//------------------------------//
// The Torment of Night-Part 2 
// Story: The Epic of Twilight 
// by AlicornPriest 
//------------------------------//

And so, the second chapter starts anew.
When last we left the heroes of the town,
the monster Night Mare Moon had struck once more
and banishéd the Princess of the Sun.
Upon her final statement, moved the guards
to capture her and force her to reveal
where she, Celestia, was now removed.
But she, the Queen of Night, threw them away
with lightning bolts that tore ethereal lines
through thund’rous air. With this complete, she changed
to state of mist, and vanished thro’ the crowd. 
The Summer Solstice ruined, Twilight leapt
at once to find a source of truth that would
reveal the pow’r that they could use tonight
to beat the beast. Such power only lay
within the gems known as the Elements
of Harmony, those mystic spheres of truth,
of whimsy, duty, love, and charity,
and magic, though this last was little known.
The five true friends did gather in her tree
and asked her of the challenge they would face.
She spoke with hesitation. There was not
a thing she truly knew about this foe
that she could use against her, save the Gems
of Harmony. Within a book found by
the cheery Pinkie, Twilight searched once more.
The answers lay amid the ruins old
of the First Castle of the Sisters. There,
it said, the Elements did lay. Yet here
a snag was found: this ancient place had long
been snatched up by the reaches of the dim
and fright’ning place known as the Everfree.
This forest reached beyond the furthest path
known to the ponies. Monsters roamed its trails,
and creatures, beings, ghosts, they knew not what,
were hidden in there. Twilight, sage and wise,
rebuffed the aid the five had granted her,
for she could not, in faith, allow them now
to follow her into such dreadful risk.
And yet they stayed. They stood to be her guides.
Brave Applejack decreed that she could not
leave Twilight to face danger all alone.
The others followed suit. And so it was
that these six ponies found the first blockade
that Night Mare Moon created. A fell wind
that tore through rock and stone began to play
its deadly game upon the very ground
where stood our faithful heroines. At once,
as these six stood, the cliff top fell apart,
and four of them began their desperate fall.
The pegasi, with wings of lightning, flew
and caught sweet Rarity and Pinkie Pie.
Yet Twilight found no succor, save a cliff
which threatened every moment to release
her, down to where no hope remained.
Strong Applejack leapt from her safer place
and went to aid sage Twilight from her fall.
“What should I do?” cried Twilight. “Even you
cannot keep me forever in this spot!
We both shall fall!” But Applejack began
to see their chance of safety. Rainbow Dash
and Fluttershy had moved behind them both
to catch them. Only she could see this plan,
not Twilight. Thus did Applejack assure
the panicked unicorn, “You must release
the safety of my hooves, for I can say
with total Honesty, you shall not die.
You cannot see it, yet so shall it be.”
“How can I trust you?” spoke the frightened one.
“I have no proof that what you say is true!”
“You must,” she said, “for it may be the one
and only way for you to rescued be.”
So Twilight did as Applejack had said.
The pegasi, with nimble hooves, did catch
her falling, bringing her straight down
to safety. Applejack found her own way
upon the cliffs, and so did those brave six,
with Honesty to guide their hooves to ground,
defeat the first offense of Night Mare Moon.

But Night Mare Moon was furious, and she
transformed herself into a vicious thorn,
which pierced itself into a manticore.
The party stopped, for there the monster stood,
its howls of pain mistaken for a cry
for battle. So they went and fought the beast.
Miss Rarity the lovely stood her ground
and tangled with the beast. It weakened her,
and Applejack took it upon the ears
and steered it fearlessly as though a bull.
She slowed it down, exhausted it, but still
was not enough to vanquish it. But soon
swift Rainbow Dash stepped in. Her flashing moves
confused the beast and brought it to its knees.
With sharpened tail, the beast struck Rainbow Dash
and nearly felled her. By the Sun’s goodwill,
no poison seeped into her. Twilight stood
in anger at the pain dealt to her friend.
She gathered all save Fluttershy and led
the desperate charge to beat the wounded foe.
But Fluttershy, though shy and meek, flew there
before them, standing in their way. She turned
and spoke, not angrily, but Kindly to
the manticore, who, seeing her resolve,
showed her the paw pierced by the Night Mare’s thorn.
And she, in Kindness, pulled it from his wound.
It took her in its paws and held her tight.
No malice left within its heart, it turned
and beckoned them along the dusty trail.

Thus Night Mare Moon was foiled once again.
But evil knows no bounds, and so she moved
on farther down, preparing one more trap
to stun the ponies from their holy quest.
As Twilight’s party walked, they came upon
a darkened grove, where light shone not, and trees
stood threatening above their only path.
They wandered, lost and worried, for the path
was difficult to follow in the dark.
At once the trap was sprung! The gnarled trees
began to metamorphose, till they seemed
to those six ponies monsters eldritch, grim,
and utterly unshakeable. It seemed
that these, the tree-beasts, circled them
and blocked their path. And all were terrified
save Pinkie Pie, the joyful, who, through song,
began to soothe the ponies of their fear.
She sang the song now known in modern time
as “Aria of Turning Fears Away:” 
When I was young--I feared the time
when all was lost--to night.
I feared--the shadows, hiding deep
beneath my pillow--white.
I thought--I saw, amid the shadows,
monsters--drawing near.
But my grandmother--taught me well
that I--was not to fear.
She taught me--how to stand up tall--
to turn the fears away.
To face the fears, for fears--cannot
make us--to be their prey.
Our Laughter--breaks them--throws them off
and makes them disappear.
“So Laugh--granddaughter, laugh,” she said,
“to cast away--your fear.”
So join me, friends, as I bring--forth
the Laughter--I was taught!
We’ll Laugh to show--the ghostly things
their swaying is--for naught!
We’ll Laugh--to chase the grossly shapes
away from this--the trail.
We’ll Laugh to make the creepy--forms
inevitably fail.
We’ll Laugh the weepy things--away.
We care--not for their sighs.
We’ll Laugh away--the kooky ghosts
to hide their--spooky eyes.
And to the faces--in the trees
that try--to make us--scream,
we’ll say--in no uncertain terms
they are not--what they seem.
They do not--scare. They are but trees!
Just leave us well--alone!
Their vain attempts--but make me Laugh.
I Laugh--away their moan.
And so it was, that, as she led their glee,
the trees began to lose the power held
within them. So their bark began to lose
their deathly hue, their faces fading out
until none yet remained. The Laughter borne
from Pinkie Pie had saved them from the third 
device of Night Mare Moon. And thus, the path
revealed itself once more, and off they went.

The next the monster set to follow suit
was simple in its art: she came upon
a gentle river where, in peaceful rest,
a serpent lay. She flew nearby and dealt
a grievous injury to that fair beast.
His face was scarred, his purity destroyed.
The serpent, now most troubled, fought and turned
‘til all the water swirled and roiled high. 
The ponies were alarmed, for, in his grief,
the serpent had destroyed what path had been.
How could they pass, so long as he still mourned?
They asked, and he related them his wounds.
So long as he was blemished, he could not
control his anger. Rarity most fair
could not help but be swayed by his lament.
And so, with gracious sacrifice, she cut
her own, her perfect tail, and gave it him,
that he might use it to restore his form.
The serpent thanked her for this precious gift.
Her Generosity was all it took
to soothe his ills, to change his angry mood.
And so, he made for them a brand new path,
his body formed like stepping stones for them
to cross. And so, another trick was stopped.

But Night Mare Moon would not dissuaded be.
She had yet one more test for them to see,
and it, perhaps, most difficult of all.
The destination’s bridge had long been down,
so none save the two pegasi could cross.
Deft Rainbow Dash was faster, so she flew
across the gorge, intent to fix it. But,
as she was tying up the ropes, a form
appeared within the mist, with two beside.
This was the beast’s last trick: a noble team
of fliers, called the Shadowbolts, who claimed
that they were better skilled than those who she
made idols of, the Wonderbolts, and then
they acted as though she should lead them all.
They praised her skill, her flight, her leadership,
and flattered her in every way. And yet,
she focused not on them, but on her task.
The Shadowbolts, the Night Mare’s weapon, stood
against her, forcing her to make a choice:
abandon them, her friends, and be their lord,
or help her friends and further their pursuit.
It seemed to her at first the better deal
to be the leader of that strange brigade.
However, she was dedicated not
to them, but to her friends. She knew full well
exactly where her Loyalty must lie. 
So she rejected this, her heart’s desire,
to aid her friends and save Equestria.

And so, the six companions finally
arrived at the great dais where they lay,
the Elements of Harmony. But one
was missing. Twilight could not understand.
The earthen spheres seemed right, though in the books,
the pictures often showed five radiant gems.
So Twilight set her magic to the task,
for, in one text she’d seen, a footnote read,
“A spark will cause the sixth to show its light.”
So Twilight brought a spark out from her horn.
The others took their leave, for magic can
be dangerous to those around it. This
was surely a mistake, for Night Mare Moon
had one last play within her book. She stole
into the chamber and removed the stones
from that old chamber. Twilight, though, made haste
and jumped within the portal, vanishing
along with Night Mare Moon. When she awoke,
she found herself within the tower where,
when Luna lived yet, she had laid. And there,
upon the plinth, was Night Mare Moon, who stood
with Elements about her. She was sure
of victory, despite this mare’s attempts.
Sage Twilight made to charge the Queen of Night,
and she, too confident, returned the move.
But this was not the plan. For Twilight sly
had formed a spell, not power, but of thought,
to teleport herself across the room
and try once more to spark the Elements.
Fell Night Mare Moon did fly once more to her
to interfere with Twilight’s careful ploy.
It worked too well; the magic fired back
and threw poor Twilight far away once more.
And with a sneer, dark Night Mare Moon threw down
her shado’y hooves, and smashed the stones to bits.
The crystal shards rained down, and to all eyes,
the Elements were lost, the war was through.
As Night Mare gloated, Twilight heard behind
her fateful hoofsteps. Hope was not yet lost!
She turned about, and said, “Is this the end?
I think not! For the Elements are not
so easily destroyed. They rest yet now
within the hearts of us, the six, who fought
your petty games, emerged reborn
as heroes, Bearers of that mystic force.
Trustworthy Applejack, most Honest mare!
Sweet Fluttershy, the Kindest one of all!
Maid Pinkie Pie, the joyful Laughter Queen!
Just Rarity, most Generous and good!
And Rainbow Dash, the swift and Loyal friend!”
But Night Mare Moon, though fear shone in her eyes,
remarked, “You have but five! No Magic, and no spark!”
“You’re wrong!” said Twilight once again. “I have!
The magic spark was not of unicorn,
but rather ‘tween us all, we happy six.
I found it there amid our joyous trip.
Companionship I’d left for naught had grown
while we stood up against your silly ploys.
It’s Friendship, Night Mare Moon, that Magic is!”
This was the truth. The sixth appeared at once
and lifted Twilight, Magic Bearer, up.
The six, in holy power, joined as one,
to form the mystic Rainbow. Night Mare Moon
could not but struggle in its holy fire.
When everything had settled, there remained
but one small alicorn none recognized.
The Bearers had been healed of injuries,
the Elements returned to their true light,
and soon the sun began to rise once more.
And with it came the princess of the sun,
Celestia, who saw the filly there
and comforted the sister she had lost.
Yes, here was Luna, freed of Night Mare’s pow’r,
the taint of darkness thrown off of her mind.

Together, with the Bearers, they returned
to Ponyville, to celebrate the end
of nighttime, and so too the end of that
millenium of exile Luna bore.
But Twilight, sage of sages, was morose,
for she would have to leave her newfound friends
and go at once to Canterlot again.
So she, Celestia, decreed at once
that Twilight stay and learn of Friendship’s joys.

And so, the story ends. Fear not, my friends,
for this is but the first of Twilight’s tales.
Do ye remember him, the maddened god,
chaotic Discord, Lord of Madness? He
will soon return. Wait here, O ye who read
this epic tale, for all shall come in time.