Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies.

But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon...

"'--and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.'" The lime green unicorn closed the book and looked up at the sky. "Elements of Harmony. I swear that I've heard that somewhere. But where?"

Endgame shrugged and stood up. "I'll see if I can find it in the library," he told himself. He opened his saddlebags and gently placed the book inside. He brushed the grass off of his vest and started walking back towards the library.

On the way, he ran into Twinkleshine, a very important pony in Canterlot. She was a bright unicorn with a swirly, light pink mane. She had three blue stars as her cutie mark. Personally, Endgame had no idea what talent would have to do with blue stars, considering that stars were white, but her tried not to think about it too much.

"There you are, Endgame!" she greeted. "Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?"

"Um...I might be able to come," Endgame said, rubbing his neck nervously, trying to think of an excuse not to come. When he couldn't think of one that was honest and reasonable, he said, "Yeah, I'll probably be there."

"Great!" Twinkleshine replied, smiling happily.

"I didn't know you'd be so happy to have me," Endgame said.

"Well, you are a teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," Twinkleshine said. "That's a pretty high position to hold. Would you kindly escort me to the party when it's time?" Endgame nodded. He knew that Twinkleshine just wanted him to escort her so she could say that she got escorted by an important pony. Still, he decided to give her 15 minutes of fame.

"Awesome!" Twinkleshine said. "Pick me up at 6 o' clock, okay?"

"Got it," Endgame said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some research to do." He quickly walked past Twinkleshine and broke into a gallop to get to his house.

When he got to the house, he threw the door open. He heard a smack followed by a grunt. He looked around and saw a small, purple and green baby lying on the ground. "Oh," he said, unable to hold back a giggle. "Sorry, Spike." He levitated Spike onto his feet. He noticed a small package impaled on Spike's tail. "Um, what's that?"

Spike looked at the package and frowned. "It was a gift for Moondancer," Spike grumbled.

"Sorry, Spike," Endgame said. He then remembered why he had come here in the first place. "Oh, Spike. I need you to find an encyclopedia for me."

Spike nodded, then ran over to search the various bookshelves. Endgame took a moment to admire his assistant. He was extremely loyal, a trait that Endgame admired greatly.

"Which bookshelf is it on?" Spike asked.

Endgame looked at the numerous amount of bookshelves in the library and smiled. He had always loved reading, and now he was living in a library! It was like being in bookworm pony heaven.

"I think it's on that short one over there," Endgame said, snapping out of his fancolting to point to a very small bookshelf beside his desk. He always kept any research materials nearby, along with some of his favorite books in case he needed a break.

Deciding to save Spike the trouble, Endgame used his magic to levitate one of the smaller books over to him. He checked the cover to make sure it was the encyclopedia, then called to Spike, "I found it!" He opened the book and started flipping towards the "E" section. Eventually, he found what he was looking for.

Unfortunately, the article told him exactly with the book from earlier said; in the exact same wording, it described the story of the sisters who raised the sun and the moon, and how the younger grew resentful, yada yada yada.

Changing his mind, he decided to flip to the "N" section of the book. There were only two entries in the "N" section: Necromancy, which Endgame had read many times over, and Nightmare Moon, which he had glanced at occasionally, but never fully read.

He read the Nightmare Moon entry, which was incredibly short. It only described her physical appearance, and nothing more.

As Endgame was about to give up, he noticed a hoofnote at the bottom of the page: see, Mare in the Moon, The, pg 235. He quickly and excitedly turned to page 235 and found an entry title The Mare in the Moon, which was the title of an old pony legend he had read as a child.

"'The Mare in the Moon,'" he read aloud, "'myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal.'"

Endgame set the book down on his desk and noticed that Spike had been looking at him. "You came all the way here to read an old ponies' tale?" he said skeptically.

"I just wanted to see where I had heard the phrase 'Elements of Harmony' before," said Endgame. "You know how I am, Spike. If I didn't get confirmation immediately, it would've haunted me all day, and I wouldn't be able to prepare for the party--"

Endgame stopped dead in his...rant. He locked at his watch. "It's 5:55!" he exclaimed. "I said I'd pick Twinkleshine up at her house!"

"You're going to Moondancer's party?" Spike asked. "Can I come?"

"Sure, but get ready fast!" Endgame said. "We can't be late!"

Spike nodded and ran off towards his room. Endgame ran into his own room. He opened the closet and pulled out his black suit. He quickly put it on and looked in the mirror. He levitated his dark purple glasses onto his face and checked himself again.

After making sure he had all his clothes on, he ran into the bathroom and quickly did his red and purple mane, slicking it back formally. He checked his watch one more time. 5:56.

He laughed at himself. "Well, that didn't take nearly as long as I thought," he said. He calmly slid his saddlebags off beside his bed and left the room. "Spike! Are you ready?"

Spike come out of his room, wearing a black suit with a white button up shirt and a red bowtie, which was his typical formal attire. "You're going in your teaching clothes?" Spike asked Endgame.

"It's good formal wear," Endgame said defensively. "Now, let's go pick up Twinkleshine."

Endgame knocked on the small wooden door. "Who is it?" Twinkleshine's voice asked from inside.

"It's me," Endgame replied. "Endgame. You told me to pick you up?"

"Oh, right," Twinkleshine said. "I'll be out in a minute."

Endgame looked down, making sure that he looked presentable. He was a very important pony, and wanted to make a good impression for the princess. She trusted him with a lot of things, and he wanted to repay her trust.

The door was enveloped in a blue aura, which meant that Twinkleshine was using her magic on it. It opened, and Twinkleshine stepped out.

She looks beautiful, Endgame admitted to himself. She was wearing a white dress that was transparent in some places. She also had on a pretty looking flower crown. She was beautiful, but not breathtaking.

"You look nice," Endgame complimented, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you," Twinkleshine replied. "You look quite dashing yourself."

Endgame simply nodded in response. "Shall we go?"

"Let's," Twinkleshine said.

Man, could this get any more cheesy? Endgame thought to himself.

He started leading Twinkleshine to the castle courtyard. Spike had gone ahead to the party, eager to socialize with other ponies, since, most of the time, he was helping Endgame conduct research on Equestria's history.

Endgame wasn't much of a conversationalist, so Twinkleshine did most of the talking. He had to admit, she did more than enough talking for the both of them. He began to see more of Twinkleshine's personality come out. She was a well-off citizen in Canterlot, very rich and well-educated, but not very talented at magic. She could only do basic telekinetic spells. Endgame volunteered to teach her some more advanced magic later.

"It's alright," Twinkleshine said. "I get by on what little magic I know."

After a few minutes, the pair arrived at the party. Ponnies were all over the courtyard, socializing with each other. A white pony with a red and purple mane, strikingly similar to Endgame's, approached the pair. "Twinkleshine!" she said. "I'm glad you could make it." She looked at Endgame. "Who's your friend?"

"Endgame," Endgame said. "History teacher at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. At your service."

"It's nice to meet you," the mare said. "My name's Moondancer." She turned and looked at Twinkleshine. "I didn't realize you had a coltfriend, Twinkleshine."

"Coltfriend?" Endgame said. "I'm--"

"Well, he haven't really been going out for a long time," Twinkleshine quickly interrupted. "I was going to tell you tonight."

Endgame looked at Twinkleshine suspiciously. Was she really willing to go this far to be considered important?

"Seriously?" Colgate exclaimed. "You're dating a pony THAT important?!"

"Yes, I am," Twinkleshine said, nodding and smiling confidently.

"I don't believe you," Lemon Hearts said. "Where is this 'Endgame' stallion?"

"He's right over there," Twinkleshine said, turning to the punch table. She was shocked to find that Endgame was gone. He turned back to the two ponies she was talking to. "Um, I'm going to go find him." She ran off, trying to find Endgame.

After searching for five minutes, she was about to give up when she saw a dark green pegasus with a crimson and black mane sitting at a bench. He was pretty attractive, she had to admit, but a bit nerdy-looking. He had a four-point star as a cutie mark. He was laying on the bench over a slim, purple brick-like object, pressing buttons on it from time to time.

She trotted over to the stallion and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey," she said.

The stallion looked up at her. "Yeah?" he said.

"Um, I was wondering if you could be my date," Twinkleshine said.

"Um, I don't even know you," he said. "If you're wanting somepony to have sex with, I'm not your stallion." He turned back to the purple box, which Twinkleshine saw was a GameColt Advance--a portable gaming system.

"Quite the charmer," she said.

"Teachers love me," he said, not looking up from his GameColt.

"Teachers?" Twinkleshine said. "You're a bit old to be going to school, aren't you? I'd better you were held back a lot."

The stallion looked at her. "Buck you," he said. "And, I'll have you know, I got to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"But...you're a pegasus," Twinkleshine said.

"You don't say?" the stallion said sarcastically. He turned back to the device. After Twinkleshine didn't walk away, he sighed and looked at her. "If you want to see a demonstration, too bucking bad." He then noticed a smile forming on Twinkleshine's face. "Look, lady, I'm not--"

"What's your name?" Twinkleshine interrupted happily.

"Nano," the stallion said. "Like I was saying--"

"Come with me!" She grabbed Nano's hoof and dragged him off of the bench and started running back towards her friends.

"I was almost done with the Ridley boss fight!" Nano exclaimed. "If I lose, you're bucking dead!"

When they got to Colgate and Lemon Hearts, she stood in front of them and set Nano down. "Here's my friend, Nano," Twinkleshine said, panting.

Nano stood up and looked at the two mares, then turned to Colgate. "Has anypony ever told you that you look like Coltgate toothpaste?" Nano said. "I'm pretty sure that most people think about that the first time they see you. Come to think of it, you're name sounds like Coltgate toothpaste. Your parents must be jerks to name you after a brand of toothpaste."

"This stallion's a teacher?" Lemon asked while Colgate stared at Nano, her mouth hanging open.

"I'm not a teacher," Nano said. "I'm a student at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Now, I know that's horse dung," Lemon said. "You're not even a unicorn."

Nano got on a trollish face. "You doubt my megic abilities?" he said in strange voice.

"I doubt that you have any magical abilities," Lemon said.

Nano got serious. "Okay," he said, turning his head to the side and popping his neck. "Behold my magic." He flexed his wings out. The very tips began to glow lime green. In the background, the punch bowl began to glow the same color. It levitated towards him. He brought it to his lips and began to drink out of the bowl. He drank and drank until the bowl was empty. When Nano looked at the three mares, he saw that they were staring at him, mouths open. He smiled. "So, do you have any more punch?"

~~~

"I didn't know you were important enough to take advantage of, Endgame?" Celestia joked.

Endgame didn't know whether or not to be insulted. Instead, he said, "Well, apparently I am. I'm tempted just to say 'screw it' and tell everypony that Twinkleshine's lying."

"Maybe," Celestia said. "Oh, I was wondering about something. How is Nano doing in his studies?"

Endgame looked at Celestia suspiciously. Ever since Nano's birth, Celestia had been hunting him down. After Endgame met Nano at an alchemy demonstration, he decided to protect Nano. He had convinced Celestia to leave him alive, and to let him into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Endgame knew, however, that Celestia held a grudge against Nano.

"He's coming along quite nicely," Endgame said. "He's got basic levitation down pat."

"Interesting," Celestia said, looking ahead wonderingly. Then, she flinched slightly. "Speaking of Nano, he's right over there."

Endgame looked ahead and saw Nano surrounded by multiple mares. He had a cocky smile on his face. He was levitating a large glass of vodka beside his head. He was poring drinks and handing them to the mares.

"Yo, Nano!" Endgame said. He trotted up to his student and smiled.

Nano heard his name and looked at Endgame he smiled and pushed through the mares. He handed a cup of vodka to Endgame, he took it in his magic. "What's up, Mister Endgame?" Nano said.

"You don't have to call me 'Mister' outside of school, Nano," Endgame said.

"Oh, that's good," Nano said. "That's way too formal for two stallions drinking vodka."

"Oh, Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanoooooo!!" a voice rang out. Nano and Endgame cringed. Twinkleshine came up, but stopped when she say Endgame. "Oh, h-hey, Endgame, honey."

"'Honey'?" a mare in the crowd asked. "I thought you were going out with Nano?"

"Yeah?" Nano asked. "Weren't we going out, Twinkleshine?"

"Um, well, that was before I met Endgame," Twinkleshine said, approaching Endgame and wrapping her front hooves around his foreleg.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Endgame said. “We’re not going out.”

“Are you breaking up with me?” Twinkleshine asked.

“‘Breaking up’?” Endgame scoffed harshly. “We were never going out! You were just using me to get attention like the little attention-whore you are.” Twinkleshine stepped back, tears in her eyes as Endgame stared her down coldly. “And don’t call me honey.”

Twinkleshine broke down sobbing. She turned tail and ran out of the courtyard, wailing all the way. “Dang, Endgame,” Nano said. “Couldn’t soften the blow?”

Endgame turned and looked at Nano. “I didn’t feel like it.” He turned and started walking away.

He was intercepted by Celestia, who stepped out in front of him. “Endgame,” she said angrily. “May I see you in the throne room?”

Oh, crap, Endgame thought. “Y-yes, Your Highness,” he said.

This was not going to end well.