Rainbow of Brocken

by Detsella Morningdew

Chapter 4: Prophecy

Twilight stood nervously next to Calmany, Cirra floating just overhead. The mayor was making a speech, but she didn't hear a word of it. She glanced out one of the windows circling the top of Town Hall, just in time for a flash to catch her eye.
She nudged him in the shoulder, whispering urgently. "Look! The moon... this is not good."

Calmany nodded, the reality of the situation starting to settle in. "Cirra, Twilight, we need to go. I have a bad feeling the Princess won't be at this celebration... we don't need to get caught up in what's going to happen here. We need to get the Elements, before this Nightmare Moon knows what we're up to."

The crowd gasped as smoke filled the stage.

Twilight started. "Yeah. Just... meet me at the library. If she's really here, she might have some valuable information!"

Calmany turned to face her. "Twilight, this isn't a pony you can just... ask questions to. Unless you plan to play the spy, which I know you don't have the training for, we need to get out of here now."

Twilight reluctantly tore her eyes away from the imposing alicorn on stage, and the ponies she had gotten to know over the course of the day. It felt... wrong to leave them near somepony so dangerous... but the Elements were more important.

"All right," she whispered back at him. "Let's go. Where's Cirra?"

"Already on her way."

---

Nightmare Moon looked away from the insolent foals posing as guards now scattered on the ground. Strange movements caught her eye, a pair of ponies sneaking away in the crowd.

How dare they ignore me! Don't they know who I am?

Yet... they don't seem as frightened as the others. No... there's fear, but there's determination there. Like those ponies who confronted her, but more... subtle about it. Smarter.

I need to keep an eye out for them. They know something. They know who I am. Do they know about the Elements, too?

Nightmare Moon scoffed at the thought. No, Celestia would never have told anypony of her big secret weapon. And she knew of my return, yet they were nowhere to be found when I banished her rightfully to the sun. In fact, she barely put up a fight at all.

As it should be, of course. She was the far superior princess. Still, it didn't hurt to make sure. A rebellion would be annoying to deal with.

With a flicker of magic, she turned into smoke and passed over the crowd and into the beautiful, glorious night.

---

"All right, I'll search the Ancient History section, you search the Myths and Legends. There's got to be a mention of the Elements somewhere."

"Didn't you say you had no idea what they were? Why would something not in the Canterlot Archives be instead in a small town library like this one?" Calmany tilted his head sideways, skimming the titles, while Twilight used her magic to bring about twenty closer for inspection. Cirra just floated awkwardly about, reading some titles at the top of the room.

"That's the thing, though. I had just cemented the connections before I told the Princess about everything. Thinking about defeating her was something else. Something I thought that only Celestia would be able to do. And maybe she'd just know where they were anyway. I didn't expect her to just deny everything. Especially when it all turned out to be true."

"So you hadn't even started your research, had you?"

Twilight groaned in frustration. "No, I was whisked off to oversee the Celebration almost immediately. There was no time for anything."

Calmany picked out a promising book to flip through it. "So what happens if we can't find anything here?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I mean, all the books here looked really promising - a lot more academic than I expected from a town like this. But if there's nothing... All I can think of is to travel to Canterlot and sneak into my old library."

"Sneak in?"

Twilight sighed. "She's an alicorn, Calmany. And Celestia's... well Celestia's going to be fine. She has to be. But she's gone for now. By the time we get to Canterlot... with none of the trains running today, she's... well she's going to be the ruler for a while."

Calmany paused for a moment. "...I guess this is really happening, isn't it?"

Twilight nodded silently. "Yeah."

They both turned back to reading silently, static filling the room.

---

A small cloud of smoke hovered by the library window.

So they do know... no matter. Only an alicorn could possibly wield the Elements as well as Celestia did. And I was almost victorious even with the power boost.

There was no way a simple unicorn or earth pony could get them to work, even together.

Still, it would be fun to watch them try.

But that wasn't the most interesting part - as strange as it was to have ponies who remembered, as Celestia surely would have kept the Elements a closely guarded secret, there were more than two ponies in that room.

She was incorporeal, just like her. Just magic, yet alive and well.

This could pose a problem.

Still, she was young, and more easily persuaded. Perhaps she would understand, more than anypony else, the lon-

Perhaps she could be of some use.

---

The door burst open, and a bunch of ponies rushed in.

Twilight groaned. "Elements, elements... urgh! What is it now?"

Calmany flinched back as one of the mares he saw at the party got right up in Twilight's face. "And just what are the Elements of Harmony? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy?"

One of the others pulled her back, rolling her eyes. "Relax, Rainbow. She's not a spy. But I do reckon she knows what's going on here. What is it, Twi?"

Twilight reluctantly lowered the books that were still in her grip. "I read all about the predictions about Nightmare Moon. All the legends were just... too accurate. One of them says she can only be defeated by the Elements of Harmony, but I don't know what they are, where they are... nothing. That's why I've been so rude all yesterday." She sighed. "And at this rate, we won't be in time to actually stop her from taking over. Celestia's gone, none of the Guards can help, and even my brother can't stand up to an alicorn."

Rainbow relaxed a bit. "And what about him?"

Calmany looked around at the ponies all around him, some of which he knew, some of which he didn't. All of them from all different walks of life. One even seemed afraid of him, though she carried a sleeping Spike on her back. "I guess I just got caught up in all of this, just like you did. Twilight told me everything before... everything, but we didn't have any time before it actually happened."

Pinkie suddenly popped up holding a book. "The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide!"

Twilight rushed over to her. "Where did you find that‽"

"It was under E-e~!" she sang as she pranced around the room.

Twilight blinked. "In the fiction section?"

Calmany shrugged. "Well, it's not like ponies consider legends to be that much different than fiction."

The orange pony that pulled back Rainbow looked at him with confusion. "They aint?"

Twilight spluttered. "Applejack! Nightmare Moon was a legend, and she's very real!"

She rubbed the back of her head. "Right, yeah."

"But there's no time to lose. Thanks, Pinkie, but we need to know about these Elements, and the sooner, the better."

The cloud of smoke hiding outside listened with far more interest. If she got to the Elements first, perhaps there would be less chance for rebellion than she thought.

The pages flipped by as she skimmed the text for anything interesting. "Discord? No, we can't afford to get sidetracked. Location... location...."

She suddenly stopped, and the others started to lean over her shoulders. "Aha! The last location of the Elements of Harmony now resides...."

A round of horrified looks swept the group. "...in the Everfree Forest‽"

---

The cloud showed a glint of teeth. Precisely what I was looking for. She just left them in the castle?

If she was in her usual form, she would have gritted her teeth. The nerve of her sister, letting everything she was attached to wither and rot. Leaving her home to rot and weeds to grow rampant.

Nightmare started to float away at a lazy pace, mind enraged at everything that had changed. If nothing else she had respected her sister in battle. She had expected a good fight when she returned. Some catharsis for the thousands of years of isolation, for the hundreds more of torture before that. But no. She just gave up. Her armies were worthless. Her subjects frightened foals, aside from a couple insignificants.

---

Everypony stood at the edge of the forest. The air was thick with fear and malice. Ominous sounds echoed through the trees. A sense of foreboding hung over the group.

Pinkie Pie bounced forward. "Whee! Let's go!"

"Wait, Pinkie," Twilight said, her magic gripped on her tail. "I appreciate you... all of you... trying to help, but I'd rather do this on my own. I don't want to put any of you at risk just because of my crazy schemes."

"No, Twi, we're coming with you. Family don't abandon family. Same goes for friends."

Rainbow landed beside her. "Yeah!"

"Besides, now that we know what you were going through, a bit of impatience isn't worth getting worked up over."

The shy yellow pegasus stepped forward. "I had a lot of fun talking with Spike... I mean, he's a baby dragon! But... I feel really guilty knowing how much time I wasted for you. Maybe we'd already have the Elements of Harmony."

"Fluttershy..."

"And there's no way I'd have started you with a full makeover if I knew how much time pressure you were under. No wonder you had no interest in idle gossip, when all of Equestria was at stake!"

"Rarity..."

"The point is, Twi, we're sticking with you."

Pinkie grinned, leaning in. "And you caaan't get rid of us! Not that easily!"

Calmany nodded. "And wouldn't it make sense to have more ponies looking for the Elements once we get there?"

Twilight sighed. "I'm not winning this, am I?"

Pinkie bounced her way onto the dirt path. "Nope!"

Calmany looked curiously at the sky. "Huh. Where's Cirra?"

---

Nightmare Moon turned around in midair, where the outline of a pony was faintly visible. But that was a moot point - whether she was visible or not, her magic was plain for her to see.

Curious... she was with the others earlier. She should know the threat I am. Yet she floats there unconcerned. Has she lost her senses? Or has she already done my work for me?

"Who are you, subject, and what do you want from me?"

Cirra opened her mouth, moving and pointing to it to indicate she could not speak.

Nightmare rolled her eyes. "Pathetic. Still... I suppose I could give you this... one boon."

White light flashed out towards Cirra. She leaped back, but wasn't nearly quick enough to dodge. She froze as the energy lashed across her body, mouth still open in shock.

The light died down, but... she didn't hurt. She was still there. And...

She was a bit more visible, too.

"Wha-"

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes in irritation. "Quick, foal, spit it out. I can't afford to waste power on random ponies I meet. In fact, I have a pretty good reason to incinerate you on the spot. So tell me, why should I let you live?"

"I-" Cirra shook her head. She didn't have time to think about just how she could talk. This... vapor was Nightmare Moon, and she was just as dangerous as the alicorn in Town Hall, if less imposing at the moment. "Nightmare Moon... I don't know if that's your real name, or just the ones given to you by all those legends. I read them. You used to rule together with Celestia, didn't you?"

There was a certain edge of steel in Nightmare's voice now. "Yes. Be very careful about what you say right now."

"Um... I was just wondering... what was your side of everything?"

There was silence for a solid three seconds.

"W-what?"

Cirra shifted nervously. "I mean... Celestia has been my ruler... my Princess... for all of my life. She was so kind-"

"Get to the point."

She sighed. "It still feels wrong that you attacked her. But all those legends say you were a good pony back then. And she was your sister. If you attacked her... I just want to know why. The books say it was jealousy, but that doesn't seem right."

So she's not on our side, but we were right. She is willing to listen. Nightmare Moon glanced at the ground, where the ponies, now significantly more than two, were entering the forest. Perhaps there was reason for urgency, if she wanted to get to the Elements first.

"All right. Let's... let's get to the castle first."

"The castle?"

Nightmare Moon reformed back into her physical self, then started flying above the forest. "The real castle, my little pony. The capital before Celestia decided to erase me from existence."

Author's Note:

In case anyone missed my comment, Calmany's name is a pun of Calgary, where the first real teleportation of photons was successfully accomplished by quantum entanglement. (One of the only physical ways teleportation is possible in real life.)

This premiere is going to play out a lot differently than the show.

Also, the people who follow me might be surprised, as I had promised a different story's chapter would be next. But inspiration is a fickle thing, and I had to just get this out before it died again.

Comments

[The Watcher Face]

Chapter 4:
Cool Cirra is the chapter name. Can’t wait for more chapters.

[Detsella Morningdew]

9043237
Yeah, oops. I kinda forgot that I didn't name the chapter. Usually I do that before I write it, but I didn't know how long it would be, and I wrote that and published it all in one sitting.

Well, I'm glad you like it.

[AyanamiRei]

*Continues to read and stalk* o.o