Friendship is Magic

Rainbow stared down at the two Shadowbolts that she had thought were her friends.  They were more than willing to allow Fluttershy, Twilight, and herself to fall to their deaths.  Had it not been for the wings that she had suddenly grown, they all would have been lost at the bottom of the cliff.

“Damn,” Nightingale snarled. “How could you do this to us, Rainbow?”

Rainbow stared at the woman in shock.  This woman had tried to kill her and she was acting as if Rainbow was the betrayer.  If there was one thing she hated, it was having her loyalty called into question. “Enough.  I’m through with you, Luna, and the Shadowbolts.  Let’s finish this.”

Rainbow shot into the air, luring the two Shadowbolts into the sky and away from her injured friends.

“Descent, come!  Let’s end this twerp!”

Descent stared at the two unconscious girls, slumped against a tree where Rainbow had placed them.

“I don’t understand it.  She never let go of them, even when it looked like she was going to die with them.  She refused to let go.  She didn’t think twice about risking her life for them.”

“Descent, what are you waiting for?  Let’s go!”

Descent looked up at his sister, the woman he had followed unquestioningly since the beginning.  Never before had he entertained the idea of doing what he was about to do. “No.”

Nightingale blinked. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.  I will not go through with this.  I won’t be part of these evil deeds anymore.  I can’t.”

Nightingale dropped to the ground in shock. “You’re betraying me?  Your own sister?!  I’ve done nothing but keep your well-being in mind.”

“I’m sorry, Nightingale, but my decision is final.”

Nightingale’s upper lip curled back in a snarl. “And what about our promise to Luna?  What about showing our gratitude for saving us?”

He shook his head. “I’ll be forever grateful to Luna for what she has done for us, but I can’t, I won’t go against what I know to be right any longer.  Besides, our mission was to bring Rainbow to Luna before she accepted her Element, but she decided to join her friends.  There’s nothing more we can do.”  He shrugged his shoulders. “Face it, sister.  We’ve lost.”

The slap to the face caught Descent completely off guard.  He rubbed at the sore spot and stared at Nightingale, who seethed with anger.

“Never,” she hissed. “I never lose.”

Before he could do more than call out her name, she disappeared into the sky.

x----x

Flight.

Now she understood why Soarin had called her “Little Pegasus”.  Now she understood why she loved Parkour so much.

She had been trying to fly and, now, she had achieved it.  She didn’t know how, but she had grown a pair of massive cyan wings and was using them as effortlessly as if she had been born with them.  Each powerful stroke pushed her farther and faster than she had ever thought possible.  This wasn’t a dream.  The feeling of cold wind in her face, the burning in her chest and back as new muscles worked, felt too real to be a dream.  But, if it was a dream, she hoped it would never end.

And it all felt so familiar.  As if she had already done this a million times before.  Something awoke within her.  Something that told her this was where she belonged, in the air with the birds not on the ground.

“Rainbow Dash!”

She spun in the air, confronting Nightingale who glared up at her.  “You foolish girl!  You should have taken us up on our offer.  We would have given you whatever you wanted.  Now, you’ll pay for refusing Luna.”

“I’d never join a cult of freaks like you, especially if it meant abandoning my friends.”  Rainbow retorted.

Nightingale chuckled.  “You still want to believe they’re your friends?  Very well.”  Her expression twisted into a dark mask of unbridled fury and hatred. “After I’m through with you, I’ll end them.  Then you can spend all of eternity together...in Hell!”

The Shadowbolt charged, winding up for a powerful punch.  Rainbow rotate in the air, dodging the blow as it brushed her abdomen.  She brought her leg up, delivering a vicious knee to Nightingale’s forehead, sending the woman tumbling through the sky.

Nightingale righted herself and fired a blast of dark energy.  Rainbow looped, dodging the lethal missile.  Nightingale answered with a barrage of more dark energy, trying to shoot the swift and agile Rainbow out of the sky but only managed to become more and more frustrated as each attack was dodged effortlessly.

Rainbow cackled. “You’ll never catch me.  I’m too quick for ya.  Cry home to your Luna.  She’s waiting for ya.”

Nightingale smirked.  “I can keep this up forever.  The only thing you can do is dodge.  Eventually, you’ll wear out.”

Rainbow’s blood turned cold.  She had a point.  Rainbow had a good deal of stamina, but she couldn’t keep dodging forever.  She needed some way to put Nightingale out of the game.

Rainbow…

A voice she had never heard before echoed through her mind.

Rainbow...Dash…

“Who’s there?”

I am Celeste.  Before, I was the Alicorn Celestia.  Twilight is my younger sister.

Rainbow spun, trying to find the source of the voice in her head. “You’re Twilight’s sister?  Where are you?”

Do not try to search for me.  I’m nowhere near you.  I’m communicating telepathically

“Well, I figured that much.  Why are you so far away?  We could really use your help.”

I must stay away.  I created a spell to keep Luna away from Ponyville and give you girls time to develop your powers so that you might face her in the future and stand a chance against her.  To make the spell resistant to counterspells, I had to make a covenant of sorts.  I cannot enter aPonyville.  Not yet, at least.  Unfortunately, your opponent won’t get tired and give up.  Luna is feeding her strength and energy.

“Why can’t you do that for us?”

Because her powers were granted by Luna whereas yours and the other girls are from the Elements of Harmony, not me.  I can’t help you in this way.  What I can do is teach you some techniques to help you defeat her.  Your ability to learn techniques that you’ve only just seen will shorten this process considerably.  I need only implant the memories into your mind.

“Like saving files on a computer?”

Precisely.

x----x

Below, Nightingale could hear Rainbow muttering to herself, but couldn’t make out any actual words.  “What are you planning, Gnat?”

All throughout this muttering, Rainbow continued to move, keeping her flight quick and erratic and making herself impossible to target.

Rainbow suddenly descended to her level with a triumphant smile on her face.

“So, you’ve finally run out of energy.  Ready to face your end?”

Rainbow chuckled.  “You’re wrong, Nightingale.  It’s my turn.”

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, gathering electrical energy.  It arched around her body, flowing along her limbs and gathering at her torso.  Nightingale felt her hair stand on end as Rainbow extended her hand, her fingers glowing.

“Oppugnare electrici!”

Nightingale had only a moment to throw up a shield against the barrage of ball lightning.  It thundered against the energy barrier, driving the Shadowbolt back.

“What the hell?”  Nightingale snarled.

Rainbow brought her palms together, sending out a wave of powerful sonic energy that shattered Nightingale’s shield.  The Shadowbolt nearly exhausted herself trying to compensate for the powerful attack.  Rainbow took full advantage of the opportunity and flung a bolt of lightning at Nightingale, catching the woman in the upper torso and knocking her back.

Nightingale clutched at her throbbing chest, trying to massage the twitching muscles back to rest.

“Give it up, Nightingale.  You can’t win.  Light will always drive back the darkness.”

Nightingale chuckled. “You’re a fool, Rainbow.  Darkness covers all!”

She raised her hands, building a mass of dark energy and preparing for one of her most powerful attacks.  This would surely splatter the gnat across the skies.  The swirling sphere of destruction grew as she fed more and more energy into it.  This was it.  This would be the end of Rainbow Dash.

She flung the sphere and watched as Rainbow threw up her hands in a vain attempt to ward off the attack.  The punk didn’t stand a chance.

She caught just a glimpse of a glowing shield made of swirling prismatic light before her attack detonated, the explosion echoing through the air.

The attack had exhausted what little energy she had left.  Nightingale panted as she watched the space where Rainbow had been and waited for the lingering energy to dissipate.  When it did, she saw Rainbow Dash hovering behind a prismatic wall of magnetic energy.

“What!”  Nightingale bellowed.  “How...W-what did you do?!”  It was inconceivable that Rainbow could so easily block her most powerful attack, especially after only having just acquired her new abilities.

Rainbow shrugged. “I focused part of the Earth’s magnetic field to deflect your power.  For someone with my special talents, it was a piece of cake.”  She folded her wings back and reclined on a nearby cloud, tucking her hands behind her head.  “I can also levitate without having to move my wings.  Pretty slick, huh?”

Nightingale snorted and shook with rage.  How could it be that Rainbow was so strong?  She had only just gotten her abilities, didn’t have any training to learn how to use them, but had several techniques that were as powerful as her own with ease.

Suddenly, she remembered a warning that Luna had given before they left.  If the Bearers were successful in gaining Rainbow as a member, each individual’s strength would grow as a result.  Each of the five Bearers were now equal to or greater than the Shadowbolts.

Nightingale realized just how screwed she was.

“Now, Nightingale, I’m going to give you one last chance.  Stand down, retreat, fall back, whatever, and stay out of Ponyville.  I will not join with the Shadowbolts or Luna.  You’ve lost.”  Rainbow spoke with a deadly calm.

Pride would not allow Nightingale to back down now.  She tightened her fists.  “Never!”  She roared.

Rainbow sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Then you leave me with no other option.  Goodbye, Nightingale.”

Raising her arms, Rainbow began to gather the clouds, which began to darken and spin as they built a vortex around the two combatants.  Thunder rumbled mutely and strobes of lightning flickered within the black mass.  Wind began to build, buffeting the two, and Nightingale found it hard to maintain control.

“Málleum tonitrui!”  Rainbow cried.

There was a flash of light and all went dark.

Rainbow panted as the clouds began to clear, returning the bright sun and blue sky.  “It’s over.”

“For now.”

She looked up to find Descent hovering before her, holding Nightingale in his arms.

“How badly is she hurt?”  He asked.

She shook her head. “Not bad.  I just used the thunder to knock her out.  I didn’t want to hurt her.  Despite everything she...and you...have done to me, I didn’t want to hurt her.  I don’t betray my friends, Descent.  Even if they betray me.”

“She could have fallen to her death, you know.”

“I couldn’t risk giving her the opportunity to attack me again.  It was a good thing you were there to catch her.”

“Thank you for sparing her.”

Rainbow nodded. “What will you do now?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.  I think I’m going to leave.  Go far away from here and start over.  I need to do a lot of thinking.”

“And escape from Luna?”

“She’s not all that bad.  I think she’s just lost and trying to find her way.  Sooner or later, she’ll pick the right path.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.”

“If you could pass on a message for me?  Let Twilight know that she was right.  And Pinkie.  Let her know that I don’t think I’ll be able to come to the party she’s throwing for when all of the Bearers are together.  It’s a shame.  I really wanted to dance with her.”

Rainbow reached forward and clapped his shoulder. “Good luck to you, Descent.”

He chuckled. “That name.  Luna gave it to me and I never have cared for it.”  He reached up and removed his goggles, giving Rainbow her first look at his eyes. “Call me Flash.”

x----x

In the clearing, I sat up and rubbed my throbbing head.  Around me, I could see Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy regaining consciousness.

“Ugh.  What happened?”  Rarity groaned as she got to her feet.

“I think we got our butts handed to us.”  Pinkie replied.

“Oh, please don’t use such vulgar language, Pinkie Pie.  Tell me.  Does my coiffure look terrible?”

Pinkie gave the other girl an appraising eye. “Don’t worry about it.  You look divine.  In fact, I love the fashion statement you’re making.  So radical and risque.  Do you mind if I copy it?”

“Fashion statement?”  Rarity mumbled, looking down at her shredded clothing.  Her eyes bulged out of their sockets and her jaw fell as she took in the remains of her favorite outfit.  “Oh my God!”  She charged at me and seized me by my collar.  “Twilight, for the love of all that is beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, you must help me!”

“Rarity, they’re just clothes.  I’m sure that you can put together something a million times better than that.”   I replied in a casual tone.  Rarity stared at me as if I had just spat on her grandmother’s grave.

“Just clothes!I’ll have you know that this outfit is part of the Chanel summer line and it cost me a king’s ransom!  Please, Twilight, I’m begging you.”

I took a deep breath. “Alright.  Okay.”  I didn’t exactly have a spell tailor-made to repair clothes, but I thought a simple utility spell would work. “Ut Supra.”

Rarity seemed to shimmer for a moment, the lavender aura of my magic encompassing her entirely.  As the aura faded and vanished, I saw her dress was whole.

With no small degree of trepidation, Rarity inspected my work and gave a happy squeal when she saw it was to her satisfaction.  She immediately threw her arms around my neck, nearly squeezing the life out of me.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Twilight.  It’s marvelous.  You absolutely must teach that spell to me.”

“Of course.”  I gasped.

“Oh and thank you for the confidence you have in my skills.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Pinkie was watching us with a wry grin.  I cocked an eyebrow, which she answered by pointing at a spot on Rarity and mouthing: You missed a bit.

I followed her finger down Rarity’s back to the massive hole that my spell had somehow missed, either because I hadn’t noticed it or because my magic might have a sick sense of humor.  Either way, Rarity’s underwear was clearly visible through the gap.  Thankfully, Spike wasn’t here to see this.  I raised a finger to hush any further comments from Pinkie.

Seeing her smiling reminded me of the time before, just after Rarity had been knocked out, when Pinkie’s demeanor had changed.  Her grin had been less mirthful and more menacing and there had been a sadistic gleam in her eye, as if she had enjoyed inflicting pain on Haze.  But this went against everything I knew about her.  Granted, I hadn’t known her for very long, but nothing she had ever done or said indicated she was dangerous. However, the thought still nagged me.

“Pinkie, how are you feeling?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

Rarity hadn’t seen what had occurred earlier.  She glanced between Pinkie and I, utterly confused.

Pinkie seemed a bit confused as well. “Me?  I suppose.  I’m a little sore but nothing worse than that.  Why?”

“It’s just that, earlier, you were acting a bit…”  Pinkie kept staring at me as if I had started speaking in Greek.  Was it possible that she had no memory whatsoever of what had occurred?  Was it possible that I had imagined the whole thing and Pinkie’s anger had simply gotten the better of her?  “Nevermind.  It’s nothing.”  I made a mental note to keep an eye on my friend.  If there was a negative aspect to Pinkie’s personality, I didn’t want to risk her losing control while engaged again.

I heard a soft thump and turned to find that Rainbow had returned and, apparently, had discovered her Element.  Somehow, she had activated and mastered Loyalty in a very short span of time.  I recalled my sister’s advice about how one’s experience with their element influenced how quickly they could master it.

Fluttershy ran up and embraced Rainbow.  “You came back for us, sister.  I’m so glad.”

I stepped forward and extended a hand to the newest member of our team.  “Thank you for saving us, Rainbow.  You got here just in the nick of time.”

Rainbow ignored my gesture and held up a hand to silence me.  For a moment, I wondered if she was still under Luna’s influence and was merely tricking us to get close enough to finish us off.

“Hold that thought, Twilight.  We’re not done yet.”  She nodded to Haze, who had begun to rise from his post by the tree.

“Well done, Bearers, on acquiring a new member.”  He rumbled. “Now, let’s see how much your powers have grown.”

Together, we transformed again and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the mountain of a man.  Together, we could stand against any threat.