Sunny Side Up

Just outside Canterlot

A giant blazing inferno headed towards ponyville directly from canterlot. It soared through the air as it dropped its altitude. Just when it was about to hit the ground it changed direction, going parallel with the earth. The heat it gave off was rather intense. So much so, that it evaporated all the morning dew off of the grass and trees nearby. Shouts could be heard in the distance as a small group of pegasi failed miserably to keep up. Two were Celestia's personal guards and the other three were Luna's.  They watched in awe and slight horror as the fireball nearly hit the ground. Only to change direction abruptly and fly towards ponyville.

"*huff*...*huff*... Damnit!  That thing is fast!" One of Celestia's guard yelled as he pointed a hoof at the glowing ball of fire.

It was all they could do to keep pace with the magically fueled sphere from tartarus.   Once it reached ponyville, it began to circle as if it was looking for something.  It hovered in place over town hall for a few seconds then lit up as it headed towards the Everfree Forest. It wasn't just searching, It was seeking its target. And it had found its prey, which was chilling out in his relocated thinking tree along the edge of the Everfree. The ball of flaming justice sped up as it neared the draconicus -- who didn't even acknowledge its presence-- as it approached him at supersonic speeds. He had just got done having tea with Fluttershy and needed some time alone to think about things.   If one had been looking over Ponyville from canterlot they would have noticed a considerably sized mushroom cloud coming from the edge of town near that dreadful forest.

"Horseapples!   That flew over the middle of ponyville!"     One of Luna's guards shouted in disbelief.  One dreaded thought came to all the guards as they headed for Ponyville.

"What if that had gone off in the middle of town?"

Shouts of panic could be heard coming from ponyville as the ponies scrambled to find shelter after being rocked by the massive explosion just outside of town  A particular trio was running in circles in terror, one shouting "Oh The horror! The horror!"

It was then that the guard touched down right outside of town hall.  After a heated debate, four guards left to check out where the explosion had been. The other one entered town hall to inform the mayor of the situation and to assure them that backup was on its way.

So much was happening that the guards failed to realize the unfolding chaos going on at the Golden Oaks library down the street.

A few muffled screams and shouts followed by several crashes would have been heard. But unfortunately, they were drowned out by the chaos that was going on around.

Silver Wing had just entered town hall when he ran face first into a panicking mayor.  she let out a high pitched squeak as she fell to the ground.

"My apologies Mrs.Mayor.   I did not see you there."   He said as he offered her a hoof to help her up.

"Quite alright Mister? ummm..." She trailed off as she stared at the offered hoof

"Its first lieutenant Silver Wing. But you can just call me Silver." After helping the mayor off the floor he continued with the report of the situation. "Anyways.  I came to inform you of the current situation. Currently there is an unknown Alicorn that is on the loose. He escaped from Canterlot castle earlier this morning after he apparently assaulted our beloved Princess Luna. Currently Celestia's whereabouts are unknown. We believe he has something to do with that as well. Also.  That explosion you felt was thankfully on the outskirts of Ponyville and was not close enough to cause any significant damage. However, That same explosion was caused by the unidentified Alicorn. He is highly unstable. And radiates a lot of chaos magic.  We need you to inform the citizens of Ponyville to remain indoors while the guard handle this.  Until such a time, this town is on lockdown. No pony is to leave the safety of there homes until he is captured or confirmed to not be in the immediate area."

The mayor let out a small sigh.  After she collected her thoughts she spoke up.

"Its going to be one of Those days again."

"Im afraid so Mrs. Mayor." Silver replied.

"Can you tell me how this all started? "  She asked as she trotted up to the emergency broadcasting system. it was a rather innovative system which would send her voice all over ponyville via an enchanted voice modifier that was installed on the roof.

"Of course.  It all started going downhill once we found that stallion in Celestias bedchambers earlier this morning..."

~Earlier that morning in Canterlot~

"Im telling you again Sargent Blue Hoof. Stand. Down. Im really Celestia and this is all a big misunderstanding."

"Ha!  I will believe that when me shit turns purple and smells like rainbow sherbert you imposter!"

This, of course, was how the situation had degraded to.  Multiple sharp objects were also pointed at the alicorn who had been surrounded.  Some of the guard ponies looked extremely nervous while the rest were thoroughly confused. Its not everyday that a pony got to see a male alicorn. Let alone one with their rulers cutie mark.

"Whats his Magical readout Private Spice?"  The pumpkin colored unicorn in question closed her eyes in concentration as her horn started to glow. bits of her black mane rising as well from the scanning spell.

"Hes definately Not a changeling, though the power his aura is giving off is much higher than our beloved princesses!  .

We would be easily overwhelmed if his intentions were hostile. So its safe to assume he means no harm. Sir!" the unicorn saluted sharply before resuming a defensive stance. The sergeant put a hoof to his chin as he considered his options. After a few seconds of awkward silence went by he decided to speak up.

"Okay Princess" He said with sarcasm. "If you say that you are Celestia then why were you attacking Princess Luna?  It is a well known fact that our beloved princess of the sun abhors violence and would NEVER do anything to hurt another pony."

This caused the white alicorn to sigh in frustration. it seemed that it was going to be one of those days today.

Celestia had just about reached the breaking point too. This was getting nopony anywhere and he/she really just needed a few moments to collect his/her thoughts to figure out how to deal with this big mess.

"I told you already. This is all a huge misunderstanding due to a prank that discord has played. And it would seem that the flower he gave me last night had adverse effects not only on my anatomy, but also my magic as well."

"Uh-huh... So wheres the flower then?" Blue Hoof asked.

Both turned there attention to the black vase on Celestia's desk and noticed the lack of anything plant-like there.

A low growl was heard coming from the white stallion. Of course the evidence would magically disappear when needed the most.

Celestia also noticed the smug grin that the sergeant had as he turned his attention back to the alicorn.

"Seeing as you have no proof to your cause. I must detain you until you are proven innocent by our court of law."  As soon as he finished speaking, the rest of the guard closed in a tighter formation in front of the intruder to ensure he didn't escape.

"Hey you!"  The sergeant pointed to one of the lunar guards who was attending princess Luna.  "Is our beloved princess ok?"

"Yes Sir. she has merely passed out and is sleeping soundly."  How she could sleep through all this Celestia could only guess.

"Spice?  Do you have your hoofcuffs and inhibitor ring with you?"  Blue Hoof asked.

"Yes Sir!.  Permission to speak freely sir!?" She shouted after another salute.

"Granted"

"You honestly think that these will be of any use on him sir? "  Her innocent question caused Blue Hoof to pause again.

"Good point..."   The older veteran sighed. He then looked at white alicorn stallion.

"So hotshot... will you cooperate and come quietly or are we gonna do this the hard way?."

If Celestia came quietly there would be no telling how long it would take to get this mess sorted. Not to mention how bad her little ponies would feel once they discovered the truth. Suddenly the white alicorn perked up with an idea. A small smile running across his muzzle. Hopefully the gender swap didn't effect her/his magic too much. He would need to create a diversion that would distract the guards long enough to sort out this situation. The new expression did not go unnoticed as several of the guards tensed.

Normally i wouldn't do such a thing. But desperate times call for desperate measures indeed.

Faking a look of sheer horror he pointed in the direction behind the guards.

"What in Starswirls Beard is that!? Oh no! Its coming this way!"

This however caused Blue Hoof to facehoof. Of all the half baked attempts to escape and that stupid stallion tries to pull the oldest one in the book.

"Do you really think we would fall for such nonsense? I mean really? Celestia's and Luna's royal guard are trained better than-." he trailed off when he opened his eyes. Noticing that the entire group of guards had turned around to see what the white alicorn was yelling about. This of course pissed him off considerably.

"=that... OH FOR THE LOVE OF!  What in the bloody hell are you idiots doing.  Rule number 1 when engaging a hostile.  Always keep a visual on the enemy.  If you dont then they could hurt you or..." He trailed off again as he also noticed that he had taken his eyes off of the stallion as well, breaking the rules himself. Turning back around, he noticed with no small amount of frustration that the imposter was nowhere to be found.  Only a slightly open window right above where he was a few seconds ago.

"Quickly!  He must have flown out the window while we were distracted!" The night guards took to the sky through the window searching for the alicorn.

Thanks to an illusion spell Celestia turned completely white to blend in with the bright marble of the castle tower. The mare turned stallion hugged the wall while the guard were busy searching overhead. the alicorns mind was at full power processing the situation.  No doubt they would find him eventually if he stayed in this spot. The alicorns golden magic was noticeable at a close distance.  All they would have to do is fly close enough and he would be spotted. He needed to lose the attention of the guard.

All of the sudden, a thought occurred to the white alicorn.  Closing his eyes in concentration, the solar diarch used a locating spell.

After a few seconds went by, he opened his eyes.  Discord was on the outskirts of ponyville and there was nopony around him.

Perfect!  A devious glint appeared in his eyes.  It was time to send Discord some payback and also get rid of the guards.

  Hoping to complete the escape attempt, Celestia super heated the air a couple of meters ahead and infused it with magic. Several runes swirled about as she powered up the spell  The end result was a burning magicall fireball of substantial size. This ,of course, caught the guards attention as they eyed the floating inferno.  Using a simple guiding spell the alicorn sent it away. It would burn for a good 30 minutes before it fizzled out.  Sighing in relief as all the guards seemed to give chase to the now rapidly moving blaze ball, Celestia teleported to the only safe place He could think of. Hopefully Twilight could help.

Ponyville minutes before the explosion

It was a beautiful, if not slightly confusing start to a day in ponyville for a certain lavender Alicorn.

Something was making a soft scribbling noise right in front of her. Writing in a most elegant font, each stroke careful and precise.

After it scribbled a little more it stopped only to jerk with a start again. Once a few more scratches were added, followed by a few points, it landed back into an inkwell. its usual place on the wooden desk.

"Hey Spike!?"   She shouted upstairs.

A few seconds went by with no reply.

"Spike!?"

She waited approximately five and a half seconds.

Starting to get concerned she called out again in a singing tone.

"Spiii~iiike!!!"  She perked her ears for a reply. Still nothing.

Sighing in frustration she got off her haunches and proceeded upstairs.

"He better not have fallen asleep." She mumbled out loud to nopony in particular.

The young dragon had been going through a phase lately trying to read any comic books he could get his claws on.  Which he must have stayed up all night reading them. Again.  She never really understood why he was so fascinated with them. She just chalked it up as Spike being Spike. Eventually he would find something else of interest and move on. At least Twilight hoped so.

Once upstairs, she began to search for her number one assistant.

Celestia was late in raising the sun. Only something catastrophic would cause her mentor to not do her most sacred duty. Now was not a time for rest. Not when She was in trouble. No. This pony was a pony of action. This pony was an Alicorn Princess. This pony also had a sacred duty. To sweep in and vanquish the bad pony who had captured Her princess. She could see it now. Her standing as a true equal to her idol after rescuing her.

The evil villain laughs maniacally as he finishes his monologue.   Shedding a few tears of mirth at Celestias perill. His plan for world domination is about to become a reality as he moves in to finish the fallen alicorn  Suddenly, Twilight teleports in between him and Celestia, stopping his advance.   Wasting no time, she hits the evil overlord with a burst of telekinesis followed by a flurry of kicks and hoof punches. She completes the 91 hit combo with a mean right hook to his face. Charging up her horn in the blink of an eye, Twilight discharges her signature finishing move and turns him into a pile of ash.  Turning back around after annihilating the evil ponylord, She puffs out her chest in pride holding out her hoof to Celestia to help her up.  Her mentor reaches up, her hoof outstretched, to the lavender Alicorn Who then pulls her up with gentle care.  Not a word is said as they both stare into each others eyes. Nothing even need be said as both understand completely. Celestia then cups Twilights cheek with her hoof and leans towards her as twilight also leans forward. there faces inching closer and closer. Until...

Twilight snapped out of her daydream. shaking her head back and forth trying and failing hopelessly to get rid of the images in her head.  A small pink tint spread across her muzzle.

"Ugh! Thats what i get for reading Spike's comic books." she cursed inwardly

Deciding enough was enough, the Alicorn of Magic stood up and trotted up to the sleeping dragon.

A small rolled up scroll in her magical grasp following right behind her.   It seemed today was going to be one of those days again.

"SPIIII~IIIIKE!"  Twilight shouted for the umteanth time.

"Bhua?... huh?  Whats with all the yelling Twi'?."  Spike mumbled as he sat up and rolled off the stacks of comic books, then rubbed his eyes.

Twilight shook her head and sighed. " You stayed up reading those comic books...Again."

All she got for her answer was a sheepish smile from her assistant.

"Heh.. uhhh sorry Twi"   He said while twiddling his claws.

"You should give them a try though. They are really cool!  Anyways. Whats got you all upset Twilight?" He asked.

"Something really bad has happened Spike. Celestia is never one to be tardy. Especially with her duties in raising the sun."   Twilight was now pacing back and forth.   "What if she is sick? or worse.  What if shes been captured by some sinister villan?  Oh No!  What if

King Sombra returned and has turned her into one of his crystal slaves!?"     Spike backed up a few steps as twilight muzzle was practically in his face. He also took note of several stray hairs curling up in her mane.

"Uuhh Twi?"

"What!?"  She yelled.

"Calm down ok?  We don't need another smarty pants incident. Just remember those breathing exercises that Cadence taught you."

Twilight glared at spike before slowly inhaling and exhaling. The aforementioned smarty pants episode was one moment of weakness that she was eager to forget. Why was it every time she even remotely got stressed that her friends would bring it up.

It wasn't all that bad.    She just messed with a simple charm spell and turned it into a warped overcharged version of its former self. Its not like she was messing with Necromancy or trying to infuse her life force into crystals for crying out loud!

"Okay spike.   Im calm now ok?   Can you send this letter to-"    Twilight was cut off as a brilliant flash of light was seen coming from outside the windows, followed by a massive ear ringing explosion. If spike wasn't awake before, he sure was now.

He could actually feel the magic from that explosion. And this concerned him

"Woah.  I felt that from up here and I'm not even a unicorn." Spike said as he looked to Twilight.  She had turned very pale and had started shaking uncontrollably.

"S-spike... Im gonna t-teliport you to Rarity's ok?  Tell her to get the girls together ASAP and meet me here."

Spike had never seen her like this before. Something really bad must be going on for her to be acting this way.

"Twilight?   Whats wrong?"  he asked in concern.

"I don't know spike... That explosion reaked of chaos magic. Whats got me scared is that somepony just teleported into the library.. And they are emitting the same type of chaos magic."  This caused Spikes eyes to widen with worry.

"Is it Discord? Has he turned evil again?"   Her number one assistant asked.

"No.  This is a totally different magical signature than his."

"Okay Twi!  Teliport me to Rarity's and i will get the others here in no time."   Spike hugged Twilight and looked up at her with concern.

"Will you be ok?" He asked.

A small smile graced the alicorns muzzle as she pulled him into a hug.

"I promise that i wont do anything reckless." She said.

Before spike could say anything else, she fired up her teleportation spell and sent spike off with a small pop.  A few lavender sparks falling to the ground from where he once stood. With that taken care of, she trotted up to the open doorway of her room.

Perking her ears forward, she tried to hear if her guest was doing anything downstairs.

"Twilight?"

Twilights blood froze as a deep masculine voice called out her name from downstairs in the main part of the library.

This was it. It was time to face whoever it was that was downstairs. Be there intentions good or evil, she would see this through.

Carefully the lavender mare peeked around the corner to get a good look at her guest from the top of the stairs.  She wasn't sure what to expect. for all she knew she would come face to face with an eldritch abomination.  Instead a small gasp left her as she beheld the most stunning thing she had ever seen.   A massive white alicorn sat on one of the nearby cushions reading what looked to be a scroll of some sort. Twilight would have recognized that scroll except all her attention was currently directed at her new guest.  His royal red mane with orange highlights cascaded down his shoulders along with his tail that flowed out on to the floor behind him. He was practically glowing as sunlight washed over his form from a window nearby. She couldn't help but blush as she looked at his muscular frame. Not only did he look fit, but it was as if his muscles had been chiseled out of a pure block of marble by the finest artists in all of Equestria. His tail and mane also waved in an unforeseen wind just like Celestia's did. His wings were angelic though she noticed that they seemed a little ruffled. A good preening would fix that. His horn, however, made Twilights inner mare squee at the sheer size and length. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Correction.  She couldn't get enough of what she was seeing.

Then, for some reason, she took a deep breath in through her nose. His scent flowing into her nostrils. It was a most wonderful smell. Like a gentle summers breeze with a hint of cinnamon.   Wich caused her central nervous system to release all sorts of endorphins.

Her breath quickened along with her heartbeat. Something was screaming in the back of her mind that this was wrong. Everything was getting too hazy to concentrate. She didn't care though. Twilight just continued to stare, she didn't even notice when she caught the attention of her guest.

"Hello my dearest Twilight." he said in a low armonioso like voice.  It was like the finest silk to the ears.

Instant clarity returned to the purple alicorn. Her eyes blinked a few times. And her wings fluttered as she focused on the white stallion before her.

What just happened to me?

A small squeak was all that she could manage. Her friend Fluttershy would be so proud.

The Element of Magic also came to a startling revelation. Checking her pulse she noticed it was going through the roof. Not to mention her fetlocks were sweaty and she felt like she had 12 cups of Pinkie's super-duper-wonder-extra-express-espresso.

Before she could mentally voice her alarm at the telltale signs of her attraction, the god of all stallions spoke up again.

"I do apologize for this unannounced visit Twilight. Please understand that this was the only option i had available at the moment."

"s'ok"  She mumbled as she hid behind the entrance.   It was all she could do to fight off the effect he was having on her.

"Also I do apologize for my appearance as well. Discord apparently has outdone himself this time."   He said with no small bit of contempt.

This confused the purple alicorn even more than what she already was.  He was talking to her as if he knew her. He even called her 'My Dearest Twilight' like Celestia did.  Then It all clicked together in one horrifying realization as she got a look at his cutie mark.

"C-Celest-t-tia?"  She gasped in shock.

"Indeed. it is I, your former mentor. Changed by a joke Discord so expertly played.  I would have used an illusion spell to make myself appear normal. But i fear that you would have seen through it and not believed a word I said."

This, Of course, was the final straw in Twilights sanity as she fainted and fell down a few stairs before getting caught in a golden aura.

The white stallion let out a small sigh.

  "That went better than I expected." Mumbled Celestia.   "At Least it cant get any worse."  He thought.

And then, the goddess of karma decided it wasn't done just quite yet with Celestia as the front door busted open.

Five mares and one small dragon let out a collective gasp as they saw a massive white alicorn with twilight in his magical grip.

"Uh oh..." Celestia said as she stared down four pissed off mares, one really frightened mare, and a small pissed off dragon.

Today was about to get even more interesting...