Welcome to my Nightmareby BronyxyChapters1 Deepest Fears2 Twilight Investigates3 The Big Plan1 Deepest FearsThe view span before her eyes: sky, cloud, sky, cloud. She focused as best she could to avoid becoming completely disorientated, because once that happened, she knew she was lost. Sky, cloud, sky, cloud. The wind whistled past her, ruffling her fur and her feathers in directions she neither understood, nor liked. Suddenly, she could see no more sky as she became enveloped by the cloud; falling, falling. “Must … straighten … out …” she told herself, but somehow her wings wouldn’t do as she told them. There were other colours in her sight now, the green and brown of the ground, interspersed with the white of the cloud. She was running out of space to affect her recovery, or … well, the alternative didn’t bear closer inspection. Falling, tumbling, spinning. If she had allowed herself the opportunity, she would have felt sick, but right now she didn’t have that luxury. The race to recover was now becoming less academic, and more a case of life or … she wasn’t prepared to finish that thought. Streaks of cyan feathers flashed through her peripheral vision as she fought with all her strength to get her wings to respond to her commands, but nothing seemed to be working. Falling, tumbling, spinning. There was less cloud in her vision now and that could only mean one thing; she was getting close to the ground. She had to recover. She did not want a dent in the ground to be the lasting memorial to Rainbow Dash. She was the best flyer in Equestria, right? She strained her wings with strength she had never used before. The adrenalin was really kicking in now. There was no point in her last thought being “I could have tried harder”, no, that would never do. It was now all or nothing. Falling, tumbling, spinning. When her eyes focused fleetingly around her, she could see the detail of the trees, the streams, the occasional hut. “Oh no!” she suddenly realised with a shock that paralysed her last few moments, “I’m not going to make it!” Thump! A pair of rose coloured eyes flashed open as the cyan blue mare sat bolt upright in her bed. She was bathed in sweat and hyperventilating; the dream had gone, but the fear remained. What had she done wrong? Why couldn’t she have flown out of trouble? Tentatively she extended her wings and checked them, her breathing slowing as everything moved in and out as it should. Then she brushed the sweat off her forehead with a forehoof. She recovered her composure as best she could, having just died in a dream. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now, so she showered and set off to check on one of her friends, maybe scrounge some breakfast because her shelves were all empty again. Rainbow stepped out of her cloud house and felt the crisp early morning chill on her fur. Taking a deep invigorating breath she suddenly didn’t feel quite as tired and leapt into the air, heading for one of her oldest and dearest friends. The air felt good under her wings, especially following her dreadful nightmare, but not wanting to tempt fate, flew conservatively, by her standards anyway. She followed a familiar path out of Ponyville and over a picturesque bridge towards a chocolate box cottage, dropping down with characteristic swagger in front of a split level stable door. She knocked and heard the sound of movement on the other side of the door. Next thing, both halves of the door opened and Rainbow found herself looking up at a large dark brown form that completely filled the doorway. “Oh, Hi Harry” she said cheerfully, “Fluttershy home?” The bear showed her in with as much grace that a large bear in a small cottage can muster, but as soon as she had stepped over the threshold she could hear the sound of gentle crying from within. Curled up on the ground was a primrose and pink pony surrounded by animals big and small, all trying to show their love and support as best they could. At the sight of Rainbow, they quietly parted to allow a path through and the cyan mare stepped forward carefully so as not to accidentally squash or kick aside any of the woodland critters. “Hey, ‘Shy” she asked gently as she knelt down next to her friend, “What’s the matter?” “It was terrible!” bawled the distraught pegasus grabbing Rainbow’s neck between her forelegs and dragging her close. Shocked by the overt outpouring of emotion, Rainbow pulled away instinctively just for a second as a reflex action, before snuggling down to give her friend the cuddle that she so clearly needed. “Whoa … sorry there ‘Shy” she said, the dampness from her friend’s muzzle dripping onto her freshly showered fur. She wanted to ask what was wrong or what she could do to help, but the urgency of her friend’s embrace surpassed any other priority that she could imagine. Rainbow found herself unwittingly rocking her friend gently and making gentle hushing noises waiting for the primrose pegasus to compose herself and speak. “It was terrible” she whispered so that Rainbow could only just hear, ”All the animals … every one of them …” “It’s OK ‘Shy, they’re all fine” comforted her friend, “Come on, let’s have a nice cup of tea, OK?” Fluttershy nodded slowly and allowed Rainbow to help her to her hooves and assist her to the two-pony sofa in her front room. The cyan pegasus caught Harry’s concerned eye and mouthed the word “T E A” to him. He lifted a claw in acknowledgement and went to fill the kettle. Rainbow had no idea how he would complete the task, and although fascinated to watch, knew instead that her curiosity was of secondary importance to her friend’s wellbeing. They sat down together and all that could be heard was a gentle sobbing from behind a curtain of delicate pink mane, Rainbow keeping a foreleg around her. “It was a bad dream” she whispered, “But it was so real to me. All the animals were dying one at a time, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t save any of them.” Rainbow knew how much her friend loved the critters that came to stay and understood how this would upset her so much, so held her tightly as the shock worked its way slowly out of her system. Dreams again, bad dreams. Harry meanwhile, probably with a little help, had made the tea and placed the tray on the table in front of the two pegasi, retiring to give the two friends some room. Rainbow leaned forward to reach a cup, but Fluttershy held on more tightly at the feeling that her friend may have been trying to leave her. Eventually, Fluttershy felt secure enough to let go and Rainbow parted the curtain of pink mane to show her a friendly face. Even though her eyes were bloodshot, she still managed a smile and gave a quiet “Thank you”, reaching out for a now decidedly cooling cup of tea. “Hey ‘Shy, you want some help feeding the critters?” asked Rainbow. “I remember the last time you tried” said Fluttershy, cracking a faint smile “They tied you up and put you in the cooking pot.” “Er, yeah” replied Rainbow rubbing the back of her neck with her forehoof, “But I’ve got a pet of my own since then and Tank’s never tried that little stunt, so I guess I’ve got it nailed now!” They both giggled and Rainbow helped her friend off the sofa as they went to prepare an overdue breakfast for all the critters in the cottage. Rainbow left her friend in a much happier condition than when she had arrived, but the coincidence of both of them having bad dreams was too much for her to believe, so she headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres to another friend she knew would be up early. Surely this phenomenon couldn’t have affected the Apple family too – could it? The sun was clear of the horizon now, but it was still too soon to expect to see any except the earliest risers in the town, and of course the farmers with their never ending lists of chores to be done. Although she knew she would crash a lot earlier than usual in the evening and need to get to bed early to make up for the lost sleep, that was for later; but for now, she was buzzing. She flew a slalom through the apple trees of the western orchard leaving a transient rainbow coloured trail weaving through the patchwork of shadows around the tree trunks, cheering happily with the thrill. Suddenly up ahead she saw the familiar muscular red form of Big Mac bucking apples from the trees. She immediately backwinged and came to a halt at a respectful distance from the lone stallion. A tree behind him shook with mighty reverberations from his kick and bucketloads of apples fell off into baskets waiting below. Being descended from a proud warrior race, Rainbow appreciated physical strength as well as just speed and respected this powerful if shy stallion. “Hey Big Mac” called the blue speedster “You haven’t seen AJ have you?” He turned his head, his blond mane catching in the near horizontal rays of the early morning light, framing his head in a way that made Rainbow stare, just for a moment. “Eeyup!” he said pointing with his head, “She’s over yonder.” “How ...” get a grip Rainbow told herself, “How did she seem this morning?” “Funny you should ask. Had a bad dream last night.” An awful feeling hit Rainbow in the stomach so she had to ask, “How about the rest of you?” “Is this another of your pranks, Rainbow Dash?” he asked suspiciously. “No, no, not at all, not this time” she shook her head. He could be stubborn, and if he believed she was pranking, then nothing would convince him to the contrary, even the truth, thought Rainbow, “It’s just … I’ll see you later.” With this less than polished farewell, she was gone. Something was wrong and getting weirder by the minute. Sure enough right where Big Mac said she would be, there was Applejack, bucking trees just like her brother. Her orange coat stood out against the orchard, her build undeniably muscular like her brother, thought Rainbow appreciatively, just a little more feminine. It was no secret that whilst the two of them engaged in good natured rivalry, they also shared a very close bond of companionship and either would move heaven and earth to help the other. “Hey AJ” she greeted, “Got an apple to spare, I kinda haven’t had breakfast?” “Sure Sugarcube, go right ahead” replied the farm pony obligingly, “Not expectin’ to see the likes of you up so early.” “Yeah” said Rainbow, giving her friend a hug before picking up a highly polished red apple, “About that.” Applejack wore a lightly bemused look as she watched her friend. A story was coming, but she would wait for Rainbow to finish demolishing the apple; she had time. “Big Mac says you had a bad night.” “Yup, why d’you ask?” “I don’t think you’re alone” explained Rainbow, “I’ve just come from Fluttershy; she had a pretty bad dream and I had one where I died.” “Funny you should say that” said Applejack with a faraway look in her eyes, “My Mom and Dad was in my dream. Life was all peachy and we was all one big happy family. Then they told me they’d gotten this big contract from some city type for every last apple on the farm and that if he didn’t get them apples in double quick time, then my folks would be shipped away to work for this guy and we would never see them again. Well, I bucked as hard as I could but just when I finished, there was another orchard, and another, and try as I might, I couldn’t finish. I … I let them down.” “Hey, I’m sorry AJ” said the pegasus moving closer and placing a protective wing round her friend. Rainbow knew this must have hurt her as much as dying in her own dream as she hadn’t seen her parents since she was a small filly. “Hey, you still got me” said Rainbow. “Thanks Sugarcube. You goin’ to have a word with Twilight – get to the bottom of all this?” “Sure thing, AJ.” Rainbow snaffled a few more apples as Applejack looked on smiling and shaking her head slowly. “Sure hope you can sort this one out, Sugarcube” she said as her friend turned into a rainbow blur and shot off through the trees and up into the sky leaving a gradually fading trail as the only memento of her visit; that and three apple cores. 2 Twilight InvestigatesHeading back into town, Rainbow took an educated guess that Twilight was probably going to be up too; three of their tightly knit friendship group had been tormented by bad dreams, but nopony else seemed to have been affected. She also guessed that if she had gone to Sugarcube Corner or Carousel Boutique she would have heard similar tales, each nightmare having been tailored to the specific fears of the dreamer. The grand old oak tree that had stood for only Celestia knew how many years came into view; a tree that now accommodated a library, for pony’s sake. However, this was where her egghead friend lived, so that made it OK; not totally cool, but OK. She landed just short of the doorstep and stepped forward to knock on the bright red door. She heard the response of her knock echo inside only briefly before one side of the door creaked open on its rusty hinges. A bleary eyed unicorn peered tentatively round, shielding her eyes from the light. “Hi Twi” greeted the cyan blue visitor, “Thought you might be up.” “Yes, Rainbow” replied the voice belonging to somepony who really did not want to be awake, “This is not a time of day I particularly enjoy, so please do come in so I can close it out again.” “OK Twi” said Rainbow with a smile, “Bad dreams, huh?” Twilight pivoted sharply like she was stood on a button to face her friend, staring fiercely into her eyes, “How did you know?” “We all had them, Twi.” “What?” she gasped, “All of Ponyville?” “Nah; me, Fluttershy, AJ and you, and I expect Rarity and Pinkie too.” “All the Bearers” observed Twilight grimly. “Hey” said Rainbow, “You’re right – I hadn’t looked at it that way.” “Looks like I’ve got a busy day ahead” said Twilight to herself, then to her friend, “Rainbow, I want you to check in with Rarity and Pinkie just to confirm our suspicions. If we’re right, would you round them up and bring them all here, please.” The blue pegasus saluted smartly and let herself out, leaving Twilight to stare at the fading multicoloured trail as thoughts began to crystalise in her mind. Suddenly, she was wide awake. Five rather tired looking ponies came in to the library to be greeted by a large pile of books on a table that completely hid the face of the researcher from view. The only clues as to who that pony was were the facts that lilac legs kept crossing, uncrossing and sometimes even stamping underneath the table and an incessant muttering in a very familiar voice punctuated by an occasional “Oo – ooh” sound that simply epitomised frustration. “Hey Twi” announced Rainbow, “The gang’s all here. It’s just like we thought.” The irritable drumming of the lilac hooves on the floor stopped abruptly and a face suddenly peered out from behind the books that appeared to have been arranged more for the purposes of fortification than for study. “It sounds like we all had bad dreams last night” Twilight began. A look across her friends showed this to be the case. She fully expected Rarity to complain along the lines that it had been ‘the worst possible thing’, but even she had been shocked into silence, which must have been bad. “OK” said Twilight, “Some of us are clearly pretty distressed, so maybe it’ll help if we all get it off our chests?” Fluttershy was too upset to retell her story, so she lay down and put her forehooves over her ears while Rainbow told both her story and her own. Once it was over, the friends all gave the timid pegasus a hug and told her she was very brave. Rainbow would have interrupted to say “Hey, I died!”, but didn’t want to detract from the support that her friend clearly needed even more than herself. It was harrowing not only for the victim of the dream to recount the events as they were all so personal, but also for the others as they saw their friends pain as they retold each story in turn. Pinkie Pie’s mane hung straight and limp as she recounted her dream in which she had thrown a party and nopony had been happy, so she threw a ‘sorry you weren’t happy at my last party, but this will definitely make it up to you’ party, but that hadn’t made things any better despite all her hard work. Finally she had made cakes and one by one everypony who ate them died leaving her on her own at a party where there was nopony left to enjoy it with, and so she had sadly eaten one of the cakes to be with her friends again. As she finished, her eyes let forth like two taps left on and there wasn’t a dry eye among her friends either. Applejack retold her story next, followed by Rarity who fared little better as she told of Sweetie Belle’s abduction, with her release only capable of being bought by Rarity making an impossible number of dresses. Apparently, the seamstress had been given added incentive to complete her task by being forced to listen as her sister screamed under all manner of horrible things that she refused to speak of, but which only got worse the longer she took. Just as in Applejack’s dream, her task had been impossible. As her storytelling shuddered to a dreadful stop, the group gathered round to give her support too. Twilight sighed; she could put off her story no longer and was clearly expected to follow suit. She spoke about her dream in which she had been tied to a chair and forced to watch as all her friends and family tore the pages out of all her books one by one and burned them on a bonfire after which they did something truly horrible to Spike. Although she was the most analytical member among her friends, even she felt her mouth go dry and heard her voice crack as she approached the end of the story and couldn’t quite finish it before she broke down in tears. It was horrible. Each of the friends had been forced to live through losing something very dear to them and their only strength was the bond they shared with each other. “Right girls” said Twilight having composed herself, “This must have something to do with us as a group. The common denominator as I see it is that we are all Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the fact that we have been singled out for attack suggests that somepony may be planning something that relies on us working together. As such I must warn the Princesses to be on their guard. “Can you send them a message?” asked Applejack. “No” said Twilight sadly, “Spike isn’t here right now. He had his leg bitten by a monster book and is in hospital …” “The what now …?” “Oh, it’s a book that’s protected by a spell that gives it stumpy little legs and sharp teeth. You’ve got to know the counterspell to be able to approach it safely.” “And I’m guessing he didn’t?” “No. He was very kindly tidying up a part of the library that I had told him was off limits” said Twilight bashfully, “I guess I could have warned him a bit better.” “Want me to go, Twi?” asked Rainbow. “No, I’ll tell the Mayor and she can send word to the Princesses. Help yourselves to some breakfast, and when I come back we can get down to business.” Half an hour later, Twilight came back and turned the OPEN sign on the front of the library around, closing the door behind her. Applejack and Pinkie had rustled up an appetising smelling breakfast in her absence and all the ponies were feeling a lot better after their cathartic outpourings, some already tucking in to seconds of cinnamon apple pancakes, apple crisps and hot cups of tea. “Hey, that smells good” said Twilight, suddenly appreciating just how hungry she was too, “Any left over for me?” “Sure thing, Twi” came an unmistakeable country accent from the kitchen. She expected to hear a cheerful ‘yes indeedly!’ from Pinkie, but a quick look showed that her mane was still hanging limp and lifeless; it was clearly only her devotion to the others in the group that was giving her any purpose at all at the moment. There was no doubting that the nightmares had been frightening, and all too realistic, so she resolved to do her best and find a solution before they turned in for bed that night, for all their sakes. Twilight explained to the others over a hurried breakfast that she had seen the Mayor and a message notifying the Princesses was on its way. When the last crumbs had been scraped off her plate, she rose with a businesslike look on her face. “Right girls” she said commandingly, “Let’s do this.” She led them up from the kitchen to the display cabinet at the side of her stairs, levitating the cover in her magic and placing it down on the ground. “Oh yeah!” said Rainbow enthusiastically, reaching in for her necklace. One by one they reclaimed their Elements as Twilight went to her table and recovered an open book before returning to claim her tiara. “OK, now form a circle” she said, taking up her position at the north point on its circumference and tucking her hindlegs underneath her, book open in front of her. The others knew their positions; Pinkie in the south flanked by Fluttershy and Rarity, while Rainbow and Applejack moved closer to Twilight, all six equally spaced. They commenced their meditation, focusing their energy into the circle where it formed a white ball, growing brighter as the magical power built within it. Twilight uttered some words, finally repeating a chant over and over, summoning the ball of magical energy inch by inch over towards the north point where it finally subsumed her. As soon as Twilight was completely engulfed within the ball of magic, the streams of energy from the other Elements stopped. All friends remained in respectful meditative silence, none daring to break the magical concentration of the circle in case they endangered their friend, the Bearer of the Element of Magic, and compromised her important mission. Once surrounded by her Element of Magic, Twilight was transported to an ethereal realm that looked like where she was in reality, but very faded and she was free to move around as she pleased; through walls, through ponies and even levitate into the air as if gravity only applied if she chose it to. The remains of a light blue trail extending from the Golden Oak library was the only feature different in this domain. Her brow furrowed and then she set off to follow it. As the levitation carried her above Ponyville, she could start to see similar light blue trails extending down to the ground. She didn’t need to count them to know there were five and where they were all aimed. The trails arced high into the sky and then started descending into the Everfree, plunging ever more steeply towards, well, nothing but forest as far as she could see. Suddenly, she spied the trails leading to a clearing and a little building with a striped roof … and stars painted on it … and there was a chimney with a pointed hat on it – TRIXIE!” She had seen all she needed to see and could now report back to her friends and sort this showpony out, once and for all! Twilight began to slow her descent, but felt no change. She tried again, harder this time, but still no difference. It was like she was being drawn down into the caravan itself – the source of the malevolent magic. She slid effortlessly through the roof without even a hint of resistance and found herself dropped into a chair where her forelegs and hindlegs were immediately restrained. In front of her was Trixie; not an ethereal representation as her friends had been, but a solid and menacing looking form wearing an evil grin, her bright red eyes pulsating with magical energy. 3 The Big Plan“Welcome, Twilight Sparkle” greeted the light blue unicorn with heavy sarcasm, “So glad you could make it.” “Trixie! What in Equestria do you think you’re doing?” shouted Twilight, struggling to free herself. “What does Trixie think Trixie’s doing?” said her captor in an understated voice dripping with evil intent, “Why this is just the beginning of Trixie’s payback. You made Trixie a laughing stock. You ran Trixie out of town. You’re the perfect little pony – aren’t you?” “Why are you tormenting my friends?” “Oh, its all part of the plan. You see, Trixie knows they’re helping you maintain this state, and none of them would dare to risk you by stopping in their meditation. So all Trixie has to do is follow your trail, which presumably leads to your pitiful little library, and take the Elements of Harmony for herself.” “No Trixie! You mustn’t! You don’t know the power …” “Oh, but Trixie does … and the first thing Trixie’s going to do is send all of you on a one-way ticket to Tartarus, leaving Trixie to rule unopposed!” “The Princesses will stop you!” “Uh, no, actually. You see they've lost their connection to the Elements, and so when Trixie has all six and turns them on Celestia and Luna, they won’t be able to fight back! Equestria will belong to Trixie!” “OK, Trixie” said Twilight, hanging her head in defeat, “But how did you get so powerful? This level of magic is way beyond you.” “Oh, let’s just say Trixie had a little help” she said, toying with a pendant hanging round her neck. Twilight looked at the glowing artefact. “That looks pre-Unicornian to me” she stated, “But I’ve never seen it before. If I know anything about artefacts from that period, you’re playing with something very dangerous. It may well give you what you want, but it will take something far more valuable from you in return. Please Trixie, take it off while you still can!” “Nice try, Twilight” she scoffed, “But this is Trixie’s meal ticket for ruling Equestria, and no fairy tale from you is going to stop me. Anyway, lovely as it is to talk with you, Trixie has a date to keep – with the Elements of Harmony!” ”NO!” screamed Twilight as the light blue unicorn disappeared. The white ball of magical energy moved slowly clockwise and gently enveloped the orange farm pony who kept her eyes steadfastly shut as she felt the magical aura drift over her. With sleight of hoof practiced over many years of working crowds, Trixie deftly lifted the orange bejewelled necklace from the Bearer of the Element of Honesty and moved on to the Element of Generosity. This was way too easy! Only when she had worked her way round to the last pony did she feel any resistance. She could feel the cyan blue mare resisting and saw her eyes twitch, so quickly cast a spell to desensitise her as she completed her wicked plan. The Bearer of the Element of Loyalty – how fitting that she should be the one to put up a fight. With all five Elements safely in her grasp, Trixie returned the way she had come and soared back to her caravan where she would remove the sixth and final Element; the Element of Magic. She would force Twilight to watch as Trixie rose and became the omnipotent ruler of Equestria, totally unable to stop her inevitable demise and that of her interfering friends! Materialising into her caravan, Trixie looked at the desperate shape of Twilight Sparkle, still stuck fast. She would toy with her; listen to her beg and plead. She had time for some fun, after all. “Trixie” said Twilight in a voice of unexpected authority, “I will give you one last chance to stop.” “Or what?” she scoffed, “I have five of the Elements of Harmony here. You have the sixth. Watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie plays to her biggest audience yet – the whole of Equestria!” “Trixie, please, let’s talk about this” said Twilight, “Don’t make the biggest mistake of your life.” Trixie was going to talk with you some more, but you are boring her. Trixie will give you the choice, either let Trixie take the tiara from you or you hand it to Trixie as a gift so Trixie won’t be quite so cruel to you when she is Queen. Twilight stared defiantly into the burning red eyes of a madpony and did not respond. “You’re only making this harder on yourself. Trixie will make you clean out the toilet block of the Royal Guard every day – with your tongue!” Twilight’s insolent glare was beginning to rattle her victorious monologue. What did she know? “Trixie demands an answer!” she screamed. “And precisely what answer would you like, Miss Lulamoon?” enquired a calm and mature voice emerging from the shadows. Trixie froze. It couldn’t be! She turned quickly to see Princess Celestia leading Princess Luna into the centre of her vision. Quickly she cast a spell to make Twilight’s tiara fly into her greedy hooves, but a yellow force field already surrounded the lilac unicorn, just as a blue aura took the five necklaces from the startled showpony. “We do not believe these are yours” said Luna, staring sternly at Trixie. “The pendant, if you please, Miss Lulamoon” asked Celestia. “NEVER! Trixie would rather …” The sentence hung unfinished between them as she was hit by a yellow aura and a blue aura simultaneously and fell to the floor unconscious. Just at that moment the spell binding Twilight dissipated, and she rose to her hooves. “Twilight” asked Celestia, ”Please would you remove the pendant from its latest victim.” “Victim?” queried Twilight as she removed it from Trixie’s neck. Celestia and Luna ceased their auras and smiled at Twilight. “Watch the pendant, Twilight” said Celestia, and before her eyes it dissipated into thin air. “What just happened?” she asked, wide-eyed. “I suspect you will see that again in your lifetime Twilight” said Celestia, “It appears every fifty years or so and seeks out somepony whose greed and lust for power it can feed off as it drives them further into madness. One clue pointing to possession is the glowing red eyes. Once it is removed, the bond is broken and it disappears to recover its strength in the realm of dark magic once more.” “Does it have a name?” “We can think of many” said Luna. “So Trixie is an innocent victim then?” “Yes” said Luna, “She is a sadly troubled individual, but cannot be held accountable for her actions whilst under the pendant’s control. Forgive her, if you can.” “Now we must return to Ponyville” said Celestia, “Your friends have done an admirable job keeping the circle whole, but it is now only fair that we relieve them. Come Sister, Twilight.” With that, all three followed the blue trail out of the caravan where Trixie lay on the floor to recover from her ordeal and come to terms with what she had done. Twilight floated down gently back into the circle and felt a tear of gratitude form in her eye at the way her friends had kept the magic together, just through the combination of their personalities since they had been relieved of their Elements. She marvelled at how united and supportive her friends had been, and how lucky she was to have them, thanking each in turn as she went around the circle returning the necklaces to their rightful Bearers. Once the Bearers were all complete again, she closed the circle down and the exhausted friends all looked up to see the Royal Sisters standing before them, immediately bowing out of respect. “There is no need for that, my little ponies” said Celestia, “I think it is us who should be thanking you for your belief in your Elements and your belief in each other.” “Perhaps it would help if Twilight Sparkle were to explain” suggested Luna, and all ponies, including the Princesses sat or lay comfortably as the fancy took them. Twilight recounted the story to gasps from her friends and a few choice words when Trixie’s name was mentioned. “What I don’t understand though Princesses” said Twilight, “Is how you knew where to come to rescue me?” “Once we received word by messenger that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony could be under attack, our Sister woke us at once” explained Luna, “We cast around the dark realm and discovered an unusually high concentration of magical activity around Miss Lulamoon’s caravan. Naturally, we went there with our Sister as soon as we could and once we found Twilight, we merely awaited events to unfold. It was your foresight, Twilight that alerted us, and the courage of all of you that enabled us to prevail.” “So no more bad dreamy dreams then?” enquired Pinkie, now resplendent with her curly mane once more. “No; the nightmares have gone” said Luna confidently. “I think I know what maybe in order now” said Celestia, “Do you feel ready to throw a party?” The pink party pony gave a broad smile, “Yes indeedly!”
1 Deepest FearsThe view span before her eyes: sky, cloud, sky, cloud. She focused as best she could to avoid becoming completely disorientated, because once that happened, she knew she was lost. Sky, cloud, sky, cloud. The wind whistled past her, ruffling her fur and her feathers in directions she neither understood, nor liked. Suddenly, she could see no more sky as she became enveloped by the cloud; falling, falling. “Must … straighten … out …” she told herself, but somehow her wings wouldn’t do as she told them. There were other colours in her sight now, the green and brown of the ground, interspersed with the white of the cloud. She was running out of space to affect her recovery, or … well, the alternative didn’t bear closer inspection. Falling, tumbling, spinning. If she had allowed herself the opportunity, she would have felt sick, but right now she didn’t have that luxury. The race to recover was now becoming less academic, and more a case of life or … she wasn’t prepared to finish that thought. Streaks of cyan feathers flashed through her peripheral vision as she fought with all her strength to get her wings to respond to her commands, but nothing seemed to be working. Falling, tumbling, spinning. There was less cloud in her vision now and that could only mean one thing; she was getting close to the ground. She had to recover. She did not want a dent in the ground to be the lasting memorial to Rainbow Dash. She was the best flyer in Equestria, right? She strained her wings with strength she had never used before. The adrenalin was really kicking in now. There was no point in her last thought being “I could have tried harder”, no, that would never do. It was now all or nothing. Falling, tumbling, spinning. When her eyes focused fleetingly around her, she could see the detail of the trees, the streams, the occasional hut. “Oh no!” she suddenly realised with a shock that paralysed her last few moments, “I’m not going to make it!” Thump! A pair of rose coloured eyes flashed open as the cyan blue mare sat bolt upright in her bed. She was bathed in sweat and hyperventilating; the dream had gone, but the fear remained. What had she done wrong? Why couldn’t she have flown out of trouble? Tentatively she extended her wings and checked them, her breathing slowing as everything moved in and out as it should. Then she brushed the sweat off her forehead with a forehoof. She recovered her composure as best she could, having just died in a dream. There was no point in trying to go back to sleep now, so she showered and set off to check on one of her friends, maybe scrounge some breakfast because her shelves were all empty again. Rainbow stepped out of her cloud house and felt the crisp early morning chill on her fur. Taking a deep invigorating breath she suddenly didn’t feel quite as tired and leapt into the air, heading for one of her oldest and dearest friends. The air felt good under her wings, especially following her dreadful nightmare, but not wanting to tempt fate, flew conservatively, by her standards anyway. She followed a familiar path out of Ponyville and over a picturesque bridge towards a chocolate box cottage, dropping down with characteristic swagger in front of a split level stable door. She knocked and heard the sound of movement on the other side of the door. Next thing, both halves of the door opened and Rainbow found herself looking up at a large dark brown form that completely filled the doorway. “Oh, Hi Harry” she said cheerfully, “Fluttershy home?” The bear showed her in with as much grace that a large bear in a small cottage can muster, but as soon as she had stepped over the threshold she could hear the sound of gentle crying from within. Curled up on the ground was a primrose and pink pony surrounded by animals big and small, all trying to show their love and support as best they could. At the sight of Rainbow, they quietly parted to allow a path through and the cyan mare stepped forward carefully so as not to accidentally squash or kick aside any of the woodland critters. “Hey, ‘Shy” she asked gently as she knelt down next to her friend, “What’s the matter?” “It was terrible!” bawled the distraught pegasus grabbing Rainbow’s neck between her forelegs and dragging her close. Shocked by the overt outpouring of emotion, Rainbow pulled away instinctively just for a second as a reflex action, before snuggling down to give her friend the cuddle that she so clearly needed. “Whoa … sorry there ‘Shy” she said, the dampness from her friend’s muzzle dripping onto her freshly showered fur. She wanted to ask what was wrong or what she could do to help, but the urgency of her friend’s embrace surpassed any other priority that she could imagine. Rainbow found herself unwittingly rocking her friend gently and making gentle hushing noises waiting for the primrose pegasus to compose herself and speak. “It was terrible” she whispered so that Rainbow could only just hear, ”All the animals … every one of them …” “It’s OK ‘Shy, they’re all fine” comforted her friend, “Come on, let’s have a nice cup of tea, OK?” Fluttershy nodded slowly and allowed Rainbow to help her to her hooves and assist her to the two-pony sofa in her front room. The cyan pegasus caught Harry’s concerned eye and mouthed the word “T E A” to him. He lifted a claw in acknowledgement and went to fill the kettle. Rainbow had no idea how he would complete the task, and although fascinated to watch, knew instead that her curiosity was of secondary importance to her friend’s wellbeing. They sat down together and all that could be heard was a gentle sobbing from behind a curtain of delicate pink mane, Rainbow keeping a foreleg around her. “It was a bad dream” she whispered, “But it was so real to me. All the animals were dying one at a time, and no matter what I did, I couldn’t save any of them.” Rainbow knew how much her friend loved the critters that came to stay and understood how this would upset her so much, so held her tightly as the shock worked its way slowly out of her system. Dreams again, bad dreams. Harry meanwhile, probably with a little help, had made the tea and placed the tray on the table in front of the two pegasi, retiring to give the two friends some room. Rainbow leaned forward to reach a cup, but Fluttershy held on more tightly at the feeling that her friend may have been trying to leave her. Eventually, Fluttershy felt secure enough to let go and Rainbow parted the curtain of pink mane to show her a friendly face. Even though her eyes were bloodshot, she still managed a smile and gave a quiet “Thank you”, reaching out for a now decidedly cooling cup of tea. “Hey ‘Shy, you want some help feeding the critters?” asked Rainbow. “I remember the last time you tried” said Fluttershy, cracking a faint smile “They tied you up and put you in the cooking pot.” “Er, yeah” replied Rainbow rubbing the back of her neck with her forehoof, “But I’ve got a pet of my own since then and Tank’s never tried that little stunt, so I guess I’ve got it nailed now!” They both giggled and Rainbow helped her friend off the sofa as they went to prepare an overdue breakfast for all the critters in the cottage. Rainbow left her friend in a much happier condition than when she had arrived, but the coincidence of both of them having bad dreams was too much for her to believe, so she headed off towards Sweet Apple Acres to another friend she knew would be up early. Surely this phenomenon couldn’t have affected the Apple family too – could it? The sun was clear of the horizon now, but it was still too soon to expect to see any except the earliest risers in the town, and of course the farmers with their never ending lists of chores to be done. Although she knew she would crash a lot earlier than usual in the evening and need to get to bed early to make up for the lost sleep, that was for later; but for now, she was buzzing. She flew a slalom through the apple trees of the western orchard leaving a transient rainbow coloured trail weaving through the patchwork of shadows around the tree trunks, cheering happily with the thrill. Suddenly up ahead she saw the familiar muscular red form of Big Mac bucking apples from the trees. She immediately backwinged and came to a halt at a respectful distance from the lone stallion. A tree behind him shook with mighty reverberations from his kick and bucketloads of apples fell off into baskets waiting below. Being descended from a proud warrior race, Rainbow appreciated physical strength as well as just speed and respected this powerful if shy stallion. “Hey Big Mac” called the blue speedster “You haven’t seen AJ have you?” He turned his head, his blond mane catching in the near horizontal rays of the early morning light, framing his head in a way that made Rainbow stare, just for a moment. “Eeyup!” he said pointing with his head, “She’s over yonder.” “How ...” get a grip Rainbow told herself, “How did she seem this morning?” “Funny you should ask. Had a bad dream last night.” An awful feeling hit Rainbow in the stomach so she had to ask, “How about the rest of you?” “Is this another of your pranks, Rainbow Dash?” he asked suspiciously. “No, no, not at all, not this time” she shook her head. He could be stubborn, and if he believed she was pranking, then nothing would convince him to the contrary, even the truth, thought Rainbow, “It’s just … I’ll see you later.” With this less than polished farewell, she was gone. Something was wrong and getting weirder by the minute. Sure enough right where Big Mac said she would be, there was Applejack, bucking trees just like her brother. Her orange coat stood out against the orchard, her build undeniably muscular like her brother, thought Rainbow appreciatively, just a little more feminine. It was no secret that whilst the two of them engaged in good natured rivalry, they also shared a very close bond of companionship and either would move heaven and earth to help the other. “Hey AJ” she greeted, “Got an apple to spare, I kinda haven’t had breakfast?” “Sure Sugarcube, go right ahead” replied the farm pony obligingly, “Not expectin’ to see the likes of you up so early.” “Yeah” said Rainbow, giving her friend a hug before picking up a highly polished red apple, “About that.” Applejack wore a lightly bemused look as she watched her friend. A story was coming, but she would wait for Rainbow to finish demolishing the apple; she had time. “Big Mac says you had a bad night.” “Yup, why d’you ask?” “I don’t think you’re alone” explained Rainbow, “I’ve just come from Fluttershy; she had a pretty bad dream and I had one where I died.” “Funny you should say that” said Applejack with a faraway look in her eyes, “My Mom and Dad was in my dream. Life was all peachy and we was all one big happy family. Then they told me they’d gotten this big contract from some city type for every last apple on the farm and that if he didn’t get them apples in double quick time, then my folks would be shipped away to work for this guy and we would never see them again. Well, I bucked as hard as I could but just when I finished, there was another orchard, and another, and try as I might, I couldn’t finish. I … I let them down.” “Hey, I’m sorry AJ” said the pegasus moving closer and placing a protective wing round her friend. Rainbow knew this must have hurt her as much as dying in her own dream as she hadn’t seen her parents since she was a small filly. “Hey, you still got me” said Rainbow. “Thanks Sugarcube. You goin’ to have a word with Twilight – get to the bottom of all this?” “Sure thing, AJ.” Rainbow snaffled a few more apples as Applejack looked on smiling and shaking her head slowly. “Sure hope you can sort this one out, Sugarcube” she said as her friend turned into a rainbow blur and shot off through the trees and up into the sky leaving a gradually fading trail as the only memento of her visit; that and three apple cores.
2 Twilight InvestigatesHeading back into town, Rainbow took an educated guess that Twilight was probably going to be up too; three of their tightly knit friendship group had been tormented by bad dreams, but nopony else seemed to have been affected. She also guessed that if she had gone to Sugarcube Corner or Carousel Boutique she would have heard similar tales, each nightmare having been tailored to the specific fears of the dreamer. The grand old oak tree that had stood for only Celestia knew how many years came into view; a tree that now accommodated a library, for pony’s sake. However, this was where her egghead friend lived, so that made it OK; not totally cool, but OK. She landed just short of the doorstep and stepped forward to knock on the bright red door. She heard the response of her knock echo inside only briefly before one side of the door creaked open on its rusty hinges. A bleary eyed unicorn peered tentatively round, shielding her eyes from the light. “Hi Twi” greeted the cyan blue visitor, “Thought you might be up.” “Yes, Rainbow” replied the voice belonging to somepony who really did not want to be awake, “This is not a time of day I particularly enjoy, so please do come in so I can close it out again.” “OK Twi” said Rainbow with a smile, “Bad dreams, huh?” Twilight pivoted sharply like she was stood on a button to face her friend, staring fiercely into her eyes, “How did you know?” “We all had them, Twi.” “What?” she gasped, “All of Ponyville?” “Nah; me, Fluttershy, AJ and you, and I expect Rarity and Pinkie too.” “All the Bearers” observed Twilight grimly. “Hey” said Rainbow, “You’re right – I hadn’t looked at it that way.” “Looks like I’ve got a busy day ahead” said Twilight to herself, then to her friend, “Rainbow, I want you to check in with Rarity and Pinkie just to confirm our suspicions. If we’re right, would you round them up and bring them all here, please.” The blue pegasus saluted smartly and let herself out, leaving Twilight to stare at the fading multicoloured trail as thoughts began to crystalise in her mind. Suddenly, she was wide awake. Five rather tired looking ponies came in to the library to be greeted by a large pile of books on a table that completely hid the face of the researcher from view. The only clues as to who that pony was were the facts that lilac legs kept crossing, uncrossing and sometimes even stamping underneath the table and an incessant muttering in a very familiar voice punctuated by an occasional “Oo – ooh” sound that simply epitomised frustration. “Hey Twi” announced Rainbow, “The gang’s all here. It’s just like we thought.” The irritable drumming of the lilac hooves on the floor stopped abruptly and a face suddenly peered out from behind the books that appeared to have been arranged more for the purposes of fortification than for study. “It sounds like we all had bad dreams last night” Twilight began. A look across her friends showed this to be the case. She fully expected Rarity to complain along the lines that it had been ‘the worst possible thing’, but even she had been shocked into silence, which must have been bad. “OK” said Twilight, “Some of us are clearly pretty distressed, so maybe it’ll help if we all get it off our chests?” Fluttershy was too upset to retell her story, so she lay down and put her forehooves over her ears while Rainbow told both her story and her own. Once it was over, the friends all gave the timid pegasus a hug and told her she was very brave. Rainbow would have interrupted to say “Hey, I died!”, but didn’t want to detract from the support that her friend clearly needed even more than herself. It was harrowing not only for the victim of the dream to recount the events as they were all so personal, but also for the others as they saw their friends pain as they retold each story in turn. Pinkie Pie’s mane hung straight and limp as she recounted her dream in which she had thrown a party and nopony had been happy, so she threw a ‘sorry you weren’t happy at my last party, but this will definitely make it up to you’ party, but that hadn’t made things any better despite all her hard work. Finally she had made cakes and one by one everypony who ate them died leaving her on her own at a party where there was nopony left to enjoy it with, and so she had sadly eaten one of the cakes to be with her friends again. As she finished, her eyes let forth like two taps left on and there wasn’t a dry eye among her friends either. Applejack retold her story next, followed by Rarity who fared little better as she told of Sweetie Belle’s abduction, with her release only capable of being bought by Rarity making an impossible number of dresses. Apparently, the seamstress had been given added incentive to complete her task by being forced to listen as her sister screamed under all manner of horrible things that she refused to speak of, but which only got worse the longer she took. Just as in Applejack’s dream, her task had been impossible. As her storytelling shuddered to a dreadful stop, the group gathered round to give her support too. Twilight sighed; she could put off her story no longer and was clearly expected to follow suit. She spoke about her dream in which she had been tied to a chair and forced to watch as all her friends and family tore the pages out of all her books one by one and burned them on a bonfire after which they did something truly horrible to Spike. Although she was the most analytical member among her friends, even she felt her mouth go dry and heard her voice crack as she approached the end of the story and couldn’t quite finish it before she broke down in tears. It was horrible. Each of the friends had been forced to live through losing something very dear to them and their only strength was the bond they shared with each other. “Right girls” said Twilight having composed herself, “This must have something to do with us as a group. The common denominator as I see it is that we are all Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and the fact that we have been singled out for attack suggests that somepony may be planning something that relies on us working together. As such I must warn the Princesses to be on their guard. “Can you send them a message?” asked Applejack. “No” said Twilight sadly, “Spike isn’t here right now. He had his leg bitten by a monster book and is in hospital …” “The what now …?” “Oh, it’s a book that’s protected by a spell that gives it stumpy little legs and sharp teeth. You’ve got to know the counterspell to be able to approach it safely.” “And I’m guessing he didn’t?” “No. He was very kindly tidying up a part of the library that I had told him was off limits” said Twilight bashfully, “I guess I could have warned him a bit better.” “Want me to go, Twi?” asked Rainbow. “No, I’ll tell the Mayor and she can send word to the Princesses. Help yourselves to some breakfast, and when I come back we can get down to business.” Half an hour later, Twilight came back and turned the OPEN sign on the front of the library around, closing the door behind her. Applejack and Pinkie had rustled up an appetising smelling breakfast in her absence and all the ponies were feeling a lot better after their cathartic outpourings, some already tucking in to seconds of cinnamon apple pancakes, apple crisps and hot cups of tea. “Hey, that smells good” said Twilight, suddenly appreciating just how hungry she was too, “Any left over for me?” “Sure thing, Twi” came an unmistakeable country accent from the kitchen. She expected to hear a cheerful ‘yes indeedly!’ from Pinkie, but a quick look showed that her mane was still hanging limp and lifeless; it was clearly only her devotion to the others in the group that was giving her any purpose at all at the moment. There was no doubting that the nightmares had been frightening, and all too realistic, so she resolved to do her best and find a solution before they turned in for bed that night, for all their sakes. Twilight explained to the others over a hurried breakfast that she had seen the Mayor and a message notifying the Princesses was on its way. When the last crumbs had been scraped off her plate, she rose with a businesslike look on her face. “Right girls” she said commandingly, “Let’s do this.” She led them up from the kitchen to the display cabinet at the side of her stairs, levitating the cover in her magic and placing it down on the ground. “Oh yeah!” said Rainbow enthusiastically, reaching in for her necklace. One by one they reclaimed their Elements as Twilight went to her table and recovered an open book before returning to claim her tiara. “OK, now form a circle” she said, taking up her position at the north point on its circumference and tucking her hindlegs underneath her, book open in front of her. The others knew their positions; Pinkie in the south flanked by Fluttershy and Rarity, while Rainbow and Applejack moved closer to Twilight, all six equally spaced. They commenced their meditation, focusing their energy into the circle where it formed a white ball, growing brighter as the magical power built within it. Twilight uttered some words, finally repeating a chant over and over, summoning the ball of magical energy inch by inch over towards the north point where it finally subsumed her. As soon as Twilight was completely engulfed within the ball of magic, the streams of energy from the other Elements stopped. All friends remained in respectful meditative silence, none daring to break the magical concentration of the circle in case they endangered their friend, the Bearer of the Element of Magic, and compromised her important mission. Once surrounded by her Element of Magic, Twilight was transported to an ethereal realm that looked like where she was in reality, but very faded and she was free to move around as she pleased; through walls, through ponies and even levitate into the air as if gravity only applied if she chose it to. The remains of a light blue trail extending from the Golden Oak library was the only feature different in this domain. Her brow furrowed and then she set off to follow it. As the levitation carried her above Ponyville, she could start to see similar light blue trails extending down to the ground. She didn’t need to count them to know there were five and where they were all aimed. The trails arced high into the sky and then started descending into the Everfree, plunging ever more steeply towards, well, nothing but forest as far as she could see. Suddenly, she spied the trails leading to a clearing and a little building with a striped roof … and stars painted on it … and there was a chimney with a pointed hat on it – TRIXIE!” She had seen all she needed to see and could now report back to her friends and sort this showpony out, once and for all! Twilight began to slow her descent, but felt no change. She tried again, harder this time, but still no difference. It was like she was being drawn down into the caravan itself – the source of the malevolent magic. She slid effortlessly through the roof without even a hint of resistance and found herself dropped into a chair where her forelegs and hindlegs were immediately restrained. In front of her was Trixie; not an ethereal representation as her friends had been, but a solid and menacing looking form wearing an evil grin, her bright red eyes pulsating with magical energy.
3 The Big Plan“Welcome, Twilight Sparkle” greeted the light blue unicorn with heavy sarcasm, “So glad you could make it.” “Trixie! What in Equestria do you think you’re doing?” shouted Twilight, struggling to free herself. “What does Trixie think Trixie’s doing?” said her captor in an understated voice dripping with evil intent, “Why this is just the beginning of Trixie’s payback. You made Trixie a laughing stock. You ran Trixie out of town. You’re the perfect little pony – aren’t you?” “Why are you tormenting my friends?” “Oh, its all part of the plan. You see, Trixie knows they’re helping you maintain this state, and none of them would dare to risk you by stopping in their meditation. So all Trixie has to do is follow your trail, which presumably leads to your pitiful little library, and take the Elements of Harmony for herself.” “No Trixie! You mustn’t! You don’t know the power …” “Oh, but Trixie does … and the first thing Trixie’s going to do is send all of you on a one-way ticket to Tartarus, leaving Trixie to rule unopposed!” “The Princesses will stop you!” “Uh, no, actually. You see they've lost their connection to the Elements, and so when Trixie has all six and turns them on Celestia and Luna, they won’t be able to fight back! Equestria will belong to Trixie!” “OK, Trixie” said Twilight, hanging her head in defeat, “But how did you get so powerful? This level of magic is way beyond you.” “Oh, let’s just say Trixie had a little help” she said, toying with a pendant hanging round her neck. Twilight looked at the glowing artefact. “That looks pre-Unicornian to me” she stated, “But I’ve never seen it before. If I know anything about artefacts from that period, you’re playing with something very dangerous. It may well give you what you want, but it will take something far more valuable from you in return. Please Trixie, take it off while you still can!” “Nice try, Twilight” she scoffed, “But this is Trixie’s meal ticket for ruling Equestria, and no fairy tale from you is going to stop me. Anyway, lovely as it is to talk with you, Trixie has a date to keep – with the Elements of Harmony!” ”NO!” screamed Twilight as the light blue unicorn disappeared. The white ball of magical energy moved slowly clockwise and gently enveloped the orange farm pony who kept her eyes steadfastly shut as she felt the magical aura drift over her. With sleight of hoof practiced over many years of working crowds, Trixie deftly lifted the orange bejewelled necklace from the Bearer of the Element of Honesty and moved on to the Element of Generosity. This was way too easy! Only when she had worked her way round to the last pony did she feel any resistance. She could feel the cyan blue mare resisting and saw her eyes twitch, so quickly cast a spell to desensitise her as she completed her wicked plan. The Bearer of the Element of Loyalty – how fitting that she should be the one to put up a fight. With all five Elements safely in her grasp, Trixie returned the way she had come and soared back to her caravan where she would remove the sixth and final Element; the Element of Magic. She would force Twilight to watch as Trixie rose and became the omnipotent ruler of Equestria, totally unable to stop her inevitable demise and that of her interfering friends! Materialising into her caravan, Trixie looked at the desperate shape of Twilight Sparkle, still stuck fast. She would toy with her; listen to her beg and plead. She had time for some fun, after all. “Trixie” said Twilight in a voice of unexpected authority, “I will give you one last chance to stop.” “Or what?” she scoffed, “I have five of the Elements of Harmony here. You have the sixth. Watch as the Great and Powerful Trixie plays to her biggest audience yet – the whole of Equestria!” “Trixie, please, let’s talk about this” said Twilight, “Don’t make the biggest mistake of your life.” Trixie was going to talk with you some more, but you are boring her. Trixie will give you the choice, either let Trixie take the tiara from you or you hand it to Trixie as a gift so Trixie won’t be quite so cruel to you when she is Queen. Twilight stared defiantly into the burning red eyes of a madpony and did not respond. “You’re only making this harder on yourself. Trixie will make you clean out the toilet block of the Royal Guard every day – with your tongue!” Twilight’s insolent glare was beginning to rattle her victorious monologue. What did she know? “Trixie demands an answer!” she screamed. “And precisely what answer would you like, Miss Lulamoon?” enquired a calm and mature voice emerging from the shadows. Trixie froze. It couldn’t be! She turned quickly to see Princess Celestia leading Princess Luna into the centre of her vision. Quickly she cast a spell to make Twilight’s tiara fly into her greedy hooves, but a yellow force field already surrounded the lilac unicorn, just as a blue aura took the five necklaces from the startled showpony. “We do not believe these are yours” said Luna, staring sternly at Trixie. “The pendant, if you please, Miss Lulamoon” asked Celestia. “NEVER! Trixie would rather …” The sentence hung unfinished between them as she was hit by a yellow aura and a blue aura simultaneously and fell to the floor unconscious. Just at that moment the spell binding Twilight dissipated, and she rose to her hooves. “Twilight” asked Celestia, ”Please would you remove the pendant from its latest victim.” “Victim?” queried Twilight as she removed it from Trixie’s neck. Celestia and Luna ceased their auras and smiled at Twilight. “Watch the pendant, Twilight” said Celestia, and before her eyes it dissipated into thin air. “What just happened?” she asked, wide-eyed. “I suspect you will see that again in your lifetime Twilight” said Celestia, “It appears every fifty years or so and seeks out somepony whose greed and lust for power it can feed off as it drives them further into madness. One clue pointing to possession is the glowing red eyes. Once it is removed, the bond is broken and it disappears to recover its strength in the realm of dark magic once more.” “Does it have a name?” “We can think of many” said Luna. “So Trixie is an innocent victim then?” “Yes” said Luna, “She is a sadly troubled individual, but cannot be held accountable for her actions whilst under the pendant’s control. Forgive her, if you can.” “Now we must return to Ponyville” said Celestia, “Your friends have done an admirable job keeping the circle whole, but it is now only fair that we relieve them. Come Sister, Twilight.” With that, all three followed the blue trail out of the caravan where Trixie lay on the floor to recover from her ordeal and come to terms with what she had done. Twilight floated down gently back into the circle and felt a tear of gratitude form in her eye at the way her friends had kept the magic together, just through the combination of their personalities since they had been relieved of their Elements. She marvelled at how united and supportive her friends had been, and how lucky she was to have them, thanking each in turn as she went around the circle returning the necklaces to their rightful Bearers. Once the Bearers were all complete again, she closed the circle down and the exhausted friends all looked up to see the Royal Sisters standing before them, immediately bowing out of respect. “There is no need for that, my little ponies” said Celestia, “I think it is us who should be thanking you for your belief in your Elements and your belief in each other.” “Perhaps it would help if Twilight Sparkle were to explain” suggested Luna, and all ponies, including the Princesses sat or lay comfortably as the fancy took them. Twilight recounted the story to gasps from her friends and a few choice words when Trixie’s name was mentioned. “What I don’t understand though Princesses” said Twilight, “Is how you knew where to come to rescue me?” “Once we received word by messenger that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony could be under attack, our Sister woke us at once” explained Luna, “We cast around the dark realm and discovered an unusually high concentration of magical activity around Miss Lulamoon’s caravan. Naturally, we went there with our Sister as soon as we could and once we found Twilight, we merely awaited events to unfold. It was your foresight, Twilight that alerted us, and the courage of all of you that enabled us to prevail.” “So no more bad dreamy dreams then?” enquired Pinkie, now resplendent with her curly mane once more. “No; the nightmares have gone” said Luna confidently. “I think I know what maybe in order now” said Celestia, “Do you feel ready to throw a party?” The pink party pony gave a broad smile, “Yes indeedly!”
