1. Identity Crisis

Raven opened her eyes quickly, blinking as she raised her face from the pages of the book. 'Huh,' she thought to herself. 'I don't remember falling asleep while reading.' She blinked her eyes and shook her head. She blew as a strand of her purple hair fell in front of her eyes. She blinked as she noticed she was outside. 'I also don't remember going outside to read. ...I also never read on my stomach, so how did that happen?' She reached forward to pick up the book she had - apparently - been reading... and stared as she saw a lavender hoof in place of the hand she had been expecting.

She blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. 'Okay...' she thought, continuing her internal monolouge. 'I have lavender hooves.' she glanced at where she expected her other arm was, and saw a hoof and foreleg. 'Yes. Hooves. Why do I have hooves instead of hands? I appear to be quadrapedal... possibly equine. Did I cast a spell without meaning to?' She turned to examine the pages of the book. 'Maybe this will tell me...'

The open page of the book showed an image of two equine beings bearing wings and horns locked in battle, one white and pink, the other dark blue. "This can't be good," she said aloud.

She glanced down at her body, somewhat nervous. 'Okay,' she thought, after turning to examine her entire form, 'no more question about what. Somehow, I am in the body of Twilight Sparkle, my favorite pony.' She paused. 'And I am glad I didn't say that aloud as I would have to kill anyone who overheard me admitting liking Friendship is Magic. The only questions now are... how am I in Twilight Sparkle's body? And why. ... and possibly when.'

She went through her usual meditation exercises, thinking her mantra instead of saying it aloud. 'Okay,' she thought then. 'I'm clearly not dreaming, however comforting that may or may not have been. I also don't have the answers to how or why I am in Twilight's body.' Glancing around, she saw a readily recognizable sight... Canterlot Castle. 'As for when, it's some point where Twilight is at Canterlot, meaning it's either the coronation, Shining Armor's wedding, Discord's rampage, the Grand Galloping Gala, or the start of the first episode.' She reexamined her body. 'Assuming this is the actual Twilight Sparkle and not an exact copy I somehow found myself in... no wings, not the coronation. No dress, not the Gala.' She glanced around at the Castle grounds. 'No readily apparent guards, not the wedding. No activity in the Lunar Wing...' "Buck." Raven blinked Twilight's eyes. 'Great, somehow I'm restricted to pony language too. How thrilling. Well, there's only one way I'll get answers.'

Thankfully, it seemed tapping unicorn magic wasn't going to be that difficult, as she had no difficulty levitating the book into her saddlebag. As she trotted towards the castle, she saw three ponies she recognized, but who's names escaped her at the moment... assuming the fan names even applied.

"There you are Twilight," the white pony with the pink mane said. "Moondancer is having a little get together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?"

'At least I was right about when this is. Might as well stick to the plot if I can.' "Oh, sorry girls," she replied, pleased to see she didn't have to work to mimic Twilight's voice. "I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." 'More than I could guess, probably.' With that she headed for the library.

It seemed that despite not actually knowing where the library was, she didn't have too much difficulty finding it, as her hooves carried her right to it. 'Wonder if that's me or Twilight there,' she thought to herself before warping to the other side of the door. 'And apparently the more advanced magics, like teleportation, are similar enough to my own magic that they're easy enough to adapt... even if they are rather colorful.' "Spike! Spike!" 'It's also kind of scary how much of the early parts of the show I remember almost verbatem. Note to self: Never tell Beast Boy that... assuming I ever see him again.'

Spike popped his head out from behind a nearby chair. "Yes Twilight?" he asked calmly.

Raven blinked Twilight's eyes. 'Wasn't he supposed to be behind the door and got knocked aside when I busted through? That's why I teleported, to avoid that.' "Why are you behind the chair?"

"Taking a nap," he said calmly. "What did you need?"

"Right. Can you find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies?"

"It's over there," Spike said calmly, pointing to two books stacked neatly on a table. "Along with the supporting reference book."

Raven blinked. 'That's... odd.' "Why did you have them already set out like that?"

"Given that you took an old history book out to read in the sun, I figured you might want to cross reference once you got back. Figured if I had the likely books ready, you might get finished faster, and we'd actually have time to go to Moondancer's party."

Raven blinked again. "Thanks, Spike," was all she could think to say. 'Huh, he seems much more organized than he was on the show. Then again, on the show he was little more than comic relief early on.' She grinned as she realized how she could play into this. "That's just the kind of forward thinking I expect from my number one assistant." She trotted over to the table, noticing how happy the compliment seemed to have made Spike. 'Odd. Doesn't Twilight compliment him?' Shaking the thought from her head, she levitated the first book. "Elements of Harmony. Elements..." She flipped through the pages. 'I know where this is going, do I actually have to look for it?' "See Mare in the Moon." She set the book aside and picked up the other one.

"Mare in the Moon?" Spike asked. "But that's just an old pony's tale... isn't it?"

Raven noticed this change and could only shrug. "I have a feeling we're going to find out sooner rather than later." 'Huh,' she thought to herself, 'seeing this world as a real world, it's... a lot more real than in the show. I'm not sure whether or not to find that reassuring.' She quickly read the passage. 'I already know where this goes. I don't need to read it aloud.' "Well, if it is, it'll happen the day after tomorrow. It's the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration after all."

"So what are we going to do?" Spike asked in concern.

"Write to the Princess. What else?" She watched as Spike prepared quill and scroll. 'Now, what to write. I don't remember the letter exactly... although it was rather alarmist. Maybe a calmer letter will get a better response, anyway.' "My Dearest Teacher," she began the dictation. "My recent studies of pony magic have led me across an ancient prophecy regarding The Mare in the Moon, which implies the coming of a great disaster on this day. While common sense and belief dictates that this is little more than a tale told to frighten foals, my lessons from you have led me to question such claims in order to be better prepared against untoward occurences." 'I wonder how she'll react to that,' Raven thought with a smirk. "My research indicates a connection between the mythical Mare in the Moon and the historical Nightmare Moon. I find this discovery to be somewhat concerning, and I turn to you for guidance in this regard. Your faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." Raven ran through the letter in her head. 'Concerned but not panicky, enough urgency for a quick response, but not so much as to be shrugged off as an alarmist... assuming Celestia isn't expecting this letter any minute now anyway.'

"Got it," Spike said.

"Good," Raven replied, ignoring the absence of sounding out. She never did like the portrayal of Spike as being nearly unlettered. It didn't make sense given his backstory. "Go ahead and send it."

She turned in time to see him send it on a plume of green flame. She then watched him, awaiting the belch that would herald the Princess's response. Spike tilted his head. "Umm... what are you waiting for?"

"Her response," Raven replied calmly.

"O... kay-" Spike's statement was interrupted by a belch. A scroll appeared from the flame.

"So what does it say?" Raven watched intently as Spike unrolled the scroll.

Spike read. "My dearest most faithful Student Twilight, I am pleased to see that you are learning self control when it comes to your discoveries. Your calm and deliberate response to this apparent catastrophe is exactly the mindset I have been attempting to instill in you since your first day under my tutelage."

Raven blinked. 'Huh. Wasn't expecting that.' She actually began to feel a bit guilty about how unlike Twilight she'd made the letter.

"However, you really need to stop reading those dusty old books."

'Okay, guilt gone.' "What?"

"There is more to a pony's life than studying. However, I have noticed you have woefully neglected your socialization. I blame myself. So delighted was I in your rapid development as a sorceress that I encouraged you to put your studies first, to the detriment of your social life... a mistake I hope I am not too late to correct."

'And there's the guilt again.' Raven closed Twilight's eyes and sighed. "So what is she doing, Spike?"

Spike continues to read. "Your newfound calm and collected attitude shows you are ready for responsibility outside your studies. As such, I am sending you to Ponyville to oversee the final preperations for the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. While you will be on duty, I hope you will also take time to enjoy yourself and - most importantly - make some friends. Your repentant teacher, Celestia." Spike looked up at Twilight. "So... I guess we'd better get packing?"

"... yeah. We'll be in Ponyville this time tomorrow." 'And I need to seriously reevaluate my view of the Princess,' Raven thought to herself.

---------------

As the two pegasus royal guards pulled the carriage to Ponyville, Twilight listened as Spike read from the itinerary. "It looks like Celestia did arrange for you to stay in a library."

"Seems counter productive if she wants me to socialize," Raven commented drily.

"Apparently it's the only building that doesn't currently have permanent residents already. She wanted you to have some privacy."

Raven blinked. "Makes sense. At least I'll be comfortable."

Spike looked at Twilight with concern. "You're... taking this rather calmly."

"Well, the way I see it, there are three possible explanations for the Princess's behaviour here."

"And those would be?"

"One, she already knew of the approach of Nightmare Moon's return, and wants me somewhere out of the way so I don't get hurt or used against her during the battle. The directive to make some friends is so I have somepony else to rely on out here in case something happens to her in the fight."

Spike nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Raven nodded. "Two, she intends for me to aid her somehow in the confrontation with Nightmare Moon, either at her side or on my own, and the directive to make some friends is so that I can have other ponies to rely on when the battle comes so I don't have to fight alone. If that's the case, Ponyville's the logical location as it's close enough to Canterlot that ponies here will possibly know of my identity, but far enough that no one would have any interest in using my connection to Celestia for personal gain, meaning it's the perfect place to make real friends who will trust my judgement should it come to combat."

Spike nodded again. "Okay, that fits pretty well too."

Raven tapped her nose with a hoof. "Three, her letter was the absolute truth. There is no upcoming disaster, and she's using the Summer Sun Celebration as an excuse to get me out of the castle to meet new ponies and socialize where nopony will have any preconceived judgements about me based on my past behaviour."

"You don't mind if I pray for option three, do you?"

"Not in the slightest," Raven said as they stepped off the chariot. "Thank you good sirs," she told the royal guardsponies.

As they walked, Raven spotted a certain pink pony approaching. "Well, if you want to start making friends, you should probably start," Spike said, gesturing as the pink pony came to a halt.

Raven knew who this was. It was Pinkie Pie. "Uh... hi," she said calmly.

Pinkie Pie leaped into the air with a loud gasp and dashed off.

Spike blinked. "Well, that was..."

"Reassuring," Raven said with a smile. "Come on, what's the first thing on the agenda?"

Spike stared at her slackjawed for a bit, then blinked. "Right. First item is banquet preperation at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Right. Let's go." Raven happily walked towards Sweet Apple Acres. Although she still knew next to nothing about what was going on, at least she had a handle on what was actually happening.

----------

As they approached Sweet Apple Acres, Raven spotted Applejack bucking apples. 'You know, while knowing everything that's SUPPOSED to happen might make things seem a bit boring somewhat, seeing the little differences is actually rather enthralling and enjoyable. Kind of like reading AU fanfics.' She paused her train of thought. 'Yet another thing I never admit to Beast Boy or Starfire that I enjoy. Just because I'm a pegasister online doesn't mean I'm about to decorate my room with ponies like Starfire has, and I prefer not having to participate when they start debating character values. I swear, if I have to hear one more 'Best Pony' arguement...'

Deciding to ground her thoughts once more, she approached Applejack with a smile. "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle." She then locked the smile on her face as Applejack gave her rather enthusiastic introduction and welcome.

"So, what can I do ya for?" Applejack finished.

Raven waited until Spike grabbed her hoof to stop it from shaking, trying to ignore his chuckle. "Well, I've been appointed overseer for the preperations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I understand you're in charge of the food?"

"We sure as sugar are. Wouldja care to sample some?"

Raven smiled. "Sure, why not?" She managed not to roll her eyes as she was swept up into the family introductions and watched the food pile up. After Granny Smith was woken up, Raven managed to swallow the apple that was somehow shoved into her mouth. "Well, looks like everything's taken care of here. Guess I'll get to the next thing on my list."

"Aren'tcha gonna stay for brunch?" a voice asked.

Raven looked down and saw Apple Bloom looking up at her, sad eyed. While Raven herself was rather immune to 'cute,' she decided to just go with the flow for once. "Well... I guess I can spare some time." As everypony nearby cheered, she continued, "But I can't eat too much. I've still got a lot to do, and an overfull stomach won't help with that. Besides, I gotta save the best for the celebration."

Having made her point clear, she accepted a place of honor at the table and daintily sampled some of the food. She was pleased to see that Apple Bloom invited Spike to play with her. It was good to see the speculated 'ostracization' Spike supposedly suffered was more or less a fandom myth... as far as she could tell, anyway. She wondered what would happen later with Rarity...

Applejack came to sit beside her. "So..." she said calmly. "That's a dragon, right?"

Raven smiled. "Yes. That's Spike. He's my special little guy."

"He seems pretty happy to be playing with Apple Bloom. He had problems with acceptance before?"

Raven blinked. "I wouldn't know..." she said without thinking.

"Beg yer pardon? Why not?"

Thinking quickly, Raven smiled. "The way I see it, there are two kinds of ponies where Spike is concerned. The first kind can see past his being a dragon to accept him for who he is. The second kind needs a swift buck where Celestia doesn't shine."

Applejack cracked up laughing. "I hear ya, sugarcube! But what's that got to do with not knowing if he's had problems?"

"To avoid developing a criminal record, I've become very good at pretending the second kind doesn't exist."

"Pretty protective of the little fella, ain'tcha?" When Raven nodded, Applejack smirked. "Well, no need to worry none on that account here. Ponies in Ponyville are prolly the most openminded and accepting bunch in all Equestria!"

'Which says volumes about the events of Bridle Gossip,' Raven thought to herself. Out loud, however, she replied, "Thank you, Applejack. That's good to know."

After a time, she bid her farewells and headed back towards Ponyville proper. She turned to Spike. "So did you have fun?"

Spike nodded. "Sure did, Twilight."

"So what's next on the agenda?"

Spike pulled out the list. "Weather, apparently. Some pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash is apparently supposed to be keeping the sky clear for the big celebration."

Raven looked up, unsurprised to see the expected cloudy skies. "Huh. Somepony I have to get to do her job. Imagine that." At that moment, a rainbow colored blur slammed into her, knocking her head over hooves. 'And my reaction times are terrible in this form. Good to know.'

Rainbow Dash got up from having knocked her for a loop and chuckled nervously. "Excuse me," she said before chuckling again.

Raven wasn't at all surprised to be subjected to the Rainbow style rinse and spin cycle, nor was she particularly bothered that the resulting mane style highly amused Rainbow and Spike. "Rainbow Dash I presume?"

"THE one and only," Rainbow asserted. "Why, you heard of me?"

"I heard you were in charge of clearing the sky for the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia sent me to check up on you."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll take care of that just as soon as I'm finished practicing."

"Practicing? For what?" 'As if I need to ask.'

"The Wonderbolts! They're performing at the Summer Sun Celebration, and I'm going to show them my moves!"

Raven smirked. "The Wonderbolts? The best fliers in all of Equestria?"

"That's them!"

"Like they'd ever accept a pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day."

"What?" Rainbow glared down at her. "I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat!"

Raven pulled out a stopwatch. "Prove it."

Seeing the stopwatch, Rainbow leapt into the air, rapidly clearing the sky. "What did I tell you? Ten. Seconds. Flat."

Raven smirked. "10.2, actually. What's the matter, Rainbow? Slowing down?"

"WHAT?" Rainbow dashed over to look at the stopwatch... which hadn't been started. "You huh wha? ... are you ribbing me?" At Raven's smirk, Rainbow laughed. "You're cool, Twilight. We seriously need to hang sometime." With that, Rainbow flew off.

Putting the stopwatch away, Raven turned back towards Spike. 'I'm actually glad this is happening now. Being able to just... let go and show emotion like this without worrying about something exploding is... nice. I'll need some serious meditation once this is all done with to fix the damage to my control, but it will be worth it. So theraputic.' "So what's next on the agenda, Spike?"

Spike blinked for a bit, then shook his head. "Decorations."

--------

As they reached the site of the celebration, Spike let out a breath. "Beautiful."

"Yes, the decor's coming along nicely," Raven replied, knowing that's not what Spike was talking about.

"Not the decor, her!"

Raven followed Spike's claw as he pointed. Raven had to admit, face to face Rarity actually was quite beautiful by pony standards. Purple against pristine white made a nice contrast, and her crystal blue eyes were rather dazzling. She could somewhat understand why so many of those she spoke to online had fan crushes on her. Only somewhat. She still couldn't see how any human could find anything equine physically attractive. ... of course, she was assuming the people she talked to on the forums were human, and that was assuming a lot given the state of Earth as she knew it. After all, at least one of them was certain to be Control Freak.

As Rarity went through the colors for the decorations, Spike started primping. "Are my spines straight?" he asked.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Rounded, actually." When Spike just stared at her in confusion, she smiled and walked up to Rarity.

She was rather dissapointedly unsurprised when that entire conversation went exactly as the show had presented it. She had been hoping for some actually interesting dailogue. Well, Fluttershy was next, and Raven had plans for that one... as soon as she managed to escape the surprise makeover.

----------

As Raven approached where she knew Fluttershy would be with her birds, she chose to ignore Spike's lovesick babbling. "Focus Cassanova. What's next on the list?"

"Music. It's the last one."

'And the least stressful, as long as I remember to sidestep,' Raven thought to herself. When she heard the birdsong, she followed it. She saw Fluttershy conducting a bird choir.

"Oh, stop everyone just a moment, please," she said, and the birds stopped singing. "Umm, excuse me Mister Bluebird. No offense, but your rythm is just a teeny tiny bit off." The bird in question nodded. "Now, follow me please. A one, a two, a one two three..."

Although Raven didn't intend to interrupt, Fluttershy paused in her conducting and glanced around, settling to the ground as though she felt somepony watching her. Raven decided to show herself. "Hello," she said quietly so as not to send the birds flying. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just here to check up on the music. It sounds beautiful."

Fluttershy folded her wings, not meeting her eyes.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Raven said quietly, working minor magic to enhance her hearing for this next part. "What's your name?"

"Umm... I-I'm Fluttershy," she said quietly.

"It's nice to meet you Fluttershy," Raven said quietly.

Fluttershy looked surprised. "You heard me?" she replied quietly. "Most ponies have trouble..."

"I noticed how quiet you were being with the birds, so I used some minor magic to enhance my hearing so we could avoid startling them."

"Oh, that was very thoughtful of you," Fluttershy said happily. "I'm sorry to be a bother-"

"It's not a bother," Raven interrupted. "I've never had a chance to actually use this spell before, so it's nice to give it some practical application."

"Oh, okay." At that point, Spike stepped out from the bushes. "A baby dragon!" Fluttershy almost shouted, racing past Raven.

Raven, meanwhile, was clutching her ears. 'Note to self, hearing enhancement spells need safety measures. Also, make sure my ears aren't bleeding from that.'

Fluttershy suddenly stopped. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, quickly rushing back over to her. "I got so excited when I saw the baby dragon I forgot about your spell. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Raven cut the spell and pulled her hooves back. 'No sign of blood. Good sign.' "It's okay. No problem. This is Spike."

"Pleased to meet you!" Spike said enthusiastically.

"He talks! I didn't know baby dragons could talk!"

Raven couldn't help but smile. This part would actually be informative. She decided to keep her ears open as Spike told Fluttershy his life story, as this would also tell her quite a bit about Twilight's past that wasn't in the show yet.

-----------

As informative as the conversation was, Raven could understand why Twilight was eager for the excuse to shut Spike up by the time they reached the library. It was amazing how many of those stories were embarrassing for Twilight. However, she decided not to interrupt. After all, the stories weren't actually about her.

As she entered the library, she noticed something rather interesting. Her experience with the hearing enhancement spell had led her to experiment a bit with tapping unicorn magic, to see how different it was from her own. She was rather unnerved to discover that she could access both... and with equal ease. In fact, the unicorn magic made it easier to control her own dark magic derived from her demon blood, although she wasn't sure if that was being a unicorn or Twilight's special talent doing that. However, she decided to practice sinking into her magic anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Entering the library, she saw incredibly intricate and heavily laid down anti-perception spells, layered and patterned with incredible power, completely dormant. As Spike told Fluttershy about the day, she examined the workings. 'Interesting... once these spells are woken, it creates a perception filter so complete and flawless that, to anyone outside the library, the library doesn't exist. The only exception is basic visual and audio, of which there is only a sound dampening spell. The only way anyone could be aware of anything in the library from outside would be listening at keyholes. Magical observation of any sort would be impossible. These spells block chaos magic, time magic, space magic, celestial magic, demonic magic, pony magic... they even shield against divine intervention, and the way the spells are layered together they draw strength from each other to amplify the original magic used to wake the spells. The only way to break them would be brute force, and that would take enough magic that it would be simpler to level the library. If Celestia knew about this, she was serious about Twilight having some privacy in Ponyville. I definately want to find out who built this place so I can look up their diary. I really want to see inside the mind of the mage who can craft something so... beautiful.' Out of a childish eagerness, she woke the spells so she could gaze upon their glittering beauty.

She was snapped out of her magical wonder by Pinkie Pie's shouted "SURPRISE!"

Sighing, she listened with half an ear as she tried to regain her magical sight to see the spells... but she couldn't find them. Sensing for her own magic, she could feel it active in the spells, and from there she discovered an added layer to the magic. The perception filters of the spells also rendered the spells themselves invisible to all magic once woken, so that anyone scrying magically wouldn't even know there were spells blocking them. Whoever built the library really valued their privacy... and Raven was all the more eager to find out who it had been. Given the beauty and complexity of the spells, Raven was beginning to think the library had originally been one of Starswirl the Bearded's private studies and only been repurposed as a library when Ponyville was settled.

She found herself drinking hot sauce. While it was a bit much for Twilight's taste buds, Raven's tolerance was plenty high. After all, she taste tested for Starfire's cooking sometimes... and, as much as she hated to admit it, she even managed to choke down her own cooking on those occasions she tried - abysmally - to improve it.

"Umm... Twilight? You know you're drinking hot sauce, right?" Pinkie asked calmly.

Raven nodded. "Uh-huh."

Pinkie blinked at her for a time. "Well, hot sauce is great as a topping and all, but... why are you drinking it?"

For reasons that escaped her at the moment, a spark of mischef caused Raven to say, "I couldn't find the mustard." 'Starfire would have liked that, I bet,' she thought to herself.

Pinkie stared at her, her mouth slack. After a moment of marveling that she'd managed to render Pinkie Pie speechless, she saw the pink pony begin to go into what looked like a cartoonish representation of a seizure, but what she recognized as the Pinkie Sense registering a doozy. Everypony in the library simultaneously dove under the nearest available cover.

Raven raised her eyebrow when she saw that Fluttershy had chosen HER for her cover. "What's that all about?" Raven asked.

"My Pinkie sense is registering a real doozy!" Pinkie said with excitement.

Raven blinked. "I'm sure," she replied, her voice dry. "Any idea where this doozy might take place?"

Pinkie tilted her head. "Based on the vibes I'm getting..." She gasped. "Right here in the library!"

The library was all but empty moments later. Raven smiled at Pinkie. "Thanks, Pinkie Pie. As much fun as your party looked, I'm suffering from a rather severe case of sky carraige lag, and could really use a nap if I'm to be presentable when Princess Celestia shows up to raise the sun. Do you think you could stop by and wake me and Spike up when it's time? We can always rethrow the party after the celebration."

Pinkie Pie smiled widely. "Okie Dokie Lokie!" she said happily before bouncing off, dunking a cupcake in Raven's hotsauce on the way out.

Once she was gone, Raven walked upstairs, Spike following her. "Okay, Twilight. What are you REALLY going to do instead of party, now that you no longer have to pretend to be polite. I know parties like that aren't really your scene."

"I don't know," Raven replied. "With somepony as genuine as Pinkie throwing them, I could learn to enjoy them." Reaching the bed, she plopped down. "G'night, Spike. See you in the morning."

Spike was silent for a time, but then chuckled. "Good night, Twilight."

Raven felt the covers pulled up over her, and she thought for a time. As wrong as it seemed to be living the life of another, it felt like this was just the vacation she needed.

---------

All too soon, she was awakened by a bouncing ball of pink energy. "Hey Twilight! It'stimeIt'stimeIt'stimeIt'stimeIt'stimeIt'stime!"

Raven opened her eyes. 'Well, so much for the theory that this was some crazy dream life sharing phenomena and going to sleep here would wake me up in my own body.' "I'm up, I'm up..." She groaned as she rolled to her hooves. 'Guess I'm going to have to get used to that for the foreseeable future.'

"Come on! Come on! We're going to be late! For a very important date!" Giggling, Pinkie Pie, for some unknown reason, began to do the bunny hop as she led Raven and Spike to the site of the celebration. Then again, it was Pinkie Pie. She didn't really need a reason.

Raven managed to rouse herself somewhat at the start of the celebration during the Mayor's speech. Pinkie's rant helped.

As the curtains were opened, Raven couldn't help but smile. 'And the drama comences in 3... 2... 1...'

"She's gone!" Rarity cried out.

'Bingo.' Raven watched, a smile of grim satisfaction on her face as the swirling vortex that heralded Nightmare Moon's return appeared. Raven sat quietly for a time.

Then she found her perfect cue when Nightmare Moon asked, "Don't you know who I am?"

"Nightmare Moon, if I'm not mistaken," she said calmly.

Nightmare Moon blinked. She obviously hadn't anticipated anypony well informed to be so calm. "Indeed. Then I assume you know why I am here?"

"To bring eternal night," Raven replied calmly.

As everypony else started to panic a bit, Nightmare Moon glared down at her. "You don't seem at all frightened."

Raven couldn't help it. She smiled. "Should I be?" she asked calmly, before turning and walking out of the building. A minor spell to allow her to see behind her awarded her with the sight of Nightmare Moon wearing a quite stupified expression before turning to mist and following her.

Casting a quick illusion of Twilight walking along towards Sugarcube Corner, Raven allowed her physical form to sink into her shadow and slip quietly back to Ponyville Library, reappearing in the bedroom. "Well, looks like that spell works how it's supposed to." She then walked calmly down the stairs...

Only to be confronted by five very upset ponies and one seriously confused dragon. 'Oh ponyfeathers,' Raven thought.

Rainbow Dash was right in her face. "You sure seem to know a lot about what's going on... and you really don't seem to care. Are you in on this with Nightmare Moon? Are you a spy?"

"Now hold on there," Applejack interrupted. "I know this looks bad, but you at least aught to let her say her own piece."

"I'm seriously concerned, though, that Princess Celestia's personal student isn't more concerned about her teacher's sudden dissapearance," Rarity said. "In fact, I dare say I noticed you smiling when I declared she was gone!"

"Hey!" Spike pipped up. "Where do you get off accusing Twilight like that!"

"Now hold on, partner," Applejack countered. "Nopony's accusing anypony-"

"I don't know, I like the idea of accusations right about now!" Rainbow interrupted.

"This is all so wrong, it shouldn't be like this..." Fluttershy continued to mumble about how wrong the situation was.

Pinkie Pie's body was rapidly spasming. "The doozy is coming! The doozy is coming!"

As everyone continued to talk and the arguement grew louder and louder, Raven could feel a headache building up just behind her closed eyelids... until at last she snapped. "ENOUGH!" she roared, snapping her eyes open.

She saw them all staring at her in shock, and realized something from how she was seeing. 'Crap, my eyes went demonic. I didn't know I could do that in this body.' She calmed herself down, reverting her eyes to normal. "Look, I can explain that..." she started to say. 'Damn, if they know about Scath I'm dead. If not, how do I explain this? And Spike's shock means I can't just say it's something normal for me...'

Her train of thought was broken as the six watching her spoke one word in unison... in familiar and unexpected voices.

"RAVEN?"