"Seize her!" Mayor Mare commanded the pegasi guards, mustering as much courage as she could. "Only she knows where the Princess is!"
They followed her order.
Nightmare Moon's eyes shined a sinister glow.
"Stand Back you fools!" She said while releasing thunderbolts from her mane. All of them hit their targets rendering all of the guards useless. The terrifying mare then turned into mist and vanished into the dark night.
"Hey!" Soarin shouted. He followed the mist outside of Town Hall only to find out that she was faster than he expected.
"Come back! I'm not done with you just yet!" He blustered while being suspended in the air. The gravity of the situation started slowly getting through to him.
He turned his gaze to the ground. A lot of ponies running away from the hall, but only one attracted Soarin's attention. The only one that knew the alicorn's identity. A pale yellow pegasus with blue mane.
"And just where are you going?" The pegasus whispered to himself.
Back in the Golden Oak library a certain dragon was sleeping peacefully in his bed. It was understandable. He was a young specimen who spent most of the night partying. His brother on the other hoof was frantically flipping through different books.
"Come on now, there has to be a way to stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony." He muttered to himself.
"Thought I'd find you here."
Comet looked behind him to find Soarin giving him a stern look.
"If you want to borrow a book, come in when the fate of Equestria isn't at stake."
"How come you were the only pony that knew anything about the Nightmare Moon? That's suspicious as hay."
"I've read a book." Replied Comet, a hint of cold in his voice. "You should give it a try sometime. I still have Spike's old books. You would like them, a lot of pictures, almost no words."
"I see. You're a funny guy. I wonder if you will be able to joke around with only half of your teeth remaining."
Before Comet could respond a third voice chimed in.
"Get a hold of yourself, Soar and use your head for crying out loud." Boomed Thunderlane. Apart from him Braeburn, Time Turner and Cheese Sandwich gathered in the room.
"How could the protege of Celestia, or anypony at that matter, benefit from eternal darkness."
Soarin muttered something to himself but calmed down.
"But the issue remains." Thunderlane now turned to Comet. "If we are to help you need to share your knowledge with us."
" I second that." Said Time Turner.
"Darn right!" Proclaimed Braeburn.
"Consider me a collateral damage in whatever we're about to do." Added Cheese Sandwich.
"Whatever." Muttered Soarin
Comet took a good look at the gathered stallions. Quite an interesting crew they were. Unicorn chuckled.
"Alright. The only thing that can stop Nightmare Moon are the artefacts known as Elements of Harmony. The only problem is that I can't find anything about what they are, what they do, or for that matter where-"
"What about 'The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide?" Cheese Sandwich cut in.
"What? How did you find that?" Comet asked as he quickly appeared next to the earth pony.
"Simple, it was under E."
Unicorn was impressed how quickly the party organizer found the exact type of book he was looking for. He pulled out the book with his magic and started flipping through the pages. Finally he found what they were looking for. Comet started reading out-loud.
"There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now…" He stopped for a moment.
"What?" Asked Braeburn.
"The Everfree Forest." Finished Comet
The whole room fell silent.
"Well…" Said Time Turner. "Either It's either that or night eternal."
"I couldn't have said it better." Added Thunderlane. "What are we waiting for?"
It took them about an hour to reach the dreaded woods. Comet has read about it before. A forest where ponies enter, but rarely leave. That was it. No turning back now.
"I take it none of you has ventured into this forest before?" All of the stallions gave either verbal or audial confirmation.
"Folks say this place ain't natural. Clouds move on their own, animals take care of themselves. Some of them say that creatures living here remember when these lands were uninhabited by ponies." Said Braeburn.
"Not to spoil the mood, but that's not so long ago in the grand scheme of things." Remarked Time Turner. "The town was founded, like what? 70 years ago?"
They now entered the area near the edge of the cliff."
"Come on man I was trying to build an atmosphere and whatnot. No need to be such a killjoy."
"Sorry for that. My work conditioned me to analyze everything." Time Turner stopped in his tracks. His ears move slightly.
"We gotta get off the track."
"What? Why-" Soarin started but before he could finish the ground collapsed under their hooves.
All of them except for pegasi started sliding down, quickly moving towards the edge.
"Soar, get moving!" Shouted Thunderlane and dived in. His light blue friend followed him. Them managed to catch Time Turner and Cheese Sandwich but Comet Tail and Braeburn kept on sliding.
Finally The earth pony managed to catch a protruding root with his teeth. The unicorn didn't have as much luck.
If it weren't for his reflexes Comet would've slid right down, but he managed to slow down and now only his lower half was hanging over the chasm.
"Hold on there, partner!" Braeburn shouted as he let go of the root, making his way to the unicorn.
"What are we going to do?" Asked Comet, clear desperation in his voice.
He noticed that Braeburn's eyes shifted slightly.
"I'm going to stand here, you on the other hoof… will let go."
Unicorn couldn't believe his ears.
"You're just going to let me die here?! Buck you!" Comet said, agitated.
"I promise on mah future foals and wife you'll be fine. Honest to Faust" Said the earth pony.
There was something in his eyes. Something that Comet felt he could trust. He took a deep breath and let go.
He was falling. A whole world around him turned into a blur. His whole life flashed before his very eyes…
And then he stopped.
Looking around he noticed that he was being carried by Thunderlane and Soarin. He let out the air out of his lungs.
"You alright?" Shockingly enough it was Soarin who asked the question.
"Yeah… Thanks." Replied Comet, taken aback by his behavior.
"Don't sweat it, that's what friends are for."
They carried him down when they met with the rest of the group.
"You know you could've just told me Thunder and Soarin were there to catch me?" Comet told Braeburn with a hint of accusation.
The Cowpony cocked his hat slightly. "Ah know, but I had to make a point."
Comet raised his eyebrow. "And what would that point be?"
Braeburn looked at him with a grin. "That Apples don't lie."
Comet thought for a moment. "Fair enough. But don't keep me in the dark next time."
Braeburn chuckled. "Let's hope we'll live to see the next time."
And with that they continued their journey.
They walked for a few minutes in silence before the protege decided to break it.
"Soarin?"
"What is it?"
"Sorry for that remark in the library, you had a right to feel suspicious and what I did was uncalled for."
The pegasus smirked. "It's alright. I shouldn't have accused you like that."
Comet nodded his head. It was all water under the bridge.
A deafening roar pierced their ears. All of them noticed a creature that resembled an enormous lion with horns, leather wings and scorpion tail.
"Manticore!" Exclaimed Time Turner. "Didn't know they resided in these forests."
"I got it!" Said Soarin and flew quickly towards the Manticore.
"Wait!" Shouted Thunderlane but to no avail. The blue pegasus avoided getting clawed and went for a kick in the jaw. His plan succeeded.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed happily, only to be smacked by the outer side of the paw. He hit the ground with such impact he practically plowed it.
"Soarin!" Yelled Braeburn.
The earth pony lowered his head and started galloping towards the beast.
"Wait!" Thunderlane's pleas again fell on deaf ears.
The beast gave Braeburn the same treatment it gave Soarin, sending him to the nearest ditch.
"Alright!" Said Comet "I have an idea. Time Turner and Cheese wil try to tackle it head on, meanwhile Thunderlane and I-"
"I SAID WAIT!" Thunderlane roared almost as loud as the manticore. Everypony was shocked by the pegasus's sudden change in demeanor.
"Let me try it." He said much calmer, now that he noticed they were listening.
He turned towards the beast and walked in its direction slowly.
"Hey there buddy." He tried to avoid looking directly in Manticore's eyes while trying to keep an eye on the beast as a whole. there was always a possibility it would attack.
"Bad day huh? Some weirdos walk into your home uninvited and make noise. I would be grouchy too."
Now he was practically a hoof away from the monster. Taking a look at its front paws he noticed the thorn in one of them.
"I see." He whispered to himself. "Alright this might hurt a little."
Before anypony could say anything he grabbed the thorn in his teeth and plucked it in one fluid motion.
Manticore roared so loud that the Castle of Two Sisters probably shook. The still standing three, instinctively rushed to the rescue only to see…
The beast nuzzling Thunderlane. Quite like a mother nuzzles her young.
The pegasus laughed. "Aww, you're just a big baby aren't you."
Comet and the other two stallions used that to put Soarin and Braeburn back on their hooves.
"Oh Nelly." The earth pony said. "I hope AJ will spare me for at least a day when I'll be back to bucking apples.
"How did you know there was a thorn in its paw?" Comet asked Thunderlane, when the latter freed himself from the monster's affection.
"It was limping." Replied Thunderlane. "Sometimes you just have to show a little bit of empathy and the problem will solve itself."
As they continued marching forward the vegetation was getting more and more dense.
"Why did it get so dark all of sudden? It's not my mind acting up on me right?" Asked Soarin.
"Trees seem to grow closer to each other in this part of the forest. It doesn't help that their crowns seem to be wider than usual." Explained Time Turner.
"It's so dark that the ruins could be right in front of us and we wouldn't have noticed." Comet said out loud begrudgingly.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Thunderlane comforted him.
"Uhmm, fellas?" Asked Braeburn.
Although the earth pony didn't specify his answer everypony knew what he meant. The trees. All of them had faces. Terribly contorted faces with crooked teeth.
Although Soarin didn't like talking about it, this was one of the few times when he was afraid. Not in the same way as you're afraid in life-or-death situations. It was more of a…
Terror.
Like there was something fundamentally wrong with this part of the forest. None of the stallions said anything but the feeling was shared among most of them. But not all.
"Maybe we should look for some other way?" Suggested Thunderlane, cold sweat trickling down from him.
A laugh sounded in the air.
They turned their heads to see… Cheese Sandwich laughing at one of these uncanny looking trees.
"Oh man, this one reminds me of my uncle Big Cheese, What's up with these silly looking trees?"
He started trotting forward.
"Wait a minute!" Said Braeburn. Cheese looked at him. "You sure it's a good idea to follow this path?"
Cheese Shrugged his arm. "Probably. Not like these trees can hurt us in any way."
They still looked somewhat unsure but started following the party pony.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Why did the tree go to the dentist?" He asked.
Nopony answered.
"Why?" Asked Comet.
"Because it needed a root canal."
A few snickers could be heard. Although dry, the joke definitely played a part in loosening up the atmosphere. They started telling other types of jokes and before they knew it the fear completely vanished. Instead it was completely replaced by the humorous atmosphere brought on by Cheese.
A body of water could've been heard by the team. Quite a restless one on top of that.
Apart from that all of them could make out something similar to…crying?
No, bawling their eyes would've been a more suitable description.
As the group got close they saw a river, currents of which were too strong to pass by hoof.
"I suppose you didn't bring any portable bridges, Time Turner?" Thunderlane asked.
"Your assessment is correct. I only have the most basic of tools."
"What a world, what a world!" A mysterious cry could be heard.
The group took a look at where the voice was coming from.
After a short walk they finally found the source. It was a purple sea serpent with orange hair and a mustache. The uneasiness of the stream was caused by his weeping.
As there was no other way, Comet decided to address the issue.
"Hello there sir?"
The monster stopped crying for a moment to look at them. His eyes were red and puffy.
"Is there any particular reason why you keep crying? You see, me and my friends would really like to cross that river and-"
He started wailing again.
"I-I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid."
Another series of sobs.
"That's what all the fuss is about?" Braeburn asked angrily.
"I second that." Said Comet. "You can't just inconvenience other creatures because something didn't go your way, I-"
"Wait!" Time Turner interrupted him. "I might have an idea."
He rummaged through his bag. After a brief moment he pulled out a shaving razor.
"What is he doing?" Soarin asked, confused.
The earth pony inventor cut off a huge portion of his tail, much to everyone's horror.
"Comet, a little help here?" Time Turner asked.
Unicorn immediately understood what the other one was talking about. With the help of magic he bound his friend's tail to what used to be a serpent's mustache.
"Oh-hohohoho! My mustache. How wonderful." The monster said, a smile instantly gracing his muzzle.
"See? You look as stylish as before." The scientist said politely.
"Alright." Comet said. "We can continue, the river is passable."
But before he could set a hoof in the water a row of purple scaly coils protruded upwards.
"Allow me." The Serpent said gratefully. Unicorn and his friends thanked him for help and finally crossed the stream.
After wandering for a few more minutes they finally saw their destination.
"There it is, the ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!" Comet said and started galloping towards it.
"Slow down there partner!" Shouted Braeburn.
"Come on, guys if we don't hurry- Woah!" Unicorn had to stop abruptly right before entering the bridge. One of the anchors on the other side was torn off.
"What is it with you and falling off cliffs today?" Comet turned to see a grinning Soarin and the rest of his friends.
"Har-har." Unicorn said sarcastically yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that this was some kind of karma for his earlier remarks.
"You guys wait here. I have it covered." Blue pegasus said cockily and flew to the other side.
But before he could tighten the rope, his ear caught a peculiar sound.
"Soarin…"
He turned around instantly. "Show yourself!" Stallion exclaimed.
The only response he got was a giggle.
Soarin furrowed his brow. "You have ten seconds before I drag you out of that fog!"
"We've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria."
He did not expect that answer.
"Who?"
"Why, you of course you." Replied the voice.
"Really? I mean… yes! Of course! Quick question. You wouldn't mind telling that to the Wonderbolts, would ya? I'm trying to get into their ranks for like… forever."
"No Soarin." Three mysterious ponies walked out of the shadows. All of them were pegasi wearing tight purple spandex suits with black patches on head and hooves.
"We want you to join us, the Shadowbolts. We're the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all Equestria, but first, we need a captain. The most magnificent... "
"Yeah."
"Swiftest…"
"Aha."
"Bravest flyer in all the land."
"Yes." He chuckled, blushing slightly. "It's all true
"We need… you."
"Wohoo!" Soarin made a barrel roll from excitement. Just let me tie this bridge real quick and then we have a deal."
"No!" The pegasus in the suit got really close to Soarin. "It's them or us!"
"No rush Soarin! It's not like the fate of Equestria is at stake or anything!" Comet shouted, irritated by how much time it took.
He noticed other ponies standing next to their pegasus friend. "Soarin! Don't listen to them!"
As if triggered by something, clouds became more dense, making them invisible to see through.
"Well?"
"You…"
The Shadowbolts smiled.
"...Have got to be born yesterday if you think I would abandon my friends for somepony I just met."
With that he tied the loose rope and Shadowbolts turned into purple smoke.
Rest of the group crossed the bridge safely.
"You had us pretty scared back there." Said Thunderlane. "Not that I doubted you."
"Of course." Soarin replied teasingly.
Everypony in the group laughed from the exchange.
They finally arrived. The Castle of Two Sisters stood in front of them, or at least what was left of it.
Doors started crumbling as soon as Comet pushed them. In the main hall there was an enormous stone erected from the ground. It looked like a cross between an astrolabe and a fountain. There were five orbs attached to five different arms. Shape of a gem sculpted on all of them.
"At last. The Elements of Harmony." Said Comet. Thunderlane and Soarin immediately started detaching the orbs and putting them on the ground.
"Careful." The protege said almost instinctively. Soon enough all of them were laying on the ground unscathed.
"That's five. Where's the sixth one?" Asked Cheese Sandwich.
"The book said: when the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed." Answered Comet.
"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?" Inquired the apple farmer.
"I'm not sure, but I have an idea. Stand back. I don't know what will happen."
He kneeled on the ground and sparked his horn.
"Come on y'all he needs to concentrate." Braeburn told the rest of the squad. They did as they were asked.
Now it was just Comet, his magic and the elements.
Or at least he thought so.
While he kept his eyes closed the orbs started to spin. Slowly at first but soon enough they gained speed. Enough to create a small purple tornado.
Comet opened his eyes.
"No! The elements!"
Against his better judgment he jumped into the swirl.
A few seconds later both him and whirlwind disappeared.
"Comet!" Braeburn shouted as he entered to see his friend disappear in a twister. The rest joined shortly after.
The unicorn head was spinning as he opened his eyes. He didn't know where he was, but he had an idea how he got here.
The elements, tornado. It had to teleport him here.
His thoughts were interrupted by a laugh.
He looked in front of him to see the Nightmare Moon levitating the elements.
This was bad, real bad. Nevertheless a plan started forming in his mind.
He stamped his right front hoof and lowered his head.
"You're kidding right?" Nightmare Moon asked in a clearly mocking way.
He ignited his horn and started galloping straight at the black alicorn.
She decided to repay in kind.
Good she was right where he wanted her to be.
When he was about a hoof length from her, his horn shined and teleported him where the elements were.
"Come on, just one spark." Comet whispered as he tried triggering the reaction with every ounce of his.
Suddenly he heard a crack and a great force sent him flying across the room.
When he opened his eyes again he saw the elements radiating by his aura.
"No, It can't be!" She shouted, feeling panic.
As these words left her mouth, the Comet's magic vanished.
"I-I don't understand. This should've unlocked the sixth element." He said mostly to himself.
The response he got was his enemy's laughter.
She stomped her on the ground, shattering the elements into many pieces.
"You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!" Exclaimed Nightmare Moon euphorically.
The elements were destroyed. His only hope shattered.
"Get away from him you millenia-old hag!"
Comet turned his head and saw not only Soarin taunting the alicorn but also all of his friends.
That's when it hit him.
"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."
Some new kind of magic started levitating the shattered remains.
"What?" Nightmare Moon asked confused.
"Braeburn, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!"
Necklace with an orange, apple-shaped crystal formed on the farmer's neck.
"Thunderlane, who tamed the manticore with his compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!"
His necklace's gem looked like a pink cloud.
"Cheese Sandwich, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!
Gem that formed on his throat looked like a cut in half bread and had a blue color.
"Time Turner, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!
His stone looked like a purple hourglass.
"And last but not least, Soarin who could not abandon his friends for his own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!
What formed under the pegasu's chin looked like a red thunderbolt."
Comet was grinding confidently.
"The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us."
"You still don't have the sixth Element! The spark didn't work!" Nightmare Moon said, now visibly afraid.
"But it did! A different kind of spark…" Comet turned to his companions with a smile. .They were smiling back or nodding
"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…"
He returned his gaze to the alicorn.
"Are my friends!"
A sixth orb appeared above the Comet's head.
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element…"
The orb transformed into a crown with a purple gem that looked like a five-pointed star.
"The element… of magic!"
All six of them started levitating, their elements glowing.
Shortly after the beams from their necklaces (and crown) combined into one that had all of their colors, making it look like a rainbow.
"Nooo!" Nightmare Moon steamed helplessly as the ray engulfed her.
After that everything went white
"Ugggh…" Mumbled Thunderlane opening his eyes. Pain piercing his cranium
"Is everypony fine?"
The rest of the stallions gave their verbal confirmations.
"Wow!" Soarin exclaimed. "Check this out, I have a necklace that looks like my cutiemark."
Pegasus puffed his chest proudly.
"Looks like you're not the only one." Said Time Turner examining his own element.
"Gee Comet! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship." Said proudly.
"Indeed you do."
Everpony turned their head to the direction of the voice.
They saw a rising sun and from it's shine, a very familiar alicorn appeared.
"Princess Celestia!" Shouted Comet and galloped to hug his teacher.
She lowered her head to nuzzle him motherly.
The rest of the stallions were bowing before the princess of the sun.
"My faithful student. I knew you could do it"
"But... you told me it was all an old pony tale."
"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more. I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart. Now if only another will as well. Princess Luna!"
They all turned their heads to where Nightmare Moon used to be. The evil alicorn was now much smaller and had a lighter shade of blue as her coat. Her armor was shattered. She gasped, clearly afraid of her white counterpart.
Celestia walked towards her and kneeled down, looking at her with a warm smile.
"It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."
"Sister?" Asked Soarin clearly shocked.
"Will you accept my friendship?" Sun princess extended her hoof.
She was met with a strong hug from the smaller alicorn.
"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister!" Both of them had wet eyes.
"I missed you too, Lulu." Celestia replied with cracking voice.
They weren't the only one crying. Comet and the rest also had tears in their eyes.
"Hey." Cheese Sandwich broke the silence. "You know what this calls for?"
It was finally over. Nightmare Moon was defeated, Luna took up the position of the second royal sister and all of them came back alive.
Ponyville was celebrating. Ponies were cheering, tables were cracking form the amount of food and confetti was everywhere.
It was also a time of reunions. As soon as Comet entered he was hugged by a certain smalls dragon.
"I missed you bro." Said Spike.
"I missed you too buddy." Replied Comet and hugged Spike back. This level of affection was rare among them.
But Spike wasn't the only one waiting. Once Thunderlane appeared he immediately deflated as something small and gray hit him with tremendous force.
When he looked down he saw a colt with a lighter coat than him and a black mane combed backwards. His purple eyes were red from crying.
"Thunde-r-r I-I thought t-that y-you…" His words were cut off by the sobs.
Thunderlane hugged the smaller colt back.
"It's ok, bro. I'm alive. Whatever happens I will be always waiting for you."
"T-thanks. But don't tell anyone I cried. ok"
Older pegasus laughed and raised his right hoof.
"I swear I won't tell anypony."
Comet smiled at the sight of affection but his muzzle quickly turned sour.
"Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" Asked Celestia.
He sighed.
"That's just it. Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them."
The Princess of the Sun chuckled warmly.
"Spike, take a note, please. I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Comet Tail shall take on a new mission for Equestria. He must continue to study the magic of friendship. He must report to me his findings from his new home in Ponyville."
Young unicorn hugged his mentor again.
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much princess."
He will stay there in Ponyville, where his friends are.
Or at least most of them.
We can finally enter the main meat of the story. I didn't mention it earlier but the rewritten episodes probably won't come out exactly in the chronological order, just so you know.
I would also like to say that in the furture I probably won't update as often as now. It will probably be one chapter every week.
Next chapter will be focused on Rumble. I like his character, pity he was on screen so rarely.
Have a nice day.