Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
The Elements of Redemption
Even though Nightmare was intimidated by Eternal Twilight’s power, she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. “Guards! Get into formation! Only she knows where the king is!”
Nightmare and the pegasus guards all flapped their wings and soared towards Eternal Twilight. The taller alicorn glared at them, her eyes glowing white as her horn crackled with energy. “Foals,” she growled as bolts of lightning shot from her horn towards them. Nightmare conjured up a magical shield and swerved her body so that the shield covering her would protect the guards. The guards were spared but one lucky bolt zapped Nightmare’s right wing. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, landing on top of her other wing.
Others in the crowd rushed to help her while Trixie got in front of them. Her horn flared with magic as she prepared to fight Eternal Twilight, even though she knew she didn’t stand a chance. “Enough monster! Cease your hostilities on these people and return the sun to the sky or else face the wrath of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
Eternal Twilight smirked. “You want the sun back? Don’t worry it won’t be nighttime for long. Once I find the Elements and retake the Crystal Empire I’ll return the Sun to her rightful position. So stay out of my way!” With that, the wicked alicorn turned into a violet cloud of magical energy and flew out the building.
Gilda had finally gotten the stars to stop spinning around her head and flew off in pursuit of Eternal Twilight. Nightmare winced as she failed to flap her wings. Instead she used a spell to turn herself into an indigo cloud of energy similar to Eternal Twilight’s cloud and tried to follow. But Eternal Twilight was long gone.
Nightmare’s cloud carried her back to the library where the cloud dispersed and dropped her at the front door. She struggled as she walked into the library and started looking through the books.
Smog came running into the library. “Nightmare! We’ve got to stop Eternal Twilight!”
Nightmare didn’t look up from her book search. “Way ahead of you Smog. We need to find that reference guide yesterday. Ow!” She winced as pain shot through her wings.
Smog noticed. “Hold on, you should be resting. Your wings are completely scorched!”
“My wings will be fine. I’m an alicorn, fast-healer and all that."
"I know that," Smog sighed. "Doesn't mean I can't be concerned."
"Really, it's fine. I should be back to flying in a few days…a week at most.” She gave a weak smile.
“But how are we going to beat Eternal Twilight if you’re not at full strength?”
Nightmare tossed Smog a book. “Now is not the time for idle chit-chat! Find me something about the Elements of Redemption.”
At that moment, an angry Gilda burst into the library and poked a sharp talon at Nightmare. “And what are the Elements of Redemption? And how did you know about Eternal Twilight? Are you a spy? You look a lot like her, ya know! Your hair is even doing that wavy thing that hers was! Maybe you’re her younger sister and when she becomes evil queen she’ll give you Peaceville to rule as evil princess! Is that it?”
Trixie charged into the library too. “Trixie agrees with the griffon! One alicorn trying to hog the spotlight when I am to entertain the king is suspicious, even if she is friendly. But two alicorns trying to steal Trixie’s show is another thing entirely!”
Gilda and Trixie were both pulled back by Sunset Shimmer’s magic. Nightmare noticed that Discord and Chrysalis had also joined them in the library.
“Stop being stupid you two,” Sunset said. “Nightmare Moon wouldn’t attack Eternal Twilight, or get hurt defending those guards if they were working together. Unless it was to try and trick us, but what would be the point?” Sunset advanced on Nightmare. “Now when I was the king’s student I read a little about the Elements but you might know more about them.”
Nightmare sighed and said, “Not much. I read about Eternal Twilight’s return and that the Elements of Redemption are the only things that could stop her, but I don’t know what they look like or where they are.”
Discord popped up beside her, wearing reading glasses. “So you were looking for a reference guide on them? This might be yours then.” He stuck his arm down his throat and pulled out a soggy, thick book.
The others stared at him. “You ate the reference guide?” Smog asked. “Why?”
Discord summoned a hairdryer and used it to dry the book. “My doctor said to eat more leafy greens. The book had page leaves and some pictures had green in them. I honestly don’t know why you’re so surprised.” He passed the book to Smog who immediately tossed it to Nightmare. The book still covered in Discord’s spit and all.
Nightmare grimaced and held the book in her magic. As she searched through the book, Smog spoke. “How much did you guys catch of Eternal Twilight’s speech?”
“She said she’d return the sun back so um…” Chrysalis trailed off awkwardly.
“Yeah, but the phrasing was odd,” Smog said. “And did you notice how she said anypony and nopony, instead of anybody and nobody?”
“I noticed,” Discord huffed. “And on behalf of all the more interesting creatures in the universe, I’m rather offended!” He brought Smog, Gilda, and Chrysalis into a hug. “You shouldn’t exclude other species from a conversation, it’s rude!”
“Well, being over hundreds of years old, she’s likely to be old fashioned,” Nightmare said. “Oh, here it is.”
She read aloud, “‘The Elements are known by many names including the Elements of Forgiveness, Redemption, and/or Harmony. There are six Elements but only five are know: The Elements of Love, Freedom, Nobility, Knowledge, and Zeal. The last one is a mystery. The last known location of the Elements was the ancient castle of the Royal family.’ Which means they would now be located in what is now called the Equestria forest. Okay then. Smog, you stay here and guard Peaceville and the library. Protect the citizens and make sure Eternal Twilight doesn’t find out about this.”
“What? No way, I’m going with you!” Smog said.
“Smog you stay here and guard this town or so help me, no gems for a month!”
Smog gulped and hurried to push the others out of the library. “Well don’t let me keep you! Best of luck everyone!”
As the rest of the group made their way to the forest, a violet cloud of magic stalked them. It had heard everything it needed to and flew ahead of the group.
Once the group was facing the entrance of the spooky forest Discord clapped his hands. “Alright chums, let’s do this! Discord!” he roared, charging into the forest.
Sunset slapped her face in annoyance of Discord’s antics. “Good grief, he just ran inside.”
Nightmare groaned. “Look, I appreciate your offer for help but I’d rather do this on my own.”
Gilda gave her a look. “Why’d you let us follow you this far then?” Nightmare didn’t have an answer to that.
Sunset said, “Listen Nightmare. We’re not leaving the best shot Peaceville has of beating Eternal Twilight alone in the forest, especially not our friend. Besides, someone has to make sure Discord doesn’t set the forest on fire. Again.”
And so the five of them went into the Equestria forest. As they walked, Nightmare tried to learn what she could about the forest. “So, have any of you been here before?”
“Trixie once toyed with the idea of adventuring into the forest to find and capture a dangerous creature in hopes of bringing it back to fight as part of her show. But then I realized how stupid that plan was.” Trixie looked over to the others and they all shook their heads. It sounded like only Discord was crazy enough to charge into the Equestria forest.
“We should be very careful,” Chrysalis warned. “Lots of changelings have come here before. Not everyling makes it back. The ones that do tell me about strange weather and bloodthirsty monsters.”
Gilda looked at Chrysalis. “Funny, I didn’t think changelings were brave enough to risk this place. You guys are tougher than I thought!” She smiled and gave Chrysalis a clap on the shoulder with her wing.
Following the group, the violet cloud of magic swirled angrily. A horn briefly materialized within the magical mist. The horn flashed once as a teleportation spell conjured up a large bag filled with orange, sparkling crystals. The crystals rained down on the path ahead of the adventurers. The purple cloud then flew away.
Nightmare frowned as they turned around a corner and saw that a huge pile of crystals blocked the path. “Oh, brilliant. Okay anyone with a horn, help me clear these away.” She charged her horn, ready to blast her way through.
“Stop!” Sunset commanded. “Don’t use any magic! Those are Overcharge crystals! Too much unicorn or alicorn magic could set off a chain reaction and cause the crystals to blow up. Gilda, you and Chrysalis will have to fly us over.”
“Oh please! That’ll take forever! Allow Trixie.” Trixie charged her horn and blasted the first crystal off to the side. The rest of the crystals immediately began to glow dangerously.
“Trixie, you idiot!" Sunset screamed. The group ran away from the crystals, back the way they came. They had covered a little ground before a tremendous explosion almost took their faces off. Nightmare, Sunset, Chrysalis, and Trixie each quickly threw up a shield spell. The combined shields were successful in protecting the group from harm.
Nightmare gave a sigh of relief before glaring at Trixie. “You fool! Think before you act!”
Trixie sheepishly smiled. She quickly ran back to where the Overcharge crystals had been before reporting back to the group. “Path is clear now.”
“Oh whoop-dee-doo!” Sunset snarled. “You want a medal? Seriously, you almost blew us all up to the Crystal Castle and back!”
“Trixie regrets nothing!” The clearly insane Trixie shouted with pride.
Gilda shrugged. “Eh, I’ve dodged worse messes than that. Well are we just gonna sit here preening our feathers or do we have a bad guy to stop?”
As the group continued their journey, Nightmare gave Sunset a smile. “Thanks for warning us, at least. You were right Sunset Shimmer.”
Sunset basked in the praise. “I usually am.”
The purple cloud hissed angrily at the group’s survival and shot towards a creature in the forest, casting another spell as it flew by. The creature was a manticore, with the body of a huge lion, bat wings, and a scorpion’s tail. As the group continued into the Equestria forest, the manticore roared and ran towards them.
“Yes!” Trixie squealed. “A worthy opponent for the Great and Powerful Trixie to fight. Yet sadly, my audience is rather small. No matter!”
But instead of attacking, the manticore completely ignored Trixie, Gilda, Sunset, and Chrysalis and jumped straight at Nightmare. He hugged Nightmare tightly and started licking her.
“Eww! Unhand me! Why are you licking me?” The disgusted Nightmare tried to push the manticore away.
Gilda got ready to shove the manticore off Nightmare, but Chrysalis spoke up.
“Wait! I think I know what’s going on,” Chrysalis said. A green flash transformed the changeling into a rather cute female manticore. The manticore glanced at her before returning his attention to Nightmare. Chrysalis nodded, as if expecting this. This time she transformed into Nightmare Moon’s perfect clone.
This time the manticore’s eyes flicked from the real Nightmare Moon to the fake one. Chrysalis guided the manticore’s face towards her and opened her mouth. Green energy poured out of the manticore’s face and into the changeling’s mouth as she fed off the love inside him. The energy continued to pour out of the manticore for some time until Chrysalis closed her mouth.
She turned into a female manticore once again and the two hugged and licked each other’s faces. Eventually she drained most of the manticore’s energy, putting him into a happy sleep. She turned back into a changeling and rejoined with the group.
“How did you know that would work?” Nightmare asked.
Chrysalis smiled. “All creatures, no matter how scary or cruel, have a little love in their hearts. But when he paid more attention to you instead of a female of his species, I knew something was up. It tastes like he was hit by a variant of the Want It Need It spell. It caused him to fall desperately in love with the first thing he saw, which was you. I’ve only tasted that love off of two other victims of that spell. Not as tasty as real love but very filling.”
Nightmare looked back at the snoring manticore. “The Want It Need It spell? That’s rather dangerous magic.”
“I’m just glad I ate that spell before he got himself hurt,” Chrysalis sighed happily. “He’s not that scary. You’d be surprised what love can make another creature do.”
The five of them continued their journey. Along the way, something popped into existence right in the middle of the five. “GUESS WHO? I’M BACK, BABY!” Discord sang.
The other five jumped in surprise before glaring at him. “Where were you back when we were fighting the manticore? Or escaping that explosion!” Nightmare demanded.
“Well, we’ve all had some exciting adventures, haven’t we?” Discord grinned. “Speaking of adventures, my quest to set fire to the forest has hit an unexpected problem.”
“Why were you trying to set fire to the Equestria forest?” Gilda asked.
“Well if I don’t who will?” Discord asked. “Sadly, the trees don’t seem as eager to please this time.”
Discord pointed to a large group of huge oddly shaped trees. The trees were all shaped like large wolves. The logs, branches, and leaves forming legs, fur, and snarling faces.
Nightmare tilted her head. “Odd. Those trees look like timberwolves. Though, the few timberwolves I’ve seen were a lot friendlier-looking than those.”
As she spoke, they noticed that the trees were getting closer. The trees were alive and were stalking towards them like pack of wolves.
“What did you do?” Sunset screamed at Discord as she put up a shield spell, as a timberwolf spat an exploding acorn at them.
Discord shrugged. “Wasn’t me!”
“If it wasn’t you then it has to be Eternal Twilight, ” Nightmare said. “She’s probably behind the Overcharge crystals and the Want It Need It spell that hit that manticore.”
The group gasped as the timberwolves took a deep breath and all spat out a stream of green fire at the group. The magic-users winced as the fire burned and weakened their shields.
“They want revenge,” Discord cried. “I always feared this day would come! In the Everfree forest, you burn trees. But in the Equestria forest, trees burn you!”
“Cease your prattle!” Trixie commanded. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will not be defeated by something as silly as an enchanted fire-breathing tree army!”
Discord grinned. “Right you are my dear! This situation is very silly. Time to act accordingly! The way to live life best is with a song in your heart! Now which song can we use?” He conjured up some sheet music but frowned at the lyrics. “Giggle at the ghostly? What am I, five?”
“You sure act like it,” Gilda muttered.
“That’s the spirit Gilda!” Discord tossed the sheet music aside. “You know what? I’ll improvise!” And then he sang:
“When I was a little drake and school was bringing me down...”
“He’s kidding. He’s kidding, right?” Nightmare asked the others.
“The homework and the teachers, they’d always make me frown...”
“Sadly, he's not, ” Sunset muttered.
“I'd hide under my chocolate cloud
Or play some Discord Ball
But Granny Babel said that wasn't the way
To deal with fears at all”
“Should I hit him? I feel like that would help," Gilda asked the others.
“She said, ‘Discord, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fear
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Snap your fingers to make them disappear.’
Ha! Ha! Ha!”
With each ‘ha!’ Discord snapped his fingers and three timberwolves turned into harmless flower poodles. He then zapped the rest of the timberwolves, continuing his song.
“So, laugh out loud at logic
‘Cause I love all that’s illogic
Rip apart all puny reason
For chaos is in season
With order, I take offense
So snortle at making sense!”
“And if all else fails…” Discord stopped singing, yanked Trixie’s hat off her head and waved his hand over it. Dozens of fireworks blasted out of the hat, flying towards the terrified timberwolves. “Burn it all! Burn it ALL! Aha ha hah!”
The fireworks rained down on the timberwolves, resulting in a colourful explosion. Once the timberwolves were no longer a threat Discord placed Trixie’s hat back on her head. “Well that was fun. Right guys?”
Gilda chuckled, “Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that firework finale.”
“My dear, what fun is there in doing the expected?” Discord winked at the group.
“Um…don’t you think that was a little harsh?” The cautious Chrysalis asked as she stared at the burnt tree bark.
“Oh, those were just normal trees brought to life by Eternal Pain-in-my-neck. It’s not like they were real timberwolves,” Discord defended. “I once met the friendliest timberwolf puppy one could encounter and he was nothing like that.”
Chrysalis frowned. “Fine, but you didn’t have to burn the trees.” Discord sighed and snapped his fingers. New trees shot out from the ground and grew to respectable sizes. “Better. Thank you,” she said with a smile.
Sunset shivered. “I think I just had a flashback to my childhood.”
“Aw, come on,” Gilda grinned. “That was funny. Who doesn’t love a few good harmless explosions?”
Trixie chuckled and tipped her hat to Discord. “Trixie approves your performance!”
Even Nightmare giggled a little. “Well that was fun but we need to keep moving.”
The group continued through the forest until they reached a river blocking their path. The river was overflowing with water, making it difficult to cross. “Huh. Discord can you teleport us all across?”
Discord groaned. “I already busted a tree army, what more do you want?”
Just then, the group heard someone sobbing. A huge river serpent, with a long purple body, and orange hair was crying so much it was adding a fair amount of water to the river.
Nightmare winced. “Poor guy. Excuse me sir, why are you crying?”
The river serpent looked down at the group. “I…I was just sitting here, playing with my friend, when this horrible cloud of purple smoke just zipped past me and stole my best friend! My Mister Smarty Pants!”
“Mister Smarty Pants?” Gilda said.
“That dumb toy that’s so popular with kids for some reason? That’s what all the drama is for?” Sunset rolled her eyes.
“How dare you?” Trixie snapped at the two of them. “Trixie herself had to rely on friends who were not flesh and blood when she was younger. And I’ll bet that amateur Eternal Twilight just stole this magnificent creature’s best friend!”
Trixie walked towards him. “Trixie would be happy to help you, mighty river beast. Behold!” Trixie took off her hat and waved her hoof over it. “The Great and Powerful Trixie summons this gift for you!” She reached in and pulled out a grey doll with button eyes, a brown mane and blue shorts.
The river serpent examined the doll. “This isn’t my Mister Smarty Pants. That’s a Miss Smarty Pants.”
Gilda whispered to Sunset, “What’s the difference?”
“I know that,” Trixie said to him. “This was Trixie’s very own Miss Smarty Pants that she played with when she was small. Trixie wants you to protect her until we can find your friend.”
Everybody else gasped. “Are you certain, miss unicorn?” the river serpent asked. “You would give me your childhood friend to take care of just because I was upset? I couldn’t possibly take her from you!”
“Trixie insists. She knows you will take good care of Miss Smarty Pants. When we find and return your friend to you, you may then return Trixie’s friend to her. How does that sound?”
The river serpent took the doll and set it down gently on the ground. “I will keep her safe for you!” He saluted. “You can count on me! Now please, allow me!” He then folded up his body to make a bridge for the group to cross.
As the group crossed and said farewell to the river serpent, they finally spotted the ruins that held the Elements. As luck would have it, the rope bridge to the ruins was broken off at one point and barely holding on to the other.
“I got this one guys!” Gilda declared. She flapped her wings and flew down into the thick fog to recover the broken bridge. She caught the bridge in her beak and pulled the bridge up to the side opposite of her friends. As she flew up, a purple patch of fog twisted around Gilda’s vision and snaked around her ears and eyes. Breaking free from the fog, Gilda landed on the other side and was about to tie the rope bridge back together, when she heard something ghostly call her name. Gilda frowned and stepped on the rope to keep it from slipping away.
“Okay knock it off with the lame ghost whispers, whoever you are! Get out here and face me like a griffon!” she ordered.
“We’ve been awaiting your arrival. For you are the best flier in all of Everfree, aren’t you?” the voice whispered.
Gilda smiled a little. “Who, me? Thanks, I am pretty awesome. Hey, could you tell the Shadowbolts that? I’ve been thinking about joining them.”
“No, Gilda. We want you to join our team.” A yellow pegasus mare with an orange mane, wearing a blue flight suit and purple goggles appeared through the fog. “I’m Spitfire.”
A light blue pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane, wearing the same uniform appeared next to her. “I’m Soarin.”
“And you know who I am.” Another pegasus mare flew down next to them. She was cyan blue, with a mane made up of every colour of the rainbow. She wore the same blue uniform as the others but her goggles had a gold tint to them.
Gilda grinned in shocked delight. “No way. Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash gave her a cocky grin. “You know it.”
“Holy smoke!” Gilda gave Rainbow a claw-to-hoof bump. “Look at you! Awesome flight-suit Dash! What are you doing out here?”
“I got into the Shadowbolts, Gilda. And I impressed Nightingale enough that she let me form my own branch. We’re the Wonderbolts! The most awesome aerial team in the Equestria forest!” Rainbow grinned as she circled her friend. “And soon we’ll be the coolest team in all of Everfree! But I couldn’t have gotten this far without you being my friend back in flight school. That’s why I want you to be captain. Just think how cool it would be for a griffon to lead the best pegasus team ever! The coolest, fastest, bravest griffon I’ve ever known.”
“Now you’re talking!” Gilda fist-pumped the sky. “Rainbow Dash, you are awesome! Sign me up!” She picked the rope back up. “Just let me tie this real quick and we’ll ditch this dump.”
Rainbow pushed her away from the rope. “No! It’s them or us. You wouldn’t leave your best friend for those losers, would you?”
Gilda hesitated, looking from the Wonderbolts to her new friends. “Wait a minute,” she said, glaring at Rainbow. “The Rainbow Dash I knew may have been impatient. But she would have waited for me to finish up here and she definitely wouldn’t make me choose between my friends! You’re not fooling me Eternal Twilight! We’re gonna find those Elements and you’re going down!”
‘Rainbow’ scowled at her. “Not if I find them first!” The Wonderbolts flew towards the castle as Gilda rejoined her friends.
As they flew, ‘Soarin’ looked at ‘Rainbow’. “What were you expecting?”
‘Rainbow’ glared at him. “What are you talking about?”
‘Soarin’ continued. “I’m just saying, what were you expecting using the same tricks as before?”
‘Spitfire’ nodded in agreement to ‘Soarin’. “He’s got a point. Sure you put your own spin of things but it didn’t work the first time either.”
“What first time? What are you talking about?” ‘Rainbow’ asked. She rubbed her head. Why were her own illusions arguing with her?
‘Spitfire’ sighed. “You’ve read enough books to see how this will work out. I’m sad to say, you don’t appear to be filling the role of protagonist either.”
“Silence!” Eternal Twilight commanded as the Wonderbolts burst into violet clouds and reformed into her main body. She landed on the ground and scowled. “Now is not the time for me to be arguing with myself, so keep it together! Keep. It. Together!" Her eyes glowed dangerously.
She was about to flap her wings and fly to the ruins when she noticed that her hooves were stuck under some roots. Eternal Twilight growled as she used her horn to slice through the thorn-covered roots that had ensnared her hooves. Once her hooves were free, she looked up to see that one Wonderbolt remained.
‘Rainbow Dash’ stood in front of her. “Come on Sparkle, you’re better than this.”
Eternal Twilight’s eyes widened, then flashed angrily. “…What did you say?”
The pegasus didn’t answer. ‘Rainbow Dash’ turned back into a violet cloud and rejoined Eternal Twilight’s body. Shaking her head to clear her disorganized thoughts, Eternal Twilight flew to the heart of the ruins.
Meanwhile, Nightmare and her friends had reached the main chamber. Five sphere shaped rocks sat on top of a large pedestal in the center. Gilda and Chrysalis flew up and brought the five rocks down to the rest of the group.
“The book said when the five are present a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed,” Nightmare said.
“Outstanding,” Sunset said, rolling her eyes. “Could it maybe have been a little more specific? A spark could mean anything.”
Nightmare’s horn glowed with power. “I’m going to try a few things. Step back.”
As the others stepped away from her, Discord looked over his shoulder. “Uh, guys? Purple cloud of doom incoming!”
Eternal Twilight’s cloud of magic burst into the room and swirled around Nightmare and the five rocks, spinning into a tornado. With a flash of light, the Elements and the two alicorns vanished.
“Oh, we do not need this. Fan out and find her!” Sunset ordered the others. As Trixie, Gilda, and Chrysalis started searching, the orange unicorn glared at Discord. “Why didn’t you stop them?”
“What was I supposed to do? My powers don’t work on that meanie Eternal Twilight,” Discord said, his eyes filling up with fake tears. “What kind of horrors lurk in her mind, do you suppose? It’s probably filled with stuffy organization and Order!” He spat out the last word and shivered. “She’s like every mean teacher I’ve ever had rolled into one.”
“Hey guys, check out the light show,” Gilda shouted, her wing pointed at the flashing windows on the opposite side of the ruins.
Meanwhile, Nightmare woke up saw Eternal Twilight standing over the five rocks. Seeing this, Nightmare’s horn glowed as she tried to transfer magic to the rocks and set off the ‘spark’. The five rocks glowed around Eternal Twilight’s hooves, but the glow died down as fast as it had started.
“But…where’s the sixth element?” Nightmare said.
Eternal Twilight sneered at her. “You’re looking at her.” At the younger alicorn’s confusion, she continued. “Did you really believe you were going to be the first to use the Elements? I am the original owner of the sixth element. And now that the other five are with me, I can add their power to my own.”
The furious Nightmare scowled. “Do you truly think I need the Elements to beat you?”
She fired off a beam of darkness at Eternal Twilight, who countered with her own beam of magic. The two hexes clashed with each other, before Eternal Twilight’s hex overpowered her own and blasted Nightmare off her hooves and against the wall.
“No…” Nightmare winced as her body ached all over. “I won’t let you win.” She struggled and got back on her hooves. But she knew she didn’t stand a chance alone.
Eternal Twilight walked towards Nightmare who backed away. “I don’t want to fight you little one. What is your name?”
Nightmare hesitated in midstep. “I’m Nightmare Moon.”
Eternal Twilight smiled. “Well met, young Nightmare. You know, we don’t have to fight each other. You and I are both alicorns, and you have every bit of potential that I had when I was your age. I offer you to become my student, Nightmare Moon. I can teach you all the magic I know and you can teach me all that this world has to offer. I have been absent for a long time and I would appreciate your help in understanding this new world so that I may better rule it. I’m not the monster you think I am, I only want there to be order in this world. When I become queen of this world I would be happy to make you a princess. You’re more than deserving of it. What do you say?” Eternal Twilight leaned down to look Nightmare in the eye.
Nightmare blinked as she processed Eternal Twilight’s words. She snorted once and frowned up at the twilight mare. “You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?”
Eternal Twilight frowned. “Why would I be kidding? Two alicorns ruling over this kingdom, it’s the smart thing to do.”
“Except a kingdom traditionally has a king in it! What did you do to King Sombra?”
“That old fool is none of your concern. Our world survived without him before and it will again!”
“Fine. But what about the others?” Nightmare charged her horn, too stubborn to give up. “What about the Crystal Empire? What about Peaceville, and my friends? Friends, who you tried to hurt!”
“They were never in any real danger.” Eternal Twilight’s eyes and horn glowed dangerously.
“My friends-”
“FRIENDS!” Eternal Twilight screamed. “What do you know about friends? Whenever I wasn’t studying magic or serving my kingdom I was trying to make friends! But nopony wanted to be my friend!” Nightmare was shocked to see water gathering in Eternal Twilight’s eyes. “I went to parties, I tried to find common interests, and I was nice to everypony! And they wanted nothing do with me!
“They dismissed me as a nerd obsessed with books! They said I should focus on being a princess and to stop daydreaming about friends! If I spent years trying and failing to learn the magic of friendship what makes you think you know any better?!” she screamed.
There was a flash as Discord teleported himself and her other friends into the room. And just like that, Nightmare knew what the ‘spark’ meant.
She did think of these people as friends, friends who had risked their lives to help her. She had come to trust them completely, even if she barely knew them. Talking to Eternal Twilight helped her realize that. And there was something else the other alicorn was right about.
The younger unicorn became resentful, she had read. The bitterness and loneliness in her heart, the book said. “Nopony wanted to be my friend!” Time to fix that.
“You really want to know about friendship?” Nightmare asked Eternal Twilight. “Very well. Sunset Shimmer, whose crystal expertise saved us, represents knowledge!”
As she spoke the five rocks shattered into dozens of pieces. The pieces swirled about in the air and floated over to the six friends. As they swirled around Sunset, they transformed into an orange necklace.
Nightmare continued. “Chrysalis, who fed off the false love from the manticore and refilled its heart with compassion, represents love!”
More shards swirled around Chrysalis and formed into a yellow and green necklace.
“Discord, who banished fear by laughing at danger and at the laws of physics, represents freedom!”
Keeping his eyes closed so that bits of magic rock wouldn’t fly in his eyes, Discord was still excited as another necklace formed around his neck…until he took a good look at. “Pink? Well, I suppose I can always paint it.”
Nightmare ignored him and kept talking. “The Great and Powerful Trixie, who calmed a lonely serpent by giving him her own childhood treasure, represents nobility!”
Trixie beamed as her friend referred to her using her full title. Trixie’s necklace was bright blue.
“And Gilda, who would never abandon her true friends either past or present, represents zeal!”
As a blood red necklace formed around Gilda, Eternal Twilight stood her ground. “That’s only five! You need the sixth element or the rest won’t work!”
“That’s the thing!” Nightmare turned to her friends. “I used to think friends would only slow me down but you five proved me wrong. By talking with you, Eternal Twilight, I realized how powerful my friends and I are when we stand together! These five traits create the spark of friendship. A friendship strong enough to create the Element of Power!"
A sixth rock appeared above them and floated towards Nightmare Moon. The rock turned into a crown with gems in the shape of a crescent moon, a shining sun, and a spark of magical power. The crown lowered itself onto her head.
Eternal Twilight had made plans. When facing the Elements she could have blasted them with magic, or shielded herself, or simply dodged the attack. How stupid would it be if she just stood there like a sitting duck? But as she saw the last element, her greed overpowered her logic.
“The Element of Magic and Power…my element! Give me back MY ELEMENT!” she hungrily charged towards the group as the elements glowed. Light and darkness mixed together and sent magical energy exploding outwards, completely engulfing Eternal Twilight in the Elements’ power.
When the blinding light died down the six friends groaned and stood up. Discord looked around the room and clapped his hands. “Magnificent! Let’s do it again!”
Sunset sighed. “Maybe when the room stops spinning. Well Nightmare Moon, you were right. Looks like we’re the new bearers of the Elements of Forgiveness.”
“That’s just it,” Nightmare sadly starred at the thick purple cloud covering the room. “I didn’t want to hurt her. I wanted to show her how sorry I was that she couldn’t make any friends. I wanted to forgive her and show her that she could be better.”
“And you have. You have made me proud, Nightmare Moon.” The six friends turned to an open window as a huge black shadow poured into the room. The shadow transformed into a living creature. The unicorn that appeared before them had a black coat and mane. The stallion wore silver armor, a red cape, and a small crown. His horn was curved and red, his mouth had two fangs, and his eyes were green and red with dark magic pouring out of them. But King Sombra was much like Nightmare Moon. Both powerful and scary looking people who were actually nice ponies once you got to know them.
The bearers of the elements bowed to their king. Except for Discord, who was trying to bite his Element and asking, “Why aren’t you made of candy?”
Nightmare looked up at her king. “But you said it was just an old story.”
King Sombra smiled. “I said no such thing. I knew Eternal Twilight would return and I knew you would defeat her, but only if you allowed the power of friendship and forgiveness into your heart.”
“Forgiveness?” Sunset whispered.
“Indeed,” the king regally nodded. “Your friendship defeated Eternal Twilight, but it is my student’s willingness to forgive that saved her.”
The purple cloud cleared away and the seven looked at the pony lying there. Eternal Twilight’s armor no longer fit here as she had shrunk down to Trixie’s size. Her coat was now lavender instead of purplish-black. Her mane and tail wasn’t waving like Nightmare Moon’s and had shifted to a plain purple with a single pink stripe. Even her eyes were a normal purple instead of draconic slits. She shakily stood up. Then she cringed and shivered with fear as she looked at them.
King Sombra sat down beside the smaller pony. “Princess Sparkle. You appear to me almost as you once did when we first met so long ago. And yet the wings you gained through your dark transformation have remained with you.” The former unicorn was indeed still an alicorn. “You know, anger once clouded my mind too. But with the power of redemption, I mastered my darkness, as I know you can. We were meant to rule together my friend. Can we be friends again, Princess Sparkle?”
Princess Sparkle’s eyes were filled with tears. “After everything I’ve done?” She spoke softly. “You would forgive me so easily? You’re not m-mad at me? You won’t banish me, or lock me in the dungeon or send me to…magic kindergarten?” she whispered fearfully.
King Sombra chuckled. “Magic kindergarten? Only you would think of such a punishment. Which you shall not receive.”
Princess Sparkle was silent for a full minute. Eventually she moved, but surprisingly she turned not to King Sombra but to the other alicorn in the room. She approached Nightmare and hugged her tightly. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”
Nightmare was shocked at the sudden hug but still returned it. “Um…there, there. You don’t need to apologize.”
“Yes I do!” Princess Sparkle cried. “I tried to conquer the kingdom, I almost zapped those guards, and I tried to hurt your friends! I succeeded in hurting your wings! Your poor wings! I’m a horrible pony! I’m so sorry!”
Nightmare winced as she held the sobbing Princess Sparkle. “Hey, you’re not that bad. My wings will heal in time and you haven’t really hurt anybody besides me.”
“Why are you forgiving me so easily?” Princess Sparkle whispered as she continued to cry on Nightmare.
“Um, we’re the new Elements of Forgiveness,” Gilda suggested. “Kinda part of the job.”
Princess Sparkle dried her eyes and released Nightmare. “In that case, I have to make sure I’ve earned your forgiveness. Please, there must be something I can do to make it up to everypony. Anything.”
King Sombra pointed to the moon. “Well for starters Princess…”
“Oh! Right, of course!” Princess Sparkle’s horn flared with light purple magic. She flapped her wings and raised her front hooves above her head as the moon went down and the sun came up.
King Sombra sighed happily at seeing the sun. “Finally. I never have to waste power moving those celestial bodies by myself, ever again.”
“Yay!” Discord cheered. “Oh, I do love happy endings!” He grinned at King Sombra and waved his hands in the air. “Hello!” he randomly sang.
King Sombra saw the Element of Freedom around Discord’s neck and grumbled. “Oh, great. Him.” He looked at the ceiling. “Why me?”
“Well I do believe this calls for celebration!” Discord snapped his fingers and in a flash of light they were back in Peaceville. Another finger snap, and all the Crystal Heart Celebration decorations and snacks were back in place. “It’s party time!”
And party they did. Ponies and all other creatures in Peaceville celebrated the return of Princess Sparkle and the Elements of Redemption. Smog welcomed Nightmare back and everybody was happy. The celebration lasted well past dinner. But as the party slowed, Nightmare felt her good mood dying down.
“Why so somber, little Nightmare?” King Sombra said to his student. “You’ve won. You can now return to the Crystal Empire. You can continue your studies and you’ll be welcomed back a hero.”
Nightmare looked to her friends. “Must I return home and leave behind the friends who helped me in my quest? I used to think friends were a waste of time but now…I can’t imagine my life without them.”
“Wow. And you’ve only known us for a few days” Discord said as he watched Trixie juggle a pie, a unicycle, a frog, and a plate of spaghetti with magic. He suggested the trick.
“Heh, yeah.” Gilda chuckled nervously. “Stick around with these guys too long and you’ll be begging to go back.” Even though she tried to sound neutral, anyone could tell she didn’t want Nightmare Moon to leave.
“Um, I…if I could?” Princess Sparkle hesitantly asked. At the king’s nod, she cleared her throat and declared, “I, Princess Sparkle, herby decree the alicorn known as Nightmare Moon to take on a new mission for the safety of Everfree. She will remain in Peaceville and send letters to me reporting about her adventures and her friends.” She paused and looked up at the slightly taller alicorn. “By teaching me, I hope that I can become the ruler that Everfree needs me to be. I hope that I will never be corrupted by evil ever again and…I hope that we can be friends…since I have none. Please…can we be friends?” she pleaded.
Nightmare smiled and said, “I would be honoured your majesty.”
And so the party continued.