The Dance of darkness

After the battle with the Drakon, they all stopped to rest and heal their wounds in the clearing. Fluttershy brought a first aid kit, and was acting as a medic to the other elements. Deca, having taken the brunt of the damage from the Drakon, had Arcaniss heal her using magic, mending the flesh with complex spells instead of simple bandages. "We must continue on soon," Arcaniss told Deca in private, "These ponies are not our allies, we would have no regrets if we left them alone."

"Quiet, Arcaniss," Deca hissed, looking to the future elements, "I feel that if we stay close, we can assassinate them much easier." Arcaniss finished, and Deca started to get up, walking around to test her new flesh out. "Even if we wanted to leave, our paths would meet again soon anyway, since they are trying to find our mistress. And if they DO succeed in their mission, if they use the elements of harmony on her, then we will have Luna back, and she will not want revenge as much as she does now."

Arcaniss stood and walked to Deca, putting her hoof on her back. "If they are a threat to the mistress, then we MUST get rid of them, and you know this." Deca shrugged off her hoof and turned away, but Arcaniss stopped her. "We must do it soon, even if they are nice now. Find us an opening, and lead us to it."

Deca smiles slightly, and walks towards Twilight and the rest of her group. She approaches them, "Are your friends wounded?"

"Nothing we can't handle," Twilight said, smiling at Deca, "but we would've been done for if it weren't for you three back there. How can we repay you?"

'By not being the elements of harmony, for starters,' Deca thought, smirking a bit, "There's no need to repay us now," She said, "But I have a few questions for you, if you would answer them."

"Well, sure! If I can answer them then I'll help you."

Deca grinned at this, and took a breath, "I would like to know the limitations of your magic. Back there, you did some fairly powerful spells and didn't seem to get tired, so I would like to know just how far you can go before you give in to exhaustion."

The other elements looked at her suspiciously, but Twilight simply started to think about the question, furrowing her brow in concentration as she thought of the answer. After a few seconds of thinking, she said, "I don't really know the extent of my magic, I've only ever used so much of it at a time and I used it with a little ease, so, I guess I can use it for a while." Deca seemed dissatisfied by this answer, but Twilight payed no attention to it. "Why do you ask, by the way?"

Deca seemed stunned at this, not expecting that answer. She looked to the other elements for a moment, who each had a different easily readable expression, shrugged and said, "Purely for academic purposes. If we are to be more acquainted with each other, then we must get to know one another. Either way, that is all." Deca walked away from their group, leaving them confused.

Darastrix, who had been listening the whole time, rushed up to meet Deca as she approached the group. "What do you think of it?"

"She's lying." Deca said, with no hesitation, "I can guarantee that."

"How do you know?"

"She's not a good liar. Plus," She added, "The lie detection field I cast kinda told me she was."

"Those exist?"

"I made the spell myself."

Darastrix huffed and walked away, mumbling something about her keeping all the power to herself.

Deca payed Darastrix's short temper no mind, having been living with him for just over 1,000 years now. Instead, she decided to do a little espionage work and see if she can figure out just how powerful the elements are.

Meanwhile, Arcaniss was walking to their group, hoping to make sure that, if they were to stay together, then there would be no bad blood between the two groups. "Hey guys," she said, approaching the Elements, who appeared to be ready to leave at any moment. "Are you about to move on?"

Twilight looked at her and sighed, "Look, I know that you guys don't trust us, but you could at least not lie about it."

"I never said anything about trust, I was asking if you were about to leave."

"Either way, yes, we are about to continue. Why?"

Arcaniss frowned a bit, "I'd like to apologize for Deca's behavior," She bowed her head slightly in defeat, "Our leader doesn't trust easily, and is defensive of the group." She looked up, to see a stunned look on the element of magic's face.

"Well," Twilight said, smiling, "I'm glad it was just a misunderstanding." She looked at Applejack, "Looks like you were wrong, AJ, she wasn't thinking about attacking us."

Arcaniss stopped herself from saying the truth right there, and simply said, "Really?"

Applejack looked down, and held her hat to her chest, "Ah'm mighty sorry fer thinkin' that y'all wouldn't be nice ponies and all, but can ya really blame me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, three ponies jumpin' out of the forest, an' as soon as they introduce themselves, a giant magic dragon comes out o' the forest an' starts attackin' us, which was stopped by your friend Dragon Slayer, who gutted the darn thing with no mercy. Surely y'all can see how ah thought that?"

Arcaniss shrugged, seemingly indifferent about the fact that AJ was very close to the truth, "It's alright, but I would not suggest saying that in front of Dusk or Dragon, they may take it personally." She smiled a bit while she talked, "They tend to have a bit of a temper even at the best of times. I tend to be level-headed most of the time, though, so you can be honest around me."

Applejack nodded, and got up. "Well ah'm sorry fer jumpin' to conclusions like that, anyway."

Arcaniss nodded, and turned to the rest of the group, "Are any of you hurt? I know healing magic."

They all shook their heads, save Rarity and Twilight, who looked at the mage, stunned. "Mystic, darling, you know healing magic?"

"Why, yes. Did anything break during the fight?"

"Break?" Twilight said, leaning back a bit, "Knowing enough magic to heal basic cuts is one thing, but being able to mend bones is unheard of!"

Arcaniss was about to tell her something, but was cut off by Darastrix calling her name. "Sorry, I would explain a bit further, but, duty calls." She turned and trotted towards her group, losing her smile as she reached them. "What's wrong?"

"We need to leave." Deca said, getting up, "They can fend for themselves, since the magic of the elements is powerful enough to protect them from harm."

"But we could learn useful information from them, or get them lost in the forest!"

Darastrix put a hoof in her mouth, promptly shutting her up. He motioned for Deca to continue. "Our mistress has called us to the castle, and we WILL comply, no matter how much we want to stay."

Arcaniss nodded, knowing full well the extent Deca will go to make sure that she came to the castle with them. "Very well, let's say our goodbyes to the elements."

Deca nodded, and walked over to the other group, the other two servants of Nightmare falling into formation behind her.

Twilight saw their approach, and the elements stood up at a single word from their supposed leader. 'Hmm, they acknowledge her as their leader. I'll have to remember that for later.'

"Are you guys ready to go?" Twilight asked, motioning to the path in the forest, "We still have a short ways to go before we reach the castle of the royal pony sisters."

Deca cleared her throat and said, "Sorry, but you six will have to get there by yourselves."

At the elements' gasp, Arcaniss stepped forward, "What Dusk means to say, is that we really must be on our way. We enjoyed spending time with you six, and it was an honor to fight by your sides."

"You really have to go?" Pinkie Pie said, looking to be on the verge of tears.

"Yes, we have to go, get over it," Darastrix said, flaring his nostrils, "Come on, 'Dusk,' let's go."

Deca turned and left with Darastrix, Arcaniss catching up after saying goodbye properly.

They went a small way into the forest, and seemingly vanished into thin air.

__-=={(+)}==-__

Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters - Decayed Throne Room (B1)

Deca, Darastrix, and Arcaniss warped into the throne room, unlocking the barrier that Nightmare Moon placed around the room, which protected their body heat and magical signatures from getting detected via magical or electronic means. The three ponies appeared at the foot of the throne, and immediately bowed to the midnight Alicorn sitting in it.

Nightmare Moon looked up from her apparent studying, and smiled at her students. "Ah, my students have arrived, at last." She got up and approached them, lifting them back up with her magic. "There's no need for formalities between us. You three have proven to be worthy of my respect many times."

Deca genuinely smiled at this, something that she hasn't done in almost a millennium, "Thank you, mistress. It has been a very long time since we have been able to be in your presence."

"Indeed it has." Nightmare turned to the other two ponies in the room, smiling at them as well. "It seems that your dragon blood transfusion theory worked, Arcaniss, as well as your draconian expertise, Darastrix. I am proud of you three."

They all beamed and bowed, except for Deca, who was preparing to give their master her report, "Mistress, about the elements of Harmony, the-"

"The bearers are coming to the fortress as we speak, and intend to remove my dark powers when they get here and free my sister, using the powers of the elements." She closed Deca's gaping jaw, giggling a bit, "It may seem as a surprise to you, but I can observe things with powers beyond your understanding."

Deca knew of what she was talking about; the concept of lunar magic not unknown to her, though Nightmare was the only pony who knew how to cast it. "So... what happens now?"

Nightmare Moon lost her smile, and grimaced at the question. "Once those six get here, I will be powerless to stop them if they get their hands on the Elements. I must take care of the elements now."

"Great," Darastrix said, smiling maniacally, "Where are they, I'd like to smash them now!"

Nightmare smacked him with her hoof, "Don't you understand? You three cannot interfere with this battle in any way."

"What are you saying, mistress?" Deca said with concern.

"I'm saying," Nightmare whispered, "That you must let me either handle them, or be consumed by the powers of the elements."

All three of them were speechless, to say the least.

"But Mistress, we-"

Nightmare put her hoof in Deca's mouth, effectively silencing her. "I need you three to promise me, that no matter what happens, no matter what the elements do to me, that you will stay out of this fight."

The group was speechless, staring at her like she belonged in a mental institution.

It was Darastrix that snapped out of it first, kneeling and swearing to uphold his oath to obey her at all costs.

Arcaniss was next, kneeling in the same fashion and repeating what Darastrix had said before her.

Deca Vaeri looked to her two comrades, shocked that they were agreeing to not protect Nightmare Moon when the elements arrived. "Mistress, I-"

"Say nothing more, Deca Dance." She winced at the long forgotten name, but looked her master in the eye, "I understand what you are feeling, and know of why you hesitate, but you must trust in me, not as a teacher, and not as a master," she smiled, "but as a friend."

Deca was shocked, to say the least. 'As a friend?' Deca looked down, thinking about what she just heard her say, 'So I'm not... I'm not just some puppet to her?'

With great reluctance, Deca bowed to her master, and chanted the same words her two allies said.

"Good. Now, the elements will arrive soon, so I need you to-" Nightmare Moon's ear twitched, causing her attention to waver for a bit, "They are at the castle. Quickly, you three, hide somewhere. I want you to see this."

They did as they were told, and prepared themselves to see their mistress get defeated for the first time in a thousand years.

---~~(@*@)~~--

Twilight and the elements made it to the castle, after a long trek through the forest. "Alright, girls," Twilight said, turning towards her friends, "Nightmare Moon may already be here, so we need to get the elements immediately, okay?"

"Got it!" Was said simultaneously from the group.

"Good. Now, the elements are supposedly in the first room, so go for them as soon as the door opens." Twilight turned back to the door, charging her horn, "Is everypony ready?"

They all nodded, and Twilight shoved open the large, ancient doors, revealing an underused throne room with a pedestal in the center. The pedestal held the most powerful weapon that ponykind has had since the beginning of time:

The Elements of Harmony.

The six ponies rushed in, grabbing the stone orbs that represented the physical elements. "Be careful with those, girls, they're our only hope in defeating Nightmare Moon."

The pegasi got all of the orbs down, with the ground bound ponies watching. "One, two, three, four... There's only five!" Pinkie Pie said, looking at Twilight with a worried expression on her face.

"The book said that when the elements were together, a spark would create the sixth, and they would be at full power once again." She said, eying the Elements. "I have an idea. Stand back everypony, I don't know what's going to happen."

Everypony backed off, and Twilight's aura surrounded the elements, making them float in the air. She was going to cast a spell that should create a significant spark, but before she could, something large and blue struck her in the side of the head, and sent her into the wall. "TWILIGHT!" everypony cried, before turning to the pitch black Alicorn that hit her.

"Ha ha ha! You thought that I would let you get the elements THAT easily, did you?" Nightmare Moon smirked at them, seeing the fear and anger in their eyes. "Such a shame that you need to be disposed of, you would've made for some excellent soldiers." Her horn glowed and trapped them all in a dark blue bubble. "Although, I at least expected some sort of fight."

Twilight glared at Nightmare, and charged her horn, sending waves of her magi into the barrier that Nightmare Moon created. She was sure that this much magic would have an effect on the shield, but it appeared to be doing nothing but amuse the dark Alicorn. Twilight continued to do this, and was soon joined by the rest of the elements, who were either joining her with magic, or just plain hitting the force field.

After a few minutes of this, Twilight looked up to see Nightmare Moon's smile gone, and sweat on her brow, clear signs of magical straining. 'Good, she'll have to release us soon.'

Nightmare Moon began to grow agitated, and dispelled the shield. "Well well well, it appears that you six are stronger than I thought." Nightmare scraped the ground with her hoof, "But I will NOT be so easily defeated."

Twilight looked to the other five elements, and nodded towards the stone orbs that currently represent the elements. They took the hint and grabbed them, getting behind Twilight. "You five stay back and figure out how to unlock the sixth element, I'll hold her off."

Nightmare Moon laughed and charged, headbutting Twilight and sending her flying again. Twilight recovered quickly, and sent a barrage of magical missiles to Nightmare,who promptly put up a shield.

Back and forth the spellcasters went, each attack getting blocked and countered just as quickly as the last, until Nightmare got a bolt of lightning past Twilight's defenses, zapping her horn and absorbing her magical energy. Nightmare laughed, "Do you see? I have not been defeated since my sister used all six elements of harmony against me, and you only have five of them! Your magic is depleted, and your five allies sit behind you shivering like newborn foals! I hold all the cards here! YOU have nothing!"

The five elements stepped forward and said, "She's got us, and that's more than we could say about you!"

Nightmare laughed, but was cut off at the blinding white light that suddenly enveloped the stone elements, along with Twilight. "No..."

Twilight smirked at the shocked expression on Nightmare's face, "You say that we cannot use the elements of harmony against you, but that's where you're wrong, Nightmare!" Each stone orb went to the pony that represented that element, "Because we ARE the elements of harmony! We alone have the ability to harness their power, rendering your powers useless!"

Each of them knew that they were an element, and somehow knew how to use them. Necklaces flashed into existence where the stones were, and attached themselves to their respective bearers. Then, a blinding light came from the ceiling of the room, as the sixth, and most powerful, element appeared to it's bearer; Magic.

The tiara floated onto Twilight's head, creating a blinding light connected to the other elements. The Elements of Harmony combined their power, and fired harmonic energy towards Nightmare Moon, who could only look on in horror as it collided with her, burning away her dark armor and flesh, leaving behind a long forgotten Alicorn.

The Elements of Harmony had taken away the Nightmare, and left behind Princess Luna, sister and co-ruler of equestria with Celestia.

__~~~--%^(!&#&!)^%--~~~__

Deca, Arcaniss, and Darastrix sat on the edge of the Everfree forest, watching the festivities with Luna and Celestia go on from a distance, not wanting to risk the guards or Celestia see them. Darastrix turned to Deca, "Well? What happens now that Luna's back?"

Deca didn't bother to look at her comrade when speaking, but replied nevertheless, "We assist Princess Luna. We swore an oath many years ago to protect her at the cost of even our own lives, and I will not break that oath for anypony, not even Luna." Deca turned to Darastrix, smiling. "It just changes the kind of orders we will be receiving."

Arcaniss looked in the distance towards Fluttershy's cottage, contemplating what Deca just explained to them. "Maybe we should head home now, I'd hate to keep Angel or Fluttershy waiting for us."

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask," Darastrix said, as they walked in the general direction of the cottage, "What history do you have with a little bunny?"

"Oh, I took out his soul when I was a little filly and replaced it with the soul of an ancient horror." She nonchalantly answered, getting strange looks from her two party members. "What?"

"Where did you get the soul?"

"Tartarus, of course."

Deca and Darastrix stopped in their tracks for a second, telepathically discussing this new information. 'She must be much stronger than we originally thought, Darastrix.'

'I don't care, I can still punch her through a wall if I needed to.'

"You guys DO realize that I have a mental connection with you still, right?"

"Shut up, we're trying to plot against you!" Darastrix said, getting smacked by Deca.