Thunder's plan had been very complicated, but simple at the same time. Harmony and Shell were to distract her with some noise and flashy magic, while Cloud, Crunch, and Calamity (A/N: I didn't actually mean for the "C Group" to be born xD) attacked her from behind. It was hard to ignore fire.
"Do you smell som- AGH! MY TAIL!" Shell screamed, smacking it with her hoof.
Harmony looked at her wide-eyed, "Calm down!"
He rubbed it gently in just the right place so the small fire died. "Thanks," Shell smiled. Harmony blushed and looked away, continuing his animal-call routine. There was one last part of it, though. Thunder himself was to stay in the shadows, away from Nightmare Dawn and the others, inventing a spell to cure her. Then, he had an idea. His horn glowed orange and, suddenly, Dawn was stuck in mid-air.
"Cool!" Cloud said, looking over at him.
"It won't last," he warned, "But I know what to do."
"What?" Harmony asked quietly.
"We're the Elements of Harmony, remember?" Thunder rolled his eyes.
"Oh... yeah, we are, aren't we!" Calamity smiled. The Alicorn's horn glowed once again and so did the necks of his friends.
"Calamity, the Element of Laughter. You must try to make Dawn realize, a smile is the best way to warm her soul." he began.
A golden necklace with a deep brown gem, shaped like a snake, appeared on her.
"Cloud, the Element of Honesty. You must tell Dawn the truth to help shape her future."
Another one appeared on Cover, with a white, cloud-shaped gem.
"Crunch, the Element of Loyalty. Stick by us all, including Dawn, and she'll learn what a true friend is."
Crunch's was a yellow, apple-shaped gem.
"Harmony, the Element of Generosity. Dawn must be shown how to give, not just get."
One with a red gem, shaped like a paw-print, appeared onto Harmony.
"Shell, the Element of Kindness. Love can fix the broken-hearted."
A necklace appeared on Shell. It had a black-and-white gem, shaped like a stick- or a wand.
"And, finally, myself, the Element of Magic, who channels all of the Elements into an infinite source of power," Thunder finished. His eyes were glowing white and he didn't sound like himself. Suddenly, he was bestowed another necklace. It was golden, like the others, but thicker- like a Prince's. The middle was an orange gem, a bolt of lightning. Then, Dawn un-froze.
"No! I was right! The Elements of Harmony are HERE!" the Nightmare shouted.
"I promise, Nightmare, they will not defeat Us," Dawn whispered. Her horn charged another magical beam, but she stopped mid-spell. The six ponies floated into the air, all of their eyes glowing, and their necklaces were, too (except for Thunder's). Beams of magic matching the colors of the elements shot out, hitting Thunder's lightning-bolt.
"NO! NO! NOOO!" Dawn shouted. She was surrounded by Rainbows- then, everything was black.

"Wha- what happened?" Dawn said as she slowly woke up.
"You're awake!" someone said. She looked up to see another Alicorn, a white one with an indigo mane. She realized this was her brother.
"Who're you?" she asked, just to be sure.
"I'm Thunder Bright," he said, "Your... brother."
"Where are we?"
"New York City. Do you remember anything that happened?"
"...N-no. But I think I know why."
"Y-"
"Um... please. Don't remind me."
"Oh. Y-yeah, OK."
"So... you know my name, right?"
"Nigh- Dawn?"
"Yes. Twilight Dawn."
"Nice name."
"Thanks. So... what did happen?"
"I'll tell you everything I can."

Meanwhile, the others were fighting Tigerclaw and the Foot. Rarity, who was now an almost-master at the art of battle, was bravely fighting Tigerclaw, along with Raphael.
"Do you really think you can beat me?" the tiger asked, dodging a blow from Rarity's dagger.
"We have before," Rarity replied with a courageous smile. Raph looked over to see her. Blood was dripping down her face from a wound next to her ear, but it seemed to make her even more beautiful. Her white coat shined and her eyes gleamed with deadly determination.
"You think you can handle him?" the turtle asked.
"Sure I can. Go help Leo."
Raph nodded and gave Tigerclaw a stab in the paw before jumping away.
"This ends now," he said, pulling a laser-gun out of his belt.
"I don't think so!" the unicorn replied, slicing it in half. She did so to the other ones that lay in his belt, too.
Tigerclaw scowled, "You think you're so smart."
Of course, he was bluffing. He was getting weaker and weaker. Perhaps it would soon be time for his second-in-command mutant snake, Karai, to take over. He fell over suddenly.
"Done yet?" Rarity growled, giving him one last stab in the chest.
"Not quiet," Tigerclaw replied hoarsely. He reached into his pocket and pulled out one last thing. Some mutagen in a small container. He opened the top of it and threw it at the mare. She gasped, wide-eyed, and the world seemed to go in slow-motion as she tried to duck. But it was too late.

Raph knew why the Foot had retreated- Rarity must've finished Tigerclaw off.
"That was great, Rares!" is what he was planning to say. But when he saw her, he only screamed.
"Father! What's wrong!?" Shell said, immediately running to his side. Everyone else came, too. They were met with a heart-breaking sight, and even Calamity wasn't smiling. Rarity's breath was shallow as she lay, covered in mutagen, on the floor.
"...What will happen?" Shell said quietly, looking away.
"Only time will tell," Raph replied. Everyone was silent.