When the ponies woke up the next day to begin their daily work, something was amiss. Twilight Sparkle, resident librarian and pupil to Princess Celestia, was missing, leaving only a heavy tome unopened on her desk. The library showed signs of struggles; burn marks and soot lining the inside of the room. The only witness to the crime was Spike, the librarian's assistant. A scroll was sent to Celestia immediately, detailing what he'd heard.

"I screwed up Twilight, I'm sorry. I don't want to have to drag you into this, but I have no choice."

What followed would forever go down in Equestrian history as the longest night of self discovery, general nonsense, diplomatic relations, more general nonsense, changeling culture, debate on morals and beliefs and general nonsense that the world had ever seen.

And don't get me started on all the nonsense.

Now heavily edited.