Order-naries: Z'Nai

by CTVulpin

Chapter 5

The ten ponies were understandably cautious as they walked into the workroom and Nightmare Moon closed the door behind them, locking it with magic. However, since it had been Luna's voice to come out of the alicorn's mouth and not Nightmare's more arrogant tone nor a Z'nai buzz-growl, they were willing to give her a chance to explain herself. After making sure Nightmare was well-watched, Ash took a moment to look around the room. The magic field manipulator machine was where he'd left it, and stuck into the side of it he found his now-suspect computerized assistant, PC. He probed the machine a few times with magic before approaching it slowly and looking it over, keeping an ear open to hear Nightmare Moon's story.

"It happened less than a day after you all left," she said, "These Z'nai creatures seemed to come out of nowhere and began attacking the guards down here and ponies throughout the city. My sister managed to trace their source to this room and tried to deal with it personally. Most of her escort was taken over or killed, except for one pegasus who managed to report to me, telling me that ordinary magic was like food to these monsters. I was the only one who could face what my sister had become, and only if I allowed myself to use my power as Nightmare Moon. I managed to contain Celestia in this room and took on her duties over the daytime while I tried to find a permanent solution and stop the spread of the Z'nai. Just a few hours ago, my seal was broken and Celestia broke free. This time our battle ended with the Z'nai inside of her attempting to possess me, only to find itself trapped in the same corner of my mind where Nightmare Moon is held. Another Z'nai took over Celestia and I used the time to escape to this room. I've tried to find a way to exterminate the Z'nai, but it's all I can do to keep it contained and my Nightmare powers under control." She sighed and hung her head.

"Interesting," Ash mused.

"She's tellin' the truth," Applejack said, "I can feel the honesty in her voice." She tapped the gemstone in her necklace as her friends turned to look at her.

"So," Rainbow Dash said, "That means we're locked in a room with a pony who could go crazy in two completely different ways at any moment."

"That's one way to look at it," Luna said glumly.

"Ah, it'll be ok," Pinkie said, optimistic as ever, "If you go crazy we'll just knock it right back out of you again." Luna smiled faintly.

"Personally, I'd rather that not happen," Ash said, removing PC from the machine. He looked it over and went to put it on his head. "Girls," he said, pausing, "If you aren't at the ready, get there. This might go bad." Without waiting for a response, he settled the computer on his head, adjusted the mike and eyepiece, and spoke into it, "PC? Are you still in there?" The eye piece flashed as garbled text ran across it. "Whoa, slow down," Ash said, "Your output is… oh. Oh, I see… Can you spare time for a quick explanation? Keywords will do, but try not to skimp." He fell silent for several seconds as he read the display. "So," he said when the text vanished, "The Z'nai Prime in you slipped a copy past a firewall hole created by interfacing with the magical system in the manipulator which you didn't detect in time and now it's fighting you for control over your system, correct? All right, good luck buddy, I know you can do it- there's only one of him." He removed the computer, put it into his bag, and looked at the group. "Anything you girls, and Soul, didn't catch from that?" he asked.

"Is there a Z'nai in that machine or not?" Heart asked, indicating the manipulator.

"There was," Ash said, "the one I'm now going to dub 'Magic Z'nai Prime.' It jumped out and took over Celestia, but now it's inside Luna and Celestia's being controlled by a later copy, most likely the Beta. PC doesn't know how his Z'nai adapted a copy to work inside the manipulator, but he's making sure it can't put another one in, so the manipulator's clean. Probably the only magical item in Canterlot that isn't." He grew silent, gazing at the machine contemplatively.

"I take it we've reached step 3 of your master plan?" Twilight asked him.

"Use the information we've gathered to concoct a master plan, yes," Ash said with a brief smile.

"So?" Dash asked impatiently.

"This will take time," Ash said, "Talk amongst yourselves, brainstorm if you wish, just give me time."

"You weren't this slow to act the last time you came to save everypony," Luna said, a bit of Nightmare Moon creeping into her voice.

"Last time we were fighting a foe we'd grown accustomed to," Ash replied, "I haven't seen a Z'nai in years, and this is the first time I've actually tried to root out an infestation of them. The big hurdle we must overcome is how to pull the Z'nai out of all the unicorns, Celestia, and the objects they've inhabited quickly enough to insure none of them have a chance to reproduce. What we need is some sort of bait, something they'd rush out en masse to get to."

"Well, there's that thing," Applejack said nodding at the manipulator, "You said it's empty, and from the looks of it I'd say it's something a Z'nai'd pay good money to get into. Y'know, with it being so big and all, they'd have plenny of room to stretch."

"That's not likely to be attractive to them AJ," Ash said, "They don't really take up any space; they're just magic energy that can think. However…" He walked around the machine a few times, and then smiled, "It is a pretty potent source of magic, and their Prime did inhabit it. At any rate, the simple fact that it's unoccupied makes it darn near irresistible. I bet the only reason they aren't rushing in and fighting for the right to get inside of it is because the Prime's the only one who's been near it since the infestation got started. Heh heh." He patted the machine. "The only problem is once a Z'nai gets inside it the rest will lose interest and go about their business. With the right kind of spells, though, we can prevent the Z'nai that get inside it from escaping or broadcasting their occupancy of it, keeping it attractive until every single Z'nai in Canterlot is stuffed inside."

"What do we do with it then?" Luna asked, "Destroy the machine?"

"No, that would just let the Z'nai out again," Ash said, thinking hard, "We'll have to burn that bridge when we come to it. Just getting the Z'nai out of the ponies is good enough for now. Questions or comments anypony?"

"I assume we'll have to use the Elements of Harmony to cast the spells you mentioned," Twilight said.

"Of course."

"Which means you'll need to tell me what they are and teach me how to do them."

"Truth," Ash said. His brow furrowed as he looked at the machine again. "You know," he said, "this might work a little better if this thing were in a more… prominent location. I'm thinking the Day or Night Tower.

"Well, just how are we gonna move it without bein' spotted by any Z'nai?" Applejack asked.

"I can handle that," Luna said, "Although I won't be able to take it and all of you."

"Once it's up there, it's sure to been spotted by the Z'nai," Ash said, "If any of them get inside before we can set the spells, we're sunk."

"Well then, set the spells first and then I'll take it," Luna replied. Ash shook his head again.

"The spells I have in mind will need near-constant attention," he said, "especially once some Z'nai get inside and start trying to get out. However, a spell to make it invisible might do in the meantime. Think you can handle that Twilight?"

"Probably," Twilight said, "I just hope I can find the spell in the books I brought." She dug out her books and began flipping through them.

"I know this is important," Rarity said, "And I don't wish to come across as a whiner, but must we go all the way up to the top of the towers? That's such a long climb."

"And those creatures are probably going to do everything they can to get in our way," Fluttershy put in.

"I'm with them," Soul said, "Maybe we should set up on one of the viewing platforms."

"Upper one then," Ash said, "Although, that's where we parked the balloon…"

"Balloons can be replaced," Gale said pragmatically, "Heck, I'll pay to replace the thing if it gets destroyed or whatever. We should try to minimize the risk if we can."

"Celestia and I will replace the balloon if need be," Luna said, "It'll be the least we can do if you can fix this."

"Found it!" Twilight said, tossing all but one book aside and holding the last one open in front of her face, "It's a bit complicated, but with all the Elements I should be able to do it without draining myself too much." Her five friends arranged themselves behind her as the other ponies moved to give her room to work. Twilight closed her eye as her horn began to glow, followed by her Element tiara and each of the necklaces in turn. A rainbow of colors swirled out from the six gemstones and spun around the magic manipulator several times as it quickly faded from sight. When the spell ended Twilight gave her head a quick shake and then smiled. "No problem," she said. Gale walked over and extended a hoof toward the invisible machine and tapped it a few times to make sure it was still there.

"Your turn Princess Luna," she said, walking away again.

"Wish me luck," the black alicorn princess said, taking a deep breath. She dissolved into a sparkling mist that flew over and surrounded the invisible machine before shrinking down and flying away through the wall. "I'll see you at the viewing platform. Good luck, my little ponies," Luna's voice rang softly through the room.

---

The group made it up to the ground level of the castle before running into trouble. First, there had been a large group of possessed unicorns blocking the stairs, forcing the group to detour out into the hallways. Second, they encountered a small cohort of Z'nai in guard armor while crossing the entrance hall to find another staircase. Soul sighed as he and Heart formed their link, "You think they'd have figured out a new way to come at us by now. That armor can't be the only magical stuff in Canterlot." As if in answer, the floor shook and a large alicorn statue broke its way through a door way and lowered it horn to charge the group.

"Happy now?" Heart asked sarcastically.

"Oh yes," Soul replied with just as much sarcasm.

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said, "That's the statue from the Gala! I didn't know it was magic!"

"I don't think it is," Twilight said, "They probably just enchanted it."

"Either way, it's coming at us!" Ash shouted, throwing fireballs at it. They splashed harmlessly against the stone, but weren't absorbed. "Goody," Ash said, changing to slashing bolts that scored the legs of the statue. He was unable to stop it, and the ponies were forced to dodge out of its way at the last second. The Z'nai Armors began to charge into the fray, brandishing spears and blades. "Physical fighters, help me take the statue down," Ash said, "Twilight, help Heart and Soul with the Z'nai. Whoever's left, find a way to be useful or get to safety." Fluttershy immediately took off, flying up to the ceiling to hide behind a chandelier. AJ and Rainbow Dash followed Ash as he charged the statue, which had stumbled in its attempts to stop and turn around. Rarity took a quick look around before closing her eyes and using her magic to pull a tapestry off the wall onto a bunch of Z'nai near the back of the group. She winced at the sound of their weapons tearing at the nearly priceless art in their attempts to free themselves and tried to block it out by running through ideas for a dress worthy of Celestia in her head. Pinkie Pie… bounced around improvising a song and somehow managed to stay out of everypony's way.

"Typical Pinkie," Soul said, shaking his head and smiling as he jumped away from a Z'nai's swinging sword. "Sis, they're getting a little close for comfort here.

"Working on it," Heart said, hovering above the mass of Z'nai as she directed an Element Wheel through their ranks, "This would be easier if I could make two of these things at a time."

"Work with what you got," Soul responded, focusing his magic into his rear hooves as he spun and bucked his assailant away, cracking the breastplate in several places and disrupting the Z'nai's form. Twilight finished it off with a spell that widened the cracks until the breastplate fell apart.

"Why do they bother with the rest of the armor if their entire being is linked to the breastplate?" the lavender unicorn asked.

"No idea," Soul said, diverting part of the link tendril to pluck off a Z'nai's helmet. Its "head" wavered and vanished and the creature dropped its weapon as it tried to reorient itself. "I'd guess the rest's there to let them take on a shape, but why they'd want to do that is beyond me."

"Soul!" Heart shouted, "I'm losing control here! Put that link back together!"

"Sorry," Soul said, complying. Heart snorted and let the Element Wheel disappear, forming a new one and throwing it out as she dodged several thrown spears.

Over at the animated statue, Applejack was dangling from a rope after her attempt to hold the thing down by the neck with a lasso failed due to a lack of something to brace herself against. She considered letting go and dropping to the floor, but since the alicorn chose that moment to rear up and prepare for another trampling charge, she bit down harder and silently begged Rainbow Dash to see her plight and come to the rescue. She started to panic as she felt the rope begin to fray in her mouth, only to find herself being supported and lifted from behind. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dash wrapping her legs around the earth pony's torso. "I've got you," the blue pegasus said.

AJ spat out the rope and said, "Thanks sugar cube," as Rainbow carried her out of the way of the statue, which came down with a crash and began charging, heading straight for Pinkie Pie, who seemed oblivious. "How do we stop this thing?" Applejack asked as Dash set her on the ground next to Ashen Blaze.

"Your rope trick was on the right track," Ash said, running along side the statue as he untied the lasso from its neck with his magic, "We just need to reposition it." He brought the rope down and tied it around one of the legs. "Grab a hold!" he shouted as he brought the other end to his mouth and bit down on it, digging in his hooves as he tried to stop. Applejack and Rainbow Dash hurried over and joined him. With their combined weight, they managed to stop and pull the rope tight, causing the statue to trip and fall forward. Pinkie stopped bouncing and looked toward the mass of stone that was falling toward her. She took two steps backward and reared up on her hind legs as the statue hit the ground in a cloud of dust and broken stone.

"Pinkie Pie!" Dash cried, unsure of what had happened to the earth pony. The dust cleared to reveal Pinkie standing a mere inch in front of the statue's head. She gave it a light punch, giggled, and bounced away. Dash breathed a sigh of relief, only to gasp in surprise as a chandelier fell onto the statue's head, breaking the horn off and apparently ending the enchantment. All fighting stopped as everypony and half the remaining Z'nai looked up to see Fluttershy hovering by the broken chain that had held the chandelier until just recently.

"Oops," she said, "Sorry. I tried to land on it and it just… broke."

"No worries Fluttershy," Dash said with a laugh.

"Oh, ok," Fluttershy said, and then squeaked and fled as the Z'nai tried to throw spears at her.

"I think it's time we finished this," Ash said, nodding at the Z'nai, who were engaging Twilight, Soul, and Heart again.

"Right," Rainbow said as AJ nodded. They galloped into the fray, bucking and kicking to drive the Z'nai into small groups that Heart could decimate or Twilight could zap. In short order the foes were defeated, either destroyed or in retreat to the nearest unoccupied magical item. A couple tried getting into Ash's mind, but a blast of magic from Rarity drove them away, leaving the ash-grey pony a little dazed for a few seconds. Besides that, the worst injury they'd sustained was a shallow sword wound on AJ's flank from the same blow that had separated her from all but a few inches of her tail.

"Ah phooey, I liked that tail!" she said, glaring at the pile of blonde hair on the floor while Fluttershy applied a bandage to her wound, "It'll take forever to grow back out."

"Really?" Rarity asked, acting surprised, "I would have guessed you'd be happy to have a short tail now- it would be one less thing to get caught in something while you're working after all."

"If I wanted a short tail, I'd have cut it myself before now," Applejack retorted, "and I certainly wouldn't cut it this short. This ain't a tail, it's… I dunno, but I don't like it."

"Girls, this isn't a good time," Soul said, "We can't keep Luna waiting much longer."

"Just give me one more moment," Rarity said. Her horn glowed and the severed tail floated off the floor, flew over to AJ's rump, and reattached itself to her.

"Hey, thanks a bunch!" AJ said, giving her tail an experimental flick, "It's good as new."

"Hey," Rainbow Dash said, "Why didn't you fix my tail when it got cut back in the stair-well?"

"You didn't complain about it," Rarity said, "So I assumed you were ok with it."

"Oi," Ash said, impatiently, "Princess and valuable machine, out in the open, virtually unguarded. Let's go!" Rainbow shut her mouth with a disgruntled snort and followed the group as they galloped to their destination.

When they reached the next staircase, a terrible laugh echoed through the castle, bringing the group to a halt as they prepared for trouble. "Run and fight all you wish ponies," the buzzing, growling voice of Z'nai-controlled Celestia rumbled around them, "There are more of us than you can possibly imagine, and even if you destroy every piece of enchanted armor in the entire land, we still come for you in numbers beyond counting."

"Come on," Twilight said, gritting her teeth and trying to force back her tears, "She's just taunting us. We can do this, we can save Princess Celestia."

"That's the spirit," Ash said encouragingly. The ponies resumed their run, heading up the remaining flights of stairs to the floor that housed the upper viewing platform.

As they ran, the Z'nai continued trying to break them. "I thought you should know," it said, "we're getting much more powerful now. A few of us have managed to take control of the flying ponies. You thought we could only take the ones that can use magic, right? Turns out the flying ones have quite a bit of magic potential in them, just not as much as the horned ones. I bet the 'earth ponies' have some magic too, so it's only a matter of time before we can worm our way into their minds."

"Oh I hope that's not true," Ash muttered, "if they can do that, there's probably nothing in Equestria they won't be able to possess. Still, it took them the better part of a week to get into pegasi, and only just. If it's telling the truth."

"We'll stop them," Twilight said, eyes hard and full of fury, "We have to." A chorus of agreement and a "Woo!" from Pinkie Pie greeted her statement. They reached the right floor and galloped toward the viewing platform. As they burst through the door and out onto the platform, waves of shadow began creeping toward them. Fluttershy squealed and shut her eyes as she somehow found the energy to speed up, beating the rest of the ponies to the hot-air balloon, which she dived into. Princess Luna was nowhere to be seen, and the ponies were forced to stop as the shadows gathered in front of them and formed up into the possessed Celestia.

"Trying to escape are we?" she buzzed, "I don't think so." Her horn began to glow with dark purple light as the group tried to back away. Celestia's spell and laugh of triumph were cut off as a sparkling mist came up from behind her, wrapped a tendril around her neck, and resolved into the midnight-black Nightmare-form Luna straddling her sister's back and pulling her head back in a choke-hold.

"You will not force my sister to kill anypony," Luna snarled, "Least of all her favorite student." She looked at the group and said, "It's in the center of the platform. Hurry!" The nine ponies nodded and ran past the two alicorns as Celestia tried to shake Luna off.

"Center of the platform," Ash mused as they neared the spot, "but how exact is-" He was interrupted by the sound of Pinkie Pie smashing into something mind-bounce. He looked to see her sprawled out on something he couldn't see.

"Found it!" Pinkie declared happily, hopping off. Twilight's horn glowed as she undid the invisibility spell, revealing the magic manipulator.

"Ok," Ash said, "Twilight, I need you to pay close attention. We've only got one shot at this. Come stand by me." The lavender-and-blue unicorn did so as Ash fished a piece of chalk out of his pack. "I'm going to trace a pattern on the ground," he said, "I need you to focus your magic and follow it with your eyes as closely as you can, and try not to blink if you can help it. Once I'm finished, tap the pattern with a hoof and turn your attention to the machine, willing it to have a barrier that will let Z'nai in but not out. Once we get that in place, I'll cast a spell to advertise its presence throughout the city. You ready?"

"I… I think so," Twilight said, "Though that seems like an odd way to do a spell."

"That's how I do them," Ash said, "You've seen me. We don't have time to translate this spell into a format you're familiar with, so let's hope you can do it my way." Twilight nodded and began focusing as her friends arranged themselves to facilitate the flow of power through the Elements. Ash put the chalk to the ground and began tracing, going as slow as he dared to give Twilight a chance to keep up. While they worked, Gale, Soul, and Heart turned to watch the fight between Luna and Celestia. Luna was holding onto her sister's neck for dear life as the possessed Princess jumped and bucked and pestered Luna with magic. This went on for several minutes until Celestia finally broke Luna's chokehold and threw her toward the center of the platform. The three Order-naries caught the black alicorn and settled her gently to the ground. The sound of Luna's cry startled Twilight, but Ash quickly snapped out, "We're almost done- just a few more seconds. Focus!" Twilight gulped, forcing herself not to look away from the chalk line Ash was laying down. A few tense seconds later, Ash lifted the chalk and gave Twilight a quick nod.

"Here goes," Twilight grunted, reaching out to tap the pattern. As she did so, the chalk began to glow purple, and then each of the other colors of the rainbow as the Elements of Harmony activated. With a brief smile, Twilight looked up at the machine and unleashed her magic. The machine was quickly coated in a translucent rainbow aura that swirled about randomly. "Did I do it?" Twilight asked.

Ash smiled and nodded, horn glowing as he said, "Far better than I could ever do. Keep an eye on it- it may need an energy boost now and again." He etched another pattern on the ground with his chalk, tapped it, and wrapped the machine in another spell. The machine turned on, and Celestia gasped and fell to the ground, groaning as darkness seemed to leak out of her coat. Luna spasmed briefly, and then changed back to her normal form as a black shadow flew out of her and into the machine. A few seconds later, another shadow flew out of Celestia, struggling as it was pulled into the machine as well. A shriek that threatened to shatter eardrums rose up throughout the castle and the city below as a wave of shadows rose up and began converging on the machine, some of them dragging pieces of royal guard armor with them.

"Something tells me you made that machine more than 'attractive' to the Z'nai," Soul shouted over the noise.

"On the contrary," Ash replied, "I made it as attractive as a magnet, and the Z'nai are the iron!" He laughed as the shadows reached the platform and began pouring through the barrier into the magic manipulator, the tag-along armor bits bouncing off as they hit it. The rainbow barrier began bulging in places, and Ash instructed Twilight, "Give it more magic, and expand the radius if you can. Tap the tracing again if you have to." He quickly rubbed out the one he'd used to avoid confusion as Twilight channeled more magic into the barrier.

Princess Luna had regained her feet and was watching the scene with a mixture of awe and horror at the amount of pure darkness flowing into the machine when a groan made her turn around. She ran over to her sister and helped her stand up, checking to see if Celestia's eyes had returned to normal and sighing in relief when she saw they had. "Ugh…" Celestia moaned, "What… what time is it?"

"Long past time for the sun to sleep," Luna said, looking up at the sky, where the sun still hung on the western side of is zenith.

"Oh dear," Celestia said, looking around her and then up at the sky, "I'm still weak. Will you help me set this right, dear sister?"

"Of course," Luna said, rubbing her head against Celestia's chin. The two alicorns focused their magic, and the sun sped across the sky to sink below the horizon. Celestia's light faded as Luna quickly turned to the east and brought the moon up to light the sky.

"Wowzers, that was trippy," Soul said after he reclaimed use of his dropped jaw.

"Wowzers?" Gale asked incredulously. Soul stuck his tongue out at her.

"What is going on here?" Celestia asked, seeing the Z'nai being sucked into the manipulator as Twilight expanded the barrier again, "The last thing I remember is fighting one of those shadow creatures. After that… just flashes and foggy… Oh dear…" Luna leaned up next to her as her legs threatened to give out, "What did I do?" she demanded.

"You didn't do anything," Gale said as Celestia allowed herself to be helped into a laying position, "You see…" she then proceeded to summarize the events of the day and what they knew of the Z'nai invasion.

"How many of them are there?" Twilight yelled as she expanded the barrier yet again. The manipulator was barely visible through all the shadows roiling around inside the rainbow cage. Here didn't seem to be an end to the waves of Z'nai flying from the city, and there was an impressive-looking pile of armor around the barrier.

"A lot," Ash replied simply, "These things propagate as quickly as they find new places to inhabit."

"They're like shadowy parasprites!" Pinkie said, smiling at the realization, "Except, these things probably don't like music so much."

"Probably not," Ash agreed, "How are you holding up Twilight?"

"I'm starting to feel the strain," Twilight responded, "If this keeps up much longer I'll either collapse from exhaustion or go ballistic from magic overload. If we're lucky, the latter one will just result in this barrier becoming dramatically larger, but I can't promise that."

Ash looked out over the city. Straining his eyes, he thought he could make out a thinning at the edges of the waves. "Keep it up as long as you can," he said, "I think I can see the end of it." Twilight nodded and took a more solid stance. After several minutes, she began to shake and her eyes began to glow faintly white, but the waves finally began to peter out and the shrieks ceased rending the air as the last Z'nai was pulled into the machine. "We're good!" Ash shouted, thrusting a hoof into the air.

"Great," Twilight grunted, "Now what? They're pushing against that barrier so hard, it'll collapse if I let it go."

"Oh… uh," Ash said, thinking, "Great… we've got to put these things somewhere where there's not enough magic for them to feed on. But where in Equestria…" He trailed off as his gaze went to the horizon. His expression went stoic as his eyes hardened and he turned to face the machine. He strode purposefully forward and stopped just short of entering the barrier. Everypony's eyes were on him as he picked up his chalk and etched a spell pattern onto the ground.

"Ash," Soul Mage asked, getting worried, "what are you doing?"

The ash-grey unicorn with the fire-like mane ignored the question as he finished his pattern and placed a hoof firmly on it. As his horn and the pattern began to glow, his gaze went up until it settled on the pale moon above him. "Destulf feryp, lunar surface, Transport!" he shouted. There was a bright orange flash and Ash, the machine, the Z'nai, and the barrier all vanished from sight.

"No!" Gale and Heart both yelled, running toward the vacated area. Soul simply stood where he was, stunned.

"What… just happened?" Fluttershy asked as the magic around the Elements of Harmony faded away and Twilight's legs gave out.

"Destulf," Soul muttered, "set destination. Feryp, large area of effect, I guess, or line-of-sight." Everyone turned to look at him as he shook his head sadly. "The moon," he said, "he took them to the moon, using the only spell he knew could handle the load- personal transportation."

"Why though?" Rarity asked.

"He needed a place where there's little to no magic," Soul said, slumping to the ground, "Barring that, some place the Z'nai can't get back into Equestria from. Either way, the moon seems like a logical option."

"But he had to trap himself there as well to do it," Heart said glumly, "Idiot. He always seems to find a way to sacrifice himself to put an end to his problems…"

"Not this time!" Luna declared. A sparkling mist surrounded her as she grew to match her sister's height and her coat turned midnight black. "He's done nothing to deserve that," she insisted, her voice now that of Nightmare Moon. She vanished from sight as the mist flew away toward the moon.

"Can she do that?" Soul asked, looking at Celestia, "why'd she stay there a thousand years if she can just-"

"I sealed her to the moon," Celestia said simply, "That seal's gone now, so she can go wherever she wants. I just wish she didn't have to become Nightmare Moon to get that far."

"I second that, Princess," Applejack said.

Any further comments were cut off as the mist returned and deposited Nightmare Moon and a very upset Ashen Blaze onto the platform. "No no no!" Ash was shouting, and then smacked his face with a hoof when he saw where he was. "Skvetchte…" he muttered, and then pulled PC out of his saddlebag. "PC, status," he said as he put the computer on his head. He nodded as text flashed across the screen and then began slowly rotating in place. "Scan for Z'nai," he said, "And… no, I can examine myself, thank you very much!" He completed a few revolutions and then pulled PC off his head and gave Nightmare Moon a hard look. "You," he said slowly, "are so lucky I can't even begin to describe it. Do you realize that, in your haste to get me, you could have brought a Z'nai or two back with us? You didn't, and so I guess I can say thank you." He bowed his head, and continued in a sincere tone, "Thank you Princess Luna for bringing me back from my self-imposed exile. I suggest you don't do anything fancy with the moon for a long while. Moving it shouldn't affect the Z'nai much, but I'd be careful." He turned to walk away, but then looked back and said, "Are you going to put the Nightmare away, or do you need some… assistance?" Luna shook her head and changed back into her normal, purple shape. "Now, if you'll excuse me," Ash said, "I am in dire need of some food." He galloped off before anypony could speak.

"Ash! Wait up!" Rarity called, running after him. Gale watched the white unicorn leave with an amused look on her face.

"Well," Soul Mage said, looking around, "I think that's it everypony. The Z'nai are gone. We win."

"So it seems," Princess Celestia said, "Well done, all of you." Her words seemed to break the tension still hovering over the group, and shouts of celebration broke out as the ponies leapt about and hugged each other in joy.

"Yeee-ha!"

"Yeees!"

"Woo! Party time!"

"Yay."

---

Rarity had somehow managed to lose Ashen Blaze somewhere between the front gates of the castle and the city of Canterlot proper. She wandered about, watching as ponies began to emerge from their homes and shops and gather in small groups to gossip and speculate about what had just happened. Rarity fought the urge to join one of those groups and tell them the whole story; it was going to be up to the Princesses to inform the citizenry and decide how much to tell. If Rarity were to try, she'd either be laughed at as one of the more outrageous rumor-makers, or her story would be expanded and changed beyond recognition as it spread through the city. Rarity loved being the center of attention, but this was one time when staying out of the spotlight was the better choice. She blocked out the voices of the rumor-mongers as she searched for Ash, trying as he probably was to find a café or restaurant that had opened for business.

She found him at a diner trying not to lose his patience as he explained his desired order to the waiter. "It's not that complicated," he was saying, "It's like hay fries, only you use sliced potatoes instead of the hay. I know you've got potatoes back there because you offer them baked and mashed and even raw with a side of… Ok, there, you see how the raw potatoes look? Cut them up like that and stick them in the fryer for a few minutes until they're golden-brown and crispy, then put them next to my sandwich and bring them out. Think your cook can handle that?"

"I think so sir," the red-on-cream unicorn waiter said, scribbling furiously at his notebook.

"Good," Ash said, "and get me the blueberry smoothie to drink if you please." The waiter finished writing, took the menu, and headed back into the kitchen.

"Um, Ash?" Rarity asked, spooking the ash-grey unicorn.

"Rarity!" he exclaimed, whirling around in his seat, "H-hi. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see if you were all right," Rarity said, taking the seat across from Ash," You ran off so quickly…"

"I've spent all day running around up and down castle stairs, avoiding creatures I couldn't properly fight, coming up with a plan to fix everything as I went, and topped it all off with a pair of very powerful and draining spells. I am starving." He chuckled as Rarity gave him an empathetic smile and sat back. "You know," he said, "I am amazed you ponies don't have the concept of the French fry. I'll forgive you the lack of processed soybean patties and whatnot, but how could a society make it so far without coming up with deep-fried potatoes?"

"I… don't know," Rarity said, somewhat confused. Ash smirked, and then his face fell into a melancholy expression. "Ash, what's wrong?" Rarity asked.

"Why do you like me so much Rarity?" Ash asked, "Not even my own teammates are so quick to check on me when I go off on my own. Of course, they're used to me doing this, and going places they can't follow me…" He shook his head. "I'm trouble," he said, "Nobody should want to have anything to do with me. My team sticks by me out of loyalty and because they know I can't be left to my own devices, but you? Your friends, the Princesses, every pony in Ponyville and Canterlot and beyond, none of you should want me around. Trouble always finds me: Tau'rin, Nightmare Moon's second return, and I brought the Z'nai here! I caused this!" There was a clatter as the waiter, who had arrived with the food, dropped the platter, stared at Ash, and then ran into the kitchen. "See, he has the right idea!" Ash exclaimed, "Now, I'd better get out of here before they try something." He got up and ran out the door.

"Ash!" Rarity called out, running after him. She caught up a couple streets later and imposed herself into his path. After he skidded to a stop, she grabbed him and pushed him up against the wall of the building they were next to. "Now listen to me," Rarity said, "You'll never be able to forgive yourself if you keep thinking so negatively! You know what I see when I look at you Ashen Blaze? I see a hero. I see a pony who has looked danger in the face and laughed. A pony who refuses to back down no matter what stands in his way. A pony who knows who he can trust and how he can work with them to accomplish what needs to be done. I also see a pony who has a bad habit of claiming responsibility for every bad thing that happens around him." Ash opened his mouth to protest, but Rarity put a hoof over it and continued, "I don't know all of what you've done in the past, and honestly I don't think I care to learn, but I know this: nothing that happened since you and your friends dropped out of the sky into Fluttershy's chicken run has been your fault, not even the Z'nai. You didn't know they could get out through your machine. What's more, as often as you claim responsibility, you act to fix the problem. You don't cause trouble- you clean it up. If that's not the definition of a noble hero, I don't know what is." She released Ash and stepped back.

Ash stood in silence for several seconds, head hung low. Finally, he looked up and met Rarity's eyes, appreciation shining in his own. "I've been told something like that before," he said, "Thank you for reminding me of it. You truly are a great friend Rarity." The white unicorn blushed, and then chuckled as Ash's stomach rumbled. "Come on," the grey unicorn said, "Let's see if we can find a restaurant that hasn't heard I'm the big bad mastermind behind the Z'nai. I'll pay." Rarity laughed as the two of them walked side-by-side down the street.