Fulfilling

by PegasusMesa

Ch 10: In Which Luna Despairs, the Elements Fail, and a New Challenger Appears

"Hurry, Twilight!" Luna shouted. "We must make haste!".

"Sorry!" the other alicorn apologized, panting hard. "I'm trying...*gasp*... my best!"

Finally, after what seemed like hours to the desperate Luna, they landed at the cottage. The dark princess smiled when she saw that everything was as it should be, but her feelings of relief immediately vanished as Rarity appeared, a panicked look on her face.

"I was just leaving a note for you!" she said frantically. "Fluttershy—that thing got Fluttershy! Her eyes were green, and her voice wasn't normal, and—and—she just flew off!"

"Which way?" Luna's body grew darker by the second; her tone of voice and expression assured everypony that now was not the time to hinder her.

"That way," Rarity said, pointing west. The princess spread her wings and, with a single powerful stroke, shot off without even saying farewell.

"I knew it! I knew it was after somepony else!" Twilight prepared to follow Luna, but first turned to her unicorn friend. "I'm going to follow her. You should stay here, just in case Fluttershy comes back."

"But I—" Rarity paused mid-argument. "I understand. Please, bring them both back!"

"Don't worry, she'll be alright." And then Twilight, too, was gone.

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An observing pony would have only seen a blur as Luna pursued the thing that had taking her Fluttershy.

My Fluttershy? she thought with a mental chuckle; she brushed the moment of levity aside and pushed herself even harder. How could I have been so stupid? I should have stayed with my friends... to protect them if that thing went after them! And look what happened!

Finally, she spied a tall cliff, upon which stood the canary-yellow pony that Luna sought. Clods of dirt flew as the alicorn's hooves skidded on the ground.

"Hello again," the specter snarled through its host's mouth.

"Release that pony this instant," Luna commanded. Her mane flowed directly upward, taking the appearance of a bright blue bonfire that licked angrily at the sky.

"No, I don't think I ssshall." Fluttershy's legs began to walk backwards, taking her towards the edge.

"Stop!" It means to take her off the cliff! "Take... We shall allow thee to enter Our mind. That is thy goal, is it not?"

"You think me a fool?" It let out a hissing breath. "I'm aware that you can ssstill repel me, after I leave thisss body and before I enter yoursss." The heels of the yellow mare's back legs hung over the edge—one more step, and she would be gone.

Luna moved to her last resort and lashed out with magic, hoping to catch the pegasus and drag her back onto firmer ground. However, the specter clearly expected this, because it instantly jumped backwards. Gravity took effect and Fluttershy fell.

"No!" The princess was off the cliff in an instant, straining herself to catch up to the falling mare. Her panic increased when the specter grinned evilly and flapped the pegasus's wings, speeding up its own descent. No, no, no! I'm not going to make it! She's going to die right in front of me! As Luna's spirit broke, so too did the integrity of the spell that kept her thoughts safe from intrusion.

The monster sensed her moment of despair right as it happened. Its green eyes shot open and bore into the defeated mare's, allowing it to finally take what it deserved.

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Normally, Rainbow Dash didn't travel this far away from Ponyville, but for some reason, she felt particularly adventurous that day. With the wind blowing through her mane, she admired the surrounding scenery as it shot by underneath her.

Just as she contemplated whether or not she should head home for a bit of shut-eye, she noticed something very small and very yellow falling quickly, with another thing akin to a blue bullet falling after it. She strained her eyes and saw that the "things" were Fluttershy and Luna. Now, Rainbow wasn't the most mathematically inclined pony ever born, but anything even slightly related to flying, such as falling, was second nature to her. Thus, she could easily tell that Luna wasn't going to be able to get to Fluttershy in time to save her.

Time for the Dashinator to shine! the pegasus thought, putting all of her effort into reaching her friend before it was too late. It's going to be close... The blue mare pushed herself even harder, straining for just a few extra inches. Just as Fluttershy was about to hit the ground, Rainbow got her forelegs under the falling mare and pulled her in close. Unfortunately, even though the athletic pegasus strained to stay airborne, her friend's downward momentum pushed them both into the ground. In order to protect the less-hardy pony from further injury, Rainbow made sure that she was the one hitting the ground instead of her delicate cargo. They rolled for a number of yards before finally coming to a stop. For her part, Luna managed to spread her wings and drastically slowed her own descent, but she still landed heavily. She skidded a distance on her stomach before coming to a complete halt.

"Yeowch, that's going to hurt tomorrow," Rainbow muttered, surprised that she had gotten away with only bruises. The princess, on the other hand, didn't look nearly as well. She had risen almost immediately and staggered around with a drunken gait. "Hey, Luna, you alright?"

"Gah!" the princess gasped, head turning to look at the other mare. "Stay... away!" Her eyes flashed green, then back to white. Her gaze snapped over to where Fluttershy lay—at first the pegasus was immobile, but Luna's eyes widened and teared up when the yellow mare stirred and gave a quiet groan. "She's fine...I am gladduungh!" Another burst of green light shot forth from her skull, and she spread her wings to take flight. Luna wobbled in mid-air, seemingly unable to maintain a stable flight, but it wasn't enough to ground her. Soon, she was out of sight.

"Fluttershy! Rainbow!" Twilight had finally caught up, panting heavily. "Are you two alright?"

"I'll live, but Luna didn't look so good."

"That thing... it got her, didn't it?" the purple alicorn asked with a frown.

"What thing?"

"That... specter thing, that she was hunting. Did her eyes turn green?"

Rainbow recalled the emerald light that had emitted from Luna's head. "For a little bit, yeah, but they changed back to normal."

"Just a little bit?" Twilight put a hoof to her chin as she pondered what that meant. "Could she be fighting it? I guess if anypony could, it would be her."

"Uuungh..." Fluttershy groaned, eyes slowly opening. "What..."

"Fluttershy!" The two other mares crowded around her and began to ply the groggy pony with questions. "Does anything hurt? Are you alright?"

"I... I think I might have a bruise on my back...And my head hurts..." She glanced at Twilight and frowned. "Um, sorry if I'm wrong, but weren't you with Luna? Where is she? And... where are we?"

Rainbow sighed and rubbed her forehead wearily. "You better sit down; you aren't gonna like this."

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Rarity paced back and forth outside Fluttershy's cottage, nervously wondering what could be taking so long. It's been nearly an hour... I hope they're alright!

Suddenly, three specks appeared in the sky, growing larger by the second, and the unicorn breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her three friends. However, her relaxation fizzled when the specks approached and became recognizable—Rainbow had joined them, and Luna was missing.

"Fluttershy!" As soon as they landed, Rarity threw herself forward and hugged the pegasus tightly. "I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Don't cry over me," Fluttershy said in a subdued voice, patting the crying mare on the back awkwardly. "I'm not worth worrying about anyway..."

"Why do you say that, dear? And also, where did Luna go? She's alright, isn't she?"

A dark mood filled the atmosphere, and Rarity realized that she had said something wrong. Fluttershy looked at the ground and walked away slowly.

"We think Luna gave herself up to save Fluttershy," Twilight said in a soft voice. "By the time Rainbow and I were there, the specter was already in Luna's head, and I can't think of any other reason for how it could get past her defenses."

"And the poor dear blames herself, I suppose," Rarity said. "Very well, I know what I must do." The unicorn marched over to where Rainbow and Fluttershy stood.

"Hey, cheer up, it's not your fault—" the blue pony began, but she didn't get a chance to finish.

"Fluttershy, right now is no time to be feeling sorry for yourself." The two pegasi looked at Rarity in shock. "If you really must, then there will be time for that later—after we've saved Luna."

"But... but I—"

"Tell me, do you really think moping is going to help her?"

"I—I don't know what to do!" Fluttershy cried. "What can little, weak Fluttershy do to help if even Luna wasn't strong enough?!"

"Howdy!" shouted Applejack, trudging down the road with a wooden chest in tow, Pinkie close behind. "Rarity, I got them!"

"Here's what you can do," Rarity said. "You can come with us. While you were gone, I sent Applejack and Pinkie to acquire the Elements of Harmony from the library. They saved Luna once before, so there's no reason they can't do it now."

Twilight gave an impressed whistle. "That was very insightful of you."

"Yes, I can be rather resourceful, can't I?" The unicorn flipped her mane over to the other side of her neck. "What do you say, Fluttershy? You can apologize to her when she's safe and sound, can't you?"

Fluttershy blinked the tears out of her eyes and let a tremulous smile spread across her face. "Yes, I can... thank you."

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In a small copse of trees, Luna fell to the ground, panting heavily. "Get... out of... my head..." she gasped.

"But I find that I quite like it here," the specter said through her mouth. A green haze encroached on her vision, and she could tell that the battle would soon be over.

"I...said... get out!" A final burst of willpower nearly forced the monster from her head, but as Luna's temporary surge left her, she knew that she had lost her last chance.

"You lossse..." Her eyesight slowly faded, until she knew nothing but darkness. "YESsss!" the specter screamed in triumph. The princess's body stood tall, at last fully under its new master's control. "Now nothing sshall stand againsst me!"

A small bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the sky and struck Luna on the back, causing the creature to hiss in pain. Its head snapped around to look up, where it saw the rapidly retreating Twilight Sparkle.

"Little fool... I sshall end you for thisss!" In the blink of an eye, it was in fast pursuit.

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Twilight made a quick landing back at the cottage, where her friends finished the preparations. "Is everypony ready?" she asked. A number of affirmatives rang out from their various hiding places. "Alright, good, because here she comes!"

Along the way, the specter had pulled a boulder out of the ground, and now lobbed it in Twilight's direction. The projectile soared towards her at a high velocity, but missed when the young alicorn jumped to the side. The dark princess landed awkwardly and pawed at the ground.

"To challenge my might all by yoursself..." the beast taunted. "Brave, but sstupid."

"Luna..." Fluttershy emerged from behind a tree and trotted forward to stand beside Twilight. "Luna, can you hear me?"

"Your dear princessss is sssleeping, I fear..."

The pegasus ignored it. "Please, try to fight it. Come back to us."

The specter took a step forward, but noticeably trembled. "Sstop that! I'll destroy you where you sstand!"

"Good job," Twilight whispered to her friend. A purple aura enveloped her horn as she stealthily began to cast a spell. "Keep her occupied, for just a little longer."

"I—I know it's my fault, that you're like this," Fluttershy continued in a quiet voice. "But please come back. I'm sorry, for everything. I won't be jealous anymore, I promise!"

The specter stumbled and nearly fell to the ground; the green in its eyes faded. "Fl—Fluttershy?" came Luna's normal voice.

"Luna!"

"Ok, it's ready!" Twilight said. "Now!" She completed her spell, and a vast number of magical tendrils flew out of the ground at Luna's feet. They wrapped themselves around her and tightened, holding her down. The beast roared in fury as the princess's eyes once more became fully green.

Pinkie leaped from a tree and landed on top of a giant cannon, that had been somehow concealed until that very moment. Her expression was completely blank—it was the one she had worn immediately after returning from the mountains. "Parate..." she started calmly, "...PARTYCANNONBLASTTOTHEFACE!" Her face grew wild as she pressed a large button and a massive wad of pink gum slapped onto the restrained princess.

"The Elements!" Twilight cried. "Hurry, before she gets free!"

The rest of the element-bearers galloped into the open and gathered around Luna. The elements began to glow, a clear signal that the ritual had begun.

"IGNORANT FLESH-BAGSsss!" the specter shrieked. Luna's horn unleashed a wave of crackling power that vaporized both Twilight's spell and Pinkie's gum. "I have all of Luna'ss memoriesss! You think I don't know how to defeat the Elementss?" One moment, the alicorn stood still, shaking the remnants of the cannon's payload from her mane. The next, she loomed tall over Applejack. "You cannot usse them if one of you is misssing, can you?" The dark princess placed her horn against Applejack's forehead; a burst of magic blinded all of the ponies, and when they could see again, Applejack had disappeared.

"What did you do with her?!" Pinkie demanded angrily. She quickly reloaded her party cannon.

"Fear not, I merely sssent her sssomeplacce where ssshe cannot interfere."

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The first thing Applejack felt was a cold wind that made her cheeks feel numb. She opened her eyes and looked around, instantly recognizing the surrounding buildings. She had been sent to the Crystal Empire. Almost as instantly, she noticed that she also stood on top of the highest spire of the Crystal Empire's castle, nearly three-hundred yards in the air.

"Oh, horseapples."

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"You ssshould not worry about your friend. Insstead, conccern yoursselvesss with your own livess." The specter stalked forward slowly, a charge building up on Luna's horn. However, right as it appeared ready to release a devastating spell, the princess's legs hesitated, then rooted themselves to the ground. "Curssse you, you annoying cow!" the monster yelled.

"It's Luna again!" Twilight shouted.

Like before, the alicorn's eyes cleared. "I...can hold it back..." Luna gasped through clenched teeth. "...But only for a few more minutes...run... get away!"

"Can't you use your mind-shield spell to get rid of the specter?" Rarity asked.

"Nnn...no, not while...nngh... it has itself wrapped... around my very being..."

"We won't abandon you!" Fluttershy said passionately.

"She's right!" Rainbow added. "We'll do whatever it takes to get that thing out!"

"Then... run..." the princess repeated. "Get... my sister..."

"Actually... that's not a terrible idea," Twilight admitted.

"Twilight?!"

"Think about it," the younger alicorn said. "Without Applejack, we can't use the elements, and I'm sure as hay not strong enough to beat Luna. Princess Celestia might be our only hope."

The rest of the mares grudgingly agreed, and almost as one, they turned and dashed away—only Fluttershy paused before leaving.

"Luna..." she said sadly, "...I'll save you. Don't worry."

"Thank... you... Oh, and I... heard what you said... before..."

"What do you mean?"

"When you said you were... ah, I cannot keep this up for much longer... You said you were sorry for everything."

"Oh, u-um, that, well, um—"

"I have never once—gah!— felt that there was anything for which you should be sorry."

"Luna..."

The princess's eyes flashed green, and her body began to tremble violently. "Flee! The beast is overtaking me once more!"

With that said, Fluttershy followed her friends, vowing to never give up until Luna was free again.

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Two hours later, the element bearers, minus Applejack, congregated at the train station.

"Here's what I think is the best plan," Twilight told her friends. "While you four go to Canterlot and speak with Princess Celestia, I'll hunt down Applejack."

"Why are you going alone?" Rainbow asked. "Two of use would cover a lot more ground, right?"

"I have a spell that'll point me right to her," the alicorn replied. "It won't take me very long at all."

Rarity raised a hoof to indicate that she had a query. "What should we tell the princess when we get there?"

"Good question!" The other mares rolled their eyes as Twilight fell into "teacher mode". "Tell her everything you know, then help her think up some type of strategy. She'll definitely know what to do."

A loudspeaker overhead announced an arrival. "Now arriving, the Crystal Express! All passengers leaving for Canterlot, please wait until the train comes to a complete stop before boarding!" The train pulled in and halted with a loud hiss.

"This is your train, girls," Twilight said. "Don't worry, I'll catch up as soon as I get AJ!"

"Be careful," Fluttershy said, worry etched into her face. "Last time we split up, it—it didn't go very well."

"Well then, y'all better not be splittin' up again, Ah reckon." The train door had opened to reveal Applejack, standing confidently with a smug expression.

"Applejack!"

"You're alright!"

"How did you get here?"

"Whatever spell that thing used on me sent me straight for the Crystal Empire," the earth pony explained. "And Ah figured, as long as Ah was in the neighborhood, Ah might as well recruit some help."

A second pony, appearing as would a goddess from the days of yore, stepped forth from inside the train car and cracked her neck in preparation. Light-pink hooves crashed down onto the platform, sending a chill down everypony's spine.

"I'm here to kick flank and rule some crystal ponies," Princess Mi Amore Cadenza said with a wicked grin, "and I'm all out of crystal."

Elsewhere in Equestria, somepony was playing a sick guitar riff.

Author's Note:

Weedly weedly deedly weedle weedle deedle weedlydeedlydeedly waaaaaaaaaooo

*Smashes guitar on stage*

*Leaves*

This is Randy the Guitarist, and this... is his subplot.

Comments

[Darkflash]

dat ending! I can't wait for more!!!

[PrincessLunaTheGamer]

Dat ending. I feel I should put a picture but instead of 'Dat ass' put 'dat ending'. Because this story deserves it's own gif! And we all imagined Cadence coming off the train as if she was in some action movie, cheesy line, and awesome guitar playing.

[nemryn]

This is great.