//------------------------------// // The Elements of Harmony - Happiness and Sorrow // Story: Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary - Chapter 5 Part 4 A cool breeze blew through the throne room, blowing away the smoke and dust of the recent battle and swirling around the gathered ponies and sleeping guards. Twilight Sparkle had not moved from her hunched-over position in the room, and made no effort to rise as Celestia and Luna proceeded slowly towards her. "Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student," said Celestia as she walked, unable and unwilling to conceal the pride in her voice. "You did it. You’ve reunited me with my sister, something I’d dreamed about for a thousand years.” She stopped just short of Twilight and swept her hoof upwards in a grand gesture. “Any wish you would have, just say a word, and if it is within my power, I shall grant it,” she said, before she lowered her forehoof and looked down with a grateful smile. “You have my eternal gratitude.” Twilight didn’t answer, still sitting with her head lowered and her back to both alicorns. Celestia hesitated, then lowered herself to the ground to get a better look. "Twilight. Is something wrong? Are you injured?" The little mare let out a sniffle and wiped a foreleg across her eyes before she turned her head to look back at her mentor. Celestia’s cheerful smile vanished at the sight of her student’s red, watery eyes, and she asked worriedly, “Twilight, why are you crying?” She cast a quick magical scan of her student, but when that showed few physical injuries other than some minor bite marks, Celestia looked closer. There was something about those tearful red eyes that bothered her. Twilight’s pupils had a distinct oval to them, much like Nightmare Moon's, and glowed slightly in the dark. “Twilight, please, speak to me.” An icy chill blew through her mane at the thought that Nightmare Moon had taken her student as a new host, and even though she knew that Nightmare Moon wasn’t a monster, she didn’t want another of the ponies she loved to be possessed or used as a means of revenge. "I failed," Twilight said, bent over the small fragment of Nightmare Moon that she held in her forehooves. "It's my fault." Celestia shook her head and placed one hoof behind her student for support. "No, Twilight. You succeeded. You saved my sister." Twilight gestured towards the black fragment she was holding. “I f-failed her…” Celestia’s brow furrowed as she tried to understand what her student was saying, but the next words took her off guard. ”I f-failed Nightmare Moon.” Confused by the unexpected words, Celestia simply sat and looked at her tiny student quizzically. Luna also lowered herself to the ground and spoke in a near-whisper, "What art thou saying, Twilight Sparkle? Twilight put the black fragment on the stone floor and wiped her tears, but the regret was still apparent in her shaky voice. “I t-told Nightmare M-Moon that I didn’t w-want to hurt her, t-that I would s-save her,” she said, lowering her head mournfully. “But I didn’t do that. I k-killed her.” Flinging her small golden helmet away, Twilight grabbed for the rest of her armor, not pausing until the last golden piece had been removed and flung as far away as she could. "You said I could have anything I wanted!" she raged, grabbing the small fragment of Nightmare Moon and thrusting it towards Celestia. "Bring her back! Use your power on what little remains of her and make her alive again! You're the most powerful being in Equestria! If anypony can save her, it's you! Bring her back!" Twilight clutched the small dark fragment to her chest and rubbed her cheek against it, dampening it with her tears. "Please." The Princess of the Sun turned her head and looked away, refusing to meet Twilight's anguished gaze. The silence stretched between them until it was finally broken by the small click of her tiny student placing the last fragment of Nightmare Moon on the ground. "You can't," said Twilight. "Nopony can. She's gone, and no amount of power or skill could bring her back." Celestia was speechless, unsure of what to say to comfort her student, but Luna put her hoof on the shoulder of the crying pony. “Hush, little one. Nightmare Moon simply wished to make us happy or die trying. Thou hast granted her wish. Let her rest in peace.” Twilight twisted around to look up into Luna's compassionate eyes. "B-but..." “Twilight, thou hast saved us. Nightmare Moon, blinded by hate and heartache, was ready to sacrifice the both of us,” Luna said assuredly. “What thou hast done was right.” To Luna’s surprise, the little mare jumped up and embraced her neck in a damp hug, sniffling as she asked, “B-but why couldn’t I save both of you? W-why…?” Spreading a wing around the tiny unicorn, Luna held Twilight between her warm neck and a sea of dark-blue feathers. “Sometimes thou canst not save everypony, Twilight. Tis not thy fault. We are sure that Nightmare Moon would understand.” The rest of Twilight’s friends approached slowly, but Spike was first on the scene, and there was a moment of silence as the young drake knelt down next to the tiny unicorn and spoke, “Twilight, I almost lost you twice back there, once to Nightmare Moon and once to that manticore, and while I’m happy that you’re safe and sound, I can’t stand seeing you sad like this. You did all you could, and because of that, we are alive and together. Stop thinking about what you failed to do and focus on what you accomplished.” “Darling, even if you couldn’t save Nightmare Moon from herself,” Rarity said, “you still saved Princess Luna, and that isn’t something to be so distraught over.” Applejack bumped Rarity with an elbow, raising an eyebrow. “Ya mean we saved Princess Luna, right? It was a team effort,” she added. “Well, of course. It was our combined effort that led us to this point, but that’s beyond the point I wanted to make,” Rarity replied before levitating up Twilight’s golden armor that she had thrown off earlier. “Also, as lovely as the necklaces that our Elements had turned into are, the design of this armor is amazing! It looks like gold, but there’s nary a scratch on it from being tossed so roughly aside, not to mention that it’s far more useful at Twilight’s size, and it’s so well designed in addition to being so fashionable. See, the way this shoulder piece is shaped allows for a near full range of movement, and…” Twilight eyed the fashionista as the white unicorn rambled on, pointing out the quirks of the Element of Magic as she turned it to and fro in her levitation. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and simply pat Twilight on the back, pushing the tiny unicorn forward a few steps. Twilight didn’t mind, and she smiled when her friend said, “This was so cool, Twilight! We really have to do this again sometime, and I even got a first-class seat to watch the fight between two alicorns.” Rainbow Dash then turned towards Celestia, asking none too subtly, “Hey, Your Highness. Is there any chance you could shrink me like you did Twilight? Just temporarily. I would like to challenge myself, and adventuring by her side would be so much fun.” Celestia let out a ringing laugh. “Maybe someday, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash squealed with glee and took off into the air. "Yes! Princess Celestia knows my name!" Rarity cleared her throat very distinctly, and Rainbow Dash quickly landed back on the ground, blushing. “I errr… I’ll hold you to that, Princess.” Fluttershy walked closer to her little friend and whispered, “I umm… I… I’m glad.” Twilight and Luna both gave her encouraging smiles, and she continued slightly more confidently, “I’m sorry for what happened to Nightmare Moon, but I’m happy that you’re both okay.” Twilight smiled and, to the pegasus’s surprise, wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy’s foreleg in a tight hug. “Oh Fluttershy, you don’t need to worry so much about me,” she said, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind if you did look after my safety from time to time, but please don’t make a habit of it.” Fluttershy nodded, returning the smile briefly before she, Twilight, and Luna were swept up in a pink whirlwind that ended up with everypony trapped together in a tight group hug by Pinkie Pie. “I am soooo happy for you! We had an amazing adventure and we saved the princess without anypony telling us that she’s in another castle and now we can have a 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' for Princess Luna!" Pinkie Pie somehow managed to throw a hoof-full of confetti into the air and blow on a noisemaker without releasing either Luna, Fluttershy or Twilight from the ongoing hug. Luna seemed to be surviving the bone-crushing experience fairly well, but it was somewhat more intense for Twilight at her current size. "P-P-Pinkie, c-could you please r-release us?" the tiny unicorn managed to squeak out. “Oh, okay!” Pinkie Pie said, letting go of her prey. “I was hoping that Nightmare Moon would join us though. I had a name picked out for the party for both of them and now she won’t be able to come and taste my cupcakes or play pin the tail on the pony or come hang out with us, and I won’t be able to be friends with her.” Twilight’s brow furrowed. It looked as if Pinkie’s mane had deflated, if it was even possible for a pony’s mane to do so. Furthermore, she would have sworn that Pinkie’s fur turned into a darker shade of pink before her very eyes. Rarity and Fluttershy caught on quickly, approaching and escorting their depressed friend towards nearby pillar before cheering her up. Rainbow Dash joined moment later. Applejack approached the princess, looking worriedly at the pink earth pony before turning towards Luna and clearing her throat. “Y’know, Ah wasn’t certain that this adventure was the bes’ decision we coulda made, but Ah’m glad that Ah went fer the ride,” she said with a grin. She held out a hoof towards Princess Luna, who looked at the extended limb as if there was a spider on it. “Welcome t’ Ponyville, Princess!” “Applejack!” Rarity admonished, chastising the outstretched foreleg disapprovingly. “It is improper to shake hooves with royalty. You bow or curtsy to them,” she said, dipping down into a bow herself. “Welcome to Ponyville, Your Highness.” Luna smiled and looked down at Twilight. “Verily, we must say that thou hast made wonderful friends.” The little mare smiled in return. “Well, I’d only met them yesterday—well, except for Spike and those two silly guards back there, who I’ve known since I was still a young filly—but the others I’ve known only recently. I can always introduce you to my other friends from Canterlot sometime too,” Twilight responded. Luna returned the tiny mare’s smile, but it faltered, and Twilight quickly picked up on it. “I-Is something wrong, Princess?” The alicorn cleared her throat uncomfortably. “N-no, Twilight. Tis just... Thou hast done so much for us and our sister. Thou and thy friends risked your lives to help us. How could we ever repay you?” Twilight shook her head. “I don’t need any payment or reward, Princess. Your gratitude and happiness is reward enough,” Twilight said to general agreement. Twilight then turned towards the largest alicorn who had been watching them in silence the entire time. She bowed, much to Celestia’s surprise, and said, “I am ready to face the consequences of my actions.” Celestia blinked in confusion. “Consequences? For what?” Twilight rose back to a sitting position and took a deep breath. “Disobeying orders, avoiding imprisonment, fleeing from the guard—Well, most of them,” she said with a side glance at Overwatch and Steel Blade, who coughed and tried to look elsewhere lest they get drawn into whatever punishment Twilight was submitting herself to, “putting civilians at risk on a dangerous mission, injury to local wildlife—” Celestia burst out into joyous laughter, and Twilight frowned, confused. "Did I say something funny, Princess?" The white alicorn wiped away her tears, her laughter slowly petering out as she gave Twilight the biggest and most cheerful smile she could muster. “Twilight, you are so adorkable sometimes,” Celestia stated, much to Twilight’s blushing embarrassment. “After everything you’ve done for me, you’d have to burn an entire town to the ground so that I would even consider punishing you.” “But-but—” Celestia lowered herself to Twilight’s level, delicately running a hoof over the tiny unicorn’s head. “Twilight, I would shower you with presents at this point if I didn’t know you’d refuse every single one of them,” she said cheerfully before she looked upon the other ponies in the room. “If any of you wish for a reward or favor from me, don’t hesitate to ask. All of Equestria owes you a big debt.” Overwatch let out an exaggerated gasp before turning to Steel Blade with a hopeful expression on her face and asking, “How much chocolate do you think I can get off of this?” Steel Blade applied a hoof to his face, trying not to draw too much attention as he turned to Overwatch and whispered, “Do you actually eat anything except sweets?” Applejack looked back at Pinkie Pie with concern, who was now pawing at a few black fragments scattered across the floor with quite a few ponies still trying to lift her spirits. The farmer took a few dignified steps ahead of the group and spoke firmly, “Will do, Princess. Even though Ah don’ want any reward fer doin’ what’s right, a pony t’ pony favour from the princess might prove mighty useful in a bad situation. Ah gladly accept.” Celestia looked once again into Twilight’s slitted eyes, but her student spoke first before she could continue. “P-Princess… why aren’t you angry? I know that you’d lost faith in my abilities and didn’t want me involved, but—” Twilight was cut off by her mentor’s hoof. “Twilight, I’ve never lost faith in you. I knew you could unlock the Elements and heal my sister, but that’s not the main reason I didn’t want to let you come to Ponyville.” Twilight’s brow furrowed together, begging for an explanation that Celestia readily gave. “The reason why I didn’t want you involved was because of the risk. There is no guaranteed victory when the Elements are involved. It has always been a gamble. You and your friends could have died trying to save my sister, and your small size only compounded the inherent risk involved.“ “But Princess… as your subjects, it is our duty to serve in any way we can. You had every right to put our lives at risk for the good of Equestria,” Twilight started. “You’ve been preparing me for this very day as your student, and it was my duty to unlock the Elements or die trying.” Celestia froze, and she took in a deep breath as her face contorted into a scowl. “Compared to your sister, who you’ve spent centuries with, my very existence should be insignificant,” Twilight continued as Celestia’s foreleg started to tremble. “With your sister’s life on the line, why would you concern yourself with—” The thunderous impact of a hoof striking down onto the floor beside her caused the tiny mare to flinch. Twilight lowered her forelegs from her face to see a long white foreleg leading from a large hole in the ground, cracks spreading out around the damaged area. “Err… P-Princess?” Celestia stood up, removing her forehoof from the hole in the ground. Tiny fragments of stone fell from it in front of the little mare in a brief shower. Dwarfed in the shadow of the princess, Twilight slowly looked up at the towering alicorn above her. The princess had her eyes closed and was taking slow, deep breaths. The tiny unicorn rubbed at her foreleg nervously, and with a gulp, she asked, “D-did I say something wrong?” “Twilight.” It was soft, but firm, and Twilight had stopped dead before she was swept up in a magical aura and pressed against Celestia’s white chest, a hoof coming around the tiny unicorn to bring her closer. “I have said this so many times before, and yet you refuse to believe it,” Celestia said quietly. “Don’t you ever think, much less say aloud, that I should not care about you. Your words… your words very nearly compelled me to slap some sense into you.” The princess looked down at the hole in the ground, so very close to where her student had been, and bit her lip. “I’m sorry for what I nearly did, but I beg you to finally understand that I love you nearly as much as my own sister.” Luna stared at Celestia in disbelief, her mouth agape, but she quickly shook her head and suppressed the growing feeling of jealousy. It was a feeling she felt guilty for having, especially for her savior, who definitely deserved the love and care she was receiving from Celestia. Taking a deep breath, Luna looked at the tiny mare trapped behind her sister’s forehoof and smiled. Twilight grit her teeth and tried to force open the tight hug. After gaining some space and a breath of fresh air, she looked up her mentor, brow furrowed in confusion as she waited intently for Celestia to continue. “I didn’t send you into danger because I didn’t want to lose a pony who I love and care so deeply about,” Celestia said warmly. “I didn’t want two ponies I love so much to fight each other. I wanted to capture Nightmare Moon and imprison her so that I could personally guide you and your friends to unlock the Elements of Harmony safely.” “But princess, your sister is an alicorn who’s lived with you a millennium ago. I’m just your student, who will one day—Hurk!” “I don’t care!” Celestia exclaimed, hugging Twilight tightly once more, cutting off what else she could have said. “Alicorn or not, student or subject, it doesn’t matter. I will never think any less of you. I will not let you risk your life if I can help it.” The white alicorn loosened her embrace and took a deep breath, continuing in a calmer tone. “But it seems you got yourself involved in the end anyways. I’m just glad that you’re still alive. Thank you for everything.” Twilight simply stared up at Celestia incredulously for a few moments before she finally relaxed, sinking into her mentor’s dirty fur with a murmur. “Glad I could be of use, Princess.” *** Cadence, who had been sitting on the sidelines while everypony else had their big reunion, finally made herself known, walking up to Luna and placing a hoof onto her shoulder. Luna jumped at the contact, but curiously looked back at the taller alicorn after her initial flinch. “See, you’re no longer lonely,” Cadence said cheerfully, giving the princess an encouraging smile. “You can count all the ponies here as friends—or ‘loyal subjects’, depending on your preferences—and you can count on them to keep you company and to help you fit back into Equestria.” The pink alicorn looked at Celestia for a moment, who was calmly conversing with Twilight. “Your sister wants to make up for her mistakes, but if she’s ever too busy with her royal duties, I’ll be there for you. Don’t be afraid to ask.” Luna smiled. “Our thanks, Cadence. We appreciate thine assistance in our rehabilitation.” Cadence returned the smile, and without further ado, she took a deep breath and shouted, “Listen up, everypony!” She was immediately met with the gaze of many curious eyes, and she waited for their full attention before she said, “I know that everypony’s excited after what happened, but it’s been a long tiresome night, so we should wrap it up and get some rest.” “But what about Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash asked. She stopped for a moment, her brow furrowing as she looked at Cadence more closely. “You look familiar... Weren't you the one who hugged—” “She’s my friend from Canterlot. There’ll be time for introductions later after we get moving, but I can assure you we can trust her,” Twilight said to her friends before she climbed up onto Celestia’s lowered wing, climbing up and perching herself on the princess’s back. Cadence nodded in confirmation and, noting the state of the ponies there and the spiritless state of Pinkie Pie, charged magic into her horn and suggested, “I can provide transportation. You must all be very tired.” “Thank ya kindly,” Applejack said, walking over to the apathetic Pinkie Pie and, with the help of Rainbow Dash, placed the pink earth pony onto her back, “but Ah got it covered.” “Um, alright then,” Cadence said before turning her attention to the ponies in armor scattered about. “Before we go however, we should probably wake up all the guards.” “We regret to inform thee that that idea is much more easily said than done,” Luna said. She then poked a hoof at her horn. “We have placed each of them in the land of dreams. Waking them up wouldst be… more difficult than thou wouldst expect.” “There is no need for that,” Celestia stated as she walked ahead of Cadence and charged her horn. “After today’s events, each of them deserve a good rest.” One by one, the guards floated upwards in her golden aura and levitated over her head. Cadence quickly focused her own magic to assist, and soon, every able-bodied pony was skittering around finding guards to haul back. With several pegasi and unicorns in her magical hold, Cadence approached Overwatch and whispered, “Hey, Miss Overwatch, could you help me with something?” “Hold on,” the mare guard responded, looking intently at the guards she was concentrating on levitating. “This is actually a lot harder than I imagined—Twilight makes things look so easy sometimes—and I’m wondering how I’m going to have the energy to keep levitating these guys and walk through the forest at the same time. Actually...” She waved a hoof at Steel Blade. “Hey Steelie, you don’t think you’ll be able to carry me all the way back while I levitate these sleepyheads, right?” Cadence’s brow furrowed. “You know, you could always give some to me or Celestia…” Steel Blade let out a mock huff of exasperation, rolling his eyes. “Oh fine. I suppose it’d be more useful to carry you than just another unconscious guard. Hop on.” The guard mare happily sprawled out over Steel Blade’s back, stealing a few cookies from his saddlebags before she finally turned to Cadence. “So. What’d you have in mind?” Cadence snuck a side glance at Luna, who had her horn lowered to a sleeping guard, likely attempting to reverse her slumber spell. “Even with the help of my spell and the Elements, Luna will still need all support she can get,” she began. “I was thinking about organizing a ‘welcome back’ party for her in Ponyville.” Applejack had coincidentally passed by at that moment, and with her, Pinkie Pie. The pink mare’s ears immediately shot up at those words, and with an audible poof, her mane regained its original fluff and her fur brightened back to its usual shade of brilliant pink. In a blink, Pinkie Pie was up, standing atop Cadence with a gasp before anypony could tell what was happening. “That’s right! We all need to be rested for tomorrow’s welcoming party!” Pinkie exclaimed. She looked around with excitement, noticing all of the faces around her, new or not. “Or should I say, parties! There’ll be a party for Luna, a party for Twilight, a party for—” Rainbow Dash immediately plugged Pinkie’s mouth with a hoof. “Yeah, we get the idea. Let’s go everypony!” Pinkie nodded and, after Rainbow Dash cautiously removed her hoof, struck her own hoof into the air with a cry. “Onward! Next stop, Ponyville! Mush!” she said as she bounced up and down on Cadence, who couldn’t help letting out a giggle and playing along. The pink alicorn led the group proudly, her nose held high as she blazed the path into the Everfree Forest. Overwatch just blinked, still slightly stunned. She shook her head clear, reasserting her faltering telekinesis on the guards she was levitating before taking another look at the pink pony riding atop the other pink pony. “Well… that was a mood swing,” she said dumbly. Twilight smirked at their antics, cuddling with the soft feathers around her before she gathered the scattered black fragments with her telekinesis and called out to her guards. “Steel Blade! Overwatch!” “Yes Twilight?” the pegasus asked, turning towards the little mare and trotting over. “Anything I can do to help?” Twilight nodded, pointing at the saddlebag he carried. “I need you to store something for me. A memorandum of my… failure,” she said hesitantly. Celestia’s ear perked up, and her warm smile was replaced with more pensive grimace. With the fragments of her fallen foe now resting safely inside her guard’s saddlebag, Twilight focused on a few unconscious guards of her own. She stole a few from Overwatch, who had playfully shot her an emphatically annoyed glare, but handed them over thankfully and without argument. The majority of her efforts were to ease Celestia’s burden. Tired or not, she would never let the princess struggle alone. Never. *** “Hey Twilight?” Overwatch suddenly blurted out. “Yeah?” “When in Tartarus did you get those adorable slit pupils?”