//------------------------------//
// Mirror Match! Nyx vs. Nightmare Moon 
// Story: Dark Conflict 
// by Six Quills 
//------------------------------//

Nightmare Moon looked up and down her opponent, Nyx, and a sneer of disgust formed on her lips. She then took a step, and began to circle Nyx, her gaze criticizing every detail.
"No armor, a different cutie mark, and you seek the approval of this world's Celestia and Luna," Nightmare Moon said in a haughty tone. "I had hoped you would be an ally of mine in this strange tournament, but now I see you are just a pathetic forgery, not even fit to clean my shoes. How did such a weak willed copy of me come into existence? Did the Celestia of your world enjoy toying with creating ponies?"
"No," Nyx answered, trying to hold her ground under Nightmare Moon's scrutinizing stare. "And I am no copy. I am the Nightmare Moon of my world, but I was given a chance to be something other than a monster."
"A monster," Nightmare Moon said before breaking into a loud, dark laughter. "So you would rather be accepted, be beneath the royal sisters, just so ponies don't call you a monster. You are even more pathetic than I thought."
Nightmare Moon came to a stop in front of Nyx, and planted her hooves firmly in the ground. "I am going to enjoy beating you within an inch of your life.
The bell sounded, and Nightmare Moon rocketed forward with murderous intent in her eyes. She closed the distance between herself and Nyx within seconds, and was about to launch her own attack when Nyx's horn flashed and an arcane sword formed between them and swung in a diagonal strike. Nightmare ducked down to the right, and then taking advantage of the opening Nyx left, flung her whole body upwards into Nyx. Yet, before Nightmare Moon could land her own blow, she felt something connect with the side of her helmet. Nyx had continued her sword swing after she had missed Nightmare Moon, letting the sword swing completely around her body. The flat side of the blade struck Nightmare Moon firmly, and knocked her away. 
The blow Nyx was able to land brought a smile to her face, but that smile quickly faded. Nightmare Moon burst into a cloud within moments of being hit, and she then began to zip around the arena randomly. Nyx did her best to keep track of Nightmare's movements, but she quickly lost track of her. 
And the moment that happened, Nightmare Moon struck from Nxy's blind spot. She reformed, and bucked Nyx hard in the side. 
This sent Nyx flying, and she tumbled across the arena floor with a few thuds as her sword vanished into thin air. Yet, Nyx recovered quickly, climbing back to her hooves and searching for Nightmare Moon. However, Nightmare was nowhere to be seen on the arena floor. 
Nightmare Moon had taken to flight, and after getting sixty feet above Nyx, she unleashed a rain of lightning. Acting on instinct, Nyx reverted to a mist form and tried to evade the descending bolts. She managed to avoid a few, but the sheer amount of lightning Nightmare Moon was raining down proved too much. Nyx took a hit, and was shocked back into her normal form, which in turn caused her to be hit by several more of the lightning bolts.
Nyx lay gasping when the assault finally ended, her muscles spasming from the energy still coursing through her body. She lifted her head, and saw Nightmare Moon looking down on her with a satisfied smile as her horn crackled with energy. Seeing Nightmare's intent, Nyx called on her magic as quickly as she could. She threw up a blue bubble shield around her just as another barrage of lightning began. The bolts bounded on the barrier like rain on a metal rough, and it began to crack under the strain. 
With a final bolt, the barrier shattered, but Nyx had recovered enough in those moments to jump clear of the rest of the attack. She then spread her wings, and took flight.
Nightmare Moon chuckled as she watched Nyx level off in the air. "Perhaps it is true, that you are the Nightmare Moon of another Equestria. Any lesser alicorn would have succumbed to that lighting." Nightmare Moon ended her chuckle, and a deep frown formed on her lips, "You are, however, still pitiful. You fight to defend yourself, not to defeat me, and thus this fight is already mine."
Nyx face contorted in anger, and spread her wings wide and threateningly, dashing forward quickly in the air towards Nightmare as she mirrored her flight. Nyx materialized her arcane sword while Nightmare charged her horn with lightning. The two alicorns clashed, resulting in a bright flash that stung the eyes of everyone in the coliseum. 


It had been almost an hour since Twilight had begun reading the research notes of the Spectre Spell, and she was only about a quarter of the way through the stack. She made a brave attempt to understand the contents of the notes, but the look on her face gave away the fact that she was very confused. She set down the current page to take a small break. The other ponies, who were sprawled out on the floor in boredom, jumped up to see how things were going.
“Well Sugarcube? How’s it goin’?” Applejack asked.
“Ugh, not as well as I hoped.” Twilight responded despairingly. “I’m able to grasp most of what’s written, but all these formulas he developed are just too complicated for me. I’ve searched through all of my Spell-making books several times each, but I just can’t understand all of it! Star Swirl knew way more than I do about this.” Twilight drooped her head, giving into the despair.
“Hey, buck up there Twilight!” Applejack said, trying to cheer her up. “I’ve seen you do some amazin things with your magic. I know that if you really put your heart in it, you’ll be able to figure this thing out.” Applejack gave Twilight a heartwarming smile, the same smile she used to ensure her when she was hanging from the edge of the cliff in the Everfree forest that she would be alright, far back when they were searching for the elements of harmony.
“Yea Twilight.” Rainbow Dash interjected. “You got this! And we’ll help in any way we can!”
“Indeed we will!” Rarity included.
“Yes indeedy! Yes indeedy!” Pinkie Pie also included with her signature hopping.
“We’ll all do this together!” Fluttershy said with one of her rare bouts of courage.
Twilight's eyes welled with tears, happy to have friends that believed in her even when she didn’t. Perhaps with her friends there to encourage her, she just might be able to do this. 

“Thanks so much guys!” Twilight responded, blinking back her onslaught of emotion. “How bout we complete us a spell?” The six friends clopped hooves as Twilight dug back into the notes. It was going to be a challenge, but she truly believed now that she’d complete this task.
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Nyx and Nightmare Moon were caught in a deadlock. Nightmare would unleash a barrage of lightning attacks as Nyx deflected them with her sword. Nightmare wasn’t quite fast enough to move in on any of Nyx’s openings, but at the same time she didn’t give Nyx any opportunity to get on the offensive. Realizing she wouldn’t get anywhere, Nyx thought up a new strategy.
She entered her mist form and scurried away, putting some distance between the two of them. Nightmare Moon followed after her in pursuit, but before she could close the gap, Nyx returned to her normal form, facing the oncoming Nightmare Moon. She brought out her sword again and prepared to strike.
Nightmare Moon knew exactly what to do, as this was similar to what Celestia had done. As Nyx swung her sword, Nightmare swerved her mist body around the strike and entered her regular form behind Nyx, just as she had done to Celestia. Then, just as before, she unleashed a powerful lightning attack. However, this is exactly what Nyx had planned for. Without even looking, Nyx bucked her hind legs, and what appeared at her hooves was another magic shield. The shield not only blocked, but instantly deflected the attack back at Nightmare. Nightmare had no time to respond, and was struck by her own technique, sending her to the ground. The shield had also acted as a surface, of which Nyx used to push off of and flip over, now facing the falling Nightmare Moon.
In one large attack, Nyx cast a large bolt of pure arcane energy upon Nightmare, but as the bolt struck, her body vanished into thin air. Uncertain of what happened, she began scanning the battlefield. Looking behind her, she saw Nightmare Moon, hovering just inches away from her with her horn fully charged. Without delaying a second, Nightmare unleashed a powerful burst of magic that sent Nyx clear across the arena. Although knocked senseless for a second, she managed to scrap her wits together and face Nightmare.
“That little trick you pulled you learned from watching Celestia and I, am I wrong?” Nightmare Moon taunted. “You’re not the only one who learns. I can cast illusions just as Celestia can, though they are a cowards way of fighting.”
“Well I guess that kinda makes you a coward doesn’t it?” Nyx replied with a grin.
“Whatever I need to do to win…” Nightmare moon said haughtily in response. “Tell me Nyx, while we are in this lull, exactly how were you made from my remains?”
“If you must know, a cult called the Children of Nightmare used a very ancient spell to revive you. But the spell was interrupted, which resulted in me. I may have been born from what was left of you, but I am my own Pony.” Nyx explained.
“Hahaha!” Nightmare Moon laughed. “You may be your own pony, but you were still created from the same evil magic that resides in me, though you are a much lesser doppelganger. I’m ashamed to say we are similar.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” said Nyx. “I am nothing like you!” Nyx lunged forward through the air at incredible speed, getting close up to Nightmare in less than a second, and ramming her almost head on, missing just enough so her horn wouldn’t impale her. Nightmare was sent flying through the air, and before she could recover, Nyx had already flanked to the right and rammed her from the side.
Nyx didn’t stop there. She again flew through the air and shoulder checked Nightmare from above and sent her careening towards the ground. Nyx finished her combo by releasing another bolt of pure arcane energy into Nightmare from above. Nyx looked down into the smoke of the aftermath, hoping to see Nightmare Moon defeated.
"Enough!"
Nightmare Moon's bellow rang out, driving away the smoke with its sheer force to reveal the enraged alicorn. While her body was battered from the attack, Nightmare Moon's determination looked to have only increased. She spread her wings, and with murderous intent in her eyes she charged into the air, flying directly at Nyx.
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Twilight had made it about halfway through the research notes. Around her, the desk was an utter mess. A mountain of books sat open, turn to different pages and choked with bookmarks. Papers all across the desk held scribbled notes; many of them crossed out or crumpled up in frustration.
“Well girls, I’m still not able to understand all of it, but I believe I know enough to perhaps make a semi-complete Spectre Spell. Rarity, since you’re the only other unicorn, I’m going to need your help.” said Twilight.
“Of course, dear. Anything I can do to help I’ll gladly do.” Rarity responded.
The two unicorns began working on the spell. Twilight spent a long time attempting to complete some partial formulas, while Rarity used her magic to help her test the results with limited success. 
“A Transformation Spell is generally divided into three stages: Definition, Transformation, and Maintenance. The Definition step does exactly what it says; it defines what the item will transform into. The Transformation step is the part of the spell that actually changes whatever object the spell is being cast on. Lastly, the Maintenance step merely depicts how well and for how long the spell works. The Transformation step is already complete, as it’s generally the same as any other transformation spell. What needs to be finished is the Definition and Maintenance stages.” Twilight explained to Rarity.
Rarity smiled a little, "Well, that doesn't sound too bad."
Twilight looked over at her, and shook her head. "No, it really is bad. Since ghosts don't really exist, it's very hard to make a definition of what a pony would be like when they became a ghost. That's how a lot of transformation spells work is a pony focuses on turning something into something that already exists, making the definition stage much easier."
“I see. So what exactly are we trying to do now?” Rarity asked.
“The problem is that there are too many gaps in the definition stage, again because you can’t really define what a ghost is. We can’t cast the spell unless the gaps are filled with the proper formula, and I don’t know enough about formulas to make one.”
“So we’re just filling the gaps then?” Rarity asked herself. It reminded her of a time she was working on an order of dresses, but had run out of a specific gem she needed to complete them. Instead of freaking out, she realized she could mimic the intended glamour of those gems by ‘filling the gap’ with various other gems, whose combined charm easily made up for the missing stones. As this memory filled her head, a thought struck her.
“…..IDEA!!” she exclaimed.
“Huh? What idea?” Twilight asked, surprised at Rarity’s outburst.
“What if we don’t actually need to make the Spectre Spell…but only mimic it?” Rarity exclaimed.
“…I don’t follow, Rarity…” Twilight said.
“Instead of trying to make a new formula, why not fill the gaps with formulas from other spells?” Rarity explained. Twilight paused for a moment.
“Rarity! You’re a genius!” Twilight yelled out. 
“Well, I do try…” Rarity said with a laugh as she gently batted her mane.
The other four, who had been waiting patiently as Rarity and Twilight worked, crowded around the two unicorns.
“Ya’ll figure something out?” Applejack inquired.
“Yes we did!” Twilight exclaimed. “All I need to do is find the right spells to fill the gaps with and we’ll be good to go!”
Twilight spent a few minutes going through every spell she had ever learned, and eventually gathered all the spells she believed she would need. After putting their formulas in place, she was ready to test. Rarity volunteered to be a test subject.
“Ok…here goes…” Twilight said nervously. She cast the spell on Rarity. She glowed for a minute, but then suddenly vanished from sight. The five of them waited, paying very close attention the area surrounding them. After a few minutes, rarity reappeared elsewhere in the room.
“Oh Twilight! It works!” Rarity exclaimed. “I can fly around too!”
“Yeehaw! You did it Twilight!” Applejack hollered in joy.
“There’s no time to celebrate girls! Let’s get back to Ponyville, grab the Elements of Harmony, and get ready to enter that coliseum.”



In the coliseum, Nightmare Moon had been giving Nyx a real beating. Her rage was driven to an all-time high, and she was unleashing all of it on her opponent. After finally knocking Nyx into the ground, she charged up her horn and unleashed an incredibly strong bolt of lightning. Nyx, barely able to move, summoned up all her magic and cast a shield to stop the bolt. It was enough to stop it, but Nightmare continued her electrical onslaught, drilling away at Nyx’s shield. Nyx was slowly being pushed back as her shield began to dissolve.
“It is exactly as I said, Nyx!” Nightmare Moon yelled. “You are nothing but a loathsome copy! In no way could you have ever hoped to match up to my might! You are just as feeble as the Twilight Sparkle of my world. She didn't have the strength to wield the elements of harmony, and when they failed to destroy me I took great pleasure in ending their miserable existences. Perhaps, once I've finally figured out a way to escape this blasted tournament, I'll do the same to this world's Twilight Sparkle, while you watch?"
Those words from Nightmare Moon caused a mighty spark inside of Nyx. Nightmare Moon was threatening the very pony that she held most dearly to her heart, and this only heightened her anger to an incredible level.
“You can insult me all you want,” Nyx said just loud enough for Nightmare Moon to hear. “I couldn’t care less about that. But when you threaten the lives of the ones I hold closest to me, I can’t let that go. It is my destiny to protect my family, my friends, and everypony in Equestria! I will protect them all from the likes of you!”
At this moment, the shield Nyx was casting grew and pushed itself towards Nightmare Moon, devouring the lightning bolt as it traveled. Nightmare attempted to push through it, but her effort was in vain. The shield was rapidly upon her, and before she could even attempt to fly away, it struck her. At first it just pushed her, but it soon devoured her too, swallowing her into the arcane presence. The shield then exploded, sending a shockwave throughout the coliseum. Clouds of dust shot up everywhere, completely covering the arena. As it finally cleared Nyx looked into the center of the arena to see Nightmare Moon lying on the ground, unconscious and defeated. Nyx had done it. She had won.