Rarity hummed as she moved about her boutique, happily moving about as she waited for her visitors to arrive. She had awoken earlier that day to find a letter from Yin and Yang, telling her that they would be arriving at her boutique later that day, which had caused her to squeal with joy before getting up and getting ready for their impending visit.

She looked up as she heard a knock come from the door, walking over and opening it to find her to stallions standing outside, and quickly pulled them in before giving them a hug. “Darlings, I have missed you these past two days, how was your trip?”

“It was enlightening,” said Yin, looking at his brother before speaking, “but sadly we cannot stay and chat, we actually wanted to see if you would like to accompany us to the library, for we have business there with several of our old friends from our school days.”

Rarity nodded, looking excited as she made her way upstairs, “I’ll be down in a minuet darlings, I just have to go touch up my makeup ok?”

They both nodded, sitting down on a nearby couch to wait, but before they could get comfortable they heard Rarity’s voice drift down to them. “Oh darlings, I was wondering if you could try something on for me, there behind the changing wall to your left.”

The two stallions complied, and had Rarity been downstairs at the time, she might have heard the surprised gaps that emitted from the two stallions upon seeing what she had made for them. As for Rarity herself, she was getting into her own outfit, something that had popped into her head the day after Yin and Yang’s departure, and she had a nagging suspicion it also drew a little inspiration from her Princess Platinum costume from when she had played in the Hearth’s Warming Pageant.

She finished putting on the dress, leaving her room and heading to the stairs, seeing her two stallions standing in their new outfits and gasping in appreciation. Yin was standing in a beautiful set of emerald green robes trimmed in gold, the pattern on them in the shape of dragon scales, and a dragon’s head shoulder pad resting on his left shoulder, also emerald green. Yang on the other hoof was in a set of robes that looked like they had been made out of a tigers pelt, and he was also sporting a shoulder pad on his right shoulder, this one in the shape of a tigers head.

“Oh darlings,” she said as she walked over, “you are absolutely perfect, you are just the way I…pictured…you……”

Rarity stopped dead in her tracks, her words fumbling in throat as memories flooded her mind, memories of her stallions, standing guard over her during the long nights, during the many trials and tribulations she had gone through during her life as the unicorn Princess Platinum.

“Lady Rarity,” said Yin warily, watching as recognition swirled with in her eyes as she finally began to speak.

“I…I was…and…and you…?”

Yang placed a hoof to her lips, stopping her stammering as he spoke. “Lady Rarity, I promise you we will explain all of this, but first we must get to the library, I promise you all your answers lay there.”

Rarity looked wary, but she soon nodded, following the two stallions out of the boutique, praying that what they said was the truth.

*

“Well howdy there youngin,” said Granny Smith, gazing at the pony that had arrived at her front porch, “what brings yah around these parts.”

“Well hey there,” said Fuji, “My names Fuji, and I am actually here to see if Applejack was in or not, I had some things to talk with her about.”

“Fuji?” said a voice, causing both Granny and Fuji to look up, seeing Applejack who walked out of the house and, much to the other two ponies surprise, walked up and grabbed Fuji, giving her a deep and passionate kiss before righting her and leaving her with a stupid grin on her face.

“Gosh darn it girl its good tah see yah, so what yah need me…”

“APPLEJACK!” shrieked Granny looking stricken as she stared at the young mare before her. “What the hay did yah just do tah that poor filly?”

“Ah kissed her Granny,” said Applejack, pulling Fuji close as she tried to hide the worry growing on her face, “what else are yah supposed tah do with your marefriend.”

Fuji felt all the blood rush out of her face when she heard those words, watching as Granny’s face begin got contort with rage due to her gandfillies comment. Oddly enough, Fuji was reminded of when she had told her granpappy she was a fillyfoller, he had yelled at her for hours, telling her how she had been a disgrace to the clan and that she would never be welcome in his house. “God ah cried like a filly after that…ah just hope ah can be as strong for Applejack as she was for me back then.”

“Consorn it Applejack!” Granny finally blurted out, glaring at her grandfilly as the younger mare looked at her with a calm gaze. “Yah take back what yah said this instant; ah will not have yah saying such things around me?”

“Ah’m not taking back what ah said Granny Smith, not when I meant it. This here is mah marefriend, and you are just gonna have tah accept that.”

Applejack didn’t even let her talk back, turning around with Fuji and marching off with her, making it a long way past the entrance to the farm before beginning to shake uncontrollably, Fuji moving up beside her for support. “Goddesses…ah don’t think ah’ve been more scared in mah life…that was darn terrifyin…”

“Ah can sympathize sugar,” said Fuji, “I had a similar experience when I told my granpappy long ago, he just…”

“Ah remember sugar cube, he was all a hollering about how yah wasn’t allowed on his farm no more, and ah remember yeh was…yeh was…” Applejack then froze, realization crashing down around her as she looked Fuji dead in the eye. “How the buck do ah remember that?!”

Fuji looked at her, trying to give her a reassuring smile as she spoke. “Look sugar, I know this is probably really startling, but I promise it will all be explained, but not here, not right now.”

“But…but ah was there and yah… yah called me Apple Spice back then, but ah can’t have been…”

“Jackie,” said Fuji, catching Applejack off guard with the name as she grabbed her face in her hooves. “Listen sugar, I promise ah’ll explain everything to yah, but we have to head over to the library first, I got some business there that is really important, which concerns yah as well.”

Applejack hesitated for a moment, but then she nodded her head, letting Fuji lead her into town as she let her mind wander down the newly opened memory lane.

*

Fluttershy lifted her head from her bed as she heard the sound of somepony knocking at her cottage door, getting up and heading into the living room to open it, and then smiling when she saw who it was outside. “Nyx, but I thought you said you had plans up in Canterlot yesterday."

“Oddly enough the plans changed, the guys planning the reunion decided to move it here to Ponyville instead, over at Golden Oaks Library, so I decided to drop by to see if you wanted to come with me.”

“Oh I’d love to,” said Fluttershy, stepping out of the cottage and then walling with her towards Ponyville.

But as they made their way toward Ponyville, Nyx began humming a simple tune, and Fluttershy soon followed suit, the simple tune building into an oddly familiar but uplifting melody as they hummed all the way to Ponyville, finally stopping to catch their breath and giggle at each other like school fillies.

And in that moment, Fluttershy’s mind woke up, and she remembered where she had heard the tune before and causing her to gasp, her eyes gazing upon Nyx as she looked at her with concern. “Fluttershy, are you ok?”

“I…I remember that tune…” Fluttershy whispered; gazing at Nyx as the memories kept flowing from her mind. “I…I remember when you used sing it to me to comfort me, when…whenever I was afraid or upset, you used to hold me close and sing that tune with me, and tell me I had nothing to fear. But…but none of it makes sense, I mean I only just…”

Nyx put a hoof to Fluttershy’s lips, calming the young mare down with a smile as she spoke. “Calm thy fears my love, all will be explained when we reach our destination, that I promise you.”

Fluttershy nodded, picking up her pace as she followed her mate, putting her full trust that what she said was the truth.

*

“Oh goddesses what am I going to do, what am I going to do!”

“Twilight calm down,” said Rainbow, pinning her mates tail down to the floor as she tried running past her. They had arrived at the library early that morning, where Twilight had told Rainbow that the others would be coming soon…with their soul mates.

She had then told Rainbow the lengths she had gone to get outside the influence of her sisters soul magic, using her connection to the element of magic to let out some other souls, allowing them to go to their soul mates and thus, make connections to the other elements of harmony. It had been tiring work, but it had paid off in the end, and now all Twilight had to do was tell the other girls the truth.

“But Rainbow, what if they don’t accept what I say, what if they think I’m just a changeling trying to…”

Rainbow decided to do the impulsive thing and stop Twilight as fast as she could, kissing her right on the lips and leaving her in a dazed state before speaking. “Twilight, there our friends, they will know it is you, trust me, I can’t have been the only one to notice that the consort lacks that certain sparkle in her eyes you always had.”

Twilight smiled, and then jumped when the door opened, Pinkie and Loki bouncing there way inside before the door closed, Pinkie bouncing over to Twilight and giving her a tackle hug. “Oh Twilight, thank you thank you Thank You for giving me my Loki back!”

As Twilight struggled to untangle herself from the pink maniac, Loki walked over to Rainbow, extending a hoof and shaking hers before introducing himself. “The names Loki, and you must be the lovely miss Rainbow Dash, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Rainbow nodded, looking over the stallion as she ignored the sounds of her mate trying to get away from Pinkie. “Nice to meet you to, though…I don’t see how a pony like you could possibly be Pinkie’s soul mate.”

“Oh I can make you come around,” he said, pulling out a soda from her mane and taking a sip.

“How did you…” started Rainbow, only to remember that he was Pinkie’s mate. “You know what, never mind.”

Loki was about to laugh when the door opened again, and Rainbow and him saw Rarity walk in with her two stallions, Rainbow’s jaw dropping as her legs instinctively began sending her into a bow, before Rarity ran over and stopped her mid kneel. “Rainbow please, I am not a princess any more, that life is well behind me.”

Rainbow nodded her head, slowly getting up as the door opened yet again, and Fluttershy, Applejack, and their respective mates all walked into the house, smiling as they greeted everypony else.

Finally after everypony had greeted each other, Twilight decided it was time to reveal herself, clearing her throat and catching everyponies attention.

“Twilight, what the hay are yah doing here sugar cube?”

“…Your all probably wondering why your mates all brought you here,” said Twilight, causing everypony to stare at her in surprise due to this. “The reason they brought you all here is because I asked them to, because there is something you all need to know. As you know, several weeks ago the princesses revealed to me that I was their re-incarnated soul mate, and then the day after thinking about what they said I supposedly went back to them and got my memories restored to me.”

Taking a deep breath, she continued, “The truth is I did not say yes to having my memories restored, for I feared that I would lose who I was if I allowed those memories to surface. While Celestia was accepting, Luna was not, for it had been a thousand years since she had last seen her beloved soul mate, and as far as she was concerned I was not even a true pony…just a fragment of sentience.”

Everypony in the room gasped, save for the bearers soul mates, allowing Twilight to continue with her tale. “Luna then cast a spell on me, which did not gift me with new memories, but instead cast my soul from my body, allowing another soul, the one who was truly their soul mate, to take my place. That is the pony who met with you after I have left for Canterlot, and while she was masquerading around in my body…I was trapped in a pocket dimension, where I found the ponies who now stand beside you, along with many others, and with their help, along with the help of Princess Luna after she discovered the truth, I was able to break free from that realm…and now I am here.”

Her friends looked confused for a moment, and then Rarity turned toward Yin and Yang, “Is this true loves?”

They both nodded, and around the room the others nodded as well, causing the bearers to begin to mumble before Twilight cleared her throat to get their attention again. “Look girls, I know this is probably really hard for you to believe but…”

“Hold on a sec…” said Applejack, “You’re tellin me this whole time we have been being fooled by some…some pony from the past who’s been body snatching so that she could be with the princesses…of course it’s hard tah believe Twilight, how the hay do you expect us to believe that.”

Twilight made to speak, but then Rainbow moved in front of her, glaring at Applejack as she spoke. “How dare you Applejack, Twilight is our friend, and while she may not be the element of honesty like you, we both know she would never lie to us about something this important.”

“But even if she is telling the truth she hasn’t given us any evidence to back up what she has said Rainbow, which makes it pretty hard to believe her even with all that has been happening to us.”

“You want proof, fine, I’ll give you bucking proof.” Then Rainbow grabbed Twilight and gave her a deep kiss, leaving Twilight in a dazed state as she glared back at Applejack, “There; that proof enough for you?”

Applejack stared slack jawed at Rainbow for a moment, then if suddenly clicked in her head, a spark going off as she pointed her hoof at Rainbow. “Wait a buckin minute, you're Twilight’s soul mate, but…but then why the buck did the princesses say that she was their dead lover.”

“Think about it Applejack,” said Twilight, “think hard. Back then I wasn’t called Twilight Sparkle, I was called…”

“Magic!” exclaimed Rarity, looking at Twilight in shock, “then…then that means that pony in Canterlot…”

“Is my baby sister Twilight Everfree Sparkle, the pony I taught the art of soul magic, and she abused that power so that she could stay with her soul mates in an unnatural way…much to my disappointment.”

Tears entered Twilights eyes, everypony getting up and giving her a hug. “I…I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…”

“Darling, whatever are you apologizing for?”

“It’s all my fault…it’s because of me that…”

“Oh not this again,” said Rainbow, grabbing Twilight again and giving her a big smooch, causing her to glare at Rainbow, “you don’t need to do that every time Dashie!”

“Well the moment you stop trying to blame yourself for everypony losing their soul mates then I’ll stop kissing your bad feelings away.”

Twilight simply shook her head, while Fluttershy spoke up next to her. “Um, not that I don’t mind not knowing, but what are you blaming yourself for Twilight?”

Twilight sighed, “It’s because of me that you guys lost your soul mates, I should never have taught my sister those spells, otherwise none of this would have happened.”

“But Twilight, yah also got them back tah us, yah can’t forget that sugar cube.”

Twilight nodded, “I know, but now I need to ask you guys something pretty, pretty risky. My sister needs to be stopped, otherwise more will have to suffer the same fate as you all, so I need to ask, will you help me use the elements to stop my sister?”

Everypony stayed silent for a long moment, and then Applejack finally spoke up. “I’m with yah sugar cube; taint fair what this pony is doing, even if it is for love.”

“I would have to agree,” said Rarity, looking grim. “I know now the void that I have been feeling, and I don’t think I can bear the feel that void again, nor can I let anypony else suffer the same.”

Everpony nodded in agreement and then Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, most likely to throw in her agreement as well, but then Loki’s tail twitched, and then his eyes expanded to the size of dinner plates. “EVERPONY HIT THE DECK,” he yelled, before grabbing Pinkie and pulling her to the floor as one of the walls of Golden Oaks was blasted apart.

Twilight coughed as the dust began to settle, getting up along with everypony else to see who had destroyed part of her home, growling when she saw who it was. “Sister…”

“Sister? I don’t remember having such a sister, the only reason I am here is to protect my friends from a changeling imposter.”

Twilight grinned, “Funny, cause I remember you…Twilight Everfree Sparkle.”

Everfree’s face fell, confusion clouding her features as she stared at the mare before her, “How do you know that name!?”

Twilight moved forward, the element of her namesake appearing on her head as the other elements stood beside her, their elements appearing as she gave her response. “I know you sister because I was the one that taught you the art of soul magic over three thousand years ago, and it was me that told you to peruse things with Celestia and Luna despite your fears. I know you because you once trusted me with everything…and I know you are my sister, and sisters always know each other.”

Everfree stared at her for a long moment, but then to everyponies surprise, her expression changed to one of shock. “M…Magic, but…how?”

“It does not matter,,” said Twilight, “what matters now is that I am here to put an end to this madness, for this cycle has to end.”

Then before she could react Twilight and the girls began charging up the elements, but as they were about to unleash the blast Celestia appeared behind Everfree and unleashed a blast of magic at the bearers, only for it to be stopped as Luna appeared before them and blocked the blast.

Twilight and her friends stared in shock as the energies dissipated, for the sight of the princesses was absolutely startling. Both of them were armed for battle, both wearing battle scared armor and wielding ornate and battle worn halberds.

“Luna…why…?” was all Everfree could ask, her face a mask of betrayal as she looked upon the pony who was near and dear to her heart.

“Because the price you are paying is too high beloved,” said Luna as she gazed at her in sorrow, “and it cannot continue anymore.”

While Everfree continued to look hurt by her words, Celestia’s eyes began blazing with an angry fire as she spoke. “So you would take her from both of us sister, when you know that if she dies she will be lost to us for three thousand years…WELL I WONT LET ANY OF YOU TAKE HER FROM ME!!!”

This last outburst came out as a roar as her horn began to glow a bright, hellish orange, and Luna, realizing what her sister was about to do, had just enough time to light her horn and teleport them all away before Celestia unleashed her spell, and then the world was engulfed in flames.

…To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Things are about to get wild and ugly, but till then if you guys have any questions or comments, feel free to drop them on by, I love hearing for you guys.