Twilight now laid in her room, pillow on her head, trying to drown out the murmurs from the 5 ponies below.

"Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this friend-making had to get in the way." She lifted up her head and turned to the window. Outside was the moon, and the mare in the moon, to be specific. The stars around it were shining brighter than ever.

"'Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night.'" She glanced to her book, the letter from the princess sitting beside it. "I hope the princess was right... I hope it really is just an old pony tale..."

Twilight laid her head back down. "I don't understand why she would send me here to make friends. I just hope... she isn't doubting me."

"Hoo!" Owlicious could be heard just outside her door, with a very faint knock.

She shook her head. "Right, the Summer Sun Celebration should be starting soon. Thank you Owlicious!"

The Summer Sun Celebration goes as planned.. or well, until Princess Celestia is meant to appear.

"She's gone!" Butterfly Stitch exclaimed, having searched backstage.

A cloud of blue and purple mist form on the podium, swirling into the shape of a pony.

"Oh no..." Twilight said, under her breath. And just then, all her fears have come true.

Nightmare Moon.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces."

"What did you do with our Princess?!" Somepony from the crowd responded. The voice is somewhat familiar, but Twilight isn't paying attention at this point.

"Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?" She's angry now. "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?" She's addressing ponies specifically, Serenity, Rosie, and Butterfly. They all cower in fear.

"You're Nightmare Moon." Twilight says, standing as brave as she can among the crowd.

"Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

But once all direction turned towards her, she cowered along with them.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!"

Nightmare Moon laughed, her mane swirling into a storm of blue and purple.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" The mayor directed, but the guards she sends are no match for the mare.

Twilight flees the scene, headed back to the library. But not unnoticed.

One by one, the five follow Twilight into her library, much to her dismay.

Ultimately, she tells them what she knows, and they help her find the book she needs.

The Elements of Harmony. The only things that can stop Nightmare Moon. Their last known location leads them to...

The Everfree Forest.

"Well, what are we waiting for, lets go!" Rosie said, jumping towards the entrance.

"Not so fast." Twilight says, stopping Rosie in her tracks. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd really rather do this on my own."

"No can do, sugarcube." Applepack retorted. "We sure ain't lettin' any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone."

Twilight grimaced at the word. "No."

The rest of the five, already on their way in, stopped and turned to Twilight, confused.

"The princess sent me to check on the Summer Sun Celebration. I'm her personal protégé. I cannot in good faith let five unsuspecting ponies go on this mission with me."

The girls looked to each other. Then Applepack stepped forward.

"Now what says you can't get a little help from your friends?"

"Friends?" Her face scrunched up again. "You can't- we cant be friends, we only just met!"

"What says we aint'? You stayed to meet with my whole family today!"

"And you reminded me to clear the clouds!" Rainbow piped in.

"You also helped me put up the decorations." Serenity also added.

"And I threw you that itsy-bitsy super duper welcome party I throw for all my friends!" Rosie enthusiastically included.

"Friendships can't just be built in a day. I- I didn't even stay for the party." She shook her head. "Plus, I need to prove to Celestia that I can do this. I need to..."

Twilight looks at the ponies staring at her. Here she was, just talking her heart out to these ponies she hardly knew.

"This aint' about us, is it?"

In this kind of scenario, she would have usually made an excuse and ran away before opening up to anypony.. but for some reason, she gives in.

"I already failed to warn Princess Celestia about Nightmare Moon. Something happened to her... and now I need to prove I can fix it."

There's silence for a moment, and Twilight braced for what they might say next.

"Aw, sugarcube, you didn't fail nothin'."

Twilight looked up, surprised.

"I'm sure you did all you could to try and help her."

"But..."

"But nothin'. You wouldn't be her.. "protejay", if she didn't trust you, right?"

"I suppose..."

"Look here Twilight, I'm tellin ya the honest truth. I may not know the princess, but I already know that you're a very capable pony. You don't need to prove yourself nothin."

Twilight perked up. She never expected she would hear something like this from a pony she hardly knew.

"Now whether you consider us friends or not, we ain't lettin' you get hurt in there."

Applepack smiled and turned towards the forest entrance. "We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple."

The rest of the group vocalize their agreement, in their own way.

Twilight followed them in.

And Butterfly's kindness, Rosie's laughter, Serenity's generosity, and Crash's loyalty get them through any challenges that come their way.

Death-------Death

YAY ITS FINALLY HERE (AGAIN)

This time the writing was actually not that hard! I already had the main ideas for what I wanted to do, and hopefully I executed them well. Main thing here being Applejack's honesty moment.
I really feel like the rest of the mane 5 prove themselves in some way, getting over a challenge where their trait shines. Applejack's is just like.. oh Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are there to catch you, which is not something she is ultimately needed to solve, nor does she really shine in that moment. You could argue that none of the mane 6 are needed but like, you get my point. Its lacking at best, so I wanted to change it to something where honesty can shine more.