Fandom MLP: Age of Exploration - Nightmares Rising

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade Superwholock
(Only GeneralTyrus for now)

It had only been a mere two months since Nightmare Moon had taken hold of Princess Aurora, yet in that time Nightmare's true self had been slowly peeking through the gaps in her facade. Knowing that if she waited any longer her true identity would be revealed to the public, Nightmare decided to take the initiative while she still had the element of surprise.

Wandering a forest far from Equestria, Nightmare Moon finally came across who she was looking for; Celestia and Luna, though they were not their usual selves. She had hardly believed it when she learned the two were in the forms of a unicorn and pegasus respectively, but now that she saw the two of them she found it quite funny. This was almost too easy.

'Aurora' approached their camp, dispelling whatever feeble magical traps or wards Celestia may have set up in the process. Perhaps if Celestia was still in possession of her deific powers if would have taken her more than a casual glance to dispell these wards, but at the moment there was no real competition.

As she walked into camp it immediately became apparent that this was not Aurora. Nightmare wasn't even trying to hide herself by this point. From the dark purple coat bordering on black to the catlike purple eyes, there was attempt to disguise herself. She walked right into camp as if she owned the place and sat across from a rather stunned Luna. She had no idea how to even react. She always expected Nightmare to appear suddenly, but in some form of attack. Not just... strolling into their camp.

"... Celestia! Luna! How have the two of you been doing lately? It's been a while. Banished any family members lately, Celestia?" Nightmare asked with an arched eyebrow, leaning back in her magically created throne. She was just staring at the two of them for now. It was... really weird. She was making no move to attack.

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Celestia had felt as though something was off throughout the day, and now that 'Aurora' was coming to their camp, she knew something was odd. However, once she finally saw the mare, she realised just what was wrong. Her eyes narrowed, and she'd look at Nightmare Moon, glaring at her, wonder what exactly was going on here. She'd look over at Luna, before looking back to Nightmare Moon. She did find it odd that she hadn't just attacked them outright, and would take a step back, digging her hooves into the dirt.

"What are you doing here, you demon." She'd ask, her voice bitter and dripping with venom at having to see Nightmare. She wished at this very moment, she was at full strength. She wanted to attack, but she knew she was much weaker now. She glance at Luna, wondering exactly what she planned to do.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade Superwholock
Nightmare rolled her eyes at Celestia's words and absently cleaned her hoof. "Celestia, I am not a demon; I am a Primordial. You do know the difference yes?" She replied in an arrogant tone of voice, finally finishing cleaning her hoof so that she could stare at the two of them. It was quite clear that, at the moment, she was not even slightly worried about a possible confrontation between them. As they would both know, Nightmare strengthens whatever host she is possessing. The stronger the host, the better.

Luna's muscles were tensed up, showing that she was about ready to spring at Nightmare. The Primordial seemed to notice that and just shook her head. "Don't do that, dear. I truly do not wish to kill either of you... you're both very entertaining! Buuuut the two of you also seem to ruin every plan I've ever attempted. First you go and banish your own sister to get rid of me, then you happen to send a bunch of adventurers to my cave? It's getting really annoying."

She tapped her hooves together as she thought things through. "... How about this. I throw you both in a demiplane to live out the rest of your mortal lives, but you get to survive. I do respect you both, but that's probably the best I can offer."

Luna didn't glance over at Celestia, though she did speak through their connection. "... We both know that's a lie. She will probably send us to Hell or something. You cannot possibly get a teleportation spell off with her just standing here in Aurora's body..."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Celestia looked Nightmare in the eye, listening to her words closely, watching her with keen eyes. She was ready at a moment's notice to summon her armor and weapon, but she was still very worried. She'd scoff as Nightmare finished speaking, and spat onto the ground, nodding to Luna's words.

"You would never be so kind. You'd kill us the second you can." She'd say with venom. She'd look at Luna again, before narrowing her focus on Nightmare, "Since you are being so kind... Why not tell us what you whole... deal is." She'd say, raising a brow. Worth a shot.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade Superwholock
Nightmare laughed aloud at Celestia's words, "There you go again with those jokes, Tia. 'You'd kill us the second you can'." Nightmare said in her best mimic of Celestia's voice, which was absolutely not spot on. "I don't want to kill either of you. Why would I want to kill you? Dying is easy, there's no fun in it. But keeping you alive to watch Equestria burn? Now that... that is an entertaining idea."

Nightmare tapped a hoof to her cheek as she thought things over, a smirk finally making its way onto her face. "You're all so small-minded, you know that? You think I just want to kill you? True, I probably should, but sometimes risks make life more enjoyable. Besides, I'm not a one-trick pony like your daughter. All she was good for was keeping control of magic. But me? I have big plans!"

Luna felt, for possibly the first time in her life, cornered. Aurora was terrifying enough for two mortals, let alone Nightmare inhabiting Aurora's body. There was an entire forest around them to try and disappear into, yet there was nowhere to actually run. "... So what's the plan here?" Luna asked, breaking the silence between their minds. "I distract her, you teleport away during the chaos and go find the Elements. That's about the best I got."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Celestia would glare at Nightmare Moon, before shuffling back a bit further, getting closer towards Luna. Hearing her voice in her head made her feel just a smidgen better about the situation that they were in. Hearing the plan Luna had however, made her feel no better, and she'd look at Nightmare, "I would rather it not come to me running away, Lulu." She'd think to Luna, before grunting with annoyance, "What if we summon our weapons... Surely we could weaken her... I could send a message to the Elements." She'd think quickly, wondering herself if it would really work.

 

[Dreamweaver]

GeneralTyrus
Celestia could feel a bit of annoyance leak through their bond, mixed with sadness and dread. "... I know you love to play pretend, Celestia, but this is Nightmare Moon. The Elements obviously did not defeat her either time she's been hit with them. I do not even know that we could defeat her in our true forms." Luna replied telekinetically, seemingly nervous about this whole situation. "We need allies. Both times we've tried to banish Nightmare Moon, she has been relatively undamaged first."

Luna's brain was looking for an answer in these short few seconds of silence, even as Nightmare Moon's stare on them got more intense. "We need to weaken her before the Elements attempt anything. You need to gather a team. Simply bringing the Elements here... that would be suicide for all of us."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver
Celestia would glance at Luna, and then back to Nightmare. She didn't want to just run, and come back later with allies. If anything, she wished she could just teleport all their allies here. However, that would be impossible in her current state. She'd watch Nightmare, noticing her glare getting more intense, and figured she was upset they hadn't responded yet, "So, is the plan to encompass the world in darkness? You wouldn't have much to rule after a while." She'd say with spite, glaring daggers at her.

"What do you want me to do? Leave you here, and run away?" She'd think bitterly, digging her hooves into the dirt a fair bit.

 

[Dreamweaver]

GeneralTyrus
"Eternal darkness? Of course not. That was Luna's idea, not my own. I have no wish to rule over a barren wasteland. No... I will rule Equestria as a brutal but fair leader, turning it into the strongest force the planes have ever seen." She left out the part about crushing absolutely anything that stood in her way. The griffons, minotaurs, dragons, deer... they would all have to either join her or perish.

All Nightmare truly wanted was two things; to watch the Stellar Sisters suffer, and to rule over a land of her own. She had a land once, but it was taken from her. She was quite willing to do anything in her power to get a throne back. And right now it felt like she had all the power in the world while inhabiting Aurora's body. Their combined strength would allow her to easily conquer any nation that she encountered, either killing or beating the nations own deities into submission.

"I... Don't know." Luna said quietly, growing slightly nervous as Nightmare looked between them. It was obvious she was deciding what to do here, the gears in her mind turning.

Nightmare held out a hoof towards Luna, who seemed to go rigid as a pulse of purple magic surrounded her and then vanished. She felt as if chains had wrapped around her body to bind her. She felt herself lifted off the ground and drifted to Nightmare's side, where she was set down; still unable to move or speak. "Gather your allies, Celestia. Gather the Elements, and meet me upon the fields outside of Ponyville. There we will negotiate the terms of our... deal."

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver
Celestia just stared at Nightmare as she spoke, not really listening closely. She was thinking herself on what they should do, and as Nightmare stood there, Celestia would cast a glance a Luna, growing more worried by her response.

However, when Nightmare reached out, and seemingly cast magic without her horn, Celestia's eyes widened, and she'd look at Luna, feeling fear rush through her body, her heart thundering in a instant, and she'd take a few steps forward as if she could really do anything to stop this, before looking to Nightmare, glaring, "Negotiate? Oh... of course." She'd say with venom dripping from her voice. She'd cast a look to Luna, and would grit her teeth, "I'll rescue you." She'd think to Luna, hoping that she could hear it, if anything.

 

[Dreamweaver]

GeneralTyrus
Nightmare stared hard at Celestia and glanced over at Luna, who was paralyzed beside her. "Do not do anything unwise, Celestia. I will kill her; you know that I will. Gather the Elements, and lay them on the ground when I arrive. Should I see so much as a single Element of Harmony reach for their jewellery, Luna's head will roll at your hooves long before that little rainbow ever strikes me." She threatened with a slight frown. She knew that the Elements were dangerous, they had delayed her plans twice already. No more playing around.

"I know you will." Luna replied through their bond, though her body was still completely frozen. As Nightmare finished speaking she got behind Luna's paralyzed body and reared herself up, her forehooves coming to rest on Luna's shoulders and her head resting just beside the mares horn. "Run along now, Celestia. Luna and I have... catching up to do." She said with a smirk, just trying to bother Celestia by this point.

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Dreamweaver

Celestia would bite her cheek, glaring at Nightmare. Hearing Luna's voice for a moment was enough solace and she didn't give Nightmare the satisfaction of getting off her quip. She'd teleport away to go and regain her powers, and then would return to canterlot, sending out Letters to the elements, and a royal summons for the adventurers they'd had listed to be reliable. This wasn't exactly one of the things that Celestia had ever looked forward to, and she really wished Nightmare had taken long, if only so her and Luna could have been powered back to their full force.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade Superwholock
As Celestia teleported away, she heard one last message from Luna. "Leave our children out of this. Take Aurelia, Cadence, Selena, and the heroes who've been accompanying Avedon. I believe in you." Her words echoed in Celestia's head as the unicorn teleported away. Celestia would of course know Aurelia, her old Chosen paladin who had been turned into a vampire during the Eclipse War. Cadence was obvious. Selena was Luna's most trusted constellation creature, and the heroes were quite famous by now.

Harmony was confused when Celestia returned without Luna, but gave her powers back anyway. She looked a little worried, actually; though she said nothing at all during the whole exchange. She likely knew exactly what was going on and was waiting to see if it turned out well. The letters went out quickly enough, as did the royal summons. As the minutes slipped by, the time for confrontation grew ever closer...

ALL PLAYERS: You may now join. Everybody please bring a single level 20 character, and a single character with which they wish to face fully powered Nightmare with. Tell me in Discord who you are bringing for each.

Standing in the middle of Ponyville's widest field in the dead of night was none other than Nightmare Moon herself, who held a captive Princess Luna beside her. Right now it seemed like the mare was simply waiting for the others to arrive. One wrong move and she would kill Luna, there is no question about that.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver

Cadence put the letter down. The Crystal guards around her could tell something was wrong from the look on her face. Cadence rarely stopped smiling. Even when she was tired, she seemed cheerful. Rarely since coming to power had she looked this somber and serious. She turned to her husband and showed him the letter, before retiring to her chambers to switch out her greaves and tiara for Crystal Empire royal armor.

---

Starlight recieved her letter and stared at it with a such a burning intensity. This was all her fault. Not just for giving Aurora to Nightmare, but by making the deal in the first place. For the first ever time in her life, she was starting to feel the slightest hint of regret. The wish that she hadn't saved Trixie. It was gone as soon as it came, but its mere prescence shocked her, and red smoke started to trail from her horn. Nightmare Moon would pay for this. For putting her in these impossible positions. For threatening her family. For killing Trixie in the first place. This was her chance to make things right, but more than that, it was a chance for personal vengeance. She handed the letter to Trixie wordlessly. The red mist was growing, and there was murder in Trixie's wife's eyes. Except for Celestia, nopony wanted Nightmare dead more than Starlight at this moment.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver

Titania was heading towards Canterlot Castle for the summon that she received. Apparently, something extremely bad had appeared and they needed help to stop it. She knew that if she was being summoned by Royalty then it had to be serious so she didn’t mind accepting now and getting the full story later.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver Avedon Cyan Hide GeneralTyrus
Twilight Sparkle
She had figured out a while ago that something was wrong with Aurora. They had stopped acting normal, and no longer was as loving as they had previously been. She thought that she had done something wrong to warrant it, but no. The realization that some sort of curse has befallen her lover became more and more apparent.

That left her as pretty much the sole ruler of the nation at this point. The only pony in a position of power to keep things stable. Keeping her knowledge to herself, the letter confirming what she was already suspicious of sealed the deal. Making sure to wrap everything up, she went to go find her friends, donning the Element of Magic once again. Only this time, it would be used on the one pony she never thought she would have to turn it against...

Selena
Selena received her letter but it was pretty much useless. She had a tendency of hanging around Ponyville, and so, noticed the darkened goddess of magic hanging near the edges of the town. She returned the letter saying that she would be waiting for them there, staring at Nightmare Moon from a distance with hate filled eyes. They had taken Mother Moon from her once, and now held them prisoner.

She was practically invisible against the backdrop of the night, but the small, burning glow of her eyes remained.

 

[Superwholock]

Dreamweaver
Sergio el Desalmado, otherwise known as the Soulless, entered the outskirts of Ponyville and paused. Something in the air was giving him a bad feeling.
"Hmmm." The noise sounded like a growl, rumbling from deep in his chest. He had come here in search of his adopted son who had left his crew and his ship in order to explore Equestria, a place the young stallion had only ever heard about from fellow pirates and sailors. He'd talked to several merchants who claimed to have seen a young earth pony with a navy coat and intricate tattoos in this town called Ponyville.
Sergio hoped Virgil wasn't currently here, and his gut told him the younger was no longer here. He had learned long ago to trust his gut.

---------

After receiving the summons, Pinkie Pie raced towards Ponyville, searching for the others she knew would also be summoned to fight Nightmare Moon. She had so many questions about how things had gotten to this point, but that could wait.

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver
Avedon had been called many things. Paranoid, over-prepared, two foals in a stallion-sized costume standing on each other, but the last 10 years of hunting Nightmare Moon, of preparing for the inevitable return, of the confrontation with the primordial, it justified all of it now. All said he hadn't expected to be flying through the night carrying Rarity with him as the Element's eyes remained locked forward, buried in concern for her friend as they neared where Luna was being held. The element had a feeling this wouldn't end well and for once she wished she was being melodramatic.

 

[GeneralTyrus]

Superwholock
Fluttershy received her letter form Celestia and quickly left for ponyville proper, so that she could find others if they hadn't already gotten a letter. She left a note for Rose, explaining why she was gone if she wasn't home when Rose got back.

Avedon Dreamweaver Dumbledoof Cyan Hide Shadeofshade Superwholock

Once everyone had been gathered in Ponyville, Celestia would be there waiting in front of Twiligtht's home, figuring it easier for most of the ponies coming to get there with ease. And of course had escorts from the summons. Celestia looked over those that were gathered with a grim expression, and somber eyes, "I appreciate you all coming here to meet with me. We all have a great enemy to face here. Hopefully, things will go as planned, but the Elements and I will head in. I will carry the elements in a box." She'd say, before sighing.

"Once it seems like the deal might be made, and she hopefully lets her guard down,I will teleport the Elements to the Bearers, and then you," She'd gesture to the adventures, "Will spring out, and attack her in a ambush." She'd say, looking at them all, "I will try and get Luna out of her as safely as possible,: She'd say with grim tone. With one final look, she'd nod, "It's time." She'd say, and gestured for the Bearers to follow.

 

[Dreamweaver]

Cyan Hide
Shining Armor
As Cadence wandered off, Shining was stuck there for a few moments deciding what he should do. He was kind of useless in this situation. What was he supposed to accomplish that a bunch of gods and demigods could not? He had no power here with his little sword and flimsy armour. But... he also couldn't let Cadence go alone, despite the fact that he would probably be walking to his death. If something happened to Cadence and he wasn't around to try and stop it, he'd never forgive himself.

With that thought in mind, he went to get his armour and greatsword, and then came to find Cadence so that she could teleport the two of them over. Hopefully this was not his final day on Equis.
----
Trixie
Trixie had literally no idea what was going on, because Nightmare Moon had kept her end of the bargain. Trixie had no memories of anything that had transpired, and nopony else had been told of the deal. As far as Trixie was concerned, she had been injured badly by the dragon but was healed from a Wish spell. Since she knew absolutely nothing about this battle, Trixie just kind of stared at the letter and then back up at Starlight.

It had been a long time since she saw Starlight angry enough for that red mist to appear. "... I had no idea that you and Aurora were so close, Starlight. Try to stay calm." that was of course the obvious answer to Trixie. Starlight was mad because her friend was possessed. Never once did another reason cross the blue mares mind. "You should go. I sense Celestia near Twilight's castle. I will make sure the children get to safety. This could spill through Ponyville... I will join you when I am able."

Shadeofshade
As the only member of the group not currently near Ponyville, Titania was met halfway in her travels by a group of unicorns. "Lady Titania? We are here to teleport you to Ponyville." the lead mage said, before the three mages fell into an incantation. The air radiated with power as a portal formed there, tearing reality itself apart and showing Ponyville on the other side. "May Harmony be with you." the lead mage said, which was echoed by all the other mages.

On the other side of the portal was a large crystal castle, which Titania would recognize as Twilight's castle in Ponyville. As she stepped through, Titania would find herself suddenly surrounded by powerful allies!

Dumbledoof
As much as Nightmare would have loved to keep making Twilight think she had done something to drive a wedge between herself and Aurora, the Primordial didn't have that kind of patience. She wasn't thoughtful enough to really take over ruling a country. Every decision she made in court was absolutely terrible, to the point of nearly starting a few wars during her few weeks in Aurora's body. It was startlingly obvious after a short amount of time that whatever this pony was walking around, it wasn't Aurora.

It looked and sounded like her. It smelled and even tasted like her to Twilight, but it wasn't her. Some disgusting mockery of a goddess. What compassion and gentleness had existed in Aurora's eyes and touch was replaced by a brutal and cold exterior, with her touches becoming callous and even painful at times. She seemed to like causing pain, such as purposefully injuring guards with her superior strength or even squeezing a little too tightly on Twilight.
----
As Selena gathered in the field, Luna gave Selena a very brief wave. Whatever she could get away with without being spotted at least.

Superwholock
As Sergio moved throughout the town, he would be able to tell that something was not right. It was hard to pinpoint, but the air just felt very tense. Ponies were shuffling all around in what should have been a rather quiet and slow town. After a few moments the truth would hit him; ponies were leaving. Specifically leaving in one direction, opposite the field nearby where he was standing.

In the distance Sergio could see a large alicorn, standing nearly twice the height of a regular pony with dark purple fur bordering on black coating her body. At her side was a prisoner of some sort; a small light blue pegasus with a moon as her cutiemark.
-----------------
Pinkie Pie would instinctually know to go to Twilight's castle, since she could feel the power of the other Elements of Harmony radiating from that location. Upon arriving she would see her friends, Celestia, and also a few ponies who she did not know.

Avedon
As Avedon and Rarity moved closer, Luna glanced up at the two of them and offered a short nod of her head. Nightmare stood over her like a jailer, making sure that she made no real movements or sounds. Nightmare had already learned that taking her awareness off of Luna for even a moment was bad for ones health, and so she had her properly bound with magical bindings, forcing her to basically just look ahead.

The Elements and heroes were gathering at Twilight's crystal castle, under the guide of Celestia.

Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Shadeofshade Superwholock
As the heroes began to gather around Celestia for their instructions, the sky overhead darkened. Celestia could sense that this was not the doing of Nightmare Moon or Luna, but was rather something else entirely. Furthermore, Celestia could sense an extremely familiar presence. Around the hooves of the assembled ponies gathered a sickening mist, one that sapped the strength of those it touched and felt like icy water. The mist slowly formed into a bat pony, who came to stand beside Avedon.

She spoke to Celestia first. Her old mentor and friend, who she had once fought for in the Eclipse War before being turned into an abomination that could no longer stand in the sun. She pointed up at the sun which was now hidden behind cloud cover and smiled. "... That was necessary. I've been waiting a very long time for this, as I know you have as well." She offered Celestia a short nod. The covered sun should last for a good few hours, which should be all the time they need. Hopefully.

All of this seemed fine to Aurelia, except for one thing. "You're going to rely on teleporting the Elements to their Bearers. Are you sure that she will not stop you? Nightmare. Nightmare... Weave?"

All around the heroes, ponies were shuffling by. The entirety of Ponyville was currently being evacuated. The Second Griffon War had seen Ponyville's near destruction... the powers at play here were far beyond that and all civilians needed to be as far away as possible.

 

[Cyan Hide]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus

Cadence


Before they teleported, Cadence turned to her husband, and sighed. "If things even remotely start to look bad, you have to get out. The Crystal Empire needs you. Flurry Heart and Asa will need you. Equestria will need you." With one more kiss, Cadence teleported them both to the gathering point in from of Twilight's Castle. There, she listened carefully to Celestia's plan. Aurelia had brought up a good point. How would they get the Elements to the bearers?

"Maybe we should give them the Elements first. Just in case they can't be teleported."


Starlight

Starlight nodded. "Right. Thank you, Trixie. And I love you. I want you to know that. I'll see you there, after the children are safe."

Starlight hugged Trixie very tight, and gave her a deep, loving kiss. Perhaps it was the lack of danger Equestria had faced these ten years but Starlight hadn't been this emotional in a very long time. She teleported out after waving goodbye, and was now outside Twilight's castle. Applejack had just arrived too. Starlight listened to the plan and agreed with it. The Elements are what defeated Nightmare Moon after she returned. They'll at least weaken her now. She couldn't even look Nightmare, Twilight, or Luna in the eyes. She wondered if any of them knew...

 

[Superwholock]

Dreamweaver Cyan Hide
Pinkie Pie joined her fellow Elements, glancing around as she took the present situation in. She hoped this wasn't the last time she saw any of them, but this was Nightmare Moon they were facing.

------

Sergio frowned minutely at the sight that greeted him, ponies fleeing and a rather dangerous looking Alicorn holding a captive off in the distance.
"Querido Grastus," he muttered, more out of annoyance than anything. "The hell have I walked into now?"
He began walking forward, through the fleeing ponies, trying to get a better idea of what was going on here.

 

[Avedon]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus

Avedon set down outside the castle and let Rarity off. The two exchanging a look. Outside of Celestia the two had been Luna's oldest and most steadfast companions and now their friend's life dangled on the edge of the pit that had swallowed so much of her past, her own daughter turned against her. If this wasn't Luna;'s worst fear, they knew it was close...and the power that could be unleashed here they knew that it was not only Luna that should be afraid, the world stood on the edge of a calamity not seen for a thousand years.

Rarity moved to the other element-bearers, pristine and delicate in her form and movements, as unyielding and grim as the vampire she left behind though who even now looked and watched. Nightmare Moon's power lay in deception and betrayal. She'd be expecting something like what they would do. The key was whether her arrogance was greater than her preparations however.

 

[Shadeofshade]

Dreamweaver Avedon Cyan Hide Dumbledoof GeneralTyrus Superwholock

Titania was glad that she met the ponies that she needed halfway, even more so as they knew that she needed to be teleported. When she was teleported she looked around to get a lay of the land. She was in Ponyville, she was just outside Twilight Sparkle’s Castle and there was a whole host of big shots there waiting.

As Titania listened to the plan, she thought about the letter that summoned her again. Nightmare Moon was the target this time, the first enemy the Bearers Of Harmony fought off and she shattered the Elements Of Harmony. “Wonder what she plans to do with the Elements Of Harmony? I mean, she has already shattered them once so, what can she do to them now that she couldn’t do before?” She asked remembering the book that she read that Twilight had published.

 

[Dumbledoof]

Dreamweaver GeneralTyrus Avedon Cyan Hide Superwholock Shadeofshade
Selena
"I must agree with my friend Aurelia here. Leaving something such as teleporting up to chance against Nightmare would be ill advised." Selena's quiet voice cut through like ice, appearing with the rest of the group in a cloud of shadows, which dissipated to reveal her starry form, galaxies and nebulae visible along her fur. "The Elements cannot be taken magically. That was seen to by yourself and Luna when Discord had stolen them so easily before. As such, she would have to take them physically, which is where Aurora is weak."

Her eyes flicked, turning her eyes back over to Nightmare and Luna. A growl formed in her throat. "... We'll likely only have a single chance to land a shot with the Elements of Harmony. Also due to their nature, that means holding them still for long enough so that Twilight and her friends can do what they must. Our foe is very powerful, much more than when she had previously possessed my dear Mother Moon..."

Twilight Sparkle
Twilight teleported in right as Celestia was going over the plans. She opened her mouth to say something, but Selena had beaten her to the punch, as well as Aurelia and Cadence. "Right. What they said. The Elements are best kept with the rest of us, Princess. I don't think Nightmare would dare try to immediately take them, not with the looming threat of possibly being blasted at point blank range. It might not kill them--hopefully not--but it is going to do quite a bit of damage."

She turned around to the rest of her friends. Her face was grim. "We need to stick together, girls. Close together. If we become separated and lose our Elements... the battle is already lost. Nightmare will have won and Aurora is lost forever. We can't lose our Elements, the others have to be able to hold Nightmare still long enough for us to use them, and we can't miss."

Turning so that she could glare at Nightmare off in the distance, Twilight's eyes turned to slits, the muscles underneath her body tensing. She'll get her marefriend back. Whatever the cost. They will not become Nightmare's eternal slave.