My Little Pony: Equestria's Last Hope

Chp. I: All Work and No Play

"Long ago, I asked my mentor, Star Swirl the Bearded, what was the most powerful type of magic a pony can learn. He told me, 'the magic of Friendship. Indeed, the power to conquer and destroy can strike fear in the hearts of others; but it is short lived, for those who live by the dark arts shall perish by the dark arts. Only through love and compassion can one understand and master the true extent of magic'"

-Clover the Clever

"Let's see: Advanced Telekinesis (Check), Long Distance Teleportation (I might have to go over that one again), Advanced Shapeshifting (I sorta got it... I think), Magical Force Field (Oh... definitely gotta learn that), Beam of Destruction? (Ok...), and Advanced Locator Spell. Looks like this is it!" Twilight exclaimed to herself, as she read the list of spells that were given to her.

Twilight sighed and went downstairs from her room to the library. "This is gonna be fun..." said Twilight. Once she was in the middle of the library room, she used her levitation spell. All the books on the shelves floated in a large circle as Twilight stood in the middle of them. She slowly rotated each book, one by one, as they continued to float in an organized halo around her.

"Hmm... I'll need this one... I don't need this, or do I? Alright, I'll take this one, this one and this one! Great, I got everything!" said Twilight.

She packed her books in a bag and called out, "Spike, can you do me a favor and watch over the library while I'm gone?"

The purple and green dragon came out from the kitchen, "Wait, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm just going to the Everfree Forest to practice some new spells."

Spike frowned, "Why can't I come along? I'd love to see you perform new spells!"

Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry Spike, but I can't have you tag along. This time, Princess Celestia is testing me on these spells."

Spike's eyes widened,"Wait, Princess Celestia's giving you an exam?"

Twilight nodded, "I need one hundred percent concentration and I feel this is something that I must do by myself. Besides, the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place and well, someone needs to run the library while I'm gone. I hope you understand. Please?"

Spike gave Twilight a pout and grunted, "Fine..."

Twilight smiled, "Thanks Spike, I'll be back by nightfall!" the purple unicorn said, as she gathered her bag of books and left the library. Twilight trotted through Ponyville and entered the Everfree Forest. She didn't stop until she was deep inside the Everfree Forest, where nopony could bother her.

Twilight looked around where she stopped and couldn't help but close her eyes and smile. A relaxing cool breeze blew through the forest, which caused Twilight's mane to sway. Her chosen practice arena was fairly simple: It was a large empty circle in the Everfree Forest with no wild creature around, surrounded by trees. The leaves didn't completely cover the bright, sunny blue sky and other than the ruffling of the leaves and the soft howling wind, her chosen destination was quiet.

Alright Twilight, it's time to get to work! Twilight opened up her bag and took out a large, wrinkly purple book that was named "The Dark Arts: A Reference Guide".

"This is strange... Why would the Princess decide to test me on dark magic?" said Twilight, as she flipped through the pages until she finally found the section that explained the methods behind the Beam of Destruction spell.

"Hmm... 'Concentrate a large amount of energy into your horn and launch the concentrated energy using the telekinesis spell...' Well, here goes!" said Twilight. The mare closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Every muscle in her body strained as she began to channel as much unicorn magic into her horn as possible. She clenched her teeth and grunted with all her might as a large bright magenta beam formed from her horn.

That's right, concentrate it... Now, to launch it! Before she was able to launch the giant beam, the large concentration of energy exploded, which caused Twilight to fly. Her body slammed into a tree, which caused a sharp jolt of pain down her back. "Ow... Let's try it... again..." said Twilight, as she slowly got back up from the ground.

Again, the purple unicorn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Alright, focus! Just breathe and channel the energy! Breathe and channel the energy, you can do it! She concentrated as much energy as she could into her horn and before she was able to get as much energy as she wanted, the Beam of Destruction, once again, exploded.

"Whoa!" yelled Twilight, as she was sent flying. Again, her body slammed into a tree and this time, Twilight didn't get back up. Steam came from her horn as she was crumpled onto the ground, panting. Her back felt like somepony took a sledge hammer and battered it and sweat fell from her face. "Ugh... Let's try something else and call it a day..."

Twilight groaned as she got up from the ground. Her legs shook as she wobbled to her book. She flipped through the pages until she found a section labeled "Defense against the dark arts: The Magical Force Field spell."

"It says here that the caster must concentrate a large amount of energy into their horn and saturate the magical energy to create a dome around them. At least I don't have to launch it with a telekinesis spell," said Twilight, to herself.

Twilight then took a deep breath and exhaled. She began to apply a profuse amount of energy into her horn but as soon as a large beam appeared on her horn, it died out. No, I can't give up yet! I have to try harder!

With a fierce cry, she closed her eyes and began to channel as much energy as she could into her horn. Her legs trembled as she strained her entire body in order to gather the necessary amount of magic. The mare struggled to breath as she focused her powers. Twilight managed to form a large magenta dome around her but only for a few seconds, as the force field exploded and caused her to propel across the field where she practiced.

Twilight laid on the ground and admitted defeat. "Ugh, I give up... Let's try this again tomorrow," said Twilight, wearily. She took deep breaths and with all her might, the purple unicorn hoisted herself off from the ground and leaned onto a tree for support. She grabbed her belongings and began her long journey back to the library.

"Oh, I don't feel too good..." groaned Twilight, as she stumbled upon her own legs. She squinted her eyes and saw the trees around her beginning to move. Her stomach felt nauseous and her head suddenly felt weightless, but the stubborn unicorn simply shook it off.

"I-I can make it out... Just a couple more meters," said Twilight, panting. The forest's exit wasn't too far away, so Twilight thought that she would be able to make it out if she forced herself. Before Twilight knew it, she found herself flat on the ground and couldn't get up because her legs were too weak for her to lift herself up.

In fact, Twilight couldn't feel her legs at all. She did, however, feel cold and unusually tired. The mare began to hyperventilate as her vision slowly faded. The distorted sounds of her shallow breathing and her own heart beating haunted her mind.

Am I dying? Twilight thought to herself, as she laid motionless on the ground. As her consciousness slowly faded, Twilight prayed to Celestia that it wasn't her time to meet Death face to face. Twilight tried her best to stay conscious, but her body and mind were too weak, so she eventually gave up on her internal fight for life and allowed her body to fully shut down.

Looks like this is it... I really done it this time... Twilight thought to herself, just before she lost all consciousness.

***

Suddenly, Twilight started to slowly regain her consciousness. She felt warm and the ground felt soft, almost silk like. Her vision slowly came back but the area was dark, which tainted her vision. A faint scent of vanilla lingered in the air, which teased Twilight's nostrils. When she fully regained her consciousness, the mare felt a throbbing pain in her head.

"Ugh, my head... Where am I?"

Realizing that she wasn't in the Everfree Forest, Twilight remained where she laid. It was obvious that the Everfree Forest shouldn't smell of vanilla and that the grass was no where near as soft as wherever it is she was laying on.

Alright, I know I'm defnitely not in the Everfree Forest but where am I? A-am I in the Afterlife? I mean, it is dark and all but what's up with the vanilla scent and-

"Aah! My eyes!" cried Twilight, as a beam of light suddenly shone upon her sensitive eyes.

"EEP!" squeaked a familiar voice. A loud slamming noise followed the quiet squeak, which caused Twilight to doubt that she was in the Afterlife. Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Uh, come in?" said Twilight. Light slowly filled the void as Twilight saw a door being opened slowly and in came Fluttershy, still a little frightened from earlier. She turned on the light inside the room and gently made her way towards Twilight.

"Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. The yellow and pink pegasus pony smiled and nodded her head. "Oh Twilight, I'm sorry for scaring you earlier. I was just checking up to see if you were ok" replied Fluttershy, quietly. Twilight slowly nodded her head, relieved that she was in Fluttershy's house and not anywhere dangerous.

"You had me worried, Twilight! When I was going to the Everfree Forest to pick up some medicine herbs from Zecora, I found you on the ground, steaming and unconscious, and I was afraid you were attacked by some wild creature, so Zecora and I brought you here," said Fluttershy. Twilight's eyes widened and she looked at Fluttershy worriedly, which made the pegasus pony start to shift around uncomfortably.

"Uh, Twilight? Is something wrong?" asked Fluttershy, nervously.

"How long was I out?" asked Twilight, almost frantically. Fluttershy looked at her nervously, "You've been out for two days."

"Wait, what was that?"

"Um, you've been, um, out for two days."

"Uh, Fluttershy? You're gonna have to speak up, I can't really hear you."

"You've been out for t-two days!"

Twilight's jaw dropped. Did she really push herself that hard? Nevertheless, she sighed in relief and thanked Celestia that she didn't die in the forest.

"What were you doing in the Everfree forest by yourself?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight began to shift uncomfortably on the bed and broke eye contact with Fluttershy. Fluttershy meekly glanced at her and fidgeted, "Oh, I'm sorry. Um, maybe I shouldn't have asked... You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to..."

It was a brief moment of awkward silence. Fluttershy stood near the bed, while Twilight laid down on the bed. Twilight sighed and looked down at the bedsheets, "I was trying to practice new spells for an upcoming exam for the School of Gifted Unicorns. I guess I got too carried away."  

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh my, you shouldn't overwork yourself. I know you're a dedicated student and a powerful unicorn, but that was too dangerous! If Zecora and I hadn't found you, who knows what could've happened!" reprimanded Fluttershy. Although Twilight knew her friend was deeply concerned for her well being, she couldn't help but giggle because of how motherly Fluttershy sounded.

"Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind next time... Well, I better get back to the library. If not, Spike's gonna start to worry. Thanks for finding and taking care of me and all," said Twilight. She tried to get off the bed but winced in pain. The unintentional explosions and the amount of energy used took it's toll on Twilight's body, as she now found herself confined onto the bed. She was able to move, but her body was so sore that it was painful to even get up, let alone get off the bed. Not to mention, she felt as if all her energy's been sapped out of her body.

"Oh, you shouldn't force yourself too much! Please, stay in bed and whatever it is you need, I'll take care of  it for you," Fluttershy offered.

"Oh no, I don't wanna impose..."

"Y-you're not imposing! Please, just-"

"Fluttershy, I promise I'm fine! Now if you would just excuse me, I have to get back home," assured Twilight.

As soon as she got out of bed, Twilight's legs gave out and Fluttershy quickly caught her before she fell.

"Ok, maybe I'm not fine..." said Twilight, as she was back on the bed again. Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief and her ears twitched as she heard a loud, grumbling sound. Twilight gave a sheepish smile and blushed.

Fluttershy quietly giggled, "You must be hungry. Here, let me go get you something to eat."

Fluttershy came back with a bowl of soup and some tea, "Now, eat and drink this and you'll feel better soon. Oh and uh, be careful, the soup's really hot." said Fluttershy.

Twilight felt like a little filly again, but she wasn't angry or embarrased. She gave Fluttershy a thankful smile, which the yellow pegasus responded by shyly smiling back. The purple unicorn looked at her bowl of soup and she had to admit, it looked very delicious. It was a mixed vegetable soup made with fresh carrots, onions and hay. She tried a spoonful to see what it tasted like. The mare's eyes widened as she tried the first spoon. The soup was sweet, which was the complete opposite of what Twilight thought it would taste like.

"My goodness... This soup is amazing, Fluttershy! I had no idea you were a good cook!" Twilight commented. Fluttershy smiled and blushed at the compliment, "Aww, it's nothing special, really..."

While Twilight ate the soup, both her and Fluttershy heard somepony knock on the door.

"Please excuse me, Twilight," said Fluttershy, as she left to see who was at her front door. Twilight, on the other hoof, finished the soup, placed the empty bowl on the table next to the bed and laid back down. She yawned and was ready to close her eyes and fall back into sleep when suddenly, Fluttershy came back with a large grin on her face.

"Look who's decided to visit, Twilight!" said Fluttershy, happily. In came none other than Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Spike and Princess Celestia herself! Twilight quickly tried to get up and bow but her body winced in pain. Everypony rushed to her and stopped her.

"No no, don't worry about bowing, it's fine!" assured Princess Celestia. Twilight sheepishly smiled and everypony let out a sigh of relief. "Good golly Twilight, Ah came here as soon as Ah heard about you!" said Applejack. All of her other friends nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I got a letter from Fluttershy and I thought, 'That's strange, she's sending me an invitation to a party? I usually do that!' but then I opened up the letter to see what it said and when I read it, I nearly passed out myself! Can you believe that?! Anways, that's when I found out you weren't feeling okey dokey lokey so we came to visit you!" said Pinkie Pie.

"We wanted to come by and see if you were ok and so far, it looks like Fluttershy's doing a good job. What happened?" asked Princess Celestia. Twilight looked at her friends and her mentor. How was she going to tell the Princess of her failures? Twilight knew that the Princess had high expectations of her and that she was one of the most gifted unicorn in the entire school.

Twilight couldn’t face her friends or her mentor. She turned away from them and tears fell from her eyes. Twilight's friends simply glanced at each other and back at Twilight, while Princess Celestia stepped closer to the young mare's bed. “What’s wrong? You can tell me anything. After all, you are my most faithful student and it hurts to see you like this” said Princess Celestia. After she wiped away the tears from her face, Twilight regained her composure and confessed.

“I- I was practicing the spells for the upcoming exam... I was fine with all the spells, except for the Beam of Destruction and the Magical Force Field spells. I tried my hardest, I really did! I just couldn’t do it... I used too much of my energy and I passed out in the Everfree forest and had it not been for Fluttershy and Zecora, I probably would’ve died there...” said Twilight, nearly in tears again.

Twilight tried her best to stay strong in front of her friends and her mentor. It was bad enough that she failed the last two spells and nearly killed herself, but to start crying like a little filly only added on to the humiliation. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia... I’m sorry, everypony... for, for causing you to worry...” apologized Twilight, as she finally broke down in tears again.

Her friends looked at the purple unicorn with a pitiful look on their faces. They walked over and gave her a group hug to cheer her up. “Oh do relax, will you dear? We're your friends! We won’t think any less of you, just because you can’t master some advanced spell right away!” assured Rarity.

"Yeah! You're like, the best magician in Ponyville! Don't beat yourself up. There's a reason why it's called 'advance magic'! You're not supposed to get it on your first try. Heck, it took me a while before I was able to do the Sonic Rainboom," said Rainbow Dash.

Twilight's friends continued to hug and comfort her, until she finally regained her composure. When she did, her friends left the room so the Princess can have a private moment with Twilight.

Princess Celestia walked over and gently nuzzled Twilight. She wiped away her student's tears and gave her a reassuring smile. "Twilight, I understand that you're nervous about failing this exam and all, but what you did was very reckless. I warned you about those spells and how it was energy consuming... However, I'm just glad that you're ok," lectured Princess Celestia.

Twilight's ears fell flat and she looked away from the Princess, ashamed to disappoint her. "I'm sorry, Princess Celestia..." Twilight apologized again. Princess Celestia, however, retained her smile. "It's ok, my dearest and most faithful student. Everypony makes mistakes, even I do!" assured Princess Celestia, which caused Twilight to softly smile. She carefully examined Twilight to check for any other injuries, but found none.

"Judging on your condition, I'd say you won't be able to use your magic for about a week, so what I want you to do is take a break," instructed Princess Celestia.

Twilight looked at the Princess with a worried look on her face. No magic for an entire week?! Twilight thought to herself. "That's right, no magic for an entire week. You're a hard worker and a smart student, but you have to realize that overworking yourself isn't healthy. I want you to take a break from your studies, go on a vacation for a week and clear your mind from all the stress this exam's causing you" instructed Princess Celestia.

"But... But..."

"No 'buts', Twilight. Just go out and enjoy the beautiful weather! Besides, when was the last time you went on a vacation?" asked Princess Celestia. Twilight thought about it for a moment. When was the last time she went on vacation? Sure, she was with her friends everyday and they go on wild adventures and get involved in all sorts of mischief, but at the end of the day, it was for educational purposes and not for leisure.

Twilight's ears fell flat and she sheepishly smiled. "You know, I honestly can't remember," answered Twilight. Princess Celestia giggled and shook her head. "You see! You're a young mare and you have plenty of time to study in your life, but you won't always have the time to be with your friends and your family," replied Princess Celestia. Twilight's eyes widened upon hearing the word "family".

Oh my... I haven't seen my parents since I was enrolled into school! Twilight thought to herself. How could she have forgotten about her parents, the two ponies that got her into the school in the first place? Back when she was still in Canterlot, she would occasionally send letters to her parents but ever since she moved to Ponyville, she hasn't sent a single letter.

Twilight laid on the bed in awkward silence. Her cheeks were flushed with a pale tint of pink as she frowned and nodded her head. "Come to think of it, it's been a while since I've last seen my parents... You know what, I think I'm gonna drop by and see how they're doing when I get better," said Twilight. Princess Celestia smiled and hugged Twilight.

Twilight smiled and returned the hug, "Princess Celestia, thank you for everything! I don't know what I'd do without you and my friends."

After they released each other from their embrace, Twilight yawned and laid back down on the bed, snuggling her pillow. The Princess knew that her student needed some rest, so she left the room and closed the door.

Princess Celestia made her way downstairs and saw the rest of the mane six, sitting down and drinking tea. When they saw the Princess, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed. Princess Celestia granted them permission to rise and Spike was the first to break the silence.

"So, how's Twilight doing? Can we go and see her?" asked Spike. Princess Celestia smiled and shook her head. "She's sleeping, so we shouldn't bother her," replied Princess Celestia. The rest of the ponies got up and made their way to the door.

"Well, Ah guess we should get goin' then... We'll drop by tomorrow," said Applejack. The others followed her out, said their goodbyes and parted ways. Spike, however, didn't leave. Fluttershy took notice of his fidgeting, "Is something wrong, Spike?"

"If you don't mind, uh, is it ok if I sleep here? I really don't wanna sleep alone in the library and I'm really worried about Twilight."

Fluttershy smiled, "Oh, that would be wonderful! Here, let me get you settled down."

Fluttershy went into her closet and came out with a golden basket and a baby blue blanket. She then placed the basket next to Twilight's bed, which Spike happily snuggled into.  After he settled down and fell asleep, Fluttershy went downstairs and laid on the couch in the living room.

"Ah, what a night!" said Fluttershy, before she drifted off to sleep. The next day, Twilight woke up and felt mildly sore. She looked around and saw Spike, soundly asleep and wrapped up in his blanket. The mare smiled, "well, what a surprise..."

Twilight then heard the doorknob rattle and when she turned around, Fluttershy came in with a tray balanced on her back. On the tray was more soup and some sort of tea.

"Oh good, you're awake! How do you feel, Twilight?"

Twilight smiled, "I feel much better, thanks to you."

"Oh, how wonderful! I thought you'd be hungry, so I brought you more soup."

"Thanks, Fluttershy!"

As soon as Fluttershy set the tray down next to her bed, Twilight began to devour the soup. Fluttershy quietly giggled as she watched her friend finish the bowl of soup in less than a minute. Twilight then looked at the cup, which was filled with some sort of strange looking tea. Unlike the usual black tea that Fluttershy would serve, this one was red and had a strange herbal scent to it, almost like wet grass.

The mare simply shrugged and took a sip from her cup. She immediately spat it out and cringed. "Ugh, what was that?! It tasted like a rotten tomato!" asked Twilight.

Fluttershy meekly glanced to the ground and back to Twilight, "It's medicine from Zecora. I know it tastes bad, but you'll feel better once you drink it."

Twilight sighed, "if you insist..." and continued to take small sips from her cup. The taste made Twilight want to vomit, but she did have to admit, the medicine's effects kicked in quickly as she felt relatively normal again.

The day felt long, but Twilight didn't feel bored at all since she was visited by her other friends throughout different times of the day. Rarity was the first to visit and came in during the morning. Rainbow Dash came in during the afternoon after she cleared the clouds. Applejack then came a half hour after Rainbow Dash arrived and Pinkie Pie visited her during the evening when the Sugarcube corner was slow. The six friends gathered in Fluttershy's room to simply chat and to keep Twilight company.

All of Twilight's friends left when the clock struck nine. After all, the purple unicorn needed her rest and it was late. Before Twilight turned off the lights in her room, Fluttershy came in with another cup of medicine.

"Alright, drink this and you'll be back to normal by tomorrow!" said Fluttershy, as she mixed the herbs into a brew and gave it to Twilight. Again, Twilight cringed upon the first sip but quickly drank it to get it over with. After she was done, Twilight went to sleep and Fluttershy cleaned up whatever dishes were used by Twilight.

Fluttershy finished washing the dishes and went to the sofa. There, she met her pet bunny, Angel, and he pointed upstairs, with an annoyed look on his face. Fluttershy looked to where he was pointing and saw no one, but realized that he was annoyed with Twilight's stay.

"Oh Angel, she'll be back home by tomorrow. I don't mind sleeping on the couch, really!" assured Fluttershy, smiling. Angel sighed and hopped to his bed, clearly annoyed by Fluttershy's excessive kindness. Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. She closed her eyes, snuggled a pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Twilight woke up the next morning and got out of bed. Her body no longer felt sore and Fluttershy was right, the medicine did help! She then went downstairs and saw Fluttershy cooking breakfast. The yellow pegasus happily sang while she cooked another batch of soup. Twilight smiled and entered the kitchen. "Need any help?" asked Twilight.

Fluttershy squeaked and nearly jumped out of her skin, as she thought Twilight was still sleeping. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, Fluttershy!" Twilight quickly apologized. Fluttershy quickly regained her senses and simply dismissed it. "I-it's fine, Twilight. I just thought you were still asleep."

Twilight's nose was teased by the smell of freshly cut red peppers and the vegetable broth being heated up. "That smells great!" said Twilight.

Fluttershy bashfully smiled and turned off the stove. She got two bowls and served breakfast for both Twilight and herself. Twilight took a seat at the dining table and Fluttershy did the same. While they ate their soup, they chatted about random subjects, which ranged from animals to their childhood and how they got their cutie marks.

After they were done, Twilight went upstairs to wake Spike up and pack up her belongings. "Spike, wake up," said Twilight, gently. She gently nudged him when she saw he refused to wake up. After calling his name several times more, the baby dragon finally woke up. "Ugh... Twilight?"

Twilight smiled and nodded her head. "Yep, I'm feeling better so we can go back home now," said Twilight, happily. Spike yawned and smiled. The baby dragon hugged Twilight, "I'm glad to have you back, Twilight!"

Twilight smiled and returned the hug, "It's good to be back."

They went back downstairs and saw Fluttershy washing the dishes. Twilight approached her as gentle as possible, "Fluttershy, thanks for everything! I don't know what we'd do without you or your kindness" thanked Twilight.

Fluttershy turned off the faucet and turned around. She smiled and hugged Twilight, "It was nothing, really. Promise me you'll be more careful, next time?". Twilight nodded her head. "Promise." Both Twilight and Spike then left Fluttershy's house and entered the town.

The two made their way around Ponyville, with Spike riding on Twilight's back. Twilight couldn't help but grin as she saw the town's liveliness. The market was crowded with eager customers, restaurants were packed and the fillies were on their way to school. They continued to walk around Ponyville until they saw the library. However, Twilight walked past it and continued on, which confused Spike.

"Uh Twilight, we just passed the library," reminded Spike.

"I know," replied Twilight. They continued to walk until they arrived at the train station. There, Twilight took out 100 bits from her bag. "One ticket to Canterlot please," said Twilight, happily. Spike nudged Twilight and whispered to her ear. "What's going on?" asked Spike.

"I'm taking a vacation to Canterlot for a week" Twilight simply replied, as she paid the stallion 100 bits for the ticket. "Thank you, M'am! Your train leaves in three days at 4:30 A.M."

Twilight thanked him and left the train station to go home. Once they arrived at the library, Twilight threw her bag to the side and Spike began unpacking her bags and placing the books back on the shelves.

"So, now what?" asked Spike.

"Think you can help me pack? There's a lot of things I wanna bring for this trip and you're the right one for the job!" asked Twilight, excitedly. Spike chuckled and nodded his head. "Sure thing, Twi! I'm sure we can get this done by the end of the day!"

***     

Two Days later

"Spike! Oh Spike?" said a cheerful purple unicorn, while she looked around the library shelves. The purple and green dragon appeared from the kitchen with an annoyed look on his face.

"What is it this time?" asked Spike, with an annoyed tone of voice. Twilight disregarded his tone of voice and continued to frantically search the library shelves.

"I need you to help me find 'Elements of Harmony', please?" asked Twilight, kindly. Spike sighed and reluctantly looked for the book. All he wanted to do was to just relax and here he is, fetching books for Twilight and working non-stop. After he found the book, which was under "E", he walked back into the kitchen, muttering under his breath.

"It's always work and study with that pony..." muttered Spike, grumpily. Twilight then placed the book into her bag and secured all of her belongings. Afterwards, she walked into the kitchen to give Spike a hand on baking cupcakes. The smell of chocolate that lingered in the air and the silence of the kitchen finally caused Twilight to loosen her muscles and to sit down. She glanced at Spike, who was sitting down, silently waiting for the cupcakes to finish baking.

"I'm sorry Spike... I know you're also on break and all, but I just wanted to make sure that I have everything before I leave for Canterlot. It's been years since I last visited my parents and I wanna make sure that I'm well prepared and thanks to my number one assistant, I now am!" thanked Twilight.

"Well, I guess the chores weren't really THAT bad... How long are you gonna be there?" asked Spike, as he got the cupcakes out of the oven.

"I'll be there for just a week and it's back to Ponyville!" replied Twilight, happily. After being away for so long, she wanted to make sure that her parens learn of all her crazy adventures with her new friends and the true magic of friendship. Just then, Twilight heard the door bell.

"Huh, I wonder who that could be..." said Twilight, as she went to answer the door. When she opened the door, she was met by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey there Pinkie, what's going on?" asked Twilight, smiling. Pinkie Pie bounced up and down and gave the purple unicorn an invitation to a party.

"You should come, Twilight! I don't know why, but I felt bored so I decided to throw together a party to celebrate because I was bored and I thought to myself, 'oh let's invite everyone because if I'm bored, they're probably bored too' and here I am!" said Pinkie Pie, energetically. Twilight simply blinked twice and gave a blank stare.

"I'm sorry Pinkie, but I can't this time. I gotta leave early tomorrow morning to Canterlot. I'm visiting my parents for a week" replied Twilight, regretfully.

"Aww..." said Pinkie, disappointedly. Pinkie Pie gave Twilight puppy eyes and her lips trembled. The purple unicorn also saw tears forming from her friend's eyes. Then out of nowhere, she smiled and started to bounce up and down again. "It's ok! We can throw you a 'welcome home' party when you get back! It'll be twice as fun!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, happily. She then said  goodbye and left Twilight to finish preparing for her trip.

"Okay... Anyways, the train to Canterlot leaves at around 4:30 A.M. I'll probably go to sleep after I'm done eating. But when I'm gone, promise me that you won't wreck the entire library or burn any of the books?" asked Twilight, to Spike. Spike groaned and shook his head.

"Aww come on Twi, you know I'll take good care of the place! You just worry about catching that train tomorrow morning" assured Spike. Twilight smiled and hugged the baby dragon. "Thanks, now let's eat. I'm starvin'". After she ate the cupcakes, Twilight went straight to bed and drifted into sleep. She had already set her alarm clock, so she was able to sleep in peace.

The alarm clock rang and Twilight groaned. She lazily rolled out of her bed, turned off the alarm and quickly combed her mane. Afterwards, she grabbed her bag and gave one last look at Spike, who was peacefully sleeping. Twilight smiled and left the treehouse for the train station. It was dark and the street lights shone brightly, as Twilight trotted through the empty, quiet town.

She arrived at the train station just as the train arrived and presented her ticket. Afterwards, she immediately boarded the train and found her seat. The warm air and the dark interior of the train made Twilight yawn and snuggle into her seat. She decided to use this moment to go back to sleep. After all, the trip was going to be long and what better way to kill time than sleep?

***

Twilight stood in an empty field of grass, face to face with Princess Celestia. Both ponies glared at each other, as they lowered their stances. Suddenly, Princess Celestia's horn emitted a bright yellow ray. Twilight gasped and began to focus a large amount of energy into her horn as well.

"You may be my student, but that doesn't mean I won't stop you!" said Princess Celestia, angrily.

Twilight ignored her mentor and continued to collect her energy. Both ponies finally gathered the same amount of energy and without any further words, both launched the giant beam of energy out.

"Beam of Destruction!" yelled both of them. A large magenta beam and a large yellow beam collided into each other, as both ponies focused their attack on each other. It was a stalemate as both beams were of equal strength and did not budge until it contracted a large explosion.

Princess Celestia laid on the ground, coughing. She looked up to see her star pupil above her, grinning maliciously as she charged up another Beam of Destruction. The Princess trembled in fear, as she made no attempt to defend herself.

"Long live the powers of Discord!" said Twilight. Suddenly, she felt somepony poking her on the side.

"What the?"

Twilight turned around to see none other than Rainbow Dash poking her on the side.

"Hey! Hey!" said Rainbow Dash.

***

Twilight groaned and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, as she finally opened her eyes. She realized that a kind brown earth pony, who sat next to her, nudged her awake.

"Excuse me, m'am? Wake up, we're in Canterlot" said the kind brown earth pony. Twilight looked outside the train window and saw that she was at the train station.

"Oh... hehe, thank you" said Twilight, sheepishly. What seemed like only minutes of sleep turned out to be hours and had that brown pony not waken her up, she probably would've missed her destination. Twilight then got off the train and out of the train station. She looked up towards the beautiful blue sky and smiled.

"Canterlot... Home sweet home!" said Twilight, to herself. Canterlot was the fanciest city in all of Equestria. It's inhabitants were either royal, wealthy, famous or all of the above. Home to the Princess and of course, Twilight herself. The city was always lively and full of many different ponies conducting business and shopping around. Despite the city being very big, Twilight easily found her way around.

"This city never ceases to amaze me," commented Twilight, as she walked the streets to look for her parents' house. After another half hour of walking, Twilight finally arrived at her destination. For some reason, she her heart started to beat at a very irregularly fast tempo and her hooves trembled as she rang the door bell. A bead of sweat ran down the young mare's face as she waited for somepony to answer the door.

Has it really been that long? Twilight thought to herself. The door opened and she was greeted by both her parents. Upon seeing their welcoming smiles and receiving a warm and tight embrace, Twilight's nervousness immediately faded and the purple unicorn returned their smiles.

"Twilight, welcome home!"

Twilight nuzzled into her mom and dad's embrace, "It's great to be home! Mom, dad, there's so much we need to catch up on."

To be continued...