"Can't we just check in on them?"
"I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
Rainbow Dash gave a lengthy sigh, "But while we're out here, our friends could need our help. Think about it, if they needed it, who would they get it from? We're all that's left."
"Dad's a tough pony," insisted Star, "and Twilight can hold herself pretty well as well, not to mention all the others that are with us. If they needed help, they have each other."
"And if the others were all taken out by the windigos?" Rainbow Dash challenged.
Star considered for a moment, then saw Rainbow's bandages again, "But what about you? You're hurt and in no condition to fly."
"You said it yourself," responded Rainbow Dash, "I have a broken leg. The last time I checked, a leg and a wing are two different parts of my body."
Star tossed the idea back and forth in her mind. She wasn't certain what she should do, then thought about her father and what he would do in this type of situation.
He always knows what to do in situations like this, Star thought, I wish he were here now.
Rainbow Dash extended her wings and broke through her bandages, smirking in the process. She looked towards Star and started to take off into the sky.
"Look," she said, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to help my friends out. You can join me if you like, but the more help they have, the better chance they have at getting those stupid windigos out of here."
Star thought briefly, then watched as Rainbow Dash flew off into the sky wobbly. Her wing still hurt, but the fire in her heart to help her friends out helped push her past that pain and keep going. Star noted the loyalty that Rainbow Dash was expressing and nodded to herself, calling out to Rainbow Dash in the process.
"Wait for me!"
"We all clear on the plan?" Lunar asked, looking around towards the others.
A series of nods, agreements, and acknowledgements went around as the ponies looked back up towards the windigos. The previous burst of magic from the unicorns and earth ponies provided for a noticeable disturbance in the ancient spirits and their magical doings, but the fact that they were still present let Lunar and Twilight know that they weren't done quite just yet.
"Combining our magic is perhaps the only way to push them back and get rid of them," Twilight stated. "We need to show them just how powerful ponies of all kind can really be when we come together and unite as one group!"
"Right!" The others agreed.
Joining hooves with one another, each pony could feel a different kind of magic flow through each of them. When the magic reached Twilight last, it allowed her to lift the others up and evitate them in the air. The magic coursing through each of them strengthened and tingled a bit. With the added bit of alicorn magic, Twilight and Lunar, along with all the others, released the built up magic towards the windigo spirits and managed to push them back.
The windigos responded with a bit more snow being thrown at the unified troops and, despite the strong spirit they showed, managed to knock the group of ponies back. The windigos glared down at them and flashed their eyes towards them, trying to freeze up their fiery spirits.
"I don't understand," Lustrous thought, "how are they still there?"
"Was our magic not strong enough?" Astral winced.
"I could've sworn that it would work," Lunar said, looking around and quickly shifting his glance, trying to come up with a possible reason why the combined efforts failed.
"We could try again," Twilight suggested, looking up towards the windigos, "they're backing off, from the looks of it."
"That took a lot from us," Noct admitted.
"It really did," added Eclipsa, "if we try it again, I don't know if we can do it any more than that."
"How about a couple more ponies then?"
Twilight and Lunar turned to see the new voice, spotting Rainbow Dash shakily making her way towards them, as well as Star. Twilight smiled, relieved to see Dash up and about, while Lunar paid more attention to Star.
"Star," he called, "what are you doing here? It's dangerous out here."
"Helping you guys out," Star replied, looking to Rainbow Dash briefly. She nodded, then turned back to Lunar, "If we are serious about this whole thing, then it's imperative that everypony helps, not just a few."
"Still," protested Lunar, "you know how dangerous windigos can be. You could get hurt."
"And so could you," responded Star, "besides, it's my choice and I choose to help you. Unification, remember? We need to do this together!"
Lunar tried to offer words to Star against her helping, but couldn't find any. Rather, he felt happy that she was here by his side and smiled a bit.
"You have your mother's stubbornness," Lunar chuckled, "that's for sure."
"Will you let me help you out then?" Star insisted.
Lunar nodded slowly, "Okay."
The group of ponies came closer together as the snow started falling atop them once more. Twilight's defensive spell began to fail and left them vulnerable, leaving just one last opportunity at this. With the cold and frigid temperatures settling in, Lunar and Twilight once again joined hooves and called for the others to join them.
"We need to do this together!" Twilight repeated.
The others quickly joined hooves and again began to levitate in the air. The magic flowed through each of the ponies in a way unlike before. It warmed their hearts up, focused on the good in each of them, and amplified it to an intense level. The windigos, still circling around and trying to disband the joined group of ponies, saw this and flashed their eyes again, but it was of no use.
With the ponies below shining brightly in the night, magic once again shot up and out from the center of the circle they formed, followed by a bright, beautifully colorful rainbow. The rainbow and magic arched and bent over, striking the windigos from the top this time instead of the bottom.
The windigos neighed and howled again, in some serious pain. The magic that the ponies shot them with forced them back and disbanded them completely, the unification the ponies below showcased overwhelming the separation they intended to bring to the others. After a short while, the clouds they were hiding behind disappeared and they fled as well, leaving the skies cleared with the moon still raised high into it.
Touching the ground again, the light dissipated around the ponies. They looked around and saw that the windigos were nowhere to be seen, taking note of the sudden warmth as well. As a result, the snow began to melt slowly, revealing the pony trapped and buried underneath it. Twilight and Lunar approached them - as did the others - and saw just who it was.
"Princess Luna?" Twilight wondered.
"Worse," Lunar said, "Nightmare Moon."
"Nightmare Moon?" Rarity repeated.
Noct nodded, "She is the corrupted version of Princess Luna. She, uhh…"
"S-She's powerful," Star finished.
"We'd always heard of the stories of Nightmare Moon," Lustrous stated, "but we mostly assumed them to be false."
Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow, "Well, it's clear that they're not."
"You do know that if, and when, she defrosts," Lunar murmured, "she'll come straight for us."
"Either that," added Eclipsa, "or attack us."
"Maybe," Twilight responded, "but we'll be ready for her if that were to happen. Clearly, there's not much we can't do if we don't come together and unite as one. That's what Unity will be about."
"Unity?" The others repeated.
"I feel that that should be our placeholder name for now," Twilight explained, "until we get things situated, that is."
"It sounds like a nice name," encouraged Lunar.
"One that I can get behind," added Noct.
"It offers hope," Eclipsa thought.
"And that's something that we can provide!" Star beamed.
"There's not much we can't do when we do things together," Pinkie Pie shrieked happily.
"So it's settled then," Twilight smiled, "we'll be known as Unity in the interim."
"Go, Unity!" Star giggled.
"Go, Unity!" The others chimed, each of them raising a hoof in the air triumphantly.
Looking down at the scene below them, Discord smirked, rubbing his chin lightly with his claw. Specter rolled his eyes, but joined Discord's glance and gave his attention to the ponies that just brushed back the windigos.
"Very interesting," Discord oozed, "very interesting, indeed."
"What is?" Specter wondered, shifting his glance back up to Discord for a moment.
"Those ponies down there," replied Discord, "what they did, I mean."
"And?"
Discord sighed and stared at Specter, "Really? You just saw what they did."
Specter rolled his eyes again, "No, I mean why is it interesting?"
"Because, Specter," Discord smirked, pointing towards Nightmare Moon's frozen body, "perhaps they can defeat Nightmare Moon. That could leave us with an opportunity to strike when the chips get rattled a bit."
"So says you," Specter said under his own breath.
"I can already see it," Discord continued, not hearing Specter's remarks, "she thaws out, attacks the little demons below, they fight back, they get tired, and then we swoop in and defeat them in one fell swoop."
"Was it really necessary to say 'swoop' twice within ten words of each other?" Specter sighed, holding his hoof up to his face.
"C'mon now," Discord chuckled, "lighten up. Stop being a Depressing Doppel."
"Doppel hasn't been associated with the Kingdom in years," Specter advised, "I don't even know where he may be."
"Still," said Discord, "look at things in a positive perspective. It does wonders, you know."
"Sure it does," Specter said in a dismissive tone.
Discord looked back down and smirked again, using a little bit of his magic to speed up Nightmare Moon's thawing. He pointed a finger towards her body and sent out a small candle to heat up the ice around her. The candle and embers reached down quickly and positioned itself just above the body, melting the ice a bit more quickly.
"Now we just sit back and watch," Discord said, sitting back in the rocking chair he pulled from a hole in space.