So why could this book appear in Ponyville at such a clever time, and why was Twilight Sparkle coincidentally arranged by The Grand Princess to live here?
It really made a pony rack their brains without finding an answer.
As for why Pinkie Pie could find the target so accurately and quickly, that was purely because the Godly Horse was awesome.
"Then how did you know this book was here?"
"I guessed."
From Twilight Sparkle's expression, it was clear she wasn't convinced by Shimmering Light's explanation, but now was not the time to care about such irrelevant matters.
The book was very detailed, contained the content that Shimmering Light had previously revealed, and also indicated the current location of the elements of harmony, which was the Old Castle of the Princess sisters located in the Everfree Forest.
Seeing that they had to go to the Everfree Forest, the ponies collectively showed a shrinking expression; after all, that forest was notoriously terrifying and strange.
"Listen, girls. I know this is hard, but to protect our home, we must go."
"Do we really have to go into that forest? Maybe... maybe Nightmare Moon is really just a legend? Even Princess Celestia didn't tell you not to take this to heart; she must be the pony who knows best whether Nightmare Moon will return."
Spike had seen that dark and deep forest from afar; at that time, Rainbow Dash was flying around with Aurora Glow, and he was lying on Aurora Glow's back.
Even those two daring ponies didn't dare to fly into that forest, so it was no wonder the honest Spike was having second thoughts at this moment.
"It's okay, Spike, I believe that as long as we work together, there is nothing to be afraid of."
Twilight Sparkle smoothed the scales on top of Spike's head, comforting him.
"But you don't have to go; you are still just a Little Dragon Baby. We might come back very late from this trip, so you just stay here and wait for us to return."
"Twilight, wait a moment, actually I think what Spike said makes some sense."
Applejack also interjected. Hearing this, Rainbow Dash immediately refuted her.
"What? Applejack, you aren't scared, so you don't want to go with us, right?"
"I am not scared, Rainbow Dash! And now is not the time to be competitive!"
Applejack retorted to the provoking Rainbow Dash, and continued.
"I admit that being prepared is right, but what if Nightmare Moon doesn't come? The preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration banquet are only halfway done, and we can't let the Princess who came from afar go hungry, right? So we also need to have a backup plan."
Sweet Apple Acres was responsible for supplying the banquet food for this celebration, for which many ponies of the Apple Family had been called back to help. Applejack needed to distribute and arrange the parts that these ponies were responsible for.
Granny Smith was old, and Apple Bloom was still a child. As for Big Macintosh, Applejack could be one hundred and twenty percent assured letting him work, but letting him manage things, that was better forgotten.
When Mom and Dad were not at home, Applejack had to shoulder all these things at home.
Rarity and Fluttershy were also thoughtful; one was responsible for the layout of the celebration venue, and the other was responsible for the music. Obviously, these were jobs that couldn't be left for a while. Especially Fluttershy, after all, animal performances took the most time and energy.
"Okay, it sounds like that's the case."
Rainbow Dash nodded, acknowledging Applejack's point of view.
"But I have already cleared all the clouds, I can go with Twilight!"
"And me! And me! I can hold a 'celebrating Twilight coming to Ponyville and our safe return from the forest to Ponyville' party after we come back from the Everfree Forest!"
"Good idea, we can split into two groups! That way, neither side's work will be delayed!"
Just as the six ponies and one dragon were all agreeing to this plan, Shimmering Light's eyelid was twitching wildly.
Are you kidding me? At such a critical juncture, they are doing this?
High emotional intelligence: Split into two groups.
Low emotional intelligence: Picked off one by one.
Since it was already known that in less than 24 hours, Nightmare Moon would make her debut, during this period, Shimmering Light would use superglue if she had to, to keep these six ponies sticking together.
"That reminds me. Twilight, I have a better plan."
In order not to let these children do stupid things, Shimmering Light had to stand up to stop them.
"The six of you, including Spike, must stay in Ponyville, and I will go to the Old Castle to retrieve the elements of harmony."
"How can that be?! We cannot let you go on an adventure alone!"
However, Shimmering Light's plan was, as expected, unanimously opposed, but Shimmering Light, who had anticipated this, analyzed it for them unhurriedly.
"Just as you said, we need to have a backup plan. Twilight, the Princess sent you here to inspect the preparations for the celebration; if she doesn't see you then, what will she think?"
Shimmering Light's words hit Twilight Sparkle's weak point precisely; she was The Grand Princess's most obedient student, and compared to Nightmare Moon, she was probably more afraid of disappointing The Grand Princess.
"Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, you two must also stay and help the other ponies finish the celebration preparations as soon as possible, so that everyone can have more time to do other things."
"Remember that you are a collective; no one can be missing."
"Don't worry about me; you know that I have been in and out of the Everfree Forest more than once or twice, and I often go to the Old Castle to look for documents. For me, the road there is as familiar as returning to my own home."
This was not wrong; the fact that Shimmering Light went to the Everfree Forest to dig for wild treasures was known to every pony in Ponyville. If a pony wanted to find a guide for the Everfree Forest, apart from Zecora, Shimmering Light was the most reliable.
It was just that under normal circumstances, no pony would want to go to that kind of ghostly place.
"...Okay, then you must be careful. Come back as soon as you get the elements of harmony, or after we are done here, we will immediately go to meet you."
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