Hoof and Claw Versus the World

by Chythar

Act 5, Chapter 10 - The End of an Era

This was it. I had all six Elements of Harmony, and Nightmare Moon knew where Celestia was hiding. It was time to finish this war, once and for all.

I just hoped I had the strength to do what needed to be done.

---

Nightmare Moon and I stood across the street from a run-down building. It looked like it used to be an old theater, the kind that showed plays instead of movies. There was a small ticket booth out front, with double-doors on either side that were closed and presumably locked. While there was no sign stating the name of the playhouse, old papers clung to the building's walls that advertised long-gone productions. Mixed amongst the old playbills and brickwork was cheap and shitty graffiti, sloppily spray-painted on the concrete walls. I had nothing against artistic graffiti, that stuff was cool to look at and took real talent to create. This was just idiots scrawling their names all over the wall, kinda like dogs that piss on the same tree to cover up some other dogs' piss. I had no respect for that. The four-lane street in front was surprisingly empty, despite the late afternoon hour. I had seen traffic packed on the freeways on my way to this location, so I was quite surprised to find the street to be quiet.

"Are you sure this is the place? It’s pretty far from the teleportation node.”

"Most certainly. I can sense my sister's magic inside the building. And by how much that magic is fluctuating, she is aware of our presence and is preparing for battle."

"Which means we're going to just strut in through the front door and meet her head-on."

"Thou dost show the capability for learning! Most excellent!"

"Smartass."

My response was a wide, toothy grin.

"How do you know that this isn't just an elaborate trap waiting for us when we waltz in the front door?"

"Unlikely. Celestia could potentially fake the magical signature of another pony, but not her own. I do not know why she is at this specific location, nor how many ponies may also be in the building, but Celestia is most definitely inside."

"Well then. This is your area of expertise, so I will defer to you."

"At last."

The Moon Mistress strode off of the sidewalk, and into the empty street. As always, I followed after her. I was thankful for the cooler spring weather, for the blacktop would likely have burned my feet during the summer months. Out of nowhere, I heard the blare of a car horn! I snapped my head to my left, and saw a clean silver luxury car bearing down upon us! The Moon Mistress slowly turned her head towards the sound, then casually lifted a wing towards the speeding vehicle as she looked away.

The luxury car smashed headlong into an invisible barrier, mere inches from the ebony mare! Its front-end crumpled under the impact, spewing radiator fluid across the barrier and on to the ground. The rear of the vehicle lifted off the ground upon impact, then slammed back down to the pavement. I saw the airbags inside the car had deployed, their white fabric stood out starkly against the tinted windows. During all this, Nightmare Moon had not stopped her stroll across the street. Nor had she acknowledged the imminent threat, beyond gesturing with her wing. Just as she crossed the double-yellow line in the middle of the roadway, the fluid spread across the invisible barrier suddenly dropped to the ground. The hiss of steam as it curled up from the destroyed engine was the only sound around.

I stared at the car as I walked past it, and wondered if I should check on the driver. I needn't have worried. The driver's door opened suddenly, and a man in a light gray business suit got out. He looked to be in his late 40's, with a balding head and heavy jowls and wrinkled skin. The man took on an aggressive stance and began to shout at Nightmare Moon.

"Hey, you! Yeah you, you black bitch! Oh yeah, you may not be human but I know you're a whiny little bitch!"

The Night Mare stopped in her tracks, but did not turn to look at the very entitled man.

"Yeah, you better stop and listen to me! Look what you did to my car! I don't know how you did it, but I know this is all your fault! You're going to pay - URK!"

Nightmare Moon had lit her horn, and lifted the unruly man up off of the ground by his neck. His hands grasped at the magical noose in vain while he gasped for air. His struggles became frantic, and his face slowly turned a deep shade of purple. All of a sudden, his expensive pants grew a large wet stain in the crotch area. By the location and the rank smell, the man had wet himself. He let out one last rattled gasp, then went limp. The dark mare's magic lowered his body down to the ground, then released him.

All the while, Nightmare Moon had not once turned around to face her attacker. Suddenly, she spoke.

"Do not worry. In deference to your sensibilities, he is merely unconscious."

The Moon Mare resumed her slow walk across the street. I was not sure how to react, so I moved quickly to catch up to her to walk by her side.

"Leaving him and his car out there is going to attract attention to us.”

"I care not. My victory over my sister is at hand! We shall then complete our conquest of this land, and shall no longer have to worry over minor inconveniences such as this."

While Nightmare Moon was speaking, the two of us had crossed the street. We were then standing in front of the double doors on the right side of the ticket booth. The ebony mare looked down at the door handles and pulled at one with her magic. When the door did not budge, she cast a spell to unlock it. A second tug on the handle, and this time the door opened. She swung it open wide, then gestured to me with a wing; a suggestion to enter the building before her. So I did.

Past the door was a narrow lobby, maybe fifteen or so feet deep but stretched far to my left and right. As soon as I walked inside, the lights clicked on to illuminate the area. In front of me was another set of closed double doors, which I presumed led into the theater itself. Just off to my left was a concession stand, though it was obviously empty of candies and sweets as the theater was no longer being used. Past the concession stand was another set of double doors. Nightmare Moon walked up to my right side, and paused to look around. In the meantime, I heard the outer door close and latch behind us. I glanced to my left, then to my right, and saw no one and no pony else. Strangely enough, the dark red carpet looked clean and the concession stand was not dirty or dusty. All I could smell was cleaning chemicals. Strange. I turned to my Queen and reported my findings.

"Nothing, they must be in the theater itself. Shall we?"

The mare gave a quick nod, then strode toward the double doors in front of us. These doors were not locked, so they opened easily by hand and magic. We strode side-by-side into the main theater itself.

We had entered on the right side of the theater. The large room was brightly lit, including the lights on stage. The seats stretched out before us and to our left, while the aisle sloped downwards slightly down to the wooden stage. The seats had a metal backing painted black, and the arm rests were made of wood. The front of the seats were covered in some sort of red velvet fabric. The seats were the typical folding-style, and while they looked worn and well-used they were not stained or torn. The aisle was covered in a short-pile charcoal carpet, one that looked more like a rug than a carpet. The carpet had been kept clean, as I could see wheel marks on the carpet that usually came from a vacuum cleaner. The space under the seats looked to be a blue swirled marble, though it was more likely to be painted concrete. The walls were covered in black fuzzy carpet, which I imagined would be an excellent sound absorber. The stage itself was trimmed with a red, shiny curtain, both sides tied back with a golden rope. The same type of curtain covered the back of the stage.

As we walked down the aisle towards the stage, I looked around for hidden threats. No matter where I looked, I saw no one and nothing out of the ordinary. Unless you considered the bright lighting and freshly cleaned surfaces in an allegedly abandoned theater to be suspicious, which I did. The theater looked like it was open for business and would be hosting a new production any day now. About halfway between the doors and the stage, Nightmare Moon came to a halt and announced herself in the Royal Equestrian Voice.

"COME OUT, DEAR SISTER! I KNOW THOU ART HERE!"

Celestia immediately walked out from the left wing of the stage, the one closest to us. She then sat down on the stage facing us.

"No need to shout, Luna. I am here."

"You knowest that I have not used that name since I took this form. Why dost thou insist on using it?"

"Because you will always be my dear sister, no matter what form you take."

Nightmare Moon scoffed at her sister's sentimental words.

"And where was this sentimentality when I was ignored by YOUR ponies? Where was this concern when I complained to you, and you dismissed my complaints as the whining of a baby sister who wanted attention?"

Celestia sighed and looked down at her hooves.

"I have had a thousand years to go over my mistakes with you, and there are none I regret more than ignoring your needs. I was young and stupid and caught up in my own self-importance. All the praise from our little ponies went to my head."

"Praise that equally belonged to ME! I protected them from the nightmare fiends in their dreams! I protected them from the star beasts that roamed the forests at night! I risked my life every night to keep them safe! But all they could ever see was YOU!"

"I know, Luna. I should have done more to make sure our ponies saw your accomplishments."

"Too little too late, sister! You must pay for what you have done!"

Nightmare Moon turned to me.

"Bring out the Elements!"

"But you two are having your first talk in centuries. Why don't - ow!"

The Night Incarnate had smacked me hard with a wing.

"I said, BRING OUT THE ELEMENTS!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh."

While Nighty and I fought, the Mane Six had begun to walk onto the stage from stage right. First was Twilight, then Rarity. Dash and Applejack were next, followed by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in pony form. Fluttershy appeared to be wearing her Element of Kindness necklace, which drew a raised eyebrow from me. Twilight sat down next to Celestia, and her friends sat down in a line to her right. As each of the mares spoke, I pulled out their respective Elements and placed them on my body. Twilight started first.

"Princess Celestia has done great things for Equestria while you were gone! You can't just throw all that away!"

I retrieved the Element of Magic and set it upon my helmet. Surprisingly, it stayed in place as if held by magnets.

"The beauty of Equestria shines upon Equus! It should not be destroyed merely because somepony feels left out! Besides, I've already designed my summer line and I would have to start over if the world was covered in eternal night."

The Element of Generosity was next, and I clipped it around the armor strap over my left shoulder.

"D'yall know what eternal night will do to my crops? My apples'll rot on the trees!"

I wrapped the Element of Honesty around the strap over my right shoulder.

"Yeah! You try to mess with my friends, and you'll get what's coming to you!"

I shuddered at the memory of Rainbow Dash about to crash into me, as I escaped with her Element. The memory didn’t stop me from wrapping the Element of Loyalty around my left forearm, though.

"Playing hide and seek with you in the grass was lots of fun! Give your kitties a hug for me, okay?"

I nodded and wrapped the Element of Laughter around my right forearm. Fluttershy simply hid behind her mane, and Celestia spoke for her.

"You do not have all of the Elements, Luna. As you can see, the Bearer of Kindness still has hers."

"Not true, sister. Your deception here has failed."

I retrieved the final Element from my pocket dimension, the Element of Kindness. My hands reached up and clasped the Element necklace around my neck. Upon seeing the six elements, Celestia frowned and looked off to Stage Right. A second Fluttershy walked on stage, but this one was not wearing an Element necklace. She walked over to her counterpart on stage, and passed right through her. The real Fluttershy sat down next to Pinkie Pie, and the illusion pony simply faded into nothingness.

"It matters not, Luna. Your soldier will not be able to activate the elements."

"He is not a mere soldier, he is my Captain and my second in command! You would do well not to underestimate him!"

Nightmare Moon looked at me expectantly, and I knew it was showtime.

Oh boy. Let's see if I can activate the Elements.

I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the Element of Generosity on my left shoulder. I reached inside of it with my magic, and felt something respond. A collective gasp came from the stage, and I knew then that I had succeeded. I opened my eyes and looked down to see that the gem in Rarity's Element was glowing. The same technique was repeated with each element in turn, and the Elements of Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter and Kindness responded to my calls. I had left the Element of Magic for last, mainly for dramatic effect. As with the others, I reached inside and made a connection. But since all the Elements were active, something changed. A burst of magic suddenly flowed into me, and filled my magical wellspring up from the inside. I felt disconnected from my body as it floated up off of the ground, and when I opened my eyes everything was glowing in white.

Another collected gasp from the ponies on stage, and I heard Celestia speak.

"How is this possible? Only the purest of heart can activate the Elements of Harmony!"

I replied to the mare, though it felt like my voice was echoing around inside my head.

"How do you know my heart isn't pure? Do you really think that I have to be evil to work with your sister? No wonder she hates you!"

Celestia had the decency to dip her head in shame.

"I..."

My words went unspoken as my sense of self was yanked away from my body, and my entire world turned white.

---

When I came to, I was floating in the middle of a star field. One that looked a heck of a lot like the one Twilight Sparkle appeared in when she became an alicorn.

"Aw, man. I hope this doesn't mean I'm becoming a princess."

"No, you are not."

I looked around for the voice, but saw nothing but the star field. Just then, six stars broke away from the field and zoomed down to hover in front of me. They were colored lavender, red and blue; purple, pink and orange. As the voice returned, the stars flickered in time with the words. It was a shock to realize that the Elements of Harmony were speaking to me directly.

"You have been brought here so that we may determine your fate."

"Fate? Uh, that doesn't sound good."

"Your worry is not warranted. If you had not been deemed worthy, you would not have been able to activate Us."

"Oh. Okay then."

"We have looked at your intentions and have seen that you bear these ponies no ill will. Yet you hesitate. Why?"

"I don't want to banish Celestia to the sun or the moon, or hurt her or anything like that. If I have a choice, I'd rather send her and the other ponies back to Equestria and keep them from coming back here again."

"That is within Our power. Yet We sense that there is more."

"Yeah. I'm afraid that I'll have to turn on Nightmare Moon if she goes too far. I've spent a lot of time with her, and I know she's not evil. She's just got a lot of hate towards her sister."

"We agree, the one known as Nightmare Moon is not evil. This is why We allowed her to escape Us on Equus. Yet she may yet become evil if her hatred is not contained."

"That's my fear. If I have to use you on her, I'd prefer that her hatred be removed or changed into something else. I don't want to remove her memories, because she won't learn anything if she forgets it all. I want her to learn her lessons and move past the pain."

"This is also within Our power. We also sense that you do not wish her to forget you, and the love she has for you."

I couldn’t help the blush that stole across my cheeks.

"True.

"I guess I'm being a little selfish there."

"We do not think so. While your intentions may not be entirely pure, they are pure enough to wield Our power.

Use Our power in the way We have spoken of here, and your wishes shall be respected. Misuse Us however, and We may turn Our considerable power against you."

I was whisked away from that star field by an unknown force, and my vision once again faded out to white.

---

The haze over my eyes cleared, and I was able to see the theater once again. I knew what I had to do, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I did not know if I could banish Celestia and her ponies away from this world forever. Especially since I really wanted to be their friend. I hesitated a moment longer, then felt a pulse of comforting magic flow through my body. Somehow, I knew it was the Elements. Their presence helped calm me down, and settled my fears. With their help, I knew I was ready.

"Celestia, ponies of Equestria. Your judgement is at hand."

Was that my voice? It's deeper than usual. No, there's more power in my voice. More presence. Awesome!

Yet I also felt more responsibility, a greater focus on my goal. I also felt incredibly old, ancient and wise. Almost like the Elements were part of me.

"Hahahaha! Prepare yourself for a thousand years on the sun, sister!"

A collective scream rose from the ponies on stage. Celestia hung her head low, and seemed to accept her fate. However, the Element of Honesty nudged me to tell the truth. Under its guidance, I turned to Nightmare Moon and corrected her misunderstanding.

"I shall not be sending Celestia, nor anypony, to the sun. Nor the moon. I shall be sending them back to Equus and blocking the portal so they will not be able to return."

"WHAT?!"

A sudden blast of magic from Nightmare Moon sent my flying away and over the center block of seats. I smashed into the seats on the left wing and sent wood, metal and fabric flying. My body came to rest on top of some smashed seats, lying on my back. Strangely enough, I was unhurt. I barely felt the magical impact, nor the physical contact with the seats. The Elements pulsed briefly, and I somehow knew that they had protected me. I also knew that I had to deal with Nightmare Moon first, and hopefully get her to back down.

With a mere thought, I floated back up in the air above the ruined seats. A look at Nightmare Moon revealed both shock and surprise on her muzzle. Her blast must have been more powerful than I thought.

“The will of the Elements shall not be denied, Nightmare Moon. These ponies shall be banished to their homeland, and you have been given free reign of this world to do as you see fit. Do not squander this opportunity."

The Night Mare's face turned from shock to anger in an instant.

"No! I have my sister in my grasp, and I shall not let her go unpunished!"

"She will be punished. She will never be able to see her sister, ever again."

A cry of "No!" came from Celestia on stage.

"That is not enough! I shall not let a mere MINION dictate terms to me!"

"Minion?

"Is that what you see? You proclaimed this vessel as your Captain and second-in-command not long ago."

"Bah! A weak minion such as yourself does not DESERVE to be my Captain! You have not the strength to do that which must be done!"

I sighed internally. It seemed that Plan B was in effect.

"Are you sure that this is what you wish to do?"

"Of course! You are weak and do not deserve to be at my side!"

"You are wrong, Nightmare Moon. We do have the strength. The strength to determine the greater threat to this world, and that threat is now YOU."

"What?! NO!!"

The mare began to throw magical blasts at me. I blocked them all with an ease I did not have before. It only took moments for me to realize that this battle would be a long one. Nightmare Moon was very powerful, and could dodge any attempt to use the Rainbow of Light on her. So I knew I had to wear her out first, and that would take a lot of work.

Unless I cheated, of course.

While Nightmare Moon was distracted, I cast the 'Mana Transfer' spell on her. Just as I did with Twilight, I gave the node a hard 'pull'. The strained gasp from Nightmare Moon was strangely satisfying, and a torrent of magic poured into me. The Elements were kind enough to take some of the stolen magic so it wouldn't overload me. I gave the magical node another ‘pull'. This time there was resistance. I sensed something else grab this magical ‘rope’ with me, and we all 'yanked' on the node as hard as we could. There was another moment of resistance, then it broke apart. Nightmare Moon cried out in pain as her magic was torn from her and poured into me. This time, the Elements took it all.

"How?! How can I not be strong enough to stop you? You never had this kind of power before!”

"The magic of the Elements is a powerful thing."

Yet another strong 'pull', and Nightmare Moon fell to her knees in the aisle.

"No! I cannot be defeated in this way! I must flee!"

Why do villains always monologue their plans?

The Moon Mistress struggled to her hooves, unfurled her wings and tried to fly away. She only had time to flap her wings once before I 'yanked' hard on the transfer node again. The ebony mare gasped loudly, and hesitated in midair. I did not, and used a flat shield to swat her down like an errant fly. She crashed down into the seats beneath her, much like she had done to me a few minutes earlier. The defeated mare lay in the rubble, gasping for air.

I slowly floated over from the left side of the theater to the right, and paused when I was above the exhausted mare. She turned an eye to look at me, and wheezed out a question.

"Why?"

"You turned on me, Nightmare Moon. I was your friend, your partner, and your lover. Yet you turned on me. That is when I knew your hatred had taken you over, and you had to be defeated.

"Had you accepted Celestia's fate, we could have ruled this world together. Instead, you must be erased."

Nightmare Moon's eyes went wide as I released the Rainbow of Light directly in her face. Her screams matched Celestia's as the magic of the Elements consumed her. The dual screams rose in pitch, and my vision faded to white once again.

Comments

[Chythar]

10052566
I'm sorry to hear that. Out of curiosity, what were you expecting?

[Chythar]

10052622
Well, she betrayed him first, and also attacked him. He's also kinda under control of the Elements, too. Nightmare Moon is becoming evil again, and the Elements won't let that happen.

[Warden of All]

So wait, are they going to destroy her completely, or just destroy her hatred? Please let it be the latter, I don't want this to end sadly for Claw. And what about Twilight and the others?

[BruhMoment23232]

Holy crap, what a chapter, can't wait to read more!