Less than ten minutes had passed since SIG Sauer had ignited his distress beacon and armed himself. Very little had happened since then. He was still confronting his new opponents, but neither side had attacked yet. Although they outnumbered him four-to-one, he was more than capable of evening out the odds. However, he had an injury to account for, so he decided that his best strategy would be the one which involved moving around as little as possible. Because of that, he was hoping that one of his opponents would attack first. Obviously, they needed a little encouragement.
"It won't be long before we have company," SIG Sauer apprised them tauntingly, "If you are going to pick an option, you better decide now. So, what's it going to be? Retreat? Surrender? Or option three?"
Dense Miasma slowly stepped forward and declared "We have been waiting days, weeks, months, even years for this to happen. In order to close itself, the energy sphere will need the blood of one of Celestia's allies, but it will only accept the blood if the donor is still alive. However, that does not imply that the blood has to be yours. Whenever your reinforcements come along, we'll battle them until one of them is wounded in close proximity to the sphere. Then we'll use his blood. There; problem solved. So we don't need you anymore."
Dense Miasma gazed around at his three colleagues and ordered them sternly "Kill him."
Petal Picker, Soapstone, and Tough Titan simultaneously charged towards SIG Sauer with the intent to eliminate him. The pine green Unicorn held the dagger defensively and waited for them to get within two feet of him. Once they were upon him, he drove them back with a powerful wave of the dagger. Although he was focusing on all three of them at once, he planned to take them out individually.
Soapstone was the most unruly; whenever she got close to SIG, she hacked at him viciously. As he parried her blows, he scrutinized the Earth Pony's actions to find an exploitable flaw in them. Ten seconds later, she swiped her knife at SIG's torso, but she missed by several inches. Before she had a chance to rejoin, SIG Sauer gripped Soapstone by her mane, pulled her head back, and slashed her throat open with the dagger. When he released her, she dropped to the ground and quickly bled out.
Petal Picker used a shrewder method of fighting. Her approach relied more on tactics than force. While she was more heedful and strategic, her style employed a limited number of maneuvers. SIG Sauer soon recognized a pattern in the Pegasus' behavior and spotted a fatal error. At one point, she thrust her knife towards SIG's forehead. He dodged her attack, knocked her front leg out of the way, and plunged the dagger into her abdomen. He twisted the weapon around and let it go. Petal Picker collapsed onto the ground and did not move.
Tough Titan proved to be more difficult to defeat than either of the mares. He did not carry a weapon, but he did not need one. His skin was tough as nails, and his strength was three times that of a normal stallion. A single solid punch to SIG's face or chest would have been enough to incapacitate him. The pine green Unicorn just barely managed to avoid being struck down by the larger stallion.
Tough Titan did not appear to have any weakness, but SIG Sauer had a ploy in mind to bring him down. It was a ploy he did not enjoy using, but it had never failed him before.
SIG Sauer drew his special knife from his belt and held it in an aggressive stance. When Tough Titan rushed towards him with his right front hoof raised, SIG made his move. He jumped forward and waved his knife twice at Tough Titan's upper body. He left two cuts in the larger stallion's throat; one on either side. The cuts were long but quite shallow, and they did nothing to slow Tough Titan down. In actuality, they were not meant to be lethal for him. However, his next injury most certainly would be.
Infuriated by the feeling of pain in his neck, Tough Titan aimed a punch at SIG Sauer's head and swung with all his might. SIG Sauer ducked under the larger stallion's front leg, scurried behind him, and jumped onto his back. Then he lifted his knife high into the air and stabbed Tough Titan in the back of the neck. The large stallion groaned in misery, but he was still standing on his hooves. SIG's next move would remedy that.
SIG Sauer raised his right front hoof high into the air and slammed it against the hilt of his knife. As a result, the blade sunk further into Tough Titan's throat, and a deafening "SNAP" sound was produced. This indicated that the knife had pierced the top of Tough Titan's vertebrae and severed it from the rest of his spinal column.
Tough Titan stood absolutely still for about ten seconds. Then his head slid off his shoulders and rolled across the ground. Shortly after, his decapitated body crumpled as well.
There were now three corpses scattered across the ground. SIG Sauer stood above them triumphantly. He leaned down to the hugest one, extracted his knife, and wiped the blade clean. Then he turned back to Dense Miasma and cockily pronounced "Now it's just you and me."
Inwardly, the cerulean Unicorn was saddened and enraged for the loss of his associates. However, he managed to contain his grief and his fury. He glared at SIG Sauer with an icy stare, as if he was contemplating a variety of brutal ways to slay him. Ultimately, he merely grinned and stated haughtily "You'll find I am a little more experienced at skirmishing than my colleagues. You remember our conversation from earlier on? You might question the authenticity of some of the things I said, but what I told you about the University of Neightown was not fabricated. I really did compete in that tourney, and I really did place second in one of the events. You know which event that was?"
"Throwing knives at people's backs?" SIG Sauer scathingly conjectured.
Dense Miasma lightly shook his head and revealed "Mixed martial arts."
After he said this, he abruptly did a hoofspring forward and landed in front of SIG Sauer on his hind feet. The older stallion prepared to strike the younger stallion with his knife, but Dense Miasma did a roundhouse kick to SIG's side, throwing him off balance.
SIG Sauer momentarily stumbled, but he recovered without delay. Dense Miasma threw an upper cut towards SIG's chin, but the pine green stallion blocked his blow and pushed him back. While SIG Sauer was not very familiar with mixed martial arts, he was an expert in hoof-to-hoof combat. He would not go down without a struggle.
A vicious brawl quickly ensued; it lasted almost three whole minutes. Punches were thrown, kicks were delivered, and blows were exchanged all over. Both stallions were equally determined to win this conflict, and both proved to be extremely capable fighters. Dense Miasma had the advantages of youth and flexibility on his side, but SIG Sauer was able to compensate with his understanding of army tactics and adroitness. The fact that he was armed and Dense was not provided him with little reassurance. Dense Miasma did not even need a weapon to spar with SIG Sauer.
Near the end of the third minute, Dense Miasma's front leg shot forward and struck SIG on his open wound. SIG Sauer silently groaned and staggered backwards. Dense Miasma took this opportunity to lunge forward and trip the older stallion. SIG fell flat on his back; Dense stood over him to pin him down.
SIG Sauer tried to stab Dense Miasma in the shoulder, but Dense intercepted his right front hoof and held it back. He tried to wrestle the blade away from SIG, but the pine green stallion had a tight grip on his weapon. This gave the cerulean stallion an idea. He wrapped both of his own front hooves around SIG's right front hoof and turned it towards the older Unicorn so that his knife was pointed at him. Then he pushed straight down as hard as he could.
SIG Sauer realized that Dense Miasma was trying to make SIG stab himself in the throat. His left front leg was still free, but Dense's throat was out of reach. Thankfully, knife was not. He quickly grabbed ahold of its handle with his left front hoof and tried to pull it away from him. He put up substantial resistance to counter Dense Miasma's force, and if he was unharmed, it may have been enough. However, SIG could feel the strain on his injury getting tighter, and it weakened him considerably. Dense Miasma smirked evilly; he was confident that he now had the upper hoof. He gradually pushed the knife closer to SIG Sauer's neck.
When the tip of the blade was less than an inch from SIG's throat, a sickening "crunch" sound filled the air. Subsequently, the smirk on Dense Miasma's face faltered and he froze in his position. Then he released his grip on SIG's knife, and he did not blink, breathe, or move in any way. SIG Sauer was perplexed by this new behavior. Dense Miasma had been so close to finishing him off; it would make no sense for him to relent.
Then he noticed some movement behind the cerulean Unicorn. A figure was standing over them. One of its front hooves was pressed against the flipside of Dense Miasma's head. When Dense Miasma slumped forward, SIG Sauer discovered that he had been stabbed straight through his skull with a switchblade.
The figure pushed Dense Miasma's body off of SIG Sauer and leaned down in front of the pine green Unicorn. It inquired restlessly "Sir, are you alright?"
SIG Sauer recognized the figure's voice. "Noble?"
"Yes, SIG, it's me," Ponyville's chief of security affirmed. She gazed around the area, and then back down at her wounded colleague. She asked in worry "What in Tartarus happened here?"
"We were deceived," was all the pine green Unicorn said at first. He tried to look behind Noble Edict, and then he queried "Did anypony else accompany you here?"
"No, I came alone," she told him. She then spotted the open wound on SIG's chest. "Oh, my Celestia… SIG, you've been stabbed!"
"I noticed," the stallion remarked sarcastically. Then he got serious and explicated "But that's not important. Listen to me; I've found Princess Celestia. It may be up to you to rescue her."
"What are you talking about?" Noble Edict queried in a mixture of curiosity and puzzlement.
SIG Sauer was about to clarify what he meant. Before he could, he saw some activity in the air above the clearing. His distress beacon had started to fade, but it was bright enough for him to see that somepony was flying amongst the remnants.
He tapped the red Earth Pony on her shoulder and whispered to her in necessity "Somepony's up there!"
Noble Edict looked up at the sky at the corner of her eye, and she saw what her colleague saw. She quickly retrieved the knife she had used to kill Dense Miasma and stood over SIG Sauer. If they were still in danger, she was prepared to defend her hurt colleague.
A minute later, the winged creature descended to the ground and landed between the security officers and the energy sphere. It became apparent that he was an abnormally large Pegasus with a palomino coat. Upon this discovery, SIG Sauer and Noble Edict knew who he was.
"Bellerophon, what are you doing here?" SIG inquired.
"We saw your distress beacon," the tall stallion answered.
"'We?'" Noble Edict restated.
"Before I came here, I was in a group of eight," Bellerophon specified, "The others were the ambassador, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. We were searching for the Elements of Harmony in another part of the Forest when we spotted the red lights. The ambassador sent me to survey the area."
"Will he and the mares be alright on their own?" queried Noble Edict in concern.
"I believe so," the palomino Pegasus replied, "We managed to track the Elements to an abandoned fortress several miles south of here. Presently, all but one of them are accounted for. The missing one should be reacquired shortly."
"Good, and not a moment too soon," SIG Sauer proclaimed. He pointed to the energy sphere and announced "While the others are preoccupied with the Elements, we must do everything we can to open that sphere."
"Why is that?" Bellerophon enquired. Up until now, he had not wondered why SIG Sauer was lying on the ground. He noticed the stab wound in the pine green Unicorn's chest and questioned anxiously "And how did this happen?"
"SIG Sauer was assaulted," Noble Edict told the tall Pegasus.
SIG Sauer gestured to the bodies scattered across the ground and said "These ponies; they tried to kill me. Had Noble Edict not arrived when she did, they may have succeeded."
"Why did they want you dead?" Bellerophon demanded.
"Same reason they were guarding that sphere: they are followers of Nightmare Moon," SIG Sauer disclosed.
While this did answer one question, it raised so many others. SIG Sauer gave Noble Edict and Bellerophon a brief but thorough summary of everything that had occurred in the area since Dense Miasma had brought him there. He covered everything, including the riddle, his vision, Nightmare Moon's attempt to bribe him, the discovery of Celestia's whereabouts, Dense Miasma's betrayal, the revelation of the cult, and the subsequent scuffle.
"Nightmare Moon is responsible for everything that happened here," SIG Sauer expounded, "In order to keep Princess Celestia ensnared in that cloud, Dense Miasma and his colleagues needed a blood specimen from one of her devout followers. They ended up choosing me."
"Thank goodness they did not succeed," Bellerophon commented. He looked around at the five cultists' bodies and asked "Are they all dead?"
"The one in the cloak isn't," SIG Sauer informed him, "She's just unconscious."
Bellerophon smiled in approval and thought aloud "Excellent. She could be the solution to this."
"What makes you say that?" asked Noble Edict.
"According to SIG Sauer, the blood of one of Celestia's living allies would trap her inside the energy sphere," Bellerophon pointed out, "That is what is meant by 'the blood of a friend keeps one within.' However, recall that 'the blood of a fiend will set one free.' By the previous logic, what do you suppose the blood of one of Celestia's living enemies would do?"
Noble Edict and SIG Sauer could easily tell what he was implying.
"Let's try to revive her," the Ponyville chief of security proposed.
Bellerophon walked over to the hooded mare and lifted her up off the ground. Noble Edict approached them and rubbed her front hooves together. While the palomino Pegasus held up the hooded mare, the red Earth Pony harshly slapped her across the face and shouted "Wake up!"
The hooded mare slowly stirred back into consciousness. Despite feeling slightly dizzy from being knocked around twice, she gathered her bearings and realized she was being restrained. She struggled to break free, but Bellerophon was much stronger than she was.
"What is going on?" she demanded heatedly.
SIG Sauer slowly picked himself up off the ground and limped towards the mysterious mare. He gave a wicked grin and informed her "Your little scheme failed. All your cohorts are dead."
The mare was shocked to hear this, but she did not show her discontentment. She stated smugly "That makes little difference. Your precious princess is still trapped inside that sphere. Even if it is not permanently sealed, you'll never get her out of there."
"Oh, I beg to differ," SIG Sauer snappily retorted. He drew his knife and held it close to the mare's head, as if he was going to slit her throat. Instead, he held the blade against her left front leg and stated "We have already established that the blood of one of Celestia's allies would 'keep her within.' My blood would certainly have that effect, as would the blood of both my colleagues here. However, what would happen if we gave the sphere your blood?"
A worried expression came across the hooded mare's countenance, and she mumbled "I haven't the slightest idea."
"Well, I bet it would 'set her free,'" SIG Sauer perceived, leaning in closer, "The key to opening that energy sphere is coursing through your veins."
SIG ran his knife along the mare's front leg and sliced a segment of her skin open. Ignoring her whine of pain, he drew some of her blood and coated his knife with it. When the entire blade was red and dripping, SIG Sauer turned to the energy sphere and approached it slowly. As he did, he gazed over his shoulder and stated cheekily "Ironic, isn't it? You've spent so much time preparing this plot, but it turns out you'll be responsible for its failure."
When he reached the energy sphere, SIG held his knife near the inscription. In response, a small, circular basin materialized above the tablet. SIG was about to deposit the hooded mare's blood into the bowl, but out of nowhere, he felt a sudden rush of pain to his midsection. He doubled over, clutched his side with his free front hoof, and dropped to the ground.
Noble Edict rushed forward to the pine green Unicorn's side and asked agitatedly "SIG, what's wrong?"
Underneath her hood, the mare was grinning wickedly. Although Bellerophon was still restraining her, he had been distracted by SIG Sauer's collapse. The mare had a chance to break free from the large Pegasus' grasp.
She ran forward until she was ten feet away from the others. Then she reached into her pocket, pulled out a small pill, and turned back to the other ponies. She saw that Bellerophon was about to rush towards her in attempt to recapture her. She held the pill up to her mouth and warned him threateningly "Do not come any closer!"
"Or what?" Bellerophon snapped crossly.
"I'll bite on this," she calmly responded, holding up the capsule.
"Consuming a medicine tablet is not a very compelling incentive to get us to back off," Noble Edict observed brazenly.
"This is not a medicine tablet," the hooded mare explained, "This capsule is full of a very rare but very deadly type of poison. All of my group's weapons are laced with this poison. When Dense Miasma stabbed Mr. Sauer, he infected him with it. As you can see, it's already taken effect. If left untreated, he'll be dead within an hour. However, the poison is only slow-working if it's delivered into the bloodstream. If ingested, it can kill the user instantaneously."
"Why would do you think we'd care if you commit suicide?" Noble Edict queried, "We already have a bit of your blood."
"True, but my blood can only open that sphere if I'm alive," the mare reminded them, "A dead person's blood has no effect on it. So basically, if I kick the bucket, you lose your key."
"You'd take your own life just to prevent us from releasing our leader?" Bellerophon assumed in astonishment.
"Yes, I would," the mare candidly replied, "You're not the only ones who are willing to die for their cause."
There was a long, tense interval of quietness. The only audible noise was the humming sound produced by the energy sphere. Finally, Noble Edict queried grumpily "So… where do we go from here?"
"Well, we could just stand here and wait for each other to let their guard down," the hooded mare proposed, "However, if we did that, Mr. Sauer will ultimately expire. I said he would succumb to the poison in an hour. He may not even have that long. So we need a faster, more practical resolution."
"What do you propose?" Bellerophon demanded.
The hooded mare looked around at him and Noble Edict. Then she told them "I will allow you to get Mr. Sauer medical attention, but under one condition. One of you will place your own blood into the basin. I do not care which, but one of you will do it. If you refuse, you will watch Mr. Sauer die. If you try leaving this place before giving your blood, I will swallow this pill. If you move in any direction other than towards the sphere, same bad result."
Bellerophon and Noble Edict were at a loss for what to do. They had sworn to be faithful to Equestria and its leaders, and they knew that SIG Sauer would rather die than condemn Celestia to eternal imprisonment. However, if they were responsible for his death, they did not believe they would be able to forgive themselves. Not many others knew this, but in the past, both Bellerophon and Noble Edict had been culpable for the loss of other people they cared about. Neither of them wanted to live with more of that guilt.
Fortunately for them, they did not have to make a choice. SIG made it for them. Although he was weakened, the pine green Unicorn managed to lift himself up a bit and fire a disarming spell at the hooded mare. The poison capsule flew out of her hoof and landed in some tall grass.
The mysterious mare was surprised by this action, but she hurried over to the tall grass and rapidly searched it for the capsule.
"Noble, stop her," SIG Sauer ordered the red Earth Pony. Noble Edict nodded her head, galloped over to the mare, and pounced onto her. She struggled to pull the hooded mare out of the tall grass, but the latter proved to be quite stubborn.
SIG Sauer picked up his knife, held it up to the palomino Pegasus, and weakly told him "Bellerophon, it's up to you now."
After Bellerophon took the knife, SIG Sauer collapsed onto his stomach. The tall stallion promptly approached the front of the energy sphere, held the knife over the bowl, and inspected it. The blood had begun to set in place, but it had not yet dried. Bellerophon shook the knife over the bowl, hoping that the combined efforts of gravity and his own force would be enough to get the blood off it.
By this point, the hooded mare had managed to push away Noble Edict and locate her pill in the tall grass. She hastily brought it up to her mouth and slid it between her lips. Just as she bit down on the poison capsule, Bellerophon managed to dispense a few drops of her blood into the basin.
…
After Twilight Sparkle and Bronze Star vanished from the throne room, they reappeared in another part of the fortress a few seconds later. When they regained their composure, they looked around and discovered that they had materialized inside a tower. While they were no longer with the five mares from Ponyville, they were still not alone.
Nightmare Moon was standing on a platform at the far end of the tower. The Elements of Harmony were spinning around her body, and bolts of lightning crashed all around her. As the Elements dropped to the ground, she let out an evil laugh, as she believed she had triumphed over the two young ponies. However, they would not make it that simple for her.
Twilight Sparkle grunted and brushed her hoof against the ground. Bronze Star could tell what she was planning, and he had gotten the same idea. So he emulated her behavior.
Nightmare Moon was unimpressed by the implication of their actions. She remarked in utter disbelief "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"
They were not. Together, Twilight and Bronze charged towards Nightmare Moon. In response, the black Alicorn jumped off the platform and raced towards the two young adults. As the distance between them got smaller, Bronze Star whispered to Twilight Sparkle "You go for the Elements. I'll hold her off."
The lavender mare acknowledged this and continued running alongside the gold stallion. As they got closer to Nightmare Moon, she tilted her head forward and her horn started glowing. Then there was a bright flash of light which stunned Nightmare Moon. When it subsided, Bronze Star was upon her and Twilight Sparkle had disappeared from her sight.
However, she had not disappeared altogether. She had teleported to the platform with the Elements. She gazed down at the orbs, and lowered her head towards them. She focused all her attention on them and concentrated all her efforts on making a spark. When her horn produced nothing, she groaned and mumbled "Just one spark."
While she was busy with this, Bronze Star bought her some time by diverting Nightmare Moon. The young prince did not have time to pull a weapon from his belt, so he had to resort to using nothing more than his own hooves to fight her.
The confrontation did not go favorably for Bronze Star; the black Alicorn was at least fifty percent bigger than him, and her fighting style was much more forceful. Bronze Star was not concerned that she would overpower him. All he worried about was keeping Nightmare Moon preoccupied long enough for Twilight to find the last Element.
"Come on, come on," Twilight muttered agitatedly. Her horn was emitting its usual luminescent glow, but nothing resembling a spark had appeared yet.
Further down the room, Nightmare Moon was winning the struggle with Bronze Star. At one point, she picked him up by his legs, lifted him into the air, and flung him off to the side. The gold stallion landed hard against the wall. His entire body was left in aches, but his head and back got the worst of it. As he slid to the ground, Bronze Star felt really glad that he did not have his horn or wings at this time. Otherwise the impact would have been much more painful.
While Bronze Star was out of commission, Nightmare Moon turned her attention to Twilight Sparkle. She quickly noticed what the young Unicorn was up to, and she aimed to stop her. The black Alicorn shifted into a cloud of dark blue smoke and sped towards the other end of the tower.
Just before she reached Twilight Sparkle, a single spark emanated from the lavender mare's horn. Immediately after, Nightmare Moon materialized in the center of the orbs. The suddenness of her appearance startled Twilight, and she was thrown backwards off the platform.
By now, Bronze Star had composed himself and gotten to his feet. He quickly trotted over to his friend and helped her up. When the two of them turned back to the platform, they noticed that a type of electric wave was spreading through the Elements of Harmony and levitating them off the ground. It was as if they were reacting to the spark. Nightmare Moon looked down at them and cried out in fright "No… no!"
Bronze Star and Twilight Sparkle smiled in relief, but their respite was short-lived. A mere five seconds after it appeared, the electric wave evaporated and the Elements dropped back to the ground.
Twilight gasped and said in mystification "But… where's the sixth Element?!"
Nightmare Moon only responded with another wicked chuckle. Then she reared back on her hind legs and slammed her front hooves against the platform. In response, all five of the orbs shattered into pieces.
"No…" Bronze Star whispered under his breath.
Nightmare Moon gazed down at the two young ponies and stated mockingly "You little foals! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your Sun! The night will last forever!"
Then she broke into another maniacal round of laughter.
Needless to say, the other two ponies did not reciprocate her actions. Twilight Sparkle was downright distraught. Bronze Star was as well, but he was also a bit confused. He thought Did she really just imply that Twilight and I have a son? How is that possible when she and I have never even… Then he realized Nightmare Moon was referring to Sun as in day, not as in male offspring. He rebuked himself for being so misleading, and for thinking about such an extraneous thing at a totally inappropriate time.
Before Twilight and Bronze could accept defeat, they heard five voices from behind. They turned around and spotted a staircase on the wall opposite the platform. As the voices got nearer, five shadows were expanding along the wall next to the staircase. Bronze Star and Twilight Sparkle quickly realized the shadows and voices belonged to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.
"Don't worry, Twilight, we're here!" Pinkie Pie called out.
"Don't worry, Gold, we'll be there!" Applejack shouted.
Despite the apparent hopelessness of their situation, Twilight and Bronze were touched by their companions' profound concern for their well-being. Their presence brought the two of them some comfort. In addition to that, ever since they had arrived at the border of the Forest, the five mares had been watching out for them and each other. They had provided reassurance, empathy, cheerfulness, philanthropy, and dependability from the beginning.
Twilight remembered the role each one of the five mares had played, and she realized there was a correlation. When she put all the events of the past few hours together, she gasped in amazement. Bronze Star then noticed a spark in her eye.
Twilight grinned, turned back to Nightmare Moon, and remarked "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."
By now, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had gathered behind Bronze Star and Twilight Sparkle. They spread out so that Nightmare Moon could see them all at once. The shards of the broken orbs at Nightmare Moon's feet started levitating off the platform. The black Alicorn noticed this and muttered in shock "What?"
Twilight Sparkle then announced "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!"
The shards from one of the orbs sailed towards the orange mare and circled around her.
Twilight went on with "Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!"
A cluster of shards from another orb glided towards the yellow mare and rotated around her.
Twilight continued with "Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!"
Another orb's worth of shards floated towards the pink mare and orbited around her.
Twilight proclaimed "Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!"
Yet another bunch of shards from a fourth orb soared towards the white mare and revolved around her.
Twilight wrapped up with "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!"
The shared of the last orb drifted towards the cyan mare and whirled around her.
Bronze Star sneered smugly as Twilight Sparkle jubilantly declared to their foe "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."
By now, the fear was evident in Nightmare Moon's eyes. She desperately proclaimed "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"
"But it did!" Twilight Sparkle correct her, "A different kind of spark."
The lavender mare turned to the five other mares and explained "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!"
After she made this statement, a bright ball of light appeared near the top of the steeple. Bronze Star and the six mares watched as it slowly descended to the ground. Nightmare Moon had to look away, it was so radiant. Soon the light dimmed, revealing a sixth orb. When it was about a meter above Twilight's head, she stated "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!"
Twilight and the other five mares were then lifted into the air by an unseen force. Bronze Star watched in awe at the event that unfolded next. The stone shards that were spinning around the five mares from Ponyville each turned a different color. Fluttershy's were pink, Pinkie Pie's were blue, Rainbow Dash's were red, Applejack's were orange, and Rarity's were purple. After changing their hue, the shards gathered around the respective mares' necks and transfigured into gold necklaces. The sixth stone orb shifted into a gold tiara and rested on top of Twilight Sparkle's head. Now all six Elements of Harmony were present and ready for use.
However, before the Elements of Harmony could be activated, there was a brief interval when the mares were left exposed and vulnerable to an attack. Because of this, Nightmare Moon had a short window of opportunity to strike at them first. She chose to take advantage of this chance.
She aimed her horn at the center of the room and a yellowish-white aura appeared at the tip of it. Nightmare Moon was conjuring a notorious incineration charm. It was the deadliest spell she knew. When released at full force, it burned its target at 500 degrees Kelvin. Nopony had been known to survive direct physical contact with the spell for even a fraction of a millisecond. The spell was so disastrous that its use had been outlawed eons ago. In fact, anypony outside of the Canterlot Royalty was forbidden from even learning it.
Nevertheless, every member of the Canterlot Royalty was familiar with this spell. Although Bronze Star's mother had never allowed him to perform the spell or acquire the knowledge to perform it, she had taught him many aspects about the spell, including how to recognize when somepony was about to use it.
When Bronze Star spotted the yellowish-white aura on Nightmare Moon's horn, he immediately knew what she was planning. She was going to use the incineration spell in an attempt to burn the mares to death.
Based on what he knew of the spell, the caster required a total of fifteen seconds to fully charge it. He had that long to find a solution.
There was no way to counter the spell. A hundred fierce blizzards could not cancel out its sweltering heat. There were no known charms, potions, or incantations that could protect anypony from the spell.
He considered taking out the source, but Nightmare Moon did not seem to be paying any attention to Bronze Star. She was too far away for him to engage her in combat again. Even if he sprinted towards her right now, by the time he reached her, it would be too late. She would have fired the spell.
Twilight and the others were immobile and unresponsive at present; they had no chance of moving themselves out of harm's way. Bronze Star thought about moving them on his own, but they were levitating too high above his head. Plus, even if he had wings or a horn, he doubted that fifteen seconds would have been enough time to move just one or two of them.
Bronze Star concluded that there was only way he could prevent the spell from reaching the mares. It would have to hit something else first. He frantically looked around the room for something he could throw between the mares and Nightmare Moon, but there were very few portable objects in the room. None of them were large enough to stop the spell.
Except one.
Upon coming to this realization, Bronze Star knew what needed to be done.
Just as Nightmare Moon launched the spell, Bronze Star closed his eyes and dove in front of the mares.
The stream struck his entire body at full force, but he managed to shield his friends from its devastating effects. The six mares watched as the gold stallion was engulfed in the flames. They were still incapable of mobility or speech, but if they could move their lips, they would have screamed.
Nightmare Moon was aggravated that she did not hit Twilight Sparkle or any of the other mares, but she did feel some satisfaction in thinking that if she went down, she would at least take one of their allies with her.
Bronze Star expected to be immersed in overwhelming pain. After all, after just a few seconds, the flames should have cremated his clothes, melted his muscles, boiled his blood, singed off his hair, and seared his flesh clean off his bones. Strangely enough, none of these things happened. Something very different and completely unforeseen happened instead.
Ten seconds after he was struck, Bronze Star was surrounded by another large white light. This one glowed brighter than the Sun itself, and it appeared to be absorbing Nightmare Moon's spell. If one looked closely, they could see that Bronze Star was totally unharmed from the flames. He was not even sweating.
Inside the ball of white light, an even brighter light flashed near Bronze Star's neck. It lingered there for a moment, and then it slowly expanded along his back. As it spread out, the brighter light seemed to leave something in its path. Sure enough, an actual object was materializing along Bronze Star's back. Despite being unable to see or move, the gold stallion was able to detect its presence. He felt as though a loose article of clothing was being fastened around his throat and growing past his shoulders.
When the brighter light reached the tip of Bronze Star's tail, it faded away. Bronze Star slowly opened up his eyes. Every part of his eyeballs – the irises, the retinas, and the sclera – was now glowing brightly. Bronze Star gradually raised his front hooves into the air, and then he swung them forwards. The ball of white light dissolved, and the incineration spell rebounded, causing it to snuff itself out.
After the fires were extinguished, the mares made their move. Their eyes started glowing like Bronze Star's, and each one of them expelled a different stream of color from the gems on their jewelry. The six streams then formed a rainbow and spiraled into the air. When it approached the ceiling, the rainbow bolted towards Nightmare Moon. The dark Alicorn shouted in terror "Nooo!"
The rainbow touched the front of the platform and encircled itself around Nightmare Moon. She desperately tried to escape, but she was already trapped. She screamed "Nooo!" again as the rainbow completely enveloped her.
The six mares could feel the full power of the Elements of Harmony surging through their bodies. They levitated through the air and allowed the power to guide their actions. When Twilight opened her eyes, one last white light shined through the room, and then there was absolute silence.
When the light subsided, all seven of the young ponies were lying across the ground. None of them was hurt, but they were all slightly disoriented.
Bronze Star rubbed his eyes, rose to his feet, and turned to the mares. One-by-one, they pulled themselves up off the ground as well.
"Ugh, my head," Rainbow Dash moaned.
"Everypony okay?" queried Applejack.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity exclaimed in elation.
Bronze Star turned in her direction and saw that her tail had miraculously grown back. She shook her plot a few times to get reacquainted with it. Fluttershy approached her and stated merrily "Why Rarity, it's so lovely."
"I know!" Rarity remarked in happiness, "I'll never part with it again."
"No, your necklace," the quiet Pegasus clarified, pointing to Rarity's neck, "It looks just like your cutie mark."
"What?" Rarity was perplexed, but then she noticed the necklace around her neck. She also noticed she was not the only pony wearing one. She told her friend "Ooh. So does yours."
Fluttershy looked down and gasped in pleasant surprise.
Pinkie Pie bounced towards the others and called out "Look at mine! Look at mine!"
"Aw, yeah," Rainbow Dash commented proudly.
Bronze Star just smirked in amusement and declared "I must admit; you mares look rather elegant in those necklaces. And tiara, in Twilight's case."
"Gee, thanks!" Pinkie Pie responded, "I like your new look, too."
"Huh?" Bronze Star said in confusion as he stood up a little straighter. As his body shifted position, he thought he could feel something on his back.
He gazed over his shoulder and discovered that he was wearing a long, flowing cape. The exterior was a cross between light tan and yellow, and the interior was a greyish-black. Its lining was white as bone, and the collar was fastened around Bronze Star's throat with a platinum brooch.
Bronze Star knew what he was wearing. Several hours ago, he had seen a picture of it when he helped Twilight Sparkle with her research. It was the Shroud of Valor.
He was amazed to discover that he was clad in this legendary artifact. However, his amazement was replaced by bewilderment when he noticed a rather large lump in the Shroud. It was as though there was a mass between the garment and his back. Curious as to what it could be, Bronze Star slid the cloak off to one side.
When he realized what the mass was, Bronze Star was vastly surprised. As he wondered how this could have happened, he rubbed his right front hoof against the center of his forehead. It was then that he discovered that this region of his body was no longer bare either.
Rarity's tail wasn't the only thing that had grown back. Somehow, the illusion spell on Bronze Star's horn and wings had been removed. They were now visible to everypony in the area. Bronze Star would have considered concealing his horn and wings again, but Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash had already gotten a clear view of them. Now they were staring at him in profound astonishment.