Friendship is Power: The Nightmare Returns

by Aiyonbeam

Chapter 15: ...And Shadow

Applebloom

As Nightmare Moon tries to regain her feet, six beams of light envelop her midsection, freezing her in place.
Celestia staggers backwards, catching herself on a wall before she topples over.
"What'd ya do ta her?" I ask as the rest of us walk towards the trapped figure.
"I've just... Stopped her for a bit..." Celestia replies, panting. "I'm afraid I put a bit too much power into the spell; I don't have much energy left."
"It won't hold forever!"
There is a long pause. The wind whistles through the courtyard as we all wait for... something.
"What're we waiting for?" Scootaloo asks. "Let's take down Nightmare Moon already!"
"Ha! I've killed Shadow and Light won't fight me! How do you expect to get rid of me? If you kill me, you only end up killing your precious princess in the process! I am invincible!"
An aura of darkness begins to gather, eating away at the rods holding Nightmare Moon in place.
"She's breaking free!" Sweetie Belle says.
"We have to do something!" Time Turner says, walking up to Nightmare Moon and outstretching an arm.
"Time Turner, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Celestia asks.
"Yeah."
Lightning starts building up in his hands, jumping from finger to finger as he prepares to strike.
As he reaches towards the downed monarch, the rods disappear in a burst of shadow and Nightmare Moon grabs Time Turner by the wrist, slamming him into the ground.
"Ha!"
She picks up the pegasus and holds him by the neck, suspending him in midair as she poises her katana to strike.
The others and I rush to stop her, but before we can...
An arrow embeds itself into the hilt of Nightmare Moon's katana and explodes in a burst of light.
"Put down the Bearer, murderer!"
The monarch drops Time Turner, something dropping from him with a metallic clink as he falls to the ground, rubbing his neck.

Octavia

I ready my bow for the next shot, but before I can, Nightmare Moon is there in front of me, swinging her katana at me.
Suddenly Vinyl appears in front of me, blocking Nightmare Moon's blow before disappearing in a burst of shadow.
"W-What?"
Nightmare Moon swings at me again, only to be blocked by a quickly disappearing Vinyl.
"It cant be! I killed her!"
"Did you, now?" A voice echoes. "Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?"
"I-Impossible!"
Vinyl appears beside Nightmare Moon and punches her in the face before vanishing again.
"The Elements! Celestia says. "Use them now!"
"Right!" Vinyl says, appearing beside me. "Time to taste the rainbow, Nightmare Moon!"
"You fools! can't kill me without this!" Nightmare Moon says, holding up Time Turner's hourglass necklace.
"Give that back!" Sweetie Belle says.
"Make me!"
"If you really want us to..." Scootaloo says, grinning as the Crusaders run at Nightmare Moon.
"Time to show her what we're made of!" Applebloom says. "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Attack Plan A!"
Sweetie Belle wraps the yarn around her daggers around Nightmare Moon and freezes the fabric, holding the monarch in place. Applebloom then spins her mace around and slams it into the ground, dislodging a small slab of earth that acts as a catapult, throwing her into the air as she spins, gaining speed and momentum.
"Do you honestly think that'll work on me!?" Nightmare Moon says as she breaks free of the ice.
"Yes!" Scootaloo shouts as she runs in and starts punching at Nightmare Moon with flaming fists, the latter easily dodging the attacks, erratic and powerful though they might be. Scootaloo persists though, until Nightmare Moon decides to end the fight by pushing her back with a wave of shadow...
Just in time for Applebloom's mace to connect with her head.
Or, rather, her katana, which she'd managed to lift fast enough to parry the blow.
A loud cracking sound echoes through the courtyard, causing everyone - even Nightmare Moon - to stop and look around.
The cracking sound comes again, softer this time, followed by a much softer cracking sound that continues on for a few seconds, long enough for me to isolate the source. I look at Nightmare Moon and grin.
A few seconds later, what was once Nightmare Moon's katana lies on the floor in silver shards, its owner staring at the hilt in disbelief.
Screaming in anger, she raises her arm to the sky, shadows swirling around the broken sword in her hand and forming a vaguely bladelike shape.
"Oh no you don't." I say, nocking an arrow and covering it in light. The missile is flung directly into the heart of the shadow, dissipating it. I continue firing at her, shooting arrows at her feet that explode in flashes of light, blinding everyone but me and Celestia, who is still recovering from the effort of keeping the prison of light together.
"Attack Plan B!" Scootaloo yells.
Applebloom slams the ground with her mace again, making two pillars of stone rise up from the ground. Sweetie Belle wraps her daggers around the columns as Scootaloo steps in between them and backs up, stretching the yarn and preparing to launch herself towards Nightmare Moon.
The monarch tries to attack them, but I keep her occupied with my arrows, firing hard and fast, giving her no room to maneuver.
"ENOUGH!"
Suddenly, I am being held by my throat above Nightmare Moon's head, gasping for air, my bow dropping to the ground as I struggle against her iron grip.
I see the others rush to me, but before they can get there, Nightmare Moon slams me into the stone.
Something cracks. It isn't the stone.
She raises me up again, presumably to slam me down even harder, but before she can do so, Vinyl teleports in, grabbing the necklace before disappearing again.
"No matter! Let's see you use the Elements with one of you dead, and for real this time!"
Nightmare Moon turns to me and creates a ball of shadow.
I give her a weak smile and coat my hand in light, hardening it to a point and stabbing at her arm.
With a cry of pain and surprise, Nightmare Moon drops me.
I concentrate, and my Element starts to glow even before I hit the ground.
Scootaloo launches into the air, fists glowing with fire and power.
Vinyl's headphones begin to glow as well as she runs at Nightmare Moon, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle behind her, mace and daggers burning with light.
A second Vinyl appears and hands Time Turner his necklace, the artifact glowing as soon as it touches his hands.
"Let's start it up!" Vinyl says, jumping at Nightmare Moon, arms outstretched.
"No." I say, extending an arm towards Nightmare Moon as well. "Let's end it."
Beams of rainbow-colored light emanate from our Elements, swirling around Nightmare Moon as she screams.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Then everything goes white.

Spike

This is very, very bad!
I sit crouched behind a crate in the attic of Sugar Cube Corner, watching the changelings posing as my friends as they plan their next move.
"We need to find the Elements and bring them in!" Rainbow Dash says. "We can't just be sitting around twiddling our thumbs waiting for orders!"
"Shut up!" Twilight says. "Our orders are clear: We wait for Nightmare Moon to take out the other Elements and then we take Canterlot."
"I think we should strike while the bug is close, so to speak." Rarity says. "The royal guard and the Elements will be distracted by Nightmare Moon. They'll be spread so thin as it is trying to contain her that we'll practically be able to waltz right in and take control of the city."
"Yes, but what about the knight and the crystal princess?" Applejack asks. "They could come visiting Twilight at any moment and discover our ruse. We need to be ready."
"Applejack's right." Pinkie Pie says. "If they come to Ponyville, we need to be able to fend them off."
"I have an idea." Fluttershy says. "We send them a letter inviting them here."
The others gasp and turn to her.
"Are you crazy!?" Pinkie Pie says. "Who knows what they're capable of!"
"I'm not crazy! Hear me out: No matter how strong the two of them are, there's no way they'll be able to stand up to all one hundred of us. We lure them in, take them out, and then..."
Fluttershy grins.
"We convert them."
The others grin as well.
"With such powerful allies, we would be unstoppable." Rarity says.
"And think of the honor." Applejack replies.
"We'd be heroes!"
"Legends."
"The Queen herself - long may she reign - will give us accolades beyond measure!"
"It's agreed, then." Twilight says, turning to each of them. "We lure them in and then strike without warning."
They all nod, then laugh evilly.

I sneak towards a window and jump out, making a soft thud as I land in a bush and run through an alley towards the forest.
I've gotta find the others and warn them!
My thoughts are interrupted as a black hand grabs my arm and tugs me backwards.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
I look up to see Twilight looming over me, a wicked grin on her face.
"I knew someone was watching us." she says. "Now that I've got you right where I want you..."
"Do you?" I ask, stalling.
"Do I what?"
"Do you have me right where you want me? I mean, there are probably much more desirable places for you to have caught me. You could've caught me in a dungeon full of torture devices, or on top of an active volcano, or in the middle of a pit of vipers. There are a ton of places that are better for making me suffer than a back alley in Ponyvil-"
Suddenly a sharp pain shoots through my back, blocking out everything else.
What's... Happening?
After a minute or so, I can see again, although the pain is still there.
I open my eyes to see a circle of light enveloping me, strange symbols floating in the air around me as they spin faster and faster and faster...
In a flash of light, Twilight, Fluttershy, Trixie and what looks like a bunch of cocoons are in front of me.
Twilight looks down at me and a look of shock crosses her face.
"Spike! Are you okay?"
"No..." I manage to get out.
"What'd they do to you?"
I can't form the words around the pain, so I just curl up into a ball until it recedes to a dull ache.
"Whatever you did, you're gonna pay for that!" Twilight says, her necklace glowing as a small circle of light appears next to her dazed fake. After a second or so, a large metal ball hurtles out of the circle and slams into the clone, knocking it unconscious.
"That's for kidnapping me!" Twilight yells.
More changelings stream into the alley, but almost as soon as they arrive, a second circle opens up and a second ball shoots out of it, slamming into the changelings and stopping them in their tracks,
"That's for impersonating my friends!"
Twilight uses her magic to move the balls as they slam into one changeling after another as she yells, punctuating each word with a vicious attack.
"And! This! Is! For! Hurting! Spike!"
There are too many changelings in the alley for Twilight to take on alone, and she and the others back up towards the end of the alley.
"Fluttershy, do you know how you were able to do that thing earlier with light?"
"Yeah?"
"It'd be really helpful if you could do that again."
"I- I don't know if I can."
Suddenly a blue blur flashes past them as Trixie jumps into the frey.
"Watch in awe!" She yells as she spins her staff around her, gathering magic energy at the tips of the blades.
She slams the tip of her staff down, and suddenly everything feels weird, floaty, as if we were...
"Weightless!" Twilight says. "A zero-gravity spell!"
"Exactly! Now let's get out of here!" Trixie says, pushing off of the ground and shooting up into the air, grabbing Pinkie Pie's cocoon as she does so.
Twilight grabs Applejack and Rainbow Dash and pushes off after Trixie.
Fluttershy's anklets glow, and she floats towards me, picking me up with Rarity's cocoon.
I take a last look at Ponyville and the changelings rushing through the streets.
Pain shoots through my back, but I ignore it as we fly towards the forest.
"Where... are we going?" I ask.
"Zecora's." Fluttershy answers. "She'll have a way to free the others."
I nod, and curl up tighter as we dive and pain shoots through my back again.
"Oh, you poor thing." Fluttershy says. "You must be hurting really badly. Don't worry: Zecora will probably have something for your back."
Despite the pain, I find my eyes drooping. I drift off to sleep, the gentle breeze of flight easing my passage into dreamland.

Twilight
As i float through the air, Fluttershy flies up to me and turns to face me, flying backwards.
"So, what exactly happened back in the Hive?" she asks.
"What do you mean?" I reply.
"What's a 'sigil ring'?"
"Oh. That." I say, shrugging. "I'd started looking into advanced magic after I remade our houses. I figured what's the use of a magic boost if I don't know how to use anything beyond basic teleportation and levitation?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain the-"
"I was getting to that. You see, I'd started looking into the principle of 'Hammerspace'."
"Hammerspace? What's that?"
"It's like a little pocket dimension you can store stuff in. That's how I was able to summon my weapon back in that alley. It involves creating a very short-term portal that leads to an incredibly small universe and then storing things in there to be recalled later."
"Why can't we just store the cocoons in there, then? We'd be able to fly a lot faster without the extra weight."
"I don't know what effect it'll have on living things. So far I've only tried it with inanimate objects, and even then they come back... different."
"D- Different how?"
"Well, take my weapons for example. Ever since I put them in Hammerspace, they've gotten... Denser, but lighter at the same time. I don't know how, but it alters things that enter and leave it."
"But what does that have to do with sigil rings?"
"Well, that's how you access Hammerspace. You make a sigil ring and pump magic into it until the portal opens. All I did was make the sigil ring teleport us to Spike instead of storing us in an alternate universe."
"That sounds... Really contrived."
I frown at her.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"I guess, but still... it sounds really, really contrived."
"I tend not to look a gift portal in the mouth. It got us away from the changelings, and that's all I care about."
"All right..."
Fluttershy flies off to the side, holding Spike, who'd fallen asleep.
Poor guy. I don't know what the Changelings did to him, but I know I'm gonna do my best to fix it.
I take a furtive glance towards Ponyville and see a small group of changelings following us.
Oh no you don't.
I concentrate and summon a springy forcefield just in front of the changelings. Upon contact, they are flung backwards, confused.
I reach out with magic and levitate myself faster until I'm caught up with Trixie.
"We need to go faster." I say.
"Then push off of more stuff." she replies. "We're not losing momentum; the gravity spell I've cast also gets rid of air resistance."
We travel in silence for a few minutes.
"So, a gravity spell." I say, giving her a knowing look.
"You're not the only one who's been learning new magic, Twilight Sparkle." Trixie replies, grinning
"So Zecora's been teaching you?"
"Yes. She's an excellent teacher."
"I know. She's taught me too."
"Oh yeah, when... that... happened."
"Yeah... That."
After a half-hour of floating and pushing off of trees, we reach Zecora's hut. We knock on the door, and are greeted by a large spearhead.
"Before you enter, I must know: Are you friend, or are you foe?"
"It's me, Zecora." Trixie says. "I got the others from the hive."
"I must ask you something before you come in." Zecora says, still keeping her spear at the ready. "What is the taste of a truth potion?"
"Apples." Trixie answers. "A truth potion tastes like apples."
The spear lowers, and Trixie walks in. I take a step towards the door, but Zecora readies her spear again.
"The second of my questions three: What flavor is your favorite tea?"
I think for a minute, then answer.
"Chamomile and lemon with a hint of strawberry."
The spear lowers, and I step through the door.
"Now you, Fluttershy, and tell me true: For a broken leg, what would one do?"
"Um..."
Fluttershy sits and thinks for a moment.
"You take some bandages and dip them in a solution of boiled Dragonbreath Root and Aloe leaves, and then you wrap them around the broken leg and make sure it's set so that it won't heal crooked. If the patient stays off the leg for a week or so, it should be as good as new."
Zecora puts the spear down, and ushers Fluttershy in, looking around before she closes the door.
"Forgive me, friends. Understand you must: I did not know whom I could trust."
"It's all right." Trixie says, setting the cocoons down. "We're safe for now, and that's all that matters."
"Not quite..." I reply, stepping to the sleeping heroes. "We still need to figure out how to break them out of these."
"Can't we just cut them free?" Fluttershy asks.
"That problem isn't easily solved." Zecora says, selecting some herbs and vials from her shelves, as well as a small book. "These four cocoons must be dissolved."
"Let's get to work, then." I say, reading the recipe for the solvent from the book. "I'll do whatever it takes."

Author's Note:

You have no idea how many ways it's possible to misspell Nigtmare-
Nigthmare-
Nighmare-
Nightmre-
Nightmare* Mon.
...
I give up.

On an unrelated note, whew! This chapter took a while to write! I had to revise it no less than three times in order to make it sufficiently epic.