• Published 11th Jan 2013
  • 4,581 Views, 87 Comments

Random Elements: Coincidences can Happen - Stryke



Pinkamena, Fluttershy, Sparks, Rock, Applejack and the Awesome and Stupendous Rainbow Dash are back home again after their time in the other Equestria. Now to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring back the sun here too which should be simple enough, right

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Chapter 1: Too many Pinkamena Pies

Nightmare Moon sat on her throne with just her thoughts to keep her company. Oh there were two of her royal guard right outside the room and standing at attention of course as protocol demanded. But otherwise it was just the dusty wall hangings, the stained glass windows of victories long forgotten by most, the flickering torches and her all by herself with nopony to interrupt her brooding. It was cold in here too. Intellectually she knew it was around three in the afternoon and thanks to her magic it was perfectly temperate despite her beautiful eternal night, but still she shivered.

She'd had the nightmare again last night.

There had been a time when she’d journeyed into her subject's dreaming minds on a whim to help them conquer their fears. Then she’d left behind only her namesake, driving ponies to madness and utter despair. That had all been a very long time ago now though and all she wanted was for some pony to do for her what she had used to do for others in keeping her fears at bay. It wasn’t fair at all in the slightest, she thought somewhat petulantly. Surely out of all the ponies in Equestria I should be spared the terrors of the night. Recently though they had refused to leave her alone. Every time she tried to sleep it was always the same. Her reduced to a weak, pitiful form, completely drained of all her magical power and reduced to cowering as her oh so judgemental sister towered over her. That was bad enough, but that she was crying and begging for forgiveness, now that was what sent her screaming from her rest every single time.

Nightmare Moon shook her mane out as she tried to banish the thoughts that remorselessly haunted her to the back of the mind where they could be ignored and forgotten. She picked up the parchment in front of her with her unicorn magic that should be commanding her attention. Nothing really out of the usual, just a few proclamations and royal edicts that needed her signature to be put into effect. Nightmare Moon paused as she flourished her quill at what was written under the place where she would be signing.

'Princess Luna'

Oh it had all seemed so sensible when she'd taken over even if it was an utter nonsense. The royal staff of lawyers had been very convincing that assuming the legal identity that she'd used to possess would save both time and the royal coffers and help ease the transition of power from her absent sister to her. It wasn't truly her name though, not now and it never would be again. Especially not after a millennium confined on the moon. She found it darkly funny that after wanting to bring about night eternal the Elements of Harmony had banished her to a place of permanent night where the only company was the dust below her and the stars above. Which in her more honest moments Nightmare Moon knew would have been all that was left of Equestria if she'd prevailed before. The Elements of Harmony were only wielded, never directed, and like confining the spirit of chaos in unchanging rock they'd chosen the perfect punishment for her; exactly what she'd been wanting.

All she’d ever really wanted though was to have ponies appreciate her beautiful nights. That couldn’t be such a bad thing, right? Some ponies even seemed to quite like them now. The first time Nightmare Moon had gone to one of the nightclubs that had sprung up in her exile it’d put her in a good mood for weeks and had made the owner a fantastically wealthy mare. Astronomy was flourishing in Equestria these days and every time she saw a pony with a constellation or telescope cutie mark it never failed to bring a smile to Nightmare Moon's face. The problem was that while her nights did seem to be loved now, at least by some, still nopony actually seemed to like her. Nightmare Moon didn’t understand it at all. Her nights were works of art for everypony to marvel at. She ruled wisely, keeping the best of her sister’s policies while making improvements as she saw them. So that nopony seemed to appreciate her at all even now after a year of rule was a constant shard of ice piercing her heart.

She’d tried though, oh she’d tried so hard after the uneasy early days of her rule that had led to unfortunate incidents like Stalliongrad. Royal visits to schools, official openings, lavish parties for the working rich after the abolishment of the Grand Galloping Gala, she’d tried them all and her subjects had barely seemed to tolerate her presence at best and worse often seemed to just be trying to humour her until she'd go away again. Fear she could have dealt with, as fear at least was a form of respect, but this was humiliating to be treated as some kind of temporary inconvenience to be managed. Even worse had been the ponies that did claim to worship her. They were either shameless opportunists looking to grab onto her tail for their own petty personal dreams of power, fools and cretins too easily impressed by her image, or they just sent her really creepy, disturbing letters that the royal guard were now ordered to burn before she even saw them. In the end Nightmare Moon had just given up and had permanently retreated back to the palace in Canterlot.

She glanced back at the parchment in an attempt to distract herself from her increasingly dark thoughts. More money to help fund the revamped health service, subsidies for farm owners and more support for charitable causes. All thanks to her work on the tax code along with funds seized from the now ex-noble estates. Balancing the budget had been easy though compared to coping with the mood that was afflicting her now.

The nightmares themselves had started when her trusted confidant and captain of her Shadowbolts had disappeared for several days. The disruption to her normal routine had opened up a crack in her mind, as she’d had no idea how much she’d come to rely on Fluttershy’s daily visits. Sure the captain was usually just there to receive her orders or provide updates on what her Shadowbolts had been up to, but just spending even thirty minutes a day with a pony that actually seemed not to hate her was the only thread that Nightmare Moon had at all to the rest of Equestria. Sure there had been the dalliances with her other captain... Then that had never been a good idea. Fun perhaps on occasion, but completely empty. She’d broken it off entirely last week after finally having had enough of lying to herself that it actually meant something. It would have been nice if that damned stallion had actually seemed to have cared that much when she’d broken the news. Maybe it had always just been another assumed duty to him. Yet another way for him to do his best to keep the fragile balance of power that was Equestria today. Bastard.

“Nightmare Goooonie! Come out to plaaay!” The last word was extended in a sing-song manner. She looked around wildly for where the echoing voices were coming from, but they seemed to be coming from everywhere.

“Nightflare Moooonie! Come out to plaaay!” The voices repeated so loudly the castle itself seemed to be shaking.

She flew across the room and out onto the nearest balcony where she could normally see the lights all the way away in Ponyville. Instead all she could see out there in the darkness of her beautiful eternal night was the pink.

The fields stretching away from Canterlot at the base of the mountain were packed with pink ponies. Nightmare Moon couldn’t even begin to count them all, but there must have been thousands. All of them identical, most of them with torches, a fair few of them excitedly bouncing up and down, and all of them shouting far louder than what was surely physically possible, “Mightcare Zoomie! Come out to plaaay!”

Her left eye twitched violently as the sheer impossibility of what she was seeing attempted to crack open the loose grip she currently had on her sanity. She’d always expected this day when the ponies of Equestria would tire of her and come to throw her down, but she’d never expected it to arrive quite like this. It would be nice if they could get at least get her name correct now that they had though. Looking down at the battlements she could see several of her royal guard who didn't seem to have any better idea what to do than she had. Their normal legendary unflappability had been completely shattered, as most of them were crouched and cautiously peering over the walls at the craziness below.

“Bitemare Loooonie! Come out to plaaay!”

“I... I don’t know what to do,” she said plaintively out loud, safe in the knowledge that no other pony was about to hear it. They didn’t seem to be doing anything other than shouting and a growing faction seemed to have stopped and were now debating amongst themselves. This was presumably about what name they should actually be shouting, so Nightmare Moon decided to retreat back to her throne room for the moment. The battlements vibrated as they resonated against the large hum of magical power forming into place. Looking back out towards the night sky an immense barrier had come up enclosing Canterlot from the rest of Equestria. Shining Armour was at least doing something productive for once she noted with some relief.

She needed to do something herself though and take command of this obvious challenge to her rule, even as unconventional as it appeared to be. In the old days before she embraced the Nightmare she knew that she'd have galloped out with a blade between her teeth and not stopped for anypony, or anything until she'd have emerged right out the other side. Nightmare Moon in the very depths of her dark glory would have flown above the field wracking them to the very bone with lightning, wind and rain. Now though... She shuddered on her throne at the memories. Involuntarily Nightmare Moon glanced towards the southern wall of the room in the direction of the old statue gardens. There were far too many reminders—even now so many years later—of where those particular paths led. She was going to be better this time round. She'd promised herself that the moment when she'd first sat upon the throne for the first time after her banishment and she intended to hold to that no matter what. Equestria would come to love both her and her eternal night and she'd do it this time without any of her subjects having to suffer; no matter how long it took to bring about. Her prideful sister had managed it so she could too. First though she really did need to do something about this.

"Guards! Guards!" she said loudly, as she came to a decision.

Two heads slowly poked around opposite sides of the door in a sight that Nightmare Moon might have found comical on another day.

"Yes, my princess?" the younger of the two asked nervously. She was a unicorn mare and one of the many new recruits to the royal guard since Nightmare Moon had come to power. Her partner, an earth pony stallion didn't look any more at ease despite being a long-term veteran in the service. It had seemed like a good idea when she'd originally taken over to make sure her main defence weren't entirely loyal to her sister. Having them split up on duty between the old and the new would prevent them conspiring them against her so easily and she'd never understood why the royal guard had been exclusively male when she'd returned from her exile anyway.

"See that I am not disturbed by the rabble outside and send for my captains," Nightmare Moon ordered curtly before dismissing the two back to their stations at the door with a wave of her hoof.

I am still in control, she thought to herself sternly. Now if she could just get herself to stop shaking she might be able to convince herself of that.

~~~

In one of the highest windows of the palace two new friends were also observing the pink horde below.

“Best. Distraction. Ever!” Pinkamena said proudly, as she adjusted her tie cockily.

Applejack who was leaning against the sill with her could only stare down at the sight rather than come up with any cogent response for herself. She reached up to pat her pappy’s hat to make sure it was still on her head. Wearing it was something she still really wasn’t used to and did clash somewhat with her all fancy jewelry—let alone the Element of Harmony on her neck—her little sister had insisted that she wear it for luck though and so wear it she would. Her few days as Appletini had been easy compared to reconnecting with her family, but now she had she wouldn't give them up for all of Equestria.

“How the hay did you manage this? I know you said it was going to be a surprise, but just... seriously how?!” she finally blurted out.

Pinkamena giggled sending her new curly hair bouncing madly. “Pinkie gave me the idea!”

Applejack spun round as somepony tapped her on her flank. She sighed finding a second Pinkamena grinning at her. She really would never get used to her doing that. “Normally I can only make maybe thirty of me max!” the second Pinkamena said.

“But with the mirror pool involved; well things get can get a lot more exponential,” the original Pinkamena said, as she let her double fade away on the cool night air.

“Mirror pool?” Applejack asked, wondering for the fifth time today if they’d brought the wrong pink pony back from that other Equestria.

“So they’re really all you?” Applejack said slowly with a frown, not sure she liked the implications of what she was hearing.

“Oh, they just look like me and act like me kinda. All they really care about is making bits and after I convinced them all that pebbles are worth ten bits each it was easy to hire them for today’s performance after I reminded them that with my rock farm I’ve got the biggest pile of pebbles in all Equestria.” She laughed lightly. “They’re really not very bright.”

Applejack stared at the army of her new friend crowding the horizon as far as she could see. “You can make them go away again, right?”

Pinkamena laughed cheerfully. “Oh yeah! Nana Pinkie might have told me about the mirror pool, but as my Granny Pie always used to say ‘never call up anything that you can’t put back down again’!” She pulled a book from somewhere and passed it to Sparks who while holding it open with her magic flipped it open to the page with the bookmark.

She furrowed her brow as her lips slowly moved silently. “It looks relatively simple enough, I guess,” said Sparks, her voice uncertain as she wished her double was here to double-check with. As intimidating as Twilight Sparkle had been she did know the theory of magic inside out and back to front. "Rock, what do you reckon?" she asked, not wanting to give a definitive answer without some support.

The former miner trotted over and looked over the page her brow furrowing. She looked it over again before stopping at a particular line. "What's this bit mean, Sparks? You're far better at this book stuff than me."

Sparks looked at the indicated passage and grimaced as she reread the offending line. “Uh, I think it means we could only dismiss one of them at a time."

"What?!" Rock snapped causing Sparks to cringe involuntarily. "We could be here for weeks and reduce our horns down to nubs trying to clear out all of that lot, Pinkamena!”

The business-mare had the decency to look embarrassed as she loosened her tie. “I’m sure we’ll work something out. Still great distraction, hey?”

The gathered ponies cramped together in the tower room did have to concede it was with a few grumbles. Except for one pony though who was still struggling to breathe normally and so really wasn't paying much attention.

“You alright there, Dashie?” asked Rock, as she leaned over to look at the knackered pegasus. “You’ve gone pretty pale.”

The Awesome and Stupendous Rainbow Dash was currently lying on the room's carpet with her hooves in the air and her limp wings splayed out under her doing a very good impression of a pony about to expire.

"I'm amazing..." she said croakily, with her chest still rising and falling heavily as she gasped for air.

"We were all really impressed with you flying us up here one by one," said Rock encouragingly as she looked down at her new friend.

"And why—" She coughed nastily from her over exertion. The recent lessons with her double had helped, but a lifetime of not flying much at all meant that the stamina in her wings was pretty much non-existent and ferrying five ponies up to the top of the tower one after another had threatened to break them off entirely. "Why couldn't the mighty captain have done this again?" Dash asked, a definite whine creeping into her voice.

"Fluttershy's got her own things to take care of, remember?" Pinkamena said curtly, as she turned away from admiring the sight out the window.

Rock rolled her eyes and breathed out slowly. "You do know you haven't actually told us the plan, whatever it is, at all yet?"

Pinkamena blinked. "I didn't explain it last night during the party?"

"No," Sparks said, and let out a loud yawn. "Guess we all kind of got swept in the moment. It was a really fun party though!"

Rock rubbed her head. "Then given how much we had to drink last night you could have well have told us and we've just forgotten. Ow," Rock muttered as she continued in trying to self message herself back to normality. "I feel like my head has been sat on by a cave troll."

"I definitely told Fluttershy!" said Pinkamena crossing her forelegs in front of her.

"It's okay," said Applejack putting a friendly hoof on their leader's shoulder. "Pinkamena, you can tell us now, right?"

"Oh, right!" said Pinkamena, uncrossing her forelegs before clapping her hooves together decisively. "Really easy, while all the guards and stuff are distracted by my others outside, Fluttershy's going to see if she can secure some reinforcements or at least remove them right from under Nightmare Moon's hooves, we've snuck in to the castle in the chaos, which we've already done, so that's going well! Then we meet up with Fluttershy, use the Elements of Harmony to free Princess Luna, bring back Princess Celestia, raise the sun and secure a significantly improved financial outlook in the fourth quarter!" She took a breath. "Any questions?"

The silence of everypony looking at her with a certain amount of stunned awe combined with total befuddlement was broken when Trixie asked, "well, knowing what I'm I doing here would be a good start."

"Moral support," Sparks said giving her new marefriend a kiss on the cheek causing Trixie to blush fiercely. "Um, y'know if that's okay?" she said blushing herself.

"Always," Trixie replied smiling back.

"You can also carry Rainbow Dash," suggested Applejack with a grin.

"Great, glad to be part of the team," muttered Trixie in response but she didn't complain too much as her showpony partner was helped onto her back.

"C'mon girls," Pinkamena reared up causing the element of Magic resting on her forehead to sparkle heroically in the torchlight. "Let's go do this for Equestria!"

~~~

Fluttershy slowly flew through the quiet castle corridors. She was back in her Shadowbolts uniform, though she was leaving her head and mane uncovered with her flying goggles pushed up on her forehead given that she really wasn't on official business. The golden Element of Harmony hanging around her neck marked her out even more so than her adjusted flightsuit. The white diamond pony skull and wing inlaid in gold caught her eye and she felt even more sick to her stomach than she already did. She was a traitor and would soon be an even worse one.

It had all happened at the party last night...

The invitation had been the first sign that this would not be any usual kind of event. Pinkamena had gone to great length in first requesting Fluttershy’s presence and then bullet pointing the many reasons that after a significant amount of suitably annotated research this would be most amazingest party ever! Fluttershy was pretty sure that party invitations weren’t usually double sided though. Admittedly not that she’d ever received one before today anyway.

After arriving separately from the rest and even with the invitation Fluttershy hadn’t expected this. Pinkamena had hired out the entire Ponyville town hall and yet only invited six other ponies. There was a DJ, but the grey mare in a smart bow-tie and some borrowed purple shades was playing an eclectic selection of classical, swing and jazz music on her turntables. Pinkamena had hired a couple of very attractive mare and stallion strippers, but she had them running a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game and rigging up a huge pinata. Fluttershy had to admit she was pretty tempted by their twister mat though. The balloons weren’t too out of place, but they were so many of them they were clogging up the newly installed dance floor entirely. Still when she’d caught herself nodding to the music she realized she couldn’t help but find it charming.

She’d been a wallflower just watching every other pony have fun initially. Trixie and Sparks had popped enough of the balloons to allow them to do some dancing to the admittedly very good selection of tunes. Appletini and Rock were happily nattering away easily like they’d known each other their entire lives. Pinkamena had collared Rainbow Dash first and had quickly brow-beaten her into some agreement, though Fluttershy did wonder if Dash had only caved so fast was so she could go flirt with the strippers. Seeing Fluttershy all by herself Pinkamena moved over leaving the Shadowbolt with nowhere to go.

“You’re not enjoying the everypony-back-home-again party?” she asked, her bottom lip was quivering ever so slightly.

“It’s wonderful, Pinkamena,” Fluttershy replied, taking a gulp of champagne from her paper cup.

“Great!” she said, immediately perking up again.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Right. Well let's get this over with."

"Get on with what?" Pinkamena replied, her eyes wide and completely free of guile.

"You're going to try and persuade me to go along with using the Elements on the Princess."

"And whatever gave you that idea?" Pinkamena said, leaning closer.

She sighed in reply. "Look, credit me with some intelligence. If I hadn't recently discovered my conscience I'd have her," Fluttershy said, glancing over at where Sparks and Trixie were dancing close together, "up at the palace, whether she liked it or not, right now just to mess with that irritating brother of hers. So the only reason you'd want anything to do with me is if you actually want something. Don't worry, I'm used to it," she added bitterly.

"That's not true!" Pinkamena said loudly, "Okay, so it's partially true, but I am interested in seeing if we can be friends like those other versions of us were. So you'll do it then?

"Give me one good reason why." Fluttershy said, crossing her fore-hooves.

"She's happy then?" Fluttershy wasn't sure what reason she'd been expecting, but she hadn't been expected that which cut sharply through all her carefully constructed defences.

Observing Fluttershy's silence, Pinkamena followed up and added, "Cause if she was Princess Luna again you know ponies wouldn't hesitate to love her again. I heard you also went to see her in that other Canterlot and you know that's true."

“Nightmare Moon’s really not doing that badly...” Fluttershy trailed off as she remembered just how badly her princess had fallen apart when she had returned from that other Equestria. “I’m sure she’ll be better given time,” she tried weakly.

"It really would be for her own good," Pinkamena said.

Fluttershy opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again.

“Just think how grateful Nightmare Moon will be when she’s back to normal, Fluttershy. Think of it as doing her a kindness.”

“Well if it’s for her own good,” Fluttershy said slowly, trying to convince herself too.

~~~

Now that she was in the palace and bearing her Element though that wasn't stopping her from feeling like a complete and utter heel. All her life she'd never had anypony give even a single flying feather about her and this was how she was going to pay back the pony that had given her everything that she could have possibly ever asked for. Most importantly Nightmare Moon had given her a purpose and that was something that Fluttershy would never be able to thank her princess enough for.

She knew she could turn round right now and tell Nightmare Moon all their plans. Have the others thrown into the deepest dungeons where they could be forgotten about with the Elements securely locked away forever. Fluttershy sighed, she could see the eyes again, so very much like her own and yet utterly dissimilar in sheer force of personality. Be a better pony, she could no more turn back now than she would willingly chop off one of her wings. Anyway Pinkamena and the rest were a decent bunch from what she'd seen so far. Rock especially seemed to be good for a laugh or two and had a surprisingly decent singing voice when she was completely smashed on free champagne. Sparks was still nervous around her and for very good reason Fluttershy admitted with some regret, but she did seem more confidant at the party. Maybe they really could be her friends. Hay, first time for everything right?

Fluttershy paused as she came to the next door before entering. She'd discussed this with Pinkamena late into last night that the Shadowbolts had to be removed one way or another from the playing field today. Spitfire was back at Fluttershy's own castle deep in the Everfree looking after matters there and Soarin' was overseeing at the mountain top training camp, so both were far enough away that even if they started off now they wouldn't make it in time to make a difference to the day's events. That left the Shadowbolt honour guard here in the palace of Canterlot itself and Fluttershy was hoping that she could persuade them to back her up. If not... well the officer-on-site Cloudchaser and her wingpony Lightning Dust were two of the most skilled flyers on the force, which along with a very admirable ruthlessness had got them such a privileged position so soon. However they were both relatively damp-of-wing and Fluttershy was reasonably certain she could take them both in the skies with her own dark magical enhancements if she had to, even with the other pegasi in the squadron backing them up against her. Of course that did involve getting into the skies first and not getting gang piled by her former subordinates. Fluttershy shook her head at that thought and pushed.

The first thing that hit her as she opened the door was the smell. It was faint, but the unfamiliar sickly sweet aroma was causing all of her fur to stand up on end. It was pitch black in the room which surprised Fluttershy as she knew at the end of the barracks there should be an exit right out into the night sky so that her Shadowbolts could come and go as they pleased. Her eyes strained against the darkness and even with her Nightmarish gifts all she could make out was something green and viscous that was blocking up the exit entirely. There was movement though and she set herself ready for anything.

Eyes shined out of the darkness causing her to start, but then Fluttershy relaxed as the recognisable forms of the two pegasi she had been expected to see stepped out into the light. Cloudchaser was smiling—out of uniform completely though—which Fluttershy noted with some disapproval as her old habits had not entirely faded yet. Lightning Dust looked completely out of it though. Her Shadowbolts uniform was mostly in place, if somewhat stained and creased, but her eyes were open unnaturally wide. She stared back at Fluttershy, but she seemed to see nothing there at all.

"We've been waiting for you, Captain," Cloudchaser whispered with a sultry tone that Fluttershy really wasn't used to hearing from anypony and certainly not from one of her subordinates.

"What's going on, Cloudchaser?" Fluttershy asked, as she wondered why her pinions were itching so hard. "Report."

"Just relax, Captain," Cloudchaser said pleasantly. "This day is going to be perfect."

Author's Note:

Yeah I did say I wasn't going to do a sequel with these ponies didn't I? It honestly wasn't a lie at the time as I was convinced that the story was all wrapped up, but some people asked for it and then I came up with a couple of ideas that amused me enough to put them together into another fic.

Not all the important characters in this fic will be listed in the description as I want to leave some of them to be surprises.