Fragments of Memories
By Starwin
Chapter 21 – Divided Part 1
Applejack stood frozen. The elements had not worked.
“Do not be fearful,” said the cold voice of Twilight Dash. “Soon, you will know peace. You and your friends will be united, together forever. Even now, they abandon their struggle against me. They have given in to their inevitable fate. Just as you will.”
“Ah won’t,” said Applejack defiantly. Part of the triumphant smile upon Nightmare Harmony’s lips faded away. “No matter what you say, or what you promise, you ain’t gonna convince me that this is a good thing. You wana take away who I am, what I am. Just so you can feel better.”
“It is more complicated than-” began Nightmare Harmony.
“Horse apples,” swore Applejack. “It’s all about you. I’m just a stepin stone on your way.”
“It… it does not matter what you think, you will not think it for much longer,” said Nightmare Harmony, struggling to regain her composure. “Prepare yourself.” Her horn blazed with magic. Applejack closed her eyes tightly.
“AHHHHH!” came the loudest, most enraged angry cry that Applejack had ever heard in her life. Her eyes snapped open just in time to see Fluttershy slam into Nightmare Harmony and carry them both over the edge of the broken bridge.
“FLUTTERSHY!” shouted Applejack, racing to the bridge’s crumbling walls.
The heavy rains had filled the river to its bursting point. The water below was swift, the current relentless.
Two dozen hooves down river both Fluttershy and Nightmare Harmony’s heads reemerged from beneath the churning water. Applejack watched as Fluttershy struggled and kicked, trying to keep her head above the surface. However, she was only visible for a moment before she vanished once again.
Without any a second thought, Applejack leapt in after her friend. She felt the water pull her under and hold her down. Her hooves bumped against the rock lined bottom. She bucked as hard as she could and her head broke the surface.
She had lost track of Fluttershy and Nightmare Harmony. They had to be ahead of her, but Applejack couldn’t tell how far, or where. She let out a yelp of fear as the water pulled her back under. Her front leg slammed painfully against a flat stone, but she managed to push herself back up.
She gasped for air. For at least a moment, she was in a calmer part of the river.
And then, amazingly, there they were, right in front of her! Nightmare Harmony had her hooves wrapped tightly around Fluttershy’s unmoving form. Harder than she ever had in her life, Applejack swam, front legs lashing at the water, letting the current propel her like a torpedo.
“You let go of her!” shouted Applejack, her words hardly audible over the tumult of the river. Nightmare Harmony did not release the pegasus, but continued to cling to the yellow pony. Fluttershy didn’t struggle, in fact, she didn’t seem to be doing much of anything. Either she was too afraid or unconscious.
“Out!” shouted a voice that Applejack could hardly hear. “You have to get out!”
‘Out?’ she didn’t…
Applejack tumbled beneath the surface once again as she entered into the strongest rapids she had encountered so far. Up and down became sideways. She bucked and her hooves hit nothing. She bucked again but she couldn’t find the surface, she didn’t know which way was up!
The air in her lungs burned, the water choked her. She needed to cough, she needed to breathe!
Then, suddenly, she was yanked upwards, at least, she hoped it was upwards. She flew out of the river and kept rising up into the air. Reflexively she began to cough, spitting up water. There was a pinkish glow of magic around her, coming from somepony on the river bank.
Hooves reached under Applejack’s front legs from behind. The spell ended and a pegasus hovering on eiher side held her aloft. They were carrying Applejack towards the edge of the river.
The pony that had pulled her out was apparently not waiting for her. Now that the guards had a firm grip, the golden unicorn galloped off. There was a large group of ponies following behind her as they all hurried down river.
“Flutter…” said Applejack weakly. She looked at the treacherous rapids ahead but could no longer see either her friend, or the pony that held her captive.
Twilight didn’t understand. She felt like… like herself. There were no voices in her head, no thoughts that weren’t hers. She didn’t see any strange images or memories that she hadn’t made.
And even stranger than all of that, was where she was. The Moon.
Above her, the black sky was filled with stars. A great glowing planet colored in blues and greens, hung in the sky. It was beautiful.
“Isn’t it?” said a voice from beside her. Twilight looked towards where the voice had come from, but there was no pony there. “Down here.” Twilight glanced down to find a very small, very young, Luna sitting in the dark gray dirt.
“Luna?” asked Spike. Twilight was slightly startled by his voice so close to her ear. She hadn’t been aware that Spike was here with her until he had spoken up. It was only then, as she noticed him, that she felt his weight upon her back. “Why are you so small?”
“You see only the smallest part of me, the part that isn’t evil…” said Luna quietly, looking away.
If Spike and Luna were both here, did that mean that Dash and… that other unicorn… were nearby as well? Glancing around, Twilight scanned the lunar surface, searching for a sign of anypony else. However, it appeared to be just the three of them.
“So, where are we?” asked Spike.
“The Moon,” answered Luna simply.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that much out on my own,” said Spike. “But where are we really? I mean we can’t really be on the Moon… can we?”
“No, of course we aren’t,” said Twilight. Although, she wasn’t as certain as she made her words. “This has to be a memory, or something.”
“It is,” answered Luna, drawing Twilight’s focus back to her. “This is my memory. Or maybe, my fantasy is a better term for it. This is not how I remember it. It is just how I wanted it to be. I was imprisoned within the Moon, becoming part of it. I never actually walked upon its surface. But I do remember the view.”
“Wait, Luna.” said Twilight. “Are we in your mind, inside of Nightmare Harmony’s mind, inside my mind… that I’m inside of?” Luna let out a quiet little laugh, unable to help but be slightly amused. She shook her head.
“You seem to think that those are all different things,” answered Luna. “No, we are all of us in the same place, your mind. Or I guess, Twilight Dash’s mind is maybe more accurate. And at the moment, we are all part of you and Dash. It is a little like being in the same house, but just in different rooms.”
“So what now?” asked Spike. “If you’re here does that mean Harmony is here someplace too?”
“Yes,” said Luna. “And, no.”
“Oh not this again!” moaned Spike in frustration.
“Harmony is not that much different from myself,” explained Luna. “I am Luna, Princess of Equestria, Goddess of the Moon.” Her expression darkened as she continued. “But I am also Nightmare Moon, the Bringer of Eternal Night, Queen of Darkness. Even when you used the Elements of Harmony against me, I never stopped being Nightmare Moon.
“But the part of me that was Luna, the way I am now,” she gestured to her small self. “This is who I returned to being, what little of me was left. And Nightmare Moon was locked away inside me. I could still feel her, trying to get back out. Ever since my return, I’ve had to be mindful of my emotions and hold back the evil inside me.”
“What does that have to do with Harmony?” asked Twilight.
“Unlike me, Harmony was born… evil,” said Luna, cringing at the word. “From the very moment of her creation, she was a corruption of her own power, fixated on ordering the chaotic world around her. She never got the choice not to be Harmony. Until she met you, Twilight.”
“Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that deep down Harmony’s really wants to be good?” asked Spike, a tone of disbelief in his words.
“Perhaps ‘good’ is too strong a term,” answered Luna. “But yes, Rainbow Sparkle is the ‘good,’ or least less-bad, side of Harmony that never was before.”
“But she is going to fuse us again! If she hasn’t done so already!” cried Twilight. “How can you even consider that good?”
“I am currently sharing her mind,” answered Luna softly. “I can feel what she feels. I can hear her thoughts and see her memories.” Luna closed her eyes. “While I agree her methods have been awful, I can at least understand her desire. Discord took everything from her, and I let him do it. All she really wants is another chance.”
“But, we still have to stop her,” said Spike. “Right, Twilight?” The purple unicorn didn’t answer for a long moment as she pondered Luna’s words. She tried to see things from another perspective, from Rainbow Sparkle’s point of view.
“I don’t know,” said Twilight with a shake of her head.
“Well I do!” said Spike, leaping up to stand on Twilight’s back. “It doesn’t matter how good she wants to be, the fact is she’s evil! We have to stop her!”
“How?” asked Twilight. “We were powerless against her last time. Even the elements had no affect! How does that even work?”
“Well she is named Harmony,” pointed out Spike.
“That’s just a name, Spike. She doesn’t have anything to do with the elements,” said Twilight. “Order and harmony are not the same things.”
“I am unsure why the elements did not affect her,” said Luna. “However, there is another way to… stop her.
“Although she does not want to admit it, Rainbow Sparkle truly is just a guest within your mind, no different from myself, or Spike,” explained Luna. “While you cannot force her out, at least not without significant damage to yourself, you may be able to convince her to leave, willingly.”
“Oh yeah, like that’s going to happen,” said Spike sarcastically. “Maybe we just need to ask her nicely enough.”
“And… and what will happen to her if you leave?” asked Twilight.
“Nightmare Harmony only exists while we share your mind. Once we are apart, there can no longer be such a pony…” explained Luna. “So, if I leave, there can be no more Nightmare Harmony.”
“Well, what are you waiting for!” cried Spike. “You can go at any time right?” Luna shook her head.
“At the moment I could only take you with me, Spike,” explained Luna. “Rarity would be trapped here. Worse, it is possible that either Harmony or Nightmare Moon may continue to exist, even when we are divided.”
“So we would be facing both of them,” mumbled Twilight to herself.
“If it is Harmony that leaves,” continued Luna, “I should return to being myself. But without a body Rainbow Sparkle would fade away, gone forever.”
“So, we just need to trick her into…” began Spike.
“No,” interrupted Twilight, shaking her head. “I won’t do that to anypony, evil or not. There must be another way.”
“I am sorry, Twilight, but there is no other way,” apologized small little Luna. “If she stays here, if she is allowed to fuse again, there will be no power strong enough to ever overcome her. All of us will be lost forever, merged into her mind as broken memories. Harmony and my darker half will freeze our world in never ending night.”
“I’m not going to destroy her,” objected Twilight.
“But Twilight!” cried Spike.
“I’m not Discord!” shout Twilight bitterly. “I don’t abandon ponies.”
“Than what will you do?” asked Luna.
“I think I might have a plan,” said Twilight seriously. “But first, we have to find Dash and Rainbow Sparkle.”
Pinkie watched helplessly as her friends were pulled away from her. They spun out of her reach, fading into tiny points of light, and then, nothing.
She fell, racing through darkness and lightning. The world felt oddly elongated, stretched almost to the breaking point. Along side her, Discord sat back, legs crossed, humming to himself in some off-key tune.
“What did you do!” demanded Pinkie. She zoomed across the space between them, coming face to face with the God of Chaos.
“I thought I made that fairly clear,” said Discord defensively. “I abandoned them!”
“No!” shouted Pinkie angrily. “Why did you take me with you?! My friends need me!”
“Oh, no they don’t,” said Discord, waving a paw. He scooted slightly back, trying to move a more comfortable distance away from Pinkie. She scooted forward, keeping the uncomfortable close. “In any case, they probably don’t even exist anymore. If that makes you feel any better.”
“WHAT?!” exclaimed Pinkie in outrage. “HOW COULD THAT POSSIBLY MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!”
“Well,” continued Discord, still trying, unsuccessfully, to move away from the enraged pony. “I mean, it could have been you. I saved you. I helped you out!”
“YOU! YOU!” stammered Pinkie, at a complete loss for words. For a moment, she looked like she might explode. Then she shook her head and finally moved away from Discord. Her anger, her rage, simply faded away, replaced with heartbreak and grief.
“Pinkie,” said Discord, moving towards her. He extended a claw to touch her shoulder, but her head snapped around and her icy eyes found him. Discord pulled his hand back.
“I hate you,” whispered Pinkie. “You’re a horrible, awful friend.” It was Discords turn to be at a loss for words.
The black space between thoughts and reality continued to whirl around them. It was silent, with only flashes of flickering colors spinning in and out of existence.
“Look,” said Discord, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know I might have done some things we both regret. That’s just how I am. Aren’t you supposed to accept friends for who they are?”
“I don’t want to be your friend anymore,” said Pinkie. “There is nothing you can say that will ever make me trust you.”
“You don’t need to trust me,” answered Discord. “You just need to help.”
Before Pinkie could ask what he meant, Discord snapped his fingers. Abruptly, Pinkie felt herself burst back into reality. She was transformed from thoughts and made real once again.
Her hooves slammed into the dirt with a thud. A chill rolled across her back. And in the nearby river, she saw Fluttershy being carried away by Nightmare Harmony.
Dash hadn’t been sure what to expect as she had fallen into the portal of darkness. She didn’t remember what fusing with Twilight had felt like, but she imagined that it must have been similar.
The strange thing was, she hadn’t felt anything when they had been pulled into Nightmare Harmony. In fact, she didn’t feel any different at all. Wherever she had ended up, whatever had happened, she was still herself, and not part of some power mad goddess bent on making everything perfect… or nighttime forever, or whatever it was they wanted.
Actually, now that she was looking around, this place seemed more memory-like than mind-like. When they had confronted Nightmare Harmony and she had tried to absorb Dash and her friends, things had become very… fuzzy; intangible. She had been there but less as herself and more as pure thoughts.
But, whatever this place was, it felt more like a dream. She didn’t recognize the location. It seemed to be some kind of wide open meadow with only a single leafless tree in the distance. The sky high above was cloudless. Dash also noted that it was oddly Sun-less too, yet, still bright blue. The wild golden grass was chest high and it swayed softly in a breeze that did not blow.
“Where do you think we are now?” asked Rarity. Dash jumped up into the air, her wings reflexively trying to carry her away from danger. However, it did not work and she simply toppled over onto her side, falling into the soft grass. “Darling, are you alright?
“Yeah, fine,” mumbled Dash, climbing slowly back to her hooves. She had not noticed Rarity was with her until the pony has spoken up. In fact, Dash was sure that until she had said something, Rarity hadn’t existed at all. “Some kind of field I guess? I don’t know, it’s not my memory.”
“Well, it isn’t mine,” said Rarity. “I don’t see Twilight or Spike.”
“They might be someplace in the grass,” suggested Dash. “Let me get higher up. Maybe I can spot them.”
Dash flapped her wings. She always felt more comfortable in the air. However, much to her surprise, nothing happened. She stayed firmly planted on the ground. Dash tried again, straining herself, using much more force, but still she remained firmly planted on the ground.
“Is something wrong?” asked Rarity, watching her friend with apprehension.
“I can’t fly,” said Dash. She did a little hop, trying to gain some altitude, but she simply landed again. “How about your magic, does that work?” Rarity’s eyes turned upwards towards her horn.
“I’m not sure,” said Rarity. She closed her eyes in concentration, but not even the faintest glow came to her.
“I guess we just have to walk then,” said Dash.
Frowning slightly, she took a step forward instead. She wasn’t entirely sure where she was supposed to go, or even if she was supposed to go some place at all. Everything here looked the same, except for the distant skeletal tree.
“I guess we’re headed that way,” said Dash, pointing a hoof towards the tree. Rarity nodded, but offered no advice.
Dash led them on, moving through the grass. As she walked, Dash became aware that she couldn’t actually feel the grass brush against her. She might be able to see it, but it was like the field wasn’t even there.
She sniffed, she couldn’t smell it either. This place might be a memory, but all the details about it had been lost.
It was then that Dash finally heard something. Not the breeze, because there wasn’t any. It was more like… sobbing?
“Do you hear that?” asked Rarity. Dash nodded.
The two of them trotted towards the noise, it was coming from the tree. Gradually it got louder and at last, the short grass parted into a tiny clearing with a big round oak at its center. Both the ground and the tree were completely bare. The tree was in the exact center of the circle and laying at the base of its trunk, curled up in a little ball, was a small white filly with an untidy rainbow mane. She had neither a horn, nor wings, but apparently, she was source of the sobbing.
Dash didn’t recognize her and yet…
“YOU!” shouted Dash, pointing a hoof at the small little pony. The sobbing filly sat bolt upright, looking towards Dash with terrified eyes. Then, she scrambled to her hooves and galloped away as fast as she could. She was headed towards the edge of the circle and the safety of the tall grass.
However, Dash was far faster. She leapt at the filly, catching her just before the edge. The two of them tumbled across the dirt, before coming to a stop with Dash on top, pinning the filly down.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” pleaded the little pony.
“Dash,” cried Rarity. “What are you doing?!”
“This is her!” said Dash, keeping the filly in place. “This is Harmony!”
“I’m not! I’m not!” cried the pony, trying to wriggle out from under Dash with no success.
“Look at her, she’s terrified of you,” said Rarity. “What’s your name dear?”
“Rainbow Sparkle,” answered the scared little filly.
“No,” said Dash, pressing down on the small pony. “Part of that’s my name! And the other half belongs to Twilight! I knew you were Harmony!”
“Dash, I don’t think there is any need…” began Rarity.
“Any need?” growled Dash. “Have you seen what she’s done to do to us?”
“That’s not me!” cried the filly. “That’s not who I want to be!”
“Be quiet!” shouted Dash, pushing on the filly again and causing her to whimper into silence. Rarity just shook her head in disgust. “What!” demanded Dash.
“Look at you,” said Rarity. “Look at what you’re doing!”
“You can’t be serious! You’re taking her side?!” exclaimed Dash. “Do you have any idea what this… this monster has done to me and Twilight?”
“That may be so, but at the moment, all I see is what you’re doing,” said Rarity. “The Dash I know would never be so cruel.” Dash couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“But she…” began Dash.
“But she did bad things,” interrupted Rarity, finishing Dash’s thoughts. “She hurt you so now you get to hurt her back? Is that the kind of pony you are?” Dash looked down at the silently sobbing filly below her.
Dash wanted to hate this pony for everything that she had done. Dash wanted her to pay for all the pain that she and Twilight had suffered. But… but Rarity was right… not like this.
Dash let go of the filly and got off of her. The small pony curled back into a ball, laying there, crying into the dirt.
“So,” said Dash, her voice dry in her throat. “What do we do with her?”
Fluttershy could hardly believe what she had done. The fear in Applejack’s eyes had simply been too much to bare. She couldn’t just standby and do nothing! The only thing she could come up with was knocking Nightmare Harmony over, disrupting her spell like the castle guard had done.
However, she hadn’t expected for them to go over the side of the bridge. When she had hit the water, her mind had gone blank. She couldn’t even comprehend what she had just done. All she could think about just now was not drowning.
Her back collided with a hard stone as her hind legs flipped over her head. She caught a mouth full of water as the rapids dragged her down into the depths. Her legs flailed futilely, kicking at the surface where her head should have been. She could not right herself. Blackness crept at the edges of her eyes.
And, just as all was lost, a hoof grabbed her from above, yanking her to surface.
Fluttershy coughed and sputtered. The river still pulled at her, but somepony was now keeping her afloat. For the briefest moment, she thought it was Applejack, but she quickly realized that was impossible. She had just seen Applejack leap off the bridge, diving into the river after her.
The pony held her tight, she was almost afraid to look, but curiosity overcame her. In the splashing water, and the dark light, she could make out the terrible features of Nightmare Harmony.
Fear overtook Fluttershy. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t struggle! Any moment the dark pony would cast her spell and merge them together. Fluttershy was trembling, both from the icy water and the terror.
Fluttershy felt the impact of another rock, except, it hadn’t hit her. Nightmare Harmony had collided with it. They bounced off the rock, the current catching them and spinning them about.
Another big rock loomed ahead of them. Fluttershy wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t. But, at the last second, she spun away from it. She felt Nightmare Harmony’s hooves push off the river bed and turn them. Again, Fluttershy felt the impact of the rock, and again, it was Nightmare Harmony that had hit it.
Fluttershy felt the ponies’ grip begin to loosen. Reflexively, she grabbed the other pony’s front legs and pulled them tight.
Nightmare Harmony wasn’t trying to drown her. She wasn’t holding Fluttershy hostage, she was… saving her? Fluttershy didn’t understand.
Her immediate concern of drowning fading away, her eyes sought out Applejack, who had vanished from view. With all the twisting water Fluttershy couldn’t see very well at all. Everything was colored in a dark gray with no sign of orange anywhere.
The river kept them moving, turning them around in circles, but somehow they managed to stay afloat. Fluttershy kept looking for her friend, but what she found, made her heart stop.
She heard it before she saw it. Was afraid of it before she knew what it was. And was approaching it without any way to stop herself. It was a waterfall. A big roaring waterfall.
“Fluttershy!” shouted a voice from the bank. It took all of her strength not to close her eyes and wish it all away. It took more strength than she ever thought she had, to turn her head and look for the pony calling her name.
Pinkie. It was Pinkie Pie, galloping along the river bank, just out of reach of the water. She bounded over boulders in her path and kept up with ease.
Fluttershy tried to call for her friend, but her voice wouldn’t come to her.
“Ahead! I’m going to get ahead of you! You need to grab me!” shouted Pinkie. Fluttershy didn’t respond, but Pinkie didn’t wait for any answer. She charged on, vanishing from Fluttershy’s sight.
Another larger bolder jutted up in their path. Standing over the left side of the river, front and back legs braced between two large rocks, was Pinkie, waiting to grab them. However, the current had other ideas. It pulled them, twisting them to the right, away from Pinkie. Nightmare Harmony tried to push them towards the other side, but the force of the water was simply too strong.
They veered away from Pinkie, who watched helplessly, waiting for the ponies that would never come to her.
At the very last moment, Nightmare Harmony shoved Fluttershy towards Pinkie’s waiting grasp. The river struggled against Fluttershy, trying to carry her away. She hit the rock, but as she rolled Pinkie grabbed her. Before she even knew what was happening, the pink pony was dragging her out of the water, coughing and shivering.
Then Fluttershy turned her head, her eyes followed the bobbin shape of the other pony still in the river. And a moment later, Nightmare Harmony vanished over the edge of the waterfall, without even a scream.
Twilight was starting to feel… odd. She, Luna and Spike were currently walking across the surface of the moon. Yet, trees had begun to spring up all around them. Twilight recognized some the features of the Everfree Forest in the newly grown trees.
She even recognized the path they were following. This was the same path that she and her friends, although they hadn’t been friends at the time, had taken on their very first adventure together.
Her eyes swept up and she saw, looming ahead of her, the Castle of the Two Sisters. It was the ancient home of Luna and Celestia, destroyed long ago by Nightmare Moon’s wrath. They had found the Element of Harmony there. They had come together and built friendship in that ruined palace.
But of course, this wasn’t really that place. This was just a memory, although, who’s memory it was, Twilight couldn’t tell.
“So what are we doing here?” asked Twilight.
“I do not know,” answered Luna. “You brought us here.”
“I thought that was you,” said Twilight. Luna simply shook her head and let out a small cough, that became a hack.
“Luna, are you… alright?” asked Spike, still riding atop Twilight’s back. Luna held up a hoof to her mouth coughing several more times.
“We… should hurry,” said Luna.
“Of course,” agreed Twilight. She pressed them forward.
They weren’t galloping, but their pace seemed to quicken. Before Twilight knew it, they stood at the entrance to the long abandoned castle.
Much of its roof had been blasted away, some of its walls had tumbled down and thick vines grew over its sides. The building had a hollow empty feeling to it, like it was a graveyard of sorts, although no pony had actually perished inside it. A least, none that Twilight knew of.
Carefully they made their way up the steps, with little Luna having slightly more trouble climbing over them.
The door to the castle was ajar as Twilight approached. With a hoof she pushed it open. The ancient wood creaked in protest, swinging only a short distance. However, the opening was large enough for all of them to enter. Without hesitation, they trotted into the dark.
Inside, it was completely still and quiet. Streams of light cascaded down through whirling dust in the air, giving the interior an otherworldly feel.
“Man, it sure is creepy in here,” whispered Spike. “Do you really think we are going to find Dash in this place?”
“And Rarity, and Rainbow Sparkle. I hope,” said Twilight.
Luna coughed again, making both Twilight and Spike jump at the loud noise as it echoed. She continued coughing for a good thirty second before at last it subsided and she stood panting.
“Luna… what’s… what’s going on out there? What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.
“Water,” said Luna between pants. “I can not see much, but…” she shook her head, “We must stay focused. And we must move quickly. We cannot waste any more time. Where do we go now?”
“The chamber where we found the elements,” said Twilight. “I think that’s where we’ll find the others.” Luna nodded, but she waited for Twilight to lead.
They hurried through the corridors. While it seemed like they were walking, Twilight was becoming more and more aware that they weren’t moving at all, but that the world was moving around them. Passageways zipped past in a blur. In only a moment, they were in the empty chamber where they had found the Elements of Harmony.
“I don’t understand,” said Twilight, glancing around. “They aren’t here. But I thought for sure…”
As if on cue, the doors on the far side of the room swung open. Two ponies, one pale blue and the other pristine white, stood on the other side.
“See! I told you!” said Dash excitedly. They galloped forward, hurrying to meet Twilight in the exact center of the room.
“Yes, and I agreed with you!” protested Rarity. “Twilight, darling, it’s so good to see you again! And… Luna… you’ve gotten so… small…” Rarity tore her eyes away from Luna to look at Twilight with concern. “Spike… isn’t with you?”
“Up here,” said Spike, standing on Twilight’s back and hanging off her side so that Rarity could see him. She smiled in relief.
“And Rainbow Sparkle?” asked Twilight, her eyes searched the doorway from which Rarity and Dash had come. There was no pony there.
“Also riding along,” said Dash, she turned slightly to reveal the white ball of fur curled up and shivering on her back.
“Huh, I kind of thought she’d be taller,” said Spike.
“What’s wrong with her?” asked Twilight. “What happened?”
“We have no idea,” said Dash, shaking her head. “One minute she was fine, and the next she just started shaking and shivering. I had to carry her the rest of the way.”
“How did you know we’d even be here?” asked Spike, his eyes still watching the shivering ball of white.
“We didn’t,” said Rarity. “But we also didn’t know what to do with, uh, her. We thought finding you was the best option, and we obviously couldn’t leave her there. So we just started walking and before we even noticed, we found ourselves walking down the halls of this castle. And Dash said…”
“I know this place!” continued Dash. “And I bet I know where Twilight would be! And here you are!” Dash paused of a long moment, the triumphant smile fading from her face. “So what do we do? Cuze, I’m all out of ideas.”
“I think I have an idea… but… I don’t think you are going to like it,” said Twilight with a frown.
Luna coughed again, the worst thus far. Rainbow Sparkle let out a yelp of pain, tumbling off Dash’s back and falling to the floor.
“But I don’t think I have time to explain it,” said Twilight desperately. “We need to regain control of our body! Luna,” Twilight gaze snapped to small little Luna standing beside her, “We have to risk it. I need you to leave.”
“What?!” cried Spike, Rarity and Dash all at once.
“There isn’t time,” said Twilight. “Take Spike and Rarity with you!”
“Nuh-uh, no way!” said Spike, grabbing Twilight’s mane. “I’m not abandoning you!”
“Neither am I!” said Rarity defiantly.
“You aren’t,” said Twilight.
“Twilight is right, there is no time,” said Luna. She looked at Twilight very seriously. “This may not work. Harmony might remain in control when I leave. I may emerge as Nightmare Moon when I return to the physical world…” warned Luna. “And when you wake, you will be in danger…”
“I know,” said Twilight. Luna nodded.
Despite Spike and Rarity’s protests, Luna pulled them away with her. The three of them stretched, their voices still calling out. Then, they vanished and the castle began to crumble.
Spike, Rarity and Luna all popped back into existence. They condensed down from intangible thoughts to physical beings once again. For a moment, everything felt unreal to Spike. He had legs and a tail, along with little clawed hands. He could move all of them, but he felt disconnected from them.
There was a raging river nearby. At their backs and up a slight incline was the castle wall. He didn’t recognize the exact spot, but he knew the general area. They weren’t that far from where they had tried to sneak into the castle, and failed horribly.
Dimly Spike became aware that somepony was speaking to him. No, shouting to him. The words were hollow in his ears, until they repeated.
“Spike!” called the pony, galloping towards him. He blinked and she seemed to close the distance almost instantly. It was Doctor Heart. “Spike! Rarity! Princess! You’re all back! And not a moment too soon! Please we have to hurry!”
A large group of guards, Twilight’s parents, and — Spike assumed — Dash’s parents were being led by Doctor Heart. They were galloping and flying towards them at an alarming rate.
The group did not slow as they ran past and flew overhead. Both Luna and Rarity stayed still only a moment before joining into the stampede.
Spike tried to hurry after them, but his short little legs couldn’t move him anywhere near as fast as the ponies. Then, somepony grabbed him from behind, lifting him into the air and tossing him onto their back. He let out a cry of surprise, but managed to hold on.
“Hey thanks for the…” Spike trailed off as orange pony with the blond mane spared an unhappy glance back at him.
Applejack.
The two of them had not departed on the best of terms last time. And he still had a few more choice words to shout at her for abandoning Twilight Dash. But right now, he couldn’t waste time being angry at her. Other, far more important things were at stake.
“What’s going on?” shouted Spike over the thundering hooves around him. “Where is Twilight Dash?”
“In the river,” said Applejack. “Her and Fluttershy both.”
Spike glanced towards the dangerous water only a dozen hooves away. In the river?
“No,” whispered Spike. “Faster! We have to go faster!”
Much to his surprise, Applejack did indeed go faster, passing several other ponies. She neared the front of the pack where Luna, Rarity, Twilight Dash’s parents and Doctor Heart all were.
“We are almost at the waterfall,” shouted Luna. “I only hope that we are not too late!”
Ahead, Spike could see two ponies sitting not too far ahead of them. They appeared to be at the edge of a cliff, looking down over it.
“There!” shouted Spike, pointing towards the shadowy shaped. One of them was a pegasus for sure, but he couldn’t tell if she had a horn. And the other was… Pinkie? And that was Fluttershy beside her.
The group came to trotting halt, stopping within a stride or two of Pinkie and Fluttershy.
“Where’s Twilight Dash?” asked Rarity, panting slightly from the run.
Sadly, Fluttershy looked back towards them, tears were streaming down her face. She opened her mouth but nothing came out.
“They’re… they’re gone,” said Pinkie, her gaze fixed on the emptiness below.