Being a pegasus with a love of risks, Rainbow Dash was intimately familiar with the sensation of being struck by lightning. She anticipated the surge of white-hot pain that would envelope her whole body and braced herself for it. Right before the lightning struck, a white glowing bubble sprang up around her and the others as Twilight shielded them with her magic. Despite this, she wasn't able to completely block Nightmare Moon's attack.
It wasn't the searing pain Rainbow had anticipated, but she still felt an intense zap and was flung against the wall, reeling at the sensation. She laid there, groaning for a moment before sitting up, “Ugh, I feel like I drank a keg of AJ’s not-for-foals apple cider.”
The joke, feeble as it was, caused everypony to sigh in relief. “You’re all right!” Twilight smiled, practically trembling.
“Heh, you know me.” Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane. “Just needed some more time to figure out how to make the best comeback ever.”
“I don’t think there’s enough time left in all of Equestria for that,” Applejack commented, “but we’re glad t’see yer in one piece.” She clapped her on the back, not noticing how Rainbow bit down on her lip trying not to show how tender she still was. Maybe it was because it was magic lightning instead of being the real deal, but she found the pain fading quickly as they helped her up.
“It is good to see you again, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity nodded to her, idly trying to spruce up Rainbow’s mane. “I for one certainly hope that you have a backup plan now that the Elements of Harmony are….” She fished for a proper description as she viewed the ruined remains. “…a bunch of dumb rocks.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes and snorted. “Forget the Elements.”
Everypony looked at her in askance. “Um, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight looked at her. “How are we supposed to stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”
Dash clenched her jaw. “I’ll tell you how! We’re going to do it ourselves!” She looked around at them. “We thought we could just get lucky and have some magic artifact take care of the problem for us. But that’s not how it worked out. And maybe it shouldn’t!”
She pointed angrily at Nightmare Moon. “She tried to tempt me with all my dreams like they were just something that could be given to you as a freebie. Celestia taught me that you have to work to get where you want to go.” Rainbow Dash looked at each of her friends in turn. “And you know what? We all worked to get where we are: right here, right now. So who needs a bunch of mystic doodads or whatever when we got us?
“Pinkie Pie she saved us all from the Swamp of Despair by being joyful and laughing and—well, being random. If she can make us smile when we were reliving our worst moments ever, then she can do anything!” Pinkie smiled and let out a small hop of joy.
“Rarity.” Dash turned around. “She surrounds herself with beautiful outfits and stuff, but didn’t hesitate to give away something priceless to her if it meant making things better for others.” Rarity smiled gratefully, touched by the compliment. “She took herself out of her comfort zone and into one of the nastiest places in all of Equestria! You’re telling me that isn’t amazing?”
“Applejack!” She looked to her next. “She might look and act like a simple old farmpony.” Dash couldn’t help but smirk a little at Applejack’s half-annoyed eye roll. “But she stood up and told the truth, knowing that it might mean giving up the life she loved. But more than that, she’s true to herself. When you’re that honest and have that strong a sense of justice, it makes others want to be as good and pure as her.” Applejack blushed slightly, tugging her hat down to hide her face.
But Rainbow wasn’t finished. “Fluttershy!” She eeped and looked surprised, even though she must’ve known it was coming. “Aside from being the nicest pony ever, she managed to make friends with the weirdest and creepiest of creatures. All that just by being herself and not like anypony else.” Fluttershy scuffed her hoof shyly. “Even though she was scared, she still came with us, knowing it’d be dangerous. When you’re kind and compassionate enough to make enemies into friends, nothing’s impossible!”
She turned around. “And then there’s Twilight. What can I say? Most awesome unicorn, ever!” Rainbow beamed, even as Twilight blushed and ducked her head. “She beat the most powerful unicorn in all of Canterlot and freed him from Nightmare Moon’s control. There are no words to describe the sheer amount of awesome she’s capable of. Even more impressive? She had to beat her own fears in order to do it.”
Rainbow circled around them. “When all this started I didn’t think you would be up to this … and I was wrong,” she admitted. “I asked if any of you had ever done the impossible. Well, if you hadn’t then, you sure have by now. You didn’t need some ancient artifact to do any of that, so why start now?”
“Let’s not forget about you, sugarcube.” Applejack nudged Rainbow. “Don’t sell yourself short … which isn’t something I ever thought I’d have to say to you,” she added wryly, to giggles from the others. “You blur the line between foolish and brave so much I’d forget they were two different words.” She slapped her on the withers. “You’ve stuck by us through thick and thin and there ain’t nothing that stopped you from getting to Ditzy and Shining and your other friends. Even though I could tell you were getting frustrated with us and maybe thought about going off on yer own, you didn't. You stayed with us all the way through. Shucks, I’d say you were the loyalest pony I ever met!”
“They’re right!” Pinkie flounced up and down.
Rarity nodded. “I agree darlings, who needs some tacky old bits of rock when we have the most fabulous and amazing ponies in all of Equestria, and the most fashionable as well?”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof in the air. “Well, mostly,” she amended. “You girls ready?”
“Yeah!” came the enthused reply.
“Then let’s go!”
Twilight’s shield came down and the six mares charged Nightmare Moon as one. Rainbow saw a look of bemusement, even boredom on her face. Rainbow Dash just brushed it off until she saw the Nightmare’s expression change. It looked as though she had just spotted something out of the corner of her eye … and whatever it was, it unnerved her. Rainbow couldn’t afford to look away for more than a brief heartbeat, but it seemed that Nightmare Moon’s gaze had fallen on the broken shards of the Elements.
But Rainbow didn’t have time to dwell on it. Her attention had to be on Nightmare Moon herself. If they didn’t do something fast, Nightmare Moon could take them all out quickly with her alicorn magic, which dwarfed that of even Twilight or Shining Armor.
Luckily, fast was what Rainbow Dash was all about. “Keep her distracted for a second!” Without waiting for a reply, she darted out of the nearest window and flew around the entire castle to build up speed. The castle and the surrounding forest became nothing more than a gray-green blur to her. She reentered through a different window and flew towards the Nightmare from behind. “Hey!” she shouted, drawing Nightmare Moon’s attention away from the others. She smirked as she saw Nightmare Moon’s eyes widen in shock right before her hoof collided with her horn.
Like Shining Armor had drilled into her: when fighting unicorns, go for the horn. She had half-hoped it would break off under the impact, but no such luck. But the pained bellow from the Nightmare showed it wasn’t a wasted effort. Rainbow saw the magical aura around the horn flicker and fade but not go completely out. “Guys, she’s weakened! We’re never gonna have a better chance!”
As if to challenge her assertion, Nightmare Moon snarled and discharged a burst of magic her way, forcing her to veer off in a wide arc. Even hobbled, she was still an alicorn: one of the two most powerful ponies Equestria ever known.
But not untouchable.
Nightmare Moon was so focused on Rainbow that she hadn’t even noticed Pinkie Pie pronking her way towards her. She hopped onto the alicorn’s back and poked the back of her neck to get her attention.
“Hiya!” Pinkie waved to the thousand year-old terror when she did turn her head. “Um, I’m supposed to say something really brave and heroic now, but all I can think of is … El Kabong!” With that, she pulled out a small guitar from her mane and brought it crashing down on Nightmare Moon’s head with an audible klong.
Her helmet protected her from the worst of the impact, but Rainbow could still hear it echoing even from her vantage point. Nightmare Moon snarled angrily and bucked, tossing Pinkie off. Before she could hit the ground, Rainbow had swooped in and caught on. “Easy Pinks, I got you!”
“You’ve got me?” Pinkie yelped as dark jets of Nightmare Moon’s magic whizzed past them. “Who’s got you?!”
“That’d be me!” Applejack shouted as she whistled and hollered, drawing Nightmare Moon’s attention onto her. “Hey now, y’all are messin’ with me now!” She turned and started bucking bits of rock and debris at Nightmare Moon, only for them to be caught in mid-air by magic and hurled back towards her. “Aw, nuts.” Applejack only narrowly managed to dive out of the way before her own projectiles slammed into the ground where she had just been standing.
Rarity spotted the trouble Applejack was in and rushed over to help. “Why don’t you try picking on a mare your own—your—oh forget it!” Her dramatic entrance ruined, she settled for using her magic to lift broken shards of stained glass high into the air while her horn began to shimmer. Beams of light refracted off the glass, right into Nightmare Moon’s eyes. She hissed and turned away, raising a wing to block the beams.
Twilight took advantage of her temporary blindness to strike Nightmare Moon with a stream of magical energy. Even Fluttershy contributed what she could, extending a leg to trip up the powerful alicorn. She stumbled, but didn’t fall.
Nightmare Moon, looking more angry than in pain, slammed her hoof down onto the floor. Cracks radiated out across the floor and Rainbow suddenly remembered that being an alicorn didn’t just mean Nightmare Moon was strong in magic: she was strong in the conventional sense too. As if to underscore that, she proceeded to rip out chunks of rock from the ground and hurled them with practiced ease.
The group scattered, trying to avoid being squashed. Pinkie Pie popped out from behind a too-small looking rock and pulled Fluttershy behind it, waiting out the barrage. Rainbow didn’t even have any time to ponder over that. She was too busy weaving through the raining debris and keeping an eye on her friends. Twilight was using her own magic like an umbrella to shield herself, Applejack and Rarity, but that left them exposed.
Nightmare Moon spotted the trio and simply mist-shifted over to them. That worried Rainbow, but it appeared as though the Nightmare couldn’t hit them while in that form. So in order to hurt them, Nightmare Moon had to reform her physical body. That gave them a chance, at least.
But an alicorn, even one with weakened magical abilities, was nothing to sneeze at. Nightmare Moon reconstituted herself and lashed out with magical lightning from her horn. Applejack bucked a head-sized bit of rock that intercepted it and was promptly reduced to dust. Better it than them at least, and it did give the three of them a chance to scatter.
Pinkie Pie continued to keep Fluttershy safe by—well, Rainbow wasn’t quite sure. Pinkie poked her head out from over one bit of debris, only to duck back down and reappear someplace else on the far side of the room. As for Applejack, Rainbow dove down and grabbed her, hauling her up and out of the way before another lightning blast would’ve struck her. “Gotcha!”
Applejack yelped and started swearing. “Dagnabbit Rainbow, give a pony a little warning before you go and pull a darn-fool stunt like—WHOA!” She reared back sharply, forcing Rainbow to pull up just before she flew into another bolt. She was so close she could feel the heat warm her feathers. Looking down, she spotted Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowing into a determined smile as she prepared to fire again. Rainbow Dash tried to maneuver, but she’d lost her momentum and was weighed down by Applejack.
Then Rarity, to Rainbow’s surprise, went out and bucked Nightmare Moon directly in the flank. Nightmare Moon barely registered the attack, but did move a fraction of an inch, causing her shot to go wide and miss them entirely. “Nice going!” Rainbow called out as she dropped Applejack down, the two going the separate ways. Nightmare Moon hesitated, torn between which target to go after. Rarity took the opportunity to make a less than lady-like exit.
With everypony scattered, Nightmare Moon had regained the initiative. She moved around the room in her mist form like a shark circling its prey. Rainbow Dash lost sight of her. On pure instinct, she suddenly ducked down and was rewarded by seeing a magical bolt shoot through the space her head had occupied a fraction of a second earlier. Realizing Nightmare Moon was right behind her, she dashed down to the ground, Nightmare Moon landing almost immediately afterwards.
“Everypony!” Rainbow called out. “We can’t let up on her! Switch it up and keep the pressure on!”
Pinkie Pie responded with an enthusiastic cry of “Spoooon!” and leapt onto Nightmare Moon’s back, pulling painfully at her mane. The Nightmare bucked her off, but Applejack’s timely intervention distracted her from trying to seek revenge on Pinkie. She bucked the Nightmare straight in the ribs. As soon as she swatted Applejack, she was assaulted on her other side by Rarity.
Hooves and wings and magic rained down upon the evil alicorn as she was knocked to and fro. She would no sooner turn from one attacker only to be beset by the rest—and in the thick of everything was Rainbow Dash. She would dart from one side to another, always offering an encouraging shout to one of her friends or a defiant cry against Nightmare Moon.
During the fight, her eyes locked with Nightmare Moon’s. She could briefly see her own reflection in them: an angry, determined pony who wasn’t about to stop. And she knew Nightmare Moon saw it too.
The longer the fight went on, the more closely the six cooperated and worked together, the more they began to shine. They weren't the only thing. The pieces of the Elements of Harmony also began to glow, drawing Rainbow’s attention away briefly.
Nightmare Moon noticed too. “No!” Her eyes widened. “No, no, no!” She swept her wings wide and caught Fluttershy in the chest. Fluttershy was knocked off her feet and sent careening into a wall, dazed by the impact.
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow rushed over to her, soon joined by the others. “Are you okay?” Fluttershy squeezed her eyes shut but nodded. “Great, okay, you rest up here while we—” It was only then she saw that everypony was gathered around them, giving Nightmare Moon time to marshal her strength. “Oh no…”
Nightmare Moon’s eyes shone solid white as she tossed her wings open wide, a shockwave of energy erupting from her that tossed her attackers back. There was a bright flash and everypony found themselves pressed against the wall. “Enough!” she panted, their efforts having clearly taken their toll on her. But it hadn’t been enough.
Black bands emerged from her horn and encircled the ponies. One wrapped itself around Fluttershy’s middle, pinning her wings. Two more attached themselves to Twilight and Rarity’s horns, blocking their magic, before circling down to tie their legs together. Two more hogtied Pinkie Pie and Applejack.
Only Rainbow Dash was left free, but she couldn’t understand why. She breathed heavily, glaring at her enemy. “Let them go!”
Nightmare Moon chuffed. “I warned you, Rainbow Dash. I said I would make you suffer as nopony ever has for defying me.”
“You know, when you said you were going to kill me, I didn’t imagine it’d be by old age.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Make your feeble jokes while you can.” The Nightmare tossed her head dismissively as her magic repaired the damage to her armor and appearance. “They will not avail you here.”
“That’s right, keep on talking me to death.” Dash looked around, trying to see if there was some way out of this that she had missed. Nothing seemed to leap out at her. “You’ve gone this long, why stop now?”
Nightmare Moon’s horn shimmered and the room reassembled itself. Part of the wall fell away, revealing the night sky and the great heights upon which the tower stood. Five long protrusions jutted out from the tower, each of her friends deposited upon one of them. Rainbow Dash jerked up at seeing them tied and bound precariously at the edge, a hair’s length away from falling off. She attempted to fly out and grab them only to find her tail tied and bound to the floor by magic.
“You forgot one of the very first things I told you, you silly little pony.” Nightmare Moon spun around. “I don’t want to do something so crass as kill you. I want to break you. As part of that, we’re going to play a little game … You fancy yourself one of the greatest fliers ever?”
Rainbow Dash extended her wings and arched them up in a threatening fashion. “You let me go and I’ll show you how fast I can knock your teeth out.”
Nightmare Moon bared her teeth. “Let’s put that to the test!” She levitated her friends off their precarious positions and held them out over the abyss. “How many of your friends do you think you’ll be able to save before they hit the ground? Two? Three? Maybe four if you’re extraordinarily lucky? But not all of them.” Her tone was smug. “Your friends called you the loyalest of all. Let’s see what they think now. So who will you choose to save? Who will you choose to sacrifice?”
She laughed and released her hold on Rainbow Dash’s tail just as she let the others drop off the edge. Rainbow let out an anguished cry as they screamed, causing Nightmare Moon to laugh. Even as she flew down after them, Rainbow knew that Nightmare Moon was right: she wasn’t fast enough.