Prepare for the Dark of the Night
"Asami!"
"Asami!"
"Sami, where are ya?" Rainbow Dash zipped from side to side, trying to find any sign of their friend but so far no such luck. None of their friends could locate her and Bolin grew more and more worried. He felt terrible for what had happened. The image if Asami's heartbroken expression was still fresh in his mind. He wished he could turn back time and fix everything, but not even magic could help him now. He placed his two hands near his face and called out to her.
"Asami! Asami, please talk to me!"
Korra made her way through the crowd of people and ponies, “Asami? Asami? Asa--oh I'm sorry, didn't see you--“, she apologized for bumping into a person then continued her search, “Asami!”
Mako was having the same trouble as he too searched for his friend, “Asami! Asa--oh!”
“Hey! Watch the tail, buddy!” said an annoyed male pony.
“Sorry, sir.” he apologized and kept on looking, “Asami!”
Pinkie Pie jumped among the crowed shouting her name. “Asami!” She jumped up again, “Bolin is sorry.” She lands and jumps again, “Really, really, really--“ She lands and jumps again,“--Really, really sorry!” Lands and jumps again, “Please come--“ Lands and jumps again, “--out!”
“Asami, where are you?” Fluttershy called out.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.” Rainbow shouted. Both pegasus ponies flew over the crowd. Finally, the whole team gathered together near the foot of the stage to give word on their progress.
“Anything?” Twilight asked.
Flash shook his head, “No.” the others shook their heads as well.
"I've looked in the suite but she wasn't there." said Rarity.
"And Varrick hasn't seen her either." said Applejack.
Bolin face palmed himself, “Oh, Man! This is all my fault!” He looked at his friends who all stood there in complete silence. Bolin narrowed his eyes and placed his hands on his hips, “Well, don't all disagree with me at once.” he said sarcastically.
“Guys, I'm already getting worried.” said Korra as she hugged herself, "This is my fault. If I hadn't asked her to come…"
“Relax Kors, I'm sure she couldn't have gotten far.” said Spike as he patted her leg.
"But I should have been there for her. She's my friend, I knew what she was going through but I got so wrapped up in the celebration I--" she covered her face with her hands, sighing in despair, "What am I going to do?"
After being distant for a long time, Korra was happy she and Asami could be friends now. She cared about the heiress as if she were her own sister, just as she cared about Bolin, Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and even Kai as her own siblings. She would have a heart attack if anything had happened to any of them. Just as well, she had a sinking feeling something must have happened.
Mako wrapped his arm around her for comport, "It's going to be alright, Korra. Once we find her we'll explain everything."
Korra slowly began to calm down as her boyfriend held her close, and the other ponies joined in the embrace. Suddenly, she felt a strange chill on her cheek, but she was not the only one. Looking around, they noticed a semi cold soft wind started to form, causing their clothing and hair to bellow in it.
"That's odd." said Opal, "Where did this wind come from?"
The trumpets sounded once more and Cadance and Shinning Armor stood on the stage. All eyes feel upon them as the prince spoke, "Attention everyone! The moon is almost at its peak, which means the first crystal winter is about to begin!"
Everybody cheered and applauded while smiling happily. Korra wanted to feel excited but she couldn't shake this strange feeling in her stomach. Something was off….way off.
At that moment, the wind blew again, this time stronger than before, and even colder. Party guests suspected this was the Crystal Winter coming, but the rulers of the empire, as well as the three royal alicorns, knew that this was not the case.
"What's with this wind?" asked the unicorn prince.
"I don't know." said his wife.
Even Raiko, Lin and Hou-Ting took notice of the wind, growing stronger and stronger. Pretty soon, guests were had their gowns, shirts and hair bellowing against the strong powerful wind. It was so cold Team Avatar began to shiver. "What's going on?" Spike asked, his teeth hitting against one another due to the now cold temperature, "Is this part of the show?"
Korra's eyes caught sight of someone approaching. However, unlike everybody else, the woman stood perfectly still as both her dress and hair danced in the powerful wind, but she showed no signs of being cold.
"Asami!"
The Avatar quickly ran up and hugged her friend, who did not respond to the embrace. Her hands remained on her sides. "Where have you been? We've looked everywhere for you." Korra said while trying to keep her curled hair in place against the wind.
"You expect me to feel grateful for that?" the heiress responded, her eyes narrowing at Korra, who arched an eyebrow at Asami's strange response.
“Asami!” Bolin rushed on over an hugged the woman as well, who still showed no reaction whatsoever. "I am so sorry for what happened, I can explain!"
"Explain what? You kissed another girl, why should I care?"
Now it was Bolin's turn to look skeptical, "What?"
Korra came in between the two, “Look, I know you're upset right now but--” her words were cut off when the wind blew even stronger, now causing some of the decorations to go flying off, landing on guests' faces. The only one who did not react to this was Asami, who stood perfectly still like a stuatue.
"You really think a few 'I'm sorry's" will be enough to make up for everything you did to me?" Asami's voice began to rise, almost as if a wave of anger was sweeping up from within her.
"What's the matter with you?" Korra asked, undoubtedly skeptical about the heiress's sudden change in behavior. "Why are you acting like this? We're friends."
"Ha! That's a laugh."
Rainbow Dash tried to reason with her, "Asami, Bolin didn't kiss Ginger, she kissed him. It's you he likes."
But, to everyone's immense surprise, Asami Sato, kind and generous Asami Sato, swatted Rainbow Dash with her right arm, causing her to fall hard on the ground with a groan. The Mane Six rushed to aid their fallen pony sister, while narrowing their eyes at her.
Mako forcibly grabbed her arm, his spiky hair dancing against the wind, "I don't know what's gotten into you but whatever it is you have to stop!"
"What's gotten into me?" she angrily swatted her arm away from him, "I came to my senses." she started running away from the group, ignoring their cries as she made her way up towards the stage. The royal couple looked at her with curiosity.
"Asami, what is it?" Cadance asked, but instead of answering, the heiress simply took the microphone away from them, addressing to the crowd.
"Feel that everyone? That chill in the air? That marks the start of a new winter. But not one of merriment as you expected."
Bolin looked at the girl, there was such anger in her eyes, “Asami?”
"For far too long, I have been the victim of constant pain and suffering. Everything I have ever known and loved was taken away from me. And the cause of it all is from none other than your so called Princess Avatar and her Ponies!” she pointed a finger at Korra and the ponies as the crowed gasped. "You've had your fun, now it's time for a new Princess to rise!"
"Asami Sato!" The heiress turned to see Celestia Luna and Leilani come forth, looking at her fiercely.
“What is the meaning of this?” asked Celestia while narrowing her eyes, “You are disrupting the celebration. Step down at once!”
Asami glared at them both, “NO! I will not step down! I have been nothing but little miss perfect sweet girl. Well starting now, that perfect girl is gone! There can only be one princess in this new era. And that princess…WILL BE ME!!”
Gasps and screams were heard as the wind blew on harder than before…and blue mist emerged from the ground up. The sparkling substance grew in size and zoomed across the crowd like a speedy snake in the water. The mist grew and grew in size as it approached the stage, stopping right around Asami. Her friends looked on with fear in their eyes, Fluttershy hid behind Opal and Spike jumped into Korra's arms as Mako held her close for protection and Flash did the same with Twilight.
Asami clenched her head, crying out in pain as the mist encircled around her body, swirling rapidly, entrapping her in a black and blue cocoon as her hair rose up and the helm of her dress bellowed strongly against the spinning winds. Tenzin and Pema held their children close and P'Li stepped in front of them for protection, her eyes narrowed as she and everybody else watched the events unfold before their eyes. Lin held her little sister close, watching in terror as their ally began to rise up from the stage, hovering above them all. Leilani protected her daughters but Luna was the most terrified. She knew this mist, she knew this dark magic oh too well.
"No. It can't be!"
Within her spear, Asami opened her eyes. No longer were they in their beautiful green color but blue with cat-like slits for pupils and her lips were dark purple. She opened her mouth and her teeth became sharp, growing two front fangs. Her pale skin became tainted with the color black, her hair grew longer transforming into a dark blue and black smoke with sparkles all around it. Her beautiful green dress grew pale until it became completely pitch black with longer sleeves and a turtle neck. The dress was cut on the right side exposing her leg. Her arms had navy blue armor and matching knee high boots. Over her dress was a matching colored tank top with a crescent moon in the center. She also gained a forehead helmet-like accessory around her head with a black unicorn horn sticking out of it. The final touch came from her back…
As two pitch black feathered wings emerged!
Slowly, the mist around her dispersed as the now fully transformed Asami floated in mid air, showcasing her new form, startling everyone. Asami flapped her new wings, her mist-like hair flowing as she released a sinister laugh. “Hahahahahahahahahahahha!”
The Mane Six could not believe their eyes, it was the image of a foe they had faced once before but never dreamed upon seeing again. Princess Luna was trembling in fear, her past has come back to haunt her yet again.
"Asami?" Bolin asked, looking upon the transformed heiress who looked down upon him, smiling wickedly with her sharp teeth bare for all too see.
"What is that?" Mako asked. Korra and Twilight knew who it was…,
"NightMare Moon!"
"How is that possible?" Rarity asked, "She was defeated!"
Ponies were very familiar with the legend of the Mare in the Moon. Humans and spirits had heard quite a bit about this legend and her terrifying dark magic, but they never imagined they would one day see her right before their eyes.
The human nightmare moon turned her head to face the moon princess, "Ah, Luna. Been a long time, hasn't it. Did you miss me?"
Before Luna could respond, her mother Leilani stepped forward. He eyes fuming with anger at the beast who once took over her youngest daughter. "How are you back? The Elements of Harmony defeated you!”
“That's what you think, your majesty. You should know by now that the Elements can never truly destroy anyone. Granted, I was weakened for a long time but now, thanks to the power from Harmonic Convergence, my magic slowly returned."
Korra gasped and her heart felt heavy. Harmonic Convergence had caused NightMare Moon to return? Once again, she had to come to grips with the consequences of her own choices.
Lin Beifong stepped forward, her police force and various pony guards at the ready behind her. "What have you done with Asami Sato!"
The dark woman laughed, "Why? Don't you recognize me, Lin? Am I really that different now?"
There was no denying it, somehow someway, the spirit of NightMare Moon had taken over their ally. Never in their wildest dreams would they imagine that the sweet and gentle Asami Sato, friend to the Princess Avatar and one who had helped her defeat her enemies every step of the way…would become one with a creature of darkness.
Even Lin herself couldn't believe it, "It…can't be."
"Oh, it is. You should know, wouldn't you….Korra." In a patch of mist, NightMare Moon disappeared and reappeared a few feet in front of Korra. "I should really be thanking you. Opening the portals and uniting the worlds was your best choice."
Before she could respond, Mako rushed in and intervened, shielding Korra and making fire daggers appear in his hands, "Back off, freak!"
NightMare Moon scoffed and placed a hand over her chest, "Freak? Mako, don't your recognize your old friend? The one who's heart you ripped apart and stomped on?"
Even though he maintained his fierce expression, in his eyes she could clearly see the guilt he felt, as well as his hesitation to harm her. His heart was his weakness in her eyes.
"But who could compare to what your brother and bob-cut, did." she said, gesturing to Bolin and Opal as Rainbow Dash stood in front of them, holding flames in her hooves.
"Asami," Twilight spoke up, "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you have to fight her! This isn't you!"
NightMare Moon laughed at the princess, "Oh, you princesses are so cute when you're naive."
With a wave of her hand, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear hovering above everyone, her dark feathered wings flapping as music filled the air. Unlike before, this music caused the skin of the guests to shiver in fear.
(Parody of In The Dark of the Night)
NightMare Moon;
In the dark of the night I was tossing and turning
And the nightmare I had was as bad as can be
The Elements caused my defeat
Lost my power and my physique
When I opened my eyes that nightmare was real!
She swooshed down, forcing everyone to crunch down as she hovered above them once more, her long misty hair sparkling and floating all around her, taking on the form of various miniature female forms.
I was with nothing left but a wish
Female chorus;
Oh, oh, oh
NightMare Moon;
Vowed that one day they'll regret their mistake
Female chorus;
Oh, oh, oh
NightMare Moon;
But alone, I could not do
Until one little girl came through
Little Princess, beware
NightMara's awake!
Folks huddled together as more of NightMara's mist made its way through, creating what appeared to be Equalists-like mixed with what appeared to be dark spirits, added with glowing yellow goggles and antennas and tentacles for arms.
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night evil will prosper
In the dark of the night just before dawn!
NightMare Moon;
Revenge will be sweet, when the curse is complete
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night
NightMare Moon;
Now I'm back!
The Equalist shadows chanted as the heroes all jumped into action, blasting the shadows away. The airbenders defended themselves with their airbending while Lin and her cops and her sister earthbended at them with their metallic cables, Mako, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Celestia started blasting the shadows with fire, while Korra assisted the airbenders along with Tenzin and P'li combustion bended the shadows away as well. Even with all of them working together, the shadows still managed to be recreated and sang as NightMare Moon did as well.
NightMare Moon;
Once I knew that my powers were slowly returning
I needed a new tortured soul for my game
As she sang this, she stuck her tongue out at Princess Luna, angering her mother. Leilani stomped her hoof and charged at the monster who tormented her daughter for years. Sadly, even the alicorn queen was no match for the creature of the night, for she had hit the wall of the palace due to NightMare Moon disappearing and reappearing behind her as a taunt.
As the pieces fell into place
I sought my chance and took haste!
Sweet little, Asami Sato
Farewell!
As Korra listened to the song, she put the pieces together. She screamed when equalist shadows emerged before her and she defended herself by firebending them away, but that still didn't stop them from singing.
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night terror will strike you
NightMare Moon;
Terror is the least I can do
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night evil will brew
Ooh!
NightMare Moon;
Soon you will feel that your nightmares are real
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night
NightMare Moon;
You'll be through!
Equalists;
In the dark of the night she will find you
(Find you)
In the dark of the night terror will come true
(Come true)
NightMare Moon;
My dears, here's a sign
It's the end of the line!
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
While Cadance and Shinning Armor fought the shadows, they gasped as they watched the moon above them slowly moving towards the center of the sky, and it's silvery glow was about to hit the Crystal Heart
Cadance;
"The Crystal Heart!"
Shinning Armor;
"Keep them away from it!"
On his command, the Mane Six and Spike used their powers to keep the shadows at bay, away from the heart. But it was no use for NightMare Moon entrapped them in her night-like hair, wrapping her coils around them as she sang to her shadows.
NightMare Moon;
Let it be said
Now and forever
The nightmares shall last
Now you'll have to pay with surrender
Equalists Shadows;
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
In the dark of the night
NightMare Moon;
Be prepared, darlings
For the Dark of the Night!
Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
The hour was near, the moon finally reached its peak, but right before the light could reflect upon the Crystal Heart, NightMare Moon cast a spell upon the stone. The once stunning crystal heart turned dark in color, its shimmer was gone and the colors were dull and cold as death. The police and guards rushed over to stop her, but were pushed back by her powerful misty hair. The rays of the moon hit the heart just as expected, and once it did the stone glowed a sinister looking blue. The same colors outstretched across the floor, entrapping the ground bellow everyone. The clouds above them began to cover the night sky as the cold wind took shape once more. Everyone shivered as snow began to fall, but it was not the crystal snow as everyone had expected. No, this snow was dark in color, more like soot which landed on their heads and on the ground beneath them. But as the snow fell, the Crystal Empire itself began to turn dark, the crystal buildings and architecture began turned grey, loosing its shine and bright colors. NightMare Moon laughed wickedly at her work, her spell of darkness had consumed the Crystal Heart, transforming their once expected beautiful event into a wintery curse.
The alicorns flew upwards and prepared to attack the monster. Their horns glowing brightly. But NightMare Moon was faster than they thought and unleashed a powerful blast at the three, knocking them back as they fell to the floor. Luna grunted as she stood up, unwilling to give up and loose against this foe. She spread out her wings and unleashed her magical moon blasts at NightMare Moon, who managed to dodge them all with ease, leaving Luna shocked. She had never been this powerful before. Her hands glowed and unleashed a beam at the princess, who was then pushed aside by her sister.
Lin, her sister, her family, as well as the cops, guards and airbenders jumped into action. Metalbenders attempted to entrap the creature in their cables, but she simply swatted them away with her hair and even managed to use the airbenders' own bending against them, knocking them all down in one final swipe.
Korra and the Ponies stood in front of her, “Asami! Please, you don't know what you're doing! NightMare Moon's controlling you.” Korra exclaimed.
“You have to snap out of it!” cried Twilight.
Asami arced an eyebrow at them, “Asami? Please, that girl is long gone. Instead, you may call me NightMara: Queen of the Night!”
Korra shook her head, “No! You're Asami Sato! The head of Future Industries and a member of Team Avatar.”
"Your naivety is adorable. But I really should thank you. After all, I never would have gained my full power if it hadn't been for you uniting the worlds. The new magic worked wonders for me. Remember this night little ones, for it was your last.”
Rainbow Dash pounded her hooves and charged at the villain with a flame in hoof, “Get out of my friend!”
However, before Rainbow made contact, NightMara created a force field around herself and Rainbow rammed right into it and was knocked back. The Pegasus shook her head and groaned.
NightMara smiled arrogantly, “Nice, try.”
Korra looked down as she tried to fight back the tears, “I didn't want to have to do this. But you leave us no choice.”
Korra nodded to the ponies who quickly get the message. They all gathered together and Korra's eyes and forehead star began to glow along with her wings. The ponies' Elements manifested on their chests, glowing along with their eyes. They were all lifted up as Korra started to move her arms in swift movements, rainbow hues coming out of the Elements while Korra bended them like water and aimed it directly at NightMara. The rainbow colors began swirling around her body and she started to panic.
“No! No!”
As the rainbow swirl kept surrounding her, her whole body glowed and unleashed a powerful blast of blue magic that destroyed the rainbow colors. The seven girls screamed as they were all thrown back and landed on the ground. Mako, Bolin, Flash, Spike and Korra's parents rushed towards them. NightMara looked at her hands, light blue mist coming out of them, and smiled in satisfaction.
“Such anger….such pain and suffering.”
Flash Sentry quickly rushed to his girlfriend's aid. “Are you okay?”
Twilight shook her head as she stood up. “I don't understand." she replied, "Why didn't the Elements work?”
“Ahahahahahaha!”, NightMara landed on the ground and walked cockily towards them while swaging her hips. “Your precious Elements of Harmony won't help you this time. Asami's anger and pain is even stronger than I thought. The more I feed off of it the more powerful I become!”
Bolin called out to her name, “Asami, I know you're in there. Please, you have to fight this.”
“Give it up, boy. Her soul belongs to the dark now!”
“No!” Bolin cried out. There was no way that the old kind-hearted Asami was gone.
Mako looked at NightMara with a regretful expression, “I'd hate to do this to you, Sami.”, he sadly, yet forcibly, unleashed his firebending on NightMara but she reflected his attacks with her hands. Then Tenzin started attacking her with his aribending, but NightMara reflected his attacks as well and unleash a blue blast at him. The air nomad fell backwards as Pinkie Pie and Ikki helped him stand back up.
“You think your precious bending is going to stop me?”, NightMara flapped her wings and flew up, overlooking them all. “I'm done playing games. Soon my eternal snow shall cover not only the Crystal Empire, but all of Equestria! Next both the human and spirit worlds will be trapped in my eternal dark winter! No matter where you run and hide, there is no escaping it!"
With her eternal hair, NightMara began trapping all of Korra's allies within her grasp. They wiggled and struggled to break free, but the mist was far too powerful. Mako and Rainbow Dash tried to break free with their fire, but even their powers were useless against NightMara. Her hair even engulfed the horns of the alicorns and unicorns, preventing them from using their magic. However, the only one who wasn't taken was Korra, who flew upwards facing the monster who had taken her friend over.
“Enough! Let them go, right now!”
NightMara eyed the princess avatar with a wicked smile, "You want them, take them."
Without any hesitation, Korra created a powerful magical spear in her hands and hurled it at NightMara. The spear went so quickly that she didn't have enough time to react. The attack hit her right in the cut, causing her to lose her concentration and release the group from her hair. NightMara took in deep breaths, that attack alone felt like an immense pain in the gut, like she had been hit by a wrecking ball. She looked at the Princess Avatar who was breathing heavily, her fists clenched and her eyes filled with regret. She knew that in her rage she had not only hit her enemy, but her friend as well. NightMara realized that there was no way she would be able to take over with this power mad house around. She needed to come up with something to weigh her down. Then, she thought of the perfect idea.
"Hmm. I must admit, your powers are impressive, Avatar. The others really are no match for me…but you.”
“What are you getting at?!"
“How about we make a deal?”
Korra eyed the dark mistress with anger and curiosity, “A deal?”
“I know trapping the world in eternal darkness won't be easy with you and your friends around, and my powers still need a little bit more recharging. So, to make things even more interesting, tomorrow in the spirit world, you and I shall do battle. Just like Raava and Vaatu once did. If you win, I shall back down and break my spell and let Asami go. But when I win….let's just say you won’t live to see what happens afterwords. What do you say?”
"Korra, don't do it!" she heard her father call out, "It could be a trick!"
"The choice is yours, Princess." said NightMara, "If you truly want to save your friends."
Korra still didn't trust this evil spirit, but still she knew she had to do something to get Asami free something that didn't result in harming her. "Why wait till tomorrow when we can duel right right now?"
NightMara sneered, she should have known this princess was smarter than she looked. Defeating her physically won't be enough. Once she took over Asami's body, she saw her memories. She knew of Korra's experience with the mercury poison and the effort it took for her to get back up again. She needed to expose that weakness if she were to defeat her.
"I will duel you, but on my terms." Korra stated strongly.
NightMara was not having it. She need to come up with something else. And she did. The mist of her hair extended down towards Twilight Sparkle, entrapping her in her coils. The alicorn struggled to break free from her grip and Korra attempted to grab her.
"Twilight!"
"If you don't do as I say, your little pony sister won't live to see the darkness." Korra had hit a wall, the sinister woman now had her fellow princess in her grasp. "So what's it going to be? Unless you want more of your friends to be part of my collection." her hair extended again, trapping Mako, Bolin and even Tenzin and Kuvira.
"Stop!" Twilight exclaimed before Korra could, "Korra, just do as she says, we can't let anyone else get hurt because of me!" she cried out right before her mouth got covered by the mist, silencing her.
Korra didn't want to duel Asami, but now she had Twilight caught and if she did not agree she would be endangering even more lives. The dark winter was already bad enough. "Fine! I'll duel you but only if you let her go!"
"No."
"What?"
"This way, I shall be certain you will keep your word. Besides, can't have little miss smarty pants here coming up with anything." as she said this, she tightened her grip on the alicorn, causing Korra's heart to beat fast doe to anxiety. "Say yes or else she'll perish right now!"
Korra grunted as her clenched fists shook due to her growing anger but she gave in to her demands. "All right…I'll do it."
NightMara smiled at her victory and loosed near grip on Twilight Sparkle. She had Korra right where she wanted her.
"Good choice. Until next time…Princess." NightMara tauntingly winked at Korra before flapping her wings and flew upwards, disappearing from view as the dark clouds closed in and the snow fell harder.
"Twilight!" Flash Sentry flapped his wings in an attempt to get his girlfriend back, but it was no use. She was gone, and so was NightMara.
(~)