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From Earth to Equestria - Chapter 12,639 words
Noctis Aeterna - Chapter 23,223 words
Infractus - Chapter 33,543 words
Somnum Exterreri - Chapter 45,762 words
Et Vivere, Reservate - Chapter 56,349 words

Somnum Exterreri - Chapter 4

Entry #4, June 17, 1000 CP

I figured that I should write something here about the time gap between the previous entry and this one. I immediately put quill to paper to work on this, but found myself quickly at a loss. It’s not that I couldn’t remember what happened; it was — and still is — rather vivid, as a matter of fact. I just had an extraordinarily hard time coming up with the words to describe all of it. Visceral was one word to describe the fight. Even thinking about it gives me a dull ache in my horn. I just laughed little bit; it’s weird to look back at the previous sentence and think, ‘this is my life now.’

Whatever. They said writing this stuff down would help. But, if you’re me, then you already know all this stuff. Still, it feels nice to just lay it out. Makes me feel less like I’ve given up.

—

Our hoofsteps bounced off the entrapping walls. Water beat off the ground in static increments. An occasional sniff found its place inbetween. Heavy breathing played percussion to the odd symphony. Nobody spoke; we left that behind us at the sleeping chambers.

I had lost track of how long we walked. It must have been hours, or so it felt, and there was hardly any way to tell the passage of time. We never grew too famished, despite our late departure from Ponyville and lack of sustenance. Indeed, the only viable measurement of such was our increasingly growing fatigue.

It was that very same tiredness that caused me to fall behind. Applejack was kind enough to slow down and match me.

“Hey there, sugarcube!” she called with slight mirth. I lifted a foreleg to wave back and stumbled a little for the effort. She seemed to notice my near tumble and frowned.

She looked me over. “Is everything alright?”

I sighed and slowed to a stop. Loose stone rolled away from my hooves and clattered noisily against the ground. “No, of course it’s not alright!” I snapped. She reared her head, sliding her Stetson back somewhat. The others, hearing the conversation, halted in their tracks and turned to listen.

“You want to know just how fucked everything is? Well, how does this sound: the sun isn’t rising; your ruler is missing; I’m halfway to passing out from my hornache; an ancient evil has come to destroy the world; and — to top it all off — we have no goddamn clue where she is or how to stop her,” I continued, hissing the last part through clenched teeth. The throbbing pain in my head that had previously fallen to the wayside came back with a vengeance and I stumbled briefly. When I regained my balance, I noticed that Applejack had her eyes narrowed and lips held in a tight grimace. Any concern she might have held for my health was pushed back in the wake of barely restrained anger.

Even as Fluttershy rushed to my side to check my temperature, or something of the sort, Applejack stomped an orange hoof down. Minute cracks spread from where she hit and I felt a tiny spark of fear and respect ignite in my head. “You don’t have to be so darn rude, Twilight! I know the situation we’re in sucks, but complaining ain’t gonna do nothing to fix it.” She turned to look away and pursed her lips. “For what it’s worth, I honestly think you’re right.” Applejack turned back to me and glared defiantly. “But that don’t mean I’m just gonna roll over an’ die.”

I gazed at the sparse decorations in the hallway, abstaining from a response. Fluttershy rejoined the group and Applejack did the same. They all turned to depart. I watched as they disappeared into the gloomy corridor before giving a shake of my head. I quickly trotted to catch up.

I sidled up to the farmer and spoke, “No, you’re... You’re right. I’m sorry, just I— I know I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m just not used to all this walking and adventuring and all that.”

‘Walking on four legs, that is,’ I refrained from saying.

She hummed slightly with a nod of her head, but it was Rarity who answered, “Darling, not all of us have Applejack’s strength, Rainbow’s endurance, or even Pinkie’s, um...” She paused and looked up. “...whatever it is Pinkie has.”

“Still, though—,” she closed the gap between us and placed a delicate hoof on my shoulder, “—we are here if you need to talk.” She winked. “Or if you’re in need of some new attire.”

I smiled a little at that. Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Can we get done with all the mushy feely stuff and get on with kicking some serious ass?”

“Oh, come on, Dashie,” Pinkie literally jumped in, “I bet deep down, Black Snooty is a really nice pony.” She bounced over to me and leaned into my ear. I backed away from her with a newly renewed scowl. She seemed oblivious however. “Maybe she’s actually Princess Celestia’s long lost sister who fell victim to her darker emotions after being possessed by a demon‽”

We all stared at her. She looked around in confusion before asking, “Whaaat?” Fluttershy facehoofed.

“Well, now. That’s just plumb ridiculous,” Applejack chuckled.

Rarity spoke up, “Darling, wherever did you hear such nonsense?”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Yeah, that was pretty silly, I guess. Even for me.”

‘Whatever,’ I thought. We continued in silence. What felt like an hour passed with no more than small chatter. At a bend in the path, I felt an intense tingling pass through my entire body and focus at the horn. From the way Rarity stopped dead and Rainbow’s hovering grew a bit more erratic, I assumed I wasn’t the only one. Suddenly, pain erupted from the base of my horn and expanded outwards throughout the body, sparks flying off the tip.

I fell to the ground with a scream and felt my vision going black at the edges. My breath came in short gasps. All I could think as another wave of pain racked my body was, ‘Why me‽’ My teeth grit. I could hear someone shouting but it felt distant and muffled, as if through a thick layer of water. Through my tunnel vision, I could tell Rainbow had been grounded by forces unseen and was arguing with the others. Soon enough, the thought was chased away by sheer agony. I might have blacked out then, but I shortly awoke to a dull ache throughout my body. My horn hurt the worst by far; I’d be lucky if it wasn’t cracked by such a careless pararcoxynein. ‘Ouch.’

Slowly, the sound of talking came to me. I strained my ears. “...just grab Twi; she’s gotta be that way!” I managed to hear Rainbow shout.

I tried to lift my head to see the rest of them, but a hoof gently pushed me down. I glanced upwards to see Fluttershy give me a smile before turning to Rainbow. “We don’t want to exacerbate her injuries!” she urgently whispered, “There’s no telling what that could do to her.”

The prismatic mare alighted. “I’m telling you, there was a huge wave of magic that totally messed her up! It made a mess of my wings’ leys too— look!” she rasped and shoved a dishevelled wing at the yellow pegasus.

After a careful inspection of the feathers, Fluttershy said, “I don’t see anything wrong with them, though they are a bit messy.” She leaned in and plucked a feather in her teeth.

“Ow!” Rainbow shouted as she retracted the appendage and shivered. “Gah, don’t do that in public.” She made a show of smoothing a few feathers with a hoof.

“Sorry.” Fluttershy blushed. “I guess I’m too used to working with birds; Blue jays don’t seem to mind.” She scuffed a hoof.

“Ugh. Whatever, let’s just go. The flash came from over there.”

Fluttershy moved closer to me. “But, Twi—”

I finally spoke up, “I’m fine, really. Just—” I stood up slowly. She didn’t stop me this time. “A little diz— woah!” A hoof slipped and I nearly took a tumble, if it weren’t for my caretaker keeping me steady. I flashed her a smile.

Rainbow threw her hooves out at me. “See, good as new! Now come on; we’re wasting daylight.” The rest of the group cantered to meet us when she waved them over. I nodded slightly and we all followed.

Staccato hooves clacked across the tiled floor and faded into the distance.

—

Well preserved doors stood guard at the tower’s entrance. I placed a shaky hoof on the handle of the right one. A glance back told me none of my group were doing any better. Not a single mane was straight or unmatted. Twigs and leaves were a common coat accessory. We were all just about dead on our feet. Or hooves. Whatever.

“Ready?” I asked rhetorically. Nothing we could do would prepare us further. It was unfortunately now or never. With a deep breath, I pushed open the door and slightly stumbled in. A menagerie of colors followed. Looking around, I saw that everything was concealed in a thick black fog that seemed to swirl around and strangle us. Rarity lit her horn but despite the increased illumination on her face, nothing else became visible.

We walked forward in a line, only able to see a few feet in front of us. The floor remained as decayed as everywhere else and the air retained a heavy must. After several minutes of walking, we climbed a set of stairs that ascended to find a spacious chamber. The fog had since lessened to the point where the walls were only partially obscured. A gentle glow wafted towards us. Floating in a ring formation, the five Elements of Harmony spun in a slow pirouette.

“There they are!” I exclaimed. The others shuffled into place beside me and stared in all at the gems. “But why would Nightmare Moon just leave them lying around?”

Applejack shrugged and took off a tattered hat. “I feel like it’s calling to me.”

“And I as well,” Rarity mumbled. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow flew up to the Elements and landed. She stepped forward to grab one.

A tingle reached the base of my horn. “Rainbow, wait,” I said. Rainbow didn’t acknowledge me. I stepped closer and nearly shouted, “Rainbow!”

This time she turned to look at me as if coming out of a trance. Her hoof, held adjacent to the orbs just prior, lowered slowly to the floor. “What?” she asked, blinking.

“Doesn’t it seem strange that Nightmare Moon would just leave these here for us?”

Rarity tapped her chin in thought. “Hm, yes I suppose. I can certainly see why that would be cause for alarm.”

“You don’t think they’re trapped, do you?” Fluttershy murmured, retreating into a curtain of pink hair. A moment of tense silence followed.

I hesitated perhaps unduly. “We can’t be sure,” I eventually answered.

We looked at eachother. Applejack spoke first. “Well, this is just plumb ridiculous. It’s either trapped or it ain’t. One way or the other, we gotta get a hold of those Elements!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed loudly.

I grit my teeth. “But that’s no reason not to take any and all necessary precautions!” I sharply retorted.

Applejack snarled right back. “I know it ain’t, but we don’t got a choice! The longer we dilly-dally, the more time that Nightmare fella has to—”

Fluttershy jumped between the two of us with hooves outstretched. “Please!” she forcefully said. Her hooves dropped and she frowned at the two of us. “This is not the time to be at each other’s throats.” I averted my eyes having no doubt that Applejack did the same.

“I agree with Fluttershy, darling,” the fashionista remarked.

Rainbow flew above us, arms crossed. “Yeah! Let’s go kick some alicorn butt!”

Her enthusiasm was infectious and I soon found myself smiling slightly despite not knowing what an ‘alicorn’ even was. I felt a hoof tap my shoulder. Looking over, I found it attached to Applejack.

“Truce?” she asked hopefully. I simply nodded and she visibly brightened.

Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity simply smiled approvingly. Pinkie vibrated in place. “Let’s do this,” I finally said.

Then, suddenly, Rainbow Dash: Rarity let out a squeak and stumbled back as a cyan wing skimmed her mane. She took several gasps of air. “Rainbow Dash!” she scolded, “You scared me half to death! What do you have to say for yourself?” She glared at the flying bird-pony.

Said flying bird-pony raised an eyebrow. “Uh, get better peripherals?” She shrugged. “Anyways, just do your floaty magic thing already!”

Rarity scoffed. “And pray tell, how exactly do you expect me to do that?” She turned to look at the Elements. “Those things must weigh at least twenty kilograms each!”

“Just above thirty-seven and a half actually, if my estimate of the radius being around one-hundred-fifty millimeters is close,” I corrected automatically. The rest of the ponies in the room stared at me, except for Pinkie who was moving some beads on an abacus. I smiled sheepishly and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Rarity eventually shook her head. “And that just furthers my point.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes again. “Who cares? Just try to knab those bad boys. If you’re too weak to do so, then I’ll just swoop in with my wings and save the day.”

Pinkie, long since finished with her mathematics, bounced up and down. “Ooh, exciting!”

Rarity let out a withering sigh. “Oh, alright,” she conceded, “Just give me a moment; the atmosphere in here is positively stifling.” That said, she lowered her head and closed her eyes in concentration.

Her spiralled white horn lit up in a calming blue that mirrored her eyes. A second later, the five orbs were surrounded in a faint glow. They shakily moved a few inches towards us. Rarity flinched and her eyes screwed tight.

“Rarity?” I called softly. She didn’t respond and the others didn’t seem to notice. The flow of magic increased, but the movement of the artifacts paradoxically somehow slowed. The light around the stones seemed to suddenly wane and flicker, before dying out entirely, while the light of her horn remained strong. The Elements of Harmony, now released from her grip flew back as if pulled by springs and collided with a previously unknown barrier. The shield glowed sickly green at the points of contact and appeared to seep into the air.

As her grip entirely failed, Rarity let out a small whimper and took a step back. Her eyes snapped open and she raised her head. Fluttershy and I made sounds of consternation and moved closer, but the magic glow around her horn grew even brighter until it was nearly blinding. By the time the Elements had rolled to a stop, the blue of her aura had started to shift to a sinister black and green. Her breath quickened but she seemed unable to stop as the magic latched onto the Elements once more.

All of us simultaneously cried out her name as there was a blinding flash of light. Rarity let out a pained scream and an earth-shattering bang preceded the horrible destruction of stone. My ears rang and my sight was useless. I learned only after the fact that the Elements exploding had thrown Rarity towards the wall at a rapid velocity. By the time my vision recovered, I and the rest of my friends were hidden behind a fallen, crumbling statue.

I blinked, unsure of how we each got here from around the room. Stone shrapnel rained through the air but little made it to where we lay. The din in my ears gradually subsided enough to hear Applejack ask a question, followed by some form of response by Pinkie. The clattering of stone lasted only moments after I began to hear it. Now coherent, I could listen to what was being said.

“What happened?” Applejack asked. There was no answer this time, except for the cocky smirk Rainbow showed her. I now noticed the prismatic mare was the only one standing, though shakily at that. Behind the cover, each of us were in some form of shellshock, it would seem, apart from Applejack and Pinkie who just looked scared and wary. They were easily the least affected by the explosion. I initially considered the same for Rainbow, until she turned more towards us and I caught sight of her side closest to the blast.

Rainbow struggled to form words, coughing and only managing, “Heh, told you I could grab them.” Her eyes promptly closed and her form slumped to the floor, revealing that she had taken the worst of the blast. Her fur was dotted with small shards of stone and crystal embedded in her skin. Many of the marks seemed shallow enough, but others leaked a small quantity of blood. Her wings looked much worse for wear, with most of the wounds bloodlessly going the entire way through the appendage.

Fluttershy almost immediately exited her fearful position and scrambled forward. She gasped. “Rainbow!” It only took a moment for her to reach her fallen friend. With quick work, she stared at her chest for a moment, and then placed an ear just below her keel. A sigh of relief was let out and she stepped back. Without pause she reached into Pinkie’s hair, who I just noticed was standing beside her, and pulled out a first aid kit.

Pinkie giggled. “That tickles!”

“She’ll be fine for now,” Fluttershy said after carefully pouring small amounts of a clear solution onto the wounds followed by a dab of colorless ointment. “Most of the shrapnel didn’t go very deep and very few of the vessels in her wing were punctured. We still need to bring Rainbow to a hospital as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Rarity groaned from the ground. Her eyes fluttered open, radiating confusion. Then she remembered. “Celestia, it would seem that was not just a horrible nightmare.”

“Sorry, gal. This problem ain’t gonna go away on its own,” Applejack responded.

Rarity grumbled, “Oh, bother.”

I stood up unsteadily, a faint buzzing still in my ears. “Let’s see how the Elements are doing,” I murmured, seeing the others more or less alright. Applejack and Pinkie got up to follow, as did Rarity who’s legs shook violently.

“I’ll stay with Rainbow Dash in case she wakes up,” Fluttershy whispered. Rarity fell to the floor with a thud and just sighed in defeat.

“So will Rarity, apparently,” she snarked.

A few strides took us to the remains of our plan. The immediate area of the Elements was in a state of severe disrepair. The floor, walls, and cieling were covered in scrapes, with the occasional hole created from shrapnel. It became immediately apparent how fortunate Rainbow was to have mostly superficial wounds.

“Oh, mare,” Applejack mumbled.

A menacingly chuckle filled the room. “‘Oh, mare’ indeed.” We each looked around wildly for the source.

“Who’s there?” Applejack and I shouted. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows, crushing crystal and stone fragments alike under her armored hooves. A forked tongue flicked through the air and her lips curled into a smile.

Slitted eyes met my own. I averted my gaze immediately. “Oh dear,” she mocked, “forget me already?” She leaned forward with a wicked sneer.

Pinkie whispered something about cliches next to me. Nightmare Moon shifted her eyes to her, evidently hearing part of the comment. The Nightmare stepped forward as Pinkie took an equal step back with a whimper. Her ears folded flat against her head.

“Hmm, and who might you be?” the dark alicorn hissed. She closed her eyes and moved her head closer. Pinkie cringed backwards, and the alicorn flinched in turn. She clenched her teeth. “Pinkie Pie, no?” Pinkie didn’t answer, electing to instead move further away.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes drifted from Pinkie to Applejack instead. “Perhaps my actions were far less... Memorable than I previously anticipated.” Her gaze once more moved to look past the ponies directly before her, only to stop at Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. “Well, that can always be remedied.” A vicious grin corrupted her face.

I shuddered and steeled myself before stepping forward. “Whatever it is you’re planning, we won’t let you go through with it.” I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine.

Nightmare Moon gave a deep throated laugh. “Is that so?” I shakily nodded and the other two moved beside me. Her humor evaporated and her body turned to a figureless blue vapor.

Before any of us could blink, she rematerialized beside the three back by the pillar. Fluttershy and Rarity attempted to scramble away in the brief moment they had to react, but neither managed more than a short distance. Dark blue magic seeped into the air from Nightmare’s horn as it lit and surrounded my friends. In just a second, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow were lifted unceremoniously into the air. Rarity weakly fought to escape with mere sparks leaving her horn while Fluttershy squeaked and attempted to run on the air.

Nightmare Moon gracefully weaved between the ponies and smirked, fangs bared. “So many wonderful choices,” she sing-songed.

“Please don’t hurt them,” I pleaded to no avail.

Another unpleasant chuckle tainted the air. “Oh, and why ever not?” she gleefully intoned. The magic surrounding the trapped ponies’ necks solidified to a deep navy. They began gasping for air frantically as it constricted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Applejack approaching Nightmare Moon from behind. Pinkie was nowhere to be seen, which effectively meant she was everywhere at once. I needed to buy them a few seconds at least.

I forced myself to smirk, ignoring the trepidation in my heart. “Yeah, well you forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?” she asked, looking slightly intrigued.

I glanced at Applejack again out of the corner of my eye. Moving slowly, she was almost a leg’s reach from the alicorn’s side. I settled my thoughts. “I didn’t come here alone. My friends are by my side.” I met her eyes with a smile.

Nightmare Moon waved a hoof at me but kept her focus on her captives. “Oh, yes: an insane baker and a country hick with no parents.” She laughed and turned her gaze to me. “How terrifying!” she mockingly chittered, before frowning as she realized the friends she has just joked about were nowhere to be seen.

Applejack didn’t waste a moment and struck fast and hard, powerful hind legs lashing out against her unprotected side. With nothing hindering their movement, her hooves struck right above the base of the wing’s pectoralis with a sickening crunch and a horrific screech of pain. Nightmare Moon flew through the air, away from Applejack rapidly and straight towards where Pinkie had suddenly appeared.

A dangerous gleam flashed in Pinkie’s eyes as she shouted, “Batter up!” This was accompanied with a vicious swing of an iron baseball bat which connected with Nightmare Moon’s uninjured side. A hollow metal ringing and the sound of bones cracking echoed through the chamber as she then flew towards me in an unconventional display of physics. Thinking fast, I recalled how the magic felt coursing through my horn when I protected myself from Nightmare’s first attack with the Elements. The feeling of familiar tingling rose upwards, as well as not a small amount of pain. I focused on that and imagined the energy striking out towards Nightmare Moon.

I was only partially hopeful this would work, but I got lucky. A beam of light erupted from my horn and struck her just to the right of her forehead. My vision waved and I stumbled, barely keeping balance. The pain that had fled beforehand had been realized twice over, a searing agony centered at my new appendage. I forced myself to fight through it, remembering that my friends and I were still in danger. My eyes blinked rapidly until I was able to see clearly once more.

I was surprised to see Nightmare Moon laying still on the ground, with only the unsteady, pained rise and fall of her chest indicating she was alive. The wing that was struck by Applejack was crumpled and limp on the ground. A small bone in the base had puncture through the skin and was leaking blood. Her other wing was in much better shape, as it had been raised when Pinkie struck that side and therefore spared. Regardless, I had no doubt a large number of her ribs were beyond help.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were lying on the ground below where Nightmare had been holding them before. Rainbow Dash was the only one unconscious; Fluttershy and Rarity coughed hoarsely. The yellow pegasus placed her ear by Rainbow’s mouth as soon as she recovered and looked relieved.

I turned to everyone and started speaking, “I can’t say how long Nightmare Moon will be out for, but we need to act fast.” Rarity nodded her agreement.

Applejack looked skeptical. “An’ just how are we ‘sposed to do that?”

Pinkie bounced excitedly. “Oh! How about the Elements?” She grinned widely.

“I don’t suppose you brought replacements with you? They aren’t exactly in working condition right now,” Rarity returned, frowning.

Pinkie paused and looked up, reaching a hoof into her hair. With her tongue sticking out, she rummaged around until pulling out a set of necklaces and tiaras with gems embedded in them. She frowned. “Nah, just the cheap knockoffs.” She tossed them over her shoulder where they hit Rainbow dash in the head.

Rainbow shifted at that, and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around in confusion before seeing where everyone was. “Ow... What happened?” she asked.

Fluttershy was the one who answered, a slight rasp to her voice. “Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie managed to stop Nightmare Moon.” When Rainbow tried to sit up, Fluttershy pushed her back down. “You still need to rest for a bit.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m totally alright.” She wilted when she met her caretakers disapproving gaze and conceded, “Fine.”

I spoke up, “We haven’t actually stopped her per se. She’s just out cold right now. We were actually just now trying to figure out a plan when you woke up.”

She grunted and shifted to an upright position despite Fluttershy’s protests. A wince crossed her face but she didn’t back down. “Have you tried using the Elements of Harmony?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, I already suggested that. Unfortunately, they are in literal pieces right now.”

Just then, Nightmare Moon shifted. We each got into defensive stances, except for Rainbow and Fluttershy who merely hid behind us. Rarity managed to stand this time.

Her eyes flicked open and met the others’ before stopping at mine. They remained the menacing slits they were before, but absent of hatred. Her head rose abruptly and I braced myself. She opened her fanged mouth hesitantly and spoke, but with a familiar disposition I had experienced once before.

“Twilight,” she managed. Applejack took a step forward to try and get between me and her. I held her back with a hoof.

“Luna?” I asked hopefully.

She coughed and then continued, “Indeed. The Nightmare remains silent for now. It shan’t last long, but my instructions to thee are far more brief.” Gone was the cruelty that poisoned the voice so. Instead, it was filled with an urgency I could not help but emulate.

Another cough racked her body and she shuddered in pain. “When she regains agency over this body,” she hesitated, “you must use the Harmonic Elementals on us.”

“But—”

She cut me off. “Do not let thy feelings lead to your downfall, as they once did mine. For the good of Equestria, you must banish us to the moon once more.”

I stepped forward. “But, you’d be trapped there! Isn’t there some way to—”

“Thine safety, and that of the ponies of Equestria is worth far more than our own freedom!” she boomed. I nearly moved back, but her remorseful look stopped me. In no more than whisper she said, “The bodies of the Elementals may be destroyed beyond recognition, but the spirits live on in thee.”

“Luna—” I started before her eyes closed. I sighed.

Applejack looked at me, bewildered. “What in the hay just happened?”

Rainbow nodded from behind her. “Yeah! No way was that the same evil pony!”

I shook my head. “I’ll explain it later, but right now we need to be prepared for Nightmare Moon to wake up.”

“I’m always ready!” Pinkie exclaimed, sidling up to me.

Rarity stepped forward. “What do you have in mind?”

I closed my eyes. “Like Luna said, we need to hit her with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Have you forgotten we ain’t got any Elements left to hit her with?”

Fluttershy spoke up, “She did say the spirits are within us. Maybe we are the Elements?”

Rainbow snorted. “Oh, come on! That doesn’t make any sense! Rocks can’t have spirits.”

“I must agree with Rainbow on this one. I, for one, cannot possibly fathom such beautiful gemstones living within us,” she shot Rainbow a withering, if not entirely serious, glare.

I cut in before anyone else could talk, “No, I think Fluttershy is right.” I looked each of them in the eyes. “It just feels right. Each of us, I don’t know how or why, but it just does.”

A shuffling sounded from where Nightmare lay. I turned to face her and found her struggling to stand. Her eyes snapped open and her maw twisted with rage. Her mouth opened. “No! I will not go back to the moon!” she shouted in barely contained anger.

Applejack was the first to respond. “We wouldn’t have to if you didn’t insist on being a troublemaker.” Derision flowed off the Nightmare in waves.

“Yeah, you big meanie!” Pinkie shouted as energetic as ever. The alicorn’s mouth warped into a snarl, her mane whipping up a frenzy. Her horn started glowing, brighter than before. We each stepped backwards in fear.

Then, all of the sudden, a warmth spread through my body. Pains were soothed and aches forgotten as my stomach was filled with a calmness that was not my own.

Rarity turned to look at me and gasped. “Twilight, you’re glowing!” I started floating off the ground. My gaze moved to her, in time to see her eyes turn into a blaze of white light and body to lift in the air. The same followed suite with all the others at nearly the same time.

Nightmare Moon continued screaming at us, even as the outside world seemed to fade. My mind invariably wandered to the friendship I had now found. A power built up around me and I could feel the same from the others. Their thoughts and feelings flowed into my own and coagulated into one.

As myself, and yet as all of us together, my eyes opened. What I saw was the same destroyed stone room as before, with Nightmare Moon throwing blast after blast of powerful magic. Not a single one reached us.

Words began to flow from my lips, seemingly pulled straight from the aether itself. Authority dripped from each one, and she grew silent. “Nightmare Moon, for over a thousand years, you have done your utmost to destroy the harmony of this land. You have taken agency from your host and used her power to untangle friendship wherever you could. The decisions you have made have severed the ties of two loving sisters and ravaged many more relationships beyond that.” Each of my friends lent their own voice and feelings to me. The words now seemed to come from each of us in turn. “By turning your back on what family and allies your host had, by eradicating any happiness you came across, by acting only for your own interests when those interests took from others, by deceiving your host into accepting you, and by showing no remorse for any of these actions, you, Nightmare Moon, have proven to be beyond redemption.”

With that said, Nightmare Moon tried to flee, only to have a beam of rainbow light strike and envelop her body. Within moments, she was cocooned in the light and her screams died down to nothing. When that eventually faded, each of us gently lowered to the ground, the power leaving us in good physical health and my friends thoughts but a faint echo in my mind. I could see the newly formed necklaces on each of them, yet I was still without.

Even as light filled the skies once more, the words ‘loyalty’, colored the blue of the sky, ‘kindness’, depicted as the softest of yellows, ‘honesty’, as the richest of oranges, ‘generosity’, looking like the white of a flawless pearl, and ‘laughter’, acting as the pinkest pink to ever pink, were present in my thoughts, each colored as the pony they represented. One more presented itself to me: ‘magic’. It was the color of my own coat.

‘But how could that be so? I was no unicorn, not really. I stole this body just as I stole its magic. Not a single thing in this life was mine to behold. Not to mention I didn’t know a thing about spells!’ I thought to myself.

‘Except... That’s not entirely true. Regardless of all else, I have one single thing that I’m entirely accountable for: friendship. The friendship of Rarity, of Applejack, of Rainbow, of Pinkie, and of Fluttershy. The real Twilight has no right to claim this as hers. Whether or not the same would have happened if I was not present, and for better or for worse, I brought us together. It may have been unintentional, but when has that ever not been the case for friendships.

‘That’s it, isn’t it? I’m the spark of friendship. The little bit that binds both ponies and humans together. And, truthfully, if that’s not real life magic, then I don’t know what is.’

One final burst of light filled the room, and with it, a weight settled upon my mane. I was the Element of Magic. As the last vestiges of magic fled my body, so did any energy I had left. Briefly, there was the sensation of falling, but I was out before I could hit the ground.

One last thought escaped me as my vision faded, ‘What the fuck is my life?’

Author's Note:

Oh, hey there! Long time no see... This is, of course, entirely my own fault for taking over half a year to upload. But the long wait is now over!

I've got a reasonably long chapter here, edited multiple times, and hopefully error free. Of course, there will likely be some errors. Nonetheless, I would like to say the next chapter will be here soon.

In other news, the next chapter will be a bit of an intermission. The topic in question will be The War of Aeterna, briefly mentioned in Chapter 2, I think. I'm hoping to go a little Princess Celestia The Changeling Queen: Stories Behind the Mask on its ass, given it's a war I'll be talking about. I already have a first draft of the timeline for it done, with the final draft of the timeline close to completion. After that, it will be on to writing the actual thing. Meanwhile, I'll be planning out the rest of the story before starting on Chapter 5.

If you didn't visit the story page at all during the wait, then I'll be the first to inform you about the chapter progress I put in the description. It has the total length of the current draft, the overall completion, and a few categories. The categories include 'plan', 'first draft', 'final draft', and 'editing'.