To Reassemble A Broken Heart

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Lonely Mare
Chapter 2: Preparing For The Journey
Chapter 3: A Battle In The Crystal Empire
Chapter 4: On Our Way To Save The King-part 1
Chapter 5: On Our Way To Save The King-part 2
Chapter 6: Now I'm Here To Rescue You
Chapter 7: I've Been Waiting For You
Chapter 8: Starlight, Starlight, Lady Bugs Awake!
Chapter 9: Home Sweet Home
Chapter 10: A Date In Paradise
Chapter 11: A Bad Day In Canterlot High
Chapter 12: The One Who Doesn't Deserve Love-part 1
Chapter 13: The One Who Doesn't Deserve Love-part 2
The Final Chapter: A Canterlot Wedding

Chapter 1: The Lonely Mare

Celestia stood there, feeling useless as she watched the love of her life, Sombra, use the Elements of Harmony to absorb the dark magic from the other Celestia and Luna. When he was done, and the Elements of Harmony returned to Twilight and her friends, Celestia approached Sombra slowly and stretched her right foreleg to his shoulder.

"S-Sombra?" Just when she touched him, he turned around, growling like a monster. Her only true love had turned into something monstrous and evil.

"No! No!" Celestia backed away slowly, tears streaming from her eyes. The world around her began to melt, everything was melting except for the corrupted Sombra. Soon, there was nothing around her but darkness and Sombra approaching her slowly, his eyes shooting her a fiery, monstrous glare, burning her soul and eating her heart.

"No! Please, Sombra! Come back to me!" Celestia pleaded through her loud sobbing, but there were no replies except for growls that kept getting louder, adding to the wreckage of Celestia's heart.

"No, no! Don't do this! Please!" Celestia's tears became almost waterfalls, but Sombra just kept growling and trotting towards her. In the end, he pounced at her, and she saw no more.

Celestia opened her teary eyes and sat up slowly in her bed, wiping her tears. Ever since she returned from the alternate Equestria and lost her only true love, she had been frequently getting those nightmares that only added to her growing sadness. She had told Twilight back then that she would get better with time, but she was so wrong. How can you forget your true love? How can you get over the most painful heartbreak in your life? If anything, she had gotten worse with time. She had learned that time can't heal everything. But she had never let anypony notice her sadness and never let it affect her duties. Even if her heart had been being crushed all over again with every nightmare and every time she stared at the mirror piece that she had kept hanging on the branch of a little tree in the window of her bedroom.

She slid from her bed and trotted to the window, "I can't forget you, Sombra. And that's killing me," she whispered to herself. She opened the window magically but didn't glance at the mirror piece on the small tree branch so she wouldn't lose her concentration on the dark horizon with her horn still aglow, and few moments later, the sun rose high, announcing the beginning of a new day. A new day of her tortuous loneliness. It's true that she had her sister and a lot of friends, but even that can't heal the scar caused by losing Sombra. Even her whole castle with its stunning wideness felt like a prison cell whenever she remembered the moment she lost him.

Celestia kept trotting towards the window and staring at the mirror piece, while she quietly sang a sad song she had made to mourn her own state:

Am I destined to stay alone forever?

I'm all alone with no love to shield me

With every morning I hope I'll become better

Only to find sadness further tearing inside me

Every time I open my door

I'm met with sorrow I can't ignore

Is it my fate to stay alone?

Is it my fate to love no more?

It's my dream to meet my love once more

To ask him and heal my heart's sore...

Celestia picked the mirror piece with her magic and placed it in her right foreleg, staring at her reflection as she let tears trickle on the piece,

...Will you be my mirror? Forever more?

Celestia finished singing and rested her head at the window frame beside the small tree, sobbing quietly, "Oh, Sombra! I'll never see you again."

And suddenly...

BANG!

Celestia shot upwards and immediately hid the mirror piece under her folded right wing, as her bedroom's door flew open, revealing a smiling-from-ear-to-ear Luna.

"TIA!" Luna exclaimed cheerfully.

"Luna? Wh..." Clestia couldn't finish her statement, as her younger sister threw her body at her, pinning her to the ground with a tight embrace.

"Good morning, Tia!" Luna loosened her embrace and stood up. She saw the tears on her sister's cheeks and wiped a tear with her right foreleg, "What's this? Are you okay, sister?"

Celestia stood up and took a few steps back while wiping her tears, "No, no, no! It's nothing. It's just, when I opened the window to raise the sun, something stuck in my eye and it was very hard to take it out. Now, may I ask you why the...extreme cheerfulness and excitement? Not to mention that you entered my room without knocking on the door."

The Princess of the Night jumped in her place and spoke quickly, "I'm just so excited, and you should be so excited, too!"

"Luna, you're acting like Pinkie Pie!"

Luna stopped jumping and smiled sheepishly, "Hehe! Sorry. It's just, I can't wait to show you the surprise!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "Surprise? What surprise?"

"I can't tell you, because it's a surprise! But believe me, you can never guess what it is! Now come on, let's go and show you your morning surprise!" Luna turned to the door to leave.

"Okay. Just let me have a breakfast." Celestia trotted slowly to the door.

"Aahhh! There's no time for breakfast! Come on!" Luna took her sister by surprise, as she grabbed her right foreleg in hers and dragged her out of the room, "Just take your teacup and come with me!" Luna left her sister in the front of a servant carrying a trey with a cup of tea on top off it, then galloped away.

Celestia blinked in confusion. It's not everyday she sees her sister acting so Pinkie-like. She took the cup of tea magically, took a sip from it, and hurried behind her younger sister, with the teacup still in her magic grasp.

She followed her to the room where Starswirl The Bearded's scrolls were kept, still having no idea why her sister was so excited and why she herself should be excited. She entered the room slowly, still carrying the teacup, "I just can't guess what would be so important that I must see before I have my...breakfast." Celestia froze in her place and dropped the empty teacup to the floor, staring in utter shock and surprise at the scene in front of her.

Standing there were Twilight and all her friends with a big mirror in the middle. But that wasn't any mirror. It was the mirror she had used to travel to the alternate Equestria where she met Sombra. But the mirror still missed a little piece of glass.

"SURPRISE!" Everyone in the room, including Luna, cheered loudly.

Celestia couldn't talk. She just trotted slowly towards them with her eyes opened widely and her mouth agape.

"What do you think, sister?" Luna asked, but there was no reply.

Twilight stepped forward to speak, "Princess, remember when you asked us to destroy the remains of this mirror? Well, we didn't. I kept the remains and since that day, I've been working on rebuilding the mirror. I made a lot of studies and discovered that the paradoxes were caused by the mirror itself, not your relationship with Sombra. So, I took all Starswirl's scrolls about it and modified some spells to make the mirror safe. Now, there will be no more paradoxes! We can travel between the two Equestrias as many times as we want. No matter what happens in here, it won't affect there, and vice versa."

"Twilight has been working SO hard!" Spike said, "Some days, she hasn't even slept, just to fix this mirror."

"We all helped and supported her," Rainbow Dash said.

"Especially in reassembling the mirror pieces," Applejack said.

"Just for you, Princess!" Pinkie said.

"We just couldn't stand thinking about the sadness you had to go through, so we made this," Fluttershy said.

"I would do anything to help reunite two, separated lovers. Especially if one of these lovers is our Princess," Rarity added.

Celestia approached Twilight and hugged her so tightly, and Twilight returned the embrace, feeling the tears dropping on her head.

"Thank you so SO much, Twilight!" Celestia said in her crying, still hugging Twilight, "You're the best student any mentor can ever dream of!"

"And you're the best mentor, Princess. That's why we made this for you." Twilight replied.

Celestia broke the embrace and gazed at everyone with a tearful smile, "Thank you. All of you. I just...I can't believe you did this just for me!"

"This is the least thing we can do for our beloved Princess." Applejack said.

"I couldn't stand seeing your sadness grow with time, sister." Luna spoke, stepping beside her elder sister.

"What? But I made sure no pony would notice that." Celestia replied.

"Are you kidding?! I'm your sister! I couldn't bear watching you mourning your state ever since we returned from the other Equestria. And I have to say that my heart broke when I heard your sad song just few minutes ago..."

-oOo-

Luna trotted to her sister's bedroom's door with a wide smile on her face. But her smile faded once she heard the heartbreaking singing of her sister from the inside.

"...Will you be my mirror? Forever more?"

A stray tear trickled down on Luna's cheek, but she wiped it quickly and forced her ear-to-ear smile, before she stormed inside the room.

"TIA!"

-oOo-

"Oh...I...I'm sorry you had to hear that." Celestia said, blushing lightly and trying to hide her face.

"Ah, that's okay. Your voice wasn't bad," Luna joked, causing everyone to laugh.

A warm smile crept to Celestia's face.

"Now, the mirror needs jut one more piece to be complete," Twilight said, pointing at the empty spot in the mirror's glass.

"You know what piece this is, don't you, Tia?" Luna asked, fully knowing what the missing piece was.

Celestia widened her eyes and unfolded her right wing, causing the mirror piece to fall. But she grabbed the piece with her magic before it hit the floor. She placed it in her right foreleg and approached the mirror slowly. Taking a last glance at everyone around her, and receiving nodding, she placed the mirror piece in its place. When she retracted her hoof, a slight golden glow happened at the edges of the piece, and when the glow disappeared, the edges were smoothed, the mirror seemed new as if it had never been broken, and Celestia hoped that the same thing will happen to her heart very soon, until she remembered something.

"But, Twilight, don't you remember that Sombra has absorbed dark magic? He's evil and very dangerous right now," Celestia said.

"Eeyup! And we're more than ready to change that," Applejack said confidently.

"We're not the Elements of Harmony for nothing," Twilight said, a confidant smile on her face.

"Rainbow Power, oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash added.

Celestia was even more surprised, "Y-you're going to do this? You're going to put yourselves in danger, just for me?!"

"We volunteer to do that, Princess," Twilight replied, "And we won't accept a 'No' for an answer. We're gonna go there, cure Sombra and you can do nothing to stop us!""

"You did a lot of things for the sake of others in your life, not to mention raising the sun everyday, and you deserve something to be done for your sake. That's the least thing we can give you to express how much we're thankful," Applejack said.

More tears of joy flooded Celestia's eyes at that moment, "I...I can't let you put yourselves..."

"Princess! We're gonna fix Sombra. Are you coming with us or not?" Twilight said firmly.

Celestia smiled and nodded, "Thank you. I can never thank you enough for doing this."

"You don't have to, Princess," Rainbow Dash spoke up, "Doing this mission is how we are saying 'Thanks' to you."

"Go with them, Tia. I'll take care of everything in your absence," Luna said.

"But, we may be gone for days. Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

"Never been more sure before."

"Even raising the sun? I mean, it's hard for you..."

"Thou shalt accept our offer!" Luna yelled jokingly.

Celestia giggled, "Thank you, Luna."

"Thou do not have to thank us," Luna replied, causing Celestia to giggle more.

"Now, let's see..." Twilight said, levitating a big scroll with her magic. A Few moments later, her horn glowed brightly, along with the mirror. Then, the gems at the mirror's frame began to glow while the mirror itself stopped glowing but vibrated like a liquid surface, "Ha! YES! It worked! It worked just like I planned it! Everypony, are you ready?"

"Sure we are!" Applejack replied.

"Let's begin our new adventure!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed excitedly.

"Sure there's going to be a lot of dirt, but it's worth it," Rarity said.

"After you, Princess," Twilight said, stepping aside from the mirror to allow Celestia to pass first.

Celestia approached the mirror slowly and stood in front of it. She took a last glance behind at her sister, "Take care of yourself, Luna."

"You're the one who should take care of herself! I'm just staying here while you are adventuring to an alternate universe!" Luna replied.

Celestia chuckled. She turned to the mirror and took a deep breath while staring at her reflection in the liquid-like surface of the mirror, "Sombra, here I come. Our suffering shall end soon." With that, Celestia stepped to the other side, with Twilight and her friends following behind.

Author's Note

This chapter was proof-read by MichaelTheBoss And edited by Izanagi The song at the beginning is called 'The Song of the Lonely Mare' written by me. Constructive criticism is welcome.
Until next time, everypony.

Chapter 2: Preparing For The Journey

Celestia stepped out of the strange Discord statue, or as the name on his suit said, 'Captain Good Guy'. She got a feeling of nostalgia. She remembered 'hopping' happily to this world to meet Sombra and hang out with him. But this time, she wasn't here to hang out. She was here to cure Sombra from the dark magic he had absorbed, and most likely, she would have to fight him. And in the end, there's a daunting possibility that all of this would not work.

Celestia pushed the pessimist thoughts aside and trotted further, with Twilight and her friends a few steps behind her. This alternate Canterlot Castle seemed different this time. It was much more ...shiny? More colorful and alive. The destroyed sections of the castle, as well as the statues, were fixed. There were beautiful big trees and birds singing everywhere. Yes, this place felt more alive.

"Wow! Looks like the Two Sisters of this world have done well in ruling and rebuilding Canterlot!" Rarity said in amazement.

Speaking of the Two Sisters...

"TIA!"

Celestia was pinned to the ground with a tight embrace from the other Luna.

Celestia sighed and muttered, "Somethings never change, even in an alternate universe!"

"Good morning, Tia!" Luna exclaimed cheerfully, loosening her embrace and standing up.

Celestia stood up and dusted herself, "I'm so sorry, Luna. But I'm not your true sister."

"Pfft! I know that! I've just saw you all trotting out of that statue. Besides, I can recognize my true sister. I can't believe you managed to travel here again! It's been a long time."

"Yeah. Glad to see you again, Luna," Celestia replied, Glad to see you again?! I've just finished saying 'take care of yourself' to you! I think this is going to be very confusing for everypony, she thought.

"After you left, me and my sister abandoned our old castle and moved to live here and rule Canterlot," Luna said.

"What's happening there, Luna?" came Celestia's voice from behind Luna. It was her. The 'mirror' Celestia, with her distinguished, Anugyptian look. She trotted slowly towards Luna.

"Sister! Look. It's them! They managed to visit us again," Luna said, turning to face her true sister.

"Oh my! I can't believe this!" The mirror-Celestia said, trotting towards the original Celestia.

"Glad to meet you, Princess me!" Celestia said jokingly, before she and her mirror self shook hooves, smiling widely at each other.

"It's been a long time since you guys helped us save our Equestria," said the mirror-Celestia. Then, she turned to Twilight and her friends. "Welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Welcome everypony. It's such an honor to meet you all again."

"My pleasure, Princess...Celestia," Twilight replied, feeling the confusion of the situation.

"We didn't have time to thank you before you departed the previous time you were here. We're so thankful that you brought the Elements of Harmony here, and Sombra used them to cure us. And...I'm so sorry about what happened to him," the Egyptian-looking Celestia replied sadly.

Celestia's smile faded, her heart ached and she felt her eyes flooding with tears. But she shook her head and managed to speak. "Th-that's okay. What happened, happened."

"But don't worry. We're here to change what happened," Twilight said to the other Celestia.

"What?" The alternate Celestia asked.

"We're here to return King Sombra back to his mind and get rid of the dark magic he absorbed," Rainbow Dash replied.

The alternate Celestia widened her eyes, "Really? That's so brave and noble! Can I and my sister do anything to help you accomplish this mission?"

The original Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by the growling of her stomach, causing her to blush.

Twilight stifled a giggle and managed to speak, "I think a breakfast would be nice for now."

Celestia smiled sheepishly. "Yes, I guess so."

A servant carrying a trey with a cup of tea approached the original Celestia from behind, not looking who's in front of him. "Your highness, here's your teacup. May I say that your new look is absolutely fabulous!"

Celestia widened her eyes at the bowing unicorn servant and tried her best to not laugh, while everyone else covered their mouths to silence their own giggles.

"Ah, I'm sorry, but she is your true Princess, not me," Celestia said, pointing towards the alternate Celestia.

The servant turned his head and stared in shock at his true Princesses. Luna stifling a giggle while the alternate Celestia just raised an eyebrow at her servant. He darted his widened eyes back and forth between his true, Anugyptian-looking Princess and the cape-less Celestia, before he galloped and bowed in front of his true Princess, with the try still in his magic grasp, "Your highness! I-I'm so sorry! Here's your tea!"

The alternate Celestia glanced at her giggle-stifling sister, then the servant, "You think her look is fabulous? Does that mean my look is becoming old or something?" She asked, not angry for real, but she was both annoyed and wanted to see the servant's reaction just for fun.

The servant shook in fear but managed to reply, "N-n-no! That's not what I meant at all, Your Highness!"

The alternate Celestia giggled, "That's okay. I'm not mad at all. I know this situation is confusing and probably it will be hard to hide this. But could you please not tell anypony about the other me?"

"Of-of course I won't, Your Highness!"

She took the teacup and motioned the servant to leave. "Good. You can leave now."

The servant gave a bow and left, with a last glance at the strange crowd behind him.

Once the servant left, Twilight's friends and even Celestia and the alternate Luna unleashed their laughs.

"Now, come on, everypony. After the sound I heard from my...fabulous self's stomach, I think you need a breakfast," the alternate Celestia said.

"Yes, please! I'm starving!" Pinkie replied.

The alternate Celestia giggled, "Okay then. Follow me."

Inside the castle

Everyone sat down around a long table that had all kinds of breakfast food on it. The alternate Celestia sat down at a seat in front of one of the table's ends, her sister sat on her left and the original Celestia sat on Luna's left. While Twilight and company sat beside each other on Celestia's left.

"So, how did you manage to travel here again? I thought there were paradoxes and awful consequences of traveling between the two Equestrias?" the alternate Celestia asked, taking a sip from her teacup.

Celestia swallowed a cupcake before she replied, "Well, no more consequences. My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, has fixed the mirror and improved it so that traveling between the two Equestrias is completely safe."

"Wow! That's really impressive, Twilight! You must be so proud of her, Celestia," the alternate Celestia said.

"I've never been more proud," Celestia replied.

"It...It was nothing. Anything for my mentor," Twilight said, blushing lightly.

"No, Twilight. It wasn't 'nothing'. You spent sleepless nights just to make this for me. You should be proud of yourself," Celestia said, causing Twilight's blush-full smile to widen.

"But, may I ask you something?" Luna spoke up, "Where are your Elements of Harmony? How will you cure Sombra without them?"

"Oh, don't worry. We have them right here..." Rainbow Dash replied, tapping her hoof on her chest and receiving raised eyebrows from the alternate Celestia and Luna, "You see, after a battle with a huge villain, we became the Elements of Harmony! Now we use something called Rainbow Power. It's even stronger than the old power of the Elements of Harmony. Not to mention that Twilight gained a castle!"

"Wow! That's so interesting!" Luna said excitedly.

"Yeah! Rainbow Power makes us look..." Rainbow Dash began her statement, but was cut off by her friends.

"It makes us look fabulous," Rarity said, adjusting her mane.

"Makes us look like some super-doper pony toys!" Pinkie said.

"Makes us look strong," Applejack said.

"Makes us look cute," Fluttershy said.

Twilight face hoofed.

"Anyway, I was going to say that it makes us look so awesome!" Rainbow Dash finally completed her statement.

"Rainbow Power is the result of mixing the Elements of Harmony with us. That's all I know so far," Twilight said, taking a chomp from her pancake.

A few seconds later, Celestia finished eating. She drank a cup of water and took a deep breath before she spoke. "So, tell me, where is Sombra now?"

"Sombra has attacked us several times before. But most of the time, he's Sir Discord and Princess Trixie's problem in the Crystal Empire," the alternate Celestia replied, "We mostly think that Sombra's lair is in the Crystal Mountains. You can take a train to the Crystal Empire. And from there, you can head to the Mountains and it won't take too long before you met the Protector of the First Crystal Mountain. He's the one that ensures that no pony gets in trouble in the Mountains, because no pony should even exist in there. It's full of dangerous creatures. And if you encounter any of these creatures, you'll most likely meet the Protector."

"Protector of the First Mountain? Sounds cool to me!" Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Dangerous creatures?! Oh my...!" Fluttershy whispered in fear.

"Princess Trixie?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.

"Geez! I thought Sir Discord was strange enough!" Spike whispered.

"Yes, Princess Trixie. She married Sir Discord and ruled the Crystal Empire beside him shortly after you guys departed," the alternate Celestia said.

"MARRIED HIM?!" Twilight and her friends exclaimed.

"Holy apples!" Applejack said, scratching the back of her head.

"Well, I think they're a cute couple," Rarity said.

"Oh, Discord! I really wish I had attended his wedding!" Fluttershy said with tears of joy in her eyes.

Twilight sighed. "Don't get so excited, Fluttershy. Your true Discord friend is still in our Equestria. And I don't think he's getting married very soon."

"These are very useful information. Thank you so much. Now, excuse us, we have to leave." Celestia replied, standing up.

"Wait! I will accompany you," Luna said.

"Me too," the alternate Celestia said.

"Oh no, you won't! You have to stay here to take care of everything. Besides, Sombra doesn't need the confusion of seeing two Celestias. He needs to see only one Celestia, and she's right here..." Luna replied, pointing at Celestia.

The alternate Celestia sighed, "Fine. Go with them. But take care of yourself."

Twilight and her friends said their goodbyes, as they, Luna and Celestia trotted towards the exit. While the other Celestia stood up and called the servants to clean the table.

"I'm going on an adventure and you're not!" Luna teased as she trotted happily beside Celestia.

"Don't be so cocky, Moonbutt!" the alternate Celestia joked.

"You're the one being jealous, Sunbutt!" Luna joked back.

Celestia widened her eyes in shock, as she and the others literally struggled to hold their laughter inside.

"D-did you just call your sister Sunbutt? And she called you Moonbutt?!" Celestia asked quietly. She received a happy nod from Luna, "Oh my!"

"Now, follow me. We have to back up some useful things for our journey before we catch up with the train," Luna said, leading the others.

In the train station

After half an hour or so of packing their saddle bags, Celestia, Luna Spike and the Elements of Harmony stood in the train station, watching as the train to the Crystal Empire stopped and ponies began to move in and out of it. All the time the passing ponies were giving Celestia and the others around her strange looks, but they tried to ignore them.

Celestia stared at the train blankly, lost in thoughts. She was going there. Going to meet him. Finally, after years of thinking that she would live alone forever, she's going to see Sombra. But it wasn't going to be a happy meeting at first. Will she be able to fight him? To force herself to fight her true love? She has to. It's the only way to save him. But still, she was afraid that she won't be able to do anything. Will he remember her? He has to! The real Sombra she loves is still inside the monster they were going to fight.

"Hello! Tia?" Luna said, waving her hoof in front of Celestia's face and snapping her out of her thoughts, "Are you still with us?"

Celestia smiled, "Don't worry. I'm still here."

"Are you okay, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Let's just get in the train." Celestia replied, gesturing to the train.

"Into the alternate Crystal Empire!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, hopping happily into the train.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash dashed inside the train after Pinkie.

"I always loved the Crystal Empire. I hope this alternate Equestria won't make me hate it," Rarity muttered, stepping into the train.

"I wonder how Discord acts in this world," Fluttershy said, stepping after Rarity.

"I just hope we'll get to see the alternate Appleoosa one day." Applejack entered the train.

"I have both good and bad feelings about this journey, and that's really bothering me," Spike said, before he stepped into the train.

Twilight and Luna stepped into the train and glanced back to see Celestia still standing in front of the train doors and staring at the ground.

"Princess Celestia?" Twilight called in concern.

Celestia turned her gaze towards Twilight, "Twilight, I... I will never forgive myself if anything happens to any of you in this journey. It was my mistakes that started all this and..."

Twilight quickly approached Celestia and placed her right foreleg on her mouth to silence her, "No, Princess! It wasn't your fault. Love is not a mistake. You deserve love. Everypony deserves love. And about us, we volunteered to go on this journey. If anything goes wrong, it's NOT your fault!"

A teary smile crept to Celestia's face. She placed her right foreleg on Twilight's back and gave her a short hug.

"Thank you, Twilight. You keep impressing me," Celestia said.

With that, Celestia stepped into the train with Twilight. The doors closed behind them as the train took off to the Crystal Empire.

Celestia, Luna, Spike and the Elements of Harmony sat in seats close to each other. Pinkie and Fluttershy sat beside each other. In front of them were Rainbow Dash and Applejack, then Rarity and Spike, then Twilight and Luna, while Celestia sat alone in front of Twilight and Luna.

Celestia sighed sadly as she stared out the window, "Please, Sombra, don't make this harder for us than it already is."

Somewhere in the Crystal Mountains, Sombra opened his evil-filled eyes and glanced behind him, hissing the following words with a wicked grin.

"Celestia, I'm waiting for you."

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Izanagi. If you felt this chapter was boring, then I'm sorry. This chapter was preparing for what will happen in later chapters. So, we're going to meet Sir Discord/Captain Good Guy and Princess Trixie, huh? Who are we gonna meet too? Let's wait until the next chapter.

Chapter 3: A Battle In The Crystal Empire

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by PinkieLunaShy.

Chapter 3: A Battle In The Crystal Empire

Celestia was standing on the snow covered rocks of the Crystal Mountains. She was alone. All her friends were gone. Why did they leave her? How could...

"Celestia," came the blood-curdling growl from behind her.

She turned around, only to find Sombra, standing far from her with his back facing her. He glanced behind with eyes literally pouring darkness and a wicked grin sending shivers down Celestia's spine.

"S-Sombra?" she called with a shaky voice.

"Celestia, I'm waiting for you."

In one second, Sombra turned into black smoke and dashed towards her.

Celestia woke up with a quiet gasp and began to breathe heavily. A hoof landing on her shoulder almost made her jump in fright. But she glanced behind to see it was just Twilight.

"Princess Celestia, are you okay?" Twilight asked worriedly.

Celestia sighed in relief. "Twilight, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"You seemed to be having a nightmare, Tia," Luna said.

"Well, yes, I was. But it's okay." Celestia glanced behind Luna and found the others waking up. "They were all sleeping?"

"Yes. Even me. I woke up a few minutes ago. You know, we didn't sleep well last night due to your 'surprise'," Twilight answered.

Celestia smiled warmly, remembering once again how loyal and loving of students she had. "Thank you, Twilight."

"You're welcome, Princess. You've thanked us enough, don't you think?" Twilight replied jokingly.

"I can never get enough of thanking you for what you're doing now."

The train's brakes squealed as the wheels rotated in reverse bringing it to a stand still

Spike awakened to find he and Rarity leaning against one another. Blushing profusely he shook his still sleeping companion lightly,"R-Rarity?"

The purplette glanced around groggily before her eyes set on the drake, "Wu-what? What is it darling?"

"I...I think we've just arrived to the Crystal Empire."

Any sign of grogginess vanished from Rarity's bright blue eyes, "Really?! Let me see!"

Turning to the window, Rarity stared out and saw the Crystal Castle from afar. The golden rays of the sunlight reflected off the crystal walls of the castle, creating one of the most wonderful scenes Rarity has ever laid an eye on. It was as shiny and beautiful as she hoped it would be.

"Oh, thank goodness! The Crystal Empire in this Equestria is just as beautiful as the one in ours!" Rarity gave Spike a short hug, then stepped off the seat.

Spike took a moment to regain his balance after that hug, then jumped off the seat. "You know? What bothers me is that in this world, I didn't save the Crystal Empire."

"Oh, that's okay, Spikey-Wikey! You're still a hero for me." Rarity rubbed Spike's head as she spoke words of reassurance, causing Spike's fleeting blush to come back at full force.

As the train pulled into the station, the Elements of Harmony had finished waking up and stretching.

"Here we are." Applejack stated, fixing her stetson.

"Man, that was a short nap!" Rainbow stretched causing her bones to give a satisfying 'Pop!' in return, "It helped take off some of the sleepiness though."

"Come on girls, we have to meet 'Sir Discord' and 'Princess Trixie'," Twilight made a face and shuddered lightly, "I still can't get over how weird that sounds."

The group gathered their things and stepped off the train just before the train pulled out of the station.

Twilight happily took a deep breath of the fresh, cool air of the north and exhaled. "The Crystal Empire looks..."

"Look guys," Pinkie gasped, staring in the distance, "There's a fire!"

"Fire?! Where?!" Twilight asked in panic.

"There!" Pinkie pointed with her hoof at Crystal buildings near the castle that were on fire.

"Oh my goodness!" Celestia gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

"Come on, ya'll! Let's find out what's happenin' there!" Applejack said, before she galloped towards the castle, her friends following behind closely.

They stopped in front of the castle and stared in shock at the damaged and burning buildings. There were too many ponies in black armors destroying everything. The most shocking thing was that the Crystal Heart was missing from the castle's base.

As a crystal stallion raced past the group, Rainbow Dash caught him in her forelegs, "Hey, calm down! Can you tell us what's going on?"

"It's...It's Queen Cadance and King Shining Armor! They're attacking us!" The stallion replied, lurching himself from Rainbow's grip and galloping away.

Everyone, except for Luna, stood in silence and let that piece of information sink in their minds. Queen Cadance?

"QUEEN CADANCE?!" everyone exclaimed, except for Luna and Celestia.

"Oh, pony!" Celestia placed her right foreleg on her forehead.

"We have to stop them!" Luna said, pointing towards the attacking ponies.

"Look! There is the 'Bad Cadance'!" Rainbow Dash pointed up.

Twilight glanced up and stared in shock at the scene. Flying above one of the buildings was Cadance. Her mane had a shade of black on its end. She was wearing a padlock necklace and her Cutie Mark was an emerald heart split in half. She had four black, circular earpieces on her left ear. Even her face was scary. And standing on the top of that building was Shining Armor. He didn't seem a lot different from the 'original' Shining Armor, but he seemed a little worried and scared. Cadance was glaring at something on the ground. Twilight shifted her gaze to see what was that thing, only to see a blue Alicorn wearing a silver crown. Said Alicorn was also glaring at Cadance and seemed ready to pounce and attack at any moment.

"Is that Princess Trixie?" Twilight asked, pointing at the blue Alicorn

Luna turned to the blue Alicorn and widened her eyes. "Yes, she is!"

"Oh, poor Princess Trixie! Where is your dear Discord to protect you now? Hahaha!" Cadance said sarcastically.

"Shut up, Cadance! You won't get away with this!" Trixie snapped back, before she flew and fired a magic blast at Cadance.

The pink Alicorn dodged the blast and laughed. "Oh yes, I will!"

The two Alicorns sped towards each other. Cadance fired a blast, but Trixie blocked it with a magic shield, losing her view for a moment. Cadance hit Trixie with her right foreleg, throwing her crashing on the ground. Then, she fired a magic blast at her. But Celestia came at the right moment and blocked the blast with a golden magic shield.

"Are you okay, Princess Trixie?" Celestia asked.

Trixie shook the dust off her head before she replied. "Yes, I'm fine." she glanced at her savor and widened her eyes. "Wait a minute, you...you're..."

"Celestia?!" Cadance said in wonder. "No, you can't be Celestia! I know Celestia! Well, I don't care who you are, for no pony can defeat me as long as I have this..." Cadance opened her big saddle bag and brought out the Crystal Heart. Everyone gasped.

"Oh, no!" Luna said.

Cadance laughed wickedly. "Using the magic of the Crystal Heart, I will destroy the Crystal Empire, then rule Equestria!"

"Not if I have something to say about it!" came the voice of Chrysalis, before a tiny green beam of magic struck Cadance's hoof, causing her to drop the Heart to the ground.

Everyone turned their eyes to the source of the beam. It was the alternate Chrysalis, hovering in the air. She was much...well, 'cuter' than the original? She had a beautiful, green mane and wore small, circular glasses. There were also two, small blue hearts on each of her butterfly-like wings and she wore a blue amulet with a red heart in the middle.

"Chrysalis?! What are you doing here?!" Cadance yelled in anger.

"Just because I rule the Southlands doesn't mean I can't give my friends a visit. And now, I'm so glad I did!" Chrysalis replied.

"Duchess Chrysalis is here! Great!" Luna said happily.

"Duchess Chrysalis?!" Applejack said quietly to Rainbow Dash.

"How much more disgusting can this get?!" Rainbow Dash added.

"My head hurts!" Fluttershy said out of confusion, rubbing her head's temples.

"You insect!" Cadance flew down towards the Heart.

"Oh, no, you won't!" Chrysalis sped towards Cadance and impacted with her side, crashing both of them on the ground.

"Come on! I've never thought I would say this, but let's help Chrysalis in her fight!" Rainbow Dash prepared to fly to help Chrysalis, but was stopped by Applejack.

"How about helping us?" Applejack turned Rainbow's gaze towards a huge group of the black-armored ponies that were approaching them.

"Soldiers, attack them!" Shining Armor commanded.

"Show us what you have!" Celestia said in a challenge tone.

"Yes! Let's fight!" Pinkie exclaimed. She stood on her rear legs and threw a big cake at one of the soldiers' face, knocking him out immediately.

"Where did she bring that cake from?!" Applejack asked in shock.

"I told you to not ask these questions about Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Come on, Rarity. Show them what an angry fasionista is capable of!" Twilight said, patting Rarity's shoulder in an encouraging manner.

"I WILL!" Rarity charged her horn with magic and released a beam of energy, knocking off ten of the soldiers.

Spike widened his eyes and gaped his mouth in shock.

A soldier charged towards Celestia, but she just hit him with the back of her right foreleg, sending him into the wall of a building as if he was blasted with a canon.

Luna and Celestia hovered near the ground and and flapped their wings together so forcefully, producing a shock wave that knocked off many of the soldiers.

Shining Armor watched worriedly as his soldiers fought with Celestia, Luna Twilight and her friends, while Trixie went to fight Cadance with Chrysalis. He glanced down at the Crystal Heart. No one was paying any attention to it. He took this opportunity and teleported down the building he was on top of. Just before he reached the Heart, he was stopped by a paw on his face.

"I don't think so!"

Shining glanced up to find non other than Sir Discord. He was wearing a red mask and a red super-hero suit and cape, with the litters 'C' and 'G' written on his chest.

Shining widened his eyes. "You?!" he fired a beam of magic but Discord dodged it and tried to punch him. Shining made a purple shield of magic, blocking Discord's punch, then used the shield to hit Discord in the face. Then, he pounced towards Discord and hit him with the shield again, throwing him on the ground. Shining smiled, thinking he was going to win.

Discord stood up and laughed, causing Shining's smile to disappear. "You're fun to play with, do you know that, Shiny?"

Shining glared and gritted his teeth. "I-I'm King Shining Armor for you!" he charged towards Discord.

"No, you're not!" Discord brought a large Baseball bat from behind his back and hit Shining with it. Though Shining Armor used his shield, but he was thrown at the wall of a building, breaking pieces of the wall.

Shining stood up and shook his head angrily. "That's it!" he fired a continuous beam of magic, but Discord blocked it with a tiny magic shield in the palm of his right paw. The beam continued, and Discord yawned.

A few seconds later, the beam stopped and Shining began to pant. Discord prepared himself and popped his fingers.

"Now, it's my turn!"

"Uh oh!"

Discord took a deep breath and made a loud burp that produced a strong shock, blasting Shining Armor back and throwing him on a group of his soldiers, causing them all to fall on the ground, eyes spinning in daze.

"Never mess with Captain Good Guy, especially when he has eaten eggs for a breakfast!" Discord said in victory. He glanced at the burning buildings and scratched his chin. "Ah ha! Found it! I'll be right back." With that, Discord flew away.

Meanwhile, Cadance and Trixie fired a magic blast at each other, which met midair and exploded violently close to Cadance, causing her to cover her face. Trixie took this opportunity, flew towards Cadance and punched her, throwing her at the ground.

Cadance landed on her hooves, but a circle of cracks was formed on the ground underneath her. She flew towards Trixie and fired a continuous beam of magic, which Trixie resisted with a magic sphere shielding her, but she was losing her ability to block the beam any longer.

Chrysalis flew higher than Cadance and fired a thick, continuous beam of magic, causing Cadance to stop her attack on Trixie to shield herself with a magic shield. Cadance was forced to the ground, but she managed to protect herself from most of the beams damage before it stopped.

Trixie and Chrysalis flew towards Cadance together with their horns aglow, but she blew both of them away from her with a big magic blast and flew towards the Crystal Heart, but just before the Heart was in her grasp, Spike ran and snatched it, leaving Cadance to impact with the ground painfully.

"Twilight!" Spike yelled and threw the Heart to Twilight.

Twilight jumped and caught the Heart midair. She turned to the castle and flew towards it to place the Heart in the base. Cadance flew after Twilight and was about to fire a blast at her, but Trixie dashed at Cadance and blasted her with a magic blast, throwing her near her dizzy husband.

Twilight placed the Heart in its place and it began to spin quickly, before a strong burst of light emitted from it and spread across the whole Crystal Empire.

"NO!" Cadance exclaimed.

Shining Armor shook the dizziness off his head. "What? What happened?"

Cadance groaned. "You're useless!" she punched Shining on the back of his head.

"OUCH!"

Discord came back with a huge barrel of water and poured it on the burning houses, extinguishing the fire.

"Let's go, NOW!" Cadance's horn glowed brightly, before she, her husband and the soldiers around them disappeared in a flash of blue light, leaving a lot of soldiers behind that were defeated by Celestia and the others.

"You won't escape forever, Cadance!" Chrysalis yelled angrily.

Some of the soldiers tried to escape, but Discord threw a huge cage on them, caging them.

"Yes! We did it!" Rainbow Dash high-hoofed with Applejack.

"Spike, you saved the Crystal Empire, again!" Rarity said in amazement.

"Wh-what? Really?!" Spike blushed.

"Of course, Spike! You threw me the Crystal Heart before the evil Cadance could steal it," Twilight said, trotting slowly towards Spike.

"That's my Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity hugged Spike and rubbed his head, causing him to blush wildly.

"Sir Discord and his friends saved us, but that dragon saved the Crystal Heart! I saw him!" a crystal mare said.

"He's our hero!" another mare said.

"What's your name, little hero?" a stallion asked.

Spike blushed and stuttered. "I-I-I...My name is Spike."

The crystal ponies began to cheer 'SPIKE' loudly.

"But, hey! We fought the soldiers!" Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs.

"That's right! But Spike is a secondary character that did something heroic, which means he deserves the cheers more than us!" Pinkie replied happily.

Rainbow blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?!"

"Are you okay, sweetie?" Discord asked Trixie worriedly.

"Yes, honey, I'm fine." she replied.

"Sweetie?!" Applejack whispered.

"Honey?! Ugh!" Rainbow Dash whispered disgustedly.

"How adorable!" Rarity commented.

"I was so worried about you!" Discord said, carrying Trixie by her waist.

"And I was worried more!" Trixie wrapped her forelegs around Discord's neck, giving him her best bedroom eyes.

SMOOCH!

Everyone stared in shock as Discord and Trixie kissed in public. Rarity sighed dreamily, while Pinkie Pie covered Spike's eyes. Fluttershy hid her face and blushed.

"A Princess kissing passionately in public? How delightful!" Applejack said sarcastically, covering her eyes.

"Oh, please, no! Mushiness Overload!" Rainbow Dash hid her face and pretended to be throwing up.

Celestia was staring in shock, and deep inside her, she envied them. She couldn't stand seeing two, happy lovers kissing in front of her. She remembered her first kiss with Sombra. It was a very long time ago. In the middle of the beautiful forest of this Equestria. She remembered the feeling of his lips pressing against hers. The feeling of his hooves wrapped around her. Gosh, how she missed those feelings!

Trixie finally broke from the kiss. She moved her head near Discord's ear and whispered. "I love you!"

"I love you too!" Discord whispered back.

Trixie turned her gaze to Celestia. "You...You're Princess Celestia of the 'other' Equestria, right? I've heard of you," she asked.

"Indeed!" Discord said, placing his wife back on the ground. "You're the one who used to be Sombra's marefriend, aren't you?"

Celestia blushed. "Y-yes, I am."

"I'm so sorry about what happened to him," Chrysalis said sadly, "He was a great friend of all of us."

Celestia's heart sank in sadness again upon the mention of what had happened to Sombra. Can't everypony please stop mentioning this?! she thought, "Please, there's no need to apologize."

"So, could you guys tell us what happened here?" Rainbow dash asked.

"Well, Duchess Chrysalis came to visit us and I took her in a tour in the Empire, leaving my Trixie in the Castle. And suddenly, BOOM! We were under attack!" Discord replied.

"Discord told me to go and help Trixie, while he stayed in the streets and fought the soldiers," Chrysalis said.

Discord stood in front of Twilight and leaned forward. "So, you must be Princess Twilight Sparkle. Am I right?"

Twilight was taken aback. "Well...yes! Does everypony know about the last time we were here?"

"No, no. Only the royalty of Equestria know about that," Trixie replied.

"Of course. Normal ponies don't need to know about an alternate universe. That would cause chaos," Discord added.

"And you hate chaos?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I hate it!" Discord replied.

"Gosh! This world keeps getting weirder!" Spike muttered.

"So, what brings you guys here?" Discord asked.

"Well, we were just passing by. We're heading to the Crystal Mountains to cure Sombra from the dark magic he absorbed, using our magic of the Elements," Twilight replied.

Discord, Trixie and Chrysalis widened their eyes.

"Really?! You're going to bring Sombra back?!" Trixie asked, her eyes glimmering with hope.

"Yes, we will!" Rainbow Dash replied, confidence clear in her eyes.

"So, you're going on an adventure?" In one second, Discord's suit changed into a blue super-hero suit with a helmet mask and he carried a circular shield with a symbol of the sun in its middle. "Captain Equestria is ready for any adventure!"

Pieces began to fall of one of the buildings and another building began to burn again.

Discord sighed. "But Sir Discord has a lot of duties."

"Well, I can accompany you!" Trixie said to Twilight.

Discord widened his eyes. "What?! But, sweetie, that's very dangerous!"

"Don't worry about me. With them, we're four Princesses. We'll be able to defeat Sombra easily and bring him back to his mind," Trixie replied, "You stay here and help repairing the damages, because you're better than me in fixing things."

Discord stood in front of her and leaned forward until his nose touched with Trixie's, giving her his bedroom eyes. "Take care of yourself, sweetie."

"I'll be fine, honey."

With a last kiss, Discord turned to the damaged buildings and flew. "I wish you good luck. Get back from your adventure with our Sombra by your side!"

Celestia smiled warmly, feeling the hope filling her heart. "We will...I hope so."

"Well, I'd really like to accompany you, but I have to go back to the Southlands. Cedance may take my absence as an opportunity to attack my subjects. So, goodbye for now. Bring Sombra back to us!" Chrysalis said, before she took off and flew away.

"Now, give me just a minute to bring my saddle bag," Trixie said, before she teleported inside her castle. Just a few seconds later, she came back with a saddle bag on her back. "Okay. I'm ready for the journey!"

"Thank you so much for accompanying us, Trixie," Celestia said.

"You're welcome. Sombra is my friend, too. And I would do anything to retrieve him," Trixie replied.

With that, the group of four Princesses, five ponies and a dragon headed to the Crystal Mountains, determined to save their friend, Celestia's love, Sombra.

"You know what? After all of this is over, we'll attend the next concert of the Dazzlings," Trixie said.

Twilight ears twitched and her eyes widened. "D-did you say the Dazzlings?!"

"Yes! They're one of the most famous musical bands in Equestria. A trio of Sirens. They're so talented! Their next concert takes place in Manehatten," Trixie replied.

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Well, if you're sure it's safe, then we'll be there!"

Trixie blinked in confusion, but she just shrugged and continued trotting in her way.

Chapter 4: On Our Way To Save The King-part 1

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5: On Our Way To Save The King-part 2

Fluttershy couldn't move. She just stared in horror at the red Centaur in front of her. Though he wasn't completely a giant, he was about one and a half times taller than Celestia. But still, how could she not be horrified upon seeing one of the most evil creatures she's ever seen?!

Twilight destroyed the last Frost Giant with a magic blast and turned her gaze to Fluttershy. She couldn't believe her eyes.

It was him.

The one who stole the magic of hundreds of ponies.

The one who banished Celestia, Luna and Cadance to Tartarus.

The one who destroyed her library.

The one who took her friends hostage.

With her mind being in a mixed state of panic and anger, Twilight immediately teleported herself between Fluttershy and Tirek.

"Stay away from her!" Twilight yelled, her eyes burning in anger.

Tirek was surprised and confused. "What? But I just..." He stretched his right hand again.

"And stay away from me!" Twilight hit Tirek's hand with her hoof forcefully, forcing him to retract it. She hovered, charged her horn with magic and released a thick magic beam at Tirek, which he resisted with a magic shield. The beam pushed Tirek several feet back, and by the time the beam stopped, the shield was destroyed, which injured Tirek lightly.

"I...I don't understand what's wrong!" Tirek said.

"I'll tell you what's wrong: YOU BELONG IN TARTARUS!" Twilight charged her horn and was about to blast Tirek again.

"No, Twilight! Stop!" Luna stepped between Twilight and Tirek.

"Luna! Stay away from him! He's a merciless monster!" Twlight yelled.

"No, he's not! He's Tirek, Protector of the First Crystal Mountain!"

Twilight's glare faded slowly as she landed. "Wu-what?!"

"I'm so sorry, Twilight. I'm so sorry I haven't told you what the Protector looks like. I didn't know he looked like somepony evil." Luna turned to Tirek. "I'm sorry, Tirek. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tirek glanced at Twilight, Fluttershy and all the others who were staring at him in shock. "I think I somehow resemble someone you all hate."

"You don't say!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash commented in unison.

"I don't understand," Trixie said.

Applejack nudged Trixie, gaining her attention. "Remember when I told ya about somepony who destroyed Twilight's library?" Trixie nodded. "Well, that's him." Applejack pointed towards Tirek.

Spike stood beside Rarity and nudged her. "Geez! Too much for the handsome stallion protector, huh?!" he teased.

"Don't... ever mention it again!" Rarity replied, still staring in both shock and disappointment at Tirek.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come to help you quickly. A Snow Dragon attacked me. That's why I was late," Tirek said.

"So, that bluish green dragon we saw attacked you?" Fluttershy inquired.

"Yes. Fighting it was pretty annoying, by the way."

"Well, don't ya worry there. We took care of the threat we faced." Applejack gestured to the remains of the Frost Giants.

"Actually, I'm not really worried about the Frost Giants. I'm more worried that your fight might have awoken..."

ROAR!

"...The Amarok."

Twilight's eyes opened widely. "A...Amarok?! Are you serious?!"

A gigantic wolf emerged from a huge snow pile from afar. The wolf had crimson red eyes and his fur was made of sharp ice crystals. When it saw the ponies and Tirek, it let out a titanic roar.

Fluttershy's legs trembled in horror and she nearly tripped. "Do you know what? After thinking, I believe the Snow Dragon was kinda cute!"

"And how the hay are we supposed to fight that?!" Applejack said, staring in shock at the gigantic monster.

"You simply won't," Twilight answered. "Me, Celestia, Luna, Trixie and Tirek will."

Tirek motioned the four Princesses to stay in their places. "I will fight it, alone."

"No, you won't! You'll need our help," Celestia said.

"Please, it's my duty to protect you all. I won't let you fight this thing. It's very dangerous."

"So, you fought it before?" Twilight asked.

"To be honest, no. But as I said, It's my duty to protect you." With that, Tirek galloped towards the Amarok.

"Now what?" Twilight asked Celestia.

"Let's see how the fight goes. If he needs our help, we surely will not listen to what he just told us."

As Tirek charged towards the Amarok, it charged towards him as well. Tirek aimed a punch at the Amarok, which responded in kind. Their fists met midway between them, producing a shock wave. Tirek then fired a beam of magic at the Amarok.

The huge wolf roared in pain, then punched Tirek in the face, throwing him on the ground a few meters away from it. The Amarok was about to slam its paws at Tirek, but he quickly stood up and fired a blast at the Amarok's face, before he punched it, pushing it just few feet back.

The Aamrok grew angrier. It grabbed Tirek in its paws and threw him so forcefully at the mountain's wall, creating a hole in the wall's rocks. The Amarok was about to fire a blue blast from its mouth, but Celestia fired a blast at its face, causing it to step back away from Tirek and roar in pain.

Celestia flew high and glided towards the Amarok. She fired a big magic blast, which was met by a blue one from the Amarok's mouth and exploded midway with a strong shock wave.

The Amarok released a shower of small ice crystals from its right paw; Celestia crossed her forelegs to protect her face. The Amarok then jumped and punched Celestia, throwing her into the ground.

Twilight jumped out of Celestia's way, leaving her to fall on the ground, breaking some rocks and spreading the snow in the air.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Twilight." Celestia shook the snow off her head.

Twilight, Trixie and Luna stepped forward together, putting down their saddlebags.

Tirek jumped from the wall and hit the Amarok on the side, then jumped back, dodging the beast's claw. He fired a beam, hitting the beast in the face, stunning it.

Luna and Trixie flew towards the Amarok, and Tirek charged towards it as well.

The Amarok opened its red eyes, slammed its paws on the ground so forcefully that it generated sharp ice crystals which pinned Luna and Tirek to the wall, and pinned Trixie to a rock in the opposite direction. Soon, the growing crystals enveloped them, trapping them.

"Ah, shucks! I can't move!" Trixie exclaimed.

"What? I can't hear you?" Luna shouted back.

"What?"

"What?!"

"Please, stop shouting! She won't hear you through all this ice!" Tirek silenced Luna.

"Sorry!" Luna smiled sheepishly.

"Hey! Release them!" Twilight hovered around the Amarok, firing beams at it repeatedly.

The Amarok roared and fired a blue ball of magic from its mouth.

Twilight created a magic sphere around her, protecting herself. The magic ball exploded upon impacting with Twilight's shield, producing a big, sharp flower-shaped crystal with Twilight in its center. She broke through the ice flower and flew towards the Amarok, fired a powerful beam. The beam hit the Amarok in the face, and caused it to stumble back and roar in pain. Twilight continued her flight towards the beast, her horn charged with another blast.

The Amarok hit Twilight with the back of its paw, slamming Twilight at the ice that had enveloped Trixie.

Upon Twilight's impact with the ice, a sharp ice crystal broke and was close to stabbing Trixie in the chest.

"HEY! HEY! Easy there! Whoever you are, you almost got me killed!" Trixie shouted.

"Sorry. It's just..." Twilight glanced back to the Amarok and gasped. The monster slammed both its front paws at Twilight. She shielded herself with a magic sphere, but the ice under her cracked again upon receiving the pressure from the Amarok.

The sharp crystal that nearly killed Trixie continued its way towards stabbing her. Trixie screamed and moved her waist to the side, dodging the crystal dagger by merely a millimeter.

"Phew! That was close." Trixie sighed in relief.

The ice around Trixie cracked again and crumbled around her, threatening to crush her as the Amarok applied more pressure towards Twilight.

"Trixie! Teleport out of there!" Twilight yelled.

"I can't! There is an ice crystal covering my horn. I believe it has a magical power preventing me from using my magic," Trixie replied.

Celestia leaped to the air and flew to Twilight's rescue. She fired two blasts at the Amarok's paws and a blast at its chest, forcing it to fall back.

Twilight stood and panted after her shield disappeared. "Don't worry, Trixie. You'll be fine."

"Just destroy that giant dog and I'll be fine for sure!"

"I'll find a way to get you out of there without crushing you. Just stay where you are." Twilight scratched the ice with her forelegs.

"Stay where I am? Now that's gonna be hard!" Trixie replied sarcastically.

"Be ready, Tirek. I don't know if this will hurt you," Luna said, before she blasted her way out of the ice and flew towards Celestia.

The Amarok released a shower of sharp ice from its right paw towards Celestia. Celestia fired a continuous beam in response, resisting the shower of ice.

Luna fired a blast at the Amarok, forcing it to stop its attack and receive the beam from Celestia.

Tirek then broke free from the ice, charged at the Amarok, and hit it on the side, pushing it several feet back. He fired a big blast at it, throwing it at a rock near the cliff.

"Luna, I have an idea. Follow me," Celestia commanded.

Celestia and Luna flew behind Tirek until they were on a safe distance. They crossed their horns and charged a massive magic blast.

"Tirek, use this!" Celestia yelled, as she and Luna released the blast towards Tirek.

Tirek immediately understood the plan. He received the blast between his horns and charged it with his own magic, making it bigger and more powerful, then released it. The massive blast made a thundering voice as it tore its way violently through the air and caused the snow under it to dust away.

The Amarok recovered from his impact with the rock, only to find a huge glowing blast heading towards it. All it could do was say "Uh oh!", before the blast hit it, blasting it to ice pieces that fell down the cliff in the backwash of a powerful explosion.

Twilight's friends cheered.

Twilight fired a laser from her horn and cut a circular opening in the ice that had covered Trixie. She lifted the circular piece of ice magically, freeing Trixie.

"Thank you!" Trixie hugged Twilight, then used her forelegs to remove the ice on her horn.

"You're welcome."

"Is everypony okay?" Tirek asked.

"Yes, we're fine," Twilight answered.

"Thank you for helping us, Tirek," Celestia thanked.

"It's my duty, Princess."

"Tirek, I...I'm so sorry for attacking you, It's just..." Twilight stuttered in her apologize, before she was cut off by Tirek.

"That's okay. I'm fine. I'm just wondering what did the evil me do?"

"Sucked ponies' magic," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Destroyed libraries," Applejack added.

"Made holes in mountains," Rarity added.

"Hated trees!" Pinkie exclaimed, gaining strange looks from everyone. "What? The evil Tirek was destroying trees for no apparent reason like there was no tomorrow. I'm sure he hated them."

"Sucked magic?! Destroyed libraries?! What monster could do that?!" Tirek scratched his head.

"Ahhh, you?" Pinkie said, before Applejack closed her mouth.

"You must be the ponies from the other Equestria I've heard about," Tirek said.

"Yes, we are," Celestia confirmed.

"It's an honor to meet you all. You helped King Sombra save our world. And, Princess Celestia, I'm sorry..."

"Yes, yes, I know! There's no need to apologize about Sombra," Celestia cut Tirek off. If apologies could fix anything, Sombra would've been cured by now! she thought.

"We came here to save King Sombra with the same magic he used to cure Celestia and Luna of this world," Twilight said.

"If that's so, then you may proceed in your way and I wish you the best of luck," Tirek replied. "I wish I could accompany you, but I have my duties as the Protector. You saw the Snow Dragon that attacked me. When a Snow Dragon appears, more others appear soon. I have to protect the nearby villages against those Dragons. And about Sombra, I'm sure he's stronger than you think."

Fluttershy gulped.

"But, he attacked us in the Crystal Empire before and we managed to stop him," Trixie said.

"Then I'm sure he was just playing with you. Maybe he doesn't want to invade your Empire. Besides, the Crystal Heart makes him weaker. Maybe he's waiting for something more important for him to use his full power."

Celestia, I'm waiting for you, Celestia remembered her nightmare.

"But he attacked us in Canterlot, too," Luna said. "But come to think about it, he only attacked us three times, and he indeed didn't seem to be fighting for real, as if he didn't even have a goal of attacking us. We had to just fight him for a short while before he left."

"I'm sure that if he wanted, he could damage Canterlot Castle quite badly. But now that you want to go and attack him in his lair, I'm sure he'll use all his might to stop you," Tirek said.

"Have... have you fought him before?" Celestia asked.

"Yes. And I would have been killed had I not escaped. I was no match for him." Tirek hung his head down. "Please, bring him back to his mind."

Celestia took a deep breath and exhaled. "We will."

"If you keep trotting ahead, you'll find a big cave at your right and a rock beside its opening. You can spend the night there if you wish, and use the rock to close the opening," Tirek said.

"Thank you for the information. Oh, and thanks for saving me," Fluttershy said.

Tirek smiled warmly at her. "You're welcome." He turned around to leave. "Remember, never underestimate Sombra. Even if you're four Princesses and five ponies..."

"And a Dragon!" Spike interjected.

"...And a Dragon, but you still have to be extra careful. Sombra's new powers are so...sinister. Goodbye, everypony...and Dragon." With that, Tirek galloped away.

"Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's get to that cave, ya'll." Applejack trotted forward.

"I've never thought I would say that about Tirek, but he was so kind." Fluttershy followed.

As everyone trotted to their destination, Tirek's words echoed in Celestia's head.

And about Sombra, I'm sure he's stronger than you think.

Fear crept into Celestia's heart. She feared for the others with her. It's true that Twilight had said she and her friends volunteered to do this and nothing is her fault, but those were just words for her. If anything happened to anyone around her, Celestia would never forgive herself. And of course, she also feared that they wouldn't succeed in saving Sombra.

Damn it, Celestia! she cursed mentally. Stop thinking pessimistically! We're going to save Sombra, and nothing will stop us.

One hour later, they found the cave Tirek had told them about. They entered it and used the rock to close the opening while Twilight used her magic to burn some wood and create a campfire.

Pinkie and Applejack checked the food in their saddlebags, and found that almost all of it was smashed due to the fight with the Giants. Cakes, pies and apples were mushed, but they were still eatable.

After they finished eating, Luna moved the rock aside and trotted out of the cave to watch the sunset, before she had to raise the moon. Celestia accompanied her.

"It was a beautiful sunset, wasn't it?" Celestia stared at the moon.

"Indeed. Now, let's go back. We don't want the cave to get any colder." Luna began to trot back to the cave.

"Luna."

The Princess of the Night stopped trotting and turned back to her alternate sister, who was still staring at the moon. "What is it?"

"Do you...Do you think we'll make it? Do you think we'll cure Sombra and get out of this unharmed?"

"No, I don't think...I'm sure we'll make it!" Luna placed her right foreleg on Celestia's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "You have to believe we can make it in order to make it."

A tiny smile crept to Celestia's face. "I just can't forget the fact that all of this is just for me."

"Oh, you don't believe you're that special to us? I'm so hurt now!" Luna pouted and faked a sad tone.

Celestia turned to her, hugged her, and kissed her on the forehead. "You're a great sister in any dimension."

"And you're a pestering big sister in any dimension."

They both giggled.

"Hey!" Trixie called from the cave. "We're freezing here! Please, come back so we can close the opening and get some warmth."

"We're coming!" Celestia and Luna replied in unison, before they both trotted back to the cave and closed the opening with the rock.

In the cave, they ate a small meal before Twilight told Trixie and Luna about the evil Tirek. Then, Rarity asked Trixie to tell them her story about how she met Sir Discord and married him. And Trixie accepted, much to Rainbow Dash's dismay, who covered her ears with her saddlebag and tried to sleep, but the story was far sappier than the saddlebag could block.

And finally, after the story was over, they all drifted to sleep.

Canterlot Castle, the Original Equestria

After she had barely managed to lower the sun then raise the moon all by her own, Luna took off her clown wig and wiped the white makeup off her face. She sat by her bedroom's window and stared at the starry night sky, letting a long sigh escape her mouth.

"Please, Tia, come back soon."

Canterlot Castle, the Alternate Equestria

The alternate Celestia took off her cape and sat down on her bed, staring at the starry night sky through the window.

"Please, Lulu, come back soon."

-oOo-

"I feel you getting closer, Celestia. I'm waiting for you."

"Celestia."

"Celestiaaaaaaa!"

Celestia awoken with a quiet gasp and breathed heavily.

"Sombra, I don't know what are you trying to do. If you're trying to scare me, than I have to admit that you did. But still, it's not enough to stop me from reaching you," she whispered to herself.

She glanced to the cave's opening to find Luna standing outside the cave. Sure, she knew that Luna was out there because she had lowered the moon to let her sister raise the sun. Celestia kinda missed raising the sun, though it had been only one day, but she wasn't used to waking up to find the sun already raised.

Very soon, everyone was awake. They ate a small breakfast, grabbed their stuff and continued the journey.

On the way, with each step they took, Celestia's heart beat faster. She was going to meet him finally. She was scared and nervous in a way she had never felt. What if one of them got hurt seriously? She couldn't allow this to happen. But Sombra is very strong, as Tirek had said, which meant someone will get hurt in their attempt to cure him. And again, Celestia was afraid that she won't be able to fight Sombra, that she won't be able to bring herself to hurt him.

Twilight noticed Celestia's left foreleg shaking, which also caused her to trot a little abnormally.

"Celestia, are you okay?"

Celestia glanced at Twilight with a face that anyone could tell was expressing outright fear. "Y-Yes, Twilight. I'm fine. Really."

"Your hoof is shaking."

Celestia raised her left foreleg and eyed it, it was indeed shaking. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, which seemed to ease the shaking of her hoof.

Twilight placed her foreleg on top of Celestia's shaking one. "Everything will be fine, Princess. I can feel it."

Celestia chuckled. "I'm sure it's weird for you to see your mentor shaking in nervousness, right? Even I get nervous...a lot, actually. But now, I've never felt like this before. There's something abnormal."

"We'll make it, Celestia. I promise."

Celestia smiled warmly. "I hope so."

"Celestia!"

An eerie echo surrounded them, causing them to stop dead in their tracks.

Celestia's heart beat ever faster. She thought it would surely burst out of her chest. She examined their ambiance, and didn't like what she saw. The place they were in was a wide, circular plain portion of the mountain. There were various kinds and sizes of rocks in the area. The place seemed like a ring, like a battlefield. A perfect place to fight someone.

Fluttershy trembled in fear and took a step back.

Spike immediately hid behind a rock.

Everyone put down their saddlebags, preparing to fight.

"Hahaha! Stupid ponies!"

Out of nowhere, a whip of dark mist hit Twilight forcefully, slamming her into a rock and far from the others.

"TWILIGHT!" everyone yelled in unison.

A cloud of dark mist accumulated few meters away from them and slowly took the form of a stallion in blue armor.

Celestia opened her eyes widely, gaped her mouth and took one step back. It was him. Finally him.

Sombra smiled wickedly at Celestia, with eyes radiating dark magic.

"You're finally here, Celestia. I've been waiting for you."

-oOo-

Twilight awoke to find herself in Canterlot Castle. She was right in front of Celestia's throne, but there was no one there at all. The place was very dark she could barely see her ambiance. Suddenly, a dim, sunlight-like light approached her from behind. She turned around to find none other than Princess Celestia.

Twilight smiled. "Princess Celestia! What's happening? Why is this place so dark and empty?"

Celestia eyed Twilight with a wicked smile. "Don't worry, my faithful student. Everything will be fine...with time."

Twilight's smile faded upon hearing Celestia's creepy tone. "Princess? Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes I am, ESPECIALLY AFTER YOU FAILED IN SAVING SOMBRA!" Celestia's eyes turned from purple to glowing red.

Twilight stepped back in fear. "Wu-what?! I failed?!"

"Yes, you did. And now, you're gonna pay for your failure! ALL OF EQUESTRIA WILL PAY FOR YOUR FAILURE!" Celestia stamped her forelegs on the ground so forcefully, breaking pieces from the floor. Tears streamed from her eyes.

Twilight began to cry, as her eyes turned into two red spheres with green auras. "No, no! Please, Princess! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

"It's too late to apologize, my faithful student. YOU MADE A PROMISE! REMEMBER?!"

Twilight backed off further and cried harder. "I know! Please, forgive me! At least, leave Equestria alone!"

"No pony will be forgiven. NO PONY! IF I DON'T DESERVE LOVE, THAN NOPONY DESERVES IT!" Celestia's teary eyes turned into two golden lights, and her tears began to steam, indicating that her eyes radiated heat. Her coat turned to cracked cover of rocks, lava visible between the cracks as if her body was made of lava. Her ethereal mane and tail turned into flames.

Twilight's teary eyes widened in horror. "No! No no no no no NO! This can't be true!"

"Everything can be true, my faithful student." Celestia's voice had an eerie echo that sent shivers down Twilight's spine.

"Princess Celestia, please..."

"I'M NOT PRINCESS CELESTIA ANYMORE! I am Solar Flare! And Equestria shall pay for your failure FOREVER! HAHAHAHA..."

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Izanagi

Chapter 6: Now I'm Here To Rescue You

Celestia took a step back, still staring with widened eyes at the corrupted stallion. She was finally there. She finally met him. After thinking she would never see him again for a long time that felt like eternity for her, she finally met him. His evil grin threw fear in her heart. But she had to stay strong. She couldn't let fear stop her after she had gotten that far.

Sombra glanced at everyone. "You're all stupid. What do you think you're doing here?!" He paced left and right. "I'll give you all one last chance to turn around and go back from where you've come, and leave Celestia here."

Celestia couldn't respond.

Luna stepped forward and glared at Sombra. "Yeah, like that would happen!"

"Luna, please, let's try being soft at first," Trixie said. "Sombra, don't you remember us? We're your friends."

"Oh, yes, I remember you, and I don't care!"

Luna gave Trixie a smug smile.

"Well, then, you chose the hard way, Sombra!" Trixie said.

Sombra chuckled. "You have no idea what are you getting yourselves into."

Fluttershy nudged Celestia. "What happened to Twilight?"

Celestia turned her gaze to Twilight and stared at her in shock. The Princess of Friendship was standing beside the rock she had been slammed at, eyes red and green. She was crying and saying things.

"Oh, no!" Celestia said. "It must be Sombra's nightmare spell."

"I'll help her." Luna galloped towards Twilight.

"I don't think so!" Sombra turned into his mist form and swooped at Luna, hitting her forcefully and throwing her at the mountain's wall, digging a small hole where he slammed her into the stone. Sombra then turned back to his pony form again.

"Hey!" Trixie charged at Sombra with her horn aglow.

Sombra fired a red beam at Trixie, stunning her, then followed up with a punch, slamming her at a rock several meters away from him.

Applejack galloped towards him, but he kicked her, throwing her into the wall.

Rainbow Dash dashed at Sombra, but he headbutted her, knocking her off. Then, he grabbed her by her hind leg and threw her into the approaching Rarity, slamming both of them into another large rock.

Fluttershy gathered her courage and attacked him with Pinkie Pie alongside her. Sombra hit Fluttershy with the back of his foreleg, hurling her into Pinkie, slamming the two mares at the wall. Sombra then turned around, ready to punch whoever had just approached him. It was Celestia.

"Sombra, stop!" Celestia raised her foreleg in defense; Sombra didn't attack her.

"Celestia." Sombra lowered his hoof.

"Yes, Sombra. It's me! Please, remember yourself." Celestia placed her foreleg on Sombra's cheek, just as tears began to flow slowly from her eyes. "Remember me. I don't wanna hurt you, Sombra. I love you. Okay? Please."

Sombra squeezed his eyes shut and growled, causing Celestia to retract her foreleg slowly. He stood on his rear legs, shouting, ready to stamp his forelegs at the ground.

"No!" Luna dashed at Celestia and snatched her, just before Sombra stamped his hooves on the ground, creating black, sharp crystals that were supposed to have hit Celestia. Celestia and Luna then landed beside Twilight.

"I HATE YOU, CELESTIA!" Sombra yelled.

If Celestia hadn't looked down at it, she would have believed she had been stabbed in the chest upon hearing Sombra's words. He...hates me?! she thought. No! He can't hate me! That's not the real Sombra talking now. I will get my Sombra back no matter what it takes!

"You help Twilight regain her consciousness. I'll fight Sombra," Luna said, leaping to the air and gliding down at Sombra.

Luna fired a thick, continuous beam, but Sombra shielded himself with black crystals.

Trixie flew beside Luna and fired another identical continuous beam, joining Luna's and making them into one, powerful beam. The beam pushed Sombra back, digging into the ground around and behind him. In the end, Sombra was enveloped by the beam, and a powerful explosion covered him with dust and snow.

Trixie and Luna hovered above the spot where Sombra had just been before he disappeared.

"Did we...kill him?" Trixie wondered.

Black mist swooped out of the dust, separating Trixie and Luna. The mist hit Trixie, sending her into the ground, getting her devoured by a cloud of snow and dust. Then it turned into Sombra and blasted Luna towards the ground with a bolt of magic.

Trixie dashed at Sombra, who was still in the air, and fired a powerful beam, which Sombra countered with a magic shield. When she reached him, Trixie punched Sombra into the ground, then glided towards him and fired a blast at him.

Sombra turned into black mist once again and swooped upwards, grabbing Trixie by her hind leg and slamming her straight into the ground.

Trixie dashed up at Sombra again, but Sombra turned back to his pony form while still in the air and fired a continuous beam at Trixie, which Trixie warded off with a magic shield, but she was struggling to do so.

Luna then leaped at Sombra, slamming both of them forcefully into the mountain's wall, breaking rocks and covering themselves with a cloud of dust. A few seconds later, Luna was launched out of the cloud of dust and into the ground. She rolled, before Sombra leaped at her, pinning her to the ground. He formed a sharp crystal on his right foreleg and prepared to bring it down at Luna, but he was blasted off her by a magic blast at his side from Trixie, throwing him at a rock.

-oOo-

In Twilight's nightmare, she kept backing off slowly from Solar Flare.

"Now, taste a piece of my punishment!" Solar fired a blast of lava, Twilight rolled to the side, dodging it. Solar began to fire blasts repeatedly, and Twilight kept dodging them, just barely.

"You can run but you can't hide, Twilight!" Solar hovered and fired a beam at Twilight.

Twilight teleported behind a pillar, hiding herself from Solar Flare.

Solar Flare hovered between the pillars for a few seconds before she finally saw a glimpse of Twilight behind one of them. She grinned wickedly and hovered slowly towards the pillar.

Twilight sat there ever silently, shivering in fear.

"Oh, I wonder, where did my faithful student go?" Solar faked a wondering tone. "Perhaps she's behind that pillar?" she blasted one of the pillars, though she knew Twilight wasn't behind it.

"Or maybe this one?" She blasted another pillar, closer to Twilight.

"Or this?" Another pillar was blasted, the one right next to Twilight's hiding place. Twilight began to shake uncontrollably.

Solar Flare finally reached the pillar that hid Twilight behind it. "Maybe this one?" This time, she didn't blast the pillar. Instead, she fired a beam of energy, causing the pillar to turn slowly into molten rock.

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, preparing to get burned.

"Twilight!"

Twilight turned to her right to find Celestia, the normal Celestia.

"Twilight, this is just a nightmare created by Sombra! You have to snap out of it. None of this is real!"

Twilight's eyes turned back to normal, and her scared expression turned into a glare. She turned to the pillar and blasted it, then dashed at Solar Flare and fired a magic blast at her.

-oOo-

Twilight regained her consciousness. She took big, quick gasps of air and wiped her tears.

"Oh my goodness! Princess Celestia, that nightmare was so awful! You told me I failed in saving Sombra, and then you got corrupted...and..."

"It's fine, Twilight! It wasn't real." Celestia patted Twilight at her back. "I would never hate you, Twilight. Even if...even if we fail now."

Twilight sniffled. "But we can't fail! I gave you a promise."

"Then come on. We have to fight Sombra to give you and your friends an opportunity to gather and use Rainbow Power."

"What do you mean?"

"I noticed that Sombra is using the 'separation' style in fighting, taking advantage of his speed. He's separating us, and I'm sure he realized that you and your friends mustn't gather. That's why he trapped you in a nightmare; to prevent you from using Rainbow Power."

"Do you mean he'll try to stop us from gathering again?"

"I'm sure he will. But you have to try. Go and try to gather with your friends while I help Trixie and Luna keep Sombra busy."

Twilight hesitated, but then agreed. "Okay." She galloped to her friends, who were all recovering from Sombra's attack.

I have to fight him. I have to. It's the only way to save him, Celestia thought. She noticed her left foreleg shaking, again. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then opened her eyes, spread her wings, and flew.

Sombra was doing a good job separating Luna and Trixie, rarely letting them attack him as one force. He fired a beam at Luna, stunning her and causing her to crash at the ground. Trixie charged at him and fired a beam, but he dodged it, grabbed Trixie in his magic grasp, and launched her into the mountain's wall.

Luna stood up slowly, groaning in pain. She saw Sombra approaching her and tried to charge her horn, but she couldn't. She glanced up at her horn to find it covered with black shreds, preventing her from using her magic.

Sombra approached her with an evil grin on his face, his horn charged with magic.

"Hey!" That's all Sombra could hear from Celestia, before he received a powerful blast at his side, sending him rolling at the ground like a ball.

"Tia, I can't use my magic!" Luna said.

"I know. Stay here." Celestia trotted slowly towards Sombra.

Sombra recovered quickly and leaped into his hooves, smiling evilly at Celestia. "So, you finally decided to fight me, Celestia? You finally brought yourself to hurt me?"

"I won't let you hurt them," she replied.

"Very well then." Sombra glanced at Twilight and saw her gathering with her friends. "Let's see how much you'll be able to protect them."

Sombra fired a blast at Celestia, but she flew, dodging the blast. Celestia then fired a powerful beam, which was met by another one from Sombra and promptly exploded.

Sombra turned into mist and swooped towards Celestia. She fired a beam, but the mist dodged it and hit her like a whip.

Celestia fell back in the air a few meters, then recovered. The mist swooped towards her again. She formed a golden sphere of magic around her, then the sphere pulsed and exploded, creating a shock wave of magic that hit the dark mist, forcing it to turn back to Sombra and fall on the ground. Celestia glided down at Sombra and fired a beam.

Sombra stamped his forelegs on the ground, generating black crystals that rose towards Celestia and shielded him from the destructive magic of her beam.

Celestia dodged the sharp crystal, continued her flight towards Sombra, and slammed a punch into him.

Meanwhile, Twilight trotted towards Rarity and placed her foreleg on her back.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Could be worse." Rarity shook her head.

"Is everypony okay?" Applejack asked.

"I...I guess we're fine." Fluttershy touched a small wound on her shoulder, causing herself to wince.

Rainbow Dash was rubbing her head. "Ouch! Sombra sure has a head of rock!"

"That meanie! Let's show him what we're capable of," Pinkie Pie said.

"Alright, girls. Let's do it while Sombra is still busy," Twilight said, as she and her friends stepped closer to each other.

Sombra fired a big blast at Celestia, but she dodged it easily.

"That wasn't even meant to hit you."

Celestia widened her eyes and glanced behind her. The blast exploded between Twilight and her friends, throwing them violently away from each other.

"Listen to me, Celestia," Sombra gained Celestia's attention. "I'll give you an offer. Join me, and I'll leave all your friends alone."

"Like...like that would happen!" Celestia snapped back.

Sombra chuckled. "Why not? Together, we'll be so much stronger. And I promise to leave your friends unharmed. Isn't that what you want? Don't you want everyone around you to stay safe, but be with me at the same time?"

Celestia hesitated. What's wrong with me?! she thought. Am I really thinking about his offer?! No! I can't do such thing! "You said you hated me!"

Sombra laughed. "Well, I hate you now, because you're so stupid! Risking your friends to have me back, when you can easily ensure their safety and be with me at the same time. What do you say? Join me."

Celestia's eyes turned into red with green auras and she took one step towards Sombra.

Sombra grinned wickedly. "Yes! We'll be together forever, my sweet Celestia."

"I don't think so!" Trixie swooped at Sombra, slamming him into the stone. She then assailed him with a rain of punches, making him sink deeper into the rock.

She flew back to Celestia, whose eyes turned back to normal. "Celestia! Sombra was playing with your mind."

Celestia rubbed her head. "I know. And I'm sorry. I can't believe I almost joined him." she glanced to where she left Luna. "Luna's horn is corrupted. Can you help her?"

"I know how to fix that." Trixie flew towards Luna.

"Say goodbye to your little ponies, Celestia!" Sombra was out of the rock and galloping towards Twilight's friends, his horn charged with a blast.

"No!" Twilight stood in Sombra's way and shielded herself with a magic sphere. She was pushed back a few feet upon blocking the blast, before she fired a powerful beam at Sombra, breaking pieces from his armor and causing him to fall onto his back.

Celestia flew towards Sombra, and Twilight turned around to help her friends.

"No, you won't!" Sombra turned into mist once more, then grabbed Twilight by her hind legs and launched her at Celestia, slamming both of them into the stone. He then turned back into his pony form.

Twilight teleported behind Sombra and hit him with a beam. When he turned around to attack her, she was already teleported above him and hit him with another beam.

Sombra fired a beam at Twilight, which she blocked with a magic shield, but caused her to be distracted for a moment, giving Sombra the opportunity to dash upwards in his mist form. He turned back to normal above her and slammed both his forelegs on her, sending her into the ground. He then landed beside her.

Celestia fired a beam at Sombra, hitting him in the face and stunning him. She galloped towards him and punched him, causing a piece of the armor around his neck to dent.

Sombra dodged another beam from Celestia and bucked her in the face, throwing her on her back.

Trixie landed in front of Luna.

"Trixie! Do you know how to fix this?" Luna gestured to her horn.

"Yes. Just stay still." Trixie's horn lit with magic.

Before Trixie could do anything to Luna, dark mist swooped and snatched her, throwing her upwards then slamming her into the ground.

Recovering, Trixie flew and stood beside Luna, created a magic shield around them and using another spell to remove the black shreds from Luna's horn. A magic blast hit the shield, but it was too late. Trixie and Luna flew and glided down at Sombra, who was in his pony form. Sombra charged a big blast and fired it, producing a strong explosion that separated Trixie and Luna.

Again, Sombra fought Trixie and Luna with his separation tactics.

"As long as he can move, you and your friends will not be able to use Rainbow Power," Celestia told Twilight.

"So what are we gonna do?"

"We have to keep fighting until we wear him out."

"But even after all what we did to him, he's still strong and fighting viciously. How will we ever wear him out?!"

"We will not give up. Not after all we've come through."

"I didn't say anything about giving up." Twilight smiled confidently at Celestia.

"Very well then. Let's show him our true strength while your friends recover."

With that, Celestia and Twilight flew to help Trixie and Luna in their fight.

Sombra was using his mist form to swoop quickly between the Princesses and avoid their attacks.

"Princess! Use the Sun Shower spell," Twilight yelled.

"Twilight, you're a genius." Celestia's horn blazed with magic, before a shower of beams rained down on the dark mist, forcing it to the ground and to turn back into Sombra.

Twilight fired a continuous beam, as did Luna and Trixie, striking Sombra together as a single force.

"That's ENOUGH!" Sombra roared.

Sombra generated a circle of large, sharp crystals around him, blocking the beams. He floated using his magic, his horn glowing a blinding red and an aura of dark magic flowing from his eyes. He formed a red sphere of magic around him and blew it, spreading a red, powerful shock wave of magic, hitting the four Princesses and throwing them at the ground. His horn began shooting powerful beams in all directions, hitting each Princess with more than one beam and spreading destruction everywhere.

"Oh, no!" Rarity saw a beam heading towards her and the others. She immediately created a magic shield around them, while they prepared themselves for the impact.

Rarity's shield didn't stand a chance, as the beam broke the shield and exploded violently, throwing them away from each other and injuring them badly.

"I...I can't take this anymore!" Fluttershy cried, rising to her hooves in pain. Her both wings were broken and her right hind leg was sprained.

"We...hafta stay strong, Fluttershy," Applejack said, who had her right foreleg sprained and had wounds on her head and back. "For Princess Celestia. For Sombra."

"I'm never giving up!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She had her left wing broken and her left foreleg injured badly.

Pinkie endured her hind legs' wounds and her injured head and trotted towards Rarity. "Rarity, are you okay?"

Rarity stood slowly on her hooves, revealing a thin line of blood that had trickled from her nose. She had wounds all over her body.

"Rarity!" Spike left his hiding place and ran towards Rarity.

Rarity groaned in pain. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." She glanced at the angry Sombra. "Please, Twilight, do something!"

As the Princesses were stunned, Sombra leaped towards Trixie, punched her in the face, then struck her with a magic blast, sending her near Twilight's friends. He then fired a powerful beam at Luna, turned into black mist, grabbed her, slammed her several times at the ground, and then threw her into the same direction as Trixie.

Sombra trotted towards Celestia, who was beside a rock, struggling to stand on her hooves. Twilight was lying on the ground and grabbed his right foreleg, causing him to stop. He levitated her with his magic and slammed her on the ground, then stamped his right foreleg at her, causing the ground underneath her to crack from the sheer force of his impact.

"I hate you Celestia. DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Sombra formed a crystal hammer on his right foreleg and punched Celestia into the rock. He then punched her several times, as he repeated his words, adding an emotional pain to Celestia's physical one.

"I. HATE. YOU!"

He then hit her with a powerful blast, blasting her through the rock.

Celestia lied on the ground in pain, her vision dazed, her body sore. She was bleeding from her nose and mouth. She had lost her crown, and her regalia was dented badly. She saw Sombra approaching her, a sharp, dagger-like crystal formed on his right foreleg. She knew it was the end. She couldn't move. She gave up.

I guess this is it, she thought. Maybe it was truly my fate to live alone forever. Maybe I don't deserve love. She began to cry through her closed eyes. Please, Twilight, save Sombra without me.

As Sombra stood in front of her, the dented part of the armor around his neck fell off, and an orange piece of paper fell after it.

Celestia squeezed her teary eyes shut, ready to receive the stab, ready for all of this to end, but nothing happened. She didn't feel anything, nor did she hear Sombra say anything. She opened her eyes slowly and glanced up at Sombra. His right foreleg was raised, ready to stab her, but he was standing still, staring at something in front of her. Celestia turned her gaze to see the thing, and her eyes flooded with more tears. There on the ground was an orange piece of paper with a black 'Always' written on it.

He kept it? she thought. After all that time, he still had this piece of memory?

Celestia found a sudden strength inside her to stand on her hooves. She couldn't believe it herself. She levitated the piece of paper off the ground and brought her own copy from under her regalia. "Sombra, you remember those, don't you?" She levitated the pieces of paper in front of him; he began to shake his head and took a step back. "Don't you remember the days we spent together?!" Tears streamed from Celestia's eyes.

"Enough!"

"No, not 'enough'! Only yesterday morning I was crying, thinking that I would never see you again. But now? Now I'm here to rescue you!"

"I don't need you to rescue me!"

"Yes, you do! Sombra, please, let us help you. Let's be together again. Let's retrieve our sweet times. Please. I love you, Sombra. I love you more than anything in the world. I don't want to lose you again."

"ENOUGH!" Sombra fired magic at the two pieces of orange paper, burning them.

Celestia watched in shock as the symbols of her and Sombra's memories turned into ash and drifted with the wind. Sombra aimed a punch at her, but she blocked it with her foreleg. She suddenly felt a massive power flowing through her body, making her pain no more important.

How..., she thought. How could I give up? I can't believe I was so weak to just lay there on the ground and wait for my doom! Sombra needs me. Sombra needs me! "SOMBRA NEEDS MEEEEEEEEE!" Celestia's horn blazed blindingly, before a powerful magic blast was released at Sombra, blasting him away, past Twilight, breaking clean through a rock then rolling on the ground.

Sombra leaped to his feet and stared in fear, staring in horror at the recovering Princess.

Celestia's body blazed like fire. She looked as if her whole body was burning, even her eyes, which caused her tears to steam. Her wounds were no more visible, her pain was no more there.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SOMBRAAAAAA!"

The snow around Celestia steamed and the rock particles floated, before she launched herself forward like a blast. Twilight managed to teleport out of Celestia's way and beside her friends. Celestia continued her flight, tearing her way violently through the air and causing the ground under her to crack and the snow to steam.

Sombra's eyes widened in fear. He shielded himself with crystals, but Celestia broke through them and gave him a mighty uppercut, sending him flying high in the air. She then shot upwards and fired an extra thick beam of magic, hitting Sombra with a rocking explosion that caused his armor to shatter into small pieces. Celestia then teleported above Sombra and fired another extra thick beam, which sent the King into the ground like a comet, generating an earth-quaking explosion that caused the manes of everyone to flap with the wind.

Sombra lay in the center of a big hole in the ground. Celestia landed beside him after her body turned back to normal. She noticed Sombra shaking weakly in an attempt to stand on his hooves and she immediately stamped her right foreleg at his back, forcing him to lay on the ground again.

"Come on, Twilight! This is your chance! DO IT NOW!" Celestia yelled.

Twilight's friends overcame the pain of their wounds, trotted towards Twilight, and stood side by side in one line. Their Cutie Marks changed and glowed, before a large beam shot from the ground under each one of them. They closed their eyes and let the power wash over them, drawing on their unbreakable bonds to forge a new power.

Magic infused their bodies, transforming them into far greater creatures than they once were, their manes flowing away from their stagnant positions to assume lives of their own.

The Elements of Harmony teleported themselves to the hole were Sombra was, then Celestia teleported beside Trixie, Luna and Spike, who were watching the scene in amazement and utter awe.

Twilight and her friends floated in the air, a blinding rainbow glow emitting from them.

Sombra stared up at them in shock. "No. NO!"

"Oh, yes!" Rainbow Dash said.

A thick beam emitted from each one of the Elements of Harmony, forming one huge rainbow beam that enveloped Sombra in its blinding light.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Whiteness. That's all Sombra could see. He was in a sea of comforting white light. He felt peace he hadn't felt in a very long time. He was finally free from the control of the darkness that had took over him. But even though he felt so at peace and comforted, there was still something missing, or somepony missing.

"Ce...Celestia?"

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Izanagi. The title of this chapter was taken from the lyrics of 'Still Alive', the theme song from Mirror's Edge video game.

Chapter 7: I've Been Waiting For You

Sir Discord stood in front of the Crystal Castle and stared at the buildings around it. A proud smile formed on his face as he remembered how he had fixed those buildings and saved the ponies from the fire the previous day. Now, waiting for his wife inside the Castle would...

"DISCORD!"

Discord heard the voice of his wife calling him from afar. He glanced to the source of the sound, and the scene caused his eyes to pop out of his face and his lower jaw to drop to the ground. Galloping towards him from afar were Celestia, Luna, Trixie, and Twilight and her friends. But someone else was with them, too. Sombra lay unconscious across Celestia and Luna's backs.

"You...You have Sombra with you!" Discord exclaimed, as the group arrived in front of him.

"Yes, Captain Obvious! It's Sombra with us," Applejack replied sarcastically. "Now, could ya please help us get him into some hospital or somethin'?!"

"Oh, we don't need a hospital. There's a medical room inside the Castle, with nurses and all. Come on." Discord flicked his fingers, and they all disappeared in a flash of white light.

After about ten minutes of sitting there, Celestia began to get more and more worried.

Sombra lay unconscious on the bed, Celestia was sitting by his bed's left side, her hoof beside his. Everyone else was gathered around the bed inside the big medical room, but only a short distance from the bed to give Sombra sufficient space to breathe. Trixie and Luna had some bandages on their bodies. Celestia had retrieved her crown, and the only apparent damage she had was her dented regalia, for the sudden flow of power had cured most of her wounds, leaving only scratches.

It's true that Sombra had no apparent injuries, but Celestia simply couldn't stand watching his motionless body. Every passing moment was burning her from the inside.

"What if..."

"Princess Celestia, there's no need to get so worried like that," Twilight cut Celestia off. "We used Rainbow Power, not some war weapon."

"Yeah. I'm totally sure he's fine...I hope so," Applejack said.

Twilight gave Applejack a light frown. "You're not helping!" she whispered to her.

"Rainbow Power wasn't the war weapon. I was the war weapon. If he doesn't wake up, I will never forgive myself." Celestia began to cry quietly.

"No, Tia, you weren't a weapon. You had to fight. It was the only way to save him," Luna reassured.

"Besides, Rainbow Power cured our wounds, so I'm sure it did the same to Sombra," Rainbow Dash added.

"But, what if Rainbow Power works differently here, too?" Celestia asked, turning to them.

Trixie sighed. "Please, Celestia, I told you he'll be fine! Even the nurses told us he'll be fine."

"But...but..."

Celestia felt something warm on top of her foreleg. She immediately stopped talking and froze in her place, a shiver shot its way down her spine. Even before turning to see her foreleg, her wide eyes expressed outright shock. She turned her head slowly to the bed to see him, smiling with slightly opened eyes, placing his foreleg of top of hers.

"Ce..Celestia? My sweet Celestia? I've been waiting for you!" he said playfully.

She couldn't believe her eyes at first. It was him? Finally? Only one day ago she had cried because she thought she would never see him again, and now, there he was? Talking to her? His foreleg on top of hers?

Celestia's eyes released two torrents of tears. Her lower lip quivered in what seemed like an attempt to form words, but she couldn't from anything. She quickly wrapped her forelegs around him and hugged him tightly, crying to his shoulder.

"Oh, Sombra! I missed you so so much!" Celestia said between her cries.

Sombra wrapped his forelegs around her and patted her on the back gently, crying as well. "I missed you too, Celestia. It's okay. We're together now."

Everyone's eyes flooded with tears of joy upon the scene, especially Rarity and Fluttershy, who hugged each other and cried. While Pinkie let out two waterfalls of tears from her eyes.

"I...I...This is too much, even for me!" Rainbow Dash said, before she burst into tears as well.

"That's okay, sugarcube. Come over here." Applejack wrapped her left foreleg around Rainbow's shoulder, as she covered her face with her stetson to hide her own tears.

Celestia was lost in the moment. She didn't care about anything but the warmth of the embrace. The feeling of her love, Sombra, finally with her, finally wrapped between her hooves. She was there with him, but her heart was soaring in the sky with his. But still, she didn't kiss him in front of everyone. She wasn't Princess Trixie, after all. She was...

SMOOOOOOOCH!

She was even worse than Princess Trixie.

Everyone widened their eyes at the scene of Celestia and Sombra making out. They forgot about their tears of joy and began to clear their throats and step back slowly towards the room's door.

"I think we should leave...now!" Twilight said.

"Of course we should leave! Let's give them some space," Rarity agreed.

Everyone exited the room quickly and closed the door behind them.

Celestia was indulged in the moment. She finally made it. She had always longed for sharing this moment with him. She truly felt like her heart was soaring in the sky with his. She had finally healed her heart's sore. They both lost track of time. After about a minute, they broke the kiss.

"Ha! I like to see you cheering up like that." Sombra wiped Celestia's tears.

Celestia gave him a teary smile. "I just...I just can't believe you're right here in front of me! You have no idea what I suffered after you got corrupted by the dark magic."

"Everything is fine now, and that's what's important. Let's forget the pain of the past."

"What about your injuries?"

Sombra eyed his body. "Injuries? I have no injuries. Actually, I have never felt better! I feel I can gallop like a horse right now!"

Celestia giggled.

"There you are! Oh, I so missed that angelic smile." Sombra caressed Celestia's cheek with his foreleg.

"I love you, Sombra."

"I love you too." Sombra eyed his body again, this time focusing on the white coat that was the only thing he wore. "What happened to my armor?"

"You mean you don't remember what happened?"

"I remember everything before the uppercut you gave me, then a blinding rainbow that I believe came from the Elements of Harmony. That punch was enough to mess up my memory!"

Celestia blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Hehe! Well, about your armor, I kinda destroyed it...or maybe it was more like I disintegrated it. The point is, your armor is no more!"

Sombra laughed. "You're more bad flank than I remember, Celestia!"

"Thanks!" Celestia grinned.

"Well, let's get out of here and let them know that our little lovely scene has ended."

"But, are you sure you can trot?"

"I told you I'm fine!" Sombra stepped off the bed and trotted towards the door with Celestia by his side.

Outside the room, everyone was pacing back and forth, waiting for the royal lovers to finish their private meeting.

"Do you think they're still...you know?" Trixie whispered in Rarity's ear.

"I don't think so. They would've died of lack of air if they were still...," Rarity whispered back.

"We're sorry for the sudden scene," Sombra said as he and Celestia trotted out of the room.

"King Sombra! You can trot!" Trixie smiled widely.

"Sure I can."

"Welcome back, Sombrero!" Discord gave Sombra a short, friendly hug.

Sombra laughed. "Glad to be back, Dizzy!"

"Sombrero?! Dizzy?!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack covered their mouths to silence their laughs.

"It's been a long time, Sombra. We're so thankful for having you back," Luna said.

"Thank you all for saving me. I almost killed you all, but you didn't give up." Sombra turned to Twilight and her friends. "And a special thanks to you. Once again you saved the day!"

The Elements of Harmony smiled proudly.

"It's our duty," Twilight said.

"Oh, and Spike here saved the Crystal Empire!" Rarity pointed at Spike; he blushed.

"Really?! Now that's a story I wanna hear," Sombra said.

A Unicorn mare in a nurse uniform trotted towards them, with a checklist and a pencil in her magic grasp.

"Oh, King Sombra!" The mare bowed. "I was just about to tell you that you're completely fine and you can leave whenever you want, but I can see you're already trotting around."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm leaving right now."

Twilight glanced at the nurse and widened her eyes in shock. "S...Sunset Shimmer?!"

The red-and-yellow-maned nurse raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "H-How did you know my name?!"

"I...I..."

"It's written on your chest!" Spike pointed at a card at the nurse's chest that read 'Sunset Shimmer'.

The nurse, or Sunset Shimmer, glanced at the card and chuckled. "Oh, of course! Silly me! I always forget that I'm wearing my name on my chest." Sunset turned around and trotted away happily. "I wish you all a good day!"

"Sunset in this world is a nurse? Who would've thought?!" Applejack said.

"She trots like a party pony! She has the potential to become a party pony!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"Luna, I made a decision," Sombra called Luna's attention. "This Equestria doesn't need me anymore. You see? This world has you and your sister, has Chrysalis, has Trixie and Discord...I can trust Equestria in your hooves. I have nothing to do here." He glanced at Celestia. "But in another Equestria, I have to stay with somepony."

Celestia smiled.

"Do you mean..." Luna started.

"Yes. I'm leaving this Equestria today. Sorry, Luna. Sorry, Trixie and Discord. I promise to visit. I can never forget you or forget the ponies of this world. Me and Celestia will keep visiting. I just had to choose how I want to live, had to choose my future."

"It's okay, Sombrero," Discord said with a teary smile. "We understand your decision."

"We can't stand in the way of your happiness, Sombra," Trixie said.

"Well then, let's prepare to catch up with the next train to Cantrlot," Luna said.

"But, what about the Dazzlings' show?! It's only few days later," Trixie said.

"I don't want to leave my sister alone any longer. I have to go back to her. She must be so worried right now," Celestia replied.

"Don't worry. We'll try to visit you to attend the Dazzlings' show," Twilight said.

Trixie's face lightened up. "That would be great! Please, do visit."

"Now, you all forgot something important. I don't think I can go back to Canterlot wearing this..." Sombra pointed at his white coat.

"Oh, don't worry. I have cloths that will make you look like a king again." Discord turned to Celestia. "And for your damaged regalia, just give it to me..." Discord took off Celestia's regalia; Celestia blushed and covered her chest. Discord's hand glowed with the regalia in its grasp, and a few seconds later, the regalia looked new as if it had never been damaged. "Here..." Discord gave the regalia back to Celestia.

"He's really great at fixing jewelry, isn't he?!" Trixie said.

"Indeed. But please, Discord, next time you want to take any piece of somepony's cloths, warn them!" Celestia placed the regalia back on her chest.

"Hehe! Sure. Now, come on, Sombra, let's get you dressed." With that, Discord escorted Sombra to give him new cloths.

Later

On the way to the train station, the group of three Princesses, a king, five ponies and a dragon tried to ignore some of the ponies' strange looks. But most of the ponies were very surprised and happy to see Sombra again. Whenever the ponies saw him, they would bow and cheer for the return of the king.

Finally, after about ten minutes of trotting between the cheering ponies, the group arrived at the train station and watched as the train stopped and ponies began to trot inside and outside of it.

Celestia and Sombra never left each other. They were side by side all the way to the train station and never moved away from each other.

Celestia and Sombra waited until all the others entered the train, then Sombra took Celestia's foreleg in his as they trotted together towards the train door, staring at each other's eyes instead of staring forward.

BUMP!

Instead of passing through the door, Sombra's face collided with the train, for they both weren't paying attention to what was in front of them. Celestia giggled as he rubbed his face in pain. He then took a step back and let Celestia enter the train first, before he hopped inside the train after her.

In the train, everyone sat down in the same formation they sat in on their way to the Crystal Empire, only this time, Celestia didn't sit down alone. She had her love, Sombra, to sit with. As the train departed the station, Celestia nuzzled Sombra's cheek, before she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Sombra smiled and rested his head on top of hers, closing his eyes as well. On the way to Canterlot, Celestia told Sombra about everything that had changed, including Rainbow Power and Twilight's castle.

When they arrived at the Canterlot train station...

BUMP!

Once again, Celestia and Sombra forgot to look forward as they exited the train, causing Celestia's face to collide with a window right next to the door. They both laughed, then Sombra allowed Celestia to exit the train before him.

Very soon, the group arrived at the gates of Canterlot Castle. And of course, on the way to there, they had been met with ponies cheering for the return of their loved king, oblivious to the fact that he was just about to leave.

The guards bowed for their long lost king, as the group entered the castle, unprepared for the surprise waiting for them inside.

As they stood in front of the throne, Twilight and her friends gasped and widened their eyes in shock. The alternate Celestia was no where to be seen. Instead, there was a purple Unicorn mare with purple and blue mane. She was laying on her back on the floor right in front of the throne, with her hind legs rested on the throne's stairs.

"Sta...Starlight Glimmer?!" Twilight exclaimed in utter shock.

Starlight turned to them, flipped to lay on her stomach and stamped her forelegs on the ground lightly, a wide grin on her face.

"Princess Twilight! You're finally here!"

Author's Note

Thanks to Izanagi for editing this chapter.
Also, here's a bonus...

Art by Miranda Laufeyson. Source.

Chapter 8: Starlight, Starlight, Lady Bugs Awake!

Author's Note

Chapter edited by Izanagi.

Chapter 8: Starlight, Starlight, Lady Bugs Awake!

Starlight galloped and stood in front of Twilight, an excited smile on her face.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! It's truly you, Princess Twilight! Princess Celestia told me about you. You're my hero! You're my idol!"

Twilight blinked in confusion. "...Starlight Glimmer?"

"Yup, that's my name. Which reminds me, how did you know my name?" Starlight turned to see Sombra, and forgot her question. "Oh my goodness! Princess Twilight, you succeeded in saving King Sombra?! You truly are my idol!" Starlight hugged Twilight, but then remembered that she hadn't yet bowed for Sombra. "Oh, sorry, King Sombra." She stood in front of him and bowed.

"As you were, Starlight," Sombra said. "Umm, Could you please tell me who are you and what are you doing here? Because I don't remember anypony called Starlight before I went all dark and edgy."

"Oh, of course you don't know me. I'm Princess Celestia's student, and you weren't here when I became so."

"PRINCESS CELESTIA'S STUDENT?!" Twilight and her friends exclaimed.

Starlight nodded, then turned to Celestia. "You must be the other Princess Celestia. Oh, I'm so happy that you're finally reunited with our beloved king!"

Celestia and Sombra smiled at each other and blushed.

"What is going there, Starlight?" the alternate Celestia said as she entered the hall. "Oh my! Sombra?!"

"Who else would I be?!" Sombra replied.

"Yes, sister! We did it! We did it!" Luna galloped to her sister and hugged her; Celestia hugged back.

"I'm so proud of all of you!" alternate Celestia said. "Twilight Sparkle, we're once again thankful for you and your friends."

"No problem, Princess!" Applejack said.

"I just have a question. Where were you a few seconds ago? When we saw your empty throne, we expected the worst," Rainbow Dash said.

Alternate Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What? I appreciate your concern, but the whole thing is just that I left Starlight for a few minutes to go to the bathroom. There was no need to get worried."

"Yeah, but, Starlight, why were you laying on the ground in that odd way? Don't you think you looked a little... villainous?!" Applejack asked; Starlight smiled sheepishly.

"About that...," alternate Celestia answered for Starlight. "Starlight has a bad habit of taking... 'inappropriate' positions when she wants to relax or wait for something."

"Hehehe, it's true!" Starlight blushed wildly. "I'm so sorry if I looked villainous or... something else. I'm trying my best to get rid of that bad habit. I just need more time."

"Is that what the Starlight you told me about looks like?" Sombra whispered to Celestia.

"Yes."

"Well, she doesn't look threatening to me."

"Try to say that to Twilight and her friends."

Alternate Celestia turned to Starlight. "Starlight, take this book." she gave her a brown book, which she took and placed in her saddlebag. "You can go now if you wish."

"Thanks, Princess. Gotta read these new books I have. Besides, I can't wait to tell my friends that King Sombra is back! Goodbye, everypony." Starlight turned to the exit and trotted happily out of the hall.

"Let me guess, Starlight in your world is evil?" alternate Celestia asked as soon as Starlight left the hall.

"Eeyup!" Applejack answered.

"Well, I hope the evil Starlight wasn't a very bad one."

"Unfortunately, she was one of the worst," Twilight said.

"Really? What did she do?"

"Let's just say that she would wipe anypony's flank clean with full pleasure," Rainbow Dash replied.

Rumbling sounds, shouts and a loud 'Help' from outside the castle made everyone forget about the evil Starlight.

"That doesn't seem good," Applejack said.

"Come on, everypony. We have to find out what's happening." Twilight rushed out of the hall, with all the others following right behind.

Twilight found a carriage parked outside the castle, with two, black-armored Pegasi hitched to fly it. Inside the carriage was King Shining Armor, trying to fight back what remained of the guards. But galloping towards the carriage was an orange Pegasus stallion in black armor, with an unconscious Starlight Glimmer on his back.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Twilight yelled.

The orange Pegasus turned to her; Twilight's jaw dropped. The Pegasus was none other than Flash Sentry. He smirked at her, then continued his way to the carriage.

Shining Armor blocked an incoming attack from a guard, then Flash came, punched the guard on the head and bucked him, knocking him off.

"Come on, Sentry! We don't have time!" Shining said.

Flash threw Starlight in the carriage, then frowned at Shining. "I did my best! Now let's move."

With that, the two Pegasi drivers flew away with the carriage.

"Wasn't that... Flash Sentry?!" Rarity asked.

"Yes. The evil Flash Sentry!" Spike replied.

"Oh, Twilight, your evil crush has just kidnapped our good villain," Pinkie Pie stated as a matter of fact.

"Stop, Pinkie! You made it seem more confusing!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"We must go after them, Twilight, before we lose their track," Celestia said. "I'm sorry, Sombra. I have to go."

"Take care of yourself, Celestia," Sombra replied.

Celestia spread her wings and took to the sky.

"What are we waiting for, Twilight?! Let's go!" Rainbow prepared to fly.

"Wait, you're going with us?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I can fly, so yeah! Why not?! Now come on!"

"I'm coming with you!" Luna spread her wings.

"Hey! It's my turn to adventure this time!" alternate Celestia objected.

"Too late!" Luna flew away before her sister could stop her.

Alternate Celestia snorted and muttered a, "Moonbutt!"

"Okay, Rainbow, let's go," Twilight said, before she and Rainbow Dash flew to join Luna and Celestia.

I have to go...I have to go..., Fluttershy was gathering her courage. "Wait for me!" With that, she took to the sky, joining Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

Shining Armor glanced behind and stared in fear at Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who were flying after them.

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash, prepare to catch Starlight if the carriage gets destroyed," Celestia commanded; Twilight and Rainbow nodded.

Celestia fired a beam, but the drivers of the carriage steered right, dodging it. Shining Armor then used a magic shield to block two other beams from Luna and Twilight.

"We have to fly faster!" Shining said. "Flash, get in there and help the fliers fly this carriage faster."

Flash groaned. "This whole thing is a bad idea! We're gonna lead the Princesses to our kingdom this way. Have you even told Queen Cadance about what we're doing now?"

"Don't disobey me, Flash! Just because we were friends at collage doesn't mean you can talk to me like this. I'm your king now!" Shining said angrily.

Flash chuckled, as he prepared to join the two drivers. "Good luck with your king-ness." He then wrapped a rope around his waist, tied it to the carriage and dashed forward. Flash earned some of his name's meaning, as he flew at full speed, surpassing the two drivers and making the carriage dash forward.

"Wow! Flash is a very fast flier," Rainbow said in amazement. "When we get back to our Equestria, I have to know him better!" She then turned to Twilight and smirked. "But don't worry, Twilight. I just want a flying buddy, not a love interest."

"Tone it down, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, unamused at all.

Celestia, Luna, and Twilight fired more beams, but they were missing their target due to the carriage's high speed. But finally, after many failed shots, Twilight managed to hit the carriage and make it lose a wheel.

"Oh, no! We lost a wheel! WE LOST A WHEEL!" Shining yelled in panic.

"We're flying! We don't need a wheel!" Flash yelled back in annoyance.

Shining sighed in relief. "Oh, yeah! Hehehe! But wait a minute, if we don't need the wheels, then why there are wheels in the first place?"

"Because we need them to land."

"So, how are we going to land with one wheel?"

"...Let's just focus on getting back to the kingdom in one piece, then we can worry about the landing."

After flying between two mountains, Shining Armor's kingdom became visible. The kingdom seemed to have a lack of greenness, and there weren't many big buildings. An enormous castle stood tall in the middle of this wide kingdom. the castle's design reminded Twilight a little of the Crystal Castle, but that castle was much more black. It was made of stone and had a slightly wider design, more windows and more balconies.

"Now, what's your landing plan?!" Shining asked.

"Just let me fly! We'll be safe... I believe," Flash replied.

Twilight took a glance at the archers and guards of the kingdom. "You know it won't be easy to get out of here, right?"

"Yes. But we're three Princesses. Let's move and give Lady Cadance a little surprise," Luna replied.

"I'm with you! Fluttershy, try to stop the archers from throwing arrows at us," Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy widened her eyes in fear. "Wu-what?! Why me?!"

"I know you can do it, Shy! We'll help if anything goes wrong." Rainbow Dash dashed forward, leaving Fluttershy for the mission.

Fluttershy landed between the archers on the kingdom's wall. "Umm, hello, everyarcher. Co... could you please not throw arrows at my friends?"

The archers approached her slowly; she began to step back in fear.

"Please?"

They didn't respond; Fluttershy squealed.

"Awww! She's so cute!" one of the archer said, putting his bow and arrow aside. "I'm not hurting this little girl!"

"Me neither." Another archer threw his weapons aside.

Fluttershy sighed in relief. "So, you won't throw arrows at my friends?"

"Of course we won't!" the first archer replied.

"Hey! You're disobeying the king's orders!" one of the archers said to the first one.

"Screw the orders! As long as Queen Cadance didn't give us any orders, I'm not taking anything seriously," the first archer said.

"I'm with him!" another archer agreed.

Very soon, the argument between the archers turned into a fight, and more archers joined it, forgetting about Fluttershy and her friends.

"Oh... that didn't go well," Fluttershy said. She then took off and flew after her friends, who were still chasing the flying carriage into the big castle.

Queen Cadance trotted slowly towards the big balcony near the top of the castle.

"Shining Armor! Where are you?" she yelled. She had searched all the castle for him and found nothing. "Shining..."

CRASH!

The carriage broke through the wall and landed a few feet away from Cadance. The two Pegasi drivers lay on the ground, eyes spinning in daze, while Flash and Shining stood up slowly.

"What in tarnation?!" Cadance yelled in shock. "Shining Armor?! Where the hay have you been?! And why the hay did you crash land inside the castle?!"

Before Shining could answer, Twilight broke through the wall and pinned Cadance into the other wall of the room.

"It's over now, 'Queen Cadance'!" Twilight's horn glowed with magic.

"No, no, no! Please, don't hurt me!" Cadance pleaded in fear.

"Oh, now you're begging for mercy?!" Twilight's horn kept glowing.

"Leave her alone! Or this little student will pay." Shining Armor held the unconscious Starlight and pointed a spear at her back.

Twilight snorted, then backed off from Cadance. Celestia, Luna, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy arrived at the room.

"I told you it was a bad idea," Flash whispered to Shining.

"Shut up!" Shining snapped back.

"Shining Armor, please tell me this unicorn mare is not who I think she is?" Cadance said.

"Yes, Honey, this is Starlight Glimmer." Shining armor smiled proudly.

"WHAT?! You kidnapped Celestia's student?!" Cadance yelled.

"Well, yes. Why do you seem...unhappy?"

"Because I am unhappy! Since when do you plot plans and execute them without telling me?!"

"Well, since this morning!"

Cadance sighed, trying to calm down. "Shining, honey, can't you see what have you done?! You've brought three Princesses to our castle!"

"It doesn't matter. We have a hostage now, we can have whatever we want."

"Just give up, Shining," Twilight said. "I mean, even your wife didn't like you kidnapping Starlight."

"You shut up, okay?" Shining replied. "Ugh, you remind me a lot of my sister, who lives in Ponyville. I hate her so much. She always calls me BBWFF!"

Everyone, except Cadance, stared at Shining in confusion.

Shining rolled his eyes. "Big Brother Worst Friend Forever!"

"Oh, right!" Twilight said.

"Now...that's cruel," Fluttershy said sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," Shining said.

"But, Shining, remember yesterday when you asked me what's our next plan, and I told you I didn't care?" Cadance asked.

"Yes, you said you didn't care. I thought you were just angry."

"Yes, I was angry, but there was something else. I really didn't care."

"What something else?! Listen, I did this just for you, and you tell me you don't care?!"

Cadance was taken aback. "Wha... what?"

"Yes. You always said that I was useless. But here I am now. I'm not useless anymore. I did this to impress you!"

"You...You did this, just to impress me? Was I really that cruel to you?" Cadance eyes flooded with tears; Twilight and the others were shocked, but they just continued to watch the conversation silently.

"Yes, you were cruel, but you were right. I was useless, but I'm not anymore. I love you, Cadance. I did this just to make you happy. Why aren't you happy?!"

Cadance approached Shining Armor and took him in a tight embrace, crying. Shining loosened his grasp on Starlight and let the spear fall onto the floor. Rainbow Dash immediately swooped and snatched Starlight.

"You don't have to try hard to impress me, Shining," Cadance said. "I'm sorry I was so cruel to you. I was blinded with making new plans to conquer Equestria. But that's it. No more plans. No more schemes."

"What? But why?"

"The other thing that made me tell you yesterday that I didn't care anymore, is that I...I'm pregnant."

Everyone gaped their mouths at that moment.

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Shining exclaimed in shock.

"Well, now that's something I didn't expect to happen in, like, ever!" Flash said sarcastically.

Shining Armor punched Flash on the head so hard, he knocked him unconscious.

"Yesterday, before we attacked the Crystal Empire, I felt some nausea, but I didn't let it stop me. After we returned to here, I threw up more than once. So, I made the test, and it was positive!" Cadance said with a teary smile.

"So, we're becoming parents?! That's why you want to stop planning to conquer Equestria?" Shining asked, excitement clear in his eyes.

"Yes. When I realized I will become a mother, when I realized there's another heart beating inside me, I began to think about our future. I don't want our foal to live with everypony across Equestria hating him. I don't want him to be the victim of our greed. And...I don't want to hurt anypony anymore. There are families and innocent foals out there that we didn't care about! We have a kingdom full of poor ponies that we preferred our schemes over! Please, Shining, no more fighting. No more attacks." Cadance leaned forward until her horn crossed with Shining's.

"That's okay. I was tired of scheming, too." Shining locked his nose with Cadance's. "I love you, Cadance."

A pink bubble of magic formed around Shining Armor and Cadance. Cadance's Cutie Mark was fixed; instead of an emerald heart split in half, she now had the same Cutie Mark of the original Cadance. Her mane style changed and it had no black shade anymore. Her mane was now similar to the original Cadance's, but it was more curly and behind her ears. Even her coat became more shiny. Her ear pieces and padlock necklace fell off. The bubble finally blew off and spread a burst of pink glow.

"Wow! Cadance, you look so beautiful!" Shining complimented.

"Thank you," Cadance said shyly.

Starlight opened her eyes and darted them back and forth. Unconscious Flash Sentry, teary eyed Shining Armor, broken wall with a carriage in the room, cute Queen Cadance...

"What the...?! Did I miss a lot?" Starlight wondered aloud.

"Well, yes. A lot!" Twilight answered.

"So, Cadance, do we call it a truce?" Luna asked.

Cadance smiled warmly at her. "Yes. A truce it is." Her smile then turned into a frown. "But I still refuse my kingdom to become a part of Equestria! We'll be like friends, yes, but as one kingdom, no!"

"But..."

"No buts!"

Shining approached Luna and whispered. "It's just mood swings. Just leave this discussion for later."

"I heard you!" Cadance yelled.

Twilight nudged Luna. "Let's just leave before she turns evil again!"

With that, Rainbow Dash carried Starlight and flew out of the castle, along with Twilight, Luna, Celestia and Fluttershy.

"Hey, I'm not finished yet!" Cadance yelled.

Shining Armor wrapped his forelegs around Cadance's waist and locked his lips with hers, silencing her; Cadance closed her eyes and surrendered to the kiss.

"Now, mind telling me what the hay has happened?!" Starlight asked.

"Don't worry, we'll tell you," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Let's please get back to our Equestria as soon as possible!" Fluttershy said.

Celestia glanced back at the castle and chuckled. Looks like even those two deserve love, she thought.

If this Cadance is pregnant..., Twilight thought. Does that mean... "Oh, crap!"

Chapter 9: Home Sweet Home

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 10: A Date In Paradise

It's been about two weeks since Sombra was reunited with Celestia. In these two weeks, Twilight and her friends had managed to spread the word that Sombra was a good guy from another kingdom, and not the Sombra the ponies thought. Celestia had gone on several dates with Sombra, but she wasn't satisfied with most of them, basically because of the ponies giving them strange looks or watching everything their beloved Princess was doing with her first coltfriend ever. Their trip to watch the Dazzlings' concert in the alternate Equestria was considered a good date, but still, they hadn't had a lot of privacy. So, this time, Celestia decided to spend their date in a completely different place.

"Um, Celestia? Where are we going? Weren't we supposed to spend our date in the restaurant?" Sombra asked, as Celestia kept leading him through the Everfree Forest.

"Oh, yeah, and have the guards and everypony in the restaurant watching everything we do! No, thanks, I have a better place to spend our date," Celestia replied, pushing a tree branch aside, but it reflected and hit Sombra in the face.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry!"

"I'm fine. But could you please tell me where are we going?"

"You'll find out very soon."

After a few more minutes of trotting among the trees, they finally came into a wide clearing. It wasn't any normal clearing, it was a paradise. There was a waterfall pouring into a small lake, and the lake continued into a river. There were flowers and many strange but beautiful kinds of plants everywhere. The birds were singing, some strange kind of birds Sombra had never seen before. The birds had glowing, blue feathers and extraordinary long tails.

"I used to come here to relax and have a little natural bath in the lake a long time ago," Celestia said. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?! I doubt I'm thinking anymore!" Sombra replied in utter amazement, earning a giggle from Celestia. "This place is fantastic, Celestia!"

"I know. Come on. A roll in the grass will be great!" Celestia galloped, threw herself at the ground, and rolled in the lawn, laughing.

Sombra couldn't believe his eyes. He was so happy to see his marefriend so overjoyed like that, but it was the first time he ever saw her acting that way, so not princess-like, so childish.

"Come on, Sombrero! It won't hurt!" Celestia invited.

Sombra chuckled. "If you're sure it won't hurt, then why not?!" He threw himself at the ground and rolled, and ended up on top of Celestia, their noses touching. They both laughed.

"So, you liked it?" Celestia asked.

"Well, other than the slight dizziness and the feeling that I'm acting like a foal, that was great!" Sombra replied.

Celestia giggled. "There's nothing wrong with acting like a foal from time to time."

"But I think foals don't lay on top of each other this way, do they?"

Celestia shook her head, before she locked lips with Sombra. Their kiss was broken as soon as one of the glowing blue birds stood on Sombra's head and began to sing.

Celestia laughed. "I think he likes you!"

"No, I think he liked the scene of us kissing. You read a lot of romantic stories, little bird?!" Sombra said, making Celestia giggle and causing the bird to sing.

"Here, let me do something." Celestia inched herself from under Sombra and stood up. She stretched her foreleg and allowed the bird to stand on it.

"What will you do?" Sombra asked.

"Just watch." Celestia cleared her throat, then sang in a tone very similar to the bird's; Sombra was amazed. For him, Celestia's singing was much more beautiful than the bird's.

The bird responded to Celestia by singing in a similar way, then picked a long feather from his tail and gave it to her, before he flew away.

"Wow! Celestia, your voice is so beautiful!" Sombra complimented, causing Celestia to blush. "You should really sing more!"

"Y...yeah, the singing princess? Not really."

"Don't care what ponies say about you. Seriously. If you ever want to sing, don't hesitate."

"Thanks!" Celestia smiled with red cheeks.

"So, you convinced that bird to give you a feather?"

"Well, you can say that. But that's not even what I wanted to show you." Celestia held the feather magically, then fired it at the waterfall. The feather exploded with a bright, blue flare, which faded slowly into a wide rainbow across the lake.

Sombra's jaw dropped.

"When you spend years and years relaxing in the same place, you learn some tricks," Celestia said.

"Did you bring me here for a date or to amaze me?!"

Celestia giggled. "Why not both?! And you wanted to spend the date in the restaurant, huh?!"

"Screw the restaurant!" Sombra approached Celestia and kissed her. "But you know what? Anywhere can become a paradise with you around, even the restaurant. I mean, sure, the guards and ponies around us would be annoying, but my paradise, is when you are around."

Celestia blushed so hard. She wanted to scream in joy. "Now, I guess you are the one who reads a lot of romantic stories, right?"

"You got me there!"

They both laughed.

"Now, follow me." Celestia took off her regalia, her shoes, and her crown and stepped slowly into the lake; Sombra stood at the edge of the lake and watched in both shock and admiration as she did so, forgetting she had told him to follow her. He shook his head and chuckled.

"What are you waiting for?!" Celestia called.

"Oh, come on, Celestia! There's no need to get wet!"

"Don't be such a coward!" Celestia swam towards Sombra and wrapped her forelegs around his neck.

"Hey!"

SPLASH!

Sombra was forced to dive in the water. He surfaced and spit the water he had swallowed. "Oh, Celestia! I washed those cloths only yesterday, and now look what happened!" he scolded playfully.

Celestia laughed. "Oh, shut up!" She splashed water in Sombra's face.

"Oh, you wanna play this way?!" Sombra responded with a stronger splash of water.

Celestia decided to cheat and use her magic, launching a gallon of water towards Sombra, but Sombra reacted quickly and launched a gallon of his own. The two gallons of water met midway, spraying water at both of them like rain.

As soon as they stopped laughing, they wrapped their forelegs around each other and shared a passionate kiss. About ten seconds later, Celestia heard a rumbling sound in the bushes. She broke the kiss and glanced behind Sombra.

"Oh, come on! Not now!" she said.

"What is it?" Sombra glanced behind him, and saw a group of Timberwolves approaching them. "Oh, they don't seem friendly."

"Because they are not!" Celestia quickly swam out of the lake, wore her crown, regalia and shoes, and began to fire beams at the wolves.

"Wait for me, Celestia!" Sombra swam out of the lake to joined the fight.

Later, in Ponyville

Celestia and Sombra trotted out of the Everfree Forest, wet and covered with dirt and wooden remains.

"Now...that was insane!" Sombra said happily.

"Sure it was!" Celestia agreed.

As they continued their way, something fell from Sombra's cloths and he immediately levitated it and hid it behind him.

"What was that?" Celestia asked.

"It... It's a..." Sombra sighed. "Listen, I planned this to happen in a restaurant, in a traditional way, but since this crazy date was the best thing I've ever did with you, the traditional ways don't matter anymore." Sombra brought the thing from behind him. It was a golden ring. He levitated it in front of Celestia and bowed. "Princess Celestia, would you marry me?"

Celestia's heart skipped a beat. She took a few moments for her mind to register. Once she became fully aware of the situation, she fought the urge to burst into tears of joy. She quickly threw herself at Sombra, pinning him to the ground.

"YES!" She yelled. "OF COURSE YES!" She slammed her lips at Sombra's, but broke the kiss just a few seconds later, as she stood up and began to hop happily towards Ponyville. "YES! YES! YES! I'M GETTING MARRIED, EVERYPPONY! DID YOU HEAR ME!"

What she didn't know, was that everypony did hear her.

Sombra couldn't do anything but watch and laugh.

Little did they know, that someone with eyes green with envy was watching them.

"Yes, Celestia, I heard you!"

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Izanagi.
The end of this story is very close, everypony. The final chapter will be either chapter 13 or 14.

Until next time, everypony...

Note #2:

Art by MagnaLuna. Source.

Chapter 11: A Bad Day In Canterlot High

Canterlot High

Sunset Shimmer closed her locker's door, ready to head to her class. She had a feeling that this was going to be a good day. Yeah, why not? It was a sunny day and the weather was cool. Everything seemed good. She turned to her right, ready to run to her class...

BUMP!

Sunset impacted forcefully with an open locker's door. The owner of the locker closed its door, revealing himself to be Flash Sentry.

"Whoa! Sunset, are you okay?" Flash asked.

Sunset rubbed her face in pain. "Yeah, yeah! I'm fine."

"I'm sorry. I didn't see you... well, I couldn't see you anyway."

"Never mind. Everything is good."

"If you're sure." Flash headed to his class.

Sunset stood in her place for a few seconds, before she remembered she had to attend her class as well.

In the class

As Sunset peacefully listened to the teacher, something hit her on the back of her head. She turned around, and saw Snips and Snails laughing in the back seats. She groaned and turned her attention to the teacher again, but very soon, she received another hit. It was from small paper balls. She turned again to see them laughing. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but her effort to calm herself went in vain as she received yet another paper ball. Her face reddened in anger, as she grabbed the last ball that hit her and threw it back at them, hitting Snails in the face.

"Is there anything interesting back there, Sunset Shimmer?" the teacher asked.

Sunset turned her attention to the teacher. "Oh, no, nothing at all!" She smiled sheepishly.

"Good. Then keep your gaze at me."

Once the teacher faced Sunset with her back, she turned to face Snips and Snails and glared at them fiercely.

Later, walking through the hall, three little girls rushed by Sunset, almost making her lose her balance and trip.

"Hey! Be careful, Apple Bloom!" Sunset said.

"Sorry!" Apple Bloom yelled, running in her way.

"Watch out, Sunset!"

Sunset turned around after hearing the yell, only to be met by a basket ball to the face. She immediately fell on her back.

The guy who threw the ball rushed to Sunset, along with his friend.

"Whoa! Are you okay?" the guy asked.

"Nope!" Big Mac said, walking past them.

"Exactly!" Sunset said, still lying on the ground.

During the lunch break, Sunset picked a few fruits, then waited for Granny Smith to fill her plate with some soup. Just as Granny Smith was about to fill the plate, a cat and a bunny raced towards her.

"Be careful, Sunset!" Fluttershy yelled.

"What the hay!" Sunset stepped aside quickly to avoid the two pets, causing Granny Smith to accidentally pour the soup on her hand. Sunset gasped at the sudden feeling of the hot soup on her hand.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear. You moved suddenly," Granny apologized.

Snips and Snails were right after Sunset, and they began to laugh at her. Sunset immediately rubbed her soup-soaked hand on Snips' face. Snails began to laugh at Snips, so Snips wiped the soup off his face and rubbed it in Snails' face.

Sunset finally sat to eat her food. A guy sitting on a table behind her threw an apple leftover, which fell in Sunset's soup plate and splashed it in her face. Sunset gritted her teeth forcefully, her face so red as if it was about to explode.

"FUCK!"

After the classes were over, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie gathered near their lockers, happily talking about their good day.

"So, how was your day so far?" Applejack asked.

"AWFUL!"

They all turned their gazes to the source of the sound and gasped in shock. It was Sunset Shimmer, her hair messed up, scratches on her face, and soup stains on her jacket.

"Just, plain, AWFUL!"

Rainbow Dash's cheeks puffed up, before she exploded into laughter; Sunset gave her an unamused stare.

"You should see your face!" Rainbow Dash said between her laughs.

"Unfortunately, I did!" Sunset replied, making Rainbow Dash laugh harder.

Applejack swallowed her laughter and managed a serious face. "What's wrong, Sunset?"

"Your hair is a true crime at the moment!" Rarity said.

Sunset hung her head down and sighed. "Nothing. It's just one of those days when I wish I can go back to Equestria and never return."

Rainbow Dash stopped laughing once she heard Sunset's serious tune.

"Well, but you can go to Equestria," Applejack said, before Rarity managed to close her mouth.

Sunset's face lightened up. "You know what? You're right! I can go back to Equestria whenever I want! I just have to write to Twilight, then the portal is open, then I'm back there!"

"Calm down, dear! It was just a one bad day," Rarity tried to calm Sunset down. "Do you really wanna leave just because of that?!"

"Rarity, I really miss my home back in Equestria! I really miss being a pony," Sunset said sadly. "I think I'll write to Twilight right now." Sunset opened her bag and brought out a big brown book, but just as she brought it out, it began to glow and vibrate, until it fell from her hand, but Flash grabbed it.

"Isn't that the book you use to write letters to Twilight?" Flash asked.

"Yes, it is. And it looks like I have a new letter." Sunset took the book from Flash and opened it, stopping the glow and vibration.

"What's the letter about?" Flash asked.

Sunset read the letter, then opened her eyes widely. "Celestia is getting married?!" she exclaimed.

"WHAT?! Principle Celestia is getting married?! But, I never saw her walking with anybody before!" Pinkie said in shock.

"What? No! Not Principal Celestia, it's Princess Celestia who's getting married. You know, back in Equestria," Sunset corrected.

"Oh, okay. Then let me get shocked all over again." Pinkie said, then gasped. "WHAT?!"

"That's some great news, Sunset!" Applejack said.

"Indeed! Who's the lucky guy... I mean pony, I mean colt... Stallion? I don't know! I'm not good with pony vocabulary," Rarity said.

"Well, it's stallion, and who is he? Let's see..." Sunset continued reading. "Sombra?!"

"Wait a minute, isn't Sombra that bad guy who tried to invade the Crystal Empire?" Applejack asked.

"Wow! Did you really memorize all the stories Twilight told us?" Rainbow asked in surprise.

"I have better memory than some people," Applejack replied, receiving a glare from Rainbow.

"No, no. Twilight said in the letter that the Sombra Celestia is marrying is an alternate Sombra from another Equestria, and he's a good guy," Sunset said.

"Things are just getting weirder and weirder!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I know it's hard for you guys to believe what I've just read, but for me, I totally understand what Twilight is saying," Sunset said, still reading. "And... I'm invited to the wedding!"

"If you're sure that everything is good, then yay!" Rarity said. "A royal wedding! I'm so excited!"

"Sorry, Rarity," Sunset said. "But you guys can't go with me. The ponies there don't need the confusion of seeing five ponies and their copies."

"Aww! Now that's disappointing!" Rainbow said in frustration.

"Indeed!" Rarity said.

"Don't worry guys, I'll take my phone with me. I'll take a lot of photos and videos so you guys can feel like you attended the wedding for real."

"That would be very nice, Sunset," Fluttershy said.

"So, you're not staying in Equestria forever?" Pinkie asked.

Sunset chuckled. "Of course not! I will come back. I was just very angry when I said I didn't want to return, but Twilight's letter lightened my mood."

"So, when are you leaving?" Applejack asked.

"Well, Twilight said the wedding is a week later. But I want to go right now, because I want to spend some time with my friends there before the wedding!" Sunset answered excitedly.

"You want to leave right now?! But, the Friendship Games are closing in," Pinkie said.

"Don't worry, Pinkie. I'll make sure to come back before the games begin." Sunset closed the book and placed it back in her bag.

"Well, deliver our greetings to Twilight," Flash said.

"I will."

Sunset and her friends headed towards the horse statue in front of the school.

"Goodbye, girls." Sunset waved her hand.

"See ya soon, Sugarcube!" Applejack said.

"Make sure to take a photo of Celestia and Sombra kissing!" Rainbow Dash said, making everyone laugh, except Rarity.

"Rainbow Dash! How rude!" Rarity said in shock.

Sunset stepped into the other side of the portal, finding herself in Twilight's castle.

"Wow! This must be Twilight's castle! It's so..." Sunset didn't realize she was in her pony form and standing on her rear legs. She lost balance and fell on the ground face first. "Even though I'm back in Equestria, this day is still getting worse!"

Owlowiscious flew and stood on Sunset's head. "Who."

"Sunset Shimmer, that's my name," Sunset replied.

"Who."

"I told you my name is Sunset Shimmer! I'm Twilight's friend!"

"Who."

Sunset groaned in frustration and buried her face under her forelegs. "Home sweet home!"

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Izanagi.

Chapter 12: The One Who Doesn't Deserve Love-part 1

Author's Note

This chapter was edited by Word Worthy. And yes, Word Worthy and Izanagi are the same editor.

Chapter 12: The One Who Doesn't Deserve Love-part 1

Celestia, Sombra, Luna, Twilight and Sunset Shimmer trotted towards the Crystal Castle. Cadance had invited them for lunch, and all of Twilight's friends were invited, but they were all busy and only Sunset Shimmer managed to come along.

Sombra and Celestia, the soon to be colt and wife, trotted closely to each other, touching lightly. Their wedding was only five days away, and this lunch in the Crystal Castle was something like a 'congratulations' from Cadance and Shining Armor.

Celestia and Sombra arrived in front of the Crystal Heart before the others.

"You know, Sombra, they say that the Heart reflects the pony's destiny," Celestia said. "But even though it may do so, the destiny you see in the Heart can be changed."

"I heard that before," Sombra said, then glanced at the Heart. He saw himself wearing a wedding suit and a red bow tie.

Celestia glanced at the Heart, and the reflection she saw nearly made her jump back in horror. She saw herself, wearing a wedding dress covered with big blood stains. The reflection began to switch quickly between her normal reflection with a normal dress, and her reflection with the blood-stained dress.

"Celestia?"

Celestia snapped out of her shock upon hearing Sombra's voice. "Wh...what? Sombra, you shouldn't tell me about what the reflection you saw was."

"Well, then I can just say that I liked what I saw and I don't wanna change it. How about you? Do you want to change what you saw?"

"Well...I..."

Luckily, Cadance and Shining Armor came and greeted them, saving Celestia from the answer.

"Aunt Celestia! Welcome!" Cadance greeted.

"Welcome to the Crystal Empire, King Sombra," Shining said.

"There's no need to call me 'King'. I was a king back in my Equestria, but not here," Sombra replied.

"As you wish, Sombra."

"Cadance!" Twilight exclaimed, galloping towards Cadance.

Sunshine, sunshine, lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!

Shaking their flanks against each other, Cadance and Twilight finished their little unique greeting, making Sunset Shimmer stare at them in shock.

"So, Sunset, I'm so happy to see you in a non-villain status," Cadance said.

"I...I'm really sorry for what I've done before." Sunset blushed.

Cadance laughed. "It's okay, Sunset. I was just joking. Welcome to the Crystal Empire."

"Thanks!" Sunset smiled widely.

"Glad to meet you again, Cadance," Luna greeted.

"Welcome, Aunt Luna!" Cadance gave Luna a short hug.

The group trotted together inside the castle, heading to a big dining table.

"So, Cadance, I was wondering, what's your feeling now that you're becoming a mother?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, sure I'm overjoyed! But I'm taking everything easily, unlike Shining Armor. Yesterday, he stayed awake all night just thinking about names for the baby!" Cadance said, making Twilight laugh.

Celestia's mind was clouded with thoughts about the reflection she had seen in the Heart. She couldn't forget it no matter how hard she tried. But...what could it mean?! she thought. Could it be a warning about something that will happen soon? Or something that will happen years later?

"Celestia?" Sombra called.

Celestia snapped out of her thoughts. "What?"

"Are you okay? Is there anything bothering you?"

"Oh, it's nothing at all. No need to worry."

"If you're sure."

They all sat around the table. Cadance was beside Shining Armor, Twilight, Luna and Sunset Shimmer sat beside each other, and finally, Sombra and Celestia sat together. Many kinds of the most delicious food were served for lunch, and everyone immediately dug into their plates. Just a few minutes after they began eating, Sombra's stomach made a funny sound.

"Are you okay, Sombra?" Celestia asked.

Sombra blushed. "I...think I have to go to the bathroom...NOW!" He stood up and trotted in a fast pace towards the bathroom.

Celestia faced the others. "He ate too many sweets yesterday."

"I believe it was Pinkie's fault," Twilight said; everyone laughed.

In the bathroom, Sombra groaned as he finished.

"It's not my fault that Pinkie's cupcakes were very delicious!"

As he trotted towards the exit, the bathroom's door burst open, revealing someone that Sombra never expected to see.

"Wu...What the hay are you?!"

Celestia waited and waited, but Sombra didn't come back. She began to get worried. "I'll go check on him." She stood up and trotted away from the table.

"I hope he's fine," Luna said.

"Geez! I didn't know Pinkie's cupcakes could do that much!" Sunset said in shock.

"Sombra? Are you okay?" Celestia said, knocking on the bathroom's door.

The door opened forcefully, revealing Sombra.

"Is everything fine?" Celestia asked.

"What? Yeah, yeah. Everything is good," Sombra replied.

Celestia sensed there was something wrong. "Are you sure? You seem...uncomfortable?"

"No, no! I'm okay. It's just..."

"What is it?"

"I wanna tell you something. Just come closer."

Celestia moved closer to Sombra until her ear was at his mouth's level. Sombra wrapped a foreleg around her neck gently, then used the other one to stab Celestia in the waist with a knife. Celestia wanted to scream in pain, but Sombra punched her on the face forcefully, throwing her at the wall. He then grabbed her and slammed her on the floor face first. Sombra stepped back from Celestia, his horn glowing bright green, then a circle of green flames surrounded Celestia. The circle of flames began to fade slowly into the floor, taking Celestia with it, until the flames and Celestia were gone.

Sombra trotted down the hall slowly, his eyes green, wearing a wicked smile, then his form changed into Celestia's form with a flash of green glow.

After long minutes of waiting, Twilight began to get worried as well.

"Now, where did Aunt Celestia go, too?!" Cadance asked.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's just...," Luna started, but was interrupted by a loud scream from outside the castle.

"HELP! Twilight! Cadance! Somepony help me!" It was Celestia.

Everyone around the table immediately stood up and rushed out of the castle.

What they found near the castle's base made them all gasp in shock. Chrysalis was standing there, with Sombra near her, his hooves glued to the ground with a green substance.

"Glad you came to help me, my little ponies." Chrysalis fired a blast at them, gluing them all to the ground just like Sombra.

"Chrysalis! Where is Celestia?!" Twilight exclaimed, struggling to free herself but to no avail. She felt that the green glue was much more stronger this time.

"Oh, Celestia? I don't think anypony will see her anytime soon." Chrysalis trotted slowly towards Cadance.

"You won't get away with this!" Sombra yelled. "What have you done to her?!"

"Oh shut up! The last thing Celestia remembers now is that you attacked her." Chrysalis laughed.

"Damn it!" Twilight cursed.

"And what do we have here?!" Chrysalis placed her foreleg on Cadance's chin. "A pregnant Princess? How adorable!"

"Keep your dirty hooves away from me, bug!" Cadance snapped back.

"Oh, hoho! You're so cute when you're angry. I can see why Shining Armor married you."

"SHUT UP!" Shining Armor shouted.

"Don't worry, my dear Cadance." Chrysalis said. "I won't hurt you. I haven't stooped low enough to hurt unborn foals, but when you give birth, we'll have a different conversation."

"Fuck you, Chrysalis!" Cadance snapped back.

Chrysalis laughed, but her smile quickly faded into a glare. "Do you know how many of my children I have watched die?! I was born to take care of hundreds of Changelings! I had to treat them like a mother even though I hadn't had a mother. I had to give them the kind of love that I myself never had!" At this point, a stray tear trickled down on Chrysalis' cheek. "Yes, I had to feed them love! But lately, do you know what have happened? Some of my children have left me! Why? Because they thought that living with you, ponies, is better than living with me, their true mother! After all that I've suffered for them, you come and take them away from me?! NO!" She stamped her forelegs on the ground, cracking it.

Sunset began to empathize, and decided to try and reason with Chrysalis. "Chrysalis, this doesn't have to go this way. War is not good for anypony..."

"SHUT UP!" Chrysalis snapped back, startling Sunset. She then wiped her tear and managed her wicked smile again. "You know? I was wondering why I felt a sudden boost in strength when I entered this empire." She trotted slowly towards the Heart.

"No!" Cadance said.

"This place is filled with so much love! I wonder were is it coming from?" Chrysalis placed her foreleg on the Heart. "Oh, silly me! Of course it's coming from this shiny thing! I mean, love is always related to hearts, right?"

"Stay away from it!" Twilight yelled.

"Yeah, like that would happen." Chrysalis' horn lit, then a blue glow began to flow from the heart and into her horn. The more Chrysalis drained the blue glow, the more the Heart turned gray. Very soon, the heart turned into a gray crystal and fell to the ground. Chrysalis laughed, her eyes glowing a bright green.

Twilight and the others watched in horror as Chrysalis took her next step.

"Say goodbye to your little heart!" Chrysalis stamped her right foreleg forcefully on the Heart, shattering it into small pieces.

"NO!" Cadance screamed.

Chrysalis laughed, trotting slowly from under the castle's base.

"What did you do to Celestia?! ANSWER ME!" Sombra yelled.

"CELESTIA IS GONE!" Chrysalis yelled back, gaining loud gasps from everyone. "And so will be your dear empire very soon! HAHAHAHAHA..."

Chapter 13: The One Who Doesn't Deserve Love-part 2

The sky became red after Chrysalis had absorbed the Crystal Heart's magic and destroyed it. The ponies who were close to the castle galloped away, and the ponies inside the houses that were near the castle began to get out of their dwellings and gallop far from the castle.

"Now, let's start with you, 'good' Sombra, or whatever you are." Chrysalis faced Sombra and charged her horn with magic.

Before Chrysalis could do anything, a large beam shot from beneath her, from under the ground, blasting her upwards. Celestia flew out of the hole that was made by the beam, teleported above Chrysalis, and slammed her forelegs on her, sending her downwards and throwing her in whatever place under the ground Celestia had been imprisoned inside.

Celestia flew abnormally and crash landed beside Sombra. She had blood stains on her wings, chest and face. She raised her left wing, revealing a big wound. She was bleeding badly.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaimed in panic.

"Sister!" Luna gasped.

"Celestia! Talk to me!" Sombra said.

Celestia lifted her head weakly to talk, her voice cracking in pain. "I...there's no time to explain. I exhausted myself completely with my last attack on Chrysalis. I can only do this now." Celestia fired a beam at the glue on Twilight's hooves, freeing her. "To defeat Chrysalis, we must hit her like a single force...and the only way to do that...is if you take my magic, Twilight."

"What?! But..."

"My body is too weak to use my magic to fight now, but you can use my magic."

"Take my magic, too, Twilight," Luna said.

"Me too," Cadance added.

"No, Cadance. You...are pregnant. Draining your magic is dangerous," Celestia said.

Loud rumbling sounds began to rise from the hole that Chrysalis had been thrown inside.

"Then take my magic, Twilight," Sunset said.

"Me too," Sombra said. "That way, you won't need Cadance's magic."

"Shining Armor, you'll need to keep your magic, because...we need you and Cadance to make a magic shield...to protect us from the effects of the battle," Celestia said.

"Got it," Shining Armor agreed.

"But, Princess Celestia, you're injured so badly. If I take your magic, you may bleed to death!" Twilight objected.

"There's no time for that discussion! Come on, Luna!" Celestia said, as she, Luna, Sunset and Sombra charged their horns and released a large magic stream at Twilight, enveloping her in a big ball of magic. A few seconds later, the ball of magic faded into Twilight's horn, and Celestia, Luna, Sunset and Sombra lost their Cutie Marks.

Finally, Chrysalis emerged from the hole, glancing at the ones who lost their Cutie Marks. "I guess I missed something important. But dear Celestia, I have to admit that you impressed me! I thought that you would have bled to death by now, but you have proven that love is stronger than I thought."

"You want something strong?!" Twilight asked sarcastically, trotting from under the castle's base. "Try this!" She fired a big blast at Chrysalis, blasting her several meters away.

Chrysalis recovered, but was stunned by what had just happened. "I think I have an idea about what I missed." She glanced at Celestia, seeing her laying on the ground, bleeding helplessly. "And I think your beloved mentor doesn't have a lot of time left for her."

Twilight gritted her teeth in anger. She fired a massive, continuous beam at Chrysalis, which she tried to counter with a magic shield. The beam enveloped Chrysalis and exploded immediately, creating a large cloud of dust.

Chrysalis flew out of the dust and glided down at Twilight, but Twilight fired another beam at her, stopping her midair. Chrysalis teleported in front of Twilight, escaping the beam. She then grabbed Twilight magically, and launched her at one of the buildings.

Twilight broke through the wall and landed inside the house, but luckily, the house was empty. She stood up and flew upwards, then glided down at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis fired a large beam, and Twilight responded with a beam of her own. The two beams met midway between them and exploded forcefully, blocking Chrysalis' vision of Twilight for a moment.

Twilight took advantage of the situation, teleported above Chrysalis, and levitated her magically. She flew with her and slammed her at the Crystal Castle's wall, then slid her upwards across the castle's length, destroying the balcony in the process, and finally, slammed her at the ground, creating a small hole. Twilight then glided towards Chrysalis and stamped her forelegs at her, burying her alive.

Immediately, a green beam shot from under Twilight, launching her in the air, then Chrysalis flew upwards and hit Twilight with a big blast. When she reached Twilight, she punched her, sending her into a building.

Twilight crashed landed into the building's roof, destroying a big portion of it. She quickly recoiled and flew towards Chrysalis, firing several beams.

Chrysalis dodged the beams, firing beams of her own, but she finally received a hit, causing her to lose control of her flight.

Twilight quickly reached her and slammed her forelegs at her, sending her into the ground like a comet. She backed her attack with a large beam, hitting Chrysalis with a big explosion.

Chrysalis flew out of the explosion, dodging beams from Twilight. She flew to Twilight's altitude and the two of them began to fire beams at each other, until Twilight was blasted into the Crystal Castle's wall.

Twilight recoiled quickly and dashed at Chrysalis, who fired a beam. Twilight dodged the beam and punched Chrysalis in the stomach, pushing her away. Then, the two of them continued to fire beams at each other once more.

"Celestia, please, hold on," Sombra said.

Celestia coughed a few drops of blood. "I'm...I'm sorry, Sombra." She began to cough again.

"No! Stay strong. Twilight will make it. You will live, and we will get married."

Celestia smiled. "Sombra...no matter what happens...take care of Equestria."

"Don't talk like that!"

"Take care...of Equestria."

"NO! We will take care of Equestria, together!"

Chrysalis managed to hit Twilight with a powerful blast, stunning her. She grabbed her by her hind leg, dashed with her towards the ground, then slammed her on the ground forcefully. She flew again, with Twilight in her magic grasp, then launched her into the ground once again. Twilight slid several meters across the ground, digging into it in the process. Chrysalis continued her attack by firing a thick, continuous beam at Twilight.

Twilight shielded herself with a magic sphere, but the beam was too powerful. She felt she would give in at any moment. She glanced at Celestia, and saw her closing her eyes, laying on the ground, motionless.

No. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, a stray tear trickling on her cheek. No! When she opened her eyes, they were nothing but two, white lights. "NO!" The magic sphere around Twilight blew up, producing a massive, magic shock wave.

Chrysalis' beam gave away to the shock wave, and she was hit by it and fell back in the air. The shock wave was so strong it destroyed the glass in the windows of many buildings nearby.

Twilight teleported above Chrysalis, her horn and right foreleg glowing with magic, and punched Chrysalis, sending her into the ground like a blast. Chrysalis' impact with the ground was too powerful and it rocked the buildings nearby. Twilight teleported beside Chrysalis, grabbed her, then slammed her into the ground twice.

"When you use love to hurt others, then you don't deserve it!" Twilight exclaimed, before she launched the Queen of the Changelings into the air. Twilight flew up to Chryaslis' altitude, her horn blazing bindingly, and fired a massive, continuous beam that enveloped Chrysalis and prevented her from moving or doing anything.

"What...What are you doing?!" Chrysalis screamed in agony.

"I'm taking what you don't deserve!" Twilight replied.

Very soon, a stream of blue glow began to flow out of Chrysalis, forming a massive blue ball of magic.

"NO! You can't do this!" Chrysalis said, struggling to break free, but to no avail.

"Looks like I can," Twilight said. "Now, I hope you don't mind cold weather." Twilight used her beam to blast Chrysalis out of the Empire and into the Crystal Mountains. Then, Twilight grabbed the blue ball with her magic and fired it at the remains of the Crystal Heart.

The shattered pieces began to come together and form the Crystal Heart again, absorbing the blue ball of magic. The Crystal Heart floated until it was back in its place, spun quickly, then produced a burst of blue glow that spread all across the Crystal Empire. The burst of blue glow destroyed the green substance and freed Sunset, Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Sombra. The sky turned back to normal, and a beautiful aurora emitted from the Crystal Castle's top.

Twilight quickly flew down and landed beside the others. Four balls of magic emitted from her. Sunset absorbed a green ball, Sombra an orange ball, Luna a blue ball, and finally, a golden ball of magic was absorbed by Celestia, but she still didn't move or open her eyes.

"Princess Celestia! Please, wake up," Twilight pleaded, sitting beside Celestia.

"Celestia." Sombra placed his motionless marefriend between his forelegs. "Please."

There was no response.

Sombra wrapped his hooves around Celestia and buried his face in her shoulder, letting his tears trail and wet his lover's fur.

"Oh...come on! Why everypony has to cry just because the heroine of the story decided to pass out for a minute?!" said Celestia.

Sombra widened her eyes, broke the hug and stared at Celestia.

"In case you're still wondering, yes, I'm still alive."

"You little...!" Sombra smiled and took Celestia in a tight embrace.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry." Sombra loosened the embrace.

"I think we should go to the hospital, before I pass out again!" Celestia said.

"Sure!" Sombra placed Celestia on his back.

"Here, let me help you," Luna said, placing Celestia across her and Sombra's back, Celestia's head being at Sombra's side. Then, everyone headed towards the closest hospital.

"Well done, Twilight," Celestia said. "You saved us...again."

"I would not have been able to do anything had it not been for you," Twilight replied. "You freed me."

"I think it's time for you, Auntie, to realize that you're a hero just as much as Twilight," Cadance said.

Celestia chuckled. "Didn't you hear me describe myself as the heroine of the story?!"

Everyone laughed.

"Maybe you truly are, Sister," Luna said.

"Now, look at all those damages," Sunset said to Twilight.

"Yeah. I'm sure the wedding will have to be pushed back about two weeks," Twilight replied.

"I'll be glad to help."

"Thank you, Sunset."

Sunset glanced at the Crystal Mountains. "I wonder what will happen to Chrysalis."

"I hope that one day, she'll realize the wrongness of her ways."

"I love you, Sombra," Celestia said quietly. "Your love is what gave me the strength to get out of the hole."

"Once again, you saved me, Celestia," Sombra replied. "I have to save you at least once!"

"You've already saved me. You saved me from the loneliness I had suffered without you."

Sombra smiled widely. "That's only one time. You saved me twice."

"Well, get me to the hospital as fast as you can and I will consider us even!"

"You got it!" Sombra picked up the pace, forcing Luna to do the same.

In the Crystal Mountains

The Amarok, the gigantic wolf, sat down with Chrysalis in his right claw. He was brushing her mane with a hairbrush made of ice.

"Hahaha! Nice pony!" the Amarok said, laughing stupidly.

Chrysalis was staring at the horizon with an unamused look. "Damn you, Twilight! Couldn't you throw me in Tartarus or something?!"

The Final Chapter: A Canterlot Wedding

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