//------------------------------//
// Losing Hope 
// Story: Rainbow Of Fate 
// by Lord Drayvon22 
//------------------------------//



The Everfree Forest


Fluttershy manages to force herself to make her way towards Zecora's house. Strangely, she's encountered no Shadows on the way here as they all appear to be in Ponyvile. I-I hope the others are okay. Zecora must know what to do. Before long, she manages to find her way through to the familiar bent tree. Trying hard not to scream as she watches the shadows of nighttime birds pass overhead, she raps desperately on the door. 

"Do you need to knock so hard on my door? I'm only on the first floor." Fluttershy nearly collapses with relief as the familiar zebra opens the door. "Ah, good day Fluttershy. You must come in before this frightful cold makes you cry." Fluttershy steps into the warm and familiar interior largely unchanged from her last visit. "Now, can you please tell me why I got quite the fright when I went outside and found that day had turned to night?" Making herself comfortable, Fluttershy recounts what she knows and Zecora's face gets grimmer with each passing moment. 

"Of the return of the mare of Nightmares, I was unawares. Her actions are most unfair and my friends' suffering I cannot bear." After a moment to think and collect seemingly random ingredients, she rushes over to her cauldron and begins to work. "Fortunately, I have a very good notion for a potion. My potion will be rather thrilling and give Nightmare Moon quite the grilling." Fluttershy tunes out the threats as she watches Zecora work. Before long, she finishes and presents Fluttershy with a vial of swirling liquid. "On the pony known as Rainbow Dash, this potion you must splash. It will dispel that creature in a flash." 

Fluttershy looks at the potion warily. "W-will this hurt Rainbow Dash?" 

Zecora shakes her head with a promising smile. "Your friend Rainbow Dash this won't be harming and she'll be ready to help Applejack with her farming." 

Forcing herself not to giggle at the zebra's random choice of words, Fluttershy turns to leave only for the door to be thrown open by three Nightmare Shadows led by a fourth but very familiar being. "The mighty Element of Kindness; the one who helped to defeat myself and Sombra and the one to reform Discord is huddling together in the woods with the village hermit. How sad." 

Zecora throws an unlabelled jar at Nightmare Moon which passes right through her and slowly eats a hole in the wall. "Nightmare Moon, your time is over. The depths of Tartarus will be your enclosure." 

However, the Shadows slowly advance towards them so Zecora and Fluttershy back away as the former's potions only do damage to her own house. Before any of them can react, Zecora shatters her bedroom window with a rock. "Fluttershy, you must exit through the window. I'll keep them busy, now go!" 

Fluttershy is about to protest when Zecora points insistently. "The fate of Equestria lies in your hooves. Sacrificing yourself for me would not be something of which Princess Celestia approves." 

With tears in her eyes, Fluttershy flees out the window but Nightmare Moon stops her subordinates. "Don't worry about her, I already have a surprise waiting for her when she gets back to her cottage." 

Zecora's eyes go wide before she is magically picked up and pressed against the wall. She struggles but can barely move as the shadowy Alicorn goes eye to eye with the zebra. "Anything left to say?" 

Zecora snarls at the face of her doom. "Whatever happens to me, soon your defeat shall be." 

Nightmare Moon laughs in her face. "You seriously think that your little potion will harm us? It won't even give us stomachache." To prove it, she levitates a vial of the concoction over from the cauldron and drinks it to no effect. "Mmmm, tastes like blueberry." 

Zecora's eyes go wide. "How?! You should be incredibly weak right now." Nightmare just chuckles before turning into a shadowy mist that engulfs the struggling zebra.




Terrified and crying over her friend's death, Fluttershy bolts for her cottage. I'll make sure that your sacrifice wasn't in vain, Zecora. I just need Discord to help us and we'll finish this. Slamming open her door, she disturbs Discord who appears to be trying to discover how many times it is possible to clone Angel. "Ah, Fluttershy!" With a snap of his claws, the Draconequus returns a scowling Angel to normal. "Where are my manners? Allow me to take your coat." 

Before she can speak, the spirit of chaos appears in a butler's outfit and does a hand movement that somehow entirely removes her fur coat.  "Shall I get our tea?" 

He is about to do so when Fluttershy looks at him strongly. Not quite The Stare, not that it had ever affected him anyway,  but enough to make him pause as she only used that kinda look when desperate. "We need your help, Discord." 

The interested smile on Discord's face splits his head in two. Very literally; there's just a long line of teeth wrapping around that entire part of his head. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?" 

Flutter shy holds up the potion. "Nightmare Moon is back and she got Zecora. We need to use this potion on Rainbow Dash and-" 

Discord stops her with a disinterested wave of his claw. "You need help with that? No thanks. That wouldn’t even cause minor indigestion. Call me when you're ready for tea." 

He prepares to snap away but stops when Fluttershy looks up at him pleadingly. "Discord, please. We need your help. If you won't do it for the others, please do it for me. We need to save Dash." 

Discord roars with laughter and actually explodes with mirth before reforming with a wide grin. "You really don't know anything, do you? Have you ever stopped to consider that Rainbow Dash isn't doing this against her will?”

Fluttershy stares at him. “How would you even-“

Discord knocks on the side of his own head, knocking out his own brain which he swiftly eats back up. “I’ve been inside each of your heads, remember? I know how you think better than any of you.” He stretches in an overly dramatic way. “believe what you will, you’re about to find out anyway. TTFN." Before she can respond, he teleports away and leaves her in shock. So much shock that she fails to notice the mysterious mist blowing in around her.



Moments later, the dome around Ponyvile


As the four royals try to wear down the forcefield with thier magic, Princess Celestia feels another shattering change and has to stop. "Princess?" 

She looks in the direction of the Everfree Forest. "They've gotten to Fluttershy." The news is somehow even more devastating than that of Rarity or Pinkie's downfall. Fluttershy is Rainbow Dash's oldest friend and the epitome of kindness in Equestria. If she is gone, then there's no telling what Nightmare Moon will do to the others. 

Princess Celestia refocuses her magic and continues trying to overload the dome. "There are only two left now but neither knows it. We have to get to them before Nightmare Moon does, no matter what." After recollecting themselves, Luna, Cadance and Shining Armour renew their efforts.



Meanwhile, the far side of Ponyvile


Applejack guards the Crusaders inside an old and abandoned house as they watch the Nightmare Shadows looking for them outside. Faced with such a threat, even Scootaloo can't hold in tears of absolute terror and Applejack wishes that she could say anything to alleviate it. The simple fact is that they are cornered with no chance of escape and it is only so much longer until they are discovered. 

Suddenly, they watch the Shadows leave until they hear familiar hooffalls outside. Acting quickly, Applejack pulls the Crusaders into a bedroom and barricades the door as they hide in the cupboard.

After a few minutes of searching below, they hear Flare come upstairs. Her steps are so quiet and unremarkable that you could easily mistake it for an ordinary visit to friends. "Guys, if you're hiding where I think you are, then you seriously need to pick better hiding spots." The four shiver at the familiar voice of a dead pony and Scootaloo bites back a whimper. 

Instead of hearing her trying to get in, they hear the blockade be magically shoved aside and the door be casually opened. Horseapples, I should've remembered that she can use magic now. 

"Hmmmmmm, where could they be? Could they be here?" They shiver at the playful voice as the pony opens a drawer. "Or maybe here?" They prepare to bolt as they hear Flare look under the bed right beside the cupboard. 

"Oh. I know." Before any of them can react, the doors are pulled open to reveal Flare with a smile. "Hi guys." 

Before she can act, Applejack bucks her in the face and pounces atop the stunned Alicorn. "Run!" 

Apple Bloom has to be held back by her friends as she tries to help her sister. "But-" 

Applejack looks imploringly at her sibling. "Go!" 

The Crusaders bolt as if an angry Cerberus were on thier tails just as Flare manages to use raw physical strength to overpower Applejack. "This was your escape plan? Cower in a closet and hope to surprise my guards when they eventually found you? That's not like you, AJ." 

Applejack tries not to shiver at Nightmare's use of Rainbow's playfully mocking tone. "You have me but you'll never get the others, Flare."  

The Alicorn just laughs though, with her new voice, it is more of a cackle. "AJ, you and Twilight are the only ones left besides the Crusaders." 

Applejack frowns. "You're lying."

"Use your honesty sense, you'll find that I'm telling the truth. You and Twilight are the only ones left." 

Applejack does so and she feels her heart shatter. "G-guys, A-A'm sorry.  Ah failed but the Crusaders'll be safe now." She manages one final defiant glare at the Alicorn. "You'll never win. Whatever yah do tah me, the Princesses will stop yah." 

Flare chuckles.  "I already placed a tracking spell on Scootaloo earlier and, with an impenetrable dome around Ponyvile, I can find them at my own pace. As for the Princesses, I wouldn't worry about them right now if I were you." Applejack fights desperately to escape even as Night-time Flare turns into mist around her.



A few minutes earlier, outside of the dome


As the three rulers take a moment's break to let thier magic recharge, they stare at the dome which is as strong as ever. "Now what? We've tried everything. There's no way through." 

Princess Celestia turns to Commander Light Brigade as he turns from giving another set of orders. "How are the defences, Commander?" 

Her subordinate bows. "Our forces are stretched thin and I am unsure if they will withstand a sustained assault." 

Shining Armour approaches the inexperienced leader. "Haven't we called for help? There are regiments all across Equestria and surely the Wonderbolts can help." 

Light Brigade shakes his head. "Yes sir but most of them are culling unrest over Nightmare Moon's return and only two regiments are able to respond. However, they're coming from the Badlands and won't be here until morning. The Wonderbolts are coming as well but they're currently in Griffonstone on tour. I don't know if any of them will arrive in time." Shining Armour nods as he turns back to the grim looking Princesses. 

Before anypony can speak, Princess Celestia looks at the dome sadly. "Please, not another." 

Celestia nods sadly. "The Element of Honesty has gone dark." 

The looks of horror on Cadance and Shining's faces make Light Brigade feel ill. "Then that means..." 

Celestia nods. "We just have to hope that Twilight found somewhere safe. The Element of Magic is still fine so she must be okay." Her niece looks relieved before going pale and pointing at the dome. Celestia turns and her heart sinks like a boulder. No!



Mere moments ago, not far away


Twilight desperately fires dozens of energy blasts backwards into her pursuers as she flees out of town and towards the railway lines. Her heart pounds harder as she finds that she can't see any of her friends around her but forces herself to keep running. Please be safe, girls. I don't know what I'd do without you. 

She is so busy firing spells that she doesn't notice something in her way until she literally bounces right off of it. "Good afternoon, Twilight. It's delightful to see you again." 

Before she can even finish, Twilight has already jumped to her feet and run around but is thrown back as she slams into the energy dome. "What in the hay?" She goes pale as she recognises a very powerful shield spell though she takes some comfort in seeing the Princesses and her brother on the other side. 

They notice her as well and desperately gesture behind her and Twilight turns just in time to block an energy beam with one of her own. Only by drawing on her deepest reverses of magic is she able to manifest magic so close to a powerful spell. Nightmare Moon just looks simultaneously smug and slightly impressed. "Hmph, you're stronger than you look even without your friends. Too bad they can't help you, isn't it?"

Twilight shakes her head. "There's no way you could have gotten to them so quickly. You're lying." Nightmare just grins serenely so an unsettled Twilight looks back at Princess Celestia. The look of deep personal shame on her mentor's face reveals that this is no lie.

A mixture of emotions pass over Twilight's face; grief, sadness, disbelief, horror, depression, lost hope and finally anger. "I'll stop you here and now even if it costs me everything." 

She is nearly deafened by a shrill cackle from the being. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be seeing your friends again very soon, my dear Twilight. Very soon." Before she can speak, Twilight is teleported away as everypony else watches on.




Twilight suddenly finds herself back in the Golden Oaks Library for the first time in several hours though little has seemingly changed. "Home sweet home." Twilight bravely rounds on Nightmare Moon to find that they are muzzle to muzzle so she takes a step back. "Surprised to see me again? It's incredible what one can achieve with a host willing to give you some of thier latent magic. "

Instinctively rejecting the information as a lie, Twilight takes in Nightmare Moon and realises something very odd.  She's virtually identical to how Luna once looked though she now has streaks of rainbow in the night blue mane and tail and her eyes are the most different of all. They are the same colour as Luna's and retain the slitted appearance but now appear less angry and cruel than before and instead more... calm and almost friendly yet calculating. They have the look of something that is always analysing a situation to discover the best way to get what it wants.

Knowing how manipulative she can be though, Twilight takes a fighting stance and stares down the very bored looking Alicorn. "Do you really want to fight an Alicorn at the height of her power without the help of your friends?" She throws out her wings proudly. "If Celestia couldn't defeat me in her prime, what chance do you have with not even one thousandth the amount of power that I possess?" 

Twilight doesn't respond so Nightmare Moon sighs as she fires a massive magical beam. To her credit, Twilight is able to block it with one of her own but it takes very significant effort whilst Nightmare just grins like a lunatic. "I'll tell you what, Sparkle; let's make a deal. If you win, I will bring back all of your friends and leave Equestria forever never to return. If I win though, you are mine to do with as I see fit." 

Impossible, there's no way she's telling the truth. "How do I know that this isn't a trick?" 

Nightmare Moon just chuckles.  "What reason do I have to lie? If I wanted, I could obliterate you here and now before you can even draw a breath and there’s nothing you could do about it.” An involuntary chill shoots down Twilight’s spine. “If I just wanted to defeat you to get you out of my way, there is nothing stopping me." 

This has to be a trap but I don't have a choice. I have to do this for my friends and for Equestria. "I accept." 

Nightmare's wicked smile only gets wider. "Good, good. Let's see how brains match up with sheer power. I'll even give you a fighting chance just to make this more fun." 

Nightmare Moon suddenly breaks thier magical duel and teleports them into a field near Sweet Apple Acres. Before Twilight can attack, Nightmare surrounds them in a shining purple dome that makes Twilight's magic feel more powerful than ever before. "A fun little spell I invented whilst a part of Luna. This field increases a unicorn's power a thousand fold to be roughly on par with my own." 

Twilight just looks at her in disbelief. "Why would you put yourself at a deliberate disadvantage?" 

The Alicorn cackles. "Because you're one of only seven beings to ever defeat me. Remember that I also have over a thousand more years of training and experience in battle than you have.”The Alicorn’s smile turns playful; the look of a being who knows that she’s already won. “Don't hold anything back; I certainly won't. Shall we begin?" 

Before Twilight can respond, her opponent takes to the sky and rains down magical blasts that Twilight either dodges or teleports around them. Putting up a shielding spell is an easy way to lose since her magic cannot compare to the sheer raw power of an Alicorn. Grinning with glee, Nightmare Moon attempts a dive-bomb attack only for Twilight to dodge by a hair. "Impressive but we aren't through yet."  Before Twilight can react, she is tackled as the Alicorn tries to pin her down and force a surrender. 

To prevent this, Twilight fires an energy beam that forces Nightmare to counter with her own and get off of Twilight. She starts to feel slightly confident as the laser beam slams into Nightmare Moon's horn and does... nothing.  Whereas this same type of attack once defeated Princess Celestia herself, Nightmare Moon is just sitting there grinning. On closer inspection, the beam is actually phasing through the back of Nightmare's head and shooting into the Everfree behind her.

Even as Twilight pours all of her magic into the beam, the Alicorn just waits calmly as the unicorn starts panting. "Oh, I should have mentioned. I cannot be defeated by anything other than the Elements of Harmony when I'm outside of my host. All I am is a conglomeration of shadows and you can't hurt what isn't really there. It's been fun but you're only going to hurt yourself the longer that this goes on. I'll put you out of your misery." Twilight immediately tries to terminate her laser but, before she can, the beam slams into her and she gets knocked to the ground and ends up skidding twenty feet as the dome disappears.

"That was fun but I always had the trump card." To her slight surprise, Twilight manages to force herself into standing as she takes a weak and easily blocked swipe at Nightmare. "Careful, you might hurt yourself." 

Twilight sways. "I... will... defeat you... if it... kills me." She channels her remaining energy for a devastating blast, one that will instantly kill her from the strain but hopefully take Nightmare down with her. However, the dark Alicorn puts an inhibitor ring on her horn.

"You needn't sacrifice yourself unnecessarily. That blast wouldn't even have touched me and it would be such a shame to ruin such a beautiful field with your viscera."

Twilight looks at her in defiance. "I.. can't... let... you.... win... My... friends... would... never... let... me... give... up..."

Nightmare Moon cackles again before teleporting them back to Ponyvile Square. "Do you seriously think that I would waste such talented and brave if foolish ponies?" Twilight glares at Nightmare as she finally collapses, on the brink of passing out. "You need to stop or you're going to seriously hurt yourself. You don't want to abandon your friends, do you?"

"You... killed... my... friends..."

As Twilight finally begins to break down from grief, the dark Alicorn gives a surprisingly warm smile and gestures behind the unicorn. As Twilight turns, Nightmare Moon turns to mist and engulfs her just as the Element of Magic screams in horror at what she sees.



At the same time, outside the dome


Work continues on trying to find a way under the dome as the rulers try to magically detect any weaknesses. Everything stops though as they hear a bloodcurdling scream which is abruptly cut off. At the exact same moment, Princess Celestia's eyes go wide and her mouth falls open. Realising what this means, Shining Armour and Princess Cadance's hearts stop simultaneously. No, there's no way she could have... 

Celestia's head falls as she releases a sigh. "The Element of Magic has gone dark." 

For a good fifteen minutes, there is dead silence as the news of the last hero of Equestria's death sinks in. Finally, Shining breaks the silence with a shaky voice. "Goodbye Twilight, rest easy, We'll finish what you started."

Slowly, work resumes as professionalism takes over and Shining and Cadance bury thier pain in thier work. As they do though, Princess Luna sees Celestia sitting and staring blankly at where they last saw Twilight. "Are you going to be okay, sister?" Her sister doesn't respond, instead swallowing a lump in her throat. Although Celestia has her normal serene expression, Luna can tell that she is holding back tears. "Is it possible that Twilight and the others have merely been banished like we were?"

Celestia looks straight through her sister for a few moments before shaking her head. "Even if they were, there's no food or water on the Moon and it is impossible to break a seal once it's placed. You only escaped because I sentenced you to just a thousand years exile. And that's assuming they weren't all sent to the Sun where they'd..." She clears her throat as her voice starts to waver and puts on a calm expression. "There is nothing that we can do except ensure that they didn't die for nothing."

When Luna only continues to look at Celestia worriedly, she returns it blankly. "If I could have just gotten to Twilight and the others slightly quicker, if I had found Nightmare Moon sooner, if I wasn't so useless, she'd be here with us helping to organise a defence. Instead, I've left Night-light and Velvet without a daughter and Shining Armour without a sister because I couldn't find a way to help Twilight. Because of me, our friends are gone."

Luna lowers her head but becomes even more worried about her sister as she looks up at the Moon with a completely broken expression."I-I'm so sorry, Twilight. I couldn't save you. Don't worry about your family. I'll ensure that they're well looked after and that you and your friends will never be forgotten. You were true heroes lost trying to save those you loved. May you all rest in peace forever."

Luna shivers at the tone of voice; the same kind somepony gives when delivering a eulogy but her worry only grows as Celestia's face morphs into a look of grim determination. "I swear on the Sun and Moon that I will not let Nightmare Moon hurt anypony else ever again. I swear it."

As her sister shivers at the dark promise, the Sun Princess turns and walks back over to the war table with her face once again perfectly neutral. However, Princess Luna knows that tone all too well; she's heard it a few times before and it has only ever led to very, very dark places.