//------------------------------// // Nightmare Moon, the final boss // Story: Pony Art Online (BETA VERSION) // by Kaliann25 //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon, the final boss The group arrived to the gates of the old Castle, looking to each other before entering. They were all confident and chatty, but they all muttered when they got in, knowing it was vital for Twilight co concentrate. “I have only one question, what are the Elements of Harmony?” asked Kirito. “Oh, right! We went through all this together, and you don’t even know that!” said Pinkie. “There are some kind of magical artifacts that represent the basis of Harmony.” Twilight nodded. “There are seven. Six are known by the ponykind: Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic. The seventh, the most powerful of them all, would be revealed when a spark gets together the other six.” Kirito looked at his girlfriend. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She nodded, “This isn’t a coincidence. I guess our mission would be protect them.” Kirito agreed. They will have to stay as close as possible of the girls when the such-called Nightmare Moon finally decided to show up. They went through a large corridor, surrounded by decorations, bookshelves, furniture from another times. A past era. Asuna and Kirito looked around, ready to drag their swords at first sight of danger. Finally, they arrived to a large hall, with six stone spheres on the center. Each one with a different design engraved on the center. “Finally!” cheered Twilight. “The Elements of Harmony! But…” Pinkie Pie began to count. “One, two, three, four, five, six…! There are only six! We’re missing one!” Twilight nodded, worried. “According with the legend, the Seventh Element would appear on its own when a spark get together the other six.” Applejack nodded, and guided the group outside. “Alright, ya’ heard her guys. She needs to focus. Let’s leave her to figure this out.” Kirito shook her head. “Are you out of your mind? What if Nightmare Moon shows up?” “I’ll stop her with the Elements of Harmony.” said Twilight. “Twilight, seriously, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” added Asuna. “Don’t worry, I can handle this.” said Twilight. “Come, on, you’ll just distract me.” Finally, Applejack managed to push them out of the room too, but the warriors still had their doubts. “I’ll be fine!” assured Twilight, when Asuna and Kirito gave her a last glance. And, finally, when she was left on her own, Twilight began to walk around the Elements. Then, she tried to use her magic to create the ‘spark’, but suddenly, a purple fog surrounded her. “What?” shrieked Twilight. Twilight’s shriek called the ponies’ attention, and they ran to help her friend. But it was already too late, they saw Twilight vanishing in a purple puff. “No!!” said the girls in the unison. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” said Asuna, with a frown. “This isn’t about if ya’ were right or what! This is about saving our friend!” protested Applejack. “Yes, you did warn us, now what?” asked Rainbow. “What can we do now?” In the end, Kirito raised a hoof. “Shut up!” “What?” said Rainbow, angrily. “Shut up and listen.” said Kirito. They obeyed, and exchanged a look. They could hear two ponies arguing in the distance. “She’s close!” “What are we waiting for, then?” “LET’S GO!” … Twilight opened her eyes, feeling disoriented and dizzy. Where was she? Then, she looked up. Only to see a black alicorn blocking her way to the Elements of Harmony. “Oh, I see you’re awake.” said Nightmare Moon, staring at Twilight. “The one who recognized me back at that party.” “Nightmare Moon…” said Twilight, with a gasp. She nodded, shrugging. “You know? When I saw you with the Elements, I did worry a little. I thought it was my end. But, then, you asked to be left alone. Are you so arrogant that you actually thought you could defeat me on your own? What an idiot. Are you sure you are my sister’s personal student?” Twilight glared at Nightmare. “This isn’t over, Nightmare.” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Oh, I think it is, dear. Now tell me, what I should do to you?” Twilight charged her magic, and ran toward the alicorn with all her power. That made Nightmare laugh. “You’re kidding! You’re kidding, right?” Apparently not, since Twilight continued. Nightmare grinned, as she created a huge black and blue sword, surrounded in her purple mist. With a murderous smile, she swung her sword toward Twilight, to deliver a quick death. But Twilight anticipated this, and teleported right behind Nightmare, right before the Elements of Harmony. “Come on, a spark! Just a little spark!” Twilight tried to activate the six Elements, but all she could do was to levitate them. Nightmare chuckled at this pony’s stupidity, and waved her sword, destroying the Elements. Then, she aimed her weapon to Twilight. The lavender unicorn shrank in fear “Did you seriously believed you could use those on your own? Okay, I was wrong. You are indeed Celestia’s student. It seems like that moron is still a cryptic idiot, who only gives half of the information, no matter how vital it is. Now, you’ll pay for her mistake with your life!” The sound of voices, and hoofsteps coming to their direction called Nightmare’s and Twilight’s attention. With a grin, Nightmare grabbed Twilight with her magic, and threw her right in front of the door, right when the group arrived. And, of course, they froze when they saw Twilight’s predicament. “Just in time for the execution!” said Nightmare Moon, with joy. “Let this pony’s idiocy to serve as an example for you! For all Equestria!” Twilight could only see how the dark alicorn’s sword descended right to her neck. She let escape a small tear, at least her death would be quick, and as painless as it could be. But then, something blocked Nightmare’s blade. Twilight opened her eyes, to see Asuna and Kirito using their swords to protect her from Nightmare’s. “What?!” gasped the black alicorn. “Asuna! Kirito!” said Twilight, relieved. The black swordsman glanced at her. “Next time, listen to what we say!” Between the two warriors, managed to push Nightmare’s blade away, and managed to give her a couple of blows to her sides. She screamed both in surprise, and pain. Nightmare was forced to make a step backwards, as she analyzed the new challengers. Asuna and Kirito kept their swords aimed toward her, ready to react at the first move they spotted. In all her years of experience, Nightmare Moon knew how to recognize a true warrior when she saw one. And these two were on their own league, she could say that from both their position and expressions. She grinned, this was going to be fun. “Interesting, let’s see what you have!” invited Nightmare Moon. The two warriors did not hesitate, they both attacked the dark alicorn at once. Kirito extended his wings to gain altitude, allowing him to grab Dark Repulser on his left hoof, and attacked. His attacks were savage and quick. That made him to suffer several openings, but he compensated those by adding his second sword to the equation. As for Asuna, she moved at incredible speed, always going for the back, or the sides as Kirito was keeping her busy on the front. Nightmare Moon lost terrain, but she was grinning. Asuna and Kirito also knew when they were before a veteran swordsman, something that this pony certainly was. They knew she was just studying their moves. But they didn’t care, they knew they had to take this chance to do as much damage as possible. After all, this was only the first stage of a fight. Finally, Nightmare Moon charged her sword with dark power, and swung her sword with all her might. Asuna and Kirito were sent to the wall, where they both created a huge crack because of the impact. “Asuna, Kirito!” cried Rarity, as she approached to Asuna, who was closer to her; as Fluttershy did the same with Kirito. “Are you okay?” asked Twilight, worried to see them getting hurt. Asuna got back on her hooves, calmly. “Hai, we’re okay.” “Yeah, our HP bar lowered a bit, but we’re fine.” said Kirito, getting back on fours as well. Nightmare aimed her sword to the both of them, aiming her sword toward the group. “Wait, wait, wait! Something is definitely wrong here. That move should, at least, break a couple of bones. How are you still able to stand?” Kirito smiled confidently. “Do you actually hoped to finish this fight in one move? You’re not that strong.” Nightmare Moon screamed in anger, and charged toward them. Kirito looked at the other side of the room, where his swords were. Then, he looked at Asuna, who still had Lambent Light on hoof. “Asuna, I’m going for my swords! Distract her for a few seconds!” Asuna nodded. “Understood. Switch!” Kirito made an agile backflip, as Asuna charged at Nightmare, using her speed as an advantage. But now, Nightmare have successfully warmed up, and was more than capable to match Asuna’s speed with ease. “Admit it, you can’t win.” Asuna didn’t say anything, she just glanced at her partner, who have grabbed his swords, and charged back at Nightmare. In the meantime, the girls could not believe their eyes. “They’re strong. Really strong…” mumbled Pinkie Pie, amazed. “So awesome…” mumbled Rainbow Dash. Asuna and Nightmare continued fighting, until a decisive blow from Nightmare Moon made Asuna to fall, giving the dark alicorn the chance to deliver the fatal blow. But then, she had to turn to block Kirito’s blow from Elucidator. But that was what Kirito was expecting. He used his enemy’s strength on his favor, using it to add some speed to his blow with Dark Repulser. The blue sword penetrated through Nightmare’s armor, making her scream in anger. She sent a powerful magic beam to push away the black swordsman, giving Asuna the chance to deliver three painful blows to her left wing. The dark alicorn glared at the warriors, who stood side by side in front of her. Then, she smiled. “You’re strong.” “So are you.” said the warriors in the unison. They both noticed their HP was at orange, so they called their inventories, to pick a couple of recovery potions that they drank on the spot. “What the hell was that white screen you summoned?” asked Nightmare. “None of your business.” said Asuna. “Fine.” said Nightmare, still smiling. “You’ve been giving me so much fun, so I’ll let that pass. But you better haven’t show me all you have, because I won’t hold back from now on.” “Same here!” They resumed the fight, and, much to Asuna’s and Kirito’s dismay, the dark alicorn have become faster, and her blows were more powerful. But they could handle her, at least for a while. The girls watched at the fight in awe. They wanted to do something to help their friends, but they weren’t warriors. Still, they knew they had to do something. The only one who wasn’t watching the fight was Twilight. She had a lot in her mind. Especially Nightmare’s words: “Did you seriously believed you could use those on your own?” and, “You know? When I saw you with the Elements, I did worry a little. I thought it was my end. But, then, you asked to be left alone.” Finally, it hit her. “Of course…” she mumbled. “Twilight?” asked Rainbow Dash. “We can help them.” said Twilight. “How?” asked Fluttershy, trembling in fear. “Don’t you see? That’s why she wanted to kill me. That’s why she tried to delay us so desperately. The Elements of Harmony weren’t on those stones.” “Then were are them?” asked Pinkie Pie. “They live inside us!” “WHAT?” asked the girls in the unison. “Try to understand, when we fell from the cliff, Applejack managed to calm me with her honest words. She told me to trust her, and so I did. That’s when I realized, for a few seconds, that she represents the spirit of Honesty!” “You fell anyway.” mumbled Applejack. But Twilight ignored her, and continued. “Then, Fluttershy, who saw beyond the monster’s anger, and knew what it needed with her Kindness.” Fluttershy blushed. “Then, at the dark Forest, when Pinkie Pie helped us by looking beyond the scary things we thought we were seeing, and laugh. She represented the spirit of…” “Laughter!” cheered Pinkie Pie. Twilight nodded. “Precisely. Then, Rarity, who comforted the beast with a beautiful gift! In that moment, she showed us she represented the spirit of Generosity!” Rarity blushed as well. “It was nothing …” Rainbow grinned. “Don’t forget about me!” “How could I?” asked Twilight. “You decided to help your friends instead of the easy way to get what you want the most. If that’s not true Loyalty, I don’t know what it is.” Rainbow smiled proudly, as Twilight finished: “And then, there’s me. I’ve dedicated my life to study the mysteries of Magic. But, I always ignored the most powerful of Magics, the one I found when I met all of you. I got it when you came to rescue me, and realized how happy I was to see you. I realized you… ARE MY FRIENDS!” A white light surrounded the group. “But those are only six Elements. We still haven’t found the seventh!” said Rarity. Twilight smiled. “We had. The most powerful of the Elements, so big that it can’t be contained by one soul only. The purer and most beautiful feeling that exists. Something that Asuna and Kirito share!” It was obvious what she was talking about. But before Twilight could say the ‘L word’, an army of black and blue armors charged at the group of mares. Nightmare Moon took a break from the fight, and looked at them. “What? Did you actually thought I wasn’t paying attention to your little speech? Congratulations for solving the riddle, but I have no intention to go back to the moon.” Then, she turned to Asuna and Kirito. “Tell me, my little ponies, what is going to be? Me, or your friends? You cannot defeat me and protect them at the same time.” Kirito jumped toward the dark alicorn with both of his swords, as Asuna teleported in front of the six mares, and started to destroy Nightmare’s living armors. Nightmare rolled her eyes. “Okay, good choice, but you know you can’t keep like this forever. Sooner or later, one of you is going to get tired.” They continued for a while, when the sun began to raise in the horizon. Nightmare Moon sent Kirito away with a powerful blow, sending him against Asuna. The couple crashed to a wall, creating a new crack. Nodding, Nightmare Moon turned to the window. “Finally! I thought you weren’t going to show up in the entire night, Tia.” A big, powerful figure, entered through the window. A pure white alicorn, with the mane made out of the aurora borealis itself. “Princess Celestia!” cried Twilight. Princess Celestia looked at her protégée, surrounded by the black armors, who have stopped their attack. “Tia! Long time no see you, sister.” said Nightmare. “Not because I didn’t try, thought. First thing I did when I got free was go look for you, but you went into hiding. As usual.” Celestia gave a worried look to her student and her new friends, completely surrounded by her sister’s creatures. Then, she looked back at the dark alicorn. “Luna… please, this doesn’t have to end like this!” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Oh, I think it does. What were you thinking anyway? That I wouldn’t dare to use violence against them? Come on!” Celestia looked at Nightmare, and, doubtful, she made appear her own sword. Golden as the sun. Nightmare’s grin went wider. “Come on! We both know that between the two of us, I am the better fighter. You may be good with protection spells, but didn’t go any further. Me, on the other hoof, I’m great with combat magic. Also, while you were stuffing yourself with sweets, I took fencing lessons. I’m also in better shape.” She laughed. “Let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for the Elements of Harmony, there was no way you could defeat me.” Celestia nodded. “I know I am no match for you, sister. That’s why I came to talk you to reason. Luna, please, see beyond your jealousness!” Nightmare Moon laughed. “Tia, wake up! There’s no Luna! Only ME!” And she charged against Celestia, who barely blocked the attack with her own sword. Nightmare Moon swung her sword again, sending Celestia’s flying. It was over. But then, certain dark blue pegasus came from behind, delivering a double-blade attack right to her back. Nightmare screamed in pain, and turned to destroy the insolent pegasus. Kirito blocked the attack using both of his swords, and moved backwards, looking at his opponent to the eyes. “Never turn your back to an opponent.” “WHY DON’T YOU DIE?!!” She turned her attention to Kirito, as she made her living armors to resume their attack. Luckily, Asuna got rid of them with ease. They continued fighting, but Nightmare quickly noticed the warriors were at their limit. Their moves were slower, and weaker. They were no match for her in this shape. Finally, she grabbed them both with her magic, as she prepared her sword. “You two have earned all my respect, warriors. When I become the absolute Queen, I’ll build a monument to honor the two of you. I haven’t had an opponent as worthy in centuries. Tell me your names!” The two of them smiled, they were defeated but at least it was a fun little game to play. “Kirito, the Black Swordsman.” “Asuna, the Lighting Flash.” Nightmare raised her sword, ready to finish them for good, when a red spot appeared on her chest. “What the hell is this?” She looked at her sister and the bearers, but they looked as confused as her. As for Kirito, his eyes went wide when he recognized the ‘prediction lines’. A mechanic used in the shooter game, Gun Gail Online. “I knew they were coming.” smiled Kirito. “Of course they would. What are friends for?” said Asuna, as she smiled back. Nightmare Moon grinded her teeth. “Who are you talking about?” The warriors closed their eyes, waiting. A detonation resounded all over the Castle, and, before the ponies could ask what was going on, a bullet impacted right on Nightmare’s chest, making her fall. Asuna and Kirito got free from her aura, and moved backwards increasing their distance with the dark alicorn. “What’s the meaning of this?” yelled Nightmare. Kirito looked back, and waved a hoof. “Great shot, Sinon!” A moss green unicorn with blue mane entered to the room, carrying a strange weapon. Something that the ponies haven’t see, a sniper rifle. Sinon’s beloved weapon, Hecate. Soon, the rest of the group joined her. Klein, Lizbeth, Silica, Pina and Leafa; each carrying their weapons in hoof. The living armors turned to them, and charged. But the warriors were quicker, and disposed of them in a single move. “Sorry for the delay, but the forest is full of monsters.” said Leafa, winking to Asuna and Kirito. “Are you okay, Onii-chan, Asuna-san?” “Yes, thank you.” said Kirito. “You arrived just in time.” “Mmh, thank you for your help.” said Asuna. Klein grinned. “What were you thinking, going to confront a Dungeon Boss without us?” More living armors appeared, at Nightmare’s command. “Oh no, don’t you think this is over.” Kirito stood, and commanded his team: “Okay, Sinon, Klein, I need you to cover the NPCs. Klein, you take care of the Princess personally. Silica, Lizbeth, clean our path. We need a clear sigh of this boss. Leafa, help us.” “Roger!” said the team. They followed Kirito’s directions, resuming the fight. Nightmare Moon couldn’t believe this was happening. This changed everything. And yes, she was tired. She underestimated the warriors and now she was paying the consequences. Twilight, seeing that the warriors kept her attackers occupied, also resumed her speech: “As I was saying, Applejack is Honesty; Fluttershy, Kindness; Pinkie Pie, Laughter; Rarity, Generosity; Rainbow Dash, Loyalty; I am Magic. And Asuna and Kirito form together… THE ELEMENT OF LOVE!” Leafa, Asuna and Kirito ran toward Nightmare, who knew she was now on the weakest position. They jumped, ready to deliver their attacks, when strange things started to happen. A white light surrounded all the Bearers of Harmony, including Asuna and Kirito. The magic turned into a crown in Twilight’s head, and seven necklaces on the others. Each of the necklaces represented the Bearer’s Cutie Marks. Except for Asuna and Kirito, who had matching necklaces each with half of a heart. But the strange things didn’t end up there. The white light pushed Leafa away, as it began to concentrate over the Bearers’s necklaces, and crown, creating a rainbow chain that concentrated on the warriors’ swords. “No, I was so close!” screamed Nightmare Moon, as she saw the two warriors approached. Suddenly, Klein realized of something. “Hey, there’s something wrong with their avatars!” It was true, soon enough, the avatars turned pixelated, unstable. Suddenly, the two of them turned into humans. Their SAO version. “Are those monkeys?” asked Twilight, in shock. But the changes didn’t stop there. Soon, Kirito turned into some kind of feminine version of himself, but still a male. Sinon frowned, as she recognized his GGO avatar. “I knew there’s something off with this game. ASUNA, KIRITO, STOP NOW THAT YOU CAN!” But they couldn’t hear her. In fact, they seemed unaware of that was happening to them. Asuna also transformed, turning into the Titatia avatar Sugouh Noboyuki have made for her. They changed again, to their usual ALO avatars. And, finally, they turned back to their pony selves. “No, there’s something wrong here!” said Leafa, worried. “STOOOP!” warned the other warriors. It was already too late. Nightmare screamed in pain when the three blades went through her body, as the two powerful warriors looked at her to the eyes. Around the group, all kind of objects began to materialize. Since potions, money, plants, cooking items, and such. But also, all the weapons they have collected during their games. “This is impossible…” mumbled Silica. Finally, a crystal tear called the ponies’ attention since it was glowing. With a flash, it turned into a small unicorn filly, with brown eyes and black hair. She slowly opened her eyes, and looked at the action. “Mama, papa!” she called. “Yui, you know what’s going on?” asked Leafa. “What? No, I just wake up!” said the filly. Celestia nodded. “Yeah, we can use some answers as well…” In the meantime, Nightmare did her best to black the warriors’ attacks. Now that they were charged with the power of the Elements of Harmony, all felt devastating. And then, Asuna and Kirito decided it was time to finish her off, with their signature moves: “STAR BURST… STREAM/MOTHER’S… ROSARIO!!” Nightmare screamed in pain, as the last of her darkness was destroyed by the sparkling swords. “NOOOOOOOOO!!!” In a final flash of white light, Nightmare Moon disappeared in a million sparks, turning into a little blue alicorn with light blue mane. “Luna!” called Celestia. The small alicorn smiled weakly at her older sister. “Hi sist… I’m back…” And she fainted. Asuna and Kirito put their swords back on their scabbards, as they breathed heavily. But they were smiling. “We won.” said the pegasus. “It seems so.” agreed Asuna. Luna opened her eyes, for a bit, and smiled at them. “Thank you…” And then, she fainted for good. It was over. Or was it? Sinon broke the silence. “Guys… why did your cursors turned into NPC’s?” Leafa shivered. “This is not a normal game, isn’t it?”