//------------------------------// // Proving Her Loyalty // Story: Little Glimpses // by Skijarama //------------------------------//     The front gates of the ancient castle creaked loudly as Twilight pushed past them, the loud and grating sound echoing and reverberating around her for several seconds after she entered the front room. All of the dusty and grey stone, ancient tapestries and artistic style of the walls and pillars was instantaneously lost on her when she saw what rested at the center of the room. A pedestal with five platforms branching off from the center. Upon each of the five platforms rested a circle of gray, crystalline stone. Looking closely, Twilight could see the reflections of sharp edges and flat surfaces within the grey orbs.     “The Elements of Harmony…” she whispered in awe, a hopeful smile coming across her face. Carefully, she pulled each sphere down from their places with her magic, setting them down in front of her one at a time until they formed a loose circle around her. She thought back on the reference guide Pinkie had found, remembering a certain stipulation. When the five are gathered, a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed.     Setting herself down, Twilight took a deep breath. “...A spark, huh? Okay…” her horn lit up and she closed her eyes. Carefully, she reached out and touched her magic to each of the elements, pouring more and more energy into the link. Her hope was to pour enough energy into them that sparks would start flying from her horn, typically a sign of immense strain on the one using magic.     A sinister chuckle echoed in her ears. Twilight opened her eyes just in time to see her link to the Elements be severed as the blue smoke appeared once more. It swirled around her like a tornado, lifting the orbs off the ground and entrapping Twilight. A shrill cry sounded before the cloud of smoke swarmed in and smothered her, her world going dark.     Rainbow stared at the wall next to her cage, her eyes unfocused as her mind raced. She had been sitting here, all alone, for well over an hour now, unable to do anything except think. She had tried to break free from her cage, but every effort was met with a concussive force from the cage, always rivaling the force she hurled at it. She had a few new bruises on her body from her efforts, and had eventually settled down to try and think of a way out of this.     “She’d probably be able to tell if I was lying…” she thought to herself bitterly, another plan tossed into the proverbial trash can as she discovered a glaring flaw within it. She let out a frustrated and impatient groan.     Her wait finally ended, however, when there was a sizable puff of blue smoke off on the other end of the room. The sounds of a mare coughing and wheezing within could be heard within, and Rainbow felt her eyes go wide. The smoke parted and, in the center, was Twilight, lying prone and gasping for breath. Immediately, Rainbow grasped the bars of her cage and peered past them. “Twilight?!”     Twilight looked up, but didn’t get to answer. A black foreleg stomped the floor in front of Rainbow Dash, severing her view with Twilight and kicking up some dust. Nightmare Moon looked down at Rainbow Dash, who was scurrying back to avoid inhaling dust, with an insincere smile. “The time has come, my niece.” she said slowly and simply.     “What?” Rainbow asked, looking up at Nightmare Moon in confusion.     “The time has come for you to make your choice. Oh, but I know you’ll make the right one in the end…” Nightmare’s horn lit up with magic, and a strangled gasp could be heard behind her. Twilight came drifting forward, kicking and struggling with her hooves on her throat, where Nightmare’s dark blue aura held on tightly.     “D-don’t you touch her!” Rainbow snapped, throwing herself against the bars only to be knocked down again.     Nightmare frowned. “Ah, so you do know this filly. It seems you know her quite well…” a fang-filled grin appeared on her face. “Good...”     “Leave her alone!” Dash shouted, grasping the bars tightly again. “She’ hasn’t done anything to you!”     “Oh, and there you are mistaken…” Nightmare cackled, reaching a forehoof up to caress Twilight’s cheek and jaw. “She set off with a group of four other rebellious ponies, intent on questioning my rule and my claim to the throne. A group of traitors with only one member left…” Twilight’s forehoof lashed out from her throat to swat Nightmare’s away. The alicorn scowled but then turned to Rainbow Dash. “I’ll add a bonus to our deal, my little niece. Join me and I will show your friend mercy. She can stay by your side as a faithful servant of the night.”     “Leave her out of this!” Rainbow pleaded, shaking her bars. “PLEASE!”     “It is time to make your choice, Rainbow!” Nightmare said simply with a more serious frown appearing on her face and the glow around her horn intensifying. The cage around Rainbow vanished in a flash of light, though now Rainbow’s wings were locked to her side by chains. “Join me and your friend remains. Defy me and be destroyed alongside her.”     Rainbow looked on in horror, sweat pouring down her neck and her eyes darting between the still struggling Twilight and the imposing alicorn of the night. “I… I…”     “...if she strikes out at me, I want you to keep Twilight safe.” Celestia’s words rang in Rainbow’s ears.     “Tick tock…” Nightmare said in a sing-song voice, her grip on Twilight’s neck tightening severely. No sounds escaped Twilight’s lips now, as her airflow was completely cut off.     “STOP!” Rainbow begged, falling to the ground desperately. “JUST STOP, OKAY?! I’ll do it…! I’ll do it…”     In that moment, the magical hold on Twilight was dropped and she fell to the floor in a gasping and coughing heap. Nightmare Moon grinned widely, reaching a hoof out to pat Rainbow’s head affectionately. “Oh, I am so glad to hear it, Rainbow… there is but one more trivial thing I must ask of you…”     “R-rainbow…!” Twilight gasped out, barely able to speak. She looked up to her fillyhood friend in shock and horror. “D-don’t… do this...!”     Nightmare glared at Twilight before her expression morphed into one of sadistic amusement. She then turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Anypony can say that they’ll do my bidding, but I need some proof of your commitment… I need you to prove your loyalty to me.”     “...W-what?” Rainbow asked disbelievingly, looking up at Nightmare, appalled.     “Your friend here may serve at your side, little princess, but she still made an active effort against her monarch. Carry out her punishment yourself and all will be forgiven.” Nightmare Moon said simply, her smile widening at the wide-eyed look of despair appearing on both pony’s faces. “...I think thirty lashes is fair… don’t you?”     “You… you can’t be serious!” Rainbow snapped, standing up. “You want me to HURT HER?!”     “Answer me this, you young brat!” Nightmare growled, her horn lighting up and lifting Rainbow off her hooves. “Is it not better that she gets to live with only a reminder of her mistake? Wouldn’t you prefer it if she were to remain with you in my new kingdom? Or do you want me to destroy her? I will happily do so if that is the cas-”     A cyan forehoof lashed out and connected with the side of Nightmare Moon’s face, a loud crack filling the air from the force of it. Rainbow was dropped to the floor in a shaking pile while Nightmare Moon stumbled back. A moment later, Rainbow brought herself back to her hooves and quickly positioned herself protectively between Twilight and Nightmare, glaring at the latter with hatred and hostility.     “Don’t. Do. That!” she snarled.     Twilight glanced past Rainbow and Nightmare. On the other side of the room, haphazardly deposited around an old, throne-like seat, were the grey orbs that were the elements of harmony. An idea sparking in her mind, Twilight gently tugged Rainbow’s tail. “Keep her busy. I think I can get the elements working, but I need to concentrate.”     “Right,” Rainbow nodded before locking eyes with a now furious Nightmare Moon. “Let me make something perfectly clear to you, Nightmare. I made a promise to Celestia to protect Twilight the day before you showed up and I am not breaking that promise! You had me for a moment, but the moment you asked me to hurt her… you lost me. I will not hurt her and I will protect her until the end if you even think of trying to hurt her again!”     Nightmare Moon growled before standing tall. “You little fool… You will never see the sun OR your beloved mother again!” she raged before her mane billowed out, lightning crackling out from it.     Acting quickly, Twilight cast her spell. In a flash of light, she disappeared from behind Rainbow and next to the elements of harmony. Nightmare tracked the motion, her eyes dilating in alarm when she saw what Twilight was doing. “NO!” she shouted.     Rainbow didn’t allow her to pursue her, however, instead choosing to tackle Nightmare directly while she was distracted, wrapping her forehooves around her chest and neck before pulling with everything she had. Nightmare grunted with irritation before her magic wrapped around Rainbow Dash again, throwing her off and into the old broken throne with enough force to send the mare through it.     “Just one spark… come on, come on!” Twilight muttered desperately to herself. Nightmare turned her glare on Twilight, baring her fangs before vanishing in a swirl of blue smoke. Instantly, the blue smoke swirled in front of Twilight, bringing Nightmare with it. Twilight looked up and shrieked before ducking back when Nightmare’s hooves slammed into the floor, creating a spiderweb crack pattern. The force of the impact lifted the elements into the air…     Where they promptly shattered into tiny shards, scattering and clattering to the ground.     Twilight looked on in horror, shrinking down in defeat as Nightmare Moon began laughing. After a moment, Nightmare began to stride towards the lavender unicorn, her horn igniting with fire as black as the void. “Nice try…” she cackled before rearing back to fire off the beam.     Twilight closed her eyes. It’s over...     The attack never came. Nightmare Moon let out an agitation yell of discomfort before bringing her body around to face away from Twilight. Opening her eyes, Twilight saw there was a lasso tightly holding Nightmare Moon’s horn, yanking hard in the direction of the entrance of the room. There, in the doorway, stood Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, the latter of which was holding the lasso in her teeth. They all looked a little worse for wear, their manes disheveled, their cloaks torn up and Applejack missing her hat, but otherwise, they were there.     In that moment, Twilight’s eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. It clicked. She knew.     “You think you can destroy the- ack!” Twilight winced as she stood, her body throbbing in discomfort. “The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you’re wrong!”     Nightmare yanked her horn back, the flames flaring up along it’s length destroying the rope. She turned back at Twilight, her eyes burning furiously before said black fire shot out from her horn at Twilight.     The flames bended around Twilight, scorching everything but her… and the pieces of grey crystal that now hovered around her. “They are so much more than these rocks! The spirits of the elements of harmony are right here, standing around you!”     From where she lay, Rainbow slowly opened her eyes as awareness came back to her. She saw Twilight standing up, she heard Twilight speaking. She smiled and brought herself to her hooves as well.     “Applejack, who chose to tell me a painful truth instead of a dangerous lie represents honesty,” several of the crystals changed color to a bright orange before shooting off to surround Applejack, orbiting her like planets around their parent star. “Rarity, who brought all of us practical and meaningful gifts without asking for anything in return, represents Generosity!” more crystals surrounded Rarity, these ones glowing a deep, rich purple. “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents kindness!” more crystals circled Fluttershy, each one glowing pink.     “Pinkie Pie, who lifted our spirits on this entire journey and banished fear with a smile in the face of danger, represents laughter!” Yet more crystals circled Pinkie, glowing a bright cyan. Twilight turned to Rainbow as she approached. The cyan mare nodded and stood between Twilight and Nightmare Moon, flaring her wings out defensively. Twilight smiled warmly. “And Rainbow Dash… who acted to protect her closest friends, despite the incredible risk it put her in… she represents loyalty.”     Nightmare Moon took a step back, looking between them all with her teeth grinding and her nostrils flaring. Her eyes were dilated and darted between the six mares surrounding her uneasily. “But you still don’t have the sixth element! Even if you’re protected right now, you cannot stop me!”     “Again, you’re wrong!” Twilight said sharply, standing beside Rainbow Dash and holding herself tall. “The Spark has already been made… it happened when you all walked in,” she gestured to the four other mares, who smiled at her widely. “I was so worried I had lost all of you on that bridge… seeing you all safe made me realize how much I care about you. You’re all my friends.”     Directly above Twilight, a blinding light appeared, drawing the eyes of everypony present. Nightmare Moon gasped in pain and held a wing up to shield herself.     “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the… the Spark that lies in the heart of us all, they create the sixth element. It creates magic.” Twilight finished, closing her eyes and smiling warmly. She felt the element there, resting above her, waiting for her to reach out to it and claim it. And so she did,     She felt a surge of power unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was calm and serene, yet it was more powerful and potent than any other magic she had used, seen or felt. Her body relaxed and she felt her mind touched with that of the other five mares in the room. Together, they made a decision, a decision none of them could make on their own. With this consensus decided, Twilight opened her eyes. Colors filled the room, Nightmare Moon shouted out in anger and fear, struggling against the prismatic magic that tore the wickedness and malice out of her piece by piece, until none of it remained.     Twilight’s vision went white and the world around her faded away.