//------------------------------// // Chapter 1:2 - Camaraderie is Sorcery, Part the Second // Story: Camaraderie is Sorcery // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter 1:2 – Camaraderie is Sorcery, Part the Second Twilight stood transfixed in horror as Nightmare Moon cackled gleefully. She had known this was coming, but she hadn’t been able to stop it. Wherever Celestia was, she hoped that she had come to her senses and was preparing to deal with this threat that Twilight had tried to warn her about. She had to admit that this probably wasn’t the case. Celestia had been here when Nightmare had returned, and the mythical mare had something to do with her disappearance. She had to face the facts; Celestia wasn’t going to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon. “Seize her!” Ponieville’s mayor said, rather foolishly, as she extended her hoof to point at Nightmare Moon, “She has to know where Celestia is!” Most of the guards Celestia had brought along shied away from the black alicorn instead of attacking. They were the smart ones, who realized just how dangerous an alicorn sorceress of the same stature as Celestia had to be. Others were not so wise, and they drew their weapons and galloped or flew toward Nightmare. “You truly think you can hurt me, you pitiful little foals!” Nightmare Moon bellowed. Lighting coursed along her horn, and when the guards got close, she released it. The brave, but foolish, stallions screamed and dropped their weapons as they were fried in their armor. As their charred corpses fell smoking to the ground, Nightmare dissolved her physical form, transforming into a cloud of starry mist similar to her mane and tail. With the sound of a hurricane, the mist flew from the Mayoral Keep and disappeared into the night. Silence fell upon the great hall, apart from the sound of Rainbow Dash falling to the floor. Ponies began to talk softly once they thought that Nightmare was truly gone, and then panic broke out. Shouts of dismay passed through the crowd as they all pushed to get outside and see where Nightmare Moon had disappeared to. Once Rainbow retrieved her sword, she flew out and over the Mayoral Keep to get a good look around. After only a few moments, she had to conclude that it was impossible to track down Nightmare Moon by sight alone, and the reality of the alicorn’s threat began to sink in. “Nighttime forever?” she wondered as she tried to wrap her head around the idea. “Where are you going and what do you know?” she asked suspiciously as she spotted a figure moving with haste away from the Mayoral Keep. That figure was Twilight Sparkle, with a drowsy Spike trying desperately to hold onto her back as she galloped through Ponieville’s darkened streets. Nightmare Moon changing form like she had when she’d departed only elevated Twilight’s evaluation of how dangerous she was. According to the legend, she’d been defeated last time by the Elements of Harmony, and Twilight bet that the Elements were the only things powerful enough to defeat her again. The door to Golden Oak’s laboratory had been left unlocked, and Twilight pushed it open as she entered. Spike went to sleep as soon as she dropped him on the bed. He was a baby dragon, after all, and staying up all night hadn’t been kind to him. After lighting some lanterns, Twilight began to search through the books in the laboratory she hadn’t been able to get to earlier. “Elements, elements … There’s got to be something, somewhere,” Twilight mused aloud as she searched through Golden’s Oak’s vast and varied library, “Without the Elements of Harmony, how can I possibly hope to stop Nightmare Moon?” “Just how do you know so much about Nightmare Moon?” Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously from the doorway of the laboratory, having let herself in, “It seems mighty convenient that you showed up in town merely a day before she returned to plunge the world into eternal night. Who would question a sorceress, especially one claiming to be the personal student of Celestia herself? Even I was fooled.” “I don’t think I like what you’re suggesting,” Twilight replied, narrowing her eyes as Rainbow began to pull at the silver sword strapped to her side, “I was sent here by order of Celestia. Falan otha ye!” “What are you hiding?” Rainbow demanded as her sword struck the spherical shield Twilight had conjured around herself. Sparks flew from the blade and shield as the two mares stared each other down, neither willing to yield. “I think that’s quite enough o’ that,” Applejack said as she cuffed Rainbow in the back of the head. With an unhappy snort, Rainbow sheathed her sword and Twilight let her shield down. During Twilight’s tussle with Rainbow, four more ponies had let themselves into the laboratory uninvited. Applejack placed herself between the Hunter and the sorceress while Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkamena hung back near the door. Why do I keep running into these same five ponies? Twilight wondered. “You’re no friend of Nightmare Moon, I’m sure of that,” Applejack addressed Twilight while shooting a glare in Rainbow’s direction, “But you do know more than you’re letting on, don’t you?” “I suppose there’s no use in keeping it quiet, now that Nightmare Moon has returned,” Twilight said after letting out a deep sigh, “Just a few days ago, I found a legend about Nightmare Moon that predicted she would return on the longest day of the thousandth year since her banishment to the moon. I hoped the prophecy wouldn’t come true, but as you all know personally, it did. “According to the legend, Nightmare Moon was defeated in the past by magical objects known as the Elements of Harmony. I believe these Elements are our only hope of stopping Nightmare from succeeding in bringing about nighttime eternal. The problem is, I have no idea what the Elements of Harmony are, where they are, or even how to use them!” “Maybe the answer’s in… here!” Pinkamena said, pulling a random book from the nearby shelf and throwing it to Twilight. “What?” the sorceress said in disbelief as caught the book and saw its title, “Golden Oak owns a copy of Magical Relics of Modernity and Myth? Not even the archives in Cant’r Laht were able to procure a copy!” “Well, does it say anything about the Elements of Harmony?” Rarity asked as Twilight flipped through the book. “It does, in fact,” Twilight said as she found the right page, and she cleared her throat before continuing, “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five of them are known: Compassion, Mirth, Charity, Trustworthiness, and Allegiance. The sixth is a complete mystery.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Pinkamena asked, interrupting Twilight’s reading. “I suppose it means the name of the sixth Element is unknown,” Twilight explained, “The others are all named after virtuous qualities, so I expect it’s called Patience or Humility or the like.” “I knew a Hunter once who had a sword called Humility,” Rainbow Dash interjected. “Yes, thank you for sharing. May I continue?” Twilight asked, hefting Magical Relics, “It is said that the Elements of Harmony rest to this day where they were last used, within the Three Palaces of the Two Queens, deep within the … Everfree Forest!” *** “Are you sure about this, Twilight?” Applejack asked as the group of six ponies stood at the cursed forest’s edge, “The Everfree Forest is huge, not to mention dangerous.” “Your family didn’t seem to have a problem building your farm right on the edge of it,” Twilight retorted. “Exactly; on the edge, not inside o’ it,” the peasant farmer stressed, “Everypony in all of Equestria knows how dangerous the Everfree is, and your plan is t’ wander through it until you find some castles where the Elements o’ Harmony might be.” “Applejack’s right,” Rainbow Dash backed her up, “Even if you manage to get past all the monsters that live inside the forest, how do you intend to find the ‘Three Palaces of the Two Queens’?” “Well,” Twilight said, looking around and trying to come up with an idea before her eyes latched back onto Rainbow, “Instead of being critical, you could help out by flying up and looking out over the forest.” “You’re kidding, right?” the Hunter said, crossing her hooves over her chest, “You know how big the Everfree is. Sure, my eyes are better in the dark than most, and I could fly pretty high up, but even on a bright, cloudless day you couldn’t see the other side of the Everfree Forest from Cant’r Laht.” “Would you just try? According to the legend, Nightmare Moon once ruled from the Three Palaces of the Two Queens. Now that she’s back, there might be some activity going on out there,” Twilight said, coming up with the excuse on the spot. “Fine,” Dash said resignedly before taking off into the air and flying out of sight. “I don’t believe it,” she said as she landed a minute later, “There’s something out there. A ways east and a stone’s throw north of here, there’s an old ruined tower with light coming from it.” “Do you think this path leads to it?” Twilight asked as she gestured to where the trail led into the forest, quickly degrading in quality the deeper in it went. “Maybe it did once, but who knows now?” Rainbow said, giving a shrug, “It’s been a thousand years since it was last used, right?” “I’ll have to take my chances,” Twilight said with determination as she stared at the entrance to the Everfree forest. “You won’t be taking them alone,” Applejack said as she placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Is she serious? What is it with this pony and touching me? “Look, I appreciate the offer,” Twilight said as she removed Appejack’s hoof from her shoulder, “But I really think it would be best if I did this on my own.” “I’m afraid I must agree with Applejack,” Rarity said, “We simply cannot allow a friend of ours to wander off into that deadly and dangerous forest on her own.” “So, what, suddenly the six of us are some kind of dream team?” Twilight asked, feeling a bit annoyed and wondering once more why these five random strangers considered her a friend, “No offense, but when was the last time you heard of a sorceress, a farmer, a Hunter, a seamstress, a druidess, and… sorry, but what were you again?” “I’m a baker!” Pinkamena said excitedly. “Ri-ght,” Twilight said slowly, “Anyway, when did you last hear about ponies from all those different walks of life saving the world?” “Well, never,” Fluttershy admitted quietly, though her voice became more certain as she went on, “But we can’t just sit back and do nothing when we know there’s a chance to stop Nightmare Moon.” “Fluttershy’s right,” Rainbow Dash said, “Besides, without me to fly up above the trees, how do you intend to make sure you’re still headed toward the tower?” “Well, I …” Twilight said weakly, unable to come up with any answer. “Let’s get going, then,” the Hunter said, leading the way into the forest. “Fine,” Twilight sighed as she followed the others down the path into the Everfree. *** Though the trail was in poor shape, overgrown after centuries of neglect, it was still fairly easy to follow. Back a thousand years earlier, it had to have been the main road to Equestria’s capital where the two queens had ruled. The path had been wide enough for even the largest carts or carriages to roll side by side, and evidence of its existence survived to the present day. By looking carefully at the contour of the ground and how the trees were situated, one could tell where the path had once run. Whenever the trail disappeared, Rainbow was able to use her skills as a Hunter to pick it up again. Twilight had to admit that maybe she’d been wrong about trying to keep the pegasus from coming along. She wasn’t sure about the other four yet, though. “So, have any of you ventured into the Everfree before?” Twilight asked as they picked their way through a patch of brambles. “Heavens no,” Rarity responded as she tried to find a way through without snagging her dress, “I mean, just look around. There’s a reason nopony civilized lives here.” “It’s full o’ monsters too,” Applejack added, already standing farther down the trail and holding branches out of the way so that those behind her could pass, “I’ve seen ‘em now an’ then, but never been foolhardy enough to go looking for ‘em.” “Well, I’ve been in here before,” Rainbow said proudly, “But the only monsters I’ve hunted have lived in the fringes. Fluttershy’s actually been deeper in than me.” “Fluttershy?” Twilight said incredulously. The thought of a pony who acted so shy and meek having the courage to enter the most dangerous place in Equestria was almost too much to believe. “Well, not all the animals in the Everfree are monsters,” Fluttershy replied timidly. Twilight had to consider that Fluttershy was a druid, and therefore cared for all the wild animals and their environment, even if they lived in a place as deathly dangerous as the Everfree. While she was still pondering that, the forest cleared, and the ponies found themselves standing at the edge of a cliff. The path took a sharp turn off to their left, where a strip of land dropped in altitude before turning right again. Ten times, the former road switched back and forth as it descended the cliff before continuing east along the valley floor below. It disappeared beneath the dark canopy of leaves that stretched off in every direction. Far off in the distance, a light was visible above the forest. “That has to be the tower,” Twilight said aloud (though it was mainly directed at herself) as she stared out at it. Without warning, the cliff’s edge gave way. Twilight tried to backpedal, but the whole cliff started coming down, hunks of stone and earth complete with trees falling away. Rarity and Pinkamena were closest to the edge, and they fell first, Rarity screaming as she slid down the crumbling slope. The pegasi in the group took off into the air as the ground fell away beneath their hooves. “Fluttershy! I’ve got Pinkamena, you catch Rarity!” Rainbow Dash yelled authoritatively before diving towards the pink pony. One last, large piece of cliff tipped over the edge before becoming lodged in place. Both Applejack and Twilight had been galloping on it when it fell and went sliding down the steep slope. The farmer pony managed to grab onto a tree trunk, but Twilight kept sliding. For a moment, she was able to stop her fall by bracing her hindhooves against a rock, but was forced to move to the side as a tree came sliding down the slope at her. She didn’t come to a stop again until she reached the edge and dug her forehooves into the earth, her hindlegs left hanging out over the forest. There was a twisted root not far up the slope from where she was hanging, and Twilight tried to teleport up to it. The spell was perfect in her mind and the casting was flawless, but for some reason the magic just fizzled out along her horn. What’s going on? Why isn’t my magic working? In the panic of the moment, she’d almost forgotten she was in the Everfree Forest. It wasn’t just unnatural because it was full of monsters and overgrown with twisted plants; magic didn’t work properly here either. Realizing that her magic, the one strength she had that had never failed her, wouldn’t work here, Twilight tried to pull herself up. Twilight had always been more focused on her studies than physical fitness, and she didn’t have the upper body strength to pull herself over the edge. Instead, she found herself slipping farther over it. “Hold on, Twilight; I’ve got you,” Applejack called as she abandoned her tree trunk and slid her way down to the sorceress, hooking a hindleg around the root and grabbing Twilight’s forehooves with her own. As the ground shifted again and the slope got steeper, Twilight began to slip. The root keeping her and Applejack from plummeting to their deaths started to pull free from the ground. Worriedly, Applejack looked back at it before facing Twilight. It can’t hold us both. “Twilight, I’m going to let you go,” Applejack said to the stunned sorceress. “What? Are you trying to kill me?” Twilight asked incredulously. “No, you-” Applejack started to explain, until she was interrupted by a tree slamming into the ground next to the two ponies and sliding over the edge, “You’ll be safe; you have to trust me.” Trust her? I barely know her! A truth spell would be useful here, but even if Twilight could find one, there was no guarantee that it would work in the Everfree Forest. Twilight’s mind was racing at a hundred leagues an hour until she looked up at Applejack and the root she was holding onto, which was slowly being uprooted. There was no time to doubt, and there was no lie in the farmer pony’s eyes. For better or worse, Twilight had to trust that she was telling the truth. As soon as Applejack saw the acceptance on Twilight’s face, she let go and the sorceress slid over the edge. The broken heaps of rock and turf below Twilight rapidly approached as she fell. Before she could splatter against them, however, she felt two forelegs hooked under her own, slowing her descent. She looked over her shoulder to see Rainbow Dash holding her. As the Hunter set her down, Fluttershy landed with Applejack nearby. The druid was apparently much stronger than she looked. “See, Twilight. I told you you could trust me,” Applejack said as she trotted over, “I’d never lie to a friend o’ mine.” Twilight still wasn’t sure about this “friend” business, but she was grateful to have Applejack along, and she did trust her after what had just happened. *** “How many times do I have to tell you, Rainbow?” Twilight said wearily as they trekked through the forest, “I’m only going to thank you once.” “All I’m saying is that I thought you’d be more grateful to me for saving your life,” the pegasus said nonchalantly as she flapped beside the sorceress. Twilight grunted in reply. Perhaps she should have expressed her gratitude more, but there was no way she was going to do it now, not with the Hunter pushing her to. Rainbow’s tracking abilities were still proving useful, but the pegasus herself was getting on Twilight’s nerves. As she’d originally surmised upon meeting her, the mare was extremely arrogant. Saving Twilight from falling to her death had only caused that irritating aspect of her personality to come out stronger. The deeper the six ponies got into the Everfree Forest, the quieter they were. That suited Twilight fine, but it always gave her a start when they did choose to speak up. It was especially unsettling walking through the woods in eternal midnight while things could be heard moving around them. The path was clearer here than it had been before, though. The animals in the area had decided to use the same path the ponies had before them, and had kept the underbrush and trees away. Some of the trees were even shoved to the side, partially uprooted as some animal had passed through. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had several suggestions on what kind of creature could have done such a thing, and none of them were pleasant. “We must be close to the tower by now,” Twilight said as the trees started to thin out, “Rainbow, take another loo-”. A roar from above cut off the end of Twilight’s words. The sound of wind rushing over wings accompanied the creature as it jumped from the cliff to the left and landed nearby. The beast had a lion’s body, but its tail was that of a scorpion and a pair of bat wings sprouted from its back. Its mane was tangled and filled with branches and brambles, and the face in the center of it was twisted with anger. The ponies got a good look at the multiple rows of teeth inside its mouth as it roared again, sending saliva and venom flying in their direction. From descriptions she’d read in books back in Cant’r Laht, Twilight recognized this creature as a manticore. “Manticore! Stay back!” Rainbow yelled, confirming what Twilight already knew. The Hunter drew a sword and shot off toward the manticore, zipping past Fluttershy. She deftly dodged the first swipe of its claws, but nearly ran into its tail in the process. As she zipped around the stinger, the manticore stretched out its wings, forcing Dash to dodge again. This manticore was shaping up to be quite the threat; Rainbow Dash was a good Hunter, but this monster was out of her league. She wasn’t able to get any strikes in, only avoid its attacks. I’ve got to do something, thought Twilight. “Get away from the manticore,” Twilight ordered before drawing a rune in the dirt in front of her and taking a stance, “Ye seni cavan’r affle!” Magic began to build along Twilight’s horn, congealing in the air above the rune and forming the shape of a lance. Rainbow Dash had heard Twilight’s command and was now clear of the manticore, watching the sorceress cast her spell. Twilight just had to stand still for a few more moments, and her sorcery would obliterate the monster. “Stop!” Fluttershy yelled, placing herself between Twilight and the manticore. “Fluttershy, get out of the way,” Twilight said with a frown, but she powered down her spell when the druidess still refused to move, “Majia vinta!” “What are you thinking, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked indignantly as Twilight’s magic faded away and the druidess still stood stubbornly between the manticore and the other five ponies. Without responding, Fluttershy turned her back on her companions and trotted toward the monster. She ducked as the manticore swung at her, and its claws sailed over her head. When it roared at her, she had her hood up, and its venom hit harmlessly against the coarse fabric. The druidess stepped deftly to the side as the manticore tried to slam one of its paws down on her. “Now, now, there’s no need for that,” Fluttershy lectured calmly, “Why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong?” The manticore roared again, louder this time, and its mouth opened around Fluttershy’s head. Rainbow Dash readied her sword, Applejack looked around for something to use as a weapon, and Twilight prepared a spell. The druidess placed a hoof against the manticore’s shoulder as it stopped roaring and it gave her a quizzical look. “Why didn’t you say so?” Fluttershy said, “We can help you.” “She can understand it?” Twilight exclaimed. She had heard that druids had a closer connection to animals than most ponies, but she’d never heard of them being able to communicate with them directly. The manticore seemed a whole different creature now, and it looked at the ponies without rage before moving aside. “This good creature attacked us seeking retribution,” Fluttershy explained to the group, “You see, her cubs were killed recently…by a cloud of purple and blue smoke.” “Nightmare Moon,” Rainbow said angrily as she sheathed her sword. “Yes,” Fluttershy said with a nod, “I explained that we are also seeking Nightmare. She will allow us to pass now.” Everypony was still for a moment, wondering if they could truly trust the monster. Then, they began to move uneasily past the manticore. It eyed them as they all passed by, but true to Fluttershy’s word, it didn’t attack. Once they were past it and back in the trees, Twilight pulled the druidess aside. “Back there, how did you know the manticore would let us pass?” the sorceress asked. “I didn’t,” Fluttershy replied, shocking her. “Then why did you step in? I had the situation handled.” “Violence isn’t always the answer,” Fluttershy said thoughtfully, “Sometimes all you need to do is show a little compassion.” The druidess trotted away, but Twilight waited a bit before following, considering what she’d just heard. At the moment, all she was sure of was that she was grateful for one more pony at her side. *** “Well, if this is all that’s left of the Three Palaces of the Two Queens, I must admit I almost feel sorry for Nightmare Moon,” Rarity commented. After hours of travel, they had finally reached their destination, but it wasn’t anything like what they’d expected. A rough stone building stood before them composed of two circular towers connected by a thick stone wall. The larger tower was broad and still mostly intact. The other was much taller and thinner, but the top had broken off many years earlier and was lying in pieces nearby. The light that had led them here was coming from a blaze at the top of the taller tower, but many smaller lights came from the windows of the shorter tower along with sounds of revelry. Somepony was celebrating, and it didn’t take Twilight long to figure out who. Hanging haphazardly from windows in the shorter tower was a large, ragged banner. The cloth was black as the night, and emblazoned on it was a silvery-blue crescent moon with four four-pointed stars arranged in a diamond above it. There was only one group who could be holed up here, celebrating in the midst of eternal darkness: the Children of the Night. The Children of the Night were a cult outlawed throughout every civilized nation in Equestria. Nopony knew too much about them, since most ponies who met them were being dragged off to be sacrificed. One thing Twilight knew about them was that they worshipped a dark goddess they called the Mother of the Lost, though their fixation with the night and the moon led her to suspect their deity’s true identity. If the Mother of the Lost was Nightmare Moon, her followers certainly had reason to celebrate. “So this is where they ran off t’” Applejack said softly as they peered through the brush. “You knew the Children of the Night were out here and you didn’t notify Cant’r Laht?” Twilight asked indignantly. “Calm down, Twilight. Back when they still dared build their …‘churches’ in the wilderness around Ponieville, we Faust-fearing ponies always hunted them down,” the farmer explained, “Then they fled into the Everfree, and we didn’t dare follow them. We figured if the beasts here didn’t get to them, then we’d take care of them if they ever came back.” “Well, we don’t very well have time to do that now, now do we?” Rarity commented. “No, but we should question them,” Twilight said, and she received puzzled stares as a response, “I believe the Children of the Night worship Nightmare Moon, and if so, they may know where she has gone.” “Judging by the noise, there’s at least forty ponies in there,” Rainbow Dash commented, “Even for me, that’s pushing it.” The ponies ducked down behind the bushes when a door (made of wood far newer than the doorway it was set into) in the shorter tower opened. A young stallion with an orange coat trotted out into the darkness. He wore a hooded cloak made from rough cloth dyed a deep blue, and he carried a large wooden bucket in his mouth. Upon reaching the nearby well, he hooked a rope around the bucket’s handle and lowered it down. As Twilight and her companions snuck up on him, his grumbling became more audible. He was still complaining about being forced to leave the celebration to fetch the water when Applejack tackled him and pinned him against the well. He struggled to get free until his eyes flashed down to the knife Rainbow Dash held against his neck. “So, what brings you ponies way out here?” the stallion asked, “A jester, a farmer, a Hunter, a socialite, and… is that a druidess hiding behind those bushes?” “You forgot me,” Twilight said as sparks of magic crackled along her horn (no more than a cheap trick, but it was useful for intimidating the uneducated), “a sorceress from Cant’r Laht studying directly under Celestia.” If the cultist was scared of this revelation, he certainly didn’t show it. “Ah yes, you must be the Fiery Usurper’s little lapdog,” the stallion said with a smile, causing Twilight to recoil in anger, “Then you would know best of all how much trouble you’re in now that our Mother has returned to us!” “That’s enough of that,” Rainbow said as she pressed the knife closer to the cultist, drawing a little blood, “The only thing you’re going to do now is tell us exactly what we want to know about Nightmare Moon.” “You worship her, don’t you?” Twilight asked, “Now that she’s returned, where is she?” “That you’ve come all the way out here means you must already know,” the cultist replied as he stared up at Twilight from an odd angle, unable to move his head without slicing his neck open, “Nightmare Moon has returned to her ancient seat of power: the Three Palaces of the Two Queens—the Palace of Night to be exact.” “And how exactly would one reach said castle?” Rarity asked after clearing her throat. “You really think you want to go there?” their hostage asked, “You do realize that Nightmare Moon is not only the most powerful sorceress to have ever existed, but one who achieved godhood as well?” “Just answer the question,” Twilight pushed. “Unless you just happened to stumble upon this place by accident, you followed the old royal road to get here. Keep following it east, if you really want to be torn apart by our Mother and die in agony.” “Thank you for your cooperation,” Twilight said icily as Rainbow Dash removed her knife from the cultist’s neck. “You’re not going to kill me?” he asked after Applejack roughly shoved him against the well before letting him go. “No, we don’t have time for that,” Twilight said, “But make no mistake, every Child of the Night will die if they are still here when we return. Let your friends know when you wake up.” The stallion slumped over as Applejack clocked him over the head. Twilight examined the clearing they were standing in. It was difficult to find the road at first, since a path through the trees was hard to find when all the trees had been chopped down. Eventually though, she spotted it and led the way back into the Everfree Forest. They were back on the trail of Nightmare Moon, and hopefully the Elements of Harmony as well. *** “Is it just me, or is it getting colder out?” Rarity asked as they passed through a particularly dark patch of forest. “It is getting colder,” Twilight answered, “Our world relies on the sun’s light to warm it. We’ve been walking long enough that the sun should’ve risen and set by now. Until things are returned to their natural order, our side of Equus will only continue to get colder.” “Our side?” Applejack asked, puzzled, “Is there another side?” Twilight had to remind herself that not everypony believed in a spherical world as the sorceresses in Cant’r Laht did. There was no time right now to explain the proof that Equus was a globe around which all the celestial bodies orbited, so she’d just have to live with their ignorance. She had forgotten that she was no longer in the company of her fellow scholars. These ponies accompanying her were not her friends, but … they didn’t seem like strangers anymore, either. Even though it was still eternal night, the patch of forest the ponies were standing in suddenly grew darker. The leaves above their head blocked out all light from the moon, and the trunks around them grew so close together that no ambient light could get through either. Twilight tried to cast a light spell, but the magic became unstable and resulted in a small explosion that knocked her to the ground. She had forgotten that her magic didn’t work properly in the Everfree. Fluttershy may have done her a favor earlier by stopping her from completing her spell. If a spell intended for a peaceful purpose went awry so violently, there was no telling how things would have ended if she’d cast a weaponized one. “Twilight, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked as she helped the sorceress up. “I’m fine, just a little shaken up,” Twilight replied. All light disappeared in an instant, accompanied by the sound of creaking tree limbs and waving branches. With flint, Rainbow Dash struck a spark and lit a torch, illuminating their surroundings with a dull orange glow. The trees pressed in close on every side, including on the path before and behind. Dash dropped her torch as the trees seemed to come to life, grotesque faces on their trunks glowing with their own ominous light. “What is this?” Rarity asked, horrified. “We’re trapped!” Dash yelled as she drew a sword and charged the trees. She zipped all around and struck the trees multiple times, but caused no damage to them. A low rumbling sound—almost like laughter—sounded ominously through the woods. It continued as the ponies backed into a circle, and the trees seemed to lean in closer. Twilight was startled as jaunty laughter cut through the dark and ominous atmosphere. The ponies turned as one to look at Pinkamena, who was staring down one of the tree-faces and giggling. “What do you think you’re doing?” Twilight said tensely, “Get back from there!” “Oh, they can’t hurt us,” the pink pony said dismissively, “They’re not even that scary; in fact, they’re kind of funny once you get a closer look.” “How can you find this funny?” an annoyed (and quite nervous) Twilight asked. “Well, I could tell you, but I think it would be better conveyed through verse,” Pinkamena said as she drew a lute from goodness knows where. She ran her hooves across the strings a few times and adjusted the tuning pins before bursting into song. “When I was but a filly, and the light ‘twas going out,” “The darkness and what lurked within ‘twould cause me fear and doubt.” “I’d hide beneath my covers from dusk to ev’ry dawn,” “Until my granddam taught me how I fin’lly could move on!” “She…told…me…” “Pinkamena, stand up tall,” “Face your fears, one and all.” “No harm can come from any fear,” “Your mirth will make them disappear.” Pinkamena continued singing for some time, her cheery song contrasting with the darkness around them. Strangely, Twilight seemed to notice a change in the woods. With music and laughter ringing through it, it didn’t seem quite as dark or frightening as before. Even the usually humorless sorceress had to admit, the tree-faces were abnormally grotesque to the point of being ludicrous. She found herself laughing along with the others, encouraged by Pinkamena’s impromptu musical number. As they laughed, the trees not only seemed less terrifying, but became less terrifying in truth. The faces on the trees shifted slowly from angry snarls to looks of terror and shock. Joy spread through the copse, seeming to push the trees back. Eventually, the ponies could see the moon’s light again, and a path opened before them. Pinkamena returned her lute to wherever she had taken it from and the ponies continued on, smiles on their muzzles. *** “There are many who don’t believe the theory—myself included—but some sorceresses in Cant’r Laht believe that a pony’s emotions can generate a field of magical energy,” Twilight explained as they trotted through the Everfree, “The only logical explanation for what happened back there is that we generated a field of positive energy powerful enough to counteract the negative energy of the trees.” “Or maybe they just couldn’t take any more of Pinkamena’s singing,” Applejack said jokingly. They were far from the haunted copse by now, close enough that the Three Palaces of the Two Queens (or at least some ruins they assumed to be their destination) were visible in the distance when Rainbow Dash shot up to take a look. It was still a long way there, though, and many obstacles still stood in their way. Long before they could see it, the ponies could hear the sound of a raging river’s waves crashing upon its banks. The sounds grew louder and louder until the path reached the river’s edge. The waterway was extremely wide, so much so that the far bank wasn’t visible to the landbound ponies through the waves. A great stone bridge had once crossed over the river, but all that was left now was a very wet incline that barely stretched out over the water. Twilight tried to get a closer look, but was forced back as the river pounded against and washed over what was left of the bridge. Before she drew back, she noted that a river this big shouldn’t have been so wild, and that some of the foam flowing past them was tinted pink. “Looks like we’ll have to fly across,” Twilight said aloud, “Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy; do you think you’ll be able to carry us all the way?” “Probably, but I can’t guarantee it’ll be a smooth ride,” Dash said as Fluttershy flapped upwards to get a better look, “Also, if you fall, you’re gone for good; there’s going to be no recovering you from a river flowing this fast and wild.” A gasp was the only warning the ponies got before Fluttershy took off upstream. “Where’s she going?” Twilight asked, then Rainbow Dash took off after her, then Applejack and Pinkamena, so Twilight followed along with Rarity. Going off the path in the Everfree Forest was dangerous, but at least they had the river’s bank to guide them back. Of course, there were other problems with going off the path, foremost among them that the forest was wild and thick, making it most difficult for ponies to travel through. The patch Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had flown over seemed to consist almost entirely of brambles, and both Twilight and Rarity had trouble getting through without snagging their clothes. Eventually Twilight gave up, letting snags develop in robes she’d need to repair later, but could sacrifice for extra speed now. Rarity, on the other hoof, refused to let her dress get ruined, taking what to Twilight seemed a wasteful amount of time to navigate through the forest. Sure, it’s a fine dress, but is it worth it? Finally, Twilight burst out into a small clearing that seemed fairly new, since its existence owed to all the trees here having been snapped off and the underbrush flattened. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkamena were all standing here, staring out at the river where a low wailing was coming from. Twilight jumped back when she saw that they were watching a large water serpent flailing around, churning up the river. The sorceress had never seen one in real life before, but she’d read about them in books, and the descriptions didn’t do the creatures justice. The serpent’s body was larger around than any of the trees in the Everfree, the girth comparable to some of the smaller spires of Cant’r Laht castle. It would be able to easily swallow a pony, cow, or even an ox whole, though the devilishly sharp teeth in its mouth weren’t meant for swallowing. Coils of gleaming purple scales moved erratically throughout the river as the serpent spasmed about. Twilight got a better look at its face as it swung its head over the shore, spines cutting gouges through the earth, and she saw intelligence in its eyes. A moment later, the sorceress noticed that several spines had their ends broken off just behind where a wide gash cut through the side of the water serpent’s “neck”. That explained the pink foam in the river; it was this creature’s blood. “Oh, dear,” Rarity said upon entering the clearing, before unexpectedly running to the shore, “Twilight, do you know a spell that can immobilize him?” “Yes, but it might not work. My magic hasn’t worked properly since we entered the Everfree,” Twilight answered, confused. “Do it when his head is over the shoreline,” Rarity commanded before picking up a scale the serpent had scraped off on the beach. The opportunity came sooner than Twilight would have liked, but when the water serpent’s head swung over her, she cast the spell. Surprisingly, it worked perfectly, and the massive creature froze in place, its eyes still blinking and darting around crazily. Hiking up her dress, Rarity swung the scale around and used its razor-sharp edge to slice off her magnificent tail. The rest of the ponies stood in stunned silence as the unicorn proceeded to press the tail against the serpent’s wound and tie it in place with strips she cut from her dress. All that fuss to get it through the forest unharmed and then she does this? When Twilight’s immobilization spell wore off, the serpent let out a cry and backed away so that its head was over the river again. Clouds of steam billowed from its nose as it calmed itself, and then tried to examine what Rarity had done to it. The blood was soaking into the purple hair, but no more did it seem to be flowing from the wound as badly. “What is this?” the serpent asked in High Equestrian (which only Twilight understood) before repeating the question in Low Equestrian. “I wrapped your wound, but you’re going to want to keep it dry for the next few days,” Rarity answered, “The curing process has already begun, and when it’s finished your wound will be covered with armor stronger than dragon scales.” “What?” Rarity asked when she saw how the other ponies were staring at her, “I’m a blacksmith as well as a dressmaker, and unicorn hair soaked in sea serpent blood makes formidable armor.” “But, Rarity, what about your beautiful tail?” Twilight asked. Not to mention her dress. “Oh … I’ll manage,” Rarity said, looking longingly back at the tiny tuft of purple hair that was left, “Besides, he needed it more than I did. I was glad to help.” “You have given me a gift I can never repay. Your charity has saved my life,” the water serpent said, bowing to Rarity, “I am Stefan, Guardian of the White River, and I shall help you and your friends in any way that I can.” “Well, we could use some help getting to the other side of the river,” Rarity admitted, “Would you be willing to give us a lift?” In response, Stefan rearranged his coils along the shore so that the ponies could clamber onto them. Very carefully, he moved them across the now still river and downstream. It appeared that this water serpent wanted to do more than take them across the river; he was taking them back to the path. Rarity’s actions had really paid off, and had changed Twilight’s opinion of her. There was still one thing nagging at the sorceress’s mind, though. “Stefan, if it’s not too much to ask, how did you get that wound?” she asked as they moved smoothly through the water. “I must admit that I am not entirely certain,” he answered, “It all happened so fast that all I remember is a cloud of purple and blue smoke shooting past, and then a terrible pain in my neck.” Nightmare Moon! There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind that the ancient sorceress had attacked the sea serpent—Stefan. But why? What could she have hoped to gain by wounding, but not killing, him? Did she want to churn up the waters to keep the ponies from reaching the Three Palaces? Twilight was certain that Nightmare had attacked Stefan and the manticore’s cubs, and now she was fairly convinced she’d been behind the crumbling cliff and the tree-monsters too. Was she trying to stop them because she was scared they would find the Elements of Harmony? On one hoof, it was comforting to know that they were on the right track to defeat Nightmare, but on the other it raised a far more alarming question. What lengths would Nightmare Moon go to in order to stop them when they were finally face-to-face? *** A light snow was falling by the time the ponies reached the outskirts of a ruined town. The ground was still warm enough that it melted immediately, but it was still alarming to see snow of any kind in the summer. Twilight was even more grateful to see the Three Palaces of the Two Queens since she knew the only way to reverse these dropping temperatures was to stop Nightmare Moon. The Three Palaces of the Two Queens were isolated with nothing around except more Everfree Forest (probably due to a proclamation by the Two Queens), but a large city of small homes had once stood half a league to the west of them. Twilight suspected that during the height of the Two Queens’ power, a great many peasants had wanted to be near to them and built this town. All that was left now was a field of crumbled walls overgrown with bushes and ivy. The streets were silent as the ponies trotted through, but Twilight tried to stay alert in case Nightmare Moon tried any more tricks. Rainbow Dash also seemed to sense danger, as she loosened her sword in its sheath. The path the ponies had been following cut directly through the middle of the town before coming to an end at the edge of a deep canyon. Across the gorge was the gatehouse to the Three Palaces, its massive drawbridge raised. Twilight looked up and down the canyon, but it seemed that this was the only place in sight that the ponies could cross over. Now that they were so close to the Elements of Harmony, Twilight didn’t have the patience (or think they had the time) to look for another way across. Perhaps the drawbridge still worked after a millennium of disuse? “Rainbow Dash, can you fly across and try to lower the drawbridge?” the sorceress asked of her Hunter companion. “Of course, I’ll have it down in a flash,” she replied confidently before launching herself across the gap. Dash got a good look at the chains holding the drawbridge as she flew over it. They were covered in moss and a bit worn (from use, not time), but she could see no rust on them. She scoffed when she realized that they were probably enchanted to resist rusting; it would fit for a kingdom that had once been ruled by two sorceresses. The tower itself had not gotten such a special treatment, and Dash was able to fly in through the hole left by a tower that had fallen over the cliff. Following the chains, the pegasus found where they were spooled and prepared to knock the mechanism free, dropping the bridge to allow the others to cross. “Rainbow…” a voice called softly from behind her, and she quickly drew her sword and spun around. “Who goes there?” Dash demanded, scanning the billowing mist around the gatehouse and keeping her sword held out to face any challenge, “Show yourself!” Out of the mist trotted three pegasi in garb Rainbow was intimately familiar with. They were all wearing Hunter armor, and not just any kind, but armor in the same style as that of the Wonderbolts. There were slight differences, the biggest being that it was dyed black and purple instead of blue and yellow, and that the Wonderbolt insignia of a winged lightning bolt was replaced by a winged skull. “We’ve been trying to find you for ages,” the center pegasus, a mare with a blue coat a few shades lighter than Dash’s—and apparently the leader—said, “What are the chances we’d finally find you here, on today of all days?” “Who are you?” Rainbow asked, keeping her sword up. “We’re the Shadowbolts: the best team of Hunters active within the Everfree Forest,” the leader announced, “I have a proposition for you, but there’s not much time.” “I’m listening,” Dash said, glancing back at the mechanism to lower the drawbridge. “I assume you know that Nightmare Moon has returned. Sooner or later, the Wonderbolts will need to confront her, and they will lose. Unless, of course, they have a pony of your skill with them. They need you,” the Shadowbolt leader said as she slowly advanced on Rainbow, “They don’t know they need you yet, though, and let’s be honest, you’re not exactly Wonderbolt material, are you?” “What do you mean by that?” Dash asked. “No offense meant, of course,” the Shadowbolt leader said lightly, “You’re a supremely skilled Hunter with a vast reserve of untapped potential. You may not be prepared to join the Wonderbolts yet, but after training with us you will.” “Train with you?” Rainbow asked, tilting her head as she did so. “That’s right. We haven’t got much time, so you’ll need to come with us right away,” the Shadowbolt leader stressed, “If you want to stop Nightmare Moon and join the Wonderbolts, you need to drop everything right now.” “All right, I’ll go with you,” Rainbow said after a moment of thought, “Just let me lower this drawbridge. and we’ll be on our way.” “No!” the Shadowbolt leader said, placing herself between Rainbow and the release mechanism, “If you let them cross, Nightmare will catch us too, and the plan will fail. If you choose them over us, the deal is off.” “That’s how it is, huh?” Rainbow asked and the Shadowbolt leader nodded curtly. “Rainbow, can the bridge be lowered?” Twilight called out across the gap. She didn’t want to risk using a voice augmenting spell, so her words came across quietly, just loud enough that Rainbow could hear them. “If it can’t, come back across and we’ll figure something else out,” Twilight continued, but a dense fog magically moved into the canyon to muffle her words before Rainbow could hear her. She’d heard enough to make her decision, though. “Thank you for the opportunity,” she said in a controlled voice, “But I can’t join you.” “That’s too bad,” the Shadowbolt leader said, drawing her sword. Steel screeched as the two swords met. Mindful of the other two Shadowbolts, Rainbow bucked them each in the face as they approached. The leader jumped in the air as she pulled her sword away and swung it in a wicked arc at Rainbow’s face. Dash rolled backwards and out of the way, grabbing throwing knifes with her wings and launching them at the Shadowbolt as she did so. Rainbow shot into the air as the two Shadowbolts she’d struck in the face charged her with their swords. She’d left a surprise for them, an ice grenade, and it went off as their swords nearly struck each other. The stallions zipped out of the way at physically impossible speeds and the exploding ice never touched them. The Shadowbolt leader was suddenly above Rainbow, her own throwing knives whizzing through the air. Rainbow Dash dodged, but one of the blades struck against one of her gauntlets before bouncing off to nick her cheek. She launched herself into the air, swinging her sword in a spin as she neared the Shadowbolt leader. Before their blades could meet, one of the stallions appeared above her and struck her in the back with a powerful kick. The wind knocked out of her, Dash fell hard against the ground. While she struggled for air, she somehow managed to scratch a rune into the dirt that erected a temporary shield around herself. It wasn’t strong, but it did the trick when the Shadowbolt waiting on the ground in ambush struck her with his sword and was thrown back. Dash rolled to the side as the other stallion stabbed his sword into the earth where her head had been a moment before. A cloud of smoke billowed up from the ground as Dash dropped another grenade. Nopony could see through it, so Dash had a moment to recover. She found out how wrong that was when the hoof of the Shadowbolt leader struck her in the side and sent her sprawling. She landed outside of the cloud, wisps of smoke trailing after her. When the leader tried to attack her again, she was ready, the swords meeting in midair. The two Hunters made their blades dance as they tried to get a hit in on each other. As the Shadowbolt leader adjusted her stance, Dash saw her opening and swung in toward the mare’s foreleg. There was no way she could block or attack in time; the strike was assured. Time almost seemed to slow down as the Shadowbolt moved impossibly fast and dodged out of the way while swinging her sword up and slicing through Dash’s armor, leaving a long, shallow gash in her side. Rainbow collapsed from the pain before pushing herself away and into a roll a moment later to avoid being decapitated. The other two Shadowbolt had emerged from the smoke cloud, and all three advanced toward her. Dash was wounded and losing blood fast as she backed away from them, her sword the only thing keeping them from killing her immediately. As the leader tried to strike, Rainbow rolled away, dropping a grenade as she did so. As before, the Shadowbolts managed to dodge a blast that should’ve been impossible to dodge. By then, though, the air was filled with grenades of Rainbow’s design and blasts, of lightning exploded everywhere. The Shadowbolts were able to dodge all of them until the explosions stopped, and the three ponies found themselves standing back to back. Above them a grenade they hadn’t seen had already gone off, and even they couldn’t dodge the chain net that fell from it. The corners of the net hooked into the ground and pulled tight, trapping the Shadowbolts. “How do you like that?” Dash taunted before gritting her teeth and cursing as her body remembered it was injured. She pulled a potion from her belt and took a swig as she made her way back toward the gatehouse. Dash groaned as the brew did its work, knitting her wounds back together in a way that was anything but pleasant. She knocked her ice column over as she passed, and gave the mechanism holding the drawbridge up a strong kick. The spool complained a bit before moving and allowing the drawbridge to drop. The other ponies quickly galloped across. “What happened here?” Pinkamena was the first to ask as they met Dash outside the gatehouse. “There were some ponies who didn’t want me to let you five across,” Dash explained, “I’d never betray my friends, and they didn’t like that, so … I fought them.” “Where are they now?” Rarity asked, looking around worriedly. “I’ve got them trapped right over there,” Dash laughed before looking over at her net and seeing that it was empty, “Where’d they go?” “Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said breathlessly. “What about her?” Rainbow asked. “Whoever you saw, it was probably just one of her tricks. Think about it: the manticore, the water serpent, even the cliff and the frightening trees; Nightmare Moon is trying to stop us,” Twilight explained. “Well, she hasn’t been able t’ so far,” Applejack said as she placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, and the sorceress surprisingly found she really didn’t mind that much, “Let’s get in there and stop her instead.” Side by side, the six ponies trotted toward the Three Palaces of the Two Queens. Twilight had only known these ponies for a few days, yet she found that she felt a kind of kinship with them. The six of them had come through a lot of trials since they’d met, and it had only brought them closer. Twilight had to admit that it would be strange to leave them when all this was over. From the gatehouse, a carefully-laid stone path led up to the Three Palaces of the Two Queens. These palaces were built on two modestly high hills and the low point between them. On the southern hill was a castle of peaks and slender spires that shone white and gold in the moonlight. A labyrinth surrounded the Palace of Day on the western slope of the hill and small wall divided it from the surrounding forest. To the north was a dark castle with soaring towers at its center and large halls radiating out from them. The Palace of Night was built like a fortress, with the wide towers like the one the Children of the Night lived in interspersed along the surrounding wall. The middle building, which the path led directly to, was much smaller than the others, but no less grand. Royal Court appeared to be an abnormally large great hall with a slender tower to the north and south, though the southern one was no longer there. All three buildings had sustained significant damage, both from the ravages of time and what Twilight recognized as the work of weaponized spells. If there had been any doubt left in Twilight’s mind about the authenticity of the legend of Nightmare Moon, it was gone now. It was obvious that a duel between two very powerful sorceresses had once taken place here. Now one of them had returned and was waiting inside … along with the only weapon that could defeat her. At least, Twilight hoped that the Elements of Harmony would work. According to legend, she had been defeated by them once before, and the legend had been right so far. “Come on, Twilight, we’re nearly there!” Applejack called as the sorceress fell behind during her musings. A massive gate the height of at least twenty ponies had once served as the entrance to the Royal Court. The gigantic wooden beams that had formed the core of the gates had rotted away long ago, but most of the iron and gold plating was still in place, albeit twisted under its own weight. The ponies passed through a hole at the base of the wall of metal where a large section had broken away. Applejack led the way, torch in hoof, as the ponies made their way deeper into the Royal Court. They had no idea where the Elements of Harmony would be kept in the castle, so they meandered through the dark and abandoned rooms of the building searching for them. Eventually they reached the throne room, where moonlight shone in through broken stained glass windows. In front of the tall, narrow gaps where the windows had once stood was a raised section of the floor with two thrones, one of which had been exploded by magic. “We found them!” Twilight explained when she saw what was behind the thrones. A treelike structure of polished stone soared up from the floor and extended out into five branches. On the end of each branch was a stone orb of the same material, each with a different shape carved into it. If Twilight’s memory served her correctly—and it always had—the shapes matched those she’d seen in Magical Relics of the Elements of Harmony exactly. The orbs were much too high up for anypony but a pegasus (or an alicorn) to reach them, so Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash transported them to the ground under Twilight’s supervision. “What gives?” Pinkamena asked when the Elements were all safely on the ground, “I thought there were supposed to be six, not five.” “Hmm, the book had a note on the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight said, “It said that when the five were gathered together, a spark would cause the sixth to appear.” “And just what exactly is that supposed t’ mean?” Applejack asked, “Is it some kind o’ spell?” “I think so,” Twilight answered as she examined the Elements, “I might know how to do it, but some of the things I’ll be trying could be dangerous, so you should all stand back.” The other ponies listened to the sorceress and gave her some space, retreating to further back in the throne room, but keeping an eye on Twilight in case she needed their help. Celestia’s apprentice considered everything she’d ever learned about magic in trying to solve this puzzle. The Elements required a spark, so did that mean they were activated by lightning? Or perhaps any kind of magical discharge would work. Did spark refer to the spark that lit a fire? Did she need to conjure flame? Or maybe she needed to smash the Elements together to get the spark; they did look like they could do so. Was there any specific way the five Elements needed to be arranged before casting the spell? There were just so many different variables and possibilities. The sound of something falling and breaking echoed through the empty building. Dash drew her sword and opened the door they’d entered through by a crack. The door suddenly slammed closed on the Hunter as a piece of the building’s aging structure fell down on the other side, blocking the ponies’ escape. She motioned for Applejack to come over and help her, and together the two mares tried to force the door open. It budged, but only slightly, and soon Pinkamena, Fluttershy, and Rarity joined in helping. I have to start somewhere, Twilight thought after puzzling over how to activate the Elements. She didn’t know if her magic would work properly here, so she decided to start small, with just a tiny blast of lightning that would fan out from her horn and strike all five orbs around her. Small sparks began to trail along her horn as she began to cast the spell, and she closed her eyes to better concentrate and keep the spell under control. Nopony saw the cloud of purple and black smoke that trailed in through a hole in the ceiling and began to spin in a whirlwind around Twilight and the Elements. Lightning began sparking around the Elements, but not from Twilight’s magic. The orbs began to levitate as Nightmare Moon’s magic completely engulfed them. “Twilight!” Fluttershy called as she got a glimpse of what was transpiring over her shoulder. Twilight’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the druidess’s voice, but it was too late. She was completely surrounded by Nightmare Moon’s ethereal form, and with a flash she, Nightmare, and the Elements all blinked out of existence. Fluttershy screamed in panic as the other mares turned just in time to see their sorceress friend vanish. “Where did she go?” Rarity asked the question on everypony’s minds. “Up there!” Applejack called out the moment she spotted light shining from a tower in the Palace of Night through a hole in the wall, “Come on, let’s go!” The five ponies took off immediately in the direction of the castle, determined to make their way to Twilight. Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle rose coughing from the floor, magical energy still rippling along her body from the unexpected teleportation. She untangled her hindlegs from curtains that had seen better days, and took a look around. The Elements of Harmony were lying in a pile on the other side of the room, at the base of an obsidian throne. Between Twilight and them, Nightmare Moon was rising from the floor the same way as Twilight, the starscapes that were her mane and tale billowing out angrily. So she doesn’t have full control of her magic here either. “You again? And you thought you could defeat me!” Nightmare cackled condescendingly, “I must applaud you for getting this far, but it’s time for you to surrender. You are outmatched, my fellow sorceress, and you are out of moves.” “Not yet!” Twilight yelled back as she tore runes into the carpet at her hooves, the plan in her mind beyond insane, but all she had, “Ye seni cavan’r seyat!” Light flashed from Twilight’s horn, and a swarm of arrows composed entirely of magical energy shot towards Nightmare Moon. The black alicorn sneered and rolled her eyes. With a flick of her horn, a wave of fire filled the room and charged Twilight, the flames disintegrating the arrows as it struck them. When it hit the far wall, all that was left in front of Nightmare Moon were ashes. “I had hoped to have a little more fun with you, but alas, ‘twas not to be,” Nightmare said regretfully. “Sorry to disappoint,” Twilight’s voice came from behind the ancient sorceress. Celestia’s protégé was standing among the Elements, where she had teleported herself the moment Nightmare had lost sight of her thanks to her own spell. The lightning spell pulsing along Twilight’s horn was wilder that she’d have liked, but it would have to do. All at once, the lightning struck the orbs around her, and they all began to glow and levitate. “No!” Nightmare Moon screamed as she turned around to face her doom. The Elements hovered in the air for a few seconds, sparks traveling over their surfaces and between them, before suddenly returning to their previous states and dropping to the floor. “What? No!” Twilight said as her spell failed. The floor under Twilight’s hooves suddenly exploded thanks to a spell from Nightmare. She was thrown through the air and over the black alicorn, landing hard on the charred stone floor. She covered her head with her forelegs as the Elements landed around here and horrifyingly shattered into slivers of stone. It was all over; she’d failed. “You pitiful little foal!” Nightmare laughed, “You think I would let myself be defeated so easily? You thought that you could hope to challenge the likes of me? I am queen of Equestria now, and as was prophesied, under my rule the night shall last forever!” “We’re coming, Twilight!” the defeated sorceress barely heard Applejack’s voice drifting up the nearby staircase. She found a smile gracing her face, which quite frankly came as a complete surprise. Why should she be happy when her plan had failed, when Nightmare Moon would bring about eternal night? The answer came easier than she’d expected; she wasn’t facing this fate alone. The five ponies who’d accompanied her here against her wishes would stand by her side, and she was grateful to every one of them for being here. Like a flash of lightning, everything clicked together in Twilight’s mind. The Elements of Harmony couldn’t be destroyed, because they were more than just weapons. Their names were more than fancy titles some weaponsmith had given them to make them seem more impressive; they meant so much more than that. The Elements and the virtues they represented were inseparably intertwined, and so long as there were ponies in the world who embodied those virtues, the Elements could never truly be destroyed, could they? As Twilight considered the journey here, she saw all those virtues alive in her friends—yes, her friends! She’d never imagined she’d say it, but these five ponies were her friends. There was a bond between them forged in their travels that could never be broken. Yes, Twilight understood now, and she knew what she had to do. This fight wasn’t over. Not yet. “I disagree,” Twilight addressed Nightmare Moon. As she rose to stand, she realized that her left foreleg was broken, but she fought through the pain until she was upright and could hold the leg against to her body. “What? Do you still presume to challenge me!?” Nightmare Moon yelled loud enough that Twilight’s ears rang and she felt blood dripping from them. “You can’t destroy the Elements of Harmony so easily,” Twilight answered as Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkamena, and Rainbow Dash charged into the room to stand beside her, “You may have destroyed the Elements’ physical forms, but the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!” “What?” Nightmare Moon asked amusedly, “You must be joking.” “When I was in doubt hanging from the edge of a cliff, Applejack reassured me that I would be safe,” Twilight continued, undeterred, “She embodies the Element of … Trustworthiness!” As Twilight concluded her statement, some of the stone shards on the ground began to levitate, glowing with an orange light. Much to her surprise, Applejack found herself levitating as well, and the shards of the Element of Trustworthiness flocked to circle around her. “Fluttershy, who chose to show kindness to the manticore when everypony else turned to violence, embodies the Element of … Compassion!” Fluttershy also levitated, shards of glowing pink stone surrounding her, and she came to rest directly above Applejack. “Pinkamena, who banished fear in the haunted copse by laughing when terror gripped everpony else, embodies the Element of… Mirth!” Pinkamena was surrounded by glowing blue stones and levitated next to Applejack. “When the water serpent was in need, Rarity saved its life by giving a valuable gift from her most treasured possessions. She embodies the Element of… Charity!” Rarity, surrounded by purple shards, levitated between Applejack and Pinkamena and lower than both. “Rainbow Dash, who refused to abandon her friends, even to pursue her heart’s desire, embodies the Element of… Allegiance!” Surrounded by red shards, Rainbow Dash floated up to levitate next to Fluttershy and above Pinkamena. “With these five ponies, we were able to overcome every obstacle you put in our path,” Twilight concluded. “Congratulations, you’ve caught us up to the present and you have five of the Elements,” Nightmare Moon said mockingly, her mane and tail billowing out threateningly, “But you can’t do anything without the sixth Element. Your spark. Didn’t. Work!” “The original spark may not have,” Twilight admitted, “But that’s because the Elements need a different kind of spark. The magic within that brings all the Elements together is the special bond I share with my friends; the spark I felt when I realized I was happy to see them again, the feeling I felt when I knew we could do anything together. The Elements on their own are powerful, but the true power is only released when the Elements are ignited by the spark that resides within us all and creates the sixth Element: the Element of … Sorcery!” From a flash of blinding light above Twilight’s head, a sixth stone orb appeared. It remained floating in place over the sorceress as she levitated up to take a position above Rarity and higher than all the others, completing the six-pointed star. A magic circle blazed into existence in the air, its edge ringed by where the ponies were levitating. Finally, Nightmare Moon came to her senses and realized she was truly in danger. “No!” the alicorn yelled as she fired powerful spells off at the six ponies, all of them either misfiring or bouncing away harmlessly, “No! No! NO!” The Elements of Harmony fused together, blazing colored light. When the streams converged, they formed a wave of magical energy unlike anything Twilight had ever seen. Nightmare Moon’s protestations were drowned out as she was engulfed in the magical blast. A light brighter than the sun filled the tower, forcing everypony present to close their eyes. When the light subsided, Twilight and her friends found themselves laying on the floor in a circle, the magical rune that the Elements had projected burned into the floor. Twilight’s first sight was through a window opening (had the glass already been gone, or had the magical blast shattered it?). The sun was rising; it was such a beautiful sight to see it shining in the sky again. “Is everypony okay?” Applejack asked as the ponies lifted themselves off the floor. “Better than okay!” Rarity squealed with delight. Twilight was shocked to see that the unicorn’s tail was back to its original length and luster. Rainbow Dash was also stretching, apparently free of the pains she’d gotten in her fight earlier. Twilight realized that she also was miraculously healed, her foreleg and ears restored to working order. But injuries being healed wasn’t the only thing that had changed. On Twilight’s head was a golden circlet and a golden amulet hung around each of the other ponies’ necks. Set into each of these new pieces of jewelry was a shining gem in the shape of the cutie-mark of the pony wearing it. Instinctively, Twilight knew that these were the Elements of Harmony. “Wow, I thought you were just trying t’ stall for time at first,” Applejack said to Twilight as she looked down at her amulet, “But it looks like you knew what you were talking about. The six of us really do embody the Elements o’ Harmony.” “Indeed you do,” the soothing voice of Celestia said as the alicorn sorceress stepped through the portal she’d conjured. Everypony bowed before Celestia, except for Rainbow Dash, who as a nationless Hunter merely gave a respectful nod, and Twilight, who rushed over to greet her teacher. “Twilight Sparkle, my greatest and most faithful apprentice,” Celestia addressed her protégé directly as Twilight slowed her approach to a trot, “I knew that I was right to have faith in you.” “Forgive me, but I don’t understand,” Twilight responded, “Why did you tell me that the legend of Nightmare Moon was nothing more than a myth when belief in it is what led me here?” “I never told you that the legend wasn’t true; I instructed you to go out and make some friends,” Celestia said as she bent down to face her student, “I knew that you would find your way here, and that you had the power within you to stop Nightmare Moon, but I also knew that you would be unable to defeat her with the Elements of Harmony until you discovered true friendship. You did admirably, Twilight. Now I must do my part and finish this once and for all.” The alicorn raised her head up as she turned to look in the opposite direction. Where Nightmare Moon had been just minutes earlier, there was now a smoking crater in the floor surrounded by twisted pieces of the mad sorceress’s armor. At the center of it all, a dark blue alicorn slightly shorter than Celestia lay on the floor. Her mane, like Nightmare’s had the appearance of a starry sky, though this one was of a much healthier night. It wasn’t as lustrous as Celestia’s, nor did it flow like hers did, though Twilight had the feeling that it could if it wanted to. As the smaller alicorn opened her eyes and began to stand unsteadily, Celestia rushed over in a half-trot, half-gallop. Twilight expected the world’s most powerful sorceress to smite the remnants of Nightmare Moon, as she was rumored to have done with many of her enemies in the past, but instead she embraced her. The smaller alicorn stood motionless, a stunned look on her face, as Celestia held her tight, tears streaming down her face. “Luna, I haven’t seen your face in a thousand years,” Celestia said, still crying, as she released Luna from her embrace but still held her close, “Can you ever forgive me for how I acted? I was so prideful and arrogant that I didn’t see what I was doing to you. We were meant to rule together as equals, little sister.” “Sister?” Twilight found herself asking aloud. Thoughts swirled in her mind, everything falling into place for the second time that day. Twilight knew that her mentor had been around for a long time, for as long as modern history could remember, but she hadn’t considered that she would have been alive back at the beginning of the Fourth Age a millennium ago. Neither had she given much thought to the elder sister mentioned in the legend of Nightmare Moon, but it was clear now that they were one in the same. Nightmare Moon—Luna—had once been Celestia’s sister, and now, for the first time in a thousand years, they were reunited. “I’m so sorry, big sister!” Luna yelled as she grabbed Celestia tight, also crying now, “The things I did … forgive me!” Twilight looked out from the Palace of Night, watching the sun rise over the Everfree Forest. They’d really done it; Nightmare Moon was defeated. It hadn’t ended exactly as Twilight had expected it to, but day had been restored to the world nonetheless. And, Twilight thought as she looked back at the five ponies gathered around, there had been another unexpected—and surprisingly welcome—side effect to come from this journey. *** The celebration in Ponieville was too large to be contained by the Mayoral Keep, so the entire town square was decorated in lively colors. Frankly, Twilight was impressed with just how quickly the hamlet had put the festival together (and doubtful of how large a role Pinkamena actually played in organizing it, despite what she claimed). Most of the peasants who’d assembled in Ponieville for the summer solstice ceremony had fled after Nightmare Moon’s appearance, but when word had spread of her return, they all came rushing back. They had good reason to; at the summer solstice ceremony they’d have gotten at most a glimpse of Celestia for a few minutes, but now she was spending a whole day in celebration and mingling with all who attended (providing a major headache for her guards). Any would-be assassins (and Twilight was sure there were some mingled into the crowd) lost their nerve at the prospect of killing two alicorns, however. As the festival came to a close, Celestia addressed the assembled ponies, formally introducing Luna and putting Nightmare’s return in the past. She also wished a bountiful harvest upon everypony for the next four years, which some would take to mean Celestia would insure it with her magic, and they would plant additional crops, which would mean greater crop taxes for Cant’r Laht. It was quite well done, Twilight had to admit. Ponies began to disperse after Celestia brought the day to an end by lowering the sun and darkness fell across the land. “Twilight Sparkle; Spike,” Celestia caught the duo’s attention, “Luna and I must return to Cant’r Laht immediately. The nobility’s egos are no doubt bruised because I chose to celebrate Luna’s return in Ponieville. I’m certain that putting on an even grander celebration in Cant’r Laht will soothe them, and that they won’t mind paying for it as well. Will the two of you be accompanying us?” “Yes, of course. Well, that is, I suppose …” Twilight said, but as she trailed off she looked away from the portal behind Celestia and instead watched her new friends as they chatted with each other. “What is the matter, my apprentice?” Celestia asked, and Twilight turned back to look at her mentor, “Was your goal not to conclude your business in Ponieville as hastily as possible so that you could return to your studies in Cant’r Laht?” “Yes, that was my goal,” Twilight admitted sadly before looking back over her shoulder, “It’s strange; I’ve only known them for a few days, but it’s hard to consider leaving them.” “What are you saying?” Celestia asked, the portal still swirling behind her. “I wish to stay here,” Twilight said firmly as she faced her mentor, “Well, that’s not entirely true. I don’t have any love for this tiny, dirty, insignificant little town, but it doesn’t matter. Wherever they are, I want to be with them; my friends.” “Mine sister hath told me much about thee, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, “Dost though wish to discontinue they studies of magic under her?” “No, that’s not it at all,” Twilight replied, shaking her head vigorously, “But, perhaps it’s time I studied a different kind of magic. The power I felt when wielding the Elements of Harmony was like no kind of sorcery I know. I would like to study it, in addition to other things, with your permission, teacher.” “And you feel that Ponieville is the place to do so?” Celestia asked, arching an eyebrow. “I do,” Twilight replied. “How right you are,” Celestia said, allowing a smile to break through her previously neutral expression, “It’s been years since we’ve had a face-to-face lesson. It’s time for you to move on. Spike, take down an official decree for me.” “Um, all right,” Spike said as a piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkpot of official ink appeared before him. “By order of Celestia, Matron of Sorceresses in Cant’r Laht, Guardian of Sun and Moon, and Protector of Ponieville: the esteemed sorceress Twilight Sparkle shall be granted the laboratory previously belonging to the wizard Golden Oak to serve as her home as she continues her study of sorcery from Ponieville. She is not to be harassed, harried, or in any other way molested for trivial matters during her stay under pain of twenty lashes in the public square. All ponies living within those realms who pledge allegiance to Cant’r Laht and to myself are compelled to help her in any way possible during her studies and upon her travels. Let it be known that this is the word of Celestia,” the great sorceress dictated to Spike before signing the decree and placing her seal upon it, “Keep in contact with me through Spike throughout your studies, and if you have need of any books from the archives in Cant’r Laht, you need only ask.” “Thank you, Celestia,” Twilight said sincerely, as she gave a curtsey. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkamena all gathered around Twilight as Celestia and Luna disappeared through the portal, already back home in Cant’r Laht. Twilight thought with amusement that Spike had been right back when they’d first arrived in Ponieville. It had been the beginning of a new adventure, and Twilight was looking forward to every minute of it.