The Force of the Elements

by LuminousRabbit

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Nightmare Moon, Romance, Original Character, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 23260

We all know that Celestia used the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon, but what really happened?

What actually happened when Nightmare Moon was banished a thousand years ago? This is the tale of Celestia's quest to gather the original elements of harmony, and rise up against what was her sister. But it can never be that simple. What if the ponies involved are pushed to their limits? What if they don't even want to help Celestia?
What if Celestia gets them killed?
Rated teen for gore and torture. Note: While this is listed as 'complete' I will be doing some more editing.
The romance is extremely mild, and there is no clop or anything of the like.

Published 2012-05-27 07:44:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-21 02:59:11 UTC

The Morning that was night

AN: Luna/Nightmare Moon refers to themself as two people, hence the interesting writing style. I'm also Australian, and as such use Australian spelling. This is a non-profit fan-based novel, please support My Little Pony: Friendship is magic and other official releases.
The Force of the Elements
Chapter one: The morning that was night
At first, when Celestia woke up, she thought it was still night time. The moon was up, and the stars were out. But something was off. She pulled back the covers, slipped out of bed as regally as only a princess could, and took a closer look out the window. It looked just like an ordinary night, but the magic within Celestia said something else. She had to make sure, just in case.
Princess Celestia closed her eyes and concentrated power into her horn to raise the sun. And nothing happened.
Luna, she thought. Her magic was being blocked by a counter-spell, and Celestia knew the cause. Her younger sister had been acting off for weeks. Something was clearly bothering the moon princess, and now she had gone far enough and stopped the sun rising.
Celestia had to do something about it. She opened the door of her bedroom, and, passing the guards stationed at the entrance to her room, reflected at what a lovely un-morning this was. Luna had really outdone herself this night. If only she could do it at the right time. Night-time. Princess Celestia clip-clopped her way to Luna's room, trying not to break into a canter. She needed to talk this over with Luna, and figure out some kind of compromise for whatever situation the sisters had landed in.
Celestia approached Luna's door and knocked.
'Enter,' came the reply. Celestia pulled open the door. Luna was standing in the middle of the room, as if expecting her arrival.
'Hello,' said Celestia. Pause.
'Do you know what time it is?,' Celestia asked. A longer pause.
'Morning,' replied Luna.
'Yes, it is,' Princess Celestia said.
'We know,' said Luna.
'I tried raising the sun, you know,' Luna tilted her head to one side.
'And?'
Some kind of magic interfering. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?'
Quicker than lightning, Luna leaped towards Celestia and pinned her to the ground, clamping one hoof against Celestia's muzzle to stop her from crying out.
'The night will last forever! All the ponies in Equestria relish the daytime, sleep through the beutiful night we bring forth. Well not any more! Everypony will live under our night!' Celestia struggled, and threw Luna away.
'Why do you keep saying "we" and "our"? You're not making any sense, Luna! What demon has possesed you?'

'We are not Luna! We are Nightmare Moon!' yelled Luna, and took off, breaking straight through the window. Shards of glass flew everywhere, and by the time Celestia got to the window, Nightmare Moon was gone.

Nightmare Moon was having a bad night. They felt sorry for Celestia's death, for it would come to pass soon. The only way they could be defeated was with the cursed Elements of Harmony, and Nightmare Moon knew that Celestia would seek them out as soon as she could. Nightmare Moon, however, had other plans. They had had the foresight to steal the elements. Celestia would have to step over their broken body to recapture the Elements, and by then Celestia would have no use for them, as Nightmare Moon would be dead. It was a lose-lose situation.
Unknown to Celestia, Nightmare Moon had taken two of the Elements, ensuring the tough task of bringing them all together. Nightmare Moon was on the run, but she knew Celestia would catch up eventually. Until then, Nightmare Moon could have their fun. They flew over Equestria, too high to be spotted from the ground.
The cuts from the window were deep, and blood streamed in a trail behind them. Luckily for Nightmare Moon, the blood spread too far by the time it hit the fields, making it extremely hard to track from the ground. The cuts burned from the wind, but it was a good kind of burning, Nightmare Moon reflected. The kind that showed them however twisted they had become, they were still mortal. They flew for about an hour, and then something caught Nightmare Moon's eye. She veered to the left, getting a better view. And there it was.

Manehatten. Nightmare Moon could hardly believe their luck. They swooped down. The cover of darkness made them far harder to see. Just another benefit of eternal night. Even if the palace guards managed to track them down, they could just hide away in the shadows, and pass unnoticed. And the night will be Celestia's downfall. Nightmare Moon clip-clopped their way through the streets of Manehatten. Nobody was out. But occasionally a colt or filly would stumble across their path. The people off Manehatten made a funny sound as they died. Like they were offended anyone would dare.

Celestia was a mess. Luna was finally snapped. Talking as if there were two of her, she had stolen two of the elements and fled the castle. Celestia lost any pretence of being collected, and galloped straight to the palace guards to inform them of the situation.
The palace guards took immediate action. It was still a mystery to Celestia how they could act witout uttering a single word. There were only a couple Celestia ever heard speaking. They both reported to her. Celestia put double protection on the remaining three elements. The sixth was still to be found, and Celestia had a feeling that Nightmare Moon knew where it was. One of the guards came to her and reported. There was no way they could track Nightmare Moon, apart from a trail of blood that quickly dispersed to barely anything.
'You have to try. It's all we've got,' she told the guard. A parchment appeared in front of her, bearing the Manehatten seal. Nightmare Moon had started. She spoke to some more guards, pegasus ponies, and they swiftly made their way to Manehatten. Celesstia then sent an official warning to the cities and towns of Equestria. Fillydelphia, Ponyville... She checked them all off in her head. Nightmare Moon was in possetion of the elements Loyalty and Honesty. Celestia allowed herself a wry smile, for Nightmare Moon was neither loyal nor honest. Then again, she's not exactly kind, generous, or laughing either, Celestia thought to herself. Celestia had discovered what the sixth element was after an educational experiment, about ten years ago, but the elements had never been brought together. Nobody had ever seen the sixth, but Celestia knew what it was. The five she had were locked away in separate cases in the castle, safe from any unexpected circumstances. Well, until Luna went AWOL.
Celestia was still mortal, and felt the grumbling as her stomach demanded nourishment. She headed down the stairs to the dining room. The dining room was grand. It was technically a banquet room. It was decorated lavishly with tapestries and the windows were stained glass. On the tapestries were pictures of fruit and vegetables, flowers and hay. It was all hand made by ponies with threading cutie marks. They toiled for hours just to make one pattern, and Celestia rewarded them with riches and appreciation. Luna rewarded them with a curt smile.
Celestia could remember the days of their youth, filled with warmth and the love of their parents. And then the task of raising the moon and sun had fallen to the sisters. At first Luna was excited, completing her task with the vigilance and regal air of her father. But after time Luna was regretful. Celestia's mother, and now Celestia got to raise the sun. The ponies liked the sun, playing and laughing. During the night, if they were not sleeping, the tiny colts and fillies cowered in fear of what they couldn't see.

Celestia understood the actions of her younger sister. A waiter colt brought out a dandelion and daffodil sandwich, one of her favourite meals. People thought it strange that a princess like Celestia chose a dish so humble, but sometimes Celestia thought it was the little things in life that mattered the most. Like a sister.

Nightmare Moon turned around and bucked at the door as hard as they could. It splitered and they entered the inner city Manehatten house. As they worked their way towards the nicer and more expensive houses, the cries of the people as they killed them became more and more silly, until it had Nightmare Moon on the ground holding them in a fit of silent laughter.
It was strange, because when Nightmare Moon felt devoid of empathy, they could still experience laughter and amusement. Other people might call the joke twisted and sick, but Nightmare Moon was all for it.
As they entered the house, Nightmare Moon heard something. A whoosh of pegasus wings. Nightmare Moon poked their head out the house, and looked for some fresh meat. They quickly pulled their head back in the house. Not fresh meat. Palace guards. What were they doing here? Nightmare Moon thought. Of course, Celestia must have sent them. The only ponies that had seen them were dead. Nightmare Moon narrowed their eyes. Somepony must have seen them, and escaped them unnoticed.
They were still fallible, and they hated it. The other part of them, the weaker part, cried out in Nightmare Moon's mind. The Luna half of them was happy, wanted to be brought to justice. Nightmare Moon quickly quashed this unwanted thought. They were no longer Luna, and although a shadow of their past life remained, Nightmare Moon was the stronger and most dominant half.
Their thoughts were cut off by a squeal. Nightmare Moon whirled around, and found themself facing a pink mare with a purple mane. Behind her came another, a little red filly, who had yet to gain a cutie mark. Nightmare Moon smiled. This little filly would die before discovering her purpose in life.
The mare was the the one who had screamed. Nightmare Moon considered killing the mare first, just to shut her up, but decided against it. Nightmare Moon closed their eyes, and their horn glowed with black energy. Shadows curled up, passing through the mare, and surrounded the filly. The mare screamed again, and a fine stallion came down the stairs. 'Honey, what's wro-' he cut off as he saw Nightmare Moon and his precious filly. This was getting better and better. Nightmare Moon loved it when the parents saw their children die. It gave them a deeper sense of satisfaction, seeing the horror and pain on the parent's faces.
'Mummy, what's happening?' asked the filly.
The mare just stared at Nightmare Moon. It was the time. The shadows tightened, and every bone in the filly's body crumbled to dust. The filly was already dead, but Nightmare Moon craved more. They used levitation magic to throw the body of the filly through the window. Shards flew everywhere, and several lacerated the parents, much like the ones that had cut Nightmare Moon earlier in the night.
Nightmare Moon killed the mare slowly while the stallion watched, powerless against her magic. Then they used magic to tear off the stallion's head. Rather than using magic to detect life in the house, they searched physically. There was a tiny colt in a cot upstairs. They condsidered killing him, but there was no pleasure in destroying an orphan nobody cared about. He might die of starvation any way. Instead Nightmare Moon blinded the stallion, and ignoring the screeches, left the house. The screeches of the teeny colt would surely attract attention. So the ponies of Manehatten that still lived survived another 24 hours, as Nightmare Moon disappeared into the darkness.
AN:Yes, school's back in Australia, and that means my production rate will decrease. A lot.

The sixth element

Chapter two: The sixth element
Nightmare Moon soared through the sky. Their wounds had healed, quicker than most ponies would. Nightmare Moon was not just anypony. The lacerations had left scars, buteven those would be gone in a few hours. The smaller part, Luna, felt the pain of flying with tender skin, but Nightmare Moon couldn't even feel Luna anymore. Luna was now irrelevant, and the only role she played was holding back the empathetic thoughts. Nightmare Moon closed off that part of her mind. She was one pony now. Luna was the place she sent unwanted thoughts.
It was a beautiful night. The only thing Nightmare Moon recognised beauty in was the night. Nightmare Moon knew that Celestia was the same. The darker part of Celestia's mind was disgusted by the earth ponies, pegasuses and unicorns. The only thing she saw beauty in was the sun. As a child, Luna had not wanted to believe the corruption she saw in her parents. But the corruption had rooted itself inside her, and Nightmare Moon emerged.
Celestia, in a way, was far stronger than Luna could ever be. She had pushed away the dark thoughts for the good of Equestria. Her mind was strong, and the temptation huge. Eventually they would eat each other up, and Nightmare Moon would be triumphant.
The only question was how long it would take, and in the meantime Nightmare Moon could have fun.
She was enjoying being one entity, a new feeling. She had not experienced this since she was a child, but back then she was Luna.
Nightmare Moon scanned the landscape for signs of activity. Aha! In the distance, asmall cottage with a light on. Fun! (AN: 10 points if you get that reference)
She swooped down, but her wings exploded in pain. Even the Luna part could not hold the pain, and so Nightmare Moon felt it.
She managed to regain control of one of her wings, but found out the reason ponies are made with two.
Nightmare Moon dropped like a rock. But she was high up, and still had some time to think before she crashed. Cause of pain? No physical injuries, so magic then. A perimeter? Around the cottage? Ha. Nightmare Moon traced the magic back to it's source, and cut off the flow.
Her wing righted itself immediately. But there was something else. The flow was still there. She traced it back, this time curious. She felt herself reach the source of the flow, but went deeper, inside the mind of the unicorn. Felt his fear. His confusion.
It was delicious.
She drank it up, and when it was no more, neither was the unicorn's conciousness. All his loves, hates, pride.
All gone.
Nightmare Moon had consumed the soul of another pony, and she had loved every second of it.
She went down to the cottage.
Inside she found the body of a stallion. He was lying on the floor, not a mark on his body. His cutie mark was queer- a force field.
That would explain the magic, Nightmare Moon thought. She went to the other rooms,but there was no sign of life. There was a problem, however. There were two beds in the house. Two beds meant two ponies, and Nightmare Moon was not going to let the other escape.
She went back to the kitchen. Standing there was the pony she was looking for.
He was barely more than a colt, still young, but he definetely knew what was going on.He stared at her in defiance, not cowering or giving in. His coat was red, his mane was a deep blue, and his cutie mark was also a curious one. Gold stars in a swirled pattern.
Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes. This one could prove a challenge.
His red horn started glowing, but before the magic did anything Nightmare Moon cut off the flow, and took herself back the source.
His pupils dilated as he became one with another pony. Without hesitating, Nightmare Moon turned away from him and bucked her legs into his face.
The blood ran down the colt's face, dark and sticky. He was holding his head in an interesting way, tilted slightly. Nightmare Moon had at least strained it. Perhaps it was splintered, maybe even snapped. It was delicious, seeing,feeling his pain, and Nightmare Moon couldn't get enough of it. The red colt's jaw was hanging off, and one of his eyes was full of blood. The other eye still stared at Nightmare Moon, courageous, invincible. Nightmare Moon's eyes flicked to the fireplace, and his remaining eye opened wide, the fear finally showing. She conjured a poker from mid air. It was shaped like a moon. She took it to the fire, adding heat to the flame with her magic. She put the poker in the fire, and made the colt watch as it turned from silver to red. She put more magic in the flame, turning it blue, and the poker literally became white-hot.
She felt the colt squirming. She retracted the poker from the flame, bringing it closer and further away from him. Nightmare Moon felt the perfect, amazing fear and pain.
She circled him, drawing out the fear hidden deep within. Eventually she decided, and stabbed the poker at his cutie mark.
Still no cry.
But Nightmare Moon could see it. The blackened flesh and singed fur. The colt's cutie mark replaced with a moon. Perfection.
She levitated him ouside, sustaining his life, forcing him to live. A part of him wanted to give up, and it might just be a strong enough part to kill him.
But Nightmare Moon hadn't finished with the colt yet.
Using her magic, she sent him higher and higher. So far up, so far to the ground. Then she released the magic.
The colt crashed to the ground, and broke all four of his legs.

'I hate you', he whispered, and Nightmare Moon flashed away into the night.

Celestia had made a decision. She needed the sixth element. It was clear from the remnants of Manehatten that whatever used to be her sister could not be reasoned with. Celestia had to use force, or at least threaten Nightmare Moon into giving up.
Celestia needed to find the source of magic in Equestria, and the sixth element would be there.
Mind penetration was also a danger, and so Celestia gathered a group of royal guards, the best unicorns she could find. They were each assigned to a carriage, which some pegasus ponies drew for them.
Such flaws. It is a shame the age of alicorns has come to an end, Celestia thought to herself. The unicorns stood steady, ready and willing to sacrifice themselves for her. Celestia was glad, but also felt guilty, as some might not ever see their families again. But it was their job, and they had willingly signed up for it.
They took off from Canterlot as soon as they were ready, for time was irrelelvant in everlasting night.
Celestia flew in the centre of a 'v' formation, searching for powerful sources of magic all across the land. She ordered the group of guards accompanying her towards the nearest one, which was about halfway between Manehatten and Fillydelphia. But something was wrong. The magic was diminishing. Getting weaker, smaller.
'Faster!' she ordered the guards, but it was clear that they couldn't match her speed.
'I'll go on ahead. It's a direct route, so you shouldn't miss me,' she told them.
They nodded. As much as they hated to think it, the guards were mostly for decoration only . Celestia was more than capable of taking care of herself. And if Celestia couldn't deal with something, the guards definetely couldn't.
Celestia increased her speed of flight as much as she could, leaving the guards far behind. In the distance she could see farming lands, but there was something else.
As she got closer, she could see it. A small cottage.
The magic was nearly gone by now, but traces of it pointed to just outside the cottage. Lying on the ground was the body of a pony. Celestia approached slowly, respecting thedead. The red fur was hardly recognisable beneath the deeper shade of red - blood.
It was gruesome. The jaw was broken off, all the legs were broken, tangled in a mess. Many bones were sharply poking out of places they shouldn't be. The worst part was the cutie mark. It had been replaced with a blackened, burnt symbol. Celestia edged forwards, trying to get a closer look.
A moon.
The red pony sharply inhaled and moaned. Celestia rushed to his side, already healing him with her magic.
He smiled. 'I heard a rumour you met the princess in heaven,' he said softly.
'You're not dead,' Celestia told him, 'But I need your help. Equestria needs you, and for that you need to live.'
'To defeat Nightmare Moon?'
'Yes.'
Another smile, and Celestia felt his life force grow stronger. They worked together for about ten minutes, then the royal guards arrived and silently joined in with the healing.
After about half an hour later, the unicorn was returned to full strength.
'Nightmare Moon has to be stopped,' he said. 'She tortured me and left me to die. But I was powerless against her. You must have some plan, yes?'
'Yes I do,' said Celestia, 'But first let's start with your name.'
'My apologies. I'm Dragonsilver, and my new life purpose is to stop Nightmare Moon.' he said.
'Excellent. I have found a way to stop her, but it requires assistance from six ponies,' Celestia told him.
He wrinkled his nose.
'I'm not good with people. How many other ponies have you found?'
'Not a whole lot.'
'Have you found any?'Dragonsilver asked.
'Uh, no.'
He paused.

'Excellent. Where's the next?'

Dragonsilver shared a carriage with Celesia's best unicorn guard. They decided to search for the pony of laughter next. While they headed en route, Celestia explained the situation to Dragonsilver.
'...I can harness the power of the elements, but to do that I need to establish a mental link with the ponies that embody the elements. They have to be physically close, and I need them to trust me,' she said.
Dragonsilver nodded. He seemed to be following very well.
'...Once I've done that, I should be able to at least trap Nightmare Moon.'
'And what then?'
'What do you mean?' Celestia's brow furrowed.
'Equestria isn't exactly in it's prime,' Dragonsilver said. 'What are you going to do about that?'
Ashtonishingly, Celestia hadn't even considered the furture of Equestria.
'We'll deal with that problem when it arises,' she told him.
'How about your authority? If one princess loses it, how long can the next last after the crisis is avoided? Ponies will call for a democracy, and unless you have the forces to hold back them all, that's what's going to happen.'
'Quiet! Who are you to question my authority?' Celestia was letting anger get the better of her. She needed to be more careful.
'That's what ponies will do. Do you really want to rule after this is over? Because if you force it upon them, you'll be no better than Nightmare Moon.'
'If the ponies really don't want me any more, I will step down.'
'And that is exactly why they haven't made you step down before now. Congratulations, princess, you're officially incorruptable,' he told her, and smiled.
She laughed a bit. 'I'm not incorruptable, I just havn't been corrupted yet. Do you want some food?'
'Yes, please.'

AN: Woo hoo! Two chapters, and still going strong! I'm happy for any crticism, anything to help me improve my story. I'll definetely be continuing this one, it's going pretty well. Apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes.

Laughter and madness

Chapter three: Laughter and madness
Nightmare Moon soared through the sky, on her way to more civilisation. Killing the red pony had not made her satisfied- it had just increased her hunger. Nightmare Moon needed to kill a lot of ponies, and soon. Preferably older ones, who knew exactly what was happening to them, and the concequences. It was her therapy, her salvation, the only way to stop Luna resurfacing, and Nightmare Moon would do anything to achieve that goal.
Soon her sister would be gone, and Nightmare Moon would rule Equestria for all eternity, as the last remaining alicorn. The closest place with a lot of ponies was Fillydelphia, and that's where Nightmare Moon was headed. When she arrived, Nightmare Moon went directly to a small house with no lights on. She was going to be discreet this time, more sneaky, and see if it took longer for some guards to arrive. The house was unlocked, and Nightmare Moon slipped in silently. In the house was a single mare, living alone. If a mare dies in a house and nobody hears it, did it ever happen at all? The second house was deserted, as this was a run-down part of town. So was the next, and the next.
Nightmare Moon was getting frustrated. Losing the sneaky act, she crashed right through the wall of the closest bar, where about thirty ponies were partying the night away. They saw Nightmare Moon, and tried to run, but it was too late. Using magic, she sealed off every entrance and exit to the bar, making it totally cut off. There was not a crack, nor a pinhole to let anything in or out.
Some of the ponies frowned at Nightmare Moon's seemingly uninterested composure, but forgot her completely when a huge stream of water gushed into the room. Nightmare Moon smiled. But there was a question: if water is made of magic, can ponies still drown in it? The water was up to Nightmare Moon's neck now, but she wasn't worried. She had the capabilities to hold her breath for far longer than any other pony in the bar. The water enveloped her. It reached the roof of the building, and the ponies swimming in it found that they could no longer breathe. After about two or three minutes, Nightmare Moon felt a need for air.
Anypony nearby would have seen the bar explode outwards in a burst of water. She checked the bodies of the ponies. They were all dead. When she felt like it, Nightmare Moon split open a pony's chest, and a gush of water came out. These ponies last breaths had been watery ones. Experimenting with some more magic, Nightmare Moon walked the streets of Fillydelphia and exploded the buildings behind her. Once, a burning pony was launched into the air, and landed in front of her.
'Help....me,' he whispered.
'Me? Help a lowlife like you?' she hissed. 'But... If that's what you want, I suppose we can come to some terms.' She entered his mind and drank his soul.

She loved therapy.

Celestia and Dragonsilver, accompanied by the royal guards, headed on course to the element of laughter.
It was out of the way of most of Equestria, a small and secluded villiage on the border of the land. The buildings were greyish and dull, all squares and rectangles. The paint on the buildings had lost it's colour a long time ago, and was peeling to reveal the cement beneath. Some of the cement was crumbling and falling away, and the windows had been cracked and spray-painted.
It was, all in all, not a welcoming town. Nopony was about, and the village's largest building had bars over all the windows. Celestia felt Dragonsilver shudder beside her. She had become tired from the flying and healing, and decided to ride in a carriage with him.
The pegasus guards drifted softly to the ground, and landed with a soft crunch on the gravel pathway. Celestia and Dragonsilver exited the carriage, and headed to the large building. Sounds of screaming and loud moans issued from it. Dragonsilver stopped abruptly, shivering.
'What is it?' Celestia asked.
'C-can't you f-f-feel it?'
'What is it?' she repeated. He shook his head, and his horn glowed. Celestia saw no evidence that his magic had done anything, but he relaxed a bit and continued walking.
'I'm sorry. I have... A condition. That's why I lived in isolation. But I'm okay now. If I faint, it's just from lack of energy. It would also be best to get me out of that building,' he told her.
'Okay. But what was it?'
'Hah. Ever inquisitive. Don't worry. You'll see.'
They.' They walked into the building. The entry way was also a reception room, of sorts. There was a desk, and a mare was snoring softly behind it. Celestia shook her gently awake. The mare groaned, then saw Celestia.
. 'My apologies,' she mumbled. 'Are you here to see an inmate?
?' 'Yes, please. Any that... Laugh?' Celestia inquired
'Oh, yes, plenty. But I think I know the one you're after. Please follow me.'
They walked along a corridor. On either side, there were cells, rows of ponies screaming and tearing their manes out. Some sat, rocking back and forth. The pupils on some were so large, their eyes seemed to be black. Some laughed, crazy, malicious laughter. It made Dragonsilver shrink back.
'What. 'What is this place?' he asked Celestia
'Some. 'Some ponies aren't exactly... Stable. They need a place, somewhere they can be secure, and not cause any harm,' she explained. 'It's called an insane asylum.'
Dragonsilver shuddered again. At the end of the corridor was a different kind of cell. The door, instead of bars, was made of solid bronze. The mare in charge of the asylum produced some keys out if nowhere.
'I'll. 'I'll have to warn you,' she said. 'This pony... Isn't right. She's... Worse than the others. We usually don't let anypony have direct contact, for fear she'd infect them with her insanity.'
'Thank 'Thank you,' said Celestia. 'But we need to see her.' The mare unlocked the door. Behind that door was another, made of solid iron. This door required another key to unlock.
. 'Um.. Just so you know? . We call her Shadow Laughter.'
'Thank you,' Celestia said again. The iron door swung open. The room was larger than the other cells. It was padded, and in the centre was a single chair. Somepony had melted the legs of the chair into the ground, and it was unmovable.
In the chair sat a pony. Or rather, a pony had been forced into the chair and restrained with a straightjacket.
The pony was bound, with ropes, gagged and blinded by cloth over her face. The gag was a piece of thick cloth, secured by grimy ropes that looped around her head.
'It was the only way to get her to shut up,' said the mare in charge.
'Ungag her please,' Celestia.
'I'd really rather not. In fact, I have some other matters to attend to,' the mare galloped off.
Celestia sighed, and her horn started glowing. The ropes untied themselves, and the gag lifted out of her mouth. The blindfold came off. The pony had black fur, and a dirty pink mane, all tangled from the time of imprisonment. The pony opened her eyes and blinked a few times, getting used to the light. Her eyes were a deep turquoise.
'Do you know me?' Celestia asked. The black pony's face spread into a smile, wider and wider.
'No! No, no , no! Talk to me!' Celestia said, desparately. The pony started giggling. Quiet at first, louder and louder, until her entire body was shaking with laughter. Celestia screamed in frustration, which only increased the pony's laughter.
'Talk to me! I know you understand, why don't you just SPEAK?!' The pony laughed and laughed. 'Shadow Laughter,' Celestia murmered.
'Huh?' Dragonsilver asked.
'I know this pony,' she told him.
'I-I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't understand.' Dragonsilver was in a bad way. Celestia hollered for the receptionist mare.
'Can you please take my companion outside? Tell the royal guards to take care of him.'
The mare nodded, clearly glad to have an excuse to get away from Shadow Laughter. And Celestia was left alone. She tried everything. Silent treatment, laughing with the crazy pony, shouting at her. But nothing could break this pony's state of crazy happiness.
Without warning, Celestia was filled with an overwhelmingly strong desire to hurt her. To kill the crazy pony. She snarled, and leapt up to strike.
Shadow Laughter fell silent. Celestia narrowed her eyes. This pony wasn't just silent, she had gone tharn.
tharn was a state a pony could enter if they became too traumatised. The pony's eyes often glazed over, and it could take several hours to return them to normal. Celestia coaxed and softly spoke to the broken pony for an hour and a half. After a time, Shadow Laughter let out a moan.
'Shadow? Can you hear me? You're going to be okay. It's all okay.'
'Celestia?' Her voice was filled with pain and heartbreak. Sorrow now found true meaning in Celestia's mind, and she wept for a pony who didn't know what she had done to deserve her fate.
Dragonsilver came in, and comforted Celestia. He took Shadow out of her straightjacket, but fainted again when he saw what lay beneath.

This pony had no cutie mark.

It wasn't possible. It just wasn't. A pony this age, with no cutie mark?
The pony looked to be about the same age as Dragonsilver, and he had gained his cutie mark years ago. How awful it must be, to not know your purpose in life. To walk around every day with no identity, no true meaning of self. You'd have to go mad. And it seems that was exactly what had happened.
Celestia had calmed down. She took Shadow and Dragonsilver to the guards. Once Dragonsilver had regained conciousness, Celestia explained it to him.
'When we were children, Shadow and I attended school together, with Luna. My parents wanted us to have an education, so that we could make better choices about how we ruled Equestria. Luna and I got our cutie marks around the same time as everypony else in the class. Well, almost everyone...
'Shadow was my best friend, but as much as I tried to help, we could never figure out what her cutie mark should be. The other ponies teased her a lot, which didn't make it any easier for her. I suppose I should have seen it coming.
Anyway, two years after everypony had got their cutie marks, she still didn't have one, and she was extremely depressed. And a laughing stock.
She tried to kill herself, but I stopped her just in time.'
'And?' Dragonsilver asked.
'After that, I think it just became too much for her to handle. She started laughing, and hasn't stopped, until now. I think a part of her hates me, for trying to stop her, you know - ending it,' she said.
Dragonsilver nodded. 'They had to lock her up, of course. She was a great pony, always making a good joke, then she lost it. Silence. Nothing but the wind.
'But now I need her trust. More than ever.' Dragonsilver nodded again. There wasn't much you could say to a story like that. Especially a story like that delivered by a princess.
AN: Heheheh. I hoped you liked that one. The next one may be boring, it may not. It will probably be a larger chapter, or I might split it into two or three chapters. Any comments, good or bad, I'll be happy to hear.

Return to Canterlot

Chapter four: Return to Canterlot
Nightmare Moon had had enough. Fillydelphia had been so boring. All of the Fillydelphians just sat there and cowered as she killed them. She wanted some bloodshed, not ponies who quietly slipped away.
And so she headed back to where it had begun. Canterlot.
As Nightmare Moon rounded the mountain, and slowly the magnificent city of Canterlot came into view. It looked beautiful in the moonlight. But the time for sentiment was not now. She had some dirty work to do.
The castle of Canterlot was defended with a thousand guards, all armed to the teeth in their military training and magic expertise. Nightmare Moon figured she could handle it. She did a magical search for Celestia, wondering where she was. Oddly enough, she wasn't in the castle. Or in all of Canterlot, Nightmare Moon found out, as she broadened her search.
Oh well. It would just make things easier for her. Now to business. She took the heads off two guards at the outer main gate.
The actual main gate was protected by twelve guards. She bucked at the first, sending him sprawling away. The second came at her like a bullet. He was fast, but she was better than him. She slipped under his lunge, and came up behind him, using magic to slice through his ever-so-quick legs. The third was large, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Nigjtmare Moon proved this by lifting him up with magic, and sending him crashing into the ground, again and again. Number four was a unicorn.
He actually had the guts to use magic against her. Some rocks flew at her, but she used her own magic to send them right back at him. Some went all the way in, and came out the other side. The other eight were all pegasus ponies. Five flew up into the sky, into a dark cloud, and bucked at it hard. Lightning crackled, and Nightmare Moon swirved to avoid being fried. The guards continued to fight, all of them whaling on her. But she was superior, and could end it at any time.
And then, she decided to end it. All the ponies died at the same time, from a blast of magic that would have been impossible for any ordinary pony to pull off. But Nightmare Moon was never really just an anypony. She worked her way all around Canterlot castle, killing all the guards she saw. After a while, she was hardly recognisable.

Covered in gore and blood, she exploded another three guards. The castle was on high alert now, but it made no difference. She never got a single scrape.

'The next ones are all near Canterlot,' Celestia explained.
'Do we know where Nightmare Moon was seen last?' Dragonsilver asked.
'No. We've been out of contact. We can re-establish once we get inside the city. However, the first one, possibly the first two are just outside.'
'Why are we doing this?' Shadow Laughter asked.
'Huh?' said Celestia.
'Why does Nightmare Moon need to be stopped so much?'
'Her life's dream is to enslave and kill all of Equestria.'
'So? I want to die. And after I do, I'm beyond caring. The only reason I haven't thrown myself out this carriage is because I want to see her kill you, Celestia.'
'Charmed. Dragonsilver, help me out here.' Dragonsilver nodded, then looked at Shadow Laughter.
'Tell me this, what is your purpose in life?' he asked her.
'I don't have one. In case you didn't notice, I have no cutie mark.'
'True, but everypony has a purpose in life. You just haven't found yours yet. Why do you want to die?' he inquired.
'My life has been nothing but torture ever since I tried to kill myself. You may think it is better compared to death, but nothing can make up for what I have been through. I wish I had died all those years ago.'
'And why is stopping Nightmare Moon not important?' Shadow bristled her nose.
'Because if she rules she'll kill me. After that I don't care.'
'Okay, the thing about Nightmare Moon is, she doesn't just kill. She's not like that. She tortured me within an inch of my life, and then forced me to live. At some point in there, I wanted to die. I really did. But she didn't let me. She knew it was crueller to make me live, and so that's what she did. But there's another thing. She enjoyed every second of it. She loved my pain, couldn't get enough of my suffering. She invaded my mind and felt it with me. She heard what I was thinking.'
'So?'
'So, if she lives off the grief of other ponies...?'
'Say what you have to say, and get on with it,' Shadow said.
'If Nightmare Moon gets hold of you, she will invade your mind. And when she does, she'll find out the very thing you want the most, and it will be her greatest pleasure to take it away from you.'
'Ah.'
'She will force you to live, just like she did with me. But for you, it will last years. She will put you through more torture every day than you have ever, ever experienced, and you will have to live through it all,' Dragonsilver had locked eyes with Shadow, and stared her down until she glanced away.
'Okay... But what about her?' Shadow asked, nodding to Celestia.
'Kill her. Next question.'
'Um, Dragonsilver?' It was Celestia.
'Yes?'
'Telling her to kill me isn't exactly helping.'
'Right. Yes. Sorry. Anyway, any other questions, Shadow?'
'No. I'll help, but I have a condition.'
'Which is...?' Celestia pressed.
'I still hate you, Celestia. Don't forget that. And in payment for not killing me those years ago, after this is done, you take my life. Can you do it? Cold-blooded murder? Could your soul handle it, after all you've done? Or will it be too much? A memory spell won't do anything, and you know it. The fragments will still be there. You're a fool if you even think-'
'SILENCE!' Celestia was allowing herself to get mad, and this would not help the situation. She took a deep breath, then exhaled.
'I'll do it,' she said.
'Hmm? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that.'
'I'll do it, now stop pestering me.'
'Thank you.'
They were flown by the pegasus guards to the next location, just outside the city. They landed in front of a dusty western-style bar. Shadow refused to go in, and sat broodingly in one of the carriages. So Celestia and Dragonsilver went in alone.
Inside were several stone-drunk ponies, half of them lying in pools of their own vomit. The barpony eyes the scene with distaste, but it clearly wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
The barpony was a mare, with an orangey-brown coat and a dirty-blonde mane. She wore a denim jacket, and her legs were clad in black-and-white cow pattern cloth. She wore a brown leather stetson on her head. Her mane and tail were tied practically with red hair-bands. Her cutie mark was a stirrup.
'Stay here,' Celestia instucted Dragonsilver, and he nodded.
She crossed over to the bar and had a word with the barmare. She nodded to a lone pony, sitting at a two-person table. He was a fine-looking stallion, all white coat and pale blue mane. His white wings flapped lazily and without conviction. His cutie mark was in the shape of a sheild, and it was golden in colour. He had most definitely been drinking.
But first, Celestia called Dragonsilver over to talk to the barpony.
'Silver Buckle, and ah'm very pleased to be makin' your aquiantance today,' she said, shaking Dragonsilver's hoof enthusiastically.
It seemed that years attending this low-life bar hadn't taken the spirit out of the orange mare. 'How do you do,' he said politely.
'Ah've been hearin' about this here Nightmare Moon. What's the story, then? I would ask some of these others, but they're all to drunk to have a real conversation.'
Silver produced two mugs of apple cider, which the travelling ponies gratefully accepted.
'We're looking for the elements of harmony,' said Celestia.
'Oh, ah've heard about those things. But aren't they locked away in the castle?' she asked, puzzled.
'Yes, but you see, those are only the physical embodiments of the elements. They are only the receptacles for the power. The true elements lie in six ponies in Equestria, and we need to find them.'
'Ah. Okay. But what's this here about six elements? Ah thought there were only five.'
'No, there are six, but that is unimportant. Do you know what they are?' Celestia asked the denim-clad mare.
'Ah.... Let me think. Loyalty, laughter, umm... Oh, yes! Kindness, honesty and generosity. There! But what's this sixth you were talkin' about?'
'The sixth element is the element of magic.' The white pony with the blue mane slouched up to the bar. 'Don't let him have any more,' Celestia warned. 'We need him too.'
'Will do, Princess,' Silver said, and when the white pony finally reached the bar, Silver turned him away. He stood there for a while, then went back to his table and sat down.
'Tell me,' Celestia said to Silver, 'Have you ever told a lie?' Silver didn't hesitate to answer.
'Nope! And proud of it! Ah make sure that all mah friends can trust me.'
'Then you may be just what we're looking for,' Celestia told her.
'What're you talkin' about?'
'There are six special ponies all around Equestria that embody one of the elements of harmony, and we need to gather them together to stop Nightmare Moon.'
'And you think ah'm one? That's crazy! Ah'm just your regular, bartending pony.'
Dragonsilver spoke up. 'So far, we've found three. I possess extraordinary magic, Shadow who is outside didn't stop laughing for months on end, and you have never told a lie! If that doesn't make you the element of honesty, then what does?'
Silver paused. 'Aw, okay. I'll help. But how dangerous will it be?'
'You'll never be in any danger, unless Nightmare Moon kills me, but if she does you'd die regardless of whether you helped me or not,' Celestia told her. Silver Buckle nodded.
'And now for the next one. Silver, we may need your help,' Celestia said, and they both walked over to the white stallion.
'His name's Golden Sheild,' Silver said. 'We were thick as theives when we were just lil' ponies. Gold en Silver, we were. Now he's just a regular customer.'
'Is he like this usually?' asked Dragonsilver.
'What? Drunk? Yeah. No biggie. All mah regular customers are.'
'How many drinks has he had?' Dragonsilver asked.
'Ah'm sorry, ah don't know. He came in about twelve hours ago, and ah served him ten drinks. But when he came in he was already pissed. Ah just don't know.' she said.
'Come on,' said Celestia, using magic to levitate him. 'We need to get him to a hospital, and find out how many he's had.' They walked to the carriages.
'Silver, do you mind riding with Dragonsilver?' Celestia asked her.
'Well, how about that then. Two Silvers. Yeah, sure, ah'll ride with him.' Silver cast him a warning glance. 'Just so long as you aint gonna start hitting on me.'
Dragonsilver laughed softly. 'I've never hit on anypony, and even though the world may end, I don't plan on starting.' Celestia lay down Golden Sheild next to her. Shadow looked happy that Celestia wasn't riding with her this time around.
And they headed to the Canterlot hospital.

A narrow escape

Chapter five: A narrow escape
As it turned out, there were more pressing matters to attend to in Canterlot. Half of the castle guards were dead, and about a quater of the remaining injured. Nightmare Moon had escaped from Canterlot about five minutes previously.
'I want all of you to stay with me,' Celestia told the four ponies.
The clean air had sobered Golden up a bit, and Celestia explained the situation to him.
'Rightio, princess. If ever there's a pony you can count on, that'd be me!'
'Loyalty,' Shadow Laughter muttered with disgust.
Silver assisted Golden with walking, and they made their way into the castle. It was gory. Assorted limbs and organs were strewn about the ground, in pools of blood.
Celestia, Silver, and Golden did their best to not throw up. Shadow stared nonchalantly at the mess, and Dragonsilver was oddly calm for a pony who had feinted at the insane asylum.
The group of ponies skirted pools of blood. All except for Shadow, who sloshed through it like it wasn't even there. Nopony could see it very well on her black coat, however her tail dragged through it, the dirty pink staining with deep red. Her tuquoise eyes revealed nothing when Silver Buckle cast her a questioning glance.
Dragonsilver quietly explained to her.
'She's, um, a little unhinged.' Silver's nose was screwed up, and she looked like she was about to throw up. Then a flash of anger entered her eyes. She leapt over to Shadow, planted her forehoofs onto Shadow's shoulders, and shoved her to the ground.
'Care, dammit! That blood belongs to ponies who have died for us, and y'all are just walkin' through it like it's nuthin'!' she yelled. Celestia, who was walking at the front, stopped, looked back and frowned, but said nothing.
'Aww, now look,' said Shadow, 'You got brains all over me.' She grinned evilly, infuriating Silver even more.
'Why don't you care?! That there blood on your hooves belonged to somepony, and you're treatin' it like dirt!' Silver's accent became even more pronounced as she grew angrier.
'What are you trying to say?' asked Shadow.
'Ah'm sayin' that y'all should give the dead a little respect, is all!' Shadow's smile grew wider.
'And who's gonna make me?'
'Oh yeah? You reckon y'all are so tough, you just wait till ah'm through with you!'
'Enough,' Celestia said softly, but it made Silver look up.
Dragonsilver, care to explain further? We need to get on,' she told them. They walked to the dining hall, and as they walked Dragonsilver spoke to Silver Buckle. Behind them, Shadow took every oppourtunity to roll around in the gore, and after a minute she was as striking red as Dragonsilver himself.
'Shadow Laughter wants to die. She's goading you into killing her. I know it's hard, but you have to resist. Do what's right. Don't let her get to you,' he told Silver.
'But look at her! She's rolling around in somepony's blood like it's nuthin'. Please tell me you understand how sick that is,' she looked at him pleadingly.
'I understand,' he said smoothly. 'Perhaps not as well as you, but I can see what she's doing. I've never really connected with anypony the way you all have, but I know it's wrong. She does too, deep down, but she wants her death so badly that she's placed it above anything else. That's not important,' he said.
'It's not?'
'No. What I'm intrigued by is what's wrong with you, Silver?'
'Huh?'
'What's wrong? There is something eating away at you, I can tell. What is it?' Dragonsilver asked.
'There ain't nuthin' wrong with me,' she said, but Dragonsilver was certain she was lying.
'Wow. Your first act of dishonesty, spent on me. I'm honored.' They arrived at the dining hall. What was left of the royal guard had gathered there, and tables were set up in a hospital-like fashion, being used to treat the wounded. Celestia left the four ponies, for she had royal business to attend to.
Dragonsilver took Silver Buckle into a separate room, for she was clearly on the verge of a breakdown. She shuddered, her eyes glistening with tears that were ready to break loose. Dragonsilver sat her down on a stool, and held her as she sobbed. It went on for ten minutes, maybe more, and when Silver was done she slumped into his forelegs. Dragonsilver gave her a long and comforting hug.
'Ah thought he loved me,' Silver said. Dragonsilver waited patiently, knowing the rest would come.
'He was so nice to me when we were just lil' ponies. And when we got our cutie marks we were even closer. And then when we grew up, he just slipped away.'
She started crying again. After a minute she calmed down.
'He came to mah bar all the time, but when he looked at me, it was like ah was a complete stranger to him,' she said. 'Ah sent him a gift for hearts and hooves day this year, but he didn't reply! Ah thought he liked me,' she said.
'Who?'
'Golden Sheild, she whispered, her voice full of longing and passion.
'Oh, Silver, I'm so sorry.'
'How could you tell?' she asked.
'About what?'
'That somethin' was eatin' me up. How'd y'all know?' Dragonsilver thought for a minute.
'Well, I guess it's about time I confided in somepony. Will you keep it secret?'
'Ah promise, sugarcube.'
'Okay. I have this... Thing that I do. And by Celestia, don't you think that I enjoy it, because I don't!'
'Mm?' It was amazing how quickly Silver became the comforting one in the situation. 'What is it?'
'I can sometimes see what ponies are thinking,' he told her. 'Sometimes I hear it, or see an image, sometimes it's just a feeling. It can be very detailed or just a hazy half-remembered shadow, but it's always right. I felt that there was something getting at you. It's most of the reason I don't sociallise,' he said miserably.
'Aw, ponyfeathers. Don't you think that's anything to be ashamed of, Dragonsilver! It's a part of who you are, and if you changed it, you wouldn't be you anymore!'
'I don't think I want to be me,' he said.
'Don't you talk like that,' Silver said sternly. 'Y'all are a good pony, and who knows? This mind thing o' yours may just come in handy!'
Epic Foreshadowing
'Thanks, Silver,' he said.
They walked back to Golden and Shadow. Golden was getting some detoxicating pills, (AN: It's Equestria, they have those, okay?) and Shadow was refusing to be cleaned up. Silver tackled Shadow, this time armed with a soapy sponge. She pinned the black pony to the ground and scrubbed away. After fifteen minutes, Silver stood back. Dragonsilver whistled.
'Nice job.'
And it was a nice job. Shadow Laughter's black coat now had a sleek shine to it, making it look even darker, if that were possible. Her mane was now bright, and had acquired a fairy floss shape to it. The face, however, remained scowly.
'Don't mind her,' said Silver. 'Let's get ourselves cleaned up.'
Two large buckets of warm, soapy water were waiting for Silver Buckle and Dragonsilver. Chatting rather cheerily despite the situation, the two ponies cleansed themselves, looking brighter than they had all journey. Now that there was no layer of dirt coating Silver, Dragonsilver reflected at what a beautiful mare she was.
With her hair ties undone, and stetson off, she looked impossibly natural. Her coat also appeared more orangey, a nice colour, like autumn leaves.
'You know,' said Dragonsilver, 'I may have to start hitting on you after all.'
'Woah there,' she said, 'Ah'm flattered and all, but we really should get to know each other first,' she told him.
'Sorry. You're right, of course.' After they had finished cleaning themselves, Celestia came over.
'How are they?' asked Dragonsilver.
'Fine. They're a tough lot, those guards. They weren't hired for nothing.' Dragonsilver inclined his head.
'Of course. What are we going to do next?'
'Golden needs twelve hours rest, and while we could use that time productively, I'd rather have you all within my reach,' Celestia said.
'We're not children,' Shadow said with disgust.
'You are compared to Nightmare Moon,' Dragonsilver said.
'I have some political issues to sit in to. Feel free to explore, but stay in the castle and stay together,' she said sternly, eyeing Shadow with visciousness.
'Yes, your Almighty Holiness,' Shadow said, bowing low to the ground.
'Please do not start that right now.'
'Oh, I'm so going to start that right now.'

'Please don't kill each other,' Celestia said, and left.

The three ponies walked to the castle gardens, and, much to Shadow's displeasure, decided to stop there.
'But there are butterflies. Pink ones. Did I ever mention how much I hate the colour pink? It's just my luck that I get stuck with a mane like this one. It looks like freaking cotton candy, for gods sake. Pink is just so cheerful,' Shadow scowled.
'Ah thought y'all were supposed to be the element o' laughter.'
'You're underestimating how mad she is,' said Dragonsilver. 'Bearing in mind the very fine line between cheerfullness and absolute insanity.' Shadow walked away.
'Now, hold it! Just where do you think y'all are goin? Didn't you hear the Princess?' Silver shouted.
'Calm down. I'm sure her Absolute Powerfullness won't mind if I plant my flank fifty metres away,' Shadow said, and smiled, as if she knew Celestia was listening in.
True to her word, Shadow Laughter sat on the ground no more than fifty metres away. A pale pink butterfly fluttered it's way around her. Shadow tried to squish it, but the erratic flight pattern caused her to miss whenever she took a swipe. Silver sighed.
'That pony sure is on a road to trouble,' she told Dragonsilver.
'Yeah.'
'She told me that the first time y'all saw her, you fainted dead away!'
'I guess that's true,' he said. 'It wasn't just her. Have you ever been in an insane asylum?'
'Can't say ah have, Sugarcube. But ah'm sure it'd have the same effect on anypony.' Dragonsilver murmered something, but Silver didn't quite catch it.
'Pardon?' she said.
'I said "No, it wouldn't"'.'
'And why not?'
'Cause it wasn't just the outward appearance of them, or the behaviour. I could see parts of their minds. I had to cast a spell to stop it, but the reason I fainted was exhaustion, it takes so much energy to block out thoughts. That's why I lived alone before all of this happened.'
'How about now? What are you getting?' she asked him softly. He looked over to Shadow, but she was still out of earshot, swiping at a large cloud of butterflies that had accumulated around her head.
'Lots of greif and loss, but that's okay, I can handle it. A little further off is confusion, I guess from the rest of Canterlot, they probably don't know much of what's going on. The nurses are tired, and so's everyone else, but mostly the nurses, because they have so much work to do. The guards are trying to keep strong, even though their friends are dead. They really do feel a lot of loyalty to the princess, even after what's happened.
Closer to here, um, Shadow's hard to understand, but she's annoyed at the butterflies, which I think is a simplified manifestation of her anger at the princess. A lot of longing, for her death I guess, or maybe just some peaceful oblivion. She wants to just let everything go, but I think Celestia's put a spell on her to stop her killing herself or something, I don't really understand it.'
Silver moved closer, wanting to comfort the burdened pony.
'And what can y'all get from me?' A slight smile crossed Dragonsilver's face.
'You're glad you told someone about Golden. It was a large burden, even if you didn't realise it. You're feeling a lot more free, and beginning to wonder how big the problem was in the first place. It seems kind of silly. As for your feelings towards me, you're happy to let me have a go.' He smiled wider.
'You like stallions who are confident, but not conceited. They have to be kind, very honest, loyal and funny. That very special somepony has to value you, but not be a hooflicker. Challenging, but not infuriating. How'd I do?'
She simply stared at him for a moment.
'Th-that's just- that's just cheatin' Dragonsilver grinned.
'It helps when I'm touching them,' he said, and Silver realised his tail had been brushing her foreleg. She tackled him into a bush, and they wrestled for a minute or so. Silver giggled a bit, and even Dragonsilver found himself chuckling despite the circumstances. Shadow walked over to them and eyed the scene with distaste.
'When you two are done making out, I'd like some help with these butterflies,' she said, for they were still swarming about her.
Dragonsilver looked up and frowned. 'I don't know what they are,' he said, 'But those aren't butterflies.'
AN: Dundundun. LOL.

Divide and conquer

Chapter six: Divide and conquer
Warning! This chapter contains a heavy amount of gore and torture. If you are faint of heart, skip to the next one.
After Nightmare Moon saw Celestia headed for Canterlot, she slipped away, watching things unfold. Celestia had some ponies with her. One of them... Was red! It was the pony Nightmare Moon had nearly killed. She narrowed her eyes, but couldn't recognise the others.
As they landed, Nightmare Moon went closer, hidden with magic. A black pony, a white one, an orange one, and that red one... Wait! She knew the black one! That pink hair...Nightmare Moon concentrated, but no name was forthcoming. Ugh, how frustrating.

Nightmare Moon didn't know what Celestia was up to, but Nightmare Moon would put a stop to it. She morphed into a cloud of butterflies, the most innocent thing she could think of, and waited.

'Princess! Princess Celestia!!' Dragonsilver called as he and Shadow galloped to the banquet hall.
'Prin-' Princess Celestia came into view. She was talking to some guards. She looked at them with a mixture of shock and confusion.
'What is it? What happened? Where's Silver?'
'Sh-she's been, she's been taken,' Dragonsilver panted.
'What?'
'Nightmare Moon,' said Shadow, 'We were in the gardens, and Dragonsilver noticed something off about the butterflies. They morphed into Nightmare Moon, and she took Silver! We tried to stop her, but we couldn't.'
Celestia looked gravely at them.
'If Nightmare Moon can transform into multiple beings, then she is more powerful than I thought. We need to find Silver.' Celestia's horn started to glow, as she searched fortheir life forces. Dragonsilver, knowing what a complicated spell this was, added to her strength with his own magic.
'Got it,' Celestia said. 'She's so far away, we may not be able to get there in time. From now on, you are to stay right near me. I want to be able to see you. Especially you,Shadow.'
'Fine,' Shadow said, but she didn't seem too upset.

'Let's get Golden, and get going.'

Silver woke up in a dark room. She could barely see. Pain stabbed at her from her chest, but when she tried to look down, she found that all her limbs were bound. She could barely remember the events that had happened.
Oh, that's right. Nightmare Moon... And stuff. Her thoughts were hazy, like she had been drugged. She wrinkled up her face, and liquid dribbled down it. She stuck her tongue out, and caught some.
The metallic taste was all too familiar to her. Blood.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw more of her surroundings. The walls were made of stone, and no light was coming through, so Silver suspected that she was underground. The door was in the corner, and it was thick and metal. It didn't have a window to see through. Green slime oozed down the walls, but other than that there was no life in the bleak room.
Silver was strapped to something cold and hard. It was flat and very uncomfortable. She tried to wriggle out of her bonds but whenever she moved pain exploded from her chest. She was tired, but no sleep came. She waited for what seemed like hours, but could have been as little as ten minutes before the door opened.
Nightmare Moon stepped in, smiling at the powerless earth pony.
'Do you remember your name?' she asked Silver.
'I-I don't quite know... I'm not sure...' Silver stammered, but it was a pretty poor performance, and Nightmare Moon wasn't convinced.
'Don't lie to me. It's not worth the effort, and even if it was, you're a terrible liar.' Silver blushed.
'Exactly. I want to know this: what does Celestia want with a bunch of weak commoners like you? Answer me straight, or you'll get hurt. And I'm not going to lie, tell the truth and you'll probably get hurt as well.'
'Like I'd tell you,' Silver croaked. She needed water, her throat was dry from lack of hydration. How long had she been imprisoned?
'Oh really? Does Celestia's little rebel need convincing?' Nightmare Moon conjured a mirror, and levitated it so that Silver could see the wound on her chest.
It was deep and bloody. Two lacerations in the shape of an x. Silver didn't remember how they got there. Her face was also covered in cuts of a similar fashion.
'Uuuhhh,' she groaned. She felt lethargic, and couldn't think clearly. She wasn't sure she could tell Nightmare Moon even if she wanted to.
Nightmare Moon advanced towards her, trying to look intimidating, to scare her into telling. It was very likely the orange pony would faint from anything physical, so she had to be careful. Nightmare Moon tried to invade Silver's mind, but she hadn't yet mastered the art, and it was far easier when the pony in question was a unicorn.
This wasn't going to be easy, but it didn't mean Nightmare Moon couldn't enjoy it. But first she needed an interrogation subject with a clear head.
Using magic, she conjured some water and forced Silver to drink. Silver didn't want to be Nightmare Moon's tool, but she was unable to gag up the water. If ever was a time to curse pony anatomy, now would be it.

Nightmare Moon forced Silver into a healing sleep and left.

Dragonsilver was prepared to do anything to get Silver back. Celestia could see it in his eyes, the resolute loyalty, also the love for the orange mare.
Dragonsilver might even let his heart take over his head, and Celestia needed to stop that happening. She couldn't afford another loss of the remaining three elements she had gathered together. Heck, she made it sound like they weren't even beings. She needed to stop that. It would just turn her into another Nightmare Moon, which obviously wouldn't help the situation. The ponies were once again riding the air across Equestria, searching for Nightmare Moon and her prisoner. If her magic hadn't failed her, Celestia was pretty sure that Silver was still alive. She knew it would break Dragonsilver's heart if he found out she had her doubts. Dragonsilver loved Silver more than he let on, perhaps more than even he himself knew.

Ponies were so frail, yet so strong when it came to love.

Ten hours later, Silver awoke and saw the piercingly blue eyes of Nightmare Moon watching her. Nightmare Moon gave her ten minutes to come to fully, and shake off the sleepiness. She really needn't have waited so long, as Silver's heart was beating so fast from fright she couldn't have gone back to sleep if she'd wanted to.
Her eyes adjusted again, and of all the things to think of, Silver was furious that shecouldn't wipe the sleep from them. But the dark blue figure in front of her proved to be a sufficient enough distraction.
'So,' said Nightmare Moon. 'Have you reconsidered?'
'Yeah, ah have. Now ah'm sure ah'd never tell y'all.'
'Don't be so hasty, I can still hurt you.'
'Yeah, cause ah didn't know that.' Silver said.
'I can make you tell.'
'Sugarcube, you can't make me do anythin' ah don't wanna do.'

'We'll see about that.' Nightmare Moon moved forward.

Dragonsilver wanted to pace nervously, but there was no room in the carriage. Instead he just paced on the spot, the sound of his hooves infuriating Shadow.
'For the last time, will you stop that please?!' she yelled at him over the wind.
Dragonsilver nodded, but a minute later he had started again.
'This is going to be a long trip,' Shadow muttered, looking out into the dark, star-filled sky.
'Cheer up everypony,' said Celestia. 'We're making good time, considering the wind, and I doubt Nightmare Moon will do any permanant harm to Silver.'
'How do you know?' asked Dragonsilver.
'If she wanted Silver dead, why take her? Duh.' said Shadow. 'If it was part of her plan to kill Silver, Silver would be a corpse. At the castle.'
'Thanks, Shadow. For making me see reason, I mean. You're right,' Dragonsilver said.
'As usual, your compassion makes me retch. How did you know about the butterflies, bythe way?'
'Uh...' he slumped. 'Fine. Sometimes I pick up on somepony's thoughts. I saw the way the butterflies were flying, it was weird, so I concentrated on their thoughts and found them a little more megalomaniacal than the average butterfly.'
'Fair enough.'
'I've been meaning to ask you about that, actually,' Celestia said.
'Never a good way to start a conversation,' Dragonsilver warned.
'And here is me, starting it anyway,' she said.
Shadow grinned. 'Her Most Amazingly Powerfullness strikes again,' she said.
'I would have really appreciated it if you'd told me.'
'Watch her Everlasting Incredibleness on her quest for ultimate knowledge,' Shadow laughed.
'It cost me quite a bit of time and energy.'
'And her seeking of being more efficient than the speed of light.'
'Do you have any other bombs you'd like to drop while we're here?' Celestia asked him.
Dragonsilver tilted his head to one side. 'What's a bomb?'
'Yeah,' said Shadow. 'I can't make fun of you if you use words I don't know.'
'Oh never mind. Just let me know if you're aware of anything... Unusual going on.'
Dragonsilver agreed, but he still wanted to know what a bomb was.

They flew across the seemingly endless night.

Silver cried out again. Her legs were a gory mess of blood, and it was hard to make out the colour of her legs any more, as they were coated in a sticky red. Nightmare Moonhad destroyed them slowly, not breaking the bone but wanting to inflict as much pain as possible.
Her face was streaked with tears, and Nightmare Moon had had to stuff some rags in Silver's mouth to stop her biting her own tongue off. Nightmare Moon, on her part, was keeping the pony fully hydrated and made sure she didn't lose too much blood.
'Tell me,' she commanded.
Silver couldn't talk through the rags, but the defiant look in her eyes said enough. Nightmare Moon sighed.
'You brought this upon yourself,' she said, and broke Silver's hind leg bones into six separate pieces.
The pain was too much, and Silver screamed into the rags, then blacked out.
More waiting for Nightmare Moon, but it was worth it. Soon this pathetic earth pony would be broken.
A while later, Silver came to. The pain from her legs caused her to scream, but there was still fight left. After she had calmed herself a bit Nightmare Moon continued. She looked at Silver's broken legs. Her left hindleg had some bone poking out.
Bending down, Nightmare Moon carefully placed her teeth around the bone and tugged, extracting another scream from Silver Buckle. The harder she pulled, the higher the screams became.
'Haha...' Silver said weakly, spitting out the rags. 'Can't... Break... Me.'
Nightmare Moon could not believe a pony could last this long. Especially not an earth pony.
'I'm going to drown you. I'm going to drown you like a bunch of dumb rabbits.'
'Why'd y'all drown rabbits?'
'Because they're cute and cuddly.'
'Ah'm starting to think y'all are a lesbian. Ah don't know how ah came to that there conclusion, but it may have had something to do with you likening me to cute and cuddly rabbits. Much appreciated and all, but ah have a colt who is probably looking for me.'
This pony was getting on Nightmare Moon's nerves. She should have taken one of the other ones.
Conjuring a knife, she decided to get a little closer to this pony's vital areas.
She traced a line up Silver's neck, drawing blood. Silver whinnied softly, but was suddenly very still. This was getting dangerous.
Nightmare Moon tried to keep doing this, but the cursed pony's hair kept getting in the way. Oh well. It's not like she'd be needing it.
Silver felt a tug on her hair, then lots of sharp pain. Nightmare Moon had sawed through her hair with the knife.
'Lucky for you, ah've never really cared about mah mane,' she told Nightmare Moon. Her mane was shorter now. Heck, Nightmare Moon may have done Silver a favour. It could look cute. Stranger things had happened.
AN: Okay, somepony may have noticed the similarities to the fic Cupcakes. Tried to steer it away from that, probably wasn't very successful. The main difference was that Nightmare Moon's purpose wasn't to kill Silver. Anyway, thanks for reading up until now, there's more to come!

Prepare to fight

Chapter seven: Prepare to fight
Warning! This chapter contains some gore. If you are faint of heart, don't read it. Also, I finally got around to fixing up the mistakes. Sorry to everypony if I missed some!
Silver's neck was bleeding, but not dangerously. The real pain came from her four broken legs. She felt faint, but Nightmare Moon was trying to keep her concious, bored of waiting. Her mane, or what was left of it, hung limply, covered in sweat. Silver's breathing was heavy, her coat soaked in nervous sweat and blood. Her vision had started to dim, and she knew she couldn't hold out much longer. Nightmare poured water over her, and it was cool and refreshing, but Silver knew it would bring more pain than help.
It gushed into her wounds, making her cry out again.
She was cold now, too cold. She began to shiver. A bright light appeared. Her vision focused on it.
Uhh, wire, giving off sparks. Now Silver knew what the water was for.
Nightmare Moon shocked Silver again and again, the water providing better conductivity.
Silver screamed until she barely felt the pain any more, and she couldn't see. She felt light, then heavy. She tried to speak but her tongue weighed a thousand kilograms. It was dark. Her eyes were closed but she still saw the dark pony standing over her. Burned into her mind, she wouldn't forget it if she lived a thousand years more.
Which was impossible, especially since she doubted she'd live out the day. Night. Whatever.
Suddenly there was a huge crash on the door, but Silver barely heard it. Shouts and whinnies filled the air, but they were far away, getting further, quieter. A warmth spread through her. It was nice, and Silver was floating again.

And then she didn't feel anything.

Celestia burst into the dungeon, followed by Dragonsilver, Shadow and a recovered Golden. Nightmare Moon leapt over them, morphing into energy in mid-air and flitting out of the room.
'Come back you coward!' Celestia yelled. 'Give up, we're going to get you anyway!'
A disembodied voice floated through the dark air. 'I doubt that Celestia. But you're welcome to try.'
Celestia rushed back into the dungeon. Dragonsilver was already pouring all his energy into healing Silver, who was just barely breathing.
'Dragonsilver,' she said sternly 'Save some energy for yourself.' Dragonsilver nodded, but the flow of magic didn't abate.
Celestia added to his magic, healing. But this wasn't enough. Silver's life force wasn't coming back. The wounds were healing, but the mental scarring was far more deep.
'This isn't working. Talk to her,' Celestia told Dragonsilver, backing away to give him space. He didn't even look at Celestia, but followed her orders.
'Silver,' he said, 'You are the most amazing mare I have ever met. No, the most amazing pony I've ever met. We need you to come back. You can save Equestria, but I need you to live. The princess needs you, I need you. Don't give up on us.' His voice broke. 'I love you, Silver. I love you, you're incredible. Don't give up.'
Dragonsilver kissed the orange mare lightly, and she stirred.
'Uhh...' Silver tried to get up.
'No. Uh-uh. Stay down, and I'll finish healing.' His horn glowed, brighter this time. He felt Celestia's energy assisting him.
An hour and a half later, Silver was feeling stronger.
She leapt up and kissed Dragonsilver on the mouth.
His brain melted into one thought: bubbles.
It was like fireworks, and when it ended he went back for more. They nuzzled each other, and after a while realised where they were.
'So,' Dragonsilver said, 'Where to next?'

Shadow facehoofed.

They arrived back at Canterlot twelve hours later. Celestia quickly checked on the castle, but the guards were making good progress. They left some of the carriage guards back at the castle, then headed deep into the city.
They stopped at a paved square. Surprisingly, shops were still open.
'They still have to eat,' Golden said.
'Fair enough.'
In one corner of the square, flower ponies were trying to attract some customers. They all seemed to run a set of flower stalls together, each pony manning a different one. Unfortunately, nopony was wanted flowers in this time of crisis.
'Good night ladies,' Celestia said to them. A yellow pony spoke up.
'Hello princess. Welcome to the Canterlot flower corner. Allow me to introduce my flower girls.'
'Please, go ahead,' Celestia told her.
'That one's Periwinkle, Frangipane, and Dandelion. Over there's Morning Glory, Cherry Blossom, and I'm Buttercup!'
'Pleased to meet you. Here I have Dragonsilver, Golden, Silver and Shadow.'
'So are you here to buy some flowers?' said Dandelion hopefully.
'I'm afraid not-'
'Awww,' they all said.
'We're here on royal business.'
'But business is so slow! We havn't sold a single flower since Nightmare Moon brought eternal night!'
'Here,' Golden said, sliding some bits across the stand towards them.
'Thank you kindly sir,' said Periwinkle. Handing him a red rose, she mouthed later,handsome.
'Can we speak to Morning Glory please?' Celestia asked.
'Is this about the, um, thing?' Morning Glory asked.
'I'm afraid so.'
'Girls,' she said, 'I have to go with the princess. Take care of the stand for me, and keep all the money!'
'Aw, okay,' they said.
They walked back to the carriages.
'Morning Glory represents the element of kindness,' Celestia said. 'I found her three years ago. She said she'd help if needed, but she didn't want to leave the flower fillies.'
Morning was a quiet pony. She was a pale pink with a wavy green mane. She had a pink flower in her hair, and her cutie mark was a morning glory.
They headed to the last element: Generosity.
Generosity came in the form of a green pony with a blue mane. He ran a tailor's shop on the outskirts of the markets. The shop had very little furnishings or ouside decoration, but stepping inside was like entering a whole new world. On the walls was a beautiful wallpaper, deep red with golden swirls and silver linings. Silver was feeling a bit shakey, so Dragonsilver sat her down on a red couch with laquered wooden armrests.
He put his forlegs around her, and they sat in silence, Dragonsilver's horn sparking occasionally.
Meanwhile, Golden was talking to Morning Glory.
'What made you the element of loyalty?' Morning asked him.
'Well, once a pony loved me,' he said. Golden didn't mention that it was Silver. 'She loved me so much, but I just didn't feel that way about her. It hurt her so badly, so I promised that I would never let down anypony ever again. What about you?'
'I've always been the kindest pony in Equestria, or at least, that's what everypony says,'Morning said humbly. 'I really don't know much else.'
The green pony came out into the main room. His cutie mark was a spool of red thread.
'Hello,' he said. 'I'm Mr Tux. How can I help you?'
Celestia told him.
'I'll come. It's about time my son took over the shop anyway. Anypony in need of a suit? Free for you,' There was a lot of blank staring.

'Eh. Worth a try.'

They made their way back to the castle.
'When Luna became Nightmare Moon, she took two of the elements. What she doesn't know, is that I secretly had them all duplicated. The fakes have no actual power, but they look exactly the same. The real ones are safe and sound,' Celestia said.
'Clever,' said Shadow. 'But if they look exactly the same, how do you know she took the fake ones?'
'I thought you might say that. The real ones have traces of magic that some ponies can pick up,' she said, glancing at Dragonsilver. 'I imprinted the fake ones with the same kind of traces, and only I can tell the difference.'
She pulled out two identical necklaces. They each had an apple on them.
'This is the element of honesty,' Celestia said. 'Dragonsilver, can you tell the difference?'
Dragonsilver approached. He looked at them. He studied them from all different angles.His horn glowed. And he sat back, satisfied.
'Well?'
'I know which one is the fake one,' he said. 'But I cheated.'
'Oh?'
'Yes. You were thinking "That one's the fake one",' he said, gesturing to the one on the left. 'But you were trying to bluff, which, by the way, doesn't work. The other one's fake,' he said, pointing to the left one.
'Okay, you got me. But would Nightmare Moon have been able to tell?' Celestia asked.
'Not unless she steals my trick, no. My ordinary magic couldn't pick up even the slightest difference.'
Celestia seemed satisfied.
'Here you go,' she said, handing the real element of honesty to Silver. 'All those years selling apple cider got you an apple element.'
'That doesn't make any sense,' said Silver, but she put the necklace on.
'Looks good on you,' said Dragonsilver.
'Mr Tux, the element of generosity,' she said, handing him a necklace set with a purple jewel.
'Thank you,' he said, donning it.
'Morning Glory, the element of kindness,' she said, handing Morning a necklace set with a butterfly.
'Ooh, I like it,' said Morning. But she would have said that no matter what she got.
'Golden, loyalty.'
This necklace had a cloud with a tricoloured lightning bolt coming from it. Golden accepted graciously.
'Shadow, laughter.'
'Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me. Balloons?! Who made these things?' She put it on,grumbling.
'And finally, Dragonsilver, magic.'
'Haha,' said Shadow. 'Yours is even stupider than mine.'
'Be grateful,' he said. His was stupider than hers. It was a crown, with a star-shaped jewel in it.Sigh.
He put it on.
'Okay,' said Celestia, 'You all need to establish a mental link with me so that I can take down Nightmare Moon. It is extremely important that you are not in the firing line.'
'Okay,' they all said loyally, even Shadow. The time was drawing close, and all the ponies were feeling jumpy.
'Concentrate your thoughts. You need to be willingly doing this.' said Celestia.
'Let me handle this, princess,' Dragonsilver said, 'You all have something to fight for tonight. Morning Glory, think of how many customers your shop will get. After the crisis is over, ponies will realise how special other ponies are to them, and your business will increase for you, and the other flowerponies.'
His horn glowed, and Morning Glory joined her thoughts with Celestia.
'Mr Tux, it's the same for you. Fine costumes will be loved by ponies partying, and you can live a life of luxury. For Golden, the chance to get a proper life going. Throw away past regrets. This is the perfect time to start afresh.'
Two more ponies joined Celestia.
'Shadow, you can finally be at peace. I know that's what you want, and it will happen.'
Shadow joined.
He turned to the orange mare beside him.
'And for us,' he said, 'Well, we have each other. And that's good enough for me.'
Together they joined, and sparks flew into the air as the Elements of Harmony became one.

Anticipation

Chapter Eight: Anticipation
Nightmare Moon still hadn't found out what those ponies were for. Surely not their good company. To be safe, she dropped one element in a lake near Las Pegasus, and kept the other on her person. She recognised the black pony, but still wasn't able to pin a name to the fairy floss hair. The red one was obviously the one she'd almost killed. Did she know the others? Were they long-forgotten ponies from her past? She just couldn't tell. Maybe they were just there to throw Nightmare Moon off. Celestia had done stranger things.
She soared through the sky. Night time didn't seem to be taking it's toll on the sun princess the way she'd expected. Perhaps she was stronger than Nightmare Moon had thought, and was able to resist the strong urge to just give up. There were ponies, when in times like these, shrank back and tried to escape notice. Other ponies were different. They rose up, became heroes. Nightmare Moon, and Luna before her, had always suspected Celestia was one of the heroes. But everypony has a breaking point, and with the stress of ruling Equestria, Nightmare Moon thought Celestia would have reached hers already.
Luna was unhappy. She hated the killing. But even a small part of Luna had accepted it, knowing Nightmare Moon's power. She had given up. If the good within Nightmare Moon had given up, she was surely a match for Celestia now. Nopony was as strong as her, not even her big sister.
Sometimes, you have to hide out and wait. And sometimes, you have to fight. Perhaps the time of waiting was over for Nightmare Moon.

Perhaps it was time to fight.

Now joined with Celestia, the six ponies felt unstoppable. Even Celestia herself felt a certain elation at the power the six ponies she had gathered could achieve. She was convinced Nightmare Moon would come, seeking to destroy the only power standing in her way.
Yes, maybe it wouldn't work out. Yes, Celestia'a life was on the line. But she was prepared to take that risk for the future of Equestria.

Princess Celestia sat atop the highest tower in Canterlot, waiting for her younger sister to arrive.

Past the remains of Manehatten, Nightmare Moon was close. She could see Canterlot in the distance, the one place in Equestria she would preserve. As ruler of the land, Nightmare Moon would make more than a few changes.
All the earth ponies of Canterlot would be in charge of growing food for her. She was hardly going to do it herself, after all. She looked forward to seeing the fancy and sophisticated Canterlot ponies working in the dirt.
The unicorns would do nicely as her personal slaves. They provided conveniences such as being able to levitate objects, unlike other ponies.
Pegasus ponies could prove more of a challenge to control, but she could make sure that all the good weather was sent in her direction. The rest of Equestria could take the storms and the cold.
Anypony that expressed talent in a useful area would be promoted to her guards. She would need an army in case of invasions.
As for the other cities, they would be left to fend for themselves. There would be no laws. Anypony being seen upholding "justice", she would kill as an example to the others. It would be perfect.

She started the countdown.

There would have to be a few changes when Celestia averted this crisis. She needed allies, someponies she could trust. Forming international friendships would help as well. She wanted to extend the hand of friendship to the land surrounding Equestria.
An invasion right after Nightmare Moon would not help her political favour.
The stars moved across the sky. It was too slow for any ordinary pony to see, but Celestia could see it. What happened when they completed a full revolution? She supposed that they would just start again. She looked at the moon, frowning. Usually the moon was full around this time of month. But a sliver was dark. Odd.
She concentrated, and found that the moon was waning. A guard brought her a meal. She realised how hungry she was, and thanked the guard warmly. He smiled a little, then climbed down the winding stairs of the tower. Celestia was alone again. She ate the food, not tasting it much, but appreciating it all the same.
When she finished the moon was only half full. If Nightmare Moon had decided to wane the moon ahead of schedule, she was doing it at an alarming rate. It was like an eclipse. An ordinary pony would almost have been able to see the shadow over the moon growing larger. Celestia watched it for a while, then whipped her head around.
Was it a distraction? Was Nightmare Moon somehow aware of her plans? Was she going to move against the Elements of Harmony while she stared at the moon like a fool? Was it already too late? No, stop it, she told herself. Being paranoid won't help anything.

It could even bring her downfall.

The Elements of Harmony waited in a large room, guarded by twenty diciplined ponies. Golden had become fast friends with Morning Glory, and they chatted away. Mr Tux was deep in conversation with Shadow, who was trying not to look in Dragonsilver's direction.
'What do you think they're talking about?' Dragonsilver asked Silver.
'What, Shadow and Mr Tux? Honestly, it could be anythin. Ah don't know, they both seem a little loopy to me.' Dragonsilver laughed quietly.
'All this anticipation is driving me crazy,' he said.
'Ah know, sugarcube. It's almost the worst part. Except, you know, being tortured,' said Silver.
'I know how you feel. I had to go through it too. But I'm not going to kid myself into thinking I had it as bad as you,' he told her softly.
'Y'all have quite a way with words, you know,' she said.
'Do I?'
'Yeah. You always know what to say, to keep us going. Ah guess that's part of the reason ah fell for you.'
'Thanks.' they were quiet for a while. Then Dragonsilver spoke up again. 'I can feel it. Can you? Celestia's worried. More anticipation.'
'Yeah. Ah'm getting it now, and ah sorta know what you mean,' Silver said. 'Now that we're connected to her ah'm gettin' faint traces of what you must get all the time. I get it, just a little.'
Shadow walked up to one of the guards. He had white fur and was wearing a standard set of gold armour. She looked at his unblinking face, scowling.
'Shadow, what're y'all doin?' Silver called to her. Shadow poked her tongue out and screwed up her nose. Silver chuckled, but that wasn't Shadow's intention. She was still looking at the guard, waiting for any sign of emotion.
Nothing. Shadow scowled again. She tried to stare the guard down, but he didn't blink. Her eyes watered, and eventually Shadow broke the gaze, wiping her stinging eyes. After she had recovered, Shadow tried to pull more faces.
'I never thought I'd do this,' Shadow muttered, 'But I will see you smile!' She sighed and did a stupid-looking dance that had the other Elements of Harmony rolling on the floor, shaking with laughter. Shadow, not getting any reaction from the guard, turned to the laughing ponies and took a bow.
Behind her, the guard let out the tiniest smile. Immediately, Shadow whipped around and grinned. 'Gotcha!' she said. The guard acted as if it had never happened, but Shadow was satisfied, and let him get back to his duties.

'I won't tell the princess,' she promised the guard, then broke down into cackling laughter.

The moon was nearly gone now. What did this signify? What was Nightmare Moon planning? Celestia went down and checked on the six ponies, just to be sure.
She went back up to the tower. She could see the moon against the dark sky. It was the tiniest sliver. It could be nothing, of course. Nightmare Moon obviously wanted her gone, and what better way than to play mind games with her?
Celestia surveyed the land and the sky. It was dark, but she could still see quite well. The city of Canterlot was as beautiful as it was every night, lit up, it seemed to glow.
Luminous was the word that perfectly described Equestria's capital city. Further away, the land was dark, save the tiny lights of farm-houses. Manehatten glowed in the distance.
As for the sky, nothing seemed amiss, save the moon and unusual patterns of the stars. Celestia couldn't see anything approaching.
She looked at the moon again, and watched as the tiny sliver became nothing. She heard the soft tap, as pony hooves touched the ground behind her.
'Time's up,' Nightmare Moon said.
AN: Yeah, yeah, shorter chapter, but really. It's hard to write an entire chapter about waiting. So boring. Hope you enjoyed, I should be uploading the next one in the next day or two. The next two will be shorter chapters, but I'll upload them both on the same day ;)

Mare in the moon

Chapter nine: Mare in the moon
'Time's up,' Nightmare Moon said from behind her. The fur on Celestia's neck raised, and she stayed still. Nightmare Moon circled around, coming in front of her elder sister.
'Corrupt yet? I can see it in your eyes. You know you want to give in. Do it. Surrender,' she told Celestia.
'Luna, listen to me,' Celestia said.
'There is no Luna anymore. She gave up. Now it's just me.'
'Oh, she's in there somewhere, even if you don't want to believe it,' Celestia said. 'Luna, I know you're listening. Be honorable. Stop this now, and let me raise the sun.'
'Luna can't help you. She's too weak. I rule this body now,' Nightmare Moon said.
'Then stop this. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't stop.'
'You? How could you possibly stop me? I'm more powerful than you now, and you know it,' Nightmare Moon said.
'I'll use the Elements of Harmony,' said Celestia.
'Yes, you could do that, if you had the elements. I happen to have two of them, one of which I hid at the other end of Equestria.' Nightmare Moon smiled triumphantly, but a puzzled look crept onto her face when she noticed Celestia was wearing the same expression.
'What?' Nightmare Moon asked 'What did I miss?'
'Nothing, provided you were aware that the elements you took were fakes.' Celestia said.
'Nice bluff. I made sure that they were real. Exactly the right traces of magic.'
'Don't you reckon I would have thought of that? I made sure they had the right traces of magic, just to fool anypony who tried to take them. There's only two ponies in all Equestria who can tell the fake ones from the real ones. The first one is me, the second is under my guard,' Celestia said, staring her sister dead in the face. 'Give up. It's over.'
'You could still be bluffing,' Nightmare Moon said.
'Do you really want to try me?' Nightmare Moon considered. Her entire future hung in the balance. She took the side of good, and worked it around in her mind. She grasped at it's true potential, and held it, truly understanding. Then she pushed it away.
'Never. I'll not join you, even if a thousand years have passed!'
(LOL)
Celestia sighed. 'Luna, Nightmare Moon, I don't want to do this. You know I don't. You really can't win. Please just let it go, and let me raise the sun.'
'No. Because at this point, I literally have nothing to lose. Even if I fail - which I won't, there is no life for me in Equestria. So no,' she said, staring defiantly at Celestia.
Elements of Harmony, now's the time, she thought, projecting it so that the ponies downstairs could hear her. Suddenly light flashed, and sparks cascaded around her. It was as bright as the sun.
'I don't want to do this!' she yelled to Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon's horn glowed as she tried to repel the power, but it was no use. Even Celestia couldn't stop it now. Celestia screamed, and her eyes became the same glowing white. She rose into the air. The sparks were strong, and they nearly set her mane on fire. But Celestia was protected by the elements.
Nightmare Moon, however, was not.
Her screams were louder than Celestia's. She tried to get away, to morph into shadows, but the elements had focused on the disharmony within her and were determined to purge it from the land. A flash of light, far brighter than anything ever seen before, and then silence.

Somewhere in Equestria, twenty random ponies got their cutie marks.

Celestia was exhausted. She barely had any energy to keep breathing. She was transported to the Canterlot hospital, and given top-priority treatment.
Three days later, she was released.
Somewhere in the castle, Shadow rested. She rested and indulged in every luxury she could think of. A pony who saved Equestria got what she wanted, and Shadow was not letting that go to waste. For the three days Celestia was in care, Shadow had tried more new foods and and activities than she could count. Not that that was surprising, as she couldn't quite remember how to count anyway. Occasionally, when doing what she wanted, she spied Silver and Dragonsilver nestled somewhere out of the way. And, for the first time in years, Shadow Laughter was happy for somepony.
Mr Tux went back to his business, and found that Dragonsilver was right! His son had over fifty new orders for party clothes. They hired a lot of help to get them all done, and still made a large profit.
Morning Glory and the flower fillies were much the same. They had run out of flowers quicker than ever, and were getting more large orders than anypony could keep track of.
Golden had gone back to the city of Canterlot, and was starting to negotiate land to start a flower-growing farm out of town with Periwinkle.
Dragonsilver and Silver Buckle were happy. They had decided to stay in Canterlot, and enjoyed roaming the castle. They ate some wonderful foods, and were officially a couple to anypony that asked (and quite a few that didn't!).
Sometimes Silver woke up screaming, thinking she was back in the dungeon, but Dragonsilver was always there, holding her, comforting.
On the fourth day after Nightmare Moon's defeat, the two ponies climbed to the top of Canterlot and sat on the balcony, watching the land. The moon had a pony's face in it now, and it was still beautiful. They watched the parties in the city, and the market's bustling life.
And reader, they watched the sun rise.
AN: Think this is the end? Buck no! Have you forgotten about Shadow, and Celestia's promise to kill her? Does she want to die any more? Pfft, like I'm not writing another chapter for her.

Peace at last

Epilogue: Peace at last
AN: The story of Shadow's life is based on This is Gallifrey, from the Doctor Who series three soundtrack. I hope you enjoy it, I put a lot of thought into this one. Please let me know what you thought! Anyway epilogue now.
Shadow was actually happy. She had seen the sun rise, a glorious sunrise, on the fourth day after Nightmare Moon's defeat, and it gave her a sense of pleasure she hadn't felt in years. Shadow, a pony with no cutie mark, had done something extraordinary that made everypony in Equestria happy.
She could hardly believe it. Yet there it was, her deed, her first deed that served the greater good. And now she lived luxuriously. Ponies looked at her with admiration. It was glorious, trying new things, and for three days having a life. A proper one, like most ponies must have every day.
She envied them.
But the scars of her past life were still there, and though Shadow walked in a new way, with a smile on her face and a spring in her step, the weight in her heart was too much to ignore.
On the fifth day, the sunrise was the most beautiful she'd ever seen. The golden rays illuminated the sky, creating sunlight over all of Equestria. The pegasus ponies flitted about the sky, taking the clouds and placing them across the horizon, creating beautiful bright colours across the fields and mountains.
Shadow looked at the trees, and she saw every one as it was, not a collective unimportance.
A rainbow shot from one of the clouds, and Shadow could almost see the tiny foals going to find the pot of gold. Shadow left her room and walked along the castle walls, nodding to the guards as she passed them.
The smooth stone was cool under her hooves, and the air was rather tropical today. It was spring, and the trees were pink and white with tiny blossoms. Apples were starting to grow, still green. Earth ponies planted their crops and watered the tiny seeds.
Everypony seemed to have something to do, to bring about this new spring.
It was the beginning of a new era.
Princess Celestia now raised the sun and the moon. She had modestly offered to step down from her role as princess, thinking ponies resented her power, but there was an overwhelming motion from Equestria to keep her in office. All the major newspapers wrote articles about her outstanding feats saving Equestria, and demanded she remained princess. She had accepted gratefully, of course.
How could the princess refuse such a notion from her people?
Shadow walked to the princess' rooms, and was greeted by two guards.
She named them Fred and Jerry, cordially smiling to them. She spoke, lighter, feeling the repercussions of her words, knowing it was the right thing to do.
'I need to speak to Celestia,' Shadow said. Fred disappeared into Celestia's room. He came back out twenty seconds later, with so much dignity. What was he thinking? Nobody knew.
But that was rather the point of the guards. 'The princess will see you,' he said, nodding for her to pass. Shadow thanked them, and walked past into Celestia's chamber.
'Hello, Shadow,' Celestia said. 'How can I help you?'
'I'm here to claim my condition,' Shadow said, feeling the finality of what she had said. She looked up, and found Celestia's pale eyes looking sympathetically into her own sadly.
'Let's take a walk,' Celestia said calmly. 'It's a nice day.' Shadow complied.
They walked into the gardens, their hoofs treading lightly on the mossy stone paths. Shadow looked around her, knowing that this would be a fine place to drift away. Butterflies flew around her, but instead of pink, they were a pale blue, just like the sky.
Birds twittered a nice song in the trees, and she heard the beauty of it, for the first time in years. Yes, this was the place.
She slowed down and stopped walking.
'Nopony will think any less of you if you just walk away today,' Celestia said.
'I've made enough of a mark on Equestria. My time is up, and I think I'd like to end it on a beautiful day like this one.'
'Why today? I've talked to the pegasus ponies, and there are plenty of fine days coming up.'
'I finally found out who I am,' Shadow said. 'And I've decided that Equestria doesn't need my assistance with it.' She turned, and Celestia saw the single pink heart on Shadow's dark flank.
'Oh...' Celestia breathed in respect. Not only had Shadow found her cutie mark, but it was a brilliant one. Even Celestia herself doubted she could match it.
'It took me long enough, but I found it,' Shadow said proudly. The mark was her salvation, the sign that she had found her time.
'Does anypony know?'
'No, I haven't told anypony. Mr Tux might have seen it, I don't know.'
'When did you get it?' Celestia asked her, still barely believeing what she saw.
'When I saw Dragonsilver and Silver, the day after we beat Nightmare Moon. I... I was happy for them,' Shadow said.
'You finally found it,' Celestia murmured.
'Yes. Now I feel complete. I don't really have anything left to live for, and Equestria is so full of love that I doubt I could make much of a difference.' 'What if something happens? What if we need the Elements of Harmony again?' 'You won't. I know you'll make sure of it,' Shadow told her.
'I know I promised this, but it doesn't mean you have to go through with it,' Celestia said.
'Yes it does. Well, even if I didn't have to, I would.'
'Now?' 'Yes. Delaying any longer would just attract attention,' Shadow told her.
'Okay. If you're sure.' Celestia conjured a knife with her magic. Her horn glowed, levitating it towards Shadow.
'Do it,' Shadow insisted. Celestia paused, then plunged the knife into Shadow's chest. Celestia was shocked that she had actually done it. But there it was, the wound. Dark blood against the coal-black coat. Shadow fell back onto the ground, crying. But they were tears of happiness, not pain.
'You did it,' Shadow said, her voice soft, barely more than a whisper. Her eyes were so old, but they finally looked peaceful.
'I'm so sorry,' Celestia said.
'No... It's what I wanted, what I want. Don't be sorry.' Tears streaked down Shadow's face, and blood soaked out of the wound.
'I didn't mean that. I was talking about when we were fillies,' Celestia said, knowing she could never give back what she had taken from this pony.
'I forgive you. You were just a foal, after all.' Shadow's turquoise eyes looked up at Celestia. They were like the sea, waters that had finally become calm.
'I'm so, so sorry. I can never make up for what happened to you. You didn't deserve it.'
'You just did make up for it.' Shadow closed her eyes.
'I don't hate you, Celestia.' Celestia sat by the pony as she died.
Shadow was asleep now, and there wasn't long left. The curious thing was, Celestia didn't feel bad about her act. It was... Cleansing. Purifying. She had brought a pony a drifting sleep, and was safe knowing that she had done the right thing.
Shadow sighed, her last breath, and it was the breath of a pony who was finally at peace.

A kinda sorta sequel but not really

AN: This story is about my two second-favourite OC's, Dragonsilver and Silver Buckle. This story is set two after the defeat of Nightmare Moon. Peace has been restored to Equestria. Or so they think...

The first thing I remembered when I woke up was the apple tree.
It was late in Winter, and the tree was bare. I rolled over in the bed, slowly letting the warm tendrils of conciousness flow through me. My mouth was dry from the long sleep, and my muscles needed loosening. I streched, still keeping my eyes closed, and sniffed the air. It was fresh and clean, and the smell of food wafted to me. I couldn't remember what I had dreamed about.
I opened my eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. The first thing I noticed was that the other side of the bed was empty. But then, Dragonsilver had always gotten up earlier than me. I walked into the kitchen, seeing a flower sandwich waiting for me on the dining table. I smiled, looking at the fillings. Yes - they were my favourites. Dragonsilver knew me so well.

I ate the sandwich and walked out to our garden, the garden I spent half the day trying to save. But the myseries of the Everfree were too great for either of us to control, and the creepers and darkness had slowly worked it's way into my beautiful garden.

Luckily my pretty (but leafless) apple tree - which was over the other side, away from the edge of the forest - was untouched. Taking care to stomp on the blackened vines that were creeping their way to my carrot patch, I headed over to the letterbox and collected the mail. When I got back, Dragonsilver was waiting in the kitchen. He kissed me on the cheek, and I handed him his letters.
'Anythin' interesting?' I asked him, after he had skimmed through them.
'No,' he said, 'Just the usual ingredient requests and people asking when the next volumes of the books are coming out.'

And that was our job right there. The reason we lived so close to the Everfree Forest was because it was so shrouded in mystery. When we first moved here, two years ago, we wanted to find out more about it. Dragonsilver and I spent two months collecting samples of different plants, and information about different animals. After two months, we contacted a unicorn in Canterlot, a scientist, and he collected the samples and helped us analyse them.
Some had medical properties, and proved very valuable in different areas. Others were edible, and we sent boxes of all to every city in Equestria. So that's the ingredient side of the story.

But Dragonsilver also catalogued every new thing we found, compiling it into two books: Flora and Fauna. It was quite interesting, and even through everything we had found, we had barely scratched the surface of the Forest. We went a little deeper every day, but it was so large, and always full of mystery. The Everfree would never be known or controlled, but it was a living, at least for the two of us.

We packed lunch, sample bags and Dragonsilver's camera into his saddle bags. As for me, my back was laiden with baskets to collect fruit. Side by side, we entered the Everfree Forest. The sky seemed to turn darker, but it was probably just the dark trees obscuring a greater amount of light. The trees seemed to close behind us, trapping us in. This happened every day, but despite the fact that it was my job, I hadn't gotten used to it. The feeling of the Everfree was more than just it's looks. Dragonsilver had told me, in a brief depressive spiral, that the very trees radiated a sense of despair and hopelessness. I had helped Dragonsilver through, but he was still scarred by it. We both were.

We walked deeper into the forest. We were in familiar territory, but it was still creepy. The leaves rustled. Animals of all different kinds poked their heads out from the bushes, trying to get a good look, but most left us alone. To be fair, I would have been more on-edge if there were no animals, for that was the sign of the malicious and highly territorial creatures that dwelled deeper in the forest.
Wind whistled through the trees, streaking through hollows and slicing over leaves.

Finally we reached the place where we would start collecting today. Dragonsilver pulled me into a hug, knowing that I needed reassurance in this place. Then we went our separate ways. He searched for new plant and animal species, while I bucked the trees for fruit that we recognised. I walked for a minute, inspecting the trees.
Finally, I came to an unharvested one. The deep blue fruit clung in conglomerations on the ends of the branches, causing them to bend over until they were almost at breaking point. The blue fruit was one that we had discovered quite soon after moving here.

It had a thin skin and was filled with a gel that carried it's seeds. The seeds were miniscule and tasteless, but added a slight crunch, like that of strawberry seeds. The gel was light blue and tasted extremely sweet, with a hint of sourness at the same time. We usually sold it to confectionary producers, who made it into sweets and jelly. Because it had no known genus, it had no scientific name, but it had been nicknamed by the scientist who had deemed it safe to eat. He called it 'Globya'. I turned and bucked at the chocolate-brown trunk, once, twice. The fruit wobbled and dropped, landing neatly in my baskets. One missed, and splatted onto the ground. I grimaced, but some of the gel had landed on my front hoof and I licked it up greedily. It sure was good. Finding myself in a cluster of these trees, I bucked at each one until the fruit dropped down.

By all means I was hardly perfect at it, leave that to the apple farmers, but my baskets were still full to the brim after some time. At the very last tree, one landed with a splat on my face, but I shook it off and licked up whatever was left. I sighed at the knowledge that my fur would be sticky later.
After taking a short rest, I headed back to the place where Dragonsilver and I shared our lunch. About halfway there, I stopped, hearing a pained whining noise coming from the trees. It sounded like a pony. I broke my way through a tangle of vines to see a mare lying on the ground, covered in blood and moaning.

'Dragonsilver!' I yelled, 'Dragonsilver!' My red colt came cantering through the bushes. Immediately, he saw the mare lying in pain, and rushed to her side. His horn glowed, surrounded by a blue light, and I saw the wounds begin to heal, just as I knew they would.
'We should get her back to the house,' I said. 'If something did this to her it could still be nearby.' Dragonsilver nodded, and levitated her onto my back, resting her between the two baskets. He knew that I was stronger than him.

We took the injured mare back to the house and laid her on the kitchen table. We looked at the scabs. They covered her entire body from head to tail, teensy pinpricks. Around the scabs was a kind of green bruise, just under the black fur and skin. The mare's green mane was untidy but not unkempt. All in all it was a very puzzling picture.

It got even worse when the wounds reopened, and the blood continued to flow. 'Get some bandages,' Dragonsilver ordered me. I obeyed quickly, fetching them from the kitchen cupboard. With his assistance, I expertly wrapped them around and around her body, legs, and hooves. There wasn't much I could do about the face, but Dragonsilver got a hand towel and dabbed away the blood.
'Why did the wounds reopen?' I asked.
'Probably because some sort of toxin was injected that stops them closing,' he told me. 'See the green around the marks? That might be it,' he went to the tap and ran some warm water. 'Clean her down.' I took the water and a cloth, and dabbed away the blood, getting a better look at the wounds beneath. 'Dragonsilver?' 'Mmhmm?'
'The green is gone,' I told him. He swore.
'Is that bad?' I asked.

'Yes,' he said, 'It's now absorbed into her bloodstream. If I'm right, we can't do anything to stop it bleeding, except draining all her blood and replacing it.'
'But tha's impossible! How do we save her now?'
'We need to contact Canterlot.'
'We can't do it. The mailmare only comes once a month. How are we supposd to contact them?' I told him, because it really couldn't be done.
'Fine. We need to collect a sample of the toxin and create our own antidote. It's the only other thing I can think of.'
'How are we supposed to do that? Take a blood sample?'
'No,' said Dragonsilver, mind at work. 'The blood will either be too diluted or contaminated - possibly both - no, we need to find whatever hurt her.'

'Oh. How in the hay are we supposed to do that? We can't jus' leave her here all by herself, she'll probably die!' I said frantically, my accent of the days gone by returning in my jumpiness.
'It's our only choice,' he looked me square in the eye, 'You don't have to come.'
And I looked back at him. 'Ah have no medical training whatsoever. If you go in there, and something happens to her, ah will be helpless. Ah may as well come so that ah can do some good.'

'I don't want you to get hurt.' I looked at the mare, who had let out a tiny groan, her black face coated in sweat and blood.
'Ah've had worse. And you were there for me. If you're there for me this time, we can't fail.' I looked at the red pony, into his eyes, seeing him study me.

Finally he relented. 'You have had worse. And I want to make sure it will never happen again. But some things are out of my control, you have to understand that. I'd do anything to protect you, however capable you are of handling yourself. You aren't weak, you're probably stronger than me. I can't stop you, but I do give you my permission. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you, but that-' he looked at the mare, 'could be you. So you have to promise me to stay nearby, and be very careful.

'I promise,' I said, trying to sound like a Manehattenite or whatever they were called. I saluted, knocking my stetson off my head. Dragonsilver picked it up and placed it back where it belonged. We smiled, and prepared for the journey.

'...Okay, this could take a while, so we need to be adequately prepared. Food?'
'Check,' I said, tucking some apples and sandwiches into a saddle bag.
'Map and compass?' There was no proper map of the Everfree, but we had a rough estimate, and a more detailed one that Dragonsilver had done over the course of a couple of expeditions.
'...Check,' I said.

'Rope?'
'What do we need rope for?' I asked quizzically.
'There are so many uses for rope that I cannot begin to explain them all. I could, however, go through a couple with you after this crisis is over,' he said, giving me a small wink, 'In bed.'
'Okay then. Check,' I said, strapping a coil to the side of a saddle pack and ignoring his comment.
'First aid kit?' he asked me.
'Yes indeedy. All checked and ready to go,' I said. He looked at my packing work.
'Good.'

Before we left, we had to make the mare comfortable. However, in this situation, there wasn't much we could do. I slid a pillow under her head while Dragonsilver closed up the pinpricks once more. 'What good'll that do?' I asked him, 'You're just wasting energy.'
'I will take some time for them to open again. We're holding her life in. We'd best get going,' he said.
'Then let's do it.'

Without another word, we left the house, passed the overgrown garden, out the gate, and into the Everfree. We walked until we found a thin trail of blood streaking the ground. We followed it to a clearing.
'If it was an animal that poisoned her, we have no hope of getting an antidote. I suspect it's a plant, however, and that's what we need to find,' he looked at me, 'If you do find it, do not go any closer. It may not have had it's fill yet.' I gulped, and we started searching.The

The clearing was about ten metres in diameter, edged with vines and dark trees. The sky was obsured by a thick canopy, the leaves every shade of brown, black and green. I walked around, inspecting the ground, but all traces of blood were gone. This puzzled me, because it should have just dried and left a stain. I looked around the clearing, at the hard dirt ground. The dirt was scuffed, showing signs of a recent struggle. So it had been here where the mare was attacked. I looked around for Dragonsilver, but it seemed he had gone to investigate elsewhere. Taking a deep breath, I puffed up my courage and walked to the other side of the clearing to look further.

Halfway across, I tripped on a thick, green vine and fell to the hard ground, cursing. But I was fine, apart from a tiny scrape on my left forehoof. Kicking the vine angrily, I increased my pace and made a mental note to watch where I was going. A second later, however, I felt a tug at one of my back legs and I fell to the ground again. Looking back, I saw the vine curled around my leg.

Kicking ferociously, I freed myself and tried to escape, but several more vines were now curling around me. I struggled silently for a few more minutes, kicking up dirt and making a fuss, but seventy or more vines had now joined the fight and were restraining me quite efficiently. Pain streaked through my leg, impossible, terrible pain, almost equal to the pain I had felt in that dungeon, two years ago. I screamed, and the vines withdrew, covered in blood. I saw my leg, and it was filled with the green liquid, blood streaming out, just like the mare.
'Dragonsilver!' I screamed, 'Dragonsilver!!' I tried some more, but the vines curled into my mouth chokingly, and the writhing mass started to drag me to it's source. I no longer wasted my breath screaming, as it took all I had just to keep dragging the air in and out. Scraping my face along the ground, the plant dragged me into the bushes, and out of sight. My stetson was knocked off, and I was feeling woozy from blood loss.

Then I saw it, the plant that the vines protruded from. It was a giant flower, all blue, white and silver. Watching more closely, I saw tiny needle-like thorns extending from one of the vines. I tried with all my might to keep them at bay, but they sunk into my other leg.
I felt the sickening feeling of liquid being squirted into me, and sucked out of me. I was close to the flower now, and even through all the pain I could see the massive amounts of my blood it was absorbing. More pain shot through me as my left flank was pierced, but instead of darkening, my vision grew brighter. I wasn't giving up just yet. I looked around for tools, anything to aid in my escape.

Tearing one foreleg from the greenery, I snatched up a rock and lobbed it into the very heart of the flower. It didn't seem to do anything, but I still had a couple of seconds before my foreleg was out of my control. Grabbing a sharp rock from the ground, I tore through one of the petals. It was made of tough stuff, but I managed to sever some nerves, if things like that even had nerves.

Stabbing again and again, I tore the giant petal up until it was nothing but useless shreds. The vines seemed distracted now, searching for the source of the pain, leaving me almost unrestrained. But even if I was completely uninhibited I doubted I could move by myself.
I had to get to Dragonsilver.
I tore the last vine away from my mouth and yelled to him as loud as I could, again and again. Then he broke through the bushes and we made eye contact. In less than half a second he was working his magic, already having assessed the situation. Vines snapped in two, left right and centre, and the flower was surrounded by a blue aura.

I was free now, but the pain in my legs was too great, and I couldn't move. I shivered as the blue aura surrounded me as well. I was lifted up into the air, and gently set down out of the way. Dragonsilver's horn grew brighter as he subdued the flower. Eventually it settled down, and Dragonsilver collected a sample of the toxin from one of the larger vines. Then the pain became too much, and I blacked out.

I woke up to the singing of the birds, a rare thing at this house, for only the bravest birds dared to venture this close to the Forest. Consumed with the thought of trying to recapture my lost dream, I rolled over... ...And gasped in pain.
The memories came flooding back, not of my dream, but of the events past. I pushed back the covers on my bed, and inspected my hind legs. They were both wrapped in a clean, white bandages, and there was no sign of the blood. It seemed my legs had been expertly taken care of, but I didn't dare to stand, not yet. Lying back, I waited.

After some time, Dragonsilver came by to check up on me, and noticed that I was awake. 'Welcome back to the world of the living,' he said with a smile, the kind only he could do.
'Thanks... I think? What time is it?' I asked him, trying to gain some knowledge of time. The curtains had been drawn over the window, but some light had managed to crawl through.
'It's about mid-afternoon. You've been out for two days,' he said. Huh.
'So... What happened?' I asked him.

'I managed to get you back here, and mix up an antidote in time. The reason you were out so long was just the natural healing, you're fine. I'm not a doctor, but there's probably going to be some permanant damage, I'm sorry.' I looked at him, horror-struck, and he backtracked a bit. 'The tissue damage was quite... Particular. I suspect you'll still be able to do anything you would normally, but the bone will break more easily, so you'll need to be more careful.' Dragonsilver eased up to me, and I embraced him, in need of some reassurance.

We kissed, and I managed to lose myself, just for a second. Forget the pain, forget the worries. There is only Dragonsilver, there is only me. Something triggered, 'The mare!'
Dragonsilver pulled away. 'Oh, yes.'
'What happened?' I asked, but I didn't have to. The answer was written all over his face.
'She - well, by the time I'd gotten you back, and mixed up the antidote, she'd lost too much blood. There was nothing I could do.'

Now it was my turn to comfort him. 'It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could. If we were reversed, there would be two bodies, not one. You saved a life, don't put yourself down! It wasn't your fault, and it never will be, sugarcube.'
He smiled a little. 'You're right.'

A week and a half later, I took my first steps outside. It was evening, and the sunset was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. Light streamed across the grass and trees, giving the Everfree a kind of bittersweet look I had never seen before.
I was scared, yes, but I wasn't going to let the fear defeat me.

Dragonsilver supported me, and together we walked over to the apple tree, where the first blossoms were beginning to bloom.

Applejack closed the book, and looked across the campfire at her friends.
'After Dragonsilver and Silver Buckle passed away, their relatives, Granny Smith included, moved to that very spot, built some houses, and started an apple orchard. We now know that orchard as Sweet Apple Acres, and the town as Ponyville!'
'That was great, Applejack! Okay,' said Twilight, 'Who wants to tell a story next? How about you, Rainbowdash?'
'Oh, please, no!' said Rarity overdramatically. 'I'm sorry, Rainbow dear, but I simply cannot tolerate another of your Wonderbolt stories.'
'Aww, come on Rarity, the Wonderbolts are so awesome!'
'Marshmallows are ready!' said Pinkie Pie, handing the perfectly toasted marshmallows around to her friends.
Twilight accepted a marshmallow from Pinkie, then looked around. 'How about you Fluttershy? You haven't told a story yet.'
Well, okay,' said Fluttershy. 'Once I met this green-jay...'

The End.

Another sequel thing but not good so don't read it

AN: This is my other other sequel to the Force of the Elements, and it comes after the one that I forgot the name of. Anyways, if you haven't read them, you should. If you haven't read them on purpose but feel like a more sombre story, read this, by all means. Although some of it may not make much sense.

It was late at night, and the mood around the campfire had quietened down a bit. They had finished all the mashmallows, and Pinkie Pie was slowly nodding off on Twilight's shoulder. The fire had been worn down to just a tiny glow, as nobody had fetched any more wood to put on it.

'So what happened to Dragonsilver?' asked Twilight. Applejack had been expecting this question from the ever-curious element of magic.
'Ah told y'all. They passed away and then-'
'No, AJ, what actually happened to them? How did they die?' asked Twilight insistently.
'It's... It's not a very nice story.'
'What, and the others have been?' said Rainbowdash, flexing her wings.
'Compared to this, yeah!' said Applejack heatedly.
'Ladies, calm down,' Rarity broke in.
'Sorry Rares,' said Rainbow.

There was silence for a while, until- 'So could you tell us what happened?' Twilight asked.
'Fine! Since y'all are just so keen, ah'll tell ya.'

It was a gloomy day, and the clouds were fat and grey. The mood was sombre, but it wasn't the weather. It was the hole in the ground, the coffin, the freshly carved gravestone. Dragonsilver looked across at the poor bunch of mourners. It really was a dismal show-up.

Dragonsilver didn't have any family left, so there was only a few ponies. In chief, they were Silver's family. Her parents were there, and her older brother. Her aunt was too. Some of the elements of harmony had bothered to show, as well.
Mr Tux was wearing a smart black suit, which he had no doubt made himself. Golden Sheild and his wife Periwinkle had also shown up, but there was no sign of Morning Glory the flower filly.

Dragonsilver looked over at the silent ponies. They showed no sign of speaking, so it seemed that it was up to him. Dragonsilver stepped forwards and opened his mouth, when some movement in the gloomy sky caught his eye. A glint of gold.
'It's the Princess' carriage!' Silver's aunt exclaimed. The golden carriage was coming closer and closer, lower to the ground. It skimmed the canopy of the Everfree forest, tearing up the blackened leaves, and came to rest about fifty metres away from the funeral site.
'The Princess...?'

There was no question about it, the multicoloured flowing mane was unmistakable. Princess Celestia walked over to Dragonsilver, and spoke.
'I'm terribly sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting the processions?' she said.
'Of course not, and even if you were, there's nothing we can do about it,' said Dragonsilver bitterly. She laughed, despite the cicumstances, and Dragonsilver scowled at her.

It was her fault. All her fault.

'Well, if it's not too much trouble, may I join in?' the Princess asked.
'Amazingly enough, I'm not really comfortable-' Dragonsilver began, but he was interrupted.
'But of course! You are the number one most important pony in Equestria!' Silver's conniving aunt said, just a little too loudly. Dragonsilver scowled, remembering the way Silver had complained about her aunt, who was such a suck-up to important figures in society.

'Wait, AJ, you must have gotten it wrong!' said Rainbowdash. '"Silver had complained?" Don't tell me this is her funeral! What happened?'
'Rainbow, if you ain't gonna wait for the story, y'all can leave. Ah'll get to it.'
'Okay, okay. Touchy, much?'

Dragonsilver scowled, remembering the way Silver had complained about her aunt, who was such a suck-up to important figures in society. But he grudgingly allowed this unwelcome visitor. Perhaps Silver would forgive him, wherever she was now. They reconvened around the wooden coffin.
'May I say a few words?' asked Celestia.
'But of course,' said Silver's aunt, before Dragonsilver had a chance to deny her. They locked eyes and scowled at each other, not bothering to hide the hostility floating around. Silver's parents shuffled uncomfortably.

Celestia cleared her throat, her eyes flickered to Dragonsilver for a fraction of a second, and she spoke.
'Silver Buckle, honored element of honesty, hard worker, friend to us all. We gather here today to wish you well on your journey to the afterlife, and all that may come afterwards.' Dragonsilver felt his stomach clench. 'Your final moments were good ones. Had you still been alive, we would have awarded you a medal of integrity and bravery. As it is, we will be paying compensation to Dragonsilver, in the hope that it will appease you.'

In his mind, Dragonsilver recoiled in disgust. This wasn't what he expected at all. There was no apology from Celestia, not one heartfelt sentence. This was probably what she said at all the funerals she attended. The Princess backed away from the coffin. Several ponies looked at Dragonsilver. It was his turn to speak.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped towards the apple tree, and looked up at the sky, then down to the earth. 'Silver, I-' Dragonsilver choked. 'I-' No, it was too hard. After hearing Celestia's lack of empathy, all he wanted to do was weep. And so he did.
He cried, tears rolling down, feeling the ache in his heart and the hate for the alicorn who didn't care. He felt a hoof on his shoulder, and looked through swollen eyes at his comforter. It was Mr Tux, the element of generosity. Dragonsilver cleared his eyes, and looked down at the polished wood. He felt his horn glow with an aura of blue magic, and he let it all go. From him eminated a shockwave of emotional magic. As it passed through the other ponies they gasped, suddenly feeling the grief he was containing. Then there was a flash, and he teleported away.

Celestia looked guiltily around.

Inside his house, Dragonsilver had gotten his oldest saddle bag, the one he trusted the most to keep his things safe. He looked at it, perhaps for a second, perhaps for an entire ten minutes, and cast it aside. Walking to Silver's room, he retrieved one of her saddle bags and pressed it to his nose. Yes, it still smelt like her.
Dragonsilver, working slowly and methodically, went through the house and collected every spare bit he could find, putting them all into Silver's saddle bag. Ignoring whatever was happening outside, he packed the remainder of space in the saddle bags full of food, both fresh and that kind that keeps forever but doesn't taste as good.

One type he omitted, however, was everything that came from the Everfree forest. One of the things he and Silver had done for a living was collect edible plants from the Everfree, to sell and eat. The food reminded him of Silver, but the Everfree Forest reminded him of her death, something he relived often enough without assistance.

Dragonsilver startled, and realised that he hadn't moved for quite some time. How long had been standing there? Regaining his previous mindset, the red unicorn shook his head to clear his thoughts, and started out the front door. The funeral was over, but the guests were still there, talking among themselves. Celestia stood, patiently enduring Silver's Aunt's monotonous drivel. She probably had to put up with that kind of thing all the time in Canterlot.

She deserves it, thought Dragonsilver.

The blue front door shut behind him rather loudly, causing the guests to look up from their posts around Silver's apple tree. Various expressions greeted him. Sympathy from Golden Sheild, Periwinkle, and Silver's parents. A weird sort of manly concern from Mr Tux. Annoyance from Silver's aunt, and that terrible nonchalance from Celestia. Like she just didn't care.

But she spoke. 'Where are you going?'
Dragonsilver's eyes flicked to her. 'Anywhere away from you is fine with me.'
Celestia sighed, but made no attempt to stop him as he left his house, leaving the oaken gate swinging on it's hinges. He walked, for who knows how long. There were no paths to or from his house, so he wandered along open land, not stopping or looking back.

As night enveloped the Summer sky, Dragonsilver could see the faint lights of a city, far away across the mountains. It called to him. Perhaps there he would find the piece of his heart that had been lost. It was a windless and cloudless night, and Dragonsilver couldn't see any shelter within walking distance, so he settled down at the bottom of a small hill, using the mound as a wind break. He tried to nibble on some bread from the saddle bags, but the scarlet pony had no appetite to speak of, and reluctantly packed the food away again.

So he sat, and drifted, allowing his thoughts and feelings to finally consume him.

Dragonsilver had a major problem. Ursa major, to be exact. Earlier that day, on the edge of the Everfree Forest, Princess Celestia came for a visit, and certainly not a casual one.
An Ursa Major had been smashing it's way through the forest, and was headed on a course for their house. Now, according to all the laws of magic, it is impossible for one entity to have the power to banish an Ursa Major. Such was true, as even a large portion of the Royal Guard's unicorns could not hold it back with levitation.

'It wouldn't be a problem,' said Celestia to Silver and Dragonsilver, 'If it was out of our way. But it's not. The Ursa Major, if it continues on it's present course, will make it all the way to Hoofington in less than an hour. It's vital that we take care of the problem immediately.'
'What can we do?' asked Silver, with a voice of that, despite being afraid, sounded fiercly loyal. Celestia smiled down at the earth pony.
'I have a new spell in mind, but I will need the help of both of you. Are you willing?'
'Yes, of course,' they both said.

Dragonsilver woke with a start. It was morning, and the sun was rising in the sky. But, where was he? Oh yes, the hillside. Ohhh. It hit him, the same way it had every day since the day Silver died.
Silver was gone. The thing that had surprised Dragonsilver the most, was that it was more than just a feeling. It was a physical ache in his chest, he needed her so much, indescribably much. He fought back tears, not wanting to show weaknesses, even though there was nopony to see him.

Casting away the uneaten bread that had now gone stale, he headed for the city, seeking for liberation.