Stand Proudby Dragonman461ChaptersProloguePart 1 - Chapter 1Part 1 - Chapter 2Part 1 - Chapter 3Part 1 - Chapter 4Part 1 - Chapter 5Part 1 - Chapter 6Part 1 - Chapter 7Part 1 - Chapter 8PrologueCelestia sighed contentedly as she read through a fiction book on her posh bed. It was an interesting, if somewhat odd, tale depicting the lives of those who lived in the distant future of the 100,000th year of Equestria's reign. Such an interesting read it was that she almost didn't notice when tiny hooves began to bang on the doors to her chambers. "Princess!" a voice on the other side said. The Princess put down the book and made her way to the door before opening it. When the door opened, however, a small purple shape fell over as she was leaning on it. Celestia gasped when she saw that Twilight was leaving a small stream of tears where she galloped. The tiny pony recovered and made her way to Celestia's foreleg before nuzzling into her alabaster fur. "Princess there's something scary in my room!" the filly cried from the fluff of Celestia's appendage. Celestia leaned her head down to gently nuzzle Twilight's mane before speaking softly. "Twilight, you're safe here," she assured her student. The Princess waited a few moments for Twilight to calm down before gently picking her up with her foreleg, cradling Twilight as she carried her over to the large bed. "Just stay calm and tell me what happened," Celestia said quietly. She tucked Twilight into her covers as the filly stated what happened. "W-well, I was reading up on how inactive carbon could explain how the story of 'Snowy White' is actually false, when I heard the window upstairs creaking open. I-I went to check on what it was, because I thought that maybe it was a bird that opened it, b-but... It was something really really scary instead," she said before cowering her muzzle underneath the soft quilt. "It might simply be a rat or bird, Twilight." "I saw it, Princess, it was... big. Bigger than me." "Was it a pony?" she asked, praying that a drunken pegasus had not crashed into the palace again. "No... no, I'm sure that it stood up on two legs, and it had weird claws, and-" "Stay here, Twilight. I'll handle this." Celestia pulled her regalia from the ponnequin in the closet before gently shutting the doors behind her. When she was in the hall, she approached the closest two Royal Guards. Before they could bow in respect to her, she spoke. "No formalities, we have an intruder in the Castle." That got them to freeze. "I don't want to cause a panic, as I don't know what exactly it is, but Twilight was very adamant about it not being a pony. It's likely in the lower East wing in Twilight's library. Storm Front," she said to the pony on the left, "you stay here and make sure that nothing gets into this room. Longfeathers," she said to the other one, "gather a team and secure the entrances to the library. I'll go in to confront the intruder myself. We have no idea who or what it is, but make sure that everypony is ready to secure it if it tries to escape." With that, the Princess ignited her horn before disappearing in a flash of gold. \\\////// The light of her teleportation faded away, and Princess Celestia examined the state of the library. Everything looked as though it were relatively untouched, as the mess looked like a standard Sparkle Saturday. The books were all stacked up evenly, a few of them forming small walls with a familiar doll sitting atop one of the corners. Something else that Celestia noted was that there was a plate on the table covered in crumbs and flakes from what smelled like an apple turnover. It was gone from the plate, but its scent lingered about in the air. 'Twilight didn't have any crumbs on her muzzle,' Celestia noted. Celestia slowly walked forth, gazing over everything in the library for any sign that an intruder could be present. thunk The alicorn whipped her head around, horn aglow, as she zeroed in on the source of the sound. In one instant, she could see a shadowy silhouette of something small and thin standing on two legs, and eyes filled with fear. The next instant, it was gone, as though it were merely a shadow or a trick of her mind. Celestia lessened the glow around her horn as she tried to process what she had just seen. Such a strange thing to have happened, definitely, but she was still trying to figure out what had happened at all. Just as she started to question if what she saw was real, she heard something collide with the desk behind her. The alicorn turned around on the spot to see the same figure stumble back from a book it had knocked over. Able to see it clearly now, Celestia saw that the creature was indeed a strange one. It looked like a somewhat disfigured Minotaur with backwards legs and odd platforms where its hooves should have been. It didn't have a single spec of fur on its entire body (though she couldn't say for certain as it wore torn up sacks over itself), save for a messy mop of platinum blonde hair atop its round head, its peach skin all bare to see. The face of the odd creature was flat with a pointed nose. Its mouth had noticeable traces, she saw, of an apple turnover. Celestia peered into its green eyes once more. Looking over its form at this time, she had the idea to immediately seize it in her magic. A golden aura surrounded the creature and kept it in place as she examined the strange creature. Celestia could feel it tremble in her grasp, and its eyes spoke of its deathly fear of her. It stood barely tall enough to reach underneath her chin, but she could tell from its soft features that this was merely a child. Then something even stranger happened. Celestia felt her instincts flare up as something in her mind screamed for her to weave out of the way. Quickly ducking her head to the left, Celestia recoiled as she felt something blunt strike her cheek hard and fast enough to pierce her skin. The Princess stumbled back a bit as she felt the hot sting of blood rushing out of her new wound, hissing as she felt the air meet the cut flesh. She cast her eyes over to the strange creature again and noticed that her magic over it was expanding. In a few seconds, the field over it expanded nearly three times larger than the young creature before Celestia applied more force to it. There was no give underneath even her magic, and she felt as though she were trying to push against some kind of immovable object. This was beyond what she had expected when she came down here. This creature managed to, while completely immobile and imprisoned in her magic, take the Solar Princess by surprise and draw her blood for the first time in nearly three hundred years. And now something was pushing back. The child did not move, it did not make a sound, it didn't even blink as it stared into Celestia's eyes with nothing but pure fear. There was no magic in the air aside from her own and there was no force that the child was exerting, yet something was pushing her back. Something managed to attack her, and she couldn't see, hear, smell or even magically sense what it was. Lacking any other method of a viable outcome, she resorted to her most practical method of problem solving: diplomacy. "Please, calm down," she urged while lessening the power of her magic. "I'm not going to hurt you, I was only startled by your presence." Her words seemed to reach its ears as it loosened its stance while the force against her magic lessened. Hopeful that it wouldn't use the opportunity to attack, Celestia stopped her flow of magic. Thankfully, the child didn't try to attack her, but only chose to stare. Celestia managed to smile at it before slowly sitting on her haunches. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I scared you, but please understand, I was only looking out for my student. You did scare her when you came in here." "I'm sorry," the child replied quietly. Celestia was grateful that this creature was intelligent. It sounded like a colt, too, she presumed. "It's quite fine," she assured. "No harm was done, and if you truly are sorry, I hope that you'd apologize to her." Silence permeated the air for a few moments before the child nodded. "O-okay." "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said. "Nopony's going to hurt you here. I promise." The child slowly nodded before approaching her. The Princess tensed for a moment before he spoke. "So... h-how are we going to find her? This place looks big." "Just follow me," Celestia said, rising to her hooves. "But stay here for a moment, I have to inform somepony of this." Celestia turned away from the child for a moment, igniting her magic to heal the wound he had inflicted on her. The flesh sealed up evenly as she evaporated the blood on her cheek. With her wound healed, she turned back to the doors. \\\////// Platinum shook in place as he watched the large white pony approach the doors. He watched as she stopped before them, wrapping them in a golden flow that matched the one on her horn before they slowly drifted open. "Longfeathers," she spoke to someone outside, "have your team stand down. It's only a misunderstanding." "Misunderstanding, your majesty?" he heard another voice say. "Pardon me, ma'am, but your student, Twilight Sparkle, came to you crying about an inequine monster." "I understand, but I assure you, he meant nopony any harm. He was likely hungry." "He, your majesty?" "Yes." She turned to Platinum before nodding. "Don't be afraid, nopony will hurt you." Platinum slowly started to make his way over to the door. He slowly leaned towards the white pony, feeling an oddly familiar heat radiating off of her, and looked out the door. There were at least ten smaller white ponies, all dressed in golden armor with blue plumes on their helmets, and they stared at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. One of them took a step back and shouted. "Monster! Get back!" The ponies were quick to draw out spears and swords, the ones with horns levitating the sharp weapons towards Platinum as he cowered into Celestia's side. "Enough!" the tall mare said. The armored ponies flinched as they held their weapons, the one in front looking to the tall mare. "P-Princess?" he said. "This child is lost, hungry and alone in our home, Sergeant," she chided. "It wouldn't be very prudent to treat a colt as such, would it?" He looked between Platinum and the 'Princess' before speaking. "I apologize, your majesty," he said as he lowered a wing that held a spear. "I merely saw an unknown, and-" "As long as no harm was inflicted, there is no trouble." She looked back at Platinum before a wing extended across his back. Platinum flinched from the motion, crouching a bit underneath it but paused as he felt warmth flood his body. He closed his eyes and eased into the embrace as he unconsciously reached his arms towards the Princess. She smiled at him as he wrapped his arms around her midsection. "There there, nopony's going to hurt you," she assured. Platinum eased far too much into the warmth, and passed out into her fur. \\\////// Celestia flexed her wing a bit as she felt the child lean into her side, falling asleep where he stood. She slowly lifted him onto her back before using her wings to conceal him. The Princess turned to the Guards before speaking. "I don't know what he is, where he came from nor even his name," she said, "but I assure you that he's more terrified of us than we could be of him." "Princess," one Guard started, "are you sure it's a good idea to keep an unknown creature in the castle? What if it has a disease of some kind?" "'He', Private," Celestia corrected. "He's definitely a colt. And if he was carrying anything harmful to us, I would have noticed by now. For the moment, however, I want somepony to find me any doctors and magi willing to... examine, our guest. And start a patrol on the streets for anypony that might know of who or what he is. Try and be discreet about it, though. I don't want to cause a panic anytime soon." The Guards saluted and went off to check staff listings and post notes of the Princess' orders. While they did, Celestia looked back at the sleeping form of the child and sighed. "What a mystery you are, young one," she said quietly. Her horn lit up once more and Celestia and the child were gone in a flash. \\\////// Celestia sighed to herself as she watched a team of ponies clean and examine the child. Just as the ponies began to wipe a cloth at his forehead, a Guard came up to her and saluted. "Your majesty," he said. "At ease. Report." "The Lower Canterlot Orphanage does indeed have several ponies who recognize the child. Apparently, he went by the name, 'Platinum' due to his mane color. At the moment, he has a small but thankfully detailed medical record from the orphanage after having been found there eight years ago." Celestia nodded as she watched the maids scrub his arms. "I see. So then, he does have a history in Canterlot. Why did they hide him?" "Apparently, ma'am, he ran away some time after his sixth birthday due to... an evil spirit haunting him." Celestia hummed as she recalled what happened only a few short moments ago. "Bring me any paperwork necessary to go through with relocating him here. I think I've found a new student." Part 1 - Chapter 1"You want me to go with her?" Platinum said. Princess Celestia nodded as the two walked through the halls of Canterlot. "Indeed. I thought that, since she is the highest ranking student of the Academy, as well as closely connected to the Guard and the Crown through her brother and foalsitter, she would be quite a target once she leaves these walls," Celestia explained. "I get that, but first off, she's almost at a tenth of your level, so I doubt anypony could lay a hoof on her before getting blasted through no less than thirty walls," Platinum countered, "and secondly, I didn't mean for you to assign me to her of all ponies." Celestia gave a small sigh of tiredness after hearing that again. "I understand that you don't appreciate her words nor her actions, but surely you can put them aside for just the next few days? For the sake of your Knighthood?" Platinum grunted before speaking. "Why not get Sunset to guard her? They get along just fine as it is." "You know as well as I do that Sunset's assigned to watch over the Eastern Border during the celebration and we can't get her here in such a short amount of time." "Then what about Gray-Mane? He's practically head-over-hooves for her." "And there's your answer. I don't want to leave her alone with him for a week." Platinum sighed. "And if I get her back without a scratch then I'll have earned my keep?" Celestia nodded. "You know that I could waive you through it all." "I know. That's why I have to do this. I want to prove that I can, that I don't need to ask you for everything." Celestia smiled as she nuzzled against Platinum's shoulder, reaching up to the 19 year old's height. "And I couldn't be prouder, son." Platinum smiled as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Love you too, mom." \\\////// "Come on, where are they?" Twilight asked to nopony in particular. "Twilight, you really need to calm down," Spike advised. "Celestia promised that your personal guard would get here in time for us to make it before sundown, so just relax." "How can I relax when the fate of Equestria is on the balance, Spike? Nightmare Moon could-" "You can't be serious," a painfully familiar voice said behind her. Twilight turned around to see Platinum. He stood a head taller than Celestia herself, and wore black dress pants with a black vest over a blue dress shirt, the rolled up sleeves revealing his forearms as well as a special wristwatch with a dual-star insignia in the center of it. His mop of platinum blonde hair was as messy as ever, seemingly eating up any brush that came its way, and his emerald eyes burned with that familiar aura of will. "Oh don't tell me she assigned you of all ponies," Twilight said as she face-hooved. "Don't pretend like I asked to be here either, Sparky. I'm only going because I need to pass my 'initiation' with the Knight's Guild." "Oh for pony's sake!" Spike shouted. "Can you two try not to snark at each other at least until we get to wherever it is we need to go!?" The two huffed in annoyance but Platinum relented. "Fine." With that, he stepped on the carriage and motioned forward. "Gentlestallions, let's go." The pegasi nodded to the Knight before spreading their wings and pulling them through the sky. Part 1 - Chapter 2Twilight and Platinum each looked the opposite way of their fellow passengers, electing to observe the trip from a sideways glance while Spike simply read over the instructions that Princess Celestia had left for him and his older sister. "Okay, Twilight," Spike said to break the silence, "we need to check out the catering in town from a place called, 'Sweet Apple Acres,' then check on weather with somepony called, 'Rainbow Dash,' then..." As Spike went on, Platinum glanced over to the side to see their approach into the town. He smiled as he watched the ponies below mill about their usual daily lives and look up to see him and the chariot. "Right, well then, let's get this started as soon as possible," Twilight said. "I want to get to the library to see what they might have on Nightmare Moon." That was the point where Platinum weighed in. "Why do you need books about Nightmare Moon? Planning on some kind of costume or something?" Platinum asked. "I need them because there might be a chance that she could come back, if you must know." Platinum raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. "Really? You don't even believe that my powers exist without magical assistance and you're on board the Nightmare Moon crazy train now too?" Twilight cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean 'crazy train too'?" "Sunset was going on about that before she left for the borders, same as Moondancer. By the way, did you two leave her a gift before you left?" Spike's eyes widened as he smacked himself in the forehead. "Aw nuts! I knew I forgot something!" he panicked. "Hey, don't worry, I made sure to write your names on my gift too," Platinum assured Spike as he held down a fist. Spike smiled as he bumped it while Twilight looked about the landing of the chariot. "Well, we're here." Platinum smiled as he hopped off of the chariot and stretched in the opening in the middle of the field. He looked around and examined the rustic scenery of Ponyville as the locals eyed him carefully. Being used to the stares, he simply smiled and waved to them. "Morning everypony, doing alright?" he said casually. Twilight disembarked shortly after along with Spike before the chariot pulled back into the air. When it did, the local ponies slowly began to return to their routines, a few eyes lingering on Platinum. "So, first stop?" "Sweet Apple Acres," Spike answered. "Do you have a map?" "This place is small, so it should be a tightly knit community. Just ask somepony nearby, they'll probably know." Twilight and co. waited for a pony to approach, which one did. A pink mare with a darker pink mane and tail that were fluffy like cotton candy. As she approached, she hummed a tune and gasped when she saw the three. Then, without warning, she immediately dashed off in a cloud of dust and a flash of pink. The group stared at where she had been, Twilight sighing in frustration as Platinum smirked. "Maybe we should ask somepony else," Spike suggested. \\\////// It had taken little time for them to find somepony that could give them directions and within minutes, they were at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. It was a nice farm with rows upon rows of apple trees, all lush with green leaves and ripe fruit of varying kinds of apples. As the three approached, they watched an orange mare with a cowpony hat charge up to a tree before turning around and bucking straight into it. "Guess that must be Applejack," Spike said. "Great, let's get this over with," Twilight said. The three approached the cowpony, and when she turned to see them approaching, her warm smile dropped and she looked quizzically at the tallest of the three. "What in tarnation is that? Some kinda monkey in a business suit?" Platinum chuckled as he approached her. "Afraid not, though I would pay good bits to see one," he said before bowing his head to her. "Platinum Bluestar of the Ordos Vigilo of Celestia." The pony's eyes widened before she bowed, almost smashing her face into the dirt. "Ah'm sorry, sir, Ah didn't know-" "Exactly, you didn't," Platinum interrupted. "Now stop that... bowing thing, I hate it when ponies do that to me." The pony stood up quickly, a look of regret and confusion on her freckled face. "Um... Ah-Ah didn't-" "Shhhh," Platinum shushed as he knelt down to put a finger on her lips. "Stop. That. Everypony I've met has made that joke at least once, it's fine. Now," he said while standing up and taking a step back, "why don't you introduce yourself and we can put this behind us?" The mare gave him a thankful look before nodding. "Alright. My name's Applejack, and this here is Sweet Apple Acres. Home of the finest apples this side of Equestria." Platinum looked around the farmland as Twilight and Spike introduced themselves. "Well shucks, no wonder there's a Knight here," Applejack said. "The personal student of Princess Celestia, at our farm coming to taste our home-cooked food!" "Well, I wouldn't say-" Twilight started. "Actually," Platinum interjected, "I think we'd love to try some cuisine of your wonderful clan, Applejack. Why don't you set Twilight up for some sampling?" Twilight shot him a glare as he smirked. \\\////// "Ugh... I don't feel so good," Twilight groaned as she hefted about her bloated barrel. "Well maybe you shouldn't have asked for thirds on those cobblers," Platinum stated. "I mean, I may have forced you into the situation, but don't think you can blame your own decisions on me." Twilight whipped the back of his knee with her tail as he chuckled a bit. The three were back in the town as Spike checked the list and a map that he had found near the town's limit. "Let's see... I think now we should look for Rainbow Dash," he concluded. "How exactly are we supposed to find a pegasus with these kinds of skies?" Twilight asked, eying the cloudy mess that should have been cleaned. Platinum looked to his left to see a blue blur approaching fast, spiraling out of control. "Incoming!" the pegasus shouted. In that moment, Twilight looked to the side to see Platinum standing next to her one second, and then she was suddenly in his place next to a puddle of mud. The blur slammed into her side, sending her and the blue shape into the soggy earth. "Ah hahahahahaha!" Platinum laughed as he held his sides. Twilight growled in anger and disbelief of his ability, glaring at him through her soaked mane. "Platinum!" "Actually, the name's 'Rainbow Dash'," the pony atop her said. "Hehe... hey, that was some neat trick, Rainbow," Platinum said as he approached the mares. "But I suppose that the ending was a bit of improvisation." "Hey, I did warn you, didn't I?" "And I'm glad you did. I just so happened to put her there in favor of actually warning her." "Ha! I like your style, buddy. What's your name?" "Platinum Bluestar of the Ordos Vigilo of Celestia. That's Twilight Sparkle, mom's student, and that's Spike, the single greatest dragon in history." Spike waved to the mare as she flew into the air. "Cool! Wait one second, I can fix this." As she flew off, Platinum chuckled. "Don't rush yourself." \\\////// Platinum grinned as he hefted Spike onto his left shoulder, the dragon sitting comfortably on his arm as he read the list. Behind them, Twilight did her best to use her ridiculous new mane and tail style to hide her embarrassment. "And next is... Decorations at Town Hall!" The Knight and Student followed Spike's directions and were soon greeted with a tall circular building in the middle of town. Platinum put Spike down and opened the door for the two. Once inside, Spike gasped as his eyes widened. "Beautiful." Platinum ducked to fit in the doorway and nodded. He had to admit, even after growing up in the gold-clad capital of Canterlot, this decor was impressive. The rustic style of the Town Hall mixed with the careful elegance of the bright colors gave it a soothing, enriched feel. "It does look impressive," Twilight admitted. "Not the decorations! Her~..." Spike said dreamily. Platinum looked down to see an alabaster unicorn with a highly stylized purple mane. She went through several ribbons before hanging one up. "How do my fins look? Are my scales shiny enough? How's my breath?" Spike asked in a barrage. "You look fine, Spike," Twilight said. "Excuse me!" Twilight called out to the mare. "Hello, how can I heeeeeeeAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the mare shrieked when she turned around. Platinum tensed as he sighed. 'Here we go.' "Goodness, what happened to your mane!?" the pony cried out while rushing up to Twilight. As Twilight struggled to convince the mare she was fine, Platinum gave chuckle of relief. 'Thank mom, I thought she was freaking out about me or Spike.' The unicorn pushed Twilight out of the building, leaving Spike and Platinum to follow. \\\////// "And you simply must watch for puddles, darling, you don't want your hooves to dry up and crack," the mare said as she filed away at Twilight's hoof, her magic running five brushes through the lavender unicorn's mane. "Really, I'm alright now, thank you," Twilight said on repeat. "Oh don't thank me, dear, it's the least I could have done for a pony in a state such as yourself," she said. "My name is Rarity, by the way. Rarity Belle." "Twilight Sparkle," Twilight greeted. "And who are your... unique, companions, darling?" she asked, looking at the bipedal duo in the boutique. Platinum examined a white suit jacket closely, kneeling down to the level of the ponnequin while Spike simply watched Rarity with a dopey smile. He looked up and gave a small wave. "That little dragon over there is Spike, Twilight's little brother and assistant, and I'm Platinum Bluestar of-" "The Ordos Vigilo of Celestia!" Rarity gasped, abandoning Twilight to move to the Knight's side. "You're the newly ranked member of that elite unit of the Royal Guard! I thought for certain that it was an earth pony, but to see that you truly are such a unique specimen is astounding!" "I prefer bizarre, adds more flare," he added with a smirk. "We're currently examining the town before the Summer Sun Celebration to make sure everything is in order before mo-Princess Celestia," Platinum corrected, "can come here safely and not be worried about anything." "Well then, I suppose I should have asked your agenda before dragging you all here, terribly sorry." "Oh, no need to apologize, ma'am. In fact, I think you could help us locate our next stop." \\\////// "That pony is crazy," Twilight muttered. "You just hate that she knows your style better than you do," Platinum said. "Well I'm not obsessed with my look, unlike somepony." "Hey, you either take pride in what you do, or look like you don't belong," Platinum said as he struck a pose, his left leg extended out to his side while he flexed his hand in front of his face, his eyes peering through his fingers. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just find this pony and call it a day." The three continued on the path that Rarity had outlined for them and eventually came up on a cottage near the border of the Everfree Forest. As they approached, Platinum looked into the darkness and felt something... staring at him. He reflexively clenched his fists, his eyes beginning to burn like fiery emeralds as he willed his spirit forth. The sounds of songbirds broke his concentration. Releasing the spirit, Platinum looked to see a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail waving her hoof in front of some birds. "Excuse me," Twilight said. The noise startled the birds and the mare, as she jumped back as the flock flew away. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm here about the Summer Sun Celebration?" The pegasus looked down and hoofed at the dirt as she cowered behind her mane. "Um... hello?" "Twilight, you're scaring her," Spike said. "A baby dragon!" the mare half-shouted as she body-checked Twilight out of the way. 'I know I'm supposed to be her bodyguard, but this is too fun,' Platinum thought to himself with a smirk. "Oh my gosh, he's sooooooooo cute!" Spike struck a pose with his arms at his sides as he was praised by the mare. "Hello there," Platinum said as he crouched down. "I'm Platinum Bluestar. We're here about the bird choir? It sounded great." "Oh, um... th-thank you?" the mare said, examining him. "I don't mean to be rude, but, I've never seen somepony like... you, before." "I like to think of myself as somepony rather bizarre. What's your name?" "Fluttershy." "Well it was nice to meet you Fluttershy, we'll let you get back to rehearsal. Have a lovely day." With that, Platinum picked up Twilight and slung her over his shoulder, Spike hopping onto his other one before he carried them away. Taking a look back at the forest, he felt the same eyes on him, glaring. Part 1 - Chapter 3Platinum glanced around as he waited for the Summer Sun Celebration to kick off. It had been a few hours since he had brought the two purple ones to the treebrary (the town's library was inside of a living hollowwood, who'd have thunk it?) and had partied with the pinkest of peppy ponies, Pinkie Pie. He would have thought that she herself had the same kind of gift that he had, had she not failed 'the test'. Now he and the other ponies he and Twilight had met through the day were gathered in Town Hall (Spike not being able to attend due to his crazy shenanigans and need to sleep) awaiting the reveal of their beloved ruler. Though it had only been the course of a day, Platinum would likely admit that he missed his mother. Who wouldn't? Now he stood near the entrance of the building to allow other ponies to see (he didn't make a very good window and had no intention of doing so) while he twiddled a feather about in his grasp. The feather was a familiar white with a warm feeling around it, a small prick running through the base that tied it to the inside of his black vest. As the mayor stood on the balcony to introduce Princess Celestia, he smiled and stood up straight as the curtains parted to reveal... "Oh no," he whispered. He could hear the confusion of the ponies as they glanced up to see an empty space, questioning why nopony was there. But Platinum could see it. The silhouette resembled Celestia in size and shape, but was a dark haze of a star-filled night sky, the boundaries of its form twisting to form a solid mass. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" a voice echoed throughout the room. Platinum clenched his fists as he watched the shape take form into a black alicorn with blue armor and slit eyes. "Do you not rejoice, my little ponies? For your true Queen is here!" she stated. "Or do you not remember the legends of me?" "I know who you are," Twilight said, causing the black alicorn to look down at her with a sadistic grin. \\\////// Rarity took a step back as Twilight moved forward, staring up at the strange alicorn on the balcony. For some reason, she had responded to the strange intruder and was walking forward, as if to challenge her. "I read about your return... Nightmare Moon!" The majority of ponies, including Rarity herself, gasped in shock. This alicorn was the mare in the Moon? The legend that Nightmare Night was based off of and told of her harbinger of eternal night? "It seems as though someponies are not so foalish after all," Nightmare Moon smirked. "'Tis a shame that you shan't be able to put that knowledge to use from your grave." A burst of magic conjured a stone spear, and with a flick of her neck, Nightmare Moon sent it flying towards Twilight. \\\////// "No!" Luna shouted in the confines of her own mind. She watched as time seemed to slow to a crawl as the conjured weapon sailed towards the unicorn. The lavender mare simply stood there, eyes wide with shock as it closed in on her form. Luna could hear the Nightmare cackle madly as she tried to fight for control, hoping to stop it. Then, everything changed. The stone spear had somehow teleported to her side, splitting away some of the Nightmare's armor as it barely scratched the flesh. Both Luna and the Nightmare let out a cry of shock from the sudden turn of events. "That... that's impossible," Luna thought. "There wasn't even a spark on her horn, nor-" "Hey!" a stallion's voice shouted. Luna felt her body turn to the source, and felt shock alongside the Nightmare when she saw the source. It was like a semi-bald Minotaur with a mane of platinum on strange legs wearing black pants and a vest over a blue dress shirt, a familiar star sewn into the left barrel. "What... who are you to dare raise your voice at-" It happened instantly. Something impacted against the side of Luna's face. Hard. The force cracked something inside her face and sent her flying through the wall of the town's center structure before she skid to a halt in the dirt outside. "Wha... h-how..." the Nightmare itself struggled to comprehend. Luna stood up slowly from the blow, and looked up. There it was, standing only a meter before her. Somehow it had managed to follow her fast enough to be here before she could recover. "You," the Nightmare seethed as Luna felt her magic charge up against her will. "Do you have any idea who you just struck!?" "Some fat mare with an attitude problem, apparently," it answered. Luna felt her body surround itself with magic as she charged forward to the creature. "And what kind of foal are you to stand up to me!?" In that moment, she saw something truly bizarre. Behind the creature, an ethereal form manifested into existence. This one was covered in white armor with two tubes running between its neck and shoulders. A black surface ran underneath the manifestation's armor, and saw that the back of its hands were etched with clocks, the second hands moved to the 30 position. Similar to the creature, it had burning emerald eyes that glared into her soul as it scowled. "WOLA!" it shouted as it threw out a punch. The fist collided with Luna's barrel, sending her clear over the creature as she felt something break underneath the force. Blood burst from her mouth as she crashed into the dirt, her magic burning everything away on contact. She coughed and sputtered as she stood up, the Nightmare quickening her Alicorn magic to heal herself as it spoke. "What... what are you?" "Me?" the creature asked as the manifestation of a warrior stood back-to-back with him. "I'm just a Knight out here to protect the innocents of this town. But if you want to get to them," he said, his green eyes burned with sheer willpower, "you've gotta get through me and my [Stand]." When he uttered the last word, he bent his knees while striking out two fingers, the [Stand] performing the same pose. Part 1 - Chapter 4Twilight galloped to the rim of the Everfree Forest, the five other mares following closely behind. "Hey, are you sure that those 'Elements of Harmony' things are in the forest?" Rainbow asked as she flew alongside the unicorn. "The book stated that they can only be found in the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'd bet my Cutie Marks that we'll find them in those ruins." "What about that Platinum fella?" Applejack asked. "Shouldn't we have stayed an' helped him? He's gonna go hoof-ta-hoof with Nightmare Moon on his own!" "As much as I don't want to credit him, Celestia knows what that'll do to his ego, I can't see him being beaten by her. Maybe a little scuffed up, but I doubt there's going to be much of a fight." \\\////// Platinum examined the mare, Nightmare Moon as Twilight had called her, and sized her up. 'So far I've seen her turn into a cloud of smoke, shoot lightning and summon spears. I have to be careful with how I approach her or she could try to summon a weapon in the middle of my chest. She's strong and fast, but can't take much punishment. She's a glass cannon, but she can turn into that cloud form. I don't know if she can use magic in that state, but I'm not willing to find out.' Nightmare Moon slowly stood up as her slit eyes narrowed onto him. 'If those stories that mom told me are true, I can't afford to go all out on her. There has to be a way... there's still somepony in there.' "You... you dare to challenge the mighty Harbinger of the Night!?" Nightmare Moon screamed. "I'll tear you into pieces!" Her horn lit up and crackled as streaks of lightning burst forth and arced across the ground towards Platinum. He willed his [Stand] to come out and motioned towards a nearby stone. It picked it up and effortlessly threw it between the electric bolts and Platinum, hissing and cracking as the plasma melted it partway. Platinum took a deep breath as he summoned his [Stand] to form around his body before delivering a straight kick to the right side of the boulder. Having been partially melted by Nightmare's attack, it broke off from the rest of the stone and sailed towards her. Nightmare erected a barrier-screen directly in front of herself, shattering the rock on impact while Platinum used his [Stand] to chop the rock into three pieces. He kicked them all out, each one launching with the force of a cannon shot, before he ran straight for Nightmare. The alicorn minimized her barrier-screen to a kite shield before smacking each rock out of the air, parrying them to the side before throwing it towards Platinum. Platinum ducked underneath the shield, watching it pass by before noticing a dark blue glow in the center of it. Nightmare Moon smiled as she detonated the shield. The resulting explosion incinerated the ground and sent a gust strong enough to rip apart the thatched roofs of the nearby houses. Once the dust had settled, she saw nothing of the [Stand] user. "Pity that one would be defeated so easily," she said before turning into her smoke form. Nightmare Moon snaked through the village of Ponyville towards the entrance to the Everfree, where she was greeted with an infuriating sight. Platinum was standing there, smirking. "You know, I would have thought that you'd have been smart enough to check for a body or something," he said in a mocking tone. Nightmare Moon split off a part of her smoke to chase after the ponies in the forest as she condensed into her alicorn form. "When We are through with you, We will find your race and exterminate them all under a blood-bathed Moon." "Well too bad, cause there's only one of me." Nightmare Moon growled in anger before she launched a bolt of magic straight at his face. Platinum's [Stand] formed quicker than she could launch it, however, and positioned itself in between the two. The [Stand] turned its back to her and struck a pose as it reached its right hand out before catching the bolt with the tips of its fingers. She could see the [Stand] sharing the same smirk as the user, infuriating her to no end. "Sorry, but you're gonna need a faster attack than that." "Then have at you!" Nightmare Moon charged her horn to the point where her magic was illuminating the field in a dark blue light. Platinum's [Stand] crushed the magic in its hand, the energy dissipating uselessly as it floated closer to Platinum. The magic around Nightmare's horn erupted into a rapid barrage of bolts, no less than a thousand racing to meet Platinum's oblivion. The [Stand] pulled back its fists as Platinum leveled two fingers out, gesturing to the barrage. "Crushing Rush!" he shouted. "WOOLALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!" the [Stand] cried out as it punched each and every bolt out of the air. Nightmare Moon gaped as she watched the [Stand] swat each of her attacks away like they were nothing, the thunder of her magic drowned out by the [Stand]'s roar. "WOOOOLA!" the [Stand] shouted as it backhanded the last bolt. Platinum looked to her with a serious expression as he stood still. "Princess Luna, I know you're in there," he said calmly. Inside the mind of the alicorn, Luna gasped. 'How... h-how could he-' "My mother told me stories of the misunderstandings about the Princess of the Night," he went on. "That she didn't do what she did out of hatred and contempt. She didn't do it to bring harm to anypony. She said that all you wanted was to feel appreciation. You just wanted to feel like you weren't alone. That somepony cared about you." Luna felt all of her old emotions and thoughts being dug up as she listened to his speech. Again, she felt the sting of a thousand years of isolation, and her pain fueled the Nightmare. "I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THIS!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she flew straight at Platinum. She closed the distance at an incredible speed, but suddenly, Platinum disappeared. Nightmare Moon and Luna were both in shock as they turned around to see Platinum was standing where she had stood. "She told me about how you were hurt inside your own heart, and that nopony did anything for you." "SHUT UP!" Luna and the Nightmare said at once. A magic beam lanced out to bisect the biped, but again, he vanished before it could connect. "And you lashed out in panic," Platinum said from right behind them. Luna and the Nightmare screamed in a confused mess of emotions as they turned around, only for Platinum's [Stand] to grab their horn. They struggled to pull out of the manifestation's grip, and didn't manage to budge it at all. Platinum walked up to them and gripped Nightmare Moon by her shoulders. Then, he did something that nopony would have expected. He hugged her. Nightmare Moon and Luna gasped at the show of affection and froze from confusion. "You were feared and ostracized because nopony understood you. They didn't want to. They kept to themselves for their safety, but deep down, you know that you wouldn't have hurt them. You knew that they were wrong, but you couldn't prove it in any way without the fear of rejection." Platinum held onto the mare tighter as he leaned to her ear to whisper to her. "You and I are one and the same." "B-but..." Nightmare Moon said. "Y-you... you were accepted by them," Luna said. "They welcomed you. They stood by you." "My life wasn't always like that. I faced scorn growing up. Some ponies called me a monster. They thought I was a demon. A few even tried to get me thrown out of Equestria. But through them, I found ponies that would support me. Sometimes, you weather the storm to find an island. That's how I got through it. That's how you will get through it. Because there will be ponies there for you. And sometimes... sometimes, you need somepony to take that first step, or nopony will try. They need to see that if there's a will, there's a way." At that moment, Platinum's [Stand] released their horn, and faded away. "Prove that they're wrong." Then and there, Nightmare Moon faded away... ... and Princess Luna cried into the embrace of a friend. Part 1 - Chapter 5Twilight and her friends kept a sharp eye out as they strolled back into Ponyville Proper, the ancient and legendary Elements of Harmony bound to their respective bearers. The relics had been somewhat easy to find and activate, the trip to the Castle of the Two Sisters being far more dangerous than she had expected. For some reason, they hadn't seen hide nor tail of Nightmare Moon since entering the forest. Twilight was almost 100% certain that she'd face off against the alicorn in the Castle, but instead, it seemed as though the Nightmare was content with fortifying her defense in Ponyville. "Be careful, girls, we have no idea what Nightmare Moon could be hiding," Twilight warned as they approached the center of town. "Yeah, she could be waiting to use some dark-magic thing that could freeze all of our fur solid!" Rainbow said as she circled above. "Or maybe she'll try and force everypony here to serve under her," Rarity speculated. "Or maybe she's crying into Platinum's shoulder on that bench," Pinkie said, pointing to the two. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw that the Knight-Prince was indeed hugging the Mare of the Moon. Looking at the mare now, however, Twilight noticed that the mare's coat was far lighter than before, her mane less of a haze as her armor faded into a simple set of blue regalia. The mare was holding the biped closely as she sobbed into his shoulder, her smaller form being encompassed by his lengthy arms. "Wha... what?" Twilight paused as she watched the two hold onto one another. "Is that... is that supposed to be Nightmare Moon?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What happened to her mane? And why is her armor gone?" "I don't think that's the same pony, look at her," Rarity observed. "She doesn't exude any negativity that the mare from before had. Who is that?" "That would be Princess Luna." Twilight's eyes widened as she and the other mares turned around, gasping in surprise. "Princess Celestia!" \\\////// Luna lifted her head off of Platinum's shoulder when she heard the voice and name of her sister. "Sister?" Luna gasped as she turned. Standing a few meters away, with a small, warm smile bordered by streams of tears, was the elder sister of the two alicorns. She shakily trotted forward, choking back a sob as her smile widened. "L-lulu." Luna jumped off of the bench and spread her wings. "Tia!" she cried. The two alicorns slammed into one another, wrapping their hooves around each others' barrels, crying out in joy as they reunited for the first time in a thousand years. "Luna-a-a!" Celestia sobbed as he nuzzled her sister's mane. "T-t-tia!" Luna half-shouted as she buried her face into her sister's alabaster coat. The two stood in the center of the town, holding on to each other as they wept for joy, their aching hearts finally mending as they poured every ounce of their souls into the reunion. As they did, ponies around town watched on as their ruler embraced her sister, smiling, crying and cheering from the sheer emotion of the two sisters. Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity watched in silent awe as the ruler of their world revealed her innermost pain to them all, the unicorn shedding a few tears herself. Pinkie and Fluttershy wept silently as they smiled for the sisters' happy reunion. Twilight was stunned to see that the prophecy of The Mare in the Moon had taken such an unexpected, bizarre turn that she couldn't have even thought would happen, but still, to argue against the tearful reunion would be seen as some kind of crime, and she smiled for her mentor. \\\////// Platinum watched as his mother and Luna slowly backed away from one another, smiling and nuzzling as they tried to look presentable to their subjects. "Ponies of Ponyville, I thank you all for your patience and fortitude regarding this day's hectic events," Celestia said, trying to go for damage control. "But today, as of now, is far more than just a celebration of summer. As of now, I am proud and overjoyed to present you with my sister, your Princess, Princess Luna." The ponies cheered and hollered for the blue mare, the alicorn smiling as she heard her name being chanted. "W-we thank thee all for thine gracious support of your Princess!" Luna said. "At last, we have conquered the darkness of our heart, and we eagerly wish for thine town to start the festivities for this most joyous of moments!" With that, the ponies cheered again as somepony started playing music. \\\////// Two Hours Later \\\////// Princess Luna wiped away at her eyes with a hoof-kerchief, a smile etched into her face as she had several ponies come and go to congratulate her on her supposed triumph over her dark powers. She didn't enjoy the idea of lying to these citizens, but then again, she supposed that telling them of Dark Magic was a lie to begin with, as well. Again, she played back the memories of the biped and his tales of the strange phenomenons known as, [Stands]. She felt a nudge on her wing and looked to see her sister smiling at her. "Tia," she greeted. "Luna, how are you liking the celebration?" "Tis a marvelous affair. To think Earth Ponies use such complex matrices of spells and metalwork to weave such sounds at the tips of their hooves, and those, 'Speakers,' as they are called. What sort of runic powers makes such enjoyable symphonies?" "That would be a musician of the name, 'Vinyl Scratch,' sister. And the speakers and equipment she uses are products of the modern era. This might be shocking, but they are made with relatively little magic involved." Luna's eyes widened as she gasped. "Truly?" Celestia nodded. "Yes, indeed." "How are you two doing?" Luna and Celestia turned their heads to see a familiar biped approach. Luna smiled warmly as Celestia beamed. "Platinum, how are you dear? I heard that you and Luna may have gotten into a bit of a scuffle." Platinum chuckled. "That's a way of saying it, I suppose." He began to rub the back of his head with one arm as he smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Princess Luna? Sorry about that whole, 'punching you through a building and then breaking a rib,' thing earlier. If I had known that a heart-to-heart would have worked, I would have stopped all the hooplah that made everypony panic." Luna teared up a bit before shaking her head. "Nay, stalwart Knight, We should apologize for attempting to end thine life in such a way." "Oh, don't worry about it, I've practiced under worse conditions." "Praytell, however, the strange magical spawn that follows thou about? We believe the word used for the strange familiar was, [Stand]?" Platinum lowered his arms and nodded. "Yes. And the fact that you can see it means that you've got one too." "Wait, Luna, you can see his power?" Celestia asked. "Thou art unable to see it?" Luna asked. "Thine [Stand] was verily solid in its appearance, such is the sign of powerful magics." "Well, Princess, the thing is that [Stands] aren't magical in nature," Platinum explained. "They're a manifestation of a being's soul and mental fortitude. Which brings me to point out, that wasn't Dark Magic like you thought it was possessing you." Celestia and Luna's eyes went wide at this. "W-what?" Celestia muttered. "No, I'm sure of it. I was able to damage it and through that, damage you. Only [Stands] can cause damage to another [Stand], and the user ends up receiving the same wounds. When I punched into it, you felt it, didn't you? You can't feel somepony hit a levitation spell, but you felt my [Stand] when I struck back." Luna nodded along, her mind a vortex as she absorbed the information. "Then... the Nightmare-" "[Nightmare Moon] is a [Stand], so it was effected by your emotional state." "But, if what thou art saying is truth, then why is Our [Stand] so different to thine own?" "Because [Stands] come in different forms unique to their user. Since you're an alicorn, it became a [Stand] with powers that would only effect you in a certain way, hence your ability to turn intangible and heal faster." "Then... It shall return." "Actually, it's not gone, even now. It's in your shadow." Luna gasped as she looked down. Indeed, she could see the glint of her old armor in the ground beneath her hooves. "Calm down, Princess, as long as you don't lose your sense of self, it'll follow your command," Platinum instructed. Luna took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down, looking to Platinum. "Then... h-how dost We control it? Why did the Elements of Harmony banish Us if this power is not of Dark Magic?" "I wouldn't know, sorry. But still, you need to learn how to use it properly. You need somepony willing to teach you how to use your [Stand]. And luckily," Platinum smiled as he pointed a thumb at himself, "you've got a nephew willing to reach out for you!" "N-nephew?" Luna asked. Celestia moved to Platinum's side as she nodded. "It's true, sister," she said, "Platinum is adopted into the Bluestar lineage." "Truly? Spectacular! We remember the first Bluestar from a thousand years ago, the gentlestallion with such a heart that he even made Us fawn for a time! Sister, is the lineage still around to this day? Does his name survive in his descendants?" Celestia nodded. "Indeed it does. Prince Blueblood the Seventeenth and Platinum currently hold the title of the Heirs to the Courts, and they insist on earning Knighthood in the true way." "Truly wonderful," Luna said. "And thou shalt teach me the ways of [Stands]?" "Of course I will!" Platinum said as he wrapped an arm around each of the Princesses' necks before pulling them into a hug. "That's what family's for!" With that, the three smiled and hugged in a small circle for a moment before Luna spoke. "Platinum, We wonder something." "What is it?" "Would We be able to change Our [Stand]'s name? We feel that Nightmare would be unfit for one such as Ourself." "Well, we'll have to find a fortune teller who specializes in Tarot Cards, then." "The ancient practice of Tarot? It still persists to this day?" "Sure has, it's how your [Stand]'s powers and name are determined. I'm sure that a fortune teller would probably tell you something new to name it, since you're no longer... well, you know." "Indeed. And what of thine own [Stand]?" Platinum smiled as he stood up and posed, his fingers locking together as his [Stand] did, showing off its clock-faced hands. The [Stand] towered over Platinum with a smirk as Platinum pressed his palms together. "My [Stand] goes by the name..." The [Stand] and Platinum clenched their fists before knocking their knuckles together, Platinum moving his arms to point his index and middle fingers out as his knees bent at a 45 degree angle. "[The World]!" Part 1 - Chapter 6Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 1 - Chapter 7Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Part 1 - Chapter 8Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
PrologueCelestia sighed contentedly as she read through a fiction book on her posh bed. It was an interesting, if somewhat odd, tale depicting the lives of those who lived in the distant future of the 100,000th year of Equestria's reign. Such an interesting read it was that she almost didn't notice when tiny hooves began to bang on the doors to her chambers. "Princess!" a voice on the other side said. The Princess put down the book and made her way to the door before opening it. When the door opened, however, a small purple shape fell over as she was leaning on it. Celestia gasped when she saw that Twilight was leaving a small stream of tears where she galloped. The tiny pony recovered and made her way to Celestia's foreleg before nuzzling into her alabaster fur. "Princess there's something scary in my room!" the filly cried from the fluff of Celestia's appendage. Celestia leaned her head down to gently nuzzle Twilight's mane before speaking softly. "Twilight, you're safe here," she assured her student. The Princess waited a few moments for Twilight to calm down before gently picking her up with her foreleg, cradling Twilight as she carried her over to the large bed. "Just stay calm and tell me what happened," Celestia said quietly. She tucked Twilight into her covers as the filly stated what happened. "W-well, I was reading up on how inactive carbon could explain how the story of 'Snowy White' is actually false, when I heard the window upstairs creaking open. I-I went to check on what it was, because I thought that maybe it was a bird that opened it, b-but... It was something really really scary instead," she said before cowering her muzzle underneath the soft quilt. "It might simply be a rat or bird, Twilight." "I saw it, Princess, it was... big. Bigger than me." "Was it a pony?" she asked, praying that a drunken pegasus had not crashed into the palace again. "No... no, I'm sure that it stood up on two legs, and it had weird claws, and-" "Stay here, Twilight. I'll handle this." Celestia pulled her regalia from the ponnequin in the closet before gently shutting the doors behind her. When she was in the hall, she approached the closest two Royal Guards. Before they could bow in respect to her, she spoke. "No formalities, we have an intruder in the Castle." That got them to freeze. "I don't want to cause a panic, as I don't know what exactly it is, but Twilight was very adamant about it not being a pony. It's likely in the lower East wing in Twilight's library. Storm Front," she said to the pony on the left, "you stay here and make sure that nothing gets into this room. Longfeathers," she said to the other one, "gather a team and secure the entrances to the library. I'll go in to confront the intruder myself. We have no idea who or what it is, but make sure that everypony is ready to secure it if it tries to escape." With that, the Princess ignited her horn before disappearing in a flash of gold. \\\////// The light of her teleportation faded away, and Princess Celestia examined the state of the library. Everything looked as though it were relatively untouched, as the mess looked like a standard Sparkle Saturday. The books were all stacked up evenly, a few of them forming small walls with a familiar doll sitting atop one of the corners. Something else that Celestia noted was that there was a plate on the table covered in crumbs and flakes from what smelled like an apple turnover. It was gone from the plate, but its scent lingered about in the air. 'Twilight didn't have any crumbs on her muzzle,' Celestia noted. Celestia slowly walked forth, gazing over everything in the library for any sign that an intruder could be present. thunk The alicorn whipped her head around, horn aglow, as she zeroed in on the source of the sound. In one instant, she could see a shadowy silhouette of something small and thin standing on two legs, and eyes filled with fear. The next instant, it was gone, as though it were merely a shadow or a trick of her mind. Celestia lessened the glow around her horn as she tried to process what she had just seen. Such a strange thing to have happened, definitely, but she was still trying to figure out what had happened at all. Just as she started to question if what she saw was real, she heard something collide with the desk behind her. The alicorn turned around on the spot to see the same figure stumble back from a book it had knocked over. Able to see it clearly now, Celestia saw that the creature was indeed a strange one. It looked like a somewhat disfigured Minotaur with backwards legs and odd platforms where its hooves should have been. It didn't have a single spec of fur on its entire body (though she couldn't say for certain as it wore torn up sacks over itself), save for a messy mop of platinum blonde hair atop its round head, its peach skin all bare to see. The face of the odd creature was flat with a pointed nose. Its mouth had noticeable traces, she saw, of an apple turnover. Celestia peered into its green eyes once more. Looking over its form at this time, she had the idea to immediately seize it in her magic. A golden aura surrounded the creature and kept it in place as she examined the strange creature. Celestia could feel it tremble in her grasp, and its eyes spoke of its deathly fear of her. It stood barely tall enough to reach underneath her chin, but she could tell from its soft features that this was merely a child. Then something even stranger happened. Celestia felt her instincts flare up as something in her mind screamed for her to weave out of the way. Quickly ducking her head to the left, Celestia recoiled as she felt something blunt strike her cheek hard and fast enough to pierce her skin. The Princess stumbled back a bit as she felt the hot sting of blood rushing out of her new wound, hissing as she felt the air meet the cut flesh. She cast her eyes over to the strange creature again and noticed that her magic over it was expanding. In a few seconds, the field over it expanded nearly three times larger than the young creature before Celestia applied more force to it. There was no give underneath even her magic, and she felt as though she were trying to push against some kind of immovable object. This was beyond what she had expected when she came down here. This creature managed to, while completely immobile and imprisoned in her magic, take the Solar Princess by surprise and draw her blood for the first time in nearly three hundred years. And now something was pushing back. The child did not move, it did not make a sound, it didn't even blink as it stared into Celestia's eyes with nothing but pure fear. There was no magic in the air aside from her own and there was no force that the child was exerting, yet something was pushing her back. Something managed to attack her, and she couldn't see, hear, smell or even magically sense what it was. Lacking any other method of a viable outcome, she resorted to her most practical method of problem solving: diplomacy. "Please, calm down," she urged while lessening the power of her magic. "I'm not going to hurt you, I was only startled by your presence." Her words seemed to reach its ears as it loosened its stance while the force against her magic lessened. Hopeful that it wouldn't use the opportunity to attack, Celestia stopped her flow of magic. Thankfully, the child didn't try to attack her, but only chose to stare. Celestia managed to smile at it before slowly sitting on her haunches. "Thank you. I'm sorry if I scared you, but please understand, I was only looking out for my student. You did scare her when you came in here." "I'm sorry," the child replied quietly. Celestia was grateful that this creature was intelligent. It sounded like a colt, too, she presumed. "It's quite fine," she assured. "No harm was done, and if you truly are sorry, I hope that you'd apologize to her." Silence permeated the air for a few moments before the child nodded. "O-okay." "Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said. "Nopony's going to hurt you here. I promise." The child slowly nodded before approaching her. The Princess tensed for a moment before he spoke. "So... h-how are we going to find her? This place looks big." "Just follow me," Celestia said, rising to her hooves. "But stay here for a moment, I have to inform somepony of this." Celestia turned away from the child for a moment, igniting her magic to heal the wound he had inflicted on her. The flesh sealed up evenly as she evaporated the blood on her cheek. With her wound healed, she turned back to the doors. \\\////// Platinum shook in place as he watched the large white pony approach the doors. He watched as she stopped before them, wrapping them in a golden flow that matched the one on her horn before they slowly drifted open. "Longfeathers," she spoke to someone outside, "have your team stand down. It's only a misunderstanding." "Misunderstanding, your majesty?" he heard another voice say. "Pardon me, ma'am, but your student, Twilight Sparkle, came to you crying about an inequine monster." "I understand, but I assure you, he meant nopony any harm. He was likely hungry." "He, your majesty?" "Yes." She turned to Platinum before nodding. "Don't be afraid, nopony will hurt you." Platinum slowly started to make his way over to the door. He slowly leaned towards the white pony, feeling an oddly familiar heat radiating off of her, and looked out the door. There were at least ten smaller white ponies, all dressed in golden armor with blue plumes on their helmets, and they stared at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. One of them took a step back and shouted. "Monster! Get back!" The ponies were quick to draw out spears and swords, the ones with horns levitating the sharp weapons towards Platinum as he cowered into Celestia's side. "Enough!" the tall mare said. The armored ponies flinched as they held their weapons, the one in front looking to the tall mare. "P-Princess?" he said. "This child is lost, hungry and alone in our home, Sergeant," she chided. "It wouldn't be very prudent to treat a colt as such, would it?" He looked between Platinum and the 'Princess' before speaking. "I apologize, your majesty," he said as he lowered a wing that held a spear. "I merely saw an unknown, and-" "As long as no harm was inflicted, there is no trouble." She looked back at Platinum before a wing extended across his back. Platinum flinched from the motion, crouching a bit underneath it but paused as he felt warmth flood his body. He closed his eyes and eased into the embrace as he unconsciously reached his arms towards the Princess. She smiled at him as he wrapped his arms around her midsection. "There there, nopony's going to hurt you," she assured. Platinum eased far too much into the warmth, and passed out into her fur. \\\////// Celestia flexed her wing a bit as she felt the child lean into her side, falling asleep where he stood. She slowly lifted him onto her back before using her wings to conceal him. The Princess turned to the Guards before speaking. "I don't know what he is, where he came from nor even his name," she said, "but I assure you that he's more terrified of us than we could be of him." "Princess," one Guard started, "are you sure it's a good idea to keep an unknown creature in the castle? What if it has a disease of some kind?" "'He', Private," Celestia corrected. "He's definitely a colt. And if he was carrying anything harmful to us, I would have noticed by now. For the moment, however, I want somepony to find me any doctors and magi willing to... examine, our guest. And start a patrol on the streets for anypony that might know of who or what he is. Try and be discreet about it, though. I don't want to cause a panic anytime soon." The Guards saluted and went off to check staff listings and post notes of the Princess' orders. While they did, Celestia looked back at the sleeping form of the child and sighed. "What a mystery you are, young one," she said quietly. Her horn lit up once more and Celestia and the child were gone in a flash. \\\////// Celestia sighed to herself as she watched a team of ponies clean and examine the child. Just as the ponies began to wipe a cloth at his forehead, a Guard came up to her and saluted. "Your majesty," he said. "At ease. Report." "The Lower Canterlot Orphanage does indeed have several ponies who recognize the child. Apparently, he went by the name, 'Platinum' due to his mane color. At the moment, he has a small but thankfully detailed medical record from the orphanage after having been found there eight years ago." Celestia nodded as she watched the maids scrub his arms. "I see. So then, he does have a history in Canterlot. Why did they hide him?" "Apparently, ma'am, he ran away some time after his sixth birthday due to... an evil spirit haunting him." Celestia hummed as she recalled what happened only a few short moments ago. "Bring me any paperwork necessary to go through with relocating him here. I think I've found a new student."
Part 1 - Chapter 1"You want me to go with her?" Platinum said. Princess Celestia nodded as the two walked through the halls of Canterlot. "Indeed. I thought that, since she is the highest ranking student of the Academy, as well as closely connected to the Guard and the Crown through her brother and foalsitter, she would be quite a target once she leaves these walls," Celestia explained. "I get that, but first off, she's almost at a tenth of your level, so I doubt anypony could lay a hoof on her before getting blasted through no less than thirty walls," Platinum countered, "and secondly, I didn't mean for you to assign me to her of all ponies." Celestia gave a small sigh of tiredness after hearing that again. "I understand that you don't appreciate her words nor her actions, but surely you can put them aside for just the next few days? For the sake of your Knighthood?" Platinum grunted before speaking. "Why not get Sunset to guard her? They get along just fine as it is." "You know as well as I do that Sunset's assigned to watch over the Eastern Border during the celebration and we can't get her here in such a short amount of time." "Then what about Gray-Mane? He's practically head-over-hooves for her." "And there's your answer. I don't want to leave her alone with him for a week." Platinum sighed. "And if I get her back without a scratch then I'll have earned my keep?" Celestia nodded. "You know that I could waive you through it all." "I know. That's why I have to do this. I want to prove that I can, that I don't need to ask you for everything." Celestia smiled as she nuzzled against Platinum's shoulder, reaching up to the 19 year old's height. "And I couldn't be prouder, son." Platinum smiled as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Love you too, mom." \\\////// "Come on, where are they?" Twilight asked to nopony in particular. "Twilight, you really need to calm down," Spike advised. "Celestia promised that your personal guard would get here in time for us to make it before sundown, so just relax." "How can I relax when the fate of Equestria is on the balance, Spike? Nightmare Moon could-" "You can't be serious," a painfully familiar voice said behind her. Twilight turned around to see Platinum. He stood a head taller than Celestia herself, and wore black dress pants with a black vest over a blue dress shirt, the rolled up sleeves revealing his forearms as well as a special wristwatch with a dual-star insignia in the center of it. His mop of platinum blonde hair was as messy as ever, seemingly eating up any brush that came its way, and his emerald eyes burned with that familiar aura of will. "Oh don't tell me she assigned you of all ponies," Twilight said as she face-hooved. "Don't pretend like I asked to be here either, Sparky. I'm only going because I need to pass my 'initiation' with the Knight's Guild." "Oh for pony's sake!" Spike shouted. "Can you two try not to snark at each other at least until we get to wherever it is we need to go!?" The two huffed in annoyance but Platinum relented. "Fine." With that, he stepped on the carriage and motioned forward. "Gentlestallions, let's go." The pegasi nodded to the Knight before spreading their wings and pulling them through the sky.
Part 1 - Chapter 2Twilight and Platinum each looked the opposite way of their fellow passengers, electing to observe the trip from a sideways glance while Spike simply read over the instructions that Princess Celestia had left for him and his older sister. "Okay, Twilight," Spike said to break the silence, "we need to check out the catering in town from a place called, 'Sweet Apple Acres,' then check on weather with somepony called, 'Rainbow Dash,' then..." As Spike went on, Platinum glanced over to the side to see their approach into the town. He smiled as he watched the ponies below mill about their usual daily lives and look up to see him and the chariot. "Right, well then, let's get this started as soon as possible," Twilight said. "I want to get to the library to see what they might have on Nightmare Moon." That was the point where Platinum weighed in. "Why do you need books about Nightmare Moon? Planning on some kind of costume or something?" Platinum asked. "I need them because there might be a chance that she could come back, if you must know." Platinum raised an eyebrow at the unicorn. "Really? You don't even believe that my powers exist without magical assistance and you're on board the Nightmare Moon crazy train now too?" Twilight cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean 'crazy train too'?" "Sunset was going on about that before she left for the borders, same as Moondancer. By the way, did you two leave her a gift before you left?" Spike's eyes widened as he smacked himself in the forehead. "Aw nuts! I knew I forgot something!" he panicked. "Hey, don't worry, I made sure to write your names on my gift too," Platinum assured Spike as he held down a fist. Spike smiled as he bumped it while Twilight looked about the landing of the chariot. "Well, we're here." Platinum smiled as he hopped off of the chariot and stretched in the opening in the middle of the field. He looked around and examined the rustic scenery of Ponyville as the locals eyed him carefully. Being used to the stares, he simply smiled and waved to them. "Morning everypony, doing alright?" he said casually. Twilight disembarked shortly after along with Spike before the chariot pulled back into the air. When it did, the local ponies slowly began to return to their routines, a few eyes lingering on Platinum. "So, first stop?" "Sweet Apple Acres," Spike answered. "Do you have a map?" "This place is small, so it should be a tightly knit community. Just ask somepony nearby, they'll probably know." Twilight and co. waited for a pony to approach, which one did. A pink mare with a darker pink mane and tail that were fluffy like cotton candy. As she approached, she hummed a tune and gasped when she saw the three. Then, without warning, she immediately dashed off in a cloud of dust and a flash of pink. The group stared at where she had been, Twilight sighing in frustration as Platinum smirked. "Maybe we should ask somepony else," Spike suggested. \\\////// It had taken little time for them to find somepony that could give them directions and within minutes, they were at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres. It was a nice farm with rows upon rows of apple trees, all lush with green leaves and ripe fruit of varying kinds of apples. As the three approached, they watched an orange mare with a cowpony hat charge up to a tree before turning around and bucking straight into it. "Guess that must be Applejack," Spike said. "Great, let's get this over with," Twilight said. The three approached the cowpony, and when she turned to see them approaching, her warm smile dropped and she looked quizzically at the tallest of the three. "What in tarnation is that? Some kinda monkey in a business suit?" Platinum chuckled as he approached her. "Afraid not, though I would pay good bits to see one," he said before bowing his head to her. "Platinum Bluestar of the Ordos Vigilo of Celestia." The pony's eyes widened before she bowed, almost smashing her face into the dirt. "Ah'm sorry, sir, Ah didn't know-" "Exactly, you didn't," Platinum interrupted. "Now stop that... bowing thing, I hate it when ponies do that to me." The pony stood up quickly, a look of regret and confusion on her freckled face. "Um... Ah-Ah didn't-" "Shhhh," Platinum shushed as he knelt down to put a finger on her lips. "Stop. That. Everypony I've met has made that joke at least once, it's fine. Now," he said while standing up and taking a step back, "why don't you introduce yourself and we can put this behind us?" The mare gave him a thankful look before nodding. "Alright. My name's Applejack, and this here is Sweet Apple Acres. Home of the finest apples this side of Equestria." Platinum looked around the farmland as Twilight and Spike introduced themselves. "Well shucks, no wonder there's a Knight here," Applejack said. "The personal student of Princess Celestia, at our farm coming to taste our home-cooked food!" "Well, I wouldn't say-" Twilight started. "Actually," Platinum interjected, "I think we'd love to try some cuisine of your wonderful clan, Applejack. Why don't you set Twilight up for some sampling?" Twilight shot him a glare as he smirked. \\\////// "Ugh... I don't feel so good," Twilight groaned as she hefted about her bloated barrel. "Well maybe you shouldn't have asked for thirds on those cobblers," Platinum stated. "I mean, I may have forced you into the situation, but don't think you can blame your own decisions on me." Twilight whipped the back of his knee with her tail as he chuckled a bit. The three were back in the town as Spike checked the list and a map that he had found near the town's limit. "Let's see... I think now we should look for Rainbow Dash," he concluded. "How exactly are we supposed to find a pegasus with these kinds of skies?" Twilight asked, eying the cloudy mess that should have been cleaned. Platinum looked to his left to see a blue blur approaching fast, spiraling out of control. "Incoming!" the pegasus shouted. In that moment, Twilight looked to the side to see Platinum standing next to her one second, and then she was suddenly in his place next to a puddle of mud. The blur slammed into her side, sending her and the blue shape into the soggy earth. "Ah hahahahahaha!" Platinum laughed as he held his sides. Twilight growled in anger and disbelief of his ability, glaring at him through her soaked mane. "Platinum!" "Actually, the name's 'Rainbow Dash'," the pony atop her said. "Hehe... hey, that was some neat trick, Rainbow," Platinum said as he approached the mares. "But I suppose that the ending was a bit of improvisation." "Hey, I did warn you, didn't I?" "And I'm glad you did. I just so happened to put her there in favor of actually warning her." "Ha! I like your style, buddy. What's your name?" "Platinum Bluestar of the Ordos Vigilo of Celestia. That's Twilight Sparkle, mom's student, and that's Spike, the single greatest dragon in history." Spike waved to the mare as she flew into the air. "Cool! Wait one second, I can fix this." As she flew off, Platinum chuckled. "Don't rush yourself." \\\////// Platinum grinned as he hefted Spike onto his left shoulder, the dragon sitting comfortably on his arm as he read the list. Behind them, Twilight did her best to use her ridiculous new mane and tail style to hide her embarrassment. "And next is... Decorations at Town Hall!" The Knight and Student followed Spike's directions and were soon greeted with a tall circular building in the middle of town. Platinum put Spike down and opened the door for the two. Once inside, Spike gasped as his eyes widened. "Beautiful." Platinum ducked to fit in the doorway and nodded. He had to admit, even after growing up in the gold-clad capital of Canterlot, this decor was impressive. The rustic style of the Town Hall mixed with the careful elegance of the bright colors gave it a soothing, enriched feel. "It does look impressive," Twilight admitted. "Not the decorations! Her~..." Spike said dreamily. Platinum looked down to see an alabaster unicorn with a highly stylized purple mane. She went through several ribbons before hanging one up. "How do my fins look? Are my scales shiny enough? How's my breath?" Spike asked in a barrage. "You look fine, Spike," Twilight said. "Excuse me!" Twilight called out to the mare. "Hello, how can I heeeeeeeAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the mare shrieked when she turned around. Platinum tensed as he sighed. 'Here we go.' "Goodness, what happened to your mane!?" the pony cried out while rushing up to Twilight. As Twilight struggled to convince the mare she was fine, Platinum gave chuckle of relief. 'Thank mom, I thought she was freaking out about me or Spike.' The unicorn pushed Twilight out of the building, leaving Spike and Platinum to follow. \\\////// "And you simply must watch for puddles, darling, you don't want your hooves to dry up and crack," the mare said as she filed away at Twilight's hoof, her magic running five brushes through the lavender unicorn's mane. "Really, I'm alright now, thank you," Twilight said on repeat. "Oh don't thank me, dear, it's the least I could have done for a pony in a state such as yourself," she said. "My name is Rarity, by the way. Rarity Belle." "Twilight Sparkle," Twilight greeted. "And who are your... unique, companions, darling?" she asked, looking at the bipedal duo in the boutique. Platinum examined a white suit jacket closely, kneeling down to the level of the ponnequin while Spike simply watched Rarity with a dopey smile. He looked up and gave a small wave. "That little dragon over there is Spike, Twilight's little brother and assistant, and I'm Platinum Bluestar of-" "The Ordos Vigilo of Celestia!" Rarity gasped, abandoning Twilight to move to the Knight's side. "You're the newly ranked member of that elite unit of the Royal Guard! I thought for certain that it was an earth pony, but to see that you truly are such a unique specimen is astounding!" "I prefer bizarre, adds more flare," he added with a smirk. "We're currently examining the town before the Summer Sun Celebration to make sure everything is in order before mo-Princess Celestia," Platinum corrected, "can come here safely and not be worried about anything." "Well then, I suppose I should have asked your agenda before dragging you all here, terribly sorry." "Oh, no need to apologize, ma'am. In fact, I think you could help us locate our next stop." \\\////// "That pony is crazy," Twilight muttered. "You just hate that she knows your style better than you do," Platinum said. "Well I'm not obsessed with my look, unlike somepony." "Hey, you either take pride in what you do, or look like you don't belong," Platinum said as he struck a pose, his left leg extended out to his side while he flexed his hand in front of his face, his eyes peering through his fingers. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's just find this pony and call it a day." The three continued on the path that Rarity had outlined for them and eventually came up on a cottage near the border of the Everfree Forest. As they approached, Platinum looked into the darkness and felt something... staring at him. He reflexively clenched his fists, his eyes beginning to burn like fiery emeralds as he willed his spirit forth. The sounds of songbirds broke his concentration. Releasing the spirit, Platinum looked to see a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane and tail waving her hoof in front of some birds. "Excuse me," Twilight said. The noise startled the birds and the mare, as she jumped back as the flock flew away. "Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm here about the Summer Sun Celebration?" The pegasus looked down and hoofed at the dirt as she cowered behind her mane. "Um... hello?" "Twilight, you're scaring her," Spike said. "A baby dragon!" the mare half-shouted as she body-checked Twilight out of the way. 'I know I'm supposed to be her bodyguard, but this is too fun,' Platinum thought to himself with a smirk. "Oh my gosh, he's sooooooooo cute!" Spike struck a pose with his arms at his sides as he was praised by the mare. "Hello there," Platinum said as he crouched down. "I'm Platinum Bluestar. We're here about the bird choir? It sounded great." "Oh, um... th-thank you?" the mare said, examining him. "I don't mean to be rude, but, I've never seen somepony like... you, before." "I like to think of myself as somepony rather bizarre. What's your name?" "Fluttershy." "Well it was nice to meet you Fluttershy, we'll let you get back to rehearsal. Have a lovely day." With that, Platinum picked up Twilight and slung her over his shoulder, Spike hopping onto his other one before he carried them away. Taking a look back at the forest, he felt the same eyes on him, glaring.
Part 1 - Chapter 3Platinum glanced around as he waited for the Summer Sun Celebration to kick off. It had been a few hours since he had brought the two purple ones to the treebrary (the town's library was inside of a living hollowwood, who'd have thunk it?) and had partied with the pinkest of peppy ponies, Pinkie Pie. He would have thought that she herself had the same kind of gift that he had, had she not failed 'the test'. Now he and the other ponies he and Twilight had met through the day were gathered in Town Hall (Spike not being able to attend due to his crazy shenanigans and need to sleep) awaiting the reveal of their beloved ruler. Though it had only been the course of a day, Platinum would likely admit that he missed his mother. Who wouldn't? Now he stood near the entrance of the building to allow other ponies to see (he didn't make a very good window and had no intention of doing so) while he twiddled a feather about in his grasp. The feather was a familiar white with a warm feeling around it, a small prick running through the base that tied it to the inside of his black vest. As the mayor stood on the balcony to introduce Princess Celestia, he smiled and stood up straight as the curtains parted to reveal... "Oh no," he whispered. He could hear the confusion of the ponies as they glanced up to see an empty space, questioning why nopony was there. But Platinum could see it. The silhouette resembled Celestia in size and shape, but was a dark haze of a star-filled night sky, the boundaries of its form twisting to form a solid mass. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!" a voice echoed throughout the room. Platinum clenched his fists as he watched the shape take form into a black alicorn with blue armor and slit eyes. "Do you not rejoice, my little ponies? For your true Queen is here!" she stated. "Or do you not remember the legends of me?" "I know who you are," Twilight said, causing the black alicorn to look down at her with a sadistic grin. \\\////// Rarity took a step back as Twilight moved forward, staring up at the strange alicorn on the balcony. For some reason, she had responded to the strange intruder and was walking forward, as if to challenge her. "I read about your return... Nightmare Moon!" The majority of ponies, including Rarity herself, gasped in shock. This alicorn was the mare in the Moon? The legend that Nightmare Night was based off of and told of her harbinger of eternal night? "It seems as though someponies are not so foalish after all," Nightmare Moon smirked. "'Tis a shame that you shan't be able to put that knowledge to use from your grave." A burst of magic conjured a stone spear, and with a flick of her neck, Nightmare Moon sent it flying towards Twilight. \\\////// "No!" Luna shouted in the confines of her own mind. She watched as time seemed to slow to a crawl as the conjured weapon sailed towards the unicorn. The lavender mare simply stood there, eyes wide with shock as it closed in on her form. Luna could hear the Nightmare cackle madly as she tried to fight for control, hoping to stop it. Then, everything changed. The stone spear had somehow teleported to her side, splitting away some of the Nightmare's armor as it barely scratched the flesh. Both Luna and the Nightmare let out a cry of shock from the sudden turn of events. "That... that's impossible," Luna thought. "There wasn't even a spark on her horn, nor-" "Hey!" a stallion's voice shouted. Luna felt her body turn to the source, and felt shock alongside the Nightmare when she saw the source. It was like a semi-bald Minotaur with a mane of platinum on strange legs wearing black pants and a vest over a blue dress shirt, a familiar star sewn into the left barrel. "What... who are you to dare raise your voice at-" It happened instantly. Something impacted against the side of Luna's face. Hard. The force cracked something inside her face and sent her flying through the wall of the town's center structure before she skid to a halt in the dirt outside. "Wha... h-how..." the Nightmare itself struggled to comprehend. Luna stood up slowly from the blow, and looked up. There it was, standing only a meter before her. Somehow it had managed to follow her fast enough to be here before she could recover. "You," the Nightmare seethed as Luna felt her magic charge up against her will. "Do you have any idea who you just struck!?" "Some fat mare with an attitude problem, apparently," it answered. Luna felt her body surround itself with magic as she charged forward to the creature. "And what kind of foal are you to stand up to me!?" In that moment, she saw something truly bizarre. Behind the creature, an ethereal form manifested into existence. This one was covered in white armor with two tubes running between its neck and shoulders. A black surface ran underneath the manifestation's armor, and saw that the back of its hands were etched with clocks, the second hands moved to the 30 position. Similar to the creature, it had burning emerald eyes that glared into her soul as it scowled. "WOLA!" it shouted as it threw out a punch. The fist collided with Luna's barrel, sending her clear over the creature as she felt something break underneath the force. Blood burst from her mouth as she crashed into the dirt, her magic burning everything away on contact. She coughed and sputtered as she stood up, the Nightmare quickening her Alicorn magic to heal herself as it spoke. "What... what are you?" "Me?" the creature asked as the manifestation of a warrior stood back-to-back with him. "I'm just a Knight out here to protect the innocents of this town. But if you want to get to them," he said, his green eyes burned with sheer willpower, "you've gotta get through me and my [Stand]." When he uttered the last word, he bent his knees while striking out two fingers, the [Stand] performing the same pose.
Part 1 - Chapter 4Twilight galloped to the rim of the Everfree Forest, the five other mares following closely behind. "Hey, are you sure that those 'Elements of Harmony' things are in the forest?" Rainbow asked as she flew alongside the unicorn. "The book stated that they can only be found in the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'd bet my Cutie Marks that we'll find them in those ruins." "What about that Platinum fella?" Applejack asked. "Shouldn't we have stayed an' helped him? He's gonna go hoof-ta-hoof with Nightmare Moon on his own!" "As much as I don't want to credit him, Celestia knows what that'll do to his ego, I can't see him being beaten by her. Maybe a little scuffed up, but I doubt there's going to be much of a fight." \\\////// Platinum examined the mare, Nightmare Moon as Twilight had called her, and sized her up. 'So far I've seen her turn into a cloud of smoke, shoot lightning and summon spears. I have to be careful with how I approach her or she could try to summon a weapon in the middle of my chest. She's strong and fast, but can't take much punishment. She's a glass cannon, but she can turn into that cloud form. I don't know if she can use magic in that state, but I'm not willing to find out.' Nightmare Moon slowly stood up as her slit eyes narrowed onto him. 'If those stories that mom told me are true, I can't afford to go all out on her. There has to be a way... there's still somepony in there.' "You... you dare to challenge the mighty Harbinger of the Night!?" Nightmare Moon screamed. "I'll tear you into pieces!" Her horn lit up and crackled as streaks of lightning burst forth and arced across the ground towards Platinum. He willed his [Stand] to come out and motioned towards a nearby stone. It picked it up and effortlessly threw it between the electric bolts and Platinum, hissing and cracking as the plasma melted it partway. Platinum took a deep breath as he summoned his [Stand] to form around his body before delivering a straight kick to the right side of the boulder. Having been partially melted by Nightmare's attack, it broke off from the rest of the stone and sailed towards her. Nightmare erected a barrier-screen directly in front of herself, shattering the rock on impact while Platinum used his [Stand] to chop the rock into three pieces. He kicked them all out, each one launching with the force of a cannon shot, before he ran straight for Nightmare. The alicorn minimized her barrier-screen to a kite shield before smacking each rock out of the air, parrying them to the side before throwing it towards Platinum. Platinum ducked underneath the shield, watching it pass by before noticing a dark blue glow in the center of it. Nightmare Moon smiled as she detonated the shield. The resulting explosion incinerated the ground and sent a gust strong enough to rip apart the thatched roofs of the nearby houses. Once the dust had settled, she saw nothing of the [Stand] user. "Pity that one would be defeated so easily," she said before turning into her smoke form. Nightmare Moon snaked through the village of Ponyville towards the entrance to the Everfree, where she was greeted with an infuriating sight. Platinum was standing there, smirking. "You know, I would have thought that you'd have been smart enough to check for a body or something," he said in a mocking tone. Nightmare Moon split off a part of her smoke to chase after the ponies in the forest as she condensed into her alicorn form. "When We are through with you, We will find your race and exterminate them all under a blood-bathed Moon." "Well too bad, cause there's only one of me." Nightmare Moon growled in anger before she launched a bolt of magic straight at his face. Platinum's [Stand] formed quicker than she could launch it, however, and positioned itself in between the two. The [Stand] turned its back to her and struck a pose as it reached its right hand out before catching the bolt with the tips of its fingers. She could see the [Stand] sharing the same smirk as the user, infuriating her to no end. "Sorry, but you're gonna need a faster attack than that." "Then have at you!" Nightmare Moon charged her horn to the point where her magic was illuminating the field in a dark blue light. Platinum's [Stand] crushed the magic in its hand, the energy dissipating uselessly as it floated closer to Platinum. The magic around Nightmare's horn erupted into a rapid barrage of bolts, no less than a thousand racing to meet Platinum's oblivion. The [Stand] pulled back its fists as Platinum leveled two fingers out, gesturing to the barrage. "Crushing Rush!" he shouted. "WOOLALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!" the [Stand] cried out as it punched each and every bolt out of the air. Nightmare Moon gaped as she watched the [Stand] swat each of her attacks away like they were nothing, the thunder of her magic drowned out by the [Stand]'s roar. "WOOOOLA!" the [Stand] shouted as it backhanded the last bolt. Platinum looked to her with a serious expression as he stood still. "Princess Luna, I know you're in there," he said calmly. Inside the mind of the alicorn, Luna gasped. 'How... h-how could he-' "My mother told me stories of the misunderstandings about the Princess of the Night," he went on. "That she didn't do what she did out of hatred and contempt. She didn't do it to bring harm to anypony. She said that all you wanted was to feel appreciation. You just wanted to feel like you weren't alone. That somepony cared about you." Luna felt all of her old emotions and thoughts being dug up as she listened to his speech. Again, she felt the sting of a thousand years of isolation, and her pain fueled the Nightmare. "I WILL NOT LISTEN TO THIS!" Nightmare Moon shouted as she flew straight at Platinum. She closed the distance at an incredible speed, but suddenly, Platinum disappeared. Nightmare Moon and Luna were both in shock as they turned around to see Platinum was standing where she had stood. "She told me about how you were hurt inside your own heart, and that nopony did anything for you." "SHUT UP!" Luna and the Nightmare said at once. A magic beam lanced out to bisect the biped, but again, he vanished before it could connect. "And you lashed out in panic," Platinum said from right behind them. Luna and the Nightmare screamed in a confused mess of emotions as they turned around, only for Platinum's [Stand] to grab their horn. They struggled to pull out of the manifestation's grip, and didn't manage to budge it at all. Platinum walked up to them and gripped Nightmare Moon by her shoulders. Then, he did something that nopony would have expected. He hugged her. Nightmare Moon and Luna gasped at the show of affection and froze from confusion. "You were feared and ostracized because nopony understood you. They didn't want to. They kept to themselves for their safety, but deep down, you know that you wouldn't have hurt them. You knew that they were wrong, but you couldn't prove it in any way without the fear of rejection." Platinum held onto the mare tighter as he leaned to her ear to whisper to her. "You and I are one and the same." "B-but..." Nightmare Moon said. "Y-you... you were accepted by them," Luna said. "They welcomed you. They stood by you." "My life wasn't always like that. I faced scorn growing up. Some ponies called me a monster. They thought I was a demon. A few even tried to get me thrown out of Equestria. But through them, I found ponies that would support me. Sometimes, you weather the storm to find an island. That's how I got through it. That's how you will get through it. Because there will be ponies there for you. And sometimes... sometimes, you need somepony to take that first step, or nopony will try. They need to see that if there's a will, there's a way." At that moment, Platinum's [Stand] released their horn, and faded away. "Prove that they're wrong." Then and there, Nightmare Moon faded away... ... and Princess Luna cried into the embrace of a friend.
Part 1 - Chapter 5Twilight and her friends kept a sharp eye out as they strolled back into Ponyville Proper, the ancient and legendary Elements of Harmony bound to their respective bearers. The relics had been somewhat easy to find and activate, the trip to the Castle of the Two Sisters being far more dangerous than she had expected. For some reason, they hadn't seen hide nor tail of Nightmare Moon since entering the forest. Twilight was almost 100% certain that she'd face off against the alicorn in the Castle, but instead, it seemed as though the Nightmare was content with fortifying her defense in Ponyville. "Be careful, girls, we have no idea what Nightmare Moon could be hiding," Twilight warned as they approached the center of town. "Yeah, she could be waiting to use some dark-magic thing that could freeze all of our fur solid!" Rainbow said as she circled above. "Or maybe she'll try and force everypony here to serve under her," Rarity speculated. "Or maybe she's crying into Platinum's shoulder on that bench," Pinkie said, pointing to the two. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw that the Knight-Prince was indeed hugging the Mare of the Moon. Looking at the mare now, however, Twilight noticed that the mare's coat was far lighter than before, her mane less of a haze as her armor faded into a simple set of blue regalia. The mare was holding the biped closely as she sobbed into his shoulder, her smaller form being encompassed by his lengthy arms. "Wha... what?" Twilight paused as she watched the two hold onto one another. "Is that... is that supposed to be Nightmare Moon?" Rainbow Dash asked. "What happened to her mane? And why is her armor gone?" "I don't think that's the same pony, look at her," Rarity observed. "She doesn't exude any negativity that the mare from before had. Who is that?" "That would be Princess Luna." Twilight's eyes widened as she and the other mares turned around, gasping in surprise. "Princess Celestia!" \\\////// Luna lifted her head off of Platinum's shoulder when she heard the voice and name of her sister. "Sister?" Luna gasped as she turned. Standing a few meters away, with a small, warm smile bordered by streams of tears, was the elder sister of the two alicorns. She shakily trotted forward, choking back a sob as her smile widened. "L-lulu." Luna jumped off of the bench and spread her wings. "Tia!" she cried. The two alicorns slammed into one another, wrapping their hooves around each others' barrels, crying out in joy as they reunited for the first time in a thousand years. "Luna-a-a!" Celestia sobbed as he nuzzled her sister's mane. "T-t-tia!" Luna half-shouted as she buried her face into her sister's alabaster coat. The two stood in the center of the town, holding on to each other as they wept for joy, their aching hearts finally mending as they poured every ounce of their souls into the reunion. As they did, ponies around town watched on as their ruler embraced her sister, smiling, crying and cheering from the sheer emotion of the two sisters. Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity watched in silent awe as the ruler of their world revealed her innermost pain to them all, the unicorn shedding a few tears herself. Pinkie and Fluttershy wept silently as they smiled for the sisters' happy reunion. Twilight was stunned to see that the prophecy of The Mare in the Moon had taken such an unexpected, bizarre turn that she couldn't have even thought would happen, but still, to argue against the tearful reunion would be seen as some kind of crime, and she smiled for her mentor. \\\////// Platinum watched as his mother and Luna slowly backed away from one another, smiling and nuzzling as they tried to look presentable to their subjects. "Ponies of Ponyville, I thank you all for your patience and fortitude regarding this day's hectic events," Celestia said, trying to go for damage control. "But today, as of now, is far more than just a celebration of summer. As of now, I am proud and overjoyed to present you with my sister, your Princess, Princess Luna." The ponies cheered and hollered for the blue mare, the alicorn smiling as she heard her name being chanted. "W-we thank thee all for thine gracious support of your Princess!" Luna said. "At last, we have conquered the darkness of our heart, and we eagerly wish for thine town to start the festivities for this most joyous of moments!" With that, the ponies cheered again as somepony started playing music. \\\////// Two Hours Later \\\////// Princess Luna wiped away at her eyes with a hoof-kerchief, a smile etched into her face as she had several ponies come and go to congratulate her on her supposed triumph over her dark powers. She didn't enjoy the idea of lying to these citizens, but then again, she supposed that telling them of Dark Magic was a lie to begin with, as well. Again, she played back the memories of the biped and his tales of the strange phenomenons known as, [Stands]. She felt a nudge on her wing and looked to see her sister smiling at her. "Tia," she greeted. "Luna, how are you liking the celebration?" "Tis a marvelous affair. To think Earth Ponies use such complex matrices of spells and metalwork to weave such sounds at the tips of their hooves, and those, 'Speakers,' as they are called. What sort of runic powers makes such enjoyable symphonies?" "That would be a musician of the name, 'Vinyl Scratch,' sister. And the speakers and equipment she uses are products of the modern era. This might be shocking, but they are made with relatively little magic involved." Luna's eyes widened as she gasped. "Truly?" Celestia nodded. "Yes, indeed." "How are you two doing?" Luna and Celestia turned their heads to see a familiar biped approach. Luna smiled warmly as Celestia beamed. "Platinum, how are you dear? I heard that you and Luna may have gotten into a bit of a scuffle." Platinum chuckled. "That's a way of saying it, I suppose." He began to rub the back of his head with one arm as he smiled sheepishly. "Hey, Princess Luna? Sorry about that whole, 'punching you through a building and then breaking a rib,' thing earlier. If I had known that a heart-to-heart would have worked, I would have stopped all the hooplah that made everypony panic." Luna teared up a bit before shaking her head. "Nay, stalwart Knight, We should apologize for attempting to end thine life in such a way." "Oh, don't worry about it, I've practiced under worse conditions." "Praytell, however, the strange magical spawn that follows thou about? We believe the word used for the strange familiar was, [Stand]?" Platinum lowered his arms and nodded. "Yes. And the fact that you can see it means that you've got one too." "Wait, Luna, you can see his power?" Celestia asked. "Thou art unable to see it?" Luna asked. "Thine [Stand] was verily solid in its appearance, such is the sign of powerful magics." "Well, Princess, the thing is that [Stands] aren't magical in nature," Platinum explained. "They're a manifestation of a being's soul and mental fortitude. Which brings me to point out, that wasn't Dark Magic like you thought it was possessing you." Celestia and Luna's eyes went wide at this. "W-what?" Celestia muttered. "No, I'm sure of it. I was able to damage it and through that, damage you. Only [Stands] can cause damage to another [Stand], and the user ends up receiving the same wounds. When I punched into it, you felt it, didn't you? You can't feel somepony hit a levitation spell, but you felt my [Stand] when I struck back." Luna nodded along, her mind a vortex as she absorbed the information. "Then... the Nightmare-" "[Nightmare Moon] is a [Stand], so it was effected by your emotional state." "But, if what thou art saying is truth, then why is Our [Stand] so different to thine own?" "Because [Stands] come in different forms unique to their user. Since you're an alicorn, it became a [Stand] with powers that would only effect you in a certain way, hence your ability to turn intangible and heal faster." "Then... It shall return." "Actually, it's not gone, even now. It's in your shadow." Luna gasped as she looked down. Indeed, she could see the glint of her old armor in the ground beneath her hooves. "Calm down, Princess, as long as you don't lose your sense of self, it'll follow your command," Platinum instructed. Luna took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down, looking to Platinum. "Then... h-how dost We control it? Why did the Elements of Harmony banish Us if this power is not of Dark Magic?" "I wouldn't know, sorry. But still, you need to learn how to use it properly. You need somepony willing to teach you how to use your [Stand]. And luckily," Platinum smiled as he pointed a thumb at himself, "you've got a nephew willing to reach out for you!" "N-nephew?" Luna asked. Celestia moved to Platinum's side as she nodded. "It's true, sister," she said, "Platinum is adopted into the Bluestar lineage." "Truly? Spectacular! We remember the first Bluestar from a thousand years ago, the gentlestallion with such a heart that he even made Us fawn for a time! Sister, is the lineage still around to this day? Does his name survive in his descendants?" Celestia nodded. "Indeed it does. Prince Blueblood the Seventeenth and Platinum currently hold the title of the Heirs to the Courts, and they insist on earning Knighthood in the true way." "Truly wonderful," Luna said. "And thou shalt teach me the ways of [Stands]?" "Of course I will!" Platinum said as he wrapped an arm around each of the Princesses' necks before pulling them into a hug. "That's what family's for!" With that, the three smiled and hugged in a small circle for a moment before Luna spoke. "Platinum, We wonder something." "What is it?" "Would We be able to change Our [Stand]'s name? We feel that Nightmare would be unfit for one such as Ourself." "Well, we'll have to find a fortune teller who specializes in Tarot Cards, then." "The ancient practice of Tarot? It still persists to this day?" "Sure has, it's how your [Stand]'s powers and name are determined. I'm sure that a fortune teller would probably tell you something new to name it, since you're no longer... well, you know." "Indeed. And what of thine own [Stand]?" Platinum smiled as he stood up and posed, his fingers locking together as his [Stand] did, showing off its clock-faced hands. The [Stand] towered over Platinum with a smirk as Platinum pressed his palms together. "My [Stand] goes by the name..." The [Stand] and Platinum clenched their fists before knocking their knuckles together, Platinum moving his arms to point his index and middle fingers out as his knees bent at a 45 degree angle. "[The World]!"
