*Chapter 3*

Sun and Moon

Summer Blaze thought he was dreaming again. This time he was sure of it. But it was the screams of the pony folk around him that brought him to the realization that this was no dream.

This was a nightmare.

The mare of the night cackled wildly from up high on the stage. Most of the ponies had fled for their lives. But Blaze knew that no distance they could travel would deliver them from the true damage that Nightmare Moon wished to inflict upon them; night time eternal.

Celestia had finally seen what was happening below her and she swooped down in a graceful instant to land opposite the dark mare on the stage. "Nightmare!" she called. "What have you done with Luna?"

Nightmare Moon grinned widely, showing her needle-sharp incisors. "The Luna that you love is gone, foolish princess," she said. "There is only Nightmare Moon, as there always should have been!"

It was here that Blaze noticed that none of his friends had fled;they gathered around him in tense circle as they watched the events unfold on the stage. "Dusk! Get behind me!" The young filly ducked behind her brother as she stared timidly though his legs.

Up on the stage, the two sisters squared off. Summer Blaze was awed by the intensity of the magical aura emanating from the both of them, and neither of them had even cast a spell yet.

"I have waited too long for this moment!" Nightmare said. "We both know that you are but powerless to stop me. What resistance do you possibly have to offer?"

Celestia pawed the stage with her fore hoof, a threatening, if rather empty gesture given her retort. "Powerless I may be, but I still do have a ways of resisting you."

It was then that Celestia glared at the group of the six huddled ponies just at the foot of the stage. Summer Blaze wasn't sure why or how, but he knew that she was expecting something from them, but what?

Nova Burst seemed to catch on faster than any of them. He took to the air and cried mightily, "What are you guys waiting for? Celestia needs our help, c'mon!"

"But what are we supposed do against Nightmare Moon?" Fairweather said fretfully.

Her question didn't seem to faze Nova as he flew up to the stage to join Celestia's side.

"Ah, dang it! We can't let that foal go alone, c'mon y'all!" Ivy Leagues charged heartily after Nova onto the stage.

Seeing nothing else for it, the rest of the group bounded onto the stage and took Celestia's side as they faced off against Nightmare Moon.

Nightmare laughed uproariously as she spread her jet-black wings in a gesture of mirthful intimidation. "This is the best you can do, Celestia? Six ordinary ponies which you drummed up from the rabble?"

Nightmare was quite right, of course. In the face of this emerging evil, Blaze felt anything but powerful and heroic. And what about poor Dusk? He edged slightly to his left, attempting to hide his sister from Nightmare Moon's view.

"I can assure you, Nightmare, that these are no ordinary ponies," Celestia said. "They are indeed our greatest hope, and the bringers of your downfall!"

Blaze could hardly believe his ears. How were they supposed to stand up to the legendary mare of darkness?

Nightmare laughed at the top her voice, though the sound carried no traces of amusement. "Do not make me laugh, dear sister." Nightmare caught herself, then said devilishly, "Oh wait, you already have."

"Laugh while you can, nightmare," Celestia retorted. Blaze had the distinct feeling that she was leading up to the head of her speech; some grand declaration. Which Celestia promptly delivered. "It just so happens that the ponies that stand before are indeed...the Elements of Harmony!"

Blaze was hit with a sudden wave of 'I must be dreaming again'. Surely he had heard Celestia wrong; how was it that he and his friends could bear the elements? The true bearers were long dead; their bodies since becoming dust. The magic of harmony was thought to be long lost afterward, so this sudden revelation...

The group of ponies looked to Celestia with varying degrees of confusion, except for Mirror, who had adopted an expression of bewildered understanding.

"Listen, my children," Celestia addressed the group. "What you have heard is the truth. The magic of the elements was never lost, but instead has now imbued itself within a new generation of bearers that it deems worthy of it's wielding.

The power now lies with you, my little ponies; look deep inside yourselves to find the potential that I always knew you had!"

Through all of this, Nightmare maintained a posture of calculating amusement. Even if the words Celestia spoke were true, she knew that these lost little foals had not even a hope of challenging her.

Blaze looked from Princess Celestia to the eyes of his friends. He stared at each of them in turn, as he cast about his deepest thoughts in search of the truth that Celestia had imparted onto them. It was when his eyes fell in Mirror that he felt it. She stared wholly back into his own eyes, as though silently willing him to understand something, that apparently, she already knew.

And then there was something that he couldn't explain. Inside Mirrorrim's wide eyes, there was a sudden flash. That was the sign that Blaze's brain was seemingly waiting for. He felt something fire inside his mind; a trigger; a spark. And then his vision was lost to a brilliant whiteness. The garden around him disappeared entirely as his four hooves left the ground in a magical elevation. And no sooner than this phenomena began, it ended. No great physical change had come over the ponies, but there was definitely something different about them.

Summer Blaze checked himself over and found that a wonderful golden necklace had suddenly adorned him. Being a creature of magic himself, he was instantly able to recognize the immense magical power the necklace seemed to exude. looking more closely at it, he saw that it was set with a beautiful gemstone that resembled the shape of a diamond. Looking around his friends, he saw that they too were gifted the magical necklaces. Except for Mirrorrim that was. Her gift was a grand tiara that was perched magnificently atop her head.

"My, my..." Nightmare said. "It has been some time since I've seen those lovely elements." Her eyes were narrowed with a morbidly fond reminiscence. "And even now, Celestia, you choose to put your faith in something these foals have no hope of mastering?"

"That's what you think!" Nova Burst had spoken out with a sudden ferocity. He took wing as he stared Nightmare in the eye. "If you think we can't beat you with the elements, then you've got another thing coming!"

The group took heart to Nova's outcry and formed themselves more tightly together.

"If what I remember from the legends are true," Mirror said, having positioned herself in front of the group. "Then these elements will see to your demise! You were defeated once before, and you shall be again!" She seemed to have taken charge of the group as she said to the other ponies, "Everypony, focus your minds into your elements! See Nightmare Moon vanquished inside your minds and make the vision a reality!"

Blaze focused every last fiber of himself into the magical necklace he now wore. He felt the others around him doing the same. It was there, with all six of them focusing their thoughts on a single purpose, did Blaze feel it. It was a rush of magical energy more intense than anything he has ever felt before. The force of energy was so great as to lead Blaze to believe that he had no hope of harnessing such a great power alone. It was only with the help of his friends that he knew this was possible.

The jewel around Blaze's neck grew warm with the flow of intense magic. And then, forming itself before his eyes, a wonderful rainbow bloomed from his necklace, which connected itself the the other elemental jewels until they were all linked by the magic of the elements.

The look in Nightmare's eyes had changed just slightly. She looked just slightly concerned, but oddly enough, it wasn't what was happening before her that caused this change. Unless Blaze was mistaken, Nightmare Moon seemed to be conversing with herself. "Of course you recognize them, don't you? They may have saved you once, but they will not do so again."

What could she mean? Who was Nightmare talking to? And then it hit him. But Blaze didn't dare believe it. Could it be that...just maybe...Luna was still inside Nightmare Moon, and consciously fighting against her? Blaze was filled with a rush of overheated emotion at the thought of the beautiful pony he had met what now seemed forever ago. It was now more pressing than ever to destroy Nightmare Moon, and rescue Luna in the process.

With his thoughts firmly set on rescuing Luna, he joined his will with the others as his mind was seemingly lost to a force he couldn't control. And from the linked elements erupted a rainbow, with all the colors of the elements themselves, that hurtled strait towards Nightmare Moon. Nightmare took ready and folded her wings protectively around her body as the rainbow projectile enveloped her in a rushing torrent of color. The magic left Blaze's body as he was returned to his senses along with the other ponies.

They watched as Nightmare struggled with the rainbow magic swirling around her. And then, with a triumphant cry of exertion, she spread her black wings and broke free of the spell.

The ponies gave a uniform gasp. "But how!?" Mirrorrim seemed the most surprised of all of them.

"If the elements don't work..." Fairweather said miserably.

"What do we do, princess?" Summer Dusk whined.

"Alas, children," Celestia said mournfully. "This is as I expected."

"You what!?" Summer Blaze said. "Are you telling me that you expected the elements to fail?"

"She has indeed known it for some time, is that not right, dear sister?"

Celestia did not respond immediately, but eyed Nightmare balefully."And now that these foals have failed you, it is time to reap what you know has been coming to you." Nightmare advanced threateningly, but the six ponies moved together to block her path. Nightmare laughed with a mirthless amusement. "How admirable," she said. "You know you cannot defeat me, and yet you persist?" With an effortless motion, Nightmare harnessed a spark of her dark magic and easily cast the six ponies off the stage. They landed in a tangled heap on the manicured grass of the garden.

And even through all of this, Celestia remained defiantly stoic. It was as though she had resigned herself to the fact that Nightmare Moon could not be overcome with the weapons she had at her aid, not even the elements of harmony. But unbeknownst to anypony around her, Celestia's vision; her plan had come to fruition. The six elements had been gathered; but now, in the hooves of these new bearers, there was still a huge part of their yet unforeseen destiny that they need embrace. All that was needed, was a great change.

Nightmare faced Celestia now, the contempt clear in her slitted eyes. "So long I have waited for this; this moment. Of course you knew this was coming, did you not?" Nightmare continued as Celestia remained silent. "After the former bearers unleashed their power upon me, you thought me dead; destroyed; gone forever. But my defeat was simply the addition of time; I spent those one thousand years planning my return, and see how my plan has come to fruition. But before that...before the bearers of the elements came to be, you were their sole master. And you turned those elements upon me; locking me inside my own moon; my own celestial body of command. How fitting would it be, I wonder, to have that very same act of valediction imposed upon you?"

Summer Blaze and the other ponies looked onto the stage in helpless horror. If even the elements of harmony were useless against Nightmare Moon, could Celestia muster any force at all that would stop her?

"Mark my words, Celestia, all of Equestria will fall into darkness! The moon shall rise, everlasting in it's dominion of the sky! Your time in this world will end at my volition! NOW BE GONE WITH YOU!" Nightmare focused a spell that caused her entire body to be shimmer with a dark veil of night-magic. She pointed her horn strait at Celestia and loosed a powerful blast of the dark energy. And then, seemingly in slow motion, Celestia was overcome by the force of the spell. She left sight entirely as her body was whisked away by the black haze. And moving faster than even light itself, she was taken from, not just Equestria, but the world altogether.

Celestia had just been banished to the sun.

*End of chapter 3*

...

A/N:

September one; new month new update! Huzzah! How many points do I receive? (Oh, Luna!) Any who; tryin' to keep this fic movin' along amongst all the other things in life; like dropping P4 arena completely and going back to my true; my one; my original fighting love; BlazBlue Calamity Trigger. (I'd rather play Rachel than Yukiko any day) Shame the community isn't what it once was...

Whoa, gettin' off topic here. Just want to thank anyone who took the time to give my story a read, and fanfiction user bluecatcinema for the review. I'll be sure to update again soon.

-B.D. Skunkworks