"Just one spark. Just... need... one... spark!" Twilight grunted as her horn filled with magic. Slowly, the Harmonic Shards began to float with the assist of magic, glowing bright white.
"Not that easily, foal!" Nightmare Moon snarled. She focused her own magic and teleported directly behind Twilight. Before Twilight could react, the alicorn grabbed her in its black tendrils and lifted her into the air. Twilight tried to combat the dark magic with her own, but a tendril wrapped around her horn and squeezed tightly, sending pain through her body and restricting her magic.
"You've been a thorn in my side for too long," Nightmare spoke before flinging the purple unicorn across the room directly into the wall. Twilight slammed into the concrete and screamed in pain. Nightmare simply watched the unicorn in pain with a smile. Coming from the distant hallways of the castle, she could hear the voices of her friends getting closer. Nightmare looked towards the source of the noise, then returned her gaze to the fallen unicorn with a malevolent grin.
"Hmph, it's too late. The Elements of Harmony are gone, you and your friends have failed, and the night will last FOREVER!" Nightmare Moon cackled. Twilight rose to her feet, slowly and painfully.
"Noooo..." She tried to muster whatever energy she had into a spell, but her enemy's magic was upon her before she could cast anything. She was slammed into the unforgiving concrete walls once again, this time headfirst. Her skull impacted with a sickening thud, the point of her horn shattering into pieces. Immense pain flooded her body, but she was too weak to express it.
Twilight had never felt so powerless before. Her whole body ached, but she didn't even have the ability to cry. Her magic, the thing that was the center of her life, the part of her that made her special and was the source of her cutie mark, was now completely gone. Her horn was completely useless, leaking out the last bit of her remaining magic in a small, violet stream.
Worst of all though, what made her feel like nothing was being alone. Her family wasn't there, her friends weren't there yet, and her mentor was gone. Her mentor, Princess Celestia, The ruler of Equestria, Goddess of the Sun, and the most powerful magic-user ponykind had known, had fallen to the same monster in front of her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by her friend's voices all filling the room. They all said the same thing in their own personal ways, bringing a small smile to her face as she closed her eyes.
"Twilight!"
"Hello, Princess Celestia. I'm ready for the quiz scheduled today."
"Hello Twilight, you're awfully early, aren't you?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Princess. I just thought I would come by early for my quiz, but I didn't think about you being busy and..."
"It's quite alright, my faithful student. I simply didn't expect you this early. However, that's a good habit to keep than otherwise."
"What do you mean, Princess?
"It's much better to be early than to be late, my student. A lesson I've learned far too well.
"Ummm... well Princess, should we start the test?
"Eager to start, dear student? Well then by all means, let's begin.
"Princess, I've completed the quiz."
"Good work as always, my student. I must say, that took you much longer than usual. Did you have trouble understanding the lesson?"
"No, Princess. The relationship between magical power and its cycles and its relationship to Equestria made plenty of sense to me."
"Then what slowed your time, if I may ask?"
"Well... Princess, it was about our conversation before I started the quiz."
"What about our previous conversation troubled you?"
"Before the quiz, we were talking about being early because of my arrival.
"Is that it, Twilight? I already told you I was more happy that you were early than bothered."
"No, it wasn't that Princess. It was what you said after that, about you knowing that lesson personally."
*sigh* "Yes, I do know that lesson a little better than I wish. Why did that cause you to take longer than normal, though?
"Well, I was thinking about what you meant by that. Of course, the first explanation was...
"Yes, I was speaking about Nightmare Moon, if that's what you're getting at, my student."
"Ohmygosh, I'm sorry Princess about bringing her up. I'll stop talking about it if you want me to, I didn't mean..."
"It's quite alright, Twilight. Though a part of me wishes that didn't have to happen so long ago, I know that it was the only thing I could've done. All I can do is realize my mistake for not paying more attention to my sister during that time. Still, that doesn't explain the question, young one."
"Well, it wasn't the whole early and late concept that I was thinking about, Princess. It was Nightmare Moon that I was thinking about."
"What do you mean?"
"Well Princess, almost 1,000 years ago you... failed. You failed to protect your sister, and... OHMYGOSH, I'm SO sorry, I didn't mean to say...
"Twilight, you simply must stop. In this room, I'm not the powerful ruler that I am outside. Don't treat me as so; in here, I'm your teacher and you're my student, and just like any teacher, I've made mistakes of my own. Now, if you would continue your explanation."
"Well umm, uhh, yes Princess, I mean Celestia, sorry. I was just thinking that since you failed before, what's stopping me from failing?"
"Is that it, my student? You're afraid of failing me?"
"Not just you, everyone! My family, my friends, my books..."
"Faithful student, believe me when I say it's fine and normal to fail."
"But what if I fail your teachings, Princ-Celestia? What if you decide that I'm no longer worthy of being your student and you send me to magic kindergarten, and then my family becomes ashamed of me along with everyone else and disowns me, then I become..."
"I can assure you Twilight, that will never happen. A failure just proves to me you're every bit of a pony as I am."
"But what if..."
"Twilight, I promise nothing like that will ever happen. A failure is a failure; we cannot change it. We can fix what we cause, but the failure remains. All a pony can do is try to learn from their failures and not repeat them again. Do you understand, Twilight?"
"Yes, Prin-Celestia."
"Please, call me whatever makes you the most comfortable."
"Alright, Princess.
"Now with that discussion over with, would you like to begin your next lesson now, or wait until tomorrow?"
"I'd like to... actually Princess, I'd like to begin tomorrow."
"Alright, my student. Have a pleasant day."
"Thank you, Princess. You have a wonderful day as well."
As the memory flooded her mind, she found herself opening her eyes to a large pink mane in front of her eyes. Two pink manes actually, Twilight realized as she recognized her friends on top of her.
"Twilight!" Fluttershy shouted, unnaturally loud for the shy pegasus. Pinkie Pie just seemed to stand there, not knowing quite what to do. Twilight lifted her head slightly, bringing a minuscule smile to Fluttershy's face. "Oh, thank goodness your... Twilight?" Twilight turned her head away from the yellow pegasus towards her assaulter, now in combat with an athlete, a farm mare, and a fashionista.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both entangled in Nightmare Moon's black magic, both bucking against it uselessly to escape. Rarity was facing off with the alicorn from the front with a tendril wrapped around her horn. It might've been Twilight's imagination, but she swore she could actually see the magic being drained from the unicorn.
Suddenly, Rainbow Dash managed to escape the alicorn's hold and flew straight towards the Nightmare, hoping to catch the alicorn off-guard with her speed. Nightmare Moon was too strong however, snatching the pegasus in her magic once again.
"Don't you little foals learn the first time, or are you just that foolish?" Nightmare Moon mocked.
"You'll be the one learning a lesson when I get my hooves on you!" Rainbow Dash grunted, the cyan pegasus still trying to break out of the alicorn's hold.
"Oh, really?" Nightmare Moon replied while bringing the Element of Loyalty to her face. "Why don't I just give you the same treatment as I did your friend over there?" She motioned towards Twilight, still watching the scene.
Before Rainbow Dash could respond, Nightmare Moon slammed her into the floor. The sound of bones breaking and cracking met Twilight's ears, the noise being just as painful as her own injuries. Nightmare Moon wasn't done yet however, raising Rainbow into the air again and flipping her over before slamming down again and again. The sounds of punishment echoed off the wall, both the sound of a body breaking, as well as the breaking of the normally cool, tough pegasus, now screaming in pain.
Nightmare Moon finally released the pegasus to reveal both of her wings useless and a large gash on her flank. Twilight could do nothing but stare at the carnage while her other friends screamed at Rainbow. They received no response from the immobile pegasus.
Twilight looked on as her mentor's words bounced around in her head from that day.
"A failure is a failure; we cannot change it."
"A failure just proves to me you're every bit of a pony as I am."
"All a pony can do is try to learn from their failures and not repeat them again."
Twilight closed her eyes to the horror in front of her and found herself thinking only one thing.
I failed.
Twilight didn't know where the sudden burst of emotion came from but she felt... happy, relieved even. It was like a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and she could finally move from her position. She didn't know it could be so relaxing to just think two words, but it felt so good, she did it again.
I failed you, Celestia. You entrusted me to save Equestria, and I failed.
As she finished the thought, Twilight drifted into death's embrace, following the Element of Loyalty and soon to be followed by the rest of the Elements.
Author's Note
Edited by Silverlinings.
Comment thoughts, suggestions, and grammatical errors below.
My contribution to Oneshotober.
