Chapters “Twilight! Twilight!” shouted Spike as he ran to find his mistress, claws skidding around the bends in the corridors. He approached two guards standing outside the throne room. One of them turned to confront the speeding dragon and began to point his polearm, but his more experienced colleague pulled him by his shoulder, causing him to turn and see the look in his senior’s eyes which radiated a clear message, “NO!”
In the moment of indecision experienced by the rookie guard, Spike had slalomed around him and was already blazing a trail down the corridor. Well, probably not ‘blazing’ as Rainbow Dash would use the word, but still pretty fast for a baby dragon.
While the Castle of Friendship didn’t usually have much of a presence of guards, protocol dictated that during the forthcoming Royal visit of Princess Ember, additional precautions would have to be taken. Twilight had raised the issue with Celestia saying that the whole ethos of her role as Princess of Friendship was based upon trust and that Ember wouldn’t do anything to betray that trust. However, Celestia explained that the extra security didn’t show mistrust but was instead a method of ensuring that if anything unrelated did happen during the visit, it would be easy to exonerate the guests rather than cause unnecessary friction, so she had reluctantly agreed. As a consequence, new guards had arrived and been posted to protect the most sensitive locations in the castle.
Rounding another corner, Spike slowed down as he approached Twilight’s private chambers, partly because there were more guards, but mostly because he was exhausted. He hadn’t run that fast since … well, since forever, actually.
“Hello Spike” greeted one of the guards cordially as the other looked on and smiled, “The Princess is changing clothes at the moment in readiness for the arrival of Princess Ember. I’ll knock if you like …”
“No time!” spluttered Spike “Can’t you teleport?”sealed room, Twi, with guards” he reasoned, picking up on her innate curiosity, “Let’s just look see if the system you rigged with Princess Celestia’s book is still working as it should. I sure wouldn’t like to see anything coming through that could damage the machine.”
Twilight wrestled with what she had been told, but a nagging doubt persisted, pointing to the possibility of an undefined error buried somewhere deep within her calculations. Surely, she had she used the sum of the squares of the separation between the points along three spatial dimensions, or had she perhaps instead summed the differences? She couldn’t be sure in hindsight. The setup would have looked broadly the same and it could possibly still have worked, but …
Mind racing, she kicked off the priceless museum piece of a dress in a manner that would have made Rarity swoon onto her fainting couch and placed Spike on her back, flying out of the doors to her chambers and off down the corridors. Flying in the corridors was something that Luna had taught her back at Canterlot Castle, and something of a bone of contention between the Royal Sisters, as Celestia being the larger had not been able to accomplish the feat since she was a filly. Once when discussing it, Luna had memorably described her sister as ‘portly’ by accident, but the event would not be forgotten by those who had been there, neither would Celestia’s furious reaction. Late on some evenings when Luna and Twilight had been together at formal functions, the midnight Princess would invent some lame reason to be called away and excuse both herself and Twilight to fly through the corridors for the sheer joy it brought them. This had also become a tradition within the Castle of Friendship and had helped cement an already close bond between the two.
Now Twilight was running tight on time. All she needed was for Ember to arrive early and she would be completely caught off her guard, but she trusted Spike totally, and if he was worried, she knew she should be too. Spike in his turn had come to trust Twilight’s flying, having improved dramatically since her first faltering if not downright disastrous attempts following her coronation a few years ago. He hung on tightly as she turned corners by rolling over onto one wingtip that barely brushed the floor while the other pointed vertically up to the ceiling. It was just as well that Spike trusted her so completely with his safety.
The lilac Princess and her passenger were racing towards the two guards protecting the sealed room. They both stared with eyes wide as the Princess appeared to fly straight at them with a very focused look on her face, throwing them into a quandary as to how they should react. Fortunately that decision was taken away from them when the Princess came to an abrupt halt in mid-air and backwinged as she extended her legs gracefully to take her weight once more.
One of the guards rattled the single key that looked lost on his oversized key ring and slid it into the lock, opening it for his Princess with due deference. She thanked them as she always did every guard for executing their duties, before walking in and lighting her horn dimly. Everything seemed quiet, then Spike stretched forward onto her neck and pointed.
“I think we could use Fluttershy’s help here, Spike.”Of course ” repeated Spike.daytime? But, they’re nocturnal …”Animals are Fluttershy’s thing recalled Twilight following some painful memories from her first Winter Wrap Up.
As she closed the door behind her, Twilight stopped and explained to the guards that they could expect a visitor later on, so that her shy friend wouldn’t be intimidated with a lot of questions from the imposing looking guards that might just be enough to send her running back home again. Then she turned to her number one assistant with a glint in her eye, “Want me to drop you off somewhere, Spike? That is of course if you’re up for another ride …”
Twilight was eager to maintain good relations with Princess Ember, and Spike as her Ambassador for the Dragon Lands was an essential part of the Royal visit. They both rushed to get changed and appeared like magic at the head of the reception committee with only a few minutes to spare before the town hall clock struck the hour. Around them, a large crowd had gathered in expectation, hoping for a view of the Princess from the Dragon Lands.
Right on time, Princess Ember flew in with a small entourage to the accompaniment of a fanfare from the Royal trumpeters, landing at the start of a red carpet as Princess Twilight with Ambassador Spike half a step behind came forward to greet them. The crowd watched as the two Princesses exchanged pleasantries and then walked back down the carpet towards the Castle of Friendship with their ambassadors and other members of their welcome party following behind led by Spike.
Fluttershy had received word that she was needed in the castle, but hadn’t been able to leave her critters straightaway; an injured humming bird had needed some attention, closely followed by a stream of demands from a jealous white bunny. When she had turned up, it was to be confronted by a jostling sea of ponies, that looked just a little too intimidating to get through, so she held back and fretted nervously. She had watched as Twilight glided serenely down the red carpet, secretly wondering how she could look so composed in front of so many pairs of eyes. Once she and Ember had disappeared with her guests into the castle, the crowd had begun to dissipate in small groups all buzzing with happy chatter. Fluttershy took the thinning crowds as her cue and rose to her hooves, threading her way between ponies on her way towards the main door.
“Um, excuse me” she said quietly to the guards on the door, “I … um hope you don’t mind, but …”
Once she was safely out of the way, she made her way cautiously to the room holding the Crystal Mirror. There were two more guards to talk to; an imposing looking earth pony and his noticeably smaller unicorn colleague. After her last encounter she felt unsure of herself and lifted a forehoof off the ground in a submissive gesture while summoning the courage to look up at the guards and introduce herself.
The two guards looked at each other and then back to the primrose pegasus who was clearly disturbed about something.
The unicorn guard rattled his solitary key and reached forward opening the door into the darkened room.
A cloud of whirling bats was enough for the guard who promptly ran out of the door, leaving Fluttershy not only in the darkened room but also bombarded by the indignant shouts of the bats as they took to the air in shock; all of which were fighting for attention and all of which she could understand, even the ruder comments.
“Quiet!” she shouted, then adding as an afterthought “If you wouldn’t mind, please ...”
Just then the door cracked open and an apologetic male voice enquired, “Are you alright, Miss?”That’s not a problem now, thank you ” she replied enigmatically.Urghh! His training hadn’t prepared him for this .
Ten minutes later the latch on the door began to lift and the unicorn guard turned to help open the door as the rather shaken looking yellow pegasus emerged slowly. The guard looked at her and cried out in surprise that caused his partner to spin round, weapon ready.kind of like the primrose pegasus they had shown in, but was different; seriously different. The pointed furry ears, the staring red eyes, the unkempt mane, the fangs and those wings … But mostly what struck him was the tension clearly built up within her body that looked like it would take very little prompting to break free, but a whole lot more to subdue.
She stared through the guard’s eyes with more assertiveness than he could have imagined, freezing him to the spot. His earth pony colleague was more experienced and raised his weapon “Miss, what have you done with Fluttershy?”
With that, she unfurled her batlike yellow wings and took off down the corridor leaving the guards looking after her, then at each other, dazed.good idea ” repeated his fellow guard nervously, forehoof trembling visibly as he fumbled for the oversize keyring on his belt.
Flutterbat flew down the corridors with speed and precision so unlike the demure animal lover that was her normal form, hissing vengefully at anypony who happened to be in her path. Most cowered at the sight; others froze and she simply flitted past them with grace and agility.
Approaching the throne room, she slowed abruptly, hovering just in front of the startled guards, eyes still red and scary.
Flutterbat stared him in the eye and hissed menacingly, “I said I need to see Twilight Sparkle, and I meant right now! ”Oh, get out of my way! ” she demanded and flittered over them to reach the door handle and barge in.
As she thrust her way into the room, she saw Twilight, Spike and a few advisers sat round a table with Princess Ember and other dragon emissaries engaged in what was probably a very good natured discussion, but had stopped abruptly upon the interruption.
“Fluttershy” greeted Twilight, “You know Princess Ember. Would you like me to introduce you to her party?”right now! ”
“Princess, you must excuse me” she said quickly turning back, “Something’s cropped up that needs my immediate attention, I do apologise and will be back as soon as I can. Spike – you’re in charge!”
Flutterbat flew on ahead to the door and turned to see Twilight trying unsuccessfully to keep up.that kind of party!”
The guards stood back as the strange primrose pony and a now naked Princess sped past them and down the corridor.that kind of party ?”
As the two friends sped down the corridors, Twilight’s mind began to race. What could be wrong with the Crystal Mirror, why was Fluttershy now Flutterbat and why was she so agitated?
Soon they arrived at the room guarded by an imposing looking earth pony and a more diminutive unicorn. Both were stood to attention, but something about them radiated apprehension.
Twilight was going to light her horn to see, but as soon as she entered the room she found it bathed in an ethereal blue light and moved forward cautiously, her friend close behind.
The sinister looking alicorn advanced from the protective screen of her blue mist with slow deliberate steps. She knew she had time on her side and was prepared to gloat, especially with the thought of having found somewhere new to conquer.and track you down .”
“You won’t be able to get back to your own timeline” observed Twilight, “You’ll be stuck here, away from your kingdom of eternal night.”
But how had this even happened in the first place?
While Nightmare Moon continued indulging herself in her egocentric monologue, Twilight racked her brains. Then she hit on something she had not considered before, namely that when the sirens had appeared at Canterlot High, Sunset Shimmer had contacted them by Equestritext and in response she had then rigged the Crystal Mirror using Celestia’s book to provide a constantly open portal between their two worlds. Fine, as far as it went, but every thirty moons, the portal opened by itself using a different magic. This meant that while there were two links emanating from within the mirror in the castle, the portal at Canterlot High could only handle one , and the other link had probably searched through time and space to find something to latch on to. Since they had used Star Swirl’s magic to get to Nightmare Moon’s world once before, it would have left an indelible signature, a beacon for this lost link to attach to!
As the thought crossed her mind, her face dropped visibly, and Nightmare Moon suddenly thought that something she had said had struck home to terrify the lilac Princess, allowing herself a victorious cackle. In fact, it wasn’t anything Nightmare Moon had said, but it was something that she herself had overlooked, and now it seemed that all of Equestria was going to have to pay!
“So” crowed the malevolent black alicorn, “Shall we discuss how I am going to take over my new kingdom?”
“Oh please” dismissed the evil mare contemptuously, “Your puny magic stands as nothing next to mine. I rule an entire kingdom by fear because of the magic under my control. You honestly have no idea what I could do to you. Or your friend. If you attack me, you had better pray that you finish me with your first shot. If you fail, then I could choose to grant your friend here immortality and subject her to an eternal damnation of unending pain and watch her suffer any time I get bored. Oh, and as a special treat, I could invite you to watch as well.”
Flutterbat hissed dangerously by Twilight’s side, displaying none of the timorousness of her alter-ego. If there was to be a fight, Twilight had one ally in the room.
Twilight needed the Elements of Harmony. She needed Celestia and Luna. Above all, she needed a plan. All she had was anger, with the kindest pony she knew offered in sacrifice if she failed.
“Now tell me the power structure of this world and do not try to trick me!”
Nightmare Moon listened intently, mentally drawing up plans for how best to execute her audacious coup d’état. In her world, the only opposition had been her sister. Their battle had been close, too close for comfort as she recalled, and even then she had only prevailed by not fighting fair. In this world she would have to tackle not one but four adversaries. However, one was in front of her and totally subservient, at least for now.
The weak link would be Cadence, she reasoned. Nightmare Moon had never known her in her own world, but she was clearly a second ranking alicorn; she hadn’t even got any control over sun or moon or anything important, just love magic. Love magic – that’s not even worthy of a royal status!
“Very well” said Nightmare Moon as she drained the last information she wanted from the trapped and desperately self-loathing Princess of Friendship before her, “You have given me what I need to know. Now, what to do with the pair of you?”
“My guards are waiting at the portal in my world. I will send you to their tender care so I know I can call on you when I need a bargaining chip, or a sacrifice . Into the portal with you!”
Nightmare Moon rose, her stature radiating supreme confidence as she gestured them to the Crystal Mirror that shimmered in front of them.
Twilight looked up with hate in her eyes before stepping through closely followed by Fluttershy, who didn’t want to be stuck in a room, any room , with Nightmare Moon on her own and nudged forward eagerly – even a land of eternal night would be better than that.
They stepped out blinking into the bright sunshine of a late morning outside an imposing redbrick building. Above them, unseen in the bright morning light a rainbow coloured twisted double helix shone briefly and then dissipated.
It took Twilight only an instant to recognise that they had been directed along to the other portal emanating from the mirror, but that did not mean they were safe; just facing different challenges. Quickly recovering from her mild disorientation, she straightened up and smoothed down her familiar purple skirt and light blue top, whereas Fluttershy was on all fours in a green skirt with a white top looking distinctly out of place.
As she clung on for dear life, Fluttershy suddenly commented “Where are my hooves? What are these?”everyone , not everypony … That’s a funny word!”
“Hey Twilight!” came a familiar male voice, “You’re back! It’s great to see you again!”way too long . You know she and her friends all hang with us when they can.”
“Well, that’s something we need to talk about actually …” replied Twilight, “You see, this isn’t your Fluttershy; she’s straight from Equestria and hasn’t set hoof here before.”trust me! ”
As the day drew on, Ember became curious as to why her hostess had failed to return, her surprise being reflected by obvious rising angst from Spike.
“I see you haven’t got your wings yet” Ember observed.Dragon Lord Spike! ”she wasn’t a dragon and there was some undefinable quality about the close bond with a creature of his own species, especially a dragon like Ember. He was prepared to make one exception to this rule, most notably that if Rarity had wings again he would be with her in a heartbeat. “Mmmmm, Rarity ” he mused to himself.great dexterity ” he floundered.
Under Spike’s direction, they pulled up by two guards; an earth pony and his smaller unicorn colleague, both getting somewhat overwhelmed by the day’s events.What , you mean they’re still in there?” asked Ember, “That was, like, this morning already.”
Spike led the way into the dark room, glad of his nightdragon vision that showed him a clear view of the room.
While they were talking, a wisp of blue smoke slipped out behind them unseen and headed off down the corridor.
The two dragons and both guards were puzzled. The only possible option was that Twilight and Fluttershy had transported through the portal, but why would they go to Canterlot High during a Royal visit and not come back? Something was wrong. They all knew it, but none of them could put their claw or their hoof on it.
Following an extensive search of the room, they left and closed the door again.was going on behind that door?
“So, in short” said Ember addressing the table that now included the four remaining Element Bearers, “I think something strange has happened to Princess Twilight and Fluttershy. I don’t know what’s going on, but I would like to extend whatever support I can from the Dragon Lands.”cultural differences between dragons and ponies, but I can assure you that if you need any hardened and committed fighters, then the dragons will be there.”honestly ” said Applejack, “That we’re grateful for your support.”
“Well that settles it then” confirmed Ember, “I would appreciate if you keep me informed when Princess Twilight returns, or anything happens that needs a dragon’s not so delicate touch , if you know what I mean?”
The blue wispy smoke curled its way sinuously around the rooms inside the Crystal Castle, careful to stay out of obvious sight. It worked its way through the servants quarters, formal reception rooms and then on to the larger private apartments. She drifted around until she saw an imposing set of double doors bearing a light blue heart shape motif.
The doors were shut and although she may have been able to slip underneath, she stayed up where she was on the ceiling and observed with interest. Suddenly a high pitched sound broke the dull hubbub that had underpinned the routine activities in the castle. Her ears pricked up. The sound was familiar – she couldn’t be so lucky, surely ?”
The blue smoke slid through the closing doors and into what looked like a nursery. In front of her, she saw the mare pick up a pink foal and give it some tender rubs. “Oh how sweet ” she grimaced.
The evening was warm and mild despite the northerly latitude and the sun was settling at the end of another tranquil day. The last rays of orange sunlight shot with horizontal precision into the room, casting large shadows from the furniture as the mare continued to bottle feed her foal.
In the shadow of a wardrobe, the blue smoke began to coalesce, bright eyes and gleaming teeth contrasting against the prevailing deep shadow.
Cadence froze.
She felt another presence in the room, and it wasn’t friendly. Some intruder had somehow got in and was watching her. She was feeding Flurry Heart and was completely exposed. A shudder ran through her body and her fur stood on end as the shiver ran past. She was in trouble and she knew it.
Perhaps she was going to be attacked.
Raped.
Whatever indignity she would be forced to accept or act of brutalism she would have to endure, her foal must not be allowed to witness it. Her mind flashed through the terrible options awaiting her and resolved that whatever happened to her, she wouldn’t make a sound to disturb her foal, even if that meant …
She laid Flurry Heart gently down into her cot and quickly settled her to sleep for what may be the last time, giving her one final kiss on her forehead. She knew her every action was being scrutinised and felt ripple after ripple of shivers run through her. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen very shortly.
She knew she had to defend herself. She had to defend her foal, but there were no weapons of any kind nearby; it was a nursery, for Aunt Celestia’s sake , nopony kept weapons in a nursery!
Whether she could defend herself or not, she knew she had to face the intruder. A pit opened up in her stomach as she rose slowly and turned to the direction from which she felt she was being observed, praying that she was wrong and it was just an overactive imagination.
Deep down, she knew it wasn’t.
“What do you want?” she asked, doing her best to keep her voice from trembling.
“What a touching scene” hissed the figure emerging from the shadows.
Nightmare Moon started to circle slowly, trying to get a better view of the crib, but with each step Cadence shadowed her to block her view.you are going to help me get it.”
“Princess of Love ” sneered Nightmare Moon, outflanking Cadence once more to get a view of her peacefully resting foal, “You have no chance against me. If you cooperate, I promise to be easy on you.”
Cadence stared disbelievingly and stopped her stream of magic, running around to block the view of her foal again before the insane apparition could retaliate.
Nightmare Moon cackled insanely.
“I … I’ll do anything!” she pleaded, humbled into submission.
“Yes. I know you will.”
Half an hour later when Shining Armor arrived at the nursery, it was empty.
The two friends stopped talking as a key snicked into the lock and then they heard someone push on the door from the other side. A rush of warm early-evening air surged lazily through the apartment as the door opened and a hoard of teenagers spilled in.
“It’s great to see all of you again too” smiled Twilight, looking out over a group of teenagers she felt privileged to call friends. She bounced off the bed and stood up to greet them all, but before she threw herself into a group hug, she spoke up, “Guys, I’d like you to meet Fluttershy - the Fluttershy from my world.”
As soon as the hug began to dissipate, the Fluttershys found themselves to be the centres of attention as everyone wanted to know what is was like to meet yourself for the first time, how it felt not being a pony anymore, and all the other excited questions. One girl didn’t join the crush, but walked over to Twilight instead.
“Hey, the pizza isn’t getting any warmer you know!” piped up Pinkie having opened the large array of cardboard boxes.
“So, what’s this all about then Twi?” asked the stetson wearing blonde, making herself comfortable on top of a chest of drawers.ever so slightly destroy our world too?”
There was a brief lull as plates were refilled with more pizza and a few muted comments were exchanged.sshhing the room, “When you told us about how you beat Tirek, you mentioned something about being the vessel for all the alicorn magic in Equestria, if I recall?”
“Ahem!” interrupted Applejack, her eyes pointing to the crown on the bed in front of them.
The blue smoke weaved its way around the flickering torches lining the darkened corridors of Canterlot Castle. It was night and there was very little activity in the castle; just routine patrols by the guards and the occasional cleaner. The dancing shadows played tricks on the eyes of anypony who was still up at this hour, causing them to see whatever they wanted, or feared .
Nightmare Moon knew how dangerous an adversary Celestia was. She had tangled with her in her own world and knew the threat she posed in a fair combat. Cadence had been easy, as she had expected and now she was going to exploit that weak minded alicorn in tackling Celestia; not by force but by skulduggery.
It was foalishly easy to drift around the castle and find her goal; all she had to do was follow the concentrations of guards. Before long, she saw what she wanted. Celestia was as vain as Cadence in displaying her cutie mark on the doors to her chambers. She suppressed a cackle; they really had no idea about keeping themselves secure and that would cost them their kingdom. They may as well have rolled out a carpet and handed her a key!
The blue smoke slid across the ceiling and down the wall, sliding between the doors and into Celestia’s chambers. They were spacious and opulently appointed, once again reflecting her vanity, Nightmare Moon assessed. There were reception rooms, a personal library and a bathroom with a massive sunken bath. Nightmare Moon decided she would be claiming this as her own, subject to a few changes to the decor of course …
There weren’t many rooms left now that she hadn’t explored. She slipped under the door of the next one and heard the sound of gentle snoring. Perfect!
She floated over to the drapes that hung from the ceiling to the floor, covering the large windows and the exit onto Celestia’s personal balcony and rematerialised into her solid equine form completely unnoticed by the room’s only other occupant.
Nightmare Moon lit her horn and pointed it through the opening where one of the windows had been left open a crack, just enough to allow in some fresh air. She cast a spell and then turned her attention to sliding back past the drapes, into the bed chamber.
The lights flashed on and Celestia gasped, shooting up, bolt upright, the pupils in her shocked eyes shrinking rapidly in the unaccustomed brightness.
“In my world, I banished you to the moon.”
Celestia walked slowly to confront her enemy until they were facing each other horn to horn, yet neither adopted an aggressive stance and their wings remained furled. To an outside observer, it was like they were talking about the weather.
“Do you like what you see?” asked Nightmare Moon, “Let’s bring it closer, shall we?”
“That” said Nightmare Moon, “Is a magic dagger. It is under extreme tension and ready to be fired right through the heart of your niece. It is only being restrained by a magic spell that I am performing right now. If I stop, the dagger fires. If you attack me, the dagger fires. Now, I believe that she is an immortal alicorn which is why I have gone to so much trouble to source an enchanted dagger that will kill her; not cleanly of course, but slowly and painfully. Can you see it glow, ready to claim her life? I trust you are impressed with my thoroughness, Celestia?”
“You’re evil” replied the Sun Princess.
Nightmare Moon said nothing, but looked enquiringly at Celestia who returned an icy glare.horribly if her mother does not do as I demand. Now the same goes for you, Celestia. You give me control of Equestria or that dagger runs straight through your niece’s heart. I don’t actually want to hurt her, of course, but if you do not do as I say, then her blood will be on your hooves. After that, we will progress on to torturing the alicorn foal. Can you imagine the depths of my depravity? WELL, CAN YOU?”
“Don’t do it Aunt Celestia! I am not worth more than the whole of Equestria!”
Celestia drew herself up to her full height and stared solidly into Nightmare Moon’s eyes with a firmness of resolve that shook the evil mare, although she wasn’t prepared to show it.
Cadence braced herself, her heart racing, waiting for the stabbing pain that would end her life. She knew Celestia had to sacrifice her, she had no other choice. She just prayed that her foal could be saved from this evil tyrant.
“Tic, toc, tic, toc!”
Applejack finished swinging her legs off the chest of drawers she was sat on and crossed them as if to further her concentration.
After a theatrical pause, she continued, gushing with renewed enthusiasm, “But they really were so utterly beautiful that I simply couldn’t allow the little pieces to be thrown away. So I kept them ….”
“OK” said Applejack, “With you so far, but how’re you gonna get what’s in them broken stones into that there crown?”
By the time the band had arrived at the practice studio just a little over half an hour later, it was already dark.
Twilight got Pinkie to hold the end of a piece of string in the centre of the room and then walked round, keeping the string taut as she chalked a perfect circle on the floor.
The result was not exactly a layout that any of them had seen before. Even if it looked odd, everyone present had supreme faith in Twilight as she directed ‘a place for everything and everything in its place.’
Once they had completed the sound check, Rainbow slung her guitar strap over her shoulder and turned to Twilight, “So, what song we gonna play?” adding under her breath, “Make it Awesome as I Wanna Be , make it Awesome as I Wanna Be …”
She cast her eyes around her friends, all looking eager with their instruments ready.
In no time, all the friends had ponied up and were obviously enjoying themselves immensely for the sheer joy of playing together. No costumes to get sabotaged, no spotlights victimising the tambourine player, and above all, no sirens. They were good. They were tight .
By the time Rainbow got into her shredding guitar solo for “Awesome as I Wanna Be”, Twilight could see that the lustrous red shards had melted and were migrating into her crown. It was working!tour de force “I’ve Got the Music in Me” and belted it out with a passion and belief that she hadn’t felt since the Battle of the Bands.
The last of the little red pools of magic disappeared, absorbed into their new home just before the end of the song, and although all the band members were playing their hearts out, one by one they all gently drifted back to the floor, their ears and tails receding and wings melting away. They all noticed it; the feeling of normalness that they usually transcended when they played together. When the song ended, they looked around at each other, saying nothing. Then Fluttershy threw her hands up to cover her face, dropping her tambourine as she ran off to find somewhere quiet.
“Did you know that was going to happen, Sugarcube?”
Twilight sat down on the floor and put her hands to her face, sobbing softly, “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, but it has to be this way. Your world should never have had this magic in the first place …”
“Thanks you guys” she smiled as one by one her friends drew together and joined a group hug.
Applejack looked down at the one band member who wasn’t joining in, but was sat morosely on the floor. Gently, she peeled herself away from her friends and walked over, leaning down and extending a hand. “Now, you know I’m not much of one for reading an’ all, but I remember seeing a quote, went something like this - don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened . Sounds like that fits us all right about now. Come on up Twilight, it ain’t a proper hug without you.”
Luna stood on the large expanse of the Royal balcony, feeling a gentle breeze run across her feathers.
She stared out across both the land and the sky that she loved, drawing a last drop of comfort, whilst simultaneously saying farewell to everything she knew. Her stillness belied the fact that her ears were very finely honed waiting for the arrival of only one pony.
Luna had never seen the moon with an alicorn’s head upon it as it had been for a thousand years, only ever pictures in books. Now it bore three alicorn heads upon its face.
Only two ponies other than her had the power to banish another pony off this world, and only one had a fixation about the moon. It was clear that Nightmare Moon had returned and vanquished three alicorns. She was the fourth, and Equestria’s last line of defence. Her evil alter-ego must have grown in power to have despatched the other alicorns so quickly; her moon had not been so despoiled only last night. Now, it looked ugly, bearing horrific scars of those she loved and respected.
She had donned her black battle armour; an ironic acknowledgement of the evil mare she knew she would be facing at some time in the next hours. Time would henceforth no longer be measured in days, for there would be none.
She reflected on what lay ahead. It was clear that if she lost, a fourth alicorn head would be added to the moon, and Nightmare Moon would reign unopposed, forever, just as in her former twisted ambitions. She stood still, feeling a gentle breeze run across her feathers, waiting.
A whoosh broke her reverie and she spun round as four hooves clapped down at the opposite end of the balcony.Princess Luna” scoffed the black mare, furling her wings. “I haven’t seen that armour for a long time.”
“I stopped by for a friendly little chat, Luna. I trust you have been admiring my handiwork?”know you inside out. I know your weapons, your tactics …” her eyes glinted evilly in the moonlight, “… Your every weakness.”
“You have become soft, Luna. Your peaceful little kingdom has not fought a campaign in hundreds of years. You have lost your edge. I, on the other hoof have spent hundreds of years perfecting my skills. You are no longer in my league.”
In response, Luna drew a pair of swords and moved forwards, hoofstep at a time. The weapons glinted in the moonlight, complementing their innate light green glow. She held them perfectly still, poised, her steely gaze boring into Nightmare Moon’s skull with a look of pure hatred.
“Magical swords?” the evil mare observed, ”Not taking any chances, I see.”
Something about her adversary was worrying Luna; she was too confident, and seemed underprepared for combat.
Suddenly, Luna was jumped from behind and whirled round into a crouching position to see who her attacker was. There were two more Nightmare Moons bearing down on her!
With the agility of a ninja, she brought her swords to bear; one on each of her attackers, striking blood with one as she reeled away across the balcony to regain her footing. Luna felt the warm fur of the other attacker against her own fur and threw her over her neck, driving a sword straight down into her chest once she had hit the ground, just as the first attacker returned.
The fallen attacker kicked her legs and struggled feebly to pull the sword from herself, but its magic sapped her power, and her life. Luna only had one sword left, but was confident that would be all she needed to finish the alicorn advancing towards her.
In the background she heard that maniacal cackling and knew now why the original Nightmare Moon had not appeared ready for combat; she had clones to do it for her!
The injured attacker drew a pair of swords and rushed forward swinging them with deadly intent. Luna reacted faster and brought her sword down with lethal precision once more; this time pulling her sword sharply out of the fallen body. Quickly she ran back to retrieve her other sword and saw in her peripheral vision two more Nightmare Moons coming to attack her.
If Nightmare Moon could keep generating more and more copies of herself, there could only be one ending to this unequal combat. Despite the hopelessness of her odds, she fought on, earning cuts and bruises across her body and when the first opportunity presented, she ran over to the original Nightmare Moon who had done her best to get under her skin when they first met. The black alicorn simply smiled as she turned into a wisp of blue smoke and leached away.
Two more Nightmare Moons appeared and the fight continued; a fight that Luna couldn’t afford to lose, but could never hope to win.
By the time she had beaten five attackers, she had become worn down and failed to react fast enough when the pommel of a sword hit her hard across the back of her head and she went down, dazed, only to feel a sharp point of steel pushing into her throat as she panted heavily, regaining her wits.
She stared up angrily at the sneering black coated assailant that held a sword, a glowing green sword, hard into her throat. It was obvious that the merest touch would push it into her windpipe, where its magic would begin to drain her life away. Still she stayed resolute, showing no fear, only a seething resentment.
“Impressive” acknowledged the original Nightmare Moon coalescing from a cloud of blue smoke to one side, “But I told you I would beat you in combat.”
Luna winced, knowing she had failed. She had let down all the ponies in Equestria and now they would all suffer as a result. Hers would be the fourth head on the moon along with Celestia, Cadence and Twilight, Equestria’s ruling quadrature sealed in a trinket illuminating the perpetual night sky, pointing to the disappearing memory of happier times.
Luna’s eyes suddenly flashed in hope. Nightmare Moon hadn’t mentioned capturing Twilight!
There was still a chance!
It was late, very late.
Canterlot High School looked even more imposing than usual in the dark, and Flash had turned his car so that its headlights illuminated the plinth out front of the school where the portal lay.
Twilight stepped hesitantly into a completely dark room, her eyes still seeing spangles from Flash’s headlights. She lit her horn and looked around; everything appeared to be as it should, but the bats had gone. That was a bonus; she wasn’t keen on them, but presumably they could fly through between portals as they chose. Fluttershy, now a little disorientated in becoming a pony once more stepped unsteadily through the portal and Twilight caught her lest she fall.
“Strange day” said the earth pony guard to his smaller unicorn colleague.both imagined it.”
The unicorn fumbled with his key and had only just turned it in the lock when the door sprang open and two ponies ran out, each taking to the air as soon as they were out the door.
Both friends flew down the corridor together and then parted ways, Fluttershy heading for the exit while Twilight powered on towards Spike’s room, coming to an abrupt stop just outside his door. She knocked, but did not wait for an answer before forcing her way in.important happen since I’ve been away?
Twilight tore round the castle and stopped off at Ember’s room, waking her and telling her the news of impending invasion.
As they flew through the still night air, Spike looked up and leaned forward in astonishment.
When they arrived, Fluttershy had managed to round up four of the Element Bearers and was just waiting for Rarity whom she had left complaining bitterly about not having enough time to apply the appropriate level of makeup to achieve even a basic evening look.sensational .
“Firstly thank you to Fluttershy for hosting this gathering at short notice and to Princess Ember for coming in her capacity not only as our friend, but also as Dragon Lord” began Twilight as she went on to explain what had happened to her and Fluttershy as well as the ominous sign in the sky.
Silence.
“Right, last time we defeated Nightmare Moon it was with the Elements of Harmony. However, I’m not sure if they’re strong enough this time given that they’re helping to heal the Tree of Harmony right now. Ember; my human friends and I fought sirens in their world and I have just managed to capture as much of their magic as I could in my crown. What I was wondering is that since sirens are more closely related to dragons than ponies; perhaps their magic might be more effective if you were to wield it rather than me?”
Twilight looked around the room. The animals had all pressed themselves respectfully against the wall, giving as much room as possible for the six ponies and two dragons who sat in the middle of the ramshackle gathering; Equestria’s last hope. It seemed so unreal; such a momentous act of rebellion being orchestrated from the home that more than any other epitomised kindness. Yet, safe places to meet were going to be few and far between and the stakes of being discovered, too high.
“Ember” she asked, “How quickly can you get organised?”
Once everyone in the room had recovered from the shock and their eyes begun to recover, they all saw Ember before them in pretty much the same pose as when they had last seen her, only now she was glowing light blue all over. She removed the crown and handed it back to Twilight.slightly more negative emotion than most, strike that , all other creatures, so I have summoned them already. They’re on their way as we speak. If it’s one thing they don’t want to be late for, it’s a good fight!”
Flying down from Canterlot, a sinister black shape suddenly saw something she had not been expecting – a bright flash somewhere near the Castle of Friendship. She cackled to herself.
So, the last Princess was back, was she?
This was going far more easily than she had dared hope.
“Right girls” said Twilight commandingly, “There’s eight of us and four of us have wings. Everypony grab a passenger, there’s no time to lose!”so there was something behind the rumours , the thought of their not-so-secret romance cracking the merest smile on her face.glowing topaz’, she christened it. Only Rarity could think of fashion in a time of crisis thought Twilight.
The unusual party took off and aimed for the secluded grotto, a slight sense of unreality pervading the urgency of their mission, Pinkie giggling enthusiastically as she felt the wind across her face.
Behind them, a sinister dark shape sped her approach towards Ponyville looking for a showdown.
The friends scudded over the Everfree, that somehow managed to look even more unforgiving than usual in the pervading darkness. Fluttershy braved a peek down, then quickly snapped her gaze back up as her mind started to fantasise about the horrible monsters down below waiting to gobble her up. Spike heard her pitiful whimpering and reached forward, stroking her neck reassuringly, and the primrose pegasus turned to give him a grateful smile.
Soon they saw the familiar gorge and Twilight led her irregular party in a downward banking turn to touch down in front of the ghostly white glow emanating from the grotto.
The ponyfriends entered the grotto and each made their peace with the Tree of Harmony in their own way, requesting its help. The tree acknowledged graciously and glowed brighter as it released the Elements, each drawn ethereally back to its rightful Bearer.
Back in Ponyville, scared animals were running in all directions as a dark figure stood contemptuously beside the burning remains of Fluttershy’s cottage. She had traced the magic she had felt earlier to this point and enquired as to what the animals had known, but none had answered her. In retaliation, she had drawn down a bolt of evil magic and shattered the building in an instant, a bright burning fire now the only testimony to the animal sanctuary it had once served as.
Not far away, another flash of light showed her clearly where her quarry had gone, so she took to the air, ridding herself of the panicked screams from the newly dispossessed animals below. The trail was hot, and she was on it!
Ember thought she saw something from the corner of her eye. She stared back, focusing hard. Yes, there it was again. Silhouettes, shapes of all sizes swirling around, all drawn towards her.
Twilight emerged serenely from the grotto, bathed in white light and accompanied by her friends.
A chill fell across the gathering as they all felt the presence of something evil. They looked up and all around were multiple copies of Nightmare Moon; some hovering, some circling around in the sky, others advancing on hoof.
Dogfights broke out in the air and close quarters combat prevailed on the ground, dragons and ponies fighting side by side against the unending tide of Nightmare Moons.
Standing on the edge of the bluff overlooking the scene was one Nightmare Moon not deigning to get involved in the fight herself, but simply watching and cackling to herself. She glowed blue in the darkness as her magic reached out to control her clones. It didn’t matter to her how many clones were lost; the numbers were overwhelming and she knew, just as she had with her defeat of Princess Luna that she would win by grinding down her opposition, her last remaining opposition .
More dragons arrived, pitching in to the fight with an eagerness that quite disturbed the ponies, but were quite happy to accept, secure in the knowledge that more friends working together had to be a good thing, especially against Nightmare Moon.
The clattering of swords and screams of falling clones and dragons mixed together in an insane cacophony, rising up to greet her ears. How she enjoyed watching the last barrier to her future omnipotence being ground into the dirt!
“Ember!” shouted Twilight when she saw a space in the fighting, “This isn’t working! She just keeps making more, no matter how many she loses!”
Twilight focused and suddenly her eyes lit up brilliant white as she rose above the clamour, her friends drawn magically to her side, each protected by the white glow of a forcefield. Ember rose by her side, her blue glow shining ever brighter, matching the intensity of the white glow from the Element Bearers.
From her vantage point, Nightmare Moon saw the white and blue glowing lights start to form and coalesce together, rising up towards her and felt a sickening lurch inside.
The white and blue magical auras merged together into one gently throbbing ball of energy, trails of white and blue flashing around in pairs, weaving their magic together, getting bigger, faster.
Nightmare Moon’s eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open as her hooves remained rooted to the spot, unable to move.
Then it struck, with a whistling sound that physically burned a hole in the air as it sped towards her. She quickly cut contact with her clones that all vanished in mid fight and redirected her power to her horn in a final desperate act of self-preservation. It was too late; the white and blue magics that had now fused together hit her magic head on, thrusting her evil magic back inside her horn, back inside her head, back into her soul.
It was quiet.
It was dark.
A chorus of groans echoed from the dragons who were disappointed that the fight was over so quickly.
Up on the bluff, a group of dragon and ponyfriends stared down at the comatose body of Nightmare Moon.
No-one spoke.
“What shall we do with her, Twilight?” asked Ember staring at the sleek black body laying stunned on the ground in front of them, “I’m guessing you run her through with some kind of magic weapon so she can’t threaten you again?”
A diminutive unicorn guard and his larger earth pony colleague had both developed a twitch as the day had turned to night, and were eager to be relieved of their duty. A scraping sound accompanied by an incessant grumbling drew their attention and they both stared agape along the corridor. What they turned to see was Princess Twilight and Princess Ember leading a very sulky red dragon with a yellow crest and oversized teeth, who in turn was carrying a jet black alicorn across his back.
“Good evening, Sirs” chirped Twilight, “Would you let us into this room please?”
The lights in the room flickered into life and Twilight fumbled with the apparatus surrounding the Crystal Mirror, making occasional, ”Ah-ha! ” and “Oh-ho! ” sounds as she wielded her forehooves with disproportionate dexterity. Finally she stopped and stood back.really don’t want our friends at Canterlot High suddenly finding this turn up on their doorstep.”
“Yep! All good to go” she said cheerfully, ”Now Garble, would you please return our unwanted guest through the mirror?”I do” commanded Ember, “And if I were you, I’d do it before she wakes up.”
Deftly, Twilight pulled out one solitary resistor from the circuit that drove the Crystal Mirror and turned to give everyone present a wide smile.what now?” asked Applejack, scratching her head.
“Now what?” asked Fluttershy.Now we fix everything ” replied Pinkie, bouncing on the spot.that all about?” asked Twilight, “Is your Pinkie Sense playing up again?”
Twilight stood on the castle’s balcony focusing on the silhouettes in the moon, a magenta glow around her horn. Behind her, her friends all stood gathered round wearing their respective Elements, focusing with her.
A glow appeared around the moon and then a sparkly trail followed a gently arcing trajectory down towards where they stood, waiting. The trail ended in front of them at a point where a soft glow began to form, pulsing as if it were coming to life. With a little more concentration, there was a flash of light and there in front of them stood Princess Luna.
Next to come back was Flurry Heart, giggling contentedly, as if oblivious to the role she had innocently played in the near downfall of Equestria. Luna could see she was the only one on the balcony not playing an active role in returning her fellow Princesses, so stood back and nursed the foal until she could be reunited with her mother.
Twilight and her friends focused again, the task seeming to get easier with practice and next another flash announced the arrival of Cadence, looking around anxiously for her foal. Suddenly seeing her, safe in Luna’s embrace, she burst into tears of happiness and took her place at the back alongside the Midnight Princess, who passed her foal to her for the most grateful of reunions.
They all waited, focusing on the last silhouette left on the moon. Eventually it blinked and a shower of magical sparkles transported the Sun Princess back to Equestria.
“I sense a joint effort here and thank you all” she acknowledged graciously.
“Um, Princess” asked Spike, “I know it’s probably not too important right now, but it’s been a very long night …”
Ember moved forward to stand by the two Royal Sisters and watched as Luna pointed her horn up to the moon, a moon now purged of the silhouettes of alicorn heads and laid it to rest below the horizon. Celestia shot Ember a sideways glance, catching her eye and breaking out into a smile before focusing her own energy towards the horizon. The sky started to lighten and she turned to her honoured guest.
“Thank you, Princess Ember.”
“Thank you, Princess Celestia” she replied as the first rays of the morning sun reflected from her startling red eyes and she began to feel warmth on her scales once more.
