The shards of the physical Elements of Harmony began to quiver, lift. But Twilight's horn was not glowing. This was not mere unicorn telekinesis.
Luna knew exactly what was about to happen. She'd been on both ends of it, before.
But it will take them some time, she realized quietly. They are new to this ... they shall have that time!
"What ...?" gasped the Nightmare in fear and confusion.
If you lash out now, they will strike you down, thought Luna convincingly, caressing the Nightmare with her psychic voice, pouring into it every element of charm and geas she knew. You must gather your strength, strike them down, but only when your power is overwhelming. Surely six little fillies can't hope to defeat a Nightmare as strong and skilled as you ...
Yes, the Nightmare thought. And she's forgotten something else. She began summoning her full power.
"Applejack," said Twilight, "who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of ... honesty!" The last word rang out as a command. The shards of the Element of Honesty flashed over to the big blonde Apple, circled her as her piercing green eyes narrowed in determination.
That was mine, thought Luna sadly, until I became unfit for it by lying to everyone about my own purpose. Bear it well, fair Apple! Use it to lay the treacheries of evil open to the light of Truth!
"Fluttershy," Twilight continued, "who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of ...kindness!"
Fluttershy looked astonished, even frightened as a swarm of shards shot over to her, began circling. Then she closed her eyes, focused, the shards starting to yield to her mind-magics.
Yours, sister, acknowledged Luna, and the ponies loved you for that most of all. I wish I'd understood that, sooner. Then, to the pink-maned yellow pegasus, who still seemed a bit intimidated by her new role. You can do this, mind-witch! Know that the Shadows cannot bear any touch of love!
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of ... laughter!"
The pink earth pony clapped her forehooves together, grinning gleefully as if she were receiving some sort of birthday present, then bounded blissfully into the air, coming down in the midst of her own personal circle. She landed, crouched on all four hooves, and as the shards spun around her, reality itself began to twist into her own personal cloak of protection.
Luna had to cloak her own joy at this sight. My old Element, empowering this last survivor of a lost timeline, she thought to herself. O beware, Nightshadows, for now you face the avenger of her whole people! Right now, she did not care that she herself was one of the most obvious targets of the pink pony's vengeance, so long as it also destroyed the Nightmares.
"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of ... generosity!
The elegant hoof-to-hoof fighter looked surprisingly serious and humble as her own shards began to circle her. My sister won whole kingdoms over by diplomacy thought Luna, built a nation out of anarchy by encouraging work and trade. Your power is subtle, but one of the strongest of all, given time. I pray you have the time to grow into it.
"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of ... loyalty!"
The brash blue pegasus was solemn as she received her own circlet of shards. There was none of the braggadocio one might have expected.
Oh, Dashie, thought Luna fondly. You deserve this, most of all. Welcome to the ultimate elite, old friend. I know you can cut it. You're far more awesome than even you ever realized.
Luna could feel the energy building in each of them, as each Element prepared to make the final attunement to its individual bearer.
The Nightmare could feel it too.
What do I do? it thought. This is what defeated me the last time. Should I strike now, before they can form the Rainbow?
"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" concluded Twilight, looking at Nightmare Moon sidelong.
No, thought Luna loudly. Not yet. You need to find out if Twilight actually has her element. Ask her!
This was nonsense. The way in which the Elements were responding made it obvious that Twilight had her own Element. But the more time the Nightmare took ...
"You still don't have the sixth element!" pointed out Nightmare Moon, sounding a bit uncertain. "The spark didn't work ..."
"But it did," said Twilight. "A different kind of spark."
She turned toward her friends, turning her back on the Nightmare. She was clearly building up to a lecture, unable to resist the opportunity.
Suddenly, the Nightmare realized something.
Wait, I've accumulated the maximum charge I can throw, and all I need to do is kill one of them to stop the Rainbow .... Why in the name of the Great Dark am I still just talking ... ?
It readied to strike ... a lethal strike ... the path built for the discharge ...
And in that moment, Luna leaped on the back of the Nightmare!
She was not tangible, it was not tangible, but they were both within the same nerve net, and within that conceptual space they were both fully real to one another. So in their mind -- her mind, she was a mare leaping, hooves lashing out with deadly force to pummel the Nightmare on its back, into its ribs.
What?!! it howled, twisting, turning to defend its spine from what would have been a shattering blow. No! You cannot have ...
Luna's answer to this were two more punishing hoof-blows. She felt imaginary bones splinter beneath the impact of her hooves.
Twilight addressed her friends. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you ..."
How did you get the strength? it marveled, back-pedaling. You're weak ... alone ...
Not weak, snarled Luna as she came back down to all hooves. Not alone. I'll never be weak and alone again! She reared again, lashed out with both hooves.
The Nightshadow blocked her, moving with surprising force. Nightmare Moon's body trembled, and Luna realized that the Shadow was draining their shared housing to regenerate the damage being done to it by the psychic blows of the Moon Princess. She could see the inky substance of its spirit-form knitting, healing its wounds even as it fought.
"The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all ..." continued Twilight, "... are my friends!"
You are alone, it sneered at her, striking a counterblow which grazed her head, sent her stepping back, dazed even by the glancing impact. You are weak. You are friendless, and I am stronger than you.
The Apple mare, she thought. Dashie. All of them, even Pinkie. They're fighting on my side!
Something began to glow from above, something drifting down from the old ceiling. The light built. The Nightshadow was too focused on Luna to do more than reflexively cringe away from it, shielding Nightmare Moon's face with one upraised wing.
I must keep her attention on me! decided Luna. She came down to all four hooves, made as if to rise again, then suddenly lowered her head and charged, jabbing with her horn.
The Shadow hissed in surprise, sidestepped then squealed in pain as Luna's horn struck home. Its last-second maneuver saved it from being gored, but the horn gouged a streak along its side that gouted out a yellowish-green miasma. Luna smelt the stench of mold and ancient death, but did not let that deter her from completing the move, then whirling and leaping back from the Shadow's riposte.
Luna snorted, flared her wings, her saliva foaming with the intensity of her rage. The Shadow stood there, regenerating, stemming the flow of whatever it used for ichor.
They are not your friends, the Shadow said. They are your foes.
Your foes, Luna replied. But then you're an enemy of Equestria. An enemy of all Ponykind. All life! I'm on their side, even if they don't yet know it. She jabbed once, twice with her horn, probing at the Shadow's defenses. The Shadow gave way.
Fool! the Shadow cried. They do not know me. All they know is that Princess Luna, sworn defender of the realm, betrayed them! As in truth you did, since it was you who chose to summon me!
The pony I was a thousand years ago so chose, said Luna. She was confused, mistaken. She -- I -- did not know what you really were, what you meant to do. I was wrong ... it was my fault ... but I would never choose that path again.
It does not matter! said the Shadow. They will never forgive you your treason! You have no future with them!
"You see, Nightmare Moon," said Twilight, "when those elements are ignited by the ...
That does not matter, replied Luna. My future does not matter, beside the future of all Ponykind. And I stand by my kin, my friends -- my beloved. Her resolve strengthened as she remembered Dusk Skyshine.
Nonsense! scoffed the Shadow. That is not your long-lost mate. That is an entirely different pony, who just happens to have the same soul. Your reproductive urges are misdirected. You cannot even reproduce with her -- she is a mare! You don't even want to try that with a mare!
"... the spark, that resides in the heart of us all ..." said Twilight
After more than a thousand years, said Luna, you still don't understand me -- or Ponies -- at all, do you? If I had room in my heart to pity you, I would. No love, no friendship -- nothing but eternal selfishness. Eternal greed, a hunger for the life you do not and cannot ever understand.
The Shadow looked shocked. Then it snarled, its eyes flaring sickly-green.
"... it creates the Sixth Element, ..."
I take that back, Luna said. I think I do pity you. For when I die, I die knowing that I am part of something greater. When you die, you must die so alone. Yes. I pity you!
The Shadow howled in rage, leapt on her. Luna had been expecting this -- she'd been deliberately taunting it, but she did not expect the way it moved, even within her artificially equinoid perception of their struggle. It became formless, a vast mass of glowing ebon night, like a viscous and foul effluvium that surged onto her.
There was no dodging. It was too rapid, too omnipresent. She was overthrown by its sheer mass, she felt its vile smell, its evil presence surrounding her on all sides. She was rolled over within it, ended up on her back, with the Shadow covering every part of her. To her extreme revulsion, it began pressing in against every orifice -- that she knew that her spirit body was imaginary did not lessen the foulness of this, for she knew that if it could insinuate itself back into her she would suffer a fate far worse than any mere physical violation. She put all her might into her own shielding, keeping the Shadow from entering her and corrupting her soul. But she knew that she could not hold out like this for very long ...
Where are your friends now? the Shadow hissed, mocking her. Even I do not need you any more -- you are now more trouble than you are worth. You will die, here and now, alone in the dark, and I alone will inhabit this vessel. I will kill your friends, murder your species, destroy your world!
"... the Element of Magic!" Twilight said.
The lecture was complete.
Even from her position, Luna sensed the power building. Through the ebon shroud of the Shadow, she could feel the surges of joy as six individual Elements met their bearers, the peaks of energy as six individual Element Bearers released the powers within themselves, focusing them through their elements, harmonizing them with the uniqueness within each other. Element made contact with Element. The whine of a high-speed information transfer between them, the vibration as the combined Harmony found the Shadow's resonance.
Luna smiled savagely. I win, she said
What? scoffed the Shadow. You haven't defeated me!
I didn't have to defeat you, Luna said. Just keep you busy long enough for them to do that!
No! cried the Shadow, suddenly returning its attention to the world outside its form. The Element Bearers were within a complex web of light, floating within it as the power built to the point of release. A webwork of energy, lethal by its very nature to the Nightmare, swept around them, shielding them from any direct attack.
Luna gathered her strength, began tapping her own life force well past the point of danger.
I must retreat! the Shadow realized. It prepared to diffuse into plasma ...
Focusing her mind firmly on her memory of Dusk, Luna let that love suffuse her being, emerge from her in all directions.
The Shadow shrieked as the toxic emotion struck it, evaporating the substance of the part of it enveloping its captive.
Princess Luna twisted and sprang to her hooves, shaking off the last residues of shade. Her starry mane glowed with the energies she expended so prodigiously.
The Shadow tried to diffuse Nightmare Moon without, while holding Princess Luna back within. It did both badly. Nightmare Moon cringed back, but did not dematerialize. And the Shadow had not yet formed its defense when Luna crashed down upon it, knocking it flat, trampling it unmercifully with hard-driven hooves.
Luna stood triumphant atop the Shadow, pinning it to the substrate, stamping out every part of it that tried to ooze away and reform elsewhere.
Outside, the Rainbow began to rise.
No! the Shadow pleaded. Don't let them do this! We'll both die!
I don't much care, said Luna coldly, as long as I take you with me.
You don't understand! It was speaking very quickly now. I'm still with you. If you discorporate now, your Cosmic self will reject you as contaminated. You won't get to rejoin your Oversoul. All that you've been, all that you've learned in your current life will be lost forever. You'll die for real!
You thought I didn't know that? Luna laughed. Cowardly shade, I've led Ponies into battle more times then you've tortured kittens. Thousands of Ponies have died under my command, every one of them fearing the same prospect, yet not letting it stop them from doing their duty. Do you imagine me any less loyal?
No! You're insane! cried the Shadow, and made a convulsive effort to rise, draining all but the last strength from Nightmare Moon. It managed to seize control of her to the point where its next cry of "No!" sounded outside as well, but Luna kept a firm grip on the body's magical energy conduits. Nightmare Moon stood helplessly watching as the Rainbow arrived.
You're really going to die! I'm really going to die! the Shadow babbled, its sanity snapping as the Rainbow whipped around them, and the vortex formed. It made one last effort to teleport.
Luna grabbed it with her hooves, her telekinesis, beating it with her wings, using every remaining bit of her power and every weapon she had to keep the Nightshadow from getting control of any important part of their shared form.
Yes, said Luna. But ... at least ... I ... die ... FREE! The last was a victory cry.
"NO!!!" Nightmare Moon cried one last time, a cry coming from the insane thing within, already disintegrating from fear before even being touched by the hostile energy.
Then the Shadow fell silent, frozen in terror as every sensory channel of Nightmare Moon's form was filled by the Rainbow.
We did it, Dusk, Luna thought. We won. Then, as she had done every time she saw it, one last thought: It's so ... beautiful ...
And then the Rainbow closed around her, consuming everything evil in its pitiless purity. There was one last incoherent shriek from the Shadow, then it vaporized as Luna was overwhelmed by her own agony.
Everything went black.
Don't be silly. Talking is a free action.
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Heh ... well, Twilight obviously thought so. But there was really no good reason for Nightmare Moon to listen, especially because she'd seen the Rainbow in action. At least twice (once on each end of the blast), and probably more times than that.
Twilight is smart ... brilliant, really ... but at this point in her life she's never been in a direct fight against anyone actually trying to kill her. The closest she's come while knowing it is in the earlier scene with Manny the Manticore, and note that she never closed with it. Her knowledge of battle probably comes from history books and chivalric romances, and in both it is common for characters to make long declamatory speeches. Her personal experience of doing something very public is delivering oral reports before her professors, or Celestia, none of whom really mean her harm.
So that's what she does -- she gives an oral summary of her findings not only to the Mane Six but also Nightmare Moon. Which is a really bad idea at that point. (To be fair she's also working herself up into the right frame of mind to use the Elements).
As for her friends, they're just following her lead, and probably each thinking "Gee, my real life has just become High Fantasy. I wonder when I'll wake up from this interesting dream!" Even for a tough farm girl living on the fringes of the Everfree Forest, such as Applejack (who, note, later says in the original ep "I thought that was all just a lotta hooey!"), this has been an unusually adventurous day.
The observant will have noticed that Luna and the Shadow have rather a lot of dialogue during their own internal struggle, enough that they are obviously able to talk and act faster than the Mane Six on the outside. This is because they are both resident in the same nervous system -- they are thinking at one another, which as much faster process. (This is also why I give their communications italics instead of quotation marks).
I spot a Stargate reference.
Heh! This does indeed provide a very fine explanation for why Nighty didn't just blast them while Twi was talking. I really love Luna's take on the various Elements and their bearers as Twi does her speech; it works great.
And good riddance, Shadow, it was rotten knowing you. And I imagine Luna would agree more than anyone.
Next time, the, "Why am I not dead and why am I suddenly princess" chapter.
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The inspiration actually came from your My Little Balladeer, specifically the part where John points out (and vividly demonstrates) to Twilight that the Element Bearers are vulnerable when summoning the Rainbow. Pinkie says:
which got me thinking about exactly what Luna might have been doing inside Nightmare Moon to stop her both from fighting and from retreating at that moment.
I was very much helped in formulating Luna's opinions by the flashback to the fight with Discord in "Princess Twilight Sparkle," which showed me just which Sister was wielding which elements. The choices make sense. Celestia is kind and generous, and a supreme mistress of magic (also, the dominant of the pair) -- but she most definitely manipulative, even dishonest when necessary. It's Luna who is the loyal, honest warrior guarding her back. As for "laughter," you could look at it either way, as both sisters have (rather different) senses of humor -- but Luna is most definitely merry when she decides to trust ponies, and she is the most willing to do undignified things just to have fun, like smooching Big Mac in the IDW comics.
This is interesting because it plays directly against mythological stereotype, both in our reality and in the Ponyverse. It is the Sun Goddess who is the subtle and tricky one, the mage; the Moon Goddess who is far more blunt and direct, the warrior. I think it's intentional on the part of the writers, and I love it!
I'm glad you noticed just how vile is the Shadow, and how the contrast between it and Luna greatly intensified when the Shadow no longer had to pretend to be just another part of Luna's own personality -- and when Luna was finally able to think freely. Luna is far from perfect herself, but she is basically a good pony who made bad decisions; the Shadow is a Lovecraftian horror from beyond our spacetime. Luna's personal Nightshadow is all the nastier because it sort of understands Ponies, just enough to know some of their weak points, but not well enough to (for instance) grasp the subtle difference between love and mere lust.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good is one of its specific weaknesses, in fact -- it could have pushed Luna's buttons far more effectively if it had understood her beyond "subordinate female seeking social dominance and reproductive opportunities" and "driven by survival." Luna has a base side, like anyone, but she is also brave, noble and even idealistic -- which are qualities the Shadow cannot even bring itself to believe she takes at all seriously. In particular, it never grasps why or even how she can still love Dusk when he's in another form and female to boot, since this renders Dusk less useful to her.
The Shadows are not actually stupid. They are, however, very alien -- the product of a very long evolutionary process that developed far from anything mammalian, or really anything that lives on the Earth, in some very horrific ways. Something I hope to explore further in later stories.
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Yep.
I mean I finished this on a Cliffhanger, but unless I was going to be really and pointlessly dark (having the Shadow survive but not Luna, which would make no logical sense), everyone knows Luna gets better.
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Finished the chapter, of course, not the whole novella. I still have at least one chapter's worth of denounement left to do.
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I am really glad you liked the Chapter 13 subclimax. I tried to build up to it well by showing Luna at first thinking of it all as what we (but not her) would see as a dreamlike state (essentially a hypnotic state of diminished responsibility) but being first slowly pulled out of it by her sympathy for Twilight, and finally shocked out of it when she realizes that if she doesn't do something, her reincarnated True Love is about to be cut down right before her eyes.
The Shadow doesn't understand what's happening, because it doesn't really take Luna's love for Dusk all that seriously.
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I love Rarity. She's a very layered character -- on the surface she's this perfect lady, but if you observe her for a while you see the underlying manipulativeness, selfishness and vanity -- then if you observe her a bit longer you realize that she is an incredibly good, generous and honorable pony. Her deepest nature is why her friends really love her. And why I do, really.
3696967 Wow, you based part of this on something I wrote? Thanks! I'm flattered.
And agreed on the 'alien-ness' of the Shadows. They seem both Lovecraftian and as I've said before, something like the Eddorians in their uncomprehending malice. I get the idea that even if you could explain concepts like love, good faith, or unselfishness to them (provided they didn't do something horrible to you simply for trying), they'd reject them as meaningless.
And I both like and agree with the idea that Luna, despite being the Moon Alicorn, has many aspects of her personality more closely related to the Sun in myth and legend. Her directness, for instance, and the rest you listed. It does help to differentiate the show and characters -- and this fanfic -- quite a bit.
*I think this is supposed to be in italics.
I wonder how much the elements' charge time is actually related to how it appears on the show. One could argue that a lot of that time is added in to make it look more powerful. Of course, there's not much in-universe evidence behind it, aside from the fact that no one has ever interrupted their use. Or dodged, for that matter. Perhaps that's part of the spell itself; can't dodge, can't interrupt. Just sit back and watch as the whole world comes crashing down on you. Game Over.
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The episode itself showed that past a certain point you're trapped in the magical vortex. But Nightmare Moon could have struck before the vortex formed. Luna was first tricking the Shadow, then fighting it directly to keep its attention away from what Twilight and her friends were doing.
I was inspired by a line in Ardashir's excellent My Little Balladeer in which John (a heroic bard from our world) and the Mane Six analyze the time it will take to deploy the Elements against an enemy, and realize the need to distract the enemy long enough to complete the spell. In the process somepony (Pinkie, I think) points out that the only reason they were able to beat Nightmare Moon was that the spirit of Luna was holding back from killing them, because Luna's simply not that murderous. That made me think about exactly how Luna might have been doing this.
I strongly recommend My Little Balladeer -- it's simply the best-realized Human in Equestria story I've ever read. It is very much free of the typical vices of a HiE tale -- it's not a cheesy wish-fulfillment about how wonderful it is to get to see Equestria and how much everyone loves the visitor. John mostly likes Equestria and its inhabitants, but he's worried both about defeating the evil he's come here to fight and whether or not he can make it back home to his wife and friends; also, while he does make friends in Equestria, he has to earn them by his own conduct, rather than having everyone unaccountably besotted with him for no good reason. You should check it out, and encourage the author -- he's a good fellow.
3696457 As a Pathfinder player: Bullshit. You only get 3 'free' actions a round, and a 'free' action for talking is only 6 seconds. You can only talk for, at the VERY most, 18 seconds before it's no longer considered a free action. I've seen the biggest baddie get one-shot by an assassin because he was busy speeching for SO LONG that the assassin was able to stealth and walk through the ENTIRE FREAKING ARMY to get behind the baddie and then stabbing him to death.
Talking is NOT a free action for very long.
At the end of this chapter, my mind wanted to jump right into chapter one of Black Angel. I think that fic has burned itself into my neurons during the three years (sporadically) of writing it. But my take on Nightmare Moon's personality is quite different. In my mythos she is very much a creation of Luna's mind, rather than something that possessed her. And I even have NMM trying to make friends, though she never fully grasps the concept.
It's clear that you (Jordan79) and I, as authors, have interests in some of the same themes. In addition to a story with Nightmare Moon as a protagonist, I've also got A Very Minty Summer Sun Celebration on hiatus (but soon to be revived, I think!) that tries to reconcile some G3 characters with FiM.
On the other hand... We've got some differences in philosophy. I deliberately try to avoid "cosmic" stuff and move everything to a smaller and more relatable scale. Bigger is not better.
Nightmare Moon hadn't really done much to make Twilight think talking wasn't a free action thinking about it. I don't think she'd launched a bit of magic from her horn during any of the brief fights we'd seen, only responded with a physical threat when Twilight had goaded and charged her and had shown a love of talking herself
I can't believe that never occurred to me. I was just pissed off that their was no epic fight between the Elements and Nightmare Moon.
Reminds me of star gate oddly enough
> twilight use lecture target stunned for two turns. HEhe
On the dodging thing you should read " just dodge " it is hilarious
Firstly, "then" should've really been "than". Secondly, has Nightmare ever been able to torture kittens? Unless she managed to foalnap some before facing Celestia in battle, the answer would be a definite 'no'.