SANM! Finale! Harmonic Victory...!

Chapter 14 - SANM! Finale! Harmonic Victory...!

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"I hope you'll be ready to fight when the time comes." Twilight found herself jarred out of her thoughts. The group was continuing their journey in the forest. "There's no telling what waits for us at the end of this journey."

Twilight couldn't help but notice how virtually fearless the orange pony was. She couldn't help but wonder if he was just naturally that brave or was just plain reckless. "Once we get the elements everything will work out."

"And if we're beaten to them?" Naruto countered her statement.

"We have to get the elements at all costs. We cannot afford to fail."

Naruto couldn't help but smile, this unicorn seemed to be mighty stubborn. "Just remember that no matter what happens we got you're back. Just have fate in us. As long as we're able to fight we won't lose."

As quick as that memory came another one soon replaced it and it was that of Twilight with Celestia in a secret training room.

"Princess, I don't understand." Twilight remarked as they stood in the center of the vast hall. For a room so large it was devoid of anything. No armor, no weapons mounted on the walls or even any scriptures.

"There will be a time Twilight where you might find yourself on your own and be forced to defend yourself. As such I will be teaching you how to use your magic in the use of both offensive and defensive combat magic. They will work quite well with the invisibility spell you seem quite fund of using to sneak into the library when you were younger."

Speechless, Twilight cheeks could only burn red at this little tidbit. She didn't understand why the princess thought she would need to learn such spells, but she would not let her down.

The memory came to an end as Twilight was staring up at her executioner.

"Now you shall perish like the others who dare stand against me."

'Mom, Dad, Brother, Princess…everypoy…if I don't do something then it'll be the end of everypony.' Twilight thought as a new found power surged through her and in a flash of pale orchid aura she teleported away from the blast. The force of Nightmare Moon's blast shattered the ground where Twilight once was.

"What!?" Nightmare Moon roared only for Twilight to appear back in place.

Twilight's horns glowed as her hands radiated with magical power. Taking aim she hired an intense orchard beam of magic that coursed through the air. The beam collided with Nightmare Moon, knocking her off her hooves and to the other side of the room.

"Fool! YOU DARE TO CHALLENGE ME!?" Nightmare Moon roared as she fired a blast of her own only for Twilight to quickly counter and toss up her hands to project a barrier to protect against the powerful blast. It held long enough for the Unicorn to dodge and to fire another blast that the Alicorn narrowly dodged. She quickly recovered and dashed towards the unicorn attempted to stomp her only for her opponent to teleport again.

Twilight landed on the other side of the roof and let out a huff. She needed to find a way to temporarily stun Nightmare Moon long enough to ignite that spark to get the elements to work.

Nightmare Moon charged at Twilight, her hands glowing with magic as her next spell was about to be cast. Twilight avoided just in time as the spot she was on left black scorching marks that resulted from the blast. "Teleportation again? You can't outrun me forever Foal." Extending her shadow the tendrils began shooting towards wherever their master commanded.

Twilight found herself narrowly avoiding each close shave. Every time it seemed that one of the dark Alicorn attack's was about to close in on her she managed to stay one step ahead. Every so often Twilight would shoot a beam of magic that Nightmare Moon would defend against and those brief seconds was all Twilight needed to avoid the attacks.

With every usage Twilight assessed every attack that was sent her way. She would analyze the method of attack, speed, and the angles that Nightmare Moon was sending at her.

Maneuvering around the Alicorn she fired a blast to which Nightmare Moon deflected. Once more Twilight charged as Nightmare Moon used her magic, this time manipulating the structure of the ground, breaking it into chunks and hurling them at Twilight only for Twilight to concentrate her magic in a quick and concentrated burst concussive burst sending her up and above the Alicorn.

She quickly charged up her power again and fired a direct shot upon the Alicorn. Twilight landed far away from the Dark Alicorn panting heavily. Despite her magical prowess she was not one built for physical endurance or stamina.

The heavy magical blast created a crater that seemed to continue far down into the lower layers of the castle. Twilight turned her attention back to the five elements. Using her magic she levitated the five elements in the air.

Honesty.

Generosity.

Loyalty.

Laughter.

Kindness.

'Come on…come on' she silently pleaded as she waited for that spark. Once the spark would occur then Nightmare Moon would be defeated once and for all.

Meanwhile Princess Luna and Naruto continued to battle against Nightmare Moon on the inside. The two of them galloped across the widespread battleground as the beast fired multiple streams of magical blast.

Luna retaliated by shooting a dozen magical shots into Nightmare Moon's eyes, Naruto took this to fly up and slammed into her, but when his body made contact it was like slamming into a brick wall.

Before Luna could react, strands of Nightmare's hair solidified and attack the dark Alicorn sending her flying back. Nightmare Moon soared high into the sky as it readied to fire a beam of energy from its mouth. Luna knew if she was to survive this attack she'd have to shoot back the attack at point blank range, just as Nightmare unleashed her attack Luna fired a charged ball of energy into Nightmare's mouth! The backlash still sent Luna into the ground hard but Nightmare Moon still didn't have a scratch on her!

Naruto body flickered between them, and slammed his hands into the ground causing several earth dragons to erupt from the ground and attacked the Nightmare creation. Despite the force of the attack the Nightmare once more recovered.

"Fools! Your senseless struggle only delays the inevitable!" the shadow creature remarked sending a massive shockwave causing Naruto and Luna to be sent hurtling back. The two of them quickly recovered.

Luna was the first to charge Nightmare Moon. They're beams clashed with even more force than before! Again and again, powerful beams radiated from both dark Alicorns. The force of their last blasts caused an aftershock throughout the entire plain.

"How can you even hope to beat me? I am power incarnate. I am pure darkness."

Just as Nightmare moon was about to attack Luna Naruto soared past with blinding speed and jabbed a fist full of magic into the left eye of the creature. It left out an otherworldly wail as the blonde was dislodged and sent flying when the creature snapped its head back in response.

Like before the injury was healed, but this time it wasn't a matter of seconds before the wound was healed. "Luna her ability to heal seems to be weakening. We need to hit her hard and fast enough consecutively so we can dead lock her into using all her power to heal."

"Then allow me." Luna said as cracks began to form under Nightmare Moon. A violet and black orb appeared between the ground and the creature. It then dispersed into electrical like pulses and the creature was soon crushed into the ground by a powerful force. Sure enough the princess had called upon the power of gravity itself to keep the beast at bay.

Naruto took the opportunity to begin calling upon as much power as he could. Since the creature was no longer able to feed on Luna's emotions than it lost its means to remain an invincible mental plague.

Once more instinct took over and Naruto fired the attack out of his makeshift horn. The attacked impacted and it exploded into a destructive cyclone that rendered much of the ground below a crater.

Back in the waking world Twilight tried with all of her might to get the Elements to work. Nightmare Moon recovered from the pit to see the five Elements glowing and encircling Twlight. "No!" she shrieked as the Elements began to power up only for the glow to fade and the five elements to lifelessly drop to the ground and shatter.

Twilight Sparkle gasped as she was overcome with confusion. She looked down at the remains of the elements closest to her. "But…where's the sixth Element?" she didn't understand. What happened?

Nightmare Moon laughed malignantly as she felt her victory was now secured. "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!"

'I…I failed.' Twilight thought before she found herself blasted across the room by Nightmare Moon's magic. Pain. Searing and relentless pain coursed through her as she landed on the ground. 'Move…I got to move.' She thought as her body refused to listen. Twilight could only watch in terror as Nightmare Moon moved closer.

Nightmare Moon gave paused when she found herself erected a barrier to stop as assortment of weapons flung at her. To her displeasure the five ponies she told her troops to capture had made their way. 'Worthless peons must I do everything myself?'

Twilight suddenly found herself bombarded by a series of statements.

"Ya alright Sugarcube?"

"I'm g-glad w-we got here just in time."

"What did she do to you?"

"We got here as soon as we could."

"You're going to be okay right?"

Twilight couldn't believe it. They came. They really did and by the condition they were in they looked like hell. Bruises, cuts, scrapes, and patches of dried up blood. The condition of their outfits was caked with grime as well as well as foliage from the forest. They could have left. They could have abandoned her, but they didn't. For a moment she wanted to rationalize they were here to see if the Elements were acquired because they were the only things capable of stopping Nightmare Moon, but their concern for her squashed that little theory.

Had Spike been right? Had Naruto been right?

"I suppose this saves me time," Nightmare Moon began talking as her voice was filled with smug overtones. "I'll eliminate all six of you at once."

Suddenly the others mares went from comforting Twilight to going serious. The transition was almost frightening.

"Ya took from me a pony ah considered kin and ah won't stop til ah you've been taken down." Applejack remarked as she tipped her hat back.

"You took my bro from me and I won't stop til your flank is stomped into paste." Rainbow Dash remarked as her wings extended and adjusted themselves in a threatening matter.

"You are more than mean you are just plain cruel. I don't like being mean to other ponies, but just this one time I'll make an exception." Pinkie Pie moved into a fighting stance for the purpose of doing harm for the first time in a long time.

"You took one of my dearest friends from me. Just this one time I will drop being a lady and make you regret ever coming into our town. " Rarity telekinetic-ally drew back the weapons she hurled earlier.

"I will not run. You took my friend and because of that I will fight to stop you from hurting anypony else." Without a stammer or pause even Fluttershy was ready to fight.

They charged attacking Nightmare Moon with everything they had. The Nightmare easily blocked the blades Rarity hurled at her with her barrier before firing a blast of magic from her hand sending the Unicorn flying back.

Rainbow Dash was upon the Alicorn in an instant and swung with all of her might with her good arm only for her to miss. She was stunned for a moment only for Nightmare Moon's taunting laughter served to further infuriate her. "Shut the buck up!" Rainbow Dash screamed as punch by punch was easily dodged by her opponent.

Nightmare Moon appeared by Rainbow Dash in a flash, a ball of magic in her hand and pressed into Dash's gut. "Looks like you can't keep up with my speed!" she whispered in the Pegasus ear before blasting her and sending her flying.

"STOP! HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY FRIENDS!" Fluttershy snapped as she hit Nightmare Moon with the full force of her stare.

Nightmare Moon angrily let out a hiss and threw back her arm, hitting the mare with a wave of dark magic sending her flying back. "The power of Penance stare. To think one such as yourself has it."

With a yell befitting of a wild man Pinkie Pie began to charge. Nightmare Moon fired a wave of magical spheres that Pinkie Pie leaped and dodged over. Leaping forward Pinkie Pie curled back her arm and threw a punch only for her first to meet a barrier. She then let out a wail as the barrier blasted her backwards.

Applejack attacked with everything she had, but her strength proved to be ineffective as Nightmare moon halted her mare's strength with her own causing cracks in the floor. Like the others she was simply hurled back by the mighty Alicorn's power.

Nightmare Moon than began gathering power in her right hand. A black sphere the size of a head slowly grew as a malevolent mauve energy radiated from it along with lilac and chrome energy sparkles. She trained her eyes on the crumple heap of defeated mares. It seemed like such a waste. Less subjects to worship her greatness, but they could not be allowed to live. "And with this last act I will rule over this planet as its Queen."

"No…" Twilight whispered as she pushed herself to her feet. They were going to die. "No…" Twilight cried out as an intense pain filled her chest. "I won't…"

"Applejack! What do I do?" A panicked Twilight cried out as she could feel herself slipping. The chocked sob did not escape Applejacks notice did notice as she tried her best to pull Twilight up, but it felt like something was slowly draining her of her strength. What should have been Child splay for someone like Applejack to easily hoist Twilight up was proving a considerable challenge and if something wasn't done soon they were both going to tumble over. She glanced over the side and then realized what needed to be done.

As calmly as she could Applejack told the unicorn two simple words. "Let go."

Panicked spread in Twilight's eyes as she gave the other mare an incredulous look as she wondered if she misheard her. The determined look in Applejack's eyes assured Twilight that her hearing was functioning correctly. "Are you crazy?" Twilight cried out as she lost any semblance of her usual composure.

"No ah ain't. Ah promise you'll be safe." Applejack told her earnestly. She could see the Unicorn was filled with doubts and was scared.

"That's not true!" she didn't want to die. She had so much to live for. She couldn't let go. She was too scared. How could this Applejack ask her to let go?

"Now listen here. What ah'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe." Applejack insured her again as warmly as she could. "This ledge won't hold for long. Just trust me ah wouldn't steer you wrong."

"…let…"

"How did you know about the spell?" Twilight asked, in awe of whatever it was Fluttershy had done.

"I didn't at first, not until he got closer and I saw his eyes. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness." Fluttershy responded. After hearing this, Twilight smiled.

"…you…"

"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing?! Get away from that thing." Twilight shouted at her.

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Pinkie cheerfully remarked. "When I was a little filly and scared of darkness and shadows my Granny, Granny Pie told me that being afraid and hiding wasn't the way to deal with your fears. You gotta stand up tall and learn to face your fears. You'll see that they can't hurt you and just laugh to make them disappear." She remarked as she continued making faces and laughing.

"…hurt…"

"Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail..." Twilight softly remark in awe of her fellow Unicorn's sacrifice in the form of her tail. Of everything Twilight had witnessed of the mare she seemed practically obsessed with cleanliness, being proper, and faction. The fact she was willing to sacrifice her tail like that was one of the most generous things Twilight had ever seen.

"Oh its fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back." Despite the brave face the unicorn was putting, it was obvious it took a lot from her to do something like that.

"…them!"

"I appreciate the offer and all, but I had to make the choice of leaving my childhood friend behind to continue this quest. I could never forgive myself if I turned my back on her and made that sacrifice meaningless. So I'm going to have to say no." The Shadowbolts then disappeared. Indeed finding additional rope Rainbow fixed the path allowing Naruto and Rainbow to walk over the gorge as they approached the ruins.

At that moment something triggered within Twilight. Her power exploded in a way she hadn't felt since the day she got her Cutie Mark. She focused that raw and powerful magic and blasted Nightmare Moon.

The attack was so powerful that it tore through the barrier that Nightmare Moon erected and sending her crashing through one of the walls.

Twilight stumbled forward, catching herself as she let out a tired breath. She began walking over to the others who began to recover. "Thank goodness…you're all okay."

"Whoa Twilight, that was pretty bad flank. Remind me never to get on your bad side," Rainbow joked with a weak chuckle. The others murmured similar light hearted sentiments. The dark grew stale and cold as a furious Nightmare Moon teleported back into the room.

"You truly are a fool. I was going to make your death quick, but now I'll truly make you suffer. This battle was over the moment the Elements shattered yet you continue to prolong the inevitable."

At that moment Twilight had an epiphany. The answer had been staring her in the face the whole time and she hadn't seen it until now. She…she would not give up. "It's not over. You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong; because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here in these ponies." The shards of the five elements began to glow with new life and surround the five ponies. The five looked at the phenomenon in Awe.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" The element reconstituted. The element of Honesty now resided on the farm mare's neck in the shape of a gold necklace with an orange and green apple-shaped gem.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" once more the Element manifested into a gold necklace but with a pink butterfly-shaped gem, shaped similarly to her cutie mark which suited the animal talker.

This time it was now the Pony of Laughter. "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" her shape was that of a blue balloon-shaped gem that looks similar to her cutie mark.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!" the proper pony's gold necklace contained a purple diamond-shaped gem, similar to her cutie mark.

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" And who could forget the boisterous flier whose element manifested as a gold necklace with a red thunderbolt-shaped gem, similar to her cutie mark.

"The spirits of these five ponies got us through not only your forces but every challenge you threw at us. Thanks to them and another friend of mine I finally realized the truth behind the elements."

"You fool I have long known the identity of these bearers; you still fight a fruitless battle without the Sixth Element. You're attempt at a spark did not work!" Nightmare Moon cried out in frustration, hunting for her only solution to her own dreaded nightmare.

Confident Twilight Sparkle continued. "But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized when I was about to lose them. The moment I realized I cared about my friends. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that the ponies I met and that traveled with me here this night are my friends. Hence how I discovered the secret that recreates the sixth element, ignited by the spark that resides in all of us…the element of... magic!" At long last the lost sixth element manifested itself as a gold tiara with a set of oval-shaped sapphires and a magenta star-shaped gem, similar to Twilight's cutie mark. It rested upon her head and with that the Elements activated.

The power of the six combined into a rainbow of sorts. The power coursed through the air and began making its way towards the Alicorn.

"I WON'T BE DEFEATED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" Nightmare Moon lost all semblance of control and fired all the power she could muster at the beam. The two forces dead locked for a moment before the Alicorn's beam was slowly being driven back.

Back within the recesses of Luna's mind Nightmare Moon emerged from the crater sporting wounds for the first time since the battle begun. Before he could continue the attack Nightmare Moon materialized large spheres of water before her. They soon materialized into spheres of ice shaped into javelins and were hurled at the blond.

Naruto flew back, maneuvering out of the way out of the javelins that soon exploded into splinters. Before he could react he found himself shielded by a barrier. While simultaneously shielding Naruto the Alicorn rammed into Nightmare Moon.

Before the creature could attack Naruto dropped down, slamming into its head with his hooves shattering the helmet. He jumped back as the Princess fired another beam of magic sending the evil Alicorn crashing back. Nightmare Moon soon exploded with power.

"I will not be defeated by the likes of you wretches!" The power the Alicorn was summoning began to expand, growing and growing until it began to dwarf even its master in size. An attack of that size would wipe all of them out.

"Luna you have to finish her now!" Naruto shouted as he flashed over to her side. "The only way to win a battle of the mind is for that person to overcome their demons once and for all."

"I don't know if I have the power." Nightmare Moon was as every bit as powerful as she was if not more.

"Then I'll help you." Like that day during the war Naruto transferred some of his chakra to Princess Luna. The Princess found herself enveloped by a warm yet powerful golden glow.

Teeming with power the Princess called upon deepest recess of her magic. And in one single blast the power fired at the tainted Alicorn quickly overwhelmed the creature.

"I will…never…fade…"

And with that the creature then faded out of existence. Back on the outside the Elements won the beam struggle. The massive double rainbow swirled around Nightmare Moon like a tornado, before engulfing the entire room in a bright light.

When the light faded, the six Element bearers were sprawled out upon the floor. As they began conversing with one another, Naruto materialized out of a faint white light. "Uugh, felt like I tanked a world Rasengan to the face." He groaned as he fell to his hands and feet.

"Naruto!" five happy cries echoed followed by a group glomp. Naruto let out a whinny of pain as he found himself tackled to the ground.

"I'm so glad you're alright."

"Ya alright Sugarcube?"

"I knew my bro was tougher than that."

"I'm so happy you're alive! I'm so going to throw you 'really glad you weren't swallowed up by Nightmare Moon's evil darkness party."

"Oh darling you gave me quite a fright don't you ever do that again."

Twilight looked upon the scene with a smile on her face. She didn't know how, but despite the mare's assurance that the stallion was gone she somehow felt in her heart that wasn't the case.

"I'm fine…let me breath please." Naruto pleaded before they finally let the blond up. The smoke cleared only to reveal the form of Luna and a crystal. The crystal soon shattered and faded away, the wind carrying the powder to parts unknown.

Suddenly the brightness of the Sun's glow drew his attention. He looked on in surprise at the newest arrival. It was none other than the Princess of the Sun herself Celestia. The ponies bowed in reverence of the new arrival, while Twilight ran up to her and happily hugged the ruler, overcome with so much emotion that any thought of decorum flew out the window to which the taller mare returned the gesture. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student I knew you could do it. "

Twilight seemed stunned at this revelation. "Princes…you…you made it seem like it was an old fairy tale. Nightmare Moon's returning…why?"

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Which never would have happened if you were approaching it like a mission, your feelings wouldn't have been genuine. Now I hope another as well will be ready to open her heart." Celestia turned her attention to Luna. "Princess Luna!"

The princess of night that stood opposite of Celestia looked hardly over the age or twelve or thirteen. It was obvious the Elements purging her of her darkness caused this effect. The Svelete alicorn had the makings of an early bloomer at that age with the same gown she wore in the Mindscape except reaching to above her knees instead of at her ankles. The way her ears held low and her expression the shame that the younger Alicorn held on to was obvious.

"It has been a thousand years sister. I've waited so long to say this." Luna seemed to seize up as to brace herself for her sister's wrath. "I'm sorry." Luna seemed stunned silence. Despite remembering the memory she saw during the battle reminding her of their sisterly bond she felt and believe what was going to happen in the real world would be anything but that. "I failed to be there for you and because of my mistakes you had to suffer for a thousand years. No matter our differences we are family and we should never let anything tear us apart. Its time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my friendship?"

"I'm so sorry!" She ran up and threw her arms around Celestia, more happy tears running down her face, "I missed you so much, big sister!"

Celestia began to tear up as well, "I've missed you, too."

The group made their journey out of the old castle where the able body soldiers from the guard had gathered. General Esteem and Shine Spark were there to greet their majesty.

The guard troopers naturally went on guard at the sight of the new Alicorn. Celestia picked upon it immediately, followed by Naruto and then Twilight. Princess Luna features were too similar to Nightmare Moon to ignore, including the fact that the symbol of her cutie mark was branded on the side of the dress.

"Stand down, my little ponies," Celestia stated, putting a comforting wing over the back of smaller, somewhat startled Alicorn next to her.

"You heard her majesty! Stand down!" General Esteem's deep voice boomed across a great distance. The soldiers didn't need to be told twice.

"This is a momentous day," Celestia announced, a certain joy in her voice that her subject couldn't remember having ever heard before. "My sister, Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night has returned!"

The citizens of Ponyille began to cheer and celebrate the return of their Princess. News began to spread around fast as members of the Pegasi guard began sending emergency messages to the nearby towns.

A scroll was sent to Canterlot to get in contact with Celestia's personal assistant Raven within instructions to send Celestia's emergency communication crystal so she could get in contact with mayors and council of Equestria's major cities to check up on the condition of the cities.

Many of the renegades and thugs that had joined under Nightmare Moon had been apprehended and jailed with a great deal of them having escaped and gone into hiding. There were also the unfortunate consequences of many causalities, injuries, and property damage that would take weeks if not months to sort out.

Though as callous as it was, Celestia decided for right now she would allow the council she formed to handle such matters handle it for the time being before she began to personally look into the matter herself. She knew she was being selfish, but her long lost baby sister had returned and she dared not repeat the same mistakes that drove Luna away in the first place.

Things were beginning to settle in Ponyville with a new celebration under way. The Summer Sun Festival itself was postponed in favor of what was going to be the first of many celebrations held for Princess Luna welcoming her return. Despite the smiles her subject put on before her Celestia was no fool. Being a ruler for as long as she had been gave her ample opportunities to see darkness that most ponies would go their whole lives through with only a mere glance.

The actions of Nightmare Moon were not going to be without consequences. Whether it is the result of loved ones lost or one's livelihoods ruined by the missing sun it would be quite some time until things were going to find a semblance of normalcy again. The only thing she could do was ease the process for both her subjects and her sister.

Celestia was stirred from her thoughts as her faithful student Twilight Sparkle approached her. She smiled at Twilight as she approached.

"Hello, Twilight," Celestia said. She gestured at the mug in her hands. "Tell Applejack that this is this cider of hers is simply delightful. I must remember to send for a few orders of barrel."

"I'll be sure to do so Princess," Twilight said, sitting down next to her. "So, where is Princess Luna?" she asked as she peered across the room.

Celestia pointed out to a space far away from the crowds, and Twilight soon spotted Princess Luna and Naruto conversing in a corner. Princess Luna wore a shy smile as their attention was drawn by a shouting Pinkie Pie.

The mare strolled over and wrapped her arms around the two and dragged them onto the dance floor. They were soon surrounded by a bunch of ponies and Luna's expression morphed into one of pure joy. "I'm so glad that she's enjoying herself," Celestia said. "I was worried about how everypony would react to her, knowing who she once was."

"This town is pretty accepting of newcomers," Twilight said. "I know that first-hand."

Celestia looked at her apprentice, noticing the almost wistful look on Twilight's face. "Is there something wrong, Twilight?" She asked. "You seem troubled. Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"

Twilight turn to speak up as she inquired a war going on within her heart "That's just it. Just when I finally learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." Twilight did her best to suppress her sadness, but was failing to do so. She wanted to get to know all of them more.

A warm motherly smile formed on Princess Celestia's face as she made a decision. Celestia called out to Spike from the crowd and ask one of the guards if they could bring a scroll and quill. "Spike, take a note, please. I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She will be studying the nature of the magic of friendship by gaining a better understanding of the virtues of Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter. A mission she can only complete from Ponyville to which she will be relocating to until further notice." That resulted in a sudden rich cheer erupting forth from the gathered crowds, delighted at the prospect of the mare living among them for some time to come. "I'll be expecting you to send me regular reports on your findings via dragonfire, of course."

"Once a week. I promise." Twilight answered delighted. With that the celebration continued.