My Little Pony: Friendships are Magic

by professor space n time

Chapter 5 (Friendship is Magic Part 2)

On the outskirts of the town the girls were standing at the edge of the forest, they could feel the cold wind that came from it and in the distance they could hear the trees being moved by the breeze and the noise of the vermin that inhabited it.

"Whee! Let's go!" Pinkie Pie said starting to jog to enter the forest.

"Not so fast." Twilight said stopping her "Look, we appreciate the offer, but we'd really rather do this on our own."

"Twilight, what are you talking about? No way are we going to enter that forest alone! Don't you know the dangers of the Everfree Forest?! There are manticores, snakes, Timberwolves, cockatrices and I could go on for hours, not to mention the paranormal qualities of the forest" Amara said.

"Amara is right sugarcube. We sure ain't lettin' any friends of ours go into that creepy place alone. We're stickin' to you like caramel on a candy apple." Said Applejack.

The other mares agreed with a "Hmph!" and began to trot into the forest.

"Especially if there's candy apples in there." Said Pinkie, Amara looked at her confused "What? Those things are good."

Twilight just sighed in frustration. Amara approached her "Twilight, you know we can't do this alone, these ponies are willing to help you, let them do it, right now we need all the help we can, so please be nice to them" Amara started trotting after Pinkie and went into the forest.

Twilight sighed again, this time not in frustration but in defeat because she knew Amara was right, she thought about how badly she had treated the mares that were accompanying her willing to help them face a dark and vengeful alicorn with the power to control night, she chuckled at her own stupidity and stubbornness, immediately began to trot fast to catch up with the others.

---

The seven of them walked in a row through the forest with the starry sky above them, they had very good light indeed, or perhaps their eyes had already gotten used to the darkness, at least they could see the three or four meters in front of them and not trip.

"So, none of you have been in here before?" Asked Twilight.

"Ugh, heavens no! Just look at it - it's dreadful." Rarity said with disdain for her surroundings.

"I have actually been here" Amara commented "But I entered the other side of the forest, I was visiting a nearby town due to reports of cryptids"

"Oh please, don't start with the cryptids again!" Twilight begged her.

"Cryptids?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Amara believes fervently in Cryptozoology, a pseudo-science that tries to prove the existence of unidentified creatures, mostly from legends or myths, of which there are only witness reports, photos and recordings of doubtful origin and veracity" replied Twilight with a tone fed up as she despised the subject.

"It is more than that, we not only try to prove their existence but to give an explanation, there are times when cryptids turn out to be misidentified known animals, or diseased, or genetic mutations like the two-headed goats in the northern mountains, what we are trying to do is discover the truth, of course there are many crazy people who give us a bad reputation, one thing is to believe in something that seems improbable and another thing is being a crazy conspiranoic who believes that the Zebraica government is trying to hide the existence of extremely violent, large and carnivorous spiny monkeys because. . . "Reasons", I do not understand this type of ponies, What would the government gain by hiding the existence of these creatures? Apart from several unexplained deaths and fear in the population" Amara said.

"And what were you looking for?" Pinkie asked her.

"Good thing you ask, I was in search of an elusive creature known as "The Silver Beam", according to the inhabitants of the town for centuries, birds that shine like silver have been spotted and that at night fly over the forest , in a few months the creatures begin to fly in strange patterns and form different flashes that may be used as a mating dance, a few months ago the creature was photographed, the photograph was somewhat distorted due to the light but you can recognize the figure of owl, it is known that there are small populations of owls in the Everfree Forest but one with the qualities of the photo had never been discovered, so together with a zoologist and a biologist we entered the southern part of the forest, which is the least explored, we set up a base camp and set traps in different areas of the forest, after camping for two weeks one of the traps captured an animal, a totally new species, an owl with silver feathers that absorbed the light of the moon and began to shine, used its brightness to scare the other nocturnal creatures, I let the scientists take the credit. I already have more than enough titles, being a princess is enough for me, I don't want to have the discovery of a new species on my back"

"So it was real." Applejack said.

"Yes, but it is not always like that, sometimes the creatures turn out to be just legends, but in the worst cases they turn out to be lies, someone makes a joke and then takes it too far, an example was the supposed monster of Lake Blue Beak, they investigated for twenty years and in the end everything turned out to be a joke made by some ponies with an electric model that they piloted from time to time, somepony saw the thing moving in the lake and the legend remained, in the end it turned out that there was nothing, But at least the twenty years served as something because they managed to make the place become a tourist destination and it became a territory protected by the government and a nature reserve, in addition the observers who stayed to camp to see the creature could stop several serious crimes and even caught a murderer who buried his victims on the shores of the lake"

"Well that doesn't sound so bad" Fluttershy said in her low voice.

“From the general point of view everything was very good, but you have to see it from the point of view of those ponies, those ponies dedicated twenty years of their lives to that lake, how do you think they felt when it was discovered that it was a lie, How would you react if all your life, everything you believed, worked for, turned out to be just a joke, or something insignificant? How would you feel if someone ripped you out of your reality, gave you a new one and told you that all of the above was not important, that it was all for nothing?"

The girls were silent for a minute thinking about what Amara said, creating scenarios and dialogues in their heads, feeling more and more scared by the machinations of their own minds, they felt how the until now quiet forest began to eat the light of the stars and covered them in darkness, not just their bodies, but their minds.

"And. . . Why had none of you come before? " Twilight asked with a trembling voice trying to break the ice and trying to erase the idea that Amara implanted in their minds.

"This place ain't natural, Folks say that it don't work the same as Equestria" said Applejack also with a trembling voice.

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow smiled slightly "Nopony knows. You know why? " she said approaching the other mares at a frightening pace.

"Leave them Dash, you scare them" Amara told her.

" 'Cause everypony who's ever come in has never come OUT!"

At that moment the earth fell away and the mares fell down the slope except for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Amara who began to fly. "Fluttershy quick!" Rainbow Dash ordered flying quickly towards Pinkie Pie.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness." Fluttershy said flying as fast as she could towards Rarity and grabbing her by the tail.

Amara was flying towards Applejack at full speed when one of the huge chunks of dislodged dirt hit her and knocked her to the ground "Ugh!"

Applejack grabbed onto an exposed root with her mouth, Twilight screamed as she slid uncontrollably towards the cliff, managed to turn on her belly as she was about to reach the edge, but the lower half of her body dangled and she didn't have a good place to hold on to.

"Twilight!" Amara yelled on the ground still stunned by the blow and feeling her body ease for a second, but at the same time getting heavier and feeling swollen from the pain.

Applejack let go and carefully slid over to Twilight "Hold on! I'm a-comin'!" She said holding on to Twilight's hooves to prevent her from falling.

"Applejack! What do I do?" She asked as she uselessly moved her hind legs looking for a place to lean on.

Applejack thought for a second and then looked up "Let go." she said with confidence.

"Are you crazy?!" said Twilight.

"No I ain't. I promise you'll be safe." Applejack said sincerely.

"That's not true!" Twilight responded knowing how illogical that statement was.

"Now listen here. What I'm sayin' to you is the honest truth. Let go, and you'll be safe." Applejack said, her tone honest and her comforting gaze filled Twilight with confidence.

Twilight took a deep breath and let go "Yaaah!!" At that moment she was caught by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash "Phew. . ." She sighed relaxed "Wah!!" She screamed when Fluttershy lost her grip and she started to fall, right after that they grabbed her again.

"Sorry girls. I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two." Fluttershy said in apologetic tone.

Twilight smiled as Applejack bounced down the cliff, below Rarity helping Amara walk.

"Are you sure you're okay darling?" Rarity asked her.

"Yes, yes, I just need a second, hit my head too hard, leave me, I'm fine, I can walk alone" she said clutching the right side of her head as the pain subsided and the feeling of swelling lessened.

---

"Ok, I understand you didn't know how long you were going to be able to hold Twilight" Said Amara, the seven of them had already resumed their way "But why not tell her "they will catch you"?"

"And where would the fun be in that?" Applejack said winking and grinning.

"Oh. . ., I'm starting to like you! " Amara said with a smile, then she came forward and stood in front of the group, she was silent for a moment while she could still feel in her mouth that taste of sadness, like rotten blueberries with bitter and old lemon, and also fear with that strange metallic, bitter and salty taste, leaving her mouth dry and a feeling of emptiness in her stomach "Look, I-I'm sorry for what I told you a while ago about the lake and existentialism, I didn't want to sadden you, o-or scare you and I'm sorry"

"Oh, don't worry about that dear, it's not that bad" said Rarity, Amara felt the artificial sweet taste that left a bitter taste later, she was lying.

"No, it is bad, I-I know the damage that emotions can do, I can feel and know what others feel, and-and my words hurted you all" she said guiltily, but at that moment she could taste liquorice with salt, they felt guilty “Oh and now I'm making you feel guilty! I'm trash. . ." she told herself with tears in her eyes, then she could taste a lemon sweet with the perfect amounts of sugar, its taste although bitter was comforting, it was forgiveness. Amara wiped her tears and smiled with a sigh "Thank you. . . for forgiving me."

The other mares looked in shock at the changes in her attitude and looked at each other for a second, but then they shook their heads, forgetting about it, everything was already settled so why bother?

They walked in silence for a while longer until Amara's face was filled with terror and with a brusque movement she indicated to the others to stop, then signaled them to speak in a low voice. "What happen?" Twilight asked.

“A manticore. . ., right in front of us. . ., he's irritated. . ." She said in a low voice and with a few pauses to make sure that the manticore did not move "Irritated is more dangerous, we have to move slowly and find another way"

"According to the book, this is the only way to the castle" Twilight told him.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get rid of that thing! We're not going to move!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Are you crazy? We're not doing that" Amara told her.

"Amara is right." Fluttershy said.

"And then what will we do Fluttershy? Sing to it? Pet it? I say we all attack him at the same time" Rainbow Dash answered with a challenging tone.

Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie nodded and got into fighting positions. "Now!" Rainbow Dash yelled, the manticore jumped from the trees and the girls started running towards him determined to strike the first blow.

"WAIT!" yelled Fluttershy, the mares stopped in their tracks, Fluttershy started walking towards the manticore, it roared and prepared to attack her with its right paw, the girls closed their eyes and turned their heads to the other side so as not to see the grotesque scene that was about to be unleashed. But nothing remotely similar happened, Fluttershy nuzzled the manticore's left paw "Shhh... It's okay." The manticore seemed to understand and showed her its paw showing a huge piece of wood nailed into it "Oh, you poor, poor little baby."

"Little?" Said Rainbow Dash.

"Now this might hurt for just a second." Fluttershy said, then with her mouth she ripped out the splinter, the manticore jerked her up and roared.

"Fluttershy!" yelled everyponys except for Amara who was standing to the side quiet and with a calm expression.

The manticore started petting and licking Fluttershy while it purred, Fluttershy giggled "Aw you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are."

The girls took the opportunity to pass by the side and continue on their way Twilight and Amara stopped to wait for Fluttershy, she way calmly towards them "How did you know about the thorn?" Asked Twilight.

"I didn't." Fluttershy said getting ahead of them "Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness."

Twilight looked at Amara and smiled, Amara smiled back at her and shrugged, they both started walking to catch up with the others.

---

They were walking through the deepest part of the forest, they felt the fresh breeze and the smell of earth, the ground was soft and damp.

"Yuck!. My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." said Rarity.

At that moment they entered a dark area of ​​the forest, the trees covered the stars and they were left blind.

"Well, I didn't mean that literally." Said Rarity

"We are in the most humid area of ​​the forest, be careful where you step, there could be loose soil, also be careful with the plants and roots" said Amara.

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it." said Twilight

Rarity felt like she was stepping on somepony's tail "I didn't see you there, my apologies."

"Right here... guh..." Rainbow Dash commented among the tangle of jumbled phrases that the ponies formed

"Oh wait, I think I stepped in somethin' " Applejack said pulling her hooves out of a mud puddle. Suddenly Fluttershy let out a scream of terror. "It's just mud," said Applejack. At that moment she saw the tree in front of her and with fright she let out a scream and took a great leap to get away from the tree that had a nightmarish face on its bark.

Suddenly everypony realized that the trees around them were deformed with grimaces and malicious smiles that looked directly at them, without emitting any noise except for the cracking of their branches due to the wind, but this only made them more terrifying, they could feel the eyes of those faces look deep into their hearts and fill their souls with fear. Amara felt terrified and at the same time dizzy and weak, she spit to get rid of the horrible metallic taste of fear that was now more intense and horrible because it was the combined fear of the other ponies, soon they could see how the shadows of the trees were moving making them see that they seemed to approach, they felt how the space was reduced around them and how they began to lack air, at that moment they could only do one thing, scream, scream in complete terror, some with tears in their eyes.

Suddenly their thoughts were interrupted by the laughter of Pinkie Pie who was standing in front of a tree making funny faces and sounds.

"Pinkie, what are you doing?! Run!" Yelled Twilight.

"Oh girls, don't you see?"Suddenly their surroundings seemed to light up.

When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...

Tell me she's not...

The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown...

She is.

I'd hide under my pillow
From what I thought I saw
But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way
To deal with fears at all

Then what is?

She said, "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Just laugh to make them disappear."

Ha! Ha! Ha!

GASP!

So, giggle at the ghostly
Guffaw at the grossly
Crack up at the creepy
Whoop it up with the weepy
Chortle at the kooky
Snortle at the spooky

And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh...

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh!

The girls fell to the ground laughing uncontrollably.

---

The girls jogged through the woods while laughing.

"Hey, Amara, can I ask you something?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Sure, what is it?" she told her.

"I saw you throw fire in the town hall when you attacked Nightmare Moon, how can you spit fire? I thought only dragons could do it"

"Well it's a funny story" said Amara "When I was ten years old Mom was teaching Spike how to use his flames, I thought it was cool so I wanted to breathe fire myself, so I tried and tried, thinking that I was a dragon myself, and then I set the carpet on fire, to put out the fire, I spilled my mom's coffee and the room was smelling of coffee for weeks.” They both started laughing again.

They turned into some bushes and collided with the pony in front of them as they stopped at the edge of an extremely turbulent river.

"How are we gonna cross this?" said Pinkie.

"Does anypony else hear those wailing?" Amara said.

At that moment the others could hear the sobs and wailing in the distance, they followed the river up to the top and when crossing some bushes they could see a sea serpent with purple scales and brilliant orange hair that was sobbing "What a world, what a world."

"Poor guy" Amara said tasting his sadness and helplessness spicy and irritating with a bitter touch that faded and gave melancholy.

"Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?" Asked Twilight.

"Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid." Immediately he began to sob and wail again and as he jumped into the water his splash soaked the mares from hoof to head.

"Oh, give me a break." Said Rainbow Dash annoyed.

"That's what all the fuss is about?" Applejack asked, incredulous at how childish the tantrum seemed to her.

"Why, of course it is. How can you be so insensitive? Oh, just look at him." Rarity said approaching him "Such lovely luminescent scales." Rarity said as a compliment as she stroked his chin

"I know." he said.

"And your expertly coiffed mane."

"Oh, I know, I know." He said stroking his silky and shiny hair.

"Your fabulous manicure." Rarity said admiring his claws.

"*GASP!* It's so true!"

"All ruined without your beautiful mustache."

"It's true, I'm hideous!" He said covering his face.

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected." Rarity said with a determined tone, then with her mouth she ripped a scale from the serpent.

He screamed in pain "What did you do that for?"

"Rarity, what are you-" Twilight was interrupted when in a sudden movement Rarity cut her own tail, it fell to the ground in one piece.

"Ah!" Exclaimed the sea serpent exaggeratedly acting a faint. Rarity got rid of the scale, with her magic she gathered her cut hair and fused it to his face "Oh-hohohoho!. My mustache. How wonderful."

"You look smashing." She said with a smile.

"Oh, Rarity, your beautiful tail..." Twilight said in a sad tone, although she herself was not a pony who cared much about beauty or her own image, she understood how difficult it would be to maintain such perfect hair and how wasteful it was to cut it. Any pony was an art critic or not would feel how painful it would be to see a masterpiece be damaged or destroyed.

"Oh. It's fine, my dear. Short tails are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back." Rarity said in a relaxed tone, the matter didn't seem important to her.

"So would the mustache." Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight. Amara tapped her on the ribs, signaling her to shut up.

Twilight gasped as she realized that the river's waters had calmed down "We can cross now. Let's go. Ah!"

At that moment the sea serpent lifted Twilight and formed a kind of bridge with his body "Allow me."

The girls crossed the river and thanked the sea serpent.

---

After walking for maybe half an hour or more through the tangle of trees the girls came to a clearing, there was some fog, but they could see in front of them a bridge that crossed the cliff, on the other side the gray ruins of a castle full of undergrowth, it had no roof and there were large gaps in the facade, they could see the old wooden doors, dry in some parts, full of moss in others.

"There it is, the ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!" Twilight started running towards the bridge at full speed.

"Twilight wait!" Amara yelled at her "There's no bridge!"

Twilight stopped short when she heard that, she was on the edge of the cliff and was losing her balance, suddenly her weight went to the front and she began to feel that feeling of void that there is in a fall, time seemed to slow down and her nerves were to the maximum 'Is this how it ends?' She thought 'After all the effort. . .' At that moment she felt herself being pulled from behind, it was Amara who with her magic pulled her by the tail and Twilight fell to the ground on her flanks.

"What's with you and falling off cliffs tonight?" Amara said mockingly.

"Now what?" Asked Pinkie.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings "Duh."

"Oh yeah." Pinkie said as Rainbow took off.

Rainbow plunged into the mist at the bottom of the cliff and rose again carrying in her mouth the ropes of the bridge she crossed to the other side and prepared to tie them, at that moment she could hear a voice say her name "Rainbow..."

"Who's there?" She asked, the mist seemed to get thicker.

"Rainbow. . ."

Rainbow got up on her hind legs and began to swing her front legs as she circled searching for the source of the voice "I ain't scared of you! Show yourself!"

"We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria." Said the voice.

"Who?"

"Why, you, of course."

"Really?! I mean... Oh yeah, me. Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? 'cause I've been trying to get into that group for like, ever."

At that moment, Rainbow could make out three figures in the mist that were rapidly approaching "No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us, The Shadowbolts." At that time the three figures were revealed, they were three pegasi, a mare and two stallions, they had on tight purple and black suits with yellow rays, they also wore yellow protective glasses that did not allow their eyes to be seen "We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria, but first, we need a captain." Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up "The most magnificent-"

"Yep."

"Swiftest-"

"Yes."

"Bravest flyer in all the land."

"Yes, Heh. . . it's all true."

"We need. . . you."

"WOOHOO! Sign me up. Just let me tie this bridge real quick and then we have a deal." Rainbow walked over to pick up the rope when suddenly the leader stepped in the way.

"No! It's them or us."

"Rainbow, what's taking so long?" Twilight asked from the other side of the bridge.

Amara could see the Shadowbolts talking to Rainbow Dash across the bridge “Oh no. . . Rainbow! Don't listen to them! They want-!" at that moment the leader turned to look at them, her eyes shone, the fog thickened even more and Amara's voice was lost to nothing.

Rainbow Dash was thoughtful, hesitantly looking back and forth between the bridge and the Shadowbolts.

"Well?" The leader asked.

"You. . ." the leader smiled triumphantly "Thank you! For the offer, I mean," Rainbow Dash tied the rope and tightened the bridge, the Shadowbolts looked at her in disbelief "but I'm afraid I have to say no." Rainbow took off and started to cross the cliff, the Shadowbolts frowned and melted into the nightly mist.

Rainbow crossed to the other side, the girls cheered when they saw her, they began to cross the bridge and Rainbow approached Twilight "See? I'd never leave my friends hangin'." She told her, Twilight smiled slightly.

The girls crossed the bridge and together pushed the large wooden door to open it, upon entering the room they were welcomed by columns and windows, broken and cracked, the plants grew between the cracks of the castle as nature began its slow process with which it was planing to reclaim the land that was hers, in the center on a pedestal the tools for their salvation.

“I knew it! I knew it! I was right! There are seven! Six physical elements!" Amara said excitedly flying around the pedestal, smiling and chirping like a cricket.

"Amara, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"That there are six stones, of course" Amara said with a smile.

"Amara, darling, what are you talking about? There are only five" Rarity said.

Amara stopped short in midair, her expression incredulous and surprised, she was paralyzed by what she had just heard “W-What? Can't you see it. . .?" was the only thing she could say.

"See what?" Applejack asked.

"The sixth stone!" Amara yelled, she began to go around the pedestal counting the rocks "one, two, three, four, five and six" but when she said six, Amara pointed to an empty space where there was nothing.

"Is this a joke?" Pinkie asked innocently. "Because if it is, it's not that funny, I mean, it's funny, but not that funny. How is funny measured by the way? There must be some kind of scale, but would it be measured in laughter or in smiles, because a very good joke can make you smile for minutes-"

"It's not a joke!" Amara yelled "I'll show you" Amara approached the pedestal to carry the rock, but when trying to take it her hooves collided with each other, Amara was incredulous "I can see it, but I can't touch it? I can see it, but I can't touch it?!!" she said furiously trying to pick up the rock over and over again getting the same result.

"I think she went crazy." Rainbow Dash told Twilight.

Amara kept trying to pick it up more and more furious until finally she just stopped and brought her hooves to her head as she tried to reason what was happening "What the heck is going on?! It doesn't make sense! H-How?!" she said frustrated, tugging at his hair and with an unsteady expression.

"A-Amara, A-Are you okay?!" Fluttershy asked in a low voice, somewhat scared by Amara's attitude.

Amara realized this, she noticed that all of them were scared or uncomfortable, she just landed "I'm sorry, I think I lost control, I'm just a little scared, I-I don't want to lose mom, and I don't want to fail you, I'm sorry to scare you, I understand that you have been through a lot today, I can feel it. . . I would like to thank you, I never told you, but I am grateful that you came with us, thank you" Amara smiled sweetly at them with an expression that made them feel safe and understood, the girls were able to understand Amara thanks to her words, and in fact every one of them felt identified in her own way, Amara could savor the bittersweet, beautiful, and harmonious taste of empathy "Thank you for being so understanding with me."

At that moment the pedestal began to shine and they were all blinded for a second, suddenly another element materialized on the pedestal "The other element!" the girls yelled.

"But why couldn't we see it earlier?" Applejack asked.

"I-I don't know, maybe it had some kind of spell, it appeared when all of you felt empathy at the same time, maybe that's what it represents, Empathy" Amara said looking at the rock with curiosity and a strange feeling in her chest.

“Well, you were right Amy, there are seven elements. Now, how about we put them down and get this over with once and for all?" Twilight said.

"I couldn't agree more." Amara said.

Amara, Rainbow and Fluttershy took the elements and carefully placed them on the ground in a circle "Now what?" Applejack asked.

"As I said in the library, the missing element will appear when we discover The Spark" Said Amara.

"And what does that mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

“I don't know, but I think I have an idea. Everypony stand back.” Twilight said, lighting her horn.

"Should we get out of here? You know so she can focus?" Applejack asked.

"Don't think that's necessary" Amara said "Just don't get in the way of her magic."

Twilight approached the elements, ducked her head and when she was about to radiate them with magic a dark blue swirl made presence.

"Nightmare Moon!" Amara yelled "The Elements quick!"

The girls rushed to grab the elements, but at that moment Nightmare Moon blinded them with a beam of light, the seven of them were teleported to another tower, as their eyes cleared they were welcomed by the vision of Nightmare Moon surrounded by the elements, she had a terrifying smile on her face and upon seeing them she began to laugh maniacally.

Amara's expression turned determined "We're all going to attack her at the same time, and don't let go of her no matter what." she said with determination. The girls just nodded and braced themselves, cracking their joints and getting ready to run.

Nightmare Moon just laughed "You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"

The girls started running towards her, Nightmare also started running towards them, just when they met Twilight teleported behind her and kept running towards the elements while the girls attacked her with everything they had, but all except Amara were thrown towards back by magic, Amara immediately began to launch magic attacks without stopping, some managed to hit her but they did not hurt her in that Nightmare Moon realized that Twilight was standing in front of the elements using her magic, Amara was trapped inside a magic bubble that was floating in the center of the room, Nightmare Moon transformed into a swirl of mist and lunged towards Twilight.

"Just one spark. Come on, come on." She begged. Nightmare Moon materialized in front of her "Aah!"

The elements seemed to light up and be united by rays of magic "No. No!" Nightmare Moon screamed scared.

But at that moment the elements went dead and inert, Twilight gasped "But... where's the seventh Element?!"

Nightmare Moon just laughed evilly and with a strong movement of her front legs the elements broke like glass "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" Twilight was dumbfounded, her expression full of terror.

But at that moment the girls stood next to her.

"Don't worry Twilight, we are here for you."

"Everything will be fine."

"There is no reason to fear."

"We are in this together and we'll win together."

"We'll get out of this."

At that moment Amara broke the bubble and landed next to her. "I know you're scared, but I won't let anything happen to you all."

Twilight smiled, suddenly she felt a spark rise in her heart and run through her body, the realization hit her like a train, she turned to see Nightmare Moon and smiled "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here."

Suddenly the pieces of the elements rose in the air, shining with auras of different colors "What?!" Nightmare Moon said.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity! Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty! Amara, who was comprehensive to us, cared about our emotions and brought us together in an aura of understanding, represents the spirit of... empathy! The spirits of these six ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." The elements flew towards their respective owners, surrounding them.

"You still don't have the seventh Element! The spark didn't work!"

"But it did! A different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all... are my friends!" At that moment a glowing orb materialized revealing the missing element. "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh element: the element of... magic!"

The orb shimmered and the elements transformed one by one, the girls rose into the air and the elements created a rainbow-colored beam that engulfed Nightmare Moon "Nooo! Nooo!"

Twilight opened her eyes that glowed white, suddenly there was an indescribably colorful glow, the next thing the girls knew was that they were on the floor.

"Ugh, my head." said Rainbow.

"Everypony okay?" Aske Applejack.

"Oh, thank goodness." Rarity said happily shaking her tail that had been restored to its original form.

"Why Rarity, it's so lovely." Said Fluttershy.

"I know! I'll never part with it again."

"No. Your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark." She said pointing to the golden necklace and its purple gem in the shape of a diamond.

"What? Ooh. So does yours." Rarity said pointing to the gem with the form of a pink butterfly.

Fluttershy gasped, The girls were impressed to see the necklaces they now wore "Look at mine! Look at mine!" Pinkie said to Applejack jumping happily.

"Aw yeah!" Said Rainbow Dash.

"Fascinating" Amara said admiring her necklace, it was a golden chain with a heart-shaped jewel, a black half and a green half merged in the center like a kind of ying and yang.

"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship." said Applejack

"Indeed you do." Said a sweet voice, immediately the sun rose on the horizon and a white glow manifested in front of them revealing Princess Celestia in all her deity glory, the mares bowed before her.

"Mom!" Amara yelled running towards her.

"Amy!" Celestia yelled.

Amara threw herself towards her giving her a strong hug while tears of joy rolled down her cheeks, Celestia returned the gesture and even seemed to shed some tears too. "You don't know how glad I am to see you, I'm very proud of you" she said.

"I'm also glad to see that you are okay" Amara said ending the hug "We did it, we got the seven elements"

"Seven?!" Celestia asked, impressed.

"We have a lot to talk about, but first things first" Amara said, focusing her gaze on the place where Nightmare Moon had found herself moments before.

The two walked there and were greeted by the vision of an alicorn with dark blue fur and light blue hair lying unconscious surrounded by the smoking pieces of Nightmare Moon's shattered armor.

"Luna?" Celestia whispered in her ear.

The mare woke up with a loud gasp, Luna looked puzzled and confused at her surroundings in a state of total shock, she tried to get up but fell on her own weight.

"Wow! Calm! Calm" Said Amara, then she approached her and helped her up "Everything will be okay, you must be extremely confused"

Celestia stood in front of her, Luna trembled scared by the imposing figure of her older sister, she felt how her eyes seemed to look into the depths of her being, she gulped as she closed her eyes expecting the worst. But nothing remotely similar happened, Celestia hugged her tightly while tears ran down her cheeks "I missed you so much! I made many mistakes a thousand years ago, but I swear I have learned from them, I did not express my love as you deserved, but I want you to know that I love you, I have always done"

Luna immediately returned the hug, also crying "No, I'm the one who's sorry, I missed you so much big sister!"

"It is time for us to leave behind our differences and reign together, as it should had been since the beginning" Celestia said solemnly, and happy to have her sister back.

Amara for her part wiped the tears from her eyes, this was noticed by the two alicorns "A thousand apologies, sometimes I get something emotional with these things, disadvantages of being able to know the emotions of others I guess" she said trying to process the cocktail of innumerable emotions that went down her throat.

"I guess you already know Amara" Celestia said.

Amara approached, bowed before her and then offered Luna her hoof with a smile on her face “We never formally introduce ourselves, my name is Amara. Sorry about what happened a while ago with the fire and the goo"

Luna shook her hoof while looking at her impressed, did she ask her for forgiveness? "On the contrary, we are the ones who are sorry, we are the ones who wish to apologize, we tried to assassinate you!, and we are very sorry to have put you through so much tonight, we especially apologize for having threatened to break your neck"

“Nah, no problem, that wasn't you, it was Nightmare Moon. Besides, I have no bones." she said turning her head three hundred and sixty degrees.

Luna yelped in terror "How is this possible? Celestia, sister, what pony did you mate with?" she asked impressed.

Amara laughed “You two have a lot to talk about, but you better do it when we get back to Canterlot, it's better to get out of the forest before the bigger daytime animals wake up, besides, I think this old castle has seen enough for today, not to mention that our ponies must be hysterical"

"As always Amara you are right, it will be better to go" the mares began to walk towards the exit in a row, with Amara at the end, when the others left Amara turned to see the castle for the last time, in that moment she could swear she saw something move in the shadows, something dark, Amara simply shook her head in denial and assumed it was just her mind playing tricks with the shadows. She walked next to Celestia, who extended her wing and hugged her "Now tell me, how is it that there are seven Elements of Harmony?"

“Well it's a long story. We were in the library when. . . "

---

Upon reaching the town they were greeted by the joyful cheering of the crowd, a great party had already been organized, when crossing the main street Spike jumped to give Twilight a big hug, Amara was in charge of clarifying the whole matter in front of the town, in fact they were very understanding and some ponies even approached the princess of the night to give her gifts or talk to her, Luna could not feel happier and had a permanent smile on her face, just like Celestia who always stayed close to her sister.

After a while Celestia thanked her subjects and apologized when she told them that she had to return to Canterlot, at that moment she noticed how Twilight looked at the ground hopelessly and sad, when she finished giving her announcement she approached her "What's wrong Twilight? Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"

"What happens is that she does not want to leave" said Amara passing by her while delicately and politely eating a piece of brownie with chocolate chips.

"Is that true my faithful student?" Celestia asked.

"It's just that, Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them. . ."

Celestia smiled " Spike, take a note, please." immediately the little dragon took out paper and quill "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."

The ponies around them cheered after hearing that.

"Mom, if I may. Would these be weekly reports, or does she only have to send you a report whenever she learns something?" Amara asked.

"It may be whenever she learns something." Celestia replied.

The girls hugged Twilight "Oh thank you, Princess Celestia! I'll study harder than ever before." She stated

The ponies cheered, Celestia approached her daughter and whispered something in her ear, Amara looked at her impressed "Are you serious?" Celestia nodded, Amara looked at her for a moment, then sighed "Okay, I'll stay with them" then she hugged her "I'll write to you every day, I promise" then she kissed her on the cheek "I love you mom" she told her and then she went to talk to the others.

Celestia looked at her with a light smile that unsuccessfully tried to hide her sad expression, she knew that what she was doing was the right thing to do, but that didn't make it any less painful, she was about to cry when Luna hugged her and looked at her eyes with asmile trying to comfort her sister, Celestia smiled, hugged her back and they stayed there a while longer enjoying the party.

Comments

[Dragon Shimmer]

OMG, she is stealing Sunset's Elements. Everyone, quick, call the 911 to arrest her because of stealing.

[Dashie04]

Luna yelped in terror "How is this possible? Celestia, sister, what pony did you mate with?"

I love how Amy doesn’t clarify that she was technically adopted after this.

[ARandomLonelyDude]

10889989
Oh no! My uncle escaped the mental asylum and dated Celestia!