This story is a sequel to My Little Mages: The Grand Gala
It is the day after the Grand Gala and while everything seems normal a foe that was once bested is ready to make her move.
Nightmare Moon, with the aid of Nightshade, now possesses Rarity has taken a new name, Nightmare Rarity and with the Tantabus torn between his loyalties, Luna must reach out to the rest of the Elements of Harmony bearers to stop Nightmare Rarity. However, the Princesse of the Moon has more secrets which might undermine her only hope.
Can Twilight and friends save Rarity? Can they unravel the truth? Or will Nightmare Rarity accomplish her goals and plunge the world into an everlasting night?
Cover art by ZantyARZ and used with permission.
Chapters (7)
So it starts a new chapter of this saga! Nice touch with the first part, the song of Luna and the intervention of the previous bearers of the elements, concluding with the classical jump-start from a dream.
The second part, with all the scheming and the interation between the "Two Night", was good, especially on the train.
7900870 Actually, the only bearers of the Elements of Harmony before the Mane 6 are Celestia and Luna, this is a dream or rather a dream that is hybrid of dreams in which Luna sees are the founders and the other six as alternative past bearers but I thought it would a nice touch, in particular the use of Lauren Faust's original pitch. But do remember those six, I have plans for them.
Expect some more back and forth between Nightshade and Nightmare. Also pay attetion to Nightshade's flash backs.
so just a question but will we be getting any resolution on the whole nightshade claiming to be rainbows mother thing from reveng of nightmare moon?
7922849 there will be something on that, I can say no more than that
7922977 cool i was curious about weather or not she was telling the truth or just trying to knock dash off guard so here's hopin we get something on that
The roundup is done and the problem is exposed! Time to get the problems rolling!
Nice vision of the history of the royal sisters. And Pinkius ex Machina for the win!
7942441 'Yeah 4th wall, what is that?'
PINKIE!!!
Nightshade sure has an appropriately dark past.
The CMC showed up to be a bunch of little Deus ex Machina with their readyness. Shock to see the reveal of Nightshade, but after reading well her past, it made sense.
7958087 I wouldn't call them Ex Machinas, because light does repel and destroy shadows, and it's a not uncommon trope in fiction for younger members of a group to be slightly like prodigies. Also, the trio haves spent a lot of free time doing a wide array of things, and they were in the Golden Oak Library before they all saw Luna's past... so... it's not that much of a leap in logic to say the three would have some degree of readiness.
All is well what' s ends well, I say!
But sure as heck, the pets' fight would be something to see!
Nice to see that Nightingale will have a new chance and that Tanzanite got a good ending.
And next, the most terryfing villain of the series: the Big, Black Cloud!
7977708 you saw it when Tank knocked Opal out in the previous chapter... but yes all seems to be well.
7977740 not sure if you are being sincere or trolling me with the last statement...
As for Nightingale and Tanzanite... while I think its a fitting ending, I do anticipate having to defend that choice, but thank you for liking it.
7977825 Ah, was that it all? It didn' t continue after that moment? I was hoping for something more intense than a knock-out from a flying tortoise.
Whatever, it still was a cool moment.
7977854 The trolling is pointed towards the canon show: Sombra had so much potential, and they wasted it atrociusly!
I know for sure that your take on him will be what he truly deserves as a villain! More screen-time, and more speech than "Crystals" and "Slaves".
7977977 I get the want of more Sombra on screen, but you have to remember Sombra is not Darth Vader, he's more like Sauron from "The Lord of The Ring".
7977968 Well according to Rainbow you only want experience being hit in the head by a flying tortoise without a helmet one time.
Hey there. I have to say this is rather well done all around. Very good action, characterizations, general story wrap-up and future story set-up. I just waited until the story was done because, well, the other reviewers were putting it better than I could anyway. At any rate, it's breakfast time and, after that, I'm going to have a fairly busy day, so I'm going to have to hold off on your next story for the time being.
7986108 I am glad you enjoyed it, I hope you do enjoy "My Little Mages: The Siege of Krystopolies" when you get the chance.
who is Luna's therapist? it's probably some fandom joke i don't get.
8073278 Are you familiar with DRWolf001, Dr. Wolf?
8073291 not really I heard the name but I like starting things at the beginning and I'm not sure we're the beginning is for his stuff
8073318 he's not a character in the show but is a well known member of the Brony 'Analysis' community , one of most well worked with members of the fandom and he's considered the fandom's pyscotherapist. This was sorta a shout out to the good doctor.
Dark, sad, but she had choices.
Oh like none of you would've done the same thing!
Are you girls seriously calling her stupid?
Dick. Move.
8221041
Well... Rainbow Dash is, shall we say, not known to be the sharpest tool in the shed.
8221036
They were surprised that she even calmed down.
And if they would have done it or not is irreverent
8221077
Just saying, RD deserved some catharsis after that.
Testing... testing... 1, 2, 3 shows she's got a photographic memory and can multitask while in mid-flight, something Twilight herself has trouble doing.
RD may not be a super genius, but she is NOT. STUPID.
Also Nightmare's forces are manipulative enough to corrupt even smarter mages, after everything RD's gone through the way they acted towards their friend is nothing short of mean-spirited.
Just saying, simply treating her like she's a complete idiot is just rude on their part. Would it have been fair if they'd fallen for the same thing and she insulted them that way?
8221092
What’s wrong is wrong even when it feels right and everyone does it.
That is neither a sigh of intellect or wisdom, also Twilight was still very new to flying, Rainbow has been flying her whole life, that’s not a good comparison.
Yeah, umm, “We need a carefully thought out plan” (Twilight). “I AM COMING, DARING DO!” (Rainbow Dash), “THAT’S NOT A PLAN” (Twilight), and let’s not get started on Newbie Dash, the point is Rainbow Dash is not the smartest of the group.
, care to provide an example of a smarter mage manipulated? Because Nightshade was given an offer she couldn’t refuse, Grogar, Somnambula, and Catrina also made deals with her, and The Tantabus and the Order of Shadows were a cult dedicated to Nightmare Moon... in fact, they were her forces. As for Rarity... possession.
You are putting words in their mouths and you are imposing the inference you made onto them.
, yes, yes it would, because it happens already, at least in the show, Applejack is wiser than Rainbow Dash and when she does stupid things she gets called out for it, even if she was tricked. Twilight is more intelligent than Rainbow, and when she does stupid things she gets called out for it, even if she’s tricked. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity are both wiser and more intelligent than Rainbow Dash and when they do stupid things they get called out for it, even when they are tricked.
8221092
Can you prove that them saying
is an insult. Because all
points to is that they can believe that Rainbow Dash almost believed her. That’s not in it of itself an insult, That is a group of people knowing that their friend could believe something, calling the other friend of the lack of self-awareness by stating that they can believe she would believe something when she seems shocked that she almost believed the thing in question. Friends do this. It might not be pleasant, but pleasantry is never guaranteed, now Reality hitting you like a freight train is.
8221131
How is a photographic memory not a sign of intelligence? Last I checked that kind of insight is required of an intelligent individual.
Rainbow Dash may be hotheaded and not be the smartest of the group, but she's still far from stupid. Just like how Pinkie is the most absent-minded and sometimes unintentionally insensitive, but that doesn't make her an idiot.
I didn't mean to put words in their mouths, but the delivery of that exchange felt too harsh in my opinion.
And I wouldn't go as far as to say everyone in the group is smarter than RD, granted they are wise, but mainly in their own talent ranges. Like her they'd be unable to immeadiatly adapt to a different environment without some preparation first.
8221147
When they said “We can.” it felt like they were basically saying “yeah, you would be dumb enough to fall for that”, I know that's not what they meant, but the delivery of that line came off as such. Kind of like that one scene in “Keep Calm and Flutter On”.
Fluttershy: Do you all think I'm a silly, gullible fool?
Others: Um, well... Er...
Rarity: Only in the sense of being silly and gullible...
Me: Thanks for the vote of confidence guys...
You see what I mean? Personally it would have felt a little more natural if this is how it went:
Rainbow sighed, “I can’t believe I almost believed her.”
“Well... it's kind of understandable that you did...” AJ replied. “Suddenly gettin' a told who your mother is after years of not knowin'... that kinda stuff ain't easy to ignore.”
Just saying, after everything they went through together, this seems a little more tactful in my opinion.
Sorry if I got a little carried away, it's just sometimes certain lines like that tend to rub me the wrong way...
8221160
, because having a photographic memory is not in it of itself a sigh of actual intelligence. It is a trait people have, many of the people whom have it are highly intelligent, but doesn’t prove that intelligence begets a photographic memory, at the very least there is a collation between the two but that doesn’t prove that there is a causation.
, never said Rainbow Dash is stupid, nor will I, (not saying you are accusing me of that) but when she does stupid things I am going to call her out for it, namely because she either knows better or at the very least should know better.
, there’s a reason why I said wiser and/or more intelligent but not smarter, that’s because there are many different forms of smart, there is prudence (Which Applejack lacked in Honest Apple when she was criticizing the fashion and Rarity lacked when she had Applejack be a judge for the fashion contest in the first place)... I know there is more but that is what came to mind. And you are right they are experts in their own field, it just happens to be that the fields of expertise the others have, tend to be more encompassing than her’s.
, not disputing that, but tact doesn’t always get the best results and given everything they been through, it’s reasonable that they would not have the mental energy to come up with and deliver a more tactful variant.
, I am not guiltless in this matter either, but to be just, I get that as a Rainbow Dash fan you don’t like Rainbow Dash being put down, but as an Applejack is Best Mane 6 person, I have long ago resided myself to the fact that people will treat her as little more than a hillbilly, and I can either let it get under my skin and blow up or take a breath and walk away.
But let’s this by saying we agree to disagree about the execution of that scene and we carry on, If you’re cool with that, I’ll leave this in the dust of the past.
I Pinkie Promise.
Cross my heart and hold to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.
8221198
Yeah ok. Again, sorry if I came on a little too strong... I do sincerely like your work.
So, why is Tantabus an amorphous blob? Did he get split apart too?
8402977
He's been corrupted by Nightmare Moon and the task Luna gave him. He's losing himself to the etherals, he has been the head odf the order of shadow for a milleinium. Also he's more like a specter, a shade.
One of my old college roommates had a similar rule, "Don't talk to me until after I've had my coffee."
Also, that part where a Flash was going on about the Smash Fortune series wasn't just about the series, wasn't it? It doubles as a commentary on what you wish Hasbro could have done with Flash. Am I right?
8403253
I am not clever enough of a writer for that to be a subtle jab at Hasbro and DHX ovrr Flash Sentry. It was more of a way to justify why Shining loves the character Smash Fortunes.
8403317
Maybe I'm just projecting my Flash-related frustrations onto your writing. 
Huh.
That scene with Celestia going "TO THE MOON!" about Blueblood, how much of AJ's special cider has she had?
8403383
She's not drunk, she justs needs to vent some frustration and the idea of Blueblood blasting off is just so funny.
8403417
In my mind, groggy, annoyed Celestia and tipsy Celestia sound pretty similar. I must have gotten them mixed up.
8403425
Tired people and drunk people sound very similar
8403332
Yeah I anit too happy about Flash being shafted either, but that connection was not intended.
The Incredibles
Bloodbending?! Are you "angry gibberish" serious?! You put "angry gibberish" bloodbending in this story?!
I don't know if this is clever or stupid.
I mean, I can think of a few ways that this plan can go horribly wrong.
8073291
Ahhh! I knew it.