//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: The Nightmare Falls // Story: Super Sonic Rainboom // by Starkeeper_Ponyfic //------------------------------// After the group recovered from Pinkie’s infectious laughter, Twilight led the group onward, with an audible sigh of relief when some of the trees cleared. “Never thought I’d be so happy to see the moon,” she chuckled. An affirmative grunt echoed her sentiments. “Does anypony else hear rushing water?” Fluttershy asked before they turned a corner and came upon a roaring river. “Well, we do now,” Applejack chuckled. “Now, how’re we gonna cross this?” “I hear someone crying,” Sonic murmured. Twilight’s ears pricked up and she nodded. The group followed the noise and came upon a purple river serpent with bright orange hair and a mustache expertly styled on one side and torn off on the other. “Oh, what a world, what a world!” the serpent cried. “E-Excuse me, sir, why are you crying?” Twilight finally asked. The serpent sniffled and looked down at Twilight. “Well, I don’t know,” the serpent moaned. “You see, I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now... I look simply horrid!” “Oh, give me a break,” Rainbow muttered under her breath. Applejack sighed. “That’s what all the fuss is about?” “Why, of course it is!” Rarity admonished. “How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him. Such lovely, luminescent scales!” The serpent sniffled and managed a smile. “Oh, y-yes, I know!” Spike’s face took on a look of annoyance as he rubbed at his own scales. “And your expertly coiffed mane!” Rarity praised. “Oh, thank you!” Rarity beamed. “And your fabulous manicure,” she added. “Yes, it’s so true!” the serpent sighed. Rarity’s expression darkened. “And all of it ruined without your beautiful mustache.” The serpent sobbed and wailed, “It’s true, I’m hideous!” Rarity glared. “I simply refuse to let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” she declared before pulling out one of the serpent’s scales. He winced. “What did you do that for!?” Rarity gripped the scale in her magic and twirled it before slashing. Her tail fell off in one fell swoop and she gripped it carefully in her magic before levitating it up to the serpent’s nose. It gently fused to where his mustache would’ve been with a small sparkle. “Oh, my mustache! Thank you so very much!” the serpent gratefully sighed. “You look positively smashing!” Rarity squealed. “Rarity, your beautiful tail,” Twilight lamented. Rarity winced and smiled weakly. “Oh, it’s alright, my dear. Short tails are in this season! ...Besides, it’ll grow back.” “Wouldn’t the mustache grow back too?” Sonic pointed out. Rarity chuckled. “Well, yes, but... see, the river’s calm now. It’s not hard to be generous with something so small for such an important result.” Twilight gasped. “Oh, you’re right! We can cross now!” she realized, and began crossing. “Let’s-” A purple hump shot out of the river, quickly joined by several more in a bridge formation capped off by the serpent’s head. “Allow me!” he insisted. Twilight nodded and hopped across, quickly joined by the rest of her group. “Thank you!” Sonic called out as the serpent prepared to leave. The serpent flashed a smile before swimming off. A bit more walking, with the group in fairly high spirits, led them to a chasm between them and a ruined building. “It’s the castle!” Twilight realized. “We’re almost there!” Excited, she galloped forward. “Twilight, wait for us!” Applejack called, chuckling. Twilight suddenly skittered to a stop. Rainbow quickly darted over as Twilight’s front hooves slipped over the edge of the chasm and she pulled the unicorn back. “What’s with you and almost falling off cliffs... today? Tonight? In this adventure. That works,” Rainbow decided. Twilight rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Wouldn’t have done it if I’d realized the bridge wasn’t connected to the other side,” she retorted. “How do we get across this?” Pinkie wondered. “It’s too far for Rainbow and Fluttershy to carry us, and I left my balloon stash at home!” Rainbow pushed a bit of weather magic into a wing flap and peered through the hole in the fog she’d created. “Don’t worry, I got this!” she chuckled. “Although, Sonic, you mind hopping off for a sec?” Sonic nodded, slipped off her back, and moved to Fluttershy’s. Rainbow darted down into the fog and rose back up with the other end of the bridge in her hooves. She flew over to the other side and pulled the bridge to the waiting posts. As she began to tie it down, she heard a voice calling her name behind her. “...Who’s there?” she called back. Three pegasi in dark reflections of the Wonderbolt outfits stepped from the path to castle ruins. “Hello, Rainbow Dash,” the middle one said. “Welcome to the ancient Castle of the Two Sisters.” “Uh, thanks, I guess?” Rainbow shrugged. “...Can I help you?” “Yes, you can,” the middle pegasus replied. “You see, we have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria.” “Cool,” Rainbow said, eyes occasionally flicking toward her friends. “That flyer being you, of course.” Rainbow ignored the temptation to preen. “That’s high praise,” she responded noncommittally. “Would you mind passing that info along to the Wonderbolts? I’ve always wanted to join.” “The thing is, we would like you to join us, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow frowned. “And you are?” The three pegasi posed. “The Shadowbolts. We’re the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria... as soon as we get a captain of great swiftness... bravery... and pure magnificence.” Rainbow sighed. “...Look, just get to the point. I’m kinda trying to help my friends stop eternal night?” she sighed impatiently. The middle Shadowbolt chuckled. “We need you to be our captain, Rainbow Dash. But the... initiation requires the power of unfiltered moonlight, so... if you choose to finish this now we won’t be able to take you on.” “...No.” The Shadowbolts gasped and grumbled. “But why not?” “Fame isn’t worth abandoning my friends over,” Rainbow replied simply. She then raised her voice to where her friends could hear and added, “And I’d rather be loyal to the ones who I know care about me than the ones who’d try to turn me against my friends!” She turned around and finished tying the bridge. “So you can shove that offer.” Rainbow flew back over to the group and sighed. “What was that, Rainbow?” Pinkie asked. “Some group of nerds called the Shadowbolts,” Rainbow replied with a roll of her eyes as Sonic clambered onto her back. “They wanted me to abandon you guys to become their captain, because the initiation could only take place in moonlight. I’m honestly kinda insulted, does Nightmare Moon really have that low an opinion of me?” The group shared a laugh, albeit a slightly nervous one, before charging into the castle together. They were met by a huge stone pedestal bearing five stone orbs with hexagons chiseled into them. “The Elements of Harmony...” Twilight murmured. “We found them!” Rainbow and Fluttershy immediately flew up to bring the orbs down. “Careful, careful...” Twilight warned. Pinkie’s eyes darted around. “One, two, three, four, five... where’s the sixth one?” “When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed,” Twilight quoted. “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow asked. “...I have an idea,” Twilight allowed, her horn lighting up. “But you guys should probably stand back.” “Alright, we’ll be at the... well, I don’t guess it’s a door no more,” Applejack chuckled, coaxing a bit of levity into the suddenly tense atmosphere. “If y’all need us, just call.” Twilight nodded before kneeling in front of the Elements. “Come on, come on...” Twilight muttered, horn shining brighter. “You’ve got this, Twilight,” Spike whispered. Sonic and the girls echoed his sentiment, even Pinkie remaining quiet enough to not break Twilight’s concentration. Applejack noticed Nightmare Moon’s smoke shooting toward Twilight and glared. “I don’t think so,” she growled, lifting a rock and sending it powering into the smoke. Twilight gasped, but everyone rushed forward. “Get the spark going!” Sonic encouraged. “We’ll hold her off!” The smoke formed into Nightmare Moon’s true form and she cackled. “You really think you can defeat me? Not even your precious Celestia could stand up to my power. How do you have a chance?” “B-Because we have e-each other!” Fluttershy insisted. “And we’re protectin’ our friend!” Applejack declared. Twilight gasped softly, her mouth slowly growing a smile. “The spark... The Elements...” Her horn flashed from lavender to magenta, and a sixth orb descended from the skies. The rest of the orbs began to circle the other ponies as all were lifted into the air. “These orbs...” Twilight realized. “They were never what we were looking for. We needed to find the spirits of the Elements of Harmony. The ponies that exemplified each Element.” Nightmare Moon stepped back, her horn beginning to glow defensively. Twilight lowered her head and smiled. “Applejack, who reassured me when I was doubting by showing her inner honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the pained manticore with the purity of her kindness! Pinkie Pie, who pushed back the darkness with the light of her laughter! Rarity, whose heart calmed the sorrowful serpent when she bore her generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who even for her heart’s desire, did not falter in her shining loyalty!” “But that’s only five Elements!” Nightmare Moon protested. “You still don’t have the sixth!” “That’s the funny thing,” Twilight chuckled. “In some way, I’ve always had the sixth Element. But seeing that everyone here was willing to fight you just to buy a little time for me... for their... friend... it allowed the Element to manifest... the Element of Magic!” The Elements glowed so bright Sonic and Spike couldn’t keep their eyes open, and when it faded, Twilight bore a crown with a magenta gem in the shape of the star in her cutie mark. The rest of the ponies wore necklaces similarly stylized to them. Rainbow’s was a crimson lightning bolt, Pinkie’s was a cyan balloon, Rarity’s was a purple diamond, Applejack’s was an amber apple, and Fluttershy’s was a pink butterfly. They barely had time to admire them before Nightmare Moon fired a blast, which Twilight’s magic quickly deflected. “Come on, girls! It’s time to bring the sun back!” Twilight proclaimed. With a resounding cheer, the Elements began shining brilliantly and a rainbow swirled around them. Spike cheered while Sonic just watched, transfixed and strangely nostalgic. Nightmare Moon tried to flee, but was bound in rainbow chains as the rainbow arced into the skies and plummeted onto her. A pulse of light finished the display and the ponies collapsed to the floor. While Spike went to go check on the Elements, Sonic tiptoed over to where Nightmare Moon had been. In her place was a light blue female alicorn with a periwinkle mane and tail and crescent moon cutie mark, displayed on a patch of fur black as night. Sonic’s four-year-old mind missed the obvious connection and he poked the alicorn awake as the sun rose brilliantly into the sky. The alicorn sputtered awake. “Hey, I’m Sonic!” Sonic offered. “What’s your name?” The alicorn breathed unsteadily as she gazed into Sonic’s eyes. “We... We are Princess L-Luna. Wh... what has happened?” “Luna.” The word was soft, but firm, and Twilight turned to its source happily while her friends bowed. Princess Celestia gave Twilight a quick hug and acknowledged the others before standing over Luna. “...Hello, Ce-Celestia,” Luna squeaked, squeezing her eyes shut. Whatever she expected wasn’t what happened next, as Celestia swept Luna into a passionate hug. “It’s been so long, little sister,” Celestia sobbed. “I missed you so much.” “Sister?” Twilight gasped. Luna burst into tears. “W-We missed you s-so much t-too, Tia!” she wailed. “We never meant to-” “I know,” Celestia whispered. “It’s not just your fault, Lulu. If I’d realized sooner... If I’d paid more attention...” Pinkie’s eyes began spewing tears and Sonic decided to intervene. “Group hug!” he called. The ponies took his suggestion and Celestia burst into giggles. “Thank you, little one,” she nodded. Sonic grinned and flashed a thumbs-up. “Now... this is Luna, my little sister... I suppose ‘little’ has a more acute meaning now.” Luna couldn’t help a giggle. “Twilight Sparkle, I am... so very proud of you,” Celestia murmured. “I knew you could do it.” “But... you told me-” “I only told you that you needed to make some friends,” Celestia explained. “That’s what I said!” Spike complained. Everyone present giggled, including him after a momentary pout. “I knew that you had the magic to free Luna, but that you would need true friendship to unleash it,” Celestia continued calmly. “I’m glad Spike made me listen to you, then,” Twilight replied with a grin. “Princess...” “Yes, Twilight?” “...Is it alright if I stay in Ponyville?” “Of course, my faithful student,” Celestia replied knowingly. “I would not wish for you to abandon your friends.” “Pinkie, when’s the ‘Twilight’s staying in Ponyville and also the lost Princess has returned’ party?” Rainbow asked jestingly. “Um... tomorrow!” Pinkie replied earnestly. Sonic laughed as he basked in the sunlight. Rainbow sighed happily and stood next to him. “Best. Celebration. Ever,” she murmured. Sonic agreed as Pinkie babbled on about Luna, Celestia, and Twilight’s preferences in cake and streamer colors. The Everfree didn’t seem so scary when the sunlight shined.