The shadow ponies rose up from the darkened ground so quickly that the Ponyville ponies immediately found themselves surrounded. All across the town, ponies screamed in terror while others tried to be encouraging.
“Rise up, ponies!” cried one of the royal guard stallions. “Fight for Princess Luna and Equestria!”
The call seemed to do the trick. Other ponies started to shout similar things as the brawls started. Within moments, the battle cries of the Equestrians and the ghastly wails of the Animus dominated the air.
Twilight stood frozen in place like a statue. Gazing into the glowing, solid-white literal orbs that made up the shadow pony's eyes which were mere inches from hers, Twilight's mind rapidly clashed between racing and blankness. Her heart pounded in her chest like a large bass drum. Sweat poured from her like a raging river. Her breaths accelerated to near-hyperventilation. Locked in place, her legs trembled as if they were about to collapse. All the memories of the beating these creatures had given her in the attack on the Crystal Empire solidified in her psyche, and she hardly even noticed the fighting happening all around her.
The shadow pony made soft but threatening growl-like sounds at her, then suddenly shrieked as it was kicked away by Rainbow Dash.
Sweat pouring from her brow as well—though not as profusely as Twilight—Rainbow quickly turned to her friend, looked her straight in the eye, and put her hooves on her shoulders. “Uh, Twilight!” she cried, giving her a little shake. “Big fight happening here! Want to get in the—”
Rainbow let out a yelp as the shadow pony she'd knocked back a few seconds earlier rammed it's head into her side full force. The force sent both Rainbow and the shadow pony tumbling to the ground, and the two quickly became lost in the crowd.
Pulled from her frightful paralysis by Rainbow, Twilight shook her head and took a very quick look around. Shining Armor, Cadance, her friends and even Princess Celestia were barely visible through the large crowd, each of them fighting off their own shadow pony attackers. Twilight didn't see Lightning Dust anywhere. She figured the pegasus had flown off to raise the alarm about the attack on Canterlot like Celestia had ordered. Not seeing Spike anywhere, Twilight's heart sunk, and the furious battle happening made it impossible for her to hear his voice amidst the chaos. She tried to spot him, but was quickly interrupted when a shadow pony leaped in front of her and dug at the ground threateningly. Twilight jumped aside as the creature rushed at her, but not having much room to maneuver, the creature's charge missed her by mere inches.
The Elements could probably end this attack quickly, thought Twilight. But with all my friends busy struggling with their own Animus and so little space to move around, trying to use the Elements here might be impossible! Even regular magic is risky since I might cause friendly fire. I'll just have to do this with my bare hooves and hope a window of opportunity opens up!
Twilight swung her foreleg at the creature and her hoof made contact with its cheek. The beast let out a shriek and stumbled away into another group, knocking over both Ponyville ponies and Animus into one big pile. Twilight started to smile, but it was cut short as something struck her from behind and sent her into the pile as well. Another shadow pony pounced on top of her and struck her right cheek with its pitch-black hoof. Twilight grunted aloud in pain and clenched her eyes shut as she and the shadow pony that had her pinned down were pushed off the pile of combatants beneath them.
The sound of Applejack calling her name in panic reached Twilight's ears. As soreness cascaded through her jaw and right cheek, she opened her watering eyes and blinked away the tears just in time to see Applejack buck the shadow pony in the head so hard that it turned into a cloud of black mist and disappeared. With Applejack's help, Twilight quickly rose to her hooves. She was allowed a quick breath, but then another shadow pony lunged at her. She struck it in its snout, causing it to double back. She lit her horn and sent a powerful bolt of magic at it before it had a chance to recover from the first blow. The laser struck the creature square in the chest, then it, too, turned into dark mist and disappeared like the other one had.
“Not so tough when I'm allowed to fight with my full strength are you?” cried Twilight triumphantly.
“Don't get cocky just yet, sugarcube!” shouted Applejack as she dealt a lethal buck to another shadow pony nearby. “We're still heavily outnumbered and need to get back with the others!”
“Have you seen Spike?!”
“Haven't had a chance to look!”
Twilight winced as another wave of soreness assaulted her right cheek and jaw. With the space that had formed around them, Twilight stood at Applejack's blind side and shot a few magic bolts into the crowd of shadow ponies. Each one that got hit vanished in a cloud of black mist. One of the shadow ponies watching Twilight ducked in time to avoid the attack, and the bolt instead struck a royal guard earth pony in her left side. The guard mare let out a barely audible cry as she was knocked away and her spear fell to the ground. Twilight froze again and looked on in horror. Even as several more Animus advanced toward her and Applejack, her thoughts lingered on the pony she'd just hurt with her reckless use of magic in the chaos of the mosh pit.
“Twilight!” cried Applejack. “Don't freeze up on—”
Applejack was cut off as two shadow ponies slammed their heads into her side and knocked her and Twilight down.
This pulled Twilight out from her second freeze up, but now the weight of several Animus was upon her and they were holding her limbs down. Were it not for the orange light of the evening sun and sky, Twilight would have sworn she was stuck in an endless abyss like one might see in a dream; there was nothing but the black legs of the shadow ponies all around her. Struggle as she might, she could not push the shadow ponies off herself and she heard Applejack struggling to do the same.
“Get off of me, you varmints!” cried Applejack.
All of a sudden, the shadow ponies went quiet and still, but kept their weight pressed down against Twilight and every other Equestrian they had pinned down.
Seeing her chance, and a nice collection of unmoving Animus in her sights and reach, Twilight's horn lit up again. However, she had gotten only one bolt off when all the shadow ponies in the area turned into black mist and sunk into the still darkened ground. She rose to her hooves, keeping her horn ready, but the shadow ponies did not rise back up.
Off in the distance, Twilight saw a tall, pony-shaped dark figure just standing there and seemingly staring in her direction.
It had a ghostly-white aura around it that twisted and turned all around it's form like flowing water.
Twilight blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes, but when she opened them again, the figure was gone.
The ground slowly returned to its normal color, and all was quiet save for the groans and whimpers of ponies injured in the attack. Those who still had the strength to stand up did so and moved to check on others who stayed down.
“So, uh...” said Applejack, rubbing the back of her head and gazing at Twilight. “I guess we won?”
“Yeah, you better run!” Rainbow shouted so loud that it echoed across the area. “Next time I won't go easy on you!”
“Did anypony else see— ” Twilight stopped as she noticed that Applejack and Rainbow looked fairly beat up, both of them having large bruises in places. She was about to reply to Applejack's question when a powerful soreness in her jaw and right cheek reminded her she'd taken a blow there. She groaned in pain and gently rubbed that side of her face. Spotting the others, Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor didn't look hurt, then Twilight's heart sank when she saw them gathering around the remainder of her friends a number of yards away.
Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie were all down and heavily bruised. They appeared to be unconscious.
With Applejack and Rainbow in tow, Twilight sprinted over to the others. She frowned, her ears drooping as she gazed upon their beaten bodies. A huge wave of relief surged through her when she saw their chests still rising and falling at a steady pace. Another bout of relief came when she saw that everypony's Elements of Harmony appeared to be undamaged. As she went to rub her head, she couldn't feel her Element, but saw it laying on the ground close to where she and Applejack had been fighting the shadow ponies and levitated it over to herself.
“What are we going to do about Canterlot?” asked Cadance as she took labored breaths. “That attack took a lot out of us. We couldn't possibly fight off Nightmare Moon with half of us all beat up like this.”
“Maybe that was the point...” muttered Twilight. She glared at the ground and kicked at the dirt. Another wave of pain assaulted her jaw and right cheek after she spoke. She rested her hoof on the sore spot and grumbled. “Ow...”
“Well we got to try!” cried Applejack. “Y'all heard Lightning Dust! Canterlot could be—”
Applejack was interrupted when everypony in the area started to scream. Twilight and the others looked around and noticed everypony huddling together, all of them staring and pointing in the direction of Canterlot.
A lump formed in Twilight throat, a pit started to open in her stomach. Slowly, she turned in that direction. Her heart sank once more, and her friends all joined her in her terrified stare.
A large, dark orb had appeared in the sky above Canterlot. The whole city was inside a massive ghostly-white magic bubble, hiding it from view. Pitch-black clouds swirled around the bubble and the entire top half of the mountain.
Sweat started to pour down Twilight's brow again. She stood frozen in place, and could not tear her gaze from the ghastly sight off in the distance. Her mind raced with the clashing of what could be happening within. All of her thoughts were laced with Nightmare Moon's terrible laughter and gaze. Behind those mental images, the image and cursed red aura of the Alicorn Amulet was at the core it all.
“Princess Celestia!” cried Applejack as she turned back to the group, her demeanor displaying the same horror as the others. “Or Princess Cadance! Or one of you powerful unicorns! Please say there's some kind of fancy spell to heal a pony's injuries or somethin'! We got to pick up Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie and get our tails over to Canterlot before it's too late!”
Twilight's jaw trembled, and several tears ran down her face. If it's not too late already...
“There is,” said Celestia with a frown. “But a complete and total recovery spell like you're asking about is very advanced and takes a great deal of energy—energy we will need for the battle ahead.”
“Isn't there anything y'all could do?”
Cadance let out a sigh. “We could transfer some of our own energy to them so they can at least stand up and walk.”
The panic in Applejack's tone did not falter, but it also became a little forceful. “Well then do it and let's move!”
“And how exactly do you plan on us getting into the city, A-J?” Rainbow asked. “I'm not an egghead but that giant bubble thing sure looks like a magic barrier to me.”
“It certainly is,” said Shining Armor. “And given how strong Nightmare Moon is with that amulet, it'd take us a month to break through it even with the Elements of Harmony.”
Applejack let out a loud groan and gazed down at the ground. While the townsponies either kept their attention toward Canterlot or helped wounded ponies over to the medical tents, Twilight and the others just stared at each other with deep frowns. Tension hung heavy in the air, and several minutes passed them by.
“There is another way,” said Celestia. “The mountain caves.”
Everypony turned their gaze to the princess.
“You remember those, Cadance and Twilight?”
“I hoped I'd never have to...” Cadance wrapped her forelegs around Shining Armor. “The caves where Chrysalis imprisoned me when she infiltrated our wedding to take over Canterlot.”
Shining Armor returned Cadance's embrace and gently patted her on her back.
“I remember them,” said Twilight as she thought back to Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding day.
Celestia nodded. “It's where the section of vaults are that I hid the Alicorn Amulet. That is, after you brought it to me following Miss Trixie's escapade with it.”
“But how will we get inside?” asked Applejack. “There some secret entrance or somethin'?”
“We can use the air shafts. Once we're inside, the caves will lead us straight into the city.
Rainbow spread her wings and kicked into the air. “Perfect! And if there's any shadow ponies lurking in the caves, we crush them and any others that get in our way of Nightmare Moon. Then after we deal with her we wreck all the rest of them!”
“Hurry!” said Celestia. “Let's check and see if your family and friends at Sweet Apple Acres are okay, then we will be off!”
Celestia, Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight all used their magic to transfer some of their energy into Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy. Despite the beating they'd suffered, the transfer was enough that they were able to stand up and walk again moments later. Twilight kept Spike aloft in her magic, and everypony made haste over to Sweet Apple Acres.
Much to everypony's relief, the shadow pony attack on Ponyville had not reached the farm; Granny Smith, Big Mac, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Zecora were all safe and sound, and Apple Bloom had kept Applejack's stetson perfectly safe. But the joy and relief of the reunion was short-lived. All throughout the quick dinner they shared, quick glances out the window to the north reminded everypony of the battle that awaited them. Because of the injuries he'd suffered in the attack on Ponyville, everypony agreed that Spike should stay behind at the farm to rest.
As she tucked Spike into the bed in Applejack's room, staring at the little dragon's bruises, Twilight suddenly threw her forelegs around him and squeezed, tears pouring down her face.
“Twilight!” groaned Spike after being locked in Twilight's embrace for five whole minutes. “I'll be fine. You can let go now please.”
Twilight finally released him, taking a step back from the bed. With her magic, she pulled the blanket over Spike up to his chest and rubbed his forehead with her hoof. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes that were still wet, but her tears had stopped. “Sorry. It's just... seeing you hurt and unconscious like that... I was so terrified.”
“You know that's exactly how I and the rest of us have felt all these times you've passed out on us, right?”
Everypony smiled and gently patted Twilight's shoulder.
“Spike...” said Twilight. “Does it bother you when I refer to you as my assistant? I know that in the heat of studying or research I sometimes get careless with what I say or the way I treat you.”
“I don't mind, Twilight. Technically, your assistant is my job title, and has been for as long as I can remember. Besides, I like being your assistant, even when you do get loopy.”
Twilight chuckled and rubbed her foreleg.
Spike grinned. “Like last year, when you were so worked up about missing the deadline for your friendship report to Princess Celestia even though there wasn't anything to report, you thought it would be a good idea to create a friendship problem by putting the Want-It-Need-It spell on that old doll of yours.”
“Hey, I remember that!” said Apple Bloom, still wearing Applejack's stetson.
“Me too!” cried Sweetie Belle.
“Me three!” said Scootaloo. “Your mane and tail were all messy, and you had this super creepy grin on your face that just screamed you'd totally lost your marbles.”
With a sly smile on her face, Celestia nudged Twilight with her wing.
Everypony laughed, except for Twilight who only blushed harder and rubbed the back of her head.
“Whatever happened to that doll anyway?” asked Apple Bloom.
Big Mac's eyes quickly shifted back and forth several times. "No idea..."
“Anyway,” said Twilight, “yes, Spike, you are technically my assistant, but you are also one of my closest friends. I'd even go so far as to say you're like a little brother to me, and I honestly can't imagine life without you.”
Spike blinked a few times. “T-truly? Like little brother for realzies?”
Twilight gave Spike a tender smile and nodded. "For realzies."
Spike's eyes started to water and he smiled back.
“I feel the same way,” stated Shining Armor. “You've been with our family since the day Twily brought you home from her entrance exam. I think I can safely speak for mom and dad, and all of us when I say our family just wouldn't be complete without you... little bro.”
“Aww shucks, you guys,” said Spike as his cheeks turned red. “I confess I feel the same way about you, but I don't think now's really the best time...” He pointed in a northward direction. “Yeah...”
Twilight nodded and gave Spike another hug before looking at Zecora. “Zecora, if you've got any herbs or medicines or potions that will help Spike's wounds heal please don't hesitate.”
Zecora gently rubbed Spike's head. “Without my hut I'm afraid my means are few. but with plenty of rest, Spike will be as good as new. Do not worry, ponies. All he really needs is some z's.”
Twilight smiled, then looked out the window and sighed. “Well, here we go again.”
“Go get 'em, sister,” said Spike. “And I mean sister in both the literal and camaraderie sense.”
With that, everypony said their solemn farewells once again. Twilight and the others headed outside and climbed into Celestia's chariot, though it wasn't big enough for all of them. All of the winged ponies elected to fly alongside the chariot. With Celestia leading them, the ponies set off toward Canterlot Mountain and the dark storm assaulting the heart of Equestria.
With the evening sunlight bearing down upon them, the royal chariot carried the ponies over the river and green fields that separated Ponyville and the mountain. Everypony sitting in the chariot kept their gazes locked on the dark orb in the sky above Canterlot and on the magic barrier enveloping the city. A strong wing picked up as they got closer and closer, and Twilight had to set hers and Cadance's Elements of Harmony on the floor of the chariot so they wouldn't be blown away.
Once they were within a half-mile from the mountain, Twilight allowed her sight to switch over to it. She started looking all over for a hole in the rocky surface that would look like the air shaft Celestia mentioned. Twilight's mind wandered back to Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding day again. The same caves from before were now the ponies' only way to get inside Canterlot and wrestle it back from the greatest foe Equestria has ever faced. Thinking about everything over and over, Twilight's heartbeat and breaths hastened.
If we fail here, Equestria is doomed... she thought. No, I shouldn't think like that! Bad Twilight! Cadance's new Element will give us the boost we need to overpower Nightmare Moon and banish her forever. It has to! And hopefully, we can destroy the Alicorn Amulet so no one ever falls victim to its evil power ever again.
The ponies were about three-quarters of a mile above the ground. Celestia led the group around to the mountain's southeastern side, skirting the bottom of the storm clouds that unnaturally continued to swirl around the mountain's top half. Soon, they came to a cave entrance dug into a very steep section of the mountain's rocky face. Nopony spoke a word as they stared at the opening. At a glance, it appeared large enough to fit two average-size ponies at a time but would still be a bit of a tight fit, and small enough that any pegasus or other flying creature likely wouldn't notice it unless they were really paying attention.
“Here it is,” said Celestia as she hovered in place. “One of them that is, but this one is the closest to Ponyville.”
“Looks pretty small,” said Fluttershy, trembling slightly. “Is it big enough for you, Princess Celestia?”
“Barely, but I have to keep my head down to fit through.”
“Air shafts aren't meant to be big,” stated Twilight. “Just big enough to let ample amounts of air into the network. They're also usually built into the ceiling of large caverns, which means we'll need to help each other get down.”
“I will go first and help with that,” said Celestia. “Ready yourselves. Nightmare Moon knows about these caves and somehow knew I stashed the amulet here. Once we step inside, we will be in enemy territory. We must be ready for heavy resistance, and these caves are still just the easy part. The real challenge starts once we enter the city proper.”
“Challenge accepted,” Rainbow said. “Lead on, Princess.”
With Celestia in the lead, the ponies stepped into the cave two at a time. Once inside, the royal guards pulling the chariot returned to Ponyville as the princess had ordered them to earlier. Celestia kept a magic light from her horn going, as did Shining Armor and Cadance who were in the back of the group. Despite being in the middle of the pack surrounded by her friends, the tight space, the general darkness of the cave, and the knowledge of what they were walking into caused Fluttershy to tremble uncontrollably. Rainbow, who was walking alongside Fluttershy, put her wing over her and gave her an encouraging smile. Other than Fluttershy's terrified whimpers and the sound of their hooves against the cold, rocky floor, all as quiet.
The ponies didn't travel for long when Celestia paused and held her wing out to signal everypony to stop. “We've made it to the hole leading down into the main network,” she whispered. “Hold here while I check to see if it's safe.”
Everypony held their breath as Celestia stepped a few meters away and peered over the edge of a hole in the floor. From what the ponies could tell, the hole was about the same size as the one they'd entered the cave from on the mountainside.
After a few tense moments, Celestia looked back at the others and nodded. Her voice was still a whisper. “All clear. Just like I told you, it's a good drop down. Just jumping down is liable to break a leg or two upon impact. I'll go first and levitate those of you who can't fly. Don't worry about trying to teleport either. Just let me handle it. From this point on keep the talking to a minimum. If you must say something please whisper. Shadow ponies could be lurking around every corner waiting for us.”
Everypony nodded in understanding.
Celestia spread her wings as much as she could given the small space around her. She dropped down through the hole in the floor, and her voice came from below a moment later. “Ready. One at a time now.”
One by one, the ponies were levitated down into the large cavern by Celestia's magic, all except for Rainbow, Fluttershy and Cadance who merely used their own wings to lower themselves down. Once everypony was inside and safe on the ground, they took a moment to stretch their limbs.
Once again, Twilight's thoughts flew back to the last time she had been here and she rubbed her foreleg. Glancing over at Cadance, she noticed she had the same uneasy look on her face.
The cavern was eerily quiet, and several openings in the wall stood around them. Their only source of light came from Celestia's horn.
“Which way do we go?” whispered Applejack. “We entered from the southeast side of the mountain which means we need to go west-northwest, but how do we tell which way that is without a compass? Twilight, or Cadance, do y'all remember the way out?”
Both of them frowned and shook their heads. Everypony let out a sigh—everypony except for Celestia.
“Not to worry,” she said. “I oversaw the construction of these caves and know them like the back of my hooves. But to make it real easy, I also put a pathfinder enchantment on the place so I can just magic myself in the right direction.”
“Well that's convenient,” muttered Applejack.
“If one of you could provide light for us while I track the path that would help greatly. I can't do both spells at once, and I have on more than one occasion bumped into walls while finding my way out of here.”
Celestia allowed her magic light to drop and Twilight took over that task. Celestia pointed her horn at the ground and her horn glowed again. After a moment, a soft, shimmery trail of golden light appeared in the floor that went off into the darkness beyond the expanse of Twilight's magic.
Everypony's eyes widened at the sight.
“Did you ever end up going the wrong way when following this thing?” asked Rarity.
“It leads only to the exit,” said Celestia.
“Wow. That is convenient. Maybe when this is all over you could show me how to do that spell for when I go into places gem-hunting.”
“But until then,” said Applejack, giving Rarity a firm look, “we have an Equestria and Luna to save. Let's get a move on.”
Within the glow of Twilight's magic light, the ponies followed Celestia as the princess's magic revealed more of the shimmering golden light in the floor. Silence had returned save for their hoofsteps echoing off the walls. They stayed in a tight group, each of them glancing about at the occasional stalagmite and stalactites. The shadows cast upon the wall by Twilight's light hitting the rocky spikes frequently gave the ponies pause, until it became a common occurrence and no Animus leaped out at them as they weaved through the caves.
Along the way, they passed by several large steel doors that looked like they could withstand ten of the strongest earth ponies bucking it simultaneously and not even get slightly dented. They did not have locks or handles. Instead they each had a small hole where a handle would be. The hole was barely large enough to fit half of a unicorn's horn inside. One of the doors they passed was noted by Celestia as the vault where the Alicorn Amulet had been placed.
Celestia then explained her theory to the others about how Nightmare Moon got inside the vaults via her ability to take on a vaporous form. “That's also how she slipped in and out of the old castle on Nightmare Night without you noticing, Twilight. But I had no idea she could slip through tiny cracks or move so fast or discreetly.”
“I still don't really understand what the point of that was,” stated Rarity. “Following us into the old castle, waiting until Twilight was alone, saying some cryptic mumbo jumbo then just leaving?”
Twilight did not reply and fought her hardest to keep the memories of that fateful encounter at bay. She was only partially successful in this endeavor.
“Any of y'all getting' the impression it's a little too empty in here?” asked Applejack. “I was so sure there'd be at least a few shadow ponies down here.”
“That's too bad,” Rainbow said. “My hooves are just aching to beat down some shadow ponies. But that just means more in the city to tango with.”
“Or we're walking into another trap,” said Fluttershy. “That seems to be the way everything has gone so far, like the incident with the Crystal Heart, and that awful whatever frontier place we went to.”
“I'd rather not think that everything that's happened since this mess started has been playing into Nightmare Moon's hooves,” said Cadance. “After all, I can't imagine she could have predicted the creation of a new Element of Harmony.”
Twilight's mind raced back and forth between events both early and recent as she considered both Fluttershy's and Cadance's points. “It's entirely possible that you're both right... which is why it's all the more crucial we keep the new Element a secret until the exact right moment. You've got a tight grip on it, right Pinkie?”
Pinkie pulled Cadance's crown from the depths of her mane. “Sure do! One surprise Element of Harmony ready and waiting!”
Twilight nodded as Pinkie hid Cadance's Element away in her mane again. “Good. We need to catch Nightmare Moon off guard. It may be our only chance.”
Finally, the ponies reached a large staircase.
Celestia ceased her pathfinding spell and looked back at the others. “This will take us to a secret room in the city archives.”
“Just hang tight, Canterlot,” said Applejack as the ponies began their climb up the stairs. “We're almost there!”
Once they reached the top of the stairs, the floor leveled out and they came to another steel door at the end of the passage. This one was exactly like the others down in the caves, with a small hole in place of a handle barely large enough to fit half of a unicorn's horn inside.
“Stand back,” said Celestia as she aimed her horn directly at the hole.
Watching curiously, the others took a few steps back as Celestia's horn lit up. The princess shot a continuous beam of golden light into the hole. After a few moments of Celestia channeling the spell, the door's appearance shifted to a brilliant translucent gold and it slowly opened toward the group.
Once it was fully open, the ponies stepped beyond the door and entered a small empty room. Celestia followed them inside, then used her magic to shut and re-lock the door to the caves. Afterward, Celestia walked over to a torch sconce on the wall. She gently tugged it toward her, revealing a metal bar attached to it hidden inside the wall.
“A torch sconce as a lever to a secret door...” Rainbow said teasingly. “How painfully cliché.”
The wall in front of the ponies rotated halfway, creating a space on either side for them to walk through. As the ponies stepped through, Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at Rainbow's little remark, and she closed the secret door behind them once they were all through.
They entered a large circular room. Though it was dark, the light from Twilight's horn illuminated the chamber enough that the ponies could make out dozens of bookshelves lining the outer circle. Each one stood perpendicular to the edge of the room, creating small aisles between them, and all were filled with books and scrolls of varying sizes and colors. Atop a large ornate pedestal in the center of the room was a giant hourglass that rose all the way up to the ceiling. Directly above the hourglass, the ceiling turned into a windowed dome through which the ponies could see the ghostly-white barrier that was covering the city. At a glance, it looked just like the sky they'd seen in the frontier.
“Everypony,” said Twilight as she looked around, “you are now standing inside the largest repository of advanced magical knowledge in all of Equestria: the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot archives. Not many are allowed to access its contents. Even fewer are able to truly understand its contents... and its dangers... I am one such fortunate pony who has free access to this place.”
“Sounds mysterious and cool,” Rainbow stated nonchalantly. “But now we're leaving the largest repository of advanced magical knowledge in all of Equestria. We've got a job to do, and my Element is getting antsy.” She tapped the Element of Loyalty that was around her neck.
Celestia led the ponies to the exit and used her magic to unlock the metal gate separating the wing from the rest of the archive building. The hallway was just as dark as the room they just left.
“I'm going to take a wild guess,” said Rarity as they moved along, “and say that this place, and likely the whole city, is under the same unnatural darkness as the Everfree Forest, the Crystal Empire, and that frontier land.”
Coming to the building's entrance and stepping outside, everypony let out a soft groan as it was discovered Rarity's assumption was correct. Like they'd seen earlier, Nightmare Moon's barrier stood-in for the ghostly white sky, and the city was as dark as midnight. As far as they could see, the streetlamps had all been turned on, but instead of their normal orange, the light they gave off was white. The same glow came from the windows of many of the city's buildings. The rift in the sky above the city could be seen behind the barrier, but through it, the sphere had the appearance of being a black moon.
“Has the same atmosphere as when I dreamed about the Crystal Empire,” said Twilight.
“And mine about this very city,” stated Celestia.
Fluttershy swallowed hard and rubbed her foreleg. “It-it sure is quiet... Are we already too late?”
“I'll do a quick fly-over,” Rainbow said. “Won't be more than a couple minutes.”
Celestia shook her head. “I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but you must stay with the others. Nightmare Moon is here somewhere. Even a pony as fast as yourself can't hope to escape her if she catches you, not with the power she wields. I will do a scan of the city.”
Twilight's eyes widened and her thoughts immediately flew back to Nightmare Night and what happened to Princess Luna. Grabbing Celestia's foreleg, her eyes began to water and she gave her a pleading gaze. “No, don't! This might be a trap to capture you! Just like Luna on Nightmare Night! Please stay with us!”
“Better I take the risk than one of you.” Celestia wrapped her wings and forelegs around Twilight. Her eyes watered also as she held Twilight gently, like a mother would her child.
“Aww, how sweet...”
Everypony startled as the all-too-familiar voice sounded out nearby. Suddenly, countless shadow ponies rose up from the darkness blanketing the grounds in front of Twilight and the others. Celestia let go of Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack crouched into a combative pose, and Fluttershy hid behind Cadance. Far more Animus were present than the ponies could hope to defeat in regular battle, but they stood their ground against the impossible horde before them. All of the shadow ponies made threatening noises and dug at the ground with their hooves, but they did not attack or move closer than they already were.
Suddenly, a mild explosion of magic erupted behind the ponies, throwing them down the archive stairs onto the grass below. They landed in a heap and several of them groaned in pain. Opening their eyes, they noticed the wall of Animus had extended to the stairs they'd been at just a moment prior. They were completely surrounded but still the shadow ponies did not attack.
Standing atop the stairs in the center of the wall of shadow ponies was Nightmare Moon. The light from the magic barrier covering the city glinted off her armor, and her misty, star-laden mane and tail flowed gently. The Alicorn Amulet hugged her neck, creating the nightmarish-red glow that covered her eyes. She wore a devious smile and chuckled. “Did you like my little sneak attack? Cool wasn't it?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah, you looked really cool,” she said with mock amazement. “And for your next trick, why don't we kick your flank!”
Applejack let out a soft snicker. “Nice one, Rainbow.”
“What have you done with my little ponies?” Standing tall, a fierce glare appeared on Celestia's face as the question came out of her.
“They're safe and sound,” said Nightmare Moon flatly. “In their little cages that it is. Even those pegasi who all suddenly showed up to help fight. I should also tell you they didn't even have to tire themselves out trying to fight back in a long drawn-out battle. I just waltzed right in and put them down with, as the expression goes, 'a mere flick of my hoof,' or glow of my horn if we simply must be technical.”
Although most of them couldn't keep themselves from trembling, Twilight and all the other ponies glared at Nightmare Moon the same as Celestia was.
Nightmare Moon's tone turned dark, and she gazed upon the ponies with a look that betrayed the same seriousness. “So here we are again...” She muttered something under her breath. “I went easy on you last time—too easy, fool that I was. I should have taken care of you while I had you in my clutches last. That's a mistake I won't make again.”
“And this time we're ready for you!” declared Cadance.
“Not here. I'd rather the city not be leveled in our impending, no doubt, epic clash. Pretty sure you and the rest your little ponies don't either.”
“Since when did you care?” asked Rarity.
Nightmare Moon's horn began to glow the same red as her eyes. “Enough talk!” she bellowed.
There was such a strong magic behind Nightmare Moon's voice that a furious wind rushed blew from where she stood. Twilight and the others, plus all of the shadow ponies, were pushed back by the sudden gust.
“We will fight down in the field at the base of the mountain,” continued Nightmare Moon, her voice still booming. “Everypony down!” The glow around her horn flared bright.
Before Twilight or anypony could react, a red aura appeared around all of them and around Nightmare Moon. They all disappeared. The shadow ponies were quick to follow suit, turning into black mist and sinking into the ground.
After a quick moment of shooting through total darkness at high speeds. Twilight felt her hooves touch down on snow. She rubbed her eyes which had started to itch again. She trembled as the energies of Nightmare Moon's teleportation spell lingered, and the chilly winter air mingled with the harsh winds coming from the giant dark orb high in the sky above Canterlot. Looking around, Celestia and all the others appeared unharmed as well, if not shaken. They were trembling in a similar fashion as herself. Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy appeared to be on the verge of collapsing again, and were leaning against both Applejack and Rainbow. Twilight noticed they were indeed in the field at the base of the mountain.
Once again, Twilight, Celestia and Cadance magically transferred some of their energy to Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy. They perked up and were able to stand on their own, but this also left the healer ponies a bit drained. Twilight took deep breaths and a bit of sweat rolled down her brow.
The deep-orange light of the evening sun shone all around, glinting off the snow that covered the land. Slowly, everything began to darken as the sun touched base with the western horizon.
“Everypony looks okay,” said Twilight. For now at least.
“Okay, Nightmare Moon!” Rainbow cried at the top of her lungs. “Where are you? This ends now!”
Though she was nowhere in sight, Nightmare Moon's voice boomed through the air with all her fury.
“We come to it at last!”
Everypony got closer together and scanned all around, each of them crouched down a little in a combative pose. Even Fluttershy looked ready to fight.
The sun had descended halfway.
“No longer will we suffer while you ponies coast through life!”
Though they were trying their hardest to be strong, the ponies couldn't help but tremble, sweat, and take heavy breaths. Even Rainbow Dash was clearly having difficulty keeping herself together.
The sun was almost fully set.
“The sun sets on your reign over this land! The hour of change is nigh!”
Twilight's eyes began to itch terribly. She winced, rubbing them out of instinct.
The sun disappeared below the horizon, and the world gave way to twilight.
A large ghostly-white orb bigger than Celestia suddenly appeared several yards away that gave off an eerie light. The ponies all turned toward it.
Twilight's eyes itched even harder, making her unable to focus on anything other than them. They began to water, and it took all of her willpower to not rub them, electing to blink endlessly instead. All the while, her thoughts raced so quickly that she couldn't focus on a single one.
From the orb emerged Nightmare Moon, but she looked different. The orb then disappeared.
Every ounce of courage the ponies had managed to build up to that point vanished instantly. They gazed upon Nightmare Moon with sheer terror clear upon their faces. Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash were visibly shaking.
Nightmare Moon was taller than before, now standing two heads taller than Celestia. Her fur was as black as ever, but her eyes were solid white. She still wore her helmet, her chest guard with the image of a crescent moon, and the leg plates over her hindlegs. The plates she normally wore over her forelegs were gone. She still had hooves as part of her hindlegs, but her front hooves had been replaced by ghostly-white claws closely resembling the four-pronged claw they'd become familiar with: three talons out in front, one centered in the back, and all of them sharp. Her normally misty mane and tail now looked like white fire that gave off black smoke. Her cutie mark was unchanged. She still wore the Alicorn Amulet.
The amulet had changed color as well. The parts that were black were the same, but all the parts that had been red were now white.
The last of the previous day's light faded, bathing the world in the dark of night. The moon began to rise.
Nightmare Moon glared at the frightened ponies, revealing her sharp teeth. She crouched down into a combative pose, and made a motion at them with her left claw—the motion that was commonly used to signal one to come closer.
Twilight was barely able to get a clear picture through the wetness and itching in her eyes, but was able to piece it together well enough. That didn't make it any easier to swallow the heavy lump that had formed in her throat.