bolting through the night

"What do ya think is goin' on?" Applejack asked leaning back in one of the plush chairs in the enclosed room. "Tirek? Discord gone batty again?"

"I don't know, but it certainly can't be good." Rarity said looking at her reflection on the table. "If the princesses had to get us this late in the evening, it must be urgent."

"It's probably some villain or disaster we have to stop as usual." Rainbow Bolt said floating above them all. "Ten bits says it's a new villain from a distant country."

"Ah'm in." Applejack said grinning up at the pegasus. "Anypony else?"

"Count me out." Rarity said. "You two can waste your bits on something that could be true. I'm sure this is about our new positions here at the new castle."

As Pinkie was sitting up to speak, the doors opened and Princess Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Fluttershy walked in. Only Fluttershy was the only one who sat, while the princesses all stood with worried looks on their faces. Luna, among them looked the most distraught over them all.

"I bet you all are wondering why you're here at such a late hour?" Celestia asked looking at the sleepy group of ponies in front of her. "The news me and my sister have is not something you will want to hear, even if you all have heard it before. Nightmare Moon has returned."

Most of the group gasped and began to whisper amongst themselves before she held up a hoof and silenced them. As she took her seat alongside Luna, Twilight remained standing with a distracted but otherwise alert look on her face.

"As Celestia said, Nightmare Moon is back, but this time, she has her own body. We know this because Luna is still Luna, nopony has gone missing in any recent months, and Discord hasn't detected any magic anomalies like what she puts off to keep herself on the pony she's controlling. We know she's back at the old castle in the Everfree forest too, from Fluttrshy's account. Fluttershy, could you tell everypony what you saw?"

"I-I was just feeding the chickens when I saw something in the forest," Fluttershy said speaking loud enough for the others to almost hear her without leaning in. "When I noticed one flock wouldn't come out of their coop, and then, all the others ran back inside completely forgetting about their food. That's when I saw her at the edge of the forest and where she disappeared."

"If she doesn't want us to know what she is doing, there must be a reason for it." Rarity said. "Was there something wrong with her? Was she hurt or sick?"

"There's nothing wrong with her, she's just weak." Twilight said. "When we defeated her the first time, she wasn't destroyed, obviously, but she just peeled off of Luna. She's just made up for the lack of a host by creating her own body, possibly using her own magic. Another possibility is that she may be waiting for a second hoof to help her bring eternal night, but no other race or nation could benefit from that."

"So, she's weak, and we have no idea where she is?" Rainbow Bolt asked coming down to the ground. "What if she's found some magic crystal and gone all Sombra on us with dark magic, or found another alicorn amulet?"

"If she was," Twilight said. "Discord would know about it. He's learned his lesson about trying to help villains gain power, he's not as dull as he was. As for the amulet theory, Celestia and Luna told me there are no other amulets on account for the danger they would pose."

"So what do we know exactly?" Applejack asked watching Rainbow Bolt keep looking at the door and back to the alicorns. "Rainbow, ya need to be somewhere?"

"Me?" He said looking at her and than the door. "Uh... I think I was supposed to meet a mare tonight, nothing to serious."

"Nothing to serious?" Rarity said laughing. "Who is this mare you're supposed to be meeting almost at midnight?"

"Rarity, villain on the loose again." He said throwing a hoof towards a window. "I think the romantic stuff can wait until the world isn't ending."

"Right, what was I thinking." She said. "So, if the world doesn't end?"

"We won't know until we stop Nightmare Moon." He said smugly. "Will we?"

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me interrupting," Twilight said stepping in. "Could we please focus? Now, we do know she's in the old castle since any cave or hollowed hill has any number of creatures Nightmare would have trouble fighting in her state, but we don't know where in the castle she is. After some discussion, we'll go in during the day and subdue her, afterwards... Luna and Celestia will step in and finish the rest."

"Finish the rest?" Rarity said turning a shade paler. "You mean banish her again, right? We're not talking about being accomplices to-you know. Are we?"

"Without the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said looking a little downtrodden. "We don't have any options like that. All we have to do, what I mainly have to do, is put her to sleep or tire her out enough for Celestia or Luna to safely... kill her. I... before you all start with any objections, because I know we don't do this, but I'm not comfortable with this either. We just have no other choice."

"Why can't Cadance do it?" Pinkie asked. "She blew up Sombra with the Crystal Heart. So, why can't she come here and blow up Nightmare Moon?"

"Pinkie, she did not blow up Sombra." Twilight said giving her friend a flat stare. "It was the happiness of the crystal ponies that did that."

"So the crystal ponies blew up Sombra?" She said scratching her head.

"Nopony blew up anypony!" She said groaning in frustration. "It was magic! End of conversation."

"So, we just go in, rough Nightmare up a bit and than we stand back while she gets killed?" Rainbow Bolt said crossing his fore-legs. "That's a cheap way to fight if you ask me."

"It's the only way, Rainbow." Celestia said. "If there were any others we would at least go over them. Cheap or not, she's too dangerous to be left alone any longer. You will all come here in the morning and go into the forest to look for her, and after you weaken her, me and Luna will come in. You should all get some sleep, tomorrow is not going to be a pleasant day for any of us."

"Especially that leech." Luna said lifting her head. "I will be the one to deliver the final blow, as revenge for taking me from Equestria and my sister for a thousand years."

As the princesses left, his friends following and saying goodnights to one another, Rainbow Bolt sat where he was, glowering at his reflection on the table.

"Cheap. Dirty. Low." He muttered shaking his head. "Nu-uh, I'm not doing it. They can't either, and they won't." He said cracking his neck and stretching his wings.

Flying through the halls and around corners, he passed his friends and the princesses before they had gotten to the doors. Hovering by the front entrance, he looked back to make sure none of the others would see him flying away in the opposite direction of his house, and instead towards the Everfree forest.

Flying quickly in his agitated state, he was passing over the edge of town when the sun disappeared from the horizon and the moon took its place. Feeling the sudden rush of cold air going through his feathers and onto the blood filled skin underneath them, it sent a rush of energy through him that sped him along.

Going over the grassy hills below, he looked back and saw a small yellow dot coming in his direction, flying higher he flew into a cloud overhead and continued moving. When trees began to blur below, he slowed down long enough to see a lit up cottage and a river. Looking back, and not seeing any sign of yellow, he ditched the cloud and crossed the border of trees and thick overgrowth below to the Everfree.

Squinting against the black leaves of the trees and the night sky blending together, he stopped to look at the mountain and than back towards where a few lights could be seen from Ponyville. Looking down at the mountain, he followed the cliff sticking out until he got to a part that seemed to have fallen away. Looking further, he could see a large river further into the forest.

Flying with a growing knot forming in his stomach, he approached the river and in an effort to steel his nerves, plunged into it momentarily before coming out in a spray of warm water. Looking back at the river, he traced it back up to the mountain where it disappeared into a cave higher up before coming back down as a waterfall. Feeling the cold begin to work its way back into his coat, he saw the twin spires of the ancient ruins ahead and began flying faster.

Passing over the gorge and the decaying bridge, he slowed down enough to glide down onto the grass in front of the large doors. The knot in his stomach was making his heart beat faster, either from anxiety or anticipation. Knocking on the door, he cringed when with a horrific squeal, the hinges buckled, the wood splintered, and it fell to the stone floor with a deafening bang. Waiting a moment, he glanced back and forth inside to make sure Nightmare Moon or any Shadowbolts weren't coming to kill him.

Steeping onto the door, the air inside changed drastically from the freezing night air outside to a pleasantly warm interior. Shaking any remaining water from his wings, he went down the closest hall that wasn't as destroyed as the others.

Looking around, he tried not to look at the paintings of Celestia and Luna looking down at him, or the busts of dragons with fangs as large as him guarding doors that were otherwise blocked on his side or the other. As he crawled over a particularly large piece of stone, he stopped atop it and looked at the fork in the hall up ahead. Jumping down, he approached the fork and looking to the left, saw it was blocked nearly to the ceiling. To the right, the ceiling was gone, the walls were covered in molded tapestries, and there appeared to be a light coming from a large room it opened up into.

As he was going to go right, the moonlight flashed in his eye, and looking down he saw a large black feather sitting there. Picking it up, he looked back at the rubble and saw hoofprints leading up to the gap at the top. Twirling the feather in a hoof, he slid it into one of his wings and took a running jump onto a tall piece of rubble at the base of the pile.

Making it easily on the first jump, he crawled and often times nearly slipped on loose rocks as he made his way to the top. Covered in dust and pebbles, he slid into the gap and was suddenly sliding down a smooth slope. Stopping when he roughly hit the floor, he was getting up when he ran a hoof over it.

"Dirt?" He said listening to his voice gently bounce off the walls. "A dirt floor in an old castle is one thing, a stone floor turning to dirt is another."

Looking at what little moonlight was coming through holes and cracks, he followed the trail of hoofprints down the hall, around the first left, dirt tracks up stairs, and then stopping at a wooden door with an iron knocker and ring as a handle. Looking further down the room he had entered, and seeing the other door to his right, he grabbed the iron ring without looking and pulled.

It opened with little difficulty, and to his surprise, the stairs leading up were illuminated by torches on the smooth wall. Feeling the knot in his stomach again, he pushed it away and flew up the stairs rather than taking them one at a time. After flying sideways and putting out a few torches on the way until he nearly hit another door, this one made of a glimmering gold that danced like fire from the torch light.

Setting himself down carefully, he crept up to the door and pressed an ear against it. He froze when he heard the sound of metal hitting stone over and over again. Popping his shoulders and taking in a deep breath, he put a hoof to the door and pushed it open.