//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Friendship, magic and pokémon // by daniboyi //------------------------------// Not even few minutes after all the scary trees was gone and they continued, still laughing loudly, Ash really enjoying his time in this place so far. It took some moments, but after some while they reached a raging river. They all looked at it before Pinkie said "How are we gonna cross this?" They heard a loud wail and Ash immediately looked up seeing a giant purple lizard with long arms, orange hair and half a mustache. It cried out and fell into the water, splashing water over all of them, soaking them to the skin. Ash was the one who got it easiest as he didn't have a long mane to dry like the ponies had. "Oh what a world! What a world!" They heard him cry out. Twilight stepped up and asked "Excuse me sir, but why are you crying?" "Well I don't know!" He said "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just wisp past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off! And now I look simply horrid!" With that he cried out louder and fell into the water, giving us a new wave of water. "Oh give me a break" Sighed a soaked Rainbow Dash, as Applejack continued "That's what all the fuss is about?" "Why of course it is!" Said a shocked Rarity as she walked over to the sea snake "How can you be so insensitive! Oh just look at him. Such lovely luminashing scales" "I know..." The snake agreed, and Ash couldn't help but roll his eyes, this guy didn't need more ego as it was apparently. "Your expertly quite mane" She continued, making Ash have a hard time choke back a snort in amusement. "I know, I know" He continued, feeling a little better. "Your fabulous manicure!" She said with a smile. He smile and said "It's so true!" Making a face that made Ash and Dash silently gag behind Rarity, thankfully no one noticed. "All ruined without your beautiful mustache" "It's true! I'm hideous!" He cried. "I simply can not let such a crime against fabulousity go uncorrected!" She said with a surprisingly fierce determination. With that she grabbed one of his scales and tore it off. She lifted it like a sword and quickly cut of her tail, making the ponies gasp and Ash raise his eyebrow in surprise. She slowly lifted the cut off tail with her magic and levitated it over to him before binding it to the small stump of his lost mustache. He looked at it shocked, before he raised his head into the air again and cried out "O-oh-oh-oh! My mustache! How wonderful!" Rarity smiled and said "You look smashing" Just as Twilight came up from behind. "Oh Rarity. Your beautiful tail!" She looked with sadness at the lump that used to be the magnificent tail. Rarity smiled, through it wasn't a completely true smile "Oh. It's fine my dear. Short tails are in this season" She looked back with a little worry and continued "Besides... It will grow back" Ash again heard Dash whisper "So would the mustache" and he and Applejack couldn't help but give a small laugh. "Let's go!" Twilight said with a smile and began to walk out in the water, only to be lifted by the back of the sea serpent as he said "Allow me" And dug his head into the water, making a small bridge over the water. A few minutes or an hour later, it was really hard to keep track of time with eternal night and no watch at all. Arrived the group to the edge of the forest, Ash saw Twilight smile as she said "There it is! The ruins that holds the elements of harmony! We made it!" And looked towards the old broken ruins. She began to ran and I heard Applejack saying happily "Twilight! Wait for us!" Ash suddenly heard a "Whoa!" and noticed that Dash had to pull Twilight back from falling down the cliff in front of them, that missed a bridge "What's with you and falling off cliffs today?" He heard Rainbow Dash say and smiled in amusement. "Now what?" They all heard Pinkie Pie said and Rainbow Dash just raised her wings and said "Durh?" "Oh yeah" Was her respond as Rainbow Dash flew down and grabbed the rope and flew over to the other side of the cliff. Just as she was about to tie the robe to the rock on the other side came a faint whisper "Rainboow..." Dash turned around in shock and said quickly "Who's there? I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!" Suddenly a mysterious voice rung in the fog in front of her, it was a female voice saying "We have eagerly been awaiting the best flier in all of Equestria" "Who?" Asked Dash with a eyebrow raised in confusion. "Why, you of course!" "Really? I mean, Oh yeah! Me. Hey you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that wouldn't you? I have tried to come into that group for like ever!" "No Rainbow Dash, we want you to join us. The Shadowbolts!" And out ran three dark coated ponies with dark blue mane and a creepy purple outfit and equally creepy cutie marks that resembled a bone and skull of some sort. "We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree forest" She continued "And soon we'll be the greatest in all Equestria! But first we need a captain" Rainbow Dash felt excitement over the thought of being a captain of her own team. "The most magnificent" She whispered as she flew by. "Yep" Confirmed Dash proudly. "Swiftest" "Yes" "Bravest flier in all land!" "Yep it's all true" She said with a smile, feeling proud as ever. She flew close to Dash and whispered "We need you" Rainbow Dash couldn't help but jump up in excitement over the possibility and said "Wuhu! Sign me up! Let me just tie up this bridge real quick, and then we have a deal" "No!" Said the black pony, immediately in front of her, blocking for the rope "It's them or us!" Dash looked a little worried now. This was her dream coming true, but her friends needed her and if there was one thing she knew it was that friends didn't leave each other hanging. That kind of things was just disgusting! She looked at the Shadowbolts and said "You" The pony in the middle smiled brightly and had an evil beam in her eyes "Thank you for the offer I mean. But I'm afraid I have to say no" She had already tied the rope as she gave them the answer and flew back to the others clearing the fog on the way. She smiled to Twilight and said "See. I never leave me friends hanging!" Ash couldn't help but smile at the loyalty she gave away. She may be a little big headed, but she was a good friend indeed he thought. They soon arrived inside the old ruins and all looked at the huge stones circled around another greater stone in the middle of the room, Ash faintly heard Dash saying "wow..." Followed by Applejack saying "Come on Twilight, isn't this what ya have been waiting for?" Twilight walked up as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash slowly began to gather the stones in front of her and said "The elements of harmony, we found them!" Pinkie counted them as they were gathered "One, two, three, four... There's only five!" "Where's the six?" Asked Rainbow Dash. Twilight leaned down and said "The books said when the five elements are gathered a spark will ignite, causing the six element to be revealed" "What in tha hay is that suppose to mean?" Asked a confused Applejack. "I'm not sure, but I have an idea... Stand back! I don't know what will happen!" They all moved a little back and slowly began to move out of the building, Applejack saying "Come one now ya'll. She needs to concentrate" They all nodded, but Ash standing in the doorway looking at Twilight work, not really feeling safe for her to be alone. Ash noticed something moving out in the corners of his vision and saw a dark blue smoke moving towards Twilight. He quickly looked to her and yelled "Twilight! Watch out!" She looked up frightened and saw Nightmare Moon standing in front of her. Nightmare's horn began to glow in a dark blue aura and the stones began to spin around in a tornado. Just before they all vanished in a dark flash, jumped Twilight into the twister and disappeared with them as the others entered the room. "Twilight! Where are ya?" Applejack called out, Ash immediately saw the dark blue glow from the upper towers and said "She is in that tower with Nightmare Moon!" They all gasped in shock and immediately sat after the doors that lead to the tower entrances. Meanwhile in the tower was Twilight Looked at the Mare in front of her, readying herself for a head on attack. The name looked at her and said with a mockingly voice "You're kidding. You're kidding right?" Seeing she was not kidding, she too began to ready herself for an attack. Twilight was the first to begin running towards her opponent and Nightmare soon followed, they came closer and closer to each other, Twilight slowly gathering magic in her horn and just before she contacted with Nightmare, she teleported behind her, directly up to the stones. Nightmare looked around confused for a second, before she saw Twilight with her horn on full glow, while she muttered "Just one spark. Come on!" She immediately changed into a dark blue smoke and flew over to in front of Twilight, ready to attack. But then a shock passed through Twilight, sending her flying back, she groaned and looked up to see a small amount of energy passing through each stone as the glowed a faint purple light. She smiled and Nightmare said "No!" Just before the stones again stopped glowing and Twilights grin fainted away. Nightmare Moon let out a horrible laughed, raised her front hooves and brung them down to the earth sending a shock wave of magic through the floor and destroying all the elements around her. Twilight looked in shock as the remains of the stones fell to the ground and Nightmare Moon continued to laugh as she said "You little foal! Thinking you can defeat me?! Now you'll never see your princess or your sun! The night! Will last! FOREVER!" She smiled evilly to Twilight who shrunk away and her horn began to glow in a dark blue aura. Twilight gulped awaiting whatever curse she was going to be shot by when she heard a familiar voice yelling "LEAVE HER ALONE!" Followed by a loud cry "PIKACHUUU!" And a flash of yellow, Twilight looked up and saw Nightmare Moon withering in pain as the lightning struck her head on. She turned to the others and said faintly "Y-You came back?" "Of course we did sugar cube. We weren't going to leave yer with that mean old mare to defeat for yer self" Applejack smiled to her and Twilight felt a sudden warmth inside and her eyes widened in a glint. She smiled and turned towards Nightmare Moon who was still panting lightly over the sudden electrical attack and said "You think you can defeat the elements of harmony just like that? Well you're wrong! Cause the elements of harmony are right here!" The others looked shocked as Twilight turned to Applejack with a smile and said "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the element of honesty!" Suddenly the fragments of the stone of honesty began to glow and fly over to Applejack, circling around her. "Fluttershy! Who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness!" The same amount of shards flew around Fluttershy who looked a little nervous. "Pinkie Pie, who vanished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter!" The shards of laughter flew around Pinkie Pie who jumped excited. "Rarity, who come to a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of generosity!" The shards flew around her two, she just had her eyes locked at the now worried Nightmare Moon. "And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her owns hearths desire, represents the spirit of loyalty!" The shards flew around her to and she just smiled and looked with pride at Nightmare Moon, who was in a small state of panic. "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" "You still don't have the six element! The spark didn't work!" "Oh but it did. A different kind of spark" She turned towards the other ponies and said "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark that ignited inside me, when I realized you all are my friends!" With that a large light was above and to everyone's shock flew two giant stones down, one over Twilight and one over Ash. Twilight who hadn't noticed the second rock continued "You'll see Nightmare Moon, when those elements are ignited by the... the spark that resides in the hearth of us all, it creates the six element. The element of magic!" With that all the shards flew into the ponies, each of them now wearing a necklace, Twilight a tiara and Ash a small crown. They all levitated up in the air and began to glow white, Pikachu standing under them looking with awe at his trainer Ash who was levitating with them. "NOOO!" Cried out Nightmare Moon as Twilight opened her eyes, revealing blinding white eyes and out of them all shot a giant rainbow directly towards Nightmare Moon, surrounding her in a twister of colors. Soon the whole room was filled in colours and a white light made them all pass out. They slowly regained their senses, and Applejack was the first one to ask "Is every pony ok?" "Oh thank goodness!" They heard Rarity say and saw her hugging her tail forcefully as Fluttershy said "Oh Rarity it looks just lovely" "I know! I never part with it again!" "No. I meant your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark" She said softly. Rarity looked down and smiled, then she looked at Fluttershy and said "So does yours" Fluttershy looked down with a smile and gasped. "Look at mine! Look at mine!" Said Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down. "Aww yeah!" Cried Rainbow Dash out, happy for her awesome necklace. "Gee Twilight. I thought yer was just sprouting a lot of hui, but I reckon we really do represents the elements of friendship, but what about Ash? Wasn't there only suppose' to be six?" They all turned towards Ash who was blushing embarrassed as they stared at his crown in awe, it's gem looking just like his cutie mark too. "I think I might can help explain that" Said a mysterious voice as the sun rose outside and a white light filled the room once again and suddenly stood there a large mare like Nightmare moon in front of them, except she had a friendly expression and was pure white with a glittering mane with many different beautiful colours. Ash noticed the other ponies bowed and did the same as Twilight said "Princess Celestia!" and ran over to her. "Twilight Sparkle. My most faithful student!" She said with a smile as she moved her head down to greet Twilight "I knew you could do it" "B-But you told me it was all and old pony tale?" The princess smiled and said "I told you, you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you, who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your hearth" "But what about Ash? I mean wasn't there only supposed to be six elements" She asked even more confused. Celestia laughed and said "I will explain later today with your friends, but for now" She turned towards the place where Nightmare Moon had been before and instead of the scary mare was a fragile looking dark blue pony, who almost seemed afraid of them. "Princess Luna" She began "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you last. time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together little sister" "Sister?" All the smaller ponies repeated in shock. "Will you accept my friendship?" She said to the dark pony lying on the ground in front of her. They all leaned a little forward, excited for her answer, Pinkie must have been a little to much excited as she fell forwards and landed on the ground. Suddenly Luna stood up and said "I'm so sorry! I missed you so much big sister!" Celestia smiled with a few tears in her eyes and said "I missed you too" Suddenly they all heard a cry and saw Pinkie crying loudly, until she suddenly stopped and said "You know what this calls for? A party!" She said and all the sudden we were all in Ponyville. Ash looked around shocked, as did the rest of the group and Twilight asked Pinkie "How did you do that?!" "There was a scene change" Said Pinkie Pie as she zoomed off towards the cupcake table, leaving a small pink cloud behind her. Twilight looked baffled and Ash just shook his head, laughing lightly. After the party was done. Celestia couldn't help but noticed her most prized student looked a little unhappy and asked ""What's wrong Twilight? Aren't you happy your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" "That's just it" She replied looked unhappy "Now that I realized how wonderful friends can be. I have to leave them again..." The other ponies looked sad and Ash couldn't help but also loose his smile, he might not know them so much yet but they were still his friends after what they had gone through together... Celestia smiled and said "Spike. Take a note please" Ash looked shocked as a small purple dragon with green scales took out a paper and a pen, ready to write, he just assumed this was Spike. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby declare that Twilight must take on a new mission, she must continue to study the magics of friendship from her new home in Ponyville!" This was met by a loud cheer from them all as they gathered around Twilight, who looked up at princess Celestia with a smile and said "Thank you princess! I study harder than ever before!" Ash smiled at the sight of his friends so happy and looked at the princess and asked "Excuse me princess. But would you mind if I held you to your promise about an explanation about my so far unknown element of harmony?" The princess laughed and said "Not at all Ash. As long you tell me where you really are from and what magnificent creatures you have on your back" Ash smiled as Pikachu was on his back, looked curious at the princess. The princess turned towards the others and said "Come with me to the library. I believe we will find peace enough there to get some explanations" They all nodded in agreement and soon they were in the library.