The following two years were the best of Lone Heart's life. Never before had he felt so accepted and full of potential. He made it his priority to get as good as he could with the reading spell. He didn't know if the spell had limits, but it was a very complicated one when it reached a point where he had to read multiple books for long periods of time, due to the amount of concentration required to extract information for more than one source all at once. After all this time he was able to read seven books at the same time for two hours before getting a headache, which depending on the length of the book, was enough to finish it.
What really made his magical training advance immensely was his discovery of a new form of training. It all started when he was practicing the spell that Gaia used to move long distances quickly by using roots to go underground. Having no luck moving a small ball through a short distance, he figured he should read the book on the next spell while he practiced in order to save up time. However he was surprised when in the moment he cast the reading spell, his concentration was broken and he was with a sharp pain in the head. Utilizing more than one spell at the same time was harder than anything he had ever done before. The amount of concentration needed to multitask magic was absurd. Lone Heart however, found this one of the greatest discoveries he had made because in the end, the harder it was, the more benefits it gave. He practiced the micromanaging of spells religiously. Every time he learned a new spell he would take his time practice it until he was able to perform it and then continue the practice while he used other spells on the side, be it reading or making the plants dance around him. He noticed that as he got better at multitasking, the spells were getting easier to learn. It was much easier to concentrate on a spell now that he was used to concentrating on many at once.
His social life had also improved. After a few months dealing with Lucky Streak's energetic demeanor and Sunray Novel's flirtatious attitude, he had actually got to know them better. He realized that the librarian's crush on him was nothing to be taken seriously, it was not love by any means, just a girl being dreamy of the new handsome colt who happened to be a prodigy at magic. He also took knowledge of Lucky Streak's long life crush on Sunray, so he made sure to let some comments about how he liked her slip while in the mare's presence. Soon enough they were the newest happy couple in the palace. They were a lot more enjoyable now that the librarian had stopped her advances on him and the Princess's helper had been convinced by his new marefriend to slow down a little.
He had spent a lot of time with Twilight Sparkle. In fact the princesses had made sure they spent a lot of time together, sending their respective students to each other's residences at least once a month, sometimes to spend the night even. Not that he was bothered by it, he actually liked to spend time with his fellow student. He found himself being more and more relaxed around her. All of the defensive barriers he put up around others had faded in time whenever he was with her. Often times one would arrive while the other was practicing and then would properly watch the training until their friend was finished. This created a friendly competition between the two unicorns trying to surpass each other in their magic training, Lone Heart with his prudence in multitasking and Twilight with her ability to perform high level spells with little to no practice. They had become all around best friends during the couple of years together.
Their encounters, however, had ended six months ago with no explanation from the princesses beside them saying they were busy. What the apprentices did not know was that, the alicorns were making the preparations needed for the return of Nightmare Moon. The princesses had agreed that their students were ready to be sent to ponyville and start their test to see if they were fit to become alicorns themselves.
Completely oblivious to this information, Lone Heart was pissed that for some reason the princess ordered him to spend the night guarding the ruins of the castle of the royal pony sisters.
"They could have a least gave me a ball or something…" He said, as he examined the big stone contraption in the entrance of the ruins for what it had to be the hundredth time. He was bored out of his mind; there was literally nothing to do in this destroyed castle.
"Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. Nobody knows my sorrow…" He sang. He was just trying to pass time really, and since he was all alone he had no trouble making fun of his own situation.
"Uhh…what are you doing?" Said a feminine voice, behind him.
He jumped at the sound and quickly turned to see the owner of the voice. She was a cyan pegasus with a cloud with a rainbow in form of a lightning bolt as her cutie mark and rainbow colored mane and tail.
"…Nothing…" He said, feeling his introversion kick in all at once. Quickly he remembered his duty and took a more imposing stance. "What are you doing here?"
He then noticed four other mares walk into the ruins.
One of them was a light pink pony with three yellow balloons for a cutie mark, she had puffy mane and tail with a darker shade of pink.
There was a yellow pegasus with three pink butterflies for a cutie mark, she had light pink mane and tail.
An orange pony with three apples as her cutie mark, she had a tied mane and tail of blond color and a cowboy hat.
Then there was a white unicorn with three blue gems as her cutie mark, her mane and tail were purple and curly.
"…Rainbow Dash…Who's this fella?" The orange pony said, a southern accent very noticeable in her voice.
"Oh, a new pony!" Said the pink pony starting to jump around excitedly. "Once we get back to town I have to make the biggest party for you!"
"Listen, I'm just guarding the ruins." Lone Heart said with a slightly annoyed voice. "So if you could just leave…"
"And why are you guarding the ruins huh?" The cyan pegasus said flying at the colt's face with an angered expression on her face. "I bet you're working for Nightmare Moon!"
"Wait, so no party?" The pink pony said looking a little saddened.
"Oh let's not be too hasty Rainbow Dash." The white unicorn said approaching the stallion. "I'm sure he has a perfectly good reason for being here."
Before he could say anything he saw none one other than Twilight Sparkle walk in through the door.
"Girls, what's with all the…" Her words died in her mouth as she saw the familiar colt. "…Lone?"
"Twilight?" He said in a surprised tone.
"You know him?" Said the yellow pegasus.
"Yes! He is an old friend of mine." She said smiling, as she approached her friends.
"THE PARTY IS STILL ON!" Yelled the pink pony.
"You really need to learn not ta make assumptions about other ponies Rainbow." Said the blond pony.
"Well, he is guarding the ruins while nightmare moon is out. You can't say that isn't suspicious!" Answered the rainbow colored mare.
"Well, she is right. What are you doing here Lone? Don't you know that Nightmare Moon came back?" Said Twilight, trying to make sense of the situation.
"What?!" He said surprised. Of course he and Twilight had discussed this theory many times but he never thought it would actually happen. "Princess Gaia told me to guard the ruins tonight. I had no idea!"
"But why would she…" The lavender unicorn said. "…did she know we would come here?"
"Ahem." The white unicorn said catching everyone's attention. "I hate to ruin the reunion but…eternal night and all."
"Right!" Twilight said with a determined look on her face. "Now that we have the elements of harmony, we can defeat Nightmare Moon!"
"Is that what those things are?" Asked a confused Lone Heart.
The two pegasi brough the stone spheres to the ground.
"One, two, three, four…there's only five!" The Pink mare said.
"Where is the sixth?" The cyan mare said.
"The book said: 'When the five elements are present a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed.'" Said Twilight, lying down in front of the spheres.
"Magic?" The stallion said.
"Well it's worth a try." The lavender mare unicorn said as she began to channel her magic. "I could really use some help here Lone"
"We better leave and let 'em concentrate." The hat wearing mare said as she and the others left, leaving Twilight and Lone Heart alone.
"What can I do to help?" The young stallion said, approaching his friend.
"Well you do have better concentration than me, maybe you can…" She couldn't finish her sentence as a tornado of dark mist enveloped the spheres.
"What the fuck?!" Was all Lone Heart could say as the mare beside him jumped in the tornado with him following behind.
In a bright flash of light they were in another room with Nightmare moon standing in front of them laughing, the elements of harmony behind her.
"That's the real Nightmare Moon?!" Lone Heart said startled.
"Yes!" Twilight said meekly.
Bringing out whatever ounce of courage he could muster, Lone Heart to a step forward. "You deal with the elements. I'll hold her off!"
"Oh you couldn't possibly think that a foal like you could stand a…" Nightmare Moon began, before she was interrupted by a tree golem breaking through the wall behind her and slamming her into a wall away from the elements.
"GO!" He said as he commanded his tree to hold the evil mare in place.
Twilight wasted no time as she ran to the elements and channeled her magic into the spheres. She didn't like her friend's plan and was about to say that it was too dangerous, but she had no time to argue.
"You insolent foal!" The alicorn said as she blasted Lone's tree ent into pieces with one spark of her horn and teleported in front of Twilight only to see the spheres shine brightly and zap her away from them.
"No…NO!" She said desperately.
But to everyone's surprise the spheres stopped shining.
"No! Where is the sixth element?!" Twilight cried out.
The alicorn then lifted her front legs before bringing them down and shattering the orbs into pieces.
"Hahahaha! Did you really think you could defeat me? Now night will last forever!" Nightmare Moon said in a triumphant tone. However she then glared fiercely at Lone Heart. "Now I will deal with you."
Twilight could only watch horrified as the evil mare appeared in front of her friend with a flash of dark mist and used her magic to forcefully slam him against the wall.
Lone Heart knew this was the end. He was facing one of the most powerful beings in the world, there was no way he could overpower her. Time seemed to slow down, as he thought about his life up until now. He had some good moments, but in general it wasn't a very pleasant one. He grew to accept his fate in the short seconds he was held by the mare's magic.
'No' He though while struggling with all his strength against her magic, but the struggle proved to be useless. 'It can't end like this. I could have been so much more! I deserve more than this!"
"Now, you will learn what happens to those who oppose me." Nightmare Moon said as she looked deep into his eyes, taking in all of the emotions he was pouring out as she began tighten the grip around his neck. However she saw something else, something she had not seen in a very long time. "You…"
"You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that? Well you're wrong because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!" The alicorn turned to look at the six mares standing in front her, never letting go off the grip she had on the stallion that was slowly choking.
She was surprised when the shards of the orbs levitated and went in the pony's direction.
"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness! Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter! Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of loyalty! The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!"
The shards of the orbs floated around each of the five ponies.
"You don't have the sixth element!" Nightmare Moon said as she wrathfully slammed the pony in her grip against the wall once more, causing him to lose conscience. "The spark didn't work!"
"But it did. A different kind of spark." The lavender mare said as she turned to face the other five. "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all…" she turned to face the evil mare defiantly. "…are my friends!"
Just as she said those words a bright light filled the room and then the sphere of the sixth element appeared.
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those elements are united by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element." Twilight said as Nightmare Moon took a step back, frightened. "The element of magic!"
The shards turned into necklaces around the five ponies, while Twilight got a crown and they were lifted into the air by a powerful energy. A rainbow then emerged from the five of them and enveloped Nightmare moon as she screamed and all ended with a bright flash of light.
After a while all of the mares started to wake up from the event.
"Aw, my head!" Rainbow Dash said while rubbing her temple.
"Is everypony okay?" Said Applejack in a worried tone.
"Lone Heart!" Twilight said as she saw the still figure of her longtime friend lying on the floor, blood slowly seeping out of his mouth.
The lavender mare felt her heart stop. She ran as fast as she could to his side and shook him violently, in desperation.
"Lone, wake up!" She yelled with tears falling from her eyes. "Why did you have to fight her like that?! You knew she was stronger!"
The other mares could only watch in horror as the scene unfolded before them.
The sun then took its place in the sky, ending the eternal night. A spark of withe light appeared in the room as roots came out of the ground and before anyone knew both of the princesses rushed in and were beside the fallen stallion using whatever magic they could to help heal him.
"This should not have happened! It was a mistake to send him here!" Gaia said with an extreme tone of desperation in her voice.
"None of us could have predicted him to actually fight her head on!" Celestia said trying to calm her friend down. "We can still save him, just focus for a minute!"
Twilight was not hearing the princesses beside her. All she could hear was a faint echo.
Why had he been so foolish? He knew it would be a stupid idea to confront Nightmare Moon but yet had done it anyway.
"Why?" She said quietly, to herself.
Then all became quiet as Lone Heart coughed blood, spraying some of it on Twilight, and gasped for air.
"I ain't dead…yet." He said with a raspy voice.
All in the room let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.
Twilight broke down sobbing as she hugged her friend tightly.
She had never experienced loss like that. She now realized that she couldn't imagine her life without him. He had been there when her training got too hard and helped her push through; he had been there for her when she missed her family and needed a shoulder to cry on and had been there the next day to cheer her up. He had always been there when she needed him, but now she almost lost him in a matter of seconds.
"It's ok Twilight." The male unicorn said, in an attempt to make his friend stop crying. "I'm ok."
"You are so stupid!" She said angrily, letting go of him and getting up. "You knew it was suicide to fight her. Why did you do it?"
Lone Heart stumbled got back on his hoofs with some difficulty. "So you wouldn't have to do."
He had done it for her? He had risked his life, knowing that death was not only a possibility but the most likely outcome, and he had done it all for her?
She rushed and hugged him as tightly as she could.
"Never do that again!" She said, almost breaking down again.
"I can't promise anything. You know how I like to fight eternal beings that can wipe me out in a second." He joked. All of the ponies smiled at his at ability to keep a bright attitude even in a situation like this. "Now, not that I don't like hugs, but you're kind of hurting me right now."
"Sorry." She said as she pulled back with a smile on her face knowing her friend was ok.
"That's like, what? Two?" The young stallion said, moving his body around. "Aw…At least three broken ribs…and maybe punctured lung. Eh…I'll live."
"I'm glad that you are alright Lone Heart." Celestia said as Gaia checked her student for any more wounds and used her magic to heal him. She then turned to face the mare that was once Nightmare Moon. "Princess Luna, we have a lot to talk about."
Luna had watched the whole scene. She could not believe that she was capable of doing something like this.
As the tears fell from her eyes, she could not bring herself to look at her sister in shame.
"Look what I've done." She said between sobs. "I…almost…"
"But you didn't sister." The princess said, earning gasps from all of the ponies that didn't know she was her sister. "You are free now; it's time to leave all of the hatred behind. Will you accept my friendship?"
"Oh forgive me sister." Luna ran up to her sibling in tears. "I've missed you so much."
"I've missed you too, dear sister." Celestia said shedding some tears of her own. "Now we can be a family once more."
Luna then walked up to the now healthier looking colt.
"And to you I own a thousand apologies." She said looking down. "I've hurt and if they had not stopped me…"
"Oh don't worry about it." Lone Heart said. "I've had much worse. Like when I was training to control the tree golems. Never thought going through five windows could hurt so much."
The ponies laughed appreciating his dark humor.
After they came back to ponyville Pinkie organized the biggest party the young colt had ever seen. She said it had to be so big because she had to celebrate the return of princess Luna, his arrival, his survival from the fight and the new friendship they shared, which he didn't think it was that much since he had only known them for a few hours, but maybe near death experiences united people. Who knows?
Celestia noticed the frown on her student's face, despite all of the celebration around her.
"Why so glum, my fateful student?" She said with a warm smile. "Aren't you happy you're quest is finally over and you can go back to your studies in Canterlot?"
"That's just it, princess." Twilight said, with a sad look on her face. "I've made so many friends here, but now I have to leave it all behind."
The other mares looked sorrowful as well upon hearing their new friend's statement.
"That's why you're staying!" The princess said with a bright smile.
"What?!" The unicorn said surprised.
"I want you to stay here and discover the magic of friendship. You must report me your findings from your new home in ponyville."
Twilight smiled brightly at this as her new friends came to celebrate the good news with her.
"Wait…does that mean I won't be able to see Lone Heart anymore?" The mare said now remembering her longtime friend. She had almost lost him today and definitely did not want to lose him again because of her new residence.
"Not at all!" Princess Gaia said approaching them. "I and Celestia have been talking and we both agreed that it would be too cruel to separate such good friends. For that reason, Lone Heart will also reside here."
Twilight was living the dream right now. This was perfect. Her new friends and her old friend, all in the same place? It was too good to be true. Imagine all the adventures they could have together. Her thoughts however were interrupted when Lone Heart spit out his drink after hearing the news.
"You're making me stay here?!" He shouted.
All of the ponies laughed at his antics. This was getting to be a really good day.