With his magic blazing, Nightmare was forced to back off a few steps. Something had made him change within the past few hours. Before, he was weak, but this time, he was a whole new pony. It was as if she were staring at another Alicorn as corrupted as herself. Had she transferred some of her own magic to him by accident? No, she was not so clumsy as to do that.

"Dusk, you came for us!" Rainbow Dash called out. The fiery magic around Dusk dropped like a pilot light going out. The purple Stallion stood where he was, his eyes fixated on his target.

"You idiots took on Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" he scolded.

"We had the Elements, but they were useless. We might as well have been throwing stones at a dragon. Now they're destroyed." Dash retorted. Dusk broke eye contact and looked at the crumbling stones at the foot of the ancient throne.

"That's right, my dear, and now the night will forever brandish the sky." Nightmare Moon boasted. Barely an instant passed before she found herself decked in the face.

"Who said you could talk?!" Dusk burst out, knocking Nightmare onto her behind. The Princess was stunned Never had she been struck so recklessly, much less by her own family. Yet this simple Stallion had the gall to even put her beneath him?

"I am the ruler of Equestria! Royalty by blood. You should be the silent one." she protested.

"There can be only one Princess!" Dusk growled.

"Yet I'm the only one available now that my dear sister is stuck in the sun." Nightmare challenged. Dusk growled low and with purpose, his magic slowly billowing like smoke.

"Not quite. There is another; Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadence to her friends and family. Celestia's niece and successor." he replied It was Nightmare's turn to growl. Her own magic began to rise and as the stray wisps touched, sparks began to emerge and thunder crackled from between them.

"The Elements of Harmony still exist." Dusk spoke up, getting his 'friends' attention as well as startling Nightmare Moon. "Elements aren't physical things, they are a representation of the physical world around us. It took me a while to figure out what Celestia said to me and why she chose now of all times for me to start making friends. She anticipated Nightmare moon's return, just as I had, but she planned ahead, having all the pieces of the puzzle to begin with." Dusk dropped his aggressive stance and turned around to help Fluttershy up. The timid pegasus took his hand and graciously accepted the lift. Once she was standing on her own two feet, Dusk suddenly teleported over to Applejack. and helped her up.

"I had to figure out what constituted Harmony, what the ingredients were. And I figured it out when I recollected the personalities of these five ponies." He teleported Applejack to Fluttershy's side so the cowpony could lean against her unharmed friend. Dusk repeated the process with each mare, Rarity whom had to be carried.

"You might not think so when you look at them, but these five ponies possess traits relevant to the Elements of Harmony, as such, the Elements themselves live on in them." Dusk said.

"What are you saying?!" Nightmare Moon demanded. Dusk grinned at the Alicorn, making her shudder.

"I'm saying," he used his magic to lift up six shards of the stones representing the Elements of Harmony and floated them over to the party behind him. "That you really would have delayed your defeat considerably had you managed to strike down Fluttershy here. These ponies you've been playing with are conduits for the Elements of Harmony." Dusk began to laugh at Nightmare as she backed away in fright.

"That's not possible! The Elements were physical objects last time My sister used them herself." she protested.

"You really think that something as powerful as these would stick to a single form? I'm disappointed in you, Nightmare Moon. Watch this, I'll prove my point." With a snap of his fingers, the stone shards began to glow different colours and rotate at such a speed that you couldn't tell lump from bump.

"Fluttershy represents the Element of Kindness." Dusk claimed, and immediately, the stone in front of Fluttershy burst with magic and turned into a golden Neck piece with a pink Butterfly crystal in the centre It latched itself to her neck and glowed happily.

"Applejack represents Honesty." Dusk continued, the same thing happened to Applejack, a golden necklace with an apple shaped ruby rested on her orange neck.

"Rainbow Dash has always displayed Loyalty to those she cares for, and as such, represents Loyalty in every sense of the word." A Ruby Lightning bolt adorned Dash's neck.

"Alright!" the Pegasus was the first to comment on her new item.

"Pinkie Pie's was obvious. Though I don't entirely enjoy this one, Sometimes, friends have to make sacrifices for others. Pinkie will undoubtedly do that with a smile every time." A light blue balloon resembled the Element of Laughter and it hung around the pink pony's neck, and bounced up and down as she jumped in place with glee.

"And Rarity represents Generosity. I know this because on my way here, I spotted a sea dragon with an oddly coloured moustache. Upon entering this room, I see now that it was once Rarity's tail." A Violet diamond rested against Rarity's breast and she squealed in delight. Nightmare was on the verge of a panic attack.

"What about the Sixth Element? Nopony knows what that is, and I highly doubt you could possibly know." Nightmare boasted. Dusk just smiled, his magic rising once again.

"Well you'd be wrong again, bitch! While it most certainly was the most difficult part, I didn't actually figure it out until I presented these five with their own Elements."

"WHAT?!" the fallen Princess cried.

"You see, I figured there had to be a reason Celestia sent me of all ponies to fulfil the task of befriending the first five conduits. It occurred to me that there must have been one redeeming trait I possessed that could help me make such friends as these. At first, I thought it was my knowledge of the History of Equestria, but such a thing has no place in Friendships. So what was the one thing I excelled at. And the answer was obvious. I excelled at the one thing that could be used to protect my friends, had I any to begin with. Do you know what that is?" Nightmare Moon shook her head, but the five conduits understood all too well. They cried the last word with joy together.

"MAGIC!!!" The sixth shard burst in a flurry of colours and Dusk got caught in the light. He lifted his head and raised his arms. There was a sound like pure magic rotating around him and it absorbed the billowing residue that escaped his own body.

"Incredible!" Nightmare commented as she covered her eyes from the blinding light. And just as quickly as it had started, the light vanished. All mares, including Nightmare Moon looked upon Dusk with a sense of awe as his Element had been the most drastic. His mane had been slicked back, and had become pointier. His eyes were whiter than sheets and the element itself wrapped around his jaw like a golden exoskeleton, the five pointed star acting like a goatee.

"Woah!" they all said, except for Rainbow Dash who accidentally blurted out another word altogether.

"HOT!" she covered her mouth instantly. the other girls looked at her in surprise. Rainbow Dash was known for not complimenting another pony outside the Wonderbolts.

"I-it doesn't matter how much you changed from those Elements I know how they work after the first time, so they won't be enough to stop me." Nightmare began to challenge, but her voice betrayed her.

"You didn't know that they still existed after you smashed the stones, did you? Besides, the Elements react to the thoughts of their conduits. And you have no idea what we want to do to you for taking Princess Celestia from us. For example. Your sister pitied you at the very last second and instead of killing you, she sent you to the moon. Well, I don't think we'll bother with that. I'm not as emotionally attached to you as your sister was." he threatened. Nightmare began to quiver with fear. But after a few seconds, she regained her composure.

"I'll defeat you regardless!" she cried out. Dusk threw his arms to the side and snapped his fingers. "Girls?" he called. Without a second's hesitation, all five mares shot towards Nightmare Moon, their wounds healed and their senses and abilities enhanced. They left little trails of dust in their wake as they swept past Dusk and bore down on their enemy.

Nightmare took the full force of each of their attacks. Applejack bucked her in the face, Rainbow in the gut. Rarity had her right side, Pinkie her left. Fluttershy even found herself moving in motion with the others, sweeping Nightmare's legs from under her. The princess was sent spinning backwards, halted by her head colliding with the stone floor. There was an audible crack from both the floor and Nightmare's head. She grabbed her skull and screamed in agony, the lump emerging almost instantaneously. The five mares backed off and allowed Dusk to step up to Nightmare with a destructive look in his eyes. Nightmare moon showed genuine horror for the first time in over a thousand years. She knew she was about to die.

"Where's your precious night now, Mare in the Moon?" Dusk teased. His body burst into flames and his entire coat changed from Lavender to cream, his mane and tail became hot flames and his eyes turned redder than the blood seeping onto the stone floor. "Your final hour has arrived!" Dusk declared. The other five Conduits burst into flames themselves and began rotating around Dusk. Their bodies changed shape and soon they merged with him. Another bright light engulfed the room for a few seconds before an entirely new pony emerged. He looked like a white fire spirit, clad in golden armour. The jaw piece was now a King's crown, The Elements of Honesty and Loyalty were gauntlets, Generosity had become a chest piece and Laughter had fused with Kindness to form a golden greatsword. The fire spirit gripped the sword and pointed it down to Nightmare Moon.

"No... Please! Don't kill me! I-I-I'll give everypony the sun back, I'll disappear forever, just please don't kill me!!!" Nightmare Moon cried. The white fire pony thrust his sword and plunged it deep into Nightmare Moon's heart. The point came out the other end. Nightmare Moon's own armour was useless against the blade. She screamed in agony as her body felt like it was being burned from within. The colour faded from her body and before long she was as white as the pony that had stabbed her. Seconds later, Her body burst into millions of pieces and evaporated before hitting the ground.

The white pony removed his sword from where it was and flung it over his fiery shoulder. He stood there, motionless save the flame outlining his body. All was quiet for the next few moments before a cracking sound began to fill the air. The source was from within the fire, and before anypony knew it, the five mares, plus Dusk were sent flying in six different directions.

"That... was... AWESOME!!!" Rainbow Dash cried out, taking to the air and looping around numerous times. Pinkie began to chatter on about what had just happened as if the others hadn't experienced it before. Rarity just admired her diamond element while Fluttershy and Applejack both gave praise to Dusk in their own way, Applejack chose the shoulder punch while Fluttershy chose to murmur the words as loudly as she could bare.

"Seriously, I can't wait to do that again!" Dash commented as she calmed down a notch.

"And you'll undoubtedly get the chance to do so, my little Pony." a voice sounded through the background. Standing there in all her majesty, was Princess Celestia. The five mares bowed down in respect while Dusk just crossed his arms.

"You owe me big time." he said, raising a brow. Celestia chuckled and nodded in response.

"Yes, I suppose I do. But I'm not going to rescind your assignment on making friends, i don't care if you did save Equestria." she replied. Dusk huffed at that.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I was better off with Nightmare Moon." he muttered.

"Well, you'll never know now, will you? The Elements of Harmony can't be used for evil, and Bringing Nightmare moon back would be considered an evil act." Celestia explained.

"Mole." Dusk grumbled, stepping aside to reveal a very small Alicorn filly with a light blue hue and an even lighter blue mane and tail. She was shaking and struggling to rise to her feet. "I assume the opposite is also impossible, We can't vanquish good. Seems there was a remorseful part of your sister buried within the Nightmare after all, Celestia. I was hoping for this." Dusk said. Celestia went wide-eyed.

"You never meant to kill her, you just wanted to get rid of the evil within her heart?" she asked. Dusk smiled.

"You spared your sister when you could have easily destroyed her a thousand years ago. Back then, she would have no regrets, but a thousand years spent to think things over on the moon can lead to a promising harvest. This is the culmination of your Sister's regret over the span of a thousand years. This is what remains of your Sister, Princess." Dusk said. Celestia began to tear up as she laid eyes on her long lost little sister. The blue filly in turn looked at the faces of those she'd just recently tried to kill and her regret grew, giving her power that allowed her to grow. She looked the same age as the Conduits by the time she had finished regretting what she'd done.

"Luna... I understand why you did what you did, and I'm willing to give you another chance. And I beg you take it. It's been so lonely these last thousand years without you. Come home, please?" Celestia said in the sweetest voice anypony had ever heard. Luna's eyes began to water and before she knew it, she was running into her sister's outstretched arms bawling like the filly she was just moments ago.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried out. Celestia shushed her and cooed at her like a mother would their daughter.

"It's alright, all is forgiven." Celestia said gently. Luna suddenly pushed herself out of her sister's embrace.

"Is it though?" she asked, turning her gaze over to the Elements. The five mares all agreed that it was forgiven immediately, talking over each other, Dusk remained quiet, His arms still crossed. All eyes were on him, Luna's pleadingly so. He walked towards the two Princesses and knelt down before Luna. She received a light bonk on the head, nothing painful at all. She looked up at Dusk who looked right back.

"The past is the past, nothing we can do about it now except to forget it ever happened. Welcome home, Princess." he said, standing back up and walking away.

The next day when everypony was well rested, Luna was officially welcomed home by the city of Canterlot. Her regal attire had been returned to her and she wore it on this special occasion. Dusk had taken the opportunity to pack some extra things for the trip to Ponyville, since he was stuck there for the foreseeable future. The other conduits to the Elements of Harmony had been given VIP sleeping quarters, which they enjoyed thoroughly. As the six of them stood before the Princesses, they all knelt down and bowed their heads in respect. Even Dusk wouldn't embarrass his teacher on such an important occasion.

The six ponies were presented with their medals. As Dusk was about to be presented his, Luna interrupted and claimed she wanted to give him his medal herself. Celestia accepted and handed Luna the golden medal. As he knelt before the returned Princess, he lifted his head.

"Princess?" he said, acknowledging her status. Luna smiled and gently placed the medal around his neck. She then leaned in close and kissed him.

"Thank you for saving me." she whispered. Dusk was unsure what to say, so he settled for a courteous nod. The Nobles among the crowd had stopped clapping, hate-filled glares trained on Dusk as in their eyes, he was the one who dared to kiss the Princess.

The six ponies all stood up and turned to the applauding crowd and bowed. That night back in Ponyville, all the ponies partied save Dusk who tried to get in a good read, but found it impossible since it was somepony's stupid idea to have the party at the Library.

"So, Dusk, what's your take on Friendship?" Barb asked, offering him a drink. Dusk took it without tearing his eyes away from the book.

"Friendship is Bothersome. And that's putting it mildly." he said, using his free hand to motion to the party around him. Barb just laughed and sat down beside him.

"Oh, Dusk, just how will you cope with the days to come?"

Author's Note

Well, that's the end of Part 1. I should probably explain some things. The Parts are related to the dual-episodic events that required the use of the Elements of Harmony, however, in between those parts, will be side stories, such as the appearance of Trixie and Zecora, all that jazz. The parts will go up to three which is the Canterlot wedding, but from then on, it's all original. I won't give any more about that away. So until next time, Toodles.

P.S. I'll be introducing Trixie in the Side Story (S.S) to come.