“Hey everypony, it’s Rainbow Dash!” A stallion exclaimed and pointed with a hoof towards a mare with a five color mane. Instantly the mare was surrounded by everypony wanting an autograph while she was trying to eat.

“I’m not Rainbow Dash!” She yelled and pushed the pictures away from her. “See, I don’t have wings. And last time I looked, she had a cerulean body, not a light greyish yellow one.” She sighed as all the ponies began leaving her in peace to eat breakfast. She knew it wasn’t fair to those that enjoyed her shows but it did drive her up the wall. Where Rainbow Dash’s mane was all seven colors of the rainbow, hers consisted of five colors: soft orange, moderate green, vivid blue, soft magenta, and light yellow.

“My apologies, I just saw the multi-color mane.” The stallion said and put some bits on the table. “At least let me pay for bothering you.”
“Thank you. And don’t worry too much, I do get mistaken for Rainbow Dash quite often.” Lyla was glad that the stallion offered to pay and much happier when he left. Her soft red eyes scanned the tables and area surrounding the outdoor café to make sure she truly was able to eat in peace. Her eyes caught her cart and was thankful that it was undisturbed. Standing up, she stretched and paid her bill before heading towards the cart. Maybe if they were to see my cutie mark. She thought with a grumble and glanced back to make sure it was still a starburst and not a cloud and three color lightning bolt. Plus, I’ve been here before. They should have known that. She strapped the harness to herself and looked around the town one last time before heading out and resuming her journey.

In a way, it sucked for her since the cart she pulled wasn’t allowed to travel by train in case something went wrong. On the other hoof, she was fit and got to see sights of the land that most ponies didn’t see. She shook her mind to chase away the thoughts and set her sights on Ponyville.

That had been three weeks since she left and she went up one more hill before stopping at the peak. Looking down, she saw the most familiar town of Ponyville and paused for a moment. “I hope Pinkie Pie is planning a party soon.” She said and looked over the town, noticing a crystal tree that definitely hadn’t been there before. With a happy sigh, she walked down the hill and into a never failing to amaze her Ponyville.
“You’re late!” A bubbly voice said from the top of the cart as she stood on a tarp that covered the stuff inside.

“This pony is never late, nor does she plan to arrive early.” Lyla unhooked herself from the harness. “This one arrives exactly when she mean too.” She turned to face Pinkie Pie and they looked at each other trying to keep a straight face. As usual, Pinkie Pie was the first to crack a smile and they laughed.

“Okay, if you say so, Lyla Firecracker.” Pinkie Pie jumped down and hugged the pony known as Lyla Firecracker. “Got anything super-duper awesome in there?”

Lyla Firecracker hugged back. “That depends, are there any celebrations coming up?”

“Not that I know of.” Pinkie Pie then pulled a scroll from her mane and opened it, the thing unrolled through most of Ponyville. “Let’s see… Twilight Sparkle arrives in Ponyville… we find the Element of Harmony… then we stopped Nightmare Moon.” She would have gone on but Lyla stopped her by putting a hoof onto Pinkie Pie’s mouth.

“Okay, really, I get that I missed a lot.” Lyla lowered her hoof. “We’ll just have to put a party on for no reason then.”

“Okay!” Pinkie Pie gave the scroll a slight tug and it rolled itself back up, starting from the end she wasn’t holding before she stuffed it back into her mane. “Do you have a theme or is it just going to be random this time?”

“You know me, I go with the mood of the festival.” Lyla Firecracker replied.

“Well it’s a full moon this weekend. OH! Ponyville was founded this weekend as well!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, happy that she had found a reason for a party.

“A party for discovering the town. Hmm…” Lyla Firecracker mumbled putting a hoof to her chin as she thought about what she could do for it. “I don’t think I can get much of a theme with that, but I promise to make it short of nothing spectacular.” She said with a smile.

“I know. This will be the second best night ever!”

“Don’t you mean the best night ever?”

“Nope, that’s when Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Applejack and I went to the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot.”
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

“Well, Gotta run and tell Twilight. Bye!” In a blink of an eye, Pinkie Pie was already a considerable distance away while Lyla Firecracker waved for a moment before hooking the cart up to her and wandering around the town.

At last she found a pond that was on the outskirts that looked large enough to serve her purposes. “Perfect.” Content with the location, she shrugged off the cart before sitting under a tree and closing her eyes to sleep.

It was a couple days before the full moon and the entire town was getting more and more excited with everypony pitching in to help. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were constantly baking food for everypony with the help of Pinkie Pie, the apple family were making every apple treat under the sun, the pegasi and unicorns were hanging streamers from the rooftops, the earth ponies were putting up game booths and other festive stands. Twilight Sparkle was supervising and helping when she could, Rarity was working on a secret project that only a few ponies knew about, and Lyla Firecracker was busy preparing her own secret with the help of some stallions.

When in public, Blue Jay acted like nothing happened to her and did her best to ignore the looks she still received. Since it would take a while for her mane and tail to grow back, she had allowed Paige to cut it to make it look more even but even doing that Paige had to take it slow. By this point everypony had known that something bad happened to her but any attempts to talk to her about it made her clam up and not talk to that pony for the rest of the day or night.

“Blue Jay, bring your end down just a little.” Paige called up as she noticed Blue Jay hovering higher than where her magic held one end of the ribbons on a different house. She waited as Blue Jay hovered lower and when it was even, she called out for her to stop before she stuck it to the building.

“How are we doing?” Blue Jay asked as she landed next to Paige, who was making a couple bows on either end.

“Our section is done actually. Guess it’s time to help other ponies.” Paige looked down from the ribbons in time to see Blue Jay’s eyes narrow and she followed her friend’s line of sight to see Lyla Firecracker heading their way. The closer Lyla Firecracker got, the more Blue Jay began to shrink back. They were on opposite sides of the streets when Harmonious Flash appeared and stopped Lyla Firecracker to talk to her. “Want to take a break?” She asked Blue Jay earning a relieved nod so she led the way back to her house. Upon entering, Blue Jay immediately went for her spot on the couch and curled up while Paige grabbed two muffins before joining her.

Harmonious Flash finished another round of Ponyville, checking to see if anypony needed anything or to pass along a message. Heading towards her friends, she saw Blue Jay backing up from a figure across the street. With a slight change in direction, her new path brought her in front of Lyla Firecracker. “Lyla, do you need me to get you anything?” She asked and blocked her way.

Lyla Firecracker shook her head. “No, I’m good. I just wanted to tell those mares that they’re doing a good job with their teamwork.” She pointed over Harmonious Flash’s shoulder towards Blue Jay and Paige.

“I can certainly pass that message along for you.” Harmonious Flash said as she lowered Lyla Firecracker’s hoof. “But right now it’s not the best idea for you to go over there and tell them yourself.”

“Why not? I don’t mean to pry but I am curious.”

Harmonious Flash looked over her shoulder to see Blue Jay and Paige walking away, then she looked back at Lyla Firecracker. “Because something happened to Blue Jay a month to go. Something that made her afraid of brand new ponies.”

“Even though I’ve been here nearly a week?”

“Yep, it took her almost a week to face anypony and some of them she’s known since she moved here. That just reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to talk to her about.” Harmonious Flash looked in the direction they went. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course.” Lyla Firecracker said. “I’m sorry to hear about your friend, I hope she gets better soon. And thanks for passing along my message.”
“Trust me, it’s not you.” The two parted and while Lyla Firecracker went back to the pond, Harmonious Flash headed for Paige’s house. As Harmonious Flash walked, she was caught up in her mind that she didn’t noticed Kitsune walking backwards and planting a row of purple flowers until she collided with the other pony and they went down. “Sorry about that, I wasn’t– wait, Kitsune?” She asked after standing up and brushing herself off.

Kitsune looked up. “Oh, I’m sorry, Harmony. I probably shouldn’t have been walking backwards. It’s just a little easier to see the line of flowers.” She pointed to the nice line that made up on side of the path.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re doing a nice job on that.” Harmonious Flash watch as Kitsune’s face brighten.

“Thank you, that’s the best thing I’ve heard lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I’ve been hiding in the castle ever since I came here because everypony seems to think that I was the one that hurt Blue Jay and that Feral Lupus was just made up.” Kitsune sat on the ground. “And the few times I have been out, I’ve received glares and dark thoughts directed my way. But with everypony helping to get this event ready, I wanted to help and show that I’m not who they think I am.”

“Has she emerged since then?”

Kitsune shook her head. “Or if she has, nopony has told me. But as far as I know, I’ve been me ever since I came here.”
“So if you’re staying in the castle, are you liking it?”

“Yes, every night Twilight Sparkle locks the room so in case I do transform, I can’t escape.”

“You agreed to that!?”

“I don’t mind really, and I do see where she’s coming from.” Kitsune lightly brushed her hoof over the last flower she planted. “I met you three and less than a day later I’ve hurt Blue Jay. I don’t want that to happen to any other pony. Now I don’t have any friends around here.”

Harmonious Flash put a hoof onto Kitsune’s shoulder. “You still have me as a friend. I can’t speak for Paige or Blue Jay, and I was pissed when it all happened, but I know it wasn’t you in control so I’ve moved on.”

Kitsune looked like she was about to cry, but she did hug Harmonious Flash. “Thank you Harmony, I needed to hear that. I promise to find a way to make it up to her.” She let go, stood up and then went back to planting the flowers in better spirits. Harmonious Flash patted Kitsune’s back before she resumed walking, stopping when she saw Berry Punch and asked if she could give being Kitsune’s friend a try.

Paige sat outside her house as Harmonious Flash walked up. “I had a feeling you would be coming, Harmony.” She said as Harmonious Flash sat next to her. “What did Lyla want?”

“She was impressed with your teamwork and wanted to say something.” Harmonious Flash then went into the rest of the conversation with Lyla Firecracker and then the one with Kitsune. “But the reason I was coming by was because I wanted to get some suspicions taken care of and figured you were the best one to ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You would know better than I would. Has Blue Jay been getting worst? You two have been disappearing more frequently during the day, she seems to be a lot quieter if any pony asks her anything even if it’s not related to that night. And now today, she was getting ready to run from Lyla wasn’t she?”

Paige sighed and nodded. “Yeah, her mental walls are beginning to crack. It’s only a matter of time before they shatter completely and she has a meltdown.”

“Well it has been a month and she keeps it too herself. I’m surprised she lasted this long to be honest.” Harmonious Flash admitted and looked at Paige. “Have you had any luck? I figured if anyone, she would open up to you.”

“No, I tired. She insists that she’s fine and if I push too much, then she gets upset and clams up on me. Sometimes she leaves suddenly for her house or locks herself in my spare bedroom. So I pretty much given up asking her.” She sighed. “I’m hoping she’ll open up after the festival and if she doesn’t, then I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Two night later, the party was in full swing. Apple Bloom had put on a stage show with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo along with some of her classmates of how the Apple family founded Ponyville with Granny Smith narrating it and thanks to Rarity, they had the right clothing to make everything authentic. Everypony was having a good time eating, laughing, and playing games with their fellow neighbors. Even Kitsune made an appearance but Rarity stayed by her side the entire time until it was clear that nopony wanted to be near her so she sadly went back into the castle before her friends even knew she was out and about.

As evening began to fall, Lyla Firecracker slipped away and headed for the pond to make one final check on her preparations before the big event. Yesterday she had asked Harmonious Flash to put up fliers around the town to give everypony a heads up to come down to the pond when a number ten appeared in the sky. She was glad that the stallions were able to construct a wide dock in the middle of the pond which would serve as her launching point. On top of the wood laid the fire resistant tarp that she made herself. Sitting on the tarp were several different tubes of various sizes, shapes, and lengths. Lighting two fuses, she watch them burn right up to the cylinders and the flame disappeared for a moment before a gold streak shot straight up from them before splitting apart. With a boom, a gold ten appeared in the sky, indicating that the citizens of Ponyville should make their way over and that the show would start in ten minutes.

Lyla waited for ten minutes and gave it a few seconds longer before rolling out two smoke bombs. As they released their blue and yellow smoke, a spot light switched on near a microphone and Lyla walked into the spotlight. “Welcome, Fillies and Gentlecolts! I’m Lyla Firecracker, the one-and-only, wonderful firework show wander! Tonight, to help celebrate the founding of Ponyville, I have decided to light up night sky with my magic.” She paused for a moment as she could hear the cheers from the crow. “Parents, if you have little ones, you may want to cover their ears as this event can get loud. Now, without further ado, please, enjoy the show!” She clicked off the microphone and then the spotlight before waiting a couple seconds, then switching on a song called O Fortuna, it being the first song in the entire Carmina Burana. Right on cue, the first firework shot into the sky and exploded in all its glory.

Shortly after the gold ten faded, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found their way to the firework cart. Since they were too short to see over the top, Sweetie Belle stood on the ground, Apple Bloom was on her shoulders and Scootaloo was on top of Apple Bloom. “Geez, stop moving around so much you two.” Scootaloo scolded her friends.

“Maybe if ya didn’t move around so much, we’d be able ta stand still.” Apple Bloom shot back.

“Girls, hurry up already. We’re in danger of collapsing in about six seconds.” Sweetie Belle said, urgency clear in her voice. Six seconds later, she felt her body give under the weight of the two fillies and she and Apple Bloom went crashing to the ground while Scootaloo had jumped at the last second and managed to climb in.

“Whoa, these are cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed loudly, but thankfully nopony heard her.

“Shut up and grab one will you?” Sweetie Belle grumbled as she got back onto her hooves while Scootaloo grabbed one slightly larger than the average mare. “Yeah, that one’s fine. Now come on!” Together they ran off with their prize.

They didn’t go very far from the cart before sticking the firework into the ground in case somepony passed them. What they didn’t know was that the one they picked had an experimental fuse attached to it and it lit up when Scootaloo’s hoof brushed against it when they were unwrapping the plastic off the fuse. In their panic, Apple Bloom bumped into it causing the rocket to lean to the side slightly and a few seconds later, it shot off and flew straight for the castle.

Twilight Sparkle was enjoying the music with the fireworks and their brilliant displays so she was surprised –along with the rest of the ponies– when a random rocket shot over head and she turned her head to follow it. “Not again!” She yelled and buried her head in her hoofs waiting for part of the castle to be blown off. She didn’t hear anything for a couple seconds so she lifted her head in time to see the rocket explode in a shower of silver and well away from the castle. Breathing a sigh of relief, she watched as the silver streaks shot over the town heading back towards the pond before shooting upwards and exploding once more to make Princess Luna’s stars come to life. She soon joined in with the clapping as the music continued since the show wasn’t over and the ponies were thinking it was part of the show.

Feral Lupus sat in the room. She had tried opening the door and windows but had no luck with them. She figured she could use the moon to help her escape but then that could alert Twilight Sparkle to her escape attempt. Oh buck this. I want to be free! She thought and her wish was granted as a rocket shot within a hoof’s length away from the castle and it left a hole in the magic bubble around the window. Feeing the magic disintegrate, she watched as the silver streaks shot pass overhead the second time, she smirked and effortlessly opened the window before flying out and sticking to the shadows. She knew she would risk being caught if she stayed there and would lose night time flying to Canterlot, but there was something she couldn’t resist doing. Spotting a trio sitting a little ways from the other ponies, she flew down and landed quietly before creeping the rest of the way to her target. Thankfully for her, Harmonious Flash had gotten up offering to get snacks and drinks for them so she walked away.

Feral Lupus waited a couple seconds, noting that Blue Jay sat slightly kitty-corner to Paige so she sat just behind Blue Jay and leaned in close to her ear. “I’m back my sweet play thing.” She whispered while rubbing her hoof along Blue Jay’s back sensually feeling her freeze up at her touch so she continued until Blue Jay leaned back slightly and Feral Lupus took that chance to lick her ear. “I would love to stay and play, but I have business elsewhere. Take care my sweet.” She gave Blue Jay’s ear another lick with one more hoof stroke going down her back, over her cutie mark and getting close to her plot as she could. Feeling Blue Jay begin to shake, she pulled away and had to resist the urge to laugh until she was well on her way to Canterlot.

“Hey girls, I’m back.” Harmonious Flash set the tray down a few minutes later before noticing Blue Jay trembling. “Is everything alright?”

“Blue Jay? What’s wrong?” Paige asked as the concern in Harmonious Flash’s voice caused her to look over at her friend. Seeing Blue Jay’s tears falling and that she was getting ready to scream, Paige quickly threw up a bubble around them to muffle most of the loudness. It turned out that the song that was currently playing was rather loud and combined with the multiple explosions, it drown most everything out.

“She’s back! She’s come for me again!” Blue Jay screamed and curled herself into a ball while trying to cover her neck with one hoof and her plot with the other.

“Who exactly Blue Jay?” Harmonious Flash asked as she touched Blue Jay’s shoulder only for Blue Jay to bite her hoof. Crying out, she quickly pulled her fore hoof away.

“Paige tried to hold Blue Jay down with her magic but it only made Blue Jay thrash more and fearing for her friend getting injured, she reluctantly let go. “Who do you think would get her like this?” Paige yelled over the screaming, her ears flat against her head to try and muffle the noise in the enclosed space. As Harmonious Flash’s eyes widen, Paige teleported the trio to the hospital.

“We need help here!” Harmonious Flash yelled as she latched onto Blue Jay to prevent her from flying away. The longer she held her friend, the more times she got hit but Harmonious Flash refused to let go and Paige also got hit a few times as she gripped Blue Jay’s tail in her mouth. What seemed like fifteen minutes, Nurse Redheart came in with a syringe and a strong sedative and pushed the needle into Blue Jay’s fore leg. Gradually Blue Jay quick fighting them as the sedative took over and she slumped in Harmonious Flash’s arms.

“No! You can’t just go in–” A guard grunted in pain and a thump could be heard outside the throne room before the large door opened and Feral Lupus walked in.

“Isn’t tonight’s moon just beautiful?” Feral Lupus asked as she set a slow, deliberate pace towards the thrones where Princess Luna was sitting on hers.

“What doth thy want?” Princess Luna asked. “To enter thy chamber and hurt thy guards doing so?”

“You don’t remember me? I’m hurt.” Feral Lupus replied putting a hoof to her heart as if in great pain. “After all, I haven’t forgotten about you… Nightmare Moon.” She grinned darkly as her eyes reflected the moonlight.

“That name has no meaning to thou.” Princess Luna stated. “I cast thy name away when thou was made good again.”

“Well, that’s too bad. Maybe tonight would have been fun. But now, it’s time to pay the piper.” Feral Lupus laughed before she rocketed straight for Princess Luna.

Since Princess Luna hadn’t expected at quick attack, she felt herself get slammed into the back of her throne and the breath pushed out of her as she was pinned by Feral Lupus. Summoning her magic, she blasted Feral Lupus away from her and sent her almost back to the doors to give her time to recover. “Thou don’t like to fight, but thou will defend this place from all enemies.” She charged up another spell and fired it only for it to be stopped by a silver shield.

Feral Lupus laughed as her navy blue stripe glowed pale in the moonlight. “Then maybe tonight will be fun after all.” With one full of intent to kill, and the other with intent to defend, the two battled but never gaining a clear advantage over the other for very long with the fighting ending in a stalemate while the poor room had seen much better days. Feral Lupus was panting heavily and barely managed to remain standing while Princess Luna looked to just be out of breath.

“This is the end for you.” She charged another spell and fired the blasts around Feral Lupus to trap her while the final beam struck the pegasus and causing an explosion creating a dust cloud. Feral Lupus staggered when the dust settled but when she fell, she laid there bleeding and gasping for breath. “I pray Faust has mercy on your soul.” She lamented sadly and walked towards the broken pegasus.
“I’ll say the same thing for you.” Feral Lupus whispered into Princess Luna’s ear and slashed at her throat with a blade hidden in her wing. Only Princess Luna’s quick teleporting saved her from bleeding out but she still had a trail of blood running down her neck. “Red looks better on Blue Jay than you I have to say.”

“How is it that you’re there, but on the ground?” Princess Luna asked as she held a hoof to her neck to stop the bleeding.
“Simple, that one’s an illusion.” Feral Lupus walked over to the bloody form and stepped on it, causing the illusion to break into tiny shards of glass. “You know the moon is associated with illusions, I learned how to weaponized that.” She smirked and started to walk towards Princess Luna again. “Can you really believe your eyes?” She taunted as Luna shot smaller, but no less power, energy blasts. Each time Feral Lupus let them hit the mark, they shattered and she appeared in a different location. “You know, all I need to do is keep this up until you us up all your magic and then it’ll be much easier to take you down.”

Princess Luna was beginning to grow weary from her constant magic use, but she also knew she could draw on the moon to give her strength should she really need to. “You’ll never defeat me!” She yelled out and did a wide sweep of magic in front of her.

Feral Lupus laughed as she tackled Princess Luna from the side and pinned her to the ground bending her neck out and stepping on her windpipe to prevent her from breathing or focusing too much. To make sure she couldn’t kick her, Feral Lupus also released a few more wing blades sticking into the ground right in front of Princess Luna’s legs and stomach with one embedding itself in one of her hind legs. The sound of shattering glass could be heard as a black pony with blood red dragon wings, a blood red mane and tail, a pendant hanging from his horn, and a scimitar blade attached to his tail flew in.

“You will step away from Princess Luna and surrender, Feral Lupus.” He said coldly.

“You don’t have any power over me, Fainthoof, old friend.” Feral Lupus replied just as coldly while looking up at Fainthoof. “Though if I were you, I would stay back…” She pushed her hoof down earning a strangled gasp from Princess Luna. “…or I will kill her before you have any chance of reaching me.” She felt something crawling over her hoof and she looked down to see a black shadowy flame burning over Princess Luna’s body. “What…” She snarled and then her smirk returned as realization hit her. “Oh, I see now.”

“TWILIGHT!” Spike yelled as her ran fast as he could towards her and the others. Upon reaching her, he doubled over trying to catch his breath. “Kit… Kitsune… She’s… gone.” He wheezed.

“Rainbow, go and check.” Twilight instantly commanded and Rainbow gave a salute before shooting towards the castle. Using her magic, she lifted Spike onto her back. “Girls, lets go.” She said and the rest of them ran for the castle as well. A couple seconds later, Twilight Sparkle and Spike disappeared in a flash of white light.

Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie were able to make it to the throne room only to be met by Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. “Is she here?” Fluttershy asked, as she nervously looked around at any place somepony could hide in and ambush them.
“No, afraid not. The window to her room is open.” Rainbow Dash said.

“But I would have sensed if she used any magic and– oh no. I know exactly what happened.” Twilight Sparkle began to panic and she ran for the library while the others followed her. “I didn’t think anything of it when the rocket went past because I was sure that it was going to be blown off.” She used her magic to pull several books down and began to read them at break neck speed, her lips moving with each word she read.

“Spike, how did you know she was gone?” Rarity asked him.

“I was watching the firework display when Owlowiscious came to get me. Then as I was taking her food up, I felt for the magic burrier but didn’t feel anything. Dropping the food, I ran into the room to see the window open, that’s when I came out to find you guys.” Spike explained.
“I was right.” Twilight Sparkle said as she continued reading three books at one time. “Sometimes things can puncture a bubble spell and the magic disintegrates gradually. Since I was more worried about the place not being blown off, I didn’t think that the magic faded.” Twilight groaned and the books fell to the floor.

“Any idea where she could have gone?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“She could have gone back to the cabin.” Fluttershy replied. “At least that’s what I would have done and then wait.”

“Should we try searching the castle?” Applejack asked. “You know, just in case she slipped to a different hiding spot when you three weren’t in a particular room?”

“I did a full magic sweep. She isn’t here.” Twilight said as she sat down with a frown.

“Then we need to get out there and start lookin’.” Applejack said.

“No need. She’s gone to Canterlot.” Harmonious Flash said from the doorway as the six ponies and one dragon turned to face her.

“How do you know?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“We think Blue Jay is currently reliving that night a month ago. Guess she was told that Feral Lupus wanted revenge on Nightmare Moon” Harmonious Flash sighed. “I wasn’t there since I had went to get snacks and drinks for us, but I came back and Blue Jay was trembling. Paige didn’t notice anything since she was focused on the fireworks. As for how I know, Blue Jay’s being very vocal in her sleep right now.”

“Hopefully there’s still time to warn Princess Luna. Spike! Get ready to send a message the moment I’m done writing it.” Twilight said as her eyes lit up with determination. Running over to her writing stand, she used her magic to pull over a quill and some parchment. “Dear Princess Luna, be careful. We have reason to believe that a dangerous pony is on the way to hurt you. Please be on your guard.” She said as she wrote it out and signed it with her name. “Spike, now!” She tossed the scroll towards him and he unleashed the breath of dragon fire he had ready and burned the scroll. “We should head that way as well in case we can help.” She got ready to teleport them when Applejack put a hoof onto her shoulder.

“There’s no point Sugarcube. Since we can’t fly, we wouldn’t get there ‘til tomorrow afternoon at ta earliest by train.”

“I’ll teleport us all there.” Twilight Sparkle argued.

“That’s a long distance. When we got there, you wouldn’t be much help to us since you’ll have drained yourself of your magic.”

“I can fly there and help delay the fight for the rest of you to get there.” Rainbow Dash said and got ready to fly but Rarity held her back with her magic.

“Darling, I imagine you could fly there without much problem. But there stands a chance you wouldn’t be able to fight if you used up too much energy on the way over.”

“I hate ta say this.” Applejack removed her hat and pressed it against her chest. “As of right now, we done all we can.” Twilight Sparkle looked down, Rainbow Dash hovered down to the floor and Harmonious Flash headed back to the Ponyville hospital.

The black shadowy flames continued to burn on Princess Luna’s body but not appearing to hurt her until it solidified into armor. To make sure she didn’t get burned, Feral Lupus removed her hoof and took a couple steps back as she watched the transformation. “So, a simple banishment wasn’t enough for you?” Nightmare Moon calmly asked as she stared down Feral Lupus.

“You should have known I would have found a way back to get my revenge.” Feral Lupus growled. “Now, count up your sins.” She pointed to Nightmare Moon with a hoof as she said that before rocketing towards her opponent but hit the ground where Nightmare Moon had been seconds before. She didn’t get a chance to rest for long as Nightmare Moon fired a spell from the air and Fainthoof tried to slash at her with his tail. “So two against one, I like this.” She turned and bucked Fainthoof in the jaw to buy her time and used the force to help propel her upwards towards Nightmare Moon while dodging the spells that were raining down at her.

“You couldn’t beat me long ago. There’s no way you could hope to do so now.” Nightmare declared and fired a spell that hit her target causing Feral Lupus to crash through a window and into the night sky. She quickly followed and narrowly avoided an uppercut attack. Summoning storm clouds, she made several lightning bolts snake through the air around her as she laughed. “You can’t hope to reach me now.”

“I can and I will. The only reason I didn’t win last time was due to my inexperience with my abilities.” Feral Lupus said and noticed the stripe fade a little without a direct access to the moon while Fainthoof wasn’t allowing her much time to hover in the air. “Fainthoof, back off or I will be forced to hurt you.” She snarled after dodging the latest attack. Silently casting an illusion spell, she waited until a lightning bolt singed part of her body and began a slow descent. As Fainthoof attacked, Feral Lupus shattered and while he quickly tried to determine where the real Feral Lupus was, she came down in a steep dive hitting him hard on the head and knocking him out before he fell towards the streets with his pendant following after.

“Now, where were we?” Feral Lupus asked as she hovered in the same height as Nightmare Moon. She flew towards Nightmare Moon putting everything into her speed weaving around the lightning attacks but at the last second shot straight up piercing and flying through the cloud layer. Once she was above the clouds, she felt the power surge through her once more.

Nightmare Moon dispelled the clouds so she could keep an eye on Feral Lupus without risking her life only to find that Feral Lupus had completely disappeared. “Come out of hiding you coward.” She glanced over to see a torrent of water heading for her but was hit before she could move. The pressure was making it difficult to stay airborne and she was slowly being pushed down.

“You dare call yourself a ruler of the night?” Feral Lupus laughed as she watched Nightmare Moon struggle not to breath and stay in the air. “How does it feel knowing that your student, your best one, is about to defeat you?” She asked with a smirk. Flying upwards, she did a loop before diving towards the torrent of water and just before she reached it, she spun into a spiral to help build up her speed. Her hoofs making contact with Nightmare Moon’s body, she pushed down hard and fast as she could. At last, victory will be mine! She thought as Nightmare Moon swallowed more water from her gasp when Feral Lupus slammed into her. Suddenly the moon sunk quickly and the sun rose into the sky just as quick while Feral Lupus’ stripe went form pale blue to navy once more. NO! I was so bucking close! She snarled internally as she felt her conscious fading.

Misty Fly penetrated the swirling vortex and slammed into Kitsune carrying her away from Nightmare Moon while Soarin and Surprise caught Nightmare Moon to help slow her descent and when they were able to slow her enough, their hooves touched the ground a second or two later. The water that had been with them drenched the ones involved in the rescue and continued to flow down the street.

“These are going to be a bitch to get off later.” Surprise grumbled.

“Yep. But that’s something we’ll just have to live with.” Soarin replied and they didn’t get a chance to talk as Princess Celestia came into view and they both bowed low.

“Luna!? Are you alright?” Princess Celestia cried out as she landed not too far from them and rushed over to her sister’s side. Turning her sister’s mouth up, she pushed air into her before pressing against Nightmare Moon’s chest with her hooves. She did it a couple times and was about to give up when Nightmare Moon coughed up water and opened her eyes.

“Thank you sister.” Princess Luna said as the armor burned away and she tried to stand but Princess Celestia put a hoof onto her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I became her again.” She said softly so only Princess Celestia could hear her as she looked at the cobblestone road beneath her.
Princess Celestia lifted her chin and replied just as softly. “I’m prepared to say you were still Luna, my sister, but only donned the armor to help fight.” She winked at her and Princess Luna smiled.

“How did you know about the moon?”

“I was watching the fight for a few minutes while I woke up from my sleep. Everything she did was related to what the moon has the power to do.” She noticed two of Princess Luna’s guards approaching. “Plus, do you have any idea how hard it is to sleep when you have a rolled up piece of parchment bouncing off your head?” She heard her sister giggle as she turned to the guards. “Please take my sister to my room. See that she is dried and properly warmed.” The saluted and helped Princess Luna back to the castle.

Spitfire touched down a moment later. “Princess. I was able to rescue Fainthoof before he crashed into the ground.” She reported, now wearing Fainthoof’s pendant as it had slipped around her neck while she was concentrating on saving Fainthoof and avoiding the tall buildings.

“Thank you, all four of you.” Princess Celestia dipped her head in a bow. “Feel free to stay and rest for a few hours. Meanwhile, I need to inform my loyal subjects as to why the sun is suddenly up instead of them getting a couple more hours of sleep.” She saw them bow before she turned and walked away.

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony, Hasbro does.
However, I'm pleased to say I do own Blue Jay, Paige, Harmonious Flash, and Kitsune/Feral Lupus.

Fainthoof is used with permission from Damien, a good friend of mine.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome. It'll help me to improve my writing and seeing what people liked.