Chapter Five
…
Twilight, Princess Celestia and DJ Pon-3 rushed through Ponyville in their desperate hunt for Somnambula. Already they encountered ponies fleeing to their homes, screaming in sheer panic. When they reached the town’s square, just outside town hall, they found Somnambula levitating mid-air. She was extracting the life energy of dozens of ponies surrounding her, old and young.
The three were beyond horrified, feasting their eyes upon the near-dead victims at her feet. Somnambula shifted her attention turned to her foes and scowled in contempt. She wasn’t afraid of Alicorns…
“Have you come to die?” she asked.
“Octavia, snap out of it!” Twilight burst out.
“Let her go, Somnambula!” demanded Princess Celestia. “You don’t belong in this world, and I won’t let you do the same in this lifetime like you did in the last. This ends NOW!”
Somnambula couldn’t care less for words.
Twilight made the first move, launching a beam from her horn. Princess Celestia did likewise, while DJ Pon-3 watched in suspense.
Truth be told, the Alicorns couldn’t risk to killing Octavia. But if they managed to just weaken Somnambula enough, they could seal her soul within the Princess Celestia’s crystal permanently. Of course, this wasn’t going to be easy.
Somnambula violently repelled the attacks, hurling back the Alicorns and DJ Pon-3. No doubt by this time, she had garnered enough strength to rival them. She could very well take on all three and kill them at once. Knowing this, the ponies couldn’t allow this fight to continue like this… or else everyone in Equestria would be doomed…
“It’s no use!” Princess Celestia feared. “She’s too strong!”
“She MUST have some kind of weakness!” Twilight stated. “THINK!”
DJ Pon-3 thought, thought… and thought. That was when an answer struck her. Without a moment to waste, she hastily fled, much to Twilight’s and Princess Celestia’s dismay.
“DJ Pon-3, where are you going?!” Twilight shouted, but she received no reply as her friend disappeared out of sight.
Somnambula only smiled with ecstasy. “Your ally has deserted you!”
Twilight and Princess Celestia fired beams at Somnambula again, but again their enemy resisted. Somnambula couldn’t help but laugh at their feeble attempts to overcome her. Out of her own amusement, she was willing to wait out on the Alicorns to tire themselves before absorbing whatever energy they had left. Twilight and Princess Celestia pummeled Somnambula as hard as they could, no matter how fruitless it seemed. At least they would die trying to save Equestria…
The scales seemed to be tipping towards Somnambula’s favor, until all of a sudden, a familiar tune threw her off guard. It was the tune of ‘Canon’ by Octavia’s cello… emanating from a tape recorder wielded by DJ Pon-3. DJ Pon-3 raised the volume to the highest setting, drawing closer to Somnambula.
Somnambula grew ever more irritated by the music as she mildly moaned… before it became an agonizing wail… then an ear-piercing shriek as she fell to her knees in pain. Somnambula’s control over Octavia’s body was diminishing. Twilight and Princess Celestia saw the huge advantage here.
“Octavia, fight her!” yelled Twilight. “Don’t let Somnambula get the better of you!”
Somnambula unleashed another shriek. Twilight and Princess Celestia froze in terror when for a moment, they sighted the eye of Somnambula staring back at them from Octavia’s open throat. This was the perfect timing for…
“USE YOUR CRYSTAL, NOW!” Twilight shouted to Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia wasted not a second more. She took out her crystal and recited repeatedly: “I banish thee to the Crystal of Celestia, forever now and forever more, Somnambula!”
Somnambula was crippled although not completely hindered as she tried withstanding Princess Celestia’s spell. Twilight felt the need to help. Hence she too recited the words: “I banish thee to the Crystal of Celestia, forever now and forever more, Somnambula!”
Somnambula was almost at her end. She felt it all too well. Yet a last ditch effort push with all her might forced Princess Celestia, Twilight and DJ Pon-3 to stagger back. Both Alicorns continued their recitement, yet in order to win this conflict, they’d need just one more hand…
DJ Pon-3 stood her ground and gathered enough courage to raise her voice for her dearest friend: “I BANISH THEE TO THE CRYSTAL OF CELESTIA, FOREVER NOW AND FOREVER MORE, SOMNAMBULA!”
With that said, the Crystal of Celestia ignited with an angelic light. Once again, like millennia ago, Somnambula felt her spirit being drawn into the crystal, and out of Octavia’s body. A swarm of locusts escaped Octavia’s mouth as Somnambula let out one last wild and maniacal shriek. The locusts were absorbed into the crystal as multiple streams of energy burst out and spread like wildflower, returning to their respective ponies.
Octavia, back to her normal self, dropped down onto the grass, unconscious.
The Crystal of Celestia dropped to the ground.
Silence.
Princess Celestia, Twilight and DJ Pon-3 collapsed from fatigue… but then smiled ever so brightly with utter relief upon their victory. They tiredly nodded to each other for a job well done. It went without saying, but this was excellent teamwork.
Princess Celestia retrieved her crystal containing Somnambula’s trapped soul. She inspected it for a moment, before concealing it within her mane. There was no way she was going to let it fall into the wrong hands. How alleviated she felt having captured her long adversary after all these years…
Octavia gradually came to and rose with a splitting headache. She groaned, lifting her weary eyes and acknowledging her surroundings. She noticed Twilight, Princess Celestia and DJ Pon-3 before her.
“Octavia…?” Twilight asked skeptically. “Are you okay?”
“Yes…” she replied, rubbing her head. “I think so.”
“What do you remember?” Princess Celestia asked curiously.
“I remember… music.” Octavia recollected. “My music… and then I heard, your voices… calling out to me… reaching me… awakening me… and then, saving me…” for once she felt freer than ever before, free from the evil entity that had tormented her. She couldn’t help but laugh, cry even, with utmost glee. “I can’t be any more thankful!”
She offered the warmest hug to Twilight. Twilight hugged her back in return. DJ Pon-3 rubbed Octavia’s hair with her hoof playfully, making Octavia chuckle. Princess Celestia nodded gracefully.
They’d done it. Somnambula was no more.