Chapter 5

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A cloaked figure walked through Ponyville in the wee hours of early morning.

She was eager to see the results of her work. Now that Twilight Sparkle and her friends were seen as the children of Trixie Lulamoon, it would be so easy to get her full revenge.

Having been scouting Canterlot in hopes of hearing when Trixie would do as hypnotized, she’d visited the Starswirl the Bearded wing and found something she’d have never expected. A scroll with a spell for Time Travel.

After stealing it, she’d refined the spell, perfecting it. Now all she needed was a key moment and she’d be able to used Twilight Sparkle’s precious map to erase the mare’s friendship, thus making sure they wouldn’t be able to ruin her wonderful town of equality ever again.

Reaching the castle, she knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Trixie’s voice called from the other side.

Grinning, Starlight pushed the door open with her magic, only to hear shouts, followed by something whizzing past her vision.

At once she felt something cold and metallic clamp down on her horn and her magic cut off completely.

Before she could properly understand what was going on, Starlight felt several bodies grab her and pin her to the floor.

When she finally was able to get a look around, she found she’d been pinned by a grey Earth Pony mare, a large red Earth Pony stallion and a Pegasus stallion with a short and scruffy rainbow mane that was very familiar.

Looking around in a panic, she saw both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna walking towards her. Between them was another Alicorn, one who caused Starlight’s eyes to widen.

It was Trixie! What? How? That... that shouldn’t have been possible.

“So, this is the Starlight Glimmer we’ve heard about,” growled a greyish-blue Earth Pony mare with a rather straight styled whitesh-grey mane and tail and a Cutie Mark of a lime with two stone beneath it as she stepped forward, glaring at the downed unicorn.

“Do not fear, Limestone Pie,” Princess Luna said, her tone firm. “We shall handle this mare.”

“It’s time you paid for what you made Trixie do!” the pony whom had not been an Alicorn last she’d seen her said to Starlight, her eyes narrowed.

“What?” Starlight looked around, confused. “I don’t understand. If you all were hypnotized, how could you know it?”

That caused confused looks to pass over all.

Trixie snarled, waving her hoof up above her. “You hypnotized Trixie into turning the six heroes of Equestria into her own foals and you think we wouldn’t know?!”

Starlight opened her mouth to ask just what the Alicorn was babbling about, before it hung open at what she saw next.

Six Alicorn foals all looking a lot like Trixie, save one, stepped out from behind the princesses. Well, five of them stepped out. The other flew into view.

Trixie snorted, pointing a hoof at Starlight. “You tricked Trixie into using that amulet to rebirth these six as her own!”

“WHAT?!” Starlight cried, her eyes wide with absolute horror. “Rebirth them? I just told you to make them your daughters! I thought that made it clear to hypnotize everypony into thinking they were yours, including them! I never meant for... What in Equestria made you think that,” she indicated with her head to the six foals, “is what I meant?”

Celestia glared. “Perhaps you’ve forgotten that you made Trixie put the Alicorn Amulet back on? It corrupts the minds of those who wear it. Did you even consider what that would do with such a suggestion implanted into Trixie’s mind?”

There’s was silence for a moment, before Starlight wilted, muttering an embarrassed an anxious, “Oops?”

“Well, what do we have here?” a pony Starlight guessed was that fashion pony’s father said, levitating the scroll for the Time Spell out of her saddlebag, before levitating it over to the princesses.

Celestia took it in her magic, before glaring at Starlight after reading it over. “Planning to rewrite history?”

“Only to stop those six,” she indicated angrily to the foals, “from ruining my town, by stopping their friendship!”

Luna growled. “Did it not ever occur to you that it was Twilight Sparkle and her friends that freed me from Nightmare Moon? Or stopped Discord and reformed him? Or helped to save the Crystal Empire?!”

Starlight blinked, before shaking her head, glaring. “That’s impossible. No group of friends, not even Princess Twilight’s could be that important!”

“They are!” Celestia said sternly, causing all present save Luna to shudder at her tone, before indicating with a hoof to the six foals. “These six ponies are bound to the Tree of Harmony. They embody each of the Elements. To ruin their friendship in the past to prevent it from happening is to disrupt all harmony.”

“What’ll we do with her?” Trixie asked, looking between the princesses.

Celestia looked sternly at Starlight for a long moment. “She will remain in under house arrest in Canterlot until she is willing to explain her actions fully. I have a feeling Twilight will want to take up her case personally.”

Twilight nodded, giving a sad look to Starlight then the mare found hard to be angry at, despite herself, with how cute the foal was.

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“Alright, I’m here,” Discord grumbled, appearing in a flash of light. “Why did we have to—”

He stopped when he saw what was before him.

He had appeared in the dining room, where all the ponies were gathered (save Cadance and Shining Armour, who’d returned to the Empire after Starlight’s capture), with the six Alicorn foals sitting in high chairs and wearing bibs, Dash looking the least pleased by it.

There was silence for several moments, Discord looking from one foal to the next, before he burst out in belly-shaking laughter, rolling around in the air as he held his sides.

“Oh, ho-ho, this is priceless!” he cackled, wiping a tear from his eye, before popping up next to Fluttershy and pinching her cheeks, causing her to giggle.

“Yes. Hilarious,” Luna grumbled, looking very tired. Then again, she was not a morning pony and the last few days had not been ones where she could just go back to her normal schedule. “Now, Discord, if you are done, we would ask that you return the Element Bearers to their true selves again. The Tree of Harmony was able to restore their minds and Cutie Marks, but nothing else.”

Discord looked to Luna, before grumbling. “Fine. Party pooper.”

He snapped his fingers and there was a blinding flash of light. When it faded, there were six mares standing next to the highchairs the Alicorn foals had been in, restored now to their proper ages and colours. However...

“Um, why in the hay are we all still Alicorns?” Applejack asked, glancing from the horn atop her head to the wings on her back.

Discord frowned, looking puzzled. He looked down at the fingers he’d snapped. “How odd. I intended to turn you all back to the way you should be, yet that did not change the five of you whom were not Alicorns into your previous states Not only that, but while you all have your normal genetics back, you all still share genes with Trixie as well. How strange.”

“Whatever!” Dash cheered, leaping into the air and downing several loops. “Sure, I’m kind weirded out by having a horn and things feel a bit off, but I’m back to being me again! Sweet!”

“Um... and what about me?” all eyes turned to Trixie, who’s wings tightened against her body. “Um... will I be changed back to a unicorn? Or properly punished for what I did?”

Celestia gave a comforting smile. “No, Trixie. However, after you have done your time on the Rock Farm as you said you would, I invite you to Canterlot. Though the situation is rather different from when it was Twilight, I believe I have a new pupil I need to teach.”

“Not to mention we will need to inform Equestria of its six new princesses,” Luna nodded, before giving a loud yawn.

Twilight nodded. “Agreed. And I want to see if I can get through to Starlight Glimmer. We need to know why she felt justified in doing everything she did.”

With that, everypony finished breakfast, before saying their goodbyes.

Before Trixie left, however, Applejack went up to her and gave her a warm hug, a few tears being held back in her eyes.

“Ya ain’t ever gonna replace my real mother, Buttercup, but…” she pulled back, giving Trixie a warm smile, “Ah don’t think Ah’ll mind having a ma around again too much.”

Trixie just stared, shocked, not really sure how to respond to that.

Applejack just nodded, her smile never fading. “If’n ya wan’… there’ll always be a warm bed waitin’ for ya at Sweet Apple Acres.”

Trixie couldn’t help but feel touched, before nodding and went off with the Pies to make up for the work time they’d all missed because of her, while Fluttershy’s parents headed back to Cloudsdale.

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo said goodbye to the former’s parents, whom promised Scootaloo she could visit anytime, before following after Fluttershy’s parents.

The Apples headed back to the farm, Fluttershy and Discord joining them as her cottage was on the way and Sweetie Belle, Rarity and their parents returned to their homes too.

Finally, Twilight, her parents, Spike and the princesses all headed back for Canterlot, Celestia to prepare the announcement of the new princesses and await her new pupil and Twilight in the hopes of reaching out to Starlight and finding why this all had to happen in the first place.

her.

Author's Note

And that's pretty much all I have planned for this fic.

Might do a bonus chapter or 2 at some point, but don't get your hopes too high there, as i've no real idea where i'd go with them.

Anyway, things with this fic are through, so i'll be getting back to others. expect an update to It's A Screwed Up Life shortly too.

well, that's all for now. til next time, later everypony