Applejack shares a story on Nightmare Night, but the ponies with her aren't the only ones listening
"An' they say that he comes 'round every Nightmare Night...preyin' on th' souls o' th' dead. He hunts an' he searches, 'till he finds his unlucky target, and yanks 'em outta a pony's body!"
"But sis, is that really true? There's no way somepony like that could be around!"
"Y'all better believe it, Applebloom. And y' never know...he may be comin' after you next."
[A/N: My second shot at Dark writing, but it's the first one I've submitted. Got another one in the works.
Cover was drawn by the quite skilled MysticalAlpha, and the link there goes to the cover itself. Enjoy this work and his other art!]
A fire crackled in a dusty room, warming the three ponies next to it. Dressed in black, the three ponies whispered amongst themselves, words exchanged sending chills of pure ice down their spines.
What was being told in this room, words cloaked in shadow and meanings of blood and pain, stories of spells and dangers, and ponies who ran for their lives...only to be caught in the claws of their pursuers.
Dread tales of legends long passed, of skeletons and ghosts, hydras and dragons. Heroes and villains that fought tirelessly for years, only to give way to threats that tore the country asunder...
Thus was the tradition of the annual Apple Family Ghost Story Hour on Nightmare Night; to scare the cutie marks off those who came by to listen. Today, Twilight was going over stories with her friend Applejack, and Applebloom came along to listen to her sister regale of times long since buried in the vast sands of Time.
"Alright, Applejack, I'm ready," Twilight adjusted her cloak, levitating a notepad and quill in front of her; ghost stories were a great method of connecting with others, and a true show of one's ability to write and create. Maybe she'd learn something for her next letter to the Princess?
"Ah'm ready t' go!" Applebloom scratched her mane under her hood, "Why do we have t' wear these though? They're itchy..."
"All part of th' effect, Applebloom," Applejack scratched her own mane; despite the want to make a scary atmosphere, Applebloom was right. These did itch!
Throughout the year, Applejack had been looking forward to this particular Nightmare Night. Her brother, Big Mac, had set the bar pretty high last year with his story about the Headless Pony; even Granny Smith was shaking in her chair. Whether that was because he was talking for about an hour, or because they all felt a cold hoof on their shoulders as he spoke, she'd never know.
But tonight, she'd be recognized as the best ghost story teller in the Apple family, and who better to check your horror against than somepony who doesn't believe in ghosts, and bases everything in logic? Twilight Sparkle was the greatest challenge the farm pony could hope for.
"Alright, everypony ready for the most terrifyin' story ever told?" Applejack adjusted herself next to the fire, so the light cast an excellently eerie shadow over her face; it felt pretty warm, but she could manage.
"Ready, sis! Give us yer best shot!" Applebloom furrowed her brow and smiled; she was ready for anything, and Mac's story wasn't even that scary! No, she didn't have nightmares! Be quiet!
"Quill's at the ready, and quality control is ready to go, Applejack," Twilight gave a raise of the brow, quill already against the paper. Remember, AJ, goal tonight is to terrify her... get her to believe in ghosts. Time to break that ever-present shield of logic.
"Alright, well here we go..."
"It all started long ago, back before Equestria was ever formed. Th' Three Tribes were still fightin' amongst each other, ne'er seein' eye t' eye. When it came t' food problems, everypony turned to th' Earth Ponies, callin' 'em traitors n' conspirators, hoardin' all th' food 'emselves. When the storms brewed and crackled in th' endless sky, ponies cried out against Commander Hurricane an' 'is Pegasi, sayin' they were tryin' t' start a war an' burn th' land.
"Th' Unicorns were a whole other issue; whene'er somethin' unexplainable happened, like whole crops suddenly dyin' on a perfect day, or thunderheads appearin' outta nowhere, magic was blamed. T' say that the Unicorns had a lot on their plate was an understatement, since Princess Platinum n' 'er father, King Goldline, were at th' center o' every civil outcry against the Horns, as they were called back then. But t' say that all these here problems were the fault of those three Tribes... well, y'all'd be wrong."
Applejack paused for a moment, looking over her audience. Twilight was madly scribbling notes, seeming more interested in how the story was built, rather than what the story really carried, while Applebloom leaned in slightly, eyes wide in anticipation; so far, so good.
"Now, there's a sayin' that was whispered among the members o' th' Three Tribes, often used as a story to keep the foals awake at night when they'd been bad. This here story was about...
The Ghost Ryder, Tartarus' bounty hunter."
"Who?" Twilight chimed in, looking up from her notes, "There's never been any mention of a 'Ghost Ryder' in Equestria's history...of course, I've only studied about seven hundred years of it..."
"Ah'm gettin' t' that, Twi'. As Ah was sayin,"
"Th' Ghost Ryder was a demon, one o' th' most evil t' ever rise up from those flamin' pits. He was kept as the right-hand stallion to the King o' Tartarus, and was sent out often t' catch those who got away from the gatekeeper, Cereberus. A flamin' skull an' a steed t' call 'is own, he rode out from the burnin' depths on a hunt.
"An' every Nightmare Night... they say he can be seen. Back then, it was jus' called Crim Moona, since th' moon'd turn red like blood. It went 'round as a typical legend; jus' words, right? Just somethin' t' keep the lil' fillies and colts occupied... 'till they started hearin' th' rumors."
"What rumors, sis'?" Applebloom leaned in further, her hood now covering most of her face. Those eyes were still well lit by the fire, and she was shaking. Good, good...
"Ohhh, harmless lil' rumors, y'know... possession, evil spells, words of a fire behind a lil' filly's eyes..." Applejack smiled, leaning in as she spoke. "Jus' like the fires in your eyes, lil' sis..."
Applebloom shot up at this, freezing solid. "W-What does that mean?" Applejack laughed, the fire catching in her eyes such that an inferno lit up in her pupils.
"Well, y'all're possessed, an' that means somepony's comin' t' look fer ya..."
"T-T-Th-The G-G-G-"
"Yup... but if y'all let me continue, maybe you'll get a hint as t' how you can get away..."
Applebloom quickly nodded. AJ's eyes shifted to the lavender librarian, who was now leaning in as well. Her quill stopped scritching a while back... guess she had her attention now.
"Now, this here Ghost Ryder didn't come out fer jus' anypony's soul. Ohhh no... the regular ones'd just get torn up by Cereberus if they ever tried t' leave. These spirits, these 'devils', now they were dangerous.
"One time, actually, was burned into folklore as the wors' possession ever recorded... they called it the 'Red Princess'... an' this Princess was anythin' but benevolent. A body o' charcoal and a mane o' blood, eyes that'd strike a stallion dead at twenty paces, and a tongue torn from the body of a dragon... she was evil straight through."
Applejack leaned in to her audience, the other two ponies mimicking her in curiosity.
"An' y'all may ask, what broke her? What turned her t' th' ways of evil? What made her tear ponies apart, just t' see what their innards looked like? Well, Ah'm pretty sure y'all can figure it out."
"W-Was she p-p-possessed?" Applebloom was shivering like an apple in the wind.
"Yeah, an' not just by any soul...but by a dead ancestor," Applejack grinned, her eyes reflecting the fires of Tartarus themselves. "A dead ancestor...by th' name o' Luna."
Twilight gasped and Applebloom shot straight up in a screech. "W-What?! B-But Princess Luna isn't dead!" Twilight shouted, notepad being caught in her magic just before it hit the ground.
"Y'all'd love t' believe that, wouldn't ya? Truth is, not many can believe the Princesses're truly immortal. Some say they're shapeshifters, like them Changelings... others say they're ethereal, images o' bodies long since decomposed and returned t' th' soil. While some..."
She leaned in further.
"Say they're devils."
"What?! B-B-But Princess Celestia's nice! Real nice!" Applebloom fell to the floor, shaking. "She ain't a devil! She can't be!"
"Oh, but she is, lil' sis. And her sister is too; Nightmare Moon was just her bad side comin' out t' play. An' when Luna possessed th' Red Princess, the Three Tribes took up arms. This poor pony was turned into somethin' evil, some horrifyin' abomination that'd lock you up in stone, so much as look at'cha. She was an innocent lil' pony workin' with Ambassador Puddin'head, lookin' int' ways of improvin' crop turnout. Winter was comin', so she had to double 'er efforts."
"Just... she's a researcher..." Twilight messily scratched out a few more notes before placing the quill and notepad on the ground. Gotcha now, Twilight...
"Yep... jus' like you, Ah figure. This here pony didn't have a horn, but in order t' find a way to boost the food supply that year... she turned t' th' arcane. She began researchin' magic along with new farmin' techniques, even managed t' try a spell or two."
"But that's impossible! She doesn't have a horn!" Twilight poked her own in emphasis.
"Yet she still did. Th' methods fer such a thing've been lost t' the endless sands o' Time itself... but nopony ever wanted t' dig it up after what happened. After she changed... into an alicorn.
"An' not just any alicorn... but a horribly twisted version of herself, mixed with Princess Luna. Her cutie mark wasn't even discernible, an abstract mess between the night sky and a satchel of seeds. A horn grew outta her forehead, tearin' away the skin n' flesh, while wings made o' bone and blood tore from her sides... her pained screams crossed the country, and stabbed daggers of ice into everypony's soul.
"A devil had arrived...an' th' legend said that whenever somethin' evil was around, He wasn't far behind...
"Th' gates o' Tartarus flew open with a mighty slam! And out came the flamin' bounty hunter with a great sword across his back, edge burning with the agony of Tartarus' prisoners, an' a net made from the fur and flesh of a hundred ponies! His mighty steed tore across the volcanic land towards th' mountains, where the death screams of a pony who only wanted t' save lives echoed out... as she changed.
"Wasn't long before the Pegasi caught eye of th' Ghost Ryder, and their wings burned as he tore past... faster than a rampagin' pegasus, they said, as a river of lava was left in his wake... his steed charged up th' mountain pass, ponies left and right parting ways, eyes filled with terror and hearts heavy with fright...
"Th' legend was real, an' he was comin' fer a soul tonight. He rode into th' Earth Pony camp, all around 'em were dead ponies, some wiped clean from the ground, save a red stain, others torn in half with their hearts still beatin'... a few were even eaten alive. In the middle o' th' carnage sat the Red Princess, an Earth Pony wrapped in her magic... she was laughin' while the pony screamed for their life.
"'Put th' pony down, demon!' Th' Ghost Ryder shouted. Oh, she put th' pony down alright, all over his face as she chucked the pour soul at th' flamin' skull o' th' bounty hunter. A quick swipe of 'is hoof blew the pony clear o' his path, and th' two locked eyes. The Red Princess spoke with the voice of many, her tone thick with pain and dread..."
"'I am Santa Venganza, ruler of the flames and carrier of vengeance. Ponies shall kneel this night, for the fires of Tartarus are incapable of containing me, and the guardians are incapable of fighting me.'"
Applejack froze up, along with the other two. That... wasn't her speaking...
"'For the legendary bounty hunter to stand against me is both delightful and foolish... for I've yet to taste the flesh of one who shares in my prison.'"
"W-W-Who..." Applebloom stuttered, tears pouring from her face. The air seemed to grow heavy, the light from the fire being drained away by something...
"W-Was that?" Twilight looked around, light coming from her horn after a quickly-cast spell. All the light seemed to siphon away towards a single point, hovering below two deep blue eyes.
"'And you shall know pain, pony of the King of Tartarus... and I will relish every moment.'"
From the shadows stepped an armored pony, steel helmet giving way to a single dark blue horn and a flowing mane of black ether. A chestplate bearing the full moon shone meekly in the light of the fire, embarrassed by the light of that demonic smile...
"'Much like the rest of my victims... you will know pain...'"
"N-N-N-" Applejack stuttered, stepping away from the massive body.
"N-N-N-N..." Applebloom simply lay there, frozen, staring up at the face of their would-be attacker.
"Nightmare Moon!??!" Twilight finally completed the shattered sentence, putting herself between Applejack and Applebloom. "What've you done with Princess Luna?!"
"Princess Luna? You're looking at her, my little pony," Nightmare Moon stood, a look of sick pride on her face, staring down at the lavender mare who stood against her so long ago.
"We defeated you though! Two years ago, we beat you!" Twilight gritted her teeth as her horn lit up further, staring into the eyes of the alicorn. Princess Luna did use Nightmare Moon as a disguise a year ago... but this feeling was different...
"Y'all shouldn't even exist now!" Applejack finally pulled herself together and stood beside Twilight, staring down their opponent. "Applebloom, go upstairs, now!"
"R-Right!" Applebloom jumped to her hooves and sprinted to the stairs, only to be wrapped in a black aura. She hit the ground hard from a sudden force shoving her down, and was dragged against the floor back towards the group. The world around them seemed to bleed as Nightmare Moon drew closer.
"Now, now, my little ponies... your Princess wants to sense your fear for longer than simply a few moments. It's been a thousand years since I felt any form of admiration, fearful or otherwise... running away from me is quite rude!" The explosion of her voice rocked the house, sending Applejack to her flank. "I did enjoy that retelling of my past though... very thorough, Element Bearer. You do your ancestors proud," That sick grin on her face widened as magic swept through the house, doors and windows locking. A sudden banging from upstairs echoes through the room; seems it woke Big Mac up.
"I think it's time for Santa Venganza... to have her real vengeance!"
"And I think it's time for you to disappear again!" Twilight shouts back, horn sparking with a blinding light, the space around her bending, "And I'll be sure to send you packing this time..."
With a crack, Applejack, Applebloom and Twilight were gone, the air itself warping like a mirage. Nightmare's grin didn't vanish with this, however; teleportation was easy to track, and the mare's goal was obvious. It was strange, however; why would Twilight consider the Elements of any use? Nightmare was still there, right?
Oh well, this made the hunt all the more fun. First, the Element Bearers, and then Celestia, and finally, the whole country... Nightmare chuckled to herself as a splintering crack resounded from upstairs, followed by the quick sprinting hooves of a heavy pony. Big Mac leapt from the second floor and cleared the steps, slamming onto the floor.
"Moon."
"Pony."
The two glared at each other, frozen for a few moments, before all Tartarus broke loose in the Apple family's house.
Wind burst through the library as Twilight and her group exploded into being in the middle of the lobby, Twilight jumping to action. "Spike! Get down here! Now!"
"C-Comi-Woah!" Spike shouted back as he tripped on the steps, falling down them in a rolling ball. He stopped, eyes spinning, at the bottom and covered his mouth; Twilight considered for a moment the likelihood of a purple dragon's scales turning green, but shoved the scientific study aside. "Wh...w-what's going on, Twilight? I thought you- oh, hey Applejack. And Applebloom. Are you planning another sleepover, Twi'?"
"Now's not the time for any planning, I need to send a letter to the Princess! Nightmare Moon's back!"
"You're kidding me!" Spike shouted, jumping to his feet. Nightmare Moon? Wait, the Princess-freak who wanted to bring eternal night!?
"I'm not kidding, now get the parchment and quill and get ready for a letter. Applejack, I want you to start looking through the books! You're looking for a specific tome, 'Elements In Harmony'! Applebloom, help her!"
Everypony set about their tasks with a quick nod while Twilight retreated to her thoughts, calculating plans against Nightmare. That fight two years ago, back when she first came to Ponyville... it was brutal. Though she and her friends won in the end, it was by sheer luck that Nightmare became overconfident and took the spell full force. This time around, she'd be ready, maybe even hunting down the rest of the Bearers right now!
"Ah got it!" Applejack shouted, sliding to a stop in front of Twilight. She dropped the book at Twilight's hooves, the cover bearing the familiar insignia of the Elements.
"Good!" Twilight flipped the cover, revealing a scroll.
"What's that?" Applejack poked the scroll and furrowed her brow. An old scroll? It was covered in weird writing. Spike came up to Twilight's side as Applebloom rejoined the group.
"Letter at the ready! Speak away, Twilight!" Spike stood like a proud soldier of the Royal Guard.
"Alright, write as I speak."
'Celestia, we have a problem. Nightmare Moon's returned, and we don't have a lot of time. I'm sending Applejack and Spike ahead to Canterlot, then going to gather the rest of my friends. Please have the Elements ready before I get there. Twilight Sparkle.'
"Send it," Twilight near-hissed as she grabbed the scroll in her magic and focused on it. Spike simply nodded and blew the scroll away with his fire, the sigils and symbols lighting up in a rainbow of colors. A ring of light expanded on the ground below AJ, Applebloom and Spike, blowing the two ponies' cloaks up into the air. The sound of a lightning bolt crashing down echoed through Ponyville as AJ and her entourage were flung through space towards Canterlot.
"One down, four to go," Twilight nodded before charging out her door, leaving the open book on the ground. The scroll, now blank, lay singed at the book's edge. She nearly tore the door off its hinges as she slammed it shut behind her, looking up at the sky; it was already turning to night. She sprinted off down the street towards Sugarcube Corner; if anypony could get Fluttershy and Rarity together faster than Twilight, it'd be Pinkie. Ponies all around Twilight stared upwards, watching the sun rapidly fall towards the horizon, a full moon rising even more quickly over Canterlot.
"What's going on? Is the Princess calling an early end to the day?" Lyra spoke from her bench, staring upwards with her hooves on her knees.
"This isn't like her... and why are the Sun and Moon moving so quickly?" Bon replied, getting up and staring as well.
At least ponies were noticing something was wrong, and the sooner Twilight could get the Elements mobilized, the better! She doubled her pace towards the bakery, kicking up dust as she tore down the road.
"Hoyyy... so boring around here!" Pinkie sighed, leaning against the counter in the customer area. Usually Dashie would come by and do pranks, or she'd be having another party, but no ideas came to her head. It was weird; for the past day or so, she'd thought of nothing that could make a pony laugh. Jokes fell flat, parties felt forced, and pranks seemed more mean than funny... maybe she was losing her edge?
The door suddenly exploding certainly set her off though!
"Ah!!" Pinkie shrieked, ducking into the kitchen. She came out two seconds later with a pot on her head and a pan in her mouth; if anypony tried to take the shop, she'd go down fighting to defend it! Why was Twilight trying a hostile takeover of Sugarcube Corner though?
"Pinkie! I need you to do something for me!" Twilight panted, leaning against the threshold of the doorway. "I need you... to go get Fluttershy and Rarity! Now!"
"Why? Are we having a sleepover? Oh! Maybe that's what I needed, a sleepover!! I'll get the decor-"
"No! NIghtmare Moon's back, and we're on the clock! Just go, I'll explain once we're all in Canterlot!" Twilight raced away before Pinkie could utter another word, but she understood her objective.
"Nightmare Moon, huh? Not really a good way to spend a Friday, but okie dokie lokie!" Sugarcube Corner's cashier had never seen a faster-moving pony than Pinkie at that moment; the air ignited for a moment as she tore out of the lobby and raced down the road. First up, Rarity! Oh, there she is now! "Rarity!"
"Oh dear," Rarity muttered as she turned, mud being thrown up as Pinkie skidded to a halt. She shielded herself as best she could, but one thing was for certain; another visit to the spa was an absolute necessity. Note to self, move spa visit with Fluttershy up two days. "Pinkie, you do know it's rather rude to splatter dirt and mud over a lady!"
"Sorry Rarity but we've got a problem Twilight just knocked down the door to Sugarcube Corner and she was panting and sweaty like after the Running of the Leaves but twice as bad anyway Nightmare Moon's back and she wants us to get Fluttershy and go to Canterlot!" Pinkie took a deep breath, "Right now!!!"
"Wait, Nightmare Moon? Are you certain it wasn't just Princess Luna? It is Nightmare Night in a few days-"
"Twilight's never wrong, Rarity! C'mon!" Pinkie took off before a coherent response could even be calculated in Rarity's brain. She simply sighed and took off down the road after her friend; so much for a relaxing night in bed!
"Where's Rainbow?!" Twilight muttered to herself as she looked up; the full moon had assumed dominence over the skies, and wasn't moving. A thin ray of sunlight could be seen connecting it to Canterlot; Princess Celestia was trying to move it, probably. Things just kept getting worse and worse... "Rainbow?! Where are you!?"
No response, though she was probably sleeping in her house anyway. Ohhh, why did teleportation have to require repeat visits to wherever you were going?! Twilight would have to look into making teleportation and spatial movement easier after this whole ordeal was finished; yet another item on the To-Do list, following 'solve Aura Theory' and 'Write Friendship Report'!
Ponyville tore past Twilight at a surprising speed as she sprinted down street after street, a bright flash coming from Sweet Apple Acres catching her eye; Big Mac and Granny Smith got away! Nightmare Moon was after the Elements and their bearers anyway, they should be safe as long as they don't pick a fight! And if they did... no, no, Granny Smith's smarter than that. She'd get Big Mac to run! She had to!
"Rainbow!" C'mon, at least be awake, you lazy mare!
The cloud house-, er, 'castle' as Rainbow liked to call it, finally came into view. Lightning jumped away from the black thunderhead walls as a pegasus dressed up as something stood on top of it. She cackled maniacally.
"Fear the Shadowbolts, ponies!" The pegasus shouted, obviously having a good time with making lightning arc off the clouds.
"Rainbow! Get down here!" Twilight shouted as loud as she could, the boom of thunder near matching her volume. Well, there was another way to get her down, but it wreaked havoc on her throat... her horn lit up, an aura surrounding her windpipe.
Ponyville suddenly quaked with another kind of thunder; Twilight's voice as she shouted to the heavens. "RAINBOW! GET YOUR FLANK DOWN HERE NOW!!!" The shout was followed by a heavy cough as her horn's light died out. The pegasus on top of the cloud castle immediately leapt off her perch and shot down towards the ground, landing with a thud. She jumped into a strict salute.
"You called? Er, shouted ma'am?" The Shadowbolt-dressed Rainbow stood at attention.
"Yes, yes I did," Twilight coughed again, swallowing some saliva; using the Royal Canterlot Voice just isn't a skill meant for unicorns, but it sure was useful! "Long story short since we're running out of time, Nightmare Moon's returned."
"And we're off to kick flank, right?" Rainbow smirked; the response, though like her, was surprising.
"Exactly... you are Rainbow Dash, right?"
"The one and only fastest flyer in Equestria. I don't need to tell you that, obviously. Where're we headed?" Rainbow stood up and flared her wings, flapping them a few times.
"We're headed to Canterlot. Spike and Applejack are already there, and Pinkie's getting Rarity and Fluttershy. Think you can get there before us?"
"I could get there before AJ," Rainbow blasted off into the air before Twilight could speak; at least she was on the ball!
"Time to go find Pinkie..."
"And then the moon came up when I met Rarity and we both ran here to get you so we could all go to Canterlot to fight the big mean witch!" Pinkie took another deep breath, Fluttershy's wind-swept mane a note of how loudly Pinkie was speaking.
"Um...N-Nightmare Moon's b-b-b-back?" She shook; oh dear, that mean alicorn's back?!
"Yes, dear, and as the Element Bearers, we've got to go fight her, right?" Rarity brushed some mud off her coat, grimacing as it just smeared further.
"B-B-But I can't f-f-fight her," Fluttershy backed away into her cottage, shivering in fright enough to make her erect wings vibrate.
"Of course you can! We all can! And if we aren't all there, then Moon wins! We need to stand up for Equestria, like everypony else!" Pinkie saluted the air, brow furrowed in a determined stare. Rarity watched Pinkie stare into space for a few moments before turning back to Fluttershy.
"Listen to me, dear, you are an absolutely necessary piece of this puzzle! Nopony else can be the Element of Kindness' bearer, after all!"
"S-S-Spike was made the Element of L-Loyalty's bearer...j-just pick somepony for me..."
"If we don't leave now, Twilight's going to be fighting Nightmare Moon on her own!"
"I can't...s-she's scary..."
"Scarier than a dragon? Hardly, and you faced one down and made it cry! Come, dear, you're far more brave than this!" Rarity stamped her hoof; three years of knowing this mare, and she still couldn't stare down her own shadow! Something had to be done about that... perhaps after the spa trip?
"Much scarier," Fluttershy quirked her mouth up at the corner, "She's much scarier than a dragon!"
"Oh come on, Fluttershy! All we have to do is go to Canterlot, put on the necklaces, and let Twilight cast her spell and beat Nightmare Moon again!" Pinkie grinned; every situation seemed so simple to her.
"I was terri-"
"Please, Fluttershy! You need to stand up! You've done it before, all you have to do is do it again!" Rarity broke in, panic on her face.
"Well...um..."
"We're all in danger if you don't do this, Fluttershy! And I don't like danger! It's not fun! Unless it's controlled danger, like sky diving or hang gliding or zip lining or whatever crazy stunt the Crusaders like to pull off!" Pinkie bounced in, staring at Fluttershy's face from an inch away.
"W-Well...ok...f-for my friends, I'll stand up against the big, mean, killer, merciless alicorn..."
"That's the spirit!" Pinkie jumped over Fluttershy and started pushing her out, soon going into a full sprint with Fluttershy's hooves digging into the ground. "Wow, this is great! I should do this with Rainbow sometime!"
Fluttershy simply squeaked as her flank was picked up and thrown over Pinkie's head, putting her on the pink mare's back. The two sprinted off towards the town, leaving Rarity with a perplexed look on her face. She soon joined in the mad dash to the town, where a lavender mare was waiting. She saw a flare go up from the town square, and soon after a trail of rainbow launched up from one of the streets, making a beeline for Canterlot; that's all six of them!
"Alright, Twilight, the design was simple. All you needed was the teleportation algorithm, followed by an expansion figure... sigma to the eigth, twenty two degrees..." Twilight mumbled to herself as she drew on the ground with a piece of chalk; thank goodness the town square had a flooring of stone put in. She quickly etched out an arcane circle into the ground, a mass of figures all pointing in the direction of Canterlot. "That should be good for three passengers and the caster. Now I just need to take my spot and start fueling it."
She stepped into the edge of the circle, sitting down in a small indentation among the multitude of sigils and runes. She closed her eyes and began funneling raw magic into her horn as something reached out from two triangles to her side. The mist gripped her horn and began siphoning energy into the circle, and the symbols began to glow, one after another. An interesting spell, mass teleportation; it needed a grounding 'anchor' and pure magic power to be pumped into it, locking the caster in place. Not just that, but it needed such a huge mass of it, that it often left the unicorn unconscious, some even needing to be hospitalized.
So long as she got her tiara though, that magic could be quickly replaced. All she needed was to prep-
"Twilight!" Oh good, they're here. That shout from Pinkie could be heard anywhere.
"Get in the circle, and sit in those indentations with your cutie marks!" Twilight shouted, eyes open and glowing white. The three ponies ran around Twilight and assumed their places at the other three compass points of the circle, Twilight acting as the North pointer towards Canterlot. "All of you ready? I'm putting as much magic into this as I can, so it might sting!"
"Ready!" Pinkie bounced, gleefully anticipating their coming trip through space-time.
"R-Ready," Fluttershy found her eyes locked on the glowing circle around her, worrying if it might explode.
"Ready, dear," Rarity simply moved her muddied mane out of her eyes, thoughts aimed towards helping the Guard fix up Canterlot after Nightmare's beaten; call her overconfident, but it didn't take much to beat Nightmare last time.
"Alright, here we go!" Twilight let one last massive surge of power strike the circle, the light becoming exponentially brighter than before. The whole of Ponyville was granted quite the show at that moment; a solar flare in the middle of their town, or at least one that was just as bright. Within an instant, Twilight and her friends were gone, leaving behind a smoldering ashpile of chalk and scrolls.
Many ponies in Equestria turned their eyes to the fixed moon in the sky, both in wonder of its celestial beauty, and in confusion as to why it has hung in the sky for so long. The massive flash of light from Ponyville diverted the attention of many for miles around, but all eyes eventually drifted back to the full moon with its static backdrop of stars. When would Princess Luna lower the moon? Why had it ascended so quickly?
Why was it just...sitting there?
A sudden explosion of thunder and light from Canterlot's main square tore through the city as four mares appeared in the center of a quickly fading circle of symbols, Twilight with a smoldering horn at their head. "We... woo, ok... we made it!" Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, both over the spell's success, and that unicorn's couldn't feel pain through their horn; that spell usually lights her horn on fire with how much energy travels through it. "Ok, c'mon girls, we've got a Princess to meet and a Nightmare to beat!"
"Right behind you, Twilight!" Pinkie shouted, sprinting ahead of the group.
"Lead on, dear!" Rarity zoomed past as she spoke.
"Um...b-be right with you..." Fluttershy whispered, standing behind Twilight, giving her a light shove forward with her muzzle. Twilight blinked twice before registering that she was just left behind, and sprints off after the other two dust trails in front of her, Fluttershy pulling up the rear as quickly as she can. Ponies all around seemed fixed on the moon, as if in some sort of trance; an image of the Moon glowed in their eyes.
"What's with all these ponies?" Twilight said between breaths, catching up with Rarity.
"I'm not sure, dear, but it's like they're all hypnotized!" Rarity looked around, her breathing a bit more level than Twilight. You'd think a mare this good looking would pull eyes away from even Luna's full moon... what was going on?
A sudden rumbling from behind caught Twilight's attention, and she turned to see a growing mob of unicorns chasing Fluttershy, who chooses now to start screaming. "Fluttershy!"
"Help!" she squeaked, the mob quickly gaining on her. She looked back into their stone-cold eyes, all wide, all stable, all fixed on her with the Moon in their eyes. "Stop chasing me!" she begged, no response coming back except for the thundering of hooves growing louder and quicker. Twilight spun around, horn bright, and dropped a heavy purple wall between the mob and Fluttershy. The mob quickly piles up against it, all those eyes staring through at Twilight; soulless, without purpose. Something really was wrong with them!
"Fluttershy, c'mon!"
"I can't, my tail's caught!" Fluttershy madly flapped her wings, part of her tail jammed under the heavy wall. The unicorn horde continued piling up on itself, eventually reaching the top and starting to pull themselves over. Twilight quickly grabbed the wall and pushed it back, Fluttershy screeching as some of her tail pulls away under the friction before the wall falls backwards onto the horde, shattering into a mountain of glass; nopony would die from that, but there'd be a lot of superficial injury, hopefully enough to put some of them out of commission.
"Sorry, Fluttershy! We have to hurry!" Twilight quickly picked Fluttershy up and ran off down the road, "Rarity! Help me here!"
"Just put her down, Twilight! You need your strength!" Rarity shouted back, now seeing Fluttershy in pain, "Oh dear! I thought that screech was from those crazy unicorns!" she slammed her hooves into the dirt, skidding to a stop to let Twilight catch up. She helps her carry Fluttershy with her magic, and they both take off for the castle. Pinkie passed the gates while they were dealing with the zombie unicorns, and crashed through the main doors.
"AJ! You here!?" she shouted, walking further into the hall; it wasn't usually this dark...
"Pinkie! Ah'm here!" Sweet, she's here! That means Pinkie's in the right place! Though it would be kinda hard to mistake something else for a castle, but that didn't matter!
"Okie dokie! Where are you?"
"Ah'm in the vault fer the Elements! C'mere!" Kind of a weird spot to hide, but ok!
"Is the Princess there with you!?"
"No, she ain't! Told me t' come in here and wait fer ya! Now c'mon, we got a Nightmare t' beat!"
Familiar.
"Okie dokie! I'll wait here for Twilight then!"
"What?! Y'all gotta come here, it's the only place th' Nightmare can't get us!"
"Well... ok!" Pinkie bounced into the darkness of the hall, Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy coming up the hill. The rumbling started again; apparently the magic glass didn't hold down that horde for long! The three charged into the hall, looking around.
"Pinkie! Rainbow! Applejack! Where are you!?" Twilight shouted, taking a few more steps into the room. The shadows of the three ponies extend as they slowly move forward, eyes constantly moving over the area.
The doors slam shut, the room descending into pitch black darkness; should've expected this... it's a trap!
"Nightmare, where are you?!" Twilight shouted, focusing on conjuring up a light spell. She instead burned herself on the left foreleg, causing a quick yelp of pain and a flail of the hoof. Rarity created her own light spell, casting a blue shade over the immaculate main hall of the castle. A large, black shape waits for them at the base of the stairs. "There you are!"
"Yes, here I am," The shadow responded, walking into the light. The light reflected off her white coat, creating an almost heavenly glow. "You made good time, Twilight Sparkle."
"Princess Celestia! Thank goodness! Sorry, we got held up, do you have the Elements?!"
"Yes, follow me, I have them in the vault still. Applejack and Pinkie are waiting there for us," Celestia quickly turns with a nod, leading the way back into the shadows. Something was off... her tone wasn't usually this harsh. Twilight furrowed her brow slightly.
"If you don't mind me asking, why aren't they out here with you?" Twilight raised her eyebrow; Nightmare Moon could shapeshift like one of those bugs...
"If I'd brought them out here, Nightmare Moon would have struck at Canterlot first instead of focusing on all of you. My trust was rightly placed, as you're now here and ready for battle. Please, come," The shadows consumed Celestia's form as she proceeded onward; in this kind of darkness, the mares would get lost anyway. This couldn't be Princess Celestia though... a ruler needs a level head and a calm voice in a stressful situation; she never even acted like this when the Changelings invaded.
"Be careful, girls... I don't think that's Celestia," Twilight whispered, inciting a nod from the other two ponies at her side. Fluttershy winced with each step as she tried to overcome the pain from her torn tail, as all three proceeded on into the darkness, only Celestia's swaying tail marking the trail for them to follow via Rarity's light spell. All three stayed focused on the Princess, two ready for a fight, while the other was ready to run.
"What tipped you off?" she dropped the 'dear' moniker... Twilight turned to Rarity, keeping her voice low.
"You don't notice anything different about her?"
"I haven't noticed much, no."
"She's... strict. The Princess I know is level headed, gentle, almost motherly; this is like a polar change for her. Just... be ready," Twilight stared forward, eyes squinting slightly on her mentor's cutie mark. If it was a disguise, there had to be some imperfection to it... two years is a long time to get to know your sister's form, but her personality was apparently still a work in progress.
The walk continued on in silence, light filtering in to the dark halls and rooms through the massive stained glass murals, the full moon still hanging high in the sky. The uniform pillars of shadow cloaked Celestia and her followers as they pass by, only the glow of their eyes from the moonlight piercing the black. The Hall of the Elements came into view, finally, though it seemed darker than the rest of the castle; a solid black doorway, some of it leaking out like a frigid gas.
"That's strange... this wasn't here before. The Hall was lit up a while ago," Celestia furrowed her brow, staring into the darkness. She casts her own concentrated light spell, slicing through the darkness as she walked through, the other three following until coming to the dark doors. Twilight stared at them for a good while, trying to figure out if it was smart to proceed onwards; it could be a one-way door. She closes her eyes, a piece of chalk forming from the air, and she goes to drawing on the floor.
"What is that, dear?" Rarity looked over her shoulder at the quickly expanding design on the floor.
"An anchor for my teleporation spell. If something goes wrong and we're sealed inside, I can teleport us out with this," Twilight mumbled as she continued drawing. Remember the biological factor and account for distance and the width of the hall... one mistake, and one of her friends could end up in a wall.
"Oh my... that looks... confusing," Fluttershy whispered, wide-eyed at the symbols and runes; unicorn magic was done using all this?
"It's taken a lot of work, but I can anchor my spells to a certain point. Still perfecting the formula so I can use more than one."
With a final scratch of an omega symbol into the ground, Twilight sends the chalk away and gives one last look to her work; it was perfect, as it should be. She looked back to the black path before the group, got up, and walked through, casting a light spell by instinct. She winced as her burn acted up, light filtering out through her horn. Rarity follows suite with her own light spell, closely followed by Fluttershy, carefully stepping around the arcane circle.
Empty. That's how the room could be described by those who now inhabit it; empty as an unused prison cell. Despite the lack of light, Twilight could clearly see the other ponies in the room; Pinkie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity. Even herself, when she looked down at her lavender foreleg; it was like spotlights were turned only on them... how fitting, as it was nearly showtime for Nightmare's second defeat.
"Welcome, my little ponies!" Nightmare Moon cackled from the darkness. Twilight looked around, eyes squinted as her light spell died out, trying to focus on the source of the voice; it was everywhere!
"Come out, Nightmare!" she shouted, gritting her teeth.
"If I came out now, this would hardly be fair, pony. I've decided to throw confidence to the side, and level the playing field... here."
A box fell to the middle of the shadowed room, shattering apart to reveal the Elements of Harmony. Twilight immediately grabbed her tiara and placed it on her head, eyes going wide as her magic exploded within her. Rainbow flew up next, grabbing her lightning bolt necklace. "Still looks awesome, like me," she grinned, clipping it around her neck. Applejack followed suite with her necklace, shivering as the cold jewellery hit her chest. Fluttershy carefully clipped hers on, looking down at the butterfly gem as Rarity levitated hers over.
"Alright Nightmare, we're ready. Come out!" Twilight scanned the black space around her, locking on a pair of dark blue eyes. "There you are."
"Here I am..." Nightmare responded before vanishing, "And then I'm gone."
"What the?"
"I never said the Elements alone would level the playing field completely... it just brings our power closer together. A better challenge, wouldn't you say?" Nightmare chuckled, a gust of wind brushing past Twilight, Fluttershy squeaking as it blows past her. "Then again, if you can't even find me, perhaps I was wrong in challenging you."
"We'll beat you, just like we beat you before! Discord was a bigger challenge than you!" Twilight chastised, eyes moving over the shadows; it didn't help much that Nightmare herself was pretty much black all over. The two eyes reappeared in the darkness, and Twilight fired a bolt straight between them. It hit its mark with quite an effect; the shadows shattered, revealing a lit Hall. She'd just shot the vault door!
"Goodness, pony, you really must work on your aim..." Nightmare chuckled from seemingly everywhere, another gust of wind moving by. Rainbow growled, moving up beside Twilight.
"Where are you, you coward!?" She shouted, spotting another pair of eyes. With a flap of her wings, she had her back hooves firmly jammed in Nightmare's face in under two seconds, a sickeningly bony crunch echoing out. The shadows broke again, revealing blood; she'd just kicked a mirror?!
"Oh, but I've only just started, my little pony. You'll learn to kneel before me..."
A whisper falls over Twilight's shoulder, "and after that, you'll be mine."
Another bolt, another fried statue. Twilight grunted in frustration; she was playing with them! She stamped her hoof with a roar. "Come out!"
"We believe we're perfectly fine in the night," Nightmare responded, "For we are the night, aren't we, Luna?"
"Let her go!"
"Let who go, Twilight? Luna... or Celestia?"
"What?!" The group resounded.
"You heard us, my little ponies... Celestia is imprisoned in this very room. It wouldn't do to randomly cast those spells when she's held hostage within firing range," Nightmare laughed as Twilight's expression fell; Celestia was in here? She could've-
CRUNCH
"Gah!" Nightmare cried out in pain, the shadows giving way again. Nightmare tumbled out of the vault, Celestia standing in the threshold.
"Twilight Sparkle! Quickly! Use the Elements!" She shouted, Twilight quickly following the order with her friends. Twilight closed her eyes in focus, moving her magic through the tiara and back into her, every revolution of the flow gaining speed and power. She and the rest of the Bearers rose into the air, a light appearing between them sharing the brightness of the Sun.
"Go back to where you came from, and give Luna back to us!" Twilight shouted as the rainbow-colored spell launched out of the spark. It arced slowly through the air, racing straight for Nightmare...
Celestia?!
The spell slams into the Princess, filling the room with a blinding flash of light, her pained screams ripping through the ponies in the room. Twilight's eyes shrink in shock as she sees her mentor burn away in the light, as all the energy in the room collapses into a single point.
"CELESTIAAAA!"
Boom. With a single burst of light, the spark, the Princess, and all remnants of her screams vanish in a single, silent beam of light shooting straight through the roof. Twilight's eyes move to a view of the moon outside, now bearing a design; Celestia's cutie mark. "Oh...n-no..."
"Oh, yes..." Nightmare hisses, walking up to Twilight. "And I couldn't have done it without you all..."
"Y-You've gotta be kidding me...!" Rainbow stared long and hard at the approaching alicorn, completely stunned. Fluttershy cowered in a corner, now utterly terrified of the situation the girls found themselves in. None of them could find it in themselves to speak, not even Applejack, who now lies unconscious in the corner; illusions?
"You know of my shapeshifting capabilities, Twilight. I'm surprised you didn't take them into account with your plans... I thought you were supposed to be smart!" The evil Nightmare Moon shouted, adding a scathing chuckle behind it; that sickening smell of defeat, accompanied by the laugh of victory from your enemy... it was enough to turn the unicorn's stomach.
"I...I did...I know I d-"
The world froze. Somepony shouted from behind Twilight, but it simply felt flat, muffled. Something was... wrong... what was this burning sensation? Why was the world blurring? Why was... everything... just... so many questions... she supposed the most prevalent was...
Why did her heart hurt so much?
"TWILIGHT!" Rainbow screamed, charging forward towards Nightmare. She connects a heavy buck against Nightmare's face, a disgusting crack coming from the hit. She spun around and kicked Nightmare in the face again, then proceeded to just unload on her, tears whipping away from her eyes. "Nightmare! Give Luna back! Give Twilight back! GET THE BUCK OUT OF EQUESTRIA!!!"
Everything just sounded muffled as the world started to go dark for Twilight. She slowly turned her head as she felt herself being lifted, jerked around by the shock of kicks. Was somepony kicking her? No... this was a consistent pain. She looked down into Luna's eyes, her deep blue mane falling over the single eye...and to the blood-soaked horn currently stuck through her chest. Nightmare's voice rang through her mind before everything faded away...
