Elements of Destiny

"Girls!" I shout as I run to the end of the tunnel, where my friends stood.

"Sweetie Belle!" They call out. They start to run up to me and I see Scootaloo's Element wrapped around her neck.

"You found your Element." I say happily. She smiles proudly.

"Sure did. That means we're one step closer to saving Equestria." She says. I hear a low laugh echo across the room and I look up to see swirling clouds at the ceiling.

"It can't be..." I say. The clouds surround us and pull Apple Bloom into it's aura. I see a light blue flash and see the Element being removed from her neck. I only see Apple Bloom for a second before I find Babs, then Scootaloo be pulled in. I hear screams of horror, along with my own. I see the clouds come towards me and I watch in shock as I realize that I really did see her, Nightmare Moon.

"Hello little filly, care to join me?" She asked.

"I'd never join you in anything Nightmare Moon." I spit back.

"Do you really mean that Sweetie Belle?" a gray Luna says as she appears to my side.

That can't be her, can it?

"Stop it Nightmare Moon, I know it's you, give Princess Luna back!" She comes in closer, bearing her teeth. I look away in fear.

"Do I scare you Sweetie Belle?" I hear Luna again. I shut my eyes, trying to shut everything out. I feel a tug at my back legs and I feel the ground slip from under me. I open my eyes in to see the Unicorn there, holding a weapon of some sort. I find myself in the air, and then set down far away.

"Give up Nightmare Moon, release Luna!" She demands. She has her head down low, and her horn tilted up defensively. She only laughs.

"That's a mistake I'll never make again." She unexpectedly kicks her and the unicorn goes flying across the room, and lands on the cave wall, several feet from the ground. Nightmare Moon rushes to her as a shadow, and just as the Unicorn looks up, she finds a hoof pressed against her neck. Choking, the tyrant laughs.

"Foolish ponies, you have no idea what you're getting into." I get up unsteadily on my hooves, trying to keep my balance. I eventually stand up straighter as the first bearer of the Element's eyes begin to dim.

"Stop!" I say.

She turns around, kicking the bearer to the wall as she slips into her shadow, and surrounds me with darkness. She laughs as my mane flies around in the air. "Or what? You're gonna call your big sister to come get you?" She laughs as I hesitate on what to say next. "Or maybe try to find the Elements of Harmony, and let them do the dirty work? Foolish child, this isn't a fairy tale. This so called Friendship our subjects go on about, it may be powerful, but do you know what over comes it?" I scowl as she tells me anyway.

"Fear, with the night lasting a lifetime, the whole world will bow to us as we release havoc and chaos in our new empire!!" She laughs wickedly.

"That's because you don't understand the light of Friendship like we do, you always want to conquer our nation!" I shout back over the roaring winds. She laughs.

"And with light there is shadows do you think that we will live in peace for forever? Here's some news for you little foal," She emphasized the last word like it was venom. " If you ponies are all about the magic of friendship, how come you banished me." This takes me back.

"She wanted to exclude me from the kingdom, we all wanted power. The tyrants, we all had something we wanted to do. Chrysalis only wanted to find food for her army, Sombra avenge his shadow brothers and sisters, Discord wanting to play a few harmless pranks, and instead of trying to understand, you banished us! And now, I'm going to banish any of the light of friendship that remains, starting with you!!"

I no longer feel anything and can hardly move as she strips me of my Element. I immediately fall to the ground below. Land on my side, my vision going dark as I hear low mocking chuckles escape her lips.  I hear a clinking sound right in front of me as my vision turns to total darkness.

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I wake up feeling groggy as I stretch my legs and steady myself on my hooves. I feel as though I've been bruised and asleep for days. I try t get to my hooves, but fall back to the ground my strength is completely gone. The cave is dark, all of the rainbow quarts lay in dark crushed pieces. I find Scootaloo, closest to me on my left, getting up herself. I see for a split second that her eyes are gray.

I then find Babs across from me far off, with Apple Bloom next to her, trying to lean on each other for support. I look behind me to see the unicorn gone, and I try to move.

"Don't strain yourself," I hear her say. I look around the cave and find  nothing.

"Where are you?" I say in a hoarse voice.

She steps out of nowhere, translucent and with a upset look on her face. Behind her come out the other bearers. "We are sorry children." The gryphon says.

"For what? We did our best." Scootaloo says.

"It was our job to be the guardians to the Elements and to you, and now your friend is gone, and..."  The Earth pony says while turning her head.

"What happened?" Apple Bloom says in a hopeful scratchy voice.

"Skourene, she..." They said after a long pause. "she took the Elements of Harmony, and absorbed the remaining power of the remains of former tyrants and princesses. She destroyed the tree of Harmony, and used Discord's power to turn Luna to her opposite self. She destroyed many passage ways to the Celestial Plane, and now, she has Equestria."

"We still have the Elements don't we? Can't we still-" Scootaloo encouraged.

"No!" The gryphon snapped. "It's too late."

"Ah' think that there's still a chance." Apple Bloom agreed.

"I'm afraid not, Skourene will kill anyone that gets in her way. She said it herself. We were in battle, and her victory was drawing near. But in the end, she forced us to surrender after both sides were greatly weakened." The unicorn explained.

"Maybe we can still use the Elements of Destiny," Babs suggested. It was at this point that they all looked away.

Finally the unicorn spoke up. "There.... there is no Elements of Destiny."

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