"Rrgh... Niiightmaaare!"
Rainbow seethed out in anger, lying on her side in the snow, and inching herself through the dense fog.
Her hind legs lagged behind, and her right wing laid flat, having been dislocated. She shivered, her body slowly becoming buried in a blanket of snow, but still she persevered.
Tiredness began to set in as her eyelids dared to close on her, every moment causing a nauseating feeling to build.
Still, thoughts of Twilight kept her going.
Gotta... reach... Twilight... before...
"Rainbow one?"
Rainbow froze, blinked, and glanced around herself at the surroundings she had been paying little attention to.
Despite the fog, and the worsening snowstorm... she had recognized the voice, and she knew who it was that lay before her.
Luna sat defeated in the snow, snow littering her body... her voice sounding weaker than usual.
As she softly regained her strength, Rainbow noticed something else about the alicorn.
Her coat was paler, her body smaller and frail—like the night she and her friends had first freed her from Nightmare Moon...
"Luna!" exclaimed Rainbow, eyes wide in disbelief. "Y-you...!"
Luna chucked weakly upon seeing the younger pony's startled expression. "I... suppose my outward appearance has changed..." She peered away, her voice softening. "That is no surprise..."
"I... I don't understand," replied Rainbow, longing to make sense of the scene in front of her. "What happened to you? Aren't you and Nightmare Moon the same? Why are you... wait." Her eyes lit up in hope. "Did you somehow overcome—?"
Luna solemnly shook her head, and at that, Rainbow's hopeful smile fell, her heart sinking.
"When I... gave myself over to Nightmare Moon, I gave her complete dominion over my mind... my body. This weakened me, so much so that, had I wanted to, I... I could not have fought back."
"Yeah, about that..." Rainbow's brow furrowed. "Why the hay did you do that anyway? Couldn't you have just waited for Celestia to back you up?"
"I... let my emotions get the best of me, and took it upon myself to avenge young Twilight Sparkle and her family. When it dawned on me what exactly I had done... it was too late." The princess let out a remorseful sigh, further averting her eyes. "I thought maybe it was for the best, because I knew I would never be able to face Twilight again after breaking the promise I made to her... I am sorry, Twilight's friend... I acted selfishly..."
"Actually," Rainbow supposed, brining a meek hoof to the back of her neck, "I... think Twilight would understand." She turned her gaze back in the direction of her once-proud cloudominium, all the while thinking, Where the hay is she?
"That's just it though!" urged Luna, snapping Rainbow from her thoughts. "I should never have released that monster back into the world. I should have lived with my actions, but instead... now I must live with the repercussions..."
"What are you talking about, Luna? Where is Nightmare Moon?"
"She stripped herself of me, leaving me in pursuit of a... less resilient host. O-one who embodies dark magic, jealousy and rage..."
Rainbow's pupils shrunk as fear swept over her. She swallowed hard, her words trembling as she asked, "Y-you d-don't mean...?"
Luna bowed her head in disgrace. "I am truly sorry—"
Rainbow forced her gaze away. "Later! Right now we need to stop her from taking over Twilight!" She looked ahead of her with an air of determination, before continuing to inch herself closer to her destination. No wonder she was so determined to stop me... she mused all the while, thinking back.
Rainbow continued forward for a few, grueling moments longer, when she stopped, something suddenly occurred to her.
Luna wasn't following.
She looked back over her shoulder, shouting angrily, "What's with you? I said we need to rescue Twilight!"
She looked back ahead, exhaling a little snort. "I don't care if it's too late! I promised I'd never leave her hanging... no matter what!"
A long couple of moments of passed in unbearable silence before the older mare at last gave her response.
"I'm dying. That is why... I cannot move."
Rainbow's eyes blinked open. "What—?"
"When she and I separated," Luna solemnly continued, "the strain it placed upon my body was too great."
Rainbow's breathing hastened.
"W-well, what about when the Elements of Harmony—?"
They simply allowed me to take back control. Had I wanted... I could have transformed right back."
Her words slowly sunk in as silence set back in between the two. Snow continued to fall, harshening the divide between them.
"Okay, so... what? You're just gonna give up?" She glared, her voice rising as her temper flared. "Luna, if Nightmare Moon has her way, we may as well be dead! Aren't you at least willing to fight for a brighter tomorrow?"
Rainbow silently fumed, staring as Luna remained quiet, seemingly hesitant to say anything.
Her voice softened. "Luna... I know right now you feel like everything's your fault, and that... you feel like you deserve to curl up and die... but now's the time to make things right!"
After being met with more silence, Rainbow sighed, peering away. "Fine, I see how it is..." She carried onwards with a renewed look of determination. "Well, I'm not about to let Twilight dow-ooowwn!"
Her flank was raised into the air suddenly, finding her body being scooped up by a magical construct.
A s-sled? she wondered, staring stupefied at the blue, shimmering runners beneath the board she laid upon. The sled hit a bump and Rainbow fell back further, brushing up against a furred body.
She looked over her shoulder, startled.
"Luna?" she uttered. "I... I-I don't understand—"
"My body may be too weak to move... but I still have some magic left. Now—" She smiled down at the smaller pony. "—let us save Twilight Sparkle."
"Luna..." Rainbow's surprise melted away, her lips forming a heartfelt smile. "R-right!" she declared, looking back on ahead.
"Hang on just a little longer, Twilight..."
The sled propelled itself over a snowy hill, skidding through the grass a bit before stopping abruptly.
The two braced for the impact, their bodies rocking from the bumpy stop.
Rainbow grunted, furrowing her brow as she turned to look back at Luna.
"Nngh... A-are you alright?"
"Y-yes," she assured shakily, looking off to the center of the clearing, and spotting Twilight amidst the wreckage of what was once the pegasus's home.
She wasn't the only one, as Rainbow too, spotted her friend, sitting still as a statue. Her expression saddened, her ears flopping at the sight.
"Twilight..."
"Go to her," Luna ushered, grabbing Rainbow's attention. Rainbow herself stared back at her in wonder, ears perking back up.
Using her magic once more, Luna lifted her into the air. "If there's anypony who can still save her... it is you."
Luna set her down carefully before Twilight, and as soon as she could, Rainbow rose up and grabbed her girlfriend's crystal shoulders. She stared pensively through the crystal plating and into Twilight's eyes, only to find them glazed over.
"Twilight!"
Rainbow shook her shoulders.
"Twilight, can you even hear me? Come on, it's me... Rainbow Dash!"
Twilight furrowed her brow, an angry scowl spreading across her face.
"Please, Twilight..." Rainbow shut her eyes, bowing her head against Twilight's chest. "Please don't let it control—"
Twilight lifted a foreleg and smacked her aside.
Luna's heart skipped, her eyes widening from where she sat. It cannot be! Were we too late?
Rainbow collapsed on her side with a heavy thud, staring up bemused at her crystal-clad friend. "Twilight...?"
Twilight snorted, cocking her head smugly as she turned to face her, her sinister gaze glowering down at her.
"Not exactly."
Rainbow's look turned fearful as she tentatively propped herself up, unnerved by the growing realization that her girlfriend was no longer the one in charge of her body.
She swallowed hard, stuttering out, "N-Nightmare...?"
Luna continued watching from afar with a worsening feeling of dread swelling up deep within her insides.
She fired up her horn, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
"I defeated Nightmare Moon," Twilight boasted indignantly. "She's a part of me now."
She sneered as she cocked her head down at the pegasus, lying on her back... so defenseless and weak.
"A part... of you...?" Rainbow uttered, feeling her heart begin to sink.
"I absorbed her powers, stupid." Darkness seeped over her crystal armor, covering her body in a black and blue smog, as dark as the night sky itself. The whites of her eyes became all-encompassing, and two majestic wings sprouted from the smoke. Her horn began sparking, and rippling with electricity.
"You... you're n-not Twilight."
Twilight's lips curled slightly in amusement.
"You're right..." A fierce orb of light formed at the tip of her horn, the ripples of electricity pouring into it.
Rainbow squinted, turning her head away slightly from the growing light.
No! Twilight yelled in desperation from deep within her mind, her body once again fighting to break through the darkness her other self imposed upon her.
That much electricity... it, it'll kill her!
Her shadow smirked. That's the plan.
Her body's head bowed forward, and Rainbow felt her heart ache.
Twilight's body recoiled back as the shot was fired, Rainbow's pupils shrinking before she instinctively shut her eyes... bracing the the impact.
Twilight, I... I'm sorry I couldn't save—
Her ears alerted her to the sudden, crackling noise of lightning striking something, but... wait, she thought, she felt fine.
She slowly opened her eyes to find streaks of light passing all around her... and the shadow of a pony cast over her, forearms and wings held out before her protectively.
Her eyes widened, her breath catching in the back of her throat.
L-Luna...
She stared, too unnerved to look away... instantly feeling a heavy sadness wrack her heart.
Her shocked gaze grew heavy as she let out a choked sob. "N-no..."
"Hmph," Twilight's shadow snorted. Well what do you know...
The lightning fizzled out, and Luna dropped lifelessly to the ground, smoke simmering from her singed feathers and fur.
Rainbow just stared, too stunned for words... too mortified to move.
"How unlike a princess, to selflessly lie down their own life..." Twilight's shadow mused without a hint of solace in her voice. "I had wondered why you didn't try avoiding my attack. Now I see though that Nightmare Moon already did a number on you..."
She chuckled at the realization, before dismissing the notion with a wave of her hoof. "I had planned on taking the lives of you and our friends... but on second thought, why waste such potent energy on you, when this storm will surely do you in. As for her..." She looked down at Luna's body with an amused smirk. "What magic would I have to gain from a dying mare?"
Rainbow shook out of her stupor, glaring back with teary eyes at the one responsible.
"Oh, are you angry?" Humored, Twilight's shadow cracked a grin before turning halfway. "Anger is wasted on the likes of you," she softly added, before turning the remainder of the way, unfurling her wings.
Rainbow tailed the alicorn with her eyes until she disappeared from view, then sniffled, turning her teary gaze to the fallen princess. She pushed herself forward, inching closer to her.
"L-Luna?" she pressed softly. "Luna... please tell me you're still..."
Luna's body shifted, and a small, barely audible groan came from her lips.
Rainbow's brow lifted immediately, and she blinked away some tears before leaning in closer.
Luna opened her eyes tiredly, peering up at the worried mare for a moment before forming a lukewarm smile.
"I... am glad to see you are... unharmed."
"Luna... I, I-I don't understand! Why put yourself in harm's way?"
"To protect you... that is why."
"That isn't what I meant!" Rainbow shut her eyes tight, shaking her head desperately. "You... y-you could have attacked her instead, o-or... or...!"
"My body is already dying, so what's a little lightning?" She let out a weak, halfhearted laugh. "I couldn't risk using up the last of my magic. Not before..." She trailed off, lowering her gaze.
"Before what?" Rainbow pressed.
Luna managed a slight smile. "Before I could name you... my successor."
Rainbow blinked, completely dumbfounded. Her eyes wide, she leaned her head back. "Woah woah woah... w-what now...?"
Luna gazed up at her, a hint of amusement tugging at her smile. "What I saw in you tonight made it clear to me."
"What, me getting my flank handed to me?"
Luna shook her head. "Your unwavering loyalty and dedication to your friend... and to do what is right. Even when I was willing to... curl up and die, there you were, dragging yourself through the snow... committed to saving a friend. You have always been a good friend to everypony, but tonight, Rainbow Dash... you moved even me."
Rainbow stared back at her silently, taken aback. "I-I..."
She jumped back, her breath catching in her throat as the princess's horn flared suddenly, erupting into a magnificent aura.
"L-Luna...?"
Luna eyes burned brightly as they were encompassed by a sudden, white light.
Wind rushed past her, through her fur and blowing her mane back, forcing her eyes to squint. A white light encompassed her, and before she knew it, the sounds of the real world filled her ears once more as she was thrust back into reality.
Rainbow knelt forward onto one forearm, feeling... surprisingly lightheaded for a moment.
Weakly, she opened her gaze, peering down at the grass and gentle snowfall that drifted before her eyes.
She let out a wary groan. What just...? The thought ceased as she knelt back up and realized... she was standing!
She glanced back over her shoulder at her hind legs, a giddy smile spreading across her face until she could no longer hold back her excitement. She leapt up, pumping her hoof into the air before being struck by another revelation.
Both of her wings were flapping, keeping herself afloat.
She screamed internally. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh...
Her excitement quickly came to a halt as she was reminded of her current situation.
She sheepishly dove back to the ground, before taking a few cautious steps back towards Luna.
Luna, in turn, peered up at her with a saddened smile.
"The horn suits you," she remarked.
Horn? Rainbow blinked, dumbfounded, before raising a hoof to the top of her head.
Sure enough, she felt... something protruding from her head as she ran her hoof along it.
"Huh. I guess this explains the... surge of power I'm feeling..." Rainbow caught a glimpse of the princess out of the corner of her eye, and her smile fell immediately, her excitement replaced with a sickening feeling of dread.
"Luna!"
The Princess's body was slowly splitting apart into orbs of light, no different than fireflies.
Luna lifted her forearm partway, assuring her. "Do not fret, Rainbow Dash. I am at peace finally, knowing that, in my final moments... I did something right." She smiled, looking towards the night sky. "I... know you can right my wrongs."
"H-hold on," panicked Rainbow, "hold on! I... I... Y-you... I-I d-don't even know how to use magic! With... without y-you, or... or Twilight here to teach me—!"
"But that's just it. Magic stems from your heart... your emotions. All you must do is think of what you want—nay, cherish most... and it will do the rest."
Rainbow took a step back, her gaze faltering as she considered Luna's words.
"I... I don't know if I can take her alone," she admitted softly, her voice starting to break.
"Which is why I reached out to your friends in their sleep... They will be here any moment."
Luna's forelegs and back began to break into orbs of light and float into the air, fading eventually into nothing.
"You're the key to a brighter future, Rainbow Dash. After all..." Luna noted with a proud smile, "rainbows succeed storms, do they not?"
Rainbow lifted her head, staring back at her surprised. "Y-yeah, I... g-guess they do."
"Go now, Rainbow Dash. You have the power to end the bitterness that has plagued Equestria' for centuries. Anger that began in me, and was brought out in Twilight Sparkle... You have the means to undo it all."
"L-Luna, I—!"
Before Rainbow could get the chance, the rest of Luna's body erupted into orbs, and floated on past her.
Rainbow stood, stunned.
I-I... She bit her lip, gazing down solemnly at herself. I have the power to undo it all...
She sniffled, gazing back toward the sky with teary eyes and renewed confidence.
"I... I won't let you down!"
"Let who down, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow spun around in surprise and inadvertently startled her four other friends who each let out a gasp.
"What? What is it?"
"You... you have a horn," Rarity was the first to point out.
Rainbow snorted, smiling meekly.
"Yeah, I, uh... just got it actually." Rainbow blinked away the tears in her eyes. "Luna, she um... made me into an alicorn—"
"Oh my gosh, now two of my friends are alicorns! This means we get to have a second alicorn par—!"
Rainbow lifted a hoof, asking her to quiet down.
"Pinkie... Not now, okay?"
"Rainbow," Fluttershy spoke up hesitantly, as she looked around puzzled. "W-where... where is Luna? She reached out to us in our dreams, but..." Her ears flopped as she shrunk back nervously. "I don't see her anywhere."
Rainbow stared back at her for a moment, before biting her lip. "Luna's gone, Fluttershy," she confeesed.
"G-gone?" Fluttershy repeated, raising her brow. "Y-you mean...?"
Rainbow shied her gaze away in shame... replying with a solemn nod of her head.
Pinkie's mane slowly lost its poof, and each of their heads dipped in dismay, Applejack holding her hat over her chest in respect.
"So Ah see now that that's who you were talkin' to..." After another moment of silence, she asked, "Do... do you know who's responsible? Surely, you must have seen somepony—!"
"I-it was Nightmare Moon. She's..." Rainbow trailed off for a moment. "She's responsible."
"My word... That horrid fiend... I thought we had seen the last of her," remarked Rarity.
Rainbow shook her head.
"Luna gave herself over to her, during the attack on Canterlot," she explained. "It... it was her only hope of defeating Chrysalis. She had been overpowered and wasn't sure if Celestia could, or even would, help her."
"But, then..." Fluttershy started to ask, "how did Nightmare Moon..." She quickly averted her eyes, shrinking back behind her mane. "Y-you know."
"She overpowered, and stripped herself of Luna. The forced separation left her dying, and, in her last moments... passed her remaining magic onto me."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Now why in the hay would she go and do something like that? And for that matter... where is Twilight?"
At the sound of her name being mentioned, Rainbow grew quieter, averting her gaze from the group.
"Is there something you're not telling us, Dash?" Rarity pressed.
"Did Nightmare Moon kidnap her?" asked Applejack.
"Is she hurt?" Fluttershy added.
Girls...
Rainbow peered off guiltily, their surmounting questions almost becoming too much for her to bear.
"Nightmare Moon, she... brought out the darkness in Twilight's heart... but it overpowered her... a-and now it has complete control over her mind."
"Well why on earth would Nightmare Moon try and make Twilight her new host? Surely her magic isn't more powerful than Luna's was."
"No, but..." Rainbow let out a shaky breath. "Her dark magic was."
"Dark magic? Is that right..."
Applejack stared back at her in disappointment, which caused her own crestfallen gaze to further shy away ashamedly.
"Mind tellin' us what's really been going on?"
Rainbow's brow further creased as the guilt mounted. She sighed heavily before beginning to explain.
"Twilight's crystal armor... wasn't just some spell. It was a fail-safe... to piece her body back together after she... she replaced her horn with Sombra's."
"What?" her friends all nearly exclaimed at once.
"I-in order to take on Chrysalis!" Rainbow reiterated. "Little did she know though... that the horn was actually a crystal fragment... housing his consciousness. He poisoned her body and mind with dark magic, and used her to attack the princesses—u-until I stopped him that is."
"And you kept this from us?" Rarity was the first to say, after a silent pause.
"It wasn't the right time!" argued Rainbow. "Chrysalis's attack was on the horizon, and we needed everypony to think she was okay. To see her as a symbol of strength and fortitude, w-which you all did—and it motivated you all to rebuild!"
Her friends however, each bore looks of uncertainty.
Rainbow huffed, staring back at her group of friends... the longer she continued to do so, the more she felt her resolve start to weaken.
"Look," she relented with a sigh, "I... I don't have time to go over all the details... and I don't blame you guys if you don't trust me right now. I just know... that none of this is Twilight's fault. The changelings took so much away from her... causing her so much grief and anger... Grief and anger that Nightmare Moon prayed upon... but now it's growing out of control, and it's going after Celestia! So please!" She shut her eyes, lowering her head. "Don't do it for me, but for the ponies who brought us all—!"
"Well now... Ah must say that was a mighty powerful speech you just gave." Rainbow's head lifted, brow raised at the sight of Applejack standing before her, bearing a kind smile.
The farmpony rested a hoof on her shoulder, garnishing a look of understanding. "I think Ah speak for every one of us when I say of course we'll help ya."
Rainbow blinked, staring back at her dumbfounded. "You... y-you will? But earlier... I-I mean, I knew you'd turn around, I just—"
Applejack cracked a slight grin. "Aw shoot, Rainbow Dash. Did you really think I'd still be sore over you and Twilight? We're better friends than that."
"No, I..." Rainbow breathed out heavily. "I guess my emotions are just a bit... all over the place right about now..."
Applejack surprised her with a sudden nudge to her side. "I just wanted a bit more honesty from you an' Twi... and right now, you were plenty honest."
"It doesn't matter if you're our friends," added in Fluttershy. "If somepony's in danger, we're always willing to lend a hoof."
"Of course," Rarity chimed in, "it took Luna reaching out us for you to ask for our help. Still, you've been an absolute dear to Twilight, putting her first this whole time." She prodded, leaning in closer. "Do I sense something between you two?"
Rainbow immediately stiffened, staring back at her. "I-I..."
Applejack chuckled. "Rarity, you have no idea."
Rarity leaned her head back, turning to look at Applejack with piqued curiosity, and allowing Rainbow some room to breath.
Sighing out a breath of relief, she turned towards her only other friend that wasn't currently gathered around her.
"Pinkie?" she called out to the crestfallen pink mare, sitting silently alone with her mane drooping around her head, slightly obscuring her features. "What about you?"
Pinkie perked up at the sound of her friend's voice, but remained still, merely giving her shoulders a shrug.
"Nothing about any of this is fun..." she murmured, as the four of them walked back on over. "Me, you... Twilight... I just want us all to be able to laugh together again."
She jolted up suddenly at the feeling of Rainbow's hoof on her shoulder, and looked up at her friend, surprised.
"Me too, Pinkie... Me too..."
Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, bearing heartfelt looks, followed suit, gathering together into a group hug... and as all of her friends huddled together... Rainbow felt a sudden spark.
Is this... the feeling Twilight felt... that night? She smiled warmly, relishing in the sensation. The magic of friendship... Huh.
"Rainbow, dear..." Rainbow snapped back to reality at the sound of Rarity's startled voice. "You're positively glowing!"
All of her friends stepped back in astonishment, Rainbow herself lifting a hoof up against the moonlight.
"What... do you think it means?" Fluttershy was the first to ask, looking between the others.
"I think it's time for us to go," Rainbow decided, lowering her hoof back down. "Twilight's counting on us."
"But... how in the hay are we supposed to find her?"
"She'll be going after Celestia, Applejack."
"Nopony's seen her for days though—!"
"I-I have," Rainbow confessed. She bit her lip, ears flopping as she clutched her forearm with her other hoof. "Twilight sent me to search for her, after Canterlot..." She sighed, peering back up ashamedly. "I told you guys there was a lot I hadn't told you..."
"You're telling us now, dear..." replied Rarity with a look of understanding. "That's what really counts."
Rainbow looked back at her with a thankful smile.
"How are we supposed to go after her though?" Pinkie asked as she pointed out, "You and Fluttershy are the only ones with wings!"
Rainbow's smile fell, her lips slowly parting. "I... I hadn't really considered... Hold on," she said. "I'm gonna try something..."
Her horn fizzled to life, her aura glowing a light blue. Each of her friends stood with bated breath, when a round, cerulean platform rose up under their hooves, and rose them into the air slightly. The platforms each then expanded around them, forming a bubble-like shield.
Each of them looked around at themselves, and then at each other in utter astonishment.
"Rainbow Dash, why... you've done it."
Rainbow's ears stood tall, her face muscles relaxing, and eyes opening in stunned silence.
"Incredible... you're a natural! However did you manage?"
Rainbow blushed at Rarity's kind words, peering away with a soft smile. "I just... thought of you guys, a-and wanting to keep you guys safe is all..." She gave her shoulders an innocent shrug.
"Aw, Dashie..." Fluttershy chimed in. "Don't be bashful."
"Hooray for Rainbow Dash!" cheered Pinkie, leaping up as her mane sprung back to life. She looked back at the others, only to notice them deadpanning back at her. "What? How can I stay upset when there's so much positivity in the air? It's making my mane all frizzly."
Rainbow shook her head, stepping forward. "Don't get too excited, Pinkie," she remarked. "We're about to face the biggest fight of our lives..."
Pinkie froze mid-leap, staring back at her friend as her smile quickly fell. "Guess I was just... getting it out of my system." She let out a halfhearted laugh, sinking back to the bottom of her magical bubble.
Rainbow sighed, turning around to look back on ahead.
"For a brighter tomorrow..." she whispered softly to herself, unfurling her wings.
She lifted herself up off the ground, and lit up her horn, taking hold of the four bubbles in her kinetic grasp... then reared back before taking off at supersonic speeds.
The speed didn't rattle them. They simply watched in awe as time seemingly froze, the outside world blurring around them.
All the while Rainbow kept her gaze focused on what was in front of her.
"You're right, Rainbow Dash," a sudden memory surfaced, Celestia's voice playing out in her head. "Twilight is indeed gifted when it comes to keeping order. However, with the possibility of changelings, and Chrysalis herself showing up... I fear the sight of them may trigger the dark magic residing inside her mind to come forth. We do not need another threat on top of the one we already face."
"Well, you won't have to worry about that, 'cause I believe in Twilight!"
"If Twilight's other half begins to take over—"
"If that happens, I'll deal with it. Trust me... I'm not about to let Twilight lose what makes her sparkle."
With their exchange still lingering in the back of her mind, she pressed onwards, flying towards the burgeoning sunrise.