//------------------------------// // Part 4 // Story: The Nightmare Festival // by Omegafr //------------------------------// "PRINCESS CELESTIA, PRINCESS LUNA!" Said the mares aloud. "We've found you at last!" She anwser, happy to see them safe and sound. "Are you hurt?" Asked after princess Luna, worried, noticing a few scratches on their coat. "Don't worry, it's nothing!" Twilight rassured them. "It's partly our fault!" confessed Drew as she bowed to the princess with the other stallions. "WE'RE SO SORRY!!" "It's not your fault, and I'm glad you're back in control." "More than just taking care of your friend, what's his name?" "Light! The spirit is haunting him and has made him his physical body." he warns by tightening his hooves a little more. "Have you met him?" Twilight asked worriedly. "He's the one who came to see us, and he's doing some damage." the princess said sadly. Celestia showed the ponies the current state of their castle, which had been completely destroyed by the explosion. The result frightened our friends and the stallions who trembled at the sight of the power of their enemy. "By the way." Says Luna. "It makes you talk about it. It's partly her fault if I had fallen so much by becoming the Selenian mare." she admits, bringing even more shocked looks and heads, both from our friends and the guards accompanying them. "So... it wasn't exactly a trial run!" Make the stallion. "Yes, and since you're the one who beat him, he's got a good reason to be angry with you..." Say Luna turning by the Mane 6. "Stupid! I'm going to kick his ass, make him mad and kick him with a couple of kicks in the air." Rainbow Dash explained. "Unfortunately physical blows don't do anything to him, even with a body envelope, the attacks go right through him." "WHAT???? How are we supposed to beat him now?" "Like the Selenian mare, with the power of friendship!" Does she sister. "But he got all our powers back with this machine." Applejack says, pointing to the device above the cage. "The power of friendship is in all of us, Applejack, here." she began by putting her hoof on her heart. "And a machine won't take it away from you!" she said, bringing trust to all. "You think that?" A voice... it came from above the group, all out of the castle. Despite the huge trees, our friends could see the sky darkening as Celestia had been supposed to rise for some time. And the cause of all these words was at the top of this castle, sitting on the front wall, above the big central gate. "Then show me!" There he was, Light, or rather only his body, since clearly the real stallion had to be much more charming than the character of this thing. At his sight, all tensed up, ready to fight, the guard and the stallions raising their weapons in front of him. "Didn't you understand that it wasn't working? Surely ponies are a very rudimentary people." "Don't mock my people like that!" warns the princess, ready to use her powers against him. "What? Just the fact that you walk on four proof show that you are not dominant." "Shut up!" warns immediately the princess Luna. "Don't you talk to me like that, you've abandoned me enough already." he said as he now had his eyes fixed on the fierce cyan pegasus. "What is it? You want a fight?" She asks. "Not really, I just want to make sure I did the right thing choosing you as the future queen of this land!" He said as he fell to the ground slowly, floating in the air. "Wha..." she almost seemed to choke on the statement. "I'd rather marry Fluttershy's brother." she said, upsetting the yellow mare, but she didn't make it obvious. "LIGHT! IT'S US, REMEMBER YOU'RE FRIENDS! I'm worried that you might hear us!" Intervened Drew, coming up to him, his other friends having the courage to follow him. "Oh yes, he remembers you, I have access to all these memories!" he announced without feeling any happiness. "It's... charming." "Shut up, I'm not talking to you!" Say the black stallion. The noise level had become a little too loud for him, as he chose to send a dark ray of light at Drew, who took it head-on and crashed into a tree. The attack was so fast that no one could follow it with their eyes. The impact was such that the tree soon collapsed under the shock, fortunately my guard had acted quickly enough to rescue the stallion. The rest of the stallion group retreated following this attack, none of them were warriors, except Drew who had just suffered the consequences. "So I said, Dashie and I are going to run a little errand and I'll decide whether I'm happy with your performance or not!" He announced with a sly smile. "More like di..." She was interrupted by Twilight, whispering something in his ear. She must have had a plan, and Rainbow seemed hesitant, but realized they had no choice. "Well... I never turn down a race! But don't expect to catch me!" She warns her by nonchalantly pointing at her with his hoof. "All right, you can go, I'll give you, like, a ten-second head start." "You're gonna bite your hoof for that!" she said as she flew off through the dark woods so early. Her speed was impressive, except for her opponent who was quietly waiting for her count to end. "Otherwise, are you all right?" All the ponies gave her a black stare, even Drew, who had already recovered from the shock and was bleeding in the face. "Oh, I'm fine, I'm just asking," he said, still smiling. "Well, I'm going to go, stay here quietly, you have nowhere else to go anyway." And he disappeared in search of the cyan mare, his friends were hoping she could hold him off long enough. Twilight wasted no time and announced his plan. "Well, we don't have much time to do it, but he's making us use the powers of friendship, even though we don't feel it anymore - he's still here." "You're on Twilight? I'm afraid that's not good enough." Says Rarity fearfully. "We don't have a choice, we have to try." "I'll give you my strength to succeed!" Says Celestia before using her magic, enveloping the five mares. "But what about Rainbow Dash? Can we do it without her?" "As long as she hasn't come back, we'll do without her." Twilight said, the uncertainty being clearly heard in her voice. "It's in all of us, isn't it?" Before starting, the dark blue stallion approached the elements of harmony, feeling useless and wanting to help. "If that's the case, me and my friends wanted to help too, in any way they could!" He said with conviction. "Lance..." said the black stallion, struggling to speak properly. "If your friendship is as strong as you say it is, your help will be welcome." the princess pleaded, smiling at the stallion. "What should we do ?" ask the stallion who was standing next to his friend, looking at the Princess and breathing hard. "We think of all the times we've spent together with our hooves joined together, try it too." Twilight said, taking courage. If it would be enough to do that to be a national hero in addition to helping the princesses and the elements of harmony, then it will be done. "Guys, you heard it, LET'S GO!" Drew shouts as he turns to his friends, all answering the call. So two circles were created, on one side the mares backed by Princess Celestia, and on the other the stallions who were receiving the magic of Luna. The guard thus surrounded everyone, protecting them in case of any apparent threat, leaving them to concentrate on their task. And it was during this time that in the woods, Rainbow Dash and her enemy, in the body of Light, were hunting each other, the prey against the predator. Rainbow Dash was flying loose, but zigzagging through the thick trees of the forest was wearing her down more and more, especially since she wasn't getting within a meter of her opponent. Soon he was going to catch up with her, and there was only one way left to outrun him. She flew higher in the sky, and the incredible straight line that was taking shape inside her was what she was looking for. She flapped her wings faster than she could have believed, despite her strength that had left her since the beginning of this misadventure. "You've entertained me well, but that's not enough!" Warned a voice that could only be Light. The stallion's body surfaced at his side, following him effortlessly, smiling as intensely as ever. He went to put his hoof on her to stop her, before she was replaced by a sparkling rainbow out of sight. He seemed surprised by this, but his smile only grew, letting his teeth appear in the open air. He was no happier than he was at that moment. "It's okay, you convinced me, I'll take you, come back now!" He said without being heard by the pegasus that was still in his field of vision. He realized he would have to pick up the pace for such a talented mare, and he did. His acceleration was as crazy as his opponent's Sonic Rainbow, except that instead of a rainbow trail, tornadoes swept across the path, warning the world of his passing. Rainbow Dash had since turned around and was beginning to find the castle, the one she had flown past. As she passed by, she saw her friends and the previously corrupt stallions, their hooves bound, in full effort to bring back the power of friendship. She had to land to get there, but he wouldn't let her. That's when she noticed the largely Pegasus guard rising to her level. "We'll hold him back, go back with your friends, they need you." one of the guards asked her. She wasted no time in stopping his flight and landing with her friends. She quickly entered the circle and began to concentrate as well. "We won't let you!" Said a guard in front of the entity that had stopped in front of them. He couldn't help it, he laughed his head off at the threat. The guards weren't proud, but they knew what he was capable of and stood still before him. "You henchmen, whether in your camp or in the mine..." he said, proudly scanning the stallions on the ground. "...you're really only serving.... NOTHING!!!" he cried. His voice was so strident that the pegasuses were paralyzed, unable to stay in the air, inevitably falling like stones. He was pleased with the result, even though he had originally intended to annihilate them with a dark ray, the result was just as satisfying. The princesses downstairs were exhausted from all the magic they had used in such a short time. "We're exhausted Twilight." she warned her. "It's up to you now!" said Luna, slowly catching her breath. "All right, ready boys?" she asked as she turned to them. "There are only five of us, but we're ready." Drew replied impatient. Within a second, the two circles felt all the power each had stored up, with the help of the princesses. Before warning their opponent, who was already ready anyway, two rays of rainbow light appeared and were thrown by Twilight and Lance. "Let's see what "heart magic" is worth against a real source of power!" He threw a rainbow ray to face both at the same time from his left hoof, being the power he had stolen from the elements of harmony. The two energies coming from the mares played equally, which surprised him. "It looks like you're tougher than I thought." he said without taking away his smile and confidence. The stallion beam then went to him, but he stopped it with his own all-black beam, which was his basic power, far greater than the strength of the friendship of these five stallions. "IT'S FINISHED, I DID NOT WANT TO COME THERE, BUT I WILL HAVE TO SHAVE ALL THIS FOREST, AND PROBABLY ELIMINATE YOU IN THE PASSENGER." he shouted happier than he had ever been, laughing loudly at his triumph. "I'm at the top of my game, what can we do?" Asked the pegasus with her eyes closed. "Shut up and focus!" Asked the farm girl, out of ideas. Is this really how it's going to end? Are we all going to die at these hands? We have defeated so many opponents, why should it be any different for him, we are all fighting together. Whether the mares or stallions, all felt their strength leaving them, some even had trouble standing at this pace. "GUYS... I WAS..." tried to say John, shedding a tear of pain, but also of sorrow. "NO!" A shrill voice was heard through the clash of rays of energy between them. Everyone was asking who had spoken, but the stallion recognized the voice. "It's you!" Drew shouting loud enough to be heard? "LIGHT!!!" "WHAT??? NO WAY!!!!" Began shouting their enemy from the sky. "FOLKS, IT'S ME!!! I'M FIGHTING HIM FROM THE INSIDE, I WON'T LET HIM... DO!" "What? Light gets to fight him when he's corrupting him from the inside?" the princess Celestia exclaimed. "I couldn't do it myself!" Said the Princess of the Night confused. In his position, he couldn't help his friends increase their power... but he could reduce the power of their opponent. "I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS LIGHT, BUT BY CELESTIA CONTINUES!!!" Rainbow cried out. "WHAT? NO, HOW CAN YOU EVEN INFLUENCE MY POWERS?" "YOU'RE IN MY BODY, AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN CONTROL IT IS ME!" He continued to struggle. The power of these rays of energy diminished drastically, as the two rays of friendship from our friends soon reached him. "Foolish bandit, THE WORLD SHORT TO LOSS IF YOU STOP ME." he said, feeling his defeat near at hand because of the one who controlled his body in spite of everything. "YOU HAVE TO LET ME DO THIS!!!!" He tried to defend himself. "I'd rather die having lived my best life without regrets... THAN LIVE UNHAPPILY IN A WORLD WHERE THE SUN WON'T RISE ANYMORE !!!" Does he scream when he manages to stop his hoof attacks entirely. The antagonist didn't even have time to shout his last line that the light flooded him through two similar rainbow rays. He was literally swallowed up by the friendship of two groups of pure-hearted ponies. The rays created a shock similar to the Sonic Rainbow, blotting out all the darkness of the sky and bringing the sun's brightness back to Equestria. It was without transition that Light's body crashed to the ground, closing his eyes, being the only part of his body he could control. It didn't matter if he didn't survive, the mere fact that he was able to fight such a powerful spirit and bring it down was enough for him. He was able to smile tenderly one last time as he watched his friends try to catch him in his fall. But death did not await him at the turn, to his great surprise, as he woke up with a start in a room that was indiscriminately a hospital ward. "HE'S AWAKE!" Shouted a voice he recognized as Drew's. His friends took him in a welcome hug that he gladly returned. But he felt a few more hooves added to the already huge load above him. He opened his eyes and discovered the true elements of harmony joined in the embrace. "Girls, hello." he says as everyone stepped aside. "Hello handsome guy." said the cyan pegasus, looking him straight in the eyes and smiling. Then Princesses Celestia and Luna entered the room. "You're up at last, we thought it would be fatal." she confesses. "Oh don't worry, I'm tougher than that." he said, proudly bringing his hoof to his chest. "I'm really sorry about what happened to you." said Celestia, addressing the stallions. "But thanks to you, Equestria is once again saved, you have our full gratitude." she said. "It's rather up to us to thank you for saving us, we couldn't have done anything with six of you and possessed as we were." explained Drew. "So, T is defeated, all right?" says Light after that. "T?" asked Twilight. "That was his name, or at least that's what he told me when he took over my body." "It's impossible to capture an entity like him, but we've weakened him so much that he won't try anything for a few millennians this time." "Ah... good." Light says with a nervous laugh. "I see, by any chance, did you have access to his memories as he had access to yours?" she wondered. "I'm sorry, but that was only possible in his sense!" he replied. "Anyway, I was surprised that your bonds are as strong as the elements of harmony." she exclaimed. "It's as if there are twice the elements of harmony, IT'S TOO GOOD!" Said the pinkie mare, hopping around the room. The ponies laughed at this statement. "In that case, you know who to call if you have any more problems." Light says without adding any more. "In any case, you will be known all over Equestria for that." "I was going to become popular by becoming a great athlete, but I guess being known as a national hero isn't so bad either." Light explained, touching his chin. "How does it feel, girls?" "We're getting used to it." Rainbow replied, moving her hoof dismissively. The ponies laughed again after Rainbow Dash's response implying that it was totally normal for her. And that was the end of this painful but most of all repairing misadventure, especially for our six stallions.