Rearranging Perspectives

Chapters

The Plunge
Starting Again
Wedding Crashers
Assembling and Confrontation
Welcome to the Jungle
Crystalline Mustard of Doom
Stranger in a Strange Land
Opening Volley
Dark Revelations
Shadows Reborn Nightmares Restored
Invasions of the Lovecraftian Variety
Calm Before the Storm
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Showdown
One Step Closer
Closing In

The Plunge

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 1: The Plunge

Samuel ‘Sam’ Hitchcock Wilson looked over the edge of High Eagle Cliff and fought off a wave of vertigo. The sharp rocks below were just waiting for some poor creature sacrifice itself to wash them in its blood. They were about to get a very rare treat: a willing victim. Or to put it more plainly, Sam was about to commit suicide.

However, Sam wasn’t one of many unfortunate souls who decide that life is too hard to continue. In actuality, Sam was there for the opposite reason: He found life to be much too easy and had grown bored with it.

Sam had graduated high school at the crisp age of 16 and was in the middle of his third semester with the local community college. Thus far, the challenge he had expected was non-existent. Therefore, he decided to see if things were more exciting on the Other Side, as it were.

This leads us back to Sam, preparing himself to jump into the deadly embrace of the rocks below. Sam’s pale-green eyes shining with apprehension and curiosity while a light breeze blew through his sandy-brown hair; his heart beating wildly in a vain attempt to keep his 5’ 11” frame alive. He thought briefly about his parents; he knew they’d be devastated, but he couldn’t bring himself to care, even though he knew he should. He pushed all those thoughts aside and jumped.

“GERONIMO!” He shouted and as he fell, in those last few seconds, he thought about the birthday cake he would never have. Today was his 18th birthday, after all.

Rainbow Dash was doing her favorite thing in the world after sleeping and slightly above reading Daring Do: training for the Wonderbolts. She knew that even her awesomeness couldn’t get her into the Wonderbolts alone. It had only taken three rejections for her to figure that out.

In any event, Rainbow Dash was streaking through the skies, leaving a prismatic streak behind her, when she spotted something falling. She watched whatever it was until it crashed into a nearby meadow before it registered that whatever it was that had fallen would probably need help. Therefore, she flew to go do so.

When Rainbow Dash landed and got a good look at it, she didn’t like what she saw. It was some kind of animal that she had never seen before, but Fluttershy probably knew what it was. The more important thing was that it was badly hurt. It had many minor cuts all along its body and what looked to be clothes, but more worryingly was the amount of blood around the face and an arm that Rainbow Dash was sure shouldn’t be bending the way it was.

Rainbow Dash knew she was out of her depth and decided to do what she usual did when she didn’t know what was going on: get Twilight. With that choice made, she flew off to Ponyville as fast as her wings could carry her. She hoped the creature would be OK until she got back.

Twilight Sparkle liked to keep things neat and organized as much as possible. For this reason, she found Rainbow Dash’s habit of flying in through a window willy-nilly irritating.

“Twilightthere’sathingthat’shurtandIdon’tknowwhatitisweneedFluttershyto-”

“STOP! I can’t understand a word you’re saying! Take a deep breath and talk to me in a way a pony can understand!” Twilight barked at Rainbow Dash, who complied with the order and took a deep breath before continuing.

“I was training for the Wonderbolts when something fell from nowhere and landed in that meadow that’s a mile out of town. When I went to check on it, it turned out to be a creature I’ve never seen before, but it’s really hurt and we need Fluttershy because I don’t know how much longer it’ll survive if we don’t do something!” Rainbow Dash shouted

“You go get Fluttershy and take her to the creature. I’ll go get the others,” Twilight decided and the two departed on their missions.

Fluttershy was doing her chores when Rainbow Dash suddenly flew into her yard.

“Hello, Rainbow, what can I do for you?” Fluttershy asked

“There’s a hurt animal and we need your help!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed

“Oh my, let me get my first aid kit and you can show me where it is,” Fluttershy said and after she retrieved said first aid kit, they flew towards the meadow where the injured creature was.

Once they arrived, they found they were the last to arrive. The others were already examining the strange creature.

“Ah’ve never seen anything like it,” Applejack remarked

“It looks simply dreadful,” Rarity added

“Where do you think it came from? Do you think it came from space? Maybe it just appeared out of thin air!” Pinkie Pie gasped

“Girls! We’re here to help it, not gawk at it!” Twilight tried to retain some semblance of order, but it was a losing battle.

“We’re here with the first aid!” Rainbow announced and they all gave Fluttershy the space she needed to work her special brand of magic.

Sam was aware of exactly two things; one, he was in pain, and two, he was conscious. Make that three; Sam was pretty sure he wasn’t dead. If he was, it sure wasn’t how people thought it was.

“Well, I don’t feel dead,” He muttered to himself

“Ya don’t look dead neither,” Replied a voice with a definite southern drawl, “But it sure was a close thing.”

“When one throws themselves off a cliff, one generally expects-” The rest of Sam’s witty and sarcastic retort died in his throat as he opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of no less than eight very colorful equines. This was made even more unreal by the horrified expressions on most of their faces and that wasn’t even going into the one with the Stetson’s hat.

“I am going to ask this one time and one time only for the sake of my questionable sanity: why is there a pony with a cowboy hat?” Sam asked

“Ah like my hat!” The pony in question defended her favorite headwear.

“You wake up in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by unfamiliar ponies and the first thing you ask is why Applejack is wearing a cowboy hat?!” The purple unicorn exclaimed

“It’s a reasonable question and it also got me bonus information! Further, now that I think about it, talking horses is odd enough, but horses that talk in English?” Sam wondered

“Translation spell, but that’s not the point here mister! The point is-!”

“As interesting as it is to watch you two squabble, I believe there are indeed more important matters, such as how you got here,” The dark unicorn/pegasus remarked

“Beats the tar outta me. One minute I was throwing myself off a cliff,” –cue horrified faces-“And telling St. Peter to get my bed ready, the next I wake up here in the land of cowboy hat wearing ponies,” Sam remarked, resigning himself to whatever coma induced illusion/purgatory he had been sentenced to. Although, there was the chance he was simply insane. Sam wasn’t sure which option he liked better, but there was always the off chance this was real. In which case, he didn’t particularly want to offend anything by trying to invalidate his/her/its existence.

“Who is this ‘St. Peter’ and why were you throwing yourself off a cliff?” The white unicorn/pegasus asked

“St. Peter is a religious figure. As for why I was throwing myself off a cliff, well, I wasn’t exactly planning to tell anyone why and I still don’t plan to. It’s usually a rather private matter, motivations behind wanting to kill ones self. The kind of private that doesn’t include beings of unknown origin that I don’t know,” Sam snarked

“Hey! Nopony talks like that to the princess!” The cyan/rainbow colored pegasus barked

“Princess? Well then, I’d better warn you ahead of time; my psychologist says I have an unhealthy lack of respect for authority. Flippancy is to be expected at every possible turn,” Sam quipped and the purple unicorn was about to say something, but was cut off by the dark unicorn/pegasus.

“Before this devolves into one-liners, perhaps we should introduce ourselves.” She suggested, “I am Luna, alicorn princess of Equestria. I’m in charge of the moon and the night.”

“I am Celestia, alicorn princess of Equestria. I am in charge of the sun and the day. My sister and I co-rule.” Sam had to clamp down on the impulse to ask about a queen.

“My name’s Twilight Sparkle and I am Princess Celestia’s personal student.”

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! When you’re all better, we’re gonna have a ‘welcome to Equestria’ party!”

“Ah’m Applejack. I run Sweet Apple Acres with mah family.”

“Rarity, darling, pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“I’m the super-amazing Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria and this is Fluttershy,” The cyan/rainbow one said while motioning to the pegasus that seemed to by trying to disappear into her own mane. “She doesn’t talk much around strangers, but she’ll warm up to you. She takes care of just about every animal in and around Ponyville.”

“Looks like it’s my turn then; my name is Sam Wilson and I’m a human formerly of the planet Earth. I am the master of snarks, lord of quips, and high ruler of comebacks, or so I like to think. If I had known I was going to end up in a place other than Heaven, Hell, or Earth, I’d have packed. Brought books, pictures, and stuff. Can’t think of anything else right now, so that’s pretty much it for the moment. I don’t suppose there’s any chance of getting home?” Sam asked

“Even if we did know where exactly you came from, opening a portal like that would still be a huge risk,” Celestia answered

“Right, suppose we don’t want Cthulhu popping in for tea because someone screwed up a portal,” Sam commented offhandedly

“You know of the Old Ones?!” Celestia exclaimed

“I was joking…or I thought I was. Great, now I have to worry about Lovecraftian horrors slithering out from under my bed. What’s next, eldritch abominations wanting to play hacky sack with my head?” Sam groused

“In any event, we can make your life here easier,” Celestia said

“How so?” Sam asked

“My sister and I could turn you into a pony,” Celestia offered

“Oh yes, give up my humanity which I’ve held and cherished my whole life in exchange for becoming a member of a species I know absolutely nothing about using a magic I know just as much of. Of course, let’s not forget the hundreds upon thousands of new and exciting ways I can fail at everything pony related from mere walking to any social status quo. If nothing else, if I stay human I can claim ignorance and people will believe me. If I were to become a pony, I can’t very well claim ignorance because I’m a being from another world and/or dimension who has been turned into a pony! Not without being thrown on the tender mercies of the insane institute every other week and I’m sure you have better things to do than bail me out on a regular basis. That, and hands; I happen to be very fond of my hands and the fingers they come bundled with,” Sam quipped while wiggling said appendages. ‘I sound like the freaking Doctor!’ Sam thought to himself.

“Can we take that as a ‘no’?” Luna asked a touch sarcastically

“Indeed you can. If I ever change my mind and feel the need to become a pony, please smack some sense into me and hold nothing back, for in that case I will have clearly lost my mind temporarily,” Sam remarked

“You seem to have already lost it,” Twilight muttered

“I heard that Twilight Sparkle,” Sam said and then failed to suppress a snicker.

“What’s wrong with my name? Twilight is a perfectly respectable name!” Twilight protested

“It’s not your fault. Back home, there’s this romance novel that just about everyone hates and it’s called Twilight and it’s about vampires that sparkle. Hence, twilight sparkle. Hence, your name is an unfortunate coincidence. Ergo, I find it amusing,” Sam replied

“You must feel so awful that you’re never going to see your friends again!” Pinkie Pie interjected before Twilight could reply

“Friends? I have a cousin who puts up with me once a year for family reunions, or ‘had’ I suppose. That’s about as far as possible ‘friends’ go,” Sam said, mostly to himself, but the others all heard it and Pinkie Pie in particular seemed to find it horrific.

“Don’t worry! When go to Ponyville, we’ll make you lots and lots of friends!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed

“Speaking of Ponyville and Equestria and such, where are we exactly and how long have I been out?” Sam asked

“We’re in a private room in Canterlot Castel and you’ve been unconscious for two days since you arrived here. While they were fixing your arm, we decided to take the liberty of doing a complete medical checkup,” Luna answered

“‘Fixing my arm’? Please tell me they didn’t use magic on it,” Sam almost begged

“Of course, it’s standard practice for such a sever break,” Twilight responded and Sam facepalmed.

“Did any of you stop to think that maybe, just maybe, I’d have a horribly adverse reaction to magic, being from a different world and/or dimension? Or maybe unforeseen consequences, like I suddenly become able to use magic? Was there any thought put into this?” Sam questioned

“Probably should have thought about that beforehoof. On the bright side, the scientific data from how your body responds to magic should be fascinating!” Twilight exclaimed like a child who has been told Christmas will come early.

“Your concern is heartwarming,” Sam snarked, oozing sarcasm. The others were content to just watch the exchange like tennis fans watching the ball going back and forth between players.

“I’m glad you think so, because I’ve decided to make Twilight your teacher,” Celestia cut in

“WHAT?!” Both Twilight and Sam shouted

“I think you will make an excellent student-teacher pair,” Celestia responded

“And the rest of us will never know a moment’s rest again,” Rarity whispered to the other five and they all giggled

“I…upon review of my current situation, I have decided that, despite the fact that 90% of our time will be spent engaged in snark-to-snark combat, having someone who can teach me useful things, like how to read the native script, will be needed. It might as well be Ms. Sparkle here. At least she comes with the stamp of approval,” Sam remarked

“I don’t know, are you sure I’m ready for a student, Princess Celestia?” Twilight asked

“I trust that you will be able to teach Sam all about the magic of friendship and all the other essential things,” Celestia responded

“Wait, ‘magic of friendship’? I don’t wanna be blasted!” Sam exclaimed and everyone gave him a weird look.

“Blasted? Where’d you get that silly idea?” Pinkie Pie asked

“I don’t mean I’m worried about actually getting blasted. It’s a reference…no one will ever understand my references ever again. On second thought, no one got my references anyway. The more things change, I guess,” Sam said, “If I ever just belt out a non-sequitur like that and I don’t explain myself, just assume it’s a reference.” That’s when Sam’s stomach growled loudly.

“I imagine you must be hungry,” Celestia commented, “What does your kind eat? I imagine at least a little meat, given your dental structure and are there any food allergies?”

“Humans are omnivores. As far as allergies go, my Mom claims I’m lactose-intolerant, but I’ve yet to see an evidence materialize to support those claims,” Sam answered

“Very good, I’ll notify the kitchen. In the mean time, try to stay out of too much trouble,” Celestia remarked and then left.

“It’s like she doesn’t trust me or something,” Luna and Sam remarked at the same time and that got a round of snickers all around.

‘Well, at least I don’t think I’m in any danger of becoming bored,’ Sam thought to himself. Yes, Equestria promised to be the perfect balm for his boredom, on the off chance it didn’t kill him first.

Author's Note

This idea just popped into my head today and it wouldn't leave me along until I wrote it. My own entry into the 'human in Equestria' community. You know things are going to be fun when names like Cthulhu are being thrown around. Whether he'll actually appear in the story itself is still up in the air.

In any event, please click on the thumbs up or down. But if you click on the thumbs down, the least you could do is explain why and help me to improve in the comments section below. ;-;

Starting Again

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 2: Starting Again

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The last train to Ponyville for the day was moving at a fair pace across the land painted in reds, oranges, and yellows by the setting sun. Amongst its few passengers were the six mares known as The Elements of Harmony and the only Human ever known to Ponykind.

The Elements were happy to be heading home to their friends and family and were currently chatting with each other to pass the time. Sam, on the other hand, was keeping mostly to himself whilst deep in thought. Eventually, Twilight noticed her new student’s slightly melancholy mood and excused herself from her friend’s chatter.

“How are you holding up?” Twilight asked

“I’m fine, all things considered,” Sam responded, “A lot happened today and I’m looking forward to putting some sleep between me and today’s events.”

“You’re handling all this pretty well. I don’t know what I’d do if I suddenly woke up in your world. I’d probably keep telling myself it’s all a dream or something,” Twilight remarked

“I’m just operating under the assumption that all this is real until proven otherwise. It saves me the time and effort of offending someone by trying to disprove their existence. Besides, if it is just a dream or something, then I don’t know how long I’m stuck here and I’d be better off just playing nice with everyone anyway,” Sam said

“Sounds logical to me,” Twilight replied

“In any event, there’s no use griping about it. I’m here and the sooner I accept all that entails the better it is for everyone involved. The sooner I can start really enjoying it too. One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind and all that,” Sam quipped, “That’s a reference to human history, so you’ll know all about it eventually.”

“How much of your history do you know?” Twilight asked

“It was my second favorite subject in school. So you’re lucky I’m the one who ended up here and not one of the vast majority whom loathe history,” Sam remarked

“That’s good, I want to learn everything I can,” Twilight said

“It’d be my pleasure to attempt slake the thirst for knowledge you posses,” Sam responded and the two talked about various subjects until the train pulled into Ponyville Station.

“Applejack!”

“Rarity!”

“Rainbow Dash!” The group had barely exited the train when they were ambushed by three young fillies

“Where’s the cute repellant? I think I might get cavities just from exposure,” Sam snarked and the three fillies turned from their family/role model and gaped at the human.

“What are you?” Asked the one with a red bow in her mane

“This is Sam, and he’s a human. He’s going to be staying with me as my student,” Twilight responded before Sam could.

“Cool!” The three fillies chorused

“Ah’m Apple Bloom!”

“I’m Sweetie Belle!”

“I’m Scootaloo!”

“And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” They cried together

“Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Sam asked

“Yeah, we’re trying to get our Cutie Marks!” Sweetie Belle answered

“And what are Cutie Marks?” Sam asked hesitantly. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He was known to snark uncontrollably when confronted with too much cuteness, after all.

“Cutie Marks represent a pony’s special talent and appear on the flank when a pony discovers his or her talent. Pinkie Pie’s balloons represent her talent for parties,” Twilight explained

“Oh, I thought they were just tattoos or something,” Sam remarked

“Don’t humans get Cutie Marks?” Apple Bloom asked

“Not insofar as I am aware, no,” Sam replied and the CMC gasped

“That’s awful! How do humans know what their good at?” Sweetie Belle asked

“We figure it out through trial and error; usually more error than trial, but that’s to be expected,” Sam responded

“Ya can talk to Sam tomorrow, Apple Bloom. It’s gettin’ late and Ah’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime,” Applejack said and started walking off. Apple Bloom reluctantly followed her older sister.

“Applejack’s right, come along Sweetie Belle,” Rarity ordered and they left the station as well.

“I should probably be getting you home too, squirt. See you guys tomorrow!” Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo left as well

“Come along Sam, we’re going to be up early so we need to get some sleep,” Twilight instructed and Sam followed his new teacher to her library. “Spike, we’re back!”

“Welcome home Twi-AH! It’s a monster!” As soon as the young dragon caught sight of Sam, he ducked behind a convenient pile of books.

“Spike, stop that! Sam isn’t a monster, he’s my new student!” Twilight admonished

“Student?” Spike repeated questioningly

“Princess Celestia appointed me as his teacher. As such, he’s going to be staying with us,” Twilight responded

“Oh, um, OK then, my name’s Spike!” Spike greeted

“I’m Sam,” Sam said

“Now that introductions are taken care of, let’s get to bed. I’m exhausted,” Twilight remarked and after showing
Sam to his new room, they all quickly fell asleep.

The next day, Twilight and Sam were both up at what many would consider an unholy hour: 5:00. The reason for this was simple; both wanted to find out how magic affected Sam and waylay any possible health hazards. Thus, student and teacher were down in Twilight’s laboratory with Sam hooked up to all kinds of equipment.

“These readings are fascinating!” Twilight nearly squealed as she read the printouts

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Sam noted

“We may not have to. According to this, you’re passively assimilating the magic around you and converting it into some kind of new energy! Even more incredible is that you’re getting a 75% efficiency rating!” Twilight exclaimed

“Is does this new energy pose any risk to my health? More importantly, how much magic can I accumulate before it hits critical?” Sam asked

“I don’t know about the unknown energy, but if you continue to accumulate magic at the same rate, it’ll be two weeks before you start to feel the strain and three before it becomes critical. Hopefully, if it comes to that, we’ll find a way to help you vent the excess magical energy,” Twilight answered

“What about that new energy? Can you tell me anything about that?” Sam wondered

“It doesn’t appear to be too radically different from magic, but we won’t know for certain without field tests. In fact, given the current readings, I have a hypothesis. It’s possible, that long ago humans were able to use their own kind of ‘magic’, but for one reason or another lost that ability. Now that you’ve been immersed in our world, which is filled with magic, your body is using it as a jumpstart to allow you to be able to use your own magic. If I’m right, you should eventually stop absorbing magic once yours reaches the point of self-sustainability,” Twilight theorized

“Come to think of it, I wouldn’t be too surprised if you’re right. There are records of people living to be almost a thousand years old a long time ago. If those records are truthful, then their longevity might be linked to this magic. The only thing that bothers me is how humanity lost its magic,” Sam remarked

“There’s also the possibility your magic will be different from that of old because it was restarted using our magic and it has been dormant for a long time. Who knows if it’s changed over that time?” Twilight pondered

“We’ll probably never know, since we don’t have access to any records from my home world. That doesn’t mean we can’t theorize,” Sam commented

“There’s also another question; how do you harness your magic? You don’t have a horn like unicorns do,” Twilight observed

“No, but we have fingers!” Sam wiggled them to emphasize his point. “They’re long, thin, and somewhat pointy; not unlike a unicorn horn.”

“You’re right! That’s probably how you’ll channel your magic,” Twilight agreed

“Twilight! Sam! Breakfast is ready!” Spike called, putting an impromptu end to Twilight and Sam’s hypothesizing.

After breakfast, Twilight, Sam, and Spike made their way to Town Hall. It had been decided that the best way to integrate Sam into Ponyville was to gather up everyone in Ponyville and show them all at once. To that end, Princess Celestia had sent a letter ahead of them to let the mayor know what was going on and what needed to be done.

“This is going to be a lot of fun, if Spike’s reaction is any indication,” Sam quipped

“Don’t even think about purposely scaring ponies! This is about making good first impressions!” Twilight barked

“How could you accuse me thinking such horrid things?” Sam asked in a faux wounded tone. Twilight returned with a level glare.

“Even my limited experience with your sense of humor should answer that question.” She deadpanned

“The bucket in the doorway is a classic!” Sam protested, but Twilight ignored him. They arrived at Town Hall and took their positions while the mayor gave the populace a quick rundown of the situation. When called for, Sam stepped
onto the stage.

After all the weird things that had been going on in Ponyville since Twilight’s arrival, the residents were fairly desensitized to oddness. So other than a general muttering amongst themselves, the only reactions were one mare crying ‘The horror! The horror!’ and another mint green mare shouting ‘IN YOUR FACE BON-BON!’

Once the dog and pony show was done, Sam and Twilight returned to the library so they could get to work on Sam’s first and perhaps most difficult lesson: learning how to read and write in Equestrian script. Thankfully, for the sanity of both parties involved, both Sam’s native English and Equestrian had a twenty-six letter alphabet; unfortunately, Equestrian only five vowels. Equestrian didn’t have a situational consonant/vowel equivalent of Y.

As that first day wore into night, Twilight and her student worked hard to teach him Equestrian and progress was made. Neither was distracted from the task at hand and long hours began to pay off. However, in a realm beyond mortal comprehension, a dark being watched from its throne; waiting for its moment to strike. It watched and it laughed from atop its throne made of the corpse of untold numbers of species it had destroyed, their decay halted by its power. Its unknowing pawn clearing its path.

“Soon,” It murmured to itself, “Soon.”

Author's Note

I count five moral-less fiends who have given me a thumbs down without attempting to tell me how to improve!

To the rest of you, thank for your kind words and thumbs ups!

Discorded oatmeal raisin cookies for every reference that Sam makes that you identify!

Stay tuned for the next installment of 'Rearranging Perspectives'!

Wedding Crashers

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 3: Wedding Crashers

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It had been two weeks since Sam arrived in Ponyville. In that time, the populace had pretty much gotten used to him; Lyra being the only exception. She wanted to ‘interview’ him and Sam was reluctant to say the least. He just didn’t like the way she was looking at him like a tiger would look at a particularly juicy steak.

In any event, that was not important at the moment. Right now, Twilight was setting up a machine to absorb and analyze magic. Last night, Sam’s own magic had finally hit the point of self-sustainability and he had stopped absorbing ambient magic. As such, Twilight was wasting no time in getting a sample of that magic so they could find out all they could about it.

“OK Sam, it’s ready. Just place your hands on the pad and try to discharge some of your magic. It should be instinctual,” Twilight instructed and Sam complied.

“One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to GO!” As soon as the last word left his mouth, Sam felt the magic respond and he could feel it racing down his arms. For a second, everything seemed fine, but then a sharp, arching pain shot up his spine and he sucked in breath through gritted teeth. He stopped the flow of magic and the pain abated.

“Sam, are you OK?!” Twilight shouted

“I’m fine, just put too much magic into it. My body probably hasn’t had the chance to adapt to magic flowing yet,” Sam knew that was a lie. On an instinctual level, he knew that the pain was always going to be there; a price for the magic. Law of Equivalent Exchange and stuff that Sam didn’t particularly want to think about. “Did we get enough magic in for a reading?”

“Yes, we did,” Twilight’s gaze lingered upon her student for a few moments longer before looking at the readings. “Unfortunately, the machine wasn’t able to decipher much. What it does tell us is that your magic is highly elemental.”

“Elemental how? Like classical elements only? A particular element? Some people consider time an element. Is space an element then?” Sam rambled

“I’m not completely sure. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say all elements; at least to a certain degree. Maybe even time,” Twilight answered, her eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she tried to make heads or tails of the readings.

“Does my magic need a certain structure? Like do I have to say a spell or something to get the desired effects?” Sam questioned

“No, I don’t think so. Where would you get an idea like that anyway?” Twilight responded

“Well, if you’re right and my magic is connected to all the elements, then I thought I would need some structure to keep, say, fire and water separate,” Sam replied

“Oh! No, no, no, you misunderstood! The way your magic seems to work, the elements are all in harmony, just waiting for a particular elemental part to be called upon. It’s even likely you can mix two or more elements together to get different effects. However, there’s the question of how much strain that would put on your body, if any at all,” Twilight remarked

“Well, the only way we can really figure that one out is through practice,” Sam said, but at that moment, Twilight’s coo-coo clock went off and sounded the 1 o’clock hour.

“Oh my gosh! Is it that late already?! I’m gonna be late for the picnic!” Twilight panicked

“The basket’s in the fridge. Get it and run and you might make it. I’ll just stay here and practice,” Sam said

“Good plan, just don’t strain yourself!” Twilight ordered as she dashed into the library. She snatched up the basket with her magic and then bolted towards the agreed upon spot for the picnic.

“Hi, girls, sorry I’m late!” Twilight greeted when she finally got there.

“It’s fine, darling. Truth be told, we’d probably have been more worried if you had been on time,” Rarity chuckled

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re always getting wrapped up in this or that!” Pinkie added and with that, the picnic began. Only to be stopped with the arrival of Spike and a message for Twilight.

“‘Dear Twilight Sparkle, I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot,’” Twilight read, “Wedding?” she wondered, “‘I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you, your student, and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music. Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception. Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception. Rainbow Dash, I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a Sonic Rainboom complete their ‘I dos’. Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bride’s maids. As for you and your student, Twilight, you will have the most important role of all: making sure everything goes as planned. See you all very soon, yours Princess Celestia.’”

To say that five of the Elements were ecstatic would be like saying a little kid is only mildly excited for Christmas. They were all over the moon, except Twilight. She was confused.

“Who’s getting married?” Twilight wondered

“Oh, wait, I was probably supposed to give you this one first,” Spike admitted sheepishly and handed Twilight a second scroll.

“‘Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and-’” *Gasp* “My Brother?!” Twilight was not particularly pleased. It was understandable, after all, her brother had failed to notify her that he was getting married, let alone engaged. Instead, she had found out in one of the most impersonal ways possible: a wedding invitation from Princess Celestia. The fact that Twilight didn’t know the bride only compounded the ire she was currently feeling for her brother.

After expositing through song to the other Elements about the bond she had shared with her brother before coming to Ponyville, she revealed that her brother happened to be Captain of the Royal Guard. Rarity fainted at the idea of doing a wedding for both a princess and Captain of the Royal Guard. The other five weren’t much better. Twilight decided to go home and inform Sam of the news. She just hoped he was more sympathetic.

“So we’re going to Canterlot for the wedding of your brother and a girl you don’t know?” Sam asked for confirmation

“That about sums it up,” Twilight confirmed

“And he gave you no previous notification?”

“Not so much as a slip of paper.”

“Then I won’t stand in your way when you attempt to brutally murder him,” Sam quipped

“Gee, thanks,” Twilight snarked

“If ya like, I can hold him down. This magic thing is a lot easier than they make it out to be in the books,” Sam remarked

“I can handle him on my own; I am Princess Celestia’s personal student, after all,” Twilight said

“Well then, let’s get packed and go!” Sam exclaimed and they did just that

The train ride to Canterlot was fairly uneventful, save for the tidbit that Spike was responsible for the bachelor party.

“Um, what’s a bachelor party?” Spike asked

“You’re in charge of the bachelor party and you don’t know what it is? Perhaps it’s for the best then,” Sam remarked

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Spike questioned

“Oh nothing,” Sam said innocently and the two went back and forth for the next hour.

The other thing was Twilight’s increasingly melancholy mood. She finally confided in Applejack that she was worried about losing her brother for good. Applejack tried to ease Twilight’s fears, but didn’t do so well.

When they eventually made it to Canterlot, they passed through some kind of force field. A force field that didn’t seem to like Sam all that much. When it passed over him, it sparked something fierce.

“OW! THAT HURT!” He shouted as the last of the sparks disappeared. Beyond that, he seemed to be OK.

“That was weird. I wonder why the force field reacted that way.” Twilight wondered

“Just an offhand guess, but maybe the shield is meant to keep out anything that isn’t a pony. However, that poses the question of how I got through in the first place,” Sam theorized while rubbing his arms to try and dispel the static-y feeling he had acquired.

Upon disembarking from the train, it was immediately noticeable the sheer number of guards standing around. It was also noticeable how many spears Sam had pointed at him. Therefore, he did what any nerd of questionable sanity would do: make the Vulcan hand gesture and spout ‘live long and prosper’ and ‘I come in peace’.

“Guys! Relax, he’s with us!” Twilight barked and the guards hesitatingly disengaged the spears.

“I’m sure they’re just taking the necessary precautions; royal weddings bring out the strangest ponies,” Rarity remarked and then, as if to prove her point, Pinkie Pie sneezed confetti. Twilight then marched off to go find her brother with Sam tailing behind. None of the guards were stupid enough to get between an angry Twilight Sparkle and the target of said anger.

Shining Armor spotted his sister and her student and decided he could ask about Sam after he survived his little sister’s apparent rage. After all, a good leader must know when to pick his battles.

“Twily!” Shining Armor exclaimed and went to greet her, but she wasn’t having any of it. She was angry about his not informing her of the wedding before now and he had better have a very good reason for it. His reason was that Canterlot was under threat and he had to maintain the shield around the city as well as keep all the guards in order and on top of that, he had a wedding to plan. It was all very time consuming and he was barely getting enough sleep.

Those were pretty good reasons, or at least good enough to get Twilight to forgive him. Now he had to initiate the coup de grâce.

“I’m sorry for not telling you, so I would understand if you wouldn’t want to be my best mare…” Shining trailed off and his sister took the bait hook, line, and sinker. He wasn’t her big brother for nothing, after all.

“I’d be honored,” Twilight said and they hugged, “But I’m still pretty ticked you’re marring somepony I don’t even know!”

‘I must be losing my touch,’ Shining Armor thought to himself

“When did you even meet this Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?” Twilight asked and Shining suddenly broke into a grin.

“Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance; your old foal-sitter,” Shining Armor said and after a second, the name clicked in Twilight’s head.

“Cadance? As in the best foal-sitter ever in the history of foal-sitters?” Twilight exclaimed and she went into reminiscing mode.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything important?” Speak of the Devil and he shall appear. Or in this case, she will appear. Upon spotting her old foal-sitter, Twilight sprang into an old nursery rhyme they used to do together, but Cadance just looked at her as if she was out of her mind.

“What are you doing?” Cadance asked and then her eyes drifted to Sam, “And what in the hay are you?”

“My name is Sam. I’m a human and I am also Twilight’s student,” Sam introduced himself. Then Shining Armor and Cadance walked off. Twilight stood there for a moment before storming off to the kitchens to check on Applejack’s progress while muttering under her breath. Thankfully, sampling AJ’s apple fritters did wonders for her mood. Sam’s mood was also greatly improved by watching Spike play with the figurines that were supposed to go on top of the cake.

Unfortunately, Princess Cadance walked in and Twilight’s mood plummeted once more. Twilight knew something was off, but she couldn’t quite place her hoof on it. These suspicions weren’t helped by the fact that Cadance was suddenly insisting everyone use her full name. When Cadance threw some apple fritters into the garbage after claiming to ‘love, love, love’ them, she decided to get to the bottom of it.

“You know, this might just be me watching one too many body snatcher movie, but I’m getting the distinct impression that this isn’t the Cadance you know,” Sam commented to Twilight on their way to check on Rarity.

“Body snatcher? What makes you say that? Sure, she’s become uptight, rude, arrogant, bossy, and nothing like the foal-sitter I remember, but body snatching?” Twilight asked incredulously

“It’s the way she responded to you when you did that nursery rhyme. She didn’t say ‘I don’t have time for childish things like that’ or something to that effect. She looked at you like you were insane and further, there wasn’t even the slightest sign of any recognition. I just think it seems pretty suspicious,” Sam answered

“I don’t know. I mean, she’d have to fool Shining Armor too, right? So she’s forgotten all about me, it doesn’t mean she’s a body snatcher,” Twilight said

“Perhaps,” Sam allowed as they entered the room that Rarity was working in. Twilight decided to try venting to Rarity and see if she had any useful advice, but Princess Mi Amore Cadenza walked in with her bride’s maids two minutes later. One of which happened to be Lyra. It was merely a coincidence that Sam had suddenly vanished.

In any event, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza ripped into Rarity’s designs and glared at her bride’s maids when they said they liked the dresses. Once they left, Sam reappeared. After that, Twilight and Sam spent some time to check on the gardening and weather teams before going to check on Pinkie Pie. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was already there.

Pinkie Pie was being her usual hyper-active self and the room the reception was supposed to be held in was filled with board games, balloons, streamers, and a hand crank phonograph. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza declared it fit for a six-year-old birthday party. It was meant to be an insult, but Pinkie Pie, being Pinkie Pie, took it as a compliment.

Later, everyone gathered for a late dinner and Twilight was very open about her dislike of the new Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

“She did raise her voice to one of my songbirds,” Fluttershy conceded, “But he was awfully off key.” Fluttershy then brought forth the offender and it cawed. It was rather painful to listen to. Twilight insisted that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was an awful pony and that she shouldn’t even be allowed to know Shining Armor. The rest of the Elements seemed to think that Twilight was merely being possessive of her brother. So Twilight stormed off and Sam decided to follow.

Eventually, Twilight’s meandering led them to Shining Armor’s house. Twilight tried to talk to her older brother, but Princess Mi Amore Cadenza nixed that plan. She wanted to talk to Shining Armor…alone. Naturally, Twilight and Sam eavesdropped on their conversation as well as peering through a slightly cracked open door. What they saw disturbed both of them.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza didn’t want Shining Armor to wear a crest that had belonged to his favorite uncle. Shining Armor began to disagree with her, but then a mysterious headache struck and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza used some kind of spell on Shining Armor. Twilight and Sam both decided that they had overstayed their welcome and beat a hasty retreat.

“She’s mind controlling Shining Armor! She is a body snatcher!” Twilight whisper-shouted

“What are we gonna do? How are we going to prove she is a body snatcher? It’ll be her word against ours and it’s an outlandish claim! No one would ever believe us!” Sam exclaimed in the same hushed tone

“We’ve gotta tell the others and hope they believe us,” Twilight decided and the two rushed to where the mares were staying. Unfortunately, they were too late. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had offered them all positions as her new bride’s maids. Even worse, none of the others found it suspicious that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza wouldn’t tell them what had happened to the old bride’s maids.

“We’re doomed! Shining Armor’s going to get married to a fake and we’re the only two who’ll ever know! Who knows what she has planned for him!” Twilight cried as she and Sam wondered aimlessly through the castle grounds.

“There’s always the chuck-n-pray strategy,” Sam remarked

“Meaning?”

“Tomorrow during the rehearsals, we burst in and attack the fake. With any luck, the real Cadance will be able to take back control, at least momentarily, while the fake is knocked out or distracted by the pain,” Sam explained

“Too risky, too much of that plan is left to chance. The next best thing is to burst in and accuse her of being a fake and hope Princess Celestia listens,” Twilight suggested

“Then that’s what we’ll do and tonight, I’ll be working really hard on the ‘pray’ part of the chuck-n-pray,” Sam quipped and after that, they said good-night and went to bed.

The next morning, the two burst in dramatically during the rehearsals and ousted the fake for what she really was. Unfortunately, for them, no one gave them the time of day. Then the fake finished them off by starting the water works. It was a flawless KO. Shining then claimed that the spell was a headache cure because he was getting headaches from maintaining the force field.

Twilight didn’t buy that excuse for an instant. Her brother’s special talent was shields, after all, and it didn’t make sense for him to get migraines unless he was seriously overtaxing himself to the point of risking dangerous magical exhaustion. From what Twilight had observed of the shield when she had passed through it, and what she knew of her brother’s capabilities, the shield shouldn’t have needed anywhere close to that much energy.

Shining then went on to claim that the reason the old bride’s maids had been replaced was because they had wanted to meet the royalty. That excuse didn’t add up in either Twilight’s or Sam’s minds. One of them had been Lyra for crying out loud! What possible connection could she have had to Cadance anyway?

What Shining said before he left, however, was what really hurt Twilight. He told her she could forget about being his best mare and further told her she was no longer welcome to the wedding. The hurt was piled on as the other Elements, Spike, and even Princess Celestia abandoned her. Sam and Twilight were left alone in the room.

“Well…that was unexpectedly harsh,” Sam remarked, “I wonder if we should go try and wake Luna up and see what she thinks.”

“What’s the point? If Princess Celestia didn’t believe us, then I doubt Luna will,” Twilight said morosely

“You two have been nothing but a pain in my rear from the moment you got here!” The two whipped around and saw the fake standing there, her horn glowing green as well as her eyes. Green flames suddenly sprang up around them. “Where you’re going, you’ll never bother anyone again!” The duo then started sinking into the floor.

“We’re melting, melting, melting!” Sam knew he should have been taking the situation more seriously, but they didn’t seem to be dying, and how often does someone get to say that line with proper context?

In any event, they dropped down into a pitch black cave and so Twilight lit her horn. When she did, they noticed that there were crystals everywhere.

“Where are we?” Twilight wondered

“The caves beneath Canterlot,” Answered the fake via projecting her image on the crystals. “It was once the home to greedy unicorns who wanted to make use of the gems here, but now it’s your prison. You can cry out all you like, no one will hear you and no one will think to look for the two of you down here either. Most ponies don’t even know these caves exist, which is why it is perfect for keeping those who want to interfere with my plans!”

“What plans are you talking about?” Twilight asked

“Do you really think I’d be so stupid as to monologue about my plans to you?” The fake asked

“DON’T YOU DARE HURT MY BROTHER!” Twilight shouted and then let loose a blast of pure magic at the fake, but it reflected off the crystals and nearly hit the two of them. So Twilight modified her blast and was able to shatter the crystals. Eventually her blasts uncovered what seemed to be the fake.

“NO! WAIT!” She shouted, but Twilight pounced on her. Then the look alike started that rhyme that Cadance and Twilight had shared. Further, she looked absolutely awful.

“So…no body snatchers?” Sam asked

“Shape Shifters…speaking of which, what are you?” Cadance asked

“Shape Shifters?! Oh well, that was my second guess. Perhaps I have read one too many Animorphs book…anyway, my name’s Sam. I’m a human and Twilight’s new student,” Sam greeted

“Student?! Little Spark has a student?! Oh, you’re all grown up now,” Cadance cooed

“Cadance! Don’t call me Little Spark!” Twilight protested

“No matter how old you get, you’ll always be my Little Spark,” Cadance replied and Twilight groaned

“Hey Twilight, does crystal count as an element? Or is it like a subsection of Earth?” Sam asked

“I’m not sure off the top of my head, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to channel any magic into these crystals. Who knows what’ll happen? We should try getting out the old fashioned way first,” Twilight decided and the three took off towards what they hoped would be an exit. Of course, there had to be a song to go along with it. We wouldn’t want things to get boring. During said song, the trio came across an old mine cart that nearly led us to their deaths.

‘Wings! Thank God for wings!’ Sam thought as Cadance flew them to safety. Just as they spotted the exit, three brainwashed bride’s maids walked out of the shadows. They sounded entirely too much like zombies for Sam’s tastes. He enjoyed a good zombie killing game as much as the next guy, but even Lyra didn’t deserve to be turned into a mindless puppet. Thankfully, they were mindless puppets. Hence, they were easily distracted by a bouquet of flowers Cadance conjured.

With those three disposed of, Cadance, Twilight, and Sam rushed to where the ceremony was being held. They arrived just in the nick of time.

“What?! But how did you escape my bride’s maids?!” The fake shouted

“Next time you brainwash your guards, be sure to leave them with a little bit of common sense,” Sam snarked and Cadance announced to everyone there that the fake was a Changeling: A parasitic species of shape shifters that feed off of love. With the jig up, the Changeling dropped the disguise. Then they found out that this particular Changeling was the Queen.

“As Queen, it is my job to find food for my subjects and Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered,” The Queen explained and Sam noticed Celestia had inexplicable vanished.

“Hey Twilight, where’s your teacher, out on a coffee break?” Sam whispered as the Queen monologued.

“I don’t know! Maybe she’s gone to wake Luna!” Twilight replied as the Queen revealed that her army was chipping away at Shining Armor’s shield.

“Why don’t you have Shining Armor drop the shield?” Sam suddenly asked

“As much as that would simplify things, he is still very loyal to the throne. If I were to make him take down the shield, my mind control spell would be put in unnecessary danger. Besides, my army is doing such a good job that they’ll be done any minute now,” The Queen answered, “In any case, first we will conquer Canterlot and then all of Equestria!”

“No,” Celestia said, back from her mysterious and ill-timed coffee break, “You won’t. You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to act as Captain of the Guard, but now that you’ve so foolishly revealed yourself, I can protect my subjects from you!” With that, Celestia fired off a beam of magic at the Queen Changeling, which she returned in kind. In the end, The Queen managed to overpower Celestia.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight cried and the Elements rushed to her side. She told them to get the Elements of Harmony and use them to stop the Queen. They raced towards where they were kept, with Sam right behind them, but then the Changeling Army broke the shield. Eventually, they were surrounded.

“Well, there’s no practice like a real life-or-death situation!” Sam quipped, but then the Changelings put their shape shifting capabilities on display by turning into copies of each one of them. The fight was pure chaos. Spells were flying every which way, one couldn’t tell friend from foe. Sam didn’t know how to react. He was mostly just throwing around water to distract Changelings and not harm any allies. That is, until an idea came to him. An idea so stupid, it just might work.

Sam quickly took off his socks and shoes and stood bare footed in the middle of the fight. He used his magic to sense the vibrations in the ground and felt it. Six of them were a good deal heavier than the rest. He had found a way to tell them apart. With that problem solved, he began ripping into the Changelings like there was no tomorrow.

Meanwhile…TWILIGHT LASER GATTLING GUN! Pinkie just grabbed Twilight out of nowhere and turned her into a stationary weapon of magical lavender laser destruction. When she got tired of that, she whipped out what can only be dubbed as a party canon. From that day forth, Changeling lore spoke of The Pink One, The Chaotic Tornado, and The Mistress of the Party Canon.

When all the Changelings round about lay defeated, the party rushed onward. Unfortunately, there was a whole new swarm waiting for them inside and a second charging them from the rear. Long story short, they got their flanks handed to them. The Changelings then took their new prisoners to their Queen.

“Go, feed!” She ordered

“Feed on what? Fear? Hate? Don’t you Changelings feed on love?” Sam asked

“Love is our preferred food source, but we can get by on other strong emotions,” The Queen responded

“That’s nice. Do you have a name? Referring to you as ‘Queen of the Changelings’ all the time is rather bothersome and personally, I’d like to know the name of our wannabe overlord so when this is all over and we eat our cake we can make proper jokes about you and not just your title,” Sam quipped

“Insolent Whelp! I am Queen Chrysalis and you will never defeat me! I defeated the mighty Celestia!” Chrysalis crowed, “But what’s truly funny is that you and Twilight were the only ones who suspected, yet you were tossed aside by your so called ‘friends’ like so much garbage. They were so caught up in their wedding plans that it was child’s play to remain undetected! It got so bad that I purposefully acted like a brat just to see how stupid you ponies really are!”

“We’re sorry Twi, we should’ve listened to you,” Applejack apologized

“It’s not your fault, she fooled everypony,” Twilight responded

“The only reason we got really suspicious in the first place is because of my tastes in bad 80’s sci-fi films,” Sam added and then Chrysalis began to sing. Meanwhile, Twilight freed Cadance and her white mage powers activated and broke the mind control spell.

“Shining Armor, perform your spell!” Twilight implored

“Go right ahead, what do I care? My Changelings are already within the city,” Chrysalis remarked

“I don’t have the strength…” Shining Armor panted as he tried to muster up the needed energy.

“My love will give you strength!” Cadance declared

“That may be so, but will it give you enough strength?” Chrysalis asked in a mocking tone. She watched as a spark leapt between Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s horns and the magic began to blossom. She looked totally unconcerned as they rose up into the air. She even yawned during those last seconds the spell was charging. Then the spell blasted outwards…and Chrysalis’ cockiness proved to be justified.

Chrysalis just stood there and instead of her usual green magic, a black beam shot out of her horn. The two energies fought for dominance for what seemed like hours but was in reality only a few moments. Then, Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s spell shattered and the two fell to the ground.

“You fools thought I came here with merely my own strength. In truth, my Master gave me the power to defeat Celestia and defy the power of your love! That’s not all he gave me. He also gave me these!” Multiple beams of black shot from her horn and portals opened. Out of them came creatures that were about three feet tall and were bipedal. They were mostly black, with the exception of their bulbous heads, which were red and orange and looked vaguely like the sun. Imagine the face of the moon from Majora’s Mask except on the sun and you’ll get the basic idea. When the portals closed, there were twenty of them in total.

“BEHOLD, THE SUN EATERS! The Sun Eaters are invincible! They shall be the instrument of you destruction! The Changelings will rule forever!” Chrysalis cackled, but she was too busy gloating to notice Sam.

Seeing the Sun Eaters, something had Awoken inside Sam. A message in a bottle; a memory long forgotten buried in the magic of humanity. The last moments of a war that had been wiped form History so humanity would not mourn for all it had lost. The instructions for making the only weapons that could stand against the Sun Eaters and their Master. The last hope for all of Reality.

As Sam weaved the magics that had been lost to humanity for an eon, the whole of Canterlot Castel shook. Ancient Forces were pulled together for the first time in that dimension for their final stand.

“What’s going on?! What are you doing?!” Chrysalis demanded to know, but Sam wasn’t going to answer, too focused on what he was trying to accomplish. Suddenly, the shaking stopped. Then, out of the floor, burst a heater shield, which was speckled with stars and right in the middle was the infinity symbol.

The Sun Eaters began to grow nervous; their primitive memories and instincts recognized the shield and what it stood for. They also knew what happens next. Chrysalis was too confused to notice or care.

Sam walked up to the hovering shield and slipped it onto his left forearm. It readjusted itself for Sam. The Sun Eaters were now only barely contained by Chrysalis’ control over them. Finally, Sam seemingly reached into the shield and pulled out a double edged hand-and-a-half sword with the symbol of the sun emblazoned upon the middle of the shining silver blade. The grip of the sword was a fiery red and its cross-guard a vibrant orange.

The Sun Eaters could stand it no more. They charged at their enemy wielding the weapon and shield that had been the bane of so many of their brethren. Their tainted, twisted magic was fired at Sam, but it was deflected by the shield. Electricity then raced down the sword and discharged into the mass of Sun Eaters, felling five of their number and harming several more.

Their ranks broken, the Sun Eaters panicked. Some continued to fruitlessly fire spells at Sam while others tried to flee. It mattered not, as they all fell, by either electricity or the bite of the blade itself. All the while, Ponies and Changelings alike gazed on in astonishment. When the last of the Sun Eaters were destroyed, Sam turned to Chrysalis.

“I give you this one warning,” Sam spoke in a monotone, “Flee this land and take your armies with you, or I will annihilate you all.” His sword was sparking dangerously while he spoke and even the shield seemed to give off a feeling of cold power. Chrysalis was still reeling over the loss of her Sun Eaters. Her Master had told her they were invincible! If they had been defeated so easily, then what could that blade to do her? Chrysalis didn’t think twice about calling the order to retreat.

Once Chrysalis and all the Changelings were gone, everyone cheered; everyone, except Sam. Twilight noticed her student hadn’t moved since issuing his ultimatum.

“Sam?” She asked, and then touched him. Without any warning, Sam fell backwards and the sword went clattering across the floor. Sam’s empty eyes continued to stare unblinkingly. All those present stood in shock. Twilight was the first to snap out of it.

“SAM?!” She cried; panic overtaking her ability to think clearly. Why wasn’t he responding? Was he dead? What could have killed him? Her cry awoke the others from their shock and they all gathered around the human.

“Everypony, please back away! He needs air!” Centuries of ruling had taught Celestia to keep calm in a crisis. This lesson proved invaluable once more as she set about calming the panic-stricken hearts of her little ponies. “He is not dead, only unconscious. We need to get him medical attention and would somepony please go wake my sister?”

When Sam awoke, he was greeted by the sight of eight very colorful equines gathered around his bed.

“Didn’t we already do this? Or am I stuck in a time loop?” Sam snarked

“Looks like he’s fine,” Applejack deadpanned

“What do you remember before waking up here?” Celestia asked

“I remember Chrysalis summoning up her Heartless wannabes and then something about a sword and shield…” Sam trailed off as he tried to bring the fuzzy memories into focus.

“Are these the sword and shield you speak of?” Luna asked and then magically lifted the two objects up and onto Sam’s bed. He gazed at them a few moments before a fragment of a memory became clear and he rested his right hand on the shield.

“The Shield of Infinity. The Guardian of Endless Possibilities,” Sam named the shield. His hand then moved to the sword, “Solaris.”

“Solaris? What does that mean?” Twilight asked

“It’s not its proper name, but that’s the one it…gave me. If that makes any sense? Solaris is Latin for ‘Of the Sun’. I don’t know why it would chose that name,” Sam remarked

“Chrysalis named those creatures ‘Sun Eaters’. Perhaps there’s a connection,” Celestia hypothesized

“It sure did take care of those varmints!” Applejack exclaimed

“What about the wedding? Did I miss it?” Sam asked

“The wedding was postponed until tomorrow so everything could be repaired. You’ve been out for three days,” Celestia responded

“That’s good. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it on account of being an inexperienced wuss,” Sam quipped and those who were not above such things, rolled their eyes.

The rest of that day was spent finalizing the preparations for the party. Applejack nearly had to beat Cadance out of the kitchen with a broom to keep her from eating all the apple fritters; Rarity’s dress was a major hit with Cadance and her bride’s maids; Cadance adored Fluttershy’s songbirds; and Pinkie Pie got along with Cadance famously.

The next day, the wedding went off without a hitch, complete with CMC flower girls and Applejack sneaking her Stetson’s on while Rarity wasn’t looking. Finally, as the bride and groom kissed, Sam got to see his first Sonic Rainboom.

The reception started off normally enough, but this was a reception planned by Pinkie Pie, so things didn’t stay that way for long. As soon as Twilight gave the go ahead, Pinkie pulled Vinyl Scratch out of nowhere and threw Twilight a microphone. That meant it was time for one last musical number before the whole thing came to a close. Once that was done, the bride and groom rode off into the distance to get started on their honeymoon.

“This was a great wedding,” Twilight sighed as she watched them go.

“Oh yeah? Just wait until you see what I’ve got planned for the bachelor party!” Spike proclaimed and Sam facepalmed

“Yer a wee bit late boy-o,” Sam quipped in a passable Scottish accent.

“Waddaya mean late?” Spike asked nervously

“A bachelor is defined as an unmarried male,” Sam replied

“Dang it!” Spike cried and the rest of the night consisted of Spike trying to drown his sorrows in donuts.

The next day, before the group left for Ponyville, Celestia summoned them.

“Greetings, everyone,” She said, “I’ve called you here to discuss matters of great importance, but first I will return these-” She paused to bring out the Shield of Infinity and Solaris, “-to their rightful owner.” She then gave the two items to Sam.

“Thank you,” Sam said and took hold of the sword and shield

“I’ve taken the liberty of having a sheath made for your sword. I have brought you all here because I fear we have not heard the last of the Sun Eaters, Chrysalis, or her mysterious Master. Given that they were able to defeat myself, this is not a threat we can afford to take lightly. As such, I have no choice but to formally recruit you all into the army as generals. Six of you are the Elements of Harmony and the other is the only known human to walk Equestria and the wielder of the only known weapon against the Sun Eaters. For now, I want you to all return home and get your affairs in order. When you return, I shall brief you more thoroughly on what is required. I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I will not stand idly by while my little ponies are in danger!” Celestia said

“We’re with you, Princess Celestia,” Twilight responded with the other Elements nodding their heads in agreement.

“I’ve only been here a few short weeks, but in that time I’ve been shown nothing but kindness. For better or for worse, this is my home now. I will defend it,” Sam replied

“Thank you, all of you. You are dismissed,” With that, the group left to go home and ready their things for what was ahead. Meanwhile, Celestia stood there and sighed to herself. The last real conflict had been during the Nightmare Moon crisis. It had been over five hundred years since there had been a standing army for crying out loud! Now Celestia was faced with a similar crisis, worse in some ways and better in others. At the very least, Luna was with her this time. Celestia allowed herself a small, sad little smile. Her younger sister had always been the more headstrong and contentious of the two. Preferring to clash swords than tongues, where Celestia found her battleground. However, in all the mess, one thing in particular stood out to her and made her shiver at the implications. The creatures had been dubbed Sun Eaters. What did that say of their Master? Celestia had been directly tied to the Sun since time immemorial to the mortal pony. If this new enemy was powerful enough to defeat her, she didn’t want to think about what it could do to her Sun.

Author's Note

I deeply apologize for the episode ripping off, but as you can see, it was instrumental to the ongoing plot. I assure you all, the only other episodes I plan to do this to are the Chrystal Empire two-part episode. That won't come about for one or two more chapters and I plan to give it a decent sized overhaul anyway.

Tell me what you think and feel free to be brutal. However, I doth count a new heathen who has failed to leave the require comment after disparaging my ratings with a thumbs down! I HAVE RAGE!

Anyway, the more detailed the comment, the happier I am because that lets me know you've been paying attention!

This was 25 and 1/2 pages on MS word!

Assembling and Confrontation

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 4: Assembling and Confrontations

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One week had passed since Celestia had declared a state of war. In that time, many things were happening. Recruitment drives had started everywhere, from Canterlot to Los Pegasus. The old army barracks had been undergoing cleaning and reconstruction. The Royal Guard had been sent out to help fortify towns like Ponyville, whose strategic value as a gateway into the Everfree Forest made it one of the few small towns that were not being evacuated into larger ones. The metalworkers forged weapons and armor for the new recruits. It may have been a thousand years since the last real conflict, but neither of the Royal Sisters had forgotten how to prepare for and wage a war.

While all this was going on, six mares and one human male were making preparations of their own deep within the Canterlot Libraries, the Experiment Room to be more precise. It had been built per the instruction of Starswirl the Bearded when he decided he couldn’t be bothered trekking all the way to the magical testing facilities his student, Clover the Clever, had constructed on the other side of Canterlot.

At present, the spacious room was experiencing more activity than it ever had before. Sam and Twilight were busy studying Solaris in hopes of duplicating its ability to slay Sun Eaters. Pinkie Pie was reading up on different kinds of explosives; she had volunteered/been appointed as the one in charge of munitions. Rarity was throwing spells and other things at different cloths to test their durability vs. their comfortableness; she was in charge of creating armor as well as being responsible for teaching basic magical combat. Spike had appointed himself Rarity’s assistant and he was out getting things for Rarity. Fluttershy was practicing various medical procedures on a dummy while glancing at a book she had propped open; she was the obvious choice for chief medic. Finally, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were working together on basic combat, strength, and endurance training regimes; they were also in charge of advanced combat for Earth Ponies and Pegasi respectively. At the moment, they were sparring with each other.

“If only we had a Sun Eater here, then we could study the interaction between Solaris and the Sun Eater,” Twilight groused as she finished another diagnostic spell.

“It does seem the minions have a bad habit of fading away when defeated,” Sam agreed

“Unfortunately, we can wait around for one to show up. By then, it’d probably be too late,” Twilight grumbled

“What if we don’t need a Sun Eater? What if that power activates in combat regardless? We haven’t tried analyzing it while I’ve been fighting with Solaris,” Sam observed

“We’ve tried everything else. Guys, we’re heading out to try something!” Twilight shouted and everyone signified that they had heard. The two walked out to the courtyard and Twilight created magical constructs for Sam to attack.

They were at it for about ten minutes when Twilight noticed something different. She began to scan that difference more thoroughly and what she found astonished her. Solaris was generating an energy that was both similar to, but completely different from Celestia’s own magic. Twilight committed the energy signature to memory.

“Sam, you can stop! I’ve found it!” Twilight exclaimed and caused the constructs to vanish.

“That’s excellent!” Sam exclaimed between a light panting. He sheathed Solaris and the two went to find Celestia.

They eventually found her overseeing the work on the barracks.

“Princess Celestia, we found out why Solaris works on the Sun Eaters!” Twilight called out to her mentor. Princess Celestia turned to her faithful student and Sam.

“That is excellent news. How is it done?” Princess Celestia asked

“It’s easier just to show you the energy signature. With a little work, we can probably place a spell on all the weapons to produce a similar energy,” Twilight explained and then showed her mentor the energy signature.

“This is a most interesting energy. However, I know of just the spell to place on the weapons. I shall see to it personally. Excellent work you two, carry on. Remember, training starts for the troops in two weeks,” With that reminder, Celestia returned to overseeing the work on the barracks while Twilight and Sam returned to the Experiment Room.

That night, Sam was enjoying a rather bizarre dream about zombie pickles when it was suddenly invaded by a patchwork creature that ate all the pickle zombies.

“What a deliciously chaotic dream,” It remarked

“Discord, I presume?” Sam asked

“Embodiment of Chaos, I am!” The now named Discord chirped

“Well if you were trying to be random by eating my dream, you failed miserably,” Sam quipped

“Well what if I was trying to be unpredictable by being predictable?” Discord shot back

“Cotton Candy clouds raining chocolate milk? I had a dream like that once,” Sam commented

“Just what are you insinuating?” Discord nearly growled

“I am insinuating that for the ‘Embodiment of Chaos’ you aren’t very chaotic or imaginative,” Sam snarked

“How dare you?! I will take great pleasure in seeing the Sun Eaters destroy you!” With that, Discord melted away in a huff.

Sam woke up and after taking a moment to regain his situational awareness before flinging off the covers. He quickly got dressed and as he made his way to find Luna, he reviewed his encounter with Discord in his head. He found Luna eating ‘lunch’ by herself.

“Sam, what brings you here at this late hour?” Luna asked

“Discord has been captured and at the very least brainwashed, if not being straight out mind controlled,” Sam reported and Luna did a spit-take.

“WHAT?!” Luna shouted, accidentally switching in to the Royal Canterlot Voice in her surprise. Sam took a moment to regain his hearing before responding.

“Discord invaded my dream about ten minutes ago. During the confrontation, his behavior was at odds with how he had been described. I told him he wasn’t very chaotic or imaginative and instead of pulling something out of derriere to prove otherwise, he got very angry with me and told me he would enjoy watching me be destroyed by the Sun Eaters,” Sam recounted

“You are right, that doesn’t sound like Discord at all. This is most worrisome. If the enemy has gotten to Discord, there’s no telling what could happen,” Luna said

“But at the same time, it makes things infinitely easier.” Luna and Sam turned to see Celestia standing in the doorway.

“How so, dear Sister?” Luna asked

“Discord is the Embodiment of Chaos. Therefore, it must be a huge strain on the enemy’s resources to keep him under control. Further, if we can snap him out of it I am sure he’d be more than willing to extract revenge on his captors. Also, I highly doubt he has access to his full powers in his current state so he’s not nearly as much a threat to us as he is to them,” Celestia answered

“Twilight and I will start researching methods of breaking mind control and breaking brain washing first thing in the morning,” Sam promised

“See that you do. However, you still need to work on other things. The more resources Discord drains from our enemies, the better our overall position will be when he finally snaps out of it,” Celestia said and Sam left to try and get a little more sleep.

The next morning, Twilight discovered a sweaty Sam practicing with Solaris and The Shield of Infinity in the first light of the new day.

“What are you doing up so early?” Twilight asked her student

“Got visited by Discord last night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Decided I might as well do something productive,” Sam explained

“Discord?! We’ve gotta tell-”

“I’ve already told Luna and Celestia,” Sam said, cutting off Twilight’s panic attack

“That’s good,” She said

“I’m glad my actions meet your approval,” Sam snarked, “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get a shower before the others wake up.”

“Please do, but before you go, I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Twilight commented

“And that would be?” Sam asked

“I want to know how you got so good with a sword,” Twilight responded

“Simple; I’m not. Beyond a year with the fencing team in middle school and sticks, I’ve never picked up a sword before. It’d be more accurate to say Solaris is wielding me as opposed to the other way around. I suppose it isn’t too much different to what wielding a Keyblade would be like…” Sam mused

“Keyblade?” Twilight asked, but Sam was off in his own little world

“Come to think if it, which came first, the Sun Eater or the Heartless? Did their Master model Sun Eaters after Heartless or are Heartless a representation of Sun Eaters? Further, Solaris looks kinda like The Master Sword…EGADS! What if the memories in the repressed magic of the human race surface in imagination?! It could be possible that every piece of fantasy and perhaps even science fiction has some allusion of the Sun Eaters and their Master! If that’s the case, then maybe they’re connected to how humanity lost their magic in the first place! We could be on the precipice of discovering their motives! I need to write this down!” Sam exclaimed

“Shower first!” Twilight shouted at the overexcited human

“Fine!” Sam replied over his shoulder as he rushed off. The prospect of answering an ancient question making him impatient for such inconsequential things as showers, but he did stink. He also did some of his best thinking in the shower, so he did comply with Twilight’s order.

Meanwhile, Twilight was left alone with only the rising sun for company. She wasn’t quite sure what her student was rambling on about, but she trusted him to conduct his own research and when the time came, to report his findings to her in a way she could understand.

Twilight stood there for a minute or two, gazing at the sunrise, when she decided to grab some breakfast. On the way there, she thought back to her last confrontation with Discord. To say Twilight Sparkle wasn’t looking forward to locking horns with him again would be an understatement. In the darkest corners of her heart, she was afraid of Discord, or to be more accurate, the time of her life he represented to her.

To Twilight, Discord represented that time before Ponyville when she had no one except Spike and Shining Armor; the time she shunned social events in favor of locking herself away with her books. Discord also made her think of how easily she had abandoned her friends when they had been discorded; how easily she had fallen back into her old anti-social ways.

If any of Twilight’s friends had been able to hear what she was thinking, they would have told her they didn’t blame her for anything. However, Twilight knew she was the only one who hadn’t been affected by Discord’s power. She had gone over of her own free will. Would she become a traitor twice over?

Author's Note

Before any of you come after me with marshmallow swords and chocolate pick axes, let me explain! As stated in the chapter, Discord is not himself. Thus, I couldn't do the Sam and Discord banter I'm still planning to do later. You'll still get it, just not until later!

Fun fact, all my chapters thus far have ended with an 8 in the hundreds for word count.

Also, I SPY ANOTHER PLEBEIAN WHO DIDN'T COMMENT AFTER GIVING A THUMBS DOWN! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO IMPROVE IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHAT I DID WRONG?!

Welcome to the Jungle

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Jungle

__________________________________________

Ponies had been gathered from the four corners of Equestria, all congregating with a single purpose. As the sun rose on the first day of Boot Camp, Sam looked out over all the mares and stallions of every assortment of color imaginable, he had to stop himself from whistling a few bars from The Star Spangled Banner. There was just something undeniably patriotic about it all.

Both Princesses were present for the opening ceremony, of course. Prince Blueblood would have been there as well, but he was currently in the hospital recovering from a near fatal case of hoof-in-the-mouth disease. He really should have known better than to insult Sam’s mother while he was practicing with Solaris.

In any event, the time was drawing nigh when Celestia would make her speech and then Sam would lay out how the next few weeks would work. Sam was chosen because he was more eye-grabbing than the other six generals were and he was most comfortable playing the hard core military general.

“My faithful subjects,” Celestia began, “Today, we are gathered here against a threat the likes of which we have never faced before. Dark clouds loom on our horizon, threatening to blot us out forever. However, we have one thing that the enemy can never hope to overcome: The magic of friendship. We will pull together and preserve this nation! Together, we will protect our homes and loved ones! I thank each and every one of you for your contribution to the cause! Now, I will give the floor to General Sam, who will brief you on the immediate future.”

“Thank you, Princess Celestia,” Sam said and then turned to the assembled ponies, “Greetings greenhooves! On behalf of my fellow generals, and myself I welcome you to your first day of Boot Camp! For the next three weeks, you will be put through your own personal Hell. Starting today, you will begin your training with what I like to call ‘Royal Guard Training: Crash Course Edition’. As such, your first three weeks of training will be handled primarily by the commanding officers in the Royal Guard using training guides we generals have constructed and have been approved by the Princesses. Once those three weeks are over, those of you who have survived will be individually evaluated and placed under the command of one of the generals for more specialized training. If any of you have questions, do not be afraid to ask a commanding officer or one of us generals. We’d much rather listen to insipid questions all day than save your ignorant plot on the battlefield. I think that’s everything you need to know, so I’ve only got one thing left to say: Welcome to the Jungle!”

“Well this should be fun, with him as a commanding officer,” Vinyl Scratch remarked to the pony standing beside her

“If he doesn’t kill us all in a fit of insanity first,” Octavia quipped

“Oh ye of little faith, would Princesses Celestia and Luna place a raving lunatic in a general position?” Asked a Unicorn stallion with a red coat and cobalt blue mane and a crossed wrench and screwdriver Cutie Mark named Fixup.

“You don’t know Twilight Sparkle and her friends,” Both mares replied at the same time

“Is this something I need to know?” Fixup asked nervously

“Survive Boot Camp and you’ll find out,” Vinyl answered as the group started moving to their first exercise.

“You’re not instilling a lot of confidence!” Fixup cried and Octavia answered with

“Oh ye of little faith.”

“Are you sure about this Lyra? You’re a musician and I’m a candy maker! What business do we have being in the army?!” Bon-Bon cried

“Oh come on Bon-Bon, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Besides, you could do with a little ‘training’,” Lyra smirked as she poked her friend’s slightly soft tummy.

“Once-in-a-lifetime going to war; or once-in-a-lifetime getting into General Sam’s division?” Bon-Bon asked, clearly not amused

“Um…can we talk about this later?”

“The General wasn’t kidding when he said ‘if we survive’,” A green coated, yellow mane pegasus stallion panted. His Cutie Mark was four clouds covering a sun and his name was Overcast.

“Well you didn’t expect a walk in the park did ya?” Asked a muscular Earth Pony stallion with a white coat and steel gray mane; his Cutie Mark was a plate of metal and his name was Iron Sides.

“No, but I didn’t expect it to be so much more demanding than weather working back home in Cloudsdale,” Overcast responded

“Well look at it this way, when this is all over and you get back home, the weather work will be no problem for you!” Iron Sides remarked

“I repeat, ‘if we survive’.”

Two Earth Pony stallions stared at each other. Both had chestnut brown coats and darker brown manes both had blue eyes, and both had an hourglass for a Cutie Mark. The only thing different was one was wearing a tie and the other had a bowtie. Also, both were about to eat lunch when they noticed each other.

“Hello hansom!” The one with the tie broke the silence first

“Who the hay are you?! Why do you look like me?!” The one with the bowtie shouted

“Oh, I’m nopony special. You can call me The Doctor, if you like,” The one with the tie said

“OK…Doctor…I’m Time Turner,” The one with the bowtie returned and they shook hooves.

“Doctor?! Where are you Doctor?!” Shouted a Pegasus mare with a gray coat and yellow mane and bubbles for a Cutie Mark, then she spotted the two Earth Ponies. “Oh my, is the TARDIS broken again?”

“Not this time Ms. Hooves! This fine fellow is named Time Turner!” The Doctor seemed to be getting a kick out of this new development.

“I thought one was bad enough, what did I do to deserve two?”

“I don’t know what I expected, but it sure wasn’t this,” Groaned a Unicorn mare with a dark blue coat and teal mane and a crescent moon with a smiley face for a Cutie Mark named Sweet Dreams. She was collapsed in the top bunk of her assigned bunk bed, waiting for the sweet embrace of sleep to drag her away from her exhausted body.

“What are you talkin’ about? Today was awesome!” Cried a voice from the bottom bunk.

“Help, I’m trapped with a mad pony and I’m too tired to run for my life,” Sweet Dreams moaned

“I’m not that bad,” Sweet Dream’s bunk mate’s head popped up over the side of her bed. She was a cyan blue coat, yellow mane Pegasus by the name of Lightning Dust.

“Yes you are. Rumors around Camp say only General Rainbow Dash is worse than you,” Sweet Dreams grumbled

“Really?! That’s awesome!” Lightning Dust’s response elicited another groan from Sweet Dreams

“This is gonna be a long night.”

“Trixie does not understand something,” Trixie Lulamoon said in the middle of one of her classes.

“Yes, Private Lulamoon?” Replied Sergeant Spear Head, a Pegasus stallion with a gold coat, sky blue mane, and two spears crossed for a Cutie Mark.

“What, exactly, are the Sun Eaters?” Trixie asked

“Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of information in that regard. Insofar as we have been able to gather, they are simultaneously solid and ethereal beings. Also, they seem to have a primitive intelligence. Finally, a special spell has been cast on all weapons in order to deal any damage and regular magic only works at 75% against Sun Eaters,” Spear Head answered

“Thank you, Trixie understands.”

“Private Big Macintosh, according to these reports submitted by your CO, you’ve recorded some of the highest numbers in the strength test. Further, it says you’re pretty handy with your hooves,” General Sam remarked

“Eeyup,” Big Mac answered

“Anything else you’d like to say before we decide where you go?” General Twilight Sparkle asked

“Nope,” Big Mac replied

“Alright then, General Pinkie Pie, how’s your quota for Earth Ponies looking?” General Sam asked

“I can always use another strong stallion on canon duty!” General Pinkie Pie chirped

“Is everyone else in agreement?” General Twilight Sparkle asked and all the generals nodded their heads. “Then it is decided that you will be placed under the command of General Pinkie Pie. Send in the next pony on your way out.”

“These times you clocked on the weighted flight are impressive,” General Rainbow Dash observed. Water Spout, a Pegasus mare with an aquamarine coat, blue mane, and five drops of water for a Cutie Mark blushed slightly.

“They’re nothing that special,” She said modestly

“General Rainbow Dash is right, I think the best place for you is in the Air Force,” General Twilight Sparkle remarked

“If you think so,” Water Spout replied

“Does everyone think so?” General Rainbow Dash asked and they all agreed, “Welcome to the Air Force.”

“General Sam! Princesses Celestia and Luna are requesting your presence, something about a very important mission!” Sam looked up from his papers to see a panting Royal Guard.

“Very well, you’re dismissed,” Sam told the guard as he finished his last sentence. Once he did that, he made his way to the audience chamber. His fellow generals were all there before him.

“Now that you’re all here, we can begin. Before I can get to the mission itself, I need to give you a history lesson,” Princess Celestia informed them and then levitated a crystal before the generals. “Long ago, there was a place called the Crystal Empire. It had a very powerful magic that was fueled by the love and friendship of the Crystal Ponies-” At this point, she cast a beam of light into the crystal and it glowed the colors of the rainbow, “-however, when there was strife and hate, the magic turned against itself.” Celestia then blasted the crystal with what could only be described as Dark Magic. Dark, evil looking crystals sprouted from the ground. A few moments later, Celestia banished them.

“A little more than a thousand years ago, this happened and a dark king rose to power. His name was Sombra and his heart was blacker than coal. He enslaved all the Crystal Ponies. Eventually, he was defeated and his body was reduced to a black smoke. Sombra was then locked away in the arctic ice, but not before he could cast one final spell. That spell caused the Crystal Empire to vanish. Now it has returned and you must protect it from Sombra,” Luna informed them

“We also have unconfirmed reports of Sun Eaters in the area,” Celestia added, “We cannot allow them to take the power of the Crystal Empire. I know this is probably the most inopportune moment for this to happen, but we need the seven of you there.”

“Further, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are already there waiting for you. Prepare your things, you leave in the morning.” Luna dismissed them. None of the generals got much sleep that night.

Author's Note

Next stop Crystal Empire version 2.0! Also, I have decided that C'thulhu will indeed be making an appearance. This is gonna be fun!

Crystalline Mustard of Doom

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 6: Crystalline Mustard of Doom

_______________________________________________________________

“We sure do seem to be spending a lot of time on trains,” Sam remarked as their trained barreled through the arctic tundra, which was currently howling with the winds of a snowstorm.

“Well it’s not like we could’ve taken my hot air balloon or any other form of air travel. Look at the weather out there!” Twilight exclaimed

“He knows that silly, he’s just saying how much of this story has taken place on a train!” Pinkie Pie remarked and everyone was familiar enough with Pinkie’s brutality towards any fourth wall that might exist that they knew better than to question her.

Eventually, they made it to their destination and walked out into the freezing cold.

“Hey Sam, aren’t y’all cold?” Applejack asked when she noticed the human’s distinct lack of shivering.

“I will never have to worry about a cold winter’s day again! I’m using my fire magic to keep me nice and toasty,” Sam answered with a grin.

“Twilight!” Shouted a familiar male voice, whose owner eventually appeared through the falling snow.

“Shining Armor!” Twilight exclaimed

“Wait a second, icy climate, an empire, an older male figure walking out of the blizzard? HOTH! We’ve fallen into the world of bad Star Wars parodies!” Sam cried, but no one paid him any mind.

“We’d better get moving, there are things we really don’t want to run into after dark,” Shining Armor warned and the group followed him. Eventually, Sombra appeared, as evil villains are wont to do.

“RUN!” Someone shouted, and everyone ran as fast as they could, but Sombra was faster.

“Keep going, I’ll buy you some time!” Sam shouted and turned to face the shadowy form of Sombra while drawing Solaris.

“I’ll help!” Shining Armor declared

“Oh no you won’t! You’re the fall-back if I fail, NOW GO!” Sam shouted and while Shining Armor hesitated for a second, he ran after his sister and her friends. Sombra caught up to Sam and paused, looking him over with his glowing red and green eyes.

“What are yooou?” Sombra droned

“Does it really matter? Because in a moment you shall be feasting on the mustard OF YOUR DOOM! Now feast your eyes!” Sam shouted and channeled a little bit of fire magic into Solaris, which resulted in a flash-bang effect that stunned Sombra long enough for Sam to flee. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long enough for Sam to get to safety. Sombra was right on his tail as Sam dove through the barrier of the Crystal Empire. Sam crashed into Pinkie, which sent them rolling into Fluttershy, which caused them to bowl over Twilight, which made them run over Rarity, that caused them to collide with Rainbow Dash, which brought the whole thing crashing down on Applejack.

“We are the seven great generals of the Equestrian Nation. Fear us!” Sam snarked from somewhere in the mass of limbs he currently found himself tangled up in. After they managed to get themselves untangled, they followed Shining Armor to where Cadance was.

“It’s gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous!” Rarity squealed as she looked at all the crystals, “There are no words!”

“Focus Rarity, we’re here on a mission,” Applejack reminded the gem loving mare.

“Eh, I don’t see what the big deal is,” Rainbow Dash remarked, “Just looks like another old castle to me.” This remark sent Rarity into a tizzy, until she realized that Rainbow Dash was just teasing her.

When the group entered the throne room, they discovered a tired-looking Cadance channeling magic through her horn. Of course, Twilight and Cadance did their little rhyme.

“One of these days, we need to get together when the fate of entire kingdoms aren’t at stake,” Cadance quipped and Shining Armor explained what the current situation was.

“Cadance is using her magic to spread love and light, and that seems to be keeping Sombra out. Unfortunately, it’s not keeping out certain other unwelcome guests,” Shining Armor remarked

“The Sun Eaters?” Twilight asked

“We think so, but according to the reports, they don’t look like the ones that were in Canterlot,” Shining Armor reported

“It’s only to be expected. Different Sun Eaters for different tasks, form follows function, after all. The Sun Eaters we saw in Canterlot were most likely the basic troops and cannon fodder. The ones you’re getting up here are probably designed for movement in snowbound environments and are likely stronger than the basic ones,” Sam remarked

“How’d you figure that out?” Shining Armor asked

“It’s Video Game Logic 101 as well as Basic Battle Tactics 101. You don’t compose your army with only archers or only mages,” Sam answered

“Good point, but if that’s the case, then who knows how many different kinds of Sun Eaters there are?” Shining Armor wondered

“There could be thousands of different types. We need to find these new Sun Eaters and start giving classifications to them,” Sam stated

“Sounds like a plan. As for dealing with King Sombra, we need you to try and find out how the Crystal Empire protected itself from outside threats. Between Cadance keeping up the shield and my surveillance in the arctic, we haven’t had much time for research,” Shining Armor said

“Dealing with Sombra takes top priority. We should start looking for information now,” Twilight remarked

“Try talking to the Crystal Ponies, they might know something,” Shining Armor remarked

“CRYSTAL PONIES?!” Rarity shrieked, “There are Crystal Ponies?!” Rarity managed to calm herself down after that little outburst, but everyone gave her weird looks.

The group spread out to collect as much information as possible, but they all were met with dead ends. They guessed that Sombra had cast some sort of mass amnesia spell on the Empire. Further, all the Crystal Ponies were lethargic and their coats were extremely dull.

“So none of us were able to find anything about any defenses?” Twilight asked as Fluttershy walked up, who turned out to be Pinkie Pie in disguise.

“My cover has been blown! I repeat my cover has been blown!” With that, Pinkie Pie bolted away.

“Are we sure she’s not a Unicorn? Absolutely sure and that she’s not using some sort of illusion spell to hide it?” Sam asked

“I wouldn’t put anything past Pinkie Pie,” Twilight quipped

“Anyway, Ah wasn’t able to get anythin’ outta these Crystal Ponies ‘cept something about a library,” Applejack remarked and those were the magic words for Twilight. She immediately shepherded everyone to the library. It was a very big library.

The group talked to the librarian, but she seemed to be suffering amnesia as well, particularly pertaining to the location of any book in the library. Therefore, the group had to search every nook and cranny for any history books. Eventually, after over an hour of searching, Twilight discovered one. According to it, every year a Crystal Fair was held to renew friendship and love in the Empire.

After running the info past Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, the seven generals began putting together the Fair, all the while singing this song.

Once the set up was done, Twilight announced the fair and all the Crystal Ponies came, their coats suddenly much shinier. While the fair was underway, Rainbow Dash and Applejack inadvertently discovered that some kind of Crystal Heart was supposed to be filled with light during the fair. Twilight’s little carving wasn’t going to cut it.

Upon closer examination of the history book, Twilight discovered there was a page missing. Worse, Cadance was on the brink of collapsing from exhaustion. The shield even fell for a few moments.

With everything at stake, Twilight and Sam went searching for the Crystal Heart while the others kept the fair going and the Crystal Ponies happy. Along the way, Spike ended up joining the two in their hunt.

“If I were an evil dictator, where would I place the only instrument of my destruction?” Sam wondered aloud as the search continued.

“That’s it! He’d place it somewhere where he’d always have his eye on it!” Twilight exclaimed and then rushed to the throne room. Once she was there, she managed to cast Dark Magic on the throne and it revealed a long spiral staircase. Sam, Spike, and Twilight began the long trek downward. Eventually, they made it safely to the bottom.

They found a door, but it wouldn’t stay in one place. After a few tries, Twilight got fed up and shot it with a bolt of Dark Magic. Twilight then suffered from a terrible illusion of her deepest fears. After a few minutes, Spike and Sam managed to snap Twilight out of it. Then Spike fell prey to the wicked illusions before Sam and Twilight snapped him out of it.

“I’m going to try something for curiosity’s sake,” Sam said and then stepped in front of the door. While Twilight and Spike had fell victim to illusions, the Dark Magic imbued in the door physically lashed out at Sam, who spun around to take the bolt with The Shield of Infinity on his back before jumping clear of the attacking range.

“Well that was different,” Spike remarked

“That’s the second time our magic has reacted differently for you. Why isn’t it consistent?” Twilight wondered

“We can worry about that later, right now we have a Crystal Heart to retrieve,” Sam remarked and Twilight hit the door with Light Magic. It opened to another spiraling staircase. After what seemed like hours of climbing, Spike suggested that maybe Sombra had enchanted the staircase to go on forever. Twilight responded to that by reversing gravity and have them all slide along the underside of the stairs. Not long after that, they made it to the top of the stairs and found the Crystal Heart.

“Now to get this back to Cadance and the others,” Twilight remarked and went to get the Crystal Heart, but she inadvertently sprung a trap. Twilight tried to teleport out, but the trap wouldn’t let her.

“What should we do?!” Spike shouted

“Get the Crystal Heart out of here! Once Sombra is taken care of, then you can come back for me!” Twilight instructed, but then an ear piercing caw split the air. Out of nowhere, a giant bird-like monstrosity stuck its giant beak in the room and swallowed the Crystal Heart! It then made its escape, but not before Sam could hit it with lightning. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to do much.

The Sun Eater, for that’s what it was, was primarily blue, with wings that seemed to be made of ice and a tail made up of an Aurora Borealis. Its head was a more streamlined and birdlike version of those the basic Sun Eaters had and its beak was long and sharp, but not as sharp as its icicle talons.

“We don’t have time for this!” Twilight cried from her crystalline prison and then instruments from nowhere started up.

“We’ll have to make time, because from the sound of the mysterious music, it’s boss battle time,” Sam remarked and then started using wind magic to fly. En route to the Sun Eater, he spotted Rainbow Dash charge at it with her Lucerne Hammer; a type of pole-arm with a stabbing point and hammer head. The hammer itself had four spikes sticking out of it for extra damage. Dash’s speed and strength in flight had been a perfect match for the percussion weapon and she had fallen in love with it. She had even named it Sonic Crusher or S.C. for short.

“Hey Sam, finally come to join the party?” Dash asked as she dodged an icy blast from the Sun Eater’s mouth.

“That thing’s eaten the Crystal Heart; we need to take it out fast so we can defeat Sombra!” Sam informed Rainbow Dash

“What?! That thing’s going down!” Rainbow Dash then charged in and her Lucerne Hammer came crashing down on the Sun Eater’s skull. Sam quickly followed up with a fiery discharge that caused the Sun Eater to melt slightly. Rainbow Dash saw an opportunity and quickly smashed off both sets of talons before it could refreeze. The Sun Eater roared in pain and rage.

In its rage, the Sun Eater let loose a powerful icy aura that immediately froze anything around it. Sam and Rainbow Dash backed off to a safe distance before Sam cloaked himself in a fire spell and charged at the Sun Eater. The opposite energies clashed and Sam fed more and more energy into his flames until finally, the icy aura broke and Sam crashed into the bird-like Sun Eater like a meteor.

The Sun Eater fell to the ground. As it tried to get up, Rainbow Dash flew down, gathering speed until she pulled off a Sonic Rainboom right above the Sun Eater and drove S.C. right into the ‘heart’ of the beast.

Defeated, the Sun Eater dissipated in a shadowy cloud and the Crystal Heart was intact. Tired from the fight, Dash and Sam landed. Unfortunately, there was no rest for the weary.

“Rainbow Dash, take the Crystal Heart to Princess Cadance. It looks like Sombra’s already in the Empire!” Sam instructed and Rainbow Dash grabbed the Crystal Heart and flew off. On her way, Sombra spotted Dash and gave chase. Somehow, the light from the Crystal Heart restored Sombra’s body. He then used his Dark Magic to create black crystals to fling at Rainbow Dash. She dodged like a champ, but the rain of black crystals eventually caused Rainbow to start falling while Sombra made like he was going to eat the Crystal Heart!

“RAINBOW DASH!” All of her friends shouted as she fell. Then, at the last possible second, Shining Armor threw Princess Cadance and she caught both Rainbow Dash and the Crystal Heart with her magic. She touched down and placed the Crystal Heart back where it belonged. The Crystal Ponies then charged it with their love and unity and it dispelled all of the Dark Magic and destroyed Sombra himself. It also had the side effect of turning everypony crystalline.

Just as everypony was about to celebrate, the generals noticed one of their number was missing. Therefore, they went to track down Sam. They found him on the ground, shivering violently.

“SAM!” They cried and they rushed to his side. Twilight placed a hoof to his forehead.

“He’s burning up with fever,” She informed the others

“I’m fine,” Sam groaned from the ground, fooling no one. He tried to get up, but couldn’t find the strength.

“What happened?” Twilight asked urgently

“When that wall of light hit me, I suddenly felt sick. I don’t know why,” Sam answered through his shivers. Upon hearing this, Twilight formulated a theory, but it would have to wait. Sam’s wellbeing came first. They quickly took him to a bed and Fluttershy broke out some herbs and medicines to try and break the fever. An hour later, she succeeded in doing so and after a more thorough examination; Sam was cleared as being perfectly fine.

“I guess it was like some sort of allergic reaction. Sudden and harsh when it first hits, but quickly fades,” Fluttershy concluded

“Thanks Fluttershy, I’ll try and remember to stay out of the way of the next Crystal Heart Light Blast,” Sam quipped

“He’s definitely all better,” Rainbow Dash remarked and they all shared a small chuckle in relief.

About two hours later, the crystallizing effect had faded and all non-Crystal Ponies had revered to normal, much to Rarity’s displeasure. With their mission successful, they said goodbye to Cadance, Shining Armor, and the Crystal Ponies.

After another long train ride back to Canterlot, the generals gave a full report as to what had happened in the Crystal Empire.

“Very good, my generals; we now no longer need to worry about the Crystal Empire or Sombra coming against us. Further, you can finally get started in training the troops,” Celestia remarked

“The sooner the better,” Sam agreed, “They threw a boss at us, which means they’re getting stronger. It might not be long before the first full scale assault.”

“Indeed. I better not keep you any longer, tired generals won’t win a war you know,” With that dismissal, the generals left.

Sam was about to head to his own room, when suddenly he felt Twilight’s magic tugging him in another direction.

“Help meeee!” He cried as he was dragged towards Twilight’s lab. The other Elements ignored their antics. They knew better than to get between Twilight and scientific discovery.

“Do you mind telling me why you feel the need to abduct me?!” Sam shouted when they arrived at Twilight’s lab.

“I think I know why certain magic affects you differently. In every case thus far, it has either been with Light based or Dark based magic,” Twilight said

“What about Cadance’s shield?” Sam asked

“That was Love based with a Light sub-element,” Twilight quickly responded, “Now I’m going to test you and record your reactions with proper gear!”

“Can’t this wait until morning?! We did just get back,” Sam remarked and then yawned

“Fine, but report here at 4:30 sharp or I’ll dump ice water on you!” Twilight threatened

“4:30 got it,” Temporarily safe from Twilight, Sam slipped into bed for a good night’s sleep before the torture.

Author's Note

That's Crystal Empire in the books! Get ready for the first large scale engagement, because it's in the near future!

BTW, who loves Sonic Crusher just as much as I do?!

Rainbow Dash?! How did you get here?!

I brought her here silly!

This is going to be a long day.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 7: Stranger in a Strange Land

___________________________________________________

Sam was not having the best of days. It all started out when Twilight had followed through on her threat to soak Sam should he not report at 4:30 am sharp.

Six Hours Ago

*SPLASH* “AHHHH!”

“I warned you, didn’t I?” Twilight asked with an infuriatingly smug tone

“Well excuse me if yesterday was somewhat taxing!” Sam barked in response

“Never mind that now; we’ve got science to do!” Twilight exclaimed and began dragging Sam to her lab.

“Why do I suddenly feel like I’m in the clutches of an organic GLaDOS?” Sam muttered to himself, but Twilight continued heedless of her victim/test subject/student’s observations.

After being linked to several monitoring devices, Twilight began her relentless experiments, tossing different Light and Dark based spells at Sam like there was no tomorrow. Each and every time, the result was…not as prescribed. By the time Twilight had gathered enough data to satisfy her, Sam was dealing with a horrible headache that not even Twilight’s best healing spell could remove. Giving up on that, Twilight went to fetch the Princesses to give the results of her testing.

“What is it you wanted to show us again, Twilight?” Luna asked her sister’s pupil. A moment later, she caught sight of a bedraggled Sam nursing a cup of herbal tea.

“I wanted to show you how Sam reacts differently to Light and Dark based spells than ponies do,” Twilight answered

“I swear, you’ll show them the printouts and nothing more or I’ll turn you into a Twicicle!” Sam threatened and then started rubbing at his temples to try and relieve his headache.

“Er…right…anyway, as you can see from these printouts, Sam’s magical core reacts violently to spells that are Light based or Dark based. I hypothesize this is because humans aren’t beings of extremes like we ponies are. As you’ve no doubt noticed, the vast majority of ponies are either kind, generous, and loving; essentially of the Light or hate filled, selfish, and cruel; beings of the Dark. Very few fall in between these two extremes. Humans, on the other hoof, are filled with both Light and Dark in roughly equal amounts. As such, when Sam is exposed to Light or Dark Magic, it tries to annihilate its counterpart. Light based spells try to eliminate the Dark and vise versa. The resulting imbalance manifests itself in various physical maladies, such as the headache Sam is currently experiencing,” Twilight explained to Celestia and Luna.

“Is there any way to overcome this?” Luna asked

“Possibly. It’ll take more research, but judging from early scans, it’s possible that if Sam is exposed to enough Light and Dark based Magics, he’ll start absorbing them. It’s also possible that he’ll simply build up immunity to such magics and they won’t have any effect on him. There’s also the off chance Light and Dark Magics will start ‘mutating’ around him. What that would entail, I’m not entirely sure,” Twilight answered

“Very good, my student, is there anything else we should know?” Celestia inquired

“There is one other thing, but perhaps Sam should explain..?” Twilight looked over at her ailing student.

“Fine, I’ll tell ‘em, but only because it save me the trouble of hunting them down later. I’ve been doing some studying down in the deeper sections of the archives and I’ve found a few scrolls written by some elemental mages. I was modifying them for my own use when I discovered something about my magic. While it can be used as pure elemental energy, it can be manipulated, refined, and magnified through various mathematical formulae, geometric shapes, and fusing of elements. While Twilight and I were…testing… the Light Magic she was using interacted with my Wind magic energies while trying to eradicate my Darkness. At the time, I was standing inside a circle with various runes. The result was a rather painful botched teleport. Proof of concept, insofar as I’m concerned. I’m telling you this because a few of my ideas have the potential to backfire spectacularly, so I’d like to build my own little testing bunker so that if it does backfire, I’m the only one that gets hurt,” Sam reported

“Permission granted. In the mean time, there are some decommissioned testing facilities that should prove useful for some of your more tame experiments,” Celestia replied

“Thank ya kindly. Now if you all don’t mind, I’m going to go find some more peppermint for my headache,” Sam said

Eventually, Sam found the peppermint and his headache abated. Unfortunately, for him, by that time, breakfast was already over. Sam decided it might be a good idea to go to bed instead of risking his headache flaring back up, but his plans were waylaid by the Element of Generosity herself.

“Sam, thank goodness I found you!” Rarity exclaimed

“No rest for the wicked,” Sam grumbled under his breath. Louder, he said, “What can I do for you?”

“I was hoping you’d help me in a demonstration of various Earth based battle tactics, particularly some of the more defensive styles,” Rarity explained

“And it has to be me because I have so many elements available to me?” Sam asked

“I knew you’d understand!” Rarity remarked and that’s how Sam ended up as a test dummy/attacker for Rarity’s demonstrations. It should be noted that Earth based combat is the most physical and when combined with Rarity’s tendencies to incorporate her Crystal sub-element into the mix, Sam was exceptionally sore by the end of the exercise.

Now

Thus, we find a tire, bruised, somewhat smelly Sam trudging down the halls of Canterlot Castel, hoping to find respite in a hot bath and a soft bed. The-Powers-That-Be, however, had other ideas. As Sam trudged towards his resting place, he heard Fluttershy and the Doctor shouting something, at least as much as Fluttershy ever shouts.

Cursing his good-guy nature, Sam redirected himself towards the disturbance. What he found did not please him.

Fluttershy was desperately trying to reign in some trouble-makers with the Doctor valiantly trying to help, but the stallions responsible for the commotion had no intention of listening to the soft-spoken Fluttershy or the stern Doctor.

“General Fluttershy, Colonel Doctor, what seems to be the problem?” Sam asked as he approached.

“Nothing’s wrong Sam, these ponies are just being a little rambunctious,” Fluttershy answered

“These stallions are being disruptive, crude, and disrespectful towards superior officers,” The Doctor reported

“Perhaps the two of you should take five, get some tea or something. I think I’ll have a little chat with these…ponies,” Sam said, and as soon as the two were out of earshot, Sam leveled a glare at the offending party.

“Tell me something, do any of you know why you are in this particular regiment? I, for one, thought we made it clear during the board of review,” Sam let his words hang in the air for a few moments. No pony answered.

“No one? Then let me spell it out for you: each and every one of you are worthless. You can’t run, you can’t fight, and you can’t plan. The only reason we haven’t sent you home is because we need medics,” Sam said harshly

“Then I guess that makes General Fluttershy the most worthless of us all,” Somepony quipped and a split second later, Sam had his hand around the offending pony’s throat like a vice.

“Excuse me, but could you repeat yourself? I’m afraid I misheard you,” Sam’s voice was dripping with malice.

“I didn’t say anything,” The pony wheezed and Sam released his grip.

“General Fluttershy is one of the best medics I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming across. The Doctor has proven himself similarly acquainted with the medical arts. I swear, if I catch wind of any of you giving either of them any grief, your next meal will be spiced with belladonna,” Sam threatened

“You can’t do that!” Shouted somepony

“Oh I can’t, can’t I? In my office, I have dozens of letters of condolence ready to go. I’d rather use one on your worthless hide than ten or twenty for the brave soldiers your incompetence has killed!” Sam snarled, “Your life is mine. You want to see how serious I am? I dare you to cause trouble for Fluttershy or the Doctor. I’ll laugh as you wither away from the poison! So if you want to serve as an example for your fellows, be my guest. DISMISSED!”

They didn’t need to be told twice and the whole regiment scattered. Sam was left with his headache threatening to come back and his mood even more sour.

“That was a little harsh, wasn’t it?” Sam turned around to see Luna standing there.

“Normally, I’d agree with you, but sometimes you’ve just gotta put the fear of God into them. That and I might have taken out some of my own frustrations on them,” Sam admitted

“If the way you look is anything to go by, I imagine your day hasn’t been the greatest,” Luna remarked

“A hot shower and a soft bed and I won’t be putting the fear of God into anyone for the rest of the day, I promise,” Sam quipped

“I suppose I should let you get to that,” Luna said

“I hear a ‘but’ in there,” Sam remarked

“It doesn’t matter, it can wait until tomorrow,” Luna assured Sam

“‘Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today’. Since I’m already in a ‘helping out’ mode, I might as well help you with whatever it is,” Sam sighed

“Well, given your reports from the Crystal Empire, I was thinking about tracking down one of those ‘boss’ Sun Eaters, as you called it…”

Sam flopped into his bed. He was utterly exhausted. He and Luna had wandered all over Canterlot; eventually they did find what they were looking for in the catacombs under the city. Unsurprisingly, it strongly resembled a giant rat. The two had captured the beast and it was now being studied in a secure lab.

After that, Sam had run to his room as fast as his weary legs could carry him and had finally gotten his shower. Unfortunately, he found he couldn’t fall asleep. He tossed and turned for over an hour, but despite how tired he felt, he couldn’t enter sleep’s sweet embrace.

Ultimately giving it up as hopeless, Sam decided to wander the halls in the hopes the relaxing atmosphere would eventually lull him to sleep. As was becoming a staple in Sam’s life, he ended up getting a lot more than he bargained for.

As Sam walked by Pinkie Pie’s room, he heard a noise. Upon pressing his ear up against the door, he heard what were unmistakably muffled sobs. Concerned for the pink mare, Sam opened the door.

When Sam laid eyes on Pinkie, her mane flat and her eyes puffy and red bathed in the pale moonlight, his heart panged with a need to try and fix what was wrong.

“Pinkie, what’s wrong?” He asked

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong,” Pinkie denied, trying to wipe away the freshly shed tears.

“Of course, you won’t open up unless I do so first. Well, last night, it finally hit me. I’m all alone, a stranger in a strange land without any other humans,” Tears pooled unbidden to Sam’s eyes, “I know I’m being stupid, I have all of you and you’ve shown me nothing but companionship and friendship; but for some reason, I can’t help suddenly feeling so alone.”

“You’re a human. With human thoughts and human needs and human desires and human dreams. We’re all ponies with pony thoughts and pony needs and pony desires and pony dreams. As much as we want to understand you, we’ll never be able to connect to you on the same level as another human would. You’re not being stupid, you’re simply longing for something that you should have and may never have again,” Pinkie remarked. Sam gapped at Pinkie in surprise and she giggled softly.

“Most ponies take it for granted that I’m just Pinkie the party pony. Pinkie the airhead. I’m fine with that, because most ponies don’t realize what my Cutie Mark really means,” She motioned to the trio of balloons on her flank, “My special talent is making ponies happy, usually through parties. However, in order to know what makes a pony happy, you have to know what makes them sad. You have to know what makes them scared. When it gets down to it, my special talent is helping to heal the emotional scars we all have, but to do that, I need to know what those scars are.”

“So you know every pain of every Heart you come across?” Sam asked

“Yep, for example, when Twilight first came to Ponyville, I knew she was an introvert of the highest degree and more than a little anti-social; both of which were direct results of her moderate OCD. I knew that to help her, I needed to find her exceptionally loyal friends who could understand her. Originally, I was planning to use that ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party to introduce her to AJ, Rarity, and Colgate. Then the whole Nightmare Moon fiasco happened and the rest is history,” Pinkie recounted

“That’s incredible,” Sam said simply

“I didn’t always understand fully what my Cutie Mark meant. Actually, it has to do with why I was crying,” Pinkie admitted

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Sam said quickly, making to leave.

“Stay, please. I’ve kept this to myself for far too long and I don’t know if I’ll ever work up the courage to tell anyone again,” Pinkie confessed

“If it’ll help you, then I’ll stay,” Sam answered

“I guess it’s best to start at the beginning. Not long after I was born, both my parents died in a rockslide. They loved to go mountain climbing and they just got unlucky one day. My sisters and I went to live with our grandparents on their rock farm. My grandparents had built on a major ley line and used the various rocks and geodes to collect the magical energy and then sell them. I was never particularly good at it, but life went on for the next 6 years until shortly after my eight birthday. That’s when I saw Dash’s Sonic Rainboom and the six of us got our Cutie Marks.

“A few years later and my grandmother’s birthday was coming up. I decided I wanted to throw her a surprise party. She had a heart attack and died. Nopony blamed me and told me she had been getting up there in years anyway, but somehow that made it worse. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it any longer and left to make my own way in the world, which led me to Ponyville. I tried to put it all behind me, but I can’t stop blaming myself for what happened that day. That’s why, sometimes when I’m alone at night, I cry,” Pinkie explained with renewed tears and Sam was crying too.

“I want to say something, but I can’t think of anything adequate,” Sam said

“Look at us, two pitiable souls crying the night away. Yet, for some reason, these tears don’t taste so bitter tonight,” Pinkie observed

“I guess it’s true what they say about a burden shared is a burden made lighter,” Sam remarked

“Sam, I want you to promise me something,” Pinkie said suddenly

“What?” Sam asked

“Never stop being you. Never stop being human. It may hurt a lot, but I get the feeling it’ll hurt a lot more the other way, if you give up who you are just for the sake of fitting in,” Pinkie begged

“I promise. My humanity is the only thing I really have left. If I give that up, I’m afraid I’ll lose who I am entirely,” Sam answered and soon thereafter, Sam left for his room. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

One Week Later

Trixie Lulamoon was nervous. She had suddenly been called to see General Sam during morning exercises and she didn’t have a clue what it was about, so naturally she assumed she was in some sort of trouble. Trixie had just as much of a guilty conscience as the next pony, after all. Much too soon, she found herself standing before the General’s door. Taking one last moment to steel her nerves, she knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Came the General’s voice through the door and Trixie entered. She found him sitting at his desk, reading a file. He also happened to be wearing reading glasses.

“You asked for Trixie, sir?” General Sam closed the file and placed it on his desk.

“Yes, I did. I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Corporal Trixie,” Under other circumstances, Trixie would have been thrilled, but given who had likely told him about her, Trixie was apprehensive.

“What have you heard, sir?” Trixie asked cautiously and Generals Sam pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose so they reflected the light.

“I’ve heard this and that. The most important thing, the reason I’ve called you in here, is actually because of something I read in your file,” General Sam remarked. If Trixie hadn’t been sweating bullets before, she sure was now.

“What did you read in my file?” Trixie inquired anxiously

“Well, according to this,” General Sam motioned to the file on his desk, “You are accomplished in most magics. What really grabbed my attention were the remarks on your pyrokenetic and illusionary magics. One of the testers even went so far as to call you a prodigy. As such, I am offering you the chance to be a part of my squad.”

“A part of your squad?” Trixie repeated. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was expecting, but that wasn’t it.

“Indeed. As you may have noticed, I don’t have a regiment. This is because Celestia and Luna decided it would be wiser to place me at the head of a Special Ops team. Our missions will range from tactical strikes, to urban combat, to performing as an adjunct of General Sparkle’s regiment. In essence, we’ll get called in when precision and versatility the main force doesn’t have is required. That is, if you choose to accept,” General Sam informed Trixie

“Does Trixie have to answer now?” Trixie asked

“Not right now, but within the week,” General Sam replied

“Thank you, Trixie will think about it,” Trixie said and left. Trixie had a lot to think about.

Opening Volley

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 8: Opening Volley

_________________________________________________

Sam was bored. He knew he should have been paying closer attention, but listening to Twilight drone on about the exact progress of each and every one of her troops during what was supposed to be a brief weekly meeting would tax anyone’s attention span. Therefore, Sam’s thoughts turned to how his own week had gone.

The best thing about his week had to be that his team was finally complete. He was looking forward to getting to know them all better. The novelty of it all was causing a stupid grin to grow on his face as he thought about.

“SAM!” Twilight’s bark cut through his thoughts like a whip cutting a can. Just before Twilight could start tearing into Sam for not paying attention, a guard burst into the room.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, but a force of Sun Eaters has been spotted marching on Canterlot!” The guard reported

“How far off are they?” Twilight asked

“ETA is one and a half hours,” The guard replied

“Thank you Arrow Point,” Twilight said quickly and all the generals went in search of Celestia. They found her and Luna on the highest tower, Luna peering through a telescope.

“Good, you’re here. The Sun Eaters are approaching. Are you all ready?” Celestia asked

“As ready as could be expected,” Sam answered and the others made sounds of agreement.

“Good. Now then, we-”

“I think you all should see this,” Luna suddenly interrupted her sister. Celestia quickly looked through the telescope and gasped. Twilight looked next.

“Is that Sombra’s horn coming out of that thing’s head?!” She exclaimed

“That’s what it looks like,” Celestia agreed as the other generals took turns looking through the telescope. When it was finally Sam’s turn, he was appalled by the thing he saw. Its body was pitch black with two gleaming white eyes, its mouth was a red splotch filled with teeth. It was bipedal and if Sam had to describe it any further, he’d have said it looked like a twisted mockery of a human in terms of body shape. Out of its forehead, as if it had been glued there, was Sombra’s horn, pulsing green and black and where it met the thing’s head, a sickly looking blue color spread out.

As for the host of Sun Eaters, they seemed to be about 5,000 strong and they came in many shapes and sizes, but none were flying and none were larger than Celestia. However, they all had the same head, just as always. As Sam gazed at them, a plan formed in his head.

“I have a plan,” Sam announced

“Let us hear it then,” Luna prompted

“First, we send the Air Force carrying bombs to blast as many Sun Eaters as they can before pulling out. Secondly, when they are in range of the cannons, we let them have it with those. Finally, once they are within 1000 meters, the cannons will stop and my team will charge right up the middle while Twilight’s regiment swings around the sides in a pincer motion. The primary goal will be wiping out all of the Sun Eaters. However, I want that Sun Eater with Sombra’s horn captured if possible, but that’s only the secondary goal. Is everything clear? Anyone have any objections?” Sam asked

“Why doesn’t one of the other regiments come in around back and completely box them in?” Rainbow Dash asked

“A cornered enemy will fight much harder than an enemy that believes it has a chance of escaping,” Sam replied, “If that is all, then we should start preparing.”

“I approve of this plan. I wish you all luck,” Celestia said and the generals dispersed to prepare for the battle.

Water Spout was nervous, and not the kind that comes before a test. Her heart was pounding in her throat as she suited up for her first combat mission. Over the past months, she had gone through the motions countless times, but Water Spout was still finding it hard to dig up any confidence. This time, lives would be on the line, after all.

Just as Water Spout was finishing her takeoff checklist, General Rainbow Dash’s voice came on over the hanger’s PA system.

“As you all are no doubt aware, today will be our first combat as a group. I have absolute faith in each and every one of you and I know you will not disappoint me! You’ve been trained by the best, now get out there and show ‘em how it’s done!”

General Rainbow Dash was not renowned for her speech making abilities, but all the ponies felt some of the tension slip away as their General’s confident words infected them with courage. Even Water Spout found she was breathing easier after it and spotted a few grins sprouting among her wing mates.

A minute later, and the Air Force was speeding towards the enemy.

General Pinkamena Diane Pie watched and barked orders as her men prepared the heavy artillery, her mane straight and limp. While her friends had learned over the course of the past couple of months that straight and limp did not necessarily coincide with insanity, but rather seriousness, she had kept this tidbit from her regiment. A small amount of fear and respect were healthy in a soldier/commander relationship.

Over the course of their training, Pinkie Pie had gotten her regiment to the point where they could fire a shot a minute per cannon. She would never dream of telling her troops this, but she was impressed by them. They worked hard, fast, and accurately. She couldn’t have been more pleased with them.

Trixie Lulamoon was ready for action, her horn practically itching to unleash the combat spells she had learned. Beside her, her triple dagger lay waiting to be used. She slipped the weapon into its sheathe and placed it inside her magically altered cloak.

Though she hadn’t had much chance to train under General Sam, she had learned a lot under General Twilight. She was ready to put that knowledge to the test. She just hoped she didn’t get herself killed in the process.

Contrary to what many ponies thought, Octavia was not afraid of getting her hooves dirty. One had to have a certain tolerance for dirt when rooming with a mare like Vinyl Scratch, after all. No, her primary tenant was not cleanliness, but poise; balance. Her father had taught her many things in her life, but Octavia remembered two things above all else: you can’t rely on others to defend you and having a balance will make sure you are never overwhelmed.

Octavia recited these lessons in her mind as she prepared to face the oncoming horde of Sun Eaters. Vinyl was fiddling with her sunglasses, a subtle sign of nervousness that Octavia had learned to recognize in her best friend.

“Deep breaths Vinyl, deep breaths,” Octavia whispered in the other mare’s ear and soon Vinyl Scratch was the picture of tranquility.

“Thanks Tavi,” Vinyl whispered

“My pleasure,”

Adrenaline was flooding through her veins and her heart was thundering in her chest. Lightning Dust had just dodged a rather nasty looking dark purple jet of light and let loose with another grenade in response. Ahead of her, she saw a team bucking a very large cumulonimbus cloud, which poured down lightning in response.

The fight had only started ten minutes ago, but already the Air Force was almost out of explosives and the Sun Eaters had sustained heavy casualties. The only thing that prevented General Rainbow Dash from ordering a full out attack was the Sun Eater that had a unicorn horn sticking out of its forehead. Its attacks were vicious and powerful. Lightning Dust didn’t even want to think what would happen to any poor pony that got caught in one of the blasts of that thing. As such, the Air Force had been staying up high the entire confrontation.

Lightning Dust dodged another attack, and went to drop another grenade, when she found she was all out. As per orders, she banked hard and made for the cloudbank where the Air Force would meet after the battle. Fortunately, for Lightning Dust, the rest of the Air Force followed soon after. Now it was in the hands of the artillery regiment.

“Get ready to fire!” General Pinkie Pie called out and her regiment scrambled to make their final preparations. Overcast’s wings were twitching slightly as he poured the required amount of gun powder down the cannon’s barrel. While he wouldn’t be in close quarters with the enemy, nervous energy still filled him.

“FIRE!” General Pinkie Pie ordered and all fuses were lit. A few moments later, the report of cannons could be heard for miles. Overcast was thankful he had remembered to don his ear protection, unlike a poor unicorn stallion a few stations over. Fortunately, a quick spell put the unicorn back to rights and he quickly put on his own protective gear. Soon after, the cannons fired again. They would continue to fire for the next twenty minutes.

As soon as Pinkie had given the all clear, Sam and his team marched out to meet the enemy while Twilight’s troops moved for the pincer. The Air Force and the artillery had Sun Eater horde, but the one with Sombra’s horn had kept Sun Eater casualties to a minum. Sam knew that if this was going to work, that Sun Eater had to go down first.

The moment Sam’s team engaged the Sun Eater, Twilight’s regiment stormed onto the battlefield to take out the other Sun Eaters.

“So, you are the one who wields the Ancient Sword,” Sam was so shocked to hear the Sun Eater speak; he was almost decapitated on the spot; only bringing up the Shield of Infinity at the last moment saved his head. Its voice was low and gravelly, yet had an oily quality to it as well.

“How are you talking?!” Sam shouted at it while Iron Sides struck out with his war hammer.

“Foolish human, you know nothing about the Sun Eaters, nor our master. Watch in despair as we destroy this world!” The Sun Eater roared and let loose a blast of raw magic from its stolen horn. Sam’s team was flung away, but soon recovered and renewed the assault.

With the leader distracted, Twilight’s regiment was having surprisingly little trouble dealing with the underlings. After cleaning up what remained after the Air Force’s attack and the artillery’s bombardment, Twilight turned her attention to the leader and Sam’s team. It was obvious to her that both sides were exhausted. Lucky for Sam and his team, Twilight had a spell for this. She had studied shield and containment spells alongside her BBBFF, after all.

Before the Sun Eater knew what was happening, it found itself encased in a purple sphere. It roared, raged, and tried to break the containment spell, but it was no use. It was too tired from the effort of continuous battle and Twilight was a very powerful, and fresh, unicorn. Eventually, the Sun Eater knocked itself unconscious.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait guys, but writer's block is a nasty thing. I hope this makes up for it, even if it's only a little bit.

Next time on Rearranging Perspectives: We learn a little more about the Sun Eaters, their master, and their plan.

Dark Revelations

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 9: Dark Revelations

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When all was said and done, the first full scale battle hadn’t gone as bad as Sam had feared, but there was still an undercurrent of tension in the room. Fluttershy was just about to give her report on the casualties.

“After all ponies had been accounted for, the total number of wounded comes to three hundred forty six. Of those, fifty three were critically injured. Thankfully, there were no casualties and all injured are expected to make full recoveries at this time.”

All tension evaporated when Fluttershy said the words ‘no casualties’. They were even happier when they heard that all injured were going to be fine.

“Thank you Fluttershy,” Twilight said

“Oh, you’re welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should be getting back to my patients,” Fluttershy replied and left

“I think we should go check on the Sun Eater we captured,” Sam suggested and they all headed to the Sun Eater detention facility.

“Have you been able to get any information from the Sun Eater?” Twilight asked one of the guards

“Unfortunately not, General Sparkle, it’s being very tight lipped,” The guard replied and then showed the group to the cell the Sun Eater was being held in.

“Have you come to try and get information from me? I assure you it is a futile endeavor,” The Sun Eater taunted

“You’re gonna tell us everything you know or else!” Rainbow Dash barked

“And what are you going to do? You ponies are so soft it’s sickening,” The Sun Eater spat

“So you think you’re untouchable, do you? I think I’d like to put that to the test. Ve haf vays of making you talk” Sam remarked in a bad German accent, “If you all would be so kind as to give us some privacy?” The other generals turned to leave. However, at the door of the detention center, a scream pierced the air.

“Sun Eaters are separated into five ranks based on intelligence and power. Thus far, we’ve only gone up against fifth rank Sun Eaters, save for our friend in the detention cell, who is a fourth rank,” Sam explained to the gathered generals and princesses

“So we’ve only tasted a small amount of the enemy’s overall power? If this were true, why would they hold back? Would it not be a more sound strategy to stamp us out a soon as possible?” Luna asked

“That’s because the enemy can only transport so many troops at one time into this dimension. Lower ranking troops are easier to send across dimensional boarders. Thankfully, most of the enemy’s energy is tied up in keeping Discord in line and some sort of secret project. However, as time progresses, the enemy will be able to gather more energy and the dimensional boarders will slowly weaken with each attack,” Sam answered

“So what are we gonna do? We can’t just wait around for the next attack!” Rainbow Dash shouted

“Well, one thing we could do is find their points of entry and set traps for them. That way, any Sun Eaters that come through will be weakened and thus easier to defeat. It should buy us some time in the later stages, at least,” Twilight suggested

“Well, why don’t we take out the source? If we destroy the source of these critters, we won’t have ta’ worry ‘bout it,” Applejack remarked

“Right now, that’s not an option. We don’t know if we could even survive on the other side, never mind the possible hordes of Sun Eaters waiting for us there. It would be suicide,” Sam replied

Before the conversation could go any further, a guard entered.

“Princess Celestia, an emergency communiqué from Manehatten!” He announced

“What is it?” Celestia asked

“It says that Manehatten is under attack from an unknown entity. They are requesting back up,” The guard responded

“Thank you, Steel Resolve,” Celestia said and then turned to Sam, “Sam, I want you and your team to head out to Manehatten to investigate and if possible, put an end to the problem, but don’t hesitate to summon reinforcements.”

Sam acknowledged his orders and went to gather his team. Thirty minutes later, they were on a train bound for Manehatten.

“So, what do you think this ‘entity’ is?” An excitable pegasus stallion by the name of Quickdraw asked. His coat was white and his mane was black. His Cutie Mark was a six shooter.

“If we knew what it was, we wouldn’t be calling it an entity,” Iron Sides pointed out.

“There’s no use getting worked up over it. Speculation now would only serve to put us at a disadvantage,” Remarked the stern unicorn stallion Bronze Shield. His coat was a muddy brown and his mane was golden. His Cutie Mark was a bronze buckler shield and he specialized in defensive and support magics. This had earned him the nickname of ‘White Mage’ with Sam.

“Trixie agrees with Bronze. Worrying too much right now is a bad thing,” Trixie put her two bits in.

“Oh come on, you know I didn’t mean it like that,” Quickdraw protested

“That’s what it sounded like,” Chirped Wind Rider, a pegasus mare who had a sky blue coat and white mane and her Cutie Mark the depiction of a stiff wind. She had studied several martial arts and could give Rainbow Dash a run for her money as the fastest pegasus around.

“Why does everypony have to gang up on me?” Quickdraw whined

“Maybe because it’s you make yourself such an easy target?” Quipped an earth pony stallion by the name of Light Touch. His coat was sunflower yellow and his mane was magenta, his Cutie Mark was a feather on a scale.

“And how exactly am I supposed to fix that?” Quickdraw asked with an eye roll

“You could try thinking before you open your mouth,” Iron Sides suggested

“But we know that’ll never happen,” Wind Rider teased

“Oh come on!” Quickdraw moaned

“Alright you guys, leave Quickdraw alone. We’ve still got awhile before we get to Manehatten and I’d rather not spend it listening to you all bickering like foals,” Sam said

“Yes, sir,” The group chorused and went back to preparing themselves for whatever it was that awaited them in Manehatten.

When the train pulled into the station, all those on board immediately felt something was off. The normally bustling city was quiet as the depths of space. A chill settled upon Sam and his team the instant they disembarked from the train. It was the middle of summer.

“Well this isn’t creepy in the slightest,” Quickdraw snarked

“Trixie just had to read that zombie story last night,” Trixie groaned as they walked down a deserted road.

“It’s like everypony just suddenly disappeared all at once. Look over there, a bag of groceries just abandoned and there’s a half eaten sandwich,” Bronze Shield noted

“What could cause everypony in Manehatten to suddenly vanish?” Iron Sides wondered

“Chances are it’s the very thing we’ve been sent to investigate,” Sam remarked

“Wonderful,” Wind Rider drawled

“Who dares to disturb us?” A voice suddenly hissed, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“We’re here in response to an emergency communiqué. Who am I addressing?” Sam asked and suddenly a black mist appeared before them. If floated there for a moment before solidifying into a pony.

“Kneel before your future ruler, creature! I am Nightmare Moon!”

Author's Note

Dun Dun Dun!

Shadows Reborn Nightmares Restored

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 10: Shadows Reborn Nightmares Restored

_________________________________________________

“Everyone stay calm,” Sam hissed to his team. Truth be told, Sam was barely suppressing the impulse to bolt himself. His mind was sorting through possible explain how Nightmare Moon was standing right in front of him when he knew Luna was still back in Canterlot. Was this a trick by Discord? Or had Chrysalis returned?

“Nightmare Moon, how are you here? Weren’t you destroyed?” Sam asked cautiously

“I…I am not sure…” Nightmare Moon shook her head as if to clear it, “but that does not matter! As soon as I regain my full strength, I SHALL MAKE THE NIGHT LAST FOREVER!” Nightmare Moon crowed

“Don’t you think finding out how you were brought back from non-existence and given your own body independent of Luna’s is a little bit more important?” Sam asked before his brain caught up with his mouth.

“YOU DARE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!” Nightmare Moon bellowed

“No, no, it was merely a suggestion!” Sam backtracked, “But while we’re talking, what did you do to the citizens of Manehatten?”

“YOU ACCUSE ME OF SPIRITING AWAY PONIES?! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!” With that, Nightmare Moon threw a bolt of lightning at Sam and the battle was on.

“Scatter!” Sam ordered as he ducked behind a trash can.

“We’re gonna die!” Quickdraw cried from his spot behind a newsstand.

“Are you deaf? She’s said she’s not at full power! We’ve still got a chance!” Iron Sides shouted

“Now isn’t the time for talking!” Bronze Shield snapped and got to work casting his boosting spells.

“GERONIMO!” Light Touch called as he charged down the street right at Nightmare Moon.

“Again? Really?!” Nightmare Moon

“Not quite!” Wind Rider exclaimed as she dropped down onto Nightmare Moon from above. The dark mare tried to throw Wind Rider, but the pegasus managed to stay on as her teammates took the opportunity to attack.

Trixie started casting illusionary fire to further throw Nightmare Moon off while Sam and Iron Sides charged in with their weapons at the ready while Bronze Shield backed them up with shielding spells. In the scuffle, Iron Sides managed to nail Nightmare Moon in the head and that’s when Nightmare Moon decided she had had enough.

“BEGONE!” She roared and blasted everyone away with a wave of raw magic. Nightmare Moon then flew upwards and began raining down lightning seemingly at random. “LEAVE ME BE!

“Retreat!” Sam called out and they all raced back to the train. Behind them, they could hear Nightmare Moon screaming.

“What did you find in Manehatten?” Celestia asked at the debriefing. Thankfully, Sam had had a lot of time to think things over on the train ride.

“When we arrived at Manehatten, we found everypony there had gone missing, as if they had suddenly been plucked from where they had been standing,” Sam began, “However, before we could find the entity we were ambushed…by Nightmare Moon.” The room suddenly erupted into chaos.

“WHAT?! NIGHTMARE MOON?! ART THOU CERTAIN?!” Luna shouted, accidentally slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice and ye olden speech patterns in her shock.

“NIGHTMARE MOON?! BUT THE ELEMENTS DESTROYED HER!” Rainbow Dash yelled

“HOW IS SHE EXISTING WITHOUT LUNA?!” Twilight exclaimed

“Everypony, please calm down,” Celestia’s calm, yet forceful voice cut through the din and the uproar stopped. “Please continue Sam.”

“Nightmare Moon appeared, but when asked about how she had returned, she said she didn’t know and seemed to become confused for a moment. After that, she claimed she still wished to bring eternal night and then became enraged when we suggested she had kidnapped the ponies. Then a fight broke out and after Iron Sides managed to land a blow to Nightmare Moon’s head. After that, we retreated, but we did hear Nightmare Moon screaming for some reason,” Sam reported

“Are you sure it wasn’t Discord or Chrysalis?” Celestia questioned

“During the fight Nightmare Moon hit us with raw magic. I could tell it was neither Discord’s nor Chrysalis’ magic. Personally, I think this was the ‘secret project’ the Sun Eater told us about. However, I think it went wrong somehow and instead of a reborn Nightmare Moon completely devoted to them, they got this. It’s also possible that there’s a connection to how they raised Nightmare Moon and why the denizens of Manehatten had vanished,” Sam theorized

“Then we must got to Manehatten at once and destroy Nightmare Moon once and for all!” Luna declared

“Slow down Luna, that might not be necessary,” Sam said and everyone in the room looked at him like he was crazy.

“And why wouldn’t it be necessary?” Celestia asked skeptically

“Well, answer me this first: what was Nightmare Moon?” Sam replied

“My jealousy and hate which eventually literally consumed me and created the Nightmare Moon persona,” Luan answered quietly

“Exactly; Luna’s jealousy and hate, it was Luna’s feelings and desires that drove Nightmare Moon. But now, Nightmare Moon is her own mare…” Sam left the others in the room to finish the thought.

“You aren’t suggesting…?” Twilight said, hesitant to finish the sentence.

“I am. I think it’s possible that the failure was precisely because they didn’t have Luna’s emotions to use as a base. It’s also possible that the Changeling invasion was a front to attempt to harvest Luna’s emotions for that very cause. What they got instead was an alicorn who looked and had similar mannerisms to the Nightmare Moon who was bonded to Luna before the Elements took her out, but who had none of the drives. Thus, they tried to slap some sort of mind control or distortion spell on her. However, either Nightmare Moon escaped before the spell was complete or due to her alicorn nature, she was able to begin breaking down the spell,” Sam speculated

“On the off chance that you are correct, what do you propose we do?” Celestia asked

“The safest option would be to hit her with the strongest purification spell you’ve got. If she truly is her own mare now, it will only dispose of any controlling spells on her. If she’s still only the manifestation of Luna’s Darkness, then it will eliminate her. Either way, the problem is solved,” Sam replied

“But a spell like that would take hours to set up. How would we get Nightmare Moon to stay still long enough?” Twilight wondered

“Nightmare Moon didn’t seem to notice us until we were inside the city itself. I suggest we set up around the boarders of Manehatten while a separate team of mages sets up a barrier around Manehatten to keep Nightmare Moon in should she try to escape. It’ll take a lot of time and energy, but as she is, Nightmare Moon is too big a threat to consider half measures,” Sam answered

“If it is alright, I would like to be the one to cast the purification spell,” Luna suddenly said

“I don’t see any problem with it,” Sam remarked after a bit of thought, “In fact, having it done by one of the princesses will probably increase our chances of success.”

“If that is what you want Luna, then I don’t see why not,” Celestia answered

“Thank you, sister, now if you’ll all excuse me, I wish to start preparing. The sooner this is over, the better.”

Author's Note

CMC Purifiers AWAY! xP

This chapter is dedicated to Rainbowdashy because this chapter would have likely taken a few weeks if RD hadn't told me to get on with it.

Also, no promises, but Cthulhu might be making an appearance in the next chapter. Maybe.

Invasions of the Lovecraftian Variety

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 11: Invasions of the Lovecraftian Variety

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Princess Luna, Mistress of the Night, Mover of the Moon, Conqueror of the Dragon Horde, and many other titles beside, was anxious. The feeling was not alien to her, but it had been many centuries since she had last felt this way. However, she supposed she should not be surprised. Who wouldn’t be anxious when it came to confronting an entity that embodied your own Darkness and had already consumed you once?

Therefore, Luna walked among the troops to keep nervous energy from building up and trying not to think too much about the being that she had hoped was gone forever. Luna’s walkabout eventually led her to one of the areas the cannons were being set up. While she didn’t think cannons would be much help against Nightmare Moon, her Sister had insisted.

Speaking of Celestia, Luna could see her conversing with some mages. When Celestia had made it known that she was coming as well, Luna had felt a pang of annoyance.

‘It’s like she doesn’t trust me,’ She had thought to herself, but she knew her older Sister had her best interests at heart. It was painfully obvious to anypony who cared to look that Celestia was deathly afraid of losing Luna to the Nightmare once more. Luna supposed it could have been worse. Celestia could have insisted all of the Elements stood as bodyguards at all times. As it was, they were all in the camp somewhere.

“Princess Luna!” Speak of the Devil…

“Greetings, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna responded

“How are you feeling?” Twilight asked and Luna barely suppressed a ‘humph’ of annoyance. Ever since they had arrived two days ago, Twilight had seemingly become an extension of Celestia. If one wasn’t checking up on her, the other almost certainly was.

“As I told you an hour ago, I am perfectly fine,” Luan replied, perhaps a little more stiffly than usual. It was almost enough to make her cast an invisibility spell on herself. However, she knew if she did that, then Celestia would panic and she’d never be left alone for the next thousand years. Maybe she should go find Sam. With any luck, his presence would ward off her Sister as well as her mind slave and he wouldn’t constantly pester her.

With that plan in mind, Luna escaped Celestia’s little purple clone and went off in search of her quarry. Eventually, she found him reading a book on the other side of camp.

“Sam,” She said by way of greeting.

“Hello Luna, what can I do ya for?” Sam asked while stretching out the kinks that had accumulated while reading

“I was merely hoping you’d be able to keep my Sister and Twilight at bay for awhile,” Luna answered

“I don’t know why those two are so uptight. If Nightmare Moon had any hostile intentions, she’d have almost certainly come out by now. She didn’t strike me as the kind to tiptoe around,” Sam remarked

“Indeed, yet for the past two days, my Sister and Twilight have been pestering me almost constantly,” Luna grumbled

“Well, with any luck, this whole thing will be over soon and then you can go back to only Celestia bugging you on a 24/7 basis,” Sam teased

“You are so funny, I forgot to laugh,” Luna deadpanned

“I try,” Sam quipped

“Princess Luna!” One of the mages walked up

“Yes? What is it?” Luna asked

“The barrier is almost ready and the Purification sigils are in place. If you would follow me, we-” Suddenly everyone shivered. At that moment, a ghastly green portal opened up some distance away and out came a giant creature with tentacles and bat-like wings.

“Well, there goes Chekov’s gun,” Sam muttered just before the camp burst into chaos. Cannons were being realigned; mages were hastily setting up warding and offensive spell barriers.

For her part, Luna drew her favorite broadsword and charged off to meet the ancient being. Truth be told, she was probably more surprised than anypony else. She had been the one who had written and signed the treaty with the Old Ones! She couldn’t possibly think why Cthulhu would so casually disregard the treaty, yet here he was.

Unless the Sun Eaters and their Master were involved, that is. If that was the case, Luna shuttered to think what they might have told the creature.

“CTHULHU, WE GIVE YOU ONE CHANCE! LEAVE THIS DIMENSION NOW!” Luna ordered with the Royal Canterlot voice, but the behemoth ignored her and continued on towards Manehatten. Right into Celestia’s magically charged spear. Luna quickly followed up with a strike of her broadsword. The attacks in and of themselves were little more than minor cuts on Cthulhu’s massive body, but the magic that had been imbued in the blows was working rather nicely.

Cthulhu made a noise of pain and annoyance as Luna and Celestia continued their assault. They had little hope of actually defeating Cthulhu, but if they could drive him out of the dimension, that would be enough.

Luna spotted all of the Generals rushing towards Cthulhu, all weapons ready for action and the Elements of Harmony had the regalia. Soon thereafter, the report of cannons went off.

Rainbow Dash got there first, performing a Sonic Rainboom and slamming her Laurence Hammer right into the beast’s belly with all the force she could muster. The great kinetic energy transferred by the blow was enough to make Cthulhu stumble. The Elements of Harmony then activated and while they were not strong enough to banish the Old One, they put him further off balance.

The battle continued in this way for close to ten minutes. Cthulhu refused to stop, but the ponies and Sam were able to keep him from advancing. Unfortunately, fatigue was slowly setting in, and not in Cthulhu. Then, a blue-black cloud appeared and condensed into the form of Nightmare Moon.

For a moment, Luna feared that Nightmare Moon would attack them, but these fears were quickly disposed of when the dark alicorn lashed out with lightning at the ancient creature.

With the addition of the third alicorn, the tide was slowly turning in their favor, but Luna worried that it still wouldn’t be enough. Suddenly, an idea sprang to her mind. She quickly communicated her plan to the others and they agreed to give it a shot.

The three alicorns broke off their attack and all the Generals fell behind Sam. Sam then lifted up Solaris and the three alicorns poured the raw energies of the Sun, Moon, and Darkness into Solaris while the Elements of Harmony crated a protective barrier. Sam then charged Cthulhu and with a magically assisted jump, split the monster right down the middle.

While it would take an act of God to actually kill an Old One, Cthulhu’s physical form was vanquished and with it, his ability to manifest in that dimension for the next three thousand years.

Everyone slumped slightly with relief. However, it didn’t last long. There was something of an elephant in the room.

“What are you doing here, Nightmare Moon?” Celestia asked cautiously

“Is it so hard to believe that I have no desire to see innocents die terrible deaths? I merely wished to help. Further, I could ask you the same question,” Nightmare Moon returned

“Well, we’re here because I think you might be under some sort of botched mind altering spell and were setting up a large scale purification spell,” Sam answered

“To eliminate any possible spells and if I posed a threat then eliminate me?” Nightmare Moon guessed

“Exactly,” Sam replied

“Then I will submit to the spell,” Nightmare Moon stated, much to the shock of most there. Sam was merely pleasantly surprised.

Because the spell now only needed to cover a small area, it only took three minutes for Luna and Celestia to set up, as opposed to the two days it had taken to set it up for the whole city of Manehatten. Luna then activated the spell and it produced a blinding flash of light.

Slowly, but surely, everyone regained their ability to see. What they saw weren’t what they were expecting.

“I appear to have regressed into a filly...buck,” The now filly alicorn of Darkness swore as she looked at her hooves, “Wait a second, if I’m a filly-” Nightmare Moon quickly checked her flank “-BUCK!” Nightmare Moon didn’t have a Cutie Mark anymore.

“My, what language,” Sam chided while smirking. Nightmare Moon shot him a dirty look.

“Just because I have regressed in body does not mean I have done so mentally as well,” Nightmare Moon said sourly

“Speaking of your mind, how do you feel?” Sam asked and Nightmare Moon took a few moments to asses her current state of affairs.

“My mind is clearer than it has been in a while. It appears you were correct in your guess,” Nightmare Moon then looked at Luna, “And you don’t have to worry about ‘plunging Equestria into eternal night’. I have absolutely no desire to do something so monumentally stupid. That was Luna’s goal.”

“Hey!” Luna protested

“Besides, technically, it’s always night somewhere in the world, thus the night is already eternal, and ergo the whole thing was a moot point. Further, the realm outside the Sun’s reach is far greater, so even though I still have all your memories, I’m still not sure why you got so worked up,” Nightmare Moon remarked and by that point, Luna’s face was flush with irritation.

“Shut up you little-”

“Alright then, I believe we should begin packing up and heading back to Canterlot. In the mean time, I think it would be best if we had Fluttershy look over Nightmare Moon to make sure everything’s OK,” Celestia quickly cut in, but if one looked, they could see the ghost of a smirk playing across her face.

As they approached camp, they noticed some kind of disturbance. Upon getting closer, one of the soldiers ran up to them.

“Sirs and Princesses, we don’t know how, but all the ponies of Manehatten have suddenly reappeared!” The soldier reported

“But what did it? Was it beating Cthulhu or purifying Nightmare Moon?” Twilight wondered

“The world may never know,” Celestia remarked and then went to try and restore order to Manehatten.

Luna was looking forward to falling into bed for the few hours she had before she had to raise the Moon. Old Ones, returning city populaces, pestering sisters, embodiments of inner Darkness turned good and into a filly, these things were enough to take it out of even an alicorn of the highest level of stamina.

As it was, she was trying to use the train ride to sort her thoughts, but she found it impossible. Just as she was about to give it up, the door to her car opened and Nightmare Moon entered.

“I believe you and I need to have a talk,” She said simply

“What’s there to talk about? You’re your own pony now, unless you break a law or something, I have no say in what you do,” Luna remarked, really only half paying attention.

“I’m the alicorn of Darkness and a filly. Further, I know you can’t be comfortable with me around at the moment. There’s plenty to talk about. Also, a new name might be in order. After all, I can hardly go walking around as the feared Nightmare Moon,”

“Perhaps you are right,” Luna conceded

“I do have a few suggestions. First, it should be relatively simply for me to stay at Twilight Sparkle’s library in Ponyville. Go to school there and whatnot to keep a cover. It also has the bonus of satisfying Celestia’s rabid need to teach everypony the wonders of friendship. I’ll be exposed to plenty of the stuff whist in Ponyville,” Nightmare Moon suggested

“I don’t see Twilight having a problem with it,” Luna responded mildly

“I wasn’t aware I was talking to Twilight,” Nightmare Moon snarked

“Are you trying to annoy me? Because you’re succeeding,” Luna grumbled

“I don’t need to try. I know exactly how you tick,” Nightmare Moon replied with a smirk

“Then what exactly do you want?” Luna growled

“I want to talk,” Nightmare Moon answered calmly and this was enough to push Luna’s annoyance into anger.

“Well what do you want to talk about?!” She shouted

“I want to talk about how you view me now,” Nightmare Moon responded in that same calm voice.

“You wish to know how I view you?!” Luna slipped into the Royal Canterlot Voice, “You are a pest! An annoyance WHO I CAN’T STOP THINKING OF AS A LITTLE SISTER! I DON’T UNDERSTAND! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MY DARKNESS AND THERE YOU ARE, NOT DOING ANY BUCKING THING! WHY DO I FEEL THIS WAY?!”

“I’m small, have a resemblance to you, am a young filly; know everything about you, among other things. Take your pick,” Nightmare Moon replied

“WHY DON’T I HATE YOU?! YOU ARE THE REASON I WAS LOCKED AWAY FOR A THOUSAND YEARS! YOU ARE THE REASON CELESTIA HAD TO FIGHT ME! YOU ARE THE REASON SOME ARE STILL AFRAID OF ME!” Luna bellowed

“I may have all your memories, know how you felt at that time, but that’s just data. The Heart is so much more than that. Only you can really answer why you feel the way you do,” Nightmare Moon remarked

“Where in Tartarus did you get such a cheesy line?” Luan asked

“Sam’s dream on the way to Manehatten,” Nightmare Moon answered simply

“Very well…I will think harder on recent events. I wish to do so alone,” Luna said and Nightmare Moon obligingly left the car.

On the other side of the door, Nightmare Moon spotted Celestia with her ear pressed up against the wall. Nightmare Moon cocked one eyebrow at the Solar Ruler.

“Sounds like the two of you are progressing nicely,” Celestia remarked, which caused Nightmare Moon’s eyebrow to become in danger of vanishing into her teal blue mane. “I heard the comment about my ‘rabid’ need to ‘expose’ ponies to friendship.” That got Nightmare Moon to move along.

She made her way to the car where the Mane 6 and Sam were currently in and made her desire for a new name known.

“How about Nyx, after the Greek goddess of the night?” Sam suggested and Nightmare Moon thought about it for a moment.

“No…it sounds unoriginal for some reason,” Nightmare Moon remarked

“How about Black Skies?” Rainbow Dash suggested

“I think that sounds depressing. It makes me think of a night sky without stars or a thundery night,” Nightmare Moon replied

“How about Shadow?” Rarity asked and everyone else in the car shot her looks that said ‘really?’.

This continued on for the better part of a half hour, the Mane 6 and Sam coming up with various names and Nightmare Moon rejecting each in turn. Then, just as they were running out of ideas, Sam struck gold.

“Maybe Nephthys?” Sam supplied

“It sounds good, is there anything attached to it?” Nightmare Moon asked

“If memory serves, Nephthys was the Egyptian goddess of the night as well as birth and death,” Sam answered

“I like the symbolism. Very well, from now on, I shall be known as Nephthys,” The newly dubbed Nephthys declared and the rest of the train ride was spent discussing Nephthys’ living arrangements.

Author's Note

Admit it, you thought I was gonna name her Nyx, didn't you?! Give me some credit ~.~

Anyway, until next time! Leave a comment and a like or dislike! BUT THE COMMENT IS MANDITORY!

Calm Before the Storm

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 12: Calm Before the Strom

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It had been two weeks since the fiasco in Manehatten. In the midterm, minor skirmishes had broken out in ten different places, including an attack on Cloudsdale. Sam and his team had also gotten deployed to New Saddle for a week to take care of a suspected third rank Sun Eater.

All around, tension was rising as time ticked away. No one had seen hide or hair of Discord and the barrier was only growing weaker. Chrysalis was also disconcertingly quiet, as far as anyone knew. To anyone that could read the signs, a major confrontation appeared to be on the horizon.

However, that wasn’t the only pressing issue on a certain pony princess’ mind. Nephthys was still hanging around Canterlot because Celestia wanted to oversee Nephthys’ transfer to Ponyville herself. As a result, Luna was close to tearing out her ethereal mane. Whenever Luna was in the room with her, Nephthys would make it a point to be extra good and sweet. Without fail, Luna would storm off in a huff soon after.

When Luna had tried to talk to Celestia about it, she had been more or less brushed off with a wave of the hoof. Celestia just didn’t see why Luna was having issues with, in Luna’s words, ‘the little home wrecker’. Luna had also tried talking to the Elements, but they were all as oblivious as her Sister was. Therefore, Luna decided to try Sam when he had returned from New Saddle. Luna explained to the best of her ability what she was feeling and then sat quietly as Sam thought.

‘Well at least he’s taking the time to actually think about it,’ Luna grumbled mentally

“I think I have an idea,” Sam said after a few minutes, “Nephthys was a part of you, thus you subconsciously still consider her as such on some level and it’s not very healthy, psychologically speaking, to hate yourself. It’s also possible, by extension, that your sisterly feelings are an extension of that. ‘Blood is thicker than water’ after all and things like that there. I also think that Nephthys shares these sisterly feelings for you, as evidenced by her drive to annoy you at every possible turn.”

“If that’s true, then why does she want to annoy me? Celestia and I have never done that,” Luna remarked

“Different siblings interact differently. My second cousins can barely go five minutes without starting to tease each other mercilessly. My uncles are always getting into contests of some sort or another. I guess you and Nephthys are trying to figure out how to interact and Nephthys is trying a more direct approach,” Sam answered

“Why does this have to be so complicated?” Luna complained

“Better it be complicated than nonexistent. After all, wasn’t it a lack of interaction between you and Celestia that ultimately spawned Nightmare Moon?” Sam pointed out

“I suppose you have a point,” Luna conceded, “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Of course not,” Sam remarked and Luna shot him a dirty look

“Thank you for your time Sam,” Luna said and then walked off

The Doctor was worried. Not that he’d ever admit it. No, he must keep a strong front for Derpy’s sake. Also for Fluttershy, bless her and her self-consciousness.

The source of the Doctor’s worries was the TARDIS. Two days ago, it had kicked him out and refused to let him back in, no matter how much he implored and bribed. He wasn’t sure if his imagination was playing tricks on him or not, but he could have sworn he had heard the cloister bell before being given the boot. If that was indeed the case, then the Sun Eaters were an even bigger threat than he had imagined.

“Hey Doctor, want a muffin?” Derpy asked, snapping the Doctor out of his musings.

“Does it have butter?” He asked and Derpy rolled her good eye.

“You know too much of this stuff is going to clog your arteries,” Derpy remarked as she handed over the butter covered muffin.

“Nonsense! I’m a Time Lord; a little butter can’t hurt me!” The Doctor protested before he took a big bite into the muffin as if to prove his point.

“So Doctor, what’s wrong?” Derpy asked, nearly causing the Doctor to choke.

“Wrong?! Whoever said anything was wrong?!” He shouted before getting over his panic. Derpy merely raised an eyebrow.

“Doctor, just because I’ve got one bad eye doesn’t mean I can’t see. You’re constantly fidgeting and looking in the direction you parked the TARDIS. Rule #1 of traveling with the Doctor: The Doctor lies,” The pegasus recited.
“Alright, you’ve got me. It’s these Sun Eaters. I’m worried that they’ll be able to attack in full force before we’re ready,” The Doctor admitted, “And the TARDIS has kicked me out for some reason.”

“Remember the time you told me the story of how you and your friends saved the Earth when the Daleks tried to create a reality destroying weapon with it?” Derpy asked

“Yes,” The Doctor answered

“Well, I’m sure that if push comes to shove, your friends will show up again and help to save the day,” Derpy said with such complete confidence that the Doctor couldn’t help but believe her. Besides, their record did speak for itself. Those he called friends did have a habit of turning up just when things looked their bleakest. If no one else, Jack was sure to pop up at least once.

“You know, Derpy, I think you’re right,”

Rarity was soaking in a tub after a long day of training. Her troops were doing fantastically and each and every one of them was a credit to the army. However, Rarity’s thoughts were drifting elsewhere.

Rarity was thinking about the day she had received her Cutie Mark, how her horn had dragged her to a rock filled with gems and seeing Dash’s Rainboom. She couldn’t help but wonder if her Cutie Mark had meant something deeper than what she had originally thought. After all, one would hardly expect one who was supposed to be naught but a simple dressmaker to be so adept at using gems in offensive and defensive spellcrafting.

Her Cutie Mark was three diamonds, the hardest naturally occurring thing known to ponykind and a common spellcrafting gem. Further, those diamonds were cut into parallelograms, one of the most versatile shapes in basic spellcraft. She had found multiple gemstones in that rock, plenty of topaz, lots of rubies, many sapphires, but no diamonds. Only now that she thought about it did she find it strange that her Cutie Mark was the one well known gem that wasn’t found within the rock.

“Did my Cutie Mark have a dual meaning the whole time? Was I always supposed to be a great spellcrafter, but until now neglected that side of my talent? What if this war never happened? They say ignorance is bliss, but are they right?” Rarity wondered aloud to herself. Whatever the case, one thing was certain; she would use whatever she could to protect her friends, family, and home.

Trixie wondered what she had done to deserve the place she currently was at in life. She had comrades, if she was feeling brave, maybe even friends. Her CO put up with her, even when her mouth got away from her. She was learning magics she had never even dreamed of. All in all, life was good for the pale blue unicorn mare. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t deserve it.

Call her an idiot, call her a masochist, call her whatever you like, Trixie felt as if she was ‘living on borrowed time’ as her favorite uncle might put it. Ever since that fiasco in Ponyville, her sense of self worth had become virtually nonexistent. Not that it was ever anything to behold to begin with. After all, what self respecting pony goes around constantly calling themselves ‘The Great and Powerful’ unless it was to convince themselves that they were actually worth a buck?

Therefore, Trixie lay there, long after the rest of her comrades had fallen asleep, wondering if she was just wasting everypony’s time. Or, if there was something she could do to prove to herself that she did indeed belong in that elite group.

Sleep evaded Trixie for the better part of the night. When she finally did fall asleep, she still didn’t have an answer. Little did she know that her chance was coming. She would just have to be patient.

Author's Note

If my muse cooperates, next chapter should feature the return of Discord. If not, then you might end up with more character study...

Also, don't hold your breaths, but I might do a spin off with Nephthys and the CMC. Although, any of you are free to write that for yourselves. Just tell me that you're doing it because I want to be able to read it.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 13: Something wicked this way comes

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An unnatural hush had fallen over Canterlot. The streets, normally bustling with activity, were empty. Shutters had been closed and doors had been locked. Nopony knew why, but since the sun had risen that morning, something had felt wrong.

Princess Celestia was in her chambers, drinking tea to steady her nerves. Even she was not immune to the feeling of wrongness. If she had watched Star Wars, she might have compared it to a disturbance in the Force. As it was, she was on edge, just waiting for the disaster the feeling must surely be forewarning her of.

Just as she finished her third cup of tea (Or maybe third pot, she wasn’t quite sure), she decided she had to do something, even if she didn’t know what. With a plan starting to form in her mind, she left her chambers, only to run into Luna.

“Why Luna, what brings you here?” Celestia asked, even as she took note of her sister’s agitated state. Her mane and tail were fluttering wildly and she couldn’t stop fidgeting ever-so-slightly. If Celestia hadn’t known better, she might have suspected her younger sister had partaken in the ‘wonders of coffee’, as Luna put it when she had first discovered it. Celestia would not soon forget that week.

“I merely wanted to make sure you were alright,” Luna replied and Celestia raised an eyebrow. Luna refused to meet Celestia’s look for a few moments, then muttered something Celestia didn’t quite catch.

“What was that?” Celestia asked

“I said…I’m afraid…” Luna admitted, “There is something unnatural in the air and I am worried that horrible things are about to happen.”

“And here I thought it was just me,” Snarked Sam as he appeared in the hallway.

“If you’re only here to make a pest of yourself, then kindly pester somepony else instead,” Luna shot back

“As much as I would love to make your blood pressure higher than even Nephthys can, I do actually have something to report. Those bad vibes everyone’s been getting this morning? Discord and a bunch of Sun Eaters are headed this way and they’ve got some kind of machine with them. My guess is it’s some kind of fear generating machine. At present speed, ETA is five hours,” Sam stated and with that, preparations began.

This was it. Discord had appeared and now the battle with him was mere hours away. Twilight tried to put on a brave face, but inside, she was shaking like a leaf. Discord had been a ready source of nightmare fuel since they had first met. Twilight wanted to conquer her fears, but knew she might be the one getting conquered.

However, it had been quite a while since they had fought. Even if Twilight wasn’t aware of it, she wasn’t exactly the same pony she was then. She and her friends had gone through so much over the course of that year. Even now, being thrown headfirst into a war, she was growing into a strong individual. As they say, the strongest steel is forged in the hottest flames.

As Fluttershy prepared the beds for the inevitable incoming injured, her mind wandered. She thought of the times she had spent with her friends. How that time had almost come to a close because of Discord. She wondered when the war would end. Her musings flittered about from one topic to the next like a hummingbird pollinating flowers. In truth, she was just trying to distract herself.

Despite all that Discord had done to her and her friends, she couldn’t think of him as evil. After all, nopony had gotten hurt in any lasting way and Discord had only engaged the Elements because they were a threat to him. Now, however, he was under the control of something that was actively trying to destroy all of Equestria. Thus, she was doing everything in her power to not think about the body count that was sure to rise.

Luna watched as so many brave ponies marched off to meet Discord and the Sun Eaters. How many would return? How many would still be whole? These questions and more gnawed at her. She wanted more than anything to be marching with them, but Celestia insisted that she stayed. Luna didn’t see the point, as Celestia had already proven she was capable of taking care of both the Sun and Moon should anything go wrong, but obeyed her older sister’s wishes.

Thus, Luna only watched and prayed, like some damsel in a novel, as much as the comparison grated her.

The host marched onward, ready to face their foe and protect their home. Then, they stopped. Their enemy was directly in front of them, across the plain. Discord was at their head. This was it. If they lost here, it would all be over.

With a mighty cry, both armies surged forward. For Victory or Oblivion.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, I just can't seem to write the battle with Discord in a way that I like. So I decided to cut the chapter and give you what I did have to tide you all over. Hopefully, the next chapter will be written before I pull all of my hair out.

Showdown

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 14: Showdown

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There was no room for hesitation. There was no place for second guessing. Fear held no sway in that moment, for to fear was to die. This was a place ruled by adrenaline and courage dredged up from the deepest parts of Heart and Soul. This was a battlefield.

Ponies and Sun Eaters charged, ready for clash. Commanders of the respective factions at their heads, glowering at each other. It looked as though both were just about to charge forward, but Discord had other plans. With a snap and a flash of light, The Element Bearers, Sam, and Discord all vanished from the battlefield.

They all reappeared in an unfamiliar place. At one moment, it seemed to be a grassy field, the next, it was a barren desert.

“Discord, where are we?!” Rainbow Dash demanded to know

“A special pocket dimension I whipped up just for this very occasion. After all this time, I will finally have my revenge, both on Celestia and Luna for putting me in stone and you current Element Bearers. The Master has also allowed me to have some fun with this insolent human,” Discord replied

“Discord, embodiment of Chaos, reduced to a lapdog. I think that gives me a bit of leeway to be insolent,” Sam remarked

“I am no one’s lapdog! You could never understand my reasons for serving my Master,” Discord growled

“Then explain,” Twilight said and that stopped Discord cold for a moment or two before his face became stormy.

“I need not explain myself to you, any of you! I have delayed long enough, now I shall take my revenge!” The ground suddenly turned rocky and stones shot up, hitting the group. This barrage didn’t last long, however, as Rarity countered with her own magic.

With the rocks taken care of, Rainbow Dash took to the air and rushed Discord, but the draconequus dodged with ease and shot bolts of lightning at her. Rainbow took the electrical attack full force, but years on the weather team had hardened her body against such offensives.

Twilight began casting a powerful beam spell while Sam charged with Solaris. Discord made to stop them, but Pinkie and her Party Canon 2.0 were able to distract him long enough for both attacks to go through.

Discord let out a roar of fury and suddenly an intense storm whipped up. Rainbow and Fluttershy were both grounded, but Applejack was able to get a lasso around Discord.

“DISCORD!” Twilight shouted over the rain and wind, “YOU ARE BEING CONTROLLED! YOU HAVE TO BREAK FREE!” The lasso then snapped and pure Chaos Magic was sent hurtling towards the party. Even with the combined efforts of Twilight, Sam, and Rarity, the attack still broke through.

Discord stalked towards their injured forms, bloodlust in his eyes. Just as he was about to strike down Twilight once and for all, Fluttershy moved herself between the two and gave Discord “The Stare”.

“You will not hurt my friends mister; I don’t care how powerfully your mind is controlled! You will apolo-” Fluttershy’s tirade was suddenly cut off by Sam’s shout.

“NOW TWILIGHT!” Sam tackled Discord to the ground and between the aftereffects of “The Stare” and surprise; he offered up no resistance as Twilight sprang forward and placed the tip of her horn right in the middle of his forehead.

Twilight wasn’t sure what she had expected of Discord’s mind, nor of the mind control placed on him. However, what appeared to be a giant shadow with gleaming red eyes and shining white teeth in the middle of what once seemed to be a field of flowers was not it. Ironically enough, it seemed Discord’s true nature was being locked up in a stone statue.

The manifestation of the mind control roared and ran at Twilight. Out of pure instinct, she teleported behind the monster and after a moment to compose herself, shot off a few beams at it.

It roared, but beyond that, there didn’t seem to be much damage done. Twilight tried a few more offensive spells while keeping herself at a safe distance, but to no avail. Then she had an idea. She might not be able to defeat the mind control on her own, but if she had help…

Twilight immediately turned her attention to the statue and, using a modified version of the spell she had used on her friends to cure them of Discord’s influence, began freeing the real Discord. The mind control monster was quick on the uptake and roared as it rushed forward to try and keep its captive in his stony prison. However, it was too late. Cracks ran started to spider web the rock that contained Discord and a moment later, the Spirit of Chaos was once free.

No words were exchanged, or even needed. Twilight watched as Discord, burning with a powerful fury, completely decimated the mind control. Twilight then felt herself being tugged back to the real world and let her vision fade to white.

It had been an hour since Twilight had initiated the spell and her friends were getting restless and worried for her wellbeing. Then, the spell ended and Twilight barely had time to open her eyes before she was tackled by Pinkie.

“You’re OK! We were so super-duper worried about you!” She exclaimed

“Did it work?” Applejack asked

“Are you OK, darling?” Rarity added

“Well duh she’s OK, that’s what I just said!” Pinkie Pie cried somewhat indignantly

“I’m fine,” Twilight confirmed

“I’m so glad,” Fluttershy said

“I’m just dandy too, if anyone is wondering,” Discord remarked, startling everyone

“So it worked, you’re back in control?” Sam asked

“Yes, thanks to Twilight Sparkle’s help, I am now completely in control,” Discord reported, “Although I’m in no shape to do much of anything for a few days.”

“Can you at least get us out of here?” Rainbow Dash asked testily and suddenly everyone was back in Equestria.

While the battle had been going on inside the pocket dimension, Ponies and Sun Eaters had been going at it as well. However, with all the Sun Eaters being lower level, they quickly became disorganized without their leader. As such, the organized Pony force had little trouble dealing with the horde and injuries were minimal. All the second in commands had done exceptionally well.

When they returned to Canterlot, both Princesses were waiting for them. For the soldiers, it was time to take a shower and hit the hay, but for the Generals, there was still one more piece of business to attend to.

“So, I presume you’re going to lock me back up again?” Discord asked Celestia mildly

“And what would prevent the Sun Eaters from recapturing you? They’ve proven once that they can break through the power of the Elements of Harmony; I’d rather not given them another try. So instead, I have an offer to make you,” Celestia replied

“What kind of “offer”?” Discord inquired

“A kind of parole, if you will. You help us defeat the Sun Eaters and as long as you behave yourself, you’ll never be locked up again,” Celestia offered

“But rules are so boring, I don’t know if I can put up with them,” Discord complained

“You could think of it like a game. Finding the wriggle room within the rules. The chaos within the order,” Sam remarked and a wide smile broke out on Discord’s face

“You know something; I think that could be a lot of fun. I like the way you think Sam,” Discord remarked and Sam returned it with a smirk.

“Prank War?”

“Prank War.”

“Oh no, now there’s two of them,” Twilight and Celestia groaned at the same time, eliciting a round of snickers from everyone present.

“Well, if nothing else, this should be fun!” Dash crowed, already planning her entrance into the Prank War and Celestia began to fear that by the end of the week, Canterlot Castel would be in worse shape than the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters…her fears were not unfounded.

Author's Note

I have finally finished this abomination! I hope it's worth the wait. Now I can die in peace! x_x

One Step Closer

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 15: One Step Closer

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It had been a week since Discord had been saved and by some miracle, Canterlot Castle was still standing, if only barely. Given that the Sun Eaters had seemingly completely vanished after their latest defeat, Sam and Discord had been given plenty of time to wreak havoc with their twisted senses of humor.

As for the other denizens of the castle, they had found their own, semi-effective ways of remaining out of the line of this second war raging in the halls and random rooms. Indeed, only two ponies seemed to have immunity from Discord and Sam’s antics: Fluttershy and Twilight.

As far as Fluttershy went, Discord seemed oddly disinclined to provoke her and the popular theory was that her utter lack of reaction to his stunts made her an uninteresting target. Whether this was the truth of the matter or not, Discord wasn’t saying. Sam had his own thoughts on why his latest partner in crime avoided the timid mare, but kept them to himself.

Twilight had earned her immunity through a near apocalyptic fit of rage when the pranking duo had dared to even consider putting a book in danger. When the normally purple unicorn had turned pure white and set her mane alight, even Discord decided he didn’t wish to risk her full wrath. Sam was equally cowed by the display, even if in the back of his mind he was congratulating Twilight for evolving into a rapidash.

For everypony else, they were reduced to skulking through the halls, keeping to the shadows and praying the gaze of neither prankster fell upon them and that their thoughts strayed equally far away. It was usually a futile effort; a god and a sufficiently motivated human can accomplish a great deal in a short amount of time. So they consoled themselves with the knowledge that, at least they tried.

Fortunately for their sanity, the first Great Prank War was coming to an end. Unfortunately, it was due to the reappearance of the Sun Eaters. Word had just been received that Las Pegasus was under siege and once again the army of Equestria was preparing to go to battle.

“What do we know about the Sun Eater forces surrounding Las Pegasus?” Rarity asked in the car of the train that was currently hosting the strategy meeting. Everyone was gathered around a scale model of the city they were heading towards.

“We know very little except for one particularly worrying fact: We have our first confirmed rank three Sun Eater. There is possibly more than one. Without the drain on resources that was keeping Discord at heel, I can only assume they are now able to step up the pace of the invasion.” Celestia guessed.

“A favor I fully intent to return,” Discord muttered darkly from the roof of the compartment, where he was currently playing gin with Applejack’s hat…and losing from the looks of it.

“If that is the case, we can no longer afford to be pulled hither and thither by our enemies. We must discover a way to divine whence they come,” Luna said.

“Actually, I think I might have found a way to do just that,” Twilight spoke up hopefully, “However, I have to do it immediately after the battle if it’s going to work at all. My theory is that when the Sun Eaters dissipate, some of their energy returns to where it comes from. If I can track it after a mass of them are killed, we may be able to find where they’re coming from and with Discord’s help, we should be able to, at the very least, mount an expedition into their realm.”

“How long do you think we have after the battle?” Sam asked.

“I’d estimate no longer than ten minutes,” Twilight answered.

“Well I reckon with at least one rank three, our work’s cut out for us,” Applejack remarked.

“The way I see it, we come at this one of two ways,” Rainbow said, “We either take out the high level baddies early and stomp out the small fry and let Twi do her thing after, or kill the small fry and focus fire the high level dude fast enough for Twilight to do her thing.”

“The question is which we should do,” Rarity said.

“I think we should clear out the low levels first. This is a rank three we’re talking about. I don’t know if we can afford to have the weaker once getting underfoot when we try to fight it,” Sam opined.

“But can we spend that time giving the rank three free reign?” Rarity wondered.

“I believe the best course of action would be to exterminate the lesser Sun Eaters while Sam’s team distracts the rank three. If there is more than one, then we must focus on them before the lesser Sun Eaters,” Celestia said.

“Of course, I will be spreading my wonderful chaos everywhere in the most useful way possible,” Discord commented. A few barely restrained eyerolls ensued, but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Discord would prove useful. So long as his ego didn’t strangle everyone in the area.

Water Spout had always wanted to visit Las Pegasus, but had never found the time to do so. Now she was sorely regretting not making the time. The city itself was in shambles, the once opulent casinos and hotels were now abandoned and ruined, swarming with aerial Sun Eaters.

That was when she saw it: The rank three they had been told of. It was truly monstrous. Its skin was pitch black and its eyes like blood red search lights. It sat on a ruined hotel like a throne, its forked tails lashing about behind it. Its hands and feet sported wicked claws, each easily capable of running a pony through whilst the bat like wings on its back looked as though it could turn hurricanes by itself.

But its size and fearsome appearance weren’t what truly set this Sun Eater apart and sent shivers down Water Spout’s spine. It was the perceptible, sickly purple aura of pure malice that surrounded it. As the battle commenced, Water Spout fervently prayed that she would never have to confront such a beast.

The Doctor looked up from his current patient to see how the battle was progressing. He had sworn after the last Time War to never get involved in war again, yet here he was. Somehow, he always found himself surrounded by bloodshed and conflict. Further, these ponies…he had foolishly thought that his weary wandering was over when he found them. Derpy in particular had helped to soothe his soul. Now all of Equestria was in danger of being wiped out.

When this conflict began he had asked himself a question. Could he stand by and passively watch while these ponies he had come to know and love were wiped out? All it had taken was one look at Dinky to know he had to help in some way. While he couldn’t bring himself to fight, he could live up to the name he had chosen for himself, for a change.

“Doctor, if you’re free, can you grab me 10cc of adrenalin?” Snapped out of his thoughts by Fluttershy’s voice, he quickly finished bandaging the wounded pony and went to find the requested adrenalin.

Trixie winced as one of her illusionary constructs was shattered against a wall after being smacked by the rank three. One of the risks of making an illusion corporeal enough to fight was that if it was destroyed, Trixie would feel some feedback. Twilight had tried to explain it to Trixie once, but honestly it went way over Trixie’s head. All Trixie knew was that when Trixie’s combat illusions popped, she took a bit of the damage.

“Trixie! On your 3!” Quickdraw shouted over the communication spell. Trixie soon spotted a swarm of lesser Sun Eaters attempting to rudely interrupt their attempts to subdue the rank three. She quickly threw an overpowered fireball spell in their direction and they scattered. Her moment of split attention almost cost another illusion, but it dodged a beam shot from the Sun Eater’s eyes by the slimmest of margins.

“Sam, what in Tartarus is taking you so long?!” Trixie yelled as she rolled under another attack.

“When Twilight and I came up with this spell matrix, we didn’t anticipate having to set it up on GODDAMN CLOUDS! So excuse me if I’m having a hard time compensating the waveform through the water vapor! I’ve got Twilight on a separate line trying to come up with a workaround. Everyone hold tight and switch to a defensive pattern. The main forces are reporting the rest of the operation is going well.” Sam replied.

“Well at least something is,” Bronze Shield quipped as he blocked one of the tails lashing out with a point of contact shield spell.

“Trixie is switching her illusions to non-corporeal,” Trixie announced. If they needed to hunker down, wasting energy on corporeal illusions wouldn’t do her any favors.

Twilight was chewing on her lower lip as she simultaneously ran the calculations for her tracking spell and the power draining spell she and Sam had devised. At least the tracking spell was mostly done. She just needed to wait for enough dead Sun Eaters to activate it. So the bulk of her attention was free to do the math on the draining spell. Keeping both spellforms stable, on the other hoof…

If it weren’t for Sam and his ability to create and manipulate crystals, this plan would have gone up in smoke. While Twilight had power in spades, fine control was never her strong suite. She swore to herself as she double checked her calculations that she’d go over all those control practices she’d hated as a filly and get them right.

“Twi, my team can’t take much more, if we’re gonna bring that ugly bastard down, it’s gotta be now!” Sam barked as he received a communication from his squad. Twilight assumed it was bad news. Not that such a thing was a shock.

“I’ve just finished it. Let’s take him down!” Math became Magic as Twilight charged the spell with Sam a beat behind with his own magic. The corona around Twilight’s horn reached a size not seen since she tangled with the ursa minor. She needed every drop of mana she could squeeze from her reserves if this was going to work. Of course, it would need to be refined if it was going to be used in future combat, but for now it would do.

The spell snaked its way towards the rank 3 Sun Eater. It took a swipe at the spell, but that only sealed its fate faster. The magic fused onto its skin and the monster roared in sudden pain. The magic flared brighter as it fed off the Sun Eater’s own energy. Twilight was quite proud of her handiwork. Converting the vile energy of the Sun Eater into harmless visible spectrum electromagnetic radiation was brilliant, if she did say so herself.

“Trixie never thought she’d be so glad to see a light show that wasn’t her own.”

“Eep!” Startled by the showmare’s sudden appearance, Twilight stumbled back into a cloudbank. Twilight turned to glare at Trixie.

“You know it’s considered rude to suddenly appear behind somepony, right?”

“Trixie may have heard of such a thing. Or maybe not,” Trixie demurred, but the laughter in her eyes betrayed her to Twilight. Twilight would have continued into a fine verbal sparring session, but with the battle winding down, she had to attend to other matters before the magical exhaustion caught up with her and put her to sleep for at least three days.

A few minutes of work later, and Twilight had what they needed: the location from which the Sun Eaters entered their dimension. Surprisingly, it wasn’t in the Everfree. No, the truth was much, much worse. The Sun Eaters were coming from Giffonstone.

Closing In

Rearranging Perspectives

Chapter 16: Closing In

_____________________________________________________________________

It had been a week since the battle in Las Pegasus and recovery efforts there were well underway. However, the main focus for the Ponies and Sam was towards the Griffonstone Empire, home of the Griffons. While there had been no reports of anything unusual from the ambassadors, deeper scans showed a worrying picture.

Griffonstone itself was built in and around a great tree, something Twilight personally appreciated from her time living at Golden Oaks. At the crest of the tree sat the Royal Palace, home of the Griffons’ Emperor. Or it would be, had the throne not been empty for some decades. At the time, Griffonstone was ruled exclusively by the nobles and bureaucrats. The Palace was all but abandoned. Except it wasn’t anymore.

A scout team had preformed a stealth scan of the entire city of Griffonstone in order to narrow down Twilight’s findings from her tracking spell. They had discovered the tree that supported Griffonstone and the Palace had been suffused with Darkness. As far as these unobtrusive scans could determine, the nexus for the corruption was the throne room.

“I say we evacuate the Griffons and blow the whole place to Tartarus,” Rainbow Dash opined.

“That’s assuming the Griffons come willingly and that we’re able to defend such an exodus from the Sun Eater’s base of operations,” Twilight came with a counterpoint.

“Also, what’s to stop the Sun Eaters from just setting a new base somewhere else? Whatever drew them to Griffonstone in the first place, with how frayed the dimensional walls are becoming I doubt they have to stay there,” Sam put forth. He and Discord had been working to observe the damage the Sun Eaters were doing to the dimensional walls. Things were quickly reaching critical status.

“I am afraid, my Little Ponies, that we must begin preparing for a final assault. We must bring everything we have to bare, once the Sun Eaters are on to us, they will fight to the last to protect the portal. Twilight, Sam, how are the preparations for surviving on the other side?” Celestia asked.

“We can only sustain a livable space of either 23 feet cubed or about 8 individual bubbles. Any more than that and the natural entropy of the Sun Eater’s home dimension will collapse the spellform,” Twilight reported sadly.

“Then it is clear who must go. Carrying the Elements of Harmony will almost certainly be pivotal, so the six of you will go. Sam with Solaris are no doubt key to victory. That leaves just myself to go,” Luna stated.

“Luna, no!” Celestia immediately objected.

“Who else would be able to go? Even with the Elements and Sam, having the might of an Alicorn can only be a boon,” Luna stated simply.

“What about Discord, surely-”

“Discord won’t be able to come. His magic reacts violently to the entropy of that dimension and the spell won’t hold around his ambient Chaos,” Sam quickly interrupted, “That’s why it took so much out of the Sun Eaters to keep him contained.”

“Luna, you can’t go,” Celestia protested weakly.

“Again, who would go in my stead? Nephthys? She may have once been Nightmare Moon, but she has yet to regain any real strength. Cadence? She is young yet and has not tapped into her true potential as an Alicorn. I am a fully realized Alicorn and goddess of the Night and Moon. Goddess 1st class, if I must remind you dear sister. Or are you suggesting you go? We both know why you cannot. You must lead the Ponies if all else fails. The Ponies of this time do not need me as a Princess. They need me now as a warrior,” Luna’s face was a mask of impassiveness. Celestia slowly walked over to Luna and wrapped her in a hug.

“I can’t lose you, not again,” Celestia said in a raspy whisper. Luna’s shoulders dropped and her ears folded flat against her skull.

“Sister, even if the worse should happen and I perish on this mission, it is either losing me now on the mission or losing me later when everyone and everything dies at the hands of the Sun Eaters should the mission fail. Which is much more likely if I am not there to assist,” Luna said firmly. Celestia cringed.

“Why do you have to be right?” The white Alicorn murmured.

“I promise to do everything in my power to see she makes it back alive,” Sam promised quietly, but there was steel in his voice to backup the promise.

“She won’t even have a scratch with all of our awesomeness backing her up!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“It ain’t like we’re gonna just ditch her first chance we get,” Applejack drawled.

“When we get back we’re all gonna have a super duper ‘We Saved Equuis” party!” Pinkie shouted with her usual exuberance.

“Even if she does get hurt, I’ll make sure to patch her up,” Fluttershy swore.

“Darling, we’re the heroes, of course everything will turn out fabulous,” Rarity said with a dazzling smile.

“We’ve all learned a lot from fighting this war. We just have to put it to the test one last time and this whole thing will be over. We’ve made it this far, so please, Princess Celestia, trust us and trust Luna,” Twilight implored. Celestia took a deep breath and let go of Luna.

“You’re right. You all are right. I’m just being a silly old nag. Now, let us begin planning our final assault.”

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Author's Note

Hmm. I appear to be alive? Or is it merely a trick of the light?