As Nightmare Moon continued to cackle triumphantly, Mayor Mare took the initiative, shouting, “Seize her! Only she knows where the princess is!”

The Royal Guard ponies present leapt into action, flying straight for the dark alicorn, as quick as arrows.

“Stand back, you foals!” her eyes lit up with a dark light as she cackled, the Guards getting knocked back by lightning, while Nightmare Moon suddenly dispersed into a shimmering mist and flew off.

“Thunder, let’s go!” Rainbow yelled, as Thunderlane managed to get free of Big Mac and the two flew out in pursuit.

“Come back here, you!” Thunderlane shouted, but in no time at all, their quarry was gone. It was also then that both pegasus ponies realized, to their dismay, that the night had not lifted, and they looked at each other in worry.

“Nighttime, forever?” Rainbow sounded uncharacteristically down when Thunderlane heard some galloping and they both noticed Twilight and Midnight running off.

Back in the library, Twilight put Spike to bed, who muttered, “We gotta stop Nightmarrr…”

But he fell back to sleep, Twilight giving him a blanket, saying, “You’ve been up all night, Spike. You are a baby dragon, after all."

“Well, Twilight, whaddo we do?” Midnight asked, once she had come down from upstairs.

But instead of answering him, Twilight quickly got to browsing, using her magic to levitate several books from their shelves, muttering, “Elements, Elements…! Urgh!”

She was levitating book after book, checking the titles, when she said, “How can Nightmare Moon be stopped if we can’t find the Elements of Harmony?!”

“And just what are the Elements of Harmony?!” Twilight found herself looking into a pair of cerise eyes, and Midnight saw it was Rainbow Dash, looking rather accusatory, especially when she threw one at Midnight, demanding, “And how did you two know about Nightmare Moon, huh?! Are you spies?!”

Not taking that one lying down, Midnight butted heads with the rainbow pegasus, threatening, “Back off or I’ll stuff a pillow with you!”

"Wha'd you say to me, you-" Rainbow's feathers ruffled as she got threatening when...

Behind Rainbow Dash was Applejack, but she was not alone. With her were Big Macintosh, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Thunderlane.

“They ain’t no spies!” Applejack asserted before looking to the two unicorns, “But they seem to know what’s goin’ on, don’cha Twilight?”

“Midnight…” Big Mac’s tone was respectful but he could just hear the wanting for answers.

Twilight and Midnight looked at each other, Midnight nodding to her, so she sighed in resignation.
“I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don’t know what they are, how to find them! …I don’t even know what they do!”

“‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide,’” read Pinkie, as she looked at a shelved book. Zipping over, Twilight knocked her out of the way to get it.

“Makes sense to me,” Midnight shrugged as Twilight levitated the book out and turned to a certain page.

“‘There are Seven Elements of Harmony, of which only five are known’” Twilight read.

What?! Midnight was shocked. That’s wrong! There’s only six Elements of Harmony! They’re…

“‘Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty,’” Twilight continued to read, “‘while the remaining two are a long-forgotten mystery. Guarded by three unknown obstacles, the last known location of the known Elements is the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, located in what is now…’”

Everypony looked at Twilight, as she said, “Look I appreciate the offer… but I’d really rather do this on my own.”

“Nnope!” Big Mac refused.
“Big Mac’s right, sugarcube," added Applejack, "we sure ain’t lettin’ any friend of ours go int’ tha’ creepy place alone!”

They all followed AJ in as she said, “We’re stickin’ t’ you like candy on a candy apple!”

“Especially if there are candy apples in there!” agreed Pinkie Pie, Twilight and Midnight giving her a look. “What? Those things are good!”

Twilight sighed, but Midnight said, “It’s probably for the best, Twilight. Nightmare Moon is too dangerous for any one pony to face alone.”

Not long later, as they all walked single-file, Twilight asked, “So… none of you have been here before?”

“And it ain’t natural!” Applejack added, as none of them noticed a mysterious vapor slip into the cliff edge beneath them. “This place don’t work th’ same as th’ rest a’ Equestria!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Midnight asked with a quiver in his voice.

“Nopony knows…!” Rainbow Dash said in a creepy voice as she creeped up towards thew other girls. “Know why?”

“Cuz’ everypony who’s gone in here…” she continued, “has never… come… OUT”

There was a crumbling sound, and suddenly, the ground beneath them fell away in a rock slide, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Thunderlane all taking flight while everypony else was not so lucky.

As everypony did their best to stop sliding, the pegasus ponies came to the rescue. Rainbow lifted up Pinkie, Fluttershy slowed down Rarity, while Thunderlane (to his silent aggravation) helped Big Macintosh, grabbing him by the tail and working his wings overtime to slow him down.
“Ergh! Mac, dude, ya gotta go easy on the pie!”

“Hey!” Big Mac protested. Sure, he might have a bit of a farmer’s paunch, but he was all muscle, dammit!

Applejack managed to grab a root but saw Twilight and Midnight sliding towards the edge. Midnight caught onto an outcropping of rock, but Twilight almost went over, just barely managing to grab hold of the edge. But it looked like she was slipping,.
“Midnight! Ya gotta help Twilight!”

Oh no! Whaddoo I do?! Midnight worried. He remembered the story – Applejack was supposed to save Twilight. If he changed that, it could have serious consequences for the future. Thinking quickly, he yelled, “I think I hurt my hoof, AJ! You gotta save her!”

Looking from Midnight to Twilight, Applejack furrowed her brows.
“Ah’m’a comin’!” she yelled as she slid down and quickly grabbed Twilight. But Twilight’s rear hooves were flailing underneath her, trying to find purchase.

For a moment, Applejack was unsure when she noticed something above.
“Let go.”

“That’s not true!” Twilight was beginning to panic. “You just wanna save yourself!”

Seeing this, Midnight shouted, “Believe in her, Twilight! She’s telling the truth!”

“He’s right, what Ah’m sayin’ to you is the honest truth!” Applejack said with a reassuring smile. “Let go and you’ll be safe.”

Looking into Applejack’s eyes, Twilight saw no deception, and Midnight had vouched for her. She put all her faith into their words, and let go.

“AAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHH!” Twilight screamed for a few short seconds, only to find herself in the safe hold of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.
“Phew…”

They dropped for a sudden moment, but stilled themselves, as Fluttershy said, “Sorry girls, I’m not used to holding anything heavier than a bunny or two.”

Twilight watched as Applejack and Big Mac both leaped from ledge to ledge downwards while Thunderlane carried Midnight down, and she saw Rarity and Pinkie were already at the bottom too.

Unknown to them, a dark presence zoomed off towards the darkness, and a roar shattered the forest silence.

Later, the nine ponies were continuing their trek through the forest while Rainbow bragged.

“…and once Pinkie and Rarity were safe,” Rainbow boasted, “me and `Shy loop de’ looped around and wham! Caught you right in the nick of time.”

“Yes, Rainbow, I was there,” Twilight deadpanned, “and I’m very grateful. But we need to-”

A loud thud ahead of them made them look to see…
“A manticore!” Twilight gasped.

The beast was a large lion with dirty orange fur, a brown-red mane, wings like a bat, and a tail like a scorpion. It rose up on its rear legs, waving its forepaws as it roared.
“We’ve gotta get past it!”

The beast leaped at Rarity, who dodged its first swipe. The fashionista surprised everypony with a powerful buck to the manticore’s face.
“Take that, you ruffian!”

The manticore roared in her face with such force and fury, it blew her mane out of its gorgeous style, much to Rarity’s chagrin.
“MY HAIR!”

Suddenly, she recalled she was face-to-face with a pony-eating beast and yelped before retreating, Fluttershy saying, “Wait...”

The manticore chased her, only to be met with Big Mac who reared up, waving his forelegs at the monstrosity.
“Nnope!”

The manticore did the same, and the two behemoths locked hooves and paws, the situation becoming a contest of strength.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack cheered for her brother. “Don’t give an inch, Big Mac!”

Big Mac snorted through his nostrils, taking a step forward, forcing the manticore back. Fluttershy again said, “Wait.” But no one heard her.

For a few intense seconds, Big Mac and the manticore grappled, trying to force the other down. But the manticore raised his tail, and Big Mac was forced to leap back to avoid what would have been a venomous sting.

“Count me in!” Rainbow volunteered as she and Thunder flew literal circles around the manticore, again ignoring Fluttershy as she said, “Wait!”

But it didn’t last long, as the manticore lashed out his wings, and the two Pegasus ponies were thrown back.
“RAINBOW, THUNDERLANE!” Twilight shouted in worry.

Deciding to step up to the plate, Twilight met eyes with the manticore, and the two were prepared for their face-off.
“Come on, everypony!”

They all charged the manticore, when…
“WAAAAAAIIIITTTT!!!” Fluttershy had dropped down in front of them and shouted, finally getting heard, bring everypony to a skidding halt.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight was confused as Fluttershy looked at the manticore. But Midnight put a hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s okay…” Fluttershy said gently, giving the manticore’s paw a kiss. The manticore looked distressed and held it out, revealing the true source of its strife. He had a big thorn in his paw.
“Aw, you poor little baby!”

“Now this might hurt for just a moment,” Fluttershy gently warned as she took hold of the thorn.

The manticore ROARED into Fluttershy’s face, Twilight and Big Mac shouting, “FLUTTERSHY!”

But instead of eating the yellow pegasus, the manticore was giving her a grateful lick, as he purred.
“Ha-ha, oh you’re just a little baby cutie, aren’choo? Yes you are!”

Taking that as a cue, everypony quickly hurried past the manticore. Twilight waited for Fluttershy to catch up.
“How did you know about the thorn?”

“I didn’t,” she admitted, her mane now slicked by manticore slobber. “Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness.”

Twilight puzzled Fluttershy’s words, as well as Midnight.
How did he know Fluttershy would get us past?

Deciding to just take what she was given, Twilight smiled and hurried to catch up, not noticing the thorn spin into a swirl of shimmering haze.

As they all carried on, Rarity shuddered.
“My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck!”

No sooner did she say so did the moonlight fade from the thick canopy above them.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Midnight grumbled.
"This is not what I had in mind!" responded Rarity indignantly.

“That ancient ruin could be right in front of us and we wouldn’t even know it!” Twilight worried.

Everypony else started to complain, unable to see the malevolent haze seep into a nearby tree.

“It’s just mud, no big deal,” Thunderlane scoffed as he walked right into a tree… with a horrifying face. “Yikes!”

Everywhere they turned, everypony saw a horrifying face, ugly ,with sharp teeth, soulless eyes, and they began to scream as they huddled together.

They looked to see Pinkie Pie laughing at one of the faces, and making faces back at it.
“Pinkie, what’re you doing?! Run!” Twilight yelled to her.

When I was a little filly and the sun was going down….

The darkness and the shadows, they would make me frown...

I’d hide under my pillow
From what I thought I saw
But Granny Pie said that wasn’t the way
To deal with fears at all

“Then what is?!” Rainbow Dash demanded, the song irritating her, only for Pinkie to hop over next to her.

She said, “Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You’ll see that they can’t hurt you
Just laugh to make them disappear.”

Ha! Ha! Ha!

In response to the laughter, the horrid face vanished, revealing it was nothing more than a tree! Everypony gasped, Midnight saying, “She’s right!”

So giggle at the ghostly

Fluttershy giggled along with Thunderlane.

Guffaw at the grossly

Rainbow laughed with a skip.

Crack up at the creepy

Rarity raised her brow and laughed.

Whoop it with the weepy

Big Mac smiled as he gave Applejack a lift as she whooped by.

Chortle at the kooky

Pinkie pushed Twilight and Midnight up to a face, and they laughed it away.

Snortle at the spooky

Everypony laughed together.

And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he’s got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna hahahaha… heh…

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuugh!

Almost at once, all the scary faces vanished in pink poofs, revealing nothing more than barren trees, everypony falling onto their backs and letting out life-enriching laughter.

It wasn’t long later when they were all laughing and carrying on, Pinkie hopping ahead when she stopped at a riverbank, everypony bumping into the pony ahead of him or her. Everypony looked past Pinkie, as she said, “How’re we gonna get across this?!”

The river before them was turbulent, and looked too treacherous to cross, and without any idea how deep it was, it was just too risky. But at that moment, they heard a mournful sobbing, making them all, “Huh?”

They followed the sobbing upriver and peered through some bushes. They found the source of the river’s turbulence in the form of a large purple serpent thumping his tail in the water (why he was called a sea serpent for one that lived in a river was anyone’s guess). The serpent had a slicked back orange mane and mustache and appeared to be in distress.
“What a world, what a world!”

“Um, excuse us, kind sir?” Midnight called out. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Well! I was just swimming along, minding my own business,” the serpent explained, “when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just… zipped past me, and tore off half of my beloved mustache clean off!”

They could see the missing half of the serpent’s mustache, now a mere messy tuft on the serpent’s nose.
“And now I look simply horrid!”

The serpent cried as he just fell over, unintentionally sending a wave to splash the nine ponies, leaving them all soaked.
“Oh gimme a break!” Rainbow gruffed.

“That’s what all th’ fuss is about?” Applejack asked with a tone one might use to say ‘are you serious’.

“Why of course it is!” Rarity spoke up, her nose pointing up. “How can you be so insensitive?”

They all watched in bewilderment as Rarity approached the serpent, resting his head on the bank.
“Why just look at him, such lovely luminous scales!”

“Is she serious?!” Thunderlane muttered, earning him a ‘shush’ from Midnight.

“I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected!” Rarity swore, and she quickly plucked one of the serpent’s scales.

They all gasped as the scale slit through the air, the serpent moaning as he fainted, and they all saw Rarity had slit off her own tail!

Her horn shined as her magic levitated her shorn tail to the serpent’s nose, and with her magic, Rarity replaced the lost half of the mustache with her tail, much to the serpent’s joy.
“Oh! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! My mustache…!”

“Oh it’s fine, dear!” Rarity waved it off. “Besides, it’ll… grow back.”

They heard Twilight gasp, "Look, everypony, the river's still enough for us to cross now," and she was starting to wade through the river, which no longer posed a threat. But she found herself lifted up by the serpent’s tail.

“Allow me!” he said as the serpent formed a bridge of his coils, allowing all the ponies lacking wings passage over.

As the ponies carried on, they came upon an open field, centered by a single pedestal. Approaching, they saw some old writing.

This never appeared in the story, he thought to himself and they all heard Twilight read the inscription.

“‘If you come in good will, prepare for a challenge high, if you come with ill intent suffer the wrath of the sky’.”

“What does that mean?” Thunderlane scoffed, and he got his answer as a great cloud formed overhead.

“Twilight!” Midnight brought up, “Before, the book said, that the way to the Elements there would be three obstacles. What if this is one of them?”

Twilight didn’t get to answer, as a lightning bolt zapped around them, and everypony huddled together, as lightning continued to strike, preventing them from going anywhere. The lightning strikes continued, some more intense than others, but before long, they were surrounded as though they were in a cage with lightning bolts as the bars. F a second, there would be a gap but then the second would pass and the gaps would disappear and reappear consistently around them.

“This looks like a job for…” Rainbow Dash paused for dramatic effect, only for a bolt to strike the ground close to her and singe a few of her mane hairs, making her gulp as she huddled back with her friends.
"...somepony else..."

Suddenly, Midnight had an idea.
“Thunderlane! This test is for a pegasus pony! I think it’s meant for you!”

“Me?!” Thunderlane gaped at the cloud above, how dark and dense it was. “Are you crazy?!”

“Trust me, what’s that cutie-mark of yours for?” Midnight gave him a determined smile. “You’re a weather pony like no other!”

Thunderlane could just see it, Midnight believed in him. Then everypony else was giving him looks of encouragement. If they all believed in him, how could he not believe in himself? Smirking, he reached behind himself and pulled out a pair of goggles, snapping them on.

“Vice-Captain Thunderlane of the Ponyville Weather Team, reporting for duty!” He said with a proud salute.

“You get us through this and we’ll be co-captains!” Rainbow Dash promised, and Thunderlane instantly zoomed off.

Thunderlane flew around the cloud, knowing in order to break apart one this big, he’d have to look for the densest part, and give it everything he got. With his highly-trained vigilance, he scanned the cloud, expertly dodging the lightning bolts, when he saw it! It was dark and thick, the very heart of the cloud!

He pumped his wings, gaining altitude with each beat of his wings. Everypony could see him from beneath the cloud until he was no more than a speck.
“Come on, Thunder…” Midnight whispered, Twilight noticing the look in Midnight’s eyes.

Thunderlane took a deep breath… and dived! This was gonna be tense, he had to gain enough velocity and hit the right spot! If he missed, there would be no second chances. He’d go right through the cloud and he wouldn’t be able to pull up… unless he hit the heart of the cloud, which would cushion him just enough to be able to slow down and land.

The wind streaked past his face, howling in his ears. He flipped forward, his rear hooves downwards. Everypony’s hearts were pumping, some of them chewing on their hooves!

They looked up and saw the cloud’s lightning stop, and sure enough it started to lighten up, the cloud breaking apart into wisps of rainy vapor, and they saw him! Thunderlane zoomed up at a 45 degree angle, and everypony cheered as Thunderlane came down with a cocky look.

They all crowded him with words of kudos.
“Thunder! That was as awesome as… me!” Rainbow admitted with a smirk.
“Well done, darling!” Rarity clapped her hooves.
“Eeyup!” Big Mac raised his own, Fluttershy doing the same as she said “yay”.
“Yee-haw!”Applejack whooped, saying, “That’s even better than a rodeo!”
“Whoo-hoo! Thundy’s so cool!” Pinkie cheered.

Midnight was clapping his hooves, when Twilight whispered, “How did you know?”

“Somehow you knew this was Thunderlane’s test,” Twilight admonished, without letting the others notice.

“I didn’t exactly know, Twilight,” Midnight corrected with a smile. “It was just a question of faith.”

And with that, they all carried on. Soon they exited the foliage, and Twilight exclaimed, “There it is!”

“We’re almost there!” Twilight protested when she yelped, stepping onto nothing, and gasped to see she was dangling over another edge. She struggled to push herself back, when she felt a tug on her tail pull her to safety.
“What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?” Rainbow cracked.

They all looked to see a great chasm barring their way, and Pinkie complained, “Now what?”

“Hold on, Dash, I’ll help you-” Thunderlane stretched a wing, but winced. “Ooh, my wing!”

Fluttershy gave it a look, and said in a maternal way, “I think you sprained it a little, No flying on that wing, Thundy.”

Rainbow dived down the chasm, and arose the mist below, the remains of a rope-bridge in her mouth, as she lifted the other end towards the other side. But just as she was getting to secure it, she heard something.

“I ain’t scared of you!” Rainbow reared up, boxing her hooves for a fight. “Show yourself!”

She looked towards the mist ahead and heard a voice.
“We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flier in Equestria!”

“Really?! I mean- oh yeah, me!” Rainbow bragged. “Hey, uh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? Cuz I’ve been trying to get into that group for, like, ever!”

“No, Rainbow Dash, we want you to join us!” The source of the voice approached in a gallop and Rainbow saw three shady-looking pegasus ponies.
“The Shadowbolts!”

They wore purple and black flight suits, with lightning yellow borders, the one in the middle was a mare while her escorts were stallions, Each of them had bone-white coats while their manes were an ominous blue, and their eyes were covered by shady-looking goggles with orange lenses.
"We're the best team of fliers in the Everfree Forest! And soon, we will be the greatest in all Equestria! But first… we need a captain”

Instantly Rainbow got starry-eyed, having an idea where this was going as the female Shadowbolt carried on.
“The most magnificent…”

“We need…!” the Shadowbolt cried dramatically before whispering into Rainbow’s ear, “you!”

“Whoo-hoo! Sign me up!” Rainbow leapt before going over to the rope-bridge. “Just lemme secure this thing, then we have a deal.”

The mare Shadowbolt glared at them, her goggles flashing yellow, causing the clouds to cover the others, muffling their voices.

“Oh no, Rainbow’s in trouble!” Twilight worried.
“We gotta get over there!” Thunderlane insisted.
“Oh my, oh my!” Fluttershy fretted.

All eyes fell to Midnight, who looked into the fog with an unreadable look. Applejack stood next to him, asking, “What in the hay do ya mean don’t worry?”

“Believe in Rainbow Dash,” Midnight insisted. “She’ll make the right choice.”

For a few agonizing moments, everypony looked to the mist, so thick they couldn’t even see that telltale rainbow mane they all knew and loved. Then, without warning, they saw the bridge on their side jerk, and the fog parted, Rainbow flying up to them, as they all cheered and made their way across.
“Good job, Rainbow!” Twilight said proudly.

Having made it to the other side, everypony could see the ruins just up ahead.
“We’re almost there,” Twilight whispered.

But halfway to the castle, they heard a rumbling sound and the ground beneath their hooves shook.
“Not again!” Rarity cried out.

But instead of a rockslide, the ground erupted, and something rose from the earth itself, and everypony gasped to see a giant dog made entirely of rock, dirt, and soil. It growled at them, as Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Thunderlane all shied in fear.

But to their surprise, the earth-dog opened its mouth and spoke in a gravelly growl.
“A test of strength against the stone, this contest win by earth pony alone…”

“This must be another of the obstacles for the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight whispered to Midnight.
“And I have a feeling it’s meant for Big Macintosh!” he responded.

As if hearing Midnight, Big Mac stepped forward, his eyes narrowed, his nostrils snorting.
“Go get `im, big guy!” Thunderlane and Midnight cheered.

Everypony backed up, as Big Mac sized up the earth-dog. It was three times his size, and at least four times his weight.

The monster made the first move and charged. Big Mac met it head on, and they grappled hooves against paws. However, everypony could see at once the big red earth pony was outmatched. Big Mac bared his teeth, a vein bulging on his forehead, as he struggled with all his might against the earth-dog. It was like trying to push back a train at full-speed!

Realizing even his hoofaclean strength alone was not gonna be enough, Big Mac fell backwards, pulling the earth-dog, and sent him tumbling head over heels. The beast barked angrily as it scrabbled to its feet, and while it was doing that, Big Mac’s sharp eyes saw it! A big gemstone in the beast’s middle, and it had a big crack on it!

It was then Big Mac realized what this challenge was really about! It wasn’t a test of brute strength, but rather a test of one’s personal strengths, and Big Mac knew besides his muscle, he actually had a head on his shoulders.

Whistling, Big Mac yelled, “Get on over here, ya mangy varmint! Or do th’ rocks in yer head make ya too stoo-pid t' understand?!”

The insults hit home as the earth-dog charged again, everypony gasping, Applejack shouting in worry, “Big brother, be careful!”

Big Mac stood his ground, waiting for the right moment. Suddenly, he bolted forward and the earth-dog ready for another wrestle which would end in his favor. The golem reared up, expecting big Mac to meet their hooves and paws. Instead, Big Mac jumped forward, and delivered a mighty blow to the gemstone in the middle of the earth-dog’s chest.

Everypony gasped as they heard it shatter, and for a few seconds nothing happened, the earth-dog apparently frozen. Then, slowly but surely, the earth-dog fell apart into a literal heap of crumbly rubble. Everypony cheered, and crowded Big Mac, Applejack cheering loudest of all.
“Hoo-wee! Now that’s how an Apple gets business done!”

Everypony laughed, and Midnight said, “Come on, everypony! We’re just about there.”

But as everypony approached the doors of the ruin, they failed to realize another test was staring them in the face. Midnight reached forth to open the door, when Twilight shouted, “Midnight, stop!”

Midnight jerked his hoof back, everypony looking at Twilight as her horn glowed with her aura.
“There’s some kind of barrier surrounding the ruins! I think if you’d touched it you would’ve gotten hurt.”

"Oh great!” Rainbow complained. “We come all this way just so some stupid spell can get in the way.”

“Unless this is another test!” Midnight calmed her down. He looked to the door and somehow he felt it – this magic was waiting for him. Somehow he knew to look to his right, and Midnight saw it.
“Twilight, there’s an inscription here.”

Twilight scrutinized it, and said, “I think it’s a riddle! ...‘In the dark they arrive without being fetched, in the light they are lost without being stolen’!”

Midnight considered the words when he looked at Twilight. But then he noticed her cutie-mark, that big magenta six-point star.
Wait! …That’s it!

He stepped forward, and called out, “In the dark they arrive without being fetched, in the light they are lost without being stolen! The answer is… the Stars!”

They saw it and they felt it, the barrier seemed to reflect in light, blinding them for an instant before it shattered into shards of magic that quickly shimmered before fading away.

Though the roof was gone, the first chamber was no less impressive. Some windows still persisted, and a few pillars still stood, most of them enwrapped with vines. In the center stood a great monument that held up five stone spheres, each carved with a different shape.

“Come on, Twilight,” Applejack invited, “isn’t this what you’ve been waitin’ for?”

“The Elements of Harmony!” Twilight awed as she gazed upon the spheres. “We found them!”

As Thunderlane still had a sprained wing, Rainbow and Fluttershy both collected the stones, Twilight saying, “Careful, careful…”

“The book said that when the five are present, one would be revealed through hope, the other by a spark!” Twilight explained.

“Wha’ in the hay is that s’posed to mean?” Applejack asked, thinking it sounded like hooey.

“I’m not sure but I have an idea!” Twilight said as she kneeled before the stone. “Stand back, I don’t know what will happen.”

“Come on y’all,” Applejack said, leading everyone outside, “she needs ta’ concentrate.”

But as they left, the shimmering haze returned, and became a whirlwind, sucking in the Elements, Twilight gasping.

“The Elements!” Twilight shouted as she dove into the whirlwind after them, which blinked away, much to everypony’s shock.

“Where did she go?!” “What happened?” “How do we find `em?” “I don’t see her!”

As everypony dashed around in a mad attempt to locate their friend, Applejack yelled, “Twilight! Where are you?!”

They looked to see Thunderlane looking out a window, and in a nearby a tower, lights flashed from its windows.

Twilight coughed, as the haze cleared and she gasped! Ahead of her, on a pedestal, stood Nightmare Moon, the Elements levitating around her, caught in her haze of a mane and tail, laughing wickedly as lightning flashed around her.

Twilight lowered her horn, and stomped her hoof, showing she was rearin’ to charge.

Twilight;’s horn shined as she charged, and Nightmare Moon responded in sneering kind. But…! Just before the two clashed, Twilight vanished in a FLASH, Nightmare Moon skidding to a halt, as she looked towards the Elements and saw Twilight had teleported to them.

“Just one spark!” she whispered, and channeled her power to the Elements. “Come on, come on...!”

Nightmare Moon growled as she zoomed over in a haze, re-solidifying before she lashed out, knocking Twilight back. But the Elements flickered with energy, Nightmare Moon gasping, “No, no!”

Twilight smirked only for her moment of victory to be dashed away, as the Elements went dim. She gasped, saying, “But… Where are the last two Elements?!”

Nightmare Moon cackled as she reared up and brought down her hooves in a powerful stomp, and to Twilight’s horror, the Elements shattered!
“You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me?! Now you will never again see your princess or your sun! The Night will last… forever!!”

“Oh, don’t feel bad,” Nightmare Moon mocked, “you won’t be around to enjoy it!”

Without warning, Nightmare Moon shot a bolt of energy at Twilight, who was too downtrodden to notice.

Twilight looked and saw a blue figure leap in front of her, and gasped to hear him scream as he took the blow. He fell in front of her, Twilight running over to see…
“Midnight!”

"Ergh… Are you okay?” Midnight whispered, obviously in pain. Twilight looked in dismay to see Midnight's coat singed and blackened by Nightmare Moon's attack, and the point of impact looked like he'd gotten burned.

“Midnight! Why... why did you do that?!” Twilight cried, tears starting to well up.

Twilight gasped softly, touched by those words and the pained smile Midnight was giving her before she woefully said, “Midnight, I… I failed. The Elements are destroyed! It’s over…”

She felt a hoof wipe her tears away, and saw Midnight smiling still with nary a doubt in his eyes.
“So long as you believe, it’s never over.”

“How sentimental…” Nightmare Moon mocked. “You can share in her fate.”

But before Nightmare moon could charge another energy bolt, Twilight heard voices familiar, and looked behind them to see a doorway.
“Twilight, don’t worry!”
“We’ll be there!”
“We’re coming!”
“Don’t give up!”

And it was then Twilight experienced a revelation!
“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?” Twilight faced Nightmare Moon, “Well you’re wrong!”

She heard them all gallop to her side and declared, “Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony… are right here!”

The shards of the Elements all glowed and shivered around Nightmare’s hooves and rose up
“What?!”

“Applejack,” Twilight spoke, “who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of… Honesty!”

“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of… Kindness!”

“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! Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty!”

As Rarity and Rainbow were surrounded by some shards, Twilight looked down at Midnight, who smiled at her, and she finally understood.
“And Midnight Blaze, who never lost hope and believed in us all, represents the spirit of… Faith!”

Twilight stepped away from Midnight, who became surrounded by the shards that somehow gave him enough strength to stand on his hooves, and he felt his wound begin to feel better as the magic seemed to heal him and even clean his coat.

“The spirits of these six ponies, along with the aid of Thunderlane and Big Macintosh, helped us get through every challenge, yours and the three tests of harmony itself!”

“You still lack the last element!” Nightmare insisted but looking worried. “The spark didn’t work!”

“But it did… a different kind of spark!” Twilight corrected as she faced the others, smiling at them all as they smiled at 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!”

A light shined above, and the seventh element appeared, floating down towards Twilight, and suddenly, Thunderlane, Big Mac, and Midnight each shined with a golden light.
“You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by… the Spark that resides in the heart of us all, it summons the final Element! The Element of… Magic!”

Everypony shined with power, the shards transforming into necklaces while the seventh element became a crown upon Twilight’s head. Thunderlane, Big Mac, and Midnight found themselves clad in armor, while Midnight’s shards became a helmet.

And together, the nine friends, their friendship tested and true, shined with the colors of the rainbow, so radiant that it unleashed a rainbow towards the dark one. Engulfed in its power, Nightmare Moon cried out, “NOOOOOOO!!!!! AAAAUUGGHHH!!!!”

And like a bad dream she vanished as Twilight and Midnight opened their eyes, releasing a pure white light.

“Ohh…!” Rainbow groaned, as she got up. Looking around, she noticed the others all lying on the floor, stirring as well. “My head!”

“I know!” Rarity waved her tail, which had somehow been restored to its full length and same beautiful style. “I'll never part with it again!”

“No, your necklace,” Fluttershy pointed out. “The jewel looks just like your cutie-mark.”

Rarity saw for herself the jewel was indeed shaped like one of the jewels of her cutie-mark, colored the same purple as her mane.
“So does yours!”

“Lookit mine, lookit mine!” Pinkie bounced, her jewel a blue balloon, Applejack’s an orange apple with a green leaf.

“Aw yeah!” Rainbow was feeling pret-ty good, her jewel a red lightning bolt.

They looked and saw the boys were clad in golden armor, similar to the armor worn by the Royal Guard, but each emblazoned with their cutie marks (except Midnight). Big Mac’s armor was red and green with gold accents, featuring his cutie-mark, a sparkling sliced-in-half green apple, as an emblem.
Smiling, he nodded approvingly, saying, “Eeyup!”

Thunderlane’s armor was black and silver with gold accents, with his storm cloud cutie-mark.
“Oh yeah! Check me out ladies!” Thunderlane posed.

Midnight’s armor was blue and gold with white accents, but he was the only one who wore a helmet, the plume colored the same as his mane, and it sported a white jewel shaped like a pentagon. Removing it, he held it in his hooves to give it a better look.
The story has changed…

He looked and smiled to see Twilight wore a golden tiara-like crown topped with a magenta jewel shaped like the six-point star of her cutie-mark.

“Well Twilight, as wild as all this was,” he said to her, “it seems together we all represent the elements of friendship.”

Everypony looked and through a window, they saw the sun rise in the horizon, as a light came down from the sun, into the ruin with them, dimming to reveal…
“Princess Celestia!”

It was the Princess of the Sun, tall and regal, her coat white tinted pink, her mane flowing with resplendent colors of pink, pale green, turquoise, her wings spread, her horn like a lance of pearl. She wore a crown, hoofboots, and a regalia, and her cutie-mark was a shining sun!

Everypony bowed while Twilight approached her teacher, who greeted, “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student!”

Teacher and student shared a loving nuzzle, and Princess Celestia stood up with a smile.
“I knew you could do it.”

“I told you that you needed to make some friends,” Celestia gently reminded her, “nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her. But you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart.”

“Now if only another would as well,” Celestia spoke, stepping past Twilight. “Princess Luna!”

Everypony looked and were shocked to see that in Nightmare Moon’s place was a little alicorn, surrounded by the remnants of Night Mare Moon’s armor. She had a deep blue coat and gentle blue mane and tail, wore a little black crown, and had the same cutie-mark. She looked nothing like Nightmare Moon, as she cringed in fear at the approach of the Princess of the Sun.
“It has been a thousand years since I’ve seen you like this.”

Luna looked away in shame, Celestia kneeling down to her.
“It's time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister.”

“Duh, can’t you see the resemblance?” cracked Midnight, only for Big Mac to cuff him on the back of the head.

Everypony leaned in, hopefully (Pinkie leaning a little too much given she fell on her face), and Luna got up, crying as she nuzzled Celestia, “I’m so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!”

Pinkie let out tears and sobbed, crying as she felt happy for the royal sisters united! But suddenly she stopped (somehow the waterworks vanishing) as she said, “Hey! Y’know what this calls for?”

Blaze the Pony Tale

by Wolven5

4. Friendship is Magic - Part 2