The Return of Redemption
Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
The Return of Redemption
Empress Nightmare Moon rubbed at her eyes. She had been having another very vivid dream. Having woken up, she couldn’t quite remember all the details. As she heard noises coming outside her throne room, she shook off the uneasy feelings and faced forward with a cold yet regal glare. The alarms had sounded off earlier, and she was looking forward to punishing the fools who would dare steal from her.
Her loyal servant Spell-Sword Twilight Sparkle stepped into her throne room with the three troublemakers floating behind her in her magic. A light-green coated unicorn stallion without a mane or tail, an earth stallion with a white coat and dark green hair, and lastly an earth filly with a white coat and a pink mane and tail. The filly’s pigtails in her mane bounced a little as the filly kept giggling.
Twilight Sparkle bowed before her queen. “I have captured the fools who dared to think they could steal from you, Your Majesty.”
“You have done well Spell-Sword Sparkle,” Empress Nightmare Moon said. The two stallions both raised their heads to look at the High Queen, and she took silent enjoyment at seeing the fear in their eyes. For they stared up at Nightmare Moon, Mistress of Darkness and Fear, Princess of the Night, High Queen of Lunacy, and Empress of the Lunar Kingdom. Her midnight-black coat was cold as ice, her flowing magical mane twinkled like the stars in the sky, her royal regalia shined brightly, her horn glowed with incredible power, and her draconic eyes blazed with infinite wisdom. Nightmare Moon was very proud of her fearsome appearance.
Nightmare Moon smirked. “Well, well. You three have caused me quite a bit of trouble tonight. Breaking into my palace and then my Vault, all to steal such a tiny crystal.” Her gaze focused on Sparkle. “My Spell-Sword, tell me who these ponies are.”
“Of course, my Queen,” Spell-Sword Sparkle said reverently. “The unicorn is Lucky Leaves, a former student at Nightmare Moon’s School for Gifted Mages and the ‘mastermind’ of this foolish attempt to steal from you. The earth pony is Jokey Joey, a standup comedian for Discord’s Chaotic Comedy Club.”
Nightmare Moon smirked. “An unusual paring to say the absolute least. And the filly?”
Spell-Sword Sparkle frowned at the filly. “Unknown. There is no record of her. What’s interesting is that while she helped the other two, she happily surrendered without a fight even though they resisted.
The filly giggled as the Spell-Sword stopped levitating her. “Well of course I tagged along! It just wouldn’t be fair, little Lucky and Joey doing something fun without me! But truthfully I wanted the opportunity to speak with you, Your Moony-ness.”
Nightmare Moon stared down at her. “Here’s your opportunity. Speak.”
Lucky stared at the filly with unease. “Something’s wrong.”
The filly circled around Lucky, Joey, and the Spell-Sword. “I just wanted to see what you did. And you didn’t disappoint.”
“What are you talking about?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“Oh, that’s for me to know and you to find out,” the filly said, still giggling.
Spell-Sword Sparkle frowned. “Enough games. Who are you?”
The filly grinned evilly. “Let’s just say I’m part of something much bigger.”
“Explain,” Spell-Sword Sparkle demanded.
The filly giggled. “Where’s the fun in that? I’d hate to spoil anything.” The filly chuckled and walked away from them.
Nightmare Moon frowned. “Get back here.”
The filly smirked. “No thanks. I have what I came here for anyway. Farewell Nightie, it’ll be a while before you see me again.”
“I said, get back here little pony!” Nightmare Moon sternly ordered.
“Who said I was a pony?” The creature's giggling turned into mad laughter as she disappeared from the room.
Nightmare Moon’s wings flared open in shock. “Where did she go?! Spell-Sword, find here!”
Spell-Sword Sparkle bowed. “At once my Queen,” she said before she teleported out of the room to begin her search for the filly, leaving the two stallions behind.
Nightmare Moon turned to face Lucky and Joey. “As for you two, what were you hoping to accomplish by doing all this?”
“Do you even need to ask?” Lucky growled. “We will use the power of the Summer Sun crystal to take back what is rightfully ours! Everfree and our sun belong to us!”
Nightmare Moon stood up from her throne and walked down towards them. “I considered you an intelligent stallion, but perhaps I was mistaken. We cannot take back our old home. You should know that by now.”
“Why not?” Joey asked.
Nightmare Moon frowned in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? The sun can no longer be controlled with our magic. The Pink Demon destroyed our old home. We have nothing left on that dead planet. But here, on this lunar soil, we are safe.”
“I know my history fine!” Lucky snapped. “You could have defeated the Trickster but you didn’t! You gave up!”
“Tread carefully mortal,” Nightmare Moon warned. “The Demon was unlike anything your puny mind could comprehend. I fought the Pink One with everything I had but-”
“No you didn’t! If you had, the other Elements would still be here! You abandoned them, our home, Luna, the-”
But Lucky had gone too far. The Queen’s magical mane flowed out and lunged at Lucky, tangling itself around his neck. Nightmare Moon’s mane pulled the struggling stallion up to met her furious gaze.
She spoke to Lucky, her tone as cold as ice. “You foal. Your attempt to steal from me could have been forgiven. But your accusations cannot. You DARE to insult the memory of my friends and my mother? The Elements of Redemption were great heroes. And Luna, may she be forever blessed, was greater than you or I will ever be. For these insults, I imprison you.” Nightmare Moon’s horn sparked and teleported both Lucky and Joey to the deepest and darkest levels of the palace dungeons. Nightmare Moon growled and stepped back up to her throne, settling back down in it. “Nexus!”
Immediately a blue unicorn stallion with a white mane and tail hurried forward and bowed before his queen. “Yes, Your Glorious Majesty?”
“What other surprises need sorting out today?” Nightmare Moon asked.
“I believe the two thieves were the only pressing matters for today Empress. Other than that annoyance, tonight is shaping up to be a beautiful new night.”
Nightmare Moon nodded. “Wonderful. That stallion’s insults against my old friends have left me in a bad mood. Unless there is more important business I shall visit the Lunacy Schoolhouse. The children there have always made me happy.”
The servant smiled. “Oh, you have just reminded me, Your Majesty. The school children are actually visiting the palace today. Their instructor previously planned a field trip for them to visit the palace Garden of Shadows.”
Nightmare Moon smiled. “Good. I will take my leave then.”
Nightmare Moon flew to the entrance of her Garden of Shadows before she folded her wings and gently touched down. The teacher and students from the Lunacy Schoolhouse were already there.
“Come along everyone. Right this way,” the teacher said. She was a gamboge-coated unicorn with an orange-gamboge mane and tail.
Nightmare Moon spoke up. “Gari! Lovely to see you again.”
Gari jumped at Nightmare Moon’s voice and turned around to face her. “Your Majesty! You startled me there,” Gari said as she bowed before the High Queen.
Nightmare Moon smiled gently. “My apologies, I did not mean to scare you.” She then turned to face the students. “This must be the new moon’s class.”
“Yes, Your Glorious Majesty,” Gari said. Gari took the time to introduce each of the new students to their High Queen. While she talked, Nightmare Moon spotted another student hiding at the back of the group. She was a zebra, but what was unusual about this child was that she had blue and black stripes instead of white and black stripes. She stared at Nightmare Moon with eyes that seemed very familiar.
“And that’s everyone,” Gari said as she finished introducing the kids. Strangely, she hadn’t given the blue zebra’s name.
Nightmare Moon and Gari spent the next hour watching over the children as they played within the Garden of Shadows. Once playtime was over, Gari called them all back and led them to the center of the garden.
“Okay kids. How many of you know the history of our lunar kingdom?” Gari asked aloud. The kids exchanged glances and shrugs. The blue zebra raised her hoof and asked, “Does it explain why we’re on the moon?”
Gari smiled. “It does indeed.” She glanced at Nightmare Moon. “May I?” Nightmare Moon nodded and Gari began the story.
“I still remember it the same way my grandmother, Gari the First, told me. Our rise as a Lunar Empire began during the last days of the Crystal Empire. Our brave queen Nightmare Moon, still a mortal back then, fought against the monstrous Pink One. The Demon tried to place Nightmare Moon under the same curse that had befallen the other Elements of Forgiveness. But the Demon foolishly returned Nightmare Moon’s horn and wings. With her power restored, Nightmare Moon resisted the Demon’s curse and battled her.
“Their battle was legendary. But the dark power of the Pink One was too great for the mortal Moon. And so our Empress performed a spell to cast aside her mortality and ascend to become a true alicorn: the Goddess-Empress of All Darkness.
“With her true power unleashed, Nightmare Moon banished the Demon to the far side of the planet. But the damage had been done. Not much of our once beautiful land remained and our Queen knew that the Pink One would not rest until everything was destroyed. And so our dear Empress took on her new status as the sole ruler of our kingdom, since all other rulers had fallen under the Demon’s curse. She then took every citizen of our kingdom and moved us here on the moon so that we would form our own lunar empire.
“That was many years ago. Since then our Empress has protected our lunar kingdom. By her magic, we feel warmth from the distant stars as our crops flourish. Our Empress controls the lunar gravity, and the very air we breathe. By her power, we live and thrive on the lunar soil.”
Nightmare Moon observed the students as she heard Gari retell her story. Defeated the Pink One, became High Queen-Empress, built a new kingdom on the moon, etcetera, etcetera. After several years of her rule, the old legend was one she had heard a thousand times; though the kids’ reactions always made the story new. When Gari finished the students cheered and praised their Goddess-Empress, just as they always did.
But there was one abnormality. The blue zebra child stood apart from the group, staring at Nightmare Moon. The blue zebra nodded and walked away from them.
Curious, Nightmare Moon told the Lunacy Schoolhouse students to go off and play while she attended to other matters. She followed the blue zebra to the very edge of the garden where the child sat, staring up at the sky.
The blue zebra smiled as she glanced at the queen. “It’s nice to see you Nightmare Moon.”
Nightmare Moon tilted her head as she observed the odd girl. “Nice to see you too.”
The blue zebra looked back at the night sky. In particular, she stared at Nightmare Moon’s former home. Even from there, Nightmare Moon could still see the churning pink clouds of chaotic energy as the Demon continued to destroy their old planet.
The blue zebra spoke up. “I understand that Pinkamania conquered our old kingdom. But what happened to the sun?”
Nightmare Moon frowned lightly. “The Demon stole that from us too.”
The blue zebra nodded. “…Ever wonder about the stars?”
Nightmare Moon sighed. “Well…Luna, may she be forever praised, once told me that some stars are the suns of distant worlds, so very far away.”
The blue zebra stared at Nightmare Moon. “You really care about Luna.” It wasn’t a question.
Nightmare Moon shut her eyes tight to prevent them from watering. “More than anything. It’s funny, when I was just a filly all I ever dreamed about was ruling a kingdom of eternal night. I have all that ever wanted…and yet all I can think about is what I lost: my home, my friends, and my dear mother.”
“What happened to them?” the blue zebra asked.
Nightmare Moon sighed. “They died. Destroyed by the Pink One.”
“Nope! You’re wrong!” the blue zebra said, grinning wide. “They’re alive!”
“What?” Nightmare Moon asked, being to grow angry. If this zebra was making fun of her…
The blue zebra cleared her throat and sang:
“Sun shines and Moon gleams
Owls awake!
Clap your hooves…”
“And give your wings a little shake,” Nightmare Moon finished with wide eyes. “How do you know that song?”
The blue zebra winked at her. “Follow me.” With that the blue zebra sprouted black wings and flew out of the garden.
Nightmare Moon stared at the zebra in shock before she quickly turned her body into magical mist and flew after the blue zebra as fast as she could. She flew out of the palace grounds, out of the capital city of Lunacy, out of the borders of the Lunar Kingdom, and far beyond any populated areas on the moon.
Suddenly, the blue zebra leapt high into the sky and vanished. Nightmare Moon slowed down and stopped at the spot where the zebra had disappeared. She changed back to her corporeal form and looked up at the sky.
There was the moon. Considering the fact that she was standing on the moon that should have been impossible, but she could clearly see another moon hanging above her in the sky.
“Moony…”
Nightmare Moon stared as bluish-black clouds formed around the other moon. On that moon, the image of Luna appeared.
“Moony, you have forgotten me…”
Nightmare Moon gasped. “No! I would never forget you.”
“You have forgotten who you are, and so you have forgotten me.”
“No! I remember who I am!” Nightmare Moon cried. “I remember you, my friends, my home!”
“Moony, you have forgotten that you are a guardian of dreams. Look around you Moony. You know this isn’t your home.”
“How can I go back though?” Nightmare Moon cried. “I wasn’t strong enough to beat Pinkie. I...I failed you.”
“Remember who you are. Remember what it meant to lose your cutie curse. You don’t fear the sun. You don’t fear Pinkie. You don’t fear fate. You are who you choose to be Moony. And you chose to be a student, a friend, a loving daughter…and a hero.”
Nightmare Moon stretched out her hoof and tapped the air, watching it wobble. "...This is a dream. Time to wake up,” Nightmare said. She charged her horn and shot a blast at the moon beneath her, causing her entire lunar kingdom to explode.
Nightmare gasped as she woke up from the dream. She grimaced as her eyes blinked rapidly and her mouth relaxed out of the grin it had been forced into.
“Moony. You’re awake.” Nightmare looked up to see Luna smiling down at her.
“Loony! You’re alive!” Nightmare stood up and tackled her mom into a hug.
After several minutes, Nightmare stepped out of the hug. “Mom, what happened?”
Luna’s expression turned serious. “Pinkie. She trapped you in an elaborate dream world, you and everyone else in Everfree. You’ve been asleep for about three weeks.”
“Three weeks?!” Nightmare exclaimed.
Luna paused in thought. “Well, maybe. Pinkie controls the sun and moon now so it’s actually hard to tell how many days have gone by.”
“If the Trickster has been putting people under her curse, how did you escape?” Nightmare asked.
Luna shrugged. “I have no idea. I hid from sight and somehow, Pinkie missed me entirely. Sorry for the zebra disguise and all that, but if Pinkie doesn’t know I’m here or that you’re awake then I think it helps to be stealthy right now.”
“Right.” Nightmare nodded as she continued to assess the situation. Her wings and horn were back. The Elements of Love and Knowledge were sitting next to her, that was good. She also noticed that she felt a little lighter and a lot colder. “Where are we?”
Luna chuckled. “Believe it or not, we’re in some kind of cave on the moon. Pinkie teleported you here and once I found you, I came here too.”
Nightmare’s eyes widened. “How are we still alive?”
“Well on the one hoof, we’re alicorns who have mastery over the moon. It makes sense that we could survive out here. On the other hoof, Pinkie’s magic might have been keeping you alive. Like Pinkie said before, she would never kill anyone.”
“Okay. What about my friends?” Nightmare asked.
“I’ve been tracking you all down. I found the other Element bearers and I tried to wake them from their sleep, but Pinkie’s spell is too strong. You’re the last one I found and because you too guard the dreams of ponies, we were able to combine our strength and free you,” Luna explained.
Nightmare nodded. “Okay, I know what to do now. Find my friends, wake them up, retrieve our Elements, and stop Pinkie.”
Luna smiled. “Simple enough. We better get back to Everfree.”
“Yes. Um…listen, if you saw anything weird in that dream…” Nightmare fidgeted uncomfortably.
“Relax, Moony. Dreams often never make much sense. There are some dream worlds I have visited, so bizarre that they resemble the Chaos Corner a little too much for comfort. Besides, that wasn’t the worst dream I’ve caught you having. Remember that one crazy dream you had when you were a filly?” Luna said as she smiled fondly.
Nightmare froze. “Don’t you dare bring that up!”
Luna grinned. “Aw, but it was such a nice ceremony…”
Nightmare blushed furiously. “Mom!”
“Here comes the bride!” Luna sang.
“Lies! That never happened!” Nightmare cried. “Now come on, let’s hurry up and save my friends!”
Luna, still chuckling, charged her horn and teleported them back home.
Nightmare grunted as she fell against the ground. “Careful Moony,” Luna warned. “You just spent weeks under the moon’s lighter gravity. You’ll need a bit of time to adapt back to normal, even with magic.”
“Don’t worry…I’m fine,” Nightmare grunted as she tried and failed to stand up. She spotted the Elements of Love and Knowledge lying next to her.
Luna said, “Your friends are all hidden away in different locations. I found Sunset Shimmer in an underground cavern, Trixie in a mountain cave, Gilda in the Chaos Corner’s basement, Chrysalis out in the Badlands, and Discord in the basement of your own library.”
“I can see why it took you so long to find us all,” Nightmare grunted. “The Trickster did a good job of separating us.”
“Not good enough,” Luna said, smirking proudly. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Luna teleported away and then reappeared with a hypnotized Trixie. She kept disappearing and reappearing until the other Element bearers were all lying in front of them.
Nightmare stared sadly at her friends, all of them with unblinking eyes and stretched grins. She paused and asked, “Where’s Smog. And King Sombra? What about Princess Twilight, and Diamond Tiara, and-”
“Moony,” Luna said gently. “Everyone in Peaceville and the Crystal Empire are under the same spell. It would take too long to wake them all up from inside their dreams. My hope is that once we reclaim the Elements of Redemption, their magic will stop Pinkie and free everyone.”
“Are you sure that will work?” Nightmare asked.
“It did before. Let’s get started then,” Luna said, indicating Nightmare’s friends. “Follow my lead.”
Luna’s horn glowed as her body transformed into a dark blue cloud of magic. Nightmare cast her own spell and the two clouds of energy swirled together before they descended into the dreams of Nightmare's friends.
Nightmare opened her eyes in the dream and immediately shut them again. “Argh! The light! It burns!”
Luna chuckled. “Oh stop it you. A little sunlight never hurt anyone.”
“Sunburns, mom! It’s been scientifically proven that sunlight CAN hurt you,” Nightmare said. She squinted her eyes and tried to make out everything around them. They had landed in a kingdom that looked a lot like an older Crystal Empire, except for several buildings that looked like they were made of solid gold.
“Hold it right there!” A voice ordered. Nightmare turned around to see a mare with a pale gold coat and a vivid orange mane and tail. She wore a crystalized royal guard uniform. “I don’t know what you two are planning but I doubt Her Majesty is going to like it.”
Before Nightmare could ask what she was talking about, another voice spoke up. “You’re right Adagio. I don’t like it.”
Nightmare and Luna both turned around to see a creature that Nightmare had only caught a glimpse of before. The creature was demonic in appearance with red skin, pointed ears, black wings, a fiery tail, and flaming hair. The creature also wore a fire-themed dress, the Element of Knowledge, and the Element of Power.
The demonic Sunset Shimmer hovered above them and glared at Nightmare with black and green eyes. “May I ask what you think you’re doing?”
“Princess Sunset! I found the two imposters!” the gold mare reported.
Sunset smiled. “Very good Adagio. You found them in record-breaking time. Where is the rest of the Dazzling division?”
“I sent Aria and Sonata to other districts of the city. I felt that splitting up would enable us to cover more ground quickly, and it looks like I was correct,” Adagio said with a proud smile.
Sunset nodded. “Excellent. You go meet up with them. I will handle these two.” Adagio saluted Sunset before galloping off.
Sunset flapped her wings and hovered around Nightmare and Luna, circling them. “If this is your attempt at a joke changelings, I'm not amused.”
“We’re not changelings Sunset,” Nightmare insisted.
Sunset scowled. “You expect me to believe you’re really Nightmare Moon? Impossible. I saw that Pink abomination rip you to pieces.”
“That didn’t happen Sunset. Pinkamania forced you into a dream. You, me, and Luna are the only real things here. We came to rescue you!”
“Rescue me? You’re the only ones who need rescuing. I’ve tolerated the changelings and their immature pranks for long enough. It’s what Chrysalis would have wanted. But you impersonating my old friend…I find it to be extremely disrespectful. I’m afraid I can’t let this go unpunished,” Sunset said. She raised her claws into the air as flames danced around her. A fireball began to form over her head, growing bigger and bigger by the second.
“Wait!” Luna cried. “Just humor us. Pretend that we are who we say we are.”
“Please Sunset,” Nightmare begged. “What happened to you?”
Sunset paused. The giant fireball faded away as she sighed. “Oh, what the heck? It’s not like I have anything better to do today.”
Sunset crossed her long legs and sat in midair, her wings still keeping her afloat. “Where to begin? I suppose it all started with that pink psychopath. I escaped from her labyrinth and I found my Element of Knowledge at the end. But when I left that maze I discovered that the Pink One had destroyed all of my friends so that we couldn’t use the Elements against her.”
Sunset growled. “As you can imagine, I didn’t take it well. I fought the Demon with every hex and curse I knew, but that little monster just laughed it off. I knew that the only way to stop her was if I could match her power. So I decided to stop holding back. You see, I was once King Sombra’s student before Nightmare Moon. During that time, I discovered a ritual to give me more power than I could ever imagine. But by the time I had acquired an artifact powerful enough to perform the ritual, namely an Element of Redemption, I had decided to abandon my dreams of power to live a simpler life.
“But the Demon had destroyed everything I had. With nothing left to lose, I used the ritual to take on the form you see now. With this power I was able to defeat the Demon.” Sunset grinned savagely. “Whenever I feel sad, I just remember the sound of her screams as I threw her into the sun.”
Luna took a nervous step back. “Surely there must have been another way?”
Sunset growled. “I avenged the deaths of my friends. They can rest in peace knowing that I stopped the Pink One from hurting anyone else.”
“What happened next?” Nightmare asked.
Sunset shrugged. “Not much. With my friends, the king, and the princess all gone, not much was left of our home. As the most powerful creature in Everfree, I crowned myself princess and I rebuilt our kingdom. Now, the New Crystal Empire is a glorious kingdom of prosperity, an empire that outshines even the fabled Solar Kingdom of Celestia.”
Sunset glared at them again. “But enough about me. Any last words imposters?” she asked as she conjured another gigantic fireball.
Nightmare’s eyes narrowed in determination. “Yeah. Snap out of it!” She flapped her wings and flew into the air, Luna following her lead. Their horns both glowed with power and fired twin beams of energy that struck the planet’s core.
Within seconds, their combined spell took affect. The entire dream world around them began to turn to glass. The gold buildings, the shining sun, the happy citizens, all turned into glass.
Sunset watched in horror as her skin changed too. “No. No! What have you done?” She snarled and launched the fireball at Nightmare and Luna. But before the attack could hit them, the illusion shattered.
Nightmare and Luna opened their eyes to see an endless void around them. Nightmare’s ears twitched as she heard quiet sobbing. She turned around to see Sunset, in her normal unicorn form, curled up on the ground.
Nightmare reached out to her friend. “Sunset? Are you okay?”
“Go away,” Sunset whispered.
“Please Sunset. We need to get out of here. We need you to help us stop Pinkie,” Nightmare said.
“No you don’t. You’ve never needed me. I’m nobody special,” Sunset cried.
Nightmare laid her wing on Sunset’s back. “Of course you’re special, and we do need you! You’re my friend.”
“How can you be friends with me? You saw what I became. A demon. I turned into a raging she-demon. I’m just as evil as Pinkie Pie,” Sunset cried.
“You’re not evil. You’re a good person Sunset. In my dream I took over the kingdom too, but that doesn’t mean I’m bad.”
“The difference being, you could actually do it.” Sunset stared into her eyes. “Nightmare I…I’m jealous of you. I’m jealous of all of you. You guys are all so amazing…and I’m not. I’m just a crystal farmer who dreamed she could be an princess.”
“Sunset, I know you. You’re gentle, smart, practical, and kind. Those are all good qualities of any great ruler. You don’t have to be an alicorn, a griffon, or a dragon to be special. You’re a star just the way you are,” Nightmare said confidently.
A smile slowly formed on Sunset’s face. “Nightmare…really? ‘A star just the way you are’? That’s pretty cheesy coming from you.” She sighed happily. “But thank you.”
And Sunset’s dream faded around them.
Nightmare opened her eyes and stood back up. “Well…that was something. Where are we now?”
Luna frowned as she examined their surroundings. “I have a very good guess, however I’m a little concerned that this is the dream we are seeing.” Once again they had stepped into an altered version of the Crystal Empire. But instead of buildings made of gold there were structures made of green slime. The Crystal Empire looked like a cross between itself and Chrysalis’ hive. Hundreds of changelings buzzed past them. She couldn’t even see the sky with how many changelings were blocking her view.
“What is all this? I mean, I know this is Chrysalis’ dream but…she’s never wanted to conquer Everfree, has she?” Nightmare asked.
Luna shook her head. “She’s your friend, you know her better than I do. Honestly, I was surprised when I first stepped into your dream. But just like before, the only way we’ll get answers is if we go straight to the source.”
“Better not keep Chrysalis waiting then,” Nightmare said. They both flapped their wings and flew towards the altered Crystal Castle. Zooming past all the changeling guards, they soon reached the throne room.
Chrysalis looked up from the report she was reading on her throne and stared at them. She was wearing her crown again but she also wore dark green regalia similar to Nightmare’s armor. “…Yes? Can I help you?”
“We’re here to rescue you Chrysalis!” Nightmare declared.
Chrysalis frowned. “It’s Queen Chrysalis, my little changeling. And what do you mean by rescue? Nightmare, where are those charts I asked for?”
Nightmare paused at that. “Wait, are you saying I’m still alive in this reality?”
Queen Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “Of course you’re still alive. Nightmare, are you feeling well? Captain Luna, did something happen to her?”
Luna smiled. “Ooh, I’m alive too?”
The doors behind them opened. “Your Majesty, I have the charts you requested right here…”
Nightmare turned around and came face to face with a changeling version of herself. Her legs were filled with holes and her wings were insect-like but her mane and tail still looked like Nightmare’s, as did her eyes.
Queen Chrysalis frowned as her gaze switched back and forth between Nightmare and Changeling-Nightmare. “Oh, I see. Discord, Gilda, Trixie, whichever one of you it is can you please transform back? I’ll admit you fooled me, but the joke’s over.”
Nightmare was about to ask what was going on, when Luna beat her to it. “Forgive me Queen Chrysalis but we’ve been having a little trouble with our shape-shifting powers. And our memories. If it’s not too much trouble, could you remind us what happened after you fought Pinkie?” she asked as her horn glowed with a dark blue aura.
Queen Chrysalis frowned in confusion before nodding. “…Alright. If you think it will help. There’s not much to say really. When I confronted the Pink One in that labyrinth so long ago, she toyed with me. She mocked me, calling me a weak, helpless parasite.” Chrysalis hissed at the memory.
“The funny thing is, she was right. Changelings used to be at war with every other creature in this world. When my great-grandparents first signed that peace treaty, we thought we could put all that bad history behind us. But no matter how hard we tried to be liked, ponies still thought we were parasites.”
“That’s not true Chrysalis,” Nightmare said gently. “I’ve never thought of you like that. None of us did.”
Queen Chrysalis ignored her and continued. “I acted like a polite and weak little doormat so that nopony would ever think of me as a monster. But all along, I was just denying my true nature. I was acting like something I’m not. So I decided to stop fooling around and use one of my mom’s tactics instead.”
“What sort of tactic?” Luna asked.
Queen Chrysalis smirked. “Simple. When I see something I want, I take it. By force if necessary.”
Luna shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t like where this is going,” she whispered to Nightmare.
Queen Chrysalis’ horn glowed green. “Instead of falling into the Pink One’s trap I acted quickly and blasted her. Of course, I knew that there was little I could do to stop her. So before she could recover, I restrained that little monster and began the process to convert her into a changeling. It was a long and difficult process, but the result was worth it. However by the time I finished, her chaotic powers had spread throughout all of Everfree. The only thing I could do to save us was to convert everyone into changelings. I transformed you and the rest of our friends for starters and with your help we sorted things out. Two years later and here we are. I’m Queen of all changelings and everyling is happy.”
“You turned everyone into changelings?” Nightmare asked. “Huh. I wonder why I didn’t turn everyone in my dream into alicorns.”
“Probably because changeling conversion is much easier than alicorn ascension,” Luna said as she eyed Chrysalis cautiously. “Even if most dreams don’t make any sense, some dreams attempt to be a little more realistic.”
Nightmare stared at her mom, then at Chrysalis, then back again. “Wait, are you saying…conversation into a changeling is possible?”
Luna nodded. “Yes. To my knowledge, changeling kings and queens all have the ability to turn a normal pony into a changeling. But the conversion process has been outlawed ever since that peace treaty was signed.”
“Not exactly,” Queen Chrysalis said. “Forced conversion was illegal. If the creature in question wants to be converted, that’s another matter entirely.”
“Hold up,” Nightmare said, raising her hoof. “If you turned the Pink One into a changeling, where is she now?”
Queen Chrysalis smiled. “I’m glad you asked. How are you feeling?” she asked the table in front of her throne. Instantly the table was consumed in a flash of green fire, revealing an exhausted changeling with pink eyes.
“I’m…feeling…fantastic! My…Queen…” Changeling-Pinkie gasped, out of breath from carrying all of the queen’s reports and desk toys on her back.
“Good girl. Go back to being a table now,” Queen Chrysalis ordered. The changeling transformed back at once.
Nightmare allowed herself a weak chuckle at the imaginary Pinkie’s fate. She sighed and said, “I’ve heard enough. Time to wake up Chrysalis.”
Nightmare and Luna both cast the spell as quick as they could. Once everything started turning into glass, the angry changeling swarms flew into action and launched themselves at the alicorns in their attempt to stop the destruction of the dream world.
Nightmare winced as the illusion shattered all around them. She turned around and saw Chrysalis, curled up in a ball. “Oh dear. I’m going to have to do this with everyone, aren’t I?” she muttered. Nightmare sighed and shook her head. As long as her friends were freed, it would be worth it. Nightmare slowly approached Chrysalis. “Are you okay?”
Chrysalis shifted around until she could look Nightmare in the eye. “Why would you care? I’m just a weak, spineless, cowardly, par-”
“That’s not true and you know it,” Nightmare said, stopping Chrysalis from saying 'parasite'. “You’re not weak and you’re not a coward. I’ve seen your bravery when we battled Eternity and then Spike. I’ve seen your confidence every time you help a changeling or a pony get back on their hooves. And right now, we need your bravery again.”
Chrysalis shut her eyes. “You don’t understand. You don’t know what it’s like for me. I can never really fit in with anyone, unless it’s with my own kind. Even if I can disguise myself, I can’t keep acting like something I’m not. Not forever.”
“You don’t have to. I’ve come to know the real you Chrysalis. And I like you just the way you are. We all do,” Nightmare said confidently.
Chrysalis opened her eyes. “Really? I don't need to change myself? …Thank you.”
And Chrysalis’ dream faded away.
Nightmare and Luna both stepped into the next dream. Nightmare flinched a little as her hooves touched the stormy clouds. All the clouds around them were pitch black with numerous bolts of lightning zapping between them.
“It’s like if Cloudsdale consisted solely of thunderclouds,” Luna remarked as they looked at the city around them. Her description fit the altered cloud city very accurately. Nightmare recognized the Cloudsdale Coliseum perched on its own cloud from the pictures Gilda showed her. At that moment, she could also hear thousands of cheers coming from the coliseum. Having acquired a good idea of what was happening, Nightmare and Luna both flapped their wings and flew there.
The coliseum was filled from top to bottom with thousands of cheering pegasus ponies, griffons, dragons, changelings, and any other creatures that could fly. Over the thunderous cheering, an announcer’s voice could be heard speaking through a voice amplifying crystal.
“Good morning and welcome everybody to the Annual Cloudsdale Clash of Storms! I’m Serious Speaker, here with my good friend, Crazy Screamer.”
“YEAH! BRING IT ON!”
“I’m just as excited as you Crazy,” Serious said.
“LIES! NO ONE IS AS EXCITED AS ME! BRING ON THE LIGHTNING! ZAP THEM ALL! ZAP THEM ALL!”
“Right you are Crazy. We have many promising fliers hoping to challenge our champion today. But you don’t care about them, so let’s get to the main event before my friend here breaks my legs.”
“I’LL DO IT! I’LL TEAR THEM APART!”
“Right you are Crazy, let’s get started. It is with great honour that I introduce our champion, the glorious Gilda!”
With a thunderous sonic boom, Gilda came charging down from the heavens. Dressed in an altered Shadowbolt uniform, Gilda zoomed around the coliseum in a wide circle. She then flew up high above the crowds and gave her tail a whip. At her tail’s command, one of the nearby thunderclouds unleashed a tremendous lightning strike. The crowd went wild. Gilda smirked arrogantly and spread her wings and talons wide. From where Nightmare was hovering, she could barely see electricity dancing along Gilda’s talons.
“Hmm. Gilda appears to have a little more weather-manipulating magic here than she does in the real world,” Luna mused. “How do you suppose that happened?”
“Honestly, I can see where this is going. Tell me, do we need to hear how this dream world works or can we skip ahead?” Nightmare asked.
Luna shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”
Nightmare nodded and fired a spell at the stormy clouds. Within seconds, the illusionary world shattered around them. The endless void filled the dream. Nightmare approached Gilda and sat down next to the sobbing griffon. “Gilda, are you okay?”
Gilda raised her head up from the floor and gave her a glance. “Oh. Hey Nightie,” she whispered. “I’m fine. Just crying over my crushed dreams, ya know the usual.”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked.
“I’ll never be a Shadowbolt. She’ll always be better than me,” Gilda whispered to herself.
“Gilda, that doesn’t sound like you at all. You love the Shadowbolts. Come on, you need to get up,” Nightmare said, pulling on Gilda's wing. “Please, Gilda. Pinkie is still out there. We need you to help us defeat her with your Element.”
Gilda sat up and glared at her. “Is that all I’m good for to you?”
Nightmare took a step back. She’d already seen a heartbroken Sunset and Chrysalis, but this anger was unexpected. “What?”
“Be honest. If someone like, I dunno Rainbow Dash was the Element of Zeal instead of me, would we still be friends? Or was I ever anything more to you than just a resource?” Gilda growled.
“Of course we’re friends! And we’d still be friends even if you weren’t a bearer,” Nightmare insisted. “Gilda, the Elements don’t define us. Besides, without you Rainbow wouldn’t have become our friend in the first place.”
“Ugh. Rainbow this, Rainbow that,” Gilda grumbled. “It always goes back to her, doesn’t it? No matter how fast I fly, I’ll never be able to beat her. Rainbow is the fastest flier in Everfree. I’m…I’m only second best.” Gilda shut her eyes tight to hide her rage and sorrow.
“Gilda, you’ve always been the best flier to me,” Nightmare said. “As for Rainbow, I don’t know why you’re mad at her all of a sudden. You two are best friends.”
Gilda's eyes snapped open. “Because I’m jealous of her! Was that not clear?!" she growled. "Of course Rainbow’s my friend. You all are and I’d never leave my friends hanging. But all the other Elements have something magical and awesome and I don’t! You guys have magic but I had speed. With Rainbow around, I don’t even have that.” Gilda glared at the floor. “I want to be awesome again.”
Nightmare laid her right wing on Gilda’s own left wing. “Gilda, you are awesome. You don’t need to fly super fast or beat up a dragon to prove that, even though you have. You’re my friend. And sometimes, that’s enough.”
Gilda looked back up at her with a small smile. “...You’re pretty awesome yourself, Nights. …Thanks.”
And Gilda’s illusion faded away.
Luna stepped carefully into the next dream, and then quickly sidestepped out of Nightmare’s way. “Moony! Where are you rushing off to?”
“The end of this madness!” Nightmare declared. “Three down and two to go before we can banish the Trickster once and for all!”
Nightmare screeched to a halt as she felt Luna’s magic gently tug at her wings. “Slow down Moony. I know we’re on a roll but we still need to be careful. We don’t even know whose dream this is.”
At that moment, a brilliant flash of light appeared before them. Hovering in front of them was an alicorn Trixie wearing a silver crown, silver shoes, and a purple dress. Princess Trixie smiled at them before she started to sing:
“Welcome to my city
Welcome to my land
Welcome to the empire
That only I command!
Trixie-opolis, my Metropolis!
My favorite place to be
Trixie-opolis, my Metropolis,
Where it's all for one and that one is me!
From Trixie Boulevard to Trixie Avenue
All landmarks, and roads, and parks,
Are named by me not you!
“You know before I came along, this world was just a plaything for Pink Demons but now it's…
"Trixie-opolis, my Metropolis!
the region that I rule
Trixie-opolis, my Metropolis!
now welcome to my school:
T-R-I-X-I-E! Trixie, Trixie! Yippee!
Trixie-opolis, My Great and Powerful Metropolis,
a wondrous place to be!
Trixie-opolis, My Glorious Metropolis!
And here is what you'll see:
Trixie movies, starring me,
Popcorn free, by my decree
Trixie books and magazines,
Trixie shirts, Trixie jeans
Trixie chocolates, Trixie mints
Trixie shampoo and the rinse
Cats and dogs all free of fleas
And life is just a Trixie-breeze!
“But that’s just the start!” Trixie declared. “Soon I shall reveal to you my newest project: Trixietopia! Yes my friends, Trixie-opolis is growing and soon it will become:
Trixie-opolis, Megalopolis!
My greatest legacy!
Trixie-opolis, there's no stopping us
Because make no mistake
…This isn’t just for me."
Trixie paused her bouncy song and sighed sadly. “My friends all tried to run and hide, but the Pink One wouldn’t let them be free.” Her horn glowed as she spoke. “So since they’re dead, I’ll bow my head…” Trixie grinned and sang:
And revive them with necromancy!
So, welcome to my city!
Welcome to my land!
Welcome to the crystal empire
That my friends and I will command
Trixie-opolis!”
Nightmare smirked. “Gee mom, you’re right. This could be anyone’s dream!”
Luna giggled. “At least the song was catchy.”
“Let’s just wake her up,” Nightmare sighed as she shattered the first stage of the illusion. Once more they found themselves in an endless void with another heartbroken friend. “Trixie? You okay?”
The blue unicorn looked up at her. Her eyes were filled with tears, but strangely she was also smiling. “Trixie will be fine. As long as Trixie has fans and friends…Trixie will always be happy.” Nightmare and Luna both blinked in surprise. Trixie sighed and said, “Trixie discovered this world was an illusion. The Great and Powerful Trixie once tried to create a spell to control the dreams of others. Advertising doesn’t get much better than that. Her spell failed, but it did give Trixie more awareness during her dreams. As for what you saw, Trixie admits that she’s rather boastful. But as long as she is a good pony that’s okay, right?”
Nightmare nodded. “Sure. Still…you wouldn’t be here if you were perfectly happy.”
Trixie sighed and closed her eyes. “…Does Smog still love me?”
“Pardon?” Nightmare asked.
“When you two first came to Peaceville, Smog developed a crush on me. Trixie didn’t see it at first, but she picks up on things quickly. And lately…Smog hasn’t shown any sign of being interested in me.”
“Are you interested in Smog?” Nightmare asked carefully.
“The dragon is cute yet young. But Trixie is not ready to date anyone just yet. No, what bothers Trixie is that…well, Smog doesn’t look up to Trixie as much as he used to because he’s gotten to know the real Trixie.” Trixie gave a very weak smile. “Trixie…I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”
Luna spoke up, “You’re not pathetic. And I think I understand what’s bothering you. You’ve always bragged about your magic acts and your adoring fans. But when Smog came into the picture you saw an opportunity to make a friend that liked you for you. Not just your performances.”
Nightmare smiled. “Trixie, if you and Smog did fall in love I would support you both. But even if it’s not the kind you were hoping for, Smog still loves you as a friend. As do I.”
Trixie smiled as her hat and cape reappeared on her. “Thank you. Well…let’s not keep Pinkie waiting.”
Nightmare grinned as she and Luna traveled to the next dream. One more to go.
“…Did I miss something here?” Nightmare asked as she watched a fish-fly buzz overhead.
Luna frowned as she watched a lion jump rope with a helicopter. “I’m confused too. It appears that we’ve returned to the real world, and these abnormalities are the work of Pinkie’s chaotic powers. But I know I was aiming for Discord’s dream.”
“Never mind,” Nightmare groaned. “I really should have seen this coming.” They walked onward in complete silence, ignoring the dancing houses, and the hydra teddy bears swimming in the spaghetti lakes. The two dream guardians were used to seeing such insanity. At the center of Discord’s dream sat the chaotic draconequus himself. Nightmare was also pleased to see herself and all of their friends sitting at Discord’s table too. There was even a dancing Pinkie Pie, wearing a jester’s costume and chained to Discord’s throne.
“Oh ho!” Discord laughed. “This is so much fun. Who else is on the list?” He snapped his fingers and conjured up a long sheet of paper before twisting it into noodles and slurping it up. “Oh, forget the list. Let the fun be doubled! Sunny! Moony!”
Nightmare examined the dream version of herself and Sunset. They looked about the same except for glowing red eyes, crazed grins, and fingers on their hooves.
“A very merry unbirthday!” Discord sang.
“To me?” Chaotic-Nightmare and Chaotic-Sunset chorused.
“To you!” Discord confirmed. “Now then…release the happy, jelly, vampire squirrels!”
“Discord!” Jester Pinkie whined. “I can’t summon them! There’s ketchup in the erasers!”
“Quiet minion, I’ll get it,” Discord announced. He snapped his fingers and vampire squirrels carrying bowls of birthday gelatin burst from the ground and floated upwards. Everyone at the table cheered.
“…AND we’re leaving!” Nightmare declared, too disturbed to watch the chaos any longer. Before she could cast the spell, Discord spotted them.
“Ooh! More friends! Let’s greet them too!” He snapped his fingers and aimed the birthday cake cannon he summoned.
“No thanks! We’ll just smash through this mad dream world and be on our way,” Luna said, smiling apologetically.
“Smash? Well that’s a smashingly good idea!” Discord said as he carved the roast Welcome-giving turkey watermelon with his frog knife. “Here you go!” He handed Nightmare a giant sledgehammer, which she grabbed with her magic and slammed it into the checkerboard earth, shattering the chaotic dream instantly.
Nightmare couldn’t help but smile as she sat down next to Discord. Even if she would be forced to see him in his darkest hour, she was almost done. Besides, since when did Discord worry about anything?
Discord looked up at her and sighed. In a fluid motion, Discord slithered up to her and curled his long body around her. Discord looked Nightmare in the eyes and sighed again. “Hey Nightie,” he said flatly.
“Hello Discord,” she said. “It’s great to see you again.”
“Oh it is, is it? Why? You wish to hear a good joke? Laugh at my little shenanigans?” Discord growled.
Nightmare flinched at the glare he gave her. “Discord, what are you talking about?”
“I’m supposed to be a creature of pure chaos. Warping reality is supposed to be easy for me. And what has it earned moi? All the dragons, and Eternities, and Pinkies, and I can’t do a thing about them!”
Nightmare sighed. “I understand.”
Discord smirked at her. “You would understand, wouldn't you? It must really burn you up being such a powerful alicorn, only to get tossed aside when Eternal Twilight came into town.”
“It does. But even before then, Loony was there to make sure all that power didn’t go to my head when I was younger. Discord, even if you’re the strongest creature in the room, you can’t solve all your problems with a finger snap. But I’ll always be here to help you with whatever you need.” Nightmare said, smiling at him.
“Why? Because we’re ‘friends’?” Discord sighed. “Friends are supposed to be there for each other. All I’ve ever done is make a fool of myself. All I’ve done is give you something to laugh at.
“Discord, we don’t laugh at you. We laugh with you. The truth is, I admire your attitude. Whenever I’m feeling stressed out, thinking of you always makes me smile. And even though you’ve stated ‘life is best if it’s not taken seriously’, you’re willing to act serious for us.” Nightmare smiled. “There’s so much more to you than you know.”
Discord slowly grinned before he leapt into the air. “Congratulations Nightie! That’s all six of us!”
Luna blinked in confusion. “You seem a lot happier all of a sudden.”
“What? The whole ‘woe is me’ thing? Completely fake. Well mostly. About half,” he whispered that last part.
“You were FAKING?!” Nightmare exclaimed in irritation.
“I was!" Discord confirmed cheerfully. "But I had a very good reason. I figured all that out by myself, but I wanted to make sure you figured it out too. And you did! I’ll admit I had my doubts that we were true friends instead of just friends but now I see that you have truly passed my friendship test!” Discord cheered. “Now let’s go punch Pinkie in her poofy pink face!”
Nightmare sighed and chuckled. “You see? You’ll always manage to make me smile. Thanks Discord.”
“Yes, well…totally an act, just so we’re clear…but…” Discord gave her a much more honest smile. “Thank you too Nightie.”
Nightmare yawned as she slowly woke up. “…Okay. That should-”
“Group hug!” Any sleepiness left in Nightmare vanished as Luna, Discord, and the other Element bearers wrapped her in a big group hug.
“Alright Nightmare!” Gilda gave her a congratulatory slap on the back. “Ya did it!”
“Hold on guys, we're not done yet,” Sunset said as she backed out of the hug. “We still need to use the Elements on Pinkie and so far we only have mine and Chrysalis’ here with us.”
Luna nodded. “You’re right. We need the other Elements to end this madness. I know where they are, but it’s going to be tricky getting them.”
“Trust us Loony,” Discord said, grinning mischievously. “Tricky is something we can do.”
“Lemme out! Lemme out!” Rainbow yelled as she struggled against her bindings. She, Rarity, and Princess Twilight were all sitting at a table, with a gold and pink throne right in between her and Twilight. They weren’t exactly sitting though. Their chairs were actually large blocks of wood that resembled the handle for marionette puppets with several strings tied around their legs and heads to prevent them from moving too much.
Before Pinkie had left to trap the Elements in her maze, she had somehow captured the three of them. She then tied them up and giggled as she controlled them like puppets. Pinkie said she would grant them freedom if they Pinkie Promised that they would be her new friends, forever and ever. Rainbow didn’t know what sort of horrifying blood pact a ‘Pinkie Promise’ was and she wasn’t planning on making one soon. Rarity and Princess Twilight had agreed.
Which was why they were all stuck at Pinkie’s table. Spike, in his smaller form, growled at the cage he was trapped in. Besides the throne, the cage, and the marionette handle chairs, there were a few normal stools. Seated at these stools were a turnip, a rock, and a bag of flour. Whenever Pinkie was around, she would animate these inanimate objects to serve as her guards. Thankfully, Rainbow didn’t have to endure that particular brand of creepiness. Pinkie and her loyal minion Screwball had left their tea party early when Screwball told her something about the Big Apple. Rainbow didn’t hear all of it.
Rarity sighed as Rainbow continued to struggle against her bindings. “Please Rainbow Dash. This situation is torturous enough as it is without watching you struggle. I beg of you, save your strength. Who knows what Pinkie will have up her sleeve once she returns.”
“We can’t give up now! The Elements will be back soon. I can feel it!” Princess Twilight said. She didn’t sound too convinced though.
Rarity sighed. “With all due respect Princess Twilight, it’s been three weeks. It’s time to consider our futures in this new Pinkie-led Peaceville. Even if Nightmare Moon and her friends had escaped by now, they can’t do much without the Elements.” She nodded at the Element of Nobility around her neck, then at the Element of Zeal on Rainbow’s neck, and lastly at the Element of Power on Twilight’s head.
“Come on, listen to TS!” Rainbow argued. “We have the Elements. Why can’t we blast Pinkie? It worked before when your sister blasted you and Eternity with the Element of Freedom.”
“In case you have forgotten Rainbow Dash, the Element of Freedom now adorns Pinkie’s neck. The other two Elements are nowhere to be found. The Elements are useless unless all six are united. And speaking of my dear Sweetie Belle…I dare not raise a hoof or horn against Pinkie while my dearest sister is within her reach!” Rarity cried.
Princess Twilight looked at the sky. Floating above them in hundreds of balloons were all the citizens of Peaceville, the Crystal Empire, and beyond. Smog, King Sombra, Zecora, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo, everyone they knew were stuck inside the balloons. All of them with unblinking eyes and forced grins as they were all trapped within their dreams.
Spike spoke up from his cage. “Worry not lady Rarity. If the Trickster ever hurts your sibling, I will not rest until the Trickster is nothing but ash."
“What he said. Come on, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow said softly. “We'll save Sweetie Belle, but we can’t give up, Rares.”
Rarity sighed. “You’re quite right.” She and Princess Twilight soon joined Rainbow in struggling to untie themselves from Pinkie’s cursed handles. Nightmare and her friends witnessed all of this from their hiding spot behind a giant house of Joker cards not too far away from the table.
“Still no sign of Pinkie or Screwball,” Chrysalis reported as she took another peek at the table. “We should free them now while we have the chance.”
“Agreed,” Discord said. He raised his glowing claw. “For all of her clever schemes, Pinkie was a fool to think we’d be out of the count forever and return our powers to us. You just say the word Nightmare and those Elements are ours.”
“We still need to be careful Discord,” Nightmare warned. “I still think Pinkie will be able to sense any use of chaos magic.”
Sunset nodded. “Right. Trixie, Nightmare and I will work on freeing the princess, her dragon, Rainbow, and Rarity. Gilda, Discord, and Chrysalis, you keep an eye out for the enemy.”
“Sounds like a super great plan! What do I do?”
The Element bearers all froze. Discord shifted his shoulders as he discovered someone was literally breathing down his neck. Very slowly, the Element bearers turned around to see Pinkie Pie clinging to Discord’s back as if he were giving her a piggyback ride.
“It’s Pinkamania!” Trixie exclaimed.
Pinkie gasped. “Pinkamania?! Where?! Oh no! Run for your lives!” she screamed as she zoomed away from them.
“…I’m not waiting for her to come back!” Discord announced. He snapped his fingers and freed Princess Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, and Rarity from their prisons. Another finger snap returned the Elements of Power, Zeal, and Nobility to Nightmare, Gilda, and Trixie.
Pinkie giggled as she teleported back behind them. “Oh Pinkie, you silly filly. I almost forgot!” She grinned as her fingered hooves began to glow. “I’m the one you’re supposed to be running from.”
The Elements all dodged out of the way as Pinkie fired lasers at them. “Quick! We need to get into formation!” Nightmare shouted.
“Don’t worry Nightmare, I got your back!” Rainbow declared before she tackled Rarity to help her avoid a laser beam.
Pinkie giggled as she started firing lightning bolts at them. “I really shouldn’t be surprised that you escaped, but I am! I really am! Good work you guys! So how’d you do it? Come on, you can tell me. I’m great at keeping secrets!”
“So am I,” Luna said as she teleported behind Pinkie and quickly yanked the Element of Freedom off her neck before tossing it to Discord. Luna then teleported beside her daughter and their friends.
Pinkie stared at Luna, the glow around her fingers fading. “Wait, what?” She did a double take. “Wait, WHAT?” Her gaze flickered to Luna, then Nightmare, then Luna, and back again. “What, I…WHAT?!”
Discord chuckled as he summoned a camera and took a picture of her flabbergasted expression. “Priceless. Absolutely priceless.”
“How are there two of you?!” Pinkie asked Luna.
Princess Twilight frowned. “What do you mean ‘two of you’?”
Nightmare smirked. “It’s a strong family resemblance, isn’t it Trickster? Mom did say you missed her somehow.”
“MOM?” Pinkie exclaimed. She pointed at Nightmare and Luna. “Y-you a-and her? Luna is your mom?” Pinkie stared at the sky in stunned silence before muttering, “Wow. A century in stone to plan everything out and…wow, I did NOT see that coming.”
“Alright guys!” Nightmare declared as their Elements glowed. “Let’s show her the power of our friendship!”
Pinkie waved her hooves, signaling them to stop. “Wait-wait-wait! You’re forgetting something!” She then snapped her fingers and disappeared. She then reappeared in a flash of light, hovering above them. “See? What’s stopping me from doing that?"
Nightmare frowned. Pinkie was right, she could just teleport to the other side of the planet and plan out her next attempt at world domination. They needed to defeat her sooner than later.
Discord smiled. “Pinkie, my dear…you like games, don’t you?”
Pinkie titled her head. “Games? Well…everyone likes games.”
Nightmare caught on quick. “Yes! Exactly. Let's play a game. If we win, you surrender and let us use the Elements on you.”
Pinkie smiled. “And if I win?”
Nightmare hesitated. “Um…”
“No, that’s okay,” Pinkie said smiling. “I’ve already picked my own prize.”
“Which is...?” Chrysalis asked.
Pinkie grinned hungrily at them. “You’ll have to wait until I win to find out. It’s a secret.” Her smile lost some of its creepiness. “What kind of game do you wanna play? Card game? Board game? Exploding game?”
“A duel. And we won't use our Elements until the duel is over,” Nightmare promised.
Pinkie giggled. “That’s it? I could beat all six of you in my sleep! Deal!”
Nightmare and Discord grinned triumphantly. “Challenge accepted! So why don’t we duel in our sleep?” Discord said.
“Huh?” Rainbow said.
“We'll fight within one big dream world, with my friends completely aware that they’re dreaming,” Nightmare explained.
Trixie grinned to herself. A giant lucid dream. They’d be able to shape the dream any way they’d want. In other words, they’d all be as powerful as Discord...or Pinkie.
Pinkie frowned a little as if this thought had occurred to her too. She then shrugged and said, “Okie Dokie Lokie. The Elements probably won’t work on me anyway.” Pinkie snapped her fingers and forced herself and the six friends to sleep.
The Elements prepared themselves as the dream world unfolded around them. They were standing on a planet-sized pink cake. Hovering before them was Pinkie Pie, transformed into a draconequus. Antlers sprouted from her head, owl feathers along her body, a long alligator’s tail, a white tiger’s paw, pegasus and bat wings, and…
Pinkie frowned. “Wait. This isn’t right.” She snapped her fingers and transformed back into her normal pony body, though still keeping her fingers. She snapped her fingers again and her dark pink dress and black and pink cape reappeared. “Much better!”
She snapped her fingers again and a glowing, music-playing, rainbow-coloured ball of light appeared.
“What is it with you and battle music?” Sunset asked.
Pinkie giggled. “Come on guys! Just listen to those violins! Go big or go home, am I right?”
“True,” Trixie and Discord admitted.
Pinkie giggled as she held out her hoof and formed a ball of pure destructive energy. Her pink dressed turned a darker colour, as her eyes glowed and her teeth gleamed. “Let’s get this party started!”
Pinkie fired off her first attack, but Chrysalis conjured up a huge shield to block it. Nightmare’s horn glowed as she fired a massive beam of darkness at Pinkie, blasting her across the sky. Gilda followed up by summoning a huge thunderstorm before kicking dozens of lightning bolts at Pinkie. When those didn’t work, she charged at Pinkie and slashed at her with her talons.
Trixie turned into an alicorn while Sunset shape-shifted into her demonic form. They both fired freeze spells and fireballs at Pinkie, while the Trickster tried to swat them away with a giant tennis racket. Chrysalis split herself into hundreds of clones. Each clone shape-shifted, turning into one of the other Elements, King Sombra, Smog, Rainbow, Rarity, Spike, and even Pinkie herself.
“Hey! You guys are cheating!” Pinkie whined as she dodged the swarm of transformed Chrysalis clones. “Ooh, I know what’ll help!” Pinkie stretched out her fingered forelegs, commanding her flesh to turn into metal. Her limbs morphed until they resembled high-tech cannons. “Big meanies, meet my party cannons!” The Elements quickly conjured up more shields as Pinkie’s metallic arm-cannons began to fire cupcakes, acid balloons, snakes, chickens, and other weird things.
“Oh you’re calling down the thunder now!” Gilda declared. She flapped her wings and began to zoom around the battlefield in a big circle. Within seconds Gilda had created a huge tornado, which she then threw at Pinkie.
“Ooh, that looks like fun! Spinny time!” Pinkie cheered as she telekinetically grabbed both Nightmare and Discord, and plunged them both into the tornado. “Having fun?” Pinkie asked them as she created a swordfish.
“Honestly, yes. It’s rather entertaining, beating the snot out of you,” Discord said as he created a razor sharp breadstick.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?” Nightmare said as she created a sword that glittered like the night sky.
Pinkie smiled as they began to swordfight. “Of course! What’s on your mind?”
“Using Zecora’s potion, you showed us what happened to you before you got your powers. You’re right, ponies were really narrow-minded back then," Nightmare said. "They shouldn’t have treated you like that..."
Pinkie blushed. “Awwww, thanks Nightie! Didn’t know you cared!” she said, growing another limb and conjured up another swordfish.
“...At first. But now look at you! Everything you’ve done, everything you’re doing now; you’re proving that they were right about you! You’re acting like the monster that ponies say you are!” Nightmare accused.
“…What are you saying?” Pinkie asked, completely confused.
“Allow me to translate this into something you will understand,” Discord said. “You’re being a big meanie pants.”
Pinkie frowned and snapped her fingers. Instantly, all the chaos happening around them faded away. The Elements watched Pinkie cautiously as she floated away from them and sat down in midair. She was silent for a whole ten seconds.
“Hmm…nope!” Pinkie decided, smiling again. “You're the meanies, not me.”
“Excuse me?!” Sunset exclaimed. “You kidnapped us, you brainwashed us, you-”
“Not listening. I’m right, you’re wrong,” Pinkie said, nodding sagely.
“…We’re done here,” Nightmare said. The Elements all joined together and used all of the power they had in the lucid dream to finish Pinkie Pie once and for all. They summoned a fully-grown dragon, with Smog’s head and Spike’s body, and watched the dragon eat her. The music stopped playing, and the dream world faded away.
Nightmare and her friends instantly woke themselves up as soon as the dream duel was over. On the ground was a dazed Pinkie. “Whoa…I wonder if Smog’s insides look like that in real life…” she babbled.
“She’s still breathing!” Gilda announced. “Blast her!” At once, the Elements began to glow. Magical energy gathered all around them before it joined together.
“But I don’t wanna taste the rainbow!” Pinkie cried as the magic blasted her right in the face, turning her to stone. The power of the Elements of Redemption spread out, sending a blinding light racing through all of Peaceville, and all of the Crystal Empire. When the light faded, everything was back to normal. Overhead, the balloons popped and all the Empire’s citizens floated down as they woke up from the dreams they’d been forced into. King Sombra was the fastest to recover.
“Argh…where…what happened?” he asked as his eyes blinked rapidly.
“King Sombra!” A smiling Nightmare flew toward him, picking up a freed (if confused) Smog in her magic as she flew. “We did it! We stopped Pinkie!”
King Sombra smiled proudly. “That’s wonderful! I knew you would be victorious!”
Trixie sighed happily. “We are indeed triumphant! Trixie is glad that’s over with.”
Chrysalis sighed in relief. “Me too. All’s well that ends well."
“Yay! Once again friendship saves the day! I love happy endings. You know what this calls for? A party!”
Everybody froze. “…Who said that?” Smog asked.
*Crack*
Everybody spun around to face the statue of Pinkie Pie. Cracks appeared all over her stone body until she burst free from her prison, laughing loudly. “SURPRISE!” Everyone else immediately took several steps back. Some ponies in the crowd screamed in pure terror.
“NO! How could you possibly get up from that?!” Trixie exclaimed.
“He, he, he! Aha ha, ha! Oh ho, ho…y-you…you actually thought you beat me! He, he! That’s the best joke I’ve ever heard!” Pinkie said, roaring with laughter.
Smog gulped. “We’re doomed.”
“Aw, why all the frowny faces guys? Oh, I get it. I’m sorry too.” Pinkie blew into her left hoof to regrow the fingers on her right hoof. She aimed her glowing hoof at the crowd of terrified ponies. “But I’m afraid it’s time to end this party…
“With a great…BIG…BANG!”
With that said, Pinkie unleashed her powers…and watched as a tiny firework burst out of her fingers, flew three feet, and landed on the grass with a pathetic pop.
Nobody spoke for a full minute. Pinkie frowned. “Huh…wait, hold on.” She snapped her fingers and watched as a tiny slice of cake fell from the sky. “Huh?!” Pinkie walked over to Discord and snapped her fingers. “Smile.” Discord felt his lips twitch, but that was it.
“…Ssssmmmile,” Pinkie ordered slowly as she snapped her fingers again. Nothing happened. Pinkie frowned at her hoof. “This usually works.”
Discord shrugged. “Well, technical difficulties. It’s not uncommon.” Pinkie examined her hoof. “Here, let me see if I can help. Are you left-handed or right-handed?”
“Um, I’m ambidextrous,” Pinkie answered.
Discord smiled. “Really? Me too. Now, did you put in new batteries?”
“I’ve been eating lots of snacks these past few weeks.”
Discord nodded as he examined her hoof. “Right, that’s not it. Are you on the wrong setting?”
“No, I think I’m on Reality 2.”
“Maybe that’s it. Try changing it to Reality 1.”
“No, Reality 2 is the right setting for my powers. What do you use for yours?”
As Discord and Pinkie chatted, the crowd stared in stunned silence. “…What?” Smog said, speaking for everyone.
“Discord…stop helping her, and please explain…this,” King Sombra requested.
“Oh, sure thing! Excuse me!” Discord tapped on Pinkie’s head, causing the top of it to swing off like a lid. He poked his paw in and came out with Pinkie’s brain.
Pinkie’s tongue stretched out and licked her own brain. “Mm, strawberries!”
“Myself, I have chocolate in my head,” Discord idly said as he examined Pinkie’s brain. He put it back in Pinkie's head and closed the lid. He turned around and told them, “The Elements restrained her powers. But the chaos is growing back inside her quite quickly.”
King Sombra groaned. “I was afraid of this. The Elements of Redemption and Forgiveness weren’t enough. Nightmare Moon, I'm afraid we're going to have to do this the hard way." As the Elements, the royals, and all the citizens of Peaceville got together to discuss what was happening, Pinkie watched them.
And Pinkie Smiled.
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12,791 words...
... classes in 25 minutes...
... damn it, but those are priority.
I LOVE this story! We must have more!
Amazing dream worlds, battle sequence, and horrific ending. It looks like Pinkie's reforming is happening ahead of schedule.
...
smile...
I love this chapter. I was all prepared to be outraged when it looked like you really were petrifying Pinkie again instead of reforming her, but luckily it looks like the elements of redemption will live up to their name. I wonder if the reason they did something as non - redemptive as petrifying Pinkie the first time is because she needed to be "put on ice" until the time when the rest of the mane 6 were alive.
She Smiled... that can't be good.
4923889 What gave you that idea, Sherlock (jk)
4954043 Hmmm... quite a few things, actually.
And Pinkie Smiled.
Oh boy, thats not good!
Also, that battle music tho!
EDIT: I forgot to ask something. At the beginning, well not the VERY beginning, but somewhere near that, was that Nexus? SPELL Nexus from Past Sins? ….How fitting…and a very clever reference to an awesome fanfic!