbow asked.

“For giving up your position in the Bolts to come and guard me,” Twilight replied, giving her friend a quick nuzzle. “I know how much you adored that position, heck, you spent your entire childhood lusting after it.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow trailed off for a long moment before shaking her head. “But you know what, Twilight?”

“What don’t I know?” Twilight asked in return, a light chuckle leaving her lips. “Seriously though, what?”

“Sometimes your friends are more important than your dreams,” Dash replied as she gave Twilight a nuzzle of her own. “And you’re my best friend, Twilight. I’d give up any dream to make sure that you’re safe.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight said quietly. “That means a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Rainbow stated simply as the carriage touched down. “Now then, welcome to Ponyville,” the pegasus said as she hopped off of the carriage and offered Twilight her wing to steady her as she got down. “Home to the Equestria famous Sweet Apple Acres and Sugar Cube Corner, not to mention the Carousel Boutique.”

“Should I know what any of those places are?” Twilight inquired as she gave a nod of thanks to the two thestral guards who’d been pulling the carriages. “Actually, scratch that, I know Sweet Apple Acres because I’ve had their cider.”

“Ooooh, I love their hard cider more than any other type of alcohol,” Rainbow replied, a near orgasmic look crossing her face.

“I can tell,” Twilight commented, giving her friend a sideways look. “Try not to get drool everywhere alright?”

“What? Who’s drooling?” Rainbow asked, chuckling as she whipped a tiny bit of drool away from her lips. “I wasn’t. No, Ma’am.”

Twilight couldn’t help herself and a peal of laughter left her lips. “Oh-oh, Rainbow,” she said as she pulled herself back together. Then she shook her head. “Anyways, back to the list-” her horn erupted in a short glow of magic and a magelight appeared over her head. “- which says that our first step should be checking in with the town Mayor, Mayor Mare... is that a misspelling?”

“Oh no, not at all,” a new voice said as a reserved looking tan earth pony mare said as she walked towards them. “I’m Mayor Mare, and believe you me, you’re not the first to have asked that question.”

“Twilight Sparkle, aspiring Arch Mage and student of Queen Celestia, here to oversee the night’s preparations,” Twilight introduced herself, smiling at the mare as she held out her hoof. The Mayor shook it and nodded.

“I was told that you’d be coming soon and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” the Mayor replied. “As I said, my name is Mayor Mare and I’ll be here to show you around Ponyville and answer any questions you might have.”

“Why thank you for the offer, but I think my associate and I will be fine by ourselves,” Twilight replied cordially. “I’ll be sure to come and find you if I do end up having any questions.”

The Mayor nodded slightly and turned to Rainbow. “Ah, and it’s good to see you again, Ms. Dash.”

“Same to you,” Rainbow replied, giving her a nod.

Twilight frowned but simply shrugged as she began to walk away, Rainbow easily catching up to the mare’s short lead.

“You know her?” Twilight asked, giving her guard a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ve stopped by here every once and a while to see Fluttershy and Gilda,” Rainbow answered simply, her eyes glancing around the night for any sign of threats.

“Ah, makes sense,” Twilight replied, nodding. “How is Fluttershy by the way?”

“She’s good, I’ll probably have a chance to introduce you two, finally,” Rainbow replied with a shake of her head. “I still can’t believe that two never met.”

“I was busy,” Twilight defended. “It’s hardly my fault that Archmage Shimmer and Queen Celestia had me studying advanced magic. Also, do you know the way to Sweet Apple Acres? Because right now I’m just walking in a random direction,” she added, a slight blush crossing her face as they passed a group of mares gardening.

“Yeah, Twi, just follow me,” Rainbow replied, snickering. as she turned slightly to the right. “It’s about two miles outside of town, think you can walk that far?”

“Of course I can,” Twilight said with a derisive snort. “It’s not like I’m a fat nerd you know Rainbow.”

“No, no, you’re not fat, just pudgy,” Rainbow replied, jumping out of the way from an incoming hoof.

“I am not ‘pudgy’, Rainbow,” Twilight stated flatly, though there was still a joking note in her tone. “I’m just not whipcord thin like you are.”

“Well then, it’s just another of the many ways that I’m better than yo-” Rainbow was cut off as she ran face first into an invisible wall.

“Hmm? What was that?” Twilight replied, a wicked smirk on her face.

“You, you are a horrible, horrible, power abusing unicorn,” Rainbow stated as she recovered from the blow, it had not been a very hard one after all.

“Maybe,” Twilight agreed, chuckling. “But I’m your horrible, horrible, power abusing unicorn aren’t I?”

“Heheh, I guess you are,” Rainbow agreed.

The pair walked in companionable silence until they reached a large farm. The clearly visible apple trees were in full bloom, lunar flowers shining silver in the moonlight.

"This is it,” the pegasus said.

“Really? Is that what the sign says?” Twilight asked sarcastically with a nod towards the sign proudly displaying the words ‘Sweet Apple Acres’.

“Hey, you’re right, it does say that,” Rainbow said, blinking in mock surprise. “Wait, when did you learn how to read?”

“About two years before you did,” Twilight replied snarkily.

Rainbow snorted, but didn’t have time to form a reply because a new face was moseying her way up to them. The approaching mare was orange with a light blond mane which was tied back in a neat ponytail. She wore a rawhide cowboy hat along with a short bladed sword at her side.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite cider drinker,” the mare said, her voice deeply accented. “It’s a bit too early for us to have any though.” She closed the distance between them and exchanged a firm hoofshake with Rainbow. “Of course, I suspect you knew that already. What brings ya here now? And what’s with the gold armour? You Wonderbolts get a new dress code, because otherwise ya’ll look a lot like a normal guard?”

“Well, I kind of am a normal guard now, Applejack,” Rainbow replied before glancing at Twilight who had been watching the pair with interest. “More specifically, I’m her guard. Applejack, meet Twilight Sparkle, aspiring Archmage.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Twilight said with an easy smile as she held out her hoof for Applejack to shake, hoping that the orange mare wouldn’t crush it with her own. Luckily, she didn’t.

“The pleasure’s mine,” Applejack replied with a smile as she released Twilight’s hoof. “So, what brings someone as important as you all the way out to my little plot of land?”

“According to my list, you’re going to be providing the food for tonight’s event,” Twilight said. “I’m just here to make sure that everything will be ready. We couldn’t have Queen Luna’s return spoiled by bad food.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow at her.

“Not that I think it would be bad, I’m just making sure,” Twilight said, blushing faintly as she realized what she’d implied. “I’m sorry, my mind is on other things at the moment.”

“It’s fine,” Applejack said with a small shrug. “I’ve spent enough time around your type not to get too offended by that sort of talk. Come on, I’ll take you back to the farm and you can try some of the food we’ll be servin’ tonight.”

“That sounds fine,” Twilight said before frowning. “And what is ‘my type’ exactly?”

“The important business pony who has her mind three steps ahead of the rest of us and forgets about the little things,” Applejack answered casually. “Ah’m not offended by the way.”

“I... sorry,” Twilight replied, she didn’t like to seem like that kind of pony, but Queen Luna was returning tonight! Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had fallen back a few steps and was keeping an eye for any sort of trouble, as was her duty as a guard.

“Like ah said, it’s fine,” Applejack replied. “You’re not nearly as bad as most of ‘em, and Rainbow Dash is with you which means that I’m sure that yall’re nice when yer head’s not up in the clouds.”

“Err... thanks,” Twilight said awkwardly, blushing faintly. “So... is the sword because you live so close to Everfree?”

“Yep, never know when you’re going to have a manticore or a pack of timberwolves come out of that darned place and try somethin’,” she stated nonchalantly. “Old Vera and I send ‘em packing.”

“Ah, I see,” Twilight said, nodding her head. “You know, if you’d like I could see about getting a few more guards to patrol around here.”

“Na, don’t bother,” Applejack replied, shaking her head. “There’s no real reason to. They wouldn’t catch any of the critters before they’d gotten back to the forest, and if they followed ‘em back in they’d probably end up dead or lost.” She paused for a moment before adding. “But I thank ya for the thought, Ma’am.”

“Call me Twilight,” Twilight corrected as they came closer to the house and her nose all but killed her, so overwhelmed was it by the scent of all the food.

“Oooooh, I don’t think I can make it back to town,” Twilight groaned, her stomach having bulged with the huge quantity of food Applejack had forced down her throat. Well, to be fair, Applejack had simply provided her with the opportunity to stuff her gullet. It didn’t change the fact that the Apple Family knew their craft so well that Twilight didn’t know whether or not she’d be hungry again in twenty years.

“I could probably carry you, if you wanted,” Rainbow commented as she walked along beside her friend. “I mean, yeah you’re a little heavy, but I’ve carried bleeding stallions out of warzones and you’re not quite that large.”

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes. “You always know just what to say don’t you?”

“I like to think that I do,” Rainbow replied, smirking widely. “Anyways, what’s our next stop?”

Twilight grumbled under her breath as her horn glowed and the list of things appeared in front of her eyes. “Okay, next we need to go see a mare named Rarity who works at that botique you mentioned earlier. Apparently she’s in charge of putting the finishing flourishes on the building that I’m performing the summoning in.”

“Ah, Rarity,” Rainbow said, a small frown on her face. “This should be... interesting.”

“Interesting?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

“Yeah, interesting,” Rainbow replied. “See, Rarity is a fashion designer by trade and she’s used to moving in the upper class circles so she’s got a good poker face and can smooth talk her way through just about anything.”

“Ah,” Twilight said slowly, she’d known plenty of ponies like that. They liked to try and make the Queen give them things that they didn’t deserve. “Well, rest assured, Dash, I won’t give her any of the Crown’s money that she doesn’t need.”

“I wouldn’t worry actually,” Rainbow said, shaking her head slightly. “Rarity may be a smooth talker, but she’s actually genuine when she says she wants to help. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s doing her part in this for free. She’s surprisingly generous when it comes right down to it.”

“Okay... so she talks like a rich business mare but doesn’t have any of the lying half sincere undertones that normally goes with that,” Twilight said, nodding.

“Pretty much,” Dash replied as they drew back into town. Suddenly Rainbow noticed something. It was an out of the way box lying in their path where it shouldn’t have been. There was nothing wrong with it, and it appeared completely normal... but... “Brace yourself and keep walking forwards,” she whispered in Twilight's ear. “What’s about to happen won’t hurt, but you need to be careful with how your magic reacts.”

Twilight, who had noticed the box as well, nodded invisibly and kept on walking. As they neared the box the sense of tension increased further and further until…

*BOOOM*

Twilight and Rainbow Dash jumped in surprise as something exploded from behind them. The pair was suddenly drenched in a gooey cake batter which was accompanied by the sound of a tuba blasting a long note. Rainbow Dash was the first to recover and as a dollop of icing dripped off of her mane, she stuck her tongue out and caught it before bringing it back to her mouth and slowly tasting it.

“Not bad, Pinkie Pie,” the pegasus said with a small chuckle.

“Not bad? You mean it wasn’t extremely awesome and totally spectacuriffic?” an energetic mare’s voice asked from behind them.

Twilight, who had recovered by this point, glanced back to see a mare with a mane like cotton candy and a pink coat, she was jumping up and down with a wide grin on her face.

“Not by my standards, but I think you got Twilight pretty good,” Rainbow replied with a small smirk towards Twilight who shook her head.

“It was… pretty good,” Twilight said after a long moment. “Also… have I met you before?”

“I helped you rob the castle pantry that one time,” Pinkie answered, grinning. “Remember, we used a mini Polka concert as a distraction.”

“Oh-OH! I remember you now,” Twilight said with a grin of her own as her horn glowed and she levitated the icing and cake batter off of herself and Rainbow before bringing it together into a ball and taking a bite. “Mmm, not bad at all.”

“Thanks,” Pinkie said with a smile before she jumped up and somehow managed to come down on top of the cake ball, jaws wide open. Twilight stared at her as she finished the entire cake in a single large bite. “Mmm, yummy,” she mumbled through sticky lips.

“Wow,” Twilight said with in a whisper to Rainbow.

“Yeah,” Rainbow replied, nodding. “Anyways, Twilight and I have some stuff to get done, see you tonight?”

“Oh you do, can I help?” Pinkie asked eagerly.

“Probably not, it’s boring stuff,” Rainbow replied, shaking her head. “You ready to go, Twi?”

“Yes, yes I am,” Twilight replied. “It was nice seeing you again, Pinkie Pie.”

“You too, super best cookie stealing buddy,” Pinkie replied with a grin before she hopped off. “I’ve got some baking to do before the big event! Ooooh I hope Queen Luna likes snozzberry cake as much as Queen Celestia does!”

“I’m sure she does,” Rainbow said, not actually knowing what a snozzberry was. “I sometimes can’t tell if she’s a genius or absolutely insane.”

“Yeah, I’ll say, and I’ve only met her twice,” Twilight said, memories of her short team up with the mare in the back of her mind. “But she plays a mean polka set.”

“Yes, darling, I’m sure,” a sophisticated voice said from another room as Twilight and Rainbow entered the boutique.

“But what if he doesn’t like it?” another voice, this one infused with a strong trace of Prench.

“Then I promise you that I’ll give you a full refund, my dear,” the first voice replied earnestly. Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash who smiled slightly.

“Well, alright,” the second voice replied before a long legged unicorn with a white coat and a pale pink mane walked into the room, she had a bag held beside her head with her magic. The first unicorn was followed by a shorter white coated unicorn with a highly styled purple mane.

“Trust me my dear, you look ravishing in it,” the white coated unicorn said, smiling brightly. “I’m sure that your sweet Fancy will take quite the ‘fancy’ to it.”

The pink maned mare tittered out a short laugh before she gave the other unicorn a brief hug and then left through the door.

“Ah, at last,” the remaining unicorn said with a long tired sigh before she noticed Rainbow and Twilight. “Oh, hello there to you both. I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I’ve been helping Miss De Lis create the perfect dress for five hours, and then spent the next two talking her into actually wearing it.”

“That’s alright,” Twilight replied with a small shrug. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, here to check up on how the decorations have been coming for tonight.”

“Oh,” the mare said, blinking blankly for a moment before smiling. “Oh yes of course, that event. I’m sorry, I’ve just been so busy today. My name is Rarity.” Then she frowned and glanced at Rainbow Dash before a surprised look crossed her face. “Rainbow Dash, I didn’t know you were in the normal guard as well as the Wonderbolts.”

“I switched,” Rainbow replied with a small shrug. “I wanted something a little closer to home.”

“Ah, say no more,” Rarity stated before looking back at Twilight. “So; what would you like to know about the decorations? I finished them yesterday and they are perfect if I do say so myself. The perfect mix of older styles picked right out of the history books along with new ones as well.”

“So as to better acclimate her to our more modern Equestria?” Twilight asked and received a prim nod.

"Indeed, I was told to make sure that everything was ‘just so’ by the Queen herself,” Rarity replied before chuckling softly. “Though I did have to make one or two changes to the measurements, some of her dimensions were off by a quarter of an inch or more.”

“Ah... yes the Queen does have trouble with her numbers sometimes,” Twilight said, a light chuckle escaping her lips. “Anyways, would I disturb anything if I went to see the building?”

“No no, not at all,” Rarity replied before chuckling again. “Miss Twilight, however could a building hold such a momentous event if the decorations couldn’t withstand a single mare walking through them?”

“Ah, true enough,” Twilight said, nodding her head. “Well then, Rainbow and I should get going... I may stop by here later and do a little shopping if you don’t mind.”

“Mind more business? From a high class mare like yourself? Never, no matter how tired I am,” Rarity replied with a smile. “Come back any time you like between business hours.”

“Will do,” Twilight replied, turning for the door again.

“See you around, Rarity,” Rainbow told Rarity.

“I look forward to it, my dear,” Rarity replied, giving her a wave as the guard followed her protectee.

“Okay, so we’ve done everything on the list, and I’ve double checked it all twice,” Twilight said with a small nod of satisfaction as she and Rainbow Dash walked down a dirt road for a cottage in the distance.

“Yep,” Rainbow agreed before she glanced up at the full moon, it was a bit higher in the sky. “And judging by the position of the moon, I’d say that we have an hour before the ceremony starts.”

"I know,” Twilight said, giving her a smile. “Oh I just can’t wait! All these years of studying and practicing on other objects, and I finally get to summon Luna herself back from her holy crusade!”

“I-” Rainbow was cut off as a large brown ball of fur and feathers pounced on her from above.

There was a furious screeching along with several shouts of anger from Rainbow Dash as the pegasus went down in a raging ball of dust and feathers. Twilight’s eyebrows rose in alarm and her horn ignited instantly into a bright purple glow, freezing the two combatants in place.

Rainbow Dash was in the middle of punching a brown furred griffin in the face while the griffon had a clawed hand extended outwards in a downstroke at Rainbow’s chest. Twilight looked between the two, neither of whom seemed overly concerned that they’d been immobilized.

“Oh dear,” a new voice said from above her. Twilight blinked and looked up to see a buttercup yellow pegasus hovering there, a light pink mane covering her eyes. “I’m - um terribly sorry to bother you miss, but would you let go of my friends? They do this every time they see each other.”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked her before looking over at the griffon. “And Gilda I presume?”

“That’s right, and... you must be Twilight Sparkle,” the pegasus stated slowly, a small smile appearing on her face. “It’s very nice to meet you at last.”

“And the same to you,” Twilight said as her horn stopped glowing, causing Rainbow Dash and Gilda to tumble to the ground. The pegasus landed on top of the griffon, a small grunt leaving both of them. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh... you have?” Fluttershy asked cautiously.

“Yes, yes I have,” Twilight replied. “All of it good.”

“Oh, oh good,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you too,” she said before gulping and offering Twilight her hoof to shake.

“All of it good?” Twilight asked, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she gave the hoof a gentle shake.

“Oh yes, very good,” the pegasus said before she glanced over Twilight at Gilda and Rainbow Dash who were in the middle of an extremely elaborate hoof/talon bump.

“Fine, fine, you got the drop on me,” Rainbow said with a grumble.

“Hehe, you got that right I did,” Gilda replied with a beaky smirk. “Nice armour by the way, I think it stopped my entire impact eh?”

“Yep, I didn’t even have the breath knocked out of me,” Rainbow replied before glancing over her shoulder at Twilight. “Twi, this is Gilda, Gilda this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“So I gathered,” Gilda said, finishing the hoof/talon bump with a flourish before walking over to Twilight and offering her the talon. “It’s nice to meet you, Twilight, though I gotta say, you’re not as impressive in pony as Rainbow made you out to be.”

“Oh really?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. “What were you expecting?”

“Glowing eyes and floating mane,” Gilda answered before chuckling. “But yeah, you’re alright. Good reaction time too, not to mention being able to trap us both in individual telekinesis fields instead of a simpler, larger spell. Nicely done.”

“Thank you,” Twilight replied with a smile before she frowned. “You’re pretty knowledgeable about magic for a griffin, no offense.”

“None taken,” Gilda replied before nodding to Fluttershy. “You don’t stay friends with her without learning a few things.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and looked at Fluttershy in confusion, causing the mare to flush with embarrassment. “The only books I own are ones on anatomy or those having to do with magical creatures, including unicorns. Though I also have a few reference books and encyclopedias to go with the others.”

“Ah, trust me, I have nothing against those kinds of books,” Twilight said emphatically before glancing back at Gilda. “Nothing better to do on cold winter days than hang out at your best friend’s house and read huh?”

“Exactly,” Gilda replied as she moved her ruffled feathers back into place. “So, what brings you two here?”

“Well...”

Celestia smiled down at her little ponies from where she stood on the slightly elevated platform with Twilight standing beside her. Rainbow Dash and Tornado Kicker flanked them, in full armour. Celestia herself was wearing a flowing white robe etched with gold in order to cover up her own armour. The only parts of her that were unarmoured were her wings, it didn’t do to cover them up in metal after all.

Ponies thronged below them, tittering with excitement for the main event. Not only were they getting the chance to be the first ones to see Queen Luna upon her return, but they were also given the rare chance to see Queen Celestia outside of Canterlot. The free food might also have been a motivation for coming...

The building was circular and as per Celestia’s instructions, had been etched with silver, allowing the entire place to act as a magic circle and contain any huge releases of excess energy that came with her sister’s... rescue. A smaller circle in the middle of the raised platform marked where Luna herself would be summoned, it was etched in both silver and gold.

Twilight looked at Celestia as she studied the room, her eyes wide with excitement, the tiara balanced perfectly on her head, as if it had been tailor made for her. Celestia smiled internally at that, it showed that her guess about Twilight had been right.

As the moon reached its zenith, Celestia cleared her throat and immediately the attending ponies fell silent for their monarch to speak.

“My dear ponies, a thousand years ago my sister left this world to travel to the world of the dark to rid you of the creatures who preyed upon us all during the night,” she said in a regal voice. “Because of that, every year since that day we have held a celebration to her glory, to her honor and to her swift return. Well my little ponies, tonight is the night that she will come back. Tonight is the day that Queen Luna will return!”

As she said the last word, her wings flared in unbridled happiness.

*Twang*

A black shaft flew through the air and stabbed through Celestia’s right wing, a scream of pain exploding from her throat. Blood flew through the air, spattering across some of the watching ponies.

*Twang*

Another shaft flew through the air and stabbed through her left wing a second after the first impact and her scream of pain intensified as blood stained the floor.

The ponies were thrown into chaos and as Tornado Kicker and Rainbow Dash sprang forwards the outlines of several creatures fell upon them. The pair of ponies went down heavily as several more creatures fell upon Celestia and Twilight Sparkle.

The alicorn heaved and screamed even louder in pain as the creatures tore at her wings and back, though their claws glanced off of the armour.

All was pain for a long moment. And then Tornado Kicker lived up to his name.

*BOOSH*

One of the creatures flew off of the stallion, caught in an explosion of wind, it’s head slamming into the far wall.

*BOOSH*

Another of the creatures slammed into the floor.

And suddenly a roiling whirlwind of pure anger filled the platform, centered around the black pegasus, his armour stained red.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he roared as the whirlwind slammed into the pile of what appeared to be rotting griffons who had been doing their best to tear Celestia apart.

The effect was damn near instantaneous. The griffons were lifted off of Celestia, their bones snapping every few seconds before they were thrown against the far wall.

Celestia remained where she was standing for a long moment, her normally pristine white wings torn to bloody shreds before she let out a low moan and collapsed, blood pooling around her.

Her mind was a whirling pit of agony as magicer blacker than the night swept through her, she knew its feel, how could she not? They were arrows fired from the Stormbow of Darkness. She had not quite lost consciousness, despite the now constant drain on her magic, in the background she heard screaming.

Her ponies were screaming... and there was nothing she could do about it. The mare let out another low groan of both pain and heartache as she dimly sensed the frantic form of Tornado Kicker at her side.

“Tia! Tia!” he cried, tearing what little remained of her robe off to press it against the bloody wings and neck wounds. “I need a doctor! Get me a fucking doctor!” he bellowed at the terrified ponies below.

Rainbow Dash meanwhile had begun to scan the room from side to side, her eyes growing wider and more frantic with every scan. Three words rushing through her mind.

Where is Twilight?!

Author's Notes:

Big thanks to SwirlingBlade and BlackWindinSocks for the editing help!