The Legend of Lightning Ace 2 : Rise of Storms

by LightningAce7

Battle for Daylight

Lightning and Flash were disorientated as their foes dragged them through the forest immediately surrounding the ruins of the Castle of the Sisters. After a few seconds they finally got the upper hoof and managed to get free of their grasp. Flash then pulled out his sword and ran it through the side of one of the two stallions while Lightning continued to brawl with the leader of the shadow bolts. The dark mare planted a hoof into Lightning's chest then picked him up and threw him into a tree, breaking it in half from the force. Meanwhile Flash, was surprised by the vanquished stallion had gone up into a cloud of smoke, which then flew back to the castle. He then lunged at the second stallion and slashed the form in half. There was no blood, only more smoke as it dissentigrated before him. Lightning seeing this then followed his example and pulled out his own dagger, but was pinned to the ground before he could swing at his assailant. The mare, now holding Lightning down at the ends of his forelegs, then started smothering him with pure darkness. He coughed and sputtered as the darkness began to fill his lungs and force out all the air within him. He struggled as he started to reach for his dagger with is hind legs.She began to kackle as she then recoiled back from his dagger finding its mark in her flank. Like the other two, she also vanished.

"Let's get back to the others!" Flash said. Lightning nodded in agreement as they flew back to the castle to rejoin the group, who was now entering the main chamber. As Lightning and Flash entered the main chamber, Rainbow and Fluttershy were already bringing down some orbs from the statue from the center of the room.

"Isn't this what you were waiting for?" Applejack asked Twilight, who was transfixed on the orbs.

"One two three four..." Pinkie counted aloud. "Shouldn't there be six?"

"The book said that the sixth element was a mystery...but I have an idea that might solve it..." Twilight said. "Everyone stand back...I don't know what will happen..." Everypony stepped back as Twilight started to power up her horn.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Flash said.

"C'mon everypony," Applejack said, usuring everypony out. "Twilight needs to concentrate."

Just as everypony was leaving the room Nightmare's amorphous form rushed into the room and started pulling the orbs into a magical cyclone. Twilight gasped in surprise at this and did the only thing that came to her mind. Jump in. The others rushed back in a moment too late and returned to a now empty room.

"Where did they go!?" Lightning ask, flying around looking.

"THERE!!!" Rarity yelled, pointing at another part of the ruins.

"Don't just stand there...let's get over there pronto!" Applejack said.

Everypony then raced off to the far building where Twilight had managed to follow Nightmare. It was an even darker and far more forboding than the rest of the castle. Flash and Lightning were the first to arrive, much to Nightmare's annoyance. Twilight had decided to assume a fighting pose as well, snorting steam from her snout and stomping her hoof defiantly. Moonlight arrived next. "You've GOT to be kidding me! You're kidding me, right?!" She mocked them. With that Twilight and the three stallions started to charge her, Twilight's horn gathering strength as they closed in. Much to Nightmare, Lighting, Flash and Moonlight's surprise Twilight teleported through Nightmare and was before the orbs. They knew now what to do. While Nightmare was distracted Flash lifted up then threw Lightning at Nightmare, where his hind leg found it's mark causing her to lose her balance. "Moonlight!" Flash yelled to the dark purple stallion. "We'll handle Nightmare! Get a shield up around Twi!"

Moonlight nodded then turned to get to Twilight's side. Nightmare, now recovered from the suprise attack, turned and then casted a dark stream of lightning towards Twilight. With no room for error, Moonlight powered up his horn then lept between Nightmare's bolt and it's target. There was a brilliant flash of light as the bolt struck him.

As the light faded, a cloud of dust gave way to Moonlight standing in front of Twilight, with a crackling shield between them and Nightmare. She let out a cry of rage as she repeatedly rammed the shield with all her spells and power, but to no avail. Lightning then lept onto her back, took out his dagger, and tried to stab her. Instead, his blade met with nothing as she disapated and then reformed behind him. "Foolish little foal..." She venomously said as she planted a hoof into Lightning's side, then swatted him aside. Flash then unleashed a torrent of flames upon her, engulfing her in flames. As flash was helping up Lightning a dark tendril issued from the flames and grabbed Flash, rose him up into the air then slammed him into the floor. He let out a yelp of pain as she grabbed him again and proceeded to whip him through a pillar, decimating it in the process.

"FLASH!" Lightning yelled out as Nightmare started to close in on Flash, who was now in a heap under what was left of a pillar. Lightning then rose up into the air and began to try to dig into his new found power. Just as Nightmare was about to finish Flash off, she was struck by a sizable bolt of red lightning. As she was shaking it off, she was struck again and again, Lightning now having tapped into his power he pulled from deeper as he attacked again and again. As he felt that his reserve was getting low, he condensed what he had left into one final blast of lightning, which he rammed down upon her. The whole ruin was shaken and it's halls ringed with thunder as his bolt met it's mark.

A dark sinister laughter began as the smoke and dust cleared...

"No...that's impossible!" Lightning was bewildered as how anything could of survived such a blast.

"You've got to be kidding me if you think a little lightning will stop me you imputant little pony!" Nightmare taunted as she flexed her wings, her attention now all on Lightning. "Face it, my little ponies...your little 'rebellion' was doomed from the start!" Her voice was escalating. "I WAS DESTINED TO LEAD THIS NATION! ME! NIGHTMARE MOON! AND WILL SEE ALL THE WORLD PLUNGED INTO ETERNAL NIGHT!" Just as she finished, energy was now starting to crackle around Twilight. "Oh...I think I forgot about something...no...THE ELEMENTS!" She bellowed as she started rushing to Twilight.

An arc of magic lept from Twilight to the orbs, knocking both her and Moonlight aside, leaving Nightmare before them.

"No...NO! NOOO!" Nightmare roared as the orbs pulsed with energy.

Just as everyone in the room thought the fight was over, the orbs then fell silent.

Before anypony could react, Nightmare began kackleing as she reared up and then brought her mighty forelegs down on the orbs, shattering them into dozens of pieces, the faces of the stallions and Twilight reflected in them as they fell to the floor. "See now what your little struggle has proven?" Nightmare taunted. "Your 'Elements' are now in ruins! You might as well get comfortable...for this night will last FOREVER!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Twilight then heard the rest of her friends entering the room. Then, a spark crossed her eye.

"Do you really think that you could just destroy the elements just like that!?" Twilight asked Nightmare, with a sudden urge of confidence. Nightmare only answered with a stare. "The elements were never in these orbs...they were with me the whole time! Honesty, Applejack, who had shown me to take a leap of faith! Kindness, Fluttershy, who had tamed a raging manticore by soothing it's pain!" As she continued the shattered pieces started to float to and orbit the other mares in the room. "Pinkie Pie, who showed me to laugh in even the worst of times! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with her generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who could not ditch her friends for her personal gain...Loyalty!"

"But that's only five! You still..."

"But that's where you're wrong Nightmare!" Twilight retorted back. "The spark was never a spell...it...I felt it when my friends fought you to defend me, and when they came back for me! I realized how much I needed them! That is the spark!" With that the last of the pieces rose up and went to Twilight. They then all formed into amulets around the necks of all but Twilight, whom instead now bore a crown.

"NO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! I WON'T GO BACK!!!!!!! NEVER!!!!" Nightmare Moon roared as she unleashed everything she had at the group. But it was of no use. Everyone was now aglow with a brilliance of energy and purity that not even the darkest darkness could pierce. A Brilliant rainbow then shot from the mass, and bore into Nightmare, enveloping her as it swirled around her. She clawed at the air with her hooves in vain attempts to escape as all her strength left her and all once of her evil being left her. All was then quiet as all that remained of Nightmare were the shards of her armor, still softly eminating an omnous darkness.

"Is it over?" Lightning asked Twilight, who was still recovering after her ordeal.

"I...I think so, I see the sun starting to rise..." Twilight said. Then, energy started to envelop the armor pieces, followed by laughter. But it wasn't like Nightmare's, this laughter was of a darker nature.

"Great work my little ponies!" A voice familiar to Lightning and Flash spoke.

"Thundara!" Lightning yelled, barring his teeth.

"Heheheheh!" Thundara laughed as she revealed herself, now in Nightmare's armor. "Now in the flesh thanks to you and you're friends! Now that I'm back...I won't be needing you two anymore!" She then started striking Lightning and Flash down with frightning amounts of energy that made even Nightmare seem tame. Everypony could only watch as she slowly fried the two stallions to the death. But before she could finish them off, a blinding brilliance shined through the room as brilliant beams of sunlight blasted the new alicorn into the wall.

"...So this was you're plan to return...by using my sister...THUNDARA!!!" Princess Celestia boomed as she smited Thundara through the wall.

"This is far from over...Princess...The Thunder Tribe will take back what was stolen from it! Let it be known that Thundara, Queen of the Thunder Tribe has returned!!!" Thundara boomed as she rose up and then vanished into rolling thunder clouds above, which then wafted away out of sight.

Celestia then saw her sister, now half her size, cowering in the corner. "It's been a while since I've seen you like this sister," She said.

"I'm sorry sister...really I am..." The small blue alicorn said, quivering.

"Apology accepted sister Luna. You've got some explaining to do...but it'll have to wait. You're back, and this is a time to-" Celestia started.

"PARTY!!!" Pinkie Pie shouted, startling everypony. With that, they all left the room, except Lightning, who was pondering what had occur'd. He then thought of the nightmare he kept having until now...

He was in a dark forest within an equally dark temple structure. There upon a pedistol stood a strange statue that had five strange stone orbs adorning it. For some reason he couldn't help but approach the statue. But before he could reach it, there was an evil presence in the room. Before him was an amorphous black-as-night form that had an erie similarity to it. Before he could do anything, six lights of various colors entered the temple. The darkness then said some undissernable things and vanished with the orbs. He was then in the forest again, though he was in control of his body now. Before him now was a vaguely familiar pony among three other pegasi that were wearing darkened, twisted versions of what the Wonder Bolts wore. He couldn't hear what they were saying but he found out soon enough when all four of them attacked. He tried his best to fend them off but he was eventually overwhelmed. As they reared for the final blow, he began to scream. Everything became a blur as their hooves came down on him.

"Was it a preminision? A warning?" Lightning asked himself, now realizing that said dream had in fact come true. However one thing eluded him...in his nightmare, there were four ponies...not just three. He then turned to leave himself, still wondering what or who the forth one was. He took off and caught up with the others who were waiting for him outside.

"What took y'all so long hun?" Applejack asked Lightning.

"Just...thinking is all," Lightning replied.

"Everypony ready to go back?" Celestia asked.

"Don't need to ask us twice your Majesty!" Flash said, eager to get out of the dark forest.

With that Celestia promptly teleported everyone back home to Ponyville, where the townfolk had been waiting.