Friendship is Magic, Part 2
A hushed silence blanketed the Ponyville town hall as blue fog began to magically appear on the balcony. It began to swirl, coalescing into a shadowy form. With a flash of darkness, a large alicorn, as black as night, appeared on the balcony. Her midnight blue mane flowed with the same energy as Celestia, revealing a canvas of stars. Her wings were borne, and her eyes were little more than carnivorous slits.
She stared down with disdain to shocked crowd of ponies, "Oh, my beloved subjects," she announced with mock sincerity, "It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces."
Pegasi royal guard swooped in to attack the mysterious disrupter, only to be swat aside by her magic. Twilight and several other guards on the balconies shot magic beams at the alicorn, who merely absorbed the spells, shooting back her own array of magic that destroyed the balconies, scattering its occupants.
The remainder of the Canterlot officials held back, angrily staring at their assailant.
Rainbow Dash flew out from the crowd. "What did you do with our Princess?" She attempted to attack the alicorn, only to be held back by the lasso of Applejack.
The alicorn smiled, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"
Pinkie Pie bounced up again, "Oo, oo, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty-"
The pony was silenced as Rarity's magic shut her mouth. She took a step forward, standing tall to the alicorn looming over everpony. "I know who you are," she shouted, "You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!"
Nightmare Moon sinisterly chuckled, "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." She took a step forward, a beam of dark energy shot out from her horn, exploding in a magical expansion in the sky. The moon rose to its full height as a purple shade of twilight spread across the entire sky.
"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" With a laugh, the blue fog swirled around the alicorn, crackling and shooting out bolts of lightning. The crowd scattered as Nightmare Moon vanished from sight.
Rarity frantically searched through her books and papers. Thankfully, Big Mac and the Apples had been kind enough to unpack her suitcases for her when they brought them over earlier. Not to her specific liking of course, though redecorating would have to wait till later. As of now, Rarity was making a mess of the previously pristine quarters. The Predictions and Prophecies book lay open on the ground slowly being covered by the papers flung into the air with magic. Spike, meanwhile, was slumped on the ground nearby.
"Elements, elements, where are they?" Rarity muttered, searching through her mostly unused collection of books, "I knew I had a book on them!"
"Book on what?" asked a voice. It came from Rainbow Dash, who had entered Carousel Boutique along with the other ponies from earlier, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash pointed an accusatory hoof at Rarity, "And just what are those Elements? And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy? Huh?"
"She's not a spy," added a new voice. In entered two unicorns, Twilight Sparkle and the white stallion from the town hall. She quickly turned to her compatriot, "Shining Armor, take the royal guard and maintain the peace around town," she looked back to Rarity and the other ponies, "I'll handle it here."
With a salute, Shining Armor left the Boutique, leaving just the six ponies and Spike.
"So," Twilight turned to Rarity, with a serious but not angry expression on her face, "how do you know about Nightmare Moon?"
"I just read about her," Rarity stammered, motioning a hoof to mess of books around the room, "For my magical studies, for Princess Celestia, because I'm her personal student," she made sure to include Celestia to lessen the suspicion, "I read about a way to stop her. I swear I had a book, about the Elements of Harmony, but I can't find it."
Pinkie Pie poked her head out from a pile of books, "You mean The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide?" A hoof followed, holding said book.
The astonished unicorn ran up and snatched the book, "Yes! This is it! Thank you! thank you! thank you!" With zero haste, she plopped the book on the ground and began to rapidly page through it with magic. "Aha! It says there are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Wisdom, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It says the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now the Everfree forest!"
Applejack stomped a hoof, "What are we waitin' for fellers? Let's go!"
"Wait," Rarity said, "I have to do this alone. If I want to help anypony, I can't let any of you get hurt."
"Sorry Rarity," Twilight said with a smile, "It's my royal duty to do this. And," she looked at the rest of the group, "we're not going to let any friends of ours do this alone!" They all nodded in agreement.
Rarity reluctantly accepted, "Oh alright," she said before looking a tad embarrassed, "Perhaps one you could lead the way? I don't know where the forest is."
The Everfree forest loomed at the edge of Ponyville, looking even more disheartening than usual underneath the eternal night. It seemed nearly endless, it's thick dark trees clouding sight and judgement. It was said that the place was unnatural, and that everypony who's ever came in never come out. And currently, a group of six ponies were walking right into it.
They were all nervous as they trod amongst the gnarled trunks, except for Pinkie Pie of course. The branches above nearly blocked out the purple sky, leaving the only light the white glow emanating from Rarity's horn.
Fluttershy whimpered, "Are you sure Spike couldn't come with us?" The pegasus was fluttering closely behind Rarity, practically curled up into a ball. She had asked the question twice already.
"Yes, I'm certain darling," Rarity answered again matter-of-factly, "All of the shapeshifting from today- er- tonight exhausted his energy. He'll need some time to recharge."
Twilight coughed, "So... Rarity," she asked to try to stir up same conversation, "First time in Ponyville? I know it's mine!" She laughed nervously.
"Good gracious, not at all," answered Rarity, "Ponyville's my hometown, or at least it was before I moved to Canterlot. Still, it was a long time ago, I can hardly remember it myself."
"Cut the small talk," Rainbow Dash cut in from above, "How about we get a move on?"
Silently agreeing, they all picked up the pace a little, unaware that a dark blue smoke was following them.
The dark blue fog angrily swirled around the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters. It's attempts to prevent the arrival of a certain group of ponies had failed. Though it did create challenges for them.
First it had tried to make the ground beneath their hooves collapse. Unfortunately, the two pegasi were able to fly and save their compatriots while Applejack caught Rarity. Applejack was able to gain Rarity's trust at the moment, instructing her to let go. After much reluctance, she did let go, only promptly caught by the pegasi.
Next, the fog had changed into a thorn that embedded itself in the paw of a manticore. The manticore obviously became angered by this and blocked the path of the ponies. After a brief struggle, Fluttershy managed to make the others stand down. Instead, Fluttershy had walked up to the manticore to talk to it and remove the thorn, successfully calming it down.
The fog zoomed away into a denser part of the forest, embedding itself into the trees. The wood creaked and groaned as it warped, forming faces meant to scare the ponies off. This worked at first, with the intruders being terrified by the monstrous faces. Pinkie Pie, however, was unperturbed, instead laughing at them. She began to sing a song about laughter, lightening the mood and making the group erupt in a fit of giggles. The laughter dissipated the fog, making it flee across the river ahead.
In its next attempt, the fog swooped across the river, slicing right through the mustache of a purple sea serpent lounging at the riverbank. The river would prove to be an obstacle for the ponies, especially if it was blocked by a sea serpent in despair. When the group of ponies encountered the serpent, they were largely confused by the creatures fits of misery. But in the moment, Twilight thought of an idea. Using her magic, she pulled and harvested nearby plants, using a spell to synthesize them into a fine thread, which she then threaded with the remnants of the sea serpent's mustache, creating a makeshift mustached wig. Though not matching, the grateful serpent was overjoyed, and gave the ponies a lift across the river.
As a last-ditch attempt to stop the ensuing group of friends, the fog lurked in the darkness on the other side of a chasm by the ruins of the castle. With the bridge broken and no other way to cross, Rainbow Dash had to fly to the other side to repair the bridge. The dark blue fog took the opportunity to change its form to that of the Shadowbolts, an elite team of aerial pegasi. They tried to convince the pegasus to become the captain of the team, but when Rainbow Dash learned that she had abandon her friends to join the Shadowbolts, they were shot down. The dark fog retreated as the ponies walked up to the ruins.
The dark fog began to contort, merging into its true form, Nightmare Moon. She watched from the tower of the castle as the six entered the castle. Luckily, Nightmare Moon had one more trick up her sleeve, one that would surely stop the ponies once and for all.
The main entrance to the castle of the two sisters was dim, the eternal night outside preventing any sunlight that might have shine through the long-shattered windows. Hoof-crafted stone archways lined the long hall, leading to chamber with some kind of pedestal. The pedestal held stone orbs on its extended arms.
Pinkie Pie hopped on forward, "Lookie lookie! It's the elements!"
"C'mon y'all," Applejack said as the rest cautiously approached the pedestal, "Be careful now, you don't wanna break these."
Slowly and carefully, the ponies removed the stone orbs from the pedestal. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash slowly hovering two to the ground while Twilight and Rarity carefully hovered the remaining three to ground. Pinkie Pie popped her hoof out to count the orbs.
"One... two... three.. four.. five! There's only five!"
"Five?" Rainbow asked, "Isn't there supposed to be six?"
Rarity stood in place and pondered, "Let me remember, the book said when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed."
"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked.
"I'll be honest darling, I have no idea," Rarity flatly answered before jumping up suddenly, "Wait! I got it! Stay back, I'm going to try something."
The rest of the group filed out of the chamber as Rarity planted her hooves on the ground. She shut her eyes began to concentrate. Concetrate, you have to do this. White glitters started to sparkle off of her horn.
Unbeknownst to Rarity and the ponies waiting outside the chamber, a familiar dark blue fog had snaked itself from the upper terraces of the ruins. It extended itself, slithering across ground and circling around Rarity and the five stones. Slowly but surely, the stones began to spin in a circular fashion. Faster and faster the fog spun the stones, until they had blurred into a blue whirlwind of light.
Rarity opened her eyes, that wasn't right. Faced with a whirlwind of magic she yelled out loud. "The Elements!" The other five quickly rushed into the chamber to see Rarity leap into the shining whirlwind and vanish from sight.
"Rarity!"
Coughing and sputtering, Rarity stood up as her eyes adjusted. She had been transported into a whole new chamber with stone pillars and floor to ceiling length windows. The cries of her friends could be faintly heard, they were somewhere else in the castle.
Standing over her was Nightmare Moon, the five elements orbiting her like the sun. Nightmare Moon smiled wickedly at the unicorn, who was miniscule in comparison.
Rarity shook her head; it can't end this way. It wouldn't! She breathed in and out, cleared her mind, and stamped a hoof forward. She glared at Nightmare Moon, who simply laughed.
"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?"
Rarities hooves pawed the ground, her horn shimmering to life with white beams of light. And she dashed forward at the alicorn. Taking it as a challenge, Nightmare Moon leapt off the platform, charging the offending unicorn. Her elongated horn crackled with black magic and her sharp wings fully extended.
The two magic users closed the ground between them. Gritting her teeth, Rarity made contact. A white ball of light eclipsed the two ponies, flashing with magical ripples before disappearing within a second.
A second later, the confused alicorn skidded to a halt at the other end of the room. She looked around in confusion, "Wha? Where is she?"
Turning her head with ferocious vigor, Nightmare Moon saw Rarity at the other end of the room. The unicorn, panting and exhausted, stood with the elements.
Rarity grimaced as she concentrated on the elements, "Come on! Just one spark. Come on, come on!" The stones began to faintly shimmer, but the spell was cut short as Nightmare Moon appeared in a flurry of fog and stars. The alicorn stomped down, immediately breaking Rarity's spell and throwing her back.
Rarity rolled on the ground and wearily stood up. She watched in horror as the alicorn madly cackled and reared back. With a stomp and a crunch, the stone orbs were crushed, their crystals scattering across the ground.
Nightmare Moon laughed yet again, her mane swirling into a star-studded maelstrom, "You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!"
"Don't worry Rarity!" Twilight yelled as she galloped into the room, followed by the rest of six, "We're here for you!" The rest of them shouted in agreement. Applejack, Rainbow, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all stood their ground behind Rarity, sternly facing down the raging alicorn.
It was at this moment that it clicked inside Rarity's mind. The answer, the elements, it was all standing before her!
Rarity regained her footing and turned to Nightmare Moon. She brushed her frizzled mane out of her face, "You think you can destroy The Elements of Harmony just like that? Well, you're wrong darling, because The Elements of Harmony are right here!"
She smiled at the alicorn's confusion, "What?"
Nightmare Moon watched in a panic as crystal remnants of the orbs at the alicorn's hooves began to shake and glow. Slowly floating up, the crystals began to combine with each other.
Rarity smiled back at her friends, "Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!" Shards surrounded and orbited the orange earth pony.
"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!" The shards surrounded and orbited the yellow pegasus.
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!" The shards surrounded and orbited the pink earth pony.
"Twilight Sparkle, who calmed a sorrowful serpent using her knowledge to help others, represents the spirit of... wisdom!" The shards surrounded and orbited the purple unicorn.
"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!" The shards surrounded and orbited around the cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane.
The five ponies began to hover midair behind Rarity, who continued, "The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us! No matter how stressful or difficult it may have been!"
Nightmare Moon, who was now noticeably distressed, smirked slightly, "You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!"
"But it did! A different kind of spark," Rarity turned to the ponies standing with her, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you all. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you're, you're my friends!" Rarity turned to face Nightmare Moon, "You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of... magic!" Rarity finished her speech as shards began to combine overhead, forming into a sixth stone element.
Magic glows encompassed the ponies, the crystal shards spinning faster until they glowed in a rainbow spectacle of color. Gold formed around their necks, creating necklaces that held crystals that matched each pony's cutie mark.
An orange apple for Applejack, a crimson lightning bolt for Rainbow Dash, a violet spark of knowledge for Twilight Sparkle, a pink butterfly for Fluttershy, and a sky-blue balloon for Pinkie Pie. Finally, as the ponies were magically lifted into the air, the elements coalesced on Rarity, creating a gold crown embedded with a dark blue crystalline diamond.
Beams of concentrated magic shot out off each pony, joining each other into a rainbow that spiraled around the terrified Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon could hardly scream as blinding light filled enveloped the room and everything went white.
The ponies eventually woke up on the cold, hard ground. Rainbow Dash was the first to stand back up, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
"Ugh, my head. Wha- what happened?"
"I dunno," answered Applejack, "but is everypony okay?"
Despite having just been passed out, Rarity was more than okay. She blossomed on the inside, the surge of magical energy filling her with a newfound spirit. She could only assume the rest of her friends felt the same.
Fluttershy looked over to her, pointing a hoof out. "Why Rarity, it's so lovely," she stated.
Rarity primed her mane with a sense of pride, "Why I know my mane's lovely darling. Might I ask why you're pointing it out?"
"No, not your mane," Fluttershy giggled, "your crown!"
Rarity looked up, suddenly noticing the golden crown on her head. The crown was lightweight enough to be barely noticeable on her head and it displayed an elegant dark blue crystalline diamond that matched her cutie mark. Rarity then noticed the rest of the group had similarly styled gold necklaces, each displaying a crystal matching their wearer's cutie mark.
The ponies oohed and awed as they looked down at their new additions.
"Fascinating," Twilight said whilst closely examining her violet jewel, "So Rarity, we really do represent the elements of friendship. How'd you know it?"
"Well, the obstacles in the Everfree made me realize when each of you displayed one of the elements through your actions," she blushed, "Though I'm certain you all heard me during my little speech back there."
"I'm certain they did Rarity," said a voice. The ponies all gasped as the Celestia appeared in a window, her form silhouetted by the rising sun.
Rarity and Twilight gasped in unison, "Your highness!" The six ponies hurriedly bowed to the white alicorn.
"I'm so so sorry Princess!" Twilight pleaded to the alicorn, "I know I wasn't supposed to leave and abandoned my post, but something had to be done and-"
"All is forgiven my loyal advisor," Celestia lightly laughed, "You and the rest of these ponies all helped my faithful student in a time peril, and Rarity," she turned to gaze upon the unicorn, "I knew you could do it."
"But I was behind on all my studies, and you told me I needed to calm down," Rarity stammered.
"Yes, I told you that, but I also said you needed to make some friends and look what they helped you to accomplish. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart." Rarity turned to the other end of the room, where the ponies only just noticed a small dark blue pony curled up on the ground, "Now if only another will as well, Princess Luna."
The uncorrupted alicorn shamefully looked up to Celestia, who smiled down, "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."
Rarity and the rest of her friends gasped, "Sister?"
Celestia extended a hoof, which was taken by the smaller blue alicorn. "I'm so sorry!" Luna sniffled, "I missed you so much, big sister!"
The two alicorns hugged each other, "I've missed you, too."
The rest of the ponies happily watched the cheerful reunion. Pinkie Pie in particular was openly sobbing. Blowing her nose, the pink pony bounced up, "Such an important occasion! And you know what that calls for? A party!"
The way back to Ponyville had felt much shorter than the way there, though perhaps it was due to the fact that they had traveled in the two sisters' royal chariot. In what seemed like only a minute, Pinkie Pie had put together a smaller scale version of the Summer Sun Celebration, festooning the town with decorations and gathering everypony in the main square.
The crowd of equines cheered as they saw the chariot approach. Fillys throwing flowers and confetti at the newly restored Princess Luna. Spike had recovered and was out and about in his pony form. He ran up and hugged Rarity, who returned the embrace.
Everypony was happy and cheered on the two alicorns, everypony except for Rarity that is, who stood still away from the throng of ponies. Rarity crept up to Celestia. The unicorn bashfully looked up to the Princess, "So I guess my 'vacation' is extended now your highness?"
Celestia looked down to her student, "Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can have an extended break with your new friends?"
"That's just it," Rarity pointedly said, "I am grateful to have new friends, but the casual lifestyle just isn't for me Princess."
Celestia laughed, "I am fully aware of your work ethic Rarity, and that my previous methods may not have suited you," she turned to Spike, "Spike, take a note, please." The changeling immediately pulled out a roll of parchment.
Princess Celestia stood up straight and announced, "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Rarity, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She will continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville."
"Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia!" Rarity happily responded, " I'll be sure to work harder than ever before!" Celestia laughed as Rarity's new friends cheered and hugged their new neighbor.
This was the start of a new beginning for Princess Celestia's student. And the first of many adventures to come...
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I thought Twilight wasn't interested in making friends
The magic of friendship
The start
of The Guardians of Harmony era
I guess episodes that don't have a huge impact can be skipped
Ok, now it begins
But don't make everything similiar, make this story unigue in its own way with slight differences
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Don't worry, Twilight's character will be delved into in later chapters.
Well, once again, you did a rather good job on the chapter, a good mix of the stuff from earlier chapters now combined into a single chapter and additional material. And, yeah, I can understand that "passing mentions only" concerning Nightmare Moon's trials because of the similarities to canon (with the exception of Twilight already having a decent grasp of friendship, but that's going to be explained in a later chapter anyway [and I have a hunch it has something to do with her training including a fair amount on the value of teamwork and her making some logical conclusions]), but don't go TOO similar to canon. Feel free to work in as many differences as you are comfortable with. And I have a hunch Twilight is basically going to be going back to Canterlot JUST long enough to pack some prized belongings and explain things in pony to her family and a few other surprisingly close ponies before making the move/transfer to Ponyville.
But, anyway, certainly looking forward to more of this.
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Eeyup