The Dark Truthby KWaveChapters12345: Final Chapter1***Prologue*** Long ago, the world of Equestria was formed by three tribes: Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies. With their combined efforts, they were able to make a peaceful land where people could live without worrying about the concept of life and death. The buildings were built using grass and sticks from trees, and mud was used to hold it together. The Pegasi provided the land the weather conditions to help crops grow, the Unicorns gave the Pegasi magic to create the clouds and weather conditions, and the Earth ponies supplied the crops and land to give everyone food and water needed to breathe. One of the first leaders in Equestria was Celestia's father: King Solaris. Solaris looked a lot like his daughter, with his large wings extending over his thighs, white skin, his long stream of hair, and a orange star for his cutie mark. He managed to lead the citizens of Equestria to an era of peace for over 500 years, and any evil that would come to ruin this peaceful time, he could easily destroy with the Elements of Harmony boosting his magical powers. He also had an assistant to help improve Unicorn magic for the future. His name was Star Swirl, a gray colored Unicorn who was known as a child prodigy from his peers in Magic Kindergarden. However, before evil threats such as King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and Discord came into existence, there was one creature in the world of Equestria that would set up the future attacks on the land centuries after his passing. After Solaris gave up the throne to his daughter: Celestia, he gave his knowledge of magic to her in order to keep balance in Equestria alive. But despite her attempts, she was unable to learn everything her father taught her, and that caused the era of peace her father created, to collapse. **Present Day** It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The birds were chirping, the sky was light blue without a cloud in sight, and the sun was high in the sky. Twilight had just woken up a few moments ago from her tree house and was tending to her cleaning duties. Ever since she became a Princess, Twilight Sparkle has gone through a lot of stress. From giving up the elements of Harmony back to the Tree of Harmony to save not only her mentor: Princess Celestia, but also Princess Luna. To being tasked with understanding the Tree’s treasure chest, as well as unlocking its contents. She has spent weeks to try and understand the chest, from using various spells, to asking Zecora for help. However, Zecora has never experienced a chest like the one from the Tree of Harmony before in her life, and all the spells Twilight used didn’t do anything to help solve this problem. As Twilight was dusting the library, she didn’t notice that Spike had woken up and was standing in front of his door. “Good morning Twilight.” Said Spike After hearing Spike’s voice, she got startled and fell on the floor. “Sorry Spike, I didn’t see you there.” “It’s okay Twilight. Are you okay?” Twilight then let out a deep sigh. “No Spike. No I am not. This box has caused me so much stress; it is beginning to drive me insane.” Spike then walked over to Twilight and helped get her back on her feet. “Twilight, Celestia told you that you can’t solve this chest by yourself. Why are you so focused on solving this problem on your own?” “Because Spike, I don’t want to fail Celestia!” The room was silent after that sentence, Spike was about to walk back to his room before Twilight spoke again. “Spike, I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s just that Celestia instructed me to solve this chest and I don’t want to fail her again.” Said Twilight “Look Twilight, I forgive you for yelling at me. But you know that you don’t have to solve everything by yourself. You have your friends to help you through anything, they always have and they always will.” Twilight then smiled. “Thank you Spike. Now come on, let’s get some breakfast.” **In Tartarus** Tartarus looked like Equestria, but it was covered in flames and the sky had clouds covered in fire with a red color in-between. There were no houses in Tartarus, but instead there was a huge building where the bad souls would be tortured by the Prince of Tartarus: Eclipse, who looked like a male version of Princess Luna, except his flowing hair is consumed by flames, his skin is a dark red color, and his eyes are completely black with a white pupil in the middle. After recently torturing some bad souls, Eclipse took a seat and was about to begin his break before… “PRINCE ECLIPSE!” shouted one of the guard ponies. Eclipse slammed his hooves on the table in front of him. “What do you want? Can’t you see I am on break?” “Yes your highness, but I have some urgent news.” The guard pony gives Eclipse a paper note on his desk and walks back to the door as Eclipse begins to read the note. He slammed his hooves on the table again and he was furious. “HE ESCAPED!” The guard pony quickly shut the door, and had a scared look on his face. “Yes your highness, this man has escaped Tartarus.” “HOW!” “We don’t know for sure, but we think it might have something to do with the recent attacks on Equestria.” Eclipse then walked over to the guard pony, leaving the guard terrified of what Eclipse was going to do. “You contact Prince Solar immediately! He needs to know about this!” Eclipse then began to walk back to his desk. “But sir, how dangerous can this guy really be?” “More dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Now, go at once!” The guard immediately ran towards the Royal Castle to alert Prince Solar about the escaped prisoner of Tartarus. **Equestria** In the Everfree Forest, which was once labelled a place for all ponies to avoid, a dark figure appeared from one of the large trees, holding a mysterious object in his hoof. “Soon Equestria. Soon you will all pay!” 2**Tartarus** In the royal palace, Prince Solar was sitting on his throne writing several papers that was given to him earlier, either dealing with disasters in the area, riots, or conflicts in the kingdom. Prince Solar looked like a male version of Nightmare Moon. He had a large horn coming out of his head, he was dressed in Nightmare Moon’s attire, and he even had her eyes. However, there were a few differences between Prince Solar and Nightmare Moon. For one, Prince Solars’ skin has a crimson color to it, whereas Nightmare Moon is blue. He has a thick beard, and has a pitchfork for a cutie mark. Just then, he heard the door slam open. “Prince Solar! I have an important message to give you!” shouted the guard pony “Then don’t stand there, give it to me.” Said Solar, with a gentleman like voice. As the guard pony delivers the letter to Solar, he begins to read it. “So…He’s escaped hasn’t he?” “What should we do?” asked the guard pony. Prince Solar threw the letter into a pile containing letters he had read earlier in the day, and picked up a new scroll and quill to write. Once he finished writing, he handed the scroll to the guard pony. “Take this letter and put it in the tube next to my throne. It’s in our best interest to inform Princess Celestia about this threat at once.” Said Prince Solar “Yes sir!” shouted the guard pony saluting He took the scroll and put it in the tube designed to deliver only letters to the surface world. It is only large enough to fit a single scroll or letter at a time to prevent anyone escaping. “Very good guard, now it’s up to the surface dwellers to stop this pony.” **Equestria** Twilight’s friends had just arrived at Twilight’s house for breakfast. Recently, they have decided to make their breakfast and bring it over to Twilight’s so that they could discuss plans for the day, or to talk about recent events. As Spike and Twilight came out with their breakfast, they greeted their friends in and began their discussion. “There is something I think we should discuss first darling.” Said Rarity “What’s that?” asked Twilight “Well, in the last few weeks there has been some weird stuff going on, or maybe it’s just me.” “Such as that mysterious creature we saw when we first arrived at Celestia’s old castle?” asked Twilight “That’s an example Twilight. But there is also the incident where Fluttershy transformed into a fruit bat.” Fluttershy then squealed in fear for a few seconds. “Fluttershy, it’ll be okay.” Said Applejack After hearing that, FLuttershy calmed down and began to speak. “I remember that incident, it was so horrible.” Said Fluttershy, with a sad tone to her voice. “Speaking of which, it was kinda odd when my family took that trek with Pinkie Pie to find out if we were cousins, only to find the page all smudged up.” Said Applejack “That was strange Applejack.” Said Pinkie Pie “Twilight, do you still have that chest from the Tree of Harmony?” asked Rainbow Dash “Yes. But I still haven’t been able to solve it.” Said Twilight “Well, since we’re all here. Maybe we can discuss ways of opening that lovely chest.” Said Rarity “Great idea Rarity. So who should start?” asked Twilight Rarity raised her hoof in the air. “Maybe the key to unlocking the chest is our bond as friends?” asked Rarity “Maybe the key is how great friends we are to each other?” asked Fluttershy “Ooh, ooh, I know! Maybe we can blast it out of a cannon!” shouted Pinkie Pie After Pinkie Pie said that, everyone was looking at Pinkie Pie with a confused look on their faces. “What?” “Rainbow Dash, do you have any ideas on how to open this?” asked Twilight Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Wait a second. I think I might have an idea on how to solve it.” Said Applejack “Go on.” Said Rarity “Does anypony remember the items we’ve received over the last few weeks?” “Oh yes, I remember now.” Said Fluttershy Fluttershy reached into her bag to pull out a flower given to her by the Breezies. Rarity then pulled out her rainbow colored thread. “I remember getting this lovely thread when we went to Manehatten.” Said Rarity Rainbow Dash reached into her bag and pulled out a lightning bolt shaped medal. “Yep, I remember winning this item when I went to Rainbow Falls.” Said Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie was tossing a rubber chicken up in the air, with everyone looking at her with weird looks on their faces. “I remember getting this from Cheese Sandwich. I love playing with this thing.” Said Pinkie Pie Applejack then flipped a coin and revealed it to her friends. “I got this coin after I exposed the Flim Flam brothers a few weeks back.” Said Applejack “I think it might be all these items we got that might be the key to unlocking the chest.” “Applejack, there’s a teensie little problem with that theory.” Said Rainbow Dash She flew into the air and hovered over Twilight’s head. “Twilight, please tell me you got an item?” asked Applejack Twilight shook her head. “But maybe it’s my Alicorn magic that acts as the final key.” Said Twilight “Let’s go to Celestia at once.” But before they left, Spike burped out a letter from Celestia. “What is it Spike?” asked Rarity “It’s a letter from Celestia.” Said Spike Spike opens the letter and begins to read its contents. “Dear Twilight, this is Princess Celestia. I order you and your friends to appear at the castle at once. This is an important crisis that requires all of your assistance. Signed Celestia.” “In that case, we should get on a train to Canterlot. If this is a major thing, then we should go at one.” Said Twilight Everyone then left Twilight’s tree house and managed to catch a train to Canterlot. 3**Canterlot** After Twilight and her friends got off the train, they immediately ran to the castle. Once they got past the guards, they saw Princess Luna, Princess Celestia and Discord sitting around. “Glad you could make it Twilight.” Said Celestia “What is wrong Princess Celestia?” asked Twilight “A threat has returned from Tartarus and is causing a rampage.” Said Celestia The mane 6 was shocked after hearing what Princess Celestia said. “But how could that happen. Aint Tartarus supposed to be a place where no pony could escape?” asked Applejack “We don’t know he escaped, but he was able to bypass the security and make it back to Equestria.” Said Princess Luna “What should we do?” asked Twilight “Twilight. It is absolutely important to figure out the contents of that chest and soon. Until then, Discord has volunteered to hold this threat off.” Said Celestia “Really?” asked Pinkie Pie Discord then came out of Pinkie Pie’s ear and responded. “Without Equestria, I can’t have my fun.” Said Discord He then disappeared and reappeared next to Celestia and Luna. “We believe this creature is in the Everfree Forest, so we have given Discord the co-ordinates.” Said Luna Discord walks out of the room. But Fluttershy stops him in the hallway. “What is it Fluttershy?” asked Discord “I was just wondering something… Years ago, you hated the idea of working with anypony in Equestria But now, you are working with Celestia to save it. Why this change of heart?” asked Fluttershy Discord let out a deep sigh. “Well Fluttershy, after I returned for the 2nd time, I began to realize the importance of friendship from my time with you. At first, I only pretended to be your friend. But after you took that away, I began to realize the importance of a friend, and I decided to change.” Said Discord “I see. Well, hope you come back.” Said Fluttershy Discord then smiled. “Thanks Fluttershy, you’re a great friend.” Said Discord He then teleported away. **Hours Later** Twilight and her friends returned to Ponyville and decided to relax in Twilight’s tree house while they collected their thoughts. “So that conversation with Celestia was basically a waste of time.” Said Rarity “Seems like it.” Said Rainbow Dash Twilight then slammed the door open with a scared look on her face, resulting in her friends getting up. “Darling, what’s wrong?” asked Rarity “THE CHEST! IT’S GONE!” shouted Twilight “What! How could that be!” shouted Applejack “I don’t know!” “Dang! That creature must have planned this to happen, just so he could steal the box!” shouted Applejack “Then let’s go find this person.” Said Rainbow Dash Everyone left the tree house but saw Zecora in front of them kneeling over in pain. “Zecora!” shouted Twilight as she ran over to the gray Zebra “I.I’m fine.” Said Zecora with a mystical voice “What happened?” asked Rarity “P.Pony stole ya chest. But I was able to get it back before he escaped.” Zecora then handed the chest back to Twilight and collapsed. “Quick, somepony get her a doctor.” Said Applejack Applejack and Twilight carried Zecora to the Ponyville Hospital **Ponyville Hospital** In the waiting room, Zecora was laying down on a hospital bed strapped to a life support system and covered in bandages, surrounded by Twilight and her friends. “Hey Zecora, how are you feeling?” asked Twilight Zecora opened her eyes a bit and responded with a weak tone in her voice. “Fine, I am. Hurt, oh yes. But I am sure I will pull through, I just need a few days to recover.” “You said earlier that you saw the creature trying to steal the chest. Do you think you could give us a description of what it looked like?” asked Rarity “Certainly. The creature was as tall as me, but he wore a brown cloak around his body and had a horn coming out of his head. When I attacked him, he dashed out of the way and managed to get behind me before I could finish my attack. It was like I was moving as slow as a tree.” “Thank you Zecora. Go ahead and get some sleep.” Said Twilight Zecora smiled and went back to sleep. The Mane 6 left the hospital and went back to Twilight’s house to discuss the incident. “So based on Zecoras description, we know that the creature is male, and might be a Unicorn based on the horn.” Said Twilight “But there’s something I don’t understand. How was this creature able to out speed Zecora? No pony can do that.” Said Applejack “This is so stressful!” shouted Twilight “This stupid box has caused me so much stress, and now this creature from Tartarus is going to try and ruin Ponyville!” shouted Twilight Twilight vented for a few minutes before she calmed down. “I am sorry girls, I am just under a lot of stress lately.” “It’s okay Twilight, we all get stressed out from time to time. It’s how we handle it that can make it a problem.” Said Rarity. “Thanks Rarity.” “Maybe this threat is King Sombra? He was destroyed when he tried to take over the Crystal Empire a few months ago.” asked Pinkie Pie “Maybe it could be Queen Chrysalis? She did get blown back by the power of Cadences magic and she might have an ability to use time?” asked Rarity “Maybe it could the return of Nightmare Moon, except in a different body. I mean that did happen to Rarity once before.” Said Rainbow Dash “All seem like great theories, but it’s getting late. We should get some rest and continue this tomorrow.” Said Applejack “Good idea. Goodnight everyone.” Said Twilight Everyone left the tree house to get some sleep. **Canterlot** “Princess Celestia, Cadence has arrived.” Said the guard pony “Bring her in.” said Celestia Princess Cadence walked into the throne room and the guard pony closed the door behind her. “Greetings Princess Celestia and Luna.” Said Cadence “Hello Cadence. I think you know why I invited you here.” Said Celestia “Agreed. Let’s work this out. However, there is a problem I wish to address first.” Said Cadence “Celestia. Is something wrong with you?” “Cadence, there is nothing wrong with me. I’m the same princess I have always been for millennia….” Said Celestia “Then why did you get overpowered by Chrysalis so easily? If you were able to imprison Luna in the moon, why did you lose the match?” Celestia was silent for a few minutes before lowering her head. “Truth is Cadence, you are right. Something is wrong with me. I have ruled Equestria for over 1500 years. Alicorn magic only works for over 1000 years. If an Alicorn goes over 1000 years, their powers will slowly weaken. Raising the sun and moon is the most I can do with my magic now.” Said Celestia After hearing that, Luna realizes something. “This is my fault.” Said Luna “If I didn’t let my hatred and jealousies control me, this issue wouldn’t have happened.” “Luna, this is not your fault. If anything, this is my fault for not finding a successor until now.” Said Celestia “But the question is, who could succeed you Celestia?” asked Cadence “I’m not too sure myself. But maybe there’s a reason that we have two new alicorns.” Said Celestia ***The next day*** “Spike, take a letter.” Said Twilight Spike pulls out a scroll and begins to write. “Dear Princess Celestia, in this crisis I would like to request more information on Star Swirl the Bearded. Perhaps his spells could provide insight into solving this crisis.” Spike finishes writing the letter and sends it off to Princess Celestia. A few minutes later, Spike gets a response. “Dear Twilight, I have received your letter and I will respond to your request. I don’t understand why you want information on Star Swirl, but if you must, I will send you all the books I have on the person. It should be there in a few hours.” Said Spike “That’s good. Maybe his spells can help defeat this threat.” Said Twilight “But what could be in the box?” “Who knows Spike, who knows?” 4**Canterlot** Princess Celestia was reading a letter when Luna and Cadence came into the room. “Good morning Celestia.” Said Cadence Celestia had an angry look on her face as she put the letter. “Sister? What’s wrong?” asked Luna “Discord has been captured…” said Celestia After she said that, Cadence and Luna were in shock. “How could that be? He is the lord of Chaos. He shouldn’t have been captured.” Said Luna “I wish I knew Luna. But now it’s time to act.” Said Celestia “Do you notice that Twilight isn’t here?” Luna turned her head and noticed… “I do not see Princess Twilight in this room sister.” Said Luna “If this person kidnapped Discord, there must be a reason for it. He might try and steal Discord’s magic and use it against us. I think it’s in our best interest to transfer our power to Twilight.” Said Celestia “But why?” asked Cadence “I understand that Twilight is under a lot of stress at this very moment. She has a lot of responsibility to accept now that she’s a princess, but one of them is to make a sacrifice in order to protect Equestria.” Said Celestia Celestia then sighed. “Cadence… I have been Twilight’s mentor for years. I have seen her potential since I visited her in Magic Kindergarten and saw what she could do at an early age that would normally take a Unicorn, years to perform. At this point, I have found a crisis I cannot stop…But I know that Twilight and her friends can stop this crisis and save Equestria once again.” “I understand Celestia.” Said Cadence “Then let’s go to the Tree of Harmony.” Said Celestia **Twilight’s house** Twilight had just received the books she requested from Princess Celestia on Star Swirl the Bearded and was busy looking through one of the books. There were three piles in total; each pile was 4 feet high and it was almost as tall as Twilight herself. ***Hours later*** Twilight had finished through 2 out of the 3 piles of books and was beginning to read the 3rd pile when Spike came in, yawning. “Hey Twilight.” Said Spike Spike was taken aback at the size of the piles of books Twilight was reading through and almost tripped over one of them before catching his balance. “That’s a lot of books eh Twilight?” “Yes, but it’s necessary in order to solve this problem.” Said Twilight “So what did you discover?” “I discovered that Star Swirl the Bearded’s spells were mainly focused on the concept of time. That’s rather interesting.” “How so?” asked Spike “It’s interesting because Zecora mentioned that when she tried to attack the creature, he was behind her before she finished her attack.” “Do you think that Star Swirl has returned?” “That’s impossible. If that was true, why did he return now? It doesn’t make any sense. Plus, Star Swirl did so much good for Equestria, why would he try and ruin the land he once served to protect?” asked Twilight Before they could continue their conversation, the door swung open, revealing Twilight’s friends. “Hey girls, what’s wrong?” “Twilight. Come outside!” shouted Rainbow Dash with worry in her voice. Twilight and Spike left the tree house to join their friends and were completely stunned. The Canterlot castle was gone; it was like it was never there in the first place. “Where did the castle go?” asked Spike “Um, Spike. Turn ya head.” Said Applejack Spike turned his head to the left and saw that the castle had crashed into Ponyville, and left a path of destruction in its wake. Some of the buildings were either on fire, or it completely collapsed, crushing some of the ponies inside. Twilight began to cry after seeing the destruction its wake. “This is horrible.” Her friends lowered their heads in sadness. It was silent for a few minutes before Twilight stopped crying and told her friends something. “Girls, let’s head to the Tree of Harmony. Maybe the clue to stopping this threat is there.” The Mane 6 ran off to the Everfree Forest, and upon reaching the Tree of Harmony they find Celestia, Luna and Cadence there waiting. “Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?” asked Fluttershy “Not important. Twilight, do you have the chest?” asked Celestia Twilight nodded her head and reached into her bag to pull out the chest. “Excellent.” “But Celestia, your castle.” Said Fluttershy “I saw the result Fluttershy, and that makes this decision all the more important.” Said Celestia “What decision?” The ground began to shake, resulting in some of the trees falling. “Twilight, open the chest.” “But I don’t know how to.” Said Twilight “Twilight, are you sure.” Said Applejack tossing her coin in the air The coin then transformed into a key and became inserted into the chest. “That’s it! Everyone, take out your items!” shouted Twilight Her friends reached into their bags and pulled out their respective items, which transformed into keys and inserted into the chest. The earthquake began to worsen. “Where’s the last key?” asked Luna “We need that key to act on my decision.” Said Celestia Fluttershy’s bag then began to glow. “What the?” said Fluttershy Fluttershy reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace. “This is the necklace Discord gave me before he left.” The necklace transformed into a key and flew to the last keyhole. “That clever Draconequus.” Said Luna “He had a feeling something might go wrong, and he came up with a plan just in case.” “Maybe so, but he indirectly saved Equestria.” Said Celestia “Now let’s open the chest.” Said Pinkie Pie “I don’t think so!” “AH!” shouted Cadence Princess Cadence collapsed on the floor. “What in the!” shouted Luna Princess Luna was the next to fall. “Impossible.” Said Celestia Princess Celestia was knocked into the Tree of Harmony and collapsed. “PRINCESS!” shouted the Mane 6 “At last, my plan is complete.” Said a mysterious figure The Mane 6 turned their heads and saw Discord in a comatose state, trapped in a large orange bubble. “Discord!” shouted Fluttershy “Show yourself!” shouted Twilight The ground began to shake once again, but this time, the shockwaves were strong enough to rip the Tree of Harmony out of the ground. “You stupid fillies. Did you honestly believe you saved Equestria! With your interactions, you guaranteed its destruction!’ The figure then teleported behind the Mane 6, and grabbed Celestia by the neck. “It’s time to put an end to the daughter of Solaris!” “Solaris?” asked Rainbow Dash “That’s Celestia and Luna’s father… How do you know him!” shouted Twilight The figure threw Celestia at the Mane 6, but they were able to dodge in time. He took off his brown cloak and revealed that he was a blue colored Unicorn with jade eyes and his Cutie Mark obscured. Twilight was stunned. “Wait, that’s!” shouted Twilight The figure then released Discord from his bubble, crashing into the ground below. “Star Swirl!” 5: Final Chapter**Everfree Forest** “Star Swirl? But how are you still alive?” asked Twilight Star Swirl raised his head to the sky and responded. “Whether I am alive or not is irrelevant.” Star Swirl then faced Twilight. “You fillies have interfered with my plan for far enough. You have no clue of the consequences that you have caused because of your actions.” Said Star Swirl Applejack threw her lasso at Star Swirl, but the end of the rope rotted away. “What the hay?” asked Applejack “Applejack, he has time magic.” Said Twilight “Looks like someone’s a fan of my work. Yes, I do have time magic and that’s why Solaris chose me as his advisor.” “So why are you trying to ruin Equestria!” “You fillies have no clue do you. I am trying to save Equestria. Allow me to explain.” ***Flashback*** **Royal Palace** Star Swirl was reading through various books that day and stumbled across a dusty old book with a brown color. “What’s this?” asked Star Swirl He opened the contents, releasing a lot of dust in the process and coughing it up. As he began to read… “This is incredible! These must be spells from centuries ago.” Said Star Swirl in excitement “I wonder what I should try first!” Star Swirl randomly picked a spell out of the book titled “Dark Truth” and began to cast it. When the spell was complete, Star Swirl was transported to a different location. It appeared to be Ponyville, but it was covered in flames. There were no ponies in sight, but from what Star Swirl could see he saw a red sky and a Nightmare Moon look-a-like appeared in front of the sun. But it was Celestia, wearing Nightmare Moon’s armor. Before he could any questions, he was snapped back to the castle in a daze. After viewing the possible future, Star Swirl began to read further into the book and stumbled across several spells titled “Darkness Strikes”, “Emotions”, and “Personification”. **End Flashback** “After I visited that future, I created new life forms to stop that future from happening.” Said Star Swirl Fluttershy ran over to Discord to help him up. “The longer someone has Alicorn magic, the more corrupted they become. So I began my plan by starting with a spell of hate to create Nightmare Moon. But that failed to stop Celestia. Then I created Sombra, but Celestia and Luna ruined that plan as well. Chrysalis almost succeeded, but that bratty princess and groom interfered as well… Discord was a failed experiment as well. I have plenty more baddies left, but they will appear with time.” “So wait. You created Discord?” asked Fluttershy “Correct. I created a being of chaos and personified it to create him. However, I am surprised that you even care about that creature. He has no concept of friendship, and he never will.” Fluttershy began to cry after hearing what Star Swirl said. “Now then, it’s time to end this.” Star Swirl used a spell to summon a green Chinese Dragon as it charged at Fluttershy. As Fluttershy began to accept her fate, she remembered something. “I began to realize the importance of a friend, and I decided to change.” After remembering the words of her friend, Fluttershy opened her eyes and kicked the Dragon away. “What!” shouted Star Swirl Her friends were stunned after seeing what Fluttershy just did. “You’re wrong Star Swirl.” Said Fluttershy Just then, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence began to wake up. Even Discord opened his eyes barely to hear what Fluttershy was about to say. “You may think Discord is just a being of Chaos who’s only goal is to wreak havoc on Equestria. But he is more than that. Discord may be the God of Chaos, but he also has something in his heart that you never thought he would have. Friendship!” shouted Fluttershy Discord heard what Fluttershy said and smiled. He found a pony that still considered him a friend, despite all that he has done. “If she considers me her friend, despite all that I did to her and her friends. Maybe it’s time I act like it.” Said Discord in his head. The chest began to activate, creating a shockwave that sent Star Swirl flying. “Now!” shouted Celestia The Mane 6 turned their heads to notice that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were aiming their magic at the chest. The chest began to glow and the Mane 6 was hit by beams coming from the chest. “Twilight, take our power to stop him. You and your friends are our only hope.” Said Celestia Once the spell was complete, the Princesses were drained of their power and sat down tired. “All right girls, let’s save Equestria.” Said Twilight “Yeah!” shouted her friends Star Swirl teleported back to the Tree of Harmony’s location, covered in branches. “Farewell!” shouted Star Swirl as he launched a gigantic beam of magic at them. The Mane 6 began to glow and transformed into beams of light, colliding with Star Swirl’s attack, and creating a beam struggle. It was even for a few minutes, but it was creating shockwaves, ripping out trees and causing the ground to shake. “You have no chance, you have no chance!” shouted Star Swirl Star Swirl then began to overpower the Mane 6. “We can’t give up girls, we can do this!” shouted Twilight They fought back and nearly managed to overpower Star Swirl. The girls gave it their all, but Star Swirl was almost too much for them. “Say goodbye!” shouted Star Swirl But before he overpowered them, he got covered in Chocolate Milk and became distracted. Star Swirl turned his head and saw Discord standing up. “Discord! Why!” shouted Star Swirl “What’s wrong Swirly, I thought you called me a failed experiment who could never understand the concept of friendship?” said Discord laughing “You fool!” It was at that moment that the Mane 6 overpowered Star Swirl and he was evaporated by the blast. As the dust cleared, the Mane 6’s magic returned to Celestia, Luna and Cadence and were exhausted. “We…Did…It…” said Twilight Discord then teleported over to the Mane 6. “What is it Discord?” asked Rainbow Dash panting Discord snapped his fingers and Chocolate Milk appeared in front of them. “Drink up, you’re growing ponies after all.” Said Discord laughing They began to drink the glasses and felt refreshed. “Thanks Discord… Without your help, we would have lost.” Said Twilight “Hey, without you ponies, how will I spread my chaos?” asked Discord He then walked over to Fluttershy and gave her a bouquet of Roses with a smile on her face. They both blushed as their friends began to chuckle. Discord and Fluttershy took a step back in embarrassment. Celestia, Luna and Cadence walked over to the Mane 6 and congratulated them. “Congratulations Twilight. Once again, you and you friends had saved Equestria.” Said Celestia The Mane 6 bowed to the Princess’ in respect. “But sister, what shall we do with our castle?” asked Luna “I wish I knew sister, we might need to rebuild it.” Said Celestia “But who knows how long it will take?” Discord then appeared in a business suit. “How about I assist in the clean-up? Discord Draconequus, business extraordinaire.” “Sure thing Discord.” Said Celestia Discord snapped his fingers and the castle returned to its original spot, dumbfounding the princesses. “It’s that easy, and I even threw in cleaning up Ponyville absolutely free.” Everypony began to laugh. “You know what this calls for?” asked Luna smirking “A party?” asked Pinkie Pie “Oh absolutely Pinkie, now it’s time for our fun to be doubled.” And so, Pinkie threw a party to celebrate saving Equestria. Everypony was having fun, dancing, eating, and more. It was a great time, and even had moments of weirdness. Cheese Sandwich made an appearance and had a dance with Pinkie Pie, with cannons and everything. It was insanity, but they loved it. Fluttershy was dancing and enjoying the party, while Discord was transforming into various items, such as Angel bunny, a snake, a tree, and more. Near the end of the party, the Wonder-Bolts appeared in the sky and began to create fireworks; most of them were in the shape of the Mane 6, and Discord. And so the Mane 6 saved Equestria once again, and hopefully, they always will. As long as magic exists, there will always be friendship. The end
1***Prologue*** Long ago, the world of Equestria was formed by three tribes: Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies. With their combined efforts, they were able to make a peaceful land where people could live without worrying about the concept of life and death. The buildings were built using grass and sticks from trees, and mud was used to hold it together. The Pegasi provided the land the weather conditions to help crops grow, the Unicorns gave the Pegasi magic to create the clouds and weather conditions, and the Earth ponies supplied the crops and land to give everyone food and water needed to breathe. One of the first leaders in Equestria was Celestia's father: King Solaris. Solaris looked a lot like his daughter, with his large wings extending over his thighs, white skin, his long stream of hair, and a orange star for his cutie mark. He managed to lead the citizens of Equestria to an era of peace for over 500 years, and any evil that would come to ruin this peaceful time, he could easily destroy with the Elements of Harmony boosting his magical powers. He also had an assistant to help improve Unicorn magic for the future. His name was Star Swirl, a gray colored Unicorn who was known as a child prodigy from his peers in Magic Kindergarden. However, before evil threats such as King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, and Discord came into existence, there was one creature in the world of Equestria that would set up the future attacks on the land centuries after his passing. After Solaris gave up the throne to his daughter: Celestia, he gave his knowledge of magic to her in order to keep balance in Equestria alive. But despite her attempts, she was unable to learn everything her father taught her, and that caused the era of peace her father created, to collapse. **Present Day** It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The birds were chirping, the sky was light blue without a cloud in sight, and the sun was high in the sky. Twilight had just woken up a few moments ago from her tree house and was tending to her cleaning duties. Ever since she became a Princess, Twilight Sparkle has gone through a lot of stress. From giving up the elements of Harmony back to the Tree of Harmony to save not only her mentor: Princess Celestia, but also Princess Luna. To being tasked with understanding the Tree’s treasure chest, as well as unlocking its contents. She has spent weeks to try and understand the chest, from using various spells, to asking Zecora for help. However, Zecora has never experienced a chest like the one from the Tree of Harmony before in her life, and all the spells Twilight used didn’t do anything to help solve this problem. As Twilight was dusting the library, she didn’t notice that Spike had woken up and was standing in front of his door. “Good morning Twilight.” Said Spike After hearing Spike’s voice, she got startled and fell on the floor. “Sorry Spike, I didn’t see you there.” “It’s okay Twilight. Are you okay?” Twilight then let out a deep sigh. “No Spike. No I am not. This box has caused me so much stress; it is beginning to drive me insane.” Spike then walked over to Twilight and helped get her back on her feet. “Twilight, Celestia told you that you can’t solve this chest by yourself. Why are you so focused on solving this problem on your own?” “Because Spike, I don’t want to fail Celestia!” The room was silent after that sentence, Spike was about to walk back to his room before Twilight spoke again. “Spike, I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s just that Celestia instructed me to solve this chest and I don’t want to fail her again.” Said Twilight “Look Twilight, I forgive you for yelling at me. But you know that you don’t have to solve everything by yourself. You have your friends to help you through anything, they always have and they always will.” Twilight then smiled. “Thank you Spike. Now come on, let’s get some breakfast.” **In Tartarus** Tartarus looked like Equestria, but it was covered in flames and the sky had clouds covered in fire with a red color in-between. There were no houses in Tartarus, but instead there was a huge building where the bad souls would be tortured by the Prince of Tartarus: Eclipse, who looked like a male version of Princess Luna, except his flowing hair is consumed by flames, his skin is a dark red color, and his eyes are completely black with a white pupil in the middle. After recently torturing some bad souls, Eclipse took a seat and was about to begin his break before… “PRINCE ECLIPSE!” shouted one of the guard ponies. Eclipse slammed his hooves on the table in front of him. “What do you want? Can’t you see I am on break?” “Yes your highness, but I have some urgent news.” The guard pony gives Eclipse a paper note on his desk and walks back to the door as Eclipse begins to read the note. He slammed his hooves on the table again and he was furious. “HE ESCAPED!” The guard pony quickly shut the door, and had a scared look on his face. “Yes your highness, this man has escaped Tartarus.” “HOW!” “We don’t know for sure, but we think it might have something to do with the recent attacks on Equestria.” Eclipse then walked over to the guard pony, leaving the guard terrified of what Eclipse was going to do. “You contact Prince Solar immediately! He needs to know about this!” Eclipse then began to walk back to his desk. “But sir, how dangerous can this guy really be?” “More dangerous than you can possibly imagine. Now, go at once!” The guard immediately ran towards the Royal Castle to alert Prince Solar about the escaped prisoner of Tartarus. **Equestria** In the Everfree Forest, which was once labelled a place for all ponies to avoid, a dark figure appeared from one of the large trees, holding a mysterious object in his hoof. “Soon Equestria. Soon you will all pay!”
2**Tartarus** In the royal palace, Prince Solar was sitting on his throne writing several papers that was given to him earlier, either dealing with disasters in the area, riots, or conflicts in the kingdom. Prince Solar looked like a male version of Nightmare Moon. He had a large horn coming out of his head, he was dressed in Nightmare Moon’s attire, and he even had her eyes. However, there were a few differences between Prince Solar and Nightmare Moon. For one, Prince Solars’ skin has a crimson color to it, whereas Nightmare Moon is blue. He has a thick beard, and has a pitchfork for a cutie mark. Just then, he heard the door slam open. “Prince Solar! I have an important message to give you!” shouted the guard pony “Then don’t stand there, give it to me.” Said Solar, with a gentleman like voice. As the guard pony delivers the letter to Solar, he begins to read it. “So…He’s escaped hasn’t he?” “What should we do?” asked the guard pony. Prince Solar threw the letter into a pile containing letters he had read earlier in the day, and picked up a new scroll and quill to write. Once he finished writing, he handed the scroll to the guard pony. “Take this letter and put it in the tube next to my throne. It’s in our best interest to inform Princess Celestia about this threat at once.” Said Prince Solar “Yes sir!” shouted the guard pony saluting He took the scroll and put it in the tube designed to deliver only letters to the surface world. It is only large enough to fit a single scroll or letter at a time to prevent anyone escaping. “Very good guard, now it’s up to the surface dwellers to stop this pony.” **Equestria** Twilight’s friends had just arrived at Twilight’s house for breakfast. Recently, they have decided to make their breakfast and bring it over to Twilight’s so that they could discuss plans for the day, or to talk about recent events. As Spike and Twilight came out with their breakfast, they greeted their friends in and began their discussion. “There is something I think we should discuss first darling.” Said Rarity “What’s that?” asked Twilight “Well, in the last few weeks there has been some weird stuff going on, or maybe it’s just me.” “Such as that mysterious creature we saw when we first arrived at Celestia’s old castle?” asked Twilight “That’s an example Twilight. But there is also the incident where Fluttershy transformed into a fruit bat.” Fluttershy then squealed in fear for a few seconds. “Fluttershy, it’ll be okay.” Said Applejack After hearing that, FLuttershy calmed down and began to speak. “I remember that incident, it was so horrible.” Said Fluttershy, with a sad tone to her voice. “Speaking of which, it was kinda odd when my family took that trek with Pinkie Pie to find out if we were cousins, only to find the page all smudged up.” Said Applejack “That was strange Applejack.” Said Pinkie Pie “Twilight, do you still have that chest from the Tree of Harmony?” asked Rainbow Dash “Yes. But I still haven’t been able to solve it.” Said Twilight “Well, since we’re all here. Maybe we can discuss ways of opening that lovely chest.” Said Rarity “Great idea Rarity. So who should start?” asked Twilight Rarity raised her hoof in the air. “Maybe the key to unlocking the chest is our bond as friends?” asked Rarity “Maybe the key is how great friends we are to each other?” asked Fluttershy “Ooh, ooh, I know! Maybe we can blast it out of a cannon!” shouted Pinkie Pie After Pinkie Pie said that, everyone was looking at Pinkie Pie with a confused look on their faces. “What?” “Rainbow Dash, do you have any ideas on how to open this?” asked Twilight Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Wait a second. I think I might have an idea on how to solve it.” Said Applejack “Go on.” Said Rarity “Does anypony remember the items we’ve received over the last few weeks?” “Oh yes, I remember now.” Said Fluttershy Fluttershy reached into her bag to pull out a flower given to her by the Breezies. Rarity then pulled out her rainbow colored thread. “I remember getting this lovely thread when we went to Manehatten.” Said Rarity Rainbow Dash reached into her bag and pulled out a lightning bolt shaped medal. “Yep, I remember winning this item when I went to Rainbow Falls.” Said Rainbow Dash Pinkie Pie was tossing a rubber chicken up in the air, with everyone looking at her with weird looks on their faces. “I remember getting this from Cheese Sandwich. I love playing with this thing.” Said Pinkie Pie Applejack then flipped a coin and revealed it to her friends. “I got this coin after I exposed the Flim Flam brothers a few weeks back.” Said Applejack “I think it might be all these items we got that might be the key to unlocking the chest.” “Applejack, there’s a teensie little problem with that theory.” Said Rainbow Dash She flew into the air and hovered over Twilight’s head. “Twilight, please tell me you got an item?” asked Applejack Twilight shook her head. “But maybe it’s my Alicorn magic that acts as the final key.” Said Twilight “Let’s go to Celestia at once.” But before they left, Spike burped out a letter from Celestia. “What is it Spike?” asked Rarity “It’s a letter from Celestia.” Said Spike Spike opens the letter and begins to read its contents. “Dear Twilight, this is Princess Celestia. I order you and your friends to appear at the castle at once. This is an important crisis that requires all of your assistance. Signed Celestia.” “In that case, we should get on a train to Canterlot. If this is a major thing, then we should go at one.” Said Twilight Everyone then left Twilight’s tree house and managed to catch a train to Canterlot.
3**Canterlot** After Twilight and her friends got off the train, they immediately ran to the castle. Once they got past the guards, they saw Princess Luna, Princess Celestia and Discord sitting around. “Glad you could make it Twilight.” Said Celestia “What is wrong Princess Celestia?” asked Twilight “A threat has returned from Tartarus and is causing a rampage.” Said Celestia The mane 6 was shocked after hearing what Princess Celestia said. “But how could that happen. Aint Tartarus supposed to be a place where no pony could escape?” asked Applejack “We don’t know he escaped, but he was able to bypass the security and make it back to Equestria.” Said Princess Luna “What should we do?” asked Twilight “Twilight. It is absolutely important to figure out the contents of that chest and soon. Until then, Discord has volunteered to hold this threat off.” Said Celestia “Really?” asked Pinkie Pie Discord then came out of Pinkie Pie’s ear and responded. “Without Equestria, I can’t have my fun.” Said Discord He then disappeared and reappeared next to Celestia and Luna. “We believe this creature is in the Everfree Forest, so we have given Discord the co-ordinates.” Said Luna Discord walks out of the room. But Fluttershy stops him in the hallway. “What is it Fluttershy?” asked Discord “I was just wondering something… Years ago, you hated the idea of working with anypony in Equestria But now, you are working with Celestia to save it. Why this change of heart?” asked Fluttershy Discord let out a deep sigh. “Well Fluttershy, after I returned for the 2nd time, I began to realize the importance of friendship from my time with you. At first, I only pretended to be your friend. But after you took that away, I began to realize the importance of a friend, and I decided to change.” Said Discord “I see. Well, hope you come back.” Said Fluttershy Discord then smiled. “Thanks Fluttershy, you’re a great friend.” Said Discord He then teleported away. **Hours Later** Twilight and her friends returned to Ponyville and decided to relax in Twilight’s tree house while they collected their thoughts. “So that conversation with Celestia was basically a waste of time.” Said Rarity “Seems like it.” Said Rainbow Dash Twilight then slammed the door open with a scared look on her face, resulting in her friends getting up. “Darling, what’s wrong?” asked Rarity “THE CHEST! IT’S GONE!” shouted Twilight “What! How could that be!” shouted Applejack “I don’t know!” “Dang! That creature must have planned this to happen, just so he could steal the box!” shouted Applejack “Then let’s go find this person.” Said Rainbow Dash Everyone left the tree house but saw Zecora in front of them kneeling over in pain. “Zecora!” shouted Twilight as she ran over to the gray Zebra “I.I’m fine.” Said Zecora with a mystical voice “What happened?” asked Rarity “P.Pony stole ya chest. But I was able to get it back before he escaped.” Zecora then handed the chest back to Twilight and collapsed. “Quick, somepony get her a doctor.” Said Applejack Applejack and Twilight carried Zecora to the Ponyville Hospital **Ponyville Hospital** In the waiting room, Zecora was laying down on a hospital bed strapped to a life support system and covered in bandages, surrounded by Twilight and her friends. “Hey Zecora, how are you feeling?” asked Twilight Zecora opened her eyes a bit and responded with a weak tone in her voice. “Fine, I am. Hurt, oh yes. But I am sure I will pull through, I just need a few days to recover.” “You said earlier that you saw the creature trying to steal the chest. Do you think you could give us a description of what it looked like?” asked Rarity “Certainly. The creature was as tall as me, but he wore a brown cloak around his body and had a horn coming out of his head. When I attacked him, he dashed out of the way and managed to get behind me before I could finish my attack. It was like I was moving as slow as a tree.” “Thank you Zecora. Go ahead and get some sleep.” Said Twilight Zecora smiled and went back to sleep. The Mane 6 left the hospital and went back to Twilight’s house to discuss the incident. “So based on Zecoras description, we know that the creature is male, and might be a Unicorn based on the horn.” Said Twilight “But there’s something I don’t understand. How was this creature able to out speed Zecora? No pony can do that.” Said Applejack “This is so stressful!” shouted Twilight “This stupid box has caused me so much stress, and now this creature from Tartarus is going to try and ruin Ponyville!” shouted Twilight Twilight vented for a few minutes before she calmed down. “I am sorry girls, I am just under a lot of stress lately.” “It’s okay Twilight, we all get stressed out from time to time. It’s how we handle it that can make it a problem.” Said Rarity. “Thanks Rarity.” “Maybe this threat is King Sombra? He was destroyed when he tried to take over the Crystal Empire a few months ago.” asked Pinkie Pie “Maybe it could be Queen Chrysalis? She did get blown back by the power of Cadences magic and she might have an ability to use time?” asked Rarity “Maybe it could the return of Nightmare Moon, except in a different body. I mean that did happen to Rarity once before.” Said Rainbow Dash “All seem like great theories, but it’s getting late. We should get some rest and continue this tomorrow.” Said Applejack “Good idea. Goodnight everyone.” Said Twilight Everyone left the tree house to get some sleep. **Canterlot** “Princess Celestia, Cadence has arrived.” Said the guard pony “Bring her in.” said Celestia Princess Cadence walked into the throne room and the guard pony closed the door behind her. “Greetings Princess Celestia and Luna.” Said Cadence “Hello Cadence. I think you know why I invited you here.” Said Celestia “Agreed. Let’s work this out. However, there is a problem I wish to address first.” Said Cadence “Celestia. Is something wrong with you?” “Cadence, there is nothing wrong with me. I’m the same princess I have always been for millennia….” Said Celestia “Then why did you get overpowered by Chrysalis so easily? If you were able to imprison Luna in the moon, why did you lose the match?” Celestia was silent for a few minutes before lowering her head. “Truth is Cadence, you are right. Something is wrong with me. I have ruled Equestria for over 1500 years. Alicorn magic only works for over 1000 years. If an Alicorn goes over 1000 years, their powers will slowly weaken. Raising the sun and moon is the most I can do with my magic now.” Said Celestia After hearing that, Luna realizes something. “This is my fault.” Said Luna “If I didn’t let my hatred and jealousies control me, this issue wouldn’t have happened.” “Luna, this is not your fault. If anything, this is my fault for not finding a successor until now.” Said Celestia “But the question is, who could succeed you Celestia?” asked Cadence “I’m not too sure myself. But maybe there’s a reason that we have two new alicorns.” Said Celestia ***The next day*** “Spike, take a letter.” Said Twilight Spike pulls out a scroll and begins to write. “Dear Princess Celestia, in this crisis I would like to request more information on Star Swirl the Bearded. Perhaps his spells could provide insight into solving this crisis.” Spike finishes writing the letter and sends it off to Princess Celestia. A few minutes later, Spike gets a response. “Dear Twilight, I have received your letter and I will respond to your request. I don’t understand why you want information on Star Swirl, but if you must, I will send you all the books I have on the person. It should be there in a few hours.” Said Spike “That’s good. Maybe his spells can help defeat this threat.” Said Twilight “But what could be in the box?” “Who knows Spike, who knows?”
4**Canterlot** Princess Celestia was reading a letter when Luna and Cadence came into the room. “Good morning Celestia.” Said Cadence Celestia had an angry look on her face as she put the letter. “Sister? What’s wrong?” asked Luna “Discord has been captured…” said Celestia After she said that, Cadence and Luna were in shock. “How could that be? He is the lord of Chaos. He shouldn’t have been captured.” Said Luna “I wish I knew Luna. But now it’s time to act.” Said Celestia “Do you notice that Twilight isn’t here?” Luna turned her head and noticed… “I do not see Princess Twilight in this room sister.” Said Luna “If this person kidnapped Discord, there must be a reason for it. He might try and steal Discord’s magic and use it against us. I think it’s in our best interest to transfer our power to Twilight.” Said Celestia “But why?” asked Cadence “I understand that Twilight is under a lot of stress at this very moment. She has a lot of responsibility to accept now that she’s a princess, but one of them is to make a sacrifice in order to protect Equestria.” Said Celestia Celestia then sighed. “Cadence… I have been Twilight’s mentor for years. I have seen her potential since I visited her in Magic Kindergarten and saw what she could do at an early age that would normally take a Unicorn, years to perform. At this point, I have found a crisis I cannot stop…But I know that Twilight and her friends can stop this crisis and save Equestria once again.” “I understand Celestia.” Said Cadence “Then let’s go to the Tree of Harmony.” Said Celestia **Twilight’s house** Twilight had just received the books she requested from Princess Celestia on Star Swirl the Bearded and was busy looking through one of the books. There were three piles in total; each pile was 4 feet high and it was almost as tall as Twilight herself. ***Hours later*** Twilight had finished through 2 out of the 3 piles of books and was beginning to read the 3rd pile when Spike came in, yawning. “Hey Twilight.” Said Spike Spike was taken aback at the size of the piles of books Twilight was reading through and almost tripped over one of them before catching his balance. “That’s a lot of books eh Twilight?” “Yes, but it’s necessary in order to solve this problem.” Said Twilight “So what did you discover?” “I discovered that Star Swirl the Bearded’s spells were mainly focused on the concept of time. That’s rather interesting.” “How so?” asked Spike “It’s interesting because Zecora mentioned that when she tried to attack the creature, he was behind her before she finished her attack.” “Do you think that Star Swirl has returned?” “That’s impossible. If that was true, why did he return now? It doesn’t make any sense. Plus, Star Swirl did so much good for Equestria, why would he try and ruin the land he once served to protect?” asked Twilight Before they could continue their conversation, the door swung open, revealing Twilight’s friends. “Hey girls, what’s wrong?” “Twilight. Come outside!” shouted Rainbow Dash with worry in her voice. Twilight and Spike left the tree house to join their friends and were completely stunned. The Canterlot castle was gone; it was like it was never there in the first place. “Where did the castle go?” asked Spike “Um, Spike. Turn ya head.” Said Applejack Spike turned his head to the left and saw that the castle had crashed into Ponyville, and left a path of destruction in its wake. Some of the buildings were either on fire, or it completely collapsed, crushing some of the ponies inside. Twilight began to cry after seeing the destruction its wake. “This is horrible.” Her friends lowered their heads in sadness. It was silent for a few minutes before Twilight stopped crying and told her friends something. “Girls, let’s head to the Tree of Harmony. Maybe the clue to stopping this threat is there.” The Mane 6 ran off to the Everfree Forest, and upon reaching the Tree of Harmony they find Celestia, Luna and Cadence there waiting. “Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?” asked Fluttershy “Not important. Twilight, do you have the chest?” asked Celestia Twilight nodded her head and reached into her bag to pull out the chest. “Excellent.” “But Celestia, your castle.” Said Fluttershy “I saw the result Fluttershy, and that makes this decision all the more important.” Said Celestia “What decision?” The ground began to shake, resulting in some of the trees falling. “Twilight, open the chest.” “But I don’t know how to.” Said Twilight “Twilight, are you sure.” Said Applejack tossing her coin in the air The coin then transformed into a key and became inserted into the chest. “That’s it! Everyone, take out your items!” shouted Twilight Her friends reached into their bags and pulled out their respective items, which transformed into keys and inserted into the chest. The earthquake began to worsen. “Where’s the last key?” asked Luna “We need that key to act on my decision.” Said Celestia Fluttershy’s bag then began to glow. “What the?” said Fluttershy Fluttershy reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace. “This is the necklace Discord gave me before he left.” The necklace transformed into a key and flew to the last keyhole. “That clever Draconequus.” Said Luna “He had a feeling something might go wrong, and he came up with a plan just in case.” “Maybe so, but he indirectly saved Equestria.” Said Celestia “Now let’s open the chest.” Said Pinkie Pie “I don’t think so!” “AH!” shouted Cadence Princess Cadence collapsed on the floor. “What in the!” shouted Luna Princess Luna was the next to fall. “Impossible.” Said Celestia Princess Celestia was knocked into the Tree of Harmony and collapsed. “PRINCESS!” shouted the Mane 6 “At last, my plan is complete.” Said a mysterious figure The Mane 6 turned their heads and saw Discord in a comatose state, trapped in a large orange bubble. “Discord!” shouted Fluttershy “Show yourself!” shouted Twilight The ground began to shake once again, but this time, the shockwaves were strong enough to rip the Tree of Harmony out of the ground. “You stupid fillies. Did you honestly believe you saved Equestria! With your interactions, you guaranteed its destruction!’ The figure then teleported behind the Mane 6, and grabbed Celestia by the neck. “It’s time to put an end to the daughter of Solaris!” “Solaris?” asked Rainbow Dash “That’s Celestia and Luna’s father… How do you know him!” shouted Twilight The figure threw Celestia at the Mane 6, but they were able to dodge in time. He took off his brown cloak and revealed that he was a blue colored Unicorn with jade eyes and his Cutie Mark obscured. Twilight was stunned. “Wait, that’s!” shouted Twilight The figure then released Discord from his bubble, crashing into the ground below. “Star Swirl!”
5: Final Chapter**Everfree Forest** “Star Swirl? But how are you still alive?” asked Twilight Star Swirl raised his head to the sky and responded. “Whether I am alive or not is irrelevant.” Star Swirl then faced Twilight. “You fillies have interfered with my plan for far enough. You have no clue of the consequences that you have caused because of your actions.” Said Star Swirl Applejack threw her lasso at Star Swirl, but the end of the rope rotted away. “What the hay?” asked Applejack “Applejack, he has time magic.” Said Twilight “Looks like someone’s a fan of my work. Yes, I do have time magic and that’s why Solaris chose me as his advisor.” “So why are you trying to ruin Equestria!” “You fillies have no clue do you. I am trying to save Equestria. Allow me to explain.” ***Flashback*** **Royal Palace** Star Swirl was reading through various books that day and stumbled across a dusty old book with a brown color. “What’s this?” asked Star Swirl He opened the contents, releasing a lot of dust in the process and coughing it up. As he began to read… “This is incredible! These must be spells from centuries ago.” Said Star Swirl in excitement “I wonder what I should try first!” Star Swirl randomly picked a spell out of the book titled “Dark Truth” and began to cast it. When the spell was complete, Star Swirl was transported to a different location. It appeared to be Ponyville, but it was covered in flames. There were no ponies in sight, but from what Star Swirl could see he saw a red sky and a Nightmare Moon look-a-like appeared in front of the sun. But it was Celestia, wearing Nightmare Moon’s armor. Before he could any questions, he was snapped back to the castle in a daze. After viewing the possible future, Star Swirl began to read further into the book and stumbled across several spells titled “Darkness Strikes”, “Emotions”, and “Personification”. **End Flashback** “After I visited that future, I created new life forms to stop that future from happening.” Said Star Swirl Fluttershy ran over to Discord to help him up. “The longer someone has Alicorn magic, the more corrupted they become. So I began my plan by starting with a spell of hate to create Nightmare Moon. But that failed to stop Celestia. Then I created Sombra, but Celestia and Luna ruined that plan as well. Chrysalis almost succeeded, but that bratty princess and groom interfered as well… Discord was a failed experiment as well. I have plenty more baddies left, but they will appear with time.” “So wait. You created Discord?” asked Fluttershy “Correct. I created a being of chaos and personified it to create him. However, I am surprised that you even care about that creature. He has no concept of friendship, and he never will.” Fluttershy began to cry after hearing what Star Swirl said. “Now then, it’s time to end this.” Star Swirl used a spell to summon a green Chinese Dragon as it charged at Fluttershy. As Fluttershy began to accept her fate, she remembered something. “I began to realize the importance of a friend, and I decided to change.” After remembering the words of her friend, Fluttershy opened her eyes and kicked the Dragon away. “What!” shouted Star Swirl Her friends were stunned after seeing what Fluttershy just did. “You’re wrong Star Swirl.” Said Fluttershy Just then, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence began to wake up. Even Discord opened his eyes barely to hear what Fluttershy was about to say. “You may think Discord is just a being of Chaos who’s only goal is to wreak havoc on Equestria. But he is more than that. Discord may be the God of Chaos, but he also has something in his heart that you never thought he would have. Friendship!” shouted Fluttershy Discord heard what Fluttershy said and smiled. He found a pony that still considered him a friend, despite all that he has done. “If she considers me her friend, despite all that I did to her and her friends. Maybe it’s time I act like it.” Said Discord in his head. The chest began to activate, creating a shockwave that sent Star Swirl flying. “Now!” shouted Celestia The Mane 6 turned their heads to notice that Celestia, Luna, and Cadence were aiming their magic at the chest. The chest began to glow and the Mane 6 was hit by beams coming from the chest. “Twilight, take our power to stop him. You and your friends are our only hope.” Said Celestia Once the spell was complete, the Princesses were drained of their power and sat down tired. “All right girls, let’s save Equestria.” Said Twilight “Yeah!” shouted her friends Star Swirl teleported back to the Tree of Harmony’s location, covered in branches. “Farewell!” shouted Star Swirl as he launched a gigantic beam of magic at them. The Mane 6 began to glow and transformed into beams of light, colliding with Star Swirl’s attack, and creating a beam struggle. It was even for a few minutes, but it was creating shockwaves, ripping out trees and causing the ground to shake. “You have no chance, you have no chance!” shouted Star Swirl Star Swirl then began to overpower the Mane 6. “We can’t give up girls, we can do this!” shouted Twilight They fought back and nearly managed to overpower Star Swirl. The girls gave it their all, but Star Swirl was almost too much for them. “Say goodbye!” shouted Star Swirl But before he overpowered them, he got covered in Chocolate Milk and became distracted. Star Swirl turned his head and saw Discord standing up. “Discord! Why!” shouted Star Swirl “What’s wrong Swirly, I thought you called me a failed experiment who could never understand the concept of friendship?” said Discord laughing “You fool!” It was at that moment that the Mane 6 overpowered Star Swirl and he was evaporated by the blast. As the dust cleared, the Mane 6’s magic returned to Celestia, Luna and Cadence and were exhausted. “We…Did…It…” said Twilight Discord then teleported over to the Mane 6. “What is it Discord?” asked Rainbow Dash panting Discord snapped his fingers and Chocolate Milk appeared in front of them. “Drink up, you’re growing ponies after all.” Said Discord laughing They began to drink the glasses and felt refreshed. “Thanks Discord… Without your help, we would have lost.” Said Twilight “Hey, without you ponies, how will I spread my chaos?” asked Discord He then walked over to Fluttershy and gave her a bouquet of Roses with a smile on her face. They both blushed as their friends began to chuckle. Discord and Fluttershy took a step back in embarrassment. Celestia, Luna and Cadence walked over to the Mane 6 and congratulated them. “Congratulations Twilight. Once again, you and you friends had saved Equestria.” Said Celestia The Mane 6 bowed to the Princess’ in respect. “But sister, what shall we do with our castle?” asked Luna “I wish I knew sister, we might need to rebuild it.” Said Celestia “But who knows how long it will take?” Discord then appeared in a business suit. “How about I assist in the clean-up? Discord Draconequus, business extraordinaire.” “Sure thing Discord.” Said Celestia Discord snapped his fingers and the castle returned to its original spot, dumbfounding the princesses. “It’s that easy, and I even threw in cleaning up Ponyville absolutely free.” Everypony began to laugh. “You know what this calls for?” asked Luna smirking “A party?” asked Pinkie Pie “Oh absolutely Pinkie, now it’s time for our fun to be doubled.” And so, Pinkie threw a party to celebrate saving Equestria. Everypony was having fun, dancing, eating, and more. It was a great time, and even had moments of weirdness. Cheese Sandwich made an appearance and had a dance with Pinkie Pie, with cannons and everything. It was insanity, but they loved it. Fluttershy was dancing and enjoying the party, while Discord was transforming into various items, such as Angel bunny, a snake, a tree, and more. Near the end of the party, the Wonder-Bolts appeared in the sky and began to create fireworks; most of them were in the shape of the Mane 6, and Discord. And so the Mane 6 saved Equestria once again, and hopefully, they always will. As long as magic exists, there will always be friendship. The end
