After a long day of searching the castle’s every corner to no avail, the alicorn was just about ready to give up on finding the Elements of Harmony. Suddenly, she realized that maybe instead of the castle, they could be in the forest surrounding it. “Wait, that reminds me...I think I know where they are.”

Celestia ventured out and left the guards to the castle. She ran over to one of the most respected monuments of Canterlot: The Castle’s Tree of Passion. It was the very tree where the king and queen had first met, still standing strong after all those years. Legends said it was because the neverending love between Evergreen and Nightingale kept it alive.

On the tree there was a heart shaped carving into the bark. Under it was a hole. The pink maned princess put her horn in the hole to unlock it. The heart carving glowed pink, much like the Fire of Friendship, and slid open. Normally this space was used as a mini vault for royalty, for things like emergency food if there was a shortage, but this time it held something different: the elements.

“Ugh, how am gonna fit all these necklaces on? It was much easier when Luna and I split them.”

It took a bit of work but she managed to get them all on. The element of magic transformed into a tiara replacing her own, with a magenta sparkle attached to it. The other elements turned into gems that floated around her.

“Well that’s convenient.”

Now to just get back to the castle to prepare for a sneak attack, thought Celestia as she trotted over to the entrance.

The two guards stood there. “Excuse me-” the mare began, but was interrupted by a HISS!

She then realized the guards looked different. They had pointed ears, sharp teeth and bat wings. One had purple armor and the other donned blue. They were both gray in color.

Oh no! Nightmare Moon took over the guards too! Celestia realized.

She ran away and tried to get in through the windows, but they were locked. She couldn’t crash through either, they were covered by a spell.

The princess then noticed that Nightmare Moon herself was inside. So much for that sneak attack.

Celestia had no choice. Somehow, she had to turn the guards back to good. I can’t use the elements against them, they’re so powerful they could kill them. I don’t want to do that. But what if I strike an offer with them?

“Hello, I believe we’ve had a rough start. I can tell by how strong you guys are that I shouldn’t be on your bad side.”

The guards blushed.

“Here’s a proposition. If I beat you in a magic contest, you guys will work for me. I’ll put a spell on both of you so you temporarily have as much power as me. Sound fair?”

The guards grunted with approval.

“Okay, here we go.” Celestia’s horn glowed, and suddenly the two guards grew horns of their own, just as powerful as the princesses’. A “life” bar appeared above each pony. “Three, two, one, fight!”

Suddenly rays of purple, blue, and light pink started firing. One hit the guard in blue armor. The life bar above him decreased.

The other shot back at Celestia, hitting her right in the flank. Ugh, I won’t be able to sit down for weeks, she thought.

The purple guard, now healed, hit the princess again. While she was unable to move, the two guards started firing all at once. Her life bar was almost depleted. But she was not foolish.

Suddenly, the guards’ temporary horns disappeared, giving Celestia time to recover, and fire as she pleased.

After a few hits, their coats turned white again. Their armor returned to normal. And their bat wings were replaced with their normal pegasus wings.

“Well played princess, well played indeed,” commented one.

Now able to get inside, the pink maned alicorn was ready.

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