A solution?
I don’t have a single hoof of a solution.
Ye Ziji tilted his head back in resignation, complaining silently to himself.
Right now, on the silent first floor of the library, Ye Ziji stood alone before a massive window.
He gazed out at the moon, which was surrounded by dark nebulae and radiating a cold light.
His expression was speechless, but his mind was a chaotic storm as he ranted to himself about today’s events.
“The Elements of Harmony are nowhere to be found, and it’s highly likely my fault.”
“Princess Celestia is out of contact, eighty to ninety percent chance she’s been locked up by her sister.”
“The main cast confidently ran off to get themselves served on a silver platter, and now their morale has hit rock bottom. I can’t count on them at all.”
“And I just fought the boss not long ago. Even if my strength is fully recovered, going toe-to-toe with Nightmare Moon in that state still doesn’t give me high odds of winning.”
He went over all the negative factors in his mind, and the conclusion he reached was despairing.
It was practically a dead end.
As expected of him!
On his very first day in Equestria, he had successfully brought Equestria to the brink of ruin!
Ye Ziji let out a long sigh, leaning his forehead gently against the cold glass.
Whatever, he’d take it one step at a time.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, and if there is no bridge…
well, he’d deal with that then!
Meanwhile, in the guest room upstairs, the night was deep.
Exhausted both physically and mentally, the girls had washed up and fallen into a deep sleep almost the instant their heads hit the pillows.
Rarity lay on her side.
Even in her dreams, her hoof subconsciously protected her newly styled purple mane.
Applejack’s cowboy hat lay tilted to the side, and she let out soft, light snores.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were sprawled out in all directions, completely relaxed.
Only Fluttershy had carefully tucked in the blankets for everyone before curling up in a corner to sleep peacefully.
Only Twilight Sparkle was wide awake.
Sitting on her bed, she looked across the room at the small basket she had brought all the way from Canterlot.
Her loyal assistant, her cute little baby, the baby dragon Spike.
He was lying inside on his back, dead to the world, a silly grin on his face as he probably dreamed of gems.
Ever since she had placed him in the room, he had been fast asleep; he hadn’t even woken up when they returned just now.
Seeing Spike so carefree, Twilight Sparkle’s heart was gnawed by self-reproach and confusion.
It was she who had confidently assured Princess Celestia that she could handle everything.
It was she who had led her friends headfirst into danger.
It was she who had caused everyone’s hopes to rest on her shoulders (though in reality, they didn’t), only to end up in a crushing defeat.
She looked at her friends sleeping soundly after their exhaustion.
Every single one of them had contributed courage and action to her plan, only to reap fear and failure.
An unspeakable weight of responsibility pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.
She couldn’t sleep.
Before she found a solution, she had no right to, nor could she, rest!
Silently, she stood up, her hooves making no sound on the floor.
She had made up her mind.
She couldn’t just wait around like a headless chicken; she had to do something.
She slipped out of the room and quietly stepped onto the stairs leading downstairs.
She wanted to talk to that Unicorn.
The only one who had shown strength and had some direction when all other ponies were at their wits’ end—Ye Ziji.
Even if it was just to seek an answer, a direction, or…
a faint, elusive thread of hope.
*Tap…
tap…
tap…*
The slight sound of the wooden stairs was exceptionally clear in the silent library.
Ye Ziji, who had been staring blankly out the window, turned around at the sound and saw Twilight Sparkle emerge from the shadows of the staircase.
Her footsteps echoed clearly in the empty hall.
Ye Ziji turned around, watching the purple Unicorn slowly descend the stairs.
Ye Ziji understood immediately.
This girl had likely backed herself into a corner, her mind filled with “why,” “what do I do,” and “I failed.” That was why she had run down here in the dead of night, probably trying to get an answer or a plan from him.
Looking at her small face, which was practically painted with “confusion” and “self-reproach,” Ye Ziji decided not to rush into the main topic.
Giving a lecture or analysis directly to a perfectionist whose nerves were stretched to the breaking point would likely backfire.
Instead, another approach might yield unexpected results.
Immediately, he lazily shrugged, leaning against the window frame, and swept his gaze over her with a look that was somewhere between casual and scrutinizing until Twilight Sparkle stopped before him, looking a bit self-conscious.
“Mm-hmm?”
Ye Ziji spoke first, breaking the silence.
His voice held a hint of teasing laughter, completely different from his previous steady demeanor.
“Miss Twilight Sparkle, not sleeping in the middle of the night—did you dream of failing an exam? Or did you come down specifically to… go on a date with me?”
“A-A-A date?!”
Twilight Sparkle’s brain instantly short-circuited.
She had imagined countless opening lines—perhaps serious questioning, perhaps a profound discussion—but she had never expected a line like this, one so lighthearted that it bordered on flirting.
“I didn’t! I’m not! I just…”
Her cheeks instantly heated up, a faint blush showing beneath her lavender fur.
She subconsciously took half a step back, her hooves nearly tangling as she almost tripped over nothing.
Ye Ziji watched her pure reaction, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
He deliberately looked her up and down, then thoughtfully stroked his chin, continuing in that half-joking tone:
“No? Well, that’s a shame.”
“But then again, in the dead of night, a stallion and a mare sharing a room alone… it wouldn’t look good if word got out. Any pony who didn’t know better might think the Princess’s star pupil has some special late-night hobby.”
A stallion and a mare?
A late-night hobby?!
These terms, to an academic achiever who spent all her time buried in books and had practically zero social experience, were like a bolt from the blue.
Twilight Sparkle’s face was completely red now, the blush spreading from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her ears.
She felt like the tip of her horn was burning.
“No! I just… I just wanted to come down and talk to you!”
She defended herself anxiously, her voice rising a few notches, but her panic made her sound entirely unconvincing.
The serious questions she had prepared about the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon, and strategy were now completely scrambled in her head, leaving her unsure of where to start.
“Oh? Talk?”
Ye Ziji raised an eyebrow, seemingly willing to be a bit more “serious” at last.
He straightened up, paced over to a sofa, sat down, and pointed a hoof at the empty seat across from him.
“Alright, since you’re so sincere. Have a seat, Twilight. Tell me, what monumentally huge problem drove you to seek out a strange stallion like me for a late-night heart-to-heart?”
Hearing Ye Ziji’s words, the blush that had just begun to fade from Twilight Sparkle’s cheeks flared up again.
Right now, Twilight felt like the taut string in her mind had reached its absolute limit.
Under Ye Ziji’s barrage of unserious teasing, the logical thinking and calm analysis she usually prided herself on were completely replaced by a mixture of embarrassment and indignation.
Looking at the dark-furred Unicorn sitting opposite her on the sofa, with his casual, breeze-like demeanor as if they were merely chatting about the weather, all the negative emotions—the frustration and anxiety—she had accumulated in her heart over this period finally found an outlet.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ye! Zi! Ji!”
She practically shouted it, her voice sharp with emotion, echoing slightly in the spacious hall.
She stood up, stomping her hoof heavily on the floor, fire burning in her violet eyes.
“Please be serious!”
She spoke loudly, trying to use her volume to cover up her panic and blushing face.
“I have a very, very, very important matter to discuss with you! It’s about Nightmare Moon! It’s about the safety of all Equestria!”
Only after shouting this did Twilight belatedly realize how out of character she was being.
Panting, she stared at Ye Ziji.
She hoped her shout would steady him, yet she also slightly regretted her impulsiveness.
How could she have acted like that?
At the same time, she felt a wave of relief from venting her suppressed emotions.
However, Ye Ziji’s reaction once again defied her expectations.
He wasn’t surprised, he wasn’t angry, and he didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
He merely shrugged in resignation, as if to say, “I really can’t do anything with you.”
At the same time, Twilight didn’t notice that a barely perceptible draft had quietly formed an invisible barrier around them and the staircase.
Her shout, which was loud enough to wake every pony upstairs, was completely absorbed and muffled by this flowing wind, with not a single sound leaking up.
“This girl, honestly,” Ye Ziji complained leisurely in his mind.
“A few teases and she turns into a megaphone. Her voice is so loud. Good thing I isolated the sound with wind elements beforehand, or tomorrow I’d have to face five ponies with panda eyes.”
He felt that her current “bristling” look was much cuter than her previous tense and self-reproachful bookworm persona.
“Mm, Haji-Twilight.”
In a good mood, he gave her an exclusive nickname in his head.
Only after doing all this did Ye Ziji look up at Twilight Sparkle, who was still glaring at him in a huff.
He put away the playful smile on his face, his expression turning serious for the first time.
He knew the joking time was over.
If he kept teasing her, this “Haji-Twilight” might actually start hissing at him.
“Alright, alright.”
He raised a front hoof in a surrendering gesture.
“I’ll be serious. Sit down, Twilight. Since it’s about the safety of Equestria, let’s have a proper talk.”
After Twilight finally sat down and hesitantly poured out their encounter in the Everfree Forest and her confusion about the Elements of Harmony, Ye Ziji basically understood the situation.
The situation was pretty much as he had anticipated, perhaps even a bit worse.
This future Princess of Friendship really regarded those stones as her only saving grace, and after that straw broke, she had fallen completely into self-doubt and panic.
“It seems the Elements of Harmony can’t be found for the time being.”
As Ye Ziji listened, he quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.
“The most likely scenario is that they were blasted into some unknown corner by the shockwave of my battle with Nightmare Moon. Or, worse, Nightmare Moon found them and hid them.”
In either case, trying to find those stones again in a short period would be quite troublesome.
He looked at the purple Unicorn in front of him, who had calmed down slightly after venting but still had eyes filled with confusion.
He knew now was not the time to lecture her on any profound theories.
What she needed right now wasn’t a complex explanation, but a simple, clear instruction.
A hope that could temporarily stop her panic.
“I understand.”
Ye Ziji spoke, his voice calm and steady, carrying a commanding and confident strength.
He didn’t judge Twilight’s failure, nor did he discuss the existence of the Elements of Harmony; he simply stated a result.
“As for what comes next, I have a plan.” He stared into Twilight’s eyes, saying each word deliberately.
“But this plan requires your help. A very important kind of help.”
“My help?” Twilight was stunned.
She hadn’t expected that a “failure” like her would actually be relied upon.
“That’s right.”
Ye Ziji nodded.
“But not right now. Right now, you need to do something far more important than searching for the Elements of Harmony, and the only thing you can do well at the moment.”
He paused, looking at Twilight’s puzzled yet expectant gaze, and said slowly:
“Instead of thinking about things you can’t possibly do right now, why not start with what you can?”
“For example—go back to sleep. Have a good sleep with your friends.”
“Sleep?”
Twilight found this answer somewhat absurd, but Ye Ziji’s eyes were exceptionally serious.
“Yes, sleep.”
Ye Ziji’s voice carried an undeniable tone.
“Recharge your spirit, regain your strength. Because tomorrow, I need a clear-headed, energetic Twilight, not a self-reproaching pony with dark circles under her eyes who might break down from anxiety at any moment. Understand?”
Twilight fell silent.
She looked at Ye Ziji, finding not a single trace of joking in his dark eyes.
It was a pure, rational arrangement.
Although she didn’t understand how sleeping could be part of a “plan,” this feeling of being “directed” allowed her suspended, restless heart to find a temporary resting place.
Moreover, after her explosive outburst just now, she did feel much better.
Her tightly wound nerves relaxed, and exhaustion rushed over her like a tide.
“Alright.” She finally nodded somewhat helplessly.
“I’ll go back to sleep. But you promise that when I wake up tomorrow, you’ll tell me your plan?”
“I promise,” Ye Ziji gave his word.
With this promise, Twilight finally let her guard down completely.
She stood up, tiredly bid Ye Ziji goodnight, and walked back up the stairs with heavy steps, returning to her friends.
This time, she didn’t suffer from insomnia and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Watching Twilight’s figure disappear at the top of the stairs, the calmness on Ye Ziji’s face slowly faded.
He walked back to the window, looked up at the high-hanging moon, and let out a long breath.
“A plan? I don’t have a damn plan,” he complained in his mind once more.
“I just had to quiet down this ‘Haji-Twilight’ first.”