//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine - Darkness before the Dawn // Story: Flames and Twilight. // by Ausbrony //------------------------------// Chapter Nine – Darkness before the Dawn. Twilight sat on her rump rather suddenly as her legs gave out. Flare was gone… again. And in his place stood a creature that everypony had thought long gone. “No, it’s not possible!” Twilight denied with a fervor. “You were gone, utterly dissipated by the Elements of Harmony!” Nova chuckled and shook her head. “You are quite mistaken, little unicorn. I was not destroyed, merely… delayed.” Knightmare’s voice was cold and quiet, but clearly heard above the chaos that ravaged the city. “I was the one who created the Amulet, not as a device that could bestow alicorn magic to its wielder, but as a failsafe should I fall in battle.” “Failsafe? But how? Why wasn’t Trixie like this when she wore it?” The unicorn glared at Sapphira, “And how did you even get the Amulet?” “So many questions.” Nova faced Darkrai and smiled warmly. “You don’t mind waiting a moment, do you? It’s been a while since I could converse like this, and I’d like take advantage of the moment.” “I grow stronger by the minute with this darkness; so by all means, take your time,” Darkrai sneered. “I’d better make this quick then,” Nova sighed. “The last user of the Amulet was weak. That is why I could not emerge, though I did manage to mess up her fragile little mind somewhat~” The way Nova talked was a little disconcerting, shifting between the voices of Nightmare Moon and the two of them together. But Twilight did notice that she had yet to hear Flare’s voice by itself. “Now I’m sure I’ll be able to chat a little afterwards, but right now I have an old friend that I wish to obliterate!” With that, Nova’s body exploded with flames as she surged forward, slamming into Darkrai and sending him through the wall of the palace. The small unicorn was at a total loss on what to do. A clatter of hooves hitting stone next to her caused her to jump, and she looked up to see Princess Celestia staring back down at her. “Twilight?” Celestia leaned down to help her student up. “Please tell me what is happening here. Why am I sensing Nightmare Moon’s magical aura?” “B-because…” Twilight hiccupped as tears formed in her eyes. “Nightmare Moon has possessed Flare!” She looked back towards the castle, which shook as the two powerful Pokémon clashed within its walls. “He put on the Alicorn Amulet, and somehow, Nightmare Moon took control of him!” “How in Equestria did he get the Amulet?” Celestia asked. “I thought you said it was hidden deep within the Everfree.” “It was,” Twilight looked at Sapphira. “She gave it to him!” “Because a Zebstrika told me too. She said she was a friend of yours!” Sapphira wasn’t amused with this little upstart accusing her of all this. As she was weighing the pros and cons of rearranging her little purple face, Celestia stepped in between them. “Did you say ‘Zebstrika?’” Sapphira nodded, and Celestia sighed and nodded. “I figured that she might have something to do with this.” Twilight blinked. Celestia knew who this ‘Zebstrika’ was? The solar princess saw Twilight’s expression and nodded. “I’ll explain everything later, but we must deal with the current problem first. She saw the tiara atop Twilight’s head. “Do your friends have their Elements also?” “Yes, why-” Twilight suddenly gasped, she couldn’t possibly mean to- There was no way! “Y-you don’t want us to use the Elements on Flare, do you?” “I certainly hope it will not come to that.” The sounds of battle within the castle could be heard as it shook with every powerful blow that was traded by the two Pokémon. “If we can seal Darkrai, then perhaps Nightmare Moon, if that is truly who it is, will stand down.” Dust and loose bricks shook free from the palace as Darkrai and Nova clashed within. “Stand still so I can kill you!” Nova screamed as she unleashed a wave of searing flames that scorched a corridor black. Darkrai phased through a wall, narrowly avoiding the attack. “Tch! I didn’t think that Rapidash was capable of this much power.” Though he knew that the Alicorn Amulet and the Nightmare bound within were helping, it was still more than the dark Pokémon thought possible. “The Elements of Harmony are now back in the hooves of their owners, Celestia is still a threat, and who knows what Discord is up to.” The whole ‘take over Equestria’ thing wasn’t going according to plan. “Chrysalis and Sombra turned out to be useless after all…” Darkrai flew through another wall right before it exploded, showering the throne room in a cloud of dust. “What’s the matter? Scared?” Nova sneered as she charged up another spell. “I’ll finish you once and for all.” “Come forth, spheres of destruction! Burst Flame; Mega Barrage!” Dozens of fireballs surrounded the armoured pony and then shot forward. Darkrai fired a Dark Pulse at them, but when they exploded, they simply split into smaller and even more numerous fireballs. The dark Pokémon merged with the shadows to avoid the attack, but the castle was devastated as the throne room was engulfed in flames. The ornate stain glass windows shattered, and the marble was scorched black. “Still running away?” Nova burst through one of the walls and back outside. “C’mon, Darkrai, I thought that you were going to defeat me.” “Oh, believe me, I will!” The shadows underneath Nova shifted, and a dark claw shot out, attempting to skewer the armoured pony. Hardened claws screeched against the metal plating covering Nova’s sides, tearing into the metal and ripping the plate off. “AARRGHH!” Nova reared up and stomped her hooves down, shattering the ground and causing Darkrai to emerge a few feet away. “Ooh, that looks like it hurts,” Darkrai leered, looking at the wounds inflicted by his Shadow Sneak. “And I’ll be sure to hurt you a lot more!” “I don’t think so!” Twilight’s shout caused Darkrai to turn and see six mares hovering in the air nearby, the necklaces they wore gleaming with a brilliant light. “We’re putting an end to this right now, Darkrai!” The air around them shone with a brilliant light as the magical necklaces hummed with power. The blinding light shining within the darkness couldn’t be ignored, and Darkrai’s eyes widened as the light shifted to a rainbow hue. Twilight’s eyes flashed with magical power as she and her friends fired the Elements at Darkrai, but the cunning Pokémon wasn’t going down, not like this. He raised a hand, and in an instant, he was no longer there, replaced with a dazed and confused Sombra. “What?” The dumbfounded look on his face became permanent as the Elements hit him with their full might, purging the darkness from his body and petrifying his physical form into crystal. When the attack ceased, Twilight and the others collapsed with exhaustion as Darkrai laughed, pleased that his Substitute attack had worked so perfectly. “Hah! So Sombra was useful in the end, after all!” Chrysalis emerged from the castle, dug out by her Changelings, just in time to see her companion petrified. “Darkrai?!” What the hell was he thinking? Were they just meat shields in case the ponies used the Elements on him? “Wha- How?” Twilight just stared at the crystal Sombra statue. How did Darkrai do that? Knightmare was also confused, until Flare offered the answer. “Clever bastard, he used Substitute to dodge it.” Nightmare Moon was even more confused. “Substitute? What the hell is that?” “It’s normally a move that allows the user to summon an inanimate object to hide behind, but somehow, Darkrai used Sombra instead…” Well, at least it was one less villain to worry about. “Well, that was certainly close. Those Elements could prove pesky though…” He raised a claw and began to charge a powerful spell, aiming at the exhausted mares that just tried to seal him. “We can’t let him hurt them!” Flare said to Nightmare. The dark mare couldn’t care less about what happened to them, but she needed a cooperative host body, so she thought it might be better to try to keep him happy. “Leave it to me. All these ponies are getting in the way, and I still need a city to rule from when I return. So let’s have a change of scenery, shall we?” Nova charged her horn and flew towards Darkrai. “I feel like going on a little holiday. Care to join me, Darky?” Still feeling good about dodging a bullet like that, Darkrai had almost forgotten about his opponent. “What the hell are you-” There was a loud magical ‘POP,’ and the two Pokémon disappeared, leaving the scent of burnt ozone behind. “They teleported?” Twilight first wondered when and where Flare learned how to teleport, before a quick shake of her head fixed her skewed priorities. “We need to find them.” Celestia put a hoof on her student’s shoulder and motioned with her horn. “We still have another problem to deal with.” Twilight followed her teacher’s gaze and saw Queen Chrysalis and her slowly re-forming Changeling army. “Oh. Right. Them.” “We can take ‘em!” Rainbow Dash stepped forward. With the changelings gathering near their queen, the soldiers and Wonderbolts that had been fighting them across the city were also making their way to the palace. “You should go find Flare; he could use all the help he can get against that monster.” Rainbow really wanted to go after him herself, but something told her that Twilight was the best choice to help him. “I found them!” Celestia said. “I can sense their magical signature several miles from here, in the Discordant Plains!” Twilight knew that place. It was where Celestia, Luna, and Discord had fought their final battle hundreds of years ago. The land was so badly warped by chaos magic that it was considered uninhabitable, and had thus been quarantined ever since. “But how am I going to get there?” Twilight asked. “I’m still feeling drained after using the Elements, and I don’t think I can teleport that far.” “I’ll take you!” Sapphira growled. She was pissed that she’d let Darkrai get the jump on her earlier. “I owe that bastard a serious ass kicking!” “But how are you going to get there?” Twilight asked, but Sapphira merely snorted and hovered in the air. Twilight blinked and stared at her. “You can fly?” “Of course I can fly!” Sapphira snapped. “I flew here, didn’t I?” Speaking of that… “Where’s Spike!?” Twilight panicked. In all the chaos, she’d lost track of her little dragon. “I’m over here, Twilight!” Spike waved from where Princess Luna was lying. Twilight sighed with relief and nodded at Sapphira. “Okay then, let’s go find Flare!” “‘Bout time,” Sapphira grunted and grabbed the purple unicorn. “You better hold on tight. I only fly at one speed, and that’s fast!” “A dragon after my own heart,” Rainbow called out. “Just try not to take too long getting there~” Though Rainbow didn’t see it, Sapphira had a dangerous gleam in her eyes; a gleam that made Twilight’s fur stand on end. “Slow? You think I’m slow?!” Sapphira shot into the sky like a bullet, soaring off into the distant horizon with a screaming unicorn clinging to her for dear life.   *~*   “Urgh!” Flare slowly got to his hooves. His body felt heavy, and he felt like drained, like he’d missed out on sleep for a few days. Then he realised that he was in control of his body again, and the heavy feeling came from the armour that he wore. He fumbled around with the helmet for a moment before he worked out how to remove the bulky object, dropping it to the ground with a loud quack. …Wait; a quack? He looked down and saw that the ground beneath him had a checkerboard design with constantly shifting colours. He poked at it, and with every touch, he got a different sound effect, from a kitten’s meow to the sound of glass breaking. Looking around, he saw melting trees, upside-down flowers, the roots sticking up in the air. The sky was just as weird. Fluffy pink clouds rained a brown substance that Flare was dubious to touch, but it was still pitch black, save for the light his flaming mane and tail gave off. “Where in Equestria am I?” He couldn’t see Darkrai anywhere either, but the prickling sensation on his skin told him that the Pokémon was somewhere around here. “This was the most isolated place I could think of.” The voice made Flare jump, and then he realised that it was Nightmare Moon. “What; forget about me already?” “Sorry; got a little distracted. So where are we, anyway?” Flare looked around at the surreal landscape again. “It’s so…weird. So strange. So…chaotic? Was this Discord’s doing?” “Ooh, look at you, all smart and stuff,” Nightmare teased. “That’s right, though. This is where Celestia and I—I mean, Luna, fought Discord many, many years ago.” Well at least there was nopony to hurt out here. “So where do you think Darkrai is?” “No doubt he’s a bit confused as well, but that won’t last long. He’ll sense our magic before long, and this battle will begin anew. Before that happens, there’s something else we need to discuss.” Flare tilted his head. “Oh? What’s that?” “HOW THE HELL ARE YOU IN CHARGE!?” The shout made Flare’s head ring. It was like standing next to Luna during a Royal Canterlot Outburst. “You’re in my head, so please use your inside voice!” Flare winced. Wait? He was in charge now? The teleport must have somehow caused them to swap. “Oh sweet! Now I can give Darkrai a few punches of my own!” “Oh, I sincerely hope you can deliver on that!” Flare looked up to see the shadowy Pokémon floating there, looking incredibly pissed off. “Because I don’t want to be too bored while I KILL YOU!” This was the exact scenario that Nightmare Moon was hoping to avoid. “Well… buck!” It was now the complete opposite of their previous battle. Flare weaved through some distorted trees as Darkrai blasted away with vicious bolts of black lightning. One bolt narrowly missed his flank, singing the fur and causing him to yelp more in surprise than pain. “Dark, Psychic, Electric, Magic! Can’t this guy stick to one friggin’ attack pattern?” He spun on his hooves and fired a Flamethrower attack, but Darkrai used Protect to block the attack. “Protect too? Oh c’mon!” What Darkrai had said seemed to be true: the longer that this darkness stayed, the stronger the Pitch-Black Pokémon got. “Okay, I need to get a grip. He’s an insane Pokémon with incredible dark magic, but he’s still a Pokémon.” Flare just needed to figure out Darkrai’s fighting style, and then treat this like any other Pokémon battle. “So far, I’ve seen him use Dark Pulse, Psychic, Protect, Substitute, Dark Void, and Shadow Sneak. He also seems to be able to amplify his attacks with magic, like I can, and use actual spells, like that lightning.” If it were just Pokémon attacks, then Flare could probably take him, but that magic really complicated things. “Counter with your own magic, fool!” Nightmare said. “When he uses a spell, counteract with your own.” “But I don’t know any magic, aside from levitation.” Luna’s training had taught him how to harness his attack amplification, but he knew next to nothing of any real spells. “I don’t believe it. Of all the ponies to be compatible with, I get one that knows less than a foal. Even that idiot Trixie knew more powerful magic than you!” “If you two are quite done, would you kindly lay down and die?” Darkrai charged up another spell, mixing Dark Pulse with volatile dark magic. Flare really wished he knew Protect himself right then. Darkrai held a massive ball of swirling energy several times the size of its caster. “You’ve got to counter with your own spell before Darkrai completes that one, or we will really die! Don’t you have something more powerful than a few fireworks?” “I do have one attack that might work!” He had an attack considered one of the most powerful moves a regular Pokémon could learn. If he used his power to infuse it with magic... well it might just work “Fine, but don’t blame me when something bad happens!” He began to focus his energy and built up his magic power. It was now a race between Darkrai and Flare to see who could finish their attack first. “I see your end. I have waited a thousand years to take this world, and a lowly Rapidash will not stand in my way!” “Dark Arte; OBLIVION!!” “And I will protect Equestria with everything I have. I won’t let you win!” Flare finished his own attack, his most powerful one. A magically charged Hyper Beam! “Megaspell; STAR BREAKER!!”   *~*   Sapphira had slowed her pace somewhat, and Twilight had finally stopped screaming, much to the relief of the dragon’s ears. Sapphira had gotten some general directions from Celestia before they left, and now that Twilight had calmed down, she could give more specific ones. “Alright, where do we go from here?” Sapphira asked. “Give me a second to cast a locator spell and I’ll tell you.” As Twilight began to cast, her horn suddenly lit up with a brilliant light, causing the mare to gasp with surprise. We need to brace ourselves, NOW!” She cast a shielding spell just in the nick of time, as the horizon flared with a massive flash of light and an earth shattering explosion. The shockwave that followed struck the barrier, and even with it in place, Sapphira almost fell out of the sky. Once she had recovered, Sapphira looked at the plume of smoke that rose from the origin of the explosion. “Well, I guess we know where they are now.”   *~*   Rainbow Dash evaded another blast of magic from the Changeling Queen, causing her to roar in frustration. The sudden blast of wind and the sight of what could be mistaken for an erupting volcano caused her to pause. “What the hay is that?” she said to herself, gasping as Spitfire tackled her out of the way of another attack. “Not now, cadet! We have bigger bugs to fry!”   *~*   Flare lay on the ground, his ears ringing and his head throbbing with pain. “Ahh,” he hissed as he tried to sit up, failing miserably. “I told you that was a bad idea. Hyper Beam really drains the user, and a magically amped one?” He had no strength to get up, and even talking aloud took it out of him. They would recover, but now it was another race to see who would recover first, Flare and Nightmare… or Darkrai. “That. Hurt!” Flare tiredly lifted one eye and saw the shadowy Pokémon floating above them, with a semi-circular hole where his left arm used to be. “Oh buck.” “So… I take it that we are royally screwed?” “Eeyup.” “Well, I suppose it was nice knowing you. You weren’t so bad…” “Right back at you Nighty!” Darkrai began to charge another Dark Arte. “This time, I will see you dead. I will see you so utterly dead!” That was when the Draco Meteor impacted him at full power, sending the Pokémon careening to the ground with a barrage of explosions. “You first, freak!” Sapphira yelled, landing near Flare. “Seriously, Flare, I leave you alone for ten minutes, and you lay waste to an entire field.” She looked at the massive, smouldering, banana-shaped crater left behind by the spells used only moments ago. “I’m impressed... and a little weirded out” “So what’s the plan? Darkrai won’t stay down for long, and we can barely move.” Nightmare Moon was going to be honest; she didn’t like their odds of surviving this battle. “Flare?” Twilight’s voice calling out to him broke his concentration. “Please tell me you’re alright?” He groaned and nodded slightly. “Yeah, I’m me again. Nighty’s taken the backseat for now…” Twilight’s horn lit up as she cast a revitalisation spell on him. It wasn’t healing his wounds very much, but he was feeling a lot better. “Ahh, that’s the good stuff. Thanks, Fairy~” “Alright, I’m assuming you have a plan?” Sapphira asked. “Hopefully one that involves hitting Darkrai a lot?” “Nope, we are totally screwed!” Flare replied calmly, causing Sapphira and Twilight to stop and stare at him. “Um, care to run that by me again, Flare?” Sapphira said, her voice tinged with anger. “Cause that sounded an awful lot like quitter talk.” “I hit him with a spell that could vaporise a mountain, and all it did was piss him off.” Flare looked at the blood red moon that hung in the sky, coating the land in a foul darkness. “We need the sun back, otherwise he’ll just keep getting stronger.” “But without Princess Luna—well perhaps Princess Celestia could do it, but she’s trying to deal with the Changelings.” Twilight looked down. “I don’t know how we are going to do it.” “We could have tried actually, but our magic reserves have almost depleted.” Nightmare Moon sounded a little embarrassed. It should have been something she thought of, but the sight of Eternal Night made her a little giddy. “I feel like a foal. We draw power from the night too, but this perverted night that Darkrai has summoned… it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.” So that was that; the only pony that could help had her hooves full. Flare tried using Sunny Day, mentally scolding himself for not trying it sooner. It didn’t matter though as the attack failed to work. “Figured it wouldn’t be that easy.” “You. Are all. GOING TO PAY!!” “Someone woke the baby,” Sapphira said. “What do we do?” “Buy time for Celestia to fix the sun.” Flare knew it wasn’t a good plan, but right now it was the only one he had.   *~*   The fight was beginning to get tedious. Twilight’s friends and the Royal Guard had been holding off the Changeling swarm while Celestia and Chrysalis engaged in a magical dogfight in the skies above. “What’s the matter, Celestia?” Chrysalis goaded as one of her shots clipped Celestia’s shoulder. “Old age slowing you down?” “You’re as old as I am, Chryssi!” Tia responded. A shining golden beam seared the queen’s left foreleg. “Stupid nag!” Chrysalis retorted. “Old Bat!” “Sun Tyrant!” “Cheese Legs!!” “Fat Flanks!!!” Celestia gasped. Chrysalis had gone too far now. Her flanks were not fat. They were just...shapely. “I will see you punished!” Celestia flew high into the sky. Her horn shone like the solar body she governed over. A fierce wind suddenly blew, stirring up dust and causing most ponies and Changelings to duck for cover. Her eyes burned white with fury, and it was directed solely at the Changeling Queen. “Divine Spell – Shining Force!” “OhcrapOhcrapOhcrapOhcrap!” Chrysalis couldn’t move. The fiery alicorn above had her frozen with fear. Her world went white as the spell was cast, and Chrysalis braced to be sent to oblivion. ... ... And still she waited, but the sweet release of death never came. The queen dared to open a single eye, which nearly bugged out of her head at the sight of a hole that had been seared through the ground only six feet from her. “She… she missed? No, it was intentional. A display of what she could do if she wanted.” Celestia glided back down to earth and sighed tiredly. Using Divine Magic really took it out of her, but she didn’t want Chrysalis to know that. And she knew that she would explain to the city planner why there was a new tunnel in the middle of the city later. “Um, well… I guess we’ll, um, be leaving now?” Chrysalis said meekly. Celestia gave a curt nod, and with a quick summoning spell, Chrysalis gathered her Changelings and the Sombra-statue and flew away, much to the relief of everypony. “Thank Celestia!” Applejack exclaimed, which she followed up with a nervous chuckle when said alicorn gave her a look. “Well, ah guess y’all are to thank fer this one.” “Yeah, I guess,” Rainbow said. “I could have handled it, but I guess I can share the limelight.” She looked the ponies glaring at her and shrugged. “What?” “Your Highness,” Spitfire greeted Celestia, “I’m sorry to sound hasty, but the sun—“ “Yes, just give me a moment… oh?” Celestia tried to move the sun from behind the moon, but she failed to calculate one thing. By using a powerful spell to terrify Chrysalis, she’d used up her magic reserves. “Oh dear; it would seem that… I cannot do that right now.” Spitfire just stared. “Well that’s not good.”   *~*   “Flare!” Twilight called out as he and Sapphira evaded more of Darkrai’s attacks. Initially, being ‘handicapped,’ so to speak, gave the other Pokémon a slight edge, but he had since regenerated and was now on the offensive once more. “Little busy right now; leave a message.” “It’s about Celestia. One of her messengers sent me a telepathic report. She can’t raise the sun.” Flare paused long enough for to Darkrai get a hit in, slamming him into the ground with Dark Pulse. Flare’s magic was still severely weakened, and now Celestia had run out of batteries too? This was not boding well. “So now what? I can’t use your Pokémon attacks effectively, and our only chance to raise the sun just disappeared.” “I’m thinking!” Flare yelled. The pressure was on, and Darkrai was still getting stronger. Sapphira had him occupied by using rapid fire attacks to keep him off guard, but that strategy wasn’t going to work forever. “Twilight’s probably the only magic user left with any… real… power?” Flare suddenly got an idea. He turned to his marefriend with a wild grin. “Twilight, you can raise the sun!” “WHAT!?” The simultaneous yell from Nightmare and Twilight caused him to wince. “I’m serious. You’re the most powerful unicorn I know. I know you can do it!” “I can’t! Even I don’t have the magic power to raise the sun!” Twilight argued. “Before Princess Celestia came along, it took hundreds of unicorns to raise and lower the sun and moon. I simply don’t have the strength, and even if I did, I don’t know how!” “Well, um…” Flare thought. There had to be a way. Wait. He had another idea, and it was a really stupid one! Nightmare glazed over his thoughts. “I agree; that is an incredibly stupid idea. Why in the seven hells would I agree to that?” “Because we all die if you don’t?” “And if your little marefriend goes insane, then what?” “I have faith in her,” Flare smiled and looked at Twilight. “And I have faith in you too!” Nightmare had no response. How the hell could he trust her, of all ponies, like that? What made this stallion so utterly convinced that this plan would work? “It’ll only be for a moment, and I’ll keep Darkrai off of you. There is no way I’m going to let him hurt anypony else!” “And Sparkle? What do you suppose she will think of this plan of yours?” “Well, I guess we’ll have to find out, huh?” He ran over to Twilight, who had cast a barrier to block some misdirected attacks from the two Pokémon still fighting. “Twilight, you said you need both power and knowledge to raise the sun, right?” The little unicorn not like where this was heading. “Yes?” “Well, what if I could give you both?” Flare tapped at the Amulet, detaching it from his neck and resuming his normal unicorn form once more. “No! Oh no! You are not putting that on me! Nightmare Moon is in that thing!” Flare nodded. “Exactly. She has the knowledge to move the sun and moon, and the Amulet will give you the power boost you need.” Flare looked into Twilight’s eyes. She was scared, he could understand that, but this was the only thing he could think of. “Nighty promised to be good, and I believe her. We bonded.” Twilight sighed, placing a hoof on the bridge of her nose. “You have spent too much time with Pinkie. And, well, do you really think this will work?” There was a loud thump as Sapphira collapsed to the ground and Darkrai turned his gaze towards the two ponies. “We don’t have a choice,” he whispered and kissed Twilight, clasping the Alicorn Amulet around her neck as he did so. “I’m counting on you two, so play nice.”   ~~~   “What? Where am I?” Twilight looked into the black abyss that stretched out before her. It was bone-chillingly cold, and though it was a vast, open expanse, she still felt suffocated. “This is my existence, Twilight Sparkle!” The curt tone was one that Twilight could never forget. Nightmare Moon appeared next to her, causing the unicorn to leap away. “So it really is you!” she exclaimed. “Why are we here?” “Because right now, you are rejecting me. In order for us to fulfill that stallion’s idea, you must accept me!” “And become another Nightmare!?” “No; I lack the strength for a body takeover, but that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Celestia overthrown by her own precious student? What delicious irony.” “That’s not really irony…” The glare from the black Alicorn caused Twilight to abandon the lecture on using words properly for now. “I’m only doing this for Flare, you know!” “Yes, yes. Let’s bring back your precious sun and defeat that bastard Darkrai.” Nightmare faded away, and Twilight watched the dreary void dissipate. “And we should hurry; your stallion has a promise to fulfil.” “Promise?” What promise did he make to Nightmare Moon? “Oh, you’ll see~”   ~~~   Darkrai watched as Flare put the Amulet on Twilight and the unicorn promptly collapsed. “Now why did you do that? Allying yourself with that fragment was your only means of a meagre defense. Now killing you will be hatchling’s play.” He had no magic left, his stamina was nearly gone, and his head pounded. His entire body screamed for rest, but he wasn’t done. Not yet. “I don’t need it. I’ll beat you down with my own power, Darkrai!” He knew he had no chance, but there was no way in hell he was going to let Darkrai touch Twilight! “Well, I thought something like this might happen!” The high-pitched tone caught Flare off guard as he looked around for its source. He yelped in fright when a transparent Mew appeared in front of him. “M-Mew!? What are doing-?” “This is just a recording I left in your noggin when I healed you~” Mew giggled. “I knew that you’d face Darkrai again and probably do something really boneheaded, so I left this little failsafe for you!” “A failsafe?” “You’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. I left a little gift in your genetic structure, one that could give you an edge on Darkrai…” Her face fell oddly serious as she looked into Flare’s eyes. “But it will come with a price. This gift will take a massive toll on you, physically and mentally… there is the slight chance you will not recover from it.” “Oh, well that’s comforting…” “But I have faith that you’ll be fine. To activate this special ability, simply touch my projection… or don’t.” Flare smiled. “Better not let it go to waste. Let’s see what little Mew has for me.” He raised a hoof and touched her, eliciting a giggle from the ethereal Pokémon. “Teehee, that tickles. Well okie dokie lokie; I wish you all the best, Flarey. Try not to die, ‘kay?” She glowed brightly and vanished, leaving behind a pink aura that engulfed Flare’s body. There was a gentle warmth that filled his being. It took a second, but then Flare realised what she had done. She’d unlocked his moveset. His entire moveset. Every move he could possibly learn. Every TM, HM, and Egg move…He knew them all. “I hope you’re ready, Darkrai!” Flare said, and in the blink of an eye, Darkrai found himself face-to-face with the Rapidash. “Because I’m going to start hitting you now, and I’m not too sure when I’ll stop.” After using the Quick Attack, Flare followed up with Double Kick, slamming the Dark-type with his diamond-hard hooves. As Darkrai flew towards the ground, Flare curled himself up and rocketed towards him with Flame Wheel, colliding with the falling Pokémon and slamming him into the ground. “Holy Arceus!” Sapphira had never seen Flare fight like this. Three attacks in perfect succession; it was pretty amazing. “Lucky shot,” Darkrai snarled. “But that did nothing!” “Then what about this?” Flare leapt high into the sky with his Bounce attack and aimed down. “Fire Blast!” The massive star-shaped attack flew at Darkrai, who raised a Protect barrier to block it. “Weak. Is that all you can—” Darkrai was promptly cut off as the barrier faded and saw that Flare was in his face, a long glowing horn protruding from his forehead. It glowed a pale blue hue as Flare activated the most powerful Bug-type attack. “Megahorn!” Darkrai grabbed it with his bare claws, narrowly avoiding being skewered through the heart. “You will not WIN!” Flare said, digging his hooves into the mismatched earth and pushing Darkrai back. The problem with Pokémon that floated was that they had no way of standing their ground. Darkrai’s eyes flashed, and the Pokémon teleported to a safe distance. How was this possible? How was this puny Pokémon able to fight back? He was on the run just moments ago. The Rapidash had massive magical strength at his disposal at the time, and yet now he was fighting like any other Pokémon. So why the hell was Darkrai losing!? “I am going to kill you!!” “And I’m getting tired of hearing that!” Flare said, unleashing a Fire Spin to trap Darkrai in a fiery vortex. “I just hope I can keep this up.”   Twilight closed her eyes, focusing on the celestial objects that hung in the sky. Nightmare Moon had taught her the spell that moved them, but even trying as hard as she could, Twilight couldn’t make them move. “I-I can’t do it!” Twilight said as she strained her magic to its limits. Her horn showered sparks over the ground in front of her, and sweat poured from her brow. “Try harder!” Nightmare snapped. “You have to move them! Right now, you’re the only one who can!” Twilight gave one last push, but she failed once more and collapsed to the ground. “It’s impossible; there is no way I can move the sun and moon. I’m not an alicorn; I’m not Starswirl the Bearded…” Tears ran down her cheeks as she continued to berate herself. “I’m just a single unicorn who can’t help her friends.” There was a loud thump as Flare hit the ground near her, caught off guard and sent flying by one of Darkrai’s attacks. Sapphira had joined in to help, but it was clear that the battle was not going to have a positive end. “Argh. Oh… that one hurt… pretty bad…” Flare shakily got to his hooves as sunset-coloured flames engulfed his body. “Try again, Twi. I know you can do it!” “But I, I don’t—” Flare didn’t hear her as he charged at Darkrai, his Twilight Blaze attack at full power. Nightmare Moon was beyond pissed. What the hell was wrong with this mare!? “What the hell, Twilight Sparkle!?” She screamed. “What happened to the mare that defeated me? The invincible Nightmare Moon! Even Celestia couldn’t accomplish that!” “I wasn’t alone then!” Twilight yelled back. “I had my friends with me! They stood by my side as I… as I…” A sudden realisation dawned on her. The answer was obvious. “Oh!” “What is it?” Twilight lit up her horn once more, but now she had a much different spell in mind: a long range telepathy spell. “Girls! I need your help. Please, I can’t do this alone!” In Canterlot, the faint whispers of Twilight’s plea reached the minds of her friends. And they only had one thing to say. “Well, it’s about time!” Rainbow snapped. “What took you so long?” “Really, darling, there’s no need for dramatics.” Rarity giggled. “We’ll always be here to assist you.” “Yeah! Y’all can count on us, no matter what!” Applejack adjusted her hat and smiled. “Friends forever, right?” Fluttershy smile softly. “I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll help.” “Yepper deppers!” Pinkie hopped around, grinning madly. “♫Let’s let the sunshine in♪~” Twilight wiped a tear from her eye; she had the greatest friends ever. And with Flare fighting to protect her and all of Equestria, she had the best coltfriend ever too! “I-I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can—” Rainbow’s Element hummed and glowed. “I don’t get all the eggheady magic stuff, but you can do it! You’re Twilight Freakin’ Sparkle, the most eggheadiest and awesomest unicorn ever!” The others Elements began to follow suit. “We probably wouldn’t be where we are without you!” Rarity sniffed. “I know you can do it, Twilight.” Fluttershy said, her voice full of confidence. “I’m not as shy as I used to be thanks to you.” “An’ ah know there’s more t’life than jus’ work!” Applejack added. “And y’all can bet I’ll whip up one doozy of a hoedown once we’re done!” “OH YEAH! WE SAVED THE WORLD PARTY!!” Pinkie cartwheeled around. “It’s. Gonna. Be. EPIC!!!” “Well, there you have it,” Nightmare said. “You have the most disgustingly nauseating friends in Equestria and one of the sappiest stallions I have ever met.” If she had a face, Nightmare might have had the smallest of smiles. “You gonna let them down?” “Not a chance!” Twilight opened her eyes, and they shone brightly with magical power. The ground around her began to shift and swirl. Nightmare Moon gasped as the full extent of Twilight’s power made itself known. If Nightmare’s and Darkrai’s power fit in a well, then Twilight’s would take an ocean. It was incredible, and a little terrifying. What if she had initially failed to stop Nightmare? What if the Queen of the Night had pushed this little unicorn too far? “Gods above, she’s in a league of her own.” Then she felt it: a spark that she’d only felt in a few individuals. “So that’s your plan, Celestia? I can’t say I saw it coming… I just hope you know what you’re doing.” Darkrai howled as another attack missed. “Give it up! We will stop you!” Darkrai shot a destructive beam of magic at Sapphira, but Flare used Ally Switch to instantaneously swap places with her and then used Protect. “You can’t win!” Sapphira roared and dug her heels in, firing a Hyper Beam at Darkrai, but he batted it aside. “Tch! This is getting tedious. How powerful is this bastard!?” “The Darkness provides me with infinite power! You cannot stop me. You are only delaying the inevitable!” The air itself suddenly stood still, and a wave of intense energy washed over them. All three Pokémon stopped, searching for the source. They didn’t have to search for long. Twilight stood a few dozen feet away, her entire being ablaze with magical might. Her eyes burned a brilliant white as a pair of ethereal wings spread from her back. Being Pokémon that could use magic, Flare and Darkrai could feel the magical power building up. “Beautiful,” Flare whispered. “What… what is she doing!?” “Something incredible,” Flare replied. Twilight turned her gaze to the heavens and narrowed her eyes. “You will move!” she said calmly. *** Luna suddenly felt a twinge in her Cutie Mark, causing her to awaken. “Hm? Now what was—” Her eyes widened as she saw something that should be impossible: the moon moved out from in front of the sun, bathing the land once more in its warm light. “How… how did?” She could feel the magic that surrounded them and that willed the celestial bodies to move. “Twilight.” *** “IMPOSSIBLE!” Darkrai tried to shield himself, but the brilliant rays of the sun shone down, bringing its light back to the world. “Celestia and Luna have no power left; how can the moon move?” He saw the unicorn that shone with the same light. “You!” She’d done it. Flare beamed widely, despite feeling like he was about to fall apart. “I knew you could do it, Fairy.” But it wasn’t over yet… Darkrai thrashed in the light, his magic power slipping away. “NOOOO!! I will not go down like this… heh, hehheheheh… HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!” Darkrai had lost it; all his careful planning, his absolute dominance, all brought to an end by a Rapidash and a unicorn. “If this is to be my end, so be it! BUT I’LL TAKE YOU ALL WITH ME!” He began to draw upon every ounce of magic he had left. If he couldn’t have Equestria, then he was going to make sure no one would. “Darkrai, you’ve lost. Stand down.” Flare gave him another chance. “Please, don’t let it come to this!” His pleas fell on deaf ears as Darkrai’s manic laughter continued, and his magic continued to build. “Then so be it!” Flare walked next to Twilight, giving his love a light nuzzle. “One last time, may I have the Amulet back?” Twilight’s eyes returned to normal as she removed the Amulet, and after a moment’s hesitation, placed it back around Flare’s neck. He inhaled sharply as his mane ignited and his eyes took their cat-like appearance once more. “Welcome back, Nighty!’ he greeted his friend. “You up for one more?” “I suppose,” Nightmare responded. “We shall become a brilliant Nova one more time!” He didn’t say it, and she didn’t point it out, but Flare had pushed his magic and his body well beyond their limits. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was not just still alive, but also still standing. Darkrai’s insane glare focused on the two unicorns. “I shall see the whole world burn!” “You first,” Flare whispered as a magic circle appeared in front of him and Twilight. The inner ring locked onto Darkrai as Flare and Twilight unleashed all their might, the feelings in their heart, and their will. “Final Megaspell – CELESTIAL SOLAR BEAM!!” Darkrai lowered his arms as the colossal beam tore its way towards him. There was no escaping it. His end was all but assured. “Y’know,” his thoughts wandered as the light engulfed him, “I could use a vacation…”   *~*   The changelings had fled along with their once-again disgraced Queen, and the citizens hiding within Mt. Canterlot had begun to emerge into the ruined city. Then a light brighter than the sun lit up the sky and an earth-shattering explosion shook the ground. “W-w-w-what the hay is g-g-g-goin’ o-o-o-onnn?” Applejack stammered. “The sounds of darkness’s fall,” Celestia mused, helping her sister to her hooves. *~* They had done it. Darkrai had been defeated, the conquest of Equestria halted, and all was right with the world… for now anyway. Twilight turned to Flare, a weary smile on her face. “We did it! We actually did it!” Flare would have responded, but Twilight’s words never reached him. That last spell had taken what little strength had remained in him. The wondrous light that filled his eyes was soon filled with silent darkness.