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!"