Dragon Road Season 1

“You're the Mare in the Moon—Nightmare Moon!”

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know… why I'm here.”

“You're here to… t-to…”

“Hehehe… Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

Chapter 10

Inescapable Nightmare

‘My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!’

Twilight Sparkle must have read these words over about a hundred times on this pegasus-drawn carriage. Make friends? Even from a normal standpoint, wasting time with friends when there were preparation for the most celebrated event in Equestria seemed utterly foolish. But Twilight had a better reason. Try, the millennium-sealed Mare in the Moon being primed for freedom on the day of the celebration! All Twilight had to go on was a legend and her wits, but then again, two years ago, an old friend of hers had succeeded with the exact same.

The unicorn shook off her thoughts of him and refocussed on the matter at hoof. For the first time, she may have to slightly disobey her mentor's order. After all, if friends superceded Equestria's very safety, then her mentor may have been a bit tired. Yeah, that was it. So it was Twilight's job as a faithful student to rectify that mistake born from tiredness.

Twilight looked to her dragon assistant Spike, feeling eyes on her. The baby dragon met her purple gaze with his green, and blinked passively.

“All I'm saying is that making friends isn't all that bad.” Spike spoke, picking up a previous conversation.

Twilight sighed.

“I'm not saying making friends is bad. It's rewarding, I know. But right now, don't you see what's at stake?” Spike shrugged. “Equestria! If we don't find out about those Elements of Harmony soon, there may not BE a Sun Celebration!”

Still, the dragon shrugged.

“You're just scared of making friends. And jumpy. How many cups of coffee did you drink this morning? Like, six?”

“I'M NOT JUMPY!!” Twilight snapped, her twitchy body betraying her. Spike put his claws up in surrender. He knew Twilight long enough to know a losing argument. “And I keep telling you, I am NOT afraid to make friends.”

“Whatever you say, Twilight.”

In a short while, the Royal Guard pegasi pilotting the carriage lowered to the ground for a landing, softly touching down. Twilight stepped off, and Spike vaulted over to land on the mare's back—his favorite spot ever. The guards stood tall as they stared forward dutifully.

“Thank you, sirs.” Twilight's thanks received silent nods, so she moved on. Now even Twilight could admit, Ponyville was beautiful. Having grown up in Canterlot, she knew of all of the holier-than-thou ponies and entitled brats—she nearly WAS one. It was refreshing to see ponies walking with their nose out of somepony else's flank.

“Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about.” Spike's words were the last push she needed to give it a shot. Twilight turned her head towards a staring mare, clearly curious about her royal arrival. With the best ‘Customer-service’ smile she could muster—which ended up looking more like an ‘I've-been-working-here-for-five-years-kill-me’ smile—the unicorn spoke.

“Um… hello?” The pink pony had barely waited for her to finish that final syllable before gasping loudly and dramatically. With haste Twilight had never seen, the mare zipped away without a word.

Twilight gave Spike a deadpanned look.

If Spike knew how to curse, he would have.

“Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist.” Back to business, Twilight and Spike made their way to what seemed to be a farm. The duo looked out at the vast fields as Spike continued, taking out a long list and pointing at a line. “Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres.”

Twilight could only think briefly on the idea of an entire acre made of apples; from the trees to the grass, and obviously the crops. A smile flickered across her face, before a sudden yell wiped it off.

“Yee-haw!” The sight of an orange pony suddenly in front of her reminded Twilight why she was a recluce.

Now, it wasn't that Twilight didn't have friends, but… well, actually, she didn't… But the point was, she was aware of the concept, but she had never put it into practice. As such, her social skills were… lacking, to put lightly.

The unicorn sighed.

“Let's get this over with…” She muttered. “Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle—”

“Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance.” The orange earth pony took her hoof and shook it strongly. Twilight, inept in the physical field, was shaken around like a flimsy piece of plastic. “I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends!”

Twilight blinked, giving Applejack a confused look. Before she could protest, she felt a knocking on her head. Spike was surely trying to remind her of the secondary mission assigned to them. Still serious about her main goal, she gave a strategic view of this. Make a friend, check the preparations, research the Elements of Harmony. Best plan ever.

“Friends? O-kay.” Applejack's already large grin grew, while a smile formed on Spike's face, as well.

“So, what can I do you for?” The stetson-clad mare asked.

Twilight cleared her throat.

“Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?” Business mode, as usual.

Applejack nodded in return.

“We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?”

“As long as it doesn't take too long…”

Little did she know…

Twilight stumbled, her belly beyond its filling point. Spike rode atop her back, far less harried by the vast amounts of food they had just consumed. The dragon looked to Twilight, then to his list.

“Food's all taken care of, next is weather.” He checked off ‘food’ with a quill, and tapped ‘weather’ softly.

The mare groaned, rubbing her stomach gently.

“Ugh… I ate too much pie…” Spike chuckled at the mare, and read over the details for their next mission.

“Hmm… There's supposed to be a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds.” Hearing this made Twilight look to the sky and scoff.

“Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?” Was her rhetorical question, seeing the cloudy sky. Twilight's brow twitched when she felt a weight off of her back, and was going to turn to ask why Spike had jumped off. However, not a moment after that, a force struck her hard enough to throw her off of her hooves.

Twilight rolled to a stop, right into a puddle of mud. Now she was dirty, in pain, and on the verge of losing her extremely large lunch.

“Nng…” She groaned out.

Laughter rang out, though the manner of laughter made it clear the ‘laugher’ was apologetic.

“Uh, 'scuse me?” Twilight let out another groan, and stood as best as she could. Her muddy gaze caught a rainbow blur, but barely anything else. “Lemme help you.” Was the only warning, before water fell all over Twilight, washing the mud off, but obviously drenching her. She blinked, and saw the culprit—a pegasus with a blue coat and a rainbow mane. The pegasus laughed sheepishly. “Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this?” The pegasus flew at fast speeds, zipping around the unicorn. The wind that followed blew away the water, but left her mane standing on end. “My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry! No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome.” This mare noticed her work, and how frizzy Twilight's mane was now.

It didn't take long at all for her to fall out laughing. Spike, seeing her mane as well, joined this rainbow mare. Twilight was none too happy, so she cut to the chase.

“Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash.” Her educated guess made the pegasus' laughter stop, and the most confident smirk to fall over her face.

“The one and only. Why, you heard of me?”

“I HEARD you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear.” Twilight calmed herself, and focussed on her real point. “I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.”

Rainbow Dash hardly gave her another look.

“Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing.” Twilight kept herself calm, no matter how irritated she was getting. Though, it was getting harder with this mare refusing to do her only job.

‘What would HE have done…?’ She found herself thinking. As limited as their interactions may have been, there was a great change that had come from Twilight's meeting with a certain saiyan. And she considered what someone like him would do.

It hit her.

“Practicing for what?” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“The Wonderbolts! They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!” Immediately, Twilight laughed. This made Rainbow Dash frown and look to her. “What's so funny?”

“Sorry, sorry. But if you really think you'll get into the Wonderbolts like… THAT… then you're as dumb as you look.” A similar tactic to what was used on her. Aggravate somepony enough to make them fall into your hooves. It was so easy a foal could do it.

True to assumption, Rainbow Dash flew in Twilight's face, glaring hard.

“What'd you just say!?”

“Sorry, I guess you don't look quite that dumb, but you see my point.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Twilight made a gesture to the sky.

“The Wonderbolts follow orders promptly, do they not? These clouds were supposed to be cleared ages ago. But you STILL think you deserve a spot as a Wonderbolt?” At this point, Twilight was banking on this working right now, because Rainbow Dash looked about ready to strangle her.

“I'll have you know, if I wanted these clouds cleared, they'd be clear!”

“Mhm. Whatever you say.”

“I could do it in ten seconds flat!” Twilight's faux-doubt turned to actual doubt, now. That was pretty much impossible, she thought. However, she kept even faced and emulated the snobs from Canterlot.

“Oh?”

“That's right!”

“Better hop to it, then.” It seemed clear that Rainbow Dash disliked being bossed around, but she seemed to hate being challenged like this more. As such, she took to the air, and began to zip around at speeds that made any onlooker stare in shock. She knocked out cloud after cloud at a pace Twilight had never seen.

Though she was shocked, Twilight forced herself to keep a calm facade, which came in handy when Rainbow Dash finally finished and stopped in front of her face, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

“What do you think of THAT?” Twilight gave a genuine smile, the borderline condescending air around her vanishing like it had never been there. Rainbow Dash couldn't even adjust to the sudden change.

“That was amazing, Rainbow Dash.” Part two was instant flipping, leaving no time to adjust to what had happened. She took Rainbow Dash as the brash, cocky, dumb type, so she doubted the pegasus would truly understand what had just occured. Twilight began to walk away, Spike in tow. “Thank you.”

Rainbow Dash simply stared, eyes wide. It was barely registering that she had just been tricked into doing work sooner than she had intended.

“H…hey…” She half-heartedly protested, not sure if she should feel angry or disappointed. She ended off of vague melancholy, and she floated away to think that over.

“Stop laughing, Spike!” Calm facades drop after a few minutes, and Twilight was no exception. Add Spike laughing at her frizzled mane, and Twilight was less than happy.

Spike wiped away a tear as he trailed behind her.

“Okay, okay! It IS kinda pretty once you get used to it!” Twilight rolled her eyes, and sped her stride slightly.

The duo finally made it to their next location, being the area that the celebration would be taking place. They looked all around, taking in the decorations around the room.

“Decorations.” Spike's gaze landed elsewhere, and his eyes widened. “Beautiful…”

Thinking he was talking about the decorations, Twilight responded.

“Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed.” Spike barely even spared her a glance

“Not the décor…” He pointed with a short claw. “…her!”

Twilight shifted her gaze to follow Spike's claw, and laid eyes upon a certain fashionista. Indeed, Twilight could admit, she was beautiful. But the mission came first, obviously.

Spike panicked, looking himself over.

“How are my spines? Are they straight?” Again, Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes, before walking closer to the white-coated unicorn.

“Good afternoon—”

“Just a moment, please!” The mare spoke suddenly, holding up a hoof. Twilight blinked. “I'm 'in the zone', as it were.” She loosely explained. She used her magic to assist in decorating the wall she focused on. “Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent.” Rarity complimented herself, before turning to face the pony she put on hold. She smiled. “Now, how can I help yo—” She let out a yelp, causing Twilight to jump slightly. “Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!”

Twilight gave the most confused look, but she quickly deduced the only thing on her that would cause alarm.

“Oh, you mean my mane?” She asked rhetorically, shaking her hoof dismissively afterward. “Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair.”

“Out of MY hair? What about YOUR hair?!” Rarity grabbed Twilight's hoof and dragged her along elsewhere.

“Wait! Where are we going?!” Twilight looked to Spike, who seemed too enamored by Rarity's appearance to do anything. “Help!”

As it turned out, she was brought to a changing room, and her ruined mane was quickly taken care of. Twilight would have been impressed at the speed the mare worked at, but this was cutting into her own time. And, well, she was dressing her in all kinds of clothing that was just… uncomfortable. Each outfit change was taking at least three minutes.

“No, no.” A new outfit. “Uh-uh.” Another. “Too green.” Yet another. “Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too… shiny.” Well…at least her mane was back to normal. Though, she felt it was a bit unnecessary to be forced into a… corset? “Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from.”

At least, she was trying to. Kind of impossible when the fashionista was essentially strangling her by tightening the strings of the corset. Still, she tried.

“I've… been sent… from Canterlot… to—” Rarity suddenly froze, causing the built up tension from fastening a string to release, sending each mare flying comically to either corner of the room.

The fashionista quickly recovered, grinning widely at her fellow unicorn.

“Canterlot!?” She repeated. Twilight nodded. “Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it!” Rarity wrapped Twilight in a hug that was far too close for the latter's liking. “We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I!” She gave the purple mare's ensemble a look over, over to gasp in shock. “Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!”

Rarity made herself scarce to aquire some rubies for her newest friend. Twilight, however, frowned and tore off the clothes the had on. She looked to Spike, nearly panicked.

“Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!” Spike didn't seem to want to leave, but with the source of his trance gone for now, he could at least think to respond. Though not in words. He followed the mare outside, casting a final longing look back.

“Think she's taken?” Came Spike's excited question.

“It's an awfully small town, and she IS pretty…” Came Twilight's analytical retort. Spike sighed. “But, heads up, Casanova. You never know.”

Spike blushed.

“N-not for me! For a friend!” Twilight lifted an eyebrow at the dragon atop her back. “Really!”

“Whatever you say.” It was Spike's turn to roll his eyes, albeit embarrassedly. “So, what's next?”

Spike shook his head, and looked to his list.

“Let's see here… Oh! Music! It's the last one!” The duo heard a birdsong in the distance, and glanced around to find it. Eventually their gazes landed on a yellow pony, who stood in front of a choir of birds. She was so quiet, they could not hear her. Somehow, soft bird tweeting was tuning her out.

Seeing this as the final goal of their mission, Twilight walked over to the mare with a smile.

“Hello!”

“Eep…!” The birds were just as startled as the mare, and flew away quickly. The pegasus turned, saddened by her bird friends' departure, shocked at whomever had greeted her so loudly.

Twilight realised her mistake and gave an apologetic look.

“Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful.” The pegasus nodded, glancing away timidly. Twilight cleared her throat, unused to awkward silences. True, when others spoke to her, she was usually the cause of awkward silences, but seldom was she on the receiving end. “…I'm Twilight Sparkle.” The mare nodded yet again, but didn't speak yet. Though, Twilight could see her going through something in her head, and then she turned her head to face the unicorn.

“Um… I-I'm Fluttershy.” It was clear she was straining to be louder, and Twilight was just barely able to catch her name.

“Fluttershy?” The look of accomplishment that was on Fluttershy's face made Twilight feel special. The pegasus nodded. “Well, it's nice to meet you. Keep up the good work, Fluttershy.”

“Thank you.” A delightfully quick exchange, Twilight waved as she walked away, Fluttershy waving back.

“See, Spike? Not everything has to be complicated.” This was one time Spike had no issue agreeing with the mare.

Finally, the duo made it to their home: A library. But not just any library, Golden Oak Library, the only one in Ponyville. To this day, it didn't see much business, so these living arrangements were just fine.

It all seemed perfect.

Well, except for the lights being off. That was odd.

“Come on, Spike! I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time!” Twilight rushed her assistant, the pair looking for the light switch.

“I don't think they make switches baby-dragon-friendly!” Spike snapped back at her. Choosing not to acknowledge the dragon's words, Twilight continued feeling around for the lights, until…

“Surprise!” Twilight and Spike jumped, shocked at the lights flicking on, and shocked at the nearly two dozen ponies in her home. Already, Twilight could spot the ponies she had met prior, and let out a short groan of annoyance. Loud music started playing, and a party instantly began.

If Twilight Sparkle was the kind of pony to curse, she would have.

“Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!” A familiar pink pony zipped in front of Twilight. This was the same pony that had ran from her when greeted. She grinned widely. “Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?”

Twilight's patience was as thin as it could get. She managed to keep a calm demeanor, taught to her by her mentor.

“Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet.”

Pinkie Pie gave a snorting kind of laugh.

“Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring!” Scratch that. Somehow, Twilight's patience was getting even thinner. “Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all ‘hello’ and I was all—” She gasped as she had earlier that day. “—remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean EVERYPONY in Ponyville!” Imagine one's patience was a cinderblock. Twilight's was a strip of tracing paper.

However, the pink pony seemed oblivious to the slowly angering expression on Twilight's face. So, she continued.

“And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went—” Pinkie Pie gasped again. “I MUST throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!”

Okay, genuinely, she appreciated the gesture. But right now, Twilight had no time for friends. As if the line needed repeating, Equestria was in danger! Twilight nodded, and thought of a way to study, possibly.

“Well, I'M going to go party upstairs. Alone. Don't bother me.” She turned, only for Pinkie to be in her face. Her brows rose, and she looked back, seeing Pinkie gone, and then forward, seeing Pinkie there. “How did you…!?”

“But the party's right here!” Pinkie Pie protested.

“Look! Just let me…!” Twilight lost her composure, but quickly calmed herself. “Pinkie Pie, please let me up to my room.”

“'Kay!” Pinkie stepped aside, and Twilight hurried passed her to the stairs.

“Where's Twilight goin'?” Pinkie turned to face Applejack.

“She said she's gonna party upstairs all alone!” Applejack's brows rose.

“…Okay. Mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do, I suppose…” Was how she interpretted it. Shrugging, the mares went to enjoy the party.

Although Twilight wanted to study in preparation of the Mare in the Moon, she supposed meeting friends was… alright. She truly hoped her mentor was correct about her being worried for nothing. But that moon looked awfully close…

“C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!” Twilight was knocked from her train of thought by Spike, who pointed up at the stand their princess would present herself on. It was nearly time for this celebration to start, everything in place. From the food Applejack was tasked with bringing, to Rarity tasked with opening the curtains, and Fluttershy with her birds to tell them when to start. However, Twilight could only think of Nightmare Moon.

”Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went—” Cue gasp. “—but I mean really, who can top THAT?” Correction—Nightmare Moon, AND ways to shut Pinkie Pie up.

As the Mayor of Ponyville began to speak, Twilight stared up at the moon in worry. It looked like it was getting closer, and closer. The face in the moon seemed to be staring right at her. It wanted blood, and if nothing was done, Ponyville would be forced to provide.

“—the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…” Twilight tuned back in just in time to hear to reveal of their princess. A calm smile spread across her face. If anypony could protect them, it was their Princess. What was she worried for? “…Princess Celestia!”

There was a reason why Twilight seldom doubted her logical mind.

When the curtains opened, nopony greeted them. The crowd of ponies began to panic, but Twilight knew. She knew what this meant. She had always known.

Then, quite suddenly, a mist of blue swirled around the spot they had been expecting Princess Celestia to be. The mist materialized, and revealed an unfamiliar form. With a pitch black coat, and blue royal garments, it was all too clear who this was.

“Nightmare Moon…!” Twilight whispered in fear. Spike fainted, but nopony else heard her speak, so were quite in the dark.

The evil Mare in the Moon gave a chilling kind of grin at the crowd of ponies.

“Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces.” Every part of her tone was sarcastic and condescending.

“What did you do with our Princess!?” An instantly aggressive reaction from the hot-headed Rainbow Dash. She attempted to rush at the evil mare, but was stopped by Applejack holding her tail in her teeth.

“Whoa there, Nelly…”

Unsurprisingly, Nightmare Moon was unfazed. In fact, she seemed entertained, and laughed calmly to display that fact.

“Why, am I not royal enough for you?” She got right into Fluttershy's face to intimidate one of the closer ponies. Fluttershy trembled, shutting her eyes. The message across, Nightmare Moon turned her gaze to Rarity, and was in her face. “Don't you know who I am? Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” The mare hid her surprise to see Rarity's gaze shift into a deadpanned stare. She moved on, looking to the crowd. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

“I did. And I know who you are.” A lone voice cut through the fear of this extended night like a blade through a thread. Twilight Sparkle mustered up all of her bravery to meet Nightmare Moon's gaze.

“Oh?”

“You're the Mare in the Moon—Nightmare Moon!” Hearing the legend was true, the surrounding ponies gasped in shock.

Nightmare Moon's grin only grew.

“Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know… why I'm here.” The dark way she had spoken caused Twilight's bravery to die.

“You're here to… t-to…” She couldn't bring herself to finish. Honestly, anything could happen. Mass destruction, suffering, torture, anything.

“Hehehe… Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

Six paths had finally intersected, joining into a single large path. However, this path did not go unmonitored. Even as the evil Mare in the Moon terrorized Ponyville and its ponies, a figure watched. They waited. Waited for the perfect moment.

Arms crossed, an individual stared down at the familiar group of six, rushing off from an oversized tree, toward a forest of more regular trees.

“Elements of Harmony…” A gruff yet smooth voice mumbled, able to hear the girls even from so far away. A grin, more malicious than Nightmare Moon's, spread across this individual's face. “Very well. I suppose I'm rooting for you to win… So I can rip your sense of security right from under you.”

Meanwhile, the newly formed group of six successfully traversed the dangerous forest known as the Everfree, conquering trials to end up at an old castle. The Castle of the Two Sisters.

“The Elements of Harmony… We've found them!” Twilight exclaimed, relieved at having their savior nearly in their grasp. The elements were large stones, kept on pedestals. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew to carry them from the pedestals to the floor, and Twilight looked to them all carefully.

“One, two, three, four… There's only five!” Pinkie Pie counted off, looking to Twilight in confusion.

“Where's the sixth?” Rainbow Dash asked what everypony was thinking.

Twilight shut her eyes in recollection.

“The book said: When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.”

“What in the hay is THAT supposed to mean?” Applejack's sentiments were shared by all, even Twilight Sparkle herself.

“I'm not sure, but I have an idea.” Twilight's horn glowed, her stare on the Elements of Harmony. “Stand back. I don't know what will happen.”

The girls followed her instruction, and began to leave the room entirely. If anypony could do this, it was Twilight.

However, after only a few seconds of concentration, a familiar mist of blue flowed into the room and around the Elements of Harmony. In an instant, a small tornado of blue haze whisked the relics up into the air, earning a yelp of shock from Twilight.

“Twilight!” Naturally, her friends heard her and ran back to see what the issue was. The tornado spun faster, and Twilight knew that taking a chance was about the only thing that could save Equestria.

She jumped into the vortex, and both vanished without a trace.

Twilight landed hard, but was able to stand quickly. She looked forward, meeting Nightmare Moon's condescending stare with a far less than confident eye. However, now wasn't the time for fear—rather, it wasn't the time to hesitate due to fear. Seeing the Elements by Nightmare Moon's hooves, the mare thought fast, and prepared herself to rush at her foe.

“You're kidding.” Nightmare Moon said incredulously. However, Twilight smirked. “You're kidding, right?”

When Twilight rushed at her, the evil mare could only shrug, before deciding to meet her halfway. A show of power was necessary, it seemed. Before they could collide, Twilight flashed her magic and teleported right behind Nightmare Moon, and right by the Elements. Nightmare Moon turned in a rage, spotting Twilight immediately at work.

“Just one spark. Come on, come on…” Her magic finally reached the Elements of Harmony, but by then, Nightmare Moon had already arrived in front of Twilight, and launched her away with her own magic. “Aah!”

At first, it appeared she was too late, the Elements crackling with power. However, that power died down in a few seconds, and never picked up. Twilight was on the verge of a heart attack from this anxiety.

“You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me?” Nightmare Moon's taunt did nothing to calm Twilight. “Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!” She emphasised this point…

By crushing the Elements of Harmony.

As they shattered, so too did Twilight Sparkle's hopes. She slouched to the ground, staving off tears. That was the end for Equestria. Peace would be no more.

“Twilight!”

“We'll be there!”

“Just wait!”

Twilight perked up, and her eyes sparkled… Sparkled… Spark…

THE SPARK!

“You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony just like that?” Nightmare Moon's smirk dropped, but Twilight developped one of her own, her mane shading her eyes. “Well… you're wrong! Because the spirits of the Elements of Harmony…” She knew they were there. She just knew. So, she gave a grand gesture behind herself, at her friends. “…are right here!”

“What?” Nightmare Moon gritted out in shock. The fragments of the Elements of Harmony glowed and rose into the air.

“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of… honesty!” Orange fragments flowed towards Applejack. “Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of… kindness!” Pink fragments flowed to Fluttershy. “Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of… laughter!” Blue fragments went to Pinkie Pie. “Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of… generosity!” Purple fragments went to Rarity. “And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of… loyalty!” Red fragments went to Rainbow Dash. “The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us.”

Nightmare Moon grasped at whatever she could in this moment of sudden panic. If the Elements actually functioned, she could actually lose this.

“You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!”

“But it DID!” Argued Twilight Sparkle. “A different kind of spark.” She looked to her friends, allowing her tears to fall, not out of despair, but out of happiness. “I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all… are my friends!” The girls smiled brightly, glad to truly be friends. Twilight flicked her gaze back to a panicking Nighmare Moon. “You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: The element of… magic!”

Indeed, a sixth stone was formed, and descended upon Twilight Sparkle. Abruptly, the stones glowed, and formed into unique gems on golden necklaces for everypony but Twilight. Twilight recieved a golden tiara with a similarly unique gem. With the power to defeat their foe, the mares smiled, rising into the air. A swirl of rainbow energy fired off from the group, and swirled around Nightmare Moon.

“No! Noooo!” Would be Nightmare Moon's last words. The rainbow blast glowed, and shrouded the room in light.

Then…

Silence.

The lights dimmed, and silence was all that remained.

It didn't last, as soon, the girls' heavy breathing could be heard through the room.

“Ugh, my head…”

“Everypony okay?” Applejack's question of concern was answered with short nods.

The mares stood and assessed their conditions. Everything checked out. A few aches and pains, but they were alive. More than acceptable.

“Oh, thank goodness.” The group looked to Rarity, and followed her gaze. Leave it to Rarity to be preoccupied with her newly grown tail, rather than…well, anything else.

“Why Rarity, it's so lovely.” Fluttershy complimented.

“I know! I'll never part with it again.”

“No, your necklace. It looks just like your cutie mark.” Indeed, it did. The gem was a purple diamond.

“Ooh! So does yours.” Rarity pointed out. Also true, Fluttershy had a gem in the shape of a butterfly.

Each girl had a gem in the shape of their respective cutie mark. This caused them to laugh.

“Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship.” Applejack noted with a smile.

“Indeed you do.” That sudden voice had the group looking at the window, spotting the sun finally rising. That could only mean one thing…

“Princess Celestia.” As Princess Celestia's form came into view from the rising sun, the mares bowed in respect of their ruler. Celestia smiled at her student.

“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. I knew you could do it.” She spoke calmly, approaching the girls.

Twilight Sparkle gave a confused stare.

“But… you told me it was all an old pony tale.” The Princess gave a coy little smile.

“I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more.” She reminded. “I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart.” Her smile fell. “Now if only another will as well.” She glanced to the side, where their prior foe had been defeated. “Princess Luna!

In place of Nightmare Moon was another alicorn, with a blue coat and mane, gasping as she was addressed. She trembled fearfully as Celestia approached her.

“It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together… little sister.”

“Sister?” The girls repeated in shock.

“Will you accept my friendship?” Celestia asked with a warm smile.

Luna's lip quivered, her eyes watering. Without warning, she leapt up to embrace her sister, sobbing loudly.

“I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!” The years Celestia had longed to hear that…

She too, was in tears.

“I've missed you, too.” The sisters smiled at each other, both extremely happy. The girls watched tearfully, as well. Friends and family were brought together this day.

“What a heart-warming reunion.” Eyes went wide, and every head turned to find the speaker.

Upon spotting them, Two pairs of eyes widened in fear and shock, while the other varied between widening and narrowing.

Standing, arms crossed, was a green individual, wearing a dark red gi, grey shoes, and a blue cape. He stared down at the mares with a mocking smirk.

“Who… are you?” Celestia asked, walking in front of the group.

“It's…th-the D-Demon King…” Fluttershy choked out.

“Cargo…” Rarity finished. The Demon King looked to them, his smirk dropping momentarily.

“No, I have yet to earn that title. Just call me Cargo. The son of the one that was killed.” Death being brought up had the group on edge, moreso than ever. Even if they couldn't sense things, they could still feel this individual's outrageous strength.

“What do you want, huh? Looking for a beating?” Rainbow Dash asked, cocky as usual.

To her irritation, Cargo didn't even spare her a glance.

“I have but one goal. If you all assist me, noone will have to get hurt.” A deadly cross of a glare and a smirk was on his face, putting fear in the mares, and causing Celestia to subtly take a battle stance. “Tell me where the saiyan Kai is… So that I may enact my revenge.”

“NEVER!” Such a protest wasn't unexpected, but from the two mare least adept in battle, it was a shock. Moreso to see both Rarity and Fluttershy glaring, looking more than ready for a fight.

Twilight was curious, and spoke her mind.

“How do you know Kai?” Rarity and Fluttershy catalogued Twilight knowing Kai for later, but focussed on not wavering when Cargo's glare deepened.

“He killed my creator, my father, if you'd prefer. My entire purpose for existing is to kill Kai. After that, I don't care.” The smirk returned. “So? How many of your bones do I have to break before you tell me?”

Celestia glared right back at the demon.

“Even if we did know, we would never yield to torture.” That smirk grew into a grin, unnerving everypony.

“Perhaps YOU wouldn't break…” Without warning, his form wavered and distorted, shocking everypony and making them look around for Cargo. “But what about an already broken princess?”

Celestia felt rage consume her being at the mere thought of her sister being harmed, after all of this time to get her back. Her magic flared up as she turned around quickly, leaping around her sister to strike the demon preemptively. However, he was much too fast for her, and sent a flying backwards with a simple kiai from his right hand.

“Princess!” The girls cried out as Celestia impacted a wall, nearly shattering it.

“S-sister!” Luna was going to run after her, but Cargo was already upon her, staring down with cold eyes. Luna trembled again, knowing she was unable to defend herself. She was at his mercy.

“Now you get yours, Nightmare Moon!” Psychological injury, before physical. Luna grit her teeth and shut her eyes, waiting for the right fist to connect. However, a very loud impact sounded, but she felt no pain. “What the…!?”

Yet again, eyes widened.

Another figure was in between Cargo and Luna, catching Cargo's fist with their right hand. They wore a black cloak with the hood up and shading their face, not that they were facing anyone other than Cargo.

At first, the demon was surprised, as was everypony else. However, his confusion melted away, and he smirked.

“Well, well. He finally decides to show himself.” Cargo jumped back, creating a great gap of distance.

The hooded individual turned his head, looking to the group of ponies through shaded eyes. He let out a humorous grunt.

“Looks like you made some new friends while I've been gone. I'm glad.” There was no doubt about it. No mistaking it.

Rarity took a shaky step forward, jaw quivering.

“K…Kai…?” Closer, she could see a smirk on this individual's lips.

“In all of this time, who've you met that can steal the show like me?” He lowered his hood, revealing himself to be exactly whom Rarity thought. “Good to see you alive and well… Rarity.”

“KAI!” Despite the situation, Rarity couldn't help but throw herself into her brother's arms. A similarly thrilled Fluttershy followed suit, and Kai caught them both. The mares cried in relief and joy. “Kai…! We missed you so much!”

The saiyan smiled, nuzzling the two mares close.

“I missed you, too.” He knelt down to release the mares, and gave them a proper look over. They did the same. “You two've grown a lot, haven't you?” They were a bit taller, and definitely matured some from the last time he'd seen them.

“You have, too.” Kai was notably taller, and his eyes were sharper. “Where have you been all this time, Kai?”

“Well…”