Return of Nightmare Moonby R-Dashiefan20ChaptersPrologueChapter 3Chapter 5Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21EpilogueChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 4Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 15Chapter 16PrologueWind sighed as she replaced the flowers at her parents grave. "Happy anniversary." She said to the tombstone. She was dressed in her usual guard armor and had her three swords with her. Each sword was emblazoned with a different symbol. One had her father's, another had her mother's, and the last one had hers. Her symbol was a trinity of blades crossing one another. "It's a shame someone as awesome as Dashie and Jet had to pass away." Someone said from behind Wind. She turned to see her aunt, Scootaloo. "Hey auntie." Wind said as she stood up. Scootaloo hugged her. Scootaloo was dressed in her work outfit, a pair of coveralls that had various grease stains on them. She was responsible for the maintenance of the castle and other places around Ponyville. Ever since the overlord was defeated, Wind hadn't gotten to see much of her aunt, she'd been busy reconstructing everything. Wind let go of Scootaloo and backed up a little. "So, how goes the reprogramming of those cyborgs?" Wind asked. "Pretty good. Button Mash and Comet Trail are whizzes with the technical stuff. I just had to restore some of the parts to working order. They should be back to their old selves in no time." Scootaloo replied. "Isn't that just dandy. So, tell me, how long are you two going to keep mourning over these two before you bring them back?" A voice said from behind them. They turned to see Discord sitting on the tombstone. "You know we can't bring them back without the Ponynomicon and someone that can use dark magic." Wind said. "Well, you have half of the equation right now." Discord replied. "What are you yammering on about?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, you may not have the Ponynomicon, but you do have someone that can use dark magic." Discord replied. "Who are you talking about?" Wind asked. "Well, my dear. I'm talking about..." Discord began as he was cut off by an explosion in the distance. Wind turned to see smoke rolling from the castle. "Shit, Princess Luna!" Wind screamed as she flew off toward the castle. Chapter 3Wind approached the archive room and was stopped by a guard in blue armor that had stars on it. He had black hair with blue stripes in it and a symbol of a shield with five stars and twin swords behind it. Wind recognized him as the general of the ground infantry. "Stand aside Midnight Shield. I need access to the archives." Wind said. "I cannot allow you to enter with him." Midnight said as he gestured toward Discord. "He's with me. It's okay." Wind said. Midnight just stood there. "Stand aside, Midnight Shield." Wind said, getting agitated. He just shook his head. "I am your superior and I am giving you a direct order." Wind said. He stood there for a minute before moving aside. Wind proceeded to enter the archive room. They found the residential section and looked in the Q's. Wind found several in the file. Just when she was about to give up, she found it. She pulled out the file and brought it over to a table where she sat down. She cracked open the file and began reading. A lot of the information was expunged. The only things that weren't blacked out was his name, occupation history, and address. "It says here he was the royal oracle for some time, it doesn't say why he was dismissed though. He lived in a house not far from Sugarcube Corner. Let's go." Wind said as she headed to the door. She stopped in front of the guard. "Midnight. We might need your help to save Luna, will you join us?" Wind asked. He looked at her for a minute before standing at attention. "It would be my honor to help save our princess." He replied. "Good, follow us." Wind said as she headed out of the castle, toward Quill's former home. Chapter 5They arrived at the boutique and walked inside. "Just a minute!" Marigold said from the back room. She appeared from behind the curtain and gasped as she saw Wind and Cherry. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked. "We need your help to defeat Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "N-Nightmare Moon?" Marigold said. "Yes. She has returned and we don't know why. Are you in or not?" Wind asked. "Of course I'll help you." Marigold said as she grabbed her jacket from a hook by the door. "Good. One down, three to go." Wind said as they headed towards Princess Twilight's castle. They made their way to the library and found Comet sitting at a desk nose deep in a book. "Hey, Comet!" Cherry screamed, causing him to drop his book to the floor and fall out of his chair. "Cherry, what have I told you about scaring me while I'm studying?" He asked as he got up from the floor. He looked up and saw Wind. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the royal bodyguard?" Comet said sarcastically. "Don't be that way. We need your help to stop Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "Well, I think you can do without me. You seem to have quite the team already." Comet replied. "Don't be like that, my little cupcake." Cherry said. "Cherry, I told you not to call me that in front of people." Comet said as he blushed. Wind looked back and forth between Comet and Cherry. "When did you two hook up?" Wind asked. "Shortly after the doctor took us back in his machine." Cherry said. "That's adorable. So, are you in or not. Cupcake?" Wind asked. Comet gave her a dirty look and crossed his arms. "Fine." He said. "Okay, four down, two to go. To Sweet Apple Acres." Wind said as she headed for the door. They got to the orchard quickly and found Applespice bucking apples, shirtless, by the barn. Cherry leaned over to Wind. "Close your mouth, you're drooling." She said. Wind realized she was right and shook her head to clear her mind. Applespice looked up and saw them all coming towards him. "Hey guys. Been a while since the gang was all together." He said. 'No time for formalities, we have a big problem that we need your help with.' Is what Wind wanted to say. But, it came out as a mixture of spits and sputters. "What she means to say is that we need your help to defeat Nightmare Moon." Cherry said. "Nightmare Moon? Isn't that just a story?" He asked. "No, she's real and out to bathe the world in eternal darkness." Cherry replied. "I wish I could, but, I got a lot of work to take care of on the farm." He replied. "Don't worry about it. I can handle tha' farm while ur gone." Applebloom said from behind him. "You sure, auntie?" Applesice asked. "Sure, I've had to take care of the farm myself before. I can handle it." Applebloom said. "Well, okay. I guess I'm in then." He said. "Yay! Now we just need to find Shadow and we'll be ready to go." Cherry said. Wind turned to leave and gasped. "We have to leave now. If I know Shadow, he'll find us." Wind said. "What are you..." Comet began as he looked to the sky with Wind. The moon was already nearing the sun. They all ran toward the train station. Chapter 8Luckily, the address wasn't far from the castle. It was a large cobblestone apartment building. They found the right one and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Wind turned the knob and found that it was unlocked. They entered and found that the room was completely black. Wind flipped the light switch and the room lit up. As the light kicked on, a guy dressed in a navy blue polo, black jeans, a pair of black reading glasses, and a black and white fedora attacked her with a baseball bat. Instinctively, Wind caught the bat and snatched it from his hands. She then ran her fist into his stomach. He collapsed onto the ground, coughing. Wind dropped the bat and helped him to his feet as she apologized. After he caught his breath, he led them to a dining room table and brought out some tea. Wind began to question him. "Are you Quill Write?" She asked. "Yes. I am indeed." He said as he took a sip from a cup of tea. "What can you tell us about this?" Wind asked as she slid the book across the table to him. He picked it up and looked it over. "Ah, yes. I remember this. Celestia had me write down my prophecies in this book." He replied. "What happened? The book just stops after Nightmare Moon returns." Wind said. "Well, that's as far as I got before Celestia quit listening to me." He said. "What happened?" Wind asked. "Well, after I made my prediction about the overlord, Celestia refused to believe that anyone would be able to defeat her army and the elements of harmony. So, she revoked my royal oracle status. At that point I proceeded to move away from Ponyville. I knew what was coming and that the only safe haven would be here in the Crystal Empire, protected by Cadence's magic." He replied. "I found your journal in your old house in Ponyville. What happened to your family?" Wind asked. He looked down at his cup of tea and frowned deeply. "Well, I tried to convince my wife to come with me. But, like Celestia, she refused to believe me. I had no choice but to leave Trixie and our newborn son in Ponyville." He replied. "Wait. Trixie? As in 'the great and powerful' Trixie?" Shadow asked. "Yes. Why do you ask?" Quill replied. "That's my mother." Shadow said. "If she's your mother, then that means..." Quill started. "Father?" Shadow asked. Tears welled up in Quill's eyes. As he got up, Wind noticed a familiar flash of light on a rooftop across the street through the window. "Get down!" She yelled as she tackled Quill, just as a bullet crashed through the window and embedded itself in the table. Wind got up and jumped through the window and flew up to the opposite roof. She landed and saw a guy dressed in silver and black armor running away. She caught him and held him to the ground. Chapter 9"Who are you and why are you trying to kill Quill Write?" She asked through gritted teeth. "I'm the world's best sniper and assassin. Sure Shot." He said as he pulled a knife from his belt and tried to stab Wind. She grabbed his hand and felt it snap as she bent it backwards. The knife clattered to the ground. "Who hired you?" She asked as she put her foot on his throat. "Who do you think?" He said as he struggled to breath. "Nightmare Moon. I should have guessed." Wind said. He just laughed as he swallowed something. "Enjoy the sunlight while you can. It's the last you will see of it. Once the other assassin's track you down, you will not be seeing anything ever again." He said as he began to foam at the mouth, then his eyes rolled back and his breathing stopped. "Damn, he took a cyanide capsule." Wind said as she lifted her foot up and headed back to the apartment. "Who was that?" Applespice asked. "An assassin hired by Nightmare Moon. He said there are others after us. We need answers, Quill. Now." Wind said. "What do you need to know?" He asked. "We need to know how to defeat Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "You'll have to use the elements of harmony." Quill asked. "But, the elements were lost with our parents." Wind said. "Not necessarily, you all may have been passed the ability to use the elements. If that's true, you will have your weapon to fight her." Quill said. "And what if we can't use the elements?" Wind asked. "Then may Celestia have mercy on our souls." He said. Wind looked out towards the sky. The moon was getting too close to the sun for her comfort. "We need to go. Do you have any idea how we might find Nightmare Moon?" Wind asked. "No. Unless you can squeeze the information out of one of her assassins, I haven't the foggiest idea." Quill said. "Damn. Let's hope we get lucky. Thank you for your help, Mr. Write." Wind said as she headed for the door. "If we make it out of this mess, I'll be back to visit you, dad. We have a lot to catch up on." Shadow said as they left for the train station. Chapter 10As soon as they got there, Wind's phone rang. "Hello?" She said as she answered it. "Where are you guys at? Have you seen the sky lately?" Vinyl asked. "We're in the Crystal Empire and yes we have seen the sky. We're trying to stop it right now." Wind replied. "The Crystal Empire? That's where I'm heading right now. Stay put I have something for you guys that you'll probably need." Vinyl said as she hung up. "Who was that?" Cherry asked. "It was Vinyl. She said she's on her way here and has something we ma need." Wind replied as the train pulled into the station. Vinyl hurried off the train carrying a big black square box. She ran over to Wind and handed her the box. "Take this. I don't know what's going on, but, I think I was followed." Vinyl said hurriedly. "Followed? By who?" Wind asked. Before Vinyl could answer, a dagger flew out of the open train door and caught Vinyl in the arm. Vinyl fell forward and was caught by Comet. Wind looked to the door to see a pegasus in black jeans, a white T-shirt with a symbol of a pegasus shadow on it, and a black hoodie. He had black hair that had a strip of blue in it. He held a black iron dagger in each hand and had a huge creepy grin on his face. Wind recognized him from one of her father's books. "Darkshadow. Pegasus of stealth and Equestria's most wanted assassin." Wind said aloud. "Ah, so you know of my work. Then you should also know, you stand no chance of beating me." He said smugly as he took a step forward before vanishing into the shadows. "If you give up now, I will make your deaths a quick and painless." His voice echoed around the station. A dagger flew out of the shadows and embedded into Winds shoulder. She pulled the dagger out and threw it to the ground. "Guys, get on the train. I can handle this jerk." Wind said as she turned to her friends. "Are you sure, Windy? We can help you take him out." Applespice said. She shook her head. "You heard her, move it." Applespice said as he herded everyone onto the train. She closed her eyes and listened closely. A trick her father had taught her to pinpoint movement around her. As she embraced the darkness that surrounded her now, she heard a slight footstep from behind and then the sound of a blade slicing through air. She turned and snatched the dagger from the air. "Now that we're on even ground, let's see you beat me now." Wind taunted as she gripped the dagger tightly. "Even with your enhanced perception, you are still no match for me." Darkshadow taunted. Wind listened as she heard him running around her, shrouded by the shadows. She heard him stop and heard the distant sound of a blade being drawn. She quickly turned and threw the dagger she had in the direction of the sound. She heard him yell in pain. She opened her eyes to see him crouched on the ground with the dagger embedded in his chest. She ran over and grabbed him by the neck. "Tell me what you know about Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "You'll get nothing out of me." Darkshadow said as he went to bite down. Wind quickly stuck her hand in his mouth to prevent him from biting down on the cyanide capsule. "Now, tell me where I can find her!" Wind shouted as he bit down on her hand. Wind pulled his jaw to the point of almost snapping. "Tell me. Then, you have my permission to die." Wind said. "Fine, you can find her in Las Pegasus. But, it will not matter, you will never make it there alive." He said through Wind's hand. She withdrew hand and boarded the train as Darkshadow fell to the ground and disappeared into the shadows again. Chapter 13Underneath the robe, she had on a black t-shirt that showed a pony skull and two bones crossed together, a green pair of jeans, and a pair of black combat boots. Her hair was almost like her mother's, except it was all different shades of green instead of rainbow colored. She pulled out a long sword that looked like it should belong in an FF game. The blade was completely silver and had a black wrapped handle, on the end of it dangled a key chain of a vial filled with green liquid. "So, tell me. Why are you in such a hurry to die?" The assassin asked. "I'm not. I just have a duty to the princess. One that I will serve in full." Wind replied. "Interesting. Tell me, how will you fulfill this duty if your mind is broken?" She asked. "Enough talk! Let's get on with it, I'm running out of time!" Wind yelled as she ran toward the unicorn with her sword drawn. The assassin side stepped and dodged her attack. Wind kept trying to attack, but the assassin kept dodging. Finally Wind managed to land a blow, but, the blade passed through the assassin like she were a ghost. "What the..." Wind said. "Fool! You cannot hurt me here, this is my domain!" The assassin said as she struck Wind with her sword. Wind flew back several feet and felt as if she had been hit by a speeding scooter. Wind bit back a curse as she stood up and looked at the assassin, who was standing there smiling at her smugly. Wind remembered what Luna had said about a hidden ability the sword had. "Okay, sword. Anytime you wanna help me out would be good." She said as she looked at her reflection in the blade. 'You do not possess the necessary attributes to wield me at full power.' A voice said in her head. "Okay, first off, how the hell am I talking to a sword. Second, what do you mean I don't possess the necessary attributes?" Wind asked. 'You have fear in your heart. Only by facing down that fear will you be able to properly wield me.' The sword said in her head. Wind sighed and looked up at the assassin, who was looking at her with a confused look on her face. "Loosing your mind already?" She asked. Wind just ran at her and lashed out again. "Pssh. You bore me. Let's see what you are afraid of, shall we?" The assassin said as she threw some kind of black powder into Wind's face. Chapter 14When her vision cleared, Wind was standing in a void of total darkness. She looked around to find any form of light, but with no luck. As she began to take a step forward, there was a bright flash of light. After the spots cleared from her eyes, Wind saw that she was standing in her parents home. She looked up to find her parents standing over her. They both had stern looks on their faces. "How could you let this happen?" Her father asked. "What are you talking about, dad?" Wind replied. "You let us die and then allowed Luna to be possessed by the nightmare mist." Her mother said. "No, it wasn't my fault." Wind protested. "Of course it was. You were tasked with rescuing us and protecting Luna. You have failed in your duties as a royal body guard." Her father said. "But, I..." Wind started. "Don't back talk your father young lady." Her mother said. Wind fell to her knees and tears welled in her eyes. "You have brought great shame to our family name." Her father continued. "No. It wasn't my fault. I tried to save you. I tried to protect Luna." Wind said as she looked at her father through tears. "Well, maybe you should have tried harder. Your father didn't let me die, and he had more to do to save me." Her mother said as the tears streamed down Wind's face. Wind couldn't even speak, she was so heart broken by this turn of events. All her life, she had strived to impress her parents. She had finished at the top of her class in flight school. She had been loyal to her friends. She had even taken a part time job at the weather factory, before they were kidnapped. This was her deepest fear, she had always feared that her parents would be disappointed in her. "Wait, that's it." She said to herself. She wiped the tears from her face and stood up. "You're not real." Wind said. Her parents looked taken aback. "Of course we are real." Her mother said. "No. You're not. You are a manifestation of my deepest fear. I know that my parents would be proud of me. They always were." Wind said. "No, you have disappointed us. You are a failure." Her father said. "No. I have made a name for myself as head of the royal guard. You are fakes!" Wind yelled as she drove her sword into her father's chest. "No!" He screamed as he exploded in a flash of light. Chapter 17"I'm assuming you're one of Nightmare Moon's assassins." Wind said. He nodded and charged toward the group. Everyone got out of the way just as he plowed through the side of the bus. Wind jumped up and brought her sword down on his head. It bounced off harmlessly. "What the hell?" Wind asked aloud. "You'll never break through my armor. Nothing can penetrate dark matter steel." The guy said as he grabbed wind and threw her down the road. She landed with a hard thud and the wind was knocked out of her. "You'll pay for that you bastard!" Applespice yelled as he tackled the guy to the ground. Applespice started to beat the tar out of the assassin, but, only managed to hurt his own fists. "Applespice! Hold him still I have an idea!" Marigold shouted. Applespice pulled the guy to his feet and held him in place. Marigold channeled her magic and stopped time. She ran over and undid the latches on the assassin's armor. She ran back over to join her friends and restarted time. The guys chest plate fell to the ground and he tore from Applespice's grasp and yelled. He charged the group again, this time aiming for Marigold. He caught her in his grasp and slammed her against the side of the bus. "No!" Cherry screamed. She pulled out a cannon and blasted the assassin with it. He blocked the blast with his arms. The blast managed to knock off his arm guards. "You little bitch!" He shouted as he charged at Cherry. "I don't think so." Comet said as he fashioned a makeshift tripwire out of a set of guitar strings. The assassin tripped over it and shattered his leg guards. He stood back up and pulled his helmet off. "You fucked up now. That armor was slowing me down. Now, you will witness my true speed." He said as he charged again, this time with super human speed. He knocked everyone sideways. Wind got up, with her breath back. She saw what was going on. She charged onto the bus and grabbed the bass cannon. She aimed it, but, couldn't get a lock on him. "Marigold. Can you slow this guy down?" Wind asked as she helped her friend to her feet. She winced and grabbed her side. She had broken something. "I can try." She said as she aimed her horn at the assassin and her eye glowed green. The assassin was immediately engulfed in an aura of green magic. His speed slowed greatly. Wind aimed the cannon at him. After a minute, it fired. He turned just in time to see a blast of sonic sound waves coming straight at him. The blast hit him and he was immediately vaporized. Marigold collapsed onto the pavement from exhaustion. Chapter 18Everyone assembled back at the bus. "Is everyone okay?" Sun asked. Everyone nodded. "Good. Now I don't have to feel bad about what I'm about to do. My fucking party bus! It's ruined!" Sun yelled. Wind put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Once we get Luna back, I'll have her get you a new one. A better one." Wind said. "She better." Sun replied as he crossed his arms. "So, how far are we from that temple?" Comet asked. Sun looked around. "About a twenty minute walk." He replied. Wind looked up at the sky. The moon was almost completely covering the sun now. "We better get going then. Comet, can you carry Marigold?" Wind asked motioning to her unconscious friend on the ground. "I think so." Comet said as he knelt down and picked her up. They continued down the road on foot. With Marigold unconscious, it took longer than expected. After about a half an hour, they got to a rundown looking temple that had a giant statue of Nightmare Moon out front. "I guess this is the place." Wind said as she approached the statue. She looked up at the sky. There was only a small amount of sunlight shining at the edge of the moon now. "How long do you think we have until eternal darkness?" Wind asked. "I'd say a matter of minutes now." Comet said. "Where are we?" Marigold asked as she regained consciousness. "We made it to the temple. We're almost finished." Wind said. As she took a step forward, she heard the familiar sound of a blade being drawn from in front of them. She strained her eyes to see into the dark entrance of the temple. As she watched, a female unicorn emerged from the darkness. She was carrying a polished silver kitana and was wearing the same color armor as the guy that had destroyed Sun's party bus. Her hair was so black is was almost invisible against the darkness behind her. On the front of her armor was a pair of black demonic looking wings. "So, you managed to get past Bloody Knuckles, eh? Not surprising. He was pretty stupid. More muscle than brain. But, I have both. You will live long enough to see your precious world bathed in eternal darkness. Then, Nightmare Moon's children of the night shall rule the world. Led by me, Deathangel!" The woman said. "Deathangel? Why do I know that name?" Wind asked herself. She thought hard, then it came to her. She was the younger sister of Darkshadow. They had worked as a team for years, until they had a disagreement and she refused to work with the likes of him again. Chapter 19"What did you think you were going to accomplish by coming here?" She asked. "Well, I didn't think anything. I know we're going to put an end to Nightmare Moon. Once and for all. Even if we have to bring this temple down on top of you." Wind replied. Deathangel just laughed. "You don't have the skills to kill me. None of you do." Deathangel said mockingly. "We'll see about that." Wind replied. Deathangel slammed her sword into the ground and a fissure circled around the two of them. Flames spewed up from the crack, creating an arena closed off by fire. "Shall we begin?" Deathangel said as she leveled her blade at Wind. Wind drew her own sword and assumed a fighting stance. Deathangel rushed her and swung her blade straight down at Wind with incredible speed. Wind dodged out of the way just as her blade sparked off the ground. Wind turned and swung at Deathangel. She dodged the blow as if Wind was moving in slow motion. They continued to go back and forth for several minutes. Both dodging the others attacks. Deathangel jumped back to the temple steps. Wind fell to one knee, nearly completely sapped of her strength. "You see, you can't so much as hit me, let alone kill me." Deathangel taunted. "At least I won't go down like a wimp." Wind replied as Deathangel rushed her again. Wind held up her blade to block the attack. She blocked the attack, but, the impact of Deathangel's strike shattered Wind's blade. Metal shards went everywhere. Wind fell to both knees, completely exhausted. "Any last words?" Deathangel asked. Wind gulped. If she didn't do it now, she knew she'd never get another chance. "Applespice? Can you hear me?" Wind called through the curtain of flames. "Yes. How are you doing Wind? We can't see anything through this damn fire." He called back. "I'm not doing too good. But, that's not important right now. I need to tell you something and this might be my only chance to do it." Wind called. "What is it Windy?" He called back. "Applespice... I... I..." Wind choked on the words. Deathangel gave her an impatient look. "I love you, Applespice. I always have." She said. There was a long pause. Wind gulped, thinking she had made a mistake. "I love you too. I was just afraid to say anything." He called back finally. Tears welled in Wind's eyes. "Just remember that I loved you." Wind said as she put her head down, accepting her fate. "What do you mean?" Applespice asked. Wind didn't reply. "Windy?" He called. "Windy?! Talk to me. What's happening?!" He called again. Deathangel raised her blade. As Wind braced for the final blow, she heard Deathangel shriek in pain. Wind looked up to see a black steel dagger sticking out of Deathangel's ribs. "What the hell?" Wind said aloud. Deathangel pulled the dagger out and looked at it. Her face paled. "What do you think you're doing?" She called out. "I have a debt to repay to the one you're about to strike down." A familiar voice called out from somewhere. "You would dare to interfere in the matters of a fellow assassin?" Deathangel called out. "I would. You know as well as I do, that I am the only one capable of ending you." The voice called out again as the shadows behind Deathangel began to take shape. From the shadows, Darkshadow stepped out. He had daggers in both hands and pointed one at Deathangel. "Ah, big brother. It's been a while. Why do you care what happens to this insignificant worm?" Deathangel asked. "Because I have a life debt to repay to her. But, you wouldn't understand about standards and honor. Would you?" He asked. Deathangel just snickered. "Just drop the sword and walk away. Don't make me have to kill you." Darkshadow said. "Sorry, brother. Not going to happen." Deathangel said as she raised her blade again. "So be it then." Darkshadow replied as a dagger impaled Deathangel in the neck. She fell to the ground with a thud. She lay there making a choking noise as she drown in her own blood. Darkshadow came over and helped Wind to her feet as the flame wall dissipated. Chapter 20Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Darkshadow helping Wind to her feet. "You get away from her." Applespice said as he charged toward them. "No! It's okay, Applespice! He helped me!" Wind said just as Applespice was about to plow over Darkshadow. He stopped and looked at Darkshadow. They gave each other a silent nod as Darkshadow backed up. "Consider our debt repaid." He said before disappearing back into the shadows behind him. "Windy! I'm so glad you're okay. What happened?" Applespice asked as he grabbed her in a big bear hug. "Later. We still have a job to do." Wind said, looking up at the sky. The moon was nearly completely eclipsing the sun now. "Oh, right." Applespice said as he put Wind down and they all headed into the temple. After several hallways that made it seem like they were going in circles, they arrived in a huge open room with a long table lined with food. At the head sat an alicorn in shining silver armor. She got up as they entered the room. "Well, made it passed Deathangel, huh? Well, would you care for something to eat or drink? After all, you're too late to stop me anyway. You might as well make yourselves comfortable and enjoy your last few minutes of precious sunlight." She said. "Screw that. We still have time to stop you." Wind said as she drew her sword. "Please, child. You have no power here. Why do you think I chose this temple as my base of operations? It's because this was a temple built to honor my power. The power of the nightmare mist." Nightmare Moon replied. "Ooh, is that cake?" Cherry asked moving towards the table. "Yes, young one, it is. Have some." Nightmare Moon said. "Cherry, darling. Please don't." Marigold said as she grabbed Cherry's shirt collar. "Oh, but, I was only going to get a small piece." Cherry protested as she struggled in Marigold's grasp. "Enough talk, Nightmare. We end this now." Wind said as she moved toward the alicorn, who was now casually looking out the window. "Do you really think you can stop me now? You don't have the elements of harmony, you don't possess dark magic, you stand no chance against me." Nightmare Moon said as she sipped from a glass of wine. "I think I'll manage just fine." Wind said. "Don't be foolish, child. Once the sun is eclipsed and Luna's complete essence is absorbed, I will be unstoppable. Invulnerable." Nightmare Moon said. "Enough talk." Wind said as she swung at Nightmare Moon, her blade bounced harmlessly off her armor. Nightmare Moon sighed. "Must it be like this? I was trying to be nice." She said as she back handed Wind across the room. Wind flew back and smacked into a pillar beside the door they came in through. Wind picked herself up and walked over to Cherry. "Do you still have that party cannon from your mom?" Wind asked. "Of course." Cherry replied. "Does it have any settings other than confetti?" Wind asked. "Yea. It has a fire setting, a cannon ball setting, a magma setting..." Cherry began. "That's good. Set it for the cannon ball. I have a plan." Wind said as she moved towards Nightmare Moon again. She was standing just beside a giant pillar in the middle of the room. Wind moved closer to her and Nightmare moved slightly to the right. Just like Wind had planned. "So, you still won't give up and accept defeat?" Nightmare said as she moved in front of the pillar. "Luna, forgive me. Cherry now!" Wind yelled as she back flipped out of the way. She landed next to her friends just as the cannon ball hit Nightmare, sending her flying into the pillar with a huge cracking sound. Chapter 21The whole temple began to crumble and shake. "We have to go, now!" Wind yelled as she ran towards the door. They charged through the hallways and out into the courtyard. The ground was still cracked from her fight with Deathangel. Just as they got out into the courtyard, the whole temple collapsed. Wind breathed a sigh of relief. "We did it. We saved Equestria." She said as she caught her breath. "If we saved Equestria, the how do you explain that?" Comet asked as he pointed towards the sky. Wind looked up to see the moon move in front of the sun, completely eclipsing it. "What the hell?" Wind said as the rubble from the temple began to shake violently. From the center of it burst Nightmare Moon. She was glowing with a dark blue aura. "I told you fools that you had no power here! Now prepare to die!" She yelled. "Great. Now what?" Wind asked. "Well, did you ever think of using dark magic?" A voice said from beside her. She turned to see Discord sitting on her shoulder. "And how are we supposed to use dark magic? No one here knows dark magic." Wind said. "You still haven't figured it out have you?" He asked. "Figured what out?" Wind replied. Discord sighed and put his hand over his face. "You can use dark magic. You dunce." He said. "Me?! How do you figure I can use dark magic?" Wind asked. "You inherited it from your father." He replied. "My father. He was a pegasus. Pegasi can't use magic. Quite being stupid and give me some useful advice." Wind said. "Yes your father was a pegasus, but, he did have access to dark magic. How do you think he was able to survive for so long in that cage with your mother? He used dark magic to stabilize their heart rates." He said. "If that's true, why are they dead?" Wind asked. "Well, he told me not to say anything. But, they're not really dead. They're in what's called a death trance. It gives the appearance of death, but with the body still in functioning shape." He said. "You're just now telling me this?" Wind asked. "Like I said. He didn't want me to say anything. You were supposed to find out about it on your own." He said. Wind groaned. "Okay, look. If you hurry up with PMS Luna over there, I can give you a spell to bring them out of their death trance." He said. "Fine, but you better not be lying to me." Wind said. "I'm not. Oh, by the way. You'll need a significant power source to amplify your dark magic to take out the nightmare mist." He said before vanishing. 'Significant power source?' Wind thought. "I wonder. Vinyl, power up your bass cannon. And set it to eleven." Wind said. "Okay. Why? If three metric tons of stone isn't going to hurt her, why do you think that my bass cannon will?" Vinyl asked as she readied her bass cannon. "Just be ready. When I give you the signal, I want you to blast me with it." Wind said. "But, it'll kill you." Vinyl protested. "Just do it." Wind said. Vinyl nodded. Wind flew up to where Nightmare Moon was. She heard the sound of the bass cannon fire up. "So, you think you're invulnerable? Wanna place a bet on that?" Wind said. "You are an insolent little brat! I will enjoy watching you die!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she raised a glowing black axe overhead. "Now Vinyl!" Wind yelled. She heard the bass cannon go off. The impact hit her like a brick, but, she was still alive. She felt the energy from the blast coursing through her body. She felt a tingle in her chest as a large blast of black and red light shot out. It struck Nightmare Moon just as she was swinging her axe. She screamed in pain as the light pierced her armor and filled the sky with light. Wind fell to the ground, out cold. EpilogueWind awoke in a hospital bed. She looked around and saw that Applespice was asleep in a chair next to her. In the next bed over, sat Luna. "Welcome back to consciousness, Wind." Luna said. She had a cast one her right arm and a bandage around her chest. Wind looked at Luna's injuries and looked away quickly, ashamed. "What's the matter, Wind?" Luna asked. "I'm sorry you were hurt. If I had only been there to protect you, none of this would have happened." Wind replied. "Don't be like that. It wasn't your fault. I told you to go visit your parent's grave site. If anyone is to blame, it's me." Luna said. Wind looked up and smiled weakly. "Thank you princess. You always know just what to say." Wind said. "Isn't this just sweet?" Someone said from beside Wind. She looked over to see Discord dressed in doctors scrubs and a coat. He looked at the clipboard he was holding. "Hmm. Looks like you need twenty CC's of 'get out of bed', stat." He said. Wind gave him an agitated look. "What? I just mean that we should head to the grave site before to much longer. I don't know how long that death trance will stay in effect on your parents." He said. Wind jumped up from the bed and was immediately greeted with a sharp pain in her chest. "Easy, Wind. You sustained a great deal of damage channeling all that dark energy." Luna said. Wind grabbed her chest and slowly stood. "Why don't you just heal yourself? You can do that, you know that right?" Discord asked. He was wearing his usual brown suit and was helping Wind to her feet. Wind just gave him a stupid look. "Oh, right. You're new to the whole dark magic thing. Sorry." He said. "Windy?" Applespice said as his eyes fluttered open. He saw that she was kneeling on the ground and got up quickly and started to help her. Wind winced from the pain as Applespice helped her to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked over at Discord. "You said I can heal myself? How?" Wind asked. "Just focus on the pain and will it to go away." Discord replied. Wind shut her eyes and focused on the pain radiating from her chest. Slowly it began to recede until it was completely non-existent. "Wow, it actually worked." Wind said as she got up and cracked her back. "Would I lie to you, Wind?" Discord asked. "Not yet you haven't. But, I still don't trust you." Wind said. "Now, that just hurts." Discord said. "Why are you even here?" Applespice asked. "Well, you see. I have a spell that can revive Wind's parents, but only she can perform it." Discord replied. "Windy, is that true?" Applespice asked. "According to him, it is." Wind replied. "But, Celestia always warned everyone about tampering with the laws of life and death." Applespice said. "According to him, they're not really dead. They're just in some kind of comatose trance that gives the appearance of death." Wind said. "Really? Well, what are we waiting for?" Applespice said. "You seem happy about this." Wind said. "Well, I know how unhappy you've been since you lost your parents. And I know what it would mean to you to have them back." He replied. Discord made a gagging sound. "Enough lovey-dovey, touchy-feely crap. Let's just go get them up and about." He said. "Why are you so apt to have my parents back around?" Wind asked with a suspicious look. "Well, I enjoyed having them around. They may have not liked me, but they were Fluttershy's friends, and any friend of Fluttershy's is a friend of mine." Discord said. "Wait, you were friends with my mother?" Applespice asked. Discord sighed. "Yes. We just kind of lost touch after you were born. She still wrote to me about the joys of being a mother, but, we never saw much of each after that." He said with a tear streaming down his face. "Anyway, we should go." He said as he wiped the tear away. The three of them left the hospital. "So, what do we need for this spell?" Wind asked. "Well, it's more of an incantation, but, we'll need a few things. First, we need some black sand, five black candles, and a pheonix feather." Discord listed off the necessary things for the spell. "If we each take one thing and go find it, we can save time." Applespice said. "Good idea. I'll grab the pheonix feather. Discord, you grab the sand. Applespice, the candles. We'll all meet back at the gravesite." Wind said. They all nodded and they headed off in different directions. Chapter 1Wind made it to the throne room in no time at all. Since she was made head of the royal guard, she'd gotten the layout of the castle pretty effeciently. As she entered the throne room, she noticed two things. One, there was a huge hole in the roof and two, there was a guard laying on the floor. She ran over and propped the guard with her arm. "What happened here?" She asked as the guard coughed. "It was N-N..." The guard started as he began coughing again. "Out with it soldier!" She yelled. "It was Nightmare Moon!" The guard shouted. "What!? How?" Wind asked. "I don't know. Princess Luna just began getting hostile to all of us and she became Nightmare Moon." The guard said. "This doesn't make sense. My mother and her friends destroyed the nightmare moon energy with the elements like forever ago." Wind said. "I don't understand it either." The guard said. "There has to be an explanation..." Wind said as she trailed off. "Discord! I bet he had something to do with this. Rest now, soldier, you performed your duty well." Wind said as she got up and headed back out to the gravesite. "Discord!" She shouted as she landed in front of the grave. He was still sitting on the tombstone, but, Scootaloo had already left. "Everything alright at your castle?" He asked. Wind grabbed him by the throat. "What do you know about the return of Nightmare Night?" Wind asked as she put a little pressure on his throat. "Perhaps I can shed some light on your little plight." Someone said from behind Wind. She turned to see Zecora standing there with a handful of flowers. "Zecora? What are you doing here?" Wind asked. "Just paying my respects some friends that were wrongfully hexed. I wish to help you, but first, I must pay my dues." Zecora said as she walked past Wind and placed the flowers on the grave. "Now, about your Nightmare Moon problem. I found this book last autumn." Zecora said as she took a black book tied together with string out of her bag and handed it to Wind. Chapter 2Wind took the book and looked at the cover. It read, 'Equestrian Prophecies by Quill Write'. "Who's Quill Write?" Wind asked. "I do not know, his location is not shown." Zecora answered. Wind flipped through the book. She stopped on a page that showed her and her friends defeating the overlord from a few weeks ago. "That's kinda creepy. This book is incredibly accurate." Wind said. "Turn to the next page and see the prophecy for this age." Zecora said. Wind turned the page and saw that it showed Luna being taken over by the nightmare mist again. She turned to the next page, but it was blank. "What the hell? The next page is blank." Wind said. "This is what has me worried. I fear this entry was not hurried." Zecora said. "I guess we'll have to find this Quill Write then." Wind said. "And how do you plan to do that?" Discord asked. "Zecora, you said you found this book in town, right?" Wind asked. "Yes it is true. I found it in a building that was askew." Zecora said. "Well, that means that at some point, he lived in Ponyville." Wind said. "So?" Discord asked. "It means that his records are probably still in the royal archives. If we can find where he lives, we can ask him about this prophecy." Wind said. "Excellent plan. Can you even access the royal archives?" Discord asked. "Well, good luck my friend. I must return home, I have some things to tend." Zecora said as she walked off. Wind headed for the castle with Discord behind her. Chapter 4They arrived at a partially destroyed house and were about to enter before Wind was tackled by a brown blur. Instinctively, Wind drew her sword. She looked up to see Cherry, only, she looked different. Then, Wind remembered that she had gone back in time to when they first got here. There was now a five year difference between her and her friends. "Is that anyway to greet your best friend?" Cherry asked. Wind put her sword away and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry, Cherry. It's been so long since I saw you guys." Wind said as she got up. "Even longer for us." Cherry said. "How is everyone else? I haven't seen any of you guys lately." Wind said. "Well, Applespice has been busy tending to the farm, Marigold took over her mom's business, Comet is studying to be a teacher, and Shadow hasn't been seen since the overlord took over." Cherry said. "That sucks." Wind replied. "So, what brings the royal body guard to our neck of Ponyville?" Cherry asked as she followed Wind inside the house. "Well, to start, Nightmare Moon has returned." Wind said. "Really, how did that happen?" Cherry asked. "I'm not sure. We're trying to find the royal oracle to hopefully shed some light on the situation. According to the archives, he used to live here." Wind said as she looked around. "What are we looking for anyway?" Discord asked. "Anything that might give us a clue as to where Quill might've gone to." Wind said as she picked a small notebook. She flipped it open and read an entry. 'It seems that Princess Celestia is no longer in need of my services. I just hope she knows what she is doing.' It read. It was dated about six years ago. She flipped ahead to the last entry. 'I have recently gotten a vision of a great evil that will take over the land, resulting in Princess Luna being corrupted once more by the nightmare mist. Princess Celestia will not heed my warnings. I will save myself and my family by retreating to the only place shielded from this evil, the Crystal Empire. I only hope that my wife will listen to me this time.' "What is that?" Midnight asked. "It's Quill's journal. It says that he retreated to the Crystal Empire before the overlord came into power. It's not much, but, it's something to go on. We may need to round up the old gang, Cherry." Wind said. Cherry squealed as they left the ruined house and headed to the Carousal Boutique. Chapter 6The train left the station almost as soon as they got there. They watched out the window as the moon neared the sun. "We're running out of time. I hope we can find this Quill Write quickly." Wind said as she looked over to Cherry and Comet. They were sitting in the next seat, holding hands and laughing with each other. "Don't worry, we'll find him." Applespice said as he sat next to Wind. "I hope you're right. We could really use his help." Wind said. "Look on the bright side, we got the gang back together. That's something not even Cherry could do." Applespice said. "Yeah. I guess so." Wind said. There was a thump on the roof of the train car. Wind got up and drew her sword as the car door slid open. Everyone gasped as Shadow entered the car and shut the door behind him. He stood there with a stern look on his face. He wore black combat boots, jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He had a broadsword strapped to his back. Marigold jumped up and ran over to him, embracing him in a hug. "Shadow! Where have you been? No one's heard from you in years." She said. "I've been busy, lately." He said as he pulled away from Marigold and took a seat behind Wind and Applespice. "I suppose you know what's going on already." Wind said as she turned in her seat to face Shadow. He just nodded and looked out the window toward the sky. There was something different about him. He seemed more serious than he used to and acted like something was on his mind. As wind was about to ask what was wrong, the train grinded to a halt at the Crystal Empire station. They all departed and headed for the castle. Chapter 7They walked into the throne room to see Princess Cadence fiddling with a telescope pointed toward the moon. There was a guy standing next to her wearing gold armor and carrying a lance. "Princess Cadence, we need to speak to you about a matter of utmost importance." Wind said as she approached the princess. Cadence looked up from her telescope and walked over to meet them in the middle of the room. "Ah, yes. Wind Storm, I knew you would need assistance." Cadence said. "You know who I am?" Wind asked. "Of course I do. You are the daughter of one my empire's greatest warriors. Also, I know you are having problems with your love life." Cadence said. "No I'm not. My love life is just fine." Wind protested. "Nonsense. You cannot hide your true feelings from the princess of love." Cadence said. "Guys, we don't have time for this." Comet said, stepping between them. "Right. Princess, we need access to your royal archives. We're searching for the author of this book. He may be able to help us with our Nightmare Moon problem." Wind said. "Of course you can look through my archives. But, we will need to discuss your love life eventually." Cadence said. "Dully noted." Wind replied. Cadence turned to the guy in the gold armor. "Shining Armor, dear. Please escort our friends to the archive room." Cadence said. "Okay, honey." He said as he walked toward the door. As they followed Shining Armor through the castle, Wind noticed that several of the doors in the hallways had been barred shut for some reason. After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a large gated doorway. Shining Armor pulled a key from his belt and stuck it into a lock beside the gate and it rattled open. "There you are. Call me if you need anything else." He said as he walked off. "Will do." Wind said as she saluted him. "Come on, guys. We're running short on time." Comet said as he led the way into the archive room. The room was huge and had a round table in the middle of several giant shelves of files. Everyone sat at the table as Comet flew between the shelves trying to find the information they were looking for. After a few minutes, Comet returned with a small file with the title of recent residents. He opened it and began to read. "It says here that Quill Write took up residence in a small apartment not far from here. There's nothing about him leaving, so, he should still be there." Comet said. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to find this guy, before it's too late." Midnight said. "Let's get going then." Wind said as she got up from the table and headed toward the door. Chapter 11Wind walked into the train car to see everyone sitting in their seats with looks of anticipation on their faces. "Did you get anything out of him?" Comet asked. "He said that Nightmare Moon is in Las Pegasus. So, that's where we're heading." Wind replied as she took a seat next to Applespice. She put the black box onto her lap and opened it. Inside was a large cannon that Wind immediately recognized. "The bass cannon?" Wind asked as she looked at Vinyl. "Yea. It's weird, this voice, it sounded like Luna's. It told me to find you and give it to you. I know that sounds weird because she's evil again, but, that's why I was so frantic to find you guys." Vinyl replied. "Actually, that kinda makes sense. Luna wouldn't willingly become Nightmare Moon again. Maybe the nightmare mist forcefully took her over and the real Luna is trapped in the astral plane." Comet said. Everyone just looked at him with their eyebrows raised. "What? It's just a theory." He said. "It's okay, my little cupcake. I believe you." Cherry said. Comet blushed and gave her an aggravated look. "Well, it makes about as much sense as anything else. So, we get to Las Pegasus, where do we go from there?" Marigold asked. "I'm not sure. I was hoping that we would find some kind of clue once we got there." Wind replied. "Don't worry, Windy. We'll find something. We have to, we're running out of time." Applespice said as he looked out the window. "I hope you're right." Wind said as she leaned over him and looked out the window. The moon was dangerously close to the sun now. A few more hours and they would be too late. The train grinded to a stop. They all got off onto the platform and was immediately greeted by a female unicorn that was dressed in a pale green assassin's robe. Wind couldn't see her face, just black under the hood of it. The unicorn pulled something from her belt and chucked it at Applespice. Wind dove in front of it and was hit in the face with a green powder that made her cough and choke. As Wind looked up at the pegasus, the world literally began to melt away before her eyes. She blacked out. Chapter 12Wind awoke in what appeared to be a twisted version of the Everfree Forest. She stood up and found that her swords were gone. She looked around, but, only saw trees shrouded by darkness. She heard a noise that sounded like someone running by in the darkness. "I know you're there. Show yourself!" Wind yelled. A flash of black came from between two of the trees and landed in front of her. As she watched, a crouched figure in black armor stood up in front of her. Wind recognized her immediately. "Luna?" Wind asked. She nodded. "We haven't much time, Wind. This realm you're in is not real. It's a false landscape created by this assassin. You must escape if you are to defeat Nightmare Moon." Luna said hastily. "But, how am I supposed to do that? My swords are non-existent here." Wind replied. "Here, use my sword. It is immune to any kind of mental or dream magic, also, if you have the strength, it will grant you an additional ability that only those who have the ability to enter people's minds can possess. Please, hurry. I don't know how long I can keep jumping from dream to dream to avoid the nightmare mist's influence." Luna said as drove a sword into the ground in front of her and disappeared. Wind grabbed the sword and looked it over. It was made out of black steel and had Luna's symbol engraved into the blade. The trees behind her parted. "Come and find me, little one. I will enjoy breaking your mind. I do so love making those who claim to have no fears cringe." A voice said from the distance. "Bite me. Stronger ponies than you have tried and failed." Wind taunted as she proceeded through the trees. As she walked she could hear something moving around in the darkness, stalking her. She continued, expecting to be jumped by anything that could possibly lurk in the forest. After a few minutes of walking, she saw a clearing up ahead. She proceeded cautiously into the clearing and looked around. It was a dead end. The trees that surrounded the clearing were too thickly packed together to pass through. She turned around to head back the way she came, but, it was closed up with more thickly packed trees. She heard a laugh echo around the clearing. "Well, I hope you're comfortable. This is the last place you will ever see. Your mind will break and your body will be left comatose in the physical world." The voice said. "Show yourself, you coward!" Wind yelled. "If you insist." The voice said as a figure emerged from the trees and approached her. It was the unicorn from before. She still had on the same assassin's robe. She looked up and stared Wind in the eyes. Her eyes unnerved Wind, they were two different colors. One was an unnatural shade of green and the other was blood red. The unicorn quickly whipped off her robe. Chapter 15Wind now stood in the clearing of the twisted forest, facing the assassin. 'Very good. You are now worthy to wield me. Speak my name and claim your power.' The sword spoke in her mind. She heard a name whispered in her mind. She held the sword in front of her. "Masamune." Wind said. The sword flashed with a searing light. Once the light cleared, Wind looked down at herself. She now wore silver armor with a black crescent moon emblazoned on the chest. The sword had a slight glow to it. "How did you escape from your fears?" The assassin asked. "Simple. Fears are just a concept. If you know the truth and reasoning behind them, they have no power over you." Wind said. "Isn't that nice. Oh well, it's always more fun to kill my targets myself." The assassin taunted. "We'll just see who kills who." Wind said as she ran towards the assassin and slashed at her. The sword caught her in the arm, actually dealing damage this time. "Gah! How did you... no matter, you still have no chance of beating me." The assassin said as she laughed and split into five replicas of herself. "You're only delaying the inevitable." Wind said. She ran at one of the copies and slashed through it. It burst into white powder and vanished. Wind attacked another one and the same thing happened. She continued to do this until there was only one left. "Got you now." Wind said as she sliced through the last one. It burst just like the others. "What the hell?!" Wind said as she felt a sharp pain in her back. She turned to see the assassin with a dagger in her hand. "Now, die." She said as Wind began to kneel. "You cheap bitch." Wind choked. "You should have chosen to let Darkshadow end your life. It would have been so much quicker." She said. Wind staggered to her feet. "You will not make it out of this alive." Wind said as she raised her sword. "Why do you insist on carrying on? Just fall already. There's no shame in falling to someone better than you." She said. "If I am to die, it will be on my feet. Fighting to my last breath. Just like those who came before me." Wind said as she charged the assassin. She side stepped. Before she could react, Wind drove her sword through the assassin's back, piercing her heart. "How are you so fast?" The assassin sputtered as she choked on blood. "My mother was the fastest flyer in all Equestria." Wind said as she withdrew her sword. The assassin collapsed and her body disappeared. Wind felt woozy and fell too. Chapter 16Wind woke up with her head in Applespice's lap. He looked down at her as her eyes fluttered open. He had a look of concern on his face. "How long was I out?" Wind asked as she sat up and looked around. They were still in the train station. "About an hour." Applespice said. "Why are we still in the train station?" Wind asked as she looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the armor. "We didn't know where else to take you. We knew you could handle whatever was going on." Comet said. Wind looked out the window, the sun was half way eclipsing the sun now. "Shit! We need to move, now!" Wind said as she raced out of the station and into the street. "Where do we go from here?" Cherry asked. "I don't know. Let me try something." Wind said as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "It's Wind Storm. I'm calling in a favor you owe my father." Wind said. "Okay. We're at the train station." Wind said as she hung up. After a few minutes, a large charter bus pulled up and a unicorn stepped off. He was wearing black jeans and an orange T-shirt with a picture of a microphone on the front. He had straightened black and red striped hair. "Uncle Sun Blast." Wind addressed him as he gave her a hug. "How's my little niece doing?" He asked. "I'm sorry, there is no time for socializing. We are running out of time. Is there any place around here that people would go to worship Nightmare Moon?" Wind asked. Sun Blast thought for a minute. "Yea. I think I know a place. Everyone get on the bus." He said. They all filed onto the bus and took a seat. The bus pulled off and Sun went to the back of the bus and flipped a switch. The bus lit up with bright flashing lights and a DJ booth came out of the floor. "Okay, guys. We have about an hour before we get to the worship site. In the mean time, you guys have full access to my party bus. If you need anything, talk to my man Neon Lights, here." Sun said as he motioned to the unicorn at the DJ booth. Everyone got up and began to dance to the music. Wind stayed put until Applespice pulled her out of her seat and forced her to have some fun. "Come on, Windy. You have to relax. We're almost done with this mission. Soon, everything will be back to normal in Equestria and we can all live happily and stuff." Applespice said. "Yeah. I guess." Wind replied as the two of them danced. After a little while, there was a huge crash and the whole bus lurched forward. Everyone piled off to see what they had hit. Standing in the middle of the road was a huge guy dressed from head to toe in blood red armor. He had a symbol of a pair of blood spattered brass knuckles on his chest. He didn't have a single scratch on him, despite stopping a three ton bus with his face.
PrologueWind sighed as she replaced the flowers at her parents grave. "Happy anniversary." She said to the tombstone. She was dressed in her usual guard armor and had her three swords with her. Each sword was emblazoned with a different symbol. One had her father's, another had her mother's, and the last one had hers. Her symbol was a trinity of blades crossing one another. "It's a shame someone as awesome as Dashie and Jet had to pass away." Someone said from behind Wind. She turned to see her aunt, Scootaloo. "Hey auntie." Wind said as she stood up. Scootaloo hugged her. Scootaloo was dressed in her work outfit, a pair of coveralls that had various grease stains on them. She was responsible for the maintenance of the castle and other places around Ponyville. Ever since the overlord was defeated, Wind hadn't gotten to see much of her aunt, she'd been busy reconstructing everything. Wind let go of Scootaloo and backed up a little. "So, how goes the reprogramming of those cyborgs?" Wind asked. "Pretty good. Button Mash and Comet Trail are whizzes with the technical stuff. I just had to restore some of the parts to working order. They should be back to their old selves in no time." Scootaloo replied. "Isn't that just dandy. So, tell me, how long are you two going to keep mourning over these two before you bring them back?" A voice said from behind them. They turned to see Discord sitting on the tombstone. "You know we can't bring them back without the Ponynomicon and someone that can use dark magic." Wind said. "Well, you have half of the equation right now." Discord replied. "What are you yammering on about?" Scootaloo asked. "Well, you may not have the Ponynomicon, but you do have someone that can use dark magic." Discord replied. "Who are you talking about?" Wind asked. "Well, my dear. I'm talking about..." Discord began as he was cut off by an explosion in the distance. Wind turned to see smoke rolling from the castle. "Shit, Princess Luna!" Wind screamed as she flew off toward the castle.
Chapter 3Wind approached the archive room and was stopped by a guard in blue armor that had stars on it. He had black hair with blue stripes in it and a symbol of a shield with five stars and twin swords behind it. Wind recognized him as the general of the ground infantry. "Stand aside Midnight Shield. I need access to the archives." Wind said. "I cannot allow you to enter with him." Midnight said as he gestured toward Discord. "He's with me. It's okay." Wind said. Midnight just stood there. "Stand aside, Midnight Shield." Wind said, getting agitated. He just shook his head. "I am your superior and I am giving you a direct order." Wind said. He stood there for a minute before moving aside. Wind proceeded to enter the archive room. They found the residential section and looked in the Q's. Wind found several in the file. Just when she was about to give up, she found it. She pulled out the file and brought it over to a table where she sat down. She cracked open the file and began reading. A lot of the information was expunged. The only things that weren't blacked out was his name, occupation history, and address. "It says here he was the royal oracle for some time, it doesn't say why he was dismissed though. He lived in a house not far from Sugarcube Corner. Let's go." Wind said as she headed to the door. She stopped in front of the guard. "Midnight. We might need your help to save Luna, will you join us?" Wind asked. He looked at her for a minute before standing at attention. "It would be my honor to help save our princess." He replied. "Good, follow us." Wind said as she headed out of the castle, toward Quill's former home.
Chapter 5They arrived at the boutique and walked inside. "Just a minute!" Marigold said from the back room. She appeared from behind the curtain and gasped as she saw Wind and Cherry. "What are you guys doing here?" She asked. "We need your help to defeat Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "N-Nightmare Moon?" Marigold said. "Yes. She has returned and we don't know why. Are you in or not?" Wind asked. "Of course I'll help you." Marigold said as she grabbed her jacket from a hook by the door. "Good. One down, three to go." Wind said as they headed towards Princess Twilight's castle. They made their way to the library and found Comet sitting at a desk nose deep in a book. "Hey, Comet!" Cherry screamed, causing him to drop his book to the floor and fall out of his chair. "Cherry, what have I told you about scaring me while I'm studying?" He asked as he got up from the floor. He looked up and saw Wind. "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the royal bodyguard?" Comet said sarcastically. "Don't be that way. We need your help to stop Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "Well, I think you can do without me. You seem to have quite the team already." Comet replied. "Don't be like that, my little cupcake." Cherry said. "Cherry, I told you not to call me that in front of people." Comet said as he blushed. Wind looked back and forth between Comet and Cherry. "When did you two hook up?" Wind asked. "Shortly after the doctor took us back in his machine." Cherry said. "That's adorable. So, are you in or not. Cupcake?" Wind asked. Comet gave her a dirty look and crossed his arms. "Fine." He said. "Okay, four down, two to go. To Sweet Apple Acres." Wind said as she headed for the door. They got to the orchard quickly and found Applespice bucking apples, shirtless, by the barn. Cherry leaned over to Wind. "Close your mouth, you're drooling." She said. Wind realized she was right and shook her head to clear her mind. Applespice looked up and saw them all coming towards him. "Hey guys. Been a while since the gang was all together." He said. 'No time for formalities, we have a big problem that we need your help with.' Is what Wind wanted to say. But, it came out as a mixture of spits and sputters. "What she means to say is that we need your help to defeat Nightmare Moon." Cherry said. "Nightmare Moon? Isn't that just a story?" He asked. "No, she's real and out to bathe the world in eternal darkness." Cherry replied. "I wish I could, but, I got a lot of work to take care of on the farm." He replied. "Don't worry about it. I can handle tha' farm while ur gone." Applebloom said from behind him. "You sure, auntie?" Applesice asked. "Sure, I've had to take care of the farm myself before. I can handle it." Applebloom said. "Well, okay. I guess I'm in then." He said. "Yay! Now we just need to find Shadow and we'll be ready to go." Cherry said. Wind turned to leave and gasped. "We have to leave now. If I know Shadow, he'll find us." Wind said. "What are you..." Comet began as he looked to the sky with Wind. The moon was already nearing the sun. They all ran toward the train station.
Chapter 8Luckily, the address wasn't far from the castle. It was a large cobblestone apartment building. They found the right one and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Wind turned the knob and found that it was unlocked. They entered and found that the room was completely black. Wind flipped the light switch and the room lit up. As the light kicked on, a guy dressed in a navy blue polo, black jeans, a pair of black reading glasses, and a black and white fedora attacked her with a baseball bat. Instinctively, Wind caught the bat and snatched it from his hands. She then ran her fist into his stomach. He collapsed onto the ground, coughing. Wind dropped the bat and helped him to his feet as she apologized. After he caught his breath, he led them to a dining room table and brought out some tea. Wind began to question him. "Are you Quill Write?" She asked. "Yes. I am indeed." He said as he took a sip from a cup of tea. "What can you tell us about this?" Wind asked as she slid the book across the table to him. He picked it up and looked it over. "Ah, yes. I remember this. Celestia had me write down my prophecies in this book." He replied. "What happened? The book just stops after Nightmare Moon returns." Wind said. "Well, that's as far as I got before Celestia quit listening to me." He said. "What happened?" Wind asked. "Well, after I made my prediction about the overlord, Celestia refused to believe that anyone would be able to defeat her army and the elements of harmony. So, she revoked my royal oracle status. At that point I proceeded to move away from Ponyville. I knew what was coming and that the only safe haven would be here in the Crystal Empire, protected by Cadence's magic." He replied. "I found your journal in your old house in Ponyville. What happened to your family?" Wind asked. He looked down at his cup of tea and frowned deeply. "Well, I tried to convince my wife to come with me. But, like Celestia, she refused to believe me. I had no choice but to leave Trixie and our newborn son in Ponyville." He replied. "Wait. Trixie? As in 'the great and powerful' Trixie?" Shadow asked. "Yes. Why do you ask?" Quill replied. "That's my mother." Shadow said. "If she's your mother, then that means..." Quill started. "Father?" Shadow asked. Tears welled up in Quill's eyes. As he got up, Wind noticed a familiar flash of light on a rooftop across the street through the window. "Get down!" She yelled as she tackled Quill, just as a bullet crashed through the window and embedded itself in the table. Wind got up and jumped through the window and flew up to the opposite roof. She landed and saw a guy dressed in silver and black armor running away. She caught him and held him to the ground.
Chapter 9"Who are you and why are you trying to kill Quill Write?" She asked through gritted teeth. "I'm the world's best sniper and assassin. Sure Shot." He said as he pulled a knife from his belt and tried to stab Wind. She grabbed his hand and felt it snap as she bent it backwards. The knife clattered to the ground. "Who hired you?" She asked as she put her foot on his throat. "Who do you think?" He said as he struggled to breath. "Nightmare Moon. I should have guessed." Wind said. He just laughed as he swallowed something. "Enjoy the sunlight while you can. It's the last you will see of it. Once the other assassin's track you down, you will not be seeing anything ever again." He said as he began to foam at the mouth, then his eyes rolled back and his breathing stopped. "Damn, he took a cyanide capsule." Wind said as she lifted her foot up and headed back to the apartment. "Who was that?" Applespice asked. "An assassin hired by Nightmare Moon. He said there are others after us. We need answers, Quill. Now." Wind said. "What do you need to know?" He asked. "We need to know how to defeat Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "You'll have to use the elements of harmony." Quill asked. "But, the elements were lost with our parents." Wind said. "Not necessarily, you all may have been passed the ability to use the elements. If that's true, you will have your weapon to fight her." Quill said. "And what if we can't use the elements?" Wind asked. "Then may Celestia have mercy on our souls." He said. Wind looked out towards the sky. The moon was getting too close to the sun for her comfort. "We need to go. Do you have any idea how we might find Nightmare Moon?" Wind asked. "No. Unless you can squeeze the information out of one of her assassins, I haven't the foggiest idea." Quill said. "Damn. Let's hope we get lucky. Thank you for your help, Mr. Write." Wind said as she headed for the door. "If we make it out of this mess, I'll be back to visit you, dad. We have a lot to catch up on." Shadow said as they left for the train station.
Chapter 10As soon as they got there, Wind's phone rang. "Hello?" She said as she answered it. "Where are you guys at? Have you seen the sky lately?" Vinyl asked. "We're in the Crystal Empire and yes we have seen the sky. We're trying to stop it right now." Wind replied. "The Crystal Empire? That's where I'm heading right now. Stay put I have something for you guys that you'll probably need." Vinyl said as she hung up. "Who was that?" Cherry asked. "It was Vinyl. She said she's on her way here and has something we ma need." Wind replied as the train pulled into the station. Vinyl hurried off the train carrying a big black square box. She ran over to Wind and handed her the box. "Take this. I don't know what's going on, but, I think I was followed." Vinyl said hurriedly. "Followed? By who?" Wind asked. Before Vinyl could answer, a dagger flew out of the open train door and caught Vinyl in the arm. Vinyl fell forward and was caught by Comet. Wind looked to the door to see a pegasus in black jeans, a white T-shirt with a symbol of a pegasus shadow on it, and a black hoodie. He had black hair that had a strip of blue in it. He held a black iron dagger in each hand and had a huge creepy grin on his face. Wind recognized him from one of her father's books. "Darkshadow. Pegasus of stealth and Equestria's most wanted assassin." Wind said aloud. "Ah, so you know of my work. Then you should also know, you stand no chance of beating me." He said smugly as he took a step forward before vanishing into the shadows. "If you give up now, I will make your deaths a quick and painless." His voice echoed around the station. A dagger flew out of the shadows and embedded into Winds shoulder. She pulled the dagger out and threw it to the ground. "Guys, get on the train. I can handle this jerk." Wind said as she turned to her friends. "Are you sure, Windy? We can help you take him out." Applespice said. She shook her head. "You heard her, move it." Applespice said as he herded everyone onto the train. She closed her eyes and listened closely. A trick her father had taught her to pinpoint movement around her. As she embraced the darkness that surrounded her now, she heard a slight footstep from behind and then the sound of a blade slicing through air. She turned and snatched the dagger from the air. "Now that we're on even ground, let's see you beat me now." Wind taunted as she gripped the dagger tightly. "Even with your enhanced perception, you are still no match for me." Darkshadow taunted. Wind listened as she heard him running around her, shrouded by the shadows. She heard him stop and heard the distant sound of a blade being drawn. She quickly turned and threw the dagger she had in the direction of the sound. She heard him yell in pain. She opened her eyes to see him crouched on the ground with the dagger embedded in his chest. She ran over and grabbed him by the neck. "Tell me what you know about Nightmare Moon." Wind said. "You'll get nothing out of me." Darkshadow said as he went to bite down. Wind quickly stuck her hand in his mouth to prevent him from biting down on the cyanide capsule. "Now, tell me where I can find her!" Wind shouted as he bit down on her hand. Wind pulled his jaw to the point of almost snapping. "Tell me. Then, you have my permission to die." Wind said. "Fine, you can find her in Las Pegasus. But, it will not matter, you will never make it there alive." He said through Wind's hand. She withdrew hand and boarded the train as Darkshadow fell to the ground and disappeared into the shadows again.
Chapter 13Underneath the robe, she had on a black t-shirt that showed a pony skull and two bones crossed together, a green pair of jeans, and a pair of black combat boots. Her hair was almost like her mother's, except it was all different shades of green instead of rainbow colored. She pulled out a long sword that looked like it should belong in an FF game. The blade was completely silver and had a black wrapped handle, on the end of it dangled a key chain of a vial filled with green liquid. "So, tell me. Why are you in such a hurry to die?" The assassin asked. "I'm not. I just have a duty to the princess. One that I will serve in full." Wind replied. "Interesting. Tell me, how will you fulfill this duty if your mind is broken?" She asked. "Enough talk! Let's get on with it, I'm running out of time!" Wind yelled as she ran toward the unicorn with her sword drawn. The assassin side stepped and dodged her attack. Wind kept trying to attack, but the assassin kept dodging. Finally Wind managed to land a blow, but, the blade passed through the assassin like she were a ghost. "What the..." Wind said. "Fool! You cannot hurt me here, this is my domain!" The assassin said as she struck Wind with her sword. Wind flew back several feet and felt as if she had been hit by a speeding scooter. Wind bit back a curse as she stood up and looked at the assassin, who was standing there smiling at her smugly. Wind remembered what Luna had said about a hidden ability the sword had. "Okay, sword. Anytime you wanna help me out would be good." She said as she looked at her reflection in the blade. 'You do not possess the necessary attributes to wield me at full power.' A voice said in her head. "Okay, first off, how the hell am I talking to a sword. Second, what do you mean I don't possess the necessary attributes?" Wind asked. 'You have fear in your heart. Only by facing down that fear will you be able to properly wield me.' The sword said in her head. Wind sighed and looked up at the assassin, who was looking at her with a confused look on her face. "Loosing your mind already?" She asked. Wind just ran at her and lashed out again. "Pssh. You bore me. Let's see what you are afraid of, shall we?" The assassin said as she threw some kind of black powder into Wind's face.
Chapter 14When her vision cleared, Wind was standing in a void of total darkness. She looked around to find any form of light, but with no luck. As she began to take a step forward, there was a bright flash of light. After the spots cleared from her eyes, Wind saw that she was standing in her parents home. She looked up to find her parents standing over her. They both had stern looks on their faces. "How could you let this happen?" Her father asked. "What are you talking about, dad?" Wind replied. "You let us die and then allowed Luna to be possessed by the nightmare mist." Her mother said. "No, it wasn't my fault." Wind protested. "Of course it was. You were tasked with rescuing us and protecting Luna. You have failed in your duties as a royal body guard." Her father said. "But, I..." Wind started. "Don't back talk your father young lady." Her mother said. Wind fell to her knees and tears welled in her eyes. "You have brought great shame to our family name." Her father continued. "No. It wasn't my fault. I tried to save you. I tried to protect Luna." Wind said as she looked at her father through tears. "Well, maybe you should have tried harder. Your father didn't let me die, and he had more to do to save me." Her mother said as the tears streamed down Wind's face. Wind couldn't even speak, she was so heart broken by this turn of events. All her life, she had strived to impress her parents. She had finished at the top of her class in flight school. She had been loyal to her friends. She had even taken a part time job at the weather factory, before they were kidnapped. This was her deepest fear, she had always feared that her parents would be disappointed in her. "Wait, that's it." She said to herself. She wiped the tears from her face and stood up. "You're not real." Wind said. Her parents looked taken aback. "Of course we are real." Her mother said. "No. You're not. You are a manifestation of my deepest fear. I know that my parents would be proud of me. They always were." Wind said. "No, you have disappointed us. You are a failure." Her father said. "No. I have made a name for myself as head of the royal guard. You are fakes!" Wind yelled as she drove her sword into her father's chest. "No!" He screamed as he exploded in a flash of light.
Chapter 17"I'm assuming you're one of Nightmare Moon's assassins." Wind said. He nodded and charged toward the group. Everyone got out of the way just as he plowed through the side of the bus. Wind jumped up and brought her sword down on his head. It bounced off harmlessly. "What the hell?" Wind asked aloud. "You'll never break through my armor. Nothing can penetrate dark matter steel." The guy said as he grabbed wind and threw her down the road. She landed with a hard thud and the wind was knocked out of her. "You'll pay for that you bastard!" Applespice yelled as he tackled the guy to the ground. Applespice started to beat the tar out of the assassin, but, only managed to hurt his own fists. "Applespice! Hold him still I have an idea!" Marigold shouted. Applespice pulled the guy to his feet and held him in place. Marigold channeled her magic and stopped time. She ran over and undid the latches on the assassin's armor. She ran back over to join her friends and restarted time. The guys chest plate fell to the ground and he tore from Applespice's grasp and yelled. He charged the group again, this time aiming for Marigold. He caught her in his grasp and slammed her against the side of the bus. "No!" Cherry screamed. She pulled out a cannon and blasted the assassin with it. He blocked the blast with his arms. The blast managed to knock off his arm guards. "You little bitch!" He shouted as he charged at Cherry. "I don't think so." Comet said as he fashioned a makeshift tripwire out of a set of guitar strings. The assassin tripped over it and shattered his leg guards. He stood back up and pulled his helmet off. "You fucked up now. That armor was slowing me down. Now, you will witness my true speed." He said as he charged again, this time with super human speed. He knocked everyone sideways. Wind got up, with her breath back. She saw what was going on. She charged onto the bus and grabbed the bass cannon. She aimed it, but, couldn't get a lock on him. "Marigold. Can you slow this guy down?" Wind asked as she helped her friend to her feet. She winced and grabbed her side. She had broken something. "I can try." She said as she aimed her horn at the assassin and her eye glowed green. The assassin was immediately engulfed in an aura of green magic. His speed slowed greatly. Wind aimed the cannon at him. After a minute, it fired. He turned just in time to see a blast of sonic sound waves coming straight at him. The blast hit him and he was immediately vaporized. Marigold collapsed onto the pavement from exhaustion.
Chapter 18Everyone assembled back at the bus. "Is everyone okay?" Sun asked. Everyone nodded. "Good. Now I don't have to feel bad about what I'm about to do. My fucking party bus! It's ruined!" Sun yelled. Wind put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Once we get Luna back, I'll have her get you a new one. A better one." Wind said. "She better." Sun replied as he crossed his arms. "So, how far are we from that temple?" Comet asked. Sun looked around. "About a twenty minute walk." He replied. Wind looked up at the sky. The moon was almost completely covering the sun now. "We better get going then. Comet, can you carry Marigold?" Wind asked motioning to her unconscious friend on the ground. "I think so." Comet said as he knelt down and picked her up. They continued down the road on foot. With Marigold unconscious, it took longer than expected. After about a half an hour, they got to a rundown looking temple that had a giant statue of Nightmare Moon out front. "I guess this is the place." Wind said as she approached the statue. She looked up at the sky. There was only a small amount of sunlight shining at the edge of the moon now. "How long do you think we have until eternal darkness?" Wind asked. "I'd say a matter of minutes now." Comet said. "Where are we?" Marigold asked as she regained consciousness. "We made it to the temple. We're almost finished." Wind said. As she took a step forward, she heard the familiar sound of a blade being drawn from in front of them. She strained her eyes to see into the dark entrance of the temple. As she watched, a female unicorn emerged from the darkness. She was carrying a polished silver kitana and was wearing the same color armor as the guy that had destroyed Sun's party bus. Her hair was so black is was almost invisible against the darkness behind her. On the front of her armor was a pair of black demonic looking wings. "So, you managed to get past Bloody Knuckles, eh? Not surprising. He was pretty stupid. More muscle than brain. But, I have both. You will live long enough to see your precious world bathed in eternal darkness. Then, Nightmare Moon's children of the night shall rule the world. Led by me, Deathangel!" The woman said. "Deathangel? Why do I know that name?" Wind asked herself. She thought hard, then it came to her. She was the younger sister of Darkshadow. They had worked as a team for years, until they had a disagreement and she refused to work with the likes of him again.
Chapter 19"What did you think you were going to accomplish by coming here?" She asked. "Well, I didn't think anything. I know we're going to put an end to Nightmare Moon. Once and for all. Even if we have to bring this temple down on top of you." Wind replied. Deathangel just laughed. "You don't have the skills to kill me. None of you do." Deathangel said mockingly. "We'll see about that." Wind replied. Deathangel slammed her sword into the ground and a fissure circled around the two of them. Flames spewed up from the crack, creating an arena closed off by fire. "Shall we begin?" Deathangel said as she leveled her blade at Wind. Wind drew her own sword and assumed a fighting stance. Deathangel rushed her and swung her blade straight down at Wind with incredible speed. Wind dodged out of the way just as her blade sparked off the ground. Wind turned and swung at Deathangel. She dodged the blow as if Wind was moving in slow motion. They continued to go back and forth for several minutes. Both dodging the others attacks. Deathangel jumped back to the temple steps. Wind fell to one knee, nearly completely sapped of her strength. "You see, you can't so much as hit me, let alone kill me." Deathangel taunted. "At least I won't go down like a wimp." Wind replied as Deathangel rushed her again. Wind held up her blade to block the attack. She blocked the attack, but, the impact of Deathangel's strike shattered Wind's blade. Metal shards went everywhere. Wind fell to both knees, completely exhausted. "Any last words?" Deathangel asked. Wind gulped. If she didn't do it now, she knew she'd never get another chance. "Applespice? Can you hear me?" Wind called through the curtain of flames. "Yes. How are you doing Wind? We can't see anything through this damn fire." He called back. "I'm not doing too good. But, that's not important right now. I need to tell you something and this might be my only chance to do it." Wind called. "What is it Windy?" He called back. "Applespice... I... I..." Wind choked on the words. Deathangel gave her an impatient look. "I love you, Applespice. I always have." She said. There was a long pause. Wind gulped, thinking she had made a mistake. "I love you too. I was just afraid to say anything." He called back finally. Tears welled in Wind's eyes. "Just remember that I loved you." Wind said as she put her head down, accepting her fate. "What do you mean?" Applespice asked. Wind didn't reply. "Windy?" He called. "Windy?! Talk to me. What's happening?!" He called again. Deathangel raised her blade. As Wind braced for the final blow, she heard Deathangel shriek in pain. Wind looked up to see a black steel dagger sticking out of Deathangel's ribs. "What the hell?" Wind said aloud. Deathangel pulled the dagger out and looked at it. Her face paled. "What do you think you're doing?" She called out. "I have a debt to repay to the one you're about to strike down." A familiar voice called out from somewhere. "You would dare to interfere in the matters of a fellow assassin?" Deathangel called out. "I would. You know as well as I do, that I am the only one capable of ending you." The voice called out again as the shadows behind Deathangel began to take shape. From the shadows, Darkshadow stepped out. He had daggers in both hands and pointed one at Deathangel. "Ah, big brother. It's been a while. Why do you care what happens to this insignificant worm?" Deathangel asked. "Because I have a life debt to repay to her. But, you wouldn't understand about standards and honor. Would you?" He asked. Deathangel just snickered. "Just drop the sword and walk away. Don't make me have to kill you." Darkshadow said. "Sorry, brother. Not going to happen." Deathangel said as she raised her blade again. "So be it then." Darkshadow replied as a dagger impaled Deathangel in the neck. She fell to the ground with a thud. She lay there making a choking noise as she drown in her own blood. Darkshadow came over and helped Wind to her feet as the flame wall dissipated.
Chapter 20Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Darkshadow helping Wind to her feet. "You get away from her." Applespice said as he charged toward them. "No! It's okay, Applespice! He helped me!" Wind said just as Applespice was about to plow over Darkshadow. He stopped and looked at Darkshadow. They gave each other a silent nod as Darkshadow backed up. "Consider our debt repaid." He said before disappearing back into the shadows behind him. "Windy! I'm so glad you're okay. What happened?" Applespice asked as he grabbed her in a big bear hug. "Later. We still have a job to do." Wind said, looking up at the sky. The moon was nearly completely eclipsing the sun now. "Oh, right." Applespice said as he put Wind down and they all headed into the temple. After several hallways that made it seem like they were going in circles, they arrived in a huge open room with a long table lined with food. At the head sat an alicorn in shining silver armor. She got up as they entered the room. "Well, made it passed Deathangel, huh? Well, would you care for something to eat or drink? After all, you're too late to stop me anyway. You might as well make yourselves comfortable and enjoy your last few minutes of precious sunlight." She said. "Screw that. We still have time to stop you." Wind said as she drew her sword. "Please, child. You have no power here. Why do you think I chose this temple as my base of operations? It's because this was a temple built to honor my power. The power of the nightmare mist." Nightmare Moon replied. "Ooh, is that cake?" Cherry asked moving towards the table. "Yes, young one, it is. Have some." Nightmare Moon said. "Cherry, darling. Please don't." Marigold said as she grabbed Cherry's shirt collar. "Oh, but, I was only going to get a small piece." Cherry protested as she struggled in Marigold's grasp. "Enough talk, Nightmare. We end this now." Wind said as she moved toward the alicorn, who was now casually looking out the window. "Do you really think you can stop me now? You don't have the elements of harmony, you don't possess dark magic, you stand no chance against me." Nightmare Moon said as she sipped from a glass of wine. "I think I'll manage just fine." Wind said. "Don't be foolish, child. Once the sun is eclipsed and Luna's complete essence is absorbed, I will be unstoppable. Invulnerable." Nightmare Moon said. "Enough talk." Wind said as she swung at Nightmare Moon, her blade bounced harmlessly off her armor. Nightmare Moon sighed. "Must it be like this? I was trying to be nice." She said as she back handed Wind across the room. Wind flew back and smacked into a pillar beside the door they came in through. Wind picked herself up and walked over to Cherry. "Do you still have that party cannon from your mom?" Wind asked. "Of course." Cherry replied. "Does it have any settings other than confetti?" Wind asked. "Yea. It has a fire setting, a cannon ball setting, a magma setting..." Cherry began. "That's good. Set it for the cannon ball. I have a plan." Wind said as she moved towards Nightmare Moon again. She was standing just beside a giant pillar in the middle of the room. Wind moved closer to her and Nightmare moved slightly to the right. Just like Wind had planned. "So, you still won't give up and accept defeat?" Nightmare said as she moved in front of the pillar. "Luna, forgive me. Cherry now!" Wind yelled as she back flipped out of the way. She landed next to her friends just as the cannon ball hit Nightmare, sending her flying into the pillar with a huge cracking sound.
Chapter 21The whole temple began to crumble and shake. "We have to go, now!" Wind yelled as she ran towards the door. They charged through the hallways and out into the courtyard. The ground was still cracked from her fight with Deathangel. Just as they got out into the courtyard, the whole temple collapsed. Wind breathed a sigh of relief. "We did it. We saved Equestria." She said as she caught her breath. "If we saved Equestria, the how do you explain that?" Comet asked as he pointed towards the sky. Wind looked up to see the moon move in front of the sun, completely eclipsing it. "What the hell?" Wind said as the rubble from the temple began to shake violently. From the center of it burst Nightmare Moon. She was glowing with a dark blue aura. "I told you fools that you had no power here! Now prepare to die!" She yelled. "Great. Now what?" Wind asked. "Well, did you ever think of using dark magic?" A voice said from beside her. She turned to see Discord sitting on her shoulder. "And how are we supposed to use dark magic? No one here knows dark magic." Wind said. "You still haven't figured it out have you?" He asked. "Figured what out?" Wind replied. Discord sighed and put his hand over his face. "You can use dark magic. You dunce." He said. "Me?! How do you figure I can use dark magic?" Wind asked. "You inherited it from your father." He replied. "My father. He was a pegasus. Pegasi can't use magic. Quite being stupid and give me some useful advice." Wind said. "Yes your father was a pegasus, but, he did have access to dark magic. How do you think he was able to survive for so long in that cage with your mother? He used dark magic to stabilize their heart rates." He said. "If that's true, why are they dead?" Wind asked. "Well, he told me not to say anything. But, they're not really dead. They're in what's called a death trance. It gives the appearance of death, but with the body still in functioning shape." He said. "You're just now telling me this?" Wind asked. "Like I said. He didn't want me to say anything. You were supposed to find out about it on your own." He said. Wind groaned. "Okay, look. If you hurry up with PMS Luna over there, I can give you a spell to bring them out of their death trance." He said. "Fine, but you better not be lying to me." Wind said. "I'm not. Oh, by the way. You'll need a significant power source to amplify your dark magic to take out the nightmare mist." He said before vanishing. 'Significant power source?' Wind thought. "I wonder. Vinyl, power up your bass cannon. And set it to eleven." Wind said. "Okay. Why? If three metric tons of stone isn't going to hurt her, why do you think that my bass cannon will?" Vinyl asked as she readied her bass cannon. "Just be ready. When I give you the signal, I want you to blast me with it." Wind said. "But, it'll kill you." Vinyl protested. "Just do it." Wind said. Vinyl nodded. Wind flew up to where Nightmare Moon was. She heard the sound of the bass cannon fire up. "So, you think you're invulnerable? Wanna place a bet on that?" Wind said. "You are an insolent little brat! I will enjoy watching you die!" Nightmare Moon yelled as she raised a glowing black axe overhead. "Now Vinyl!" Wind yelled. She heard the bass cannon go off. The impact hit her like a brick, but, she was still alive. She felt the energy from the blast coursing through her body. She felt a tingle in her chest as a large blast of black and red light shot out. It struck Nightmare Moon just as she was swinging her axe. She screamed in pain as the light pierced her armor and filled the sky with light. Wind fell to the ground, out cold.
EpilogueWind awoke in a hospital bed. She looked around and saw that Applespice was asleep in a chair next to her. In the next bed over, sat Luna. "Welcome back to consciousness, Wind." Luna said. She had a cast one her right arm and a bandage around her chest. Wind looked at Luna's injuries and looked away quickly, ashamed. "What's the matter, Wind?" Luna asked. "I'm sorry you were hurt. If I had only been there to protect you, none of this would have happened." Wind replied. "Don't be like that. It wasn't your fault. I told you to go visit your parent's grave site. If anyone is to blame, it's me." Luna said. Wind looked up and smiled weakly. "Thank you princess. You always know just what to say." Wind said. "Isn't this just sweet?" Someone said from beside Wind. She looked over to see Discord dressed in doctors scrubs and a coat. He looked at the clipboard he was holding. "Hmm. Looks like you need twenty CC's of 'get out of bed', stat." He said. Wind gave him an agitated look. "What? I just mean that we should head to the grave site before to much longer. I don't know how long that death trance will stay in effect on your parents." He said. Wind jumped up from the bed and was immediately greeted with a sharp pain in her chest. "Easy, Wind. You sustained a great deal of damage channeling all that dark energy." Luna said. Wind grabbed her chest and slowly stood. "Why don't you just heal yourself? You can do that, you know that right?" Discord asked. He was wearing his usual brown suit and was helping Wind to her feet. Wind just gave him a stupid look. "Oh, right. You're new to the whole dark magic thing. Sorry." He said. "Windy?" Applespice said as his eyes fluttered open. He saw that she was kneeling on the ground and got up quickly and started to help her. Wind winced from the pain as Applespice helped her to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked over at Discord. "You said I can heal myself? How?" Wind asked. "Just focus on the pain and will it to go away." Discord replied. Wind shut her eyes and focused on the pain radiating from her chest. Slowly it began to recede until it was completely non-existent. "Wow, it actually worked." Wind said as she got up and cracked her back. "Would I lie to you, Wind?" Discord asked. "Not yet you haven't. But, I still don't trust you." Wind said. "Now, that just hurts." Discord said. "Why are you even here?" Applespice asked. "Well, you see. I have a spell that can revive Wind's parents, but only she can perform it." Discord replied. "Windy, is that true?" Applespice asked. "According to him, it is." Wind replied. "But, Celestia always warned everyone about tampering with the laws of life and death." Applespice said. "According to him, they're not really dead. They're just in some kind of comatose trance that gives the appearance of death." Wind said. "Really? Well, what are we waiting for?" Applespice said. "You seem happy about this." Wind said. "Well, I know how unhappy you've been since you lost your parents. And I know what it would mean to you to have them back." He replied. Discord made a gagging sound. "Enough lovey-dovey, touchy-feely crap. Let's just go get them up and about." He said. "Why are you so apt to have my parents back around?" Wind asked with a suspicious look. "Well, I enjoyed having them around. They may have not liked me, but they were Fluttershy's friends, and any friend of Fluttershy's is a friend of mine." Discord said. "Wait, you were friends with my mother?" Applespice asked. Discord sighed. "Yes. We just kind of lost touch after you were born. She still wrote to me about the joys of being a mother, but, we never saw much of each after that." He said with a tear streaming down his face. "Anyway, we should go." He said as he wiped the tear away. The three of them left the hospital. "So, what do we need for this spell?" Wind asked. "Well, it's more of an incantation, but, we'll need a few things. First, we need some black sand, five black candles, and a pheonix feather." Discord listed off the necessary things for the spell. "If we each take one thing and go find it, we can save time." Applespice said. "Good idea. I'll grab the pheonix feather. Discord, you grab the sand. Applespice, the candles. We'll all meet back at the gravesite." Wind said. They all nodded and they headed off in different directions.
Chapter 1Wind made it to the throne room in no time at all. Since she was made head of the royal guard, she'd gotten the layout of the castle pretty effeciently. As she entered the throne room, she noticed two things. One, there was a huge hole in the roof and two, there was a guard laying on the floor. She ran over and propped the guard with her arm. "What happened here?" She asked as the guard coughed. "It was N-N..." The guard started as he began coughing again. "Out with it soldier!" She yelled. "It was Nightmare Moon!" The guard shouted. "What!? How?" Wind asked. "I don't know. Princess Luna just began getting hostile to all of us and she became Nightmare Moon." The guard said. "This doesn't make sense. My mother and her friends destroyed the nightmare moon energy with the elements like forever ago." Wind said. "I don't understand it either." The guard said. "There has to be an explanation..." Wind said as she trailed off. "Discord! I bet he had something to do with this. Rest now, soldier, you performed your duty well." Wind said as she got up and headed back out to the gravesite. "Discord!" She shouted as she landed in front of the grave. He was still sitting on the tombstone, but, Scootaloo had already left. "Everything alright at your castle?" He asked. Wind grabbed him by the throat. "What do you know about the return of Nightmare Night?" Wind asked as she put a little pressure on his throat. "Perhaps I can shed some light on your little plight." Someone said from behind Wind. She turned to see Zecora standing there with a handful of flowers. "Zecora? What are you doing here?" Wind asked. "Just paying my respects some friends that were wrongfully hexed. I wish to help you, but first, I must pay my dues." Zecora said as she walked past Wind and placed the flowers on the grave. "Now, about your Nightmare Moon problem. I found this book last autumn." Zecora said as she took a black book tied together with string out of her bag and handed it to Wind.
Chapter 2Wind took the book and looked at the cover. It read, 'Equestrian Prophecies by Quill Write'. "Who's Quill Write?" Wind asked. "I do not know, his location is not shown." Zecora answered. Wind flipped through the book. She stopped on a page that showed her and her friends defeating the overlord from a few weeks ago. "That's kinda creepy. This book is incredibly accurate." Wind said. "Turn to the next page and see the prophecy for this age." Zecora said. Wind turned the page and saw that it showed Luna being taken over by the nightmare mist again. She turned to the next page, but it was blank. "What the hell? The next page is blank." Wind said. "This is what has me worried. I fear this entry was not hurried." Zecora said. "I guess we'll have to find this Quill Write then." Wind said. "And how do you plan to do that?" Discord asked. "Zecora, you said you found this book in town, right?" Wind asked. "Yes it is true. I found it in a building that was askew." Zecora said. "Well, that means that at some point, he lived in Ponyville." Wind said. "So?" Discord asked. "It means that his records are probably still in the royal archives. If we can find where he lives, we can ask him about this prophecy." Wind said. "Excellent plan. Can you even access the royal archives?" Discord asked. "Well, good luck my friend. I must return home, I have some things to tend." Zecora said as she walked off. Wind headed for the castle with Discord behind her.
Chapter 4They arrived at a partially destroyed house and were about to enter before Wind was tackled by a brown blur. Instinctively, Wind drew her sword. She looked up to see Cherry, only, she looked different. Then, Wind remembered that she had gone back in time to when they first got here. There was now a five year difference between her and her friends. "Is that anyway to greet your best friend?" Cherry asked. Wind put her sword away and hugged her friend. "I'm sorry, Cherry. It's been so long since I saw you guys." Wind said as she got up. "Even longer for us." Cherry said. "How is everyone else? I haven't seen any of you guys lately." Wind said. "Well, Applespice has been busy tending to the farm, Marigold took over her mom's business, Comet is studying to be a teacher, and Shadow hasn't been seen since the overlord took over." Cherry said. "That sucks." Wind replied. "So, what brings the royal body guard to our neck of Ponyville?" Cherry asked as she followed Wind inside the house. "Well, to start, Nightmare Moon has returned." Wind said. "Really, how did that happen?" Cherry asked. "I'm not sure. We're trying to find the royal oracle to hopefully shed some light on the situation. According to the archives, he used to live here." Wind said as she looked around. "What are we looking for anyway?" Discord asked. "Anything that might give us a clue as to where Quill might've gone to." Wind said as she picked a small notebook. She flipped it open and read an entry. 'It seems that Princess Celestia is no longer in need of my services. I just hope she knows what she is doing.' It read. It was dated about six years ago. She flipped ahead to the last entry. 'I have recently gotten a vision of a great evil that will take over the land, resulting in Princess Luna being corrupted once more by the nightmare mist. Princess Celestia will not heed my warnings. I will save myself and my family by retreating to the only place shielded from this evil, the Crystal Empire. I only hope that my wife will listen to me this time.' "What is that?" Midnight asked. "It's Quill's journal. It says that he retreated to the Crystal Empire before the overlord came into power. It's not much, but, it's something to go on. We may need to round up the old gang, Cherry." Wind said. Cherry squealed as they left the ruined house and headed to the Carousal Boutique.
Chapter 6The train left the station almost as soon as they got there. They watched out the window as the moon neared the sun. "We're running out of time. I hope we can find this Quill Write quickly." Wind said as she looked over to Cherry and Comet. They were sitting in the next seat, holding hands and laughing with each other. "Don't worry, we'll find him." Applespice said as he sat next to Wind. "I hope you're right. We could really use his help." Wind said. "Look on the bright side, we got the gang back together. That's something not even Cherry could do." Applespice said. "Yeah. I guess so." Wind said. There was a thump on the roof of the train car. Wind got up and drew her sword as the car door slid open. Everyone gasped as Shadow entered the car and shut the door behind him. He stood there with a stern look on his face. He wore black combat boots, jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. He had a broadsword strapped to his back. Marigold jumped up and ran over to him, embracing him in a hug. "Shadow! Where have you been? No one's heard from you in years." She said. "I've been busy, lately." He said as he pulled away from Marigold and took a seat behind Wind and Applespice. "I suppose you know what's going on already." Wind said as she turned in her seat to face Shadow. He just nodded and looked out the window toward the sky. There was something different about him. He seemed more serious than he used to and acted like something was on his mind. As wind was about to ask what was wrong, the train grinded to a halt at the Crystal Empire station. They all departed and headed for the castle.
Chapter 7They walked into the throne room to see Princess Cadence fiddling with a telescope pointed toward the moon. There was a guy standing next to her wearing gold armor and carrying a lance. "Princess Cadence, we need to speak to you about a matter of utmost importance." Wind said as she approached the princess. Cadence looked up from her telescope and walked over to meet them in the middle of the room. "Ah, yes. Wind Storm, I knew you would need assistance." Cadence said. "You know who I am?" Wind asked. "Of course I do. You are the daughter of one my empire's greatest warriors. Also, I know you are having problems with your love life." Cadence said. "No I'm not. My love life is just fine." Wind protested. "Nonsense. You cannot hide your true feelings from the princess of love." Cadence said. "Guys, we don't have time for this." Comet said, stepping between them. "Right. Princess, we need access to your royal archives. We're searching for the author of this book. He may be able to help us with our Nightmare Moon problem." Wind said. "Of course you can look through my archives. But, we will need to discuss your love life eventually." Cadence said. "Dully noted." Wind replied. Cadence turned to the guy in the gold armor. "Shining Armor, dear. Please escort our friends to the archive room." Cadence said. "Okay, honey." He said as he walked toward the door. As they followed Shining Armor through the castle, Wind noticed that several of the doors in the hallways had been barred shut for some reason. After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at a large gated doorway. Shining Armor pulled a key from his belt and stuck it into a lock beside the gate and it rattled open. "There you are. Call me if you need anything else." He said as he walked off. "Will do." Wind said as she saluted him. "Come on, guys. We're running short on time." Comet said as he led the way into the archive room. The room was huge and had a round table in the middle of several giant shelves of files. Everyone sat at the table as Comet flew between the shelves trying to find the information they were looking for. After a few minutes, Comet returned with a small file with the title of recent residents. He opened it and began to read. "It says here that Quill Write took up residence in a small apartment not far from here. There's nothing about him leaving, so, he should still be there." Comet said. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to find this guy, before it's too late." Midnight said. "Let's get going then." Wind said as she got up from the table and headed toward the door.
Chapter 11Wind walked into the train car to see everyone sitting in their seats with looks of anticipation on their faces. "Did you get anything out of him?" Comet asked. "He said that Nightmare Moon is in Las Pegasus. So, that's where we're heading." Wind replied as she took a seat next to Applespice. She put the black box onto her lap and opened it. Inside was a large cannon that Wind immediately recognized. "The bass cannon?" Wind asked as she looked at Vinyl. "Yea. It's weird, this voice, it sounded like Luna's. It told me to find you and give it to you. I know that sounds weird because she's evil again, but, that's why I was so frantic to find you guys." Vinyl replied. "Actually, that kinda makes sense. Luna wouldn't willingly become Nightmare Moon again. Maybe the nightmare mist forcefully took her over and the real Luna is trapped in the astral plane." Comet said. Everyone just looked at him with their eyebrows raised. "What? It's just a theory." He said. "It's okay, my little cupcake. I believe you." Cherry said. Comet blushed and gave her an aggravated look. "Well, it makes about as much sense as anything else. So, we get to Las Pegasus, where do we go from there?" Marigold asked. "I'm not sure. I was hoping that we would find some kind of clue once we got there." Wind replied. "Don't worry, Windy. We'll find something. We have to, we're running out of time." Applespice said as he looked out the window. "I hope you're right." Wind said as she leaned over him and looked out the window. The moon was dangerously close to the sun now. A few more hours and they would be too late. The train grinded to a stop. They all got off onto the platform and was immediately greeted by a female unicorn that was dressed in a pale green assassin's robe. Wind couldn't see her face, just black under the hood of it. The unicorn pulled something from her belt and chucked it at Applespice. Wind dove in front of it and was hit in the face with a green powder that made her cough and choke. As Wind looked up at the pegasus, the world literally began to melt away before her eyes. She blacked out.
Chapter 12Wind awoke in what appeared to be a twisted version of the Everfree Forest. She stood up and found that her swords were gone. She looked around, but, only saw trees shrouded by darkness. She heard a noise that sounded like someone running by in the darkness. "I know you're there. Show yourself!" Wind yelled. A flash of black came from between two of the trees and landed in front of her. As she watched, a crouched figure in black armor stood up in front of her. Wind recognized her immediately. "Luna?" Wind asked. She nodded. "We haven't much time, Wind. This realm you're in is not real. It's a false landscape created by this assassin. You must escape if you are to defeat Nightmare Moon." Luna said hastily. "But, how am I supposed to do that? My swords are non-existent here." Wind replied. "Here, use my sword. It is immune to any kind of mental or dream magic, also, if you have the strength, it will grant you an additional ability that only those who have the ability to enter people's minds can possess. Please, hurry. I don't know how long I can keep jumping from dream to dream to avoid the nightmare mist's influence." Luna said as drove a sword into the ground in front of her and disappeared. Wind grabbed the sword and looked it over. It was made out of black steel and had Luna's symbol engraved into the blade. The trees behind her parted. "Come and find me, little one. I will enjoy breaking your mind. I do so love making those who claim to have no fears cringe." A voice said from the distance. "Bite me. Stronger ponies than you have tried and failed." Wind taunted as she proceeded through the trees. As she walked she could hear something moving around in the darkness, stalking her. She continued, expecting to be jumped by anything that could possibly lurk in the forest. After a few minutes of walking, she saw a clearing up ahead. She proceeded cautiously into the clearing and looked around. It was a dead end. The trees that surrounded the clearing were too thickly packed together to pass through. She turned around to head back the way she came, but, it was closed up with more thickly packed trees. She heard a laugh echo around the clearing. "Well, I hope you're comfortable. This is the last place you will ever see. Your mind will break and your body will be left comatose in the physical world." The voice said. "Show yourself, you coward!" Wind yelled. "If you insist." The voice said as a figure emerged from the trees and approached her. It was the unicorn from before. She still had on the same assassin's robe. She looked up and stared Wind in the eyes. Her eyes unnerved Wind, they were two different colors. One was an unnatural shade of green and the other was blood red. The unicorn quickly whipped off her robe.
Chapter 15Wind now stood in the clearing of the twisted forest, facing the assassin. 'Very good. You are now worthy to wield me. Speak my name and claim your power.' The sword spoke in her mind. She heard a name whispered in her mind. She held the sword in front of her. "Masamune." Wind said. The sword flashed with a searing light. Once the light cleared, Wind looked down at herself. She now wore silver armor with a black crescent moon emblazoned on the chest. The sword had a slight glow to it. "How did you escape from your fears?" The assassin asked. "Simple. Fears are just a concept. If you know the truth and reasoning behind them, they have no power over you." Wind said. "Isn't that nice. Oh well, it's always more fun to kill my targets myself." The assassin taunted. "We'll just see who kills who." Wind said as she ran towards the assassin and slashed at her. The sword caught her in the arm, actually dealing damage this time. "Gah! How did you... no matter, you still have no chance of beating me." The assassin said as she laughed and split into five replicas of herself. "You're only delaying the inevitable." Wind said. She ran at one of the copies and slashed through it. It burst into white powder and vanished. Wind attacked another one and the same thing happened. She continued to do this until there was only one left. "Got you now." Wind said as she sliced through the last one. It burst just like the others. "What the hell?!" Wind said as she felt a sharp pain in her back. She turned to see the assassin with a dagger in her hand. "Now, die." She said as Wind began to kneel. "You cheap bitch." Wind choked. "You should have chosen to let Darkshadow end your life. It would have been so much quicker." She said. Wind staggered to her feet. "You will not make it out of this alive." Wind said as she raised her sword. "Why do you insist on carrying on? Just fall already. There's no shame in falling to someone better than you." She said. "If I am to die, it will be on my feet. Fighting to my last breath. Just like those who came before me." Wind said as she charged the assassin. She side stepped. Before she could react, Wind drove her sword through the assassin's back, piercing her heart. "How are you so fast?" The assassin sputtered as she choked on blood. "My mother was the fastest flyer in all Equestria." Wind said as she withdrew her sword. The assassin collapsed and her body disappeared. Wind felt woozy and fell too.
Chapter 16Wind woke up with her head in Applespice's lap. He looked down at her as her eyes fluttered open. He had a look of concern on his face. "How long was I out?" Wind asked as she sat up and looked around. They were still in the train station. "About an hour." Applespice said. "Why are we still in the train station?" Wind asked as she looked down at herself and realized she was still wearing the armor. "We didn't know where else to take you. We knew you could handle whatever was going on." Comet said. Wind looked out the window, the sun was half way eclipsing the sun now. "Shit! We need to move, now!" Wind said as she raced out of the station and into the street. "Where do we go from here?" Cherry asked. "I don't know. Let me try something." Wind said as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "It's Wind Storm. I'm calling in a favor you owe my father." Wind said. "Okay. We're at the train station." Wind said as she hung up. After a few minutes, a large charter bus pulled up and a unicorn stepped off. He was wearing black jeans and an orange T-shirt with a picture of a microphone on the front. He had straightened black and red striped hair. "Uncle Sun Blast." Wind addressed him as he gave her a hug. "How's my little niece doing?" He asked. "I'm sorry, there is no time for socializing. We are running out of time. Is there any place around here that people would go to worship Nightmare Moon?" Wind asked. Sun Blast thought for a minute. "Yea. I think I know a place. Everyone get on the bus." He said. They all filed onto the bus and took a seat. The bus pulled off and Sun went to the back of the bus and flipped a switch. The bus lit up with bright flashing lights and a DJ booth came out of the floor. "Okay, guys. We have about an hour before we get to the worship site. In the mean time, you guys have full access to my party bus. If you need anything, talk to my man Neon Lights, here." Sun said as he motioned to the unicorn at the DJ booth. Everyone got up and began to dance to the music. Wind stayed put until Applespice pulled her out of her seat and forced her to have some fun. "Come on, Windy. You have to relax. We're almost done with this mission. Soon, everything will be back to normal in Equestria and we can all live happily and stuff." Applespice said. "Yeah. I guess." Wind replied as the two of them danced. After a little while, there was a huge crash and the whole bus lurched forward. Everyone piled off to see what they had hit. Standing in the middle of the road was a huge guy dressed from head to toe in blood red armor. He had a symbol of a pair of blood spattered brass knuckles on his chest. He didn't have a single scratch on him, despite stopping a three ton bus with his face.
