Woo, sorry this one took so long, other obligations you must understand.
In any case, things will be coming to a close soon for the Nightmare moon arc, so let's see how Rincewind balls this up, shall we?
Chapter 4: The Light Friend-tastic.
Rincewind shivered at the feeling someone watching him(1) and hurried back into the Library, busying himself with sorting out the clearly distressed books, whispering to them quietly as he recalled the Librarian at Unseen University doing, though he couldn’t quite manage the soothing tone the old man had managed to put into it, it just wasn’t in him to be entirely calm(2).
‘Doesn’t help that I’m essentially stuck looking after a walking Klatchian Fire Engine during an apocalypse…’ he muttered, glancing warily at the slumbering form of Spike, who simply turned over in his sleep, his cuteness wasted on the cynical Wizard, who kept one eye on the slumbering dragon even as he went about his task, trying not to think about the dangers that the six mares were getting themselves into. ‘I mean really, it’s not as if there’s any actual backing behind the threat…’ he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief ‘I mean, so she’s supposed to be this all powerful winged unicorn, so what? That doesn’t mean she can stop the bloody SUN from rising.’
Rincewind had never really put much truck by the Summer Sun Celebration or Winter Moon Masquerade, preferring the calm and quiet of the Library to watching the Sun and Moon rise, as they always did, under the supposed control of Princess Celestia(3).
‘Just you wait…’ he murmured, putting the books away with a determined expression on his face ‘Any moment now the sun’s going to come up, and those six will trot right back here looking proper sheepish…’
Spike snorted and rolled over in his sleep, only to sit up with a jolt as the book Rincewind had been holding dropped to the floor, the little Dragon blinking up in surprise as the Wizard swore violently “Huh? Where am I? Where’s Twilight?”
“Oh, finally awake are you?” Rincewind muttered sourly, Spike looking up to see him hanging from the chandelier like a monkey(4) “Did you have a nice nap while the world was ending?”
“World ending?” Spike murmured, blinking up at the Wizzzard in confusion, only to blink as his memory from the boutique returned “Nightmare Moon! She’s real! We gotta do something!”
“Your master and the others already left to do something about it.” Rincewind muttered, hesitantly trying to lower himself to the ground without breaking anything(5)“Left for some place called Everfree while you were roasting sheep.”
“Did you say Everfree Forest?” Spike repeated, his back stiffening in alarm “As in, the most dangerous forest in all of Equestria? The Forest where Manticores and Dire Wolves and all sorts of monsters call home?”
“I suppose so, yes.” Rincewind murmured, mentally moving the name ‘Everfree’ from the ‘steer clear of’ file to the more prominent ‘avoid at all costs’ section of his mind.
“And you let her go in there ALONE?” Spike demanded, only to wince as Rincewind, startled by the noise, lost his grip and fell to the ground with a yelp.
“BUGGER!” the Wizard swore, rubbing his rump with one hoof “I never said she went there alone,” he countered, earning a sigh of relief from the dragon “Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy went too.”
“YOU SENT RARITY INTO EVERFREE FOREST?” Spike yelled, flames actually leaping from his nostrils in his ire, the little Dragon grabbing the terrified Wizard by his robe and dragging him towards the door “C’mon, we gotta help them!”
“Who’s going to help US?” Rincewind demanded fearfully, only to wisely shut his trap at the look Spike sent his way, wordlessly allowing the dragon to drag him out into the night.
*
“Y’see?” Rainbow Dash bragged, the blue Pegasus hovering next to Twilight Sparkle as they made their way across the old rope bridge that led to the former castle of the two Princesses, the last known location of the elements of harmony “I'd never leave my friends hanging!”
“Yeah…” Twilight marvelled, smiling at the five ponies that had accompanied her into the Everfree forest, unable to believe what they’d gone through together just to make it this far.
It had been one supposedly random encounter after another, though with the Everfree Forest, the only forest in Equestria NOT under Pony control in any shape or form, it was hard to tell. Still, Twilight was reasonably certain that earthquakes capable of causing ledges to collapse were a rare occurrence. Fortunately Applejack had been there to keep her calm and reassure her, otherwise it was highly likely she’d have fallen to her death.
‘And if that hadn’t done it, then that injured Manticore would’ve had us for lunch…’ she shivered, sending an appreciating smile towards Fluttershy, who’d tamed the savage beast and gotten it to leave quietly with only a few gentle words and a kind hoof, whereas all the others had done was make the poor creature angrier ‘Then again, living in a place like this would probably get on anypony's nerves…’ she murmured, chuckling as she recalled the song Pinkie Pie had conjured up to help them get over their fear of the woods.
Things had gone smoothly after that, up until they came across a distressed sea serpent, who, due to the inexplicable destruction of its admittedly impressive moustache, had caused the Everfree river to swell and rage like a flash flood, making it impossible to cross until Rarity, in a show of generosity that was humbling even now, lopper off her own tail and used it to replace the missing whiskers, the grateful serpent ferrying them across the once again calm river himself.
‘Heck, even Rainbow Dash came through…’ she murmured, recalling her momentary fear when the ‘Shadowbolts’, self-proclaimed best fliers in Everfree Forest(6), offered to make the headstrong filly their captain provided she abandon the rest of the group, stoking her ego in the process. Twilight was ashamed to admit that, for a moment, she thought they’d won, only for Rainbow to surprise them all with her loyalty by not only turning them down, but fixing the bridge they needed to cross the chasm separating the ruins from the rest of Everfree.
‘I have to admit, I couldn’t have made it here on my own if I tried…’ she marvelled, smiling at the back of her companions, her FRIENDS, as they went ahead of her into the ruins ‘I guess this is what Princess Celestia meant that I should make more friends…’
“Come on, Twilight!” Applejack called out, the Earth Pony’s friendly voice snapping the Unicorn out of her thoughts to see the group looking back at her expectantly “Isn't this what you've been waitin' for?”
“Coming!” Twilight called out, picking up the pace, the six ponies entering the once glorious castle of the Sun and Moon, now little more than an abandoned Ruin, the once pristine walls crumbled and covered with creepers, the arching windows now bare of the stained glass murals they once contained, as Celestia had been unable to bring herself to care for the place that reminded her so painfully of her fallen sister.
But the architectural decline of the structure wasn’t what interested Twilight, though she made a note to have the head of the Historical Society in Canterlot send a team out here to see what they could preserve, as this was part of their cultural heritage. No, what held her attention was the statue that greeted them as they entered the ruin, a tall pedestal upon which rested five pony-sized stone spheres, each set with carving of a gem. “The Elements of Harmony…” she breathed, a smile of relieved triumph forming on her face as she gazed up at their prize “We've found them!”
Their target confirmed, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash began the careful task of lifting the heavy stone orbs off their respective pedestals and setting them down before Twilight, a task more difficult than it looked, considering they lacked the limps to properly grip such awkward shapes.
“One, two, three, four...” Pinkie counted, only to blink, looking to Twilight in confusion as Fluttershy set down the last of the Elements “There's only five!”
“She’s got a point, where’s the sixth?” Rainbow dash wondered with a frown “You don’t think Rincewind screwed up again and gave us the wrong book?”
“No, it was the right book, I remember seeing a copy of it in the Canterlot Library.” Twilight assured the blue Pegasus “As for the sixth, according to the book, when the other five Elements are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.”
“And just what the hay is that supposed to mean?” Applejack demanded, quirking a brow at the purple Unicorn, who knelt down before the Elements with a frown.
“I'm not sure," she admitted, a determined expression forming in her eyes as she glanced at the Elements “But I have an idea. Stand back.” She warned, closing her eyes as magic gathered around her horn “I don't know what will happen.”
She was dimly aware of Applejack leading the others away, giving her the space she needed to concentrate, as well as to better heed her warning, as there was no telling what would happen when the long dormant elements reactivated.
‘That is if I can even GET them to activate…’ she murmured, grimacing as she pumped more and more magic into her horn, the strain causing beads of sweat to slide down her brow ‘According to Legend, the two Sisters split the elements evenly between them, the only reason Celestia was able to use them was because Nightmare Moon’s magic rejected them…’
It went without saying that Twilight didn’t consider herself in the same league as her master or Nightmare Moon. The two princesses had been responsible for all life in Equestria, and could move the very sun and moon at their whim. Twilight Sparkle was many things, talented and inquisitive being two of her foremost traits, but she highly doubted she would ever be able to muster the same level of power her Master could on her worst day.
‘But I have to try…’ she muttered, grimacing as she focussed more and more magic into her horn, trying to summon up the spark needed to ignite the Elements ‘Princess Celestia’s counting on me! I won’t let her down!’
A breeze picked up, Twilight blinking as her concentration was broken, crying out in surprise as a tornado of darkness formed between her and the elements, the stone spheres lifting off the ground to dance in its clutches.
“The Elements!” she exclaimed, leaping forwards without a moment’s hesitation, a sudden feeling of vertigo washing over her as she breached the funnel of dark magic, only to drop to the ground, coughing to clear her throat and lungs of the dark mist, a look of dismay forming on her face as she took in her surroundings.
She was kneeling in what appeared to be the ruins of a throne room, no doubt in the main part of the castle ruins, a fact made all the more evident by the regal, menacing form of Nightmare Moon, standing atop a raise platform where, at one point, two thrones had surely sat, the Mare in the Moon’s mane of dark mist spread out behind her, lighting crashing from it like storm clouds, illuminating the hovering elements of harmony.
*
“You did well to make it this far, my little pony…” the fallen Alicorn applauded, her tone laced with mocking laughter as she spread her gazed down at her sister’s student “But did you REALLY think I’d forget about the Elements? Did you honestly believe I’d leave the keys to my defeat just lying around where anypony could get their hooves on them?”
She chuckled darkly, watching the despair form in the little Unicorn’s eyes. She had to admit, the little thing had impressed her, she and her merry band of misfits having overcome every obstacle she’d placed before them. It almost reminded her of the time she and her own sister had set out to find the Elements along with…
‘Stop that…’ she muttered, her cat-like eyes narrowing as she chided herself for even recalling such a thing ‘Celestia is GONE, and HE is better left forgotten.’
The sound of a hoof on ancient stone drew her attention back to the small form of Twilight Sparkle, the little Unicorn glaring up at her defiantly, dragging her hoof like a bull preparing to charge. “You're kidding…” she muttered, quirking a brow at the audacity of the little Unicorn, though internally, she had to admit she was impressed, the little filly had spunk “You're kidding, right?”
Apparently the little foal wasn’t, for with a snort she charged, head lowered like one of the jousting Ponies from back in the old days, Nightmare deciding to humour the little filly’s challenge, it wasn’t as if her dinky little horn could do much damage, leaving the elements on their pedestal as she charged the unicorn head on, only to blink as she vanished in a burst of light.
‘Teleport spell…clever…’ she mused, impressed despite herself even as she reverted to mist form and raced back to the pedestal. It seemed that Celestia had found herself a bright little spark to tutor in the ways of magic, it was almost a shame she’d have to nip that potential in the bud.
She landed on the pedestal just as a spark of raw magic hurled the little pony backwards, a confident smirk on her face, the Mare in the Moon’s eyes widening as she saw the elements begin to glow around her, realising what the filly had been up to.
‘Little foal…’ she chuckled, rearing back on her hind legs as the elements fizzled out, stamping the ground hard chattering the magical relics with a surge of her own dark magic. “You little foal!” she laughed, her eyes narrowed in dark amusement as she glared down at the little unicorn, who was gaping at her in betrayal, unable to accept that the elements she had sought could be destroyed so easily “Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!”
She threw her head back and laughed, taking great pleasure in the filly’s look of helpless defeat, so caught up in her revelry she failed to see it shift into a look of surprise, though she DID notice when something heavy smacked her upside the head, her vision exploding with stars(7) as she toppled off the dais.
*
“W-wha-?” Twilight stammered as Nightmare Moon toppled off the dais in a daze, the purple unicorn unable to believe what she’d just seen, gaping at the figure behind the Mare in the Moon in shock.
“Bugger!” Rincewind muttered, the Wizard looking haggard, his already tattered robe and hat sodden, marked with fresh tears and leaves, spitting out the manky looking old sock he’d used to apparently club Nightmare Moon over the head “You have no idea how foul that tasted.”
“Ah suck it up ya big baby…” Spike chided, the little dragon riding on the unicorn’s back, decked out in what could only loosely be called armor (8) “Twilight! You’re okay!”
“S-Spike? Rincewind?” Twilight stammered, gaping at the pair in disbelief, as if trying to ascertain whether they were really there or if she was seeing things due to her shock “What are you doing here?”
“Believe me, I’m wondering that myself…” Rincewind muttered bitterly, the Wizard glaring at Spike over his shoulder “You can thank your little pet here; the moment he woke up he threatened to burn my head off if I didn’t bring him out here...”
“I’m not a pet!” Spike countered with a frown “And YOU’RE the one who woke me up with all his pacing and muttering about how they were going to get themselves killed…” he shook his head at Twilight “I swear Twilight, he’s even worse than YOU.”
“And I was RIGHT, wasn’t I?” Rincewind snapped back, glaring at the dragon “What pony in their right mind would come to such a dangerous place? If it weren’t for that snake with the moustache we’d have been Manticore chow, and even THEN the damned fool nearly got us drowned!”
“So…you came to help us?” Twilight reiterated, blinking at the pair, as if mulling this fact over, before glancing down at their weapon of choice “With a sock?”
“Well, there’s half a brick in here too…” Rincewind admitted, looking a little sheepish even as he said it in the face of Twilight’s disbelieving stare “You’d be very surprised how effective a good half-brick can be in stopping people.”
“Tell me about it…” Spike muttered, glaring at the Wizard as he rubbed the back of his head “I swear Twilight, this guy’s a menace with a half-brick, I think he might’ve cracked my head open if it weren’t for this.”
“You try swinging a sock full of half brick around with your teeth and see how well you do.” Rincewind muttered, only to blink as he noticed Twilight, who’d been gaping at them in a kind of wonderment, backing away from them in fear, the Wizard’s danger senses(9) flaring too late as a cloud of darkness grabbed him by the throat and hoisted him off his feet, his eyes widening as they found themselves gazing into the Cat-like ones of an irate looking Nightmare Moon.
“You DARE?” the Mare in the moon hissed, baring her teeth in anger as she glared at the Wizzzard, her ethereal mane holding the struggling Wizard up to her face even as she used her tail to fling Spike, who’d made to pick up the discarded sock, into Twilight, the two going down in a tangle of limbs “You DARE to attack ME from behind?”
Rincewind tried to stammer a response, but the sheer strength in the deceptively ethereal mane was proving quite effective in cutting off his higher brain functions(10), the Wizard’s mind operating at the speed of continental drift due to lack of oxygen, a second for him, not even bothering to pay attention to his life as it flashed before his eyes, so familiar with it he could recite the main highlights word-for-word.
Just as the imagery caught up with that time he and Twoflower had fallen from the sky due to the latter’s dragon, Ninereeds, disappearing in mid-flight, he felt The Spell stir from its lair at the back of his brain to the forefront and brace itself. A cold tingle coursed down his spine like ice water, filling every fibre of his being with a white hot surge that threatened to make him pass out before he ran out of air. He felt his mouth open of its own volition, a breath of Octarine light emerging from within as his tongue and throat began to work, a voice that wasn’t his, a voice that sounded old and dry, belting out syllables that made the air twist around him and the startled Nightmare Moon, who actually backed away from him, stunned by this latest development.Octarine fire flashed into existence around the Mare in the Moon, the fallen Alicorn rearing back in alarm, her mane losing its grip on Rincewind’s throat, the Wizard hovering in place, Octarine light shining from every orifice as the voice that wasn’t his continued to chant, the Alicorn crying out in alarm as she disappeared within a cold, spitting cloud of Octarine that rose steadily into the air, hanging over the stunned onlookers for one tense moment, before exploding with a crack of Octarine Thunder that shook the entire castle.
*
“HOLY-!” Rainbow Dash cried out, the other five members of the Mane Six crying out in alarm as the walls of the castle shook around them “What in Hay was THAT?”
“I don’t rightly know…” Applejack muttered, the Stetson sporting Pony rising warily to her feet along with the others “But I know where it came from! C’mon y’all!”
They resumed their race up the stairs, sidestepping around bits of fallen architecture and glass, finally bursting into the throne room, only to gape in shock at the sight before them.
On the floor near the dais lay Twilight Sparkle and her baby Dragon, Spike, who was wearing a bucket on his head like a helmet, with a grating board for chest armour. Lying flat on his back on the Dais was Rincewind, the Wizard looking mildly singed, his scraggly beard sticking out due to static charge. Behind him, the entire back of the room had been destroyed, literally vaporized, allowing the moon to shine down on them unimpeded.
“My goodness…” Rarity murmured, the marshmallow coloured unicorn trotting up to Twilight warily, eyeing the damaged throne room in case it came down on them “Twilight! Are you alright darling?”
“I…I’m fine…” Twilight assured the white unicorn, shaking her head to clear it of the temporary deafness caused by the explosion “Never mind me! Where are Spike and Rincewind?”
“They’re alright…” Rainbow Dash called out, Pegasus Pony hovering over the unconscious Wizard while Fluttershy tended to Spike “But what the heck are they doing here anyway?”
“We came to help Twilight…” Spike murmured, rubbing his head tenderly while a concerned Fluttershy hovered over him in concern “Didn’t go quite the way we planned it though…”
“It was still awfully brave of you to do so, darling.” Rarity assured the little Dragon, causing him to devolve into a pile of mush as she glanced around the ruined chamber “Still…where’s Nightmare Moon?”
“She’s…Gone.” Twilight stammered, as if unable to believe it herself “I don’t know what happened, one minute she was choking Rincewind with her mane, then his eyes began to glow and he began speaking in this weird voice and then there was this flash of light and-!”
“Whoa-whoa whoa-!” Rainbow Dash stammered, blinking at Twilight in shock as she gestured for a time-out “Hold on a sec! Are you saying RINCEWIND made that explosion a few seconds ago?”
“Certainly looked like it…” Twilight admitted, the unicorn glancing towards the downed Wizard, who was being tended to by Applejack “He just started chanting in this weird voice and the next thing I knew Nightmare Moon Exploded…”
“EXPLODED?” Rainbow baulked, a sentiment shared by the rest of the ponies, poor Fluttershy actually passing out with a small sheepish bleat “You’re kidding right? There’s no way Rincewind can know a spell like that! He can’t even SPELL period!”
“Actually, Rainbow, he DID say he only knew ONE spell.” Rarity corrected, looking just as shaken as the others, though she managed it well “It would seem he had a good reason for not using it when you goaded him earlier.”
“Y-yeah…” Rainbow stammered, eyeing the recumbent Wizzzard warily for a sec before turning back to twilight “So…that’s it right? Day’s saved, we can all go home?”
“Not quite…” a dark voice countered, the gathered ponies looking up only to cry out in alarm as a wave of dark magic washed over them, looking up in horror to see none other than Nightmare Moon, the fallen Alicorn looking decidedly worse for wear, her fur singed and smoking, her armour dented and her wings bedraggled, though the look of fury in her eyes was as strong as ever “None of you will be leaving her ALIVE!”
“Oh for crying out loud!” Rainbow groaned, the Pegasus grimacing as she picked herself off the ground along with the rest of her friends “What’s it take to keep her down!”
“More than you’ve got, My little Pony…” Nightmare Moon hissed, the fallen Alicorn glaring at them from her perch atop the pedestal, her catlike eyes narrowing as she glared at the form of Rincewind at her feet “I’ll admit, the little Wizard’s spell caught us off guard…I never would have expected such an attack, save from Starswirl or Celestia herself…” she narrowed her eyes as she pressed one hoof to his throat “Too bad he didn’t finish the job…because ‘I’ won’t be so lenient!”
“Leave him alone!” Twilight yelled, making to charge the dais, only to be driven back by a gust of wind from Nightmare’s wings that sent her tumbling into the others.
“FOALS!” the fallen Alicorn yelled, all manner of amusement lost as she glared at them all, glowing eyes full of menace “You still think to challenge ME? Even in this condition, it would STILL take the Elements of Harmony to make you a credible threat, and the Elements are GONE!”
“WE don’t need no stinking Elements!” Rainbow Dash countered, the Pegasus shaking her hoofs in a boxer’s stance as she hovered in the air “We’ll take you on without ‘em!”
“You said it sugar cube…” Applejack huffed, pushing her Stetson back into place with one hoof as she and the others rallied around Twilight “We don’t leave our friends behind, and that goes fer both Twilight and Rincewind!”
“You guys…” Twilight stammered, looking at the ponies in amazement, only to gasp, a surge of realisation washing over her as turned to face Nightmare with a smirk “You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that?” she demanded, standing firm before the fallen Alicorn’s scorn “Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here.”
“What?” Nightmare demanded, narrowing her eyes at the group, only to blink as the fragments of the destroyed elements began to glow, circling the five ponies that had accompanied her sister’s student “It can’t be!”
“It can be, Nightmare Moon,” Twilight countered, her tone brimming with confidence, as she stepped towards the Dark Alicorn “For as the legends say, when the five are ignited by a single Spark, the Spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of MAGIC!”
“NO-!” Nightmare howled, rearing up on her hind legs, determined to at least take the life of the Wizard that had dared assault her, only to be stopped by a rainbow of pure magic, the Mare in the Moon looking up to see the six ponies hovering in the air before everything went white.