We observe with detached interest as Nightmare Moon prepares her next trial for the group of ponies. She crawls a short ways ahead of the unsuspecting mares, her substance leeching into the surrounding trees.
The wise old trees groan in protest briefly, their life force attempting to resist the darkness, but to no avail; they let the seductive temptation take them as surely as it took us. They are no match for such a creature.
Then, she begins swiftly transforming the forest, deftly molding it into a copse befitting her machinations. The once-proud trunks twist and gnarl to create terrifying visages within their very wood. These are a part of them as surely as we are now a part of Nightmare Moon. This power to shape living things is truly a horror to behold.
We look forward to witnessing how these ponies overcome such an awful fright.
And we haven’t long to wait, as where we hide within the darkness becomes aware of voices approaching us. They speak of inconsequential things once more—family, homes, past experiences. These friends seem to have only met quite recently.
As they progress, the white unicorn speaks up. “My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck.” They quickly proceed into the darkness surrounding the dimly lit clearing in which we are hidden, prompting another remark. “Well, I didn’t mean that literally.”
The ringleader, the purple unicorn, volunteers an opinion of her own. “That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn’t even know it.”
Ancient ruin? Surely she cannot mean our home. What has happened to Canterlot Castle?
These thoughts nag at us as we wait. We want to know what has happened to our old home. A ruin... it can’t be. It mustn’t be.
One of the unsuspecting ponies, the orange one, stumbles into one of the trees, which emits a barely audible growl, eliciting a frightened yelp and a quick backward stumble from the farm-pony.
Perhaps planned by the dark mare, a cloud moves out from in front of the Moon, shedding a weak light over the goings-on below. The ponies all huddle to one another, terrified and beseeching for help. They know not what danger they are in, only that there are unnatural things which appear angry at them.
Only one pony appears unfazed by the angry trees: The pink earth pony. Oddly, despite the farm-pony’s attunement with the earth, this one without quite so evident an affinity is the one which sees the falsehood before her. She is even laughing at Nightmare Moon’s pathetic attempts to scare her, making faces at the angry oaks staring piercingly back at her.
The purple unicorn once again volunteers her voice before the others. “Pinkie, what are you doing? Run!”
Pinkie looks at her friends and flippantly asks, “Oh, girls, don’t you see?” She then begins bobbing her body to some unheard rhythm, singing into the quiet forest, “When I was a little filly and the Sun was going down...”
The purple unicorn seems only slightly surprised, as if this behavior is not very shocking to her, rhetorically telling her friends, “Tell me she’s not.”
The pink pony sings the next line of her internal song, “The shadows and the darkness they would always make me frown...”
The white unicorn replies to her fellow pony anyway with an equally nonplussed, “She is.”
We cannot stand this... garishness in such danger. This pony must be insane if she thinks this will save her and her friends. We do what we can to block out her voice, her irritating joy only adding to our misery.
We cannot laugh. Not anymore. We never will be able to again.
The pony stops her tirade of positivity briefly to stare at one of the possessed tree trunks and give a knowing, “Ha! Ha! Ha!”
Suddenly, something we failed to grasp initially comes to light: What this pony’s true intentions were. The positivity is so great within the tree that it... banishes the darkness?
We have been possessed by Nightmare Moon. She has conquered my body as surely as she has conquered those of the trees gathered around these ponies.
Yet, one of these trees has relinquished the darkness due to a simple laugh from a pink pony.
The orange earth pony obviously has a magical connection with that in the ground, but perhaps this one... can an earth pony have something as ludicrous as the magic of laughter? She banished this powerful demon as surely as the most powerful re-planing spell practiced only by Starswirl in our lifetime.
For the first time in over 1000 years, we have hope that this creature may go and leave us to stay.
The earth pony has continued her song, encouraging her friends now to contribute their laughter. One by one, the trees join in the merriment, their twisted features winking out of existence and replaced by unmarred bark once more. Finally, they are all banished, and we are once again locked within a cloud of smoke, rather than the trunks of trees.
Nightmare Moon floats away while the ponies collapse in laughter, their merry echoes following us far longer than is necessary. For us, it gives hope that we will soon be free of this prison; for Nightmare Moon, we know not what she thinks.
We do not expect such positivity from her.
The forest we pass over is eerily familiar now—as if we were here, once. Now, a large river cuts a swath through the trees, yet the landscape feels... like home. It feels to me that I came here with my sister, once. Before she and I ruled a kingdom together.
There, that hill. We played atop that hill. She and I would flap our small wings, hers getting her off the ground, but mine too far underdeveloped. My tireless efforts to one day launch myself into the air and stay there would always fall short, but I never gave up on my dream.
Mother was there. She brought a picnic basket, and hay and grass sandwiches, and....
When I finally flew, I left that memory behind. I began my companionship with the night, and I became we. Never have we been alone since. Never have we missed another so greatly.
We are the night now. We comfort all as they slip into their beds. We hold them in our cool embrace, the same embrace that once was given to me. The same embrace I will never feel again.
The same embrace that we want to give to all once more.
Nightmare Moon does not want to embrace. She wants to rupture. To destroy. She is a pathetic creature.
She whispers, “I am great.”
It is quickly taken away on the wind, only loud enough for her to hear. Without a mouth, we are unsure how she said anything.
We’ve little more time to think on it, however; a sea serpent is in the river. Nightmare Moon dives toward the creature, coming within several inches of its face and slicing through a portion of hair sprouting from its nose, letting the useless thing land in the water to be whisked away on the current.
The creature’s eyes try to track us as it zips by, then hears the sound of its hair being shorn off. It lets out a terrified wail as Nightmare Moon gets herself out of harm’s way, the serpent going into a dramatic tantrum of crying and pain, its body writhing and churning up the water.
Nightmare Moon takes cover in a nearby stand of trees and witnesses the ponies stand upon the same hill that Celestia and I once picnicked upon with Mother to speak with the serpent.
There is little which can be seen or heard from our vantage point, though the serpent is audible enough. We piece together that they ask what has happened and he explains his situation, then one of the ponies slices her own tail off to once again complete the serpent’s moustache. His tantrum ends, giving them a chance to cross the river.
A pony gave selflessly... the white one. The unicorn who seems quite self-absorbed and posh. A trait such as this is quite a rarity indeed.
What is Nightmare Moon’s plan? Why does she toy and play games? What has given her such an interest in defeating these ponies in so subtle a manner? We struggle to make sense of what her motivation may be.
Nightmare Moon’s formless body rises once more into the air, weaving through the trees until she comes to a gorge. There, she pauses briefly, the ruins of a castle in sight beyond the bridge.
Our castle. What has been done to it?
The cloud of smoke goes to the far end of the gorge and pulls on the ropes, unraveling them and releasing the bridge to crash against the face of the cliff. She then flares her magic to produce a more powerful fog, obscuring our vision of the other side of the gorge somewhat.
Then, she lies in wait.
Several minutes later, we see movement on the other side of the gorge. Our group of ponies has found the severed bridge.
However, just as we were able to fly across it, so can these ponies. Sure enough, we see the cyan-colored one, Rainbow, land nearby with the ropes to the bridge. She ties off one, then moves to tie off the other.
“Rainbow....” Nightmare Moon’s haunting voice reaches the pony’s ears, causing her to immediately become confrontational of an unseen enemy.
“Who’s there?” She scans the nearby fog bank where the voice floats to her from.
Nightmare Moon gives another beckoning, “Rainbow....”
The pony gets onto her hind legs, bringing her hooves up as if to strike us. “I ain’t scared of you! Show yourself!”
Nightmare Moon instead begins a dialogue with the hotheaded mare. “We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria.”
The pony doesn’t get the hint. “Who?”
The fog tells her the obvious. “Why, you, of course.”
Rainbow seems surprised with an eager “Really?” then her arrogance masters her once more, and she flippantly adds on, “Oh yeah, me! Hey, uh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? Because I’ve been trying to get into that group for like, ever!” Such is the life of such a brash pony, to even make requests of a potentially dangerous acquaintance. She will get herself killed if she continues in this manner, we are certain of it.
“No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us.” Nightmare Moon has swiftly formed a trio of ponies in dark costume, which gallop out of the fog bank from which she has been speaking. The one at the head sinisterly tells her the name of their group. “The Shadowbolts!”
The leader Shadowbolt continues telling Rainbow—how did Nightmare Moon learn the last name of Dash?—with bogus information. “We’re the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all of Equestria! But first, we need a captain.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes shimmer with excitement as she continues to listen to Nightmare Moon’s words of praise. “The most magnificent-”
Rainbow interrupts with a “Yep.”
“Swiftest-”
“Yes.”
“Bravest flyer in all the land.”
“Yes, it’s all true.”
The lead Shadowbolt leans in close, saying, “We need...” then whispering into her ear, “you.”
Rainbow Dash, as predicted, is nothing but excited at this prospect. “Woohoo! Sign me up!” Then she turns away briefly and moves to tie off the bridge. “Just let me tie this bridge real quick and we have a deal.”
Nightmare Moon, as predicted, is attempting to prevent Rainbow Dash from doing exactly this. She regains the fleety pony’s attention with a powerful, “No!” At the surprised look from the pony, she sputters out an ultimatum: “It’s either them or us.”
Surely no creature would be so stupid as to even consider such a bizarre prospect. She knows nothing of these Shadowbolts, what they do, or how they operate. To leap into this would be a foalish decision... especially considering a choice over her friends as such.
The purple pony’s voice echoes across the gorge. “Rainbow, what’s taking so long?” A short pause, then another “Rainbow!” The lead Shadowbolt notices and glares at the purple pony, her eyes flaring with magic as she increases the fog cover, muffling what small amount of sound was reaching this far.
Nightmare Moon, seeming to ignore what Rainbow Dash may have just heard, says, “Well?”
Rainbow Dash seems... conflicted. We imagine she had a blessedly innocent foalhood, that she would consider a proposition such as joining the Shadowbolts.
“You.” She speaks the word angrily, her mind made up. Then she brightens visibly. “Thank you. For the offer, I mean.” She quickly ties the other rope of the bridge, making the path clear for her friends once more. “But I’m afraid I have to say no.”
The pony then flies off, leaving a frustrated Nightmare Moon.
It appears all but the purple ringleader have thwarted the efforts of Nightmare Moon in some manner. Whatever her intentions may have been, this group of friends has overcome all obstacles with which she has presented them.
Perhaps one challenge left? For the final pony of the group, the one whom it seems was the motivation for this ill-conceived journey.
Nightmare Moon ghosts now toward the ruins of Canterlot Castle.
Home. We have not been here in over 1000 years. Am I prepared to see it in this state?
I’ve no choice. I have not had one since I gave it up for powers I cannot control.
Nightmare Moon reaches the first stone structure—we recognize this one as the room where the Elements of Harmony had been concealed until my sister called upon their powers to banish my host. Surely my sister took the Elements with her when she departed?
We enter the throne room, where five orbs lie at the ends of the arms which the Elements usually sat on, the familiar stone sphere of Magic adorning the center. Here, Nightmare Moon halts, seeming to stare at the Elements for a short time, then goes through a window and waits just outside, her substanceless form prepared to move.
Several long minutes later, the group of friends enters the castle. Immediately, they all notice the large stone structure which housed the Elements of Harmony. The group of friends lines up, staring at the impressive sight. Applejack ventures to say something. “C’mon, Twilight. Isn’t this what you’ve been waitin’ for?”
Twilight steps forward, saying in awe, “The Elements of Harmony. We’ve found them!”
So they have come to seek out the Elements of Harmony. It is a shame that they are long gone, replaced by stone replicas.
If that were true, however, then why has Nightmare Moon taken such an interest in this? For that matter, why has she not just come out and eliminated these ponies? There are so many unanswered questions we have.
The two pegasi fly up to the mobile and lift the five Element stones they can find, then Pinkie counts. “One, two, three, four... there’s only five.”
Rainbow Dash asks the obvious question, “Where’s the sixth?”
We have long known that it takes a spark of something truly great in order to wield the Element of Magic. When Celestia and I wielded the Elements, it was her love for me which fueled the focal point of the Elements of Harmony.
It was that same love that banished me into the Moon for 1000 years. Does she still love me as she did? Can Celestia even still use the Elements?
“The book said when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.” It appears that somepony has done some research on the matter. Twilight sits down upon the stone floor before the five worthless stones.
The orange earth pony asks, “What in the hay is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don’t know what will happen.” Twilight flares her magic. A valid attempt, but magic cannot spark itself. It must have something more powerful than itself to ignite its power.
After several long moments of nothing, Applejack trots to the doorway, telling the others, “Come on, y’all. She needs to concentrate.” An intelligent concept; magic is very difficult indeed to master, especially at such a young age. It is all for naught, but this would have been a good lesson in Magic School for this unicorn.
No sooner have the other ponies departed that Nightmare Moon creeps from where she hides outside to the Elements. Twilight is focused raptly on her work and is paying no mind to what goes on around her. A wise unicorn teacher would commend her on her focus; it only serves to hinder her now, as Nightmare Moon creates a whirlwind and picks the false Elements up from the floor.
Twilight, perhaps sensing a change in the wind around her, opens her eyes and sees the spectacle in front of her. With a hastily stated, “The Elements!” she leaps into the tornado, her friends dashing back in time to see her wink out of existence before their very eyes.
We re-appear with this Twilight in a room a short ways away. There was once a statue of Mother here, standing over a tiny Celestia and Luna. Now, directly where Mother stood centuries ago, there is Nightmare Moon.
Twilight, unaware of the teleportation spell, is zapped back into existence a short distance away. She sees us holding the Elements of Harmony and goes into a crouch, scraping her hoof against the stone floor.
Nightmare Moon only watches in concealed amusement. She says in her familiar deadpan, “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”
Twilight begins charging us. Nightmare Moon, unwilling to back down from a challenge, charges in return.
When they are about to clash, we see Twilight’s horn flaring. She is about to cast magic. What spell, we do not know.
Suddenly, she disappears from right in front of us. We hear her pop back directly behind us, where the Elements of Harmony are.
Nightmare Moon, angry at being so easily outsmarted, turns into a tornado of darkness once more and reforms before the Elements of Harmony—just as Twilight releases a tiny spark of magic into the Elements.
The force of the kickback from the Elements sends the small pony sailing backward, a magical force emitted from the stones powerful enough to provide a magical feedback to magic being cast on them.
Nightmare Moon is standing in the middle of whatever this pony has triggered.
She notices this relatively quickly, the stones which may very well contain the Elements of Harmony sparking and glowing with magic. She panics. “No, no!”
Just as suddenly as the spark started, it dissipates, leaving the stones once more lying upon the floor.
Twilight Sparkle stares in shock. “But... where’s the sixth Element?”
She knows not what spark is needed to harness the power of the Elements. We know it to be love, but there is none within this pony. She will never harness the power of the Elements, even were she to find the real Elements and not these worthless stones.
Nightmare Moon cackles, stomping her hooves upon the floor in the center of the Elements and letting out a magical jolt, shattering the stones to pieces.
The look of overwhelming defeat on the pony’s face says it all. She has been bested.
Nightmare Moon, knowing this, taunts the crestfallen mare. “You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your Princess, or your Sun. The night will last forever!”
As Nightmare Moon lets out another victorious laugh, there is a slight commotion from the stairwell. Twilight’s pony friends have arrived to see the malefactor of Equestria.
There is a small pause, then Twilight whips around, confident once more. “You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you’re wrong, because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!”
The shards of stone at our feet begin glowing, rising into the air. Nightmare Moon gives a surprised, “What?”
Twilight continues her speech. “Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... Honesty!” At these words, several of the shards fly away from us and begin circling around the simple farm-pony.
“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... Kindness!”
We know these Elements. How could we not see this before? Each of her friends represents one of the Elements of Harmony in some manner.
It is a small wonder why my sister has ruled all these years, and not myself. We have never been much good at noticing the small things which lead up to a larger thing.
“Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... Laughter!
“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of... Generosity!
“And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of... Loyalty!
“The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.” Now, there are no more shattered stones at our hooves. The ponies she has named are looking encouragingly at her, the stones circling around them, the aura of the Elements’ colors corresponding to each pony which was named by Twilight.
Nightmare Moon points out the obvious once more. “You still don’t have the sixth Element! The spark didn’t work!”
“But it did! A different kind of spark.” She turns around to address the ponies situated behind her. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you... to see you. How much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!” She turns around to confront us once more. “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the—the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth Element, the Element of... Magic!”
The stones surrounding the five ponies suddenly bond and form their respective Elements—but not in the manner with which we are familiar. This time, the Elements of Harmony have been given a specific form. They are no longer nondescript gems.
At the forefront, Twilight’s Element manifests within a tiara, taking on the familiar shape of the Element of Magic.
Her cutie mark. This young mare’s cutie mark is the Element of Magic.
It is of little surprise that Nightmare Moon herself has been bested, then.
The other five Elements feed into the Element of Magic, its power focusing into a massively powerful spell that takes form as a solid rainbow. It erupts from the assembled ponies, arcing gracefully upward, then down, washing over us with magic that overwhelms us beyond what we have felt in even our own lifetime.
This magic is not destructive. It is not reprimanding. It offers us only comfort.
Nightmare Moon, knowing what is to come, tries to struggle against the magic which holds her, but to no avail. She is—