Chapter 7 : Of Valor and Harmony.
The darkness inside the shrine was pierced by the fireballs assailing Derpy Hooves. Luna tossed an illumination spell at the ceiling, lighting up the entire chamber. Derpy was running around in a circle while the Malum tried to kill her. Derpy was completely unaffected by its magical attacks. The fire was still not sticking, but it still should have burned Derpy to a crisp. It attacked by simply pointing at its target with its limbs. Luna noted that it was only using three of them. Either that was its limit or it was pacing itself. The way it used magic looked remarkably different from what the darker princess was familiar with, but their opponent was nevertheless highly capable of manipulating the aura around it into burning orbs of fire.
Surveying the arena, Luna noted that the Malum hadn't been shy. The shrine was desecrated. Above them, the fresco on the ceiling had been completely destroyed. It had once depicted a scene of Nicodemus standing in the middle of the Everfree Forest casting the spell that had ended his life. Now it was covered in scratches and scorch marks. The stained glass windows were broken. She couldn't tell whether or not the sarcophagus had been disturbed as she wasn't close enough to check, but it wouldn't surprise her if it was. Nicodemus' treasured belongings were scattered everywhere. The Malum had even torn up the walls and the floor in its anger. Some decorations were still intact, including a few shelves that displayed the jars of honey that Nicodemus routinely received. His shrine had been one of the most beautiful structures in Equestria and now it was ruined. Luna felt her blood begin to boil. It looked like the Malum was trying to make a lair and had abandoned the effort before it had finished.
Her companions quickly assessed their surroundings while Luna noticed that the leg she had turned to stone had partially regenerated. It ended in a stump instead of a claw and the Malum kept it tucked in near its body. Derpy ducked just as the Malum tried to impale her with one of its claws. It followed through anyway and took a chunk out of the wall Derpy had been standing by. Undeterred, their opponent tore out a block of the marble wall and tossed it at right at Luna. She caught it with a manipulation spell and tossed it right back at the Malum, who destroyed it by swatting it out of the air.
"Quick, somepony say a cool line!" Derpy urged.
"You're going down, Malum!" Wedge shouted.
Derpy clopped her hooves together in approval. Luna couldn't complain. At least they were in good spirits. Trixie manipulated several of her effects in place beneath her cape and ignited them. She aimed specifically at the face of the Malum. Sparks of several colors complete with festive noises flew at their opponent. This attack temporarily blinded her target. Luna assumed that Trixie's cape was fire retardant, which was great because the Malum had impressed upon her that it was somewhat of a pyromaniac. By the way Trixie was standing they could not see the rockets hidden beneath her cape as she continued firing at the Malum like some kind of surface-to-air canon.
Biggs and Wedge threw their discs at it. This time they both managed to hit it since it was busy trying to clear the light from Trixie's fireworks out of its eyes. Two bloody bruises began forming where the discs hit. The Malum backed away until it hit the ceiling above it with a small crash. Debris rained down on them. Trixie's assault stopped while she prepared to reload. Luna jumped into the air with her staff held ready and struck it directly across the face while it was still distracted. The Malum attempted to impale her, but missed by just an inch an only managed to shred a little bit of her coat.
It raised two of its legs in front of itself and cast a spell. A blue orb surrounded by an icy aura appeared in front of Luna. The Malum threw it at the floor, which immediately became encased in ice. Biggs and Wedge lost their footing. Trixie did as well just as she had prepared her second barrage of artillery and sent fireworks flying everywhere. Luna had to dodge a few rockets while the Malum came at her with four of its claws. The ferocity of its attack against her was clearly evident. She was its greatest threat. Luna blocked each attack with the staff and watched as Derpy silently flew behind the Malum. She tossed her rock at it and then latched onto the back of its head, covering its eyes with her hooves. Annoyed, the Malum caused a burst of air to send the two ponies with wings away from it.
Luna fought to retain her balance, which left her vulnerable. The Malum did not squander this opportunity and launched itself at her. Luna dropped out of the air as it slammed into the spot where she had just been. She attempted to break her fall, but failed and hit the icy floor on her side. The ponies that could not fly were still having a very difficult time keeping themselves steady. Helping them would only take a moment. Luna touched the ice on the floor with the blunt end of the staff. It didn't need to be told what to do. The ice exploded upward into various bits and pieces that became water before finally evaporating into the air. When the ice had cleared, Luna noticed that she was right next to where Nicodemus slept.
The spell that had kept him preserved had been lifted. Nicodemus had become very old. This sent a chill down Luna's spine. He should have been dead, but Luna could tell that he was still breathing. His mind had been corrupted just like the other victims of the Malum. Nicodemus was far too ancient to go wandering around on his own and had elected to remain in place until the end finally came for him. The protective plate glass lid had been smashed. If she wanted to, she could nuzzle him.
A horrifying thought crossed her mind. If the Malum was crafty enough, it would take him as a hostage. Replacing the ancient arch mage would not be an easy task. Luna hoped that the Malum would not realize this before they defeated it. She had wanted to take care of this matter quickly, but now she realized that they needed to deal with this threat even faster.
"Look out!" Derpy exclaimed.
Luna rolled to safety before the Malum could grab her. Biggs and Wedge immediately stood in front of her as the Malum recovered from its tackle. It elongated one of its limbs and tried to trip the guards, but they both managed to jump over its leg before their hooves could be swept out from under them. The Malum remained perched on Nicodemus' coffin for a moment while it planned its next move. It suddenly looked down at the pony breathing shallowly beneath it. Luna's heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat.
"Everypony stand back, Trixie is about to be magnificent!" Trixie exclaimed.
She received no reply. Trixie stood on her hind legs and put her front hooves forward. Her face was fixed in concentration. She immediately conjured a huge fireball in front of her that was a bit more powerful than what she was hoping for. Biggs and Wedge cried out in surprise as they shielded themselves and Trixie could feel the heat coming off the ball in massive waves as its power hit her with such force it knocked her lips back and burned the spit out of her mouth. Derpy stopped flying around the shrine and found herself hypnotized by the glowing ball of light. With a little shove from Trixie, it encased the Malum as it jumped off Nicodemus' coffin. It cried out in absolute agony.
She must have been watching the Malum when it was trying to kill Derpy. To see that it was possible was more than enough for a mime of her caliber. She didn't need a sigil or a set of instructions. Magic was merely the manipulation of physics to create a desired effect. This new development meant that Trixie now knew how to cast fireballs and could tell other unicorn ponies how to do so as well. Even Luna wasn't privy to such knowledge. Worrying about that could wait until later.
At first, Luna was positive that Trixie had killed it. The fire evaporated after a moment and revealed that the Malum was still alive. Trixie had burned off all of its hair and a good deal of its skin. It broke away from them, now on the defensive. The Malum cast a major healing spell on itself to keep from blacking out. Several green orbs danced across its flesh, sealing wounds as quickly as they possibly could. The temporary increase of endorphins would enable it to keep fighting, but not for very long.
Derpy Hooves tossed her rock at the Malum, which broke its concentration and stopped the healing spell. Biggs threw his disc at it. The Malum snatched it out of the air and screamed in pain as the disc became red hot in its claw. It released the weapon, which promptly returned to Biggs.
"You're losing! Badly! Give up now!" Luna ordered.
"It would rather die than kneel to a horse," the Malum said.
Luna jumped into the air and charged at it, preparing the spell that would turn it into stone. The Malum opened its mouth, emitting a bright flash that temporarily blinded her. While she was busy trying to clear her eyes, the Malum enchanted one of its limbs with a fair amount of electrical power. It hit her across the face with enough force to knock her out of the air. Her staff siphoned the brunt of the magical attack, but could do little about the physical force behind the abusive strike. She hit the ground hard and shook as the electricity coursed through her body. Her guards and Trixie stood around her while she recovered.
Derpy hit the Malum from behind with her rock again, which did nothing but cause it to scream in frustration. Tired and in enough pain to lose its mind, it turned its attention on the irritating guards with the discs it had problems catching. All of its legs crackled with electricity as it lunged at them. Trixie put a barrier around herself and Luna. Biggs tried bucking it and missed by a wide margin. Wedge didn't move fast enough and found himself at its mercy. The Malum flew above them once more with Wedge held captive.
It sent enough electricity through Wedge to power Manehattan for a year, but his armor held steady. Wedge grinned and laughed nervously when he realized he was still alive and smiled at the Malum, who promptly tore his helmet off. Derpy threw her rock at it again, which the Malum caught and kept. The mail mare tried to get in close to save Wedge, but the Malum kept her at bay. No matter how hard it hit her, Derpy kept right on coming as if nothing had happened.
The Malum finally snatched Derpy out of the air by her wing, tossed her into a shelf full of honey, and threw her rock at her ribs. Trixie dropped her barrier and helped Luna heal. She offered a hoof to the princess and allowed the larger alicorn to lean on her for a moment while they both ran over to Derpy to see if she needed help. Luna was about to cast a healing spell when Derpy emerged from the mess covered in honey. The wing the Malum had grabbed her by looked a little crooked. Derpy grasped it in her mouth and pulled it sharply forward. A sharp crack emitted from her wing as she popped a dislocated bone back into place. Luna was going to provide her with a surge of endorphins just in case, but Derpy was already in the air with a jar of honey in her hooves. Luna joined her.
The Malum put one of its claws on Wedge's head. Before it could kill him, Derpy tossed the jar of honey at it. The Malum made no effort to block the projectile and didn't even wince once the jar collided with the top of its skull. They immediately knew something was wrong when the electricity coursing through its body stopped. It dropped Wedge and let out a horrific cry of pain. It crashed into the ceiling, dragging its head across the fresco, trying to get the honey off.
"What have you done?!" the Malum demanded. "It can't breath!"
Luna saw hives erupting all over its skin and could hear that it was now wheezing noticeably. She smiled, realizing exactly what was wrong with the hairless bundle of joy.
"You're allergic to honey," Luna said simply.
Derpy grabbed another jar of the sweet nectar from a shelf that was still intact. Luna helped Wedge to his hooves while Trixie followed Derpy's lead and began throwing the offerings of honey at the Malum. Its limbs swelled up immediately and soon it was powerless against the onslaught and dripping like a honeycomb.
"Give up yet?" Trixie asked. "Trixie can do this all day."
"Enough!" the Malum screeched.
A strong whirlwind entered the shrine. The force of the gale threw Derpy out of the air while the other ponies braced themselves against the wind. Debris flew everywhere. Trixie and Luna cast shields and joined in a huddle with the other members of their team. The Malum prepared another fireball. It targeted Luna, who lowered her barrier just before it would have struck and batted the fireball right back at the Malum with her staff. As if hives weren't enough, the Malum was now on fire that actually stuck to it. Luna countered the wind with a spell of her own that nullified the gale.
Howling with rage, the Malum bolted for the ceiling, crashing through it and flying blindly into the night. Trixie and Luna's guards ran out of the shrine in a hurry while Luna took to the air in flight with Derpy Hooves by her side. It didn't take long for them to catch up with the Malum.
"Ponies! No offensive magic to speak of! Anamorphic! What a useless world!" it screamed.
Their adversary was flying poorly, still on fire and experiencing anaphylactic shock. The Malum dipped sharply, trying to fly low enough so that Derpy and Luna would not be able to follow it. It went crashing through the trees, breaking down branches and beating itself up further. Biggs and Wedge scored a couple more hits with their discs, causing their enemy to roar in hopeless frustration. The Malum veered upward, but not before Trixie shot it with a few more mortars.
"This is starting to become overkill! It has been through enough! Let me handle the rest!" Luna shouted to her team.
They relented. Derpy Hooves dropped out of the sky. Literally. Luna was sure she landed safely and continued following her adversary. She needed to be careful. This was how it had caught her last time. It didn't matter that the Malum was in less than perfect health this time around. They were still in the sky together and it had never felt so open. The Malum vanished for a moment before reappearing a little higher in the sky. It was trying to teleport away so that it could get a chance to heal. The Malum blinked again several times, unable to get very far since it could not concentrate. Luna followed it higher into the clouds. It launched an array of small fireballs at her, all of which missed.
She wanted nothing more than to turn this thing into a rock and watch it fall out of the sky, but that's not what Celestia would do. She had to be virtuous. She had to show honor and give it one last chance to surrender. Luna wasn't sure how she could ever get along with this beast and help it find its way home, but it was the right thing to do. Then again, so was killing it. Was that not just? Valorous? The Virtues and Elements were so confusing. It was painful to take them so literally. As a gesture of good faith, she summoned a small rain cloud that put out the fire burning through the Malum's skin and even added a mid-level healing spell.
"Last chance, fiend! Will you surrender?" Luna asked.
The Malum stopped trying to get away from her. In a matter of seconds it stopped, turned, and launched at her. Its legs elongated and grabbed her by her front legs. She kept her staff this time and prepared to cast the spell that would turn it into stone. Luna was heading right for the Malum's mouth. It was clearly going to try to bite off her head. Luna quickly shoved the staff into its maw, preventing this grisly end. The sharp tip of alexandrite gem punctured the roof of its mouth and it instinctively bit down, but the staff did not break.
"I'll take that as a 'no'," Luna said.
She put everything she had into her next spell. The Malum began turning into stone with its mouth as the source of the infection. It let go of Luna as its throat seized up. Luna pulled her staff from its mouth and soared high above the Malum while it began panicking. She brought down her weapon in one crushing blow. It began turning to stone more rapidly as it hurtled towards the earth with Luna riding on top of it keeping her staff firmly pressed against its temple. As they fell to the ground, colorful auras containing various cutie marks began leaking from the Malum's stone maw and gathering around her staff.
They broke through the trees and hit the ground hard enough to make a small crater. Luna remained perfectly still with her staff still on the Malum's head. She waited one full minute before she finally allowed herself to relax. Luna observed with a great deal of amusement that some of its arms were still outstretched, which would make it difficult to pose once they found a spot for it in the gardens. Luna also noticed that the souls were leaving the staff and heading back towards Ponyville without her help. Not all of them departed and some were very different from the others. These had to have come from people on other worlds that had no way of going home. This was a problem that she would need to address later.
Luna breathed a satisfying sigh of relief. She looked at the moon and the stars as time stopped. She had won. There was no way anypony could continue to doubt her now. This was a major step on the path to reclaim all of her former glory. It wouldn't be long now until she was once again given control of the night. Yet she couldn't have done it by herself. She owed the ponies who had come with her much more than she could repay. They had risked their lives for her.
Tears began falling from her eyes that she quickly wiped away. She shuddered and controlled her breathing. She needed to be regal about this. Time had determined that her moment was over and resumed. Luna heard her companions approaching and cast a minor healing spell on her face to remove any evidence that she had cried. She strapped the staff to her back and climbed off the statue.
"Poof, we're done," Derpy Hooves declared.
Biggs and Wedge inspected the Malum to make sure that it was incapacitated. Once they passed judgment in favor of their assumption, they stood on their hind legs and gave each other a hearty brohoof. Trixie bucked the Malum once in the face, hoping to chip something off but failing to do any damage whatsoever.
"What are those fireflies doing on your back?" Derpy asked Luna.
"They are souls, not fireflies. I do not believe that they have a way of returning home," Luna said. "Speaking of which, we need to go back to the shrine to see if Nicodemus has recovered."
"What about our trophy?" Trixie asked.
"This thing ain't goin' anywhere." Wedge replied.
Luna hurried back to the shrine, eager to see if their troubles were over. Once inside, she immediately approached his sarcophagus. He was young again and his mark had reappeared on his flank. Luna checked to see if she could sense magic at work and confirmed that a powerful spell was emitting from Nicodemus. The barrier was back in place.
"Nothing is amiss here, but the night is not over. We need to check Applejack's barn. After that, we will need to help locate the citizens who have gone astray," Luna said.
"Princess Luna, if Trixie may be so bold, do you think you could kind of sort of not mention the fact that this was technically all her fault when we get back to Ponyville?" Trixie asked.
"I won't say anything if you walk upright for a full month while wearing a dunce cap," Wedge said. "You'll also need to be juggling three eggs at all times and if you break even one of them I'll tell the entire town that in addition to conspiring against the royal family you also kinda had a little something to do with tonight, which shall live on in infamy as the Night of the Living Zomponies."
"Wedge, it's not fair to prosecute thought crimes and while I appreciate your input, tonight will not be known as the Night of the Living Zomponies," Luna said.
"A thought crime is premeditation. That counts. I would urge you not to treat treason lightly, ma'am," Biggs said.
"Do not worry; she will atone for her sins. I shall see to that. However, I would appreciate it if you do keep some of the things you have learned this evening to yourself, particularly the bit about how Nicodemus might be a Lich."
"What do you think about this?" Wedge asked, appealing to Derpy Hooves reluctantly.
"I was wondering if the Bareback Tavern serves muffins," Derpy said.
"No, I meant about this whole thing with Trixie."
"Who's Trixie?"
"I'm Trixie, you fool!" Trixie exclaimed.
"Hooray for progress! I knew that. See, that time she didn't refer to herself in the third person. I think that when you do that you become detached from yourself. You shirk responsibility for your own actions. You hide behind an identity you create, or something. I can't put it into words. I'm sorry, that doesn't answer your question. Am I going to talk about what she's done? No, Princess Luna said not to. Besides, I don't like gossiping. It's not nice."
"Yeah, I guess I see your point," Wedge muttered.
With that taken care of, they returned to the barn. Luna was still a little worried. Just because Nicodemus had been restored didn't mean that everypony would have the same luck. There was still plenty that could go wrong. Some souls might get lost or even inhabit the wrong body. The door to the barn was shut and she could hear a lively conversation going on inside from where she stood. Everything seemed to be in order. Luna knocked on the front door a few times.
"Rainbow Dash," Luna said, recalling the password Scootaloo had requested they use earlier.
The door was flung open and their entrance was met with great fanfare. Luna remained stoic as they cheered for her, but she was immensely moved. Biggs followed her example. Wedge, on the other hoof, couldn't possibly grin any wider. Trixie tilted her hat down to hide her face. Derpy spaced out for a moment and then shrugged off the excess admiration. The Cutie Mark Crusaders came to meet Luna at the door.
"Did the souls return properly?" Luna asked.
"Yup, they sure did. Everyone is back to normal," Applebloom replied.
"I knew you could do it, Princess Luna!" Sweetie Belle said.
"Can we help look for stragglers?" Scootaloo asked.
"I wouldn't exactly call them that, but do feel free to assist so long as you are in the company of an adult," Luna replied.
"Maybe we will earn our cutie marks doing this. I bet we'll each get a flaming compass!" Scootaloo said.
"Don't get your hopes up, kid," Wedge admonished, glancing at his covered flank.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Applebloom declared.
The three fillies galloped out of the barn towards the town.
"I told you not to go alone!" Luna called after them.
Zecora, Red Iris, and Hunter approached Luna next.
"If only it had been us that had sprung you lose. I was actually the mage who went with you when you voluntarily confined yourself. You might not have noticed as I was in uniform. I will never be able to apologize enough for that," Red Iris said.
"Hysteria favors crowds, Red Iris. It can be hard to make a decision in front of your peers. Think nothing of it," Luna said.
Iris smiled.
"Humility. I see you're taking your lessons seriously," Iris said.
"I like how she avoided mentioning Athena entirely. Speaking of which, where is that ditz?" Wedge asked.
"She left for Ponyville the moment some of the citizens began recovering without saying a word," Hunter explained.
"I wonder if this has humbled her any?" Iris mused aloud.
"Don't count on it," Luna replied.
"You know what I think her problem is?" Iris asked. "I think she's afraid. You were gone for a very long time, Princess Luna. Although I hear that Athena is mostly full of hot air, she still has a position of power. With you back from the moon, Celestia might be tempted to dismiss her."
"You might be right about that," Luna agreed.
Luna hadn't thought of it like that before. Athena just came across to her as a vindictive snob, but perhaps she was actually afraid of losing her job. She would still be a noble and having done work for Celestia she could easily find employment anywhere. If she really missed being an adviser, she could travel to another country and try her luck with their government.
"I'll make sure that those kids are safe," Iris said. "I think I can keep up with them."
"I need no proof to tell you that you will need an extra hoof," Zecora said.
"I'll go as well. They are a lively bunch," Hunter said. "I think they argued about you for at least thirty minutes, princess."
She had to smile at that.
"Then let us all return to Ponyville together," Luna said, eliciting a cheer from all of her subjects.
Luna waited for the other ponies in the barn to leave. She closed the door and began following the crowd back to Ponyville.
"I counted thirty mares and seven stallions. With odds like that, it's unfathomable that I still don't have a girlfriend," Wedge complained.
"We can find a copy of the local census in the mayor's office. With that, we can begin accounting for everypony." Luna said, ignoring Wedge.
Their trip back to town was leisurely. Ponyville was full of activity as the populace searched for their friends and family. They were all working together and did not seem to require any further help from Luna. The mayor's office was near the town square and a line had already been started outside of the building, which was somewhat odd. Luna and her team had to move passed the grateful citizens to the front of the line, shaking hooves and taking compliments the entire way. Inside, a task force had already been assembled. Doctor Gesundheit and Nurse Redheart were among them, making sure none of the ponies had been seriously injured.
Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Spike were sitting at a desk marking off names as the citizens arrived to report that they were safe. Pinkie Pie and Applejack were passing out food. Fluttershy brushed passed everyone carrying a bag full of medical supplies. If they were here, that meant Celestia was back.
"Well, I'll be! Look who it is," Applejack stated, the first to notice Luna.
"Good evening, Applejack. Or rather, good morning," Luna greeted.
"Ain't it, though? Word is you fixed this whole thing without even using the Elements of Harmony. Is that true or is Applebloom fibbin'?"
"We managed," Luna replied with a nod, gesturing to her teammates.
"Hey, it's Derpy! Hi, Derpy!" Pinkie Pie shouted, waving at Derpy Hooves frantically.
Derpy Hooves smiled and nodded.
"Pinkie, she's like five hooves away from you. Inside voice, darlin'," Applejack said, flicking both of her ears to siphon out the scream.
"Well, this is certainly unexpected," Rarity stated as she joined the group. "Twilight, dear, take a break and do come here for a moment."
The progress of the line was shortly halted as Twilight stepped away from the desk to chat with the heroes for a moment.
"Who do we have here?" Rarity said, gesturing toward Trixie. "And in the company of the princess herself and such handsome colts, even. One would think she might be at the root of the problem, yet it would appear that she has actually done something to stop it."
"Come on, you've got to give Trixie some credit. She may be just a teensy bit obnoxious, but that doesn't mean she's a bad pony. I'm glad she helped the princess. Trixie, you did a good thing this evening," Twilight said.
Trixie chuckled nervously. Luna checked on Wedge, who was sweating under the strain of keeping his tongue clamped between his front teeth.
"I need to step outside, ma'am," Biggs said, breaking from the group.
"Would you like somethin' to eat first? It's free," Applejack said.
"Yes, that might keep me from saying something foolish," Biggs said, taking a plate in his mouth with an apple strudel on it.
"This caramel apple looks explosive. So delicious, in fact, that you should be charged with treason. I know we've just met, but I can already tell that you're a danger to the public," Wedge said with a series of pained expressions, unable to contain himself.
They all looked at him as if he were crazy. Wedge piled three caramel apples on one plate while muttering bitterly to himself about how much he really needed and followed Biggs outside.
"Long night?" Applejack asked the princess.
"Very," Luna replied, nodding.
"Where's Dash?" Derpy Hooves asked.
"With a search party," Rarity replied. "Clerical work is beneath her."
"That reminds me. Princess Luna, when you get a chance, Princess Celestia is waiting for you at the local library. You remember where my house is, right?" Twilight said.
Luna nodded.
"I had best go there now, then. Keep up the good work and let me know if you need anything," Luna stated.
"You've done quite enough tonight. Let us handle it and go take a load off," Applejack said.
She went outside. Her guards were sitting at a nearby table eating the food they had acquired. Once they saw Luna, they stood to attention. Wedge had to wipe a few crumbs off of his face.
"I need to go see my sister. I wish to do this alone. You are all relieved from duty for the evening. However, I. . ."
Luna paused for a moment and cleared her throat to quell the quiver in her voice.
"I want to thank all of you for helping me. This would have been much more difficult, perhaps even impossible, to do by myself. Biggs, Wedge, I am appointing both of you as my personal escorts effective immediately. DD, I am very happy that we were able to become friends. I would like to get to know you better in the future. Thank you all so much."
Derpy Hooves smiled and nodded quietly. Wedge stood on his hind legs and jumped into the air, pumping his front legs in victory.
"Yes! Finally, a promotion!" Wedge shouted excitedly.
"No problem, ma'am," Biggs said, saluting.
Luna turned to Trixie, who noticed that she hadn't been included in the initial commendations.
"I have heard that Twilight Sparkle recently put the whole town in danger over a doll. I suppose that's similar to what you have done, but far less serious. Despite that, you are a valuable ally. There are very few mimes among unicorns. In fact, you are the first I have ever met. Though you were forced to help, you went above and beyond your obligation to assist. I hope that your incorrigible nature can be lessened because I would much rather consider you an ally than an enemy. It is indeed as Twilight Sparkle has said. I am glad you helped. You did do a good thing this evening."
"Trixie is grateful. She would thank the princess for giving her a chance to redeem herself, but is in no way looking forward to magic kindergarten."
"Play the role of a big sister. Help the other fillies. As I'm sure you know, the physics of magic are rather difficult even at the elementary level. If you help them with that you will undoubtedly make fast friends," Luna said.
"Trixie has no choice," Trixie said.
Luna nodded and addressed the whole group.
"I shall see you all in a few hours for our meeting at the tavern." She said.
Luna left them and headed off toward the library. Twilight's bizarre front door was acting up again. This time she had to pull out to open it as opposed to pushing in. Celestia was waiting inside, reading a book on a chaise lounge sofa. She stopped once she heard Luna enter. Luna was not certain if it was appropriate to bow, so she merely nodded in acknowledgment.
"Did you know they actually had to look up what they needed to do in the absence of the princesses and an adviser?" Celestia asked with a grin.
"You know I've always been more disposed to dealing with problems myself, Tia. It's the only way to be certain that they are done correctly."
"Athena said you spoke with Discord. How did that go?"
"Quite well. If not for him, I'm not sure how long it would have taken to find out what was really going on."
"I can't say I approve, but I suppose it was necessary. The problem is that we owe him for his help now."
"We'll think of something."
"Ares said she conspired against you in front of all our soldiers. Is that true?"
"Regrettably."
"Interesting. She denied what Ares told me."
"I think she acted appropriately given the circumstances."
It took so much effort to tell Celestia that. Red Iris had to be right about Athena and Luna couldn't let her lose her position just because she didn't like her. That would lack compassion.
"That's quite something for you to say," Celestia said. "It looks like you've raided the armory. I see that the Staff of Justice has taken to the former victims of the Malum."
"Yes. It pains me to say this, but I believe they might be stuck here. We could put them in the Ether, but that just doesn't seem right."
"Or we could just release them from this world, which would cause them to go into our afterlife, whatever that may be. Perhaps we could reincarnate them."
"I'm not so sure that would be wise."
"I know. It would probably be best to hold a council regarding that. Did you find out what caused the incident?"
"Are you familiar with The Great and Powerful Trixie?"
Celestia snickered and nodded.
"She dealt with a Lich and has caused us to lose our bestiary. It is still intact, so we will have to retrieve it later. I've made her my vassal and have already passed judgment."
"I'll uphold your decision."
"Good."
"I do hope she closed the ceremony properly."
"She claims that she did, although it certainly wouldn't hurt to be careful when we go to retrieve the book. When exactly did you get back?"
"A few hours ago."
"Did you return before we had won?"
"Yes. Twilight and her friends wanted to help, but I entrusted the situation entirely to you. I would have given you until the morning before sending in Twilight with the Elements. I wish I could have helped, but we are no longer able to fight together. One of us does have to remain behind in case the worst should happen."
"Don't worry. You can take care of the politics all you like. I despise that duty."
"Yes, I do seem to be good at that. I am glad you are safe, Luna. We will need to have a new window made for the Hall of Honor. During the ceremony, I will restore all of your powers. You will once again be in charge of the night and it will be made clear that you are fully reinstated as a princess. Equestria is once again a diarchy. Try to act surprised."
"Thanks. That's actually more than I expected to get out of this."
"Which is exactly why you have earned it."
"So, how did the planning of the new settlement go?"
"I think I would much rather meet your companions and speak with them about their experience under your leadership than let you know how lucky you are that you weren't there."
"That works. We were going to appropriate the Bareback Tavern since it would appear that the community is taking care of itself."
"Splendid. Let's head there, then."
Luna's head was swimming as they stepped outside. She felt as though she might wake up at any moment from the most satisfying dream she had ever experienced. All work must have been canceled for the following day. Only on Nightmare Night was the town so lively at this hour. It was rather bittersweet.
"By the way, what did you learn while I was gone?" Celestia asked.
"That Equestria is not as safe as it once was?"
"Besides that."
"Oh, so you agree?"
"Yes, but let's talk about that later. Don't change the subject."
Her mind was filled with a ton of questions she wanted to ask Celestia regarding that particular topic, but she thought better of it for now since it would sour the celebration.
"I learned that I am a rather poor judge of character. Had you asked me if the two guards who helped me were capable of fighting as well as they did, I would have laughed. If you had said that Derpy Hooves could quite possibly be the best pony I could ever hope to meet, I would have sternly disagreed before tonight. I also did not think that anypony would be stupid enough to try and make a deal with a Lich."
"And the virtue you used the most this week?"
"Valor, because I never gave up. There, sappy enough for you?"
"You're not quite at Twilight's level, but that was pretty good for a beginner."
In the sky, the moon shone brightly. Luna stopped and looked at it for a moment, thinking of the enormity tonight meant to her.
"Homesick?" Celestia asked, grinning mischievously.
Luna scoffed and ignored her. Everything was right in her world. There would be more challenges waiting for them in the future if what Celestia hinted at was true, but Luna would be ready to face them. The fabled Mane Six would have her to contend with now. Luna continued on her way with Celestia as she looked for her friends. She intended to make this night last as long as possible. . .even if she had to convince Celestia to keep the sun down for a few extra hours.
Closing Notes.
- I started this project before Luna Eclipsed premiered. I now find that episode particularly memorable.
- I chose Princess Luna as the main character to give the story a slightly darker, more high-fantasy approach. The story originally had nothing to do with Luna since the Mane Six would have handled the problem. In that version, the Malum was far less devious. It stole cutie marks instead of souls and robbed the ponies of their talents and made them no different from any other pony, which caused quite a few identity issues. The solution? One blast from the Elements of Harmony. . .but not before the mane six had to earn back their marks and positions as the embodiments of the elements since the trinkets no longer recognized them.
- The cover image is a picture of the Malum that my sister made for me. I originally linked to it here. In 2011, she had a DeviantArt account. She has since closed it down and has successfully escaped from the Internet.
- Athena was originally supposed to become a minion of the Malum.
- I cannot believe that there are people who caught the not-so-subtle Ultima references so quickly. The virtue system Luna follows is lifted directly from that series. I used it primarily to give Luna a chance to be different from Celestia.
- Minor edits were made in response to the following reviewers : K, Draco Dei, and Mallow.
- I would like to thank Equestria Daily for featuring this story. I would also like to thank everyone who took the time to read this story. I appreciate all the comments I have received.