Chapter 20 - The magic of...
The Magic of…
"Enough of this!" Rainbow Dash suddenly said, seeing Dusk emotionally shattered as Nightmare Moon teased him, she became angry and flew to attack the dark mare.
The six ponies were very close to Nightmare Moon, and Rainbow Dash was extremely fast, so anyone would have bet that Rainbow Dash would succeed in her attack, however, nothing could have been more wrong. At the same incredible speed that Rainbow Dash had taken off from the ground, Nightmare Moon's horn lit up, causing Rainbow Dash to hit an invisible wall, which caused her to bounce off and fall exactly where she was sitting before taking off.
"I already told you, to me, you are just insects." Nightmare Moon said mockingly, turning her back on the six ponies and beginning to walk away. "It's not even worth wasting my time with you anymore."
Once Nightmare Moon was distanced from the ponies, being near the back of the room, where there was a throne next to a pile of rubble, she completely opened her wings and rose slowly while her horn and her eyes shone. While she was doing it, a magical wind began to cross the room where they were and the castle began to tremble.
"I have absorbed the magic of my enemy, I've become more powerful than I ever was! But that's not enough... I can be even more powerful" Nightmare Moon shouted as her eyes and horns lit up more and more, and small stars, like bright spores, began to enter the room through the roof and the windows, surrounding her and accumulating in her horn. "More power... More power...!! The elements of harmony are not the only source of ancient magic in Equestria... There is magic as old as that under my hooves... Now I am powerful enough to absorb even the magic of the Everfree forest!!"
While Nightmare Moon was still in her magical trance, slowly absorbing the dark energy provided by the Everfree forest, without even paying attention to those beings she considered inferior, the mares saw with terror how powerful the dark mare looked as they noticed that parts of the roof of the castle began to fall.
"W-What should we do now!?" Fluttershy said terrified looking at her friends, but mainly focusing her attention on who along the way had been the leader of the expedition, Dusk Shine.
The other mares looked at each other without knowing what to answer and also focused their eyes on Dusk, waiting as always one of his brilliant ideas.
"There's nothing to do... this it the end." Dusk said blankly, without even looking up, with dull eyes.
The five mares were watching Dusk with an expression of surprise and fear, they would have expected any response from Dusk, trying to think a plan or at least that he would say them something to cheer them up, even if it was a white lie that it will help them to maintain hope! But they never thought that Dusk would tell them something like that, he just seemed to have given up.
"W-What are you talking about!? Dusk, we trust you, you are very smart, I know you'll come up with something, we must not give up!" Applejack said upset, taking Dusk by his shoulders, lifting him off the ground and shaking him to make him react.
At the touch of Applejack, Dusk said nothing or reacted, and as if he were a rag doll, he fell back to the ground as Applejack released him, as if his body and had no strength at all. That behavior of Dusk could be attributed to the fact that he had been severely beaten and that he was exhausted, but upon seeing his eyes, the mares knew that this was not what had taken away his strength, it was HE who did not want to get up and fight.
When he fell to the ground, Dusk noticed the distressed faces of the mares. So when he looked at Rarity he saw that the mare's horn shone dimly, then he realized that she had been using her magic on the princess to try to give her some of her magical aura to help her recover.
"As she always does, sacrificing herself for others..." Dusk said weakly, still with his dull eyes, thinking aloud, as if he had completely forgotten that the mares were in front of him. "Like the others... Giving me courage and supporting me... All of them always helping others... Without a hint of selfishness or ego..."
"Dusk... What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked worriedly as she listened to Dusk's whispers.
Then Dusk weakly turned his head to look with his dull eyes in the direction of Pinkie Pie.
"I mean I failed all of you... I... I tried to use the elements of harmony and they rejected me just like they did with Nightmare Moon." Dusk said with a sad look. "I should have let only you five used the elements against her, I... from the beginning I wasn't worthy to use them, I... I'll never be worthy... and now it's my fault that the last hope has been destroyed... I'm sorry." Dusk finished saying monotonously, lowering his head again.
"Dusk... I... I don't know why you have such low self-esteem!" Fluttershy said bringing out all her courage to make herself heard, raising Dusk's head so that he could see her and the others. "But you are a good pony, a great pony! It's just that you don't see it."
"Being a good pony will not take you anywhere! Only the strongest survive!" The memory in Dusk's mind, from his childhood friend telling him that, broke like a crystal.
"I don't think-" Dusk said before being interrupted.
"We all trust you for one reason." Applejack said approaching as well. "Because since we've met you've shown that you're trustworthy, attentive, kind and protective of all of us."
"I should never have trusted you!" Another memory of Dusk's childhood, which until then had continued to corrode his mind, broke.
"I don't-" Dusk said, being interrupted again.
"You have given us more than you think." Rarity said standing next to her friends who were front Dusk. "Your time, your help, your affection. You risk so much and give so much of yourself without even noticing."
"Never give something to others! What's yours is just for you, and no one else's!" Another of the teachings of Dusk's friend that remained in his mind broke.
"I..." Dusk said without being able to finish his sentence, while his thoughts swirled in his head and slowly the brightness returned to his eyes.
"I don't want this to end here." Pinkie Pie said smiling tenderly, also moving closer. "I want to keep laughing and having fun with all my friends. I know you can help us because I know you want the same thing."
"Emotions cloud the judgment! You think that because you smile the problems will be solved!? Don't be silly!" The memory of that phrase, which remained fixed in Dusk's mind for years, broke just like the others.
"But... the elemen-" Dusk said trying to cling to the last excuse he had left to feel miserable with himself, unable to complete his sentence he was interrupted again.
"What does it matter if some stupid stones throw a lightning bolt at you because they think you're not worthy to use them?" Rainbow Dash said, also approaching. "We want to be with you because we really know how you are! That's the important thing!"
"It's unforgivable! I don't want to see you again!" Another phrase said by Dusk's friend, which had been recorded in his mind, trembled and broke completely.
All those phrases that had been burned into Dusk's mind and heart, about not relating to or trusting others, were finally dissolved by the brightness of the new memories that appeared in Dusk's mind now that he saw at the five mares in front of him.
The brightness had completely returned to Dusk's eyes, now he stared at the mares with a deep look of thanks as they continued to look at him with tender smiles, all that while around them the wind continued to accumulate in the room and the castle trembled more and more.
"Do you really want to be with someone like me?" Dusk asked hopefully, forgetting about the whole situation around him, just thinking about that precise moment, nothing else, where he and the five mares were alone. Finally managing to get out of his mouth what he had wanted to say for so long. "You... Do you want to be friends with someone like me?"
The five mares were a little surprised at Dusk's question and looked at each other. Then Pinkie Pie smiled and with her hoof she gently touched Dusk's nose while saying "Boop!" Just as she had already done in the forest.
"Don't be silly." Pinkie Pie said smiling, approaching her face to Dusk. "We are already friends, didn't you see it that way?"
After Pinkie Pie said that, Dusk looked at the faces of the other four mares, who were smiling as well as Pinkie Pie, because they were all thinking the same thing her friend had said, then Dusk made a big smile while feeling a warm feeling in his chest. Dusk had been worried for so long about asking that question to the mares, and the reality was that the mares had already considered him a friend since they met him and spent time with him, and even more, the biggest truth was that now Dusk realized that he had been feeling the same for them since he met them! The question that had tormented him so much, didn't make sense, because you don't know if someone is your friend with a question, the truth was that it's something that you feel, and both Dusk and the mares had felt it since they had known each other, only Dusk had not realized it, until now.
Seeing Dusk with such a big smile, Pinkie Pie also put on the same big smile when she saw that Dusk had finally discovered the truth. Then the pink mare could not help but laugh slightly, ecstatic to see her dear Dusk so happy.
"Hehe..." Pinkie Pie laughed softly. Then, as if it had been a signal, Dusk also started to laugh a little harder, so they both started to laugh while the other four mares smiled because of the contagious laughter emanating from Dusk and Pinkie Pie, none of them paid attention to the disaster that loomed around them, all focused only on that fleeting and beautiful moment they enjoyed together.
Suddenly Dusk wiped away a tear he had been holding, a mixture of grief, relief, and joy, but then he stopped laughing and opened his eyes in amazement to see that some of the broken pieces that remained of the destroyed elements of harmony shone and were flying around Pinkie Pie, who had not even realized that, since she was still laughing.
"Pinkie... W-What did you do...?" Dusk asked, amazed to see such a magical effect, like the other mares, who stared at Pinkie Pie with amazement.
"Hmm? Wow!" Pinkie Pie said as she opened her eyes and saw the small floating fragments of rock flying around her. "Dusk... Is this your magic?"
Dusk continued to watch the spinning stone fragments, while his mind began to work frantically. Dusk remembered what he had read on the pedestal plate, that each element represented something, something that Dusk had not given much thought to since he had seen the five elements physically, and therefore he had only given importance to deduce what was the sixth invisible element, however now he realized that the elements of harmony could be represented in something deeper, not in simple petrified rocks; besides, Princess Celestia had tried to say something about 'virtues that ponies should have' when she told him about the elements before fainting, if all that was true then...
"No, Pinkie, I think it's YOUR magic.” Dusk said as his eyes shone as he realized the revelation. "Always spreading your cheerful smile to others, worried that everyone is happy, as you showed when you wanted to throw me a party despite all the obstacles that prevented it, or when you helped me out of that sad illusion in the forest... If the elements represent great virtues... You would definitely represent the LAUGHTER that we all need in our lives."
Then the fragments that flew around Pinkie Pie shone with more intensity and flew more evenly, following a circle around Pinkie Pie, while she looked surprised and excited what was happening. Then Dusk turned excitedly watching the other mares.
"Five elements for five mares, call me crazy, but now I believe in destiny!" Dusk thought with revitalized hope.
"Fluttershy, you're always attentive to everyone around you, concerned for the welfare of all.” Dusk said looking at Fluttershy, surprising her, making her blush at the compliments. "Caring from big beasts to the smallest and helpless beings, just as you cared for me when we met although I was a complete stranger, just like when you ran to help that sea serpent, facing your fears just to help someone else. Fluttershy, you're pure KINDNESS."
More fragments of stone flew from the destroyed elements of harmony, as had happened with Pinkie Pie, shining and flying around the yellow pegasus.
"Rainbow Dash, you're not only the fastest pony I know, but the most faithful to your friends.” Dusk said, this time looking at Rainbow Dash. "When I was in trouble, you didn't leave me alone, even though you didn't have any guilt, you were always by my side, just like in the forest when, despite having done something horrible to you, you came back to help me, and you taught me to follow your example. You definitely represent the LOYALTY that we all must have."
Again more fragments shone and flew to spin around Rainbow Dash.
"Rarity, there is no pony who sacrifices more of herself than you.” Dusk said, focusing on Rarity this time. "You're always willing to give everything and more than you have, just to see others smile. I'll never forget the great gesture you gave me when you barely knew me, just like you made the sea serpent sacrificing happy giving him something so precious to you. I... I just think that there's no morea GENEROUS pony than you."
More fragments of rock flew, shining and spinning around Rarity.
"Finally, Applejack, the pony everyone can trust, because they know she'll always do the right thing.” Dusk said looking at Applejack. "You're reliable because you always have the truth ready, like when we met and you helped me to tell the truth even though it wasn't something that suited me, but thanks to that, you took a burden off me and others could trust me. As I told you in the forest, I'll not avoid the truth anymore, you can trust me, and I'll always trust you because you are a reliable and HONEST pony."
The last fragments of stone that remained on the ground shone and flew to surround Applejack.
While all that was going under her hooves, without even realizing it, Nightmare Moon was still in a magical trance as she used her powerful magic to gradually absorb the ancient magic of the Everfree forest.
"I've never felt so much energy, so much darkness, so much... Power!" Nightmare Moon thought as her body filled and corrupted with the dark magic of Everfree Forest.
And so Nightmare Moon followed, feeling all the magic around her until a small disturbance caught her attention, a magical disturbance that grew exponentially and finally brought her out of her trance. Then Nightmare Moon lowered her eyes quickly and saw towards the origin of where she felt the disturbance. There, in the center of the room, there were still the six ponies with their dying princess, however, they were not dejected or in panic, they had hope and enthusiasm while something shone around them.
"It's not possible..." Nightmare Moon whispered after realizing the origin of the magic she felt, a magic she had not felt for exactly one thousand years. "IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!"
After screaming, Nightmare Moon lunged with all her fury at the six ponies that were standing. While Dusk, hearing the scream of Nightmare Moon, turned and saw in horror that the dark mare was flying right at them.
"There are the five elements, why hasn't the sixth appeared! If it isn't magic, then what is it!?" Dusk thought frantically, turning to see the mares again. As soon as he did his face changed completely, the five mares looked at him smiling kindly, which immediately made him forget his fears and his heart and mind completely calmed down.
Then, thinking more clearly and serenely, while looking at the faces of his friends, Dusk realized that perhaps he was not completely wrong.
"Maybe Magic truly be the sixth element, the link that connects all the elements of harmony.” Dusk said speaking to the mares, turning his back on the fierce black stampede that was approaching him. "But it's not a magic of light or anything as concrete as that, it's something deeper, I... I know what kind of magic it is!"
Dusk's eyes sparkled at the revelation he had, at the same time, the center ball of the pedestal exploded, causing Nightmare Moon to be hit by the impact and flee in the opposite direction to where she was heading. For their part, the explosion had not affected the six ponies or the princess who rested at their side, so they were not so surprised by the impact received by Nightmare Moon, they were more impressed by the bright dust that had come out of the explosion of the center of the pedestal and that now revolved around Dusk Shine.
"It's not ordinary magic..." Dusk said smiling, still looking at the mares. "It's a magic that I can only use because all of you are by my side."
"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon shouted, who had received no damage due to the explosion and had rushed forward to attack Dusk while he was facing away from her while watching the mares.
Dusk tried to turn quickly after hearing the cry of Nightmare Moon, however, Nightmare Moon was very fast and had shortened most of the distance when Dusk noticed and began to turn around. Seeing that, Fluttershy, who had still fresh the memory of seeing Dusk being hit hard, brought out all her voice due to the desperation of not wanting to see Dusk suffering again.
"NOOO!!" Fluttershy screamed in fright, instinctively opening her wings. A scream that caused the fragments that shone around her to shine brightly and spin at great speed, so creating a magical barrier formed by the wind wave of her wings and her scream, a barrier that interposed between Dusk and Nightmare Moon, causing the dark mare to hit and bounce hard against the ground, just as it had happened to Rainbow Dash before.
When that happened, everyone was surprised, everypony stared at Nightmare Moon while the dark mare growled in pain at the surprise blow, because this time the attack did hurt her. Dusk quickly understood the strength that the elements of the harmony had, and stared determinedly at Nightmare Moon, as she stood up again and glared at the six ponies.
"Okay girls... It's time to end this." Dusk said with determination as the five mares behind him understood what Dusk was referring to and prepared to attack and defend all the ponies of Equestria.
The six ponies felt how the elements of harmony gave them energy, filling their hearts with strength and confidence. Nightmare Moon launched to attack but she was stopped by a kick that the fast Rainbow Dash gave her, falling from above and hitting Nightmare Moon's face directly, a strong blow that destabilized Nightmare Moon and made her fall to the ground again; after that Nightmare Moon rose with effort to attack again, but she was blinded by a powerful light that Rarity created with her magic, who had also run to face the dark mare, causing Nightmare Moon to scream with anger and frustration; then, out of the blue, Pinkie Pie launched herself with her usual smile against Nightmare Moon, falling headfirst like a missile on Nightmare Moon's stomach, knocking the wind out of Nightmare Moon; finally Nightmare Moon managed to recover and saw around her, she was completely surrounded by the six pony, and she did not even notice when Applejack charged against her and gave her a strong blow with her hind legs, causing the dark mare to shoot up and fell heavily against the ground, right in front of Dusk, cracking the floor of the castle.
"It's... impossible..." Nightmare Moon said as she tried to get up once more, even though she felt her energies leave her, because with each blow she had received from the carriers of the elements of harmony, Nightmare Moon had felt that her great power achieved by combining her own magic with the magic drained to Celestia, was slowly vanishing. "I am the most powerful pony in the world... I can not be defeated by you!"
Nightmare Moon raised her head with an effort and saw with hatred Dusk, who was right in front of her. Meanwhile, Dusk had been charging his magic and his horn shone with a great light, like the dust of stones that shone and surrounded his body.
"This is your end, Nightmare Moon. It's time to pay for your sins." Dusk said staring at Nightmare Moon as he lowered his horn to aim at her. He still felt resentment and anger at what Nightmare Moon had done to Celestia, and because she had extinguished the life of the princess's sister, however, while Dusk was saying those words, he realized that he felt a calmness in his heart, so he did not say that words with a feeling of revenge, but simply to do justice.
"NOOO!" Nightmare Moon shouted furiously and terrified as a huge and powerful beam of white energy shot out of Dusk's horn, a bolt of lightning that lit up the entire room, and hit Nightmare Moon directly, causing her to scream in pain, going through and thrown away by the enormous light of the magic of Dusk Shine.
Once Dusk's white magic ray disappeared, everyone noticed that the castle had stopped trembling, and the strong wind that had filled the room at some point had ceased. Nightmare Moon had fallen at one end of the room, completely motionless, with some debris on her and, for some reason, fuming from her body. While the five mares looked at each other, unable to believe what they had done, while Dusk just lowered his head and gave a small smile while sighing.
"It's done.” Dusk said to himself.
Dusk looked up and saw that the fragments of stone that had once been the elements of harmony, were still shining and spinning around him and his friends. Then he saw that the five mares were approaching at him smiling, then he took a step and fell to the ground, his body was totally exhausted, he had used all his magic in the last attack launched at Nightmare Moon.
"Dusk!" The worried mares cried as they watched Dusk fall, hurrying to be with him.
Then Dusk looked back to where the pedestal had been and saw that the princess was still, exactly where they had left her.
"I'm fine, I'm just tired.” Dusk said quickly to reassure the mares that were approaching him. "More importantly, check if Princess Celestia is alright."
The mares looked towards the princess and realized that for a few seconds they had completely forgotten about her, so they did what Dusk told them and they all ran to verify the status of the princess.
While the mares were helping the princess, Dusk dropped completely, with his back to the ground and looking towards the destroyed roof, trying to recover the energy he had lost.
"The power of the elements of harmony is incredible." Dusk thought as he looked at the ceiling and saw sideways the dust and fragments of stone that twisted and shone on him. "A very powerful magic... but I'm not sure that this is all its potential after all the princess was able to exile to Nightmare Moon to the moon using the elements, however, the power we use couldn't perform such feat ... I guess that the princess could achieve it because she is an alicorn..."
While Dusk looked at the ceiling, he realized that there was something beside him, then turned his head and saw that right next to where he had dropped himself, there was a colorful flower, it was the flower 'rainbow shine' that he had given to Rarity and that with all the commotion and movement they had made, it had fallen from Rarity's mane. Dusk stretched his hoof, took it and stared at it for a while, thinking that he would have liked to have another of those flowers to be able to give it to his teacher who was still unconscious.
Suddenly there was a noise that startled Dusk, he immediately saw where he had heard the noise, right where Nightmare Moon had fallen defeated. Dusk stared intently until he saw to his relief that it had only been a piece of the debris that had fallen on Nightmare Moon, a rubble that had fallen to the ground.
"What a relief... For a second I thought-" Dusk said sighing, not being able to finish his sentence.
"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon cried loudly, rising suddenly surrounded by a whirlwind of darkness.
Then, with a speed that she had not shown until then, she flew like lightning and fell right on top of Dusk, who due to the surprise and speed of the dark mare, could not react in time.
"I AM THE DARKNESS! I AM NIGHTMARE THE IMMORTAL! THE MOST POWERFUL BEING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD!" Nightmare Moon shouted in a deep and terrifying voice as she held Dusk, who was still on his back, facing his captor.
Dusk had no choice but to see Nightmare Moon directly, then he was terrified to see how the dark mare looked now. This time she looked totally terrifying, with her eyes totally white, her face cracked as if it were a mask, and a whirlwind of dark magic surrounding her body, which made stand out even more the aura that she emanated, a killer aura.
"DUSK!!" The five mares shouted, turning immediately to help Dusk.
Nightmare Moon quickly brought her horn to Dusk's neck and pressed it against him as she glanced sideways at the approaching mares.
"One more step and I'll slice his neck!" Nightmare Moon shouted, still with her new terrifying voice, a deep voice that seemed a mixture between her voice and that of a huge beast.
In the act the five mares stopped, only seeing impotent as the dark mare had totally subdued to Dusk. While Dusk tried again to use his magic and make use of the elements of harmony, however, although the fragments of stone continued to shine and turn on him, it seemed that the dark shadows that emanated from this new and terrifying appearance of Nightmare Moon, avoided that Dusk could fully use the magic of the elements.
"I will absorb all the magic of this kingdom! Starting with you!" Nightmare Moon said staring with her white eyes at Dusk, as she put her horn in contact with Dusk's horn and began to use the same demon magic spell she had used on Celestia.
"Aghh!" Dusk shouted as he felt that his magic and his life force were being drained, all that while he felt as Nightmare Moon scratched and dug into his feelings and emotions.
Nightmare Moon began to smile cruelly as she watched Dusk suffer and saw the helpless face of the mares that watched her. However, there was something else that suddenly caught the attention of Nightmare Moon, a flower that was next to where Dusk was.
While that was happening, Dusk felt a strange sensation. While he felt that Nightmare Moon could feel his emotions, he also began to feel emotions that were not his, it was then that Dusk remembered what the princess had said about demonic magic, that it was a double-edged sword, something that he remotely remembered having read sometime since he himself had studied the basics of dark magic, something that only the most outstanding, responsible and powerful unicorns of the kingdom were allowed to study, only to know how to defend themselves from such magic, for the same reason, probably less than ten ponies in all of Equestria had knowledge of dark magic, and Dusk was one of them. It was so that, while Dusk felt the feelings of Nightmare Moon while she drained his magic, he for a moment could feel something strange in Nightmare Moon, a feeling that she tried to hide, that feeling was 'doubt', something that made Nightmare Moon to doubt only a second, which Dusk took to turn the double-edged sword and attack Nightmare Moon.
When Dusk used his magic to repel and counterattack, Nightmare Moon opened her eyes completely due to the surprise and a flash of memories of her own and of Dusk crossed the head of both.
"What's wrong, sister? Why are you so sad?" Asked a young white-coat alicorn.
"I just thought... That there are so many beautiful things in the day, but in the night... seems everything goes out... That's why everyone prefers the day." The younger sister of the white alicorn responded, a dark blue-coat alicorn.
"That's not true, there are hundreds of beautiful things in the night, like the moon and the stars." The older sister said.
"But there are things you can not see in the night, even if you try... like the rainbows..." The younger sister said sadly.
Quickly the memory vanished and another memory appeared.
The blue alicorn walked through the halls of a castle, entering her room, until she was surprised that someone was already inside her room.
"What are you doing here, sister?" The younger alicorn asked.
"I thought you would like this." The larger alicorn said, showing her younger sister what she had left on the table next to her bed.
The blue alicorn approached and saw that there was a vase with some beautiful flowers that had petals of different colors, and that even seemed to have a slight shine of their own.
"They are beautiful..." The blue alicorn said surprised.
"They are very rare flowers, but I'll make sure to personally bring you one of these flowers every time the previous ones wither, it'll be our secret." The white alicorn said with joy. "So you can see and have your own rainbow in the night."
The blue alicorn approached her sister and hugged her.
"I love you, sister." The blue alicorn said affectionately.
Again the memory vanished, giving way to another one.
"Why can't I be as strong as her!? Why can't I be as respected and loved as she is!? Why am I always the second!?" The blue alicorn yelled annoyed, throwing herself furiously on her bed.
Then the blue alicorn saw the vase with the rainbow flowers next to her bed, she moved her hoof quickly and hit the vase, causing it to break and the flowers to fall to the floor.
"If I can't overcome her magic, then I'll learn new magic." The blue alicorn said, using her magic to levitate a black book surrounded by chains and a padlock. "I'll know and use the darkest mysteries of magic, so I'll become the wisest and most powerful pony that has ever existed..." The blue alicorn said, breaking the padlock of the book. "That way I'll be... loved by everyone."
Finally the third memory vanished, to give way to a final memory.
"Princess... Why do you always put those flowers next to your throne?" A very young lavender-coat unicorn colt said.
"It's because I like its company... So at least I can remember her and imagine that she's still by my side." The white alicorn replied.
"Company of whom?" The little lavender colt asked curiously.
Then the princess looked at him, smiled, and took Dusk's head fondly.
"From my beloved Lulu." The princess replied smiling.
"ENOUGH!" Nightmare Moon shouted, back to reality. She stopped being in touch with Dusk's horn and took a few steps back to get away, while her breathing was shaking and her head was crouching.
Everything that Nightmare Moon had seen, Dusk had also seen, due to the link of the spell, which caused many ideas and thoughts about what he had seen begin to circulating through his mind, however he did not have time to meditate on the matter, he needed to react now that he had time. Dusk quickly stood up and stood guard as his horn gleamed and the fragments of the elements that swirled over him shone even brighter. At that moment Nightmare Moon finally raised her head and saw Dusk with anger, the same terrifying look full of anger with those big white eyes, only this time the eyes of Nightmare Moon were gushing tears non-stop, as if her mind told her that she had to kept attacking but her heart cried for stopping, something that it seemed that she herself had not realized, since her gaze was still of deep hatred towards Dusk.
"WAAHHH!!" Nightmare Moon shouted again with a great cry that rumbled throughout the room, releasing a great expansive wave of power, ready to attack Dusk again. While Dusk endured the shock wave, he could not fully understand why, but it seemed that Nightmare Moon instead of weakening, began to get stronger with every second.
As soon as Dusk saw that he would be attacked, he used all his strength and again accumulated energy in his horn, to then launch the same great and powerful beam of energy that had almost defeated Nightmare Moon before, however as soon as the beam struck the dark mare, this time she did not shoot away, now she resisted it, all while the dark smoke that surrounded her moved like tentacles around her and her eyes shone more and more as they continued to shed tears, at the same time her face looked every once more emaciated. Being Nightmare Moon able to withstand the attack, the magic of Dusk continued to maintain the energy beam, causing the room to be filled with light and wind, as if there was a small hurricane in the room.
Dusk kept the beam hitting Nightmare Moon, giving everything he had, however he realized that this would not be enough, and if his energy beam was not enough, neither would the attacks of the mares if they returned it to attack... And to make everything worse, it seemed that the power of Dusk was running out while the Nightmare Moon's power increased, it seemed that the energy of Everfree forest that Nightmare Moon had absorbed, had indeed made her more powerful, but also made her more unstable mentally, an emotional instability that Dusk knew how to take advantage of to escape her previous attack, but that would not help him to win now. Dusk could not take it anymore, he was using all his magic and all the magic that the element of harmony that was spinning all around him he offered, he just did not know what else to do or who else to turn to.
"Dusk... we're with you." Rainbow Dash said suddenly, who had struggled despite the strong wind generated in the room, and now was behind Dusk, touching his back with her hoof. As she did so, the fragments of stone flying around Rainbow Dash spun faster and shining even brighter, forming a bright ring around her while her cutie mark began to glow at the same time.
"You don't have to do it alone." Fluttershy said, following Rainbow Dash's example, as the same thing happened with the stone fragments that were flying around her and her cutie mark was also beginning to shine.
"Together we are stronger." Pinkie Pie added doing the same, and causing the same effect on her element of harmony and her cutie mark.
"You can always trust us." Rarity said, also touching Dusk, unnoticed that her cutie mark had begun to shine.
"Always, in good times and in bad times." Applejack added, who almost lost her hat due to the strong wind, also with her element of harmony spinning at full speed and her cutie mark shining brightly.
Dusk could not move his head, as he was pointing his horn towards Nightmare Moon, throwing the energy beam, however he could see Rainbow Dash and the others out of the corner of his eye, besides feeling their warm hooves on him.
"It's true... I don't have to do this alone anymore... None of us has to do it separately!" Dusk said looking sideways at the mares as his eyes shone, as did the fragments of dust and stones that swirled around him, shining like his cutie mark. Then he again focused his eyes on Nightmare Moon. "This time all together!"
The six ponies were finally together, thinking and feeling like one, with their sights fixed on the goal, fighting to save Equestria! Save the ponies! Save their friends!! Then the six ponies began to shine, causing the whole room to be illuminated by the light, filling all present with peace and harmony in their souls, filling them with pure and comforting energy, a magical sensation that would have been pleasant to anyone, anyone except the dark being that was in that room.
The beam that Dusk had thrown was still there, but this time it was bigger, and not only white, this time lights of different colors were snaked by the lightning, hitting directly to Nightmare Moon, who gave a loud and deep scream as she was being pushed and crossed by the power of the harmony, nevertheless, she continued standing, resisting, nevertheless she did not seem to be in a natural posture, more it seemed as if she was fighting against her own body.
"Now! Banish me now!!" Nightmare Moon suddenly shouted, opening her eyes and showing that her pupils had reappeared, but not those wicked and sharp eyes, but big, sad eyes, using a softer voice, the same voice that Dusk had heard of Nightmare Moon when he almost defeated her for the first time in the forest. "The magic of harmony can nott kill... Banish me to the moon now that I can stop her!"
"Don't! Get out of here! You are only a shadow of what I was! When I was weak and stupid!" Nightmare Moon shouted again, this time again having her evil eyes and her terrifying voice, speaking to herself.
While throwing the beam, Dusk used all his strength to approach Nightmare Moon and at the same time bring the beam to her.
"Please stop me!" Nightmare Moon shouted again using her soft voice, crying in pain for capturing Dusk's attention. "The power of the forest has made her more dangerous than ever! You must finish me one way or another!"
"SHUT UP!!" Nightmare Moon shouted again with the terrifying voice, closing her eyes with fury and trying to control her body again. "I will not return to that loneliness! YOU DON'T WANT THAT LONELINESS!"
"I must be alone and imprisoned..." Nightmare Moon quarreled with herself again, speaking in her soft voice as she expressed deep sadness. "I have to pay for my crimes... I must protect them from you! I must protect them from me!"
"We are one! You can't run away from me!" Nightmare Moon shouted furiously, with her voice terrifying.
"Please... Nobody needs me... Just finish me off." Nightmare Moon said crying, using her soft voice, finally getting her eyes to the front, where Dusk was already, keeping the powerful beam of energy over her.
As soon as Dusk arrived in front of Nightmare Moon, he saw the face of the dark mare, which seemed out of place, showing two different expressions on each side of her face, on one side had a pleading look with large eyes that cried, and in the other side had her classic sharp and evil look, looking at Dusk with fury.
"I used to believe the same thing you did." Dusk said looking at Nightmare Moon with a calm look. "That solitude and confinement were the solution... But the truth is that we all need someone."
Then Dusk approached and hugged Nightmare Moon warmly and warmly, causing the room to fill with a white light, blinding everyone in the room. While Dusk and Nightmare Moon began to rise to the ceiling.
"NOOOoooooo...!!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she looked up and it seemed that her body was burning, releasing black smoke that was diluting as she rose.
Finally a great roar was heard, throwing white light and rays of colors throughout the room, leaving the room again in silence while the view began to return for the mares, who had been blinded by the explosion of light.
"Ugh... my head..." Rainbow Dash said standing up, touching her head with her hoof.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked, looking around.
"Oh! It can't be!" Rarity shouted suddenly, making everyone turn worriedly to see her. However, upon seeing her, they all saw that she had not cried out in fear, but that she had apparently shouted with happiness.
"My tail! My tail grew again!" Rarity added with joy, shaking happily her beautiful tail from side to side, which had been perfectly restored thanks to the magic of harmony.
"Oh, Rarity! What a lovely necklace!" Fluttershy said happily to see her friend so happy, but attracted by the beautiful necklace that Rarity wore at that moment.
"Necklace?" Rarity asked, looking down and surprised to see the gorgeous jewelery item she wore around her neck, a beautiful gold necklace with a purple diamond-shaped gem in its center.
"Woooo... It's shaped like your cutie mark!" Pinkie Pie said, leaning close to see Rarity's necklace.
"So does yours!" Rarity added, noting immediately that both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie also had similar necklaces, only that Fluttershy's had a pink butterfly-shaped gem, and Pinkie Pie's had a sky blue balloon-shape gem.
Both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lowered their heads and saw with amazement and joy that both also had necklaces, which made Pinkie Pie jump of emotion for all to see her necklace. Something similar happened with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who when seeing that their friends had those necklaces, lowered their heads and saw that they also had one each, Applejack with an orange apple-shaped gem, and Rainbow Dash with a red lightning bolt-shaped gem.
"Meh... I don't like wearing necklaces, but I guess this's not bad at all." Rainbow Dash said a little blushed, as she did not want to admit that a silly girlie ornament like a necklace could be of her complete pleasure.
"But where did these necklaces come from?" Applejack asked thinking aloud.
"That is the new form that the elements of harmony took." Said suddenly a soft voice that all the mares knew, causing the five mares to turn to see where the voice had come from.
"Princess Celestia!" The five mares said in unison, so surprised to see her standing after having seen her in such a bad state that they almost forgot to make the classic bow.
"The elements of harmony are the most powerful magic of Equestria, and you have been chosen to carry such important objects because all you are the ones that best represent what each element is." The princess said, smiling. "So much is their power that they were able to stop the powerful Nightmare Moon, and in the process make me recover my magic and my health."
After saying that, it was Princess Celestia who gave a small bow in front of the mares, before the incredulous look of the five mares.
"It's me who should thank you." The princess finished saying, raising her head again.
"Wait... Where's Dusk Shine!?" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, making all the mares worry about not seeing him anywhere.
Seeing the mares worried, Princess Celestia looked up calmly so that the other mares followed her sight. There, in the destroyed ceiling of the hall, going down slowly, there was still a big ball of light, one that as it descended was losing its light, making visible little by little what was in the center of it. It was Dusk, who was falling slowly holding someone in his hooves.
Once Dusk touched the ground, the five mares ran to him, followed by Princess Celestia. When they came face to face with Dusk, the mares could see that he was holding a mare with blue coat, with light blue mane and tail, but what was most striking was that she had a big horn and wings, she was an alicorn
"Wh-Who is she?" Fluttershy asked, looking confused at the mare who resting with her eyes closed on Dusk's hooves.
Dusk Shine was silent for a moment before speaking, he could not take his eyes off the mare or stop feeling compassion for the mare he held in his hooves. He had been able to feel all the feelings that overwhelmed Nightmare Moon when she tried to absorb his magic, he could feel the violent and confused swirl of emotions that filled the dark mare, like anger, pride and instability, however deep down he too had felt what she had tried to hide: grief, guilt and regret. When feeling all that, Dusk could not avoid feeling empathy and pity for the being that held in front of him, a pony that Dusk finally could discover who she really was after seeing the visions that he and Nightmare Moon shared.
"It's Princess Luna..." Dusk finally answered, looking at the blue alicorn and then looking up to see Princess Celestia. "Isn't that so?"
The princess, who had fixed her eyes all the time on the blue alicorn, trying to avoid letting go of tears and showing her emotions, finally stopped seeing her and saw Dusk when he asked her the question.
"That's right... She's my sister." The princess replied nodding and closing her eyes.
"Sister!?" The five mares said in unison, surprised at such revelation.
"But you said... That she was dead." Dusk added looking confused at his teacher.
"What I told you was the same as the history books say, that a great evil was the one that consumed and destroyed Luna." The princess replied sadly. "That can be understood with many interpretations... I knew the truth... but everyone else understood other thing."
"But why did not you tell everyone the truth?" Dusk asked, although deep down he already thought he knew the answer.
"Because I didn't want everyone to see my sister as a monster..." The princess said approaching a little more to where Dusk was, sitting next to Luna and Dusk. "I didn't want them to know what she became."
"Wait a second..." Applejack said suddenly, shaking her head and staring fearfully at the blue alicorn while aiming her. "You... You're saying that... Is she Nightmare Moon?"
Neither Dusk nor the princess answered the question, but leaving the silence implied that what Applejack had asked was true, so the five mares were a little frightened at such revelation.
Suddenly the blue alicorn began to moan slightly and to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was a handsome lavender unicorn who held her between his hooves and looked at her with a kind look. The heart of the blue alicorn began to beat quickly when she realized the new sensations and emotions that she felt, now she was seeing with her own eyes and she could feel the warm touch of another pony... How long ago she did not feel the warmth of the contact of someone else…? Besides, before her eyes was the pony she remembered from her dreams, or rather her nightmares, the pony that had appeared as a bright light in her long nightmare of a thousand years and had finally saved her.
"You... you are the colt of my dreams..." Luna said without being able to tell if what she saw and felt was real or just a dream. "This is real?"
Hearing her soft voice, Dusk smiled kindly and said nothing, he knew how confused she must be at that moment, and there was someone else waiting to talk to her.
Dusk gently left the blue alicorn on the floor, who remained in a sitting position and raised her head to continue watching Dusk. Luna did not want to stop looking at Dusk, she had not felt this good in a long time, and she still feared that all of that was a happy little dream that would end at any moment, making her return to her bitter nightmare, so she wanted to enjoy everything she could of that beautiful moment.
How Luna was watching him for so long, Dusk could not help but blush at having Luna so close and feeling the affection emanating from those beautiful turquoise eyes.
"AHEM!" Suddenly a cough was heard to the side, which caused Luna turn her gaze away from Dusk. The cough had been made by Rainbow Dash, since she, like the other four mares, began to feel uncomfortable and annoyed to see that Luna and Dusk did not stop seeing each other.
Luna turned her eyes, seeing all the mares one by one, until finally she saw Celestia, who was watching her with an expectant look, trying not to let her emotions show through. Luna stared at her, she still not sure if it was all a dream, then Luna looked around and saw the destroyed castle, it was only then that the memories of everything that happened cleared up in her mind and she understood everything there was happened, so she refocused her gaze on Celestia as her breathing was shaking and her eyes showed enormous pain.
"Sister! I... I'm sorry. "Luna said as she began to cry and all the guilt she had been repressing for a thousand years finally came to light. "I wanted to be stronger than you, more beloved than you... Ambition corrupted me! I... I decided to use dark magic But I lost control! Please sister, forgive me! I did so much harm... So much damage, and I could not stop myself. Sister, I... I AM SO SORRY!"
Luna began to cry uncontrollably, but was soon restrained by a strong and warm embrace from her older sister.
"I forgive you sister... And I also apologize." Princess Celestia said, unable to contain her emotions anymore and crying with joy. "Sorry for not having noticed in time what tormented you... Forgive me for not having been able to save you before... We are both princesses, but we are still simple ponies. We are sisters first of all, I... I don't want to lose you again!"
Both alicorns continued hugging, crying for a while, causing a scene so emotional that even the mares began to cry a little, like Dusk, who could not help letting go of a small tear when he saw that his teacher finally managed to reunite with her beloved sister.
"Are you crying?" Dusk said playfully, approaching to Rainbow Dash when he saw that she, like the other mares, was crying.
"Of course not, it's just... I just got something in my eye." Rainbow Dash said blushing, looking away and wiping away her tears. "Anyway... I think it's enough of girly sweet moments..."
"I think you're right." Princess Celestia said suddenly, standing up and smiling as she helped her sister to get up as well. "This day is a celebration, and today more than ever we must celebrate, since my beloved sister has finally returned! It's time to go back."
Then Princess Celestia's horn lit up, generating a great flash by using her teleportation to transport the eight presents ponies back to Ponyville.
"Let us out!" Shouted one of the many ponies who kept demanding that they open the doors of the great hall to leave.
The royal guard still stood firmly in front of the main door of the great hall of the Ponyville Town Hall, but with every minute that passed the crowd became angrier, he knew he could not stand much more...
Since the disaster of the appearance of Nightmare Moon and the incineration of Princess Celestia, both the Mayor and the royal guards who had accompanied the princess had been harassed by questions, all demanded explanations, help or simply indications to know what to do, something they did not know how to answer, since none of them knew the answers. It was in that moment of uncertainty when one of the guards saw a lavender unicorn run out of the great hall, the same unicorn that had insulted the princess before the appearance of Nightmare Moon, then the same royal guard saw that after that unicorn, other five ponies also came out running from the great hall.
"This is a disaster! We can't allow the panic to spread!" The guard had thought after seeing those ponies escape from the great hall. Then he immediately went to the doors and closed them so that no one else left.
Then the royal guards and the Mayor decided that this was the best option until receiving reinforcements and instructions from Canterlot, from whoever was in charge now! The only thing they could do at the moment was try to calm the ponies of the great hall and prevent everyone from running and spread the news of the death of the princess, because that would generate chaos throughout the kingdom, causing revolt or even encouraging other nations to invade Equestria now that they was vulnerable. However, the longer the hours passed, the harder it became to control the huge crowd of ponies, which became increasingly restless at every minute. Finally everything came to a point where the guards could not suppress the situation anymore.
All the ponies in the room began to press and push the doors to leave the great hall, passing through the guards, until they finally managed to open the doors and everypony ran out of the great hall.
FLASH!
A sudden flash appeared in front of the doors of the great hall, just in front of where the crowd was, which stopped in the act before the sudden light. After the flash went off, all the ponies saw astonished who were there: seven ponies next to their beloved princess, who looked radiant and smiling in front of them.
All the ponies were petrified, not knowing if what they saw was real or not, since they had all seen how the princess had been reduced to ashes. Seeing the doubts in the eyes of the ponies, the horn of Princess Celestia began to shine, making the sun finally appear in the sky and finally ending with the long night promised by Nightmare Moon.
"Don't fear, my dear ponies, everything is fine. In fact, everything is better than ever." The princess said, still smiling and glancing at her sister.
"PRINCESS!!" Everyone shouted, forgetting the formalities and the obeisances, and jumping to surround the princess and trying to hug her, although the composure quickly returned to the group of ponies and they just stayed close, without having the courage or the daring to embrace their royal highness.
The next thing that happened was that Princess Celestia explained that the alicorn next to her was her sister Luna, who had been controlled by a dark force and thus Nightmare Moon had tried to control Equestria, but thanks to the help of her student Dusk Shine and the other mares, both she and her sister had been saved.
After the explanation, the reactions of the crowd were varied: with Luna, there were some looks of doubt and others of fear, but the vast majority believed in the words of their princess and was glad to have another princess with them; similar was the reaction to the five mares that accompanied Dusk, who were seen as local heroines and everyone supported and celebrated them; while the reactions towards Dusk Shine were more divided, many ponies were happy and grateful that he had saved both princesses, however many others looked at him with distrust, still having the fresh memory of having seen him despising his beloved princess, something of that Luna realized immediately.
After the explanation, the Summer Sun Celebration finally began, and since the sun had already risen, everyone began to celebrate, dance and eat, celebrating the sunrise, the return of their princess, and the return to life of Princess Luna, being the princesses the center of attention, while many ponies had approached until the five mares to listen of their lips about the great adventure that they had lived.
"I'm sorry..." Luna suddenly said looking sadly at Dusk, who was still next to her, after received a necklace of flowers that some foals had given her kindly. "You are a hero and I'm a villain... If they knew the whole truth you would be the one who was greeted with flowers and I would be the one despised..."
"Don't say that, it doesn't matter what some ponies think of me." Dusk said honestly, who had also noticed some antipathy on the part of some ponies, but he hadn't given importance, since now he had friends, and only their opinion mattered to him. "Besides, you were being controlled, it wasn't your fault."
"That's not true!" Luna said bitterly. "Nightmare Moon was a representation of my deepest desires, a dark being made with my anger, envy and vanity, she was part of my personality... I was the one who let my selfish desires consume me and control me... I should be locked in a prison alone, not being celebrated or praised."
"Dusk... You saved me from myself, I don't know how to return the favor." Luna added, staring at Dusk, wanting to pay in some way what Dusk had done for her. "Please, tell me something, anything you want, and I'll do the impossible to fulfill whatever you want!"
Dusk stared at Luna, knowing what she must be feeling, for he was once also eaten up with guilt and the desire to be alone, so there was only one thing he could ask for.
"So... I want you to be happy and not feel guilty anymore." Dusk said smiling, staring at Luna. "You don't need to be alone anymore, every time you think you're alone, remember that you have me." Dusk added understanding the value of a friend, because if Luna needed a friend, he was willing to be and help her, just like his friends had helped him.
The words of Dusk were a total surprise for Luna, who only blinked confused and blushed a little to see how kind he was with her and how he wanted to continue helping her.
"Our hearts will always be together." Dusk said, finishing his speech, saying something a little cheesy, but feeling that this was the best way to express the bond he had formed with the mares when they become friends, a bond that Luna and he also could form if she wanted to him as friend.
"He-Hearts together...?" Luna said surprised, while on her cheeks it became more noticeable that they were blushing.
Seeing behind Luna, Dusk saw that Princess Celestia had moved a little away from the crowd, which made him remember that he still had to talk something with her, so he gave a small bow to say goodbye to Luna, he smiled, and he left, leaving the blue alicorn confused while many ideas went through her head.
"Princess!" Dusk said approaching Princess Celestia.
"My dear Dusk, is something wrong?" The princess said, noticing some concern in Dusk.
"I... wanted to take advantage of the fact that you're alone to apologize for my behavior, and for everything I said before Nightmare Moon appeared." Dusk said with his head bowed.
"Oh, Dusk, do you really think I could be mad at you after everything you did for me?" Princess Celestia said with a smile. "You saved Equestria, you gave me back my sister, I couldn't be happier and proud of you." Then the princess looked affectionately at Dusk and gently lifted Dusk's head with her hoof. "I know it's not right for me to say it, because as a princess of the kingdom I can't have favorites, but I have to admit that... Sometimes I like to think you're like a son to me, so I could never hate you."
Upon hearing those words, Dusk smiled tenderly, for he also felt the same for his beloved teacher, obviously he did not forget his real mother, but he really felt that the princess was like a second mother to him.
"When you came to me with your worried face, I thought it would be for something more important." The princess added suddenly, making a slightly mischievous smile. "Like that you didn't like the cute tiara you wear on your head."
"Tiara?" Dusk said confused, then he lifted a hoof up to his head and realized that he was indeed carrying something on top of him, then he used his magic to levitate it out of his head to see what it was.
Dusk was surprised and embarrassed to see that he was indeed wearing what appeared to be a golden tiara, with a rose color gem with the shape of his cutie mark.
"W-What is this!? And since when do I have it on me!? "Dusk asked surprised and nervous, almost in a scream.
"First, it is the element of harmony that represents magic; and second, you've been wearing it since you defeated Nightmare Moon." Celestia replied, amused by the reaction of her beloved student.
Dusk looked at the golden tiara and blushed, covering his face with a hoof, ashamed that all this time he had been walking and talking to everyone wearing a cute and feminine tiara. Meanwhile, Dusk's five friends had heard Dusk's sudden cry of surprise and had come to hear what he and the princess were talking about.
"Well... at least I'll not have to use it again." Dusk said a little irritated to see that the princess was having fun again at his expense. Then he stretched his hoof to give the element of magic to the princess.
The princess saw Dusk and then saw the five mares that were behind Dusk, each still wearing the necklace with their respective elements of harmony, then she made Dusk turn so that he could see the mares face to face.
"Tell me... Do you think there is someone more capable and with more virtues than the ponies that now carry the elements of harmony?" The princess asked, looking at Dusk and aiming at him so that he could see the five mares face to face.
The five mares, who had managed to hear what Princess Celestia had asked Dusk, stared at him with a smile. While Dusk stared at Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash while his heart was also excited to see them smiling.
"No... Definitely they are the most faithful representatives of the elements they carry. They deserve to wear those elements." Dusk said smiling, answering the princess's question.
"I wasn't only referring to them." The princess said, spinning Dusk again with her hoof so that he could see her face to face. "You are the one who forged a powerful bond with all them, you were the one who united and guided them, you are the one who discovered the truth behind the elements of harmony, and YOU are the most faithful representative of the element of magic." Princess Celestia finished saying, using her magic to levitate the tiara that Dusk held, making it shine and changing its shape a little, making it take a slightly less feminine form, but without altering its basic form, to finally put it back on the head of Dusk. Although Dusk did not see them, since he was turning his back on them, the five mares listened to each word of the princess and nodded smiling, being totally in agreement with what the princess said with.
"By the way..." The princess added after seeing that Dusk still doubted his own worth. "It's true that the sixth element of harmony is magic, but it's not an ordinary magic."
At the words of the princess, the five mares were put on alert, as they had all heard Dusk's explanation that the elements of harmony represented different virtues, and they, like Dusk, knew that the magic that Dusk had used had not been a simple magic of light, no, they had also felt something in their hearts when Dusk used his magic.
"Yes... I discovered it when I was surrounded by the girls, who were always there to support me." Dusk said proudly of having discovered what the princess meant. "The sixth element is..."
"The magic of love!" The five mares said in unison.
"The magic of friendship!" Dusk said excitedly, at the same time as the mares, so he could not hear what the mares said.
Princess Celestia, who had an excellent ear and had heard and differentiated what Dusk and the mares had said, looked for a moment at the mares and could not help but smile with the same mischievous smile she used to make when she bothered Dusk.
"That's right, my dear Dusk... it's the magic of friendship." The princess finally answered, lowering her eyes to look at her student, while Dusk smiled brightly at being congratulated by his teacher for giving the correct answer.
Meanwhile, the mares had turned to stone, frozen, without moving a single muscle, all thinking of the same thing: 'FRIENDZONE'.
After that talk, Princess Celestia looked up at the sky to calculate the time, then saw her sister and saw her carriage that was not far away, ready to go back to the capital of the kingdom.
"I guess it's time to go back to Canterlot..." Princess Celestia said looking towards the carriage.
After the words of the princess, Dusk's heart tightened with anguish. He would have liked that moment never ended, because he was happy, surrounded by friends, being with his beloved teacher... but unfortunately everything good had an end.
Princess Celestia saw the anguish in Dusk's face because of the decision he was going to make, she could read his student's mind, she knew what he was thinking. What Dusk did not know was that she had the same anguish that Dusk felt, she loved Dusk so much, she did not want to separate from what for her would always be her little child, and for her it would be very easy to make Dusk stay with her, just a word from her and she knew that he would not leave her... However, she felt that the best thing for Dusk this time was to be away from her, that was his destiny.
"Tell me Dusk, what will you do?" The princess said reading Dusk's mind, surprising the unicorn. "And I don't want you to make a decision with this," The princess added, pointing Dusk's head. "But with this." She finished saying, pointing to Dusk's heart.
Dusk was silent for a moment and took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to do would change his life forever, but he felt he had to make that change.
"I... both my head and my heart tell me to stay here." Dusk finally said looking with touching eyes at the princess. "For the safety of Equestria, I believe that the elements must remain together, as well as their carriers."
"But... if I have to be honest." Dusk added, looking straight ahead at the five mares, who had already emerged from their stupor. "The truth is that I am the one who wants to stay here in Ponyville... With them."
The warm and honest words of Dusk relieved a bit the disappointment that the mares had felt when discovering that Dusk saw them only as friends, so Rarity and Pinkie Pie ran to hug him smiling, followed by Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who for shyness and/or embarrassment, they did not dare to throw themselves in public at the hooves of a colt, but still they approached Dusk and blushed when they met his gaze.
"I'm glad to hear that." Princess Celestia said, sad to know that she would no longer have her beloved student at her side, but very happy to see that he was finally surrounded by others who loved him as he was.
"But... How can I continue my studies here?" Dusk asked, realizing that he had forgotten that little detail.
The princess smiled, when a brilliant idea occurred to her.
"Spike, take note... Spike?" Princess Celestia said, looking around and just realizing that the little dragon was nowhere to be found. "Well... I guess I'll have to do it myself..."
Then Princess Celestia used her magic to make a parchment and a quill appear, and began to write without even looking at the parchment while dictating aloud.
"Royal Decree No. 2,105.
I, Princess Celestia, decree today:
May the unicorn known as Dusk Shine have a new mission for Equestria. He must continue to study the magic that forms and surrounds the elements of harmony, and report his findings to me from his new home in Ponyville.
Communicate and publish throughout Equestria.
Signature, Princess Celestia."
After the words of the princess, Dusk smiled like a foal receiving his best gift, while still surrounded and embraced, now by the five mares, since both Applejack and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, had taken advantage while the princess was talking to get closer to Dusk and embrace him discreetly and affectionately, as Rarity and Pinkie Pie already had did.
"Thank you princess!" Dusk said happily.
After that, Princess Celestia said goodbye with a warm hug from Dusk and climbed into the carriage, followed by her younger sister. Then the carriage got ready to leave.
"Is something wrong, Luna?" Princess Celestia asked when she saw that her sister seemed distracted.
"Eh!? N-Nothing... Everything is fine." Luna quickly said, trying in vain to act normal.
Celestia obviously saw the strange attitude of her sister, but decided to think it was normal that she was distracted after everything that had happened, besides there was no need to worry, now they both had all the time in the world to talk and repair their sisters relationship. Meanwhile, Luna breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that her sister had not noticed that she had been staring at Dusk while he and the other ponies were starting to dismiss them as the carriage began to move. Luna took one quick look at Dusk for the last time and again felt her cheeks warm slightly for some reason, as thousands of ideas and feelings began to fill her, all revolving around the lavender unicorn that had saved her.
"I'll look forward to your reports on... the magic of FRIENDSHIP." The princess said with a smile once the carriage had begun to rise, emphasizing the word 'friendship' and seeing how the five mares that were with Dusk once again became uncomfortable listening to that word.
"Maybe now I'm not having fun only with Dusk... Maybe I've found other five cute mares that will be fun to annoy, especially if Dusk is in between." Celestia thought smiling, thinking that her poor student had passed the test of making friends, but now he would have to overcome a much greater test... To know the bittersweet that comes with having conquered the heart of five mares.
"After all, love and friendship are two sides of the same coin." Celestia smiled, thinking of all the funny misadventures that Dusk would experience and that would make him grow as a pony and as a colt.
# End of Chapter 20
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And what of the guard that yelled at Dusk?
I loved this and I love that it isn’t ending. Keep it up!
Good lord that was action packed!!!! I loved it!!! The only thing that makes me sad is that there will be no lemons in this story. And i wish there were.
Aww
I like dusk X luna so I will be rooting for it
8677546
Who cares. That guard doesn't deserve attention.
sorry girls you all been friendzone for now,
don't think dusk is ready for anything but friendship also look like you have to go up against a princess....good luck
Well, it took you 200k to reach that point in the story, now we can only hope that you will reach the Best Night Ever before you reach 1M
Loved the scene with Dush's dream sequence make us wonder what else you could possibly have plan between them. The final fight reminded me a lot of the Sailor Moon final fight scene with Queen Beryl.
Still, it has been a fun ride so far and I will be looking forward to see what you will come up with next for this story, keep it up
This has been a great saga so far and I cannot wait for more adventures and stories involving Dusk Shine.
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Yes, probably Trollestia thinks that xD haha
Thanks for comment ;)
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I'm glad you like =D
thanks for comment :)
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haha, well, maybe in the future there are hot situations, but nothing explicit xD
thanks for comment, I'm glad you like =D
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Ok. FIne.
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The next chapters will focus on the mane 5, but little by little Luna will appear and we'll see how she relates with Dusk :)
I hope you like the chapter, thanks for comment :)
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I'm already working on the next chapters, each chapter will be readjusted like I did with the first two chapters of the series, each chapter of the series will consist of 2 chapters of my story ;D now, just be patience =D haha
thanks for comment :)
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i enjoy this story, be funny if luna start to try to be more then friend with dusk only to learn he is her great great great great...ext...grandson or something like that
8678054 I hope everyone loved the chapters you posted, and that my double checking helped?
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Of course that you helped me a lot =D thank you very much for your help ;D
Thanks for the update!!
Great double update. Luna's little crush is sweet and will probably be another source of confusion for Dusk.
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I hope you like the double chapter ;D
thanks for comment =D
The friendzone is not the bad place but a heart wrenching one.
;;;; Cubid 2018;;;;;
Im really enjoying this can't waot to see more. So you gonna just do certain episodes or, or what
Need to cut back on the exposition. After a while it seems like every other scene is just a paragraph block that's just info dumping.
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I'm glad you like it =D
very soon more chapters ;D
and yes, I'll make some chapters based on the episodes of the show, but they will change several things =D with my personal touch xD
thanks for comment :)
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Thanks for the recommendation, and anyway, I hope you like the story :)
thanks for comment :D
I was hoping Luna would give him a big smooch to cause some jealousy, but things were great regardless. Friendzoning is Magic!
I hope Luna will make more appearances than in the show in this fic to work on the 'Friendship' she has with Dusk. They still need to get to know each other. Makes me wonder of course if Luna would contact him through his dreams to spend time or sneak out of the palace. Of course the latter would be more risky and might be noticed by her dear older sister! 
Also good fight and how you stretched the whole thing out. I think this chapter turned out well!
Lastly I noticed something that is bugging me. No one believes Celestia is a troll or can even imagine it but these Troll Decrees are supposed to be published, aren't they? I mean the earlier example with the name change for a day had to be well known in Canterlot at least to work, so shouldn't some ponies figure out that the Princess is a troll? Or does she try to disguise Troll Decrees? Maybe acting like they are a punishment or have a deeper sense instead of just trolling? Just wondering.
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I'm glad you liked the chapter and ending of this Nightmare Moon saga :)
and about Trollestia, yeah, she's a master hiding her troll side hahaha
thanks for comment =D
Just got through the NMM arc. They know he didn’t really mean to friendzone them in that way. He’s still too naive for that but that’s partly why the girls love him.
That said I love this more epic-style retelling of the series premier with r63 twilight, and the epic awkward drama that’s sure to come from all five mane mares feeling more than just friendship toward Dusk.
Have a
!
Muahahahahahaha. Still stealing hearts with no idea what he is doing.
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haha I'm glad you liked the story so far =D
thanks for the mustache ;D
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xD let's hope that sometime soon he realizes xD
thanks for comment ;D
Dragged out.
Love it. All of it. From the much more epic version of events that fits much better and relatively realistically, to Dusk accidentally bumping up that 5 to a 6 mares in love, to accidentally friendzoning them. I love it!
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I'm glad you liked the story so far =D and I hope you like the next chapters too ;D
Greetings =D
Twiluna shipping! i can only hope there is more :D
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xD we'll see if Luna achieves something with our protagonist or not xD
thanks for comment :)
Daaammmmnnnnnn!
That was a FAR better confrontation with Nightmare Moon than we got in canon!
I TOTALLY approve of it!!
And I really enjoy the various artworks you include in the chapters.
That last one with the 'FRIENDZONE!!!' was just hilarious!! 
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haha I'm very glad you liked how the confrontation with Nightmare Moon happened in this universe
And also that you like my drawings
Now follow the story with something more difficult, know how the girls will get out of the friendzone haha
thanks for comment
"but I have to admit that ..." is there something strange?
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maybe 
I guess it's hard for Celestia to admit that she sees Dusk as a son. She doubts since she knows that it's not correct to say that as the ruler of the kingdom.
Ah the friendzone, crawled out of that place which is a long and twisted path, but one every guy is expected to travel atleast once, how do these girls feel with the tables turned from the norm
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haha yeah, let's hope our heroines manage to get out of that 'zone'
thanks for comment
And thus the war for Dusk Shine's heart begun.
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haha yeah, and this is just the beginning
I feel like there was a bit more exposition than needed, but this Nightmare moon arc was weaved out great, very enjoyable overall.
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I'm glad you liked it and I hope you like what follows too 
Thank you so much
See, this is what I Love about this setting. I really like your more PG-13 version of the NMM arc, and think that Hasbro missed the boat not making a full-length movie out of it - kinda like what they did with G5. You proved there is more than enough room to expand the story without it feeling bloated!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have the rest of the story to go read!
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As you say, it's a story with a more mature touch. Bringing more romance and adventure haha 
I'm glad you like my reinvention of the story with Dusk Shine
I hope you like the next chapters too
Don’t be silly, the Magic of Love is in Ornithia.
Also, the link to the comic in this chapter is broken.
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good fact about the comics
about the drawing, I see it correctly