"Mare in the moon?" Spike looked over at Twilight, scratching his chin. "But that's just an old ponies' tale."

"Mare, mare... aha! The Mare in the Moon, 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!" Twilight gasped. "Spike! Do you know what this means?"

"No... whao!" He didn't have enough time to dodge the book falling on him.

Twilight grinned. She knew just what to do. "Take a note, please. To the Princess."

A few scribblings, some spelling difficulties, and in interminable wait later, Spike was reading from Princess Celestia's reply. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely."

Twilight grinned. "See, I told you she would want to take immediate action."

"But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!"

Twilight's eyes shot open wide.

"That is why I can trust you with the knowledge that Nightmare Moon will return this year in Ponyville. You must go there and prevent her return. Find the Elements of Harmony: they will aid you in your quest."

Twilight shot into action. "You heard her! We've got to get started right away!"

"Uh, actually, I read her." Spike gave Twilight a sidelong glance.

"Right away!"

Spike snapped out a salute. "Right! On it!"

As soon as the chariot touched down, Twilight hopped out. "Thank you, sirs."

The two pegasus guards whinnied a polite reply.

"So, how are we gonna defeat Nightmare Moon?" Spike looked around the small town. "It looks pretty normal right now."

"Easy." Twilight smiled. "The Princess said we'd need the Elements of Harmony, so I'll start with a simple scrying spell to find those." She looked around the street. "First we'll need some water... aha!" Running over to a nearby fountain, she already began calling up her immeasurable magic talent. "Now I just need to visualize the right runes... aaand done. Now we'll know where those precious artifacts are."

Her horn glowed and the reflection on the water's surface changed. Spike's and Twilight's faces vanished.

Images of six ponies replaced them. One of them was Twilight herself, at that very moment.

She couldn't resist a quick glance upward where the pool's point of view seemed to originate. There was nothing up there, of course. She turned back to the fountain. "That's odd, Spike. I was expecting stones or gems or something... instead, the elements seem to have embodied themselves in six ponies, and I'm one of them!"

Spike stared into the pool. "How do we use six ponies to defeat Nightmare Moon?"

"I don't know..." Twilight stood for a moment, tapping her chin. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out when the time comes. For now, we'd better gather them all together." Her horn glowed again, more brightly this time.

Five flashes blinked into the street in quick succession, leaving five ponies blinking and looking around themselves in disbelief.

"Don't worry," Twilight said to them, "I know you're probably confused, but I've brought you all here for a very important reason."