There was a large thud as Wild slammed against a wall and slid to the ground. He made no attempt to get back up at first, but contrary to how much pain he must've been feeling, he simply smiled.

"Hah... That was part of the plan... but damn, that hurt!" Wild groaned, slowly adjusting himself to try and mitigate some of the pain. "Before you give some speech about how you can't be beaten by some mere mortal... I wasn't trying to beat you. Not yet. That was phase 1, buy time for everypony else to escape."

"You are nothing more than a minor nuisance," Nightmare Moon declared, "and I am far more powerful than you seem to think! Now where was I? Oh, yes: The night shall last FOREVER!"

She then cast a powerful spell into the sky whilst laughing maniacally, then disappeared into the night.

Wild finally stood, albeit shakily, and shook his head in disbelief.

"Did... did she just leave?" He asked to what he thought was an empty hall.

"Looks like it," Blue answered, "So what now?"

"What are you still doing here?!" Wild exclaimed with shock, "Actually, nevermind that... It's time for phase 2, which might need a bit of tweaking."

Wild then scanned the rest of the hall, and saw that there were other ponies who also hadn't left: Feather Song was still there, making sure Atlas was alright. Amethyst was at the back looking dazed and confused.

Blue trotted over to Wild and gave him a questioning look.

"What's phase 2?" He asked.

"Well, let me answer your question with a question," Wild replied. "Have you heard of the 'Elements of Harmony'?"

"I think so. They're what Princess Celestia used to banish Nightmare Moon 1000 years ago. But nopony knows what happened to them after that."

"That's because they've not been needed since, but if you do some digging around, find the right books... The most widely accepted theory is that they're in the Everfree Forest, in the old Castle of the Sisters. It makes sense. If you want to hide possibly the most powerful objects in existence, where else would you put them?"

"In the most dangerous place in Equestria. You're not seriously thinking about going in there?! There must be some other way to defeat Nightmare Moon!" Blue raised his voice, which attracted the attention of the other ponies in the hall.

"There isn't. Even Princess Celestia herself needed the Elements. And it's not like I'm thinking of going in alone, I'm not an idiot. There are six Elements in total, so I need five other ponies to come with me. Well, the book said five with one that's created when the others come together, but the point stands. Remember earlier, when I said I wasn't planning on facing Nightmare Moon alone? This is what I meant." Wild gave a confident smile.

Feather trotted over, with Atlas not far behind.

"It may be dangerous, but I'm more than happy to help!" Feather butted in, "especially if it's a friend I'm helping!"

"Brilliant!" Wild beamed, "and what about you, Atlas?"

"Well..." Atlas muttered nervously, "it sounds really dangerous... but I found that map you asked for, and you'll need somepony to read it..."

Blue began to leave, wanting nothing to do with it. He hardly knew these ponies, for one, and there was no guarantee that the risk would even be worth it. But before he came to the door, something made him stop and turn round. He didn't know what had come over him, but it made him trot back over to Wild and offer his help. He hated himself for it.

"I'll help you," Blue said, already regretting his decision, "it goes against my better judgement, but I can't bring myself to leave. I'm in."

"Good!" Wild replied, "Now, how about you at the back? Amethyst, isn't it?"

"That is correct, sweetheart," Amethyst nodded, "but I'm still a bit... out of it, I'm afraid. I'm in no state to come with you, even if I wanted to."

"Well, that's a shame," Wild muttered, "but I suppose we could just find another pony willing to join us. Then again, that might be difficult. Half the town think I'm crazy, and the other half think I'm too arrogant to put up with... and even if you do agree to help, we still need to find one more pony. Unless..."

He raised an eyebrow and his whole face lit up, as if he'd just come up with a brilliant idea.

"This might sound stupid, but bear with me. Princess Celestia was able to use all the elements at once, right? Well, she may be an Alicorn, and the most powerful being in all of Equestria, but... If one pony can use all the elements at once, that means we don't necessarily need six ponies. None of us are powerful enough to use all six, but one of us could do double duty. If one of us is both honest and loyal, for example..."

Unbeknownst to the group, a sixth pony had snuck into the hall to see if the coast was clear. They chuckled to themselves and decided to speak up.

"A good idea, with just two minor drawbacks," They smirked, quietly delighting at having made the group almost hit the ceiling, "one: a pony would need to be very powerful just to use one element, and two: it could end up killing the pony who attempts it, for all we know."

"How long have you been there?!" Wild blurted out in shock, echoing the thoughts of the other four.

"Long enough to have heard most of the plan. The name's Shadow, by the way. Dapper Shadow. And I'm in if you'll have me."

"Uh... yeah, I guess. Just don't pull any more scares, okay?"

Dapper nodded with an enigmatic smile and retreated a few steps as the attention moved away from him. He put his hood up and quickly turned away when he noticed Blue, having still not quite processed their earlier meeting.

Wild turned back to Amethyst and softened his expression, as if preparing to make a final offer.

"So, we only need one more pony now. I'm not saying you have to come with us, but the offer still stands. I understand you need some rest and I can offer you that. I have one last bit of prep to do before setting out, which will grant you about 15 minutes to get back into gear. But you can say no, I don't want you to feel as if I'm forcing you into anything."

Amethyst stared into the distance, weighing up the choice in her mind and, after a few minutes, finally coming to an answer.

"It... ordinarily wouldn't be something I'd agree to, but these are extraordinary circumstances. I just hope my mane doesn't get too messed up along the way..."

"I'm sure it'll be fine... but that's six! Okay, I've got to pop home and do the last bit of prep. Meet me in 15 minutes at the edge of the Everfree Forest."

15 minutes later...

The six ponies stood at the edge of the most unforgiving place in all of Equestria. They all knew the stories: you go in and you don't come out. Nopony who's gone in has ever been seen again. Even Wild had to admit that it terrified him, but on the other hoof, he would be the first to tell you that there's a first time for everything.

With a deep breath, Wild broke the silence.

"Right, here goes nothing. You got the map ready, Atlas?"

Atlas gave a quick nod and her horn lit up as she levitated the parchment she'd brought, unfurling it in the process.

"We'll need to be careful with it," she whispered, "it's very old. The pony who sold it to me said it was made before Nightmare Moon was banished..."

The other five nodded in understanding, and Wild spoke again.

"Right, here we go." He confidently smiled. "All we need to do is stick together and get to the old castle. It won't be easy, but I believe in us! Let's go, team!"

With that, he set forth into the dark and menacing forest. The others reluctantly followed, each of their eyes darting around and their legs shaking.

As they made their way toward their destination, the forest seemed to get more and more twisted and unnatural. There was a feeling of dark magic and foreboding in the air and visibility was declining at a rate of knots.

It was almost unsurprising, then, when the group began hearing whispering in the wind and noises that could only be described as unnatural. It didn't help that there were no accounts of what was inside the Everfree Forest. Only speculation.

It wasn't long before they encountered their first challenge, an immense creature which appeared to have three heads. And all three looked furious

Even Wild Arrow, who would usually put on a brave face and stand his ground, was petrified at the sight of the gargantuan. He was so terrified that he didn't even go for his bow, he just stared at the beast as if somepony had used a paralysis spell on him. The majority of the group did the same, with all but one of them rooted to the spot.

"Hmm... three heads? That would make you a Hydra, right?" Dapper inquired, his expression hidden by the hood of his cloak. "I've read about you guys. The info is very speculative as what sightings or encounters there have been are unconfirmed or disputed, but most agree that simply moving out of the way is the best tactic. Sure, you're big, but that comes at the cost of maneuverability. So come on, six eyes! Come and get us!"

He smirked and teleported a few feet to the right as the Hydra barreled toward where he had just been and smashed directly into a tree. The rest of the group moved out of the way just in time.

Dapper felt the flabbergasted looks from his peers and simply chuckled to himself.

"Knowledge is power," he stated, "and even speculation can be helpful. Anthology of Mythical Creatures, by the way. Very interesting read if you have the time."

With that, he rejoined the group and smiled as they all commented on his heroics.

"You are absolutely mad, you know that? Not only was the information you were going off unconfirmed, but that could've backfired horribly!" Amethyst scolded. "But it worked anyway. You're lucky, sweetheart."

"That was impressive! Might have to check out that book if we survive, when I learn to read," Blue said. "But seriously... that was incredibly brave of you!"

"What he said..." Atlas muttered, more focused on the map than anything else.

"When we get out of this, you have got to tell me how you stayed calm there! I consider myself
pretty brave and I was shitting bricks!" Wild exclaimed. "And I'll have to remember the name of that book. It can only help."

"If there was an Element of Bravery, you'd have it in the bag!" Feather gushed.

"Oh, it's nothing," Dapper chuckled, his hood hiding red cheeks, "besides, there's still a ways to go."

Ironically, the rest of the journey was mostly uneventful, and the gang reached the ancient Castle of the Sisters without too much hassle. However, getting there had been the easy bit.

Now came the hard part: finding the Elements and defeating Nightmare Moon.

"Okay, guys," Wild began confidently, "this is it! All we need to do is get our hooves on the Elements of Harmony and we've basically already won! Let's go save Equestria!"

Before any of the others could protest, he was already rushing headlong into the ruin, unaware of how poorly his statement would age. The rest of the group followed him in and cast concerned glances at each other.

Eventually, they reached the ancient throne room and entered to see Wild already opening the chest with the Elements in. He hadn't, however, noticed that the final showdown, the culmination of his meticulously thought out plan, was already beginning.

"Ha, ha, ha! So the hero thinks he can stop me?" The distinctive voice of Nightmare Moon boomed.

Wild, for his part, managed to hide his surprise and face up to the villain with a defiant grin.

"Well, as it happens, I don't just think I can," he bragged, "I know I can! Or rather, WE can. Because of six things. Well, five at the moment, but it will soon be six!"

"You mean the Elements of Harmony? Take a look at them! They haven't been used in a thousand years!"

Wild looked down, and his expression changed to that of despair. The Elements were lifeless, unresponsive to any attempt to ignite them!

"What have you done to them?!" Wild shouted, unwilling to believe that he could be about to lose.

"Me? I have done nothing to them. Well, aside from being banished. The power it took burnt them out!"

"B-But... they were supposed to be our trump card... we were supposed to use them to defeat you... Now what are we supposed to do?" Wild asked, now feeling devastated.

"Don't give up, Wild!" Blue called from the sidelines, "There's still six of us, and remember what you said earlier? The sixth element is created when five come together! What if that means that you're the sixth? And I'm already starting to see some traits of the Elements in you five. First of all, Feather Song. You said to me many years ago that you wanted to help as many ponies as possible when you grew up, and our brief meeting during the preparations for the festival showed that you remained true to that. You must be a very generous pony!"

Feather nodded in determination, beaming with pride.

"And I'd say you're loyal, Blue," she replied, "after all, you could've just walked out when you had the chance, but you decided to help a group of ponies you barely know and had only met today. If that's not loyalty, I don't know what is!"

"Sure, that's two out of six," Wild said, "but loyalty could also apply to Dapper, and Atlas could arguably be generous as she helps ponies by making and selling maps. And what element does Amethyst represent? What element do I represent?"

It was at this point that Atlas, for all her fear and natural social anxiety, decided to speak up.

"W-well... Amethyst m-m-may act elegant and h-h-haughty, but... she's been k-k-kind to me since I've known her..."

"It is not an act, sweetheart," Amethyst retorted, "but I appreciate the compliment."

"Enough babbling!" Nightmare Moon bellowed, "it's time to end your miserable resistan-"

"We're not finished," Dapper interrupted, "because of two things: One: if you were going to kill us, we would've been dead as soon as we stepped in, and two: I just realised something. It doesn't matter who matches which element, just that there's five of us that show traits of at least one. And the sixth is created when the five elements come together, right? What if that just means the five ponies who could stake a claim to each element? The sixth element could come into being just by virtue of us being here! Wild, was there anything else in that book regarding the sixth element?"

"Uh... just that it needed some kind of spark? It was very vague."

"Hmm... That could mean a lot of things... like fire or inspiration or even magic, but it’s just vague enough to be-“

Before Dapper could finish, a light engulfed the ruins. When it dissipated, the Elements were glowing and Nightmare Moon was absolutely nonplussed.

“It appears I have underestimated you,” she confessed, “who are you, purple pony, to be able to shield the Elements from the magic of an Alicorn?!”

“I am Amethyst Dawn, sweetheart,” Amethyst smirked, although still a bit out of it, “and I have no idea how I did that.”

"Well," Feather chimed in, "that was definitely a spark! But still only five Elements... Is anypony else starting to get the feeling we've been set up?"

The group looked at each other, each pony taking the brief respite of Nightmare Moon's shock to collect their thoughts. Despite the stakes and the seriousness of the situation, they couldn't help but share a chuckle. Yet, unbeknownst to them, this was the start of a life-changing friendship. And it was in that moment that the elusive sixth Element appeared.

"Ha," Wild chuckled, "now we're in business! We can finish this now we have all six!"

"Six Elements for six ponies," Blue mused, "and the spark must've been Amethyst's magic. But that still leaves the question of which Element each of us represents. At least Magic's self-explanatory."

"I can help you figure it out," Feather grins widely, "You could've just cantered away, but you turned around and decided to help us out of the Kindness of your heart. Wild's been very truthful throughout this whole thing so he's Honesty, especially considering we all put our trust in him. Dapper's inconclusive, but I get the impression that's he's brave and like you, tagged along with complete strangers. Considering he could've just teleported away and left us to that Hydra, I'd say he's Loyalty. Amethyst is obviously Magic, which leaves Laughter and Generosity between me and Atlas. It could honestly go either way, but I think I'm closer to Laughter, so Atlas must be Generosity by process of elimination if nothing else."

"I suppose I can see that," Blue smiled, "but your dedication to helping ponies tips the scale the other way in my opinion, so what if Atlas is Laughter and her social anxiety is masking hidden depths?"

The chamber fell silent for a moment, before Nightmare Moon recovered and interrupted the conversation.

"Elements of Harmony or not," she hissed, "my sister is the only pony capable of standing up to me. You are merely foals in the grand scheme of things. This battle shall be over before it even begins!"

With that, her horn glowed with an almost blinding light as she prepared to destroy the ponies who dared to stand against her. But before she could fire her spell, Amethyst took a step forward, now wearing the Element of Magic tiara and preparing a spell of her own.

"Not so fast," she defiantly said, despite still feeling slightly lightheaded, "we have six activated Elements of Harmony. Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty and Laughter are the building blocks, but they need a spark of Magic to truly come together! And guess what? They even have a way of finding lost ponies. That's right, you thought you were clever making Princess Celestia disappear, but we can bring her back. Okay, my new friends, let's bring 'em together!"

One by one, the other five put their respective Elements on and stood shoulder-to-shoulder. With a lilac glow, Amethyst's magic drew the essence of the necklaces and her tiara and combined them in a rainbow coloured beam that filled the ruins with a blinding light.

"NOOOO!" Nightmare Moon screamed, feeling not only the full blast of the beam, but also the darkness being removed from her.

"After the night," Amethyst finished, "comes the Dawn."

Eventually, the light of the Elements' power died down and the once imposing figure of Nightmare Moon was gone... and in her place was the reformed Princess Luna. It was almost like looking at a different pony. But that wasn't all. Next to her appeared Princess Celestia herself, saved from whatever shadow realm Nightmare Moon had trapped her in. Princess Luna was apologising profusely, and Princess Celestia just looked happy to have her sister back.

The heroes bowed in reverence, until Princess Celestia spoke.

"Thank you," she said, "in using the Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon, you have saved not only me, but my sister as well. This day shall be remembered for centuries to come, and your names etched into the history books. But I must say, not just any ponies can use the Elements. The six of you must be special."

"Well..." Wild spoke up, "it was a long and hard journey, and there were many moments that tested us, moments where we could've given up and turned tail. But we've undeniably formed bonds along the way. And the Elements of Harmony, they're also the building blocks of friendship. I am proud and honoured to call these ponies my friends."

"I... I feel a similar way," Blue admits, "before this all started, I was moving into Ponyville to settle down. Feather was the only pony I knew, and only because my family had visited about a decade ago. I almost turned my back purely because these ponies were complete strangers to me. It was only because something stopped me at the last moment that I agreed to come along. And yet... strangers quickly turned to companions. If these five are anything to go by, I think I'll do just fine in Ponyville despite my initial anxieties."

"My little ponies," Princess Celestia began again, "as much as I would like to hear your stories, it is getting late and there is a Summer Sun Celebration to complete. You can tell us all about it on the way back. For now, it is time for Equestria to be reintroduced to its co-ruler, and for you six to celebrate your achievements."

And with that, Wild Arrow, Feather Song, Blue Dodger, Amethyst Dawn, Dapper Shadow and Atlas made their way back to Ponyville with the two Princesses. From that moment on, their lives would be forever changed. Not only did they now bear the Elements of Harmony, but they had no idea of the adventures awaiting them.

They were welcomed back as heroes, and Wild even got the rare chance to stick it to those who had teased him about his wing condition for as long as he could remember. He took particular pleasure at the look on one Rainbow Dash's face when she heard that he had led the group.

Blue dared to look at his flank, but was dismayed to find it still blank. He quickly hid his disappointment with a smile, however, and was still proud of himself for helping his new friends. He just silently wondered if he was ever going to get his cutie mark.

Pinkie threw a massive party to celebrate the defeat of Nightmare Moon, the reunification of Princesses Celestia and Luna, and the bravery of our six heroes. Atlas decided to go home early, however, as her social anxiety got the better of her. Everypony else enjoyed it, and the celebrations went long into the day.

And for now... everypony was happy.

NEXT TIME:

"When an experimental spell goes wrong, our heroes find themselves in what appears to be an abandoned mansion. The catch? They're not alone..."

Author's Note

I promise future chapters won't take almost a year and a half! Thanks to anyone who actually waited. Now I've finished my AU version of the Friendship is Magic two parter, not much else from the actual show should be referenced. This AU may have the big events like Discord's return in the Season 2 opener or the Changeling invasion that ends Season 2, but I'm undecided.