12. Nightmares
"Wow, you are huuuuge!"
Everypony gathered in the conference room gasped with terror, as the forbidden words were said, by a little colt, no less. His parents quickly grabbed him with magic and pulled him away, scolding him for insulting the Princess. Celestia laughed, walked towards the colt and sat right next to him.
"Well, aren't you a precious little thing."
"I'm not little!” protested the colt “I'm four and half years old!"
Celestia laughed again "Alright, I guess I was wrong then. You're a precious BIG thing, then."
"That's better!" he said, beaming proudly.
"Prince, manners!" said a tall, white unicorn, as he magically grabbed him and pulled away from Princess. He struggled to get away from the magical field he was held in, but eventually gave up and crossed his hooves in annoyance.
Four years later, he found himself in a big, dark cavern. It was so poorly lit, he could barely see anything in front of him, aside from walls two other ponies.
"Take a good look at this, son. One day, it'll all be yours!"
"Dad,” he looked at his father with deadpan expression “it's just some dumb rocks."
A light pink mare with long, golden mane walked towards him and patted his back.
"Not just any rocks," she added, as she placed her hoof on the wall "this cave if full of magicite, the most powerful magical battery in the whole world. There's only few of them left in the entire world, this one is the biggest in Equestria. If we took all there is here, we would have enough power to lift Canterlot into the skies for entire century!"
"Wow, and it's all going to be mine?” he smiled brightly “But what about my brothers?"
"They will get other Blueblood properties,” answered his father and started counting “We have the gold mines, university in Manehatan, airship factory..."
"Hey no fair! I want that one!" interruped Prince, with a stomp.
"But, this cave is full of treasures!" protested his father.
"It's full of rocks! That's not cool."
"Airships are fueled by these rocks, you know."
"So what? Rocks don't fly!"
"They do sometimes!"
"No they don't!"
"Yes they do!"
His mother facehooved "Good grieves, I thought we only brought ONE child!" she said and tried to calm them down, but was interrupted by slight tremors.
"MOM! DAD!" Prince screamed through his tears, as he looked over his parents, lying on the ground of the collapsing cavern. He tried to pull them out of the rubble, but his hooves slipped on a puddle, which he found out was not just water, but blood.
"D-don't worry about us, son..." said weakly his father, as he reached his hoof to his son "...your mother and I will be fine, just go!"
"B-but..."
"JUST GO!"
Moments later, he was wrapped in bandages and a warm blanket. Despite that, he was still trembling, his body felt cold, as his gaze was focused on one corner of the tent, not moving an inch.
He heard some muffled voices outside the tent. Through the white fabric of medical tent, he could recognize silhouette of his aunt, as she spoke to somepony that just approached her.
"Princess Celestia, we found them."
"Are they all right?"
There was a short silence.
"I'm so sorry."
He spent all the rest of the time nuzzling the blanket and crying, until he felt a large wing covering his entire body. He slowly raised his head and looked to his side at his aunt, as she sat next to him. He didn't want her to talk. He just wanted to use her neck to cry himself out. She didn't object.
Many years later, on university hallway, a young, light brown unicorn with short, golden mane with green highlights, ran towards him. Prince stopped and looked at him curiously.
"Hey, wait up!" he shouted, as he took a breather once he caught on "Prince Blueblood, right? Of course you are, duh. Listen, I have a deal for you..."
"Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying it. Go away before I call guards." he answered coldly, as he resumed his his walk.
"Wha... oh, I see!" he laughed as he followed Prince "No, it's nothing like that. Listen, I need a little help with something, I promise you won't be disappointed."
"Help with what?" asked annoyed Prince, as he stopped and looked at the stallion. He noticed his cutie mark as well. Four leaf clover drawn on a small ticket "Also, who are you?"
"Right, where are my manners?” the stallion coughed and extended his hoof “My name is Lottery Charm. But you can call me..."
"...Lott, are you sure about this?"
"Trust me, Blue. I'm feeling lucky today."
"You always feel lucky!"
"I always am. Come on, when did I ever let you down?"
"Let me count..."
"Never mind, just roll!"
Prince Blueblood gulped and finally decided to throw the dice. All the eyes were focused on five ebony colored dice, as they rolled over the green table and bounced of the walls. All the breaths were held as they waited painfully few, long seconds, until...
"... and then, he rolled a poker of sixes! You had to be there, the crowd went nuts!" announced Lottery Charm happily, to a table full of ponies, all high, mighty and beautiful "Here's to the best gambler ever, my best friend in Equestria- PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!"
The entire room full of guests cheered and lifted their mugs, as Prince had his face all covered in blush. He regained composure and also made a toast.
"Oh don't be so modest Lott, none of this would have happened without your support. Cheers to my partner in 'crime'- LOTTERY CHARM!"
Another round of cheers passed. Lott waved it away and looked away, smiling.
"Ow, now you're too kind, Blue. But hey, don't let any of us take all the glory. After all, we're a team! Your brain and dashing looks, my luck and connections. Together, we cannot be stopped!"
"You sure this is a good idea, Blue? I don't know if you can just bring strangers inside the castle at night."
"Nonsense, you're not a stranger, Lott. If anything, you're more of a brother to me then all four of my actual ones, combined."
"Heh, yeah. You don't get along with them too well, do you?"
"Not really. Not since my parents died, they used to blame me for that and stuff. To be fair, I wasn't the best big brother anyway."
"Woah, man, I didn't mean to bring that up!"
"It's okay, past is past. What's more important is present. And right now, I'm not letting my friend walk around the streets of Canterlot alone at night, especially with a bag full of hard earned bits."
"Or you could just, you know, send some guards to escort me back home safely."
"Now you sound like you don't want to hang out with me anymore."
"Ok, that was low. Fine, if you insist, I'll stay for a night in a friggin castle, no sweat."
"Woah!" Lottery Charm gasped, as he looked around with amazement. He smiled as he planned his next sentence "Yo dawg, I heard you like room, so we put a lot of room in your room."
Prince snorted and started laughing.
"That was terrible! You'll burn in Tartarus for this joke."
"Nah, I'll burn for something else. But still, damnit Blue, this is one big bedroom!" he commented, as he walked around spacious bedroom of Prince Blueblood "I'm actually afraid to think how big room Princess Celestia has."
"Smaller then you think, actually." answered Prince, as he took of his tie and threw it at the bed "Not even half the size of mine. She only ever uses it for sleeping and relaxing. She has other rooms, roughly this size, for guests and work."
"You been there?" he asked “You know, in Celestia's bedroom?”
"Yeah, quite a lot actually. She took care of me after my parents died. Technically, my grandfather was is my legal guardian, but he really hates me more then anything else in this world, so Princess pretty much adopted me all but officially. It worked for the best in the end, so I don't mind."
Lottery Charm was quiet for a moment, then sighed "If you say so."
There was a short silence, as Prince unpacked his saddlebags and opened a window to let some night breeze in. Lottery Charm took something out of his saddlebag, then walked slowly to Prince.
"Blue..."
"Yes?"
Prince turned back. His friend smiled brightly as he held a small object with his magic.
"Happy Birthday, Blue!"
That object turned out to be a small package wrapped in a dark-blue gift paper, tied by a golden ribbon. Prince looked at it confused.
"Umm, my birthday is in ten days."
"I know, I know, but..." he scratched his head and looked away "... I won't be able to come to the party."
"What? Why?"
"Family business in Trottingham. It's a long story. But don't worry, I'll be back and we'll be unstoppable once again." He opened two small bottles and levitated them to each.
"Cheers to you, pal."
They poked their bottles, then took a few sips. Prince quickly gagged and almost threw up.
"Eww, what is this?" he looked at the bottle. On its label was a picture of an old gryphon wearing a military uniform, holding a machete in its beak, standing next to a big, smiling pig "Gross Schwein?"
"Imported from Gryphon Kingdom. They say it's a delicacy." he took one more sip and licked his lips happily "Peculiar taste. They don't make anything like it in Equestria. It takes a little getting used to, but it's actually pretty good once you do."
"Yeah, I'll pass." he put the bottle away on the table and instead concentrated on the present. He delicately unfolded the ribbon, looked around the box to see where the duck tape was, so he could remove it without making too much noise and mess, but his eyes were getting a little too heavy for precise actions. He finally gave up, grunted and violently ripped it apart, leaving only a small, paper box. He was about to take the lid off, but his magical grip suddenly weakened and dropped the lid. He barely felt it as his hooves went numb and he fell on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Blue," said Lottery Charm, as he put the empty bottle on the counter and walked toward him "I hope you can forgive me someday. See ya, pal."
Prince Blueblood couldn't form any words due to numbness, before he passed out.
He never saw Lott again.
"YOU BLOODY IMBECILE!" yelled an old, bearded unicorn with glasses "Do you have any idea what you've done!?"
Prince Blueblood sat quietly in the study and didn’t even bother to look at his grandfather. He knew exactly what he's done and could not say anything in his defense, instead locked his view on the walls. His grandfather continued anyway.
"Almost half a dozen magical artifacts straight from the vaults, most of them priceless and powerful enough to endanger the entire kingdom! I don't know who is more stupid here- guards who missed a thief robbing national treasures on their watch, or YOU, letting him inside without anyponies permission! I swear, your parents must be rolling in their gra-..."
"That's enough, Tzar," said Princess Celestia as she entered the room "your grandson is as much a victim, as we all are."
"You always keep his side," muttered Tzar Blueblood, current head of the entire clan "how much more damage does he need to do before you finally do something about it?"
"Tzar, you should leave." ordered Celestia, as she looked at her older nephew. He looked her in the eyes for a moment, but finally huffed and left the room, quietly swearing under his nose.
Celestia sat in front of Prince and looked at him sadly.
"Would you like to talk?"
"No. Can I go back to my room? I'm tired."
His bedroom was exactly how he left it. He looked at two bottles of most disgusting beverage he ever had, one empty, one almost full. There was also a golden ribbon, ripped apart blue gift paper, and one box, still unopened. He walked towards the box and looked at it disgustingly.
"Sir, wake up, please."
His room suddenly turned dark, as shadowy mist enveloped everything around him, leaving only himself and the box visible. He screamed at it, then kicked it so hard it hit the wall and bounced back, opening it and releasing its content.
"Wake up!"
He walked towards the object that fell out of it. A figure made out of darkness followed his every step and looked carefully at it as well.
"WAKE UP!"
Prince lazily opened his eyes. He was lying on couch in the Ponyville library, covered by a smelly blanket, while his incompetent bodyguard stood there and looked at him. Prince ignored him and turned on the other side.
"The main event will begin in fifteen minutes." announced Shining Armor.
"I don't care. Leave me alone."
Shining didn't budge "By orders of Princess Celestia, I'm making sure you will make an appearance there, so please come along, or else."
Prince didn't answer anything. Shining Armor's horn glowed and forcefully took away his blanket, then surrounded Prince with a light purple bubble of magical energy, which lifted him from the couch.
"WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING? RELEASE ME AT ONCE!" he started hitting the force field, but it had absolutely no effect.
"I was given permission to use force. Come along peacefully, please."
"Get this bloody barri-"
"Shut up or I'll punch you again!" yelled Shining Armor, feeling both fear and immense satisfaction from saying it.
Prince Blueblood agreed to go by himself, if only because he had enough humiliations today to spare himself the floating magical bubble prison. They both arrived at the Town Hall on time, just minutes before the main event of the entire night and following day. Every year, one city had the privilege of seeing the daily routine being seen from front rows. For Princess Celestia, it was about as common as waking up, eating and saying hello, but to masses of ponies, and other creatures inside, it was a spectacle they would not forget for the rest of their lives and they were eagerly awaiting it.
“Your majesty, everything is in place. You may enter now.” announced Captain Blitz Shield. Celestia nodded.
“Thank you, Captain. Tell Ms. Mayor to start then.”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
One-eyed captain bowed and left the waiting room. Princess Celestia stood by the window and looked at the moon and sighed.
“I'm not going to make that mistake again. So please, wish me luck, Lulu.”
“Good luck.”
Celestia's heart stopped. Her eyes opened wide, she tried to say something, but no sound came from her mouth, as she slowly turned around and saw a figure she never imagined would ever appear before her, outside of nightmares.
“Y-you...!” she slowly muttered, still not believing her eyes.
“Yes. Me!” answered the shadowy figure “Long time no see, Tia!” she smiled widely, as both her eyes and horn started glowing.
“Allow me to introduce,” finally announced the Mayor after a long speech, just as the bird choir started singing their fanfares “the wise, the benevolent, our ruler, Princess Celestia!”
The curtains moved away from the balcony, revealing...
“She's gone!” said a pegasus guard, as he searched the hallway and nearest area.
The crowd started muttering and rustling impatiently. Guards searched the entire town hall, but so far nothing came out of it and there seemed to be no sign. Somepony pointed at the balcony where she was supposed to appear, where a very thick, dark blue mist started forming a silhouette of somepony. For a moment everypony's mind was at ease, as they must have realized that Princess was pulling a prank and scaring them on purpose, but they could not be further from truth. Their first hint was a loud, growing laughter that came from the mist.
“Hahaha, rejoice my little ponies, for I HAVE RETURNED!”
The mist dispersed and revealed the one inside. She was a very tall, pitch black alicorn, wearing a dark blue helmet and large neck armor with crescent moon symbol, same as her cutie mark. She had no mane or tail to speak of, in their place was however a flowing mist shaped to resemble such, with texture similar to night sky, full of stars and planets.
“It's so good to see your little faces once again, my loyal subjects.”
Captain Blitz Shield stepped forward and faced the mysterious mare with a spear in one wing.
“Who are you and what have you done to princess?”
The mare snorted “Oh, am I not royal enough for you?” asked smugly, then quickly shifted tone to more serious “Don't you know who I am? Is my existence kept secret from you sun loving lot? Did everypony forgot about me when I was banished one thousand years ago?”
“The mare in the moon...” said one pony in the back of the stage. All the gazes turned to Prince Blueblood, as he looked at her with terrified expression. He gulped and continued “...you're Nightmare Moon!”
Everypony in the hall gasped. There wasn't a single one who didn't heard, at least in passing, about Nightmare Moon's legend. The versions varied depending who you ask, but one thing was universal across every version- she was very, very evil.
“Ah, so you DO remember me!” Nightmare Moon laughed “That makes it easier then. Then you all should know why I am here. Now, bow to your new ruler!”
There were no bows. There were panicked murmurs, ponies trying to get away from the hall, but noticing that every exit was now locked and all windows covered by solid black mass of energy, leaving only lanterns on the walls and pillars as only source of light. Some ponies hid behind something, foals stuck behind their parents. There were also those who felt no fear.
“As if!” yelled Spitfire, as she flew into the air and pointed her hoof at Nightmare Moon “Give us Princess Celestia back, or else!”
“Spitfire,” Soarin quickly flew to her and tried to get her back on the ground “don't provoke her!”
Spitfire kept her eyes on Nightmare Moon, who at this point was beyond amused and slowly getting more and more irritated. Her horn glowed with dark energies, which she then shot at Spitfire at a speed that took even Captain of Wonderbolts by surprise. She couldn't dodge, but she did shove Soarin out of the way before taking the hit. The beam exploded and the she fell on the ground with a loud thud. Soarin rushed towards her, only to discover that she wasn't quite dead. Instead, she was now made out of stone, turning her into a statue with very terrified face.
“Spitfire!” shouted Soarin, as he sat before her and tried to wake her up anyway “Come on, don't do that to me, Spitfire! SPITFIRE!”
As this was happening, Nightmare Moon addressed the rest of the gathering.
“Let this be a lesson for everypony that forgot how you speak to royalty with respect. I will forgive you that one time, as long as you pledge your loyalty to me, RIGHT NOW!”
“Never!” announced Captain Blitz Shield, as he assembled all the guards he had with him “I won't let you hurt anypony else! GUARDS, ATTACK! DON'T LET HER NEAR CIVILIANS!”
Countless magical bolts, thrown spears and arrows flew towards Nightmare Moon, all exploding at the balcony, completely demolishing anything it hit, leaving only dust and smoke behind. Meanwhile, all the ponies on the ground rushed toward the exit and desperately tried to force it open. The door gave in eventually and masses finally started to leave the building. Apple family took it upon themselves to somewhat coordinate the panicked mob, herding them like a stampede of cows, but to their credit, it did the job. Weather patrol ponies, all three of them at least, helped by remaining Wonderbolts, under Rainbow Dash's orders helped evacuate those that hid around the place and guided them towards the exit.
“Soarin, come on, it's not safe!” said one of his Wondebolt friends, as he tried to pry him away from turned to stone Spitfire. Soarin shoved him away.
“I'm not leaving her!” said Soarin, as he tightly hugged the statue of his friend.
“Don't be foolish, if something happens to you, her sacrifice will be in vain!”
“Don't talk about her like she's dead! She's just... just...” he stuttered, as he almost choked on his own tears.
“There is no time, go!”
Reluctantly, Soarin managed to stand up, wipe his tears and turn back, dashing away from the battlefield.
“Captain! Let me help!” shouted Shining Armor, as he approached Blitz Shield.
“Get everypony to safety, now!”
“Sir, I can fi-”
“PROTECT THEM!”
Shining bit his lip, but saluted and ran off to help with evacuations, mentally preparing himself for shielding everypony with the strongest barrier he could manage. Among the confusion, he lost track of Prince Blueblood, but realized that he probably fled as soon as there was a chance. Which was for the best, as that meant that Shining could concentrate on protecting everyone else instead.
“RUMBLE!” shouted Thunderlane, as he flew around the hall, nervously scanning the area for his brother “Rumble, where are you? Anypony seen my brother?”
As if on cue, the colt nervously peeked from under one of the tables and looked around. He was far away from the entrance, almost too close to the actual battle, so he was afraid to walk away even for a moment.
“There you are!” said Blossomforth, as she flew towards him and extended her hoof “Can you go?”
“I-I'm scared!”
“It's okay, darling. Come on, hop on my back!”
After the initial barrage stopped, there was silence. Where once was a balcony where Nightmare Moon stood, now only smoke was left. The royal guards, only a dozen of ponies, stood there and nervously waited, fully prepared to continue their attack if she appeared again. Blitz Shield looked behind for a moment and sighed with relief as he saw evacuations going smoothly and in time there won't be any civilian left to worry about.
He heard something landing on the floor. A tall, towering figure slowly emerged from the smokescreen. And she was not pleased, but also not hurt at all. Everypony gasped in horror, as they saw Nightmare Moon slowly walking forward, without a single scratch on her, looking at Captain with great anger in her eyes.
“I gave you a warning. I was playing nice. But you still had to act like fools!”
As she walked along, several pegasi guards flew at her with spears, but were all stopped by some invisible shield she was surrounded with.
“If you wish to act like fools, then I will treat you as such!”
Her horn glowed again, this time however it wasn't a petrifying beam, but a powerful explosion around her barrier, sending the guards and debris all over the place. As luck would have it, a piece of the floor flew straight into flying Blossomforth, carrying Rumble. It hit her wing, crashing her and colt on the ground. Blossom wanted to scream due to broken wing, but held it in herself and instead looked for Rumble. He quickly got up and other then few scratches, he seemed fine, which was good enough for her. She tried to stand up, but yelped from pain and fell on her side.
“Blossom, are you alright?” asked Rumble, as he dashed toward her.
“I'll live.”
“BLOSSOM! RUMBLE!”
They both heard Thunderlane as he landed nearby.
“Blossom, you're hurt!” announced Thunderlane, as he looked at the crushed, bleeding wing.
“You don't say!” deadpanned Blossom, as she held her injured wing with one hoof.
“Come on, we have to get you to safety.”
“Don't worry about me, get Rumble first!”
Thunderlane looked at Blossom's bleeding wing again, then at his scared little brother. He groaned.
“I'll be back in a second, baby.”
“I'm getting tired of this nonsense,” announced Nightmare Moon, as she concentrated on another spell, this one much bigger then both before, if growing, pulsating, pitch black aura surrounding her horn was any indication. Blitz Shield cursed and looked at the exit. Some ponies were still inside, not to mention that lady with injured wing. He gulped and charged at Nightmare Moon with a war cry, fully realizing just how futile it was, yet still determined to stop her at any cost.
“SHINING, NOW!”
Shining Armor gulped, took a deep breath and concentrated every little bit of energy he had in his body. He couldn't save everypony, nor could he place a barrier around Nightmare Moon strong enough to contain her for even that one spell, but if he limited the range to just a smaller bubble around everypony still waiting to get out, then he probably had a chance. And right now probably was all he could afford.
Both spells fired of almost simultaneously. Nightmare Moon's spell enveloped everything in a very bright, blinding light, while Shining Armor's purple barrier stood strong, separating the battlefield from the entrance.
“BLOSSOM!”
“THUNDERLANE!”
Upon the impact, Shining's barrier looked like it cracked and he felt a great pain in his horn, but despite that, he still managed to double the effort and keep it from shattering. Right next to him stood Thunderlane, who even despite the blinding flash could not keep his gaze away, as he looked at his fillyfriend getting enveloped in complete whiteness.
Once it was all over, Shining Armor finally gave in and collapsed on the ground along with his barrier. He could barely breathe, but managed to open his eyes and look at the battlefield. It could not be called that anymore, as anything and anypony that was not protected by his magic was now turned to stone. He looked terrified at his comrades from Royal Guards, along with Captain himself, who lied on the floor right next to Nightmare Moon, both his hooves extended and wings spread, as he tried to strike her one last time, but never made the target. He also just now noticed a lone mare pegasus turned to stone as well. His heart stopped beating for a second, before he realized it wasn't Twilight, but Blossomforth. It didn't make him feel better in the slightest.
“LET ME AT HER! I'LL KILL HER! I'LL RIP HER APART!” yelled Thunderlane, barely held tight on the ground by Applejack and Big Macintosh.
Nightmare Moon on her part sighed deeply, as she looked at her work, as well as those that avoided petrification.
“I see somepony here has quite a skill. I'm impressed. Since I got what I wanted, I'll let you live. As I expected, without your so called goddess, you ponies are helpless before me.” she smiled widely “I hope you enjoyed your day, for it was your last. From this moment on, THE NIGHT! WILL LAST! FOREVER! HAHAHAHAHAHA”
Barely minutes passed since Nightmare Moon left the town. All the ponies were gathered outside, where Mayor Mare made a roll call of all Ponyville citizens to make sure nopony was missing, but she could do nothing about guests and tourists from outside the town, so there was quite a lot of chaos as families and friends were still trying to find each others in the crowds. They gathered all the petrified ponies in one place building to keep them from getting damaged. Thankfully, the victims were limited to twelve members of Royal guards, captain including, Spitfire and Blossomforth. Shining Armor couldn't gather the courage to look Thunderlane in the eyes, and apologize for not being able to do anything to save her. Soarin was in a similar state right now, standing before Spitfire's statue and silently crying, looking so differently then funny, flirty guy from before. He saw that the entire extended Apple Clan was helping around, providing support in form of food or blankets wherever they could. They were joined by Doctor and Ditzy, who despite being there and experiencing the same thing, seemed less shaken then others, but still far from relaxed.
One pony he could not find, was Prince Blueblood. Last time he saw him was when he revealed Nightmare Moon's identity to everyone, then he was just gone, either mixed with the crowds, or escaped before the exits were sealed. He could think of only one place to look for him.
Shining Armor entered the even messier library, if that was even possible. Now aside from after party trash, there were countless books thrown around the entire room, with Prince himself surrounded by a big stack of them, facing back to the entrance and reading one such tome.
Shining was about to approach him, but was interrupted when somepony entered the library.
“YOU!” yelled Thunderlane, as he flew toward Prince “You knew who she was, so you must know more!” Prince ignored him completely. Thunderlane kept on talking “The princess is gone, Blossom and others has been turned to stone, so if you know anything, say it!”
Once again, there was no reaction, so he grabbed Prince by the collar and smacked him into a bookshelf, yelling “Stop ignoring me!”
He instantly regretted doing that when he saw Prince's face. There was no smug smile or irate scowl, now replaced by reddened blue eyes, as tears kept on flowing on his cheeks even now. Prince wiped his face and tried to look away.
“I know... she's gone...” he muttered through his tears “... I-I couldn't do anything! She was like a mother to me, always there when I needed her, she never stopped believing in me... and I ... I told her I hate her, and now...”
Thunderlane let Prince down and calmed down, if only a little bit. Shining Armor noticed that three other ponies also joined them, likely for a similar reason as Thunderlane. Soarin, Big Macintosh and Doctor saw the entire thing, but thankfully didn't say anything regarding that. Big Mac put a hoof on Thunderlane's shoulder, trying to calm down his friend. Doctor noticed the cover of the book that Prince was reading.
“Elements of Harmony?” said Doctor, as he scanned through the pages and read parts of them aloud “...were used by Princess Celestia, one thousand years ago, to banish Nightmare Moon on the moon!”
That instantly caught everypony's attention, as they gathered next to Doctor who kept on reading page after page at a great speed, quoting it loudly once in a while.
“Don't bother, there isn't much useful information in this book anyway,” said Prince ”All I found out, was that after being used, they lost all their power and remain in the ruins of old castle. That is, if somepony didn't outright took them away.”
“It also states their names!” added Doctor as he read them out loud “Out of six elements, there are: loyalty, kindness, generosity, honesty and laughter.”
“Laughter?” asked Soarin “You sure it's not a mistake or hoax? And that's only five, what about the sixth one?”
“It doesn't say anything,” answered Doctor, as he closed the book “apparently that's something lost in time as well.”
“So, they are s'possed to be in old castle...” started Big Mac “...where is it?”
“They say it's in the middle of Everfree forest, probably.” answered Doctor.
Everypony gulped. Going to Everfree forrest was thought to be one of the stupidest things to do, almost a guarantee you'll die or come back less complete then you were previously. There were very few documented examples of anypony traveling there and coming back in one piece, not to mention that it was a very big forest that kept on changing, so even if somepony made a map of some parts of it, they were outdated almost one month later.
“So,” started Soarin “our only hope is a set of six things, one of which we don't even know what it is, that we don't know what they look or work like, if they still work in the first place, hidden somewhere in middle of a magical, evil forest full of monsters and ghosts, while an extremely evil and powerful being, one that took out a being able to move sun and moon no less, could strike us at any second. Did I miss something?”
“That this legend could be false to begin with.” added Thunderlane.
Soarin sighed deeply “That's good enough to me. I'm going!”
“And so am I.” added Thunderlane, as he nodded to Soarin.
“Me too.” said Big Macintosh.
“And me as well.” nodded Doctor.
Prince Blueblood looked at the gathered stallions and shook his head
“This is suicide. You do realize how slim the chances of success are, do you?”
“Does that mean you'll stay?” asked Shining Armor.
“Of course I'm going! I'd rather die trying then stay here!”
Shining Armor smiled weakly “Good, I'm glad. That means I can still keep an eye on you.”
“It's like you told me back then,” said Soarin, as he stood in front of Spitfire “I'll protect you, you'll protect me. I know I wasn't too useful so far, but I'll get you out of it, I promise.”
He turned back and made a few steps, but stopped and looked at her face once again. He gulped and scratched his head before saying.
“Spitfire, I... I always wanted to tell you...” he stopped and shook his head “no, that can wait. Wish me luck, buddy!”
“Mac,” said Applejack, as she approached her brother while he was walking away with packed saddlebags “yer goin' to Everfree, right?”
Big Macintosh nervously looked left and right, then sighed “Eyup.”
“Then Ah'm going as well!”
“Nope,” he stopped her with a hoof “yer needed here more. If anythin' happens to me...”
“Don't ya dare finish that sentence!”
“Ah know, sorry,” he gently patted her head “Ah'll be back in no time, Ah promise.”
Without warning, Applejack hugged her brother tightly. He hugged her back.
“Doctor, I know this face,” said Ditzy, as she approached the brown stallion “you're going to fight Nightmare Moon, aren't you?”
Doctor scratched his back “Weeeeell, I wouldn't use the 'f' word here. No, that doesn't sound quite right.”
“I'm coming with you.”
To anybody seeing her for the first time, Ditzy Do seemed like a very silly pony. Those who knew her better recognized her as a smart and dependable pony who kept getting back on her hooves despite many hardships. Doctor knew her even better and she knew him better then anypony else in the entire world. He couldn't wish for a better companion.
“Sorry, you can't. Not this time.”
“Doctor, you can't go there alone!”
“Ditzy, years ago I would've dragged you on any crazy adventure with me, but not today.” he pointed behind her. A little, scared unicorn filly looked at them from a distance. Ditzy sighed and looked at the ground. She knew she couldn't rationalize leaving her daughter alone, while she got on a dangerous mission that she could not return from.
“She needs you a lot more then I. Besides, I won't be alone there. Sure, they're not nearly as amazing as you are, but they're still pretty good anyway.”
He passed Ditzy and walked toward Dinky. He patter her head and smiled at her.
“Dinky, I need you to protect your mom while I'm away. Can you do that for me?”
Before Dinky responded, she threw herself at him and tightly grabbed him with both hooves.
“Please come back soon!”
“I will, Dinky. I will.”
Thunderlane found his little brother where he expected him to be. He was standing near Blossomforth, holding back his tears and carefully watching over her.
“Hey, big guy.” said Thunderlane as he moved toward Rumble. He tried to sound as positive as possible, forcing a smile, but failing miserably to look relaxed.
“Hey...” asked Rumble as he faced his big brother “...Will Blossom be ok?”
“Now there's a silly question? Of course she will!” answered Thunderlane, as he put a hoof over his shoulder “In fact, I'll go and make sure of it myself!”
“You're leaving?”
“Just for a day or two. I'll be back once we get this done with.”
“B-but...” before he could continue, Thunderlane quickly interrupted him.
“Rumble, I need your help with something! Can I count on you?” upon saying that, Rumble stopped on his track and looked at him curiously “While I'm gone, I need you to keep Blossom... no, entire Ponyville safe! I know that's a lot to ask, but it's really important and I can't think of anypony more suited for that job! In fact, why don't you stay with Mayor in her house? You know how she can be, somepony needs to keep her calm. I know you're scared, but I believe in you. And I need you to believe in me as well!”
Rumble looked at his brother. He wiped his face and made a wide, confident grin, then nodded.
“Ok! I'll do my best!”
“Atta boy!”
Shining Armor didn't have much preparing to do, if only because he had nothing with him to begin with. He waited for others at the road leading to Everfree Forest. In the distance, on a mountain range, despite the darkness, he could still see Canterlot Castle. Only about half hour passed since the attack, most ponies in Canterlot probably still didn't know what happened and keep wondering what's taking Princess Celestia so long to raise the sun. Eventually the panic would ensue- without Princess and Captain of Royal Guards, the city could fall into riots and mass hysteria, leaving other guards job to keep the streets safe even harder. He wondered what Twilight was doing. It was very late, most days she would either sleep or stay longer to study, but today was Summer Sun Celebration, so she probably had a small party with her friends. He really wished he was there with her, if only so he could keep her calm. Or rather, keep himself calm. He never experienced anything like Nightmare Moon's spells before and dreaded the time they meet again. If Elements of Harmony won't work... no, they will! He took a deep breath and kept waiting.
Finally, after saying all the goodbyes and preparing for the journey, six stallions faced the entrance to the magical forest. Prince Blueblood gulped and lead the way.
“I'll save you, aunt...” he said to himself quietly “...it's a promise!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.023 seconds
Total duration
619 users online
947,158 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab221/Strangeblades/This-Pleases-Me.jpg
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkayZJiGG-NIe-LH0lAGOnOIv0yKa_A0zg3Uh6vpufw7m_O5YnVQ
being double crossed like that by your best friend, wow, that is a reason to be a bitter asshole
Let's see...
Soarin is Laughter(kinda obvious)
Big Mac: Generosity
Thunderlane: Honesty?
Blueblood: ?
Shining Armor: Loyality maybe
Doctor; ?
And so it begins!
Time to see if Big Macintosh, Soarin, Thunderlane, Doctor, and Shining Armor can put up with the Prince, or if Blueblood manages to pull a 180 and draws closer to the others.
I have a feeling the next chapter is going to be super entertaining!
Blueblood: Magic
Shining: Honesty
Big Mac: Generosity
Doctor: Laughter
Soarin: Loyalty
Thunderlane: Kindness
If I'm lucky, this will be 50% accurate.
3040925
Well, the prince's character thus far shows the most parallels to Twilight. And, as we have seen, he needs to be drugged out of his mind to approach the level of kindness needed to be- er, kindness.
That would leave him magic, and the Doctor kindness.
Addendum: Though I think kindness and generosity might be switched.
Shining: Honesty
Soarin: Laughter
Doctor: Kindness
Big Mac: Generosity
Thunderlane: Loyalty
BlueBlood: Magic
3040925>>3041117>>3041163 So far none of you guessed it all, at best you got 50%. That's all I'm saying
3041029 Crap, I planned next chapter to be boring
Gotta change that right away 
I disappoint...I expected Nightmare Moon to be different from what she was in the show
3041376 Well, she's more direct, so that's something
3041259
No worries, I'm eager to read what happens next whether it's exciting or not. :-)
Blueblood - Magic (only other unicorn, plus the obvious Twilight surrogate)
Shining Armor - Honesty (who could possibly be be honesty other than the stallion who declared he'd punch Celestia in the face?)
Less certain about the others.
Soarin - Laughter?
Thunderlane - Kindness?
The Doctor - Generosity? (who is more generous than the Doctor?)
Big Mac - Loyalty?
Blueblood ~ Magic
Shining Armor ~ Laughter
Soarin ~ Honesty
Doctor ~ Generosity
Thunderlane ~ Loyalty
Big Mac ~ Kindness
Blueblood - Magic (only other unicorn, plus has a strong enough reason to be it)
Shining Armor - Honesty (who could possibly be be honesty other than the stallion who declared he'd punch Celestia in the face?)
The Doctor - Loyalty (who would destroy a planet for you)
Soarin - Laughter (kinda obvious with shrugging things off with a laugh)
Big Mac - Generosity (only one left I didn't put together)
Thunderlane - Kindness (trying to spare his brother pain )
of course I am not set on these as long as I here why the would reserve said elements I'm sure that we will see plenty of reasons why in the next chapter so I can wait
Good luck and best wish
Oh, did you ever think of a name?
I find it funny that people are automatically assuming Blueblood will be the element of magic just because of the fact that he has none of the tangible elements of harmony.
3044317 The assumption is more meta, in my opinion. We all know who the focus character is and so far nothing in the story indicates that anypony else would be Magic instead. Especially since I mentioned that Shining Armor is a very weak magician, aside from OP shields.
...consarn it, I'm making theories about my own story again
Blueblood -Magic
Shining Armor - Generosity
Soarin - Honesty
Doctor - loyalty
Thunderlane - Laughter
Big Mac -Kindness
Shining: Honesty .For his comment of throbbing to celestia.
Soarin: Generosity .Not many persons cover you with your chief while you play with your girlfriend (marefriend)
Doctor: Laughter . doctor who
Big Mac: Kindness .To be the strong mas of ponyville, it does not presume it for anything enclosed is shy on it.
Thunderlane: Loyalty .It is loyal to his friends though they esten strolling around if it is not a loyalty not what is.
BlueBlood: Magic
3046029
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, let me apologise in advance- but to me, "throbbing to Celestia" sounds vaguely dirty XD
3044336
Perfectly true. However, what if the bearer of the Element of Magic doesn't have to be an accomplished caster? After all, it's the magic of friendship that links all the others together, and Shining Armor has fulfilled that role admirably. Better than Blueblood, at any rate, who almost succeeded in uniting them against himself. Twilight's skill with (caster) magic could be a red herring in this particular case!
On the other hand, I was sure Celestia would make some effort to let her nephew know about Nightmare Moon's arrival, so there's a more than fifty percent chance that y'all can watch me merrily theorising myself off a cliff^^
Incidentally, upon re-reading their first meeting with the Doctor, I found
We all just missed that before! Huh.
3047379 I think I'm gonna end my editing with searching for word "hand" everytime I'm done, just to be extra sure
And why is everyone so bent on assuming that Celestia knew about Nightmare Moon? I stated it clearly that she wasn't expecting it. She's not perfect (estabilished in chapter 2).
I do like the theory of Magic not being a casting ability, but rather being able to unite people/ponies around one person. Will Blueblood learn that skill? We shall see.
...by which I mean you will see, cause I already know the answer
Shining: loyalty
Blueblood: magic
soarin: laughter
doctor: Generousity... I think..
thunderlane:kindness?
big mac:honesty
3041163
I think that's it. The characterization from the story makes sense.
Shining says what he thinks and feels, even if that gets him into trouble, Soarin is the comedy relief, Big Mac and the apples are constantly helping others, (but I guess kindness could work for him too) Thunderlane sticks up for his teammates even when they slack off, Blueblood is the main protagonist and the only other unicorn, and the doctor is mysterious, but he helps people all the time.
I wonder what Lott gave him for his birthday? Still, what a jerk! Drugging him, using him, and stealing. Some friend.
I re-read up to this point trying to keep count of everyone Blueblood brings to tears and I think this was the last one. *Ahem!*
)
-Little Filly in Ch. 1,
-Shining Armor on the train,
-Blossomforth when they spoke, (At least, Shining said she was crying and pleading, I think)
-Pinkie Pie at the early end of the party,
-Princess Celestia after they argued,
-Himself, as you probably just read.
(Story not being concluded at time of typing, I'll try to keep count for more.
It's shorter than I'd have guessed, but it still makes me think his special talent might be making ponies cry, signified by a pointy compass rose because having one of those lodged in an eyeball brings tears, I'm sure.
Very much enjoying the tale, by the way.
Aww damn. Shit's about to get real, son!
Soarins easy. Laughter unless you count his being very generous with his fan fillies. I'd say big Mac is honesty simply due to his being almost brutally up front with shining. The doctor was a harder one. Is say compassion if he follows the proper doctor. I expect Bb is magic. Thunderlane I would expect is loyalty mostly for putting up with tbd. Shining is the toughest. He displays compassion loyalty and generosity.