Shining Armor found himself lying on the floor, coughing as wherever he ended up, he had been teleported to in a puff of purple smoke. Able to breathe again, he opened his eyes. It looked like he was still in the old castle, although it was probably a different part of it.

What was certain was that he was now in trouble.

Standing before him on an elevated platform was Nightmare Moon. She chuckled as she looked down at him, the stones floating around her. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked, making the shadows dance around the already dark form.

"Nightmare Moon," Shining Armor said as he pushed himself up. "Listen to me." He took a step forward. "It doesn't have to be like this."

"What?" the black alicorn said. "What in Equestria are you talking about?"

"You don't have to do this," Shining continued. "You still have a chance to set things right."

Nightmare Moon's eyes went wide as she took a single step back.

"You haven't hurt anypony as far as I know, and the night may have lasted longer than it should, but no harm has been done by that either. This can all end peacefully if you let Celestia go and allow the sun to rise again."

"You're kidding, right?" Nightmare Moon asked, narrowing her gaze at the unicorn before her. "You think that just like that everything goes back to the way it was before? A wave of my hoof and like that, your life goes on? Do you honestly think the other ponies will forgive me so quickly?"

"Your sister would."

Once again, Nightmare Moon took a step back, looking as if she had just been slapped. The winds around her quieted, The Elements landing gently on the ground around her.

"I may not know what happened between the two of you," Shining said, "but I am a big brother so I know this. Even after all that's happened, even after being apart for so long, your sister still loves you. If she's still alive, I'm sure she would forgive you for what happened so long ago and be happy to see you again. The two of you could make up for lost time."

As he spoke, tears started to well up in the black alicorn's eyes. As they started to flow, glistening lines formed along her cheeks. Where the tears ran, the blackness seemed to peel away and reveal a dark blue underneath. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, Shining Armor thought he had seen her eyes change shape and color.

As quickly as it seemed to happen, it was gone. The tears stopped and the blue lines vanished. The teal draconic eyes stared at him once more. Nightmare Moon stood at her full height again, staring down at the stallion.

"You are a foal," she said in a booming voice. "It is far too late for such a thing. Events have been set in motion, and I must see them through to the end."

"So be it," Shining said as he closed his eyes, and his horn began to glow again.

"What?" Nightmare Moon cried out in surprise.

Shining Armor had been hoping that he could reach Nightmare Moon and put an end to this all peacefully. After all, it was what Princess Celestia would have wanted. At the same time, he had kept walking forward as he spoke. Now he stood right in front of her, and The Elements of Harmony.

The unicorn's horn glowed brightly as he drew as much magic as quickly as he could. Not even letting it collect, he started pushing it out toward the stones in the hope of activating them.

A bolt of lightning struck him in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

For a moment, it seemed to be working. Nightmare Moon let out a cry of terror as The Elements glowed with Shining Armor's magic as energy crackled around the five stones, moving from one to the other.

Then it disappeared, leaving the stone spheres as they were and Nightmare Moon unaffected. Looking at them, the alicorn burst into laughter. Rearing up on her hind legs, she slammed her front hooves down on the ground hard. The entire room seemed to shake for a second, and The Elements of Harmony shattered.

"You little foal," Nightmare Moon snarled. "Thinking you could defeat me! Now you shall never see your princess... or your sun. The night will last... Forever!" She spread her wings wide, laughing as her magic swirled around her.

Shining Armor stared with his ears drooping and his jaw hanging slack. He had been so busy trying to find The Elements, he now realized he had not even thought of what would happen if he failed. Now it was over. Their best chance of defeating Nightmare Moon had shattered before his eyes. Their greatest hope of saving Equestria and Princess Celestia was gone.

Now what do I do?

He heard his name being called from behind him. Five familiar voices reached his ear. Five voices that were getting louder as they got closer. Five voices that were calling out to him and telling him they were coming to help. Five voices that brought great joy to his heart, even in this dark time.

My friends.

At that moment there were two sparks. One was a spark of hope in his heart. The other was the spark of realization in his mind.

"You're wrong," he said as he turned to Nightmare Moon. "You can't destroy The Elements of Harmony. Because The Elements live on in everypony. The Elements of Harmony are right here!" He motioned at the five ponies that joined him to face the black alicorn.

At her feet, the shards started to shake and glow. They rose from the ground, floating in mid-air and glowing with powerful magic.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked, her eyes darting from one shard to the other.

"Each of these ponies has shown courage and strength," Shining Armor continued. "By working together and trusting each other, they... We ... were able to overcome every challenge The Everfree Forest set before us. They've all shown the spirit of The Elements, and some more than others.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, and believed in me when I didn't, represents the element of Honesty."

Several of the shards flew forward, circling around the orange earth pony.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, who helped it when it was hurt, represents Kindness.

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, and got us all to do the same, represents Laughter.

"Rarity, who calmed a hysterical serpent with a meaningful gift, sacrificing her own tail in the process, represents Generosity.

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, who will always have your back, represents Loyalty."

Like with Applejack, each time Shining Armor spoke of one of his friends attributes and the proof of what Element they signified, shards of the broken stones floated from where they were to the specific pony, floating in a spinning circle around her.

"You still don't have the sixth element," Nightmare Moon said, her voice hinting at panic. "The spark didn't work."

"But it did," Shining replied. "I realized it when I heard the five of you coming. When I knew you were coming to help me. Most of all, I felt it when I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. Because I realized that you all.."

He turned to face the black alicorn standing before him.

"Are my friends."

From above them, a white light appeared, its glow filling the room. Another orb appeared, floating near the ceiling and slowly coming closer to the six ponies. It stopped three inches above Shining Armor's head.

"You see Nightmare Moon. When the five elements are ignited by the spark of friendship, the connections and bonds we make with each other, it creates the sixth element. The element of Magic."

The glow from the orb grew brighter, it's light encompassing the six ponies. Each of the mares glowed with a different color as the shards encompassed their necks, creating a necklace in a burst of mystical energy. The sixth orb burst apart and headed toward Shining Armor, encompassing his head in a helmet.

From the bond between the six ponies and the elements they now wore, energy flowed between them. It was like nothing any of them had ever felt before. The glow around them grew brighter, the energy becoming stronger. It then burst from the pony, flying up into the air above them. The magic shifted and coalesced, turning into a rainbow and heading straight for Nightmare Moon.

The dark alicorn could only scream as the bright magical energy encompassed her.